ENVOY: NOTES
Lydgate shifts from couplets into the English stanza, sometimes referred to as rhyme royal, used by Chaucer in Troilus and Criseyde.
1 sours. MS: flour.
4 the worthi nyne. The Nine Worthy are chivalric heroes representing gentiles (Hector, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great), Jews (Joshua, David, Judas Maccabeus), and Christians (Arthur, Charlemagne, Godfrey of Bouillon).
12 rekned. This is the verb governing the sentence that extends over the first four stanzas of the Envoy. Bergen emends to y-rekned.
14 the hous of fame. From other echoes in Fall of Princes (8.2735-36 and 9.3468), it appears that Lydgate's reference is to the roster of historical writers and poets in Chaucer's The House of Fame.
18 evermore. MS: overmore. MS reading makes syntactic sense, but evermore accords better with in memorie.
21 The following stanza is not separated by a space in the MS.
36-49 Lydgate's list combines biblical and classical kings who are mentioned for their qualities of character. Joshua is the follower and successor of Moses, and he enjoys divine favor as a military leader (Isidore of Seville, De ortu et obitu patrum, ch. 26). Solomon is known for his wisdom and justice (Isidore, De ortu, ch. 34). David is a figure of patience and humility (Isidore, De ortu, ch. 33 and Augustine, De civitate Dei 17.20). Caesar symbolizes both ambition and greatness of spirit (Augustine, De civitate Dei 5.12 and Vincent of Beauvais, De morali principis institutione, ch. 16).
37 conveied. The verb "to be" is understood.
43 meynt. Probably to be construed with the verb "to be": "Your mercy is mingled with your magnificence."
magnificence. As Aristotle explains in the Nicomachean Ethics (4.2), magnificence is a moral virtue akin to generosity but differing from generosity by being on a larger scale and directed toward public display.
52 scepter. MS: swerde.
63 sympilnesse. Bergen emends to symplesse.
64 eke. Accepting Bergen's addition.
67 received. MS: recerved.
68 twey mynutes. Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4 record Jesus's example of the widow who contributes all she has to the temple's treasury.
73 gift. MS: gilt.
77 al. Accepting Bergen's addition.
92 Go, litel bok. See Troilus and Criseyde 5.1786-92, the stanza that marks the beginning of Chaucer's Envoy.
99 The following stanza is not separated by a space in the MS.
100-01 See earlier echoes of Chaucer's Franklin at 2.192-97 and 3.551-56.