246. ‘Le castel et l’oevre agarda, | Mult fu bien fais, mult le loa,’ W
7103.
249. Layamon’s delight in descriptions of feasts and music is in strong
contrast to Wace’s prosaic manner. The present passage may be compared
with L 3634, 5107, 14946. Mätzner would read gomen-men, musicians, or
gleomen, with change of cleopien into gleowien, but #gomen# means games,
a regular accompaniment of the feast (see KH 478 note), and #cleopien#
proclaim, as in ‘Lette þe king gan awal[;] ⁊ lude clepien ouer al,’ L
3644.
250. #hetten#, ordered; perhaps a mistake for letten, as L has generally
hehten in this sense. With #breden# comp. ‘bordes heo brædden,’ L 18523,
where O has ‘bordes hii leide{n}’: it means, to cover with cloth and
viands.
251. #dræm# &c.: comp. 102/146; ‘blisse wes on folke,’ L 5108, ‘blisse
wes on hirede,’ id. 14947.
252. #þa--iloten#, then had the better fallen to their lot; lucky men
were they! OE. #gehlēotan#, to share by lot.
253-268. In L 14956-81 Ronwen again appears as cupbearer.
254. #vnimete prude#, boundless splendour: OE. #prȳto#, influenced in
this meaning by OWScand. prýþi, ornament.
255. #al ꝥ scrud#, all the clothing; _sing._, the _pl._ is ‘alle þa
scrud,’ L 10180: the number changes in #heo weoren#. #ibon#, prepared,
adorned: comp. ‘wel wes he ibon,’ L 12805, in O alle wel idiht; ‘þas
scipen ibone,’ id. 32037. It is an East Scand. _pp._ bōin, as buen is
West Scand. búinn: ‘iboned,’ L 8086, with same meaning is _pp._ of the
derivative *ibonen parallel with bounen, derivative of buen. See
Björkman, 206.
256. #ibrusted#, made bristly, rough: comp. ‘alle þai mete-burdes[;]
ibrusted (ibrustled O) mid golde,’ L 24667; ‘vestes auroque ostroque
rigentes,’ Virg. Æn., xi. 72.
261. #sæt#, went down on: comp. ‘þa hie for þam cumble on cneowum
sæton,’ Grein, ii. 484/180: see KH 781 note.
263. #wæs hæil# is OWScand. væs heill, be well, good health to you! In
‘Lavert King wes hel tant li dist,’ W 7115, the forms are English: comp.
‘Wes þu, Hroðgar, hal!’ Beowulf, 407. #for--uæin#: see 94/24: O means,
for thy coming is wholesome to me; for #comes#, plural with meaning of
singular, comp. ‘hwanan eowre cyme syndon,’ Beowulf, 257; ‘hwonan his
cyme sindon,’ Grein, iii. 89/1196; and for the usual expression, 94/24
note.