1 220 lines are missing here from C due to absent leaves. The following lines (229–448) are based on W.

2 Lines 375–76: In spite of armor, in spite of padded garment / In spite of mail shirt, in spite of the quilted jacket

3 In the third attire (equipment) he placed (put on) himself

4 I know not what, the devil, he had against me

5 And afterward they betook themselves on the se

6 For fame rises from musical entertainment (the song of minstrels)

7 I believe you are plotting for me some treason

8 Lines 791–92: And if I should slump (bend) forward or move away, / Prevent me from ever bearing a shield

9 You shall cause to come into my hand (possession)

10 At London to convene (summon) an assembly

11 Agree (Set out) and grant the pope his request

12 He ordered a very strong tower to be made

13 Lines 1411–12: Then Christian men, [upon pain] of life and limb / See to it that you do not take away goods from them

14 Said Richard, “I desire nothing but that which is fitting”

15 Lines 1679–80: To King Tancred he sent a letter (document) / That afterward limited his reasoning

16 And what he thinks (plans) he will acknowledge

17 Quickly your English military strength diminishes

18 Men shall thrust (shove) vigorously up your rump

19 It shall be called the mate-gryphon (kill-Greek)

20 Had himself an axe made for the occasion (see note)

21 Of silk, sendal, and silk fabric woven with gold

22 Siege engines miraculous [that hurled missiles] he had

23 A mill he made from special skill (of great strength)

24 Who believes in Muhammad and Termagaunt (fictitious deity)

25 Through hunger, our folk it [the weather] slew

26 And make an assault all in a short space of time

27 There is reason to fear that he will defeat us

28 For which reason, they might not hold out

29 According to rank, they came following their custom

30 In ynde [fabric dyed with indigo], armed in the best manner

31 Onwards, lords, all to arms at once!

32 For that, may God may give him a wholly wretched end

33 I command him [the Marquis] to come out of his army

34 Before they might have peace or law and order

35 At noon, “to the washbasin” the guards blew [a trumpet]

36 There were none of them who cared to eat

37 Who would not have preferred to have been at home

38 The time [goal estimated] allowed was too long

39 Thereupon each one of us wiped (dried) his eyes

40 He cares not at all though you carry off

41 Of all of India as far as [the lands of] Prester John (central Asia)

42 Appraised him and his [people] at such little value

43 And begin to pull in their horns (reduce their ardor)

44 Who was encamped with many a mother’s son (man)

45 Covered so as to conceal [it] (tightly), joined together ingeniously

46 Lines 4221–23: By wearing woolen clothing next to my skin, / And by walking on my bare feet in snow and sleet / To atone for my sins

47 Disobedience (shame) it were, and villainy (wickedness)

48 Consisting of his own hereditary coat of arms

49 Soon played there balls [heads] lost from coifs [head coverings]

50 Lines: 4588–89: And when they had regained their heart (courage) / Refreshed themselves, and recovered their health

51 To slay men was to me never acceptable (pleasing)

52 In all [ways] that they were able and knew

53 Because they disparaged him to such an extent

54 Thus they arranged themselves in front of

55 Then on Arabian horses they were placed (made ready)

56 That knocked to the ground his unvisored helmet

57 He knew not whether it was most advantageous

58 For a great price did they barter their lives

59 Are useless in time of peril compared to what he is

60 Would be able to constrain him against his will

61 With a chain they fastened the saddle girth upon him (the horse) securely

62 And afterward the devil’s power overwhelmed

63 And set up in formation and awaited battle

64 He pierced him all the way through under the shield

65 Despite all he could do, he was compelled to fall

66 In spite of all who ever stood in front of him

67 The nobility (pre-eminence) of the Muslim lands is finished

68 And caused their Muhammad’s [idols] to be smashed

69 They threw across the distance many barrels full of wild fire

70 To allow the Saracens to ransom [themselves] (pledge surety)

71 Does John count (appraise) me of no more worth

72 I will avenge myself to such an extent on him

73 Sire, you will release me from my obligation here

74 Unless he [Richard] the sooner would come home

75 From his body, [you] cut the tail (cut off the source of support)

76 And more, I believe, as God may guide me

77 How it turned out there, let no man ask

78 Lines 6761–62: A lookout came to an opening in a battlement (protective wall) / And piped a blast (note) on a flageolet (wind instrument)

79 Lines 6801–02: To guarantee (provide surety) what I have to do / Wassail [a toast] I shall drink to you (I shall kill you).

80 They spread (went) upon him as thick as flies

81 So that to them came neither help nor remedy

82 He thought he might have cooled himself off

ABBREVIATIONS: A: MS London, College of Arms HDN 58 (formerly: Arundel); a: part of the manuscript tradition (see pp. 3–10 of the introduction); B: MS London, BL Additional – 31042 (formerly: London Thornton); b: part of the manuscript tradition (see pp. 3–10 of the introduction); C: MS Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College — 175/96 (base text); CT: Chaucer, Canterbury Tales; D: MS Oxford, Bodleian – 21802 (formerly: Douce 228); DMA: Dictionary of the Middle Ages (ed. Strayer); E: MS London, BL Egerton — 2862; H: MS London, BL — Harley 4690; L: MS Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland Advocates’ 19.2.1 (the Auchinleck manuscript); ME: Middle English; MED: Middle English Dictionary; OE: Old English; OF: Old French; RCL: Richard Coer de Lyon. W: Wynkyn de Worde’s 1509 printed edition (Kynge Rycharde cuer du lyon, Oxford, Bodleian Crynes 734; and Manchester, John Ryland’s Library Deansgate 15843); W²: de Worde’s 1528 printed edition (Kynge Rycharde cuer du lyon, Oxford, Bodleian S. Seld. D. 45 (1); and London, BL C.40.c.51); Whiting: Whiting, Proverbs, Sentences, and Proverbial Phrases.

Incipit Hic incipit vita Ricardi Regis primi. For a discussion of RCL’s application of the terms vita (life), “story” (line 4886), and “hystorye” (from the beginning of de Worde's two printings), see Mills, “Generic T itles,” pp. 126–29; see also his discussion of Sir Gowther and Roberte the Deuyll, romances whose heroes, like Richard, have demonic pedigrees.

1-35 Lord Jhesu . . . . herkenes before. Patterned after the formal openings in OF texts, prologues to ME romances may include conventional elements: an invocation (lines 1–4); an exhortation to listen (line 35); a statement of the subject (lines 29–32); praise of the hero (lines 31–32); and a blessing or prayer (lines 33–34), (Havelok, ed. Smithers, p. 83n). RCL’s prologue stresses the poem's “historical nature and establishes a tone that is both secular and nationalistic” (Turville-Petre, England the Nation, p. 122).

As with other members of the a group of manuscripts, the prologue is comprised of four-stress couplets. Loomis argues that this prologue is the addition of a Kentish translator of the original Anglo-Norman text, (Review, p. 463). In contrast, L opens with two tail-rhyme stanzas followed by five couplets:

Compare Brunner, Löwenherz, pp. 81n–82n; and see also his discussion of the prosody of L’s prologue and related analogues at pp. 25–26. Prologues from the other members of the b group — A, D, E, and H — do not survive. As evidence for the intervention of an editor designing the Auchinleck Manuscript, Turville-Petre cites L’s unique prologue together with revisions to other texts, (England the Nation, p. 114).

5 jeste. Compare Latin res gestae, exploits. In contrast to narratives of argument, a jeste (geste) could refer “to any written account of actions — historical or fictitious, secular or divine” (Strohm, “Storie, Spelle, Geste,” pp. 348, 354). Accordingly, “jeste” carries a wide range of meanings: “a poem or song about heroic deeds, a chivalric romance . . . a prose chronicle or history, a prose romance or tale . . . a noteworthy deed . . . a military enterprise; entertainment . . . an amusement,” (MED, s. v. geste(e (n. 1)). See also Mills, “Generic Titles,” p. 130.

7 romaunces. Derived from “romanz,” originally a linguistic term that referred to vernacular, romance languages, especially French, romaunce was later applied to a range of texts; see Strohm, “Storie, Spelle, Geste,” pp. 354–56.

11–19 Of Rowelond . . . . of Achylles. Arguing that the b version of the romance was “a work of the vigorously heroic type,” Finlayson suggests the heroes listed derive from epics and chansons de geste, sources that emphasize historical, not romance figures, (“' Richard, Coer de Lyon,'” p. 161; the Introduction discusses the two versions of RCL, a and b). Jordan Fantosme in his Chronique gives similar praise to Henry II, illustrating the conventionality of such descriptions within an historical context (Chronique, p. 212, lines 112–117); for translation and discussion, see Fleischman, “On the Representation,” p. 286. Compare Trotter’s discussion of the Old French Crusade Cycle, whose references to heroes and incidents in chansons de geste established an epic frame of reference and suggested a continuity between the crusades and previous exploits (Medieval French Literature, pp. 110–15). ME versions of texts associated with these heroes were found, for example, in L, the Auchinleck MS, which contains a fragmentary version of RCL and includes Of Arthour and Merlin, Of Roland and Vernagu, and Kyng Alisaunder, (Weber, Metrical Romances, 3.347–48). For discussions of this list and the list at lines 6713–22, see Liu, “Prototype Genre” (pp. 340–48); Mehl, Middle English Romances, pp. 243–44; Mills, “Generic Titles,” pp. 128 and 136n35; Fewster, Traditionality and Genre, p. 4; and Blurton, Cannibalism, pp. 122–23. Because the distinction between history and literature was less than clear, a medieval audience likely conceived of this list of heroes as both historical and legendary: for example, a chronicle account of Richard’s exploits in defense of Jaffa compares the king to many of these same heroes (Nicholson, Itinerarium, 6.23, pp. 366–67).

11 Of Rowelond and of Olyver. Preeminent chanson heroes. In La Chanson de Roland, these two peers of Charlemagne died fighting Muslims at the Battle of Roncevaux. While historical references to Oliver are lacking, Einhard states in his Vita Karoli Magni that Roland, lord of the Breton March, died in the Pyrenees in an ambush by the Basques. See Dutton, Charlemagne’s Courtier, pp. 21–22.

12 doseper. OF douze pairs. A reference to the twelve peers or principal warriors of Charlemagne who appear in various iterations in La Chanson de Roland, Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History, where they attend Arthur’s coronation feast at Caerleon (p. 228), and The Sultan of Babylon, among other texts. See Lupack, Charlemagne Romances, p. 97n241.

13 Alisaundre and Charlemayn. Two of the nine worthies, Alexander the Great, and Charlemagne, King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor, served as the heroes of such ME texts as Kyng Alisaunder, The Wars of Alexander, The Sultan of Babylon, and The Siege of Milan. The nine are often cited for their exemplary exploits, in conjuction with Fortune’s Wheel. E.g., Alliterative Morte Arthure (lines 3408–37), The Parlement of the Thre Ages, Chaucer and Langland. Three are ancient (Alexander, Hector, Julius Caesar); three are Hebrew (Judas Maccabee, Joshua, David) and three Christians (Arthur, Charlemagne, Godefrey of Bouillon).

14 Of Kyng Arthour and of Gawayn. Among the numerous medieval accounts of this legendary British king and his nephew, none are as influential as Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain. Scholarship on these figures is vast. Hahn discusses the representation of Gawain in ME romance (Sir Gawain, pp. 1–35); for Gawain in Old French romance, see Busby, Gauvain.

16 Turpyn and Oger Daneys. The son of Geoffrey, and king of Denmark, Ogier the Dane first appears in The Song of Roland leading part of Charlemagne’s army against the Saracens. In this same poem Archbishop Turpin, one of the Twelve Peers, dies at the battle of Ronceveaux fighting infidels and exemplifying “the twin goals of the active chivalric life, fame in this world and salvation in the next,” (Keen, Chivalry, p. 54). Ogier and Turpin were primarily chanson heroes; see also the Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle, a popular but forged twelfth century presentation of Charlemagne’s legendary conquest of Spain, and The Siege of Milan. This last text, a ME romance in which Turpin plays a central role, survives in B (the London Thornton MS) which also contains a text of RCL. See Lupack, Charlemagne Romances.

19 Of Ector and of Achylles. Hector, Trojan prince, elder brother of Paris, and one of the worthies, is a prominent hero in the various versions of the Troy story. Achilles, the greatest warrior in the Trojan war, secures victory for the Greeks in part by killing Hector. Medieval versions, including Benoit’s OF Roman de Troie, and Guido delle Colonne’s Latin translation of that work, Historia destructionis Troiae, attest to the period’s fascination with the story: to overestimate the importance of the Troy story to medieval culture would be difficult. From the ruins of Troy came the Roman empire, and later, Trojan ancestors for nearly every Western European kingdom. For the story’s influence upon Britain, see Ingledew, “Book of Troy.”

21 In Frenssche bookys this rym is wrought. The first of several references to an original French text of the romance; see also lines 5098 and 7008; and, less clearly, lines 3439 and 5667. For a discussion of this narrative’s French origins, see the Introduction (pp. 3–4, p. 10n50).

22 Lewede men ne knowe it nought. Expressing populist and nationalistic concerns, the narrator describes an unlettered English audience to justify translating a “Frenssche book” (line 21) about “doughty knyghtes of Yngleonde” (line 28) (see Heng, Empire, p. 105 and “Romance of England,” p. 155; Turville-Petre, England the Nation, p. 122). For references to discussions of ME romances, even those derived from French originals, as comprising a textual community with nationalist impulses, see Heng, “Romance of England,” pp. 155 and 169n46.

35–250 Lordynges, herkenes . . . . and conqueroure. While members of the b group of manuscripts identify Eleanor of Aquitaine as Richard’s mother — see the note to line 2040 — she becomes Cassodorien in the a group’s demon-mother episode, which has a number of legendary and folk-tale analogues. Most notable is the story of Black Fulk of Anjou, Richard’s ancestor, who married a lady of unearthly beauty. Like Cassodorien, she could not witness the consecration of the host. Compelled to stay in the church by Fulk’s men, she escaped with two children by flying through a window of the church. Chapman classifies Cassiodorien as “a demon or fairy mistress of the widespread ‘Swan-Maiden’ type” and examines similar legends attached to Eleanor, Richard’s mother. See Walter Map's account of Henno-with-the-Teeth, for example, in De Nugis Curialium, 4.9, pp. 345–49; Chapman, “Demon Queen,” pp. 393, 395; and Broughton, Legends of Richard I, pp. 11–12, 78–82.

Recent scholarship gives prominence to this episode and to Richard’s demonic origins. McDonald, for example, argues that “Richard, like Sir Gowther, is . . . a narrative of exorcism: an account of how Richard . . . purges himself of his devilish inheritance. Significantly, Richard’s anthropophagy, far from being a sign of that inheritance, not only marks, but produces, his return to the Christian community. Cassodorien’s alterity is a function . . . of her inability to sit through the mass” (“Eating People,” p. 140). See also Heng, Empire, pp. 97, 343n29, 351n58; and Akbari, “Hunger,” pp. 200–01.

35 Lordynges, herkenes before. The narrator’s exhortation to listen, a common feature of ME romance, reflects the genre’s association with oral tradition; see, e.g., the openings of Havelok and Athelston.

37 Kyng Henry. Richard’s father, Henry II, king of England from 1154 to 1189.

40 Seynt Thomas. Thomas Becket (1118–1170) became chancellor to King Henry II in 1155, whom he served with distinction; but when Henry designated Thomas archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, their close relationship ended. An amiable and able chancellor, this noble, genial, and worldly man became stubborn and austere as archbishop. Disputes arose over Henry’s ecclesiastical policies. Henry II’s annoyance at Thomas’s refusal to compromise over the crown’s jurisdictional claims was well known. As a result, Henry was believed to be complicit in Thomas’s murder before his altar in 1170. Thomas was canonized in 1173. See Alexander, “Becket, Thomas” (DMA 2.151–53).

45–52 He wolde . . . . to wyf. The motif of a lord who refuses to marry, yields to his subjects’ advice to wed, and then searches for a bride frequently recurs in medieval romance; see, e.g., the Tristan story; Chrétien’s Cligés, p. 128; Roberte the Deuyll, pp. 219–20; and Chaucer’s Clerk’s Tale. See Broughton, Legends of Richard I, p. 83 and Loomis, Review, p. 465.

60–72 Another schip . . . it was. Texts with parallels to this fabulous ship include Marie de France’s Lay of Guigamar, and Partenope of Blois. See Broughton, Legends of Richard I, pp. 83–85.

62 ruel bon. This reference to whale bone, a common simile in ME romance, likely referred to walrus or narwhal tusks. See MED, s. v., rouel (n.1) and Weber, Metrical Romances, 3.350; Sir Degrevant, line 1445: “All of ruelbon”; Sir Thopas (CT VII[B2]878): “his sadel was of ruel bone.” The implication is “white,” but also radiant or bright. See MED's quotation 8a from St. Greg (Auch) 169/994: “An Angel can fram heven adown, Bri3ter þan þe rowwel bon.” See lines 75–76 below.

66 samyte. A rich silk cloth, embroidered or interwoven with gold or silver. See MED, samit(e; and medieval Latin examitum.

67 Tuely sylk. Among its definitions of tuli, the MED defines tueli silke as fabric of a deep red color, but the context will not allow such a reading. Compare Bevis of Hampton, line 1158 “The broider is of Tuli selk,” where its accompanying gloss reads “silk from Toulouse.”

69 al with oute. In all aspects of its outward appearance. See MED, withouten, (adv.), sense 3.

71 loof. “A spar holding out and down the windward tack of a square sail while going into the wind” (MED, s. v., lof (n. 4)).

89 charbocle ston. See The Peterborough Lapidary: “Carbuncculus is a precious stone [that] schineþ as feyre whose schynyng is not overcom by ny3t. It schineþ in derk places, & it semeþ as it were a feyr.” It has “a maner my3t as it wer about sperkynge of fyre þat beclyppeth him [The wearer] withowte [i.e., all about]. Compare the ship in RCL, line 69. (p. 82). See also Chaucer’s translation of The Romaunt of the Rose, where Rychesse wears “a fyn charboncle” so bright that it illuminates even at night a mile or two on both sides and illuminates her faces and all about her wonderously (lines 1120–28). It has such power that no venom can effect its possesser and it can cure palsy and tooth ache (lines 1085–1107). See also Chaucer’s House of Fame (line 1363), where a carbuncle perpetually adds radiance to the “femynyne creature” (line 1365) who is the “noble quene” and “lady schene” of the House of Fame (lines 1535–36).

118 vysyoun. In this context, visioun likely denotes a supernatural revelation or a prophetic dream. As attested in its literature, the medieval period manifested a profound interest in dreams, visions, and related revelations; see Loftin, “Visions” (DMA 12.475–78).

133 the Tour. Built by William the Conqueror in the southwest corner of London c. 1080, the Tower of London served as a fortress and stronghold, as well as a palace and a prison for men and women of exalted status

148 menstralles. The minstrels represented here are likely professional musicians of high status. See Olson, “Minstrels”.

153 Westemenstre. Westminster is the principal residence of English kings even before the conquest and the site of the Abbey Church where English kings were invested with the crown. It became the home of various governmental institutions including Parliament, law courts, and the exchequer. See Lyon, Legal History, p. 424. So, the connection between the English monarchy and Westminster is profound.

163 Corbaryng. This name may derive from “Corborans,” the Saracen leader in the Chanson d’Antioche, which is evidently a corruption of the historical “Kerbogha,” the atabeg of Mosul who is reported to have converted to Christianity in the thirteenth-century Chrétienté Corboran. See Akbari, “Hunger,” p. 201, and Heng, Empire, p. 343n29.

164 Antyoche. Ancient, eastern, and exotic, Antioch is a site rich in associations. Situated on an important trade route in present-day Turkey, especially holy to Christians — St. Peter founded his first bishopric there — Antioch under Byzantine rule became a chief trading center for Greek and Moslem commerce: its fortress was the most formidable on the Syrian frontier. See Runciman, History of the Crusades, 1:93, 213. Conquered in 1098 after a long siege whose rigors may have included crusader cannibalism (see Heng, Empire, pp. 23–24 for a discussion of sources), it served as the capital of the Latin principality of Antioch. After 1187, all Crusader colonies besides Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch had fallen to Saladin. Akbari argues that Richard’s success in conquering eastern lands derives from his mother through whom he “lays claim to both supernatural powers and legitimate descent from the former Saracen rulers of Antioch and its region” (“Hunger,” p. 201).

172 wyght. Here, Henry uses wight to denote a living creature, but, in this context, the word’s other meanings bear mentioning: “an unnatural or monstrous being; a supernatural creature, [a] demon” (MED,  wight (n.), sense 1c).

173 Cassodorien. The a group of manuscripts provides Richard with a “demon mother” instead of Eleanor of Aquitane, his historical mother; hence, the narrative trades a dominant French mother for an exotic Oriental, thus making Richard, an historical figure accused of sodomy, more masculine (Heng, Empire, p. 97). Noting John of Salisbury implied that Eleanor had incestuous relations with Raymond of Antioch and that a minstrel accused her of having “an affair with Saladin himself,” Akbari argues that the “replacement of Eleanor with Cassodorien, Aquitaine with Antioch, produces a Richard whose alien nature is not French, but Oriental” (“Hunger,” pp. 204–05).

189–94 Beforn the elevacyoun . . . no sacrement. For references to medieval discussions of the power of sacred objects like the Eucharist over demons, see note to line 222 below.

199–201 Twoo knaves and a mayde. At this point, the poet indicates the demonic mother by not following the birth order and number of children born to Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine actually had eight children in the following order: William, who died in infancy, Henry, Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John.

202 romaunce. See notes at lines 7 and 6711–13.

206 To the fyftenthe yere. The age at which childhood ended, fifteen, became in late antique and medieval Europe “the vital age for both combat and majority” (James, “Majority,” p. 24). Thus, Richard would be of age when he ascends to the throne at line 243. In fact, Richard was 32 when he ascended to the throne on 8 September, 1189 (Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 232).

222 The preest scholde make the sakeryng. The “sakerying” is the point at which the elevated host is transformed into the blood and body of Christ; see McDonald’s discussion (“Eating People,” p. 140–41). Hagiographic literature abounds in representations of demoniacs being healed through the use of such sacred objects as the consecrated host. See, e.g., Arnold of Bonneval, Vita primi Bernardi, 2.11–14; Patrologia Latina 185: cols. 275–77, which Newman discusses (“Possessed,” pp. 738–40).

241 Crowned after Kynge Harry. Compare the more detailed account from L:

Paris suggests that “Winchester” is a scribal error (“Le Roman,” p. 356). English monarchs, both before and after the Conquest, were crowned at the Abbey Church at Westminster (Lyon, Legal History, p. 425).

252–426 At Salysbury . . . . hym drowe. The Three Days’ Tournament together with the use of disguise is a fixture of medieval romance. (See, e.g., Weston, Three Days’ Tournament; Loomis, Review, p. 465). But there is an historical component there as well. A celebrated tourneyer, Richard I in his licensing edict of 1194 designated five official tourneying sites, one being between
Salisbury and Wilton (Barker, Tournament, p. 11). In “Tournament,” Nickel provides a good discussion of the medieval tournament, an institution central to chivalry and its arts, which included heraldry, coats of arms, specialized tournament equipment, elaborate armor and gear for knight and horse, and codes of conduct, for example, knightly service to ladies. In setting forth three functions for the tournament, including associating Richard with such romance heroes as Cliges, Ipomedon, and Lancelot, Finlayson argues that the tournament, a redaction from the b version, “reflects the intermingling of ‘history’ and romance motifs which is typical of ‘chronicle’ and ‘ancestral’ romances” (“Legendary Ancestors,” p. 303; see also Broughton, Legends of Richard I, pp. 90–92). In the a group, Fouk Doly, and Thomas of Multon acquit themselves so well that Richard chooses them to accompany him on his pilgrimage; but in some witnesses to the b group (A, D, and H), Richard defeats all knights equally. Since no link exists between tournament and pilgrimage in manuscripts from the b group, Brunner argues that a stands closer to the original text than does b (Löwenherz, p. 21), a conclusion Loomis supports (Review, pp. 461–62). L omits this episode.

273 All togyder cole blacke. The king mysteriously appears in three different disguises — first black, then red (line 333), then white (line 387) — the same successive colors of disguise worn by another devil’s son, Sir Gowther, as he battles a sultan (Sir Gowther, lines 403–633). Discussing the Christian and alchemic symbolism of these colors in general and within the ritual of knighting, Marchalonis argues that the order — first black (humility), then red (passion, blood), and finally white (purity) — reflects the process of Gowther’s spiritual development. She observes that in RCL’s tournament, as in Sir Gowther, these colors are associated with chivalric testing (“Sir Gowther: The Process,” pp. 20–24). For a general treatment of the use of successive, colored disguises in medieval romance, see Weston, The Three Days’ Tournament, especially pp. 9–11 and 23–38.

