The sense in which Skelton employs these words is fully illustrated by the following passages of Hormanni Vulgaria, ed. 1530: “This was a subtyle and an haftynge poynt. Astus fuit, et versatilis ingenii argumentum. He is a hafter of kynde. Est versutiæ ingenitæ homo.” sig. N vi. “A flaterynge hafter is soone espyed of a wyse man. Sedulus captator,” &c. sig. O ii. “There is nothynge more set by nowe than subtyle hafters ... callidis.” sig. O iii. “There is an haftynge poynt, or a false subtylte. Stellionatus crimen est.” sig. n iiii. “—— haftynge ... dolus malus.” sig. s viii.
Page 35. v. 138. male] i. e. bag, wallet, pouch.
Page 36. v. 143. auaunce] i. e. advance.
v. 144. solace] i. e. sport.
v. 149. connynge] i. e. knowledge.
v. 150. Deynte to haue with vs suche one in store] In Chaucer’s Clerkes Tale, v. 8988, Tyrwhitt explains (and rightly, I believe) “it was deintee”—it was a valuable thing. But both in the present passage, and in a subsequent stanza of the same poem—
“Trowest thou, dreuyll, I saye, thou gawdy knaue,
That I haue deynte to see thé cherysshed thus?”
v. 337—
“deynte” seems to be equivalent to—pleasure: compare