Selections from Early Middle English, 1130-1250. Part 2: Notes (part 3 of 4)

Selections from Early Middle English, 1130-1250. Part 2: Notes (part 3 of 4)

85. #euer#, as an invariable result; comp. 7/69. Connect #se mare#, the more. #strengðdeð him#, exerts himself; comp. ‘⁊ streinþede him by al ys miht | to serue god,’ Bödd., AE. Dicht. 257/7. #to swimminde#, in order to swim, for swimming: corresponding in form to LWS. #to swimmende#, alternating with the regular dat. infinitive #to swimmene#: comp. ‘to quemende,’ 84/68, 70; ‘to lesende,’ 87/148; ‘to clensende,’ 87/177. Another exchange of terminations is seen in ‘Hit is to vnderstondinge þ{a}t sir Renaud . . . purchacede’ &c., An Eng. Miscellany, 350/6. The writer has ‘to brekene,’ 76/31, ‘for to lokien,’ 76/9.

86-90. Comp. ‘Ecce quot laqueos diabolus tendit litteratis et maxime theologis et predicatoribus, nam subplantatis et dejectis doctoribus facile deiciuntur discipuli; verum dicitur quod cuidam querenti a cancro cur non incederet recte sed retrograde, respondit cancer: “Ita didici a parentibus meis,”’ Jacques de Vitry, xliv. (the Exempla ex Sermonibus Vulgaribus may have been written as early as 1210 A.D.). The crab is accordingly the type of the teacher who cannot himself perform what he expects his pupils to do.

90. #swam hire#, swam: see 13/34.

92. #alse feire . . . alse#, as kindly as if.

93. #in--bosme puten#, clasp to their heart, like ‘suo sinu complexuque recipiet,’ Cic. Phil. xiii. 4, 9.

94. #to twiccheð#, pluck to pieces, speak censoriously of; like L. vellicare, discerpere. #to draȝeð#, rend, practise detraction, L. detrahere.

95. #doctores#: perhaps detractores; comp. ‘Detractores, Deo odibiles,’ Rom. i. 30. But the mother crab was a ‘doctor,’ and #eciam# here may be significant.

96. For the absolute use of #bihinden# comp. ‘þe ꝥ spekeð faire bi-foren ⁊ false bi-hinden,’ OEH i. 143/25.

97. #monslaȝen#, homicides. S. Gregory calls them cannibals, ‘Sciendum quoque est quia hi etiam qui alienae vitae detractione pascuntur, alienis procul dubio carnibus satiantur,’ Moralia, xiv. 52.

100. #þes--ehte#: read þes weorldes muchele ehte.

101. #itimien# represents OE. #getīmian#, to befall, happen, a meaning which does not suit here or at 104. The ME. word may here have been influenced by OWScand. tíma, always used with a negative as in tíma ekki, to grudge (Egge in Mod. Lang. Notes, i. 131), but his suggestion of a connexion with ‘beteem,’ Shak. Hamlet I. ii. 141, must be rejected, and the isolated use of the word in a Scandinavian sense, afford, find in his heart, in this Southern text makes a difficulty. Mätzner suggests the meaning, ‘verfallen auf etwas,’ and Strat.-Bradley, ‘to use opportunities.’ Possibly the writer was trying to translate some such Latin as, non potest temporanee manducare, or temporare (= in tempore vivere, Catholicon), or adtemporare, which would suggest getimien in a strained sense of, to do at the proper season.

102. #ah liggeð þer uppon#: comp. ‘Condit opes alius, defossoque incubat auro,’ Virgil, Georg. ii. 507; ‘Chryseros quidam nummularius, copiosae pecuniae dominus . . . sordidus aureos folles incubabat,’ Apuleius, Metamorp. iv. 9.

103. Eudes de Cheriton, Fabula lxvii. has, ‘#Contra auaros et laycos tenaces.# Bufo, qui habitat in terra, rogauit Ranam, que habitat in flumine, quod daret ei de aqua ad potandum. Ait Rana: Placet; et dedit ei quantum uolebat. Rana esuriens rogauit quod daret ei de terra. Respondit Bufo: Certe nichil dabo, quia ego ipse, timens ne deficiat, [non] comedo ad sufficienciam. Sic sunt plerique in tantum tenaces, quod expectant quod panes sint muscidi, bacones rancidi, pastilli sint putridi; nec possunt manducare nec pro Deo dare; timent quod terra eis deficiat. Hii sunt bufones Diaboli.’ Eudes flourished about 1219 A.D. The parallelism between ‘nec--dare’ and ‘maȝen--godalmihtin’, 101, 2; and between ‘timent--deficiat’ and ‘swa--trukie,’ 104, 5, is striking.

105. #trukie#: comp. 72/183.

107. The passage in brackets is conjectural: the copyist passed over a line ending with the same word as that which he had just completed. For the yellow cloth see 62/46 note.

109. #helfter#, halter, noose: OE. #hælfter#. The original had, no doubt, laqueus diaboli. For similar expressions comp. ‘Revera ornatus muliebris sagena diaboli est,’ Caesarius Heist., 287; ‘diaboli hamus,’ Vitas Patrum, 302. #þeos wimmen# &c.: comp. ‘Mundus est la garanne au diable in qua venatur ut capiat animas, et tendit ibi laqueos infinitos. Unus laqueus ejus est pulchritudo corporalis et ornatus. Unde istae dominae, quae tam pulchrae videntur esse et tam bene ornatae, acemées, sunt muscipula diaboli, quam tendit ad capiendum fatuos; ipsae sunt la ratière au diable,’ Hauréau, Notices, iv. 154. #lumeð#, shine, are splendidly attired. The MS. reading luueð and Morris’s conjecture liuieð give a poor sense. For lumen comp. ‘Hire lure lumes liht, | ase a launterne a nyht,’ Böddeker, AE. Dicht. 169/23; ‘þat lemeþ al wiþ luefly lyt,’ id. 152/6, 155/8, 145/3. The transitive ‘alemeþ,’ illuminates, occurs in OEH ii. 109/1; ‘alumþ,’ id. 141/29. #musestoch#: comp. ‘Similiter assatur caseus et ponitur in muscipula. Quem cum sentit Ratus, intrat in muscipulam, capit caseum et capitur a muscipula. Sic est de omni illicito. Caseus as[s]atur, quando mulier paratur, ornatur, ut stultos ratos alliciat et capiat,’ Eudes de Cheriton, 221/1; ‘Mulier pulchra . . . est caseus in muscipula. Mulier adornatur . . . Hoc est caseus assatus,’ id. 328/1. See also 62/51 note.

114. #blanchet#, ‘fine wheaten flour,’ Halliwell, who quotes from MS. Bowes of Robert of Brunne, ‘With blaunchette and other flour | To make thaim qwytter of colour.’

116. #scawere#, mirror: comp. OEH ii. 29/9-13. #hindene#, Morris thinks is miswritten for hid-ern, hiding-place; a word which does not occur elsewhere; if it were connected with OE. #hȳdan# the first syllable would be hud- in this text. In Specimens it is translated snare, with comparison of OE. #hinderhōc#, stratagem, as if for hindere. I take it to be the adv. hinden in substantive use, the hinder parts, the ‘behind’; in CM 22395, ‘hindwin.’ There is an ‘exemplum’ preserved in Le Livre du Chevalier de la Tour Landry, ch. xxxi, which tells what the lady who devoted a fourth of the day to her toilet once saw in her mirror; it was probably in our writer’s mind here. The Book of the Knight was written for the instruction of his daughters.

118. #wið#: comp. 48/299 and ‘þer wið,’ 82/121; ‘þe clenesse iscilt heo wið unþeawes,’ OEH i. 111/17; but ‘from,’ 148/141; ‘Wiðtieð giu fro flesliche lustes,’ OEH ii. 63/28.

Cross-Reference

62/46 (note) = IX. B (Ancrene Wisse: Outer Rule)

Errata

61. ... Schmid, Gesetze, 178/5. [Schmidt] 103. ... The parallelism between ‘nec--dare’ and ‘maȝen--godalmihtin’ [second set of quotation marks missing]

XII. SERMONS FOR PALM SUNDAY AND EASTER DAY

#Manuscript:# Trinity College, Cambridge, B. 14. 52. See p. 312.

#Facsimile:# Frontispiece to OEH ii.; gives f 44 r.

#Edition:# Morris, R., OEH ii., and Specimens, pp. 26-33.

#Literature:# Krüger, A., Sprache und Dialekt der me. Homilien in der Handschrift B. 14. 52. Trinity College, Cambridge, Erlangen, 1885.

#Phonology:# Oral #a# is a, ateliche 128, axen 183; #a# before nasals, a, manne 168, þanken 48, but o in þonc 72, þonked 84, 139; #a# before lengthening groups, o, honde 23, understondeð 146, but a in lange 101, 184, understandeð 180: þanne 45, 136 alternates with þenne 52, 117. #æ# is a (12 times), bad 88, 120, wat 175, and e (9 times), bed 11, set 71, wecche 97. #e# is e, eft 37, bendes 100, but understont 176, understant 181 (#-stent#). #i# is i, bidden 188, bringen 11, often written #ȳ# in synne OEH ii. 57/5, synfulle id. 57/17, synegeden id. 65/16, and similar words: but #i# is e in beð 122 (from pl.), sleðrende 169. #o# is o, biforen 28, one 11, 14, borde 87, wolde 22, but an 185, a 4 (5 times). #u# is u, burh 21, bunden 127, but o in comen 66, 69, folcninge 111, beside fulcninge 114. #y# is i (29 times), iuele 116, kinne 103 (3), but e in specð 85, euel OEH ii. 183/10, kenne id. 201/11, u in cunde 162, fulste 76; cuinde 160 shows hesitation between u and i. #ā# is normally o, aros 137, bitocneð 102, but a 11, an 19, hatte 9, naðeles 13, 74. #ǣ{1}# is mostly e, bileueð 158, clensinge 186, leren 65, but a in ani 136, ar OEH ii. 11/24, lareð id. 15/2, o in goð 4, 56 (from plural); a diphthong has developed before #sc# in fleis 144 (6). #ǣ{2}# is also mostly e, beren 23, selðe 123, but a in aristes 140, adrade OEH ii. 193/18, dade id. 187/22. #ē# is e, bete 73, este 166, but o in doð 15, 159, 164 (from plural), ie in gie OEH ii. 21/9. #ī# is i, lichame 126, lif 67. #ō# is o, blod 47, blostme 24, but te 11. #ū# is u, abuten 101, husel 47. #ȳ# is i, kidde 135, e, bet 147, u, cudden 18.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is a, armheorted 119, harde 98, warð 175, but e in bern 30, smerte adj. 98, ea in smeart pt. s. OEH ii. 21/27, ia in giarked 84. #ea# before #l# + cons. is a, al 71, half 68, but sometimes o, olde OEH ii. 47/3, ea, ealde id. 19/15, ealse id. 35/23, and ia, ȝiald id. 169/4: the i-umlaut is e, eldre id. 43/35. #eo# before #r# + cons. is eo, eorðliche 72 (3), heorte 62, but e in beregeð 114, herte 17, lerneð 17, sterre OEH ii. 161/4, o in storre id. 161/19, storres id. 161/6; the #wur# group has u, wurðe 84, 140, wurðlice 92, the i-umlaut is wanting, wurð 162, wurðe 91. #eo# before #l# + cons. is e, self 155, seluen 90 (4), but sulfen OEH ii. 45/6. #eo#, u-umlaut of #e#, gives heuene 74, 79, wereld 168: #eo#, å-umlaut of #e#, is wanting in fele 105. #eo#, u- and å-umlaut of #i#, is e in bileue 149, clepen 10, cleped 44, 108, here 20, 107, 123, seueðe 102, but biliue 172. #ea# after palatals is a, shal 27 (3), gaf 14, shap 158, but gef 172, giaf OEH ii. 113/27; a in shameliche 127 before nasal. #ie# after #g# is i in giueð 160, forgiuenesse 46, but gief OEH ii. 9/10. #ȝef# is gif 57, 182. #eo# after #sc# is u, shulen 74: #eom# is am 17, #heom#, hem 171. #ēa# is regularly e, bred 87, 156, deð 6, ec 105, ester 101 (4), leue 143, þeh 12, but a in admod 17, admodnesse 15, shad 148, ea in deaðe 137; its i-umlaut is e, lesen 147, lesende 148, remden 28, semeð 73. #ēo# is also e, beð 51, ben 63 (10), crepe 100, preste 9 (5), but ie in bie 30, 115, bien 61 (4), and i in bi 57; its i-umlaut is e, þester OEH ii. 39/29, but þiesternesse id. 9/27, and þeoster id. 171/25. #īe# after #g# is e in geme 57, 182; #hīe# is hie 74, 105.

#a# + #g# is ag, lage OEH ii. 3/6, dages id. 3/14. #æ# + #g# is ai, dai 4 (5), fair 12 (3), mai 38 (4), but sunedeies 99, seið 24, 31, seide 155. #e# + #g# is ei, leiden 20, wei 32 (5); agen 37, 182 descends from #ongēn#, so togenes 19, but toȝanes OEH ii. 177/32 is #tōgēanes#. #e# + #h# gives eh, sehte 51 (3), sehtnesse 53, but Scand. sahtnesse 50. #i# + #g#, reine 171 (O.North. #regnian#). #u# + #g# is ug, muge 152, 188, but mo 77 (Kentish). #y# + #h#, drihten 33, driste 189. #ā# + #g# is seen in agen 165, ogen 121; #ǣ{1}# + #g# in eiðer 126; #ē# + #g# in tweie 39, tweien 10, 17, tweire 103; underfoð 106 (#-fēhþ#) has o from the plural. #ō# + #g# gives boges 33, 65; #ō# + #h#, boh 24, brohten 34; #ū# + #g#, bugen 88 (3). The i-umlaut of #ēa# + #ht# is i in mihte 135, 159, ie in niehtes OEH ii. 11/5. #eo# + #h# is represented in riht 68, rihte 143, six 96, sixte 101, its i-umlaut in sest OEH ii. 137/5, seð id. 121/26. #ēa# + #g#, #h# in hege 21, heg 35, nehgebures 122; hegeste 176 has no umlaut. #ēo# + #ht# is seen in leochtes OEH ii. 11/5, liht id. 13/16. #ā# + #w# is ou, ow, soule 116 (4), snow 169, wowe 138, 181; noðer 12 is #nōþer#, noht 65, #nōht#. #ēa# + #w# is ew, sheweð 94. #ēo# + #w# is eow, eou in reoweð 119, reouð 122, ew in trewes 34, 60, hew 159 but hiu 158 (#hīew#), giu 147, 148, 153, comp. ȝiu 16/117: feorðe 99 is #fēorþa#, reoðe 121 (*#hrēowð#) is probably miswritten for reowðe.

#Swā# is swo 9, in combination alse 15, wat . . . se 175. e is inserted in beregeð 114, forsinegede 71, 124, husel 47, ouelete 154, shameliche 127, added finally in one 11, 14, þermide 139 by analogy of inne 45, uppe 71. For #a#, e appears in felefolde 164, for #e#, i in giarked 84; the prefix #ge-# is i in iwis 150. #o# is e in makede 5, #u#, e in þureh 54 (3); the suffix #-ung# is ing, clensinge 186, tocninge 55, wissinge 95, but wissenge 187 and the compromise þroweinge 52. #ǣ# is e in naðeles 74; #ea#, o in felefolde 164; #ēa#, e in endelese 74, loðlesnesse 109.

In nemed 118, n is omitted, by influence of the past #nemde#: #n# is lost finally in selde 98, a 4 &c.: #nn# is simplified in mankin 136, sinbote 109, sunedai 183: #ng# is gg in biginnigge 5. #bb# is u in hauen 71, liuen 153. #f# becomes u between vowels or vowel and liquid, driuen 127, freureð 124, ouelete 154; in other positions it is generally unchanged, fele 105, stefne 28, but uantstone OEH ii. 61/17, uele id. 63/11. #t# is doubled in settle 35, #ts# is c in milce 188, sc in blesced 30: #d# is doubled in bidded 86; for #d#, ð appears in sleðrende 169; #ð# in dauiðes 30 is OE. #þ# is assimilated in atte 156, likeste 122; te for þe 6, 166 is probably from the scribe’s exemplar as tis 174 for þis; betfage is French, bethphage from the Vulgate: d is written for #þ# in bidded 86, maked 62, quedinde 145. #ss# is simplified in cos 53; initial #sc# is sh, shal 27, shrud 113, shrifte 183, but exceptionally srifte OEH ii. 73/5, scrifte id. 11/11: medially it is seen in axen 183, acxen 96, bisshopes 61, englisse 44, it is s final in fles 47, fleis 150 (6). The stop #c# is written k before e, i, drinke 150, kinne 103, but spece 118: it is omitted in ofþinð 123. #č# is ch, eche 125, swinch 98; chosene 78 (#coren#) is conformed to #cēosan#; for cruche 185 see NED. s.v. Crouch: #čč# is cch in wecche 97, wrecche 123: #cw# is qu, quemende 68. Palatal #g# is written g, giueð 160, gaf 14, hege 21, but occasionally ȝ, ȝaf OEH ii. 141/28, heȝest id. 197/14: final #-ig# is i, but bode 189: swimesse 156 represents #swīg(e)messe#: #čǧ# is g in wig 14, gg in briggeden 32, 59. h is added initially in heste, hestene 164, heorðliche 35, his 47; #h# is lost in ider 130, louerd 13, lude 28, remden 28, reoweð 119, reouð 122, reoðe 121; for #h#, g occurs in hegsettle 35: #hw# is w, wat 38 (3), wile 114, wit 113, conversely #hū# is hwu 130, wu 167: #ht# is written st in driste 189, cht in leochtes OEH ii. 11/5.

#Accidence:# Strong declension of masc. and neut. nouns. Gen. -es, sunedeies 99, kinnes 104, 105: d. -e, deaðe 137, borde 87, but the inflection is often wanting, as in the compounds of dai, 101, 183, 184 and in most of the neuters, blod 144 (4), fleis 144 (4), &c.; muð 156 may be acc. (Anglian) after mid. In the acc. weie 59, 60, 62 has e like jo-stems, and tacne 53 from pl. #tācnu#: mule 12 is French. The pl. n. a. of masculines ends in -es, cloþes 20, prestes 61, bendes 100; preste 9 is a scribe’s mistake for prestes: neuters are burhfolc 21, þing 148. Pl. g. kinne 103, but englene 172, estrene 140 (#ēastrena#), kingene 13, muðene 44 are weak forms, louerdes 12; d. boges 33, 65, trewes 34, 60. The fem. nouns, except wereld 168, have e in the s. nom., chirchsocne 4, sinbote 109, abstracts in #-nes#, 109, 118, 119 as also in the s. acc. cuinde 160, forbisne 14, mihte 135, 159; hond 69, wereld 168 are exceptions: g. -e, sinne 100, but aristes 140 (occasionally m. in OE.): d. -e, cunde 162, dede 15. Plurals are n. hese 73, wede 103, wedes 104; g. estene 166, hestene 164, wedes 127; d. weden 131, honde 23, wedes 22, 125; a. mede 74, sinne 119, sinnes 46 (4), honden 128, pinen 96. Nouns of the weak declension have -e in all cases of the singular; lichames s. g. 162 excepted. Plurals are n. names 39, sanderbodes 18: d. axen 183, blostmen 26: a. acxen 96, blostme 24. The minor declensions are represented by fot s. a. 9, fet pl. a. 128; man s. n. 36, cristeman 176, mannes s. g. 62 (4), man s. d. 117, manne 176 (a weak form), men pl. n. 10, pl. d. 116, pl. a. 143; burh s. d. 21, bureh 11, 18 (#byrig#); boc s. n. 24; helende s. n. 5 (5) with participial termination; comp. 273/3, helendes s. g. 57; child s. a. 112; children pl. n. 31.

Strong inflections of the adjective are s. n. f. bicumeliche 116, holie 45, 51; s. d. m. bicumeliche 93, eche 125, f. bicumeliche 93, 94, 183, eorðliche 72, faire 64, lude 28, wise 66; s. a. m. endelese 181, rihte 143, sehte 55, f. eche 181; but holi s. d. m. 184, soð 183, fair s. a. m. 12 are not inflected. The weak form has mostly -e in the singular, holie 24 (9), but holi 47 (9), lift 69, riht 68 are not inflected. Adjectives in the plural have -e; as also comparatives and superlatives, loðere 116, hegeste 176, but biterest 178. Adjectives used as nouns are bitere pl. g. 178, half s. a. 68. #āgen# is ogen s. d. f. 121; #ān# is an 19, a 11; #nān#, no 106 (3). Noteworthy among the numerals are tweire pl. g. 103 (#twēgra#), fifte 100, sixte 101, seueðe 102.

The personal pronouns are ich, me, we, ure pl. g. 182, us, te = þu in likeste 122, ge, giu 147, 148, 153. The pronoun of the third person is s. n. he m. 12, d. him m. 19, a. 27, hit neut. 19 (with asse m.), it 21 (with strete f.); pl. n. hie 33, 74, g. here 107, d. hem 72, a. 11. Reflexive is himseluen d. 107, a. 90: definitive, himself s. n. 155: possessives are mi, ure, þin, his, hise pl. d. 10, 78, here. The general form of the article is þe, te 6, 156, 166; inflected forms are ðet s. n. neut. 26, 117, þo pl. n. 17 (3); þet 14, 84 is demonstrative: the article is used pronominally in þo þe, those who 27 (10). The compound demonstrative is s. þis, tis 174, pl. þese, once þis[e] 125. The relatives are þe, ꝥ = þet, þat 115: wat 38 (3) is interrogative: swiche 106, 129 is pl. Indefinites are me 27; sum 24, sume pl. 33 (3); eiðer 126; oðer 117, oðre s. d. m. 15, s. a. m. 136, pl. d. 22, pl. a. 135; ech 38, elhc 36, eches s. g. m. 175, 178; ani 136; manie 104; fele 105; al s. a. m. 71, s. a. f. 167, alle 114, pl. n. 105 (3), alre pl. g. 12 (6), alle pl. a. 135 (3).

The infinitive ends in -en, bidden 188, þolen 6 and fifteen others; exceptions are crepe 100, reine 171, and the contract verb fon 74. Dative infinitives with inflection are to clensende 177, to lesende 148, to quemende 68, for to quemende 70; without inflection, for . . . to hauen 70, to blissen, to gladien 83, to bete 73 and ten others. Presents are s. 1. speke 104, spece 118; 2. likeste (= likest þu) 122; 3. beregeð 114, liðe 100 (miswritten for liðeð), bidded 86, for biddeð; contract verb, underfoð, 106, 117; syncopated forms, about one-third of the total number, bet 120, bet 147, bit 120, 143, sent 53, understont 176, &c.; pl. 1. hauen 186, undernimen 142; 2. understonden 154; 3. bidden 46, herien 46, noten 45, þanken 48, wunien 9 and ten others in -en, lereð 67, semeð 73, wisseð 63, maked 62, for makeð: subjunctive s. 3. drinke 91, wurðe 84, 140; pl. 1. bugen 88; nime we 56, 182, understonde 88; 3. liuen 153: imperative s. 2. haue 121, underfo 113; pl. 2. brukeð 147, cumeð 87, lerneð 17, understondeð 87, 146. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. s. 3. gaf 14, gef 172, bad 88, 120, bed 11, set 71, spec 160; pl. 3. eten 172: I b. s. 2. come 130; 3. com 8, 26; pl. 3. beren 23, breken 33, 60, comen 28: I c. s. 3. warð 175; pl. 3. funden 19: II. s. 3. aros 137, rod 20: IV. pl. 3. understoden 27: V. s. 3. let 171; pl. 3. bihengen 21; s. 3. hatte 9. Participles present: I a. queðinde 16 (3), quedinde 145; past: I b. brokene adj. 65, cumen 182, cumene pl. 185: I c. bigunnen 179, 187, bigunne 177, bunden 127, worpen 128: II. driuen 127: III. chosene pl. 78: V. forleten 179, 187, shad 148. Past of Weak Verbs: s. 3. fette 138, kidde 135, lufede 175, rerde 137, seide 155, sende 10 (3); pl. 3. wenden 23, ferden 18, 28, leiden 20, makeden 61, but exceptionally ferde, makede 58. Participles present: seiende 89, 120, seggende 86, sleðrende 169; past: blesced 30, nemed 118, bet 179, 187, clepede pl. 108, forsinegede pl. 71. Minor Groups: wot pr. s. 38; agen pr. pl. 165; shal pr. s. 27, shulen pr. pl. 74; mai pr. s. 38 (4), muge we 1 pr. pl. 188, mo 77 (Kentish), muge [ge] 2 pr. pl. 152; ben inf. 77, 127, am 1 pr. s. 17, is pr. s. 44, his 47, beð 122, 154, ben 1 pr. pl. 142, 185, pr. pl. 63 (10), bien 61 (3), beð 51, bie pr. s. subj. 30, 115, bi 57, si (lof) 30, bien 1 pr. pl. subj. 182, was pt. s. 18, weren pt. pl. 31, 67; wile pr. s. 78, wolde pt. s. 6, 22; do 1 pr. s. 105, doð pr. s. 15, 159, 164, don 1 pr. pl. 141, fuldon pr. pl. 74, do pr. s. subj. 114, do we 1 pr. pl. subj. 88, dide pt. s. 136, diden pt. pl. 31; gon inf. 101, goð pr. s. 4, 56.

#Dialect:# A scribe of the South-East Midland has copied a manuscript written in the South-Eastern area bordering on Kent. The changes he has made affect both sounds and inflections in varying degree; in this extract the Midland element is more pronounced than usual; towards the end of his task the Southern gains the upper hand. But his exemplar was in its turn descended from an original of the Middle or Western South, written not long after the Conquest, or at any rate by a man to whom OE. constructions, such as the uses of the dative in him 106, iuele 116, folke 174, manne 176, were not strange.

#Vocabulary:# Scandinavian are rideð 62, sahtnesse 50, shereðursdai 184, wanrede 124, and probably gestninge 84. French are absolucion 100, custume 3, diciples 10, mule 12, oliue 24, palefrei 12, procession 4, prophete 169, proue 90, richeise 72, sepulcre 102. Latin are apostles 20, bisshopes 61, calice 52, cruche 100, crisme 112, fant(ston) 101, munt 10, temple 23.

#Introduction:# These pieces appear to be original compositions of the Middle English period, but the work of a writer who drew his ideas from the older literature, Beda and Ælfric, and used many archaic words such as burhfolc, chirchsocne, hegsettle, ouelete, sanderbodes, swimesse, wig. There is similarity in parts to the sixth Blickling Homily.

1. #Turbe# &c.: S. Matt. xxi. 9.

4. #⁊# = and. #haueð--of#, has its origin in: for #of# comp. 131/98.

6. #Et# &c.: not a quotation from the Vulgate or Comestor.

8. #þe# is a mistake for he, necessary as sende l. 10 has no subject.

9. #preste#: ‘Bethphage erat viculus sacerdotum in monte Oliueti,’ Beda, Opera, vii. 183. #þe . . . one#: see 1/3 note.

11. #into . . . ierusalem#: ‘in castellum quod contra eos erat ·i· in hierusalem,’ Comestor, Hist. Euang. ch. cxvij. #wig#: OE. #wicg#, steed; a poetical word, but here apparently in a depreciatory sense.

12. #noðer stede# &c.: comp. ‘Ne he nedde stede · ne no palefray. | Ac rod vppe on asse · as ich eu segge may,’ OEM 39/67; OEH i. 5/19; ‘Broght þai noþer on hir bak | Na sadel ne panel,’ CM 14981.

15. #on his dede . . . on his speche#, by means of act and word: on is more energetic than in: comp. ‘herte biðencheð ꝥ hie seggen shal on songe,’ OEH ii. 211/17. But #on oðre stede# is a purely local use.

16. #Discite# &c.: S. Matt. xi. 29.

18. #sanderbodes#, messengers; apparently the word occurs only here, but sandermen is in AS. Chron. 1123 A.D. A combination of #sand#, gen. #sande#, message, and #boda#, messenger: r may be due to Scandinavian influence (NED viii. 91), or it is possibly analogous to that in provender, OF. provende, lavender, Anglo-French lavendre, from LL. lavendula. #þiderward#, on the way there; see 91/93 note.

21. #hihten#, adorned; comp. ‘alle þos wennen huihten his wurðshipe,’ OEH ii. 195/32, 71/24.

22. #oðre#: adj. pl. d., practically adverbial, besides.

25. #Occurrunt# &c.: Antiphon sung in procession on Palm Sunday, according to Old English and Roman uses: see York Breviary i. 367.

27. #understoden#, received: for the earlier #underfōn# in this sense, comp. 6/37, 11/187, 197, 207.

28. #remden lude stefne#, cried with a loud voice; stefne is dative; comp. ‘and on cleopie agan[;] loudere stemne,’ L, MS. O 20789.

29. #Osanna# &c.: S. Matt. xxi. 9.

31. #Pueri Hebraeorum vestimenta prosternebant# in via, one of the Antiphons sung at the blessing of the palms in the Old English and Roman uses: see York Missal, i. 85, Breviary i. 367. v. p. are incorrectly expanded in the text, through a too trustful following of Morris.

35. #heg settle#. OE. #setl#, #stōl# continue in regular use for the official seat of king and dignitary till the middle of the thirteenth century, when they are displaced by F. trone.

37. #fro chirche to chirche#. The Palm Sunday procession at Mattins issued from the west door of the church, visited the stations in the churchyard and re-entered the church by the same door. In so doing it was mystically said to leave Bethphage and return to Jerusalem. The scribe has misplaced #⁊ eft agen#; it should come before #to chirche#. #⁊ bitocneð# parataxis; see 81/82.

40. #domus bucce#: ‘Bethphage autem domus buccae . . . dicitur . . . quia multos ante passionem suam docendo [Saluator] donis piae confessionis & obedientiae spiritalis impleuit,’ Beda, Op. vii. 183; ‘Venit Bethphage quod dicitur domus maxillae, dum adveniente morte salvandus quisque peccata sua aperit in confessione,’ Godefridi Homiliae in Migne, P. L. clxxiv. 22: Hildebert, id. clxxi. 500; ‘Betfage, se tun, getacnaþ þa halgan cyricean on þære biþ sungen ꝥ halige geryne, ⁊ men þær heora synna andettaþ, ⁊ him þaer forgifnesse biddaþ,’ BH 77/14.

45. #þet . . . inne#, in which: see 1/3. #noten#, employ (with advantage) the functions of their mouths: comp. ‘here wiken hem binimeð · þe hie ar noteden,’ OEH ii. 183/1: it takes an acc. here and at 87/165, but ‘noten of,’ 191/488: OE. #notian# often governs gen. of the thing enjoyed.

48. #uisio pacis#: so Beda, vii. 262; Ælfric, Hom. Cath. ii. 66. #soð#, l. 50, is a mistake for sihð, repeated OEH ii. 53/20; it really translates pax uera; see 116/140. Comp. ‘sibbe gesihð Sancta Hierusalem,’ Crist, 50; BH 81/1.

52. #of þe calice#. At this period, the celebrant after the consecration of the elements kissed the chalice and then the Deacon, with the words ‘Habete vinculum pacis et caritatis’; the Deacon next passed on the kiss to the assistants and so to the congregation. See York Missal, i. 198, Zaccaria, Bibliotheca Ritualis, ii^2. cxlviii-cli. Ælfric calls the messe cos, ‘sibbe coss,’ Lives, ii. 46/699.

53. #þe folc sent#, dismisses the people, with the words ‘Ite, missa est’: a sufficient sense, but interposing awkwardly between ‘cos’ and ‘þer mide.’ Probably folc should be taken as dative, or folke should be read; and sends it to the people and thereby betokens &c.

56. #⁊ eft# should come before #of ierusalem#: the church is Bethphage when the procession goes out of it, but Jerusalem when it returns to it: see 83/37.

60-72. The interpretation is peculiar; in some points it resembles that of Hildebert of Tours, Migne, P. L. clxxi. 501.

62. #rideð#, clear the road; OWScand. ryðja; elsewhere in this text ruden; comp. ‘ich sende min engel biforen þine nebbe þe shal ruden þine weie to-fore þe,’ OEH ii. 133/27. #makeð--heorte#: comp. ‘ut Christo iter ad mentem parent,’ Hildebert.

64. #forbisne#: ‘virtutum suarum exemplis,’ Beda, vii. 263.

65. #þo þe leren#: ‘Hi sunt qui a sanctis patribus bona sumentes exempla, aliis etiam normam [bene] vivendi proponunt,’ Hildebert.

68. #quemende#: see 81/85 note.

69. #hereworde#: see 56/37.

72. #unwilliche# is an adverb; OE. #unwilsumlīce#; comp. 40/181 note.

73. #semeð#, burdeneth, as at 4/18.

74. #fuldon#, fulfil: comp. ‘dædbetan and þæt fuldon on þæs abbodes hæse,’ Benedictine Rule, ed. Schröer, 70/21. As it appears to be always transitive, the following hie, them, must be taken as its object, and shulen is without subject expressed.

79. Read #secla#.

82. #Hec# &c.: Ps. cxvii. 24: the Graduale in Old English and Roman uses for Easter Day.

84. #þonked wurðe him#, lit. be it thanked to him: comp. ‘we ahte . . . þonkien hit ure drihten,’ OEH i. 5/29. #þe . . . offe#, concerning which.

85. #Ecce# &c.: St. Matt. xxii. 4 adapted.

87. Morris alters #þe# to we, but the article is necessary, and the subject is often omitted by this writer; see 83/10, 85/105, 87/152, and 6/18 note.

88. #bord bugen#: so at 85/102, but ‘to godes bord bugen,’ 88/188: bugen, to bend one’s steps, to go, is elsewhere used with a preposition; either to has dropped out in these two isolated instances, or there has been some confusion in the writer’s mind with begin.

