58 410. housing in the lion's hateful sign. Saturn in the sign Leo was regarded as baleful. 58 411. This verse is Dryden's own, and contains satirical reference to Whig disloyalty at the time of the Revolution of '88. 58 418. pestilence. Both Chaucer and Dryden had experienced great plagues in London, the Black Death in the fourteenth century and the Great Plague of 1665. 58 432. gladded. Made glad. 59 452. morions with their plumy pride. A helmet with a crest of feathers. 59 453. retinue. Here accented on the penult. 59 459. palfrey. A small horse in contrast with the mighty war horse. 59 463. clowns. The peasants, the common people. 60 480. double-biting axe. Two-edged battle-ax. 60 489. Armed cap-a-pe. From head to foot. From the old French, _de cap a pie_. 60 497. king-at-arms. The chief of the heralds, an important office in the Middle Ages. 61 512. The turney is allowed but one career. The two bands of knights shall rush together on horseback but once. 61 516. at mischief taken. Caught at a disadvantage. 63 569. equipage. So well equipped. 63 590. justling. An archaism for jostling. 64 603. Hauberks. A part of mail armor, originally intended to protect neck and shoulders; later it reached to the knees. 65 669. the rightful Titan failed. The Titans were the six sons and six daughters of Ccelus and Terra. One of them, Saturn, indignant at the tyranny of his father, dethroned him with the others' aid. The Titans then ruled in heaven with Saturn at their head. A prophecy to the effect that one of his children would dethrone him caused him to swallow each one as it was born; but Jupiter was concealed at his birth and grew to manhood. He compelled Saturn to disgorge his brothers and sisters, and in company with them waged a ten years' war against the Titans. They were overcome and hurled to the depths below Tartarus, while Jupiter usurped the throne of heaven. 66 697, 698. A touch of light satire in Chaucer which Dryden repeats with gusto, for it tallied well with the sentiments of his day. 67 709. lanced a vein. The sovereign remedy in the olden time was blood-letting. 67 726. charms. They played an important part in medical practice, not only in Chaucer's time, but later even than Dryden. 68 750. leech's cares. Leech was a common name for doctor. 68 755. breathing veins nor cupping. Two different methods of bleeding. To breathe a vein was to open the vein directly. To cup was to apply the cupping glass, which, being a partial vacuum, caused the flesh to puff up in it, and then the lancet was used. 68 772. against right. Arcite is said to have gained Emily against right, because Palamon, having seen and loved her first, had priority of claim. 72 877 Aegeus. According to the generally accepted legend, Aegeus, Theseus' father, had died when Theseus returned from Crete, years before.