fgbpie's Ccmple of (Sks, €xtxn Scries, No. lx. 1891. BERLIN : ASHEIl & CO., 5, UNTER DEN LINDEN. NEW YORK: C. SCRIBNER & CO.; LEYPOLDT & HOLT. PHILADELPHIA : J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. Jtgflptrs i^mjjk 0f > VI. » VII. )> VIII. j» IX. )) X. )> XI. XII. pp. xxx — xlix pp. xlix — liv pp. liv — lxiii pp. lxiii — lxxv pp. lxxv — lxxxv pp. lxxxv — cxv pp. cxv — cxxxiii pp. cxxxiv — cxlii pp. cxlii — clvii pp. clvii — clx pp. 1 — 57 pp. 59—67 p. 68 pp. 69—126 pp. 127—132 p. 133 pp. 135, 136 V PREFACE. The arrangement of the Introduction will, I hope, allow me to dispense with much explanation by way of preface. It will be seen at once that, with the exception of some preliminary remarks in Chapter I, the first half of the Introduction, as far as Chapter IA r , is devoted to a description of the various MSS. and Prints of the Temple of Glas, and the critical discussion of the text. The second half contains investigations with respect to the metre, the language, the authorship, the date, the sources, and the style of the poem. Chapter XI gives a synopsis of Lydgate's principal works, and attempts to draw up a programme for further investigations of the monk's productions ; Chapter XII says a few words about the Appendices. But with respect to one or two points an explanation may be due. It may perhaps be thought that some questions might have been more fully entered into, others less. I might have given a complete grammar of the Temple of Glas, and, in particular, a full and detailed synopsis of the whole sound-system ; I might also have added, in the Chapter on metrics, a full analysis of all the minor metrical phenomena of the poem. But I have refrained from doing so, principally because I thought the instances in which Lydgate differs from his great master Chaucer in points of language and metre, had better be collected systematically in special treatises, which would deal exhaustively with the monk's peculiarities on these points. Thus I have contented myself with setting forth the principal character- istics of Lydgate's metrical system, and entering carefully into certain vexed questions of language, the elucidation of which was necessary for the construction of the text. On the other hand I must perhaps apologize for having gone somewhat beyond my immediate task in the working out of the later chapters of the Introduction. So many inadequate or erroneous viii Preface. ideas having gained ground with, respect to Lydgate, I was tempted to overstep the boundaries of my immediate province, and to en- deavour to elucidate certain questions which have an indirect bearing only on our subject. This I have been led to do particularly in the eighth Chapter, on Chronology, and in the survey of Lydgate's works, in Chapter XL If, in the assignment of some of the dates, there has of necessity been a certain amount of guesswork, yet I hope on the other hand to have given some reliable data which will enable us to gain a better insight into the sequence, and to gauge more ac- curately the extent of the monk's productions. Special researches into certain of Lydgate's works may prove more than one of my con- jectural dates to be wrong ; but no one will be more glad than myself if some of the dates can be made out for certain, even were they to prove my conjectures in those cases to be erroneous. The notes are meant to answer a double purpose : first, to illustrate the usage of words and idioms in the poem by comparison with con- temporary writings, whilst showing to what extent Lydgate was influenced by ideas current at the time. Secondly, I have collected in them a great many stock-phrases of Lydgate's with numerous quot- ations, which, with the monk's peculiarities of metre and language, will, I hope, do good service in the discussion of the genuineness of doubtful works. Of critical notes there are but few, as this side of the question has been dealt with at great length in Chapters II — IV. If Chapter III, and in particular some of the lists of mistakes in the MSS., seem of undue length, it must not be forgotten that we have to do with Chaucer-MSS. ; and thus it seemed to me desirable to derive as much information from our present text as it could afford us, towards establishing the respective value of some of these MSS. with more certainty. From this point of view, a list, for instance, like that in Chapter III, § 2, of the numerous mistakes in MS. G, will tell its own story without further comment. In conclusion, the agreeable task devolves upon me of expressing my sincere thanks for much kind help which I have received in my work. In the first place, I have gratefully to acknowledge my deep indebtedness to the Duke of Devonshire and the Marquis of Bath, for their courtesy in placing two valuable copies of the poem at my disposal. In the same way I would also tender my hearty thanks to the Principal Librarian and the Trustees of the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh, for the most kindly accorded loan of the print in their Library. Canon Jackson I must thank for having so courteously Preface. i.x. enlightened me on several points connected with the Longleat MS. Further, I am indebted to Mr. Peskett, of Magdalene College, Cam- bridge, for giving me access to the Pepys-MS. For the use of the other old copies of the text I must thank the authorities of the British Museum, the Bodleian and the Cambridge University Library ; for personal help of various kinds I have especially to thank Dr. Bullen, Mr. Graves, Mr. Bickley, and Dr. Macray. To Mr. Jenkin- son and Mr. Gordon Duff I am much indebted for information with respect to Caxton's and Wynken de Worde's prints, as also to Prof. Tietjen, of the Berlin University, for some astronomical calculations. To Professor Skeat I would acknowledge my indebtedness, not only for the help derived from his many valuable works connected with this period of English literature, but also for much personal kindness in the matter. It goes without saying that I am greatly indebted to Dr. Furnivall's publications ; but I beg also to express my acknow- ledgment of many a valuable hint which I have received from him in the course of my work. Last, but not least, I have to thank the scholar of whose teaching and influence this edition is a direct outcome — Professor Julius Zupitza. J. Schick. Berlin, January 1891. Chapter I. — Preliminary Remarks. INTRODUCTION. PAET I. CHAPTER I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. Of all Chaucer's successors in the field of English Poetry, none has been more prolific than John Lydgate, Benedictine monk of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds. Nor has any one enjoyed a greater popularity in his clay, a popularity which, even more than a century after his death, had not yet died out. ' Daun John ' Avas certainly considered the greatest poet amongst his contemporaries. 1 None less than the Victor of Agincourt and Duke Humphrey of Gloucester have been his patrons, and in compliance with their commands, his two or three most lengthy works were produced. The Earl of Salisbury, King Henry VI., and the Earl of Warwick — father-in- law of the proud " setter-up and plucker-down of kings" — were also among those who commanded the monk's pen. The great number of MSS. still extant, some exquisitely illuminated, and many a pon- derous folio and curious quarto from the press of the earliest English printers, still testify, in the most tangible manner, to his past popu- larity. Many of his less comprehensive poems were not unfrequently assigned a position of honour beside those of his admired and revered master Chaucer, 2 and the voice of his contemporaries proclaimed that Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate formed the poetical triumvirate of the period. Naturally, in the present day, our opinion of the poetical value of the monk's long-winded larger productions must differ widely from the verdict of the 15th and 16th centuries; but even in more recent times, poets and critics of such prominent position as Thomas 1 This opinion is particularly strongly expressed by Bale : "omnium sui temporis in Anglia poetarum, absit inuidia dicto, facile primus floruit." Cata- logue 1557, p. 586. - And, vice versa, two of Chaucer's poems — namely, Truth and Fortune — are contained amongst The piouerbes of Lydgate, printed by Wynken de "Worde ; see J. P. Collier, Bibliographical Account (1865), I. 501 ; Lowndes, ed. Bolm III. 1419 (inaccurate) ; Bibliothcca Hcbcriana IV. 178 ; Brunet III. 1219. xii Chapter I. — Preliminary Remarks. ( I ray, Wart on, and ten Brink have passed an indulgent, nay even a friendly judgment upon his poetical efforts. But whatever the {esthetic value of Lydgate's productions may be, they afford a rich hunting-ground to the Chaucer-scholar, the archaeologist, and the student of language or early typography. His works constitute, by their number and extensiveness, important documents of the English language in the first half of the 15th century, with notable differences from the language of Chaucer, both as regards phonology and vocabulary. Furthermore, they form a vast storehouse of mediaeval lore, many of the most popular sources of the knowledge of the Middle Ages being, in a greater or lesser degree, incorporated in them ; and as they are mainly translations or compilations made evidently for the best-educated of his nation, they furnish ample illustration of what was then considered as the highest literary culture. It is from this standpoint that an active energy has of late years been displayed in the editing, or in the careful investigation of some of Lydgate's works. In some cases, indeed, it was but a felicitous chance which brought our monk to the fore ; thus his Guy of Warwick was published by Prof. Zupitza, in the first instance, certainly, as presenting one of the various treatments of this story ■ and when Dr. Horstmann had some of his legends printed, it was merely because they were legends. C. E. Tame also, and Hill-Cust, in their Lydgate-publications, did not make the study of Lydgate their primary object, the first having evidently religious aims in view, the two latter endeavouring to trace the sources used by Bunyan for the Pilgrim's Progress. But with these exceptions, the publications in question all have a direct bearing on Lydgate alone. There is, to mention the editions first, the well- known one of his Minor Poems, by Halliwell, for the Percy Society — of somewhat older date ; — then, an edition of his vEsop has been brought out by Sauerstein in Anglia IX. (the Prolegomena forming a Leipzig Inaugural Dissertation), and several minor pieces, some of doubtful authenticity, are to be found in various books or periodicals. But, before all, it is Dr. Erdmann's forthcoming edition of the Story of Thebes, for the E. E. T. S., to which all students of this period of English literature must look forward with interest. For this poem is one of the triad of works usually associated witl Lydgate's name, and a critical edition of it from the MSS. would settle many points of language and of versification, which latter has been especially censured in this poem. Chapter I. — Preliminary Remarks. xiii The greatest merit, however, in furthering the study of Lydgate seems to me to he due to Prof. Zupitza. Not only has lie himself edited Guy of Warwick, published an important notice concerning Lydgate's life, and is now bringing out the interesting story de duobus mercatoribus ; but it was he also who first drew Dr. Koeppel's attention to the then " brack liegende Lydgate-Forsclmng." Through Zupitza's suggestions, strengthened by those of Prof. Breymann, Koeppel was instigated to write his two admirable treatises on the sources of the Story of Thebes and the Falls of Princes, two most valuable and thorough contributions to the Lydgate-literature, reflect- ing — the latter especially — great credit on the extensive and varied learning of their author. It is, similarly, through Zupitza's influence that Dr. Borsdorf is preparing for us an edition of the Court of Sapience, not one of Lydgate's least interesting works ; and if the present edition of his Temple of Glas should be found to contribute, in a slight degree, to a better knowledge of Lydgate, the merit, again, would be due to Prof. Zupitza. This poem suggested itself as being particularly suitable for a republication. For the Temple of Glas was, without doubt, one of Lydgate's most popular works, 1 a fact amply certified by the numerous MSS. in which it always occurs with and amongst poems of Chaucer, and the successive prints by Caxton, Wynken de Worde, Pynson, and Berthelet, the second of whom printed it not less than three times in the course of a few years. In modern times, especial attention has been drawn to it by Warton, and high praise bestowed upon it. " The pathos of this poem, which is indeed exquisite, chiefly consists in invention of incidents, and the contrivance of the story, which cannot conveniently be developed in this place : and it will be impossible to give any idea of it's essential excellence by exhibiting detached parts." So the passage stands in Warton, in the first edition, page 418, a passage which would render superfluous any excessive praise to which I might be led away through the proverbial zeal of an editor for his own ware. In consequence of this high com- mendation by Warton, the poem has not unfrequently been noticed, and its intrinsic value dwelt upon — in most cases, I am afraid, upon the authority of Warton alone, as the poem was not easily accessible. Such a decided popularity for more than a century might bo quite 1 In spite of an assertion to the contrary by Blades (Caxton II. 59), who seems to have had difficulty in finding copies of it other than the prints by Caxton and Wynken de Worde, and MS. Add. 16165 in the British Museum. xiv Chapter I. — Preliminary Bern ark*. sufficient to induce tlie analyst of literary currents to look with gome interest upon a re-edition of the poem, even if the verdict passed upon its poetical value, when measured by an absolute standard, should be : "Very small, almost nil." For if nothing else, we must at least find a good illustration of the taste prevalent for more than a century, in a poem which found eager readers in the days of Henry Bolingbroke, and the time when Agincourt was fought, as well as through all the turmoil of the Wars of the Eoses ; which was among the first deemed worthy by Caxton of being printed, and which was still highly applauded immediately before the dawn of a new era. If, then, the interest in the " bryght tempile of r/lasse," as Stephen Hawes, in 1506, called the poem, faded away before productions of another stamp, it will only the better help to set off the glory of the morning that was destined to follow the dullest period of English literature. But, even apart from these considerations, there were several questions which w r ould invitingly challenge solution from the editor. Eirst, the point of authorship presented itself. For, although Warton's criticism did great honour to the poem, this honour was not reflected upon the true author, as Warton had curiously assigned it to Stephen Hawes. This error had, by many, been copied for a whole century, and had, combined with typographical disputes, given rise to some entangled discussions. These difficulties will, I hope, once and for all be done away with by the investigations in chapter VII. The point of authorship once settled, other questions confront us which demand a solution. Up to a quite recent date the opinion has prevailed amongst scholars that Lydgate's metre is exceedingly irregular, jerky, and halting. The question of his treatment of the final e — a question closely interwoven with the preceding — has also been a vexed one, and was difficult to decide from the materials available. Fortunately, not less than thirteen texts of the Temple of Glas have been found, thus forming sufficient material for a critical construction of the text, which cannot now, I think, differ much from the original. This preliminary criticism of the text furnishes us, on the one hand, with a firm basis on which to stand while grappling with the above questions ; on the other hand, I hope, it will further our knowledge of a number of Chaucer-MSS., both with respect to their individual value, and the relations they bear one to another. To conclude, a glance at its contents and the progress of its story, will show that our poem is, in its general framework, its motifs, and Chapter I. — Preliminary Remarks. xv the whole range of its ideas, in no small degree dependent upon the Chaucerian Muse, and thus bears a not uninteresting testimony to the wide influence of Chaucer upon the literature of his country. If I add that, in several respects, the Temple of Glas bears a decided family-likeness to the Kingis Quair, and that King James was pro- bably not uninfluenced by Lydgate's poem, the latter may perhaps appear to deserve greater interest than one might be inclined to bestow on a poem of Lydgate's, when bearing in mind certain criticisms on him. I have above alluded to the circumstance that our poem was, in deference to Warton's judgment, more praised than actually read. The best-known account of it is probably the one in Hazlitt's re- edition of Warton, which is especially calculated to give an inadequate conception of it. For on p. 61 of the third volume of this work, the introduction to the poem is alone taken notice of, and, in fact, the whole passage would rather impress the reader with the idea that the introduction constitutes the entire poem. It will not, therefore, be amiss, if, in a few words, we sketch its contents, the less as this will at once indicate the position of the poem with respect to other works of the same school. The story may thus be brieHy told : Heavy-hearted and oppressed by sorrow, the author lies down to sleep one December night and finds himself, according to the favourite dream-motif of that day, before a temple of glass, which stands in a wilderness, on a craggy rock, frozen like ice (1 — 20). Dazzled by tho brilliancy of the sun-light reflected from the temple, he is unable to distinguish his surroundings, until clouds gather before the sun, and he discovers, after long search, a " wicket " affording access into the building (20 — 39). He enters, and there finds depicted on the interior walls of the circular temple, the figures of many celebrated lovers, taken from classic antiquity and mediaeval saga, portrayed in various attitudes with " billes " in their hands, petitioning Venus to mitigate their woes (39 — 54). Next follows an enumeration of the various lovers (55 — 142), with a list of their complaints (143 — 246). Last of all the dreamer perceives a lady, the very pattern of all beauty and excellence, an angelic creature, who, in loveliness and virtues, sur- passes all others of her sex, and " illumines " the whole temple by "her high presence" (247 — 314). She, too, like the rest, presents Venus with a "bille" of the sorrows of her love (315 — 320), which she then begins to pour forth (321 — 369). After hearing her com- plaint that she is separated from her lover, Venus consoles her, pro- xvi Chapter I. — Preliminary Remarks. mising ber union with her knight (370 — 453), for which the lady returns thanks (-154—502). The goddess then throws down to her branches of hawthorn, admonishing her to keep them sacred, as a symbol of constant love (503 — 530). Whilst dreaming thus, the poet finds himself, on a sudden, amongst a great multitude, who are bringing sacrifices to Venus in her temple (531 — 544). He leaves the crowd, and perceives a knight wandering alone, who, oppressed with the sorrows of love, holds a long soliloquy, and finally resolves to lay his trouble before the goddess (545 — 700). This being accomplished (701 — 847), Venus consoles him in like manner to the lady, and sends him forthwith to his beloved, to whom he is boldly to disburden his mind (848 — 931). With a heavy heart the knight goes on his way (932 — 969), and makes confession of his love to the lady (970 — 1039), who colours red " as the ruddy rose," and bashfully assents to his suit, in obedi- ence to the will of Venus as her sovereign lady and mistress (1040 — 1102). The lovers now humbly present themselves before the god- dess, who unites them with many admonitions (1103 — 1298), upon which all present praise Venus, and petition her to keep the lovers thus united by everlasting bonds (1298 — 1319). This prayer being granted (1320 — 1333), the whole temple resounds with a " Ballade" of praise to the goddess, sung by all true lovers present (1334 — 1361). These sounds awake the poet, who, saddened at finding the beaute- ous vision has faded, resolves to make a ' ' litil tretise " in praise of women, until he finds leisure to " expound his fore-said vision " (1362 — 1392). The envoy, addressed to his lady, concludes the poem (1393—1403). It may be well to note here that the two MSS. G and S, which differ from the rest in having various interpolations, have, at the end, from 1. 1380 onward, a most tedious, drawled-out addition of above 600 lines, containing the Compleynt of a lover who is separated from his lady, added most likely by l'eason of the unclear purport of the last twenty-five lines of the poem. This is given as Appendix I in the present edition. CHAPTER II. TITLE OF THE POEM. — DESCRIPTION OF THE MSS. AND PRINTS. Before we proceed to give an account of the various MSS. and Prints, it may be well, at the very outset, to settle the title of the UNIV&Rft! Chapter II. — Title of the Poem. poem, with regard to which some doubts may remain after the perusal of the note in Warton-Hazlitt, III, 61. The matter is, in reality, very simple. All the texts of the poem give " The Temple of Glas " as the title, except MSS. F and B, where the poem in title, colophon and headlines, is called "The Temple of Bras." 1 Now chapter III, § 5, will show that F and B have many peculiarities in common which point to their being derived from one and the same original. We may therefore take it for granted that the error comes from their common source. I think we may even assign a reason for this error. It is not at all unlikely that the scribe of the MS. in question hit upon this wrong title because it seems to have been in use as another title for Chaucer's Parlement of Foulest A com- parison of line 231 of this poem furnishes the key to the occurrence of such a title for it; 3 for Lydgate's poem it is entirely unwarrant- able, as in the decisive line 16 all texts, F and B not excepted, speak alike of a " temple of glas." For the further title : The dreeme of a Treive loner, etc., ir MS. S, see beloAV, under 6, p. xxiii. As we have said above, numerous texts of the Temple of Glas have come down to us. I have altogether come across seven MSS. and six Prints ; one of the latter, however, is only a fragment. They are as follows : A. THE MANUSCRIPTS. 1. T = Tanner 346. Bodleian, Oxford. See Skeat, Cliaucer's Minor Poems, p. xlii ; Legend of Good Women, p. xli. On vellum; date 1400 — 1420. The poems contained in this MS. are in various handwritings, that of the Temple of Glas being one of the earliest ; in fact, Dr. Macray tells me that it dates back, as nearly as possible, to the year 1400. Our poem begins on folio 76 a, and ends on 97 a. The title runs : The tempil of Glas ; at the end stands: Explicit. Some of the capitals are ornamented, and illuminated in red and blue. The index at the 1 In F, it is true, the word Bras has been, by a later hand, corrected to Glas, twice in the title (in one case Stowe's hand is discernible), and once in the colophon, also by Stowe. 2 It occurs in the colophon of Caxton's Print in the University Library, Cambridge (A B. 8. 48. 6), and in the fragment of it in the British Museum (C. 40. 1. 1) ; cf. Blades, Caxton, II, 61 : Warton-Hazlitt, III, 61, note 1 ; Tanner, Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibcmica, p. 491 ; Furnivall, Trial- Forewords, p. 116 ; Catalogue of the Caxton Exhibition, No. 37. 3 It is curious to notice that in this passage just F should read glas (as accordingly Morris has it). TEMPLE OF GLAS. b xviii Chapter II. — Description of the MSS. and Prints. beginning, in recent handwriting, has the item : The Tempil of Glass, f[ecit] Steph. Hawes. v[ide] Pits. This MS. is, with G, the oldest, and is altogether the best of them all. It has therefore been taken as the basis of the present edition, in which every deviation from it has been duly marked by brackets or asterisks. — For a description of the way in which T has been reproduced in this edition, see chapter IV. Lines 96, 154, 216, 320 are omitted in T, as also in those MSS. which are most nearly related to it (F, B, P). Some of its most conspicuous orthographical and phonetic peculi- arities are the following : The scribe often writes iv alone for the usual ew in words like nwe, trwe, rwe, knwe, hwe ; also in swe, 352 (but sue, 1180), eschwe 450 (but eschew 1181); always shew(e), 206, 305, 319, 916. This seems to indicate that the scribe of our MS. pronounced the vowel of the first group above also as a monophthong. — ov is often written- instead of oio ; so we find nov, hov, 30V, morov, folov, sorov ; lovli ; sparovis 541 ; avove 771. A confusion of w and v appears further in woid (= vowed) 741 and 1128; nvfangilnes 1243; showe (= shove) 534. Between vowels to has sometimes been dropped, for instance in : waloing 12 ; sorois 967 ; foloij) 416. — Letters not rarely stuck fast in the scribe's pen ; for instance several times, the i or y in -li : goodl 1000; womanl 1020; mekel 1105. — Instead of she Ave find sho 72, 666 ; we have bein = ben 136, and sein = seen 935. In certain endings the scribe of T has a predilection for putting i instead of e; he writes for instance: Rauysshid 16, foundid 18, entrid 39, callid 219, wikkid 153; billis 50, hestis 59, o)>is 59, turagis 153, Jjingis 167 ; inams 402 ; rekin 91 ; werin 152 ; o)>ir 3, vndir 9, aftir 47, wondir 48, tendir 210; telli) 110, berij) 173; nedis 232; tempil 92, etc. — i in this MS. is often kept where other MSS. put y (for instance in the syllable -li) ; it presents, in this respect, a contrast especially to F, see Skeat, M. P., p. xl ; Legend, p. xli. Although some of the above-mentioned peouliarities recall the northern dialect, yet they are perhaps not sufficient proof that the scribe was a Northcountryman. 2. F= Fairfax 16. Bodleian, Oxford. See Skeat, j\[. P., p. xl ; Legend, p. xl ; Warton-Hazlitt III, 61 Note. On vellum ; date about 1440—1450 (on the first page is the date 1450). In the MS. missing lines have Chapter II — Description of the MSS. and Prints, xix been filled in and other corrections supplied in various places in a small, neat handwriting. This is doubtless the hand of John Stowe, 1 the historian, as is shown by MSS. like Harl. 367, Tanner 464 (tran- scripts from Leland),' 2 and Addit. 29729, a Lydgate-MS. copied by Stowe, according to his own words, from Shirley. The Temple of Glas extends in F from fol. 63 a to 82 b ; the title, however, is hero given as The temple of Bras, but Bras has later been twice corrected to Glas, once, above, by Stowe and, below, by another hand. Colophon: Explicit the temple of Bras; here Bras has only once, by Stowe, been corrected into glas. The running title is : The temple of Bras (see beginning of this chapter). In the table of contents at the beginning stands : The Temple off Glasse, by the side of which Stowe wrote litigate (see chapter VII). At the commence- ment of this valuable Chaucer-MS. is written in Fairfax's hand : "Note y l Joseph Holland 3 hath another of these Manuscripts," and at the end of The Temple of Glas in Stowe's hand : " Here lackethe .6. 4 leves that are in Josephe Hollands boke." As, however, the poem is complete in the MS., this remark must either refer to some poem which stood between The Temple of Glas and the following Legend of Good, Women in Holland's MS., and which was not given in F ; or else the writer of this remark had before him, in " Hollands boke," a copy belonging to group A, with the Pompleynt at the end, which appeared to him to be wanting in F. For 11. 96, 154, 216, 320, gaps were originally left in the MS. ; of these the one for 1. 320 has been filled in by Stowe, the three remaining ones by another hand ; the line supplied for 96 being re-corrected by Stowe. Towards the end of the poem, 11. 1375 and 1385 are omitted. Further, there are found in the margin numerous crosses indicating mistakes, probably also put in by Stowe. The lines almost invariably begin with small letters. 1 Max Lange, Untcrsuchungen fiber Chaucer's Boke of the Dachcssc, p. 1, is wrong in supposing that 11. 31 — 96 of that poem have been filled in by Stowe, the writing in question being in a later Jacobean hand (Dr. Macray). 2 This was pointed out to me by Dr. Macray. 3 Joseph Holland, the Devonshire Antiquary ; several articles of his, dated 1598—1601, are to be found in Thomas Hearne's Collection of Curious Dis- courses, Oxford 1720, and in Sir John Doddridge's Opinions of sundry learned Antiquaries touching the ant iqintg of the High-Court of Parliament in England, London 1658. See Wood, Ath. Ox., 2nd ecL, London 1721, vol. 1, col'. 521 (§ 605). 4 According to this, Warton-Hazlitt, III, 61 Note, is to be corrected. xx Chapter II. — Description of the MSS. and Prints. 3. B = Bodley 638. Bodleian, Oxford. See Skeat, M. P., p. xli ; Legend, p. xli ; Warton-Hazlitt III, 61. FurnivalL Odd Texts, p. 67 and 213. Paper with vellum quire-covers, 4°, about 1470 — 1480. The Temple of Glas begins on fol. 16 b, and ends on 38 a. Tbe title is: The Temple of Bras ; the running title the same ; the colophon : Explicit The Temple of Bras. See under 2, and at the beginning of this chapter. The lines begin as a rule with capitals. LI. 701 — 714 have been tampered with by another hand ; hence they exhibit a number of arbitrary interlineations which again are now partly erased. B is very nearly allied to F, the two going back to a common source. LI. 96, 154, 216, 320, 1385 are omitted.— Two amusing notes have been written in the margin by a later reader. The speeches in the poem seem to have been too long for his taste — for which we could not blame him. At all events, he became impatient at not being able to make out who the speakers were ; for, at the end of one speech (after 1. 847), he put: " h c vsqae nescio quis"; and at the beginning of another (1. 970) : " who in all godly pity maye be." 4. P = Pepys 2006. Magdalene College, Cambridge. See Skeat, M. P., p. Ixvii; Legend of Good Women, xl ; Todd, Illustrations of Gower and Chaucer, p. 116 ; Furnivall, Supplementary Parallel-Text Edition of Chaucer's Minor Poems, p. 27 ; Odd Texts, p. 265. Paper, about 1450. The Temple of Glas extends from page 17 to 52. The title has been supplied in a small, later hand as Temple of glas ; the colophon is : Explicit. Our poem is written in two handwritings, the first including 11. 1 — 1098 ; the second beginning at the top of page 45, and extending to the end. The compiler of the Index seems to have thought that the poem was one of Chaucer's, like others contained in the MS. The following lines are omitted : 154, 290, 346, 532, 552—555, 616, 818, 955—957, 1027.— LI. 147, 148 ; 1330, 1331, and 207, 208 are transposed ; in the last instance, the mistake has been indicated by two crosses in the margin. LI. 124, 432 ; 96, 216, 320 differ en- tirely from those of the other texts ; the three latter must have been omitted in the common original of T. P. F. B, and were most likely Chapter II. — Description of the MSS. and Prints, xxi supplied in their present form on the Avay from this original to P (see chapter III, § 10). Many dialectal peculiarities occur in the part written hy the first scribe : a for o : behalden 34, knawe 261, knaw 430, owr(e) thrawe 608, 647, awen 938, knawe 1002. — u, ou, ow for o : suthe 43, goudly 56, lowke 230, rowte 307, sowne 392, shuke 524, gowd 684, 906, 977, 985, lulinesse 288, vnfoulde 360 [dulfull 52] ; owr, owre (over) 608, 647. — Vice versa, o for ou : flores 540. — Orthography quh for wh: quhen 116, 119, 421 (qwhen 610), Quhame 314, quhat 567, swmquhyle 655.— quh for h: qnhow 100, 117, etc., quho 599.— wh for h: who (= how) 17, 58, 63, 65, 67, etc. ; Wher (= were) 46, 47, 92, 143. — 7* for wh : how (= who) 297, hoo 615. — ich for w: whete (= wite) 728; w for wh : wan 4. — h prefixed wrongly: hus 110, hws 1081. — w in the function of a vowel : lwfys 86, lwfith 157, lwfit 163, lwfe 212, 213 etc., Wpon 89, vertwe 297, 306, dwle 407, trwe 453, abwfe 466, swndry 609, etc., etc. — to for v: grewous 1, Rawishid 16, wisage 56, dissawyt 58, growe 109, Inwie 114, lowes 125, enwie 147, lower 149, etc., etc., (very numerous cases). — Vice versa, v for to: vexit 69, vas 129, vitte 463, vaxen 508, vittes 831, vyttis 1029.— We find also ey for e: feyr 10, deyr 219, beyn 323, seyii 506, apeyre 581, greyn 617 ; ay for a : naymly 229, laydy 468. — Vice versa : twene 354, chene 355, presith 403, dispared 651, etc.— warde (= word) 360.— The MS. has also often -ir, -id (or -it), -is, in unaccentuated syllables. These peculiarities leave no doubt that the first part was written by a northern scribe. There are moreover, besides the above- mentioned omission of fourteen whole lines, no end of careless mistakes in this portion of the MS., dittographies, omissions of words, syllables and letters, and other nondescript faults, in many cases presenting perfect nonsense. None of our MSS. have been so carelessly written as this particular part of P. The latter portion of the poem, written by a second sctibe, is not only almost entirely free from these northern forms, but it is alto- gether more correctly and carefully transcribed. 5. G = Gy. 4. 27. University Library, Cambridge. See Skeat, M. P., xliii (the passage quoted on p. xliv forms 11. 701 — 704 of The Temple of Glas, not a continuation of it) and Legend of Good Women, p. xxii Chapter II. — Description of the MSS. awl Prints. xxxviii. On vellum; date about 1430? This MS. contains a well- known text of the Canterbury Tales, and is remarkable as having a different version of the Prologue of the Legend of Good Women (one of Bradshaw's favourite MSS., see Prothero, A Memoir of Henry Bradshaw, p. 357). With respect to the Temple of Glas also, it has a distinctive feature, in being, with S, the only MS. which con- tains the appendix named the " Compleynt." The ' ' Temple of Glas " proper extends from fol. 458 a to 476 & (ending here with 1. 1379); after that follows the Compleynt, which stops short at 1. 563, at the bottom of fol. 482 b, the next leaf being cut out. Another leaf (= 513 according to the new pagination of the MS.) is wanting between fol. 479 and 480 (of the old pagination) ; thus, 11. 255—330 of the Compleynt are missing in G. The title stands already at the foot of fol. 457 b : Here begynyth the temple of Glas. LI. 531—596 are wanting, not, however, in consequence of a missing leaf. The Catalogue of the MSS. in the University Library wrongly splits up our poem into two parts (III, 173, 174) : 19. The Temple of Glass (fol. 458 a). 20. Supplicatio Amantis (fol. 467). But compare the Corrigenda (V, 598) : "This copy differs from the printed editions, by having much more at the end. The last page is here Avanting, but a complete copy of this recension, in the hand- writing of John Shirley, is in the British Museum, Add. MS. 16165." The compiler of the Index of G apparently believed the poem to be Chaucer's, for he has, on fol. 488 b (the last leaf but one) at the foot, the remark : "The Temple of glasse and supplicatio Amantis not in the prynted booke." MS. G is, with T, the oldest of our texts. It represents with S (and, in part of the poem, with P and B) another version of the text, exhibiting, in the body of the poem also, various interpolations, which will be discussed in chapters III and IV. Its peculiarities of spelling, etc., can be studied in the Compleynt, for which it has been taken as the basis. 6. S = Additional MS. 16165. British Museum. This is one of the MSS. of John Shirley, a gentleman who spent a considerable part of his time in copying poems of Chaucer and Lydgate. The MS. is on paper, folio ; date about 1450. See Skeat, M. P., xlv. Our poem extends from fol. Chapter II. — Description of the MSS. and Prints, xxiii 206 b to 241 b, and has been almost entirely copied by Shirley him- self ; but 11. 119—134 and 391—439 have been written by other hands. At the end of the Reyula sacerdotalis, which precedes our poem, is written in the MS. : " Et ensy tine vn petit abstracte appellez regula sacerdotalis et comence vne soynge / moult plesaunt fait a la request dun amoreux par Lidegate ' Le Moygne de Bury." The running title is : The dreeme of a trewe lover ; this, however, is not always uniformly the same, inasmuch as trewe is sometimes omitted, or a has been replaced by \e, or is altogether left out, etc. On folio 207 a stands in addition to this headline : " made by daun John of \>e tempull of r/lasse \at shall nexst foloioe \e hous of fame " (the words in italics supplied later) ; similarly, there is a later addition to the running title on fol. 212 a: cedde \e Temple of glasse by Lyder/ate. See further chapter VII.— The colophon runs (on fol. 241 b) : "Here endife }>e Dreme and j?e compleynt of ]>e desyrous seruant in loue and fdowyng begynnej)e J»e compleint of Anelyda," etc. As has been intimated above, this is the only other MS., which, besides G, contains the Compleynt. Where, therefore, the first MS. is defective, the text of S is given in Appendix I, namely, in 11. 255 — 330, and from 563 to end. Folios 228 — 230 do not follow in correct sequence. It seems that fol. 228 b was, through an oversight, left blank ; Shirley turned from fol. 228 a immediately to 230 a, and then to 230 6; on the blank side of 228 b he then wrote the continuation of 230 b. Folio 229 ought to stand before 228 (perhaps a mistake in binding?). The scribe himself draws attention to the right sequence of the pages. Besides the many striking mistakes which S has in common with G, discussed in chapter III, S has omitted 11. 261 — 264 and 507 ; totally changed 594 and 618, and the latter halves of 1358, 1359, to make the rhyme suit 1. 1356; in the interpolated stanza 3 b, line 4 is omitted, and a new one introduced; in place of 11. 741 and 742 one single line appears; two lines (the first = line 91) have been interpolated between 11. 28 and 29, and, before 736, line 727 has been, by mistake, repeated. In the Compleynt 11. 157—176 are omitted in S; 11. 364, 378, 412, 474 are totally different from G, and lines 380 and 422 differ slightly. Compare also the lines 206, 207 in the two MSS. Shirley's peculiarities of orthography are well known from Dr. Furnivall's publications 1 : his e- for y- (the prefix to the past parti- 1 Compare particularly Odd Texts, p. 78. xxiv Chapter II. — Description of the 3ISS. and Prints. ciple), as in: echaced 31, eblent 32, Eslawe 95, Ewownded 113, E turned 116, Eentred 201, etc. ; his -ebe, -i]>e (3rd ps. sgl.) : abydebe, flourebe, berebe, tellibe, sittebe ; his predilection for ffs : efft, alofft, sofft, wyff, stryff; his eo and oe ; his invariable svarabhakti-vowel in harome ; his uw in truwe, huwe, eschuwe, etc. ; his pleonastic writing of nexst, etc. — He also often has the Scandinavian \eyre. — His reading sounde of bras (instead of stede of bras) in 1. 142 does not reflect great credit upon his knowledge of Chaucer, nor does- his reading Physyphonee (for Tisiphone), in 1. 958, say much for his classical scholarship. What with all the above-stated omissions and interpolations, and a whole legion of alterations which he introduced On his own hook, his MS. is one of our worst copies. 1 7. L — Longleat 258. In the possession of the Marquis of Bath. On paper and vellum; 4°.; date about 1460—1470. See Furnivall, Supple- mentary Parallel-Text Edition of Chaucer's Minor Poems, p. 143 ; Odd Texts, p. 251 ; Eeports of the Commission for Historical MSS., third Report, Appendix, p. 188, at the bottom, and 189 at the top. Curiously enough, in the last-mentioned passage the Temple of Glas is not given in the contents of that MS. in which it really stands — namely, MS. No. 258, the Chaucer-MS. containing the Parlement of Foides, etc. — ; but after the description of this MS. in the Reports, on p. 189, a further MS., The Temple of Glasse, on paper, of the 15th century, is mentioned. Canon Jackson, to whom I am much indebted for his information about this MS., tells me that this latter does not exist as a separate copy ; he thinks that the Temple of Glas, which, in reality, stands first in MS. 258, has, in the table of its contents, as given in the Reports, been wrongly put at the end of the table as a separate "folio" of the 15th century. The Temple of Glasse, mentioned in the Historical Commission Reports on p. 188, in the middle of second column, is Chaucer's Dreme, or, as the poem has been better called, The Isle of Ladies ; see Thynne's Animadversions, printed by Dr. Furnivall, p. 30; Skeat, M. P., xxxii; Koerting, Grandriss der Geschichte der Englischen Litte- 1 Shirley also wrote "poetry" himself. By an enormous jump, we come down from Chaucer to Lydgate ; a little lower than Lydgate's poorest verses ranks the Compleynt, and with another decided step we descend from the Complrynt to Shirley's productions. See specimens of them in chapters VII. and VIII. Chapter II. — Description of the MSS. and Prints, xxv ratur, p. 157, note 1. This MS. is of the 16th century (about 1550), and has the number 256. As we have just mentioned, The Temple of Glas stands, in L, at the beginning, from fol. 1 a to 32 a. The title is : The Temple of Glas; the colophon: Iiere endith the Temple of Glas. On fol. 32 a were originally only the last two lines and the colophon ; later on, Sir John Thynne wrote on the same page a poem by Rycharde Hatt- feld ; corap. Add. MS. 17492, fol. 18 b, where the same poem is to be found. 1 LI. 211 and 212 are transposed; 11. 96, 609, 610, and 901 are omitted ; the latter, however, has been filled in by a later hand, as well as the headings before 321 and 531, and the running title : T7ie temple of Glas ; various corrections also, as in 11. 426, 816, 818, 833, 844, have been supplied by the same hand. — In the table of contents our poem appears as " Templum vitreu?«." The text of MS. L forms an interesting link between the recen- sion of the Prints and of MSS. T. P. F. B ; it must stand in close relation to the MS. which we may suppose Caxton to have used. — It has few peculiarities of spelling or phonetics ; it writes vade for fade (508); abought for about; grugging, etc. (with ##),and invariably dud (= did, O.E. dyde). The Scandinavian forms thair, them (or theim) are of frequent occurrence. Another MS., not now known, once in the possession of the Paston family, is spoken of in the Paston Letters, in one dated the 17th of February, 1471-72 (see chapter VII). The Temple of Glas seems also to have been contained in a MS. of Joseph Holland's ; see above, under § 2 of this chapter. Moreover, the criticism of the known texts, in chapter III, points to the former existence of a con- siderable number of MSS. now lost sight of. B. THE PRINTS. 8. C = Caxton s Print. University Library, Cambridge, marked AB. 8. 48. 5. Unique. 2 4°, without date, place, name of printer, signatures or catchwords. The type used (No. 2) shows that this is one of Caxton's oldest Prints, and belongs to about the year 1478. It contains thirty-four 1 This I was able to ascertain through the kind help of Mr. Biekley, of the British Museum. The poem is about to be published, from the Addit. MS., in Dr. E. Fliigel's Lesebuch. 2 Of all the six prints known to me, I have, of each, seen but one copy. See, however, Lowndes, the copies mentioned by whom I could not always trace to their present possessors. xxvi Chapter II. — Deselection of the 3ISS. and Prints. leaves, a — c 8 d ln ; folio a,, probably blank, is missing. The poem begins on a 2 recto, and ends on d 10 recto. The full page comprises twenty-three lines. The title is given at the top of a 2 recto : + The temple of glas + ; the colophon on d 10 recto : + Explicit the temple of glas + . See Conyevs Middleton, A Dissertation concerning the Origin of Printing in England, 1735, p. 29 ; John Lewis, Life of Caxton, 1737, p. 104 ; Ames, Typographical Antiquities, 1749, p. 60 ; Herbert I, 79 ; JJibdin I, 306 ; Panzer, Annates Typographic!, 1795, III, 561, No. 67 ; Ritson, Biblio- graphia Poetica, under No. 10 of the Lydgate-list ; Robert Watt, Bibliotheca Britannica I, 207 c ; Catalogue of the Caxton Exhibition, No. 34 ; and, particularly Blades, Caxton, 1863, vol. II, 59, No. 19. The Cambridge copy seems once to have formed part of a volume of collections, belonging to Bishop Jobn More of Ely (died 1714; see his portrait forming the frontispiece to vol. II of Dibdin), who procured it through John Bagford ; see Blades II, 51 ; Hazlitt, Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of England, III, 24 ; Biblio- theca Heberiana, Part IV, 134; Hartshorne, The Book Rarities in the University of Cambridge, 1829, p. 135. — The various component parts of this volume have since been separated again. The other prints are all descended from Caxton's, as will be shown in chapter III. 9. W = Wyrilten de Worde's first Print. British Museum, King's Collection. It forms the third piece in a volume marked C. 13. a. 21, the two preceding it being the Story of Thebes and the Assemble de dyeus. See the description of the whole volume in Hazlitt, Hand-Book to the Popular, Poetical and Dramatic Literature of Great Britain, p. 358, No. 3 ; comp. also Ward, Catalogue of the Eomances in the British Museum, I. 88. The print is in 4°, containing a — c 8 d 4 = 28 leaves, with 28 lines on a full page. The Catalogue of the British Museum gives 1500 (?) as the probable date ; but Mr. Gordon Dnlf tells me that it must be somewhat earlier, perhaps 1498. This print has signatures, as have also the following ones ; in Pynson's print this is not visible, as the bottom of the pages has been cut off.— The print has no separate title-page ; the title is given at the top of a! recto : IF Here begynneth the Temple of glas ; immediately below the. poem begins, and ends on fol. d 4 recto, in the middle, Avith the colophon : II Explicit the Temple of glas. Underneath there are the : IT Duodetim abusiones, in Latin, followed on d 4 verso, by two English stanzas in rhyme royal (printed in Appendix II.). Below these is Wynken de Worde's device, ~No. 1 (= Caxton's small device, having his initials in black on a white Chapter II — Description of the MSS. and Prints, xxvii ground, with black floral scrolls, without W. de Woide'a name under- neath) ; see Herbert, table between 1.116 and 117, left comer at the bottom ; Dibdin, Kb. 1 of Wynken's devices. This first print by Wynken de Worde was followed by two others (W2 and w, described in the two ensuing paragraphs) which have often been confused with each other and with Caxton's print, 1 so that many mistakes in connection with them are found in biblio- graphical and typographical works. See Ames (1749), p. 86 ; Herbert I. 194, 195 ; Dibdin II. 303—305 ; M. Denis' Supplement to Maittairc (1789), No. 5992, vol. II. 673 ; Panzer III. 561, No. 67 ; Eitson, Bibliographia Poctica, p. 68 ; Watt I. 475 e ; Lowndes ed. Bohn III. 1419 ; L. Hain, Rrpirtorium Biblioyraphirum, No. 15364, vol II., pars II., 397 ; Bibliotheca Westiana, No. 1684 ; Bibliotheca Hcbffricma 2 (1834), part IV. p. 134. Our print W is probably also the one meant by Her- bert, vol. I. p. 79 (bottom) and 80 (top) ; Mason-Heber's copy must have been very similar to the one in the Brit. Museum, if not of the very same impression. The text of W is derived from C ; see chapter III. 10. W2 = Wynken de Worth's second Print. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. 4° ; a — d 4 in eights = 28 leaves, with 28 lines on full page. ~No separate title-page ; title at the top of a! recto : IT Here begynnyth y p temple of Glas. Below it, the poem begins, and ends on d 4 recto ; the colophon is : IT Explicit the Temple of glas. Immediately below follow the : 11 Duodecim abusiones, in Latin and English ; they end at the bottom of d 4 recto. On d 4 verso stands Wynken de Worde's device alone, No. 4 as given in Dibdin. The sign IF stands before every line throughout the Avhole poem. Folio b 7 and b 6 are bound in wrong order in the Edinburgh copy. My attention was drawn to this print by Mr. Gordon Duff, who also told me that the date of it is about 1500. — This second print by Wynken de Worde is derived from his first one, as the evidence of the text shows. See Catalogue of the Advocates' Library VI, 490, where this print is ascribed to Stephen Hawes. 11. w = WynJeen de Worde's third Print. In the possession of the Duke of Devonshire. This copy once belonged to the Duke of Eoxburghe and, still earlier, to Dr. Eanner, 1 The confusion of W with C arose from W having Caxton's device at the end. But Wynken at first used Caxton's own device, and the type furnishes decisive evidence that W was not printed by Caxton. a For Heber and his bibliomania see Allibone's Dictionary ; also Breyinann's edition of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, p. x. xxviii Chapter II. — Description of the MSS. and Prints. the well-known Shakspere-scholar and Librarian to the University of Cambridge. See Catalogue of the Library at Chatsworth, 1879, IV. 152 and IV. 340; Bibliotkeca Eeberiana IV. 134.— The print con- tains a 8 b 8 c 6 d 4 = 2G leaves in 4°, with 31 lines to the full page. This print has a separate title-page : on folio a, recto stands : IT Here begynneth the temple of Glas. Underneath is a woodcut formed of three blocks, representing in the middle a tree, to the right a lady, to the left a gentleman, as it would seem in a courting attitude. Two blank scrolls are respectively over their heads. On folio aj verso the poem begins, and ends at the bottom of d 3 verso. On folio d 4 recto are the Duodecim abuslones in Latin, with the two stanzas in English. At the bottom of d 4 recto is the follow- ing colophon : IT Here endeth the temple of Glas Enprynted in London in Flete strete in the sygne of the sonne. by Wynkyn de Worde. On d 4 verso there is a large woodcut formed of four blocks ; the two composing the border repiesenting ornamental scrollwork of floral design, the upper enclosed block depicting the Virgin and Child standing in a cloister (or chapel]), the lower being Wynken de Worde's device No. 2 in Dibdin (Caxton's initials in white on black ground, with white floral ornamentation, and underneath the name of Wynkyn de Worde in smaller black letters on a white ground) ; see also Herbert, table between I. 116 and 117, right corner at the bottom. Mr. Jenkinson, the Librarian to the University of Cambridge, tells me that the above-mentioned woodcut shows the date of our print to be not long after 1500. w is derived from W2, the second print by Wynken. See Brunet, Manuel du Librairc, 1862, III. 1250 ; Lowndes, ed. Bolin III. 1419 ; Bibliotkeca Farmeriana, p. 296, Lot 6451 ; Dibdin II. 304, Note t- Herbert, p. 1778 (quoted by Dibdin II. 305), speaks of a print by Wynken de Worde with his device No. 5 as being in the Cam- bridge University Lihrary, where, however, its existence could not be traced. Most likely Herbert meant the print described in this paragraph, as it was formerly in the possession of Dr. Earmer, once Librarian to the University. 1 The statements in Ames, Herbert, and Dibdin, with respect to Caxton's and Wynken's prints, are anything but clear or accurate. 2 1 The colophon of w and of the print referred to by Herbert are the same. - I believe Ames (I, 86) and Herbert (I, 80 and 194) mean Wynken's first print W ; later on, Herbert saw w also and took some notes from it which were Chapter II. — Description of the MSS. and Prints, xxix 12. p = Pynsoris Print. Fragments in the Bodleian, Oxford. A print by Pynson is mentioned in Ritson, Bibliographia Poetica, p. 69 (top) ; but I should not have been able to trace it, had not Dr. E. Fluegel dis- covered four leaves of this print among the Doucii-Fragments (Xo. 38) in the Bodleian. The leaves are in 4o, and are in a mutilated condition, owing principally to the bottom of the pages having been cut off. They have been put together in wrong sequence ; leaf 1 , recto, contains 11. 1327—1349, verso 1355—1379; leaf 2, recto, 1103—1126, verso 1131—1154; leaf 3, recto, 1159—1180, verso 1187—1208; leaf 4, recto, 1385—1403. Underneath is the colo- phon : [Explicit] 1 the Temple of glas. [Emprynt] ed by . Kycharde Pynson. On the last page stands Pynson's large device Xo. V in Dibdin. The Duodecim abus tones are not given in p. As the signatures have been cut off, we cannot say how many sheets or pages this print contained. As, however, the top-lines of the four leaves left of it coincide, by a curious chance, with those of b, we may, perhaps, infer that p had twenty-six leaves like b (and w). — The text of p is taken from W, the first print by Wynken. From this reason, we may perhaps conclude that p was printed sometime between 1498 and 1500. made use of by Dibdin. Dibdin's account (II, 303) — unless., indeed, there is a fourth print by Wynken — is a shockingly confused medley of W and w. The title stands nowhere as Dibdin has it ; by the alteration of the capital letters, as given by Dibdin, we might get W or w (not W2). The colophon annexed to this title is taken from w ; its orthography is faulty, and it represents here the second part only of the full colophon in w. The beginning of the Temple of Glas is given from W, very faultily. The second colophon, intro- duced after these lines, is that of W or W2 (one capital wrong). The Latin part of the Duodecim abusiones is from "VV, with one slight mistake. Then Dibdin tells us that the two English stanzas stand on the last page ; this applies only to W. But nevertheless, in the foim in which they stand in Dibdin, these two stanzas are taken from w (Dibdin apparently following MS. notes of Her- bert's) ; still many words are as in W (for instance, yougth in 1. 18). Then follows the beginning of the colophon in w ; then a controversy with respect to Dr. Farmer's copy (w) and that of Mason (W). etc. — every line only adding to the bewilderment of the reader. Had the historians of Typography been accurate in trifles, matters would have been very simple ; the accurate rendering of the title alone — or of the first two words of the poem alone— would have been enough to distinguish all the four prints C, W, W2, w. 1 The brackets show what I have filled in myself, the paper here being torn away. xxx Chapter II — Description of the MSS. and 'Prints. 13. b = Berthelet' s Print. Bodleian, Oxford ; marked S. Selden d. 45 (22). The print con- tains a 4 b G c 4 d 6 e G = twenty-six leaves in 4o, with, thirty-one lines to the full page. Folio a 1 is devoted to the title and woodcuts, the title being on aj recto : U This boke called the Temple of glasse / is in many places amended / and late diligently imprynted. — Underneath it stands a woodcut, representing Fortune on her wheel, blindfolded, bearing an unfurled sail in her hand, surrounded by kings and knights. On a, verso there is another woodcut, showing trees and Mowers enclosed by a paling, in the midst of which stands a knight courting a lady.- — The poem begins on a 2 recto, and ends on e 6 recto, in the middle ; after it follow the : If Duodecim abusiones, ending on e 6 verso ; below them is the colophon : If Thus endeth the temple of Glasse. Emprinted at "London in Fletestrete / in the house of Thomas Berthelet / nere to the Cundite / at the sygne of Lucrece. Cum priuilegio. The text of b is taken from w, Wynken de Worde's last print. It was from this print by Berthelet that Warton made his extracts, (comprising 11. 14 — 41 ; 44 — 85 ; 137— 142), 1 and these, again, served, as basis for the German translation of 11. 55 — 6G and 75 — 81 in Alex. Buechner's Gescliicltte der Ewjlisehen Poesie I, 56. See on this print Warton-Hazlitt II T, 61 ; Ritson, Bibllorjrafpliia Poctica. p. 69 (top) ; Herbert I, 463 ; Dibdin III, 348 ; Bibliothcca Hcbcriana, part IV, p. 134. CHAPTER III. GENEALOGY OF THE ORIGINAL TEXTS. I. GROUP A. § 1. Coincidences in MSS. G and S. It will be seen by a cursory glance that the two MSS. G and S exhibit common characteristics which point to a close relation between them. In both, the end of the poem, from line 1380 — 1403, is wanting, .and, in its place, appears an exceedingly prosy appendix of over 600 lines, the '' Compleynt," which was, I suppose, added in the two MSS. in consequence of the ambiguous expression of the last twenty-five lines of the poem, which seemed to leave 1 Some of Warton's readings are taken from the MSS. ; some are conjectural. I need hardly add that the latter are all wrong. Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Texts. xxxi scope for some such addition. Moreover, in both MSS. the five stanzas 3 — 7 (11. 335 — 369) have heen replaced hy four others ; lino 510, and in connection with it, 513 and 514, have heen altered, to- uring in the name " Margarets " for the Lady (cf. also Compl. 395 etc.); similarly, in 11. 309 and 310 the motto of the lady has been changed (cf. also line 530) ; in 1. 299, the colours of the lady's garment are given differently, most likely because our redactor did not consider the green colour, token of inconstancy, appropriate here. Another deliberate change has been made with the pronouns pan, )v>, \in (altered to y, pw, your in 11. 889, 1152; 883, 888; 854) ; and here the alteration can be easily detected as such, because in several instances the old pronoun has been either left (cf. 11. 852, 859 etc., 927 etc., 1151, 1156 etc.), or altogether omitted, or otherwise changed (cf. 11. 910, 926, 1172). The subjoined list gives the principal minor instances in which G and S agree in opposition to all other MSS. Line 1. constreint] compleynt G. S. 9. Hadde hid only in G. S. 19. a] om. 51. compleint] compleyntes. 60. she was] was she. 66. pein] sonve. 79. hade for Tristram al] for Trystram sufferede in. 81. him] hyre G. hir S. 89. walles depeint] wal depented. 93. lusti fiesshe] fresshe lusty. 96. sawe I] I sawe S. I say G. 112. hov] of. 139. &] and ek. 161. ne] in. 200. in] In here G. in hir S. 215. oft] soore. 220. was to him] to hym was. 230. he doJ>] men do. 244. for] thorowe. 251. which] the whiche. 269. so] or. 271. bri3ter] is bryghtere. 321. of] to. 328. fid] cler. 331. her] om. 370. >o] as. 407. sorowis dul] sorwe dwelle. 418. ful] om. 457. plainli] only. 470. That] What. 511. ]>ei do] it doth. 1 632. hou] 30W. 637. 2nd me] om. 697. ful] alle. 763. noting can] can no thyng. 767. wot] wot that. 770. she] ye.— vnto] in to. — hir] youre. 778. euer was] was. 781. That was] Was. 785. To] And. 801. louli] lowe. 808. grace] your grace. 812. helth] helpe. 817. and] that. 818. 1st me] om. 819. not long] no- while. 827. mater] preyer. 831. fiue] myne fyve. 833. And] To. 835. O] om. 840. 3e me whilom] whilhom 3eme. 844. bi] wi>. 854. fin] your.— I wil anon] anon I wyl. 873. For] But. 883. >e] 30W. 888. >e] 30W. 8S9. >ou menyst] 3e mene. 905. noting] for no thyng. 910. }>e] om. 921. if] om. — herte] erys. 922. wilte] lyst. 928. on >e] of the may. 939. he] hym. 958. I] And. 1007. lowli] low. 1010. shal so] so shal. 1028. deuyse] to devise. 1031. me of] of your. 1039. I] he. 1040. trwe] so trewe. 1056. vnto] to. 1081. Ri3t] Lych— vs] bothe vs. 1082. >e] om. 1111. Je] they. 1152. ]>o\\] ye. 1164. And] But. 1170. and] om. 1172. neuer for] for no. — >e] neucr. 1180. biseli >ou] besye the to. 1192. in] at. 1206. no] om. 1212. banc] om. 1239. On] In. 1270. shal >e knot] the knot shal. 1284. haiie V, ■mi-.j Venus haue. 1309. his] besy. 1328. oure presence] here pressyence G. hir heghe prescyence S. 1330. hir] fynal. 1831. prudence] prouidence. 1356. 3e done appere] the sunue appervth. To these instances must be added all the common readings of Y. B. G. S (see § 3), and the list of the coincidences of G and S might still be considerably augmented by adding all those of a more trifling character, and those which, though slightly differing, yet 1 The long break here is accounted for by 11. 531 — 596 being omitted in G. xxxii Cliapter HI. — Genealogy of the Texts. indicate a common source (see, for instance, 11. 21, 47, 151, 229, 515, 693, 826, 834, 938, 1076, 1141, 1143, 1337, 1368, 1377, and especially 870, 1305). § 2. Differences between G and S. Notwithstanding the many cases in which MSS. G and S coincide, as set forth in § 1, they still cannot either of them have been derived from the other. For o. G cannot be derived from S ; since G is some twenty or thirty years older, and, moreover, S has a host of its own individual faults. But /3. neither is S derived from G; for 11. 531 — 596 are missing in 6, whilst they are found in S ; and the two MSS. further differ in the following passages, where S has, as a rule, the right reading : 63. falsed] Ifalsid. 65. hov] how that. 82. hou] of. 90. honged] hangyn. 95. I-slain] Slawe. 105. hurt] hit. — Jmrugh] for. 118. loue of >e] the love of. 133. lowli] only. 138. with] that. 141. hou] om. 147. ]>ei] there. 171. haf] hadde. 183. lust of loues] lustis. 197. ful] wol. — soune] swoun. 201. Yentred] Irenderede. 206. of] in. 217. )>at] om. 219. hir] hym. 241. &] or. 244. hindred] hemerede. 252. do> hir] so thourgh. 254. clerenes] clennesse. 260. al] alle the. 263. }>e] om. 265. Forto] ffor forto. 269. aungellike] agreable. 274. replenysshid] replevisshes. 287. bomite] beute. 290. or] om. 295. 3rd of] &. 299. and] & In. 325. Causer] Cause. 328. sterre] sterrvs. — pcrsant] passa-mt. — Stanza 3 c, I. 6. >ey] I.— 370. >e] that. 383. haj>] han. 395. storme] strem. 428. him] hem. 458. atones] attreynys. 484. to] om. 488. to Jow hole I] hoi I to Jow. 505. J>at] that it. 509. she ha>] I have. 515. kene] lene. 526. drede] degre. 529. from] for. 607. it] om. 608. possid] pressid. 615. for] but. 620. werre] wenys. 640. solein] sodeynly. — forto] to. 642. or] &. 644. And] om. 649. sonerein] sodeyn. 669. with hope I am] I am with hope. 707. here] >e S. om. O. 722. hoolli] only. 725. ones] only. 761. to] of. 762. if] om. 775. shal not] ne shal. 776. 1st ne] nor. 777. to] om. G. 788. J>af] om. 798. nov on] vp on. 813. me hurte] my» herte. 818. so- couie] sature. 829. life lust] lust lyf. 831. of] with. 853. obey] tobeye. 872. of hir in no] in noinaner. 874. of] at. 892. biforne] to forn. 898. menyng] mevyng. 914. Fulli] ffnllj'che. 921. to] vnto. 926. >i] this. 935. covntenaiuice] gouemauwee. 941. on] in. 956. as] om. 1052. nojang hir] hir nothyng myght. 1069. bi] at. 1077. 1st In] And in. 1078. on] of. 1093. list >is mater] this mater lest 1125. Hou] How >at. 1135. nov] om. G (+ Prints). 1147. &] & at. 1150. hede] good hede. 1163. whefer >ei] wherso thow. 1174. euer] ay. 1177. myrfj mercy. 1183. shal sone] sone shal. 1185. )>e] om. 1190. vertue] beaute (+ B). 1200. may] ne may. 1225. so] om. 1229. be bonde of] ben bomide &. 1230. which] the wheche. 1231. goddis] knottys. 1246. giuen] gynnyn. 1248. assautes] assayis G. — or] nor. 1260. peyne wo] wo peyne. — &] om. 1273. bounte] beute. 1274. hert] hete. 1294 be>e bo>e] botbe ben. 1311. ay dide] dede ay ek. 1317. hool of hem ]>e loue] ho the loue of hem. 1318. in] wyt. 1324. of] by. 1329. Jmrnj] in. 1338. in] with. 1358. plesauwt] persaiuit. It is therefore evidently impossible that S should be derived from G. Hence we conclude that G and S go back to a common original, which we may denote by (GS). Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Tacts. xxxiii § 3. Group F B G S. For a certain portion of the poem, the readings of the MSS. F and B, which, as will be shown in § 5, go back to a common original (F E), are the same as those of G and S. First, between 11. 453 and 454, a new stanza is interpolated in all four MSS. ; similarly between 11. 495 and 496 three more stanzas appear. LI. 504 — 507 have evidently been tampered with by the scribe or redactor of the common original ; the change of grene to rede in 504, which entailed a change of the corresponding rhymes in 506 and 507, reminds us of the scribe's dislike to the green colour in 1. 299. Again, the motto of the Lady has been changed in 1. 530 in all four MSS. (cf. 1. 310). Moreover, there are not few cases of minor importance, in which the four MSS. F. B. G. S have the same reading, in opposition to all other MSS. ; these are given in the subjoined list : 75. was] was also F. B. G. S. 429. maner] wyse. 483. loue> me] I love (+ b). 488. wil] al. 504. braunchis] Roses. — grene] rede. 509. kepe] t'olowe. 529. in] to (+ b). 597. gif] gynne. — I wot] y wys. 609. a sondri] sturdy. 614. wil] shal. 635. wrt/un] with.— J)ou3t] owne )>ou3t. 636. ladi Venus] Venus lady. 649. nov] and now. 684. 1st so] to. 691. And] And me. 696. an] the. 703. contre] contrees. 706. In] \Vi>in. 709. o ladi myn] lady and. 711. 2nd to] om. 7-3. sorow] sore. 733. grace] a grace. 749. sane] but. 752. wil be] ben. 762. And] So. 781. hem] hjm F. G. him B. S. 877. dilacioun only in F. B. G. S. 934. in] as in. 955. )>ei] om. 988. ne] nor. 990. to] for to. — me to] vnto. 995. anone] in oone. 997. euer] om. 1008. ben] om. 1029. And] Ryght.— as my] mv. — con] may (+ P). 1149. to] for to (+ S). 1258. bou}t] aboght (Ibought P). The following coincidences in three of the MSS. in question would seem also to be derived from the original (F B G S) common to all four : 582. stremes] percyng F. B. S ; and, possibly 577. in] which in F. B. wight in S (11. 531—596 missing in G). 674. haue] had F. B. S (corrected in G ?). Group F. G. S appears in I. 701. sorow] sorowful F. G. S ; and I. 721. and shapef>] to shape. Group F. B. G (in which instances S would have altered the reading of the original; appears in lines : 610. ouerdrawe] to me dawe F. B. G. slake lawe S. 618. vnto] to F. B. G (S having altered the whole line). 668. paynw] harmes F. B. G. 700. Heading Supplicacio amantis F. B. G (S translates this into English). 725. ne] om. F. B. G. 954. Help] Helpvnge F. B. G. Helpen S. 973. shul] shuld F. B. G. 1009. began] gan F. B. (i. It is, however, easy to see that these coincidences, in all four MSS., cover only a certain part of the poem. Thus, the substitution of four new stanzas for the five stanzas 3 — -7 (11. 335 — 369) is only found in MSS. G and S ; the change of the motto is, in all four MSS., found only in line 530, not in line 310. And, a point of still greater weight, the end of the poem dues not, in F and B, follow the TEMPI, 10 Of GLAS. c xxxiv Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Texts. version represented by G and S : lines 1380 — 1403 are found in their proper place, and the Compleynt does not appear in F and B. A close examination of the above list -will show that the minor coincidences occur in continuous sequence, only from 1. 429 — 1029. The isolated coincidence in 1. 75 must be a mere chance, as the above- mentioned interpolations, etc., between 1. 75 and 429 are not to be found in F and B, and, I think, the same may fairly be supposed with regard to the coincidences in 11. 1149 and 1258, the former one, especially, being of a very trifling character : in fact, it can hardly be counted here, as it occurs also in MS. L. From all this we conclude, that from 1. 429 (or a little before) to 1. 1029 (or a little after) the common original (F B) of F and B follows the version represented throughout the whole poem by G and S. § 4. Differences between (F B) and (G S). It is now incumbent upon us to determine the exact kind of relation existing between these two groups of MSS. § 1 will have sufficiently shown that G and S, throughout the poem, form one group derived from an original (G S) ; § 5, as has already been anticipated, will show the same thing to be true of F and B with respect to an original (F B). Now the question arises whether either of these two groups could have been derived from the other. This question will be settled at once by a comparison of the two lists of coincidences, of G and S on the one hand, in § 1, and of F and B on the other, in § 5. There are, between 11. 429 — 1029, in both lists, such numerous and characteristic readings in each of the groups, that, at a glance, the supposition of one group being derived from the other must be given up. The only satisfactory solution, therefore, is that (F B) and (G S) come from an original (F B G S) = A common to all four. We have thus proved the existence of a group A of manuscripts, represented, in general, by the MSS. G and S throughout the poem, and by MSS. F and B, in a certain part of it (11. 429—1029). Whether this part was wanting in the original used by the scribe of (F 15), so that he had to recur to another copy, or whether the MS. (F B), or one of its ancestors, was written by several scribes, one of whom had been given two or three quaternions of the second version as his copy — must remain a matter of conjecture. Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Texts. xxxv II. MSS. T F B P. § 5. Coincidences in F and B. That these two MSS. follow one another very closely is already well known from Chaucer's Minor Poems. For the Book of the Duchesse see Lange, Untersucliungen iiber Chaucer's B. of the D., pp. 7 — 10; Koch, Anglia IV, Anzeiger, p. 95. Skeat, M. P., pp. lviii and xli. For the Pari, of Fowles see Furnivall, Trial Forewords, p. 53 ; Koch, Anglia IV, Anzeiger, p. 97 ; Skeat, p. lxi. For the Hous of Fame see Willert, Ueher das Hous of Fame, 1883. For the Legend of Good Women, see Skeat's edition, p. xli. See also Dr. FurnivaH's reproductions of Chaucer-MSS., in several places. The same holds good for the Temple of Glas. For the two MSS. F and B deviate in the following instances from the remaining texts : In both 1. 1385 is wanting. Both have the same title : The Temple of Bras; the same colophon, the same headings before lines 321, 370, 461, 531, 701, 848, 932, 970, and the same rubrics after 847 and 931, and at the side of 696. Minor points of agreement are : 84. for-wrynkked] for wrynkeled F. for wrinkelid B. 193. These] The F. B. 221. so] sone. 242. 2nd he] am. 436. him] om. 437. him] om. 452. piiigis] thinge. — Stanza 19 a, I. 1. so sore to vow] to yow so sore.— 470. hert] her. — Stanza 25 c, I. 7. Iayis Pyis] pyes Iayes. — 506. even] evere F. euer B. 570. subiecciomt] obieccion. 571. bicome] be bouncle. 577. in] which in. 586. at] in. 606. now] new F. nyw B. 619. can] om. 627. dar] ne dar. 636. whom] to whom. — soiijt] thought. 650. Nou] om. 651. were] where. 653. not] om. 662. it] om. 666. noting] noght. 6S4. 2nd so] to. 696. into] in. 715. heuens] heuvnessh F. heuenyssh B. 722. al] om. 738. Whiles] while. 746. eke] al. 751. Of] and." 758. A] om. 793. >e] thys. 882. Ne] He. 1152. )>at] thys that. 1166. ay] eke.— Of. also 568. nou am] am now F. I am now B. To these coincidences in F and B are to be added all the common readings of the four MSS. F. B. G. S, s. § 3 ; of T. P. F. B, s. § 9 ; of T. F. B, s. § 10, and of T. P. F. B. L, s. § 13. § 6. Differences between F and B. But there are also considerable differences between F and B, which show that neither of them can have been derived from the other. The individual mistakes of F, in which B has preserved the right reading, are the following : Line 1375 is wanting in F ; one rubric in 1'., at the side of 1. 454, which may come from the original, is not found in F (on the other hand, five rubrics in F, one after 1. 502, the other four at tin- side of 1040; 1104— HOG; 1110 and 1271 respectively, are not to be found in B). — Minor points : xxxvi Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Texts. 16. spirit] scripture F. 58. deceyrted] descended. 103. prison] om. 209. J»re] they altered to them. 239. his] this his. 259. &] om. 282. hei3] om. 284. forto] to. 300. al] om. 337. And] a. 374. al] of (+ b). 412. And] As. 442. lie] ye. 476. vnto] and to. 486. to] in. 501. Me] and. 557. 1st Of] and. 560. -al] om. 572. come] kan. 605. were] was. 618. is] yt. 621. gete] grete. 688. si))] such. 735. restreyne] refreyne ( + L. G). 754. ground] growed. 768. wil] wolde. 853. obey] weye. 922. |>ou] then. 957. alias] but alias. 987. I-persid] v presed. 1109. desseuer] disserue. 1216. his] thys. 1232. 1st &] of. 1280. toke] take. 1308. Orpheus] or Phebus. 1340. rijt] om. 1347. forto] made to. 1390. ]>e] om. 1396. to] om. 1397. And] I. 1402. Jwt] the. The foregoing list proves, I think, conclusively that B cannot be derived from F ; for it is impossible to believe that B in all the afore-mentioned cases could have, of itself, found the true reading again. But, on the other hand, it is even more impossible that F should in any way be a direct descendant from B. For F is older, and, apart from this proof, a long list of individual mistakes in B might be drawn up, which do not appear in F. We hence conclude that F and B, throughout the whole poem, go back to a common original (FB). § 7. Common Readings of MSS. T and P. Although very different as to age, and even more as to quality, MSS. T and P must stand in some close connection with each other. For they have, in common, a number of very characteristic mistakes, which could scarcely have been committed twice over by different scribes. They are the following : 323. hauteyn] ha doten T. hadoten P. 439. Wherso] Whe>ir T. P (so also in W and the Prints dependent on it). 465. his hygh request] om. T. P. 478. SiJ) ye] Wi)> ]>e. — appese] haue peas. 677. to be bold] bihold T. be holden P (+ be holde G. S.). 733. wold] wil T. wulleP. 872. Demen] Semen. 877. dilacioun] dillusioim. 935. seen] sein T. seyn P. 1000. er] om. 1044. ran] it ran T. P (+ W. W2. w. b). 1346. Be] We. I would especially point to the common readings of T and P in the above list, in 11. 323, 465, 478 (two instances), 677 (this mistake was also made by G and S, most likely independently from T and P), 872, 877, 1044, 1346. To this list must be added all the coinci- dences of the groups T. P. F. B (s. § 9), T. P. F. B. L (s. § 13), and T. P. L (s. § 14). § 8. Relation of MS. P to T. The way which first occurs to one of accounting for these remark- able coincidences in T and P is doubtless the supposition that P is a direct descendant from T, a supposition suggesting itself the more Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Texts. xxxvii readily from the circumstance that P is a MS. of considerably later date than T, exhibiting no end of omissions and mistakes charac- teristic of a continuous corruption of the text through several genera- tions of MSS. But the following list of individual mistakes in 'J', not shared by P, will prove that this supposition cannot hold good. 133. lowli did] did lowli T. 192. So soote] To sute. 201. Yentred] Y- rendred T ( + L. G). 380. offence] defence. 456. had] ha]». 502. of] to. 563. by] in. 587. hir] him. 608. possid] passid. 664. myself] myschef. 673. Jmrgh] JxuQ. 705. oft] of. 706. Elicon] eleccion. 821. 2nd I] out. 939. >ou3] >«t T (+ S). 983. to] om. 1057. behest] best. 1188. hertc myne] hertes mynd. 1280. toke] eke. 1289. That] And.— and] \>o\v. 1293. of] to. 1297. shal] om. As therefore the hypothesis of one MS. being derived from the other must be given up, the above-mentioned singular coincidences in T and P seem to point to the following conclusion : T and P are both derived from a common original (1" P), s. diagram on page xli ; but as P is some fifty years later than T and greatly corrupted, one or more connecting links have probably stood between P and (T P). This will be further corroborated by the arguments in §§ 9, 10, 13, 14. § 9. Group T P F B. The readings of ali these four MSS. agree, in opposition to the others, in the following instances : 154. om.— 96, 216 and 320 seem also to have been originally omitted ; in their stead, to make up the couplet, P, or, more likely, a scribe between P and (T P) supplied, in each case, another line out of his own head. 338. is] om. 412. >is] >us. 1082. list] om. 1098. relesen] plesen T. F. B. reconer P. The common original of the four MSS. seems to have read plesen, for which mis- take P, or a scribe between (P T) and P, attempted a correction ; but he did not hit on the true original reading refrsen, but only its synonym reeouer. — 1222. >ere] here. 1333. Reading tymc for contune in the original ofTPFB altered by B ? To this list are, of course, to be added all the common readings of the group T. P. F. B. L (s. § 13). There is, in this list, a conspicuous gap in the coincidences of T. P. F. B, between 11. 412 and 1082. This agrees very well with, and is accounted for by, our statement above that, from 11. 429 — 1029 (about), the readings of (F 15) follow group A. Now, the groups (T P) and (F B) are evidently not derived from one another, as the list of the coincidences common to each particular group alone (in §§ 5 and 7) will show. We conclude, therefore, that the two groups (T P) and (F J'.) go back to a common original (T P F B). xxxviii Cha/pter III. — Genealogy of the Text*. §10. MSS.TFB. The characteristic coincidences of these three MSS. are the following : 119. a] om. T. F. B. 160. in] on. 408. her] om. 518. for] om. 857. be behynd] behind. 1045. femynyte T. F. B. pure feraynite P. 1098. relesen] plesen. 1113. as hit is] at his. 1257. in] om. 1291. For] For ]>e. If our arrangement of the MSS. T. P. F. B., arrived at by the discussions in the preceding paragraphs, and shown in the diagram on page xli, be correct, it would naturally be expected that all the mistakes made by the common original of T. P. F. B would propagate themselves equally into the four MSS. Mistakes made by the scribe of (F B) we should expect to find in F and B, mistakes of (T P) in T and P alike. So the above list of mistakes common to (F B) and T only, without P, w r ould seem, at first sight, to testify against the correctness of the above arrangement. But only at first sight ; for I think it is not too bold to suppose that the original (T P F B) had all the above readings now only found in T. F. B. ; that from there they crept into T. F. B., whilst on the way from (T P) to P a scribe supplied the respective corrections. For these mistakes, characteristic though they be of the close connection be- tween F. B. T., were nevertheless easy to correct; in certain cases, as for instance, 11. 119, 408, 1113, 1257, they quite challenged a cor- rection ; the common readings of the three in 1. 518 and 857 must be a mere chance, as in this part of the poem F and B follow group A; line 1098 has beer; discussed in § 9 ; the remaining coincidences in 11. 160. 1045, 1113, 1291 are of quite a trifling character. Further proofs that between (T P) and P some more careful scribe had tried to correct certain conspicuous mistakes, are afforded by the readings of P in lines 18, 1189 (s. § 13, end) ; 463, 494 (s. § 14, end), and by the substitution of new lines, in P, for the missing ones, 96, 216, 320. 1 The gap in 11. 96 and 97 was characteristic- ally filled in. The scribe of (T P F B) had, after copying the first sawe I in 1. 96, evidently caught sight of the second sawe I in 1. 97, and thus omitted two half-lines. This patched-up line was thus left standing in P, with the slight alteration of b/s to thus, and a new line was added to make up the couplet. If we thus consider the common readings of T. F. B., given in 1 Stowe must have, in some way, got hold of two of the new lines in ques- tion, as his substitutions in the corresponding places in F coincide with those of r (in 11. 96 and 320). Chapter III— Genealogy of the Texts. xxxix this paragraph, adding all those of T. F. B. P in § 9, and of T. P. F. B. L in § 13, it becomes apparent that, on the one hand, there exists a near connection between T. F. B., a connection well known from the text-criticism of Chaucer's Minor Poems. But, on the other hand, the above discussion will, I hope, have sufficiently shown that our theory of a close relation of T to P, advanced in § 8 and estab- lished on the basis of very remarkable coincidences in T and P, is not upset by some readings common to (F B) and T only. III. MS. L A LINK BETWEEN PRINTS AND MSS. T P F B. § 11. Coincidences of L ami the Prints. The Prints of the Temple of Glas all go back to the first one, printed by Caxton about 1478. We shall attempt to show in this §, that MS. L stands in close relation to the MS. which, we may fairly be allowed to suppose, Caxton had as his copy. The subjoined list gives the readings common to MS. L and to the Prints. 2. 2nd for] om. L. Pr. 10. sore] colde. 16. in] into (+ S). 154. or] or any. 180. sore] so. 191. 2nd]>at] om. ( + S). 233. efter pcrauetiture] per- aniiter after lie. 276. so] om. (+ S). 284. of] of her (+ P). 310. and] of. 311. >is] was L. was so Pr. 320. this] om. 331. woful] woful hertes. 345. witte &] out of. 362. ]>«t closid] In the colder L. the colder Pr. 377. |>e] thy (+ P). 384. ?e] ye ben. 397. awaki>] waketh. 411. ende and fine] fyne and ende. 517. 2nd for] om. 576. whiles ]wt] while. 602. sons] sorowes (+ S). 614. ouershake] overslake (+ S). 618. is] hit is. 625. enen] euer. 658. would] wol L. wil Pr. 666. pen] Whan. 678. For] And. 799. )>an] than of. 843. bi] with. 877. dilacioun] dissolucion. 975. k] and of. 1019. Jris] the. 1045. femyny[ni]te] verray femynyte. 1047. gan] began. 1096. it] om. 1120. maked] forged (+ G). 1128."ha>e vowid] vowed hath. 1138. for] for his. 1164. champartie] them party. 1233. 3011 dide] did you (+ P). 1248. Ne] Ner L. Nor Pr. 1249. men may no] no man may. 1265. plein] plavnlv ( + S). 1272 ? off] om. (+ T !). 1290. myrj>e] myrthea ( + G). 1363 ? Which] With (+ T !). 1367. so] om. A common feature of MS. L and the Prints is also the frequent introduction of the Scandinavian forms their, them (tkeim) for the her (hir) and hem of the other texts. § 12. Relation between L and the Original of the Prints. In spite of the coincidences enumerated in ^ 11, L cannot have been the original of the Prints, as it has a great number of individual mistakes which are not shared by the Prints. A complete list of the mistakes of L alone might be easily drawn up from the various readings given at the bottom of the pages in the text ; as they are too many to be enumerated separately, it may be as well to point oul n few conclusive instances. Lines 9G, 009, and 610 are missed out. xl Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Texts. For line 901 a gap was left by the original writer of the MS., which was filled in by a later hand. Lines 211 and 212 are transposed. A few conspicuous mistakes of minor importance in L are the following : 14. oppresse] expresse L. 176. Tresour] tresoims. 198. bi] with gret. 238. for>] sory. 271. sojmyssh] goodly. 426. doute>] dough ter. 515. dures] dis- tresse. 539. per were* with blood] there that blede. 540. fl.mres] om. 703. eontre] Court, 747. Hir trouth hir fai>] Hire faith hire trouthe. 900. viage] message. 1094. take] om. 1252. euer is] is neuer. 1364. oute] om. Much less can we suppose that L can have been copied from one of the Prints ; for, besides L being probably older than the oldest of them, the Prints represent quite a distinct group by them- selves, with a host of deviations from all other texts. We must, therefore, conclude that L and the original of the Prints (the MS. used by Caxton), come from a common original (L. Pr.). Line 901 proves, perhaps, that another MS. must have stood between L and (L. Pr.). § 13. Group T P F B L. To find the relation in which the original (L. Pr.) of L and the Prints must have stood to the other texts, we will begin with the coincidences of L with (T P F B). They are the following : 78. 2nd al only in T. P. F. B. L. 81. him. 96 (?) om. 175. of] in. 605. cau3t] Icaujt. 1004. distres. 1057. 2nd of. 1191. >enk] ]>enk pat. 1402. face] hir face. We see again, that, with the exception of two instances, namely, 11. 605 and 1004, no coincidences of this group are to be found in the middle of the poem ; for, as we have seen, from 1. 429 to 1. 1029 (F B) follows group A. We are, I think, fairly entitled to add the few coincidences in T. L. F. B to the above list : 18. liklynesse] liknesse T. F. B. L. 1189. jyue hir] hir Jyue. 1230. is knytt] 3e knytt T. F. B. L. om. P. In the first two cases P seems to have corrections, introduced on the way from (T P) to P. § 14. Coincidences in T P L. For that part of the poem in which F and B follow the first group A, the legitimate representative of group T. P. F. B. L would be T. P. L, with F. B missing. We find, accordingly, the following common readings in T. P. L : 495. 2nd to] om. T. P. L. 497. ful] hole. 534. croude] bronte. 638. am] I am. 655. bold] hold. 676. al] om. 703. al] om. 843. flaumed] bavmed. S 72 (?) Demen] Semen T. P. Seyen L. Chapter III. — Genealogy of the 'Texts. xii Near the beginning and end the two coincidences appear : 123. Almen] al men (comtpted line). 1283. J>rifti] tiisti T. tristy L. P. The following common readings of T and L may also go hack to their original (T P L) — P, again, would have corrected or attempted to correct : 463. beaute] ovi. T. L. vi'te P (attempted correction). 494. last now] lust T. L. life P. 976. I shal] shal I. 990. ha> bound me to] me ha} bound vnto. The unimportant coincidence in 1. 213. 2nd at] am. T. L (before 1. 429) must be by chance. § 15. Group B of Texts. "We will now attempt to summarize the arguments contained in the preceding paragraphs, and, as the result of these investigations, to establish a theory as to the relation between all the MSS. other than G. S, which latter form, as we have shown before, a distinct group A by themselves. First then, we must be allowed to anticipate here the proof con- tained in section IV of this chapter, that all the Prints go back to the oldest one by Caxton. Moreover, we may be allowed to suppose that Caxton had a MS. as his copy, which we may denote by (Pr.), it being the original of the Prints. This MS. goes back, with L, to a still older original (L. Pr.), as we have shown in § 12 ; between L slii Chapter III.— Genealogy of the Texts. and (L. Pr.) a connecting IMS. seems to have existed. Again, in § 9, we arrived at the conclusion that a MS. (T P F 1)) existed, from which the four MSS. T. P. F. B were drawn in two groups. Now, I think, the simplest way of accounting for all the coincidences and deviations, respectively, enumerated in the foregoing paragraphs, is to suppose that (L. Pr.) and (T P F B) go back to a common original B, as the source of the whole second group of texts. The two archetypes A and B of the two groups, would then in some way or other go back to the original 0, that is, the poem as it was written by Lydgate himself. The only objection of any weight to this pedigree of the MSS. in our group B seems to be that the Prints have the right reading in certain cases, in which L, in common with T. P. F. B or T. P, differs from them, as for instance in 1402. face] hir face T. P. F. 15. L; or in 497. ful] hole T. P. L ; see the full lists in §§ 13 and 14. For in such a case we must suppose that this reading appeared already in B, and has thence found its way into the individual MS. T. P. F. B. L. On the way to L it must have passed through (L. Pr.), and in the regular course of mechanical copying ought to have propagated itself into the Prints as well. If, therefore, such an error is not found in the Prints, we must suppose that Caxton (or, in some cases, perhaps his original) had found the right reading again. Nor need Ave be surprised at that. Throughout the Prints, and not least in Caxton's, we find a tendency to modernize the language and to make the poem altogether more palatable to the public of the day. If therefore Caxton, in his endeavour to produce a readable text from his cor- rupted copy, hit on the true reading in some dozen cases out of the very numerous instances of alteration, this would betray no incredible amount of sagacity on his part. The nature of the few cases in question seems certainly to warrant this supposition. One point still remains to be accounted for. Lines 154, 216, 320 are missed out in T. P. F. B, which is easily explained by their being omitted in the original (T P F B). In the same way line 9(3 is left out, not only in T. P. F. B, but also in L. Now, if that line had been omitted by the original of group B, it would not appear how the Prints have got the line correctly. The simplest explanation that suggests itself, seems to be that L made the same mistake again, as (T PFB); here also the scribe's eye must inad- vertently have wandered from the one / saice to the other in the next line. Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Teats. xliii IV. THE PRINTS. § 16. Gaxton's Print. The Prints of the Temple of Glas present to us an aspect of the text differing considerably from that of the MSS. The first, by Caxton, already exhibits the principal features common to them, the most important of which are enumerated in the subjoined list : — Lines 156, 157 are omitted. The same headings are found before 11. 321 and 701. — ]>urgh has been changed to by in 11. 105, 443, 515, 867, 871, 1217, 1331, 1344, 1350, 1357.— Changes of the old imperative: 513, 721. BeJ»] Be ye. 721. shape>] shape ye. 808. take>] take ye. 812. sufferi)>] suffre ye. 869. vndirstonde>] vnderstande ye. 976. take})] take ye. 1272. Come)'] Come ye. — For the introduction of the Scandinavian forms their, them, see § 11, end. — Other alterations are : 8. ihorned] horned and Pr. 21. me )>oiijt] om. 31. Iehaced] chaced. 