The four sons of Henry IV were Henry, prince of Wales, born at Monmouth in 1388; Thomas, born in 1389, and created duke of Clarence in 1412; John, born in 1390, created duke of Bedford in 1415; and Humphrey, born in 1391, created duke of Gloucester in 1414.
§ 33. The expression _at a souper of feorthe merchande_ is difficult, and I can only guess at the sense. _Feorthe_ is Shirley's spelling of _ferthe_, i.e. fourth. _Merchande_ is probably equivalent to O.F. _marchandie_ or _marchandise_. Godefroy gives an example of the latter in the sense of 'merchant's company.' I suppose that _feorthe merchande_ means 'fourth meeting of merchants,' or the fourth of the four quarterly meetings of a guild. Toulmin Smith, in his English Gilds, p. 32, says that quarterly meetings for business were common; though some guilds met only once, twice, or thrice in the course of a year.
The Vintry is described by Stow in his Survey of London (ed. Thoms, p. 90): 'Then next over against St. Martin's church, is a large house built of stone and timber, with vaults for the stowage of wines, and is called the Vintry.... In this house Henry Picard [lord mayor in 1356-7] feasted four kings in one day.'
I need not repeat here what I have already said about Scogan in vol. i. p. 83.
I may add to the note about Lewis John (vol. i. p. 84), that he was a person of some note. In 1423 (Feb. 8), 'Ludowicus Johan, armiger, constitutus est seneschall et receptor generalis ducatus Cornub.': see Ordinances of the Privy Council, iii. 24. He is further mentioned in the same, ii. 334, 342.
Chaucer's Balade on Gentilesse, quoted in full in ll. 105-125, is in seven-line stanzas; and is thus distinguished from the rest of the poem, which is written in eight-line stanzas. It may be noted that Scogan's rimes are extremely correct, if we compare them with Chaucer's as a standard.
Of this piece there are two early printed copies, one by Caxton, and one by Thynne (1532); and two MSS., Ashmole 59 and Harl. 2251. It is remarkable that the printed copies are better than the MSS. as regards readings.
§ 34. VIII. THE COMPLAINT OF THE BLACK KNIGHT.
Such is the title in Thynne's edition (1532). In MS. F. (Fairfax 16), it is entitled--'Complaynte of a Loveres Lyfe'; and there is a printed edition with the title--'The Complaynte of a Louers Lyfe. Imprynted at London in the flete strete at the sygne of the Sonne, by Wynkyn de Worde'; no date, 4to. on twelve leaves. In MS. S. (Arch. Selden, B. 24), there is an erroneous colophon--'Here endith the Maying and disporte of Chaucere'; which gives the wrong title, and assigns it to the wrong author. In accordance with the last MS., it was printed, with the erroneous title--'Here begynnys the mayng or disport of chaucer'--in a volume 'Imprentit in the south gait of Edinburgh be Walter chepman and Androw myllar the fourth day of ap_er_ile the yhere of god . M.CCCCC. and viii yheris' [1508]; and this scarce copy was reprinted as piece no. 8 in The Knightly Tale of Golagrus and Gawane, &c., as reprinted by Laing in 1827.