Early Modern Mythological Texts: Troia Britanica IX, Notes
Thomas Heywood. Troia Britanica (1609)
Notes to CANTO IX
Ed. Yves PEYRÉ
Helen: F, Hellen, spelt so throughout in F. Back to text
Iota: see note to Canto I, argumentum 2.
[the] weak to taste no wrong: although it adds a supernumerary syllable, we supply “the”, absent in F, to clarify the syntax. Back to text
The Epistle of Paris to Helen: in F, printed in italics and not divided into stanzas to set it apart from the narrative verse. We have added line numbers for convenience. Heywood inserts Ovid’s Heroides XVI, “Paris to Helen”, which he translates into rhymed pentameters. Compared with the terseness of the Latin original, Heywood’s epistle is profuse; Ovid’s 378 lines reach to 740 in Heywood’s version. Numerous additions and expansions, sometimes amounting to “padding” for the sake of rhyme, more often than not reveal the poetic gusto of reinterpretation. Only significant departures are signalled in the following notes.
Heywood’s translation, entitled “The amorous epistle of Paris to Helen”, was included in Jaggard’s 1612 edition of The Passionate Pilgrim, sigs. D5r-F3v (STC 22343), hereafter referred to as PP; it was reprinted in the collection of poems John Benson gathered under the title of Poems written by Will Shakespeare, Gent. (London: Thomas Cotes, 1640), sigs. H3r-I5r, hereafter referred to as JB (STC 22344). Back to text
index: suggested by Ovid’s “indice” (Heroides, XVI, 3). Back to text
smoke: the smoke metaphor, naturally summoned by Ovid’s fire metaphor, is Heywood’s.
fault: the notions of “fault”, “transgression” and “error” (following lines) are emphasised by Heywood. Back to text
supposition: Ovid’s Paris does not question Helen having received the letter: “epistula nostra recepta” (Heroides, XVI, 13).
Queen of Beauty: Ovid, “mater Amoris” (“Love’s mother”), Heroides, XVI, 16.
duty (you are mine by duty): inspired by “quae rata sit” (“what has been decreed”), Heroides, XVI, 15.
claim (By her I claim you, you for me were made): Heywood’s addition. Back to text
instinct (by divine instinct): in the sense of “instigation” (OED 1); translates “divino monitu” (Heroides, XVI, 17).
the gods proclaim me yours: Heywood’s addition. Back to text
the Sigean shore: F, Sygean. Ovid’s “Sigeo … litore” (Heroides, XVI, 21); Heywood omits Ovid’s remark that Paris sailed through “dubias … vias” (“doubtful paths”) on a ship built by Phereclus (Heroides, XVI, 21-22).
created from a wave: Heywood’s expansion. Back to text
transported (Myself transported then without attorney): added by Heywood.
error: wandering; Ovid’s “error” (Heroides, XVI, 29).
Fortune (Nor led by Fortune where the rough winds please): Heywood’s expansion. Ovid’s following line (Heroides, XVI, 30), “Taenaris est classi terra petita meae” (“The Taenarian [i. e. Spartan] land was the goal of my fleet), is omitted by Heywood. Back to text
rich (I am rich in all things, save in wanting thee. / No spoil of petty nations my ship seeks): Heywood’s expansion, in which Paris implicitly draws a contrast between his disinterestedness and the greed of a Jason-like figure.
golden Venus: Ovid’s “Venus aurea” (Heroides, XVI, 35).
given me: Ovid is more explicit. “quam pepigit lecto … nostro” (“whom Venus promised to our bed”), Heroides, XVI, 35. Back to text
Fame (I first beheld you with the eyes of Fame): Heywood translates from a text reading “prima tulit vultus nuntia fama tui” (“Fame first reported about your face”), not, as modern editions read, “prima tulit vulnus nuntia fama tui” (“Fame’s report first gave me a wound”), Heroides, XVI, 38.
wound (With a deep smarting wound that rankles yet): Heywood’s expansion. Back to text
Fearful… affright: Heywood’s emphasis.
