In 1494, for _high the_, read _highte_ (as in l. 744). In 1527, for _into_ read _in_. In 1570, read _Up peyne_. In 1666, 1701, and 1720, for _werkes_ read _werk_. In 1702, read _clew_ (see note)[10]. In 1717, _lyen_ is an error for _lyuen_, i.e. live. In 1750, read _To_, not _The_. In 1775, supply _ye_; or there is no sense. In 1793, supply _they_ for a like reason. In 1804, 5, supply _the_, and _al_; for the scansion. In 1897, read _wiste_, not _wot_. In 1940, _hattes_ should be _hottes_; this emendation has been accepted by several scholars. In 1936, the right word is _falwe_, not _salwe_ (as in Morris). In 1960, there should be no comma at the end of the line, as in most editions; and in 1961, 2 read _werre_, _reste_ (not _werres_, _restes_). In 1975, _mis_ and _governement_ are distinct words. In 2017, _frot_[11] is an error for _froyt_; it is better to read _fruit_ at once; this correction is due to Koch. In 2021, suppress _in_ after _yaf_. In 2049, for _he_ read _the other_ (Willert). In 2059, _wondermost_ is all one word. In 2076, I read _word_; Morris reads _mothe_, but does not explain it, and it gives no sense. In 2156, I supply _nevene_. I mention these as examples of necessary emendations of which the usual editions take no notice. I also take occasion to draw attention to the careful articles on this poem by Dr. J. Koch, in Anglia, vol. vii. App. 24-30, and Englische Studien, xv. 409-415; and the remarks by Willert in Anglia, vii. App. 203-7. The best general account of the poem is that in Ten Brink's History of English Literature. In conclusion, I add a few 'last words.' L. 399. We learn, from Troil. i. 654, that Chaucer actually supposed 'Oënone' to have four syllables. This restores the metre. Read:--And Paris to Oënone. 503. Read 'brighte,' with final _e_; 'bright' is a misprint. 859. Compare Cant. Tales, F 726. 1119. 'To climbe hit,' i.e. to climb the rock; still a common idiom. 2115. Compare Cant. Tales, A 2078. Perhaps read 'wanie.' INTRODUCTION TO THE LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN. § 1. DATE OF THE POEM: A.D. 1385. The Legend of Good Women presents several points of peculiar, I might almost say of unique interest. It is the immediate precursor of the Canterbury Tales, and enables us to see how the poet was led on towards the composition of that immortal poem. This is easily seen, upon consideration of the date at which it was composed. The question of the date has been well investigated by Ten Brink; but it may be observed beforehand that the allusion to the 'queen' in l. 496 has long ago been noticed, and it has been thence inferred, by Tyrwhitt, that the Prologue must have been written _after_ 1382, the year when Richard II. married his first wife, the 'good queen Anne.' But Ten Brink's remarks enable us to look at the question much more closely. He shows that Chaucer's work can be clearly divided into three chief periods, the chronology of which he presents in the following form[12]. FIRST PERIOD.