A Bundle of Ballads Part 29

Lere: face. First English - hleor. See Robin Hood - "fell down by his lere."

Let: hinder. Letting: hindrance.

Lewte: loyalty.

Lift: sky.

Linde: lime-tree.

Linn: torrent; also the pool under a torrent of water.

Lithe: listen. Icelandic - alyoa, to listen.

Liveray: what is 'livre,' or delivered, as a 'livree' of clothes, food, etc.

Lodge: dwelling in a forest, as originally made of boughs and leaves.

Lough: laughed.

Lourdain: blockhead.

Lown: loon, dull, base fellow.

Makis: husbands.

Male: bag.

Manople: a large gauntlet protecting hand and fore-arm.

March parti: border side.

Masars: bowls or goblets.

May: maid.

Meany: meynie: body of retainers, or domestic following.

Meet: narrow. First English - maete, little.

Met: mete: measured.

Mister: need.

Mo: more.

Mort: the note sounded at death of the deer.

Mote I thee: May I thrive. First English - theon, to thrive.

Mote: meeting for decision of cases in ecclesiastical or civil law, or for other public purposes, as ward-mote, etc. Strong men were said to oppress the weak by being "mighty to mote."

Nicher: neigh.

Numbles: liver, kidneys, etc. French - nombles. The word was often written in English umbles and humbles. The umbles, with skin, head, chine, and shoulders of the deer, were the keepers' share in the brittling. There was a receipt for "umble pie" in the old cookery. To "eat humble pie"

was to dine with the servants instead of from the haunch at the high table.

Okerer: usurer.

Pace: pa.s.s.

Pay: satisfaction. The old sense of the word in the phrase "it does not pay"--does not give satisfaction. A man could be served "to his pay," meaning in a way that satisfied or pleased him.

Pieces: drinking-cups.

Pluck-buffet: whichever made a bad shot drew on himself a buffet from his compet.i.tor.

Prest: ready. Prestly: readily. French - pret.

Prief: proof.

Proseyla: Venus' sh.e.l.ls, porcelain.

Pye: coat a py: a rough coa.r.s.e cloth. Dutch - py, or a coat made from it. The word remains in our "pea-coat."

Quarry: the skin of the deer on which entrails, etc. were piled as the dogs' share of the spoil. French - cuiree, from cuir, hide.

To be distinguished from the quarry, a square bolt for the crossbow, or the quarry or squared stones, both from Latin - quadratus.

Quh: = Wh.

Quite: requite.

Ray: striped cloth.

Raikand: ranging.

Rawe: row.

Rede: counsel.

Reve: plunder.

Room: s.p.a.ce or s.p.a.cious. "The warldis room," the s.p.a.ce of the world; or "The warld is room," the world is wide.

Salved: saluted.

Scheuch and syke: furrow and rill.

Seid: seed.

Shaw: covert of the wood.

Shear: in different directions. First English - sciran, to divide.

Shend: blame; shent: blamed.

Shete: shoot.

Shot-window: according to Ritson, is a window that opens and shuts.

Sicker and sad: sure and firm.

Sigh-clout: sieve-cloth.

Somers: sumpter horses.

Spleen, on the: in anger or discontent. The spleen was once supposed to be the seat of anger and discontent.

Spurn: strife, as a kicking against. "That tear began this spurn,"

that rent began this strife.

Stalworthy: stalwart.

Stound: s.p.a.ce of time.

Stour: conflict.

Stown: stolen.

Suar: heavy. First English - swaer.

Tarpe: probably a misprint for targe. In the Promptorium Parvulorum we have the "Targe, or chartyr--carta."

Tene: vexation, sorrow.

Thee, mote I: may I thrive. See Mote.

Threap: argue back pertinaciously.

Throw: s.p.a.ce of time.

Tine: lose.

Tirled: twirled.

To-broke: "to" is intensive.

Told: counted.

Tone: the tone = that one, as the tother = that other; "that"

being the old neuter of "the."

Tray: surly, unwillingly. Icelandic - thra, obstinate. First English - thrafian, to blame.

Tynde: horns of hart.

Unketh: unknown, unexpected.

Unneth: not easily.

Voided: quitted the place.

Wap: throw quickly.

Weal: twist.

Wed: pledge.

Weird: fate.

Well away: wo, alas, wo! First English - wa, eala, wa!

Welt them: tumbled them over. First English waeltan, to roll or tumble.

Wight: a being.

Wite: wete: weet: know.

Wone: crowd.

Wonning wan: where is thy, in what direction is thy home? "Wan" is an adverbial affix with the sense of Latin versus.

Wood: wode: mad.

Woolward: clothed only in wool.

Wough: "wo and wough." First English - wo, wa, the cry of lament for evil. Wough, First English - woh, is the evil done; the first sense of the word is a swerving from the right line, then wrong and evil.

Y- and I- as prefix = the participial prefix ge- (g being p.r.o.nounced like y before the weak vowel e). So y-dight: y-granted: y-slaw: I-nocked.

Yede: yode: First English - eode, went.