p. 28, l. [957]. some, a clerical error for sone.
p. 28, l. [965]. prymsauns of grene vere = “the earliest days of green spring” (Glossary to the Roxb. Club ed.). This may be the sense; but what is the literal meaning of prymsauns? If we had prymtauns, or prymtaunce, we might be inclined to take it for a corruption of French printemps, as we find pastaunce or pastance corrupted from passe-temps. (See Skeat, Spec. of Eng. Literature, 460/149 and 427/1096.) Cf. also the Romaunt of the Rose, ll. 3373–74: “At prime temps, Love to manace, Ful ofte I have been in this caas.” Or is prymtauns perhaps a clerical error for entrauns or entraunce? This would then make us think of such passages as the following one:
“Che fu ou mois de mai, à l’entree d’esté,
Que florissent cil bos et verdissent cil pré.”
Fierabras, ll. 5094–5.
p. 28, l. [966]. spryngyn, the only instance of the 3rd person present plural ending in -yn (for the common -en). This perhaps is due to [‹p113›] the scribe thinking already of the following yn in begynne. But it must be stated that the whole passage is rather obscure. Neither the meaning of springyn and begynne nor the connection of l. 966 with the following lines is very clear. Floures occurring twice looks also somewhat suspicious. Moreover, these two stanzas do not well suit the context and might easily be done without; they are evidently borrowed from some other poem. Observe besides the alliteration in floures, frithe, freshly.
p. 28, l. [973]. lithe, “to hear.” O.Icel. hlŷða, “auscultare.” Stratmann, s. v. hlîþen, p. 315.
p. 29, l. [993]. lese miswritten for lefe, which sense and rhyme require, and which occurs in ll. 832, 1526.
p. 29, l. [995]. bassatours (?) = “vavassours, vavasors.”
p. 29, l. [999]. Inde Major. The meaning of Major is not clear. Cf. besides Chanson de Roland, ed. Gautier, Glossarial Index, s. v. Major. Compare also Destr. l. 690: terre Majour.