[6]. wiðuten, not counting. scipen monnen is probably a scribal mistake for scipmonnen. þer wiðinnen, in the ships.
[7]. þis: sing. like þet 1/10 note: so too at 110/278, and with Hit, 110/271. færeste: ‘Od biax viaires et biax cors,’ W 6863.
[8]. ꝥ—mare: a typical comment, comp. ‘hire cheap wes þe wrse,’ L 385; ‘his hap wes þe betere,’ id. 4894, 816, 3857, &c.
[9]. hu—idon: Madden translates, ‘how they were disposed (their business)’: Mätzner, Sprachproben, says it corresponds exactly to OHG. wio getân, how conditioned, circumstanced; but his dictionary does not notice this use, which appears to be without support, for ‘þine ræddes ne beod noht idon,’ L 24956, where Madden translates, vaguely, ‘good,’ seems to mean, your counsels are not completed, i.e. ripe, perfect. On the other hand, wel idon occurs in L at least twenty-three times; with it Madden compares MHG. wol getan, translating good, excellent, brave; but it means more specifically, well equipped, (1) mentally, comp. 104/180; ‘þa wifmen wel idone; and þa betere biwitene,’ L 24677: (2) physically, 96/63; ‘ah he ne blakede no; for he wes cniht wel idon,’ L 7524; well fitted out, ‘scipen he hæfde sone; monie ⁊ wel idone,’ L 28234; well provided with money, ‘þe riche burh wel idone,’ L 5923; ‘Ðu ert wel don man,’ OEH ii. 29/15, the latter answering to the colloquial ‘well-to-do.’ Similar expressions are seen in ‘cnihtes wel bihedde,’ L 18010; ‘Jurdan is his bur-cniht; he is swiðe wel idiht,’ id. 18960; ‘twa hundred scipene; þer weoren wel biwitene,’ id. 20505; ‘wel bifunden,’ Orm 73/2176. The meaning here is accordingly, how they were provided for; a polite way of asking what they wanted.
[11]. cuðen, knew how, were able.
[13]. heren, obey: comp. 94/19; ‘nulle we him nauere hæren; ne hælde for ure hærre,’ L 7671, 4887, 8483.
[15]. Cantuarie: see 1/14.
[16]. Hæhliche spilede: Madden translates ‘nobly diverted themselves,’ with the usual meaning of OE. spilian, to play; and his interpretation is supported by, ‘mid haueken ⁊ mid hunden; hired-plæie luuien,’ L 14480. Luhmann, p. 91, regards this place as the only instance of that meaning in Layamon; he points out that everywhere else (as at 110/266) spilien has, from expressions like ‘spilede mid worden,’ L 17269, ‘plaȝede mid worden,’ L 17335, developed the meaning, to discourse, proper to OE. spellian. It seems unnecessary to make an exception here; the explanation, held high counsel, gives a good sense, and one more suitable for ‘hæhliche’ than the other.
[17]. folc kinge: comp. 96/47: variants are, ‘biforen þen folke kinge,’ L 9107; ‘þeos folkes king,’ id. 4872; ‘leod king,’ id. 6797; ‘leode king,’ id. 3691; ‘leodene king,’ id. 5394; ‘leodisc king,’ id. 2144. As here, O avoids the archaic expression in each case except the last, where it has, ‘on leodene king.’ Comp. OE. folc-cyning, lēod-cyning.
[18]. Sone swa: see 130/51.