Early Modern Mythological Texts: Troia Britanica VII, Notes
Thomas Heywood. Troia Britanica (1609)
Notes to CANTO VII
Ed. Gaëlle Ginestet
Argumentum
Eurydice: F, Euridia.
Th’undaunted Greek: Hercules.
razed: F, racst.
schede: a written paper. One of the three references in OED, two of which being from Troia Britanica.
placed: F, placst. Back to text
Eta: “H”, the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, hence canto VII. Cantos I to XI of Troia Britanica are numbered with the appropriate letter of the Greek alphabet, from alpha (Canto I) to lambda (Canto XI). See note to canto I, arg. 2, “alpha”. Back to text
stanza 2: Heywood borrows his information from Thomas Langley’s Abridgement of Polydore Vergil’s De Inventoribus Rerum, I, xi, “Who found music, and what efficacy it is of in human affairs”.
Demodocus: a blind poet and musician in Homer’s Odyssey, VIII, 62-108; 254-69; 477-522. See Heywood’s endnotes to this canto: “Demodocus a harper’s name in Homer”, and Langley: “ the praisings of god’s valiant prowess, and deeds of arms of lords were used to be sung with lutes at the royal feasts, as Iopas in Virgil and Demodocus in Homer bear witness” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 22r).
Iopas: a musician and singer in Virgil’s Aeneid (I, 740-47). See Heywood’s endnotes to this canto: “Iopas a King of Africa, one of Dido’s wooers, a skilful musician”, and preceding note.
Amphion, Zethus: twins born to Antiope and Jupiter. Amphion was an excellent musician. When he and Zethus built the walls of Thebes, he made stones move into place of their own accord at the sound of his lyre. “The finder of music as Pliny supposeth was Amphion, the son of Jupiter by Antiope” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 22r). Back to text
Eusebius: a second and third-century Roman historian. “Eusebius saith that Zephus and Amphion, which were in Cadmus’ days, invented music” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 22r).
Polydore Vergil’s reference is to Eusebius, Chronicon, “Linus e Thebis et Zethus et Amphion musica arte chrescunt” (“Linus from Thebes, and Zethus and Amphion, were prominent in the art of music”), year of the world 3780 (Venice: Erhard Ratholt, 1483), fol. 33r; “Thebis expulso Cadmo, Amphion et Zethus regnaverunt” (“when Cadmus was expelled from Thebes, Amphion and Zethus reigned”), year of the world 3820, ibid., fol. 34r; “Amphion Thebis regnavit; quem ferunt cantu cytharae saxa movisse; fuerunt autem duro corde, et ut ita dicam saxei quidam auditors” (“Amphion reigned at Thebes; he is said to have moved rocks with the music of his cithara; but they were certain listeners whose hearts were hard, and so, like stones”), 3870 after the creation of the world, ibid., fol. 35r.
Dionysius: “The Grecians ascribe the finding of it [music] to Dionysius” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 22r).
Polybius: a Greek historian of the second century BC. In F, the name of Polybius is positioned on the sixth line of the stanza. “Polybius affirmeth that it [music] came from the Arcadians, which have an exceeding mind to that science” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 22r).
Solinus: Gaius Julius Solinus, a Roman grammarian. In F, the name of Solinus is positioned on the first line of the next stanza. “Solinus contendeth that the study of this art came out of Crete, and was perceived by the ringing and shrill sound of brass, and so brought and traduced into numbers and measures” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 22r). Back to text
stanzas 3-5: Heywood derives his information from Langley’s Abridgement, I, xii, “Who found musical instruments and brought them into Italy”.
shawms: F, Shalmes. A woodwind instrument.
Trezenius Dardanus: Heywood follows Langley’s Abridgement, “Shalmes were at the beginning made of cranes’ legs and after of great reed: Dardanus Trezenius used first to play and sing with them” (fols. 23v-24r). He is called “Troezenius Dardanus” in Polydore Vergil’s original Latin and derives from Pliny’s Ardalus of Troezen (“Ardalus Troezenius”), Natural History, VII, lvii.
Mercury: “Diodorus writeth that Mercury found the concords of singing” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 22r-v).
Tubal: Noah’s grandson. “Josephus telleth that Tubalcain, an Hebrew, the son of Lamech, which was many ages afore them, used much to sing to the psaltery and lute” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 22v).
Syrinx: a nymph who, as she was pursued by Pan, was transformed into reeds to keep her chastity. Pan made the first Pan pipe out of the reeds. “Pan, an uplandish god, found the pipe of small reed first to solace his love” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 24r).
Thamyris: F, Tymarias. A singer who was so proud that he bet he would win against the Muses in a singing competition. He lost. “Timarias played on the harp or lute, first without ditty” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 24v). Back to text
nable: also spelt “nebel”, "An ancient Hebrew stringed instrument” (OED).
regal: “A small portable organ of a type common in the 16th and 17th centuries, containing one or two sets of small reed pipes” (OED).
David: “the Prophet David found diverse instruments, as regals and nables” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 24r).
