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 Contents

Preface
Pronunciation guide

1 Making contact
Hellos and good-byes
Introductions
Assistance

2 Numbers, time, dates

Numbers
Time
Dates

3 Getting information
Information
Directions
On the phone and mobile devices

4 People
Describing and flirting
Character
Family relationships

5 Jobs and homes

 Jobs
Job interviews
Homes

6 Daily life
At the supermarket
Shopping
Banking

7 Weather, seasons, and holidays

Weather
Seasons
Holidays

8 Leisure time
Sports
Going out
Restaurants

9 Traveling
Trains and buses
Accommodations
At the airport

10 This and that

Driving
Being emotional
Reporting and gossiping
11 Our digital world
Mobile talk
Digital devices
Social media

Overall review
Glossary
Answer key
 Preface

This book has one aim—to teach you how to converse in Italian and
thus get by in everyday situations. The emphasis is on how language
is used in communication, not on the mechanics of the language in
isolation, although there is plenty of that as well.
The book can be used by beginners, since nothing is taken for
granted, or by those who have already been studying the language
but would like to improve their conversation skills.
The book is made up of 11 chapters. Each chapter revolves
around a specific communication function and is subdivided into
three themes. Each theme is constructed as follows:

Two dialogues illustrate typical conversations related to the

theme. English glosses are provided to enhance
comprehension. This conversational material will help you to
grasp how typical conversations are carried out in Italian. There
are 69 dialogues in total, and reading these dialogues will
enhance your conversation skills.
Each dialogue is followed by a summary of the new vocabulary
that it contains and a Memory section that allows you to check
if you have learned important new words and structures.
A Language Notes section explains and expands upon the
grammatical and communicative material that the dialogue
introduces.
At the end of each thematic section there is an exercise section.
This contains two types of activities—one that allows you to
practice the new language forms and one that allows you to try
out your conversation skills. There are 33 exercise sections in
total, giving you ample practice!
 A glossary of all the words and expressions used is provided at
the end, as well as an answer key to all exercises. Finally, there is an
overall review section that allows you to test how much you have
learned.
This Premium Third Edition offers streaming audio recordings of
all the dialogues in the book, as well as the answers to the
“conversation task” exercise questions. These recordings are
available through the free McGraw Hill Language Lab app, along with
vocabulary flashcards and an auto-fill glossary.
Here is a list of all abbreviations used in the book:

-a = corresponding feminine ending

ess. = conjugated with essere in compound tenses
f. = feminine
fam. = familiar, informal
inv. = invariable
isc = conjugated with isc in present tenses
m. = masculine
pl. = plural
pol. = polite, formal
sing. = singular
 Pronunciation guide

Following are basic guidelines for pronouncing Italian words. Use

these as you work your way through the book. Whenever a word
that is difficult to pronounce comes up, its pronunciation will be
given to you in parentheses.

Vowels
The Italian vowels are a, e, i, o, u. They are pronounced as follows:

When i and u come before or after another vowel (in the same
syllable), they are pronounced instead as follows:

Single consonants
Italian has both single and double consonants. Single consonants
are pronounced as follows:
Double consonants
Double consonants are not pronounced as such in English, even
though there are double letters in the language. The Italian double
consonants last approximately twice as long as corresponding single
ones and are pronounced with more intensity. They occur between
vowels or between a vowel and l or r.

Spelling peculiarities
Generally, there is a one-to-one correspondence between a sound
and the letter (or letters) used to represent it. The main exceptions
are as follows:

Words with a stressed final vowel are written with an accent

mark on the vowel. The mark is usually grave. But in some
words, especially those ending in -ché, the acute accent mark
may be used.
The letter h is used only in several present indicative tense
forms of the verb avere (to have). It is always silent.

As in English, capital letters are used at the beginning of

sentences and to write proper nouns (names of people,
countries, and so on). However, there are differences: the
pronoun io (I), titles, months of the year, days of the week,
and adjectives and nouns referring to languages and
nationalities are not capitalized.
On the other hand, the polite pronoun Lei (you), and other
corresponding polite forms, are capitalized.
 Making contact

Knowing how to make contact and to take leave of people is a vital

conversational skill, as is knowing how to introduce people to each
other and to ask for assistance. These are the topics of Italian
conversation covered in this chapter.

Hellos and good-byes

Dialogo
Here’s how two people, a man (uomo) and a woman (donna),
might greet and take leave of each other formally:
 NEW VOCABULARY

Memory practice
After each new dialogue, you will be given the opportunity to
memorize important new forms with a simple fill-in-the-blanks
exercise. Do this exercise from memory, and then go back and check
your answers.

, signora Verdi.
Buongiorno, Marchi.
Come va?
Bene, . E Lei?
bene. Ci vediamo
.
Sì, . A domani.

Language notes
The expression buongiorno is used in the morning to greet and
take leave of people, especially if they are on formal terms. In the
afternoon, Italians now use buon pomeriggio and in the evening,
buonasera. Good night is buonanotte. These can also be written
as separate words: buon giorno, buona sera, buona notte.
Note that the complete form for Mr. or sir is signore. Before a
name, however, the -e is dropped: signor Marchi. This applies to
all masculine titles ending in -e. Note as well that the title is not
capitalized, unless it is the first word in a sentence. Here are two
other common titles used in conversations. Note that there is a
different form for each gender.

Most other titles are the same in the masculine and femininte:
avvocato (lawyer) for example is used before a masculine or
feminine name: Buongiorno, avvocato Verdi (a female) and
Buongiorno, avvocato Marchi (a male).

