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VII.: ANELIDA AND ARCITE. - Geoffrey Chaucer, The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, vol. 1 (Romaunt of the Rose, Minor Poems) [1899]

Edition used:

The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, edited from numerous manuscripts by the Rev. Walter W. Skeat (2nd ed.) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1899). 7 vols.

Part of: The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 7 vols.

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VII.

ANELIDA AND ARCITE.

The compleynt of feire Anelida and fals Arcite.

The chief authorities are: Harl. (Harl. 7333); F. (Fairfax 16); Tn. (Tanner 346); D. (Digby 181); Cx. (Caxton’s edition); B. (Bodley 638); Lt. (Longleat MS.). Th. = Thynne’s ed. 1532. I follow F. mainly, correcting the spelling; and give selected variations. Title from F.; B. has boke for compleynt.

  • Proem.
    • Thouferse god of armes, Mars the rede,[ ]
    • That in the frosty country called Trace,[ ]
    • Within thy grisly temple ful of drede
    • Honoured art, as patroun of that place!
    • With thy Bellona, Pallas, ful of grace,5
    • Be present, and my song continue and gye;[ ]
    • At my beginning thus to thee I crye.
    • For hit ful depe is sonken in my minde,[ ]
    • With pitous herte in English for tendyte
    • This olde storie, in Latin which I finde,10
    • Of quene Anelida and fals Arcite,
    • That elde, which that al can frete and byte,
    • As hit hath freten mony a noble storie,
    • Hath nigh devoured out of our memorie.
    • Be favorable eek, thou Polymnia ,[ ]15
    • On Parnaso that, with thy sustres glade,
    • By Elicon, not fer from Cirrea ,[ ]
    • Singest with vois memorial in the shade,
    • Under the laurer which that may not fade,
    • And do that I my ship to haven winne;[ ]20
    • First folow I Stace, and after him Corinne.[ ]
  • The Story.

    Iamque domos patrias, &c.; Statii Thebais, xii. 519.
    • Whan Theseus, with werres longe and grete,[ ]
    • The aspre folk of Cithe had over-come,
    • With laurer crouned, in his char gold-bete,[ ]
    • Hoom to his contre-houses is y-come ;—[ ]25
    • For which the peple blisful, al and somme,
    • So cryden , that unto the sterres hit wente,
    • And him to honouren dide al hir entente ;—[ ]
    • Beforn this duk, in signe of hy victorie,[ ]
    • The trompes come, and in his baner large[ ]30
    • The image of Mars; and, in token of glorie ,
    • Men mighten seen of tresor many a charge,
    • Many a bright helm, and many a spere and targe,
    • Many a fresh knight, and many a blisful route,
    • On hors, on fote, in al the felde aboute.35
    • Ipolita his wyf, the hardy quene[ ]
    • Of Cithia , that he conquered hadde ,
    • With Emelye, hir yonge suster shene,[ ]
    • Faire in a char of golde he with him ladde,
    • That al the ground aboute hir char she spradde40
    • With brightnesse of the beautee in hir face,
    • Fulfild of largesse and of alle grace.
    • With his triumphe and laurer-crouned thus,[ ]
    • In al the floure of fortunes yevinge ,
    • Lete I this noble prince Theseus45
    • Toward Athenes in his wey rydinge ,
    • And founde I wol in shortly for to bringe[ ]
    • The slye wey of that I gan to wryte,
    • Of quene Anelida and fals Arcite.
    • Mars, which that through his furious course of yre,[ ]50
    • The olde wrath of Iuno to fulfille,
    • Hath set the peples hertes bothe on fyre
    • Of Thebes and Grece , everich other to kille
    • With blody speres, ne rested never stille,
    • But throng now her, now ther, among hem bothe ,55
    • That everich other slough, so wer they wrothe .
    • And whan the olde Creon gan espye
    • How that the blood roial was broght adoun,65
    • He held the cite by his tirannye,
    • And did the gentils of that regioun
    • To been his frendes, and dwellen in the toun.
    • So what for love of him, and what for awe,
    • The noble folk wer to the toune y-drawe.70
    • Among al these, Anelida the quene[ ]
    • Of Ermony was in that toun dwellinge ,[ ]
    • That fairer was then is the sonne shene;
    • Through-out the world so gan hir name springe,
    • That hir to seen had every wight lykinge ;75
    • For, as of trouthe, is ther noon hir liche,
    • Of al the women in this worlde riche.
    • Yong was this quene, of twenty yeer of elde,[ ]
    • Of midel stature, and of swich fairnesse,
    • That nature had a Ioye hir to behelde;[ ]80
    • And for to speken of hir stedfastnesse ,
    • She passed hath Penelope and Lucresse,
    • And shortly, if she shal be comprehended,[ ]
    • In hir ne mighte no-thing been amended.[ ]
    • What shuld I seyn? she loved Arcite so,
    • That, whan that he was absent any throwe ,
    • Anon hir thoghte hir herte brast a-two;
    • For in hir sight to hir he bar him lowe,95
    • So that she wende have al his herte y-knowe;
    • But he was fals; it nas but feyned chere,
    • As nedeth not to men such craft to lere.[ ]
    • But never-the-les ful mikel besinesse
    • Had he, er that he mighte his lady winne,100
    • And swoor he wolde dyen for distresse,
    • Or from his wit he seyde he wolde twinne.
    • Alas, the whyle! for hit was routhe and sinne,
    • That she upon his sorowes wolde rewe,
    • But no-thing thenketh the fals as doth the trewe.[ ]105
    • Hir fredom fond Arcite in swich manere,
    • That al was his that she hath, moche or lyte,
    • Ne to no creature made she chere
    • Ferther than that hit lyked to Arcite;
    • Ther was no lak with which he mighte hir wyte,110
    • She was so ferforth yeven him to plese,
    • That al that lyked him, hit did hir ese .
    • Ther nas to hir no maner lettre y-sent
    • That touched love, from any maner wight,
    • That she ne shewed hit him, er hit was brent;115
    • So pleyn she was, and did hir fulle might,
    • That she nil hyden nothing from hir knight,
    • Lest he of any untrouthe hir upbreyde;
    • Withouten bode his heste she obeyde.[ ]
    • And al this took she so debonerly,
    • That al his wille , hir thoghte hit skilful thing,[ ]
    • And ever the lenger loved him tenderly,
    • And did him honour as he were a king.130
    • Hir herte was wedded to him with a ring ;
    • So ferforth upon trouthe is hir entente ,
    • That wher he goth, hir herte with him wente .
    • Whan she shal ete, on him is so hir thoght,
    • That wel unnethe of mete took she keep;135
    • And whan that she was to hir reste broght,
    • On him she thoghte alwey til that she sleep ;
    • Whan he was absent, prevely she weep ;
    • Thus liveth fair Anelida the quene
    • For fals Arcite, that did hir al this tene.140
    • But never-the-les, gret wonder was hit noon
    • Thogh he wer fals, for hit is kinde of man,
    • Sith Lamek was, that is so longe agoon,150[ ]
    • To been in love as fals as ever he can;
    • He was the firste fader that began
    • To loven two, and was in bigamye;
    • And he found tentes first, but-if men lye.
    • This fals Arcite sumwhat moste he feyne,155[ ]
    • Whan he wex fals, to covere his traitorye,
    • Right as an hors, that can both byte and pleyne ;[ ]
    • For he bar hir on honde of trecherye,
    • And swoor he coude hir doublenesse espye,
    • And al was falsnes that she to him mente ;160
    • Thus swoor this theef , and forth his way he wente .[ ]
    • Alas! what herte might enduren hit,[ ]
    • For routhe or wo, hir sorow for to telle?
    • Or what man hath the cunning or the wit?
    • Or what man might with-in the chambre dwelle,165
    • If I to him rehersen shal the helle,[ ]
    • That suffreth fair Anelida the quene
    • For fals Arcite, that did hir al this tene?
    • And thus endureth, til that she was so mate[ ]
    • That she ne hath foot on which she may sustene;[ ]
    • But forth languisshing ever in this estate,[ ]
    • Of which Arcite hath nother routhe ne tene;
    • His herte was elles-where , newe and grene,[ ]180
    • That on hir wo ne deyneth him not to thinke,
    • Him rekketh never wher she flete or sinke.[ ]
    • His newe lady holdeth him so narowe[ ]
    • Up by the brydel , at the staves ende,
    • That every word , he dradde hit as an arowe;185
    • Hir daunger made him bothe bowe and bende,
    • And as hir liste , made him turne or wende;
    • For she ne graunted him in hir livinge
    • No grace, why that he hath lust to singe;
    • But drof him forth, unnethe liste hir knowe190
    • That he was servaunt to hir ladyshippe,
    • But lest that he wer proude , she held him lowe;
    • Thus serveth he, withoutenfee or shipe ,[ ]
    • She sent him now to londe, now to shippe;[ ]
    • And for she yaf him daunger al his fille,195
    • Therfor she had him at hir owne wille.
    • Ensample of this, ye thrifty wimmen alle,
    • Take here Anelida and fals Arcite,
    • That for hir liste him ‘dere herte ’ calle,
    • And was so meek , therfor he loved hir lyte;200
    • The kinde of mannes herte is to delyte
    • In thing that straunge is, also god me save![ ]
    • For what he may not gete, that wolde he have.
    • Now turne we to Anelida ageyn,
    • That pyneth day by day in languisshing;205
    • But whan she saw that hir ne gat no geyn,[ ]
    • Upon a day, ful sorowfully weping,
    • She caste hir for to make a compleyning,
    • And with hir owne honde she gan hit wryte;
    • And sente hit to hir Theban knight Arcite.210

