A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 08
General
A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 08
English drama
[274] Ritson ("Notes and Illustrations to Robin Hood," i. 62) observes
correctly that Fitzwater confounds one man with another, and that Harold
Harefoot was the son and successor of Canute the Great.
[275] [Old copy, _them_.]
[276] "_In_ a trice" is the usual expression. See a variety of instances
collected by Mr Todd in his Dictionary, but none of them have it "_with_
a trice," as in this place. The old copy prints the ordinary
abbreviation for _with_, which may have been misread by the printer.
[_With_ is no doubt wrong, and has been altered.]
[277] The scenes are marked, though incorrectly, in the old copy thus
far; but the rest of the play is only divided by the _exits_ or
entrances of the characters.
[278] Jenny, a country wench, uses the old word _straw'd_; but when the
author speaks afterwards in the stage direction, he describes Marian as
"_strewing_ flowers." Shakespeare has _o'er-strawed_ in "Venus and
Adonis," perhaps for the sake of the rhyme.
[279] [i.e., Over.]
[280] [Old copy, _of_.]
[281] Formerly considered an antidote for poison. Sir Thomas Brown was
not prepared to contradict it: he says, that "Lapis Lasuli hath in it a
purgative faculty, we know: that _Bezoar is antidotal_, Lapis Judaicus
diuretical, Coral antipileptical, we will not deny."--"Vulgar Errors,"
edit. 1658, p. 104. He also (p. 205) calls it the _Bezoar nut_, "for,
being broken, it discovereth a kernel of a leguminous smell and taste,
bitter, like a lupine, and will swell and sprout if set in the ground."
Harts-horn shavings were also considered a preservative against poison.
[282] [From what follows presently it may be inferred that the king
temporarily retires, although his exit or withdrawal is not marked.]
[283] The old word for _convent_: Covent-Garden, therefore, is still
properly called.
[284] The _grate_ of a vintner was no doubt what is often termed in old
writers the _red lattice, lettice_, or _chequers_, painted at the doors
of vintners, and still preserved at almost every public-house. See note
24 to "The Miseries of Enforced Marriage."
[285] The 4to reads--
"In the highway
That joineth to the _power_."
[286] Robin Hood advises his uncle to insist upon his plea of
_privilegium clericale_, or benefit of clergy--
"Stand to your clergy, uncle; save your life."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account