THE BEGETTING OF LANCELOT; AND MERLIN AND NIMIANE: FOOTNOTES
1 discounfited, defeated; be, by.
2 to the, until.
4 of thiers, belonging to those.
6 herberowed, lodged.
7 wacched, guarded; that, so that.
11 were well, there were at least.
12 behoved, was fitting.
13 who that, whoever; noon, not.
14 saugh, saw.
15 seen, see.
16 Wherto, Why.
19 travaile, hardships.
21 hemself, themselves.
29 on slepe, asleep; fill, fell.
30 sore, greatly; afeerde, afraid; semed, thought.
31 bestes, beasts.
32 kendes, kinds.
33 hem, themselves; roos, arose.
34 ronne, ran; that oon, one.
35 turned, separated.
36 whereas, where.
37 the halvendell, half; grete, large.
39 lyonsewes, young lions.
40 were turned to, supported.
41 lyonsewes, young lions.
43-44 dissevered, separated.
45 boles, bulls; teyed be, tied by; ete, ate; rakke, feeding rack.
47 for, because; semed, thought.
48 bereve hym, take away.
49 hepes, groups.
50 departed, divided; mouncels, parts.
54 bateile, battle; herde speke, heard spoken of; fyn, end.
55 behoved, were forced.
55-56 was sore adredde, greatly feared.
56 lese, lose.
57 semed, thought.
60 semed, thought; blaste, storm.
61 wiste, knew.
62 saugh, saw.
63 hadde moche, had it much.
64 behilde, beheld.
65 yede, went.
67 resorte, turn.
69 made departe, left.
69-70 aqueynte hym, spoke.
70 drough, drew; partye, side.
73 turned to discounfiture, was defeated.
74 go crye mercy, beg for mercy.
76 behilde, beheld; wite, discover; yef, if; cowde, could.
77 be, by.
78 woxen and amended, grown and changed.
79 enclyned, bowed.
82 aboode, lay sleeping.
83 affraied of, frightened by.
84 her eyled, ailed her.
85 seyn, seen it.
88 savourly, deeply.
90 yeve, give.
93 avoutré, adultery; er, before.
94 well acorde with, be forgiven by.
95 creaunce, belief.
97 as, as if.
98 so sore theras, so strongly that.
99 nere, nearly.
101 wiste, knew.
102 memorie, senses.
103 shriven, confessed; than, then.
104 hoseled with, received.
110 ageins, against.
111 heren hereafter, hear later on.
112 noo foote londe, not a foot of land.
113 that after were, that later became; nonnes, nuns.
114-15 socour of, help from.
115 done, do.
117 disherited, disinherited.
118 yaf, gave.
119 reste to speke, put off speaking.
121 dyvers dremes, various dreams; mette, dreamed.
128 mette, dreamed; that, so that.
130 fierce, wondrous.
133 fayn, happily.
134 partye, portion.
135 apendeth, pertains.
139 saugh, saw.
142 booles, bulls.
143 assured, pledged; oon, one.
151 pees, peace.
152 sore, greatly.
156 abaisshed, astonished; pensef, pensive.
157 wise, wisdom.
161 aboode, awaited.
163 ledde, took; prively, secretly.
164 aperceyved of, seen by; no man, anyone.
165 for, because of.
167 till that, until; wolde, wished.
170 aparceyve, know.
171 sle yef, slay if.
173 fill, befell.
174 sette, seated; ympe, tree.
176 required hym so, urged him so much.
177 menynge, intention.
180 ly, lie.
181 flessly, physically.
182 tysed, enticed.
183 dele with, resist.
186 douted sore, feared greatly.
187 garnysshed, prepared; tho, those.
188 cowde, could.
189 partye, portion; that, what.
192 saugh, saw.