The compleynt of Anelida the quene upon fals Arcite.

Title.So in F. (but misspelt Analida); B. The complaynt of feyre Anelida on fals Arcyte; D. Litera Annelide Regine.

  • (Strophe.)

    • 1.

    • I wot my-self as wel as any wight;[ ]220
    • For I loved oon with al my herte and might
    • More then my-self, an hundred thousand sythe,[ ]
    • And called him my hertes lyf , my knight,
    • And was al his, as fer as hit was right;
    • And whan that he was glad, than was I blythe,225
    • And his disese was my deeth as swythe;
    • And he ayein his trouthe me had plight
    • For ever-more, his lady me to kythe.

    • 2.

    • Now is he fals, alas ! and causeles,
    • And of my wo he is so routheles,230
    • That with a worde him list not ones deyne
    • To bring ayein my sorowful herte in pees ,
    • For he is caught up in a-nother lees .
    • Right as him list, he laugheth at my peyne,
    • And I ne can myn herte not restreyne,235
    • That I ne love him alwey, never-the-les;
    • And of al this I not to whom me pleyne.[ ]

    • 3.

    • And shal I pleyne —alas! the harde stounde—
    • Un-to my foo that yaf my herte a wounde,
    • And yet desyreth that myn harm be more?240
    • Nay, certes ! ferther wol I never founde[ ]
    • Non other help , my sores for to sounde.
    • My desteny hath shapen it ful yore;[ ]
    • I wil non other medecyne ne lore;
    • I wil ben ay ther I was ones bounde,245
    • That I have seid , be seid for ever-more!

    • 4.

    • Alas! wher is become your gentilesse![ ]
    • Your wordes ful of plesaunce and humblesse?
    • Your observaunces in so low manere,
    • And your awayting and your besinesse250
    • Upon me, that ye calden your maistresse,
    • Your sovereyn lady in this worlde here?
    • Alas! and is ther nother word ne chere
    • Ye vouchesauf upon myn hevinesse?
    • Alas! your love, I bye hit al to dere.255

    • 6.

    • My swete foo, [         ] why do ye so, [         ] for shame?[ ]
    • And thenke ye [         ] that furthered be [         ] your name,
    • To love a newe, [         ] and been untrewe ? [         ] nay!
    • And putte yow [         ] in sclaunder now [         ] and blame,275
    • And do to me [         ] adversitee [         ] and grame,
    • That love yow most, [         ] god, wel thou wost! alway?
    • Yet turn ayeyn, [         ] and be al pleyn [         ] som day,
    • And than shal this [         ] that now is mis [         ] be game,[ ]
    • And al for-yive , [         ] whyl that I live [         ] may.280
  • Conclusion.
  • Than ende I thus, sith I may do no more,[ ]
  • I yeve hit up for now and ever-more;
  • For I shal never eftputten in balaunce[ ]
  • My sekernes, ne lerne of love the lore.345
  • But as the swan, I have herd seyd ful yore,[ ]
  • Ayeins his deth shal singe in his penaunce,
  • So singe I here my destiny or chaunce,
  • How that Arcite Anelidaso sore
  • Hath thirled with the poynt of remembraunce![ ]350

(Unfinished.)

[P. 313: l. 1069.]For ‘Antilegius,’ a better form would be ‘Antilogus,’ a French form of Antilochus.

[P. 374: ll. 243, 248.]For desteny and ful better forms are destinee and fulle

[P. 377: l. 328.]For furlong wey read furlong-wey

[1. ]Tn. ferse; F. fers.

[3. ]Harl. D. Cx. temple; rest temples.

[6. ]F. songe. F. contynew; D. contynue. F. guye; Tn. gye.

[7. ]F. I to the; Harl. Tn. D. to the I.

[9. ]Cx. for tendyte; Harl. for to endite; rest to endyte.

[11. ]F. Analida; Cx. Anelida; Tn. D. Annelida.

[12. ]Harl. that; Cx. that (for which); rest om.

[15. ]F. eke. Harl. Polymea; rest Polymya, Polymia; Th. Polymnia.

