into the lusty air the night’s soft (sober) and moist showers; and had
made the morning soft, pleasant, and fair.” With this difficult passage
we should compare l. 2477.
66. _Quhill_, until.
67. _till ony vicht_, to any wight.
69. _Bot gladness til the thochtful, euer mo_, etc., “But, as for
gladness to the melancholy man, evermore the more he seeth of it, the
more wo he hath.”
73. _represent_, represented (accented on the second syllable).
74. _Al day gan be sor_, etc., “All the day, my spirit began to dwell in
torment, through sorrow of thought;” _be sor_, by sorrow (A.S. sorh).
77. _Ore slep, or how I wot_, “Or sleep, ere I knew how.”
83. _A-licht_, alighted.
84. _levis in to were_, livest in doubt.
P. 4, l. 91. _be morow_, by morrow; at early morn.
99. _set_, although.
103. _weil accordinge_, very fitting.
105. _long ore he be sonde_, (It is) long ere he be sound.
108. _seith, for to consel_, saith, that as for concealing or shewing,
etc.
109. _althir-best_, lit. best of all; see Chaucer’s use of _alderfirst,
alderlast_.
P. 5, l. 127. _lat be thi nyss dispare_, let be thy nice (foolish)
despair.
128. _erith_, earth.
134. _schall hyme hating_, shall hate him. The termination _-ing_ is
here the sign of the infinitive mood after the verb _shall_.
140. _Set_, although.
146. _tak one hand and mak_, undertake and compose; _trety_, treatise;
_vnkouth_, unknown, new.
151. _belevis_, believe will please thy lady.
160. _yis_, this.
P. 6, l. 161. _troucht_, truth.
163. _discharge_, release.
170. _spir_, sphere.
171. “At command of a wise (god from) whose vision,” etc. We sometimes
find in old English the adjective “a wise” used absolutely for “a wise
man.” See “Le Morte Arthur,” ed. F. J. Furnivall, l. 3318.
175. _tynt_, lost.
177. _be this worldis fame_. Here again, as in many other passages, “be”
expresses with relation to, as regards.
185. _yaim_, them.
191. _demande_, demur.
P. 7, l. 198. _Quhill_, until.
200. _conten_, treat; lit. contain.
202. Lancelot is here called the son of Ban, king of Albanak; so again
in l. 1447.
204. _redis_, read.
214. “I will not waste my efforts thereupon.”
219. _wnwyst_, unwist, unknown.
225. _nome_, name.
226. _Iwondit to the stak_, very deeply wounded; but there is no doubt
about the origin of the phrase. See Glossary.
228. _astart_, get rid of it, escape it.
P. 8, l. 240. _dedenyt to aras_, deigned to pluck out.
244. _hurtare_, hurter.
245. _Iwond_, wounded.
248. _ful wicht_, full nimble.
251. _of quhome_, by whom.
253. _send_, sent.
257. _pasing vassolag_, surpassing prowess.
260. “Passed down into the fell caves.”
264. _tane_, taken.
266. _cwre_, care.
P. 9, l. 267. _gart be maid_, caused to be made.
271. _awoue_, vow.
275. _in to that gret Revare_, in that great river.
284. _o gret confusione of pupil and knychtis_, al enarmyt, a great
medley of people and knights, all fully armed. Stevenson actually reads
_unarmyt!_
294. _I wil report_; both here and in l. 320 we should almost expect to
find “_I nil report_;” i.e. I will not tell. It must mean, “I will tell
you why I omit to mention these things.” Compare lines 266, 320.
297. _thing_, think.
P. 10, l. 305. _veris_, wars.
306. _be the wais_, by the ways.
307. _Tuex_, betwixt; _accorde_, agreement.
314. _mot_, must.
316. _stek_, concluded.
319. _most conpilour_, very great composer.
320. “As to whose name I will only say, that it is unfit,” etc.
326. _stant_, standeth.
328. _yroung_, rung.
330. _beith_, shall be; observe the _future_ sense of _beith_ in this
place.
331. _suet_, sweet.
332. “His soul in bliss preserved be on that account.”
