Called. ↩
In seemly fashion. ↩
Properly; Chaucer sneers at the debased. Anglo-Norman then taught as French in England. ↩
Pleasure. ↩
Not the least speck. ↩
Reached out her hand. ↩
Assuredly she was of a lively disposition. ↩
Took pains to assume a courtly air. ↩
Worthy; French digne. ↩
Piteous; full of pity. ↩
Bread of finest flour. ↩
Staff, rod. ↩
Well-formed. ↩
Gray eyes appear to have been a mark of female beauty in Chaucer’s time. ↩
Certainly she was not of low stature. ↩
Neat. ↩
A string of beads having the drops, or gaudies, green. ↩
Fair above all others; “for the mastery” was applied to medicines in the sense of “sovereign” as we now apply it to a remedy. ↩
A bold rider, fond of hunting—a proclivity of the monks in those days, that occasioned much complaint and satire. ↩
It was fashionable to hang bells on horses’ bridles. ↩
St. Benedict was the first founder of a spiritual order in the Roman church. Maurus, abbot of Fulda from 822 to 842, did much to reestablish the discipline of the Benedictines on a true Christian basis. ↩
Somewhat. ↩
Same. ↩
He cared nothing for the text. ↩
Mad, Scottish wud. Felix says to Paul, “Too much learning hath made thee mad.” ↩
Toil hard. ↩
As the rules of St. Augustine prescribe. ↩
A right hard rider. ↩
Riding. ↩
Pleasure. ↩
Worked at the edge with a fur called gris, or gray. ↩
Deep-set. ↩
Wasted. ↩
A friar with licence or privilege to beg, or exercise other functions, within a certain district: as, “the limitour of Holderness.” ↩
Knows, understands. ↩
Everywhere; German, ueberall. ↩
Where he knew that the liberal dole would be given him. ↩
Has well made confession. ↩
Vaunt, boast. ↩
Stuffed. ↩
By rote; from memory. ↩
A kind of song; from the Saxon geddian, to sing. ↩
A leper. ↩
Offal, refuse; from the French pourrir, to rot. ↩
In every place where. ↩
Was nowhere any man. ↩
Rent; that is, he paid a premium for his licence to beg. ↩
The first words of Genesis and John, employed in some part of the mass. ↩
At meetings appointed for friendly settlement of differences; the business was often followed by sports and feasting. ↩
He was of much service. ↩
Half or short cloak. ↩
Neatly. ↩
He would for anything that the sea were guarded. “The old subsidy of tonnage and poundage,” says Tyrwhitt, “was given to the king ‘pour la saufgarde et custodie del mer.’—for the safeguard and keeping of the sea” (12 E. IV C. 3). ↩
Middleburg, at the mouth of the Scheldt, in Holland; Orwell, a seaport in Essex. ↩
Crowns, so called from the shields stamped on them; French, écu; Italian, scudo. ↩
Employed. ↩
In such a dignified way did he manage. ↩
Merchandising; conduct of trade; agreement to borrow money. ↩
Know not; wot not. ↩
Oxford. ↩
Had long gone, devoted himself. ↩
Thin. ↩
Poorly. ↩
His uppermost short cloak. ↩
Liefer; rather. ↩
Obtain. ↩
To study, attend school; poor scholars at the universities used then to go about begging for money to maintain them and their studies. ↩
The portico of St. Paul’s, which lawyers frequented to meet their clients. ↩
Full. ↩
In suspicion. ↩
Judgments. ↩
Pick a flaw in what he wrote. ↩
Knew. ↩
Mixed in colour; French, mêler, to mix. ↩
Cincture, sash, girdle; usually ornamented with bars or stripes. ↩
A large freeholder; a country gentleman. ↩
Wont, custom. ↩
Full. ↩
The patron saint of hospitality, celebrated for supplying his votaries with good lodging and good cheer. ↩
Constantly being pressed on one. ↩
Stored with wine. ↩
In cage; the place behind Whitehall, where the king’s hawks were encaged, was called the Mews. ↩
Many a pike in his fishpond; in those Catholic days, when much fish was eaten, no gentleman’s mansion was complete without a “stew.” ↩
Unless. ↩
Fixed, always ready. ↩
A dagger and a purse. ↩
Probably a steward or accountant in the county court. ↩
A landholder of consequence; holding of a duke, marquis, or earl, and ranking below a baron. ↩
Weaver;
