The wars of Alexander: an alliterative romance translated chiefly ...

NOTES TO pp. 220—223, II. 3918—4015. 309
3918. "And tlien he bids them quickly to light, close upon the
pool, outside his army everywhere, horrible fires."
3921. Meere, mave ;
" similis equo ;
" ib.
3926. " Noininabantur auteui, secundum Indicam linguam, Onoceniliaui-us
;
et anteqnam de ipsa aqua biberet, fecit impetum super illos;"
ib. Cf. Kyng Alisaunder, ed. Weber, p. 224, where the same strange
animals are called deutijrans. Rut the name should certainly have been
printed dentyran, short for denti-tyran, Lat. dentiiyrannus. In fact,
Cockayne has " dentem tyrannum ;" p. 56, 1. 18. This is the Lat. form
of Odontotyrannus, the name given to the creature in J. Valerius, p. 167.
The E. version has Adanttrocay, evidently founded (partially) on the
same name ; for which Onocenlhaurus has been substituted by confusion
in the Lat. text. It is probable, however, that the form Odontotyrannus
is also a corruption (as it gives no good sense) ;
and I suspect that the
original word was Odonfokeraltas, i. e. '
with horns like teeth.' The
form in the E. version seems to point to this name. In Mandeville's
Travels, ed. Halliwell, p. 290, a picture of the animal is given ; he is
there called Odcnthns.
3932. Lat. " mures maiores talpis," ib. ; Cockayne has " mures . . .
uulpihus similes "
; p. 56.
3936. "Ceperiint enim volare vespertiliones vt columbe, quorum
dentes erant vt dentes hominum ; " ib. J. Valerius (p. 168) has "
: Ad
hfec alites quibus apud nos vocabulum vesperlilio est, sed quae illic super
columbse magnitudinem," &c.
3939. " And they sharply wounded that which was unarmed," i. e.
the unprotected faces of the soldiers.
3943. Blemest, killed ; in a stronger sense than mod. E. hlemished.
The Lat. has " vulnerantes," from the employment of which word the
poet infers that no one was actually killed.
3944. "Venerunt aues magne, colorem rubicundum habentes, pedes
vero et rostra nigra, neque nocuerunt eis;" ib. Cockayne has "aues
uulturihus similes ; " p. 56. Hence vowtres are vultures. Boukes
(bodies) is an error for beJcJces (beaks).
3947. Did bot plaid by, did no more than played with.
3950. Lat. " venerunt in partibus latrimariis " (sic) ; d 4, back, col. 1.
3957. " Et arbores folia vt lana habentes, que gentes ipse colligebant
et ex ea vestimenta faciebant ; " ib. An interesting notice of silk,
Cf. Mandeville's Travels, ch. xxvi. p. 268 ;
Cockayne's text, p. 53, 1. 2.
3987. " Confidebat igitur Porus in altitudine corporis sui, que in
quinque cubitorum altitudine videbatur;" d 4, back, col. 2.
3995. " So sharply that he totters with it, and (he) nearly felled him
for ever."
3996. " Milites vero Pori altis vocibus vociferaueruut, audiens
itaque Porus clamorem quem suns exercitus faciebat, faciera suam
versus eos voluit;" ib. Cf. J. Valerius, p. 148.
4010. For ^our read our ; it refers to the Indians.
4015. Lat. " ceperunt Alexandrnm tanquam deum glorificare;" ib.