THE TESTAMENT OF CRESSEID: FOOTNOTES

1 I have pity that such misfortune should befall you

THE TESTAMENT OF CRESSEID: NOTES

1-2 Henryson's use of symbolic naturalism has drawn extensive comment. The cold spring setting is appropriate to the sad tale of remorse he will relate. Compare Chaucer's use of the pathetic fallacy in Troilus, I.13-14.

4 tragedie. Henryson uses the term as Chaucer does to indicate Tragedy or Fate or Fortune (de casibus), where the protagonist rises to high estate, then falls. See Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, Book 2, pr. 2: "What other thynge bywaylen the cryinges of tragedyes but oonly the dedes of Fortune, that with an unwar strok overturneth the realmes of greet nobleye? (Glose. Tragedy is to seyn a dite of a prosperite for a tyne, that endyth in wrecchidnesse.) (Chaucer's translation, II. pr 2, lines 67-72.) See also the Monk's Tale, CT VII.1973-77.

fervent may also be translated as "burning." Fox suggests, in this regard, so cold as "to give the impression of heat" (p. 339); or, better perhaps, simply "intense."

5 Despite arguments by Skeat (p. 521) and others for different seasonal settings, I agree with Fox that Henryson is placing the time of his poem during the first month of spring.

6 gart is from Ruthven. Fox's emendation. Charteris and Thynne: can. Elliott and Wood: can.

8-84 The persona of Henryson's narrator has drawn considerable comment. Clearly the narrator is an older man who describes himself as an erstwhile servant of Venus. His comments on Cresseid seem to indicate sympathy and a willingness to "excuse" her actions. Nonetheless, because other aspects of the narrator's conduct reflect artistic fiction (such as his citing the uther quair, line 61), some critics contend that his sympathy for Cresseid, especially given her harsh fate, is also an artistic ruse.

10 sylit. Thynne: scyled.

15-18 Compare Chaucer, Book of the Duchess, lines 336-43. See Stearns (1949), p. 62.

18 sched the. Thynne: shedde his.

20 quhisling. Thynne: whiskyng.

28 chalmer. Thynne: chambre.

32 doif. Thynne: dull.

36 mend. Thynne: made.

40 quair. "Book" or perhaps "gathering," a book consisting of several quires, in which case the allusion might be specifically to Book V of Chaucer's Troilus.

42 worthie. Thynne: lusty.

48 esperance. Esperus, the Charteris reading of this line is problematic. Francis Kinaston (1639) changed the word to esperance to mean "hope." Clearly the antithesis between this line and line 47 provides a basis for Kinaston's emendation. See Wood, pp. 252-53.

49 quhyle. Thynne: and while.

52 of eirdly. Thynne: of al erthly.

55 ganecome. Thynne: gayncome.

61 To brek my sleip ane uther quair I tuik. Like Chaucer, in The Book of the Duchess, who takes a book "to rede and drive the night away" (BD line 49), Henryson reads to pass the time this chilly night. It is doubtful that Henryson's uther quair ever existed. Rather, like Chaucer's Lollius in Troilus, the fictitious source obliges artistic conventions about citing authorities in the Middle Ages. The device gives credence to the writing and at the same time distances the protagonist from troublesome material.

62 fatall destenie. See Troilus, V.1.

66 fenyeit. Thynne: forged.

70 scho thoillit, and quhat deid. Thynne: she was in or she deyde.

74 lybell of repudie. Thynne: lybel repudy. Fox (1968) notes libellum repudii ("bill of divorce") occurs six times as a legal term in the Vulgate: "Henryson may have in mind both Moses' statement that a woman who is divorced by her second husband cannot be taken back by her first 'because she is defiled, and is become abominable before the Lord' (Dt. 24:1-4), and also the passages where Christ denies the possibility of divorce and proclaims the sanctity of marriage (Mk. 19:3-9; Mk. 10:2-12)" (pp. 91-92). Obviously, however, because Diomede and Cresseid are nowhere described as "married," this "lybell" must be considered more as a public notice of separation and a demand on Diomede's part for her to stay away.

77 And sum men sayis is another rhetorical technique very similar to Henryson's citation of the fictional uther quair.

court commoun. Commoun implies that she "walked" as a courtesan in Venus' service; the DOST definition of commoun, "shared by all," captures the sense.

78 O fair Cresseid, the flour and A per se. Perhaps Henryson contrives his apostrophe on Cresseid's beauty from Chaucer's Right as oure firste lettre is now an A, / In beaute first so stod she, makeles (Troilus, I.171-72) where Chaucer's tribute to Queen Anne as our first letter now, in Henryson, simply becomes "first letter as such."

