Source text for this digital edition:
Greene, Robert. Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. [online] Edited by Francisco Lázaro Lázaro for the EMOTHE collection. València: University of València, 2017.
- Lázaro Lázaro, Francisco
Dramatis Personae
EDWARD Prince of Wales |
LACY Earl of Lincoln} |
WARREN Earl of Sussex} |
ERMSBY } his friends |
RAFE Simnell the royal fool |
King HENRY the Third King of England |
MARGARET daughter of the keeper of Fressingfield |
The KEEPER of Fressingfield |
The Keeper's FRIEND |
HOSTESS of the Bell Inn at Henley |
JOAN her friend |
THOMAS } |
RICHARD } countrymen of Fressingfield |
LAMBERT } |
SERLSBY } Suffolk squires |
FIRST SCHOLAR Lambert’s son |
SECOND SCHOLAR Serlsby’s son |
The King of CASTILE |
Princess ELEANOR his daughter |
The EMPEROR of Germany |
The Duke of Saxony |
Friar BACON |
MILES his poor scholar |
Friar BUNGAY |
BURDEN } |
MASON } |
CLEMENT } doctors of the University of Oxford |
Jaques VANDERMAST a German magician |
The spirit of HERCULES |
A DEVIL |
The CONSTABLE |
The POST boy |
The HEAD |
[SCENE I]
Edward I “Longshanks” (1239-1307) was King of England from 1272 to 1307
Lavin explains the meaning of “malcontented” in the following way: “Suffering from love-melancholy: indicated by a dispirited and abstracted manner (line 23); perhaps even by sighs, gestures, and careless dress.”
Rafe is a variant of Ralph, representing the traditional pronunciation of the name (Hanks, Harcastle and Hodges). According to these authors, Raphe is the “Spelling representation of the traditional pronunciation of the name Ralph, a pronunciation now largely restricted to the upper classes in England.” The 1594 quarto prints “Raphe” throughout.
Alate, lately, of late (OED adv.).
launds, glades, untilled grounds (OED n.).
Stripp’d, outstripped (OED v.2 2, first recorded use).
frolic, joyous, merry, sportive (OED adj. 1a, earliest record from ?1548).
teasers, hunting hounds, hounds used to rouse the deer (OED n. 1d).
lustily, vigorously (OED adv. 2).
frankly, generously distributed (OED adv. 2b).
dump, fit of musing (OED n.1 1).
jocund, merry (OED adj. a).
bonny, beautiful (OED adj. 1a).
filled, who filled.
stately, majestic (OED adj. 1a).
stammel, a coarse woolen cloth, or linsey-woolsey, usually dyed red; an under-garment of
this material, worn by ascetics (OED n.2)
straight, at once (OED adv. 2c).
amort, lifeless, inanimate; fig. spiritless, dejected (OED adv. and adj. a, oldest appearance).
Ned, Edward.
Marry, By Mary, expressing surprise, astonishment, outrage; also used to give emphasis to one’s words (OED int. 1).
my cap and my coat and my dagger, stock properties of the professional jester (Lavin).
scab, scoundrel (OED adj. 1).
Sirrah, used here to address a superior in rank.
Joke that depends of understanding “books” as a cant term for “woman”.
- Q1 the
fold, enclose, cover, wrap up (OED v.1 8).
Luna is the moon, goddess Diana. Bevington explains that the pale moon triumphs in the chaste whiteness of her cheeks, mixed with the red of the morning sun.
front, forehead (OED n. 1a).
In this verse we find a personification of beauty.
margarites, pearls (OED n.1 1a).
ruddy coral cliffs, red lips (Bevington).
This description is a Petrarchan mixture of the white of moonlight and the red of dawn
curious imagery, delicate beauty (Bevington).
homely, rustic, unsophisticated (OED adj. 2a).
quainter, more beautiful, more fashionable, elegant (quaint, OED adj. 3c).
honour’s taint, the hue of high rank, the mark of nobility (Lavin).
courts of love, chivalric tribunals which decided questions of gallantry (Lavin).
secret, not widely known (Bevington).
foolery, coquetry (Lavin).
Whenas, When (OED adv. and conj. 1a).
Lucrece was a virtuous Roman matron of a good family, raped by Sextus Tarquin, Tarquin the Proud’s son (534-510 a.C.), last king of Rome. To avoid the dishonour for the rape she killed herself by stabbing herself in the heart, an affair which triggered the end of the Roman monarchy. Shakespeare wrote The Rape of Lucrece about this story.
fain, gladly (OED adv.).
- Q1 and
an an and learn me that, if you teach me that (Bevington); an*
- Q1 and
brave, fine, splendid (OED adj. 2).
brave, fine, splendid (OED adj. 2).
necromancer, magician, wizard, conjuror (OED n. 1).
juggle, change magically. (OED v. 4b, earliest example).
cats, spirits (Bevington).
costermongers, fruit-sellers (OED n. 1).
because, in order that (OED conj. 2).
wrought smock, embroidered petticoat (Bevington).
A version of essentially the same idea appears en the A text of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (I, iv, 47): “No, no, sir. If you turn me into anything, let it be in the likeness of a little pretty frisky flea, that I may be here and there and everywhere. Oh, I’ll tickle the pretty wenches’ plackets; I’ll be amongst them, i’ faith.”Though, according to Lavin, the passage is dismissed by some editors as an actor’s addition.
press, crowd (OED n.1 5).
plackerd, placard, underskirt, apron, slit (OED n. 2c).