275 Upon his creste a raven stode. A crest was an heraldic device affixed to the helmet; see line 523. Knights came to attach symbols and devices to their helmets for purposes of identification. One of the earliest heraldic birds, the raven had been in use by the Normans from the Conquest onwards, (Fox-Davies, Heraldry, p. 186), perhaps as a sign of the feast the knight plans for the scavengers after he kills his opponents. Also noteworthy is the hunter’s practice of leaving the corben bone for the raven — “at the death he will be” — as a talisman of self defense. See Peck, “Careful Hunter,” pp. 336–37.

280 In travayll for to be. For the raven, the travail is obvious. Travayll may signify “spiritual or physical labor as a religious obligation” (MED, s. v. travail (n.), sense 1b). This accords with the crusades references in lines 281–84. Compare Hugh of Fouilloy’s account: “On the Sacred Page the raven is perceived in various ways, so that by the raven is understood sometimes a preacher, sometimes a sinner, sometimes the Devil” (Clark, Aviarium, p. 175).

297 gorgere. Plate armor for the chin and neck.

321 pusen. “A piece of metal or mail attached to the helmet and extending over the neck and upper breast” (MED, s. v. pisan(e, sense a).

323 gorgere. Synonymous with gorgette; see note at line 297 above.

337–42 Upon his creste . . . the grounde. The note to line 275 above discusses crests as heraldic devices. While the Talbot, an English hunting dog, served as a common heraldic symbol (Fox-Davies, Heraldry, p. 154), a number of details in this description emphasize the peculiarity of both knight and crest: the dog’s color, the position of its tail, the stated significance of the crest, and Multoun’s comment in lines 522–23 that that the red knight seemed to be a devil (qued). One of several representations that link Richard to the devil (see note at 500 below), this portrayal entwines a complex set of associations: the king’s demonic pedigree; the perception by Saracens and others that he is a devil; and the king’s and his people’s status as taylardes, tailed-ones (see line 1776 and note, and the Introduction, p. 14).

341 Them to slee for Goddes love. For a discussion of the relation between chivalry, the church, and the crusades, see Keen, Chivalry, pp. 44–63. For an expression of a militant chivalric perspective, see Gautier’s sixth commandment of chivalry: “Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without cessation and without mercy” (Chivalry, p. 26). For the peculiarities of knightly piety, see Richard Kaeuper, Holy Warriors.

375 acketton. “A quilted or padded jacket worn under the armor for comfort and protection” (MED, s. v. aketoun (n.), sense a). The term derives from Moorish-Spanish, al coton, cotton (Nickel, “Tournament,” p. 218).

387–89 All his atyre . . . crosse rede. A likely allusion to the Templars, a military and religious order founded c. 1119 to guard the site of the Temple of Solomon and to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. The Templars wore white to symbolize their rejection of women. Later, each Templar added a red cross to his coat of arms (Broughton, Dictionary, p. 445).

388 croper. “A cover for the hindquarters of a horse, or a crupper” (MED, s. v. crouper (n.), sense a).

392 To wynne the Crosse. One goal of the Third Crusade was to regain the True Cross lost to Saladin at the Battle of Hattin in 1197 (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 2:455–60).

393 Upon his heed a dove whyte. See note on crests at line 275. Doves with olive branches in their beaks are common heraldic devices. See Fox-Davies, Heraldry, p. 183. Among other sources, medieval bestiaries associated the dove with Christ and the Holy Ghost. Compare line 5711.

399 Fouke Doly. Of undoubted historicity, Fulk D’Oilly and Thomas Moulton (line 433) were Lincolnshire knights connected by marriage in the thirteenth century. As they do not appear in chronicles of the Third Crusade, Finalyson suggests that the large role these knights play in RCL’s a version represents an early redactor’s efforts “to glorify his or a patron’s family,” since the names do not occur in L, the fragment that Finlayson believes to contain the story’s basic form (“‘Richard, Coer de Lyon,’” p. 166; and “Legendary Ancestors”).

403 bassenet. “Bacinet” refers to a variety of head coverings from the “hemispherical helmet, without a visor, worn under the fighting helmet” to “a pointed helmet with a visor” (MED, s.v. bacinet (n.)).

428 Herodes. A herald. “An officer of a tournament who makes announcements, introduces knights, and reports their actions, awards prizes, etc.” (MED, s. v. heraud (n.), sense 1a).

433 To Syr Thomas of Multon. See note to line 399 above.

453 paramours. The convention of knights gaining their ladies’ affections through prowess at tournaments appears as early as c. 1135 in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History (pp. 229–30). See Nickel, “Tournament,” p. 236. But RCL’s virulent crusading propoganda overwhelms this quaint, chivalric convention.

500 This is a devyl and no man. Variations of this statement recur throughout the text and thus emphasize Richard’s demonic pedigree: Hym semyd weel to ben a qued (line 522); Sayden he was a devyl of helle (line 2580); and The Englysshe devyl icome is (line 6818). See also lines 568, 2679, 3166, 3664, 4354, and 6935; though less direct, see also line 1776. These references likely reflect contemporary accounts linking Richard to the devil: for references, see Prestwich, who notes that Richard himself “was fond of mentioning the legendary descent of the Angevin dynasty from the devil,” and who quotes contemporary chronicles, both Muslim and Christian, that link the king to the devil (see “Rex Bellicosus,” pp. 2–3). The recurring association of Richard with demons and devils distinguishes RCL from other ME crusading texts that demonize Saracens: compare, e.g., The Sultan of Babylon, lines 356–57. Other ME romances with demonic heroes include Sir Gowther and Roberte the Deuyll.

521–22 Hys hors . . . a qued. See notes to lines 337–42 and to line 500 above. Compare Borgström, Proverbs of Alfred, number 37, p. 25: “The rede mon he is a quet [qued] / for he wole thee thin iwil red.”

528 renge. “An area designated for a tournament or sport” (MED, s. v. ring (n.), sense 4a). See also renge (n. 2), sense b.

568 pouke. See the note to line 500.

595 Al in palmeres gyse. Identity and disguise are central themes of romance, ancient and medieval. For a discussion of the motif of kings in disguise, see Walsh, “King in Disguise.” Hibbard notes chronicle and romance accounts of the use of pilgrim garb as disguise during the Crusade period (Mediæval Romance, p. 93 and 93n9); see note at lin e613 below. The note to line 273 discusses Richard’s three disguises at the Salisbury tournament, the Three Days’ Tourney, and romance analogues.

605–08 On the book . . . to bee. Swearing an oath upon the bible, as here, reflects the religious nature of oaths, which are invocations of the divine name in witness to the truth. From the oath of fealty to those that knights took after dubbing, oaths “secured the bonds of medieval society” (Lynch, “Oath,” DMA 9.207). The person swearing often pledged his or her faith, that is, future salvation, that he or she would perform a certain task. See Pollock and Maitland, English Law, 2.189–92.

607 And kyste hem thenne alle three. Kissing often formed part of medieval rituals. As part of the ceremony of homage, for example, “the lord then kissed the vassal on the mouth and said that he took him as his man” (Major, “‘Bastard Feudalism,’” p. 510). See also the note to line 1588.

613 With pyke and with sclavyn. The staff and cloak of a pilgrim is a disguise frequently adopted by the heroes of medieval romance. For example, when Orfeo puts aside his kingship to search for Herodis, he puts on a sclavyn as he makes his pilgrimage into the wilderness (Sir Orfeo, line 228). Likewise, Horn trades his clothes for a palmer’s sclavyn (King Horn, line 1064). In Richard’s historical return to Europe from the Third Crusade, Roger of Howden reports that “Richard and his followers were disguised as pilgrims” (Chronica 3:185–86, cited in Gillingham, Richard I, p. 232).

615–50 Now they dyghten . . . . here myght. Richard’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This episode appears in a and in all texts of b save L and E, the latter being defective at its beginning.

619 Into Flaundrys. Flanders, loosely the “land of the Flemings,” occupied parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.

623 Braundys. Brindisi, a port in southern Italy on the Adriatic, became part of the Norman kingdom of Naples in 1070.

630 Famagos. Famagusta, a seaport on the east coast of Cyprus.

634 Acres. Located on a peninsula on the northern part of Haifa bay, first taken by crusaders in 1104 (Boas, Archaeology, p. 222), Acre was the main port for the kingdom of Jerusalem and its largest city when it fell to Saladin in 1187 (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 155). In part, RCL recounts the crusaders’ retaking of Acre in 1191 after a lengthy siege. The city served as the administrative capital of the kingdom of Jerusalem and the main headquarters for all of the military orders until its fall in May of 1291 (Boas, Archaeology, p. 222) at which time the crusaders, most notably the military orders, lost their last citadel in the Holy Land (Nicholson, Templars, pp. 1, 125).

635 Massedoyne. Macedonia, ruled by Byzantines from 298 CE.

637 Cesare. Caesarea. Situated between Haifa and Arsuf and held by crusaders from 1101–87 and from 1191–1265, this fortified coastal city served as an important port for the kingdom of Jerusalem which relied heavily upon its maritime connections to western Europe. See La Monte, Latin Kingdom, pp. 226–27; and Pringle, Secular Buildings, p. 43. After its capture by Baldwin I in 1101, the crusaders brutally massacred most of its inhabitants (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 2:73–74). See also line 4931.

638 Nynyve. See note to line 5189.

641 Sudan Turry. A likely reference to Sidon and Tyre. See Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 472. These two cities are grouped together, for example, in the note to line 1307 below which describes Conrad of Montferrat’s purported offer to Saladin to attack Acre in exchange for Sidon and Tyre.

642 Ebedy. A city in the Holy Land, perhaps Ebron. See Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 465.

643 Castel Orglyous. Perhaps named after the Saracen commander Orgayl in line 4151, this castle’s name evokes romance castles: e.g., the adventure at “Castell Orgulus” in Malory, Works, 2:463.

644 Aperyous. Perhaps Piraeus, a port on the Greek coast. See Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 462.

645 Safrane. A town in the Holy Land, possibly the “Safoire” mentioned in the Estoire, which may correspond to Sephoria in Galilee. See Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 472. Loomis suggests this reference is to a hamlet near Acre (Review, p. 456).

646 To Taboret and Archane. Taboret is likely a reference to Tiberias, a city on the Sea of Galilee. After the fall of Jerusalem during the First Crusade, it became the capitol of Tancred’s Principality of Galilee. In 1197 at the Battle of Hattin, Saladin defeated crusaders who were coming to relieve the Muslim siege of Tiberias. See Runciman, History of the Crusades, 1:304–07; 2.452–58. Loomis suggests that Archane is a corrupt form of Archas, a fortified town near Tripoli (Review, p. 456).

651 the Grykys se. Frequently encountered in ME romance, the “greckes see,” (“Greeks' sea”) denotes the eastern Mediterranean, the boundary between the Christian and the Muslim world. See Hudson, Four Middle English Romances, p. 32, and compare Sir Isumbras (line 359); Octavian (line 407); Sir Eglamour (line 894), and The Man of Law’s Tale (CT II[B1]464).

657–1242 A goos . . . schal bene. This episode of Richard’s captivity in Germany appears in a and in all non-defective texts of b save L: e.g., E, missing initial leaves, begins on line 1857.

676 mynstrale. While minstrali may denote musical entertainment, it may also be an aberrant form of minstralsi(e, which may signify “the art of performing music or story-telling” (MED, s. v. minstralsi(e (n.), sense 1d). This is a concise statement of an important motivation for the patronage of minstrels or jongleurs, some of whom are associated with texts, the Oxford Roland, for example. See Taylor, “Minstrel Manuscript,” p. 44; but also see line 3780.

694 And chose thy selfe a ryche towne. This bequest would endow the minstrel with noble status, not an unusual effect of patronage.

722 treason. Felony (felonia) constituted a breach of fealty to one’s lord; it was a crime “involving some breach of the feudal bond between lord and man.” See Barron, “Penalties for Treason,” p. 188. Treason involved a crime against the crown (Pollack and Maitland, English Law, 2.501–08). Before its expansion in late thirteenth-century England, treasonous acts included “compassing or imagining the king’s death, sedition . . . by the vassal or by others at his instigation, and affording aid to the king's enemies” (Kaeuper, “Treason,” 12.165).

739 pryme. The Catholic Church divided the day into seven canonical hours. Prime occurred approximately at daybreak and lasted roughly from 6:00 am to 9:00 am.

740–98 The kynges . . . . ony stone. The exchange of blows episode recounted here represents the game of “pluck buffet,” a form of dueling by alternate blows. Representations of this game in folktales, romances, and chronicles are numerous and include, most famously, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Broughton discusses analogues in Legends of Richard I, pp. 120–23. In his use of wax, and in the lethality of his rage, Richard's response lies well outside the norms of heroic, not to mention chivalrous, behavior.

763 And sware his othe by Saynt Martyn. Like holy books, saints were invoked in the swearing of oaths because they (and their relics) had power. One of the most popular saints, Martin of Tours (c. 316–397) was born in Hungary, enrolled among the catechumens at an early age, and later was imprisoned for refusing to carry out his duties as a Roman soldier. After establishing the first monastery in Gaul, he became bishop of Tours in 372. A “pioneer of Western monasticism,” he established monasteries, destroyed heathen temples and sacred trees, and is reported to have healed lepers, among other miracles. Adding to his stature, Sulpicius Severus’s life of Martin became an important model for hagiographers. See Farmer, Saints, pp. 333–34.

791–92 And yf . . . bere shelde. The king’s son imposes the loss of his knightly status in the event he should move away or flinch.

801–880 That Rychard . . . . they gete. For a discussion of this passage in relation to other medieval “laments for the dead,” see Richmond, Laments for the Dead, pp. 103–04.

913 In the atyr of a squyer. Holding the first degree of knighthood, squires were novices in arms. One class of squires, Squires of the Body, “rendered personal service to the knight and his lady.” See Broughton, Dictionary, p. 298.

915 Seynt Symoun. One of the twelve apostles. To distinguish him from Simon Peter, he is often referred to as the Canaanite or the Zealot. See Farmer, Saints, p. 449.

929 tretour. Traitor. “One guilty of high treason against [the] king,” a crime which included violating “the king’s wife or daughter” (MED, s. v. traitour (n.), senses 1 and 1c). See also Barron, “Penalties for Treason,” p. 187.

931 Sere, be my Crystyndam. In this oath, the knight explicity swears by his Christian faith. In general terms the pledge of one’s faith, one’s most valuable possession, came to secure medieval oaths. See Pollock and Maitland, History of English Law, 2.186–92.

958 Men schal no kyng to deth doo. Perhaps a corollary to the phrase, “The king can do no wrong,” which means that no one may sue or prosecute the king, even if he does wrong. See Pollock and Maitland, English Law, 1.518–20. Perhaps this is a reference to the annointed status of monarchs, whose consecration rendered them sacred and, like the clergy, immune from secular law. For references to the history of regal sanctity, see Zaller, “Desacrilization,” pp. 757–58.

1000 A kyng to hange and to drawe. See note to line 958.

1002 youre lyoun. That a Northern European king might own a lion may seem implausible: e.g., Curtius argues that lions and other exotic animals appearing in medieval literature constitute literary, not actual imports; see Curtius (Latin Middle Ages, pp.183–84). But at his hunting lodge at Woodstock, Henry I (1100–35) maintained a zoo “complete with leopards, lions, camels, lynxes, and a porcupine.” See Hollister, “Courtly Culture,” p. 3.

1011 The mayde aspyyd that resoun. Brunner observes that in b, the princess has no way of knowing of the plan to have a lion slay Richard (Löwenherz, p. 21).

1029–30 Away to wende . . . so greve. Given that Richard has grieved the king plenty, he is surely equivocating here. See line 1053.

1036 Fourty, whyte as ony mylk. Diverging from the a group, b [ (A, fol. 254v) includes the following couplet after this line: “And a sharpe Irissh knyf / As thow wolde saf my lyf.” In addition to other details (see note to line 1052 below), Brunner considers the knife a rationalization and therefore a revision of the original text (Löwenherz, pp. 20, 22).

1057–1428 Sertes, henne . . . . hys mede. For a variant passage in A, see the corresponding Textual Note. In these lines from b, the king’s daughter reveals her relation with Richard by admitting to her father that Richard promised her the lion’s heart. Considering such a revelation unlikely, Brunner regards the daughter’s statement as evidence that b is more distant from the original text than is a (Löwenherz, p. 22).

1103 sat on des. The dais was a raised platform on which was set the table reserved for the king and guests of honor. Compare line 3451 where, during Richard’s second act of cannibalism, the Saracen ambassadors are seated at a side table while Richard sits “on des.”

1109 Wythouten bred the herte he eet. A joke in itself, Richard’s eating the heart without bread may imply a lack of courtesy or proper etiquette: bread was often used as a trencher or platter upon which to eat. Compare lines 3447–48 and its corresponding note. Akbari argues that Richard gains the lion’s strength by consuming its heart, a result that mirrors the effect of the Eucharist (“Hunger,” p. 208). See also McDonald’s arguments referenced in the note to line 1118 below.

1112 This is a devyl, and no man. See note to line 500.

1118 Stronge Rychard, Coer de Lyoun. Romances often provide heroes with nicknames and calling brave men “lions” is a practice of long standing. McDonald lists early instances of Richard’s epithet in her argument that RCL transforms the metaphoric — a lion’s heart that stands for bravery — into a “mimetically coherent” narrative that renders the lion's heart both literal and edible: “That Richard’s identity is contingent on an act of ingestion accords with the narrative’s alimentary logic” (“Eating People,” pp. 138–39).

1132 traytour. See note on tretour at line 929.

1136 Raunsum for hys body take. For a discussion on the historical Richard’s capture and ransom, see Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 222–53.

1137 For my doughtyr that he has schent. In an aristocratic culture based on nobility of blood, a maiden’s virginity was prized and heavily controlled; its loss was considered a disaster. For a discussion of the Church’s not entirely successful prohibition upon sex outside of marriage, see, e.g., Brundage, Law, Sex and Christian Society, p. 459.

1175 chaunceler. The king’s chief administrative officer, the chancellor, “served as an itinerant justice, supervised the work of the exchequer, carried on various judicial services, administered all vacant holdings in the king’s hand, handled diplomatic contacts and received important visitors, and dispensed royal patronage,” (Alexander, “Becket,” p. 151). In addition, the chancellor held special assignments like governing England during the king’s absence.

1186 Bothe myn erchebysschopys tway. The archbishop of Canterbury and the archbishop of York. During Richard’s reign (1189–1199), the archbishops of Canterbury were Baldwin (1184–1193) and Hubert Walter (1193–1207), both of whom saw action in the Crusades. Having travelled to the Holy Land with Richard on the Third Crusade, Walter brought the army back to England and also raised Richard’s ransom of 100,000 marks. Geoffrey Plantagenet, illegitimate son of Henry II, served as archbishop of York from 1191 to 1212.

1191 seel. Attached to documents, the Great Seal of the Realm signaled the king's official approval.

1223 Of every kyrke, lesse and more. The lesser and greater churches, cathedrals as opposed to parish churches.

1258–68 The kyng . . . . to undyrstande. As with the summons to a parliament at Lincoln in Havelok, the king’s broad summons here emphasizes a national framework (Turville-Petre, England the Nation, p. 147). Ruling through parliament and caring for one’s people were ideal traits for an English king: compare Turville-Petre’s discussion of the Short Metrical Chronicle (England the Nation, p. 109). The summons, by including both high and low classes, formulates an assembly of “an especially broad range of constituents,” thus expressing both populist and nationalist impulses (Heng, “Romance of England,” p. 158).

1267 Serjauntes and every freholdande. Seriaunt or sergeaunt is a broad term that included a rank of troops in both cavalry and infantry (Broughton, Dictionary, p. 415). Here, the term likely signifies a “tenant by military service under the rank of knight” (MED, s. v. sergeaunt (n.), sense 2a). Freholdande, a participle used as a noun, denotes a freeholder (MED, s. v. freholding (n.)). A freeholder is a tenant whose land is a freehold, that is, land held in fee simple in consideration for explicit services or payments (MED, s. v. frehold (n.)).

1270 Grykkyssche see. See note to line 651.

1273 And the croys that Cryst was on ded. See note to line 1287 below.

1287 Duke Myloun. The defeat of the Christians under Duke Myloun motivates the crusade in RCL; he corresponds to Guy of Lusignan, who was king of Jerusalem from 1186–1192 through his marriage to King Baldwin’s widow, Sibylla, a cousin of Richard’s and a member of the house of Anjou (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 122). Guy’s defeat by Saladin at the Battle of Hattin in 1187 and his loss of the True Cross prompted the Third Crusade, the effort to restore the kingdom of Jerusalem. Though a brave soldier, he was considered “a most incompetent general and an ineffective king” (Painter, “Third Crusade,” p. 51). See also note to line 1307; Brunner, Löwenherz, pp. 51, 469; and Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 196. “Myloun” or “Milon” is perhaps a copyist’s mistake for “Guion” (Paris, “Le Roman,” p. 362n6).

1291 Erl Renaud. A likely reference to Reynald of Châtillon, Prince of Antioch, whom the chronicles report was beheaded by Saladin himself after the battle of Hattin (Nicholson, Itinerarium, 1.5, p. 34; Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 196; and Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 471).

1295 Of Sarezynys that mysbelevyd. For a discussion of the medieval West’s use of the term “Saracen” as a Muslim Oriental, “a racial and religious marker,” see Heng, Empire, p. 334n2. The growing scholarship on the medieval West’s misperceptions of Islam includes Tolan, Saracens, and Frasetto and Blanks, Western Views.

1296 Sawdon. The title, “sultan” (as well as “emir”), historically referred to Muslim governors who gave allegiance to a caliph; more generally, sawdon may denote the ruler of a Muslim state.

1298 Eerl Roys. Brunner equates Earl Roys with Reginald of Kerak, one of many crusaders massacred by Saladin at Hattin. As Roys’s betrayal of the Christians results in the loss of the True Cross and Acre, Brunner suggests he may also represent Raymond II of Tripoli (Brunner, Löwenherz, pp. 52, 471). Many believed Raymond guilty of treachery because he was one of the few to escape massacre at the Battle of Hattin, perhaps an unfair conclusion; see Ambroise, Estoire, 2:68n195. Ambroise states that Raymond and Saladin’s notorious alliance led to the loss of the Holy Cross and to Christian suffering, in short, Saladin’s victory at Hattin (Estoire, 1:39, lines 2443–47). He was also accused of betraying the Christians at the Battle of Tiberias (Paris, “Le Roman,” p. 363n1).

1307 Markes Feraunt. A northern Italian nobleman, Conrad, was the marquis of Montferrat from 1191 and, shortly before his death in 1192, the king of Jerusalem by marriage to Isabella of Jerusalem. A controversial figure in the Third Crusade, he arrived in Tyre after its residents agreed to terms with Saladin folowing the fall of Jerusalem in 1187; but under Conrad’s able leadership, the city rallied and withstood a Muslim siege (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 2:471–72). After Saladin released Guy of Lusignan, king of Jerusalem, Conrad denied him entry into Tyre, ostensibly over the latter's failures at Hattin. In Guy and Conrad’s feud over the kingship of Jerusalem, Richard had originally sided with Guy, which did not help the relationship between Richard and Conrad. Their difficult relationship led many Franks to believe Richard played a role in Conrad’s assassination in 1192.

Conrad’s dubious diplomatic activities rendered him suspect: among other acts, he had offered to attack Acre if Saladin, in return, ceded Sidon and Tyre. (In 1192, galleys under Conrad’s command, in fact, attacked Acre in an attempt to wrest control from Guy.) In like manner, Richard’s open dealings with leading Muslims earned the distrust of other crusaders and helped justify his capture and imprisonment by the German emperor, Henry VI (Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 23, 147–150, 183, 193, 195).

1310 Crystyndom he forsook. Conrad’s dealings with Saladin no doubt inform this characterization; see note at line 1307 above. Analogues of Christians betraying their fellow warriors to Muslims — though without forsaking Christianity — are numerous and include Ganelon from the Song of Roland.

1311–12 Thus thorwgh . . . Holy Croys. RCL revises history by diminishing Saladin’s role and implying Christian control of Syria; but the battle of Hattin in 1187 enabled Saladin to consolidate his already substantial control of the territory. These lines equate Roys with Raymond II of Tripoli; see notes to lines 1298 and 1318.

