[1] See Rot. Claus. 3 Edw. I., and Kirkpatrick's History of Religious
Orders in Norwich, pp. 109, 113. (The Athenæum, Nov. 25, 1876; p. 688.)
[2] Rolls of Parliament, i. 234, 448.
[3] For authorities, see Riley's Memorials of London, pp. xxxiii, xxxiv.
[4] See The Athenæum, Nov. 19, 1893, p. 704.
[5] Life-Records of Chaucer (Chaucer Soc.), p. 128; The Athenæum, Jan. 29,
1881, p.165. From membrane 17 of the Fine Roll, 4 Edw. II.; Parliamentary
Writs, vol. ii. pt. 2. p. 30.
[6] The same, p. 126; from mem. 13 of the Coram Rege Roll of Hilary, 19
Edw. II. (1326).
[7] Riley, Mem. London, p. xxxiii.
[8] From Richard Chaucer's will (below); see p. xiv.
[9] Inferred from law-proceedings (below); and cf. note 5, above. Thomas
Stace was appointed collector of customs on wine at Ipswich in 1310; Parl.
Writs, vol. ii. pt. 2.
[10] Thomas Heyroun, by his will dated April 7, 1349, and proved in the
Hustings Court of the City of London, appointed his brother [i. e. his
half-brother], John Chaucer, as his executor. In July of the same year,
John Chaucer, by the description of 'citizen and vintner, executor of the
will of my brother Thomas Heyroun,' executed a deed relating to some lands.
See Morris's Chaucer, i. 93, or Nicolas, Life of Chaucer, Note A; from the
Records of the Hustings Court, 23 Edw. III.
[11] In December, 1324, Richard and Mary Chaucer declared that they had
'remained in full and peaceful possession of the said wardship [of John
Chaucer] for a long while, namely, _for one year_.' See Life-Records (as in
note 5), p. 126.
[12] Riley, Mem. London, p. xxxiii.
[13] Placitorum Abbreviatio, temp. Ric. I.--Edw. II., 1811; p. 354, col. 2;
The Athenæum, Jan. 29, 1881, p. 165.
[14] I. e. Laurence, the man of Geoffrey Stace.
[15] They did not really succeed in this; it was disproved.
[16] As they were trying to make out a case, it is clear that John Chaucer
was still _just under twelve_ on Dec. 3, 1324, when they abducted him.
[17] Rolls of Parliament, ii. 14. Mr. Rye prints 'nulson' in place of
'unkore.'
[18] See the Calendar of Wills in the Hustings Court, by R.R. Sharpe, vol.
i. p. 591.
[19] Here Sir H. Nicolas inserts '13th of July,' which I do not understand.
His own Chronology of History correctly tells us that the day of St. Thomas
the Martyr is Dec. 29, which in 1349 fell on Tuesday. The Monday after it
was Jan. 4, 1350; the 23rd year of Edw. III. ended Jan. 24, 1350.
[20] Hustings Roll, Guildhall; see The Athenæum, Dec. 13, 1873, p. 772; The
Academy, Oct. 13, 1877, p. 364. The joint names of John and Agnes Chaucer
occur in 1354, and later, in 1363 and 1366.
[21] See below, under the date 1381; and The Athenæum, Nov. 29, 1873, p.
698; Dec. 13, 1873, p. 772.
[22] Timbs, Curiosities of London, p. 815.
[23] See a document printed in full in The Academy, Oct. 13, 1877, p. 364.
[24] Rymer's Foedera, vol. ii. pt. iv. p. 23.
[25] Original Writs of Privy Seal in the Rolls House (Nicolas).
[26] Riley; Memorials of London, p. xxxiii.
[27] See The Athenæum, Dec. 13, 1873, p. 772; Nov. 19, 1892, p. 704; and
The Academy, Oct. 13, 1877, p. 364. Perhaps his father's death enabled
Chaucer to marry; he was married in 1366, or earlier.
[28] 'Bartholomeus atte chapel, ciuis et vinitarius Londinie, et Agnes,
uxor eius, ac uxor quondam Johannis Chaucer, nuper ciuis et vinitarii dicte
ciuitatis.'--Communicated to The Academy (as in note 27) by W. D. Selby.
[29] It is needless to multiply instances. Dante speaks of 35 years as
being 'the middle of life's journey'; and Jean de Meun (Le Testament, ed.
Méon, iv. 9) says that a man flourishes till he is 30 or 40 years old;
after which he does nothing but languish (ne fait que langorir).
[30] Life-Records of Chaucer, p. 97 (Chaucer Soc.); Fortnightly Review,
Aug. 15, 1866.
[31] Johnes, tr. of Froissart, bk. i. c. 206.
[32] The same, c. 207.
[33] Certainly not Retiers, near Rennes, in Brittany, more than 200 miles
on the other side of Paris, as suggested by Sir H. Nicolas. Froissart
mentions 'Rhetel' expressly. 'Detachments from the [English] army scoured
the country.... Some of them went over the whole country of Rhetel;' bk. i.
c. 208.
[34] The Athenæum, Nov. 22, 1873; p. 663. From the Wardrobe Book, 63/9, in
the Record Office.
[35] He was lodging at Guillon, in Burgundy, from Ash-Wednesday (Feb. 18)
until Mid-lent (March 12); Fr. bk. i. c. 210.
