The Faerie Queene (117 page)

25 9
pouldred: spotted.

26 2
fastned: attached herself

26 6
redound: result.

26 7
Archer: Cupid.

27 2
Ruffed of: ruffled by. auaile: droop. 27 3 portance: carriage. gest: bearing, countenance.

29 2
still: distill, drop into.

30 ff
This episode is derived mainly from Virgil,
Ciris.
For parallels see Merritt Y. Hughes,.
Univ. Cdl. Pub. in Engl.,
2, 1929, 348-54.

30 2
Glance:
the name Glauce may be derived from Spenser's conflation of
myths. In Virgil's poem the young woman is named Scylla; in Greek mythology, Scylla fell in love with Glaucus. Since Spenser borrows only the name Britomartis from
Ciris,
he may be indicating his source by
rhanmnor
the nurse's name from Carme to Glauce. See note to III.1.8.6-9. It might also be noted that Glaucus is the name of the young man in Plato,
Symposium.
30 4 keight: caught.

33 7
away doe dread: do away with dread.

34 2
straightly strayned: closely hugged. colled: embraced.

35 a
eke: augment.

36 5
stye: mount, fly.

37 3
no no: know no.

37 8
gryde: pierced.

38 9
hooke with baite: see note to I.4.25.9.

41 1
Myrrhe:
Myrrha, mother of Adonis, committed incest with her father Cinyras
(Met.
10.312-518).

41 2
Biblis:
Byblis fell in love with her brother Caunus
{Met.
9.453 ff).

41 5
Pasiphag:
fell in love with a bull, to whom she bore the Minotaur {Met. 9-735-44).

41 9
bands: bans.

43 1
Beldame: good mother.

44 6
Cephisus
foolish child: Narcissus, symbol of self-love, who drowned in a pool trying to kiss his reflection (Met. 3.407 ff).

45 9
cyphers: magic characters or letters.

47 7
apayd: satisfied.

48 6
herse: ceremonial.

49 1
Infant: princess.

49 5
Rew: the herb rue.

49 5–6
Upton
{Var.,
p. 221) notes that all these herbs are useful ‘to abate desires of venery, and to procure barrenness'.

49 6
Camphora:
camphor. Calamint: calamine.

49 8
Colt wood: or coltsfoot, according to Upton
(Var., p.
221), ‘reckoned a good cooler, and proper to abate the fervour of the virgin's love.

51 9
by triall: by experience.

52 4
brame: longing.

52 6
Stygian strand: bank of river Styx in helL

CANTO
3

1–3
Spenser addresses the power of love as directed by Providential order to bring together a man and a woman who will produce a line that will become a great dynasty. So Virgil in
Am. 6
tells about the mythical origins of Augustus' empire. Ariosto and Tasso and Spenser imitate this dynastic purpose in celebrating the origins of their patrons' realms.

2 6
descents: dynasties, successions of rulers.

2 9
late: ancient.

4 6
Clio:
the Muse of history, invoked here because Spenser is dealing ‘with facts of English history and not his epic fictions, which are the province of Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry. 4 8 protense: duration.

6 7
Aafrick Ismaell:
an old tradition suggests that Africa was peopled by Ismael and his descendants.

7 4
Cayr-Merdin:
Carmarthen in Wales.

7 7
delue: cave.

8 5
Barry:
the river Cadoxton in Wales.
Dyneuowre:
Dynevor Castle, the seat of the princes of South Wales.

10-II
Warton
(Var.,
p. 225) suggests a source for this myth in Malory, 4.1.

11 2
beare: bier.

12
Merlin's powers should be compared to the powers of Fidelia in I.10.20.

13
Merlin's parentage is not so reported in Geoffrey of Monmouth, Spenser's usual source for Merlin. Matilda and Pubidius are Spenser's addition, but Matraval is a town in Wales. The chroniclers tell that Ambrosius was king immediately preceding Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father.