89. #Probet# &c.: 1 Cor. xi. 28.

91. #wurðe þer to#, fit for that: þer to replaces an older genitive, #ðæs wierþe#; comp. 86/142.

94. #Erest#, firstly: #oðer siðe#, 95, secondly; #þridde siðe#, 99, thirdly.

95. #wissinge#, instruction, guidance; i.e. penance.

96. #acxen#: referring to the ceremony of giving the ashes to the congregation on Ash Wednesday. #bilien#, pertain, are associated with: comp. ‘þe six werkes of þesternesse · þe bilige to nihte,’ OEH ii. 15/3.

97. #saccum#, a penitential garment of sackcloth, worn over other clothes, thus differing from cilicium, hair-shirt; S. Jerome, Ep. 44. The writer has omitted after it, plagas, the ‘smerte dintes’ of the next line, ‘disceplines,’ 62/35.

99. #siðes#: read siðe; the superfluous s is due to the initial of the next word: in #liðe#, 100, final þ has been lost before initial þ: #swiðere#, 119, owes its final re to the beginning of the next word. #shereðuresdaies#, of Maundy Thursday: corresponds to OWScand. skíriþórsdagr, purification Thursday, but was wrongly connected with ME. scheren, to shear. The form in sh is native or naturalized; see Björkman, 125, and comp. 99/73.

100. #sinne bendes#: see 81/67 note. #crepe to cruche#, creeping to the cross; the adoration of the cross on Good Friday; Rock, Church of our Fathers, iii^2. 88.

101. #lange fridai#: #langa frīgedæg#, an ancient name for Good Friday, so called from its fast and observances. #gon--fantston#, appears to refer to some procession of the laity at the blessing of the font on Easter Eve, perhaps local, as it is not noticed in the service books. Brand, Popular Antiquities (Bohn), i. 158, quotes from Googe’s translation of the Regnum Papisticum of Kirchmayer, ‘Nine times about the font they marche, and on the Saintes do call; | Then still at length they stande, and straight the priest begins withall.’ Of course there was a procession of the clergy to and from the font, Frere, Use of Sarum, i. 149. In ‘ðor-of in esterne be we wunen | Seuene siðes to funt cumen,’ GE 3289, the reference is to the procession made to the font every afternoon in Easter week. The font is the symbol of the sepulchre because, as Durandus, vi. De Sabbato sancto, says, ‘fit hac die baptismus, quia in eo consepulti sumus christo.’ It is noteworthy that nothing is said of the Easter Sepulchre, which was probably not instituted before the fourteenth century.

103. #tweire kinne#, of two kinds; OE. #twēgra cynna#, but kinnes, 104, 105 is a sing. gen. in form, with plural meaning: see 81/80 note.

105. #do#: comp. 122/185 note.

106. #faire him#, becoming to him; ‘bicumeliche,’ 86/116.

107. #underfo#, used absolutely, like mod. receive, to communicate: comp. the full expression 86/117. #himseluen to hele#, to his spiritual well-being. #here oðer#, one of these two; but #eiðer þese wedes#, 86/126 can only mean, at this date, each, i.e. both of these garments. If eiðer be a mistake for oðer, then þis wede must be read in l. 125.

109. #sinbote# is explained by ll. 119, 120.

112. #crisme cloð#: in the service books ‘chrismalis pannus, vestis’: ‘crismale seu vestis candida que super caput baptizati imponitur significat secundum rabanum interioris et exterioris hominis castitatem et innocentiam,’ Durandus vi. The chrism cloth was put on with the words, ‘Accipe vestem candidam, sanctam et immaculatam,’ after the sign of the cross had been made with chrism on the head of the person baptized.

115. #for þat#, by reason of which, through which.

116. #iuele# is predicative dative, equivalent to the usual construction with to, as in l. 125. It is OE.; comp. ‘heora nan him ne mehte bion nane gode,’ Orosius 282/18.

118. #embe#: usually þe . . . embe, about which.

120. #he#: for the personal pronoun used instead of a repeated relative, comp. ‘hem,’ 87/156; ‘He ðurh hwam kinges rixit, ⁊ alle mihtes . . . of him cumeð, he lai bewunden on fiteres,’ VV 49/27. #bet ⁊ milce bit#, amends and prays for mercy; comp. 36/126, 44/238. Read seiende.

121. #Miserere# &c.: Ecclus. xxx. 24.

123. #likeð . . . selðe#, is pleased at the prosperity of all of them.

126. #soule#, #lichame#, datives; comp. ‘himseluen to hele,’ 85/107; 176/24 note.

129. #Amice# &c.: S. Matt. xxii. 12.

132. ‘Haec est dies quam fecit Dominus: exultemus et laetemur in ea,’ Ps. cxvii. 24.

135. #oðerluker#, in quite another fashion: a comparative adverb: see 125/270.

140. #for þi . . . for ꝥ þe#, for this reason . . . because.

142. #þer togenes#, for its coming, to meet it, as in ‘biþ hit eft him togeanes gehealden on þæm heofonlican goldhorde,’ BH 53/13. Comp. ‘þer to,’ 85/91, and for a similar pregnant use of ‘efterward,’ 77/63; ‘hamward,’ 91/93.

143. Holthausen in ES xv. 307 emends this sentence by omitting ⁊ before bringe and before þus and changing bringe, leue into bringeð, leueð. It might be better to omit þe and retain ⁊ before bringeð, with leued and omission of ⁊ before þus.

145. #Accipite# &c.: from the Missal, with substitution of commedite (S. Matt. xxvi. 26) for manducate (1 Cor. xi. 24), as in all the English service books. After #novi#, add ‘et aeterni testamenti, misterium fidei.’

148. #to lesende#: see 81/85 note.

149. #Caro# &c.: S. John vi. 56: the quotation in l. 151 is from verse 54 of the same.

152. Morris says #muge# = muge ge: probably the latter word has dropped out.

154. #ouelete#, oblation, the thing offered, here the wafer to be consecrated. OE. #oflǣte#, #oflēte# from L. oblata.

156. #⁊ . . . hem#, and which: comp. 86/120. #swimesse#, lit. silent mass, explained in Specimens as a mass without music; in Bradley-Strat. as a low mass. But the words of consecration were used in masses low and high; the meaning is the Canon of the Mass, containing the words of consecration, which was said secreto, and was often called secretum, as by Durandus, ‘secretum silentium in quo & misse canon devote dicitur.’ Comp. ‘Si comenca puis le secrei | De la messe, par bone fei; | Et quant li secrez ert finez, | Est danz Theophle auant alez; | Receut le dulz cors de Jhesu,’ Adgar, Mary Legends, 113/1041; and see the Lay Folks Mass Book, pp. 267, 274. A similar compound is ‘swidages,’ OEH ii. 101/15, the still days, the last three days of Holy Week, which is called ‘swiwike’ in MS. Cleopatra of AR 70/7.

157. Comp. ‘colorem et saporem panis voluit [Christus] remanere, et sub illa specie veram corporis Christi substantiam latere,’ Hildebert, 535.

159-61. The words in brackets were supplied in Specimens, with translation, ‘Greater might doth our Saviour than the holy words which he spake by his (the priest’s) mouth, when he giveth mankind his flesh and his blood,’ an explanation unsatisfactory in substance, for the ‘might’ is not ‘greater,’ but the same. Besides ‘his’ must refer to helende, and the earliest certain example of man’s kind = mankind ‘þar he for mans kind wil dei,’ CM 14909, is more than a century later; the word in this text is ‘mankin,’ 86/136 (#mann cynn#), ‘manken,’ OEH ii. 19/14. #mannes cuinde# cannot mean anything but man’s nature, humanitas, like Orm’s ‘mennisske kinde,’ Dedic. 218, ‘mennisscnessess kinde,’ id. 15687. Omitting the supplement the meaning appears to be, Our Saviour works a greater miracle than if the words of consecration were literally fulfilled, since he gives us in the sacrament his perfect human nature.

161. #⁊ Naþeles# &c., and moreover when a man eats and drinks in the ordinary way, the bread he eats and the drink he drinks do change into flesh and blood by the natural working of the body, wherefore &c.

163. #swo doð#: comp. 6/18 note.

166. #estene dai#, day of dainties, with a word-play on #estre# as in #hu sel# = #wu god#: #sǣl#, happiness.

169. #sleðrende#, falling gently, like dew or rain. #Pluit# &c.: Ps. lxxvii. 24, 25.

172. #biliue#, food: comp. ‘bileue,’ 87/149.

173. #Manna# &c.: ‘filii Israel dixerunt ad invicem: Manhu? quod significat: Quid est hoc?’ Exod. xvi. 15.

177. #clensende#: see 81/85 note.

178. #michele sinnes#, mortal sins.

179. ‘Qui enim manducat et bibit indigne, iudicium sibi manducat et bibit: non diiudicans corpus Domini,’ 1 Cor. xi. 29.

182. #agen#, with reference to; an early example of this use: comp. OF. devers.

189. #driste#, for drihte, Lord, as at 35/79. For st = ht, see KH 249 note. But Morris reads Ariste, resurrection.

Cross-References

1/3 (note) = I. A (Worcester Fragments) 81/67, 81/80, 81/85 (notes) = XI. (Hic Dicendum est de Propheta) 91/93 (note) = XIII. (Vices and Virtues) p. 312 = VIII. (Poema Morale)

Errata

#Phonology:# ... and e (9 times), bed 11 [comma missing] ea in smeart pt. s. OEH ii. 21/27, ia in giarked 84 [_“ia in giarked 84” added by author_] #eo#, å-umlaut of #e# [a-umlaut] #eo#, u- and å-umlaut of #i# [a-umlaut] #a# + #g# ... toȝanes OEH ii. 177/32 is #tōgēanes#. [corrected by author from #togeanes#] underfoð 106 (#-fēhþ#) has o from the plural [#--fēhþ#] #ēa# + #g# [#eā#] In nemed 118 ... #ss# is simplified [#s# is] The infinitive ... pr. pl. subj. 88, [88;] pt. pl. 31; gon inf. 101, goð pr. s. 4, 56. [31,] 112. ... secundum rabanum [lower-case as shown]

XIII. VICES AND VIRTUES

#Manuscript:# Stowe 34, British Museum: of the early part of the thirteenth century; written on vellum, 223 × 160 mm., by three scribes, with numerous corrections by at least three other hands. It belonged once to William Fleetwood, Recorder of London, and to Thomas Astley. See Catalogue of the Stowe MSS., and Catalogue of an Exhibition of the Stowe MSS., no. 240.

#Facsimile:# Palæographical Society; Second Series, plate 92.

#Edition:# Holthausen, F., Part i. Text and Translation. E. E. T. S., O. S. 89.

#Literature:# Schmidt, G. Ueber die Sprache und Heimat der ‘Vices and Virtues.’ Leipzig, 1899; Philippsen, M. Die Deklination in den ‘Vices and Virtues.’ Kieler Diss. Erlangen, 1911; Heuser, W., Anglia, xvii. 88.

#Phonology:# Oral #a# and #a# before nasals is a, wascen 82, swanc 4; #a# before lengthening groups wavers between a (9 times) and o (5), lande 16, londe 8, understanden 34, understonden 138. #æ# is regularly a, after 42, cwað 94, was 3; wrecche 60, 116 comes from #wrecca#. #e# is generally e, but umlaut #e# before nasal is a (representing #æ#, Bülbring, § 171) in namden 117, inamde 120, sant 127, sante 84, wante 88; before lengthening groups e, lengðe 45, but a as above in andin 122, andeden 123, wand 93, and æ in wænden 46, strænges 28; a, æ for umlaut #e# before nasals is characteristic of the South-Eastern area (Morsbach, § 108); i for #e# in ðingþ 41 is due to confusion of #þencan# and #þyncan#; hwilliche 112 descends from #hwilc#. i is i, bidde 52, finde 83; cherche 9 is #cyrice#, ferst 91, ðessere 22 (3) come from forms with #y#. #o# is o, dropes 12, borde 15; ðane 3 is LWS. #ðane#. #u# is u, cumeð 26, swunken 146, grundwall 53, but beswonken 136, forðer 45 (late North. #forþor#). #y# is e, euele 26, kennes 13, þelliche 36; #mycel# is muchele 4 (3), beside michele 21 (8); þincþ 47, 63, þingþ 70 represent #þyncþ#.

The representation of #ā# wavers between a and o, the former predominating, lare 20 (3), lore 57 (3), swa 5, swo 12, wat 136, wot 137; before two consonants, annesse 115, onnesse 148, tacneð 79, tocneð 130. #ǣ{1}# is regularly a, ani 35 (5), sade 75 (8); before two consonants, alche 139, aure 125 (3), but æ in ær 4, 47, bræde 44, mæst 29, næure 31, tæche 54, ea in sea 22; ilke 130 descends from #ylc#. #ǣ{2}# is also a, dade 92, 98, rad 19, 42, ware 129; before two consonants, blastes 27, latst 48, but æ in ræd 44, wære 60, and e in leten 56, nahwer 83. #ē# is e, bene 95, feden 116, before two consonants, dest 36, misferde 125, but ie in hie 36, hier 144, and more frequently in other places, bienes VV 65/3, diest id. 41/2; o in doð 33, 42 is from the plural. #ī# is i, liue 8, wisdome 32, but bleðeliche 66 beside bliðeliche 63. #ō# is o, don 123, godnesse 91. #ū# is u, trukede 120, dust 70. #ȳ# is e in screden 116, ie in inȝied 80, 91 (#ingehȳd#), i in litle 12, litel 42, 91, little 136.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is a, harm VV 29/10; before lengthening groups a, harde 31, warnin 27 (4), warð 87, but middeneard 6; the i-umlaut is e, wernde 83. #ea# before #l# + cons. is also a, all 6 (14), grundwall 53, halt 40 (#heald#), scalt 38, but ea survives in ealde 128, healden 57 (4), before a lengthening group; the i-umlaut is e, eldest 118. #eo# before #r# + cons. is e, berȝen 140, berȝin 138, ferr 45, herte 34, 82, but ie in hierte 31, 98, liernin 64, 138, a in harkeð 66 (*#heorcian#); eo survives in weorc VV 95/3 &c.; the i-umlaut is ie, hierdes 1, but worð 133. #eo# before #l# + cons. is seen in seluen 20. #eo#, u-umlaut of #e#, is e in heuene 24, heuneriches 140; after #w#, o in woreld 2 (5). #eo#, u- and å-umlaut of #i#, is e, icleped 58, leðebeiȝe 15, seððen 5, the datives ðese 60, 143, 144, ðesen 119, 120, ðese 53, 140; #heora# is here 15, 30, and hire 14: niðer 30 is without umlaut. #ea# after palatals is a, scal 79: #ie# after #g# is i, ȝif 90, 101, ȝiuen 40, ȝiue 74, e in beȝete 125, forȝete 60, ei (for ie) in forȝeit 149. #ȝef# is ȝif 32, gif 102. #eo# after #sc# is u, scule 8, sculen 1, 74, but scolde 129. #eom# is am 59, #heom#, hem 112.

#ēa# is ea, breade 100, dead 87, forleas 7, teares 73 (8), but bred 77, ec 2: aȝean 93 is #ongēan#: the i-umlaut has e, ȝemeleastes 13, hersum 15, hersumnesse 115 (2), iherde 95 (5), netene 130, but unbiliefde 33. #ēo# is mostly ie, bien 12 &c., dier 129, dieuliche 11, lief 3, ouerȝiede 6, ðies 79, 91, but e in be 39, betwen 112, deules 26, lef 88, twene 139; eo is rare, beon VV 121/10. The i-umlaut is e, fiftene 95, inede 74, steren 9, and ie, niede 92 (4), niedfulle 74, stieren 1, stierde 5. Palatal #ēa# after #g# is seen in ȝear 95, biȝeates 14 (#begēat#, Napier, OE. Glosses 2698); after #sc# in scadwisnesse 121. #ȝīet# is ȝiet 90, 95.

#a# + #g# is aȝ, laȝe 128, 131, forðdraȝen 97. #æ# + #g# is ai, faire 11, mai 34, sai 94 (#sæge#), tail 129, but daiȝ 77. #e# + #g# is ei, aweiward 48, seið 17 (#segeð#), but iseȝen 119 (#gesegen#). #o# + #g# is seen in ibroiden 28; #o# + #ht# in þohtes 25, 30. #u# + #g# is uȝ, muȝe 97, muge 125. #ā# + #g#, #h# are seen in wauȝe 89, auh 17; #ǣ{1}# + #ht# in betaht 7; #ǣ{2}# + #g# in ȝeseiȝe 124; #ē# + #g# in wreiȝede 83; #ī# + #g# in stieð 24; #ō# + #g# in bowes 44, #ō# + #ht# in besouhte 84, ȝeþouht 46, þouhten 77; #ea# + #h# in iseih 94; #ie# + #ht# in miht 98, mihte 5 &c., mihtes 46, niht 77; #eo# + #ht# in riht 146; #ēa# + #h# in þeih 105; #īe# + #ht# in ieiht 96; #ā# + #w# in saule 10 (6), sawle 80: naht 12, 87, 126 is #nāht#. nielnesse 30 represents #neowolnes#. #ēa# + #w# gives eaw, feawe 40, sceawin 25 (3), unðeawes 55; #ēo# + #w#, ew, ȝew 20, ȝewer 19, ȝewere 20, newe 131, #īe# + #w#, ew, trewe 39.

#a# without stress is levelled to e in andswereð 51, middeneard 6; #o# to e in forðer 45, niðer 30, sikere 12, sikerliker 98, sikerest 113, te 28, 42; #u# to e in leðebeiȝe 15. #e# is lost in eule 81, heuneriches 140, o in nielnesse 30, e is added in ofte 60. #on# is a 149.

For #w# the rune is used. #ll# is simplified in dieuliche 11. #n# is doubled in þennken 49: for almihtin 143, see 79/17 note. Initial #f# is f, ferr 45, #f# between vowels or vowel and liquid is u, euele 26, aure 125, otherwise f, unbeliefde 33. #d# is doubled in godd 7, goddspell 118, lost in finst 40; #dd# is simplified in amidewarde 70; for #d#, t appears in halt 40. Initial #þ# becomes t after #t# in tin 40, tu 37, 47, 87; for #þ#, d is written in seid 21, 67, speked 73, tobrekd 35, wid 71. #s# is represented by sc in bledscin 147: #sc# is regularly sc [š], iscop 52, scal 79, sceawin 25, scipes 14, scolde 129, scule 8, wascen 82. The stop #c# is written k before e, i, lokin 1, munekes 38 and before another consonant, forsakþ 20, tobrekð 32, but tobrecþ 36, c in other positions, cumen 113, exceptionally ch in ilche 52 (#ilca#), arche 5, 9 (if not French), g in ðingþ 41 (4): #ic# is ic and ich. #č# is ch, alche 139, beseche 58, ilich 69, iswinch 48, michel 122 &c., tæche 54, þelliche 36, þench 89, þenchinde 59, but exceptionally k in beseke 106, beseken 97, ilke 130 (#ylc# confused with #ilca#): #čč# is cch, wacchen 114, wrecche 60, 116. #cg# is gg, segge 99, 109; #cs#, x, rixin, rixið 110; #cw#, cw, becweð 86, cwað 94, cwide 86. Palatal #g# is ȝ, initially, biȝeates 14, ȝemeleastes 13, but Gif 102 (with capital letter); medially, maniȝe 4 (4), heriȝen 147 (3), wuniȝeð 15, 18, muȝe 97, VV 3/18, 73/17 &c., but muge 125. The prefix #ge-# is often retained, ȝewriten 23, ȝeþanc 57, ȝeswinkes 145, beside iþanke 66, iswinch 48, and ȝ is added in ȝew 20, ȝewer 19, ȝewere 20, ouerȝiede 6. For the stop, g is used initially, grundwall 53, agunnen 123, ȝegunnen 53, but iȝunnen 47, medially, bringen 8, but the palatal symbol is used for the spirant after l, r, berȝin 138 &c., folȝin 44 (3), foriswelȝen 39: #myr(i)gþ# is represented by merhðe 25, merchþe 140. #g# is lost in heuiliche 48. For #h#, ȝ is written in þurȝwunie 131, ðurȝwuneð 133; h is added in Hvte 143, lost in þurwuneð 128, inȝied 80, 91 (inȝehied VV 141/1): initial #hl# is preserved in hlesteð 17 (3), but lhesten 50, lesten 44.

#Accidence:# Strong declension of masc. and neut. nouns. Sing. g. -es, priestes 43, kennes 13, scipes 14: d. -e, hlauerde 143, netene 130, but daiȝ 151 (comp. OE. #on dæg#), hlauerd 52, ræd 44, sal 111 (OE. #æt sumum sǣle#, #on sumne sǣl#) are without inflection. Pl. n. a. of masculines, -es, hierdes 1, bowes 44, but wintre 4 (#wintru#); neuters are n. dier 129, a. ȝear 95, þing 137, bede 114 (#gebēdu#): pl. g. ðinge 71; d. -es, blastes 27, biȝeates 14, ȝeswinkes 145, wordes 66. Of the fem. nouns of the strong declension, forbisne 66, mihte 126, niede 151, sawle 51 (3), scadwisnesse 121 have added e in the s. n. and bene 95, mihte 106, niede 92, 150 in the s. a. Gen. -e, herte 34: d. -e, bræde 44, cherche 9, but sea 22, woreld 2 (4). Pl. g. saule 13; d. ȝemeleastes 13, mihtes 46 (5); a. dade 92, 98, mihtes 69. Nouns of the weak declension are s. d. hope 28, ileaue 28; a. lichame 10; pl. n. dropes 12; d. wisen 117; a. wacchen 114. The minor declensions are represented by mann s. n. 33, mannes s. g. 145, manne s. d. 33, stieresmanne 15, man s. a. 127, stieresmann 3, manne 124, stieresmenn pl. n. 8, mannen pl. d. 38, stieresmannen 18, 21, stieresman[nen] 23; moder s. n. 109; faderes pl. n. 109, 111.

Remnants of the strong declension of adjectives in the sing. are haliȝes g. m. 145, faste d. m., rihte 28, dieuliche d. f. 11, mannliche 10, michele 21, 96, faire d. neut. 11. The weak declension in the sing. has -e throughout, unware n. m. 41, unwise 33, eule n. f. 81, gode 80, lieue 136, muchele d. m. 5, wilde 6, bitere d. f. 22, ealde 128, soðe 29, &c., gode a. m. 3, 35, michele a. f. 25, little a. neut. 136; exceptions are hali 64, 117, 124, muchel 48. The pl. strong and weak has -e in all cases, sikere n. 12, halie d. 140, euele a. 26, but hali n. 108, 111, hersum 15, hali d. 46, 53 are uninflected; comparatives and superlatives are gladdere s. n. f. 98, eldes[t] pl. d., wisest 118, #ān# is a n. m. 91, on 118, an f. 66, 126, one a. f. 106, #nān#, non n. f. 71, neut. 103, none d. m. 10, 11, f. 72, neut. 32, 134. Adjectives used as nouns are gode s. d. neut. 72, 134, arst s. a. neut. 71, betste 89, god 38, 40, lasse 43, litel 42, gode pl. d. 150.

The personal pronouns are ic 45 (8), ich 46 (8), me, we, us, þu, (ðat) tu 37, 58, (scalt) tu 87, ðe, ȝew 20. The pronoun of the third person is s. n. he m. 4, 7, ?hie 45, hie f. 108, 109, he 110, hit neut. 29; d. him m. 7, hire f. 110; a. hie m. 36, f. 5, his 127; pl. n. hie 2; d. hem 56; a. hes 50, 54, 56. Reflexives are me seluen 19, hem pl. d. 112: possessives, min 57, 79, mine pl. 76, 79, þin 98, ðine s. d. f. 57, 90, 91, s. a. m. 95, s. a. f. 95, tin s. a. neut. 40, þi 96, ure 23, ȝewer 19, ȝewere 20, his 82, is 93, hire 81, here pl. 30, hire 14. The definite article is s. n. ðe m. 17, f. 79, 80, se 81, þat neut. 80, 117; d. ðan m. 33, 52, ðe 5 (6), ðo 69, ðare f. 29 (8), ðe 9, 31, ða 147, ðe neut. 64, ðo 100; a. ðane m. 3, 53, ðanne 127, ðe f. 25, 39, ða 4, 9, þat neut. 89, ðe instr. 98: pl. n. ða 8, ðe 1; d. ðan 74, ða 21 (3), ðe 46 (4); a. ðe 26, ðo 31. The article is used as pronoun antecedent to relatives, se ðe, he who 19, 65, ðo ðe, those who 1, 2: ðat is demonstrative 17, 33, 64, 80, 102, 121. The compound demonstrative is s. n. þies f. 91, 79 (with neut. bedd); d. ðese m. 60, 144, ðessere f. 22, 71, 131, ðese neut. 143; a. ðese f. 58, 124, þis neut. 20, 136: pl. n. þese 73; d. ðesen 119, 120, þese 38, 53, 140; a. ðese 103. The relatives are ðe 1, ðat 37, 60, what, se ðe 148, who; ðe 4 means with which. Interrogatives are hwam s. d. f. 71, hwat 17, 36, hwilliche 112: #ilca# is ilche s. d. m. 52, #þyllic#, þelliche pl. d. 36. Indefinites are se ðe 125, whoso; se . . . he 132; hwat hwat 134, whatever, me 113, man 104, 110; feawe pl. 40; sum s. n. 113, sume s. d. m. 111, pl. a. 97; oþres s. g. neut. 77, oðer s. d. f. 61, oðre pl. d. 108; ilke s. n. m. 130, alche s. d. m. 139; auriche s. d. neut. 130; ani 35 &c.; maniȝes s. g. m. 145, neut. 12, manies 117, maniȝe pl. n. 12, manie 119, maniȝe pl. d. 55, pl. a. 4, 119; all s. a. m. 6, f. 39, al s. a. neut. 37, alle pl. n. 14, 129, alre pl. g. 71, alle pl. d. 14 (7), pl. a. 137.

Infinitives of the second weak conjugation, except watrien 79, end in -in, andin 122, folȝin 44 (3), rixin 110, all others in -en, -ien, berȝen 140, beseken 97, herien 143, except berȝin 138, herborȝin 115. The dat. inf. is not inflected; to laten, to libben 88, to speken, to þennken 49 are virtually nominatives. Presents are s. 1. beseche 58, habbe 56; 2. hauest 53, lokest 47, syncopated are dalst 37, finst 40, hafst 37, latst 48; 3. answereð 51, haueð 45, rixeð 148, tocneð 130, rixið 110, and twelve others, but syncopated forms predominate, hafð 35, sant 127, and nineteen others; pl. 1. fareð 21, habbeð 119 (3), speked 73, finde we 83; 3. cumeð 26, stieð 24, wuniȝeð 15, 18, exceptionally folgið 3, seggeð 109, stikð 30; subjunctive s. 2. beseke 106, forðbringe 54, heriȝe 149, sette 59, tæche 54, þanke 150; 3. beȝete 125, þurȝwunie 131; pl. 1. bledscin, heriȝen 147, hvte we 143, segge we 99, speken 71, þankin 147; 3. forliesen 9, lokien 14, tobreken 27: imperative s. 2. becweð 86, sai 94, wand 93; halt 40 for hald; pl. 2. hlesteð 17. Past of Strong Verbs: Ia. s. 3. cwað 94, iseih 94; pl. 1. ȝeseiȝe we 124: Ic. s. 3. swanc 4, warð 87, worð 133; pl. 3. agunnen 123, swunken 146: III. s. 3. forleas 7: IV. s. 3. iscop 52: V. s. 3. hatte 106, 126. Participles present: Ia. spekinde 112; past: Ia. iseȝen 119: Ic. agunnen 133, ȝegunnen 53, iȝunnen 47, beswonken 136, ȝeborȝen 119, iborȝen 133, ibroiden 28: II. ȝeswiken 57, ȝewriten 23: V. ihoten 29, 128. Past of Weak Verbs: s. 1. hadde 46, 47; 3. besouhte 84, ȝeherde 93, hadde 7, sade 75 &c.; pl. 3. andeden 123, namden 117. Participles present: liuiende 16, þenchinde 59, wuniende 60; past: betaht 7, ȝeluued 90, icleped 58, ihafd 56, ieiht 96 (#geīecan#), unbiliefde adj. s. d. 33. Minor Groups: wat pr. s. 136, wot 137, witen pr. pl. 41, wite 2. pr. imp. 73; auh pr. s. 17; scal 1. pr. s. 79, scalt 2. pr. s. 38 (3), sculen pr. pl. 1, 74, scule 8, scolde pt. s. 129; miht 2. pr. s. 98, 139, mai pr. s. 34 (3), muȝe 2. pr. s. subj. 97, muge pr. s. subj. 125, mihte pt. s. 5 (3), mihten pt. pl. 13 (3), mihtin 122; bien inf. 72, 87, am 1. pr. s. 59, is pr. s. 23, nis 103, bieð pr. pl. 2 (4), bien pr. pl. subj. 12, 15, 105, be 2. imp. s. 39, was pt. s. 3, waren pt. pl. 77, wære pt. s. subj. 60, ware 129; wile 1. pr. s. 46 (3), wilt 2. pr. s. 63 (3), wile 37 (subj. form), wile pr. s. 31 (4), willeð pr. pl. 16, wile 40 (for willen, subj. form), woldest 2. pt. s. 49, wolde pt. s. 82, wolden pt. pl. 39; don inf. 123, dest 2. pr. s. 36, doð pr. s. 33, dede pt. s. 42, deden pt. pl. 121, idon pp. 45, 90, don 134.

#Dialect:# Here, as in the Trinity College manuscript of the Poema Morale, a scribe of the northern border of the South-Eastern area has turned a composition in the dialect of the Middle or Western South into his own, with occasional retention of Southern forms. After a considerable interval his version was copied with little alteration by the three scribes of the Stowe manuscript, for the differences between the sections are mainly graphic and only in a minor degree dialectal. As a consequence, the language of VV is older than that current at the time when the copy was made; in some respects older than that of MS. T of the PM., as in its representation of #ā#, #ā# + #g#, #ā# + #w#. Occasional lapses into OE. forms at the beginning of the manuscript, such as acwellan inf. VV 9/19, daȝas 27/22 (which would have been in OE. #dagum#), have been thought to point to an OE. original, but they are more probably due to a scribe acquainted with the older native literature.

#Vocabulary:# Scandinavian are hahte 21, skele 121, sckelewisnesse 107; an OE. borrowing is stieresmann 3: French are carite 29, cariteð 58, hert 35, prophete 75, richeise 88, (stan) roches 31, seruise 130, and probably arche 5: offrin 129 is a pre-Conquest Latin borrowing.

#Introduction:# The book is imperfect at the beginning, but probably little has been lost. It opens in the middle of a confession by a sinful soul of a formidable array of sins, to which Reason (‘Scadwisnesse,’ 90/62, ‘Ratio,’ 92/135) replies by a series of discourses on the virtues which will help the soul against its vices. The first extract, written by the first scribe, is part of this. The second piece, written by the third hand, concludes the book.

The writer speaks of his work as a compilation from many authors (93/144). The framework of it may have been suggested by S. Isidore’s Synonyma de Lamentatione Animae Peccatricis, wherein Homo and Ratio hold similar alternate discourse (Opera vi. 472), but nothing else. The author appears to have been acquainted with the writings of Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1140); he may have borrowed from him (Opera i. 69) the idea of the contest between Mercy and Truth (VV 113), but the influence of the older English literature dominates his style, vocabulary, and mode of thought.

1. #hierdes#, pastors: comp. ‘þe selue herdes beð þe lorþewes of holi chiriche,’ OEH ii. 39/12; ‘se cyning ⁊ se biscop sceoldan beon Cristenra folca hyrdas,’ BH 45/25. #lokin#, to take care of, preserve: comp. 4/20; ‘ðe sceaweres ðe lokeden ðe hali burh,’ VV 103/13, 121/11; generally with acc., but ‘to lokin of mine wrecche lichame,’ VV 17/3. #⁊# = and, 89/28.

2. #ute#, in the cloister.

3. #noe#: a type of Christ; the Ark is the Church, a common idea, Ælf. Hom. Cath., ii. 60; OEH ii. 43/4; AR 142/12, but especially beloved of Hugh of St. Victor, ‘Noe significat Christum sive quemlibet praelatum qui in quantum potest facit arcam, id est, aedificat Ecclesiam,’ i. 226.

4. #þe#, with which: see 46/292 note.

5. #mihte . . . ȝemaked#, was able to complete: the last word is more adjective than participle and its syntax is primitive, comp. ‘hie alle on þone Cyning wærun feohtende oþ þæt hie hine ofslægenne hæfdon,’ AS. Chron. 755 A.D.

8. #to liue ⁊ to londe#: a zeugma, #bringen# has its ordinary meaning with #to londe#, but #bringen to liue# means, preserve alive, without any sense of motion; comp. ‘To lyue God him wolde bringe,’ Gregorius, 269; similarly ‘to liue go,’ escape death, KH 97, where see note for other uses of the same kind. Note the variant in 88/16.

10. #For none winde#, because of any wind.

11. #on#, in: comp. 90/66, 93/147; ‘forsakene on godes awene muðe,’ VV 3/2; ‘wakien on godes seruise,’ id. 3/27, and often in this text. See 83/15 note.

13. #kennes#: see 81/80 note.

15. #leðebeiȝe#, pliant, ready to obey: OE. #leoþu-bīege#, supple-jointed; the figurative use is noteworthy: comp. ‘leðebeih ⁊ hersum gode,’ VV 109/3: ‘Soð was leðebei,’ id. 113/26.

16. #liuiende lande#, land of the living: glossed ‘terra uiuentium,’ VV 41/11.

18. ‘Qui vos audit, me audit: et qui vos spernit, me spernit,’ S. Luke x. 16.

