26. The old physicians held that blood dominated in the human
body late at night and in the early morning. Galen says that the
domination lasts for seven hours.
27. Fumosity: fumes of wine rising from the stomach to the
head.
28. Fremde: foreign, strange; German, “fremd” in the northern
dialects, “frem,” or “fremmed,” is used in the same sense.
29. Leden: Language, dialect; from Anglo-Saxon, “leden” or
“laeden,” a corruption from “Latin.”
30. Tercelet: the “tassel,” or male of any species of hawk; so
called, according to Cotgrave, because he is one third (“tiers”)
smaller than the female.
31. “And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the
one Adah, and the name of the other Zillah” (Gen. iv. 19).
32. Galoche: shoe; it seems to have been used in France, of a
“sabot,” or wooden shoe. The reader cannot fail to recall the
same illustration in John i. 27, where the Baptist says of Christ:
“He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me; whose
shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.”
33. Byleve; stay; another form is “bleve;” from Anglo-Saxon,
“belitan,” to remain. Compare German, “bleiben.”
34. This sentiment, as well as the illustration of the bird which
follows, is taken from the third book of Boethius, “De
Consolatione Philosophiae,” metrum 2. It has thus been
rendered in Chaucer’s translation: “All things seek aye to their
proper course, and all things rejoice on their returning again to
their nature.”
35. Men love of proper kind newfangleness: Men, by their own
— their very — nature, are fond of novelty, and prone to
inconstancy.
36. Blue was the colour of truth, as green was that of
inconstancy. In John Stowe’s additions to Chaucer’s works,
printed in 1561, there is “A balade whiche Chaucer made
against women inconstaunt,” of which the refrain is, “In stead of
blue, thus may ye wear all green.”
37. Unless we suppose this to be a namesake of the Camballo
who was Canace’s brother — which is not at all probable — we
must agree with Tyrwhitt that there is a mistake here; which no
doubt Chaucer would have rectified, if the tale had not been
“left half-told,” One manuscript reads “Caballo;” and though not
much authority need be given to a difference that may be due to
mere omission of the mark of contraction over the “a,” there is
enough in the text to show that another person than the king’s
younger son is intended. The Squire promises to tell the
adventures that befell each member of Cambuscan’s family; and
in thorough consistency with this plan, and with the canons of
chivalric story, would be “the marriage of Canace to some
knight who was first obliged to fight for her with her two
brethren; a method of courtship,” adds Tyrwhitt, “very
consonant to the spirit of ancient chivalry.”
38. (Trancriber’s note) In some manuscripts the following two
lines, being the beginning of the third part, are found: -
Apollo whirleth up his chair so high,
Till that Mercurius’ house, the sly…