Dialogo
Here’s how two friends—Giovanni, a young man, and Franca, a
young woman—might greet and take leave of each other informally:
 NEW VOCABULARY

Memory practice
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words and expressions. Do this
from memory, and then go back and check your answers.

, Franca!
Ah! Ciao, Giovanni!
Come ?
Non c’è male. E ?
, grazie!
Ci vediamo presto, ?
Certo a presto. !
Ciao!
Language notes
Italians address family, friends, children, pets, and anyone with
whom they are on a first-name basis with familiar forms. Otherwise
they would use formal or polite forms. Here are the relevant greeting
forms according to level of formality:

Note the different pronouns (Lei, tu) and different verb forms (sta,
stai) that reflect differences in formality.
ArrivederLa (written in this way!) is the polite form and
Arrivederci the familiar one. Ciao can be used instead of
arrivederci. And, as you have seen, ciao can mean both hi and
bye.
Adding on -issimo to some words to mean very is common in
Italian: benissimo (very well), malissimo (very bad).

Give the corresponding English or Italian word or expression.

Carry out the following conversation tasks.

20. Greet someone formally in the morning.

21. Say good afternoon to someone politely.

22. How would you say “See you tomorrow”?

23. Say good-bye to someone formally.

24. Say good-bye to a good friend.

25. Ask someone “How’s it going?”

26. Say hi to a friend.

27. Greet Mrs. Verdi in the morning.

28. Greet Mr. Marchi in the evening.

29. Greet Professor Santucci (a female) in the afternoon.

30. Greet your friend Marcello.

 31. Say good night.

Introductions
Dialogo
Here’s how two strangers might introduce themselves to each other
formally:

NEW VOCABULARY
Memory practice
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words and expressions. Do this
from memory, and then go back and check your answers.

Buonasera. Mi presento. Mi Tom

Smith.
Molto ! Mi presento anch’io. Mi
chiamo Maria Morelli.
lieto!
Lei è ?
Sì, sono americano. E Lei?
Io sono .
di fare la Sua conoscenza.
Anch’io.

Language notes
You will have noticed that the ending on some words (nouns and
adjectives) changes if the speaker (or the one spoken about) is a
male or a female. If you are an American male you are americano;
if you are an American female, then you are americana. More
technically, regular forms ending in -o are masculine; those ending
in -a are feminine. Note that there is no capitalization in Italian of
nationalities (unless the word starts a sentence). Some nouns and
adjectives end in -e (as you have seen). These may be either
masculine or feminine (as you will soon see).
The expression mi chiamo (My name is) translates literally as I call
myself.
In this and previous dialogues you have encountered a very
important verb: essere (to be). Learn the forms below, which make
up its conjugation in the present indicative. Note also that the
pronouns (I, you, he, and so on) are optional in Italian when it is
clear who the subject is: io sono = sono, tu sei = sei, and so on.
Note also that io is not capitalized, unless it is the first word in a
sentence.

Dialogo
Here’s how two young people might introduce themselves using an
informal style of speech:
 NEW VOCABULARY

Memory practice
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words and expressions. Do this
from memory, and then go back and check your answers.

Come ti ?
Mi Bill Jones.
Piacere!
E tu?
Mi chiamo Claudia Santucci.
di conoscerti! Sei italiana?
Sì. E tu sei americano, vero?
Sì, americano.
Devo . A presto.
Ciao, ciao.
Another random document with
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 125 f. Ovid, Tristia, i. 8. 41 f.,

‘Et tua sunt silicis circum praecordia venae,

Et rigidum ferri semina pectus habet.’

159 f. It is difficult to construe this couplet satisfactorily, and the

reading ‘Est’ seems quite as good as ‘Et.’ The Glasgow MS. has ‘Et
status’ erased, as if for correction.
163 ff. Cp. Mirour, 8921 ff.
167. The original reading seems to have been ‘grassantur,’ for
which S gives ‘grossantur’ (‘o’ written over erasure), and CG
‘crassantur,’ also by correction.
182 ff. I have no record of the readings of H₂ in this passage, but
I have no doubt that it agrees with EHT.
184. No record of the reading of T.
186. abhorret: apparently subjunctive; so we have ‘adhero’ for
‘adhereo,’ l. 1296.
192. habere modum: a first-hand correction in S, whereas the
others in ll. 182-192 are in a different hand.
194. caput ancille: an allusion to the form in which Satan is
supposed to have appeared in the garden of Eden.
243. specialis, subst., ‘a friend.’
255 f. Cp. Ovid, Ars Amat. ii. 201 f.,

‘Riserit, adride; si flebit, flere memento:

Imponat leges vultibus illa tuis.’

