Inperat cupiditas atque principatur.
[P. 49], l. 8, Wandelardus.—Perhaps a Vandal.
—— ll. 15-18. With the little information given in the song, it is difficult to ascertain who were the four brothers the writer intended to satirise. This punning way of deriving and explaining proper names was by no means uncommon during the middle ages. In a splendid Bible in three volumes folio, written in England early in the twelfth century, and now preserved in the Library of St. Geneviève at Paris, the scribe gives the following very curious account of his family. Its being previously inedited will be a sufficient excuse for inserting it here.
“Hanc Bibliothecam scripsit Mainerus scriptor Cantuariensis. Sed ne ab ignorantibus parentelam suam putaretur nothus, sive spurius, placuit ei nomen proprium suum et nomen propinquorum parentum suorum scribere et ethimo-logizare. Ipse itaque scriptor inter suos recto nomine Mainerus nominabatur, quod nomen ei desienter datum est; Mainerus enim interpretatus est, imitata in sua manu gnatus, quia peritus fuit et gnarus in arte scribendi. Pater ejus Wimundus nominabatur, quod nomen interpretatum Latine sonat hodie mundus; poterat enim de eo dici cotidie quod mundus esset, quod mundus in mundo munde vixit, ad Creatorem suum sine immunditia migravit. Nomen matris suæ dicebatur Anglice Livena, quod Latine sonat lætitia; fuit enim mulier hylaris, facie decora, moribus ornata et pudica, et semper in largiendo bona sua pro Dei amore datrix hilaris; sana et incolumis per .lxxx. annos et plus feliciter vixit. Avus suus nominabatur Ulgerus, i. ulnas gerens; fuit enim vir magnus et fortis, qui magnas habebat ulnas. Nomen aviæ suæ dicebatur Anglice Elvera, quod interpretatur Dei vidua, quæ et in bona viduitate diu vixit. Quatuor habuit fratres et unam sororem, quorum primus vocabatur Radulphus, i. ratus et adustus, i. firmus in adolescentia; fortis enim valde juvenis fuit. Secundus dicebatur Robertus, quia a re nomen habuit, spoliator enim diu fuit et prædo. Tertius nuncupabatur Giroldus, girovagus enim fuit omnibus diebus vitæ suæ. Quartus nominabatur Johannes, quod nomen interpretatum sonat Dei gratia; et iste gratiam Dei gratia Dei adeptus est; fuit enim juvenis ætate, senex moribus, virgo castitate, vita beatus. Soror ipsius dicebatur Dionisia, id est Deo nitens; nitebatur enim semper bonis operibus ad Deum venire. Animæ omnium istorum et animæ omnium fidelium defunctorum per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace! Amen!”
[P. 51]. Song upon the Tailors.—It is scarcely necessary to say that the three lines which form the theme of this song, are the commencement of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Llewellin, Prince of Wales, invaded the Marches in 1263.
[P. 53], l. 3, capucium.—The name capuce was given sometimes to a separate piece of apparel with which the head was covered, and at others to the upper part of the tunic of the monks which covered the head. In the present instance it must be taken in the former sense. A full account of the different senses of the word will be found in Ducange.
—— l. 6, almucium.—The aumuce was a separate article of clothing which covered both head and shoulders. One of the articles of the canons for the behaviour of the monks, given by Pope Clement V., was, “ut almutiis de panno nigro, vel pellibus, caputiorum loco, uterentur.”
—— l. 14, Tyeis.—The French and Anglo-Norman form of the Latin Teutonicus. It is the origin of the name of several old English families.
[P. 57], l. 4, Cernite.—The MS. has scernite.
[P. 58], l. 2, Frollo.—This personage is a famous character in the fabulous history of Arthur, and is there said to have been King of Paris under the Romans. When hard pressed by Arthur, who had conquered “all France and all Germany,” he took refuge in Paris, and was besieged there. The people in the city beginning to feel the effects of famine, persuaded Frollo to engage Arthur in single combat. The battle was said to have taken place in the “isle” (insula Parisiensis), the part of the French capital included between the two branches of the Seine, in which, at the present day, stand Nôtre-Dame and the Palais de Justice, with its beautiful Sainte-Chapelle. The story of Arthur and Frollo is told at length in Geoffrey of Monmouth.