[1] _Speke, Parrot_] From the ed. by Lant of _Certayne bokes compyled
by mayster Skelton, &c._, n. d., collated with the same work ed. Kynge
and Marche, n. d., and ed. Day, n. d.; with Marshe’s ed. of Skelton’s
_Workes_, 1568; and with a MS. in the Harleian Collection, 2252. fol.
133, which has supplied much not given in the printed copies, and placed
between brackets in the present edition. The marginal notes are found
only in MS.
[2] _The boke, &c.... Speake, Parrot_] So Marshe’s ed. Not in other eds.
[3] _recipit_] MS. “_recepit_.” The next two lines are given very
inaccurately here in MS., but are repeated (with a slight variation)
more correctly at the end of the poem. The Latin portions of the MS.
are generally of ludicrous incorrectness, the transcriber evidently not
having understood that language.
[4] _Lucanus_] See _Phar._ iii. 256. But the line here quoted is from
Boethii _Consol. Phil._ lib. v. met. 1.
[5] _wonderous_] So other eds. Lant’s ed. “wonderuos.”
[6] _to greate ladyes_] MS. “_to_ grece to lordes.”
[7] _ful mekely with many a diuers_] MS. “_full_ meryly _with many
dyuors_.”
[8] _a_] MS. “and _a_.”
[9] _my_] MS. “and _my_.”
[10] _a_] So MS. Eds. “the.”
[11] _dicere_] MS. (which alone has these marginal notes) “_dictorem:_”
the whole runs in Martial thus:
“_Psittacus a vobis aliorum nomina_ discam:
_Hoc didici per me dicere, Cæsar, ave_.”
xiv. 73.
[12] _this_] Ed. of Kynge and Marche, “thie.”
[13] _your_] MS. “ower.”—In this line a friend would read “muie;” but MS.
has “mewte.”
[14] _Ebrew, Araby, and Caldey_] MS. “_Ebrue and_ in _Caldee_.”
[15] _Dowse_] Other eds. “Howse.” MS. “Dowche.”
[16] _can supple_] MS. “_can_ shewe propyrlye.”
[17] _Henry_] MS. “herry.”
[18] _ryall_] Other eds. and MS. (with various spelling) “roial.”
[19] _saves_] So MS. Eds. “_sauies:_”—“_habler_” ought to be “_hablar_;”
but throughout this work I have not altered the spelling of quotations in
_modern_ languages, because probably Skelton wrote them inaccurately.
[20] _fidasso de cosso_] So MS. Eds. of Lant, and of Kynge and Marche,
“sidasso _de cosso_.” Eds. of Day, and of Marshe, “sidasso _de_ costo.”
See notes.
[21] _expers_] Not in MS.
[22] _dictes ar_] Other eds. “dices at.”
[23] _Souentez foys, &c._] This line found only in Lant’s ed. and MS. The
latter has “_Souentem_,” (or “_Sonentem_,”) &c.
[24] _pronuntio_] Probably not the right reading. The MS. seems to have
either “pō sio” or “pō fio.”
[25] _maystres_] Other eds. “maysters” and “maisters.”
[26] _I_] MS. “he.”
[27] _mory_] MS. “mery:” but the context seems to confirm the other
reading.
[28] _men_] MS. “mad.”
[29] _for_] Other eds. “sor” and “or.”
[30] _theyr doth_] MS. “ys the.”
[31] _Myden_] So MS. Eds. “_Niden_.”
[32] _Greke_] MS. “grekys.”
[33] _Besy, besy, &c._] Instead of this stanza, MS. has,—
“_Besy, besy, besy, and Besynes agayne_
_Thus parott dothe pray yow with herte moste tentyr,” &c._
omitting what occurs between the first of these lines and the second (p.
11) in eds.
[34] _maturato_] Other eds. “_marturato_.”
[35] _sanno_] Marshe’s ed. “_saung_.”
[36] _Iobab_] Eds. of Day, and Marshe, “Iob.” See notes.
[37] _Hus_] Ed. of Kynge and Marche, “Pus.”
[38] _cause_] Eds. of Day, and Marshe, “law.”
[39] _Popering_] Other eds. “popeting.”
[40] _whynnymeg_] Other eds. (with various spelling) “whynnynmeg.”
[41] _wald haue e_] Other eds. “would (and “wold”) _haue_ a:” but the
reading of Lant’s ed. seems to have been intended for Scotch.
[42] _bagpype_] So other eds. (with various spelling). Lant’s ed.
“Bagbyte.”
[43] _the_] Not in other eds.
[44] _erstrych_] So other eds. Lant’s ed. “exstrych.”
[45] _Thomasen_] Marshe’s ed. “thomase.”
[46] _sayth_] Other eds. “say.”
[47] _Irysh_] Marshe’s ed. “trysh.”
[48] _Wrig wrag_] Eds. of Day, and Marshe, “_wrig_ wag.”
[49] _Delarag_] Other eds. “declarag.”
[50] _crop_] Other eds. “cryp” and “crip.”
[51] _Og, that fat hog of_] Other eds. “hog _that fat hog_ or.”
[52] _Cananæorum_] Eds. “canaueorum.”
[53] _Hough ho he rulyth_] Day’s ed. “_hough he ruleth_.” Marshe’s ed.
“_hough ho ruleth_.”
[54] _chiromancy_] So Marshe’s ed. Other eds. “ciromancy.”
[55] _on_] Other eds. “of.”
[56] _they_] Qy. “ye” here—or “they” in the three preceding lines?
[57] _scrape_] Eds. of Kynge and Marche, and of Day, “scape.”
[58] _non, or non_] Lant’s ed. “_non or_ uou.” Other eds. “uou _or_ uou.”