1318 Kyng Bawdewynys sone. Duke Myloun corresponds historically to Guy of Lusignan, who was not King Baldwin IV’s son, but the spouse of Baldwin’s sister, Sibylla. Through this marriage Guy became King of Jerusalem; in 1187, he lost the kingdom at the Battle of Hattin as well as the True Cross. See Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 54, and Runciman’s discussion of Guy (History of the Crusades 2:424–60).

1323 Urban. Pope Gregory VIII, not Urban, led the Third Crusade (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 54). Urban II, though, attained fame in part from his advocating a crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095; compare Paris, “Le Roman,” p. 363n4. For a discussions of Urban’s role and sources of his speech, see, e.g., Runciman, History of the Crusades, 1:106–118.

1325 And asoylyd hem of here synne. Promoting crusade at his famous speech at the Council of Clermont, Urban II is reported by Guibert de Nogent, among others, to have absolved all those who vowed to go on crusade (Peters, First Crusade, p. 37; Runciman, History of the Crusades, 1:108).

1331 The duke of Bloys, the duke of Burgoyne. Theobald V, count of Blois (1130–91), and a crusade participant, died during the siege of Acre (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 463). Hugo III, duke of Burgundy (1143–92), accompanied the king of France on crusade but remained in the Holy Land as leader after Philip Augustus’s departure (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 463).

1332 The duke of Ostrych, and duke of Cessoyne. Leopold V, duke of Austria (1167–94), participated in the siege of Acre (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 463). He quarrelled with Richard after Richard removed his banners and returned to Austria soon thereafter. See the note to lines 5997–98 below. No count of Soissons is known to have participated in the Third Crusade. Nor did Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, participate in this crusade (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 464).

1335 The eerl of Flaunders, the eerl of Coloyne. Philip of Alsace died on 1 June, 1191, during the siege of Acre (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 466). The Earl of Colyne is a fictitious person (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 464).

1336 The eerl of Artays, the eerl of Boloyne. At the time of the Third Crusade, Louis, the eldest son of Philip II Augustus of France, was the count of Artois. He inherited the county at the age of three when his mother, Isabelle, died in 1190. Renaud de Demmartin (Reginald of Boulogne) was count of Boulogne from 1190 until his death in 1227. He is not known to have participated in the Third Crusade.

1343 At Westemynstyr heeld a ryal feste. See the notes to line 153 and line 241 above.

1348–75 My leve frendes . . . . ye or nay. Though the passage is simplified and condensed, RCL presents typical crusading propaganda. Such propaganda is widely studied, especially with regard to the First Crusade; see, e.g., Cowdrey, “Pope Urban II’s Preaching” and its substantial references.

1351 lewyd and lerde. Proverbial: The Ormulum, line 19930; Chaucer’s Physician’s Tale (CT VI(C)]283). Compare Whiting L157.

1354 Hys bulle. Granting privileges or issuing instructions, papal bulls were a form of charter or diploma whose name reflects the bulla, a bubble-like circular plate, source of the pope’s authenticating seal: the name of the seal came to stand for the document.

1363 Crystene men, children, wyf, and grome. Altering history to demonize Muslims, RCL reports the savage slaying of women and children by Muslims; but Saladin was humane in his conquest of Jerusalem in 1187: not a single person was injured nor a building looted (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 2:466). In contrast, the crusaders who took Jerusalem in 1099 massacred so many Muslims that they waded in blood: “[M]addened by so great a victory after such suffering, [they] had rushed through the streets and into the houses and mosques [of Jerusalem] killing all that they had met, men, women and children alike” (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 1:286).

1387 Mekyl folk that the croys have nomen. The defining ritual of crusading, “taking the Cross,” was also the earliest ceremony that distinguished holy war as a religious activity: copies of the ceremony were widely dispersed (Tyerman, God’s War, pp. 480, 892). Urban II’s role in founding this ritual is clear in Guibert de Nogent’s report of his speech at the Council of Clermont: “He instituted a sign well suited to so honorable a profession by making the figure of the Cross, the stigma of the Lord’s Passion, the emblem of the soldiery, or rather, of what was to be the soldiery of God. This, made of a kind of cloth, he ordered to be sewed upon the shirts, cloaks and byrra of those who were about to go” (Peters, First Crusade, p. 37). See also line 2143.

1392–93 Thrittene schyppys . . . Of bees. Heng argues that these bees with their hives and honey express economic and symbolic values that constitute “[i]n a single image, an ideological assertion of the [English] nation’s character and unity, and an indelibly memorable romance weapon” (Empire, pp. 101–02). See lines 2902 (and its corresponding note) and 2910.

1394 He leet make a tour ful strong. An important element in siege warfare, towers protected attackers and their ladders as they stormed a fortress wall.

1398 With an engine hyghte robynet. As lines 2921–24 indicate, this engine is likely a trebuchet, a lever and sling designed to hurl large stones hundreds of feet.

1399 mangenel. A mangonel is a machine used to hurl stones and other heavy objects during sieges and defences of cities and castles. See also line 2904.

1407 maystyr Aleyn Trenchemere. Appropriately named, Alan Trenchemer (“Cut the sea”) was a celebrated twelfth century mariner who commanded the ship that brought the king from Germany to England after his captivity (Roger of Howden, Chronica 3:206, 3:235; Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 222; and Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 58). The historical commanders of the departing fleet were “Gerard, Archbishop of Aix, Bernhard, Bishop of Bayonne, Robert de Sabloil, Richard de Camville, and Willaim de Fortz of Oleron” (Nicholas, Royal Navy, p. 87). See also note to line 2479.

1415 Catayl, dromoun, and galeye. Catail designates the principal ship (MED); a dromoun(d) was a fast and large seagoing vessel (MED); and galei(e) referred to a seagoing ship with both sails and oars (MED, sense 1a).

1417 Marchylé. Marseille. Richard’s sending his fleet ahead with orders to wait for him in Marseille is historically accurate (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 52).

1423 Modard, the kyng. Heng observes that the name of this king who serves as Richard’s chief Christian foe recalls “Mordred,” who betrayed Arthur in Geoffrey’s Historia, and thus serves as one instance of RCL’s “repeated invocation of Arthur as Richard’s forbear in cultural mythology” (Empire, pp. 66, 336n8). See also Jones, “Richard the Lionheart in German Literature,” p. 71n3, and Blurton, Cannibalism, p. 124.

1430 Goddys owne palmere. As the crusades were conceived as both military expedition and pilgrimage, crusaders were both soldiers and pilgrims; see the Introduction (p. 2 and p. 2n7).

1432 The erchebysschop, Sere Bawdewynys. While the text indicates that Baldwin, the Archbishop of Canterbury, departed in advance directly from England, Baldwin and others sailed from Marseille to Outremer, arriving in Tyre on 16 September, 1190 (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 129; and Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 54).

1437–1666 Three hoostes . . . Holy Londe. Richard’s journey of revenge to Germany is not included in the b version. Brunner does not consider this episode to have been part of the lost Anglo-Norman original, in part due to the present participle in -and(e) in lines 1522 and 1525 (Löwenherz, p. 19). In contrast, witnesses of b take Richard to Marseille (A, fol. 255v).
 

See Brunner (Löwenherz, p. 157n).

1450 Traytours lookes ye honge and drawe. Punishments for treason included hanging, drawing, quartering, emasculation, disemboweling, and beheading. Some traitors were even flayed alive: see Barron’s discussion of these severe punishments, (“Penalties for Treason,” pp. 189–200) and the note to line 722.

1452 The bysschop of York, my chauncelere. Richard’s chancellor was actually William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely (Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 121–22). See the note at line 1175 for a discussion of the chancellor’s duties.

1481 styward . A steward is the “principal officer in charge of the domestic affairs of a royal or imperial household, a seneschal” (MED, s. v. stuard (n.), sense 1b).

1512 servyse. “Service” here refers to the sequence of dishes.

1549 Marburette. Perhaps Marbourg (Paris, “Le Roman,” p. 358n1).

1565 Carpentras. Located in southeastern France, Carpentras, never part of Germany, was part of the Holy Roman Empire (Paris, “Le Roman,” p. 358n3).

1588 Ye schole be kyssyd. A common practice, the exchange of kisses between men formed part of such rituals as the ceremony of homage where the lord “kissed his [new] vassal on the mouth” (Major, “‘Bastard Feudalism,’” pp. 509–10). Overtly representing reconciliation, kisses between males are frequent in RCL; see lines 607, 1613, 1673, 1749, and 2687.

1639 Twoo ryche rynges of gold. A folklore motif, rings that bestow invulnerability occur in a number of ME romances; see, e.g., Sir Eglamour of Artois, lines 607–12; and Sir Perceval of Galles, lines 1839–64.

1649 Serjauntes of armes. A sergeant of arms is an officer in the service of the king or other person of rank who is usually armed (MED, s. v., sergeaunt (n.) 2b).

1657 Roberd of Leycester. The historical Robert de Beaumont, fourth Earl of Leicester, accompanied Richard I on the Third Crusade. As he does with Fulk D’Oilly and Thomas Moulton, Finlayson suggests that Robert’s extensive role in Richard’s crusading exploits in the a version of RCL may serve to glorify the redactor’s patron or family (“‘Richard, Coer de Lyon,’” p.166).

1659 Robert Tourneham. Mentioned in lines 2102, 2120, 4051, 4900, 6133, and 7151, Robert de Turnham (of Thornham) (d. 1211) was a soldier and administrator closely associated with Richard I during the Third Crusade and afterward. Having commanded half the naval force during the conquest of Cyprus, Turnham and Richard de Camville served as joint administrators of Cyprus after the crusaders departed. As Richard’s familiaris, he carried the king’s equipment from the Holy Land to Europe. He also served Richard as seneschal of Anjou (Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 150–52, 329).

1661 Al redy they founde there here flete. Historically, Richard did not find his fleet in Marseille but waited there for days before giving up and proceeding to the Holy Land in hired ships (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 55; and Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 129–30).

1669–2040 Before the gates . . . . he wente. For a discussion of the turbulant relations between Richard, Philip, Tancred, and other historical points of tension that characterized Richard’s adventures in Sicily, see Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:38–43; and Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 132–39. By reproducing only Philip’s aggression, not Tancred’s, RCL clearly displays its anti-French bias.

1669 Gryffouns. Crusaders and others insulted Byzantine Greeks by calling them gryphons, the name of a fabulous animal with the front of an eagle and the rear of a lion. Sicily formed part of the Byzantine empire until the late eleventh century, but the insult applied to Muslims as well. See Nicholson, Itinerarium, p. 155n45. As the West believed Greeks to be thieves, the insult may stress the gryphon’s rapacious nature (Livingston, “Grifon,” p. 48).

1677 tresoun. See the note on treason at line 722 above.

1679 a wryt. Philip sent not a writ — a legal document that compels action — but a letter to Tancred of Lecce, the illegitimate cousin of the late William II of Sicily, maligning Richard as a traitor. Tancred delivered the letter to Richard who declared his innocence immediately. See Roger of Howden, Chronica, 3:98 (trans. Archer, Crusade, pp. 49–50); cited by Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 55. See note to line 1726 below.

1700–1701 Kyng Richard . . . Holy Lande. These lines refer to Richard’s protected status as both pilgrim and crusader. Having taken the cross — croysyd — he has taken crusade vows that both impose obligations and afford protections; see Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, pp. 30–65.

1712 Rys. Reggio di Calabria, the capital of Tancred’s kingdom of Sicily (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 471).

1726 mysdede thee. Historically, Richard held legitimate grievances against Tancred. After William II, king of Sicily, died in 1189, Tancred became king. Not trusting William’s widow, Joanna (Richard’s sister), he held her in confinement and would not release her dower. Tancred also withheld from Richard a large legacy that William II had left to Richard’s father, Henry II (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:38).

1762 Quarters. A quarter is “a unit of dry measure of approximately eight bushels” (MED, quarter(e (n.), sense 3e).

1768 Under the house of the Hospytall. The Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. Originally a group of men attached to an Amalfi hospital that cared for pilgrims to the Holy Land, the Hospitallers became a military order after the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099. They were the earliest order of crusading knights, a chivalric order that combined Christian asceticism with chivalric ideals. Organized to protect the pilgrims’ hospital in Jerusalem, they took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They became powerful through donations and built castles and hospitals in the Holy Land and in Europe. Hospitaller influence in Sicily can be dated to the time of Roger II, king of Sicily (1130–54) but increased during the reign of Frederick II, king of Sicily and Jerusalem. From their headquarters in the Holy Land, the Krak de Chevaliers, “one of the largest castels ever built,” the Hospitallers played a vital, well-documented role in the crusades, as did the Templars (Nickel, “Chivalry,” 3.303–04). The Knights of St. John exist today as the Knights of Malta. See also line 3152.

1771–72 The Frensshe . . . Englyssche knyghtes. Chronicle accounts report that conflict with the local citizens prompted Richard’s conquest of Messina. See, e. g., Nicholson, Itinerarium, 2.11–22, pp. 154–70; and Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 52.

1776 Of the Englysshe taylardes. In RCL, the French and Greeks repeatedly abuse the English by calling them “tailed ones;” see lines 1878, 1886, 1960, 2006, 2124–25, and 2158. As beasts and devils have tails, the insult “makes the English over into devilish unbelievers and bestial animals,” the very heathen hounds they considered their enemies — Muslims, Jews, heretics — to be while mocking English sexual practices, especially those of Richard I (Heng, Empire, pp. 94–95). The only instances of this term of abuse noted by the MED occur in RCL: s.v. tailarde (sense a). The epithet caudatus Anglicus or “tailed English,” likely derives from a legend that has pagan Englishmen growing tails after the devil urged them to abuse St. Augustine of Canterbury: for a discussion of sources and scholarship, see Broughton (Legends of Richard I, pp. 93–97).

1807–09 The table . . . in haste. Compare The King of Tars, lines 101–05:

1810 He wolde not wende for Crystes faste. The conflict in Messina actually broke out on 4 October and lasted not days but hours (Nicholson, Itinerarium, 2.16, p. 159; for additional sources, see Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 55).

1814–16 The erle . . . Longe Spaye. William Longespée, the third Earl of Salisbury, an illegitimate son of Henry II and Countess Ida de Tosny, took no part in the Third Crusade. See Loomis, Review, p. 456; and Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 468. He should not be confused with William Longespee II, an English hero of the Battle of Mansura during the Seventh Crusade. (Lloyd, “William Longespee II,” p. 41).

1842 mayster maryners. Wardens of the ports.

1849–50 I have . . . tembre of Englonde. Present in the earliest manuscript witness, L (the Auchinleck MS), c. 1330, this line, a “charming nationalist fiction,” is set within RCL’s representation of an historical event — Richard’s subjugation of Sicily — and may reflect English nationalist sentiment “on the eve of Edward III’s long-lasting war with France” (Finlayson, “‘Richard, Coer de Lyon,’” p. 171).

1856 mate-gryffon. Frequently used — see lines 2898, 2943, 6090, and 6109 — the mate-gryphon was a portable siege engine whose name means “harm (evil) of the Greeks.” Historically, Richard’s mate-griffon was a wooden castle erected on a hill overlooking Messina. See Nicholson, Itinerarium, 2.20, p. 167; Gillingham, Richard I, p. 136; and Brunner, Löwenherz, pp. 55–56.

1858 And holde up your manshyppes. “Holde up your manshyppes” may be paraphrased as “maintain or raise your spirits” (MED, s. v. manship(e (n.), sense 1c). Heng includes this phrase in her discussion of RCL’s phallic imagery, bestial puns, and sodomy (Empire, p. 95).

1878 The tayled dogges. See note at line 1776.

1902 wylde fyre. Also known as Greek fire, this incendiary, which the Byzantines developed, burned on water and enabled them to break the Arab siege of Constantinople in the late seventh century. Arab use of the weapon during the Crusades produced superstitious awe among the Christians. Frequent mention of Greek fire in chronicles, chansons de geste, and recipe books indicates a cultural preoccupation with the weapon that RCL, no doubt, reflects; see lines 2477, 2589, 2645–46, 2650, 2761, 4398, 5269, 5432, 5439, 6101, and 6161. Wildfire became an integral part of crusading warfare. Defenders poured or shot the incendiary onto besiegers through a variety of means. See Partington’s Greek Fire for a sustained treatment of the weapon.

1909 londe gate. As its name implies, a fortified entrance on land as opposed to a water gate; compare Bevis of Hampton, lines 4491–92: “And afterward, ase ye mai hure, / Londegate thai sette a fure.”

1919 a gate one. Chronicles describe Richard’s forces entering Messina through an unguarded back gate. See Nicholson, Itinerarium, 2.16, p. 162; Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 59.

1931 His baner upon the wall he pulte. Chronicles report King Philip’s anger at seeing Richard’s banners above Messina. The people of Messina must have deemed Philip’s presence a guarantee of their safety, so Richard’s victory humiliated him: “He [Philip] demanded that the banners should be taken down and his own hoisted up in their place. To plant a banner in a captured town was to stake a claim to a share in its government and its plunder” (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 135).

1939 Porcules. A portcullis is a “heavy wooden or metal grating . . . housed in a castle room immediately above the entrance passage and dropped vertically in grooves in the wall to block a passageway” (Broughton, Dictionary, p. 376).

1967 vyage. OF voiage came to convey both “pilgrimage” and “crusade”; see Trotter, Medieval French Literature, pp. 38–39.

1975 so sayth the boke. A reference to the French source; see note at line 21.

1984–85 And bad Rycharde . . . agayne than. This demonstration of Philip’s avaricious hypocrisy is another example of RCL’s anti-French bias

2003 Margaryte. This comical French justice’s name may derive from Tancred’s admiral, Margaritus (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:39).

2016 And Rycharde was soone at his tayle. See Heng’s discussion of the varied resonances in RCL’s use of “tail” (Empire, p. 95). See also the note to line 1776.

2019 Ternes and quernes. When used non-figuratively, these terms refer to casts in which both dice yield either three or four respectively. See MED, terne (n.2).

2040 And than on his waye he wente. After this line, E, D, A, and H — each manuscript of the b group (except L) — contains a passage that refers to Richard’s historical mother, Eleanor of Aquitane, and his future wife, Berengaria of Navarre:

2046 With moche store of sylver and golde. Lacking in the a group, after this line in b appears the following passage that mentions both Berengaria and Joan, Richard’s sister:

2049–2457 Charged with tresour . . . . helde afterwarde. RCL’s account of the storm, the three wrecked ships, their plundering by Cypriots, and Richard’s conquest of Cyprus reflect historical events; see, e.g., Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 144–53; and Edbury, Conquest of Jerusalem, pp. 175–82. Though not religiously significant like Jerusalem, Cyprus was of great strategic value: it offered “a rich and secure supply and naval base close to the coast of Palestine”; and its emperor, in alliance with Saladin, had been denying supplies to the starving crusaders at Acre (Prestwich, “Rex Bellicosus,” pp. 8–9). While Acre, the last possession of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell in 1291, Cyprus did not fall to the Turks until 1571 (Prestwich, “Rex Bellicosus,” pp. 8–9, p. 16). For Richard, taking Cyprus was “the most far-sighted and the most enduring of all of his achievements on the Crusade” (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:46). See the textual note to line 2040, which mentions an additional or fourth ship whose passengers included Richard’s historical mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, his sister, Joan, and his betrothed, Berengaria of Navarre.

2051 A grete tempest arose sodaynly. While such tempests are frequent plot devices in the romance genre, a storm in fact made travel difficult for Richard’s fleet (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 144).

2069 Grete slaughter of our Englysshe maked. An exaggeration. The English “who reached dry land were imprisoned and their money taken” (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 144).

2102 Roberte of Turnam. See note to line 1659.

2107 Saynt Denys. St. Denys, bishop of Paris, martyr and patron of France. The abbey built over his and his fellow martyrs’ tomb became the burial place for French kings. Richard’s swearing by the patron saint of France may reflect the French source that the narrator repeatedly invokes; see lines 21 and 3012 and related notes. Of course, the exigencies of rhyme may have influenced the choice: Ailes and Barber note a similar instance involving a Welshman in Ambroise (Estoire, 2:84 and 2:84n265). That a cult of St. Denys existed in England with “no fewer than forty-one ancient churches in his name” lessens the oddity of an English king swearing an oath on the name of France’s patron saint (Farmer, Saints, p. 135). See also line 3278.

2135 stewarde. “Steward” refers to the official in charge of the domestic affairs of a house or estate, a seneschal. The position, “high stewarde,” refers to a position in charge of the domestic affairs of a great or royal house, in this case, that of the emperor of Cyprus. See lines 2345 and 2435.

2143 For he is crossed and pylgrym. See note to line 1387.

2147–62 The eyen . . . . tourne agayne! Paris suggests a story as a source for this event from the songs of the First Crusade, that of Estatin l’esnasé (Tatinus the noseless). In Pierre Langtoft’s chronicle account of Richard’s conquest of Cyprus, the emperor mistreats a seneshal named Statin (Paris, “Le Roman,” p. 389). Jentsch notes Roger of Howdon’s account of the Emperor of Cyprus removing a baron’s nose upon receiving unwelcome advice (“Quellen,” p. 223). Ambroise reports that the emperor cut off the hands, feet, and noses of captured crusaders and of Cypriots who had surrendered to Richard (Estoire, 1:31–32, lines 1944–55). See also Brunner, Löwenherz, pp. 64–65, 64n5.

2185–86 The erle . . . he layed. In the medieval West, chess was viewed more as a noble game than as a frivolous or harmful pastime. Peter Damien’s imposing a penance in 1061 to a bishop for playing chess and St. Louis’s ban of chess in France in 1254 were isolated events. Even though chess was viewed as “ennobling men’s minds instead of corrupting their souls” (Nickel, “Games,” p. 351), playing chess for money likely tarnished the nobility of the pursuit: for example, the author of the pseudo-Ovidian De vetula praises the game’s honorable, noble status but rebukes those who play chess for money (Adams, Power Play, pp. 167–68n19). Here, RCL’s populist tendencies emphasize not nobility and honor but gambling and aggressive, virile competition. Compare, for example, the opening of the Middle Dutch Roman van Walewein in which a chess board magically floats through a window and bedazzles Arthur’s court before disappearing. In this courtly romance, Arthur’s quest to find the magic chess board expresses a connection between the game and political order, between playing “chess and improving one’s ability to govern one’s kingdom (and, implicitly . . . one’s self).” This connection is made explicit in such thirteenth-century treatises as Jacobus de Cessolis’s De ludo scachorum (Adams, Power Play, p. 4). As a popular romance, RCL presents the virile hero’s victorious wagering, not the privileged status of chess or its ties to the political order. See Adams, Power Play, pp. 3–4.

2194 In dede lyon, in thought, lybarde. A formulation that stresses the bravery of the lion and the craftiness or cunning of the leopard.

2202 the hayle stone. For a discussion of the collective singular, see Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 43.

2209–11 Kynge Rycharde . . . the nones. Intended for Saracens and deployed by the English king, this ax symbolizes the nationalism that characterizes the poem's crusading ideal (Turville-Petre, England the Nation, p. 123). Favored by Anglo-Saxon warriors, used by Normans at the battle of Hastings and by Anglo-Normans afterwards, the battle-ax, as used by Richard “unites two opposing military and political lineages, signaling their combination in the now-English king” (Heng, Empire, p. 101; see also Akbari, “Hunger,” p. 203). One chronicle reports that Richard, upon arriving to relieve the siege of Jaffa, “armed himself with his hauberk, hung his shield at his neck and took a Danish axe in his hand” and “jumped into the sea followed by his men” (Edbury, Conquest of Jerusalem, p. 117). An illustration in L (fol. 326), which depicts in the bow of a galley, “a bearded knight, on whose red surcoat white leopards are distinguishable, grasping a large ax in his hands,” likely refers to this chronicle report. See Loomis’s description of the illustration (“Pas Saladin,” pp. 522–23). See also the note to line 4594.

2251 The emperours doughter. The emperor’s daughter, a child, was captured after the siege of Kyrenia. Richard entrusted her into the care of his queen (Ambroise, Estoire, 1:18, lines 1076–83; Nicholson, Itinerarium, 2.41, p. 195).