Dirceus: Actually Tyrtaeus, a Lacedaemonian captain during the second Messenian war. The alternative spelling comes from Langley: “the Athenians in dispute sent to them [the Messenians] one Dyrceus a lame and one-eyed fellow, and all out of shape: albeit they received him and used his council, and he taught them to play on trumps, which were so fearful to the Messenians, by reason of strangeness of the noise that they fled forthwith, and so they obtained victory” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 24v-25r). See Pausanias, IV, xv, 6.
Pises Tyrrhenus: Pisaeus, son of Tyrrhenus, mythical ancestor of the Tyrrheni, or Etruscan people, according to Pliny. “Pises Terrenes found the brazen trumpet, which the Terrenes’ footmen used in their wars” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 24v).
Lacedaemons: Lacedaemonians, inhabitants of Lacedaemonia, another name for Laconia.
Rebec: “A musical instrument played with a bow and typically having three strings; an early form of the violin” (OED).
Arcadians: F, Archadians, inhabitants of Arcadia, a region bordering both Laconia and Messenia. They were at war with Messenia. Back to text
Moses: F, Myses: “as Josephus witnesseth, Moses the valiant captain of the Hebrews found the trump and made it of silver” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 25r).
Josephus: Flavius Josephus.
Dromslades: drums. “The Romans’ footmen joined dromslades with trumpets” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 25r).
Alyattes: F, Haliattes. “Haliattes, king of the Lydians, had in the battle against the Milesians pipers and fiddlers playing together” (Langley’s Abridgement, fol. 25r). See Herodotus, Histories, I, 18-25. Back to text
This: music. Back to text
we left: Heywood started the story of the rape of Proserpine in VI, 106 and interrupted at the end of canto VI.
her daughter: Proserpine, daughter of Ceres and her brother Jupiter. Back to text
murrain: plague or disease.
plashed: pleached.
dikes: hedges.
usuring: “Looking for ample return or increase; causing cost without return. Rare” (OED usuring adj. 2). See Shakespeare, Timon, IV.iii.510-12: “Is not thy kindness subtle, covetous, / If not a usuring kindness, and, […] / Expecting in return twenty for one?” Back to text
Couch-grass: a common weed in corn fields. Back to text
Hey-de-gay: F, Hadegay. A particular kind of hay or dance, in vogue in 16th and early 17th centuries. Back to text
Tenarian: Of Tenarus. Virgil, Georgics, IV, 467, “Taenarias … fauces” (“the Tenarian pass”). See canto I, stanza 80.
Molosse: apocopated form of Molossia, a part of Epirus, in Greece, so called from its first king, Molossus, Pyrrhus’ son (Servius, In Aeneidos, III, 297). In Caxton’s Recuyell (II, 5-6), Pluto is king of Molosse, the main city of which is Hell. Back to text
declivy: sloping downwards.
louvre: an opening for the passage of smoke.
divides: Orpheus walks on, cutting his way through thick mist.
On: F, no. Back to text
ferryman: Charon.
throng: the crowd of “[t]h’immortal people that remain below”.
the three fatal sisters: the Fates, or Parcae. Back to text
M. Manilius, 5 Rerum Astronomicarum: Heywood follows Natale Conti, who quotes “M. Manilius in quinto rerum astronomicarum” (Astronomica) in his description of Orpheus’ descent into hell: Mythologia, VII, xiv (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581), p. 503. Back to text
Orcus: a Roman god of the underworld, whose name is sometimes used to designate the underworld itself. See for instance Virgil, Georgics, I, 277-78; IV, 502; Aeneid, II, 398; IV, 242, 699; vi, 273; VIII, 296; IX, 527, 785; Ovid, Metamorphoses, XIV, 116; Hyginus, Fabulae, 139. Back to text
bespeak her room: ask that her room be kept for the future.
immoved: unmoved. Back to text
Danaids: F, Danaes. Back to text
the sisters, Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos: the Fates, or Parcae.
dread: terrible.
halting: limping. Back to text
In Argonauticis: Heywood is quoting Natale Conti, Mythologia, VII, xiv, “De Orpheo” (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581), p. 504: “de descensu ad inferos et de iis quae vidisset apud inferos scripsit, ut ipse testatur in his in Argonauticis” ([Orpheus] wrote about his descent into Hell and what he saw there, as he himself witnesses in his own Argonautica. Natale Conti alludes to Argonautica Orphica, 40-42.
manned: escorted. Back to text
trifled: passed time. Back to text
Rhodopeian: Orpheus, the Rhodopeian poet (“Rhodopeius … / … vates”, Ovid, Metamorphoses, X, 11-12), originated from the Rhodopeian mounts, in Thracia.
gleby: fertile.
forced: F, forcst.
champion: plain, open countryside. Back to text
she: Ceres. Back to text
quoth Hercules: at the end of canto VI, the Argonauts, among whom Theseus and Hercules, started narrating Pluto’s abduction of Proserpine and Orpheus’ descent into Hell.
re-purchased: regained by force.
but an end: but enough. Back to text
hostile pain: hypallage; hardships suffered during the hostilities.
the former fight: the first destruction of Troy, narrated in canto VI. Back to text
Dis: Pluto.
placed: F, plac’st.
aunt: In Caxton’s Recuyell, Ceres is Saturn’s sister and therefore Jupiter’s aunt.
disgraced: F, disgrac’st.
