Notes

1] First published in 1777. This was one of the "Rowley Poems," declared by Chatterton to have been written by a priest of the late fifteenth century, Thomas Rowley, Chatterton seems to have composed his poetry in the language of his own time; then to have substituted, where he conveniently could, antiquated words, and disguised the whole by a quaint spelling which he supposed resembled that of the fifteenth century. His chief sources for this process were Speght's edition of Chaucer, Bailey's Universal Etymological Dictionary, and Kersey's Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum. Skeat, in his edition of Chatterton, says: "Chatterton has ... employed no old words whatever but such as are contained in Kersey or Speght; the only exceptions to this rule occurring in the case of a few words which he modifed or invented." This next and the following notes in quotation marks are Chatterton's: "Thomas Rowley, the author, was born at Norton Malreward in Somersetshire, educated at the Convent of St. Kenna at Keynesham, and died at Westbury in Gloucestershire."
In Virgyne: in Virgo, the Sign of the Zodiac which the sun enters in August.

2] mees: "meads."

3] rodded: "reddened, ripened."

4] mole: "soft."

5] peede chelandri: "pied goldfinch."

7] dighte: "drest, arrayed."
defte "neat, ornamental."
aumere: "a loose robe or mantle."

9] welken: "the sky, the atmosphere."

10] arist: "arose."

13] hiltring: "hiding, shrouding."
attenes: "at once."
fetive: "beauteous."

15] holme: a kind of oak.

16] Seyncte Godwine's convent. "It would have been charitable, if the author had not pointed at personal characters in this Ballad of Charity. The Abbot of St. Godwin's at the time of the writing of this was Ralph de Bellomont, a great stickler for the Lancastrian family. Rowley was a Yorkist."

17] moneynge: moaning.

18] viewe: appearance.
ungentle: "beggarly."
weede: dress.

19] bretful: "filled with."

20] almer: "beggar."

22] glommed: "clouded, dejected. A person of some note in the literary world is of opinion, that glum and glom are modern cant words; and from this circumstance doubts the authenticity of Rowley's Manuscripts. Glum-mong in the Saxon signifies twilight, a dark or dubious light: and the modern word gloomy is derived from the Saxon glum."

23] forwynd: "dry, sapless."

24] church-glebe-house: "the grave."
asshrewed: "accursed, unfortunate."

25] kiste: "coffin."
dortoure: "a sleeping room."

26] cale: cold.
gre: grow.

30] forswat: "sun-burnt."
smethe: "smoke."
drenche: 'drink."

31] pall: "A contraction from appall, to fright."

33] flott: "fly."

34] levynne: "lightning."

35] smothe: "steam, or vapours."
lowings: "flames."

36] clymmynge: "noisy."

37] cheves: "moves."
embollen: "swelled, strengthened."

39] gallard: "frighted."

40] elmen: elm.
swanges: swings.

42] braste: "burst."
attenes: at once.
stonen: stony.

45] chapournette: "a small round hat, not unlike the Shapournette in heraldry, formerly worn by Ecclesiastics and Lawyers."

46] pencte: "painted."

47] aynewarde tolde his bederoll. "He told his beads backwards; a figurative expression to signify cursing."

49] mist: "poor, needy."

50] cope: "a cloke."
Lyncolne clothe: green cloth, for making which the town of Lincoln was famous.

52] autremete: "a loose white robe, worn by Priests."

53] shoone: shoes.
pyke: peaked.
loverds: "a lord."

55] trammels: shackles used to make a horse amble.

56] horse-millanare: horse-milliner. "I believe this trade is still in being, though but seldom employed."

57] droppynge: drooping.

63] yatte: that.
crouche: crucifix.

66] faitour: "a beggar, or vagabond."

69] shettynge: shooting.

72] reyneynge: running.

74] jape: "a short surplice, worn by Friars of an inferior class, and secular priests."

75] Limitoure: a friar licensed to beg in a certain limited area. Chaucer's friar was a "lymytour"; Cf. "Prologue." The Canterbury Tales, 209.
of order: as to his order.

82] mister: poor.
halline: "joy."

83] eathe: "ease."

84] nete: "nought."

85] unhailie: "unhappy."

86] scathe: scarcely.

87] semecope: "a short under-cloke."

89] aborde: went on.

90] gloure: "glory."

91] mittee: "mighty, rich."

Other poems by Thomas Chatterton