334. _and this endit._ Whether _endit_ here refers to _inditing_ or
_ending_ is perhaps doubtful.
NOTES TO BOOK I.
P. 11, l. 336. If by _aryeit_ is here meant the _sign_, not the
_constellation_ of Aries, the day referred to is April 1 or 2, according
to Chaucer’s “Astrolabie.”
338. _bewis_, boughs.
340. _makyne gone_, did make.
341. _in ther chere_, after their fashion. (For _chere_, see Glossary.)
345. _auerding to_, belonging to.
351. _Anoit_, annoyed.
352. _For why_, wherefore; so also _for-thi_, therefore.
354. _can_, began.
355. _sende_, sent.
358. _heryng_, hear (infin. mood). In the next line it occurs as a
present participle.
362. _to pas hyme_, to go, depart.
364. _meit_, to dream of; _aperans_, an appearance, apparition.
P. 12, l. 365. _hore_, hair.
375. _vombe_, womb; hence bowels.
377. _stert_, started.
384. _gert_, caused.
390. _traist_, trust.
397. _demande_, demur, delay.
398. _at_, that.
P. 13, l. 407. _whill_, until.
408. _the_, they.
410. _to viting_, to know.
412. _shauyth al hall_, sheweth all whole.
414. _chesith_, chooseth.
422. _shire_, sir.
424. _fore to awysing_, in order to take counsel.
432. All this about _astronomy_ (i.e. astrology) should be compared with
Gower; Conf. Amantis, lib. vii; ed. Pauli, vol. 3, pp. 133, 134.
Arachell, Nembrote, Moises, Hermes are there mentioned as astrologers.
433. The MS. has “set” (_not_ with a long _s_). Mr Stevenson has “fet,”
which would seem right.
P. 14, l. 435. _nembrot_, Nimrod; see _Genesis and Exodus_ (E.E.T.S.),
l. 659.
436. _herynes_, miswritten for _herymes_, i.e. Hermes.
439. “The which they found were wondrously evil set.”
440. _his sweuen met_, dreamed his dream.
443. _waryng in to were_, were in doubt.
444. _danger_, power to punish; compare Shakspere’s use of the word.
457. _but delay_, without delay.
459. _stondith heuy cherith_, stood heavy-cheered, was sad in his
demeanour.
465. _fundyng_, found.
466. _depend to_, depend upon.
P. 15, l. 475. _tone_, taken.
478. _assey_, test.
481. _record_, to tell out, speak.
487. _preseruith It allan_, is preserved alone.
499. _affy in-tyll_, rely upon.
500. _failye_, fail.
504. _there clergy_, their science.
P. 16, l. 519. “Through the watery lion, who is also faithful, and
through the leech and eke the water also, and through the counsel of the
flower.” It is very possible this passage is partly corrupt; l. 520
should certainly be (as may be seen from lines 2010, 2056),
“And throuch the leich withouten medysyne.”
The meanings of lion, leech, and flower are fully explained, however, in
lines 2013-2120.
524. _weyne_, vain.
527. _passid nat his thoght_, left not his thoughts.
531. _rachis_, braches, dogs.
533. _grewhundis_, grayhounds.
536. This purely conjectural line is merely inserted to carry on the
sense. It is imitated from line 3293. In the next line we should read
“grewhundis,” rather than “grewhund.”
538. _Befor ther hedis_, before their heads.
P. 17, l. 545. “All armed, as was then the fashion.”
546. _salust_, saluted.
548. _kend_, known.
549. _leuyth_, liveth.
552. The rime requires “land,” as in l. 638.
553. _yald hyme our_, yield him over.
554. _if tribut_, give tribute.
566. _recist_, resist; _mone bee_, must be.
568. _be_, by.
569. _day moneth day_, ere this day month; comp. l. 1162.
P. 18, l. 577. _fairhed_, fair-hood, beauty.
587. _magre myne entent_, in spite of my intention.
591. _nome_, took.
593. _Inquere at_, inquire of.
596. _wes_, was.
599. _rase_, rose.
605. _accordith_, agree thereto.
