1411. 'When he started away from Delphi for fear.' Cf. l. 607.
1422. See note to Book i. 463.
1425. the selve wit, the same opinion.
1435. clere, clear of woe, free, light. MS. H. has chere.
1453. 'The bear has one opinion, and his leader another.'
1456. Repeated in Kn. Ta. A 2449; see note.
1459. 'With eyes like Argus;' i. e. seeing everywhere. Argus had a hundred eyes; Ovid, Met. i. 625.
1483. fere, frighten, terrify; as in Bk. ii. 124.
1505. 'To lose the substance, for the sake of something accidentally representing it;' as when the dog dropped the piece of meat, in his anxiety to get the shadow (or reflected image) of it. As to the famous words substance and accident, see note to Pard. Ta. C 539.
1525. go we, let us go; also written gowe, P. Plowm. B. Pr. 226.
1538-40. Juno caused Athamas, the husband of Ino, to run mad. As Ovid tells the story, Juno descended into hell, and crossed the Styx, in order to persuade the fury Tisiphone to haunt Athamas. Hence the mention of the Styx was readily suggested. See Ovid, Met. iv. 416-561, esp. l. 434. Styx was not, as Chaucer says, 'the pit of hell,' but a river that flowed through it.
1544. Satiry and Fauny, Satyri and Fauni, Satyrs and Fauns. Chaucer was probably thinking of Ovid, Met. vi. 392-4, where the Fauni, Satyri, and Nymphae are described as 'ruricolae, siluarum numina.' For halve goddes, we now say demigods.
1548. Simois, a river of Troas; Æneid. i. 100.
1560. laye, would lie; subj. The e is elided.
1562. take, take place, be made. Thynne has be take, but be clogs the line, and is not in the MSS.
1584. 'Vincit qui patitur;' see Frank. Ta. F 773.
1585. 'He who will have what he wants must give up what he likes.' Such seems to be the sense intended. Leef means 'dear.' One of Heywood's proverbs is--'Nought lay down, nought take up;' and very similar to this is--'Nothing venture, nothing have.' For the second leef, MS. H. has lyfe, a reading adopted by Bell and Morris. This takes all point out of the saying, and does not seem applicable to the case. Ll. 1587 and 1588 repeat the saying in another form, and confirm the reading in the text. Cf. Boeth. Bk. ii. Pr. 4. 98.
1591, 2. Lucina, i. e. Diana, or the moon; cf. Kn. Ta. A 2085. 'Before the moon pass out of the sign of Aries beyond that of Leo.' In order to this, the moon would have to pass wholly through Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, and Leo, thus traversing a distance represented by about 4 signs, or a third part of the whole zodiac: this would take up about the third part of 28 days, or more than 9 days. This brings us, as Criseyde says, to the 10th day (l. 1595). Such a method of counting is natural enough to those that watch the moon's course; and lovers are generally credited with taking a special interest in that luminary; cf. l. 1608. In the sequel, a good deal turns upon this 'tenth day.' Cf. ll. 1320, 1328, 1685; V. 239, 642, 681, 1103, 1206.
1608. Cynthia, i. e. Diana, the moon; Ovid, Met. ii. 465.
1612. 'To lose one opportunity, in order to gain another.'
1620. pure, very; as in Kn. Ta. A 1279.
1628. 'Who can hold a thing that tries to get away?'
'An eel and woman,
A learned poet says, unless by th' tail
And with thy teeth thou hold, will either fail.'
The Two Noble Kinsmen, A. iii. sc. 5. l. 49.
1645. 'Res est solliciti plena timoris amor;' Ovid, Her. i. 12.
1667-73. In Boccaccio, a stanza of a similar character is assigned to Troilus, not to Criseyde.
1677. poeplish; Boccaccio (Fil. iv. st. 165) has popolesco, which Rossetti translates by 'low-bred.' Florio's Ital. Dict. has: 'popolesco, popular, of the common people.'
1682. fórtun-è is trisyllabic.
BOOK V.
The following sketch gives a general notion of the relation of this Book to the Filostrato, though Chaucer often amplifies and transposes the material in a way that it would be tedious to particularise more minutely.
7. Lachesis, the Fate that apportions the thread of life; often represented with the spindle, though this is properly the attribute of Clotho alone. Clotho spins, Lachesis apportions, and Atropos cuts, the thread of life. Atropos has been mentioned above; Bk. iv. 1208, 1546. Statius mentions all three in lib. iii. of his Thebaid; Clotho at l. 556, Lachesis (Lachesim putri uacuantem saecula penso) at l. 642, and Atropos at l. 68.
8. For golden tressed, MS. Harl. 3943 has Auricomus tressed (!). Cf. 'Sol auricomus, cingentibus Horis;' Valerius Flaccus, Argonaut. iv. 92.
12, 13. sone of Hecuba, Troilus; hir, Criseyde.
15-9. Note that ll. 15, 17 rime on -éde, with close e, but ll. 16, 18, 19 rime on -ède, with open e. Cf. Anelida, 299-307.
22-6. Lines 22, 24 rime on -[=o]re, with long close o; ll. 23, 25, 26 on -[)o]re, with (original) short open o.
25. crop, shoot, upper part of a tree. more, root, still in use in Hants; A. S. more, moru; see P. Plowman, B. xvi. 5, C. xviii. 21.
53. 'Upon the report of such behaviour of his.'
65. So in Boccaccio: 'Con un falcone in pugno;' Fil. v. st. 10.
67. A mistranslation. Boccaccio's word is not valle, a valley, but vallo, a rampart. The first foot lacks a syllable.
71. Antenor was the Trojan, captured by the Greeks, who was restored to Troy in exchange for Thoas and Criseyde.
88. sone of Tydeus, i. e. Diomede, often called Tydides; as in Æneid. i. 97, 471, &c.
