74-5. as beseem’d thy fealty. As became thy loyalty.
80. lief. Beloved.
86. chased. Engraved with an inlaid pattern.
94. Obedience is what binds the subject to the ruler.
99. empty breath. Idle words.
102. joust (pronounced just). A tilt-at-arms, a tournament.
104. the lonely maiden of the Lake. A mystical being who dwelt in a wonderful cave in a rock within a lake. In the story of the Round Table she symbolizes religion.
110. clouded with his own conceit. His idea that the sword should be preserved as a relic prevented him from clearly seeing his duty.
conceit. A quaint fancy.
121-3. The dying king loses his authority because he has lost the ability to control the will of his subjects by “the power in his eye.”