[36] This is well worth notice; it shews that it took several days to
travel to Canterbury, even for a king who was anxious to return to his own
land. In Froissart, bk. iv. c. 118, is an account of two knights who
stopped at the same places. See Temp. Preface to the Cant. Tales, by F. J.
Furnivall, p. 129.
[37] Johnes, tr. of Froissart, bk. i. c. 213.
[38] Johnes, tr. of Froissart, bk. i. c. 213. The Wyf of Bathe (see Cant.
Tales, Prol. 465) once went on a pilgrimage to Boulogne. Chaucer probably
did the same, viz. in the last week of October, 1360.
[39] Exchequer, Q. R. Wardrobe Accounts, 39/10; Life-Records, p. xvii.
[40] Rot. Pat. 40 Edw. III. p. 2, membrane 30. The title 'domicella
camerae' implies that she was married; N. and Q., 8 S., iii. 355.
[41] Issue Rolls of the Exchequer, Mich., 42 Edw. III.; Nicolas, Note DD.
[42] This exception is incorrect. In the Issue Roll of Thomas de
Brantingham, (for 1370), p. 359, it is noted that Philippa Chaucer received
10 marks (i. e. for the whole year), on Nov. 7, 1370.
[43] Here Nicolas inserts 'like herself'; this assumes her identity with
'Philippe Chausy,' which seems to be right; see p. xxi.
[44] Issue Rolls of the Exchequer; Roll for Easter, 10 Ric. II.; Issue
Roll, Mich., 44 Edw. III.; ed. Devon, 1835; p. 359.
[45] Writ of Privy Seal, dated March 10, 43 Edw. III., 1369. It mentions
Philippa Chaucer, 'damoiselle,' and Philippa Pykart, 'veilleresse.' See
Nicolas, life of Chaucer, Note EE.
[46] The Athenæum, Nov. 22, 1873; p. 663.
[47] Register of John of Gaunt, vol. i. fol. 159_b_; Notes and Queries, 7
Ser., v. 289; Trial-Forewords, p. 129.
[48] The same, vol. i. fol. 195_b_; N. and Q., 7 S., v. 289.
[49] The same, fol. 90; N. and Q. (as above).
[50] Issue Roll, Easter, 50 Edw. III.; N. and Q. (as in note 48).
[51] Register of John of Gaunt, vol. ii. foll. 33_b_, 49, 61; Nicolas, Note
DD.
[52] Issue Roll, Mich., 8 Ric II., Sept. 20.
[53] Rymer's Foedera, new ed.; vol. iii. p. 829. (G.)
[54] Issue Rolls of the Exchequer; Michaelmas, 42 Edw. III. (1367); Easter,
42 Edw. III. (1368); see Nicolas, Notes B and C. On Nov. 6, 1367, it is
expressly noted that he received his pension himself (per manus proprias).
[55] Issue Rolls; Michaelmas, 43 Edw. III. (Nicolas.)
[56] Rymer's Foedera; vol. iii. p. 845. The names of many of those who
accompanied the Duke are printed in the same volume, pp. 842-4; but the
name of Chaucer is not among them.
[57] The Athenæum, Nov. 29, 1873; p. 698. Exch. L. T. R. Wardrobe, 43 Edw.
III. Box A. no. 8. (Ch. Soc., Trial-Forewords, p. 129).
[58] Exch. Q. R. Wardrobe, 64/3; leaf 16, back. See The Athenæum, Nov. 22,
1873, p. 663. A similar entry occurs in 1372; and again in 1373.
[59] Exch. Q. R. Wardrobe, 40/9. (Ch. Soc., Trial-Forewords, p. 129).
[60] Rot. Pat. 44 Edw. III. p. 2. m. 20. (G.)
[61] Issue Rolls of Thomas de Brantingham, 44 Edw. III., ed. F. Devon,
1835; p. 289.
[62] The same; p. 19.
[63] Issue Rolls, 45-47 Edw. III.
[64] The Athenæum, Nov. 22, 1873; p. 663.
[65] Rot. Franc. 46 Edw. III. m. 8. (G.) See Rymer's Foedera, new edition,
vol. iii. p. 964.
[66] Issue Roll, Michaelmas, 47 Edw. III., 1373. See Nicolas, Note D. In
this document Chaucer is called 'armiger.'
[67] Issue Roll, Michaelmas, 48 Edw. III., 1374. See Nicolas, Note E. The
Foreign Accounts, 47 Edw. III. roll 3, include Chaucer's accounts for this
journey from Dec. 1, 1372, to May 23, 1373.
[68] The same.
[69] Much of Sir H. Nicolas's argument against this reasonable supposition
is founded on the assertion that Chaucer was 'not acquainted with Italian';
which is now known to be the reverse of the truth. He even urges that not a
single Italian word occurs in Chaucer's writings, whereas it would have
been absurd for him to use words which his readers could not understand.
Nevertheless, we find mention of a '_ducat_ in Venyse'; Ho. Fame, 1348.
[70] Rot. Pat., 48 Edw. III., p. i. m. 20. (G.) See Rymer's Foedera, new
ed. vol. iii. p. 1001.
[71] Writ of Privy Seal (in French); 18 Apr. 1 Ric. II. (1378); see
Nicolas, Note K.
[72] Memorials of London, ed. Riley, p. 377. See § 26 below, p. xxxviii.
[73] Rot. Pat., 48 Edw. III., p. 1. m. 7, in Turri Londinensi; see Foedera,
new ed. vol. iii. p. 1004. (G.)
