Sire d'amours et de tous ses obgiez,
A tous vos vrais loiaulx servans subgiez,
Salut, Amour, Familiarite!'
5. 'Son of the goddess Cithera,' i.e. Venus. Cithera is an alternative spelling of Citherea, occurring in the Cambridge and Petworth MSS. of the Cant. Tales, A 2215. For the construction, see note to Ch. C. T., F 209.
16. Albion. Of course Hoccleve has adapted the poem for English readers. The original has:—'Sur tous païs se complaignent de France.'
28. I read mot for the sake of the grammar and scansion; the MSS. have most, bad spelling for most-e, the past tense. But moot occurs, correctly, as the emphatic form of mot, in l. 35. Cf. l. 410.
30. As doth, pray, do; a common idiom; see note to C. T., E 7.
37. man, i.e. 'human being'; used generally, and including women.
38. 'When no word can proceed out of his mouth but such as may reasonably please any one, it apparently comes from the heart.'