THE JEASTE OF SIR GAWAIN: FOOTNOTES
1 Until now no man has been able (to have sexual relations with her) because of her modesty
2 Before (or until) I suffer painful defeat
3 Lines 290-91: If he is not a match for you, I cannot think / That you have an equal in knighthood
4 Lines 536-38: I pray that God give good rest to us / And to all who have heard this little Jeaste, / And (that all) may come to dwell in high heaven
THE JEASTE OF SIR GAWAIN: NOTES
Abbreviations: B = Bodley MS; H = surviving leaf of printed edition in the Harley Collection, British Library; M = Madden's edition. See Select Bibliography for these editions.
1 And sayde. Jeaste clearly begins in the midst of a conversation between the nameless lady and Gawain, indicating the loss of the opening episode. The context clearly indicates that Gawain has come upon the lady in her forest pavilion while hunting, and has made amorous overtures. She warns him of possible reprisals by her father and brothers, but Gawain dismisses these threats in the opening lines of the surviving text.
5 suche. M: such.
42 Following this line, the remainder of this page is taken up with a drawing showing two mounted knights, in armor with lances; one (obviously Gawain) unhorses the other. The drawings (see lines 147, 274, 357, 452, and 503 and notes) were executed by a talented amateur with archaic realism, in a pseudo-medieval style, and illustrate the enthusiastic response chivalric romance might elicit in the sixteenth century.
50 feutred. B: fentred; M emends without comment.
57 fayne. B: sayne; I emend for sense.
73 and stoure. M suggests reading in stoure.
74 ff. Gylbert here gives Gawain warning that he will soon have to fight the three sons.
103 dyspyte. M: despyte.
109 a trewe knyght. M: trewe knyght.
147 Another picture takes up the remainder of the page, showing a mounted knight with lance and a second knight - clearly Gyamoure at this point in the narrative - unhorsed and seated on the ground, but still holding his lance.
176 stryve. B: stryde; I follow the suggested emendation from M's notes.
207 out of straye. Tyrry turns his horse "astray," abruptly aside from the path on which he had been riding. For the use of this phrase, see Gologras line 19 and note.
233 Thys. This line begins with an enlarged capital T against a shaded background, four lines of text in size.
275 The entire page above this line is taken up with a drawing that closely resembles that on folio 17b; in it a mounted knight holds his lance against a knight seated on the ground (in this case, Terrye), while the latter knight's horse looks on.
284 oure. M: our.
288 than. B: that; I follow M's emendation.
295 Under line 293 a rule is drawn across the page, and line 295 is inserted to the right of line 294, remedying what is clearly a skip by the copyist.
320 Brandles. In the continuation to Chrétien's Perceval, Gawain fights and then reconciles with a knight named Bran de Lys; this same knight accompanies Arthur in the episode that forms the source of the first part of Gologras (though in the Scots poem Arthur's companion is named Spynagros). Carlisle names Syr Brancheles (line 64) among the roster of knights associated with Arthur. In Malory, Lancelot rescues a knight of this name (Braundeles) from Tarquyn (Works, pp. 268, 344 ff.). In addition, Malory declares that two of Gawain's three sons - Sir Florence and Sir Lovell - "were begotyn uppon sir Braundeles syster " (Works, p. 1147), reflecting a narrative tradition that prolongs the relationship between Gawain and this woman long beyond the brief encounter of Jeaste. In Ragnelle, the third son listed by Malory - Sir Gyngalyn - is born of the union between that heroine and Gawain; see Ragnelle, line 799 ff. and note.
324 When the Green Knight appears before Arthur's court in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, "in his on honde he hade a holyn bobbe, / That is grattest in grene when grevez ar bare / And an ax in his other" (lines 206-8: in his one hand he had a sprig of holly, which is greenest when the trees are bare, and an ax in the other). Carrying a bough signals peaceful intentions, though Brandles also holds a spear (line 341).
329 Allso. M: Also.
350 of large. The phrase means "of (considerable) size"; compare Gologras line 241, "The land wes likand in large."
357 The remainder of the page following this line is taken up by a drawing, showing three armored knights on foot, with a fourth mounted holding a spear with pennon attached. Their raised visors make their faces visible, and one, no doubt Gylbert, is bearded.
383 ff. Sir Gylbert seems to say that Gawain defeats and treats honorably all those that approach him violently; but if one speaks courteously to him from the outset, Gawain shows nothing but courtesy.
389 Another enlarged capital against a shaded background, this one six lines in size, begins this line.
451 yt. B: ys; I follow M's emendation.
453 The entire page above this line contains a drawing of two armored knights (Gawain and Brandles) on foot, fighting each other with swords drawn and visors up.
489 pardye much shame. H: moch shame parde.
491 sayde Gawayne. H: syr Gawayne.
491 ff. Having fought to a draw with Brandles, and lost his horse in the duel (as he does in Awntyrs; see lines 540 ff.), Gawain seems to feel he can no longer remain in the pavilion with the lady. He therefore departs on foot, after cutting away the heavy armor a mounted knight would wear for combat.
493 And horse were wonders. H: an horse were me wonder.
495 And. H: But.
I muste nedes. H: nedes must I.
499 hande. H: hende.
502 bande. H: bonde. Following this line, the rest of the page is occupied by a drawing of a knight in armor, holding a staff with one hand and grasping the arm of a woman (clothed in distinctively Elizabethan dress) with the other. These must be Brandles and the nameless sister.
503 nowe of Syr. H: now syr. This line begins with an enlaged capital L against a shaded background, three lines long.
507 pyttie thou. H: pyttie that thou.
508 wyll the sette. H: wyll sette.
509 He bete her. H: And bete the.
512 And he asked. H: Then he axed.
514 wende thou haddest be. H: wende that thou haddest ben.
517 Than whan. H: That whan.
519 Tyll that we. H: Tyll we.
our. H: eche our.
521 all foure together. H: all together.
527 on. H: in.
530 hys adventures. H: this adventure.
533 And after. H: After.
534 those knightes. H: these partyes; M: knyghtes.
535 there was. H: was there.
536 us. H: us al.
538 to. H: for to.
539 all maye, upon. H: all upon.
541 thy. H: the. Following AMEN there is another drawing by the same hand, showing marvelous creatures holding a shield with three fleurs-de-lis. A rectangle at the center surrounds the explicit, above which are the initials E B, perhaps those of the copyist and illustrator. The other romances in the manuscript - Isumbras, Degaré, and Eglamour - are written in the same distinctive hand, with drawings of the same sort, though none of the other romances contains a signature or initials. The date 1564 appears at the conclusion of Eglamour.