“Cumque descenderet Moyses de monte Sinai ... ignorabat quod cornuta esset facies sua ex consortio sermonis Domini.” Vulgate,—Exod. xxxiv. 29.

v. 1382. merely, medelyd] i. e. merrily, mingled.

v. 1383. Of paiauntis that were played in Ioyows Garde] Bale, in his enumeration of Skelton’s writings, alluding to this line (as is evident from his arrangement of the pieces), gives “Theatrales ludos.” Script. Illust. Bryt. p. 652. ed. 1557: and Mr. J. P. Collier states that “one of Skelton’s earlier works had been a series of pageants, ‘played in Joyous Garde,’ or Arthur’s Castle.” Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet. ii. 142. But, assuredly, in the present line, paiauntis, i. e. pageants, means nothing of a dramatic nature. The expression to “play a pageant” has occurred several times already in our author’s poems; “I haue played my pageyond” (my part on the stage of life), see note, p. 88. v. 85; “Suche pollyng paiaunttis ye pley” (such thievish pranks), see note, p. 189. v. 190: and though it may be doubted whether the paiauntis that were played in Ioyows Garde,—i. e. in the Castle of Sir Launcelot, according to the romances,—are to be understood as connected with feats of arms, I cite the following passage in further illustration of the expression; “The fyrste that was redy to Juste was sir Palomydes and sir Kaynus le straunge a knyghte of the table round. And soo they two encountred to gyders, but sire Palomydes smote sir Kaynus soo hard that he smote hym quyte ouer his hors croupe, and forth with alle sir Palomydes smote doune another knyght and brake thenne his spere & pulled oute his swerd and did wonderly wel. And thenne the noyse beganne gretely vpon sir palomydes. Ioo said Kynge Arthur yonder palomydes begynneth to play his pagent. So god me help said Arthur he is a passynge good knyght. And ryght as they stood talkyng thus, in came sir Tristram as thonder, and he encountred with syre Kay the Seneschall, and there he smote hym doune quyte from his hors, and with that same spere sir Tristram smote doune thre knyghtes moo, and thenne he pulled oute his swerd and dyd merueyllously. Thenne the noyse and crye chaunged from syr Palomydes and torned to sir Tristram and alle the peple cryed O Tristram, O Tristram. And thenne was sir Palomydes clene forgeten. How now said Launcelot vnto Arthur, yonder rydeth a knyght that playeth his pagents.” Morte d’Arthur, B. x. cap. lxxix. vol. ii. 140. ed. Southey.

Page 416. v. 1384. wrate] i. e. wrote.

—— muse] See note, p. 234. v. 212.

v. 1385. do] i. e. doe.

v. 1386. parker ... with all] i. e. park-keeper ... withal.

v. 1387. Castell Aungell] “And the pope fled unto Castle Angell.” Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey, p. 143. ed. 1827.

—— fenestrall] In Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, we find “Fenestrall chassis de toille ou de paupier.” fol. xxxiii. (Table of Subst.); and in Hormanni Vulgaria, “Paper, or lyn clothe, straked a crosse, with losynges: make fenestrals in stede of glasen wyndowes.” Sig. v ii: but see the next lines of our text.

v. 1389. eyn dasild and dasid]—eyn, i. e. eyes: dasid, i. e. dulled.

v. 1390. The Repete of the recule of Rosamundis bowre]—Repete, i. e. Repetition, Recital: recule; see note on v. 1187. p. 327.

v. 1392. propre] i. e. pretty.

—— ieloffer flowre] See note, p. 147. v. 1052.

v. 1393. to reckeles] i. e. too reckless.

v. 1396. Mok there loste her sho] A proverbial expression, which occurs again in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 83. vol. ii. 29: in his Colyn Cloute we find

v. 1397. barbican] “A Barbican, antemurale, promurale, tormentorum bellicorum sedes, locus.” Coles’s Dict. “It was generally,” says Nares (referring to King on Anc. Castles, Archael.), “a small round tower, for the station of an advanced guard, placed just before the outward gate of the castle yard, or ballium.” Gloss. in v. And see Richardson’s Dict. in v.

Page 416. v. 1398. sawte] i. e. assault.

v. 1399. blo] i. e. livid: see note, p. 103. v. 3.

v. 1400. Of Exione, her lambis, &c.] See note ad loc. If the reader understands the line, it is more than I do.