606. _recordith_, belongith.
607. _visare_, wiser.
P. 19, l. 621. _This spek I lest_, this I list to speak.
622. _varnit_, warned.
626. “Though the season of the year was contrary.”
627. _atte_, at the.
629. _the ilk_, that (Scotch _thilk_).
632. _Melyhalt_, the name both of a hill, and of the town built upon it.
636. _affray_, terror.
642. _wnconquest_, unconquered.
643. _cwre_, care.
P. 20, l. 649. _nemmyt_, named.
652. _were_, war.
654. _or than to morn_, earlier than to-morrow.
660. _our few_, over few.
677. _northest_, north-east.
P. 21, l. 686. _fechteris_, fighters.
688. _holde_, held.
691. _presone_, prison.
697. _peite_, pity.
699. The metre of Lancelot’s lament is that of Chaucer’s “Cuckoo and
Nightingale,” and was very possibly copied from it. _Qwhat haue y gilt_,
what crime have I committed.
702. _ago_, gone.
703. _nat_, naught; _me glaid_, gladden me.
706. _til haue_, to have.
709. _Sen thelke tyme_, since that time.
P. 22, l. 718. _of remed_, for a remedy.
719. _sesith_, ceaseth.
723. _with this lady_, by this lady.
728. _laisere_, leisure.
731. _diuerss wais sere_, divers several ways.
733. _bur_, bore.
735. _cher_, car.
740. _dout_, to fear.
745. _but were_, without doubt. This expression often occurs.
P. 23, l. 751. _few menye_, small company; an oddly sounding expression
to modern ears.
753. _cold_, called.
754. _hot_, hight, was named.
755. _but in his cumpany_, unless he had with him.
757. _He saith_; the speaker is the captain of the hundred knights,
called in l. 806 _Maleginis_.
768. _als fell_, just as many.
777. _hard_, heard.
781. _clepit_, called.
P. 24, l. 793, _as he wel couth_, as he well knew how.
796. _sen_, seen.
800. _sen_, since.
806. _was hot_, was hight, was named.
809. _In myde the borde and festinit in the stell_, In the midst they
encounter, and fastened in the steel. See l. 850.
812. _Rout_, company.
815. _ferde_, fourth.
817. _sauch thar latter batell steir_, saw their last division stir.
P. 25, l. 820. _gane his mortall fell._ A word seems here omitted; if
after _mortall_ we insert _strokis_, the sense will be, “His enemies
began his mortall strokes to feel.”
825. _worth_, worthy. It would improve the metre to read _worthy_
(l. 875).
828. _In to were_, in war, in the strife.
829. _hyme bure_, bore himself.
839. _to-for_, heretofore.
841. _Atour_, i.e. _at over_, across.
842. _assall_, assault. The rime shews we should read _assaill_, as in
l. 855.
849. _socht atour_, made their way across. The use of _seke_ in Early
English is curious.
P. 26, l. 861. _setith his payn vpone_, devotes his endeavours to.
868. _al to-kerwith_, wholly cutteth in pieces.
880. _dirk_, dark.
883. _tan and slan_, taken and slain.
P. 27, l. 895. It frequently occurs in the MS. that a space is left at
the beginning of a line, and the first letter of the line is omitted. It
is evident that the intention was that the first letter should be
illuminated, and that this, after all, was not done. Here, for instance,
the T is omitted, as indicated by the square brackets. So also in
l. 1083, etc.
897. _pasing home_, go home.
899. _was vent_, had gone.
905. _dulay_, delay. So also _duclar_ for _declare_.
907. _comyne_, came.
908. _ill paid_, displeased.
909. _homly_, humbly. Stevenson reads _hourly_, but this is wrong; see
l. 914.
911. _carful_, full of care, unhappy.
912. _withouten were_, without doubt.
914. _lawly_, lowly.
918. _wight_, with (unusual, and perhaps wrong).
P. 28, l. 924. _leife_, live.
929. _eft_, after.
933. _thar longith_, there belongeth.
943. _I was for til excuss_, I had some excuse.