44. euere] a. 49. &] & som. 63. was falsed] falsed Mas. 67. hov] how that. 69. Ful oftc wex] Was. 76. Mr] om. 77. a nojrir] other. 81. him] sire, syr. 90. was honged] henge. 106. Of] On. — Junge] lusty yong. 113. in] om. 130. and] and al the. 132. god] the god. 136. to] there to. 138. goodli] the goodly. 144. of] om. 149. iput] put. 166. ful] right. 172. haj>] hath had. 175. eke] om. 177. al againe*] agaynst al. 178. Wher] Where as. 197. with ful] om. 199. tender] om. 205. to curen al] for to coueren. 206. outward] om. 211. of] of fre. 218. And] And after. 250. Hov ]>at] om. 251. rijt] om. 254. bi] om. 265. Forto] That for to. 291. &] or. 293. and] om. 298. benigne and] right. 299. al] om. 305. And] To. 311. J>is] was so. 323. of] by. 333. lour grace may] may your grace. 338. al] om. 362. That hatter] The hotter that I. 376. 'so foi)> lyue] so lyue forth. 378. ]>e] om. 386. Haue] And. 394. also] om. 406. hir] om. 428. cherissh nov] now cherisshe. 440. his hert I shal] I shal his herte. 463. eny] om. 488. to 3o\v hole I] I hooly to you. 495. to your'] om. 499. haue] om. 506. it] om. 531. and] om. 532. >«t] om. 541." faire &] om. 543. 2nd wit/i] om. 555. Nere }>at he hade] Yf that he had not. 568. so] om. 573. rijt] om. 576. loue and seme] seme and loue. 5S6. Isolde] so yolde. 595. no] on) r . 597. gif a werre] renne awey. 600. k] and so. 602. forto sound] to founde. 605. she were late] late she was. 609. w;'t/;] of. — a] om. 620. jour] his. 636. >«t] om. 644. drede againward] agaynward drede.— & sai>] om. 647. Haue] Hath. 657. ful] ful the. 668. opon] on. 670. of pat] how. 672. >an do)>] doth me thenne. 677. '2ml to] and. 679. merci] pyte. 687. >e] om. 694. ]>at] om. 703. contre] mounte. 704. 2nd >i] om. 705. oft] om. 714. )>e] yet the. 726. restreyne] con- strayne. 733. me] om. 735. me not] not me. 736. ha>e 3eue me] me hath yeue. 748. his] her ( + P). 757. secre & wondre] wonder secrete and. 766. a] om. 775. not] neuer. 788. shott.es] shott. 800. not] no thing. 804. clepe] I clepe. 811. Xou] om. 814. helpe] helth. — hir me] me her. 818. nou] om. 820. nov] you. 834. ?ov] now. 859. The] This. 863. alway] althing. 871. Jmrngh euil] by ony. 882. ]>at] but. 899. merci] pyte. 910. J»e here] to her. 919. but] om. 939. a] om. 956. directe as nov] as bow directe. 959. sustren forto helpe me] suster to calle help vpon. 968. hiwi] om. 990. hath me bound vnto. 1002. ]>e so>e] my peynes. 1015. je shuld as nov] as now ye shold. 1039. graue] begraue. 1046. so] om. 1070. bound] drowned. 1095. oure hertes bo>e at] botlie our hertes in. 1122. for] of. 1147. at] om. 1165. With] Ayenat. 1173. deuoid] voyd. 1191. in fire hou] hou in fyre. 1206. shalt] om. 1207. Reioise] Shal reioyse. 1209. flour] the flour. 1215. )>e] these. 1219. also I wil] I wil also. 1225. de- pured] pured. 1230. which] that. 1232. 1st k] om. 1235. do>e] om. 1239. founde] found of. 1254. may] ther may. 1257. As] And. 1259. >«t] om. 1263. he] it. 1268. nov do] do now. 1291. life] lyf to telle. 1302. vnto] to. 1305. song] songes. 1318. plite] wyse. 1320. so] om. 1322. xliv Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Texts. ha> made a ful] made a. 1327. euer] euermore. 1380. 2nd a] om. 1383. fulle] om. 1391. So] om. 1397. ]>atj om. This long list, in which some trifling coincidences are neverthe- less omitted, shows, without further comment, how widely the Prints differ in character from the other texts, although adhering distinctly in the main to group B. These readings, first appearing in C, have all crept into the succeeding Prints, whose mutual relations it will be the object of the following paragraphs to point out. § 17. Wynken de Worde's first Print, W. In the prints later than Caxton's we can, as a rule, clearly dis- tinguish two leading features : namely, first, they correct the obvious mistakes of their predecessor and thus gain certain readings (fewer or more as the case may be), superior to those of their original. Secondly, they all add a great many more mistakes to those already inherited from Caxton's print. The corrections of some of Caxton's mistakes, found in W, are : 13. began C] gan W. 23. cam] gan. 119. he] her. 258. Surmounted] Surmounteh (h by mistake for th). 322. in] all. — the] in. 345. For] Fro.- — for] fer. 381. han they] han. 426. This] This is. 439. you] ye. 522. fyne] fuyne. 587 and 588, transposed in C, are, in W, in right order. 700. this] thus. 779. lasteth] lasted. 910. lowe the] lowly. 942. to] for to. 950. I with my silf] with my selfe I. 963. not to peynt] to peynt not. 1055. is] his. 1143. world] wold. 1177. approched] approcheth. 1178. axid] axeth. 1215. syn] fyn. 1234. ouermore] euermore.— bewreke] be wreke. 1358. twinkyng] twynklyng. 1361. Fortune] Fortuned. Both Prints have wrong readings, differing from one another, in 11. : 41. &] om. C. and now W. 117. gan to chauwge] changed C. began to chauwge W. 180. pleined] pleyneth C. playnen W. 612. when] whan that C. what that W. 1140. lateb] late ye C. late your W. 1236. ferse] fair C. fyry "W. 1336. gonne] begun C. goon W. The new mistakes, introduced by W, are the following : eke changed to also in 11. 155, 241, 243, 246, 252, 273, 293, 294, 855, 1117 ; the archaic form eke having been left standing in 11. 77, 97, 398, 746, 1173, 1209, 1210 and many more.— 159, 163. o)>ir eke] also other.— 182, 187. elde] olde. 95. vnwarli] unwardly W. 178. force, noon] noo force. 239. graue] in his graue. 247. alderlast] at the last. 249. statue] statute. 309. was] om. 323. ben] om. 394. dropping] drepynge. 416. foloij] Mowed. 437. so] om. 439. Wherso] Whether. 449. baspectes] by aspecte. 450. teschwe] teshewe. 551. semed] semeth. 618. kou>e] knowera. 651. were] werre. 656. gi?me}>] begynneth. 667. my] the. 674. >en] that. 683. seith] sayd. 689. dovmb] doun. 722. case] care. 726. hire] om. 727. at ]>e lest] atte laste. 841. euenlich] lyke wyse. 871. compassing] rehercyng. 890. she] he. 905. maist }>ou] may you. 946. wo as] wooes. 980. in] om. 1028. Jon] ye. 1044. ran] it ran. 1053. hir] om. 1092. be heled] beheled. 1125. most] oft. 1142. pace] space. 1182. renme] renewe. 1257. deinte] deute. Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Texts. xlv 1284. haue] had. 1305 changed considerably. 1368. Me Jwijt I] My thought. 1379. to] (mi. As W, therefore, has all the characteristic readings of C, and differs from C only in certain corrections, and new mistakes of its own, we may conclude that Wynken, in his first edition of the poem, copied from Caxton's print. We may suppose that the corrections all came from Wynken himself; even the two or three more remark- able ones in 11. 322, 587 and 588. 950, 963 hardly warrant the supposition that Wynken had recourse to another source than Caxton's print. § 18. Pynson's Print. Although this is but a fragment, there is nevertheless no difficulty in assigning to it its proper place in the pedigree of the Prints. It must have been derived from W, Wynken de Worde's first print. For, first, it follows the readings of W very closely, and wherever W differs from C, p gives the reading of W. This is the case in the following lines : 1117, 1125, 1140, 1142, 1177, 1178, 1215, 1336, 1368, 1379 (for the specifica- tion of which see § 17). Add hereto the coincidence of such an extraordinary spelling as 1. 1160. wmyen (= women) in both prints W and p. Therefore p cannot have been derived from C. But neither can it have been derived from a print later than W, as is shown by the following coincidences in p and W, where these prints have preserved the old reading in opposition to the second print W2 by Wynken, whose mistakes have, for the most part, crept into the still younger prints w and b : 1104. twein] sweyne W2. w. 1121. he] ye W2. w. b. 1130. Ay] As W'z. w. b. 1337. In] An W2. w. 1370. gret] frete W2. w. (b). Some new mistakes occur also in p : 1149. do] om. 1182. renewe] om. 1197. J>i] the. 1201. dai] om. 1332. hem] hym. 1341. Joure] oour. 1377. that] om. 1378. as] om. 1379. wryte] wyrte. I think the above arguments can leave no doubt that p had W as its original. § 19. Wynken de Worde's second, print, W2. This print has all the characteristic readings of W, reproducing W's corrections of C as well as its own numerous new mistakes. It hardly supplies any corrections beyond mere printer's mistakes, whilst it exhibits a "reat many new errors : /'^ • { UNIYIKUFY V Of dvi Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Texts. 1. thoujt] through W2. 16. a] om. 26. gan] om. 37. In] I. 38. gone] om. 62. next] nex. 73. trouth] through. 85. When] What. 105. vnwarli] vnwanlly. 139. leydons] leydous. 145. In] Is. 200. ofte] oft a. 204. for to] or to. 205. hir] they (for tliojr?). 231. jmruj] om. 248. cristal] orystall. 252. domie] om. 254. In] I. 273. of] yf. 318. wil] stylle. 347. yonde] yonder. 391. ])is wit/rin] thir within. 401. mate] wate. 450. teschwe] teshewe W. to shewe W2. w. h. 472. while 1 liue] lyue whyle. 480. to twrne] to forne. 512. is] om. 514. niai] many. 533. pres] preces. 535. in his] iu. 582. wi}>] within. 616. til] ryl. 617. vnwarli] wardly. 638. so] loo. 660. ]>at] om. 664. encrese] lencrece. 718. influence] infulgence. 720. >is] his. 796. menyng] meuyug. 839. Hir] om. 845. of] om. 890. she] om. 926. adou?i] and a doun. 944. felt] lete. 968. at] om.— his] is. 985. god] good. 1001. rwe] knewe. 1013. offend] offence. 1079. to obei] to heye. 1092. men] man. 1104. twein] sweyne. 1121. he] ye. 1130. Ay] As. 1253. doubilnes] om. 1263. it] it it. 1269. Jo«r] you. 1312. queme] quene. 1337. In] An. 1370. gret] frete. There remains no doubt that W2 was derived from W. § 20. Wynlten de Worde's third print, w. This print must have followed W2 as its original, for it has all the readings of W2, with a few corrections and many new mistakes of its own. In some cases tangible errors of W2 have been very thoughtlessly reproduced, for instance, in 11. 37, 73, 145, 200, 204, 248, 254, 273, 616, 664, 1104, 1337. w supplies corrections in the following 11.: 205, 514, 551, 727, 926, 1001, 1269, 1372. Unsuccessful attempts at correction appear in 11. : 318. stylle W2] skylle w. 391. thir within] therwithin. 617. wardly] in- wardly. 944. lete] ledde. 1125. it] om. 1253. For the omitted doubilnes w supplies falsncs. 1312. and queue] the quene. New mistakes are introduced : LI. 366, 367, and 390 are omitted in w.— 219, 464, 816, 840. whilom] som- tyme. 1. For through] Throughe w. 2. pensifhede] pensyfnes. 18. as] all. 25. parsing] passynge. 31. hane] than. 62. next] nex ¥2. next her w. b. 86. loues] loued. 106. faire] the fayre. 188. Ay] Alwaye. 192. be to] to be. 207. wepen] where. 292. &] om. 356. feruence] feruente. 357. mot] may. 381. han] than. 385. chaunge] chaunce. 399. some] om. 406. to] the. 422. ioi] no Ioye. 426. doute>] dowte it. 478. nov] om. 492. to] om. 527. >is]'the. 530. de mieulx en mieulx magre] better & better after my gre. 537. Descriuen] Dysceyue. 542. offerin] om. 547. >e] om. 608. pnssid] tossed. 620. may] om. — him] dare hym. 686- to] lo. 765. axen] axely. 815. ey3en] euen. 842. net] hit C. W. W2. it w. 862. oure] her. 886. wi])] and. ' 890. as] om. 898. meuvng] menne. 903. fortune] forne. 933. I gan] gan I. 951. want] lacke. 977. first] om. 991. That] My. 1055. meny«g] meuyng. 1135. ?ourc] om. 1162. euermore] euer. 1183. onergon] be gone. 1210. eke] ete. 1232. Ioue] Iuno. 1299. aboute] aboue. 1307. 2nd her] om. 1312. and quene] the quene. 1345. Venus ladi] lady Venus. 1357. sijt] light. Moreover, in a considerable number of cases, Avhere the older Prints C. W. W2 had left the pure English forms her, hem, w has Chapter III. — Genealogy of the Texts. xlvii introduced the Scandinavian forms their, them; it also occurs tot hit. § 21. Berthelet's Print. Into such a corrupted state had the text of the Temple of Glas sunk, when Berthelet, on account, doubtless, of its still enduring popularity, set about issuing another edition. As many passages had become entirely unintelligible, he attempted an out-and-out revision of the text, which thus differs from its immediate predecessor at least as much as Caxton's print differs from its nearest relations, the MSS. of Group B. Berthelet's principles were very simple : where he met with obsolete words or inflexions, he modernized ; where there were evidently corrupted or unintelligible readings, he got rid of them, as a rule, by some radical cure, more or less appropriate ; the three lines omitted in w he supplied out of his own head, nor did he feel pangs of conscience in changing, without any apparent reason, a great many other things which it would have been better to have left untouched. The question as to which of the preceding prints he took for his copy, is easily solved : as his print gives not only the few corrections, or attempts at correction, introduced by w, but also the greater part of the mistakes which first appear in w, there can be no doubt that this last print of Wynken de Worde's served as his original. To do justice to Berthelet, we first subjoin a list of his successful corrections, in which he found the old true reading again, a list which puts the corrections in Caxton's print, or those in MS. P, quite in the shade, as regards their number, sometimes their sagacity, and always their appropriateness to his purpose. 9. Had] Hydde b. 15. that restored in b. 16. a restored. 93. the restored. 194. to] for to. 200. it restored.. 204. or to \\ T 2. vv] for to. 231. thurgh restored. 309. was restored. 310. of] and. 377. thy] the. 378. Thy] The. 381. hauc restored. 400. also reioyce in the right order. 406. the] to. 416. folowed] foloweth. 422. no] om. 436. hym sette in the right order. 437. so restored. 472. lyue whyle] while I liue. 480. toforne] to turne. 517. of] for. 533. preces] preace.- — with restored. 537. Dysceyue] Discryuen. 542. offre restored. 547". the restored. 574. her] his. 616. ryll] tyll. 626. that restored. 661. one] a. 718. infulgence] influence. 749. sanyng] sane. 765. axely] axen. 796. meuvnge] meanvng. 845. of restored. 850. that] thong,). 916. to restored. 935. 2nd the restored. 960. 2nd of restored. 10] 3. offence] offende. 1052. vndenysed] vnaduysed. 1053. her restored. 1055. meuyng] menyng. 1061. so nioche] as much as. 1092. man behelde] men be healed. 1104. sweyne] tweyne. 1113. Fnl] Fully. 1125. oft] most. 1138. thenne] trouthe. 1210. ete] eke. 1257. deute W. Wa. w] dente b. 1279. lady restored. 1284. had] haue. 1299. ahoue] about,.. 1814. lusty] lykelv. 1337. An] In. 1340. this] thus. 1368. My thought] Me thought I. Some of the well-intentioned, but unsuccessful, corrections in b are : xlviii Cha/pter III. — Genealogy of ih Texts. For lines 366, 367, and 390, missing in w, b has substituted some of his own. — 26. gan] om. W2. w. dyde b. 86. loues] loued w. loue the b. 150. haue] hath. 192. to be] with the. 207. Thus] There.— where] om. 252. and also the storm e] in brightnesse echone. 256. the] in. 356. feruent and] feruent. 391. therwithin] therfore within. 415. by] to. 443. hym selfe] he wolde. 492. be at] in to. 839. Hir] om. W2. w. Myn b. 842. be hit] be it w. by it b. 903. fortune] forne w. forther b. 933. so] as. — I gan in the right order. 934. so] sore. 1030. preue] me preue. 1054. of rou}>e] of whiche C. W. ¥2. w. so moche b. 1125. is] om. w. hath ben b. 1363. With] am. Thus far we have enumerated Berthelet's corrections. We now proceed to give other more or less systematic changes in b : The demonstrative pronoun tho, answering to O.E. ]>&, is replaced by those in 11. 1165, 1337, 1351. Similarly, the adverb of time tho (also = O.E. >a) is replaced by than in 11. 370, 525, 1366, 1369. To/ore has been changed into before in some 17 cases ; thou into you, 852 ; thou sorowcst into ye soroice 860 ; the into you 859, 874 ; thin into your 854, 861. These changes, the first of which are owing to Berthelet's tendency to modernize his text, are at least excusable, and certainly they answered to the requirements, or taste, of his readers. But, unfortu- nately, Berthelet also thought that the readings of his copy were corrupted in many places where, in reality, they were right. Such is the case in the following lines : 23. gan] cam. 180. pipyng] wepyng. 225. they] he. 233. That] Yet. 275. ennewed] endewed. 320. was] foloweth. 407. gan] became. 483. loueth me] I loue. 539. blood] golde. 572. god] the god. 651. man] a man. 695. haue] haue made. 724. ne dare alas] alas ne dare. 860. That] And. 1060. of] for. 1061. That] And. 1090. is founden] fvndeth. 1093. to] om. 1266. that] if. 134S. Willy] Worthy. 1366. for] sore. The number of these cases might be augmented ; but, in some of them, it is obviously difficult to say whether Berthelet believed he was restoring the original reading, or simply wished, by fair means or foul, to improve upon the copy before him. Further, what is still worse, he made a great many apparently quite unwarrantable and uncalled-for alterations, in which his individual caprice seems to have been his sole standard : thus he interpolated four lines between 314 and 315, and completely changed whole lines, as 314, 315, 319, 545—548, 882, 950, 951, or half-lines, as in 318, 374, 1190. 1 To point out his countless smaller alterations would avail nothing, the more as they are one and all contained in the apparatus criticus. If, to sum up, we consider the above lists, we must, I think, in fairness give Berthelet credit for his many real corrections in the first list; as to those which follow next, we must at least pass a 1 Or had he a copy of w before him, in which some of these lines were obliterated .' Chapter IV. — Criticism of the Texts. xlix verdict of "tatnen est laudanda voluntas,'" 1 all the more readily as there are comparatively few mistakes arising from his own inad- vertency. We must certainly allow that the " in many places amended and late diligently imprynted," put with an evident sense of satisfaction on his title-page, is not altogether unjustified. But, on the other hand, we are in justice hound to say that Berthelct's text is, by a long way, the one furthest removed from the original, as it came from Lydgate's hand. This, of course, is in some measure not so much Berthelet's own fault, but is rather accounted for by the fact of his Print being the last offshoot of a long generation of MSS. and Prints. It is, nevertheless, instructive to note how Berthelet, with all his emendations and critical sagacity, oidy managed to produce the worst text of all, and how he was wrong even in such a case as the one pointed out in the footnote below, which, in his eyes, must have appeared a masterpiece of con- jectural emendation. These considerations are apt to dim in no small degree the lustre of the nimbus, surrounded by which, some people tell us, the " Conjectural-Kritiker " walks in unapproachable majesty. CHAPTER IV. PRINCIPLES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEXT. § 1, Group A corrupted. In the foregoing paragraphs it has been shown that the existing texts of the poem form two groups A and B, the first represented by MSS. G and S, and, for part of the poem, also by F and B ; the second by the rest of the MSS., and the Prints. As there are some radical differences between the two groups, we have now first to dis- cuss which of the two is the most likely representative of the older and purer text. From what we have intimated in Chapter III, § 1, it will already have been gathered that we do not consider group A as representing the original version. G and S alone give the Compleynt at the end, and no one is likely to be of opinion that this wretched production can possibly have formed an original continuation of the Temple of Glas. For although the poetic value of the Temple of Glm may not rank high, 1 This certainly applies in the case of such an alteration as that in I. 72 1. For as he found the word case in 1. 722 corrupted in his original into care, he again made good the lost rhyme in 1. 724 by transposing the nc dare alas of bia original to alas nc dare. TEMPLE OF GLAS. d 1 Chapter IV. — Criticism of the Texts. yet this bungling piece of patchwork is much inferior to it. Through; out the Temple of Glas it is obvious that the author endeavours to present to us the action of his poem in clearly-defined outlines ; but these 600 lines, which are entirely foreign to the general tenour of the Temple of Glas, and which have been tacked on to it in such an ill-judged manner, spoil the composition as a whole most cruelly. Granted that the action in the Temple of Glas is poor and over- weighted by long, tiresome speeches, yet the narrative clearly ends and is complete at line 1380, and we expect the close of the poem some- where near there. The Envoy which follows (11. 1393 — 1403), and which is thus not given by G and S, is quite characteristic of Lydgate. Here, too, he has not forgotten the request to " correct" his poem, if any word be missaid in it ; a close which is as sure to come in at the end of a work of Lydgate's as the famous white horse in a picture of Wouwerman's. "We have mentioned above that the Compleynt was most likely added here in consequence of the ambiguous and unclear purport of the last 25 lines, where the author (11. 1380 and 1381) promises a " litil trctise," "in pris of women," "Hem to comende, as it is skil & rijt." But where is anything of this programme carried out in this miserably stupid concoction 1 To conclude, not the shadow of a doubt can remain that the Compleynt has nothing whatever to do with the Temple of Glas. 1 Some of the minor interpolations also may readily be discerned as such. Thus the three stanzas interpolated in group A after stanza 25, are certainly far from being in harmony with the general tenour of the poem, and it seems more appropriate that the lady's thanks to Venus should end with laud and reverence to her name and excel- lence, rather than with jays, pies, lapwings, and owls. Very much the same holds good of the four stanzas put, in G and S, instead of stanzas 3 — 7. The expression " f ryed in his owene gres" (Stanza 3 c, 1. 1) may be quite appropriate in the mouth of the "Wife of Bath, but certainly it is not so from the lips of our gentle Lady. We readily allow that the lady's complaint to Venus (11. 335 — 369) is somewhat vague in expression, and can in no sense be called a masterpiece ; but the substitute (stanzas 3 a — 3 d) must surely be pronounced even less successful. The above considerations are calculated to make us mistrustful of 1 I wonder very much whether it is by a mere chance that MS. O, not only in the Temple of Gla*, but also in the Prologue to the Legend of Good Women, follows quite a different version. Chapter IV. — Criticism of the Texts. li the more extensive deviations of group A from B. Thus the single stanza interpolated between 11. 453 and 454, also arouses our sus- picion, although innocent enough in itself; so does, similarly, the change of the motto of the Lady in 11. 310 and 530, and the alteration of the colours in 11. 299 and 504 (green being considered by the redactor the symbol of inconstancy ; see Skeat, M. P., p. 387). What must make us question still more the correctness of the com- mon readings of G and S, is that we find distinct changes in these two MSS. alone, even in that part of the poem where F and 15 follow the same group and yet differ from G and S. So, for instance, in 1. 510 G and S alone attempt to give a name to the Lady, namely, " Margarete," 1 and change lines 513 and 514 accordingly, whilst F and B do not deviate from the readings of the other texts. This shows that some of the deliberate and important changes in G and S may come from (G S) rather than the archetype of group A, even Avhen not controlled by the readings of F and B. Another alteration in G and S, not warranted by the readings of F and B, is the change of the pronouns ]>ou, \e, pin to y., y»r, your in certain lines. Venus is addressed in the poem, both by the knight and lady, as ye; she, in her turn, addresses the lady as ye, and the knight as \- mund, Albon and Amphabel, Assembly of Gods, Black Knight, Chorl and Bird, ^Esop, De duobus Mercatoribus, Flour of Curtesie, Secreta Secretorum, and in part of the Temple of Glas, not to mention the minor poems. B. The metre ranking second in importance is the heroic couplet, where two live-beat iambic lines rhyming with each other form the unit of the metrical system. This is the metre of the most important of the Canterbury Tales, the Legend of Good Women, etc. ; the epic metre of Chaucer by way of eminence. In imitation of his master, Lydgate employed it in his two most prominent epic works, the Troy-Book and the Story of Thebes. Part of the Temple of Glas is also in this metre. C. The third metrical form of importance is the four-beat couplet, the metre of Gower's Confessio Amantis, the Hous of Fame, the Romaunt of the Rose, etc. Lydgate has employed it in Reason and Sensuality, and in the verse-translation of Deguileville's first Pil< I rima ye. These afore-mentioned metres are also employed in many minor poems, where, of course, numerous other metrical forms also appear, especially the 8-line stanza. Of Lydgate's prose-writing 1 only one certain specimen seems to be extant, namely, the Serpent of Division ; whether the prose-translation of Deguileville's second Pilgrimage was done by Lydgate, seems to me extremely doubtful. As I have already intimated, the Temple of Glas is written in two of the above metres used alternately, namely, the heroic couplet and the 7-line stanza. The former of these is, speaking generally, employed in the epic parts of the poem, whilst the stanzas are used for the lyrical parts. But it is true that this distinction is not main- tained strictly throughout the poem ; occasionally narrative appears in the stanzas, whilst on the other hand, the long soliloquy of the Knight is written in couplets (11. 567 — 693). Toward the end of the poem, we have a "Ballade" (11. 1341 — 1361), i.e. three 7-line stanzas with a refrain, the last lines of the stanzas being substan- tially the same (see ten Brink, Chaucer's Sprache und Verskunst, p. 213). The three rhymes a, b, c, required to make up a stanza, are, moreover, in this form of the " ballade," identical in all three 1 "Carmina quoque latina coniposuit, & in soluta oratione nonnulla," says the not altogether dependable Bale, Sitmmdriwn, 1j4S, fol. 203 a. lvi Chapter V.— Lydgate 8 Metre. stanzas ; in our present one they end in -i$t, -ere, -inite. We have a ballad of similar structure and function in the Prologue to the Legend of Good Women (11. 249—269) ; also at the end of the Flour of Curtesie, frequently in the Envoys of the Falls of Princes ; again in the Me of Ladles, 11. 2213—2233, and at the end of the Court of Sapience ; in the last two poems, however, the burden alone recurs, with slight variations ; the rhymes a and b are different in the three stanzas. Our present ballad, which can only boast of identical rhymes in three consecutive stanzas, is but one of Lydgate's less brilliant feats in the art of rhyming ; he has elsewhere envoys con- sisting of a considerable number of stanzas — in one case (Falls of Princes, fol. 66 d, etc.) amounting to nineteen — in which the three rhymes a, b, c of the first recur in all the following ones. § 2. The Structure of the Verse. Lydgate himself was not very proud of his metre. He explains his system to us in the following lines from the Troy-Book (fol. E 5 b), which, if they do not reflect great credit upon his metrical art, are at least delightfully candid : "And trouthe of metre I sette also a-syde ; For of that art I hadde as tho no guyde We to reduce, whan I went a-wronge : I toke none hede nouther of shorte nor longe." Accordingly, poor Daun John's metre has been very severely criti- cized ; Putson says that there are scarcely three lines together of pure and accurate metre, and Professor Skeat has even as late as 1884 the following sentence in his Preface to the Kingis Quair (p. xxxii) : " The net result is that the lines of James I., like the lines of Chau- cer, are beautifully musical, and quite different from the halting lines of Lydgate." Nor need we wonder that a juster estimate of Lydgate's metre was not sooner arrived at. There is hardly a good critical text of Lydgate's writings existing, and the metre in the corrupt MSS. and Prints deserves indeed the severest strictures that have been laid upon it. There are, in the later MSS., and particularly in some of the prints, hundreds and thousands of such halting lines as "In Wiltshire | of Englond | two priestes | there were," which seem to have simply no metre at all ; in the present instance the line can only be scanned, so far as I can see, by one means, namely, by the assumption that Lydgate intended to introduce Firdausi's line into English poetry. The greatest wonder to me is how Chapter V. — Lydgate s Metre. lvii tlie public of the time of Caxton and his immediate folloAvers could read these things as verses ; their ears must surely have been singu- larly impenetrable to anything like rhythmical harmony. If, how- ever, we go back to Lydgate himself, the case is after all not so bad. The monk thinks it great fun to make himself out worse than he really is — a peculiarity of which we shall have to say more in Chapter X — and we know that even his great master Chaucer alludes humorously to possible defects in his metre. The most successful attempt to set forth Lydgate' s metrical pecu- liarities, is, so far as I know and am able to judge, Professor Schip- per's account in his Englische Metrik, I, § 196. My own observations, based on a critical text, tend to confirm the results arrived at by the Professor, and I think there can remain no doubt as to the correct- ness of Schipper's views in general, although in many particulars I cannot agree with his scanning of Lydgate's lines. "We may say, roughly speaking, that Lydgate has five types of the five-beat line — even if we make no distinction between lines with strong (mono- syllabic) and weak (dissyllabic) rhymes. A. The regular type, presenting five iambics, to which, as to the other types, at the end an extra-syllable may he added. There is usually a well-defined caesura after the second foot, but not always. Examples : Line 1 : For thou^t, constraint, || and grcuous heuines[se]. P. Lines with the trochaic caesura, built like the preceding, but with an extra-syllable before the caesura. Examples : L. 77 : There was eke Isaude — || & muni anoj)*V mo. L. 91 : And mani a stori, || mo J>en I rekin can. L. 120 : List of his gddhode j| his f6?tnne to" transmwe. L. 1093 : Wherfore, as Venus || list pis mater to giu'e. This redundant syllable before the caesura is often found in Chaucer, and, again, in the Elizabethan dramatists, and greatly contributes towards giving variety to this metre, which, in less skilful hands, easily becomes monotonous. This " epic " caesura is also well-known in Eomance poems (see Tohler, Vom franziisischen VersLau, p. 69, etc.), particularly in Italian, French, and Provencal. In our poem this type is very common ; the following lines either must be read, or are best read according to it: 39, 102, 105, 164, 198, 227, 244, 276, 298, 329, 367, 401, 406, 409, 429, 444, 463, 484, 541, 543, 553, 609, 678, 679, 690, 698, 722, 750, 759, 770, 792, 797, 801, 835, 853, 859, 864, 898, 953, 960, 1000, 1017, 1034, 1038, 1053, 1073, 1078, 1089, 1100, 1126, 1164, 1176, 1188, 1206, 1237, 1302. L. 905 L. 309 L. 1200 L. 1368 L. 1398 L. 579 L. 580 lviii Chapter V. — Lydyates Metre. I believe there are many more lines which we may suppose Lyd- gate to have read in this way ; and, again, there are a great many others about wbich it is impossible to decide. C. The peculiarly Lydgatian type, in which the thesis is want- ing in the caesura, so that two accented syllables clash together. Examples : For specheles || noting maist jjou spede. Enbrouded was || as men myjte se. SiJ> ndon but she || may J>i sores sound. Me \>6u$t I was || cast as in a traurcce. If eny word || in f>e be myssaide, Hou euer god || forto rcken all. My^t make a }?ing || so" celestial. This line is peculiar to Lydgate, or, at least, is more developed in his works than anywhere else. The second half of the line is here treated, as the whole line is in type D, the first syllable, so to say, being cut off. The development of this type may, to a certain degree, also be due to the increasing tendency to drop the final e. This type is very common in all Lydgate's works, and our Temple of Glas exhibits many lines of this peculiar metrical structure, the most important of which I enumerate in the following list : LI. 18, 63, 127, 159, 245, 246, 255, 412, 434, 485, 491, 503, 536, 567, 578, 592, 681, 689, 767, 794, 836, 845, 848, 849, 858, 911, 913, 942, 1005, 1028, 1030, 1049, 1084, 1106, 1141, 1145, 1150, 1261, 1270, 1328, 1373, 1395. D. The acephalous or headless line, in which the first syllable has been cut off, thus leaving a monosyllabic first measure. Example : L. 1396 : Unto hir || & to hir excellence; L. 1311 : Of musike, || ay dide his bfsynes ; L. 1158 (1) : Rote |»in hert, || and voide doublenes. Most likely we must add 1. 489 ; Lydgate, I should think, read Thank- ing ; Go wer would read ThanTcende. There is hardly another certain example of this type in the Temple of Glas. For although the text of this poem can, in general, be reconstructed with sufficient certainty, yet there are, just with respect to this particular question, certain dis- crepancies between the two groups A and B, which allow of an ambiguous interpretation : namely, either G and S exhibit the true old reading, which represented a more regular type ; or, G and S show a tendency to tamper with the metre, considered deficient by them, and especially to do away with these monosyllabic first measures. Chapter V. — Lydgate s Metre. lix I am inclined to think that the second interpretation holds good in the majority of cases (cf. Chapter IV, § 1). Thus, I think, we must consider lines 808 and 870 as acephalous ; so also 1. 265 (G and Prints alone exhibiting an alteration), perhaps also 79. Lines 9 and 954 may be doubtful. E. Lines with trisyllabic first measure. The occurrence of such lines in our poem is uncertain; but two lines may belong to this class, if we read them in the following way : L. 781 : That was feipful found, til hem departid dfye ; L. 1029 : And as ferforbe as my wittes con conceyue. Lines 496 and 1037 do not belong to this class ; this is is to be read this', as a monosyllable; see, for instance, Chaucer's Parlement of Foules, 411 and 650. In many cases it is, however, impossible to classify a line as belonging ineontestably to any particular one of the above-named types. It not unfrequently happens with Lydgate, as with all doggerel-poets who have not a sensitive ear for rhythm, that his verses can be read in two or three different ways. Type A and C particularly may often seem to have equal claims to a line, according as we read or drop the final e before the caesura. For instance, 1. 3 belongs to type C, if we read went, as the MS. has it ; but it belongs to type A, if we read went'e, sounding the final e. In our present case it is impossible to decide : Lydgate usually sounds the e of the weak preterit, but he has also unquestionably went in 1. 546. The same holds good of types A and B ; for instance, 1. 395 ; clere\ may be a monosyllable or a dissyllable. Again, type C and D might lay claim to one and the same line ; for instance, 1. 63, which may be read : Hou bat she was || falsed of Iason ; or : Hod bat she || was falsed of Iason. In cases like the last I am inclined to assign the line to type C, as there are so many more indisputable instances of it than of type L). I must add here that Lydgate seems sometimes to have a double thesis ; but the instances are rare and uncertain in our poem. This may be the case in 11. 1082, 1170, 1172; 910, 1212, all of which, however, are uncertain, 1 inasmuch as they either present doubtful 1 So are almost all the examples, adduced by Schippcr, p. 495, in support of the double thesis : we have most likely to scan : For the sixte Herry ; wedyr, in line 2, is treated as a monosyllable, to bo pronounced somewhat in the same way as modern French quat' for qit.nt.rc (words in re or le are veiy commonly so treated by Lydgate ; cp. the line (pioted by Schipper on p. 497) ; in line 3 I ix Chapter V. — Lydgate & Metre. readings, or may he scanned smoothly by slurring. Further, Lydgate very often makes the arsis fall on unaccentuated syllables ; for in- stance : Hertes, 1097, 1211 ; Demon, 872; vndir, 809, 1111, 1213; Whilom, 81G; Fairest, 1341; Oj>lr, 1038; Making, 939; Singyng, 1340; Ledin, 239; Gladest, 703; Passejj, 252, etc. Again, alliteration, particularly in the form of alliterating formulae, is very common in Lydgate. Many words, like servise, fortune, beaute, etc., have a double accent, perhaps to a greater extent than in Chaucer. Elisions, slurrihgs, hiatus, synizesis, etc., occur very much in the same manner as in Chaucer. I think I had better leave a careful and detaded synopsis of these phenomena to some special treatise on Lyd- gate's metre; the question of the final e, which it was absolutely necessary to investigate closely for the construction of the text, will be fully discussed in the following Chapter. § 3. The Rhyme. The rhyme is, in general, pure and skilfully handled. The principles followed by Lydgate are much the same as those of Chaucer, for which reason I will only draw attention to certain points which are of special interest or which are peculiar to Lydgate. As to the quality of the rhyme-vowel, Lydgate makes no difference between open and close sounds ; open and close o or e being treated exactly alike. For instance : wo : do 1370, so : do 637, also : do 902 (compare, however, with regard to these examples, ten Brink, § 31, 72); stoode (O.E. stod) : abode (O.E. abad), Falls of Princes, fol. 9 c and 21 a; wode (O.E. wod) : abrode, F. of Pr. 22b. Drede rhymes with rede (O.E. raid) 641, 1367 ; with lede (O.E. Isedan) 1198 ; with hede (O.E. heafod) 526 ; with womanhede 764 ; with mede (O.E. med) 352, 413, and spede (O.E. sped) 681. SpecJte' (0.~E. spr&c) rhymes with leche (O.E. l&ce) 917, and with seche (O.E. secan) 1166 ; clene (O.E. chene) with grene (O.E. grene) and to sene (O.E. to seonne) 504, &c. (cp. again ten Brink, § 25). Similarly, no difference is made between el and ai, for instance : maide (O.E. nmegden) : leide (O.E. legdon) 207; peine : complaine 145, 723, 942; disdein : vain 155, etc. In three cases we find an assonance 1 in place of the rhyme : should scan : of colour full cov'nable ; in the 5th and 6th line for and the are probably to be omitted ; read further in the 6th line at thentring, and in the 9th The childre of Seth ; in 11. 7, 8 and 4 we have probably to accentuate support, re- port, devise, if, indeed, we have not, in the last case, to substitute icise for devise. 1 Assonances in the Black Knight have been pointed out by Skeat, in the Academy, Aug. 10, 1878, p. 144, col. 1 : forjuged : excused, 274 ; ywreke : clepe, 284. Chapter V. — Lydgate's Metre. lxi 11. 125, 126 ascape : take; 11. 856, 858, 859: perfourme : refourme: mourne; and 11. 1017, 1018 : accepte : correcte. We need not blame the monk too much for this oversight ; for sometimes, assonances are put unawares by poets who are particularly conspicuous for the purity of their rhymes, such as Chaucer (see ten Brink, § 329), and Robert of Gloucester (see Pabst, Die Sprache tier me. Reimchronilc des R. von Gloucester, § 4). Of course there are plenty of cheap rhymes in Lydgate ; suffixes, such as -(n)esse, -ful, -hede, rhyme frequently with each other ; we have further in the Temple of Glas, binde : unbinde, 1269 ; li3t : li^t, 1341; herte : smerte, etc.; in one case (11. 1013, 1016) Lydgate repeats the same word wise to rhyme with itself. Lydgate, as well as Chaucer, uses double forms of the same word for rhyming pur- poses ; thus deye rhymes with obeye in 11. 587 and 772, with sate, 983 ; but it rhymes also, in the form dye, with fantasie and specifie, 1. 514; with crie, 998. We have, moreover, swete rhyming with liete 510; but soote rhyming with rote and bote, 458. eye is made to rhyme with lie, 73, Emelie 106, regalie 262, deye 232, and was evidently pronounced ye. The rhymes prove that Lydgate often used the Kentish e for O.E. y ; in our poem Ave have thus test (: best : rest), 483 ; the Tanner-MS., however, writes in all cases where the word occurs, lid or lust. We find, further, mynde, 1. 732, rhyming with ende and sende ; and, again, 1. 1241, mynd : ende. Compare, on the other hand, the rhymes mynde : finde, 11. 741 and 830 ; kynd : mynde : behind, 343. l Lomance words in -oun are very common ; the rhymes prove that Lydgate sounded the vowel as a long u (as in Modern-English ruth) : soun : lamentacioun, 197 ; toun : Palamoun, 101 ; doun : lamentacioun, 566 ; prisoun : adoune, 647 ; compassiouu : renoun : adoun, 926. But we have also rhymes like Iason : anon : gone, F. of Princes, fol. 11 d, &c. (cp. ten Brink, § 71). A peculiarity of Lydgate's is that he frequently rhymes words ending in -ire with those in -ere. This has several times been pointed out ; as by Sauerstein, in Lydgate's JEsopubersetzung, p. 17 (bottom) ; Prof. Zupitza, in the Deutsche Litteraturzeitung , 1886, col. 850 ; Koeppel, Mitteiluwjen zur Anglia, 1890, p. 92. We have the following rhymes in the Temple of Glas: chere : desire, 315, 563, 729 ; praiere : desire, 543 ; daunger : desire, 776 ; pantere : desire, 1 See, on the promiscuous use of i and Kentish e in the Suffolk-dialect, Horstmann, Introduction to Bokcimm, p. xi ; Hoofe, in Englischc Studicn, V11I, 239. lx!i Chapter V. — Lydgate's Metre. 003; wire : spere, 271 ; jere : desire, 1201 ; daunger : fire, 631 ; jere : fire, 473. The regular form for the words : continue, discover, recover, is in Lydgate contune (11. 1333 ; 390) ; discure (11. 629 ; 916, 161) ; recure (1. 122G). Impure rhymes seem to be : yonder : wonder, 577, 1 and socoure : endure, 818 ; socoure elsewhere rhymes with words in -oure, not in -ure. 2 I have now to say a few words on the number of the syllables that form the rhyme. There can be no doubt that we have the strong, monosyllabic rhyme in lines like 11,12; If), 16 ; 77, 78, etc. ; the weak or dissyllabic rhyme in lines like 5, 6 ; 99, 100 ; 107, 108, etc. In cases like 23, 24 (place : face) ; 103, 104 (smert : hert) the rhyme would be certainly dissyllabic in Chaucer. The question is whether this also holds good for Lydgate's language. Now we cannot deny that some strong arguments might be brought forward in support of the theory that the final e in such cases is mute in Lydgate. In the present poem Lydgate has the rhymes grace : trespas, 1. 1031 ; assaie (infin.) : nay, 643; assaie : say (I saw, O.E. seah), 693; peine : agein, 1138; peine : wellbesein, 1169; chaine : tweyn (but tweyne is perhaps dissyllabic, as in Chaucer), 354, HOG ; repente (infin.) : entent : sent, 497 ; repente (infin.) : entent : juge- ment, 1076 (entmt is usually a dissyllable in Lydgate, see 11. 304, 384, 1335); Iocound : founde (pp.) : abounde (infin.), 1174; despit : wite (O.E. wile), 165 — wite is also a monosyllable in 1. 208 — ; in 1. 1049, we have, I suppose, to read paste (p. t.), to rhyme with cade (infin.). Sometimes we also meet with the rhyme y : ie in Lydgate's works, although not in the Temple of Glas ; for instance, more than once in the Black Knight All this shows that there is in Lydgate a considerable advance beyond Chaucer in the dropping of the final e in Eomance words, or rather, to express it more exactly, Lydgate does not always refrain from doing at the end of a verse what Chaucer does not hesitate to do in the middle. Chaucer would read vilainy only in the middle of a line, Lydgate would do the same also at the end in the rhyme. With Teutonic words the monk seems to be far more careful ; I can find only one example of such rhymes in our poem which would be inadmissible in Chaucer's system, 1 This rhyme, however, occurs also in Chaucer, Man of Laiv's Tale, 1. 920 ; in Havelok 922 we have the spelling yundcr. We find this rhyme elsewhere in Lydgate, for instance Falls of Princes, fol. 20 b. 2 We have the rhyme ye socour : yourc cure also in the Romaunt of the Rone, 1. 3539. The language of this poem often reminds one of Lydgate, both in its rhymes and in its vocabulary. Chapter V. — Lydgate & Metre. Ixiii namely (11. 392, etc.), sone (O.E. sona) : mone (O.E. muna) : don (0. E. ge-d6n). The same rhyme-system occurs in the Falls of Princes, fol. 174 c. We may, however, note that sone in Chaucer is always a monosyllable in the middle of the line ; see ten Drink, § 327. As, however, the following chapter will show that the final e is pounded by Lydgate nearly in all cases in which Chaucer sounds it, I believe that Lydgate thought it proper to read the words in question as dissyllables, although his Suffolk-dialect may sometimes lead him astray. As the matter is not absolutely certain, I have refrained from any interference with the Tanner-MS. in such cases, in so far that I ilid not add any final e's at the end of the line or immediately before the caesura, even where I believe Lydgate would have sounded them. The MS., with its very numerous sins of omission and commission in this respect, thus shows us all the more clearly how matters stood in general with regard to the final e shortly after 1400. I believe that according to the types set forth above, nearly all Lydgate's lines, perhaps even the very unruly ones of the Story of Thebes, can be made to scan tolerably. Still, the above-given expo- sition of Lydgate's metrical system will seem little calculated to bear out the statement by Berkenhout, Biographia Literaria, p. 317 (copied in A. D. Burrowes's Modem Encyclopaedia, VII, 201), according to which Lydgate's versification is "much more harmoni- ous" (sic) than that of Chaucer. But, on the other hand, we must at least grant that, if the metre of Lydgate is " halting," there is, as a rule, method in this halting. CHAPTER VI. lydgate's language. § 1. General Characteristics. The first thing that strikes us in comparing Lydgate's and Chaucer's language is that the first is a great deal more modern than the latter. This has already been frequently noticed, and is in the main correct. The modern stamp, however, of Lydgate's language seems to result principally from the choice of words, rather than from phonology and inflexions. Chaucer, as compared with Lydgate, uses many more concrete words, which are mostly of Old-English origin, and, to a great extent, are now obsolete or have completely died out; Lydgate, especially in his more pretentious works, uses many abstract words of French or Latin origin, which in most cases lxiv Chapter VI. — Lydgate 1 & Language. are still in use or are at least intelligible. As he has, however, an extensive vocabulary at his disposal, many interesting words rarely met with in English literature are found in his writings, so that his name must be of frequent occurrence in historical dictionaries of the English language. In accordance with his propensity to expatiate on his own quali- ties, Lydgate has also bequeathed to us his opinion on his own language, which is, of course, again expressed in that same self- deprecatory, apologetic style which characterizes his other utterances concerning his own abilities and performances. Among the many passages in which he reviles the "rudeness" of his own language, the most interesting is the one in the prologue to the Court of Sapience, 1 which runs thus : " I knowe my selfe moost naked in all artes, My coniyn vulgare eke moost interupte ; Ami I conuersaunte & borne in the partes Where my natyfe langage is moost corrupte, And with moost sondry tonges myxte & rupte, huiy myn, wherfore I the beseche {Clio) My muse amende, dresse, forge, mynysshe & eche." That Lydgate occasionally uses dialectal forms varying from those of Chaucer, is certain. The principal phonetic peculiarities, so far as they are apparent in the rhymes, have been noted in § 3 of the last chapter. If it is true that Chaucer was Lydgate's "master" in more than a figurative sense, and that he "corrected" some of the early poems of his young admirer, he would doubtless have pointed out, as things to be avoided, these dialectal peculiarities, the dropping of the final e in certain instances, and type C of Lydgate's metre. It would be useless here to give a full analysis of the sound- system of the Temple of Glas, as it would be almost entirely a repetition of ten Brink's book on Chaucer's language. Again, there is little difference in the inflexional system of Chaucer and Lydgate ; but as there has been some doubt about this point, especially with regard to the sounding of the unaccented syllables, I must deal with Lydgate's inflexions in greater detail. I shall therefore point out the instances in the Temple of Glas which tend most to throw light upon this question, hoping that the ground on which Ave stand w T ill have been made firm by the metrical investigations of the preceding chapter, and by the text-criticism contained in Chapter III. A few 1 I must, however, note here that the genuineness of this prologue has been called into question; see Warton-Hazlitt III, 60, note 4; Blades, Caxton J I, 115; Ames, Typographical Antiquities (1749), p. 67. Chapter VI. — Lydgatcs Language. lxv further illustrations of certain points, gathered here and there from Lydgate's other works, may not, I hope, be unwelcome. § 2. Tlie Inflexions of the Temple of Glas. Declension. I. Substantives. — Strong Masculines and Neuters. Nom. and Accus. without ending; inorganic e in weye, 1 ace. of wey (1. 897, 639 V 2 ) See ten Brink, Chaucer's Sprache und VersJcunst, § 199 note; Sachse, Das unorganische e im Orrmulum, p. 7. Genitive in es: Hues 1196 ; daiesye 74. Dissyllables : heuens 715. Dative in e : kyiide 224 ; golde (: bihokle) ? 112. Plural in es (often written is 3 in MS. T) : obis 59 ; stremes 252, 1101, 1342; stones 301, 310; harmes 314, 618, 686; stormes 515 ; bemys 718 ; weies 1168, etc. — In the Secreta Secretorum (MS. Ashmole 46, fol. 102 b) occurs the rhyme : desirs (read deseris) : cler is ; in the Falls of Princes, 111 b, we have thestates rhyming with the Latin genitive "lese magestates" (sic); ib. 127 d : warres : far is; Edmund III, 634, ground is: woundis; in the Pilgrimage 17-2 a: Instrumentys : entent ys. But we have also rhymes like succours : deuinours : shoures, Falls of Princes, 19 b. The neuters also usually end in -es ; bingis 167; yeris 202 ; wordys 320, etc.; kneis 459; soris 602, 1200 ; shottes 788 ; wittes 1029. The old Plural without an ending occurs mfolk 193, 400. ja-stems. wite 1. 208 (O.E. wite). But e in Pilgrimage, fol. 216 b: " Ther-whyles the chese fyl a-doure." I am not aware of a good example, in the Temple of Glas, of the e in i- or w-stems ; but compare for the latter, Pilgrimage, 98 a : " How goddys sone, man to saue "... ib., 252 b : "My wode shal on eucry syde "... The octosyllables of the Pilgrimage of man and of Reason and Sen- suality lend themselves much better to a grammatical analysis of Lydgate's inflexions than his five-beat line. 1 e means that the e is sounded, e, that it is mute. 2 The frequent notes of interrogation mean that the metre does not abso- lutely warrant the sounding of the final e ; in most instances, however, I am in- clined to read it as a full syllable. In some doubtful cases I have refrained from putting dots to the e. I may remark here that, on account of the ambiguity of Lydgate's metre, conclusive examples on this point are rarer than might be sup- posed at first sight. In some few cases it will be found that I have here decided with more absolute certainty in favour of sounding the final e than when I first constructed my text. 3 The Suffolk-dialect shows a predilection for i, y in the endings ; in O. Bokenam's Legends we have rhymes like knelyn : mawdelyn (8, 1098) ; see Horstmann's Introduction, p. xi. Cp. also, with respect to Chaucer, ten Brink, §62. TEMPLE OF GLAS. e lxvi Chapter VI. — Zydgate's Language. Strong Feminities. Norn, ends usually in e : love 1317 ; dede 341 ; helthe 812 ; roujje 873. In the case of love, the e is due to O.E. u ; in the other instances it crept into the nominative by analogy of the oblique cases. See Sachse, §§ 7 and 8 ; ten Brink, § 207. But we have also love 1143, 1256, 1265 ; drede 672 ; tale 903. Genitive in es: loves 86, 125, 183, 573, 633. worldis 1208. Accus. and Dative end a.) in e : 30uJ)e 448; troujje 455, 1081 1 1102, 1235, 1249; while 549; speche (?) 760 ; tale 910; salve 922; helpe 952 ; myrJ>S 1177 ; love 1337. b.) ine: joujje 199 (rhymes with couj) ; the same rhyme occurs Falls of Princes, 211 d and 214 a); while 217, 626; love 327, 1351; worlde 729; roujje 1054; troupe 1277. Plural in es: woundis 816 ; sorowis 967 ; tale's 1182 ('?). Old Dative Plural: whilom 568, 816. n-stems. a.) Masculines. Nomin. ending in e : hope 643, G76 (?) ; time 1204(1). Nom. in e: time 1194, 1377. mone rhymes with don 394 ; plei 183 {plei is a monosyllable also in Chaucer, see ten Brink § 211). Oblique cases in e : hope 657, 892. Plural in es: sterres (?) 252, 1341 ; dovues 541 ; lippe's 1049. b.) Feminines. Norn, in e : sunne 396 ; herte 337, 829 (?)— Nom. in e : herte 775. — lady (O.E. hl&fdige) remains the same in all cases : Nom. 250 etc. ; Gen. 1160 ; Dat. 158, 966, etc. ; Ace. 134, etc. Genitive in es or e: hertes 340, 502, 915, 1212; sunne hemes, Falls of Princes, 31 d ; herte roote, Pilgrimage, 224 b. Dative and Accus. in e: erj^e 581 ; sunne 21 (V) ; herte 80, 312, 363, 726, 756, 825, 839, 888(?), 920, 945, 986, 1044, 1182, 1188, 1205; weke 1201. Plural in es: hertes 323, 529, 619, 1088, 1095, etc.; genitive, hertis 1083. c.) Neuters: (e)y 3 e (?) 105, 231, 262, 850; Plural (ejyjen 40, 582, 1047, 1103. Romance Nouns. These also usually keep their e. We have forme 120; force 178, 1247; grace 333, 733; spere (sphere) 396; entaile 37; peine 798, 1260 (but compare the rhymes in 1140, 1169); feste 473; joye 1129 (hut joye 880?); inke 961; rose 1042; Troie 95; Koine 101. Chapter VI. — Lydgates Language. lxvii But we have also cause 953 ; Cupide 855 ; and when the accent is thrown back: Fortune 519; balaunce 641; ballade 1338; servise 155, 719. — In the Secreta Secretorum, fol. 110 a, we have " som " (= French somme) rhyming with the Latin genitives " principum " and " virtutum." Plural in es: billes 50; peynes 479, 668, 805, 951, 1001, 1286 ; vice's 1181. Polysyllabic words form their plural in es : servauntes 1126. II. Adjectives. The ja-stems keep their e : soote 192 ; newe 681, 657 (1), 606 (?), 7 (weak); trwe (weak) 71. We have also myche (= O.E. mycel), 1. 941. Plural. It is difficult to find good examples of "Norn, and Ace. Plural in the Temple of Glas. It seems we must read some in 1. 147, although Chaucer has some only in the rhyme (for instance, Trail. IV. 967) ; see ten Brink, § 255 and 327. In the Orrmulum we have sume, see Sachse, § 77 ; in Gower some is very common ; in Reason and Sensuality, fol. 287 a, we have the line : "Somme square and so?;mae rounde ; " similarly, in the Pilgrimage, fol. 52 b : " Somme swyfft & so?rame soffte ; " ib., fol. 190 b : " With dedly synne as so?;ime do ; " ib., fol. 76 b : "So7?ime presseu to the table ;" ib., Oott. Tib. A. VII, fol. 58 b : "So??ime hyh and som[e] lowe ; " Story of Thebes, fol. 371 b : "And be Iason || some bokes tell." But it is true, that in all other cases in the Temple of Glas we have some: 49, 50, 51, 151, 162, 169, 179, 244, 539. Most likely we have to read bri^te in 705, but this would be the weak form here. We have also the Scandinavian bobe (the e representing an older ending) 1294, 345, 790, 510(?); also in 1108, 1224. Bobe occurs in 1. 1084. In the oblique cases we have e : wide 204 ; goode 462 ; alle (]) 807, 973, 1165; but alle, 752,1351. We have, of course, the distinction between the strong and weak adjective. The latter has an e also in the Singular, being the continuation of fuller endings in Old-English. The weak adjective stands : 1. After the definite article: longe 12; fresshe 70, 93, 1042 (?) ; faire 786; grete 87, 787 (1), 984; hole 97; ^unge 106; sadde 377 ; be same 841; bilke 81; be whiche 514; harde 957; selfe 846; blake(])330; rijte 975.— ja-stems: nwe 7; trwe 71. — Compare lxviii Chapter VI. — Lydgates Language. also Jje sobe 1002, and Skeat's Note to Group G, 1. 662 of the Canterbury Tales. For cases like The besfe tautf (1. 292 ; cp. also 1. 558, the model), see ten Brink, § 246, end of note. 2. After a demonstrative pronoun: These yonge 193 ; J>is faire 454. 3. After a possessive pronoun : hir grete 265; my f ulle 489, 830, 1383; his hidde, 967; Oure hidde 1087; myn hidde 988; 3oure glade 1344; his owne 535, 938; myn owne 635; ^oure olde 1222. — But we have also : Hir sad 750 ; your hole 857 ; his long 1122. 4. Before proper names: fressbe May 184; oolde Januari 185; 3unge Piramus 780 ; old Satiirne, or olde Saturne 1 389 (Saturne olde occurs in Story of Thebes, Prol., 1. 3).— Cp. bright[e] Phebus, Story of Thebes, Prol., 1. 1. These cases certainly confirm Zupitza's opinion on this treatment of the adjective; see Deutsche Litteraturzeitung, 1885, col. 610. I do not think that Freudenberger's attempts to explain away the respective cases in Chaucer quite hit the mark (Ueber das Fehlen des Auftalds in Chancers heroischem Verse, p. 36, etc.). 5. Before a Vocative : clere 715. But we have no different form for the weak adjective of more than one syllable: The feibful 378; The inward 1290; Jus woful 936 ; 3our dredful 717 ; my forseid 1389, etc. Romance Adjectives. *pale 4 (the asterisk means weak form) ; benygne (V) *449, 1110 (?); *clere 715; *juste 1331; *ferse 1236; *rude 1393; and, of course, double 167, and humble 472, 697, 925; but soverain *415, 649. III. Numerals. twoo 348, 1255, 1314, and tweyn 354, 1081, 1104 (read tweyne?), 1298, 1322; five 831. IV. Pronouns. The same as in Chaucer. With regard to the final e I note : youres (1) : showres 1215; doubtful youres 1076, 1130, 1134; simi- larly hires 593 ; Je whiche (?) 514 ; atte = at fe 405, etc. ; hire 766, 783 ; but compare Pilgrimage, 229 b : " Ded to hyre the presente." lb., Cott. Tib. A. VII, fol. 96 a : " Towchynge hir[e], the mercer." It has been said that Lydgate uses the Scandinavian forms J>eir, etc., throughout. This is not borne out by the MSS. ; only the late Chapter VI. — Lydgales Language. lxix Prints gradually introduce these forms. Lydgate has always, like Chaucer, \ey in the nominative, Mr in the genitive, and hem in the dative and accusative. V. Adverbs. Formed from adjectives by adding e. No decisive example in the Temple of Glas, but elsewhere in Lydgate ; for instance, Life of St. Edmund, III, 1041 : "Sweyii affraied loude gan to crye." Story of Thebes, fol. 3.58 a : "On whiche thing the kyng gan sore muse." Pilgrimage, fol. 231 b : "Thogh the bowe be stronge bent." In the Temple of Glas we have longe (or long f) 38 ; dere (ja-stem) 1258, but see the various readings; sore or sore ? 1. 180 (type A or B?); 1202 iliche or liche 1 Other examples of adverbs in e are: fan 672, 799 (but banne, which is particularly frequent in Gower, in 1. 596?); ofte 69, 169, 193, 200, 231, 669; sone 1185, and also in the rhyme, 1. 392.— oute (1) 662 (cp. outeward 340, but outward 563); aboute 28, 933 (used as a preposition); withoute 154, 211, 308, 365, 379, 385, etc., etc. ; atwixen 348; beside 248.— aboue 466. Adverbs in -es : againe's 177, 181 ; nede's 232, 1063 ; atones 458 ; ones (1) 725; hennes 481, 1025; towardis 1048; bennes (?) 1316; elles 917 (elles 1032; in 819, 1131 most likely elles) ; always whiles 172, 576, 738, 790, 1011, 1109, 1324. We have, of course, also the suffix -hj to form adverbs; further, forms like "of nwe," 1. 615, "of hard" 1319, etc. For an explanation of "The beste tau3t," in 1. 292, I refer the reader to ten Brink, § 246, end of note: the sign e of the weak adjective, properly belonging to tau^t, is shifted to the adverb best. VI. Composition. The composition of words in Lydgate is effected on the same principles which we find in Chaucer, and, indeed, as early as in the Orrmtdum ; the e in particular, which stands between the two parts of the compound — be it organic or inorganic — being sounded by Lydgate as by Chaucer and Orrm. Thus we have: lodester 612; specheles 905; causeles 150; kyndenes 747; rekeles 918; hawe- thorn (O.E. hagaborn) 505 ; of course, secreness 900 ; secreli 365 ; priveli 635, 1014; bisely 1180; further, richeli 302; always humbelly, humbeli (as if for humbleli) 491, 773, 852, 1047; be- nignete 1296; benignely 711, 849; jugement 1079; duete 800 (for the adjective due, see ten Brink, § 239) ; surete 1259 ; goode'ly 851. *IV*RSITY or lxx Chapter VI. — Zydgatc's Language. But we have nearly always mekeli: 324, 371, 4G9, 482, 589, 8G8, 915, 994, 1084, 1105 ; mekeli occurs in 1281. Further, nameli 229 ; softly 371 ; truli 431 (elsewhere trewely) ; derknes 401, 1211, 1357 ; swetnes 403; meknes 76, 621 ; goodnes 745. § 3. Conjugation. I need not dwell on the formation of the tenses of strong and weak verbs, as this is the same in Lydgate as in Chaucer. More important for our purpose are the endings of the verb, with regard to which I wish particularly to elucidate how far they were sounded as distinct syllables or not. I proceed at once to give the endings. Infinitive in en, e: take 13; biholde 34; walke 42; reporte 43; putte 52; aske 164; wynnen 177; shape 195; cuien 205; maken 236 ; ledin 239 ; finde 242, etc. etc. (some sixty or seventy conclusive instances). But sometimes we have also apocope of the ending : she we 206 ; voile 253; vnfolde (?) rhyming with bold 360; repente 500; clere 611; tel 663, 964; come 924; fare 1063; here 1234, and always have 54, 165, 229, 375, 418, 425, etc. Dissyllables end in e : guer- done 1031; disseuer (: euer) 1314; rekin 91, 579. n kept in the rhyme : gon : one 26 ; gon : allone 548, but se : Penalope 68 ; se : tre 89 ; se : Canace 137. So also 233, 269, 302, 309, 612. Gerund: We have to seine : compleyne 1325; but also to seine : again 157. Indecisive is 1. 506 : to sene, rhyming with grene. We have further, to do : so 637 ; to do : wo 1371. Indicative Present, first person, ends in e (?) and e : stonde 689 (infinitive?); take (?) 769; axe (?) 800; want or wante 951? mene or mene 1402? (see note). We certainly have panke 1060, haue 349, 366 ; and in polysyllables : mervaile 585 ; trespace 1018. Second person, in est : Enclynyst 324 ; Gladest 703 ; soroist 860 ; menyst 889. Also est ; MS. T even writes tast for takest 602. In rare cases we have the ending -es : thow tellys : bellys, Pilgrimage 102 6; thow pursues : stewes, ib., fol. 141a; thow tell[ys] : ellys, ib., 275 b. Third person ine\ (no Umlaut in the stem-syllable) : abide]? 222 ; fallej) 231 ; passe]? 252 ; surmounte]? 258; louej) 1292, etc. Also e]> in come]? 656 ; contraction in saith 644, 653, etc.; sleijj (: deji) 782 ; fleith 603 ; li)> 722, 865 ; sej) 862 (the vowel comes from the infini- tive) ; the J> of the ending is absorbed in the dental consonant at the end of the stem in forms like : sit 184 (but sittej) 894, 1118); bitt Chapter VI. — Lydgate s Language. lxxi 676; list 297, 314, etc.; stant 890, 1259 (standej? 1186); bint 1096; nut 1263. Besides the usual form in -eb, Lydgate has also the northern form in -es (for singular and plural), not very frequently, but more so than Chaucer. So we have in the Troy-Book telles : welles G 5 c ; dawes : wawes M 4 d ; fyghtes : knyghtea 2 a ; endytes : rytes Aa 3 a ; bytes : rytes Aa 3 « ; Falls of Princes ledes : dedes, fol. 184 c ; telles : shelles ; 1926; disdaynes : mountaines 194 a; Secreta Secretorum 125a: techys : lechys ; Reason and Sensuality 207 a : obeyes : ydeyes (ideas); tellys : wellys, 214 b ; Story of Thebes leres : baneres, fol. 363 c ; Pilgrimage ordeynys : chaumberleyn[y]s, 35 a ; espyes : skyes 170 a; gouernys : posternys, 1816; thywkes : drynkes 195 a; espyes : delycacyes 196 a; sliynes : wynes 229 a; espyes : lyes 265 a ; shewes : thewes, 275 b ; pulles : bulles 296 a. Plural in en, e : putten 166 ; love 167 ; passen 393 ; rejoice 400 ; greven 663 ; knowe 723 ; witen 1 797 ; causen 1343 ; bie 1351. Lyd- gate has also e in the rhyme, as the following passage from the Court of Sapience, e 8 b, proves, where the monk says of the dialecticians : "With sophyms straunge maters they discusse, And fast they crye oft : ' tu es Asinus ' ! " list seems always to be a monosyllable, also when in the plural and in personal construction: 478, 482, 868, 983, 1000. A remnant of the old ending seems to remain in hab 171. We find this ending occasionally also in the rhyme ; so in the Troy-Book L z a : they gothe : wrothe (so also Pilgrimage, fol. 52 b) ; they seyth : fl'eyth, Pilgrimage, fol. 101 a. As has already been said, Lydgate uses also the northern form -es in the Plural : telles : elles Troy- Book K 5 a and Cc 4 c; specifies : fantasies Story of Thebes, 363 6; duellys : ellys Reason and Sensuality 272 a ; discriues : striues [noun), Falls of Princes fol. 145 b ; shewes : thewes, Pilgrimage 180 b ; mere peyntes : seyntes 271 b ; they lookys : bookys, 272 a; telles : elles, 303 a ; ye tellys : ellys, ib. 152 a. Subjunctive, Singular in e, Plural in en: bou fele 1178; most likely also bou arace 894; bou fyne 910; perhaps ]jou here 1184; but certainly bou haue 896. Plural : $q taken 1124. Imperative, Singular, second Person, no ending: Lat 1198, 1205 ; come 1214; take 1174. Weak verbs : wisse (O.K. wissa) 637 ; loke (O.E. loca) 894; put 891, 1403; rote (!) 1158. Romance words generally seem to have e : voide 1158; of course, suffre 1161; auaunte 1172; sue 1180; remue 1182; but Tempest 1157. Ixxii Chapter VI. — Lyd gates Language. Plural, second person, in ep : binkib 391; Bemembre'J) 398; trustejj 412; douteb 426; FolowiJ) 511; shapeb 721; takeb 808, 976; suflerib 812; graunteb 1034; lateb 1140; setteb 1240. End- ing eb : Come)) 1272; Haueb (= Ha])) 714. Moreover, we have let 878, 961, 1094, 1177, 1179, 1247, which may be a contraction (see Morris, Prologue, p. xxxvii, note a) ; late]) occurs in 1. 1140. Dissyllables: guerdone 1139. Participle Present, in -ing : persing 25; passing 226; Thanking 489 (have we to read Tkankinge"?), 498 ; sleping and dremywg 531 ; Sayyng 700, 1110; Making 939; Singyng 1340; Grading 1356; Prayeng 1384. We have certainly to read -inge in the following lines from the Pilgrimage, fol. 166 6 : " Travayllynge [plural] nyht & day." Tb., fol. 170 a : "Reniewynge fro that place." also in R. fy S., fol. 274 a : " ISTor the ravysshinge sowns " {meal- form). The form in -ende (Gower's form) occurs in the rhyme, in Fcdls of Princes 173 a: shinend[e] : attende : Legende. 1 Verbal noun, ending also in -ing : casting 105, 231 ; peping 180 ; bidding 509 ; cherisshing 869; co?»passi?2g 871 ; in -inge (f) : variynge (: wringe, inf.) 216. Strong Preterit, with Ablaut as in Chaucer; I mention, sey (1 saw), rhyming with lay 532, and with assai 694 (cp. Troil. II, 1265 : say : day). Plural: founde 216; Gunne 1305; always were 47, 181, 199, 210, etc. We read, however, also gunne, in the Pilgrimage, fol. 156 a : " And as we wente & gon[ne] talke ; " similarly, ib., fol. 284 b : " The dropys gonne for to glyde ; " and even in the Singular, 2nd person, we have come: " Off thylke hous thow home fro," Pilgrimage, fol. 16 a; " Off swych fylthe thow home uouht," ib., fol. 147 b. But, again, we have thow spak (O.E. ])u spr&ce), rhyming with lak, Pilgrimage, 177 a, and thow gan (O.E. gunne), rhyming with man, ib., 264 b. Subjunctive: were 161, 605, 660, 679, 1131, 1291; nere 555. But also in e : " Wolde god yt stoode so," Pilgrimage, 172 b. Weak Preterit. See ten Briuli, § 194. Ends a. in -ed : lasted 1 We have -ende also twice in O. Bokenam's Legends: lynende 9, 377 ; died- ende 12, 252. See Horstniann's Introduction, p. xii. Chapter VI. — Lydgate s Language. lxxiii 779; departid 781. Plural: plcyned 151; loue'd 157, 163; com- pleyned 175. 6. in te, de, t(e), d(e) : Jxn^te 15, 532, 694 ; nyste 17 ; my^te 68, 286, 595, 1021 ; moste 61, 341 ; roujte 939 ; mente 1288 ; dide 80, 116, 945, 1055, 1233 ; wolde 591, 847, 893, 1143 ; sholde 191, 372 ; hurte 813 ; hade 316, 578 ; paste (1) 1049 ; caste (?) 1103. Plural: brente 840; wolde (?) 658, 1017, 1027; criden 193; wenten 505; migliten 280; myjte 89, 137, 309; paste (!) 1105. But we have e in shulde 668; wolde 214; coude 409; borate 21, 527; moste 232; wente 546; felte 788; nyste 1371; made 994; hade 202, 1372; called(e) 219 ; kneled(e) 697; woldest 922. Past Participle. Strong; ends in en, e: holpen 141, 376; founden 1090, 1239; chosen 433;— ine: bounde 990; jeue 736. Note also sein (O.E. gesegen) 1377 ; further done : mone : sone 395, but do : also 903. Weak, ends in ed: Ioyne'd 5; foundid 18; false'd 63; Iturned 99, 116; Endurid 171 ; closid 362; waped 401, etc. etc. We have maked 1120, but mad 1091, 1322, 1354. Polysyllables, with the accent throion back, end in -ed: Eau- ysshed 16; enlumynd 283; corn past 1053. Contractions: knyt 338; put 397; I-hid 793; het (O.E. ge- haeted) 842; hurt 615, etc. The prefix I- is very common, in Teutonic and Romance words : I-went 31 ; I-blent 32 ; I-slain 95 ; I-sett 47 ;— I-chaced 31 ; I-entred 201 ; I-stellified 136, etc. etc. I hope the above examples have made it clear that Lydgate still pronounced the final e, or the e in unaccented inflexional syllables, in the main as Chaucer, and indeed even Orrm, pronounced it. Thus Lydgate decidedly stands in point of language, as in every- thing else, on the mediaeval side of the great gulf that intervenes between Chaucer and the new school of poetry which arose in the 16th century. It is somewhat difficult to ascertain precisely to what extent the dropping of the final e gradually made itself felt in the metrical system of that age. Ellis (On Early English Pronunciation, I, 405) was inclined to make the time of Caxton the great turning- point as regards pronunciation in general ; so far as the dropping of the final e in poetry is concerned, my own observations tend to confirm his opinion. 1 Evidently the e first gave way in Romance words, and later on in those of Teutonic origin. This gradually led 1 "We have, however, as yet no minute analysis of the versification of Hawes, which might somewhat modify the above-expounded view. lxxiv Chapter VI. — Lydgate s Language. to a phase in the language in which double forms — with mute or sounded e — were allowed and used to a great extent in poetry. This is already the case with Chaucer, and even more so. with Lydgate and his followers. As we have pointed out above, this state of the language may even, with Lydgate (and Occleve), have led to a new metrical type, namely, our type C. After the middle of the 15th century, a time of great confusion in language and metre seems to have followed. The transcripts of the older poets made at that time, and the prints of their works by Caxton and his immediate successors, show palpably that the public of that day had lost all feeling for any- thing like regular metre. After this period of total decay and anarchy, we see not only how poetry itself, but also the language rises, as if new-born, out of this chaos ; in Surrey, for instance, final syllables would be rarely sounded, which are silent in Modern English. This question of sounding or dropping an e at the end of a word may at first sight seem a very insignificant thing ; but, in reality, it entails a great change in the whole poetical phraseology. It means that nearly all inflexions lose their syllabic value, that ever so many dissyllabic words become thus monosyllables, and ever so many time- honoured formula?, inherited by one poet from another, become no longer practicable. Lydgate could unhesitatingly take from his master Chaucer any such forms as the shene swine, the greue leves, smale foules, this yonge lordes name, olds stories tetlen us; but the new school of poetry, in the 16th century, could not easily adopt such archaic stock-phrases without their jarring on the ear of contemporary readers. Instead of Chaucer's my grene yeares, Surrey has to say my fresh green years; instead of Chaucer's soote ftoures, .Sackville says soot fresh floicers ; and for the dropt two syllables in Chaucer's smale foules, he makes again up by an addition : small fowls flocking. Still these examples will show that the difficulty in point of lan- guage was in no way so great that it might not be easily overcome by a real genius, who had sufficient originality to strike out a neAV path for himself. Our Lydgate would not, of course, have been the man to do this, had it been necessary ; but, according to our analysis of it, the state of his language did not even call upon him to do so. For, as we have seen, in his language the system of certain allowable double forms still prevailed in the main, and such a system, although it was very detrimental to the smooth flow of Lydgate's verse, would by no means be a hindrance to a true poet and master of form ; on the contrary, instead of hampering him, it would only give him greater freedom. Chapter VI. — Lijdgatcs Language. lxxv Chaucer uses such double forms, as force and fors, cometh and cqmth, without any injury to the flow and melodiousness of his metre. For a further illustration of this usage of Chaucer and Lydgate, scholars have rightly pointed to the similar state of things in modern German. Thus Goethe would use Liebe and LieU , flehet and fleht, as the metre might require ; he even, without hesitation, puts double forms side by side, as in the two beautiful lines from Faust : " Es regct sich die Menschenliebe, Die Liebe Gottes regt sich mm." Nevertheless, no one would think of taking exception to these lines steeped in perfect melody. Whilst we must, therefore, make due allowance for the increasing difficulty of creating a new metrical canon, it would nevertheless be wrong to infer that the dreariness of this period in English litera- ture is due only to this state of the language. It is even less possible for us to save our monk's reputation upon the strength of the oft- repeated assertion that this decay was due to the unsettled state of public 1 affairs after Chaucer's death. For the Wars of the Roses did not. begin till half a century after Chaucer was laid in his grave, and even between 1400 — 1450, there is no work of any decided poetical value — except perhaps Lydgate's Reason and Sensuality. The wars in France would not have disturbed an English poet much : the Weimar-poets Avrote in the midst of the wars against Napoleon, and, indeed, the earlier part of the Anglo-French war, with the Battle of Agmcourt, ought certainly to have called forth rather than stifled the poet's voice. The true explanation of the barrenness of this period in English literature, as in corresponding periods in world-literature in general," is simply that an ebb in the tide of poetical talent had set in. Nature i had to rest before she could give birth to the diva proles of the Elizabethans. And if a period of almost two hundred years of barrenness may appear of undue length, let us not forget the unique- ness of the race that was to come : it took three full nights to create Heracles. CHAPTER VI L THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE POEM. I. Stephen Haines's supposed Authorship. It has been mentioned in the preliminary remarks that the Temple of Glas was still a very popular work at the beginning of the 16th Ixxvi Chapter VII. — The Authorship of the Poem. century. Whilst on the one hand Wynken de Worde's, Pynson's and Berthelet's presses issued new editions of it, Lydgate found, at the same time, a most enthusiastic admirer in the person of Stephen Hawes, the author of the Pastime of Pleasure, so highly praised — far too highly, I think — by Warton as a forerunner to Spenser. As to Hawes's admiration of Lydgate, we have the recorded evidence of Wood in the Athence Oxonienses, edit, of 1721, vol. I, col. 6 1 : (Stephen Hawes was) " highly esteemed by him (King Henry VII.) for his facetious Discourse, and prodigious' 2 Memory; which last did evidently appear in this, that he could repeat by Heart most of our English Poets ; especially Jo. lydgate a Monk of Bury, whom he made equal in some Eespects with Geff. Chaucer." But even without this express testimony of Wood, Hawes's own works would speak even more eloquently for his excessive reverence for Lydgate ; for there is no opportunity let slip — be the work small or large, be it at the begin- ning, in the middle, or at the end — to inform us of Lydgate's tran- scendent accomplishments in poetry and rhetoric. When he thus, in chapter XIV of the Pastime, comes to enumerate those who dis- tinguished themselves in poetry, he starts off in an animated panegyric extolling Lydgate above all others as his master tear e£"X'/''- But, "* this passage, he gives us also something more valuable than his opinion of Lydgate, namely, a list of some of his works, at the end of which he says of the monk : "and the tyme to passe, Of love he made the bryght temple of glasse." (Edition for the Percy Society, p. 54.) Even if we had no further external evidence, we should, I think, still be justified in considering the passage quoted from Hawes as a fairly reliable witness to Lydgate's authorship of the Temple of Glas. At all events it starts us in the right direction for settling this question. But curiously enough, on the other hand a tradition has sprung up which would make the author of the Temple of Glas this very Stephen Hawes, who, as clearly and expressly as possible, tells us that the poem was written by Lydgate. We first meet with it in the Scriptorum illustrium maioris JBrytannie Catalogus, by John Bale, 1 Almost literally repeated in Lewis, Life of Caxton, 1737, p. 103, note t; see also IVarton-Hazlitt III, 170. 2 This is, I think, a most appropriate epithet for a memory that can retain Lydgate, especially those long-winded productions where he says the same thing a hundred times over. But what an idea, to learn Lydgate by heart ! Chapter VII — The Authorship of the Poem. Ixxvii the well-known theologian, historian of literature, and dramatic writer. In the edition of 1557 — 1559, printed at Basle, on page 632, under "Centuria octava," No. LVIII, a "Templum crystallinum " in one hook is ascribed to Hawes. The same error is, later on, also found in John Pits, ReJationum historicarum de Rebus Angiitis Tomus primus, Parisiis 1619, cap. 903 (under the year 1500). Hence, in both Bale and Pits, the Temple of Glas is wanting in their long catalogue of Lydgate's writings (Bale, p. 586 and 587 ; Pits, cap. 820), and the same omission naturally occurs in other works which derive their information from these sources. So Ghilini, in his Teatro cCHuomini Letterati, Venice 1647, vol. II, 130, rests his evidence on Pits, and, in his turn, at least iu his list of works, serves as an authority to Papadopoli Historia gymnasii Patavini, Venetiis 1726 (vol. II, 165) : both these also omit the Temple of Glas in their lists of Lydgate's works. In the same manner, our poem is passed over in silence by the Bishop Josephus Pamphilus, in his Chronica ordinis Fratrum Eremitarum sandi Augustini, Eomae 1581, p. 88 1 ; by Winstanley, The Lives of the most famous English Poets, 1687, pp. 33 — 37 ; in Zedler's Universal-Lexicon (1738), XVII, 944 ; in J. A. Fabricius, Bibliotheca Latina mediae et infimai JEtatis (1754), IV, 95, and in Joecher's Gelehrten-Lexicon, 1750 (all dependent on Bale or Pits). To return to positive evidence, we again find Hawes expressly stated to be the author in Wood's Athence Oxonienses. In the edition of 1721, vol. I, col. 6, a work with the title The Crystalline Temple, is ascribed to Hawes, a title which betrays at once that it was taken from Bale's or Pits's Latin. Somewhat later, however, than the testimonies of Bale, Pits, and Wood, an entry in Ames, Typo- graphical Antiquities, first edition, 1749, gave a fresh start to this 1 Pamphilus makes Lydgate an Augustine monk (an error repeated in Edward Phillips, Theatrum poetancm, 1675, p. 113 of the Modern Division— another of Phillips's "flagrant inaccuracies " spoken of by Dyce) ; he, moreover, gives 1482 as the year of Lydgate's death, for which he is duly censured by Pits. This, I conjecture, may have originated in a confusion of the Benedictine John Lydgate, Monk of Rury, with the Augustine John of Bury (born at Bury), who, accord- ing to Bale (centuria octava, No. XX, p. 595), flourished about 1460. The Augustine is also mentioned in Fuller's Worthies of England, 1662, under Suffolk, p. 69. Leland, in his Commcntarii de Scriptoribus Britannicis, Oxonii 1709, p. 448, treats in Cap. DXLV of a "Joannes a fano F.admundi, Carmelita Gippovicanus," a commentator of St. Luke's gospel, who seems to be identical with Bale's Ioannes Bury. A book by Philip Elsius, with the title Encomias- ticon Aurjustinianum, Brussels 1654, quoted by Zedler and Fabricius as an authority on Lydgate, and criticized by Labbe, Bibliotheca Bibliothecantm, Paris 1664, p. 142, has not been available to me. lxxviii Chapter VII. — The Authorship of the Poem. erroneous theory of Hawes's authorship. In that work, on p. 86, the following print is mentioned as having heen brought out by Wynken de Wbrde : 1500. Here bygenneth the temple of Glas, wrote by Stephen Hawes grome of the chamber to king Henry VII. It contains 27 leaves in Octavo. This passage in the first edition of Ames is surrounded by a whole labyrinth of misunderstandings in the various editions of Warton, Ames, and Wood. For Warton {Hist, of English Poetry, 1778, vol. II, p. 211, note h) believed that the words printed in italics, in the above quotation from Ames, were included in the title of Wynken de Worde's edition, which, of course, is not the case. The words in italics merely express Ames's individual opinion with respect to the authorship ; his authority might have been Bale, Pits, or perhaps Wood, uidess, indeed, Herbert (I, 195) is right, according to whom Ames may easily have derived the statement in question from a written notice in a copy of one of Wynken de Worde's prints, then in the possession of James West (afterwards of Mason and Heber), to whose library Ames had access. Ames gives the date of the print in question as 1500, so that the book would have come out in Hawes's life-time. Now it seemed unlikely to Warton — labouring as he was under the afore-mentioned delusion and having, moreover, Bale's testimony before him — that a poem, not from Hawes's pen, should have been published, by a con- temporary printer, with his name prefixed to it. This argument would not seem, in itself, very strong, and it is all the more curious that Warton should have decided for Hawes's authorship, as he was confronted by the above-quoted passage, in which the latter himself attributes it to Lydgate. 1 As Warton's opinion that Hawes's name was put on a title-page of the Temple of Glas, is not borne out by an examination of the three existing prints by Wynken de Worde — one of them, most likely W, we may fairly assume to have been of the same impression as West's copy used by Ames — not a vestige of rational support from this quarter is left for Hawes's authorship. Unfortunately, the discussion of these arguments spread from Warton to the later editions of Ames by Herbert and Dibdin — con- troversies about the various prints by Caxton and Wynken de Worde making matters still worse — and thence the theory of Hawes's author- 1 And also by Speglit's authority (going back to Stowe ?), see section II of this chapter. Chapter VII. — The Authorship of the Poem. lxxix ship found its way into innumerable other works. To disentangle the details of this confusion, and to assign to each of the combatants his exact share of right and wrong in this maze of arguments and refutations, would be a task of some length and difficulty, and would certainly avail nothing for our purpose, as the matter is, without all this, so conspicuously clear. With respect to the typographical part, the best course to pursue appeared to me to give a clear and full description of the prints known to me, and with respect to the authorship, the following pages will establish Lydgate's claim beyond any doubt. Some of the handbooks, encyclopaedias, etc., which give Hawes as the author, are enumerated in the following list. They are, of course, of no authority whatever, being all more or less mechanically copied from Warton or others of the authorities mentioned. S. Paterson, Bibliotheca Westiana, No. 1684 ; Edward Phillips, Theatrum Poetarum Anglicanorum, 1800 (dependent on Warton) ; G. Ellis, Specimens of the early English Poets, 1811, I, 416 ; Chalmers, Biographical Dictionary, 1814; R. Watt, Bibliotheca Bntannica, 1824, I, 475 e ; J. Gorton, General Biographical Dictionary, 1851 ; Alex. Buechner, Geschichte cler cnglischcn Pocsie, 1855, I, 56, and Abriss der engl. Litteratur-geschichte, 1856, p. 10 (dependent on Warton) ; H. J. Rose, Biographical Dictionary, 1857 ; Bio- graphic Univcrselle (Michaud) 1857 ; Nouvclle Biographic Generate, 1858 ; Allibone, Dictionary of English Literature, 1859 ; Larousse, Dictionnaire du 19" sibcle, 1873 ; Maunder-Cates, The Biographical Treasury, 1873; Th. Cooper, Biographical Dictionary, 1873. Also in the Catalogue of the Tanner-MSS. in the Bodleian, by Hackman, 1860, under No. 346, Hawes is given as the author, probably from the notice in the index of the Tanner-MS. 346, where Pits is quoted as the source (see Chapter II, § 1). Other writers have wisely preferred silence on the subject, considering its uncertainty ; thus the Temple of Glas is not mentioned in the articles on Lydgate and Hawes in the Encyclopedia Britannica. W. D. Adams's Dictionary of English Literature valiantly attempts to be impartial, assigning it severally to either, neither or both ; see articles Hawes, Lydgate, Temple of Glas. 1 The most distorted account of our poem, however, is given in Ersch and Gruber's Encyclopadie (1828), under article Hawes, where it is stated that Hawes's Temple of Glas is meant as a parody of Chaucer's Temple of Fame ! Crabbs (sic) Dictionary is given as the source, where, however, the last monstrosity is not to be found. 2 We must, however, not omit to repeat here that the Temple of Glas was hitherto not easily accessible, a circumstance which makes the repetition of such a glaring error made over and over again, for a 1 Hazlitt also, in his Handbook (1867), seems to have been uncertain about the authorship ; as he gives an account of our print W under Lydgate, I at first overlooked the fact that he had already noticed our prints C, p, w, b under Hawes. 2 There are several dictionaries by George Crabb ; a Universal Technological Dictionary, 1823 ; a Universal Historical Dictionary, 1825 ; and A Dictionary of General Knowledge, 1830 (and later). As the article in Ersch and Gruber came out in 1828, the second must be meant. lxxx Chapter VII. — The Authorship of the Poem. whole century and more, at least excusable. For even those who were willing enough to get their information first-hand, must often have found no other text available, except the extracts in Warton. These, as has been mentioned, were taken from the last and worst print, that by Berthelet ; their language in its modernized form much resembled Hawes's, and the metre seemed to be very much the same as that of the Pastime of Pleasuve, namely, to all appearance, theie was often none at all. II. The Supporters of Lydgate's claim. But, on the other hand, there have always been scholars who rightly assigned the Temple of Glas to Lydgate. Such is the case in Speght's edition of Chaucer, 1598, fol. 394 5, col. 2, 1. 16 (ed. of 1602, fol. 3766, col. 2, 1. 