2334 That one hyght Favell and that other Lyarde. According to Ambroise, Richard seized several horses in Cyprus, including the emperor’s own “Fauvel,” who became his war-horse (Estoire, 1:30, lines 1840–42; 1:31, line 1927; 1:107, lines 6597–98; 1:115, line 7104; and 1:125, line 7735). The second name, “Lyarde,” need not be historical as both names indicate color: fauvel designates a dun, fallow, or fawn-colored horse, and liard, the color gray (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 59). Broughton argues that “Favel” means “favor” and cites its occurrence in the chanson de geste, Otinel (Legends of Richard I, p. 100).

2345 hygh stewarde. See note to line 2135.

2353–54 Homage by . . . hym helde. Expressing feudal vassalage, the emperor submits to Richard in the ritual of homage that makes Richard his lord. The emperor’s submission and other details correspond to historical accounts; see, e.g., Ambroise, Estoire, 1:32–33, lines 2006–61 (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 52).

2383–85 He fell on . . . good entent. The emperor fulfills Richard’s two demands from lines 2372–73: “And crye me mercy with sorowe, / And homage to me yelde or bere.” In the traditional ceremony of commendation, “the man doing homage clasped his hands together, placed them between the hands of his superior, and briefly acknowledged himself to be his ‘man’” (Reedy, “Commendation,” p. 490).

2387 Fewté he dyde hym, and homage. A reference to the oath of fealty that normally accompanied the ritual of homage discussed above in the note to lines 2383–85. By this oath, the vassal swore — that is, invoked the divine name in witness to the truth — to be faithful to his master.

2443 treuth. See note at line 2387 above.

2455 He made hym stewarde of that londe. Richard left the governance of Cyprus, not to Robert of Leicester but to Richard of Camville and Robert of Turnham (Roger of Howdon, Chronica, 3:111; Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 56).

2472–2606 They sawgh . . . Seynt Edmound. RCL’s depiction of the capture and sinking of the Saracen ship reflects chronicle accounts of a similar incident, for example, the Saracens’ claim of being French (line 2489), and the richness of the ship’s stores of weapons and food (lines 2588–98). See, e.g., Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 157–58. The passage, though, omits one weapon found in the chronicles: 200 deadly snakes (Nicholson, Itinerarium, 2.42, pp. 195–99; and Ambroise, Estoire, 1:35–36, lines 2141–99). Since this portion follows historical accounts, Brunner argues that it formed part of the original French poem (Löwenherz, p. 52).

2477 wylde fyre. Wild fire. See note at line 1902.

2479 Aleyn Trenchemer. Compare Nicholson, Itinerarium, 2.42, p. 196, which names Peter des Barres as the sailor Richard commands to approach the vessel.

2495 Seynt Thomas of Ynde. The Saracen swears by St. Thomas, the apostle who doubted Christ’s Resurrection. By one tradition, Thomas evangelized the Syrian Christians in Malabar and was killed and buried at Mylapre, near Madras (Farmer, Saints, pp. 470–71).

2541 The galey rente with the bronde. Compare Nicholson, Itinerarium, 2.42, p. 198. The bronde was an ornamental timber on the bow.

2580 Sayden he was a devyl of helle. See note to line 500 above.

2589 Many barel ful of fyr Gregeys. See note at line 1902 above.

2590 And many a thousand bowe Turkeys. Though requiring greater strength than other bows, the shorter Turkish or Turco-Mongol form of composite bow was well suited for use on horseback. For a discussion, see Tarassuk and Blair, Arms and Weapons, pp. 98–99.

2600–04 For hadde . . . ben iwunne! An accurate assessment: “How great a loss this was to the Muslims is clear from Baha al-Din’s claim that Saladin took the news ‘with perfect resignation to God’s will.’ For Imad al-Din, it was a critical turning point” (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 158; citations omitted).

2606 Seynt Edmound. This reference to Edmund, king of East Anglia (841–69 CE), links Richard’s crusading exploits to an early English warrior-saint. After his defeat and capture by the Vikings, Edmund would neither deny his Christian faith nor rule as a Viking vassal; thus, he became a martyr and hero and “fulfilled the ideals of Old English heroism, provincial independence, and Christian sanctity” (Farmer, Saints, pp. 151–52).

2635–36 And whan . . . it atwayne. For a chronicle reference to a chain drawn across the entrance to the Acre’s harbor, see Ambroise, Estoire, 1:63–64, lines 3940–54.

2641 clarré. Clary, a wine sweetened with honey and then clarified by straining.

2651 Gunnes he hadde on wondyr wise. For b’s shorter description of Richard’s arrival in Acre, see Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 225n.

2656 melle. Heng argues that the “English king’s supernatural windmill,” which appears to grind not grain but bones, “is a hyperbolic expression of English, and Western, technological superiority. . .” (Empire, p. 102).

2679 And sayd he was the devyll of hell. For RCL’s frequent association of Richard with the devil, see the note to line 500.

2693–94 The archebysschop . . . his servyse. The historical record indicates that the Pisans swore allegiance to Richard upon his arrival, and that the archbishop of Pisa, Ubaldo Laufranchi, was their leader. For references, see Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 52n; and Paris, “Le Roman,” p. 378.

2699–2884. Kynge Richard . . . to felle. The archbishop's account of the siege of Acre. One chronicle reports that the siege of Acre began in August of 1189 and lasted four years, not seven (Nicholson, Itinerarium, 1.26, p. 70). See also Brunner, Löwenherz, pp. 52–53. For an historical discussion of the siege, see Rogers, Latin Siege Warfare, pp. 212–36.

2710 Saladyn the Sawdon. Saladin (Salah ed-Din Yusuf, 1138–1193), a Kurdish soldier and brilliant military commander who became Sultan of Egypt, Damascus, and Aleppo, and who founded the Ayyubid dynasty. Militarily, he is noted for defeating the crusaders at the Battle of Hattin in 1187 and for retaking Jerusalem and regaining control of Syria from the crusaders; only Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch remained under Frankish control. Saladin’s reputation for chivalry and for charity is equally impressive. See the Introduction, pp. 15–17.

2713–20 And with hym . . . . hys name! Though his behavior was considered treasonous by some, Conrad of Montferrat never converted to Islam. In fact, after the conquest of Acre, his personal standard accompanied those of Richard and Philip as they were borne into Acre (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:51). Both he and Richard held negotiations with Saladin that damaged their reputations with contemporaries (Ambroise, Estoire, 141–44, lines 2574–2737; Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 157–58, 162, 183–84). See note at line 1307, and Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 56.

2714 Mahoun and Termagaunt. Typical of the medieval West’s inaccurate conception of Islam, Richard portrays Muslims as polytheists who worship Termagaunt, a fictitious deity, and Muhammad, not the prophet but a god. References to other Muslim gods include Jupiter (Jubiterre) at line 4451, Apollo (Appolyn) at line 3744, and Pluto (Plotoun) at line 6476. For a broad discussion of this misrepresentation of Islam, see Tolan’s Saracens and his Sons of Ishmael.

2732–46 Befel that . . . withouten pyté! Ambroise recounts a similar story of a German horse that led to many crusader deaths (Ambroise, Estoire, 1:47–49, lines 2952–3071). See Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 56. For a list of Christian nobles who fell before Richard and Philip’s arrival in Acre, including William of Ferrers, Earl of Derby (at line 2741), see Ambroise, Estoire, 2:6.

2743 And the Emperour of Alemayne. As he and his army approached Antioch from Armenia, the Emperor of Germany, Frederick I, in fact drowned in a river on 10 June, 1190 (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:15; Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 56).

2744 Janyn, the Eerl of Playn Spayne. This earl, as yet unidentified, may be fictitious. Compare Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 467.

2749–52 He leet . . . to quelle. Ambroise reports that “Saladin had all the bodies of the dead taken and returned to us by throwing them into the river of Acre” (Estoire, 2:76, lines 3072–93). In 1192 at a later point in the crusade, Saladin reacted to Richard’s victory against a caravan by destroying cisterns and filling in wells (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 208). Heng suggests that Saladin’s acts recall the libel of well-poisoning made against medieval Jews and so conflates the two groups (Empire, p. 79; “Romance of England,” p. 143).

2775 On Seynt Jamys even. The eve of St. James, 25 July. See the note on St. James at line 4817.

2822 Sente us sone socouryng. Compare Nicholson, Itinerarium, 1.41–42, pp. 97–99, noted by Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 53.

2823 The doughty eerl of Champayne. Actually, Henry II, the Count of Champagne (1181–1197), one of the most powerful barons of France. He was the nephew of both Richard I and Philip II; his mother, Mary, was the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and king Louis VII of France, a marriage later annulled. After the death of Conrad of Montferrat, he married Isabel, Conrad’s widow, and so became King of Jerusalem. Undeservedly maligned in RCL’s biased picture of the French, he played an important role in the Third Crusade and remained loyal to Richard; see, e.g., Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:28–29, 55, 64–67, and 72–73; Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 165n49, 192n1, 201–03, and 219–20; and Heng, Empire, p. 109.

2825 Randulf, the Glamvyles. Ranulf de Glanville, chief justiciar for Henry II, resigned upon Richard’s accession in 1189 and then took the Cross: compare Nicholson, Itinerarium, 1.42, p. 99 and 99n210; Loomis, Review, p. 456.

2826 Jhon the Neel. A reference to Jean de Nesle, a hero of the Fourth Crusade (Loomis, Review, p. 456).

2831 Huberd Gawter of Yngelande. Bishop of Salisbury, Hubert Gautier or Hubert Walter became in 1193 the Archbishop of Canterbury. His deeds feature prominently in chronicles of the crusades; see, e.g., Nicholson, Itinerarium, 1.78, pp. 135–36, and 6.34, pp. 377–79.

2837–65 At Myghhylmasse . . . for woo. The crusaders’ periodic shortages of food — during the winter of 1190, for example — are well attested (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:27), but the manner in which the shortages are recounted — the listing of prices — follow a typological pattern also found in chronicles of the First Crusade: “The most common strategy of the Gesta [Francorum] for illustrating the severity of the famine was to list the prices of food; the same strategy is used in 4 Kings 6” (Rubenstein, “Cannibals and Crusaders,” p. 549n100). For the significance of typological patterns in RCL, especially those related to cannibalism, see the Introduction, pp. 6–9 and 17–20.

2853 A quarter of whete. This measurement may refer to a unit of dry measure roughly equivalent to eight bushels (MED, s. v. “quarter(e” (n.) 3e).

2855 For fourty pound. A “pound” is “an English monetary unit based on a Tower pound of silver; a pound sterling” (MED, s.v. pound(e (n.1), sense 2a).

2857 A swyn for an hondryd floryn. The “floryn” may refer to a “gold coin minted at Florence and stamped with the figure of a lily,” but the term may refer to any foreign gold including “an English gold coin worth 6s. 8d [6 shillings, 8 pence]” (MED, s. v. floren (n.), sense a). The Muslim and Jewish prohibition on swine would have made them rare in the Middle East.

2858 A goos for half mark. A “mark” is a “monetary unit equal to 160 pennies or 2/3 of a pound sterling” (MED, s.v. mark(e (n.2), sense 2a).

2860 of penyes, fyftene schillinges. A penye or penny was an “English silver coin, weighing approximately 22 grains, decreasing in weight and value from about 1300 A.D., equal to 1/12 of a shilling or 1/240 of a pound” (MED, s.v. peni (n.), sense 1a). After the Norman Conquest, the English monetary unit known as the shilling, was “worth twelve pence or one twentieth of a pound” (MED, s.v. shilling (n.), sense 1a).

2876 whyt tourneys. “A denier of Tours worth four fifths that of Paris; also, a debased coin imitative of the French silver tournois” (MED, s. v. tourneis (n. 2)).

sterlyng. This refers to the English silver penny (MED s.v. sterling, sense a).

2898 And arerede hys mate-gryffoun. See note at line 1856 above.

2902 shyppes full of been. Arguably part of a symbolic vocabulary for imagining the English nation, bees and their hive were a “figure for the polity since the time of Bede.” And since the West imported sugar from the East but exported honey to the East, RCL’s use of bees as weapons may serve as “a defiant statement of economic and ideological superiority” (Heng, Empire, pp. 101–02). See also note to lines 1392–93.

2904 magnel. See note to line 1399.

2926 mynour. One who undermines fortifications.

2983 With thre gryffouns depayntyd weel. A fabulous animal often represented in Western heraldry, the gryphon “is formed by the body, hind-legs and tail of a lion conjoined to the head and claws [and wings] of an eagle, the latter acting as its forepaws” (Fox-Davies, Heraldry, pp. 222–24; insertion mine). This representation of the knightly culture of the East using herladic symbols common in the West evinces the transnational nature of chivalry. “Gryphon” was also a term of abuse for Greeks; see note at line 1669.

2989–90 And on everylkon . . . a lyoun. The dragon serves as an appropriate heraldic symbol for Saracens: likening the animal to the devil, bestiaries described the dragon as the worst serpent. As no other figure “plays such an important or such an extensive part in armory as the lion” (Fox-Davies, Heraldry, p. 133), this lion opposing a dragon conjures not only Richard but stands as a chivalric symbol of the West.

2998 Myrayn-Momelyn. The name given to the nephew of Saladin is likely a corruption of Amir al-Mu’minin, which means “Leader of the Faithful,” another title of the Caliph. For this reference, the editor thanks Ishan Cakrabarti, a graduate student at the University of Texas. In a related mistake, the Itinerarium states that Saladin “was from the nation of Mirmuraenus” (Nicholson, 1.3, p. 26).

3000 With thre Sarezynes hedes of sable. The depiction of Saladin’s banner — three heads of sable [black] upon a white background — provides an heraldic prelude to the racial use of color that occurs later in the poem.

3005–08 The footmen . . . in myghte. A conventional stratagem in crusading romances: compare, e.g., The Sultan of Babylon, lines 282–93.

3012 Susé Seynours, has armes tost! One of several passages entirely in French, the angel’s exhortation to arms partly supports the text’s citing of a French source (Hibbard, Mediæval Romance, p. 147). W and B include English; see related Textual Note.

3027–3124 Kyng Richard . . . his maladye. This passage marks the first of a series of scenes that increasingly emphasize, even celebrate, the king’s cannibalism: Richard later asks for the head of the swine that he had eaten and is presented with that of the Saracen (lines 3194–3226); his performance of cannibalism before the Saracen messengers (lines 3409–3562); and the messengers’ report of Richard’s cannibalism to Saladin (lines 3563–3655). This notorious episode from a is absent from the b group of manuscripts. Though E depicts Richard’s second act of cannibalism at lines 3409–3562, the defective state of this manuscript obscures whether E does, in fact, present the first incidence of cannibalism. B is partially defective, missing lines at this interval. For a table listing these and other lacunae, see Brunner, Löwenherz, pp. 15–17. See the Introduction (pp. 3–4, 6–8, 13, and 17–20) for a discussion of the complex manuscript situation and the varied interpretations of Richard’s cannibalism.

3027 Kyng Richard was syke thoo. Accounts of the siege report that both Richard and Philip fell ill with “Arnaldia or Léonardia, a fever [likely scurvy or trench mouth] which caused their hair and nails to fall out” (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 160 and 160n25. Compare Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 53).

3052 to loken hys uryn. A first diagnostic step in matters of internal medicine, picked up frequently in literature to indicate a doctor’s wise involvement, it is usualy the only detail in a diagnosis. Compare the Ellesmere drawing of Chaucer’s Physician holding a urine flask on high even as he rides his horse while the Host (in the Introduction to the Pardoner’s Tale) mocks his gestures, saying, “God so save thy gentil course, / And eek thyne urynals and thy jurdones” (CT VI(C304–05). Or note the Gesta Romanorum’s “Tale of the Ring, the Brooch, and the Cloth,” where Jonathas poses as a physician and “whenne he hadde i-seyne hir vryne,” diagnoses Falicite’s moral illness (p. 191). See also The Croxton Play of the Sacrament, where another Jonathas is called “the most famous phesysyan / That ever sawe uryne” (lines 535–36); and Machaut’s Le Jugement dou Roy de Navarre (in The Debate Series), where it is said, “Premiers, s’orine resgarderent” (line 1903) [“First they examined her urine.”]

3071 But aftyr pork he was alongyd. Later in his campaign, chronicles report that Richard had longed for pears and peaches while ill (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 217). Cited by Loomis (Review, p. 466) and others as a source for Richard’s feats of anthopophagy is the Tarfurs’ cannibalism in La Chanson d’Antioche, 2:219, lines 4073–75: “The pilgrims ate with pleasure, without bread and without salt, saying as they did, ‘This is most tasty, better than any pork or even cured ham. Cursed be anyone who would die now where is such abundance!’” (trans. Rubenstein, “Cannibals and Crusaders,” p. 549 and 549n113). The ban against pork considered an unclean and forbidden food, distinguishes Muslims and Jews from Christians in medieval culture. The substitution of Muslim for pork thus makes the enemy bestial, subhuman (Heng, Empire, pp. 37, 63–64). In another analogue, Bevis’s mother lures her aged husband into a trap by feigning a fever that she reports can be cured by eating boar: “Ye,” she seide, “of a wilde bor / I wene, me mineth, boute for / Al of the fevre!” (Bevis of Hampton, lines 184–86, cited by Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 238).

3077 An old knyght. Heng reads this old knight as “a residual figure from the First Crusade” (Empire, p. 334n2).

3088–93 Takes a Sarezyn . . . good colour. McDonald argues that this passage largely mimics the language and grammar of conventional medieval recipes: Sarazyn was a “term current in medieval cookery books to denote exotic foods of Eastern origin” (“Eating People,” pp. 134–35). Thus, the recipe in RCL transforms “a young Muslim into a plate of pork (the meat that is the ubiquitous mark of a Christian diet) . . . by subjecting the unfamiliar flesh to the normal rules of English cooking” (“Eating People,” p. 147n28).

3092–93 With powdyr . . . good colour. The spices would mask the taste, and the “good colour” of the saffron would alter the “bad” color of the Saracen’s head. Due to a variety of influences including the Arab civilization in Spain and crusader experiences in Antioch, Arabic culinary emphasis upon color, notably a range of saffron-induced colors, penetrated the West, and “saffron became one of the most popular ingredients in England” (Adamson, Food, p. 100). “Saffron” was not only used as a spice in medieval recipes but also as a dyestuff (MED, s. v. saf(f)roun (n.), sense 1c).

3113–14 And whenne . . . and lowgh. See note to lines 3210–15 for a reference to Heng’s analysis of Richard’s two acts of cannibalism as a joke that conjures a collective identity — the English — by means of dietary habits as well as through a racializing discourse that relies upon biological and religious difference.

3123–24 And thankyd . . . his maladye. Together with lines 3061–64 — the English folk’s prayers for his cure — these lines present Richard’s recovery through the cannibalism of Saracen flesh as being divinely sanctioned (Heng, Empire, p. 64). Noting Richard’s eastern origins, Akbari argues that the king’s consumption of Saracen flesh heals him because the roast Saracen is “food from home” (“Hunger,” p. 209–10).

3125–50 With the exception of E, which is defective, the b group of manuscripts depicts Richard’s healing, not by means of Saracen flesh, but as found in the passage from A (f. 264 r.) below:

Compare Löwenherz, p. 252n. Brunner argues that Richard’s healing from Saracen flesh formed part of the original text and that the passage above represents a revision (Löwenherz, p. 22).

3134 houndes. In ME romances, Christians frequently abuse Saracens by referring to them as hounds (see lines 4054, 5113, 5231, 6136, 6786, 7120) or as heathen hounds (line 6480; see, e.g., The King of Tars, lines 93 and 1097). Shores observes that the epithet hethen hounde is a “popular romance insult for the pagans” (King of Tars, p. 202n93). While the Saracens describe the Christians with the same slur in line 6070 — Crystene houndes — the portrayal of the enemy as a hound, and, in particular, a tailed hound, achieves particular resonance in Richard. This begins with a description of the English as taylardes (tailed ones) at line 337, and continues emphatically with the description of the English as taylardes (tailed ones) at line 1776, and as dogs with tails at line 1830: “Go home, dogges, with your tayle.” As noted in the Introduction p. 14 the romance celebrates these insults — and Richard’s demonic pedigree — as markers of English identity.

3140 ax. See note to lines 2209–11 for a discussion of the historic and symbolic uses of Richard’s ax.

3151–52 Before wente . . . his Ospytalers. The origins of the Templars — the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple — can be traced to 1118 when two knights, Hugh of Payns and Godfrey of Saint-Omer, gave their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. King Baldwin II gave them as their base the south side of his palace, the Temple of the Lord, the name the Franks gave the Dome of the Rock. The main role and distinctive duty of this fraternity — later, a military order — was to ensure the safety of the roads travelled by pilgrims (Barber, New Knighthood, pp. 6–7); even after the victories of the First Crusade, pilgrims and other travellers faced great peril even in regions under Frankish control (p. 3). Through recruitment, donations, and well-placed friends, the Templars became a powerful, wealthy order. Though suppressed in 1312, the Templars in the preceding century may have had as many as 7000 knights and 870 castles, preceptories, and subsidiary houses throughout Western Europe and the Holy Land (p. 1). See note at line 1768 for a discussion of Hospitallers.

3165–66 Whenne the Sawdon . . . hem among. See the note to line 500.

3170 Gage. Perhaps Gaza (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 466).

3177–93 Thus al . . . ten myle. In this interval, A (fol. 264v) includes the following passage:

In contrast to C and W, A lengthens the fighting: “Twey dayes and twoo nyght.” Brunner argues that b’s lengthening of the fighting, an absurd exaggeration, indicates that a’s account of the battle for Acre stands closer to the original (Löwenherz, p. 22)

3210–15 “Loo, here . . . were wood. Arguing that RCL presents Richard’s cannibalism as an aggressive, communal joke that unites nationalist and colonialist ambitions, Heng points to these lines that instantly define Muslim identity through biological, ethnic, and religious markers (“Romance of England,” pp. 140–42). These lines stage “the horror of the head, its color difference, and its inhuman devilish nature” as a joke in a popular romance about an historical king that, amazing to say, embellishes rather than condemns his legend (Empire, pp. 64–65, 76).

3231 And cryeden trewes and parlement. Trewes here refers to pledges for a temporary cessation of hostilities to allow the Saracens to decide whether their position is viable; see MED, s.v. treu(e (n.1), sense 1a. Parlement signifies parley or discussion.

3244 besauntes. A reference to gold coins of Byzantium or to “any of several similar coins minted in Western Europe” (MED, s.v. besaunt (n.), sense 1a).

3254–55 Markes is . . . Saladynys hand. In a text that consistently represents Conrad of Montferrat as base — see the notes to lines 1307 and 1310 — Richard accuses Conrad of treason, of betraying his realm to the enemy, and of bribing Saladin: his “whitening” with silver of Saladin's presumably black hand forms part of the poem’s pervasive black/white color imagery. Compare a similar use of this racial imagery in The King of Tars.

3264–68 He robbyd . . . to governy. Richard’s accusations conflate Conrad with the historical misdeeds of Tancred of Lecce (“Tanker” in RCL). The previous ruler of Sicily, William II, was married to Richard’s sister, Joan. When William died, Tancred confined Joan and withheld her dower. William had also bequeathed to Richard’s father, Henry II, a large legacy intended to finance Henry’s crusade. Tancred also witheld this legacy from Richard despite his status as Henry’s crusading heir (Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 132–33).

3274 With wylde hors he schal be drawe. Being drawn by horses is a punishment historically associated with treason in medieval England. Reflecting the horror aroused by a crime of betrayal, punishments for treason included a series of lethal acts: hanging, disemboweling, beheading, and quartering (Barron, “Penalties for Treason,” p. 189).

3278 Seynt Denys. See note to line 2107.

3283 I am hys borwgh: Loo, here the glove. In becoming surety for the behavior of the Marquis of Montferaunt, Philip invokes not the French term, plege, but its OE and ME equivalent, borh or borwgh. The king’s glove serves as evidence of his obligation, a pledge. See Pollock and Maitland, English Law, 2:85, 185. Compare, Havelok, lines 1666–67: “Bi the fey that I owe to thee, / Ther of shal I me self borw be.”

3287–88 Ne hadde . . . hys tresoun. Part of RCL’s inaccurate, anti-French revision of history. For discussions of Conrad, see notes to line 1307, to lines 2713–20, and to lines 3254–55; for a brief discussion of treason, see the notes to lines 722 and 3274.

3289–90 Yif he . . . gret honour. This reference to Henry’s treasure is to the large legacy that William II of Sicily bequeathed to Richard’s father, Henry II, to finance Henry’s crusade; see note to lines 3264–68 above. For the dispute over Jerusalem, see the note to line 1307 and Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 148–49.

3306 croys. See note to line 392 and to lines 3330–3755.