Hecuba’s: F, Hecubaes.
sire (to please the aged sire): Heywood’s addition.
Ilium: F, Islium, throughout. Although Heywood spells “Islium” consistently both in Troia Britanica and in The Golden Age, the recognized form in contemporary writings was “Ilium”.
’ware: aware. Back to text
my fair shape: Ovid writes “Forma vigorque animi” (“My beauty and my strength of mind)”, Heroides, XVI, 51. Heywood omits the second term.
pitch-tree (The oak, the elm, the pine, the pitch-tree): Ovid only refers to “piceis ilicibusque” (“spruce trees and holm oaks”), Heroides, XVI, 54; “pitch-tree”, as equivalent of “spruce tree”, translates “picea”.
the wanton ewe: replaces Ovid’s “ovis placidae” (“the peaceful sheep”), Heroides, XVI, 55. Back to text
the slow ox lick the dew: Heywood’s transposition of “patulo tardae … ore bovis” (“the slow, wide-mouthed ox”), Heroides, XVI, 56.
towers: Ovid does not mention towers but “excelsa … tecta” (“high roofs”), Heroides, XVI, 57.
Atlas (The nephew to great Atlas): translates “Atlantis magni Pleionesque nepos” (“the grandson of great Atlas and Pleione”), Heroides, XVI, 62, i.e. Mercury. Heywood privileges the description of his flight, omitting “pedum pulsu visa est mihi terra moveri” (“it seemed to me that the earth moved under the weight of feet”), Heroides, XVI, 59. Back to text
caduceus: F, Caducens. Ovid simply writes “aurea virga” (“a golden wand”), Heroides, XVI, 64.
grass (Who, as in pomp and pride of gait they pass, / Scarce with their weight, they bend the tops of grass): translates “graminibus teneros inposuere pedes” (“set their tender feet on the grass”), Heroides, XVI, 66. Their “pomp and pride of gait” is Heywood’s addition.
Maia: F, Mayus. Maia’s son is Heywood’s periphrasis, which he substitutes to Ovid’s “nuntius ales” (“the winged messenger”), Heroides, XVI, 68.
courteous swain (Thou, courteous swain that to these groves repairest): Heywood’s addition. Back to text
fairest (freely judge which of these three is fairest): condenses Heroides, XVI, 69-70.
take heart agrace: take heart of grace, i.e. to pluck up courage. Back to text
arms: F, Arives; PP, Arimes; JB, armes. “Large arms”: open arms. Back to text
his (Pallas, his daughter): F, her. Ovid, “Iovis … filia” (“Jove’s daughter”), Heroides, XVI, 81.
with such a grace … face: Heywood’s addition. Back to text
The surest saint that doth on earth remain: Heywood’s expansion.
Leda’s: F, Laedaes. Back to text
The fairest maids … not any: Heywood’s addition.
rings (whose marriage rings / I have turned back): Heywood’s addition.
a strain more high: Heywood’s addition. Back to text
Fairies: F, Phairies. Heywood’s addition, like “such as never die”. In Ovid, the reference to the Nymphs (Heroides, XVI, 96) is followed by two lines (97-98) referring to Paris’ earlier love for Oenone, which Heywood omits.
heated: F, hated. Back to text
cinders (How am I burnt to cinders thus much nigher): Heywood’s addition.
owe (Nor could I longer owe myself this treasure): nor could I leave myself in debt (i.e. deny myself) this treasure. Ovid, “nec potui debere mihi spem longius istam” (Heroides, XVI, 105); “owe myself” translates “debere mihi”; “treasure” is substituted to “hope” (“spem”).
my pleasure: Ovid, “mea vota” (Heroides, XVI, 106), can refer to “desire” and hint at “marriage vows”.
mountain: Ovid mentions Gargara (one of the mountains in Ida), Heroides, XVI, 109. Omitted by Heywood. Back to text
Cupid: In Ovid, Venus is the main goddess, “sponsor conjugii”, responsible for Paris’ and Helen’s wedding; a small Cupid merely accompanies her, “comitata Cupidine parvo”, (Heroides, XVI, 115-16).