In adapting the couplet to his purpose our author has contrived to

make it unintelligible.
265. Fuluus ... talus: referring to the gilded spur of knighthood;
gold is ‘metallum fuluum.’
273 f. Cp. Tristia, v. 13. 27 f.
 315 f. Cp. Metam. i. 144 f.
323 f. Cp. Ars Amat. i. 761 f.
327 f. Fasti, iv. 717 f. The application belongs to our author.
331 f. Cp. Ovid, Tristia, i. 9. 5 f.
334. Ars Amat. iii. 436.
340. Cp. Tristia, i. 8. 8.
347. Cp. Metam. i. 141.
349. cumque, for ‘cum’: cp. ii. 302, &c., and l. 872, below.
361 ff. Cp. Mirour, 26590 ff.
372. Talis enim, ‘such, indeed,’: for this use of ‘enim’ cp. vi. 740.
375 f. From Neckam, De Vita Monachorum, p. 177.
379-383. Taken with slight change from De Vita Monachorum, pp.
183 f.
387. De Vita Monachorum, p. 195.
389-392. Taken with slight change from De Vita Monachorum, p.
197, and so also 395 f.
417-420. De Vita Monachorum, p. 196.
437 f. De Vita Monachorum, p. 196.
440. ne sit, for ‘ne non sit.’
441 f. De Vita Monachorum, p. 189.
459 f. Cp. Ovid, Ars Amat. iii. 65 f.
463 f. Cp. Tristia, v. 10. 5 f., ‘Stare putes, adeo procedunt
tempora tarde,’ &c. The couplet has neither sense nor
appropriateness as given here.
465 f. Pont. ii. 2. 37 f.
484. Numquid, for ‘Nonne’: cp. l. 892 and note on v. 280.
485 f. Ars Amat. iii. 119 f.,
 ‘Quae nunc sub Phoebo ducibusque Palatia
fulgent,
Quid nisi araturis pascua bubus erant?’

‘Qui’ is evidently a mistake for ‘Que.’

489 f. Fasti, i. 203 f.
499-504. From De Vita Monachorum, p. 181.
509 f. Cp. Mirour, 26605 ff. and Conf. Amantis, Prol. 910 ff.
519. This seems to be dependent on ‘noscat’ in the line above.
The indicative in dependent question is quite usual, though not
invariably found: cp. l. 516, where subjunctive and indicative are
combined.
574. consequeretur eum, ‘should follow him,’ i.e. should be
subject to man.
599. Arboribusque sitis. There must be something wrong here,
but the variant given by D does not help us.
619. Nonne, used for ‘Num’: cp. v. 731.
639 ff. This quotation from Gregory appears also in the Mirour de
l’Omme, 26869 ff., and the Confessio Amantis, Prol. 945 ff.
645. minor est mundus homo, ‘man is a microcosm’: cp. Mirour,
26929 ff.
647 ff. Mirour, 26953 ff.
684. The Glasgow MS. has ‘queris’ written over an erasure.
685-694. From Neckam, De Vita Monachorum, pp. 197 f.
699-708. With slight changes from De Vita Monachorum, pp. 193
f.
793. nuper to be taken with ‘auaricia,’ ‘the avarice of former
times’; ‘modo’ with ‘prestat.’
872. Cumque, for ‘Cum’: cp. l. 349.
 892. Numquid, for ‘Nonne’: cp. l. 484, and see note on v. 280. For
the idea cp. Mirour, 1784 ff. It is originally from Augustine.
909 f. From De Vita Monachorum, p. 178.
911-918. From De Vita Monachorum, p. 179, with slight
variations.
919-924. De Vita Monachorum, p. 180.
921. The reading ‘nostre,’ though it has small authority, is
necessary to the sense and is given in the original passage.
929-932. De Vita Monachorum, p. 180.
955 f. Cp. Mirour, 11404 ff., where the often-quoted lines of
Helinand’s Vers de Mort are given.
990. habet ... habitare, used perhaps for the future, ‘will inhabit’:
so ‘habet torquere,’ l. 1047. On the other hand in l. 1148 ‘habent regi’
means ‘must be guided,’ and the same meaning of ‘must’ or ‘ought’
may be applied to all the passages.
1067. Thetis, used for ‘water’ or ‘sea’: cp. v. 812. All the copies
here give ‘thetis’ (or ‘Thetis’) except D, which cannot be depended
on to reproduce the original form in a case like this. On the other
hand in the Cronica Tripertita, i. 80, S and H have ‘tetis.’
1079. furor breuis, ira set: the words are suggested by the
common expression ‘ira furor breuis,’ but the sense is different. This
is frequently the case with our author’s borrowings, e.g. v. 213, vi.
101.
1095. vix si: cp. vi. 1330; but perhaps ‘vix sit’ is the true reading
here.
1106. Quam prius, as usual, for ‘prius quam’: cp. i. 1944.
1148. habent: see note on l. 990.
1185. Que: the antecedent must be ‘virtuti,’ in the next line: ‘solet’
is of course for ‘solebat’; see note on i. 492.
1215. tueri: apparently passive.
 1240. deficit vnde sciam, ‘I do not know.’
1305 f. ‘Because justice has departed, therefore peace, who is
joined with her, is also gone.’ The reference here and in the next
lines is to the Psalms, lxxxiv. 11.
1342. An allusion apparently to the debasement of the coinage.
The reading ‘suum’ in G is over an erasure.
1344. Nobile que genuit, ‘she who produced the noble,’ i.e. the
gold coin of that name, called so originally because of its purity.
1356. sine lege fera: for this kind of play upon words cp. iv. 128,
215, 243, 509, &c.
1409 ff. It may be noted that the Harleian MS. is defective for ll.
1399-1466. Its readings here would probably agree with those of
EDL, &c. SCG have the text written over erasure.
1436. Exiguo ... tempore: for the ablative cp. i. 1568.
1455 f. It is the galled horse that winces at the load; that which is
sound feels no hurt. Thus, if the reader is not guilty of the faults
spoken of, he will pass untouched by the reproof.
1470. ‘Vox populi, vox dei’: a sentiment repeated by our author in
various forms; cp. note on iii. Prol. 11.
1479 ff. These last three lines are over erasure in SCHG. They
seem to have been substituted for the original couplet in order to
point more clearly the moral of the Cronica Tripertita, which is
intended for a practical illustration of the divine punishment of sin.
Explicit, &c. It will be seen that in these later years Gower has
almost brought himself to believe that the events of the earlier part of
the reign were intended for a special warning to the youthful king,
whom he conceives as having then already begun a course of
tyrannical government. At the time, however, our author acquitted
him of all responsibility, on account of his youth.
11 ff. The swan was used as a badge by the duke of Gloucester
and also (perhaps not till after his death) by Henry of Lancaster. For
the horse and the bear as cognizances of Arundel and Warwick see
Annales Ricardi II (Rolls Series, 28. 3), p. 206.

