Madge Mason, "it passeth any man's madge mason" (R[211],b), imagination: People, like Codrus in Misogonus (Anon. Pl., Series 2), is given to distorting the "hard words" he hears.
Mahound, "by Mahound's bones, ... by Mahound's nose" (WS[144],c), Mahomed.
Main groat (IP[341],c), a term at hazard: an earlier use than in O.E.D.
Mainmission, "needest no mainmission" (N[48],c), manumission: rare, a refashioning after main hand (O.E.D., in which the only example given is the present one).
Mainprize (N[123],c), to procure or grant the release of a prisoner by making oneself surety for his appearance. "Mede shal nouzȝte meynprise ȝow bi the Marie of heuene."—Langland, Piers Plow. (1377), B. iv. 179.
Maistry, "no maistry yourself to comfort" (N[121],d), i.e. it is no achievement (or is easy), to comfort yourself. "It is no grete maistre to gader up that money."—Paston Lett. (1456), I. 380.
Makebate (IP[315],d), busybody, breeder of strife "a discordant element." "They agree better together, then to fal at variance for ye wild wordes of suche a malicious make-bate."—More, Suppl. Soulys (1529), Works, 296, 2.
Malkin (passim), slut, slattern, strumpet: originally a typical name for a woman of the lower classes. Hence many colloquial and proverbial expressions—"no man desireth Malkin's maidenhead"; "mo maids than Malkin"; "an old mother Malkin's talk"; "Malkin, the May lady" (Maid Marian); a "carter's or swineherd's Malkin"; "some gentleman-swallowing (= whorish) Malkin"; "a kitchen Malkin"; "trapish ... petticoats to heels like a Malkin," etc.
Mall, "this mall shall beat him to dust" (WS[142],c), a club; usually of hard wood. "A leaden maule, or suche lyke weapon, to beate downe his enemyes withall."—Ascham, Toxoph. (1545), 70 (Arber).
Mankind. The text is given on pp. 1-40. This curious picture of real life and ne'er-do-weels in late Plantagenet and early Tudor times is one of the unique Macro plays, and existed, until quite recently, in manuscript only. With this manuscript and its history I have dealt fully in another part of this volume (see Macro Plays and MSS.). During the last ten years Mankind has been three times reprinted—by Dr. Brandl (Quellen, etc., 1904), by Prof. Manly (Specimens of the Pre-Shakespearean Drama, 1904), and by the Early English Text Society (Extra Series xci, 1904). The last-named text in all probability more nearly approaches fidelity to the original than the others; but as the amanuensis, to all appearance, was the same for all three, and was responsible for the confessedly untrustworthy texts which Dr. Brandl and Prof. Manly have been compelled to use without an opportunity of a new collation with the original manuscript, one cannot but entertain some misgiving as to the accuracy of the Early English Text Society's version. Especially is this the case in view of the fact that, so far as I can learn, the E.E. text, as set by the printers from the copy supplied to them, does not seem to have been compared with the original MS. The manifold errors too, alike in the otherwise admirable introductory sketches, in the footnotes, and in the glossary, are not reassuring. Quotation after quotation, reference after reference, are incorrectly given. For example, in § 2, pp. xi.-xix., there are no less than twelve errors of this description that have casually come to my notice; while, having occasion to use the glossary references more frequently, I have found its usefulness much more largely impaired. Taking a column here and there at random, these are the results:—page 196, col. 1, 2 errors; 199, col. 2, 1 error; 200, col. 2, 5 references wrong; 210, col. 1, 4 errors. Why, too, Monk Hyngston (xix.) instead of Hyngham? And, in reference to this strange inaccuracy, I must add that the same Society's edition of Respublica is no better; indeed, it is worse! One page alone of the Notes (p. 66) contains no less than four wrong references, and the weight of Mr. Magnus's argument for an attribution of the play to Udall is marred by such unaccountable misquotation of names as Mengrade for Merry-greek and Mumblecourt for Mumblecrust (both on page xxi.). Under the circumstances, and being unable to obtain access to the original manuscript, my own text must be taken for what it is ultimately