Chaucer's Works (ed. Skeat) Vol. VI/Errata

The Lists of Errata already given in previous volumes are here collected, with a few emendations and additions. The length of the list is a subject of regret on my part, and is partly due to the difficulty of the work and to the attempt to give a new and improved text. A considerable number of the Errata are, however, of a very trivial nature; on which account those which seem to be of some importance are marked with a preceding asterisk.

P. ix. See vol. v. p. 490.

P. xxiii; l. 14. For 1868 read 1368.


 * P. lvii; l. 1 of . The unmeaning word 'destruye,' as given in the editions, should doubtless be corrected to 'deseruye,' or 'deservye'; as said in P. Toynbee's Specimens of Old French; see pp. 482-4 of that work.

P. lxii. To the list of Chaucer's metres, add: 5c = 9-line stanza, with the rimes thrice repeated; as in Womanly Noblesse (vol. iv. p. xxv). Also: 13 = 6-line stanza, ababaa; in the Envoy to the same poem.

P. 12; l. 9. This displacement was first noticed (not by Bell, but) by Tyrwhitt, in his last note on the Canterbury Tales.

P. 28. To this list of early editions of separate works of Chaucer, add:—Boethius, edited by Caxton, before 1479.

P. 35; l. 9. Alain Chartier, if born (as some say) as early as 1386, was fourteen years old at Chaucer's death. This does not affect the argument or the result. (Make a similar correction in note 2 on p. 28).

P. 39; l. 8. Delete the words—A sixth is in MS. Harl. 7333, in the British Museum.

P. 78; last line. Read is well spelt, nor is either

P. 80; l. 6 from bottom, for y-seen read y-seyn.

P. 95; l. 47. Insert a comma after 'oughte'

P. 98; l. 114. Omit the comma at the end of the line.

P. 126; l. 793. Delete the comma at the end of the line.

P. 127; l. 806. Delete the comma at the end of the line.

P. 135; l. 997. For shall read shal

P. 136; ll. 1015-6. Improve the punctuation thus:—

P. 136; l. 1021. Delete the comma after 'yelowe'

P. 141; l. 1154. Delete the comma after 'seide'

P. 168; l. 1962. For Bu -if read But-if

P. 176; l. 2456. For joy read Ioy

P. 190; footnotes. For 3320. read 3319.

P. 195; l. 3643. For [god it read [god it]

P. 199; footnotes. For 3852. read 3851.

P. 201; l. 4035. For the comma substitute a semicolon.

P. 227; l. 5698. For the comma substitute a semicolon.


 * P. 249; l. 4035. For echerye read trecherye

P. 253; l. 7324. For weary read wery


 * P. 254; l. 7392. Thynne has 'falowe'; but it is clearly an error for 'falowe.'

P. 255; l. 7437. Supply a comma at the end of the line.

P. 258; l. 7665. Insert a comma after 'helle'

P. 269; l. 145. The stop at the end should be a comma.


 * P. 270; l. 163. I now think that 'suffred' is correct; but that 'his herte' has been wrongly put for 'him,' by confusion with l. 164. Moreover, 'pighte' must be an error for 'prighte'; see the Glossary. I am convinced that the right reading is—

Compare Cant. Tales, F 418.

P. 278; l. 49. For aud read and

P. 280; l. 105. Rather, read—Ne coude she no reed but oon;

P. 282; l. 145. For Aud read And

P. 296; footnotes, last line. For fter read after

P. 301; l. 716. The comma should perhaps be a semicolon or a full stop.

P. 313; l. 1069. For 'Antilegius' read 'Antilogus,' which is a French form of 'Antilochus.' See correction below (for p. 489).

P. 326; l. 74. Perhaps 'let' should be 'lete'

P. 330; l. 206. For folke read folk

P. 338; l. 91. For Aud read And

P. 340; l. 133. For the read thee

P. 358; ll. 653, 655, 659. Perhaps read weye, seye, a-weye (with final e).

P. 362; l. 76. The final stop should be a comma.

P. 374; ll. 243, 248. For desteny and ful better forms are destinee and fulle.

P. 377; l. 328. For furlong wey read furlong-wey

P. 407; The lines are misnumbered.

P. 424; note to Rom. Rose, 923. See vol. v. 490.

P. 456; note to ll. 163, 164. It would be far better to read 'And suffred eek, that Longius him prighte.' See correction above (to p. 270).