THE BEGETTING OF LANCELOT; AND MERLIN AND NIMIANE: NOTES
[Fols. 134r (line 19)-158v (line 4)]
After Arthur and his men help to repulse the attack on Benoyk and Gannes mounted by the several enemies of King Ban and King Bors, Merlin is called upon to interpret a pair of prophetic dreams, one experienced by Ban's wife Heleyne, and one by Ban himself. Although the dreams are enigmatic and Merlin refrains from explicating them fully, it is clear that the leopard in the queen's dream represents Lancelot, who has been conceived on that very night. King Ban's dream is not as fully related as the queen's, but the voice he hears is apparently providing an affirmative answer to what he had prayed for earlier, that he be allowed to die on the day that he desires it.
This episode does not occur in Morte D'Arthur, although Malory does briefly describe a visit Merlin makes to Benwyke in which he meets King Ban's wife and has his first sight of Lancelot as a young boy: "And there Merlion spake with kyng Bayans wyff, a fayrelady and a good; and hir name was Elayne. And there he saw yonge Launcelot. And there the queene made grete sorowe for the mortal werre that kynge Claudas made on hir lord and on hir londis" (Vinaver, p. 76).
Near the end of this section, Merlin goes once more to visit Nimiane, who now asks him to teach her how to accomplish some very particular things. Merlin knows very well why she wants to learn those things; he teaches her anyway, because he also knows he can deny her nothing.
Summary Based on EETS 36, pp. 379-411.
10 the Newe Knyghtes. This phrase is used to refer to the young men previously called the Young Squires. Now the New Knights, and the Knights of the Round Table (Uther's knights who had been with Leodegan), and the Forty Fellows (or Forty Soldiers or Forty Companions, Arthur's original core of knights) are the three main groups within Arthur's forces.
28 Queene Heleyne conceyved a childe . . . Kynge Ban. The child she conceives is Lancelot; and in her dream that follows, he is represented by the leopard who becomes involved in the struggle between the crowned lion and the uncrowned lion.
44-45 four hundred boles. The 400 bulls represent Arthur's knights. In a very different context, Arthur's knights are also represented by bulls in Gawain's dream during the Grail section in Malory. In his vision in Morte D'Arthur, Gawain sees 150 bulls, almost all of which are black. He also sees three white bulls, representing the three successful Grail Knights (Vinaver, pp. 558-59).
93 he synne dedly in avoutré. King Ban learns in his dream that on one occasion he will succumb to the sin of adultery. This event is subsequently described in the PM when, by means of Merlin's enchantment, Ban sleeps with the daughter of Agravadain ly Noir, who then conceives Estor (Ector de Maris), Lancelot's half-brother. Because Ban was not personally responsible for his sinning, God forgives him.
127-28 Merlin hym tolde even as the kynge hadde mette. Merlin has the ability to relate both the queen's and king's dreams, even though no one has told them to him.
174 sette upon an ympe. This may mean that Merlin and Nimiane are sitting on the branch of a tree, but more likely they are sitting beneath the tree.
175 the mayden made hym to slepe in hir lappe. Perhaps Nimiane has simply lulled Merlin to sleep with his head in her lap; or perhaps she is trying out her newly-acquired ability to cause a person to sleep. There is nothing overtly sexual in the phrase "to slepe in hir lappe," and as we discover below, the author asserts that Merlin never required any sexual favors from Nimiane.
179 he taught hir thre names. Merlin gives Nimiane three magic names, or perhaps phrases, to protect her from being harmed sexually. It is likely that she believes she needs them in order to protect herself from Merlin.
185 we fynde not . . . eny vylonye of hir. The author of the PM declares there is no evidence in any written work to suggest that Merlin ever desired Nimiane (or any other woman) to engage in sex with him. But it is also clear that Nimiane suspected that that is precisely what he desired from her. Malory, on the other hand, offers a very different view of Merlin's intentions, stating of Merlin that "allwayes he lay aboute to have hir maydynhode . . . " (Vinaver, p. 77).
188 of thinges paste. In his mentoring of Nimiane, Merlin teaches her about things that have happened, about things that are happening, and about things that will happen in the future.
Summary Based on EETS 36, pp. 419-20.