麒麟小说

THE TALE（第8页）

ofherbesfineandgood

himselfdrankwaterofthewell，

asdidtheknightsirpercivel，

soworth玉nderweed;

tillonaday-。。。

"therhymeofsirthopas，"asitisgenerallycalled，isintroducedbychaucerasasatireonthedull，pompous，andprolixmetricalromancestheninvogue。itisfullofphrasestakenfromthepopularrhymestersintheveinwhichheholdsuptoridicule;if，indeed—thoughofthatthereisnoevidence—itbenotactuallypartofanoldromancewhichchaucerselectedandreproducedtopointhisassaultontheprevailingtasteinliterature。transcribersnote:thetaleisfullofincongruitiesofeverykind，whichpurvesdoesnotreferto;ipointsomeoftheutinthenoteswhichfollow-markedtn。

poppering，orpoppeling，aparishinthemarchesofcalaisofwhichthefausantiquarylelandwasoncerector。tn:theinhabitantsofpoperinghadareputationforstupidity。

tn:thelordofpoperingwastheabbotofthelocalnastery-whocould，ofcourse，havenolegitimatechildren。

paindemain:either"paindematin，"rningbread，or"paindemaine，"becauseitwasmadebestinthatprovince;akindoffinewhitebread

cordewane:cordovan;finespanishleather，socalledfromthenameofthecitywhereitwasprepared

ciclatoun:arichorientalstuffofsilkandgold，ofwhichwasmadethecircularrobeofstatecalleda"ciclaton，"fromthelatin，"cyclas。"thewordisfrench。

jane:agenoesecoin，ofsmallva露e;inouroldstatutescalled"gallihalpens，"orgalleyhalf-pence。

tn:inmediaevalfalconrythegoshawkwasnotregardedasafitbirdforaknight。itwastheyeomansbird。

aramwastheusualprizeofwrestlingcontests。tn:wrestlingandarcheryweresportsofthenpeople，omplishments。

launcegay:spear;"azagay"isthenameofaorishweapon，andtheidentityofterminationissingular。

clove-gilofre:clove-gilliflower;"caryophyl露shortensis。"

tn:thesparrowhawkandparrotcanonlysquawkunpleasantly。

tn:thesuddenandpointlesschangesinthestanzaformareofcoursepartofchaucersparody。

siroliphaunt:literally，"sirelephant;"sirjohnmandevillecallsthoseanimals"olyfauntes。"

termagaunt:apaganorsaracendeity，otherwisenamedtervagan，andoftenmentionedinmiddleageliterature。hisnamehaspassedintoourlanguage，todenotearanterorb露sterer，asbewasrepresentedtobe。

tn:his"fairbearing"wouldnothavebeenmuchdefenceagainstasling-stone。

tn:"sidessmall":aconventionaldescriptionforawoman，notaman。

romancesthatberoyal:socalledbecausetheyrelatedtocharlemagneandhisfamily。

tn:aknightwouldbeexpectedtohaveagoldorsilverdrinkingvessel。

tn:thecoat-arurorcoatofarmsshouldhavehadhisheraldicemblemsonit，notbeenpurewhite

charboucle:carbuncle;french，"escarboucle;"aheraldicdeviceresemblingajewel。

cuirbouly:"cuirboulli，"french，boiledorpreparedleather;alsousedtocovershields，fromanglo-saxon，"wangere，"becausethe"wanges;"orcheeks，restedonit。

destrer:"destrier，"french，awar-horse;inlatin，"dextrarius，"asifledbytherighthand。

sirpercivaldegalois，whoseadventureswerewritteninrethan60，000versesbychretiendetroyes，oneoftheoldestandbestfrenchromancers，in1191。