Forwhy, Because (OED conj. 1a).
marriage or no market, according to Lavin it might be a proverbial phrase. No marriage, no sex. No deal,
no sex.
art, art of sorcery (Seltzer); black art, magic (Lavin).
wags, fellows (OED n. 1).
Saint James’, Saint James’s day, the twenty-fifth of July.
haunt thee, make frequent visit (Bevington).
loves, likings (OED n.1 3).
Cote, Surpass, Outstrip (OED v.1 2).
court her to control the clown, court her putting the bumpkin in his place (Bevington).
tirèd, attired (Bevington).
fairings, presents, souvenirs, or other items given at or brought back from a fair. (OED n.1
1a, earliest record from 1574).
send, dispatch by messenger, send word (OED v.1 6a).
morris dance, a lively traditional English dance performed in formation by a group of dancers in a distinctive costume, usually wearing bells and ribbons and carrying handkerchiefs or sticks (OED n. 1).
[SCENE II]
doctors, scholars (Bevington).
viceroys, governors of the institution by virtue of the academic eminence (Bevington).
liberal arts, the seven subjects of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic) and quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy) considered collectively (OED n.).
stalled, installed (OED v.1 7a).
read, learned (OED adj.1b).
pyromancy, divination by fire, or by signs derived from fire (OED n.).
divine, prophesy (OED v. 8).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Hadromaticke
- Collier hydromatic
hydromancy hydromancy Hadromaticke hydromatic , divination by means of signs derived from water, its tides and ebbs (OED n.).
aeromancy, divination by air or by things in the air, for example clouds or birds (OED n.).
discover doubts, resolve uncertainties (Bevington).
plain out, elucidate (Bevington).
rehearsing, reciting (OED v. 4a).
This is an allusion to the fable by Aesop (c.600-c.564), the ancient Greek writer, in which the fox said that the grapes were sour just because they were unreachable.
nothing, not at all (OED adv. 1a).
that which is above us pertains nothingN
nothing, not at all (OED adv. 1a).
unfold, explain (OED v.1 2).
aphorisms, scientific principles, concise statements of principles in any science (OED n. 1).
read a lecture, deliver a lecture (Bevington).
compass, encompass, surround (OED v.1 III).
mystically, figuratively (OED adv. 2b).
Mother Waters’, an innkeeper’s (Bevington).
turn, purpose (OED n. 30).
a copper nose, a drunkard’s red nose, with a quibble on “brazen” and “copper” (Lavin).
admire, marvel at (OED v. 1b[a]).
Resolve you, be assured (Lavin), understand (Bevington).
Boreas, the North Wind, imprisoned in the Cave of the Winds, controlled by Aeolus (Aeneid, I, 50-59).
Ability commonly attributed to magicians.
pentageron, pentagonon, pentagram, a five-pointed star thought to have magical power (pentagram
OED n. 1).
turn, turn the pages of (Bevington).
to the deep, to the fullest extent possible (Bevington).
framed, devised (OED v. 6a).
Belcephon is not known elsewhere as the name of a demon. Lavin points at the possibility that it derives from Baal-zephon (Exodus xiv:2 , Numbers xxxiii:7).
if, even if (OED conj. 4a).
From Dover to the marketplace of Rye, surrounding the island. Dover and Rye are two ports about 20 miles apart on the extreme south-east coast of England.
- Q1 to
mathematic, astrological (OED adj.).
common sense, natural intelligence possessed by a typical person (OED n. 4a).
in state of schools, in academic rank (Lavin), in academic learning (Bevington).
- Q1 I will aske what thou can
- Q2 I will, aske what thou can
I will. Ask what thou can
I will. Ask what thou can
I will aske what thou can
I will, aske what thou can
, without punctuation in the quarto. Other editors have used a comma or a semicolon,
but I have chosen this punctuation because I think “I will” is the reaction to the
previous words by Bacon, and the pause after this reply has to be emphasized.
he’ll straight be on your pickpack, he’ll be riding you, pressing his argument (Bevington).
whether the feminine or the masculine gender be most worthy, a common academic topic for debate (Bevington).
The widely-used Latin grammar by William Lily (1549) ranged the genders in order of “worthiness”: masculine, feminine and neuter.
pass not of, do not care about (OED v. 51b).
Balaam’s ass. This ass appears in the Bible (Numbers xxii:21-33); it spoke, but lacked human intelligence and learning. It refused to obey Balaam’s order to go forward when it saw an angel of the lord standing in their way.
Masters, Good sirs (OED n. 20b).
for that, since, because (OED conj. 1a).
sore, grievously, sorely (OED adv. 5a).
cabbalism, mystic or occult doctrine, mystery (OED n. 2, earliest example).
alchemy, literally the search for a method of transmuting base metals into gold, or for the panacea, but according to Lavin here it is apparently a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
now, now that.
exceed, to have more than usual at a meal, chiefly a Cambridge expression (OED v. 6a, earliest example).
against, in preparation for (OED prep. 10).
motion, impulse (OED n. 12a).
forth of door, out the door (OED adv., prep. and n. 9a).
pried, peered (OED v.1 1).
A pox of, a curse on (OED n. 2a).
post, haste, speed (OED v.2 2a).
mated, abashed, checkmated (OED adj. 3).
Drives him to bash, Makes him abashed (Bevington).
motion, proposal (OED n. 13b).
by proof, by way of proof (Bevington).
uncouth, unusual, marvellous, strange (OED adj.and n. 3a).
Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and magic. It has to be read trisyllabically.
