[351]. merkes of merchauntes. Their ciphers or badges painted in the windows. For examples, see the note in Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. ii, p. 98, last edition.
[481]. euelles. Perhaps for evel-les, i. e. without evil.
[534]. the Austyns. The Austin Friars, or Friars Eremites of the order of St. Augustine, came into England about the year 1250. Before the end of the fourteenth century they possessed a great number of houses in this island.
[566]. the foure ordres. The four principal orders of Mendicant Friars. See [note] on the Vision, l. 116.
[721]. harkne at Herdforthe. This appears to be an allusion to some event which had recently occurred among the Franciscans at Hertford, or at Hereford: if the latter, perhaps they had been active in the persecution of Walter Brut. [See below], l. 1309.
[745]. than ther lefte in Lucifere. Than there existed in Lucifer, before his fall. See before, the [note] on l. 681 of the Vision.
[771]. couuen. Probably an error of the old printed edition for connen.
[869]. lath. Perhaps an error of the printer of the first edition for lay.
[911]. Matth. vii, 15.
[913]. werwolves. People who had the power of turning themselves into, or were turned into, wolves. This fearful superstition, which is very ancient, was extremely prevalent in the middle ages. In French they were called Loup-garous. The history of a personage of this kind forms the subject of the Lai de Bisclaveret, by Marie de France. Sir Frederick Madden has published a very remarkable Early-English metrical romance on the subject of "William and the Werwolf." See on this superstition Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie, pp. 620-622.