CRONICA TRIPERTITA
1. Ista tripertita, &c. These seven lines must be regarded as a
metrical preface to the Chronicle which follows. In the Hatton MS.
these lines with their marginal note are placed before the prose of
the preceding page (which is given in a somewhat different form)
and entitled ‘Prologus.’
Prima Pars
1. Take the first letter of ‘mundus’ and add to it C three times
repeated and six periods of five years, plus ten times five and seven.
The date thus indicated is MCCC + 30 + 57, i.e. 1387. For a similar
mode of expression cp. Richard of Maidstone’s poem on the
Reconciliation of Richard II (Rolls Series, 14. 1),

‘M. cape, ter quoque C. deciesque novem, duo

iunge.’

4-12. These lines are written over an erasure in SCHG. The

original version of them is not extant, so far as I am aware.
51. Penna coronata. This, as the margin tells us, is the Earl
Marshall, that is Thomas Mowbray, earl of Nottingham, afterwards
duke of Norfolk.
52. Qui gerit S: the earl of Derby, from whose badge of S,
standing probably for ‘Soverein,’ came the device of the well-known
collar of SS. His tomb has the word ‘Soverayne’ repeated several
times on the canopy.
55. aquilonica luna, ‘the northern moon,’ that is, the earl of
Northumberland. The variation of the text in the Harleian MS., written
over an erasure, arises no doubt from the later disagreement
between Henry IV and Northumberland.
58. Troie, i.e. London.
 65. The earl of Oxford, lately created duke of Ireland, whose
badge was a boar’s head, was Chief Justice of Chester in this year,
and there raised forces for the king, with the assistance of Thomas
Molyneux, Constable of Chester, ‘cuius nutum tota illa provincia
expectabat,’ Walsingham, ii. p. 167 (Rolls Series, 28. 2).
80. Tetis: see note on Vox Clamantis, vii. 1067: a parte means
apparently ‘on one side,’ or perhaps ‘on the side of the victors.’
The place where this affair happened is not very well described
by the authorities, but it seems clear that the first attempt of the earl
of Oxford (or duke of Ireland) to cross the river was made at Radcot
(Knighton, Rolls Series, ii. 253). Here he found the bridge partly
broken, so that one horseman only could cross it at a time, and
guarded by men-at-arms and archers set there by the earl of Derby.
At the same time he was threatened with attack by the earl of Derby
himself on the one side and the duke of Gloucester on the other,
both apparently on the northern bank of the river. Walsingham says
that he went on to another bridge, and, finding this also guarded,
plunged in on horseback and escaped by swimming over the river.
Knighton gives us to understand that he was prevented by the
appearance of the duke of Gloucester’s force from making his way
along the northern bank, and at once plunged in and swam the
stream, ‘et sic mirabili ausu evasit ab eis.’ Walsingham adds that he
was not pursued, because darkness had come on (it was nearly the
shortest day of the year) and they did not know the country. This
chronicler does not mention Radcot Bridge, but refers to the place
vaguely as ‘iuxta Burford, prope Babbelake.’ It is impossible,
however, that either the fight, such as it was, or the escape of the
earl of Oxford can have taken place at Bablock Hythe. No doubt the
lords returned to Oxford after the affair by this ferry, which was
probably the shortest way. The earl of Oxford seems to have made
his way to London, and after an interview with the king to have
embarked at Queenborough for the Continent (Malverne, in Rolls
Series, 41. 9, p. 112).
89 ff. The marginal note speaks of the ‘castra, que ipse [Comes
Oxonie] familie sue pro signo gestanda attribuerat.’ The cognizance
referred, no doubt, to the city of Chester. The same note tells us that
the duke of Gloucester bore a fox-tail on his spear as an ensign: cp.
Harding’s Chronicle, p. 341:

‘The foxe taile he bare ay on his spere,

Where so he rode in peace or elles in warre.’