[74] Rot. Pat., 49 Edw. III., p. 2. m. 8.
[75] Calendarium Inquisitionum post Mortem, 46 Edw. III. no. 58.
[76] Rot. Claus., 1 Ric. II., m. 45. (G.) The petition, in French, is
printed in full in Liber Custumarum, ed. Riley, ii. 466.
[77] Rot. Pat. 49 Edw. III., p. 2. m. 4. (G.) Calend. Inquis. post Mortem,
49 Edw. III., part 2, no. 40. A solidate of land is supposed to be a
quantity of land (Blount suggests 12 acres) yielding 1s. of yearly rent.
_Sole_ means 'a pond'; see Pegge's Kenticisms. Soles is the name of a manor
in Bonnington, not far from Chillenden, about half-way between Canterbury
and Deal.
[78] Issue Roll, Mich., 50 Edw. III.
[79] Receiver's Accounts in the Office of the Duchy of Lancaster, from
Mich. 1376 to Mich. 1377; see Nicolas, Note F.
[80] Rot. Pat., 50 Edw. III., p. i. m. 5. (G.)
[81] Issue Roll, Mich., 51 Edw. III.; see Nicolas, Note G.
[82] Rot. Franc., 51 Edw. III., m. 7. (G.)
[83] Issue Roll, Mich., 51 Edw. III.; see Nicolas, Note H.
[84] Issue Roll, Easter, 51 Edw. III.; Nicolas, Note I; Trial-Forewords, p.
131.
[85] Rymer's Foedera, new ed., vol. iii. p. 1073 (in French).
[86] The same, p. 1076 (in French).
[87] Rot. Franc., 51 Edw III., m. 5. (G.)
[88] Issue Roll, Easter, 51 Edw. III. 'Galfrido Chaucer armigero regis
misso in nuncium in secretis negociis domini Regis versus partes Francie.'
See Nicolas, Note I.
[89] In 1377, Easter fell on March 29, Ash Wednesday on Feb. 11, and Shrove
Tuesday on Feb. 10.
[90] Wardrobe Accounts of 50 and 51 Edw. III. (Nicolas).
[91] The same.
[92] Rymer's Foedera, vol. vii. p. 184.
[93] Fine Roll, 1 Ric. II., pt. 2. m. 11; Athenæum, May 26, 1888, p. 661.
[94] This appears from the Patent of May 1, 1388, by which Chaucer's
pensions were assigned to John Scalby; see Rot. Pat., 11 Ric. II., pt. 2.
m. 1.
[95] Rot. Pat., 11 Ric. II., pt. 2. m. 1 (as in the last note); Writ of
Privy Seal (in French), Apr. 18, 1 Ric. II. (see Nicolas, Note K); Issue
Roll, Easter, 1 Ric. II. (May 14; see Nicolas, Note L).
[96] Issue Roll, Easter, 1 Ric. II., (as above).
[97] Rot. Franc., 1 Ric. II., pt. 2. m. 6.
[98] The same; see Nicolas, Note M.
[99] Issue Roll, Easter, 1 Ric. II.; Trial-Forewords, p. 131; Nicolas, Note
L.
[100] Issue Roll, Mich., 2 Ric. II.; see Nicolas, Note N.
[101] Issue Roll, Easter, 2 Ric. II.; see Nicolas, Note O.
[102] Issue Roll, Mich. 3 Ric. II.; see Nicolas, Note P.
[103] The same; Easter, 3 Ric. II.; see the same, Note Q.
[104] The same; 4 Ric. II.; see the same, Note R.
[105] The Athenæum, Nov. 29, 1873, p. 698. From the Close Roll of 3 Ric.
II. And see the whole matter discussed at length in Trial-Forewords, pp.
136-144 (Ch. Soc.).
[106] Issue Roll, 4 Ric. II.; see Nicolas, Note R; Devon's Issues of the
Exchequer, 1837, p. 315.
[107] Godwin's Life of Chaucer, iv. 284.
[108] Thynne's Animadversions, &c., ed. F. J. Furnivall, p. 12, note 2; cf.
The Athenæum, Nov. 29, 1873, p. 698.
[109] Issue Roll, Mich., 5 Ric. II.; see Notes and Queries, 3rd Ser. viii.
367.
[110] Rot. Pat., 5 Ric. II., pt. 2. m. 15. (G.)
[111] For these payments, see Issue Roll, Easter, 5 Ric. II.; in Notes and
Queries, 3rd Ser. viii. 367.
[112] Issue Rolls, Easter, 5 and 6 Ric. II.; see N. and Q. (as above).
[113] Issue Roll, Mich., 7 Ric. II.; _ib._ It was usual to make up accounts
at Michaelmas; which may explain 'the year late elapsed.'
[114] Issue Roll, Easter, 7 Ric. II.; _ib._
[115] Rot. Claus., 8 Ric. II., m. 30. (G.)
[116] Notes and Queries, 3 S. viii. 368; The Athenæum, Apr. 14, 1888; p.
468.
[117] The Athenæum, Jan. 28, 1888; p. 116.
[118] Rot. Pat., 8 Ric. II., p. 2. m. 31. (G.)
[119] Issue Roll, Easter, 8 Ric. II.; see Notes and Queries, 3rd Ser. viii.
368.
[120] 'Ful ofte tyme he was knight of the shire'; Cant. Ta., A 356. It was
usual, but not necessary, for such knights to reside within their county
(Nicolas, Note S).