82 air. Thynne: early.

84 pietie thow. Thynne: pity thee.

86 brukkilnes. Thynne: brutelnesse.

94 but. Thynne: without.

on fute. Thynne: or refute.

95 Disagysit. Thynne: Dissheuelde.

96 mansioun. Henryson imagines a somewhat more established residence for Calchas than Chaucer's battlefield reference to "the tente ther as Calkas lay" (Troilus, V.845). The subsequent reference to Criseyde's father's "faire brighte tente" (Troilus, V.1022) is a far cry from Henryson's comfortable mansioun / Beildit full gay.

103 ff. Henryson's Calchas is more kindly and considerate of Cresseid than Chaucer's self-serving Calkas. Henryson elevates him to priest and keiper of the tempill (line 107).

109 was neist. Charteris: was thame neist. Thynne: was neist. Skeat and Wood read was thame neist, perhaps for reasons of meter. Fox follows Thynne on grounds of sense, suggesting that honourit might be trisyllabic (p. 94).

110 aneuch. Thynne: enewed.

113-17 As custome was. This moment contrasts with the beginning of Troilus where, according to "olde usage" (I.150), the Trojans celebrate the feast of Pallas Athena, which Criseyde bravely attends. Now Cresseid, hevie in hir intent (line 116), refuses to do homage to the gods, that is, Venus and her son Cupid. The juxtaposition perhaps underscores the beginning of Cresseid's conversion. In the end, she commends herself to Diana, rather than Chaucer's Athena.

117 kirk. Thynne: churche.

119 king. In Chaucer, Diomede is "Of Calydoyne and Arge a Kyng" (V.934).

132 Sen. Thynne: Sithe.

135 blind goddes. Venus, as well as Cupid, is sometimes said to be blind. See Fox's note (1981, pp. 348-49).

136 alwayis understand. Thynne: vnderstande alway.

138 supplie and grace. Thynne: souple grace.

141-294 Henryson's portrayal of the pagan gods largely reflects medieval notions. The extent to which these characters are to be understood as real divinities or as forces of nature, immutable and inalterable, makes a major difference in the interpretation of Henryson's attitude towards his heroine. See especially Stearns, "Planet Portraits" (1944).

144 ringand. Thynne: tynkyng.

151 Saturn is the most sinister and malevolent of the planets. See note to line 295.

155 fronsit. Charteris: frosnit. Thynne: frounsed. Smith uses the original Charteris reading. However, Wood emended the reading to fronsit which Elliott and Fox retain. Fox suggests that Saturn seems himself to have symptoms of leprosy (1981, p. 351). Lead is the metal affiliated with Saturn's influence. Compare Chaucer's House of Fame, lines 1429-32 and 1448-50.

156 cheverit. Thynne: sheuered.

157 drowpit, how. Thynne: drouped hole.

160 ice schoklis. Charteris: ic-eshoklis. Thynne: yse-yckels.

164 gyis. Thynne: gate, with gay after full. Fox emends to gy[te] and adds gay after full since gytes and gay often go together (compare Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Prologue, CT III.559) and for purposes of meter. But gay and its irony are unnecessary if gyis is disyllabic. Anderson (1663) reads guise and adds gay. Perhaps gyis might be emended to gytis to avoid the confusion. See line 178. The word is not to be confused with the monosyllabic gyse of line 260.

166 busteous bow. Usually Saturn carries a sickle. See Fox (1981, p. 353), for discussion of traditions that affiliate him with the bow.

169 Juppiter. The most benign of the planets toward humankind, Fra his father Saturne far different (line 172). That he takes no stand on Cresseid's behalf is cause for her to abandon hope.

170 starnis. Thynne: sterres.

173 brent. Perhaps "radiant" or "glowing"; or perhaps "burnished." Fox notes that browis and brent are often linked with "smooth" as opposed to "arched," which is thus a possible gloss for brent (1981, p. 354).

178 gyis. Thynne: gyte, with gay added after full. See note to line 164. Fox follows Thynne.

180 middill bair. Thynne: myddle he beare.