Page 417. v. 1407. forster] i. e. forester.

v. 1409. to yerne and to quest] Coles renders both these hunting-terms by the same word, “nicto” (i. e. open, give tongue). Dict. Turbervile, enumerating “the sundry noyses of houndes,” tells us that “when they are earnest eyther in the chace or in the earth, we say They yearne.” Noble Art of Venerie, &c. p. 242. ed. 1611. “Quest, united cry of the hounds.” Sir F. Madden’s Gloss. to Syr Gawayne, &c.

v. 1410. With litell besynes standith moche rest]

v. 1411. make] i. e. mate, wife.

v. 1412. ble] i. e. colour, complexion.

v. 1413. wele] i. e. well.

v. 1416. Some] i. e. Soham.

v. 1418. Wofully arayd] In vol. i. 141.

v. 1419. making] i. e. composing.

v. 1420. Vexilla regis] In vol. i. 144.

v. 1421. Sacris solemniis] As the still-extant piece mentioned in the preceding line, and headed Vexilla regis, &c., is not a translation of that hymn, so we may with probability conclude that this was not a version of the hymn beginning “Sacris solemniis juncta sint gaudia,” which may be found in Hymni Ecclesiæ e Breviario Parisiensi, 1838. p. 94.

v. 1424. sadnes] i. e. seriousness.

v. 1425. Galiene }

v. 1426. Ipocras }

i. e. Galen, Hippocrates.

—— Auycen] An Arabian physician of the tenth century.

Page 418. v. 1428. Albumasar] See note, p. 133. v. 501.

—— ken] i. e. instruct (pleonastically coupled with “enforme,” as in v. 825).

v. 1430. gose] i. e. goose.

v. 1432. ageyne] i. e. against.

v. 1433. Dun is in the myre] A proverbial expression, which occurs in Chaucer’s Manciples Prol. v. 16954. ed. Tyrwhitt (who conjectured that Dun was a nickname given to the ass from his colour), and is common in writers long after the time of Skelton. Gifford was the first to shew that the allusion is to a Christmas gambol, in which Dun (the cart-horse) is supposed to be stuck in the mire; see his note on Jonson’s Works, vii. 283.

v. 1434. rin] i. e. run.

v. 1435. spar the stable dur] i. e. fasten, shut the stable-door; see note, p. 207. v. 91.

v. 1437. sone aspyed] i. e. soon espied.

v. 1438. wele wotith] i. e. well knoweth.

v. 1439. lucerne] i. e. lamp. So in the Lenvoye to Chaucer’s Cuckow and Nightingale;

v. 1442. wedder] i. e. weather.

v. 1443. cokwolde] i. e. cuckold.

v. 1445. vntwynde] See note, p. 127. v. 284.

v. 1446. ieloffer] See note, p. 147. v. 1052.

v. 1447. propre] i. e. pretty.

v. 1450. all to-fret] i. e. altogether eaten up, consumed: see note, p. 100. v. 32.

Page 419. v. 1451.

This proverbial expression occurs in Lydgate;

v. 1454. byll] i. e. writing.

v. 1455. By Mary Gipcy] In much later writers we find, as an interjection, marry gep, marry gip, marry guep, marry gup. v. 1456. Quod scripsi, scripsi] From the Vulgate, Joan. xix. 22.

Page 419. v. 1460. Secundum Lucam, &c.] Skelton seems to allude to the Vulgate, Luc. i. 13, “Et uxor tua Elizabeth,” &c.

v. 1461.

The college of the Bonhommes, completed in 1285, was founded by Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, son and heir of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, who was King of the Romans and brother of Henry the Third, for a rector and twenty brethern or canons, of whom thirteen were to be priests. It was founded expressly in honour of the blood of Jesus, (“the sank royall”), which had once formed part of the precious reliques belonging to the German emperors, and which Edmund had brought over from Germany to England. See Todd’s History of the College of Bonhommes at Ashridge, 1823. p. 1-3.