[SCENE III]
clowns, rustics (OED n. 1a).
a weather is able to make a man call his father whoreson, a weather so favourable that a farmer can thumb his nose at his poor father (Bevington).
good cheap, good bargain, at a good price (OED n. 8a).
bear no price, be almost priceless (Bevington).
a cope, a bargain (OED n.3 1).
turned our butter to the salt, salted our butter (Bevington).
sluts, girls, wenches (OED n. 2a).
naughts, trifles (OED n. 2b).
fine, attractive, good-looking, handsome (OED adj. 9a).
frank, generous (OED adj.2 2a).
fairings, fair gifts (OED n.1 1a).
Semele was loved not by Phoebus, but by Jove (with whom he had a child, Dionysius), and was consumed when he visited her in the divine splendour of his thunder and lightning.
chapmen, customers (OED n. 4a).
for to, in order to (OED prep. and conj. 11a).
fairing, complimentary gift (OED n.1 2a).
soothe me up, blandish me, humour me (OED v. 5a).
broad, obvious, clear (OED adj. n.1 and adv. 5a).
turn, purpose (OED n. 30).
dump, reverie (OED n.1 1).
snap off, drink quickly (OED v. 7a).
terms, accent, way of speaking (OED n. 12).
quaint, disdainful, proud (OED adj., adv. and n.2 7).
Tirèd, Attired (Bevington).
You forget , You are mistaken, Surely you mistake (OED v. 5b).
by the mass, an oath (OED n.1 4a).
goodman, farmer (OED n. 4b).
’a were good to be, he would be a good (Lavin).
jade, a contemptuous name for a horse, a horse of inferior breed (OED n.1 1a).
hilding, worthless or vicious beast (OED n. 1).
erst as yet, up to now (Lavin).
gentle, noble, courteous (OED adj and n. 3a).
facile, affable, courteous (OED adj. and adv. 3b).
proudest, most lordly (OED adj., n. and adv. 5a).
quaint, beautiful, pretty (OED adj. 3c).
woodmen, keepers of forests (OED n.1 2).
store, plenty (OED n. 4b).
Gramercies, Thanks (OED int. 1a).
[SCENE IV]
Henry III (1207-1276), king of England from 1216 to 1276.
Emperor Frederick II (1211-1250), Henry III’s brother-in-law, never visited England.
wanton, amorous, lustful, not chaste, sexually promiscuous (OED adj. and n. 3a).
Henry III was a member of the family of the Plantagenet. The House of Plantagenet
reigned in England from 1154 to 1399.
froward, unfavourable, perverse (OED adj., adv. and prep. 2). Aeolus was the god of adverse winds.
by his lords, by means of his lords (Bevington).
counterfeit, picture (OED adj. and n. 3a).
brave, handsome, splendid (OED adj., n. and int. 2).
in equal links, in equal parts united (Bevington).
posted, hastened (OED v.2 2a).
side, region, area (OED n.1 20b).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Fremingham
,
fallow, red-brown (OED adj.1 and n.2 A1).
packets, mail dispatches (Bevington).
- Q1 Haspurg
have I brought a learnèd clerkN
clerk, scholar (OED n. 4a).
passed into, travelled through, journeyed (Bevington).
art, learning (OED n.1 10b).
try, test (OED v. 7a).
motion, proposal (OED n. 13b).
likes me well, pleases me (OED v.1 1a).
brings, brings forth (OED v. 7a).
wonder, wonderful, wondrous (OED adj.).
only flower, chief ornament (Bevington).
Set him but nonplus, Confound him (Bevington).
Whilst then, Until the time that (OED adv. and conj. 4).
- Collins Seltzer Lavin Q1 fit
- Q2 Q3 sit
- Collier Dyce Ward Grosart Gayley Neilson Harrison set
troops, companions (OED n. 1b).
[SCENE V]
at an inch, close at hand, at any instant, (OED n.1 P1).
fetch, contrivance, trick, device (OED n.1 2).
field-bed, portable military bed (OED n. and adj. 1).
flee, fly (OED v. 6).
motioned, urged (OED v. 2b).
cutting, swaggering (OED adj. 3, second earliest example).
countenance, reputation, princely dignity, a quibble on Ermsby’s words (OED n.1 10).
bucklers, shields (OED n.2 1).
subsizar, at Cambridge University, an undergraduate receiving financial assistance from his or her college and ranking below a sizar (OED n. 1, earliest example).
Tully’s phrase, that is, in elegant classical Latin like that of M. Tullius Cicero.
The joke in these lines depends on understanding the allusions to parts of the grammar by William Lily, quoted by Lavin in his edition: “A Noune is the name of a thinge, that may be seene, felte, hearde, or understood” and “A nowne substantyve is that standeth by himself”. This is the traditional pedagogical definition of a noun.
an a’ will, if he wishes; an, if (OED conj. 2); a’, he ; will, wish (OED v.2 1a).
- Q1 hard
reparel, apparel (OED n. 1b).
- Q1 spring
springe
springe
spring
, ensnare (OED v.2 1).
Gog’s wounds, a euphemism for “God’s wounds”, an oath (OED n. and int. P3 b[a]). A deformation of this expression, which appears three lines below, is ’Swones.
scabs, knaves, scoundrels (OED adj. 1).
by, near, at hand (OED prep. and adv. B1a).
light-fingered, having fingers quick and dexterous; thievish, dishonest (OED adj. b).
warrant, protect, back up (OED v. 1a).
man, attendant, manservant (OED n. and int. 7a).
grew fast, stuck fast (Bevington).
Edward is referred to by this title several times in the play, but historically he never bore it. He gave it to his eldest son (who became Edward II) in 1301, a custom that has remained until nowadays.
the Sussex Earl, Warren.
