—_of wyt the well_: so in _Cæsar Augustus_;
“_Of witt_ art thou _the welle_.”—_Townely Mysteries_, p. 68.
v. 85. _I haue played my pageyond_] i. e. I have played my pageant,—my part on the stage of life. Compare
“Theyr _pageandes_ are past And ours wasteth fast Nothynge dothe aye last But the grace of God.”
Feylde’s _Contrav. bytwene a louer and a Iaye_, sig. B iii. n. d. 4to.
“_Playis heir thair padyanis_, syne gois to graif.”
“To playe this parte or _padgeant_.” Palsgrave’s _Acolastus_, 1540, sig. S.—The word _pageant_ was originally applied to the temporary erections (sometimes placed upon wheels) on which miracle-plays were exhibited, afterwards to the exhibition itself. See Sharp’s _Diss. on Coventry Pag. and Myst._, p. 2; Collier’s _Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet._, ii. 151.
Page 5. v. 87. _This_] i. e. Thus: see note on v. 38.
Page 6. v. 3. _leonis_] See note on v. 109 of next poem.
VPON THE DOLOUR[U]S DETHE AND MUCHE LAMENTABLE CHAUNCE OF THE MOST HONORABLE ERLE OF NORTHUMBERLANDE.
This elegy must have been written soon after the earl’s murder: see v. 162.—“The subject of this poem ... is the death of Henry Percy, fourth earl of Northumberland, who fell a victim to the avarice of Henry vii. In 1489 the parliament had granted the king a subsidy for carrying on the war in Bretagne. This tax was found so heavy in the North, that the whole country was in a flame. The E. of Northumberland, then lord lieutenant for Yorkshire, wrote to inform the king of the discontent, and praying an abatement. But nothing is so unrelenting as avarice: the king wrote back that not a penny should be abated. This message being delivered by the earl with too little caution, the populace rose, and, supposing him to be the promoter of their calamity, broke into his house, and murdered him, with several of his attendants, who yet are charged by Skelton with being backward in their duty on this occasion. This melancholy event happened at the earl’s seat at Cocklodge, near Thirske, in Yorkshire, April 28, 1489. See Lord Bacon, &c. If the reader does not find much poetical merit in this old poem (which yet is one of Skelton’s best [?]), he will see a striking picture of the state and magnificence kept up by our ancient nobility during the feudal times. This great earl is described here as having, among his menial servants, KNIGHTS, SQUIRES, and even BARONS: see v. 32, 183, &c., which, however different from modern manners, was formerly not unusual with our greater Barons, whose castles had all the splendour and offices of a royal court, before the Laws against Retainers abridged and limited the number of their attendants.” PERCY.