The pretended blood of Christ drew to Ashridge many persons of all ranks, greatly to the enrichment of the society. “But,” Speed tells us, “when the sunne-shine of the Gospell had pierced thorow such cloudes of darkenesse, it was perceiued apparantly to be onely hony clarified and coloured with Saffron, as was openly shewed at Paules Crosse by the Bishop of Rochester, the twentie foure of Februarie, and yeare of Christ 1538.” A Prospect of The Most Famous Parts of the World, 1631, (in Buck. p. 43).

v. 1466. Fraxinus in clivo, &c.] “As to the name Ashridge” says Kennett, “it is no doubt from a hill set with Ashes; the old word was Aescrugge, Rugge, as after Ridge, signifying a hill or steep place, and the Ashen-tree being first Aesc, as after Ashche, &c.” Parochial Antiquities, p. 302. ed. 1695.

v. 1470. The Nacyoun of Folys] Most probably The Boke of Three Fooles, in vol. i. 199.

v. 1471. Apollo that whirllid vp his chare] Concerning the piece, of which these were the initial words, a particular notice will be found in The Account of Skelton and his Writings: chare, i. e. chariot; compare the first of the two lines, which in the old eds. and some MSS. of Chaucer stand as the commencement of a third part of The Squieres Tale;

and the opening of The Floure and the Leafe;

See also Poems by C. Duke of Orleans, MS. Harl. 682. fol. 47.

v. 1472. snurre] i. e. snort.

Page 420. v. 1475. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 1477. stode] i. e. stood.

v. 1478. Suppleyng] i. e. Supplicating.

v. 1480. bokis ... rase] i. e. books ... erase.

v. 1483. rin] i. e. run.

v. 1487. take it in gre] i. e. take it kindly: see note, p. 95. v. 68.

v. 1490. ragman rollis] The collection of deeds in which the Scottish nobility and gentry were compelled to subscribe allegiance to Edward I. of England in 1296, and which were more particularly recorded in four large rolls of parchment, &c., was known by the name of Ragman’s Roll: but what has been written on the origin of this expression appears to be so unsatisfactory that I shall merely refer the reader to Cowel’s Law Dictionary, &c., ed. 1727, in v., Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v., Nares’s Gloss. in v., Gloss. to The Towneley Myst. in v., and Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in v. Rigmarole.

v. 1491. lenger] i. e. longer.

v. 1495. Counforte] i. e. Comfort.

v. 1498.

—fresshe, i. e. elegant: see note, p. 302. v. 39. This translation from the Latin of Poggio is mentioned with praise in Caxton’s Preface to The Boke of Eneydos, &c. 1490, and is still preserved in MS. among Parker’s Collection, in Corpus Ch. College, Cambridge: see Account of Skelton and his Writings, and Appendix ii.

Page 421. v. 1505. dome] i. e. judgment, thinking.

v. 1507. the noyse went to Rome] So Chaucer;

v. 1508. shoke] i. e. shook.

v. 1510. shett ... boke] i. e. shut ... book.

v. 1512. somdele] i. e. somewhat.

v. 1514. sperycall] i. e. spherical.

v. 1515. Ianus, with his double chere]—chere, i. e. visage, countenance.

v. 1517. He turnyd his tirikkis, his voluell ran fast] What is meant by tirikkis, I know not: it occurs again in our author’s Speke, Parrot;

For the following note I am indebted to W. H. Black, Esq. “The volvell is an instrument, called volvella or volvellum, in the Latin of the middle age, consisting of graduated and figured circles drawn on the leaf of a book, to the centre of which is attached one moveable circle or more, in the form of what is called a geographical clock. There is a very fine one, of the fourteenth century, in the Ashmolean MS. 789. f. 363, and others exist in that collection, which affords likewise, in an Introduction to the Knowledge of the Calendar, (in the MS. 191. iv. art. 2. f. 199,) written in old English of the fifteenth century, a curious description of the volvell, with directions for its use. The passage is entitled ‘The Rewle of the Volvelle.’—‘Now folowith here the volvelle, that sum men clepen a lunarie; and thus most ghe governe ghou ther ynne. First take the grettist cercle that is maad in the leef, for that schewith the 24 houris of the day naturel, that is of the nyght and day, of the whiche the firste houre is at noon bitwene 12 and oon. Thanne above him is another cercle, that hathe write in hem the 12 monthis withe here dayes, and 12 signes with here degrees; and with ynne that, ther is writen a rewle to knowe whanne the sunne ariseth and the mone bothe; if ghe biholde weel these noumbris writen in reed, 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. ✠. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.’ The rule proceeds to shew that there is another row of the same figures in black, and that the red cross stands in the place of Cancer, the black at Capricorn: the red figures were used to shew the rising of the sun and moon, the black for their setting. Over this is ‘another cercle that hath a tunge,’ (tongue, or projecting angle to point with,) the figure of the sun on it, and 29½ days figured, for the age of the moon. Upon this is the least circle, ‘which hath a tunge with the figure of the moon on it, and with ynne it is an hole, the whiche schewith bi symylitude howe the moone wexith and wansith.’ It was used by setting ‘the tunge of the moone’ to the moon’s age, and ‘the tunge of the sunne’ to the day of the month, then moving the circle of months and signs to bring the hour of the day to the last named ‘tunge,’ whereby might be found ‘in what signe he’ (the moon, masculine in Anglo-Saxon) ‘sittith and the sunne also, and in what tyme of the day thei arisen, eny of hem, either goone downe, and what it is of the watir, whether it be flood or eb.’ The rule concludes by observing that the wind sometimes alters the time of the tide ‘at Londone brigge.’”