Fast-fancied, strongly attached by fancy, bound by infatuation, bound by love (OED adj. C1b).
treat, entreat, request (OED. v. 3a).
allow, receive (OED v. 1a).
But even friends, being mortal males, are subject to love, and hence likely to sacrifice friendship to love (Bevington).
- Q2 Q3 wooes
- Collier woos
Apollo is the all-knowing god of prophecy. The greatest oracle in ancient Greece was that of Apollo.
at a pinch, in this emergency (OED n. 6a).
strength, strengthen (OED v. I).
state, estate (OED n. 1b [c]).
Miles addresses the disguised Rafe as though he were the real Prince of Wales.
dump, reverie (OED n.1 1).
liberal, generous (OED adj. and n. A1a).
strain out, search thoroughly, employ to the outmost (OED v.1 10f).
glass prospective, Bacon’s magic mirror, in which he can see events distant in time and place (OED n. 1).
quite thy pain, requite your efforts (Bevington).
revel it, have fun (OED v.1 1b, second earliest example).
lord it out, play or act the Prince (Bevington).
black pots, leather beer-mugs. Here, figuratively, “drinkers” (OED n. 1).
[SCENE VI]
The third person plural in –s is frequent in Elizabethan writing and occurs several times in this play.
tempers, mixes (OED v. 3).
toys, trifles (OED n. 5).
consistory court, ecclesiastical court held by the diocesan chancellor (Lavin).
Lincolnshire is in the area of East Midlands, on the shore of the North Sea.
try, ascertain (OED v. 5a).
meaneth to, is disposed towards (OED v.1 2).
brightsome, bright-looking (OED adj.).
the paramour of Mars, Venus, who is the lover of Mars, the god of war.
eye, view, sight (OED n.1 2).
holp, helped (OED v.).
lure, bait, temptation (OED n.2 4a).
But did Lord Lacy like, But if Lord Lacy loves (Bevington).
for great wealth, in return for great wealth (Bevington).
quite, requite (Bevington).
the pride of vaunting Troy, Paris, son of King Priam of Troy.
shadow, screen from blame, excuse (OED v. 3b).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Hellens cape
- Dyce Ward Collins Grosart Helen’s rape
scape Helen’s scape Hellens cape Helen’s rape , transgression (OED n.1 2).
chiefest prime, golden age (Bevington).
lusty, lustful (OED adj. 4).
churl, peasant (OED n. 4).
Phoebus Apollo fell violently in love with Daphne, who escaped his pursuit by being metamorphosed into a laurel tree, which is precisely what her name means in Greek.
secret, close (OED adj. and n. 2a).
- Q1 acception
deems, considers, values (OED v. 6).
Love treats a prince as any other man.
control, hinder (OED v. 4a).
brook not, do not tolerate (OED v.1 3a).
A penny for your thought is a proverbial phrase.
You’re early up; pray God it be the near, an allusion to the proverb “Early up and never the nearer” (Lavin).
the near, nearer to your purpose (Bevington).
watchful, sleepless (OED adj. 1).
brook … sleep, have to endure interrupted slumbers instead of undisturbed sleep.
sues, woos (OED v. 15).
wag, mischievous boy (OED n.2 1).
shrine,enshrine (OED v. 4)
idea, image (OED n. 7).
dial’s, sundial’s (OED n.1 2a).
timely, quickly, without delay (OED adv. 1).
too too, lamentably, regrettably (OED adv. 4a).
Dyce and Ward assign this line to Lacy.
pursuivants, royal messengers (OED n. and adj. 2a).
swain, rustic (OED n. 4).
who, whoever (OED pron. (and n.)6).
the Exchequer, the royal treasury (OED n. 2a).
crown, five shillings (OED n. 32b).
Forwhy, because (OED conj. 1a).
forge, frame, fashion (OED v.1 1).
tirèd, attired (Bevington).
ends, completes (OED v. 1a).
so please himself, if it so pleases him, if he so wishes (Lavin).
plight the bands, confirm the union (Lavin).
Choler, Anger (OED n. and adj. 3).
’gree, agree (OED v.).
Bacon’s reminds the audience that the solid actors on stage represent shadows in the magic glass.
jars, quarrels, dissension (OED n.1 6b).
humper up, make fast, make secure (Bevington).
portace, service book, breviary, prayer-book (OED n. 1a).
likes, pleases (OED v.1 1a).
handfast, to promise formally in marriage to another (OED v. 1a).
crowns, gold coins (OED n. 32b).
For, From (OED prep. and conj. 23d).
Reft, Bereft (OED adj.1 2).
passions, forces (OED n. 11a).
miscreant, heretic, unbeliever (OED adj. and n. B1a).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Bacon
‘Bacon’ crossed out in Q1 and corrected as ‘Bungay’
Of courtesy, As a matter of courtesy (OED n. 3a).
passing, very, exceedingly (OED adj. prep. and adv. Ca)
in post, in haste, quickly, hasten (OED n.3 P4).
quite, requite (Bevington).
[SCENE VII]
fits, befits (OED v.1 3).
repair, visit (OED n.1 2b).
trooped with, accompanied by (OED v. 2a, earliest example).
Almain, German. It is archaic and of literary usage according to the OED.
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Scocon
Scocon in the first quarto, Saxon*
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Scocon
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Scocon
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Scocon
jests, entertainments (OED n. 8).
plots, outlines or schemes of plays (OED n. 3d).
stately, dignified (OED adj. and n. A1a).
Strange comic shows, Exciting masques and pageants (Lavin).
Roscius, Quintus Roscius Gallus was a famous Roman actor who lived in the first century BC.