103. Noua villa Macedo, i.e. Alexander Neville: a very bad

attempt on the part of our author.
104. maledixit. The particular form of curse in this case was
translation to the see of S. Andrew, which he could not occupy
because Scotland was Clementine.
107. Hic proceres odit, &c. He is said to have especially urged
the king to take strong measures against Warwick (Malverne, p.
105).
109. de puteo Michaelis, ‘of Michael de la Pool.’ The same view
of the meaning of the name is taken in Shakspere, 2 Henry VI, iv. l.
70, by the murderer of William, duke of Suffolk, son of this Michael,
‘Pole, Pool, sir Pool, lord! Ay, kennel, puddle, sink.’
111 ff. This is Thomas Rushook, a Dominican, who was
translated from Llandaff to Chichester by the king’s special desire in
1385. He had incurred much suspicion and odium as the king’s
confessor and supposed private adviser. Walsingham says, ‘ipse sibi
conscius fugam iniit’ (ii. 172); but he certainly appeared at the bar of
Parliament and was sentenced to forfeiture of his goods (Rot. Parl.
iii. 241, Malverne, p. 156).
113. ater: alluding to his Dominican habit.
121 ff. Cp. Knighton, ii. 255 f. All the five Appellants seem to have
entered the Tower, but the three spoken of here are of course the
three leaders, referred to in l. 41 and afterwards. Knighton says that
the king invited the five to stay for the night, but only the earls of
Derby and Nottingham accepted the invitation. The fact that Gower
here assigns no political action to his hero the earl of Derby (who
was under twenty years old), but gives all the credit to the three
leaders, shows clearly that the young Henry played a very
subordinate part.
 131. covnata: that is, ‘co-unata,’ meaning ‘assembled.’
133 ff. Cp. Knighton, ii. 292.
141. senecta. Burley was then fifty-six years old.
142. This evidently means that the queen interceded for him; cp.
Chronique de la Traïson, p. 9. Walsingham tells us only that the earl
of Derby tried to save Simon Burley and quarrelled with his uncle
Gloucester on the subject. Burley had been the principal negotiator
of the marriage of Richard with Anne of Bohemia.
150. Walsingham says of him that he was ‘ab antiquo fallax et
fraudulentus.’
152. Pons Aquilonis, ‘Bridgenorth.’ Beauchamp was keeper of
Bridgenorth Castle (Rot. Pat., 10 Rich. II. pt. 2. m. 15), but it does
not appear from other sources that he had the title here given him by
Gower of ‘baron Bridgenorth.’ In 1387 he was made a peer by patent
(the first instance of this) under the title of lord Beauchamp of
Kidderminster.
154. Tribulus: i.e. Nicholas Brembel (so called by Gower), called
Brembul or Brembyl by Knighton, Brambre by Walsingham and
Brembre or de Brembre in the Patent Rolls and Rolls of Parliament.
Presumably he was of Brembre (Bramber), in the county of Sussex.
He had been Mayor of London last in 1386. Knighton says of him
‘quem saepius rex fecerat maiorem praeter et contra voluntatem
multorum ciuium’ (ii. 272), and Walsingham declares that he had
planned a proscription of his opponents, with a view to making
himself absolute ruler of London with the title of duke (ii. 174).
158 f. Though he was a knight, he was not dignified with the
nobler form of execution, being a citizen of London.
162. Cornubiensis: Sir Robert Tresilian, Chief Justice.
172. falsa sigilla: that is, the seals set by the judges to the
questions and replies submitted to them at Nottingham. ‘In quorum
omnium testimonium Iusticiarii et Serviens predicti sigilla sua
presentibus apposuerunt’ (Rot. Parl. iii. 233; cp. Knighton, ii. 237).
They all pleaded that they had set their seals to these replies under
the influence of threats from the archbishop of York, the duke of
Ireland, and the earl of Suffolk.
173. magis ansam, ‘or rather a handle’ (i.e. a pretext). The
reading of the MSS. is doubtful (S apparently ‘ausam,’ but with a
stop after ‘regi’). The form of expression is not unusual with our
author.
174 f. ‘There was no punishment which would have been
sufficient,’ &c.
176. ficta pietate: that is, what our author in the Conf. Amantis
calls ‘pite feigned,’ i.e. false or misplaced clemency.
176 ff. Knighton says that the queen interceded for them with the
prelates (ii. 295). For the intervention of the prelates see Rot. Parl. iii.
241.
178 f. For the terms of their exile see Rot. Parl. iii. 244, Knighton,
ii. 295 f.
183. The sense of the preceding negative seems to be extended
to this line also.
188 ff. I do not know of any other authority for this expulsion of
friars.
200. cantus: apparently genitive in spite of the metre; so
‘ducatus,’ iii. 117, ‘excercitus,’ ‘luxus,’ Vox Clamantis, i. 609, vi. 1224.
215. hirundo: a reference to the name Arundel.