bedroll: the only meaning in OED is “a list of women to sleep with” (s.v. bed). The word, however, was commonly used as a neutral synonym of “list”. Philemon Holland, in his translation of Livy’s Roman History (1600), has “a bedroll… of the Tyrant his cruelty and foul facts”, p. 523 and “a bedroll of their favours and good turns done unto the people of Rome”, p. 973.
razed: F, rac’st.
his Stygian brother: Pluto. Back to text
stale: stole.
chief: here used as a collective noun. Back to text
Pirithous: F, Perithous.
stair: In Caxton’s Recuyell (II, 6), Theseus and Pirithous descend to the city of Hell down “stairs” cut into the rock. Back to text
Jovial: Hercules is Jove’s son.
pate: head.
pashed: smashed.
stounds: stuns. Back to text
cry: a pack of people, contemptuous. Back to text
th’imperial lord of fire and thunders: Jupiter.
sable: black (heraldry).
mace: a staff or club. Back to text
all hells right displayed: different regions of Hell laid open to view. Back to text
arrive: arrival.
Fates: F, Fate.
Dis: F, his. The Fates decide between him (Hercules) and Dis (Pluto).
define: determine, settle, decide. Back to text
compound: agree. Back to text
the glorious Greek: Hercules.
gyves: shackles. In Caxton’s Recuyell (II, 6), the porter of Hell, Cerberus, is a giant that Hercules overcomes. Theseus then “presented to Hercules a chain of adamant iron that he had found at the gate and many prisoners bound that Cerberus had bound withal; Hercules unbound the prisoners and took the chain and bound Cerberus withal”. Back to text
dogs: Cerberus, whose three heads justify the plural.
corpse: F, coarse, rhyming with remorse.
on his face: although Heywood presents Cerberus as the classical three-headed dog, called “murderous dogs” four lines above, he simultaneously sees him as Caxton’s giant, whose “face” Hippodamia slaps, a punishment that is a meek version of Cerberus’ fate in Caxton’s Recuyell (II, 6), where “Ypodane [Hippodamia] demeaned so great sorrow for the death of Pyrothus [Pirothous] that for to recount and tell it is not possible. … Hippodamia did do bind Cerberus to a stake in the theatre of the city. And there, young and old noyed and pined [injured and tormented] him three days long continually, drawing him by the beard and craching [spitting] him in the visage, and after slew him inhumanly and horribly”. Back to text
Aegeus: F, Egeus.
th’Amazonian baldric: Winning Hippolyte’s girdle is generally considered to be Hercules’ ninth labour, for which Theseus accompanied him.
Hippolyte: F, Hyppolite. Queen of the Amazons. According to diverging sources, Theseus married either Antiope or Hippolyte.
her: Ariadne’s.
he: F, she. Theseus finally deserted Ariadne.
scholy: F, skolly. Obsolete form of scholium. Heywood refers his readers to his endnotes about Daedalus’ labyrinth. Back to text
Eristheus: In Caxton’s Recuyell, the king who brought up Hercules.
the valiant Theban king: Creon. See canto VI, stanza 102.
he that sent him / On this attempt: Pelias who sent Jason looking for the Golden Fleece. Heywood switches from Theseus’ embedded narrative, begun at canto VI, stanza 105, to the pursuit of their journey. Back to text
Aeson: Jason’s father.
Argo: the ship built by Argus on which Jason embarked with a band of the noblest Greek heroes. Back to text
Pelias: F, Peleas, in Caxton’s Recuyell Pelleus. He sent Jason away on the seemingly impossible quest for the Golden Fleece because he feared that his nephew would bring about his downfall.
Philoctetes: A renowned archer and bearer of Hercules’ bow and arrows, which were indispensable to defeat Troy. He is called Phylotes in Caxton’s Recuyell.
Zethus: F, Zetus. Back to text
Antiopa: Antiope, Nycteus’ daughter. She was raped by Jupiter who had assumed the shape of a satyr, and gave birth to the twins Amphion and Zethus.
Lycus: Nycteus’ brother and Antiope’s uncle. However, according to some, he was Antiope’s husband. Hyginus recalls both versions in Fabulae 7 and 8: “Antiopa, daughter of Nycteus, was by a trick violated by Epaphus, and as a consequence was cast off by her husband Lycus. Thus widowed, Jupiter embraced her” (Fabulae, 7). Back to text
disembogue: To come out of the mouth of a river, strait, etc. into the open sea (OED).
the grand thief: Titan’s son Aegaeon, a fearsome pirate, who gave his name to the Aegean sea, according to Boccaccio, Genealogia, IV, xxvi. See Caxton’s Recuyell, I, 9.
style: name.
