95. 96. 97. 98. 99. And aye the further that she was in age, For which it seemed thus, that of them two The sclander of Walter oft and wide spread, For he a poor woman wedded had, Had murdered both his children privily. Such murmur was among them commonly. No wonder is; for, to the people's ear, There came no word but that they murdered were. When that his daughter twelf year was of age, I say he bade, they shoulden counterfeit * More true. More a dissyl.-Penible, painstaking, capable of pain. See peyne, Index.Oo (A. S. an; Fr. un; Lat. un-us; Gr. ev; Ger. ein; Ir. and Gael. aon, an, one), one.--Fell, happened.-Unrest, trouble, uneasiness, want of rest. Would, would have it, would wish, wished. See wolde, Index. Sclander (Fr. esclandre, Lat. scandalum, Gr. σκάνδαλον, the stick or spring in a trap; a snare, offence, stumbling-block), scandal.-Wide. Dissyl. For he = because he. Game, play, joke. See Index. -N'olde = ne would, would not. Stent, to cease, desist. See st. 93. -Twelf, twelve (Goth. tva, two; lif, ten). - Message (Fr. messager, to send word; Lat. mittere, to send), messenger. Hem, them. - Bulles (Lat. bulla, anything rounded by art, a roll, a seal; Fr. bulle; akin to bill), bulls. - Counterfeit (Lat. contra, against; facere, to make; Fr. contrefaire, contrefait). --Popes, etc. Scan this line. Name the root etc. of each word. For which it seemed thus, that of them two. The sound of tw in two (corresponding by Grimm's law to du in Gr. and du in Lat.), in many words denotes two. No explanation is given. The sclander of Walter oft and wide spread. The sound of spr, as in spread, denotes a spreading out; e. g., sprawl, spray, sprinkle. Other examples? 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. That he had leave his firste wife to lete,* As by the popes dispensation, To stinten rancor and dissention Betwixt his people and him. Thus said the bull; Abiding ever his lust and his pleasance, To the earl of Panik, which that hadde tho But one thing he him prayed utterly, Arrayed eke full fresh in his mannere. * Lete, leave. Stinten, restrain, stop. -At the full = in full.-Wenden, thought. See wende, Index. Ylike, alike. See Index. - Suffisance (Fr. suffisant, sufficient; Lat. sufficere, to suffice), sufficiency. -Tho (A. S. thonne; O. Eng. thanne; Ger. dann), then.-Utterly (A. S. ut, out; utter, outer; utemest, outermost), most particularly. Many on, many a one. -Arrayed. The -ed of preterites and past participles is regularly a separate syllable in Chaucer. So -es in the pos. and in the plu. The terminal "e" is usually a syllable in Chaucer. That he to no wight, though men would inquire. The sound of q ( = k) in inquire, is supposed to have a natural fitness to express interrogation. E. g., Sans. kas, Gr, -κος, whence comes κότερος ; Lat. quis, who, Meso-Goth. hwas, Lith. kas, Russ. koi, Gael. co, who? A. S. hwa (h for k, by Grimm's law); Eng. who? No explanation is found. Other examples? 105. 106. 107. 108. And thus in great noblesse and with glad cheer, PARS QUINTA. Among all this, after his wicked usage, "I may not do as every ploughman may: "Be strong of heart, and void anon her place, And thilke dower that ye broughten me, * Shaping her.....riden in hir. Her and hir each their. A. S. hira, heora, of them (genitive, or pos., plu.) -Courage, disposition. Lore, learning, knowledge.-Boisterously (Ice. bistr; D. byster, stormy; O. Eng. boistous, furious; boist, swelling; akin to boast; W. bwyst, wild, savage; bwystus; Low Ger. biester, frowning, dark, ugly; Fr. bis, swarthy).Said her, said to her. I had enough, etc., I was well enough pleased to have you as my wife. -For your goodness, on account of your goodness. - Soothfastness, truth. See soothly, Index. For -ness, see homeliness, Index.-Avise, observe, reflect. -Eke, also. See Index.--Pope (A. S., Lat., It., Fr., Ger., D., Dan., Sp. papa; Gr. πάππα, πάπα, father; O. Eug. pape), the bishop of Rome, the chief dignitary of the Catholic Church. Pope is here dissyl. - Rancor for to slake, to appease rancor. Rancor (Lat. rancor, rancidity, an old grudge, rancor; Fr. rancune), settled malignity. Trewely (A. S. treowe, triwe, faithful; Ger. treu, getreu; A. S. treowian, to believe, trust), truly. Trisyl.-Will you say, will say to you.