14 5
hardie: bold. with loue to frend: i.e., with love as a friend.

14 6
Mage: magician.

17 5
leach-craft: medicine.

19 1
bord: talk.

19 3
colourable: deceiving.

21 8
begin: beginning.

22 6
Troian
blood: most of the chroniclers trace the origins of Britain to Brute, the great-grandson of Aeneas, thus linking British history to that of Troy.

22 8
Peres: champions, the heroes of Homer.

26 4
sib: sibling, i.e., brother or cousin or relative.

27 1
Gorlois:
Prince of Cornwall, married to Igerne or Igrayne (as Spenser calls her in the Letter to Ralegh). Uther Pendragon falls in love with her and through Merlin's magic sleeps with her, fathering Arthur. Thus for the poem Arthegall may be Arthur's half-brother, although Spenser does not even mention Igerne as mother.

27 2
Cador:
son of Gorlois in Malory.

28 5–9
See
OF
3.24.

28 8
rathe: early.

29 2
Image dead: i.e., the son looks exactly like the father.

29 5
Constantius:
when Arthur is mortally wounded in the battle with his traitorous nephew Modred, he gives his kingdom to Constantine, the son of Cador, who reigns three years and is slain by Conan, his nephew (Geoffrey of Monmouth, 11.4-5). Spenser, weaving fact with fiction, does not mention Conan by name so that he can introduce this unnamed son of Britomart and Arthegall into the chronicle of British history. For sources of this history see
Var.,
pp. 229
S.

30 1
Lyon: see Genesis, 49.9-10, the prophecy of Jacob concerning his twelve sons: ‘Juda is gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness: who shall rouse him? The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.' See also V.7.16-23.

30 5
Mertians:
the inhabitants of Mercia, who lived in the south.

30 6–9
Details invented by Spenser.

31–50
From this point on Spenser follows the standard history of Britain set forth by the chroniclers, although he often differs in detail. The outline of the history is that the Saxons defeat and finally drive the Britons (Brutans, descendants of Brute) to Wales, the traditional home of Arthur and the Tudors (stanzas 31-42). The Saxons rule for two hundred years (stanzas 44-6) until defeated by the Danes (the Raven of stanza 46). They both are defeated by William the Conqueror (Lyon of Neustria, stanza 47), whose line extends until Henry Tudor restores the ancient Britons to the throne when he becomes Henry VII and establishes the Tudor dynasty. See headnote to II. 10.

31 7–9
Geoffrey (11.7) mentions Malgo, but the other details are Spenser's invention.

32 6
six Islands, comprouindall: Iceland, Norway, the Orkneys, Ireland,

Gotland and Dacia (Denmark). See
Vat.,
p. 231.

33 1–2
Careticus appears in Geoffrey as Keredic (11.8), but the other details are Spenser's invention.

33 5
Geoffrey (11.8) makes Gormond king of the Africans.

33 9
Norueyses: Norwegians.
Britons fone: i.e., the Saxons; ‘fone' is an old plural form of'foe'.

35 3
Augustine:
St Augustine of Canterbury, not to be confused with the theologian, was sent by Pope Gregory to convert the Angles. For details of the battle see Geoffrey, II.12-13.

35 4
Dee:
the river Dee. See note to I.9.4.7.

36 1–2
Cadwallin, son of Cadwan, kills Edwin, son of Etheldred (see Geoffrey, 12.1-8).

37 5
Louthiane:
Scotland.

37 8
Penda:
Geoffrey mentions a Peanda (12.8 ff), but the angels and bloodless battle are Spenser's invention.

39 4
Geoffrey has Oswald killed by Peanda, not Cadwallin, as in Spenser (see Geoffrey, 12.10).

40 3
Cadwallader:
son of Cadwallin (see Geoffrey, 12.14).

40 8
murrins: diseases.

41 4
Armoricke:
Brittany.

42 8
antique
Troum
blood: see note to 22.6.