13), where we find The temple of Glasse in the " Catalogue of translations and Poeticall deuises ... by Iohn Lidgate . . . whereof some are extant in Print, the residue in the custodie of him that first caused this Siege of Thebes to be added to these works of G. Chaucer" [i. e. Stowe]. Speght's testimony is thus all the more valuable as evidently going back to Stowe. Further, John Lewis, in his Life of Caxton, 1737, p. 104, calls Lydgate the author j 1 also Th. Tanner, in his Bibliotheca Britannico- Hiberuica, 1748, p. 491, ascribes a Temple of glasse to Lydgate in the long list of his works, and so does, on his authority (1), Berken- hout, in the Biographia Literaria, 1777, p. 318. Even the very same Ames, who wrought such havoc by the above-quoted passage (Ti/p. Ant., p. 86), calls in the self-same work, on p. 61, Lydgate the author; so does also Bitson in his Bibliograpliia poetica, 1802, p. 68 (No. 10 of Lydgate's works); see ib. p. 59. A fact which spoke strongly against Hawes's authorship, seems to have first been pointed out by George Mason, in an entry in his copy of a print by Wynken, quoted by Dibdin II, 305, note at the bottom, and Warton-Hazlitt III, 61, end of note; after Mason, Hallam spoke of it again in his Introduction to the Literature of Europe, 4th ed. 1854, I, 311. The fact was this, that the Temple of Glas is mentioned in the Paston Letters, as early as February 17th, 1471-72, when Hawes was pro- 1 A still earlier writer on typography, C. Middleton, does not give, in his meagre account of the Cambridge Collection, any author's name for the Temple of Glas ; he most likely knew little concerning the authors of the pieces in question. See his Dissertation concerning the Origin of Printing in England, 1735, p. 29. Chapter VII — The Authorship of the Poem. lxxxi bably not yet born. 1 The passage in question occurs in a letter from John Paston, Knight, to Johan Paston, Esquier, where it runs (John Penn's edition, vol. II, p. 90, Gairdner's edition, II I, 37) : "Brother, I comande me to yow, and praye yow to loke uppe my temple oh' Glasse and send it me by the berer herof." In the footnote to the above quotation Fenn also hesitates between Lydgate and Hawes as author ; Gairdner gives Lydgate alone. Cf. also Gairdner III, 300 (Fenn II, 300), where, in the Inventory off John Fusion's Books, mention is made of "a blak Poke," which con- tained, amongst other pieces, the Temple of Glasse. The argument against Hawes's authorship, contained in this passage from the Paston Letters, will, indeed, be rendered superfluous by older evidence adduced in section III of this chapter ; nevertheless, the passage is valuable as giving further proof that, some seventy years after its composition, the Temple of Glas was still read, a fact still more strongly testified to by Caxton printing it seven or eight years later. In more recent times there has hardly been a scholar of note who, deluded by Warton or Ames, has stuck to the impossible theory of Hawes's authorship. Thus Lydgate has been restored to his rights in the re-edition of Warton by Hazlitt (III, 61), and besides this, I may be allowed to point to a few other works, in all of which Lydgate is held to be the author : Hallam, Introduction to the Literature of Europe, I, 311 ; Collier, Biblio- graphical Account I, 367 ; David Laing, Hawes's Conversyon of Swcrcrs, etc., Preface, p. IV ; J. F. Waller's Imperial Dictionary, which expressly con- tradicts Warton; Klein, Geschichte den Dm mat XII, 691; Lowndes, ed. Bohn III, 1419 ; H. Morley, English Writers II, 433 note ; Mrs. Browning, Book of the Poets, 1863, p. 123 ; H. M. Fitzgibbon, Early English Poetry, p. xxxii, and xxxvii ; Skeat, Chaucer's Minor Poems, in several places ; J. Churton Collins, in T. H. Ward's English Pock I, 175 ; Chambers's Ency- clopaedia, 1890, article Lydgate ; Dictionary of National Biography, 1891, article Hawes. III. Lydgate' 8 Authorship established. There still remains external evidence of a yet more decisive character for Lydgate's authorship. Fur we are not disappointed, if we look for evidence of the oldest and most authentic kind in that quarter where we should most naturally expect to find it. I mean the Manuscripts. There are, indeed, only two of all the seven MSS, which give the name of an author, namely, Fairfax 16, and Shirley's Add. MS. 16,165; but in both cases we have the good fortune to 1 The poem is also mentioned in a list of the contents of a MS. of the Marquis of Bath, ab. 1460 A.D. — F. TEMPLE OF GLAS. / lxxxii Chapter VII — The Authorship of the Poem. know the hand that assigns the poem to our monk. In MS. F the author's name does not occur in the handwriting of the copyist of the poem itself; but the name " litigate" is added to the respective item, in the table of contents, by the same hand that supplied the missing 11. 9G and 320 and some other corrections in F, namely, that of John Stowe (about 1560). Further, in the second MS., we have Lydgate's name given several times in a handwriting which is even some hundred years older, namely in Shirley's. In his Add. MS. 16,165, the name of the author stands in the title (see Chapter II, § 6) as " Lidegate. Le Moygne de Bury"; in the headlines: on fol. 207a as "daun John," on fol. 231a as " be Muwke of Bury," on fol. 232 a as "Lidegate" ; lastly on fol. 212 a the name is added to the headline, so that this latter runs as follows : " be dreme of A lover calde be Temple of glasse by Lydegate " (the part in italics added later). The handwriting in the two additions on fol. 207 a and 212 a differs 1 somewhat from that of the text itself; in the other passages it is undoubtedly Shirley's own. But there is yet another passage in this MS., unquestionably written by Shirley himself, which may afford still further proof for Lydgate's authorship of our poem. It is the identical passage which Skeat, Chaucer's J\f. P., pp. xlv and xxxiii, note 3, takes as a proof that the monk was author of the Black Knight. Shirley has added to this MS. a prologue of 104 lines in verse, written upon two leaves of parchment at the beginning, which describe the contents of the volume. The order of the pieces in the MS. is : 1. Chaucer's translation of Boethius; 2. The gospel of Xico- demus (translated by John Trevysa) ; 3. be desporte of huntyng (or "maistre of the game"), by Edward, Duke of York; 4. A Com- playnte of an Amorous Knight [= Black Knight] ; 5. Pvegula sacer- dotalis ; 6. The Dreme of a trewe lover [= Temple of Glas] ; 7. Compleint of Anelida ; lastly, a number of smaller poems. These Shirley, in the above-mentioned versified prologue to his MS., enumerates in the following order : Boethius (11. 25—34) ; Gospel of JSTicodemus (11. 35—44) ; Maistre of the game (11. 45—61) ; then the Eegula sacerdotalis (11. 61—71), thus omitting No. 4 (the "black Knight") ; after this he has (fol. 3 a) : " panne and ye wol >e wry ting sivwe, 72 Shut ye fynde wryten of a knyght, pat serued his soueraine lady bright, 1 Also noted by Dr. Furnivall, Suppl. Par.- Texts of Ch. M. P., p. 46. Chapter VII — The Authorship of the Poem, lxxxiii As done >ees loners Amerous, Whe of hem, J>at hane hit vsed — A dieux Ioenesse, I am refused — Whos complaynt is al in balade, pat Daun Iohan of Bury made, 80 Lydegate, >e Munk cloJ>ed in blacke — In his makyng ]>ev is no lacke — And thanke>e Daun Iohan for his peyne, pat to plese gentyles is right feyne, 84 Bo}>e with his laboure, anil his goode : God wolde, of nobles he hade fill his hoode." 1 The order of sequence points decidedly to the Temple of Glas (comp. 1. 72 above) ; moreover, considering the length of the poem as given in Shirley's text (some 2000 lines, against 681 of the Black Knight), it is little likely that our poem should have been passed over. Lastly, to this "poetical" table of contents is added, at the top of the first page, a short summary, in which ~No. 4 is called be dreme for lovers (Black Knight), No. 5 be Ruyle of preestis, ~No. 6 be compleynt of a lover (Temple of Glas), which latter expression is quite in accordance with 1. 79 ahove. I do not mean, however, to deny altogether the possibility that the Black KnigM may have been in Shirley's mind when he wrote the passage in question ; the expression al in balade [i. e. in seven-line stanzas], in 1. 79, would especially hold good for that poem, and the above lines certainly give but an inadequate idea of the Temple of Glas. Be this as it may, we have at all events Shirley's sure testimony for Lydgate's authorship, not only of the Temple of Glas, as specified above, but also for the Black Knight. For Lydgate's name has, in the latter poem also, twice (on fol. 192a and 193a) been added to the headline; it stands in the title, on fol. 190 a (bottom), and on fol. 200 & we have as running title : Lenvoye of daun Iohn. To sum up : 1. Halves cannot be the author. One is seldom able to refute an error more completely than this theory of Hawes's author- ship. For first, it has been shown that Warton's advancement of this hypothesis was based on a misunderstanding of Ames. Secondly, if, in favour of Hawes, Bale's or Pits's authority be brought forward, 1 May we conclude, from 11. 83 — 86, that Lydgate was still living, when Shirley wrote this ? Shirley died on Oct. 21, 1456, aged 90, see Stowe's Surrey of London, ed. Thorns, 1876, p. 140. "John Sherley wrat in y tyme of John Lydgate in his lyffe tyme," says Stowe in Add. MS. 29,729, fol. 179 a. Stopford Brooke, in his excellent little Primer, p. 55, gives 1449 (which seems to be wrong) as the date of the death of Shirley, whom he has honoured far too highly in mentioning him twice, whilst, for instance, some of the pre-Shaksperian dramatists are barely named. /a Ixxxiv Chapter VII. — The Authorship of the Poem. our answer is that there is a MS. of the Temple of Glas, Tanner 346, which is a hundred years older than Ilawes's principal work. Thirdly, if doubts should he raised respecting the age of the MS., we have the express statement of Hawes himself, who ascribes the poem to his admired master. 2. Lydgate mud he the author. For, by way of external evidence, we have the witness of three reliable authorities who all call him so, namely Shirley, about 1440 or 1450, Hawes, about 1506, and Stowe, about 1560. The internal evidence is equally convincing. First, the testimony of language and metre. There are unfortunately as yet no special treatises en Lydgate's language and metre, and, indeed, to undertake such a thing would be premature, before we have some more critical editions of his works. But, after the preliminary researches in Chapters V and YI, we may say as much as that the language of our poem is quite in accordance with the more prominent peculiarities of Lydgate's. Thus there is a slight advance in the disregard of the final e beyond Chaucer : we have in our poem specimens of the confusion of -as and -ace rhymes (not however of -y and -ie rhymes, as in the Blade Knight, to give an instance of one of his earlier poems) ; also the Teutonic words sone, mone, and don (p. p.), rhyme with each other. — - The treatment of the final e in general, is altogether the same as in other recognized works of Lydgate, so far as I have been able to investigate the subject. We have also another outspoken peculiarity of Lydgate's in our poem, namely, that he rhymes words in -ere with those in -ire, as has been noted by others in more than one place. See, on this matter, Chapters V and VI. The best account of Lydgate's metre, and the most successful in its results, seems to me to be contained in Prof. Schipper's Englische Metrik. The unmistakable characteristics of the verses of our monk exhibit themselves throughout the Temple of Glas. 1 See Chapter V. Lydgate's style is justly denounced as being intolerably drawled- out, incompact, and full of anacolutha ; and although the greater part of the Temple of Glas may, on the whole, be superior to his lengthy works, yet the Lydgatian " drivelling " 2 long-windedness is not to be mistaken in the speeches of our poem. Ample examples have been given in the notes illustrating some 1 I would here note that I had myself, in every respect, arrived at the same conclusions before consulting Schipper's book. 1 merely make note of this in order to corroborate the distinguished scholar's statements. 2 For this expression, which so exactly hits the right nail upon the head, I am indebted to Ritson, with whom, however, I have a bone to pick by and by. Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lyd gates Writings. Ixxxv of Lydgate's favourite expressions and ideas ; thus lii.s pen quakes, when he has to " enditc of wo," 1. 947 ; thus he invokes the Furies, instead of the Muses, when he has to relate something dreadful (1. 958) ; the lady with hair "like gold-wire" is not wanting, and at the end, in the Envoy, he has not omitted his favourite request to "correct" his poem, if "any thing be missaid in it." Lastly, the entire atmosphere of the poem, the framework of a vision, the allegories, the whole range of ideas, and the motifs borrowed from Chaucer, Gower, the "Roman de la Rose" etc., are V; essentially the same as in several of the monk's earlier works, par- *" ticularly the Complaint of the Black Knight, the Flour of Curtesie, and his hitherto almost unnoticed best work, Reason and Sensuality. CHAPTER VIII. CHRONOLOGY OF LYDGATE'S WRITINGS. " For myne wordes here and every parte, I speke hem alle under correccion." — Troilus, III, 1282, 1283. § 1. Lydgate's Life. The exact dates forming the boundary-lines of Lydgate's life have never been precisely made out ; nor can we affix a certain date to the greater number of his works. Still there is in his case com- paratively less ground for complaint than in other instances, with regard to the scantiness of information accessible to us; for it has been at least possible to fix approximately the dates of the longer writings of Lydgate's second period, and no doulit, after a careful col- lection and investigation of the materials extant, many more points connected with chronological questions will be brought to light. It is in view of assigning to the Temple of Glas its proper place amongst Lydgate's other writings, and also, I hope, of offering some help to the investigator of particular works of the monk's, that I here attempt a rough outline of his life and his most important works, in chronological order — with great mistrust in more than one point, I confess, and always " under correccioun." We know that the monk was born at Lydgate 1 (near Newmarket), 1 Falls of Princes, fob 217 d : "Borne in a village which called is Lidgate, By olde time a famous castel toune ; In Danes time it was beat[e] doune, Time whan saint Edmund, inartir, maid, & king Was slaine at Oxone, record of writing." ib., 176 d : "I was bnrne in Lydgate, Where B:icchus licour doth fill scarsly flete." dZsop, Pl'ol. 32 : " Have me excused, I was born in Lydcgate." lxxxvi Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate s Writings. whence he derived his name. But there has "been much dispute as to the year of his birth. Bale says of him (Catalogus, 1557, p. 587): "Claruit sexagenarius, anno . . . 1440." 1 Pits, " illius pro more exscriptor," makes of this (cap. 820) : " (Buriae tandem) circiter sexagenarius mortuus fy sepultvs est circa annum .... 1440", adding in brackets : " male etenim vitam eius producit Iosephus Pamphilus vsque ad annum Domini 1482." This censure is well-deserved by Pamphilus, who seems to confuse Lydgate with the Augustinian (or Ipswich Carmelite 1) John of Bury, as has been remarked above in the footnote on page lxxvii. The exact words of Pamphilus concerning Lydgate are {Chronica ordinis fra- trum sancti Augustini, p. 88) : " Claruit Buriae, vbi tandem decessit, anno. 1482." This date has also been wrongly defended in the Catalogue of the Harleian MSS., No. 2251, Article 3, on the grounds that a stanza on King Edward IV. is, in that MS., added to Lydgate's stanzas on the Lives of the English Kings. Again, Ghilini, dependent on Pits, says : " Finalmente nell' eta di 60. anni, passo all' altra vita nel suo Monasterio di Sant' Edmondo, circa PAnno 1440" (Teatro d'Huomini Letterati, II, 131), and Papadopoli, following him, has: "Decessit in patria an. MCDXL. aetat. LX" (Historia Gymnasii Patavini, II, 165). Papadopoli had evidently well mastered the first rules of arithmetic ; for, from Ghilini's evidence, lie has been able to make out the date of Lydgate's birth, which he is the first to state expressly as 1380. This year, however, is certainly too late. It has since been concluded from more than one reason that the monk must have been born some ten years earlier. The facts which are of first importance to us in attempting to settle this much disputed point, are contained in the extracts from certain MSS. quoted by Tanner in his Blbliotheca Bvitannico- Hibernica, p. 489. The dates we gather from these extracts, are the following : March 13th, 1388 (I suppose 1389, according to the new style) : "fr[ater] Juh[annes] Lidgate monachus de Bury ord[inatus] ad omnes ordines in ecclesia de Hadham." This entry is from the register of Eohert Braybrook, Bishop of London from 1381 — 1404; it certainly has reference to the four minor ecclesiastical orders. The next three entries, which I have had the opportunity of examining myself, are contained in MS. 1 In the first edition, however (1548, folio 203 a), Bile wrote : "Claruit ab inearuato Dei uerbo. 1470. sub rege Edwardo quarto. " Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate's Writings, lxxxvii Cotton Tib. B. ix, the register of William Cratfield, abbot of Bury St. Edmunds from 1389 — 1414. According to them, the young monk of Bury received letters dismissory for the office of subdcacon on [Dec. I] 1 17th, 1389 (Cotton Tib. B. ix, fol. 35 6); for that of deacon on May 28th, 1393 (ib., fol. 69 b) ; for the order of priest- hood on April 4th, 1397 (ib., fol. 85 h). According to a MS.-note 2 in Tyrwhitt's copy of Wayland's Falls of Princes (now in the British Museum, marked 838. m. 17), Lydgate was ordained priest by John Fordham, Bishop of Ely, on Saturday, April 7th, 1397, in the chapel of the manor at Dounham. From these dates it has been reasoned backwards that Lydgate must have been born about 1370. So by Ward, Catalogue of the Romances in the British Museum, I, 75, and by H. Morley, English Writers, II, 421. Tame, Life of our Lady, p. Ill, and Th. Arnold, A Manual of English Literature, 6th ed., p. 134, c mclude the date to be 1368; but this date does not agree so well with certain allu- sions to his age made by Lydgate himself in several of his works, allusions which will be discussed in full below. Nothing seems to be known about his family, 3 or as to how he came from his native village of Lydgate to the Monastery of Bury St. Edmunds. Papadopoli, indeed, has : " A puero Monasticam D. Benedicti regulam professus est, primastpue literas didicit in coenobio," which is not unlikely at all ; but, in Papadopoli, this statement seems merely to be a guess, and not drawn from any older reliable authority. If I interpret the passages in Lydgate's Testament rightly, this poem would seem to warrant the conclusion that he was received into the monastery as a " child," " within 15 yeares age,''' although the lines in question are not very clearly put. He says that 1 The month is wanting in the MS., owing to its being much damaged by- fire. Tanner has December. The date immediately preceding in the MS. is Oct. 26th, 1389. 2 Printed in A. Hortis, Studj sulk operc latinc del Boccaccio, p. 641, note 2, not always quite correctly. It runs as follows: " Fritter Ioh««?ies Lydgate Monachus de Bury, ordinatus Presbiter per Iohannem IFordhani Emseopam Eliensem in Capella magni Manerii de Dounham, die Sabat. 7° April. 1397." The passage professes to be transcribed from a Register of Bishop Fordham of Ely, which was in 1728 in the hands of " ffr[ancis] Blomefield de ffersfield." 3 In his Testament (Hallixvell, p. 255) he says of himself (speaking of his school-days) : " Made my freendys ther good to spende in ydil " ; and, further on, p. 256 : "Snybbyd of my frendys sucli fcechchys fur tiuiiende, Made deffe ere, lyst nat to them atteiide." lxxxviii Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgatcs Writings. "Duryng the tyme . . . of my yeerya greene, Gynnyng fro childhood stretchithe up so fere, To the yeerya accountyd ful fifteene," he was a naughty, mischievous boy, "loth toward scole," "straunge to spelle or reede " ; then he tells us that he entered the monastery as a novice: „_ . ... . . . ... "Entryng this tyme into rehgionn, Unto the plouhe I putte forth myn hoond, 1 A yeer compleet made my professioun ;" hut he did not like much to follow " blessed Benet's doctrine," ""Which now remerabryng in my latter age, Tyme of my childhood, as I reherse shal, Witheyne fifteene holdyng my passage, Mid of a cloistre depict upon a wal I sauhe a crucifix." This would go very well with Temple of Glas, 11. 196, etc. I believe that Lydgate was certainly thinking of himself when he wrote those lines, and that he also was " entered in childhood into religion before he had years of discretion." Certain is that in the extracts referred to above, the dates of which range from 1388 to 1397, Lydgate is always called a " monachus de Bury." Besides the instruction which he would thus have received during a considerable number of years in the monastery, Lydgate seems to have enjoyed the benefit of a University education. Bale says of the monk in his Catalogns, p. 586 : "Didici tamen, post perlustratas Anglorum academias, Galliam & Italiam, discendarum linguarum gratia, petijsse ilium." His statement, which I do not consider very trustworthy in itself, is, so far as Oxford is concerned, corroborated by an entry in MS. Ashmole 59, where we have, on fol. 24 b, in Shirley's handwriting, the following title to part of Lydgate's JEsop : •'Here begynnebe . a notable proverbe of Ysopus Ethiopyefi in balad . by Laun Iohan Liedegate made in Oxenford." Of course, it does not follow from this passage that Lydgate was then studying at Oxford, as a member of the University ; still, I think, this would be the most natural interpretation. 2 According to Tame, 1 This expression, taken from the Bible, occurs also in the Pilgrimage, fol. 296 b: "l sette myn hand vnto the plough." 2 Is it a grateful reminiscence of Oxford, when he, in his old age, writes in the Sccrcta Secretorum (MS. Ashmole 46, fol. 123 b) : "As the sonne shewyth in his guyse Mong smale sterrys wit/i his beemys bryght, Right so in the same maneer wyse An vniuersite shewith out his lyght, In a kyndoom, as it shulde be of ryght " ? But see also his verses on the foundation of the town and University of Cam- bridge, printed iu the Retrosixctivc Review, 2nd series, vol. I, p. 498. Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lyd gates Writings, lxxxix Lydgate would then have been attached to Gloucester Hall, where the Benedictines used to send their pupils. After finishing his academic studies in his native country, a tradition, repeated from Bale downwards, supposes Lydgate to have travelled abroad and studied in France and Italy. That the monk was at one time at Paris, we shall see presently ; but whether he was there in his youth, for the purpose of study, seems doubtful enough. His translation of Deguileville's First Pilgrimage would have afforded him an opportunity of showing off his knowledge of Paris University- life ; but in the passage in question he adds hardly anything of his own to Deguileville's words. The original reads (Barthole and Pe tit's print, fol. 50 b) : ._ .. 1 ' ' " Car se aux escolles a pans Auoit par quarante ana apria Ung poure / qui mal vestu fust "... Lydgate translates (Cott. Vit. C. XIII, fol. 176 a): "Thogh a man wer neuc?-e so wys, And hadde lernyd at parys, Thys thrytty yer at scole be In that noble vnyuersyte, And hadde ful exprryence Off eurry wysdam k scyence, & koude expounen euery doute, And wer but porely clad wit/i-oute "... It is even more doubtful whether he was ever in Italy. Papadopoli, Historia ggmnasii Patavini, II, 165, has: "Joannes Ligdat (sir) unus est ex antiquissimis alumnis Patavini lycaei. Ejus in monu- mentis gymnasticis vix obiter semel mentio est, memoratur attamen a Ghilino, ut diuturnus hospes Patavii." I wish Papadopoli had given in full the reference he alludes to from the " monumenta gymnastica," instead of quoting Ghilini. — Or is it a mere creation of his own imagination] "Vix obiter semel" is a very suspicious expression. 1 In one of his poems in MS. Hail. 2255 (fol. 148 a — 150 a) — the genuineness of it is vouched for by the " ExpZz'a't quod Lydgate" of the MS.- — Lydgate says : " I haue been offte in dyvers londys And in many dyvers Kegioims, Haue eskapyd fro my foois hondys, In Citees, Castellys, and in tomis ; Among folk of sundry naciouns Wente ay forth, and took noon hede : I askyd no manere of proteccioims ; God was myn helpe ageyn al drede." 2 1 In Jacopo Facciolati's Fasti Gymnasii Patavini, Patavii 1757, I do not find Lydgate's name. 2 Also printed by Tame, Life of our Lady, p. viii. xc Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lyd gates Writings. The first line of this stanza is quoted in Warton-Hazlitt (III, 53, note 2), and again referred to by Koeppel, Falls of Princes, p. 76. It is, however, not the first line of the whole poem, as Koeppel was led to suppose from Warton-Hazlitt, but it stands in the middle of it (MS. Harl. 2255, fol. 149 a, top). The last line, as given above, forms, with slight variations, the refrain throughout the poem, which is, in fact, an illustration of this burden. We cannot draw much in the way of a definite conclusion from these lines. The last support which I can bring forward for the hypothesis that Lydgate was ever in Italy, is contained in the following passage from Papadopoli, Historia Gymnasii Patavini, II, 165, in which the author expresses his belief that a certain Joannes Anglus t mentioned by Salomoni, must be identical with our John Lydgate, not with Duns Scotus, as Salomoni had imagined. Papadopoli says of Lydgate : " nee alius sit a Joanne Anglo, quern a se in antiquissimis qui- busdam albis Salomonius inventum, notatumque scribit, ac vir bonus Joannem Scotum principem Scotistarum existimavit : cum nedum patria, quse Scoto Caledonia, Anglo Anglia, & Ordo sacrse Familise, quae Anglo Benedictina, Scoto Franciscana fuit, alteram ab altero discriminent, sed etiam setas, qua? Scoto annum MCCCVIII. emor- tualem prsestituit, natalem Anglo MCCCLXXX." I do not know whether Papadopoli refers to Giacopo Salomoni's Agri Patavini inscriptiones sacroe et prophance, Patavii 1696 — 1708; I certainly have not been able to find the reference in this work. With regard to the question before us, everything depends upon whether this Joannes Anglus was stated by Salomoni himself, on the authority of old documents, to be a Benedictine, bom in 1380. I am hardly inclined to believe it; the documents would scarcely have given the Avrong date, 1380, for Lydgate's birth, which was suggested to Papadopoli by the statements of his principal authority, Ghilini. If Salomoni himself does not call this Joannes Anglus a Benedictine, born in 1380, I should then prefer to believe that his Joannes Anglus might have been some other Englishman, perhaps the dis- tinguished Earl of Worcester, John Tiptoft (executed in 1470), who, according to Warton-Hazlitt, III, 337, note 1, occupied a professor- ship at Padua for some time. As I know of no further evidence which could supply us with information concerning this period of Lydgate's life, I am inclined to acquiesce in Koeppel's opinion con- cerning the monk's relations to Italy (Falls of Princes, p. 82), namely, that he was never in the country, and knew nothing of its literature in the lingua volgare. Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate s Writings, xci Of our monk's successive advances in the priestly office Ave Lave spoken above. From 1397 to 1415 we lose sight of him and his outward life, nor do we know, with one exception, a precise and certain date for any of his writings before the Troy-Book. Bale, followed by Pits, Ghilini. Papadopoli, Fuller, "Winstanley, etc., says that after returning from his travels and studies abroad Lydgate opened a school for the sons of noblemen ; later writers (from Warton downwards) have made this school to be in the monastery of Bury, others (Berkenhout, copied by Burrowes's Encydopcedia) in London. However that may be, it seems to me not unlikely that, about this time, Lydgate was in London. He evidently knew Londondife very well from his own experience, a fact which would be amply proved by his London Lick-penny alone. 1 Whether Lydgate knew Chaucer personally, can, I think, neither be proved satisfactorily, nor entirely disproved. On the one hand he frequently mentions Chaucer, as the note to 1. 110 will show, usually with the epithet " my maister." In the Troy-Book, 1513, fol. N 5 a, we read : " And Chauncer now, alas, is nat alyuc, Me to refourme, or to be my rede, For lacke of whom slower is my spede " ; in the Life of our Lady, fol. e 7 h : "For want of liym now in my grete nede, That shold, alias, coimeye and. dyreete, And with his supports amende and correcte The wronge traces of my rude penne, There as 1 erre and goo not lyne right ; Lut for that 2 he ne may me not kenne, I can nomore "... (but pray for him). Chorl and Bird is dedicated to his " maister," who, I suppose, can hardly be anybody else but Chaucer, with the following lines : ' ' Go, gentille quayer ! and recommaunde me Unto my maister with humble afl'eceioun 3 ; Beseke hym lowly, of mercy and pite, Of this rude makyng to have compassion." But compare, on the other hand, the quotation on p. lvi, where Lydgate says he had "no guide to reduce him, when he went a- wrong," and the end of the Troy-Book, MS. Cotton Augustus A. IV, fol. 153 a: 1 Stowe, in his Add. MS. 29729, fol. 166 a, has the entry: "And now here foloweth an ordenaunce of a presesyon of y e feste of corpus distil' made in london by dauue (MS. dame) John Lvdegate." See the poem in Ha'UiweU, M. P.. p. 95—103. - Thus in MS. Hail. 629 ; Caxton has that for. 3 Halliwell (from MS. HarL 116) effectitm. xcii Chapter VIII. — Chronology of lydgate s Writings. " My maister Chaucer, >«t foiwle ful many spot, Hym liste nat pinche nor gruche at euery blot, Nor raeue hym silt' to perturbe his reste, / haue hcrde telle, but seide alweie J>e best." Nor does the epithet "my maister," which Lydgate is so fond of bestowing on Chaucer, go to prove much ; King James, and even Gawajn Douglas, call Chaucer also their master. Tanner adduces MS.-evidence that, in 1415, Lydgate lived at Bury, "ubi electioni Gul. Excestr. adfuit"; his statement is taken from the Eegister of William of Exeter, who Avas elected abbot of Bury St. Edmunds after the death of Cratfield in 1414. We meet again with Lydgate's name in one of the Minutes of the Privy Council, dated Eeb. 21st, 1423. We read there (Proceedings of the Privy Council, 1 ed. by Sir Harris Nicolas, III, 41, taken from MS. Cotton Cleopatra F. IV, fol. 7 a) the decree that all the lands apper- taining to the Priory of St. Fides of Longville are to be let to farm 2 to certain persons named by Sir Ralph Eocheford, among which a monk John Lydgate figures, who is, no doubt, our Benedictine. Compare also Sir Harris Nicolas's Preface, p. lxix. In June 1423 Lydgate was elected Prior of Hatfield Broadoke (also called Hatfield Eegis), see Tanner; and, on April 8th, 1434, 3 he received permission from "Prior Johannes'' 4 to go back to Bury "propter frugem melioris vitae captandam." See again Tanner, and particularly, the above-mentioned MS. -note in Tyrwhitt's copy of Wayland's Falls of Princes, where the whole Dimissio is quoted in full from the Eegister of abbot Curteys (1429— 1445). 5 In the meantime, our monk must have been for some time in Paris. In MS. Harl. 7333, fol. 31 a, occurs the following heading to a poem : 1 My attention was drawn to this, as well as to another passage (given lower down) from the Proceedings, etc., by Dr. Furnivall. 2 ". . . . dimittantwr modo ad firmam dompno Iohff??«i Lidgate & lohanni de Tofte monachis. lohanni Glastoii & Wilh'amo Malton Cappellanis ad no?;ii7i.a- cionem prcfati Hadulphi Rocheford, etc. . . ." 3 Tame, Life of our Lady, p. ix, says that Lydgate had leave to return to his monastery again in the following year, 1424, and quotes MS. Cott. Tib. B. IX (not, however, the folio). This must be one of Tame's mistakes; it seems that he misread Tanner's date MCCCCXXXIV as MCCCCXXIV. 4 There is a gap in the list of the Priors of Hatfield Broadoke, as given in Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum, IV, 433, between William Guile, elected prior in 1395 (and, it seems, mentioned again in 1413), and John Derham, who is named as being prior in 1430 and 1432. The latter must be our "Prior Johannes." 5 This note has also been printed by A. Hortis, in his Studj mile opcre latine del Boccaccio, p. 641, note 2. Chapter VIII.— Chronology of Lyd 'gates Writings, xciii " Here begynneth A remembraunce of a pee deugre how that the kyng of Englond, Henry the sext, is truly home heir vnto the Corone of ffraunce by lynyall Successioure. als wele on his ffader side Henry the fifth, whom god assoill as by Kateryne queue of Englond, his modir. whom god assoile. made by Lydygate John the monke of Bury at Parys. by be instaunce of my lord of Warrewyk." This says clearly that Lydgate was in Paris, at a time not earlier than 1421, in which year Henry VI. was born. We are even able to determine the date still more exactly. The poem, besides alluding to contemporary events, mentions the king as "Henry the sext of Age ny fyve yere ren " ; it was begun on July 28th, 1 suppose in 1426. 1 The poem itself says : "I meved was . . liy . . commaundement Of . . My lord of Warrewyk .... Beyng present that tyme at parys, Whan he was than repaired agein From seint Iulian of mavus oute of Mayfi." " My lord of Warrewyk " is, of course, Eichard de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who was then Eegent of France during the absence of the Duke of Bedford. Evidently the leaders of state-affairs wished to proclaim in every possible way that Henry was the true king of Erance, so the Duke of Bedford commanded Laurence Callot to compose a poetical pedigree which should serve this purpose, and the Earl of Warwick employed the pen of our monk to translate it. That the notice in the Harleian MS., which ascribes the poem to Lydgate and makes him be in France about 1426, is correct, is borne out by a passage in Lydgate's writings themselves. In the beginning of his Dance of Macabre the monk says (Tottel's edition of the Falls of Pr.,io\. 220 a): " Like thensample which that at Parise I fonde depict ones in a wal," and again, at the end (fol. 224 d) : "And from Paris to England it sent." Henry V. is called the conqueror of Erance in this poem, which would go very well with the above-given dates. Mention is also made in it, on fcl. 224 a, of the death of Master John Rikil, whilom "Tregetour" of Henry V., the date of whose death is, however, un- known to me. We may further compare Miss Yonge's Cameos from 1 I should express myself with greater certainty were I sure what the " ren " in the MS. means. An astronomical calculation based on the detailed description of the position of the principal planets, given towards the end of the poem, would no doubt settle the year precisely. xciv Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate's Writings. English Historg, II, 357, where she says that in 1424, for more than six months, the Dance of Death was acted out by living performers in Paris. To strengthen this argument, we might also adduce here another passage taken from the prologue to Lydgate's translation of Deguile- ville's First Pilgrimage (MS. Cotton Vit. C. XIII, foL 4 a) : "And of the tyme playnly & of the date, Whan I be-gan thys book to translate, Yt was . . . [1426] .... My lord that tyme beyng at Parys, Wych gaff me charge, by hys dyscrete avys, As I seyde erst, to sette myn entent Vp-on thys book to be dyllyge:it, And to be-gynne vp-on thys labour." This passage, of course, only says that Lord Salisbury was at Paris in 142G; but it may indeed have been that Lord Salisbury personally gave the monk the commission " Thys seyde book in englyssh for to make," as the date 1426 (expressed in a very circumlocutory way) tallies exactly with what has been said above. Still this sojourn at Paris, and Lydgate's priorate at Hatfield Regis, give rise to several questions which I am not able to solve. "When did Lydgate return from Paris, and where was he after his return ] One would think that he wrote his Life of St. Edmund (in 1433; see below) at Bury, or at least saw King Henry VI. there; but his "Dimissio" from Hatfield is dated April 8th, 1434. What induced or compelled him to go to Paris 1 When did he give up his office of Prior of Hatfield Regis 1 I suppose when he went to Paris ; most likely Derham was then chosen in his stead. From 1434 until his death, Lydgate seems to have lived again at Bury St. Edmunds, where he certainly was buried (cf. Bale and Archceologia, IV, 131). The precise date of his death has never been made out. The year 1482 we have already discarded as being quite impossible. Nor is there any certain fact warranting the supposition that Lydgate did not die before the accession of Edward IV. in 1461. In favour of this theory it has been adduced (for instance in the Catalogue of the Harleian MSS., under No. 2251, art. 3) that among Lydgate's stanzas on the kings of England occurs one on Edward IV. Halliwell already (Minor Poems, p. vi) has pointed out this argument to be a delusion ; in the older copies such a stanza does not appear. I mention only the one in MS. Ashmole 59, in which case we know very well why Henry VI. is the last king mentioned. For this copy Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lyd gate's Writings, xcv is written by Shirley, who died himself in 1 45G. Nevertheless, the verses existed then already. So the stanza on Edward is evidently spurious, a fact further certified by its being written in the Sdine stanza, whilst the others are all in the 7-line stanza (MS. Harl. 2251, fol. 4 a). 1 By this mode of argumentation we might easily prove that Lydgate became not only 112 years old, but even some 180 ; for in MS. Royal 18 D. II (and, I think, in the print by Wynken de Worde), a stanza on Henry VIII. is added. In this recension the earlier stanzas also deviate greatly from the original text, although we can clearly see that they have been built upon Lydgate's groundwork. Very much the same holds good with respect to the poem " Ab inimicis nostris " . . ., quoted by Warton-Hazlitt, III, 53, note 1, for the same purpose. The greater part of the poem may be genuine, the last stanza in MS. Harl. 2251, fol. 11 a, recommending King Edward IV. and his mother to God, is certainly not so. The refrain in this stanza differs also slightly from that employed in the pre- ceding ones. A proof that Lydgate was alive in 1446, is adduced by Warton- ILiditt, III, 53, note 1. We there find the assertion that Lydgate in his poem Philomela mentions the death of Henry Lord Warwick, "who died in 1446," and are referred to MS. Hail. 2251, fol. 255. Now it is true that at this place in the MS. in question (new pagina- tion, fol. 229 a) there is a poem by Lydgate, entitled (by Stowe) " A sayenge of the nyghtyngale," 2 but I cannot find the reference to Henry of Warwick. In MS. Cotton Caligula A. II (fol. 59 a— 64 a), however, is also a poem " The nightyngale," and this contains, on fol. 63 a, the folio wing stanza : "A myghty prince, lusty, yonge & fiers, Amonge the ]>eple sore lamented ys : The Due of Warwyk — entryng the oure of tierce, Deth toke hy?;i to — whom mony sore shall mysse : All-myghty Ihcsu, receyue his soule to blisse. Both hye & lowe, thenk well that ye shall henue : Deth wyll you trise, ye wot not, how ne whenne." 3 This stanza was, of course, written after the death of Henry of Warwick — brother-indaw of the kingmaker — which, however, accord- 1 The Catalogttc of the Harlcian M88. itself says (No. 2251, article 3) that the stanza relating to K. Henry VI. looks a8 if it were written in that king's prosperity. ' This poem occurs also in Stowe's MS. Add. 29729, fol. 161 a. 3 This latter poem has 57 stanzas (in ihvme royal) ; Lydgate's poem (MS. Harl. 2251, fol. 229 a— 234 b, and Add. 29729, fol. 161) has 54 stanzas. It is unfinished ; the Harl. MS. has the colophon : " Of this Balade D;in John Lydgate made nomorc." xcvi Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydyates Writings. ing to the Nouvelle Blographie gin&rale, took place on June 11th, 1445, not in 1446. Dut it seems that these two poems are by different authors ; their subject only is the same, namely, an allego- rizing interpretation of the nightingale's song. Both poems are perhaps independent treatments of John of Hoveden's Philomela (see Warton-Hazlitt, II, 33 top, and II, 93 note), which I cannot investigate at present. Again, there is an EpitapTiium daeis Gloucestrie (MS. Harl. 2251, fob 7 a to 8 b), attributed to Lydgate by Eitson, No. 139, and in Warton-Hazlitt, III, 50, note 8. This would bring us down to 1447. But it must first be proved that the poem is genuine. I am inclined to believe that the internal evidence is against its being so ; of external evidence I am ignorant : Ritson's opinion as to the author- ship of the poem is, of course, worthless. But we have fortunately two or three certain dates for these latter years of Lydgate's life. The first of them is already referred to in Warton (ed. Hazlitt III, 54, note 1); it is contained in a notice of Stowe's, in his Annals of England, 1G15, p. 385, which states that Lydgate made the verses for the pageants exhibited at Queen Mar- garet's entry into London. This was in 1445. Further, Lydgate is mentioned as living by Bokenam, in his Legend of St. Elizabeth, with the following words (13, 1075) : " For, ]>ow I had kminyHg for to ryme, And eek to endyten as copyously, As had Gower & Chamicers in J>er tyme, Or as now hath }>e munk of Bery, Joon Lytgate, yet cowd not I . . . ." Bokenam's Legends were written between 1443 and 1447: that of Elizabeth appears to have been the last in order of time, and was, according to Horstmann's Introduction, p. viii (at the top), written in 1446. On viewing the above facts, it however becomes clear to us that we reach the last certain date connected with Lydgate's life by means of a document published by Professor Zupitza in Anglia, III, 532. This is a receipt signed by John Baret for a sum of £3 1 6*\ 8d. received by him for himself and for our monk, as a half-yearly instalment of a pension granted to them jointly. That such a pension Avas given 1 to 1 Perhaps in compliance with his request to Duke Humphrey at the end of the Falls of Princes (finished about 1438, or 1439 ?), fol. 217 b : "Trusting ageynward, your liberal largesse Of thys quotidian shall releuen me . . . [Hope] Sayd, ye, my lord, should haue compassion, Of royal pitye support me in mine age." Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate's Writings, xcvii Lydgate and John Baret had already been known from the Proceed- ings 1 of the Privy Council, 1835 (ed. Sir Harris Nicolas), V, 156, from which we gather that there were at first some formal difficulties as to the payment (cf. also Sir H. Nicolas' s Introduction, p. clvii). The entry in the Proceedings, taken from MS. Add. 4609, art. 27 (fol. 64), is dated Nov. 14th, 1441, the document published by Zupitza, Oct. 2nd, 1446. So far we can follow our monk, the latter being the latest certain date which we have concerning Lydgate's life. We may suppose that he died soon after this ; several of the MSS. of the Secreta Secretorum, his last work, mention his death. In whatever year he may have died, certain it is that, for his literary fame with posterity, he lived some thirty or thirty- five years too long. Had he died before 1412, or at least written no more, the epithet of a poet — cum grano sails, of course — might have been given him less hesitatingly by our generation. I have already indicated above that we know little of Lydgate's private life, 2 and nothing of his family. They were, I suppose, village-folk, and the boy most likely attracted the notice of the neighbouring monastery by his natural gifts. Considering that he passed the greater part of his life in the monastery, and moreover received frequent commissions for literary work from the highest personages in the land, it seems rather strange that we hear him so often complain of his straitened circumstances and the emptiness of his purse. We should have supposed that many of Lydgate's com- plaints on this score were only humoristic ; for instance, his frequent hints that an occasional glass of Bacchus' finest gift would be a most desirable incentive to spur on a poet's flagging imagination. Some such passages are : Falls of Princes, fol. 176 d: "I was borne in Lydgate, Where Bacchus licour doth ml scarsly Mete, My drie soulefor to dewe and wete." lb., fol. 90 c, the monk tells us that poets should ' ; eschew all ydlenes, Walke by riuers and Welles christalline, To hie mountaines a-morow tlier coins dresse, The mist defied whan Phebu« first doth shine," 1 See supra, p. xeii, note 1. - Those who care to know it may be informed that our monk wore spectacles: " Myne yien misted and darked by spectacle" {Falls of Princes, fol. 217 a). It was, I suppose, in imitation of his brother-poet that Bokenam also took to spectacles ; cp. his Legend of Margaret c (1,656) : . . . "my». bandys gynne to feynte, My wyt tn dullyn, and niy/i eyne bleynte simid be, ner iielpe of a spectacle/' TEMPLE OF GLAS. Q xcviii Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate's Writings. and, especially, "Drinke wine among to quick(en) their diligence." II)., fol. 217 a, be speaks of a "thrustlew axesse" as "cause of his langour," because " of Bachus seared were the vines," and complains of the "ebbes of constrained indigence," and that there is in him " None egal peyse : heart heauy and purs light." Of his life in the monastery, he says in his Testament (Halliwell, p. 258): ' ' I savouryd mor in good wyn that was cleer And every hour my passage for to dresse, As I seide erst, to ryot or excesse." The monk seems to have been of a kindred spirit to Heraclius, of whom he says (Falls of Princes, fol. 200 a) : " And therwithall he had a froward lust Euer to drinke, and euer lie was athurst." As we have said, we should be inclined to look at this entirely from the humoristic side, although we might possibly find in it grounds for the suspicion that our monk belonged to the confraternity of "bibuli," in which the thirstier souls of the monastery may have been united in Lydgate's time as in the days of grand old Abbot Samson. 1 There is further Lydgate's " Litera ad ducem Gloucestrie pro oportunitate pecunie in tempore translacionis Bochasii " (printed in Halliwell, p. 49), in which he asks the Duke "To se thentent of this litel bille," in which " nichil habet is cause of the compleynt." This again might be interpreted, from its humoristic tone, as a mere imitation — • playful or pedantic, however we choose to call it — of Chaucer's Compleint to his Purse. That the literal interpretation is, however, the right one, is confirmed by a passage in the Falls of Princes (fol. 67 d), in which Lydgate thanks the Duke for his liberality : " My lordes fredom and bounteous largesse Into mine heart brought in suche gladnes, That through releuyng of his benigne grace False indigence list me noinore manace ; " further, by the wording of his "Dimissio" from Hatfield Broad-oak, 1 See Jocelyn de Brakelond and Carlyle's Past and Present. With respect to Lydgate's time compare a passage in Dr. Logeman's Introduction to his edition of the Rule of S. Bmet, p. xvii : "About the year 1421 we find that degenera- tion had again set in, and that a reform was contemplated. At a meeting in Westminster Abbey between King Henry V and the Abbots and prelates of the Order of Black Monks, more than 3ti0 in number, a reform was decided upon." Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgates Writing*, xcix which was granted him " propter frugem melioris vitae oaptandam " (see above) ; also by his petition to the king for the confirmation of a grant, in which he calls himself " youre pouere and perpetuell Oratour John Lydgate " (see above, p. xcvii), and lastly by two passages from Shirley, namely the one given above on page lxxxiii (last line), and the following one from Addit. MS. 29729, fol. 178 a (copied by Stowe from Shirley) : " Yet for all his much konnynge, W/iich were gret tresore. to a kynge — I meaue this Lidgate, munke daune (MS. dame) lolm — His nobles bene spent, I leue ychon, And eke his shylingea nyghe by : His thred-bare coule woll not Iy. Ellas! ye lordes, why n ill ye se, And reward his pouerte 1 " These lines betray, however, a reminiscence of the Prologue of the Story of Thebes, with its humoristic description of the monk's shabby appearance, which makes it questionable whether Shirley had more resources to draw from than the passage alluded to and his own poetical inspiration. § 2. Chronological sequence of Lydgate's writings. Lydgate's writings seem naturally to group themselves into two periods, that of his early works up to 1412, and that of his long translations — of the Stories of Troy, of Thebes, and the Falls of Princes, together with Deguileville's First Pilgrimage — as well as the legends and minor poems of his old age, a period lasting from 1412 to his death. We have already spoken of Lydgate's sojourn at Oxford, which was most likely devoted to study in that University. It seems that when there he wrote his jEsop, which gives a very drawled-out version of some six or seven iEsopian fables, which have been printed by Sauerstein in Anglia IX, p. 1, etc., and again by Zupitza, in the Archiv, vol. 85, p. 1, etc., from a different MS., with import- ant additions, and corrections of Sauerstein's mistakes. The date of this jEsop would then be about 1387 ; but there still appears to me to be room for some doubt in the matter. The first certain date for any of Lydgate's writings has been made known to us by Miss Toulmin Smith ; it is the date for the prose- work, The Serpent of Division, or, The Damage and Destruction in Realms. According to vol. 3D of Lord Calthorpe's Yelverton MSS., 9 2 c Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate's Writings this tract was composed by Lydgate in 1400 (December?); s;e Miss Toulmin Smith's edition of Gorboduc, p. xx, etc. A poem which, I think, we must not place later than 1400, is Chorl and Bird. The Envoy of it is directed "Unto my maistex with humble affeccioun," praying him to correct and amend it. As far as I am aware, Lydgate calls no one his master, except Chaucer, and I think this envoy can be addressed to none other than him. Chaucer, of course, must have been still living then, so that the latest date we can assign to it would be 1400. Certainly the influence of Chaucer, whom he may have known personally, is most perceptible in Lydgate during this period, to which we may assign those works most clearly impregnated with the ideas of his great master, dimmed and diluted as they may be after having gone through the alembic of Lydgate's mind. To this category belong the Flour of Curtesie, the Black Knight, the Tern ph- ot' Glas, as well as Reason and Sensuality, the chefd'ceuvre of this period, as it is of all Lydgate's writings. It is a great pity that we have not one certain date for any poetical work of this period, which more than any other does credit to Lydgate's poetical faculties. The Flour of Curtesie, however, must have been written after Chaucer's death, as its Envoy proves, and the Temple of Glas not far from 1400, as I hope to show is probable in § 3 of this chapter. The Black Knight is a palpable imitation of the Booh of the Duchesne, and may come before the Temple of Glas, as this last-named poem is evidently a more ambitious effort, in which Lydgate stands, it seems, for the first time, upon his own feet, the invention of the whole work originating entirely with him. Thus I believe that the three works, the Flour of Curtesie, the Black Knight, and the Temple of Glas were written in this sequence, most likely between 1400 and 1403. I have little doubt that between this time and the translation of the Troy-Book, Reason and Sensuality was written, as well as the Life of our Lady. But as there are no certain dates recorded for these comprehensive works, and our reasons for placing them here, will become all the more evident later on, we will now, by a con- siderable jump, proceed at once to the lengthy works of the second period, which we may date from the year 1412. There is, first of all, the Troy-Book. We have fortunately a certain knowledge of the approximate dates 1 for this work, which 1 A chronological discussion of the three best-known works of Lydgate — best-known by name only, of course — forms the introduction to Koeppel's treatise Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate's Writings. ci heads the series of those long, spun-out and entirely unoriginal writings which have so justly discredited Lydgate's Muse. From the Prologue to that work we easily gather that Lydgate must have begun it in October 1412. With the same preciseness we know that it was finished in 1420. For we have in Pynson's Troy-Book (1513), sign. Dd,d: "And tyme coinplet of this tianslacyon .... Was a thonsande and foure hondred yere, And twenty nere — I knowe it out of drede . . . The eyghte yere, by computacyon, Suynge after the Coronacyon Of hym Heny the fyfthe," the reading of MS. Cotton Aug. A. IV, fol, 152 b, agreeing word for word with this. To Koeppel, only the modernization of the Troy- Booh, printed in 1614 by Ih. Purfoot, was available. In this the passage is different, and points to 1421 as the date of the conclusion of the poem. Perhaps the expression '"'twenty nere" warrants the inference that the Troy Book Avas finished between March 21st and March 25th, 1420 (new style). Henry V's eighth year lasted from March 21st, 1420, until March 21st, 1421 ; so the date must he after March 21st, 1420 (old style, 1419), and if we have to interpret " n.ere " as meaning "nearly," "not quite," it must be before March 25th, 1420: the days from March 21—25, 1419 (new style, 1420), lie in the eighth year of Henry V, and are " near " the year 1420, from Lyd- gate's standpoint. I believe, therefore, that the Troy-Book was begun in the autumn of 1412, and finished in the spring of 1420. The work w r e have next to discuss is the English prose-translation of Deguileville's Second Pilgrimage, i. e. of the Soul, printed by Caxton in 1483. We know — for instance, from Caxton's colophon and MS. Egerton 615 — that this translation was made in 1413, but the great question is whether it was done by Lydgate. It has several times been alleged, as a proof for Lydgate's authorship, that Chapter XXXIV of the Life of our Lady, and Chapter XXXIV of the Pilgrimage arc one and the same. It is curious to compare the wording of these assertions. We read in the Catalogue BibliotheccB Harletana, 1744, III, 126: " This is remarkable, that the 34th Chapter of that Poet's [Lydgate's] Life of the Virgin Mary is a Digression in Praise of Chancer . . . and on the sources of the Story of Thebes. His dating of the Troy-Book and the Story of Thebes are certainly in the main successful ; with respect to the Falls of Princes I shall lie obliged to somewhat modify his results. It will be seen that the conclusions I have arrived at concerning these works tally more c!osely with those obtained by Ward, Catalogue of the Romances, I, 75. oii Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate's Writings. that the 34th Chapter of the Second Book of this Pilgremage should be the same Poem." There is, indeed, a panegyric on Chaucer in the 34th Chapter of the Life of our Lady, as is very well known ; hut the second part of the ahove statement is not correct. There is no 3 -1th Chapter at all in the second book of Caxton's print of the Pil- grimage, as the numbers of the chapters go on without a break through the first two books (1 — 39 being contained in the first book, 40—65 in the second). Chapter XXXTV of the first book contains the " Charter of Mercy" for the pilgrim, but no eulogy on Chaucer. Again, Miss Cust, in The Booke of the Pylgremage of the Sowle translated from De Guileville, 1859, p. iv, says: 'The translator, or at least the author of the " additions," was in all probability Lydgate : for the 34th chapter of Lydgate's metrical " Life of the Virgin Mary " is literally repeated in the 34th chapter of this translation of "The Charter of Mercy." ' Very much the same thing is stated in Warton- Hazlitt III, 67. It is quite true that the 34th, or rather 35th, Chapter of the Pilgrimage (Caxton's numbering is not quite correct) contains the Charter of Mercy, but not so the 34th Chapter of the Life of our Lady. The part of the Life of our Lady, which some- what recalls this Charter of Mercy in the Pilgrimage, is Chapters XI — XIV, which contain the dispute between " Mercy, Pees, Iiightwys- nes and Trouthe, for the redempcion of mankynde " ; but there again, I cannot find any verbal coincidences. It may be that some of the stanzas, interspersed between the prose of the Pilgrimage, can be identified with others in the Life of our Lady ; but I must add, that a comparison of the French and English texts of the Pilgrimage shows the English stanzas to be in all cases renderings of the French original. 1 In perusing this translation of the Second Pilgrimage, nothing in the way of internal evidence has struck me which points decidedly to Lydgate as the author, either in the prose or even in the stanzas, and yet Lydgate is, as a rule, easily enough detected. Further, it seems to me highly improbable that Lydgate, just after having begun the translation of the Troy-Bool; at the command of 1 Even if a more careful investigation than I am at present able to carry out, should after all identify some of the stanzas in the two works, this would not necessarily be a proof of Lydgate's authorship ; the case would then be exactly parallel to the intended insertion of Chaucer's A B C in Lydgate's verse- translation of the First Pilgrimage. For later on I hope to make it probable that the Life of our Lady was written before 1413, and could thus have been made use of by anybody. Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lgd gates Writings, ciii Prince Henry — in 1413, King Henry V. — should only a few months later have started a translation of another work of by no means con- temptible dimensions (I should think, some 10,000 lines in the original). Moreover, in his Prologue to the verse-translation of the First Pilgrimage (that of Man), begun by him in 1-126, he would scarcely have omitted some reference to his former rendering of Degudeville's Second Pilgrimage. I am, at present, aware of only one passage which could possibly be construed into a proof that Lydgate was the author of this translation of the Second Pilgrimage in prose. I mean the following lines from Stowe's MS. Add. 2972'J, fol. 178 a, which have been copied by Stowe from one of Shirley's " poetical " lists of the contents of one of his MSS. : "First y e humayne pilgrymage, Sayd all by proose in fayre laugage : And many a roundel] and balade, Which y e munke of bury hath made." But then this seems to refer to Shirley's Sion College MS. Archives 2. 23, which contains a prose-rendering of the First Pilgrim- age, called in one of the headlines of the MS., " Jpe pilgrymage humayne." 1 I suppose this prose-translation in the Sion College MS. is essentially the same as the one published by W. Aldis Wright for the Roxburghe Club in 1869, from MS. Ff. 5. 30 in the Uni- versity Library, Cambridge. The title " humayne pilgrymage," if taken literally, only applies to the First Pilgrimage, the " peleri- nage de la vie humaine," which Lydgate later on translated in verse. No one would suppose Lydgate to have translate'! the same work twice over, first in prose, then in verse, all the less as no decided authority can be adduced for such a supposition. Although I have not been able to examine the Sion College MS. personally, yet I should think that the last line from Shirley given above can only mean that Lydgate was the author of ''many a roundell and balade " in this MS., but not so of the " humayne pilgrymage." Thus I believe that Lydgate certainly translated Leguileville's First PiUfrimage in verse, in 1426, etc., but he neither made the prose-translation of the Second Pilgrimage in 1413, nor (as scarcely any one will assume) translated the First Pilgrimage in prose. Lydgate's next large work, after the Trug-linnk, is the Story of Thebes. The monk was " nie iiftie yere of age " when he wrote the 1 See Dr. FttnrivalTs Odd Texts, pp. t>5 and 78 ; compare also his Trial- Forewords, p. 13. civ Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate s Writings. prologue to this work, which opens with a description of spring. We may therefore fairly assume that Lydgate began the work in the spring of 1-420, after having finished the Troy-Book; the expres- sion, "Mid of April," 1 in the Prologue to the Story of Thebes, would tally very well with the end-date for the Troy-Book. Taking one consideration with another, it seems to me most likely that the Story of Thebes was begun in April 1420. For this would also agree best with the " nie fiftie yere of age " of the Prologue ; if Lydgate was born in 1371 — we scarcely can make it later— he was in 1420 exactly 49 years old. If he was very " near fiftie," he might have been born early in 1371, or better still for our chronology, towards the end of 1370. As regards the end-date for the Story of Thebes, Koeppel rightly points out that Lydgate would not have omitted in his Epilogue to lament the death of Henry V., after the 31st August 1422, on which day that monarch died. At all events, we cannot be very far wrong if we say that the Story of Thebes was written between 1420 and 1422. It would seem also that Guy of Warwick belongs to this time ; Prof. Zupitza has conjectured its date to be 1420. Perhaps it was written shortly after the Story of Thebes, when the monk appears to have had more leisure after the completion of his two large translations. With respect to the Troy-Book and the Story of Thebes, I agree in the main with Dr. Koeppel, as to the dating of them ; making only the slight change of 1421 to 1420, which change is warranted by texts of the Troy-Book of better authority than the one which was accessible to Koeppel. But I can no longer share his opinion as to the date of the Falls of Princes. On the strength of two passages in that work, Koeppel came to the conclusion that it must have been written from 1424 to about 1433. Now we shall presently show that, in 1426, Lydgate undertook the translation of Deguileville's First Pilgrimage for the Earl of Salisbury. This work has more than 20,000 lines, and thus it would seem unlikely that the Falls of Princes, being done at the command of the Eegent of England and uncle of the king, should be broken off for an indefinite time for another big undertaking. Still, we should nevertheless be forced to assume that such was the case, if the date 1424 could be inferred unmistakably 1 Compare, however, Wiilcker, in AUcnglischcs Lcscbuch II, 270, who thinks that this statement as to the time is simply made by Lydgate in accordance with the bt'iriimiii" of the Canterbury Talcs. Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgates WrUings. cv from Lydgate's own words in the Prologue to the Falls of Princes. We should then assume that Lydgate, after having written the two first hooks of the Falls of Princes from 1424— 1426, wrote, in the course of the next years, the translation of the Pilgrimage, and then returned to his former and much duller work. Thus his deep sighs in the Prologue to the 3rd book would he all the more understandable : " Thus my self remembryng on this boke, It to translate how I had vndertake, full pale of chere, astonyed in my loke, Mine hawd ga?i- tremble, my pewne I felt[e] quake . . . I stode chekmate for feare whan I gan see, In my way how litle I had runne " (F. Pr. fol. 67 d). Indeed, there was reason for " trembling and standing checkmate : " 11,627 lines, and only two out of nine books done! Surely, his breast must be girt with " robur et ses triplex " who could be imper- vious to all feelings of pity for our sorely-tried monk. But, as I have said, the Falls of Princes was not begun in 1424. The passage adduced by Koeppel for this conclusion is wrongly inter- preted (see also Ward, Catalogue I, 75, and Th. Arnold, A Manual of English Literature, 6th ed., p. 137, note). The lines in question, from the Prologue to the Falls of Princes, fol. A 3 a (Koeppel, St org of Thebes, p. 14), are as follows (the punctuation is mine) : " Eke in this land, I dare affirme a thing, There is a prince, ful mighty of puissaunce : A kinges sonne, & vnkle to the king — Henry the sixth, which now is in fraunce — And is lieftenant & hath the gouernaunce Of our Britayn Duke of gloueester men this prince cal." The relative sentence, " which now is in fraunce," must certainly refer to Henry VI., an assumption which at once makes everything clear. Henry VI. was in France from April 1430 to the end of 1431 ; it will tally best with the other evidence to assume that the Prologue to the Falls of Princes was written in 1430. But, before his Falls of Princes, Lydgate made another lengthy translation for a famous English nobleman. As I have already said, the Englishing of Deguileville's Pelerinage de la vie humaine, in four- beat couplets, was undertaken by him, in 1426, for Thomas de Mont- acute, Earl of Salisbury. I should think that the monk finished it between the years 1426 and 1430, at his average rate of producing 4000 or 5000 lines a year. 1 In my opinion, not the slightest doubt 1 The Earl of Salisbury, as is well known, had fallen in the meantime, bring shot in the siege of Orleans. Lydgate, however, does not allude to the event cvi Chapter VIII. — Chronology of lydyulcs Writings. remains as to its genuineness ; the Prologue (in heroic couplets) is thoroughly Lydgatian ; there is the allusion to his master Chaucer (fol. 256 b), and to the niggardliness of " Jove's butler (Janymede" to our monk (fol. 4 h) ; we have further the authority of Speght (see No. 3 of the Lydgate-list in the Chaucer-edition of 1598, fol. 394 a), and thus also, I think, indirectly, of Stowe, who supplied many missing headings in the MS. Cotton Yit. C. XIII. The language, 1 the manner of translating, &c., are entirely those of Lydgate. The next work to which we can assign a certain date is the short Legend of St. Margaret. According to the Durham MS., this little work was written " A VIII h[enrici] VI," 2 i. e. between Aug. 31st (on which day Henry V. died in 1422), 1429, and August 31st, 1430. It evidently stands between the Pilgrimage of Man and the Falls of Princes. The Prologue to this latter work, as has already been pointed out, must have been written in 1430 or 1431. The monk seems first to have finished Books 1 and 2, after which a break of a few months must have occurred. For in 1433 Lydgate certainly wrote the Legend of St. Edmund and Fremund. He says himself in that poem .that Abbot William [Curteys] commanded him to write the life of the patron-saint of his monastery during the visit of King Henry VI. to the shrine and convent of St. Edmund (I. 187, &c.). This visit lasted from Christmas 1432 to Easter 1433. Lydgate's own words as to his beginning the poem are not quite clear : from 1. 134, &c, in the Prologue, it might appear that he began the poem at Christmas (1432); but lines 151, &c, of the Prologue were clearly written after the king's departure. There can be no doubt however that the main part of the Legend was written in 1433. In this case we need not wonder that the monk stopped short in his translation of the Falls of Princes for Duke Humphrey ; for Edmund was written for the king himself. Lydgate brought great zeal to bear on his treatment of this Legend, and the work is by no means his worst. For the last time we get a glimpse of something like poetry in the in the course of this work ; hut we have a reference to the Earl's death in his Minor Poems, Halliwell, p. 126. 1 Note particularly the not unfrequent use of the word " chaumpartie," used in a sense which seems to have originated in Lydgate's misunderstanding of a line in Chaucer. See note to 1. 1164. Other favourite expressions of Lydgate's are of frequent occurrence in the Pilgrimage, as the notes will to some extent show. '- See the edition of this Legend in Horstmami's AUenglischc Legcnden, Neue Folge, p. 446. *n y Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate's Writings, cvii now aging monk, when it devolved upon him to shed all possible lustre upon his glorious martyr-king. For in true piety, which comes straight from the heart, there always lies a touch of poetry. After this labour of love, our poor monk went on — amid the deep sighs and groans described above — with his Tragedies of Iohn Boehas on the Fulls of Princes. "Tragedies" indeed, inspiring the Aris- totelian terror and pity in no common degree : terror by their bulk, and pity for their author — and ourselves into the bargain, when we feel bound to wade through them. This time the monk went right through to the bitter end. In the Prologue to the 8th book, 1 Lydgate complains of his great age, which is '• more than three-score years," and of his trembling joints. We may suppose that this passage was written about 1436, at which time Lydgate was sixty-five years old. I should think that the monk finished this dreary compilation in 1438 or 1439, and I readily believe that he said a very heartfelt " Deo gratias " after it. He need not in his next work have ex- pressly drawn our attention to the fact that his wit was irretrievably " fordulled." In 1439, abbot "Whethamstede of St. Albans wished to see the patron-saint of his monastery and protomartyr of England glorified in the same way as St. Edmund had been. Lydgate was again chosen to carry out this work, and he thus wrote a Life of Alhon and Amphabel, on a similar plan to the Life of St. Edmund, but, as may be easily understood, inferior to it in every respect. After 1439 we hear little of any poetical efforts of our monk. Still his fame had not died before him ; for in one of his last years, 1445, he was called upon to write the verses for some pageants exhibited on Queen Margaret's entry into London. About the same time he was engaged in commemorating in verse certain miracles, wrought by St. Edmund in 1441, and again in 1444, the which verses are printed by Horstmann at the end of his edition of Lyd- gate's St. Edmund (Altenglische Legenden, Neue Folge, p. 440, &c). We may also suppose that Lydgate's Testament belongs to this time. We know with certainty that he died when in course of Avriting the 1 Ward, Catalogue of the Romances, I, 75, says that this passage occurs in the contemporary MS. Harley 1766, on folio 184, in the middle of the 6th book. This is quite correct ; but the passage stands in reality in the same place as in Tottel's print, the numbering of the books in the Harl. MS. being in great con- fusion. It counts only eight books, whereas Boccaccio's work has nine ; and from the very passage in question, as it stands in Tottel as well as in the Harleian MS., we gather that this Prologue was to be followed immediately by "two books." cviii Chapter VIIL— Chronology of Lydgate's Writings. Secreta Secretorum, which was finished by Bennet Burgh. Lydgate's part ends with the line — " Dcth al consumytli, whych may nat be denyed," which may have heen the last verse that came from the monk's pen. Immediately after it the MSS. have the rubric : " Here deyed this translatour and nohyl poete / And the yonge folwere gan his prologe on this wyse" (MS. Ashmole 46, fol. 131 a). We must now return to certain works of Lydgate's, the classifica- tion of which we postponed until we should find ourselves on firmer ground. We will first consider the Life of our Lady. I have little doubt that this was the last important work of Lydgate's first period, before he began the translation of the Troy-Booh in 1412. For we know that it was undertaken at the command of Henry V. ISTow we have seen that Lydgate, from 1412 — 1422, was occupied with the Troy-Book and the Story of Thehes. Therefore, it seems most natural that the Life of our Lady should have been written before these works. Moreover, we have an astronomical datum in the work. On folio i 4 b, we hear that our monk made a certain prayer when "Lucina was passed late from Phebus," and the statement seems to refer to the first of January. There was a new moon, in 1410, on the 26th of December (see infra, p. cxiv), which agrees very well with this statement. I should think that the Life of our Lady was written about 1409 — 1411. The poem, with its comparative fresh- ness — at least in some parts — still belongs to Lydgate's better works. For Reason and Sensuality I know of no external evidence which Avould warrant a certain date for the year of its composition. The work is of considerable length (about 7400 four-beat lines), and there remain only three periods in which Lydgate could possibly have found time to write it, namely, 1422 — 1426, 1439 — 1445, and the time immediately before 1409. I believe that 1422 — 1426, and still more 1439 — 1445, are quite impossible dates; the monk was much too " fordulled " at that time, and had sunk from what was, at any rate, some approach to a poet, to a mere rhymester and unoriginal translator. He can only, I believe, have written the best production of his life in his prime, and I consider the Flour of Curtesie, the Black Knight, the Temple of Glas, as works which lead up to the only one of Lydgate's poems which we can read with real interest and enjoyment. Thus we are, perhaps, not far wrong in believing that Reason, and Sensuality was written between 1406 and 1408. dm pin- VII I. —Chronology of Lydgate's Writings, cix Of the monk's larger works, Horse, goose, and sheep, I)> duobua Mercatoribus, the Assembly of Gods, and the Court of Sapience remain. With respect to the chronology of these I feel extremely doubtful. The least thing which I should feel it incumbent upon me to do before venturing on any definite opinion as to their dates, would be to read them again carefully, which I have at present no opportunity of doing. The first of these poems has the approximate date, 1470, in the N. E. Dictionary (under bougc), which, of course, is absolutely impossible. Lydgate cannot have written it after his death. Of the Assembly of Gods, otherwise called Assemble de dyeus, or Banquet of Gods, we have a late MS., Royal 18 D II ; and the poem was printed by Wynken, Pynson, and Redman (it would seem, altogether five times ; see Hazlitt, Handbook, p. 358). The MS. is later than Wynken's first print; 1 its text follows Wynken de Worde's print (C. 13. a. 21 in the British Museum) very closely; indeed, it seems to be a copy of it. Prefixed to the poem itself we find in the prints the Interpretation of the names of gods and god- desses, enumerating the principal heathen deities, and also indicating their respective spheres of action (for instance, Pluto = God of belle, Morpleus (sic) = Shewer of dremes, &c). This Interpretation has often been mistaken for a separate work, which it is not ; it seems only to be Wynken's addition to make the poem more easily under- stood by those of his readers who were less versed than he in classic mythology. In the MS. it does not appear. The metre of the prints and the MS. is exceedingly irregular, much more so than in any other poem of Lydgate's; but as the lines on the Kings of England in the Royal MS. show the same metrical corruption, besides great, arbitrary changes, I am inclined to believe that this Assembly of Gods may have been tampered with in a similar way. Still it is not absolutely certain that Lydgate was the author ; but I suppose the following item in Hawes's list of Lydgate's works (Pastime of Plea- sure, Chapter XIV) can only mean our work : "And betwene vertue and the lyfe vycyous, OF goddes and goddes[ses] a boke solacyous He did compyle '" . . . Further, Bale mentions De nominilms Deorum among the writings 1 That is to say, the second half of it ; the first part, containing the Troy' Boole and the Story of Thebes, with beautiful illuminations, is in a ranch older handwriting. The second hand (beginning of the 16th century) lias written the Assembly of Gods, further, a poem by Skelton, Lydgate's Testament, and his Stanzas on the Kings of England, the latter with additional stanzas down to Henry VIII. (also copied from a print by Wynken.?). See Dyce's Skelton, p. x. ex Chapter VIII. — Chronology of flydgatc's Writings. of Lydgate ; so also, following him, Pits, Ghilini, &c. It may, how- ever, be that Bale simply drew his statement from a title-page of Wynken de Worde's, as found in the copy of the British Museum, marked C. 13. a. 21, which seems to have been a joint issue of Lydgate's Story of Thebes, Assembly of Gods, and Temple of Glas (see Hazlitt, Handbook, p. 358). The first stanza reminds one strikingly in its tone of the beginning of Piers Ploughman : "Whan Phebus in the crabbe had nere his coura ronne, And toward the Leon his Iourney gan take, To loke on Pyctagoras spere I had b[e]gonne, Syttyng all Bolytary allone besyde a lake, Musyng on a maneer how that I myght make Reason and sensunlyte in one to accorde : But I coude not bryng about that monacorde." The poem certainly deserves a re-edition. I feel almost certain that the date of the Court of Sapience could be made out by a careful investigation. As to its genuineness I have not the slightest doubt ; Blades's scruples on this score, as brought forward against the opinion of W. Oldys (Caxton, II, 115), are hardly justifiable. Blades would consider the Court of Sapience Lydgate's finest work, if it were his, and wonders that such a remarkable poem should be so scarce then, compared with the monk's other writings. But it cannot be said that the poem is so very scarce ; for we have, besides Caxton's print, and the Trinity Col- lege MS., a print by Wynken de Worde, of the year 1510, and further, Addit. MS. 29729, which was copied out by John Stowe (from Shirley, or a print?). Moreover, the first part of it, the pleading between Mercy, Truth, Right, and Peace, occurs at the end of MS. Harl. 2251, and some stanzas of it found their way into the Chaucer-print of 1561 (see Chapter XII). "We have, moreover, Hawes's (Pastime of Pleasure, Chapter XIV) and Stowe's plain testimony that Lydgate was the author. Stowe's testimony (in MS. Addit. 29729, fol. 87 a, in the Trinity College MS., and in the list contained in Speght's Chaucer, 1598) perhaps goes back to Shirley, not to Hawes, as Blades supposes. I feel far less certain as to its date. The poem in MS. Harl. 2255, fol. 21 (" Mercy and trouthe mette on an hih moimteyn," etc.), written after Henry V.'s death, or the passage in Pur le Roy (about 1432), Halliirell, p. 11 &c, or the first book of the prose-translation of the Pilgrimage of the Soule (1413), have hardly any direct contact with the Court of Sapience. Who is the " soveraign," by whom the author was "constrained to write"] So far as I am aware at Clnqtlcr VIII. — Chronology of Lydgctfe's Writings, cxi present, this question of the date requires us to take into especial consideration the following line of the prologue : "Let ignoraunce and chyldhodc haue the wyte." But was Lydgate favoured so early by the Court? By Henry IV.? Or is the word cliyldhode here not to be taken in its natural and usual sense referring to age? Some critics even feel inclined to believe that this Prologue is not by Lydgate, but was added by somebody else, perhaps Caxton. I repeat that a careful investigation must almost certainly lead to a definite solution of these questions, which will make a re-edition of the poem all the more interesting. Speaking generally, I believe that further observations will dis- close more and more decisive characteristics, from which we may ascribe an earlier or later origin for those works to which we have as yet the most difficulty in assigning a place. For as Koeppel truly remarks, we still stand "in den Anfiingen der Lydgate-Forschung," and only gradually, by careful investigations and editions of each separate, work, shall we be able once and for all to disperse the doubts and solve the questions which attach to all the more interesting works of Lydgate, Until now, with hardly a single exception, Lydgate's dullest works alone have been treated of by Historians of Literature. At present we can only with certainty say this much, that there is a wide difference in poetical value, in tone and style, between the more imaginative writings of his earlier time, and the dry, monotonous translations spun out through thousands and thousands of lines in his later days ; between the jovial humour, or keen enjoyment of nature in the first period, and the cumbersome and dismal pages of the Falls of Princes, or the philistine rules — often disgracefully devoid of taste — for the health, diet, and general conduct of a prince in the Secreta Secretorum. "We may safely say, that, after our monk had reached the zenith of his power in Reason and Sensuality, the poetical value of his works decreases in direct proportion to the distance from this better time. Whether the same is true of his metre, further investigations have to establish. As regards versification, the Story of Thebes is indeed, of all his works, generally made out to be the scape-grace of the family, whilst the metre of the Falls of Princes is applauded as being far superior. True enough, if we take the two texts as they stand, the one in the Chaucer-Print of 1561, the other in Tottel's edition of 1554. But I should not be astonished if Dr. Erdmann's forthcoming edition of the Story of Thebes proves that its black-letter o-xii Chapiter, VIII. — Chronology of Lydgates Writings, text is much more corrupted than that of the Falls of Princes ; for Tottel gives us to understand on his title-page that he used more than one MS. for the construction of his text. Still I must not omit to say that Lydgate's five-heat line always seems more regularly built in the seven-line stanza than in the heroic couplet. Lydgate's style, at all events, changes considerably in the course of time, and, as he grows older, he entirely forgets some of his favourite expressions. His pen certainly hud still ample occasion to "quake" in the Falls of Princes, and the invocations to the Furies are frequent enough ; but the pretty descriptions of nature, his humour, in short, the brighter side of his poetry, is almost entirely gone ; his " fresh, fair " ladies have become very scarce, and those with " hair like gold wire " have vanished for ever. It will perhaps not be amiss to subjoin a short synoptical table of the dates — known and conjectural — of Lydgate's life and works. 1370 (or 1371) ?, born at Lydgate. 1387? studying in Oxford ; his JEsop. Travels abroad ? ? ■ March 13, 1388 (new style 138P?), receives the four lower orders of the Church. Dec. (?) 17, 1389, receives Letters dismissory for the order of sub- deacon. May 28, 1393, ditto for deacon. April 4, 1397, ditto for the order of priest. April 7, 1397, ordained priest. 1398 (?), Chorl and Bird. , , Horse, Goose, and Sheep ( ? ?). 1400, Serpent of Division. 1400—1402 (?)', Flour of Curtcsic, Black Knight. 1403 (?), Temple of Glas. ,, [Assemble of Gods?? Court of Sapience ? ?] 1406—1408 (?), Reason and Sensu- ality. 1409—1411 (?), Life of our Lady. 1412—1420, Troy-Book. [1413, Prose Pilgrimage hardly genuine.] 1415, Lydgate living at Bury. 1420—1422 (?), Story of Thebes. Feb. 21, 1423, Lydgate mentioned in the Minutes of the Privy Council. June 1423, elected Prior of Hatfield Broadoak. 1423 (?), Guy of Warwick. 1424—1426, Lydgate in France ? 1425 (?), Dance of Macabre. 1426 — 1430 (?), Pilgrimage de moundc (in verse). 1430, Legend of St. Margaret. 1430—1438 (?), Falls of Princes. 1432, Pur le Roy. 1433, Legend of St. Edmund and Fre- mund. April 8, 1434, licensed to go back to Bury from Hatfield. 1439, Legend of St. Albon and Am- phabel. 1441, legal difficulties concerning the payment of a royal grant to Lydgate. 1444, Miracles of St. Edmund. 1445, Verses for Queen Margaret's entry into .London. 1445 (?), Testament. 1446 (?), Seer eta Secretorum. Dies between 1446 and 1450 ! Many of the monk's smaller poems can be dated ; the above list comprises only the more extensive works. I repeat that this attempt at making out the sequence of Lydgate's writings, is merely a temporary one, given in the hope that, with all its shortcomings, it may throw more light upon the matter, and may be welcome to the Chapter VIII. — Chronology of lydgate's Writings, cxiii investigator of special works of Lydgate. I shall only be glad if a more thorough study of his particular writings removes any of the above notes of interrogation or assigns the right date to a work possibly inserted in a wrong place. § 3. Date of the Temple of Glas. Unfortunately there is not sufficient evidence to afford us a precise date for the composition of the Temple of Glas. That it, however, belongs to Lydgate's first period, and was produced before the interminable rhymes of his middle and old age, is proved by tho MS. T, which is scarcely much later than 1400. The next-oldest MS., G, seems to have been written about 1430; it exhibits, with S, extensive deviations from the other texts ; and the common original of G and S may be some years earlier. This external evidence agrees very well with the classification given above in § 2, and even serves to justify it; the Temple of Glas certainly bears in its composition, its style, and its general tenor, the marks of the early period, as alluded to above. Lydgate's inveighing against the enforced monastic life (11. 201 — 208) strengthens this supposition of an early origin ; we know from his Testament that, in his youth, he himself felt little vocation for the cloister. Neither, unfortunately, do the sources the author used advance us much further, nor yet does Shirley's assertion that the poem was written " a la request dun amoreux." Whether this statement of Shirley's was in itself merely a bad guess, 1 must remain a matter of uncertainty ; nor have I been able to find anywhere the motto of the lady : " de mieulx en mieulx magre" (in the second version: " liumblement magre "). Should, however, the hypothesis that the poem was written somewhere between 1400 and 1415 be correct, then a more precise date within the limits of this period may be assigned to it, or rather we may Bet on one side certain years in which it cannot have been written. At the opening of the poem is an astronomical statement concerning the 1 Thomas Feylde, also an admirer of Lydgate, addresses his poem Controversy between a lover and a jay in the Envoy thus : "For made thou was ofshorte aduysefnent Be uieruayllous instaunce of a loner verament." But at the end of the Envoy he has : "Snche grete vnkyndnesse . . . Was shewed to a loner called. F. T., Her mune also begynneth with. A. R." F. T. are doubtlessly meant to represent his own initials. Feylde cites in this poem a great many famous couples of lovers ; those of the Temple of Glas aro also all in it. TEMPLE OF GLAS. h cxiv Chapter VIII. — Chronology of Lydgate s Writings. time of the dream which Lydgate feigns to have had. It says that he had gone to bed one night " Whan ]>at Lucina wi)> hir pale lijt Was Ioyned last \vi> Hiebus in aqnarie, Amyd decembre, when of Ianuarie Ther be kalendes, of be nwe yere." The first two lines, of course, refer to the conjunction of Sun and Moon ; the key to the exact meaning of the last two we find in Lydgate's poem, Pur Is Roy (in Halliwell's edition of the Minor Poems, p. 2), of which the first stanza runs : ' ' Toward the ende of wyndy Febniarie, Whan Phebus whas in the ffysshe croune, Out of the signe, wiche callyd is aquary, New kalendys were enteryd and begone Of Marchis komyng, and the mery sone Upon a Thursday sched his bemys bryght Upon Londone, to make them glad and lyght." 1 The date here referred to is February 21st, 1432, relating to King Henry VI's entry into London after his return from France. The above method of fixing the date has, of course, reference to the ancient calendar, according to which, after the Ides of the month, the reckoning would be made by the kalends of the next month. Thus the meaning of 11. 6 and 7 of the Temple of Gla-s is : in the middle of December, when the new ' ' Ivalendre Ianuarise " have begun, i. e. at the earliest on December 14th, which is the 19th day "ante Kalendas Ianuarias." K~ow, Professor Tietjen, of the Berlin Uni- versity, has been kind enough to give me a list of new moons in the December of the years 1400 — 1420. According to it, there was a new moon in 1400, on December 16th, at 2 a.m. ; 1402 on the 24th, 1403 on the 14th, at 9 a. m., 1405 on the 21st, 1407 on the 29th, 1408 on the 17th, 1410 on the 26th, 1411 on the 15th, 1413 on the 23rd, 1416 on the 19th, 1418 on the 27th, 1419 on the 17th; the other new moons all occur before December 1 4th. JSbw we must not lose sight of the possibility that Lydgate did not mean the above- quoted words to be interpreted literally ; but if we do so, I should think that the two years 1400 and 1403 are of all the most likely, as the date of their new moon agrees so well with the "Amyd decembre" of the poem. And if we have to choose between the two, I think we must choose 1403 as the more probable. For two 1 We have also a close parallel to the above lines in MS. Cott. Calig. A II, fol. 59 a : " And on a nyght in Aprile as y lay Wery of sleep & of my bed all so, Whene that the kalendes entred were of May." Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. cxv reasons. It seems that the Flour of Curtesie (evidently imitated from the Parlement of Failles), and the Black Knight (imitated from the Book of the Duchesse) precede our more ambitious Temple of Glas. But the Flour of Curtesie was certainly written after the death of Chaucer, which is proved by its envoy. Secondly, I believe that Lydgate, in December 1400, would have mentioned Chaucer with wanner words than the bare mention of his name in 1. 110. For scarcely two months had then elapsed since his beloved master had been laid in the "rave. CHAPTER IX. THE SOURCES OP THE POEM. § 1. Lydgeite's learning in general. We are, indeed, obliged to bring forward a strong protest against certain old admirers of Lydgate, when their effusive eulogies are y too freely bestowed on his poetical powers. But we can agree more readily with these ancient literati when they commend our monk's wide learning. 