3326 In myn half, I graunte thee forward. Not found in the a group, here begins a passage in the b group in which Richard demands guarantors at the conclusion of the treaty of Acre (A, f. 265 r.):

Compare Brunner, Löwenherz, pp. 260n–64n. For arguments that place this passage in the original, though lost, Anglo-Norman text, see Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 20.

3330–3755 They token hem . . . wan Acres. This episode pairs two brutal acts, one historical (Richard’s slaying of the prisoners at Acre), and one fabulous (the second act of cannibalism). At the fall of Acre, the Muslim defenders agreed to peace terms in exchange for their lives. They were to make money payments, liberate 1500 Christian prisoners, and return the True Cross (Nicholson, Itinerarium, 3.17, p. 219; and Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:50). Difficulties ensued which gave Richard an excuse for not honoring the agreement. On his orders, 2700 Muslim prisoners and their wives and children were brutally slaughtered. For contemporary and modern reactions to this event, see Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 167–71. The Introduction (pp. 17–20) discusses the potential sources, critical reception, and interpretations of Richard’s repeated cannibalism. Unique among witnesses of the b group, E depicts portions of this second cannibalism. See the notes to lines 3027–3124 and to lines 3409–3655.

3346 And took hem into hys partyes. Diverging from the a group at this point, manuscripts from b depict Philip returning to France after the surrender of Acre, an historically accurate sequence that Brunner deems likely to have been represented in the original, lost Anglo-Norman text (Löwenherz, p. 20). For the variant reading from A, a b group witness, see the corresponding Textual Note.

3391 doande. Brunner argues the presence of a participle with the ending —ande indicates that this section of the romance —the serving of the heads of the Saracen envoys — could not have been part of the lost, Anglo-Norman original (Löwenherz, p. 19).

3409–3655 They grauntyd . . . playn werk! Richard’s second act of cannibalism, his serving the heads of Saracen princes to Saladin’s emissaries, and the emissaries’ report to Saladin. Unique among witnesses of b, E depicts this second act of cannibalism.

3410 marchal. A marshal was a court official who maintained discipline at court and who, in times of war, performed a variety of functions (Broughton, Dictionary, p. 326). Fifteenth-Century Courtesy Book, eds. Chambers and Seton, makes clear that a marshal’s duties included maintaining the meal hall (p. 11).

3420 And bere the hedes to the kechyn. The presentation of enemy heads as trophies is an historical practice attributed to both Christians and Muslims alike. During the siege of Antioch during the First Crusade, the Gesta Francorum (p. 42) reports that crusaders outside the city walls exhumed bodies from graves to accurately count the dead, after which they sent “severed heads as gifts to legates of the emir of Egypt” (Rubenstein, “Cannibals and Crusaders,” p. 542n85). At the final siege of Acre in 1291, “the Prince of Hamah, after defeating a body of Franks, cut off the heads of the dead, slung them round their horses’ necks, and sent horses and heads as a present to the Sultan of Egypt” (Archer, Crusade, pp. 382–83).

3423–24 And loke . . . of lyppe. Heng reads the removal of the beards from the corpses of these Saracen princes as a process of emasculation (Empire, pp. 38, 74). See McDonald’s discussion of Richard’s preparation of the Saracens’ heads as “a conventional [entremet],” an argument that likens Richard’s efforts to other successful entremets that articulates "with inescapable clarity, the nature and extent of the host’s authority” (“Eating People,” p. 137).

3428 Lay every hed on a platere. As Heng observes, “If Richard’s demand for a head on a platter seems uncannily to resemble typological revenge for the biblical decapitation of the forerunner and cousin of Christ, we recall that the killing of Jews was an integral part of crusade history, as well as the history of Richard’s ascension to the throne of England” (Empire, p. 78).

3446 They were set a syde-table. By placing himself on a raised platform and the Saracen ambassadors on a lower “syde-table,” Richard begins the embassy with an insult (Heng, Empire, p. 73).

3447–48 Salt was set . . .whyt ne red. By not offering his guests wine, Richard may distance his cannibalistic feast from the Eucharist. Compare La Chanson d’Antioche, II:220, lines 4102–06, when Duke Godfrey learns of the Tarfurs’ cannibalism; he “responds not with anger or shame, but with a [Eucharistic] joke, offering the King of the Tafurs wine with which to wash down his Saracen meat” (Rubenstein, “Cannibals and Crusaders,” p. 549). Not offering bread and drink may constitute an insult as well. Fifteenth-Century Courtesy Book, eds. Chambers and Seton, details the proper presentation of food in part as follows: “And anone forthewyth þe amener shall bryng in þe almesse dyshe with a loofe [of bread] þer Inne and set it bynethe þe lordes salt or elles vppon þe copborde yf no Rome by yppon þe borde” (p. 12). Bread was often used as a trencher or platter upon which to eat. Compare Richard’s consumption of the lion’s heart with salt but no bread at lines 1105–09; see also the note to line 1109.

3458–60 A Sarezynys hed . . . hys forheved. While both W and E read cleved, C’s reading, leued — see Textual Notes to line 3459 — is contextually compelling and grimly humorous. The labels attached to the princes’ heads, Heng suggests, mirror the identity badges that the Statute of Jewry of 1275 required the Jews in England to wear (“Romance of England,” p. 148).

3484 develys brothir. See the note to line 500.

3547–52 Kyng Richard . . . a Saryzyne. Richard’s declaration not only defines an Englishman’s identity through his delight in eating his non-Christian enemies (Heng, Empire, p. 74.), but, as McDonald argues, it presents edible Saracen flesh as conforming to “established linguistic and culinary codes of English cuisine” (“Eating People,” p. 136). This “theatrical” cannibalism, no doubt, constitutes a form of psychological warfare (Ambrisco, “Cannibalism,” pp. 503–05). In an historical parallel from the First Crusade, Bohemond, according to William of Tyre, staged crusader cannibalism (Chronicon, 4.23.267, cited by Rubenstein, “Cannibals and Crusaders,” p. 541n82). See lines 3088–93 and the related note.

3581–82 No bred . . . othir lycour. The reiteration of this detail — salt but no bread — emphasizes Richard’s lack of proper courtesy. See note to line 1109 and to lines 3447–48).

3610 As a wood lyoun he farde. Proverbial. See Whiting L327, who cites thirteen passages, though not RCL. Compare Malory, Works, 1:15 (p. 30): “he fared woode as a lyon.”

3641 saf coundyte. Safe conduct is “the officially granted privilege of passing through an overlord's domain undisturbed or under escort; safe-conduct” (MED, s.v. sauf (adj.), sense 6a).

3656–57 His clothis . . . for yre. Saladin rends his garments in a traditional Jewish gesture of mourning. This representation of the Muslim leader as a Jew accords with Heng’s arguments that RCL conflates Muslims and Jews (Empire, pp. 78–91). For the historiographical significance of this representation and for references to the rending of garments in the Old Testament, see the Introduction (pp. 16–17 and 17n86). Compare the Soudan’s angry response to the King of Tars’s refusal of his marriage proposal: “His robe he rent adoun” (The King of Tars, line 99).

3664 It is a devyl, withouten fayle. See the note to line 500.

3668–69 To wynne . . . and us! In this expression of Richard’s plan, “English Christians will swallow up lineages and sweep away succession, consuming the future itself, in world domination” (Heng, Empire, p. 75).

3670–98 Lord Saladyn . . . lyves ende. In similar fashion, the emir suggests to Charlemange that he become the emir’s vassal. Compare The Song of Roland, lines 3593–94.

3688 Conferme it hym and hys ospryng. Legal language granting an hereditary fief. Among other meanings for confermen, the MED includes: “to ratify or confirm a grant of (property, privilege, or office); bestow (to sb.) by charter or by virtue of authority” ((v.), sense 2).

3703–3714 And yif . . . Preter Jhon. Compare Baligant’s offer that Charlemagne become his vassal, and Charlemagne’s response that Baligant accept Christianity (The Song of Roland, lines 3589–99); Blancandrin’s advice that King Marsile make large gifts to Charlemagne and pretend to convert to Christianity in order to retain Saragossa (The Song of Roland, lines 24–46); and Genyonn’s (Ganelon) advice to Charlemagne that he become the vassal of a Saracen (The Siege of Milan, lines 589–600).

3707 Darras. This reference may refer to Dara, a fortress on the Persian front that Runciman mentions as one of the few areas in which the Christians provided organized opposition to the Arabs during their conquest of Syria in the seventh century (History of the Crusades, 1:17). Perhaps the reference is to Damascus and resulted from a scribal misreading of Damas, an early name for this Syrian city.

Babyloyne. A geographic reference to Cairo and a place-name from the Bible that chroniclers associated with the birth and rearing of the Antichrist (Tolan, Saracens, p. 112 and 112n35).

3708 Cessoyne. A possible reference to Cesson or Kesoun, a bishropic east of Edessa located in present-day eastern Turkey. The previous reference to Cessoyne (Soissons) at line 1330 is unrelated.

3709 Bogye. As yet unidentified, perhaps a reference to the Buqaia, or to the Beqaa Valley. Buqaia, a district in central Lebanon, was the site of the Battle of al-Buqaia in 1163, one of the rare crusader victories over Nur ad-Din Zangi. The Buqaia is near the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon as indicated by Runciman’s statement: when “Saladin was besieging Aleppo, Raymond of Tripoli invaded Beqa’a from the Buqaia” (History of the Crusades, 2:410).

3714 Preter Jhon. Prester John. In perhaps the first reference, Otto of Freising describes Prester John — Presbyter Johannes — as a Christian monarch and priest who ruled a Far Eastern empire, a Nestorian descended from the magi, who campaigned against Persians and Medes and who attempted to help the Christians of Jerusalem. Not being able to cross the Tigris, he and his army returned East (Beckingham and Hamilton, Prester John, p. 2). Because this mysterious Christian ruler was viewed as a potential ally against the Muslims, legends about him flourished during the crusades.

3732 They nyste where the croys was become. Though chronicle accounts report that both sides had difficulties in fulfilling the agreement, English envoys were actually shown the Cross (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 166–67).

3739 And taken Sarezynes syxty thousandes. A typical romance or chanson exaggeration: Richard slaughtered 2600–3000 Muslim prisoners and their wives and children (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:53).

3744 Appolyn. Apollo. The misrepresentation of Muslims worshipping such pagan gods as Apollo typified the medieval West’s misconception of Islam.

3748–54 There they herden an aungelle of hevene, / . . . / And casten into a foul dyke. Except for the exaggerated number and the angelic intervention, RCL’s presentation of the slaughter of the hostages reflects the historical record. Runciman indicates that Richard, in breaking the agreement, used Saladin’s refusal to free specifically named Christian prisoners of rank as a pretext to slaughter the Saracen prisoners at Acre (Crusades, 3.53). In a letter to the abbot of Clairvaux, Richard himself states that the time limit in which to complete the agreement had expired and was therefore void (Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 168–69, citing Howden’s Chronica, 3:131). For contemporary responses to the slaughter, including Saladin’s as well as modern assessments, see Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 170–71.

Divine aid against God’s enemies is a convention of chansons de geste — compare, Song of Roland, lines 3609–13. Certainly, divine interventions recur throughout RCL: for example, the appearance of St. George at line 4887, and the angelic warning of the enchanted horse at lines 5548–75. But this passage’s use of the Christian supernatural to sanction an historical atrocity may distinguish RCL from other ME crusade romances (Hamel, “Siege of Jerusalem,” pp. 184–85; Finlayson, “Marvellous,” p. 376). Common to heroic and religious literature, instances of angelic intervention may exemplify RCL’s generic affiliation by enhancing “Richard’s status as a divinely guided Christian warrior” (Finlayson, “‘Richard, Coer de Lyon,’” pp. 166–67). The massacre may follow a typological pattern: Rubenstein cites Bartolph of Nangis (Gesta Francorum Iherusalem expugnantium, 35.515) who “appeals to Old Testament precedent (3 Kings 15) to explain the [First Crusade’s] massacre in Jerusalem. The Franks, he says, did not wish to be like Saul, who had spared Agag against God’s orders to destroy all of the Amalekites” (“Cannibals and Crusaders,” p. 546 and 546n100). See the Introduction’s discussion (pp. 17 and 19–20) of RCL’s representation of the English as God’s chosen people, as well as that of Cordery (“Cannibal Diplomacy,” pp. 154, 166).

3759–71 Merye is . . . strokes hard! The placement of this lyrical passage or “seasonal headpiece” immediately following the beheading of 60,000 Saracen prisoners is jarring. See White, “Saracens and Crusaders,” p. 190 and 190n1. Citing Statius, Smithers suggests the form reflects an epic tradition that rarely occurs in ME texts outside the Kyng Alisaunder tradition (Kyng Alisaunder, 2.35–39); but see The Sultan of Babylon, lines 41–48. Kölbing cites this passage as evidence that RCL, Arthour and Merlin, and Kyng Alisaunder were written by the same hand (Arthour and Merlin, pp, lxii–lxiii); instead of evidence of authorship, the uniqueness of the passage within an often brutal narrative leads Hibbard to argue that the passage was produced by a redactor familiar with the Kentish romances, not the original translator (Mediæval Romance, p. 147). See also Pearsall, “Development,” p. 101. In McDonald’s interpretation of RCL’s alimentary logic, this abrupt and contextually inappropriate passage “confirms the formal rupture that the anthropophagy effects”; in short, Richard exorcizes his demonic origins through the consumption of Saracen flesh, thus gaining an assured Christian identity (“Eating People,” p. 141).

3780–81 Thorwgh here . . . and free. Compare line 676 and note.

3788 serjaunt of mace. An officer who bears the mace as a symbol of authority.

3823–28 In Goddes name . . . take Crystyndome! Muslim conversion to Christianity was a rare occurrence. Having few historical analogues, the forced, mass conversions in RCL represent a cultural fantasy (Heng, Empire, pp. 81–84). Not only was Muslim conversion rare; but the historical record includes measures taken by the Templars and by Richard to prevent Muslim conversion (Heng, “Romance of England,” pp. 146, 165n18). See also Kedar, Crusade and Mission, p. 82.

3834–4780 He gan . . . . ayther cyté. These lines, which depict a series of conquests by Philip, Richard, Fouk Doyly and Thomas of Moulton, are not related in b; nor do they occur in W. Brunner suggests these passages, as well as the conquest of Babylon (lines 5381–5890), did not form part of the lost, Anglo-Norman original (Löwenherz, p. 21).

3860 mystere. The likely gloss is “a time of peril or distress.” See MED, s.v. mister (n. 6), sense 6. The word may also denote “an occupation” (sense 2a), or “a guild of craftsmen” (sense 2b). Heng argues that the application of a term that denotes a craft or trade practiced by merchants, to warfare — an aristocratic occupation — demonstrates RCL’s appeal to a broad audience (Empire, pp. 110–11; “Romance of England,” p. 158). Another potential gloss is “display or outward show.” See MED, s.v. moustre (n.), sense 1a. Brunner offers “necessity” (from OF mestier) (Löwenherz, p. 461).

3865 Slake a bore of here boost. “?May a boar retreat (in the face of their boasting)” (MED s.v. slaken (v.1), sense 5). The ferocity of boars may render the comment ironic. Though the editor disagrees with Brunner’s observation that C reads bere (bear) rather than “boar,” given a bear’s reluctance to face loud noises, a reading of “bear” may increase the irony (Löwenherz, p. 287n2865).

3868 Taburette. Brunner suggests that this city may refer to Mount Tabor (Löwenherz, p. 472).

3910 With flour delys of gold and asour. Adopted by King Louis VII in the twelfth century, the fleur-de-lis (“flower of lily"), a stylized iris flower, became the royal badge of France, the armorial emblem of French kings (Gough and Parker, Glossary, p. 266).

3938 And hys eme, Henry of Chaumpayn. See the note to line 2823.

3939 And hys maystyr, Robert of Leycetere. Robert de Beaumont, fourth Earl of Leicester (d. 1204), accompanied Richard I on crusade.

3946 Bertram. A likely reference to Bretram III de Verdun, a nobleman influential in the courts of Henry II and Richard I. The historical Bertram III went on the Third Crusade with Richard, was put in charge of Acre, and died at the battle of Jaffa, as our romance correctly indicates (at lines 6749 and 7078). See Haggar, Fortunes of a Norman Family, pp. 34–57. The romance associates Bertram to Brindisi and to Lumbardy (lines 4899 and 7078), perhaps mistakenly.

3948 And Templeres, and hys Hospytaleres. See the notes to lines 1768 and 3151–52.

3972 Sudan Turry. Perhaps a reference to Sidon and/or Tyre, both coastal cities (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 472). See note to line 641.

3974 Orgylous. The name of this unidentified and likely fictitious location recalls the names of castles in various romances. See the note to line 643.

3991 Grandary. Perhaps a combination of grand and ME are, which denotes honor, grace, mercy: see MED, ore (n.2), senses 1a and 4a.

3998 arweblast of vys. An arbalest is a medieval device that operated like a crossbow but hurled large objects such as stones and quarrels or bolts: “a crossbow drawn by a screw mechanism” (MED, s.v. arblast (n.), sense 2c).

4077 That hadde ben Crystene in hys youthe. See Heng’s discussion of this renegade’s reconversion (Empire, pp. 86–87).

4221 For wollewarde on my bare feet. The apostate describes two penitential acts: walking barefoot and doing so wolleward, while wearing woolen clothing next to the skin (MED, s.v. wol-ward (adj.)).

4354 He is no man: he is a pouke. Like Richard, Fouke is now described as a devil or demon; see the note to line 500. The recurring association of English leaders with demons and devils distinguishes RCL from other ME crusading texts which portray Saracen leaders as devils: compare The Sultan of Babylon, lines 356–57.

4368 brymme. Brunner argues for a reading of brymm (OE bank) instead of brymm (OE surf, sea) (Löwenherz, "nachtrag" or addendum).

4393 A sory beverage there was browen. Proverbial: breuen a bitter (sory) beverage, denotes “inflict great harm” (MED, s.v. breuen (v.), sense 3a). Compare Whiting B529.

4450–52 And made . . . here werre. These lines typify RCL’s and the West’s inaccurate portrayal of Muslims as polytheistic pagan idolaters.

4461–67 The fyrste . . . . the ferthe. Likely fictitious, the names of these five Saracen knights — Sir Arcade, Sir Cudary, Sir Orphias, Sir Materbe, and Sir Gargoyle — reflect the West’s conflation of Greek culture and mythology with Islam as well as the geographic sweep of Islam and the Crusades. “Arcade” closely resembles the Greek Arcadia, a central region of the Pelopennese as well as the Greek town, Arcadia, which became part of the Frankish states in Greece after falling in 1204 to Geoffrey of Villehardouin and William of Champlitte (Longon, “Frankish States,” p. 237). “Cordary” may be a name of Indian origin and thus reflects Richard’s repeated references to “Ynde” as part of Saladin’s empire and the origin of part of his army. “Orphias” is the name of the mythical singer who was the son of Apollo and a Muse; see also Sir Orfeo, a ME romance that blends Greek and Celtic mythology. As gargoyles were most often in the shape of grotesque figures and animals, the name “Sir Gargoyle” is an obvious slur. Associations from the name “Sir Materbe” remain unclear.

4531 fawchoun. The weapon conventionally wielded by Saracens, a falchion is “a large, broad sword with a curved blade” (MED, s.v. fauchoun (n.)).

4539 Sir John Doyly, Sir Foukes nevew. Though the historicity of John Doyly’s uncle — Fulk D’Oilly, a Lincolnshire knight — has been confirmed, he does not appear in chronicles of the Third Crusade. Finlayson argues that an early redactor of Richard may have placed Fulk in the romance in order to glorify a patron (“‘Richard, Coer de Lyon,’” p. 166; see also Loomis, Review, p. 460). The same rationale may apply to the nephew whose historicity and crusade participation remains unconfirmed.

4594 wessayl. Heng argues that the Anglo-Saxon toast, wessayl, and Richard’s ax — see, e.g., lines 2211, 4848, 4865 — form “nostalgic echoes” that aid RCL’s populist representations (Empire, p. 104).

4603–20 Of sylvyr . . . here ovyrlord. This sharing of Muslim wealth and lands depicts two strands in RCL’s discourse of nation: a leveling discourse that represents the fantasy of Anglo-Norman leaders directly accountable to their people; and the militant, colonialist discourse that “anticipates . . . Victorian and modern imperial England” (Heng, Empire, pp. 104–05).

4812–13 Cogges, drowmoundes . . . . crayeres fele. A cog was a medium sized ship used for military expeditions (MED, s.v. cogge (n.1), sense 1a); a dromond was “a large, fast, sea going vessel” (MED, s.v. dromoun(d (n.)); a galley was a “sea going vessel having both sail and oars or a large row boat” (MED, s.v. galei(e (n.), sense 1a); a shout was a “flat-bottomed boat, barge” (MED, s.v. shout(e (n.2), sense a); a crair was a type of small ship (MED, s.v. craier (n.)).

4817 Seynt James tyde. The anniversary or feast day of Saint James is 25 July. St. James, the patron saint of Spain, was an apostle and martyr whose relics were translated to Compostela, Spain, the third most-revered pilgrimage site after Jerusalem and Rome. Through numerous miracles, James came to be viewed as a powerful defender of Christians against the Moors, a military aspect that flourished during the crusading movement. Artistic images of James often depict him on horseback, trampling a Moor (Farmer, Saints, p. 256).

4855 Thorwgh a carte that was Hubertes Gawtyr. For an historical analogue to this incident, complete with the loss of one crusader's arm, who nevertheless continues to fight, see Nicholson, Itinerarium, 4.10, p. 238. See also Jentsch, “Quellen,” pp. 208–9; and Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 57.

4886 story. For references to the term, story, see the note on incipit at the beginning of these notes.

4887 He seygh come Seynt George, the knyght. Martyr, warrior saint, and patron of England, George was a Roman soldier in Palestine whom Diocletian executed in 303 for refusing to renounce Christianity. His body was returned to Lydda where he was revered as a martyr. George’s cult became widespread even before the Golden Legend circulated the story of his slaying of a dragon. In the First Crusade, a vision of St. George, St. Mercurius, and St. Demetrius aided the Christians during the siege of Antioch, hence his association to the crusades (Farmer, Saints, pp. 202–03). Representations of such combatant saints on the battle field, a conventional type of divine intervention, helped to create an “atmosphere of pious violence” that supported the crusading propaganda of chronicles and crusading poems (Cook, “Crusade Propaganda,” pp. 161–62). For a discussion of historical cults of St. George, his roles in chansons de geste, in romance, and in RCL, see Broughton, Legends of Richard I, pp. 104–07. Finlayson suggests the appearance of this warrior-saint and other instances of divine intervention reflect RCL’s affiliation, not to romance, but to heroic and religious literature (“‘Richard, Coer de Lyon,’” p. 166).

4916 To the cyté of Palestyn. Perhaps a reference to Caesarea Palaestinae, which lay between Acre and Jaffa (Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 186).

4925–46 To bete . . . no recette. In RCL, Saladin destroys a group of castles and cities in Palestine before the battle at Arsur. Historically, Saladin ordered fortifications and cities near Gaza and Jerusalem destroyed after the battle; see, e.g., Ambroise, Estoire, 1:110–11, lines 6826–6860; Nicholson, Itinerarium, 4.23, pp. 261–62. For a brief discussion of these fortifications, see Ambroise, Estoire, 2:124n442 and the notes below. Strategically, the crusaders needed these strongholds to protect the inland supply lines needed to take and to defend Jerusalem; so Richard had to rebuild them (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 181).

4928 Myrabele. Located inland, east of Arsur, Mirabel (Arabic Majdal Yaba) formed part of the lordship of Ibelin (Kennedy, Crusader Castles, p. 38). It was one of the few castles destroyed by Saladin that did not belong to the military orders (Ambroise, Estoire, 2:124n 442; Nicholson, Itinerarium, 4.23, p. 261).

4929 castel Calaphyne. Unidentified.

4931 Sessarye. Perhaps a reference to Caesarea; see the note to line 637 and Brunner (Löwenherz, p. 472).

4932 And the tour of Arsour al. Arsur (Arabic Arsuf), a coastal city between Jaffa and Caesarea, was taken by Baldwin I in 1101 but fell to Saladin in 1187. Recaptured by the Franks following the Battle of Arsuf in 1191, it was taken by Babyars in 1265 (Boas, Archaeology, p. 225; Pringle, Secular Buildings, p. 20). It was not listed by Ambroise among castles and cities Saladin ordered destroyed, (Estoire, I:110–111, lines 6826–56).