Secunda Pars
There is an interval of nearly ten years between the first and the
second part of the Chronicle. Our author proceeds to the events of
1397. He assumes that the king carried out a long-meditated plan of
vengeance, cp. ll. 23 ff., but this was of course an after-thought by
way of accounting for what happened.
15. A pardon was granted to all three in the Parliament of 1387-
88, ‘par estatut’ (see Rot. Parl. iii. 350), and a special charter of
pardon was granted to the earl of Arundel at Windsor, April 30, 1394
(Rot. Parl. iii. 351; cp. Ann. Ric. II, p. 211). See below, ll. 259 f.,
where the charters of pardon are said to have been procured by
archbishop Arundel who was then Chancellor. It seems to be implied
that the other two had similar charters, but nothing is said of this in
the Rolls of Parliament; cp. Eulog. Hist. iii. 374.
56. Cp. Ann. Ric. II, p. 202 (Rolls Series, 28. 3) ‘iurans suo solito
iuramento, per sanctum Iohannem Baptistam, quod nihil mali
pateretur in corpore, si se pacifice reddere voluisset.’
69 f. In the Annales Ricardi II it is definitely stated that Warwick
came to the king’s banquet and was arrested after it (p. 202).
According to Gower’s account there was no banquet at all, and
Gloucester was arrested before Warwick; and this agrees with the
accounts given in the Chronique de la Traïson, p. 9, and by
Froissart, vol. xvi. p. 73 (ed. Lettenhove).
85 ff. From this account we should gather that the king officially
announced the death of the duke of Gloucester to parliament before
it had occurred; but this was not so. Parliament met on Sept. 17, and
on Sept. 21 a writ was sent in the king’s name to Calais, ordering the
earl of Nottingham to produce his prisoner. This was replied to,
under date Sept. 24, with the announcement that he was dead (Rot.
Parl. iii. 378). It is certain, however, that a report of the duke of
Gloucester’s death was circulated and generally believed in the
month of August, and equally certain that this was done with the
connivance of the king, who probably wished to try what effect the
news would produce upon the public mind. Sir William Rickhill, the
justice who was sent over to extract a confession from the duke of
Gloucester, received on Sept. 5 a commission from the king to
proceed to Calais, no purpose stated, the date of the commission
being Aug. 17. On arrival he was presented by the earl of
Nottingham with another commission from the king, also with date
Aug. 17, directing him to examine the duke of Gloucester. He
expressed surprise, saying that the duke was dead and that his
death had been ‘notified’ to the people both at Calais and in
England. On the next day he saw the duke and received his so-
called confession (Rot. Parl. iii. 431). When this confession was
communicated to parliament, the date of it was suppressed, and
things were so arranged as to favour the opinion that the interview
with Rickhill took place between the 17th and 25th of August, the
latter being the accepted date of Gloucester’s death; cp. the article
by Mr. James Tait in the Dict. of National Biography, vol. lvi. pp. 157
f.
It is probable enough that the duke of Gloucester was still living
when parliament met, as Gower seems to imply. Unfortunately John
Halle, who confessed that he was present at the murder of the duke
(Rot. Parl. iii. 453), gave no precise date. The statement of Gower
that the king waited until he had secured his condemnation, may
mean only that he satisfied himself of the temper of Parliament
before taking the final and irrevocable step.
101 ff. The body seems first to have been laid in the Priory of
Bermondsey: then it was buried by Richard’s command in
Westminster Abbey, but apart from the royal burial-place. Afterwards
the body was transferred by Henry IV to the place chosen by
Gloucester himself, between the tomb of Edward the Confessor and
that of Edward III (Adam of Usk, p. 39).
121 f. For the insults levelled against the earl of Arundel see Ann.
Ric. II, p. 215, Adam of Usk, p. 13.
With regard to the events of this parliament generally, it is worth
while here to observe that Adam of Usk must certainly be regarded
as a first-hand authority and his account as a contemporary one. It
has usually been assumed that, though he says himself that he was
present at the parliament (‘In quo parliemento omni die presensium
compilator interfuit’), he actually borrowed his account of it from the
Monk of Evesham. This assumption rests entirely on the statement
of the editor of Adam of Usk’s Chronicle, that he must have written
later than 1415, a statement which is repeated without question by
Potthast, Gross, and others. It may be observed, however, that the
evidence adduced for this late date is absolutely worthless. It is
alleged first that Adam of Usk near the beginning of his Chronicle
alludes to the Lollard rising in Henry V’s reign, whereas what he
actually says is that the Lollards planned an attack on Convocation,
but were deterred by the resolute measures of the archbishop of
Canterbury, at the time of the second parliament of Henry IV, that is
the year 1401, when Convocation was engaged in an endeavour to
suppress the Lollards and the archbishop procured the execution of
William Sawtree; secondly we are told that the chronicler refers (p.
55) to the death of the dauphin Louis, which happened in 1415,
whereas actually his reference is obviously to the death of the
dauphin Charles, which took place at the beginning of the year 1402.
Mr. James Tait in the Dict. of National Biography, vol. xlviii. p. 157,
has already indicated that an earlier date than 1415 is necessary, by
his reference to p. 21 of the Chronicle, where the chronicler speaks
of Edmund earl of March as a boy not yet arrived at puberty, which
points to a date not later than 1405. It seems probable that the Monk
of Evesham had before him Adam of Usk’s journal of the parliament
of 1397, to which he made some slight additions from other sources,
introducing into his account a political colour rather more favourable
to Richard II. The close correspondence between them is confined to
the proceedings of this parliament at Westminster. It may be added
that the account given by Adam of Usk is full of graphic details which
suggest an eye-witness.
129. The pardon pleaded by the earl of Arundel had already been
revoked by parliament, therefore the plea was not accepted. From
the attempts made by the king to recover Arundel’s charter of
pardon, even after his execution (Rot. Claus. 21 Ric. II. pt 2, m. 18
d.), we may perhaps gather that some scruples were felt about the
revocation of it.
135 ff. Cp. Annales Ric. II, pp. 216 f.
155 f. Annales Ric. II, p. 219.
179 ff. Rot. Parl. iii. 380, Annales Ric. II, p. 220.
199 f. ‘Qu’il demureroit en perpetuel prison hors du Roialme en
l’isle de Man par terme de sa vie’ (Rot. Parl. iii. 380).
201 f. By the sentence upon the earl of Warwick all his property
was confiscated, but it is stated in the Annales Ric. II (p. 220) that a
promise was made that he and his wife should have honourable
maintenance from the forfeited revenues, and that this promise was
not kept. Adam of Usk says that an income of 500 marks was
granted to him and his wife, but was never paid (p. 16).
217 f. It seems impossible to construe this, and I suspect that a
line has dropped out.
230. His sentence of death was commuted for that of exile to the
isle of Jersey (Rot. Parl. iii. 382).
231 f. So also below, l. 280, our author expresses a hope for the
safe return of the archbishop of Canterbury, who came back in
company with Henry of Lancaster; cp. 330 f., where a hope is
expressed for future vengeance on the king. Yet we can hardly
suppose that this second part of the Chronicle was actually written
before the events of the third part had come to pass. All that we can
say is that the writer gives to his narrative the semblance of having
been composed as the events happened. The return of Cobham is
