110. =clouded with his own conceit.= His idea that the sword should be preserved as a relic prevented him from clearly seeing his duty. =conceit.= A quaint fancy. 121-3. The dying king loses his authority because he has lost the ability to control the will of his subjects by “the power in his eye.” 125. In whom the services of all my knights should be combined. 128. =giddy.= Light, frivolous. 139. =a streamer of the northern morn.= A trail of light from the Aurora Borealis (literally “The Northern Dawn”). 140. =the moving isles of winter.= Icebergs. 170. =As in a picture.= With no change in the expression. 171. =Remorsefully.= With pity. 177. =nightmare.= A dream accompanied by a sensation of stifling. _Mare_ is derived from a verb meaning to crush, to bruise. 182. =Clothed with his breath.= Enveloped in the vapour from his breath which condensed and congealed. 185. =His own thought.= His remorse for having deceived the king. 186. =Dry clashed his harness.= The echo of the sound of his armour was harsh. 193. =hove.= Past tense of _heave_, to rise. A vessel _heaves_ in sight when it rises over the horizon. 194. =scarf.= Drapery. 197. =Black-stoled.= With long black robes reaching to the feet. =like a dream.= The scene had an appearance of unreality. 198. =Three Queens.= Malory speaks of the three Queens as being King Arthur’s sister, Morgan le Fay; the Queen of Northgales (Wales); and the Lady of the Lake. On the symbolic side, however, they represent Faith, Hope and Charity. 199. =that shivered to the tingling stars.= So shrill that even the stars tingled at the sound. 207. =she.= Charity. 209. =casque.= Helmet. 213-4. The waning moon which looks pale in the bright morning sunshine. 215-6. =greaves and cuisses.= Armour for the shins and thighs. =dash’d with drops of onset.= Splash’d with stains of the battle. 218. =daïs-throne.= The daïs was the raised part of the hall; a platform. 222. =in rest.= On the right side of the coat of mail was a projection to support the lance when not in use. 224. =lists.= The enclosed ground in which the combats took place. 230. =a noble chance.= A chance to do some noble deed. 232-3. The star that led the Wise Men to Bethlehem. (See _Matthew_ ii., 7-11.) 240. If old customs and institutions are changing it is only because new and better ones are taking their place. 241-2. It is in accordance with God’s purpose and his nature that the world should grow better. Changes are necessary, since even a good custom will at length degenerate and become corrupt. 243. =what comfort is in me?= I cannot comfort you. 251. =a blind life.= A life without the power of reason. 255. =gold chains.= There existed an old fancy that the earth was suspended from Heaven by a golden chain. Here, each prayer is a chain binding earth to Heaven. 259. =Avilion.= A mythical island in the western ocean, in Celtic legend the abode of the blessed after death.