[16. ]Harl. Cx. with; rest hath (!). Harl. Cx. sustren.

[17. ]F. B. Cx. Cirrea; D. Cirea; Tn. Circa (wrongly).

[20. ]Tn. ship; F. shippe. After l. 21, 3 Latin lines are quoted from Statius (see note).

[23. ]F. folke. Cx. Cithye.

[24. ]Harl. D. Cx. Lt. With; F. The (caught from l. 23). D. crowned; F. corovned.

[25. ]All Home. Tn. ycome; F. he come.

[27. ]Cx. cryeden; but rest cryden, criden. Harl. unto; rest to. Tn. wente; F. went.

[28. ]Tn. entente; F. entent.

[29. ]F. Harl. Beforne; Cx. Biforn; Tn. D. B. Lt. Before. Harl. duk; F. duke. Harl. inserts hie (= hy); Addit. 16165 has his; the rest wrongly omit; accent o in victórie.

[31. ]Cx. tokening. Harl. and tokenyng of his glorie.

[32. ]F. sene; Harl. seen.

[33. ]Tn. many; F. mony (5 times).

[35. ]on] Harl. Cx. and.

[36. ]Tn. Ypolita. F. wife.

[37. ]Harl. D. Cithea. D. hadde; Lt. hade; rest had.

[39. ]F. chare. D. ladde; Lt. lade; rest lad.

[40. ]Harl. ground; F. grounde. D. spradde; rest sprad.

[41. ]Harl. Cx. the; rest omit.

[42. ]F. Fulfilled; al.

[43. ]D. Cx. Lt. crowned; rest corouned.

[44. ]F. yevyng; Tn. gifeynge.

[45. ]F. B. Let; rest Lete.

[46. ]F. ryding; Tn. ridinge.

[47. ]F. bring; Tn. brynge.

[48. ]D. slye (rightly); Tn. sly; F. sley.

[50. ]F. thro. Harl. Tn. D. furious; F. furiouse.

[51. ]Harl. Tn. wrath; F. wrethe.

[52. ]F. hertis.

[53. ]F. B. Tn. insert and after Grece; which D. Lt. Harl. Cx. omit. Harl. yche othir for to kylle (a good reading). Cf. l. 56. F. eneriche.

[55. ]D. among; F. amonge. D. bothe; F. both (but wrothe in l. 56).

[56. ]F. eueriche.

[58. ]Harl. Parthonopee; Cx. Parthonope; D. Partonope; Tn. Partinope; F. B. Prothonolope (!).

[59. ]Harl. Tn. dede; F. ded. I supply was, which sense and metre require; Cx. supplies and. F. proude.

[60. ]So F. Tn. B. Lt.; Harl. D. Cx. put wrechid (wrecchid) for wrecches.

[61. ]Cx. hom; rest home.

[62. ]F. stode.

[66. ]F. helde.

[70. ]F. folke.

[72. ]Tn. dwellynge; F. duellyng.

[73. ]F. sunne; Harl. Tn. D. Cx. sonne.

[74. ]D. Through; F. Thorogh. Tn. sprynge; F. spring.

[75. ]Tn. likynge; F. likyng.

[77. ]Harl. Tn. D. Cx. the; F. thes.

[78. ]twenty is written xxii in the MSS. D. olde; Cx. olde; Lt. of olde; Harl. eld; rest of elde.

[79. ]Tn. mydelle; F. mydil. F. suche.

[80. ]F. Ioy.

[81. ]D. stedfastnesse; F. stidfastnesse.

[82. ]F. B. both; rest hath. Harl. Th. penelope; F. and others penolope.

[84. ]Harl. ne; rest om. Tn. myghte; F. myght.

[85. ]I supply Arcite; line too short. F. seyne.

[86. ]Harl. yong; F. yonge. Harl. there with alle (so D. Cx. Lt.); rest therto with al.

[87. ]F. pleyne.

[88. ]Harl. any; F. eny.

[89. ]D. Lt. Cx. wan; F. whan (!).

[90. ]F. ferforthe. F. can; rest gan.

[91. ]Th. Tn. Harl. trusteth; rest trusted; read trust. D. any; F. eny.

[93. ]F. eny throw.

[94. ]F. thoght; hert.

[95. ]F. bane.

[96. ]F. hert.

[101. ]Harl. Tn. D. B. swore (for swoor); Cx. sware; F. sworne.

[105. ]Tn. thenketh; F. thinketh.

[106. ]F. fonde; suche.

[107. ]F. B. wrongly insert both before moche; rest omit. F. B. and; rest or.

[109. ]Harl. Cx. that; rest omit.

[110. ]F. wiche; myght.

[111. ]Tn. yeuen; F. yevin.

[112. ]F. dyd her hert an ese; Harl. Cx. omit hert an; others vary.

[114, 118. ]D. any; F. eny.

[116. ]Tn. D. B. fulle; rest ful.

[119. ](See 126.) Harl. Cx. heste; rest herte, hert.

[120. ]F. eke. Tn. Ielous; F. Ielouse. D. Cx. here (for the rime); F. her.

[121. ]Harl. any; F. eny. F. seyde.

[123. ]F. worde. Harl. Tn. apayde; F. apaied; D. B. apaid.

[124. ]F. wend. Cx. brayd; Tn. breyde; F. breyed.

[125. ]Harl. Cx. this nas; rest was. D. sleight; Cx. sleyght; F. sleght.

[126. ]Harl. Withouten; F. With out; (and so in 119).

[127. ]F. toke. F. B. as; rest so.

[128. ]Harl. Tn. wille; F. wil. F. thoght. Koch proposes to omit hit.

[129. ]All ins. she after lenger; it is not wanted.

[131. ]F. ringe.

[132. ]Harl. Cx. So; rest For so. Harl. Tn. entente; F. entent.

[133. ]Tn. herte; F. hert. Harl. Tn. wente; F. went.

[135. ]F. toke; kepe.

[136. ]Harl. Cx. that; rest omit. Harl. D. Cx. reste; F. rest.

[137. ]Tn. thoghte; F. thoght. Harl. Tn. Cx. alwey; F. ay. F. slepe.

[138. ]F. wepe.

[139. ]Cx. fayr; F. feire.

[141. ]D. newfangilnesse; Tn. newfangulnes; F. new fanglesse.

[143. ]F. Toke. D. sted-; F. stid-.

[144. ]F. proude.

[145. ]Harl. D. cladde; F. clad.

[146. ]F. whethir.

[148. ]F. lesse grete.

[149. ]Harl. Cx. omit the, which F. and others insert after is.

[152. ]Harl. Tn. firste; F. first.

[154. ]F. founde.

[156. ]Harl. Tn. D. couer; Cx. couere; F. coueren.

[157. ]F. Tn. pleyn.

[159, 161. ]All swore.

[160. ]Harl. Tn. mente; F. ment.