187-88 roustie. Fox glosses the term as "rusty" and cites several attempts by scholars to make sense of the adjective: "G. G. Smith, followed by Wood, explains roustie as 'bronze', but there is no warrant for this (and iron is the metal of Mars). Hamer (MLR xxix [1934], 344), followed by Elliott, suggests that it was 'the mediaeval custom not to wipe the sword clean of blood [but to leave it on] . . . until it rusted the blade, as a sign of its owner's prowess'. But it seems unnecessary to suppose this untidy custom: Henryson probably repeats roustie because of its ominous connotations, which may have arisen from the bloody colour of rust. William Nelson points out that Spenser's Rancour, Revenge, Danger, and Despair have rusty blades and knives (Renaissance News xviii (1965), 113-17). Christopher Dean, however, suggests that Henryson gives Mars a rusty sword because this is a token of a boor and a churl (Explicator xxxi (1972), Item 21)" (1981, p. 355). But "bloody" makes the best sense of the two uses; perhaps "roustie" is a contracted form of "russetlike," i.e., red (Mars' color), thus bloody. Certainly the term as Henryson uses it is meant to be ominous not akin to Chaucer's Reeve with his "rusty blade" (CT I.618), where rust is rust and likely used for comic purposes.

190 Schaikand his sword. Thynne: Shakyng his brande.

192 bullar. Thynne: blubber.

203 that in this warld. Thynne: that al this worlde hath.

216 Philogié. Four syllables, with stress on second and fourth syllables to rhyme with sey. Anderson (1663) treats as trisyllabic and adds and before callit. Thynne reads Philologee, followed by Fox and Wood. Skeat argues that the original must have been Philogoney (p. lvi), though he emends to Philegoney. Elliot emends to [and callit Philogey], which is metrically the best solution.

218 gay. Omitted at the end of the line in Charteris. Wood made the emendation from Thynne, thus completing the rhyme; adapted by Elliott and Fox.

222 With. Charteris: Quhyte. Thynne: White. Anderson: With. Fox's emendation. Kinaston, noting the contradiction between white and gold, emended to Bright. See Fox's note (1981, p. 359).

224 Quhyles perfyte. Thynne: While parfite.

229 pungitive. So in Charteris and Thynne, though pugnitive, "fierce," might make better sense.

239 Mercurius. Since Mercury is traditionally the god of eloquence, rhetoric, and elocution, he is made spokesman for the group (lines 265-66) and designates Saturn and the moon to pass the sentence on Cresseid.

252 lie. Thynne: le, and so in Wood and Skeat.

253 Cynthia. The moon is usually neither malevolent nor benevolent, though strongly influential upon lovers and noted for her inconstancy. Normally, she takes her quality from the house she is in or the company she keeps. In the Middle Ages, she was considered "cold" perhaps in the sense of being neutral or easily influenced. See note to line 295.

255 hornis twa. Depicted with a crescent moon in her crown, Cynthia appears to have two horns, a sign of danger (changeability and cuckoldry) to would-be lovers.

256 appeir. Thynne: tapere.

261-63 The churl bearing a bunch of thorns on his back as part of the moon's iconography reminds one of the rude mechanicals' efforts to represent Moonshine with his "bunch" of thorns in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Fox (1981), p. 363, directs the reader to Oliver F. Emerson, "Legends of Cain, Especially in Old and Middle English," PMLA 21 (1906), 831-929, and Edmund Reiss, "Chaucer's Friar and the Man in the Moon," JEGP 62 (1963), 481-85.

266 foirspeikar. The prolocutor, a speaker on behalf of a cause.

276 lak. Thynne: losse.

280 starklie. Thynne: she stately.

286 returne. Fox chooses retorte from Thynne, instead of following Charteris' returne on, suggesting that even though the term is not well attested until the sixteenth century, it suits better the sense of Cupid's florid rhetoric. Skeat, Wood, and Elliott follow Charteris.

295 Mercury's suggestion in effect dooms Cresseid. By picking the highest and lowest of the gods, he has put Cresseid's fate in the hands of Saturn and Cynthia, the one least sympathetic to humankind, the other strongly influenced by her companionship; linked to Saturn her cold and changeable nature works evil for Cresseid. Johnstone Parr notes that Kinaston and others connect Saturn when linked to Luna with leprosy. On Saturn's malevolence toward humankind, see Chaucer's Knight's Tale (CT I.2453-69). Also see Kilbansky, Panofsky, and Saxl, Saturn and Melancholy.

304 scho. Thynne: that she.

312-43 Henryson's realism is so remarkable that J. A. Y. Simpson was able specifically to identify the disease in 1841 as elephantiasis leprosy even though Henryson never names the specific type of leprosy involved.

316 melancholy. One of the four humors, characterized by excess of black bile; a gloomy, sullen condition, cold and dry.

334 heit. Thynne: heale.

348 schaddow. Used in the same sense ("reflection") that it is used in the Fabillis, line 2392.

349 face. Thynne: visage.

350 was wa aneuch, God wait. Thynne: were wo, I ne wyte god wate.

360 syne culd. Thynne: efte couth.

363 Fox suggests the emendation of beedes from Thynne for prayers in Charteris and Anderson. Elliott and Wood follow Charteris.