89. To know one's creed is very elementary knowledge.
90. by the reyne hir hente; Rossetti thinks Chaucer misunderstood di colei si piglia (Fil. v. 13), which might mean 'takes hold of her,' but really means 'takes a fancy to her.'
98. This resembles 'to take care of No. 1.'
101. make it tough, raise a difficulty, viz. by disparaging Troilus.
106. coude his good, knew what was good for him, knew what he was about. Bell says--'understood good manners.'
128. helply; we now say 'helpful,' i.e. serviceable. to my might, to the best of my power.
143. O god of love, one and the same god of love.
151. this, contracted form of this is. enseled, sealed up.
158. As paramours, as by way of love. Cf. l. 332.
180. See below (l. 530), and Man of Lawes Ta. B 697. We can read either brast (burst), or braste (would burst).
182. sye, to sink down; A. S. s[=i]gan; see si[gh]en in Stratmann.
194. mewet, mute; as in the Court of Love, 148. Mewet, muwet, or muet is from the O. F. muët, orig. dissyllabic, and answering to a Low Lat. diminutive type *mutettum. The E. word is now obsolete, being displaced by the simple form mute, borrowed directly from Lat. mutus, which in O. F. became mu. Mute is common in Shakespeare. Lydgate has: 'And also clos and muët as a stone;' Siege of Thebes, pt. iii. § 8. In Merlin, ed. Wheatley, p. 172, we find 'stille and mewet as though thei hadde be dombe.'
The -e in mild-e is not elided; the A. S. milde is dissyllabic.
208. Cipryde, i.e. Cypris, or Venus; see note to Parl. Foules, 277.
212. The -ie in furie is rapidly slurred over. Ixion is accented on the first syllable. Ixion was bound, in hell, to an ever-revolving wheel; Georg. iii. 38; Æn. vi. 601.
249. as mete, as (for instance) dream; see l. 251.
283. 'Although he had sworn (to do so) on forfeit of his head.'
304. pálestrál, i.e. games consisting of wrestling-matches and similar contests; from Lat. palaestra; see Verg. Æn. iii. 280, 281; and G. Douglas, ed. Small, vol. iii. p. 52, l. 24. There is a description of such games, held at a funeral, in Statius, Theb. vi., which is imitated by Chaucer in the Knightes Tale; see note to A 2863. Vigile (l. 305) is the same as Chaucer's liche-wake; see note to A 2958.
306. He means that his steed, sword, and helm are to be offered up to Mars, and his shield to Pallas, at his funeral; cf. Kn. Ta. A 2889-2894.
319. Ascaphilo, a transposed form of Ascalaphus, whom Proserpine changed into an owl; Ovid, Met. v. 539. So also Adriane for Ariadne. Bell's note, that the form of Ascaphilo is Italian, and helps to prove that Chaucer here follows Boccaccio is misleading; for Boccaccio does not mention Ascalaphus.
321. Mercury was supposed to convey men's souls to Hades. See l. 1827 below, and note.
332. paramours, passionately; an adverb, as usual; cf. l. 158.
345. By freendes might, by constraint of their relatives.
350. hurt, for hurteth, hurts; present tense.
360. On dreams, cf. Non. Pr. Ta. B 4113-4129, 4280-4.
365-8. From Le Rom. de la Rose, 18709-12, q. v.
379. Lit. 'Well is it, concerning dreams, to these old wives;' i.e. these old women set a value on dreams.
387. Boccaccio has: 'a te stesso perdona,' i.e. spare thyself; Chaucer takes it literally--'forgive thyself.'
403. Sarpedon had been taken prisoner by the Greeks (iv. 52). Neither Boccaccio nor Chaucer explains how he had got back to Troy. See l. 431.
409. iouken, slumber; cf. P. Plowman, C. xix. 126. It was chiefly used as a term in falconry, and applied to hawks. In the Boke of St. Albans, fol. a 6, we are told that it is proper to say that 'your hauke Ioukith, and not slepith.' From O. F. joquier, jouquier; see Godefroy.
421. of fyne force, by very necessity.
451. I read 'piëtous,' as in MS. H., not 'pitous,' for the sake of the metre, as in Bk. iii. 1444; cf. pietee, id. 1033. Perhaps Chaucer was thinking of the Ital. pietoso. We also find the spelling pitevous, for which form there is sufficient authority; see Wyclif, 2 Tim. iii. 12, Titus ii. 12; Rob. of Glouc. ed. Wright, 5884 (footnote); cf. Mod. E. piteous. Chaucer's usual word is pitous, as in Cant. Ta. B 449, 1059, C 298, &c.
460. For, because; as frequently.
469. 'Fortune intended to glaze his hood still better.' To 'glaze one's hood' was to furnish a man with a glass hood, a jocular phrase for to mock or expose to attack; because a glass hood would be no defence at all. Chaucer himself admirably illustrates this saying in a passage which has already occurred above; see Bk. ii. 867.
478. her-e is dissyllabic; as in Ho. Fame, 980, 1014, 1885, 1912, &c.
479. congeyen us, bid us take leave, dismiss us.
484. 'Did we come here to fetch light for a fire, and run home again?' A man who borrows a light must hurry back before it goes out.
505. Hasel-wode, hazel-wood; an allusion to a popular saying, expressive of incredulity. See note to l. 1174 below. Not the same proverb as that in Bk. iii. 890.
541. 'O house, formerly called the best of houses.' Bell and Morris place the comma after houses.
552. As to kissing the door, see note to Rom. Rose, 2676.
601. Referring, probably, to Statius, Theb. i. 12--'Quod saeuae Iunonis opus.' But this refers to the wrath of Juno against Athamas rather than against Thebes.
