p. 2, l. [56]. Rache and brache are both retained in the modern speech; rache seems to be particularly used in Scotland. “Brache is said to signify originally a bitch hound—the feminine of rache, a foot-scenting dog” (Morris, Gawayne, Gloss. p. 89). Rache is, according to Stratmann, O.Icel. rakki; brache is O.Fr. braque, M.H.Ger. braccho. Cf. also Halliwell’s Dict. s. v. “brach.” The French racaille is etymologically connected with rache; see Diez, Etym. Wörterb., II. 407.
p. 2, l. [57]. commaunde for commaunded (l. 228), formed on the same analogy as comforte (l. 2242) for comforted (ll. 312, 2117), aliȝt for alighted; gerde for girded; graunte (l. 607) for graunted, etc.
p. 2, l. [59]. fere, O.E. f
ran (Mod. Eng. fear), is an active verb, meaning “to frighten, to terrify.” It is still found in this sense in Shakespeare.—launde : commaunde. The very same rhyme occurs again in l. 3189, where launde is spelt lande. The rhyme need not cause any difficulty, cf. Guy, p. xi. κ. Or must launde be taken here for lande = saltus? Cf. Morris, Gloss. to Allit. Poems, s. v. launde.
p. 3, l. [62]. set, means “seat, sedes”; O.Icel. set, O.H.G. sez, M.H.G. sitz. This stanza as it stands seems to be incorrect, there being no rhyme to sete; possibly a line has been lost after l. 63.
p. 3, l. [67]. The subject of the sentence is wanting. For more instances see Zupitza’s note to Guy, l. 10. It is to be observed that for the most part the subject wanting is of the same person as the object of the preceding sentence.—he was god and trew of divers langages = “he well knew, understood them perfectly.”
p. 3, l. [68]. dromonde : poundis. Read dromounde (which occurs l. 125): pounde (see l. 2336). [‹p099›]
p. 3, l. [69]. We find fro and from in this poem. Both belong to the Midland dialect. Fro is confirmed by the rhyme fro : so (l. 2760). It is derived from the Scandinavian fra; Mod. Eng. has retained it in “froward,” and in the phrase “to and fro.” The same word enters as a prefix into composition in O.E. compounds, as fr-ettan, etc. Babyloyne, the author pronounced Babyloyne as well as Babylone (either rhyming, cf. ll. 30, 3260).
p. 3, l. [74]. qweynte, “famous, excellent,” cf. Skeat, Etymol. Dict. p. 482, s. v. quaint. for the nones, “for the nonce, for the occasion.” Cf. Zupitza’s note to Guy, 612; it is often used as a kind of expletive.