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He was Warden of the Town

And had done England mickle shame.
For all their boast they are to blame,
Full stalwartly there have they striven,
A Boar is comen to make them tame,
Keys of the town to him are given.

The keys are yolden 14 him of the gate,
Let him now keep them if he cun;

To Calais come they all too late,

Sir Philip and Sir John his son.

All were full feared 15 that there were fun Their leaders may they barely ban.16 All on this wise was Calais won;

God save them that it so gat wan."

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In kirtle only and sword in hand,

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against him. Then, says Froissart, "In the mean season, while the French king studied how to fight with the King of England, there came into his host two cardinals from Bishop Clement, in legation, who took great pains to ride between these hosts; and they procured so much that there was granted a certain treaty of accord and a respite between the two kings and their men, being there at the siege and in the field all only. And so there were four lords appointed on either party to counsel together, and to treat for peace; and the two cardinals were means between the parties. These lords met three days, and many devices put forth, but none effect; then the two cardinals returned to Saint Omer's; and when the French king saw that he could do nothing, the next day he dislodged betimes and took his way to Amiens, and gave every man leave to depart." Upon which followed the surrender.

1 Lended, dwelt, stayed. Icelandic "lenda," to fix one's seat.

2 To, Minot wrote "til."

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3 File, cheat. The Rev. J. C. Atkinson, in his excellent Glossary of the Cleveland Dialect, traces this sense of the word from First English "wigelung," gewiglung," deception, juggling. The g in "wigel," when softened by position into y, only added to the length of the preceding i, and then, since w is interchangeable with v and f, we get the word "file" with unaltered sense; its sense in the phrase "cunning old file."

Lere, learn. First English "læran," from "lár," lore, learning.

5 Only. Minot wrote " one."

6 Burgase (French "bourgeois "), citizens, burgesses.

7 Prest (French "prêt"), ready.

8 Swire (First English "sweora "), neck.

9 Has left us ligand.

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EDWARD III. GRANTING THE CONQUERED PROVINCES IN FRANCE TO THE BLACK PRINCE.

From Initial Letter of the Original Grant, Cotton MS.-Nero D. VI.

(2) Sir David had of his men great loss, With Sir Edward, at the Nevil's Cross.

Sir David the Bruce

Was at his distance, When Edward the Baliol 18

Rode with his lance;

13 On our semblance, in our lean faces and figures.

14 Yolden, yielded. The g in the following word "gate," pronounced "yate," was softened to another y.

15 Feared, struck with fear; fun, found.

16 Barely ban, curse openly, without cover.

17 Gat, wan, got won, caused to be won.

18 Edward the Baliol. Joseph Ritson, who published Minot's Poems in 1825, pointed out that Thom's Warton, in his History of Fra'i A Poetru, supposed Edward Baliol, here mentioned, to be King Edward III., who was in France, besieging Calais, at the date of the battle of Neville's Cross. Edward, son of John de Baliol, the

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claimant of the Scottish crown, whom Edward favoured and called King of Scotland, renounced his title for an annuity in 1356.

The flowers, meaning the lilies of France.

2 Fell, cruel.

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3 Done them to dwell, caused them to be as if dead. Dwala," in Old Swedish, was a state of life resembling death, as of the flies in cold weather. The root of the word is in all the Gothic languages. In Old German, "twelan" was to be torpid. "Dualm" is still Scottish for "swoon."

Fonde (First English "fandian"), try.

5 Wonde, fear (First English "wandian," to fear, omit, neglect, shrink from).

At ride. A Northern form.

Scotland and France were allies for defence of each against the King of England, as their common enemy. In those days the French alliance was a part of Scottish nationality; and whenever the English crossed the Channel the Scots usually crossed the Border.

7 Let means hinder.

8 Bear-bags. The Scots are called "bere-bags," because each man, on a military expedition, carried behind his saddle a little sack of oatmeal, and also had with him a metal plate, on which to make it into oatcake. "Wherefore," says Froissart, "it is no great marvel though they made greater journeys than other people do."

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9 Hent, seized, from "hentan," to search closely after, pursue, seize. 10 Wanand. It may be wane of moon. The day of defeat was th 12th of October.

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11 Shent, from First English "scendan," to confound, put to shame. The old word schrewe, defined by "pravus" in the "Promptorium Parvulorum," a man of crooked, evil ways, is from "syru ΟΙ searo," a snare or treacherous contrivance. The "three shrews" in Chaucer's "Pardoner's Tale" were riotous youths who found death in the snares they set for one another.

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12 Ailed unsele, pained with mishap. Ailed, from "eglian," to inflict pain, prick, torment; unsele, from the negative of "sæ'l," good oppor tunity, prosperity, happiness.

13 Assoil, absolve.

14 Blin (First English "blinnan "), cease, rest.

15 With weapon to win. "The lords and prelates of England said they were content to adventure their lives with the right and heritage of the King of England, their master. Then the Scots came and lodged against them near together: then every man was set in order of battle. Then the Queen came among her men, and there was ordained four batayls, one to aid another. The first had in governance the Bishop of Durham and the Lord Percy; the second, the Archbishop of York and the Lord Neville; the third, the Bishop of Lincoln and the Lord Mowbray; the fourth, the Lord Edward de Baliol, captain of Berwick, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord Rose." (Froissart.)

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2 Hinde John of Coupland. From First English "gehende," what is at hand or near, came the word "hende," in frequent and various use, as at hand, near, ready, polite, gentie.

3 A richt man in weed, phrase for a vigorous man in his war dress. John Copland was a squire who took the King of Scotland prisoner in battle, with loss only of two teeth knocked out by David's dagger. As he refused to deliver his prisoner to the Queen, he was summoned to Calais by King Edwarl, who there thanked him, made him a banneret, rewarded him with land to the value of five hundred pounds a year, granting him that income from the customs of London and Berwick until the land was found for him, and bade him give up his prisoner.