642. 'Wherefore, if, on the tenth night, I fail (to have) the guiding of thy bright beams for a single hour,' &c.
655. Here Thynne's reading, Lucina, is obviously correct; see Bk. iv. 1591. By the common mistake of writing t for c, it became Lutina, and was then changed into Latona. But Latona was Lucina's mother.
664. Pheton, Phaethon; alluding to Ovid, Met. ii. 34, 47, &c.
744. Prudence is here represented with three eyes, to behold present, past, and future; but Creseyde had but two eyes, and failed to see what was to come. Cf. 'rerum fato Prudentia maior;' Georg. i. 416.
763. 'I call it felicity when I have what satisfies me;' cf. the parallel passage in Prol. A 338; and Boeth. Bk. iii. Pr. 2. 6-8.
769. knotteles; 'like a thread in which there is no knot.'
784. 'Nothing venture, nothing have.'
805. In Lydgate's Siege of Troye, we are told that Diomede brought 80 ships with him 'fro Calidonye and Arge;' Bk. ii. ch. 16, in the catalogue of the ships. The English alliterative Romance omits this passage. Arge is the town of Argos, ruled over by Diomede; Homer, Il. ii. 559. Calidoine is Calydon, in Ætolia, of which city Tydeus, father of Diomede, was king; see l. 934, and ll. 1513-5 below.
806. This description seems to be mainly Chaucer's own. It occurs again, much amplified, in Lydgate's Siege of Troy, Bk. ii. ch. 15, where it precedes the description of Priam. Boccaccio says that she had 'lucent eyes and an angelic face' (Fil. i. st. 28), with which cf. l. 816. He also describes her as 'Accorta, savia, onesta, e costumata,' which Rossetti translates by 'Discerning, wise, honourable, and high-bred' (Fil. i. 11); cf. ll. 820, 821.
827. Troilus is described by Guido delle Colonne; see the translations, in the alliterative Destruction of Troy, ed. Panton and Donaldson, l. 3922, and in Lydgate's Siege of Troye, Bk. ii. ch. 16.
836. Troilus was second to Hector in prowess (Bk. ii. 158, 644), but not in courage (Bk. i. 474).
837. durring don, daring to do, courage; where durring is a sb. formed from durren, to dare. So in l. 840, to durre don is 'to dare to do.' It is quite a mistake to regard durring don as a compound word, as is usually done by such as are ignorant of Middle English grammar. Spenser borrowed the phrase, but may have misunderstood it. In the Globe edition of Spenser, derring-doe occurs with a hyphen, in Shep. Kal. Oct. l. 65, but as two words, in F. Q. ii. 4. 42, vi. 5. 37. In F. Q. ii. 7. 10, we find 'in der-doing armes,' which I leave to be explained by the omniscient critic.
852. See the parallel line, Squi. Ta. F 294; cf. Bk. iii. 674.
883. as who seyth, so to speak.
892. Manes, the departed spirits or shades of the dead. He means that even these will dread the Greeks. The idea that they are the 'gods of pain' is taken from Vergil, Æn. vi. 743; cf. Statius, Theb. viii. 84. Boccaccio merely has 'tra' morti in inferno'; Fil. vi. st. 16.
897. ambages, ambiguities; adapted from Boccaccio's 'ambage' (Fil. vi. st. 17), which Ch. has to explain.
911-938. These lines are fairly close to the original.
934. See note above, to l. 805. B. has: 'Di Calidonia e d' Argo;' Fil. vi. st. 24.
937. Tydeus, father of Diomede, is one of the chief heroes in the Thebaid of Statius, which describes the struggle between Eteocles and Polynices (called Polymites in l. 938) for the possession of Thebes. Tydeus and Polynices married sisters, the daughters of Adrastus, king of Argos; hence their alliance. For the death of Tydeus in battle, see the conclusion of Book viii of the Thebaid. See ll. 1480-1501 below.
971. Orcades, the Orkney islands, very remote from Rome; Juvenal, Sat. ii. 161. Inde, India, remote from Rome in the other direction; Vergil, Æn. vi. 794. Here the point of view is transferred from Rome to Troy.
975. She was a widow; Bk. i. 97. In l. 977, she lies boldly.
992. 'When I see what I have never seen yet (viz. Troy taken), perhaps I will do what I have never yet done (i. e. think of a second husband).'
1013. This incident is not in Boccaccio; but it occurs in Guido delle Colonne, which Chaucer must therefore have consulted. The alliterative Destruction of Troy duly records the circumstance, ll. 8092-4:--
'A gloue of that gay gate he belyue,
Drogh hit full dernly the damsell fro;
None seond but hir-selfe, that suffert full well.'
1016. I. e. Venus was seen as 'the evening-star.'
1018, 9. Cynthea, i. e. the moon; Bk. iv. 1608. In Bk. iv. l. 1591, Criseyde had promised to return before the moon passed out of the sign Leo. This was now on the point of happening; the moon was leaving Leo, to pass into Virgo.
1020. Signifer, the 'sign-bearer,' the zodiac. 'This forseide hevenish zodiak is cleped the cercle of the signes;' Astrolabe, pt. i. § 21. The zodiac extended, north and south, to the breadth of 6 degrees on both sides of the ecliptic line, thus forming a belt 12 degrees wide. This included numerous bright stars, such as Regulus ([alpha] Leonis) and Spica Virginis ([alpha] Virginis), here called 'candles.' Chaucer may have found the word Signifer in Claudian, In Rufinum, i. 365.