P. 489; note to l. 1069. But the best reading is certainly 'Antilogus'; for this is the form actually used (in place of Archilochus) by Benoît de St. More; who says (in l. 20969) that 'Antilogus fu filz Nestor.'


 * P. 495; note to ll. 1318-9. See vol. v. 490.

P. 496; note to l. 7 (last line). For Troil s read Troilus.

P. 557; last line. 'I take this opportunity to remark that Mr. Skeat's suggestion that olde grisel = old gray horse, is supported not only by Gower, Conf. Am. viii. ed. Pauli, iii. 356 (Olde grisel is no fole), but by bonny grisel = bonny gray horse in the ballad of Johnie Armstrong, B, st. 20; Child, III. 369.'—Prof. Kittredge, Obs. on Troilus, p. 424.

P. xxiv; l. 6 from bottom. For alienae read alieni.

Pp. lvii-lx. These extracts from Guido may well be compared with Caxton's Recuyell of The Historyes of Troye, as reprinted by O. Sommer, pp. 604, 608, 610, 613, 633.

P. lxxvi; l. 21. For have been read has been.


 * P. 8; Book I, met. 4. l. 8. For thonder-light a better reading is thonder-leit; see p. xliii, and the note (p. 422).

P. 26; Book II, met. 1. l. 11. For proeueth read proeveth

P. 29; Book II, pr. 3. l. 3. Delete the comma after wherwith


 * P. 48; Book II, pr. 7. l. 86. For thas read that


 * P. 50; Book II, pr. 8. l. 17. For windinge read windy. See pp. xlii, 434.

P. 58; Book III, pr. 3. l. 68. For all read al

P. 62; l. 4. Counted as l. 10; it is really l. 9.

P. 63; Book III, pr. 5. l. 41. For of read of (in italics).


 * P. 74; Book III, pr. 10. l. 6. For has read hast

P. 122; Book IV, met. 6. l. 24. Delete the square brackets; see pp. xlii, xliii.


 * P. 124; Book IV, pr. 7. l. 61. MS. C has confirme; and MS. A has conferme. But the right reading must be conforme; since the Latin text has conformandae. (Thynne has conserue.)

P. 159; Book I. 204. For cast read caste

P. 160; Book I. 217. The alternative reading is better; see note, p. 463.

P. 160; Book I. 239. For yet read yit (for the rhyme).

P. 162; Book I. 284. For neuer read never

P. 163; Book I. 309. For Troylus read Troilus

P. 163; Book I. 310. For thyng read thing

P. 165; Book I. 401. Alter ! to ?

P. 166; Book I. 406. For thurst read thurste


 * P. 166; Book I. 420. For deye read dye (for the rhyme).

P. 171; Book I. 570. For euery read every

P. 172; Book I. 621. For Troylus read Troilus

P. 174; Book I. 656. For y read I

P. 174; Book I. 657. Insert ' at the beginning.

P. 175; Book I. 684. Delete the comma at the end of the line (C. Stoffel).

P. 177; Book I. 766. Alter ? to a comma (C.S.)

P. 181; Book I. 879. For the read thee

P. 187; Book I. 1074. For tho read the (suggested by C. Stoffel). H2. Ed. the; Cl. H. tho (which is remarkable); Cm. omits the line.

P. 192; Book II. 113. Delete ' at the end.

P. 194; Book II. 170. Insert ' at the beginning.

P. 200; Book II. 358. Delete the comma at the end (C. Stoffel).

P. 205; Book II. 529. For penaunc read penaunce

P. 208; Book II. 628. For swych read swich


 * P. 223; Book II. 1108. Perhaps read—And she to laughe, &c. 'Is it not better to consider and she to laughe as a case of Infinitivus historicus? Cf. the French—"Ainsi dit le renard, et flatteurs d'applaudir." Examples of the like are not unheard-of in M.E. Mätzner (III. 51) quotes from P. Plowman, A. 33: "And summe murthhes to make as munstrals cunne, And gete gold with here gle." And from Layamon, II. 485: "Ah Arthur com sone mid selere strengthe, and Scottes to fleonne feor of tham ærde." I have myself noted the following: Caxton, Reynard the Fox, ed. Arber, 26: "(he) folewed me cryeng kylle and slee hym; I to goo and they after, and many moo cam after which alle thought to hurte me."'—C. Stoffel.

