THE YOUNG SQUIRES: FOOTNOTES
2 disconfiture, defeat; playnynge and regretinge, lamenting.
3 ne thei . . . dronke of, they neither ate nor drank.
3-4 no more . . . don of, i.e., nor had they eaten.
5 more disese, great discomfort.
12 Orcanye, Orkney.
12-13 distruxion of, destruction caused by.
13 dide, i.e., moved.
19 bacheler, knight-aspirant.
20 bewté, beauty.
24 here, hear.
30 debonertee, courtesy.
31 ne were not ye, were you not.
34 disconfited, defeated.
36 trowe, believe; soche herte, such courage; but yef, unless.
39 yen, eyes.
46-47 sethe be discovered of, since been revealed by.
48 that2, who (i.e., Ulfin).
52 sithes, times.
55 wele spede, succeed.
58 withholde, keep.
59 spede, manage.
62 pryvely, secretly.
63 Phasche, Easter.
69 than, then.
73 Saisnes, Saxons; prayes, livestock.
76 sowdiers, soldiers.
77-78 withoute hem, not including those.
79 kepte, protected; contré environ, surrounding countryside.
80 mysdo, harm.
81 forrey, forage; wan, won.
82 myster, need.
83 loos, praise.
85 bounté, goodness.
87 largesse, generosity.
88 oon, one (i.e., Gawain).
94 moche, important.
95 more clere that I make yow, more clearly must I make you.
96 moche, many.
101 loigged, lodged; meyné, retinue.
103 he2, i.e., Antor.
105 do made a cowche, made a couch (i.e., a bed).
108 toke grete hede of, observed closely.
109 saugh, saw.
110 covetted, desired.
111 bounté, goodness.
116 toke, i.e., planned.
120 ne not, i.e., not even.
121 wyste, knew.
124 kepe, notice.
125 stilliche, quietly; yede, went.
126 turnynge and wendynge, tossing and turning; noon, no; durste, dared.
130 anoon, soon.
131 that2, i.e., when; it tolde, i.e., told it to her.
135 bountees, goodness.
137 but yef, unless; ensured, promised; discover, reveal.
139 ne toke noon kepe, had little concern.
141 wax all rody, blushed.
142 lefte her mete utterly, left her food untouched.
143-44 it fill her, it befell her.
144 grete, pregnant.
146 also, as; he, i.e., Arthur.
148 for1, because of; werre, war.
149 hym, i.e., Arthur.
151 leeshe, a set of three.
152 brace, pairs.
154 tecche, characteristic.
155 whan he aroos, i.e., in the very early morning; force, strength.
156 pryme, 9 a.m.
157 tierce, 12 a.m.; mydday, 3 p.m.
159 noone, 6 p.m.
163 evyll will, enmity.
164 mortalité, slaughter; by, because of.
166 aventure to be, in danger of being; ther, therefor.
167-68 moche of, large for.
169 hevied, grieved.
171 foly, frivolous things.
174 purchase, obtain; pees, peace.
176 deyne, deign.
178 here, their.
179-80 ne we ne shull no helpe have, nor shall we have any help.
182 acorde of, make peace between.
183 nought elles, nothing else.
184 lese, waste.
184-85 me semeth, it seems to me.
188 ne doute yow nought, doubt it not at all.
190 debonerly, courteously.
191 pensif, sad.
194 tho, those.
196 letted, held back.
200 wete, know; by, be.
202 agein, against.
205 heilde stille, continued.
209 repeire, abide; musardes, dullards, idlers; ne awayte nought elles, await nothing else.
210 take, caught; bridde, bird; a journé hens, a day's journey away.
214 nought gete, nothing achieve; prowesse, valorous deeds.
216 lese . . . ages, i.e., waste our youth.
218 apareile us, prepare ourselves.
221 hem, them (i.e., her sons); Dismay, Worry.
222 ordeyne yow, arrange for you.
227 gentill, noble.
230 hadde oon, i.e., married one.
231 deyde, died.
233 moche, large.
236 high prowesse, great deeds.
239 Renomee, Renown; yede, went.
240 largesse, generosity.
246 of2, by.
247 whoso, whoever; moste in evry wise, must in every respect.
248 tho, then.
252 appareiled, readied.
256 leffte, remained.
258 withoute, without counting.
258-59 were wele, were at least.
259 sege, i.e., invading Saxons; journé, a day's journey.
260 thei, the barons and the Saxons.
262 so sore, so severely; nought to gete, nothing left.
263 nought elles saf by that, no other means except by what.
264 but yef, unless; by aventure, by chance.
268 lette, hinder.
THE YOUNG SQUIRES: NOTES
The Young Squires
[Fols. 58r (line 28)-65r (line 34)]
The Young Squires introduced in this section of the PM are the sons or close relatives of the rebelling barons; but unlike their fathers or uncles, they take up arms in support of Arthur, not against him. Hoping to be knighted by Arthur, they set off to find him and offer their support. The author emphasizes the noble lineage of these young men and describes the circumstances that prompt them to set off in search of Arthur. The Young Squires' brave deeds against the Saxon invaders are depicted in the sections that follow.