Tethys: F, Thetis. Heywood alludes here to the sea goddess, not to Achilles’ mother. Back to text
Eurus: the east wind, usually associated with autumn and storms.
chid: rebuked. Back to text
big-bellied sail: See Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, II.i.128-29: “we have laughed to see the sails conceive / And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind”.
capstring: capstan.
hale: to draw up a sail.
cleave: hold fast. Back to text
the four seditious brothers: the four winds.
caulked: sealed.
spar: a pole on a boat.
intention: extension. Back to text
both: on the number of heavens in early modern cosmology, see Edward Sherburne, “A synopsis of the number of the heavens, according to several authors”, The Sphere of Marcus Manilius, 1675, pp. 127-29 (Wing M432).
gulfy: full of eddies or whirlpools. Back to text
the islands’ voyage: in 1597, Elizabeth I had sent an English fleet, under the commandment of Sir Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, as Admiral and General-in chief in order to intercept a Spanish fleet bringing back gold from America. Essex failed in his mission, but Heywood rewrites history in his favour, fashioning a new myth as he elevates Essex to a status whereby he outdoes the mythological hero on whom he is modelled. See also below, stanza 87, where Heywood associates the destruction of Cadiz by Essex to the second fall of Troy.
whelming: stormy. Back to text
Essex: see note to stanza 50, above.
told: counted. Back to text
he: the Sun.
Tethys: F, Thetis.
pendants: “short ropes hanging from a mast, yardarm, or clew of a sail, having at its lower end a block or a thimble spliced as an eye for receiving the hooks of the fore and main tackles; a similar device used in other parts of a ship” (OED).
hatches: deck, or movable planking forming a kind of deck. Back to text
angry Neptune: F, angry, Neptune.
review: see or behold again. Back to text
acquire: reach (OED 4).
Tenedos: an island in the Aegean Sea, off the coasts of Troy. Hercules had fought there during the first destruction of Troy: see canto VI, and Caxton, Recuyell, I, 43.
mans: equips.
sea-scout: a scouting vessel. Back to text
maugre: in spite of, see the French “malgré”.
they: F, the. Back to text
forced: F, forc’st. Back to text
hoise up: raise.
spleens: courages.
the Phrixean wool: the Golden Fleece.
the god of winds: Aeolus.
the Phasian king: Aeëtes, Medea’s father, so called from his city of Phasis in Colchos.
Phasis: see Charles Estienne, Dictionarium Historicum, Geographicum, Poeticum: “Phasis, maximus Colchorum fluvius … Ex hoc fluvio ab Argonautis ad nos phasiani, aves notae, afferuntur. Hinc Medea ipsa Phasias à poetis cognominatur. Est et oppidum, Pli. li. 7. cap. 4” (“Phasis, a large river in Colchos … From that river the Argonauts brought back to us those well-known birds, the pheasants. Poets also call Medea Phasias, of Phasis. It is also a city. Pliny, Natural History, VII, 4 [sic for VI, 4]”). Back to text
60-67: Medea’s inner conflict is inspired by Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 11-73. See the Medea entry in our Dictionary.
arrive: arrival. Back to text
provide: take appropriate measures. Back to text
novel: piece of news.
descry: discover.
populous: prolific, abundant. Back to text
thews: customs, practices.
Th’inchanted bulls whose bellowing made heaven tremble: one of the tasks Aeëtes asked Jason to perform before giving him the Golden Fleece was to yoke fire-breathing bulls and to plough a field with them. Medea helped Jason to succeed. See stanzas 71-73. Back to text
imbrue: stain with blood.
Aurora frights the fearful stars away: From Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 100, “Postera depulerat stellas Aurora micantes” (“The next day, Aurora had chased the twinkling stars away”). Back to text
69: F, 66.
Much confluence … places: inspired by Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 101-02.
Dionysius Milesius: F, Mylesius, quoted from Natale Conti’s chapter on Medea (“De Medea”, VI, vii): “Dionysius Mylesius scripsit illam aureum vellus ad nauem attulisse” (“Dionysius Mylesius wrote that she brought the golden fleece to the ship”), Mythologia (Venice: Comin da Trino, p. 381). Dionysus Milesius wrote a nowadays lost Argonautica, frequently quoted in the scholia to Apollonius Rhodius.
The king himself … rest: inspired by Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 102-03.
degreed above the rest: placed in a higher position. Back to text
Charles Brandon: first duke of Suffolk (c. 1484–1545), his tilting exploits and marriage with Henry VIII’s sister are alluded to several times in Troia Britanica, VII, 70; XI, 8 and XVII, 98.
the French queen: Charles Brandon married Mary Tudor, Henry VIII’s young sister and widow of the French king Louis XII.
phere: var. of “fere”, companion. Back to text
Polymeda: F, Polymela. Natale Conti, “De Jasone”, describes Jason as “Aesonis filius et Polymedae filiae Autolyci” (“the son of Aeson and Polymeda, Autolicus’ daughter”, Mythologia, VI, viii (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581), p. 388.
brazen-hoofed beasts: Ovid’s “aeripedes tauri”, Metamorphoses, VII, 105.
vaunted: displayed proudly.
Antimachus: A Greek poet and grammarian, whose works did not survive except for a few fragments. Like in stanza 69, the reference comes from Natale Conti’s Mythologia: “Antimachus libro tertio Argonauticorum” (“De Medea”, VI, 8).
their nostrils breathing fire: “Vulcanum naribus efflant”, Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 104. Back to text
twice-gilt arms: in Heywood’s The Brazen Age, Jason boasts that he will “double gild” his arms in the bulls’ “hot fires” (sig. F3 r),
vail: lower in sign of respect.
