Notes for lines 2023-2950 ed. Frank N. Clary
| 2796 By gis and by Saint Charitie, | 4.5.58 |
|---|
1765 john1/john2
john1
2796 By gis] Johnson (ed. 1765): “I rather imagine it should be read, ‘By Cis,—‘That is, By St. Cecily.”
1773 v1773
v1773 = john1 +
2796 By gis . . . Saint Charitie] Steevens (ed. 1773): “Saint Charity is a known saint among the Roman Catholics. Spenser mentions her, Eclog. 5. 255. ‘Ah dear lord, and sweet Saint Charity?’ I find, by Gisse, used as an adjuration, both by Gascoigne in his Poems, by Preston in his Cambyses, and in the comedy of See me, and See me not, 1618. ‘By Gisse I swear, were I so fairly wed,’ 7c. Again, in The Downfall of Rob. E. of Huntington, 1601. ‘Therefore, sweet matter, for Saint charity.’ Steevens.”
v1773
2796 gis] Ridley (apud Steevens in ed. 1773): “There is not the least mention of any saint whose name corresponds with this, either in the Roman Calendar, the service in Usum Sacrum, or in the benedictionary of Bishop Athelwold. I believe the word to be only a corrupted abbreviation of Jesus, the letters J.H.S. being anciently all that was set down to denote that sacred name, on altars, the covers of books, &c. Dr. Ridey.”
1774 capn
capn
2796 gis] Capell (1774, 1:1: glossary, Gis): “(H. 98, 9.) by Jesus.”
1778 v1778
v1778 = v1773 +
2796 gis] Steevens (ed. 1778): “Again, in K. Edward I. 1599: ‘By Gis, fair lords, ere many daies be past, &c.’ Again, in Heywood’s 23d Epigram, Fourth Hundred: ‘Nay, by Gis, he looketh on you maister, quoth he.’ Steevens.”
Supplement interpolated before citation from The Downfall:
1780 malsi
malsi: Lr. //
2796 gis] [
Blackston]
e (
apud Malone, 1780, pp. 359-60): <p.359> “In the scene between the bastard Faulconbridge and the friars and nunne in the first part of
The troublesome Raigne of King John (edit. 1779, p.256 &c.), the nunne swears by
Gis, and the friers </p.359><p.360> pray to Saint Withold (another obsolete saint in
Lr. [3.4.120 (1901)]. Vol. IX. p.470) and adjure him by
Saint Charitie to hear them.” </p.360>
1783 Ritson
Ritson ≈ v1773 (Ridley)
2796 By gis] Ritson (1783, p. 209): “Gis is, likely enough, a corruption of Jesus. But surely it cannot be imagined that the letters I.H.S. on book backs, &c. could any way contribute to it.”
1784 ays1
ays1 ≈ v1778 minus v1773
1785 v1785
v1785 = v1778, malsi
MALSI note, with attribution to Blackstone, interpolated before Ridley comment, introduced in v1773.
1790 mWesley
mWesley: Ridley
2796 gis] Wesley (ms. notes in v1785): “(Ridley suggests that Gis is for Jesus, written for short Jhs.) I have no doubt that this conjecture hits the truth.”
1790 mal
mal = v1785 minus //s (See me, and See me not, The Downfall of Rob. E. of Huntington analogues in v1773; Heywood’s Epigram analogue and 2H6 // in v1778)
Title corrected in parallel from v1778 to read K. Edward III., rather than K. Edward I.
1791- rann
rann: standard
2796-9 gis . . . cock] Rann (ed. 1791-): “supposed to be a corruption of Jesus; as cock is of the sacred name.”
1793 v1793
v1793 = mal +
2796 gis] Steevens (ed. 1793): “See the second paragraph of the next note. Steevens.”
Reference is to Ridley comment introduced in v1773.
v1793
2796 gis] Ritson (apud ed. 1793): “Though Gis may be, and I believe is, only a contraction of Jesus, there is certainly a Saint Gisten, with whose name it corresponds. Ritson.”
