Glossarial index

The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of London, 1550-1563. Originally published by Camden Society, London, 1848.

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'Glossarial index', in The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of London, 1550-1563, (London, 1848) pp. 461-464. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/camden-record-soc/vol42/pp461-464 [accessed 26 April 2024]

amice, grey 145, 171, 258. This was a term applied to canons, as the "grey amices of Paul's" (see note in p. 365), from the tippets of fur which they wore. Mr. Way has remarked (Promptorium, p. 11,) that the amice for a canon, which was made of fur, was a vestment perfectly distinct from the more ancient ecclesiastical vestment of the same name, which was of linen. It is twice introduced in Skelton's poems (edit. by Dyce, i. 68, ii. 84); in the former instance the birds are represented as performing a dirige for the soul of Phyllyp Sparowe, They shall morne soft and styll In theyr amysse of gray.
-, A Londoner in 1546 writes of the canons as "gay gray amesses," (Ellis, Orig. Letters, II. ii. 177,) so much did their appearance distinguish them from others. The term was also given to the fur itself. "The lord maior, and those knights that have borne the office of the maioralty, ought to have their cloakes furred with gray amis. And those aldermen that have not been maiors, are to have their cloakes furred with calabre." Stowe's Survay, edit. 1633, p. 660.

auditor 105, 154, 173, 266.

baldrick 13, 20, 28; a belt worn across from the shoulder.

basses 19; leggings worn under armour; a skirt of cloth, &c. worn under armour.

bastard sword 250.

bishoping, the office of confirmation performed immediately after baptism 153.

book, alluding to benefit of clergy 227.

bosted 209; embossed?

calabur 258; see amice.

carding, a woman carding her 'prentice 17; a homely metaphor from carding wool.

cassokes given to female mourners, 262.

cater 26, one who catered; from Fr. acheter.

chanabulle 13; probably for changeable. The material called "changeable taffata," resembling what is now called shot silk, was fashionable in the 16th century.

chyminer (or chymmer) 226, 229, 251; a sleeveless robe, with apertures for the arms to pass through. See Palmer's Origines Liturgicæ, ii. 407, and figure viii.

cloth-saykes 29; "clothe sacke, bahus." Palsgrave.

colasyon, a sermon after a funeral, xxii. 184. The collatio was a reading of the Scriptures, in monasteries especially. See Ducange. Fabyan relates that Bede, when he became blind, being led in mockery to preach to stones, "with great deuocyon beganne there a collacyon," at the end of which the stones, like a large congregation, said Amen. Part vi. 148. James I. in his Letter concerning Preachers, 1622, ordained that no parson should preach "any sermon or collation" in the afternoon but on the Catechism, Creed, &c.

cole-staff 278.

colyar 71; a dealer in charcoal.

communion, keeping of 290.

costerells 13.

crayer, a trading vessel, 152.

cressets 82.

crossear, cross-bearer 140, 171; "crocere," Prompt. Parv. p. 104.

cross-staff, fighting with 250.

cunning man, a clever workman 77.

cuttpurs 18, 21, 251.

dag 139; a pistol. In 1579 queen Elizabeth issued a proclamation against carrying "such small pieces as were commonly called pocket dags, or that may be hid in a pocket, or like place about a man's body, to be hid or carried covertly." See its substance in Strype, Annals, ii. 603.

Death with a dart in his hand 125.

doer 46; qu. any office intended? or merely that the earl of Surrey was his grandfather's deputy, in doing or performing the duties of earl marshal?

dolle, a dole, or portion 197.

drousselars rather dronsselars 13; a kind of tabor or kettle-drum, usually written dronslade or dromslade.

dullo 33, duyllyll 47, dulle 73, duwylle 89, duwlle 96, dullvyll 125; a merry devil in the lord mayor's show, usually discharging squibs.

foist 270, fuyst 47, fuste 294; what is now called a barge; see penoys.

gaune, or gang, week 236; Rogation week, when parochial perambulations were made.

genetes, gennets 124.

geton 13, gettene 38, gytton 19, 20; a guidon, the small flag for cavalry, &c.

giant 20, 45, 89, 186, 191.

godys man to the poor 170; probably meaning a bestower of goods.