Such power hath magic: “tantum medicamina possunt” (“such is the power of magical drugs”, Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 116.
fell: fierce. Back to text
he by the dangling dewlaps takes them: “pendulaque audaci mulcet palearia dextra” (“his bold right hand strokes their hanging dewlaps”, Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 117.
force perforce: with violent compulsion.
th’obedient yoke: hypallage. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 118, “suppositosque jugo” (“placed under the yoke”).
the Greeks applaud his conquest with shrill cries, / The Colchians show their sorrows in their eyes: Inspired by Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 120-21. Back to text
furnished: accomplished.
verdure: green grass.
the viper’s teeth: Jason had to sow a dragon’s teeth into the field. Aeëtes knew the teeth were going to grow into warriors. Back to text
strook: struck.
seek mutual arms: fight against each other. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, VII, 141, “pereunt per mutual vulnera fratres” (“those brothers perished by mutually inflicted wounds”). Back to text
it now remains: stanzas 76 and 77 follow Ovid closely (Metamorphoses, VII, 149-58).
unces: claws; the only occurrence in OED. Modelled on Ovid’s Metamorphoses, VII, 150, “uncis / dentibus” (“with curved fangs”), with the meaning of “uncus” (curved) shifting into that of “dens” (tooth).
him: Jason.
Apollonius lib. 3: In his Mythologia, VI, vii, Natale Conti refers to “Apollon. lib. 3” (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581, p. 381) to account for Medea’s expertise in magic arts. Back to text
spoke: spoken.
Polymeda: F, Polymela. See note to stanza 71. Back to text
purchase: acquisition, gain.
lad: led.
Aeta: Aeëtes. Back to text
negerous: the only occurrence of the word signalled in OED, where it is supposed to be coined on “neger” + suffix –ous with the “probable” meaning of barbarous. A typographic error cannot be excluded.
Absyrtes: Medea’s brother. See also the entry on Absyrtus in our online Dictionary.
Strabo lib. 7: From Natale Conti’s Mythologia: “Mox cum frater Absyrtus illam insequeretur, fertur illum comprehensum juxta Absyrtides insulas necasse, ut ait Strabo libro septimo” (“Her brother Absyrtus was pursuing her and catching up with her when he was taken prisoner and killed near the Absyrtides islands, as Strabo says in the seventh book”), Mythologia, VI, vii (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581, p. 381). Conti’s reference is to Strabo’s Geography, VII, v, 5. Back to text
Acusilaus: Heywood’s reference is drawn from Natale Conti: “Alii tamen dicunt, inter quos fuit Acusilaum, Medeam fratrem secum abduxisse … ” (“But others, among whom Acusilaus, say that Medea took her brother with her …”), Mythologia, VI, vii (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581, p. 381).
Pherecydes lib. 7: “Absyrtus captus deductus est in navim ut ait Phaerecides lib. 7, quem postea membratim divisum dejecerunt” (“Absyrtus was taken, brought on board the ship and they threw his dismembered body into the sea, as Pherecydes says in the seventh book”), Natale Conti, Mythologia, VI, vii (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581, p. 381). See Pherecydes, VII, 73 in Fragmenta Historicum Graecorum, ed. Müller (Paris: Firmin Didot, 1841), vol. 1, p. 89. Back to text
Timaeus, 2 Rerum Italicarum: The reference is drawn from Natale Conti, “scriptum fuit a Timaeo in secundo rerum Italicarum Medeam Corcyrae nupsisse Jasoni” (“Timaeus wrote in his second book, on Italy, that Medea and Jason married in Corcyra”), Mythologia, VI, vii (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581, p. 383). See Timaeus, Italica et Sicula, I, 7 in Fragmenta Historicum Graecorum, ed. Müller (Paris: Firmin Didot, 1841), vol. 1, p. 194.
bedrid: bedridden.
deep-spelled: deeply invested with magical properties; deep-read in magic. Back to text
Alcide: Hercules’ resentment against Laomedon and his wars against Troy are narrated by Caxton, Recuyell, I, 42-43 and II, 9.
He that to their distress relief denied: Laomedon. Back to text
manned: equipped and sent. Back to text
rampired: protected with a rampart. Back to text
Him whom th’all-dooming Fates will have to sway: Hercules. His second destruction of Troy is narrated by Caxton, Recuyell, II, 9. Back to text
Cales: Not Calais, but Cadix, which was commonly called “Cales” in early modern England. The Spanish harbour of Cadiz was raided twice by the English, in attempts to prevent naval invasions of England by Philip II. On April 19, 1587, Sir Francis Drake’s fleet entered the port and destroyed numerous vessels and goods, hence delaying the sailing of the Spanish Armada. Then, in June 1596, a fleet spearheaded by Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, and Charles Howard arrived at an undefended Cadiz, which was sacked and burnt down.
forced: F; forc’st. Back to text
Ajax Telamon: Ajax was Telamon’s son and was frequently called “Ajax Telamon” or “Telamonius”. See for instance canto VIII, 69 (“Telamonis Ajax”) or Shakespeare, “like Ajax Telamonius, / On sheep or oxen could I spend my fury” (2 Henry VI, V.i.26). Back to text
interdict: oppose, prevent.
razed: F, racst. Back to text
Telamonus Ajax: see stanza 88.