Page 422. v. 1533. quaire] i. e. quire,—pamphlet, book.

v. 1536. wrate] i. e. wrote.

Page 422. v. 1542. warkis] i. e. works.

v. 1546. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1547. boke] i. e. book.

v. 1552. brede] i. e. breadth.

Page 423. v. 1556. harnnes] i. e. armour.

v. 1558. ageyne] i. e. against.

v. 1563. derayne] i. e. contest.

v. 1569. curteisly] i. e. courteously.

v. 1575. sad] See note, p. 264. v. 1711.

v. 1581. Any worde defacid] i. e. Any disfigured, deformed, unseemly word.

v. 1582. rasid] i. e. erased.

Page 424.—— Lautre Enuoy, &c.] Concerning this curious Envoy, see Account of Skelton and his Writings.

v. 1597. sekernes] i. e. security, sureness.

v. 1598. rede] i. e. conceive, consider.

OWT OF LATYNE INTO ENGLYSSHE.

Page 426. v. 5. kepe] i. e. heed, regard, care.

v. 7. Gone to seke hallows]—hallows, i. e. saints.

But “to seek hallows” seems to have been a proverbial expression;

Page 427. v. 13. withholde] i. e. withheld.

v. 14. sayne] i. e. say.

NOTES TO VOLUME II.

SPEKE, PARROT.

That the extant portions of this very obscure production were written at intervals, is not to be doubted; and that we do not possess all that Skelton composed under the title of Speke, Parrot is proved by the following passage of the Garlande of Laurell, where, enumerating his various works, he mentions

a description which, as it answers to no part of the existing poem (or poems), must apply to some portion which has perished, and which, I apprehend, was of an earlier date. “The Popingay” is assuredly only another name for Speke, Parrot;

Page 1. v. 3. Parrot, a byrd of paradyse] So Lydgate (in a poem, entitled in the Catalogue, Advices for people to keep a guard over their tongues);

v. 5. Dyentely] i. e. Daintily.

v. 6. flode] i. e. flood.

Page 2. v. 8. estate] i. e. state, rank.

v. 9. Then Parot must haue an almon] In Jonson’s Magnetic Lady, act v. sc. 5, we find,—

and Gifford, citing the present line (he ought rather to have cited v. 50), observes that Jonson was indebted to Skelton for “most of this jargon.” Works, vi. 109.

v. 11. couertowre] i. e. shelter.

Page 2. v. 12. toote] i. e. peep.

v. 16. popagey] i. e. parrot.

v. 17. becke] i. e. beak.

v. 18. My fedders freshe as is the emrawde grene]—emrawde, i. e. emerald. So Ovid in his charming verses on Corinna’s parrot;

v. 20. fete] i. e. well made, neat.

v. 22. My proper Parrot, my lytyll prety foole]—proper, i. e. pretty, handsome (elsewhere Skelton uses “proper” and “prety” as synonymes: see note, p. 125. v. 127).

v. 23. scole] i. e. school.

v. 26. mute] i. e. mew: see note ad l.

v. 30. Quis expedivit psittaco suum chaire]—chaire—ΧΑΙΡΕ. From Persius, Prol. 8.

