2n'JS. Nolll., Fek. 13. '58.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



123 



commenced a prosecution, said to have been of an 

 unusual character, *' not by indictment or in- 

 formation, but by motion in the King's Bench for 

 writ of attachment for contempt." For an ac- 

 count of these proceedings the reader may refer 

 to a Collection of Scarce Tracts, published by 

 Almon, 1788, vol. i. p. 260. 



The success of these pamphlets gave rise to a 

 brood of " Candors," whose letters are scattered 

 over contemporary newspapers, — many in the Pub- 

 lic Advertizer itself. Almon also published a pam- 

 phlet professedly written by " A Son of Candor," 

 which Mr. W. J. Smith (Notes to the Grenville 

 Papers) is of opinion was a genuine Candor pam- 

 phlet. Mr. Smith's opinion is entitled to respect- 

 ful attention ; but on this subject he had a theory 

 to develop, and that is apt to influence the judg- 

 ment. It makes no difference to my argument 

 whether it be genuine or not ; but I must add 

 that I can see no trace'of " Candor " in it. 



I reserve a notice of some other pamphlets till 

 next week. D. E. 



DIFFICULTIES OF CHAUCEH. — NO. V. 



" Marchaui." — 



" A coke they hadden with hem for the nones, 

 To boile the chickenes and the marie bones, 

 And poudre marchant, tart, and galingale." 



Cant. Tales, 381—3. 



The suggestion has already been thrown out, 

 that we are to understand by " poudre marchant" 

 neither, as a careless reader might suppose, a 

 dealer in powders, nor, as some have imagined, a 

 powder used in making gingerbread. The "coke" 

 was to boil " the chickenes and the marie bones," 

 and he was to " poudre " (season) these three 

 articles, " marchant, tart, and galingale." 



It now, therefore, becomes incumbent on us to 

 show what kind of viand was this selfsame mar- 

 chant, which the coke was thus to season or pow- 

 der. Respecting " tart " and " galingale " there is 

 no difficulty. 



Marchant is a name for waterfowl, in German 

 merchente. 



Merchente is properly the Mergus alhellus. But 

 CUV forefathers partook of various waterfowl : not 

 only of " a gose," "three greene geese in a dish," 

 " a stuble gose," and " after Alholowne a swan ;" 

 but of " malarde," " teale," " guiles," and " cur- 

 lew." (See the very appetising particulars in the 

 Booke of Cookery and Boohe of Caruyng.') And 

 marchant, or merchente, though it may have stood 

 for waterfowl of some particular species, Avas more 

 probably a general term, embracing many such 

 varieties as the above, and more especially the 

 plungers and divers. 



The word marchant is thus formed. 1. The 

 German merch, which is properly the Colymbus 

 cristatus L., answers etymologically to the Lat. 



mergus. 2. From merch comes merchente, whence 

 marchant. Merchente we might naturally suppose 

 to be a participial form (like mergens, mergente, 

 from mergo) : but such is not the case. Ente, or 

 ante, being In Germ, a duck (conf. in Lat. anas, 

 anatis), contributes accordingly to the formation 

 of many German names of waterfowl, merchente 

 among the re^t. Thus we have moorente or moh- 

 rente, kriechente, tauchente (diver) ; and in like 

 manner merchente, whence marchant, waterfowl. 

 The first e of merchente is hardened into the first 

 a of marchant, just as the ancient Mercia used to 

 be called the Ma7'ch. The e is similarly hardened 

 In the vernacular pronunciation of clerk, Derby, 

 Berkley, Berks, &c. (Obs. marchpane, almond- 

 bread, is bread made of almonds that come from 

 Murcia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.) 



With the Germ. " merch," conf. in Fr. merge, 

 " a name for divers water-fowle that use to duck 

 much " (Cotgrave) ; in med. Latin mergones — 

 " ad modum mergonis, qui restrictis alis profunda 

 pelagi petit " (Ducange) ; and In Ital. marangone, 

 a diver (bird or man). 



If anyone can show us that some particular 

 kind of Wiiterfowl was specially signified by mar- 

 chant, he will render good service. But it may 

 be doubted whether this can be done. Just as 

 mulvel (merlucius) properly signified "poor John," 

 yet stands for any kind of saltfish {e.g. " mulvel 

 de salmon et de makerel "), so merchente has pro- 

 perly a specific meaning {Mergiis albellus), and 

 yet marchant stood probably, like merge, " for 

 divers water fowles that use to duck much." 



In like manner the Fr. plongeon, a plunger, was 

 properly " the water fowle called a ducker," but It 

 was also " a generall name for water fowle which 

 use to ducke often" (Cotgrave). 



Modern zoology very properly restricts its 

 terms to particular objects ; but the zoological 

 nomenclature of our forefathers was far less pre- 

 cise. 



«G'ho/." — 



" Whilom there was, dwelling in Oxenforde, 

 A rich gnof, that gestes helde to borde." 



Cant. Tales, 3187-8. 



The derivation o^ gnof or gnoffe has given con- 

 siderable trouble to the critics, who seem disposed 

 to view the term as signifying a miser or cur- 

 mudgeon. This, as far as we can decide conjec- 

 turally, is probably the sense in which Chaucer 

 employs the term ; but a difiiculty still remains, 

 respecting the etymology o? gnof 



Gnof appears to be a word of Jewish- German 

 origin, properly signifying a thief From the 

 Hebr. 335 the Jews have gannov, a thief. (See 

 the Handlex. der jildisch-dsutschcn Sprache, under 

 33J.) — Gannov, giving the German pronunciation 

 to the V, becomes gannof -easily shortened into 