4934 castel Touroun. Toron des Chevaliers (Castle of the Knights) (Arabic al-Atrun, corrupted French Latrun), an extensive Templar castle located on a hill above the road from Jerusalem to Jaffa (Ambroise, Estoire, 2:124n442; Pringle, Secular Buildings, pp. 64–65). Though Saladin had destroyed Toron, Richard I and the crusading army camped at its ruins in December of 1191 during their first attempt to reach Jerusalem (Boas, Archaeology, p. 255).

4935 Castel Pylgrym. Pilgrims’ Castle (Arabic ‘Atlit, French Chastel Pelerin), a Templar castle built on the coast between Caesarea and Acre (Kennedy, Crusader Castles, p. 124). As its construction began in 1218 to replace the inadequate Le Destroit, Pilgrims’ Castle is not found among chronicle lists of castles that Saladin destroyed.

4936 castel La Fere. Chronicles report that as Richard travelled from Darum to Ascalon, he raided the Castle of Figs (French Le Fier, Latin Castrum Ficuum, Arabic Qal’at al-Burj) located 28 miles southwest of Hebron, but he found it abandoned (Nicholson, Itinerarium 5.41, pp. 320, 320n89; Pringle, Secular Buildings, p. 37). RCL associates similar events with Lefruyde at line 6298.

4937 The castel of Seynt George Dereyn. A reference to Saint Jorge Labane (de la Baene) (Arabic al-Ba ‘ina), an independent lordship located inland east of Acre (Pringle, Secular Buildings, pp. 24–25). Paris suggests this line results from a mistake, either from a name of the castle — Saint George of Rames — or from a line from Ambroise in which Saladin directs the destruction of the castle Saint George and the fortified inland city Ramla: “Abatez moi Seint Jorge, Rames” (Estoire, 1:111, line 6846; “Le Roman,” p. 382 and 382n4). See also Nicholson, Itinerarium, 4.23, p. 261, which reads as follows: “St. George [Lydda] and Ramla.”

4939 The walles they felde of Jerusalem. Paris suggests this historically inaccurate detail resulted from a mistranslation of Ambroise's Estoire, 1:111, lines 6855–56: “Que tut ne seit agraventé, / Fors le Crac e Jerusalem” (“[T]hat nothing will be left standing except for Kerak and Jerusalem,” trans. Ailes and Barber) (“Le Roman,” p. 382). Compare Nicholson, Itinerarium, 4.23, p. 261: “Destroy everything, throw everything down, except for Crac and Jerusalem.”

4940 Bedlem. Historically inaccurate, the destruction of the walls of Bethlehem in RCL may be motivated by rhyme (Paris, “Le Roman,” p. 382n4).

4941 Maydenes castel. Loomis suggests this reference is to Castrum Puellarum near Dana in the Principality of Antioch (Review, p. 456).

4942 Aukes land. This unidentified place name may signify “Perverse Land:” auk(e is an adjective that can denote “perverse” (MED, (adj.), sense b).

4963 On Seynt Marye even, the natyvyté. 8 September is the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

4965–72 Many was . . . . another empire. Saladin’s army is composed of men from a list of lands that closely resembles the lands listed in lines 3703–14, lands that Saladin was prepared to hand over to Richard should he convert to Islam. This parallel suggests a feudal relation between the lands Saldin holds and his army, a likely misconception.

4969 Of Aufryk and of Bogye. “Aufryk” is likely a reference to some region of North Africa. For “Bogye,” see the note to line 3709.

4999 pensel of sykelatoun. A pencel in this context is “a small pennon, usually attached to a lance, often used to identify a lord and his men-at-arms; a small company standard” (MED, s.v. pencel (n.1), sense a); sykelatoun is a fabric of silk woven with gold (MED, s. v. siclatoun (n.1), sense a).

5006 With bowe Turkeys and arweblaste. For the Turkish bow, see the note to line 2590. For areweblast, see note to line 3998.

5021 Jakes Deneys and Jhon de Neles. Chronicle accounts of the conduct and death of Jacobus [James] of Avesnes at the Battle of Arsuf correspond to RCL’s account (Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 211). Compare, e.g., Nicholson, Itinerarium, 4.17–20, pp. 246–59. During the early part of the siege of Acre, James served as one of the leaders of the crusading army (Nicholson, Itinerarium, p. 258n56). Loomis suggests that “Jhon de Neles” is Jean de Nesle, a hero of the Fourth Crusade (Review, p. 456).

5098 The Frenssche says he slowgh an hundrid. One of several references to an original French text of the romance. See note at line 21.

5113–14 And manye . . . the groundes. Compare Genesis 3:14: “And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth. Upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.”

5159–62 Manye were . . . kyng Richard. While descriptions of a visual work of art, the shield of Achilles, for example, can become thematically significant digressions, in RCL, the description portrays the art as a commodity, as exotic plunder.

5173 Sere Gawter. A likely reference to Garnier de Nablus, master of the Hospitallers and an Englishman (Paris, “Le Roman,” p. 380). See the note on the Hospitallers at line 1768.

5187–5380 At morwen . . . . hym noughte. This passage recounts the conquest of Nineveh, an unhistorical episode that does not appear in b or in W.

5189 Nynyvé. Nineveh was located on the banks of the Tigris River on an important trade route between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean opposite present day Mosul, Iraq. Though unhistorical, Richard’s assault upon this city may allude to the emperor Heraclias’s campaign against the Persians. During the Persian War against the empire, Jerusalem fell to King Chosroes II in 614. His queen, a Nestorian, later received the Holy Cross and other sacred relics. In a campaign memorialized by William of Tyre and translated into French in the Livre d’Eracles, Heraclias defeated the Persians at Nineveh in 627. In 629, he received back the Holy Cross, which he returned to Jerusalem in 629. To later generations, Heraclias thus “figured as the first of the Crusaders” (Runciman, History of the Crusades, 1:10–11).

5194 Babyloyne. For a discussion of the military significance of Babylon (Egypt) in its relation to Jerusalem, and for Richard’s intended Egyptian campaign, which he announced by letter dated 11 October, 1191, see Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 182–83.

5267 With trepeiettes. The trepeget or trebuchet was a siege weapon that used a counterweighted arm to swing or hurl heavy objects against ramparts and other defenses (Broughton, Dictionary, p. 458).

5314 For Kyng Richard was his preeste. Presided at his death. A parodic reference to the administration of last rites.

5325 spawdeler. “A piece of armor protecting the shoulder” (MED, s.v. spaudeler (n.)).

5359–62 On knees . . . body froo. The beheading of a prisoner who pleads for mercy may appear unchivalric, but see Gautier’s sixth commandment of chivalry: “Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without cessation and without mercy” (Chivalry, p. 26).

5367–76 Yif he . . . crystynyd wore. Compare lines 3823–28 and see Heng’s discussion of RCL’s fantasy of the forced conversion of entire Saracen populations (Empire, pp. 81–84).

5381–5891 The chef . . . fourtene nyght. The conquest of Babylon appears in all witnesses of the a version: C, B, and W; in the b version, this episode appears only in E. Brunner argues that this episode did not form part of the original, Anglo-Norman version (Löwenherz, p. 20).

5381 The chef Sawdon of Hethenysse. I.e., Saladin. See Loomis, Review, pp. 456–57.

5399 Was, as we in booke fynde. A reference to the original, French version; see the Introduction (pp. 3–4, p. 10n50) and the note to line 21.

5444 trewes. See MED, treu(e) (n.1), sense 1a, indicating a pledge for a temporary cessation of hostilities (MED).

5479–5794 The nexte . . . the rygges. Richard’s duel with Saladin. Often perceived as an historical event, the unhorsing of the sultan is one of the king’s most famous exploits. Recounted in the chronicles of Pierre Langtoft and Walter de Hemingburgh and represented in numerous medieval images, this victory held particular significance for medieval audiences; see Loomis, “Pas Saladin,” especially pp. 512–19. Noted for his generosity, humanity, tolerance, and prodigious military skill, Saladin was more often praised than demonized by the West; texts from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries often depict him as the pinnacle of chivalry (Tolan, Sons of Ishmael, pp. 79–100). In contrast, the details surrounding this duel, in particular, Saladin’s unchivalric use of enchanted horses to gain an advantage, depict the sultan as a “chanson villain who little recalls the noble emir of history” (Heng, Empire, p. 80). See the Introduction (pp. 15–17) for a fuller discussion.

5489 Slees hys men and eetes among. Among the meanings of the adverb, the MED (s.v. among(es) lists “besides, in addition, also” (sense 6).

5499–5500 Whether is . . . or Jubyter? A conventional and propagandistic formulation in crusading poems; see, e.g., The Sultan of Babylon, lines 196–99.

5502 Yif thou wylt have an hors of his? The narrative of the enchanted horse which follows may reflect several influences. Three derive from chronicles. Ambroise reports that after Richard’s heroic defense of Jaffa (5 August, 1192), Saladin’s brother, Safadin, was so impressed that he sent the king two steeds (Estoire, 1:186–87, lines 11, 544–64), cited by Gillingham (Richard I, p. 216; Nicholson, Itinerarium, 6.22, p. 364). Other chronicles report that Saladin generously sent Richard a magnificent mount after learning that Richard’s had been killed from under him (Broughton, Legends of Richard I, pp. 100–02). According to another chronicle, after Richard’s magnificent defense of Jaffa, Saif al-Din maliciously sent a dangerously restive horse to Richard in an effort to capture him (Edbury, Conquest of Jerusalem, pp. 117–18). Yet another version derives from the devilish steeds frequently encountered in chansons de geste; Finlayson argues that the incident serves as evidence that RCL stands generically closer to chansons de geste than to romance (“‘Richard, Coer de Lyon,’” p. 166).

5510 Seynt Mychel. The archangel, one of the chief princes of heaven (Daniel 10:13). He and his angels prevail in their battle against the dragon and his angels in Apocalypse 12:2–9.

5530–33 A maystyr . . . the eyr. A reference to the medieval belief that demons made bodies of animals out of the air and then assumed their form (MacCulloch, Medieval Faith, pp. 75–88). For a discussion of a medieval necromantic handbook’s directions on how to conjure demonic, illusory horses — a popular spell, apparently — see Kieckhefer, Forbidden Rites, pp. 42–47. Ambrisco argues that Richard’s use of a demon horse “associates him with hell’s minions, and in doing so, caps off a long series of references that identify Richard as subhuman and demonic” (“Cannibalism,” p. 501).

5545 And knele adoun and souke hys dame. The basis of the ruse, the dependence of a militant male upon his mother, articulates in romance fashion Richard’s relation to Eleanor of Aquitaine (Heng, Empire pp. 97–98).

5548–75 Al thus . . . is wente. One of several instances of divine intervention; see lines 3010–11, 3748–54, 4887 and 6943–62. For discussions, see the Introduction (pp. 1, 16, 19) and the notes to lines 3748–54, 4887, and 6943–62.

5557 Purveye a tree. Heng argues that this tree’s use as a weapon against Saracens vengefully recalls the True Cross won by Saladin at Hattin (Empire, p. 350n54).

5587–99 And sayde . . . me at wylle. An expression of a commonplace of demon lore: “[A]nd if a fiend commissioned for an evil purpose was commanded in the name of the Trinity by the person whom he was sent to afflict, to become his servant, and turn his powers against his sender, he was compelled to obey” (“On Good and Bad Fairies,” p. 17). Necromantic manuals advise magicians against making the sign of the cross when flying upon an illusory horse, because doing so could cause the horse to flee from the magician (Kieckhefer, Forbidden Rites, p. 47).

5591 And sufryd grymly woundes fyve. Christ suffered five wounds: one on each hand and foot, and one in his side. These wounds appear frequently in medieval devotional writing. A notable reference in ME romance occurs in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, lines 642–43.

5595–96 And aftyr . . . names sevene. God in His redemptive relation to man bears seven names in ancient Hebrew tradition: El, Elohim, Elyon, Shadday, Olam, Adonay, Seba’ot (Jeffrey, Dictionary of Biblical Tradition, p. 535). In all likelihood, rhyme controls the number of God’s names in the couplet. For a similar couplet, see Lay le Freine, lines 79–80 and its corresponding Explanatory Note, which lists these seven names from the Hebrew tradition. For a brief discussion, see Marshall, “‘Sacral Parody,’” pp. 728–29 and 728n44.

5667 jeste. See the note to line 5.

5696 Bothe in gerthes and in peytrel. A gerth denotes “a belt or strap passing under a horse’s belly to secure a saddle, harness, load, etc.,” (MED, sense a). A peytrel is “a protective breastplate or pectoral armor for a horse” (MED, s.v. peitrel (n.1), sense a).

5697 queyntyse. Queyntyse may refer to ornamental battle trappings for horse or man, or, in this context, it may denote “a surcoat or mantle worn over armor and bearing a heraldic device” (MED, s.v. queintise (n.), sense 3d).

5710 ventayle. A ventaile is a “piece of chain mail protecting the lower face, neck, and part of the upper chest, later extending around the upper back” (MED, sense a).

5711–12 On his . . . Holy Speryte. See the note to line 393.

5719–20 Upon his . . . was grave. Demon lore has it that “[n]o evil sprite could endure to be touched with any thing on which the holy name of God was written” (“On Good and Bad Fairies,” p. 17).

5737 Thertoo, my glove, as I am knyght. See the note to line 3283.

5744 Aftyr here feet sprong the fure. Sparks shooting from the hooves of a horse often appear in scenes involving the supernatural. Compare Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as the Green Knight leaves Arthur’s court: “þe fyr of þe flynt fla3e fro fole houes” (line 459).

5750 mere. Muslims perferred to ride mares into battle (Gillmor, “Horses,” 1:274). The heavily armored crusaders rode stallions, who could handle the weight, but this weight was often a disadvantage given the heat of the Holy Land.

5768 Was ipayntyd a serpent. In the crusading context of RCL, Saladin’s heraldic emblem is — appropriately enough — the instrument of man’s Fall, the serpent; but serpents were not uncommon symbols in heraldry; see Gough and Parker, Glossary, pp. 529–31.

5769–79 With the . . . the grene. See the note to lines 5479–5794.

5864 Wurschepyd hym and hys names sevene. See the note to lines 5595–96.

5879–82 Sarezynes before . . . fourty thousynde. One of several depictions of mass conversions of Saracens; see also lines 5367–76 and the note.

5884 And here Mawmettes leet doun drawe. An instance of the medieval West’s confused notion that Muslims worshipped idols.

5889–90 Erl, baroun . . . wolde have. Among foreign themes in RCL that may reflect domestic issues in England, the romance, Heng argues, conflates Saracens and Jews. The profit in these lines may recall how violence against Jews in England during Richard’s ascension benefited Christians, some of them crusaders (“Romance of England,” p. 147–48).

5895–5928 Kyng Richard . . . were wrothe. Unlike the b version, a’s representation of Philip and Richard’s conflict and Philip’s departure is chronologically inaccurate (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 22–23). See note to line 3346. Chroniclers blamed strife among the Third Crusade’s leaders for the venture’s failure to realize its main goal: retaking Jerusalem. See Tolan, Sons of Ishmael, pp. 85–91; and Heng, Empire, p. 351n57.

5906 I wyl come the cyté no nere! A justification for Richard’s not taking Jerusalem, a primary goal of the Third Crusade; see the Introduction’s brief discussion (p. 13 and 13n64).

5907 arweblast of vys. See note at line 3998.

5918 Alhalewe-messe. The festival of All Saints, or All Saints’ Day, 1 November in the Western Church.

5930 To Jaffe. Jaffa served as the main port for Jerusalem (Ambroise, Estoire, 2:124n442).

5937 Sarezyneys. See MED, s.v. Sarasinesse (n.), sense a, that is, Saracen territory, or lands under Saracen control.

5949–50 Fro thennes . . . al torente. Chaloyn or Ascalon, from OF, Eschaloine (Paris, “Le Roman,” p. 366n6). Located on the southern coast of Palestine and replenished by sea from Egypt, Ascalon remained in Muslim hands until 1153. From Ascalon, Muslims raided the southern parts of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. After falling to Baldwin III of Jerusalem in 1153, the fortified city was organized as a fief and became the double county of Jaffa and Ascalon, thus securing the southern borders of the kingdom (La Monte, Latin Kingdom, p. 19). Richard I is associated with construction at Ascalon in 1192 (Pringle, Secular Buildings, p. 21). See also Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 211. In negotiating a truce — see note to lines 7177–84 — one term that Saladin demanded and obtained was the destruction of this strategic castle: for a chronicle account of this treaty, see Nicholson, Itinerarium 6.27, p. 371.

5959–64 Kyng Richard . . . myght, everylkon. While these lines may exaggerate cooperation between classes, chronicles do report that Richard personally labored in the rebuilding of Ascalon; they also describe how Richard and his nobles themselves carried stonethrowers from the shore in preparation for the siege of Darum (Nicholson, Itinerarium, 5.39, p. 316; Ambroise, Estoire, 1:148–49, lines 9170–237, and Prestwich, “Rex Bellicosus,” p. 14). After four months of construction, Richard’s forces made Ascalon the strongest fortress on Palestine’s coast, thus threatening the road between Syria and Egypt (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 192). Despite these historical parallels, these lines may well exemplify a utopian fantasy; as Heng argues, “a nascent impetus toward horizontal leveling under conditions of cooperative labor in the service of a religious war” articulates an emerging nationalism (Empire, p. 103; and “Romance of England,” pp. 159–60).

5974–76 My fadyr . . . to make! This statement angers Richard to such an extent that he flings the Duke’s banner into the river (lines 5977–97); this exchange thus presents “the fiction of class solidarity through combined physical labor,” a bold formulation indeed for a feudal culture, and one that demonstrates RCL’s popular appeal (Heng, “Romance of England,” pp. 159–60).

5982 It was evyl don, be Seynt Mathewe. A likely reference to Richard’s imprisonment and ransom by Leopold or Henry VI, even though the romance inaccurately depicts the imprisonment and ransom as occurring before rather than after the crusade. See the note to line 6007 below.

5993 glotoun. Compare MED glotoun (n.), sense b for the unusual definition of this term: “villain, wretch; worthless fellow, parasite.”

5997–98 I schal . . . the revere. These events correspond to the Duke of Austria’s humiliation at Acre. Wishing to take part in the plunder of this city, Duke Leopold entered Acre with his banner carried before him to signify his claim, “but it was thrown down and insulted — if not on Richard’s direct orders, at least with his consent” (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 224). This humiliation motivated in part Leopold’s later capture of Richard.

6007 He heeld hym al to weel foreward. A likely reference to the historical capture of Richard by Duke Leopold and his imprisonment by the German emperor, Henry VI, which occurred as Richard was returning from the Holy Land. Among numerous discussions, see Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 222–53. Considering the abrupt close of C, this reference to the Duke of Austria’s revenge leads Paris to argue that the English translation of RCL derived from an incomplete manuscript of an Anglo-Norman original to which the English reviser inserted the narrative of Richard’s captivity and ransom in an historically inaccurate position: before, rather than after the crusade (“Le Roman,” pp. 357–58); but Brunner argues that both W and A provide a justification for this reference to revenge — the Duke of Austria’s presence at castelle Gaylarde where King Richard is mortally wounded — that does not depend upon Richard’s captivity (Löwenherz, pp. 18–19). For the variant endings from C, A, and B, see the Textual Note to lines 7185–7240.

6042 Famelye. Famelye. Perhaps a reference to Famiya (Arabic Qalaat al-Madiq), also known as Famiyyah and Afamiyya, a town and medieval fortress in northwestern Syria situated on the eastern bank of the Orontes River.

6055–6212 Of castel . . . hys bensoun! For chronicle accounts of the siege of Darum Castle, see Ambroise, Estoire, 1:148–51, lines 9127–9369; and Nicholson, Itinerarium, 5.39, pp. 316–19.

6055 castel Daroun. In 1150, King Baldwin III fortified Gaza on the Egyptian side of Ascalon with this four-tower castle (Kennedy, Crusader Castles, p. 31). A stronghold for the military orders located in Gaza, Deir al-Balah (Darum) became a staging area for attacks against Ascalon. Saladin captured Darum Castle in 1187, Richard I retook it in 1191, and it was razed in 1192 (Pringle, Secular Buildings, p. 47).

6062 Seynt James day. 25 July. See note on St. James at line 4817.

6089 By water they were ibrought anon. Chronicles report that Richard transported his catapults by ships from Ascalon to Darum (Nicholson, Itinerarium, 5.39, p. 316; Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 189).

6118 myddylerd. The terrestrial earth that exists between the underworld and heaven.

6205 And he that payde a thousand pound. Chronicles report that Richard would not negotiate with the defenders of Darum Castle but made slaves of the survivors (Ambroise, Estoire, 1:149–50, lines 9238–309; Nicholson, Itinerarium, 5.39, p. 317–18). Nicholson argues that Richard, “according to the custom of war,” would have let the defenders depart in peace had they surrendered upon his arrival (Itinerarium, p. 317n79).

6215 To Gatrys. This city in the Holy Land has been variously identified as Gasdres or Guadres of the Estoire, as Gaza, and Gazara of Celesyria, which crusaders called Montgizard (Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 466).

6280 He was an aungyl and no man. Aungyl can mean both celestial being and devil (MED, s.v. aungel, (n.), senses 1a and 4). See note to line 500.

6296 Castel Pylgrym. The Castle Pylgrym previously was taken by Saladin; see line 4935 and note.

6298 Lefruyde. Unidentified. In an analogous historical event, Richard, who was preparing to besiege the Castle of Figs, instead found it deserted (Nicholson, Itinerarium, 5.41, p. 320).

6309 Gybelyn. Arabic Bait Jibrin (French Bethgibelin, Latin Ybelin Hospitalariorum, Greek Eleutheropolis). Built in 1136 by King Fulk and located to the north of Hebron and east of Ascalon. Initiating the military orders’ holding of castles, the Knights Hospitallers were given the castle (Kennedy, Crusader Castles, p. 31). For parallels, see Nicholson, Itinerarium, 5.44, p. 322; Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 190; and Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 466.

6313 Whenne Bawdewyn was slayn with bronde. Though Brunner notes that Baldwin IV died from leprosy, he suggests the reference is nonetheless to Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (Löwenherz, p. 463).

6315 In that cyté was Seynt Anne ibore. The site traditionally associated with Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, is Jerusalem, where a church purportedly commemorates the site of her birth.

6316 That Oure Lady was of core. Core is a variant of the past participle of chesen: “Of Jesus: to choose (the Virgin for his mother)” (MED (v.), sense 6b).

6324 That was the fendes flesshe and bon. Given their common mother, the demon queen — see lines 43–238 — this description applies to both John and Richard.

6326 The chaunceler they hadde inome. Not seized, the Chancellor William Longchamp fled the country. Breaking an oath to remain outside of England for three years, Geoffrey (archbishop of York and half-brother of Richard and
John) returned only to be seized violently from St. Martin’s priory by the Chancellor’s men. Reminiscent of the death of Thomas Becket, this act made William Longchamp so unpopular that he fled England (Gillingham, Richard I, pp. 227–28).

6346 Seynt Rychere. The Tale of Gamelyn twice refers to “Seint Richere” (lines 137 and 614), who is identified as Richard of Chichester (1197–1253): Knight and Ohlgren note Skeat’s suggestion that this saint represents “a pattern for brotherly love” in Gamelyn, p. 221. As a youth, Richard of Chichester had helped his older brother by plowing fields. See also A Gest of Robyn Hood, line 362. If the exigencies of rhyme may be disregarded, a reference at this point in RCL to a figure noted for brotherly love may well be ironic. Also, St. Richard was noted for preaching the Crusade at the end of his life (Farmer, Saints, p. 427).

6350 Bethanye. Located near Jerusalem on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives at the current site of Al-Ezareyya, Bethany contained a defensive tower built by Queen Melisende in 1144 to protect its nuns (Pringle, Secular Buildings, p. 33).

6369–6520 And as . . . . he was. The capture of the caravan. This episode has an historical basis. After being informed by a spy of a rich and valuable caravan, Richard did in fact win great treasure; see, e.g., Nicholson, Itinerarium, 6.4, pp. 339–42; and Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3:68–69.

6475–76 But to Termagaunt . . . to Plotoun. For a discussion of the West’s mischaracterization of Saracens as polytheistic pagans who worshipped Roman gods, see Tolan, Saracens, pp. 3–20, 105–34.