Fates (so the Fates please): Heywood’s addition. Back to text
tears: his parents’ tears and their hanging about Paris’ neck are Heywood’s graphic additions.
fears (But their fears … thy sight): Heywood’s addition. Back to text
bearest: Ovid’s “petatur” (Heroides, XVI, 124), makes it clear that the flame is looked for by Paris beyond the seas, not taken with him on his voyage, as “bearest” might imply.
The: F, her.
your land: at this point in Ovid, Paris addresses Helen as “Oebali nympha” (“nymph descended of Oebalus”), Heroides, XVI, 128, omitted by Heywood. Back to text
Achaia’s: F, Achayas: in all Achaia. Added by Heywood. Back to text
thunder (as one struck dead by Jove’s sharp thunder): Heywood’s addition.
my eyes … burn: these lines give a more physical interpretation of Ovid’s “praecordiaque intima sensi / … curis intumuisse novis” (“and in the depths of my heart I felt / … new torments growing”), Heroides, XVI, 135-36.
Love’s Queen: Ovid, “Cytherea” (Heroides, XVI, 138): Venus.
by Fortune I was trained: Heywood’s addition. Back to text
golden ball (Helen assuredly … golden ball): Heywood’s addition.
coast (Only of you … every coast): Heywood’s expansion. Back to text
Helen at nine years of age ravished by Theseus: According to Diodorus Siculus, Helen was abducted by Theseus when she was 10 years old (The Library of History, IV, lxiii, 2); according to Apollodorus, she was 12 years old (The Library, “Epitome”, i, 23), and according to Hellanicus, 7 years old, as reported by Tzetzes’s scholion on Lycophron, 513. Heywood may have found in Cooper’s Thesaurus that “[Helen] was twice ravished, first at the age of nine years by Theseus” (s.v. Helena). Back to text
Either with me you should abide and stay: Heywood’s addition.
Or … kiss: Heywood expands Ovid’s “vel illud / quod poterat salva virginitate rapi” (“or that which could be taken while preserving your maidenhood”), Heroides, XVI, 161-62.
owe: own.
The last fire: the funeral pyre, Ovid’s “flamma rogi” (Heroides, XVI, 164). Back to text
disgrace: treat with disfavour.
decide (When they … decide): Heywood’s addition. Back to text
Pleiades: dissyllabic. The Pleiad Electra was Dardanus’ mother, from whom Paris descended.
feathered wing (scarce any feathered wing / Can give a girdle to): Heywood’s interpretation of Ovid’s “vix obeunda” (“that can scarcely be crossed”), Heroides, XVI, 178.
dwell (I near the great gods dwell): Ovid has “quaeque suos dicas templa decere deos” (“temples you will say are suitable to their gods)”, Heroides, XVI, 180. Back to text
lyre (You shall behold … lyre): Ovid, “Ilion adspicies firmataque turribus altis / moenia, Phoebeae structa canore lyrae” (“You will see Ilium and its walls, built by the music of Phoebus’ lyre, strengthened by high towers”), Heroides, XVI, 181-82. Back to text
I prostrate it: I lay it down at your feet. Back to text
This petty seat: Sparta. Back to text
Cephalus: Aurora was indeed in love with Cephalus (Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 701-14), but he was not her husband (Ovid’s “conjunx”, Heroides, XVI, 201); furthermore, he was son to the king of Thessaly, and certainly not a Trojan. Early modern annotated editions of Ovid’s Heroides made it clear that Tithonus, son of Laomedon, and Aurora’s husband is meant here. Heywood’s mistake suggests that he did not work from such an edition: see Heywood’s Library. Back to text
Making the trees of Ida a thick screen / ’Twixt Heaven and her: Ovid, “in Idaeis … jugis” (“on the heights of Ida”), Heroides, XVI, 204.