[121] Rot. Claus., 10 Ric. II., m. 16 d.
[122] See Annals of England, Oxford, 1876; p. 206. Sir Nicholas Brembre had
been Lord Mayor of London for the three preceding years, 1383-5.
[123] Printed in Godwin's Life of Chaucer; in The Scrope and Grosvenor
Roll, ed. Nicolas, i. 178; and in Moxon's Chaucer, p. xiii.
[124] An error for Rethel, near Rheims; see above, footnote 33.
[125] Letter-book in the Guildhall, discovered by Prof. Hales; see The
Academy, Dec. 6, 1879, p. 410, and Hales, Folia Litteraria, p. 87. In
Riley's Memorials of London, p. 469, is recorded a resolution by the
corporation to let no more houses situated over a city-gate.
[126] Rot. Pat., 10 Ric. II., p. 1. m. 5 and m. 9. Perhaps this new
Controller was a descendant of the Henry Gisors who was Sheriff of London
in 1328.
[127] It was once a fashion to ascribe his misfortunes to the part he was
supposed to have taken with respect to a quarrel in 1384 between the court
party and the citizens of London regarding John of Northampton, who had
been Mayor in 1382. There is no evidence whatever to shew that Chaucer had
anything to do with it, beyond an unauthorised and perhaps false
interpretation of certain obscure passages in a piece called _The Testament
of Love_, which (as is now known) he certainly did not write!
[128] Issue Roll, Easter, 10 Ric. II.
[129] Issue Rolls, Easter, 10 Ric. II.; Mich, and Easter, 11 Ric. II.
[130] Rot. Pat., 11 Ric. II., p. 2. m. 1. (G.) Nicolas remarks that a John
Scalby, of Scarborough in Yorkshire, was one of the persons of that town
who were excepted from the king's pardon for insurrection in October, 1382;
Rot. Parl. vol. iii. p. 136. (Scalby is the name of a village near
Scarborough.)
[131] Cf. 'at Eltham or at Shene'; Leg. Good Women, 497; but this passage
is of an earlier date.
[132] Rot. Pat., 13 Ric. II., p. 1. m. 30. (G.)
[133] The Athenæum, Jan. 28, 1888; p. 116; Trial-Forewords, p. 133.
[134] Originalia, 13 Ric. II, m. 30; Trial-Forewords, p. 133.
[135] The Athenæum, Feb. 7, 1874; p. 196.
[136] Collinson, Hist, of Somersetshire, iii. 54-74; The Athenæum, Nov. 20,
1886, p. 672; Life-Records (Chaucer Soc.), p. 117.
[137] Rot. Pat., 14 Ric. II., m. 33; Issue Roll, Easter, 13 Ric. II. (G.);
Trial-Forewords, p. 133.
[138] The Athenæum, Feb. 7 and 14, 1874, pp. 196, 227; Life-Records (Ch.
Soc.), p. 5.
[139] Rot. Pat., 14 Ric. II., p. 2. m. 24: 'quem dilectus serviens noster
Galfridus Chaucer clericus operationum nostrarum sub se deputavit'; &c.
'Clericus' is here literal; 'clerk' of the works.
[140] Afterwards Sheriff of London, viz. in 1417-8 (Fabyan).
[141] Archæologia, vol. xxxiv. 45.
[142] Rot. Pat., 15 Ric. II., p. 1, m. 27; see Godwin, Life of Chaucer, iv.
67.
[143] Issue Rolls, Mich. and Easter, 15 Ric. II.; and Easter, 16 Ric. II.
[144] Rot. Pat., 17 Ric. II., pt. 2. m. 35; printed in full in Godwin's
Life of Chaucer, and again in Furnivall's Trial-Forewords to the Minor
Poems, p. 26.
[145] Issue Roll, Mich., 18 Ric. II.; see Nicolas, Note U.
[146] Issue Rolls, Mich. and Easter, 18 Ric. II., and Mich., 19 Ric. II.;
see Nicolas, Notes U, V, and W.
[147] Rot. Claus., 19 Ric. II. m. 8 d.
[148] Issue Roll, Mich., 21 Ric. II. See Nicolas, Note X.
[149] Issue Roll, Mich., 21 Ric. II. See Nicolas, Note X.
[150] The Athenæum, Sept. 13, 1879; p. 338.
[151] Rot. Pat., 21 Ric. II., p. 3. m. 26. (G.)
[152] Issue Roll, Easter, 21 Ric. II. See Nicolas, Note Y.
[153] The Athenæum, Jan. 28, 1888; p. 116.
[154] Rot. Pat., 22 Ric. I., p. 1. m. 8. (G.)
[155] Issue Roll, Mich., 22 Ric. II.; see Nicolas, Note Z.
[156] Rot. Pat., 1 Hen. IV., p. 1. m. 18; and p. 5. m. 12. (G.)
[157] See Issue Roll, Easter, 1 Hen. IV.; in Nicolas, Note BB.
[158] Godwin, Life of Chaucer, iv. 365, where the document is printed;
Hist. MSS. Commission, i. 95.
[159] Issue Roll, Mich., 1 Hen IV.; see Nicolas, Note AA.
[160] Issue Roll, Easter, 1 Hen. IV.; see Nicolas, Note BB.
[161] Stowe's Survey of London, ed. Thoms, p. 171; Nicolas, Life of
Chaucer.
