Endnotes
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Sweet. ↩
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Grove forest. ↩
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Twigs, boughs. ↩
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Tyrwhitt points out that “the Bull” should be read here, not “the Ram,” which would place the time of the pilgrimage in the end of March; whereas, in the prologue to the “Man of Law’s Tale,” the date is given as the “eight and twenty day of April, that is messenger to May.” ↩
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Hearts, inclinations. ↩
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Dante, in the “Vita Nuova,” distinguishes three classes of pilgrims: palmieri, palmers who go beyond sea to the East, and often bring back staves of palm-wood; peregrini, who go the shrine of St. Jago in Galicia; Romei, who go to Rome. Sir Walter Scott, however, says that palmers were in the habit of passing from shrine to shrine, living on charity—pilgrims on the other hand, made the journey to any shrine only once, immediately returning to their ordinary avocations. Chaucer uses “palmer” of all pilgrims. ↩
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The distant saints known, renowned, in sundry lands. “Hallows” survives, in the meaning here given, in All Hallows—All-Saints’—day. Couth, past participle of conne to know, exists in uncouth. ↩
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The Tabard—the sign of the inn—was a sleeveless coat, worn by heralds. The name of the inn was, some three centuries after Chaucer, changed to the Talbot. ↩
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Who had by chance fallen into company. Y-fall, y is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon ge prefixed to participles of verbs. It is used by Chaucer merely to help the metre. In German, y-fall, or y-falle, would be gefallen, y-run, or y-ronne, would be geronnen. ↩
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And we were well accommodated with the best. ↩
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Foreword, covenant, promise. ↩
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Describe, relate. ↩
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Farther. ↩
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Alexandria, in Egypt, captured by Pierre de Lusignan, king of Cyprus, in 1365 but abandoned immediately afterwards. Thirteen years before, the same Prince had taken Satalie, the ancient Attalia, in Anatolia, and in 1367 he won Layas, in Armenia, both places named just below. ↩
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Been placed at the head of the table, above knights of all nations, in Prussia, whither warriors from all countries were wont to repair, to aid the Teutonic Order in their continual conflicts with their heathen neighbours in “Lettowe” or Lithuania (German, Litthauen), Russia, etc. ↩
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Journeyed, ridden, made campaigns; German, reisen, to travel. ↩
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Algesiras was taken from the Moorish king of Grenada, in 1344: the Earls of Derby and Salisbury took part in the siege. ↩
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Belmarie is supposed to have been a Moorish state in Africa; but “Palmyrie” has been suggested as the correct reading. ↩
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The Great Sea, or the Greek sea, is the Eastern Mediterranean. ↩
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Tramissene, or Tremessen, is enumerated by Froissart among the Moorish kingdoms in Africa. ↩
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Ilkë, same; compare the Scottish phrase “of that ilk,”—that is, of the estate which bears the same name as its owner’s title. ↩
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Palatie, or Palathia, in Anatolia, was a fief held by the Christian knights after the Turkish conquests—the holders paying tribute to the infidel. Our knight had fought with one of those lords against a heathen neighbour. ↩
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He was held in very high esteem. ↩
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Nothing unbecoming a gentleman. ↩
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He wore a short doublet, all soiled by the contact of his coat of mail. ↩
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Curled. ↩
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Wonderfully nimble. ↩
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Engaged in cavalry expeditions or raids into the enemy’s country. ↩
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Considering the short time he had had. ↩
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Nighttime. ↩
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It was the custom for squires of the highest degree to carve at their fathers’ tables. ↩
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For it pleased him so to ride. ↩
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Large arrows, with peacocks’ feathers. ↩
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With nut-brown hair; or, round like a nut, the hair being cut short. ↩
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Knew. ↩
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Shield for an archer’s arm, still called a “bracer,” from the French bras, arm. ↩
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A figure of St. Christopher, used as a brooch, and supposed to possess the power of charming away danger. ↩
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Forester. ↩
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Certainly. ↩
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St. Eligius, or
