548. _the ram._ This was the usual prize at wrestling-matches. Tyrwhitt
says--'Matthew Paris mentions a wrestling match at Westminster, A. D. 1222,
at which a ram was the prize.' Cf. Sir Topas, B. 1931; Tale of Gamelyn,
172, 280.
549. _a thikke knarre_, a thickly knotted (fellow), i. e. a muscular
fellow. Cf. M. E. _knor_, Mid. Du. _knorre_, a knot in wood; and E.
_gnarled_. It is worth notice that, in ll. 549-557, there is no word of
French origin, except _tuft_.
550. _of harre_, off its hinges, lit. hinge. 'I horle at the notes, and
heve hem al of herre'; Poem on Singing, in Reliq. Antiquae, ii. 292. Gower
has _out of herre_, off its hinges, out of use, out of joint; Conf. Amant.
bk. ii. ed. Pauli, i. 259; bk. iii. i. 318. Skelton has:--'All is out of
harre,' Magnificence, l. 921. From A.S. _heorr_, a hinge.
553. Todd cites from Lilly's _Midas_--'How, sir, will you be trimmed? Will
you have a beard like a _spade_ or a bodkin?'--Illust. of Gower, p. 258.