1 Although we moderns perceive at once that it is — - like much of the erudition of the Middle Ages — more extensive than deep or accurate, yet we must not deny Lydgate the epithet of " learned," which he received for several centuries, and with which he was still honoured, in the midst of the glories of the Elizabethan era, by no meaner poet than Beaumont. Still, even here we must make the necessary deductions from the wholesale eulogies of Bale, Pits, and other early writers, and some of the accomplishments attributed to him all too lavishly by them, we shall do well to strike out altogether from their lists. Thus, if Pits speaks of him as " non solum elegans Poeta, & Ehetor disertus, verum etiam Matliematicus experius, Philosophus acutus, & Theologus non contemnendus," 2 we prefer to believe Lydgate's own words, when he says (Troy-Buolc, ' ' " For douteles / I raddo neuer Euclyde." 1 .And vre may perhaps add, his command of language. Bale praises him thus : "Tantaj enim eloquential & eruditionia homo iate fait, ut aunquam satis admirari possim, unde illi in aetate tam rudi, tanta accreuerit facundia ; " further on: ''fuitq?6c post dictum Chaucerum, Anglici sermonis illustrator plane maximus" {Catalogtos, p. 586). 2 Pits evidently derives his information from the first edition of Bale (Summarium, 1548, fol. 202 6), which reads: " Rhetorem certe, philosoplmin, mathematicum, ac theologu»i eum extitisse, script a eios luculenter ostendunt." Bale himself thought good to omit this questionable account of Lydgate's versa- tility in his Catalogus, whilst Bits was copied by Ghiliui, Papadopoh, etc. h 2 cxvi Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. After this confession we need not wonder that the history of mathe- matics is silent concerning any " Theorem of Lydgate." 1 Similarly, Ave must not let pass unchallenged Bale's random guess concerning the authors who served as Lyd gate's chief models. Bale asserts — and his assertion has been adopted even by Warton without due criticism — that Dante, Alanus, and Chaucer were the principal poets whom Lydgate studied and imitated. But of Dante he does not seem to have known much more than the mere name and the title of his great work ; further, if by Alanus, Bale meant Alanus ab Insulis, then Reason and Sensuality alone would fully justify the tradition ; but he evidently means Alain Chartier, and I must confess that, beyond a general likeness of motifs, etc., current at the time, I am unable, so far as my knowledge goes, to trace any actual interdependence between the two. Some works of Chartier were, indeed, translated into English in the 15th century ; but we must note that Lydgate is at least twenty-five years older than Chartier, and can thus have learnt little from him. With respect to the third poet mentioned by Bale, there is no doubt that Lydgate knew Chaucer well, and the present poem would strongly confirm this statement, did it need confirmation. Bale's authority is here, as unfortunately also in many other instances, altogether unreliable; he evidently chose haphazard three representative poets of Italy, France, and England, and thus two-thirds of his statements are incorrect. The sources of two of Lydgate's best known works, the Falls of Princes and the Story of Thebes, have been ably treated in Dr. Koeppel's two excellent treatises, which, although the two works in question are more or less only translations or paraphrases, yet throw 1 Moreover, let any one who may have imagined Lydgate to be a connoisseur of jewelry, correct his error at once ; for he himself tells us in the Sccreta Secretorum (MS. Ashmole 46, fol. 109 a) : " I was nevir noon expert Ioweleere." Nevertheless we may not inaptly apply to the monk Hazlitt's remark on Herrick, that " from his frequent allusion to pearls and rubies, one might take him for a lapidary instead of a poet" {Lectures on the Dramatic Literature of the age of Elizabeth; Lecture VI). — Concerning Lydgate's geometry we must, how- ever, in justice add, that he evidently knew the value 3} for -tt (see note to 1. 36). But again, his " Tractatus de Geometria " in the Court of Sajricnce, fol. Ub to f 3 b, does not prove him to have been a great adept in the mysteries of Euclid's science. Cp. also the following passage from the Pilgrimage of Man, fol. 182a, the purport of which we do not mean to gainsay : " And many on that thow dost sen, Ys nat ther-for A Geometryen, With-In a compas — ha thys in mynde — Thogh he ko?me out the centre fynde." Chapter IX. — The Sources of TJie Temple of Glas. cxvii considerable light upon Lydgate's general knowledge and the manner in which he makes use of it in enlarging upon his originals. Koeppel shows, I think conclusively, that Lydgate knew no Greek nor Italian, but Latin and French tolerably. In his so-called translations, the monk usually renders his original in a paraphrastic manner, and puts in many additions foreign to it. He is fond of quoting authorities for his statements ; but often enough, be does so — like his great master Chaucer — quite incorrectly and at random. Some investiga- tions have also been made into the sources of certain of his smaller poems ; I mention especially Guy of Warwick. But much still remains to be done to make clear his attitude towards the sources whence he derived his other principal works. Thus a treatise on the sources of the Troy-Book would be a very meritorious pendant to KoeppePs comparison of Boccaccio, Laurent de Premierfait, and Lyd- gate ; it would have to elucidate the mnnner in which Lydgate fol- lows Guido di Colonna, and how far be deviates from the Sicilian's famous work. The investigator of Lydgate's Secreta Secretorum would have to define the exact relation between this work and the pseudo-Aristotelian tract of that title ; and also to show how it is connected with Occleve's De Regimine Prlncipum or Gower's Co?ifessio Amantis, Book VII. An enquiry into the sources of the Court of Sapience will, so far as it deals with the first part of the poem, lead back to the Pleading between Mercy, Truth, Right, and Peace, so often treated in the Middle Ages. 1 In the later parts of the Court of Sapience, the inquirer will have ample opportunity to show bis own erudition whilst discussing that of Lydgate. jS r ot the least interesting of such investigations would be that of Reason and Sensuality ; Alanus ab Insulis' work De Planctu Natune, the Roman de la Ruse, and the moralizations on the game of chess would he found to play a prominent part in it. If I am not much mistaken, the groundwork of the Assembly of Gods must go back in some way to the PsychomacMa of Prudentius, and more than one of Lydgate's stories appear to be derived from 1 By Lydgate himself in the Court of Sapience, 1st part, in Life of Our Lady, cap. 11 — 14 ; it occurs also in Deguileville's Second Pilgrimage, books I and IV of the English prose-translation in Caxton. In book I the Charter of Mercy has reference to the soul of the individual pilgrim only ; in the I Vth to mankind in general. Further treatments of, or allusions to, tibia Pleading are found in a homily of St. Bei - nard's, in Grosseteste's Castel a" wmxrw (English version, ed. Weymouth, 1. 275 etc.), in the Cursor Muiuli, ed. Morris, p. 548—561 (11. 9517 — 9752) ; in Piers Plowman, C-text, XXI, 118 etc. ; see ten Brink, Gcschichte der cngl. Lilt., I, 444, and particularly, Skeat'a note to the passage in Piers Plowman, cxviii Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. the Disciplina clericalis, or a French translation of it. 1 Inquiries of the kind indicated would be valuable contributions to the history of English literature in the 15th century, and I should be glad if these discussions instigate other workers in this field to undertake an elucidation of some of the questions set forth above. § 2. Current "motifs" used in the Temple of Glas. Whereas Sandras, some thirty years ago, spoke of Chaucer's works as " veritables mosdiques *' of ideas, gathered together from various quarters, a better knowledge of the poet has made it clear to us that Chaucer, although drawing from many foreign sources, still preserved the originality of his singular genius and im- pressed each of his genuine works with the stamp of his own per- sonality. Later researches have shown that the works to which this remark of Sandras particularly applies, are mostly not genuine, but, as a rule, belong to a post-Chaucerian school of poets, who had learnt their technique of, and borrowed their ideas from, the great master- poet. But if this remark is not appropriate in the case of Chaucer's genuine works, it is certainly applicable to the earlier compositions of Lydgate, and particularly to our poem. For although the Temple of Glas may be said to be an original production with regard to its action and composition, yet the most prominent motifs which form the component parts of the story, and serve as vehicles to set the action working, are the common property of the time, heirlooms, some of them, of olden days, modified and enlarged upon by gener- ations of writers. Thus we have in our Temple of Glas the framework of a vision. We can clearly distinguish in the literature of the Middle Ages two separate, yet closely related currents, which represent two different forms of the vision. First we have the vision proper, the religious trance, opening Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell to man's ecstatic gaze. For the origin of this species of the mediaeval vision Ave must turn to the Bible, namely to the visions of Ezekiel and Daniel, the trance of St. Paid, and the Apocalypse of St. John. 2 Again, in the earlier 1 So Chorl and Bird and De duobus Mercatoribus. For the latter see Ward, Catalogue of the Romances, I. 929, and Zupitza, in his ArcJiiv, vol. 84, 130 etc. - There are also heathen parallels, describing either descents into the lower world, or visions of a life beyond the grave ; the 11th book of the Odyssey and the 6th of the Acncid, the Culex, and particularly the Somnium Seipionis. In the Mahdbhdrata occurs a famous episode, the Indralokdgamana, describing the ascent of Arjuna to India's heaven. The popularity of these fictions was so great that it produced parodies and burlesques ; two well-known instances are Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. cxix centuries of the Middle Ages, many privileged mortals, mostly- canonized saints, were credited with having beheld such visions, in body or in spirit; for the historian of literature the names of St. Patrick, St. Brandon, Alberic, Tundalus, and the apocryphal gospel of Nicodernus are of particular interest. 1 The Solar-Ljo'S, Eaoul de Houdenc's Songe iVEnfer and Vote de Paradis, Hampole's Priche of Conscience, Dunbar's Dance of the seven Deadly Sins, Lyndsay'.s Dream, the poem of the Pearl, Deguileville's Pilgrimages, and Alanus' Anticlaudianus, which latter had certainly no small influence on the conception of the Hons of Fame, are interesting enough as turning the vision of other worlds into a poetic theme ; but it is, of course, the Divina Commedia, which shows in its peerless magnificence what a poet of Dante's tremendous powers could make of the vision of the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. On the other hand, the vision is often used more or less as a poetical framework only ; in this case, it usually presents itself to the poet either in a dream, or when walking forth into the fields on some fair morning. This secular form of the vision no doubt sprang from the religious type ; the frequent occurrence of the drQum-viotif appears moreover to have been partly due to the Somnium Scipionis, with its widespread popularity in the Middle Ages. 2 As famous examples of this species of the vision in Romance literature Ave may mention the popular work of Boethius, De Consolatione Philosophiae, Petrarca's IVionji, Boccaccio's numerous visions, and — of great influence upon Chaucer and his school — the Roman de la Rose, and Alanus' De Planctu Natural. This type of vision, rather than the preceding, is also exhibited in Piers Ploughman, and Chaucer made use of it in more than one of his works, as in the Hous of Fame, the Parlement of Foules (in this case following directly the Somnium Scipionis), in the Boole of the Duchesse, and the Prologue to the Legend of Good Women. It occurs in the pseudo-Chaucerian poems, lite Isle of Ladies, The Assembly of Ladies, and Cuclww and Nightingale; in the M6vi7r7roc »/ ~Sacvo(iavTtia, attributed to Lucian, ami, it would seem, con- temporary with Lydgate, the Scandinavian SMda-Jiima by Einar Fostri (see Vigfusson, Corpus Pocticum Borcalc, II, 396, etc.). 1 For the subject of visions see particularly Th. Wright, St. Patrick's Purgatory ; Hammerich, Aclieste christliche EpUc, p. 181 ; Ebert, Allgemeinc Geschichtc der Litcratur des Mittelulters, passim ; and C. Fritzsche, Die latcini- schen Visionen des Mittclaltcrs bis zur Mitte des 12. Jahrhundcrts, in VollmiJller's Romanische Forschungen, II, 247 etc.; Ill, 337 etc. 2 Cp. Warton-Hazlitt III, 65 ; Sambas, p. 67 ; Ward, Hist, of Engl. Dram. Lit. I, 57 ; ten Brink, Ocsehifihtc der engl. Littcratur II, 86. cxx Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. Gower's Vox da mantis, in Skelton's Garland of Laurel and Boirge of Court, in the Kingis Quair, in Dunbar's Golden Targe, Henryson'a JEsoj) (Introduction), Douglas's Palice of Honour ; in Machault, Alain Chattier, etc., etc. Lydgate, who certainly knew Chaucer, Boccaccio, Deguileville, and the Roman de la Rose, is not less fond of this particular framework than his contemporaries ; lie lias it, in different forms, besides in the Temple of Glas, in the Assemble de Dieus, the Court of Sapience, the Complaint of the Black Knight, and, in a certain degree, also in the Falls of Princes. The vision of some stately building, a palace or a temple, is common, as the very titles show : Palaces of Honour, Houses of Fame, Temples of Glory, etc., occurring frequently in the English and the Romance literatures. Temples of Venus — for so our Temple of Glas turns out to be — are found amongst Chaucer's works, in the Knightes Tale (1. 1060 etc.), the Horn of Fame (1. 130 etc.), and the Parlement of Foules (1. 230 etc.), from all of which works Lydgate seems to have taken various hints for the present poem. The particular title, The Temple of Glas, may have suggested itself to Lydgate from 11. 119 and 120 of Chaucer's Hous of Fame, which run thus : „ But M l slee ^ me mette j wag Within a temple y-mad of glas." The temple spoken of in this passage of the Hous of Fame is also a Temple of Venus. Further, the enumeration of famous names, and particularly of famous lovers, is a very common feature in works of the afore- mentioned category. These names are naturally most numerous in poems which make the representation and portraiture of personages seen in a vision their primary object, such as Chaucer's Hous of Fame, Douglas's Palice of Honour, Petrarca's Trionfi., Boccaccio's Amorosa Visione, the Intelligenza, 1 not to mention the Divina 1 This list is interesting as giving, amongst others, the following pair of lovers (stanza 75, 1. 2) : La bclla Analida e lo bono Ivano. This seems to point to one of the Romances treating of Iwain and the Bound Tabic, for the origin of the name Anelida, which would at once upset Bradshaw's and Prof. Cowell's ingenious etymologies from 'Avatrig and Anahita ; for I do not believe that both the poet of the Intelligcnza and Chaucer mistook a t for an /. "VVe have also in Froissart's Lit du bleu chevalier the line (ten Brink, Chaucer- Sludien, p. 213) : " Ywain le preu pour la belle Alydes." One and the same personage is evidently indicated by the two names Analida and Alydes for Iwain's paramour ; I am not, however, sufficiently acquainted with the Arthur-romances to know of the occurrence of such a name. Laudine in Chrestien's Chevalier au Lion is not veiy like it. Chapter IX.— The Sources of The Temple of Glas. exxi Commedia. Our poem, however, connects itself in particular with the idea of a " Court of Love," inasmuch as it enumerates none hut lovers in the entourage of Venus, who is represented as "Lady- president of Love" — to use a phrase of Peele's — with Cupid at her side and lovers of all ages and conditions around her. "We need not seek long for Lydgate's immediate sources among the many Romance and English poems' in which this fanciful idea is introduced ; Chaucer's Prologue to the Legend of Good Women and Gower's vision of the Court of Love, 1 towards the end of the Confessio (ed. Pauli, III, 357 etc.), were certainly uppermost in Lydgate's mind when he wrote the part in question of the Temple of Glas. This is amply proved by the names which occur in our list (11. 55 — 142), as well as in the two sources I have just named. 2 Lydgate is not, perhaps, quite consistent in the representation of this Court of Love. In the latter part of the poem we find ourselves face to face with living inhabitants of the Temple, who sing the praise of Venus and otherwise join in the action of the poem ; but in the beginning we hear of them — even of Venus, 1. 53 — only as "depainted upon every wall*' (see 1. 44). Both methods of intro- ducing personages in a vision are common enough with these early "dreamers," and Warton (History of E. P., ed. Hazlitt II, 192 ; 275, note 1 ; III, 63) has given us a series of examples, both from History and Fiction, in which such characters figure in pictures, statues, tapestry, etc. Warton's list itself may seem superfluous enough, and if, in addition to this, I point to Beowulf 994, to TJlfr TJggason's Husdrdpa, to Eojardo and Ariosto, to Athis and Prophilias, to Bliker von Steinahe's Umbehanc (Gottfried von Strassburg, Tristan 4690), to the Anticleiudian of Alanus ab Insulis, to the Intelligenza, to Benoit de Ste-More, to the Peripetasma of Balderims 1 A Court of Love meant, of course, originally something different ; but our version — Venus as queen listening to the complaints of the lovers — is alreao j found in the 13th century, in Jean de Conde's I)es Ghanoinesses et des Ber- nardines (see Morley, English Writers, 2nd ed., V, 143) ; in fact, we may trace its origin as far hack as the classics, for example, Ovid's Amores I, 2, 25 etc. We have this notion again in Petrarca's Trionfo d'Amore, in the pseudo- Chaucerian poem The Court of Love, in Douglas's Police of Honour, in Holland's Court of Venus, etc. Cp. also the little poem " The Parliament of Lore," in Furnivall's Political, llrlii/ious and Love Poems, p. 48 — 51, and the passage from Hawes's Pastime, of Pleasure in the note to 1. 50. 2 We may also refer to the list of lovers in Pari, of F., 288, and to the enumeration of good women in March. Tale 119 etc., Melibe, \>. 150 ; Frankel. Tale 628. In Lydgate similar lists frequently recur ; for instance in the Life of our Ladi/, fol. a 5 b ; in the poem on Duke Humphrey and Jacqueline, MS. Add. 29729, fol. 158& ; in the poem entitled "Of a squyer v' serued in loues courte," ib., fol. 157a ; in the Flour of Curteaie, etc cxxii Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. Dolensis, to Catullus' Marriage of Peleus and Thetis (the passage from which Titian drew some suggestions for his glorious picture " Bacchus and Ariadne " in the National Gallery), etc. etc., I willingly plead guilty to the charge of krokylegmos. Further, the " Complaints " of the Lady and the Knight, as they present them to the goddess, recall to us a certain species of poetry 1 which was at one time much in vogue in England and France. These "Complaints" are usually put into the mouth of a rejected or forsaken lover, bewailing his wretched state, and calling upon his lady for pity. It is not impossible that their origin may have been influenced by Ovid's Heroides, which enjoyed so remarkable a popularity in the Middle Ages. We have such " Complaints " from French poets — for instance, from Rutebeuf, Christine de Pisan, and Machault; Chaucer wrote the "Complaints" of Mars, of Venus, and of Anelida (of somewhat different genre, the Compleint to Pity, and, turned jokingly, the Compleint to his Purse). Of Lydgate Ave have the Compleint of the Black Knight, a tangible imitation of the Bolce of the Duchesse ; the Complaint to his Purse has also its parallel in Lydgate, see Halliwell, M. P., p. 49. Of Surrey, we have the Com- plaint of a dying lover, and, in fact, this species had not died out in Elizabethan times, witness Gascoigne's Complaint of Philomene and Complaint of the green Knight, Daniel's Complaint of Rosamund, Shakspere's A Lover's Complaint, etc. We ought, however, to add here that the "complaints" in the Temple of Glas, and the prayers combined with them, have perhaps been most immediately influenced by the Knightes Tale, with its prayers of Arcite, Palamoun, and Emelie to Mars, Venus, and Diana. The mode of beginning a poem with a detailed description of the time was also extensively used in those days ; every one will at once recall Chaucer's beautiful descriptions of the May-morning, or the season of spring. These "dreamers" are particularly fond of em- bellishing their fictions by means of astronomical references ; see, for instance, Petrarca's Trionfo d'Amore, I. 4 — 6, Skelton's Garland of Laurel and Bowge of Court, the Flower and the Leaf, the Kingis 1 Cp. Marchaundes Tale 636, 637 : ' ' And in a letter wrot lie al his sorwe, In nianer of a compLynt or of a lay." Fran/celeynes Talc 219, 220 : "... made he many layes, Songes, compleigntes, roundeletis, vhrelayes." Ohapter IX. — The Sources of TJie Temple of Glas. exxiii Quair, Dunbar's Golden Targe and Thrissill and the Rots, Henry- son's Testament of Crgseide, Douglas's Police of Honour, Lyndsay's Dream, the Pastime of Pleasure, etc. Nor is Lydgate behind his contemporaries in this respect. His Stonj of Thebes, the Assemble de Dieus, the Flow of Curtesie, and the Troy-Book (fol. A t d), begin in a like manner to the Temple of Glas, and these astronomical allusions are also frequently scattered throughout some of his other works. Lastly, we believe we hear a faint echo of the love-poetry of those times in the admonitions of Venus to the lovers. They are most of them very diluted and commonplace, but sometimes they remind us of certain laws to which the lovers were bound in the Romance Courts of Lore, alluded to in Cupid's Code in the Roman de la Rose and in the English poem, The Court of Love. The latter poem in particular enumerates 20 statutes for lovers, of which many coincide more or less closely with some of Venus's exhortations (see further on, § 4). Naturally, in all these regulations with respect to love, we are also sometimes vaguely reminded of " Venna clerk Ovide," one of the favourite classics in mediaeval times. § 3. Influence of Particular Works on the Temple of Glas. It has been more than once alleged that the Hous of Fame and Parlement of Foules were imitated and made use of by the author of the Temple of Glas. Although some of the remarks in question do not seem to be more than vague guesses, yet there is at least some little truth in this statement. We have above referred to 11. 119 and 120 of the Hous of Fame, and intimated that Lydgate may have got the title of his poem from there. Lines 19 and 20 of the Temple of Glas must have been written in remembrance of 11. 1128 — 1130 of the Hous of Fame : " But at the laste espied I, And found that hit was, every del, A loche of yse, and not of steel." LI. 130 — 139 of the Hous of Fame have been made use of in several passages of the Temple of Glas ; see particularly 11. 53 and 541. The " wicket," through which Lydgate gains access to his glass- temple (1. 39), is also found in 1. 477 of the Hous of Fame ; it occurs further in the Romauut of the. Rose, 11. 528, G42 ; similarly a "guichet" is found in Deguileville's Pilgrimage, etc. Finally, Chaucer also dreams in the middle of December (on the 10th), see cxxiv Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glcts. 11. G3 and 111 of the IIous of Fame; it may be that Lydgate intended to imitate this. 1 If we turn to the Parlement of Foules, we find there also an imaginary Temple of Venus, " peynted over al of many a story ; " the names given from 11. 284 — 292 coincide partly with those in the Temple of GJas. Moreover, 1. 442 of Chaucer's poem occurs almost word for word in 1. 1042 of the Temple of Glas. In Chaucer it is the female eagle who blushes so deeply. Of course, this coincidence may be purely accidental. This may also be the most convenient place to note that certain other ideas which appear in the Parlement of Foules, are found occasionally in Lydgate ; thus the "' pecok with his aungels fethers bright" (P. of Foules, 1. 356) 2 occurs in Reason and Sensuality, 221 b; also in the Court of Sapience, e^ b : (the peacock) " That to the syght he seined euery dele An Archaungell doune frome the heuen sent." "The cok that orloge is of thorpes lyte" (1. 350) appears in the Troy-Book D x a as " the cok conion Astrologere " ; see again G 5 a : "a eocke Syngynge his houres trewe as any clocke." Similarly, in yEsop 2, 10 and 11, the cock is called '• comvne astrologere In thropes small to make hertis light." As to the expression " Mature, the vicaire of thalmyghty lorde " (Pari, of F., 1. 379, Chaucer's A. B. C, 1. 140, and Doctoures Tale, 1. 20), compare : De duobus Merc. (MS. Hh. IV. 12, fol. 70 a) : (Nature) " Which is of god minister and vicare ; " 1 Lydgate often alludes to the idea of a house of Fame, for instance, Tr.-B. Q 6 b (Chaucer, the monk siys, is to be exalted thither) ; ib. IXU a (the same is said of Henry V.). Add to these tlie instances given by Koppel, Falls of Princes, p. 94, and cp. the poem on Humphrey and Jacqueline, MS. Add. 29729, fol. 159 b : " He hathe deserved thoroughe his knyghtly name (Duke Humphrey) To be regystred in the hous of ffaame." 2 The following line 357 of the Pari, of Foules occurs nearly word for word in MS. Gg. 4. 27, fol. 9 b : " p e fesaunt, scornere of ]> e cok Be nihyter tvme in frostis colde, phat ncstelyth lowe be sum blok Or be su?)i rote of bosschis olde." In the same poem, fol. 9 a, we have also " Qui bien ayme tard oublye" sung by the "mauys" (cf. Pari, of F. 1. 679) ; this motto occurs also in the form : ' Tar " vblia ■ chi " bien " eima " as an inscription on one of Francia Bigio's pictures in the National Gallery ; see E. T. Cook, Handbook to the National Gallery, 1890, p. 21. Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glcts. exxv further, Troy-Book D 3 d : " For the goddesse that called is nature, Whiche next hir lorde [hath] all thynge in cure, Hath vertue gyue to herbe, gras and stone, Which no man kuoweth but hir selfe alone ;" again, Testament, Halliwell, p. 243 : (Nature which is) " undyr God ther worldly emperesse ; " F. Princes, 93 a : (Nature) " Which vnder god in heauen ahoue reigning, The world to gouerne, is called themp[e]resse ; " E. Sens. fol. 205 b : "For she ys lady and maistresse, (Nature) And vnder god the chefe goddesse." The same occurs nearly word for word again on fol. 210 a. See further, Blade Knight, 491—493, and Pur le Roy, Halliwell, p. G. Scipio's Dream is mentioned, Troy-Booh, fol. R 3 d (not in Guido). The Parlement of Foules was evidently in great favour with Lydgate, as with all his contemporaries. Line 703 of our poem, with the name of Cirrea, suggests line 17 of Anelida and Arcite. "Cirrea" occurs more than once in Lyd- gate's writings ; see note to 1. 703. The general composition of Anelida is also somewhat similar to the Temple of Glas, the epic and lyric (jenre alternating in different metres. There are also certain points of analogy hetween the Temple of Glas and the BoJce of the Duchesse; the dream-motif occurs in hoth at the heginning, and the figures of the Duke and Duchess Blanche bear some resemblance to our knight and lady. One is frequently reminded of the Legend of Good, Women, especi- ally of the Prologue, as the greater part of the lovers named in the Temple of Glas also occur there, and some of them, with their detailed history, in the Legend itself. Lydgate may also have been influenced in the portraiture of his lady by Chaucer's description of certain ladies in the Legend ; for instance, Alceste, whom Lydgate mentions in 1. 74, as having been turned into a daisy. The garments of the Lady (1. 299) remind one also of Alceste's " whyt coroun" and " real habit grene," Prologue 214, etc. Line GO of the Temple of Glas agrees with the Legend of Dido, 1. 385, where Dido also exclaims : " That I was born ! alias ! " Compare, however, for the common occurrence of this expression, the note to 1. 60. A " ballade " of similar metrical structure is cxxvi Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of G/as. inserted in both poems {Leyend, Prol. 249 — 269, and Temple of Glas, 1341—1361). The mention of Mars, Vulcan, and Venus, 11. 126 — 128, may also remind us of Chaucer's Complaint nf Mars, and Complaint of Venus. Lydgate was of course well acquainted with the Canterbury Tales ; he himself aspired to add another to their number in his own Story of Thebes. The following of them are referred to in the Temple of Glas : The KnigMes Tale, in 11. 102 — 110, in which the monk mentions Chaucer's name expressly (1. 110). I have already said that the prayers of the three principal personages in the KnigMes Tale bear a certain resemblance to those in the Temple of Glas. The conception of Lydgate's temple may have been somewhat influenced by Chaucer's description of the " theatre" built by Theseus (Kn. Tale, 1027 etc.) ; the line on Venus;, Temple of Glas 53, is almost a literal transcript from Kn. T. 1098 (cp., however, also Hous of Fame, L 133). Certain ideas and many lesser expressions are common to the two poems, as pointed out in the notes. 1 Further, allusions are to be found to the Clerkes Tale, 11. 75 and 76, to the Squieres Tale, 11. 137—142 ; 2 to the Franlceleynes Tale, 11. 409 and 410, and to the Marchaundes Tale (11. 184, 185), which latter has been imitated by Lydgate in his Story of December and July (see Halliwell, M. P., p. 27). Lastly of Chaucer's works we may mention Troilus and Cressida. The notes will sufficiently show that many of the standard phrases of the monk come from this poem, especially those relating to love and lovers. The monk says of this poem in his welhknown list of Chaucer's works in the Prologue to the Falls of Princes : {Clxauccr) "Gave it the name of Troylous and Cresseyde, Whiche for to rede lovers them delyte, They have therin so grete devocyon." (Morris's Chaucer, I, 79. ) Lydgate is also indebted to Gower's Confessio Amantis. First, Gower's representation of the Court of Love seems to have been pre- sent in a general way in his mind, as has been said above. More- 1 Our monk also got the epithet " armipotente " for Mars, in the invocation at the beginning of the Troy-Book, from the KnigMes Tale, 1124, or ib. 1583 (and compare the beginning of Auehda and Areite). The Knightcs Tale is twice alluded to in the Story of Thebes, fol. 372 d, and 377 c. 2 I do not think that the wording of this passage warrants the supposition that there was more of tlm Squieres Talc written than is now extant (as suggested in Warton-Hazlitt III, 63, note 3) ; see Milton's Penseroso, and the continuation of our story in the Faerie Queenc, book IV, and that by John Lane. Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. exxvii over, the allusion to the story of Phoebus and Daphne (11. Ill — 11G) seems to have been suggested by the Confessio, book HE (ed. Pauli I. 336, etc.) ; so was certainly the story of Phyllis and Demophoov, the " filbert " tree, which seems to have been introduced by Gower (Pauli II. 30), occurring in Lydgate's poem, 1. 90. 1 We have furthermore to mention Martianus Capella, whose work, De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii is referred to in 11. 129 — 136. It may be questioned whether Lydgate was acquainted with the original ; certain it is that the book was widely known in the Middle Ages ; see Warton-Hartitt, III, 77. Chaucer mentions it in the March- aundes Tale, 488, and in the Hous of Fame, 985 ; Lydgate refers to it again in the Story of Thebes ; see Warton, /. c, and Koeppel, Story of Thebes, pp. 25 and 74. Perhaps we must add to Lydgate's sources for the Temple of Gleis Fulgentius, on account of 1. 248 ; fur in his Troy-Book (G 5 b) the monk tells us that this crystal shield of Pallas is a symbol of force in virtue, "by manly hye diffence Agayne vyces / to make resystence." For this and other symbolical interpretations Lydgate gives " Ful- gence " as his source, ib. G 5 c. In the same passage of the Troy-Booh; the monk refers us also to Fulgentius with regard to the doves which he there attributes to Venus as in our Temple of Glas, 1. 541. Cp. the notes to 11. 53, 248, 541. § 4. Resemblances in Later Works to the Temple of Glas. After having spoken of the sources of the Temple of Glas and the motifs which it has in common with earlier works, it may not be out of place here to add a few words on some resemblances which we find to the Temple of Glas in certain of Lydgate's own works, and in works of later date than our poem. Of all Lydgate's works, the Complaint of the Black Knight and the Flour of Curtesie are those which a perusal of the Temple of Glas recalls most vividly to our mind, both as regards tone and 1 Koeppel, Falls of Princes, p. 97, has also pointed out an instance of Lyd- gate's dependence on Gower, namely in the monk's narrative of the story of Canace (Falls of Pr. I, 23). Lydgate mentions Gower very rarely ; he does so, together with Chaucer, in the Court of Sapience n->a : "Gower, chancers, erthly goddea two . . . I you honour, blysse, loue, and gloiyfye." Aud, again, in Falls of Princes, IX, 38, fol. 217 c: "In moral matter fill notable was Gower." cxxviii Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. imagery. As the Temple of Glas represents, with its introduction of the dxe&m-motif, one of the popular forms of poetical frame-work, so in the Blade Knight we have an example of the other species, open- ing with a description of the May-morning, and the poet's walk into the woods and hy the river. Both poems begin with astronomical allusions; the lines dedicated to "Lucifer" {Black KnigM, 11. 5 — 9) have moreover a close resemblance to 11. 253, 328 — 331, and 1355 — 1358 of the Temple of Glas. In both poems we find to a great extent the same mythical and allegorical personages (note particularly Daunger, Malebouche, and the filbert tree in the story of Phyllis), and the same phrases concerning lovers frequently occur in both (the mischievous ''false tonges," the "access" hot and cold, etc.). The figure of the Black Knight is the double of the " hero " of the Temple of Glas ; he is introduced and described precisely like the latter, and the Complaints of the two are much in the same strain. Both poems are dedicated, in the Envoy, to the poet's lady; one line (554) of the Black Knight is word for word the same as one which occurs twice in the Temple of Glas (424 and 879) ; also 1. 623 of the first poem is nearly the same as 1. 128 of the latter. A more minute analysis of the Black Knight, although by no means devoid of interest, would be out of place here ; I can only state my opinion briefly that the form and contents of this poem are thoroughly Lydgatian, and even without Shirley's direct evidence (see p. Ixxxiii), it would be emphatically clear that the poem is by Lydgate. The Flour of Curfesie also begins with a joyous greeting to the morning (this time it is St. Valentine's day), and the poet's walk into the woods. The beginning at once pleasantly reminds us of the Partement of Foules, nor are the astronomical embellishments want- ing here. The two principal parts of the Flour of Curtesie are the poet's complaint, on the obstacles to his love, and the description of his ideal Lady-love, the Flour of Curtesie. Both are much like their analogues in the. Tempi- of Glas ; the latter particularly, with its profuse comparisons of rubies, roses, and stars closely resembles cer- tain lines of the Temple of Glas (cp. the notes to 11. 251 and 257 — 201). Lydgate has again managed, in spite of the small compass of the poem, to introduce his favourite personifications from the Roman ale la Rose, Daunger, Malebouche, False Envie, and also " false sus- pection" (cp. Temple of Glas, 1. 153). The names of famous women enumerated are to a great extent the same as those in the Temple of Glas ; I would emphasize particularly the occurrence of Alceste, Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. exxix Grisilde, and Dorigene. At the end of the Flour of Curtesie, Lyd- gate introduces a ballad in praise of his lady ; in the Temple of Glas (1. 1381) he seems to express a similar intention, which, however, he does not carry out. Finally, in both poems, the monk makes men- tion of his master Chaucer, the closing stanzas of the Flour of Curtesie lamenting his death. I wdl now proceed to discuss certain other works which bear some similarity to the Temple of Glas. We have spoken above of Stephen Hawes and his excessive admiration of Lydgate. We have also epioted Wood's assertion that he knew many of Lydgate's works by heart and could repeat them at will. Some Hnes of the Temple of Glas seem thus to have remained in his memory ; there is, at least, a great resemblance between 11. 19 — 34 of our poem, and Hawes's lines (ed. Wright, p. 15): " I loked about, and sawe a craggy roche . . . (cp. T. of Glas, 1. 19) And as I dyd then unto it approche ... (1. 20) ... I sawe . . . The royall tower . . . Made of fine copper . . . Which against Phebus shone so marveylously, (1. 21) That for the very perfect bryghtnes, What of the tower and of the cleare sunne, I collide nothyng beholde the goodl-ines (1. 27) Of that palaice where as Doctrine did wonne ; Tyll at the last, with mysty wyndes donne, (1. 30) The radiant bryghtnes of golden Phebus (1. 32) Auster gan cover with clowde tenebrus." Again, a good many parallels of minor importance are to be found between Hawes's poem and the Temple of Glas. But, as far as I am aware, the two poems that bear the greatest familydikeness to the Temple of Glas are the Court of Love and the Kingis Quair. Tytler, in his edition of the Kingis Quair, p. 49, has already compared King James's poem to the Court of Love — "of Chaucer," he adds, a mistake which we can readily forgive him : he considered the spirit, not the language of the poem. If we are entitled to introduce the Temple of Glas into the family — as its weakest member, we Avillingly allow — then there would naturally also be a likeness between Lydgate's work and the Court of Lore. And a comparison of the two latter poems proves this to be the case. The structure and extent of the Court of Lore, the metre adopted, the allegories introduced, the progress of the action, and a great many direct verbal resemblances, remind us frequently of the Temple of (rlas. Philogenet, the poet and hero of the Court of Love, enters the magnificent castle, where the King and Queen of Love, Admetus and Alcestis, have their residence. In it he buds a great throng of young TEMTLE OF GLAS. » CX XX Chapter IX. — The Sources, of The Temple of Glas. and old people (11. 110 and 111), servants to Love. Within tin's castle is the "temple" (1. 229), or "tabernacle" (1. 222), of Venus and Cupid, which shines " with wyndowes all of glasse " (1. 229), " bright as the day with many a feire ymage " (cp. Temple of Glas, I. 45) : Dido and Aeneas, and Anelida and Arcite are given as repre- sentatives, of which Dido and Aeneas occur also in the Temple of Glas, the false Arcite of Thebes in the closely allie I poem of the Black Knight (1. 379). Philogenet is "sere abasshed" to see such a crowd of people, who," in here guyse" {Court of Love, 1. 245, Temple of Glas, 1. 537), sacrifice to Venus and Cupid (cp. Temple of Glas, II. 531—544). He finds a beautiful lady, Rosiall (1. 767), whose description at once reminds one of the Lady in the Temple of Glas ; Rosiall also, like the Lady, has on the green garments to which one of the scribes of our poem seems to have had an objection {Court of Love, 1. 816, Temple of Glas, 1. 299). Philogenet's prayer to Venus, 1. 631, etc., and his " bille " to Rosiall, 1. 841, etc., recall at once the Knight's prayer to Venus and his suit to the Lady. Eosiall's answer (11. 890 and 891) : "Truly gramercy, frende, of your gode wille, And of youre profer in youre humble wise " has a verbal resemblance to that of the Lady in the Temple of Glas, 1. 1060; lines 1016 — 1019 also, describing Rosiall's blushing, resem- ble Temple of Glas, 11. 1042 and 1043. The praise of Venus by the fortunate lovers (11. 591 — 623) has the same ring as the joyous ballad at the end of the Temple of Glas. The various complaints of the lovers in the Court of Love are in part identical with those in the Temple of Glas ; such as the complaints on " Poverte " {Court of Love, 11. 1137 — 1148, Temple of Glas, 1. 159, etc.), and, particularly, the complaints of the priests, monks, and nuns {Court of Love, 11. 253—258, 1095, etc., Temple of Glas, 11. 196—208). The latter are sometimes worded similarly in the two poems; cp. Court of Love, 11. 1116 ("copes wide") and 1104—1106 : " 'Alas,' thay sayn, ' we fayne perfeccion, In clothes wide, and lake oure libertie ; But all the synne mote on oure frendes be ' " with Temple of Glas, 11. 204 and 208. Lines 50—52 of the Temple of Glas should also be compared with 11. 575 — 581 of the Court of Love, and stanzas 25 b and 25 c (most likely spurious) in the first poem with 11. 582, etc. of the latter. Some of the allegorical figures in the Court of Love are identical with those in the Temple of Glas. So Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. exxxi Daunger and Disdeyne, mentioned together in 1. 156 of Lydgate's poem, stand, in the Court of Love, near the King and Queen as at- tendants (11. 129 and 130) ; further, Envie, mentioned in T. of Glas, I. 147, is described in two stanzas of the Court of Love (11. 1254 — 1267); lastly, the dispute betvveen Hope and Dispeyre, T. of Glas, II. 641 — 661, has its parallel in the Court of Love, 1. 1036, etc. But as I have already indicated at the end of § 2, it is in particu- lar the Statutes of the Court of Love which recur in a diluted form in the Temple of Glas, mostly in the exhortations given by Venus to the Knight, T. of Glas, 11. 1152—1213. The lover is admonished in the third of these statutes to be constant, true and faithful to his lady, and never " to take another love" (Court of Love, 1. 316, etc.); the same injunction we find frequently in the T. of Glas ; see 11. 1152 — 1158, 1124—1130; 1188; 1201; cp. also 999, 1005. The second of the statutes enjoins secrecy in love (C. of Love 309) ; cp. T. of Glas 1005, 1154; the fifth commands the lover "to turne and wa- lowe" in bed and weep; cp. T. of Glas, 11. 1 — 3 and 12 ; the 6th, to wander alone and to be reckless of life and death ; see T. of Glas, 550 etc. and 939 ; the 7th, to be patient; see T. of Glas 1203 and 1267, and lowly to obey his mistress (T. of Glas 1007, 1145 etc.) ; the ninth, never to be overbold or offend his lady (11. 1013, 1025) ; the tenth, to ask everything from the mercy and pity of his lady, and never to demand anything as his right ( T. of Glas 800 and 979) ; the 12th, to suffer mortal wounds (11. 170, 1014); the 14th, to believe no "tales" (T. of Glas 1182) ; lastly, the 18th, not to be " sluttish," but always clean, " fresh," and courteous (T. of Glas 1 166, 1167). If thus the Court of Love, concerning the author and exact date of which we are so sorely puzzled, reminds us in many particulars of the Temple of Glas, the Kingis Quair, written, it would seem, some twenty years later than our poem, does so perhaps even more forcibly and directly. This poem, justly famous for its intrinsic worth and the associa- tions connected with it, nevertheless presents two different aspects of poetry, which illustrate in a striking manner the poetical currents of the time. We almost imagine, in the first part of the poem, and again at the end, that we hear Chaucer's own melodious voice once more, speaking to us of beauteous ladies, of the fresh May-morning, and the delightful song of the birds, whose charms alone could lure him away from his beloved books. But the more we feel delight cxxxii Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of (lias. in King James's poetry in the first part of his famous work, so much the more are Ave reminded, in the second part, of Goethe's famous " Well dir, dass du ein Enkel bist ! " This part, decidedly inferior to the first, is blighted throughout hy the baneful influence of the allegorical plots so much in vogue at that day — from which, however, Chaucer wisely kept aloof in his ripest works — and even King James's brilliant genius could not take free flight under the pressure of those leaden wings. This part does not recall Chaucer, but Gower and Lydgate. It is true that, besides Chaucer, King James mentions Gower alone as entitled to his thanks ; l but my impression is that he must also have read Lydgate. If I remember rightly, some resemblances are found in Reason and Sensuality to the Kingis Quair; 2 but, of all Lydgate's writings, it is the Temple of Glas of which we are especially reminded in reading King James's poem. The very first lines of it contain an expression which Lydgate seems to have originated, and perhaps, indeed, just in our present poem. "We read in the Kingis Quair, stanza 1, 11. ."> "And, Iu Aquary, Citlierea the clere Rynsid hir tressis like the goldin wyre." Skeat, in his notes, cites many instances of the notion of golden hair, but none which contains the exact comparison of hair to '• golden wire." The latter is, however, a favourite phrase of Lydgate's, as the note to 1. 271 will amply show, and, once started, this expres- sion lived a long life down to the Elizabethan period, from Lydgate and King James through Hawes and popular ballads down to Spenser, Peele, and perhaps even Shakspere. 1 do not think it probable that such an expression should have been started twice independently. Unless, therefore, earlier instances of it come to light, I am inclined to believe that King -lames borrowed it from Lydgate. 1 Prof. Schipper evidently quotes from memory in stating the contrary, see his Dunbar, p. 29. Henry Morley, indeed, makes King James finish up with :ui additional stanza in honour of Lydgate {English Writers, II, 453). Skeat, however, on p. 94 of his ediiion of the Kingis Quair, rejects this stanza, as oliviouslv belonging " to some other poem " ; and rightly so, for it is the closing stanza of Ilawi-s's Pastime of Pleasure. - Henry Wood, in Chaucer's Influence upon King James I., p. 25 (also in Anglia, vol. Ill, 223 etc.), compares Kingis Quair, stanza 116, and Troy-Book, lib. Ill, cap. 24 (beginning) : "Whan Aurora the syluer droppes shene, Her teares, shad vpon the freshe grene ; Complaynyng aye in weping and in sorow Her ehyldrens death euery somer morowe." He also points out (p. 31) a general likeness between Kingis Quair, stanza 154— 158o, and Black Knight, T36 etc. Chapter IX. — The Sources of The Temple of Glas. exxxiii But, more than this, there is in part of the Kingis Quair great resemblance of subject-matter to the Temple of Glas. This similarity begins at stanza 73, where King James feigns to have been carried up to the Temple of Venus, an episode much resembling part of our poem. Stanzas 82 — 93, in particular, cover the same ground as 11. 143 — 246 of the Temple of Glas, both passages containing the com- plaints of various conditions of lovers, who present their " billes " to Venus. King James's complaint to Venus and her answer to him are much in the same style as the complaint of our Knight and Lady to the goddess and Venus's reply. Portions also of Minerva's answer to King James recall expressions used by Venus in the Temple of Glas; compare, for instance, Kingis Quair, 129, with stanza 55 of Lydgate's poem. Further, special instances of resemblance occur in the following passages : Stanzas 88 — 90 of the Kingis Quair, and lines 196 — 206 of the Temple of Glas ; particularly stanza 90 and 11. 207 and 208 ; stanzas 91 and 92 and II. 209—214; stanza 93 and 1. 151 ; stanza 134 and 11. 215—222 ; stanza 137 and 11. 167 and 168; stanza 144, 1 and 2, and 11. 1061 and 1062. Many more verbal resemblances will be pointed out in the Notes ; I would only observe here that " gude hope " is James's guide to Minerva (cp. Temple of Glas, 892 and 1197). 1 The names of the lovers in the Temple of Venus, enumerated in Lydgate's poem from 11. 55 to 142, are not given by King James, as, to use his own words, of their "ehancis maid is me?tciou/t Iu Avaerse bukis, quho thame list to se ; And therefore here thaire namys lat I he." {Kingis Quair, 78, 5 — 7.) As instances of the " diuerse buk/.s" which King James had in mind, Professor Skeat mentions, besides Ovid, the three well-known lists in the Man of Law's Prologue, the Legend of Good Women, and in Gower's Confessio Amantis (ed. Pauli III, 359). I think we may boldly add the Temple of Glas to the books enumerated by the learned commentator of the Kingis Quair. 1 If King James wrongly inferred from Troilus (1st stanza of Canto 1 ami last stanza of Canto III) that Tisiphone was a Muse, Lydgate's frequent invoca- tion of that " Muse " was quite calculated to keen this error awake ; see Temple of Glas, 1. 958 and Note. cxxxiv Chapter X. — Style of The Temple of Glas. CHAPTER X. Style of the Temple of Glas. I purpose, in this chapter, to treat of certain characteristics of Lydgate's, which I would handle collectively under the compre- hensive heading " Style," although some of them might more pro- perly he assigned a place in Chapter VI on the language, or Chapter IX on the sources and borrowed motifs of the Temple of Glas. We have already stated, in discussing the authorship of the Temple of Glas (see p. lxxxiv), that the style of this poem is essenti- ally the same as that of Lydgate's other works. Drawled-out and incompact, are the first epithets which one would most readily apply to the style of the monk's productions. His sentences run on aim- lessly, without definite stop, and it is often difficult to say where a particular idea begins or ends. One certainly has the impression that the monk never knew himself, when he began a sentence, how the end of it would turn out. He knows little of logic connection, or dis- tinct limitation of his sentences, and the notion of artistic structure, by which all ideas form, in mutual interdependence, an organic . whole, is entirely foreign to him : what is uppermost in his mind comes to the surface without further consideration of the context; for a moment he may lose sight of the first idea when something fresh turns up, to resume it again as soon as his new thought leaves him. Compare, for instance, the list of the lovers, from 11. 55 — 142. In his enumeration, he is evidently only guided by the inspiration of the moment, according to which he either gives a brief summary of the story, or merely indicates it. After line 77, and particularly after 91, one imagines that he is about to close his list, as we find an apparently concluding phrase; but the expected finale turns out to be a delusion, for meanwhile Paris and Helen have flashed across his mind, which sets him going once more in the old strain, on the principle of "The more, the merrier." The same applies to the lengthy list of the complaints of the various lovers, from 1. 143 — 246. He adds one set of complaints after another, just as they occur to him, and as the rhyme may require, so long as he can think of any ; nor does it matter much to him if he says similar things twice over. He is especially in his own element whenever he can bring in long sermons and moralizations. Then showers of commonplaces, Chapter X. — Style of The Temple of Glas. exxxv proverbs, and admonitions rain down upon us, the fruits of his extensive reading swelling the vast store of his own commonplaces. In our poem, this natural propensity of the monk is most apparent in the speeches of Venus, who, in this character of a pedantic moralizer, occasionally appears to us in a very philistine aspect. 1 More commendable, however, is the zeal with which our monk allows his pen free flight, when he conies to a passage which inspires him with unusual fervour. Then he lets loose the floodgates of his eloquence, and a whole deluge of epithets and images is showered down upon us. Such is usually the case when he comes to a turning-point in his story, or when he wishes to present us with a lively description of Nature, or a portrait of a personage in whom he is especially interested. In our poem, he found unfortunately no opportunity for bringing in one of his famous pictures of Nature, but he more than makes up for it in what he evidently considered the chef-d'oeuvre of his poem, the description of his lady. For this, every imaginable simile and comparison is raked up from every possible quarter, and he heaps together sun and stars, May, roses, balm and rubies ; it is a wonder how ever Nature could make such an angelic creature; her hair shines like Phoebus' beams, and the entire temple is illumined by her; and, in addition to all this, he winds up with a whole string of womanly charms and virtues in her praise. The " ir\iov ij/xiav iravrog " evidently never dawned upon our monk. It is nevertheless in this vit iated, overwr ought style that he is at his best, as the good intention of heaping every beauty and virtue upon his ideal lady, or his sincere love of Nature, makes him some- times really a poet. The worst of it is that he often loses his way and becomes entangled in his own sentences, by reason of overmuch zeal in setting forth what impresses his mind most strongly. The consequence is that the anacoluthon is exceedingly common in all Lydgate's writings. Now, an anacoluthon may be a fine tiling — I have always, for instance, admired the one in Hamlet, before the Prince first sees his father's ghost; — but, in Lydgate, it does not usually heighten the beauty of the passage — at all events, if it ever 1 Brugari, in a little pamphlet on Chaucer, has a quaint remark concerning the position of Venus in certain poems of this period : " Venere in tutta questa letteratura e degradata e rassomiglia ad una vec hia douairiere pensionata e collocata a riposo " (Jeffrey Chaucer c la Letteratura Inglese del secolo xiv, p. 13). Similarly Godwin, Life of Chaucer, III, 256, has : [The poets of chivalry] "superannuated her [Venus], and substituted another [Alccstis], as the active and administering divinity, in her room." cxxxvi Chapter X. — Style of Hie Temple of Glas.. . does, it must lie by a tremendous fluke. What it certainly does, is to make the punctuation very difficult for the editor, especially as it is often impossible, in the monk's interminable sentences, to define with certainty whether we have to do with an anacoluthon. An undoubted oversight of this kind has, however, crept in unawares into his masterpiece, the portraiture of his lady ; for it seems impos- sible to construe 11. 271 etc. grammatically. The same may be said of 11. 548 etc., 563 etc., 603 etc., 614 etc.; stanzas 42, 43, 44, 50, etc. There is, however, no instance of the anacoluthon in our poem quite so bad as the beginning of Guy of Warwick, where, as Professor Zupitza says (Sitzungsberichte der Wiener Akademie, PhU.-Hist. Klasse, 1873, vol. 74, p. 665), not only the predicate of the sentence is wanting, but the subject as well. AVe may also note here that sometimes direct and indirect speech flow together in a very careless manner, as in 11. 509 and 510, and in 11. 376 and 377. Our monk apparently here at first intended to give only a few words of reply, for which indirect speech might conveniently be employed ; but he changed his mind, and when once in full swing, it is no easy matter to stop him. Parallel to this carelessness in language, is the monk's incon- sistency in depicting his ideas. Thus we first hear of his assemblage of lovers as being painted on the wall, whilst later on we have clearly to do with living personages. Venus herself is first spoken of as " fleting in J)e se," evidently in a picture on the wall (1. 53) ; then, in 1. 249, her " statue set on height " is mentioned, before which the Lady kneels to pray, and, throughout the rest of the poem, we find her addressed as a living being, and speaking and acting as such. If we had to do with a poet who can hold his ideas together, we might try and reconcile the discrepancy ; but, in the present case, it arises simply from Lydgate's well-known letisser-aller and general muddle-patedness. — In the same manner, also, his mode of expression in the last lines of the poem is unclear, and of the several "treatises" mentioned in 11. 1380 and 1387, it is difficult to know which is which. Such a slight inconsistency as the vrjTtpov irpoTtpov in 11. 33 and 39, where he sees the inside of the temple before entering it, of course hardly counts with our monk. If, however, heathen and Christian ideas are heaped together in a very incongruous medley, the monk is less to blame for it than the general taste of that period. For this feature is exceedingly common throughout the Middle Ages, and is especially in accordance with the Chapter X. — Style of The Temple of Glas. exxxvii notions prevailing at the time of the Renaissance. We meet with more or less grotesque confusion of this kind in Dante, Boccaccio, the Italian Humanists, Chaucer, Gower, Camoes, etc. In the same way it mattered little to our monk whether he invoked a saint, the Virgin Mary, or a heathen goddess ; he did it all in one and the same strain. In our poem Lydgate speaks of " orisouns " to Venus (1. 460), of an " oratory " in her temple (1. 696), and when the scribe of the Pepys MS. once (1. 577) changes tempil into cherche, the alteration is not out of keeping with the general tenour of the poem. The greatest absurdity, however, committed by our monk himself, is that Venus cites the example of "holy saints," who won heaven through their suffering ; but this is more than matched by the Kingis Quair, in which Minerva quotes Ecclesiastes (see the passage in the Note to 1. 1203), or by Bishop Gawain Douglas, in whose Police of Honour a nymph of Calliope's train expounds the scheme of re- demption. 1 We need not be greatly astonished that a rhyme-maker of Lyd- gate's order of mind should make ample use of expletives, 'pleonasms and certain stock-phrases occurring again and again ; in fact, if we consider how often a poet like Chaucer has recourse to such means, we wonder that Lydgate does not go still further in that respect. Some of the expressions he uses as a make-shift to fill up the line — mostly also Chaucerian — are the following : Shortli in a clause, 536 ; shortli to conclude, 545 ; forto reken all, 579 ; if I shal not lie, 73 ; if I shal not feme, 911 ; what shal I lenger tarie, 1297 ; per is no more to sein, 1325; some of his set phrases: for wele or (for) wo, 517, 783; bobe in cold and hete, 512; doumb as eny ston, 1184; stil as eni stone, 689 ; trw as eny stele, 866 ; constant as a walle, 1153; favour or be foo, 519. Sometimes he repeats whole lines which form favourite stock-phrases; thus 1. 385 is the same as 1295, and 1. 424 the same as 879. Paraphrases by means of a relative — 1 Other incongruities and anachronisms, at which we cannot forbear a smile, occur in the following passages, where Lydgate calls Orpheus a "poet laureate" ( Falls of Princes, 32 c), and Gabriel the "secretary of God " {Life of our Lady, fol. c 3 b) ; the Parcse are made to keep the library of Jove (Falls of Privces, 27 d) ; Mercury is chamberlain, secretary and chief notary to Phoebus (R. ; l>, following, it seems, Prudentius' Psychomac/iia ; and they come, of course, also in his translation of Deguileville'a first Pilgrimag* . cxl Chapter X. — Style of The Temple of Glees. suis tue, je suis tue," after his money-box lias been stolen, or in the cowardly •' hada mhi, hada mhi' : of Kalidasa's VidusJiaka; but in the case of our innocent though long-winded lover it seems hard lines that Cupid should go so far as to kill him straight off, and, indeed, murder and slay him at the least. We involuntarily ask, if to be murdered and slain is the least that befalls him, what would be the most? Another similarly absurd way of putting the case is that our lover assures us — evidently with a view to refute those who might not believe it — that he has a mouth (1. 823), with which he is, however, unable to speak. Yet this ridiculous phrase seems not to have been uncommon at the time ; see note to 1. 823. But among all these absurdities, the palm must certainly be awarded to line 117, where the monk represents " Kpoviwva Kfpaafopuv apnaya vvfi^tfQ" as changing his "cope" for the purpose alluded to. Leopold von Schroeder, in his History of Sanskrit-Literature, has aptly drawn our attention to the significant i'act that all nations represent their gods as being similar to themselves in appearance and occupation, and he adduces the characteristic instance of the compilers of the Yetjur- Veda, who, impressed with the all-importance of their interminable sacrifices, finally make their own gods priests operating with the sacrificial ladle. So our monk, being himself vested in the black cope (see the Prologue to the Story of Thebes), would clothe the " father of gods and men " with the same garment, and the outcome of this "false analogy" is, mighty Jove enthroned on Olympus in a monk's cope. Another feature characteristic of Lydgate is his self-deprecatory vein. He very frequently introduces modest excuses and phrases ; he willingly grants that the Muses did not preside over his cradle, that he knows nothing of the flowers of Tully, that Jove's butler, Ganymede, deals his liquor very sparingly to him (Prologue to the Pilgrimage of Man, and Envoy to Edmund), and that he never slept on the hill of Parnassus ; he complains of his " dulnesse " and asks Calliope to "redress" it; he excuses himself that he is "born in Lydegate," 1 and that thus his English is not the best; his metre, also, he is afraid, may be found wanting, and he even does not 1 " I wil precede furth with white and black, Aud where I faile, let Litigate, beare v 1 ' lack." FaUs of Princes, 217 d. Chapter X.— Style of The Temple of Glas. cxli hbsitate to run down his own character and manner of life. 1 I have already alluded to his particular mania of ending hia poems by an appeal to the reader, or the addressee of his envoy, to correct his poem ; for he knows well, as he himself says at the end of the Troy- Book (fol. Dd 3 &), that "moche thynge is wronge Falsely metryd / bothe of short and longe." Similar requests to correct his verses are found, besides in the Troy- Book, in our Temple of Glas, in the AZsop (Anglia, IX, 2, 46), in the Legend of Austin (Halliwell, p. 149), and elsewhere; see note to 1. 1400. In one case he says : " If ought be mysse in worde, sillable or dede, Put all defautc upou John Lidgate." 2 Similarly in Guy of Warwick, 73, 7. 8, he has : " Yif ought be wrong in metre or in substaunce, Putteth the wyte for dulnesse on Lydgate." Yes, certainly, on whom else 1 Almost invariably hand in hand with the demand to correct him, goes the expression " litel boke " bestowed by the monk on his poems in the envoys. Lydgate forgot many a favourite phrase of his youth, when, in later years, the Falls of Princes too sorely tried his spirits ; but to this particular one he clung most tenaciously. We should have thought the monk might have been content to call the 20,000 lines of the Pilgrimage? or the 30,000 of the Troy-Book a "litel boke." But no; after he has tired us out with nearly four myriads of verses of the dullest description in his Falls of Princes, he has once more, at the end, the coolness to say in his envoy (fol. 218 c) : "With letters and leaues goe litlc booke tremblyng." I need hardly add a word on our envoy (11. 1393 — 1403), as such terminations occur in dozens and dozens of poems of the time. Nor is indeed self-deprecation, even in its absurd exaggeration, uncommon 1 Cp. his Testament, and Troy-Book, Dd 3 b : " Monke of Burye by professyon, Usynge an habyte of perfeeeyon, Albe my lyfe accorde nat therto. I feyne nat, I wot well it is so ; It nedeth nat wytnesse for to calle : IJecorde I take of my brethren alio, That wyll nat fayle at so great a nede." 2 Stalls Parr ad Mcvmm. I have not yet seen the paper by F. Burhenne, which undertakes to prove that this poem is spurious (s. MiUrilinniat zur Anglia, 1890, p. 221). :i See MS. Cott Vit. C. XIII, fol. 257 a. cxlii Chapter XI. — Concluding Remarks. in those days. Skeat, Man of Law's Tale, p. xxv, quotes Dunlop's History of Fiction (3rd ed. 1845, p. 247), who says of Ser Giovanni's Pecorone (the " Dunce ") : " a title which the author assumed, as some Italian academicians styled themselves, Insensati, Stolidi, &c, appellations in which there was not always so much irony as they imagined." The immediate sources, however, of Lydgate's self- deprecatory phrases seem to he Chaucer's humoristic excuses for possible, shortcomings ; for instance, the familiar ones in the Hous of Fame, 1. 1098, and at the end of Troilus (V, 1872), and I may add, Lydgate's personal modesty, especially when he measures him- self with his great master. "We have seen above how Lydgate him- self is apt to fall into absurdities in his handling of these phrases ; but they come to sheer stupidity in their treatment by Lydgate's imitators. Thus one of them (MS. Fairfax 16, fol. 309 a) complains that the Pierides do not favour him " dull ass." Chaucer is here, as always, the graceful humourist, Lydgate the ungraceful imitator, and our anonymous aspirant at the laurels of Parnassus — "such as he said he was." CHAPTEE XL CONCLUDING REMARKS. After these strictures on Lydgate's absurdities it is only fair that we should also hear the other side. If we needed only the laudatory testimony of a successive line of poets, historians, and critics to prove that Lydgate was a great poet, we could, indeed, for this pur- pose marshal a long and proud array of names. I have spoken above of Hawes's craze for his favourite author, and of Shirley's verses in honour of Lydgate; I may further mention, among the less conspicuous admirers of- Lydgate, Bennet Burgh, the continuator of the Secreta Secretorum, Bradshaw (Life of Saint Werburr/e II, 2023), Feylde (Controversy between a lover and a jay, Prol. 19 — 21), Bokenam (Legends I, 177; II, 4, C12; VI, 24; XIII, 1078) and Ashby, Active Policy of a Prince (see Morley, English Writers, 2nd ed., VI, 161). To proceed to greater names, King James I. was, as we attempted above to make probable, acquainted with his writings ; Skelton frequently introduces him together with Chaucer and Gower (Philip Sparrow 804—812; Garland of Laurel 390, 428—441, 1101) ; Sir Thomas More evidently imitated him in his early poems, and the great triad of later Scotch poets never fail to mention him in connexion with Chaucer (cp. Dunbar, Golden Targe 262 — 270, and Chapter XI. — Concluding Remarks. cxliii Lament for the Makaris 51 ; Douglas, Pal ice of Honour, ed. Small, I, 36, 11 ; Lyndsay, Papyngo, Prol. 12). In the Elizabethan times, even at the close of the period, Lydgate' s name was far from being forgotten. In Tarlton's Seven Deadly Sins he appeared before the Elizabethan public as speaker or chorus (like Gower in Pericles), see Boswell's Malone, 1821, III, 348 etc. ; Eichard Eobinson, in the Reward of Wickednesse, 1574, places Googe on Helicon with Lyd- gate, Skelton and others {Dictionary of National Biography, under Googe) ; later on, John Lane, in his continuation of Guy of Warwick, again introduces Lydgate as speaker of the prologue and epilogue. Camden praises him very highly indeed, 1 the Polimanteia (fol. E 3 a) and Beaumont (Chaucer, ed. Speght, 1598) mention him honourably, and but little doubt can be entertained that even Shakspere himself read Lydgate. The Story of Thebes was repeatedly printed between 1561 and 1687, together with Chaucer's works, and even the two longest poems of the monk were reprinted after the middle of the 16th century (the Troy-Book in 1555 by Marsh, the Falls of Princes, 1554, by Tottel, and again, 1558 (?) by Wayland). The authors of the Mirror for Magistrates continue his longest and dullest produc- tion, and the man who, in 1614, took the trouble to re-write the Troy-Book in six-line stanzas, and the publishers who issued it, must have had no mean opinion of the value of that book. Nay, even a hundred years later, we find the highest compliments paid to Lyd- gate. Dart, the modernizer of the Black Knight — which he, it is true, believes to be Chaucer's — says in his preface (1718) that he thinks this Complaint " the best design'd of any extant, either Antient or Modern, . . . the Thoughts in the Speech natural, soft, and easy, and the Hint for Invoking Venus, and the Invocation inimitable." It even seems that this Complaint of our "inimitable" Lydgate biassed Dart not a little in proclaiming its supposed author to be " the greatest Poet that England (or perhaps the World) ever produe'd." More than one name of good repute might also be adduced to testify that the Temple of Glas is far from being the meanest work of our "brillant (sic) disciple de Cliaucer." 2 I have above quoted 1 "Nee procul dissitus est Lidgatc viculus, qui hoc nomine nentiquani ta- cendus, quod in lucem Joannem Lidgatc. mnnachum sediderit, cuius ingenium ab ipsis Musis effictmn videatur, ita omnes Veneres & elegantiae in Buis Anglicis carminibus renident" (Britannia, 1607, p. 336). - So is he called by L. Constaoa, La Ldqende cCCEdips, p. 368. Tame also, Life of Our Lady, p. iv. speaks of his "brilliant genius." cxliv Chapter XI. — Concluding Remarks. the excessive praise bestowed upon this poem by a poet laureate (see p. xiii). Warton' s criticism was fully endorsed by Dihdin I, 309 note : " Whoever may be the author of it (the Temple of Glas), its intrinsic merits are very great ; as the reader will be convinced by a careful perusal of the brilliant extracts given by Warton." Hill, De Guileville . . . compared with . . . Bunyan, p. 35, finds a " decided similarity " between the preamble of the Temple of Glas and Dante's Inferno. He compares, in particular, 1. 14 to Dante's words : " I' non so ben ridir com' io v' entrai ; Taut' era pien di sonno . . ." — {Inferno I, 10). I must confess that in reading the poem for the first time, I myself was also vaguely reminded, by certain lines such as stanza 1, 2, 117 — 119, 1. 716, of the Divina Commedia. But this does not go to prove much for the value of the poem, and even less for the sup- position that Lydgate had read the Divina Commedia ; for such lines as 329, 330; 1355, 1356 also reminded me vaguely of the hymns to the Acvins in the Veda, which latter were, most likely, unknown to Lydgate. Further, Mrs. Browning says that the Temple of Glas forms, with Piers Ploughman, the Hous of Fame, and Hawes's Pastime of Pleasure, one of the " four columnar marbles, on whose foundation is exalted into light the great allegorical poem of the world, Spenser's Faerie Queene (Book of the Poets, in E. B. Browning's Greek Christian Poets and English Poets, p. 123). I do not think that the text of our poem bears out this statement ; if any one of Lydgate's writings may be regarded as a forerunner to the Faerie Queene, it would be the Court of Sapience, which seems to have served Hawes as a model. 1 I do not claim such a high place for the Temple of Glas as Warton and Mrs. Browning. But I think we may fairly allow it some small amount of poetical merit. It may be that Shirley is right in his state- ment that Lydgate wrote the poem " a la request dun amoreux ; " for the monk had, all his life, patrons enough: Henry V., Henry VI. , Humphrey of Gloucester, the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Salisbury, Lady March, etc., representing the proudest names among them. And if it is true that our monk wrote the poem with the view of celebrating the union of a certain knight and his lady, we must admit that the machinery he introduces is prettily conceived. The poet takes up the current motif of a vision, and by this means brings his 1 By a closer investigation the following pedigree might perhaps be made out — of course, with regard to certain features only— : Martianus Capella — Antitfandiauus — Court of Sapien-ee — Pastime of Pleasure— Faerie Queene. Chapter XI, — Concluding Remarks. cxlv k night and lady, as the most prominent pair among the famous lovers of history and mythology, into the magnificent temple of Venus, where the goddess of Love herself unites them. Of course, our monk does not omit to adorn both with all imaginable excellences, and the picture of the Lady is one of the brightest of any in Lydgate's works. The rejoicing in the Court of Venus, ending in a ballad which makes the whole temple resound with the praises of Venus Urania for her graciousness to the lovers, leaves an impression at once vivid and pleasing upon the reader's mind. We can at all events understand the long-enjoyed popularity of our poem in an age which fully appre- ciated this its brighter side, and perhaps even found the weaker parts to its taste. If I add to this that our poem belongs to the few of Lydgate's works which are not directly taken from a foreign source, but that it exhibits, at the most, some traces of the poetical currents of the day, and especially of Chaucer's genial influence, I think I have said about all that can be brought forward in its praise. I have above pointed to a general family-likeness, and a number of minor resemblances between the Temple of Glas and the Kingis Quair. I must not be understood, however, to wish for one moment to compare the Kingis Quair and its right royal author to our monk and his glass-temple. For although the second part of the Kingis Quair reminds one of Lydgate, and although many passages could be adduced from certain writings of Lydgate which would almost be a match for some of the finer parts of King James's poem, yet I know full well that there is another side to be considered in this question, namely, the subjective as well as the objective. Two-thirds of the poetry of the Kingis Quair lie in King James himself, his person and fate, his capture, his love, and death. Manly strength and undaunted courage — exhibited in the cause of justice — have seldom been combined in one man with that exquisite tenderness of feeling with which the royal Stuart wooed and won his lady, and the graceful gift of song with which he immortalized it. It is the consciousness of its reality and of a tragic fate lurking behind its sunny pages that gives the Kingis Quair an incomparable interest, and raises many a passage into poetry which otherwise would be flat and meaningless. In what light has subsequent history placed the following passage from it : "And thus this floure, I can seye [}ou] no more, So hertly has vnto my help attendit, That from the deth hir man sche lias defendit" (Kg. Qu., 187, 5—7), TEMPLE OF GLAS. /,- cxlvi Chapter XI. — Concluding Remarks, the absurd counterpart of -which we had to criticize severely in Lydgate ! It is this personal interest which appeals to us so strongly in the Kingis Quair: the royal poet has in reality loved the beaute- ous lady of whom he sings, he has made her his queen, and she has defended him in that last terrible struggle, when the " noblest of the Stuarts " had to fight for his life. And, moreover, the kindly feeling displayed by the noble prince towards everything surrounding him, animate and inanimate Nature, and the gratefulness with, which he thanks the nightingale, the roses, the hedges, Gower, Chaucer, and all the saints of March for their help, win our hearts irresistibly. All these qualities would alone be sufficient to make the Kingis Quair a book of uncommon interest, and as the poetry is occasionally truly beautiful, it will remain a pearl in English literature for ever and ever. Pour revenir a nos moutons ! Although the two poems, in spite of many resemblances, are not for one moment to be compared as regards poetical value or interesting associations, the above dis- cussions have I hope at least shown that a better knowledge of Lydgate's works would greatly contribute to the elucidation of the more illustrious of his contemporaries, " who sang together at the blight dawning of British poesy." The monk's name will certainly be of frequent occurrence in commentaries on Chaucer, Gower, and King James, when the principal of his works are more easily acces- sible. There is, in the investigation of Lydgate, a wide field for work open to the student: editions, treatises on the sources, the language, the metrics, the text-criticism, the chronology, and also the genuineness of certain poems affording ample material to the philologist, whatever his particular bent may be. I have spoken above, in the preliminary remarks, of the most important work done in this direction, and, in Chapter IX, § 1, have also pointed to some desiderata towards the elucidation of the monk's sources. I may add here that a re-publication of the smaller poems, as edited by Halliwell, would be very welcome ; it would have to omit the spurious poems 1 given by Halliwell, and to collect those not contained in this first edition ; its text, of course, would have to be based throughout on critical principles. A not uninteresting col- 1 Also those that form part of larger works of Lydgate's, as the "Moral of the Legend of Dido'\ (Halliwell, p. 69), which is identical witb the Envoy to Chapter II, 13 of the Falls of Princes, and "A Poem against Idleness" (Halli- well, pp. 84 — 94), which consists of Falls of Princes II, 15 (beginning with the second stanza), followed by II, 14 and closing with the Envoy to II, 15. Chapter XI. — Concluding Remarks. cxlvii loctive volume might then he formed hy a critical edition of Lydgate's somewhat longer poems in the epic, or lyric-epic genre, such as the Black Knight, Chorl and Bird, Horse, Goose, and Sheep, etc. ; of the latter Halliwell [Minor Poems, pp. 117 — 121) and Furnivall (Politiccd, Religious and Love Poems, pp. 15 — 22) unfortunately only give parts, and the reprint of the whole for the Eoxhurghe Club from a faulty print, is scarce enough. The JEsop, Guy of Warwick, and the story, De duohus Mercatoribus, helong also to this class. A good critical edition of the Dance of Macabre, or of the Testament, would likeAvise he very desirahle. To speak of Lydgate's larger works, I should consider an editor of Reason and Sensuality 1 as more fortunate than myself; for this poem appears to me to he hy far the finest of all Lydgate's produc- tions. The editor would have to settle definitely the question of the authorship ; I can only mention here that there is amongst others Stowe's evidence for its heing Lydgate's. The text-criticism would he very simple, as there are apparently only two MSS., Fairfax 16 and Stowe's Add. 29729, of which the first presents a very fair text indeed. The investigation of its sources would he highly interesting, and, if anything definite could he hrought to light as to the time of its origin, such a date would he of great importance for the right understanding of Lydgate's development as a poet. Another import- ant contribution would he a treatise on the Troy-Book, with respect to which many questions have to he settled : the classification of the numerous MSS. and Prints, the way in which Lydgate follows Guido di Colonna, the assignment to it of its right place in the literature of the mediaeval Troy-Saga ; its popularity in the Elizabethan time, the authorship of its modernized form, as printed in 1614, and the question as to exactly how much Shakspere took from it, furnishing ample material for research. The Prolegomena would, I suppose, be a good deal more interesting than the edition itself; but, perhaps, some unusually courageous philologist will also one day undertake this ; and then he had better at once set about the Falls of Princes into the bargain. Previous researches in the text-criticism of at least parts of these two big works would make the matter considerably easier, and not tax the patience of one individual too sorely. Further, it would be no thankless task to compile a good and clearly-put treatise on the two Pilgrimages, and to settle their author- 1 Skoat, M. P., p. xli, 1. 9, means this poein, and quotes from it on p. 349, where he lias the title. k 2 cxlviii Chapter XL — Concluding Remarks. ship, their relation to the French original, etc. Lydgate's last work, the Secreta Secretorum, with its curious lore — not poetry, I must add — might induce a scientist among the philologists to publish it and compare it with other poems based on the same grounds. Perhaps Dr. Horstmann will one daj r reprint the Life of our Lady in full, and tell us something definite about its date. An edition of the Serpent of Division would be interesting as a specimen of Lydgate's prose, and even more in its connection with Gorboduc ; perhaps the careful investigator would find that it was not unknown to Shakspere. — Of the forthcoming editions of the Story of Thebes, De duobus Mercatoribus, and the Court of Sapience I have spoken above, and from the prospectus of the Early English Text Society I see too that it has an edition of the Pilgrimages in vieAV. I need hardly mention that a careful and exact bibliography is one of the greatest desiderata for Lydgate-literature. And now for my bone with Eitson. We are usually referred to his list of 251 " works " (Bibliograpliia Poetica, p. 66, etc.) as the " fullest and best" account and synopsis of the monk's literary productions. I call this "fullest and best" list an Augean stable of disorder, glaring mistakes and inextricable confusion. For first, this appallingly tedious medley is arranged according to no apparent principle whatever, neither of chronology, nor length, nor importance, nor genre, nor anything else. Eitson's intention seems, indeed, to have been to enumerate the printed works first (No. 1 — 36) ; but this is a ridiculous division, the best copies of the first numbers being, of course, also as a rule in the MSS. Moreover, this pretended classification is a mere delusion; for — to give only one or two examples — the very next number 37 is also in print, forming part of the Falls of Princes ; No. 11 is Parvus Catho, No. 54 Magnus Ccdo ; but in the very print by Caxton mentioned in No. 1 1 , Magnus Cato is of course also included, etc. etc. The whole list is a thoughtless jumble copied without understanding from headings of MSS. and entries in Catalogues, and from earlier writers whom Eitson reviles with the utmost impertinence, whilst at the same time transcribing and distorting their statements with a coolness sans pareil. Eitson says he believes his list to be the com- pletest that can be formed " without access, at least, to every manu- script library in the kingdom, which would be very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain," thus implying hypocritically that he at least consulted the libraries easily accessible to him. But a consultation of the British Museum or the Bodleian alone would have been more Chapter XI. — Concluding Bcmarlcs. cxlis. than sufficient to prevent the incredible mistakes which I have here to expose. Indeed the worst of them he ought surely to have avoided without any library at all. Nobody but Eitson would want access to "every library in the kingdom" to know the Canterbury Tales ! Of Bale, who has also, it is true, serious mistakes in his list, Eitson says : " but it is the constant practice of that mendacious prelate to split one book into several." 1 Let us see what Eitson himself does. First, he has made two works of the Secreta Secretorum, which he mentions in No. 36 ; in No. 52 they come again as " Regimen ]>ri/irij)tan," sive "De Aristotele fy Alexandre)," called also "The booke of all goode thewes, and Secreta secretorum." Again, he has made two works of Albon and Amphabel, which he mentions under No. 7 ; but under No. 249 he has once more : Vita S. Albani martijris ad J. Frumentarium abbatem. Similarly, of AZsop's Fables : — the " notable proverbe of Ysopus in balade, made in Oxford {cants $■ umbra) " in No. 44 is part of No. 45 : " Isopes fabules." Further, of the Testament, which he mentions under No. 33 ; but in No. 214 we read : Christ a lamb offered in sacrifice : "Behold o man. lift up thy eye and se"; this is in reality part of the Testament, occurring in Malliwell, p. 259. Also of the " Dietary," Nos. 55 and 61 belonging to the same poem ; see Halliwell, M. P., p. 66 ; Skeat, Bruce, p. 537. Again, No. 58 " Of a gentlewoman that lived with (read loved) a man of great estate," is the same as No. 110 : A love balade : " Alias i woful creature," printed by Halliwell, p. 220, as "A Lover's Complaint," and declared to be altogether spurious by Koeppel, Falls of Princes, p. 76, note. Then, No. 22 of our " learned " Eitson's list : " A balade of gode counsede, translated out of Latin verses," is identical with No. 62 : " Consulo qui* e pe [sic] Ryal Cydre of j?e hye montayne and J>e thowthistell of j?e lowe valeye. ]5is moralisac/on is in J>is same boke to-fore." Thus Shirley was on the point of copying over again a piece already transcribed a few pages back in his MS., namely No. 3, on fol. 16 b: " Jpis moral Epistel sent kynge Amasias to kynge Johas made by ... . Lidegate"; but Shirley saw his error, did not transcribe a second time this epistle to 1 Amasias, and proceeded to copy a new piece. Thus Eitson's No. 158 is a mere imaginary shadow. Nor is this epistle to King Amasias itself a separate work, although Eitson, in No. 72, has put it down as one ; it is nothing else but part of Book II, Chapter 16, of the Falls of Princes. "We have again a complete muddle in Eitson's Nos. 13, 112, and 113. No. 112 reads: "Play at the chesse between Eeason and Sensualitie " ; No. 113 : "Banket of gods and goddesses, with a dis- course of reason and sensualitie " : " To all folkys vertuose " (Fairfax, MSS. 16 : Eoyal MSS. 18 D II.) ; No. 13 : " The interpretation of the names of the goddes and goddesses " ; printed by W. de Worde. Two works are totally confused in these three numbers. MS. Fairfax 16 contains Reason and Sensuality (No. 112), beginning "To all[e] folkys vertuose"; Eoyal MS. 18 D II contains the "Assembly [or Banket] of Gods"; No. 13: "The interpretation of the names of the gods " is a printer's addition to the Assembly of Gods, on the 1 Not from Amasias ; see the Falls of Princes II, 16, and Kings II, 14, 9. Chapter XI. — Concluding Remarks. cli title-page of that work, to render the heathen names more familiar to the reader. See Chapter VIII, p. cix. So much for learned Eitson's account of Lydgate's best work, which of course he had never even seen. This number 113 is, by the bye, not the only one which exhibits a tendency of Eitson's to make up for his chorizontic work ; in No. 213 also two distinct Avorks are mixed up : " A saying of the nightingale touching Christ" : "In June whan Titan was in Crabbes hede" (Caligula. A. II. & the Harlcy MS. 2251); as has been said above, on p. xcv, the poems in the two MSS. are two distinct works. But we have not yet done with Eitson's feats in " splitting up one work into several." Of the Legend of St. Edmund and Fremund he lias made at least four works ; in No. 243, " The martyrdome of saint Edmunde" is put down as one work; but No. 244 : A poem on the banner and standard of St. Edmund: "Blyssyd Edmund, kyng, martyr, and vyrgyne," is equivalent to Edmund I, 1 (Prologue) in Horstmann's edition ; No. 245, " A ballad royall of invocation to saint Edmond at thenstaunce of kynge Henry the sixt" : "Glorious master [read martir], that of devout humblenesse" [read, of course, kwnblesse], is nothing but Legend of Edmund, Book 111,11. 1456, etc. No. 247, Vita sancti Fremundi martiris, constitutes Book III of Edmund and Fremund. No. 246 : Miracula S. Edmundi may stand as a separate work ; see above, p. cvii. But Eitson's masterpiece in "splitting up" is his account of the Falls of Princes. These are first cited as number 2 in his list. But then we have besides this, in No. 37 : " De rege Arthuro" J in No. 38: " De ejus mensa rotunda " — both numbers thoughtlessly copied from Bale. They are, of course, one and the same, and form Book VIII, Chapter 24 of the Folk of Princes ; MS. Lansdowne 699, fol. 50 b, gives " Ar- thurus Conquestor" as a separate work. That No. 72, identical with No. 158, "Morall epistle sent [from] kynge Amasias to kyng Jonas" forms part of the Falls of Princes (II, 16), I have already mentioned. No. 93 : Of poverty : " thow povert, meke, humble, and de- bonayre," is I, 18 (stanza 4, etc.) of the Falls of Princes. No. 73 reads : " Epistle of vartuous ensines eschewing idlenesse " ; this I suppose is nothing else but II, 15 of the Falls of Princes, also printed as "A poem against Idleness" by Halliiccll, pp. 84 — 94 (" Two maner of folkes to put in rcmembraunce ") ; it may, however, also be that it is the same poem as Eitson's No. 141. I am not sure whether No. 117 etc. of the list are also taken from the same passage of the Falls of Princes. Lastly, in No. 17 we have the clii Cltaptcr XI. — Concluding Remarks. "Provcrbos of Lydgate " (on the Falls of Princes) printed by Wyuken de Worde, The very title of Wynken ought to have shown Bitson that these proverbs would, in part at least, be taken from the Falls of Pritices. 