Britons now possesse,
2 And therein haue their mightie empire raysd,
In antique times was saluage wildernesse,
4 Vnpeopled, vnmanurd, vnprou'd, vnpraysd,
Ne was it Island then, ne was it paysd
6 Amid the _Ocean_ waues, ne was it sought
Of marchants farre, for profits therein praysd,
8 But all was desolate, and of some thought
By sea to haue bene from the _Celticke_ mayn-land brought.

1 The land which warlike Britons now possess,

possess > inhabit; own

2 And therein have their mighty empire raised,
3 In antique times was savage wilderness,

antique > ancient

4 Unpeopled, unmanured, unproved, unpraised,

unmanured > unploughed, uncultivated

5 Nor was it island then, nor was it peised

peised > balanced; weighed down; weighed upon

6 Amid the ocean waves, nor was it sought
7 Of merchants far, for profits therein praised,

Of > By
praised > valued, esteemed

8 But all was desolate, and of some thought

of > by
some > [some of the chroniclers whom Spenser consulted]

9 By sea to have been from the Celtic mainland brought.

Celtic mainland > (Normandy and Brittany)

210.6

Ne did it then deserue a name to haue,
2 Till that the venturous Mariner that way
Learning his ship from those white rocks to saue,
4 Which all along the Southerne sea-coast lay,
Threatning vnheedie wrecke and rash decay,
6 For +safeties sake+ that same his sea-marke made,
And namd it _Albion_. But later day
8 Finding in it fit ports for fishers trade,
Gan more the same frequent, and further to inuade.

6 safeties sake > safety _1590 (trisyllabic)_

1 Nor did it then deserve a name to have,
2 Till the venturous mariner that way,
3 Learning his ship from those white rocks to save,

white rocks > (Chalk cliffs, esp. in Dorset, Sussex and Kent)

4 Which all along the southern sea-coast lay,
5 Threatening unheedy wreck and rash decay,

unheedy > incautious, heedless
decay > downfall, death

6 For safety's sake that same his sea-mark made,
7 And named it Albion. But later day

Albion > (England. The origin of the name is obscure. The idea
that it derives from the Latin _albus_, white, and was given to
England by Julius Caesar in allusion to the cliffs, is refuted by
mention of "Albion" in _De Mundo_, a Greek treatise formerly
attributed to Aristotle, written three hundred years before
Caesar's invasion. The n