385 weird. Thynne: werthe.

386 bawer. The beaver hat, a piece of apparel of great expense, has been problematic. Despite Smith's assertion that "Beggars, like their betters, wore fur caps" (p. 50), later scholars have argued that it would seem to be absolutely inappropriate in a leper house, except perhaps as a ratty hand-me-down. This reference has also been interpreted as a comment on the extravagances of James III.

390 Unto. Charteris: Wnto.

401 ouerheled. Charteris: ouirquhelmit. Fox makes a good historical case for the Thynne reading, ouerheled, a word which Henryson also uses in the Fabillis, line 587, and which disappears from written entries after 1513. See Fox (1981), p. 370.

407 The Complaint of Cresseid follows the model of Chaucer's Anelida and Arcite.

411 saif the of thy. Anderson: save or sound thy. Fox emends to saif [or sound] thy.

415 nane. Thynne: men.

416 ff. Quhair is. Cresseid's ubi sunt ("where are the . . .") formula recalls Troilus' use of the device in his laments in Chaucer's poem (V.218-24; and V.1674-76.)

421 saipheron sals. Thynne: sauery sauce.

426 quene Floray. Goddess of flowers and spring. Compare Chaucer's Book of the Duchess, lines 402ff., and Legend of Good Women, F text, lines 171ff.

429 tak the dew. Skeat glosses as "gather May-dew," referring to the May Day custom of girls going aMaying early to gather dew to wash their faces, thus acquiring beauty. See Fox, pp. 372-73. The contrast to Cresseid's grotesque circumstances is poignant.

433-37 Omitted in Thynne.

438 burelie. Thynne: goodly.

441 peirrie. Thynne: pirate. peirrie is a pear cider. Thynne's pirate also refers to a pear drink and could be correct.

446 Omitted in Thynne.

448-49 Omitted in Thynne.

449 na leid now lyking hes. Thynne: no pleople [sic] hath lykyng.

460 war, gif ony war. Thynne: worse, if any worse.

469 Omitted in Thynne.

477 dowbillis bot. Thynne: but doubleth.

478 mak vertew of ane neid. Compare Theseus' Boethian advice in Chaucer's Knight's Tale: To maken vertue of necessitee (CT I.3042).

479 Go leir. Charteris: To leir. Anderson: Go leir. Thynne: Go lerne.

480 leif. Charteris: leir. Thynne: lerne. Fox's emendation. Elliott emends to leve. Wood reads leir.

489 richt royallie is an emendation dating back to Smith. It incorporates richt from the Charteris duplicative richt richt.

491 companie, all. Fox's emendation. Charteris, Wood: companie thai come. Anderson: the troup they came. Thynne: that company come.

493 Worthie. Charteris, Anderson, Wood: Said worthie. Thynne: Worthy.

498-511 Stearns (Robert Henryson, pp. 97-105) has pointed out the basic principles of Aristotelian psychology that Henryson uses in this recognition scene. His description of the process which causes Troilus to remember his beloved is realistic in terms of the psychology of the period.

501 plye. Thynne: plyte.

521 This line is repeated in the Charteris print.

522 swak. Thynne: shake.

523 he is added from Thynne. It is omitted in Charteris.

534 Hes done. Thynne: That dothe.

536 it is. Thynne: is a knight.

541 cald ochane. Thynne: colde atone.

544 Than fel in swoun full oft or ever scho fane. Charteris, Wood: Than swounit scho oft or scho culd refrane. Thynne: Than fel in swoun ful oft or she wolde fane. Anderson: Than fel in swoun full oft ere she would fane.

549 efflated. Fox emends the Charteris elevait with the Anderson effated. Thynne reads effated, which makes the Anderson reading likely. Elliott and Wood follow Charteris.

550 quheill. The Wheel of Fortune, against which Chaucer's Criseyde often cried out.

552 frivolous. Thynne: furious.

554 continence. Thynne: countenaunce. Wood: gude countenaunce.

569 Brukkill. Thynne: Brittel. Fox glosses as "Morally frail" (1981, p. 381).

570 greit unfaithfulnes. Thynne: great brutelnesse.

574 This line is clearly the fulcrum in Cresseid's recognition of her own responsibility for her plight. Some critics read this as a sympathetic expression of Henryson's emphasis on her growth and maturity. Others see it as a mean-spirited fiction by which Henryson attempts to justify his treatment of his heroine.

577 beteiche. Thynne: bequeth.

607 Troy the. Charteris: Troyis.

613 Ming. Anderson: Wing.

614 schort. Thynne. sore.

616 Sen. Thynne: Sithe.