1803 v1803
v1803 = v1793 +
2796 gis] Ritson (ed. 1803): “Mr. Stevens’s [sic] first assertion, though disputed by a catholick friend, can be supported by infallible authority. ‘We read,’ says Dr. Douglas, ‘in the martyrology on the first of August—Romæ passio sanctarum virginum, Fidei, Spei, et Charitatis, quæ sub Hadriano principe martyriæ coronam adeptæ sunt.’ Criterion, p. 68. Ritson.”
v1803 = v1793 +
2796 Saint Charitie] Steevens (ed. 1803): “Again, in A lytell Geste of Robyn Hode: ‘Lete me go, then sayd the sheryf, For saint Charytè—’
“Again, ibid: ‘Gyve us some of your spendynge, For saynt Charytè.’”
1807 Douce
Douce: john, Ritson, rid
2796 By gis . . . Saint Charitie] Douce (1807, p. 260): “The frequent occurrence of this adjuration sufficiently proves that Dr. Johnson’s proposed change to Cis, is unnecessary; nor indeed would the name of Saint Cecilia be proper to swear by. Mr. Ritson’s Gislen, an obscure Irish saint, is equally out of the question. In the interlude of Mary Magdelain, she is made to say, ‘Nay by Gis, twentie shillings I dare holde That there is not a gentlewoman in this land More propre than I in the waste, I dare be bolde.’
“In Promos and Cassandra, Dalia swears by Gys; and in Gammer Gurton’s needle and some other old plays, the same expression occurs. Mr. Ridley’s conjecture that Jesus is the corrupted word is the true one; but the corruption is not in the way that he has stated. The letters IHS would be pronounced Gis, even by those who understood them as a Greek contraction.”
1815 Becket
Becket
Saint Charitie] Becket (1815, 1: 63): “‘Saint Charity,’ is holy charity, an epithet which will not apply, indeed to alms-giving:—it belongs entirely to the theological virtue of universal love.”
1819 anon ann
anon ann ≈ v1773
2796 By gis] Ridley (apud Anonymous, 1819, p. 9): “I believe the word to be only a corrupted abbreviation of Jesus, the letters J.H.S. being anciently all that was set down to denote that sacred name, on altars, the covers of books, &c. ridley.”
anon ann ≈ v1773 (abbreviated)
2796 Saint Charitie] Steevens (apud Anonymous, 1819, p. 9): “Saint Charity is a known saint among the Roman Catholics. Steevens.”
1819 cald1
cald1 = v1773 (See me, and see me not analogue)
2796 By gis] Caldecott (ed. 1819): “This is agreed to be an abbreviation or corruption of the name of Jesus . . . . We shall add, ‘Great lordes cherish them (fooles) by jysse a little better than they are wont to doo these frouning philosophers.’ Sir Tho. Chaloner’s Erasmus’s Praise of Folie, 4to. 1549, signat. G 2. b., and see Douce’s Illustr. II. 260.”
cald1 = v1773 for Spenser //); v1778 forThe Downfall //; v1803 for A lytell Geste //; malsi for Saint Charitie
1821 v1821
v1821 = v1813 minus vol. number from BLACKSTONE note on Gis (2796)
1822 Nares
Nares: rid; Gammar Gurton, Erasmus analogues
2796 gis] Nares (1822, glossary: gis): “Gis, Gisse, Jysse, or Jis. An oath; doubtless a corrupt abbreviation of by Jesus; but, I should imagine, rather from the word itself, than, as Dr. Ridley supposes, from the initials, I.H.S. inscribed on altars, books, &c. [quotes 2796-7]. ‘By gys, master, cham not sick, but yet chave a disease.’ Gammer Gurton, O. Pl. ii. 51. ‘Lyke as many great lordes there be, who set so muche by them, by jysse a little better than they are wont to doo, these, &c.’ Praise of Folie, tr. by Chaloner, sign, G2. ‘By jis, sonne, I account the cheere good which maintaineth health, and the servaunts honest, whome I finde faithfull.’ Euph. & his Engl. sign. C1.b.”
Ridley note appears for the first time in v1773.