1 So the Falls of Princes come at least about seven or eight times in Ritson's list. We see that "mendacious" Bale's feats in splitting up are very poor performances indeed as compared with those of "accurate," "learned" Ritson. But this is not all. Ritson ascribes to Lydgate any number of early English pieces, the titles of which he happens to have come across : thus the Assemblee of Ladies (No. 27), Remedie of Love (No. 29), Craft of Lovers (No. 30), Childe of Bristow (No. 42), De fabro dominam reformante (No. 44), the" Coventry Plays" (No. 152, see Halliwell, p. 94), " Dantis opuscula," " Petrarchce quo-dam " (No. 159, 160, copied from Bale), etc., etc., are all by Lydgate! In No. 38 he attributes the Siege of Jerusalem to Lydgate, forgetting that on p. 24, No. 6, he had already ascribed it to Adam Davie. He some- times also attributes spurious writings to Lydgate, and then again splits them up into two; Ave have noted this already in the case of No. 58 and 110 ; we have further in No. 53 : Vegetius de re militari, and again in No. 144: " De arte militari." We also find Beiuiet Burgh's translation of Cato among Lydgate's pieces, again split up into Parvus Catlio, No. 11, and Liber magni Catonis, No. 54. But the worst is yet to come. In No. 21 we have : " Balade of the village without paintyng." This is, of course, Chaucer's Ballade of the visage without painting. No. 206 reads : Another [i. e. poem in praise of the Virgin Mary] : " Almighty and almerciable qwene." Of course, Chaucer's A. B. C. In No. 85, Bitson has the Complaynt d 'amour. Prof. Skeat says that the poem is by Chaucer ; it forms No. XXII. in his edition of Chaucer's Minor Poems. Here, indeed, it is possible that Ritson may not be wrong. But it would 1 That these • ' Proverbes " were not entitled to be put down as a separate work of Lydgate's, the identification of the contents of Wynken's print will clearly show : "Go kysse y e steppes" . . . = Falls of Princes, fob 218 c (the three last stanzas) ; "Sodeyne departynge ' . . . = Falls of Princes J, 1 Envoy (5 stanzas); then follow Chaucer's Fortune and Truth ; further: "The vnsure gladnesse "...=: Falls of Princes I, 12 Envoy (4 stanzas) ; " Vertue of vertues " . . . = Falls of Princes IX, 31 Envoy (9 stanzas) ; " Myn auctour "...=: Falls of Princes VI, 15, stanzas 1, 30, 39—47 ; "This tragedye" = Falls of Princes V, 25 Envoy (4 stanzas). Then follow the two poems : "I Counseyll what so euer thou be," already amply represented in Ritson's list, as No. 22, 62 and 84 (in Halliwell, Minor Poems, pp. 173—178, called "The Concords of Com- pany "), and " Towarde the ende of frosty Januarye " = Ritson 99 (in Halliwell, Minor Poems, pp. 156—164, with the title "A Poem against Self love"). Chapter XL — Concluding lie marks, cliii be a rash conclusion to think that any merit in the case belongs to Eitson ; he has merely copied Tanner. No. 28, " A praise of women," is printed in Morris's Chaucer, VI, 278 ; cp., however, Skeat, Minor Poems, p. xxvi. No. 31: "A balade teching what is gentilnes " is, I suppose, again Chaucer's work. But Eitson's supreme ignorance of Chaucer becomes most transparent, when we look at Nos. 46 and 235 of this "fullest (full, indeed!) and best" list of Lydgate's works. No. 235 reads : Vita Sancte Cecilie : " The ministre of the (read and) norice unto vices." Of course, this is the Second Nun's Tale ! No. 46 : " Tale of the crow." The precedence of "accurate, learned" Eitson also induced Sauerstein to regard this " Tale of a Crow" as a fable by Lydgate ; but Zupitza, in the Deutsche Litteraturzeitung 1886, col. 850, showed that this "Fable," "little known and never published," was in reality Chaucer's well-known and somewhat frequently published Maunciples Tale. Eitson, I sup- pose, had heard that Lydgate's Story of lliebes was intended to form an additional Canterbury Tale, and so the " learned" re viler of Warton seems to have thought Lydgate must also be the author of those which one usually ascribes to Chaucer. I am in justice bound to add that "accurate" Eitson makes up for this by attributing works of Lydgate to Chaucer; but I am afraid that the Black Knight is but a poor compensation for some half dozen of Chaucer's poems. And here I think I had better stop. It would go far beyond my knowledge and patience to set all Eitson's errors right, or even to hi id them all out ; I have here merely censured his more glaring and obvious mistakes. I would only add that Eitson's references are very often faulty, and always exceedingly poor; in the case of many of the most interesting works they are only conspicuous by their absence. Of course, Eitson never even saw many of Lyd- gate's principal works ; much' less did he know anything of their contents. He found it easier to revile the monk than to know him : reviled he must be, for Warton had praised him. Still, after all this, I owe some thanks to Eitson. It is for having himself put into my mouth the very words which constitute the truest criticism on him. I myself could have found none so appropriate as the following, with which Eitson sums up his arrogant attack on "Warton, who was in every way his superior. " 1 have at length, Mr. [Eitson], completed my design of ex- posing to the public eye a tolerable specimen of tlie numerous errors, falsities, and plagiarisms of which you have been guilty in the course cliv Chapter XL — Concluding Remarks. of your celebrated [" fullest ami best" list of Lydgate's works]. And, though I am conscious of having left considerable gleanings to any who may be inclined to follow me, I trust I have given you much reason to be sorry, and more to be ashamed Your indolence in collecting and examining materials ; and, beyond every thing, your ignorance of the subject, should have prevented you from engaging in a work which [requires, if certainly no vast amount of genius, yet care, diligence, and learning] ; in which, whatever might be your progress, how uninformed soever you might esteem the bulk of your readers, you were certain, at last, of encountering detection and disgrace." These words are literally taken from Ritson's " Ohservations on . . . the History of English Poetry" (by Warton), p. 47; the words in brackets only replace such words as are, indeed, applicable to "Warton's great History of English Poetry, but not so to Eitson's bibliographical gallimaufry. The least thing we expect from a list of an author's works is an insight into the extent of his productions; but this is certainly impossible in Ilitson's list. I should not point out the self-evident absurdity of putting little trifles of a few lines only, on a level with the Falls of Princes or the Troy-Book, if I had not, in ever so many books, met with the number 251 given as the fixed and sacrosanct number of Lydgate's "works." Such a method of proceeding gives a most inadequate idea of the monk's productions, the combined length of two particular works out of the list being more than all the remaining 249 put together. The truth is this. There are two or three works of the monk's, translated by the command of the Court, which indeed exceed all ordinary limits. I mean, of course, the Falls of Princes, consisting of nearly 40,000 lines, the Troy- Book of about 30,000, and the Pilgrimage of Man, of some 22,000 or 23,000. The subjoined list enumerating the monk's principal works, together -with the number of lines they respectively contain, will I hope be welcome to the reader r 1 1 In some cases, the number of lines is only roughly estimated, by multi- plying the number of pages with tbe approximate average number of lines contained on one. Had I counted line for line, the result would again have only been approximate, as lines are sometimes wanting in the MSS., etc. Chapter XI. — C< minding JRnnrtrls. civ Falls of Princes 36,316 1; ines (cp. Kiippel, F. Pr., Troy- Book about 30,000 ,, (Ward, Catalogue I, Pilgrimage of Man ... ,, 22.000 ,, Reason and Sensuality ,, 7,400 ,, Life of Our Lady 5,936 ,, Albon and Araphahel . . 4,724 ,, Story of Thebes 4,716 ,, (Ward, Cat. I, 87). Edmund and Fremund 3,693 ,, Court of Sapience 2,282 ,, Assembly of Gods 2,107 ,, Secreta Secretorum 1,484 ,, (+ 1239 by Burgh). Temple of Glas 1,403 ,, iEsop 959 ., De duobus Mercatoribus 910 ,, Testament 897 ,, Dance of Macabre 672 M Horse, Goose, and Sheep 658 ,, Guy of Warwick 592 ,, Pur le Roy 544 ., Legend of St. Margaret 540 ,, December and July 520 Miracles of St. Edmund 4*4 Legend of St. Austin 408 ;) Chorl and Bird 386 Legend of St. Giles 368 ,, 1 lour of Curtesie 270 ,, Total 130,249 1 ines. Hereto we Lave to add the smaller poems, especially these in Halliwell, which are not comprised in the above list, and possibly also a number of pieces of doubtful authenticity. "We are, however, at all events, not far from the truth, if we say that the number of lines our monk produced, is, in round numbers, 130,000 — 140,000. There are, as we see, three works of indeed stupendous length, which betray their origin in one of those " collegiate establishments, where the patient monk, in the ample solitude of the cloister, added page to page, and volume to volume, emulating in the productions of his brain the magnitude of the pile he inhabited." 1 There are, further, some four or five works of no mean bulk, and, again, some four or five of less significant length, some dozen of a few hundred lines only, besides numerous smaller pieces. I hope that the above synopsis I have given will at least prevent the repetition of the absurd state- ment that the monk wrote 251 " works." In comparison with the coryphaei of prolific production — take Lope de Vega as an example — our monk is but an innocent baby, and even among the " drivellers " of our 19th century, called Novel- Writers, 8 who are the nearest 1 "Washington Irving, London Antiques. 2 Henry Morley, English Writers II, 424 note, wishes to rebut the accusa- tion of tediousness often laid against Lydgate, with the fact that when he was one of the novel-reading "boys" in the British Museum Library, a MS. of clvi Chapter XI. — Concluding Remarks. brethren to Lydgate I can think of, he would be one of the more harmless delinquents. To sum up, I certainly shall not subscribe to the insipid eulogies of a Shirley, a Burgh, or a Havves ; I find AVarton's praise far too high, and in some cases even ten Brink's, or Koeppel's, well-tempered commendation of Lydgatc's better-known works somewhat beyond the mark. But neither, on the other hand, do I endorse the slighting remarks of Pinkerton and Pauli, and still less do I mean to act the advocatus diaboli, by joining in Ritson's Billingsgate. It certainly does not occur to me to claim for Lydgate a place in the realms of higher poetry ; but I think we must allow that not unfrequently do Ave meet in his better works, especially in those of his youth, with passages which breathe true poetry, or at all events, lie on the borderlands of true poetry. There is certainly many a felicitous line and many a poetical sentiment or piece of imagery to be found in his works that would not deface the finest page of a true poet. Moreover, his love of Nature, his humour, his earnest piety, 1 his admiration of his betters or of genius beyond his reach — always tendered ungrudgingly — the love of his country, his national pride, 2 his high reverence for woman, cannot fail to win our hearts ; certainly these qualities incline us to forgive much. Ten Brink, in his History of English Literature, and Professor Minto in his Characteristics of English Poets, have some admirable remarks showing that many of the monk's most prominent faults arise from his being an epigone of greater masters ; our motto at the head of the second part of the Introduction will have shown that we judge of many of Lydgate's peculiarities from the same point of view. There cannot be, moreover, the slightest doubt that Lydgate's commissions from the Court, resulting, amongst other productions, in his two most bulky works, had a baneful influence upon his further Lydgate, with a long saints' legend, was as pleasant to him as Tylncy Hall or Peter Simple. Sir W. Scott calls Hawes "a bad imitator of Lydgate, ten times more tedious than his original " — which, be it said by way of parenthesis, means not a little. 1 Especially in the Life of our Lady and the Legend of Edmund. 2 Compare Lydgate's amusing rebuke of Boccaccio, whom he pays out soundly for having slighted his dear Albion (the passage refers to the battle of Poitiers, and the capture of King John) : " Hvs fantasye nor hys opinion [Boccaccio's] Stode in that case of none anctorite : Their king was take, their knightes iliil[e] flee ; Where was Bochas to help them at such nede? Saue with his pen he made no man. to blede." Falls of Princes, fol. 216 a and 6. Chapter XII. — Tit c Appendices. clvii development. I believe that the scales will be decidedly turned in Lydgate's favour, and ten Brink's comparatively high opinion of the monk still further justified, when certain of his works which lie as yet unpublished in various libraries are made generally accessible. Then it will appear more and more clearly that, in estimating him as a poet, the stress should not so much be laid on the unoriginal and spun-out rhymes of his later age, but rather on the more spontaneous and ani- mated productions of his earlier years. The best turn we can do Lydgate — and ourselves in studying him — is certainly to leave the nauseating tirades on Fortune in the Falls of Princes, and the soporific speeches in the Troy-Book alone, and to take up on3 of his earlier and more attractive works — such as Reason and Sensuality, which we put down with real regret at its unfinished state. Of works of the first stamp Ave say with Taine : " On s'en va et bailie," while those of the second are sure to engage our interest. At all events, in criticiz- ing Lydgate's abilities, we must not lose sight of one fact which will always incline us to a mild judgment : — as Lydgate has often and justly been praised for his reverence of woman, let me express it in the words of an accomplished woman i 1 " When he ceased his singing, none sang better; there was silence in the land." CHAPTER XII. THE APPENDICES. I. The Compleynt. I have already, in Chapter III, § 1 and Chapter IV, § 1, suffici- ently expressed my opinion concerning these lines which MSS. G and S give as a continuation of the Temple of Glas. I ought perhaps to apologize for the publication of such worthless rhymes; but I need hardly assure the reader that it was not as a pleasure that I resolved upon the printing of them. When I first came upon this Compleynt in the London MS., it was, I confess, with many a deeply-heaved sigh to Apollon Apotropaios that I perused it ; but the piece turned up again in the Cambridge MS. Gg. 4. 27, which, with 8, formed a conspicuous group by itself, and therefore it had to be printed, were it only for the sake of the text-criticism. The date of this " Compleynt " cannot be much later than that of the Temple of Glas; I should think, it is about 1420 or 1430. 1 El. Barrett- Browning, Book of the Poets, 1863, p. 121. clviii Chapter XII — The Appendices. Later than 1430 we cannot make it, since it occurs in MS. G, which is one of our oldest texts, and supposed to be -written about that date. "We have also distinct reminiscences of Chaucer in the poem. I mean the allusion, in 11. 394 — 437, to the worship of the daisy- flower, which reminds us at once of the Prologue to the Legend of Good Women. Line 575 may also be a reminiscence from Anelida 211: "So thirleth with the poynt of remembraunce " . . . The evidence of the language is quite in accordance with the above date. In fact I do not see any remarkable discrepancy between the language of the Compleynt and that of Lydgate. The rhymes, although often faulty from Chaucer's standpoint, nevertheless agree with Lydgate's principles of rhyming. That the poem is not northern, we see at once by rhymes like abod : stod, 207 ; oones : sones, 619. We have further the rhyme y : ie in 1. 86 : mercy : dye ; 1. 447 : dayesye : pry vyly ; further, trespas : grace 603 ; mynde : finde 39 ; but also mynde : ende 287 ; fyr : cler 607 ; deye : preye 625 ; eye : espye 183 ; recure : endure 93 ; further, dysdeyn : peyne 89; ageyn : peyne 407 ; seyn : peyne 615 ; holde : cold 305 ; among : vndyrfonge 171 (or have we to read anionge? cf. stanza 25 c, 1. 6) ; whether sloo : foo, 1. 295, is a Lydgatian rhyme, I am at present unable to say. 1 In 11. 395, 396 we have only an assonance; Shirley's reading, however, differs here from G. Moreover, the inflexions, as shown by the metre in the middle, of the line also, are exactly the same as in Lydgate. The ratio of the number of instances in which the final e is sounded, to those of its apocope, at the end of nouns — of Teutonic or Romance origin — and in the conjugation of the verb is very much the same as in the Temple of Glas. I speak Avith diffidence of the metre, as I have not analyzed Lydgate's four-beat line with the same care as his five-beat one. If there are many more monosyllabic first measures in the Compleynt than in the Temple of Glas, this need not surprise us; for in the four-beat line a trochaic beginning has not an un- pleasant effect on the ear, and consequently it is also frequently used by poets with an unmistakably fine perception for rhythm. Lydgate himself has this acephalous type very often, as the perusal of any one page of Reason and Sensuality will amply show. But in spite of all this I cannot help thinking that the Compileynt 1 The form sloo occurs in the rhyme in the Siege of Jerusalem, and more than once in the Iiomaunt of the Hose (11. 1953, 2593, 3150, 4592). Chapter XII. — The Appendices. clix not only has nothing to do with the Temple of Glas, but that it is not Lydgate's production at all. The piece is so thoroughly stupid. Now Lydgate's poetry was, it is certain, only occasionally inspired hy Apollo and the Muses, but I do not think that 1 have read any- thing so wretchedly poor as this in his acknowledged works. The only piece of Lydgate's that reminded me slightly of it, is the poem on Thomas Chaucer's departure for France. 1 But even that is not quite so miserable a production as this Compleynt, and besides, it is contained within merciful limits. There was little doubt as to which MS. was to be chosen as the basis of the text, G being older and evidently better than 8. "Where G is deficient, we had to rely on S ; the text is then sometimes hopelessly corrupt. In no case am I a great advocate of conjectural emendations ; in the. instance of these silly rhymes it would certainly have been ridiculous to deliberately sit down and try one's ingenuity in improving upon them. I need hardly add that the principles adhered to with respect to punctuation, orthography, etc., are the same as those I have followed in the Temple of Glas itself. The headlines and the short summary of the contents on p. 58 were done by Dr. Fumivall. II. The Duodecim Ahusiones. In the description of the Prints, in Chapter II, I have spoken of the errors and disputes which exist with respect to the Prints of the Temple of Glas by Caxton and "Wynken de Worde. It is not always easy to see which particular print Herbert and Dibdin mean; but these Duodecim Abusiones, occurring in W, W t , w and b, and given as specimens (with the beginning of the Temple of Glas) by Herbert and Dibdin, help to make their statements clearer. 2 It was therefore with the view of enabling the reader to judge for himself which print the historians of Typography meant in each respective case, that I thought it advisable to subjoin Appendix II. The text is taken from "W, i. e. "Wynken de "Worde's first edition of the Temple of Glas, which has been faithfully reproduced, with the addition of stops only. All the variations of "W 2 , w and b are given, including even those of mere orthography. 1 I fully concur in Dr. •Furnivall's opinion that Thomas Chaucer was not the son of Geoffrey, as expressed in Notes and Queries, 1872, May, p. 381 etc. Lydgate would not have let this opportunity slip of introducing an allusion to his "master." 2 Unfortunately, their orthography (even Herbert's) seems anyhow to be somewhat incorrect, whatever print they used. clx Chapter XII. — The Appendices. But I hope the present reprint will also serve another purpose. A very important task of Chaucer-philology is the critical analysis of Stowe's Chaucer-print of 1561, the object of which must be to eliminate the supposititious works, and to assign, as far as possible, each of the spurious pieces to its real author. Now these Duodecim Abusiones appear also in this Chaucer-print (on folio 330 d), that is to say, the two English stanzas only without the Latin text. They have been reprinted in Bell's Chaucer, ed. Skeat IV, 421, and again in Prof. Skeat' s edition of Chaucer's Minor Poems, Introduction p. xxix. Skeat has pronounced his opinion as to the authorship with great decision : " Surely it must be Lydgate's," and I think he is right. The appearance of the Abusiones in the above-mentioned prints, annexed as they are to a work of Lydgate's, can only tend to strengthen the learned Professor's supposition. 1 I have added the few variations of importance (not the orthographical ones) of the earlier Chaucer-prints. There are similar pieces to these Duodecim Abusiones in earlier English literature (see ten Brink, Geschichte der engliscTien Lit., I, 268, and note). The "twelf unbeawas" existed also in Old- English ; a homily on them is printed in Morris, Old English Homilies, p. 101 — 119. It is based on the Latin Homily, "De octo viciis et de duodecim abusivis huius sseculi," attributed to St. Cyprian or St. Patrick ; see Dietrich in Niedner's Zeitschrift filr historische Theologie, 1855, p. 518; Wanley's Catalogus, passim (cp. the Index sub voce Patrick). In the Middle-English period we meet , again with more or less of these " Abusions " ; see Morris, Did English Miscellany, p. 185 (11 Abusions); Furnivall, Early English Poems, Berlin 1862 (Philological Society), p. 161: "Five evil things"; "Wright and Halliwell, Reliquiae Antiquce, I, 316 and II, 14. 1 In another ease, which concerns a work of Lydgate's in Stowe's Chaucer- print, Skeat is on the right track, without however arriving at the ultimate conclusion. I mean the passage in M. P. XLVI, top of page. The poem on the "Fall of Man" in MS. Harl. 2251 is part of Lydgate's Court of Sapience. Cfje Ccmplc of 6te. In heaviness and distress I vent to bed the other night, when Sun and Moon were last in eon- For thoi^t, constreint, and greuons heuines, For pensifhecle, and for heij distres, To bed I went nov bis obir nyjt, Whan bat Lucina wib liir pale ll^t Was Ioyned last wib Phebus in aquarie, Amyd decembre, when of Ianuarie Ther be kalendes of be nwe yere, And derk Diane, ihorned, noting clere, Had [hid] hir bemys vndir a mysty cloude : AYibin my bed for sore I gan me shroude, Al desolate for constreint of my wo, The long[e] ny$t waloing to and fro, Til at[te] last, er I gan taken kepe, Me did oppresse a sodein dedeli slepe, "\Yib-in be which me boujtfe] b«t I was Rauysshid in spirit in [a] temple of glas — I nyst[e] how, ful fer in wildimes — That foundid was, as bi lik[ly]nesse, Not opon stele, but on a craggy roche, Like ise Ifrore. And as I did approche, Again be so?me that shone, me boujt, so clere For the titles in the various DISS, and Prints, see the Introduction. 1. For thoujt] For through "VV2. Throughe w. b. constreint] compleynt G. S. 2. pensifhede] pensyfnes w. great thought b. 2 d for] om. L. Pr. distres] pen- svuenesse b. 6. Amyd] Ainiddes S. 7. nwe] newe come S. 8. ihorned] horned and Pr. 9. Had] om. L. b. hid] om. T. P. F. B. C. W. AV2. w. 10. sore] feyr P. colde L. Pr. 13. atte] at the L. P. G. S. at T. B. Pr. er] as S. til P. gan] began C. 14. opp/rsse] expressc L. dedeli] dede L. 15. >«t] om. Pr. (ens, b.) 16. spirit] scripture F. in] into S. L. Pr. a] om. T. W2. w. 17. nyst] nyst nought S. ne wist L. ne wyste w. b. fulfcr] fer S. Pr. in] into S. 18. as] all w. b. liklynesse] liknesse T. F. B. L. 19. on] vpon B. L. S. a] om. G. S. 20. Ifrore] afrore P. 21. that shone me >oujt] me thoughte I saw G. me thought hit shoone S. me foujt] om. Pr. so clere] as clere G. als clere S. TEMPLE OF GLAS. B 12 A long while restless, I at last fell into a deep sleep, in which I was carried in spirit into a Temple of jrlass, far in a wil- derness, (Hi a craggy rock, frozen like ice. L6 20 As I ap- proached. methought Vision of the Temple of Glass. the Temple shone clear as crystal ngainst ihe sun : the light shone so dazzlingly in my face, that I could perceive nothing, till at last some dark clouds drifted before the sun, so that 1 could see all around me. This place was circular, round in shape. After I had long sought, I found a wicket, and entered quickly. I cast my eyes on every side, and saw pic- tured on the walls images of sundry lovers. As eny cristal, and euer nere and nere As I gan neigh this grisli, dredful place, I wex astonyed : the I13 1 so in my face Bigan to smyte, so pe?'sing euer in one On euere part, where pat I gan gone, That I ne nr^t noting, as I would, Abouten me co?isidre and bihold, The wondre *estres, for br^tnes of pe sorcne Til at[te] last certein skyes do?^ne, Wip wind Ichaced, haue her cours I went To-fore pe stremes of Titan and Iblent, So pat I myjt, wip-in and with-oute, Where so I walk, biholden me aboute, Forto report the fasoura and manere Of al pis place, pat was circulere In co?Jzpaswise, Round bentaile wroujt. And whan p«t I hade long gone & soujt,\ I fond a wiket, and entrid in as fast Into pe temple, and myn ei3en cast On euere side, now lowe & eft aloft. And ri^t anone, as I gan walken soft, If I pe soth ari^t report[e] shal, I sau^e depeynt opon euere wal, From est to west, ful many a faire Image Of sondri loners, lich as pei were of age I-sette in ordre, aftir pei were trwe, "Wip lifli colo?//\s wondir fressh of hwe. 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 22. 1 st nere] the nerre P. 23. gan] cam C. b. 24. wex] was L. 25. parsing] passynge w. b. 26. euere part] yche apart S. gan] koude S. om. W2. w. dyde b. 28. me] me to P. Between 28 and 29 are (he following two lines in S : And many a story / mo >an I reken can, (= line 91) Hem to rehers / I trowe per might no man. 29. wondre] wondreful S. wonders b. estres] hestres T (hestrys L.) 30. atte] at the P. L. G. S. att B. at T. w. b. skyes] kyes P. downe] doone L. 31. Ichaced] chaeed Pr. haue] than w. and b. Iwent] went G. S. 32. To-fore] ]>o for S. Before b. 33. and] and eke P. S. 34. Where so] Wher that P. walk] wolde G. Pr. 35. report] report the report P. 36. bis] bat S. 37. In] I W2. w. Off P. Round] om. P. 38. ]wt] om. P. Pr. hade long] longe hadde G. long] longher P. long gone] goon longe S. gone] om. W2. w. b. sou3t] well sought b. 39. fond] founded L. 41. &] om. C. and now W. W2. w. b. 43. arijt] ryght P. 44. euere] a Pr. 45. ful] om. S. Pr. 47. I-sette in] Sett by S. aftir] lych as G. after that as P. right as S. 48. wondir] won- ders b. of hwe] & new B. Pictures of Famous Lovers. And, as me poi^t, I sauje so??irae sit & stonde, And some kneling wib billis in hir honde, And some with compleint, woful & pitous, Wip doleful chere to putten to Venus, So as she sate Acting in be se, Vpon hire wo forto haue pite. And first of al I saugh bere of Car[ta]ge Dido be quene, so goodli of visage, That gan complein hir aduenture & caas, Hov she deceyued was of Eneas, For al his hestis & his opis svvorne, And said : 'alas, ]>at euer she was borne,' Whan pat she saugh pat ded she most[e] be. And next I saugh the compleint of Medee, Hou pat she was falsed of Iason. And nygh bi Venus saugh I sit Addon//, And al be maner, hov be bore hi??^ slough, Fur whom she wepte & bade pein Inouje. There saugh I also, hov Penalope, For she so long hir lord ne my^tfe] se, Ful oft[e] wex of colour pale & grene. And aldernext was pe fressh[e] quene, I mene Alceste, the noble trw[e] wyfe, And for Admete hou sho lost hir life, And for hir trouth, if I shal not lie, Hou she was twnyd to a dai[e]sie. There was [also] Grisildis innocence, And al hir mekenes, & hir pacience. There was eke Isaude — & meni a hopir mo— Some sat, some stood, some knelt, with' bills' il their hands, with coin- First I saw Dido of 00 Carthage, 60 complaining of the faith- lessne.-s of jEneas : next Medea, deceived by Jason ; G4- then, nigli by • Venus, Adonis slain by the boar. Also Pene- lope, pale 68 witl > K'ief at her lord's absence. Xcxt Alcestis who died lor Admetus, and was turned into a daisy. There was also patient i 6 Griselda, 49. And] Right S. &] smn. L. & som Pr. 51. compleint] compleyntcs G. S. 54. forto] to L. 55. Cartage] Carge T. P. F {in F. corrected by Han). 58. deceyued] descended F (n corrected to v in different ink). 59. hestis] behestes P. 60. she was] was she G. S. 61. Whan] And when P. b«t] om. S. P. Pr. she moste] most she S. 62. next] nex W2. next her w. b. 63. was falsed] falsed was Pr. falsed] Ifalsid G. Iason] Iosan L. 64. saugh I] I saw P. sit Addou?i] siten doun S. 65. be maner] manere P. hov] how that G. bore] here P. 66. hade] made S. pein] sonve G. S. pyne C. W. W2. w. pite b. 67. hov] how that Pr. howe feyre S. 68. so] om. S. hir lord ne myjte] ne myght her lorde b. ne myjte] might not S. 69. Ful ofte wex] Was Pr. wex of colour] of colour wex S. pale], bothe pale Pr. 70. And] All B. 72. And for Admete] bat for hir trouthe S. 73. for hir trouth] transfourmed S. trouth] through W2. thrughe w. 74 in 8: In to be floure/ cleped Daysye. to] into P. Pr. 75. also] om. T. P. L. Pr. 76. & hir] and al hir P. and Pr. 77. eke] o»i. S. a nob/>] other Pr. 4 Pictures of f amons Lovers Tristram and And al be turment, and al be cruel wo, That she hade for Tristram al hir Hue. Pyramns And liou bat Tesbie her hertfel did [el rife 80 andThiebe, __. .„ _ _* , . , . t>. \\ ib bnk[ej swerd of him Piramus ; Tiieseusand And al be maner, hou bet Theseus Hie Minotaur, _ . The Minatawre slow amyd be nous, That was for-wrynkked bi craft of Dedalus, 84 When bat he was in prison shette in Crete, ami pi.yiiis, And hou bat Phillis felt of loues hete who for love of Demo- lhe "rete fire of Demonhon, alas, hanged her- And for his falshed and [fori his trespas 88 s*U upon n L J . L Bibei-t tree. Vpon be walles depeint men my3t[e] se, Hov she was honged -vpon a filbert tre. And mani a stori, mo ben I rekin can, There were Were in be tempil, & hov bat Paris wan 92 Helen, The faire Heleyne, be lusti fressh[e] quene, and Aciuiies And hov Achilles was for Policene slain for Poiyxena. J-slaiu viiwarli within Troi[e] tonne : Al bis sawe I, [walkynge vp & doun. 96 There was Ther sawe II writen eke be liole tale, also the story J ' of Phiiomene Hov Philomene into a ny2tyii£rale and Progne, J7 J o Iturned was, and Progne vnto a swalow ; and the Sa- And hov be Sabyns in hir maner halowe 100 bines at the feast of Lu- The fest of Lucresse sit in Eome tovne. creee. ' i saw also the There saugh I also be sorov of Palamou?/, Paiamon, That he in prison felt, & al be smert, And hov bat he, burugh vnto his hert, 104 78. 2 d al] om. G. S. Pr. 79. hade for Tristram al] for Trystram sufferede in G. S. 80. hou bat] howe b. her] thorowe be S. 81. >ilke] be S. him] hyre G. hir S. sire C. syr W. W2. w. b. 82. be] om. P. hou] of G. bat] Due S. 84. for-wrynkked] for wrynkeled F. for wrinkelid B. so wrynkled G. S. 85. When] What L. W2. w. bat] om. Pr. was] om. P. 86. loues] loued w. loue the b. 87. fire] furye S. of] for S. b. 88. 2 d for] om. T. P. F. B. L. G. 89. walles depeint] wal depeuted G. S. depeint] epeynted P. 90. was honged] was hangyn G. henge Pr. filbert] philbertis S. 92. in be tempil] ber depeynted S. 93. The] om. S. be] a Pr. (arc. b.) lusti fresshe] fresehe lusty G. S. 94. hov] om. L. 95. I -slain] Slawe G. vnwarli] unwardly W. W2. w. b. Troie] troyes S. 96. om. T. (P.) F. B. L. In F the following line has been subsequently supplied : by forcastyng of greit tresovne ; this has been expunged and {by Stowe) corrected to : And in this Temple/ as I Romed vp and downe. Tlie latter is also tlic reading of P. sawe I] I sawe S. I say G. 97. Ther] Al bis T. F. B. L. Al thus P. eke] also S. 99. vnto] to G. into L. S. b. 100. J>e] om. S. hir] a S. om. L. 101. 3it] that P. 103. prison] om. in F ; but subsequently added by Stoxvc. 104. vuto] in to S. om. P. in the Temple. Was hurt vnwarli Jmrugh casting of an eyje Of faire fressh, be 3ung[e] Emelie, And al be strife bitwene him & his brob«>, And hou pat one fai^t eke with pat obir Wijj-in be groue, til bei bi Theseus Acordid were, as Chaucer tellijj us. And forbirmore, as I gan bihold, I saw} hov Phebus with *an arow of gold I-woundid was, bun.13 oute in his side, Onli bi envie of be god Cupide, And hou pat * Daphne vnto a laurer tre Ltumed was, when she did[e] fie ; And hou )?at one] the ton G. bat obir] the tothyr G. the othir P. 109. bei bi] that P. 110. Acordid] Arrested S. Departed P. Chaucer tellib] tellibe Chaucer to S. 111. as] om. L. 112. hov] of G. S. an arow] anoro T. of] om. P. 113. oute in] in to P. in] om. Pr. 115. Daphne] Dane G. Done S. Diane T. P. F. B. L. Pr. vnto a] In ta G. in to a S. 116. when] whan that Pr. 117. Ioue] Iohon P. gan to chau»ge] changer] C. began to chaunge L. W. W2. w. b. 118. Ioue of be] the love of G. 119. into a bole] Triable S. a] om. T. F. B. hir] he C. 121. hou] om. S. 122. gan] cane S. 123. hir] his T. F. B. L. he P. om. Pr. Almen] Alcumena Pr. al men T. P. L. bat was S. so] om. L. passing] passaunt G. of] was T. F. B. L. was with P. was of Pr. 124. in P : Aforne all othir that smyten so was hee. ileite] deynte S. 125. reads in P : With lowes dart he nivght he nivght it noght aschape, it] om. B. 126. Jxst] om. Pr. 127. found] I founde B. 12S^ Cheynes] Cheynes of L. bound] I bounde B. 130. him] om. S. ami] and al the Pr. Philologye G.] Phillogie (Philogye etc.) F. B. P. L. Pr. Philloge T. Philosophic S. Complaints of the Lovers and how the latter was conveyed to heaven by the Muses. One could see, how Canace understood the language of birds, and how her brother was helped by the steed of brass. There were, furthermore, many thou- sands of lovers, ready to complain to the god- dess: of envy, of .jealousy, of absence and exile through wicked tongues, And liou bat she, for hir sapience, Iweddit was to god of eloquence, And hou be Musis *lo\vli did obeie, High into heuen bis ladi to conuei, And with hir song hov she was magnified With Iubiter to bein Istellified. And vppermore depeint men my^tfe] se, Hov with hir ring, goodli Canace Of euere foule be ledne & be song Coud vndirstond, as she welk hem among ; And hou hir brojnV so oft holpen was In his myschefe bi be stede of bras. And forbermore in be tempil were Ful mani a bousand of louers, here & bere, In sondri wise redi to co??iplein Vnto be goddes, of hir wo & pein, Hou bei were hindrid, some for envie, And hou be serpent of fals Ielousie Ful many a louer hab iput o bak, And caus[e]les on hem Ilaid a lak. And some ber were bat pleyned on absence, That werin exiled & put oute of presence Thuru3 wikkid kmgis & fals suspeciou??, [Witft-oute mercy or remyssyoun.] And ober eke her seruise spent in vain, Thuru3 cruel daureger, & also bi disdain ; And some also bat loued, sob to sein, And of her ladi were not louyd again. 132 13G 140 144 148 152 156 131. hir] his S. 132. god] the god Pr. 133. hou] om. S. lowli] only G. lwfly P. lowli did] did lowli T. 136. to] there to Pr. Istellified] stellified L. S. Pr. 138. with] that G. goodli] the goodly Pr. 139. ledne] leydons C. "W. b. leydous W2. laydous w. layes L. &] and ek G. S. 2 d be] om. C. W. W2. w. 140. Coud] Cowde thenn L. welk] walked Pr. 141. hou] om. G. 142. stede] sounde S. 144. a] of P. a housand of louers] an hundred thousand S. of] om. Pr. 145. In] Is W2. w. 146. pein] pyne P. 147 and 148 transposed in P. 147. >ei] there G. for] thourgh G. by S. of P. 149. iput] put Tr. offt put S. 150. causles T. hem] hym G. S. Ilaid] leyd G. habe leyde S. b. haue leid C. W. W2. w. he layd P. 151. \>er] om. S. >«t pleyned] jdeynywge G. pleyning hyely S. pleyned] playne L. 152. put] om. L. 154. om. T. P. F. B ; in ¥ by a different hand : Wyth owte answar weche was no resoura. 154. or] or any L. Pr. 155. eke] also W. W2. w. b. seruise] lwi'ys P. 156 and 157 om. Pr. 156. also] al P. 157. loued] lwfith P. 158. And] om. L. to Venus. And opir eke, pat for pouerte Durst *in no wise hir grete aduersite Discure ne open, lest pai were refusid ; And some for wanting also werin accusid, And op/r eke fiat loued secreli, And of her ladi durst aske no merci, Lest pat she would of hem haue despite ; And some also pat putten ful grete wite On double louers, pat loue pingis nwe, Thurgh whos falsnes hindred be pe trwe. And some per were, as it is oft[e] found, That for her ladi meny a blodi wourcde Endurid hap in mani [a] regioiw, Whiles pat an oper hap poscessioure Al of his ladi, and berip awai pe fruyte Of his labur and of al his suyte. And oper eke co?npleyned *of Eiches, Hou he witli Tresour dop his besines To wy?men al, againes kynd & ry$t, Wher trw louers haue force noon ne my^t. And some per were, as maydens jurag of age, That pleined sore with peping & with rage, That pei were coupled, againes al nature, Wip croked elde, pat mai not long endure Forto perfourme pe lust of loues plai : For it ne sit not vnto fressh[e] May Forto be coupled to oold[e] Ianuari — 160 1G4 Others wen in poverty, or loved secretly, not daring to declare them- selves; othershlamed false lovers, who hinder the faithful 1G8 ones. Some had en- dured bloody wounds in distant re- gions, 172 whilst another pos- sessed their lady. 17G 180 Others com- plained against Riches, who, with Trea- sure, wins the field against true lovers. Young maid- ens colll- pTained, that they were coupled with crooked Old Age: 159. ohir eke] also other W. W2. w. b. 160. in] on T. F. B. 161. ne] in G. S. 162. And] om. S. wanting] avaunte S. 163. o)»Y eke] also other W. \V"2. w. b. 164. And] om. L. }>at S. no] ne b. 165. she would of hem] of hem she wolde S. of hem haue] haue of theim L. 166. ful] right Pr. 167. loue] lufyth P. 168. pe] om. P. L. 169. per] that L. as] at P. found] efounde S. 170. meny a blodi] haden many a S. 171. ha))] hadde G. haue b. and S. a] om. T. F. B. S. 172. Whiles] Whyle b. >at] om. P. haj>] hath had Pr. hath the P. 174. Of his] Of al his P. 175. And] An b. eke] om. Pr. co??ipleyned] complayneth b. of] in T. P. F. B. L. 176. he] om. B. tresour] tresomis L. 177. wy/men] wymen F. womene P. al] om. Pr. againeff] aga ynst al Pr. 178. Wher] Where as Pr. force noon] noo force W. W2. w. b. no kynde S. ne] no b. myjt] ryght P. 180. pleined] pleyneth C. playnen W. \V2. playne w. b. sore] so L. Pr. peping] piping L. pipyng C. W. W2. w. popyng P. peynenge B. wepyng F. G. S. b. 181. pei] om. G. Pr. were] om. P. "coupled] compelled S. again?*] agayn Pr. 182. elde] olir] an othir P. 197. sobbing] sowing L. pytous S. with ful] om. Pr. ful] wol G. pitous] weping S. soune] swouu G. 198. Tofore] By fore S. Before b. A for P. bi] with S. with gret L. 199. That] Thairc L. were constrayned] conseilesT. counseyles F. B. counseillys L. conseylisG. concellith P. cofes- sen S. tender] om. Pr. 200. in] In here G. in hir S. childhode] childysh hode F. childerhod P. it] om. C. W. W2. w. ofte] oft a W2. w. 201. Yentred] Yrendred T. L. Irenderede G. were] ben S. 202. Or] Er >at S. 204. to] for to C. W. b. P. or to W2. w. 205. to curen al] for to coueren Pr. hir] they W2. 206. outward] outwardes S. om. Pr. of] in G. her] om. P. 207. Thus] This P. There b. wepen] wepvng P. where w. om. b. 207 and 208 transposed in P. 208. That] Than T. L. }>e] hir S. \>ei] om. P. G. b. 209. oJ>er] ouer L. next] mo b. beir] via. P. they altered to them F. to Venus. That bei were maried in her tendir age, "Wib-oute fredom of eleccioure, Wher loue hab seld domynacioura : For loue, at laarge & [at] liberte, "Would freli chese, & not v/ith such trete. And ober saugh I ful oft wepe & wring, [That they in men founde swych variynge,] To loue a seisou?i, while bat beaute floureb, And hi disdein so vngoodli loureb On hir b«t whilom he callid his ladi dere, That was to him so plesaunt & entere ; But lust w/t/i fairnes is so ouergone, That in her hert troub abide}) none. And som also I saii3 in teris reyne, And pitousli on god & kynd[e] pleyne, That euer bei would on eny creature So mych beaute, passing bi mesure, Set on a womau, to yeue occasioun A man to loue to his confusions, And nameli bere where he shal haue no grace For Avib a loke, forth-bi as he do]) pace, Ful oft[e] falleb, buru3 casti?*g of an y3e, A man is wou«did, bat he most nedis deye, That neuer efter perauenture shal hir se. "Whi wil god don so gret a ciuelte To eny man, or to his creature, To maken him so mych wo endure, 212 216 220 Others had been married in their tender age, departs, frown on their lady. Some I saw in _ floods of tears •j24 complain against God and Nature, for endowing a woman with such passing beauty as to 928 Iui " B ma|,i ed to the 232 death. Why does God inflict so much woe on any man, 210. bei] om. b. maried] murdred S. 211 and 212 transposed in h. 211.* of] of fre Pr. 212. seld] seldome b. 213. 2 d at] om. T. L. 214. chese] om. S. not] om. P. trete] threte L. 215. saugh I] I sawe L. I saughe P. oft] soore G. sore S. 216 om. T. F. B. In F the following line is inserted by a later hand: that weer dysayuyd / bi thaeyr wenynge. The reading of P is : That euer a man shuld so fals a thyng. variynge] vaveringe L. 217. pat] om. G. the L. 218. And] And after Pr. bi] be high P. 219. On] Vpon S. hir] hy»i G. "pat whilom he callid] he cleped S. whilom] somtyme w. b. 220. was to him] to hym was G. S. him] hvnt P. & entere] in tyre P. 221. so] sone F. B. ouergone] oucr grone P. 222. her] hys P. 221. pitousli] pituous L. pleyne] complavne b. >ey pleyne S. 225. euer >ei] thei cit. r P. >ei] he b. on] in L. G. S. 227. on] in G. S. to yeue] by S. 229. haue] fynd P. haue no] ban corrected to ha»no G. no] om. S. 230. wib] by B. forth-bi] forby G. S. he dob] men do G. men doon S. 231. Ful] Wei S. buruj] om. W2. w. 232. he most nedis] nedis he most P. 233. That] Whiche G. And S. Yet b. efter perauenture] peraunter after he L. Pr. perauenture shal hir] shal hir pcravntre 8. 231. a] om. P. b. 2^5. or] or els b. 10 Vision of the Fair Lady: for tlio sake Of one, wlio will never be also hindered by covetous- ness, by sloth or hastiness. Last of all I saw, beside Pallas, before the statue of Venus, a ladj' kneel- ing, and, as the Sun outshines all stars, as May is the fairest, of all months, lady For hir percaas, whom he shal in no wise Reioise neuer, but so forb in Iewise Ledin his life, til J)«t he he graue. For he ne durst of hir no merci crane, And eke perauonture, bou^ he durst & would. He can not wit, where he hir fmd[e] sbuld. I saugh bere eke, & berof hade I roube, That som were hindred for couetise & slouth, And some also for her hastines, And ober eke for hir reklesnes — But alderlast as I walk & hiheld, Beside Pallas wib hir cristal sheld, Tofore be * statue of Venus set on height, Hov bat ber knelid a ladi in my sj^t Tofore fie goddes, which ri^t as be so?*ne Passe)) be sterres & do)? hir stremes do?ine, And Lucifer, to voide be ny^tes sorow, In clerenes passeb erli bi be morow, And so as Mai ha)) be souereinte Of euere monej), of fairnes & heaute, And as be rose in swetnes & odoure Surmounte)) fioures, and bawme of al Hcottr Haueb J)e pris, & as be ruhie bri^t Of al stones in beaute & in si^t, As it is know, ha)) be regalie : Ri^i so ))is ladi wij) hir goodli ei3e, 240, 244 248 252 25 G 2G0 237. percaas] parcas (underlined as a proper name) S. whom] when S. he] she P. 238. neuer] at any tyme b. for)'] sory L. in Iewise] as vnwyse S. Iewise] inuyse b. 239. his] this {over erasure) his F. ]>at] om. b. graue] in his graue W. ¥2. w. layde in graue b. 240. of] on P. crane] haue P. 241. eke] also W. W2. w. b. &] or G. 242. he] om. F. B. he hir] hir he S. hir] om. L. 243. eke] also W. W2. w. b. Jxrof ] of P. therefore L. 244. hindred] henie- rede G. for] thorowe S. G. by Pr. 245. for] thorough e S. 246. eke] also W. ¥2. w. b. for] thoroughe S. 247. alderlast] at the last W. ¥2. w. b. 248. Beside] Besides L. cristal] orystall ¥2, w. 249. Tofore] Before b. statue] statute T. B. W. ¥2. w. stature P. L. b. 250. Hov >at] om. Pr. 251. Tofore] Byfore S. Before b. which] the whiche G. S. ri?t] om. Pr. 252. k] om. b. do]) hir] so thourgh G. dojj hir stremes] eke the stormys C. also the stormes W. dof? hir stremes downe] also the stormes (storme w.) ¥2. w. in brightnesse echone b. stremes] brightnesse S. do?me] downe P. 253. And] And as b. 254. In] I ¥2. w. clerenes] clewnesse G. cherenesse P. bi] om. Pr. 255. so] om. b. 256. of] the C. W. ¥2. w. in b. 258. Surmounte])] Surmounted (J. Surmounteh (sic) "W. ¥2. floures] the flowres P. and] & as b. al] om. S. 259. &] om. F. brijt] bight L. 260. Of] Bryght oft P. al] alle the G. beaute] bountee S. Lines 261 — 264 are omitted in S (the rhymes brijt and si3t occurring again in 11. 263, 264). P interpolates between Her Beauty and Virtites. 11 radiant looks surpassed all in beauty. It was a marvel how- Nature could make so angelic a brighter than goldwire, in her fresh face roses am lilies seemed to mingle, And with pe stremes of hir loke so bri^t, Surmouwteb al burugh beaute in my si3te : 264 Forto tel hir gret semelines, Hir womanhed, hir port. & hir fairnes, It was a meruaile, hou euer bat nature Coude in hir werkis make a creature 268 So aungellike, so goodli on to se, So femynyn or passing of beaute, "Whos sorcnyssh here, briber fan gold were, Lich Phebus bemys shynyng in his spere — 272 The goodlihed eke of hir fresshli face, So replenysshid of beaute & of grace, So wel ennuyd bi Nature & depeint, That Eose and lileis togedir were so meint, 276 So egalli bi good proporciouw, That, as me po^t, in myn i?2specciou?z I gan meruaile, hou god, or werk of kynd, INIi^ten of beaute such a tresow find, 280 To yeven hir so passing excellence. For in goode faip, buru3 hir hei3 presence The tempil was enlumynd enviroim, And forto speke of condiciou?2, 284 She was be best ]>at my^tfe] ben on lyve : For \er was noon bat wib hir my$t[e] striue, To speke of bouwte, * or of gentilles, Of womanhed, or of lowlynes, 288 Of curtesie, or of goodlihed, Of spech, of chere, or of semlyhed, „Of port benygne, & of daliauwce, 11. 260 and 261 : To for the goddes wheclie ryght as (cf. line 251). 263. H om. G. 264. Jmrugh] om. B. through all P. * 265. Forto] ffor forto O. That for to Pr. 266. 2 d hir] hert P. 267. meruaile] meruabil P. eucr bat] ]-M euer S. 269. aungellike] agreable G. so] or G. S. 271. aonnyssb] goodly L. SchvnyngP. om. S. here] here heire P. clernesse S. hrijter] is bryghtere G. S. bright P. 272. bemys] by S. 273. eke] also W. W& w. b. of ] yf W:. w. fresshli] fresshe L. B. S. C. W. Wz w. fayre b. 274. replenysshid] reple- visshes G. 275. ennuyd] emewed P. endowed b. coloured S. 276. That] The L. As S. Pr. Rose] roses S. so] om. L. S. Pr. meint] y meint F. B. b. emeynt S. 277. egalli] evenly S. bi] euen be P. 278. in] by S. Pr. 279. of] or P. 281. passing] pcrsant P. 282. heij] om. F. 284. forto] to F. of] of her P. L. Pr. 285. best >«t] om. P. on lyve] a lyue G. alyve S. 286. ))at wi]> hir] with her that B. wi]> hir myjte] might with hir S. 287. boimte] beute G. beautie b. or] er T. gentilles] lowlynesse S. 288. lowlynes] gen- tylesseS. 290 omitted in P. or] om. G. 291. Of port benygne] Beningne of portS. &]orPr. and alto- gether she was of such passing beauty and excellence, that the whole Temple wan illumined by her high pre- No one could compare with her in womanly charms and virtues : 12 Eer Attire. The best[e] taujt, & Jwto of plesauhee 292 site was a She was be wel. and eke of oneste model and mirror, An exemplane, & mirrowr eke was sue lady and mis- ■"• tress to all of Of secrenes, of troutli, of faytlifulnes, her sex. ' J And to al obex ladi & maistres, 296 To sue vertu, whoso list to lere. sol saw twa And so bis ladi, benigne and humble of chere, lu'iorJ'vemis", Kneling I saugh, al clad in grene and Avhite, ami white, Tofore Venus, goddes of al delite, 300 Enbrouded al with stones & perre So richeli, pat ioi it was to se, with broider- "YVib sondri rolles on hir garneme?jt, ies of precious . stones, and 1 orto expoune be troutli oi hir entent, 304 sundry # •roils,* And shew fulli, bat for hir huwibilles, And for hir vertu, and hir stabilnes, That she was rote *of womanli plesau^ce. Retting forth Therfore hir woord wiboute variamzce 308 her motto: ' •Demieuxen Lnbrouded was, as men myjte se : mieux. at for hir] for fat hir hye S. humbilles] hnmblenesse L. b. noblesse S. 306. And for hir] Hir stedfast vertu S. 2 d hir] for hir F. H. L. stabilnes] stablesse G. stedfastnesse b. 307. was] om. P. of] of al T. F. B. L. Pr. 309. was] om. W. W2. w. as] ther as P. 309 and 310 read in G. S : Was vp & doun as men myghte (mighten S) se In frens (ffresshly S) enbroudyt humbk-ment magre. 310. and] of L. C. W. W2. w. 311. This] hat S. is] om. T. L. bis] is S. was L. was so Pr. 312. From] ffro P. ffor L. 312 reads in G. S : Hyr herte & al fully doth resigne. 313. And al hir wil to] In to the handys of G. S. 314. Whan] Quhame P. 1 st hir] she P. harmes] names P. — Line 314 reads in b : She stode at poynt redy to expresse. — Between 314 and 315 the follow- ing 4 lines are interiJolated in b : And her humbly of mercy for to pray For her dole remedy to puruaye Gladly she wolde the goddesse shnlde attende Her sorowes all and harmes to amende. The Lady's " Bille. 13 For as me pov^t sumwliat bi hir chore, Forto compleyne she hade gret desire : For in hir hond she held a litel bil, Forto declare pe sommc of al hir wil, And to pe goddes hir quarel forto shewe, [Theffect of which was this In wordys fewe :] 1. ' ladi Venus, modir of Cupide, That al pis *wor[l]d hast in goueniauwce, And hertes high, *p«t hauteyn [ben] of pride, Enclynyst mekeli to pin obeissaurace, Causer of ioie, Eelese of penau«ce, And with pi stremes canst eueri ping discerne *Thuru3 heuenli fire of loue pat is eterne ; 2. blisful sterre, persant & ful of lijt, Of bemys gladsome, devoider of derknes, Cheif recou?iford after pe blak nyjt, To voide woful oute of her heuynes, Take nov goode hede, ladi & goddesse, So pat my "bil your grace may atteyne, Eedresse to finde of pat I me compleyne. 3. For I am hovmde to ping pat I nold ; Freli to chese pere lak I liberte ; And so I want of pat myn hert[e] would ; From licr face, nie- 316 thonglit, she too had a complaint ; for she liad a little 'bill' in her hand, 320 which was to this effect : 321 'Ola.ly Venus, mistress of all 325 327 328 thou blissful star, 332 let now my hill attain" tidi your grace. 335 I lack liberty to choose freely ; 315. J'oujt] binke)je S. 315 reads in b: And euermore me thought by ber cliere. 316. Forto] To b. gret] right great b. 317. held] had S. 318. Forto declare] Wherin was writte b. J;e so?/une] sume part S. of] and P. al] om. S. wil] stylle W2. skylle w. b. 319 reads in b : And all that she wolde to the goddesse shewe. to] om. L. 320 om. T. B ; in F titowe supplied : hir niatire was / of thes ballads fewe. This is also the reading of P ; only of is wanting in the latter MS. was] foloweth b. this] om. L. Pr. TJie following headings are found before line 321 : Supplicacio inulieris amantis F. B. Balade S. The copye of the supplicaeion Pr. The fyrst parte of the songe L {in a later hand). 321. of] to G. S. 322. al] in C. world] word T. worde L. hast] f>ou hast S. in] the C. 323. And] And the b. high] om. b. hauteyn] ha doten T. hatedeyn F. hatydon B. hadoten P. haultotavii L. haunteyn G. ben] om. T. W. W2. w. bye b. of] by Pr. 325. Causer] Cause G. Relese] releser B. P. L. G. S. 327. Thurujt T. fire of loue] loue of fyre b. 328. 0] Off (?) P. sterre] sterrys G. pcrsant] passaimt G. ful] cler G. S. 329. Of] L. devoider] the woider P. voyder S. 330. reeounford] confort G. recomforter S. of recounfort P. 331. voide] wynde S. woful] woful hertes Pr. L. her] om. G. S. 333. $our grace may] may your grace Pr. 334. me] uowe S. 337. Ami] a F. 14 Her Complaint my body may not follow my thought, my outward conduct must beat variance with my lieurt's desire. remedy tor tongues and their cruelty. I complain also of Jealousy, the vile serpent, always grudging and suspicious, ever froward and frown- ing, whose reason fails in the dotage of old age. The bodi [is] knyt, al J>ou$e my boujt be fro, So bat I most, of necessite, 339 Myn hertis lust out[e]ward contrarie ; Thogh we be on, be dede most[e] varie. 341 338. is] om. T. F. B. P. al] om. Pr. 339. of] of verrey L. 341. varie] nedis warie P. Stanzas 3 — 7 (11. 335 — 369) are missing in G. S ; in their place the following four are found : 3 a. So that 30W lyst of goitre benygnete, 1 Goodly to seen & shape remedye On wekkede tongis & on the crewelte, That they compasse thourgh maleys & envye, To quenche the venym of here felonye, 5 Wher as they hyndere wemen gilteles : *Styntebe this weixe & lat vs leue in pes. 7 31. I pleyne also vp-on Ielusye, 1 The vile serpent, the snake tortyvous, That is so crabbit & frounynge of his ye, And eue?*e grochyrage & suspecyous, I-fret with eysel that makyth hym dispytous, 5 Of euery thyng the werste for to deme, That ther is no thyng that may his herte queme. 7 3 c. Thus is he fryed in his owene gres, 1 To-rent & torn with his owene rage, And euere * froward & frounywge causeles, Whos resoure faylyth in elde thourgh dotage : This is the nianer of krokede fer in age, 5 Whan they ben couplyd with ^outhe * J>ey can no more, But hem werreyen, which wemen beyeth ful sore. 7 3d. Thus euere in *tourment & yre furyous 1 We ben oppressed— alias the harde stoimde ! — *Rygh[t] as ^oure selve were with Wlkanus Ageyn $oure wil & ^oure herte bounde. Now for the Ioye, whilom that ^e founde 5 With Mars, -$oiire knyght, vp-on myn co??ipleynt rewe, For love of Adon that was so frosch of he we. 7 Thus we are ever oppress- ed with tor- ments, as you were when bound by Vulcan. Now for love of Mars and Adonis, take pity on my complaint. 3 a. 3. On] Of S. 2 d on] of S. 4. they] pey may S. maleys &] fals S. 5. the venym of] beyre vemyme and S. 6. as] bat S. 7. Stynthth G. 3 b. 2. vile] wylde S. 3. crabbit] crokid S. of his ye] on hye S. 4. om. S. 5. dispytous] suspecions S. In S the following line is marked to be inserted between 5 and 6 : By al kynde bou art so envyous. 3 c. 3. froward] frowar G. & frounynge] groyning S. 4. in elde W\ourgli\ nowe in olde S. 6. bey] I G. 7. werreyen] waryen S. which] om. S. beyeth] ben S. 3 d. 1. turment] tornement G. 2. the] bat S. 3. Rygh G. 4. Ageyns S. 7. Adon] yowe S. to Venus. Mi worship sauf, I faile elecciou?/, Again al ri^t, hope of god and kynd, There to be knit vndir snbieccion, Fro whens ferre * are bof)[e] witte & mynde ; Mi J)0U3t gope forJ?e, my bodi is behind : For I am here, and yonde my remembraimce ; Atwixen two so hang I in balaunce. 5. Deuoide of ioie, of wo I haue plente ; What I desire, bat mai I not possede ; For bat I nold, is redi aye to me, And pat I loue, forto swe I drede, To my desire contrarie is my mede ; And Jms I stond, departid euen on tweyn, Of wine and dede Ilaced in a chaine. 6. For Jjouje I brenne with feruence and with hete, Wib-in myn hert I mot co?»plein of cold, And )mru3 myn axcesse tho3e I sweltre and swete, Me to coraplein, god wot, I am not boold, Vnto no wijt, nor a woord vnfold Of al my peyne, alias be hard[e] stond ! That hatter brenne b«t closid is my wouwde. 342 To save my dignity, I forego my choice : 34G in body I remain, but my thought goes forth. 348 349 What I de- sire, I may not possess, 353 nove. 355 35G Although I burn with fervent heat, my heart cold, nor dare I unfold aw, 3G0 of all my pain. 3G2 For he ]>at hap myn hert[e] feipfulli, And hole my luf in al honesti, AWt/z-oute chauwge, al be it secreli, I haue no space wib him forto be. ladi Venus, co?isider nov & se 363 3G7 For I have no chance of being with him who. secretlv, has inv heart and 343. Again] Agaynst b. 345. Fro] For C. P. ferre] om. L. ferrc are bof>e] for both ar C. fer both ar W. W2. w. both are fane b. are] er T. B. or F (sign of the ccesural pause before it), witte &] out of L. Pr. 346 omitted in P. 347. yonde] yonder W2. yonder L. w. b. 348.. Atwixen] atwyen F. Bi- twix L. Betwyx P. Betwene Pr. so] om. P. 352. swe] shewe P. 354. euen on] in Pr. on tweyn] atwayne L. 355. ] laced] y lashed P. 356. brenne] out brenne b. feruence] feruente w. feruence and vrith] feruent b. 2 a vrith] om. Pr. 357. mot] may w. b. 358. Jjuruj myn axcesse] by excesse Pr. axcesse] acta? L. sweltre] swelte P. Pr. 359. god wot I am not] I am oat god wote b. 360. a] one Pr. 362. That hatter] That I L. The hotter that I Pr. That the hatti'r P. bat closid] the closir P. In the colder L. the colder Pr. 366 and 367 are omitted in w. In their place h substitutes : All way it must ikept and couered be Wherfore lady Venus euclyne I pray the. 307. &] om. B. 16 Vmv£ Anstnr nycom- Vnto be effecte and compleint of my bil, iicaiKi.Wiiti. SiJ? life and deb I put al in bi wil.' 369 Saying : ' Daughter, your faithful meaning has won my hearing, And bo me Jjoujt be goddes did enclyne 370 iMekeli hir hede, and softli gan expresse, That in short tyme hir t?wment shuld[e] fyne, And hou of him, for whom al hir distresse Contynued had & al hir heuynes, 374 She *shold haue Ioy, and of hir pwgatorie Be holpen sone, and so forjj lyue in glorie. 370 9. And seid[e] : ' Doi^ter, for J?e sad[de] troupe, 377 The feibful menyng, & be Innocence, That planted bene, w/t/iouten eny sloube, In $our pe?-sone, deuoide of al * offence, So haue atteyned to oure audience, 381 That Jmru3 oure grace $e shul be wel releuyd, I 30V bihote of al bat ha]) 30V greued. 383 10. And for fat $e euer of oon entent, 384 \V7t/*oute chauwge or mutabilite, Haue in $our peynes ben so pacient, To take louli joure aduersite, And bat so long Jraru} be cruelte 388 Of old Satwrne, my fadur vnfortuned, — Your wo shal nov no lenger be contuned. 390 11. And binkib pis : within a litel while 391 It shal asswage, and ouerpassen sone; 368. \>e effecte] affecte P. 369. I put al in] y put is in al P. al] om. B. Rubric brforc line 370 in F. B : Thansuere of Venus. 370. bo] than b. as G. S. me] my P. be] that G. 371. gan] did B. 374. Contynued had] She had endured b. al] of F. b. om. L. 375. shold] would T. 376. so for> lyue] so lyue forth Pr. lyue] om. P. 377. be] thy L. C. W. W2. w. thi P. 378. The] Thy 0. W. W2. w. feibful] rightful S. be] om. Pr. thi P. 380. deuoide] right voyde S. offence] defence T. vycence S. 381. haue] han they C. han W. W2. than w. haue b. 382. buruj] with Pr. by P. shul] should S. wel] om. L. 383. b"t] om. P. hab] han G. 384. Je] ye ben L. ye be Pr. ?e euer] euer ye P. 385. chaurege] chaunee w. eny change P. 386. Haue] And Pr. 387. To take] And takyii P. 388. burn?] thorght F. trouth P. 389. old] youre S. 390. om. w. b reads : Ye shall of me be well rewarded. Your — lenger] Youres shal neuer more S. 391. bis wt't/un] thir within W2. ther- within w. therfore within b. As you have been so pa- tient in your long adver- sity inflicted by Saturn, your woe shall now It will soon be assuaged and pass over : to the Lady's Complaint. 17 For men bi laiser passen meny a niyle. And oft also, aftir a dropping mone, The weddir clereb, & whan be storme is done, The sonne shine]) in his spere bri^t, And ioy awakib whan wo is put to flijt. 12. Eeniembreb eke, hou nmr.r ^ifc no wi}t JNe came to wirship w/Moute some debate, And folk also reiossh[e] more of lijt, That Jjei wib derknes were waped & amate ; Non mams ehaurece is alwai fortunate, ]S T e no wi3t preiseb of sugre be swetnee, But bei afore haue tasted bitternes. 13. Grisild[e] was assaied at[te] ful, That turned aftir to hir encrese of Ioye ; Penalope gan eke for sorovvis dul, For fat [her] lord abode so long at Troie ; Also be turment bere coude no man akoye Of Dorigene, Hour of al Britayne : Thus euer ioy is ende and fine of paine. 14. And trustejj *bis, for conclusiou^, The end of sorow is ioi I-voide of drede ; For holi saintis, Jjuruj her passiouw, Haue heuen Iwo?me for her souerain mede ; And plenti gladli foloib after nede : the sun shines all t lie brighter alter a storm, light glad- dens the more alter darkness, 395 397 398 402 404 405 Even so with Griselda, Penelnne and Dorigen 409 joy was the end of their 411 pain ; 412 and holy saints won heaven through their passion : 416 394. also] om. Pr. dropping] drepynge G. W. AV2. w. b. 395. &] om. S. storme] strem G. 397. awakib] waketh L. Pr. 398. eke] yet P. om. b. 399. Ne came to] Come to no 8. some] om. w. b. 400. folk] folkes b. also reiosshe] reioyse also C. W. W2. w. reiossbe] recben P. 401. That] |?enne S. bei] om. b. wib] om. P. waped] wraped L. wrapped b. amate] mate L. P. S. (J. W. wate W2. w. b. 403. W^t] whit G. 404. bei afore] if bai to forne S. afore] to fore C. W. W2. w. before b. 405. assaied] assailled L. atte] at the B. P. L. G. b. atte be S. at T. w. 406. to] the w. hir] om. Pr. of] and P. Ioye] her ioye b. 407. gan] cane S. became b. for] for her P. sorowis dul] sorwe dwelle G. S. 408. her] om. T. F. B. 409. torment] tornement G. 410. flottr] the flour P. 411. Thus] This P. euer] euer corrected into euerc (= every), in different ink, T. euer ioy] euc/y ioyes S. ende] endid corrected into ende T. ende and tine] fyne and ende L. C. W. W2. w. finall ende b of] is S. 412. And] As F. trusteb] truste G. bis] Ns T. F. B. P. for] for a S. 413. The] Thus S. I-voide] y woded P. voyde Pr. 415. Iwo»ne] wonne G. Pr. for] by C. W. A\'2. W. to b. 116. foloib] folowed W. W2. W. TEMPLE OF GLAS. C is Venus' Ansurr after grief. For Love first then so consola- tion is now your due. You shall soon possess him whom you cherish, because your intent is to love him best. For your chosen one shall be you till death: And so my doi^ter, after $our greuauws, I 30V bihote $e shul haue ful plesau?zce. 15. For euer of lone J>o mane?' and J>e guyse Is forto hurt his seruant, and to woimde ; And when bat he hajj tai^te hem his emprise, He can in ioi make hem to abounde ; And sib bat ^e haue in my lase be bound, Wiboute grucching or rebellion, Ye most of n^t haue consolaciouw. 16. This is to sein — douteb neuer a dele — That 30 shal haue ful poss[ess]ion Of him fat ye cherissh nov so wel, In honest maner, wib-oute offenciouw, Eicause I cnowe your entencion Is tridi set, in parti and in al, To loue him best & most in special. 17. For he bat }e haue chosen 30W to serue, Shal be to 30W such as 3e desire, Wib-oute ehauwge, fulli, til he sterue : So with my brond I haue him set afire, And with my grace I shal him so enspire, That he in hert shal be ry3t at yyur will, *\Vherso 3c list to saue him or to spill. 18. For vnto 30W his hert I shal so lowe, "Wib-oute spot of eny doubelnes, That he ne shal escape fro be bowe — 41S 410 423 425 426 430 43: 433 437 439 440 417. so] om. b. grevavms] goumiaunce S. 418. ful] 0111. G. S. 420. his] is P. seruant] servauntz S. and] and for L. 421. pat] om. S. L. Pr. hem] hym F. B. 422. ioi] no Ioye w. hem] him L. 423. )?at] om. P. L. lase] lacys P. 426. is] om. F. C. douteb] dowte it w. doute it b. doughter by a second hand corrected into douteth'L. 427. possion T. 428. him] hew G. cherissh nov] now chevisshe Pr. 429. maner] wyse F. B. G. S. offeuciou?i] transgres- svon b. 430. Bicause] Be cause that P. 432 recuU in, P : he shal ben> yo/trs ryght ye wyl hym call. 434. to 3ow] right S. 435. he] ye S. 436. him] om. F. B. him set] sette hym C. W. W2. w. 437. him] om. F. B. so] om. W. W2. w. 438. in hert shal] only P. 439. Wberso] Whefrir T. P. W. W2, w. h. Je] you C. 30W G. S. 440. his hert I shal] 1 shal his herte Pr. I shal] shal y P. 441. spot of ] sport or S. 442. he] ye F. ne shal escape] shape shal P. escape] scape n*S. to the Lady's Complaint. 10 Mint lie shall not escape Cupid's bow. I shall make him eschew every sin ami TI10113 pat him list Jmru} vnstidfastnes — I mene of Cupide, bat shal him so distres 444 Vnto your hond, wib be arow of gold, That he ne shal escapen Jjouj he would. 446 19. And sibe $e list, of pite and of grace, 447 In vertu oonli his 30ube to cherice, I shal, haspectes of my benygne face, Make him teschwe euere synne & vice, So bat he shal haue no matter spice 451 In his corage to loue bingis nwe : He shal to 3011 so plain be found & trwe.' 20. And whan bis goodli, fairs, fressh of hwe, 454 Humble and benygne, of trouth crop & rote, Conceyued *had, hov Venus gan to rwe, On hir praier plainli to do bote, To chauttge hir bitter atones into soote, 458 She fel on kneis of heij deuocion, And in Jus wise Wgan hir orisou?i : 460 443. him list] he wolde b. list] self C. W. W2. w. Jjuruj] by Pr. || vnsted- fastne B. 444. of] om. b. ]>at] om. b. 445. ]>e] an P. 446. escapen] scapeti S. 447. 3e] you S. 449. baspectes] espectes P. be aspect G. W. W2. w. b. by aspectaunce L. he inspect S. 450. teschwe] teshewe W. to shewe W2. w. b. S. synne] om. P. 452. loue] lyue S. J>ingis] thiuge F. B. 453. plain] ]>laynly P. 454. In the margin of B in red ink : Hie vsqwc verba Veneris ; in b is the heading The authour before I. 454. faire] ladi b. fressh] and fresshe S. 456. had] ha); T. 457. praier] prayers S. prayer prayer 1\ payne b. plainli] only G. S. 458. bitter] bitternesse S. om. P. atones] ones b. attreynys G. om. S. into] vnto F. B. G. 459. of] by S. so that he will ever he 453 constant to you.' When this fair one saw how Venus took pity on her, she fell 011 her knees and prayed thus: In ]\[SS. F. B. G. S. the following stanza is found between 11. 453 and 454. 19 a. And whi that I so sore to 30W hym bynde, 1 Is [for] that }e so manye hau forsake, Eothe wyse & worthy, & gentyl [eke] of kynde, Pleynly refused, only for his sake : He shal to 30W, wher so $e slepe or wake, 5 Ben euene swich, vndyr hope & drede, As 3e lyst ordeyne of $oure womanhede. 7 I thus bind him to you, Becaoxe you have reftuied so many lor his sake. 19 a. 1. so sore to yow] to yow so sore F. B. for S. 3. 1 st &] om. S. gentyl eke] gentyl G. eke geutil S, wheher he S. 7. Je] you S. 2. for that] that G. >at 5. wher so Je] 20 The Lady's Thanks 21. ' Hei^est of high, quene and Emperice, 4G1 Goddes of loue, of goode ^\i be best, who'byyonr Jpat buru3 jour [beaute], wit// on ten eny vice, Whilom conquered be appel at be fest, That Iubiter Jrarugh [his hygh request] 4G5 To al be gnddesse aboue celestial Made in his paleis most imperial : 467 22. To 30V my ladi, vpholder of my life, 4G8 Mekeli I banke, so as I mai suffice, That 3e list nov, vritli hert ententif, So graciousli for me to deuyse, That while I Hue, with humble sacrifi.se, 472 Vpon 30W auters, 30211- fest 3ere bi jere, I shal encense casten in be fire. 474 23. For of ^oure grace I am ful reconsiled 475 From euere trouble vnto Ioy & ease, That sorois al from me ben exiled, *Sib ye, my ladi, list nov to * appose Mi peynes old, & fulli my disease 479 Vnto gladnes so sodeinli to burne, Hauyng no cause from heraies for]? to tuowne. 481 24. For sibin ^e so mekeli list to daunte 482 To my seruyce him )wt loue]? me best, And of ^our bounte so graciousli to granite, That he ne shal varie, Jiou^e him list, Wherof myn hert is fulli brou3[t] to rest : 486 Heading in F and B before I. 461 : Oracio amantis supradtcte ; in S : La Orysoune del amant. 461. high] hight P. 462. goode] goddes P. be] ye L. 463. pat] Though P. Jour] om. P. you L. beaute] om. T. L. vitte P. bountee S. eny] om. Pr. vice] wyse F. wise L. 464. Whilom] Somtyme w. b. at be] atte C. W. AV2. at w. 465. That] Whyche S. his hygh request] om. T. P. 466. aboue] of loue S. 469. panke] thank you P. 470. That] What G. S. nov with hert] with hert now P. hert] her F. B. ententif] retentyif S. 471. to] vn to S. 472. while I hue] lyue whyle "W2. w. 473. Autours L. 474. in] in to G. Pr. 475. of] in L. 476. euerc] euer S. vnto] and to F. 477. from rne ben] ben fro me P. S. Pr. 478. Sib ye] AYib be T. P. ye my ladi] }>at you S. nov] om. w. b. thus sodeynly S. appese] peese S. haue peas T. P. 479. old] alle S. 480. Vnto] In to S. so sodeinli] so wondurfully S. to tttrae] to forne W2. tofome w. 4S1. forb] om. P. 482. sibin] sith B. sithins S. 483. ]>at] om. P. loneJ> me] I love F. B. G. S. b. 484. to] om.'G. 485. varie] tary L. 4S6. bronjt] brouj T. hente S. to] in F. beauty the apple at Jupiter twist : Meekly I thank you for jrour gracious promise, ami wliile I live I will sacrifice at your yearly least. For I now have joy and as you deign to appease my pain. For as you bind him to my service who loves me best, to Venus. 21 For nov and euer, o ladi myn benygne, That hert and wil to 30W hole I resigne. 488 , 25. Thanking yow with al my fid hert, 489 Jjat, of joure grace and visitaciouw, So humb[e]li list him to conuert Fulli to bene at my subieccioiiH, With-oute chanwge or transmutaciouw, 493 Vnto his *last : [now] laude and reuerence Be to youre name and [to] your excellence. 495 487. o] now B. om. S. 488. wil] al F. B. G. S. to Jow hole Jow G. I liooly to you Pr. hole] om. P. 490. of] om. S. and] 492. to] om. w. to bene at] in to b. bene] ben hole P. 493. With eny P. 494. Vnto] Now vn to S. last now] lust T. L. 1 laude] ioye S. 495. Be] Be euer b. 2 d to] om. T. P. L. to your] I resign my heart and will to you, thanking you that you have thus sub- jected him to Die: now land ami reverence lie to your name. I] hol I to and god P. \V7t/<-oute] ife P. now om. Pr. Between 495 and 496 the following thee stanzas are interpolated in F. B. G. S : 25 a. And in despit platly of hem alle 1 That ben to love so cowtraryous, I shal hym cherice, what so euere fade, That is in love so pleyn & vertuous, Maugre alle tho that ben so desyrous 5 To spekyn vs harm, thourr/h grochywg & envye Of thilke serpent I-callyd Ielosye. 7 25 b. And for hem, lady, }if I dnrste preye, Menynge no vengeaimce, but eorreecyouw, To chastyse hem with torment, or they deye, For here vntrouthe & fals suspecyoun, That deme the werste in here opynyoim, WitA-oute desert, wherfore that ^e vouche To ponysshe hem dewely for here male bouche. 25 c. So that they may stondyn In repref To alle loueris for here cursedenesse, "YWt/i-outyn mercy forsakyn at myschef, Whan hem lyste best ban helpe of here distresse And for here falshed & here doubilnesse Had In dispit, ryght as a-mong foulys lien Iayis, Pyis, Lapwyngis & these Oulys. spite of all who would harm us through Jealousy. 1 I pray you chastise them tor their untruth that they may be a reproof to all lovers, 7 owls to liinls. 25 re. 5. so desyrous] derysyous S. 7. thilke] >at ilk S. I-callyd] cleped S. 25 b. 6. that Je] we S. 7. dewely] om. S. 25 c. 1. So] To S. 2. To] Un toS. 4. helpe] mercy 8. 5. 2 d here] for hir S. 6. Had] And 8. a-mong] anionics F. amonge ]>es S. 7. Iayia Pyis] pyea Iayes F. B. LapwywgiB] ]>ees lapwynges S. 22 Venus' exhortation 26. Thisistiie This al and some & chefe of my request, 496 my request, And hool substau?ice of *my ful en tent, thanking you Yow bankyng euer of iour granret & hest, for grace to ._ , , conquer him. hop nou and euer, pat }e me grace naue sent To conquere him pat never shal repent 500 Me forto serue & humbli to please, As final tresur *of myn hertis ease.' 502 27. And pan anon Venus cast adoime 503 Into hir lap, braunchis -white & grene Of haw[e]thorfi, pat wenten envirouw Aboute hir bed, pat ioi it was to sene, And bade hir kepe hem honestli & clene — 507 winch should Which shul not fade ne nevir wexin old, If she hir bidding kepe as she hap told. 509 Then Venus cast down into the lady's lap hawthorn branches, Saying : * Do as these branches teach you: lie unchang- ing like these leaves, which no storm can kill. 28. ' And as pese bowjis be bop faire & swete, 510 Folowip peffect pat f»ei do specifie : This is to sein, hope in cold & bete, Be]) of oon hert & of o fantasie, As ar pese leues, pe which mai not die 514 Jjuriij no dures of storm es, pat be kene, No more in winter pen in somer grene. 516 496. This] This is P. L. S. of] om. L. 497. my] myn T. my ful] all my hole b. ful] hole T. P. hoole L. 498. Yow ]>ankyng] Thanking you S. eue? - ] om. b. 499. me grace haue] g? - ace me P. liaue] om. Pr. 500. neuer shal] shal neuer S. 501. Me] and F. forto] to S. humbli] meekly S. to] for to S. L. Pr. 502. of] to T. Between 11. 502 and 503 in F : ffinis oraci'onis. 504. braunchis] Roses F. B. G. S. white] both white P. grene] rede F. B. G. S. 505. Of hawethorii] So fressh of hewe F. B. G. And fresshe of hewe S. >at] that it G. 506 reads in F. B. G. S : In compas wyse even [evere F, euer B] aboute hir hede. it] om. Pr. 507 omitted in S. honestli & clene] of hir goodelyhede F. B. G. & clene] om. P. 508. shul] shuld P. L. shold Pr. 509. kepe] folowe F. B. G. S. she haj>] I have G. 510 reads in G. S : And so as 3e ben callyd Margarete. h e se] the L. be] om. b. 511. >effect] >e fey the S. J>ei do] it doth G. hit do>e S. 512. is] om. W2. w. b. &] and in L. 513. Be>] Euer S. Be ye Pr. & of o fantasie] as is the daysye G. S. 514. As ar >ese leues] I lyche fresch G. S. ar] be L. >e] om. S. L. Pr. which] which e pat S. mai] many W2. 515. huruj] By Pr. dures] distresse L. dures of stormes] stormys of durys G. stormes ne duresse S. >at] how it S. kene] lene G. to the Lady. 23 517 Even so, In weal ami woe, 021 let your heart be constant in love for liim.' 523 524 Then the goddess was silent, and the Indy answered: * 528 'Goddess, In do your will de mieux 530 en mieux m' agrtfe.' Thus drain- 532 ing 011,1 saw in the temple great press of folk, 29. Tii^t so bensaumple, for wele or for wo, For ioy, torment, or [for] aduevsite, "Wherso pat fortune iauour or be foo, For ponert, riches, or prospmte, That }e youre hert kepe in oo degre To loue him best, for noting pat 30 feine, Whom I haue houwd so lowe vndir joure cheine.' 30. And with pat worde be goddes shoke hir hede, And was in peas, and spake as bo no more. And perwithal, fill fetnynyne of drede, Me bou$te bis ladi sighen gan ful sore, And said again : ' Ladi bat maist restore Hertes in Toy from her aduersite, To do 3oure will de mieulx en mieulx magre.' Thus euer sleping and dremy?ig as I lay, Wit/tin be tempil me bov^tfe] pat I sey Gret pres of folk, with murmwr wondirful, To *croude and * shove — pe tewpil was so ful — Euerich ful bise in his ovvne cause, That I ne may shortli in a clause Descriuen al be Kitties & pa gise, And eke I want kiumyng to deuyse, Hou som per were with blood, encense & my Ik, 517. Eijt so] Right B. So S. 1 st for] of C. W. W2. w. 2<> for] om, L. Pr. 518. torment] turnement G. for] om. T. F. B. 519. Wherso] Whejwr J>at S. Whether so Pr. ]>at] om. Pr. be] els b. 522. feine] seyn P. fyne S. C. 523. Whom] Who L. so lowe vndir] om. P. 525. ]>o] than b. 526. ful] om. b. as S. femynyne] memynyne P. drede] degre 6. 527. |>is] the w. b. siglien] to sighe b. gan] can L. 528. restore] )>er fore S. 529. in] to F. B. G. S. b. Ioy] saue S. from] for G. 530. will — magre] byddyng humblement magre F. B. G. S. wyll (wylll w.) better & better after my gre w. b. After line 530 T and L have : Explicit prima pars (.1. parte L.). Icy commence le secund parti (seconde party L.) de la songe. F and B : Et cest le tfyne del primer parte Et ycy commence la secoiide parte del songe. G : Yci comeuce la secunde partye de la Chaunsoii. S : And bus endebe >e first partye of )>e dreem aud filowyng begyime)>e >e secound partye. Lines 531 — 596 am itted in G. 531. Thus] This P. Thus euer] )>er I was S. and] om. Pr. 532 omitted in P. \xtt] om. Pr. 533. pres] prcces W2. w. part S. with] om, W2. w. 534. To] Who b. To croude] So heve S. croude] bronte T. L. brounte P. shove] showe T. 535. in his] iu W2. 536. ne may] myght P. a] om. P. 537. Descriuen] Dysceyue w. Kithes] rightes P. ryjtis B. ryte S. 538. eke I want] al Restates |>e S. 539. per were with blood] there that blede L. om. P. blood] golde b. 536 making offer- 24 Vision of the Knight. entreating release from their pains. 1 saw a man walking in solitude and complaining. Were it not for liis lieavi ness, lie seemed the very model of a But, for lack of his desire, he made lamentation, And som with floures sote & soft as silk, 540 *And some with sparovis & dovues faire & white, That forto offerin gan hem to delite Vnto be goddes, wib sigh & with praier, Hem to relese of ]>at J?ai most desire; That for be prese, shortli to conclude, I went my wai for be multitude, Me to refressh oute of be -prese allone. And be my self me boujt, as I gan gone Wib-in be Estres & gan awhile tarie, I saugh a man, bat welke al solitarie, That as me semed for heuines and dole Him to complein, fat he walk so sole, Wib-oute espiing of eni obir wi$t. And if I shal descryuen him ari^t, IS"ere fat he hade ben in heuynes, Me boujt he was, to speke of semelynes, Of shappe, of fourme, & also of stature, The most passing b«t euir jit nature Made in hir werkis, & like to ben a man ; And perwith-sd, as I reherse can, Of face and chere be most gracious, To be biloued, happi and Ewrous. But as it semed outward *by his chere, That he compleyned for lak of his desire— For *by himself, as he walk vp & duune, I herd him make a lamentacioura, 544 548 552 556 560 564 540. floures] om. L. 541. And] An T. faire &] om. Pr. 542. offerin] om. w. to] om. F. B. Pr. 543. wib sigh] om. P. sigh] siglit S. with] om. Pr. 545. for] for to P. prese] price L. Lines 545 — 548 read in b : And shortely this thyng to conclude So great and huge was the multytude That I was fayne out of the preace to go And as I was alone with me no mo. 546. I] It P. my] ne P. for be] from bat S. 547. to] for to C. W. W2. w. be] om. w. 548. me bou3t] om. S. as] as bat S. gan] can S. ded P. 549. gan] I gan P. 550. I saugh] I was wel ware of S. pat welke] om. S. 551. semed] semeth W. W2. and dole] om. P. 552 — 555 omitted in P. 552. bat] om. b. sole] hole L. 554. if] covered by a spot in the parchment in T. 555. Nere] j?er S. Nere fat he hade] Yf that he had not Pr. fat] om. L. 557. 1 st Of] and F. 2 d of] and F. B. L. fourme] striue (?) P. 558. \>at euir Jit] yit fat S. 559. hir] hys P. 560. ferw/t/i-al] therwyth F. 561. fej om. B. 562. To be biloued] tfor to be lwfyd P. 563. as] om. b. semed] om. P. outward] outwardes S. by] in T. 565. by] in P. by himself] bym self T. himself] my self L. The, Knight's Soliloquy. •2.-, And seid : ' Alias ! what ping mai pis be, That nou am bound, pat whilom was so fre, 5G8 And went at laarge, at myn elecciou?? : ]S T ou am I cau^t vnder subieccioure, Porto bicome a verre homagere To god o[f] loue, where pat, er I come here, 572 Felt in myn hert ri3t noujt of loues peine ; But nov of nwe wz't/an his fire cheyne I am enbraced, so pat I mai not striue To loue and serue, whiles pat I am on lyue, The goodli fressh, in pe tempil yonder I saugh ri3t nov, pat I hade wonder, Hou euer god, forto reken all, ""\Iy3t make a ping so celestial, So avngellike on erpe to appere. For wip pe stremes of hir eyen clere I am Iwoundid euen to pe hert, J?«t fro pe dep, I trow, I mai not stert. And most I mervaile p«t so sodenli I was Isolde to bene at hir merci, Wherso *hir list, to do me lyue or deic : Wip-oute more I most hir lust obeie And take mekeli my sodein auentur. For sip my life, my dep, and eke my cure Is in hir hond, it would [e] not auaile it To gruch agein ; for of pis bataile 592 >" The palme is hires, & pleinli pe victorie. « If I rebelled, honour non ne glorie and said : ' Alas ! how am I, who before was so tree. 576 580 581 588 whom I saw in the temple yonder, Her eyes have wounded me to the death. I am forced to obey her ; 567. J>ing] om. P. 568. That nou am] Nowe am I b. nou am] am now F. I am now B. whilom] somtyme S. so] om. Pr. 570. Nou am 1] Nowe I am S. And now y P. subieccioun] obieceion F. B. 571. bicome] be bounde F. B. 572. god] the god b. of] o T. bat] om. Pr. come] kan F. 573. tijt] om. Pr. 574. his] be S. hur C. her W. Wz w. five] verrey S. 576. loue and serue] serue and loue Pr. whiles] whyle S. L. Pr. pat] om. L. Pr. 577. The goodli] bat feyre S. in] wight in S. which in F. B. tempil] cherche P. 578. I saugh rijt nov] Right nowe I saughe S. wonder] gret wondei S. 579. Hou] >at S. forto] as for to S. 580. Myjt] Koude S. 581. on] in S. to] for to S. 582. wi>] within W2. w. b. stremes] percyng F. B. S. 583. Iwoundid] woundid B. S. Pr. euen] I weene S. to] vn to F. B. P. L. so to S. 584. I trow] om. S. Pr. stert] astert S. Pr. 586. I30WV] yolden S. so yolde Pr. at] in F. yn B. 587 cm,/ 588 transposed in C. 587*. Wherso] Whe>er S. Whether that Pr. hir] him T. site Pr. to do me] me to Pr. 588. more 1] om. P. most] mot S. 591. woulde] wol L. wyl P. wil Pr. not] nothyng b. 592. agein] om. P. of] om. P. 593. pleinli] playne b. 591 reads in S: As hole subict / for hirs is al ]>e glorye. rebelled] rebel! P. 26 The Knight's I myjt[e] not, in no wise, acheue. i yield my- Si)) i am yold, hou shukl I Jjan preue 59G i cannot war To "if a werre — I wot it wil not be — with her. ° Thou$ I be loos, at laarge I mai not fie. why dost god of loue, hov sharp is nov bin arowe ! thou wound , meso.ogod Hou maist bou nov so cruelli & narowe, 600 of love ! "WYt/i-onte cause, hurt[e] me and wound, And tast non he le, my soris forto sound ! But lich a brid, bat iieith at hir desire, Til sodeinli within be pantire G04 She is Icau;t, bou} she were late at laarge — A nwe tempest for-casteb now my baarge, Now vp nov dovne witJi wind it is so blowe, So am I *possid and almost ouerbrowe, 608 Fordriue in dirknes with many a sondri wawe. Alas ! when shal bis tempest ouerdrawe, To clere be skies of myn aduersite, The lode ster when I [ne] may not se, 612 It is so hid with cloudes bat ben blake. Alas when wil bis to/nnent ouershake 1 I can not wit, for who is hurt of nwe And bledib inward, til he wex pale of hwe, 616 And hab his wound vnwarli fressh & grene, And is not koube vnto be harmes kene Of my3ti Cupide, b«t can so hertis davnte That no man may in jour werre him vauwte 620 595. my^te] might it S. not] om. b. no] ony Pr. wise] maner wyse b. 597. Here G begins again, gif] gyime F. B. G. S. gif a werre] renne awey Pr. a werre] awerry P. I wot] y wys F. B. G. S. be] ybe S. 600. maist] mightest S. nov] om. S. cruelli] pryuely S. &] and so Pr. & narowe] an arowe P. 602. soris] sorowes L. S. Pr. forto] to Pr. sound] founde P. Pr. 605. Icaujt] caught G. S. Pr. she were late] late she was Pr. were] was F. late at] let a S. 606. nwe] sodeyne S. now] new F. nyw B. hath P. om. L. 607. it] om. G. so] om. P. 608. possid] passid T. pressid G. tossed w. b. 609 and, 610 are omitted in L. 609. Fordriue] Far dryuen b. ffor thro we S. witfe] of Pr. a sondri] sondry Pr. sturdy F. B. G. S. 610. >is] >e S. ouer- drawe] to me dawe F. B. G. slake lawe S. 611. To] So S. skies] skye is S. 612. when] whan that C. what that W. W2. w. I wote b. ne] om. T. b. hym P. not] om. C. W. W2. w. 613. ben] ben so P. 614. wil] shal F. B. G. S. ouershake] overslake L. S. Pr. 615. for] but G. 616 omitted in V. til] ryl W2. ryll w. wex] be S. 617. vnwarli] wardly W2. inwardly w. 1>. 618 reads in S : Euer unholpen / more kene and kene. is] yt F. hit is L. 1'r. kou]>e] knowe?i W. W2. w. b. vnto] to F. B. G. harmes] armys P. 619. }>«t] which S. can] om. F. B. can so] cause P. davnte] daunce (?) F. 620. may] om. w. b. your] his Pr. werre] werrys G. him] dare hym w. b. vauvite] avaunte S. awaunt P. avaunce (?) F. As n bird is caught by a smu'e— my barpre is driven from its track by tempest. Alas! the loa istar is hidden from nor can I foresee the end of this torment — the hurt being new and the harms of Cupid un- known to me: Soliloquy. 27 To gete a pris, but oonli bi mekenes — For bere ne vaileb strif ne sturdines — So mai I sain, bat with a loke am yold, And liaue no power to stryue £01130 I would. Thus stand I euen bitwix life and deb To loue & serue, while bat I haue breb, In such a place where I dar not pleyn, Lich him bat is in torment & in pein, And knoweb not, to whom forto discure ; For bere bat I haue hoolly set my cute, I dar not wele, for drede & for dauwger, And for vnknowe, tellen hou fie fire Of louis brond is kindled in my brest. Thus am I mwdrid & slain at be lest So preueli within *myn [owne] Jjou^t. ladi Venus, whom bat I haue soi^t, So Avisse me now what me is best to do, j)at *am distraint within my self [en] so, That I ne wot what way for [to] turne, Sauf be my self solein forto mourne, Hanging in balau/ice bitwix hope & drede, Wi'Moute comfort, remedie or rede. For hope biddij? p?«-sue & assay ; And drede againward answerib & saip nai ; And now wijj hope I am *set on loft, But drede and daimger, hard & noting softe, Haue ouerbrowe my trust and put adoune ; Nou at my laarge, nou feterid in prisone, against him none prevail except through meekness. Tims I stand between life and dentil, not knowing to whom to discover my torment. G24 G28 632 G3G lady Venus, teach me what is best G40 G44 G48 I hnng in the balance between Mope and Dread. Hope lifts me up, 621. gete] grete F. a] hym S. 622. vailep] awalith P. 2 d ne] nor b. 624. >ou3e] thorgh F. 625. euen] euer L. Pr. bitwix] betwene P. S. 1>. 626. while] while while P. hat] om. S. C. W. W2. w. I haue] me lastepe S. 627. dar] ne dar F. B. 629. forto] to Pr. 630. pat] as F. B. b. hoolly] hyely S. 631. wele] were P. &] ne G. Pr. & for] of foule S. 632. hou] Jow G. S. 633. is kindled] unkyndeld S. 634. am I] y am P. at pe] atte C. W. W2. w. 635. So] Thus S. witAin] with F. B. G. S. myn] my T. owne] powte P. om. T. L. Pr. 636. ladi Venus] Venus lady F. B. 6. S. whom] to whom F. B. p«t] om. Pr. haue] haue often P. BDUJt] thought F. B. 637. 2 d me] om. G. S. me is] is me P. 638. am] I am T. P. L. WltAin] with S. Yr. selfen] selven F. B. selvy?t G. so] loo W2. w. lo h. 639. ne] om. P. for] om. S. b. to] om. T. 640. soleiii] sodeynly 6. alone b. forto] to G. 641. bitwix] betwene G. S. b. 642. or] & 0. 643. biddip] me bide>e 8. pursue] om. P. 644. And] om. G. drede againward] agaynwaid drede Pr. & saip] om. Pr. 645. now] so now P. om. L. set] Iset T. F. L. 646. hard] om. 8. 647. Haue] Hath Pr. 28 The Knight' & but Dread :iik1 Danger When I am bold to ask mercy, then comes Despair and dismays me. Hut indeed if I disclose not my harms to her, slie is not to blame for my death. Thus Hope oft moves me to tell her my griefs ; but Dread answers back : better to die Nov in torment, nov in soucrein glorie, Nou in paradise & nov in pwgatorie, As man dispeired in a double *were, Born vp wib hope, & fan anon daimger G52 Me drawijj abak, and seith it shal not be. For where as I, of myn aduersite, Am *bold som while merci to requere, pan co'meb dispeire & gmnej) me to lere 65G A nwe lessovm, to hope ful contrare — Thei be so diners bei would do me varie — And )ms I stond dismaied in a tranwee : For whan bat hope were likli me tauaunce, 6 GO For drede I tremble and dar a woord not speke. And if it so be \ai I not oute breke To tel ]>g harmes, \ab greuen me so sore, But in * myself encrese hem more & more, G64 And to be slain fulli me delite, pen of my deb sho is noting to Avite ; For but if she my constreint pleinli knwe, Hou shuld she euer opon my paynw rwe ! GG8 Thus oft[e] tyme wat7i hope I am I-mevid To tel hir al of J?at I am so greued, And to ben hardi on me forto take To axe merci; but drede ban do]) awake, 672 And *Jmrgk wanhope answerib me again, pat bettir were, ben she haue disdeyne, 649. 2 d nov] and now F. B. G. S. in souerein] soone in S. soucrein] sodeyn G. 650. Nou] om. F. B. 651. man] a man P. b. double] doufull L. were] werre T. P. S. W. W2. w. b. where F. B. 652. )>an] om. P. 653. not] om. F. B. 654. I] >at S. 655. bold] hold T. P. L. somwhi'.e] sumwhat F. some tyme S. B. 656. gi/nie>] begynneth W. W2. w. b. 657. ful] al S. ful the Pr. 658. would] wol L. wil Pr. 659. I stond] staund y P. 660. ]>at] om. P. W2. w. b. likli] like L. lyke b. tauaimce] to vaunee B. avaunce F. 661. tremble] trowe S. and] 1 S. b. a woord not] not on worde S. b. a] one C. W. W2. w. 662. it] om. F. B. so be] be so S. 1] om. P. 664. myself] myschef T. encrese] lencrece W2. w. hem] om. P. 665. fulli] me fully L. me] my P. 666. pen] Whan L. Pr. noting] noght F. B. 667. my] the W. W2. w. b. knwe] knowe W. AV2. w. b. 668. opon] on Pr. paynis] harmes F. B. G. 669. ofte tyme] oftymes P. ofte tymes F. B. offt tymes S. with hope I am] I am with hope G. 1-mevid] meved S. C. W. W2. w. moued b. Imoumed L. 670. of pat] how Pr. so greued] grevid G. Pr. agreved P. S. 672. drede fan] then drede B. >an dof] doith than L. doth me thewne Pr. 673. ]'urgh] ])ou} T. thought P. than L. C. b. thenne W. W2. w. wanhope] when P. 674. were] is P. >en] that S. W. W2. w. b. haue] had F. B. S. shuld hawc P. Soliloquy. ■1\) To doie at onys, vnknow of eny wijt. And }>ere-w/t/i[-al] *bitt hope anon ry^t Me to *be bold, to prayen hit of grace ; For si J) al vertues be portreid in hir face, Jt were not sitting \ai merci were bihind. And rijt anone w/t/nn my self I finde A nwe pie brou^t on me with drede, \)at me so masejj bat I se no spede, Bicause he seith, bat stoneib al my blootlc, I am so symple & she is so goode. Thus hope and drede in me wil not ceasse To plete and stryue myn harmes to encrese. Eut at be hardest jit, or I be dede, Of my distresse sib i can no rede, But stond[e] dovmb stil as eni stone, Tofore be goddes I wil me hast anone, And co?aplein w/t/ioute more sermon ; J20U3 deth be fin & ful conclusiou?i Of my request, 3ft I will assai.' And ri^t anon me bou3[te] bat I say This woful man, as I haue memorie, Ful lowli entre into an oratorie, And knelid [a]doufi in ful hu?