--Void (Lat. vid-uus, separate, widowed; Fr. vide. Vid, the Lat., is the same as in vid-ère, to separate with the eye, to see. A. S. weoduwe, widuwe; Ger. wittwe; Lat. vid-ua; Eng. wid-ow), make empty, quit. See wost, Index. Thilke, that same. Give root, root-meaning, etc., of each word in this line. What power over foreign princes had the Pope in Chaucer's time? Was there then in England or on the Continent any form of Protestantism? What were Chaucer's religious sympathies? With what prominent English nobleman was he associated? And thus in great noblesse and with glad cheer. The sound of gl, as in glad, denotes smoothness or silent motion. E. g., Ger. glatt, smooth, even; A. S. glad; Eng. glide, glib. This signification probably arises by analogy from the smooth sound. Other examples? 109. 110. Take it again, I grant it of my grace. And she again answered in patience. "And in this house there ye me lady made, 111. "That ye so long of your benignity 112. "There I was fostered as a child full small, Till I be dead my life there will I lead, * Returneth. Impera. plu. - Even heart, equanimity.-Rede, advise. St. 86.-Adventure (Lat. adventurus, about to come; fr. advenire, to come on or to), hap, chance.Wist, knew. See wost, Index. - Betwixen (A. S. be, and twyg, two; Lat. duo. See tway, st. 60), between.-Poverty (Lat. paupertas, poverty; pauper, poor; O. Fr. poverte; Fr. pauvrete). The 2d syl. is acc.; probably because it is so in the Lat. It is no nay. It cannot be denied.Digne, worthy.-Chamberere (Gr. καμάρα, Lat. camera, arched roof; Fr. chambre, chamber), chambermaid.--There, where. - Wisly, certainly. He my soule glad, may he gladden my soul! Soule, dissyl. -Han (O. Eng. plu.), have. - Nobley (Lat. no-scere, to know; nob-ilis, well known, famous, noble; Fr. noblesse, nobility. See nempyned, st. 79), distinction. Foryeld (A. S. for, forth, away, fr. faran, to go. For, as an inseparable preposition, denotes,-(1) simple removal; as in forbid, to bid away; forsake, to seek away, desert; (2) removal and disappearance; as, forgive, to give out of sight; forget, to let go out of mind; (3) removal and going wrong; as, forswear; (4) removal with added notion of completeness; as, forlorn, utterly lost; (5) the same as simple for; as, forsooth, for truth, in truth; (6) fore; as, forward. Yield is A. S. gildan, geldan, to pay, yield), repay. - Wend, go, wend. See went, Index. There, where. Unto my father gladly will I wend. The sound of f in father (corresponding by Grimm's Law to por ph in Lat., and word in Gr.), from the ease with which it is enounced, is employed to denote one of the first objects that interest the child. E. g., Sans. pitar, Zendish paiter, Pers. padar, Gr. πάτηρ, Lat. pater, Russ. batia, Ger. vater, Eng. father, and papa, Turk. peder. 113. 114. 115. 116. For sith * I gave to you my maydenhede "And of your newe wife, God of his grace "But thereas ye me proffer such dowaire "But soth is said, algate I find it true, "My Lord, ye wot that in my father's place * Sith, since. - Maydenhede (A. S. mag, a boy; magedh, magden, a girl), maidenhood. See womanhood, st. 27.-Trewe, true. Dissyl. See trewely, st. 107.--It is no drede, there is no (occasion to) fear. See drad, st. 2.-Schilde (A. S. scild; Ger. and Dan. schild, shield; fr. Ice. and Sw. skyla, to cover, defend), shield, forbid. - Make (A. S. macian; Ger. machen; Dan. mage, to make, frame, fashion; A. S. maca, gemaca, gemacca, mate, husband, companion; Ice. maki, an equal, husband; Dan. mage, equal, mate, match, spouse; O. Eng. macche), a companion, a mate.-Yelden, yield. See foryelde, st. 111. Gon, go. - Thereas, whereas.---Dowaire (Fr. douer, to endow; douaire; Lat. dotare, to endow, portion; fr. dos, a dowry, gift; fr. do, dare, to give, Gr. δίδωμι), dowry.-Soth, sooth, true, truly. See soothly, Index. -Algate (A. S. algeats, fr. eall, al, all, and geat, passage, door, way; Ger. gasse, path; Ice. and D. gat, opening), always.For none adversity, etc., for no adversity (i. e., notwithstanding any adversity, even to the extent) of dying in this case, shall it be that, etc. The student's attention is called to the touching pathos of the last three lines of the preceding stanza. The whole speech is remarkable.-Weed (A. S. wad, a garment; O. Fries. wede; fr. Goth. vid-an, to bind), clothing. O goode God! How gentle and how kind. The sound of o in God, being a short sound, is more appropriate to express littleness than greatness. There is a sense of congruity in the enunciation of the word jot; but of incongruity in uttering the word God. Such an exception proves the rule. This sound sometimes denotes surprise or harshness. Examples? |