1039. he wan, he took in battle. Thynne reads she; but he is right. Diomede got possession of Troilus' horse, and sent it to Criseyde; whereupon she said that Diomede might keep it for himself. Note that Chaucer refers us to 'the story' for this incident; by which he means the Historia Troiana of Guido. But Guido only goes as far as to say that Diomed sent Troilus' horse to Criseyde; the rest is Chaucer's addition. See the allit. Destruction of Troy, ll. 8296-8317; and Lydgate's Siege of Troye, Bk. iii. ch. 26, ed. 1557, fol. R 4, back. Cf. Shak. Troilus, v. 5. 1: 'Dio. Go, go, my servant, take thou Troilus' horse, Present the fair steed to my lady Cressid.' The incidents of the 'broche' and 'pensel' are Chaucer's own; see Bk. iii. 1370-2.
1043. pencel, short for penoncel, a little pennon or banner; here it means that Diomede wore a sleeve of hers as a streamer on his helmet or arm. This was a common custom; cf. Shak. Troil. v. 2. 69, 169. 'Pensell, a lytel baner;' Palsgrave; and see P. Plowm. C. xix. 189.
1044. the stories elles-wher, i.e. in another part of Guido's Historia, viz. in Book xxv; see the allit. Destruct. of Troy, ll. 9942-9959, and Lydgate's Siege of Troye, Bk. iv. ch. 30, ed. 1557, fol. U 4.
1051. I cannot find this in Guido.
1062. 'My bell shall be rung;' my story shall be told.
1104. I.e. 'on the morrow of which.'
1107. Cf. 'laurigero ... Phoebo'; Ovid, Art. Am. iii. 389.
1110. 'Nisus' daughter,' i.e. Scylla, changed into the bird ciris, which some explain as a lark; see Leg. Good Wom. 1908, and note; Ovid, Met. viii. 9-151; Vergil, Georg. i. 404-9.
1114. noon, noon, mid-day; the time for dinner (see l. 1129, and Cant. Ta. E 1893). See my note to Piers Plowm. C. ix. 146.
1133. cape, gape; see Miller's Tale, A 3444, 3841 (footnotes).
1140, 1. yate, i.e. port-cullis. As nought ne were, as if there were no special reason for it. I.e. I will make them do it, without telling them why.
1151. Deficient in the first foot; hardly a good line.
1155. 'Think it not tedious to (have to) wait.'
1162. fare-cart, cart for provisions; cf. our phrase 'to enjoy good fare.' It might mean 'travelling-car,' but that is inapplicable. B. has simply 'carro;' Fil. vii. 8.
1163-9. Cf. Romeo's speech in Rom. v. 1. 1-11.
1174. 'The happiness which you expect will come out of the wood,' i.e. if it comes at all. A jocular form of expressing unlikelihood. There is evidently a reference to some popular song or saying; compare the Jeu de Robin in Toynbee's Specimens of Old French, p. 224. In the Rom. of the Rose, 7455, we have an allusion to a 'ioly Robin,' who was a gay dancer and a minstrel, and the exact opposite of a Jacobin friar. Shakespeare's clown in Twelfth Night (iv. 2. 78) sings of a 'jolly Robin' whose lady 'loves another.' And Ophelia sang 'bonny sweet Robin is all my joy;' Haml. iv. 5. 187.
1176. Another proverbial saying, ferne yere, last year; see fern, fürn, in Stratmann, and cf. A. S. fyrng[=e]arum fr[=o]d, wise with the experience of past years, Phoenix, 219. Last year's snow will not be seen again.
1190. He persuades himself that the moon is to pass well beyond the end of the sign Leo; thus allowing another day.
1222. by potente, with a stick, or staff with a spiked end and crutch-like top; cf. Somp. Ta. D 1776. A potent, in heraldry, is a figure resembling the top of a crutch, consisting of a rectangle laid horizontally above a small square. See Rom. of the Rose, 368.
1274. 'Whereas I daily destroy myself by living.'
1313. rolleth, revolves; see Pard. Ta. C 838; Somn. Ta. D 2217.
1335. 'And for that which is defaced, ye may blame the tears.'
1354. 'I sigh with sorrowful sighs.' MS. Cm. has sikis I sike.
1368. 'I can only say that, being a receptacle for every sorrow, I was still alive.' cheste, box; like that of Pandora.
1372. 'Until I see the contents of your reply.'
1431. 'Bottomless promises;' i. e. that held nothing.
1433. See the parallel line, Kn. Ta. A 1838, and note.
1450. Sibille, the Sibyl, the prophetess; not here a proper name, but an epithet of Cassandra. Cf. Æneid. vi. 98.
1464. (Ll. 1457-1512 are not in Boccaccio.) The story of Meleager and the Calydonian boar-hunt is told at length in Ovid, Met. viii. 271, &c.; whence Chaucer doubtless took it; cf. l. 1469 with Met. viii. 282. The 'mayde,' in l. 1473, was Atalanta.
1480. Chaucer seems to be mistaken here. Tydeus, according to one account, was Meleager's brother; and, according to another, his half-brother. He does not tell us to what 'olde bokes' he refers.
1483. moder; his mother Althaea; see Ovid, Met. viii. 445.
LATIN LINES: Argument of the 12 books of the Thebaid of Statius. These lines are placed, in the MSS., after l. 1498, interrupting the connection. I therefore insert them after l. 1484, which is certainly their proper place. Ll. 1485-1510 give a loose rendering of them. I subjoin an epitome, in a more intelligible form; but suppress many details not mentioned in Chaucer.
BOOK I. Polynices and Tydeus meet, and become allies.
II. Tydeus sets out on an embassy to Eteocles at Thebes, and escapes an ambush by the way (ll. 1485-1491). He spares Mæon, one of his 50 assailants, and sends him to Thebes with the news, whilst he himself returns to Argos instead of proceeding to Thebes (1492-3).