If this be right, we may consider the auxiliary verb gan, or its equivalent, as being understood before the expressed gerund. And we may as well explain to go in the same way, as found in the Legend of Good Women, 653. See further To-ga (better to ga?) in my glossary to Barbour's Bruce.

P. 229; Book II. 1294, Insert ' at the beginning.

P. 234; Book II. 1461. For streyt read streght, as in MS. H.

P. 260; Book III. 522. Delete the comma after laft

P. 260; Book III. 535. For made read mad or maad

P. 261; Book III. 558. For lengere read lenger

P. 264; Book II. 662. For thondre read thonder

P. 266; Book III. 715. For murthe read mirthe

P. 271; Book III. 885. For ringe read ring


 * P. 282; Book III. 1219. For sweet read swete

P. 312; Book IV. 318. For to the peyne read to my peyne

P. 318; Book IV. 502. Alter the final comma to a semicolon.


 * P. 339; Book IV. 1171. For wrong, and seyde read wronge, and seyd

P. 344: Book IV. 1297. For goinge read going


 * P. 344; Book IV. 1323. For Thal read That


 * P. 390; Book V. 1039. For she read he. Cf. note, p. 499; and p. lx. l. 3.

P. 392; Book V. 1109; footnote. For est read the est

P. 405; Book V. 1494. For told read tolde

P. 424, l. 4. For alienae read alieni

P. 431; note to prose 5, 35; l. 3. Delete for which I find no authority. Peiper gives the reading postremo, but from one MS. only; most MSS. give the reading postremae, as in Obbarius, who does not recognise postremo.

P. 463; note to Book I. 217. Add—So too in Barbour's Bruce, i. 582: 'Bot oft failyeis the fulis thocht.' Moreover, this very passage is quoted in the Test. of Love, bk. ii. c. 8, thus:—'all daye faileth thinges that fooles wende.'

P. 478; note to Book III. 674. See additional note at p. 506.

P. 479; note to Book III. 797. 'That Horaste = Orestes, is evident from Gower's Conf. Amantis, bk. iii (I. 352), where the forms Horestes and Horest (elided) occur. Chaucer merely uses the name without intending an allusion to the classical Orestes.'—G. L. Kittredge, Observations on the language of Troilus, p. 347.

*P. 479, last line; and p. 480, first line. For represents the Pers ... karn, horn—read represents the Arab, zū'lkarnayn, lit. two-horned; from Arab. zū, lord of, hence, possessing, and the dual form of karn, horn.

Notes to Book I. 948, 951; II. 36, 1335; III. 1219. Dr. Köppel has shewn (in Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen, xc. 150) that Chaucer here quotes from Alanus de Insulis, Liber Parabolarum (as printed in Migne, Cursus Patrologicus, vol. ccx). The passages are:—

P. 482; note to Book III. 1417. The explanation by G. Douglas, that Fortuna maior refers to Jupiter, is probably incorrect. It is far more likely that Chaucer adopted the phrase from Dante, Purg. xix. 4. Fortuna maior was a figure in geomancy (cf. note to Cant. Tales, A 2045, in vol. v. pp. 82, 83); and this figure was like four points (or stars) arranged in a square, with two more points below it (like a four of diamonds above a two of the same).

The name was also bestowed upon a group of six stars that formed a figure roughly resembling the same, though one of the stars (as it were at the top left-hand corner) is a little out of place. These stars are described by the commentators on Dante as being situate in the end of the sign of Aquarius and the beginning of Pisces; and answer (sufficiently well) to the stars now named θ Pegasi, α Aquarii, π and γ Aquarii, and lastly, ζ and η Aquarii. For help as to this matter I am indebted to Sir R. Ball; also, for the reference to Dante (which Cary long ago noticed), to Mr. A. J. Butler. See my letter in The Academy, Nov. 3, 1894, p. 352.