Page 3. v. 31. Dowse French of Parryse] Dowse, i. e. sweet, soft. Chaucer’s Prioress spoke French

v. 35. supple] i. e. supplicate, pray.

v. 38. ryall] i. e. royal. In the marginal note on this line, “Katerina universalis vitii ruina, Græcum est” is an allusion to the Greek καθαρίζω or καθαρός.

v. 39. pomegarnet] i. e. pomegranate.

v. 40. Parrot, saves habler Castiliano] See note ad l. “Parrot, can you speak Castilian?” is a question which Spanish boys at the present day frequently address to that bird.

v. 41. With fidasso de cosso in Turkey and in Trace]—fidasso de cosso is perhaps lingua franca,—some corruption (see marginal note on the line) of the Italian fidarsi di se stesso: Trace, i. e. Thrace.

v. 42. Vis consilii expers ...] }

v. 43. Mole ruit sua] }

From Horace, Carm. iii. iv. 65 (where “consilî”).

—— dictes] i. e. sayings.

v. 45. maystres] i. e. mistress.

Page 4. v. 50. An almon now for Parrot] I know not if these words occur in any writer anterior to the time of Skelton; but they afterwards became a sort of proverbial expression.

Page 4. v. 51. In Salve festa dies, toto theyr doth best]—theyr, i. e. there. Skelton has two copies of verses, which begin “Salve, festa dies, toto,” &c.: see vol. i. pp. 190, 191.

v. 54. Myden agan] i. e. Μηδὲν ἄγαν.

v. 59. Besy] i. e. Busy.

v. 63. To] i. e. Too.

v. 67. Iobab was brought vp in the lande of Hus] “Verisimile est Jobum eumdem esse cum Jobabo, qui quartus est ab Esaü ... Duces in ista opinione sequimur omnes fere antiquos Patres quos persuasit, ut ita sentirent, additamentum in exemplaribus Græcis, Arabicis et in antiqua Vulgata Latina appositum: ‘Job vero habitabat in terra Hus, inter terminos Edom et Arabiæ, et antea vocabatur Jobab,’” &c. Concordantiæ Bibl. Sacr. Vulg. Ed. by Dutripon, in v. Job. ii.

Page 5. v. 71. Howst thé, lyuer god van hemrik, ic seg]—Howst thé is (I suppose) Hist thee: what follows is German,—lieber Got von Himmelsreich, ich sage—Dear God of heaven’s kingdom, I say,—spoken by way of oath.

v. 72. In Popering grew peres] From Popering, a parish in the Marches of Calais (see Tyrwhitt’s note on Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, v. 13650), the poprin, poperin, or popperin pear, frequently mentioned in our early dramas, was introduced into this country.

v. 73. Ouer in a whynny meg] The initial words of a ballad or song. Laneham (or Langham) in his strange Letter concerning the entertainment to Queen Elizabeth at Kenilworth Castle in 1575, mentions it as extant in the collection of Captain Cox, who figured in the shows on that occasion: “What shoold I rehearz heer what a bunch of Ballets and songs all auncient: Az Broom broom on hill, So wo iz me begon, troly lo, Over a whinny Meg,” &c. See Collier’s Bridgewater-House Catalogue, p. 164.

v. 74. Hop Lobyn of Lowdeon] See note, p. 217. v. 59.

v. 75. The iebet of Baldock] Is mentioned again in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 953. vol. ii. 56. “And in Caldee the chief Cytee is Baldak.” Voiage and Travaile of Sir J. Maundevile, p. 51. ed. 1725.

v. 78. to] i. e. too.

v. 80. erstrych fether] i. e. ostrich-feather.

v. 81. Beme] i. e. Bohemia.

v. 82. byrsa] An allusion to Virgil;

Perhaps too Skelton recollected a passage in Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, B. ii. leaf xlviii. ed. Wayland.

Page 5. v. 84. Colostrum] i. e. the biesting,—the first milk after the birth given by a cow (or other milch animal). This form of the word occurs in the title of an epigram by Martial, lib. xiii. 38, and in Servius’s commentary on Virgil, Ecl. ii. 22.

v. 85. shayle] See note, p, 97. v. 19.

v. 87. Moryshe myne owne shelfe, the costermonger sayth] From the next line it would seem that “Moryshe” is meant for the Irish corruption of some English word; but of what word I know not.

v. 88. Fate, fate, fate, ye Irysh waterlag] Mr. Crofton Croker obligingly observes to me that he has no doubt of “fate” being intended for the Irish pronunciation of the word water.—“There is rysen a fray amonge the water laggers. Coorta est rixa inter amphorarios.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. q vi. ed. 1530.

