For the sources of the Tale of Melibeus, see vol. iii. p. 426. It may suffice to say here that Chaucer's Tale is translated from the French version entitled _Le Livre de Mellibee et Prudence_, ascribed by M. Paul Meyer to Jean de Meung. Of this text there are two MS. copies in the British Museum, viz. MS. Reg. 19 C. vii. and MS. Reg. 19 C. xi, both of the fifteenth century; the former is said by Mr. T. Wright to be the more correct. It is also printed, as forming part of _Le Menagier de Paris_, the author of which embodied it in his book, written about 1393; the title of the printed book being--'Le Menagier de Paris; publié pour la première fois par la Société des Bibliophiles François; a Paris M.D. CCC. XLVI'; (tome i. p. 186); ed. J. Pichon. In the following notes, this is alluded to as _the French text_. This French version was, in its turn, translated from the _Liber Consolationis et Consilii_ of Albertano of Brescia, excellently edited for the Chaucer Society in 1873 by Thor Sundby, with the title 'Albertani Brixiensis Liber Consolationis et Consilii.' This is alluded to, in the following notes, as _the Latin text_. Thor Sundby's edition is most helpful, as the editor has taken great pains to trace the sources of the [202] very numerous quotations with which the Tale abounds; and I am thus enabled to give the references in most cases. I warn the reader that Albertano's quotations are frequently _inexact_. Besides this, the Tale of Melibeus has been admirably edited, as a specimen of English prose, in Mätzner's Altenglische Sprachproben, ii. 375, with numerous notes, of which I here make considerable use. Owing to the great care taken by Sundby and Mätzner, the task of explaining the difficulties in this Tale has been made easy. The more important notes from Mätzner are marked 'Mr.' The first line or clause (numbered 2157) ends with the word 'Sophie,' as shewn by the slanting stroke. The whole Tale is thus divided into clauses, for the purpose of ready reference, precisely as in the Six-text edition; I refer to these _clauses_ as if they were _lines_. The 'paragraphs' are the same as in Tyrwhitt's edition. 2157. _Melibeus._ The meaning of the name is given below (note to l. 2600). _Prudence._ 'It is from a passage of Cassiodorus, quoted by Albertano in cap. vi., that he [Albertano] has taken the name of his heroine, if we may call her so, and the general idea of her character:--"Superauit cuncta infatigabilis et expedita _prudentia_"; Cass. Variarum lib. ii. epist. 15.'--Sundby. _Sophie_, i. e. wisdom, [Greek: sophia]. Neither the Latin nor the French text gives the daughter's name. 2159. _Inwith_, within; a common form in Chaucer; see note to B. 1794. _Y-shette_, pl. of _y-shet_, shut; as in B. 560.