Notes

1.0.1] Extant in five MSS., of which the oldest is the Elphynstoun, written ca. 1525. First printed in London, 1553. Douglas's translation was begun early in 1512 and finished July 22, 1513. It is the first translation of the Aeneid into English. To the twelve books of Vergil's poem Douglas added a thirteenth, translated from the Latin of the Italian humanist Maffeo Vegio (d. 1458) which carried the story down to the death of Aeneas. Douglas prefaced the thirteen books with original prologues in various metres. Some of these are descriptive of nature, others reflective, didactic or critical, discussing problems of translation or interpretation. The prologue of the first book (over 500 lines in length) contains a criticism of the mediaeval attitude to Vergil as exemplified by Chaucer and Caxton.

1.0.2] dulce. Sweet.
endite. Composition, writing.

1.0.4] ingine. Talent, genius.
fluide. Flood.

1.0.5] peirles. Peerless.
patroun. Pattern.

1.0.6] Rois. Rose.
register. Standard.
laurer. Laurel.

1.0.7] cherbukle. Carbuncle (precious stone).

1.0.8] leidsterne. Lodestar.
a per se. One who is unique. See note on Dunbar, "To the City of London," 1. 9.
sours. Source, i.e. spring.

1.0.10] Wyde quhar. Everywhere.
our all. Over all, everywhere.

1.0.11] crafty. Skilful.
curious. Carefully wrought.

1.0.12] mast. Most.

1.0.13] pleasable. Pleasing.
felable. Intelligible.

1.0.14] As if one had the subject-matter before his eyes.
the list do write. It pleases thee to write (literally "cause to write" but the do is intensive merely).

1.0.16] maneir endite. Manner of writing.

1.0.19] vane. Empty.

1.0.20] engine. Intellect.

1.0.21] lewit. Lewd, i.e. ignorant. See on Piers the Plowman, 69.

1.0.23] contirfait. Imitate.

1.0.24] Nay, nay. I cannot imitate them, but only kneel in reverence when I hear them.

1.0.29] sugurat. Sugared, sweet. Cf. Meres on Shakespeare (1598): "his sugred sonnets among his private friends".

1.0.31] at all. Altogether, in every way.

1.0.32] thir. These.

1.0.33] A straw for this ignorant, imperfect babbling in comparison with thy polished, laurel-crowned diction.

1.0.37] quhilkis. Which (with plural ending, a feature of Middle Scots).

1.0.38] Althocht. Although.
God wait. God knows.
lyte. Little.

1.0.39] facund sentence. Eloquent matter.

1.0.40] als weill. As well.

1.0.41] per de. Pardee, by God.

1.0.43] vulgar. Vernacular tongue.
Eneados. Genitive form of Aeneis. The use of the genitive for the nominative form is common in mediaeval literature. The title of Douglas's translation in the ed. of 1553 is The xiii Bukes of Eneados.

1.0.47] Ma. May.

1.0.48] burell. Crude (literally a kind of coarse cloth).
busteous. Rough.

1.0.50] Bot. Without.
conding. Worthy of (Lat. condignus).

1.0.51] onhermit. Unharmed.

1.12.1] Really a translation of Aeneid, II, 1-13, but placed by Douglas at the end of Book 1. His Secund Buik of Eneados begins (after a short prologue) with the ensuing narrative by Aeneas.
anis. Once.

1.12.2] clois. Closed.
tent. Heed.

1.12.3] frome the hie bed. Lat. toro . . . ab alto, from the high couch, at the banquet.

1.12.4] seige riall. Royal seat.

1.12.5] Begouth. Began.

1.12.6] I wis. Really the adverb ywis, certainly, but written as if it meant "I know".

1.12.7] spuilye. Despoil.

1.12.10] bair and feld. Bore and felt.

1.12.11] Marmidon. Myrmidon, follower of Achilles.
Gregion. Grecian.
Dolopes. Thessalian troops of Achilles.

1.12.12] wageor. Hired soldier.

1.12.14] thaime contene. restrain themselves.

1.12.15] ourquhelmis. Overwhelms.

1.12.19] weir. war.

1.12.21] grise. feel horror.

1.12.22] oft sise. oftentimes.

1.12.23] eschewis thairfra. escapes therefrom, avoids it.

Other poems by Gavin Douglas