944. “Because I did behove (to do it), out of very need.”
946. _lefe it but_, leave it without.
953. _ma_, make.
954. _ga_, go.
955. _of new_, anew.
958. _But if that deth or other lat certan_, “Except it be owing to
death or other sure hindrance.”
P. 29, l. 960. _be hold_, be held. MS. _behold_. Stevenson suggested the
alteration, which is certainly correct.
961. _withthy_, on the condition that.
965. _promyt_, promise; _als fast as_, as soon as.
973. _ferd_, fourth.
982. “Where we shall decide the end of this war.”
P. 30, l. 997. _cag_, cage, prison.
999. _amen_, pleasant.
1000. _vodis_, woods.
1004. _lust_, pleasure (Ch.). But the line is obscure; unless we read
“_diuersitee_.”
1009. “His spirit started (owing to the) love (which) anon hath caught
him,” etc.
1012. _at_, that.
1014. “(As to) whom they know not at all.”
1019. _sen at_, since that.
1022. _the dewod_, devoid thee.
1024. _and_, if.
1026. _be ony mayne_, by any mean.
P. 31, l. 1027. _y red_, I advise.
1035. _To warnnyng_, to warn.
1040. _our the furdis_, over the fords.
1044. _oyer._ So in MS.; the _y_ representing the old _th_ (_þ_); other.
1046. _hufyng_, halting.
1050. _worschip_, honour. “It were more expedient to maintain your
honour.”
1058. _wonk_, winked.
1062. _vare_, aware.
P. 32, l. 1064. The meaning of “ferst-conquest” is “first-conquered”
(_conquest_ being Old Fr. for conquered). It is explained in l. 1547 as
having been a title given to the king whom Galiot first subdued.
1067. _ferss_, fierce.
1070. _suppos_, although.
1073. _he_; viz. the shrew.
1077. The MS. has “ſched.”
1080. _ymen_, I mean.
1095. _tais_, takes.
P. 33, l. 1109. _Galyot_ put for _Galiotes_, the genitive case-ending
being often omitted, after a proper name especially.
1110. _prewit_, proved, tried.
1129. _traist_, trust.
1131. _that euery thing hath cure_, that (of) everything hath care.
P. 34, l. 1135. “Aye from the time that the sun began to light the
world’s face, until he was gone.”
1137. _o forss_, perforce.
1141. _taiis_, takes.
1142. _hecht_, promised.
1151. _failȝeis_, fail.
1154. _fet_, fetched.
1156. _stant_, standeth.
1162. _resput_, respite.
1166. _very knychtis passing_, weary knights go.
P. 35, l. 1170. _till spere_, to inquire.
1177. _ne wor his worschip_, had it not been for his valour.
1187. _qwheyar_, whether. 1191-4. “And fond,” etc. These four lines are
now for the first time printed. They were omitted by Stevenson,
evidently by accident.
1196. _Per dee._ Fr. _par Dieu_: an oath common in old ballads,
generally in the form _pardy_.
1197. _vsyt_, used.
1198. “I advise that we go unto his arms” (armour).
1203. _haill_, whole.
P. 36, l. 1207. _abwsyt_, abused, i.e. made an ill use of.
1208. _vsyt_, used.
1209. _suppos the best that lewis_, even though (it were) the best that
lives.
1217. _on slep_, asleep. The prefix _a-_ in English is due to the Saxon
_on_.
1221. _al to-hurt_, etc. See note in Glossary on the word _To-kerwith_.
1225. _sauch_, saw; _rewit_, rued, pitied.
1233. _one syd a lyt_, a little on one side.
1236. _our mekill_, over much.
P. 37, l. 1240. _yarof_, thereof.
1241. _ruput_, repute, think.
1242. _ablare_, abler, readier.
1253. Insert a comma after _thret_, and destroy that after _lowe_. The
meaning perhaps is, “But what if he be appealed to and threatened, and
(meanwhile) his heart be elsewhere set to love.” Observe that _and_ is
often the third or fourth word in the sentence it should begin. See
l. 2833.
1258. _ȝhe tyne yowr low_, you lose your love.