None of my line: The allusion is to Menelaus’ father Atreus, whose crime caused the sun to turn back in horror, thus depriving his horses of their evening meal (Heroides, XVI, 207-08); “turned the sun to blood” is Heywood’s invention.
Caucase (My father … bloody stock): Heywood’s addition, in which Paris denounces Atreus as stone-hearted. Back to text
Priam … murder: Ovid, “nec Priamo pater est soceri de caede cruentus / et qui Myrtoas crimine signat aquas” (“neither has Priam a father blood-stained with the murder of his father-in-law and who signs the Myrtoan waters with his crime”), Heroides, XVI, 209-10. This alludes to Pelops, Menelaus’ grandfather, who, in order to win Hippodamia, caused her father Oenomaus’ death with the help of Myrtilus, whom he later threw into the Myrtoan sea.
great-grand-sire: Tantalus, Pelops’ father.
Lethe: Ovid, “Stygia … in unda” (“in Stygian water”), Heroides, XVI, 211.
he: F, you. Ovid, “ortus ab illis” (“one derived from those”), Heroides, XVI, 213, clearly refers to Menelaus, derived from Tantalus, Pelops, and Atreus. F, you is a probable printer’s mistake. Back to text
his: F, your. Ovid, “cogitur huic domui Jupiter esse socer” (“by force, Jupiter is father in law to that house”), Heroides, XVI, 214: Helen’s marriage to Menelaus connects her father Jupiter to the ill-reputed family of Tantalus, Pelops and Atreus. Back to text
skin: Ovid, “pectora” (“breasts”), Heroides, XVII, 249, repeated 251. Back to text
your fair daughter: Hermione. See also Heywood’s commentary on the epistles, after line 659.
Clymenea: F, Climenea. Back to text
At’lanta: Ovid, “Schoeneida”, Heroides, XVI, 265: Schoeneus’ daughter, Atalanta.
she: Hippodamia (Ovid, Heroides, XVI, 266), who became Pelops’ wife after he cheated to win her.
Deianira: F, Deyaneira. Back to text
Then glory: translates Ovid’s “praesens … gloria” (Heroides, XVII, 273).
Tyndarian twins: Castor and Pollux, Helen’s brothers; their mother Leda was Tyndarus’ wife.
strain: line, hence lineage. Back to text
Sigean confines: F, Sygean. Metonymy for Troy. Sigeum was a promontory in Troas.
raze: scratch. Back to text
profit (What profit reap you to be chaste): A question added by Heywood. Back to text
glory (What glory … your mother): A question added by Heywood. Back to text
Your husband … away: your husband himself has helped in this matter, encouraging us not in words but in deeds by sailing off far as if not to prevent our secret meetings. Heywood adapts Ovid, Heroides, XVI, 299-300.
the farthest west: Heywood’s hyperbole.
Chrisean: Ovid, Heroides, XVI, 301, “quo Cresia regna videret” (“to see the Cretan kingdoms”). Early modern editions of Heroides all read either “Cresia” or “Cressia” and Heywood could find in Cooper’s or Estienne’s dictionaries that “Cressius” meant “Cretan”. “Chrisean” may be a printer’s mistake or Heywood’s own invention, as he disregards “videret”, which implies a simple visit, and replaces it by an image of conquest placed in a distant “farthest west”. In 1 The Iron Age, Menelaus goes to seize “the Chritian sceptre”, referring to Crete. Back to text
either: both. Back to text
Leucippian sisters: The daughters of Leucippus, abducted by Castor and Pollux. Back to text
The banks are high: the oars are ready; in reference to a galley, a bank is a row of oars. Back to text
Orithya: F, Orithea. Back to text
Pegasus: Ovid, Heroides, XVI, 347, “Pagasaeus Jason” (“Pagasean Jason”), from Pagasa, a port in Thessaly where the Argo was built; Ovid refers to the Argo as “Pagasaea puppis” (“the Pagasean ship”), Metamorphoses, VII, 1—which Golding had translated correctly as “ship of Pagasa”.