Vaunted, Declaimed proudly (OED v. 1a).
Don Jacques Vandermast, even though he is German Greene gives him the treatment of “Don”.
vouch, agree to undertake, vouchsafe (OED v. 11a, third earliest example).
countervail, match (OED v. 2a).
can, who can.
SP Clement ] Dyce; Q1-3 Bevington on line 801.
hold the German play, keep the German in play (Lavin).
Mas’, Master (OED n.1 1).
rumour, din, noise, uproar (OED n. 5).
rufflers, ruffians, swaggerers (OED n.1 2).
lubberly, stupid, clumsy (OED adj. and adv. 1).
lurdane, lazy, worthless, ill-bred (OED n. and adj. B).
Neat, unadulterated (OED adj., (n.2 and int.) and adv. 8a).
sheat, trim, neat (OED adj.).
bell-wether, the leading sheep of a flock, leader (OED n. 1).
broke, banged (Bevington).
brave, handsomely dressed, handsome, fine (OED adj., n. and int. 2).
Bewrays, Reveals (OED v. 4).
speak like a proctor, speak authoritatively. A proctor is one whose job is to keep watch over students during examinations (Bevington).
veriment, correct, veritable (OED adv., n. and adj. C, earliest example).
cease of, cease (OED v. 1a).
talis, tales, account. Here it is a comic rhyme (Bevington).
ware, beware (OED v. 3a).
white, favourite, most beloved (OED adj. (and adv.) and n. 9).
ingenious, generous, high-minded, noble (OED adj. 2a).
Niniversity, word formed from “ninny”(synonym of “fool”, “simpleton”) and “university”.
A riverside area at the south end of London Bridge, outside the city’s jurisdiction, where theatres, brothels and bear-baiting pits (where chained bears were to fight against dogs trained for that) flourished.
pantofles, cork-soled shoes or slippers (OED n.).
pinnace, small light vessel (OED n. 1a).
pioneers, diggers (OED n. and adj. A1b).
According to Lavin, this is probably an allusion to the translation by Alexander Barclay in 1509 of the Ship of Fools by Sebastian Brant.
light, little (Lavin).
beadles, university constables (Lavin), minor officials (Bevington).
roisters, roisterers, riotous fellows (OED n.1 1a).
Close clapped, Securely confined (OED adj. and adv. S2).
hamper, strike, beat (OED v.2, second earliest example).
flirt, blow (OED n. 2, earliest example).
revel-dash, playful or boisterous delivery of blows or strokes (OED n.1 C2).
meet, suitable (OED adj. 2a).
sported me, amused myself (OED v. 1a).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Essex
scapes, faults, escapades, pranks (OED n.1 3).
him, refers to Rafe.
[SCENE VIII]
Cassius secretly conspired against Caesar, conspiracy that ended up in the assassination of the latter in the ides of March (the fifteenth of this month).
portace, service book, breviary, prayer-book (OED n. 1a).
had, would have.
curious, beautifully wrought (OED adj. 14).
in fancy, in affairs of the heart (Bevington).
Hephaestion, Macedonian general, close friend of Alexander the Great, who mourned his death extravagantly.
passion, suffering (OED n. 3).
fading, transitory (OED adj. a).
effeminate, self-indulgent, weak, unmanly (OED adj. and n. 1a).
corrival, (OED n. and adj. 2, earliest example).
still, continually, constantly (OED adv. 3).
fancy, love (OED n. 8b).
cipher out, concealingly express (OED v. 2).
favours, beauties (OED n. 8).
of force, full of strength (OED n. 1b).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Sethin
“Shittim*
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Sethin
wanton, play sportively (OED v. 1a).
lavoltas, lively dances for two persons, consisting a good deal in high and active bounds (OED n.).
psalteries, instruments similar to dulcimers (OED n. 1).
wait, attend (OED v.1 9a).
stem, bow (OED n.2 3).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 her
lays, songs (OED n.4 1a).
A similar offer, in comparable terms, was made by Tamburlaine to Zenocrate in the play by Marlowe (Tamburlaine, I, ii, 93-105).
- Neilson Danaë
,
- Q1 tied
tirèd tirèd tied , attired (Bevington).
in Latona's webs,webs, garments (OED n. 2a).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Come
his lodge, the sky.
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Not
point of schools, debating point, aphorism (Lavin), scholastic debate (Bevington).
doom, sentence (OED n. 2).
For so, In this way (OED adv. and conj. 2c).
Time, in this case it is a personification.
vaunt him, display himself proudly (OED v. 3a).
wrings, wrests, twists (OED 2. 2a).
overlive, outlive, live longer than (OED v. 1).
short, shorten the duration (OED v. 2a).
Rid me, Kill me, Get rid of me (OED v. 4b).
blazed, published (OED v.2 2a).
abide, undergo, suffer (OED v. 15).
fancy, infatuation, love (OED n. 8b).
Saracens, Arabs, members of a nomadic people living in the deserts between Syria and Arabia (OED n. 1a).
plumes, things in which to take pride (OED n. 3b).
spoil, booty (OED n. 1).
frankly, freely (OED adv. 1).
Albion diadem, English crown (Bevington).
Aspasia, celebrated courtesan, longtime companion to Pericles of Athens (fifth century before Christ). She came from Miletus, near the coast of what was then Persia under King Cyrus.
second, next in importance (OED adj. and n. 15).
secret, closest (OED adj. and n. 2).
passed, exchanged (OED v. 35a).
revolt, changed in their allegiance, withdrawn, overturned (OED v. 2b).
lusty, strong (OED adj. 5a).