[161. ]D. Cx. theef; F. thefe. Harl. Tn. wente; F. went.

[162. ]Tn. herte; F. hert. Cx. enduren; rest endure.

[167. ]F. feir.

[169. ]Cx. swowneth; D. sownyth; F. swoneth.

[170. ]Harl. Tn. D. grounde; F. ground. F. dede; ston.

[171. ]Harl. Al; rest om. Cx. Crampissheth; Lt. Crampuissheth; Tn. Crampicheth; F. cravmpysshe.

[172. ]F. agon.

[174. ]Harl. Noon; Cx. None; the rest insert Ne before Noon. For she speketh, all the MSS. have speketh she.

[175. ]F. mercie; hert.

[178. ]F. B. for; rest forth.

[179. ]Tn. D. nothir; F. nouther.

[180. ]F. wher; rest where.

[182. ]Harl. nought; Cx. not (for never). Harl. D. Cx. whether; but wher is short for whether. Cf. Compt. unto Pite, 110; see note.

[183. ]All but Harl. Cx. Th. insert up before so; see next line.

[184. ]F. bridil.

[185. ]F. worde. B. D. Lt. dredith; F. Tn. dred hit; Harl. Cx. drad; read dradde hit.

[187. ]Tn. Cx. liste; Harl. lyste; F. lust.

[190. ]Harl. Cx. vnnethe; F. vnneth. F. list.

[191. ]All un-to; read to.

[192. ]Cx. proud; F. proude. Harl. Cx. held; F. helde.

[193. ]Harl. withouten; F. with out. Harl. Cx. mete; rest fee. F. B. Lt. shippe; D. shipe; Cx. sype; Harl. shepe (!); Tn. shep (!).

[195. ]D. yaf; F. yafe.

[196. ]Harl. owne; F. ovne.

[197. ]Harl. Tn. D. thrifty; F. thrifte.

[198. ]B. here; F. her (i. e. here); Tn. D. here of; Cx. Lt. hede of.

[199. ]Tn. Cx. liste (pt. t.); F. list. Harl. Cx. dere herte; F. her der hert.

[200. ]All meke.

[201. ]All kynde (kinde). F. hert.

[203. ]Harl. Cx. he (twice); F. and others wrongly have they the 2nd time.

[205. ]F. Tn. be; rest by.

[206. ]F. sawe.

[208. ]Harl. Tn. caste; F. cast.

[209. ]Harl. owne; F. ovne.

[210. ]Th. sente; D. Cx. sende; rest sent. F. B. omit hit; rest retain.

[211. ]Harl. thirllethe; Cx. thirleth; F. B. thirled (!).

[212. ]B. swerd; F. suerde. F. y-whet; B. I-whet; rest whet;

[213. ]Tn. herte; F. hert. Harl. Tn. D. blak; F. blake.

[214. ]Harl. Cx. in. rest to; see 215.

[215. ]Tn. B. Lt. surete; F. suerte. F. B. in to; rest in. D. Cx. a whaped; Harl. a whaaped; F. a waped.

[216. ]Harl. for; rest om.

[217. ]Harl. trewest; F. truest. Harl. hir; Cx. her; F. and others him (but see l. 218).

[218. ]F. dothe.

[220. ]Harl. any; F. eny.

[221. ]F. hert.

[223. ]F. B. cleped; rest called. F. hertis life.

[227. ]Harl. D. Cx. B. plight; F. I-plyght.

[229. ]So Tn. Harl. Cx. D.; F. B. Alas now hath he left me causeles.

[232. ]Tn. herte, pees; F. hert, pes.

[233. ]B. caught; F. caght. Tn. D. Cx. lees; F. thought.

[234. ]F. B. me (!); rest him.

[235. ]F. hert.

[238. ]F. pleyn. Harl. Tn. harde; F. hard.

[239. ]F. yafe; hert.

[240. ]F. harme.

[241. ]F. certis. All be founde; but be is copied in from the line above; see l. 47.

[242. ]F. helpe.

[243. ]Tn. desteny; F. destany. F. B. om. ful.

[246. ]F. seide (twice).

[252. ]F. souereigne.

[253. ]I supply and from Cx.; Harl. has And is there nowe neyther.

[254. ]Lt. vouchesauf; Cx. vouchen sauf; F. vouchesafe.

[256. ]F. certis.

[257. ]F. B. causer (for caus-e); rest cause.

[258. ]F. dedely.

[259. ]F. oght.

[260. ]Harl. Lt. slee; Tn. D. Cx. sle; F. slene. F. frende.

[263. ]Harl. wot; F. wote.

[264, 265. ]Harl. Cx. But for I was so pleyne, Arcyte, In alle my werkes, much and lyte; and omit was in l. 266.

[267. ]F. honor. Tn. saue; F. D. safe; Harl. Cx. sauf.

[268. ]F. put.

[269. ]Harl. Tn. recche; F. rek.

[270. ]F. B. om. that. F. suerde.

[271. ]Tn. herte; F. hert. F. thro.

[272. ]F. suete.

[274. ]Harl. Tn. vntrewe; F. vntrew.

[275. ]Harl. putte; F. put.

[278. ]Tn. D. Ff. Lt. turne; rest come.

[279. ]Tn. Harl. Cx. D. Lt. And then shall this that now is mis ben (be); F. B. And turne al this that hath be mys to.

[280. ]F. foryeve; Tn. foryife; Harl. 372, foryiue (rightly).

[281. ]F. hert. Harl. seyne (gerund); F. seyn.

[282. ]F. wheder; prey; pleyn.

[284, 5, 8. ]F. cheyn, tweyn, peyn.

[288. ]D. verily; F. verrely.

[290. ]Harl. Cx. omit this stanza. F. dethe (wrongly); rest deth. All soght, sought; read y-soght.

[291. ]D. B. mordre; F. mourdre.

[292. ]F. vnkyndnesse.

[293. ]Tn. D. faste; F. fast.

[296. ]F. avaunt. Tn. B. Lt. bet; F. beter.

[298. ]Tn. Lt. With oute; F. With out.

[299. ]Some of the final rimes in this stanza are forced ones. F. B. shal; rest sholde (shulde). F. prey.

[300. ]F. dethe; Harl. Cx. dye. F. foule.

[301. ]F. mercie. Tn. gilteles; F. giltles.

[302. ]Harl. pleyne; F. pleyn. F. lyfe. Harl. Cx. ins. that; F. and others omit.

[304. ]Tn. D. unto; F. to.

[305. ]F. skorne.

[306. ]F. B. om. hit.

[307. ]F. and others insert to before have; Tn. D. Lt. Cx. omit.

[308. ]D. hadde; F. had.

[309. ]F. Apprile; Harl. Aueryll.

[310. ]F. B. yow be; rest om. be. F. stidfast.

[311. ]F. souereigne.

[312. ]F. slayn.