20. #fullȝewiss#: see 32/40.

21. #hahte#, danger: OWScand. hǣtta; see Björkman, 99.

22. #hoc mare magnum#: Ps. ciii. 25. #bitere#: probably from ‘Porro iuxta allegoriam, mare sive stagnum quod cum suis transire desiderat [Dominus], tenebrosus amarusque seculi praesentis accipitur aestus,’ Bede, ed. Giles, xi. 70 (comment on S. Luke viii. 22).

23. #Ascendunt# &c.: Ps. cvi. 26.

26. #deules blastes#: comp. ‘Al so al holi chirche, þet is schip icleoped, schal ancren . . . so holde þet tes deofles puffes, þet beoð temptaciuns, hit ne ouerworþe,’ AR 142/12: ‘flante vento diabolicarum suggestionum,’ Hugh of S. Victor, ii. 483.

28. #strænges#, strands. The expressions ‘rihte ileaue,’ ‘soðe luue’ are of common occurrence; comp. 113/49, 189/435; OEH ii. 47/25, 103/28; Orm 46/1407, and for the latter, Ælf. Lives, i. 354/247. But ‘faste hope’ is unusual; comp. VV 15/27, 39/1. For #hope te#, see 178/89.

31. #nexin#, soften: OE. #hnexian#: beside the ordinary neschen, OE. #hnescian#. This text has ‘nexxin,’ 145/33, ‘nexce herte,’ 63/26: these forms do not apparently occur anywhere else.

32. #watere of wisdome#: suggested by ‘Sitierunt, et invocaverunt te (sapientiam), et data est illis aqua de petra altissima, et requies sitis de lapide duro,’ Wisdom xi. 4. Comp. ‘flowinde wettres of wittie wordes,’ SK 687. #ðar . . . to#: see 1/3.

33. #unbiliefde#, unbelieving, as though not possessed of belief: OE. #gelīefed#, believing, a believer. With 33-44, comp. OEH ii. 29/33-36.

35. The unwise man, if he have any generous purpose, makes shipwreck (on the stone-rock of the unbeliever), because the latter collides with his good will and wrecks it by using such words as these. The figure of the ship and the rock is continued in this sentence; the change of subject in ‘he hert’ is not uncommon.

37. #spelleres#, talkers, preachers. For #hadede#, see 4/20.

38. Holthausen puts a comma after mannen, making #Wile ðu# subjunctive, if thou wilt, which was no doubt the intention of the author.

39. #be trewe mann#: equivalent to our, Be a man!

42. #te gode#: comp. 30/21.

45. #Hie# &c. Charity has led me into talking about it at greater length than I had intended. Comp. ‘Ich hadde iþoht ðat ic naht ne scolde writen bute of ðese haliȝe mihtes . . . ðanne am ic iladd ut oðerhwile, ær ic hit ouht wite, to oðer þinge,’ VV 53/15.

47. #lokest aweiward#, avertest thy face: comp. ‘a-weiward his heued heold[;] [&] nolde hit ihere,’ L, MS. O 8878.

48. #heuiliche latst#, appearest to be wearied; in common phrase, look bored.

51. #me to helpe#, for my help: comp. 85/107; 176/24 note.

53. #grundwall#, foundation: comp. ‘Ne mai no mann leiȝen oðer grundwall’ (= fundamentum), VV 93/30.

54. #forðbringe#, bring forward, utter; perhaps here, build up on the foundation already laid.

58. #halwende#, sanctifying, purifying: OE. #hālgian#, comp. 130/78.

59. #for ðan# &c., because I am very pensive as long as I dwell in this wretched body: comp. ‘Ðarhwile ðe ðu art,’ VV 75/9, translating ‘Dum es.’ This archaic use of the particle þe is characteristic of the writer: so ‘ðar ðe,’ 91/109, VV 69/25; ‘ðarof ðe,’ id. 69/26; ‘ðar to ðe,’ id. 73/15; ‘ðo ðe,’ id. 49/15; #ðat#, what, in l. 60 is elsewhere ‘þat ðe,’ VV 65/16: #Ðas þe# in l. 63 is for Ðas.

61. Comp. ‘for ðan ȝif hit ne helpð one, hit helpð an oðer,’ VV 53/18.

63. #Ðas þe#, according to that, according to what you say, so then: adverbial use descended from OE. #þæs#, gen. sing. neut. of the article #se#, with þe annexed, as sometimes in OE.; so too in ‘Harke nu ðe formeste forbysne ðe he mankenn sceawede ðas þe we cunnen understonden,’ VV 49/12, where the meaning is, so far as we can understand. Otherwise þas þe, þes þe is regularly associated in ME. with a comparative adverb, as ‘ðu scalt hauen ðas te more iswink,’ VV 75/4.

65. #Qui# &c.: S. John viii. 47.

66. #on iþanke#: comp. 12/4.

67. ‘Qui enim sine humilitate virtutes congregat, in ventum pulverem portat,’ S. Greg. Op. i. 1461. Alcuin quotes with substitution of ‘bona opera agit’ for ‘virtutes congregat,’ Op. ii. 132.

72. #wið healden#, restrained; which gives an inadequate sense: omit wið, which is due to the preceding wið, the meaning then is, without which (humility) no other virtue can be possessed to any advantage or use. Comp. ‘for ðan hie (humility) is þe swa swiðe nedfull ðat tu ne miht none oðre mihte habben ne healden . . . bute þu ðese habbe,’ VV 53/21. wiðhealden has the meaning, keep company with, associate with, in ‘he is to luuiȝen ⁊ to wiðhealden,’ VV 101/5, 101/10.

73. #Wite ðu to soðe#, know thou for a truth; a favourite expression of the writer, but with te, not to, as at VV 41/32, 55/23, 59/11, 69/28, ‘wite ðu te fulle soðe,’ 65/22: comp. the variants at 70/158, 76/7, 142/73, 143/75, 91, and, ‘wite ȝe hit to wisse,’ SJ 27/16. #ðe . . . spekeð#: comp. 81/77.

74. #inede#, needy persons: comp. the ME. verbs ineden, neden; OE. #genīedan#.

75. #Fuerunt# &c.: Ps. xli. 4.

77. #Of--teares#, of tears of another kind; so 91/101.

78. #Lacrimis# &c.: Ps. vi. 7.

79. Comp. ‘Sit animae beatae culcitra conscientiae suae puritas: sit cervical aut capitale tranquillitas: coopertorium securitas: et in hoc strato delectabiliter dormiat et feliciter requiescat,’ Hugh of St. Victor, iii. 236.

82. #þar of ðe#, whereof, of what: comp. ‘Ðar is ðin herte ðarof ðe ðu mæst þenkst,’ VV 69/26.

85. #Dispone# &c.: Isa. xxxviii. 1. Omit ⁊ before #tu#.

86. #cwide#, legacy.

88. #lað#: comp. 189/412: #richeise# is accusative.

89. #dede þat betste#, took the best course.

90. #for--idon#, exerted myself cheerfully for love of thee.

91. #god inȝied#: referring to Hezekiah’s words, ‘Memento quaeso quomodo ambulaverim coram te in veritate et in corde perfecto.’

93. #hamward#, on his way home; ‘antequam egrederetur Isaias mediam partem atrii, factus est sermo Domini ad eum, dicens: Revertere,’ 4 Kings xx. 4. Comp. ‘þa ða he hamwerd wæs,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 318/181, ii. 150/110; ‘eoten wæs ut-weard,’ Beowulf, 761; ‘þiderward,’ 83/18; ‘þa wes it cud ouer al þe burh þet þe helind wes þiderward,’ OEH i. 3/15; ‘is towerd on worulde,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 170/28. These expressions are elliptical; farende or the like is to be understood.

94. #Vidi# &c.: Isa. xxxviii. 5. #lacrimam tuam#: so Codex Amiatinus. The Vulgate has ‘lacrymas tuas’.

97. #muȝe forðdraȝen#, art able to produce from thy store; L. depromere.

99. #forð mid#: see 1/19. #Ciba# &c.: Ps. lxxix. 6 (adapted).

104. #alswa alswa . . . alswa#, even as . . . even so.

107. #sckelewisnesse#, skillwiseness, discretion: OWScand. skilvíss.

108. #beheue#: comp. 74/225, 127/346: a favourite word of this writer, see VV 99/25, 107/28, 109/8: comp. ‘Geþyld is micel mægen · and mannum nyd-behefe,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 166/142; ‘hemseluen to unbihefe,’ OEH ii. 121/24.

109. #moder#: ‘Haec dico ut discretionem, quae omnium virtutum et mater et nutrix est, detegam,’ Ælredi Regula; ‘imetnesse is alre mihta moder,’ OEH i. 101/24; ‘Witerlice meteȝung is alræ mæȝene moder,’ Twelfth Cent. Hom. 90/29.

110. #rixin# is a mistake due to the preceding rixið: the text, as it stands, must mean, who wills to rule and follow her. hlesten is the word associated with folȝin in VV, comp. ‘for ðan ðe hie nolden godes lare hlesten ne folȝin,’ 61/16, ‘Hlest ⁊ folȝih se ðe wile,’ 77/9.

111. #vitas patrum#: see pp. 551, 2, ed. Roswey, Antwerp, 1628. #sume sal#, at a time when a number of the hermits of the Thebaid came to visit S. Antony, ‘perfectionis inquisitione et collationis gratia.’

112. #on--cumen#: ‘quaenam virtus . . . certe ad Deum recto tramite firmoque gressu perduceret.’

115. #annesse#: ‘remotiorem vitam et eremi secreta.’ Comp. ‘Munec mai ut-faren mid ileaue in to hermitorie, oðer in to onnesse te wunien,’ VV 73/24. The same word means unity at 93/148.

116. #to lokin# is syntactically on a level with #herborȝin#, but has to, because it is separated from ðurh: comp. ‘Hit bieð sume þat non imeðe ne cunnen of hem seluen to feden,’ VV 139/23.

117. #on manieskennes wisen#: see 81/80 and 132/9.

118. #on#: S. Antony. #Ðurh# &c. Holthausen translates, ‘Through all these we have seen and heard a great many saved, and many by all these named virtues perished, because discretio failed them,’ which gives an unsatisfactory sense for the second clause and involves a forced meaning for ‘of’ as equivalent to ðurh (for which the only near parallels in VV are 97/19, 103/3), and a meaning in which it would hardly be used immediately after ‘manie’; ‘inamde’ (elsewhere ‘forenammde,’ VV 15/29) is superfluous. The original is, ‘Omnia quidem haec quae dixistis, necessaria sunt et utilia sitientibus Deum: sed his principalem tribuere gratiam nequaquam nos innumerabiles multorum fratrum casus et experimenta permittunt. Nam saepe vidimus fratres has observationes tenentes repentino casu deceptos, eo quod in bono quod coeperant discretionem minime tenuerunt.’ The English appears to be corrupt: mihten belongs to the former ðesen; the second alle is repeated from the first; under the superfluous inamde lurks the equivalent for repentino casu, which would hardly be overlooked by the translator; perhaps in a mu{n}de, in a handwhile, in a moment. The sense would then be, We have seen and heard of very many persons protected (comp. VV 73/7) by all these virtues, and (we have seen) many of these lapse in a moment, because discretion failed them. This meaning of mund is not in the dictionaries, and the evidence for it is slight, but comp. Varnhagen’s note on ‘boten a mounde’ in Anglia, iii. 283. More usual, but less appropriate, would be, in a niede.

125. #muge# is subjunctive after se ðe, indefinite, whosoever, as is wile in ‘Weriȝe se ðe wile,’ VV 89/33, but se ðe, he who, is followed by the indicative, ‘se ðe luueð,’ VV 41/7 (= qui diligit), ‘se ðe swereð,’ id. 79/3 (= qui iurat). There seems to be no distinction in meaning between ‘Bie war, ȝif ðu wilt,’ VV 59/2, and ‘Bie war, ȝif ðu wile,’ id. 61/8, but the forms of this verb are confused, see 89/37. Note also the indicative after ‘hwat hwat,’ 92/134.

126. #to laten#, to be passed over without mention, to be omitted.

127. #ðe--to sant#, to whom God sends it.

128. This is from S. Gregory, ‘Quia nimirum virtus boni operis perseverantia est; et voce Veritatis dicitur: Qui autem perseveraverit usque in finem, hic salvus erit. Et praecepto legis cauda hostiae in sacrificio iubetur offerri. In cauda quippe finis est corporis; et ille bene immolat qui sacrificium boni operis usque ad finem debitae perducit actionis,’ In Evang. Homiliae, ii. 25, § 1. Similarly S. Isidore, v. 427; Alanus, 78. See Lev. iii. 9.

129. #alle dier#, a subject without a verb; the construction is altered.

132. S. Matt. x. 22, xxiv. 13.

136. #beswonken#, worked at; like L. elaborare, with acc. as in OE. #he it wat# &c.: a favourite expression of the author, as VV 21/3, 95/26; ‘He it wot ðe all wot,’ id. 75/2.

137. #wissin . . . warnin#: so ‘wissedest ⁊ warnedest,’ VV 21/27.

139. #twene#, doubt: OE. #twȳn#.

143. #Hvte we#, let us: comp. 175/422; ‘Wuten we fare,’ VV 23/22.

147. #on#, in: see 83/15.

149. #ne heriȝe#: see 25/241 note.

151. #ofte ⁊ ȝelome#: see 32/47.

153. #implet#: a variant, without authority, for imple.

Cross-References

25/241 (note) = VI. (The Proverbs of Alfred) 46/292 (note) = VIII. (Poema Morale) 79/17, 81/80 (notes) = XI. (Hic Dicendum est de Propheta)

Errata

#Facsimile:# Palæographical Society [anomalous æ unchanged] #ea# before #r# ... halt 40 (#heald#) [40,] #ēa# is ea ... #ȝīet# is ȝiet 90, 95. [text unchanged: apparent error for #gīet#] #a# + #g# is aȝ, laȝe 128, 131, forðdraȝen 97 [forðdragen] 59. ... ‘ðarof ðe,’ id. 69/26 [open quote missing] ‘ðar to ðe,’ id. 73/15 [close quote missing] 93. ... Comp. ‘þa ða he hamwerd wæs,’ [Comp,]

XIV. LAȜAMON

#Manuscripts:# i. Cotton Caligula A 9, British Museum (C); on vellum, 216 × 153 mm.; 192 folios in double columns of 32 to 34 lines, written by two scribes in the first quarter of the thirteenth century. It is bound up with another manuscript containing the Owl and the Nightingale and other pieces.

ii. Cotton Otho C 13, British Museum (O); injured in the fire of 1731; on vellum; 145 folios in double columns of 38 lines; written in one hand, of the third quarter of the thirteenth century.

C is by far the better representative of the original, yet O alone not infrequently preserves it in details; though fifty years later than C, it has probably been transmitted through fewer copies than the latter. Mistakes common to both versions have been derived from an intermediate manuscript X. O represents a recension of X, made by a man who was mainly interested in the chronicle of events, a matter-of-fact person who stood in a critical attitude to his exemplar and took no pleasure in simile, epic repetition or descriptive touch. Under his handling, much that is characteristic of the author disappears.

#Facsimiles:# Of C. Madden, i. p. xxxv, and New Palaeographical Society, plate 86. Of O. Madden, i. p. xxxviii.

#Editions:# Madden, Sir Frederic, Laȝamons Brut, London, 1847. Of the present extract: Mätzner, E., Altenglische Sprachproben, i. 19-39; Morris, R., Specimens, 64-86.

#Literature:# =Manuscripts and Texts.= *Bartels, L., Die Zuverlässigkeit der Handschriften von Laȝamons Brut, Halle, 1913; Seyger, R., Beiträge zu Laȝamons Brut, Halle, 1912; Stratmann, F. H., ES iii. 269; iv. 96, 7; v. 375; Zessack, A., Die beiden Handschriften von Layamons Brut und ihr Verhältnis zu einander, Breslau, 1888. =Sources.= Brown, A. C. L., Welsh Traditions in Layamon’s Brut. Modern Philology, i. 95-103; Imelmann, R., Laȝamon Versuch über seine Quellen, Berlin, 1906; Krautwald, H., Layamon’s Brut verglichen mit Wace’s Roman de Brut, Breslau, 1887; Wülker, R., Ueber die Quellen Layamons, Paul-Braune, Beiträge, iii. 524-55. =Phonology.= Bowen, E. W., Open and close ē in Layamon. Anglia, xvi. 380; Lucht, P., Lautlehre der älteren Laȝamonhandschrift, Berlin, 1905; *Luhmann, A., Die Überlieferung von Laȝamons Brut, Halle, 1906; Stratmann, F. H., Das paragogische N in Laȝamon. Anglia, iii. 552, 3. =Grammar.= Bohnke, M., Die Flexion des Verbums in Laȝamons Brut, Berlin, 1906; Funke, O., Kasus-Syntax bei Orrm und Laȝamon, Wien, 1907; Hoffmann, P., Das grammatische Genus in Laȝamons Brut, Halle, 1909, completed in Morsbachs Studien, xxxvi; Lange, H., Das Zeitwort in . . . Laȝamon’s Brut, Strassburg, 1906; Lichtsinn, P., Der syntaktische Gebrauch des Infinitivs in Laȝamon’s Brut, Kiel, 1913. =Vocabulary.= Monroe, B. S., French Words in Laȝamon, Modern Philology, iv. 559. =Metre.= Brandstädter, K., Stabreim und Endreim in Layamons Brut, Kirchhain, 1912; Luick, K., Anglia, Beiblatt, xii. 37, 8; Trautmann, M., Anglia, ii. 153-73; Bartels, as above. =Style.= Regel, K., Spruch und Bild im Layamon, Anglia, i. 197-251; *Seyger, as above. =Antiquarian.= Kolbe, M., Schild, Helm und Panzer zur Zeit Laȝamons, Breslau, 1891; Krautwald, as above. B. S. Monroe, in Modern Philology, iv. 559-67, gives a detailed bibliography.

#Phonology:# (1) =of C.= Oral #a# is a, fare 176, habben 189, but færeð 43, færen 45, hæfuest 50; uerden 48 is from #fēran#. #a# before nasals is normally o, comp 120, moni 93 (5 times), but whanene 31, whænnenen 27, þenne 182, muni 113; #a# before lengthening groups is o, hond 201, imong 141, but and 9 &c., andswerden 11 (6), answarede 51 (4), angles 34. #æ# is a (48), e (20), æ (16), after 179, æfter 186, bad 241, bed 298, hafde 212 (7), hæfde 233 (3), hehde (for hefde) 69, wes 8 (5), wæs 78, nes 104 (3), heleðes 248, sætterdæi 75. #e# is normally e, bereð 44, sellic 267 (often elsewhere seollic), speken 12; before lengthening groups, ende, uelde 211, hende 273; but æ is common, spækeð 159, ænde 34, 109, fæld 209, hændest 95, hændeliche 99; Hængest 89 (8) is the common form; a occurs in fareð 276 (#ferian#), ualde 203, þa 15, 39, 68, u in sugge 52, suggeð 167; eo in heoreð 58 (if from #herian#): #bærnan# gives berneð 108, #forbærnan#, forbærnen 165, #ærnan#, ærneð 108, #mengan#, mæingde 292, beside mengde C 15530 (Morsbach, § 107, anm. 3). #i# is i, blisse 146, wille 25, but u in nulle 191, nuste 264, us 62, wulle 25, and the pres. forms of #willan#; before lengthening groups i, child 44, þinge 61. #o# is o, folc 36, hope 58, but durste 137, dursten 158; #on# is mostly an or o, once æn 211; before lengthening groups o, bord 215, wolde 20 (4), wolden 19, 192, but walden 12, 42. #u# is u, burh 173, cumen 137, iwune 117, but ilomp 122, sonedæi 75; before lengthening groups u, funde 298, murnede 293. #y# is normally u, cume 118, wunne 188, but kime 263, kineborne 168, kineliche 173, kinelond 56, 192; before lengthening groups u, guldene 257, vmbe 36: king 139 is the regular form, but kenge 94.

#ā# is regularly a, hali 66, ihaten 34, but æ in bræd 218, bræ[d]ne 209, mære 42, særi 103; before two consonants a, hatte 32, ladlic 294, madmes 134, but hæhte 59 (7). #ǣ{1}# is æ, bilæfuen 24, hæðene 8 (3), sæ 2, spræde 210, or e, bitechen 191, breden 250, stenene 222, but a in bitache 173, haðene 295 (possibly Scandinavian), ea in leare 150; before two consonants æ, ælche 129, æuer 44, læfdi 74, lædden 259, næuere 176, or a, alc 51, alchen 280, auere 7, nauere 23, vnwraste 80, wraððe 150, but e in arerde 223, elchen 21. #ǣ{2}# is æ, æten 251, dæde 197, þræd 218, or e, deden 96, vnimete 254, but eo in weore 8, weoren 2 (9), neoren 138, and a in mare 223; before two consonants, þærfore 175, setten 250. #ē# is e, greten 144, ueden 190, but heo 73, þæ 63, 231; before two consonants, imetten 18, lette 283, but igrætten 18 (r. w. imetten), iuædde 100. #ī# is i, bliðe 24, 116, swiðe 2, fiftene 36, but bluðeliche 282, swuðe 129. #ō# is o, com 113, godne 49, most 110, but neoðeles 83. #ū# is u, bute 176, runen 148, 159, but ronenen 156. #ȳ# is u, biclused 177, cudðe 98, iscrudde 100, but forþi 48, 66, þa 8, 184.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is a, ȝare 224, iȝarked 238, 240, and æ, hærm 8, 295, kærf 217; the i-umlaut is seen in awariede 81, and, before a lengthening group, in ferde 85. #ea# before #l# + cons. is regularly a, al 37, and the numerous forms of #eall#, scat 189, but hælf 117, helue 129; before lengthening groups, a, alde 28, anwalde 83, athalden 20, halden 150 &c., walden 71, but athælde 83, hælden 13, holden 143, olden 187: the i-umlaut is a before lengthening groups, aldeste 29, halde 290, iuald 109, but æ in ælderen 193, ælderne 69. #eo# before #r# + cons. is eo, feor 160, heorte 288, but hærcne 147, werpeð 37; before lengthening groups, ȝeorne 288: the #wur# group has u, iwurðe 90, wurðliche 190, wurðscipe 71. The i-umlaut before lengthening groups is seen in ȝirnde 206, sturne 120, but deorne 148: #wiersa# is wurse 81, 291. #eo# before #l# + cons. is eo in seolf 81 &c. #eo#, the å-umlaut of #e#, is seen in feole 119, weoli 60; #eo#, u- and å-umlaut of #i#, in cleopien 249 and its forms, heore 37 &c., seoluer 88, seoððen 96, 97, seoueðe 64, but hennen 160, iluued 22, and without umlaut, niðer 82. #ea# after palatals is a, scal 38, æ, ȝæf 134, e, ȝef 133, 299, and before nasal o, scome 86. #ie# after #ġ# is e, biȝeten 87, ȝeuen 88, and i, biȝite 172, ȝif 201, ȝiuen 297: after #sc#, æ in schæren 216. #ȝef#, conj., is ȝif 10 &c. #eo# after #ġ# is u, ȝunge 160, ȝungen 187: #geond# is ȝeond 209. #eo# after #sc# is seen in scolde 241, scolden 45, scullen 24, 39, 68. #heom# is heom 9; #eom#, am 175, æm 24, 263, næm 176.

#ēa# is usually æ, æc 28, hæne 204, særes 216, slæn 165, but e in ȝette 242, ȝettest 184, iȝette 206, hehne 102, ileuen 53, 80, a in bad (influenced by #bæd#) 239; before two consonants æ, hæfden 87: the i-umlaut is e, bemen 249, dremden 146, heren 13 and its forms, ileueð 53, but æ in hæren 19, 68, ihærde 264, ihærd 156, i in hiren 184, biliueð 91, eo in heoreð 58 (if from #hīeran#), ileoueð 80, 81. #ēo# is regularly eo, beon 175 &c., biheold 288, feollen 127, freond 273, leoden 165, þreo 4; the i-umlaut is mostly wanting, deore 68 (4), freonde, dat. 273, neode 171, 212, but (fif)tene 36, 233. OE. #sīen# is seon 27. #ēa# after a palatal is seen in ȝer 36, ȝere 44, ȝeuen 76, ȝiuen 73 (4), ȝifuen 72, 76. #gīet# is ȝet 65.

#a# + #g# is aȝ, laȝe 69 (6), ofslaȝen 163, but dæȝen 69, ofslæȝen 138. #æ# + #g# is mostly æi, dæie 23, fæire 18 (9), fræinede 265, mæi 73, mæidene 290, sæide 152, uæin 263, but ai in dai 130, fain 286, mai 174, 204, main 290, maide 266, 283, maiden 282, ei in feire 210, feirest 89, seide 240 (3), seið 270, æ in færeste 7, æȝ in dæȝe 193, 194. #e# + #g# is generally ei, leide 215, toȝeines 240, þeines 101, weies 202, but awæi 129, bilæde 220: #e# + #h# is seen in hæhte 225, hæhten 230: #i# + #g# in þrien 284, þreoien 277 (influenced by #þrēo#): #i# + #h# in dihteð 67, dihte 135, isihðe 103: #o# + #g#, #h# in hohfulle 156, dohter 181: #u# + #g#, #h# in duȝeðe 141 (6), fluȝen 129, 130, but floȝen 129, fuhten 127. #ā# + #g# is aȝ, aȝene 208, 296, aȝere 201; #ā# + #h# is oh, oht 113, ohte 84 (3). #ǣ{1}# + #g#, #h# is seen in fæie 127, bitæht 205, bitæhten 284; #ǣ{2}# + #g# in maies 182; #ē# + #g# in beyne 168, twene 168 (with loss of g); #ī# + #g# in fridæi 74; #ō# + #g# in droȝen 93, inoȝe 134, sloȝen 126, ofsloȝen 119, vnnifoȝe 130; #ō# + #h# in biþohte 111, 142, noht 80, rohten, sohten 10, þohten 122, exceptionally afeoh 188. #ea# + #h#, #ht# is seen in æhtene 234, isæh 116, mæhti 65, sæh 23, sæxisce 97, sæxelonde 271, but saxelonde 124, 278, saxisce 114, sexisc 180; the i-umlaut in mihte 46, mihte 58, nihtes 23. #eo# + #h#, #ht# is mostly i, cnihtes 17, fihte 115, 172, rihten 20, but feht 120, 126, sexte 39, fæhte 155, sæxte 63, Peohtes 84, 107. #ēa# + #h#, is eh, heh 66, neh 291, æh, hæh 64, 65, hæhliche 16, 190, hæhne 205; #ēa# + #g# gives hæȝe 141, 259: the umlaut is wanting in hæhste 62 (3), hærre 13, ihæȝed 153. #ēo# + #g#, #h# is seen in driȝen 25, 196, iuaid 175, ræh 291. #ā# + #w# appears in nawiht 104; #ī# + #w# in tisdæi 76; #ēo# + #w# in acneowe 261, bleowen 249, neowe 28, 106, treowe 28, eouwer 24 (4), eoure 54, æoure 53, eou 26: feorðe 61, 72 is #fēorþa#.

The prefix #æt# is at, atstonde 183, atwite 204; #on# is a in afon 178, afeoh 188, among 146, but imong 157 is #gemang#. #oþ# is a in aþet 229: #o# is levelled to e in whanene 31, whænnenen 27, wunder 213: eo is written for #e# in cusseoð 277; i for #e# in cristine 294. The glide e is inserted in æuere 132, nauere 23, læuedi 65, næueden 228; i is prefixed in iliue 22, probably by anticipation of iluued.

#w# is lost in þong 219, beside þwong 217, 218; for #w#, u is written in Cantuarieburi 15, #l# is lost in scat 189. #m# is doubled in icummen 3, #n# in hennen 160, iborenne 259, whænnenen 27. #n# is lost in gome 228, and often in i 137 for #in#, iþan 126, iþere 72, a 81 for #on#: in 240 represents #inn#. #f# is kept in the combinations fd, fn, hafde 212, læfdi 74, æfne 70, 296, and as a final, hælf 117, initially after a word ending in a voiceless sound, færeð 43, fain 286, feorr 160, folc 36. Otherwise it is u, initially, as classified at 365/3-6, uorð 41, ualde 203, uerden 48, uast 132, uæin 263, ueden 190, uiue 105, uul 276, 277, medially, bilæuen 39, biuoren 95, uuele 280, deluen 221, helue 129; it is written fu in hæfuest 50, bilæfuen 24, ȝifuen 72, 76, leofue 54, 79. But exceptions are numerous, fare 176, færen 45, feole 119, fiue 39, forð 39, fforð 14, fuliwis 225, biforen 17, toforen 144, ifaren 105, vfel 78. #of# is shortened to o 213. For #t#, d is written in bed 100, th in bithecheð 276: in bezste 200 (4), z = ts; #t# is doubled in bett 100, lost in henges 32, 151, Hænges 55; for #tt#, ht is written in hæhte 59 &c., if it represents #hatte#. #d# is lost in lon 64, selcuðe 2, 35, walden 71. For #þ#, d appears in cudðe 98, dod 86, falled 38, iuald 109, ladlic 294, luted 54, madmes 134, odere 228, 276, swide 120, 236; whar 28 represents #hwæðer#. #sć# is regularly sc, scal 38, scenden 192, monscipe 153, bruttisc 281, but særes, schæren 216. The stop #c# is written k before e, i, also in kærf 217, in other positions c, castel 173, dronc 283; ah 8 (6) is Anglian #ah#, WS. #ac#. #č# is ch, ælchen 78, elchen 21, bitechen 191, drenche 272, muchel 42, richen 154, sechen 49, swulche 23, wulche 53, but alc 51, swulc 218. #ic# is ich 22, ic 175; #cæster#, Chastre 226. #čč# is cch in ræcchen 148; #cw# is qu, queð 147. Palatal #g# is written ȝ, ȝare 224, ȝirnde 206, hærȝieð 108: a parasitic ȝ appears in iȝeten 252. #g# is lost finally in weoli 60, moni 93; it exchanges with w in herberwe 131. #čǧ# is gg in sugge 52, 167, ligge 174 &c. Initial #h# is lost in lauerd 49, læuedi 65, loten 37, iloten 252, lust 30, lusten 149, nap 275, ræh 291, and added in hi[s] 36; also medially in hehne 102 (#hēanne#), whar 61. #hw# is regularly wh, whæt 27 &c., whar 28, while 237, but wulche 53. In burhȝe 205, burhȝen 251, the scribe wavers between h and ȝ; elsewhere he writes burhe, burȝen, burje, buruwe.

(2) =Of O.= Oral #a# is a, ac 8, faren 45; #a# before nasals is regularly a, fram 203, gan 92, 207, nam 92, wan 183, wane 189, wanene 27, þanne 204, 282, but drong 283, isomned 36; #a# before lengthening groups is o, among 156, londe 19 (16 times), longe 104, but amang 251, answerede 21, 78, lang 217, þwang 217, 218, onderfang 188: #and# is and 18, an 133, #man#, pron., me 276. #æ# is a, after 186, bar 257, sat 261, 287, spac 195, 262, nas 104, but þes 292. #e# is normally e, beste 238, Dence 229, selliche 2 (seollich O 14409); before lengthening groups e, ende 109, Englene 262, Englisse 226, felde 203, but Ænglis 34 (comp. 266/15), Œnglisse 281: #forbærnan# is forbearne 165, bearneþ 108; #ærnan#, erneþ 108; #mengde#, meynde 292. #i# is i, amidde 203, ligge 177, wille 196; before lengthening groups i, children 187, þing 60, but cheldren 159, þenges 35. The present forms of #willan# have o, wolle 20, wolleþ 87, wolt 184, a French writing for u, but nelle 191: #ġift# is ȝeftes 88, 133. #o# is o, bolle 257, dorste 137; before lengthening groups o, borde 215, wolde 19: #on# is a 117, 261, an 53; þane 74 (7) descends from LWS. #þane#. #u# is regularly o, borh 191 (4), come 137 (3), drongken 251, foliwis 225, gomes 2, loue 69, þos 183, wonie 173, but þus 48, 77, vp 38; before lengthening groups it is u, funde 298, grunde 109, hundred 5, 233, but mornede 293, wonder 35. #y# is u, Bruttesse 225, cunne 181, custe, clupte 289, dude 117, fulþ 276, lust 269, nuste 264, vuele 21; for u, o is written in come 118, comes 263, mochel 123 (6), soche 23, 291, woche 53 (#hwylc#), and before a lengthening group, goldene 257; but #y# is i in win 63, winne 188, kinelonde 192, and as usual in king 50, and e in dedest 162, wercheþ 68.

