(3.349–50)

Though not one of Drayton’s coinages, ‘batfull’ is certainly a word he makes his own, using it twelve times in Poly-Olbion. It is derived from ‘battable’, which literally means something that can be battened, or feasted, on, and in Poly-Olbion carries the sense of land that is fertile or good for grazing cattle. Its repetition gives a sense of Drayton’s fascination with the British landscape, right down to the quality of its soil.