P. 488; note to Book IV. 506. Delete Troilus speaks as if dead already. The fact is, that slowe is in the subjunctive mood. It means—'Well wot I that, whilst I lived in peace, I would have given thee hire (i.e. a bribe), ere thou shouldst have slain me.'

P. 498; note to Book IV. 744. Add—Cf. Dante, Purg. xxix. 132.

P. 498; note to Book V. 806. Add—Line 813 is due to Dares; see p. lxiv, note.

P. 499; note to Book V. 1039; l. 6. For the rest is Chaucer's addition read the statement that she gave it to Diomede is due to Benoît; see p. lxii. Again, just below, read The incidents of the 'broche' and 'pensel' are also due to the same; see p. lxii.

P. xiii. l. 13. For 1883 read 1888.

P. xxxix. l. 8. The story of Hypsipyle is given at length in the Romance of Jason, as told by Raoul le Fevre in French, about 1409. Perhaps he and Chaucer drew the story from some common French source.

P. 11; l. 339. Read Anoon, as we have yow receyved,

P. 13; l. 399. We learn, from Troilus, i. 654, that Chaucer supposed 'Oënone' to have four syllables. This restores the metre. Read:—And Paris to Oënone;

P. 16; l. 503. Read 'brighte,' with a final e

P. 31; l. 1023. For House read Hous

P. 38; l. 1279. For uncouthe read uncouth


 * P. 44; l. 1454-1456. Prof. Ker suggests to read:—

Thynne makes l. 1455 begin a new paragraph; and I have followed him; but this is clearly wrong.

P. 62; l. 2098. Insert a comma at the end of the line.

P. 89; l. 284. For Jerome read Ierome


 * P. 111; l. 741. For as read nas

P. 116; l. 876. Alter ? to !

P. 132; l. 1391. Alter the full stop to a semicolon.

P. 140; l. 1662. For guerdon read guerdoun


 * P. 172; l. 2663. For forlon; read forlorn;

P. 173; l. 2685. For death read deeth

P. 182; line 1. Insert a comma after hole

P. 251; note to l. 359. This pentameter is quoted at the end of Caxton's Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye; where it is the 10th line of a set of verses beginning—'Pergama flere volo, fata Danais data solo.' The editor (O. Sommer) says (p. lxxxvii) that the lines belong to the Ilias of Simon Chèvre d'Or. He says, further, that they are ascribed by Leyser to Hildebert, Bishop of le Mans in 1097; but this seems to be wrong. The verses quoted by Caxton do not appear in Leyser's collection, and do not agree with the lines there assigned to Hildebert.

P. 261; note to H. F. 859. Compare Cant. Tales, F 726.

P. 266; note to H. F. 1119. 'To climbe hit,' i.e. to climb the rock; still a common idiom.

P. 286; note to H. F. 2111. Compare Cant. Tales, A 2078. Perhaps read 'wanie.'

P. 334; note to L. 1896-8. I have given, at p. xxxix (footnote 2), Bech's reference to Godfrey of Viterbo. The passage runs thus:—

P. 342; note to L. 2290. Cf. 'A lemman two so bright,' i.e. twice as bright; and again, 'Nou am I two so light'; Li Beaus Desconus, ed. Kaluza, 789, 1446.

P. 344; fourth line from bottom. Insert to before the purpose

P. 347; l. 13 from bottom. For sædu read sadu

P. 395; last line. See addition at p. 504.

P. 396; l. 24. After Anglia, vii. 117, add: and see Appendix to the same, p. 81.


 * P. 422; l. 12. For Poincy read Coincy. See further in vol. v. 491.

A translation (by myself) of the poem there mentioned appeared in The Academy, Sept. 15, 1894, p. 195; and a full account of it in the same, Sept. 1, 1894, p. 153.

P. 423. Add—See also Dr. Jessopp's article on 'William of Norwich' in The Nineteenth Century, May, 1893.

P. 433; l. 5 from bottom. For because the next tale in the MS. is that read although the next tale in the MS. is not that

P. 437. The line marked 6665 should be marked 5665.


 * P. 442; l. 17. For caendo read cercando. This emendation, suggested by Prof. Ker, is clearly right. But 'caendo' is so spelt in the Chaucer Society's copy.

