The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 2 (of 2)Skelton, John
General
The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 2 (of 2)
Skelton, John
English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700
v. 300. _This_] i. e. Thus; as before, see v. 181.
v. 301. _Dys church ye thus deprauyd_] To _deprave_ generally means—to
vilify in words (as in our author’s _Colyn Cloute_, “_The Churche to
depraue_,” v. 515. vol. i. 330); but (and see the poem _Howe the douty
Duke of Albany_, &c. v. 191. vol. ii. 73) here _deprauyd_ must be
equivalent to—defiled.
v. 305. _Concha_] “_Concha_ recensetur vulgo inter vasa ac ministeria
sacra, cujus varii fuere usus.” Du Cange’s _Gloss_.
v. 306. _sonalia_] i. e. the bells attached to the hawk’s feet.
Page 166. v. 313.
_Et relis et ralis,_
_Et reliqualis_]
Occurs again in our author’s _Garlande of Laurell_, v. 1216. vol. i. 410.
v. 315. _Galis_] i. e. Galicia.
v. 320. _chalys_] i. e. chalice.
v. 324. _Masyd_] i. e. Bewildered, confounded.
v. 325. _styth_] i. e. anvil.
v. 327. _daw_] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.
Page 167. _Quod_] i. e. Quoth.
EPITAPHE, &c.
v. 3. _this_] i. e. these.
v. 4. _queed_] i. e. evil. The word is common in our earliest poetry:
“That euer schuld haue don him _qued_.”
_Arthour and Merlin_, p. 51. ed. Abbotsf.
A DEUOUTE TRENTALE, &c.
_trentale_] i. e. properly, a service of thirty masses for the dead,
usually celebrated on as many different days.
Page 170. v. 44. _I faith, dikkon thou crue_] See note, p. 115. v. 360.
v. 46. _knauate_] i. e. knave.
v. 47. _rode_] i. e. rood, cross; see note, p. 206. v. 69.
v. 53. _fote ball_] i. e. foot-ball.
Page 171. v. 61. _Wit[h], hey, howe, rumbelowe_] See note, p. 110. v. 252.
Page 172. v. 23.
_Crudelisque Cacus_
_barathro, peto, sit tumulatus_]
To readers of Skelton’s days Cacus was known not so much from the 8th
book of Virgil’s _Æneid_, as from _The Recuyel of the Historyes of Troy_,
(a translation by Caxton from the French of Raoul le Fevre), where his
story is related at considerable length, and with great variation from
the classical fable: “In the cyte of Cartagene, a kynge and geant regned.
named Cacus whiche was passyng euyll and full of tyrannye, and had slayn
by his cursidnes the kynges of Aragon and of Nauerre. their wyues and
their children And possessid her seignouryes and also helde in subieccion
alle the contrey into ytaly,” &c. Book ii. ed. 1471—about the middle of
the volume, which is printed without paging or signatures. His death is
afterwards thus described: “But hercules ranne after and retayned hym And
enbraced hym in his armes so harde that he myght not meue And brought hym
agayn And bare hym vnto a depe pytte that was in the caue where he had
caste in all ordures and filthe, hercules cam vnto this fowle pytte that
the grekes had founden And planted cacus there Inne. his heed dounward
from on hye vnto the ordure benethe, Than the ytaliens cam aboute the
pitte and caste so many stones vpon hym that he deyde there myserably.
Suche was the ende of the poure kynge Cacus. he deyde in an hooll full of
ordure and of styngkynge filthe.”
v. 28. _best_] i. e. beast.
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