#ā# is regularly o, brod 218, ihote 34, 67, non 258, no 23, 204, (#nā#), on 59 &c., but a 60, 63, an 64, 65; before two consonants o, loþlich 294, one 214 (#ānne#), but ane 217, 223, 257, nanne 191, hatte 32 (8), haxede 265: #þā# is þe 7 &c., #þās#, þeos 18, 69, 215; #þām#, þan 1 &c.; #hwām#, wan 38. #ǣ{1}# is e, bilefue 24, 46, erest 262, heþene 8 (3), sprede 210, but bitak 173, bitake 191, bitakest 205 (confusion with #tacan#), deal 220, heaþene 295, leore 150, rounded before r, stonene 222 (*#stānen#); before two consonants e, arerde 223, ech 185, euere 7, wendesdei 72, but leafdi 65, ladde 259, wraþþe 150. #ǣ{2}# is e, dedes 87, onimete 254, sete 250, þere 44, 48, weren 2 (10), but ea in beade 298, reade 110, 171, 298, a in þar 119, þarin 283, þaron 5, þare 37 (4), ware 176, 210, eo in beore 93, eoten 251 (elsewhere #ge-eten#, pp., is represented by iheote O 6691, iȝeote O 14952); before two consonants it is a in þarfore 48, 86, adradde O 7575, ea in sealþe O 25574, and e in wepne O 14838. #ē# is e, cweme 184, seche 41, wene 175; before two consonants, cwemde 139, grette 18, 144, lette 221 (4), OE. #lēt#: aȝen 131, toȝenes 240 represent #ongēn#, #togēnes#; #gē#, pron., is ȝeo, 27, 53, 79; doþ 292, pr. s., has o from plural. #ī# is i, bliþe 24, swiþe 2, 51, wif 178 &c., written always ii in hii 8 (20), and y in tydinge 1 (3); but bloþeliche 282 (#blȳþe#), heredmen 67 (? influenced by #heord#); before two consonants i, fifþe 62, wisne 214, but womman 299. #ō# is o, com 1, soþ 50; before two consonants, most 110, moste 46. #ū# is ou, French writing for u, aboute 220, couþe 214, nou 48, þou 20, but u in dun 246, vre 35, 64, vs 20, 45, and o in bote 177, 218. #ȳ# is regularly u, biclused 177, cuðen 269, hude 202, lutel 206, prude 254, scrude 190: #þȳ# is þe 8, 184.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is regularly a, harm 8, iȝarked 238, ȝarue 224. The i-umlaut is represented by deorne 148, which points to Anglian e. #ea# before #l# + cons. is regularly a, al 22 &c., falleþ 38, halt 275, halle 99, half 117, salt 189, wal 222; before lengthening groups o, anwolde 83, atholde 20, 83, biholde 209, 223, holde 143, 150: the i-umlaut is seen in elder 29, heoldre 187, falleþ 109 (Ang. #fællan#). #eo# before #r# + cons. is eo in heorte 288, e in hercne 147, werpeð 37, o in for 203; before a lengthening group eo in ȝeorne 288: words of the #wur# group have o, worsipe 26, 68, worþliche 190, iworþe 91; the i-umlaut is o, forst 26, ȝornde 206: #wyr# is represented in worse 291, 292. #eo# before #l# + cons. is eo in seolue 113, seolf 209. The u-umlaut of #a# is wanting in care 123, 176. #eo#, u- and å-umlaut of #i#, gives cleopede 230, soueþe 64, and analogically ileued 22, but #heora# is hire 69 &c. #ea# after palatals is a, sal 89, e, ȝef 133 (3), before nasal, a, same 86. #ie# after #g# is e, biȝete 172, ȝeue 88, ȝefue 69, ȝef 201. #ȝef#, conj., is ȝif 20. #eo# after #g# is o, ȝonge 159, 187; after #sc#, o, solde 45, 178. #eom# is ham 24, 175, nam 176; #heom#, heom 69 (4).

#ēa# is divided between ea, dead 175, deaþe 46, slean 165, and e, bileue 53, 79, gret 63, lefue 92, lesing 50: the i-umlaut is represented by bilefeþ 53, ihure 149; before two consonants by ihord 50 (4). #ēo# is regularly eo, beo 27 &c., deor 43; before two consonants, biheold 246, 288, freond 273, 274; but biful 122, 140, ful 45: bitwine 167 descends from #betwinum#: deore 88, 236, freond, dat., 273, neod 38, 171 are without umlaut. OE. #gīet# is ȝet 65. #ēa# after #g# is e, ȝer 36, ȝere 44.

#a# + #g# is aȝ, daȝes 69, ofslaȝe 138 (#ofslagen#), and aw, lawe 285. #æ# + #g# is mostly ai, dai 23, faire 18 (7), mai 173, saiþ 273, saide 51 (5), or ay, mayde 282, moneday 70, but ei in seide 19, 240, seiþ 270, tisdei 70, wendesdei 72. #æ# + #h# occurs in iveiþed 175. #e# + #g# is ei, leide 220, oþerweies 122, or ey, awey 129, but ai in laide 215. #e# + #h# occurs in hehte 162, 225; #i# + #h# in sihte 103; #o# + #h# in dohter 181; #u# + #g# in floȝe 129. #ā# + #g# is ow, owe 201, owene 208. #ā# + #h# is seen in ohte 84; #ǣ{1}# + #h# in bitahte 284; #ī# + #g# in friday 74; #ō# + #g# in sloȝen 126, ofsloȝen 119; #ō# + #h# in iþohten 122, noht 41, 218. #ea# + #h# is eh, seh 23; the i-umlaut of #ea# + #ht# is i, mihte 210, mihti 60, 65. #eo# + #ht# is i, cnihtes 5, fihte 126, rihte 20, sixte 63, but Peutes 84, 107; the i-umlaut is represented by nihte 23. #ēa# + #g# occurs in hehȝe 259; #ēa# + #h# in heh 64, neh 291: the i-umlaut in hehest 62. #ēo# + #w# is ou, ȝoure 53 &c., ȝou 24, 88, ou 83, but cnouwe 261.

#e# is added in here 7, ofte 86. #on# is reduced to an 53, a 117, and in the prefix of aboute 220, amidde 203; #o# becomes e in forte 229. For #u#, o occurs in onderfang 188, onimete 254. The suffix #-ung# is ing in rouning 143, tydinge 147.

Initial #f# is once v, vare 176, elsewhere f, faren 45, fareþ 48; between vowels or vowel and liquid it is u, v, delue 221, ived 100, iveiþed 175, vuele 21, but bilefeþ 53, life 46, and before #u# f is retained, biful 122: fu is written in bilefue 24, 46, lefue 92, 207, leofue 79, 274, lifue 22, lofuieþ 286, wifues 43 (5). For #t#, d is written in bed 100; fifþe 62 (#fīfta#) is an early instance of the modern form. #d# is lost in an 133, answerede 21. For #þ#, th appears in deathe 157; ð occurs only in louieð 57. #sc# is regularly s, sal 89, same 86, sende 192, solle 24, worsipe 26, Ænglis 34, but ss in Bruttesse 225, 281, Englisse 226, Œnglisse 281, and c in Dence 229 (#Denisc#), which appears to indicate a pronunciation for #sc# of [s]. The stop #c# is written k before e, i, ilke 34, kinelonde 192, and finally bitak 173, folk 36; #nc# is ng, dring 282, dringe 273, 275, dringþ 275, drong 283, drongken 251. #č# is ch, childe 43, ech 185, ich 22 (ihc 177), mochel 123, soche 23, 291, speche 266. Palatal #g# is regularly written ȝ, aȝen 131, ȝarue 224, sloȝen 126: hehȝe 259 represents #hēage#, meynde 292 #mengde#. h is added initially in ham 24 &c., haxede 265, heoldre 187, hifulled 258, himakede 240, hin 131. Initial #hl# is reduced to l, lotes 37, lust 269, #hn# to n, nap 275, #hw# to w, wan 38, wanene 27, ware 176, wat 27, wile 237, woche 53. #heo#, pron., she, is regularly ȝeo 67 &c., comp. Orm’s ȝho, 112/2.

#Accidence:# (1) of C. A peculiar feature of these texts is the occasional addition of n after a final vowel. This ‘nunnation,’ fairly common in C, rare in O, is marked here by round brackets. Its use makes it doubtful at times whether a noun or adjective ending in n is a weak form or a strong form with added n. Strong declension of masc. and neut. nouns. In the s. n. a. maide 266, 283, 295 has lost final n. Gen. -es, þunres 73, twines 218: dat. -e, ræde 197, gomene 291, londe 3, vfele 51, crafte(n) 214, cume(n) 24, cunne(n) 188, inne(n) 112, liue(n) 25, rihte(n) 20, wurðscipe(n) 26; without inflection are ræd 298, gomen 231, kinelond 56, lond 162, vfel 78, gome (#gamene#) 228, lon 64, and the proper name Saturnus 75. The pl. n. a. of masculines ends in -es, cnihtes 17 (6), madmes 134, but cnihten 5, 27, ridern 233, sunen 105 are weak forms: neuters are ȝer 36, þing 50, wif 43, but haefden 87, loten 37, scipen 4 (3) are weak. Genitives are londe 33, þinge 260, weak forms are ænglene 262, cnihtene 55, 89, and, before a vowel, cnihten 77, 152, 195: datives have mostly -en, cnihten 155, dæȝen 69, goden 68, scipen 92, 232, but londes 137, þinge 61. The fem. nouns of the strong declension have -e in the s. n. a., duȝeðe 170, 252, 272, hude 202, 210, dæde 197, ferde 85, duȝeðe(n) 166, but sæ 2. Gen. -e, duȝeðe 141; humbre 117 is an indeclinable form: dat. -e, halle 99, helue 129, honde 257, halle(n) 259, but hælf 117, hond 201. Pl. n. are laȝe(n) 278, 285, probably weak; d. deden 96, laȝen 163, leoden 295 (from pl. noun #lēode#), runen 159, nihtes 23; a. leode(n) 165, 285, rune(n) 148, 156, probably weak. Nouns of the weak declension have mostly -e in all cases of the singular, but iueren 276, monen 76, læfdi 74 are dative, læuedi 65 acc.: the plural has -en throughout, n. gumen 2, ileuen 53, 80; d. iueren 233; a. bemen 249, nomen 231. The minor declensions are represented by mon s. n. 41, wimmon 180, monne s. d. 205, mon s. a. 214, wimmon 299, men pl. n. 7 &c., wimmonne(n) pl. g. 270, monnen pl. d. 112 (5), hiredmonnen 157, scipenmonnen 6 (for scipmonnen), cunnesmen pl. a. 98; burh s. n. 228, s. a. 173, 191, 223, burhȝe 205 (? confusion with pl. #burga#), burhȝe(n) s. d. 251; broðer s. n. 29; dohter s. d. 181; freond s. n., freonde s. d. 273; walden s. n. 71; childe s. d. 43, child s. a. 44, children pl. d. 187.

Adjectives, which in OE. end in a vowel, have e in all cases, bliðe 116, deore 181, ȝare 224, hende 287, mare 223, sturne 120, vnimete 254, wilde 43; those in #-ig# lose g, hali 66, mæhti 65, weoli 60. Of the weak declension are s. n. cristine 294, holde 154, leofue 274, d. bare 158, quicke 25, a. feire 210, hæðene 193, haðene 295. Strong inflections are s. d. m. richen 154, soðen 26, fæire 211, hæȝe 141, hæðene 205, s. d. neut. uncuðe 40, s. a. m. brædne 209, hæhne 205 (with #burg# f.), hehne 102, godne 49, guldene 257, stenene 222, wisne 214, but long, smal 217 are not inflected, s. a. f. gode 136, kineliche 173, stronge 85. #mycel# is s. n. muchel 42, d. muchele f. 171, a. muchele m. 221 (but dic is usually f. in L), muche 220, muchele f. 223, muchel neut. 201, pl. n. muchele 234: #āgen# gives aȝene s. n. neut. wk. 296, aȝere s. d. f. 201, aȝene s. d. neut. 208. The plural of all adjectives ends in -e, except særi pl. n. 103 (#sārig#), dæde(n) 110, ȝungen d., olden 187. OE. #ān# is s. n. an 59, 64, 161, a 218, 267, g. anes m. 202, d. ane m. 140, 141, 203, 213, an neut. 51, a. ænne m. 173, 209, 214, enne (ende) 211, with d. uelde 211, 217, ane 257, a 153, anne f. 65, ane 173, 212, 223, an neut. 240, a 215: #nān# is s. n. na 41, d. nane neut. 47, nan 228, a. nane f. 191, nan neut. 281: #bēgen# is beyne 168. Adjectives used as nouns with inflection are hæne s. n. m. 204, hæhste 62, bezste s. d. 238, fæie pl. n. 127, ælderen pl. g. 193, ælderne 69. Comparatives end in -e, mære 42, mare 8; the superlative has weak inflection in aldeste s. n. m. 29, bezste 268, hæhste s. a. f. 69, but strong in aðelest 33, fæirest 55, 89, 152, 270, hæhst 155, hendest 77, 95, 195; plurals are færeste n. 7, bezste 200, 256, deoreste 244.

The personal pronouns are ich 22, ic 175, me, we, us, þu, þe, ȝe, eou. The pronoun of the third person is s. n. he m. 16, heo 73, heo f. 66, hit neut. 5; d. him m. 72, heom 71, hire f. 74, 224; a. hine m. 13, 230 (with #burg# f.), 275, heo f. 66, 225; pl. n. heo 3 &c., d. heom 9, a. 67. Reflexives are þe seoluen 166, hine 111, him seoluen 145: definitive, seolf 81, 209: possessives, s. mi n. m. 32; mine d. m. 83, mire f. 181, 199, 201, mine neut. 22 (7); mine a. f. 149, 197, mi neut. 182; pl. a. mine 182; s. þin n. m. 154, þine 170, þine d. m. 154, 197, 263, þire f. 171, þine neut. 183, 186, a. m. 153 (possibly f., the nouns in #-scipe# are mostly f. in L), f. 166, þi neut. 108, 165, þin 196; pl. þine n. 167, d. 155, a. 165; his 10, hire 232; ure 35; eoure 54, eouwer 24 (4), æoure 53, heore 37. The definite article is s. þe n. m. 29, 218, þæ 63, 231, þa 15, 39, þe f. 224, þæ 228, þa 238, þat neut. 36, þe 43, þas g. m. 292, þere f. 117, þan d. m. 4, 40 (with #leode# f.), þa 73 (miswritten for þan), þere f. 3, 72, 217, þene 75 (miswritten for þere), þan neut. 1, 126, 136, 253, 290, þene a. m. 72 (7), þane 139, þa f. 174, 193, þat neut. 283, (for) þi instr. 48, 66, þa 8, 184, 252; pl. þa n. 7 &c., þan d. 6, 137, 187, þa a. 229, 285. Þat is used demonstratively, 8, 277, 283, 266 (with speche f.), 34 (with ænde d. m.); the article is also used pronominally in vppen þan þe, upon whom 38. The compound demonstrative is s. þes n. m. 162, þis neut. 7, 278, þas d. f. 117, þisse neut. 19, 162, þissen 285, þis 56, þas a. f. 215, þis neut. 116, 178, 209, 280; pl. þas n. 17, 79, 169, a. 231. The relatives are þe, þat 7, 150 (= that which), þa 58, 68, 96, 105, 172, 174; þer . . . on, on which, 210. Interrogatives are whæt 27 (3), what 31 (4), wulche pl. n. 53, the correlative is swulchere s. d. f. 103, swulche s. d. neut. 231, pl. n. 23: #ilca# is ilke s. n. m. 237, 275, ilken s. d. m. 34, ilke pl. a. 285. Indefinites are me 276; oðer s. n. m. 29, odere d. neut. 228, oder a. m. 276, oðer a. neut. 283, oðere pl. n. 164; anoðer s. n. neut. 122; ælches s. g. m. 202, ælche d. m. 203, f. 129, neut. 155, 291, aelchen 78, 185, alchen 280, elchen 21, alc 51; æueralche s. d. neut. 44; æi s. n. f. 272, a. f. 205; nohtes g. s. 82; moni 93, 153, 286, muni 113, pl. monie 126, 130; feole 119; al s. n. neut. 37, alle d. f. 244, neut. 22, al 56, alle a. m. 130, al 109, f. 197, pl. alle n. 99, all 110, alre g. 33 (8), alle d. 61, 68, al 112, alle a. 50, 135.

Four-fifths of the infinitives end in -en; cleopien 249 is the only infinitive of the second weak conjugation; there are no examples in -in or -i; those in -e are athælde 83, bilæue 46, cuðe 158, ligge 174, liðe 39, 92, 207, 243, ræde 171, spræde 210, all at the end of line or half-line, cume 164, iwurðe 90: contract verbs are afon 178, slæn 165. The dat. inf. is not inflected. Presents are s. 1. habbe 22, libbe 174; 2. ȝettest 184, hæfuest 50; 3. bereð 44, bitecheð 276, dihteð 67, drinkeð 275, fareð 276, falled 38, fordemed 170, exceptionally gladieð 272; contracted are halt 275, seið 270, sæið 274, sæiðe 273 (miswritten for sæið); pl. 1. biliueð 91, luuieð 57; 2. haldeð 193, luted 54; 3. ærneð 108, cusseoð 277, liggeð 82, hærȝieð 108, hatieð 157, luuieð 66, spilieð 159, wunieð 160, iuald 109 (#gefiellaþ#): subjunctive s. 1. fare 176, habbe 182; 2. biȝite 172, bitache 173, habbe 205, sugge 52: imperative s. 2. afeoh 188, drinc 282, hærcne 147, lust 30, 269. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. s. 1. sæh 23; 3. bad 241, 297, bed 298, ȝæf 134, ȝef 133, 299, isæh 116, queð 147, sæt 261, sat 287, spæc 195; pl. 3. æten 251, setten 250: I b. s. 3. bar 257, com 113 (4), nom 92, 207, 215; pl. 3. comen 1, 235 (11), come 229; subj. s. 3. come 241: I c. s. 3. bigon 221, dronc 283, funde 298 (weak form), gon 92 (3), ilomp 122, 140, kærf 217; pl. 3. drunken 146, 251, fuhten 127, gunnen 14, 249: II. pl. 3. driuen 229: III. s. 3. bad 239; pl. 3. fluȝen 129, 130, floȝen 129: IV. s. 3. scop 224, stod 136 (3); pl. 1. uerden 48 (weak form from #fēran#); 3. droȝen 93, sloȝen 126, ofsloȝen 119: V. s. 3. biheold 246, 288, hæhte 225 (weak form), lette (weak form), 283; passive, s. 1. hatte 32; 3. hatte 64, hæhte (#hatte#) 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 161, 162, if it be not the active form with passive meaning; pl. 3. bleowen 249, feollen 127, hæhten 230, hetten 250. Participles past: I a. biȝite 212, iȝeten 252: I. b. iborenne adj. pl. 259, (kine) borne pl. 168, icumen 2 (6), icummen 3, icume 117, ouercumen 128: III. iloten 252: IV. ifaren 105, ofslæȝen 138, ofslaȝen 163, atstonde 183: V. ihaten 34, ihate 67, ihalden 102, 279, underfon 241. Past of Weak Verbs: s. 3. andswerede 21, arerde 223, bilæde 220, fræinede 265 (#gefrægnan#), ȝette 242, hafde 212 (5), hæfde 233, hehde (for hefde) 69, bitæhte(n) 284, hæfde(n), 214, næuede(n) 228; pl. 3. andswerden 11, cleopeden 226, halde 290. Participles past: biclused 177, bitæht 205, ibrusted 256, iȝarked 238, 240, ihæȝed 153 (*#hēagian#), islit 219, iuaid 175; inflected are iscrudde, iuædde 100. Minor Groups: nuste pt. s. 264; cuðe pt. s. 214, 281, cuðen pt. pl. 11; dursten pt. pl. 158, durste 137; scat 2 pr. s. 189, scal pr. s. 38, scullen 1 pr. pl. 68, 2 pr. pl. 24, pr. pl. 39, scolde pt. s. 241, scolden 1 pt. pl. 45; mai 1 pr. s. 174, pr. s. 204, mæi 73, mihte pt. s. 111, 210, mihte we 1 pt. pl. 46; most 2 pr. s. 110; beon inf. 28, am 1 pr. s. 175, æm 24, 263, næm 176, is pr. s. 32, js 67, us 62, nis 56, beoð 45, 1 pr. pl. 31, 33, 48, 110, seoð 31 (with s for b from #sind#, #sīen#), beoð 2 pr. pl. 79, pr. pl. 35, 271, 278, beo 1 pr. s. subj. 183, pr. s. subj. 41, beon 2 pr. pl. subj. 27, seon 27 (#sīen#), wes pt. s. 8 (6), wæs 78, nes 104, 218, weoren pt. pl. 2 (8), weore 8, neoren 138, weore(n) pt. s. subj. 266, ibeon pp. 154; wulle 1 pr. s. 25 (7), wulle(n) 30, 88, 184, nulle 191, wult 2 pr. s. 149, 178, wule pr. s. 202, wulleð 1 pr. pl. 194, 2 pr. pl. 87, pr. pl. 164, wulle pr. s. subj. 90, wullen 2 pr. pl. subj. 28, wolde pt. s. 20 (4), wolden pt. pl. 19, 192, walden 12, 42; don inf. 111, to don dat. inf. 298, dod pr. pl. 86, dude pt. s. 292, duden pt. pl. 71, 117, idon pp. 9, 63, 180; eode pt. s. 144, 253.

Noteworthy are the adverbs forðrihtes 107, at this very moment, stilledliche 159, probably miswritten for stilliche of the exemplar, rather than for stilleliche, which is unmetrical wherever it occurs, and whænnene(n) 27, representing #hwanone#. OE. #nā# conj. is once na, nor 191, but no 23, no . . . no, neither . . . nor 138.

(2) =Of O.= Strong declension of masc. and neut. nouns. In the s. n. a. maide 266 (3) has lost final n. Gen. -es, kinges 292: dat. -e, crafte 214, lifdaȝe 138, ȝere 44, inne 253, londe 19 (9), but dai 23, and the neuters folk 295, ȝer 36, hin 131, lond 64, 262 are uninflected; game 285, 291 represents #gamene#: borde s. a. 215 has added e. The pl. n. d. a. ends in -es, n. m. comes 263, kempes 5, neut. sipes 4, þenges 35, wifues 43, d. m. cnihtes 133, godes 68, neut. sipes 232, þinges, 61, a. m. cnihtes 23, neut. bordes 250, godes 93, londes 37, 193, lotes 37: gen. are cnihtes 112, Englene 262 (weak form), þing 260 (miswritten for þinge). The fem. nouns of the strong declension have -e in the s. n. a., blisse 251, hude 202, speche 266, tydinge 1, care 123, see 2, but leafdi 65, lesing 50, rouning 143: dat. -e, halue 221, winne 188, but half 117, hond 201, 257, win 63. Pl. n. are lawe 285, tydinge 104, lawes 278, d. rouninges 148, wiþerededes 87, a. leode 165, tydinge 147, ȝeftes 88, 133. Nouns of the weak declension have -e in all cases of the singular, n. wone 271, d. ivere 276, a. bolle 257; pl. n. are bileue 53, bilefues 79, gomes 2, d. ivere 233, a. rideres 233. The minor declensions are represented by man s. d. 205, s. a. 214, womman 299, men pl. n. 7, heredmen 67, wommanne pl. g. 270, men pl. d. 193; borh s. n. 224, s. a. 191; nihte s. d. 23; broþer s. n. 29, s. a. 164; dohter s. n. 181; childe s. d. 43, 44, cheldren pl. d. 159, children 187; freond s. n. 273, s. d. 273.

Adjectives, which in OE. end in a vowel, have -e throughout, bliþe 24, deore 236, deorne 148, ȝarue 224, hende 299, onimete 254, riche 33, 133, wilde 43; those in #-ig# lose g, mihti 60, sori 103. Of the weak declension are s. n. m. cristene 294, leofue 274, but heh 64, 205 is not inflected, s. n. f. faire 287, s. d. f. bare 157 (deathe is treated as f.), s. a. neut. heaþene 295. Strong inflections are s. d. m. heþene 205, s. a. m. goldene 257, stonene 222, wisne 214, but lang, smal 217, strong 222 are uninflected. #mycel# is moche s. n. neut. 181, mochele s. d. m. 26, f. 171, moche s. a. m. 220, mochel f. 123, neut. 201: #āgen#, owe s. d. f. 201, owene s. d. neut. 208. All adjectives have -e in all cases of the plural, except wonder 35, noun used as adj., and ȝong 187, miswritten for ȝonge. #ān# is s. n. an 64, on 59, 161, a 60, 63, d. one m. 203, on 140, 177, f. 237, one neut. 33, a. ane m. 217, 223, 257, one 173, 214, an f. 65, on neut. 240; #nān# is s. n. non 258, a. nanne m. 191, no f. 50. Adjectives used as nouns with inflection are Bruttesse s. d. neut. 225, 281, beste 238, Œnglisse 281. Of comparatives heoldre 187 is pl. d.; the superlatives beste s. n. m. wk. 268 and faireste pl. n. 7 are alone inflected.

The personal pronouns are ich, ihc 177, me, we, vs, þou, þe, ȝe, ȝeo 27, 53, 79, ȝou, ou 83. The pronoun of the third person is s. n. he m. 21, ȝeo f. 67 (6), hit neut. 5, d. him m. 19, a. hine m. 18 (5), hire f. 67, 225, pl. n. hii 8 (21), d. heom 69, a. 188: reflexive is him seolue 113; definitive, him seolf 209. Possessives are s. n. min m. 32, mi 269, f. 181, neut. 178, d. min m. 83, f. 201, mine neut. 22 (4), a. mine f. 149; s. d. þine f. 171, neut. 186, a. þine m. 196, þin neut. 108, þi 165, pl. n. þine 167, 263, d. 156, a. 165; his 19, 99, 101; hire 224; vre 35; ȝoure 26; hire 37 (6). The definite article is s. n. þe m. 29, f. 224, þat neut. 36, 38, 128, g. þes m. 292, d. þan m. 1 (11), þane 72, 144, þare f. 157 (with deathe, usually m.), þan 103 (m. form with sihte f.), neut. 1, 126, 238, a. þane m. 74 (7), þat neut. 206, þe instr. 8, 184, pl. n. þe 7 &c.: þat is used demonstratively 8, 45, 283. The compound demonstrative is s. n. þis neut. 278, d. þis f. 117, þisse neut. 137, þisne 285 (miswritten for þisse), a. þeos f. 215, þis neut. 178, 280, pl. n. þeos 18, þes 7, g. þeos 112, d. 68, a. 69. The relatives are þat 7 &c., þe 57, þat . . . he, who, 21, wan s. d., whom 38. Interrogatives are wat 27, 264, 266, 270, woche pl. 53, with correlative soche 23, 291: #ilca# is ilke s. n. m. 237, 275, s. d. m. 34, f. 103, neut. 285. Indefinites are me 276; oþer s. n. m. 29, a. neut. 283, pl. n. 164; anoþer 114; eche s. d. m. 203, neut. 21, 36, 280, ech 185; euereche s. d. f. 129, euerech 221, euereche neut. 44; eni s. a. f. 205; mani s. n. 114, pl. n. 286, manie pl. a. 119, 126; al s. n. neut. 89, alle d. m. 78, al neut. 22, alle a. m. 109, al 196, alle pl. n. 99, alre g. 77 (3), alle 260, alle d. 61, 68, al 270, al a. 93.

Nineteen-twentieths of the infinitives end in e; wonie 173 is the only infinitive of the second weak conjugation; those in -en are cuðen 269, faren 45, slean 165, wreken 164; in i-, granti 184, sarui 19, both French. The dat. inf. is not inflected, to biholde 209, 223, for habbe 293, for to . . . seche 37. Presents are s. 1. habbe 22, wene 175; 2. bitakest 205, hauest 50; 3. falleþ 38, fareþ 48, takeþ 276, stondeþ 227; contracted, dringþ 275, fulþ 276, halt 275, saiþ 273, 274, seiþ 270; pl. 1. habbeþ, louieð 57, but ȝefue 69 (5); 2. bilefeþ 53; 3. bearneþ, erneþ 108, falleþ 109, hatieþ 157, louieþ 67, 286, sleaþ 108: subjunctive s. 2. biȝete 172; 3. ȝefue 297: imperative s. 2. bitak 173, dring 282, ȝef 201, hercne 147, lust 269, nim 186, onderfang 188, send 186. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. s. 1. seh 23; 3. bad 239, 297, ȝaf 206, ȝef 133, 299, sat 261, 287, spac 195, 262; pl. 3. eoten 251, sete 250; subj. s. 3. beade 298, speke 266: I b. s. 3. bar 257, com 1 (3), come 144, nam 92 (3), pl. 3. beore 93, come 7, 104, 285, comen 18, 119; subj. pl. 3. come 113, 245: I c. s. 3. drong 283, funde 298 (weak form), gan 92, 207; pl. 3. drongken 251, gonne 245: II. pl. 3. driuen 229: III. pl. 3. floȝe 129: IV. pl. 3. sloȝen 126, ofsloȝen 119; subj. s. 1. bitoke 193: V. s. 3. biful 122, 140, biheold 246, 288, ful 45, hehte 225 (weak form active), 162 (in meaning passive), lette (weak form) 221, 250, 254, 283; passive s. 1. hatte 32; 3. 32 (8). Participles past: I b. ibore 259, icome 2 (4), icomen 27, 107, ouercome 128: IV. atstonde 183, ofslaȝe 138: V. ihote 34, 67. Past of Weak Verbs: s. 3. answerede 21, arerde 223, bitahte 284, grette 144, hadde 214, mornede 293 (#murnde#), swipte 284; pl. 3. cleopede 230, grette 18, hadde 123, ladde 259, seide 19, sette 230, wende 99, iþohten 122. Participles past: biclused 177, hifulled 258, iȝarked 238, ihord 50, 156, ileued 22, iscrud 100, isomned 36, ived 100, iveiþed 175, iwoned 121, himakede 240. Minor Groups: nuste pt. s. 264; couþe pt. s. 214, 281; dorste pt. pl. 137; salt 2 pr. s. 189, sal pr. s. 89, solle 2 pr. pl. 24, solde pt. s. 178, 1 pt. pl. 45; mai 1 pr. s. 173, pr. s. 204, mihte pt. s. 210, 258; most 2 pr. s. 110, mot pr. s. 38, 41, moste we 1 pt. pl. 46; beo inf. 175, ham 1 pr. s. 24, 175, nam 176, his pr. s. 34 (9), beoþ 1 pr. pl. 33 (4), 2 pr. pl. 79, pr. pl. 35 (5), beo pr. s. subj. 41, 2 pr. pl. subj. 27, beon pr. pl. subj. 172, was pt. s. 8 (10), nas 104, 218, weren pt. pl. 2 (5), were 4 (5), nere 138, were pt. s. subj. 218, 266; wolle 1 pr. s. 26 (8), nelle 191, wolt 2 pr. s. 149, 184, wole pr. s. 202, wolleþ 1 pr. pl. 184, 2 pr. pl. 87, pr. pl. 164, wolle 2 pr. s. subj. 20, woldes 2 pt. s. 178, wolde pt. s. 143, pt. pl. 19, 192; don inf. 178 (4), doþ pr. s. 292, pr. pl. 86, dedest 2 pt. s. 162, dude pt. pl. 117, idon pp. 138; goþ pr. pl. 43, 44.

#Dialect:# The speech of North Worcestershire, where the Brut was written, descended from a Saxon patois which was substantially South-Western, but with an Anglian element derived from the neighbouring Mercia. Occasional forms in the texts, which are foreign to this dialect, may be due, as Luhmann thinks, to the poet himself, who, as he tells us, had travelled ‘wide ȝond þas leode,’ or to some intermediate copyist, but otherwise the manuscripts present, on the whole, the natural development of the dialect of the original. What the professional scribes who copied them contributed to the divergences from the original text was mainly graphic and in a great measure due to the clash of native spelling with the French scribal methods to which they were accustomed.

#Vocabulary:# Scandinavian words in C O are bule bole, gærsume garisome, gistninge gystninge, hæil hail, laȝe lawe, swaines sweines, wæshail wassayl; in C only, ibon, dring, grið, loten, tiðende, utlaȝen; in O only, sleh, þorisdai: French in C O, castel, latimer; in O only, granti, pore, sarui.