Page 6. v. 91. Let syr Wrigwrag wrastell with syr Delarag] See note, p. 189. v. 186. p. 194. v. 149.

v. 93. Pawbe une aruer] Either Paub un arver, Every one his manner, or Paub yn ei arver, Every one in his manner.

v. 95. mo] i. e. more.

v. 97. conseyt] i. e. conceit.

v. 104. how] i. e. ho!

v. 106. Bas] i. e. Kiss.

v. 108. praty popigay] i. e. pretty parrot.

v. 109. pyke ... too] i. e. pick ... toe.

v. 110. solas, pleasure, dysporte, and pley] One of Skelton’s pleonasms.

v. 112. Parot can say, Cæsar, ave, also] “Ut plurimum docebantur hæ aves salutationis verba ... interdum etiam plurium vocum versus aut sententias docebantur: ut illi corvi, qui admirationi fuerunt Augusto ex Actiaca victoria revertenti, quorum alter institutus fuerat dicere, Ave, Cæsar,” &c. Casaubonus ad Persii Prol. v. 8.

v. 116. ruly doth loke] i. e. ruefully doth look.

Page 7. v. 118. vndertoke] i. e. undertook.

v. 119. of Judicum rede the boke] i. e. read the Book of Judges.

v. 122.

—coistronus is a Latinised form of coistroun, see note on title of poem, p. 92. Though in an earlier part of Speke, Parrot we find “Cryst saue Kyng Henry the viii, our royall kyng,” &c. v. 36, yet it would almost seem that he is alluded to here under the name of Seon. Og must mean Wolsey. This portion of the poem is not found in MS. Harl. (see note on v. 59 ad l.); and there can be no doubt that Speke, Parrot is made up of pieces composed at various times. After Skelton’s anger had been kindled against Wolsey, perhaps the monarch came in for a share of his indignation.

Page 7. v. 126. asylum, whilom refugium miserorum, &c.]—whilom, i. e. once, formerly. So afterwards in this piece, v. 496, among the evils which Skelton attributes to Wolsey, mention is made of “myche sayntuary brekyng,” i. e. much sanctuary-breaking; and in Why come ye nat to Courte he says of the Cardinal that

v. 130. trym tram] See note, p. 161. v. 76.

v. 131. chaffer far fet] i. e. merchandise far fetched.

v. 133. Scarpary] In Tuscany. So afterwards, “Over Scarpary,” v. 408; and in The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy, “Mont Scarpry.” Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 82. ed. Laing.

v. 134. ich wot] i. e. I know.

v. 136. Tholomye and Haly] See notes, p. 133. vv. 503, 505.

v. 137. volvell] }

v. 139. tirykis] }

See note, p. 335, v. 1517.

v. 142. ren] i. e. run.

Page 8. v. 143. Monon calon agaton] i. e. Μόνον καλὸν ἀγαθόν.

v. 144. Quod Parato] i. e. Quoth Parrot.

v. 149. in scole matter occupyed] i. e. used in school-matter: see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 152. How] i. e. Ho!

v. 153. a silogisme in phrisesomorum] “Sic [indirecte] in prima figura concludunt quinque illi modi, qui ab interpretibus fere omnibus (excepto Zabarella) pro legitimis agnoscuntur, quique hoc versu comprehendi solent, Celantes, Baralip, Dabilis, Fapesmo, Frisesom.” Crakanthorp’s Logicæ Libri Quinque, 1622. p. 275. Aldrich gives “Bramantip, Camenes, Dimaris, Fesapo, Fresison.” Artis Logicæ Compend., 1691. p. 19.

v. 165. Jack Raker] See note, p. 186. v. 108.

v. 106. maker] i. e. composer.

Page 9. v. 170. Sturbrydge fayre] The fair kept annually in the neighbourhood of Cambridge, and so named from the rivulet Stour and bridge.

Page 9. v. 171. Tryuyals and quatryuyals] The trivials were the first three sciences taught in the schools, viz. Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic; the quatrivials were the higher set, viz. Astrology (or Astronomy), Geometry, Arithmetic, and Music. See Du Cange’s Gloss. in vv. Trivium, Quadrivium; and Hallam’s Introd. to the Lit. of Europe, i. 4.