III. Maeon (also called Haemonides, as being the son of Haemon, Bk. iii. l. 42) returns to Thebes, and relates how Tydeus had slain 49 men out of 50. At Argos, Amphiaraus, the augur, had concealed himself, hoping to delay the war against Thebes, which he prophesied would be disastrous; but Capaneus forces him from his retirement, and war is resolved upon (1494).
IV. The seven chiefs set out against Thebes. The army suffers from thirst, but Hypsipyle, a Lemnian princess, appears, and shews them a river (1495).
V. Hypsipyle relates the story of 'the furies of Lemnos,' i. e. of the Lemnian women who killed all the men in the island except Thoas, her father, whom she saved. (See Leg. of Good Women, 1467, and note.) While she is speaking, a snake, sent by Jupiter, kills her infant, named Archemorus. The snake is killed by Capaneus (1497, 8).
VI. Description of the obsequies of Archemorus, and of the funeral games (1499).
VII. Description of the temple of Mars (see Knightes Tale). The allies arrive before Thebes, and the city is attacked. Amphiaraus is swallowed up by an earthquake (1500).
VIII. Tydeus is slain, after a great slaughter of his enemies (1501).
IX. Hippomedon, after great deeds of valour, is drowned in the river. Death of Parthenopaeus (1502, 3).
X. Capaneus is killed by lightning whilst scaling the walls of Thebes (1504, 5).
XI. Single combat between Eteocles and Polynices; both are slain (1506-8).
XII. Creon forbids the burial of the slain invaders. The wives of the six chieftains seek assistance from Theseus, king of Athens (see Knightes Tale). Argia, wife of Polynices, finds and burns her husband's body. Theseus slays Creon, and the Thebans open their gates to him (1509-10).
1485-1491. From the Thebaid, Bk. i (see above). felawe, comrade, brother-in-law. Polymites, Polynices. Ethyocles, Eteocles.
1492-8. From the same, Books ii-v. Hemonides, Haemonides, i. e. Maeon, son of Haemon. asterte, escaped. fifty; but he only slew 49, though attacked by 50. sevene; the seven chieftains, who went to besiege Thebes. holy serpent, the snake sent by Jupiter. welle, (apparently) the stream Langia, which refreshed the army (end of Bk. iv). The furies, the furious women of Lemnos, who killed all the males (but one) in the island.
1499-1505. From the same, Bks. vi-x. Archimoris, Archemorus, infant son of Hypsipyle; honoured by funeral games. Amphiorax, Amphiaraus; see Bk. ii. 105, and note to Anelida, 57. Argeyes, Argives, people of Argos. Ypomedon, Hippomedon; Parthonope, Parthenopaeus; see note to Anelida, 58. Cappaneus, Capaneus; see note to Anelida, 59.
1506-1512. From the same, Bks. xi, xii. Argyve, Argia, wife of Polynices; cf. Bk. iv. l. 762, above. brent, burnt; see Kn. Ta. A 990; but Statius says that the Thebans opened their gates to Theseus, who entered in triumph. I find nothing about any harm done to the city on this occasion.
1514. But Tydeus was Meleager's brother; see note to l. 1480.
1518. leef, leave it alone. Usually leve.
1523. seestow, seest thou; a general observation, not addressed to Cassandra in particular, but to every one at large.
1527. Alceste, Alcestis; see Leg. of Good Women, 432.
1528. but, except, unless. Yet Bell misunderstands it.
1530. housbonde; Admetus, king of Pherae, in Thessaly.
1545. smitted, smutted, disgraced; cf. l. 1546.
1548. fyn of the paródie, end of the period. Chaucer, not being a Greek scholar, has somewhat mistaken the form of the word; but, in MS. H., parodie is duly glossed by 'duracion,' shewing the sense intended. It is from the O. F. fem. sb. perióde, or peryóde, of which Littré gives an example in the 14th century: 'Peryode est le temps et la mesure de la duracion d'une chose;' Oresme, Thèse de Meunier. Chaucer, being more familiar with the prefix per- than with the Greek [Greek: peri-], has dropped the i; and the confusion between per- and par- is extremely common, because both prefixes were denoted, in contracted writing, by the same symbol. We may give up the old attempts at explaining the word otherwise, as we know that the glosses are usually due to the author. 'The end of the period of Hector's life was nigh at hand.'
Lydgate uses the word in the same sense, having caught it up from the present passage:--
'When the paródye of this worthy knyght [Hector]
Aproche shall, without[e] wordes mo,
Into the fyelde playnly if he go.'
Siege of Troye, Bk. iii. ch. 27; ed. 1557, fol. R 6.
'And how that he [Ulysses] might[e] not escape
The párodye that was for hym shape;
For Parchas haue his last[e] terme set,' &c.
Id., Bk. v. ch. 38; fol. Dd 3.
Observe that parodye is here equated to terme.
1558. From Guido; according to whose account Hector, having taken a prisoner, was conveying him through the throng, when Achilles thrust him through with a spear in a cowardly manner, stealing up to him unperceived. See allit. Dest. of Troy, ll. 8649-8660; Lydgate, Siege of Troy, Bk. iii. ch. 27, fol. S 2, back; Shak. Troil. v. 6. 27, 8. 1.
1634. kalendes, an introduction to the beginning; see note to Bk. ii. 7.
1653. Lollius; this incident is in the Filostrato, viii. st. 8; I do not find it in Guido.
1669. word and ende, beginning and end; see note to Monk. Ta. B 3911; and note to Bk. ii. 1495.
1689. 'To present your new love with.'