#Metre:# (1) =Of C.= Like the Worcester Fragment, p. 232, and the Proverbs of Alfred, pp. 292-4, Layamon’s verse presents an intermediate stage in the transition from the OE. alliterative long line to the rhyming couplet as exemplified in King Horn (KH p. xlvi). Our text has i. lines which continue the OE. practice of binding together the two halves of the line by alliteration only, as Ah héo weore hǽðene[;] þat wes hǽrm þa máre, 8; of þat ílken ǽnde[;] þe ángles is iháten, 34; these have four stresses separated by light syllables varying in number: ii. lines which add rhyme as an ornament to alliteration, as heo cómen into hálle[;] hǽndeliche álle 99; út of þan léode[;] to úncuðe lónde, 40; swiðe monie péohtes[;] heo slóȝen iþan féhte, 126, and with similar imperfect rhymes 79, 92, 174, &c.; the rhythm of these also is alliterative: iii. lines like those of the second class in structure, but already showing in various degrees the disintegrating effects of rhyme in their wavering rhythm, as þat ouer sǽ weorẹn icúmen[;] swíðe | sélcuðe | gúmen, 2, or with a regular syllabic rhythm, as ne mí|hte wé | bilǽ|uè[;] for lí|ue né | for dǽ|ðè, 46: iv. lines with rhyme only, as þe féor|ðe hǽh|te Jú|pitér[;] of ál|le þín|ge hé | is whár, 61; and ǽf|ter óh|te món|nèn[;] þa béz|stẹ of mí|ne cún|nè, 200; these can be scanned as syllabic verse without assuming any licence which is not to be found in the Poema Morale: v. lines without alliteration or rhyme, as 67, 242, 286, 297; these may be regarded as corrupt. The alliteration is varied, rarely 2 + 2, as 75, 127, 161; 2 + 1, normal in OE., as 17, 29, 32 &c.; 1 + 1, by far the commonest, as 30, 36, 38, 42, &c.; 1 + 2, as 2, 13, 33: the last stress sometimes falls at the end of the second half-line, contrary to OE. usage, as 17. Crossed alliteration occurs at 31, 39, 40, 91, 124; distinct alliteration in each half-line at 76, 249. Perfect rhymes like sohten : rohten 10, imetten : igrætten 18 are comparatively few, imperfect ones frequent, as vnwraste : criste 80, ænde : grunde 109, dæðe : cuðe 158, monnen : hennen 160, ræde : neode 171, spræde : hude 210, hude : neode 212, inne : cunne 235, nap : up 275, wīn : ĭn 283; a final consonant is negligible, to : idon 9, wolde : athalden 20, laȝe : dæȝen 69, peohtes : fehte 126, fluȝen : vnnifoȝe 130, fæhte : cnihten 155, cumeð : gærsume 189, monnen : cunne 200, hude : ouerspræden 202, sætte : hæhten 230, scruden : prude 254, even a final syllable, scenden : lond 192; assonances are frequent, as driȝen : liuen 25, lond : strong 56, londe : stronge 85, 124, ligge : libbe 174, faste : castle 177, atwite : riche 204, ende : uelde 211, while : time 237, time : liðe 243; inflectional rhymes are admissible, as andswerden : cuðen 11, peohtes : londes 137, andswarede : wolde 151, children : olden 187, ihærde : seide 264; partial correspondences of sound suffice, as tiðende : kinge 1, wenden : kinge 14, leofue : laðe 79, læue : liðe 92, arerde : mare 223 (Bartels, 61), tiðende : londe 271, hende : kinge 287; proper names have special freedom, as Jupiter : whar 61, appollin : idon 63, Teruagant : lon[d] 64, alemanisce : horse 125, vortigerne : sone 265. The text has suffered much less from a metrical point of view than the Proverbs of Alfred, the interval of time between the original and the extant copy being shorter, but the changes are the same in kind. i. Words altered: for þa king 15 read muri; comp. ‘Swa he uorð to Cantuare-buri[;] þer him þuhte swiðe muri,’ L 29519, 20: l. 37, see note: l. 63, MS. O has possibly preserved the original: l. 85, read leod-ferde ful stronge: l. 146, for blisse--heom, read dune wes heom among; comp. ‘Þer wes swiðe muchel dune[;] þeines þer dremden,’ L 11574, 5: l. 242, for wolde read ȝirnde (Bartels 55); comp. 106/206: l. 268, for ær read euere: l. 286, for fain read sæl: l. 288, read þe leuedi he ȝeorne biheold[;] and comp. ‘He clepede to þere leuedi[;] heo wes him on heorten leof,’ L 1190, 1: l. 297, read dringe : ȝunge (for child). ii. Words omitted: l. 67, read dihteð alswa (Bartels 69): l. 107, read Lauerd king! nu forðrihtes; comp. 94/30, 96/50, 108/263: l. 131, read Vortigerne þe king[;] to herberwe wendẹ on hiȝing; comp. ‘Þa sæide þe king[;] Nu to scipe an hiȝing,’ L 32040, 1: l. 134, read hehȝe maðmes inoȝe; comp. ‘þa hæuekes ⁊ þa hundes[;] ⁊ hehȝe mine maħmes,’ L 22397, 8: l. 148, read runen swiðe deorne; comp. ‘and Hengest spæc wið Vortigerne[;] of rune swiðe derne,’ L 14768, 9: l. 209, where two lines have been compressed into one, read ‘⁊ he seolf wende[;] wide ȝeond þissen londe | To sechen on folde[;] ænne brædne fæld’; comp. ‘Ah anan heo wende[;] toward þissen londe,’ L 11634, 5; ‘Leir king wende on a{n}ne feld[;] ⁊ reste hine on folden,’ L 3510, 11: l. 215, read bule hude: l. 224, read nome þare; comp. ‘Þa andswarede eorles þare[;] Alle we beoð ȝarẹwe,’ L 27332, 3. iii. Substitution of forms: read l. 5, cnihtes; l. 110 alle; ll. 149, 178, wule; comp. ‘Ȝif ȝe hit lusten wlle,’ L 919: read l. 159, stilliche; l. 196, iwille : alle; l. 233, rideren. iv. Words rearranged mostly in a prose order: read l. 3, icumen weoren to londe; l. 14, wenden gunne; l. 82, nohtes ne beoþ; l. 83, ich eou wullẹ; l. 129, ⁊ awæi floȝen swuðe[;] forð an ælche helue; l. 214, ænne wisne mon he hæfden; l. 232, hider liðen; l. 250, Bord heo breden hetten[;] cnihtes þer to setten (Bartels 35). v. Padding: omit l. 9, and; l. 23, aer; l. 31, we; l. 86, muchele; l. 88, lond; l. 93, heore scipen; l. 97, heore; l. 113, read mani oht mon: omit l. 121, ofte; l. 128, þa; l. 218, noht; l. 248, mid him; l. 252 þa (wes); l. 285, þissen; l. 293 read hire for þat mæiden.

Elision takes place under the usual conditions, auerẹ 7, 132, cnihtenẹ 55, 89, sendẹ 198, bezstẹ 200, hudẹ 217, but hiatus is not infrequent, þinge 61, swiðe 84, alle 135, fæire 144, fulliche 183, hafde 212. In trisyllabic words the vowel of the middle syllable sometimes suffers syncope, as neoðẹles 83, hengẹstes 232, nauẹre 23, læuẹdi 65, naeuẹden 228, similarly answerẹde 21, 29, 55 and generally bịliue, weorẹn. The added n has small share in the metrical scheme; of the twenty-six certain instances of its use, three, rihten 20, cumen 24, comen 235, prevent hiatus, to which, however, the poet seems indifferent; once it makes a rhyme, hallen : men 259; twice it is in excess cunnen : wunne 188, Rouwenne : wimmonnen 270; once it rhymes with itself, hæfden : craften 214 (as emended above); four times it completes a rhyme, driȝen : liuen 25, iwiten : wurðscipen 26, ræden : dæden 110, innen : monnen 112; the remaining instances are whænnenen 27, wullen 30, 88, 184, duȝeðen 166, næueden 228, burhȝen 251, weoren 266, bitæhten 284. Doubtful are runen 148, ronen 156, leoden 165, 285, laȝen 278, 285; but they are most probably weak forms, and it may well be that the use of n spread from such cases to other forms. It is noteworthy that, out of these twenty-seven instances, the added n appears sixteen times at the end of line or half-line.

(2) =Of O.= The author of this recension had little regard for the metre of his original; ll. 68, 93, 112, 193, 226, 265, 297 are quite formless. Two lines are compressed into one, mostly unmetrical, at 67, 90, 157, 159, 173. Rhyme is substituted for alliteration at 114, 123, 131, 133, 149, 178, 221, 245; occasionally attempts are made to improve the rhyme, as at 35, 63, 253. At l. 7 a prose order is adopted; archaic words and phrases are rejected at 92, 108, 138, 139, 184, 207, 230, 251, 258, 267, 273, 278 &c.

#Introduction:# The priest Layamon, son of Leovenath, served the church at Ernley (Arley Regis) on the Severn near Radestone, ‘sel þar him þuhte.’ There it came into his mind that he would tell of the noble deeds of the English, and journeying wide over the land he got the noble books, Bede’s History in English, the Latin text of the same, which he ascribes to S. Austin and S. Albin, and the history which a French clerk made. Such is the poet’s account of his authorities, but of the two first he made no use, Wace’s metrical version of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Britonum was his main source. This he greatly amplified out of his legendary store and from other sources, writing in epic style and a somewhat archaic diction derived from the older English literature, and investing the whole with the charm of his imaginative and descriptive powers. But Imelmann maintains that, apart from some insignificant details, Wace was his only source, not indeed the text as we have it in Le Roux de Lincy’s edition, but a later lost redaction enlarged from an intermediate version which blended the original Wace with the first part of Gaimar’s Chronicle.

Layamon wrote in the early years of the thirteenth century, and finished his book before 1205 A.D.

This extract gives ll. 13785-14382 in Madden ii. pp. 152-177: it corresponds to Wace (W) 6860-7168. The references are to the older text of L, unless O is prefixed.

1. #Vnder ðan#, meanwhile; OE. #under þām#, where the prep. means among: ‘Entretant,’ W. Comp. ‘Under þis,’ SK 1858; ‘vnder þat,’ R. of Gloucester 116/11. L has also ‘Vnder þan ilke þinge,’ 29849, ‘Wnder þon,’ 6433. #tiðende# is OWScand. tíðindi: #tydinge# in O is OE. #tīdung#: see Björkman, 167. #vortiger# is from W: the OE. form is #Wyrtgeorn#.

5. #Alse hit weoren#, to all appearance: usually with swulc in L, ‘heo leopen ut of þan wuden[;] swulc hit deor weoren,’ 12828, 3070, 11571. For hit comp. 1/10. Kempes, champions, in O is a characteristic toning down of Kinges in C, but comp. L 25301.

6. #wiðuten#, not counting. #scipen monnen# is probably a scribal mistake for scipmonnen. #þer wiðinnen#, in the ships.

7. #þis#: sing. like þet 1/10 note: so too at 110/278, and with Hit, 110/271. #færeste#: ‘Od biax viaires et biax cors,’ W 6863.

8. #ꝥ--mare#: a typical comment, comp. ‘hire cheap wes þe wrse,’ L 385; ‘his hap wes þe betere,’ id. 4894, 816, 3857, &c.

9. #hu--idon#: Madden translates, ‘how they were disposed (their business)’: Mätzner, Sprachproben, says it corresponds exactly to OHG. wio getân, how conditioned, circumstanced; but his dictionary does not notice this use, which appears to be without support, for ‘þine ræddes ne beod noht idon,’ L 24956, where Madden translates, vaguely, ‘good,’ seems to mean, your counsels are not completed, i.e. ripe, perfect. On the other hand, wel idon occurs in L at least twenty-three times; with it Madden compares MHG. wol getan, translating good, excellent, brave; but it means more specifically, well equipped, (1) mentally, comp. 104/180; ‘þa wifmen wel idone[;] and þa betere biwitene,’ L 24677: (2) physically, 96/63; ‘ah he ne blakede no[;] for he wes cniht wel ido{n},’ L 7524; well fitted out, ‘scipen he hæfde sone[;] monie ⁊ wel idone,’ L 28234; well provided with money, ‘þe riche burh wel idone,’ L 5923; ‘Ðu ert wel don man,’ OEH ii. 29/15, the latter answering to the colloquial ‘well-to-do.’ Similar expressions are seen in ‘cnihtes wel bihedde,’ L 18010; ‘Jurdan is his bur-cniht[;] he is swiðe wel idiht,’ id. 18960; ‘twa hundred scipene[;] þer weoren wel biwitene,’ id. 20505; ‘wel bifunden,’ Orm 73/2176. The meaning here is accordingly, how they were provided for; a polite way of asking what they wanted.

11. #cuðen#, knew how, were able.

13. #heren#, obey: comp. 94/19; ‘nulle we him nauere hæren[;] ne hælde for ure hærre,’ L 7671, 4887, 8483.

15. #Cantuarie#: see 1/14.

16. #Hæhliche spilede#: Madden translates ‘nobly diverted themselves,’ with the usual meaning of OE. #spilian#, to play; and his interpretation is supported by, ‘mid haueken ⁊ mid hunden[;] hired-plæie luuien,’ L 14480. Luhmann, p. 91, regards this place as the only instance of that meaning in Layamon; he points out that everywhere else (as at 110/266) spilien has, from expressions like ‘spilede mid worden,’ L 17269, ‘plaȝede mid worden,’ L 17335, developed the meaning, to discourse, proper to OE. #spellian#. It seems unnecessary to make an exception here; the explanation, held high counsel, gives a good sense, and one more suitable for ‘hæhliche’ than the other.

17. #folc kinge#: comp. 96/47: variants are, ‘biforen þen folke kinge,’ L 9107; ‘þeos folkes ki{n}g,’ id. 4872; ‘leod king,’ id. 6797; ‘leode king,’ id. 3691; ‘leodene king,’ id. 5394; ‘leodisc king,’ id. 2144. As here, O avoids the archaic expression in each case except the last, where it has, ‘on leodene king.’ Comp. OE. #folc-cyning#, #lēod-cyning#.

18. #Sone swa#: see 130/51.

20. #mid rihten at halden#, retain them and treat them fairly.

21. #of--war#: this phrase, which is repeated after the epic manner with the king’s name, as 96/51, 98/78 &c. appears for the first time at 13254, ‘of ufele he wes wel iwar,’ where the context requires the meaning, he was well versed, practised in evil-doing. (OE. #wær#, having knowledge of.) His character is bad, ‘Fax fu et faussement parla,’ W 6796; ‘þat iharde Uortigerne[;] þe swike wes ful derne,’ L 13603. Less ambiguous is, ‘Æfter Cap Oein[;] for elchen vuele he wes fein,’ L 6993. #Þat . . . he# in O = who.

23. Comp. ‘Ne seah ic el-þeodige | þus manige men mōdiglīcran,’ Beowulf, 336, 247-50. #bi nihtes#: comp. ‘feorh færde bi nihttes,’ L 4415.

24. #for--bliðe#: comp. 108/263; ‘Þe king wes gled for his kime,’ L 3962: with of, 128/9, 206/321; ‘forr mani mann | Wass off hiss come bliþe,’ Orm, 24/795, as in OE., ‘ealle wæron swiðe bliðe his ongeancymes,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 208/292.

26. #þurh--wurðscipen#, by your true worthiness, as truly as you are honourable. For the position of eouwer comp. 102/154, 104/171. With for in O comp. 78/66, 119/78.

28. #whar#: OE. #hwæðer#. #alde# &c., at all seasons, under all circumstances: comp. 25/226.

32. #hors#: so W; in Hist. Britonum, Horsus: comp. such double forms as Sceaf, Sceafa; Geat, Geata.

34. #ænde#, quarter: comp. 100/109, 127/344, ‘heofon biþ open on sumum ende,’ BH 93/1; ‘þe alre leste ende,’ SK 587 (= de remotis partibus); Minot, ix. 3. #angles#, Ænglis O: the OE. names are Angel, Engel, Ongel; the final s here is probably due to Englisc. ‘De Saisone, dist-il, venon,’ W 6889; but they were Jutes.

35. #tiðende#, lit. happenings, here, customs, ways: comp. 110/271; ‘In Fra{n}ce weore læwen[;] sulkuðe a þan dawen. | ⁊ selcuðe tidende,’ L 5137, where læwen and tidende are synonymous. #gonde# in O is regarded by Madden as a mistake for goude, a spelling found in C, but not, I think, in O: he translates ‘many good things’; Mätz. ‘wondrously good things’; but that gives a very unsuitable sense and spoils a rhyme. In Specimens it is taken for goinde: O has goinde, 1582, but mostly goinge, which is hard to parallel at this date in the sense of taking place, progressing. Brotanek, in Zupitza-Schipper, 339 suggests that gonde is OE. #geondan#, yonder; but L otherwise has only ȝeond, ȝond, prep. as at 106/209. Possibly it is a mistake for wonde, accustomed, instead of the usual iwoned 101/121; ‘To hire weren iwoned[;] wonder craftie men,’ O 1153: C has iwunde, wounded, 10420, and the prefix is occasionally dropped, as somned, 104/167.

36. #vmbe# is ambiguous: bi eche &c., O, means every fifteenth year: ‘Li prince qui les teres ont | Tos les jenes asamblé font | Qui de quinze ans sunt et de plus,’ W 6909. #hi[s]# for is: him MS. cannot be reflexive here: comp. ‘Þa ferde wes isumned,’ L 1482, and so always in L. But Kock, Anglia, xxv. 318 takes #isomned# as isomneð, assembles, with #him# as reinforcing dative, like 13/34.

37. #iledene# is regarded by Mätzner as for ledene, with otiose i prefixed, as in ‘iliue’ 94/22; it would in that case be pl. g. of leod as in ‘leodene king,’ L 5394. But ‘folk of the people,’ ‘nation-folk,’ Madden, is a strange expression (though leod-folc is common enough), and it would be a meaningless repetition; besides e for OE. #ēo# is rare in L. Kellner, Archiv cxiv. 164, proposes ileuede representing OE. #gelyfed#, advanced in age, and one MS. of W has ‘Tout li viellart et li plus fort’ as a variant of ‘Tot li millor et li plus fort | Sont mis fors del païs, par sort,’ 6193. But ileuede is not used elsewhere in L, and would connote decrepitude. Geoffrey of Monmouth has ‘totius regni iuvenes coram se venire praecipiunt (principes): deinde sorte proiecta potiores atque fortiores eligunt,’ 82/20; something corresponding to ‘iuvenes’ is required here, such as iwepned; comp. L 9942-6.

38. #of#: see 80/47.

45. #feole# is impossible: Mätzner suggests the substitution of lot, as in O, for beoþ, but that would require feol instead of feole. More probably the scribe has been influenced by beoð into miswriting feole for fallen: #beoð# is singular.

46. #for liue# &c. apparently means, for any consideration, at any price, like ‘for love or hire.’

47. #for þan#, because of the, for fear of the.

49. #vnder lufte#, under heaven: comp. ‘nes þa na man vnder lufte[;] þe cuðe betere cræftes,’ L 10104: lufte is Madden’s correction.

50. #þurh alle þing#, in every respect, qualifying Soð: comp. ‘he wes god þurh alle þing,’ L 6894: somewhat different is ‘⁊ þar an hiȝinge[;] þurh ut alle þinges,’ L 2358.

51 O. #wis . . . war#: comp. 18/16.

52. #sugge#: for the subj. comp. ‘geliefeð ðæt he swelc sie swelce he gehierð,’ Cura Past. 110/11. #soðriht#, adv. truly; comp. ‘a þilke time soh riht,’ L 9668, MS. O.

53. #þat . . . on#, and 54. #þe . . . to#: see 1/3.

55. #cnihtene# &c.: a recurring phrase, as 98/89, 102/152; ‘cnihten alre hendest,’ 104/195.

57. #mode#, feeling: comp. ‘on his heorte he hauede grome[;] on his mode muchele sco{m}e,’ L 4847, and with O, ‘þe leof hire weis on mode,’ L 4489. See KH 281 note.

58. #hope to#: see 178/89 note. #heoreð . . . mid mihte#, strenuously exalt; from #herian#, to glorify: it might be from #hīeran#, to obey, but the former meaning is more suitable here; comp. 102/139.

59-68. There is little doubt that Layamon found this strange jumble of the gods of the Romans, Teutons, and French Romance in his original, but appollin and teruagant are missing in the printed Wace. Identification of the Roman gods with those of the Teutons and Celts proceeded rapidly among the barbarians from the first century onward, so that the Spanish bishop, Martin of Bracara, denouncing in the sixth century the pagan practices of his flock, uses the Roman names of the gods (De Correctione Rusticorum, ed. Caspari, pp. xci, 7-11), in which he is followed by Ælfric in the homily De Diis Falsis (Kemble, Solomon and Saturn, 120; Wulfstan, ed. Napier, 104). L appears not to have known that under this system Mercurius is Woden; Jupiter, Thunor; Mars, Tiw; Venus, Frea; and Phoebus, perhaps the Sun, yet Wace says ‘Mercurion | Qui en nostre langage a non | Woden.’ In L 16790-4, there is a similar list of the Saxon gods with addition of Dido{n} and Mamilon.

60. #weoli#, rich, powerful.

62. #hæhste#: comp. ‘Nu hateð Aganippus[;] þe is þe heȝest ouer us,’ L 3648: ‘Deorum maxime Mercurium colunt,’ Tacitus, Germania, 9: see Müllenhoff, Deutsche Alterthumskunde, iv. 212.

63. #appollin# is the god of Cassivellaunus, L 8081: one of the three idols of the Saracens in French romance, Mahomet and Tervagant being the others; ‘Mahummet sert e Apollin recleimet,’ Chanson de Roland, 8; ‘La lei i fut Mahum e Tervagan,’ id. 611. In L, Tervagant is the god of the Romans, 5353. #wel idon#: see 94/9 note. #of gret win# O, in whom we greatly delight: OE. #wynn#.

66. #hired men#, members of a household, courtiers. But Frea had nothing to do with these; she was the patroness and helper of lovers. Possibly L has misunderstood cortoier or cortois in his original.

67. #dihteð#, guides, directs.

69. Comp. ‘and habben þa ilke læȝen[;] þe stoden bi heore ældre dæwen,’ L 5960. #hehde# is for hefde: comp. ‘what he i Rome hæhde biwunnen,’ L 10547; ‘enne sune he hehde,’ id. 6958, 30185: for other instances in L of h substituted for f, see Luhmann, 45: the expression, to hold the highest law, may well mean, to have the highest authority, for Layamon’s use of laȝe is very wide and varied. But Brotanek treats #hehde# as past of heȝen, OE. #hēgan#, to put in force, to establish: this in L is hæhȝede, heȝede: Logeman suggests hehte (OE. #hatan#), promised.

71. #heom# is written for him, and they did worship to him: the subject heo is not expressed, because it is contained in heore preceding: see 6/18.

72-76. The Romans adopted the week of seven days, with their allotment to the heavenly bodies, from the Chaldaeans. They were already well acquainted with it in the first century A.D., and it was in regular use in the third. Owing to their many points of contact with the barbarians, it spread rapidly everywhere among the northern nations, each of which adapted it by substitution of their own equivalent deities in the names of the days, Saturn alone proving intractable (see Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, 1. 122 ff; Müllenhoff, iv. 644 ff.). The North German invaders were already in possession of the system when they settled in England: comp. Byrhtferth’s Handboc, Anglia, viii. 321/4-17.

72. #to wurðscipe#, in his honour. #wendesdei# O, for Wednesdei, is representative of *Wēdnes-, Wǣdnes-dæg, out of Wōdines. (Holthausen, Anglia, Beiblatt, iii. 39.)

73. #þunres dæi#, day of Thunor: #þorisdai# O is Scandinavian: ODanish þūr (Björkman, 181): OE. #þūres dæg#. Comp. 85/99.

74. #fridæi#: OE. #frige-dæg#, the day of Freya, identified with Venus.

75. #sætterdæi# corresponds to OFrisian saterdei, OE. #Sæterdei#: #sateresdei# O to OE. #sæteresdæg#. The fullest form is #Sæternes dæg# = Sāturni dies (? Sǣ; see Anglia, Beiblatt, xx. 194). #þene# should be #þere#. #sonedæi#: OE. #sunnan-dæg#; perhaps OWScand. sunnudagr has influenced the ME. form.

76. #monedæi#: OFrisian mōnedei. #tisdæi#: OWScand. týsdagr: OE. #tīwes-dæg#. #Tidea# is said in the glossary to Specimens to be a Latinized form of Tiw in the dat. case, without support from any parallel and without explanation of d: probably it is a mistake for Tiwe, and as O has Tydea, the mistake would be derived from an earlier MS. common to both.

81. #wurse#, the evil one, the devil; comp. 110/291; ‘þat he wið þene wurse spæc,’ L 2841 where O has ‘feonde.’

82. #nohtes#, of a worthless kind: a descriptive genitive used predicatively: comp. ‘eower godas ne synd nahtes,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 182/205; ‘ne beoð ha riht nohtes,’ SJ 22/10: it is in principle the same as ‘ðæt fleax ðæt bið hwites hiewes,’ Cura Past. 86/19.

83. ‘Mult volanters vous retanrai,’ W 6957.

84. #ohte#, doughty: OE. #āht#, shortened from #āwiht#: so the root sense is ‘anything, good for anything, worth something.’ Comp. ‘ahte cniht wes Auelin,’ L 8141.

86. #scome . . . grome#: see 96/57 note, and for the corresponding verbs comp. ‘þerfore him ofte scomede[;] ⁊ his heorte gromede,’ L 13763.

94. #dringches#, warriors: OWScand. drengr, young man: the change of e to i is normal; see Björkman, 292.

95. #hændest# is taken by the editors generally as, nearest (to him), but everywhere else in L it means, courteous, or the like: comp. 98/77: perhaps him should be omitted.

97. #him to#, to Vortigern, but #senden# is corrupt; reading, seoððen siȝen him to, the meaning would be, next the Saxon knights followed after them; comp. ‘þe eorles heom siȝen to[;] mid fele heore cnihtes,’ L 9996.

98. #aldene# cannot be right, its final e does not belong to the dat. sing.: comp. ‘in alden hire de{n}ne,’ L 22027. Read aldrene, of the kin of his ancestors: comp. 98/69, 104/193; ‘of his eoldrene istreon,’ L 18609.

99. #hændeliche# is translated by Mätzner, courteously; rather, making a brave show.

100. #iscrudde . . . iuædde#: comp. ‘he us haueð wel iued[;] he us haueð wel iscrud,’ L 13573; 104/190.

101. #hængest# is the last word on the page, and the scribe has in consequence omitted -es: for #swaine# read swaines.

102. #hehne#, ‘hæhne,’ L 11378, represents OE. #hēanne#, acc. of #hēan#, mean, humble, and ‘hæne,’ 106/204, its nom. #hēane#: but ‘hæhne,’ 106/205, represents the acc. of #hēah#, high (seldom #hēahne#, mostly #heanne#).

104. Comp. ‘Nes hit noh[t] longe[;] buten ane stu{n}de,’ L 14423. #ne#: see 25/241 note. #longe# is adverbial in form.

108. Comp. ‘ꝥ lond heo þurh arnden[;] ⁊ herȝeden ⁊ barnden,’ L 12129, 9934.

109. #ænde#: see 96/34. #iuald#, they fell; comp. ‘sixti þusende[;] he leide to þen gronde,’ L 4751.

111 is formal: see 102/142, L 1035, 3147 &c.

117. #duden--iwune#, behaved as usual: comp. ‘hu Osric Edwines sune[;] dude ut-laȝen wune,’ L 31270.

120. Comp. ‘þat fæht wes swuðe strong[;] ⁊ swuðe stær ⁊ swuðe longe,’ L 4170.

121. ‘Por ce que vaincre les soloient | Lor costume tenir voloient; | Mais lor usage i ont perdu,’ W 6991.

122. #an oðer#, nom. adj. agreeing with hit: the construction is frequent in L; comp. ‘ah al an oðer hit iwærd[;] oðer he iwende,’ L 17336: oðer, adj. is also found in the same construction; comp. 203/202; ‘ah al hit iwrað (= iwarð) oðer[;] þene heo iwenden,’ L 19506, but it is mostly adverbial, as, ‘ah al heo þohten oðer,’ L 5429; ‘al oþer hit schal go,’ OEM 41/140.

123. If #hele# represents OE. #hælo#, safety, #heom# means, to the Britons, but the transition is abrupt, and Logeman suggests that #hele# may mean, thing hidden, secret; its known meanings being, concealment, hiding-place; it might be better to substitute iheled for #al hele#.

127. #feondliche#, furiously; comp. ‘Dunwal i þan fæhte[;] wes feondliche kene,’ L 4168, where O substitutes ‘swiþe.’ #feollen þa fæie#: an oft-repeated formula in L.

130. #vnnifoȝe#: OE. #ungefōg#, immense; here, countless. Comp. ‘muchel ⁊ unifoh,’ L 8674, ‘monie ⁊ vniuoȝe,’ id. 13187; ‘For noldest þu nefre [hab]ben inouh, buten þu hefdest unifouh,’ Worcester Frag. D 39.

132. #on uast#, close to, fast by him; OE. #on# + #fæst#: comp. ‘He makede an temple onfest þe baðe,’ L 2852: but Luhmann, p. 95, deduces it from #on œfeste#, influenced by the prep. fæst bi.

133. The subject of #ȝef# is he, contained in kinge: see 6/18. ‘Et Lindesée et bons manoirs,’ W.

134. ‘unc sceal worn fela | māþma gemǣnra,’ Beowulf, 1783, 4.

136. #a þan ilke#, on the same footing, thus: comp. ‘⁊ þus ane stonde[;] hit stod æ ðon ilka,’ L 3117, 3716, 14890 &c. ‘Ensi ont longement esté | Et lor amor a mult dure,’ W 7001.

137. For #londes# read londe, or for #þan#, þas.

139 O. #hendeliche#, cleverly.

141. #hæȝe dæie#, festival; mostly associated with religious observance; comp. ‘Hit wes an anne hæhȝe dæie[;] halȝede{n} leoden,’ L 10708. ‘Un jor trova le roi haitié | Si l’a à consel afaitié,’ W 7009. #duȝeðe monnen#, the men of his nobility, the retainers of his court; the first element answers to OE. #duguðe#, s. g. of #duguð#.

148. #ræcchen . . . runen#, expound, disclose secret counsels; comp. ‘summe heo muche runen[;] ræhten heom bitweone{n},’ L 25123; ‘þe sunne reccheð hire rune euch buten reste,’ SM 9/30. (‘Sol in aspectu annuncians in exitu, vas admirabile opus excelsi,’ Ecclus. xliii. 2.)

150. #halden to wraððe# apparently means, consider it a ground for anger: perhaps wenden should be read for halden.

153. #þine monscipe ihæȝed#, advanced thy dignity; comp. ‘⁊ mine monscipe hæien,’ 5451; ‘þurh þe haueð Morgan mi mæi[;] is mo{n}scipe afallet,’ id. 3838.

154. #þine#: see 92/26.

157. ‘Ai jo assés aparçéu | . . . | Que tu n’en as baron qui t’aint; | Cascuns te het, cascuns te plaint,’ W 7017.

158. #bare#, actual, absolute; comp. ‘his leode hine hateden | in to þan bare dæðe,’ L 7034; ‘bi þine bare life,’ id. 25800. #þare# O is a scribal error.

159. #stilleliche#, secretly; so too stille 104/170; comp. ‘mid stilliche runen,’ L 355; ‘mid heore stil rune,’ id. 3249: with #spilieð# comp. 110/266; ‘Þus speken þeos swiken[;] and spileden mid worde,’ L 3816.

161. #ambrosie#: Aurelius Ambrosius: O has the former name.

163. #laȝen#, ways, practices, a sense developed out of that of custom, but Mätzner translates, in a treasonable manner. His death was compassed by Vortigern, as O says.

169. #androeinnes#: L has elsewhere only Androgeus, and Androgeum as in W, with once Androchies gen. 8194. The present form corresponds to Androgen, Andragen, Andragenus of the prose Brut, ed. Brie, p. 33.

173. #kineliche#, royal, and therefore in the king’s gift.

175. Comp. ‘Þin hired þe hateð for me | ⁊ ich æm iuæid for þe,’ L 14458. #iuaid# is pp. of ȝefeogen, OE. *#gefēogan#: see NED v. 525, s.v. ivee. #iveiþed# is pp. of a derivative verb from OE. #fæhð#, feud: it occurs four times in O. #uor þe#, because of your unpopularity. #ic wene# &c., I expect to be killed.

176. #fare# &c.: see 34/86.

177. #biclused#: comp. ‘⁊ hæuede Valentin wel uaste | biclused in ane castle,’ L 12191: elsewhere O substitutes ‘bituned.’ ‘Si ai por toi maint anemi; | Ne puis par nuit estre aséur | Fors de castel et fors de mur,’ W 7040.

180. #of--idon#: see 94/9 note.

182. #wine maies#: OE. #wine mǣg#, a loving kinsman: L has also vniwinen, onwines, enemies, 14466.

184. #hiren#: comp. 94/19, 98/68. ‘Plus séurs en sera de moi | Et jo en servirai mius toi,’ W 7035.

188. #afeoh#: ‘Et bien les recoif et conroie,’ W 7052.

190. #ueden . . . scruden#: see 100/100.

195. #Þa ȝet#, still: OE. #þā git#. Comp. ‘hafde þa ȝet an ho{n}de,’ L 8540; ‘þe ȝet þe he wes i Rome’ (= while he was still in Rome), id. 9733.

196. #driȝen#, submit to. #her# &c., in this and in all things.

201. #stonden--hond#, to be in my possession permanently: comp. ‘Nu stond al þis muchele lo{n}d[;] a Bailenes aȝere hond,’ L 4330. Stonden in L often means little more than beon. #a#, unemphatic on: comp. ll. 215, 210.

202. #anes bule hude#: Madden suggests an or bules, but in the glossary treats bule as genitive: Mätzner thinks bule may represent a Scand. gen. bola; but bule-hude is a compound of which the first element is uninflected, yet genitive in essence, and so capable of association with an adjective in that case: the principle is the same as in ahnes, 74/207 note; the meaning is, the hide of one bull. #Ælches weies#, in every direction, but Mätzner explains, in any wise, any way, quoting ‘Ælches weies him wes wa,’ 18703, where the meaning appears to be, in both directions, on either side. #in grene# O, on a green, is a curious variant, and an early use of the noun in this sense.

204. #hæne . . . riche#; a frequent combination in L: it means the lowly . . . the exalted, the commons . . . the nobles, rather than, the poor . . . the rich.

210. #þer . . . on#, on which: see 1/3.

213. #þe# refers to hude. #wunder ane strong#: this combination of wunder ane with an adjective as here and at 106/219, 108/258, is frequent in the older text of L. So we find wunder ane brad, bliðe, cræftie, deop, fæir, laðe, lihte, monie, wod. It is also found with adverbs, as ‘Þa weop Vðer[;] wunder ane swiðe,’ L 18140, and once ‘bitter ane swiðe’ occurs, L 30302, where O has ‘biterliche swiþe.’ For wunder ane, O usually substitutes swiþe or wunderliche or rewrites or omits, but once for ‘wunder ane kene,’ 19935, it has kept ‘wonder one kene.’ #Wunder# is an adverb, as in ‘Þat feht wes wnder strong,’ L 1744; ‘mid wu{n}der muchele strengðe,’ id. 25078, and #ane# is OE. #ǣne#, #āne#, adverbial derivative of #ān#, in an extended use, uniquely, exceptionally, so that the combination means, wonderfully strong beyond all comparison. The translation in Specimens, ‘a wonderfully strong one,’ does not take into account the form of ane, and anticipates the pronominal use of an. In ‘su{m}me heo sæten stille[;] mucle ane stunde,’ L 25121, ane is the acc. of the article, the meaning being, for a long time.

214. #cuðe a#: on and of interchange with this verb elsewhere in L: so ‘And alle þe cuðe a boken,’ C 14431, ‘Ac al þat couþe of boke,’ O.

218. #swulc#, as it were: OE. #swylce#: O regularly substitutes ase.

