c 47. King John of France was captured at Poitiers in 1356 and held in England as a prisoner until the Treaty of Bretigny in 1360. See note to XIV b 32.
c 54. Note the omission of the relative: 'which recked not a cleat for all France', and cp. ll. 43-4, XIII a 36 (note).
c 59. his helm, 'its helm'—the bar by which the rudder was moved.
c 61. 'The King sailed and rowed aright'; on him, see note to XV g 24.
c 83. An ympe: Richard II.
c 90. sarri: not in the dictionaries in this sense, is probably OFr. serré, sarré, in the developed meaning 'active', 'vigorous', seen in the adv. sarréement.
c 103-4. 'If we are disloyal and inactive, so that what is rarely seen is straightway forgotten.'
c 108. 'Who was the fountain of all courage.'
c 111. los, 'fame'.
d 1. SCHEP: here means 'shepherd', 'pastor', a name taken by Ball as appropriate to a priest.