mentioned by him afterwards (iii. 262).
233 ff. Our author reserves the case of the archbishop to the last,
as a climax of the evil. He was actually sentenced on Sept. 25,
before the trial of the earl of Warwick (Rot. Parl. iii. 351). Sir John
Cobham, whose sentence is mentioned above, was not put on his
trial till Jan. 28, when parliament was sitting at Shrewsbury.
242. That is, the court of Rome was bribed to consent to his
translation.
243. The title of his father, who was the second earl of Arundel,
was used by him as a surname.
267 ff. This seems to mean that other private reasons were
alleged to the Pope.
280. See note on l. 231.
326 f. An allusion to the campaign of 1380.
328 f. Referring especially to the very popular naval victory of
Arundel in 1387 (Walsingham, ii. 154).
340. That is, in the twenty-first year of the reign (1397).
 Tercia Pars
17. This comparison of Richard’s proceedings to the work of a
mole under the ground (see also l. 12, margin) is appropriate enough
as a description of the plot which he undoubtedly laid against the
liberties of the kingdom, but the comparison is perhaps chiefly
intended to suggest that Richard, and not Henry, was the ‘talpa ore
dei maledicta’ of prophecy (Glendower’s ‘mould-warp’), cp.
Archaeologia, xx. p. 258.
27 ff. This refers to the appointment of a committee with full
powers to deal with the petitions and other matters left unfinished in
this parliament. The committee consisted of twelve lords, of whom
six should be a quorum, and six commons, three to be a quorum:
see Rot. Parl. iii. 368, Annales Ric. II, p. 222819. The latter authority
accuses the king of altering the Rolls of Parliament ‘contra effectum
concessionis praedictae.’
35 ff. Cp. Annales Ric. II, p. 225.
47. Que non audiuit auris, &c. The same expression is used by
Adam of Usk about the king’s proceedings in this parliament at
Shrewsbury (p. 17).
49 ff. These transactions are related, but not very intelligibly, in
the continuation of the Eulogium Historiarum, iii. 378. It seems that
the king summoned the archbishop and bishops to his Council at
Nottingham, and used their influence to obtain from the city of
London and the seventeen counties adjacent acknowledgements of
guilt and payments of money to procure pardon. After this the king
ordered that the archbishops, bishops, abbots, &c., and also the
individual citizens of towns, should set their seals to blank
parchments, wherein afterwards a promise to keep the statutes of
the last parliament was inscribed, to which it was supposed that the
king intended to add acknowledgements placing the persons in
question and their property at his own disposal: cp. Monk of
Evesham, p. 147. These last are the ‘blanche-chartres’ spoken of
below called ‘blanke chartours’ in Gregory’s Chronicle, p. 101, where
the form of submission sent in by the city of London, ‘in plesauns of
the kynge and by conselle and helpe of Syr Roger Walden,
Archebischoppe of Cauntyrbury ande Syr Robert Braybroke,
Byschoppe of London,’ is given in full, pp. 98-100. See also Rot.
Parl. iii. 426, 432, where they are referred to as ‘les Remembrances
appellez Raggemans ou blanches Chartres.’
73. pharisea: that is, hypocritically submissive to the king.
77. melior: comparative for superlative; so ‘probacior,’ l. 79.
85 f. Gower attributes Henry’s exile to what was probably the true
cause, namely the king’s jealousy of his popularity and fear that he
might take the lead in opposition to the newly established arbitrary
system of government. The very occasion of the quarrel with the
duke of Norfolk, an allegation on the part of Henry that the duke of
Norfolk had warned him of danger from Richard and had said that
the king could not be trusted to keep his oaths, made it difficult to
take more summary measures against him at that moment. Indeed it
seems probable that the conversation was reported to the king with a
view to obtain a contradiction of the design imputed to him. Adam of
Usk says definitely that the king’s object in appointing the duel at
Coventry was to get rid of Henry, and that Richard had been assured
by astrologers that the duke of Norfolk would win; but that on seeing
them in the lists he was convinced that Henry would be the victor,
and therefore he broke off the duel and banished both, intending
shortly to recall the duke of Norfolk (p. 23). It is noteworthy that
Gower makes no mention whatever of the duke of Norfolk here.
128 (margin). It cannot of course be supposed that Henry
embarked at Calais. Probably he sailed from Boulogne. Froissart
says that his port of departure was Vannes in Brittany, but he
expresses some uncertainty about the matter, and his whole account
here is hopelessly inaccurate (xvii. 171, ed. Kervyn de Lettenhove).
137. nepote: that is Thomas, son of the late earl of Arundel; see l.
130, margin.
160 ff. The suggestion here that Richard foresaw the coming of
Henry and went to Ireland through fear of it, is of course absurd. At
the same time it is certain that he received warnings, and that in view
of these his expedition to Ireland was very ill-timed. The statement in
the margin, that he fatally wasted time in Ireland, is supported both
by the English annalists and by Creton. In the Annales Ric. II we
read that a week was wasted by Richard’s hesitation as to the port
from which he should sail (p. 248), and Creton says that Richard was
delayed by the treacherous advice of the duke of Aumerle, who
induced him to leave the levying of troops in Wales to the earl of
Salisbury and to embark at his leisure at Waterford (Archaeologia,
xx. 312). Nothing is said of unfavourable winds in any of these
authorities, except that Creton observes that the news of Henry’s
landing was delayed by the bad weather (p. 309). Henry landed July
4, and Richard was in Wales before the end of the month.
188. There is no authority for reading ‘sceleris’ in this line, as the
former editors have done. Presumably ‘sceleres’ is for ‘celeres,’ and
this form of spelling is found occasionally elsewhere in the MSS., as
conversely ‘ceptrum’ frequently for ‘sceptrum.’ It is not easy to
translate the line, whatever reading we may adopt. It seems to mean
‘So in their ignorance they hesitate,’ (‘few show themselves quick in
action’).
205. mundum nec abhorruit istum, ‘nor renounced this world’:
‘istum,’ as usual, for ‘hunc.’
244. Augusti mensis. Richard left Flint on Aug. 19, and arrived in
London Sept. 2 (Annales Ric. II, p. 251).
256. Humfredum natum: that is Humphrey, the young son of the
duke of Gloucester. Richard had taken him to Ireland, and on
hearing of the landing of Henry had ordered him to be confined,
together with young Henry of Lancaster, in Trim castle (Walsingham,
ii. 233).
272. transit moriens. He died apparently on the way back from
Ireland, in Anglesea according to Adam of Usk, who says that he
was poisoned (p. 28). Walsingham says that he died of ‘pestilence’
(ii. 242): cp. Annales Henrici IV, p. 321 (Rolls Series, 28. 3).
276. Cignus: apparently the young duke of Gloucester is here
meant, and it is not intended to state that he was killed by grief for
the loss of his father, but that his mother died of grief for him: cp.
Annales Henrici IV, p. 321.
286. dies Martis, Tuesday, Sept. 30. Richard’s renunciation was
made on Sept. 29 (Rot. Parl. iii. 416 ff.).
300 ff. The demise of the crown made new writs necessary, but
the same parliament met again six days later (Oct. 6).
310. verbalis ... non iudicialis. This appears to mean that the
proceedings were confined to a recital of the circumstances
connected with the deposition of Richard, and that no parliamentary
business was done until after the coronation, which took place on the
next Monday, Oct. 13.
332 ff. The threefold right is stated here by Gower in the same
way as by Chaucer:
 ‘O conquerour of Brutes Albioun,
Which that by lyne and free eleccioun
Ben verray kyng,’ &c.