[162] Rot. Pat., 1 Hen. IV., p. 1. m. 10.
[163] Rot. Pat., 4 Hen. IV., m. 19; Rot. Parl. iv. 178 b.
[164] Rot. Pat., 12 Hen. IV., m. 34.
[165] Rot. Norman., 5 Hen. V., m. 7; ed. 1835, p. 284.
[166] Rot. Parl. vol. iv. p. 35.
[167] Rot. Pat., 12 Hen. IV., m. 7.
[168] It actually begins by quoting two lines from the Knightes Tale, A
1785-6; so it is later than 1386. There is at least one non-Chaucerian
rime, viz. at l. 61, where _gren-e_ (dissyllabic in Chaucer) rimes with the
pp. _been_. See p. 39 below.
[169] The seal has lately been re-examined by experts, after application to
the Record Office by Dr. Furnivall. See Archæologia, xxxiv. 42, where an
engraving of the seal is (inexactly) given, and the deed is printed at
length.
[170] Collinson, Hist. of Somersetshire, iii. 54-74; Life-Records, p. 117.
[171] MS. in Lincoln College, p. 377, quoted in Chalmers' English Poets,
vol. i. p. x; Letter by Prof. Hales to the Athenæum, Mar. 31, 1888; Hales,
Folia Litteraria, p. 109; Lounsbury, Studies, i. 108.
[172] So says Nicolas; 'evidently' means that such is the most likely
explanation. The O. F. _roe_ (Lat. _rota_) means 'a wheel'; and _roet_ is
its diminutive.
[173] She is described as 'the most renowned Lady Katherine de Roelt [error
for Roet or Roett] deceased, late Duchess of Lancaster,' and as having had
'divers inheritances in the county of Hainault,' in Rot. Pat., 13 Hen. IV.,
p. 1. m. 35; see Rymer's Foedera, viii. 704, and the Account of the
Swynford family in the Excerpta Historica, p. 158. Nicolas, Note CC.
[174] This seems to be the sole trace of Sir Payne Roet's existence.
[175] The Testament of Love was greatly relied upon by Godwin and others.
They thence inferred that Chaucer was mixed up with the dispute as to the
appointment of John of Northampton to the mayoralty of London in 1382; that
he was imprisoned; that he fled to Zealand; that he was in exile for two
years; that, on his return, he was sent to the Tower for three years, and
not released till 1389; with more rubbish of the same sort. However, it so
happens that Chaucer did not write this piece (see p. 35, note 4). More
than this, I have lately discovered that the initial letters of the
chapters form an acrostic, which reads thus: MARGARET OF VIRTW, HAVE MERCI
ON TSKNVI. The last word may be an anagram for KITSVN, i. e. Kitson; it is
certainly not an anagram for Chaucer. See my letter in The Academy, Mar.
11, 1893, p. 222.
[176] Sir H. Nicolas says that some have inferred that Chaucer was living
near Oxford in 1391, and refers to Ast. prol. 7, which mentions 'oure
orizonte.' We are not justified in drawing such an inference.
[177] Prof. Lounsbury includes H. F. 995, where the poet declines to be
taught astronomy (under the most uncomfortable circumstances) because he is
'too old.' Any man of thirty (or less) might have said the same; the
passage tells us nothing at all.
[178] Sir H. Nicolas says that, in L. G. W. 189, he alludes to his poem
called The Flower and the Leaf. But that poem is not his, though its title
was doubtless suggested by the expressions which Chaucer there uses.
[179] Mr. Wright printed his text from MS. Reg. D. vi. Dr. Furnivall gives
these passages from MS. Harl. 4866, in his edition of Hoccleve's Minor
Poems, p. xxxi. I give a corrected text, due to a collation of these
copies, with very slight alterations.
[180] _Or_, and lerned lyte or naught (MS. Harl. 4866).
[181] _So_ Harl.; Reg. Of rethoryk fro vs; to Tullius.
[182] _Both_ MSS. _have_ hyer (= higher); _an obvious error for_ heyr (=
heir).
[183] I think not; it is too short. I take it to be a small pen-knife in a
sheath; useful for making erasures. So Todd, Illustrations of Chaucer, s.
v. _Anelace_; Fairholt, on Costume in England, s. v. _Knives_.
[184] I see no reason for placing this after 1372; surely ll. 36-56 (from
Dante) are a later insertion. Observe 'us wrecches' in G. 32, and 'Me
wrecche' in G. 58. These parallel lines must (I think) have once been in
closer proximity.
[185] It is not very likely that he ever _finished_ his translation, when
we consider his frequent habit of leaving his works incomplete, and the
enormous length of the French text (22074 lines in Méon's edition).
[186] By the spelling _malady(e)_, I mean that the word must be pronounced
_malady_ in the text, whereas the Chaucerian form is _malady-ë_ in four
syllables. And so in other cases.
[187] Doubtless the author meant to employ the form _quoynt_ or _coint_;
but Chaucer has _queynt_, Cant. Ta. A 2333, G 752.
[188] _Courtepy_ rimes with _sobrely_; Cant. Ta. prol. 289.
[189] As to _awry_ (or _awry-e_?), we have little evidence beyond the
present passage.
[190] _Enemy_ rimes with _I_, Cant. Ta. A 1643, _royally_, id. 1793; &c.
[191] As it is the natural instinct of many critics to claim for themselves
even small discoveries, I note that this paragraph was written in July,
1891, and that the curious, but not very important fact above announced,
was first noticed by me some three months previously.