«ble wise Tofore be goddes, and gan anon deuyse His pitous quarel wib a doleful chere, Sayyng i^t pus, anone as 3c shul here : dainedby / lier. GSO 084 688 G92 096 700 Hope makes me look for mercy ; but Dread lilacs my simpleness against lier excellence. I will haste to the god- dess and complain, though death result from my request.' and kneeling before the goddess, said: 675. at onys] anoon S. of eny wijt] to my wit S. 676. al] om. T. P. L. l)itt] bittiv T. but F. L. om. S. ryjt] yit S. 677. to be bold] gan behokle S. be bold] bihold T. be bolden P. be liolde G. 2 d to] and Pr. 678. For] And L. Pr. portreid] portured L. 679. merei] pyte Pr. 681. broujt] y broght P. with] by L. 683. seitb] seebe S. sayd \V. W2. w. b. bat] om. S. stoneib] astonyeth b. astonyed S. 684. 1 st so] to F. B. G. S. 2 d so] to F. B. knowo so S. 685. Thus] bis S. 686. to] lo w. b. encrese] peese S. 687. at— or] yit doutelesse or bat S. J>e] om. Pr. I] om. P. 688. sib] such F. 689. dovmb] doun W. W2. w. dome b. 690. Tofore] Before S. b. I wil] as I P. 691. And] And me F. B. G. S. witAoute more] with more pleyne S. 693. I will] wil 1 G. wol I hym S. 694. And] om. P. bou^te] bou3 T. bat] om. Pr. 695. woful] ofl'ulle P. deolfull S. as] as bat S. haue.] haue made b. 696. In the margin of F ami B : Verba sompmantis. lowli entre] lwfly cntred P. into] in F. B. an] the F. B. G. S. 697. knelid] kncling S. adouii] doun T. S. in] with S. ful] alle G. S. 698. Tofore] Before 8. b. gan] om. P. 700. bus] this C. anone] om. Pr. Before 701 the following headings are found: Sup- plicacio amantis F. 15. G. be supplicacion of )>e Loner S. The compleynt of the man Pr. Compleynt of the man (?) P {Utter hand). 30 The KniqhCs 31. ' Eedresse of sorow, o Citheria, 701 That wib be stremes of bi plesau»t hete C Jladest be contre of [al] Cirrea, Where bou hast chosen bi paleis & bi sete, Whos brijt hemes ben wasshen and of[t] wete 705 In the riner of *Elicon be well : Haue nou pite of bat I shal here tell. 707 32. And not disdeynejj of ysur benignite, 708 Mi mortal wo, o ladi myn, goddes, Of grace & bounte and merciful pite, Benig[ne]li to helpen and to redresse ; And bou 3 so be I can not wele expresse 712 The greuous harmes bat I fele in myn hert, Haue]) neuey be les merci of my smeit. 714 33. This is to sein : o clere heuens lijt, 715 That next be sonne cercled haue $otir spere, Sib $e me hurten wib jour dredful myjt Bi influence of 30?/;- bemys clere, And bat I bie 30m* seruise nov sodere, 719 As 3e me broi^t into Jris maledie, Beb graeious and shape]? remedie. 721 34. For in 30W hoolli lib help of al bis case, 722 And knowe best my sorow & al my peyne : For drede of dej) hou I ne der, alias ! 701 — 714. These two couplets have, in B, been closely interlined with what seem arbitrary corrections and notes, which have since been partly erased and rendered illegible. 701. Pedresser S. sorow] sorowful F. G. S. 0] o thow P. 702. >e] thy F. thi P. 703. J>e] al P. contre] contrees F. B. G. S. Court L. mounte Pr. al] om. T. P. L. 704. hast] haddest L. 2 d )>i] om. Pr. 705. brijt] brightful S. oft] of T. om. Pr. 706. In] Wijnn F. B. G. S. Elicon] eleccion T. 707. here] now L. pe S. om. G. you Pr. 708. dis- deyne>] dysdeyn P. b. desdayne ye C. W. W2. w. 709. o] om. F. B. G. S. myn] and E. B. G. S. 710. merciful] of nvrcyful P. 711. Benigneli] Be- nigli T. 1 st to] om. b. 2 d to] om. F. B. G. S. 714. J)e] yet the Pr. merci] pite P. 715. heuens] heuynessh F. heuenyssh B. 716. spere] light S. 718. iniluence] infulgence W2. w. lour bemys] Beemys >at been S. 720. J>is] his W2. 721. Be()] Be ye Pr. and shape>] to shape F. G. S. shape>] shape ye C. W. W2. w. shape a b. 722. hoolli] only G. al] om. F. B. pis] the P. case] care W. W2. w. b. 723. knowe] knowyth P. sorow] sore F. B. G. 8. peyne] pyne G. P. 724. hou] now P. that B. ne der alias] alas ne dare b. ' O Oytherea, who glad- denext all Cirrea, whose beams are washed in tlie well of Hel eon : have pity on my tale. And, of your grace, deign to redress my mortal woe, though words fail me to express it. since you hurt me by the influence ot your beams, In- gracious mid shape 1 remedy. For you alone can help : you know my pain. Complaint to Venus. 31 To axon merci ones ne me compleyne. Nou wib 3oure fire hire liert[e] so restreyne, "WVt/i-oute more, or I deie at be lest, That she mai wete what is my requeste : 35. Hov I noting in al bis world desire, But forto serue, fulli to myn ende, That goodli fressh, so womanli of chore, "YVYt/i-oiite chaunge, while I haue life & myudo And bat yc *wold me such grace send Of my seruyse, bat she not disdeyne, Siben hir to serue I may me not restreyne, 36. And si]) bat hope habe 3eue me hardines To lone hir best and neuer to repent, Whiles bat I lyue, with al my bisenes To drede and serue, bc-113 daunger neuer assent. And hereopon }e knowen myn entent, Hov I haue * vowed fulli in my mynde To ben hir man, bouj I no merci finde. 37. For in myn hert enprentid is so sore Hir shap, hir fourme, and al hir semelines, Hir port, hir chere, hir goodnes more & more, Hir womanhede, & eke hir gentilnes, Hir trouth, hir faij) & hir kynd[e]nes, With al vertues, Iche set in his degre ; There is no lak, saue onli of pite. 726 So constrain l.er heart, that she may understand 728 '"J" request : / 29 how I only desire to serve her : 733 send 735 740 grace that she may not disdain me: t 36 f 01 ' Hope lias emboldened ■ne t'> love her liest, in spite of Danger. You know how I have 742 vowed to lie her servant. 743 For deep in my heart are imprinted ■47 all her wo- manly virtues fTAQ (she only • * J lacks pity): 725. To axen] Aske b. ones] only G. ne] om. F. B. G. me] to S. 726. five] om. b. hire] om. W. W2. \v. b. herte] dart b. restreyne] constrayne Pr. 727. at >e lest] at last P. atte laste W. W2. 730. forto] to S. fulli] holly and truwely S. 732. &] or P. 733. Je] I P. wold] wil T. wulle P. me] om. Pr. grace] a grace F. B. G. S. send] nowe seende S. 735. I may me not] may I me nought S. me not] not me Pr. restreyne] refreyne L. F. G. Brforc 736 S inserts: "With oute more / er I dye at }>e leest (= line 727). 736. And si> ]>at] Sith S. And] Alas b. habe] haue L. habe Jeue me] me hath yeue Pr. (me hath yeue yeue W2). me] me al >is S. 737. neuer to repent] me neuer restreyne S. 738. Whiles] while F. B. 739. daunger] om. P. 740. Je knowen] to knowe P. Instead of 11. 741 and 742 S has: So let me neuer with daunger more be shent. 741. vowed] woid T. sewyd (?) P. my] om. P. 742. finde] om. P. 744. al] om. P. 746. eke] al F. B. 747. Hir trouth hir fai}»] Hire faith hire trouthe L. 3 d hir] al P. allhirB. eke hir L. S. kyndones] gikyrnesse B. 748. Iche] she P. his] her Pr. hir P. 749. saue] but F. B. G. 8. sauyng C. W. W2. w. of] om. B. 32 The Knights her beauty. Besides, she is i-iithful, bounteous, mercy atone is wanting. No wonder then that I dread to ask grace of her. I will rather lowly endure my woe, till she pity me. I vow, whatever she decides, to take it humbly. 38. Hir sad demenmg, of wil not variable, 750 Of looke benygne & roote of al plesamjce, And examplaire to al pat wil be stable, Discrete, prudent, of wisdom sumsauwee, Mirrottr of wit, ground of gouemawjee, 754 A world of beaute compassid in bir face, Whose peasant loke do}) buruj myn hert[e] race; 756 39. And ouer bis secre & wondre trwe, 757 A welle of fredome, and l-i^t bovntevous, And euer encresing in vertue nwe & nwe, Of spech goodli and wonder gracious, Deuoide of pride, to pore not dispitous, 761 And if pat I shortli sbal not feyne, Saue opon merci I noting can compleyne. 763 40. What wonder pan bou3 I be wib drede 764 Inli supprised forto axen grace Of bir pat is a quene of womanhed 1 For wele I wot, in so heigh a place It wil not ben ; *J?erfor I ouerpace, 768 And take louli what wo pat I endure, Til she of pite me take vnto hir cure. 770 41. But oone *avowe pleinli here I make, 771 That whejjir so be she do me lyve or deye, I wil not grucch, but humble it take. 750. demening] demyng S. 751. Of] and F. B. benygne] kunnyng S. al] om. B, 752. And] An B. G. And an P. to] of S. ml be] ben F. B. G. S. 753. prudent] prudence w. kunnyng S. 754. ground] growed F. 757. And ouer Jris] Et ever tbus P. And euer ful S. secre k wondre] wonder secrete and Pr. wondre] wondurfully S. 758. A] om. F. B. of] om. P. 759. And euer] Alwey S. vertue] vertus P. 760. wonder] right b. 761. Deuoide] Alvoyde S. to] of G. not dispitous] folkes pitous S. 762. And] So F. B. G. S. if] om. G. if }>at] bat if S. I shortli] I corrected to shortly I B. 763. I nobing] nothyng I b. noting can] can no thyng G. S. can] om. F. B. Pr. 764. ban] ]>at S. be] om. b. 765. supprised] suppressid G. oppressed S. axen] axely w. 766. a] om. Pr. 767. wot] wot that G. S. 768. wil] wolde F. berfot] herfro T. F. 769. And] Et P. ]>at] om. P. S. Pr. 770. site] ye G. S. me take] take me P. vnto] in to G. S. to P. Pr. hir] youre G. S. 771. avowe] avove T. here] hir P. here 1] I here S. 772. so he] be so P. om. S. she do] doth P. or] or ellys S. Complaint to Venus. 33 And bank[e] god, & wilfulli obey ; For, be my troutb, myn liert shal not reneye, For life ne deb, merci *ne dauuger, Of wil and bo^t to ben at hir desire, 42. To bene as trwe, as *was Antonyns To Cleopatre, while him lasted brebe, Or vnto Tesbe }ung[e] Piramus •Was feibful found, til hem departid debe : Rijt so shal I, til Antropos me sleibe, For wele or wo, hir faithful man be found, Vnto my last, lich as myn hert is boimde, 43. To loue aswel as did Achilles Vnto his last be faire Polixene, Or as be gret famous Hercules, For Dianyre bat felt be shottes kene — Rijt so shal I, y sei ri^t as I mene, Whiles bat I lyve, hir hope drede and serue, For lak of merci bouj she do me sterve. 44. Nou ladi Venus, to whom noting vnknowe Is in be world, I-hid ne not mai be — For bere nys ping, nebir heigh nc lowe, Mai be concelid from ymr privete — Fro whom my menyng is not nov secre, But witen fulli bat myn entent is trwe, And lich my trowfch nov on my peyn[e] rwe. 775 777 My heart shall never renounce her service. 778 As Antony was true to Cleopatra, and Pyramua to Thishe, 782 so will I lie to her, until death. 784 785 As Achilles loved I'oly- xena, and Hercules Dejanira, 789 so will I serve her. 791 792 Now, lady Venus, to whom no- thing in the world is un- known, '96 798 take pity on my pain. 774. And] Et P. wilfulli] humbelly S. wyllingly b. 775. my] om. P. shal] om. P. shal not] ne shal G. not] neuer Pr. reneye] revey B. 776. 1 st ne] nor G. 2 d ne] nor T. L. G. 777. and ])ou?t to] ne trouthe but S. to] om. G. 778. was] euer was all except G. S. 779. lasted] lestyth G. laateth C. 780. vnto] to P. S. Piramus] priamus P. 781. Was] That was all except a. S. hem] hym P. hywt F. G. him B. S. 782. Antropos] Atropos b. 784. my last] last end P. 785. To] And G. S. 787. Or] Er S. 788. For- feit] Whiche felt of loue S. Dianyre] Deyanne G. pat] om. G. shottes] shott Pr. kene] sharp and keene S. 789. I, y] y P. I S, Pr. rijt] om. P. 8. euyn b. rijt as] om. L. as] as bat S. 790. Whiles] While G. S. Pr. pat] om. B. I lyve] lyfe P. hir] om. P. bobe drede] drede most S. 792. Nou] P. vn- knowe] is vnknowe P. 793. Is] om. P. be] thy* F. B. 1-hid] hid C. hyde W. W2. w. om. b. not] naught L. nought S. Pp. 794. nys] oe is G. is no S. iiejnv] so S. ne] ne so S. 796. Fro] il'or G. menyng] menyng W2. w. not nov] nowe not S. 797. ]>at] om. P. 798. nov on] vp on G. peyne] peynea P. G. S. TEMPLE OF GLAS. L) 34 The Knights In lowly humbleness I ask you, of your grace, to grant me release. As you hold in your hand the reward for true lovers, so let me there find my health, where first I was wounded. As the rays of her bright eyes once pierced my heart, 45. For more of grace pan presuwpciouw 799 I axe merci, and not of duete, Of louli huinblesse, wiboute offensiouw, That 3e enclyne, of 30?^/- benygnyte, Your audience to myn humylite, 803 To graunt[e] me, J-at to 30V clepe & calle, Somdai relese 3it of my paynes alle. 805 46. And sib 3e haue J>e guerdon & be mede 806 Of al louers pleinli in 30W hond, Xou of [your] grace and pite tnkeb hede Of my distresse, brtt am vndir $our bond So lovli bound, as 3c wele vndirstond : 810 Nou in b«t place, where I toke first my wou?id, Of pite sufferip my helth mai be found — 812 47. That lich as she me hurt[e] wijj a si^te, 813 Ri3t so with helpe let hir me sustene, And as be stremes of hir ey3en bri3t Whilom myn hert, with woimdis sharp & kene, Thuru3 perced haue, and 3it hene fressh & grene : 817 So as she me hurt, nou let hir me socoure, Or ellis certein I mai not Ion" endure. 819 For lack of speech, I can say no more ; 48. For lak of spech I can sey nov no more I haue mater, but [I] can not plein ; Mi wit is dulle to telle al my sore ; 820 799. J>an] than of L. Pr. 800. not] no thing Pr. of] om. P. S01. louli] lowe G. S. lonli humblesse] lwflynesse P. huinblesse] humblenesse L. b. offensiotiH] transgression b. 803. to] vnto Pr. 804. me] hit me S. J>at to 3ov] it for whiehe b. clepe] I clepe Pr. 805. Somdai] Sunidelle (?) L {effaced). Somdai — of] Yit ye releesse some day S. Jit] om. B. P. b. 806. And] An S. 808. your] om. all except G. S. take))] take P. take ye Pr. 809. am] I am L. 810. wele] wil S. 811. Nou] om. Pr. toke] take P. 812. Of] ffor P. suffe;i)>] sutt're ye Pr. helth] helpe G. S. Ioy P. found] now found P. 813. lich] om. S. me hurte] myn herte G. hurt me b. hurt me first S. 814. helpe] helth Pr. hir me] me her Pr. 815. eyjen] euen w. 816. Whilom] Somtyme w. b. "Whilom corrected by a later hand info Entred L. 817. haue] hath P. and] that G. S. 818. omitted in P. she] om. L., supplied by a later hand. 1 st me] om. G. S. nou] so S. om. Pr. 2 d me] expunged in L. socoure] sature G. 819. not long] nowhile G. S. 820. nov] om. P. you Pr. 821. mater] giet mater S. no mater b. 2 J I] w/i. T. plein] com play ne b. Com phi int to Venus. 35 A mouth I liaue, & yi for al my peyne, For want of woordis I may not nov atteyne To tell[en] half b«t do]) myn hert[e] greue, Merci abiding, til she me list releue. 824 words fail me to tell halt my heart's grief. 826 49. But pis theffecte of my mater finalle : Wij) deb, or merci, reles forto finde. For hert, bodi, fought, life, lust and alle, Wij) al my reson and alle my ful mynde, And hue wittes, of oon assent I bind To Mr seruice, wib-outen eny strife, And make hir princesse of my deb or life. 50. And 30V I prai of routh and eke pite, goodli planet, o ladi Venus brijt, That 3e 30ure sone of his deite — Cupid I mene, bat wij) his dredful my3t And wij) his brond, Jwt is so clere of li^te, Hir hert[e] so to fire and to mark, As 3e me whilom brent[e] with a spark : 51. That euenlich, and with be same fire, She mai be het, as I nov brenne & melt, So \>at hir hert be *flaumed bi desire, That she mai knowe bi feruence hou I swelt ; For of pite pleinli if she felt The selfe hete ]>at do]) myn hert enbrace, 1 hope of rou])e she would do me grace.' 827 Finally, I ask release, in death or mercy ; for my whole being is 831 bound to her for ever. 833 834 OladyVf so kindle her heart, through your _ _ _ son Cupid, 838 840 even as you have done mine; 841 that her heart be inflamed as mine is; 845 for then I might hope for grace.' si; 824. of] om. L. 825. half] al P. G. 826. she] je G. yow S. me list] list me P. list S. 827. But bis] pis is S. bis] thus L. mater] preyer G. S. 828. or] of S. 829. bought, life, lust] lyfe lust thoght P. life, lust] lust lyf G. 830. reson] resort P. alle] om. P. G. S. 831. hue] myne fyve G. S. of] with G. 833. And] To G. S. hir] om. L., supplied by a later hand, of] ouer L. or] and L. P. G. S. 834. And Jov 1 prai] Beseche I yowe S. }ov] now Pr. of] for P. eke] of S. ek of G. 835. 0] om. G. S. 836. 3e] om. S. sone] son pray P. 839. Hir] om. W2. \\\ Myn b. so] lyst so b. mark] make P. S40. Je me whilom] wlulhom Je me G. S. whilom] somtyme w. b. brente] henten S. 841. euenlich] lyke wyse W. W2. w. b. 842.' be het] be it w. by it b. het] hit C. W. W2. I] am. P. 843. flaumed] bavmed T. L. P. bi] with L. Pr. 844. bi] wib G. S. I] om. L., inserted later. 845. For of pite] She wolde me pitie b. of] om. Wz w. 847. would] will Pr. At the close of stanza 51 F and B have in the margin : llinis oracionis ; besides this, B hers in a later hand : h c vsqwc neseio quia. D 2 36 Venv£ Answer 52. Andthere- And bermtJbtd Venus, as me bovnt, 848 willi Venus ' ' . looked be- Toward bis man ful benyglnelli mgiuy on ' - c L J this mun, Q an cas j; jjjj. ey^e, liche as bouj she roujt and said: Of his disease, and seid ful good[e]li : ■Thy hum- ' Sib it is so bat bou so humbfellie, 852 ble obedience / , . ,. deserves my Wrb-oute grucchyng, oure nestis list obey, Toward bin help I wil anon puruey. 854 53. And Cupid, And eke my sonc Cupide, bat is so blind, 855 ' help, He shal ben helping, fulli to perfowrme 3o?. L. S. Pr.— benygliT. benigly P. 850. hir] an P. JjouJ] om. G. that S. Pr. (exe. b.) roujt] reugh P. 85L goodeli] in goodely S. 852. bou] you b. 853. obey] tobeye G. weye F. 854. Towar G. Towardes L. S. >in] your G. S. b. I wil anon] anon I wyl G. S. 855. eke] also W. W2. w. b. so] om. L. G. 856. He] om. b. 857. behind] be behynd P. L. Pr. G. S. 858. left] kept S. 859. The] This Pr. be] you b. 860. That] And b. J>ou soroist] ye sorowe b. 861. ]>i] your b. 862. set] seyth P. oure] your S. her w. b. 863. to] om. P. alway] althing Pr. 864. in] om. P. lovvli] lwfly P. 865. ful] om. S. 867. J>uru?] by Pr. oure] youre S. hyr G. 868. }e lust inekeli abide] humbully ye byde S. mekeli abide] byde G. abyd mekly P. 869. vndirstond- e>] vnderstande ye Pr. 870. ben] be so S. so ben G. grovndid] ground P. honeste] al honestee S. 871. Juirugh euil] by ony Pr. compassing] rehercyng "W. W2. vv. b. to the Knujlit. :37 *Demen amys of hir in no degre : For neiber rnerci, roube, nc pite 873 neveprfmii She slial not haue, ne take of be non hede the bounds of womanhood. Berber ben longib vnto hir womanhede. 875 5G. Hebe not astoneid of no wilfulnes, 87G ~Rq noii3t dispeired of bis *dilacioun ; Lete reson bridel lust bi buxumnes, i-'t «a> ■- j >.ii i 872. Demon] Semen T. P. Seyen L. of hir] e] his P. pace] face b. 894. bou] vow P. 895. wanhop] hope P. S9ti. repaire] any repeyre S. .-is Venus' Answer ' Mercy,' * Honest Meaning,' 'Secretness and 'Humble Port ' shall smooth thy way ; I, too, will favour thee. 59. And merci first shal bi wai[e] make, 897 And honest menyng aforn do bi message, To make merci in her hert awake ; And secrenes, to furber bi viage, WiJ> humble port to hir bat is so sage, 901 Shul menes ben, & I myself also Shal J)e fortune er bi tale be do. 903 60. Go forth at Go forbe anon, & be ri3t of goode chere : 904 For specheles noting maist bou spede ; Be goode of trust, & be noting in were, with my Sib I myself shal helpen in bis nede ; lul,.. she shall r J , , . „., -, at least grant For at be lest, of hir "oodhhed, 908 thee a hear- . . »»s- > She shal to be hir audience enclyne, And lovli be here, til bou bi tale fyne. 910 61. Fore wele bou wost, ^if I shal not feine, 911 "Wtt/ioute spech bou maist no merci haue : For who b«t wil of his preve peine Fulli be cured, his life to help & saue, He most mekeli oute of his *hertis graue 915 Discure his wound, & shew it to his lech, Or ellis deie for defaute of spech. 917 62. For he bat is in myschef rekeles 918 To sechen help, I hold him but a wrecch ; And she ne mai bin hert[e] bring in peas, But if bi compleint to hir hert[e] strecch. 897. shal bi waie] )>y wey slial redy S. 898. menyng] mevyng G. menne w. meane b. 899. make] do P. merci] pyte Pr. 900. secrenes] sikurnesse S. to] tor P. viage] vysage S. message L. 901 omitted in L, but added by a later hand. 902. I] om. P. 903. fortune] forne w. forther b. er] and P. |>i] al ]>y S. tale] calowr (?) P. 904. ri$t of goode] of ryght good F. B. L. b. right good of C. W. W2. w. 905. noting] for no thyng G. S. maist }wu] may you W. W2. w. may ye b. 908. at >e] atte C. W. W2. at w. P. lest] last P. 909. to >e] the to P. to — audience] hire audience to the L. 910. lovli] lowe the C. >e] to B. om. G. S. \>e here] to her Pr. here] hir S. til] tell b. 911. wost] knost P. wyst G. wotest w. wottest b. jif] yeft P. 912. \>ou — haue] than no mercy maist hawe P. 914. Fulli] ffullyche G. be cured] to be recured P. 915. He] om. b. hertis] hurtis T. herte G. w. b. hert F. B. L. C. W. W2. 916. to] om. C. W. W2. w. 917. deie] to die P. 918. he] am. L. rekeles] and is rekelees b. 919. sechen] seche hym P. but] om. Pr. a] om. L. 921. if] om. G. S. to] vnto G. hir] thyn L. herte] erys G. S. Thou must s]>eak out ; unless thou discover thy wound to the leech. In mischief one must seek help ; to the Knight. 39 Wouldist bou be curid, & wilte no salue fecch It wil not be : for no wi3te may atteync To come to blis, if he lust lyue in peyne. 63. Therfore at ones go in humble wise Tofore Jn ladi & louli knele adoure, And in al trouth ]>i woordis so denyse, That she on be haue co?»passiou?* : For she bat is of so heigh renouw In al vertues as quene & souerain, Of womanhed shal rwe opon pi pein.' 922 without suite, thou canst not be cured. 924 925 Therefore kneel lowly before tli y lady ; 929 and she shall have pity on thy pain.' 931 And whan be goddes bis lesson hade him told, Aboute me so as I gan bihold, lii^t for astoneid I stode in a traimce, To *seen J»e maner & be covntenau^ce And al be chere of pis woful man, That was of hwe deedli pale & wan, Wib drede supprised in his owne boi^t, Making a chere as *J>ou3 he rou^e] noujt Of life ne deb, ne what so him bitide : So mych fere he hade on euere side, To put him forJ>e forto tel his peyne Vnto his ladi, ojjer to co???pleyne, What wo he felt, torment or disease, What dedli sorov his hert[e] did[e] sease, For roube of which his wo as I endite, Mi penne I fele quaken as I write. 932 When the 936 940 944 so feared he to lay his case before his lady. For very ruth I teel my pen quake, 922. ]>ou] then F, not S. wilte] lyst G. S. no] not L. B. nocht P. fecch] seche F. 923. not be for] not be nocht be P. 924. he] him S. 925. go] go forth Pr. 926. Tofore] By fore S. Before b. adouw] and a doun W2. hi] this G. 928. on >e] of the may G. S. 929. of so heigh] so hye of S. 931. opon] on Pr. of P. After 931 in F. B : Hue [Hie B] usque verba Veneris. Heading before 932 mB. F: Verba sompniantis ; in b: The author. 932. him] om. S. Pr. 933. so as] so C. W. W2. w. as b. I gan] gan I w. gan] cane S. 934. for] as for F. B. P. L. sore S. b. so C. W. W2. w. 1] om. C. W. W2. w. iii] as in F. B. G. S. 935. seen] sein T. seyfi P. &] of L. 2 d J>e] om. C. W. W2. w. covntenamice] goueniauwce G. 937. deedli pale &] pale and dedly S. 938. supprised] oppressid S. in his owne] inly in his G. oonly in his S. 939. a] his S. om. Pr. >ou$] pat T. S. he] hym G. S. roujte] recched S. cared b. 940. 1 st ne] nor F. B. P. G. 941. he] him L. on] in G. 942. him] hem S. forto] to C. 943. o]>er] or els b. 944. he] him L. felt] li-te W2. ledde w. b. or] and P. b. 946. his wo as I] of his wo to S. wo as] wooes W. W2. w. b. 917. quaken] qwakyng S. L. write] now write P. 40 The Kniijht's Not the Muses, help- ers in joy, may I now invoke, but Tisi- phone and her sisters. Now let your tears rain into my ink, tli at I may relate the complaint of this man, Of him I had so grot compassion??, Forto reherse his weymentaciouw, That, wd vnnebe bouj with my self I striue, I want co/myng, his peynes to discryue. Alias ! to whom shal I for help[e] cal 1 Not to pe Musis, for cause bat bei ar al Help of rijt in ioi & not in wo, And in maters bat pei delite also, Wherfore bei nyl directe as nov my stile, Nor me enspiren, alias be hard[e] Avhile ! I can no ferber but to Thesiphone And to hir sustren forto help[e] me, That bene goddesses of turment & of peyne. Nou lete ^oure teris into myn inke reyne, With woful woordis my *pap?r forto blot, This woful mater to peint[e] not, but spotte, To tell be maner of bis dredful man, Vpon his co?npleint, when he first bigan To tel his ladi, when he gan declare His hid[de] sorois, and his euel fare, That at his hert constreyned him so sore, Theffecte of which was pis w?t7t-oute more : 918 952 956 900 964 9G8 ■ Princess of youth, 64. ' Princes of ioube, & flour of gentilesse, Ensaumple of vertue, ground of curtesie, 970 949. Forto] pat to S. his] his gret P. weymentaciouH] lamentacion b. 950, 951 read in b : Ye / though I with my selfe stryue Unueth my connyng may his paynes discryue 950. wel] om. C. W. W2. w. vnnebe] I wot S. witft my self I] I with my silf C. 951. want] lacke w. 952. to— helpe] for help to whom shall I B. 953. for cause] by cause G. b. ]>at] om. F. B. Pr. ar] om. S. ben Pr. al] nere all b. 954. Help] Helpynge F. B. G. Helpen S. 955—957 om. in P. 955. >ei] om. F. B. G. S. 956. nyl] wil nat G. nyl not S. directe as nov] as now di- recte Pr. nowe dyrect S. as] om. G. 957. alias] but alias F. 958. I] And G. S. no] no more P. — Physyphonee S. 959. sustren — me] suster to calle help vpon C. W. W2. w. b with the variation, susters. 960. goddesses of] goddesse nt P. goddes L. 2 d of] om. C. W. W2. w. 962. woful] peynfull S. paper] pauper T. 963. to peinte not] not to pevnte B. C. b. not peynt S. but] to P. but to S. 964. dredful] woful P. 966. when] and howe b. gan] began L. 967. sorois] sorowe P. 968. That] Whiche S. at] om. W2. w. b. his] is W2. hi»i] om. Pr. 969. >is] thus L. After 969 is in F. B the rubric : The supplicacion of the man to hys (his B.) lady ; S has in the margin: Ba- lade of be lover. 970. Princes] Pryncisses P. 971. Ensauwple] A ensample P. Ensamplier L. Wooing of the Lady. \\ Of bcaute rote, qucne ity For I will be true and hum- bly devoted to you, as ever mai was to his lady. rather die than offend you. Take me as your servant; teach me On my distres ye would haue pite. 69. For vnto 30W trwe & eke secre I wole be found, to serue as I best can, And Iperwith-al as lowli in ich degre To 30W * allone, as euir 3it was man Vnto his ladi, from be tyme I *gan, And shal so forbe, wtViouten eny sloube, Whiles pat I lyue, bi god & be my troube. 70. For leuyr I had to dei[e]n sodeinli, Than yow offend in any maner wise, And suffre peynes inward priueli, Than my seruise ^e shuld as nov despise. For I rijt no^t wil asken in no wise, But for 3oure seruaunt 3c would me accepte, And, whan I trespace, goodli me correcte, 71. And forto graunt, of merci, bis praier, Oonli of grace and womanl[i] pete, Fro dai to dai pat I my3t[e] lere 997 998 100: 1004 1005 1009 1011 1012 1016 1018 1019 997. Where so] Wheber S. Where so euer T. P. L. Pr. ye] yow T. F. B. S. do me] me do P. me] om. L. 999. chaungen] chaunging S. 1000. }e] you S.— goodl T. tofore] before b. byseen S. er] om. P. er bat] om. T. 1001. rwe] knewe W2. 1002. &] yef P. if L. b. ]>e so|>e] my peynes Pr. 1003. What is be cause] And what the cause is b. 1004. On] Of S. L. Off P. dis- tres] disese G. S. Pr. 1006. wole] wold P. found] bounde S. 1007. lowli] low G. S. 1008. allone] ben allone T. L. P. Pr. was] ded P. 1009. be tyme] tvme bat S. I] the world P. gan] began T. L. P. S. Pr. 1010. shal so] so shal G. S. so] be B. 1011. Whiles] Whyle b. 1012. leuyr— to] I had lener b. 1013. offend] offence W2. w. 1014. inward] Inwardes S. 1015. my — nov] as now my sendee ye shull P. $e sliuld as nov] as now ye shold Pr. ye shulden nowe S. 1017. would] wol L. 1018. goodli me] me goodely to S. 1019. bis] the L. Pr. 1020. womanl T. 1021. lere] beter lere S. Wooing of the Lady. 3ow forto please, & berwitA-al put 30, When I do mys, list [for] to teche me, In ^oure seruyse hou bat I mai amende From hens-forbe, and neuyr 30W offende. 72. For vnto me it dob inou3 suffise, That for ^onre man }e would me reseyue, Fulli to ben, as 3011 list deuyse, And as ferforbe *my wittes con conceyue, And perwithal, lich as 3e perseyue That I be trwe, to guerdone me of grace, Or ellis to punyssh aftir my trespace. 73. And if so be pat I mai not atteyne Vnto 3011?* merci, ^It graunteb at [be] lest, In 30W seruice, for al my wo & peyne, That I mai dei3en aftir my bihest. This is al & som, be fine of my request : Obir with merci 30W seruant forto saue, Or merciles pat I mai be graue. 74. And whan J>is benygne, of hir entent trwe, Conceyued hab be compleint of bis man, Ei3t as fie fressh rodi rose nwe Of hir coloure to wexin she bigafi ; Hir bloode astonyed so from hir hert[e] *ra Into hir face, of femyny[ni]te : Thuruj honest drede abaisshed so was she. 43 liow to please 1023 y ° U ' and liow to 1025 do amiss. 1026 For I am con- tent to be your servant : 1030 reward or 1032 1033 And if I can- not obtain your mercy, then let me die in your service. 1037 This is the whole of my request.' 1039 1040 When this benign lady heard this, 1014 1046 1023. for] om. T. G. S. 1024. I] ye L. 1027 omitted in P. 1028. 3011] ye G. P. W. W2. w. b. deuyse] to devise G. S. 1029. And] Kyght F. B. G. S. my] as my all except F. B. G. S. con] may F. B. G. S. P. 1030. perseyue] preue C. W. W2. w. me preue b. 1031. That I] To b. I] ye P. me of] of your G. S. 1032. to] om. G. me P. S. 1034. at be] at T. atte F. W. W2. w. att B. me at L. P. 1035. peyne] pyne P. 1037. is] om. F. B. G. be] and P. om. S. request] beheest S. 1038. Obir] Outlier C. Eytlier W. W2. w. b. Oonly S. forto] to Pr. 1039. I] he G. S. graue] begraue Pr. grace F. P. In the margin opposite 1040 : The answere of hys lady F. 1040. And] om. S. trwe] so trewe G. S. 1041. hab] had P. 1044. ran] it ran T. P. W. W2. w. b. 1045. femynyte T. F. B. pure femynite P. verray femynyte L. Pr. 104(5. so] om. Pr. 44 The Lady's and humhl\ and benign! glanced at liim, in abashed Bilence ; till at last, in pity, slie spoke : ' With all my heart I thank rou for your offer. 75. And humb[e]le she gan hir ei^cn cast 1047 Towardis him, of hir benygnyte, So bed no woord bi hir lippes past For hast *nor drede, merci nor pite. For so demeyned she was in honeste, 1051 That vnavised noting hir astert : So mych of reson was com past in hir licit — 1053 7G. Til, at be last, of roube she did abraide, 1054 When she his troube and menywg did[e] felc, And vnto him ful goodh spake & seiile : ' Of ^oure [be]hest and of jour menyng wele, And ^oure seruise so feibful eueredel, 1058 Which vnto me so lowli now $e offre, Wib al my hert I banke 30W of joure p'vofir — 1000 You must needs speed the better for your virtuous intent: but I can grant nothing more than Venus will allow : for I am bound to obey what she ordains. That for as mych as 30111'e entent is sette 10G1 Oonli in vertu, I-bridelid vnder drede, 3e most of ri3t riedis fare be bette Of 3onre request, and be bettir spede. But as for me, I mai of womanhede 1065 ISTo ferbir graunt to 30V in myn entent Thanne as my ladi Venws wil assent. 1067 78. For she wele knowib I am not at my laarge 1068 To done rijt noi^t but bi hir ordinaimce ; So am I bound vndir hir dredful charge, Hir lust to obey wibhoute variaimce. 1047. gan] began L. Pr. 1048. Towarde b. of] right of S. 1050.1 st nor] ne T. S. 2 d nor] ne L. S. Pr. 1052. That] Than P.— vnaduysed C. b. vnduysed W. vndeuysed W2. w. — no thyng no thyng P. nobing hir] hir nothyng myght G. hir astert] fro her stert Pr. 1053. compast] composed b. hir] om. W. W2. w. 1054. at be] atte C. W. "VV2. w. F. at B. of roube] so moche b. rou]>e] whiche C. W. W2. w. 1055. his] is C. menyng] meuyng w. dide] well dyd b. 1056. 1 st And] That b. vnto] to G. 8. spake &] thus she b. 1057. 1 st Of] And of B. behest] behestes S. best T. 2 d of] om. G. S. Pr. 1058. Joure] of yowr P. 1059. vnto] to L. 1060. of] for b. 1061. That] And b. om. S. as mych as] so nmche as L. so moche C. W. W2. w. sette] y sette P. 1062. in] on S. b. I-bridelid] brydeld S. 1063. fare] fayr P. 1066. to] om. S. 1067. as] om. P. assent] ful assent S. 1068. am] nam S. 1069. bi] at G. 1070. bound] drowned Pr. 1071. to obey] to him S. Answer to the Knight, 45 Tint for my part, so it be plesaimce 1072 But, for J l l pail, I I'i Vnto J>e goddes, for troube in -$our emprise, accept y< I 30 \v accepte fulli to my seruyse. 1074 79. For she myn hert hab in subieccioura, Which holi is 3oures and neuer shal repent, In Jion^t nor dede, in myn elecciouw : Witnes on Venus, pat knoweb myn entent, Falli to obei hir dome and Iugement, {So as hir Inst disposen and ordeyne, Eijt as she knoweb be trouth of vs tweyne. 80. For vnto be time J>at Venus [list] pronyde To shape a wai for oure hertis ease, Eobe ^e and I mekeli most abide, To take a[t] gre, & not of oure disease To grucch agein, til fdie list to appese Oure hid[de] wo, so inli bat constreynej) From dai to day & oure hert[es] peyneb. 81. For in abiding, of wo & al affray — Whoso can suffre — is founden remedie, And for be best ful oft is made delay, Fr men be heled of hir maladie ; Wherfore, as Venus list pis mater to guie, Late vs agreen & take al for be best, Til her list set oure hertes hope at rest. 1095 1075 My heart is wholly yours and will ever be: 1079 but vet, as obey. 1081 1082 For until she deign to ap- pease our inward woe, we must meekly abide. 108G 1088 1089 Forin abiding is round remedy for woe: 1093 let us surren- der ourselves to Venus' 1072. pleaunce w. 1074. fulli] in P. 1076. lioli] hoi G. hole S.— repete w. 1077. 1 st In] And in G. nor] nen S. 1078. on] of G. 1079. to obei] to heye W2. w. b. to byde S. 1080. hir] she G. P. 1081. Rijt] Lyeh G.S. vs] bothe vs G. S. 1082. vnto] vn P. >e] om. G. S. list] om. T. P. F. I'.. 1084. mekeli most] most nedes be tyme S. 1085. at gre] agre T. in gree S. L. of] at G. for S. b. 1086. agein] agrayne b. til] til that Pr. 2' 1 to] om. B. S. b. appese] hawe pece P. 1088. &'] so S. and of P. hertes] hert T. peyneb] pleynel>e S. peyryth G. 1080. al] om. L. 1090. AVhoso] Who that G. S. b. Who P. is founden] fyndepe S. b. 1091. fnl oft is] is ofte P. G.— dely G. 1092. Er] Er that P. men] man W2. w. be heled] beheled W. be- helde W2. w. 1093. list bis mater] this mater lest G. bis] the b. to] om. S. b. 1094. take] om. L. al] al thing S. a] for] for al P. 1095. her] ache G. S. set — bojje] owre both hertes sett P. oure — bobe] hothe our [w : out] hertes Pr. at] in Pr. 40 Venus' Addre for she can unite lovers. Now, blissful goddess, be- friend us from thy starry seat.' And then I saw these lovers pass before the goddess, who linked their hearts together wit a golden chain, *aying: 'My daughter, of your grac« receive this man. It is fitting that you For she it is \>«t bindej) & can constreyne 1096 Hertes in ooii, J?is fortunate planete, And can *relcsen loners of her peyne, To turne fulli hir bitter into swete. Nou blisful goddes, doun fro pi sterri sete, 1100 Vs to fortune, caste $our stremes sliene, Like as je enow pat we troupe mene.' 1102 83. And ]>envitha.], as I myn eyjen cast 1103 Forto perceiue fie mane?' of pese twein, Tofore pe goddes mekel[i] as pei past, Me ]>ou3t I saw, with a golden cheyne, Venus anon enbracen & constrain 1107 Her bop[e] hertes, in oon forto perseuer, Whiles pat per Hue and newer to desseuer. 1109 84. Saiyng rijt pus with a benygne chere : 1110 ' Sip it is so ^e ben vndir my myjt, Mi wille is pis, pat $e, my doubter dere, Fulli accepte pis man, *as hit is ri^t, \ r nto $our grace anon here in my si3t, 1114 That euer hap ben so louli 3011 to serue : It is goode skil ymr pank pat he desserue. 1116 85. Your honour saue, and eke 30?^' womanhed, 1117 Him to cherissen it sittip 30V rijt wele, Sip he is bound, vnder hope & drede, Amyd my cheyne pat maked is of stele ; 1096. it] om. L. Pr. is] om. b. bindej)] biddeth L. constreyne] destrevne S. 1098. relesen] recouer P. plesen T. F. B. 1099. To] And to P. into]' vn to G. b. 1100. fro J)i sterri] streght from J>y S. 1101. Vs] Vn G. 1104. twein] sweyne W2. w. 1105. Tofore] Before S. b.— mekel T. J>ei] the P. F. 1106. a golden] of golde a S. In the margin o/F, opposite 11. 1104 — 1106 : Corda amborwji amancium cathenata per venerem. 1107. enbracen] enbrased P. enkrace b. 1108. bothis G. bo)>er S. bo}>e hertes] hertes both P. 1109. Whiles] Whyle b. line] bane lyue L. to] for to S. desseuer] disserue F. 1110. In the margin ofY : Verba veneris ad amantes. 1111. je] that ye P. they G. S. 1112. his] thus Pr. 1113. Fulli] Ful C. W. p. W2. w. as hit is] at his T. F. B. 1116. he] ye L. 1117. eke] also W. p. W2. w. b. 1118. rijt] om. P. 1120. Amyd] And with S. maked] forged G. L. Pr. maked— stele] is golde yche dele S. to the Lad;/ and the Knight. 47 3e must of merci shape pat he fele In 30V som grace for his long seruise, And pat in hast, like as I shal deuyse. 86. This is to sein : pat -$e taken hede, Hou he to jov most faibful is & trwe Of al ^our seruauwtis, & noting for his mede Of 30V ne askij) but pat }e on him rwc ; For he habe *vowid to chauwge for no nwe, For life nor deb, for ioy[e] ne for peyne — Ay to ben ^ours, so as $e list ordeyne. 87. "Wherfore }e must — or ellis it were wrong — Vnto $our grace fulli hym receyue, In my presence, bicause he haj> so long Holli ben goitres, as $e may conceyue That, from ^oure merci nov if }e him weyue, I wil my self recorden cruelte In 30iire persone, & gret lak of pite. 1121 ami bo gracious to 1123 1124 Consider lunv, for all his faithful- lie oi.lv aska 110Q ?•'"','' m '- v : , 1 IJo lie luis vowed never to change. 1130 1131 Wherefore, 1 1 35 el s e I must record cruelty :itf;iinst you. 1137 Late him for trouth J?en find[e trouth] agein For long seruice guerdone him with grace, And lateb pite wei[e] douw his pein ; For tyme is nov daunger to arace Out of 3011173 hert, and merci in to pace ; And loue for loue would[e] wele biseme To yeve agein, and Jus I pleinli deme. 1138 Let grace he his guerdon ; 1142 1144 root ' Danger out of your heart, and let ' Mercy ' enter. 1121. ?e] She S. of merci shape] nedys of mercy P. he] ye ¥2. w. b. 1122. for] of Pr. 1123. like] om. P. 1125. Hou] How JxrtG. most] oft W. p. W2. w. is] it W. p. ¥2. om. w. hath ben b. 1127. ne] he b. J>at] om. Pr. rwe] to rue b. 1128. hahe vowid] vowed hath L. Pr. vowid] woid T. 1129. nor] ne P. F. Pr. ne] nor G. ner L. no B. 1130. Ay] As \\ r 2. w. b. 3e] yowe S. 1131. ?e] yow S. 1132. fulli hym] him fully to S. 1133. he] that lie L. 1135. 3oure] om. w. b. nov] om. G. Pr. 3e] I S. weyue] reve P. 1138. for] so S. for his L. Pr. >cn] om. P. G. S. b. Jen finde] fynde than C. W. p. W2. w. finde trouth] trouthe fy?ule G. 2 d trouth] truwe S. om. T. F. B. L. C. W. p. W2. w. 1139. with] om. P. 1140. lateb] late ye (J. late your W. p. W2. w. b. weic dou?(] awey doon S. 1141. to arace] for tarace G. for to race S. vp to race P. 1142. Out] Hut S. pace] space W. p. W2. w. b. 1143. And] nor P. woulde] It wel 6. hit wolde S. world C. biseme] seeme S. 1144. Jds] thus L. P. G. S. I] am. S. 4S Venus' Address I will SlMllll suivty for his dutlfuhiess. And thou also, my son, list to my First, be faithful ami humble ; in every trou- ble let thy heart be rooted in steadfastness. 89. And as for him, I wil bene his borow Of lowlihed and bise attendance, Hou he shal bene, bo]j at eue & morov, Ful diligent to don his obseruaimce, And euer away ting 30U to do plesaunce ; Whcrfore, my sone, list & take hede Fulli to obey as I shal pe rede. 90. And first of al, my wil is pat pou be Feipful in hert and constant as a walle, Tnve, humble and meke, & ferwithal secre, Withoute chauwge in parti or in al ; And for no turment, pat pe fallen shal, Tempest pe not, but euer in stidfastnes Bote pin hert, and voide doublenes. 91. revere and defend all women. Be courteous, fresh and seemly ; disdain no one ; do not vaunt thyself of be- ing cherished. 1145 1149 1151 1152 1156 1158 For thy lady's And forpermore, haue in reuerence sake, ' ' Thes women al for pi ladi sake, And suffre neuer pat men *liem don offence, For loue of oon ; but euermore vndirtake Hem to defend, wheper pei slepe or wake, And ay be redi to holden champartie 'With al[le] po, pat to hem haue en vie. 92. Be curteis ay and lowli of pi spech To riche and poure, ai fressh & welbesein, And euer bisie, weies forto sech All trwe louers to relese of her peyne, Sip pou art oon ; and of no wi^t haue disdein — For loue hap pouer hertis forto daunt — And neuer for cberisshing pe to mych auau^te. 1145. for] for for F. 1146. bise] lowly S. 1147. he] hit S. at] om. Pr. eue] even S. &] & at G. 1149. 3011] om. S. to] for to F. B. L. G. S. do] om. p. 1150. list] listen P. L. F. B. Pr. hede] good hede G. 1151. to obey] obeye S. 1152. bat] at P. thys that F. B. }>ou] ye G. S. 1154. and] om. B. Pr. 1155. or] and b. 1156. fallen shal] may befall b. 1160. ladi] ladvis G. ladyes S. 1161. hem don] do hem T. L. b. do hem S. 1162. but] om. P. euermore] ever wher S. euer w. b. 1163. whe)>er >ei] wherso thow G. 1164. And] But G. S. to] for to P. charnprwtie] truwe party e S. them party L. Pr. 1165. With] Ayenst Pr. ho] om. P. those b. 1166. ay] eke F. B. 1167. ai] om. S. Be b. 1168. euer] eucry P. 1170. and] om. G. S. 1172. And] om. S. neuer for] for no G. S. pe] neuer G. S. to mych] to S. 1159 1163 1165 1166 1170 1172 to the Lady and the Knight. 49 93. Be lusti eke, deuoid of al tristesse, And take no bou^t, but euer be Iocond, And nou3t to pensif for non heuynes ; And with bi gladnes let sadnes ay be found ; When wo approcheb, lat niyrb most habound, As manhod axe]) ; and bou$ bou fele smert, Lat not to manie knoweu of bin hert. 94. And al vertues biseli bou sue, Vices eschew, for be loue of oon ; And for no tales bin hert[e] not reniue : "VVoorde is but winde, bat shal sone ouergon. What euer bou here, be dovmb as eny ston, And to answere to sone not be delite ; For here she standeb bat al bis shal be quite. 95. And where bou be absent or in presence, Kone obirs beaute lat in bin *herte myne, Sib I haue *3yue hir of beaute excellence, Aboue al ob/r in vertue forto shine; And benk *in fire hou men ar wont to fyne This purid gold, to put it in assay : So be to preue, bou ert put in delay. 96. But tyme shal come Jwu shalt for bi sufTerauwce Be wele apaide, and take for bi mede Thi Hues Ioy and al bi suflisaurece, 1173 Re devoid of melancholy, 1177 £™™;™ ' mid do noT wear thv 1179 h"M*«pon thy sleeve. 1180 Seek virtue, eschew vice; 1184 1186 1187 Give place to no other's beauty in thy heart. 1191 Gold moat be ] nin tied by fire, mid thou by deh.y. 1193 1194 In duo time thy endur- ance shall be paid with thy life's joy ; lI73.deuoid] al voyde S. voyd Pr. al] om. S. 1174. euer] ay G. 117f>. And noujt to] Ne be not S. 1177. approcheb] approched C. myr}>] mercy G. 1178. axeb] axid C. 1179. manie] fele S. 1180. biseli bou] besye the to G. S. bou sue] ensue b. 1181. eschew] esehuwe ay S. 1182. And] Ne S. not] ne S. bin — reuiue] let not thy hert renue P. remue] remeve G. renewe W. W2. w. b. 11^3. "Woorde] Wordis L. bat] hit S. shal sone] sone shal G. ouergon] be gone w. begone b. 1185 reads in S : And soone to aunswere bat bou be not delyte. not] do nat b. na P. be] om. G. 1186. al bis shal] shall alle P. 11S8. obirs] other b. herte myne] hertes mynd T. 11S9. 3yue] om. S. 3yue hir] hir jyue T. F. B. L. beaute] bountee S. 1190. in — shine] euer to be thyne b. vertue] beaute B. G. 1191. benk] benk bat T. P. F. B. L. in fire hou] hou in fvre Pr. ar] ben S. wont] wone G. 1192. in] at G. S. 1193. be to [ireue] to the prone Pr. 1194. But] And S. 1195. fake] thanked S. 1196. bi] this P. TEMPLE OF GLASS. E 50 Venus Address So bat goode hope ahvay Jn* bridel lede. Lat no dispeire hindir J?e with drede, 1198 But ay bi trust opon hir merci grovnd, Sib noon but she may bi sores sound. 1200 97. Eche lioure and tyme, weke, dai and ^ere, 1201 Be iliche feithful, and varie not for lite ; Abide awhile, & ban of bi desire The time neigheth, bat shal be most delite ; And lete no sorov in bin hert[e] bite 1205 For no dill'erring, sib bou shalt for bi mede Eeioise in pees be floure of womanhede. 1 207 98. Thenk hou she is pis wor[l]dis so?^ne & li^t, 1208 The sterre of beaute, flou?' eke of fairnes — Bobe crop and rote — and eke )>e rubie bi^t Hertes to glade "[troubled with derknes, And hou I haue made hir bin heites emperesse : 1212 Be glad berfore to be vndir hir bonde. Nou come nere, dorter, & take him bi J>e bond, 1214 99. Vnto pis fyne b«t, after al be showres 1215 Of his turmewt, he mai be glad and li^t, W[h]au, Jmru3 30U17? grace, 30 take him to be 3oures For euermore, anon here in my sy3t ; And eeke also I wil, as it is ry^t 1219 "\Wt7i] the p. 1199. opon] on b. 1200. may] ne may G. sores] sorowes L. P. sorowe Pr. 1201. 1 st and] om. b. weke] and euery S. dai] om. p. 1202. iliehe] ay liche L. eylyche P. lyche G. S. liche C. lyke W. p. W2. w. b. 1204. bat shal] >ow shalt S. 1206. no] om. G. S. differring] desyring S. shalt] shall P. om. Pr. 1207. Reioise] Shal [Shalt b.] reioyse Pr. 1208. bis] be S. worldis] wordis T. G. &] om. B. 1209. flour] the flour Pr. eke] and eke L. 1210. eke] ete w. 1211. Itroubled] doubeld S. 1212. haue] om. G. S. 1215. fyne] syn C. be] by S. these Pr. showres] sorowes L. 1216. his] thys F. hire L. 1217. AVhan] Wan T. buruj] by Pr. to be] to S. 1219. eeke also] firbermore S. also I wil] 1 wil also Pr. 1220. lisse] lesse P. 1222. bere] here T. P. B. F. ' Despair* anil 'Uiead' be far from thee. Never vary; abide patiently, anil endure delay ; for in the end thou shalt will her, who is this world's light, the star of beauty, the empress of thy heart. Take him, daughter, by the hand, that he may be glad alter his torment. Kiss him here in my presence ; to the Lady and the Knit fid. And bat oo lok be of joure bobe hertes Shet with my key of gold so wel depured, Oonli in signe bat je haue recured }oure hole desire here in bis holi place, Within my temple, nou in be jere of grace. 101. Eternalli, be *bonde of assuraurace, The cnott *is knytt, which mai not ben vnbovnd, That al be goddis of bis alliaimce, Saturne, & Ioue, & Mars, as it is fovnde, And eke Cupide, \>at first 3011 did[e] wounde, Shal bere record, & *euennore be wreke On which of $ou his troube first dobe breke : 102. So bat bi aspectes of hir fers[e] lokes, Wib-oute merci, shal fal[le] be vengeau/zce Forto be raced clene out of my bokes, On which of 30W be found [e] variau«ce. Jperfore atones setteb jow plesauns Fulli to ben, while $e haue life and mynd, Of oon accord vnto joure lyues ende, 103. That, if be spirit of nvfangilnes In any wise joure hertis would assaile, To meve or stir to bring in doubilnes Vpon $our troupe to giuen a bataile, Late not ^oure corage ne 30ure force fail, Ne non assautes 30V nitteii or remeve : For vn-assaied men may no troube preue. your hearts "shall be looked in one by my golden 1226 key. 1228 1229 The knot is for ever knit : all the gods bear record 1233 and will take 1235 vengeance on whichever is untrue. 1236 The culprit shall be erased out of my books. 1240 Therefore be ever of one accord ; 1242 1243 that, Ifnew- fangledness ami double- nest* assail, 1247 1249 your courage and force may not fail : truth must be proved. 1224. of] on-B. 1225. so wel] wel G. depured] pared Pr. 1226. haue] ben S. 1227. hole] om. P. in] right in L. 1228. in >e] J>ia S. J>e] this L. 1229. Eternalli be] Ye be eternally b. be bonde of] ben bomule & G. bonde] bounde T. P. L. Pr. S. 1230. is] Je T. F. B. L. is knytt] om. P. which] the wheche G. that Pr. 1231. goddis] knottys G. 1232. 1 st &] of F. om. Pr. Ioue] Iuno L. w. Iuue b. 2 d &] as P. 1233. eke] bowe S. 3011 dide] did you L. Pr. ded yow P. did him S. 1234. euermore] oiwmore T. L. C. be wreke] bewreke S. C. 1235. On] Of S. his] Jwyre S. tlojie] to S. om. Pr. 1236. bi] om. S. aspectes] the aspectes P. L. baspectes S. hir] his P. G. ferse] first S. fair C. fyry W. W2. w. b. 1237. Wi|)-oute] With S. \>e] to B. te G. J>e foule S. vengeau?ice] variance P. 1239. On] In G. S. foundo] found of Pr. 1243. nvfangilnes] reproued Ialousnesse S. 1244. jourr hertis would] wolde youre hertes S. 1245. or] and L 1246. giuen] gy?iny>i G. 1247. ne] ner L. 1248. Ne] Ner L. Nor Pr. assautes] assayis G. or] nor G. 1249. men may no] may no man P. no man may L. Pr. 52 Athh For white is winter when s.'t by black ; Bweel is so . etev after bitterness: without proof is no security. Everything is more prized when dearly bought ; love is surer when won with woe. So love will be sweeter to you, because you patiently ; I will bind yimr hearts together for 104. For white is whitter, if it be set bi blak, 1250 And swete is swettir eftir bitternes, And falshode euer is drive & put a-bak, Where troupe is rotid witfamte doubilnes; Wi])-out[e] prefe may be no sikirnes 1254 Of loue or bate ; and berfor of 30W t[w]oo Sbal loue be more, \>at it was boi^t with wo. 125G 105. As euere ping is bad more [in] deinte, 1257 And more of pris, when it is dere bou^t ; And eke bat loue stond more in surete, When it tofore with pej'ne, wo & Jjo^t Conquerid was, first when it was so^t ; 12G1 And euere conquest ha)? his excellens, In his pwsuite as be fint resistence : 1263 106. And so to 30W more sote and agreable 1264 Shal loue be found — -I do 3011 plein assure — ■ Wijj-oute grucching fat 30 were suffrable So low, so meke, pacientli tendure, Tbat al atones I shal nov do my cure 1268 For nov and euer 30W hertis so to bynd, Tbat noii^t but deb shal be *knot vnbynd. 1270 107. ISTou in bis mater what shuld I lengir dwel ] 1 271 Come]? [off] at ones, and do as I baue seide. 1250. bi] wyth P. 1252. falshode] falsenes P. S. euer] om. S. euer is] is ne'uer L. 1253. rotid] rote P. doubilnes] om. W2. falsnes w. b. 1254. may] ther may Pr. be no] not be S. 1255. or] nor G. S. and P. 1256. loue] om. P. pat] sith S. for Pr. was] is S. 1257. As] And Pr. more in] in more L. P. G. in] om. T. F. B. deinte] deute W. W2. w. dente b. 1258. boujt] Ibought P. aboght F. 15. G. S. 1259. ]>at] om. Pr. more in] in more L. 1260. When it] hat longe S. it] om. B. it is Pr. tofore] be fore P. b. peyne wo] wo peyne G. &] om. G. 1261. 1 st was] is S. than b. first— was] whan hit is first S. sou3t] boght B. thought L. 1262. And] rlbr S. 1263. he] it Pr. (it it W2.) 1264. And] Right S. sote and] sett P. 1265. Shal loue be] Loue shalbe b. loue] om. P. do] om. b. do 3011 plein] playnly you L. plein] pleynly S. (L.) Pr. assure] ensure L. sure S. 1266. pal] if b. pat 3e] as he P. were] be b. 1267. So low so] Both lowe and b. pacientli] pla- cently S. 1268. That] Than b. nov] om. P. nov do] do now Pr. 1269. Jowr] you W2. bynd] bende G. fynde S. 1270. but] saf P. shal pe knot] the knot shal G. S. pe] your P. knot] [mot with the p scratched through T. 1271. hi the, margin of F : Conclusio verboram Veneris. 1272. Comep] Come ye Pr. oil'] om. T L. Pr. haue] yow P. The Lady and Knight united. 53 And first, my doubter, ]>at bene of bounte* well, gracious to In hcrt and bou^t be glad, and wele apaied daughter: To done him grace ]>at hap, & sbal, obeid 1275 lour lustes euer, and I wole for bis sake i win stand surety tor Of troupe to 30W be bou?Kle and vndertake.' 1277 Mm.' 108. And *so iorbewith, in p?y?sence as bei ston.de 1278 TiientWa 11 ' lady tooU her Tofore be goddes, bis ladi faire & wele T', v i : ''",d ,y Hir humble seruamit *toke goodli bi be honde, As he toforne here mekeli did knele, And kissed him after, fu[l]fillyng eueredele 1282 and kissed Fro point to point in ful *brifti *wise, *As je toforne haue Venus herd deuyse. 1284 nsVennsiiud ' J devised. 109. Thus is bis man to ioy and al plesau«ce, 1285 Thus has this From heuynes & from his peynes old, joy alter Ful reconsiled, and hab ful suffisarmce Of hir bat euer ment[e] wel, & would : *That in goode faith, *and 1 tell[e] shuld 1289 tints are their The inward myrbe dide hir hertis brace, with inward . . mirth, *For al my life it were to lit a space. 1291 110. For he habe wonne hir bat he loueb best, 1292 And she to grace habe take him of *pite ; And bus her hertis bebe bobe set in rest, and set at Wib-outen chaunge or mutabilite, And Venus hab, of hir benygnete. 129G fi>r Venus has bound Confermed all — what [shall I longer tarie?— them in one L J for ever. This tweyfi in ooii, and neuere forto varie : 1298 1273. bene] is S. ar Pr. bounte] beute G. well] wele T. the welle P. 1274. hert] bete G. wele] om. P. 1275. hab & slial] shal and hath P. Pr. & shal] so longe S. 1277. be boiuwle and] by bounde I S. 1278. so forbewrt/t in] soforhe within T. so forth within L. C. W. W2. w. so forth in b. Btonde] dyd stande b. 1279. Tofore] He fore S. Before P. b. ladi] om. C. W. W2. w. 1280. toke] eke T. take F. 1281. toforne] before b. mekeli] om. P. knele] her kneele S. 1282. fufillyng T. eueredele] om. B. 1283. Jnrifti] tristi T. tristy L. P. wise] vise T. 1284. As] And T. toforne] before 1>. haue] hade L. had W. "W2. w. haue Venus] Venus haue G. S. 1286. 2 d from] om. S. 1287. ha>] om. S. 1289. That] And T. and] bow T. if b. 1290. myrbe] merthis G. mirthes C. myrthes L. W. W2. w. myrtes b. Ioye 8. dide] that dede G. S. P. b. hertis] hert L. 1291. For] Forbe T. F. B. In P. life] lvf- to telle Pr. lit a] lytel F. B. P. Pr. 1292. loueb] loued L. 1293. of] to t. 1294. bebe bobe] bothe ben G. in] at B. L. G. S. 1297. shal] om. T. shulde G. S. 1298. forto] to Pr. 54 Glorification of Venus 111. That for fie Ioy in \>e temple aboute Of J>is accord, bi gret solempnyte, Was laude and honoure wiih-'m and wz't/t-oute 3eue vnto Venus, and to be deite Of god Cupide, so b«t Caliope And al hir sustren in hir armonye *Gunne with her song be goddes magnyfie. 112. And al at ones, with notes loude & shar]>e, Thei did her honour & her reuerence, And Orpheus among hem with his harp Gan strengis touch with his diligence, And AmphiouM, J>at babe suche excellence Of musike, ay dide his bisynes To please and queme Yenus be goddes, 113. Oonli for cause of be affinite Betwix bese tvvoo not likli to desseue/-e ; The lovevs ail And euere louer of lorn & heij degre prayed Venus ' ' ° that tiie love Gan Venus pray, fro bens for]? & euer Therefore, laud ami honour wen given unto Venus and Cupid, the Muses magnifying the goddess with their song. Orpheus touched his harp, and Amphion did his best to please her. of these two might ever endure and increase. dess made a solemn promise, 1299 1303 1305 1306 1310 1312 1313 1317 1319 1320 That hool of hem be lone may perseuere, Wib-oute[n] ende, in suche plite as bei gonne, And more encrese b«t it of hard was vvomie. 111. And so fie goddes, hering bis request, As she bat knew be clene entenciouw Of hojje hem tweyne, ha}) made a ful bihest, Perpetuelli, by confirmacioim, 1299. for be] for b. in] wyth in P. aboute] aboue w. 1301. hononre] om. P. preysing S. with onto] eke wyth out P. 1302. 3eue] Ioye S. vnto] to Pr. to] vnto L. 1305. Gunne] Can S. Sone T. L. F. P. Soon C. Swete W. W2. w. Gunne with her] With theyr swete. b. her] om. L. C. song] sondes Pr. magnyfie] to magnyfye S. W. W2. w. did magnifye C. 1307. 1 st Iter] om. S. 2 d her] om. w. b. 1308. Orpheus] or Phebus F. — amonges S. L. his] hir P. 1309. his] besy G. S. 1311. Of] In S. ay dide] dede ay ek G. 1312. and queme] and queue W2. the quene w. b. queme] quen P. he] aud w. and b. 1313. for cause] bycause b. of] or P. be] his S. 1314. Betwix] Betwene b. Be twethe G. twoo] tweyne G. S. likli] lusty C. W. W2. w. 1315. I0113 & hei3] heigh and low P. b. 1316. Gan] Gurnie G. pray] to pray L. 1317. hool— loue] ho the loue of hem G. loue] lyf S. 1318. in] wyt G. plite] wyse Pr. 1319. And] In S. 1320. so] om. Pr. Jus S. 1322. hab made a ful] made a Pr. l>y ike Lovers 55 Whiles pat bei lyue, of oon affeecioim 1324 Thei sIijjI endure — per is no more to sein — ■ fiat neiber shal haue mater to compleyne. 1326 115. 1 So ferforj) euer in oure eternal se The goddes haue, in *her presscience, Fulli deuysed Jjuruj hir deite, And holi concludid bi hir influence, That Jmru3 hir my^t and iust[e] * providence The loue of hem, bi grace and eke fortune, WiJ>-oute chaunge shal euer in oon *contune.' 116. Of which[e] graunt, be tempil environn, jjuruj hei3 confort of hem bat were present, Anone was gon[n]e with a melodius sowne, In name of bo bat troub in loue ment, A ballade nwe in ful goode entent, Tofore be goddes with notes loude & clere, Singyng rijt bus anon as 3e shal here : 117. ' Fairest of sterres, pat, wij> 30iire persant 1 j^t And -with be cherisshing of 30ure stremes clere, Causen in loue hertes to ben li^t, Oonli burn 3 shynyng of 30ure glade spere : ]^ou laude and pris, o Venus, ladi dere, *T5e to ^our name, pat haue wit/mute synne Jpis man fortuned his ladi foito wyraie. 1347 that their affection should last perpetually. 1327 'Tims have lo31 that their love shall continue lor ever.' 1333 1334 And then the tempi a ballad with melodious sound 1338 was sung before the 1340 g°d Jess: 1341 1345 laud and praise be to you.O Venus. 1324. Whiles] Whylo b. bat] om. P. Pr. lyue] loue B. of] by G. 1325. sein] fayne L. 1327. ferforb] ferthennoro L. euer] euennore Pr. oure] oon S. 1328. her presscience] oure presence T. P. F. B. L. Pr. hir heghe prescyence S. 1329. buruj] in G. 1330 and 1331 transposed in P. 1330. holi] hoi G. hoole S.— conclude b. hir] fynal G. S. 1331. buruj] by Pr. my$t] witt S. myth G. providence] prudence all except G. S. 1332. hem] hym p. eke] by S. 1333. euer in oon] euermore S. Pr. con tune] tyme T. P. F (corrected later to tvne, by Stowe ?). suvn B. 1336. gonne] gone T. p. goon W. W2. w. begun C. begon b. sowne] song P. 1337. In] An W2. w. In — bo] Namely of hem G. Namely of boo S. bo] those h. 1338. in] with G. in— entent] with good avysement S. 1339. Tofore] Before S. b. with] of S. notes] note P. 1340. rijt] om. F. bus] this C. W. p. W2. w. anon — shal] as ye shul affter S. 1341. bat] om. B. Joure] oour p. 1342. with] om. P. cherissh- ing] clerisshyng P. feyriies.se S. Joure] youres L. stremes] beames h. 1343. in] to L. 1344. buruj] by Pr. 1345. pris] preyse P. L. B. G. b. Venus ladi] lady Venus S. w. b. 1346. Be] We T. P. ffor S. 1347. forto] made to F. 5G The Lovers Song. 118. Bright Willi planet, Esperus so bri^t, 1348 pat woful hertes can appese and *stere, helper of ail And euer ar redi buru3 ymr grace & my^fc To help al bo, bat bie lone so dere, And haue power hertis to set on lire : 1352 honour be to Honor to 30W of all bat bene here-inne, you from all ..... present. That haue bis man his ladi made to Wynne. 1354 119. Mighty god- myjti goddes, daister after nyat, 1355 iless, dav-star . after night, Gladmg be morov whan ye done appere, To voide derknes burnj fresshnes of 30?/?* si3t, Oonli with twinkeling of ^oure plesaimt chere : we lovers an To 30V we bank, loners bat ben here, 1359 your favour j That 3c bis man — and neuer forto twyn — Fortuned haue his ladi forto wynne.' 1361 with this And witJi be noise and heuenli melodie heavenly . ' melody in *Which bat bei made in her arm on ye the temple ' ' J )?ura3 oute be temple, for bis ma?ies sake, 1364 I awoke, Oute of my slepe anone I did awake, And for astonied knwe as bo no rede ; For sodein chauwge oppressid so with drede Me bou3t I was cast as in a trauwee : 1368 So clene away was bo my remembraurcce sad at losing Of al my dreme, wher-of gret bou3t & wo sight of this ; f ° r ? laiiy: I hade m hert, & nyst what was to do, For heuynes bat I hade lost be si3t 1372 1348. Willi] Worthy b. so] lady S. 1349. can] canst b. stere] sterre T. 1350. ar] be S. buru3] by Pr. 1351. J>o] those b. 1352. power— set] pore hertis so offt sette S. hertis to set] to sette hertis L. on fire] affere G. a fere L. 1353. of] om. S. 1354 reads in S : }>at f>is man haue / fortuned his lady wynne. bis — to] made this man his lady P. 1355. 0] And S. daister] day sterry P. 1356. }e done appere] the siume appeiyth G. S. 1357. Jmruj] by Pr. sijt] light G. S. w. b. 1358. with] of P.— twinkyng C. of— chere] as }>at hit clerehe S. plesaunt] persaimt G. 1359 reads in S : Nowe we you thanken / ]>at yow seebe or herebe. To Jov] Now alle G. 1361. Fortuned] Fortune C. Heading before 1362 in b : The author. 1362. And] Right S. melodie] maladye S. 1363. Which] With T. With L. C. W. p. W2. w. om. b. 1364. oute] om. L. 1365. Oute] Forthe b. 1366. Ami] As P. for] fer L. sore S. b. as bo] I than L. \>o] than b. 1367. so] or S. om. L. Pr. 1368. Me >ou3t I] My thought W. p. W2. w. I] om. L. was cast as] lay liggynge G. was ay ligging S. cast as] casted P. as] om. Pr. 1369. b°] than b. 1370. gretjfrete W2. w. frette b. 1371. hert] my hert L. was] om. G. S. 1372. >at] for that C. W. p. W2. om. S. lost] elost S. The Author $ Awaking. — Ij Envoy. 57 Of hir b«t I, all be long[e] ny}t, Had dremed of in myn auisiou?* : Whereof I made gret lamerotaeioim, Bicause I had neuer in my life aforne 1376 Sei[n] none so faire, fro time pat I was borne ; For loue of whonie, so as I can endite, I purpose here to maken & to write A litil tretise, and a processe make In pris of women, oonli for hir sake, Hem to comende, as it is skil & ri$t, For here goodnes, -with al my ful[le] my^t — Prayeng to hir pat is so bouwteuo[u]s, So ful of vertue and so gracious, Of womanhed & merciful pite This simpil tretis forto take in gre, Til I haue leiser, vnto hir hei} renouw Forto expoune my forseid visioim, And tel in plein be significaimce, So as it come]? to my reme/ftbramzce, So pat her-after my ladi may it loke. 1392 JNTou go bi wai, bou litel rude boke, To hir presence, as I be comaund, And first of al bou me recomavnd Vnto hir & to hir excellence, And prai to hir pat it be noon offence, If eny woorde in be be myssaide, Biseching hir she be not euel apaied ; For as hir list, I wil be efte correcte, When ]?at hir like]) againward be directe : I mene pat benygne & goodli of *face. Nou go pi way & put be in hir grace. 1403 for never h:nl 1 seen 80 fair a one before. For love of her I purpos here to writi 1380 a little 'pro- cess' in praise of 1384 praying her to accept this treatise. 13bb until I can fully expound uiy vision. Now go tliy way, thou little book. and recoi lOVb unto my lady. 1 400 I will correct Now put thee in her grace. 1373. here in the margin, marked by a caret to be jnit before al S. 1375 omitted in F. 1376. in] om. S. aforne] beforn Pr. 1377. fro] syii the G. sith S. fro time pat] sith that C. W. W2. w. b. syth p. 1378. as] om. p. 1379. to write] wryte P. W. W2. w. b. wyrte p. 1380 — 1403 are missing in G. S. In their stead there is a long addition, the ' Oomplcynt,' in both these MSS. 1380. 2 d a] om. Pr. 1381. pris] jireyse P. praise b. women] woman P. F. 1383. goodnes] gotldes P. fulle] om. Pr. 1385 omitted in F. B. 1386. Of] O L. 1389. Forto] nor P. 1390. pe] om. F. 1391. So] om. Pr. to] vn to F. B. L. 1396. to] om. F. 1397. And] I F. \>at] om. Pr. 1398. in be be] be in the P. be] om. L. 1399. euel] wille P. apaied] payd b. 1400. hir] she P. efte] oft P. 1402. bajt] the F. face] hir face T. P. B. F. L. — For the colophons in the MSS. ami Prints, sec the Introduction. 59 APPENDIX I. Complrunt. [This ditty (595) or little book (622), given in MSS. G and S as a continuation of the Temple of Glass, was written by a lover to express his feelings, when he took leave of his mistress Margaret (the day's eye, 395), on the last day of March. In her presence, he cannot speak ; she will not help him, or bid him do aught for her, tho' she sees his sorrow and love for her. On this March 31, the Sun rejoices because he'll spend the night with Diana ; but the Poet has left his love. He reproaches March for its changes, and describes the charms of his Mistress. He appeals to Fortune to let his Margaret, the day's eye, whose beauty he praises, give him her grace and love in April, for he is hers only, till death ; she is his joy, his heart's rest, but alas also the cause of his woe. For her, he is in a fever, first hot, then cold ; he ever burns like the lamp of Albiston in Venus' shrine. Never had he felt such pain till this last of March, when he parted from his Love. So he writes her this Ditty to tell her his woe. He prays her to look at his little book ; to tear it, if she will, with her soft hands : but rather look on it with her goodly face, and take heed of him, who is hers for ever.] Lycli as asshis dede, pale of hewe. So myn constreynt doth renewc, 28 And euere encresith more & more; At my u herte it sit so sore, Whan that I haue in remembrau/*ce, Myn owene sonereyn suffysance, 32 How I of 30W myn leue tok, And in euery memhre quok ; For verry wo & dystresse Ne niyghte [I] not a word expresse Of al myn wo, alias the whyle ! 37 Alias for thought & inward *peyne, 1 That myn herte so constreyne, With-ovbo reste day he day, Euere sythe I wente a-way 4 Out of 3oure syght, myn lady dere, That there is no thyng that may store Myne dolful harmys nor myn wo, That hen so fer on me go, 8 With-onte remedy or hote, Euyn onto myn herte rote, That wel I fele hy myn smert That I from deth may not astert ; 12 For al myn olde peyntede style And trewely that is lytyl woundyr, Was cleiie a-gon & out of mynde : Sythe that we are so fer asundyr, For I ne coude a word not fymle Myn lyuys lust, myn hertys quene, To speke to 30W, I was so dul ; So fayr, so good vp-on to sene, 16 Fortune hath 3oue me swich a pul That by myn trouthe, wher so I be, In %ourc suruyse, that al is gon, I fare, whan I may 30 w nat se, As doth the fysch vp-on the stronde, Out of the watyr brought to londe, 20 That spraulynge deyeth for dystresse : Ryght so fare I for heuynesse, Whan I of 30W haue lost the syght. More drery than the derke nyght 21 For wantynge of the sterrys clere, Ryght so forderkyd is myn cheere, 40 ■It And mynne wittys, euery-chon, Bo the tonge, speche & euery del, Thow I recorde neuere so wel, Whan I am come to joure presence, Farvvel, speche & eloquence ; 48 A tunge I haue, but wordys none, But stonde mut as *any stone. I fele smert, & can not pleyue, 51 So *hoot myn feuere in euery *veyne, Title : Compleynt S. La compleyn G. 1. peyne] pyne G. 6. 2 d that] which S. 7. dolful] woful S. harmys] harome S. nor] and S. 11. smert] hert S. 12 rands in S : >at hit to de>e wol me smert. 14. are] been S. 18. whan I may] if J>at I S. 21. That] With S. deyeth] dej>e S. 27. as asshis] Ashen S. 30. At] To S. it sit] hit smytefe S. 33. leue] love S. 36. I] out. G. 37. wo] sorowe S. 40. not] om. S. 44. mvnne] my S. 48. Farwel] ffor wille S. k] or S. 50. any] a G. 52. hoot] halt G. hoot myii feuere] am I hootc S. veync] weyue G. GO / am dumb in your presence. You 11 not lid me serve you. The wheche I haue so longe enduryd, Wondyt but myn wounde is cuiyd ; And 3ce, that myghte ben myn leche, Han me for-nome tunge & speche, 56 Wit, & myude, & al myn thought, So that with me is left *ryght nou[g]ht, But good wil only 30W to serue, \VWi-oute chaung, tyl that I sterue. God wot, I haue no more rychesse, 61 Ioye, merthe, nor gladnesse, But fully theron for to thynke, Wher so that I *\vake or wynke, 64 For to a-swage myn inward smert. For wel 3e wetyn that myn hert With 30W onbit & nat remeuyt[h], And aftyr mercy eu^-enior seuyth 68 In 30W to fynde pete or grace, Sum reuthe ek in 30?we goodly face. And *er I deye for treuthe & drede, Ay thynkynge on $oure womanhede, On 30ure beute & semelynesse, 73 Eecordynge ay in myn distresse 3oure schap, 3oure forme, & 3oure glad chere, Thow 30 ben there, & I am here, 76 Alias ! ihourgh crewel auenture, 3oure schap, jonre forme, & 30ure fygure Amyd myn herte depeyntyd be : By god, thow I may 30U nat se, 80 The prent is there so depe I-graue ; And euereinor schal so god me saue, I 30W ensure, by myn trouthe, Thow that 30 neuere haue on me routhe, ~Ne neuere ne wele me do mercy, 85 Jyt schal I seruyn, tyl I dey, By gud, on-to 30ure womanhede, How euere it falle, that I spede ; 88 Of whyche 3yf 3e han dysdeyn, It *wolde double al myn peyn, And castyn me in swich seknesse, That I ne schulde, in sothfastnesse, To helthe neuere a-geyn recure, 93 But euere in maledy endure Vnto myn laste— thys is the trouthe — For that 3e leste to haue no routhe 96 Vp-on 3oure seruau»t & 3oure man, In al that euere I may or can. And of on thyng, soth for to seyne, I haue gret mate;- to compleyne, 100 That 30 ne wolde, of al the tyme, JSTothyr at eue ne at pryme, Comau?/de me to do ryght nought, Wherof I have so meche thought, 104 And ay castynge in myn fantasye, How 3e, for ought I can espye, Of myn servise have no deynte, 107 And seye : " alias what may this be 1 " Aston yd so in al myn blod, That I to symple — & 3e to good — For 30M?-e worthy excellence, 111 That myn kendenesse yow doth offence, Sythe 3e [ne] wele In word ne thought 3owere serwawt bidde do ryght nought. What have I gilt, alias, alias ! Othyr offendyt, in ony cas, 116 3owre womanhed.* or ^ouvq heyglmesse, Ageyn ^ourz trouthe & gentiilesse. I-wis I se non othyr cause, To telle shortly in a clause, 120 But only this that myn symplesse Vn worthy is, to ^oura heighnesse To do servise agreable. Alias, alias, I am vnable 124 53. wheche] whiche seeknesse S. sodonge enduryd] longe dured S. 54. Wondyt] No wonder S. but] >at S. woumle] bert S. 55. ben] best be S. 56. me for-nome] refl't fro me bo>e S. 57. 1 st &] om. S. 53. ryght] ryth G. 62. nor] ne S. 64. Wlier] Whejer S. wake] slepe G. 67. abyde>e S. — remewe>e S. 68. suwefe S. 70. ek] ye haue S. goodly] om. S. 71. er] whan that G. treuthe &] thought er S. 73. beute] bountee S. 75. glad] om. S. 77. crewel] yuell S. 78. Joure— forme] Yit ay your shappe S. 80. ?ou nat] not you S. 81. depe] sore S. 82. eucremor] euer S. 85. 2 d ne] om. S. me do] do me S. 86. seruyn] serue you S. 87. on-to] and to S. 89. Jyf] if )>at S. 90. wolde] wele G. 93. To] Myn S. neuere a-geyn] ageyne neuer S. 96. ?e] you S. 98. I] he S. 99. of] om. S. 102. even S. 103. do] om. S. 105. in] om. S. 110. I] om. S. 2 d to] so S. 112. kendenesse yow doth] lewdenesse do>e yow S. 113. 1 st ne] om. G. 116. Othyr] Or you S. 117.01] othyr G. 118. Ageyns S. &] or S. Lady, set me some task to do for yon ! You see my sorrow. 61 Of cimnynge — Sc non-suffysawzce — To 30W, myn lady, to don plesauwce, And 3e ne wolde of crewelte Onys [list] to comau??de me. 128 And 3 it this vow to god I make, How euere it be, that $e it take, To good or harm in ony wyse, Herte, body, & myn servise, 132 Konny??ge, wit, & dilygence, Absent & In 30?/re presence, To 30W I ^eve & to no mo, Myn hertys quen, myn swete fo. 136 Fleynly it may non othyr be. For lak of mercy thow that ^e Me slen & don non othyr grace, Wherso I be, in ony place. 140 For I am bounde of olde & newe To 30W a-lone to ben trewe, And to no mo in al myn lyve, 143 Ageyn the whiche I ma[y] nat stryve, Thow that I wolde, je *kno\ve it wel. AVherfore doth awey the stel, I mene the hardnesse of $ourc herte, And letyth pete 30W converte, 148 To clepe me -$oure owene man, To serve forth, as I be-gan, And 307/re servaiwt me to calle, 151 And letyth nat swich vengeau»s falle, Myn hertys lady, vp-on me — Preyinge of -$ouvq benygnete, 3if that 3e lyste myn lyf to save, And me to kepyn freww myn grave, 156 Me to comaimde hastely, Of joura woraa?dy mercy, Of newe to don 30W sum servise P>y mm orl'ys or sum empryse, 1G0 Wherwyth I myghte jow delyte. The which[e] thyng but }if 3c wryte, As I have seyd, to biddyn Tiie, Myn herte shal neuere in esc be, 164 I 30W ensure by myn trouthe. Wherfore on me havith him routhe, And thynkyth, sythe I am 30«/-e man, To serve as lowly as I can, 1C8 I can not demyw how that 3c Of myn servise havyn deynte, But 3e lyste bidde me a-mong Sun* servise to vndyrfong, 172 That may 30W turne to plesaimcc. And ferthere hath in remembratmce, Whawne I of 30W tok last myn leve, How sore that it dede me greve 176 That 3e me 3eve so meche large, From 30W to gon wz't/;-oute charge, The wheche 3af my herte a wounde, By myn cher as It was foumle, 180 Of face bothe pale & dede, Heviere than ony lode. I trowe 3e dede it wel espye By the castynge of myn eye, 184 And also by myn pytous lok, And how that I for sorwe quok, For lak of blod that hym with-drow Yn-to myn herte thus hi a swow : 188 1 hadde almost ful sodeynly I-falle there, & cause why Was that I departe shulde 191 From thens where myn herte wolde Fayneste abyde, & eue^emor shal, Wher it is set, not part but al ; And I a word ne myghte speke, Myn hyde sorwe to vnreke, 196 Wherof I was su???del ashamyd ; For tho of newe was a-tamyd To me of sorwe the bittyr to?me, That to myn herte hath I-ronne 200 The sharpe Ijcour, so fel & egre, More than eysel or venegre, "Whiche dede myn herte sore en brace, Whan I be-held $dure goodly face, Ful pytously as 1 forth *yede, 205 [Thcnking on youre godelyhedj] 126. myn lady] dero hert S. 127. And }e ne] If ye S. crewelte] youre curteysve S. 128. list] 07)i. G. 129. 3it this vow] >at avowe S. 134. In] om. S. 135. Jeve] gaf S. 142. 2' 1 to] for to S. 143. in] and S. 144. Ageyns S. 145. knewe G. 14S. letyth] let S. 152. nat] om. S. 155. Je] you S. myn lyf] me S. Lines 157 — 176 wanting in S. 177. Jeve] gaf S. 183. it] om. S. 187. hym] hit S. 190. I-falle] Hane fallen S. 192. where] when S. 193.. eueremor] euer .8. 195. a] on S. 196. hyde] hertis S. vnreke] buwiek S. 205. yede] rod G. 206 omitted In G. G2 On March SI the Sun is glad; hell meet Diana; Ind I am sad. The body wente, the horte a-botl.* So pytously with me it stod, That, as me thoughte, thowrw syde A swerd of sorwe dede glyde, That made me ful reufully To loke tha?me, so that I Was lych a verry ded ymage. It sene was in myn visage, The sorwe that at myn herte sat, But cause, I trowe, of his gladnesse, 208 And that he was so frosch & gay, myn In March vp-on the laste day, 248 Was for tli at he shulde mete ~\Yith Dy[a]ne in the aryete, His owene lady & his quene, 212 And al the nyght to-gedere bene, 252 Ful merye as hy co«?myxtyoun, And make non depart}' cyoun,* Jje nexst[e] day til hit be Eeve, Takynge non bed of this ne that, 216 J?at be Moone takebe hir leve, 256 Save by myn self, at good leyser, And to be whyte bulle hir dresse. A-syde that no man cam me ner, But I, alias, in hevynesse, To syghyw & to make mone, And pytously *I gan to grone I felte so gret aduersite, That it wolde non othyr be, Wher-so me were lef or loth. And with the suwne I wroth 224 That he shon so bryghte & shene, Whil that I felte so gret tene, And that he shewede hym so bryght, And of hyse bemys glad & lyght, 228 Whils I was in so gret trouble. Myrthe made myn sorwe double ; For Ioye & sorwe a-cordyw nought ; No gladnesse to an hevy thought, 232 No laughtyr to hym that is in peyne. For non acord may ben a-tweyne, But they in herte & thought ben on To parte, w[h]ere they ryde or gon, Ioye & wo, euene a-lyche, 237 Whethyr they be pore or ryche. Wherfore It sat me wondyr sore, j?e same day of Marche be last, 220 But fro my lady sithe I past, 260 Of lyf, of dethe al cast in were, Whas shyning of hir eyen clere And comfort of J>e hright[e] lemjs, was rygh[t] Of \>e suwne bright with his bemys, Of hir looke so aungellyk, 265 Jjat in Jus worlde is noon hir lyke, Ne noon was, with-ovvten weene, Heleyne neyjer Polixene, 268 To reken alle hir semlynesse, To hir of beaute ner feyrnesse, And hir trouthe boJ>e in feere, Jjat with my lady may appere, 272 For to Alayene my distresse, To recom forten and redresse My woi'ul lyff to myrthe ageyne : For J)er is noon suche for to seyne 276 In al ]?is worlde, oonly but she, That may til myn aduersite Do remedy ne medecyne, Saue she fat may my sorowes fyne, That Pheb?is day in ful gret sorowe I tooke my leve by fie morowe, 284 Ful trist and hevy in weping, Ami wonder sore of compleyning, After 207 G has the line : And gan to louryn in myn hod. 209. thoughte] semed S. 210. A] ]>e S. dede] did kerue and S. 212. tha?nie] vpofi S. 213. a verry] verray a S. 214. It sene] A seen hit S. in] by S. 218. cam me ner] might me here S. 219. syghy?;] cryen S. 220. And pytouslv] fful hevyly S. I] me G. 223. Wher-so] Wher so >at S. 224. ryght] om. S. 229. Whils] Whyle S. 232. No] Ne S. an] haue S. 234. may ben] urn. S. a-tweyne] bytween tweyne S. 235. herte & thought] thought and hert S. 236. To parte] No party S. 249. mete] >anne meete S. 253. commyxtyoun] conjueeyoun S. 255 — 330 warding in G (a leaf being cut out). Treacherous March, I've lost my lovely and charmftU Mistress. Co j)e which may neuer out of mynde. }?us Marche habe made an hevy eende, And take his leve ful bitturly, 289 That wot no man so wel as I, Ne is expe?-t, what )>is may nieene, Put I alloone, bat al snstene, 292 With bone so hoote sette a fyre. His crueltee, and woful Ire, Alias be whyle ! hit wul me sloo, Departing fro my swete foo. 29G () Marche, I may ful wel warye, That art to me so contrarye, Proving ay myn hevynesse, As Iudith ful of doublenesse, 300 AVondurful, and ay instable, Kight dyuers and varyable : Now canst bow Peyne, now shyne, And so wrongely drawest be lyne, 304 And al by cours dost holde : Nowe art bou hoot, now art bmi colde, Kowe canst bou loude and fully blowe, Nowe smoojie and stilly bere be lowe, Now canst bou snewe, now canst bou heyle, 309 And vs with stormes sore assay le ; Ful seeld in oon bou doost abyde, Gret cause haue I be to chyde, 312 J3at hast bis day so gret delyte, As hit wer verray for despyte Of me, to ben so gladd and feyre, "VVhylest my lyf hongebe in despeyre Of parting, al in dole and dred, 317 Frome be floure of wommanhed, Wbiche habe my lyff and deebe in honde, Pobe in water and in londe, 320 And is be feyrest and be best, In whame yche vertue is at rest, Pounte, you]>e, and gentylesse, lieaute, glad cheere, and semlynesse, Wysdam, manor, and honestce, 325 Prudence and femynynytee, Sykurnesse, and assuraunce, Stylle porte, and gouvernaunce, 328 Lowlynesse, and al-so dred, Sadnesse ymeynt with goodelyhed, Trouthe, feyth, & stedefastnesse : To alle exsauwple & maystresse 332 That lest in vertu for to lere ; To telle hire port & hire manere : Large in refus & dangerous to take, *Streytest of grant, ay redy to forsake, Ferful eu^re to don a-mys, 337 Ful shamefast & sobre 1-wys, Merour of attempe?'au«ce, And rygh[t] demeur of dalyaiwce ; 340 Of worshepe, honour & mesuie She is the welle, I 30W ensure ; 1 »otous of tuii^is, that ben large ; So hoi in vertu is hire * charge, 344 In alle hire dedys vertuvous, And [to] a coward *despitous, As deth hatynge dyshoneste, In here entent so clene is she. 348 How meche wit she can ek shewe, "Where as she lest, in wordys fewe ! There is no lak in no degre, Put of mercy & pete, 352 To sweche as ben in hyre seruyse. Thus may I seyn in myn avise, That d[i]eth thowr//* hyre crewelte, That leste not on-to me 356 Vnclose hyre lyppys for to sjieke. Alias ! she is to sore I-w[r]eke, Sythe that she wele me nat comaunde, Nor hyre centence county rmau?*de, In here seruyse; ne contune, 30 1 This day of March — alias, Fortune, Tliyn double whel that can so varve ! Thyn stormy cher may I wel waiye, 331. Here G begins again. 334. telle] al S. 335. Large— &] Large yiving S. 336. Streytest] Streystest G. Streyt S. of] to S. ay redy] fayne S. 339. attempcraimoe] attem- poraltee S. 344. charge] corage G. 346. to] om. G. to a coward] a coward to S. despitous] amerous G. 347. As deth] Euer S. 349. How] om. S. ek] and hit S. 350. she] hir S. 354. myn avise] many wyse S. 355. That dieth] .She dofe me S. 356. That] ffor she ne S. 358. I-wreke] I weke G. awreke S. 359. wele me nat] nyl me S. 361. ne contune] contynuaunce S. 362. This] >at S. alias Fortune] desfoittmaunce S. 363. Thyn] In S. whel] wille S. 361 reads in S : Ellas my hert is fa] sorye. G4 Fortune, turn my lovely lady Margaret, the day's eye, to me ! whvlom is so glad & lv< r ht. 3G5 That niav a-lone to mvn laneour That whylom is so glad & lyght, 3G5 Now derk as is the donne nyght ; Now fayr & frosch & pleyn of face, Now frounynd & devoyd of grace ; Now lau[g]hynge, & rygh[t] merye of cheere, 369 Now dedly pale. & nothyng cleere ; Now hryghtere than the clere sonne, Now blak as ben the skyis donne ; 372 Now as the rose, frosch & newe, Now as the netyl row of hewe ; Now canst thow sette men aloft, And now hem plonchyn ful vnsoft, I)ou?i from hegh felycyte, 377 Swich is thyn mutabylite. Now canst thowsmyle,& make a mo we, Whan men arn wel from the I-throwe : Thus may I seyn, alias, alias ! 381 That causeles, for no trespas, Hast mad myn lady most souereyn Myn symple seruyse to dysdeyn. 384 Alias, therby I wot ryght wel, But thow turne a-geyn thyn whel, To make me a^en purchace ]\Iercy of hyre & getyn grace, 388 Ther is non otliyr remedye, But shortly this that I mot deye. Now mercy, Fortune, & haue pyte On myn grete aduersyte, 392 And on myn woful maladye. And grau?it[e] that the day[e]sye, The wheche is callyd margaret, So fayr, so goodly & so meke 396 Of flour, of stalk, of crop & rote, So frosch, so benygne & so sote, That may a-lone to myn langOMr Don remedye, to myn socour, 400 And lyssyn al myn langvissynge, Of whyche I am so cowipleynynge, From day to day, with-oute socowr, For lakkynge of this frosche flow, 404 That hath in curys so gret fame, And ' petyt contort ' beryth the name. For it can sonde & hele a-geyn Hertys wouwdit, that fele peyn, 408 Whos croune is bothe whit & red, The stalke eue?'e grene &, uevere ded, In medewe, valeyis, billys & clyf, The whiche flour pleynly ^if I myghte at leyser onys se, And a-byde at lyberte, Where as it doth so fayre sprede A-geyn the su?me in euery mede, On bankys hy a-mong the bromys, Wher as these lytylle herdegromys Floutyn ul the longe day, Bothe in aprylle & in may, 420 In here smale recorderys, In floutys & in rede sperys, Aboute this flour, til it be nyght ; It makyth hem so glad & lyght, 424 The grete beute to be-holde Of this flour & sone onfolde Hyre goodly fayre white levis, Swettere than in 3ynge grevis Is cheuyrfoyl or hawethorn, Whan plente with hire fulle horn Hyre sote baume cloth out-shede On hony-souklys in the mede, 432 Fletywge ful of sugre newe ; 412 416 428 365. is] was S. 366. derk] in derknesse S. is the donne nyght] at midnight S. 367. fayr & frosch &] ful of fiesshe nowe S. 368. devoyd] al voyde S. 369. ryght] om. S. of] vni. S. 373. & newe] of huwe S. 374. of hewe] and nmve S. 375. canst — men] sette in hope an hye S. 376. And] om. S. hem plonchyn] plungen me depe S. 377. from hegh] fer frome S. 378 reads in S : Curtesye >er wantepe as sememe me. 380 reads in S : And when I not me overthrowe S. 386. turne] tarye S. 390. this that I mot] }>at I may now S. 392. On] Of S. 393. on] of S. 395. callyd] cleped S. 396. & so meke] I you byhete S'. 397. Hour of stalk of] folke }>e floure }>e S. 399. a-lone] anoon S. 400. to myn] and eke S. 401. al] also S. langvissynge] langouryng S. 409. is] is ay S. 410. eucre] ay S. 411. valeyis — clyf] in gardin in hil and dale S. 412 reads in S : Which is fresshe and neuer pale. 413 in S : If I might it at leyser se. 414. at] with S. 416. A-geyn] Ageyns S. euery] >e S. 417. a-mong] amonges S. 418. as] on S. these lytylle] pleyen >es S. 419. Floutyn] fflooutyng S. 420. Bothe in] So fresshe S. 422 reads in S : In pypes made of erne spyres. 426. sone] sen S. 428. in Jynge grevis] any rouhge grevys S. 429. Is] Or S. 431. sote] owen S. 432. On] To S. Fortune, send me this April the love of my Lady, my joy, my heart ! 65 Tit is ther non so frosch of hewe, Nor half so fayr vn-to myn ye, As is the lusty clayesye, 436 Whos frosche beute nygh me sleth. For in hyre mercy [is] lyf & deth, Ioye, helthe & euerydele, That in short tyme, but I fel 440 Bum grace in this goodly Hour, I mot be ded of this lango?e S. 442. mot] most S. 443. Yit] That G. this] in )>is S. 444. fille] willS. 446. now] om. S. 447. Of ] Al of S. 448. sighing] Beyinge G. 450. herte] lyve S. to-brest] brek and brest S. 453. Do] Do>e S. 458. jowre] hir S. 460. hauyth] om. S. 463. avow] awow G. oth] o>er S. 466 reads in S : Til de>e smyte me with his darte. 468. bedynge] bidding S. 473. ouer this ay] euery ]>us bo}e S. 474 reads in S: My thought is sett hit nyl remuwe. 476. lveth] is S. your] myn erfore S. 489. shulde] shul S. 490. wete] wot S. 493. sothfastnesse] stidl'astnesse S. 494. Ben] My S. 496. helthe] welthe S. 498. seknesse] sikurnesse S. myn hoi] hole S. 500. ek] om. S. 503. confort] desport ft. 504. myn] .v myn U. TEMPLE OF GLAS. F G(5 Tarn in a fever; I burn Wee l In Albiston in Venus' shrine. Myn dredful pes, myn glade fyght, Myn quiete & niyn busy werre, 509 Myn pensyfhed bothe nygh & ferre, Mvn softt) salve, myn sharpe wounde, Myn \>lcy, myn penaunsmost Iocouude, .Myn holsu/n drem whan that 1 slepe, But whamie I wake, thanne I wepe; Myn hertys Ioye, where 30 gon, And I in langeur ly alon, 516 Nothyr fully quik nor ded, But al amasid in myn hed, By-twixe hope & dred apeyrid, ( )f myn lyf almost dispeyrid, 520 * Byconstreyntofmyngreetepenaunce, A nd of te I lay thus in a trauwee ; Myn feuere is contynuel, That me asayeth stoundemel, 524 Now hattere, than the verray glede, And now as cold, with-onte drede, As frost is in the wyntyr mone ; And tha;/ne sodeynly & sone 528 For hete *and cold a-non I deye, And thus forpossid *be-tween tweye, Of hasty cold & sodeyn hete Now I cheuere, & now I swete, 532 And now I am with cold I-shake, And thanne a brennynge doth me take Of fer, that may nat quenchid be With al the watyr in the se. 536 Myn hete is so violent, Wherwyth myn pitous herte is brent, That may ben likkenyd to a ston, Which is I-callyd albiston, 540 That onys whan it hath caught feer, Ther may no man the flaumbe steer, That it wel brenne aftyr euere, And neuere from the fer disseuere, So they acordyn of nature. 545 And for this ston may longe endure, In fer to brenne fayr & bryght, As sterrys in the wyntyr nyght, 548 I fynde, in Venus oratory e. In hir worshepe & memorye, Was mad a lau»?pe of this ston, To brenne a-fore here euere in on, For to queme the goddesse : 553 Ryght so myn lady & maystresse Myn herte, as ^e shal vndyrstonde, Iferede with Cupidis bronde, 556 That hath— & shal bothe day & nyght — So hot, so clerly & so bryght Enflaumbid me, in wondyr wyse, And only brend in ^oure servise, 560 W/tA-oute smoke of doubilnesse, Chaung[e] or newfongylnesse.* (^wyt of al, for wele or woo, Saue of loue — per ben no moo 564 Jjat may me lyf or dethe comaunde, Pleynly pat is no demaunde ; And per-fore, as ye willen hit be, I mot obeye, at al degre. 568 And pleynely pus pe game hape go, Euer sith I parted yow fro, Sipen, alias, I sayde amysse Of oure departing last ywysse. 572 For sithen I had first a sight Of youre peersand eyen bright, )3e sharp[e] poynt of Remembraunce Mad[e] no disseueraunce, 576 )}at hit nape stiked in myn hert Contynuelly, of Ioye or smert, And not departed truwely. But wittepe oon thing feythfully : 580 In al my lyf, sithe I was borne, As felt I neuer suche peyne aforne, Of no departing noon suche offence, As whane I went from youre presence, In Marche nowe pe last[e] day. 585 For euer sithe in suche affray 508. fyght] sight S. 510. pensyfnesse S. 512. penaiws] prudence S. 516. ly] lyve S. 519. By-twixe] Between S. apeyrid] enpeyred S. 520. Of] pat S. almost] is neghe S. 521. By] Myn G. 522. ofte] as S. lay] ley S. 523. is] is so S. 524. asayeth] assayllepe S. 527. mone] morni- S. 528. & sone] shynepe pe sonne S. 529. and] of G. S. 530. be-tween] a twethyn G. 533 reads in S : And panne with colde ageine I shake. 534. thanne a] affter S. 539. to] til S. 540. Which] pat S. I-callyd] clepid S. albiston] Alobastoim S. 541. That onys] pe whiche S. 556. bronde] honde S. 558. bryght] light S. 562. Chaunge] Chaunging S. 563 to end missing in G. Jlfi/ Lyre, read ih is ! Tear it, if you will ; but look on it, and love me ! 07 Myn hert hape been, in sothefastnessc, In suche annoye and duresse, 588 J)at hit hape brought me right lowe. And for by-cause ye shal hit knowe, My sighing and my woful care, And euer sith howe I haue fare, Al be I can not tellen a], To you I wryte in specyal A certaine dytee, Jjat I made, And offt[e] sy))es a balade, ])e whiohe I made pe selff[e] day, From you when I went away, With Jns compleynt here byfore, And sy)?en howe I haue me bore. Day and night, in youre service, lieseching jmt ye not despyse ))is litell quarell, but doj^e grace For to forgyve J?is trcspas, If my worde amyssc be spoke, And or fiat ye )>er-on bo wroke, To casten fully in Jje fyr, 592 596 GOO 604 [ prey you iirst to maken cler 608 With a goode looke, and with no more. And if hit shal be al to-tore, With-outen mercy, and to-rent, I prey yowe with my best entent, 612 )}at with youre owen handes sofft put ye reende and brek it offt : For youre touche, I dare wel seyne, Wei ))e lasse shal lien his peyne, If ye may haue so myche grace, })at you list with goodely face J)er-ou3t," T. of Glas 1174 ; "peyne, wo & >oujt," ib. 1260 ; "gret ]»ou3t & wo," ib. 137i) ; "thought & inward peyne," Compleynt 1 ; "sorwe and thought," Falls of Pr. 207 e, Rom.- of the R. 308, 2728, and Court of L. 990; "turment and thought," Frank. Tale 356 ; "care and thought," Troy-Book Cc 4 c ; "ihoght, pyne, and aduersitee," Kingis Quair 175, 1. 2. Shakspere still frequently uses the word in this sense. Compare further : "And thus to bedde I wente with thought my gest," Court of S. a., b ; " Devoyde of heuynesse and thoght," Reason and S. 27 'lb; "For thought and woo pyteously wepynge," Troy-Book T 3 c ; "glad and inery . . . voyde of thought," Falls of Pr. 113 b. constraint.] Occurs again in 11. 11 and 667 ; see also Compleynt 28 and 521. Very common in this context ; see, for instance, Falls of Pr. 9 b : his [Jupiter's] constraint & his mortal distres ; Trail. II, 776 : ,joye, constreynte, and peyne ; IV, 713 : wo and constreynte. Cp. also note to 1. 11. The reading compleynt in G and S is certainly wrong. 2. pensifhede.] The word occurs also in the Black Knight 102 ; De duobus Mcrcatoribus, MS: Hh. IV, 12, fol. 73 b ; Reason and 8. 237 b ; Compleynt 510 ; print w replaces it by the modern pensyfnes. 3. To bed I went.] Similar beginnings of these "dreamers" : Rom. of the R. 23 ; Court of S. a 2 b (see note to 1. 1) ; Pari, of F. 88. 4 — 7. For the meaning of these lines see the Introduction, p. cxiv. Titan (see 1. 