Hesione: daughter of Laomedon. Because her father did not keep his promise to Neptune and Apollo, she was condemned to be devoured by a sea-monster sent by Neptune. Hercules set her free (Ovid, Metamorphoses, XI, 194-220). See Caxton’s Recuyell, I, 41-43. See also entry in our online Dictionary. Back to text
Hercules Lybicus: “Berosus affirmeth Hercules to be the son of Osiris, and king of Egypt, and was called Hercules Libycus, because he conquered Libya” (Cooper’s Thesaurus, “Hercules” entry). Back to text
Cacus: A fire-breathing giant that was killed by Hercules (tenth labour). Cacus had stolen from the herd of Geryon’s cattle that Eurystheus had sent Hercules to fetch. Virgil, Aeneid, VIII, 193-305; Ovid, Fasti, I, 543-78. See canto VI, 87. Caxton, Recuyell, II, 23, 25.
the great Giants of Cremona: in Caxton’s Recuyell, II, 24, the eleven giants who govern Cremona bar Hercules from entering their town, unless he fights with the eleven of them. In the battle, he kills them all but one and becomes king of Cremona.
King Pricus’ death: See canto VI, 74. Caxton, Recuyell, II, 26-27.
King Affer: in Caxton’s Recuyell, II, 10, after the downfall of Troy, Hercules arrives at Alexandria where he befriends Affer, duke and leader of the Egyptian army. He takes Affer along in his adventures and makes him king of Africa, which, according to Caxton, derives its name from Affer. Back to text
The 12 labours of Hercules: see the entry in our Dictionary on Hercules (Brief presentation). In this stanza, the twelve numbers are not to be taken into account to retain iambic pentameters or hexameters.
Erymanthian: F, Eremanthion.
Stymphalides: F, Stymphalidus.
Augean: F, Aegean.
Nemean: F, Cleonean.
the skull of Diomed: Heywood means that Hercules had to bring back Diomedes’ skull after feeding him to his own mares.
Hyperion: F, Heperion.
Cerberus: F, Cerbarus.
Geryon: F, Gerion. Back to text
Iole: See canto VI, 87. Hercules’ love for Iole is narrated by Caxton, Recuyell, II, 28.
Deianir’: F, Deyaneyr. Deianira, one of Hercules’ wives, unwittingly poisoned him to death with Nessus’ shirt. Ovid, Metamorphoses, IX, 103-238; Apollodorus, Library, II, vii, 6 and II, vii, 7. See canto VI, 87. Caxton expatiates on Deianira’s sorrow, Recuyell, II, 30. Back to text
Nessus: Nessus the Centaur attempted to rape Deianira, and tricked her into offering Hercules a poisoned shirt, pretending it was a love charm. Ovid, Metamorphoses, IX, 103-238.
hies: goes quickly.
Deianir’: F, Deyaneyre.
nearly: particularly. Back to text
in a trice: instantly. Back to text
Lichas: F, Lychas. In Sophocles’ Women of Trachis, he is Hercules’ servant, whereas in Le Fèvre and Caxton, he is Deianira’s squire, who brings Hercules the poisoned shirt. Back to text
bane: poison. Back to text
poison: F, poysond, is likely to be a misprint. Back to text
creeping in a hole: “Lichan trepidum latitantem rupe cavata / aspicit” (“he caught sight of Lichas fearfully hiding in a hollow rock”, Ovid, Metamorphoses, IX, 211, a detail not in Caxton’s Recuyell, II, 31.
he wheels him: “terque quaterque rotatum”, Ovid, Metamorphoses, IX, 217, not in Caxton. Back to text
her jealousy: from Caxton, Recuyell, II, 31, “Thy false jealousy hath more power to extermine my life than have had all the monsters of the world”. On the verge of death, Hercules does not refer to Deianira in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Back to text
Philoctetes: F, Philocletes. See canto VII, stanza 41.
case: hide.
nought: F, noughts. Back to text
his successful battles in the East: Priam’s absence is accounted for by Caxton, who explains explains that “Dares of Phrygie saith that his father had sent him to move war in a strange country, where he had been right long, wherefore he was not in that discomfiture”, Recuyell, III, 1.
his father: Laomedon.
his sister: Hesione. Back to text
[Heywood’s Endnotes to Canto VII]
Euripides in Medea: F, Eripid. in Med. The references in this paragraph are borrowed from Natale Conti, Mythologia, VI, 7, “De Medea” (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581, pp. 380-81): “Eurip. in Medea Solem patris Medeae patrem inquit” (“Euripidis says in his Medea that the Sun is the father of Medea’s father”), Mythologia, p. 380. Conti’s allusion is to Medea, 746-47.