[192] The calculation is as follows. A quire of 16 pages, at 24 lines a
page, contains 384 lines. Three such quires contain about 1152 lines,
which, added to 5810 (in A and B), bring us to l. 6962 (say, 6964). In the
fourth quire, if A, B, C, &c., be successive pages, these pages contained
the lines following. A, 6965-6988; B, 6989-7012; C, 7013-36; D, 7037-60; E,
7061-84; F, 7085-7108; G (25 lines), 7109-33; H (25 lines), 7134-7158; I
(25 lines), 7159-7183; K (25 lines), 7184-7208; L, 7209-32; M, 7233-56; N,
7257-80; O, 7281-7304; P, 7305-28; Q, 7329-52.
[193] I have been greatly assisted in this matter by D. Donaldson, Esq.,
who gave me some beautifully executed photographic copies of three pages of
the MS., which I have shewn to many friends, including Mr. Bond and Mr.
Thompson at the British Museum.
[194] The allusion to prince Edward, 'son of the lord of Windsor' (see note
to l. 1250), is not in all the copies; so it may have been added
afterwards. Edward I. was not born till 1239.
[195] Some copies are dated 1814; but I can detect no difference in them,
except that the later copies have an additional frontispiece.
[196] The Legend of Good Women is here meant: and 'xxv.' is certainly an
error for 'xix.'
[197] Printed _separately_ in the present edition, in vol. iii.
[198] Of course I mean that _dy-e_ is the Chaucerian form; the author of
the Lamentation pronounced it differently, viz. as _dy_.
[199] See the excellent treatise by Dr. E. Köppel entitled 'Laurents de
Premierfait und John Lydgates Bearbeitungen von Boccaccios De Casibus
Virorum Illustrium'; München, 1885.
[200] Not Ovid, but Statius; Lydgate makes a slip here; see note to IV.
245.
[201] In Lydgate's Lyfe of St. Albon, ed. Hortsmann, l. 15, this line
appears in the more melodious form--'The golden trumpet of the House of
Fame.'
[202] Hoccleve's poem entitled 'Moder of God' is erroneously attributed to
Chaucer in two Scottish copies (Arch. Seld. B 24, and Edinb. 18. 2. 8). But
it occurs among 16 poems, _all_ by Hoccleve, in a MS. in the collection of
the late Sir Thos. Phillipps, as already noted in § 1 above. A few of these
poems (_not_ including the 'Moder of God') were printed from this MS. in
the edition of some of 'Occleve's Poems' by G. Mason, in 1796.
[203] Printed 'Six couplets'; clearly a slip of the pen.
[204] They are printed in full below, on p. 46.
[205] i. e. the Parliament of Foules.
[206] La Belle Dame sans Merci, a poem translated from the French
originally written by 'Maister Aleyn,' chief secretary to the King of
France. Certainly not by Chaucer; for Alain Chartier, the author of the
original French poem, was only about _four_ years old when Chaucer died.
Moreover, it is now known that the author of the English poem was Sir
Richard Ros. See p. 35, note 2.
[207] All in Caxton's edition of the Minor Poems, described above, p. 27.
[208] Both in the small quarto volume described above, p. 27.
[209] Speght added _three more_ pieces, but they are also found in ed. 1550
and ed. 1542, at the end of the Table of Contents; see below, p. 45, nos.
66-8.
[210] Jack Upland is _in prose_, and in the form of a succession of
questions directed against the friars.
[211] I have often made use of a handy edition with the following
titlepage: 'The Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, with an Essay on his
Language and Versification and an Introductory Discourse, together with
Notes and a Glossary. By Thomas Tyrwhitt. London, Edward Moxon, Dover
Street, 1855.' I cannot but think that this title-page may have misled
others, as it for a long time misled myself. As a fact, Tyrwhitt never
edited anything beyond the Canterbury Tales, though he has left us some
useful notes upon the Minor Poems, and his Glossary covers the whole
ground. The Minor Poems in this edition are merely _reprinted_ from the
black-letter editions.
[212] Probably copies slightly differ. The book described by me is a copy
in my own possession, somewhat torn at the beginning, and imperfect at the
end. But the three missing leaves only refer to Lydgate's _Storie of
Thebes_.
[213] I print _in italics_ the names of the pieces which I reject as
spurious. In the case of _The Romaunt of the Rose_, the first 1705 lines
are genuine; but the rest, which is spurious, is more than three-fourths of
the whole. See p. 1 above.
[214] I. e. the folios are misnumbered. Piece 8 begins with fol. ccxliiii,
which is followed by ccxlvj (_sic_), ccxli (_sic_), ccxli (_repeated_),
ccxlii, and ccxliii; which brings us to 'ccxliiii' over again.
[215] Marked Fol. cclxxvj by mistake.
[216] Nos. 28-30 are in no previous edition.
[217] Stowe did not observe that this had occurred already, in the midst of
poem no. 33.
[218] Miscalled Fol. cccxxxix. Also, the next folio is called cccxlviij.,
after which follows cccxlix., and so on.
[219] In the Preface to Morris's Chaucer, p. x, we are told that the editor
took his copy of this poem from Thynne's edition of 1532. This is an
oversight; for it does not occur there; Stowe's edition is meant.
[220] 'Thomas Occleve mentions it himself, as one of his own compositions,
in a _Dialogue_ which follows his _Complaint_, MS. Bodley 1504.'--Tyrwhitt.