1260. _conclusit_, ended.
1265. _mokil_, much.
1268. _of new_, anew, again.
1273. _pan_, pain.
NOTES TO BOOK II.
P. 38, l. 1279. _thocht_, anxiety.
1284. _apperans_, i.e. vision, as in l. 364.
1295. _aqwynt_, acquainted; Burns uses _acquent_.
1297. _com_, coming.
P. 39, l. 1316. “So far out of the way you go in your course.” Compare
l. 1797.
1317. “Thy ship, that goeth upon the stormy surge, nigh of thy revels
(i.e. because of thy revels) in the gulf it falls, where it is almost
drowned in the peril.”
1321. “In the wretched dance of wickedness.” See the curious uses of the
word “daunce” in Chaucer.
1323. _the son_, thee soon.
1330. _powert_, poverty; _as the-selwyne wat_, as thyself knows.
1334. _in to spousag_, in wedlock.
P. 40, l. 1343. The word _diuerss_ is required to complete the line; cf.
l. 731.
1352. _suppriss_, oppression.
1354. _wedwis_, widows.
1367. _that ilke_, that same.
1369. _sufferith_, makest to suffer.
P. 41, l. 1379. Eccles. iv. 9, 10.
1387. _yow mone_, thou must.
1392. _her-efter leif_, hereafter live.
1401. A comma is scarcely needed after “_sapiens_.” It means “The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Prov. ix. 10.
P. 42, l. 1409. _to ryng wnder his pess_, to reign under His peace, by
His permission. Roquefort gives _pais_, licence, permission.
1420. _arour_, error.
1427. _leful_, lawful.
P. 43, l. 1447. Ban, king of Albanak, was Lancelot’s father. See l. 202,
1450.
1474. The MS. has “aſſit.”
P. 44, l. 1491. _tak the bak apone themself_, turn their backs.
1500. _yewyne_, given.
1504. _till_, to; redundant.
1506. _stand aw_, stand in awe. So also in l. 2684. The same expression
occurs in _The Bruce_, iii. 62, ed. Pinkerton, p. 42, ed. Jamieson; and
also in _Havelok_, l. 277, where the word _in_, supplied from
conjecture, should be struck out.
P. 45, l. 1537. _throw his peple_, by his people.
1541. _Thus falith not_, etc., “Except wise conduct falleth to a king.”
1546. It may be right to retain the spelling of the MS.--“kinghe;” for,
though strange and unusual, it occurs again in l. 2527.
P. 46, l. 1556. _wende_, weened.
1560. _in to his contrare_, against him.
1568. _trewis_, truce.
1575. _his powar_, his chief army.
1576. _by the yhere_, by the ear, privately.
1579. _cold_, called; as in l. 753.
P. 47, l. 1597. _home fair_, go home.
1608. _And_; redundant in modern English. For many of the precepts given
by Amytans the author must have been indebted to Gower, or, at any rate,
to the author of the _Secreta Secretorum_. See Gower; Conf. Amantis; ed.
Pauli, lib. vii; vol. 3, pp. 152-159. And cf. Tyrwhitt’s note to the
Canterbury Tales, l. 16915; and Warton’s Hist. Eng. Poetry.
P. 48, l. 1628. _lest_, least; _low_, law. It requires care to
distinguish the two meanings of _low_, viz. _love_ and _law_.
1633. _Iug_, judge.
P. 49, l. 1660. _sar_, sorely.
1666. A line omitted. The inserted line is purely conjectural.
P. 50, l. 1704. _pupelle_, people.
1708. _Inwyus_, envious.
1716. _longith_, belongeth.
1717. _the lykith_, it likes thee, thou art pleased.
P. 51, l. 1724. _betak til hyme_, confer upon him.
1730. _essy_, easy.
1736. _for the nonis_, for the occasion. See White’s Ormulum.
1739. _vn to the vorthi pur yow if_, unto the worthy poor thou give.
1742. _set nocht of gret substans_, though not of great value.
1754. _alowit_, approved of.
P. 52, l. 1761. _tynith_, loseth.
1763. _atonis_, at once.