220. ‘Une coroie en estendi | De coi grant tère avirona,’ W 7072. Similar tales are found in Virgil, Aeneid, i. 371; Saxo Grammaticus, ed. Holder, p. 143, of Ivar’s foundation of London: comp. Geoffrey of Monmouth, ed. San Marte, p. 313.

223. #muchele ⁊ mare#, great and glorious: B-T. quotes ‘Mære ⁊ miclu weorc drihtnes,’ Ps. Lamb., cx. 2.

224. #scop . . . hire#, shaped for it: OE. #naman#, or #to naman scieppan#, with dat. of person or thing named, as ‘scōp him Heor[o]t naman,’ Beowulf, 78; 179/107 note. L has a weak past also, ‘ah scupte him nome,’ 1951. ‘Cest non Vancastre li a mis, | El langage de son païs. | Vancastre cest nom del quir prent, | Sel puet l’on nomer altrement | Chastel de coroie en romans, | Kaer Kaerai en bretans. | Or l’apèlent pluisor Lancastre | Qui ne savoient l’aqoison | Dont Vancastre ot premier cest non,’ W 7075-84. The traditional site is Tong in Kent: ‘Tong Castle or rather Thong Castle, in Saxon Þwangceastre, in British Caer Kerry . . . both whiche woordes signifie a Thong of leather,’ Lambarde, A Perambulation of Kent, ed. 1576, p. 195. But Camden in his Britannia, published in 1586, p. 306, places it in Lincolnshire, at Caster, six miles from Grimsby. L specializes in place-names; see his account of London, 7099, Hampton, 9376, Caen, 27923, Cernel, 29674. The formula in l. 227 occurs at 6062, 9380 &c.

228. #gome# is translated ‘adventure’ by Madden, rather, proceeding, tricky device.

230. #lane castel# and Wace’s ‘Lancastre’ can hardly be meant for Lancaster; they are possibly due to the Lincolnshire tradition.

232. #com# is practically an auxiliary verb: comp. ‘Leir wes cumen liðen,’ Lear had arrived, L 3626, 5379; ‘Þenne þu cumes faren ham,’ when thou dost fare home, id. 4398: similarly ‘gon forð liðe,’ 108/243, 245.

233. Read rideren: used vaguely for knights.

234. #comen# is probably an interpolation. #to iwiten#, that is to say: comp. ‘and forð he gon liðen[;] mid his Brutleoden. | þat is to iwitene[;] mid twa hundred scipene,’ L 30914. #æhtene#, ‘good,’ Madden; but the meaning wanted is, eighteen large ships; ‘Vinrent dix huit nés cargies | De chevaliers et de maisnies,’ W 7087; and so Madden corrects, iii. 487. Mätzner reads æhtetene, OE. #eahta tyne#, but ahtene occurs again C 18015, where O has ehtetene.

237. #umbe while#, after a (short) time: so ‘umbe stunde,’ L 26505; ‘umben ane stunde,’ id. 15924; ‘umben longne first,’ id. 287: O has usually the same variant as here, but ‘bi on lutel stunde,’ O 11969: see KH 333 note.

238. #mid#, among, ranking with: comp. ‘cniht mid þane beste,’ L 707, ‘swike mid þan meste,’ id. 2547; ‘hærm mid þon meste,’ id. 9806.

239. #bad# in C is OE. #bēad#, offered him hospitality; in O, OE. #bæd#, invited him to a banquet, as also in C 241. #gistninge#, entertainment; ME. gistnen, derivative of OE. #giest#, influenced by OWScand. gista: see Björkman, 152.

240. #to ȝeines him#, against his coming, to receive him: comp. ‘scipen he þer funde. | þat to-ȝenes him weoren ibonned,’ L 9731. Elsewhere in L the preposition is joined with a verb of motion.

241. #fæire underfon#: see 5/11 note.

245. #ꝥ#, until: see 72/179.

246. ‘Le castel et l’oevre agarda, | Mult fu bien fais, mult le loa,’ W 7103.

249. Layamon’s delight in descriptions of feasts and music is in strong contrast to Wace’s prosaic manner. The present passage may be compared with L 3634, 5107, 14946. Mätzner would read gomen-men, musicians, or gleomen, with change of cleopien into gleowien, but #gomen# means games, a regular accompaniment of the feast (see KH 478 note), and #cleopien# proclaim, as in ‘Lette þe king gan awal[;] ⁊ lude clepien ouer al,’ L 3644.

250. #hetten#, ordered; perhaps a mistake for letten, as L has generally hehten in this sense. With #breden# comp. ‘bordes heo brædden,’ L 18523, where O has ‘bordes hii leide{n}’: it means, to cover with cloth and viands.

251. #dræm# &c.: comp. 102/146; ‘blisse wes on folke,’ L 5108, ‘blisse wes on hirede,’ id. 14947.

252. #þa--iloten#, then had the better fallen to their lot; lucky men were they! OE. #gehlēotan#, to share by lot.

253-268. In L 14956-81 Ronwen again appears as cupbearer.

254. #vnimete prude#, boundless splendour: OE. #prȳto#, influenced in this meaning by OWScand. prýþi, ornament.

255. #al ꝥ scrud#, all the clothing; sing., the pl. is ‘alle þa scrud,’ L 10180: the number changes in #heo weoren#. #ibon#, prepared, adorned: comp. ‘wel wes he ibon,’ L 12805, in O alle wel idiht; ‘þas scipen ibone,’ id. 32037. It is an East Scand. pp. bōin, as buen is West Scand. búinn: ‘iboned,’ L 8086, with same meaning is pp. of the derivative *ibonen parallel with bounen, derivative of buen. See Björkman, 206.

256. #ibrusted#, made bristly, rough: comp. ‘alle þai mete-burdes[;] ibrusted (ibrustled O) mid golde,’ L 24667; ‘vestes auroque ostroque rigentes,’ Virg. Æn., xi. 72.

261. #sæt#, went down on: comp. ‘þa hie for þam cumble on cneowum sæton,’ Grein, ii. 484/180: see KH 781 note.

263. #wæs hæil# is OWScand. væs heill, be well, good health to you! In ‘Lavert King wes hel tant li dist,’ W 7115, the forms are English: comp. ‘Wes þu, Hroðgar, hal!’ Beowulf, 407. #for--uæin#: see 94/24: O means, for thy coming is wholesome to me; for #comes#, plural with meaning of singular, comp. ‘hwanan eowre cyme syndon,’ Beowulf, 257; ‘hwonan his cyme sindon,’ Grein, iii. 89/1196; and for the usual expression, 94/24 note.

266. See 102/159. #weoren#, might be.

267. #Keredic#: ‘Redic li respondi premiers, | Brez ert, si fu bons latiniers; | Ce fu li premiers des Bretons | Qui sot le langaige as Sessons,’ W 7119. The name, Cerdic, Ceredic, Cerdicelmet, is in Nennius, ed. Petrie, ch. xxxvii. #sellic#, marvellous, gifted.

268. #ær# is probably a scribe’s mistake for æuer, due to #her# following.

271. #tiðende#, pl. practice: see 96/35; and for Hit with beoð pl. 1/10, 94/7. ‘Costume est, sire, en son païs,’ W 7127.

272. #gladieð of drenche#, find enjoyment in drinking: of with the adj. is common, with the verb rare: comp. 126/310.

273. #Mid--hende#, with pleasant courteous looks, or manner, generally including gesture: ME. lat, lot is OWScand. lát, Björkman, 91. Comp. ‘mid leofliche læten,’ L 19396; ‘mid swiðe uæire læten,’ id. 15661; ‘mid wu{n}su{m}me lades,’ id. 12278. In Havelok 1246, ‘Wesseyl þe[i] ledden fele siþe,’ read seyden for ledden.

274. ‘Quant ami boivent entre amis, | Que cil dist wes hel qui doit boire | Et cil drinkel qui doit recoivre,’ W 7128. #drinc hail#, drink health, the latter word being a noun, OWScand. heill.

276. #oðer--fareð#, one brings another full one there. Different in W, ‘Dont boit cil tote la moitié,’ but afterwards he has ‘Et de boivre plain ou demi,’ 7143.

277. #þreoien#: nothing corresponding in W, only ‘entrebaisier.’

278. #sele laȝen#, pleasing customs: see KH 1110 note.

284 O. #swipte#, tossed it off: OE. #swipian#, to lash; comp. OWScand. svipa, to move quickly.

286. #fain#: the English had a bad reputation for their drinking habits among their French neighbours. Wace describes their revels on the night before the battle of Hastings, ‘Bublie crient e weisseil | E laticome e drincheheil, | Drinc hindrewart e drintome, | Drenc folf, drinc half e drinc tode,’ Roman de Rou, ed. Andresen, 7377, that is, They cry, be blithe and wassail, and let it (the cup) come and drinchail, drink after and drink to me, drink full, drink half and drink to thee. ‘Fercula multiplicant et sine lege bibunt. Wessail et dringail,’ says Burnellus of the English students at Paris at the end of the twelfth century, Nigelli Speculum, 63/19. The parallel place in the prose Brut is, ‘þat was þe ferst tyme þat “whatsaile” and “drynkehaile” come vp into þis lande; and fram þat tyme into this tyme it Haþ bene wel vsede,’ 52/13.

290. #mod . . . main#, mind and might: an OE. combination; comp. ‘ða ongunnon heo sticcemælum mod ⁊ mægen monian,’ Bede, 54/8, = ‘vires animosque resumere.’ #halde to#, inclined to: OE. #hieldan#: its use elsewhere in L is quite different; ‘þa hæðene hundes[;] hælden to grunde,’ L 19558, is typical.

291. Comp. ‘þe wurse him wes ful neh,’ L 13284, 16636; ‘þe wurs him wes on heorte,’ id. 9215; ‘þe scucke wes bi-tweonen,’ id. 276; ‘Tant l’a diables cimoné | Qui maint homme a à mal torné,’ W 7159. For #ælche#, swilce should perhaps be read.

292. #mæingde#, troubled, lit. mingled: the verb is mostly passive in L, as ‘his mod him gon menge{n}[;] he morȝnede swiðe,’ 3407; comp. ‘Almast menged him his mode,’ CM 8804.

293. #murnede#, said of painful longing.

295. #leoden to hærme#, to his people’s hurt: comp. ‘Twenti ȝer he heold þis lond[;] þa leoden al to hærme,’ L 2580; 176/24 note: #folk# in O is dative.

298. #funde--ræd#, thought it advisable: comp. ‘he uunde on his ræde[;] to don þat heo hi{n}e bede{n},’ L 21933; ‘Hit is on mine rede[;] to don þat þu bede,’ id. 31106; 12/5 in piece v. But W says he took the advice of his brother and friends, ‘Loë li ont et consillié | Que il li doint délivrement,’ W 7172.

Cross-References

5/11 (note) = II. (Saint Godric’s Hymns) 25/241 (note) = VI. (The Proverbs of Alfred) 94/9, 96/57 (notes) = present selection 178/89 (note) = XXI. (The Bestiary)

Errata

#Phonology:# ... eo in heoreð 58 (if from #herian#) [missing close parenthesis] #w# is lost ... bilæuen 39, biuoren 95 [39 biuoren] (2) =Of O.= ... The present forms of #willan# [misprinted as plain (non-bold)] ... Initial #hl# is reduced to l [“l” misprinted as bold instead of italic] #hn# to n, nap 275 [_“#hn# to n” added by author_] Adjectives ... enne (ende) 211 [enne(ende)] The personal pronouns ... mine neut. 22 (7) [22(7)] Four-fifths of the infinitives ... I c. s. 3. bigon 221, [221;] V. s. 3. biheold 246, 288 [period after “s.” invisible] (2) =Of O.= ... man s. d. 205, [205.] The personal pronouns ... #ilca# is ilke s. n. m. 237, 275, s. d. m. [275 s. d. m.] al a. 93. [al.] #Metre:# ... To sechen on folde[;] ænne brædne fæld’ [close quote missing] comp. ‘Þa andswarede eorles þare [comp,] 37. ... one MS. of W [W.] 72-76. ... Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, 1. 122 ff [122ff] 123. If #hele# represents OE. #hælo# [text unchanged: error for “hǣlo”?] 175. ... because of your unpopularity. [unpopularity,] 263. ... Beowulf, 257 [Beowulf 257]

XV. ORM

#Manuscript:# Junius 1, Bodleian Library, Oxford: an oblong folio, written in double columns on 118 leaves of parchment varying considerably in size, the largest being 508 × 200 mm.; about 1210 A.D., and an autograph, but corrected by a second and third hand. See further Holt, i. p. lxxvi.

#Facsimiles:# Skeat, W. W., Twelve Facsimiles, plate iv. Palaeographical Society; Second Series, plate 133. Napier, A. S., Notes on the Orthography of the Ormulum, Oxford, 1893, also in History of the Holy Rood-tree, E. E. T. S., O. S. 103.

#Editions:# White, R. M., Oxford, 1852. Holt, R., 2 vols., Oxford, 1878. Extracts in Mätzner, Sweet’s First Middle English Primer, 48-81, Emerson and other Readers.

#Literature:# =The Author:= Logeman, H., Archiv, cxvii. 29; Björkman, E., Archiv, cxix. 33, cxxiii. 23; Bradley, H., Athenaeum, May 19, 1906; Wilson, J., ibid., July 28, 1906; =Phonology:= Blackburn, F. A., The Change of þ to t in the Ormulum, American Journal of Philology, iii. 46; Bülbring, K. D., Die Schreibung eo im Ormulum, Bonner Beiträge, xvii. 51; Callenberg, C., Layamon und Orm nach ihren Lautverhältnissen verglichen, Jena, 1876; Hale, E. E., Open and Close ē in the Ormulum, Modern Language Notes, viii. 37; Kaphengst, C., An Essay on the Ormulum, Elberfeld, n. d.; *Lambertz, P., Die Sprache des Orrmulums, Marburg, 1904; Menze, G., Der Ostmittelländische Dialekt, Strassburg. diss., Cöthen, 1889; *Napier, A. S., as above; =Grammar:= Funke, O., see p. 450; Sachse, R., Das unorganische e im Orrmulum, Halle, 1881; Thuns, B., Das Verbum bei Orm, Leipziger Diss., Weida, 1909; Weyel, F., Der syntaktische Gebrauch des Infinitivs im Ormulum, Meiderich, 1896; Zenke, W., Synthesis und Analysis im Orrmulum, Götting. Diss., Halle, 1910, completed in Morsbachs Studien, no. xl; =Consonant Doubling:= Björkman, E., Orrms Doppelkonsonanten, Anglia, xxxvii. 351 (good summary of previous literature); Effer, H., Einfache und doppelte Konsonanten im Ormulum, Anglia, vii, Anzeiger, 166; Holthausen, F., Wel und well im Ormulum, Anglia, Beiblatt, xiii. 16; Trautmann, M., Orm’s Doppelkonsonanten, Anglia, vii, Anzeiger, 94, 208, Anglia, xviii. 371; =General:= Brate, E., Nordische Lehnwörter im Orrmulum, Paul-Braune, Beiträge, x. 1, 580; Deutschbein, M., Die Bedeutung der Quantitätszeichen bei Orm, Archiv, cxxvi. 49, cxxvii. 308; Kluge, F., Das französische Element im Orrmulum, ES xxii. 179; Kölbing, E., Zur Textkritik des Ormulum, ES i. 1, ii. 494; Monicke, C. H., Notes and Queries on the Ormulum, Leipzig, 1853; Reichmann, H., Die Eigennamen im Orrmulum, Göttingen, 1905, and as no. xxv of Morsbachs Studien; Sarrazin, G., Über die Quellen des Orrmulum, ES vi. 1.

#Phonology:# Orm supplemented the current graphic methods by devices of his own. Thus he systematically doubled a consonant after a short vowel in a closed syllable, so tunnderrstanndenn 109. Whether he meant thereby to indicate shortness of the vowel or length of the consonant is disputed. The latter view seems the more probable; the difficulty which is presented by the occurrence of the doubled consonant in unstressed syllables, where it is short in ordinary speech, is removed if, with Björkman, we suppose that the phonetist isolated his syllables in testing their value. Where the consonant after an open syllable is in fact short, Orm often places a breve over the preceding short vowel, as wĭtenn 3, tăkenn 40, wăke 76, 82, 105, hĕte 87, hĕre 123, but fails at times, as in sune 20, wake 56, here 114, 143. Likewise he uses very seldom an almost horizontal accent to indicate vowel length, as á 174, but more frequently, as if to emphasize his warning against possible error, doubles it, as le̋t, fe̋t 10, ha̋t 37, űt 53, &c., or even for greater insistence trebles it, as clū̋t 2, ȝē̋t 39, mostly before final t. Here, too, he is not systematic, thus time 115 has a single mark of length twenty times elsewhere, and words like ut have sometimes two, sometimes three accents.

Furthermore, Orm invented a special symbol [g] with a flat top projecting on both sides for the guttural stop g, reserving the continental g for the dzh sound in such words as egge (edge), leggen, seggen: the latter occurs in this extract only in gluternesse 167, and that by mistake. In his representation of late OE. #eo#, #ēo#, the author hesitated between eo and e, preferring the former at the beginning, but gradually increasing the use of the latter, so that it becomes normal in the last third of the work and invariable in the Dedication and Preface, which were, no doubt, written last of all. He then appears to have aimed at uniformity by scraping out, not always effectually, the o wherever he had written eo, which was restored in many instances (but apparently not in this extract) by a later scribe in a fainter ink and thinner letter. Holt, by printing eo wherever it once existed, fails to represent the actual state of the manuscript: in this extract o is still visible, though partly erased, in heore 56, heoffness, leome 57, þeossterrnesse 65, deofless 67, heoffness, leome 70, heoffness 77, mildheorrtnesse 78, heoffness 107, 113, deofless 126; everywhere else it is completely erased. Finally, heffness 174 is so written without erasure in a line added lengthwise on the margin, perhaps from the following leaf, which is now missing and may have been withdrawn by the author. It is generally held that Orm employed eo and e to represent the same sound, the former being a traditional spelling. This is unlikely on the part of a determined phonetician like Orm, who would naturally be impatient of traditional spellings. Much more probable is Bülbring’s view that Orm spoke a mixed dialect, in which an [ö] sound existed beside the [e] sound, and that he finally decided for the latter.

Oral #a# is a, acc 3, habbenn 51; #a# before nasals a, grammcunndnesse 86, ‘năme’ i. 9717; #a# before lengthening groups a, faldess 56 (#fal(o)d#), hande 10, sang 131, but short in annd 114, unstressed, stanndenn 67, 117: the indefinite pronoun is mann 36. #æ# is a, affterr 21, fasste 59, wăke 76; ꝥat 46 was probably meant for þatt: wrecche 4 (4 times), wrecchelike 24 is OE. #wrecca#. #e# is e, cwellen 38, hĕre 123, hĕte 87, sett 146, but se̋tt 68 (probably miswritten), stressed wel 34 (13), qualifying a verb, and in most cases at the end of the first half-line, beside well 29 (4), qualifying adjective or adverb; #e# before lengthening groups is e, ende 113, genge 129, but short are senndeþþ 62 and enngle 15 (10), with a consonant after the lengthening group: whillc 152, iwhillc 134, 161 represent #hwilc#, #gehwilc#, swillke 69, #swilc#. #i# is i, cribbe 2, friþþ 133, inn 2 &c., mikell 93, wĭtenn 3 (Orm divided wiþþ utenn 113), but in 170: #i# before lengthening groups is i, bindenn 10, child 4, shildenn 67, 126, but brinngenn 18, sinndenn 74, 169, winnde clū́t 2, 7. #o# is o, follc 30, biforenn 16; before lengthening groups o, unorneliȝ 45, worde 60, but short are wollde 5, forrþrihht 1 (usually forþ uncompounded): #o# is u in wurrþenn 33, 48 (#worden#) by analogy of the infinitive. #u# is u, stunnt 27, vnnorne 4; before lengthening groups u, sungenn 131, tunge 119, wundenn 7, but short are hunngerr 37, unnderrstanndenn 109, wullderr 132, wunnderrliȝ 35. #y# is i, dill 27 (*#dyll#), gillteþþ 155, ifell 64, þrisst 37, wrihhte 151; before lengthening groups, kinde 108, but birrþ 3, 44.

#ā# is a, á 174, lare 79, whas 90; before two consonants a, bitacneþþ 100, gast 73: shortening in hallȝhe 69: #swā# is usually swa 17, but se 1 (#swē#). #ǣ{1}# is æ, hæþenndom 161, læreþþ 73, sæ 12; before two consonants æ, næfre 41, unnclænnesse 161, but a in aniȝ 157 (#ānig#), lasse 39, mast 169 (North. #māst#). #ǣ{2}# is mostly æ, færedd 84, 91, lætenn 45, 54, þær 19 (4), wæde 8, wære 17 (3), wærenn 58 (3), but e in greditleȝȝc 167, and with shortening fordredd 88 (4); before two consonants æ, wæpnedd 90, and e with shortening, sellðe 95. #ē# is e, betenn 158, eche 19, fe̋t 10, le̋t 10, but o in doþ 29 &c., from the plural. #ī# is i, bliþe 85, pinenn 36, riche 5 (4); before two consonants i, crist 1, 90, cristenndom 49, but elsewhere usually crisstendom. #ō# is o, dom 75, god 71; before two consonants o, frofrenn 60, 66: shortened in comm 26, 30, 55, soffte 85. #ū# is u, brukenn 174, -clū̋t 2, űt (numen) 53; shortened in vpp 18, 142, uss 3, 62. #ȳ# is i, bisne 43 (#bȳsne#), grisliȝ 91 (*#grȳslig#), kiþenn 92, litell 21 (3), shrideþþ 6.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is a, naru 13, starrke 75; before lengthening groups æ, ærd 5, middelærd 6, but harrd 37, towarrd 87, warrþ 3 (3). The i-umlaut is not represented in this extract, it is e in ‘errfe’ i. 1068, beside ‘dærne’ i. 2004, where æ represents #ea# before a lengthening group. #ea# before #l# + cons. is a (Anglian), all 3 &c., hallf 36, 93; before lengthening groups a, haldenn 22, kald 37, walde 124; the i-umlaut is e, beldeþþ 79, corrected out of miswritten beoldeþþ; see 359/5. #eo# before #r# + cons. is e, herrte 89, 119, but misspelt herte 134; before lengthening groups e, erless 164, erþe 20 (4). To the #wur# group belong forrwerrpenn 149, wurrþenn 17 (3), wurrþshipe 132: ȝernenn 21 is without umlaut, but hirde 53, hirdess 46, irre 75, 167. #eo# before #l# + cons. is seen in sellf 53, sellfenn 19 (4). #eo#, u-umlaut of #e# is eo, heoffness 57 (5), but e in heffness 5 (11), hefennlike 8, werelld 9: the å-umlaut of #e# is wanting in berenn 29; the umlaut of #i# is eo in heore 56, but here 50, ‘fele’ i. 7640. #ea# after palatals is a, shall 134, shaffte 9, unnshaþiȝnesse 50 (#scæþþig#). #ie# after #g# is i, ȝifenn 14 (5), ȝifeþþ 72, gife 174: #ȝef# is ȝiff 80. #eo# after #g# is u, ȝung 108; after #sc#, o, shollde 47, 94, sholldenn 50, 96.

#ēa# is æ, læfe 49, ræfenn 89, sæm 29, but e in ec 53 &c.; its i-umlaut is e, ekedd 129, lefenn 96. #ēo# is e, ben 7, bitwenenn 141, defell 86 (3), lefe 34, lem 77 (4), sen 40, þed 15, and eo, deofless 67, leome 57, seo 91; ȝho 2 (#hēo#) shows shifted accent: the i-umlaut of #ēo# is wanting in lesenn 102, nede 33, stereþþ 9, þessterrnesse 63, 160, þeossterrnesse 65. #gīet# is ȝḗt 39. #ēa# after palatals is e, shep 50, 54, #īe# after #g#, e, ȝemenn 52, 125.

#a# + #g# is aȝh, laȝhess 22. #æ# + #g# is aȝȝ, daȝȝ 99 (= daī), daȝȝess s. g. 100 (= dai-iess), laȝȝ 16, maȝȝ 40 (3), but seȝȝde 92 (as if from *#segde#). #e# + #g# is eȝȝ, leȝȝd 13 (= leīd). Final #-ig# is iȝ (= ī), aniȝ 157, bodiȝ 173, grisliȝ 91, modiȝnesse 87; greditleȝȝc 167 is probably miswritten. #i# + #h# is ihh, sihhþe 58, 77. #o# + #g# is oȝh, forrhoȝhenn 149. #u# + #g# is uȝh, muȝhenn 80, 142. #ā# + #g# is aȝh, aȝhenn 3, 54. #ō# + #g# is oh, inoh 31. #ea# + #h# is seen in waxenn 137; the i-umlaut in mihhte 36, 137, nihht 55, 57, but mahht 72, allmahhtiȝ 108, nahht 46 (4) descend from Anglian forms in #æ#. #eo# + #ht# is ihht in brihhte 77, rihhte 49, 89, 91, fihhten 123; the i-umlaut is wanting in seþ 84 (corr. out of seoþ). #ēa# + #h# is ehh, þehh 74 (#ðēh# shortened by loss of stress), neh 30. #ēo# + #ht# is seen in lihht 57 (as if from #leoht#). #ā# + #w# gives aw, sawless 69, 129, wawenn 151. hewe 70 is from Anglian #hēow#: ohht 145 represents #oht#, similarly nohht 40, 91. #ēa# + #w# appears in awwnedd 105 (*#ēawnian#); #ēo# + #w# in reweþþ 158 (corr. out of reoweþþ), trowwþe 90 (#treowþ# without umlaut and with shifted accent), þeww 72 (= þeū: from #þeow#), so, too, þewwten 31.

#Ealswā# is alls 172: for #e#, i appears in drihhtin 42 (6); it is lost in wiþþren 150, added in swikedomess 67, 168, onne 29, ‘offe’ i. 4097 by analogy of inne, uppe: #o# is a in anan 1. The prefix #ge# is i, iwhillc 134, 161.

Metathesis of #r# is seen in þrisst 37, wrihhte 151. #n# is lost in i 2, o 36; by inadvertence it is not doubled in unorneliȝ 45, comp. vnnorne 4. #f# is used in every position, faldess 56, hafeþþ 28, hallfe 93, but it was probably voiced between vowels and vowellikes, v as in ‘serven’ i. 506 is rare. For #d#, þ appears by analogy in wurrþenn 33, 48. After #d#, #t#, certain pronominal words change initial þ to t, tær 13, tanne 94, tatt 13 &c., teȝȝ 128, te 25, 115, tu 34. #sć# is regularly sh, shrideþþ 6, shop 9, nesshe 37; in bisscopess 51, ‘bisskopess’ i. 7233 (but elsewhere bisshopess), and mennisscnesse 38, sc is probably due to Scandinavian influence. The stop #c# is k before e, i, makenn 5, mannkinn 21, c before o, u, other consonants and final, comm 26, clut 2, flocc 49, ec 53 (contrast ekedd 129), k or c in other positions, kald 37. #č# is ch, child 4, eche 19, but palatalization does not take place in swillke 69, illke 13, illkess 161, iwhillc 134, whillc 152 and ekedd 129, mikell 93, miccle 33. #čč# is cch in wrecche 4: #cw# is regularly preserved, cwellenn 38, cwike 15; qu occurs in the Latin words quarrterrne, quaþþrigan. Palatal #g# is ȝ, ȝæn 73, ȝernenn 21, ȝifenn 14 (6), but gife 174: the guttural spirant is ȝh, follȝhenn 79, 107, 165, hallȝhe 69, sinnȝheþþ 155. The guttural stop [g] is distinguished from the dzh sound in edge, which is represented by g. #h# is lost initially in laferrd 25, nesshe 37, reweþþ 158: #hēo# is ȝho 2: #hw# is wh, whas 90, whatt 137.

#Accidence:# Strong declension of masc. and neut. nouns. In the s. n. sune 20, 106 represents #sunu#. Gen. -ess, daȝȝess 100, deofless 67, heffness 14, lifess 100, but, by a scribal error, daȝȝes 75: d. -e, hewe 170, sune 96, worde 60, and six others, but the inflection is mostly wanting, as in bodiȝ 173, daȝȝ 99, dom 75, and thirty-two others. The acc. heffne 12 is due to the LWS. fem. #heofone#. The pl. n. a. of masculines ends in -ess, hirdess 46, bisscopess 51; neuters are shep 50, 54, ?wiless 126: genitives are enngle (þed) 15, 122, kinne 64, 71, 157: datives have mostly -ess, bandess 11, claþess 24, but þinge 71, wrihhte 151. The fem. nouns of the strong declension end in e in the s. n. a., blisse, sellðe 95, are 80, bisne 43, except mahht 72, þed 15, werelld 9, and sæ 12. Gen. -e, helle 101, 151, possibly blisse 174: dat. -e, blisse 18, cribbe 2, hallfe 93, but hallf 36. Pl. g. is þede 122; d. sawless 129; a. hande 10, shaffte 9, sawless 69. Nouns of the weak declension have mostly -e in all cases of the singular, but demess 75 is genitive and, before the caesura, lem 77, dative, beside leome 57, lem 107, 163 accusative: a pl. n. is wawenn 151. The minor declensions are represented by fet pl. a. 10, mann s. n. 20, manness s. g. 172, manne s. d. 30, mann s. a. 134, menn pl. n. 76, pl. d. 49, 56; nahht s. d. 46, nihht s. a. 57; moderr s. d. 1; child s. n. 4.

Adjectives which in OE. end in e retain that termination throughout, as bliþe 85, cweme 152, eche 19, 100, 103, milde 82, riche 5, 112, 165, soffte 85, vnnorne 4. Instances of weak inflections are s. d. m. laþe 165, lefe 34, rihhte 49, starrke 75, s. d. f. brihhte 77, s. a. m. laþe 32, 73, 123, s. a. neut. rihhte 89, rume 14: strong inflections are few, s. d. f. fulle 90, hefennlike 8, 173, s. a. m. gode 153: all others are uninflected in the singular. The plural ends in -e, glade 127, gode 147, hallȝhe 69, laþe 31, 66, 126, cwike 15. Adjectives used as nouns are not inflected. #mycel# in the strong declension is mikell, s. d. f. 131, s. a. f. 93, s. a. neut. 61, in the weak, miccle s. d. f. 33 (#myclan#), s. a. neut. 120 (#mycle#). #āgen# gives aȝhenn 3, 54 without inflection. OE. #ān# is an n. m. 114, a 172, aness g. m. 170, an d. f. 2, a. m. 49, a. f. 3. Comparatives are bettre, mare 145, lasse 39; superlative, mast 169.

The personal pronouns are uss, tu, after t, 34, þe. The pronoun of the third person is s. n. he m. 3, ȝho f. 2, itt neut. 28 (with asse mf.); d. himm m. 17, 23; a. 2, itt neut. 29 (with sæm m.); pl. n. þeȝȝ 130, teȝȝ, after t, 52; d. a. þeȝȝm. Reflexives are himm 10, 173, þe sellfenn 44, 45, himm sellfen 19, 35: definitive, himm sellf 53: possessives, ure 4; hiss, as general form for the singular, 1, 3, 16, 34, 47, 54, but hise g. m. 155; pl. a. hise 22; here 50, heore 56, teȝȝre, after t, 32. The definite article is þe, te, after t, 25, 126: þatt (ꝥ), tatt, after t, is demonstrative adjective 13 or demonstrative pronoun 26; its plural is þa adj. 56 and pron. 22. The compound demonstrative is s. þiss 6, pl. þise. The relative is þatt, tatt, after t, 13, 27; þatt 30, 36, = in, on which, þurrh whatt 137, 144, by that by which. Interrogative is whillc 152 (#hwelc#); its correlative is swillke pl. a. 69: #ilca# is illke s. n. 13, 152, a. 97, 118. Indefinites are mann 29, 36, 38, 169; whase 154, whas 90, whoso; illkess 161, every; iwhillc 134, 161; aniȝ pl. g. 157; all s. n. neut. 30, d. neut. 64, 94, a. m. 32, f. 9, neut. 14, but alle s. d. f. 6; pl. alle n. 128, alre g. 169, alle 64, 71, all 122, alle d. 172, a. 5, 9, 22: all 168 is apparently s. n. = everyone.

Infinitives end in -enn, except sen 40, fon 36: of the second weak conjugation are follȝhenn 107, forhoȝhenn 149, lofenn 110, lokenn 156, makenn 5, pinenn 36, ræfenn 89, sammnenn 48, tacnenn 47, þankenn 120. The dat. inf. is not inflected, to berenn 29, tunnderrstanndenn 109, to sen 116, forr to kiþenn 92, for . . . to makenn 112. Presents are s. 3. beldeþþ 79, bitacneþþ 100, and nineteen others; contracted, birrþ 3, 44, seþ 84, stannt 158; pl. cumenn 70, haldenn 22, lufenn 23, stanndenn 117, waken 66, wiþþrenn 150: subjunctive s. 3. gife 174, seo 91. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. s. 3. laȝȝ 16: I b. s. 3. comm 26, 30, 55: I c. s. 3. wand 2, warrþ 3, 20, 42; pl. 3. sungenn 131: IV. s. 3. shop 9, toc 60, 82; pl. 3. unnderrstodenn 135, wokenn 46, 56 (form from #wacan#, meaning from #wacian#): V. s. 3. let 10. Participles past: I a. ȝifenn 17: I b. borenn 1, 97, cumenn 92, utnumen 53: I c. wundenn 7, wurrþenn 33, 48: IV. V. waxenn 138: V. forrdredd 88, forrdredde adj. pl. 59, 83, offdredde 74. Past of Weak Verbs: s. 3. leȝȝde 2, seȝȝde 92. Participles past: bitacnedd 81, ekedd 129, leȝȝd 13, sett 68, 146. Minor Groups: witenn inf. 3, witt 2 s. imp. 34, wisste pt. s. 83, wisstenn pt. pl. 128, 139; shall pr. s. 134, shollde pt. s. 47, 94, shollden pt. pl. 50, 96; muȝhenn inf. 142, maȝȝ pr. s. 40, 152, 171, muȝhenn pr. pl. subj. 80, mihhte pt. s. 36, 137; ben inf. 7, iss pr. s. 63, 151 (apparently with pl. nominative), niss 91, sinndenn pr. pl. 74, 169, be pr. s. subj. 28, si 3 s. imp. 132, wass pt. s. 1, wærenn pt. pl. 58, 76, 127, wære pt. s. subj. 17, 138, 172; wile pr. s. 88, wollde pt. s. 5; to don dat. inf. 32, doþ pr. s. 29, 109, missdoþ 157, don pp. 61, 118.

