Trewly she was to myn ye

The soleyn Fenix of Arabye,

For ther lyveth never but oon,

Ne swich as she ne knew I noon.

71. 'which was faultless in form'; fleȝe 'flew' is used with weakened sense because a bird is normally thought of as on the wing.

74. folde vp hyr face, '<with> her face upturned'; folde is pp.

91-2. 'And each would wish that the crowns of the others were five times as precious, if it were possible to better them.'

97. Poule: the common OFr. and ME. form, as at VIII a 25, 270, XI b 80. But the rime with naule 'nail' (ON. nagl) points to the form Paule for the original. The reference is to 1 Corinthians vi. 15 and xii. 12 ff.

100. hys body, 'its body', 'the body'. tyste: for tyȝte 'tight', like l. 102 myste for myȝte 'might'. The rimes with Kryst, gryste, lyste show that st and ȝt were very similar in pronunciation. See Appendix § 6 (end).

106. 'Because you wear a ring on arm or finger.'