1771. _resawe_, receive.
1773. _with two_, also.
P. 53, l. 1791. _well less, al-out_, much less, altogether. The
punctuation hereabouts in Stevenson’s edition is very wild.
1795. _wys_, vice; _the wrechitness_, thy miserliness.
1797. _pass the courss_, go thy way.
1808. _vrech_, wretch; but here used instead of _miser_.
1812. _viss_, vice.
1814. _ben y-knawith_, are known (to be) (?).
1815. _dant_, daunt.
1822. _the ton_, the one.
P. 54, l. 1832. _beis var_, beware.
1834. _colde_, cool.
1852. _onys_, once.
1855. _whar-throw_, through which, whereby.
P. 55, l. 1864, _awn_, own. The metre requires the more usual form
_awin_.
1879. _dispolȝeith_, despoileth.
1881. _For-quhi_, wherefore. In this line the MS. has “scrikth.”
P. 56, l. 1899. _most nedis_, must needs. _Ye_ = _the_; i.e. The one,
He.
1909. _Mot_, might.
1917. _in_ should be _into_, as elsewhere.
P. 57, l. 1940. _havith_, hath.
1950. _hot_, hight, is called.
P. 58, l. 1966. _wnepwnist_, unpunished.
1990. _omend_, amend; _spill_, destroy.
P. 59, l. 2011. _ayre_, are.
2012. _duclar_, declare; so also _dulay_ for delay.
2017. _the god werray_, the Very God.
P. 60, l. 2036. _For-quhi_, wherefore.
2040. _mad_, made.
2041. _clergy_, science.
2062. _be the mycht dewyne_, by the might divine.
P. 61, l. 2069. _far_, fare.
2079. _helyth frome the ground_, heals from the bottom; i.e.
effectually.
2100. _not sessith_, who ceaseth not.
P. 62, l. 2107. _Ne war_, were it not for; _hartly_, hearty; it occurs
again four lines below.
2135. _yneuch_, enough. He means he will ask but one question more.
P. 63, l. 2148. _To passing home_, to go home.
2162. _the _xxiiij_ day_. The first _i_ in the MS. is like a “v” smudged
over; we should read “xxiiij,” as in l. 2155. The contraction is to be
read _four and twentieth_, not _twenty-fourth_; so also in l. 610.
P. 64, l. 2190. _hal dure_, hall door.
2192. _o iorne most for to comend_, a journey most to be commended.
2194. _lowith_, love.
P. 65, l. 2212. _the fewar eschef thay_, the less they achieve.
2229. “For no adventure will prove so great, that ye shall not achieve
it.”
2241. _whill_, until.
P. 66, l. 2247. _galot_; so in MS.
2265. _grant mercy_, great thanks; Fr. _grand merci_.
2267. _quhy_, because.
P. 67, l. 2279. _thithingis_, tidings; probably an error of the scribe
for _tithingis_. Stevenson has _chichingis_!
2284. _al-out_, altogether.
2304. _oft syss_, oft-times. See Glossary (_Syss_).
2306. _dante_, dainty.
2310. _tithandis_, tidings; compare l. 2279.
P. 68, l. 2323. _aw_, owe.
2328. _fantessy_, fancy, notion.
2334. _for no why_, for no reason.
2337. _mon I fair_, must I go.
2338. _our son It waire_, over soon it were.
2342. _For-quhy_, because.
P. 69, l. 2352. _nor_ has the force of _but_.
2366. _be ony men_, by any means.
2368. _on of tho_, one of them.
2375. _chen of low_, chain of love.
2376. _and if ȝhe may deren_, an if you may declare.
P. 70, l. 2409. _hartly raquer_, heartily require.
2416. _gar ordan_, cause to be provided.
P. 71, l. 2428. _prewaly disspone_, privily dispose.
2436. _ellis-quhat_; I suppose this means, “he was on fire _elsewhere_.”
2448. _hamlynes_, homeliness.
2452. _fest throw al the ȝher eliche_, feast through all the year alike.