1760. See note to Book i. 463.
1764. Here the story practically ends. Beyond this point, the lines taken from Boccaccio are less than twenty.
1771. Dares, i. e. Guido, who professes to follow Dares; see note to Book Duch. 1070.
1778. I. e. Chaucer was beginning to think of his Legend of Good Women.
1786. Here begins the Envoy (interrupted by ll. 1800-1827). Compare the last three lines of the Filostrato (ix. 8):--
'Or va'; ch' io prego Apollo che ti presti
Tanto di grazia ch' ascoltata sii,
E con lieta risposa a me t'invii.'
1787. 'Whereas may God send power to him that wrote thee to take part in composing some "comedy," before he die.'
1789. 'Do not envy any (other) poetry, but be humble.'
1791. Imitated from the concluding lines of the Thebaid, xii. 816:--
'nec tu diuinam Æneida tenta,
Sed longe sequere, et uestigia semper adora.'
The sense is--'And kiss their footsteps, wherever you see Vergil, &c. pass along.' The reading space is ridiculous; and, in l. 1792, the names Virgíle, &c., are accented on the second syllable. Steppes means 'foot-prints,' Lat. uestigia; see Leg. Good Women, 2209.
1792. An important line. Chaucer, in this poem, has made use of Statius (see l. 1485), Ovid (in many places), Vergil (occasionally), and Homer (not at first hand). Lucan seems to be mentioned only out of respect; but see note to Bk. ii. 167. He is mentioned again in Boethius, Bk. iv. Pr. 6. 159.
1796. mismetre, scan wrongly. This shews that Chaucer was conscious of his somewhat archaic style, and that there was a danger that some of the syllables might be dropped.
1797. red, read (by a single person), songe, read aloud, recited in an intoned voice.
1802. thousandes is to be taken in the literal sense. On one occasion, according to Guido, Troilus slew a thousand men at once. See the allit. Destruction of Troy, 9878; Lydgate, Siege of Troy, fol. U 3, back, l. 7.
1806. So in Guido; see allit. Destr. of Troy, 10302-11; Lydgate, Siege of Troye, Bk. iv. ch. 31. Cf. l. 1558, and the note.
1807-1827. These three stanzas are from Boccaccio's Teseide, xi. 1-3, where, however, they refer to Arcita:--
'Finito Arcita colei nominando
La qual nel mondo più che altro amava,
L'anima lieve se ne gì volando
Vêr la concavità del cielo ottava:
Degli elementi i conuessi lasciando,
Quivi le stelle erratiche ammirava ...
Suoni ascoltando pieni di dolcezza.
Quindi si volse in giù a rimirare
Le cose abbandonate, e vide il poco
Globo terreno, a cui d'intorno il mare
Girava ...
Ed ogni cosa da nulla stimare
A respetto del ciel; e in fine al loco
Là dove aveva il corpo suo lasciato
Gli occhi fermò alquanto rivoltato.
E fece risa de' pianti dolenti
Della turba lernea; la vanitate
Forte dannando delle umane genti,
Le qua' da tenebrosa cechitate
Mattamente oscurate nelle menti
Seguon del Mondo la falsa beltate:
Lasciando il cielo, quindi se ne gio
Nel loco a cui Mercurio la sortio.'
holownesse translates 'concavità.' For seventh, B. has 'ottava,' eighth. The seventh sphere is that of Saturn, from which he might be supposed to observe the motion of Saturn and of all the inferior planets. But surely eighth is more correct; else there is no special sense in 'holownesse.' The eighth sphere is that of the fixed stars; and by taking up a position on the inner or concave surface of this sphere, he would see all the planetary spheres revolving within it. (The 'spheres' were supposed to be concentric shells, like the coats of an onion.) The 'erratic stars,' or wandering stars, are the seven planets. As to the music of their spheres, see notes to Parl. Foules, ll. 59 and 61.
1810. in convers leting, leaving behind, on the other side. When, for example, he approached the sphere of Mars, it was concave to him; after passing beyond it, it appeared convex. Some modern editions of the Teseide read connessi (connected parts), but the right reading is conuessi (convex surfaces), for which Chaucer substitutes convers. See converse in the New E. Dictionary.
1815. Cf. Parl. Foules, 57. Boccaccio had in mind Cicero's Somnium Scipionis.
1825. sholden, and we ought; we is understood.
1827. sorted, allotted; Ital. 'sortio.'
1828-1837. Chiefly from Il Filostrato, viii. 28, 29.
1838-1862. These lines are Chaucer's own, and assume a higher strain.
1840. 'This lyf, my sone, is but a chery-feyre.'
Hoccleve, De Regim. Princ. ed. Wright, p. 47.
See four more similar comparisons in Halliwell's Dict., s. v. Cherry-fair.
1856. moral Gower. This epithet of Gower has stuck to him ever since; he moralises somewhat too much.
1857. Strode. Concerning this personage, Leland discovered the following note in an old catalogue of the worthies of Merton College, Oxford: 'Radulphus Strode, nobilis poeta fuit et versificavit librum elegiacum vocatum Phantasma Radulphi.' In the introduction to his edition of 'Pearl,' p. l., Mr. Gollancz says: 'This Ralph Strode is identical with the famous philosopher of that name whose philosophical works hold an important place in the history of medieval logic. He was also famous in his time as a controversialist with Wiclif, and from Wiclif MSS., still unprinted, it is possible to gain some insight into Strode's religious views.' He was, perhaps, related to the philosopher N. Strode, who is mentioned at the end of pt. ii. § 40 of the Treatise on the Astrolabe as being the tutor, at Oxford, of Chaucer's son Lewis.
1863-5. From Dante, Paradiso, xiv. 28-30:--
'Quell' uno e due e tre che sempre vive,
E regna sempre in tre e due e uno,
Non circonscritto, e tutto circonscrive.'
ADDITIONAL NOTE TO BOOK III. 674.
As the curious word voidee has been suppressed in all previous editions, I add some more examples of it, for some of which I am indebted to Dr. Murray. It occurs, e.g., in the extremely interesting account of the death of James I of Scotland.