Although most Latin editions of Ovid’s Heroides read “Pagaseus” or “Pagasaeus”, Heywood may have worked with one of the less numerous but not infrequent editions reading “Pegasaeus”. He also probably remembered Palaephatus’ rationalization of Pegasus being in fact a ship. Abraham Fraunce noted that “Palaephatus reporteth that Pegasus was the ship that brought Bellerophon” (The Third Part of the Countess of Pembroke’s Yvychurch, 1592, fol. 29r). Vives’s commentary in his edition of Augustine’s City of God (XVIII, 13) had spread this interpretation, which was not included in the first edition (Basel: Froben, 1522), but appears in the reedition published by Charlotte Guillard (Paris: 1544) and in all subsequent editions into the seventeenth century: “Palaephatus Bellerophontem Phrygium fuisse dicit ex genere Corinthiaco, qui pirata juxta angustias illas Asiae et Europae praedas agebat longa navi, cui nomen Pegasus”, Divi Aurelii Augustini … De Civitate Dei Libri XXII (Paris: C. Guillard, 1544), fols. 220v-221r—or, in John Healey’s slightly toned down translation, “Palaephatus saith Bellerophon was a Phrygian of the blood of Corinth and was a rover in the straits of Asia and Europe, having a long ship called Pegasus” (London: G. Eld, 1610), p. 684. Back to text
beeves: oxen, cattle (pl. of beef). Back to text
Ilioneus: F, Ilioneas.
quarry: piling up corpses on the battlefield. Back to text
Hector (Had you … such a Hector): Heywood misunderstands Ovid (Heroides, XVI, 367), “omnia si dideris, numquid dabis Hectora fratrem” (“Even if you gave [Menelaus] everything, could you give him Hector as a brother?”), which George Turberville had more accurately rendered: “Though all things else thou grant, yet Hector cannot be / His brother” (fol. 96r). Back to text
These two epistles: For the second epistle (Helen to Paris, Heroides, XVII), see canto X. Back to text
It so fell out: In the lines that follow, Heywood tells the story of Ariadne after Theseus’ desertion, which he freely translates from Ovid’s Art of Love, I, 527-78 and 589-600. Heywood had independently translated the whole Ars Amatoria, perhaps during his university years in the 1590’s. In the following notes, Ovid’s Ars Amatoria is referred to as AA, while Heywood’s complete translation, quoted from M. L. Stapleton’s edition (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000) is referred to as AL.
strayed: F, stayed. We correct from AL, I, 685, “straid the Ile about”, which corresponds to AA, I, 527, “errabat”.
plain (Left desolate upon that barren plain): AL, I, 686, “Being left alone within that Desert plaine”; AA, I, 527, “in ignotis … harenis” (“on unknown sand”). Ovid echoes Catullus, LXIV, 57, “Desertam in sola miseram se cernat harena” (“She finds herself, miserable and deserted, on lonely sand”). Back to text
Dia: not a brook, but the name of the island, otherwise called Naxos. The line is identical in AL. AA, I, 528, “aequoreis Dia feritur aquis” (“Dia beaten by the sea waves”), echoing Catullus, LXIV, 52, where Ariadne watches Theseus’ ship sailing away “fluentisono … litore Diae” (“from the wave-resounding shore of Dia”).
waking from her rest: AL, I, 688, “making from her rest” is probably a printer’s mistake; Troia Britanica’s reading is closer to AA, I, 529, “e somno”, itself echoing Catullus, LXIV, 56, “fallaci … tum primum excita somno” (“just roused from deceptive sleep”).
her veil unbound: so AL. AA, I, 529, “tunica velata recincta” (“dressed in an unfastened tunic”. Catullus, LXIV, 65, “Non contecta levi nudatum pectus amictu / Non tereti strophio lactentis vincta papillas” (“No light veil covering her bare bosom, / No fine cloth binding her milky breasts”).
