Page 354 - Hamlet: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

5.8. NOTES 247

153. as girdle, hangers, and so We should now say
'as the girdle, the hangers, and so on.' Each rapier had
its girdle, with hangers attached, i.e. straps from which
the weapon was hung; and fantastic fops, especially
those wearing long rapiers (cf. note 1. 263 below)
attached great importance to these hangers or 'carriages.'
Cf. Jonson, E.M.I. (1616), 1. 5. 82-3.
157-58. I knew you.. .done Fi omits.
157. edified by the margent A reference to the
marginal commentary in books of the period, esp.
theological books (hence 'edified').
160-61. The phrase.. .cannon Cf. Hen. F, 3. Pro.
26 'Behold the ordnance on their carriages.'
166-68. The king, sir, hath laid.. .twelve for nine
Johnson writes: 'This wager I do not understand. In
a dozen passes one must exceed the other more or less
than three hits. Nor can I comprehend how, in a dozen,
there can be twelve to nine. The passage is of no im-
portance; itissufficientthattherewas awager'—andlater
edd. have remained puzzled. We can be certain that to
the Elizabethans the passage was important, and that Sh.
would have given much thought to the details of a
sporting event which was one of the major attractions of
his play (cf. note 5. 2. 222 S.D.). And there is no real
'
difficulty, once it is grasped that in He hath laid on
twelve for nine' the 'he' is the 'he' of the previous sen-
tence, viz. Laer.; and that 'laid' and 'laid on' mean,
not 'laid awager' as in 1.106,but 'laid down conditions'
as at 5.2. 259 (v.note and G.). These conditions are: on
the K.'s side, that Laer. must win by at least three up (as
a modern sportsman would put it); and on Laer.'s, that
the match must be one of twelve bouts instead of the
usual nine in order to give him more elbow room, since
to win 'three up' in a match of nine would mean win-
ning six bouts to Ham.'s three, with no allowance for
'draws,' which would be fearful odds to give. Q1 reads,
'that yong Leartes in twelue venies At Rapier and