Also occurring in this section is the important episode concerning the begetting of Mordred; he is the fifth son of King Lot's wife but is fathered by Arthur. This event is told as a flashback, and the author's intention is to suggest that both Arthur and King Lot's wife are essentially blameless. Arthur is portrayed as an exuberant, lusty youth, while Lot's wife does not realize she has slept with someone other than her husband until Arthur confesses it to her later.
9 Bandemagu. This character is more commonly known in Arthurian works as Bagdemagus or Baugdemagus. Early in Malory he is called Sir Bagdemagus and later Kynge Bagdemagus. In Chrétien's Lancelot, as in Malory, he is the father of Meleagant (Mellyagaunce in Malory), the evil knight who abducts Queen Guenevere.
Summary Based on EETS 21, pp. 172-77.
22-23 Basyne, the wif of Kynge Ventres. In Malory, the woman who marries King Ventres of the land of Garlot is named Elaine; in both the PM and Malory she is said to be Arthur's half-sister and one of the daughters of Ygerne and the Duke of Tintagel.
24-25 two hundred fifty Knyghtes of the Rounde Table. The number of Round Table knights varies from work to work, and here the author suggests the number was 250. Malory states the number was 150, not 250.
43-44 I have herde my moder sey. This description of Ygerne's great sorrow at the loss of her son is a poignant humanizing detail; it does not occur in Malory.
82-88 Kynge Loot . . . frely yaf hem all . . . were come of. The writer praises King Lot's noble qualities and emphasizes the fact that his sons inherit their noble qualities from their father. Malory is far less charitable in his characterization of King Lot; he never portrays Lot as coming to see the error of his ways, nor does he describe any reconciliation between Lot and Arthur. In Malory, Lot lives and dies a villain.
93-94 Mordred . . . that the Kynge Arthur begat. The author of the PM offers a very different account of the begetting of Mordred from the one given by Malory. As he says, "moche peple it preyse the lesse that knowe not the trouthe" (lines 96-97) and his clear intention in this little digression is to set the record straight and to do all he can to exculpate both parties from harsh moral judgments. Malory has no such intention; indeed, Malory suggests that Arthur's adulterous and incestous act will have dramatic and disastrous consequences.
98 Hit befill in the tyme that. In the PM the begetting of Mordred occurs before Arthur has even become a knight; in Malory it occurs after Arthur has become king, after his liaison with Lyonors, and after he has seen and fallen in love with Guenevere. In neither work, though, does Arthur know that Lot's wife is also his own half-sister.
154-55 of hym deviseth no more here saf only of a tecche that he hadde. Gawain's waxing and waning strength, one of his most famous attributes in medieval Arthurian literature, is here detailed. Although the PM author's account is a little confusing, it appears that Gawain's great strength doubles once by the time it is fully prime (the period from 6 to 9 a.m.); doubles again by the completion of tierce (the period from 9 to 12 a.m.); and doubles yet again by mydday (the period from 12 a.m. to 3 p.m.), when the sun has reached its zenith. Then his strength decreases by the similar amounts at similar intervals. Here the term noone seems to refer to the period extending from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. Some scholars interpret this linking of Gawain's strength to the strength of the sun as suggesting that Gawain was originally a solar deity.
In Malory the first mention of Gawain's waxing and waning strength occurs in his fight against the Irish knight Sir Marhaus: "But sir Gawayne, fro hit was nine of the clok, wexed ever strenger and strenger, for by than hit cam to the howre of noone he had three tymes his myght encresed. And all this aspyed sir Marhaus and had grete wondir how his myght encreced. And so they wounded eyther other passyng sore. So whan hit was past noone, and whan it drew toward evynsonge, sir Gawayns strenght fyebled and woxe passyng faynte, that unnethe he myght dure no lenger, and sir Marhaus was bygger and bygger" (Vinaver, p. 96). Late in Malory's Morte D'Arthur, Lancelot will perceive the variability of Gawain's strength and will use this to his own advantage in his fights against Gawain.
200-01 by I ones oute of my fader house, I will. Gawain here swears an oath that he will not return until he has brought peace between his father (King Lot) and his uncle (King Arthur); later in the PM he makes good on this vow.
206 And than seide Agravain. From the outset Agravain is characterized as a brash and outspoken young man. In this instance, his chiding of Gawain stems from noble instincts, but later on his outspokenness causes trouble. Malory charges Agravain with being "ever opynne-mowthed" (Vinaver, p. 612) and considers him one of the parties most responsible for the downfall of Arthurian society (Vinaver, p. 669).
Summary Based on EETS 21, pp. 184-86.
239-40 Renomee, . . . so that every contrey spake of the Kynge Arthur. The spread of Arthur's fame, and the attraction that Arthur's court held to noble young men everywhere, was first suggested by Geoffrey of Monmouth in The History of the Kings of Britain: "Arthur then began to increase his personal entourage by inviting very distinguished men from far-distant kingdoms to join it. In this way he developed such a code of courtliness in his household that he inspired peoples living far away to imitate him" (Thorpe, p. 222).
Summary Based on EETS 21, pp. 187-88.
Summary Based on EETS 21, pp. 189-91.