10. Yern: Shrill, lively; German, “gern,” willingly, cheerfully.

11. Braket: bragget, a sweet drink made of honey, spices, &c.

In some parts of the country, a drink made from honeycomb,

after the honey is extracted, is still called “bragwort.”

12. Piggesnie: a fond term, like “my duck;” from Anglo-Saxon,

“piga,” a young maid; but Tyrwhitt associates it with the Latin,

“ocellus,” little eye, a fondling term, and suggests that the “pigs-

eye,” which is very small, was applied in the same sense.

Davenport and Butler both use the word pigsnie, the first for

“darling,” the second literally for “eye;” and Bishop Gardner,

“On True Obedience,” in his address to the reader, says: “How

softly she was wont to chirpe him under the chin, and kiss him;

how prettily she could talk to him (how doth my sweet heart,

what saith now pig’s-eye).”

The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems · 第 56 / 425 题