#Vocabulary:# Scandinavian are afell 28, aȝȝ 44, baþe 10, fra 67, gætenn 52, griþþ 133, laȝhenn 44, lahȝhre 43, mec 85, occ 117, sahht(nesse) 140, skerrenn 88, skill (læs) 27, summ 27, takenn 40, till 49, (inn)till 18, þeȝȝ 74, þeȝȝre 32, þohh 28, usell 4, usell(dom) 24, and the suffix in (modiȝ)leȝȝc, (gredit)leȝȝc 167; possibly also bandess 10, come 148, deȝeþþ 41. French is gluter(nesse) 167; long i in Crist shows new borrowing from French.

#Dialect:# East Midland bordering on the North; a mixed dialect, which possibly accounts for the wavering in the representation of #eo#, #ēo#. The large Scandinavian element in the vocabulary and the absence of u in final syllables (372/34) point to the East; the representation of #ā# + #w#, the development of #c#, #g#, and perhaps the uniform appearance of #ā# as a in this thirteenth-century text, show Northern influence. Lambertz has noted so many correspondences between the phonology of Orm and that of the Rushworth gloss on the Gospel of S. Matthew as to make it probable that they belong to the same dialectal area. The Northern border of Lincolnshire was most probably the place where the Ormulum was written.

#Metre:# For the scheme of the Septenarius see p. 327. Orm’s verse is monotonously regular; every line has its fifteen syllables exactly counted out and ends in x́ x; the caesura comes after the eighth syllable; the rhythm is iambic without substitution. For the sake of this uniformity he does violence to the natural accent in Niþþrédd 35, Bisscópess 51, Enngléss 69, sahhtnésse 140, drihhtíness 171, though Schipper regards such cases as examples of ‘hovering accent,’ wherein the stress is distributed equally over the two syllables having the word-accent and the verse-accent,--a spondee rather than an iamb. Elision takes place regularly before an initial vowel or h, sonẹ, leȝȝdẹ 2, vnnornẹ, wrecchẹ 4, heffnẹ 12, mihhtẹ 36, wolldẹ 54, wilẹ 88, seȝȝdẹ 94, whasẹ 154, &c. Sometimes e is not written, as in whas 90; crasis is found elsewhere in he̋t (= he itt), ȝhőt (= ȝho itt), þűtt (= þu itt), and similar combinations.

#Introduction:# The author of the Ormulum speaks of himself under two names in ‘Þiss boc iss nemmnedd Orrmulum Forrþi þatt Orrm itt wrohhte,’ Preface 1, 2, and ‘Icc wass þær þær I crisstnedd wass Orrmin bi name nemmnedd,’ Dedication 323, 4. The former was a fairly common name in the Scandinavian districts of the North; in the latter, not found elsewhere, he has probably added, as befitting the ritual occasion, the Latin termination īn from īnus, as in Awwstin (= Augustinus). In the same way, as Bradley suggests, he has taken the termination of Ormulum from Speculum, as often occurring in titles of devotional books, like Speculum Laicorum, Conscientiae, Sanctorale. He tells us that he wrote at the request of his brother Walter, who was, like himself, an Augustinian Canon; his purpose was to paraphrase and expound, for the benefit of unlearned English folk, the Gospels of the Mass throughout the year. His exposition is drawn for the most part from S. Bede, and particularly from his sermons and commentaries, and to a small extent from S. Gregory the Great. Traces of his acquaintance with S. Isidore and Josephus, through Hegesippus, have been found by Sarrazin.

Nothing further is known of Orm, but Bradley has made it probable that he was an inmate of Elsham Priory in North Lincolnshire (Dugdale, vi. 560). The contention of J. Wilson that he was identical with Orm, brother of Walter, Prior of Carlisle between 1150 and 1170, would be very attractive, if it were not for the philological difficulty, for the Ormulum is undoubtedly written in the Midland dialect, and must be dated about 1210.

This extract gives ll. 3662-4009, in Holt, i. pp. 126-38.

1. #Forrþrihht anan se#, lit. Straightway forthwith as, i.e. as soon as. Orm has ‘forrþrihht se, anan se, sone swa, son se, forrþrihht summ, anan summ,’ all with this same meaning, and forrþrihht summ, immediately, ii. 42/11404. Orm’s expletives are a feature of his dreary style; in his dedication he says that he has set ‘maniȝ word | þe rime swa to fillenn,’ that is, to make up the number of syllables required for his metre; he makes extensive use of all, 112/3, 16 &c. Beside anan, Orm has the primitive onn an, continuously, without a break.

2-18. The original of this passage is, ‘Et pannis eum involvit et reclinavit eum in praesepio . . . parvulus natus est nobis, ut nos viri possimus esse perfecti. Qui totum mundum vario vestit ornatu, pannis vilibus involvitur, ut nos stolam primam recipere valeamus. Per quem omnia facta sunt, manus pedesque cunis adstringitur, ut nostrae manus ad opus bonum exertae, nostri sint pedes in viam pacis directi. Cui coelum sedes est, duri praesepis angustia continetur, ut nos per coelestis regni gaudia dilatet. Qui panis est Angelorum, in praesepio reclinatur, ut nos quasi sancta animalia carnis suae frumento reficiat,’ Bede, v. 234.

2. #⁊# = annd; see 115/114.

3. #uss birrþ#, we ought: a favourite expression of Orm.

5. #heffness ærd#, heaven’s region: a phrase suggested by #middellærd#.

9. #shaffte#, creatures: OE. #gesceafta#.

10. #baþe# belongs to #fet ⁊ hande#.

12-14. This section diverges in form from those before and after it, as also from the original. The subject of #filleþþ# is #Þatt illke child#. #heffness rume riche#, the wide kingdom of heaven: perhaps suggested by ‘ut amplitudinem nobis supernarum sedium tribueret’ of Bede’s Sermon, vii. 300.

16. #all alls# = all alse, alswa, quite as.

17. #Swa summ#, so as, just as if: #summ# is OEScand. sum: more usually the phrase means, just as, 112/27, 113/47, 55. Variants are ‘all swa summ,’ O. Introd. 43; ‘all all swa summ,’ 114/76; ‘all all swa se,’ O. Dedication, 281. #fode#: the ass represents the Gentiles, of whom Bede says, ‘plurimi . . . coelestibus eius (= Christi) quaerebant alimoniis ad perpetuam crescere salutem,’ vii. 300.

19. And give himself as everlasting food there to us with angels.

21. #to ȝernenn#, &c., to be content with a humble lot.

27. #stunnt ⁊ dill#: comp. ‘⁊ stunnt ⁊ stidiȝ, dill ⁊ slaw | to sekenn sawless seollþe,’ O. i. 344/9885.

28. #afell#, strength. O. has also a pp. afledd, endowed with strength, ‘Forr cnapechild iss afledd wel,’ O. i. 274/7903; opposed to ‘unnstrang.’

30. #þatt#, when: so þe 15/84, þa 15/93. #comm . . . to manne#, was incarnate: comp. 36/117, 114/97; ‘þe becom to mannum mid iudeiscum folce,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 60/89; ‘hu hi to mannum comon,’ AS. Hom. ed. Assmann, 26/44; ‘Hwarto was he aure iscapen te manne,’ VV 113/14, regularly with pl. dat.; contrast ‘ic ðe to men gebær,’ I bore thee as a man, Ælf. Lives, ii. 78/175.

31. #laþe gastess#, hateful spirits, i.e. false gods: ‘in asino autem exprimit populum gentium, qui sordibus idololatriae semper manebat immundus,’ Bede, vii. 300.

33, 34. #þurrh ꝥ . . . þurrh ꝥ#, inasmuch as, whereas . . . thereby, as a consequence; propter quod . . . propter id: so 115/114, 116. O. is fond of these formal correlatives: comp. ‘forr þi . . . Forr ꝥ,’ 113/48.

35. #niþþredd#, lowered, humbled: OE. #geniþerod#, pp. of #niþerian#. #wannsedd#, diminished: OE. #wansian#. Comp. ‘⁊ illc an lawe ⁊ illc an hill | Shall niþþredd beon ⁊ laȝhedd,’ O. i. 321/9205; ‘Aȝȝ niþþreþþ Godess genge, | ⁊ cwelleþþ hemm ⁊ wannseþþ hemm,’ id. 279/8032.

36. #o ꝥ hallf ꝥ#, in that part of his nature in which: see 46/292.

39. #ȝet lasse#, still lower: ‘qui modico quam Angeli minoratus est,’ Heb. ii. 9.

43. #lahȝhre inoh#, sufficiently lower, i.e. much lower.

45. #lætenn#, &c., think very meanly: comp. 44/260.

46-53: suggested by, ‘Apte autem satis hoc superna est providentia dispositum, ut nascente Domino pastores in vicinia civitatis (eiusdem) vigilarent, suosque greges a timore nocturno vigilando protegerent. Oportebat namque, ut cum magnus pastor ovium, hoc est, animarum nutritor fidelium, in mundo natus est, testimonium eius nativitati vigilantes super gregem suum pastores darent. . . . Nam et futurum (iam) tunc erat, ut per orbem universum electi pastores, id est, praedicatores sancti, mitterentur, qui ad ovile Dominicum, videlicet sanctam Ecclesiam, populos credentium cogerent,’ Bede, vii. 301.

46. #wokenn#, kept watch: comp. 113/56.

48. #forr þi . . . Forr ꝥ#, for that reason . . . because: like ‘eone es ferox, quia habes imperium in beluas?’ Terence, Eun. iii. 1. 25.

49. #rihhte læfe#: see 89/28.

52. #ȝemenn . . . gaetenn#: comp. 114/68, 115/125: synonyms, the former English, the latter Scandinavian.

53. #utnumenn hirde#: ‘princeps pastorum,’ 1 Pet. v. 4.

56. #wakemenn#, watchers.

57. #lihht ⁊ leome#: often in O.; comp. 114/70, 77, 115/107; ‘Ah swuch leome ⁊ liht | leitede þrinne,’ SK 1582. #leome# is flame, a bright and flashing light. With 57-70 comp. ‘Bene autem vigilantibus pastoribus angelus apparet, eosque Dei claritas circumfulget. Quia illi prae ceteris videre sublimia merentur, qui fidelibus gregibus praeesse sollicite sciunt, dumque ipsi pie super gregem vigilant, divina super eos gratia largius coruscat,’ Bede, v. 235.

63. #þessterrnesse#: comp. ‘Þiss þessterrnesse iss hæþenndom | ⁊ dwillde inn hæfedd sinness,’ O. ii. 303/18855.

64. #Inn--sinne#, in sin of all kinds; comp. 114/71, 116/157, ‘O fele kinne wise,’ O. i. 123/3573, and see 132/9 note.

67. #stanndenn inn#: comp. 116/158; ‘Affterr þatt he beoþ fullhtnedd, | Birrþ stanndenn inn to þeowwtenn Crist,’ O. ii. 43/11434, where Mätzner says it = perseverare: in Specimens it is translated, continue. Orm is, in his literal way, translating L. instare, to press on, to be zealous, a meaning which suits well here and elsewhere: the phrase is peculiar to him.

71. #god innsihht#, ‘recta sapere,’ ‘a right judgement in all things.’

72. #hiss þeww#, to his servant.

74. #þohh swa þehh#, notwithstanding: OE. #þēah#, yet, was reinforced by the addition of #swā#, #swā þēah# meaning even so yet: to this in Orm is prefixed the Scandinavian þoh, although. See Björkman, 73.

75. #starrke#, rigid, stern: ‘se hearda dæg,’ Christ, 1065.

76-91: this passage is mainly a repetition of O. 20/657-80, which comments on the appearance of Gabriel to Zacharias, S. Luke i. 11: it is drawn from Bede’s Commentary: ‘Trementem Zachariam confortat Angelus: quia sicut humanae fragilitatis est spiritalis creaturae visione turbari, ita et angelicae benignitatis est paventes de aspectu suo mortales mox blandiendo solari. At contra daemonicae est ferocitatis quos sui praesentia territos senserit ampliori semper horrore concutere, quae nulla melius ratione quam fide superatur intrepida,’ v. 220.

78. #hihht#, joyful expectation.

79. #frofreþþ . . . beldeþþ#, comforts . . . encourages, a favourite combination: comp. O. Dedication, 237; i. 20/662.

82. #Toc#, betook himself, began.

89. #shetenn inn hiss herrte#: Holt translates, ‘shut up, harden,’ wrongly connecting #shetenn# with OE. #scyttan#: it represents #scēotan#, meaning, to shoot into his heart, to inflict a deadly wound: the expression was suggested by such places as ‘þæt hi magon sceotan þa unscyldigan heortan dygollice,’ = ‘ut sagittent in obscuro rectos corde,’ Ps. x. 3 (Thorpe), and ‘þine flana synt swyþe scearpe on þam heortum þinra feonda,’ id. xliv. 7.

90. #whas# is for whase, whoso. #itt# is formal nominative; the whole expression is equivalent to, Whosoever is armed. Comp. 116/154; ‘Whasumm itt iss þatt illke mann | Þatt hafeþþ tweȝȝenn kirrtless,’ O. i. 324/9291; ‘Whatt mann se itt iss þatt wepeþþ her,’ id. 196/5666; ‘ꝥ iss ꝥ,’ 116/157.

91. #rihht#, adv., utterly, at all: ‘Rihht all swa summ,’ O. i. 39/1188, means, precisely as.

93. #o godess hallfe#, on God’s behalf.

97. #borenn . . . to manne#: see 113/30 note.

98-102: ‘notandum quod Angelus qui in noctis utique vigiliis pastores affatur non ait, hac nocte, sed hodie natus est vobis salvator. Non aliam scilicet ob causam, nisi quia gaudium magnum evangelizare veniebat. Nam ubi tristia quaeque nocturnis temporibus gesta vel gerenda significantur, ibi saepe nox vel adiungitur, vel etiam sola nominatur,’ Bede, v. 235.

100. #all#: see 112/3.

104-7: ‘Neque enim frustra Angelus tanto lumine cinctus apparuit, ut claritas Dei pastores circumfulsisse . . . dicatur . . . sed mystice praemonuit, quod aperte postea monuit apostolus dicens, Nox praecessit, dies autem appropinquavit,’ Bede, v. 235.

107. #follc#, dative.

108-12: ‘Hoc est non tantum humilitatis eum et mortalitatis, sed et paupertatis habitum suscepisse pro nobis. Quia cum dives esset, pauper factus est pro nobis, ut nos illius inopia ditaremur,’ Bede, v. 235.

109. #wrecche#, poor, of lowly condition. #doþ uss#, causes, gives us to understand: comp. 209/405; ‘us gedyde nu to witanne Alexander,’ Orosius 126/31 (= ‘nobis prodidit Alexander’).

111. #Off . . . wollde#, because of the fact that he was willing; #off# governs the clause, #þatt he wollde#: so, ‘writen uppo boc . . . off þatt he wisslike ras,’ O. Dedication, 161, 167, written in book concerning the fact that &c.

114-20: ‘mox multitudo militiae coelestis advolans, consono in laudem creatoris ore prorumpit, ut sui sicut semper obsequii devotionem Christo impendat, et nos suo pariter instituat exemplo . . . Deo statim laudes ore, corde et opere reddendas,’ Bede, v. 235.

116. Thereby it was given us to see and understand full well in that incident.

119. #herrtess tunge#: see 56/51: apparently, with sincere and heartfelt praise.

120. #god# is acc. of the thing for which thanks are to be given. Comp. 132/11; ‘þonkien hit ure drihten,’ OEH. i. 5/29.

121-6. ‘Et bene chorus adveniens Angelorum militiae coelestis vocabulum accipit, qui et duci illo potenti in praelio, qui ad debellandas aëreas potestates apparuit, humiliter obsecundat. Deus . . . ad tutelam nostram constituit exercitus Angelorum,’ Bede, v. 235, 6.

123. #Alls# is shortened alse, as. #ȝæn . . . gast#: see 114/66, 73.

127-9: ‘Glorificant Angeli Deum pro nostro redemptione incarnatum, quia dum nos conspiciunt recipi, suum gaudent numerum impleri,’ Bede, v. 236.

132-5: ‘Gloria in altissimis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis,’ S. Luke ii. 14.

133. #griþþ ⁊ friþþ#: a frequent combination in O.; the words are synonyms, one Scandinavian, the other English: see 19/57 note.

136-8: that the angelic host was to be made up to its full number by the addition of holy souls, by which addition honour and glory in God’s presence should be as though it were increased, if indeed it were capable of increase. The explanation of this passage is helped by the parallel place, ll. 143-5: ‘Ȝiff--mihhte’ corresponds to l. 145. ‘quos infirmos prius abiectosque despexerant [Angeli], nascente in carne Domino iam socios venerantur,’ Bede, v. 236.

140. #soþ sahhtnesse#: see 84/50.

146-51: ‘qui cum pacem hominibus poscunt, exponunt et quibus, videlicet bonae voluntatis, hoc est eis qui suscipiunt natum Christum, non autem Herodi, pontificibus et Pharisaeis caeterisque antichristis, qui eius nativitate audita turbati sunt, eumque quantum valuere gladiis insecuti. Non est enim pax impiis, dicit Dominus,’ Bede, v. 236.

149. #Forrhoȝhenn# &c., despise and reject.

151. #wrihhte#, merit, lit. thing done: OE. #gewyrht#, from #wyrcan#: a dat. pl.: comp. ‘⁊ he wass flemmd ⁊ drifenn ut | All affterr hise wrihhte,’ O. i. 286/8239, id. 147/4283.

154. #itt#: see 114/90.

155. #hise þannkess#, wilfully, of his own free will: see 10/167.

156. #himm lokenn#, keep watch over himself: see 4/20, 78/85.

158. #stannt . . . inn#: see 114/67 note.

165. #flocc#, company: a favourite word of the author’s: comp. 113/49, ‘þe laþe gastess flocc,’ O. i. 226/6546; ‘summ hæþene flocc,’ id. 344/9875.

167. #modiȝleȝȝc#, with same meaning as modiȝnesse, l. 165, but with Scand. suffix, leikr, leiki in Icel. forming abstracts. There are a good many instances in the MS. of -nesse corrected into -leȝȝc. #greditleȝȝc#: so MS., but the correct form is grediȝleȝȝc, as elsewhere in Orm.

170. #hewe#, form, appearance.

173. #hefennlike#: ‘Angeli corpora in quibus hominibus apparent, in superno aëre sumunt solidamque speciem ex coelesti elemento inducunt, per quam humanis obtutibus manifestius demonstrentur,’ Bede, viii. 294. f. 95 v ends with kinde, l. 174 is added on the margin, and the two leaves following are missing.

Cross-References

19/57 (note) = VI. (The Proverbs of Alfred) 113/30, 114/67 (notes) = present selection 132/9 (note) = XVIII. (The Orison of our Lady) p. 312 = VIII. (Poema Morale) under Metre. 359/5 = IX. Ancrene Wisse, Phonology, under “ea”. p. 450 = XIV. (Layamon)

Errata

#Literature:# ... Orrms Doppelkonsonanten [Ormms] 111. ... ‘writen uppo boc [text unchanged; text cited has “writenn”]

XVI. SAWLES WARDE

#Manuscripts:# i. Bodleian 34, Oxford (B); on vellum, 165 × 120 mm.; written in one hand throughout about 1210 A.D. Its contents are S. Katherine f. 1 r; S. Margaret f. 18 r; S. Juliana f. 36 v (see p. 139); Hali Meidenhad f. 52 v; Sawles Warde f. 72 r (old foliation f. 76 r). It has lost two leaves after f. 80, which is very faint and defective. Entries in fourteenth-century hands connect it with Ledbury, Godstow, and Magna Coworne (Much Cowarne) in Herefordshire. The text is printed from this manuscript up to its end at 127/4.

The writing is sometimes difficult to decipher; the letters are often crowded and hesitating, a, e, o are sometimes hard to distinguish. Doubts are permissible in the following cases, hwen or hwon 118/24, ihaten or ihoten 37, hondon or honden 51; in sent 55, the last letter wavers between t and d; in ȝemelese 56, ȝ appears to have been corrected out of g; after mei 60, there is a half-formed c; under the second o of preoouin 72, there is what looks like a casual pen mark, not a dot of erasure; in seoueuald 287, d is corrected out of t, or the reverse.

ii. Royal 17 A 27, British Museum (R); on vellum, 160 × 117 mm.; early thirteenth century. Has all the pieces in B except Hali Meidenhad, with the addition of an incomplete copy of the Oreisun of Seinte Marie (printed in OEH i., p. 305). This manuscript supplies the end here from 127/4.

iii. Cotton Titus D 18, British Museum (T). See p. 355.

#Editions:# Morris, R., OEH i. 244-267 (with translation); Specimens, 87-95 (part only); Kluge, F., ME. Lesebuch, 8-15; Wagner, W., Kritische Textausgabe . . . mit Einleitung, Anmerkungen und Glossar, Bonn, 1908.

#Literature:# Bartels, L. (see p. 450/23); Einenkel, E., Ueber die Verfasser einiger neuangelsächsischer Schriften, Leipzig, 1881, continued in Anglia, v. 91; Konrath, M., ES xii. 459; Stodte, H., Ueber die Sprache und Heimat der ‘Katherine-Gruppe,’ Göttingen, 1896; Vollhardt, W. (see p. 269/19); Williams, Irene F., Anglia, xxix. 413.

#Sources:# SW is a free expansion of chapters xiii, xiv and xv of the fourth book of the treatise, De Anima, ascribed to Hugh of S. Victor (Rouen ed., 1648, vol. ii. pp. 207-9). The imaginative detail is mostly due to the English author: contrast, ‘Et qui veniunt cum illa?’ Memoria: ‘Mille daemones ferentes secum libros grandes et uncos ferreos et igneas catenas’ of the original with its equivalent 119/68-75. The gruesome picture of 119/86-121/140 is mainly derived from the Visions literature.

#Phonology:# (1) =of B.= The following should be compared with the account of the MS. A of the Ancrene Wisse on pp. 357-62; explanations of abnormal forms offered there are not repeated here. Oral #a# is a, habben 41, makid 39; #a# before nasals and lengthening groups is o, from 25, lonc 58, fondin 224, inȝonge 32; þen, þenne, hwen, hwenne are the usual forms, but þeonne 138 by analogy of heonne: #and# is ant 9, #man# indefinite is me 45, possibly mon 25. #æ# is mostly e, ed 98, gledd 208, but ea in feader 116 (4 times), forbearneð 103 (#forbærnan#), glead 201 (3), gleadschipes 306, 307, leatere 103, nease 96, 112 (#næs-#), reaðliche 21, smeale 70, wearliche 4, weattres 100, and a in blac 58, 110, war 195, 332, warliche 39, 178, warre 142, warschipes 42 &c., and habbe 61, 112, 220. #e# is e, bereð 70, herien 320, spekeð 8; before lengthening groups, ende 106, engles 239, but rikenin 86, stude 46 (3), hwuch 6 &c., swuch 93 (4). Umlaut #e# is ea in beast 332 (but best 64), formealte 104 (Anglian #mæltan#), smeal 275, spealie 303: from *#swolgian# descend forswolheð 91, forswolhe 152. #i# is regularly i, blisse 136, ȝimmes 245, but wiit 200; before lengthening groups, binden 71, bringe 113, but u in wule 42 (7), wulleð 289: in welcume 227, an early instance of this spelling, the adverb #wel# has been substituted for the original #wil#. #o# is o, bodi 323, bigotten 316; before lengthening groups, bold 129, word 73, but a in nalde 7, walde 6 (3), wrahtte 74 (descended from an older form with #a#): dehtren 202 is an umlaut plural: greot 93 for grot RT (#grot#, particle) is due to confusion with #grēot#, grit. #u# is regularly u, cume 7, stunde 207, tungen 114, once o in comme 60, and i in kimeð 69, 138. #y# is u, arudden 120 (*#āryddan#), brune 83, ȝuldene 170, sunderlepes 280; #mycel# is muchel 11, muche 105.

#ā# is a, ban 131, ouergað 270; before two consonants, gast 323, tadden 95, but e through loss of stress in se 17 &c., (hwam) se 276, (hwider) se 275, ase 91, beside stressed swa 120 &c., alswa 230, and u in wumme 133: ohwider 25 is probably influenced by nohwider (#nō#): ea in easkeð 75, 215, easkest 68 comes from a form with #ǣ#. #ǣ{1}# is ea (33 times), deale 105, ear 44, ȝeað 151, leasten 108, but e in flesch 99 (5), lest 54, lesten 178, sumdel 137, 284, þen 158, 212, mostly before two consonants. #ǣnig# is ei 42 (4), but eni 113; #ǣlc# is euch 16 &c. #ǣ{2}# is e (45 times), bere 23, dede 19, dreden 166 (5), ferliche 67 (3), þer 27, 150, were 124 (9), and eo in leote 40; ea appears only in deadbote 75, fearlac 62, heale 242, ileanett 35, 202, offearen 56 (4), reades 296, ?readien 81, reade 142, readeð 177, þear 246, 331. #ē# is e; #ī#, i, but u in bluðeliche 80 (*#blȳþe#); #ō# is o, but eo in iseoð 229 (beside soð 75, 179, 293, isoðet 257); #ū# is u without exception; #ȳ# is u, cuðen 241, fure 71; before two consonants, lutlin 327, but stele 114 represents the earlier #stǣli#, similarly the derivative istelet 126.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is a in igarket 339, ȝarowe 260, swarte 70, 89, and before lengthening groups, hardi 56, inwarde 72, inwardliche 247, towart 81 (4), warde 1 (3), wardi 141, warneð 34, warne 155, warni 42, warnin 63, 140, unwarnede 157, mostly after w, but ea in heard 116 (7), ofearneð 135, as well as hearm 117, hearmin 290, and e in þerf 171. The i-umlaut is e, derne 296, ferd 151. #ea# before #l# + cons. is regularly a, al 12 &c., fallinde 178, forwalleð 104; before lengthening groups, bald 183, bihalde 40, bihalden 57 (5), calde 104, halden 46 &c., half 143 (4), talde 114, but ea in wealdent 226, eo in feole 54. #eo# before #r# + cons. is generally eo, feor 40, heorte 163, steorren 267, and before lengthening groups, eorðe 84, ȝeorne 201, but e in derueð 90, 103 (possibly representing #dierfan#), hercneð 218, werc 74, werkes 64, and o in dorc 130 with accent shifting. To the #wur# group belong iwurðen 26, iwurden 298, iwurðeð 93, 148; #wyr# words are deorewurðe 203, wurse 102, 105, wursi 164, wursin 328, wurð 156, 181, 194, wurðe 40: warpe 43 is Scandinavian; istirret 245 a ME. formation. #eo# before #l# + cons. is seen in seolf 27 &c. #ea#, the u- and å-umlaut of #a#, is seen in eawles 126, gleadeð 310, gleadien 223, 270, gleadunge 283 (4), heatel 128, heateð 109, meaðen 99, neauele 98, and analogically in feareð 18, igleadet 214, heatieð 111, but it is wanting in bale 93, 129, care 150, carien 162, 166, cwakie 131, cwakien 325, waker 53, 57, 142 (Vesp. Ps. #wæc(c)er#), #wakien# 7 (Angl. #wæcian#, Bülbring, § 231). #eo#, u-umlaut of #e#, is represented in heouene 146 (3), heouenliche 243, but wordes 251, world 169 (7), worldlich 170 after w. #eo#, å-umlaut of #e#, is seen in abeoren 125, breoken 8, 28, freoteð 96, speoken 61, feole 306, weole 161, weoleful 245; #eo#, the u- and å-umlaut of #i#, in cleopeð 38, icleopet 36, hweonene 60, 65, neomen 317, neome 328, neomeð 311, seoðen 213, seoueðe 284, seouenfald 282, 287, þeose 97, unweotenesse 179, and by analogy, neome 147, bineome 11, but hare 18 (3), suster 43, 207. #ea# after palatals is a, schal 21 &c., schadewe 148, 231, schape 122, but e in schekeð 132 (i-umlaut), eo before nasal, scheome 117. #ie# after #ġ# is e, forȝet 25, 167, ȝef 27, ȝeueð 87, 164, ȝelden 301, ȝeldeð 213, ȝelpeð 188. #ȝef# is ȝef 6, 14, gef 12. #ie# after #č# is e, chele 101; after #sć#, i in schilde 233 (#scildan#), e in scheld 159. #eo# after #sć# is u, schulen 178, 224, 320, schulde 158 (R{1} has scylde subj.), schunien 177. #eom# is am 62; #heom#, ham 45, 87.

#ēa# is generally ea, beateð 48, deaðes 62, deaðlich 58, eauraskes 97, but e in ec 64, echen 95 (perhaps representing #īecan#), etscene 240, eðeliche 157, 193, ȝe 77, 216 (Anglian #gǣ#), gret 70: its i-umlaut is e, alesen 242, alesnesse 294, here 22 (5), herunge 16, (an)lepi 313, (sunder)lepes 280. #ēo# is generally eo, beon 10, biheolt 262, breoste 98, deopre 296, þeosternesse 89, but þosternesse 86 and schute 160, with shifted accent: #hēo# is ha 40; the i-umlaut is wanting, deore 31, 144, þeoster 246, neod 211 (see p. 288, last line). Palatalization is wanting after #ġ# in forȝeme 54, ȝemeð 168, ȝeme 177, ȝeme 147, 311, ȝemeles 18, 56; after #sć# in schene 233, 268, schenre 287. #gīet# is ȝet 239.

#a# + #g# is ah, drahen 72, sahen 201, mahen 22: islein 116 is #geslegen#; sei 280, seist 279, seið 6, 61 come from forms with #æ#; dreaien 206 represents *#dreagan#. #æ# + #g# is regularly ei, dei 29, feier 209, feierleac 272, iteilede 90, mei 10 &c., meiden 243, seide 66, but mahe 290, 332. #e# + #g# is ei, aȝein 20, eie 23, eilin 290, wei 170, but isehen 77 (6). #i# + #g#, #h# is ih, nihe 251, diht 10, sihðe 16 (4), unwiht 5, but flið 158 (WS. #flihð#, Rushworth{2} has #flīð#): freineð 65 is from a form with #æ# or #e# (R{1} has #frægnast#, Li, #fregna#). The spirant has disappeared in monie 307, 314, murie 283: final #ig# is i, buri 129 (from dat. #byrig#), dreorinesses 131, moni 29, seli 280, unseli 121. #o# + #g#, #h# is oh, bohte 28, 237, untohe 23, untohene 13, untoheliche 18; dehtren 35 has umlaut e. #u# + #h# is uh, bituhhe 133; #y# + #h#, uh, tuht 46, tuhte 23. #ā# + #g#, #h# is ah, ahen 4, ahne 184, 305, wahes 32, ah 165. #ǣ{1}# + #h# is ah, bitaht 144, 149, but #ǣ{1}# + #g#, ei, keis 34, eiðer 102, 111. #ī# + #g#, ih, wiheles 155; in sti 186 the spirant has disappeared. #ū# + #h# is uh, buhsam 241. #ea# + #h# is ah, mahte 84 (5), but iseh 118 (6); the i-umlaut is seen in almihti 324, unmihti 181, 191, niht 29; lahhinde 213 comes from an Anglian form in #æ#. #eo# + #g# is seen in tintreohen 264 with eo, å-umlaut of #e#; the form is characteristic of the group. #eo# + #ht# is iht, brihte 269, rihte 14 &c., rihtwise 193, but fehte 160 has Anglian #e#. #ie# + #h# is seen in bisið 332. #ēa# + #g#, #h# is eh, ehnen 51, heh 225, neh 329, but tah 11 (3). #ēo# + #g# is eh in drehen 105, dreheð 167, but liht 87, lihtschipe 283, lihtliche 263. #īe# + #h#, lihteð 69, ilihtet 214, but hest 48 (Anglian #hēst#), nest 41 (Angl. #nēst#). #ā# + #w# is aw, cnaweð 55, cnawen 293, cnawlechunge 292, nawt 7 &c., nawiht 183, sawles 1, 27, snawi 100, but noht 149 (#nōht#), nowðer 171 (#nōwþer#), sehe 228, isehe 118. #ī# + #w#, elheowet 58 (Anglian #hēow#), speoweð 91 (with w-umlaut). #ēa# + #w# is aw, schaweð 240, schawede 265, ischawed 258, schawere 233, but þeaw 30, unþeaw 32, unþeawes 334, heaued þeawes 36. #ēo# + #w# is mostly eow, tocheoweð 93, reowðful 120, treowe 157 (#trīewe#), treoweliche 78, 206, but fowr 36 (3), trowðe 78.