Nares: Gammer Gurton analogue
2796 Saint Charitie] Nares (1822, glossary, Charity, St.): “The allegorical personage Charity figured as a saint in the Romish calendar, and consequently was currently spoken of as such by our ancestors. Ophelia sings [Hamlet lines cited]. Gammer Gurton says, ‘And helpe me to my neele, for God’s sake, and St. Charitie.’ Gammer G. O.P. ii. 54.”
1826 sing1
sing1
2796-9 By gis . . . Saint Charitie . . . . by Cock] Singer (ed. 1826): “Saint Charity is found in the Martyrology on the first of August. ‘Romæ passio sanctarum virginum Fidei, Spei, et Charitas, quæ sub Hadriano principe martyriæ coronam adeptæ sunt.’ Spenser mentions her in Eclog. v. 225. By gis and by cock are only corruptions, or rather substitutions, for different forms of imprecation by the sacred name.”
1832 cald2
cald2 = cald1 +
2796 By gis]
Caldecott (ed. 1832): “or may possibly have been an attempt to pronounce the abridgment frequently used in inscriptions: ‘Let thy
name, whether we ryde or gone, In eche peryle and eche adversyte, Be our defence agen our mortal fone—And in our forhede, when we I. H. S. impresse Make us of Grace their malice to oppresse.’ Lydgate’s
Life of our Lady.”
Interpolation of new parallel on By Gis (2796) is located before parallel from See me, see me not.
1854 del2
del2
2796 gis] Delius (ed. 1854): “Gis, abgekürzt aus Jesus.” [Gis is a shortened form of Jesus.]
1857+ mstau
mstau: standard + Burton analogue
2796-9 By gis . . . too blame] Staunton (ms. note in Knight, ed. 1857): “See Burton p. 600. This mut have been a popular ballad.”
Note in pencil, hand3.
1865 hal
hal: Scogin’s Jests, Cutwode’s Caltha Poetarum, Deloney analogues
2796 By gis . . . Charitie] Halliwell (ed. 1865): “Gis is a corrupted form of Jesus, but had lost any profane signification in its familiar use in former days. The allegorical personage, Charity, was recognized in the list of saints.
“What is that, gossip, said she. Nay, by Gisse, I will not tell it to any man alive,—Scogin’s Jests, p. 22.
“‘And, by the way, for sweete Saint Charitie, He begs his largies of th’outlandish hives.’— Cutwode’s Caltha Poetarum, or the Bumble Bee, 1599.
“Good Sir John, for sweet Charitie, say one Ave Marie, or one paternoster, and let my poore husbandes corpes be covered, though it be but with one handfull of holy ground,—Deloney’s Second Part of the Gentle Craft, 1598.”
1869 tsch
tsch: Mueller
2796 gis] Tschischwitz (ed. 1869): “offenbar eine Entstellung für Jesusund Cock für God. Es mischt sich in diesen und ähnlichen Ausdrücken die rohheit oft wunderlich mit der berechtigten Scheu vor dem Missbrauch des göttlichen Namens. S. M. I. 420. cf. swounds, sblood, odd’s bodekin etc.” [clearly a distortion of Jesus, Cock of God. In this and other similar expressions coarseness is often strangely mixed with a proper reluctance to misuse the divine name. See M. I. 420. cf. swounds, sblood, odd’s bodekin.]
1869 Romdahl
Romdahl: standard
2796 By gis] Romdahl (1869, p. 37): “is supposed to be a corruption of by Jesus.”
1872 hud2
hud2
2796 By gis . . . Charitie] Hudson (ed. 1872): “The use of Gis has not been accounted for. Probably it is a corruption, or perhaps a disguise, of the Saviour’s name. Saint Charity was often used in this way.”
1877 v1877
v1877
2796-2803 Furness (ed. 1877): “A continuation of the same song.”
v1877 ≈ Douce (john, Ridley, Ritson)
2796 gis]
Furness (ed. 1877): “
Johnson: Rather, ‘By
Gis,’
i.e. By St Cecily.
Ridley: There is not the least mention of any saint whose name corresponds with this, either in the
Roman Calendar, the service in
Usum Sarum, or in the Benedictionary of Bishop Athelwold. I believe the word to be only a corrupted abbreviation of
Jesus, the letters J.H.S. being anciently all that was set down to denote that sacred name, on altars, the covers of books, &c.