—— appayre] i. e. impair, are impaired, come to decay.

v. 174. Albertus de modo significandi] “Albertus,” says Warton, after citing this stanza, “is the author of the Margarita Poetica, a collection of Flores from the classics and other writers, printed at Nurenberg, 1472, fol.” Hist. of E. P., ii. 347 (note), ed. 4to. The work mentioned here by Skelton is stated to have been first printed in 1480. The title of an edition by Wynkyn de Worde, dated 1515, is as follows; Modi significādi Alberti sine quibus grammaticæ notitia haberi nullo pacto potest: there is said to be another edition n. d. by the same printer: see Typ. Ant., ii. 208. ed. Dibdin.

v. 175. Donatus] i. e. the work attributed to Ælius Donatus, the Roman grammarian: see the Bibliog. Dictionary of Dr. Clarke (iii. 144), who observes; “It has been printed with several titles, such as Donatus; Donatus Minor; Donatus pro puerulis, Donati Ars, &c., but the work is the same, viz. Elements of the Latin Language for the Use of Children.” See too Warton’s Hist. of E. P., i. 281 (note), ed. 4to.

—— scole] i. e. school.

v. 177. Inter didascolos] “Interdidascolos is the name of an old grammar.” Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 347 (note), ed. 4to. Warton may be right: but I have never met with any grammar that bears such a title.

—— fole] i. e. fool.

v. 178. Alexander] i. e. Alexander de Villa Dei, “author of the Doctrinale Puerorum, which for some centuries continued to be the most favourite manual of grammar used in schools, and was first printed at Venice in the year 1473 [at Treviso, in 1472: see Typ. Ant., ii. 116. ed. Dibdin]. It is compiled from Priscian, and in Leonine verse. See Henr. Gandav. Scriptor. Eccles. cap. lix. This admired system has been loaded with glosses and lucubrations; but, on the authority of an ecclesiastical synod, it was superseded by the Commentarii Grammatici of Despauterius, in 1512. It was printed in England as early as the year 1503 by W. de Worde. [The existence of this ed. has been questioned. The work was printed by Pynson in 1505, 1513, 1516: see Typ. Ant., ii. 116, 426, 427, ed. Dibdin, and Lowndes’s Bibliog. Man., i. 27]. Barklay, in the Ship of Fooles, mentions Alexander’s book, which he calls ‘The olde Doctrinall with his diffuse and vnperfite breuitie.’ fol. 53. b [ed. 1570].” Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 347 (note), ed. 4to.

Page 9. v. 178. Menanders pole] See note, p. 130. v. 434: pole, i. e. pool.

v. 179. Da Cansales] “He perhaps means Concilia, or the canon law.” Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 347 (note), ed. 4to.

v. 180. Da Rationales] “He seems to intend Logic.” Id. ibid.

v. 183. Pety Caton] Cato Parvus (a sort of supplement to Cato Magnus, i. e. Dionysii Catonis Disticha de Moribus) was written by Daniel Churche, or Ecclesiensis, a domestic in the court of Henry the Second: see Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 170, and Dibdin’s ed. of Typ. Ant., i. 120.

v. 187. scole maters] i. e. school-matters.

—— hole sentens] i. e. whole meaning.

v. 188. gariopholo] So, I believe, Skelton wrote, though the classical form of the word is garyophyllo.

v. 189. pyke] i. e. pick.

v. 190. synamum styckis] i. e. cinnamon-sticks.

v. 191. perdurable] i. e. everlasting.

v. 192. fauorable] i. e. well-favoured, beautiful.

Page 10. v. 195. tote] i. e. peep.

v. 198. loke] i. e. look.

v. 199. freshe humanyte] i. e. elegant literature: see notes, p. 302. v. 39. p. 319. v. 817.

v. 201. chekmate] In allusion to the king’s being put in check at the game of chess.

v. 205. processe] i. e. discourse; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 230 (first note on prose), p. 276. v. 2506, &c.

v. 207. with all] i. e. withal.

v. 208. pauys] See note, p. 90. v. 48.

v. 209. flekyd pye] i. e. spotted, variegated magpie.

v. 210. pendugum, that men call a carlyng]—“pendugum,” says the Rev. J. Mitford, “is penguin;” and he supposes that carlyng has some connexion with the term gair-fowl, which is another name for the penguin.

