The parlament of foules, by Geoffrey Chaucer. Ed., with introduction, notes, and glossary, by T. R. Lounsbury.

NVOTES. 95
been from the earliest times a common name of the redbreast (Erythacus trbecula).
It is still retained in the provincial dialects of England. It is one of the tamest of
birds, and, in winter, leaves its dwelling in the woods to seek food and shelter near
the homes of men. "The general familiarity and confiding manners of this species,"
says Selby, "have procured for it an appellation of endearment in most of the c,.ntries that it inhabits. Thus in Sweden it is called Tomi Liden; in Norway, PeteRonsmad; Thomas Gierdet in Germany; and with us, Robin Redbreast."
349. The coward kyte. The kite (Milvus regalis) is the most cowardly of the
birds of prey, never attacking any living creature that is as large or as strong as
itself.
350. The kok. " The reader will observe the picturesque image which this line
calls up before the mind s eye. It brings before us the little remote village, or thorpe,
which lies imbosomed in the English landscape, and the hinds (called up in the early
morning by the crowing of the cock, their only horologe, or clock) betaking them to
their daily labor" (Bell).
351. The sparwe Venus sone. The sparrow, of which family the house-sparrow
(Passer domesticus) is most common in England, was one of the birds sacred to
Venus in the ancient mythology. From this circumstance, and the fact that it is very
prolific, it is frequently introduced by the poets of Chaucer's time, and by Chaucer
himself, as an emblem of wantonness.
35i. The nyhtyng-ale. The nightingale (Luscinia vera) is a bird of passage
that reaches England about the end of April or the beginning of May. The male
arrives about ten days or a fortnight before the female. After the coming of the
latter, they are in full song; which is accordingly contemporaneous with the leaving of
the trees.
353. The swalwe. For the various extraordinary readings of the manuscripts,
see Introduction, p. 37. That in so many of them the swallow is represented as murdering other birds, which same birds are in the habit of making honey, is a fact, which
of itself is enough to put an end to any unsuspecting trust in any manuscript whatever. Against the reading of the text, it is to be observed that the swallow (Hirundo
rustica) is not noted for attacking bees; but it does so occasionally. " Sometimes the
swallow," says Wood in his" Natural History of Birds," "flies at larger prey, and,
frequenting the neighborhood of bee-hives, swoops with unerring aim upon their
inmates as they enter or leave their straw-built houses. It is a very remarkable fact,
that the working-bee is generally unharmed by the swallow, which directs its attacks
upon the comparatively useless drone."
355. The wedded turtil. The turtle, or turtle-dove (Turtur auritus), has always
been with the poets the emblem of constancy and fidelity. Like all the pigeons proper,
they are strictly monogamous, and exhibit great attachment to each other. There
sprang up, in consequence, a very general belief, that, when one of a couple died, the
survivor would take no new mate, but remain the rest of his or her life in a condition
of single-blessedness. See verse lxxxiv.
356. The pokok. The reference here is to the fact, that, in early paintings, the
feathers of the wings of the angels are represented as being the same as those of the
peacock (Pavo cristatus).
357. Ttefesaunt. I am unable to explain the allusion to the pheasant (Phasianus
colchicus). " Perhaps," says Mr. Bell, "an allusion to the fact that pheasants often
resort to the firm-yards, and breed with the domestic poultry." But this is not an
explanation that explains.