P. 72, l. 2469. _commend_, commended.
2470. _he drywith_, he driveth, pursueth. The reading is not _drawith_,
as in Stevenson.
NOTES TO BOOK III.
P. 73, l. 2471. This line is too long, and the sense imperfect; but
there is no doubt about the reading of the MS.
2474. _Awodith_, expels.
2475. _doune valis_, falls down; for it is evident that _valis_ is an
error for _falis_, the mistake having arisen from confusion with the
succeeding line.
2480. _cled_, clad.
2487. _bygown_, begun. In the next line Stevenson has _sown_; but the
true reading is _Rown_, run; as in l. 2820.
2492. _barnag_, baronage, nobility.
P. 74, l. 2522. _but dulay_, without delay; _the_, they.
2524. _thar com_, their coming.
2530. _in the dogre_, in its (due) degree.
P. 75, l. 2545. _Or that_, ere that.
2552. _he and hate_, high and hot.
2558. _the can_, they began.
P. 76, l. 2574. _hyme mak_, prepare himself; or perhaps simply, make
(for the field), go.
2582. _helmys last_; _last_ clearly means _laced_; see l. 2250.
2594. _Ȝhit_, although.
2599. _dout_, fear.
2600. _is assemblit_, made an attack. The peculiar use of _assemble_
must always be borne in mind.
2601. _erd_, earth.
P. 77, l. 2612. _found till gwyans_, go to Gwyans.
2614. _til esquyris thei sewyt_, after Esquyris they followed.
2619. _one to the melle socht_, made their way to the mêlée.
2627. _don bore_, borne down.
2630. Fifty thousand. It would appear that Galiot had 40,000, of whom
10,000 were held _in reserve_; so that in l. 2632 only 30,000 are
mentioned. See l. 2569, 2647.
P. 78, l. 2646. _ten_, sorrow, vexation.
2656. _resauf_, receive.
2663. _at thar come_, at their coming; _led_, put down.
2670. _biding one the bent_, abide on the grassy plain.
P. 79, l. 2679. “That, despite their efforts, they must needs retire.”
2684. _stud aw_, stood in awe; see note to l. 1506. 2693, 4. These lines
do not rime. But we should certainly read _felde_, _erde_ having slipped
in from confusion with l. 2691. The knight of Galloway goes _to the
field_, i.e. joins battle.
P. 80, l. 2712. _On ayar half_, on either side. The MS. omits _to_.
2713. _of_, off.
2714. _noiss_, nose.
2731. _Bot nocht forthi_, But not on that account.
P. 81, l. 2754. _harmys_, loss.
2761. _aucht to ses_, ought to cease.
2765. _at_, that.
2768. _my lef_, my leave, permission.
2770. _in to cage_, in prison.
P. 82, l. 2802. _commandit_, commended.
P. 83, l. 2819. _one athir half_, on either side.
2820. _rown_, run.
2821. _howyns_; an ungrammatical form; perhaps _howyng_ is meant.
2827. _one hycht_, on height; i.e. aloud.
2829. _sterith_, stirreth.
2833. “The lady of Melyhalt made (her way) to him, and immediately
caused his couch to be placed before a window.” Mr Stevenson reads,
“Of Melyhalt the lady to hyme maid
Incontinent his couche, and gart he[N1] had,” etc.
i.e. “The lady immediately made his bed for him,” etc.
2841. _wencust_, vanquished. After this word we should perhaps insert
“at,” as in l. 3336.
[Footnote N1: But the MS. has “be;” also “melyhat” instead of
“Melyhalt.”]
P. 84, ll. 2877-2880. These lines were printed by me for the first time,
four lines having been here again omitted by Mr Stevenson.
2880. _but weyne_, without doubt.
2884. _to led and stere_, to lead and direct.
P. 85, l. 2893. _Endlong_, along.
2894. _weryne_, were.
2913. _let_, hinder.
P. 86, l. 2925. _dulay_, delay; as in several other places.
2938. _fek_, effect.
2944. _ȝude_, went.
2947. _fair_, welfare.
P. 87, l. 2964. _Whill_, until.
2970. _ho_, stop, pause.