76. ryde me: an instance of the rare ethic dative, which expresses some interest in the action of the verb on the part of one who is neither the doer of the action nor its object. Distinguish the uses referred to in the notes to II 289, XV g 24.
86. Lepeȝ hym, 'gallops'. For hym, which refers to the rider, not the horse, cp. note to XV g 24.
92. Gryngolet: the name of Gawayn's horse. gedereȝ þe rake seems to mean 'takes the path'. No similar transitive use of 'gather' is known.
95. he wayted hym aboute, 'he looked around him'. Cp. l. 221 wayteȝ, and note to l. 121.
99. 'The clouds seemed to him grazed by the crags'; i.e. the crags were so high that they seemed to him to scrape the clouds. I owe to Professor Craigie the suggestion that skayned is ON. skeina 'to graze', 'scratch'.
102-4. 'And soon, a little way off on an open space, a mound (as it appeared) seemed to him remarkable.'
107. kacheȝ his caple, 'takes control of his horse', i.e. takes up the reins again to start the horse after the halt mentioned at l. 100.
109. his riche: possibly 'his good steed'. The substantival use of an adjective is common in alliterative verse, e.g. l. 188 þat schyre (neck); 200 þe schene (axe); 245 þe scharp (axe); 343 þat cortays (lady). But it has been suggested that brydel has fallen out of the text after riche.
114. 'And it was all hollow within, nothing but an old cave.'
115 f. he couþe hit noȝt deme with spelle, 'he could not say <which it was>'. For deme 'to speak', &c., cp. VI 1, XV b 29-30.