[313. ]Tn. D. Lt. She; Harl. Sheo; rest Who. F. B. insert she before shal.

[314. ]F. om. 1st a.

[315. ]Is] F. this (!)

[316. ]Harl. fleen; Cx. fle (for renne). F. lest.

[317. ]Harl. Cx. But; rest Now. F. mercie. F. myssey (omitting e in -eye throughout, wrongly); Harl. myssaye, &c.

[318. ]So F. B.; rest Have I ought seyd out of the weye. F. seyde.

[319. ]Harl. Cx. half (for al).

[320. ]F. dothe; songe. F. chaunt plure; Harl. Chaunte pleure.

[321. ]F. pleyn.

[323. ]F. borne.

[325. ]Harl. Cx. nys; F. B. D. ther is no; Tn. ther nis no (too many syllables).

[328. ]F. furlonge. F. B. other (for or); rest or.

[329. ]F. thenketh; Tn. thynketh.

[330. ]Tn. stant; F. stont.

[331. ]Harl. Cx. To profren efte; D. Tn. Lt. Efte to profre; F. B. To suere yet. Tn. D. Cx. Lt. assure; F. asure.

[332. ]F. trew; mercie. Harl. and love me til I dye; Cx. and love me til he deye.

[334. ]F. B. this; D. Tn. suche; Harl. Cx. thilke.

[335. ]F. reche; Tn. D. recche; and so with feche, &c.

[339. ]F. destany; Tn. destyne (for the rime).

[341. ]F. weyke.

[343. ]Harl. D. Cx. yeve; F. yf; Tn. gife.

[344. ]F. efte. Tn. Cx. putten; F. put.

[347. ]Tn. deth; F. dethe. Tn. D. Lt. Ff. insert in; rest om.

[348. ]Harl. Tn. destenye; D. destynye; F. destany.

[349. ]F. Analida. F. B. to; rest so.

[351. ]This stanza only occurs in Tn. D. Lt. Ff. Th.; I follow Tn. mainly. Tn. Annelida; wofull.

[352. ]Tn. Lt. Ff. of; D. with.

[353. ]D. Th. deed; rest dede. D. betwixe; Th. betwyxe; Ff. bitwixte; Tn. Lt. betwix.

[354. ]Tn. felle; Th. fel. Ff. a swowe; Tn. a swow.

[355. ]Lt. Th. avoweth; D. avowith; Tn. avoyth.

[356. ]Tn. With-Inne; rest With-in. Tn. sorofulle.

[357. ]Tn. shapyn; aftyr. shal after] Lt. Th. may plainly.

[1.]In comparing the first three stanzas with the Teseide, we must reverse the order of the stanzas in the latter poem. Stanza 1 of Anelida answers to st. 3 of the Italian; stanza 2, to st. 2; and stanza 3 to st. 1. The first two lines of lib. 1. st. 3 (of the Italian) are:—

  • ‘Siate presenti, O Marte rubicondo,
  • Nelle tue arme rigido e feroce.’

I. e. Be present, O Mars the red, strong and fierce in thy arms (battle-array). For the words Be present, see l. 6.

[2.]Trace, Thrace. Cf. Kn. Tale, 1114-6 (A 1972-4). Chaucer was here thinking of Statius, Theb. lib. vii. 40, who describes the temple of Mars on Mount Hæmus, in Thrace, which had a frosty climate. In bk. ii, l. 719, Pallas is invoked as being superior to Bellona. Chaucer seems to confuse them; so does Boccaccio, in his De Genealogia Deorum.

[6, 7.]Partly imitated from Tes. i. 3:—

  • ‘E sostenete la mano e la voce
  • Di me, che intendo i vostri effecti dire.’

[8-10.]Imitated from Tes. i. 2:—

  • ‘Chè m’ è venuta voglia con pietosa
  • Rima di scriver una storia antica,
  • Tanto negli anni riposta e nascosa,
  • Che latino autor non par ne dica,
  • Per quel ch’ io senta, in libro alcuna cosa.’

Thus it appears that, when speaking of his finding an old story in Latin, he is actually translating from an Italian poem which treats of a story not found in Latin! That is, his words give no indication whatever of the source of his poem; but are merely used in a purely conventional manner. His ‘old story’ is really that of the siege of Thebes; and his Latin is the Thebais of Statius. And neither of them speaks of Anelida!

[15.]Read fávourábl’. Imitated from Tes. i. 1:—

  • ‘O sorelle Castalie, che nel monte
  • Elicona contente dimorate
  • D’ intorno al sacro gorgoneo fonte,
  • Sottesso l’ ombra delle frondi amate
  • Da Febo, delle quali ancor la fronte
  • I’ spero ornarmi sol che ’l concediate
  • Gli santi orecchi a’ miei prieghi porgete,
  • E quegli udite come voi volete.’

Polymnia, Polyhymnia, also spelt Polymnia, Gk. Πολυμνία; one of the nine Muses. Chaucer invokes the muse Clio in Troil. bk. ii, and Calliope in bk. iii. Cf. Ho. of Fame, 520-2. Parnaso, Parnassus, a mountain in Phocis sacred to Apollo and the Muses, at whose foot was Delphi and the Castalian spring. Elicon, mount Helicon in Bœotia; Chaucer seems to have been thinking rather of the Castalian spring, as he uses the prep. by, and supposes Elicon to be near Parnaso. See the Italian, as quoted above; and note that, in the Ho. of Fame, 522, he says that Helicon is a well.

A similar confusion occurs in Troilus, iii. 1809:—

  • ‘Ye sustren nyne eek, that by Elicone
  • In hil Parnaso listen for tabyde.’

[17.]Cirrea, Cirra. Chaucer was thinking of the adj. Cirræus. Cirra was an ancient town near Delphi, under Parnassus. Dante mentions Cirra, Parad. i. 36; and Parnaso just above, l. 16. Perhaps Chaucer took it from him.

[20.]A common simile. So Spenser, F. Q. i. 12. 1, 42; and at the end of the Thebaid and the Teseide both.

[21.]Stace, Statius; i. e. the Thebaid; whence some of the next stanzas are more or less borrowed. Chaucer epitomises the general contents of the Thebaid in his Troilus; v. 1484, &c.

Corinne, not Corinna (as some have thought, for she has nothing to do with the matter), but Corinnus. Corinnus was a disciple of Palamedes, and is said to have written an account of the Trojan War, and of the war of the Trojan king Dardanus against the Paphlagonians, in the Dorian dialect. Suidas asserts that Homer made some use of his writings. See Zedler, Universal Lexicon; and Biog. Universelle. How Chaucer met with this name, is not known. Possibly, however, Chaucer was thinking of Colonna, i. e. Guido di Colonna, author of the medieval Bellum Trojanum. But this does not help us, and it is at least as likely that the name Corinne was merely introduced by way of flourish; for no source has been discovered for the latter part of the poem, which may have been entirely of his own invention. For Palamedes, see Lydgate’s Troy-book, bk. v. c. 36.