Senin (First English "sith-than"), after that, afterwards, since.

DAVID THE BRUCE AND EDWARD III.

From an Illumination at the head of the Articles of Peace between them, Cotton MS.-Nero D. VI.

5 A place. An, or a before a consonant, was the old form of "one." 6 Thaire forward thai nomen, they took their promise of each other. First English "foreweard," a covenant made beforehand. First English "niman," to take; past "nám."

7 Seir (Old Swedish "saer"), several.

8 Evil is contracted to a monosyllable, as in Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" (Act v. sc. 5), "The evils she hatch'd were not effected so." And in Act i., the third line of the second scene.

9 Levéd, remained, were left.

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They sailed forth in the Swin 5

In a summer's tide,

With trumpets and tabors,

And mickle other pride;

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1 Wist I to speed, if I knew how to prosper. First English "spédan," to speed, prosper; the sense in such phrases as 'Speed the plough," or "More haste less speed."-Wicht, vigorous. See Note 1, page 24. 2 Weed, dress. See Note 12, page 27.-Dale (French "deuil "), grief. 3 Fele (First English "fela"), many. - Fare, solemn preparation. Allied to German "feier," solemnity.

In the waniand. Perhaps wane of year. Stow says that the fleets met at Winchelsea "upon the Feast of the Decollation of St. John, about evensong time." That would be on the 29th of August.

The Swin. A passage between Cadsand, at the mouth of the West

Scheldt, and the south-west of Flanders. Cadsand is opposite the seaport of Sluys, to which the Spanish ships went after they had waylaid, spoiled, and destroyed the ten English vessels from Gascony. 6 Word

walked full wide, fame travelled far.

7 Hardis, light defence against arrows.

8 On here, for expedition of war. First English "here," a hostile

expedition.

9 Nerr, nearer.

First English

"neáh," near; comparative,

"neárre," "neár," and "nyr."

10 Gert them snaper, made them stumble. "Gar" (Icelandic "gora" and " gera"), to make; " snaper" (Old Swedish "snafwa"), to stagger or reel.

11 Ferr, farther. First English "feor;" comparative, "fyrre" and "fyr."

12 Fine (French "finir "), end.

13 Reave (First English "reafian "), to seize, rob.

14 Tyne (Icelandic "týna "), lose.

15 Blin, cease. See Note 14, page 33.

16 Domp (Modern Scottish" dump "), to plunge. The dumps that we are sometimes down in derive their name from Dutch "domp," English "damp" (the damps), German "dampf" (steam, vapour), a Teutonic name for "the vapours" supposed to be caused by vapours from the humours of the body. When the Spaniards are said to be thrown overboard "dump in the deep," the word, used in that way, is probably mimetic, like " 'plump."

17 Lere of a new lare, learn a new lesson. First English "lár," lore, teaching.

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Of Guines full gladly Now will I begin

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1 Sir Edward to lout, to bow to King Edward. First English "hlutan," to bow.

2 Shaw (First English "scúa" and "scúwa," shade), a wood. Sheen (First English "scíne," from "scínan," to shine), bright, beautiful.

3 The Lily of France. The Leopard, now Lion, of England. They both adorn King Edward's coat in the sketch by a contemporary copied on this page. Drayton, in his "Polyolbion" (Eleventh Song), praised the Old English armies that

"Of our tall yeomen were, and footmen for the most,
Who with their bills and bows may confidently boast
Our Leopards they so long and bravely did advance
Above the Flower-de-lice even in the heart of France."

John Selden, in a Note upon this, produced authority to show that the Lions on the English coat-of-arms used to be Leopards; and this line in Minot's poems adds to the evidence..

♦ Mone, probably from "mune" (First English "myne"), thought, remembrance; mænan," to have in mind, and not "ma'nan," to

moan.

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That put them from pine; The folk that they found there Was fain for to fyne;9

Soon their dinner was dight 10 And there would they dine; There was their purpose

To dine and to dwell,

For treason of the Franché-men That false were and fell.

Say now, Sir John of France,
How shalt thou fare,

That both Calais and Guines

Has kindled thy care?

If thou be man of mickle might, Leap up on thy mare,

Take thy gate11 unto Guines,

And greet them well there; 12 There greetés thy guestés

And wendés 13 with wo,

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5 Woning (First English "wunung," from "wunian," to dwell), a dwelling. In some parts of Scotland the chief house on a farm is still called the wonnin-house or wunnin'-house.

• Wicked to win, hard to win. In "Sir Tristram," "wick to slow" means hard to slay. Jamieson, in his Scottish Dictionary, suggests that "wicked" used in this sense is from the root of wicht (the vig in vigour), or allied to the Cymric "gwech," brave; and therefore not related to the "wicked" now in use.

7 Swelt (First English "sweltan," to die), died.

8 Rode (First English “ród"), rood, cross; so Holyrood means Holycross.

9 Fyne (French "finir "), make an end; so in line 34, page 35. 10 Dight, from First English "dihtan," to set in order, arrange,

prepare.

11 Take thy gate, go thy way; Icelandic "gata," a way; German, "Gasse."

12 Greet them well there. Greet is from First English "grétan," past "grette," to go to meet, greet in the modern English sense. In "there greetes thy guestés," greet is from First English "græ'tan," past "grét," to weep or cry out, a word still used in Scotland.

13 Wendes, from First English "wendan," to go. The final es in greetes and wendes was the regular plural of the present indicative in Northern English. One of the clearest marks of distinction between

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