In the margin, however, Gower places the right by conquest last,

and tempers the idea of it by the addition ‘sine sanguinis effusione.’
Henry’s challenge claimed the realm by descent through ‘right line of
blood’ (that is, apparently, setting aside descent through females, cp.
Eulog. Hist. contin. iii. 383) and by ‘that right which God of his grace
hath sent me ... to recover it’ (that is, by conquest). To these was
added the right conferred by parliamentary election. It is not at all
necessary to suppose that he relied on the legend about Edmund
Crouchback, which had been officially examined and rejected (Adam
of Usk, p. 30). His reference to Henry III may have been occasioned
only by the fact that he was himself of the same name, and would
come to the throne as Henry IV.
324. That is Oct. 13, the Translation of Edward the Confessor.
341. augit. This form is given by all the MSS.
352 ff. Rot. Parl. iii. 426.
364 ff. Rot. Parl. iii. 425.
368 ff. Rot. Parl. iii. 430 ff.
378 ff. Rot. Parl. iii. 449 ff.
384 ff. This refers to the fact that the dukes of Aumerle, Surrey,
and Exeter, the marquis of Dorset, and the earl of Gloucester, were
condemned to lose the titles of duke, marquis, and earl respectively.
The case of the earl of Salisbury was reserved for future decision by
combat with lord de Morley.
388 f. This seems clearly to imply that Bagot was eventually
pardoned, and this conclusion is confirmed by Rot. Parl. iii. 458
(overlooked by the author of Bagot’s life in the Dict. of National
Biography), where there is record of a petition presented by the
Commons for the restoration of his lands (Feb. 1401), which seems
to have been granted by the king.
 394 ff. This is confirmed by Walsingham, ii. 242, and Annales
Henrici IV, p. 320.
402 f. Holland and Kent are the former dukes of Exeter and
Surrey, now earls of Huntingdon and Kent. Spenser is the former
earl of Gloucester.
417 f. Kent and Salisbury were put to death by the populace at
Cirencester, and Despenser at Bristol. The earl of Huntingdon was
captured and irregularly executed in Essex.
420 ff. For the feeling in London cp. Chronique de la Traïson, pp.
92, 93.
432 ff. The statement here is not that Richard deliberately starved
himself to death on hearing of the failure of the rising and the death
of his associates, but that he lost hope and courage and could not
eat, ‘quod vix si prandia sumit, Aut si sponte bibit vinum,’ and that he
desired the death which came to him. This is not an incredible
account, and it is fairly in accordance with the best evidence. Most of
the contemporary authorities give starvation as the cause, or one of
the causes, of death, and the account of it given in our text agrees
with that of Walsingham (ii. 245), Annales Henrici IV, p. 330, Eulog.
Hist. contin. iii. 387. The Monk of Evesham mentions this commonly
accepted story, but thinks it more probable that he was starved
involuntarily: ‘Aliter tamen dicitur et verius, quod ibidem fame
miserabiliter interiit,’ and this is also the assertion of the Percies’
proclamation (Harding’s Chronicle, ed. Ellis, p. 352). Creton says,

‘Apres le roy de ces nouvelles,

Qui ne furent bonnes ne belles,
En son cuer print de courroux tant,
Que depuis celle heure en avant
Oncques ne menga ne ne but,
Ains covint que la mort recut,
Comme ilz dient; maiz vrayement
Je ne croy pas ensement:’

and he proceeds to say that he rather believes that Richard is still

alive in prison (Archaeologia, xx. p. 408). Adam of Usk (p. 41) says