"goodman of the house," and "goodwife" 34.

grandsire 164, grandfather.

green and white, the royal livery 37, 38, 59, 163, 164, 167. See note in p. 397.

hall, keeping of 28.

harness 33, 52, 79, 146, 155, 282, 293. The use of this word for body-armour is remarkably exemplified in a passage of Stowe's Chronicle relating to this very crisis: "On the fryday, which was Candlemasse daie (Feb. 2, 1553–4), the most parte of the householders of London, with the Maior and aldermen, were in harnesse; yea this day and other daies the justices, sergeants at the law, and other lawyers in Westminsterhal, pleaded in harnesse."

herse of wax 43, 57, 180; a frame erected for candles at a funeral: also adorned with pennons, &c. (See introductory note on Funerals.) What we now call a hearse is described in p. 101 as "a wagon with iiij wheels, all covered with black."

hobby-horse 33, 89.

hokyll-bone 78.

holy-water stocks 45.

horse-litter, used to convey a corpse 43.

hott-howse, the residence of a bawd 104; commonly called a stew, stupha or bagnio, hot baths being there taken.

housekeeper, "the best housekeeper of a commoner in London" 293.

hoveles 8.

howslyng after the old fashion 42; joining in the mass.

hurly-burly, "herlé-borlé" 41.

in-gratt 17; this word is singular, and seems to be by way of a translation of engross, in which sense it here occurs. The common word was regrate, to buy wholesale and sell retail. See the Stat. 5 and 6 Edw. VI. against regrating, c. xiv. where the words are "regrators and ingrossers," which supplies the deficient word in the text. (Stat. of Realm, IV. part I. 148.)

ippocras 199, 216, 237.

Jack o'Lent 33; a puppet, thrown at in Lent, like Shrove-cocks. Brand's Antiquit. Ash Wednesday. Nares's Glossary.

jebett 54, jubett 60; gibbet.

kirtles, worn by the alms-knights of Windsor 258.

lacquey, "laké" 27.

laske 309, a flux. "Laske, a disease, flux de ventre." Palsgrave. "I have a laske, sum cita alvo." Horman.

lectorne 79; qu. a lecture?

licence to beg 292. Poor Stowe the chronicler, in his old age, had such a licence

lodging scocheons 248.

lycted 54. Wyatt lighted, i. e. leaped up, behind another rider on horseback.

majesté , at a funeral 43, 160; canopy of the herse?

mantyll-frieze 67, et passim, probably frieze made purposely for mantles.

marbull-coats 12; made with wool or silk of various colours mixed together: see the Gentleman's Magazine, 1835, N. S. vi. 2, 114, 226.

march-paynes 171; from the Fr. massepain, a kind of sweet biscuit.

masket, a masquerade or show 276.

mastés 191, mastiffs. Fr. mastia. Palsg.

Milaner, "melener" 21, now milliner, a dealer in goods from Milan.

moketors 32, handkerchiefs. Fr. mouchoir. "Mockendar for a chyldre (sic), mouchoir. Mockedar," id. Palsgrave. Compare Cotgrave, v. Baverette, bavon, &c. "For eyen and nose the nedethe a mokadour." Lydgate's Minor Poems, p. 30, edit. Halliwell.

monumentt, qu. funeral or month's mind? 24.

mores-dance 20, 33, 89, 191.

mores-pikes 146, 230.

much-a-do, "myche a doo" 2.

murrey colour 195.

musters, a colour 195; for musterdevelers, or mustrevilers, probably cloth made at Montevillier, near Caudebec. "Mustredules colour, grismeslé." Palsgrave.

muscadell 199, 216.

musysyoners 125.

occupying her own gear, or bawdry, 295 (twice), 299.

"office taken away from him," a phrase for the misfortune afterwards termed being made a cuckold, 302.

oranges 196. A similar use of this fruit as a sportive missile occurs in a letter of lord Mountjoy written in 1516. A spy which he had sent to Lyons had seen the French king "many tymes uppon the water of Som with his young noblemen castyng oranges oute of one bote into another, and usyng many other pastymes with theym." Excerpta Historica, p. 288. See Porttyngales.

ouches, "owtchys" 130, set jewels, or brooches.

panchyd with his own sword, a man murdered, 170.

paper-ryall 291; marked with the crown? Archæol. xii. pl. xv.

pastes, head-dresses for brides 240. "Paste for a lady or woman, unes paces." Palsgrave. Parishes kept "pastes" to let out at weddings, as they did the herse-cloths for funerals: and the customary charge made at St. Margaret's Westminster in the reigns of Edward VI. and Mary was xijd. In the inventory of the churchgoods of that parish in 1564, occurs, "Cerclet for brydes. Item, one past for brydes sett with perle and stone." But at this time its use seems to have been discontinued, as no such receipts occur as before.

peneston 91, a kind of coarse woollen cloth, mentioned in Stat. 43 Eliz. c. 10.

penoys 73, 96, a pinnace; see fuyst.

porttyngales 237; oranges, called likewise in some parts of Italy portogalli.

preacher, "new preacher" 211, 214; applied to the Reformers.

prevermentt of perjury 104.

prick-song 106, 112, 171, 174.

progeny, for pedigree or genealogy, 14.

proper man 63, 177, 225. This was a term somewhat resembling "a tall man," but more commendatory.

