22168. Troian: this form of the name is used also in Conf. Am. vii. 3144, and ‘Troianus’ in Vox Clam. vi. 1273. The justice and humanity of Trajan were proverbial in the Middle Ages, owing chiefly to the legend about him connected with Gregory the Great.
22182. ‘Well know I that this has not happened (for nought), but it is because of our wanton life.’
22191. deux chiefs, i.e. the Pope and the Emperor.
22192. ‘The one is he who sets forth the will of holy Church,’ i.e. the Pope.
22201. This stanza seems to be a reference to the helplessness of the Empire.
22273 ff. With these stanzas compare Vox Clam. vi. 589 ff., where there is the same reiterated personal address, ‘O rex,’ ‘O bone rex,’ &c., but the substance of the advice is there specially adapted to the age and circumstances of Richard II, whereas here it is general.
22292. par halte enprise, ‘loftily’: cp. l. 22077, and elsewhere.
22294. ‘and forces him to confess his error’: ‘recreandise’ is properly the admission that one is vanquished, or the faintheartedness which might lead to such an admission.
22333. 2 Maccabees xi. 1-12.
22341. The number given is 11,000 footmen and 1600 horsemen.