proved. I have, of course, always given greater weight to the E.E.T.S. version, because it is the copy nearest to the original (the Brandl and Manly texts are copies of this copy), but in many cases Dr. Brandl and Professor Manly have done what service they could, and good service often, in suggested and amended readings and restorations. As no good purpose could, under the circumstances, have been served in dealing with all the minutiæ of this kind in an uncertain text, I have confined my remarks in this respect to the more important points raised. By punctuation, often and in toto, I differ from all three, jointly and severally; varying the interpretation. These I have noted. But one conclusion is obvious. The texts of these Macro plays as they stand are not all that scholars can desire; and it is to be hoped that permission may be obtained for a collotype facsimile of the whole of the plays. The cost would be great, but I have no doubt that consideration can be satisfactorily solved. Corrigenda, Suggested Readings, Restorations, etc. [In the following pages the attributions are indicated by F = Early Eng. Text Society's Editors; M = Professor Manly; B = Dr. Brandl; and Ed. = the present editor.] The "Names of the players" do not appear in the original manuscript—"our first creation" ([3],b), original syest or syrst (F)—"to have him revived" ([3],c), original hade—"By meditation of our Lady" ([4],a), read mediation (M)—"make his avaunt" ([4],b), a-vaunce in MS.—"that venomous serpent" ([4],d), original vemynousse—"leave your calculation" ([5],a), calcacyon in F.: I follow M and B in present reading—[A leaf of the manuscript, etc.] ([6],a), in the manuscript the next speech is to Mercy, but I have followed Prof. Manly's suggestion, also quoted by Dr. Furnivall. He says: "These lines begin a new leaf in the MS. They seem highly inappropriate in the mouth of Mercy.... Moreover, it is clear from ["we three" ([7],a), and "all three" ([7],c)] that the entrance of New Gyse, Now-a-days, and Nought was immediately preceded by Mercy's use of the words forming their names. I therefore suppose that at least one leaf of MS. (containing their entrance) has been lost at this point, and suggest that the command to the minstrels be assigned to New Gyse"—"have traced somewhat to fell" ([7],a), to fylde fell in MS.: I have followed the Manly text, which is based on a suggestion of Prof. Kittredge's, that fylde was written by mistake, and that the copyist then, observing that fylde neither rhymed nor made sense, added the right word, but neglected to erase fylde—"Christ's curse have ye" ([7],b), hade in MS. = had ye = have ye—"I had the cup in my hand" ([7],b), MS. has cup ready in: so also F and B; M as in present text—"Say no[ugh]t again" ([7],c), I have followed Manly: B and F have not as in MS.—"shall find us sh[r]ews" ([7],c), schewys in MS.—"that brought you hither" ([7],c), brethern in MS., hither being M's emendation with a suggestion that possibly brether is the right word: F and B follow MS.—"Ye betray many men" ([7],d), "a man" struck out (F)—"my denomination" ([8],a), "by" written over in MS. (F)—"a little force" ([8],a), faus in MS.—"full of English Latin" ([8],a), a marginal note says: "to have this English made in Latin: I am a-ferde yt wyll brest: 'It ram be' [? MS.], quod the bocher on-to me, 'When I stale a leg a motun ȝe are a stronge cunnynge clerke, I prey,' etc."—"here is a pardon by limit" ([8],c), I have omitted lo before "here" by mistake: "pardon by limit" is in original, pardon bely mett—"the demonical frayry" ([8],d), M supposes a line lost here, but there is no indication of such in the MS.—"of their own Christ" ([9],b), her in MS.—"Alas! what was thy fortune" ([10],d), here a marginal note in the MS. occurs, "I may both syth and sobbe; þis ys a pituose remembrance, O In my soull, so sotyll in thy substance." Prof. Manly says "this may be a part of the three lines necessary to restore the versification." He indicates a line missing before the line beginning "Alas! what was thy fortune," and two lines missing after the line ending "that stinking dunghill"—"[Mankind approaches Mercy" ([11],a), F adds "and kneels to him"—"In sinful guiding" ([11],b), sympull in MS. which is followed by F; M has sinful—"Vita hominis est milicia" ([11],d), nnilicia in MS.