32) and Phebus are very common in Lydgate for the sun, Lucina for the moon. Cp. for instance, Troy-Book K 3 a : "And Appollo is called eke Titan . . . And he also ycailed is Phebus." Life of our Lady, fol. a 6 a : "she fayrer was to see {the Virgin ) Than outlier Phebus platly, or Lucyne, With homes ful on (Caxton of) lieuen whan they shyne." See Koeppel, Story of Thebes, p. 73, 1. 4. 4. "Lucyna . . . with hir pale lyght" comes also in the Troy-Book Dd, a ; "Lucyna of colour pale and wan," ib. fol. Ai d. 6. decern bre.] Cp. Ho us of F. 63, 111. Chaucer dreamt his wonderful dream of the House of Fame on the lOtli of December. Bradshaw's Life of , Saint Werburge also begins "Amyddes Decembre," when "pale Lucyna" illuminates the earth. 8. derk Diane, ihorned.] Cp. " pe mone pale wi> hir derke homes," Boethius, ed. Morris 5U8. 70 Notes to p. 1, 11. 11—19. 11. Cp. Troy-Book S 6 b and U 5 c : "For the const reyut of his hydde (dedely Us c) wo " ; lb. U 2 d : " Deuoyde of slepe for const rcynt of his wo." lb. S ri a : "Aye on his bedde walowyngo to and fro, For the constreynt of his hydde wo." Falls of Pr. 201 a : " for constreint of her wo." Cp. note to 1. 1. 12. waloing.] i. e. turning restlessly. The word occurs again, in the same meaning, in the Leg. of Good W. 1166 : "She waketh, walweth, maketh many a brayd . . ." ; Wife of Bath's Talc 229 : " He walwith, and he tornith to and fro." Bo?n. of the B. 2562 : " And walowe in woo the longe nyght." Compare also the quotation in the preceding line, from the Troy-Book, fol. S e a ; further, the expressions : " walow and wepe," Troil. I, 699 ; " for-wakit and l'or- walowit," Kingis Quair 11, 1. Similar expressions referring to the restless state of lovers during the night are : Bom. of the B. 4132 : " Long wacche on nyghtis, and no slepinge . . . With many a turnyng to and froo " ; Troil. II, 63 : " And made ar it was day ful many a wente " ; Dunbar, ed. Laing, I, 68, I. 213 : "Than ly I walkand for wa, and walteris about." Cp. the note to 11. 1—3. 13. 14. Cp. Troy-Book Cc* b : ' ' And with theyr songe, or he take kepe, He shall be brought in a mortall slepe." {Ulysses and Si?-e7is.) " Take kepe " = take heed, a very common expression ; cp. Chaucer's Prol. to the Cant. Talcs 398, 503 ; Knight's Talc 531, etc. Line 14 struck Hill, Be Guilcville . . . compared ivith . . . Bunyan, p. 35, as being similar to Canto I, 10, of the Inferno ; see the Introduction, p. cxliv. 15, 16. Cp. Hous ofF.U$,\2Q: " But as I sleep, me mette I was Within a temple y-mad of glas." This seems to have suggested the title of our poem. See further Pope s Temple of Fame, 11. 132—134 : " The wall in lustre and effect like glass, Which o'er each object casting various dies, Enlarges some, and others magnifies. " Cp. also Falls of Pr. 105 6 : " Whose temple is made of glas & not of stele " (Fortune's), and The Isle of Ladies, 1. 72, 751. 17. I nyste how.] Cp. Piers PI, 1. 12 : "That I was in a wildernesse, wist I neuer where ;'' further Court of S. a 3 b : "Thus brought on slepe my spyryte forth gan passe, And brought I was, me thought, in a place deserte, In wyldernes ; but I nyst where I was." The expression occurs also in the IIous of F., 1. 1049. 18. (as) bi liklynesse.] Cp. Falls of Pr. 9 d : "which, as by likelines, Was a place pleasant of larges." The expression occurs also Troy-Book H 5 a ; M 3 c ; P 6 a ; Cc 6 c ; Assent, of Gods c 8 b ; Edmund I, 464 ; Pilgrim. 161 b ; 173 a: ' ' A womman as by lyklynesse. " Or may we read "likenesse," as the reading of MSS. T. F. B. L suggests ? LI. 19 — 34. Stephen Hawes seems to have had these lines in his memory when he wrote the passage in the Pastime of PL, quoted on page exxix. 19. Hous of F. 1130 : "A roche of yse, and not of steel" (see Introduction, p. exxiii). Nates to pp. 1—2, //. 19—37. 71 A curious, indirect mode of expression. Cp. Falls of Pr. 93 e : "This Erebus oath, of yron, not of stone, For auarice built a foule great citie." lb. 105 b : " Whose temple is made of glas & not of stele " (Fortune's), a symbolism which is explained by Falls of Pr. 127 b : " Fortunes fauours be made — who loke wele— Of brotill glasse, rather than of stele." Cp. further, Reason and S. 278 b : " And the poyntes of eche hede Nat of Iren, but of lede." St. of Thebes 356 b : "In a Cope of blacke, and not of grene." roche.] Similarly Hous of F. 1115, 111(3 : " How 1 gan to this place aproche That stood upon so high a roche." The Castle of Sapience (Court of S. e* a) stands also on a "roche" ; Nimrod's tower, Falls of Pr. 5 b, is " Like to a mountaine bilt on a craggy roche." Many of Hawes's towers or castles stand "on a craggy roche," so the Tower of Geometry, Chapter XXI; the Tower of Correction, Chapter XXXII, etc. 21, 22. Cp. Troy-Book B 4 cl : "fresshe ryuers, of which the water clene Lyke cristall shone agayne the sonne shene." Douglas, ed. Small, I, 50, 14 : "Agane the sone like to the glas it schone." 29. est res = "inner parts " of a house. See Skeat, Leg. of Good W., note to 1. 1715. The word occurs again in 1. 549; Falls of Pr. 74 b ; Season ami s. 280 a, 282 a ; Knightcs Tale 1113 ; Reeves Tale 375 ; Rom. of the Ruse 144S, 3626, etc. 30 — 32. Similar expressions in Life of our Lady h, b : " I fvnde also that the skyes donne, Whiche of custome curteyne so the nyght, The same tyme with a sodayn sonne Enchaced were that it wexid al light, As at mydday whan phebus is most bright " (at the birth of Christ). Falls of Pr. 160 d : "Though it so fall, sometime a cloudy skye Be chased with wynd afore y e suune bright." skyes downe] very frequent expression ; see, for instance, Falls of Pr. 193 b ; Albon II, 1131 : Pilgrim. 58 b ; Compleynt 372 ; Flour of C. 115 ; Departing of Th. Chaucer, etc. 33. The wtyin is somewhat anticipating, as Lydgate first tells us of his entering into the temple in 1. 39. 36. Of similar construction to our Temple of Glas is the Palace of Priam in the Troy-Book, fol. F 3 a (repeated on fol. K : , a, and alluded to in the Court of S. e e b): " He made it bylde, hye vpon a roche . . . The syght of whiche, iustly circuler By compase cast, round as any sper." In this case the monk gives us also the exact dimensions, and shows oil' his knowledge of geometry : " And who that wold the content of y e grounde Truely acounte, of this place rounde, In the theatre lirste lie muste entre, Takynge y e lyne y l kerueth thorugh the centre, By gemetrye, as longeth to that art, And trebled it, with the seuenthe part. . ." So our monk had an inkling of the Archimedean value of it = 3}. 37. In compaswise.] So again Fulls of Pr. 154 d: "In cumpas wise closed him without." We have several times " In compas rounde" in Lydgate : for instance : Albon I, 358 : " in cumpas rounde and large " ; lUm-l: Knight -j'J : "a parke, enclosed 72 Notes to pp. 2—3, //. 37—50. with a wal In compas rounde." So also in the Rom. of the, R. 4183 : "The tour was rounds maad in compas." Cp. also Knight es Tale 1031 : "Round was the Bchap, in mailer of compaas." bentaile.] entaile liere seems simply to mean "forme," "shape" ; in which meaning it is not uncommon in Lydgate, cp. Reason and S. 226 b : " Of entayle and of fassoun Lyche the blade of a fawchouw" (a sword) ; a little lower down Lydgate says that Hercules, Hector, or Achilles "had no swerd of swich entaylle ;" further, Falls of Pr. 63 a : "craggy roches most hidous of entaile ;" lb. 174 d : (yron barres) " Brode of entayle, rounde and wonder long ;" Albon I, 256 : "harnesse of plate and maile, Curiously forged after moost fresslie entaile ; " Albon I, 242 : "Ther was one of stature and entaile, (Amphibulus) As ferre as kinde coulde her crafte preuaile ; " Edmund I, 659, speaks of God's " disposicioim most vnkouth off entayle ;" Pilgrim. 271 a : "And made hym ffyrst off swych entaylle" {the carpenter his idol) ; Story of Thebes 357 b : (walles) " Passyrig riclie, and roiall of entaile." Cp. also Rom. of the R. 3711 : "This lady was of good entaile" (A r enus). 39. wicket.] These "dreamers" usually find access to their Castles and Palaces and Temples through such "wickets" ; cp. Hous of F. 477 ; Rom. of the R. 528—530 : "Tyl that I fonde a wiket smalle So shett, that I ne myght in gon, And other entre was ther noon." Compare with this the version in Reason and S. 268 b : " Til he fonde a smale wiket, The which ageyn[e]s him was shet, And fonde as thoo noon other weye." Further, Pilgrim. 9 b : "And ther I sawh a smal wyket Ioynynge evene vp-on the gate." See the Introduction, Ch. IX, § 3, p. exxiii. as fast.] This pleonastic prefix as is very common, especially before adverbs : as faste Troil. II, 657, 898, 1358 ; Chan. Yem, Tale 94 ; Troy-Book G 4 d ; Reason and S. 281 a ; as swythe Man of Lawes Talc 539 ; Chun. Yem. Prol. 383 ; Chan. Yem. Tale 19, 183, 283, 298, 325, 415 ; Dc duob. Merc, fol. 60 b ; Reason and S. 282 b ; as blive Court of L. 1441 ; Fame 1106 ; Troil. II, 1513 ; Troy-Eook Y 4 c ; as here Doctoures Tale 103 ; as now Troil. Ill, 584 ; Shipm. Tale 52 ; Melibe, p. 178, etc. 44. depeint] p.p. = depeinted. The line is of type C ; the full form depeinted would make it of type A. The contracted form of the p.p. occurs again in 11. 89, 137, 275, in the last case rhyming with meint. Similarly, depeynt : seynt, Parol. Tale 488. Cp. also Isle of Ladies 712. 45. ful many a faire Image] Cp. Court of Love 230. 46. 47. The division of lovers according to their age is carried out at some length in the King is Quair, stanza 79, etc. ; see also the Court of L., and compare Troy-Book M 2 a : "Lyke theyr degrees, as they were of age." 50. billes.] These lovers' "billes," presented to the pitiless loved one or to the Queen of Love herself, when she holds her "high parliament," occur in many poems of Chaucer and his s< hool ; cp. again 11. 317, 333, 368 of the Temple of G. ; further March. Tale. 693, 708 ; Kingis Quair 82, 6, etc. ; Isle of Ladies, 1. 920, etc. ; Assem. of Ladies, passim; Court of Love 577, 839, 916 ; Pari, of Love 83 ; Lancelot of the Laik, Prol. 142 ; Hawes's Pastime of PI. , Chap. XXIX (ed. Wright, p. 142) : (lovers) ""Whiche in the temple did walke to and fro, And every one his by 11 did present Before Venus in her hyghe parliament." Notes to p. 3, //. 53—60. 73 Cp. also Chaucer's Compl. to Pile 43 : "A compleynt hadde I, writen, in my hond, For to liave put to Pite as a bille." 53. Venus is often thus represented, see JIous of F. 130—133 : ' Hit was of Venus redely, This temple ; for, m portreyture, I saw anoon-right hir figure Naked fletinge in a see." Knightcs Talc 1097, 1098 : " The statu of Venus, glorious for to see, "Was naked fletyng in the large see." Troy-Book K 4 b : ' ' And she stant naked in a wawy see. " In the Troy-Book, sign. G 5 b, this is symbolically interpreted (according to Fulgentius) : ' ' And therfore Venus fleteth in a see, To shewe the trouble, and aduersytee That is in loue, and in hir stormy lawe Wbiche is byset with many sturdy wawe," etc. Fulgentius (ed. Muncker), p. 72, says : " Hanc etiam in man natantem pin- gunt, quod omnis libido rerum patiatur naufragia." 55—61. Dido was a favourite and often-quoted figure in medieval times, owing, of course, to the pathetic treatment of her story by Viigil. Compare Chaucer's Legend of Lido, and the Prologue to the Legend 263 ; Hous of F. 140 —382 ; Duehessc 731—734 ; Pari, of F. 289 ; Pom. dc la P., ed. Meon, 1. 13378, etc. ; Gower, Confcssio, Book IV (ed. Pauli, II, 4 etc.) ; Court of L. 231 ; Intdli- genza 72, 3 and 4. Lydgate has treated Dido's story in the Falls of Pr. II, 13 ; cp. further, for Dido and Aeneas, Falls of Pr. 139 d ; Reason and S. 261 b ; Edmund I, 275 ; Black Knight 375 ; Troy-Book U 6 b, Bb 5 a ; Life of our Lady a 5 b, h a ; Flour of C. 211. There was another version of Dido's story current in the Middle Ages, according to which Dido put an end to herself, in order to escape another marriage and remain faithful to her dead husband. See Falls of Pr. 51 c and their original, Boccaccio De Casibus II, 10 ; see also Kin ting's Petrarea, p. 505 and 661 ; Triumphes of Petrarch, edited for the Roxburghe Club, by Lord Iddesleigh, Preface, p. vi ; Koeppel, Falls of Pr., p. 93, to whom I am indebted for most of the last-given dates. In our passage, as in Reason and S., Lydgate follows the common version, according to Virgil. Aeneas, as arch-traitor to Troy, plays no very creditable part in the Troy-Book, see sign. Y-j c, Y 3 c and d ; Aa 6 b ; he is also sharply rebuked for his faithlessness to Dido iu the Troy-Book, Bb 5 a : "And how that he falsede (Fynsonfalsehcde) the quene, I mene Dido, of womanhede fioure, That gaue to hym hir rychesse and treasoure .... But for all that how he was vnkynde— Rede Eneydos, and there ye shall it fynde ; And how that he falsely stale away, By nyght tyme, whyle she a bedde lay." 57. "And tak thyn aventure or cas." Hous of F. 1052. 59. Troy-Book D 5 a : "And how that he was false and eke vnkynde For all his othes ..." (Jason). 60. The words "alas, >«t euer she was borne " agree with Leg. of Dido 385 : "That I was born ! alias ! what anal I do ? " and with Hous of Fame 345 : "O, welawey that I was born ! " But, at the same time, the exclamation : "alas, that (ever) I was borne," is in poems of that time so commonly put into the mouth of those in extreme dis- tress that Lydgate need not here have copied from either of these two poems; see Knight's Tale 215, 365, 681 ; Maxtnc. Talc 169 ; Peeves T. 189 ; Dodoes T. 74 Notes to p. 3, //. 02—74. 215 : Shipm. T. 118, 119 j Frankel. Tale 725, 814 ; Duchesse 566, 686, 1301 ; Troilus III, -255, 1024, 1374 ; V, 690, 700, 1276 ; Cleopatra 79 : Thisbr 128 ; Cuckoo and Night. 208 ; Isle of Ladies 1611, 1643 ; Black Knight 484 ; Hani- well, M. P., p. 115. In Duchessc 90, Monk's Tale 439, and Legend of Adrianc 302, with slight variation : "Alas . . . that (ever) I was wrought ! " Compare also the Pastime of Pleasure, Chapter XXXII, where Godfrey Gobelive gives vent to this exclamation, when whipt by Correccioun (ed. Wright, p. 156). 62. The story of Medea and Jason is given at great length in the Trov-Book, Book I, Chapter V, VI, VII (the description of Medea, etc., Troy-Book \S& b, is by no means the least of Lydgate's poetical achievements) ; again, in the Falls of Pr. I, 8, and in the Confcssio Amantis, Book V (ed. Pauli II, 236 etc.). Jason is sharply lectured by the monk for his inconstancy in the Troy-Book Dj b — Di c. — See further mention of Jason or Medea Black Knight 372, 373 ; Story of Thebes 371 b ; Flour of C. 214 ; Reason and S. 261 b ; ^Esop 4, 100 ; Legend of Hypsipyle and Medea, beginning ; Prologue to the Legend 266 ; Sq'uicres Tale II, 202 ; Man of Law's Prologue 74 ; LTous of F. 400, 1271 ; Duchesse 330, 726 ; Rom. de la R. 13432, etc. ; Intclligcnza 73, 3. Medea is mentioned, with Circe, as an enchantress in the Knightes Tale 1086. 63. falsed = deceived ; see Troilus III, 735, 757 ; Anclida 147 ; Duchesse 1234, etc. 64—66. Adoun.] Compare Falls of Pr. 32 a; Black Knight 386—388; Knightes Tale 1366 ; Troilus III, 671. Lydgate has also the form Adones, rhyming with peereles (Falls of Pr. 32 a), and Adonydes, Reason and S. 252 b. The prints corrupt the name into Atheon, which could only mean Actseon ; see Knightes Tale 1445. The Italian form Ateone occurs in Frezzi's Quadrircgio I, 4, 137, and Taccone wrote a drama Atteone (see Gaspary II, 216). The story of Actseon is given by Gower I, 53 and alluded to in the Black Knight, 11. 94 — 98. 67—69. Penelope.] See Gower, Book IV (Pauli II, 6 etc.), and list at the end of the Confcssio (Pauli III, 363) ; Rom. de la R. 8693. High praise is be- stowed on Penelope's faithfulness in Troy Book C&> c and d ; see, further, Trionfo d'Amorc III, 23 ; Duchesse 1081 ; Legend, Prologue, 252 ; Anclida 82 ; Man of Lawes Prol. 75 ; Frankel. Tale 707 ; Troilus V, 1792 ; Intclligcnza 74, 8 . See also, further on, 1. 407 ; Flour of C. 203. 69. pale and grene.] Frequent formula ; see Duchesse 497, 498 ; Anclida 353 ; Troy-Book H 6 b : "Now pale and grene she wexyth of hir chere." 70. aldernext.] Similarly alderlast 247. Alder, of course, is O. E ealra, of all; Lydgate has even "for our alder ease," Troy-Book Y3C1; "of theyr alder sorowe," ib. Y« d ; in theyr alder syght, Albon II, 888. 70 — 74. Alceste.] On Alcestis, her transformation into a daisy, and the poetical worship of that flower, see Skeat, Leg. of Good IF., p. xxii, etc. ; Minor P., p. xxv ; ten Brink, Gcschichte dcr engl. Litter., II, 115; Morris, Prologue, XVIII; H. Morley, English Writers, 2d. ed., V, 133. Compare particularly the Prologue to the Leg. of Good W. ; Confcssio Amantis, book VII (ed. Pauli III, 149), and list at the end (III, 364) ; Court of L. 105, etc. ; Lydgate's Minor P., p. 161 (Halliwell) ; Falls of Pr. 37 b ; Secreta Secretorum (Ashmole 46), fol. 127 a: " Whan the Crowne of Alceste whyte and Red, Aurora passyd, fl'ul ffresshly doth appere, For Ioye of which with hevenly nootys Clere The bryddes syngen in ther Armonye, Salvve that seson with sugryd mellodye." See further, Troilus V, 1540, 1792 ; Frankel. Tale 706 ; Lancelot of tlie Laik, Prol. 57 ; Flour of C. 198 ; Add. MS. 29729, fol. 157 a ; Compjcyni 394—437 ; Occleve, Letter of Cup d, stanza 6 from end ; Floicer and Leaf 348. Compare further, note to 1. 510. As is well known, the story of Alcestis has often been treated in poetry and music ; in modern times by Hans Sachs, Hardy, Quinault, Wieland, Herder, Handel, Gluck, etc.; see G. Ellinger, Alceste in dr mod.rnen Littcratur. For the mention of Alcestis, and poetical treatments of her story, Notes to pp. 3—4, //. 75—90. 75 in ancient times, see Sandras, Etude sur Chaucer, p. 58. In the following words " Ce snjet que la science moderne croit retrouver dans la vieille litterature de l'lnde," Sandras alludes, I suppose, to the beautiful Sacitryupakhyana in the Mahabharata. 75, 76. Grisildis.] This is, of course, from the Clerkes Talc. The story- comes, as is well known, from Boccaccio and Petrarch, has been painted by Pinturiechio, and again treated by Radclitf, Dekker, Chettle and Haughton, Hans Sachs, Lope de Vega, Halm, etc. Compare F. v. Westenholz, Die Grisel- dixsagc. Griseldis is also mentioned in Lvdgate's Bycorne 87 ; Flour of C. 199 ; Add. MS. 29729, fol. 157 a ; Falls of Pr. As a ; 60 h ; 99 a (where Lydgate men- tions Petrarch's treatment), and again in our Temple of G. 405. Also in MS. Ashmole 59, fol. 53 a : "Gresylde whylome sheo hade grot pacyence, As it was proeved far vp in Ytnyle." Further, in Feylde's Controversy (twice), etc. 77—79. Isolde.] Confessio, Book VI (Pauli III, 17). Tristram and La Bele Isolde head Gower's list in Book VIII. See also Trionfo d'Amore III, 80, 82 ; Pari. ofF. 290 ; HousofF. 1796 ; Leg. of Good W., Prologue, 254 ; Black Knight 366 ; L. Lady h a ; Lc Dit du bleu chevalier 299 ; Intelligenza, 72, 7. 80, 81. Pyramus and Thisbe.] Mentioned again, 1. 780. Compare particu- larly Reason and S. 256 b, where the story is told ; further, Leg. of Thisbe, and Prologue 261 ; Pari, of F. 289 ; March. Talc 884 ; Confessio, Book III (Pauli I, 324, etc.), and list in Book VIII ; Trionfo d'Amore III, 20 ; Troy-Book X 3 d; Black Knight 365: "yonge Piramus," see Temple of G., 1. 780; Le Dit du bleu Chevalier 242, 243. — Of course I might mention Ovid, Shakspere, etc. 81. him Piramus.] AVith respect to this combination of pronoun and proper name, see 1. 123 : hir Almen ; 130 him Mercurie ; Black Knight 368 : of him Palemoune ; Troitus III, 834 : she Cryseyde ; Non. Prcstcs Talc 574 : he Likke Straw ; ib. 321 : Lo hire Andromacha ; Knightrs Talc 352 : him Arcite ; Duchesse 286 : he mette, king Scipion ; March T. 124 : him Oliphernus ; ib. 129 : him Mardoche ; Bocthius 293 : hym Trigwille, etc. 82 — 85. Theseus.] See Leg. of Ariadne, and Gower's Confessio, Book V (ed. Pauli II, 302, etc.) ; Hous of F. 405, etc ; Knightcs Tale, 122 ; Falls of Pr. 3c; 14 6; 23c. 84. Dedalus.] HousofF. 919, 1920 (see Skeat's note) ; Duchesse 570 ; Bom. de la B. 5241 ; Falls of Pr. 86 c. The Story of Dedalus and Icarus is given in Reason and S. fol. 259 a aud b. for-wrynkked.] Leg. of Ariadne 127 : "for the hous is crinkled to and fro, And hath so queinte weyes for to go." Falls of Pr. 14 a : " Labii in thus, diners and vncouth, Ful of wrincles and of straungenesse. " Reason and Sens., fol. 251 b : " For this the house of Dedalus .... It is so wrynkled to and fro." Chaucer's Bocthius, ed. Morris, 2981 : " pat hast so wouen me wi]> f>i resouws. }>e house of didalus so entrelaced. )>at it is vnable to ben vnlaced." 86 — 90. Phyllis and Demophoon.] Their story was very popular in the Middle Ages ; see Chaucer's Leg. of Phyllis, and Prologue, 264 ; Man of Law's Head-Link 65, and Skeat's note ; Hous of F. 388—396 ; Duchesse 728 ; Rom. de la R. 13414—13417 ; Dante, Paradiso IX, 100 ; Trionfo d'Amore I, 127 ; Falls of Pr. 37 a ; Bcason and S. 261 b ; Flour of C. 204 ; Gottfried von Strass- burg, Tristan 17193 ; Dirk Potter's Minnen hep I, 325, etc. ; Al. Chartier, "L'Hospital d'Amours." Lydgate represents here, and Black Knight 68 — 70, Phyllis as hanging herself on a filbert-tree. This seems to originate in Gower's Confessio, Book IV (ed. Pauli, II, 30) : "That Phillis in the same throwe "Was shape into a nutte-tre, That a'le men it mighte se ; 76 Notes to pp. 4—5, //. 02—110. And after Phillis philliberd This tie was cleped in the yerd." See Skeat's Etymological Dictionary, under filbert, and Webster. This version is not, as far as I know, borne out by the classics. Ovid, Heroidcs II, gives no particular tree (nor does Chaucer) ; see farther the short account in Hyginus (59 and 243, not quite consistent with each other). According to a tradition given by Servius (ad Virg. Eel. V, 10) Phyllis was changed into an almond tree, which tree seems to be meant in Pliny 16, 45 ; Palladius, Be insitionibus o'l, and 97 ; and Culcx, 11. 130, 131 ; cp. Spenser's translation : "And that same tree in which Demophoon, By his disloyalty lamented sore, Eternal hurt left unto many one." We read further in Rolland's Court of Venus, book III, 30 : "The Queue Phillis, and luif to Demophoon, And in ane tre scho was transfigurat, [QJuken he on sey be storme was tribulat." Our version with the filbert tree, however, seems to have sprung from one of Virgil's Eclogues (VII, 63) : " Phyllis amat corylos ; illas dum Phyllis amabit, Nee myrtus vincet corylos, nee laurea Phoebi. " 92, 93. Paris & Eleyne.] See particularly Troy-Book II, Chapter XIII, where the rape of Helen is narrated in detail. See also Duehcsse 331 ; Pari, of F. 290, 291 ; Legend, Prologue 254 ; Hous of Fame 399 ; Squieres T. II, 202 ; Man of Laic's Prologue 70 ; March, Talc 510 ; Troil. I, 62, 455 ; V, 890 ; B. Lady a.ib ; ha ; Flour of C. 191 ; Albon I, 475 ; Lntelligenza 71, 1. 8. Line 93 occurs nearly word for word in the Troy-Book H 4 b : "This fayre Eleyne, this fresshe lusty quene." 94, 95. Achilles and Polyxena.] Troy-Book IV, Chapter XXXII, tells how Achilles was treacherously slain in Troy ; see also Falls of Pr. I, 21. Cp. further Duehcsse 1067 (and Skeat's note) ; Pari, of F. 290 ; Bccjcnd, Prologue 258 ; Troil. 1,455; Black Knight 367 ; Flour of O. 190 ; T. of Glas 785 and 786 ; lntelligenza 72, i.o and 273, i. 2 . 97- — 99. Pnilomene.] See Chaucer's Leg. of Philomela; Gowcr, book V (ed. Pauli, II, 313, etc.) ; also Troil. II, 64—70 ; Falls of Pr. 9 a ; Black Knight 374 ; Kingis Quair, stanza 55. The above form of the name, instead of Philo- mele, is common in the Middle Ages, not only in England. There was, for instance, a HUt. of Felix and Philomcna, acted 1584 (interesting with respect to The Two Gent, of Vcr.) ; the name of the maid in Ayrer's Pclimperia is Philo- mena ; Lope de Vega wrote a Philomcna, and Gascoigne a Complaint of Philo- rncne. In the Kingis Quair 62, 1, Philomene rhymes with epiejie (see Skeat's note) ; ib., 110, 3 with schene ; in Lydgate, Falls of Pr. 9 a, with clcane ; Gower rhymes the name with tew; bet /can; saw, grenc, mene ; Andrew of Wyntoun (Cronykil II, 1613) with kene ; Pulci, Morgantc maggior. I, 3, 1 vtith pena. 100, 101. Lucrece.] See Livy I, 57—59 ; Ovid, Fasti II, 721—852 (and, of course, Sbakspere, Thomas Hey wood, etc. ). Chaucer has also treated the story in the Leg. of Luc. ; cp. also the Prologue 257, and Skeat, Legend, p. xxxi ; St. Augustine, De civ. Dei, caput XIX ; Gcsta Eo?n., Tale 135 ; Gower, Confcssio, book VII (ed. Pauli, III, 251 etc.), and, again, the list in the eighth book. Lydgate has treated the same story in the Falls of Pr. II, 5 ; and, again, III, 5 (see Koeppel, Falls of Pr. p. 66, 93). See further Life of our Lady a 5 b ; Flour of C. 201 ; Edmund I, 277 ; and Lydgate's Poem on the Mar. of Humphrey and Jacqueline (MS. Add. 29729, fol. 158 b) ; further, Duehcsse 1082 (and Skeat's note) ; Frank. Tale 669—672 ; Man of L. Prol. 63 ; Anclida 82 ; Rom, de la llosc 8649 ; Boccaccio, De claris Mul, 46. 100. The expression : to Imlovje a feast occurs often; for instance, Troy-Book Hja ; S 5 d ; T 5 " ; Falls of Pr. 14 b ; 174 c, etc. 102 — 110. Palamon and Arcite.] This, of course, is from the Knightcs Tale. Lydgate alludes to the same story again in the Black Knight 368, and Story of Thebes, fol. 372 d, Many of the expressions in our passage agree word for word Notes to p. 5, 11. 105—110. 77 with tlie Kniiihtis Tale; cp. Kn. T. 219 : He caste his eyen upon Emelya (see also 238) ; 13 : eck lure yonge suster Emelye ; 114 : Einelye hire yonge suster schene ; 177 — 179 : " Emelie, that fairer was to seene Than is the lilie on hir stalke grene, And fresscher than the May with floures newe ; " 190: I-clothed was sche fressh for to devyse ; 210: the fresshe Emely the scheene. Line 976 speaks of the "stryf and jelousye," 1. 1926 of the "stryf and rancour" between the two brothers. If Shirley, in 1. 82, speaks of Due Theseus, it is quite in accordance with the Kniyhtcs Talc, where Theseus is often called "Duke," see 1. 2, 15, 35, etc. We have a "Duke Theseus" also in the Falls of Pr. 15 a, 23 b, etc. ; a "Duke Hannibal" in the Falls of Pr., a " Duke Moyses " in the Secreta Secrctorum, etc. 105. These "castings of an eye" were very dangerous at that time; cf. Troy-Book Aa-j b : "Whan that he was wounded to the herte, With the castynge oonlv of an Eye" (Achilles). De duobus Merc. (MS. Hh. IV. 12, fol. 62 a) : " Cupides dart on me hath made arest, The clere stremys of castyng of an eye : Thys is the avow that causyth me (for) to deye." See again 11. 231, 232, and compare Merciless Beaute, 1. 1 etc., Troilus II, 534, etc. 110. Chaucer.] Lydgate is fond of introducing the name of his great "master" into his writings. Koeppel, St. Thebes, p. 78, has pointed out the instances in the Story of Th., and the Falls of Pr., namely St. Th., Prologue, fol. 356 a and b ; fol. 377 c (Chaucer-edition of 1561) ; Falls of Pr. , Prologue, fol. Anb, I, 6 (fol. Sd), VI, 16 (fol. 164 c, Ley. of Antony and Cleopatra) : ' ' Thyng once sayd by labour of Chaucer, Wer presumpcion me to make agayn " ; VIII, 6 (fol. 180 a) ; IX, 38 (fol. 217 c), to which II, 4 (fol. 46 a) and III, 18 (fol. 90 c) may be added. I have made note of the following occurrences in other works : Troy-Book N 5 a : "And Chauncer now, alas ! is nat alyue, Me to refourme, or to be my rede ; For lacke of whom slower is my spede ; The noble Rethor, that all dyde excelle : For in makynge he dranke of the welle Under Pernaso, that the muses kepe, On whiche bylle I inyght neuer slepe Unneth slombre, for whiche, alas, I playne." See further ib., I 4 c and d (Story of Cryseyde) ; Q 5 d (Troilus) ; Dd a c ; Court of S. & 2 a (see Introduction, p. exxvii, note 1, together with Gower) ; Horse, goose, and sheep, 76 and 77 (see note to 11. 141, 142) ; Life of our Lady e, b : "And eke my master chauceris now is graue . . ." — (a well-known passage, see Morris's Chaucer I, 81) ; Flour of C. 236 ; Minor P. (Halliwell), p. 28 and 128 ; the Serpent of Division (see Miss Toulmiu Smith's Gorboduc, p. xxi) ; Translation of Dcguilcvillc's First PH., MS. Cott. Vit. C. XIII, fol. 256 b and 257 a (see Skeat, M. P., p. xlviii ; Dr. Furnivall's Trial Forewords, pp. 13—15 and 100 ; Hill, pp. 8, 9). Does "my maister" in Chorl and, Bird, 380, also refer to Chaucer? The Court of S., fol. fi b, speaks of " Galfryde the poete laureate " ; but this, I believe, refers to Geoffrey de Vinsauf, the highly-celebrated author of the Nova Poetrin., not to Chaucer. Galfridus de Vinosalvo, also called " Galfridus Anglicus," wrote a didactic poem " De nova Poctria" (dedicated to Pope Innocent III.), a monody on the death of Richard I., and treatises on Rhetoric and Ethics (see Morley, English Writers I, 603 and 604). He is very frequently quoted by poets of that time, and celebrated for his " purpura! colours of rhetorike." Chaucer's humorous allusion to him in the Nonne Prestes Tale (1. 527, etc.) is 78 Notes to p. 5, //. 112—114. well known. He is further unmistakab'y quoted by Bokenam, Prol. 83, etc. (Horstmann, Introduction, p. xi, is on the wrong track in believing that Chaucer is meant in this passage) : " Aftyr the sco'e of the crafty clerk Galfiyd of Ynglond, in his newe werk, Entytlyd thus, as I can aspye : 'Galfridw.s anglicws,' in his newe poetrye," etc. Cp. also "Galfryd of Ynglond" in I, 171, Chaucer being mentioned in addition, together with Gower and Lydgate, further on, 1. 177. The poem by the "Dull Ass* (e]>. Introduction, p. cxlii) in MS. Fairfax mentions both, Chancer and Geoffrey de Vinsauf, side by side (fol. 309 a) : "Cum ofi, Tulius, with sum of thy flouris ; Englesshe geffrey with al thy colourys, That wrote so wel to pope Innocent ; And mayster Chauser, sours and fundement On englysshe tunge swetely to endyte — Thy soule god haue with virgynes white ! — Moral gower, lydgate, Rether and poete ; Ouide, stase, lucan of batylls grete "... Chaucer and his older namesake are similarly put together in Little John (Speght's Chaucer, 1598, fol. c. ii) : "O cursed death, why hast thou those poets slain, I meane Gower, Chaucer, and Gaufride." It is thus extremely doubtful to me that the "Galfride" in the Court of Love (1. 11) is intended for Chaucer, as Skeat, Chaucer's Minor Poems, p. xxxii, maintains. 112 — 116. Phoebus and Daphne.] The story is alluded to in Reason and S. 236 a and 247 a, and told at length in the Confcssio, book III (ed. Pauli I, 336), where Cupid "casts a dart throughout Phebus' heart" — ' ' "Which was of golde and all a fire, That made him many fold desire Of love more than he dede. To Daphne eke in the same stede A dart of led he caste and smote, Which was all colde and no thing bote." In a similar way we have in the Kingis Quair, stanza 95, a reference to Cupid's different species of arrows, viz., of gold and steel, with the addition of silver ones, which, it seems, King James introduced on his own account. This fiction comes from the Rom. dc la R., where (English Translation 918, etc.) Swete-lokyng, in attendance on Cupid, carries two bows, made of different kinds of wood, and two sets of five arrows, the first of which is of gold. Lydgate has introduced this into Reason and S. (MS. Fairfax 16, fol. 277 a, etc.) ; his first bow is made of ivory, the second black, full of "knottys" and "skarrys." The names of all ten arrows are given as in the Rom. dc la R., and it is stated that the first set had heads of gold, the second of lead. Cf. also St. Thebes, fol. 363 b : "That his [Cupid's] arowes of golde, and not of stele Yperced han the knightes hertes tweine." Spenser also speaks of Cupid's "bow and shafts of gold and lead" (Colin Clout, 1. S07), and we read in the Court of L. 1315 and 1316 : "The Golden Love, and Leden Love thay bight : The tone was sad, the toder glad and light." " The arrow of gold" occurs again in T. of Glas 445, and in Reason and S., fol. 236 a, where the story of Daphne is told. Cp. also Watson's sonnet 63, where the first book of Conrad Celtis's Odes is quoted. Barnfield, in his Tears of an affectionate Shepherd (Arber, p. 6), speaks of "Death's black shaft of steel, Love's yellow one of gold." Line 114, with its allusion to Cupid's envy, is explained by the following passage from Troy-Book K 3 a, which speaks of Apollo's victory over the dragon Python : Notes to p. o, U. 115—128. 70 " For of Photon he had the vietorye, Whan lie hym slewe, to his encrease of glorye, The great serpent, here in erthe lowe, With his arowes and his myghty bowe, Of whiche conqueste the great[e] god Capyde Hadde enuye, and enen thorugh the syde He wounded hym, depe to the herte, With y c arowe of gold, y* made hym sore sraerte." This goes back to Ovid, Metam. I, 452 etc The amours of Phoebus are also -alluded to in Black Knight 358 — 364, and Troilus I, 659—665 ; the whole story of Phi elms and Coronis is given in Gower's Confessio I, 305 etc., and in Chaucer's Maunciples T. (according to Piitson, a Fable of Lydgate, No. 46 of his list). 115. Daphne.] Diane, the reading of BISS. T. P. F. P>, is of course wrong, as Daphne is meant ; but perhaps I might have left the Dane of MS. G in the text ; see Knightcs T. 1204—1206 : " Ther sawgh I Dane yturned til a tree, I mene nought the goddesse Dyane, But Peneus doughter, which that highte Dane." To discriminate between three names as similar as Diana, Danae, and Daphne was too much for the Middle Ages ; so Dafne occurs for Danae in Edition R of Calderon's La Vida es Sueno III, 560. See further Troilus III, 677 — 679 (with the form Dane) ; Black Knight 64 ; Reason and S. 236 a (Fairfax MS. 16 has rightly Daphne) ; Court of L. 824 : Dane = Danae ; both names, Daphne and Danae, occur close together in Reason and S., with curious spellings in MS. Fairfax 16, fol. 247 a. 117—120. Jupiter and Europa.] See Leg. of Good TV., Prologue 113; Troilus III, 673 ; Falls of Pr. I, 7 ; Reason and S. 247 a ; Troy-Book A e d ; Court of L. 823 ; Court of 8. g 2 a : " He come an oxe, and toke Europa, they sayd, Wherfore the bole they worshyp of theyr grace." 117. «For Jove's cope, see the Introduction, Chapter X, p. cxl. 121 — 123. Amphitryon and Alcmene.] See also Gower's Confessio, Book II, ed. Pauli 1, 242 (where Amphitryon supplants his friend Geta in the love of Alcmene). " Alcmenia" is also mentioned Court of Love 821. 124. for al his deite.] Similarly Troy- Book, A*d : "for all his deyte (Jupiter and Ala He was rauysshed thurgh luste of hir beaute. " Falls of Pr. 9b: "As he that was, for al his deitie, (Jupiter and Europa) Supprised in hert with her great beautie." Truy-Book D«6 : " Iubiter, for all his deyte, Upon Dyane (!) begat them all[e] thre." (Helen, Castor and Pollux. ) Falls of Pr., fol. 8 b : (Isis) "enclined her heart vnto his deitie." Cp. also Petrarch, Triovfo d'Amore I, 159, 160 : " E di lacciuoli iimumerabil carco Vien catenate Giove innanzi al coro." 126 — 128. Mars & Venus.] Alluded to again in stanza 3d. See further. Chaucer's Compl. of Maes, and Compl. of Venus, and Skeat's note, M. P., p. 274 (to the classical names given there, Lucian might be added) ; Gower's Confessio, Book V (ed. Pauli II, 148); Knight,., Tale 1525; Trail. Ill, Proem 22'; III, 675 ("CypAes" in Munis must surely mean Cypris). Compare Reason and S. 254 a : "the bed of Vulcanus, Al with cheyues rounde enbracyd, In the which he hath ylacyd Hys wyf Venus and Mars yfere, Whan Phebus with hys bemys clere Discurede and be-wreyed al, 80 Nates to pp. 5— C, U. 120—1:32. And ;il the goddys celestial Of scorne and of derisioura Made a congregacioun." . . . In the Troy-Book, A ( a the monk invokes Mars thus : " Xowe for the loue of Vulcanus wyfe, With whom whylom y u were at myschef take, So helpe me now, onely for hir sake." Lines 127 and 128 are similar to 11. 621—623 of the Black Knight: " For that joy thou haddest when thou leye "With Mars thi knyght, when Vulcanus yow founde, And with a cheyne unvisible yow bounde." Curiously enough, the monk is quite on the side of the guilty couple ; see Reason and 8. 254 re ; Black Knight 389—392 : " But Vulcanus with her no mercy made, The foule chorle had many nyghtis glade, Wher Mars, her worthy knyght, her treivc man, To fynde mercy comfort noon he can." In the Troy-Book, K 4 re", he vents his spite on Phoebus, who awoke them, thus : "And for that he so falsely them awoke, I haue hym sette laste of all my boke." 129—136. Mercury and Philology.] This alludes to Martianua Capella's work, Be Nuptiis Philologies ct Mercurii, which was much read in the Middle Ages (see Warton-Hazlitt III, 77 ; ten Brink, Chaucer- Studi-en, p. 99 ; Koeppel, St. Thebes, p. 25 and 74 ; Skeat, M. P., p. 344). Chaucer mentions him, March. Tale 488 ; Fame 985 ; so does Bennet Burgh in an Epistle to Lydgate, MS. Add. 29729, fol. 6 a. See further, Story of Thebes, fol. 360 a and b, and Falls ofPr. 67 d: "Mercury absent and Philologie." Edmund I, 99 : "For Mercurie nothir Philologie, To-gidre knet and ioyned in manage, Withoute grace may haue noon auauntage." A similar passage to that in our text occurs in Lydgate's poem on the marriage of Duke Humphrey and Jacqueline of Holland, Stowe's MS. Addit. 29729, fol. 160 re: (and Hymenaeus, thou) "Make a knott, feythfull and entiere, As whylome was betwene phylogonye (!) And Mercury eke, so hyghe aboue y e skye, Wher y* Clye, and eke Calyope, Sange w* hir sustren in nombre thryes thre." 132. god of eloquence.] The article, as supplied by the Prints, is not neces- sary ; see again, 1. 572 : "To god of loue " ; so also Troil. I, 967 ; Black Knight 304 ; Bom. of the Rose 3289. Mercury is very commonly called the "god of eloquence " by Lydgate ; cp. for instance, Assembly of Gods h. b : " In eloquence of langage he passed all the pake." Troy-Bk. G 5 re : " The sugred dytees, by great excellence, Of rethoryke, and of eloquence, Of whiche this god is soueraygne & patrowne." Bb. G 5 & : " This god of eloquence kynge." lb. K 3 d (Mercurius) : "That in speche hath moste excellence, Of rethoryke, and sugred eloquence, Of musyke, songe and Armonye He hath loi'dshyp, and hole the regalye." St. Thebes 357 a : " Mareurie, God of eloquence." Secreta Seer. 124 6 : "In Rethoryk helpith Mercuryvs." Falls of Pr. 67 a : " Wynged Mercury, chief lord and patron Of eloquence, and of fayre sneakyng." lb. 168 b : "Mercury, God of eloquence." See particularly the description of Mercury in Reason and S. 225 re, etc. Notes to p. 6, 11 136—142. 81 I lompare also the Interpretation of the names of the gods and godd ■«, prefixed to the Assembly of Gods, where "Marcuryus" is called the "God of langage." Cf, further Dunbar, Golden Targe 116, and Lyndsay's Dream, 393 : " Than we ascendit to Mercurious, Quhilk Poetis callis god of Eloquence, Rycht Doctouriyke, with termes delicious, In arte exparte, and full of sapience." 136. Istellified.] Occurs frequently ; see Horn, of F. 1002: Legend, Prologue 525 ; Troy-Book B, c (referring to Callisto) ; ib. I 3 b (Castor and Pollux) ; Falls of Pr. 65 a (Romulus) ; ib. 107 b (Alexander), etc. In our passage the word scarcely means "placed as a star in the firmament," but "received into heaven and there glorified" ; cp. Pilgrimage, MS. Cott. Tib. A. VII, fol. 48a : [Cyprian] "is in heuene stelleffyed, And with seyntis gloreflyed. " The French original here has only : " Et est ou ciel glorific." < !p. also Skelton, Garland of Laurel 961 : " 1 wyll my selfe applye .... Yow for to stellyfye." P57 — 142. The story of Canace is the subject of the unfinished Squieres T. Waldron, as quoted by Park in JFartoii-HazUM III, 63, note 3, seems to think that our passage proves that Chaucer wrote more of this Talc than is now exist- ing ; but the passage hardly bears out this supposition: 11. 138 — 140 are sufficiently illustrated in Chaucer's Tale ; with 11. 141 and 142 compare Squieres T., II, 317—320: " And after wol I speke of Algarsif, How that he wan Theodora to his wif, For whom ful oft in great peril he was, Xad he ben holpen by the liors of bras." MS. Ashmole 53 gives John Lane's continuation of the Story ; on the back of the last leaf 81, Ashmole has written 11. 137—142 of the T."of Glas (see Dr. Furnivall's edition, p. 237). Spenser's version of part of the Story in the Faerie Queenc, Book IV, is well-known ; cf. also Milton's Penseroso: " Or call up him that left half told The story of Cambuscan bold. Of Camball, and of Algarsife, And who had Canace to wife, That own'd the virtuous ring and glass ; And of the wondrous horse of brass, On which the Tartar King did ride." This Canace is mentioned again by Lydgate in Flour of Gurtesie, 1. 206. The magic mirror of Canace occurs also in Douglas's Police of Honour I, 57, 11 (ed. Small) : "Or 3it the mirrour send to Canace, Quhairin men micht mony wonders se." Not to be confused with this Canace is the other Canace, whose story is told in Ovid's Heroides, ep. XI. Gower introduced it at the beginning of Book III of the Confessio, and Chaucer's allusion to it in the Man of L.' 8 Prologue, 1. 77, etc., is well known. It has been advanced that Chaucer meant, in this passage, rather to humour his "moral" friend than to censure him ; a further argument in favour of this opinion would be that our monk also did not take exception to th : s story, but introduced it at great length into the Falls of Pr. I, 22 and 23), evidently, moreover, making use of this very narrative of Gower's (see Koeppel, Falls of Pr. , p. 98). This story from the Fa/In of Pr. is very highly praised by Gray in his article on Lydgate (Works, ed. Matthias II, 66, 67), and is also'the very one. selected in Thomas Campbell's Specimens of the British Poets, p. 15. See also Legend, Prologue 265, and Thomas Feylde's Controversy. Gottfried von Strass- burg mentions this Canace also ( Tristan 17194) ; so does Petrarch in the Trionfo d'Amore II, 181—183, and Skelton, Garland of Laurel 934 ; Sperone Speroni wrote a drama Canace. There is a third person with the very similar name Caudace, connecter! with TEMPLB OF GLAS. G 8-2 Notes to p. 6, 11 138— 151. tlic Alexander-Saga ; she is mentioned, Pari, of F. 288 ; Ballade on Nnvrfangrf- nesse, I. 16 ; Gower, Confcssio, Book V (ed. Pauli, II, 180). Cp. further Thomas Feylde'a Controversy, fol. Bib, where "Candacys" is mentioned; MS. Ashmole 59, folio 52 b : "And ryche was eeke ]>e faire qwene Candace." Life of our Lady, ],a: " Riche candace of ethyope quene. " The last line reminds one at once of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, whose eunuch Philip baptized (Acts viii, 27). According to Pliny (VI, 35), "Candace " was a transmitted title of the Ethiopian queens ; cp. also Strabo XVII, 820, Dio Cassius 54, 5, and Suidas. For the story of Alexander, Candace, and her son Candaules, see especially, Wars of Alexander, 1. 5090, etc. (ed. Skeat, p. 257) ; Kyng Alisaundcr, ed. Weber, p. 305, etc. ; Intel/ i.genza 229, etc. ; Li Romans d' Alixandrc, by Lambert li Tors and Alexandre de Bernay, ed. Michelant 371, etc.; 380, etc. This story goes back to the Pscudo-Callisthmcs III, 18, etc. — Calderon, in La Sibila del Oricntc, has a King Candaces of Egypt, reigning at the time of Solomon. 138. For the magic power of Canace's ring, see Squicres Tale I, 138, etc. ; for that of the "stede of bras," ib., I, 107, etc. 139. ledne] = language ; comp. Squieres T. II, 89, 90, 132 ; Albon II, 873 ; U'arton-Hazlitt II, 58, note 2 ; Harl. 2251, fol. 229 a (A saying of the night- ingale) ; Pilgrim. 22 b : "A foul that was of colour blak, And in hys lydene thus he spak." Spenser, Colin Clout, 1. 7-44 ; Intelligcnza 3, 6 : " Udia cantar li augelli in lor latino." 141, 142. hir bro ]nV.] Algarsif ; see Squieres T. II, 317, etc. Lydgate has another allusion to the Squieres T. in Horse, goose, and sheep, 1. 76, 77 : " Chawcer remembrith the swerd rynge & glasse Presented were vpon a stede of brasse." 144. mani a pousand.] Shirley, not content with this, makes it many an hundred thousand. But he is beaten by King James (Kingis Quair 78, 4), who has " mony a mylioim " of lovers, and King James, in his turn, is outdone by the Court of Love, 1. 589, where we find "a thousand milion " lovers. 145. complein.] Very similar to the following list of complaints is the one in the Kingis Qiiair and also in the Court of L.; see the Introduction, Ch. ix, § 4. 147. Envie.] Personification from the Rom. de la R. (Rom. of the R. 248, etc.); Reason and S. 270b; Pilgrim., fol. 223 6, etc. Sins of Envy till the second Book of Gower's Confessio. See also Black Knigh', 1. 257, and 336 : " The more he was hindred by envye," and Flour of C. 84. In the Assembly of Gods, br b, Envy is introduced as one of the seven deadly sins, sitting on a wolf. Cp. further the description of Envy in the Court of Love, 1. 1254, etc. 148. Ielousie.] Pari, of F. 252 ; Kingis Quair 87, 7 ; Reason and S. 280 b ; Black Knight 663, and see the Rom. de la R., English Translation, 1. 3820, etc. "Serpent Ialousie" occurs again, stanza 3 b and 25a; in Trail. Ill, 788 ; in the Falls of Pr., fol. 124 a: " Stiered by the serpent of false gelousye." Similarly "a fals serpent, callyd Ignorance" occurs, Edmund III, 147 ; "serpent of doublenes," Falls of Pr. 21 c ; "serpent of diseorde," Troy-Book Y-.b ; " serpent of foryetfulnesse," Troy-Book A 2 a ; "serpent of newfanglenes," Falls of Pr. 536 ; "the false serpent of discencion," Falls of Pr. 79b ; "serpent of high presumpcion," Falls of Pr. 82 a; " serpent of enuy," Falls of Pr. 141 a. The "Serpent of Division " is the title of a work by Lydgate. 149. yput aback.] So again 1. 1252, Secreta Secret, fol. Ill a, etc. 151. In the Falls of Pr., fol. 99 a, Lydgate says that Ovid wrote : "Ful many a pistle compleyning for absence." He means, of course, the He/vides. In the Kingis Quair 93, the lovers also complain of "disseuerance," Notes to pp. 6—7, 11. 153—161. 83 153. Wicked Tongues.] Personification from the Rom. de la R. (English translation, 11. 3027, 3257, 3799, etc. ) ; the French name Malebouche appears in stanza 25 b ; in Flour of C. 84 ; Black Knight 260 ; Reason and S. 280 b ; Flower and Leaf 580 ; in the Pilgrim., fol. 202 a and b. Compare 1. 1182 of the T. of Glas, and stanza 3 a, 3. In the Black Knight, 1. 207, we have "false tonges, that with pestilence Sle trewe men that never did olience." Flour of O. 157 : " Dredful also of tonges that ben large." Falls of Pr. 91 a : " But there is no poyson so wel expert nor preued, As is of tonges the hateful violence, Namely whan princes list yeue them audience." Pilgrim. 121 b : "For ther ys addere nor serpent So dredful nor malycyous, As ys a Tonge venymous." Troil. I, 38 speaks of them "that falsly ben apeyred Thorwgh wikked tonges, be it he or sche." lb. II, 785 : "Also thise wikkede tonges ben so preste To speke us harme "... See also ib. II, 804, and V, 755 and 756, and cp. 31auncipl.es Tale 215 — 258. fals suspeciouw.] Cp. Black Knight 505, and Flour of Curtcsie 86. 154. This is a stock-line of Lydgate's ; 'it occurs again in Troy-Book 1-j.a, and Yi d ; Falls of Pr. 57 c, and 147 d ; cf. also Pilgrim. 206 b : " For mercy nor reinyssyomi. " Similarly, Falls of Pr. 39 a : " Voyde of al mercy and remission." Albon III, 873 : "Without mercy of any remyssyoun" ; ib. 11,418: " Without fauour or remyssyon. " 156. Daunger.] He and Malebouche are (together with Shame) the guardians of the Rose-tree in the Rom. de la R., and frighten away those who intend to pluck the rose ; Rom. of the R. 3015, etc. ; 3130, etc. Cp. also Lcgd. of Good IV. 160, and Skeat's note (to which, towards the end, the Court of S. might be added). This cruel "Daunger," the lover's principal opponent in the heart of his mistress, is very frequently introduced, as a more or less distinct personifica- tion, often together with his associates Disdevn, Pride, Drede, as opposed to Pity and Grace. See, again, T. of Glas, 1. 631, 646, 652, 739, 776, 1141 ; further, Pari, of F. 136 ; Troil. II, 384, 399, 1376 -—Black Knight 13, 250 ; Falls of Pr. 31 b ; Reason and S. 236 a ; 238 b ; 280 a (following closely the Rom. de la R.) ; 294 b ; Flour of C. 81 ; Isle of Ladies, 472 ; Merciless Beaute 16 ; Court of Love 831, 973 ; Rt. of the Rose 1524. In Al. Chartier, Le Parlemcnt d' Amour (ed. Tourangeau, 1617, p. 696), we read : " Et sur icelle estoit montez (la portc) Dangier, pour y faire le guet." Dangier occurs also frequently in the same poet's Hospital cV Amours. In Skelton's Bowge of Court (1. 69), Daunger is "chyef gentylwoman " to Dame Saunce-pere. Disdain.] A similar personification to Daunger. He is " chambreleyne " to the lady of the Black Knight (see that poem, 1. 504) ; in the Court of Love, 11. 129 and 130, Daunger and Disdeyne are the chief councillors of King Admetus and Queen Alceste. In the Parlemcnt of Foules also, 1. 136, Disdayn and Daunger are mentioned together. Cp. also Bowge of Court, 1. 140. 159 — 161. poverte.] Cp. the Rom. of the R. 450 etc., and Reason and S., fol. 270 b. "Poverty" is also a personification in the Falls of Pr., disputing witli Fortune (Book ill, beginning). Cp. further Court of L. 1137 — 1139 : " And as I yede, full naked and full bare Some J beholde, lokyng dispiteously On poverte, that dedely caste here ye." Kingis Quair. 87, 4 : "Sum for desyre, surmounting thaire degree." 84 Notes to pp. 7— s, //. 161—186. 161. Perhaps in open (reading of and S) is right ; cp. Fulls of Pr. 47 c : "To you in open my gylt I wil confesse." AZsop 2, 124 "shewid in opyn." 162. wanting.] Wanting in what ? In means? or good looks? Cp. Cuurt of Love 1161 — 1163. In the Kingis Quair, stanza 87, 1. 7, there are also some who complain ' ' for to moch. " 165. Kingis Qttair S7, 5 : "Sum for dispite and othir Inmytee." 166—168. Kingis Quair 136, 1, 6, 7 : ' ' Fy on all suich ! fy on thaire doubilnesse ! . . . That feynen outward all to hir honour, And in thairc hert hir worschip wold deuourc." Kingis Qitair 137, 4 — 7 : " for quhich the remanant, That menen wele, and ar noght variant, For othera gilt ar suspect of vntreuth, And hyndrit oft, and trendy that is reuth." 169 — 174. Tlie same sentiment is expressed in the Legend of Hypsipyle 17 — 21, and in the Black Knight, 11. 412, 413. Cp. further Duchesse 1024, etc., and Skeat's note, who quotes flower, Book IV (Pauli II, 56), the Ro7)i. dr la R. 18499 — 18526, and Machault's Bit du Lion. — See also Kingis Quair S6, 7. 175 — 178. Richesse is again a personification in the Rom. de la R. ; see the English translation, 1. 1033 ; she is "porter" of Venus in Pari, of F. 261. Cp. also Rom. if the R. 5360, etc. 179 etc., and the similar complaints in 209 etc., may be compared to Kingis Qitair 91 and 92, which speaks of people whose bodyes were ' ' bestowit so, Quhare bothe thairc hertes gruchfen] ther-ageyne," for which "Thaire lyf was noght bot care and repentance." See ib. , 92, 5—7 : " Off 3ong[e] ladies fairc, and mony lord, That thus by maistry were fro thair chose diyve, Full redy were thairc playntis there to gyve." ISO. peping.] "An imitative ward, allied to pipe, to express the chirping of a bird." So says Professor Skeat in his note to the following line from the Kingis Quair 57, 6 : " Now, snete bird, say ones to me 'pepe.' " Cp. also Dunbar, ed. Laing I, 85, 1. 64 : "Quhen of the Tod wes hard no peip," and Lyndsay's Peder Ooffeis 23 : " Peipand peurly with peteouss granis." 182. croked Elde.] One of the pictures in the Rom. de la R. ; see Rom. of the R. 349, and Reason and S., fol. 270 b. The expression " croked elde" occurs again Falls of Pr. 3 a ; Rom. of the R. 48S9 ; " croked age," Troy-Book T, a ; Falls of Pr. 176 c ; Reason and S. 289 a ; S. of Thebes 360 b ; Testament, Halliwell, p. 241, 246 ; Edmund III, 422 ; "age croked and lame " Falls of Pr. IS b ; "stale croked age" Falls of Pr. 67 d. 184, 185. May and January.] This is an allusion to the Marchaundes Tale, with the story of the ill-coupled old, gray January and fresh May. Lydgate himself lias imitated this story in a poem printed by Halliwell (page 27 — 46), containing the storv of Decembre and Iuly. Lydgate quotes Chaucer in this story {Halliwell, p. "28) : " Remembre wele on olde January, Whiche maister Chaunceres ful seriously descryvethe, And on fiesshe May "... King James has also an allusion to Chaucer's tale {Kingis Quair 110, 2) : "Eke Ianuarye is [vn] like vnto may." 186. Cp. Story of Thrbcs, fol. 370 b : "Thus selde is sen, tin- trouthe to tennine, That age and youth drawe by O line." Miller's Tal- 43 : " Men schulde wedde aftir here astaat, Foi' eelde and vonthe ben otten at debaat. " Notes to />. 8, //. 189—208. 85 180. Rom, of the R. S2 : "Thau younge folk entendon ay For to hen gay and amorous." lb. 1283 . "For yonge folk wole, witen ye, Have lytel thought but on her play." Reason and S. 279 a : (these lusty folkes all — youth among them) : "nentende nyght nor day But vn-to merthe and vn-to play." The same is said of Cupid and Deduit in Reason and S. 268 a : "The which entcude never a day But vnto myrthe and vn-to play." 189. Myrthe is "lord of the garden " in the Rom. de la R. ; see Rom. of the R. 601, etc., and 817, etc. ; and "Dame Gladnesse" is "his leef," lb. 818; but in the present passage we have hardly a prosopopoeia. "Gladnesse" is personified in Reason and S. 274 b. 190. Rom, of the R. 3893, 3891 : "For he loveth noon hevynesse, (Bialacoil) But mirthe and pley. and alle gladnesse." 191. Cp. Chaucer's CompUynt unto Pite 23 : "Alias ! that day ! that ever hit shulde falle ! " The repetition of \at is peculiar ; but the best MSS. have it, and, without it, the metre is incomplete. 192. sugre and gal.] A frequent simile ; compare, for instance, Falls of 1'r. 24 d : "Their pompous suger is meint witA bitter gal" (of princes). Reason and S. 248 b : " The sugre of hir drynkes all ( Venus) At the ende ys meynt with gall." Pilgrim., fol. 2 a : " hyr sugre vnder-spreynt wyth galle " (Fortune's). 195. shape remedie.] See again 1. 721 ; Story of Thebes, fol. 364 b ; Albon II, 1289. The expression occurs frequently elsewhere in Lydgate ; also in the Kingis Quair 102, 5 : "and shapith remedye To sauen me, of 3o«r benigne grace." 196 — 208. This passage seems to have served as a model to Kingis Quair 88 — 90, and Court of L. 1095, etc. (see also ib. 253). Compare particularly Kingis Quair 90, 3—7, with 11. 207 and 208 of our poem : "Sum bene of thaiTi that haldin were full Iawe, And take by frendis, nothing thay to wyte, In jouth from lufe Into the cloisters quite ; And for that cause are cummyn recounsilit, On thame to pleyne that so tham had begilit." See further Kingis Quair 88 : " ^one were quhilum folk of religion/I," etc. Very similar is also the passage in the Court of L., 1095—1136 ; particularly 1104—1106: "Alas ! ... we faync perfeccion, In clothes wide, and lake oure libertie ; But all the synne mote on oure frendes be " _ (see T. ofGlas., 11. 204 and 208) ; the "copes wide" (1. 204) are also found in Court of L. 1116, and the "tender you>e" (1. 199) in Court of L. 1111. Cp. further 11. 196 and 197 with Court of L. 1100 : " Se howe thei crye and \vryng here handes white, For thei so sone went to religion ! " and with Court of L. 1135 : "Thus leve I hem, with voice of pleint and care, In ragyng woo crying full petiously." The passage is quite in accordance with Lydgate's views on monastic life as 86 Notes to pp. 8—10, 11. 209—244. expressed elsewhere ; see his Testament. In the Troy-Book Dd a & he represents himself as " Usynge an habyte of perfeccyon, Albe my lyfe accorde nat therto." 209—214. See above, under 179. 215—222. Cp. Hingis Quair 134 : " Bot there be mony of so brukill sort, That feynis treuth In lufe for a quhile, And setten all thaire wittis and disport The sely Innocent woman to begyle, And so to wynne thaire lustis with a wile." Troilus II, 786 : "ek men ben so untrewe, That right anon, as cessed is hire leste, So ceseth love, and forth to love a newe." See also Fame 341, etc. 219. Anelida 251 : " Upon me, that ye calden your maistresse." 220. entere] = entirely devoted ; cp. Troy-Book C2 d : " Whiche is to me moste plesaunt and enteer." The word is common in this sense ; we have also a noun formed from it, with similar meaning, in Edmund II, 938 : " How gret enternesse they hadde vnto ther kyng." The synonym hool is also used in the same way : trew and hool Troilus III, 952. 223. Similarly Troy-Book Q-, c : "And into terys he began to rayne." Falls of Pr. 16 d : "Like a woman that would in teres reyne." lb. 39 b : "I pray the not disdayne, Upon my graue some teares for to rayne." Cp. also Troilus IV, 818 and' 845, and further on, 1. 961 and note. 228. Falls of Pr. 13 b : " But she al turned to his confusion." 229. Black Knight 479 : "Mot axe grace, mercy, and pite, And namely ther wher noon may be founde." 230. forth-bi pace.] So again Falls of Pr. 18 a ; Bom. of the Pose 4096 ; Pard. Talc 206 ; Prior. Talc 117. To "passe (or come) forby," is also not on- frequent; see, for instance, Doct. Tale 125; Troilus II, 658, and cp. Skeat's note to 1. 175 of Chaucer's Prologue to the Cant. Talcs. 231. 232. See note to 1. 105. 233. perauenture.] To be read as a trisyllable peraunter ; so also, for instance, Trail. II, 921, 1373 ; III, 442. Cp., further on, 1. 241. 234. The same sentiment occurs in the Compl. of Mars, 1. 231 : "And that is wonder that so lust a king Doth such hardnesse to his creature." See also Duchcssc 467 — 469. 242. T his lover evidently endeavours to carry out the 20th Statute of the Court of Love (namely, to seek his absent lady, see Court of L. 498 — 504) ; but his bump of locality would not seem to be sufficiently developed for the task. 244. Covctisc is again to be found in the Bom. de la P., English translation, 181, etc. ; and in the Assembly of Gods, Cj b (riding on an "Olyfaunt"). It is the vice against which the Pardoner preaches with particular zeal ; see the Pard. Prol. 138, 147. It is akin to "Avarice," treated by Gower in the 5th book of the Confessio. See further, Mclibc, p. 152, and Lydgate's Serpent of Division, fol. A 3 a, which speaks of " that contagious sinne Couetousnes, intermedled with Enuie." Sloth is the subject of Gower's 4th Book. This vice often occurs personified ; we have, for instance, a description of Sloth in the Pilgrimage, fol. 210 a : "My name ys ycallyd slouthe ; For I am slowh & encombrows, Haltynge also and Gotows Notes to p. 10, 11. 245—252. 87 Oft' my lymes crampysshynge, Maymed ek in my goynge, Coorbyd lyk ffolkys that ben Old, And afowndryd ay with cold." In the Assembly of Gods, c ? b, Sloth rides on a "dull asse." See again, 1. 379, 1010.— A subdivision of Sloth is " Idelnesse" (see the Confcssio, book IV), very frequently personified and held up as a thing to be avoided. In the Roman de la Rose, " Idelnesse" is "porter" of the garden (see the Engl. Translation 531 etc., 593, 1273 etc.). She has the same function in the Knightes Talc, 1. 1082, and frequently comes in Lydgate and Hawes. See also Melibe, p. 181 ; rJec. Nun's Talc 2 ; Faerie Quccnc I, 4, 18 etc. 245. hastines.] See note to 1. 863. 248. crystal shield.] This attribute of Pallas is often spoken of ; cp. Troy- Book G 4 b : ' ' And next venus, Pallas I behelde With hir spere, and hir cristall shelde." After these lines follows the interpretation of this symbol, according to Fulgen- tius, as given in the Introduction, p. exxvii. Again, ib. lu a : "And Pallas eke with hir cristall shelde." ib., Z_. a : " "Whiche on hir brest haueth of cristall Hir shelde Egys, this goddesse inmortall." ib., Z t a : "To fay re Pallas with hir Cristall shelde." Lydgate again has the " shelde of Crystall clere " and its interpretation as : " The shelde of forty tude and of pacyence," in the Court of S. e 7 a, and there also refers to Fulgentius, who says (ed. Muncker, p. 68): "Gorgonam etiam huic addunt in pectore, quasi terroris imaginem, ut vir sapiens terrorem contra adversarios gestet in pectore." See further, Reason and S. 218 b : "In hir lyfte hande she had also A myghty shelde of pacience, Ther-with to make resistance Ageyn al vices out of drede " . . . . Again, L. Lady i 8 a : "It [the name of Jesus] is also the myghty pauyce fayre Ageyn wan hope and dysperacion, Cristal shelde of pallas for dispayre." Assembly of Gods, bj a : ' ' She [Minerva] wered two bokelers, one by her syde, That other ye wote w[h]ere ; this was all her pryde " [namely, on her breast]. Compare also the following passage from Frezzi's Quadriregio II, 1, 40 — 42 : "Scolpita avea l'orribile Gorgone (Mim rva Nel bello scudo, ch' ella ha cristallino, II quale porta, e contro i mostri oppone." The virtue of this shield is thus expressed (ib., II, xix. 40) : "O figlio mio, se adocchi Per mezzo del cristallo del mio scudo . . . Tu vederai il veto aperto, e nudo ; E non ti curerai dell' apparenza, Alia qual mira l'ignorante, e rudo." Cf. also Quadriregio II, XVI, 19, etc. See further, Peele's Arraignment of Paris IV, 1 : " because he knew no inore Fair Venus' ceston than Dame Juno's mace, Nor never saw wise Pallas' crystal shield." 251 and 252. Pari, of F. 298 : "ther sat a queue That, as of light the somer-sonne shene Passeth the sterre, right so ouer mesuie She fairer was than any creature." 88 Notes to pp. 10—11, //. 253—271. Flow Of C. 113— 1] 6: " Ryght by example, as the somer sonne Passeth the sterre with his beames shene, And Lucifer amonge the skyes donne A morowe sheweth, to voide nightes tene " . . . Maehault, Fontaine Amoureuse (see Skeat, M. P., p. 259) : " Qui, tout aussi com li solaus la lune Veint de clarte, Avait-elle les autres sormonte De pris, d'onneur, de grace, de biaute. " 253, etc. Compare Story of Thebes, fol. 363 a : " And like, in soth, as Lucifer the sterre (1. 253) Gladeth the morowe at his vprising : So the ladies, at her in coining, (11. 282 and 283) With the stremes of her even clere To al the Courte broughten in gladnesse." Cp. also, further on, 11. 328—331 and 1348. 255. Testament, Halliwell, p. 244 : "May among moneths sitte lyk a queene." 257—261. Cp. Flour of C. 120—123 : " And as the Ruby hath the souerainte Of riche stones, and the regalie ; And the rose, of swetnesse and heaute, Of freshe floures, without any lye "... For eloquent praise of the rose as the queen of flowers, see Dunbar's Thrissill and Hois, 1. 141 etc. 259. L. Lady a 5 b : "And as the Rubye hath the renoun Of stones al and domynacion, Right so this mayde, to speke of holynesse, Of wymmen alle is lady and maistresse" (cf. I. 296). Falls of Pr. 88 a : "so clere his renoune shone . . . ., As doth a Rubye aboue eche other stone." Edmund I, 977 : "And as the Ruby, kyng of stonys alle, Reioiseth ther presence with his naturel liht." Albon I, 298 : "As amonge stones the Ruby is moost shene." Reason & S. 294 a : " For this Royal stoon famous Was a Ruby vertuous, Which hath by kynde the dignite Of stonys and the souereynte." ib. 295 a : "the Rubye vertuous, Which is a stoon Most plenteuous, Of vertu, yif 1 shal nat tarye, Preferred in the lapydarye, With grace and hap a man to avaunce." LI. 265, 266 occur almost word for word in the Troy-Book Hi a : " So he meruayleth hir great semelynesse, {Helen) Hir womanhede, hir porte and hir fayrenesse." 267—270. Troy-Book H 5 a : " For neuer afore ne wende he that nature Coude hane made so fayie a creature : So aungellyke she was of hir beaute, So femynyne, so goodly on to se." ib. S 5 d : {Achilles) "gan meruayle greatly in his thought, How god or kynde euer myght haue wrought, In theyr werkes, so fayre a creature." Cp. also the description of Cryseyde, Troilus I, 100 — 105. 271. This line contains one of Lydgate's favourite phrases, "hair bright like gold-wire " (golden thread). Compare the following passages : T, •oy-B. ib, Ojc: I, d : ib. I a a : ib. S s d : ib. Qs c : ib. ib. Z„a: Cj-rf: i\ta fa p. 11, /. 271. 89 " His sonnysshe beer, crisped lyke golde were " (<7asott). " Hir sonnysshe heer, lyke Phebus in bis spore Bounde in a tresse, brygbler than golde were " (Cryseyde). "With lockes yelowe, lyke gold wyre of coloure" (Paris). " Hyr beer also reseinblynge to golde wyere " (Polyxena). "And eke vntrussed hir beer abrode gan sprede, Lyke to golde wyre, for-rent and all to-torne " (Cryseyde). "With beer to-rent, as any golde wyer shene " (Polyxena). " With berde yspronge, sbynynge lyke gold weer " (Jason). Assembly of Gods b 2 b : " Whoos long here shone as wyre of golde brygbt " (Venus). Cliorl and Bird 59 : (a bird) "With sonnyssb feders brighter then gold were." Beason and S. 223 b : " Whos bere as eny gold wyre shon " ( Venus). It seems that this expression was started by Lydgate ; at least I cannot point to an earlier instance. We bave the. phrase again in the Kingis Quair 1,4: "tressis like the goldin wyre ; " it occurs in one of the Boxburghc Ballads (62, stanza 5) : "First is her haire like threds of golden wyre ; " ep. further, Henryson, Testament of Creseide 177 : " As golden wier so glittring was bis heare " (Jupiter) ; Lyndsay, Ane Satyre, 342 : " Hir hair is like the goldin wyre." These two examples are also quoted by Henry Wood, Chaucer's influence ujx>n King James I., p. 5, note. II awes, Past, of Pleasure, p. 79: " Her beer was downe so clerely sbynynge, Lyke to the golde, late purifyed with lyre ; Her heer was brygbt as the drawne wyre." It is found in Spenser's "Hymn in honour of Beauty," stanza 14 : " That golden wire, those sparkling stars so bright, Shall turn to dust, and lose their goodly light ; " further in his Ruins of Time, stanza 2 : "A woman . . . Rending her yellow locks, like wiry gold, About her shoulders carelessly down trailing ; " more than once in the Fairy Queen ; for instance, II, 3, 30, 1 : " Her yellow lockes, crisped like golden wyre " (Belphaibe) ; cp. also ib. II, 4, 15, and II, 9, 19 ; in Gascoigne's Dan Bartholomew, stanza 9 ; and several times in Peele ; see David and Bethsa.be II, 2 : " Thou fair young man, whose hairs shine in mine eye Like golden wires of David's ivory lute " (Absalon), and, again, II, 3 : " His hair is like the wire of David's harp, That twines about bis bright and ivory neck." Even Shakspere seems to allude to the phrase, in the Sonnets 130, 4 : " If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head ; " cp. further King John III, 4, 64. A passage in the Celestina has also this idea ; Calisto praises his beloved Melibea thus : "Comienzo por los cabellos : j ves til las madejas del oro delgado que bilan en Arabia 1 Mas lindos son, y no resplandescen menos " (see the English translation in Dodsley-Hazlitt, I, 61). The notion of "golden," "sunnish" hair, as being ideal in colour, was common at the time ; Chaucer also has it frequently ; see Duzhcssc 858 ; Hous of F. 1387 ; Doctor's Talc, 1. 37 etc. (Virginia); Knightes Talc 191, 1308, 1431 ; Wife of Bath's Prol. 304 ; Troilus IV, 70S : "Hire ownded here, that sonnyssb was of hewe." ib. IV. 788 : "Hire myghty tresses of hire sonnysshe beres." See further, Kingis Quair 46, 2 (Lady Joan is described as having "goldin hair"), and Horn, of the B. 539 (Idelncsse) ; Court of Love 138, 651, 780; 90 Notes to p. U, //. 272—283. Douglas's Police of Honour I, 10, 22 (ed. Small) ; Dunbar, GoHen Targe 61 ami 62 (similar to Pari, of Foules 267, 268) and I, 61, 1. 19 (ed. Laing) : "So glitterit as the gold wer thair glorius gilt tressis." Troy-Book I s b : '• Lyke golde Kir tresses " (Andromache) ; Story of Thebes 371 c : " And gan to rende her gilte tresses elere." Court of S. a 4 b : "She gan vnlace her tressed sonnysshe here " (Mr re//). Pur le Roy, Halliwell, p. 8 : "Lyke Phebas bemys shone her gohlyn tresses" (and cp. p. 6, 1. 18). Falls of Pr. 13 b : " Her father had a fatal heere that shone (Scylla and Nisus) Blighter then gold " (occurs again in Reason and S. 261 b) ; lb. 60 b : " Her here vntressed like Phebsw; in his sphere." lb. 119 b : " Her golden heere was al to- tome and rent." Cp. also Ballad of the fair Rosamund (in Percy) : " Her crisped lockes like threads of golde Appeard to each man's sight. " I hope these passages will sufficiently prove that Shakspere had not to go to Italy for this idea. Some of the Italian paintings present to us, it is true, an exact illustration of this "hair like gold-wire ; " especially those of the Venetian school, and many of Botticelli's. 272 — 277. Compare the description of Helen in the Troy-Book, H 5 re, which bears a striking likeness to our passage : "Hir golden heer, lyke the sonne stremes Of fresshe Phebus with his bryght[e] hemes, The goodlyhede of hir fresshely face, (1. 273) So replenysshed of beaute and grace, (1. 274) Euen ennewed with quycknesse of colour, Of the rose, and the lylye flour, So egally that nouther was to wyte, Thorugh none excesse, of moche nor of lyte. " 275. ennuyd.] See the passage quoted in the last note ; also Life of our Lady a 6 a, where the Virgin is described as "ennewyd" with the "rose of womanly sufferaunce and the lily of chastity " ; further Troy-Book C- b : " But euer amonge, to ennewe hir coloure, (Medea's) The rose was meynt with the lylye floure." Reason and S. 217 a : "And hir colour and hir hiwe Was euc?-e ylych[e] fresh and nywe " (Pallas). Duchcsse 906 : "And every day her beaute newed." Cp. also Calisto and Melibma (Dodshy-Hazlitt, I, p. 62) : " Her skin of whiteness endarketh the snow, With rose-colour ennewed ; " further, Skelton, Philip Sparrow 1003, 1032 ; Garl. of Laurel 985 ; also Garl. of Laurel 389, Phil. Spar. 775, and Dyce's quotations in the note to the last- named passage. See also the quotation from Skelton in note to next line. 276. L. Lady a 5 5 : ' ' Whos chekes weren, her beaute for to eke, With lilyes meynte & fressh[e] roses reed." Skelton, Garland of Laurel 883 : " The enbuddid blossoms of roses rede of hew With lillis whyte your bewte doth renewe." Cp. also Bod. Tale 32—34. 279, etc. Compare 11. 267, etc. ; and 578, etc. Similarly, Charticr, p. 695 (ed. 1617) : " Tant bien l'ont voulu apprester Dieu & nature a leur vouloir." 283. enlumynd.] It is a poetical idea that the Lady's beauty should "illu- Notes to pp. 11—12, //. 284—293. 91 mine" the whole temple round about her. We have it again in Life of our Lady f 2 b : "And as she entrid, a newe sodeyn light All the place enlumyned cnuyron " (The Virgin in the stable at Bethlehem). Similarly, King Horn, 1. 391, 392 : "Of his faire sijte Al }>e bur gan li3te " ; Dunbar, Thrissill and Rois 155 — 157 : "A coistly croun, with clarefeid stonis brycht, This curaly Quene did on hir heid inclois, Quhyll all the land illumynit of the licht." Edmund III, 224 : "a child . . . Which sholde enlumyne al this regioim." Troy -Book d c : "That hir comynge gladeth all the halle" (Medea). Intelligcnza 15,1: " La sua sovramirabile bieltate Fa tutto '1 mondo piii lucent e e chiaro." Cp. also Reason and S. 204 b, etc. : "the beaute of hir face, (Dame Nature) The whiche aboute?! al the place Caste so mervelous a lyght, So clere, so pereynge and so bryght . . . That I ne myght[e] nat sustene In hir p?-esence to abyde, But went[e] bak and stood asyde." 284, etc. Compare with these lines the very similar description of a lady in the Parliament of Love, 60 etc. 291. dalliaunce.] Very much the same as "beauparlaunce" in the Court of S. fi b, and "parladura" in the Intelligcnza 7, 9. In Lydgate the word dalliaunce seems always to refer to speech ; cp. Falls of Pr., fol. 53 b and 145 d : " (faire) speche and daliaunce," and I, 18, fol. 34 c : " He axed was among great audience, (Xenocrates) Why he was solayne of his daliaunce : His aunswere was that neuer for scilence Through little speaking he felt[e] no greuaimce." lb. 69 b : "Men with thee wyl haue no daliaunce " (Poverty). lb. 119d : "Under a curtayn of double daliaunce." lb. 144 c : " Iohn Bochas sate & heard al her daliamiee." lb. 1 63 d : "Of Rethoriciens whilom that wer old, The sugred language & vertuotis daliaunce." lb. 197 a : "Through his subtill false daliaunce, By craft he fyll into her acquaintaunce." Albon II, 730, 731 : "Of Christis fayth and (of) his religion Was theyr [talkynge] and theyr dalyance " ; lb. II, 1612 : "theyr langage and theyr dalyance" . . . In the Pilgrimage of Man, MS. Cott. fib. A. VII, fol. 43 b, we have the lines : "Though sche and I bothe two Hadde I-rTere longe dalyaunce," which are a translation of the French : " Combien qua moy long parlrment Ait tenu "... (Barthole et Petit, fol. 63 b). lb. MS. Cott. Vit. C. XIII, fol. 10 « : (Doctors and prelates) " By speche and by dallyavnce Techyng pylgrymes." 292. The beste taujt.] See p. lxix of the Introduction, and ten Brink § 246, end of note. L. 558 is doubtful (The moste passing?). 292, 293. well of plcsaunce.] well is very common in this usage ; cp. JCifc 92 Kales to p. 12, //. 295—299. of Bath? & Prol. 107 : Sec. Ntm's Tale "'.7, etc. ; so is mirrour (1. 204) ; see again; T. o/Olas, 11. 754 and 974 ; Man of Law's Tale 68, etc. 295. secrenes.] This is the 2nd Statute in the Court of Lore (1. 309) and always much commended in lovers; sec again L 900; 757, 1005, 1154; Trail. Ill, 93, 429.— lb. 1. 245: "That firste vertu is to kepe tonge." The same maxim occurs also in a poem of I.ydgate's in the Hail. MS. 2255, fol. 150a: "And Caton wrytt in pleyn language, The first vertu, whoo-so lyst it rede, Keep your tonge froom al Outrage." In the Kingis Quair, stanza 97, 1. 3, "Secretee" is "chamberere" of Venus. 296. Troy-Book Y, c : "Of women all lady and maystresse" (Bcnthcsilcia). See again 1. 972, and note to line 259. The expression " lady and maystresse " occurs also in the Pilgrimage 59 a ; Isle of Ladies 2003 ; Bom. of the Bose 5881 ; Douglas's Palicc of Eonour, ed. Small, I, 3, 17, and frequently elsewhere. 297. Life of our Lady en a : " If that hem lyst, of hyr they myght[e] lere " (the Virgin Mary). Lere (O.E. keran) meant originally "to teach," as in 1. 656 ; here and in 1. 1021, it means "to learn." Vicc-rcrsd, "leine" (O.E. leornjan) means also "to teach," for instance, Falls of Br. 213 c. Similar to our passage is further Doct. Tale 107—110. In the Sec. Nun's Tale 92, Chaucer explains the name of St. Cecilia as meaning "the way of blynde, For schc ensample was by way of techy ng. " 299. grene and white]. This, the redactor of group A changed into in Male In red, as the green colour was considered the token of inconstancy, whilst blue signified faithfulness ; cf. Chaucer's Ballade on Newe-fangelncsse, of which the burden is : " In stede of blew, thus may ye were al grene." This is taken from Machault (ed. Tarbe, p. 56). See also Squieres T. II, 298, 299, and Skeat's note ; further, Court of Love 246, etc. ; Anclida 146, 330, and Skeat's note, where he quotes from Lydgate : " Watchet-blewe of feyned stedfastnes, . . . Meint with light grene, for change & doublenes." (Falls of Pr., fol. 143 c.) In the Bom. of the Bose 573, Ydelnesse is represented as wearing a coat of green colour : in The Flower and the Leaf, the worshippers of the (piickly fading flower are clad in green (1. 329, etc.). But there was nevertheless no occasion to make the alteration in Group A. Thus, Alceste in Chaucer is "clad in real habit grene" (Legend, Prologue, 214) ; similarly Emelye in the Knightes T., 1. 828, corresponding to Boccaccio's Tescidc ; cp. canto XII, stanza 65 of that poem : "ella fosse . . . riccamente D'un drappo verde di valor supremo Vestita." Diana's statue is "clothed in gaude greene," Knightes T. 1221, and Rosiall in the Court of L. 816, has a green gown on. In Edmund III, 115, we read : "The wattry greene shewed in the Reynbowe Off chastite disclosed his clennesse." Pilgrim. 12 b : (Grace Dicic) " In a surcote al off whyt, "With a Tyssu gyrt off grene, And Endlong fill biyht & shene " ; the French original reads : (sembloit) " Vestement avoir dor batu lit cincte estoit dun verd tissu." lb., fol. 100a: " thys skryppe . . . mot be grene, "Wych colour — who so looke a-ryht — Notes to pp. 1-2— VA, //. 301—322. 93 Doth gret comfort to the syht, Sharpeth the Eye, yt ys no died." Compare also Barclay, as quoted in Dyce'a S&elton, p. xiv : " Mine habite blacke accordeth not with grene, Blacke betokeneth death as it is dayly sene ; The grene is pleasour, freshe lust and iolite ; These two in nature hath great diuersitie." In the Castle of Perseverance, Truth is represented as wearing "a sad-coloured green " ; see Skeat's note to Piers Plowman, C-text XXI, 120 (p. 406). Kindermann's Teutsc/irr U'nl miner (Appendix, p. 19) lias: "Grim gibt Freude / Ehre / Liebe und Hotfnung zurerkennen." Green was, according to the astrology of that time, Venus's colour ; see Morley, Eng. Writers, 2nd ed., V, 139 ; and cp. Love's Labour's Lost I, 2, 90 : "Green, indeed, is the colour of lovers." 301. stones and perre.] Occurs again in 1. 310. Lvdgato has it often, for instance, Falls of Pr. 109 b ; 128 c ; 159 a ; 170 d ; 191 c ; 198 c ; "perre and stones" occurs in Falls of Pr. 183 c. 301, etc. Cp. Assembly of Ladies 257 c : " Her gowne wel was embroudred certainly With stones after her owne deuise, In her puriil her worde by and by Lien it- loyalement, as I coude deuise." 311. This is to sein.] Very frequent in Lydgate ; it occurs again in 11. 426, 512, 715, 1124. Also in Chaucer, Xqu. T. II, 186, 293 : Prior. T. 48 ; Melibe, p. 146, 158, 159, 161, 163, 168 ; Pers. T., p. 266, 286, 289. etc. >is benigne.] Occurs again, without a noun, in 1. 1402. Cp. also Kingis Quair 42, 3 : " that verray womanly." 312. For the motto see Floiccr and Leaf 548 — 550 : " For knightes ever should be persevering, To seeke honour without feintise or slouth, Fro wele to better in all manner thing." Edmund I, 361 : " Fro good in vertu to bettre he dide encresse. " Pilgrim. 291 b : " Fro good to bet alway profyte." Lydgate seems to have some difficulty in explaining the motto ; at any rate, he docs so very awkwardly, which might point to its being the actual family- motto of some fair lady. Similar mottoes with comparatives are not rare ; for instance: "Altiora peto," or "Excelsior." Numerous French mottoes are found in the Assembly of Ladies, but none like ours. Perhaps a negative counterpart to our present expression may serve to illustrate it further, Falls ofPr. 138 a: " Fro better to worse she can so wel transrrme [Fortune] The state of them that wyll no vertue sue. " 320. This line occurs word for word in the Troy-Book Bs c. See also Compl. unto Pitc 56 : "Theffect of which seith thus, in wordes fewe." 321. Similar in tone to this prayer is the one in 11. 701, etc. ; 1341, etc. ; Knightes T. 1363, etc. ; the proem to Book III in Troilus ; Kingis Quair, stanza 52, 99 etc. ; Chapter XXX of the Pastime of Pleasure. 322. 323. "With respect to this all-dominating power of Venus, Lydgate pro- poses the following etymology {Reason and S., fol. 265 a) : " Venus ys sayde of venquysshing, For she venquyssheth euery thing." If this etymology should not be acceptable, there is another one, deriving Venus from vener (to hunt), Pilgrim. 128 a, and yet another, deriving Venus from venom (Season and S. 248 b) ! — See also note to 1. 619. 322. Similar expressions, Leg. of Dido 121 : "Fortune that hath the world in governaunee ;" Doct. Tah 73 : "That lordes doughtrea han in governaunee." 94 Notes to pp. 13—15, //. 323—342. Court of L. 1371 : " The God of Love hath erth in governauncc." Oenerydes (ed. Wright), 2049, 2050 : " The formest ward .... The kyng of Turkey had in goucrnaunce." Compl. of Mars 110 : "she that hath tliyn herte in governaunce." Reason and S. 229 b : " Which hath lom; in gouernannce " ( Venus). There was, therefore, no need of Carton's alteration. 323. Cp. Reason and S., fol. 222 b : "And thorgh hir myght, which ys dyvyne, She the proude kan enclyne To lownesse and humilyte " ( Venus). hauteyn.] The word is curiously corrupted in our best MSS., although it is not of rare occurrence ; for instance, Pard. Prol. 44 ; Legend of good IV. 1120 ; /,'e sonne ; Ys no weder warmer ]>an after watery cloudes." Spenser, A Hymn in honour of Love, 11. 277, 278 : " As after stormes, when clouds begin to clear, The sun more bright and glorious doth appear." Cp. also Boethius, De cons, phil., 2nd metre of book III. 397. "Joy cometh after whan the sorow is past." Hawes, Pastime of PI. (ed. Wright, p. 148.). 398, 399. Rom. of the R. 2119: " To worshipe no wight by aventure May come, but if be peyne endure." 400 and 401. Similar sentiments in stanzas 104, 105. 401. That.] The same construction in 1. 362, and Falls of Pr. 71 d : " For more contrarye was their falling lowe That they tofore had of no mischief knowe." 401. (a)wapcd and amatc], frequent expression ; see Black Knight 168 ; S. of Thebes, fol. 359 d ; Troy-Book A 3 c, O t b, O e a, U s a, X, d ; Pilgrim. 22 a, 298 b. awhaped alon curs Troy-Book 3 a ; Falls of Pr. 39 b ; Anelida 215; Legend, Prol. 132 ; Thve maner and ]>e guyse.] Common formula ; see, for instance, Troil. II, 916 ; Reason and S. 273 a, 281 a, etc. 421. The word emprise usually means "undertaking" ; but it seems also to have the meaning "lore, teaching (cp. apprise), governance" ; for instance : "To folwe themprises of my professioun. " Testament, Halliwell, p. 257. ' ' For whilom he learned his emprise Of his Maister, Amphiorax the wise." S. of Thebes 376 a. Cupid's emprise comes often in the Rom. of the R., see 11. 1972, 2147, 2286, 4908 ; cp. further, Edmund II, 124, and Reason and S. 286 b : " "Who that ys kaught in his scruise, And y-bounde to his emprise " (Love's). 424. Again a stock-line of our monk's, repeated in 1. 879. It occurs also in the Black Knight, 1. 554 ; Troy-Booh Bb 4 d ; L. Lady U a. Similarly, Pilgrim. 183 b : '' Gruchchyng nor rebellious, Nor no contradicciouw." 431. in parti and in al], Formula, occurring again 1. 1155 ; also in the Troy- Book H 3 a, N, c, X 5 e, Y 5 c ; L. Lady c B b ; Falls of Pr. 1S4 a ; Albon I, 228. 43C. See 1. 83S. Cp. also Reason and S., fol. 223 b : (Venus) "hild also in hir ryght honde Rede as a kole A firy bronde, Castyng sparklys fer a-broode," where, in the rubric, the following wise remark stands: "hoc fingimt poete propter ardorem libidi'ms." This passage is immediately followed by an interesting allusion to the Greek fire. 445. >e arow of gold.] See 1. 112. 450. to eschew vice.] See 1. 1181. The sentiment that true love is able to make the lover " eschew every sin and vice," is frequently met with in poems of this period ; cp. Troilus I, 252 ; III, 1751 — 1757. and II I, proem 24 : " Algates hem that ye wol sette a fyre, Thei dreden shame, and vices thei resigne." TEMPLE OF GLAS. n 98 Kotcs to pp. 10—20, //. 451—472. See further Cuckoo and Nightingale 14, 151 etc., 191 etc. ; Court of Love 598 etc., 1066—1078 ; Al. Chartier, Le Parlcmcnt d' Amour, ed. Tourangeau, p. 697 : " Car luy, qui n'a comparaison, Ne peut souffrir en son serf vice." 451. spice.] Cp. Falls of J'r. 115 6: "Ami spoyled lie was, shortly to specifye, With al the spises of pride and lecherye." Reason and S. 299 a : (Idelnesse) "bryngeth in al maner spices Of vnthryfte and al vyces." . . . Cp. also Henry VIII., II, 3, 26 : " For all this spice of your hypocrisy," where Al. Schmidt rightly explains spice by taste, tincture. We have similar'y "spice of heresy" in Calisto and Mclibcca, Dodsley-Hazlitt I, 58. Cp. also "a spyced conscience," in Chauc.'s Prol. to the Cant. Talcs, 1. 526, and Skeat's note. 455. crop and root.] Common formula of Lydgate's. See, further on, 1. 1210 ; and Troy-Book A, b, A t d, G. c, G 4 c, H, d, h c, I fi d, 5 a, Z s a, Aa, c, Dd, c ; L. Lady b 6 a ; Assem. of Gods b 7 b ; S. of T/ubcs, fol. 360 d ; Falls ofPr., fol. 8a, 30a, 75a, 116a", 199a (ground, chief, crop & roote) ; Leg. of Margaret 322 ; Reason and S., fol. 203 b, 205 b (where we hear that the " nievyng of the speres nyne " is "both crop and roote Of musvk and of songis soote"), 239 b, 289 b. Cp. further, Complcynt 397 ; Trail. II, 348 ; V, 1245 ; Gencrydes, ed. Wright, 1. 4940 ; Letter of Cupid, stauza 3 etc. We have almost certainly to read trouthe. 460. orisoun.] Such addresses to heathen gods are often called orisouns in the style of this period (see also 1. 696). The word occurs, for instance, in the same usage, in the Knightcs T. 1403 ; Kingis Quair 53, 1 (in both cases addressed to Venus). In the Troy -Book S^ b, " deuoute orysons " are offered by the priests for Hector, etc. 462. of goode 3it }>e best.] Cp. the line "For of al goode she is the beste lyvynge," which forms the burden of the ballad at the end of Cuckoo and Nightingale. 463, etc. The story is told in the Troy-Book, Chapter XII (Book II), and again in Reason and S. ; see particularly fol. 228a — 230a. Similar to our passage are the words of Mercury to Paris ( Troy-Book G 5 d), where he tells him that the three goddesses " Were at a feste, as I the tell[e] shall, With all the goddes aboue celestyall, (cp. 1. 466) That Iubyter helde at his owne horde." The story is again alluded to in the Assem. of Gods b 3 a. Line 466 occurs also nearly word for word in Troy-Book N 4 c : "To the goddes aboue celestyall." Cp. also Reason and S., fol. 209 b : "Lych to the goddys immortall, That be above celestiall." In Reason and S. 224 a, Yenus holds the apple in her hand, as an attribute, and emblem of her victory. 472. See the similar vow of Anelida, at the end of Chaucer's poem, and that of Alcyone, Buchcsse 114. In the Life of our Lady h 3 a we read : "And with encence cast in the sencere He dyd worshyp vnto the aultere" (Octavian). Knightcs T. 1393 : "Thy temple wol I worschipe evermo, And on thin auter, wher I ryde or go, I wol do sacrifice, and fyres beete." See also ib. 1417, etc. ; Court of Love 324, and T. of Glas 537, etc. Notes to pp. 20—22, II 48G— 505. 99 486. To bring to rest, to set in (at) rest, are common expressions ; see, for instance, further' on 11. 1095, 129-1 ; Troil. II, 760 ; III, 917, etc. 490. Compare Lydgate'a poem Wulfrk, 1. S {Halliwdl, p. 72). 494, 495. Troil. Ill, 1224 : ' ' laude and reverence Be to thy bounte and thyn excellence ! " Stanza 25 a, 7. serpent Ielosye.] See 1. 148. Stanza 25 b, 7. Cp. Court of L. 582 : "And ponysshe, Lady, grevously, we praye, The false untrew, with eounterfete plesaunce." For Malebouche, see note to 1. 153. Stanza 25 c, 6, 7. Cp. Squiercs Tale II, 301—303 ; further Pari, of F. 346 : "the scorning lay"; ib. 345: "the Iangling pye"; 347: "The false lap- wing" ; 343 : "The oule eek, that of dethe the bode bringeth" ; cp. Skeat's notes. "As the howle malicious" occurs in Secreta Secretorum, fol. 150 b (Burgh's part) ; see further, Troilus V, 319, 382. We also recall poems like The Oiclc and Nightingale, and Holland's Howlat. For the jay, see Man of Law's Tale 676 : " thou janglest as a jay" ; Chan. Yem. Tale 386 : "chiteren, as doon these jayes " ; Garland of Laurel 1262 : " iangelyng iays." See further a poem in MS. Gg. 4. 27, fol. 9 a : "3it in \>e wode ]>cre was discord j>ourgh rusti chateryng of >e lay ; Of musik he coude non acord. Ek pyis vnplesaunt to myn pay, }>ey iangeledyn & made gret disray." Cp. further Pilgrim. 218 b : "And Iangleth eucre lyk a lay, A bryd that callyd ys Agaas." For the pie, cp. further Reeves Tale 30 : "proud and pert as is a pye" ; March. Tale 604: "ful of jargoun, as a flekked pye." The pie is also" enumerated among the disagreeable birds by Lyndsay, Papyngo 647. 496. This = This' = This is ; occurs again 1. 1037, where is is written in full in the MS. See Pari, of F. 411 (and Skeat's note) and 650; the contraction occurs also in Frank. Talc 161, 862 ; See. Nun's Talc 366 ; Troilus II, 363 ; IV, 1165, 1246. 505. hawe thorn.] Venus is usually represented with a chaplet of roses ; see Knightcs T. 1102 : " And on hire heed, ful semely for to see, A rose garland freseh and wel smel!yng." Again, Fame 134 : "And also on hir heed, parde, Hir rose-garlond whyte and reed." Reason and S. 223 b : " But she had of roses rede In stede therof a chapelet, As compas rounde ful freshly set." So also Troy- Book K, h : " And on hir hede she hath a chapelet Of roses rede, full pleasauntly yset." Troy-Book G 3 b we are told that the red roses mean : "hertely thoughtes glade Of yonge folkes, that be amerous." Kingis Quair 97, 6 and 7 : "And on hit hede, of rede rosis full suete, A cha pellet sche had, faire, freseh, and mete." Peele also, Arraignment of Paris I, 1, speaks of Venus's "wreath of roses." In explanation of the monk here choosing hawthorn for Venus's garland, rather than roses, I may mention that the May-rpueen used to be crowned with hawthorn ; it was also used in Greek wedding-processions, and the altar of H 2 100 Notes to pp. 22—24, //. 50G— 541. Hymen was strewn with it. — Hawthorn is mentioned in the Knightcs Tale 650 ; Black Knight 71 ; Court of L. 1354, 1433 ; Rom. of the Rose 4002 ; Flower and Leaf 212 ; Kingis Quair 31, 5 ("hawthorn hegis knet"), and, similarly, Dunbar, ed. Laing, I, 61, 1. 4 ; these passages form, however, no illustration to our line. 506. Cp. Troy-Book B 6 d : " That to beholde a loye it was to sene." 510. MSS. G and S introduce here "Margarete" as the name of the Lady; their reading is certainly not the original one, as the two other MSS. of their group, F and B, preserve the old reading. The name Margarete was, no doubt, introduced in connection with the glorification of the daisy by Chaucer. See above, 1. 70. 514 etc.] Cp. Flower and Leaf, 11. 551 etc. 524. Kniijhtcs Talc 1407 : "But atte laste the statue of Venus schook." 525. was in peas = was silent. Similarly Troy-Booh Bi b : "And than anone as Iason was in pes." Pilgrimage, S3 b : " She stynte a whyle & was in pes." Isle of Ladies 1008 : "every wight there should be stille, And in pees." 526. " femynyne of drede " occurs also in L. Lady a ; a. 533, 534. Troy- Book Aa, c : ' ' Great was the prease that in the weye Gan Croude and shoue to beholde and sene." 536. shortli in a clause.] Frequent stop-gap ; see Troy-Book Y 2 b ; Pilgrim- age 149 a ; Rom. of the Rose 3725 etc. 536, etc. In the Troy-Book also, fol. H 4 a, Venus is honoured " With gyftes bryngynge, and with pylgrymage, With great offrynge, and with sacryfyse, As vsed was in theyr paynem wyse." Helen, Troy-Book H 5 a, makes "hir oblacion .... With many iewell, and many ryche stone." 