[221] See Political, Religious, and Love Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 52. Cf.
_Englische Studien_, x. 206.
[222] I have found the reference. It is Shirley who says so, in a poetical
'introduction'; see MS. Addit. 16165, fol. 3.
[223] It runs thus:--'Quod loue, I shall tel thee, this lesson to learne,
myne owne true seruaunte, the noble Philosophicall Poete in Englishe, which
euermore hym busieth & trauaileth right sore, my name to encrease,
wherefore all that willen me good, owe to doe him worship and reuerence
both; truly his better ne his pere, in schole of my rules, coud I neuer
finde: He, quod she, in a treatise that he made of my seruaunt Troilus,
hath this matter touched, & at the full this question [_of predestination_]
assoiled. Certainly his noble saiyngs can I not ame_n_d; in goodness of
ge_n_til ma_n_lich spech, without any maner of nicitie of starieres (_sic_)
imaginacion, in wit and in good reason of sentence, he passeth al other
makers'; ed. 1561. (Read _storieres_, story-writer's.)
[224] Hoccleve appeals to St. Margaret, in his Letter of Cupid, st. 6 from
the end. Lydgate wrote 'the Lyfe of St. Margarete.' I have a strong feeling
that the poem is one of Lydgate's. Lines 24-26 seem to be imitated from
Chaucer's Legend of Good Women, ll. 197-9.
[225] I leave this sentence as I wrote it in 1888; shortly afterwards, the
attribution of no. 57 to Chaucer received confirmation from a note in the
Phillipps MS. See p. 75.
[226] There is another copy of The Craft of Lovers in MS. Harl. 2251. It is
there dated 1459.
[227] _I. e._ Joan of Navarre, who was married to Henry IV in 1403.
[228] A good French _Virelai_ is one by Eustace Deschamps, ed. Tarbé, 1849;
i. 25.
[229] See remarks on this poem in _The New English_, by T. L. Kington
Oliphant, i. 402.
[230] It is much to be regretted that Prof. Morley, in his new edition of
his English Writers, still clings to the notion of 'the Court of Love'
being Chaucer's. It is sufficient to say that, after 1385, Chaucer's poems
are of a far higher order, especially as regards correctness of idiom and
rhythm. Our knowledge of the history of the English language has made some
advance of late years, and it is no longer possible to ignore all the
results of linguistic criticism.
[231] A great peculiarity of this poem is the astonishing length, of the
sentences. Many of them run to fifty lines or more. As to the MS., see
Thynne's _Animadversions_, ed. Furnivall, 1875, p. 30. A second MS. is now
in the British Museum (Addit. 10303), also written about 1550.
[232] The authoress had an eye for colour, and some knowledge, one would
think, of heraldry. There is a tinsel-like glitter about this poem which
gives it a flashy attractiveness, in striking contrast to the easy grace of
Chaucer's workmanship. In the same way, the authoress of 'The Assembly of
Ladies' describes the colours of the dresses of the characters, and, like
the authoress of 'The Flower and the Leaf,' quotes occasional scraps of
French.
[233] _Plesir_ may be meant, but Chaucer does not use it; he says
_plesaunce_.
[234] It is so termed in a table of contents in MS. Trin. Coll. Cam. R. 3.
15, which (as noted on p. 45) contains _all three_ of the pieces here
numbered 66, 67, and 68.
[235] The copy of no. XXI. in MS. Fairfax 16 has not been printed. I made a
transcript of it myself. There is another unprinted copy in MS. Harl. 7578.
I also copied out nos. XII., XXII., XXIII.
[236] Called 'Cm.' in the footnotes to vol. iv.
[237] There are _two_ copies in MS. P.; they may be called P 1 and P 2.
[238] I make but little use of the copies in the second group.
[239] Two copies; may be called T 1 and T 2.
[240] Two copies; F 1 and F 2. The copy in P. is unprinted.
[241] Two copies; P 1 and P 2.
[242] Also a Balade, beginning 'Victorious kyng,' printed in G. Mason's
edition of Occleve, 1796; as well as _The Book of Cupid_, which is another
name for the _Cuckoo and Nightingale_.
[243] Unless they were composed, as Shirley says, by one Halsham, and
adopted by Lydgate as _subjects_ for new poems; see pp. 48, 57.
[244] i. e. in the ballad-measure, or 7-line stanzas.
[245] One page of this, in Shirley's writing, has been reproduced in
facsimile for the Chaucer Society.
[246] This page has been reproduced, in facsimile, for the Chaucer Society.
[247] It is also twice attributed to Chaucer in MS. P.
[248] I follow the account in Morley's _English Writers_, 1867, ii. 204;
the name is there given as de Guilevile; but M. Paul Meyer writes De
Deguilleville.
[249] Morley says 1330; a note in the Camb. MS. Ff. 6. 30 says 1331.
[250] Edited by Mr. W. Aldis Wright for the Roxburghe Club in 1869; see p.
164 of that edition. And see a note in Warton's Hist. Eng. Poetry, ed.
Hazlitt, 1871, vol. iii. p. 67.
[251] See Furnivall's Trial Forewords, pp. 13-15, and p. 100, for further
information.
[252] The initial _E_ stands for _et_. See next note.
[253] The initial _C_ stands for _cetera_. It was usual to place _&c._ (=
_et cetera_) at the end of the alphabet.
