Stanzas 8-9 (ll. 151-202): Description of the Green Knight and his Horse Flashcards
“graythed”
as in
“And all graythed in grene this gome and his wedes:” (l. 151)
“arranged”
(Note it can also be ‘set’, as it is earlier in the fitt.)
“gome”
as in
“And all graythed in grene this gome and his wedes:” (l. 151)
“man”
“wedes”
as in
“And all graythed in grene this gome and his wedes:” (l. 151)
“clothes”
“A strayt cote ful streght”
as in
“A strayt cote ful streght that stek on his sides”
“A tight, close-fitting tunic”
“Heme wel-haled hose of hue the same grene,
That spenned on his sparlyr . . .” (ll. 157-158a)
“Snug-fitting stockings, firmly drawn up and of the same green hue [as his body], stuck to his calves . . .”
(Note changing ‘sparlyr’ singular to plural)
“And scholes under schankes there the schalk rides.” (l. 160)
“And the man rides without shoes on his legs.”
“vesture”
as in
“And all his vesture verayly was clene verdure” (l. 161)
“Clothing”
“verayly”
as in
“And all his vesture verayly was clene verdure” (l. 161)
“truly”
(Literally translates to “verily”, but convert to modern English prose)
“clene verdure”
as in
“And all his vesture verayly was clene verdure” (l. 161)
“pure green”
“richely rayled”
as in
“That were richely rayled in his aray clene” (l. 163)
“splendidly set out”
(Also note, in this line ‘clene’ may translate to ‘elegant’ again, or ‘perfect’ perhaps)
“Aboute himself and his sadel upon silk werkes,–” (l. 164)
“embedded into the silkwork around himself and his saddle”
“That were to tor for to telle of trifles the halve
That were embrawded above, . . .” (ll. 165-166a)
“It would be too difficult to tell of [even] half the ornamental details that were embroidered on the surface [of his clothes] . . .”
“With gay gaudi of grene, the gold aye in-myddes.” (l. 167)
“With splendid green beadwork, with gold amidst it everywhere.”
(Note: ‘aye’ translates to ‘always’, or ‘everywhere’ in this case)
“The pendauntes of his payttrure, the proude cropure,
His molaynes and all the metail enaumayld was thenne,”
(ll. 168-69)
“The pendants [hanging] from his [horse’s] poitrel, the noble crupper, the metal pieces forming the bit and all the [other] metalwork [on his saddle] was enamelled,”
“arsouns”
as in
“And his arsouns all after and his athel skyrtes,” (l. 171)
“The uptilted parts of the saddle”
“athel skyrtes”
as in
“And his arsouns all after and his athel skyrtes,” (l. 171)
“fine saddle flaps”
“fole”
as in
“The fole that he ferkes on fyne of that ilke” (l. 173)
“horse”
“ferkes”
as in
“The fole that he ferkes on fyne of that ilke” (l. 173)
“rides”
“A stede ful stif to strayn” (l. 176)
“A steed very difficult to control”
“In brayden brydel quik” (l. 177)
“lively in a well-fashioned bridle”
“ful gayn”
as in
“To the gome he was ful gayn” (l. 178)
“fully obedient”
“gay”
as in
“Wel gay was this gome gered in grene” (l. 179)
“splendid”
“of his horse sute”
as in
“and the hayre of his hed of his horse sute;” (l. 180)
”. . . matched that of his horse”
“Fayr fannande fax umbe-foldes his schulderes;” (l. 181)
“Fair fanning hair enfolds his shoulders”
“much”
as in
“A much berd as a busk over his brest henges” (l. 182)
“great”
(Note: ‘much’ is a general intensive, like our ‘great’ or ‘large’; it depends on the context it is used within.)
“busk”
as in
“A much berd as a busk over his brest henges” (l. 182)
“bush”
“highliche”
as in
“That with his highliche hayre that of his hed reches” (l. 183)
“impressive”, or “remarkable”
“reches”
as in
“That with his highliche hayre that of his hed reches” (l. 183)
“extends”
(Note: Means ‘reaches’ more literally, but here a more appropriate translation is ‘extends’)
“Was evesed all umbe-torne above his elbowes,
That half his armes thereunder were halched in the wyse
Of a knightes capados that closes his swyre;” (ll. 184-86)
“Was trimmed all around, just above his elbows, so that half of his arms underneath were enfolded in the manner of a knight’s poncho that covers his neck”
(Words of importance: ‘evesed’ is ‘trimmed’; ‘halched’ is ‘enfolded’; ‘wyse’ is ‘way’, or ‘manner’; ‘swyre’ is ‘neck’)
“Swyre”
as in
“Of a knightes capados that closes his swyre” (l. 186)
“neck”
“Wel cresped and cemmed”
as in
“Wel cresped and cemmed, with knottes ful mony,” (l. 188)
“Well curled and combed”
“Folden in with fildore”
as in
“Folden in with fildore, aboute the fayre grene” (l. 189)
“Interwoven with gold thread”
“Aye a herle of the hayre, an other of golde;” (l. 190)
“One strand of its hair, [then] another of gold”
“The tayl and the toppyng twynnen of a sute” (l. 191)
“The tail and the crest form a pair in their matching style”
“dok”
as in
“Dubbed with ful dere stones as the dok lasted” (l. 193)
“Bunch of hair”
Sithen throwen with a thwong, a thwarle knot alofte” (l. 194)
“After, [the hair] is tied with a cord [into] a twisted knot on the top [of his head]”
“sale”
as in
“Was never sene in that sale with sight ere that tyme” (l. 197)
“hall”
“He loked as layt so lyght” (l. 199)
“He looked as bright as lightning”
“Under his dintes drye.” (l. 202)
“Survive under his blows/attacks”
