kisse pax, to kiss the pax. The pax was a small flat piece of wood or metal, quite distinct from the pyx, with which it is often confounded. See the full explanation in Nares. See also Bingham, Antiq. of the Christian Church; and Rock, Church of our Fathers.
goon to offring; see A. 450, and the note.
411. leefsel, a shady arbour, such as may still be seen before an ale-house-door, or a cottage-door, in some country villages. The word has already occurred in A. 4061, and has been explained in the note to that line. It is quite distinct from the ivy-bush which was so commonly suspended in place of, or in addition to, the sign which denoted an ale-house; see the chapter on Ale-house Signs in Brand's Pop. Antiquities. Perhaps we may assume that the descriptive epithet gaye is here of some force; the arbour in front of an inn-door would, usually, be either larger or more conspicuous than that in front of an ordinary cottage.
412. This 'outrageous array of clothing' answers to the 'plente des beles robes' in Fr.; cf. Ayenb. p. 24, last line but one.
413. Alluding to Luke xvi. 19. Really from S. Gregorii Homiliarum in Evangelia lib. ii. homil. xl. § 3: 'Quodsi uidelicet culpa non esset, nequaquam sermo Dei tam uigilanter exprimeret quod diues ... bysso et purpura indutus fuisset.' See Migne's ed. vol. 76. col. 1305.
414. From S. Gregorii Homiliarum in Evangelia lib. ii. homil. 40. § 3: 'Nemo quippe uestimenta praecipua nisi ad inanem gloriam quaerit, uidelicet, ut honorabilior caeteris esse uideatur.' Cf. lib. i. homil. vi. § 3 (on the text, Matt. xi. 2-10), where St. Gregory inveighs against such as—'solis exterioribus dediti, praesentis uitae mollitiem et delectationem quaerunt ... Nemo ergo existimet in fluxu atque studio uestium peccatum deesse;' (ed. Migne, vol. 76. col. 1097). He proceeds to refer to 1 Pet. iii. 5, 1 Tim. ii. 9.
415. costlewe, costly. 'Costelewe, costfull, costuous, Sumptuosus'; Prompt. Parv.; see Way's note. This form answers to the Icel. kostligr; and the only difference between the suffixes -lewe and -ly is that the former is Norse, and represents Icel. -ligr, whilst the latter represents the A. S. -lic. See Chokelew in the New Eng. Dict., and cf. drunken-lewe, drunken-like, sik-lewe, sickly.
416. Wyclif (Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 124) is similarly severe against proud array.
417. degyse, fashionable; O. F. desguisè, also spelt desguisiè (Godefroy). Chaucer found this word in Le Roman de la Rose, l. 827; see vol. i. p. 128.
endentinge, notching, or the use of indented lines. Indentee (better endentee) is still a term in heraldry, to signify that an edge or dividing line is notched or serrated, as shewn in any heraldic work. Several of the terms in this clause have, in heraldry, a special sense, and Chaucer seems to be thinking, in particular, of such coats-of-arms as were sometimes made of variously coloured cloths, cut into the requisite shapes.