6513 Bethany. See note at line 6350 above.

6523–24 The Bysschop . . . Seynt Albon. The Itinerarium, 5:19 reports that the prior of Hereford, not the bishop of Chester, served as one of the ambassadors from England who urged Richard's return (see also Gillingham, Richard I, p. 195). Brunner argues that since the bishop of Chester supported John, he is unlikely to have served as a messenger in this instance (Löwenherz, p. 57).

6525 lettres speciele. Letters issued under extraordinary circumstances.

6531–32 For the kyng . . . in Normandye. The Introduction (p. 14–15) discusses the poem’s portrayal of King Philip II Augustus. The historical record documents well Richard and Philip’s turbulent relations, one point of contention being Philip’s numerous invasions of Normandy; see, e. g., Gillingham (Richard I, pp. 81, 229, 235n51, 240–42, and 249–50).

6552 That hys tresore robbyd was. See note to lines 6369–6520 above.

6574 Fro his body kyttes the tayle. Compare lines 1776 and the related note.

6587 Kyng Richard with hys grete tayle. See note to line 1776 above.

6592 Capados and of Barbarye. “Capados” is likely a reference to Cappadocia, a region in central Anatolia (Asia Minor) now located in Turkey. See the reference to “Capadocye” at line 6898. “Barbarye” of Barbary, the land of the Berbers, refers to “the Saracen north coast of Africa” (MED, s.v. barbarie (n.), sense 3).

6598 the Grekyssche see. See note at line 651 above.

6663 Henry of Champayn. See note at line 2823 above.

6684 He fledde ayen, be Jhesu Cryste. Not an accurate portrayal of Henry of Champagne. See note at line 2823.

6711–13 Now herkenes . . . romaunce non. For a similar rejection of romance in favor of history, see Kyng Alysaunder, lines 668–70; and Mills, “Generic Titles,” p. 128 and 128n14. RCL’s use of generic labels, though, can be inconsistent: “Rychard hyghte the fyrste, iwis, / Of whom this romaunce imakyd is” (lines 201–02).

6714–22 Of Partinope . . . ne of Achylles. Despite overlap between this list and that found in lines 11–19, differences bear mentioning: the initial list includes heroes from the Charlemagne romances; this tendentious list “draws most heavily upon the romances of Troy, of Arthur, and of native English heroes” (Mills, “Generic Titles,” pp. 128n13 and 136n35). See also the note to lines 11–19.

6718 Sere Vrrake. Loomis suggests that this name appoximates that of “Urake,” the name of a lady in Partonope of Blois, and, as such, does not belong in a list of romance heroes but was inserted for the sake of rhyme by a writer without adequate knowledge (Review, p. 457).

6761 wayte. “A military or civic functionary responsible for signaling the hour, sounding an alarm, etc. by blowing a trumpet, ringing a bell, or the like; also, a palace retainer assigned to blow a trumpet at designated times, a herald” (MED, s. v. wait(e (n.), sense 1d).

6800 With my pollaxe I am come. A poleaxe was “a staff weapon whose head had a Danish–type ax offset by either a thick fluke, straight or curved, or a flat ridged hammer; at the top of the haft was a sturdy spike. The term, ‘poleax,’ . . . came into use in the early 15th century” (Tarassuk and Blair, Arms and Weapons p. 382).

6802 Wesseyl I schal drynke yow too. Like Richard’s ax, this toast in a popular romance may nostalgically recall an Anglo-Saxon past; see Heng, Empire, pp. 104, 106–07.

6815–16 Malcan staran . . . . me moru. These lines appear to be gibberish — a mock Arabic flourish.

6818 The Englyssche devyl icome is. See note to line 500.

6893 Egyens. An unidentified people.

6894 Moryens. Possibly a reference to the Moorish people from Mauretania, a part of North Africa in what is now Morocco.

6895 Basyles, and Embosyens. Unidentified peoples in Saladin’s army (Brunner, Löwenherz, pp. 463, 365).

6898 Capadocye. Cappadocia, a region in central Turkey.

6899 Of Medes, and of Asclamoyne. The Medes, an ancient Iranian people who lived in Media. Brunner suggests that “Asclamoyne” refers to Slavic lands (Löwenherz, p. 462).

6930 The curse have he of swete Jhesus. See Matthew 21:18–19: “And in the morning, returning into the city, he [Jesus] was hungry. And seeing a certain fig tree by the way side, he came to it and found nothing on it. And he saith to it: May no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away.” See also Mark 11:13-14. Richard’s curse of Saladin invokes the parable of the barren fig tree, used by medieval theologians who repeatedly compared the Jews to this barren tree (Whitman, “The Body and The Struggle,” p. 53). As Richard replaces the Jews with Saladin, his curse serves as further evidence of Heng’s assertion that Richard depicts Muslims as virtual Jews (Empire, p. 79).

6932 And told the Sowdane worde and ende. For a discussion of the phrase, “worde and ende,” see Onions, “Middle English ‘Ord and Ende.’” See also MED, ende (n.1), senses 24(2–3).

6934–35 And sayde . . . a saynt. See note to line 500.

6943–62 Thorugh Goddes grace . . more nede! One of several angelic interventions, a convention of chansons de geste and crusading poems; see the Introduction, pp. 1, 16, 19. See also lines 3011, 3748–54 and related note, 5548–75 and, though less clearly, lines 3123–24.

6953–57 Take trues . . . after then. These lines express the notion that crusade combined holy war with the concept of pilgrimage, and, in particular, the lines refer to that part of the crusading vow that imposed on crusaders the obligation to worship at the Holy Sepulchre; see Merrilees; “Crusade,” p. 16.

7003–04 And thoo . . . Richardis cuppe. Akbari argues that these lines parody the poem’s repeated presentation of ritual feasting to demonstrate the reconciliation of former enemies (“Hunger,” pp. 205–06).

7008 As it is in Frensch ifounde. One of several references to an original French text; see the Introduction (pp. 3–4, p. 10n50) and the note at line 21.

7017 Hys eme, Sere Henry of Champayn. In the Itinerarium’s description of the battle of Joppa, Richard saves not Henry of Champagne but the earl of Leicester, “who had been thrown from his horse” (Nicholson, Itinerarium, 6.22, p. 363). Thus, this substitution serves as another example of RCL’s revision of history to humilate the French (Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 194).

7075 patryark. The patriarch, a bishop of one of the “chief sees of Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, Rome, or Jerusalem” (MED, s.v. patriark(e (n.), sense c). The reference is likely to the Bishop of Jerusalem.

7076 Jhon the Neel. A reference to Jean de Nesle, a hero of the Fourth Crusade. See also line 2826 and Loomis, Review, p. 456.

7077 William Arsour, and Sere Gerard. Both of these knights remain unidentified. Though the name “Arsour” may refer to Arsur — also known as Arsuf (a coastal city between Jaffa and Caesarea) — William was not one of the lords of Arsuf.

7078 Bertram Braundys, thy goode Lumbard. For information on Bertram III de Verdun, see the note to line 3946.

7087 They slowen Fauvel undyr hym. Ambroise reports that after Richard’s heroic defense of Jaffa (5 August, 1192), Saladin’s brother, Safadin, was so impressed that he sent the king two steeds (Estoire, 1:186–87, lines 11,544–64; cited by Gillingham, Richard I, p. 216; Nicholson, Itinerarium, 6.22, p. 364). Other chronicles report that Saladin generously sent Richard a magnificent mount after learning that Richard’s had been killed from under him (Broughton, Legends of Richard I, pp. 100–02). See the discussion of Saladin in the Introduction and the note to line 5502.

7149–52 At morwen . . . . Jhon Seynt Jhan. Of this list of emissaries that Richard sends to Saladin, only “Gawter” (Hubert Walter), can be confirmed as an actual participant (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 217): Walter, who figures prominently in chronicles of the Third Crusade, is described more fully by the note at line 2831. “Robert Sabuyle” likely refers to Robert de Sabloel. A commander of Richard’s fleet and a treasurer of the crusade, Robert served as one of the messengers to Tancred and later became master of the Temple from 1191 to 1193 (Nicholson, Itinerarium, p. 165 and n72). Though “Huberd Tourneham” remains unidentified, Robert Tourneham was a soldier and administrator closely associated with Richard I. His career is described at the note to line 1659. “Wyllyam Watevyle” and “Gyffard” have not been unidentified, nor has “Jhon Seynt Jhan,” though the latter’s name may intimate some relation to the Knights Hospitaller of St. John.

7162 Says three yer, three monethis, and thre dawes. Similar durations are reported in the chronicles of William of Newburgh and Walter of Heminburgh (Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 226; and Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 54).

7166 And tolde the Sawdon wurd and ende. See note at line 6932 above.

7177–84 Thoo aftyrward . . . or damage. For a chonicle’s record of the terms of the three-year truce, which include the destruction of Ascalon, see Nicholson, Itinerarium, 6.27, p. 371.

7181 Olyvete. Mount Olivet of the Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge east of Jerusalem. Among other associations, it is the site of Jesus’s prophecy of the Last Judgment (Matthew 24:2–3) and of his ascension into heaven (Acts 1:1–12). As a result, the Mount of Olives became an important pilgrimage destination.

7182 Mayden Castell. See the note to line 4941.

7190 At Castell Gaylarde there he was. Richard did not fall outside Castle Gaillard (Chateau-Gâillard), an impressive fortification and palace on an isle in the Seine that was the favorite residence of Richard during his last two years (Gillingham, Richard I, p. 302). Rather, he fell outside the less impressive Chaluz; see Brunner’s discussion of Walter of Hemmingburgh’s similar mistake (Löwenherz, p. 58n), and Jentsch, “Quellen,” p. 227.

7228 at the Font Everarde. A likely corruption of the place of Richard’s burial, at Fontevraud, an abbey near Chinon in Anjou. As described by Gillingham: “His brain and entrails were buried on the Poitou-Limousin border at Charroux — an abbey which claimed none other than Charlemagne as its founder. His heart went to Rouen, where it was buried next to his elder brother. . . . The rest of him, together with the crown and regalia he had worn at Winchester, reported the Winchester annalist, was buried at Fontevraud, at his father’s feet on Palm Sunday, 11 April (Richard I, pp. 324–50. See also Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 465). For an ambitious study of such aristocratic burial practices, see Westerhof’s Death and the Noble Body.

ABBREVIATIONS: A: MS London, College of Arms HDN 58 (formerly: Arundel); a: part of the manuscript tradition (see pp. 3–10 of the introduction); B: MS London, BL Additional 31042 (formerly: London Thornton); b: part of the manuscript tradition (see pp. 3–10 of the introduction); D: MS Oxford, Bodleian 21802 (formerly: Douce 228); Br: Der Mittelenglische Versroman über Richard Löwenherz, ed. Brunner. E: MS London, BL Egerton 2862; H: MS London, BL Harley 4690; L: MS Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland Advocates’ 19.2.1; MS: MS Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College 175/96 (C; base text); RCL: Richard Coer de Lyon; W: Wynkyn de Worde’s 1509 printed edition; W²: de Worde’s 1528 printed edition.

1–35 For L’s unusual prologe, the only prologue from the b group to survive, see the corresponding Explanatory Note.

24 MS: Below this line appears a crossed-out couplet corresponding to lines 25–26.

27 jestes. So W. MS: 3yiftys. B: geste. L: gestes.

49 sondes. So Br. MS is illegible. W: sonde. B: sandys.

50 londes. So Br. MS is illegible. W: londe. B: landis.

52 hym to wyf. Illegible in MS. W: hym to wyve. B: hyme to weyffe.

181 she. So W. MS: they. B: they. Brunner argues that MS and B form a group within the a version of manuscripts because their joint mistake — they for sche — is not encountered in W (Löwenherz, p. 13). See note to line 522.

183 hym. So W, B. MS: here.

228–448 And Johan . . . . to me. Due to missing leaves, these lines are lacking in MS and are supplied by W.

237 he. So B. W: she.

241 Crowned after Kynge Harry. See the corresponding Explanatory Note for an additional passage from L.

269 He came out of a valaye. Defective at its beginning, D begins here.

279 kynde. So B, D. W: oynge.

290–318 Full egerly . . . he bare. For the passage from D corresponding to these lines, see Löwenherz, p. 93n.

297 gorgere. So B. W: forgette.

324 he came. So B. W: be came.

343 thore. Br: þore. W: yore. B: thare.

357 peres. So B. W: speres.

397–426 To the . . . hym drowe. For D’s version of these lines, see Löwenherz, pp. 98–101n.

405 foundred. So B. W: swouned. W²: sounded.

435 Doly. So B. W: Dely.

439 messengere. So B. W: messengers.

455–58 And whiche . . . the loos. Absent in MS, these lines derive from W. A variation of these lines is found in B.

495–96 The aventurous . . . knyght betydde. Absent in MS, these lines derive from W.

498 off his stede. So Br. MS: off stede. W, B: of his stede.

506 shelde. So W. MS: schuldre. B: schelde.

522 Hym semyd. So MS, B. W: He semed. Though less convincingly than in line 181, Brunner argues that a joint error in MS and B — Hym semyd — indicates that MS and B form a subset within the a group distinct from W (Löwenherz, p.13). The form, him semed, though, is not rare; see, e.g., MED, s.v. semen (v.2), sense 1f: “him semeth (them semed), etc., he seems (they seemed, etc.) to be.”

558 culvere. So MS. W: dove. B: dofe.

568 pouke. So MS. B: puk. W: symple man.

582 stonyd. So Br. MS: stornyd. B: stonayde. Omitted in W.

608 The b version includes at this point an 18-line passage that offers a concise reiteration of the knights’ summary of the tournament at Salisbury:

The text of this passage is taken from A (fol. 252r).

667 bad that he scholde goo. So Br. MS: bad that sche scholde goo. W: bad hym thens go. B: we will ryse & goo. A, D: and seyde nay. H: & seid nay. Omitted in L.

674 mynstrall. So MS. W: glee men. B: glewe men. Omitted in b.

677 He. So B, Br. MS: Sche. W: They. Omitted in b.

679–796 Forthe he wente . . . . a swoughe. These lines are absent in MS and are supplied by W.

679 Forthe. So Br. B: And forthe. W: For.

721 put. So B. W: uot.

741 Wardrewe. So Br. W: Mardrewe. B: Sir Andryne. H: Ardoure. See note to line 851.

763 Saynt Martyn. B: Saynt Martyne. D: Seynt Elyne. A: Gemelyne.

790 As thow art a stalworth knyght. So A. W: Thou hast Jfared well this nyght. B: Euene als þou arte a stalworth knyght. H: As þu arte a stalleworth knyghte. D: As þou art a trowe knyth.

795 droughe. So B. W: tare. A: drowe. D: drew. H: drowghe.

796 swoughe. So B. W: care. A: swowe. D: swone. H: sowghe.

803 worde. So W, B, A, D. MS: noyse.

805 He. So B, W. Omitted in MS. Absent in b.

827 Her kerchers she drewe and heer also. So W. Omitted in MS. B: Hir kerchefes sche drewe hir hare also. A: Her kerchefs she to drowe. D: Here kerchys sche drow here here also. H: Here kerchews sche alle to drowghe.

828 Alas she sayd, what shall I do? So W. Omitted in MS. B: Allas sche seide what schall I doo. A: Alas she seide me is woo. D: Alas, sche seyde, me ys woo. H: Alas sche seide me is woo ynoughe.

829 qahchyd. So MS. W: cratched. B: skrattede.

830 was in a rage. So W. MS: wolde be rage. B: was alle in a rage. Omitted in A, H, D.

841 The knyght. So MS. W: The knyghtes. B: the knyghte. A: The kyng. D: The knyth. H: The kyng. From common errors found in this line — king for knyght — Brunner argues that in the b version, A and H form a group distinct from L, E, and D (Löwenherz, p. 13). E, being defective, begins with line 1857, and L does not include the exchange of blows episode.

842 he scholde. So B. MS: the he scholde. W: he sholde.

849 I fette. So W. MS: fette. B: j fetchede. A: ich hem fette. D: j hem fettys (hem inserted above fettys). H: y ham fette.

851 Wardrewe. So W. MS: Ardru. B: Ardrene. See note to line 741.

857 Wardrewe. So W. MS: Ardu.

871 wylle. So MS. A, H: mode. This “error” that destroys the rhyme in A and H forms part of a cluster of shared features within the b group that distinguish A and H from L, E, and D: see note at line 841 above and Löwenherz, pp. 13–14.

873 And fetters upon theyr fete feste. So W. MS: And feteres hem for þe best. B: And grete ffettirs one hym loke þou do feste.

875 he. MS: This word is inserted above the line.

886 soone. MS: sone with o inserted above the line.

927–1018 The kyng . . . . to ded. Instead of these lines, b (A, fol. 254v) reads as follows:

Compare Löwenherz, p. 128n–130n.

933 The kyng in herte sykyd sore. So MS. Brunner argues that b’s account of the decision to battle the lion, which begins here, abbreviates the original version (Löwenherz, p. 21).

939 messangers. So B. MS: messangrys. W: messengers.

945 welcome. So W, B. MS: welcomes.

975–76 And stryvenn faste . . . egere mode. Absent in MS, these lines derive from W. B: And stryvenn faste als they were wode / With grete erroure and egere mode.

1017 ordeynyd thee. In MS, þe is inserted above the line. W: ordeyned. B: ordaynede.

1057–1428 Sertes, henne . . . . hys mede. Instead of these lines b (A, fols. 254v–55v) reads as follows:

1058 I shall take the grace that god wyll sende. So W. MS: Here J wole take myn ende. B: I will take here þe grace þat god will sende.

1077 thay hafe undo. So B. Absent in MS. W: they undone. A: hadde undo. D: dede undo.

1078 lyoun lete hym to. So B. Absent in MS. W: lyon to hym is gone. A: lyon they ladde him too. D: lyoun gon hym to.

1125 hys. In MS, hys appears as a correction above the line.

1140 Messe is sayd. MS: Messe in sayd. Br: Messe in saye. W: And matyns synge. B: Matyns sayes. Omitted in b.

1147 And my doughter for her outrage. So W. Omitted in MS. B: And my doghetir for hir owtrage.

1148 Shall forgoo her herytage. So W. Omitted in MS. B: Shall forgo hir herytage.

1164 me too. So W. MS: me is inserted as a correction.

1178 travayle. MS: turvayle.

1205 rede. So W. MS: redy. B: red.

1254 travayle. MS: turvayle.

1287–1312 Of Surry . . . Holy Croys. See Paris’s discussion of this passage in relation to the much shorter account — four lines — in L; (“Le Roman,” pp. 354–56).

1290 it. In MS, it appears as a correction above the line.

1317 Surry lande. So B. MS: þat lande. W: Surrey londe.

1343 Westemynstyr. So MS. L: Winchester. See the Explanatory Note at line 241 above.

1387 have nomen. So W. MS: wolde have nomen (wolde appears as a correction above the line). B: has nome.

1410 other londe. So W. MS: Crystene londe. B: other landes.

1437–1666 Three hoostes . . . . Holy Londe. For a variant passage in A, see the corresponding Explanatory Note.

1477 mayre. So W. MS: men. B: mayere.

1487 he. So W, B. MS: ye.

1507 for to wende. So W, B. MS: swythe sende.

1521 They waschede as it was lawe of land. Omitted in MS. B: Þey waschede þane als was lawe of lande. W: They wysshe as it is lawe in lande.

1522 rydand. Brunner argues that the use of the present participle in -ande here and in line 1525 (ryngangde) and in 3430 (grennand) serves as evidence that the episode — either the journey of revenge through Germany or the second act of cannibalism — did not form part of the original, Anglo-Norman text (Löwenherz, p. 19).

1535 made at ease. So MS, W. In MS, at ease appears as a correction above ryght merye. B: welcomed full fayre.

1536 semblaunt. So W. MS: herte. B: semblande.

1566 in. In MS, in appears as a correction above the line.

1602 skylle. So Br. MS is defective here. B: skille. W: skyll.

1629 to beker in fyght. So W. MS: and bykyr and ffyght. B: to bekir in fighte.

1645 it. In MS, it appears as a correction above the line.

1660 Gret Ynglys peple. So B. MS: Gret peple. W: Moche englysshe people.

1712 Rys. So A. MS: rys. B: pys. W: thys. L: Riis. D: Pys. H: Ryse.

1737–2468 And I . . . . and styll. Due to missing leaves in MS, these lines derive from W.

1739 men. So W, B, D, Br. Omitted in L, H, A.

1744 Lo, here the letter forsothe, iwys. So D, Br. W: Lo here are the letter forsothe Jwys. B: Loo here þe lettre there of Jwysse. A: Lo here the lettre Jwys. H: Lo here the letter wreten ys.

1761 Whete and benys twenty thowsande. So B. Omitted in W. A: And of whete & benen quarters xx m^t. L: Wiþ . . . seuen to þousinde. D: Of wete & benys tuenty þousand. H: Of wete quarters twenty þowsende.

1762 Quarters he boughte als that I fynde. So B. Omitted in W. A: he bought as we fynde. D: Qwarters he bowte also J fond. H: he bowghte as iche ffynde. L: He bou3t also y finde.

1764 account. W: acccount.

1769 into the chepynge. So B. W: to shyppynge. A: into þe chepyng. L: into the chepeinge. H: to chepyng.

1773 Kynge. So Br. W: Kynke.

1775 helde. So B, A, H, Br. W: had. D, L: held.

1784 feste. So B, A, D, H, Br. W: faste. L: fest.

1785 erles. So B, Br. W: clerkes. D: erl. L: erle & clerke. Omitted in A, H.

1818 Full. So Br. W: fulll. B: ffull.

1830 Go home, dogges, with your tayle. W: Awaye dogges with your tayle. B: And seid gose home dogges with 3our taylles. A: Go hom dogges with your taill. D: Go home doggys with 3oure vitayle. H: Go home dogges wyth youre tayle. L: Goþ home dogges wiþ 3our tayl. Br: “Go hom, dogges, with your tayle!”

1832 Men shall threste in your cuyle. So W. B: Righte sall mene garre 3ow habide. A: Me shall thrust in youre cull. D: Men schal þrestyn in 3oure koyl. L: Man schal þrest in 3our coyl. H: menne schall threste yn yowre cule.

1838 pavylyons. B: pauylyons. Br: pauylyouns. W: pavylyous.

1851 With syxe stages full of tourelles. So W. B: With sere stages full of torells. D: With sex stages & tureles. L: Wiþ sex stages ful of turels. A: With vi. stages jmade of stirells. H: wyth sexe stages ymade of styrelles. On the basis of stirelles and other “errors” shared by A and H, Brunner argues these manuscripts form a group within b that is distinct from L, E, and D (Löwenherz, pp. 13–14).

1855 surnownne. So B. W: sory nom. L: sornoun. A: surnum. D: sirename. H: surname.

1857 Maryners, arme your shyppes. E, missing a few initial leaves, begins here, but only the last two words are legible: shippes blyve.

1858 And holde up well your manshippes. So A. Br: And holde up your manshyppes. W: And do up your manshyppes. B: And haldis up wele oure manchippys. L: & holdeþ vp our manschippes. H: And holde uppe 3our manneschippes. Omitted in D and in E.

1861 For joye come never to me. So Br. A: ffor Joy come neuer to me. W: For come ye neuer to me. B: ffor certis joye commys never vnto me. D: Joye comyth never non to me. H: ffor y ioy cometh never unto me. L: Joie ne comeþ þer neuer to me.

1867 With ore, sprete, and sayle. B: With are and sprete and saile. W: Syth ore spredde and sayle. A: With bowsprete and saille blyve. L: Wiþ ore & seyl & spere. D: With ore and sayle spret. H: With bowsprete and sayle blyve.

1871 kynge of Fraunce. So B. W: kynge fraunce.

1873 Englysshe cowardes. So W. B: Inglys cowardes. A: Englissh taylardes. D: englische taylardes. L: Inglische cowardes. H: englysche taylardes.

1874 mosardes. So A. Br, L: mossardes. W: losardes. B: moserde. D, H: cowardes. L: mossardes.

1875 But reyse up. So W. B: Do drisses now. A: Dighteth he seide. D: Ordeyne now. L: Drisses now. H: dyghte he seyde.

1881 Targes and hurdis. So L, Br. W: Terges and hardes. B: Targis and hurdas. D: Torches bordes. A, H: Targes and dores.

1885 mosardes. So A, D, H, W: losardes. B: moserde. L: musardes.

1888 in hast. So B. W: on fast. A: unto. D: on hast. L: anon. H: uppe.

1895 hade so. So B. W: harde. A: So harde. D: hadde ny. L: hadde so. H: So Harde.

