8. Under the yarde: under the rod; in pupillage; a phrase
properly used of children, but employed by the Clerk in the
prologue to his tale. See note 1 to the Prologue to the Clerk’s
Tale.
9. Genelon, Ganelon, or Ganilion; one of Charlemagne’s
officers, whose treachery was the cause of the disastrous defeat
of the Christians by the Saracens at Roncevalles; he was torn to
pieces by four horses.
10. Elenge: From French, “eloigner,” to remove; it may mean
either the lonely, cheerless condition of the priest, or the strange
behaviour of the merchant in leaving him to himself.
11. Make a chevisance: raise money by means of a borrowing
agreement; from French, “achever,” to finish; the general
meaning of the word is a bargain, an agreement.