44 5–6
Spenser implies that this prophecy is fulfilled by the accession of Henry Tudor to the throne in 1485.

45
These men are Welsh kings. Rhodri the Great ruled
c
AD
844. Howell Dha died in 948. Griffith ap Cynan died in 1136.

46 5
Rauen: the Danes, who invaded England in
AD
787, were heathen. The figure on their ensign was a raven.

46 7
faithlesse: i.e., not Christian. chickens: generic term for any young birds.

47 2
a Lyon: William the Conqueror, 1066-87.

47 3
Neustria:
ancient name for Normandy, home of William.

48 5
Mona:
Anglesey, where Henry VII was born.

48 7
stile: title.

49 6
royall virgin: Elizabeth I.

49 7
Belgicke
shore: the Low Countries.

49 8
great Castle: Castile, Spain, whose Armada had been defeated in 1588.

52 7
Octa
and
Oza:
Octa, a son of Hengist, and Oza, a Uramati attacked Uther Pendragon around 470–80
AO
according to Geoffrey of Mon- mouth, 8.23. This is historically the time of Arthur's first appearance.

52 8
Cayr Verolame:
the ancient city Verulam, now St Albans.

54 7
Bunduca:
Queen Boadicea, mentioned in Tacitus,
Annals
14, 31, 35, 37. See note to II.10.54.6.

54 8
Guetublen:
daughter of Corineus, king of Cornwall; she killed her unfaithful husband, and later ruled Cornwall for fifteen years.

54 9
Martia:
the Dame Mertia of II.10.42, wife of Guitheline.

Emmilen:
daughter of Charlemagne?
(Var.,
p.- 236).

55 3
Meneuia:
St Davids.

55 S
Saxon
Virgin: Angela of the following stanzas. 55 6
Vlfin:
Sir Ulfius, friend of Uther.

55 7
Carados:
this episode has not been traced to any source. See Harper {Var., p. 236). Carados is a king of Scotland in Malory.

56 2
Angela:
Spenser invented this noble woman from whom England takes its name.

57 3
tynd: kindled.

58 9
fretted: decorated.

59 9
bauldrick: belt worn over shoulder to carry sword.

60 2
Bladud:
a British king famous for skill in magic. See U.10.25.6.

60 6
sell: saddle.

61 2
harnesse: armour.

CANTO
4

1 9
reuerse: return.

2 4–6
Homer does not mention Penthesilea, although she appears in
Am.
1. 490–95and later redactions of Homer.

2 7
Debora:
the story of Deborah's instigating Sisera's death is told in Judges 4.

2 8
CamilV:
Camilla slays Orsilochus in
Am.
11. 690-98.

3 8
matter: subject.

4 5
Congi:
leave (French:
congi).

8–10
The image oflife as a ship tossed on the sea is very common in Renaissance literature. See, for example, Petrarch's Sonnet 189 translated by Sir Thomas Wyatt, ‘My galley charged with forgetfulness'.

10 7
table: altar.

15 9
crouper: crupper, i.e., horse's romp.

16 3
scuchin: shield.

16 4
hauberque: long coat of maiL 168 8 soudng: falling.

17 7
Distaines: stains.

19 3
Cymoent:
mother of Marinell, called Cymodoce in IV, is one of the fifty daughters of Nereus, called the Nereids. See IV.11.48-52. The over-protective care of Cymoent for Marinell imitates Thetis' care for Achilles. See
Met.
11.217–65and 13.162-70.

19 6
Dumarin:
French: ‘of the sea'.

19 7
wheare: both ‘where' and ‘weir,' i.e., a covert

20 8
Bidi strond:
shore strewn with the gems and stones over which Brito- mart rides in stanza 18.

23 5
owches: brooches.

25 2
Proteus:
a sea god who could assume any shape he pleased.

28 6
tickle: unstable.

28 9
T'approue: prove by showing.

30 5
Continent: ground.