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare (V, i, 91-92) Theseus displays the same magnanimity.
[SCENE IX]
battling, nourishing, fattening (OED adj.2 1).
laid, covered, ornamented (OED v.1 42).
searching, investigating (OED v. 5a).
rooms, open spaces (OED n.1 and int. 6d).
meanly, slenderly (Bevington).
read, well-read, learned (OED adj.1b).
deep, deeply, widely (OED adv.1a).
Charm, Overcome (OED v.1 4).
as a king should do (Bevington).
worthies, of rank, noble, high-born (OED adj., n. and adv.10).
pyromancy, divination by fire (OED n.).
geomancy, divination by means of signs derived from the earth, usually by a handful thrown in the air (OED n.1).
cabbalists, skilled in mystic arts or learning (OED n. 2, earliest example).
Hermes Trismegistus and Malchus Porphyrius were Neoplatonist philosophers. The philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras is included probably because of the mystical significance of numbers.
’mongst the quadruplicity of elemental essence, among the four elements (earth, air, fire and water).
compass, range, scope (OED n., adj. and adv. 9a).
his, its.
only, alone (OED adj.1).
demons, supernatural beings (OED n. (and adj.) 1a).
that place, the sun, the place of fire.
shows, sights (OED n.1 1b).
transparent shades, spectres, ghosts (Bevington).
charged, given orders, commanded (OED v. 14a).
gross, large, massive (OED adj. and n.4 1a).
massy, hard and compact, solid (OED adj.3a).
local essence, defining character (Bevington); essence which characterised them as spirits of earth or air, etc … (Lavin)
Luna’s continent, the sphere of the Moon, one of the spheres which surrounded the Earth according to the heliocentric system of the Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy (c.100-c.170).
A reference to the angels which did not revolt (Bevington).
understanding, reason (OED n. 1).
grant, supposing (OED v. 7a).
Another contest between Bacon and Vandermast occurs in John of Bordeaux, an anonymous sequel to Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay.
point, feat (OED n.1 28).
charge, order (OED n. 15a).
stout, brave (OED adj. and adv. 3a).
nonplus, perplexed (OED n. and adj. 1).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 Lutrech
and Orleans.
acted, done, performed (OED n. 2a).
science, mastery of any branch of learning (OED n. 2).
foil, repulse, set-back (OED n.2 2a).
foretime, previously (OED n. and adv. B).
mounted, caused to rise (OED v. 2a).
yielding unto, obeying (OED v. 2a).
art, magical skill (Bevington).
travail, a pun with the two possible meanings of the word: (i) work (OED n. 2), (ii) travel (OED n. 7).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 springs
’gainst the spring spring springs , in time for spring*
- Q1 Q2 Q3 springs
Vanish, Cause to dissapear (OED v. 4).
As King of England, I will acknowledge and proclaim your greatness.
fit, prepare (OED n. 6a).
cheer, food and drink for a festive occasion (OED n. 6).
amorets, love-looks, looks that inspire love (OED n. 5, second earliest example).
- Q1 they teasers
toil, net or nets into which game is driven (OED n.2 1a).
entertain, entertainment, welcome (OED n. 1a).
joint, joined, (OED adj. 1a).
overmatcheth, surpasses (OED v. 1a).
joy, rejoice (OED v. 1).
consorting, agreeing, harmonious (OED adj., only example).
greets, greetings (OED n.1, earliest example).
trenchers, wooden plates (OED n.1 2).
sewer, attendant at a meal, butler, waiter (OED n.2).
what skills, what does it matter? (OED v.1 2b).
sleights, tricks (OED n.1 4a).
cover, spread a cloth, lay the table (OED v. 2d).
a mess of pottage, a proverbially current phrase in allusions to Esau’s sale of his birthright to his brother Jacob.
twopenny chop, worthless stew, (OED n.1 2c, first appearance).
admire not, don’t be surprised (OED v. 1a).
riot, extravagance (OED n. 2a).
place, assign a place to (OED v. 3a).
cates, delicacies (OED n.1 1a). Here used ironically.
meat, food (OED n. 1a).
drugs, spices (Bevington).
carvels, small, fast ships, especially from Spain and Portugal (OED n. 1).
the Gyptian courtesan, Cleopatra.
Augustus’ kingly countermatch, Mark Antony.
caroused, drunk off repeatedly (OED v. 1a).
canes, sugarcanes (OED n.1 1a).
mirabellle, a small sweet yellow plum, eaten chiefly in France; the tree producing this fruit, Prunus × domestica subsp. italica var. syriaca (OED n. 1a). Sometimes confused with the myrobalan plum or cherry plum, Prunus cerasifera, or its fruit.
suckets, succades, sweetmeats (OED n. a).
Tiberias, a town in Galilee.
lamp, torch (OED n.1 1c).
grudge, grumble, complain (OED v. 1a).
[SCENE X]
jacks, black-jacks, leather drinking vessels (OED n.2 2).
sparkles, glittering or flashing point of light, stars (OED n. 5a).
jointer, joint possessor, sole inheritor of the estate (OED n.1).
to my wife, to be my wife, as my wife.
marks, units of monetary computation worth 13s 4d each (OED n.2 2a).
holds, tenancies, properties (OED n.1 8).
copy, copyhold, tenure (Bevington).
my due, the rent due to me (OED n. 3b).
enfeoff, put in absolute possession of (OED v. 1aα).
doubtful, difficult (OED adj. 6).
meaner, humbler (OED adj. 3d).
sith, since (OED adv., prep. and conj. C1a).
fee, pension, revenue, income, social rank, status (OED n. 4b).
loves, affection, fondness, loyalty (OED n. 1a).