1898 Felde. W: Helde. B: felle. A: ful. D: feldyn. L: fel. H: fylle.

1905 wele. So B, Br. W: welee. A: well. D: wel. Omitted in H.

1915 Kynge Rycharde come. So B. W: Kynge Rychard and. A: When he come to him. L: King Richard com. D: Kyng Richard came.

1928 After hym prycked upon. W: After prycked upon. B: Aftire hym prekede appone. L: After him priked on.

1930 felawrede. So B, A. W: ferhede. D: felarede. H: felawrade.

1942 tholed schame. So B. W: gave bane. D: casche here bane. A: her schame. H: to take schame.

1943 hous. So A, D. B: howsses. H: howse. W, A: horse. Using W’s horse seems out of context given that line 1944 describes the barring of windows and doors; B provides an exemplar from a to corroborate the emendation.

1945 Oure Englissh with grete levours. So A. W: And ever men bare them up with levours. B: Bot the Ynglismen rane to with levours. H: Englysche menne with lewwres. D: The Englische have brostyn with levauns.

1946 Breke hem up with grete vigours. So A. W: And slew them with grete vygours. B: And brake thame up with grete vigours. A: Breke hem up with grete vigours. D: And slowin hem with gret vemauns.

1949 tresoure. So B, A, D. W: treasours.

1950 covertoure. So B, D. W: countours. A: couerters. H: couerture.

1969 one hande. So B. W: have honde. A: an hande. D: one honde.

1974 knee. So B, H. W: kene.

1978 towne. So A, Br. W: twone. B: townne. D: town.

1982 itelde. So D, Br. W: itelbe. B: telled. A: itolde.

1989 thy. So A, H. W: theyr. B: thi. D: þat.

2004 Syr Hewe Impetyte. So W. B: Hewe of Pympotit. A: Sir Penpetite. D: Hewe Pimperise.

2006 Cleped hym taylarde and hym myssayde. W: Cleped taylarde and myssayde. B: And called hym vile foule tayliarde. A: They cleped him tailarde & hym mysade. D: Clepid hym taylarde & hym myssayde. H: And fulle foule hym myssayde. E is illegible.

2025 Of Kynge Richarde he asked mercy. So Br. B: Of Kyng Richerd he asked mercy. W: Of kynge Rycharde he had his grace. A: And for goddess loue he cried mercy. H: And for goddes loue he cryed mercy. D: Tto kyng Richard he seyde mercy.

2026 That he wolde ther sesy. So D, Br. W: That he would leue his stryfe in that place. B: Ffor Jhesu lufe & for þe lufe of myld Mary. A: That he shulde secy. H: that he schulde sessey.

2029 graunted hym. So H. B: granted hym. W: graunted. D: hym graunted. A: graunted hem.

2040 And than on his waye he wente. See the corresponding Explanatory Note for an additional passage from the b group of manuscripts.

2046 With moche store of sylver and golde. See the corresponding Explanatory Note for an additional passage from the b group of manuscripts.

2051 sodaynly. So Br. B: sodeynly. W: sondaynly.

2055 bowe spret. So B. W: bothe sprett.

2063 The ferde schippe behynde duellede. So B. W: That shyppe lefte in the shelde. A: The ferthe ship byhynde dwellyd. D: The fferd chipe behynd dwellyd.

2064 Unnethes the maryners it helde. So B, Br. W: The maryners vnneth it with helde. A: Vnneþ the mareners hit ahelde. D: Vnethe þe mariners had yt welmyd.

2065 And that schippe lefte righte in the depe. So B. Omitted in W. A: The ship lasted in the depe. D: þus yt befel jn depe. H: The schype lanched in the depe.

2066 That the folkes one the lande myghte wepe. So B. Omitted in W. A: ffolke on þe londe myght wel wepe. H: ffolke of the londe myght wel wepe. D: The folke on londe myth wepe.

2067 Gryffons. So Br. W: Pryffons.

2071 of lyve. So B, D, H. W: on lyve. A: of lyf.

2083 borne. So B, D, A, H. W: lorne.

2096 dyshonoure. So B. W: byshonoure.

2108 double. So B. W: bouble.

2111 hastely. So B, W². W: hasteyl.

2141 Thou hast thy selfe tresoure enoghe. So Br. W: Thou hast the selfe tresour grete plente. B: Thou hase thi selfe tresoure enoghe. A: Thow hauest thi self tresor jnoghe. H: For þou haste tresoure ynowghe. D: Þou hast þiselfe tresoure jnow.

2142 Yelde hym his tresour or thou getis grete woghe. So B. A: yelde him his tresour thow hauest þe wogh. W: Yf thou it withhelde it were grete pyte. H: yelde hym his tresour þou hast þe wowghe. Note that the order of lines 2141–42 is reversed in A and H. D: 3elde hym his þou hast done wow.

2152 And seid he wolde tellene hym a consaile. So B. W: And sayd he wolde hym accounsayle. A: And seide he wolde telle him a consaill. D: And seyde he wolde spekyn Jn counsaill. H: For to herkenne a cownceylle.

2176 bryght. So H. W: bryghe. B: brighte. A: bright. D: bryth.

2180 done us. So B. W: done vo.

2204 flenne. W: fleune. B: to fly. A: to flen. D: to fle thenne. Omitted in H.

2216 he toke. So B, D, L. W: toke.

2219 cleved. So Br. B: clevede. W: claved. A: sleed.

2220 therby leved. So W, A. B: þer he relevede. D: ther he levyd.

2231 jewells. So B. W: meles. A: jewels. D: juelys. L: iuwels.

2232 He sesyde als his owne catells. B: He sesyde als his awenne catells. W: He toke to his owne deles. D: He nam & all here chateles. A: Right for his owne cattels. H: Right for ys owne catelles. Br: He toke to his owne cateles.

2247 He. So B, D. W: She. Omitted in A, H.

2253 The keyes also I betake thee here. W: The keyes also in batayll here. B: And alswa alle þe keyes J betake þe here. D: The keyis also J take þe here.

2276 Stowte in armes and stronge in fighte. So Br. B: Stowte in armours & stronge in fighte. W: Well armed in armure bryght. A: Stout in Armes & strong in fighte. L: Stout in armes & strong in fi3tes. D: Steffe jn Armys & bold jn fyth.

2279 pavylyoune. So B. W: pauylywne. L: pauilons. A: pauilion. D: pauylouns. H: paueloune. Br: pauylyowne.

2280 trompis. So B, D. W: turmppettes. A: trompes. L: trumppes.

sowne. So B. W: swone. D: souns. L: sounes.

2295 As armes lordynges, all and some. So B, A, L. W: Horse and harneys lordes all and some. H: To armes lordes alle and somme. D: Lordis as armys all & some.

2296 We bene betrayed and inome. B: We bene bytrapped and bynommene. W: We betrayed and Jnome. A: We buth bytrayed and jnome. D: We bene jtrayde & jnome. L: We beþ bitreyd & ynome. H: For whe ben trayed and ynome.

2303 felled downe. So B. W: fell downe.

2317 He fande his clothis and his tresoure. So B. Omitted in W. D: He ffond his clodes & his tresoure. L: he fond his cloþes & his tresour.

2318 Bot he was fled, that vile traytoure. So B. Omitted in W. D: And flowin was þat fowle tratour. L: Ac he was flowen þat vile traytour.

2334 hyght. E: hy3t. W: hygh. B: highte. D: heyte. L: hete. Omitted in A, H.

2356 let me be. So E. W: leve me. B: late me bee. A: to bee. H: in pees be. L: lete me.

2361 Goth and seithe. So H. W: Go and sayd. B: Gase and says. A: Goth and siggeth. E: To sau3tle. L: Goþ and siggeþ.

2367 And also saye. W: And all that. B: and alswa saye. A: And also sey. D: & seye þus. L: & siggeþ also.

2376 out of. So E, L. B, A: oute of. D: owte of. W: but of. Omitted in H.

2391 In grete solace. So B. W: Grete solace. D: In solas. E: In solace. A: In grete delyte. H: With grete delyte.

2401 Bonevent. So B. W: Boffenent. H: Bonnevente. A: Bonnent. E: Bowent.

2430 dy. So B. A: die. D: dye. H: dyghe. W: abye.

2440 Pyse. So B, A, D, H. W: pryse.

2442 not loke. So D. W: no love. B: noghte loke. A: Wolde loke. H: Wolde lowke.

2449 by Hym. So B, D, A, H. W: by Jhesu.

2453 Erle. W: elre.

2456 To kepe his realme to his honde. After this line, b (A, fol. 260v) includes the following verses:

2545 on borde. So A, D, H. MS: to borde. W: aborde. B: one borde.

2580 a devyl. So MS, D. W, B: the devyll. A: a fende. H: a ffende. E: . . . com fro helle (line partially illegible).

2631 The galey yede as swyfte. So W. Omitted in MS. B: Þat the galy went alswa swyfte. D: The galey 3ede also wyth.

2632 As ony foule by the lyfte. So W. Omitted in MS. B: Als any foule by the lifte. D: so any ffowle þat flyith in fflyth.

2635 to the chayne. So W. MS: the cheyne too. B: unto the cheyne. A: þe cheyne. D: þe chayne.

2636 atwayne. So W. MS: on twoo. B: in twayne. A: atweyne. D: mayne.

2651 Gunnes he hadde on wondyr wise. A (fols. 261v–62r) provides the b group’s shorter account of Richard’s arrival in Acre:

2675 For it was within the nyght. So W. Omitted in MS. B: Ffor þat it was appone þe myrke nyghte.

2676 They were agrysed of that syght. So W. Omitted in MS. B: Þerfore þay were all awondrede of þat sighte.

2679 And sayd he was the devyll of hell. So W. Omitted in MS. B: And saide þan it was þe fende of helle.

2680 That was come them to quell. So W. Omitted in MS. B: Þat was comen þam alle to quelle.

2695 ledden hym. So B. MS: ledde. W: syth ledde hym.

2722 deedly. So W. MS: manly. B: dedy. A: dethliche. D: dedlyche. H: dethelyche.

2755 and that brethe. So W. MS: wiþouten drede. B: & þat stynke. A: of þat brethe. E: of þe breeth. D: & þat brethv.

2756 toke theyr dethe. So W. MS: þeroff were dede. B: als I thynke. A: toke her deth. D: tok here deth. E: token her deeth.

2765 And so they. MS: So þey. W: And so we. B: And soo þay. D: & so þay.

2770 bore. So B, A, D. MS: ibere. Omitted in W. L: ybore.

2775 On Seynt Jamys even, verrayment. H ends here.

2780 And alle it. So B. MS: And it. Omitted in W. A: And all hit. L: & alle it. D: And al yt.

2804 With there swerdes doun thay hewe. Omitted in MS. B: With there suerdys doun þay hewe. W: Were with swerdes all to hewe. L: Wiþ her swerdes adoun þai hewe. D: & here swerdis al to hewe. E: With her swerdes al to hew.

2827 Bawdewyne. So W, B. MS: Bawdekyn. A: baudewyne. L: Baudewines. D: blandewyne.

2880 But blessyd be the Holy Goost. So W. MS: ffadyr & sone be þankyd & holy gost. B: There louyde now be the holy goste. D: blyssyd be þe holy gost. A: But jhered be that holi gost. L: & herd be þat holy gost.

2892 And pryckyd out of that felawred. W: And prycked out that felowrede. MS: And preykyd forþ wiþ his felawred. B: And prikked owte of that forehede. D: Richard tok leue of þat ffered. Note that the order of lines 2891–92 is reversed in D. L: & rode him out of þat ferred. A: And priked oute of that felawerede.

2896 Seynt John. So A, D. MS: Seynt Thomas. W: saynt Johan. B: seyne John. L: seyn Jon.

2899 That was a tree castell ful fyne. W: That was a tree castelle full fyne. MS: It was off tree castel fful ffyn. B: Þat was a tre castelle full fyne. L: Þat was a tre castel ful fine. D: That was a tre castel ful ffyne. A: That was a castell gode and fyne.

2902 shyppes full of been. MS: schyp fful been. W: shyppes full of bene. B: schyppes ful of bees. A: shippes full of been. D: schippis of ben. L: schippes of hiuen of ben.

2934 ben and stones. L: ben & stones. MS: bond and stones. W: bente and stones. B: grete stanys and bees. A: stones. D: stonys.

2945 Sarazenes. So B. MS: archers. W: the Sarazynes. D: Sarazynys. L: þai. Omitted in A.

flowen. So MS. B: fflowe. W: drewe. D: flew. L: flowe. Omitted in A.

2954 In ynde armyd to all ryghtes. At this point, the fragmentary L breaks off.

2994 In ynde armyd to all ryghtes. Absent in MS, A includes the following couplet after this line: Her baner was peynted, so seith þe Latyn, / Wiþ iij bores hefdes of golde fyne. See Löwenherz, p. 245n.

3010 But. So W, A, D, E. MS: And. B: Warne.

3012 Susé seynours, has armes tost. So MS. W: Soyes seygnyours for the holy goost. B: And knyghttis hase þaire armours takyne. A: Sus seignours as Armes tost. D: Sus seygnunzs As Armes tost. E: Suse seignours as armes toste.

3023 And many a knyghte loste his armys. W: Many a knyght lost his harnes. MS: Manye knygtes þere loste here armes. B: And many a knyghte lese his armys. A: And many a knyght þere los his armes. D: And many A man þere les his armys.

3024 And many a stede drewe theyr tharmes. W: And many a stede drewe theyr tharnes. A: And many a stede drough his tharmes. D: & many a stede þere drow his tharmys. MS: And manye stedes drow3 to harmes. B: And many a stede drewe after þam þaire tharmes. E: And mony a stede þere drewe his . . . (line partially illegible).

3025 manye a. W, B, D: many a. MS: manye. E: mony.

3035 But holde them all within. So W. Omitted in MS. B: Bot halde þame alle it with inne. A: But holde hem all stille þerinne. D: Therfor þer holdyn hem withinne.

3036 That the Sarasynes sholde them not wyn. So W. Omitted in MS. B: That the Sarazenes ne scholde thame wynne. A: That no Saracens sholde in wynne. D: That þe sarazynys schulde hem not wynne.

3040 For them yede no raunsoun. So W. MS: Ther yede no. B: Ffor þame that noþer go rawnsone.

3058 laye in grete. So W. B: laye in so grete. MS: was in swylk.

3062 To the Fadyr. So W. MS: Ffadyr. B: To god þe ffadir.

3066 her. So W. MS: hys. B: for hir.

3083 And ye. So W, B. MS: Ye may.

3099 broweys. So MS. W, B: brothe.

3108–3613 Thorwgh grace . . . . to sterve. Missing leaves, B is defective for this interval.

3114 Hys folk hem turnyd away and lowgh. So MS. Omitted in W. B is defective.

3119 Kyng. MS: Kyn.

3125–50 The Sarezynes . . . . so fele. See the corresponding Explanatory Note for a variant passage from the b group of manuscripts.

3128 entred an in icome. So W. MS: entryd in þe comoun. A: almost in icome. D: made entre comoun.

3151 Before wente his Templers. So W. Omitted in MS. A: Byfor him wente his templers. D: Beforn went his templers.

3152 His Gascoynes and his Ospytalers. So W. Omitted in MS. A: His gascons & his hospitalers. D: his gascons & his ospitalers.

3177–93 Thus al . . . . ten myle. See the corresponding Explanatory Note for a variant passage from A.

3212 hys whyte teeth. So MS. W: tethe whyte as snawe.

3234 without dystaunse. MS: with off here dystaunse. W: without dystaunce. A: withoute distaunce. D: for here dystance.

3237 Heris. MS: Here is. W: here. D: Herkenyth. A: lusteth.

3296 To underfonge of. So W, A. MS: To styrte undyr off.

3298 That kynge myght not be Syr Markys. So W. MS: Þat þe kyng louyd nou3t þe markys. A: That kynge ne moste noght be marcus. D: That malkows schulde not be marchis.

3304 Without dente and without harme. So W. MS: Þat non off hem have ony harme. A: Withoute dunt, withoute harme. D: Withowtyn dynt withowtyn harm.

3312 ye may fynde. MS: I may 3ow ffynde. W: ye may fynde also. A: ye may fynd. D: 3 e schul ffynde.

3320 defensable. So W, A. MS, D: fensable.

3326 In myn half, I graunte thee forward. See the corresponding Explanatory Note for an additional passage from A.

3331 put them thore. So W. MS: token hem 3are. Omitted in A. D, E: put hem þore.

3346 To venge God of hys enemyes. See below for the reading from A, fols. 265r–v:

For variations among the b group, see Löwenherz, pp. 262n–64n.

3383 Our Sawdon. So W, E. MS: Þe sawdon.

3384 ever more. So W, E. MS: ffor evere more.

3408 bode. So MS. W: worde. E: word.

3411 alone. So W. MS: anon. E: alloone.

3413 Pryvely. So W, E. MS: Stylly.

3431 they be nought rowe. So MS. W: they be no thynge rawe. E: they be nothing rowe.

3436 Faste therof ete I shall. So W. MS: Ete þeroff ry3t faste I schal. E: Faste þerof ete y shalle.

3459 He broughte oure kyng — was it nought leued. So MS. W: He brought to kynge Rycharde not cleuede. E: He bare to Richard it was not cleued.

3464 Therof they had all grame. So W. MS: Theroff thoughte hem but lytyl game. E: Þereof þey hadden al grame.

3512 a Sarezynys hede al hoot. MS: sarezynys hedes abouten al hoot. W: a Sarasynes heed all hote. E: a Saryzyns hed al whoot.

3516 In saf condyt. MS: In saff cundyt. W: safe to wende. E: In saf condit.

3519 so vylayne. So W. MS: so euyl. E: velayn.

3520 For to. So W, E. MS: Þat I wolde.

3530 and tell thy Sowdan. So W. MS: to 3oure sawdan. E: and biddeth 3oure Soudan.

3531 he. So W, E. MS: 3e.

3539 Brede, wyne, flesshe, fysshe and kunger. So W. MS: Bred & wyn ffysch fflesch samoun & cungir. E: fflessh and fyssh samon and kungour.

3541 Whyle that. So W. MS: Whyle we. E: While þat.

3547 Kyng Richard sayd: “I you waraunt.” W: Kyng Rychard sayd J you wraunt. MS: . . . ng Richard j schal waraunt (line partially illegible). E: King Richard seide y 3ow waraunt.

3548 Ther is no flesch so norysshaunt. W: There is no flesshe so nouryssaunt. MS: . . . no fflesch so norysschaunt (line partially illegible). E: Þer is no flesshe so noresshaunt.

3549 Unto an Ynglyssche Crysten man. Br: Vnto an Ynglyssche Cristen-man. MS: . . . an ynglyssche man (line partially illegible). W: To none englylshe crysten man. E: To myn Jnglyssh cristen men.

3552 As is the flessh of a Saryzyne. So E. MS: As þe hed off a sarezyn. W: Than is the flesshe of a sarasyne.

3556 Lyvande. So MS. W: Alyue. E: Lyuyng.

3563 tournyd. MS: tourn. . . (partially illegible). E: tornyd. W: dyde tourne.

3564 mournyd. MS: mour. . . (partially illegible). E: mornyd. W: dyde mourne.

3566 Kyng. MS: Kyn. W: That kynge. E: King.

3571 Of thy gold wolde he non. MS: Off þy gold wolde he take non. W: Of our golde wolde he none. E: Of þy golde wolle he noon.

3579 Rychardes table. MS: þe k. . . . (partially illegible). W: stode Rychardes table. E: stood Richard is table.

3580 But non of us before hym segh. W: But none of vs before hym sygh. MS: But non off v . . . re hym segh (line partially illegible). E: What þeron com wel we sy3e.

3591 feres. So Br. MS: seres. W: felawe. E: men.

3596 For sorwe we wende for to deye. Below are two couplets that follow this line in E (fol. 15v), but not in MS or in W:

3598 Nynyve. MS: nynyue. W: rube. E: Nauerne.

3609 With teeth he gnew the flesch ful harde. MS: Wiþ teeþ . . . fflesch ful harde (line partially illegible). W: With his tethe he grynded flesshe harde. E: With teeth he gnew þe flessh herde.

3612 He. So W, E. MS: And.

3613 For drede we wende for to sterve. W omits lines 3613–40.

3617 that he be. So B, E. MS: to ben.

3618 soure. So Br. MS: oure. B: so soure. E: sory.

3631 Be servyd ferst, I and myn hynys. E omits lines 3631–38.

3636 Ne drank of wyn. MS: drank off whyt. B: Ne drynke no wyne.

3656 His clothis of gold unto his scherk. MS: Off þy cloþis off gold vnto þy scherk. W: His clothes of golde and his sarke. B: His clothes of golde vnto his serke.

3660 here bodies. MS: here blood. B: their bodies. E: oure boody. Omitted in W.

3664 It is a devyl, withouten fayle. After this line in B (fol. 144r), the following passage occurs, which is not found in other manuscripts:

3667 he may go forth. So Br. MS: he may forth. W: he go forth. B: may he goo forthe. E: he may for sooth.

3669 oure chyldren and us. So W. MS: boþe oure chldren & us. B: oure childre & us. E: oure children and us.

3673 yif. MS: 3yff. This word appears either as yyff or 3yff throughout the text, and has been emended to yif at lines 3703, 3723, 3791, 3805, 3806, 3807, 3821, 3965, 3968, 4101, 4192, 4358, and 5523.

3683 that he his travayle lese. MS: hys trauayle þat he lese. W: that he his trauayll lese. B: þat he his travelle lesse. E: þat he his trauaile lese.

3690 thee to. MS: & go. W, B: the to. E: þe to.

3691 folk. So E, Br. MS: land. W: folke. B: folkes.

3692 thy maltalent. So Br. MS: al maltalent. W: thy malatent. B: þat gilte. E: þy male talent.

3696 wynne. So W, E. MS: bere. B: wyne.

3697 And so shall ye leve and be frendes. So W. Omitted in MS. B: Lyffe togedire & be gud ffrendys. E: Loueþ togeder and beth frendes.

3698 With joye to your lyves endes. So W. Omitted in MS. B: With vnto 3our lyffes endes. E: Euer to 3oure lyues endes.

3701 besoughte. So Br. MS: beþou3te. W: besought. B: bysoughte. E: bysou3t.

3704 Mahowne. So W. MS: appolyn. B: Sir mahownne. E: mahon. A: mahunde. D: mahond.

3726 So God do my soule boote. After this line, the following 10-line passage appears in b (A, fols. 265v–66r):

Compare D, fols. 28r–v and Brunner, Löwenherz, p. 281n.

3727 I wolde nought lese my lordes love. So A. Omitted in MS. W: J wyll not leue my lordes lawe. B: J ne wolde noghte lese my lordes lufe. D: Ffor lesyn J nold myn lordes loue. E: Ffor lese y ne wold my lordes loue.

3728 For al the londes under heven above. Omitted in MS. W: Of all the londes vnder heuen ahawe. B: Ffor alle þe londis vndir heuen abofe. A: For all the gold vnder heuene aboue. D: Ffor al þe landis vnder heuene above. E: Ffor al þe londe vnder heuyn aboue.

3731 They answered at the frome. W: They answered at the forme. MS: Þenne answeryd off hem some. B: Bot þay ansuerde alle þerto full sone on none. E: . . . y him . . . wered at þe froome (line partially illegible). A: And they answerden atte frome. D: They hym answerd at frome.

3735 nought so slye. So W, D. MS: nought slye. B: slee. E: so sly3e. A: so sley.

3737 sone anon. So A. MS: euerlkon. W, D: anone. B: sone on nane. E: anoon.

3748 an aungell. So E, A. MS: aungeles. W: aungell. B: ane angelle. D: an angel.

3749 That seyde, “Seygnyours, tues, tues.” So W. MS: Þey seyde seynyours tuez tuese. B: Þat cried sayntours tues tues. E: Þat cryed seignours touz touz. D: Þat cryid sargnures tues tues. A: & seyde seynours twyes twyes.

3759–71 Merye is . . . . strokes hard! The descriptive passage or seasonal headpiece runs to line 3771 and does not appear in W, which omits lines 3759–4816. Compare Löwenherz, p. 16. See the related discussion in the Explanatory Notes.

3779 his los. MS: here los. B: his lose.

3780 his renoun. MS: here renoun. B: his renownne.

3942 was here wone. MS: was his wone. B: werene acostome & wonne.

3944 here. MS: his.

4110 Coverde. So B. MS: Corue.

4124 Where it is no man may seen. For an 8-line passage that occurs after this line in B (fol. 147r), see below: