Chaucer, Geoffrey, -1400. Knight's tale -- Adaptations; English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700
42 558. tun. A huge cask for holding wine, ale, etc.
43 590. overlaid. Lain upon by the nurse to smother it.
44 604. Mars his ides. The Ides of March, the date of Caesar's
assassination. The month was named from the god.
44 607. Antony, Infatuated with Cleopatra, he lost his empire.
Dryden had previously told the story in his best play,_All for Love_.
44 614. geomantic. Pertaining to geomancy, the art of divining
future events by means of signs connected with the earth. The figure
here represents two constellations, Rubeus, which signifies Mars
direct, Puella, Mars retrograde.
44 616. direct... retrograde. The motion of a planet is direct
when it seems to move from west to east in the zodiac, and retrograde
when its apparent motion is reversed.
44 623. Calisto. Properly Callisto, one of Diana's nymphs. Jupiter
loved her and changed her to a bear to escape the notice of Juno;
but the latter discovered the ruse, and caused Diana to kill the bear.
Thereupon Jupiter transferred her to heaven as the constellation of
Arctos, in which is the pole-star.
44 631. Peneian Daphne. Daughter of the river-god Peneus.
Loved by Apollo and pursued by him, she prayed for assistance,
and was changed into a laurel tree. Thenceforth the laurel became
Apollo's favorite tree.
44 634. Calydonian beast. A huge boar sent by Diana to devastate the
territory of Aeneus, king of Calydon in Atolia, because he had not paid
her due honor. Theseus, Jason, Peleus, Telamon, Nestor, all the famous
heroes gathered to destroy the beast, and with them the swift-footed
maiden Atalanta. Her arrow gave the first wound. The story is
exquisitely told by Swinburne in Atalanta in Calydon.
44 635. Aenides. Meleager, son of Aeneus, who actually killed the
boar. He loved Atalanta and gave to her the head and hide of the
animal as a trophy. Jealously attacked by his uncles, he slew them.
At his birth, the fates had prophesied his death when a certain brand
upon the hearth should have burned. Thereupon his mother plucked
it from the fire, quenched it, and put it away. Angered by the death
of her brothers, she throws this brand upon the fire. It is consumed,
and Meleager dies.
45 639. The Volscian queen. Camilla, an Amazon, allied with
Turnus in his strife with Aeneas in Italy. She was treacherously
killed by Aruns, while pursuing a fleeing enemy. As Aruns was
stealthily withdrawing, he was slain by an arrow, fired by one of
Diana's nymphs.
45 654. Lucina. The name given to Diana as one of the goddesses
who presides at childbirth.
45 661, 662. Inserted by Dryden, a satirical reference to the wretched
Whig poets then in favor, and to his own removal from royal patronage.
BOOK III.
47 28. juppon. A light coat worn over armor, reaching to mid-thigh
and finished in points at the bottom.
47 31. Pruce. Prussia.
47 35. jambeux. Armor for the legs, from the French _jambé_, leg.
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