537. Cp. Troy-Book X t b: " To telle[n] all the rytes and the gyse." Court of Love 244 : "They .... did here sacrifice Unto the god and goddesse in here guyse." 539. Story of Thebes, fol. 377 d : "Nor how the women rounde aboute stood, Some with milke, and some also with blood . . . When the asshes fully were made cold." 540. floures.] Fulgentius, ed. Munckcr, p. 71 : " Huic [ Vcncri] etiam rosas in tutelam adjiciunt. Rosas enim & rubeut & pungunt, ut etiam libido." soft as silk.] Occurs also in Lyndsay's Ane Satyre, 1. 341. 541. sparrows and doves.] Troy-Book K * b : "And enuyron, as Poetes telle, Bydowues whyte flyenge and eke sparowes." Pari, of F. 351: "The sparow, Venus sone;" see Skeat's note, who quotes Lyly's well-known song on Cupid in Alexander and Campaspe. See also Peele, Arr. of Paris I, 1 : " Fair Venus she hath let her sparrows fly, To tend on her and make her melody ; Her turtles and her swans unyoked be, And flicker near her side for company." Further, see Tempest IV, 100, and Sappho's famous song on the " 7roiKi\60povog 'Ae.] "We should expect, the reverse construction of couth: the harms of Cupid are known to him, not he to them. Thus couth comes to have the meaning of "acquainted with." An instructive instance of this transition is Liflade of St. Juliana, ed. Cockayne, p. 22: "Jef Jm cueowe ant were cufc wiiS >e king." 619, etc. For the might of Cupid, which neither gods nor men can withstand, see especially Reason and S. 235 b, etc., where the instance of Phoebus and Daphne is quoted at length (see Temple of Glas, 11. Ill — 116) ; and again, folio 275 b, etc. Cp. further, Troilus III, 1695 etc. ; Cuckoo and Night. 1—20 ; Court of Love 92 etc. ; Horn, of the Hone 878 etc., 4761 etc. See also note to 1. 322. With 1. 620 cp. Isle of Ladies 2112 : "Against which priuce may he no wer." 622. Troilus III, proem, 1. 38 : " That who-so stryveth with yow (Venus) hath the worse." lb. I, 603 : "Love, ayeins the which who-so defendeth Him-selven most, him alderlest availleth." Cp. also ib. Ill, 940 ; V, 166. 631. Drede and Daunger, Personifications from the Horn, cle la R., see note to 1. 156. For " Drede" see Rom. of the Rose 3958, etc.; Court of Love 1034 ; Troilus II, 810. In the Boivge of Court, 1. 77, Skelton introduces himself as "Drede." 632. for vnknowe.] This construction of for "with the p.p. occurs also in 1. 934 and 1366, and is in general of frequent occurrence. We even have "for pure ashamed," Troil. II, 656 ; for pure wood, Rom. of the R., 276 ; for veny wery, Black Knight 647 ; for very glad, Gencrydcs 1255. 634. These exaggerations are as common as they are absurd ; see Introduc- tion, Chapter XI, p. exxxix. Cp. further on, 1. 724 ; Black Knight 512 : " And thus I am for my trouthe, alas ! Mordred and slayn with wordis sharp and kene." Monelaus, Troy- Book I 2 c, falls into "a swowne .... Almoste murdred with his owne thought." In the Court of S. a 5 a, man is also represented as being doomed to "dye at the lest." For similar exaggerations see Troilus II. 1736; Anelida 291 ; Squieixs Tale II, 128 ; Frankeleyncs Tale 97, 112, 352, 613 ; Knightes Tale 260, 474, 709 ; Merciless Beaute, 1 ; Isle of Ladies, 520 ; Compleynt 437 '. The least thing that these unlucky lovers do, is to swoon constantly ; once, twice, three times, according to the intensity of their feeling ; in Gencrydcs, ed. Wright 4099, Clarionas swoons fifteen times running. 637. wisse.] To teach, = O.E. wissian. Common in Lydgate. See Troy- look Nh c (to guye and to wysse) ; S« b (wysshe me or teche) ; Assembly of Gods d,- a : "axed yf ony wyght Coude wysshe hym the wey to the lord of lyght." Reason and S. 250 a ; I. Lady K, a (wysse : blysse : mysse) ; ib. K, b : "And like a prophete to wisshen vs and rede" ; similar expression in Falls of Pr. 9c; 42 d. See also Troil. I, 622 ; Freres Talc 117 ; Morte Arthurc, ed. Brock, 9, 671, 813. 641. Cp. Black Knight 563 : "That lye now here betwexe hope and drede ; " Troilus V, 1207 : " Betwixen hope and drede his herte lay." 643, 644. A similar allegorical battle between Hope and Drede (or Daunger and Dispeyr) is found in the Court of Lore 1036—1057 ; see also V.hirl- Knight 12, 13. Compare further the conflict in Medea's breast, between "Love and Shame," in the Troy-Book ; particularly folio Cjc: "For whan that loue of manhode wolde speke . . . Cometh shame anon, and vtterly sayth nay." Very similar to our passage is also Falls of Pr. 217 a. 648. Falls of Pr. 178 d : "Nowe liest thou bound, fettred in prison." 650. Cf. Knightes T. 368, 379. 104 Notes to pp. 28-30, U. 651—701. 651. were.] ■ doibl ; occurs several times in Chaucer, very frequently in Lydgate, and in the northern poets. See Duchesse 1295 ; IIous of F. 979 ; Legend 2686. The word occurs again in the T. of Glas, 1. 906, and in the Gompleynt 261 ; cp. further Troy-Book U»d : "And thus he stode in a double wcer." Similarly Falls of Pr. 67 c ; Legd. of St. Giles 367 ; Guy of Warwick 27, 5 ; Reason and S., 232 b, 242 a, 244 a ; Lancelot of the Laik 84. A very common phrase is "withoute were," so in Season and S. 202 b, 206 b ; Flour of Curt. 223 ; Pilgrim. 147 b, 252 a, 252 b, etc.; Rom. of the Pose 1776, 2568, 3351, 3452, 5488, 5660, 5695 ; Lyndsay's Dream 613, 642 ; also "but weir," ib. 485, 496 ; Dunbar, ed. Laing, I, 89, 1. 70. In Skelton's Bowga of Courte, 1. 31, we find a p.p. enwered, evidently de lived from were. 656. Despair, frequently personified: see 11. 895, 1198 ; Black Knight 13 ; Troil. II, 530 ; Court of L. 1036, and especially the Assembly of Gods. Up. also Troy-Book T]C (love-complaints of Achilles similar to those of our knight) : " Anone dispeyre in a rage vp sterte, And cruelly caught hym by the herte." 666. Troil. II, 385 : "That of his deth ye be nought for to wytc." 673. Wanhopc, similnr.ly repeated in 1. 895. 678. De duob. Merc., fob 65 a : " My lyfe, my deth, is purtred in 3owre face." 678, 679. Common sentiment in poems of the time ; cf. again 1. 749, 763. Siini arly Isle of Ladies 815 : "He said it was nothing sitting To voide pity his owne leggyng." 684. Similar idea in Skeat, 31. P., p. 216, 1. 93 : " I am so litel worthy, and ye so good." 689. dumb (still) as (any) stone, is a very common expression in Chaucer and Lydgate : still as any stone, Millercs Tale 286 ; Temple of Glas 689 ; Troy- Book H|C ; L. Lady ~k-,b ; Kingis Quair 72, 6 ; as stille as eny stoon, Squiercs Tale I, 163; Troihis II, 1494. still as stone, Life of Edmund III, 1212; Story of Thebes 372 b ; Isle of Ladies 583. as still as stone, Clerkcs Talc I, 65 ; March. T., 574; Troil. Ill, 650; V, 1743. doumb as any stone, T. of Glas 1184. dome as a stoon, Rom. of the R. 2409. dome ami styll as any stone, Dc duobus Merc, fob 72 6. as clowmb as stok or stou, Pilgrim. 271a. muet as a stone, Troy-Book Ddi d ; Story of Thebes 369 d ; Complcint 50 ; Reason and S. 244 b, 289 b. as hard as is a stone, March. T. 746. trewe as stone, Rom. of the R. 5251. stable as any (a) stone, Falls of Pr. 190 c ; St. Ursula 6 ; Albon II, 1009. dffe as stok or stoii, Reason and S. 291 b ; (as) blynd as (ys) a ston, Pilgrim. 149 a, 152 b ; March. Talc 912 ; similarly Rom. of the Ro. 3703 ; deed as (eny) stoon, Squ. T, II, 128 ; Pite 16 ; Court of L. 995. 691. withoute more sermon.] So also Troy- Book, H 5 c. 696. oratorie.] See the Introduction, Chapter X, p. exxxvii, and cp. note to 1. 460. Mention is made of an oratory of Venus, Troy-Book D4C, H b d ; Knightcs Tale 1047 ; Compleynt 549 ; of Apollo at Delos, Troy-Book, K 5 c ; of Diana, L, a ; Knightcs Talc 1053, 1059. We have the expression "oratory" often, of course, in the Life of our Lady, namely on folios b«a, Cirt, e, a, gsb. Troy-Book H^d speaks of "the chapell called Citheron " ; Reasoyi and S. 252 6 of the chapel of Venus, in which the Sirens do their service day and night ! 700. (anon) as Je shul here.] So again 1. 1340; also Black Knight 217; Albon, II, 176 ; March. T. 623 ; Doct. T. 177 ; Pard. Prol. 40 ; Isle of Ladies 70, 948, 1437 ; Gcncrydes 2002, 3899, etc. 701, etc. This is the passage quoted in Skeat's M. P., p. xliv, and in Wood- Bliss, Athcncc Oxonicnscs, I, 11, note. 701. Cithcria, common for Venus ; for instance, Pari, of F. 113 ; Knightcs Tale 1357 ; Troy-Book P, d ; L. Lady d-a ; Court of Love 50, 556, etc. The name comes, of course, from Cythere ; the author of the Court of Love, however, evidently confuses the island of Cythere and the mountain Cithaeron ; see 11. 49, 50, 69 of that poem. Notes to 11. 30, 11. 703—706. 105 Redresse.] In the Court of Love,, 1. 591, Yenus is similarly addressed : "Venus, redresse of al divysion." 703. Compare with this line Knightes Talc, 1365 : " Thou gladere of the mount of Citheroun." ( lirrea.] See Anelida 17 : " By Elicon, not fer from C'irrea. " Ten Brink, Chaucer- Studicn, p. 181, note 35, and Skeat, in the note to this line of Anelida, point out the occurrence of Cirra in Paradiso I, 3b', whence Chaucer may have taken the name. Lydgate mentions C'irrea often ; twice in the beginning of the Troy-Bool; fol. A, a : '• And for the loue of thy Bellona, [Pynson bclloua] That with the dwellyth, beyonde Cirrea, In Libye londe vpon the sondes rede " ; and again, fol. A, b : (the Muses) " that on pernaso [Pynson pernasa] dwelle In Cirrea, by Elycon the welle." Troy-Book Ljb, speaks of the rape of Helen as perpetrated " In the temple of Cytheia, That buylde is besyde Cirrea." lb. h&zd : "Nor the Muses that so synge can Atwene the Coppys of Nysus and Cyrra, Upon the hylle, besyde Cyrrea." Falls of Pr. lid: (Apollo) "Which in Cirrha worshipped was y e tyme." "We meet again with our Cirrea in a complete muddle of geographical names, in Lydgate's Letter to Lord-Mayor Estfcld, MS. Addit. 29729, fol. 132 b : " towardes Ierusaleme, Downe costynge, as bokes makyn mynde, By Lubyes londes, thrughe Ethiope & Ynde, Conveyed downe, wher Mars in Cyrria Hathe bylt his palays,vpon y e sondes rede, And she Venus, caliid Cithera, On Parnaso, \vit/t Pallas full of drede . . . Where Bacus dwellethe, besydes y e Ryver Of ryche Thagus, y e gravylles all of gold," etc. The further context tends to make it probable that Lydgate has here con- fused Syria with Cirrea. Who is "Cyrrha y e goddesse," Falls of Pr. 147 al 705. Perhaps we have to scan : "wasshen and 6fte wete." 706. Here, for once, our MS. T alone has made a glaring mistake, in writing clcccion instead of Elicon. Or did the scribe object to the "riuer of Elicon " ? Lydgate has "Elicon the welle " again in the beginning of the Troy-Book, fol. Ai b (sec above, note to 1. 703), and speaks of it as "Ilennynge full elere with stremys cristallyn, And callyd is the welle Caballyn, That sprynge(!) by touche of the pegase," having, of course, Hippocrene in his mind. See further Troy-Book V> b c : Medea had drunk, the monk tells us, "at Elycon of the welle" ; so did Chaucer, as Troii-Book N&a tells us. The note to line 703 will have sufficiently shown that Lydgate's geography is, in general, rather shaky ; but here he may have been misled by Chaucer, Hous of F. 521 : "that on Parnaso dwelle By Elicon the clere welle." See Skeat's note to Anelida 15. As an excuse for Chaucer we must add that Helicon is frequently called a well or fountain about this period. Skelton, Hit rln nit of Laurel, 1. 74, speaks of "Elyconis well" ; in the Court of Love, 1. 22, we read of the " suger dropes swete of Elicon ; Lyndsay, in the Prologue to the Minn/rein; 1. 229, says: "Nordrank I neuer, with Hyaiodus, Oil' Hylicon, the sors of Eloquence, Off that mellifluus, famous, fresche fontane." In the notes to Spenser's Sheph rd's Cak i>-/"r. we even find it expressly stated 106 Notes to pp. 31—32, 11 743—761. that "Helicon is both the name of a fountain at the foot of Parnassus, and also of a mountain in Bceotia, out of which floweth the famous spring Castalius," etc. The mediaeval poets evidently applied the name Helicon, which properly belongs to the mountain, also to the famous Springs on it, Aganippe and particularly Hippocrene, having also in their mind the Castalian fount on Mount Parnassus. 743. March. Talc 934 : " Ye ben so deep em printed in my thought." 749. Cp. above, 11. 678, 679. Similarly we have in a small poem by Lydgate (MS. Add. 29729, fol. 157 6) : "1 see no lacke but only y* daunger Hath in you voyded mercy and pyte ; " further, Court of Love 831 : " There was not lak, sauf rlaunger had a lite This godely fressh in rule and governaunce." 750. sad demening.] Sccrcta Secretorum, fol. 1216, we are told that a king must be : "Sad of his Cheer, in his demeuyng stable. Sad, of course, meant "serious, grave." Cp. also foarch. Talc 360 . " Hir wommanly beryng, and hir sadnesse." 754. Mirrour, see 1. 294. governaunce] = discreet, well-controlled behaviour ; the poets of this period often make mention of, and commend, this quality in woman. See Dvchcsso 1008 ; March. Talc 359 ; further, Henryson's Garment of good Ladies, 1. 31 ; Troy-Booh N t d (Hector's goucrnaunec praised). In a characteristic passage in the Court of S. sign. e t a, "good Socrates" is called the " fyrst founder of gouernaunce " (= ethics). "Governance" is one of the two allegorical grey- hounds at the beginning of Hawes's Pastime of P. The verb " governe " is used similarly; cp. Sccrcta Secretorum, fol. 99 b: (Aristotle wrote "Epistelys" to Alexander) "By cleer Exaumple by which he myght[e] knowe To governe hym, bothe to hih and lowe." 755. This is not the worst line in our T. of Glas. We have similarly in the Troy-Book H 5 a : " Within the cerclynge of hir eyen bryght {of Helen) Was paradys compassed in hir syght." 761. pride.] Rom. of the Bo. 2239 : " Loke fro pride thou kepe thee wele," etc. Similarly in 1. 2352. Comp. further Man of Law's Tale 64 : " In hire is hye bewte, withoute pryde." Sec. Nun's Tale 476 : "We haten deedly thilke vice of pryde." Pride is the first sin in Grower's Confcssio, and in the Persones Tale, p. 294 : Lydgate also often warns against it. Pride characterizes herself in a very amusing way in the Pilgrim., fol. 217 b : ' ' And. offte tyme I boste also Off thyng wher neucr I hadde a do, My sylff avaunte off thys and that, Offthynges wych I neuer kam at . . . Vp with my tayl my ffcthrys shake, As whan an henne hath layd an Ay, Kakleth affter al the day ; Whan I do wel any thyng, I cesse neucre off kakelyng, But telle yt forth in eucry cost ; I blowe myn horn, & make host, I sey Tru tru, & blowe my Same, As hontys whan they fynde game," etc. In the Assem. of Gods, fol. b 7 b, Pride is introduced among the seven deadly sins, sitting on a lion. Notes to pp. 33—35, 11 778—823. 107 778. I believe we must read the line : "To ben as true as euer was Antonyi'is," and 1. 781 with trisyllabic first measure, "That was fcij>-." The readings of G and S, which present no metrical difficulty, are not borne out by F and B. Seo the Introduction, pp. LII and LIX. Antony and Cleopatra.] Their history is told in the Falls of Pr. VI 16, and in Chaucer's Leg. of Cleopatra. See also Black Knight 367 ; Flour of C. 195 ; Troy-Book X 3 d; Pari, of Foules 291 ; Court of Love 873, and Gower's list at the end of the Confcssio (ed. Pauli, III, 361). Cp. also MS. Ashm. 59, fol. 53 a : "And Cleopatre, of wilful moeyoun, Lyst for to dye with hir Anthonius." 780. Fyramus and Thisbe.] See 1. 80. 782. Antropos.] This is a common form of the name at that time. It occurs often in the Assembly of Gods and in the Troy-Book ; for instance, \J 3 a : (Antropos) "That is maystresse & guyder of the rother Of dethes shyp, tyll all goth vnto wrake. " See ib. Y| a, Cc«c ; and L. Lady g 5 6, where all the three Fates are mentioned ; Reason and S. 219 a, etc. ; Story of Thebes 359 d ; Albon II, 764. 785. Achilles and Polyxena, see above 1. 94. 787. Hercules and Dejanira.] This is not a well-chosen example ; Chaucer, more in accordance with classical mythology, has (ffous. of F. 397, 402) : " Eek lo ! how fals and reccheles Was . . . Ercules to Dyanira ; " and see again, Wife of Bath's Prol. 724. The Story how Hercules won Dejanira, is told in the Confessio Amantis, Book IV (ed. Pauli, II, 70 etc.) ; how he deserted her for Iole, in the same work, Book II {ib., I, 232 etc.). See also Heroides, epistle IX ; Mctam., Book IX. Lydgate, however, seems to have believed that Hercules was faithful to Dejanira throughout, see the Falls of Pr. I, 14, and Black Knight 357. Hercules' ex- ploits are narrated in detail in the Troy-Book A B d, etc., and E 3 b etc. ; in the Falls of Pr. I, 14 ; in the Monk's Tale io5— 152 ; the Geirland of Laurel 1284 — 1314, and they are also mentioned in the Black Knight 344 — 357 ; his name occurs further in Pari, of F. 288. In the Falls of Pr., fol. 28 d, Lydgate calls Hercules a philosopher ! "The great [e] Hercules" he is also called, Troy-Book A 6 d ; "the worthy conquerour," ib. D 6 b. Cp. also Reason and S., fol. 240 a : (Hercules) "That was of strengthe pereles, Rounde and square and of gret height." 788. shottes kene.] We have the same expression in Troil. II, 58. 792, 793. Troil. Ill, proem 31, 32 : " Ye (J'cnus) know al thilke covered qualite Of thynges, which that folk on wondren so." 799, 800. Similar sentiment in 1. 979. Cf. also Troy-Book Dd, a : " More of mercy rcquerynge, than of ryght, To rewe on me whiche am your owne knyght." Frankcl. Talc 588, 589 : " Nat that I chalenge eny thing of right Of vow, mv soverayn lady, but youre grace." It is the 10th Statute' in the 'Court of Lore, 11. 368', 369. Compare also Flour of Curt. 106, 107 : "What euer I saye, it is of du[c]te, In sothfastenesse, and no presumpcion." 806. ]>e guerdon & be mede.] Occurs elsewhere in Lydgate ; for instance L. Lady \ 7 />. 808. I think we had better leave out your, anil let the line pass as acephalous; your stands only in G and S, not in the two other A1SS. F and B of group A. 823. A mouth I haue.] This graceful expression occurs again Troy-Book Q.s d : " He had a mouthc, but wordes had he none" (Troilus). 108 Notes to pp. 35—37, 11. 829—882. Falls of Pr. 38 d : "A mouth he hath, but worries hath he none." See also Compfeyni 49 : "A tunge I haue, but worriys none." In the Falls of Pr., fol. 26 a, our roguish monk says of women : "Thei mai haue mouthes, but la?igage haue thei none," and similarly Reason and S. 289 b : "A mouthe they ban, her tonge ys gon." 829. Almost word for word in Trail. V, 1319 : " With herte, body, lyf, lust, thought, and alle." 838, 839. Cp. Troy-Book C> c : " Loue bathe hir caught so newly in a traunce, And I-marked with his fury bronrie." lb. Hs a : " Cupiries darte . . . hath hym marked so." lb. Hi b : "And venus hath marked them of newe "With hir brondes fyred bj>- feruence." lb. Xi b : "He was so bote marked in his herte." Reason and S. 258 b : "And even lyke shaltow be shent, Yif Venus Marke the with hir bronde." Cp. also March. Tale 483 and 533. 863. hasti.] Often censured as a fault, whereas the contrary is commended as a virtue. See above, 1. 245 ; cp. also Falls of Pr. 24 d, and the whole chapter I, 13 ; the same idea expressed negatively, Leg. of Margaret 148 : "She, not to rekel for noon hastynesse, But ful demure and sobre of contenaunce : " Edmund I, 1001 : " Koude weel abide, nat hasty in werkyng." lb. II, 514 : "nat rakel . . . Lyst for noon haste lese his patience." Cp. further 1. 1203, and note. See also Troy-Book B 3 c (Jason) ; Melibc, p. 152, and Troilus IV, 1539, 1540. Compare further a beautiful passage in the Pilgrim. , fol. 54 a : ' ' Al thyng that men se me do, (Nature) I do by leyser by & by, I am nat Rakel, nor hasty ; I hate in myn oppynyouws Al sodeyn mutacyoims ; My werkys be the bettre wrouht Be cause that I haste noubt." The passage reminds one strangely of the creator of the " Erdgeist," anri his dearly-cherished belief in the tranquil, grand, silent working of Nature, as she weaves the "living garment of the godhead." 866. true as (any) steel.] Very frequent formula : Rypermnestra 21 ; Squire's Prol. 8 ; Reason and S. 297 a ; Rom. of the R. 5149 ; 8. of Thebes 363 a ; Troy- Book la a, I 5 d, R 4 a ; several times in Shakspere, etc. 869, etc. Compare Minerva's admonitions to the poet in the Kingis Quair, stanza 129. _ 877. dilacioun.] Cp. 11. 1091, 1193, 1206. Both meaning and metre require this reading. 878. Resoun.] Personification from the Rom. de li R. ; see Rom. of the R. 3034, 3193, etc. ; cp. also Reason and S. ; and Asscm. of Gods c 7 a ; Pilgrim. 25 a, etc. ; Dunbar, Golden Targe 151. Similar to our line is Troil. IV, 1650 : "And that youre reson brideled youre delite," etc. ; further Halliwell, M. P., p. 219 : " Lat reson brydle thy sensnalite." Cp. also Troil. IV, 1555 : "And forthi, sic with reson al this hete." 879. This line is exactly the same as 1. 424. 881, 882. Cp. again, 1. 1090 ; further Troil. IV, 1556 : " Men seyn, the sutl'raunt overcomth, parde ! " See further, Frank. Tale 43— 50 ; Rom. of the Rose 3463-5. Notes to pp. 37—39, 11 892—947. 109 892. hope.] See 11. 641 etc., and further on 1. 1197. "Good Hope "is King James's guide to Minerva ; see the Kingis Quair, stanza 106, 5 : "and Lit gude hope the gye." Cp. also Horn, of the R. 2754, 2760, 2768 etc., 2941; further Pilgrim., fol. 108 a : "Good hope alway thow shalt yt calle : Thys the name off thy bordoira." 897, etc. All these personifications are quite in the style of the Rom. de la R. 904. ri3t of goode chere.] The text-criticism is for this position of the words ; " of right good chere," as F. B. L. b have it, occurs again Falls of Pr. 183 b, Edmund III, 493 ; with right good cheere, Sec. Nun's Talc 304 ; Rom. of (ha Rose 3617. 913—917. Cp. Troil. I, 857, 858 : ' ' For who-so liste have helynge of his leche, To hym behove th first unwre his wounde." Pilgrim, of the Soul, Caxton, fol. 21 a (chapter 23) : " "What helpyth it thus for to telle and preche, But shewe thy sore to me that am thy leche." See further Lancelot of the Laik, ed. Skeat, 1. 103 : "And It is weil accordinge It be so He suffir harme, that to redress his wo Previdith not ; for long ore he be sonde, Holl of his leich, that schewith not his vound. " Fairy Queen I, 7, 40 : " Found never help who never would his hurts impart." Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherdess II, 2: " that man yet never knew The way to health that durst not show his sore." Boethius, De consol. philosophice I, prose 4 : "Si operam medicantis exspectas, oportet vulnus detegas." 915. oute of his hertis graue.] Curious expression. I suppose it mean9 "out of his heart's grave " = out of his innermost heart. We constantly hear that these love-wounds are most dangerous when near the heart, and especially if they close up. See note to 1. 362. 937. pale and wan.] Exceedingly common formula ; cp. Miller's Tale 640 ; Gencn/dcs, ed. Wright, 752, 1297, 4703, 6760 ; Black Knight 131 ; Troy-Book A, d, A 3 c, D 3 a, Cc 4 c, Dd, d ; De duobus Merc, fol. 65 a ; Troil. II, 551 ; IV, 207. "deadly pale and wan" occurs in Falls of Pr., fol. 196 a. " Dead, pale & wan," ib. 123 b. The formula was still very common in Elizabethan times ; see, for instance, Shepherd's Calendar, January, 1. 8 ; Fairy Queen I, 8, 42 ; Com. of Errors IV, 4, 111 ; Tit. Ami. II, 3, 90 ; Tamburlainc 985, 2235, 3555, 4458. Perhaps we must consider "deedli" as an adjective, and then put a comma after it ; cp. Knightcs T. 224 : "That art so pale and deedly on to see ; " Black Knight 132 : "And wonder dedely also of his hiwe ; " Kingii Quctir 169, 2 : " thy dedely eoloure pale ; " »S'. of Thebes 371 c : " Dedly of looke, pale of face and chere ; " Albon III, 684 : " Theyr deedly faces." 939, 940. Cp. Troy-Book S 6 c : "Of lyfe nor deth that he rought[e] nought." Falls of Pr. 95 d : " By manly prowesse of deth he rought[e] nought." Troil. IV, 920 : ...,.., , « " As he that of his hf no lenger rough te. Cp. also the 6th Statute in the Court of Love, 1. 340. 941. Most likely we have to read : "So myche fere" ; myche corresponding to O.E. mycel. 947. Mi penne I fele quaken.] A favourite expression of Lydgate's. Cp. Troy-Book^a: " I wante connynge, and I fele also My penne quake, and tremble in my hondc" 110 Nates to p. 40, /. 950. Ib. Bbj a: :i For whiche, alas, my penne I Me quake. That doth inyn ynkc blotti [n] on my boke." L. Lad)/ e 8 a : " And though my penne be quakyng ay for drede." Similarly Troy-Book ll e c : "that for wo and drede Fele my hande both[e] tremble and quake" ; and Black Knight 181. Secreta Sccrctorum (MS. Ashmolc 46, fol. 103 b) : "With quakyng penne my consceyt to exp?-esse." Falls ofPr. 30 c : "0 Hercules ! my penne I fele quake, Mine ynke fulfilled of bitter teres salt, This piteous tragedy to write for thy sake." lb. 39 b : " In her right hand her penne gan to quake" (Canaee). lb. 46 b : "Whose deadly sorow in English for to make Of piteous ruth my penne 1 fele quake" (Litcrece). lb. 67 d : " Mine hand ga?i tremble, my penne I felt[e] quake." lb. 89 c : " My penne qnaketh of ruth and of pitie." lb. 119 d : "With quaking hand whan he his pen[ne] toke " {Boccaccio), lb. 136 c : "My penne quoke, my heart I felt[e] blede " (in rehearsing the tragedy of Hannibal), lb. 161 a : " Myne hand I fele quakyng whyle I write." lb. 217 a: "In which labour mine hand full oft[e] quooke, My penne also, troubled with ignoraunce" . . . Edmund III, 89 : " That hand and penne quake for verray dreed." Leg. of Margaret 57 : " my penne, quakyng of verray drede." Albon I, 928 : " But now, forsothe, my penne I fele quake." Op. ib. I, 27, 28. Application for Money 4 (Halliwell, p. 49) : "this litel bille, Whiche whan I w-rote, my hand felt I quake." Other affections of, and manipulations with, his peu are mentioned, Troy-Booh Z$ d : (to describe their woe) " My penne shulde of very routhe ryue." Ib. Cc 6 c : " For I shall now, lyke as I am wonte, Sharpe my penne, bothe rude and blont." Chaucer has the expression in Troil. Ill, 1784, 1785 : "And now my penne alias, with which I wryte, Quaketh for drede of that I most endite." It occurs also in Mother of norture, 1. 50 (Morris's Chaucer VI, 277). Similarly, Gawain Douglas has (Small I, 48, 7) : "Now mair to write for feir trimblis my pen." The following amusing lines from Bokenam's Leg. of Margarcte (ed. Horst- mann, I, 659 — 669) should also be compared with our present passage, and 11. 962, 963 of the T. of Glas : " My penne also gynnyth make obstacle And lyst no le»gere on paper to rewne, For I so ofte haue maad to grenne Hys snowte vp-on my thombys ende That he ful ny is waxyn vnthende (!) — - For eucre as he goth, he doth blot And in my book makyth many a spot, Menyng therby that for the beste Were for vs bothe a whyle to reste, Til that my wyt and also he Myht be sum craft reparyd be. " 950. Cp. De duobus Merc, MS. Hh. IV. 12, fol. 65 a ■: " For with my self thowh I eucrmore strive." wel unnepe = not at all easily ; scarcely ; with great nirort ; Monkcs Talc 431 ; Frank. T. 8 ; Clerkes Tale V, 108 ; Chaucer's Boelhius, ed. Morris, 1515 ; Troilus V, 31, 399 ; Flower and Leaf 46 : "That well unneth a wiffht ne might it se." Notes to p. 40, 11. 952—958. Ill 952—956. Cp. Black Knight 176 : "But who shal now helpe me for to compleyne ? Or who shal now my stile guy or lede ? " Falls of Pr. A 8 6: "But alas, who shal be my muse, Or vnto whom shall I for helpe call ? Calliope my calling will refuse, And on Pernaso her worthy sustern all, They will their suger temper with no gall ; For their swetenes and lusty fresh e singing Ful ferre discordeth fro?» maters complaining." Be duobus Merc. (MS. Hh. IV. 12, fol. 66 b) : " But now, alas ! who shall my stile guye, Or hen[ne]s-forth who shall be my muse?" . . . 954, 955. Cp. Fall* of Pr., fol. A 3 d : " Dities of mourning and of complayning Doe not pertayn vnto Calliope And vnto maters of aduersitee, With theyr sugred aureat licour, They been not willye for to don fauour" {the Muses). 955. Jei delite.] I think we must omit ]>ei, following MSS. F. B. G. S. The construction of delite, which we should get by adopting the reading of the other texts, would be very unusual. 958. This invocation of the Furies is very common in Lydgate, whenever he has woe or horrors to relate. Chaucer started it in Troil. I, 6 and 7 : "Thesi phone, thou help me for tendite This woful vers, that wepen as I write." lb. Ill, 1793 etc. : " ye Herynes ! nyghtes doughtren thre, That endeles compleynen evere in pyne, Megera, Alecte, and ek Thesiphone ! . . . This ilke ferthe book me helpe th fyne." Lydgate has it often ; for example in the Troy-Book B« c : " who shall now helpe me to endyte, Or vnto whom shall I clepe or calle ? (1. 952) Certys to none of the Musvs alle, (1. 953) That by accorde syngefn] euer in oon Upon Pernaso besyde Elycon .... It sytte them noughte for to helpe in wo, Nor with maters that be with mournyng shent. (1. 954) To them, alas ! I clepe dare nor crye, My troublyd penne of grace for to guye, (1. 956) Nouther to Clyo, nor Callyope, But to Allecto and Thesyj)hone, (11. 958 and 959) And Megera that euer doth complavne." Be duobus Merc. (MS. Hh. IV, 12, fol. 67 a) : "Alas, Meggera ! I most now vnto the Of hertfe] call, to help me to complayn ; And to tin sustur eke, the Siphone, (sic) That aftyr ioy goddessys ben of payn." Similar to these passages are stanzas 2 and 3 of Spenser's Baphnaida ; Lynd- say's Prologue to the Monarchc, 11. 216, etc., 237, etc.; Remcdic of Love (1561), fol. 322 b : "Aspire my beginnyng, thou woode furie Alecto with thy susters " . . ., and fol. 322 d. Somewhat different is Falls of Pr., fol. 67 d : "Me to further I fond none other muse, But hard as stone Pi. Tides and Meduse." See on this passage Koeppel, Falls of Pr.. p. 72. Further L. Lady e 8 a : 112 Notes to pp. 40—41, //. 90 1—978. " Nether to elyo ne to calyope Me List not calle for to helpe me, Ne to no muse, my poyntel for to eye ; Diit leue al this and say vnto marie." He says, however, elsewhere that Alecto hinders him {Troy -Booh N 5 a) : " Cruell Allector {sic) is besy me to lette, The nyghtes doughter, blynded by derkenesse." By these constant invocations of the Furies, King James {Kingis Quair 19, 3) was misled into believing that Tisiphone was a Muse. The Furies appear also in a different function in the S. of Thebes, fol. 360 b, and similarly, Falls of Pr. 198 b (cp. also sEsop 7, 27). These passages may be imitated from Chaucer's Ler/. of Philomela, 11. 22 — 25, itself an imitation of Ovid's Met. VI, 428—432. 961. Compare Black Knight 178 : " O Nyobe, "let now tin teres reyne Into my penne, and eke helpe in this nede, Thou woful Mirre ! " . . . Similarly, Troy-Book E 6 d : " Wherfore helpe now, thou wofull nyobe, Some drery tere in all thy peteous payne, Into my penne dolefully to rayne." Dc duobus Mcrcatoribus (MS. Hh. IV. 12, fol. 67 a) : " wepyng mirre, now lett thy terys reyfi In to myn yuk, so clobbyd in my penne, That rowght [rowthe, Harl. 2255] in swagyng a-brod make it renne." Falls of Pr. 38 c (Canace writes a letter) : " The salt[e] teares from her iyen clere With piteous sobbing fet from her hert[e]s bri?ike Distilling downe to tempre with her ynke." 962. blot.] See Falls of Pr. 115 b: " But to declare the vicious liuyng . . . {of Agathoclcs) It would through perse & blot[te] my papere." lb. 120 b : "0 cursed Ceraunus, I leue thy story here, Thy name no more shal blot[te] my papere." Troy-Book Aa 3 b : "And though my style be blotted with rudenesse." lb. Bb 3 a : (my penne) "That doth myn ynke blotte[n] on my boke." Douglas, Palice of Honour (Small I, 54. 7) : "It transcendis far aboue my micht That I with ink may do bot paper blek." Cp. also the quotation from Bokenam, in the note to 1. 947. 963. To paint with fresh colours, with gold and azure, etc., is a phrase of common occurrence ; Lydgate often modestly says that he can only paint in black and white — "aurcat colours," etc., being denied to him — ■ ; here the turn for black has come (as also in 11. 551, etc.), and he must "blot" and "spot" his paper, instead of "illumining" it. 967. evil fare.] Also in Troy -Book Cc 4 a ; Falls of Pr. 2 b ; Story of Thebes 360 c, etc. 970. Princess of youth, etc.] "We have similar addresses in Garland of Laurel 897, 904 : "Princes of yowth, and flowre of goodly porte." See also Bowgc of Court 253, and Court of Love 843. 978. The natural position of the words would be : with hert quakyng of drede. Similar constructions in Gorbocluc, see Miss Toulmin Smith's edition, note to 1. 433, where we are referred to Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar, § 419 a. Compare also Court of Love, 1. 1 : "With tymeros hert and tremlyng hand of drede ; " further, Melibc, p. 193": "these trespasours and repentynge folk of here folies" ; etc. Notes to pp. 41—44, //. 979—1060. 113 979. See 1. 800, and note. 996. feyne seems here to mean "to be slack, idle ;" like O.F. feindre (and its Participle feignant, in modern French made into faineant). Cf. Troilus If, 997 ; Duchesse 317 ; Bom. of the Rose 1797, 2996 ; Pilgrimage 189 a : " To don thy labour & nit ffeyne, And myghtyly thy sylff to peyne." 999. chaunge for no nevve.] See again further on, 1. 1128 ; Leg. of Dido 312 ; Leg. of Lucrccc 196 ; Anelida 219, etc. 1011. bi god and be my trou>e.] Not unfrequent formula ; see, for instance, Troilus III, 1464 ; Court of L. 648, etc. 1025. There is hardly a doubt that we must scan " henne's." 1026. inou} suffi.se.] This expression, which now appears pleonastic, was very common ; see Falls of Pr. 13 c, 77 a ; JEsop 7, 50 ; Albon II, 695 ; Pil- grimage 52 b, 64 a, 77 b, 78 a ; March. T. 296 ; Pard. Prol. 148 ; Shipm. T. 100 ; Mml's Prol. 94 ; Monk's Tale 468 ; Maune. T. 232 etc. 1029. Are we to leave the second as in the line, and read the line with a tiisyllabic first measure? Comp. with this line, Story of Thebes 367 b : "And as ferforthe as it litli in me ; " further, Trail. IV, 863 : "As ferforth as my wit kan comprehende." Man of Lawrs T. 1001 : "As ferforth as his connyng may suflise." Chan. Tern. Talc 76 : " Als ferforth as my connyng wol strecche." Frankel. Prol. 34 : "As fer as that my wittes may suffice." Pari, of F. 460 : "As wel as that my wit can me suffyse." Both, "as ferforth as," and "as fer as" are frequent constructions. 1036. Comp. Black Knight 517 : " And to youre grace of mercie yet I preye, In youre servise that your man may deye." 103". This is.] Read This; see 1. 496. 1042, 1043. Pari of F. 442—445 : " Right as the fresshe, rede rose newe Ayen the somer-sonne coloured is. Right so for shame al wexen gan the hewe Of this formel "... Troilus II, 1198 : "Therwith al rosy hewed tho wex she." lb. 1256 : "Nay, nay," quod she, "and wex as rede as rose." Court of L. 1016: "And softly thanne her coloure gan appere As rose so rede, throughoute her visage alle." 1045. femynynite.] The proper form of the word in Chaucer and Lydgate seems to be femininite ; cp. Man of Laives Tale 262 : "O serpent under femininite." The MSS. of Chaucer and Lydgate, however, frequently have the shorter form feminite, which we find in Spenser ; cp. Colin Clout : "And only mirror of feminity. " F. Queen III, 6, 51 : "And trained up in trew feminitee." Our line is indecisive ; the full form makes it of the regular type A, the shorter form of type C. 1049. Troy-Book C, d : " Ne lette no worde by hir lyppes pace " {Medea). 1052. Cp. Troy-Book N 4 d : [in Hector was] "gouernaunce medlyd with prudence, That nought asterte hywi ; lie was so wyse & ware ; " and again S : , h \ " Unauysed / for no thynge hym asterte." lb. X« d ; 'Of womanhede, and of gentyllesse. She kepte hir so that no thynge hir asterte." (Pentftesileia.) 1060. Cp. CowrtofLove 890 : TEMPLE OF GLAS. 1 114 Notes to pp. 44—48, 11. 1061-4153. " Truly gramercy, frende, of yonr gode wille, And of youre profer in youre humble wise ! " 1061, 1062. Cf. Kingis Quair 144, 1 and 2 : " Now wele," quod sche, "and sen that It is so, That in vertew thy lufe is set with treuth " (. . . I will help thee). 1074. Troilus III, 112 : " Receyven hym fully to my servyse." 1078. Witnes on Venus.] Nonne Prestes Tale 416 : ' ' Witnesse on him, that eny perfit clerk is. " Troy-Book Aa ( d : " Wytnesse on you that be iumortall." The construction with on occurs further in March. T. 1038 ; Pard. T. 172 ; Monkcs Tale 735 ; Pers. T., p. 289 ; also in the poem by the "Dull Ass" (see the Introduction, p. cxlii, and note to 1. 110), MS. Fairfax 16, fol. 308 b : " Wytnes on Ambros vppon the bible." We find also the construction with of, and at: cp. Flmver and Leaf 530: " Witnesse of Rome," and Falls of Pr. 16 a : " I take witnes at (ojf Digby 263) Ieroboall." A similar frequent expression is : Record on, vpon, or of. 1081. Perhaps we ought to read : " >e trouthe " in spite of the hiatus. 1082. unto ]>e time.] The omission of ]>e, as in MSS. G and S, makes the metre smooth. The article is often omitted before time; cp. further on, 1. 1377 ; also Falls of Pr. 114a: "For vnto time that she gaue vp the breath." See further Oenerydes, ed. Wright, 11. 4228, 6012, 6755. 1083. To shape a way.] Frequent expression ; cp. Secrcta Secrctorum, fol. 108 a ; Story of Thebes, fol. 358 a, 361 o, etc. 1085. To take at gre, to accept (receive) in gre, are frequent phrases. 1089. Seel. 1203. 1090. Whoso can suffre.] This parenthetic, brachylogic construction is very frequent in Lydgate ; Chaucer has it also ; for instance, Cant. Tales, Prol. 741 : "Eek Plato seith, whoso that can him rede" . . . Cp. further, for the maxim expressed in 11. 1089, 1090, above, 11. 881, 882, and note. 1094. Troy-Book G t b\ "And what I saye, to take it for the beste." 1106—1108. Troy-Book TS^b: " That theyr hertes were locked in a chayne " (Achilles and Patroclics). Albon II, 756 : "So were theyr hertes ioyned in one cheyne." 1110. blisful.] Common epithet of Venus ; see 1. 328, and note. 1117. Your honour saue.] See note to 1. 342. 1136. recorde.] See the Introduction, Chapter X, p. exxxix, and again, 1. 1234. Cp. also Gower, in the passage on Chaucer towards the end of the Confessio : "So that my court it may recorde" (Pauli III, 374). Scogan 22 : " Thou drowe in scorn Cupyde eek to record Of thilke rebel word that thou hast spoken." 1138, 1143. Cp. Troil. II, 391, 392 : • ' That ye hym love ayeyn for his lovynge, As love for love is skylful guerdonynge." Edmund I, 479 : " Bomite for bou?ite, for loue shewe loue ageyn." 1146. "Lowliness" to his mistress is the 7th Statute for the lover ; Court of Love 349. 1152, etc. With these admonitions of Venus to the Knight, compare the Statutes in the Court of Love ; see the Introduction, p. exxxi. 1153. constant as a wall.] So also Clcrkcs Tale 109 ; L. Lady e 3 b. Similar expressions are common : Notes to p. 48, //. 1154—1170. 115 stable as a wal. Edmund I, 211 ; III, 390. sturdy as a wall, Troy-Book Ui d. close as any wall, Troy-Book U>c. stedfaste as a wall, Troy-Book Cc 3 a ; Falls of Pr. 7 5 b, 128 a; Reason and S. 288 a; Bom. of the R. 5253 ; Albon II, 91. stylle as a walle, Troy-Book Cci«. vpright as a wall, Falls of Pr. 142 c. 1154. Cp. Court of L. 315; Trail. Ill, 92 : "humble, trewe, Secret." Kingis Quair 132, 1 : "Be trewe, and meke, and stedfast in thy thoght." secre.] See note to 1. 295. 1157. Tempest.] Rare verb ; compare Cbaucer, Truth 8 : "Tempest thee noght al croked to redresse." Chaucer's Boethius, ed. Morris 1060 : "so bat >ou tempest nat ^e ]>us wi> al J>i fortune " (te tuae sortis piget). — See further the Century Dictionary. 1159, 1160. Rom. of the Ro. 2229, 2230 : "And alle wymmen serve and preise, And to thy power her honour reise." 1161—1165. Rom. of the Ro. 2231, etc. : "And if that ony myssaiere Dispise wyramen, that thou maist here, Blame hym, and bidde hym holde hym stille." 1163. slepe or wake.] Absurd use of a common formula, which occurs in the Sec. Nun's Tale 153 ; Rom. of the Rose 2730 ; Flour of Curtesic 95, etc. 1164. champartie.] Lydgate seems to have got this word from Knightes T. 1090, 1091 : " Beaute ne sleight, strengthe, ne hardynesse, Ne may with Venus holde champartye." Champartie means "a share of land," and, generalized, "a share, or partner- ship, in power." But Lydgate was reminded, by the "champ parti," of the tilting ground, and "to holde champartie with " (or against) means with him "to fight against," "to hold the field against." This is rightly pointed out in the N. E. Dictionary. The word is very common in Lydgate, and may even serve as an evidence for the genuineness of doubtful writings. See Reason and S. 229a, 246 & ; L. Lady g 7 b; Trov-Book K-b, K 4 a, P 5 &, Y e a; Story of Thebes 366 d ; Bycorne 41 ; Pilg. of man, fbl. 59 a, 91 a, 128 b, 148 a, 299 a ; Falls of Pr. 6 a, 16 b, 26 d, 34 (or rather 35) b, 69 c, 70 d, 148 d, 159 b, 195 b, 204 c. 1166, 1167. Rom. of the Ro. 2351, etc.: "Who-so with Love wole goon or ride, He mote be cartels, and voide of pride, Mery and fulle ofjolite." Trail. Ill, Proem 26 : " Ye ( Venus) don hem curteis be, fresshe and benigne." The 18th Statute of the Court of Love commands the lover to eschew " slut- tishnesse," to be "jolif, fressh, and fete, with thinges uewe, Courtly with maner . . . and loving clenlynesse." 1167. fressh & welbesein.] So also Troy-Book I, c, Cc,r ; Macabre (Tottel, fol. 223 d) ; Pilgrim. 176 a; similar expressions occur in Story of TJtebes, fol. 363 c: "riche and wel besein " (so also Gen-e.rydes 1978); " richely biseye," Ulerkes Tale VI, 46; Troy-Book Ci c : (Medea) "was bothe fayre and well besayne"; ib. C s 6: " Full royally arayed and besayne " (chambers) ; " fressh ely besene," Troy-Book Cc.,b ; " ryally beseen," Cowri of Love 121 ; " fl'ul ryally and wel beaeyn," Pilgrim. 14 a ; "goodely byseyn," Trail. II, 1262 ; "ille byseye," Clerkes Tale, VI, 27. 1168 — 1170. Similar expressions are not {infrequent in the love-poetry of the time, and betray a very brotherly feeling among these fellow-sufferers. Cp., for instance, Kingis Quair 184, 1 : "Beseching vnto fair Venus abufe For all my brethir that ben« In this place, This Is to sevne that seniandis ar to lufe, I 2 IK) Notes to pp. 48—49, //. 1172—1179. And of his lady can no thank purchase, His paine relesch, and sone to stand In grace." . . . Trail. Ill, 1741—1743: "... esen hem that weren in distresse, And glad was he if any wight wel feerde That lover was, when he it wiste or herde." Comp. also Court of L. 468, 469, which gives it a jocose turn. 1172. auaunte.] Compare for "avauntours" particularly, Trail. Ill, 240, 259, 269 ; further, Pastime of PL, Chapter XXXII : "make none aduaunt When you of loue haue a perfite graunte." And see the amusing description of the "Avaunter" in the Court of Love 1219, etc. ; also Compl. of Mars 37. 1173 — 1175. Compare with this sentiment the Provencal Poem on Boethius, 1. 221, where "tristicia," together with "avaricia," " perjuri," etc., is enumerated as a sin : . . , ' ' contr avaricia sun fait de largetat, contra tristicia sun fait d'alegretat" (the rungs of the ladder). Dante puts the "tristi" into Hell ; comp. Inferno VII, 121 : " Fitti nel limo dicon : tristi fummo Nell' aer dolce che dal sol s' allegra, Poitando dentro accidioso fummo : Or ci attristiam nella helletta negra." So does Deguileville, Pelerinage de la vie humaine, fol. 119 c (Barthole and Petit) : "Ce sont dist les filz de tristesse, Gens endormiz en leur paresce " ; in the English translation (Caxton, fol. 55 6) : "these hen . . . the children of tristesse that slepyn in slouthe and lachesse." In consideration of the promises of the Faith, "tristesse " was accounted a great sin. Compare also the quotation from Matthew VI, 16 : "Nolite fieri sicut ypocrite, tristes," in Piers Plourman B XV, 213, and Dante's "collegio degl' ipocriti tristi" (Inferno XXIII, 91). Similar to our passage is Sccreta Secrctorum 126 b : " Be nat to pensytT, of thought take no keep." Pastime of PI., p. 96 : "And let no thought in your herte engendre." See further the passage from the Rom. of the Ro., quoted above in the note to 1. 1166 ; and ib., 11. 2289, etc.: " Alwey in herte I rede thee, Glad and merv for to he, And be as joyfulle as thou can ; Love hath nojoye of sorowful man." Compare aiso Kingis Quair, stanza 121 ; further the picture of "Sorrow," Rom. of the Ro. 301 — 348, and the figure of Sansjoy in the Faerie Queene. 1176. sadness = earnestness. See Magnus Oato : "Nat alway sad ne light of contenaurace," and again : " It is a good lesson . . . to be glad and mery eft sones " (quoted in Jack Juggler, Edmund I, 693—695 : beginning). "Sadnesse in tvme, in tyme also gladnesse, "With entirchangyngis oil' merthe and sobirnesse Affter the sesoims requered off euery thyng." Duchcsse 880 : "She nas to sobre ne to glad." 1177 — 1179. We must not fail to put it down to our monk's credit that, amongst so many commonplaces, he gives us at least one moral which has a manly ring. The same sentiment also forms the kernel of Agamemnon's dis- course to Menelaus in Troy-Book I 2 e and d. Cp. also Wanderer, 11. 11 — IS : " Ic to s6$e wat, )ret bi$ on eorle indi vhten >eaw, Jnet hi- Ids ferislocan feste binde, healde his hordcofan, hyege swa he 1 wille ; Notes to p. 49, 11. 1177—1192. 117 ne mseg wSrig mod wyrde wifcstondan, ne se hreo hyge helpe gefremmaii : for]>on domgeorne dreorigne oft in hyra breosteofan bindaS fseste." 1177. It is best for the metre to read myrlpe. 1180, 1181. Cp. 1. 450, and note. 1182. tales.] See note to 1. 153 ; the whole Chapter I, 13 of the FaMa of Pr. inveighs against such indiscreet "tales." In the Secreta Seeretorum, fol. 98 b, the monk tells us that Aristotle hated " fforgid talys" ; ib. 121 a we hear that a king must not be "lyghtly credible ake dis To talys that make discenciovm. The 14th Statute in the Court of Love is to believe no "tales newe" (1. 412). 1183. Word is but wind.] This simile occurs also Troy-Book i-.d; Aa 4 c : (he is) "but worde and wynde." lb. U 4 b : " For lyke a wynde that no man may areste, Fareth a worde discordaunt fro the dede." Falls of Pr. 216 a : " Worde is but wind brought in by enuye." Pilgrim. 218 a : " Wynd and wordys, rud and dul, Yssen out fful gret plente." Secreta Sccrctorum (Ashm. 46, fol. 125 a) : "Trust On the dede, and nat in gay[e] spechys ; Woord is but wynd ; leve the woord & take the dede." In Magnus Cato the Latin hexameter, " Contra verbosos noli contendere verbis " is paraphrased by : " Agayns tho folkes that ay ben full of wynd, Stryue not at all, it may the nat proflte." In the same poem we have the lines : " Of thy good dede clamow nat ne crye ; Be nat to wyndy ne of word[es] breme." "Word is but wind" occurs rIso in Kyd's translation of Gander's Comelie, Dodsley-Hazlitt V, 216; in Calisto and Melibcca, ib. I, 69; Ingelend's I)is- obedicnt Child, ib. II, 301 ; Skelton's Magnificence 584 ; Wyatt, Aldine edition, p. 138 ; Comedy of Errors III, 1, 75 ; Much Ado V, 2, 52. 1184. dovmb as eny ston, see 1. 689. 1185. This childish maxim reminds one of the philistine rules drawn up by the monk for children. Cp. also Burgh's part of the Secreta Secretorum, fol. 159 a: " Whoo spekith soone Or ony man hym Calle, Is vnresouiiable, as philisophres expresse." 1188. myne.] Cp. Falls of Pr. 41c: ' ' The vnk3Tid worme of foryetfulnes, In his heart had myned through the wall." Ib. 67 b : " Let this conceit aye in your heartes mine." lb. 79 b : " That grace none myght in his heart[e] myne " (Coriolanus). lb. 150 d : " Under al this there did his heart[e] mine A worme of auarice, his worship to declyne " {Marius). Ib. 183 6 : "Royal compassion did in hys heart [e] mine." Testament 33 : " In amerous hertys brennyng of kyndenesse This name of Jhesu moost profoundly doth myne." Edmund II, 447 : "And heer-upon a werm most serpenrtyne Offals enuye gan in his herte myne." S. of Thebes 372 b : "The rage gan mine on him so depe." Pilgr. 65 a : "Thys mortal werm [of conscience] wyl neucre fyne Vp-on hys mayster for to myne, And gnawe vj)-on hym day k nyht." 1191, 1192. L.Ladye.a ■. "As golde in fyre fyned by assaye, And as the tryed syluor is depurid." 118 Notes to pp. 50—51, 11. 1197—1238. 1197. Sue above 1. 892. Op. also Falls of Pr. 3 b ; "And thus false lust doth your bridell lede." lb. Gc: " Pride of Nembroth did the bridell lede." Rom. of the Ro. 4935 : "Delite so doth his bridil leede " (of yoioth). lb. 3299 : " Take with thy teeth thebridel faste, To daunte thyne herte." Cp. also 1. 878, and note. 1203. Abide a while.] Rom. of the Ro. 2121 : "Abide and suffre thy distresse, That hurtith now ; it shal be lesse "... Kingis Quair 133 : ' ' All thing has tyme, thus sais Ecclesiaste ; And wele is him that his tyme wel abit : Abyde thy time ; for he that can bot haste, Can noght of hap, the wise man It writ." March. Talc 728 : "For alle thing hath tyme, as seyn these clerkis." Melibe, p. 146 : " He hastith wel that wisly can abyde." In the Secreta Secretorum, fol. 104 b, "tretable abydyng" is enumerated as a virtue. 1208. Similarly Troy-Book T s b : "That was this worldes very sonne and lyght " (Rector). 1210. crop and rote, see 1. 455. 1220. his langow forto lisse.] The same expression occurs in Albon II, 658. 1221, 1225. Cp. Rom. of the Ro. 2087, etc.; 3320 ; Anclida 131 : " Her herte was wedded to him with a ring ; So ferforth upon trouthe is her entente, That wher he goth, her herte with him wente." Falls of Pr. 38 c : "Under one key our hertes to be enclosed." Troy-Book N 5 b : "That theyr hertes were locked in a chayne" (Achilles and Patroclus). lb. R 3 c : "She locked hym vnder suche a keye " (Cressida and Diomcd). 1229. L. Lady g s a : " Eternally be bonde that may not fayle." Reason and S. 230 a : "To ban hir knyt to him by bonde," and again similarly 233 b. 1230. Troy-Book I, d : " For euer more to laste atwene them tweyne, The knotte is knyt of this sacrament" (Marriage of Paris and Helen). Dc duob. Merc, Hh. IV. 12, fol. 65 b : "and hath a day I-sett Of hyr spousage to se the knott I-knett." 1231. alliaunce.] Cp. the quotation from the Kingis Quair in note to 1. 388. 1234. record.] See note to 1. 1136. 1234, 1235. Cp. Chaucer's Legd. of Ariadne, 11. 6 and 7 : " For which the goddes of the heven above Ben wrothe, and wreche han take for thy sinne." "To be wreke" (on) is a common construction in Lydgate : Black Knight 663 ; Troy -Book Q 5 d, T 3 c, \J b c; Falls of Pr. 59 a. 101c; Macabre (Tottel 224 d) ; Pilgrim. 62 a, 63 b, 65 a (in that place we have the form wrokc rhyming with spoke; cp. Complcynt 605, 606). Shirley and Caxton read bewrcke ; but "to be wreke" is not to b' mixed up with "to bewreak" ; the latter word occurs, for instance, Troy-Book K 2 a : " On Troyans our harmes to bewreke." Chaucer has not unfrequently "to ben awreke," see Frank. Talc. 56 ; Maunc. Tale 194 ; Mill T., 564. 1238. Cp. Falls of Pr. 169 d : " If that I might, I wolde race his name Out of this boke that no man should it rede " (Nero). Notes to pp* 52—53, 11. 1250—1279. 119 1250. Cp. Trail. I, 642 : " Ek whit by blak, ek schame by worthynes, Ech sett by other, more for other seineth. " Falls of Pr. 160 d : " Two colours seen that be contrarius, As white and blacke — it may bee none, other — Eche in his kynd sheweth more for other." Skelton, Garl. of L. 1237 : "The whyte apperyth the better for the black." Pastime of PL, p. 56 : " As whyte by blacke doth shyne more clerely." 1251. See 11. 403, 404. 1252. 1253. Similarly, Edmund II, 592 : "For alwey trouthe al falsheed shal oppresse." ,S'. of Thebes, fol. 366 d : " Ayeus trouthe, falshode hath no might." Albon II, 1915 : "Trouthe wyll out, magre fals enuie. " The reverse is found in Blaek Knight 325 : " He shal ay fynde that the trewe man "Was ]>ut abake, whereas the falshede Yfurthered was." 1257. deinte = value, estimation, liking ; see Anelida 143 ; Troil. II, 164 ; Frank. T. 275; Frank. Prol. 9. "To have (hold) in deinte" is a frequent expression ; so, Falls of Pr. 9 a, 127 b ; Rom. of the Rose 2677 ; Dunbar, ed. Laing, I, 75, 1. 376, etc. 1266. suffrable.] The suffix -able in an active sense (i. e. inclined to do or undergo something) is very common in Lydgate, in cases where in Modern- English it would have a passive sense ; Lydgate has deceivable, partable, defensible, credible (see quotation in note to' 1. 1182), etc. ; suffrable occurs again Reason and S. 289 b (also in Wife of Bath's Prol. 442) ; and cp. Pilgrim. 154 a: "Thy body .... insensyble, Wych muste with the be penyble. — Sustene also & be suffrable ; For he wyl also be partable Off thy merytes & guerdoims." In Shakspere we find still "a contemptible spirit" = a contemptuous, scornful spirit (Much Ado II, 3, 187), and "an unquestionable spirit " = an unquestion- ing spirit (As You Like It III, 2, 393). 1271. Troy-Book B 6 a : "What shulde I lenger in this mater dwell ? " 1272. Come]) off.] MSS. T. L, and the Prints omit off; that the majority of MSS. are right, is made probable by the following passages : Troil. II, 310 : "com of, and tel me what it is" ; similarly, ib. 1738, 1742, 1750 ; Miller's Talc 540 ; Frcres Tale 304 ; Court of Love 906 ; Assembly of Ladies, fol: 258 c. Troy-Book L 4 b : " Wherfore come of, and fully condescende." Ib. Q 5 a : " Come of therfore, and let nat be prolongued." De duobus Merc. (MS. Hh. IV. 12, fol. 64 a) : "Tel on for shame ; cu//i of & lat me see." Pilgrim, of the Soul, Caxton, fol. 66 a : " Come of, come of, and slee me here as blyue." 1275. ha)), and shal, obeid], i. e. hath obeyed and shall obey. For this shortened form of construction see Troil. IT, 888, 998 ; III, 1558 ; IV, 1652 ; V, 833 ; Clcrkcs Tale IV, 36 ; Frank. Prol. 16 ; Horn of Fame 82 ; Rom. of the R. 387 ; Gcncrydcs, ed. Wright, 4906 ; Court of Love 922 ; JSmp 8, 1 : "An olde proverbe haj>e beo seyde and shal." 1279. UM'le is here used as an adjective ; its opposite woo often occurs so also ; sec Knightes Tale 68 ; Prol. to the Canterbury T., 351, and Skeat's note ; further Abbott, A Shakesp,in-/n,i f ! ritnimar, §230 ; Zupitza's notes to Ouy «f Warwick, 11. 1251 and 3474 ; Einenkrl, Stretfziige, p. 112. 120 Notes to pp. 53—54, 11. 1283—1312. 1283. frifti] = well-ordered, becoming, seemly ; cp. Troil. Ill, 162 : "She toke hire leve at hem ful thriftily, As she wel koude," . . . Frank. Tali 444 : (a clerk) " Which that in Latyn thriftily hem grette." Cp. also the use of "thrifty" in Prol. to the Cant. T., 105 ; Chan. Fern. Prol. 50 ; Shipm. Prol. 3 ; Chan. Fern. Prol. 340 : unthriftily = slovenly. 1290. For the omission of the relative, cp. Kingis Quair 61, 3 : "To here the mirth was thafii amang." Nonnc Prestos Tale 355 : "he had found a com lay in the yard." Duchcsse 365 : " I asked oon, ladde a lyrnere." Peele, David and Baths. Ill, 2 : "And muster all the men will serve the king." See Abbott, § 244 ; Mcitzner, Engl. Transl. by Grece, p. 524 etc. 1295. The same as 1. 385. 1297. Troil. II, 1622 : " What sholde I longer in this tale taryen ? " Man of Law's Tale 276 : " AVhat schuld I in this tale lenger tary ? " Chan. Yevi. Tale 210 : "What schuld I tary al the longe day l . " Troy-Book S 5 d : "what shulde I lenger tarye." 1303. Calliope.] See Hoics of F. 1400 ; Troil. Ill, Proem 45 ; Court of Love 19 ; L. Lady e 8 a, q\:oted in the note to 1. 958, etc. Lydgate is particularly fond of saying that Calliope never took him under her patronage. Calliope plays a very prominent part in Douglas's Palice of Honour. 1307. The same expression occurs Pilgrim. 270 b : "Doth hym honour and reuerence." 1308. Oqiheus.] Son of Calliope and Apollo ; see the beginning of the Troy-Book (fol. A, b) : "And helpe also, o thou Callyope, That were moder vnto Orpheus, Whose dytees were so melodyous That the werbles of his resownynge harpe Appese dyde the bytter wordes # sharpe Bothe of parchas, and furyes infernall." . . . Again, in the Falls of Pr. 32 a, he is called "Sonne of Apollo and of Caliope " ; further " Orpheus, father of armonye," ib. 32 b ; so also Duclwssc 569 : " Orpheus, god of melodye." Orpheus is also mentioned Asscm. of Gods h 3 a, as a "poete musykall"; further in the Uous of Fame 1203 ; in Douglas's Palice of Honour, ed. Small, I, 21, 15 ; in MS. Ashinole 59, fol. 64 a : "And Orpheus with heos stringer sharpe Synge^e a roundell with his temperd herte" (hcrte, in the MS., is evidently a mistake for harpc). Jlcason and S. 279 b : " the verray heuenly soxm Passed in comparisoiui The harpis most melodious Of Dauid and of Orpheoas."' Orpheus and Eurydice are mentioned together in Lydgate's Testament, Halliwell, p. 238 ; in Albon, ed. Hoistmann, p. 37, note, slanza 4 ; and Henryson wrote a poem Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus is not unfrequently mentioned together with Amphion, as in our passage ; see note to 1. 1310. 1309. strengis touch.] We find " touchen cords " in the Isle of Ladies 2153. 1310. Amphion.] How he built the walls of Thebes, is related in the S. of Thebes 357 a ; see also Falls of Jr., fol. 8 a, 145 b, 163 d ; Maundplcs Tale, 12 ; Knighles Tale 688 ; Douglas's Palice of Honour, ed. Small, I, 21, 2 and 3. Orpheus and Amphion are mentioned together in March. Talc 472, and Skelton's Garland of Laurel 272 and 273. 1312. queme and please], frequent phrase ; see Troy-Book T- b ; Be duobus Notes to pp. 54—56, 11. 1319—1372. 121 Merc, fol. 60 b ; Falls of Pr. 72 b ; Reason and S. 242 b ; queme or plese, Troy- Book B 5 6. 1319. of hard.] This way of forming an adverbial expression occurs also in 1. 574 and 615 : "of newe" ; in Troil. II, 1236 : "That ye to hyni of harde now ben ywonne." Falls of Pr. 72 a : "of olde, and not of newe" ; Compleint 159, 198 ; Reason and S. 283 a. Troy-Book M 5 a presents even a comparative : " Ne came none hoost of more harde to londe." 1325. \cr is nomore to sein.] Exceedingly common formula in Chaucer and Lydgate ; cp., for instance, Squieres Tale I, 306 ; Frank. Talc 862 ; Maunc. Tali 162 ; Pite 21, 77. 1328. Troy-Book U, a : "That fynally, as goddes haue be-hyght, Thorugh prescyenee of theyr etemall niyght To victorye that ye shall attayne." " Prescience " is a personification in the Assem. of Gods. 1331. " by iuste purveiaunce " occurs also Troil. II, 527. " providence " is, of course, only the learned doublet of "purveiaunce." 1334. enviroun is used as a post-position ; the sentence is thus to be con- strued : In consequence of this grant, a new ballad was straightway begun throughout the temple, by reason of the great satisfaction of all present. 1348. Willy planet.] The same as "welwilly " in Troilw III, 1208 : "Venus mene I, the welwilly planete ! " and Black Knight 627 : "0 feire lady, wel- willy founde at al ! " 1348, 1349 : Black Knight 612, etc. : " Esperus, the goodly bryghte sterre, So glad, so feire, so persaunt eke of chere, I mene Venus with her bemys clere, That hevy hertis oonly to releve Is wont of custom for to shewe at eve." See also ib., 11. 5, 6 and Temple of Glas, 11. 253, 254, and 328—331 ; further Kingis Quair 72, 5 and Skeat's note. 1355. daister.] Cp. Albon II, 1749 : " Venus, called the daysterre. " 1362. There is always some contrivance or other to wake these dreamers. Here — and it is a good idea, I think- -it is the heavenly melody of the lovers' song; Chaucer, Duehcsse 1322, is waked by the castle-bell ; in the Pari, of F., by the song of the birds ; so also Dunbar, in the Thrissill and the Hois, and the poet of Cuckoo and Nigldingale ; Deguileville, by the sound of the matin-bell ; Xing James, by Fortune taking him by the ear to place him on the top of her wheel ; Alanus (De Planetu Naturcc), by the light of the candles going out ; Octavien de St. Gelais, at the end of the Vergier d'ffonncur, by the noise the people make in uttering their opinions ; the writer of the Assembly of Ladies, because water "sprang in her visage" ; Skelton, in the Boivge of Court, by imagining he was leaping into the water ; Douglas, at the end of the Police of Honour, by falling into a pool ; Lyndsay (Bream), by the sound of cannon, etc. noise.] Cf. Albon II, 194:j : " lleuenly angels, that made noyse and sowne " ; farther Edmund II, 911 : "This heuenly noise gan ther hertis lyhte." Of course, we need not substitute wise, as Horstmann thinks. We have again a "heavenly noise" in the Fairy Queen I, 12, 39, and in Painter's Palace of Pleasure (ed. Haslewood II, 272) ; a "sweete noyse" occurs Maunc. Talc 196. 1366. Cf. Rom. of the R. 3859 : " I was a-stoned, and knewe no rede." 1372. With similar regret Deguileville awakes from his vision : " Bien dolent que si tost auoye Perdu mon solas et ma ioye ; Icsu le me doint recouurer" (Bartholc and Petit, fol. 148 a). 122 Notes to p. 57, 11. 1374—1400. 1374. auisioun.] See JTous of F. 7 ; Daclvssc 285 ; Sompnourcx Talc 150 ; Persona Talc, p. 268, etc. The word occurs often in the Troy-Book, in Albon II, 521, 561, 589. Compare also Falls of Pr. 59 d : (consider . . .) "Howe dremes shewed by influence deuine Be not lyke sweuenes, but like auisions." 1380. The "treatises" mentioned in the following lines are not clearly defined ; I suppose 11. 1378—1383, and again 11. 1388—13^2, allude to a "trea- tise," with which the world has not been favoured; the "simiil tretis" in 1. 1387 must mean the Temple of Glas. Similar to our passage is the conclusion of the Flour of C, to which, consequently, a "ballad" of three stanzas is appended. 1380. processe.] = progress ; progress of a story, or narrative ; the story or treatise itself. Very common in the latter meaning. Cp. Leg. of Ariadne 29 ; Troilus II, 268, 292, 424 ; III, 421 ; Leg. of Austin, Halliwell, p. 149 : " Doth your deveer this processe to corecte." Falls of Pr. 112 c : " In this processe briefly to procede." lb. 218 d : "And pray al tho that shal thys processe see." Story of Thebes, fol. 360 d : "and gan a processe make, First how he was in the forest take." Troy-Book Aa s c : "And shortly here Guydo doth forth pace, And lyst of them no lenger processe make." lb. Cc 5 c : "Of them can I none other processe make." lb. Cc 6 b : "Fro hensforth 1 can no processe rede." JDc duob. Merc., fol. 66 a : " I will entrete thys processe forth in playn." Sccrcta Secretorum (MS. Ashmole 46, fol. 97 a) : " Excellent prynce, this processe to compyle Takith at gree the Paidnesse of my style." 1392. Who is "my ladi ?" Does the monk represent himself as a lover, in the conventional style of the period, or does my lady mean the lady of the "amoreux," at whose request, according to Shirley, the monk composed the poem ? The first assumption is made more probable by the Envoy of the Black Knight. 1393, etc. Similar Envoys occur in Black Knight 674 : "Go litel quayre" (so also Skelton, Garl. of Laurel 1533); Chorl and Bird 379: "Go, gentillc quayer ; " Troy-Book Dd» d : " Go lytell boke," etc. ; L. Lady nub : " Goo lityl book" (this however seems to be added by Caxton) ; Edmund: "Go, litel book!" Falls of Pr., fol. 218 c: "With letters and leaues goe litle booke tremblyng ;" Kingis Quair 194, 1 : "Go litill tretise ;" Pastime of PI.: "Go, little boke;" Belle Dame, the last stanza but three: "Go Utile booke;" Troilus V, 1800 : "Go, litel boke, go, litel myn tragedie." 1400. correcte.] See the Introduction, p. cxli. Cp. Boccaccio, Be casibus, at the end : " ut suppleatur quod omissum sit, & superfluum resecetur ; " further Troilus V, 1872 ; Pcrsones Prol. 55, etc.; Sec. Nun's Talc 84 : "And pray yow that ye wol my werk amende." The Falls of Pr. ask the readers "to correct where as they se nede" (fol. 217 b), and, again (fol. 217 c) : " I pray them y' they would Fauour the Miter and doe correccion." At the beginning of the Falls of Pr. (fol. A! c), Lydgate commends Laurent for his "entencion to amende, correcten and declare, Not to co?wlemne of no presumpcion. " Dance of Macabre, fol. 224 c- " Lowely I pray with all myne heart entere To correct where as ye se nede." Reason and S. 202 b : " Besechinge him for to dirccte Al that ys mys, and to correcte." L. Lady b« a : "I put hit mekely to hir correccion." A'Jso'p, Prol. 46 : "I me submyt to theyr correccioun." Notes to pp. 57—61, //. 1402, 19—198. 123 Flour of C. 109 : " it is al vnder correction, What I reherse in commendacion." Guy of Warwick 74, 1 : "Meekly compiled under correccyoun." Chorl and Bird 385 : " Alle thing is saide vndre correccioim." Similarly Sccreta Seerctorum, fol. 97 b. Pilgrimage of the Soul, end (Caxton 1483) : "and goodly correcten where that it nedeth oughte to adden or withdrawal ; " in the original French : . . . "donlcement corrigeront, Se riens y a a corriger, A amender on retractor. " Troy-Book E 3 a : " Prayeng the reder where my worde myssyt, Cansynge the metre to be halte or lame, For to correcte, to saue me fro blame " . . . . lb. E 5 b : "And where I erre, I praye you to correcte." lb. Ddg b : " To correcte rather than disdayne." lb. Dd, d : " And the submytte to theyr correccyon. " See also ib. E 4 b. Edmund : " Meekly requeryng, voyde off presumpcioim, Wher thow fay lest, to do correccioim. " The word correccioun forms here the burden of five stanzas. Albon II, 1993 : " I wyll procede vnder correction." Pur le Roy 63 : " For to correcte where as thei see nede." Pilgrimage 4 a : " For my wrytyng, in cowclusiouw, Ys al yseyd vnder correceiouw." Leg. of Austin (Halliwell, p.* 149) : " By cause I am of wittis dul and old, Doth your deveer this processe to corecte." Belle Dame ; " Where thou art wrong . . . Thee to correcte in any parte or all." Cf. also Lancelot of the Laik, Prol. 184, 185; fur' her Skelton's Phil. Sparrenc 1246, and his Envoy to the Garland of Laurel, 1. 1533, etc. 1402. Perhaps we ought to adopt the reading of MSS. T. P. F. B. L, and scan the line : " I mene ]>at benygne || & gjodli of hir face." COMPLEYKT. 19 — 21. The same simile occurs in the Prologue to the Canterbury Talcs, 11. 179—181 ; further Troil. IV, 737 : "How shold a fissh withouten water dure ? " Departing of Th. Chancier (MS. Ashm. 59, fol. 46 b) : " What is a fisshe oute of }>e see, For alle heos scales (MS. sclcs) silver sheene, Bot dede anoone as man may see." 42. Joue me swich a pul.] The same expression occurs in the Falls of Pr., fol. 140 b. 125. " nouK-suffysau?i.ce " occurs also in the Pilgrim., fol. 197 a. Chaucer translates impotcntia by noimpower, Boethius 2074. 136. myn swete fo.] Very frequent expression ; it occurs Troilus I, 874 ; V, 228 ; Anclida Til ; poem XXI in Skeat's edition of Chaucer's M. P., p. 214, 1. 41 ; De duob. Merc. (MS. Hh. IV. 12, fol. 62 a) : "My swete foo is hard as any stele." See again 1. 296 of the Complcynt. 196. Read rmwreke. Shirley's reading is mvwreJc, not buwrek, as given, on p. 61, in the various readings. 198. Many allusions to the two casks containing sweet and bitter liquor (represented as attributes of Fortune or Jnpiter I (ire to be found in contemporary 124 Notes to pp. 61—64, //. 202—370. poetry. See particularly Gowcr, Confcssio Amantis, book VI (Pauli III, 12, etc.) ; similar to this passage is Reason and S., fol. 202 b : (Fortune) " Had throgh liir subtil gyn be-gonne To yive me drynke of her to?tne, 01 which she hath, with-oute where, Couched tweyfi in hir celler : That oon ful of prosperite, The tother of aduersyte, Myd hir wonderful taverne And of this ilke drynkes tweyne Serveth fortune in certeyne To alle foolkys eve and morowe, Some with Ioye and some with sorowe." Cp. further Pilgrim. , fol. 4 b : " Nor I drank newer of the sugryd tonne Off Jubiter, couchyd in hys celer ; So strange I fonde to me hys boteler, Off poetys callyd Ganymede." Beduob. Here. (MS. Hh. IV. 12, fol. 70 ft): "As Iupiter hath eowchid tunnys too With-iu hys celar, platly, and no moo : That ooh is full of ioy and gladnes, That other full of so row and bitternes. "Who that will entyr to tamen on the swete, He must as well takyn hys auentnre To taste the bytter, or he the vesell lete." Comp. also ib., fol. 65 b ; further Legend of Good W., Prol. 195 ; Wife of Bath's Prol. 170. We have the fiction further in extenso in the Roman- de la Rose, ed. Meon 6836, etc., and read also in Boethius, Be consol. pfiiios., book II, prose 2 : ' ' Nonne adolescentulus 5vo roiV ttWovc,, tov fiiv tva kcikwv, tov Si fVepoi- icaXwv, in Jovis limine jaceiv didicisti?" The whole fiction goes back to Iliad xxiv, 527, etc.: , . , n . ., " Aotoi y«p rt ttiOoi KaraKtiaTai tv Aio? oveft Siopixjv, ola SiSwtrt, kokwv, erfpoQ Sk iao 525, 1306; as nov 956. assay, test, proof 1192. astert, p. t., escaped 1052. customed, astonyed, astounded, be- numbed, dismaid 21, 1044, 1366; astoneid 876, 934. atones, at once 458. atte, at the 13, 30, 405. atwixen, between 348. auaunce, to advance, further, help 660. auaunte, to vaunt oneself, boast 1172. auisioun, vision, dream 1374. aiders, altars 473. avoive, avowal, solemn promise 771. axcesse, access, attack of fever 358. oxen, to ask 672, 725, 765, 800, 1178. bataile, battle 592, 1246. baivme, balm 258. behest, bihest, promise 1036, 1057, 1322. bemys, beams, rays 272, 329, 718. bmtai2e,=be entaile 37. bet, bette, adv., better (312), 1063. bie, buy 719, 1351. biliest, see behest, bihote, vb., promise 383, 418. Use, busy 535, 1146; bisk 1168. biseme, to beseem, become 1143. bole, bull 119. borow, surety, jiledge, bail 1145. bote, relief, remedy 457. bowyis, boughs 510. brace, to brace, strengthen 1290. brenne, burn 356, 362, 842 ; p. t. brente 840. brid, bird 603. buxumnes, obedience 878. can, know 6S8. cercled, circled, made circular 716. cliampartie, see note to 1. 11 64. chere, cheer, countenance, face 52, 290, 298, 315, etc. chese, to choose 214, 336. clepe, call 804. compas, circle; in compaswise 37. compassid, encompassed, enclosed 755 ; compost 1053. compassing, designing, plotting 871. counting, knowledge, skill 95 i. contune, to continue 1333 ; p.p. con- tuned 390, comtymted 374. cou\>e, known 2O0'. See also fontye. 128 Glossary. crop, protuberance ; top, fruit 455, 1210. croude, to push 534. curen. to cover, hide 205. curteis, courteous 1160. daister, day-star 1355. daliaunce, sjieech, conversation 29 1 . See note to this line. dannte, to subdue 482, 619, 1171. debate, strife 399. dedeli, deadly 14, 937, 945. deinte, value, worth, esteem 1257. demening, demeanour 750. demeyned, behaved 1051. departid, separated, divided, parted ; p.p. 354; p.t. 781. depnred, purified 1225. deuyse, to devise 471, 927, etc. ; to tell 538, 698. de voider, dispeller 329. differ ring, deferring, delay 1206. dilacioun, delay 877. discure, to discover 161, 629, 916. dispitous, spiteful 761. dole, dolefulness 551. dome, si), doom 1079. donne, adj., dun, dark 30; vb, to darken 252. doublenes, duplicity 441, 1158, 1245, 1253; stanza 25 c, 1. 5. did, vb., to become dull, feel dull 407. dures, roughness 515. eft, eftc, again 41, 1400. efter, eftir, after 233, 1251. egalli, equally 277. eA-e, also 77, 97, 108, etc. elde, eld, old age 182, 187. emprise, undertaking ; teaching, lore? 421, 1073. See note to 1. 421. enbrace, to set on fire, inflame 846. See note to 1. 575. enbracen, to embrace 1107, 575. cnbrouded, embroidered 301, 309. endite, tell, describe 946, 1378. ennuyd, renewed, made fresh and new 275. entaile, shape, form 37. entende'p, is given to, inclined to 189. ententif, attentive 470. entere, (entirely) devoted 220. enviroun, adv., round about 283, 505; postposition 1334. er, ere, before 13, 572, etc. estres, apartments, inner parts of a house 29, 549. euer in one, at all times, continu- ally 25, 1333. eueredel, adv., every deal, through- out 1058. euerich, every 535. ewrous, happy 562. examplaire, exemplarie, pattern, model 294, 752. expoune, to expound 304, 1389. eysel, vinegar, stanza 3 b, 1. 5. fadur, father 389. fcdsed, deceived 63. fantasie, phantasy, mind 513. fascmn, fashion, shape 35. feine, to feign 204, 522, 762, 911 ; to be slack 996 (see note to this line). femynynite, womanliness 1045. fer, ferre, far 345; fid fer 17. ferfor\>, far forth, far 1327; as fer- forfre (as) 1029. feme, fierce 1256. fest, feast 464; festival 101, 473. fine, fin, sb., end 411, 692, etc. {fine), fyne, vb., to end (intrans.) 372; (trans.) 910. (fine), fyne, vb., to refine 1191. fire, adj., fiery 574. fiaumed, inflamed 843. fieting, floating 53. flitten, to remove 1248. for, on account of, because of, out of 1, 2, 10, 11, 29, etc; in spite of 59, 124, 823; with the par- ticiple 632, 934, 1366 ; conj., be- cause 68 ; for ]>at 408, for cause pat 953. forcasten, fordriven, to drive out of the right way, to toss abotit ; for- caste\> 606 ; fordriue (p.p.) 609. forseid, afore-said 1389. forth hi pace, to pass by 230. fortune, vb., to favour, make for- tunate 903, 1101; p.p. fortuned 1347, 1361. for-vrrynkked, crooked 84. foule, bird 139. frexsldi, adj., fresh 273. fyne, sec fine. Glossary. 129 gan, began 10, 13, 23, 2G, etc. (often merely paraphrastical). gamement, garment 303. gentUles, gentilesse, gentleness 287, 970. gie, guie, to lead, guide 973, 1003. gif, to give 597. ginnep, begins 656. glade, to gladden 1211; gladest 703 ; gladinij 1350. graue, p.p., buried 239, 1039. gre, to take at (in) gre, to accept in good part, graciously 1085, 1387. grn(c)ch, to grudge, murmur 592, 1086. guerdon, sb., reward 806. guerdone, vb., reward 1139. guie, see gie. halowe, hallow, celebrate 100. hatter, hotter 362. hauteyn, haughty 323. hest, promise 498 ; plural hestis 59 (promises) ; 853 (commands). het, p.p., heated, inflamed 842. hole, hool, whole, entire 97, 364, 488, 497, 857, 1227, 1317. holi, wholly, entirely 1076, 1330; hoolli/ 630; hoolli 722; holli 1134! homagere, one who pays homage 571. hool, see "hole. Inve, hue 48, 454, 616, 937. Iblent, blent, mingled 32. ich, Iche, each 748, 1007. tewise, judgment, pain, torment 238. Jfrore, frozen 20. iliche, equally, equably 1202. I-mevid, moved 669. inli, inwardly, deeply 765, 1087. inspeccioun, examination 278. / persid, pierced 987. Istellified, changed into a star, glorified 136. I voide, void, devoid 413. Isolde, yielded, surrendered 586. hepe, sb., heed 13. ki\>e, to make known, show 194. konipe, acquainted with 618. See note. kiimnnig, knowledge, skill 538. TEMPLE OF GLAS. kynd, nature 177, 224, 279, 343. laiser, leisure 393. lak, lack, defect 150, 564, 749, 791, 820, 1137. lase, snare, net 423. laurer, laurel 115. lech, leech, physician 916. ledue, language, speech 139. leuger, longer 390, 1297. lere, to teach 656; to learn 297, 1021. leuyr, liefer, rather 1012. lich, like 46, 272, 603, 628, 784, 798, 813, 1030; liche 850. liklynesse, likeness, semblance 18. lisse, to ease, relieve 1220. loft, on l, aloft 645. longip, belongs 875. loureJp, looks sullen 218. male bouchc, wicked tongue, stanza 25 b, 1. 7. mase\>, amazes, bewilders 682. mede, meed, recompense 353, 415, etc. meint, mingled 276. meruaile, sb., marvel 267. meruaile, mervaile, vb., to marvel, wonder 279, 585. meve, to move 1245. modir, mother 32 1 . mot, must 357. we, not 27, 68, 184, 240, 399, etc. ne, nor 161, 178, 403, 508, 594, etc. neueradele, in no way, by no means 426. noise, sound 1362. nrfaugilnes, newfangledness 1243. nyl, will not 956. nys, is not 794. ■uyst, knew not 17, 1371. obeissaunce, obedience 324, 864. of, of grace, in grace 490 ; of right, by right 954, 1063. See also note tol. 1319. offencioicn, offence 429, 801, 884. ones, onys, once 675, 725, 925, etc. oper, o\>ir, or 943, 1038. o\>er next, next following 209. ouerdraxoe, to pass over 610. onershake, to pass away, abate, stop 614. K 130 Glossary. overstate, to abate, slacken 614 (reading of L. S. Pi\). pantire, snare 604. peiisifliede, pensiveness 2. peping, crying, screaming 180. perauenture, peradventure, perhaps 233, 241. percaas, perhaps 237. perre, jewelry 301, 310. per sard, piercing 328, 756, 1341. pie, plea 681. plein, plainly 1265; in plein 1300. plete, to plead 686. port, bearing 266, 291, 745, 901, 975. possid, pushed 60S. prefe, sb., prove 1254. prese, pres, sb., press, crowd 533, 545, 547. pris, esteem, highest reputation 259, 621; value 1258; praise 1345, 1381. purid, purified 1192. punieaimce, purveyance 862. qucme, to please 1312; stanza 3 6, 1. 7. quite, to quit, requite 1186. race, to run, rush 756. raced, erased, cancelled 1238. recch, care, mind 982. recounford, comfort 330. recured, recovered 1226. rede, sb., counsel, advice 642, 688, 1366. rede, vb., to advise 1151. regalie, supremacy, first rank 261. reherse, to relate 560, 949. remue, change, remove 1182. rouit,, cared 850, 939. secrenes, secrecy 295. seld, seldom 212. semlyhed, seemliness 290. shene, shining, bright 1101. sikirnes, securitv, certainty 1254. sip, since 369, 423, 478, etc. ; sipin 482 ; sipen 735. sipe, ofte s., ofttimes, often 193. skil, reason 1116, 1382. skyes, skies, clouds 30, 611. somivhile, sometimes 655. sownyssh, sunny 271. sole, soote, sweet 458, 540, 1264. sopefast, true 974. sound, to cure, heal 602, 1200. soune, sowne, sb., sound 197, 1336. spere, sphere, globe 272, 396, 716, 1344. spill, to destroy, kill 439. stere, to steer, guide, direct 1349. stert, to escape 584. sterue, sterve, to die 435, 791. stile, writing instrument, pen 956. stoneip, astounds 683. stremes, rays 32, 252, 263, 326, 582, 702, 815, 1101, 1342. strengis, strings 1309. suffrable, suffering, enduring 1266. sujjprised, overpowered, overcome 765, 938. sicelt, feel sultry 844. siceltre, feel sultry 358. tast, takest 602. tempest, vb., to worrv, disquiet 1157. thou^t, heaviness 1, 1174, 1260, 1370. tofore, before 32, 198, 249, 251, etc. ; toforn 883; toforne 994, 1281, 1284. togedir, together 276. transmwe, to transform 120. trete, treaty 214. twyn, to part, separate 1360. pilke, the same, that 81 ; stanza 25 a, 1. 7. \>o, adv., then 370, 525, 1366, 1369. po, dem. pr., those 1165, 1337, 1351. prifti, see note to 1. 1283. vailep, avails 622. nerve, nerval, verrey, very, true 571, 980, 1001. viage, voyage, journey 900. vnfortuned, unfortunate, luckless 389. vnwarli, unawares 95, 105, 617. voide, to chase away 253, 1 1 58, 1357 ; to voide oute of, to empty of, free from 331. vppermore, higher up 137. walk, walked 34, 247, 552, See n-elk. waloing, turning restlessly 12. xvanhope, despair 673, 895. 505. Glossary. 131 wapcd, dismayed, dejected 401. wawa, wave 609. iveddir, weather 395. weke, week 1201. wclbesein, seemly, comely, of good appearance 1167. icelk, walked 140 ; welke 550. were, wire 271. weymentacioun, lamentation 949. illing, ready, propitious unit, person, creature 360, 398, 403, 553, etc. wttli, y 1348. wirship, worship, dignity 342, 399. wisse, teach 637. wite, sb., blame 166, 208. wite, vb., to blame 666. COMPLEYNT. acordyn, agree 231, 545. afome, before 582. alayene, to allay 273. albiston, 540. See note to 1. 539. amasid, amazed, bewildered 518. a-moiig, sometimes 171. apeyrid, impaired, injured 519. aryete, Aries, the Earn 250. astert, to escape 12. astonyd, stunned 109. a-tamyd, broached 198. attemper aunce, temperance 339 (Shirley reads attemporaltee). a-ticeyne, between two people 234. aviso, opinion 354. baume, balm 431. bedynge, bidding 468. brend, burnt 560. bretme, to burn 543, 547, 552. bromys, broom 417. chere, countenance 26, 75, 180, etc. cheuere, shiver 532. cheuyrfoyl, honey-suckle 429. clepe, to call 149. commvyxtyown,, union, uniting 253. contune, to continue 361. crop, top, fruit 397. dalyamice, conversation 340. del, part 45. demyn, deem 169. departycyoun, separation 254. depeyntyd, portrayed 79. despitous, spiteful, contemptuous 346. deyute, liking 107, 170. dol, dole, grief 245, 317. dorme, dun, dark 366, 372. dotous, doubting, mistrustful 343. duresse, hardship 588. efft, again; efft soncs, soon again 620. eqre, sharp, acid 201. ek, also, likewise 70, 349, 452, etc. empryse, undertaking 160. enbrace, to burn 203. See note to T. of Glas, 1. 575. enery-chon, every one 44. eysel, vinegar 202. feer, fer, fyr, fire 541, 544, 607. feere, inf., together 271. fel, strong, biting, sharp 201. femynynytee, womanliness 326. feyn tyse, feigning 477. flaumbe, sb., flame 542. forderkyd, darkened 26. for-nome, taken from, deprived 56. forpossid, pushed about, tossed 530. frounynd, frowning 368. fyne, to end 280. 3a/, gave 179. gan, began 220. yite, gate 446. ieve, give 135; gave ( = O.E. gea- fon) 177. (lilt, committed 115. glede, burning coal 525. 7,oue, given 42. cjouvernauncc, discreet behaviour 328. grevis, groves 428. herdegromys, herd-grooms, herds- men 418. heyle, to hail 309. Iferede, lired, inflamed 556. 1-wis, I-vijs, certainly 119, 338. 132 Glossary. I wreke, revenged 358. large, sb., liberty 177. lasse, less 616. leche, leech., physician 55. It int/.s, rays 263. lere, to learn 333. lyssyn, to ease, relieve 401. mede, reward 624. mo, moo, more 135, 143, 564. mot, must 390, 442, 568. mowe, grimace 379 mut, mute 50. nape, has not 577. ne, not 40, 85, 92, 101, 127, etc. we, nor 85, 113,216, 279,291. newfongylnesse, newfangledness 562. non-snjfysaunce, insufficiency 125. onbit, abideth 67. othyr, or 116. out-shede, to pour out 431. parte, to divide, share 236. peersand, piercing 574. 2)eHsyfhcd, pensiveness 510. pes, peace 508. pete, pity 69, etc. pleyne, to complain 51. plonehyn, to plunge 376. porte, bearing, demeanour 328, 334. queme, to please 553. recorderys, flutes, flageolets 421. recure, to recover 93. row, rough 374. seeld, seldom 311. seyne, to, to say 99, etc. shcne, bright 225. sithe, sithen, sgthc, etc., since 4, 14, etc. skyis, clouds 372. slen, doo, to slay 139, 295. sonde, to make sound, heal 407. sote, sweet 398, 431. sothefastnesse, truth 92, 493, 587. spere, sphere 241. sperys, rede sp., reed-spears 422. spraulynge, sprawling 21. steer, to stir 542 (or, to manage, control ? see Leg. of O. W., 935). stere, to steer, guide, restrain 6. stilly, quietly 308. stoundemel, hourly 524. streytest, most straightforward (?) 336. sumdel, somewhat 197. sviow, swoon 188. sykumesse, security, reliableness 327. sypes, offte s., ofttimes, often 596. tene, grief 226. tho, then 198. thought, trouble, heaviness 1. to-brest, to burst 450. to-rent, rent asunder 611. to-tore, torn 610. trist, sad 285. tweye, two (things) 530. vndyrfong, to undertake 172. mi\_w\reke (?), to unfold 196. weene, doubt 267. were, doubt 261. worshepe, dignity 341, 550. wroke, revenged 606. toynke, close the eyes, sleep 64. yede, went 205. 133 LIST OE PROPER NAMES. TEMPLE OF GLAS. Achilles 94, 785. Addoun [Adonis] 64. Admete 72. Alceste 71. Almen 123. Amphioun 1310. Ainphitrioun 122. Antonyus 778. Antropos 782. Britayne 410. Caliope 1303. Canace 138. Cartage 55. Chaucer 110. Cirrea 703. Citheria 701. Cleopatre 779. Crete 85. CupidelU, 321, 444, etc. Daphne 115. Dedalus 84. Dernophon 87. Diane 8. Dianyre 788. Dido 56. Dorigene 410. Elicon 706. Emelie 106. Eneas 58. Esperus 1348. Europe 118. Grisildis 75, Grisilde 405. Heleyne 93. Hercules 787. Ianuari 185. Iason 63. Ioue 117, 1232. Isaude 77. Iuhiter 136, 465. Lucifer 253. Lucina 4. Lucresse 101. Mars 126, 1232. May 184. Medee 62. Mercurie 130. Minatawre 83. Musis 133, 953. Orpheus 1308. Palamoun 102. Pallas 248. Paris 92. Penalope 67, 407. Phebus5, 112, 272. PhiUis 86. Philologye 130. Philomene 98. Piramus 81, 780. Policene 94, Polixeno 786. Progne 99. Eome 101. Sabyns 100. Saturne 389, 1232. Tesbie 80, Tesbe 780. Theseus 82, 109. Thesiphone 958. Titan 32. Tristram 79. Troie 95. Venus 52, 64, 127, 194, etc. Vulcanus 127. CVMPLEYNT. Cupidis (gen.) 556. Dyane 250. Eortune 42, 362, 391, 452. Heleyne 268. Iudith 300. Phebus 240. Polixeno 268. Venus 549. 135 ADDENDA. Page, XIII. To Prof. Zupitza's contributions to Lydgate-literature, add his paper Zu Lydgates Isopus, in his Archiv fur das Stadium der ncurren Sprachen, vol. 85, pp. 1—28. We find in it the version of the Trinity College MS. R. 3. 19, and the fragment in MS. Ashmole 59, besides valuable notes, and important additions to Sauerstein's edition. Page XXIX. Thanks to the kindness of Mr. Gordon Duff, I am in a position to give a more accurate date for the fragments of Pynson's print. Mr. Gordon Duff believes its date to be about 1502 — 6, for the following reason. The border of the device used in Pynson's print was cut in metal, and was first used about 1500. It very soon began to get damaged, owing to the bending of the metal, and about the year 1510, the lower part broke away altogether. In the Temple of Glas the lower margin is slightly bent, and thus Mr. Gordon Duff is inclined to put it nearer 1502 than 1506. Page LXXIII, note. I am sorry that I was not sooner acquainted with Wischmann's Dissertation Vntcrsuchungen Tiber das Kingis Quair. It would have been interesting to compare Lydgate's treatment of the final e with that of King James. Page XGVI. In the last volume of the Dictionary of National Biography, the article on John Hoveden notices the poem in MS. Calig. A. II, entitled " The Nightyngale," and says that it is an imitation of Hoveden's shorter version of the Philomela. Through Prof. Napier I have become acquainted with another copy of the Caligula version, contained in MS. No. 203 of Corpus Cliristi College. From it, my supposition that the British Museum copy must be deficient at the beginning, has been confirmed. Two stanzas, addressed to Anne, Duchess of Buckingham, are missing at the beginning in the London MS., so that this poem has altogether 59 stanzas (see p. xcv, note 3). The stanza on the death of Henry of Warwick occurs in this MS. on page 17. An entry at the beginning of the MS. rightly points out that the poem must thus have been written between 1444 and about 1446, as the title "Duchess of Buckingham" was not conferred upon Lady Anne till 1444. Both MSS. are mentioned by Tanner, p. 491, 1. 11 from top. Page XCVII. AVe find further information concerning John Baret in a pub- lication of the Camden Society : Wills and Inventories from the registers of the Commissary of Bury St. Edmund's and the Archdeacon of Sudbury, ed. by Samuel Tymrns, 1850. The will of John Baret is given in that work on pp. 15 — 44. It was drawn up in 1463, and proved May 2nd, 1467. Thus John Baret doubtless outlived Lydgate, whose share in the pension granted to them jointly must then have fallen" to Baret. Some account of Baret and his tomb in St. Mary's Church, Bury St. Edmunds, is given on pp. 233 — 238 of Tymms's book. Page XC IX. Through Mr. Peskett's renewed kindness I have been able to identify the "War between Cassar and Pompey" which Skeat {Academy, Oct. 3, p. 286) inclines to believe is identical with the "Tragedyeof Pome" in MS. 13G Addenda. Ashmole 59. Mr. Peskett has very kindly sent me a transcript of the beginning and end which, as he rightly points out, leaves no doubt that the piece is iden- tical with Lydgate's Serpent of Division (issued together with the 1590 edition of Gorboduc). The Ashmole MS. is not available to me at present, but judging from the Catalogue of the Ashmole MSS., the "Tragedye or Rome" seems to be nothing else than the Envoy to the Falls of Princes II, 31 (Tottel's print, fol. G6 d— 67 6), followed by that to Falls of Princes III, 5 (Tottel, fol. 77 a and 6). Page CIX. From the new (printed) Catalogue of the British Museum I see that Lydgate's Assemble dc Dyeus had already been printed in 1498 by Wynken de AVorde, at the end of an edition of the Canterbury Tales. See also Hazlitt's Handbook, p. 97, col. 2. This print is particularly interesting as assigning the authorship of the poem toLydgate. — If I can trust an old note taken some time ago at Cambridge, the poem is also found in the Trinity College MS. K. 3. 19, fol. 68 «— 97 6. Page CXVII, note. Add, as two other important treatments of the Pleading between Mercy, Truth, Eight and Peace, the Salutation in the "Coventry" Plays, and the Castle of Perseverance. Cp. also Rothschild, Mystere du viel Testament I, p. LXI. Page CXLIII. I forgot to add that in E. K.'s introduction to the Shepherd's Calendar, Lydgate's name is mentioned in a very laudatory manner, and that he is introduced with Gower and Chaucer in G. Harvey's Letterbook (ed. Scott, p. 57). Ben Jonson quotes him frequently in his English Grammar. Lydgate is further mentioned in the translation of Terence's Andria (see Collier II, 364) ; again, in a Latin poem before Alcida Greene's Metamorphosis (Grosart's Greene IX, p. 13), and by Whetstone, in a poem on Sir James Dier (see Koppel, Studien zur Ge.ichichte der italicnischcn Novelle, p. 31, note 1) ; further by T. Nashe in his Letter to the Gentlemen Students, before Greene's Menaphon (ed. Grosart, VI, 24) ; also in John Lane's Continuation of Chaucer's Squire's Tale, ed. Furnivall, III, 330 : "Don Chaucer, Lidgate, Sidney, Spencer dead ! " No bad company for our monk ! Note to 11. 86 — 90. Phyllis is also represented as having hanged herself on a filbert-tree in Lodge's Rosalind, signat. Ki a. Note to I. 271 (see also p. exxxii). I am sincerely sorry that I have after all come across an earlier instance of the expression, "hair like gold wire," namely, in Layamon's Brut, 11. 7047, 7048, which read (Cotton Calig" A. ix) : " SeoSSen com a king ]>e luehte Pir : his haj<5 (read heer) wes swulc swa beoS gold wir ; " the reading of Cotton Otho C.xiii is : ' ' SuJ>}>e com Caper . and Pir : pat [hadde] heer so gold wir." Note to I. 510. The Merry ballad of the hawthorn-tree, attributed to Peele, illustrates well why this tree was chosen as a symbol of constant love. See Dyce's edition of Greene and Peele, 1874, p. 604 sq. Note to I. 1272. Come off.] This phrase occurs further in the Salutation in the Coventry Plays, ed. Halliwell, p. 113 ; in Mary Magdalene, ed. Furnivall, 11. 379 and 739 ; in Skelton's Magnificence 103 and 977 (cp. Dyce's notes) ; in Heywood's Four P's, Dodsley-Hazlitt I, 352, 1. 7 ; in Thersites, ib. I, 421 ; in Ingelend's Disobedient Child, ib. II, 272, 283, 305 ; in Marriage of Wit and Scievce, ib. II, 376 ; in Bale's Kyng Johan, ed. Collier, p. 66 ; in Marriage of Vi'it and Wisdom, ed. Halliwell, p. 17, 1. 7. There remains thus little doubt that, by the insertion of off, we get the correct reading. R. ( 'LAV