[22.]The verses from Statius, preserved in the MSS., are the three lines following; from Thebais, xii. 519:—

  • ‘Jamque domos patrias Scythicæ post aspera gentis
  • Prælia laurigero subeuntem Thesea curru,
  • Lætifici plausus missusque ad sidera vulgi,’ &c.

The first line and half the second appear also in the MSS. of the Canterbury Tales, at the head of the Knightes Tale, which commences, so to speak, at the same point (l. 765 in Lewis’s translation of the Thebaid). Comparing these lines of Statius with the lines in Chaucer, we at once see how he came by the word aspre and the expression With laurer crouned. The whole of this stanza (ll. 22-28) is expanded from the three lines here quoted.

[28.]Cithe, Scythia; see last note. See Kn. Tale, 9 (A 867).

[24.]Cf. Kn. Tale, 169, 121 (A 1027, 979).

[25.]Contre-houses, houses of his country, homes (used of Theseus and his army). It exactly reproduces the Lat. domos patrias. See Kn. Tale, 11 (A 869).

[29-35.]Chaucer merely takes the general idea from Statius, and expands it in his own way. Lewis’s translation of Statius has:—

  • ‘To swell the pomp, before the chief are borne
  • The spoils and trophies from the vanquish’d torn;’

but the Lat. text has—

  • ‘Ante ducem spolia et duri Mauortis imago,
  • Uirginei currus, cumulataque fercula cristis.’

And, just below, is a brief mention of Hippolyta, who had been wedded to Theseus.

[30, 1.]Cf. Kn. Tale, 117, 118 (A 975). See note above.

[36, 7.]Cf. Kn. Tale, 23, 24 (A 881, 2); observe the order of words.

[38.]Repeated in Kn. Tale, 114 (A 972); changing With to And.

Emelye is not mentioned in Statius. She is the Emilia of the Teseide; see lib. ii. st. 22 of that poem.

[43-6.]Cf. Kn. Tale, 14, 15, 169 (A 872-3, 1027).

[47.]Here we are told that the story is really to begin. Chaucer now returns from Statius (whom he has nearly done with) to the Teseide, and the next three stanzas, ll. 50-70, are more or less imitated from that poem, lib. ii. st. 10-12.

[50-6.]Boccaccio is giving a sort of summary of the result of the war described in the Thebaid. His words are:—

  • ‘Fra tanto Marte i popoli lernei
  • Con furioso corso avie commossi
  • Sopro i Tebani, e miseri trofei
  • Donati avea de’ Principi percossi
  • Più volte già, e de’ greci plebei
  • Ritenuti tal volta, e tal riscossi
  • Con asta sanguinosa fieramente,
  • Trista avea fatta l’ una e l’ altra gente.’

[57-63.]Imitated from Tes. ii. 11:—

  • ‘Perciò che dopo Anfiarao, Tideo
  • Stato era ucciso, e ’l buon Ippomedone,
  • E similmente il bel Partenopeo,
  • E più Teban, de’ qua’ non fo menzione,
  • Dinanzi e dopo al fiero Capaneo,
  • E dietro a tutti in doloroso agone,
  • Eteocle e Polinice, ed ispedito
  • Il solo Adrastro ad Argo era fuggito.’

See also Troilus, v. 1499-1510.

[57.]Amphiorax; so in Troilus, ii. 105, v. 1500; Cant. Tales, 6323 (D 741); and in Lydgate’s Siege of Thebes. Amphiaraus is meant; he accompanied Polynices, and was swallowed up by the earth during the siege of Thebes; Statius, Thebais, lib. vii. (at the end); Dante, Inf. xx. 34. Tydeus and Polynices married the two daughters of Adrastus. The heroic acts of Tydeus are recorded in the Thebaid. See Lydgate, Siege of Thebes; or the extract from it in my Specimens of English.

[58.]Ipomedon, Hippomedon; one of the seven chiefs who engaged in the war against Thebes. Parthonopee, Parthenopæus, son of Meleager and Atalanta; another of the seven chiefs. For the account of their deaths, see the Thebaid, lib. ix.

[59.]Campaneus; spelt Cappaneus, Capaneus in Kn. Tale, 74 (A 932); Troil. v. 1504. Thynne, in his Animadversions on Speght’s Chaucer (ed. Furnivall, p. 43), defends the spelling Campaneus on the ground that it was the usual medieval spelling; and refers us to Gower and Lydgate. In Pauli’s edition of Gower, i. 108, it is Capaneus. Lydgate has Campaneus; Siege of Thebes, pt. iii. near the beginning. Capaneus is the right Latin form; he was one of the seven chiefs, and was struck with lightning by Jupiter whilst scaling the walls of Thebes; Statius, Theb. lib. x (at the end). Cf. Dante, Inf. xiv. 63. As to the form Campaneus, cf. Ital. Campidoglio with Lat. Capitolium.

[60.]‘The Theban wretches, the two brothers;’ i. e. Eteocles and Polynices, who caused the war. Cf. Troil. v. 1507.

[61.]Adrastus, king of Argos, who assisted his son-in-law Polynices, and survived the war; Theb. lib. xi. 441.

[63.]‘That no man knew of any remedy for his (own) misery.’ Care, anxiety, misery. At this line Chaucer begins upon st. 12 of the second book of the Teseide, which runs thus:—

  • ‘Onde il misero gente era rimaso
  • Vôto1 di gente, e pien d’ ogni dolore;
  • Ma a picciol tempo da Creonte invaso
  • Fu, che di quello si fe’ re e signore,
  • Con tristo augurio, in doloroso caso
  • Recò insieme il regno suo e l’ onore,
  • Per fiera crudeltà da lui usata,
  • Mai da null’ altro davanti pensata.

Cf. Knightes Tale, 80-4 (A 938).

[71.]From this point onward, Chaucer’s work is, as far as we know at present, original. He seems to be intending to draw a portrait of a queen of Armenia who is neglected by her lover, in distinct contrast to Emilia, sister of the queen of Scythia, who had a pair of lovers devoted to her service.

[72.]Ermony, Armenia; the usual M. E. form.

[78.]Of twenty yeer of elde, of twenty years of age; so in MSS. F., Tn., and Harl. 372. See note to l. 80.

[80.]Behelde; so in MSS. Harl., F.; and Harl. 372 has beheelde. I should hesitate to accept this form instead of the usual beholde, but for its occurrence in Gower, Conf. Amant., ed. Pauli, iii. 147:—

  • ‘The wine can make a creple sterte
  • And a deliver man unwelde;
  • It maketh a blind man to behelde.

So also in the Moral Ode, l. 288, the Trinity MS. has the infin. behealde, and the Lambeth MS. has bihelde. It appears to be a Southern form, adopted here for the rime, like ken for kin in Book of the Duch. 438.