Her bare foot treading on the unknown ground: AL, I, 689, “Her bare foote treading on the tender ground”. AA, I, 530, “Nuda pedem” (“barefoot”). Back to text
Her golden hair dishevelled: AL, I, 690, “Her golden haire dissolved”. AA, I, 530, “croceas inreligata comas” (“her blond hair unbound”).
loud: AL, I, 690, “aloud”.
the deafened waves: AL, I, 691, “the defused waves”. AA, I, 531, “surdas … ad undas” (“at the deaf waters”). Back to text
stones (Which might have moved to ruth the senseless stones): AL, I, 695, “Which might to ruth move the senceles stones”. In both cases, Heywood’s addition.
both: AL, I, 696, “all”.
forests (And with that note, she runs the forests through): Heywood’s addition. AL, I, 701, “Forrest”. Back to text
unruly: AL, I, 708: “untoward”. AA, I, 542, “leves satyri” (“wanton satyrs”).
Next: AL, I, 710, “Then”.
Silenus: F, Sylenus. Heywood’s description of Silenus adapts AA, I, 543-48, which is parallel to Metamorphoses, IV, 26-27. Back to text
lavolto: also lavolta, “a lively dance” (Nares, quoted in OED). See also Troilus, in Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, IV.iv.86-88: “I cannot sing, Nor heel the high lavolt, nor sweeten talk, / Nor play at subtle games”. Back to text
vine-like: AA, I, 549, “Jam deus in curru, quem summum texerat uvis” (“Now the god in his chariot, whose top he had interlaced with grapes”).
drawn: AL, I, 723, “driven”.
Thrice would she fly and thrice fear plucked her back: AL, I, 725, “There would she fly, and there feare puld her back”. Troia Britanica’s reading is closer to AA, I, 552, “Terque fugam petiit, terque retenta metu est” (“Thrice she tried to fly, thrice she was held back by fear”).
Take the high heavens: AL, I, 731, “Receive high heavens”. Back to text
affray: frighten, terrify. Troia Britanica’s reading, “lest his grim tigers should affray / The trembling maid, the god his coach doth stay” is more convincing than AL, I, 734-35, whose syntax is shaky: “lest that his Tigres should astray, / The trembling maide the god his coach doth stay”. The nearer conformity of Troia Britanica’s reading with Ovid’s Latin is a further sign of its superiority over AL. In AA, I, 559-60, “e curru, ne tigres illa timeret, / Desilit” (“Lest she should fear the tigers, he got off his chariot”).
Imprints the sand, and then the nymph he feels: AL, I, 737, “He prints the sand, with that the Nymph he feeles”.
may: AL, I, 738: doth. Back to text
Io (Some Hymen sing, some Io, Io cry): AL, I, 740 reads “Some Hymen sing, and Io cry”. In his edition, M. L. Stapleton notes that “This is one of two tetrameter lines in the translation; the compositor seems to have dropped a foot…, perhaps omitting the second ‘Io’ customary in such a cry of triumph” (p. 74). The reading provided by Troia Britanica gives full confirmation.
all night: AL, I, 741, “that night”.
doth: AL, I, 742, “do”. Back to text
the: AL, I, 743: “that”. Back to text
Lo: AL, I, 750: “Nay”. Back to text
fingers: AL, I, 757, “finger”.
sups: small quantities, sips. Back to text
Eurytion: F, Eurilion. AA, I, 593, “Occidit Eurytion stulte data vina bibendo” (“Eurytion fell as he stupidly drank the wine he had been given”). This occurred when the Centaurs tried to rape Hippodamia: Ovid, Metamorphoses, XII, 219-40.
junkets: banquets. Back to text
transgress (That if, misplaced, a word transgress thy lip): AL, I, 787, “That if a word misplac’d do passe thy lip”. Back to text
Back to Canto IX
How to cite
Yves Peyré, ed., 2015. Troia Britanica Canto IX (1609). In A Dictionary of Shakespeare's Classical Mythology: A Textual Companion, ed. Yves Peyré (2009-).
http://www.shakmyth.org/page/Early+Modern+Mythological+Texts%3A+Troia+Britanica+IX
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