prysse, i. e. mainprise 91.

pulter 86, now poulterer.

pyk-purs and cut-purse 18, 21.

pynion, the old orthography of penon, xxi.

quondam 57, 334; Fr. ci-derant.

qwarell 121. A quarry or quarrier was a candle containing ordinarily a quarter of a lb. of wax; here "a great qwarell of half a lb." "Doppicre, a certain lyghte of waxe, as we call it a quarriere." W. Thomas, Ital. Dict. 1548.

qwest 15, a jury.

quick, alive, "a qwyck tree and a dead," 186.

qwyckenyng 76.

raylles 155, 157, 213, 245, 262, given to female mourners. A cloak, or loose gown; see Nares.

recheussly 40.

reculyd 202, recoiled.

the Reformation, whipping-post so called, 164.

regalls 45, 107, 180, 282.

regiment, equivalent to army 358.

rings, false, 109. See note in p. 408.

rochet 226, 229, 251. The rochet was "a linen vest, like a surplice, worn by bishops, under their satin robe. The word, it is true, is not obsolete, nor the thing disused, but it is little known, and therefore deserves explanation." (Nares.) Like "lawn sleeves" or the lately discarded wig, it seems to have been regarded as the distinguishing mark of the costume of a bishop. "Who knoweth not," says Ponet, "that the name Bishop hath been so abused, that, when it was spoken, the people understood nothing else but a great lord, that went in a while rochet, with a wide-shaven crown, and that carried an oil-box with him, wherewith he used once in seven years, riding about, to confirm children, &c." (Bishop Ponet's Answer to Dr. Martin, quoted in Strype's Eccl. Memorials under King Edw. VI. Book II. chap. 23.) In Holinshed's Chronicle, p. 1144, is a story of the duchess of Suffolk having ridiculed bishop Gardiner by dressing up a dog in a rochet.

ruffelars 194.

rygges, or dolphins 326.

sagbottes 78, sackbuts, music.

sawden 33, 137, a sultan.

search, "the search of Gravesend," an officer of the customs? 102.

sectur 139, 299, 307, executor; compare the inscription on a Tile at Malvern, Nichols' Examples, No. 72.

shalmes 91, musical instruments.

shepster 258, a seamster. "Sarcinatrix, a shepster or seamester. Sutatis (sic, sutatrix? a seamster or shepster." Elyot's Librarie, 1543. "Schepstarre, lingiére. Sheres for shepsters, forces." Palsgrave. Caxton says, in the Book for Travellers, "Mabyll the shepster (cousturiére) cheuissheth her right well, she maketh surplys, shertes, breches, keuerchiffs, and all that may be wrought of lynnen cloth."

shrudes or shrowds, the crypt of St. Paul's cathedral, 71, 151, 237, 253.

slips and half-slips 260, counterfeit coins, explained in p. 384.

spice-bread xxii. 113, 140, 173, 237.

spyld, splinter 204.

strangwyllyon 271, a disease; strangury?

sumner 73; summoner of the ecclesiastical courts.

tabret 13.

"tag and rag" 50. The following instance of the use of the phrase "tag and rag" occurs in Harrison's Description of England. Speaking of certain baths at King's Newnham, he says, "One is reserved . . . . . . the other is left common for tag and rag." (Holinshed, i. 360.) This carries the use of the phrase back nearly to the time of the present writer. [In the same passage of our Diary "honds" means hounds, not "hands," as Strype, Mem. iii. 59, understood it.]

tall men 13, 30, 47, 105, men of great corporeal power— "a very good blade! a very tall man" (Romeo and Juliet, ii. 4.) See other examples in Nares. "Tal or semely, decens, elegans." Prompt. Parv.

tensell 148, sparkling cloth, Fr. estencelle, now tinsel.

token, a prodigy 282.

upholster 88, 92, now upholder or upholsterer.

waits of the city, "whettes," 65, 73, 113, 117, 139, 140, 156, 260. Originally watchmen, "Wayte, excubius." (MS. Ancient Vocabulary.) They piped the hour: hence their conversion into musicians, in which character they appear in this volume, and have still an occasional existence at Christmas time.

wede, a monk buried in his, 110.

whirlepooles 327; porpoises. "Whyrlpole, a fisshe, chaudron de mer." Palsgrave.

white-coats (with red crosses) 52, 163, 164, 234, the London trained bands, clad in a kind of uniform taken from the English national flag,—Argent, the cross of Saint George gules.

white and green (the royal livery), see note in p. 397.

wodyn 47, vodys 73, wodys 96; woods, or savage men. Ang.-S. wod, furiosus.

wondernus (sunderance?) of earth, an earthquake 6.

Worthies, the nine 137.

wyrth 33.

yede 58, went.