[254] Chaucer speaks of writing _compleintes_; Cant. Ta. 11260 (F. 948).
[255] Cf. 'this eight yere'; _Book of the Duchesse_, 37.
[256] 'Philippa Chaucer was a lady of the bedchamber, and therefore
married, in 1366'; N. and Q. 7 S. v. 289.
[257] But Ten Brink (_Sprache und Verskunst_, p. 174) dates it about
1370-1372.
[258] 'O ye _Herines_, nightes doughtren three'; _Troilus_, last stanza of
the invocation in bk. iv.
[259] Most of the passages which he quotes are not extant in the English
version of the Romaunt. Where we can institute a comparison between that
version and the Book of the Duchess, the passages are differently worded.
Cf. B. Duch. 420, with R. Rose, 1393.
[260] i. e. _y-treted_, treated.
[261] See l. 647. The royal tercel eagle is, then, Richard II; and the
formel eagle is Queen Anne; the other two tercel eagles were her other two
suitors. See Froissart, bk. ii. c. 86.
[262] Rather, 1382. Ch. could not have _foretold_ a year's delay.
[263] It is quite impossible that the poem can refer, as some say, to the
marriage of John of Gaunt in 1359, or even to that of de Coucy in 1364; see
Furnivall's Trial Forewords, p. 70. It is plainly much later than the Book
of the Duchess, as the internal evidence incontestably shews.
[264] I leave the remarks upon this poem as I first wrote them in 1888.
Very soon afterwards, Dr. Furnivall actually _found_ the ascription of the
poem to Chaucer in MS. Phillipps 9053. I think this proves that I know how
to estimate internal evidence aright. MS. Phillips 9053 also completes the
poem, by contributing an additional stanza, which, in MS. Harl. 78, has
been torn away.
[265] mix.
[266] fleeces.
[267] hushed, silent.
[268] rewards.
[269] shed.
[270] dug.
[271] lumps.
[272] See Todd, Illustrations of Chaucer, p. 116; and see above, pp. 55,
56.
[273] The critics who brush aside such a statement as this should learn to
look at MSS. for themselves. The make-up of this MS. shews that it is
essentially a Chaucer-Lydgate MS.; and Merciless Beautee is not Lydgate's.
To weigh the evidence of a MS., it must be personally inspected by such as
have had some experience.
[274] Middle-English roundels are very scarce. I know of one by Hoccleve,
printed by Mason in 1796, and reprinted in Todd's _Illustrations_, p. 372;
and there is a poor one by Lydgate, in Halliwell's edition of his Minor
Poems, p. 10. Two more (one being by Lydgate) are given in Ritson, _Anc.
Songs_, i. 128, 129.
[275] I do _not_ think, as some have guessed, that 'Tregentil Chaucer'
means 'Tres gentil Chaucer.' Those who think so had better look at the MS.
I see no sense in it; nor do I know why _tres_ should be spelt _tre_.
[276] A similar note was made in MS. Cotton, Otho. A. xviii., now
destroyed. Todd printed the poem from this MS. in his Illustrations of
Chaucer, p. 131; it belongs to the 'first group.'
[277] high head.
[278] admonishes.
[279] weighed down.
[280] The poem must have been written not many years before 1413, the date
of the accession of Henry V. In 1405, the ages of the princes were 17, 16,
15, and 14 respectively. Shirley's title to the poem was evidently written
after 1415, as John was not created Duke of Bedford until that year.
[281] See Furnivall's edition of Borde's Introduction of Knowledge, E. E.
T. S., 1870. At p. 31 of the Forewords, the editor says there is no
evidence for attributing 'Scoggins Iests' to Borde.
[282] Froissart, bk. iv. c. 105 (Johnes' translation).
[283] See Johnes' translation of Froissart, 1839; ii. 612-7.
[284] It would be decent, on the part of such critics as do _not_ examine
the MSS., to speak of my opinions in a less contemptuous tone.
[285] Unless, which is more probable, the _Parliament of Foules_
reproduces, nearly, two lines from the present poem.
[286] Perhaps 'tofore' means 'for use in,' or 'to be presented in'; and
'November' was some special occasion.
[287] As, e. g. in the curious satirical ballad 'Against the King of
Almaigne,' printed in Percy's Ballads, Series II. Book I, and in Wright's
'Political Songs,' p. 69. Henry was also called Henry of Winchester, from
the place of his birth.
[288] The thief is the Ribauld; the ploughboy, the Labourer; the
apothecary, the Physicien; the soldier, the Garde; the tailor, the
Marchaunt; the tinker, the Smyth. Only two are changed.
[289] Koch instances _góddes_ in the Envoy to Scogan, 15, which he assumes
was _góddis_. Not at all; it is like Chaucer's rime of _clérkes_, _derk
is_; the _-es_ being unaccented. This could never produce _goddís_, and
still less _goddísse_.
[290] In old French, _a tard_ means 'slowly, late'; later French drops _a_,
and uses _tard_ only.
[291] _Voto_, 'hollow, voide, empty'; Florio.
[292] The MS. has _And_ for _Than_ (wrongly).
* * * * *
Corrections made to printed text:
P. xi. "belonged to the said Richard and Mary": "Richard" corrected from
"Robert".
P. 4. § 7. 5. "_may_, _assay_, 2453" corrected from "453".
P. 499. Note to line 114. "there was no other planet in Gemini" corrected
from "Germini".