Page 11. v. 219. Ye ... torne] i. e. Yea ... turn.

v. 222. moche ... popegay ryall] i. e. much ... parrot royal.

v. 226. amonge] i. e. together, at the same time.

v. 228. worldly lust] i. e. worldly pleasure.

v. 232. recule] See note, p. 327. v. 1187.

—— Itaque consolamini invicem in verbis istis] From the Vulgate, 1 Thess. iv. 17.

Page 12. v. 239. when Pamphylus loste hys make]—make, i. e. mate. As the heading “Galathea” precedes this couplet, there is an allusion to a once popular poem concerning the loves of Pamphilus and Galathea,—Pamphili Mauriliani Pamphilus, sive De Arte Amandi Elegiæ. It is of considerable length, and though written in barbarous Latin, was by some attributed to Ovid. It may be found in a little volume edited by Goldastus, Ovidii Nasonis Pelignensis Erotica et Amatoria Opuscula, &c. 1610. See too the lines cited in note, p. 324. v. 1048.

Page 12. v. 240. propire] i. e. handsome, pretty.

v. 241. praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 245. herte hyt ys] i. e. heart it is.

Page 13. v. 262. Be] i. e. By.

v. 265. reclaymed] See note, p. 148. v. 1125.

v. 269. kus] i. e. kiss: see note, p. 128. v. 361.

v. 270. mus] i. e. muzzle, mouth.

—— Zoe kai psyche] i. e. Ζωή καὶ ψυχή.

Page 14. v. 274. spuria vitulamina] From the Vulgate, “Spuria vitulamina non dabunt radices altas.” Sap. iv. 3.

v. 280. quayre] i. e. quire,—pamphlet, book.—From this Lenuoy primere inclusive to the end of Speke, Parrot, with the exception of a few stanzas, the satire is directed wholly against Wolsey. The very obscure allusions to the Cardinal’s being employed in some negotiation abroad are to be referred probably to his mission in 1521. That Speke, Parrot consists of pieces written at various periods has been already noticed: and “Pope Julius,” v. 425, means, I apprehend, (not Julius ii., for he died in 1513, but) Clement vii., Julius de Medici, who was elected Pope in 1523. With respect to the dates which occur after the present Lenuoy,—“Penultimo die Octobris, 33ᵒ,” “In diebus Novembris, 34,” &c., if “33ᵒ” and “34” stand for 1533 and 1534 (when both Skelton and the Cardinal were dead), they must have been added by the transcriber; and yet in the volume from which these portions of Speke, Parrot are now printed (MS. Harl. 2252) we find, only a few pages before, the name “John Colyn mercer of London,” with the date “1517.”

v. 285. lyclyhode] i. e. likelihood.

v. 288. agayne] i. e. against.

v. 289. tonsan] i. e. toison.

v. 291. Lyacon] Occurs again in v. 393: is it—Lycaon?

v. 294. folys] i. e. fools.

—— knakkes] “Knacke or toye friuolle.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xliii. (Table of Subst.).

v. 295. hang togedyr as fethyrs in the wynde] See note, p. 265. v. 1842.

Page 15. v. 296. lewdlye ar they lettyrd that your lernyng lackys] i. e. badly, meanly, are they lettered that find fault with your learning.

v. 297. currys of kynde] i. e. curs by nature.

v. 298. lohythe ... warkys] i. e. looketh ... works.

v. 300. Agayne all remordes] i. e. Against all blamings, censures, carpings: see note, p. 193. v. 101: but as in v. 368, where MS. has “remordes,” the sense absolutely requires “remorders,” there is perhaps the same error here.

—— Morda puros mal desires] This strange gibberish (which occurs twice afterwards) seems to mean,—To bite the pure, is an evil desire.

v. 304. sadde] See note, p. 264. v. 1711.

v. 305. ower soleyne seigneour Sadoke]—soleyne, i. e. sullen: in applying the name Sadoke to Wolsey, Skelton alludes to the high-priest of Scripture, not to the knight of the Round Table.

v. 306. nostre dame de Crome] So in A Mery Play between Johan the Husbande, Tyb his Wyfe, and Syr Jhan the Preest, 1533, attributed to Heywood;