Pp. 502, 503. See note in vol. v. 491.

P. xiv. Under the descriptions of MSS. 45-48, read:—One of these is mentioned in Todd's Illustrations, p. 127, as being 'now [in 1810] in the collection of John P. Kemble, Esq.' (Omit the rest).

P. xiv. Under the description of MS. 53, add:—later, it belonged to the Duke of Roxburghe, and was bought for the Duke of Devonshire in 1812 (F. Norgate). It is Urry's MS. no. xiv.

P. 14. A 467. Perhaps the final full stop should be a colon.

P. 15. Footnote to A 503. For 'Hl. alone&apos; read 'Tyrwhitt.'

P. 19. A 636. For Thanne read Than

P. 37. A 1248. The final stop should be only a colon or a comma.

P. 41. A 1419. The final stop should be a semicolon.

P. 85. A 3016. For eye read yë


 * P. 110. A 3822. For celle read selle

P. 131. B 59, 60. For eek and seek read eke and seke

P. 133. B 115. Insert marks of quotation at the beginning and end of the line.

P. 133. B 120, 121. Insert marks of quotation at the beginning of l. 120 and the end of l. 121.

P. 134; headline. For T. 4454 read T. 4554

P. 138. B 295. For moevyng read moeving

P. 146. B 540, 541, 547. For cristen read Cristen

P. 146. B 544. For cristianitee read Cristianitee

P. 151. B 724; and p. 155 (B 858). For Constable read constable


 * P. 165. B 1178. For be read he

P. 168. B 1220. For knoweliche perhaps read knowleche (as in Hl. Cp. Ln.)

P. 187. B 1843. The final stop should be a semicolon.

P. 194. B 2043. Delete the stop after 'spicerye'

P. 202. B 2222. For yevynge read yevinge

P. 205. B 2253. For owe read ow

P. 207. B 2303. For se read see

P. 219; footnotes. For 2251 and 2252 read 2551 and 2552

P. 222. B 2624. For Iurisdicctioun read Iurisdiccioun

P. 232; ll. 9, 10. Delete the quotation-mark after certayne, and insert it after another

P. 232. B 2865. For haue read have


 * P. 245. B 3230. For my read ny

P. 253. B 3490. For warre read werre

P. 259. B 3670. The final stop should be a comma

P. 271. B 4011. For stope a better reading is stape


 * P. 275. B 4167. For Than read That

P. 285. B 4510. For charitee perhaps read Charitee

P. 285. B 4541. For chide read chyde

P. 299. C 291. Either read advocas, or note that the t in advocats is silent.


 * P. 309. C 601. For opinoun read opinioun

P. 318. C 955. For Thay read They

P. 338; headline. For 6225 read 6235

P. 339; headline. For 6226 read 6236

P. 344. D 846. For But if read But-if

P. 345. D 859. For All read Al


 * P. 348. 0955. For which read whiche (dissyllabic).

P. 349. D 1009. For Plighte read Plight

P. 354; footnotes, last line. For 1205 read 1204

P. 355. D 1219, 1227. For Chese and chese read Chees and chees

P. 363. D 1436. For But if read But-if

P. 384. D 2152. Delete the quotation-mark.

P. 398. E 290. E. has set, the present tense; this scans better than sette (as in other MSS.).

P. 409. E 656. For Left read Lefte

P. 419. E 994. For gouernance read governance

P. 428. E 1304, 1306. Insert quotation-mark at the end of l. 1304, instead of in l. 1306.

P. 438. E 1635. For Sane read Save


 * P. 440. E 1718. For minstraleye read minstralcye

P. 444. E 1866. Insert Auctor opposite this line.

P. 449. E 2058. For scorpion read scorpioun

P. 459. E 2416''. For bless read'' blesse


 * P. 461. F 20. But after all, it is best to follow E. Cp. Pt. Ln. Hl., but with the form pictous for pitous, as in Troil. iii. 1444, v. 451. Read—And piëtous and Iust, alwey y-liche


 * P. 462. F 56. For Him read Hem.

