ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON IN THE SOUTH ENGLISH LEGENDARY (EAST MIDLAND REVISION, c. 1400): NOTES
1 The citizens consulted when they thus hard were pressed
2 Two sheep to give him as his food, to relieve his hunger
3 Lines 24-25: It behooved them, out of necessity, to send people to the dragon. / Therefore they all gave orders, by common consent, throughout the town
4 Each day one of the children to send to this foul dragon
5 Neither rich men's nor poor men's children should be spared
6 Neither boy-child nor maiden did they spare, to whom the lots fell
7 By his own ordinance, and by all the townsmen
8 "Let my daughter," he said, "live, since I have only her["]
9 And our children are all destroyed, and you would now have (i.e., keep) yours
10 I looked forward to bringing up (lit., feeding) in my palace the boy-children of your body
11 And saw that woman that was so fair standing weeping out of fear
12 And have no fear, sweet thing, for I shall not leave (i.e., abandon) you
13 "What are yonder folk looking at?" said George. "Why do they stare at you?"
14 And commended himself to Jesus Christ and blessed him with his hand
15 The folk saw this dragon come: they thought all had been destroyed
16 And each was baptized and trusted wholly in God
17 The king ordered built a beautiful church and artfully decorated it
ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON IN THE SOUTH ENGLISH LEGENDARY (EAST MIDLAND REVISION, c. 1400): EXPLANATORY NOTES
Abbreviations: see Textual Notes, below
7 Gylena. The city name is apparently a scribal corruption or misunderstanding of Silena, in Libya, according to LA (trans. Ryan, 1.238), to which the poet refers here, in story, and at line 127. This too is suspect, however, since in the earliest Latin version and its Greek source, the city is Lasia in Cappadocia (Aufhauser, Das Drachenwunder 182.18-20; see also p. 208).
8 In LA the dragon lives in a lake which is said to be "like the sea," presumably for its size: hence the ME poet's gret water, but his rennand implies a river. Moreover, the poet in the next line gives a different impression of the dragon's lair. Whereas in LA it appears to be in the lake (caput de lacu leuauit, "the dragon reared his head out of the lake" - ed. Maggioni, p. 393; trans Ryan, 1.239), in the poem the lair is said to be a "grevys," (line 9, "cave") or "den" (line 98) on the bank of the lake or river.
25 The second thai is redundant.
46-47 With the people's threat to burn the king and his palace, compare LA: succendemus te et domum tuum, "We will burn you alive with your whole household" (ed. Maggioni, p. 393; trans. Ryan, 1.239). This is not a feature of the oldest Latin version of the story, where the people merely insist that the princess must die as their own children have done (Aufhauser, Das Drachenwunder 184.9-10). The more violent language of the LA version may well be intended to recall, although with some complicated inversions of plot, the biblical story of Daniel, Bel, and the snake (draco), where the angry people make a virtually identical threat to King Cyrus if he does not hand over Daniel to be executed for killing the snake and overthrowing the cult of Bel. See the Vulgate Daniel 14 (especially 14:28, Trade nobis Danielem, alioquin interficiemus te et domum tuam, "Hand Daniel over to us, or we will kill you and your household").
54-55 aghtande. LA (ed. Maggioni, p. 393) here has octo dierum, "eight days" (i.e., "one week"; trans Ryan, 1.239). Medieval scribes often made mistakes copying numbers. The poet's numerals in 54-55 (aghtande, "eighteenth," and aghten, "eighteen") are Northern/Scots forms (compare Old Norse áttjándi and áttjan, and Danish atten). The equivalent Southern or Midland forms are eyghtethe(o)the and eyghtene.
79 belyfe. MS: be lefe. The phrase means "quickly," "at once," but literally "by life" (see also line 90), "lively," which is neatly appropriate in the context. Whether by design or not, the poem at this point plays a homophonic game with"lefe" (lines 78, 79, 81). The poet also develops this section (lines 75-96) of the narrative by adding some direct speech (including George's rather theatrical aside, line 86), and modifying narrative details (e.g., the couplet about the spectators on the walls, lines 83-84). Compare the LA narrative:
At this moment blessed George happened to be passing by and, seeing the maiden in tears, asked her why she wept. She answered: "Good youth, mount your horse quickly and flee, or you will die as I am to die." George responded: "Lady, fear not; but tell me, what are all these people waiting to see?" The damsel: "I see, good youth, that you have a great heart, but do you want to die with me? Get away speedily!" George: "I will not leave you here until you tell me the reason for this." When she had told him all, he said, "Don't be afraid, child! I am going to help you in the name of Christ!" She spoke: "Brave knight, make haste to save yourself; if not, you will die with me. It is enough that I die alone, for you cannot set me free and you would perish with me" (trans. Ryan, 1.239).
108 In the earliest Latin version, George asks the maiden to unbind her hair so that he can use the ribbon as a leash for the dragon (Aufhauser, Das Drachenwunder 185.25-30). The SEL-reviser follows the LA account (ed. Maggioni, p. 393; trans. Ryan, 1.239) in having George use the maiden's cingulum ("girdle/belt"). LA's author, Jacobus de Voragine, may have altered the story to enhance the parallel with the legend of St. Martha, who subdues a dragon in the Rhône delta region and leashes it with her girdle (trans. Ryan, 2.24).
ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON IN THE SOUTH ENGLISH LEGENDARY (EAST MIDLAND REVISION, c. 1400): TEXTUAL NOTES
Abbreviations: G = Görlach, East Midland Revision, pp. 33-35; MS = University of Minnesota MS Z.822. N.81, fols. 215v-216v; P = Parker, "A Northern Fragment of The Life of St. George."
39 sorow. MS: srow. G's emendation.
43 for. MS: fro. G's emendation.
45 now. MS: new.
52 rychly. So P and G, but the MS reading appears to be ryohly, which could be the scribe's mistake for ryally, ("royally"), from ME rial/ryal (from an OF variant of real, roial), as in line 69, below.
67 dyght. MS: digh. P's emendation.
81 I sall note. MS: sall note. G's emendation.
87 persave I nowe. MS: persave nowe. G's emendation.
94 wenge. G reads venge here (where P reads wonge, which makes no sense). But MS appears to read wenge, a well attested Northern/Scots variant spelling of venge. In LA, George says merely, Filia, noli timere quia in Christi nomine te iuuabo,"Don't be afraid, child! I'm going to help you in the name of Christ" (ed. Maggioni, p. 393; trans. Ryan, 1.239). Perhaps the poet's more forceful treatment (substituting"avenge" for"help" and"might" for"name") echoes Luke 18:2-8, the parable of the woman who cried out for justice on her adversary (Vindica me de adversario meo), which Jesus turns into a prediction of God's salvation of His faithful, as an act of vengeance (vindicare) on the adversary. The poet may thus be hinting at the dragon story's underlying simple allegory of salvation through the triumph of good over evil.
97 togydur spake. P's emendation, adopted also by G. MS is defective at this point.
dragon. MS: dragn.
101 betoke. MS: betotoke. G's emendation.