There is further authority; for we actually find helde for holde in five MSS. out of seven, riming with welde (wolde); C. T., Group D, l. 272.

[82.]Penelope and Lucretia are favourite examples of constancy; see C. T., Group B, 63, 75; Book Duch. 1081-2; Leg. Good Women, 252, 257. Read Penélop’, not Pénelóp’, as in B. D. 1081.

[84.]Amended. Compare what is said of Zenobia; C. T., B 3444.

[85.]I have supplied Arcite, which the MSS. strangely omit. It is necessary to name him here, to introduce him; and the line is else too short. Chaucer frequently shifts the accent upon this name, so that there is nothing wrong about either Arcíte here, or Árcite in l. 92. See Kn. Tale, 173, 344, 361, &c. on the one hand; and lines 1297, 1885 on the other. And see l. 140 below.

[91.]Read trust, the contracted form of trusteth.

[98.]‘As, indeed, it is needless for men to learn such craftiness.’

[105.]A proverbial expression; see Squi. Tale, F 537. The character of Arcite is precisely that of the false tercelet in Part II. of the Squieres Tale; and Anelida is like the falcon in the same. Both here and in the Squieres Tale we find the allusions to Lamech, and to blue as the colour of constancy; see notes to ll. 146, 150, 161-9 below.

[119.]Cf. Squi. Tale, F 569.

[128.]‘That all his will, it seemed to her,’ &c. A common idiom. Koch would omit hit, for the sake of the metre; but it makes no difference at all, the e in thoghte being elided.

[141.]New-fangelnesse; see p. 409, l. 1, and Squi. Tale, F 610.

[145.]In her hewe, in her colours: he wore the colours which she affected. This was a common method of shewing devotion to a lady.

[146.]Observe the satire in this line. Arcite is supposed to have worn white, red, or green; but he did not wear blue, for that was the colour of constancy. Cf. Squi. Tale, F 644, and the note; and see l. 330 below; also p. 409, l. 7.

[150.]Cf. Squi. Tale, F 550. I have elsewhere drawn attention to the resemblance between this poem and the Squieres Tale, in my note to l. 548 of that Tale. Cf. also Cant. Tales, 5636 (D 54). The reference is to Gen. iv. 19—‘And Lamech took unto him two wives.’ In l. 154, Chaucer curiously confounds him with Jabal, Lamech’s son, who was ‘the father of such as dwell in tents’; Gen. iv. 20.

[155.]Arcít-e; trisyllabic, as frequently in Kn. Tale.

[157.]‘Like a wicked horse, which generally shrieks when it bites’; Bell. This explanation is clearly wrong. The line is repeated, with the slight change of pleyne to whyne, in C. T. 5968 (D 386). To pleyne or to whyne means to utter a plaintive cry, or to whinny; and the sense is—‘Like a horse, (of doubtful temper), which can either bite or whinny (as if wanting a caress).’

[161.]Theef, false wretch; cf. Squi. Tale, F 537.

[162.]Cf. Squi. Tale, F 462, 632.

[166.]Cf. Squi. Tale, F 448.

[169.]Cf. Squi. Tale, F 412, 417, 430, 631.

[171.]Al crampissheth, she draws all together, contracts convulsively; formed from cramp. I know of but four other examples of the use of this word.

In Lydgate’s Flour of Curtesie, st. 7, printed in Chaucer’s Works, ed. 1561, fol. 248, we have the lines:—

  • ‘I gan complayne min inwarde deedly smert
  • That aye so sore crampeshe at min herte.’

As this gives no sense, it is clear that crampeshe at is an error for crampisheth or crampished, which Lydgate probably adopted from the present passage.

Again, in Lydgate’s Life of St. Edmund, in MS. Harl. 2278, fol. 101 (ed. Horstmann, p. 430, l. 930), are the lines:—

  • ‘By pouert spoiled, which made hem sore smerte,
  • Which, as they thouhte, craumpysshed at here herte.’

Skelton has encraumpysshed, Garland of Laurell, 16; and Dyce’s note gives an example of craumpishing from Lydgate’s Wars of Troy, bk. iv. c. 33, sig. Xv. col. 4, ed. 1555.

Once more, Lydgate, in his Fall of Princes, bk. i. c. 9 (pr. by Wayland, leaf 18, col. 2), has the line— ‘Deth crampishing into their hert gan crepe.’ ]

[175.]In Kn. Tale, 1950 (A 2808), it is Arcite who says ‘mercy!’

[176.]Read endur’th. Mate, exhausted.

[177.]Read n’hath. Sustene, support herself; cf. C. T. 11173 (F 861).

[178.]Forth is here equivalent to ‘continues’; is or dwelleth is understood. Read languísshing.

[180.]Grene, fresh; probably with a reference to green as being the colour of inconstancy.

[182.]Nearly repeated in Kn. Tale, 1539 (A 2397); cf. Comp. unto Pity, 110. Cf. Compl. to his Lady, 52.

[183.]If up is to be retained before so, change holdeth into halt. ‘His new lady reins him in by the bridle so tightly (harnessed as he is) at the end of the shaft (of her car), that he fears every word like an arrow.’ The image is that of a horse, tightly fastened to the ends of the shafts of a car, and then so hardly reined in that he fears every word of the driver; he expects a cut with the whip, and he cannot get away.

[193.]Fee or shipe, fee or reward. The scarce word shipe being misunderstood, many MSS. give corrupt readings. But it occurs in the Persones Tale, Group I, 568, where Chaucer explains it by ‘hyre’; and in the Ayenbite of Inwit, p. 33. It is the A. S. scipe. ‘Stipendium, scipe’; Wright’s Vocabularies, 114. 34.

[194.]Sent, short for sendeth; cf. serveth above. Cf. Book of Duch. 1024.

[202.]Also, as; ‘as may God save me.’

[206.]Hir ne gat no geyn, she obtained for herself no advantage.

[211.]The metre now becomes extremely artificial. The first stanza is introductory. Its nine lines are rimed a a b a a b b a b, with only two rimes. I set back lines 3, 6, 7, 9, to show the arrangement more clearly. The next four stanzas are in the same metre. The construction is obscure, but is cleared up by l. 350, which is its echo, and again by ll. 270-1. Swerd is the nom. case, and thirleth is its verb; ‘the sword of sorrow, whetted with false complaisance, so pierces my heart, (now) bare of bliss and black in hue, with the (keen) point of (tender) recollection.’ Chaucer’s ‘with . . . remembrance’ is precisely Dante’s ‘Per la puntura della rimembranza’; Purg. xii. 20.

[214.]Cf. The Compleint to his Lady, l. 55.

[215.]Awhaped, amazed, stupified. To the examples in the New E. Dict. add—‘Sole by himself, awhaped and amate’; Compl. of the Black Knight, 168.

[216.]Cf. the Compleint to his Lady, l. 123.

[218.]That, who: relative to hir above.