'Within an owre the Kyng askid the voidee, and drank, the travers yn the chambure edraw [= y-drawe, drawn], and every man depairtid and went to rist': (1400) JN. SHIRLEY, Dethe of James Stewarde, Kyng of Scotys, p. 13, ed. 1818.
Hence, no doubt, Mr. Rossetti, in his poem of The King's Tragedy, drew the line:--'Then he called for the voidee-cup.'
'A voidy of spices': (1548) Hall's Chron. 14 Hen. VIII.
'A voidee of spices': (1577-87) Holinshed's Chron. vol. iii. p. 849.
In A Collection of Ordinances and Regulations for the Royal Household, London, 1790, there are several examples of it.
'The Archbishoppe to stand on the Kinges right hand, and the King to make him a becke when hee shall take spice and wine. And when the voide is donne, then the King to goe into his chamber; and all other estates to goe into their chambers, or where it shall please them,' &c.: p. 111; in Articles ordained by King Henry VII.
At p. 113, there are minute directions as to the voidè. The chamberlain and others fetch a towel, the cups, and the spice-plates; the king and the bishop take 'spice and wine,' and afterwards the lords and people are served 'largely' with spice and wine also; after which the cups are removed. At p. 36, we read: 'the bourde avoyded [cleared] when wafyrs come with ypocras, or with other swete wynes. The King never taketh a voyd [read voydè] of comfites and other spices, but standing.' At p. 121: 'as for the voide on twelfth day at night, the King and Queene ought to take it in the halle.' At the Coronation of Queen Anne Boleyn, there was a voidè 'of spice-plates and wine'; English Garner, ed. Arber, ii. 50.
The voidee was, in fact, a sort of dessert. The word spices included many things besides what it now implies. In the Ordinances above-mentioned, there is a list of spices, at p. 103. It includes pepper, saffron, ginger, cloves, maces, cinnamon, nutmegs, dates, prunes, quinces, comfits, raisins, currants, figs, and even rice. In the North of England, even at the present day, it includes sweetmeats, gingerbread, cakes, and dried fruits.
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Notes.
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. xxxix. See the whole chapter.
Philosophy personified; see Book i, Prose 1, l. 3.
See Book ii, Prose 1.
See Book ii, Proses 5, 6.
See Book iii, Prose 9.
See Book iv, Metre 1.
See Book iv, Prose 6.
See Book v.
See the Romaunt of the Rose (in vol. i.), ll. 5659-5666; and the note to l. 5661. It is also tolerably obvious, that Chaucer selected Metre 5 of Book ii. of Boethius for poetical treatment in his 'Former Age,' because Jean de Meun had selected for similar treatment the very same passage; see Rom. de la Rose, ll. 8395-8406.
There is a copy of this in the British Museum, MS. Addit. 10341.
MS. Harl. 44 (Wülker); not MS. Harl. 43, as in Warton, who has confused this MS. with that next mentioned.
MS. Harl. 43 (Wülker); not MS. Harl. 44, as in Warton.
There is a better copy than either of the above in MS. Royal 18 A. xiii. The B. M. Catalogue of the Royal MSS., by Casley, erroneously attributes this translation to Lydgate. And there is yet a fourth copy, in MS. Sloane 554. The Royal MS. begins, more correctly:--'In suffisaunce of cunnyng and of wyt.'
MS. i. 53.
MS. B. 5. There is yet another MS. in the library of Trinity College, Oxford, no. 75; and others in the Bodleian Library (MS. Rawlinson 151), in the Cambridge University Library (Gg. iv. 18), and in the Phillipps collection (as in note 5 below).
'The Boke of Comfort, translated into Englesse tonge. Enprented in the exempt Monastery of Tavestok in Denshyre, by me, Dan Thomas Rychard, Monke; 1525. 4to.'--Lowndes.
The MS. is now in the collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps; no. 1099.
He here implies that Chaucer's translation was by no means the only one then in existence; a remarkable statement.
MS. inserts full, needlessly.
Perhaps read In.
MS. neye.
MS. hymself.
MS. theym self.
Printed feldes by Mr. Stewart.
Observe that this line is due to Chaucer's gloss, not to his text.
MS. Thisee (!).
MS. hem self.
Printed thise by Mr. Stewart.
MS. This (giving no sense).
Mr. Stewart omits thus.
MS. parelous (!). This shews that Walton's text can be corrected by Chaucer's.
Yet we must remember that 'The Former Age' only reproduces a part of this Metre; and that it also introduces a passage from Jerome, besides reminiscences of Ovid and of Le Roman de la Rose; as shewn in the notes.
Mr. Stewart adds another instance, from Bk. iii. met. 5. 5:--
And that the last ile in the see
That hight Tyle, be thral to thee.
I hope this was unintentional, for they are poor verses. It is higher praise to say that, especially in the Metres, Chaucer's prose often flows well, with a certain melody of its own. Mr. Stewart also gives some instances in which he supposes that Chaucer 'actually reproduces the original Latin metre;' but they are imperfect and unintended.
Mr. Stewart quotes this as: 'a long unagreable dwellynges;' but 'draweth a-long' is a fair translation of 'protrahit.'
365 is the number of the line; see p. 164 below. I refer to Boethius by the letter 'B.', meaning the text as printed in the present volume, giving the line of the text as well as the number of the Prose or Metre, so that every passage can easily be found.
The prefixed asterisk marks a doubtful or wrong instance.
I omit the comparison of Bk. iii. ll. 8-14 with Boethius; for the whole stanza is copied from the Filostrato, Bk. iii. st. 75. Also, that of l. 373 with B. iii. met. 9. 1; for l. 373 is copied from the Filostrato, Bk. iii. st. 15.
