1163. The reading _his_ (for _her_) in MS. C. can be justified, and may be right. The A.S. _móna_ was masculine, but the Lat. _luna_ was feminine. Hence arose a confusion, so that the M.E. _mone_ was of either gender. Hence, in Chaucer's Astrolabe, pt. ii. § 34, l. 12, we find--'And _nota_, that yif the mone shewe _himself_ by light of day,' &c.; whereas in the same, pt. ii. § 40, l. 54, we find--'the mone, loke thou rekne wel _hir_ cours houre by houre; for _she_,' &c. 1166. _Brayd_, start, sudden movement. In the Cursor Mundi, 7169, we read of Samson, that-- 'Vte of thair handes son he stert And gaue a _braid_ sa fers and fast, That all the bandes of him brast.' See _Braid_ in the New E. Dictionary. 1170-81. From Vergil's Æn. iv. 9-29. 1174. 'And eke so likely to be a hero.' _Man_ is here used emphatically; cf. 'quam forti pectore et armis'; iv. 11. 1182, 3. Cf. Æn. iv. 31-53; but Chaucer cuts it short. 1187. _Love_ (A.S. _lufu_) is here monosyllabic; cf. Kn. Ta., A 1135. 'Love desires (to have) love; for no one will it desist.' Cf. A.S. _wandian_, to turn aside, blench, fear. And see _wol_, in l. 1191. 1188-1211. From Æn. iv. 129-159. 1191. _An hunting_, on hunting, a-hunting. Here _an_ is another form of the prep. _on_, and _hunting_ is a substantive, like Lat. _uenatio_. See Skeat, Principles of Eng. Etymology, Ser. 1, p. 260. _Wol_, desires (to go); cf. _wol_ in l. 1187. 1196. _Hoven_, wait in readiness, hover. Cf. 'where that she _hoved_ and abode'; Gower, C. A. iii. 63; and see P. Plowman, B. prol. 210, xviii. 83. It just expresses the notion of slight movement, whilst remaining nearly in the same place. The old editions read _heven_, which gives no sense; for it never means 'mount,' as has been suggested. Cf. Vergil's 'expectant'; iv. 134. 1198. _Paper-whyt_, as white as paper; a curious and rare compound. Printed _paper white_ (as two words!) in former editions. 1200. The 4th sense of _Bar_ in the New E. Dict. is--'An ornamental transverse band on a girdle, saddle, &c.; subsequently, an ornamental boss of any shape.' 1201. _Sit_, sits. _Wrye_, covered; A.S. _wrigen_, pp. 1204. _Startling_, moving suddenly; the frequentative form of _starting_, which Chaucer preferred when repeating this same line in his Kn. Tale, A 1502. 1205. _A litel wyr_, i.e. a small bridle-bit. See l. 1208. 1206. _Phebus_; Vergil's 'Apollo'; iv. 144. _To devyse_, to describe (him).