—"Measure yourself," etc. ([12],b), this line is in margin in MS.—"I trow and ye were" ([12],d), It row in MS.: the same miscript occurs at 13,a—"Mo than a good sort" ([13],b), M suggests emending to "Methink a"—"To them ye will go" ([13],b), hem in MS.; I follow M: B suggests hom—"by Saint Quintin" ([13],c), Sent Qisyntyn in MS.—"I am even very weary" ([13],c), wery wery in MS.—"be there again to-morrow" ([13],c), M, for the sake of the rhyme, suggests to-morne—"patience of Job in tribulation" ([14],a), so in M: the MS. has &—"my own sweet son" ([14],a), against this line in the margin in another hand is, "ita factum est"—"To pervert your conditions" ([14],b), þer in MS.: F suggests for þi; M reads your; B suggests your—"all their means" ([14],b), nnenys in MS.—"intermise yourself not" ([14],c), scratched through in MS. and "intro-mytt" written over in another hand—"of the cunning that I can" ([15],a), co[=m]ynge ... kam in MS.—"It is written, etc." ([16],a), this song is omitted by Manly (see Holyke, ante) but given by F and B, the latter in Quellen, pp. 50-51, not page 61 as erroneously given by the Early English Text editors—"if he will have compos[t]" ([17],c), compasse in MS.: F corrects to compass[t]e; M to compost; B to composte—"By Cock's body sacred" ([18],b), F queries this as being sakyide in MS.—"By the aid of His grace" ([18],b), syde in MS.: F suggests ayde and says "MS. fs crost there before syde ... see line 400" [With the help, &c., 19,a]—"Nec in hasta" ([18],c), hastu in MS.: F refers to "Non in gladio, nec in hasta.... 1 Reg. xvii. 47"—"Alack, alack!" ([19],d), F says (this commences leaf 127 back), "In another hand, at top, 'Honorabyll well belouyd frende, I hertely Recummend me on-to you'"—"Yea, Christ's cross" ([20],b), Crastes in MS.: M suggests Christ's curse, comparing it with "Christ's copped curse" ([36],a)—"There! we're on anon" ([20],b), I may have been misled, though the MS. is by no means clear: "Ther, wher, on & on," which might be interpreted, "There, ware! on anon! Out! ye shall not," etc., or "There! we're one and [i.e. to] one. Out! ye shall not," etc.—"Know ye any aught" ([20],c), out in MS.: F and B read ouȝt—"with a flowte" ([20],d), flewte in MS.: M queries it for flowte, which I have adopted—"Else there shall" ([20],d)? þei in MS. (F)—"he is a worshipful man" ([21],a), worschyppull in MS.—"nor pence nor two pence" ([21],b), of in MS.; F, M, and B read or—"Ye say us ill" ([21],b), as in MS.—"The devil have [thee]" ([22],a), suggested by M—"that be sought" ([22],c), so in MS.: F and B read that [yt] be; though elliptical the passage reads = that which is to be: my "pointing" varies from other authorities—"Mischief hat[h] informed [me]" ([22],d), hat in MS.: [me] suggested by F—"Take W[illiam] Fide" ([22],d), suggested by F: M reads w[ith yow], and B w[yth yow]—"begin at m[aster] Huntington" ([23],a), supplied by M—"Huntington of Sanston ... Hammond of Swaffham" ([23],a and b), see E.E.T.S edition—"see well where and whither" ([23],b), be in MS.—"Let us con well our neck-verse" ([23],c), com in MS.—"I bless you with my left hand" ([23],c), right struck out in MS.—"enter, I hope, unreadily" ([24],a), so in M: ouer redyly in MS.—"grace were wane" ([24],b), "cran (?) written after 'wane' in another hand" (F)—"While I over-delve it" ([24],c), ouer dylew yt in MS.—"into thi[s] yard" ([25],b), supplied by M—"pow[d]er of Paris" ([25],d), supplied by M—"Ye shall [see] a good sport" ([25],d), supplied by M: Brandl, however, suggests that a = have, which provides, I think on reflection, a better reading without altering the text—"Be as be may ... Mercy be wroth" ([26],a and b), "these lines are added at the bottom of the page" (F), be is it in original—"I shall sleep" ([26],b),?MS. skepe (F)—"rideth over the gallows" ([26],d), galouf in MS. for galous—"And thy own wife brethel" ([27],a), see Brethel, ante ([382],d): F in a footnote (p. 22) says, "Qy. bethell, M," but M (p. 338) has "Qy. brethell"!—"Adieu, fair master" ([27],b), F suggests master—"such a likely man" ([27],d), lyghly which F reads lygh[t]ly = likely—"ye have scored a pair of fetters" ([28],d), scoryde in MS.: see Scoured, post, ([461],a)—"that sweet mouth" ([28],d), þo in MS.