P. 468 (F 266); and p. 480 (F 661). For Cambynskan read Cambinskan

P. 474. F 462. For sle read slee

P. 505; footnotes. For 1527 read 1526

P. 520; footnotes; l. 2. Delete wrongly

Pp. 523, 525. G 446, 447, 454, 459, 535. Read Cristen, Cristendom for cristen, cristendom

P. 527. G 558, footnote. The real reading of E. is—And vndernethe he wered a surplys

P. 531. G 712. For smert read smerte

P. 543. G 1107. For shall read shal


 * P. 545. 1171. For torned read terved. [The reading in E. is really terued = terved, i.e. stripped, flayed. The reading torned is a very poor substitution for it.]

P. 546. G 1224. Delete the final comma.


 * P. 548. G 1274. For torne, read terve,


 * P. 560. H 144. For hept read kept


 * P. 608; l. 14. For or harm read of harm. [E. has or, wrongly; rest of.]

P. 620; ll. 16, 17. Delete the commas after receyven and folk

P. 626; footnotes; last line. For E. Seld. Ln. beauteis; read E. Seld. Ln. beautees;

P. 634. I 955. For Daniel read David. [N. B. MSS. E. Cm. Danyel; the rest, Dauid. Probably Chaucer wrote 'Danyel' at first, and afterwards corrected it, by the original, to 'Dauid.' Nevertheless, 'Daniel' is a good reading.]

P. 73; l. 10 from bottom. Delete the comma after Thornton

P. 144; l. 5 from bottom. Delete quotation-mark after westi.

P. 252; l. 4. For Bruton's read Burton's

At p. xxviii. of this volume will be found notes on C 60 and G 1171. At pp. 492-4 I give some additional notes on A 30, 179, 387, 467, 655, 1155, 1452, 2749, 3287, B 124, 1983, 3917, C 406, 570, D 110, 325, F 226, 233.

P. 14. Ardaunt. For B 3. p 12. 10 read B 3. m 12. 10.

P. 24. Ben; l. 3. For Be, ''1 pr. s.'' am, 3. 588 read Be, inf. be, 3. 588.

P. 25. Bendinge; l. 3. For horizontal read diagonal

P. 54. Conne; l. 6. For ''1 pr. s. read 1 pr. s. subj.''

P. 63. Dampne; l. 4. In D 891, Dampned is not pt. s. but pp.

P. 86. Enseled; l. 1. For T. v. 151 read T. v. 151.

P. 92. Faire, adv., l. 3. For honesty read honestly

P. 103. Fors, l. 13. For D 1254 read D 1234.

P. 108. Funeral, l. 2. Prefix A to 2864.

P. 113. Goddesse, l. 2. In his Observations on Troilus, p. 424, Prof. Kittredge rejects the explanation of goddes in 16. 15 by 'goddess'; and argues that it is merely the pl. of god. 'All the seven gods (l. 3) may be regarded as feeling the blasphemy against one of their number; or if this will not do, this goddes may perhaps refer to Cupid and Venus.' Of course this can mean 'these'; but, if the form be plural, I would rather read the goddes, as in the rest, than this goddes (or goddis), as in MS. F.

P. 127. Hierdesse, l. 2. Prof. Kittredge, in his Observations on Troilus, p. 424, decisively rejects the interpretation of hierdes in T. iii. 619 as 'female guardian' or 'protectress.' (This is Tyrwhitt's explanation, and it seemed to me plausible.) However, Prof. Kittredge says—&apos;Hierdes = "shepherds" or "herdsmen" (bestes in the next verse carries out the figure); the influences of the stars are apostrophized as well as Fortune, whence the plural, which may refer either (a) to Fortune and influences, or (b) to influences alone. The latter interpretation is perhaps better.'

P. 168 (last word on the page). For Monthes, read Monthe,

P. 170. Most, adv. Add—Moste, adv. E 1714, F 1622.

P. 173. Neddre, l. 2. For pt. read pl.

P. 189. Pencel (2). Add the reference—T. v. 1043.

P. 195. Ploungen, l. 2. For B 2. p 2. 29 read B 3. p 2. 29.

P. 284. Walet. Prefix A to 686 and 681.

P. 288. Werche, l. 3. For Wroghest read Wroghtest

P. 300. Wrighte, v. Read Wrighte, s.