Death ends one marriage and provides opportunity for another (Bevington).
tempered, mixed (OED v. 3).
trick it up with poesies, employ fanciful, poetic language (Lavin).
comparisons, simile, poetic metaphors (OED n. 3b).
stay, support (OED n. 1c).
clime, area, region (OED n. 2b).
’gree, degree (OED n. 4).
stay, duration, continuance in a state (OED n.3 6c).
while, until (OED adv. (and adj.) and conj. (and prep.),B3a).
meads, meadows (OED n.2 a).
battling, nourishing (OED adj.2 1).
stapled, wool, cotton, silk, etc... having a staple, fibered (OED adj.1 3b, earliest example).
burnished, glossy (OED adj. 2a).
strouting, protruding, swelling (OED v. 2a).
paggle, bulge as though pregnant (OED v., only example).
pass, forget about (OED v. 30a).
embrodered, embroidered (OED v.).
lawns, fine linens (OED n.1 1).
networks, light fabric of netted threads (OED n. and adj. A1).
habilements, garments (OED n. 4).
counsel me, consider by myself (OED v. 5).
myself affectionates, I regard with affection (OED v. 1).
brook, put up with (OED v.1 3a).
braves, boasts, threads (Lavin, Bevington).
At dint of, by blows from (OED n. 1a).
single in the field, man to man in a duel (Lavin).
haps, happenings, occurrences (OED n.1 3).
bale, woe, often opposed alliteratively to bliss (OED n.1 5).
hue, shape, figure (OED n.1 1a).
Compare with Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus about Helen:“Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?”(v, i, 96-97).
post me, hasten (OED v.2 2a).
ready, straight ahead, close at hand (OED adj., adv., int. and n. A9).
This edition
closures, covers, coverings (OED n. 1a).
The letter is written in the euphuistic style, after John Lyly’s Euphues (1578-1580), with fanciful natural history, antithetical sentence structures,etc... (Bevington)
haemerae, hemera, insects of short life (OED n.1 1a, earliest example).
queasy, delicate, fastidious, squeamish (OED adj. 2b).
snaky locks, it was Medusa, not Ate, who was the snake-haired goddess.
lightened, emitted flashes (OED v. 7).
froward, perverse (OED adj., adv. and prep. A2).
shelves, cliffs (OED n.1 5a).
commander, the emperor (Bevington).
shorn a nun, have the hair cut off and become a nun.
passions, emotions (OED n. 6a).
[SCENE XI]
white stick, conjuring wand (Bevington).
craves, demands (OED v. 1a).
furniture, weapons (OED v. 4b).
concave continent, the sky or the sphere of the Moon, orbit (Lavin).
uncouth, unusual, marvellous, remarkable (OED adj.and n. 3a).
weal, welfare (OED n.1 1a).
glister, bright light (OED n. 1).
knock your head, nod in sleep against the stage pillar (Lavin).
brown bill, halberd, pike (OED n.).
as the nightingale, proverbially, the nightingale sings with its breast against a thorn. The implication here seems to be that the slowworm (snake) is waiting for the bird to sleep before attacking it (Lavin).
slowworm, small lizard, snake (OED n.).
, if (OED conj. 2).
peripatetian, peripatician, follower of the Peripatetic Aristotle’s school of philosophy (OED n. 1).
latter day, the Last Day, doomsday, the Day of Judgement (OED n. A2b).
passing, exceedingly (OED adj., prep. and adv. Ca).
choler, anger (OED n. and adj. 3).
work, achieve (OED v. 9).
braves, boasts (Lavin, Bevington).
conceit, good opinion (OED n. 6a).
sorteth, concludes, leads to (OED v.1 7b).
fatal to some end, doomed to a fatal end (Bevington).
avoid, go, get away (OED v. 6a).
range, wander (OED v.1 I1a).
I am against you with, I can answer or counter you with (Lavin).
The more the fox is cursed, the better he fares is proverbial and collected in the Dictionary of proverbs by George Latimer Apperson and Martin H. Manser (2007) on page 219. There is a double play with the words: firstly, “cursed” has the meaning “damned” and “chased” (coursed); secondly, “fares” may refer to “succeed” or to “go away”.
want, lack (OED v. 1a).
haunt on, pursue (OED v. 5a).
To lose, Having lost.
[SCENE XII]
amorets, looks of love (OED n. 5, second earliest example).
a flame, Eleanor.
down, in the shade (Bevington).
counterfeit, portrait (OED adj. and n. 3a).
trooped, accompanied (OED v. 2a, earliest example).
Marry allows a pun due to the two meanings it has, as an exclamation and as a verb.
when egg-pies … bagpiper, never, it is impossible that this happens (Lavin).
querry, equerry, officer in charge of the royal stables (OED n. 2).
coursers, swift, spirited horses (Bevington).
for, because.
One day shall match Your Excellence and her, you shall both be married on the same day (Lavin).
coy, disdainful, proud, distant (OED adj. 3).
for I do love … in love, I love Lacy as the closest to my heart after my first attachment to you (Bevington).
out of all ho, beyond all moderation (OED n. B).
post, speedily (OED adv. 1).
fly the partridge, fly the hawks at the partridges (OED v.1 3c).
[SCENE XIII]
bruited, widely proclaimed (OED adj. 5a).
- Q1 Q2 Q3 on
uncouth, remarkable, strange, marvellous (OED adj. 3a).
infringe, destroy, invalidate (OED v.1 1).
prospective, prophetic, able to see into the future (OED n. and adj. B1).