—"do it [in] forma" ([29],c), "fo" is struck out after it in MS.: in is supplied by M—"his side-gown may be sold" ([29],d), solde in F and M, but F has a note "solde MS., tolde M" which I do not understand: M at all events is intelligible in noting the solde of his text as "MS. tolde"; but which is correct?—"spare that ye may" ([30],a), so in MS and F, which I have followed: M reads mow (to rhyme with yow, p. 30, line 1), and notes his departure from the original—"beshrew your ears, a fair hand" ([30],b), & in MS. and F: M reads a—"Curia tenta generalis" ([30],c), Carici in MS.: see Curia, ante ([391],a)—"makest much [tarrying]" ([30],d), supplied by M and adopted by F—"I can[not] express this inconvenience" ([32],d), [not] supplied by M and adopted by F—"Christus et omnia jura" ([33],c), sit in MS.: emended by Kittredge in M—"Equity to be laid over part[l]y" ([33],d), party in MS: this line was a puzzler to M and B in consequence of the wretchedly inaccurate copy of the text supplied to them, and on which they had to work. The variations are characteristic: F is direct from MS. and collated (?); M and B are copies of a copy made by the same person at different times: these differ alike one with the other, and with the F copy. (F) "Equyte to be leyde ouer party, & mercy to prevayll." (M) O quyte to be leyde ouer, perty & mercy to prevayll! (B) O, quyte to be leyde, ouer party and mercy to prevayll! The readings adopted or suggested are—(F) As given above. (M) Equyte to be leyde ouer, pety & mercy to prevayll! (B) O, quyte to be lewyde, ouer pety and mercy to prevayll! From this it will be seen that all differ with one another and from myself in interpreting this line: I offer mine as a suggestion—"with these cursed caitiffs" ([34],a), cayftys in MS.—"nigh dead in the crick" ([34],c), my in MS.: corrected by M and B, and adopted by F, to ny—"Hic, hic, hic" ([34],c), M says a line is wanted here rhyming with the third line lower down to complete the stanza—"a cepe coppus" ([34],d), so in original which says M may be intentional: he reads cape corpus—"give the rope just to thy neck" ([35],d), pye in MS.: restored by M and B—"He is so timorous" ([36],a), He ys ys in MS.—"To see your solicitious face" ([36],b), solaycyose in MS.: M reads solacyose; B solicitose—"What! ask mercy yet once again?" ([36],c), F says that from this point to "good perseverance" ([40],b) the MS. is in another hand—"my worst transgression" ([36],c), wernt or werunt in MS.: F has werst: M has wekit—"dolorous fears" ([36],d), seris in MS.: F has feris: M has feres; and B suggests sores—"this sinful sinner to redeem" ([36],d), so in MS.: M and B suggest reduce for the rhyme's sake—"Nam hec ... non sunt" ([36],d), F "notes" this passage: "Ps. lxxvi (lxxvii, Engl.), 11, 'hæc mutatio dexteræ Excelsi'; 'Verte impios, et non erunt'—Prov. xii. 7"—"as Himself doth precise" ([37],b), M says "precyse does not rhyme: qy. preche, or, as Kittredge suggests, precysely teche"—"Nolo mortem, &c." ([37],b), "Nolo mortem impii, sed ut convertatur impius a vita sua, et vivat, Ezech. xxviii. 11" (F)—"he will [be] reducible" ([37],b), M—"Incline your capacity," etc. ([37],d), in MS. this line reads, "My doctrine is convenient, Incline your capacity": the change is due to M—"as I said before" ([38],a), he in MS. (M)—"cause of great grievance" ([38],b), "ge in MS. altered to ce or se" (F)—"Not to the lowli'st joy" ([38],d), F reads holest, and "notes" M's query of MS. being miswritten for loliest or lest: B also suggests lo[w]lest—"Scripture doth prove" ([38],d), prewe in MS. and followed by F: M has prove—"my suavious solace" ([38],d), to B: F has suatius; M has solatius—"my inexcusable reproof" ([39],a), so in MS.: M suggests inexorable may be better—"fantastical visions, sedulously sought" ([39],b), sedociusly in MS.: the emendment is to M: B reads seducively—"Libere velle," etc. ([40],a), Libere welle liebere welle (Kittredge in M)—"Dominus custodi[a]t te" ([40],b), custodit se in MS. (M)—"my several patrociny" ([40],c), "? MS. suuerall (several, individual). Kittredge suggests special" (F)—"Search your conditions" ([40],c), in original Serge—"O Liber," etc. ([40],d), see Macro Plays.