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Line 106 - Commentary Note (CN) More Information

Notes for lines 0-1017 ed. Bernice W. Kliman
For explanation of sigla, such as jen, see the editions bib.
106 Which he stood seaz’d {of} <on>, to the conquerour.1.1.89
1768-70 mwar2 BL Add Ms 10471
mwar2
106 seaz’d of] Warner (1768-70, fol.?to be completed): “i.e. possess’d of. a Term.”
1844 verp
verp ≈ mwar2 without attribution +
106 seaz’d of] Verplanck(ed. 1844): “i.e. Of which he was rightfully possessed. The folio reads ‘seized on,’ an erroneous correction of the quarto reading, made in ignorance that ‘stood seized of’ was the peculiar phrase of the law of England, and used with Shakespeare’s accustomed precision in the use of technical common-law language.”
1854 del2
del2 ≈ verp without attribution
106 seaz’d of] Delius (ed. 1854): “steht wie possess’d of : in deren Besitz er sich befand.” [‘seized of’ stands for possess’d of: in which possession he found himself.]
1856 hud1
hud1 ≈ del2 without attribution
106 seaz’d of] Hudson (ed. 1856): “This is the old legal phrase, still in use, for held possession of, or was the rightful owner of. H.”
1868 c&mc
c&mc ≈ hud1 without attribution
106 seaz’d of] Clarke & Clarke (ed. 1868): “A legal term, signifying ‘lawfully possessed of,’ ‘rightfully owner of.’”
1872 cln1
cln1 ≈ c&mc without attribution; Cotgrave in magenta underlined
106 seaz’d of] Clark & Wright (ed. 1872): “possessed of. A legal term. Cotgrave, under the word Saisi, gives ‘seised, layed hold on, possessed of’.”
1872 hud2
hud2 = hud1 +
106 seaz’d of] Hudson (ed. 1872): “On and of were used indifferently in those days.”
1877 v1877
v1877= cln1; hud (on present day) without attribution
106 seaz’d of] Furness (ed. 1877): “The customary legal term at the present day. Ed.”
1878 rlf1
rlf1: standard
106 seaz’s of] Rolfe (ed. 1878): “Possessed of; still a legal term.”
1880 Tanger
Tanger
106 seaz’d of] Tanger (1880, p. 121) ascribes the variant in F1 as “probably due to the critical revision which the text received at the hands of H.C. [Heminge & Condell], when it was being woven together from the parts of the actors.”
1881 hud3
hud3 = hud1
106 seaz’d of]
1883 macd
macd: standard
106 seaz’d of] MacDonald (ed. 1883): “stood possessed of”
1885 mull
mull : standard
106 seaz’d of] Mull (ed. 1885): “possessed.”
1890 irv2
irv2: standard
106 sez’d of] Marshall (ed. 1890): “possessed of.”
1899 ard1
ard1 ≈ v1877 without attribution
106 seaz’d of]
1903 rlf3
rlf3 = rlf1
106 seaz’s of]
1904 ver
ver: standard +
106 Verity (ed. 1904): “Shakespeare often uses stand practically as an emphatic auxiliary.”
1905 rltr
rltr: standard
106 seaz’d] Chambers (ed. 1905): “possessed.”
1912 dtn3
dtn3: standard
106 Which . . . of] Deighton (ed. 1912): “of which he was at the time possessed.”
dtn3: O. F. derivation possibly from Cotgrave without attribution
106 seaz’d] Deighton (ed. 1912): “O. F. saisir, seisir, to put one in possession of, to take possession of, a technical term in law still in use.”
1925 Kellner
Kellner
106 to] Kellner (1925, p. 42): § 61 “b misprinted for t,” re Q1 variant by, “Read, with Q2, F, to.”
1929 trav
trav ≈ ver without attribution
106 stood] Travers (ed. 1929): “more emphatic and solemn than ‘was.’”
1931 crg1
crg1: standard
106 seaz’d] Craig (ed. 1931): “possessed.”
1938 parc
parc
106 of] Parrott & Craig (ed. 1938), pointing out that Q1 supports the Q2 variant, note that F1 made the change “perhaps due to a concession to legal usage.”
1939 kit2
kit2: standard
106 seaz’d] Kittredge (ed. 1939): "possessed (a regular law term)."
1947 cln2
cln2: standard gloss
106 seaz’d of]
1957 fol1
fol1
106 seaz’d of] Wright & LaMar (ed. 1957, rpt. 1963): “owned.”
1957 pel1
pel1 : standard
106 seaz’d] Farnham (ed. 1957): “possessed.”
1970 pel2 = pel1
pel2: standard
106 seaz’d] Farnham (ed. 1970): “possessed”
1980 pen2
pen2
106 Spencer (ed. 1980) asserts that these were personal lands wagered: “the fate of the two kingdoms was, of course, not involved in this personal wager.”
1982 ard2
ard2 ≈ v1877 without attribution
106 seaz’d of] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “possessed of. Still of course the regular legal term.”
1992 fol2
fol2: standard
106 stood seaz’d of] Mowat & Werstine (ed. 1992): “legally possessed“
1996 OED 2nd edition on Internet
OED
106 seaz’d of] OED "to be seized of": hud1 is correct: there is the def, he proposes, with references bf and after Sh. None to Sh.
2000 SNL
Burton
106 Which he stood siez’d on] Burton (2000, p. 76): Horatio’s opening-scene report of the wager between the kings of Norway and Denmark (97-124) reveals that Fortinbras is . . . motivated by the loss of his inheritance. It describes a wager of lands owned by his father personally Which he stood siez’d on against other lands to be return’d To the inheritance of Fortinbras (91-92) and presumably lost earlier; the father has gambled away his son’s entire inheritance. The economic basis of Fortinbras’s motivation explains why his uncle succeeded in appeasing him with a generous allowance (1098). It also explains the Folio description of his followers as Landlesse Resolutes (115); presumably an army of disinherited gentry and younger sons facing deprivation and in need of an enterprise to sustain them, That hath a stomacke in’t (117). Discontented in a time of much wealth and peace (2743+20) by the lack of opportunities for self-advancement by military service, they have become a danger to the state. The inheritance motif comes full cycle in the last scene, when Fortinbras claims his ancient rights in the Danish lands upon the extinction of the ruling family, I have some Rites of memory in this Kingdome Which are to claime (F1 3885-6).
Ed. note: Thanks to Burton for preparing this summary.
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2
106 stood seaz’d of] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “held in legal possession. Editors regularly explain that this agreement refers to the personal estates of the two kings, not to their entire kingdoms; nevertheless it is a pact that would in some sense disinherit one of their sons.”
Ed. note: Whether or not this Fortinbras is a king, which has been doubted, the ard3 eds.’ point is valid.
106 2192

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