’tide, happen, betide, befall (OED v. 1a).
Grosart, Gayley and Neilson assign this line to Bacon.
scholars, undergraduates (OED n. 2a).
countries, districts (OED v. AI 4a).
lusty, vigorous (OED adj. 5a).
- Q2 Q3 fathers live
hour, appointed time (OED n. 4a).
prize, stake, risk (OED v.1 1b).
braves, boasts, threats, taunts (Lavin, Bevington).
brook, tolerate (OED v.1 3a).
single thee the , take thee apart, draw out; based on hunting terminology (Seltzer).
scold it out, continue wrangling to the end. (OED v. 2, earliest example).
buckle with, grapple, engage with, encounter with (OED v. 3b).
younkers, young men(OED n. 2a).
My father’s is the abuse, My father is wronged (Bevington).
harm, be harmed.
event, result, outcome (OED n. 3a).
stand’st, remain motionless (OED v. 4a).
Doubt’st thou of, Do you fear for (OED n.2 8a).
a veny, a bout of fencing. (OED n.2 2).
ward, defensive move in fencing, parry (OED n.2 8a).
quite, requite (Bevington).
Bevington places the stage direction here instead of before line 1781, and this makes more sense.
stratagem, violent act (OED n. 3).
There is no indication here or at the end of the scene as to how the four bodies were removed from the audience’s view.
brutes, bruisers (OED adj. and n.1 2b).
fatal, condemned by fate, doomed (OED adj. 2).
tossing, turning over and over (OED v. 2).
in the latest night, deep of night (OED adj., n. and adv. 4, earliest example).
Conjuring, Calling upon (OED v. 3).
adjuring, invoking (OED v. 3).
stole, vestments worn by a priest when engaged in exorcism or conjuration (OED n. 2b).
alb, white vestment reaching the feet and enveloping the entire body, worn by clergy, servers, and others taking part in church services (OED n.).
wresting, wrenching, misapplying, misusing (OED v. 5a).
instances that, reasons why (OED n. 2).
from, free from.
what Bacon vainly lost, his soul.
[SCENE XIV]
dated, having a fixed date, destined (OED adj. 1).
measures, melodies (OED n. 14).
lively, living (OED adj. and n. A1a).
repents, repentances (OED n.).
pricks, marks on a surface made with a pointed tool (OED n. 2a).
engine, instrument (OED n. 13).
fond, foolish (OED adj. and n.1 A2).
The characters who enter do not see Margaret, the Keeper and the friend at first, and Margaret stands to one side (Bevington).
wags, mischievous boys (OED n.2 1).
mutton, slang term for prostitute (OED n. 4).
left, lost (OED v. 12b).
malcontent, discontented (OED n.1 and adj. B).
task yourself to, put yourself to, impose on yourself (OED v. 2b, earliest example).
, as Bevington proposes makes more sense than the Q1 form (“thy”), and is a probable mistake of substitution of possessives.
miss, misdeed, fault, error (OED n.1 4a).
fond, foolishly (Lavin, Bevington).
conceit, idea, notion (OED n. 1a).
hangeth in the eye, is only superficial (Bevington).
kept, celebrated (OED v. 12).
peremptory, obstinate (OED n. 4a).
will, wishes it (OED v.2 1a).
in a brown study, in a reverie (Bevington).
die allows a pun because it has the double meaning of “pass away” and “experience an orgasm”. We can find these meaning in the OED: “To experience a sexual orgasm. (Most common as a poetical metaphor in the late 16th and 17th cent.)”
I have maintained the prose in the original. Bevington’s option, for example, was treating it as verse.
humbles, the inwards of a deer or other beast (OED n.2).
Like in lines 1922-1923, I have maintained the prose in the original.
[SCENE XV]
scud, hurry (OED v.1 1a).
overscour, scour, move rapidly over (OED v.1 1c).
reader, uncertain meaning between (i) teacher (OED n. 4a) and (ii) minor functionary in the Catholic Church (OED n. 3).
how cheer you?, how are you? (OED v.1 6b)
make you drink, offer you something to drink; make, offer (OED v. 44a).
statute, regulation (OED n. 1b).
Mark you, masters is a direct address to the audience.
without welt or guard, without ornament (OED n.1 2c, first example).
pair, pack of cards (OED n.1 6).
swingeing, large, huge (OED adj. (and adv.) 2a, earliest example).
clap, flatten out (OED v.1 9b).
white waistcoat, foam, a head of foam (Bevington).
office, a position, employment (OED n. 2a).
spent, consumed (OED adj. 1a).
lets, prevents, hinders (OED v.2 1a).
stick, hesitate, scruple (OED v.1 19a).
jade, horse, nag (OED n.1 2b).
move a question, propose something (Bevington).
false gallop, canter, between a trot and a full gallop (OED n. 3a).
[SCENE XVI]
In this coronation procession the traditional symbolic objects are represented: a pointless sword is the blunted sword of Edward the Confessor (King of England between 1042 and 1066), signifying mercy; a sword with a point signifying justice; the globe the golden orb, signifying earthly power; a rod of gold with a dove on it, wand of office signifying equity (the dove represents the wisdom-giving Holy Spirit); crown and sceptre, the most familiar objects of the regalia, both symbols of power.
for state, of stately authority (Bevington).
Old Plantagenet, King Henry.
discovers, manifests (OED v. 5b).
conceivèd, apprehended (OED v. 2).
these two, Eleanor and Margaret.
yield, offer (OED v. 10a).
homely, humble, rustic (OED adj. 2b).