I omit mention of l. 2839 (compared with B. ii. met. 3. 14); for it is taken from the Teseide, Bk. ix, 10, 11.
The three points are: (1) Avarice is insatiable, l. 2321, which answers to 'finem quaerendi non inuenit,' quoted as from Seneca, but really from Palladius; see Albertani Brixiensis Liber Consolationis, ed. T. Sundby, p. 37: (2) Good and evil are two contraries, l. 2479; compare the same, p. 96: (3) Fortune the nurse, l. 2635, translated from 'fortuna usque nunc me fouit'; see the same, p. 89.
I have noted a few inaccuracies, chiefly due to confusion of c and t (which are written alike), and to abbreviations. At p. 2, l. 13, for 'procede' read 'percede.' At p. 9, l. 28, for 'basilicis' read 'basilius.' At p. 11, l. 32, read 'auauntede.' At p. 12, l. 10, read 'conuict'; &c. Cf. note to Bk. v. pr. 6. 82.
Here recte is miswritten for recta, clearly because the scribe was still thinking of the latter syllable of the preceding sponte. But observe that Ch. has 'the rightes,' a translation of recta. This proves at once that Chaucer did not use this particular copy as his original; and of course the peculiar mode in which it is written precludes such a supposition. But I believe it to be copied from Chaucer's copy, all the same.
This shews how entirely wrong an editor would be who should change the forms into Atrides and Agamemnon; unless, indeed, he were to give due notice. For it destroys the evidence. Note also, that Agamenon is the usual M. E. form. It appears as Agamenoun in Troil. iii. 382.
Hence it is easy to see that when Chaucer's glosses agree, as they sometimes do, with those in Notker's Old High German version or in any other version, the agreement is due to the fact that both translators had similar Latin glosses before them.
My text has thonder-light, as in the MSS.; but leyte or leyt is better; see note to the line (p. 422), and see above, p. xlii, l. 8.
There is a later edition by Peiper, said to be the best; but it is out of print, and I failed to obtain a copy. But I have also collated the Latin text in the Delphin edition, ed. Valpy, 1823, and the edition by Renatus Vallinus, 1656; both of these contain useful notes.
Mr. Rossetti has a note, shewing that Prof. Morley's figures are incorrect. He himself reckons Troilus as containing 8246 lines, because the number of stanzas in Book V. of Dr. Furnivall's print of MS. Harl. 3943 is wrongly given as 268 instead of 267.
For a fuller comparison with this poem, see § 21 below; p. lxv.
Lydgate accepts Chaucer's view without question. He says--'And of this syege wrote eke Lollius'; Siege of Troye, ed. 1555, fol. B 2, back.
Usually called Guido de Colonna, probably because he was supposed to belong to a famous family named Colonna; but his name seems to have been taken from the name of a place (see note 1 on p. lvi). My quotations from Guido are from MS. Mm. 5. 14, in the Cambridge University Library.
He refers to the story of Troy as existing 'in the Latyn and the Frenshe'; Siege of Troye, fol. B 1, back; and explains 'the Latyn' as 'Guido.'
In an Italian work entitled 'Testi Inediti di Storia Trojana,' by E. Gorra, Turin, 1887, a passage is quoted at p. 137, from Book XIII of Guido, which says that Terranova, on the S. coast of Sicily, was also called 'columpne Herculis,' and Gorra suggests that this was the place whence Guido derived his name 'delle Colonne.' At any rate, Guido was much interested in these 'columns'; see Lydgate, Siege of Troye, fol. M 4. I think Tropæus, from Gk. [Greek: tropaia], may refer to these columnæ; or Guido may have been connected with Tropea, on the W. coast of Calabria, less than fifty miles from Messina, where he was a judge.
'Homerus ... fingens multa que non fuerunt, et que fuerunt aliter transformando'; Prologus. See the E. translation in the Gest Hystoriale, or alliterative Troy-book, ll. 38-47; Lydgate, Siege of Troye, fol. B 2.
See allit. Troy-book, ll. 60-79.
See allit. Troy-book, ll. 3922-34; Lydgate, Siege of Troye, fol. F 3, back.
MS. penatos.
The mention of Escaphilo, i.e. Ascalaphus, in Book V. 319, was perhaps suggested by the mention of Ascalaphus by Guido (after Dictys, i. 13, Homer, Il. ii. 512) as being one of the Grecian leaders; see allit. Troy-book, l. 4067.
I. e. glove; from Gk. [Greek: cheir], hand, and [Greek: thêkê], case.
Put for xenium ([Greek: xenion]), a gift, present.
Cf. 'And save hir browes ioyneden y-fere'; Troil. v. 813.
Talke is not in the Glossary. As lk is a common way of writing kk (as shewn in my paper on 'Ghost-words' for the Phil. Soc.), the word is really takke, a variant of take; and the sense is 'let him take.'
Lydgate began his Troy-book on Oct. 31, 1412, and finished it in 1420; see this shewn in my letter to the Academy, May 7, 1892.
Hence it was not written by Sir Hugh Eglintoun, if he died either in 1376 or 1381; see Pref. to allit. Troy-book, pp. xvii, xxv.
MS. to disport; but to is needless.
MS. I for; I is needless.
Two false rimes; ye and aweye; dispyt and bright (correctly, bright e).
Not clene, as in the St. John's MS. and in the Phillipps MS.; for Chaucer never rimes clene (with open e) with such words as grene, quene (with close e); see, on this point, the remarks on my Rime-Index to Troilus, published for the Chaucer Society. MS. Harl. 2392 likewise has sheene, a word in which the long e is of 'variable' quality.
Some guess that it means 'Tres gentil Chaucer.' But this seems to me very improbable, if not stupid.