Apollodorus (lib. 3): F., “Apollod. lib. 3”. Heywood misread Natale Conti’s Mythologia, VI, vii (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581, p. 381), and seems to have substituted Apollodorus to Apollonius Rhodius: “Apollo. libro 3 Argonaut. Medeam vocavit ipsam etiam Aeaeam” (“Apollonius in the third book of his Argonautica, also called Medea herself an Aeaean”)—which Heywood apparently understood “called Medea herself Aeaea”. Conti’s reference is to Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica, III, 1136 and IV, 243 (“Aeaean Medea”), as princess of Aeae, another name for Colchos. Aeae is also the name of Circe’s island. Back to text
Euphorion, Andron Teius: F, Euphorio. Andron Teius. “Euphorion et Andron Teius in nauigatione Hecates filiam fuisse Medeam arbitrari sunt” (“Euphorion and Andron Teius, in his book on navigation, believe Medea to be Hecate’s daughter”), Natale Conti, Mythologia, p. 380. The information, however, is not to be found in Euphorion’s fragments edited in J. L. Lightfoot’s Hellenistic Collection (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2009), nor in Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Christophe Cusset, Euphorion: Oeuvre poétique et autres fragments (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 2012). Neither is it to be found in Andron of Teos’s fragments collected by Müller, Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, vol. 2 (Paris: Firmin Didot, 1848), pp. 348-49. But Diodorus Siculus says that Perses’ daughter Hecate married her uncle Aeetes and bore two daughters, Circe and Medea (The Library of History, IV, xlv, 5). The Apollonian scholiast writes that “according to Dionysus Milesius, Hecate was Medea and Circe’s mother”, scholion to Argonautica, III, 240. Back to text
Ovid. Epistles: F, Ovid. Epist. “Ovid. tamen in Epistola Helenae Ipsaeae filiam illam scribit, sororemque habuisse Chalciopen”, (“But in Helen’s Epistle, Ovid writes that she was Ipsaea’s daughter and Chalciope’s sister”, Natale Conti, Mythologia, p. 381). Conti’s reference is to Ovid’s Heroides, XVII, 231-33. See note on Ipsae, below.
Heraclides: From Natale Conti’s Mythologia, p. 380: “Heraclides Ponticus Neaerae unius Nereidum filiam fuisse scripsit” (“Heraclides of Pontus wrote that she was the daughter of Neaera, one of the Nereids”). Scholiast to Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica, III, 240, writes that “according to Sophocles, [Medea’s mother] is Neaera, one of the Nereids”. See Sophocles, Scythae, Fr 546 in Richard Johnson Walker, Sophoclean Fragments (London: Burns, Oates and Washbourne, 1921), pp. 51-52. Back to text
Dionysius Milesius: F, Dionisius Mylesius. From Natale Conti, Mythologia, VI, vii (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581, p. 380), “Alii Eurylyten matrem Medeae dixerunt fuisse, inter quos fuit Dionysius Milesius” (“Others—among whom Dionysius Mylesius—said that Eurylyte was Medea’s mother”). Scholiast to Apollonius’ Argonautica, III, 240, attributes the information to the author of the Naupaktika. See Epicorum Graecorum Fragmenta, ed. Kinkel (Leipzig: Teubner, 1877), 4, p. 199.
Eurylyte: F, Eurelytes. See preceding note. Back to text
Ipsaea: Medea’s mother is named Ipsaea, or Ipsea, in Ovid’s Heroides, XVII, 232— also Ysea, Yssea, Yexea, Impea, etc., in various manuscripts of the Heroides. Most authors, however, call her Idyia (or Eidyia): Hesiod, Theogony, 958-62; Apollodorus, Library, I, ix, 23; Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, III, 242-44; Hyginus, Fabulae, 25. In a note on Seneca’s Medea 209 in his 1574 edition, Martin Antonio Del Rio suggested to replace Ipsea by Idyia in Heroides XVII, 232, a conjectural reading that has been accepted in some modern editions of Heroides. In his chapter on Medea, Genealogia, IV, xii, Boccaccio quotes Ovid’s Heroides to name Medea’s mother Ipsea. Back to text
Medus: From Natale Conti, Mythologia, VI, vii (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581, p. 386), “quidam dicunt Medeam Thebis Athenas profectam Aegeo peperisse filium Medum nomine, à quo Media fuit vocata, cum illi regioni imperavit” (“some say that Medea, having left Thebes to go to Athens, had with Aegeus a son named Medus, from whom the region on which he reigned was given the name of Media”).
Demodocus, a harper’s name in Homer: F erroneously prints this sentence inside the preceding sentence, between “Aegeas” and “of whom the country Medea took name”, thus splitting what Heywood’s source in Conti’s Mythologia (see preceding note) shows to be undissociable. This interpolation sends back to stanza 2: see note to Demodocus there. Back to text
Cithara crinitus Iopas … et ignes: F, “Cithara canitus Iopas. personat Aurata docuit quae maximus Atlas. Hic canit errantem lunam solisque labores, Unde hominum genus et pecudes, unde imber et Ignes”. The lines, which are drawn from Virgil’s Aeneid (I, 740-43), refer to stanza 2 of this canto.