Ritson: Though
Gis may be, and I believe is, only a contraction of
Jesus, there is certainly a Saint
Gislen, with whose name it corresponds.
Douce: Ridley’s conjecture is the true one; but the corrupton is not in the way he has stated. The letters I H S would not be pronounced
Gis, even by those who understood them as a Greek contraction.”
1881 HUD3
hud3 = hud2 for By gis . . . Charitie 2796) minus “The most . . . like.”
1887 Mackay
Mackay
2796 By gis] Mackay (1887, glossary, By gis): “Supposed by all commentators to be an abbreviation of ‘By Jesus.’ But Ophelia, in the pathos of her madness, before she sings the indelicate snatch of verse commencing [quotes 2796-7], says, ‘Indeed, là, without an oath, I’ll make an end o’t;’ which ought to lead to the supposition that ‘by Gis’ was not an oath in the ordinary acceptation of the word. It was probably a mere asseveration, to avow the breach of the third commandment and the taking of God’s name in vain. Gis or geas in Keltic signifies a charm, an incantation, a vow, a declaration of truth, and also a guess or conjecture; and possibly the true meaning of ‘By Gis and St. Charity’ is not ‘by Jesus and St. Charity,’ but my troth, by my vow.’”
1890 irv2
irv2: standard
2796 gis] Symons (Irving & Marshall, ed. 1890): “i.e. Jesus.”
1899 ard1
ard1: Nares
2796 gis] Dowden (ed. 1899): “an abbreviation or pious disguise of ‘jesus’; spelt also jis and jysse; for examples see Nares’ Glossary.”
1903 p&c
p&c ≈ hal (Scogin’s Jests)
2796 By gis] Porter & clarke (ed. 1903): “Perhaps by St. Gisela, or a contraction of Jesus: ‘What is that gossip said she, nay, by Gisse I will not tell it’ (‘Scogin’s Jests’).”
1905 rltr
rltr = irv2 for gis
1906 nlsn
nlsn: standard
2796 gis] Neilson (ed. 1906, glossary): “a corruption of Jesus.”
1939 kit2
kit2: standard + Preston analogue
2796 By gis] Kittredge (ed. 1939): “a common contraction of ‘by Jesus.’ Cf. Preston, Cambises, l. 237 (ed. Manly, II, 171): ‘What, man, I will not sticke for that, by Gisse!’”
1980 pen2
pen2 = evns1 for gis
pen2
2796 Saint Charitie] Spencer (ed. 1980): “(the personification of the virtue).”
1982 ard2
ard2 = evns1 + magenta underlined
2796 gis] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “A corruption of Jesus, common in adjurations, pronounced and sometimes spelt jis.”
ard2 ≈ ard1 (Spenser analogue)
2796 Saint Charitie] Jenkins (ed. 1982): “Not a saint’s name, of course, but through such phrases as by, for, or of Charity, often used in oaths as if it were. ‘The Catholiques comen othe . . . to haue charitye alwayes in their mouth’ (Shepheardes Calender, May gloss).”
1984 chal
chal = evns1 for gis
chal ≈ pen2
2796 Charitie] Wilkes (ed. 1984): “not a saint, but a personification so regarded.”
1987 oxf4
oxf4 ≈ ard2
2796 by Saint Charitie] Hibbard (ed. 1987): “Derived from the Old French par seinte charite (by holy charity), this phrase, often used in mild oaths, came to be treated as though charity was the name of a saint.”
1993 dent
dent
2796 Saint Charitie] Andrews (ed. 1993): “Holy love (from Latin caritas).”
2006 ard3q2
ard3q2
2796 Gis] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “Jesus.”
ard3q2: Chaucer
2796 Saint Charity] Thompson & Taylor (ed. 2006): “The capital ’S’ in Q2 and F (but not in Q1) implies that Charity is the name of a saint, but there was no such person and the expression could just mean ’holy charity’, as in Chaucer’s ’Knight’s Tale’, 1721: ’But sle me first, for seinte cheritee.’”
2796