[59] _Græce fari_] Eds. of Day, and Marshe, “_grecisari_.”
[60] _Tryuyals_] Eds. of Day, and Marshe, “Triuiale.”
[61] _the_] Eds. of Day, and Marshe, “that.”
[62] _roufled_] Eds. of Day, and Marshe, “roulled.”
[63] _Menanders_] See notes.
[64] _Plauti_] Lant’s ed. “Plautfi.” Other eds. “Plaut si.”
[65] _Declamacyons_] Eds. (with various spelling) “declaracyons.” See
_ante_ p. 374, note 5.
[66] _gariopholo_] See notes.
[67] _pleris cum musco_] Ed. of Kynge and Marche, “_pleris_ com _musco_.”
Eds. of Day, and Marshe, “_pleris_ commusco.” Instead of “_pleris_,” the
Rev. J. Mitford proposes “flarnis” (_species placentæ_).
[68] _Elencticum_] Eds. “_Elencum_.”
[69] _enthymematicum_] Eds. “_Emtimematicum_” and “_Emtimaticum_.”
[70] _Retoricyons_] Other eds. “_Retorcions_.”
[71] _my_] Other eds. “myne” and “mine.”
[72] _dere_] Not in eds. of Day, and Marshe.
[73] _the_] Other eds. “that.”
[74] _ryall_] Eds. of Day, and Marshe, (with various spelling), “royall.”
[75] _now_] Not in MS.
[76] _Itaque consolamini invicem in verbis istis, &c._] “&c.” not in eds.
of Day, and Marshe. MS. “_Itaque consolamyni in verbis_ istibus.” Before
these words eds. have “_Galathea_,” which MS. rightly, I think, omits.
[77] _Candidi lectores, callide callete; vestrum fovete Psittacum, &c._]
Eds. of Day, and Marshe, “—— seuete _psitacum_,” omitting “&c.” MS. omits
this passage here, but gives it after the words with which the eds.
of _Speke, Parrot_ conclude (see p. 14), having “callige” instead of
“_callete_,” and wanting “&c.”
[78] _Hic occurrat, &c._] Was no doubt intended for a marginal note,
though in MS. (it is wanting in eds.) it is not clearly distinguished
from the text.
[79] _In ista cantilena, &c._] Grossly corrupted. The Rev. J. Mitford
proposes “_ore stillanti_.” MS. has “_eperit_.”
[80] _Quod_] MS. “Quid.”
[81] _Est mihi lasciva pagina, vita proba_] “_Lasciva est nobis pagina,
vita proba est._” _Ep._ i. 5.
[82] _Zoe kai psyche ... desuper_] Is plainly a marginal note, though in
MS. (it is not in eds.) it is placed after “_Concumbunt Græce_,” &c.
[83] _kus, kus, kus_] MS. “_kus, kus._”
[84] _lyght on thy swete lyttyll_] MS. “lyghten _thy lytyll swete_.”
[85] _Zoe kai psyche_] Eds. “_zoelzepsiche_;” and so MS., with slight
variation of spelling: the Latin which precedes shews the true reading.
These words are followed in eds. by “Amen;” which MS. rightly gives a
little after.
[86] _Aquinates_] Has crept into the text in eds., and is not clearly
distinguished from the text in MS. But it is certainly a marginal
note—meaning Juvenal, from whom “_Concumbunt Græce_,” &c. is quoted: see
_Sat._ vi. 191.
[87] _Concumbunt_] Other eds. “_Concubunt._”
[88] _Sua consequentia, &c._] Another marginal note (not in eds.) which
MS. does not clearly distinguish from the text.
[89] _Ergo_] Not in MS.
[90] _Attica_] So MS. Eds. “_Actica._”
[91] _Sunt_] So MS. Eds. “_Suus._”
[92] _Vel_] MS. “_Ve_.”
[93] _hæc_] So MS. Eds. “_hoc_.”
[94] _Urania_] Eds. of Day, and Marshe, “_Vxania_.”
[95] _Amen, Amen_] Occurs twice in MS. by a mistake of the transcriber.
[96] _to_] Not in MS.
[97] _Cum cæteris paribus_] After these words, MS. has the passage
“_Candidi lectores ... fovete Psittacum_,” which has been already given:
see p. 11.
[98] _Morda_] So MS. afterwards: here “_Merda_.”
[99] _stede_] MS. “spede.”
[100] _Psittace, perge_] MS. “_Psitago perage_.”
[101] _Morda_] So MS. afterwards: here “_Merda_.”
[102] _Parrot[e]_ Must be considered here as a Latin word, and a
trisyllable—u.
[103] _perlys_] MS. “prelys.”
[104] _volitans_] MS. “_vtilans_”—not, I think, a mistake for
“_rutilans_:” compare _ante_, “Psittace, perge, _volans_,” p. 16, and “I,
properans, Parrot,” p. 17.
[105] _notus_] Qy. “_motus_?” but I have no idea what these two lines
mean.
[106] _complayndre_] MS. “_complayndra._”
[107] _polorum_] MS. “_populorum._”
[108] _lowre_] Qy. “lowte?”
[109] _sophysms_] MS. “sophyns.”
[110] _many_] MS. “_many_ many.”
[111] _perfyte_] MS. “profyte.”
[112] _the world_] MS. “_the world_ the world.”
[113] _revelyng_] So MS. _literatim_,—meant for “ruelyng” (ruling).
[114] _ffylty gorgon_] MS. seems to have “ffyltyrͬgogon,”—the _r_ in the
word (apparently) having been drawn through, and another _r_ placed over
it, which, I suppose, ought to have stood above the _og_.
HERE AFTER FOLOWETH A LYTELL BOKE,[115] WHICHE HATH TO NAME WHY COME YE
NAT[116] TO COURTE?