In Thomas Phaer’s translation, “on his golden harp / Iopas with his bushy locks in sweet song ’gan to carp / Of stories such as him had taught most mighty Atlas old, / The wandering Moon, and of the Sun the daily toil he told, / How mankind was begun and beast, where hence the fire and showers / Proceeds…”, The XIII Bookes of Aeneidos (1584), I, 717-22. Back to text
Sosibius. Timonax in rebus Scithicis: Heywood draws both references from Natale Conti’s Mythologia, VI, vii: “Absyrtum propter formae praestantiam Colchi Phaethontem cognomine appellarunt ut scripsit Sosibius et Timonax in rebus Scythicis” (“On account of his handsome appearance, the Colchians called Absyrtus Phaethon, as Sosibius writes, and Timonax in his book on the Scythians”, Mythologia, (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581, p. 380). There is no corresponding fragment from Sosibius Laco in Müller’s Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, vol. 2 (Paris: Firmin Didot, 1848), pp. 625-30. For Timonax, see Müller’s Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, vol. 4 (Paris: Didot, 1851), p. 252 and Scholiast to Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica, III, 1236, “Absyrtus was also called Phaethon according to Timonax in the second book of Scythica”. Back to text
Helle: F, Helles. See Natale Conti, Mythologia, VI, ix.
Ovid, Arte Amandi: In the lines that follow, Heywood tells the story of Pasiphae and Icarus, which he freely translates from Ovid’s Art of Love, I, 199-326 and II, 23-96. Heywood had independently translated the whole Ars Amatoria, perhaps during his university years in the 1590s. 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. Heywood’s Ovidian lines in canto VII found their way into William Jaggard’s 1612 edition of Shakespeare’s Passionate Pilgrim (referred to as PP), sigs. H3v-H4iiiv; and into John Benson’s 1640 collection of poems (JB), sigs. G2v-G4iir. Back to text
Ida … bull: AL, “In Ida of tall tree and Cedars full, / There fed the glorie of the heard, a Bull:”.
This fair steer: AL, I, 341, “This Bullocke”.
champion: unenclosed land.
madly borne: Heywood’s addition.
a wild bull to Minos gives the horn: Heywood’s witticism to translate Ovid’s “Minos a bove victus erat” (“Minos was overcome by a bull”), AA, I, 302. Back to text
no adulterer seek thee: Ovid, AA, I, 309, has “nullus quaeratur adulter” (“do not seek an adulterer”).
if thy husband Minos do not like thee: if you don’t like your husband, Minos.
but thy lascivious thoughts are still increased: Heywood’s addition. Back to text
borne by the rage of mind: Heywood’s interpretation of Ovid’s AA, I, 312, “ut Aonio concita Baccha deo” (“like a Bacchante inflamed by the Aonian god”.
even as a ship with a full Eastern wind: Heywood’s addition.
some of these strumpet heifers the queen slew: Heywood skips Ovid’s AA, I, 313-18. AA, I, 319-22 is freely rewritten and AA, I, 323-24 omitted again. Back to text
Tzetzes, History 19: F, Zezes histors 19. From Natale Conti, Mythologia, VI, v, “De Pasiphae” (Venice: Comin da Trino, 1581), p. 374: “Hanc fabulam ad historiam deduxit Zezes histo. 19. Primae chil.” (“Tzetzes interpreted this fable historically in the nineteenth history of the first chiliad”). See John Tzetzes, Historiarum Variarum Chiliades, I, 19, ed. Gottlieb Kiessling (Leipzig: Vogel, 1826), pp. 21-23. According to that evhemeristic interpretation, Pasiphae was not in love with a bull but with a captain named Taurus. Back to text
a cow’s skin: for Ovid, AA, I, 325, “vacca … acerna” (“a maple wood cow”)
bewrays: reveals the identity of. Back to text
thy: so F, PP. JB, my. Daedalus addresses himself, as he does in Ovid, AA, II, 34, “Materiam, qua sis ingeniosus, habes” (“there is reason for thee to prove ingenious”). Back to text
lie: so F, PP. JB, lies.
make me immortal: Heywood’s interpretation of Ovid’s AA, II, 42, “Sunt mihi naturae jura novanda meae” (“I must find new laws for my nature”), i. e. I must learn how to fly. Back to text
a fit way: so F. PP, JB, a way. Back to text
resolved: melted. Back to text
and then looked pale: Heywood’s addition. Back to text
Virgo: Ovid, AA, II, 55, “virgo Tegeaea” (“the Tegean maid”), i. e. Callisto. Back to text
thy wings are now in fastening: the feathers are being held together to make wings that are not yet fastened to Icarus’ shoulders. Ovid, AA, II, 57, “Me pinnis sectare datis” (“Follow me with the wings I will give you”.
so: F, JB. PP, lo.
aread: advise.
make: F, Take. PP, JB, Make. Back to text
he charms: Ovid, AA, II, 65, “Dum monet” (“As he warns [his son]”). Back to text
uncouth skill: a skill with which they are not yet familiar. Ovid, AA, II, “miserae … fugae” (“their ill-fated flight”). Back to text
Lebinthos: Heywood skips AA, II, 79-80. Back to text
Calymne: F, PP, JB, Pachime, today the island of Kalymnos in the Aegean sea.
Astypalen: Ovid, AA, II, 82, “Cinctaque piscosis Astipalaea vadis” (“And Astipalaea, surrounded by fishy shallows”)—inaccurately translated by “fishy lake”. Back to text
Back to Canto VII (1-50 & 51-105)
How to cite
Gaëlle Ginestet, ed., 2015. Troia Britanica Canto VII (1609), Notes. 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+VII%2C+Notes