say, more successful than my predecessors, because they have not even found a key to some of these in the Latin names of provinces or sees adopted by the poet. About some of my translations, where I have not had so good a guide, I am less confident; and those of my readers, who are not accustomed to Italian pronunciation, will probably be less confident of my skill as an interpreter, than I am myself. Such, for instance, referring to the list given of Scottish nobles, may dispute the translation of il conte d’Ottonlei into the Earl of Huntley. But if they will turn to Cooke’s Voyage they will find an illustration of the Italian principle of naturalization of sounds, in the discovery that Opano was the Otaheitan name for Banks.
The men at arms and mounted archers, &c.
Stanza lxxxii. line 2.
Those who have been taught that the strength of the ancient English armies consisted in their infantry, will be startled at the mention of mounted archers; but Ariosto is here perfectly right. The English archer (at least latterly) was mounted; but made use of his horse only as a vehicle, as originally was the practice of the dragoon, who, when in action, fought as a foot-soldier. The English archers, indeed, were the yeomanry of the country, and wholly unlike the naked rabble of peasants, who composed the infantry of the other European nations. Hence they were allowed one horse per man (as we find in Anderson’s History of Commerce), and sixpence a day, at the time of the battle of Agincourt, being one half of the pay of the esquire or man at arms: an allowance which, notwithstanding the depreciation of money, continued to be the stipend of our foot-soldier till within these few years.
The Duke of Rothsay he!
Stanza lxxxiv. line 8.
In the original il duca di Roscia, which may possibly mean Rosshire instead of Rothsay.