[220.]Observe how the stanza, which I here number as 1, is echoed by the stanza below, ll. 281-289; and so of the rest.

[222.]Nearly repeated in the Compl. to his Lady, l. 35.

[237.]Repeated from the Compl. to his Lady, l. 50.

[241.]Founde, seek after; A. S. fundian. For founde, all the MSS. have be founde, but the be is merely copied in from be more in l. 240. If we retain be, then befounde must be a compound verb, with the same sense as before; but there is no known example of this verb, though the related strong verb befinden is not uncommon. But see l. 47 above. With l. 242 cf. Rom. Rose, 966 (p. 134).

[247.]Cf. Compl. to his Lady, ll. 107, 108.

[256-71.]This stanza is in the same metre as that marked 5 below, ll. 317-332. It is very complex, consisting of 16 lines of varying length. The lines which I have set back have but four accents; the rest have five. The rimes in the first eight lines are arranged in the order a a a b a a a b; in the last eight lines this order is precisely reversed, giving b b b a b b b a; so that the whole forms a virelay.

[260.]Namely, especially, in particular.

[262.]‘Offended you, as surely as (I hope that) He who knows everything may free my soul from woe.’

[265.]This refers to ll. 113-5 above.

[267.]Read sav-e, mek-e; or the line will be too short.

[270.]Refers to ll. 211-3 above.

[272.]This stanza answers to that marked 6 below, ll. 333-341. It is the most complex of all, as the lines contain internal rimes. The lines are of the normal length, and arranged with the end-rimes a a b a a b b a b, as in the stanzas marked 1 to 4 above. Every line has an internal rime, viz. at the second and fourth accents. In ll. 274, 280, this internal rime is a feminine one, which leaves but one syllable (viz. nay, may) to complete these lines.

The expression ‘swete fo’ occurs again in the Compleint to his Lady, l. 41 (cf. ll. 64, 65); also in Troil. v. 228.

[279.]‘And then shall this, which is now wrong, (turn) into a jest; and all (shall be) forgiven, whilst I may live.’

[281.]The stanza here marked I answers to the stanza so marked above; and so of the rest. The metre has already been explained.

[286.]‘There are no other fresh intermediate ways.’

[299.]‘And must I pray (to you), and so cast aside womanhood?’ It is not for the woman to sue to the man. Compare l. 332.

[301.]Nēd-e, with long close e, rimes with bēde, mēde, hēde.

[302.]‘And if I lament as to what life I lead.’

[306.]‘Your demeanour may be said to flower, but it bears no seed.’ There is much promise, but no performance.

[309.]Holde, keep back. The spelling Averyll (or Auerill) occurs in MS. Harl. 7333, MS. Addit. 16165, and MSS. T. and P. It is much better than the Aprill or Aprille in the rest. I would also read Averill or Aperil in Troil. i. 156.

[313.]Who that, whosoever. Fast, trustworthy.

[315.]Tame, properly tamed. From Rom. Rose, 9945:—

  • ‘N’est donc bien privée tel beste
  • Qui de foir est toute preste.’

[320.]Chaunte-pleure. Godefroy says that there was a celebrated poem of the 13th century named Chantepleure or Pleurechante; and that it was addressed to those who sing in this world and will weep in the next. Hence also the word was particularly used to signify any complaint or lament, or a chant at the burial-service. One of his quotations is:—‘Heu brevis honor qui v x duravit per diem, sed longus dolor qui usque ad mortem, gallicè la chantepleure’; J. de Aluet, Serm., Richel. l. 14961, fol. 195, verso. And again:—

  • ‘Car le juge de vérité
  • Pugnira nostre iniquité
  • Par la balance d’équité
  • Qui où val de la chantepleure
  • Nous boute en grant adversité
  • Sanz fin à perpétuité,
  • Et y parsevere et demeure.’
  • J. de Meung, Le Tresor, l. 1350; ed. Méon.

Tyrwhitt says:—‘A sort of proverbial expression for singing and weeping successively [rather, little singing followed by much weeping]. See Lydgate, Trag. [i. e. Fall of Princes] st. the last; where he says that his book is ‘Lyke Chantepleure, now singing now weping.’ In MS. Harl. 4333 is a Ballad which turns upon this expression. It begins: ‘Moult vaut mieux pleure-chante que ne fait chante-pleure.’ Clearly the last expression means, that short grief followed by long joy is better than brief joy followed by long grief. The fitness of the application in the present instance is obvious.

Another example occurs in Lydgate’s Fall of Princes, bk. i. c. 7, lenvoy:—

  • ‘It is like to the chaunte-pleure,
  • Beginning with ioy, ending in wretchednes.’

So also in Lydgate’s Siege of Troye, bk. ii. c. 11; ed. 1555, Fol. F 6, back, col. 2.

[328.]A furlong-wey meant the time during which one can walk a furlong, at three miles an hour. A mile-way is twenty minutes; a furlong-wey is two minutes and a half; and the double of it is five minutes. But the strict sense need not be insisted on here.

[330.]Asure, true blue; the colour of constancy; see l. 332.

  • ‘Her habyte was of manyfolde colours,
  • Watchet-blewe of fayned stedfastnesse,
  • Her golde allayed like son in watry showres,
  • Meynt with grene, for chaunge and doublenesse.’
  • Lydgate’s Fall of Princes, bk. vi. c. 1. st. 7.

So in Troil. iii. 885—‘bereth him this blewe ring.’ And see Sect. XXI. I. 7 (p. 409), and the note.

[332.]‘And to pray to me for mercy.’ Cf. ll. 299, 300.

[338.]They, i. e. your ruth and your truth.

[341.]‘My wit cannot reach, it is so weak.’

[342.]Here follows the concluding stanza of the Complaint.

[344.]Read—For I shal ne’er (or nev’r) eft pútten.

[346.]See note to Parl. of Foules, 342.

[350.]This line re-echoes l. 211.

[357.]The reason why the Poem ends here is sufficiently obvious. Here must have followed the description of the temple of Mars, written in seven-line stanzas. But it was all rewritten in a new metre, and is preserved to us, for all time, in the famous passage in the Knightes Tale; ll. 1109-1192 (A 1967).

[63.]‘That no man knew of any remedy for his (own) misery.’ Care, anxiety, misery. At this line Chaucer begins upon st. 12 of the second book of the Teseide, which runs thus:—

  • ‘Onde il misero gente era rimaso
  • Vôto1 di gente, e pien d’ ogni dolore;
  • Ma a picciol tempo da Creonte invaso
  • Fu, che di quello si fe’ re e signore,
  • Con tristo augurio, in doloroso caso
  • Recò insieme il regno suo e l’ onore,
  • Per fiera crudeltà da lui usata,
  • Mai da null’ altro davanti pensata.

Cf. Knightes Tale, 80-4 (A 938).

[1 ]Voto, ‘hollow, voide, empty’; Florio.