In deorewurðe 149, eðeliche 193, euenin 83, husebonde 34 (but husbonde 38), huselauerd 9, 17, husewif 20, 205, leatere 103, steuene 133, sunegin 179, wrecchedom 85 a glide e has been added, a final e to ine 337, inwarde 72, ofte 18. #e# is lost in echnesse 108, #i# in unwerged 251, 318 (#wērigod#): a occurs for #o# in anan 105; #o# is levelled to e in lauerd 4, sikere 107, sikerliche 171, sikernesse 188, sunderliche 308, te 71 &c., lost in wordes 251 (#werod#). #u# is e in durewart 39, it is lost in world 169 &c. The prefix #æt# is ed, edwiteð 123, et, etstont 158; #be# is bi, bisetten 64, bigineð 1, bihinden 92, biwiten 5; #ēaþ# is et in etscene 240; #ge# is generally i, icwiddet 257, ifindeð 156, ihal 91, iwis 137, unimete 125, but it is omitted in bere 23, schape 122, monge 102, schad 176, unrude 71 (but unirude 125), wissunge 31. The suffix in herunge 16 is noteworthy. #þǣr# is syncopated in þrin 79, þrinne 53, þrof 33, trof 331, þrute 41.

Metathesis of #r# is seen in wernches 5, wrahhte 74, eauraskes 97 (#forsc#). #rr# is simplified in feor 40. #ll# is simplified in feole 54, tele 79, 228, and finally in ful 82, godspel 4, wil 10. #m# is doubled in comme 60, #mm# simplified in grimfule 122. #nn# is simplified in bigineð 1, moncunnes 242, #n# is lost in raketehe 71; the prepositions in, on are reduced to i, o, except before a vowel or h or when stressed, as in 316; for #n#, m appears in þrumnesse 234. #p# is inserted in inempnet 244. #f# is usually u between vowels or vowel and liquid, biuoren 59, deouel 171, froure 35, seoluen 117, vuel 19, but deoflen 69 (4), otherwise it is f, fondin 224, hefde 113, seolf 27. #t# is doubled in bigotten 316, bitternesse 130, ileanett 35 (but ileanet 202), wrahtte 74, lost in best 64, beast 332, added in lustnið 61, loftsong 283. For #t#, d occurs in ed 98; #tt# is simplified in wit 8 (but wittes 16). For #d#, t is often written finally, ant 9, dret 50, durewart 39, etstont 158, feont 33, heart 165, hiderwart 139, hundret 335, lont 130, ontswereð 66, somet 21, þusent 69, towart 81, wealdent 226, but ð in iseið 280, lauerð 8, schenðlac 124; #d# is doubled in gledd 208, #dd# is simplified in midel 174 (but middel 45, 170). Initial #þ# becomes t after t, tah 12, te 9, tis 106, 152, tu 68, after d (possibly miswritten for t), te 98, trof 331: final #þ# becomes t before t, limpet 154; for #þ#, d appears in blideliche 248, deorewurde 301, iwurden 298, makid 39, makied 255, oder 19, sod 293, swide 208. #s# is doubled in gasstes 30 (#gāst#), but gastes 122, rihtwissnesse 175 (#wīs#); for #ss#, sc appears in iblescede 221: #sć# is regularly sch, schad 176, schal 21, scheome 117, schilde 233, schunien 177. The stop #c# is usually k before e, i, biloke 204, blake 110, keis 34, kimeð 69, þonkeð 201, c in other positions, blac 58, moncunnes 242, þonc 20: ah 26 is Anglian #ah#, WS. #ac#. #č# is ch, chele 101, echen 95, echnesse 108 (a new formation from eche), euch 16, hwuch 6, ich 61, ilich 97, licomlich 173, pich 104, rechelese 13, sechen 32, smeche 88 (but North. smeke 88), stench 84, tocheoweð 93, þulliche 162 (but þulli 326, 327). #čč# is cch, dreccheð 90. #cw# is preserved, cwakie 131, cwemen 20, cwic 84, acwikieð 105, but quoð 139 &c. Palatal #g# is written ȝ, forȝeme 54, ȝarowe 260, ȝe 137, ȝe 159, ȝef 6, 14 (but gef 12), ȝef 27, ȝelden 301, ȝelpeð 188, ȝeorne 201, ȝet 239, ȝimmes 245, but igarket (no breaking). The guttural stop is written g, bigineð 1, gulteð 18, bigoten 259, 316, unwerged 251, but ȝ in aȝulteð 48, ȝeað 151, inȝonge 32, 41, 146 (comp. Northumbrian #ġeonga, ġionga#, Bülbring, § 492, anmerkung 1, and #hiniong[a]e#, Sweet, Oldest E. Texts, p. 149), ȝuldene 170. For the spirant after l, r, h appears in folhin 12, 336, folheð 275, halhen 278, forswolhe 152, forswolheð 91, sorhe 85: #myrigþ# is murhðe 253, 255, murðes 219. #hl# is reduced to l in leane 58, leor 58, 231, lust 261, lustnið 61, anlepi 313, sunderlepes 280, #hn# to n in nesche 162, 167, #hr# to r in remunge 99. Initial #hw# is usually preserved, hwen 68, hwer 17, hwet 60. h is added in unwhiht 151, doubled in bituhhen 168, bituhhe 133, 169.

(2) =Of R.= The principal divergences from B are noted. #a# before nasal: unþeonkes 42 (comp. ‘feondeð,’ SM 10/7). #æ#: the spelling ea for e is used only in smeale 70, wearliche 4, otherwise e occurs, except in latere 103, neose 96, 112 (#nosu#): similarly ea for umlaut #e# is absent in best 332, formelte 104, smel 275, spelien 303. #o#: grot 93. #u#: com 60 (#cwōm#), cumeð 69, 138. #y# is regularly u, as in B. #ā#: #swā# stressed and unstressed is so, but once swa 234; eskeð 75, 215, eskest 68. The representation of #ǣ{1}# is divided between ea and e, each 28 times: #ǣ{2}# is e 50 times (lete 40); the exceptions are hear 132, heale 242, hileanet 202, offearen 56 (4), offeared 54, 211, reade 142, reades 296, rodien 81 (reoden T). #ī#: bliðeliche 351. #ea# (breaking): hard 116 (7), harm 117, herdes 183, þearf 171, weldent 226. #eo#: hercni 349, darc 130. The u-, å-umlaut of #a# is e in gledeð 310, gledien 223, 270, gledunge 308, 310, 312, medeð 99 (for meðen), neuele 98, igledet 214, and is wanting in fareð 18, hatel 128, hateð 109, hatieð 111. å-umlaut of #e#: to speokene 347. u-, å-umlaut of #i#: seððen 213, unwitnesse 179. #eo# after #ġ#: ȝuheðe 383. #ēa#: deð 171, dedlich 58, adie 269, eðsene 240, greạt 70. #īe#: fleme 343. #ēo#: þeosternesse 86, þreohad 372. #a# + #g#: dreien 206. #æ# + #g#: feirlec 272. #i# + #ht#: unwiht 151. #ē# + #g#: tweien 342. #ō# + #h#: þohtes 360. #eo# + #g#: tintreon 264.

#r#: wrenches 5. #n#: in 108, 319, on 29. #f#: under fon 57. #t#: et 98. #d# final is seldom altered to t, dred 50, dureward 39, hard 165, hideward 139, lond 130, toward 81, 127, but heauet 59: other spellings are onswereð 66, 281, schenlac 124, gled 108, middel 174. Initial #þ# is often unaltered after final t, þu 79, þrof 331 (but it is lost in ant e 372), so final #þ# in limpeð 154. Normal #þ# appears in bliðeliche 248, makieð 255, makeð 39, oðer 19, soð 293, swiðe 208; for #þ#, d in beod 15. #s#: gastes 30. #c#: ecnesse 108. #g#: ȝef 12, iȝarcket 339, biȝeoten 316 (but bigoten 259), agulteð 48, guldene 170, strencðe 153 (5), strencðen 164, strenðe 343. #h#: unwiht 151, hearen 98, her 94, hileanet 202, hearneð 135, hure 144, er 58, is 28, wilinde 135.

(3) =Of T.= #a# before nasals and lengthening groups is o, but fram 25 (5) is invariable. #æ# is a (45 times including nase 96, 112), exceptions are hefde 116, hefden 256, hweðer 101, forbearneð 103, readliche 21, smecche 88, wrecchedom 85. #e#: rekenen 86, best 332, smal 275, spelie 303. #i#: wile 42 &c. (but ichulle 81), wilneð 289. #o#: grot 93. #u#: cumeð 69, 138. #y# is u, except winne 161, 173 (but wunne 166, 169). #ā#: ai 53 (7), a Scandinavian word, leað 153 (? #lǣþo#, or miswritten for leið, OWScand. leiðr), askeð 75, 215, askest 68, owhwider 25 (comp. ‘ouhwuder’ AR 172/3, ?influence of #ōwer#). #ǣ{1}# is ea, in close agreement with B; sumdeal 284, but lasten 108, 178. #ǣnig# is ani 42, 135, 192. #ǣ{2}#: also as in B; lete 40, rodien 81, þer 246, 331, trinne 86. #ē#: fearreden 269. #ī#: bliðeliche 80, huinen 17 (comp. OWScand. hjûn). #ō#: isoð 229, sweote 291 (‘swoete’ Vesp. Psalt., Sweet, OET. 217/13). #ȳ# is u, written ui in fuire 71, fuir 83, 87 (but fur 103). #ea# (breaking): wearnið 34, wearne 155, wearnen 63, unwearnede 157, hard 116 (5), hardes 163, 172, harm 117, harmen 290, þurf 171; i-umlaut, dearne 296, ferd 151. #eo#: isterret 245, self 27 (6), seluen 5 (3), but seolf 8. The u- å-umlaut of #a# is wanting, except in eawles 126; for heatel 128 heates is read. The absence of this umlaut points to Northumbrian or W. Saxon. #eo#, u-umlaut of #e#: heuene 220, 325, heuenliche 243, but heouene 146; after #w#, woredes 251, world 108 (7), worldlich 170. #eo#, å-umlaut of #e#: breke 28, breken 8, freten 96, speken 61. #eo#, u- å-umlaut of #i#: nime 147, 328, binime 11, nimeð 311, siðen 213, clepeð 38, iclepet 36, seuenfald 282, seuefald 287: for hweonene B 60, 65 T has hweðen, hwenne; hore 122. #ea# after #sć#, schome 117. #ie#: ȝef 27, ȝiueð 87, 164, ȝiue 371. ȝif 6, 12, 14. #ēa#: dedes 62, gledred 71; ȝa 216, ȝea 77 (possibly Scandinavian), great 70. #ēo#: biheld 262, depre 296, deulen 69, iseð 89, 94, seð 257, ned 211, þeosternesse 86, ho 40. #æ# + #g#: dai 29 &c., mai 10 &c. are the regular forms, but mei 303, so feir 209, 239, feirleic 272. #e# + #g#: aȝain 20 (Angl. #ongægn#), aȝaines 34, 153, but to ȝeines 196. #ea# + #h#: mihte 113, 118, 162, but mahte 84, 232. #eo# + #g#: tintrohen 264. #ie# + #h#: bisihð 332. #ā# + #w#: noht 7. #ī# + #w#: speweð 91. #ēa# + #w#: scheaweð 240, scheawde 265, ischeawet 258, scheawere 233. #ēo# + #w#: treowðe 78; treweliche 78, 206.

#r#: wrenches 5. #m#: com 60. #n#: in 99, 108. #f#: biforen 59, þer fore 150, þurn 225, under fon 57. #t#: blend 87, at 98. #d#: dred 50, dureward 59, atstond 158, feond 33, hard 165, hiderward 139, hundreð 97, 335 (OWScand. hundrað), lond 130, 256, heauet 59, onswereð 66, 281, somen 21, þusend 69, þusand 114, 119, þusanð 138, toward 81, 127, schendlac 124, glad 208, middel 174. #þ#: bliðeliche 248, limpeð 154, makes 39, makieð 255, swiðe 208. #s#: gastes 30. #c#: cumeð 69, þoncheð 201, long 58, swing 289, smecche 88, euh 58, hwucse 72, stinc 84, ecnesse 108. #ȝ#: ȝif 12, ȝarket 339, biȝoten 316, unwerched 251, agulteð 48, guldene 170. #h#: unwiht 151.

#Accidence:# (1) =Of B.= Strong declension of masc. and neut. nouns. In the s. n. þinge 84 has added e. Gen. -es, cunnes 90, deaðes 62, contracted weis 162, 236: d. -e, dome 261, flesche 270, hame 25, with all nouns which have vowel ending in the s. n. as bale 93, chele 101, in others the inflection is more frequently wanting, deað 222, flesch 99, and generally in words of two syllables, as finger 325, godspel 4, heaued 59, lauerd 207; wa 86 is indeclinable. In the s. a. deale 105, inȝonge 32, 41 (but inȝong n. 146), mete 45, 47 have added e; bere 23 is #gebǣre#; sune 235 represents #sunu#. The pl. n. a. of masculines ends in -es, eauraskes 97, engles 239, deaðes 119, duntes 125: neuters, with the exception of þing 178, 297, schape 122 (#gesceapu#), have taken the masc. termination, þinges 89, werkes 64, wittes 16, wordes 251, wordes 64, or have joined the weak declension, deoflen 89, 91, studen 240, wepnen 159: genitive is smeche 88; datives have mostly -es, eawles 126, gleadschipes 307, but bisocnen 277, colen 104, deoflen 69, 139, wepnen 162, 184, and siðe 97, 138, 335 (without n). The fem. nouns of the strong declension have -e in the s. n., este 173, cnawlechunge 292, and many other derivatives in #-ung#, schadewe 148, but meað 37, 43 (once masc. in OE.). Gen. -e, helle 95, nease 96, but murðes 219, sawles 1: dat. -e, alesnesse 294, bisne 4, worlde 108, 136, 260, but ferd 151, half 160, 238, luft 186, sti 186 (#stīg#), world 108, 110, 147, 169 are not inflected: acc. -e, blisse 221, froure 35, but ferreden 269, fulst 225 (#fylst#), half 143. Pl. n. is hondon 51; d. blissen 267, pinen 90, 127, sunnen 70, wunden 240, dreorinesses 131; a. pinen 263, sahen 201, strengðen 164, sunnen 124, cunreadnes 261, estes 197, keis 34, runes 296. Nouns of the weak declension have -e in all cases of the singular, -en throughout the plural. The minor declensions are represented by uet pl. d. 260; mon s. n. 8, monnes s. g. 9, 15; boc s. d. 72, s. a. 70; buri s. n. 129 (from dat. #byrig#); niht s. d. 29; feader s. g. 237, s. d. 241, s. a. 116; moder s. a. 116; dehtren pl. n. 202, pl. d. 35, 195; suster s. a. 43, sustren pl. n. 202, pl. d. 207; feont s. n. 33, s. d. 158; wealdent s. n. 226.

Adjectives which in OE. end in e retain that termination in all cases. Weak inflections are s. n. m. ȝuldene 170, rihtwise 193, neut. blake 110, willesfule 205, s. d. f. swarte 89, s. d. neut. ferliche 102, s. a. m. willesfule 44, f. brihte 269: strong inflections are s. d. f. inwarde 72, s. a. f. longe 254: swote s. n. m. 275, neut. 291 (#swōt#) has conformed to swete. All other adjectives are uninflected in the singular. Those in -ig lose g, anlepi 313, eadi 243, hali 234: #lȳtel# is lutle s. a. f. 235; lutle s. a. neut. 328, lut pl. n. 187, few people, are used as nouns; #mycel# is mostly muche, but muchel s. d. neut. strong 166, muchele weak 300, pl. a. 314: #āgen# gives ahne s. d. f. 305, pl. d. 184. The plural ends in -e, ȝarowe 260, wakere 57, 142, misliche 127, unmihtie 191; exceptions are n. ful 239, hal 93, ilich 97, hardi 56, lusti 318, d. eadi 269, mislich 20, seli 280, snawi 100, a. unseli 121, wurð 194. OE. #āna# is ane 200; #ān# is an, a, s. g. anes 311, d. ane 207, a. 216: #nān# is nan, na, s. g. nanes 317, pl. n. nane 274. Adjectives used as nouns are rarely inflected, as heardes s. g. 163, 172, nesches 172, uuele pl. n. 224: comparatives regularly end in e, brihtre 287, deopre 296, earre 103, leatere 103, wurse 102, but grisluker 97; of superlatives earste 36, forme 195, leaste 115, 118, measte 115 have weak inflection.

The personal pronouns are ich, me, we, ure 181, us, þu, tu after t, þe, ȝe, ow. The pronoun of the third person is s. n. he m. 6, ha f. 10 &c., hit neut. 13; g. hire f. 11; d. him m. 35, hire f. 42, a. hire f. 8 (with hus neut.), 11, 33 (with þeaw m.), 43, 87, hit neut. 10, 85; pl. n. ha 89 &c., heo 93, 274, 276; g. hare 18; d. ham 55; a. 13. Reflexives are me 190, him 54, hire 180, 205, ham 94, me seolf 189 (possibly definitive), me seoluen 117, us seolf 191, 193, us seoluen 5, him seolf 27, him seoluen 109, 309, hire seoluen 182; definitive are seolf 8, 228, him seolf 277, him ane 200; possessives are mi s. 80, 116, min 163, 196, mine pl. 164, 234, ure 4, þi s. 78, þin 319, his 5, hire 12, hare 51, 122. The definite article is þe, te after t; inflected forms are þet s. n. neut. 33, 214, þen s. d. m. 158, s. a. m. 212, þet s. a. neut. 248; the instrumental is þe 11, 142. Þet is used demonstratively 35, 103, 104, þet ilke 89, 105, 256; the article is also used pronominally, þeo þe, those who 48, 49, 56, 247, those which 178, one who 180, þeo, those 15. The compound demonstrative is s. n. þes m. 6, tis 106, þis neut. 8, 53, 124, tis 26, s. d. þis m. 318, þisse f. 136, þeos 146, þis 110, neut. 9, 102, 137, 198, 199, s. a. þes m. 118, þis neut. 284, 285, tis 152; pl. n. þeos 17, 202, d. 24, 101, 207, 285, þeose 97, a. þeos 140. The relatives are þe, þet; þet . . . hire 10, = whom, þet te 154, = what. Interrogatives are hwam 39, hwet 60 (4), hweðer 101, hwuch 6 (6), hwucche pl. n. 14; its correlative is swuch 93, 135, 255, swucche pl. n. 194: #ilca# is ilke 105 &c.; #þyllic#, þulliche pl. d. 162, þulli s. d. 326, 327. Indefinites are hwam se s. a. 276, hwet se s. n. 172, hwuch se s. a. 72; me 45, 68, 87, 165, 275, mon 25; an 252; sum 54, summes s. g. 162, 236, summe pl. n. 14; eiðer 102, 111; oðer 37, oðres s. g. 109, 112, oðre s. d. 252, pl. d. 52, 285, pl. a. 277; euch 108, euchan 49, 109, euchanes s. g. 252, eauereuchan 307; eni 113, ei 42, 135, 192; nawiht 172, 183, noht 149; moni 20, 29, 166, monie pl. n. 307, pl. a. 314, ma 167; feole 306; al s. n. 12, alles s. g. 90, 197, 264, al s. d. 74, 155, s. a. 105, 116, 117; alle pl. n. 13, 114, 214, alre pl. g. 181, alle pl. d. 30, 46, 281, pl. a. 33, 40, 297, mid alle 211.

Verbs in #-an# have infinitive -en, abeoren 125, bihalden 233, 236, and thirty-five other instances, or -e, bringe 113, 173, cume 7, here 22, munne 303, neome 328, those in #ian#, mostly of the second weak conjugation, have -ien, carien 162, 166, gleadien 270, herien 320, schunien 177, þolien 7 (6), wakien 7, readien 81 (ME. formation from read = #rǣd#), or -ie, spealie 303, þolie 235, or -in, amurdrin 32, blissin 270, eilin 290, euenin 83, folhin 12, 336, fondin 224, grapin 87, hearmin 290, lokin 232, 254, lutlin 327, openin 285, rikenin 86, sunegin 179, warnin 152, wursin 328, and ME. wontin, or -i, wursi 164: contract verbs are biseon 122, fleon 158, seon 305, underuon 312, unwreo 285. The dat. inf. is inflected in to cumene 265, to witene 50, 150, 226; other forms are forte binden 71, forte warnin 140, forte . . . halden 57, for . . . to drahen 72, forte breoke 28, to alesen 242, to seon ⁊ to cnawen 293 (virtual nom.), to warnin 63, to . . . makie 325. Presents are s. 1. cume 76, 220, cwakie 131, demi 185, iseo 150; 2. cumest 76, easkest 68, seist 279; 3. cleopeð 38, limpet 154, makid 39, and seventy-four others; contracted, about one-fourth of the total number, bisið 332, bit 246, flið 158, forȝet 25, 167, halt 180, 195, 205, hat 45, let 26, 212, sent 55, sit 48, 225, 237, wit 52, and nine others, passive hatte 62; pl. 1. habbeð 191, witeð 144, drede we 155; 3. aȝulteð 48, edwiteð 123; of the second weak conjugation, acwikieð 105, heatieð 111, herieð 317, makied 255, wunieð 272, 320, but ofearneð 135 and liuieð 287, werieð 143; meallið 90, seoð 257, 295, iseoð 89, 94: subjunctive s. 1. habbe 61, understonde 285; 3. bihalde 40, bineome 11, cume 23, 65, 144, comme 60, feole, forȝeme 54, forswolhe 152, fortruste 54, leade 65, leare 45, leote 40, reade 142, rihte 14, 141, schute 160, seche 60, slepe 25, tuhte 23, werie 141, chasti 11, loki 39, wardi 141, warni 42; pl. 1. demen 191, 193, halden 198, þonkin 200, neome we 147: imperative s. 2. etstont 158, let 209, sei 280, tele 79, 228, warne 155; pl. 2. hercnið 218, lokið 67, lustnið 61, neomeð 311, þencheð 115, understondeð 218. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. s. 1. iseh 118 (5), biseh 249, 3. ȝef 27, quoð 315; pl. 1. speken 44; subjunctive s. 1. isehe 118, 2. sehe 228: I b. s. 1. com 139: I c. subj. s. 3. bigunne 299: III. subj. s. 3. forbude 13: V. s. 1. biheolt 262, lette (weak form) 28. Participles present: I a. sittende 278: I b. cuminde 40: IV. lahhinde adj. 213: V. fallinde adj. 178; past: I a. isehen 77 (6), ispeken 335: I b. ibore 136, icumen 55: I c. bigunne 112, iborhen 276, formealte 104: II. iwriten 70, untohene adj. pl. 13, untohe adj. s. 23, fulitohe adj. s. 9: III. bigoten 259, bigotten 316, biloke 204: IV. islein 116: V. bihalden 57, ihaten 10, 37, 220, underuon 57, ofdred adj. 145. Past of Weak Verbs: s. 1. hefde 113, talde 114; 3. bohte 28, luuede 241, schilde 233, sende 223, wrahtte 74; pl. 3. deiden, liueden 266. Participles present: libbinde 270, sechinde 151; ME. formations are fikelinde adj. 147, smorðrinde adj. 88; past: bitaht 144, 149, ibet 74, igret 256, ilihtet 214, ischawed 258, iseid 328, iseið 280, unwerged 251, icleopet 36, icwiddet 257, offearet 54, 211, unwerget 318, and thirteen others in -t, besides irobbet 26, istirret 245; others used as adjectives are elheowet 58, fordemde pl. 133, forrotet 99, forwerede pl. 114, iblescede s. weak 221, pl. 250, isette pl. 252, istelet pl. 126, iteilede pl. 90, unwarnede noun pl. 157, offruhte pl. 222. Minor Groups: witen inf. 137, 305, wat pr. s. 176, nat 66, witen pr. pl. 295, 297, nuten 101, wiste pt. s. 6; ah pr. s. 165, ahen 1 pr. pl. 4, pr. pl. 300; con 1 pr. s. 81, 329, pr. s. 64, cunnen pr. pl. 187; þerf pr. s. 171, þurue we 1 pr. pl. 145, 225; schal pr. s. 21 &c., schulen pr. pl. 178, 224, 320, schulde we 1 pt. pl. 158; mei 1 pr. s. 81, pr. s. 10 &c., me[i] 327, mahen 1 pr. pl. 22, 2 pr. pl. 137, 305, mahe pr. pl. 274, pr. s. subj. 290, 332, mahte 1 pt. s. 113, 162, 232, pt. s. 84, 118; most 2 pr. s. 285, 316; beon inf. 10 &c., am 1 pr. s. 62, is pr. s. 8, nis 18, bið 146, aren pr. pl. 107, 256, beoð 13, 56, 159, 202, beod 306, beo pr. s. subj. 26 (8), beon 1 pr. pl. subj. 142, 198, beo we 193, beon pr. pl. subj. 104, wes pt. s. 205, weren pt. pl. 94, 114, were pt. s. subj. 127, 136, 210, 253, nere 121, 136, were pt. pl. subj. 124, ibeo pp. 331; ich chulle 1 pr. s. 81, wule pr. s. 145, 193, 325, wulleð pr. pl. 289, wule pr. s. subj. 42, 210, 323, walde 1 pt. s. 119, pt. s. 6, 12, nalde 7; to donne dat. inf. 142, 185, to don 288, 324, to do 189 (virtual nom.), do 1 pr. s. 190, 197, deð pr. s. 182, doð pr. pl. 49, 267, do 2 s. imp. 154, idon pp. 300, ido 53, 117; gan inf. 21, 316, ȝeað pr. s. 151, ga we 1 pr. pl. 171, ouergað pr. pl. 270, ga 2 s. imp. 315, pr. s. subj. 10, 47.

Among adverbs may be noted á 105 (4), áá 53 (3), ever, distinguished by accent from a 227, ah! hweonene 60, 65, interrogative, earþon 74, previously, unmundlunge (#unmyndlinga#) 68, unexpectedly, in ME. apparently only here and once in AR; among prepositions, bituhhen 168, bituhhe 133, 169, extension of OE. #bituh#, BH 133/33, which comes also in SK 1515, ‘bituhe’ AR MS. A, 204/20, ‘bituhhen,’ id. 358/11, fore 27, 276, on behalf of, in both places separated from the word governed and put at the end of the sentence.

(2) =Of R.= This is substantially the same as that of MS. B: some forms from ll. 339-373 are here noted. Nouns: neut. bodi s. d. 369, limen pl. n. 364; fem. sawle s. n. 369, neod 349, sondes s. g. 346, murðes 342, lefdi s. d. 355, sonden pl. a. 357. Adjective comp. lessere 345 (#lǣssa#), an early instance of the double comparative; T has lesre. Pronoun: incker dual g.: indef. oðer s. d. 363, noðres s. g. 347.

(3) =Of T.= It differs from B mainly in the verbal inflection. Forms with i are few, euennin inf. 83, fondin 224, lutlin 327, openin 285, sunegin 179, wursi 164, mellið pr. pl. 90; in the pr. s. -es and -eð alternate, warnes 348, wilnes 286, bides 59 (hat B), fares 25, haues 144, makes 39, slepes 25, spekes 8, wites 52 (wit B), fleoð 158 (flið B), beoð 146, beð 24, in the pr. pl. -en and -eð, habben 191, beon 14 (6), freten 96, ȝelden 213, hatien 111, iwurðen 93, snicken 96, sweren 21, beoð 17 &c., speweð 91: arn 256, schuln 340, þurn 225 are syncopated. Beside ha, she, ho occurs 12, 40, 181; man 165 is indefinite. The suffix of the verbal noun is regularly -ing, cnawlechinge 292, gretinge 213, hechelinge 100. For aðet B, R 104, it has til ꝥ, for mid B, mit R 28, wið.

#Vocabulary:# Scandinavian are ai T 53 &c., aren 107, drupnin 222, etlunge 310, far (lac) 341, 363, fear (laic) T 341, (feir) lec R 272, feoloh(lukest) 270 (OWScand. félagi), flute 349, flutteð 100, ȝa T 216, ȝea T 77, hird 65, hundreð T 79, keiseres 261, lahe 193, 259, 271, lane 202, meoke 198, nowcin 163 (4), tidinges 140, til T 104, trust 184, vmben 207, wan 129, warpe 43, varpeð 341, wengen 143, 340, witer(liche) 78, witer(luker) 285, wontin 135 (OWScand. vanta), wontreaðes 129, wondraðes R 129, wandreðes T 129, þicke 86 (OWScand. þykkr), probably baðe T 23, iburst 151, lustnin 217, possibly froden T 95, ȝetteð 247 (Björkman 109), ȝeieð 134 (OWScand. geyja) influenced like ȝoulen by ȝellen (Björkman 69). French are archangles 249 (possibly Latin), apostle 157, castel 31, chasti 11, chere 213, icheret 209, cruneð 49, cunestable 38, 200, cunfessurs 266, enbreuet 73, false 147, falsi 163, fol 19, feh 149, 204, grace 160, iordret 252, irobbet 26, leattres 71, liun 151, meistre 44, meistreð 33, meoster 189, 252, mesure 174, meosure 45, patriarches 255 (possibly Latin), poure 259, preoouin 72, prophetes 255, semblant 19, seruið 247, 250, tresor 27 (3), treosor 369, tresures 339, tresorers T 339, trone 244, 260, turnes 182, ?turneð 206, aturnet 209. A Latin borrowing is martyrs 262.

#Dialect:# MS. B bears a close resemblance in all dialectal criteria to MS. A of the Ancrene Wisse; its Anglian peculiarities are somewhat more pronounced. MS. R differs from MS. B in its representation of #ǣ{1}# and in the narrower range of its u-, å-umlauts; it is somewhat more Southern than MS. B. MS. T, in the same hand as the copy of the Ancrene Wisse, is of the mixed character described on p. 373, but the Southern element is more extensive here.

#Style:# Sawles Warde has been divided by its latest editor into one thousand and seventy-two half-lines of ‘rhymeless Layamonic verse,’ with three hundred and sixty-two varieties of scansion, nearly two hundred of which are each represented by a single line. Much ME. verse, the Proverbs of Alfred, the Brut, the Bestiary for example, is, like Sawles Warde, written continuously, but its verse character is always definitely indicated by its punctuation, in Layamonic verse by a half- or full stop at the end of the half-line and a full stop at the end of the line. But, as Luick has shown, Sawles Warde has a prose punctuation of natural pauses in reading, of clause and sentence, a contention which may readily be tested by the texts in the present book, which reproduce the manuscripts in this detail. Thus the punctuation of Sawles Warde which has been adduced as an indication of its verse character is evidence to the contrary.

Some specimens of the verse with the editor’s scansion are: ‘téacheð us þùrh a bísnè,’ 117/4: ‘Þis hús þe ùre láuèrd | spékeð òf, is sèolf þe món,’ 117/8: ‘þe éarèste is Wárschìpe | icléopet, ànt te óðèr | is gástelìch Stréncðè,’ 118/36: ‘Wárschìpe, þet àa is wáker, | ìs offéared, lèste súm | fortrúste hìm ant fèole oslép,’ 118/53: ‘hwuch só he mèi préouìn | þùrh his bóc, þèt is ón | euch súnnè ibréuèt,’ 119/72. Now Bartels points out that in Layamon’s verse there is no enjambment and no beginning of a clause in the middle of a half-line. Furthermore, there is no rhythm in these lines which remotely resembles either the recitative of Layamon’s alliterative line or the syllabic measure of his rhymed lines. But the fatal objection is the absence of alliteration or rhyme, for without one of these or a combination of the two there is no verse at all in Middle English; they are of the essence of its form. For Orm is an eccentric and absolutely isolated; his verse would be recognizable by his contemporaries as such only in virtue of the rigid uniformity of its rhythm.

Sawles Warde is written in the same rhythmic prose, and by the same author, as AR and the other pieces mentioned on p. 373, including the Wohunge of Ure Lauerd (OEH i. 269-87) and the Ureisun of God Almihti (id. 200-3). The evolution of this style is easily followed. The writer began his literary career with his memory well stocked with alliterative formulae and other phrases, derived in some small measure from the pre-Conquest literature, but mostly from a body of popular poetry which is represented by isolated pieces like the Worcester Fragments. His first writings, SJ and SM, are overloaded with them, and they have impressed their peculiar movement more or less on the stretches of prose which link them together. Accordingly many passages in SJ for example approach much more nearly to verse than anything in Sawles Warde. Take at random 143/68-72:--

sei me hwi þu forsakest[;] þi sy ant ti selhðe. þe weolen ant te wunnen[;] þe walden awakenen. ant waxen of þe wedlac[;] þet ich reade þe to. hit nis nan eðelich þing[;] þe refschipe of rome. ant tu maht ȝef þu wult[;] beon burhene leafdi. ant of alle þe londes[;] þe þerto liggeð.

This has the right swing, and its slightly faulty alliteration could easily be mended, yet Saint Juliana is not verse. In SK, HM, AR, and SW we can observe a gradual and progressive diminution of this borrowed matter, but the verse cadences persist to the end.

#Introduction:# Einenkel, in the preface to his edition of Saint Katherine, claims to have proved that Saint Juliana and Saint Margaret were written by one author, Saint Katherine by another, and Hali Meidenhad by a third. His proof rests largely on the untenable assumption that a Middle English author, whatever the length of his literary career, or the changes in his environment, or the nature of his subject, by reason of his unbending ‘individuality’ did not vary in his vocabulary, phrases, or turns of expression. So if words in sufficient number occur often in one writing and seldom or not at all in another, if the percentage of the foreign element is not similar, if the synonyms for abstract notions like joy and sorrow, luck and mishap are not the same, the compositions must be the work of different authors. Of far other significance are the unity, not uniformity, of style which pervades the whole group in orderly and natural development, the unity of subject, that is, the praise of virginity and its superior virtue over other states of life, the recurrence of a considerable number of characteristic words, phrases, and constructions found seldom or never outside the group, the presence throughout of a pronounced Scandinavian element testifying at least to a common dialect of origin.

As has already (p. 376) been suggested, this literature is best understood as a product of the Gilbertine movement. The lives of the female saints, of whom two resist marriage and the other says of Christ ‘He haueð iweddet him to mi meiðhad,’ were suitable reading for the Gilbertine nuns, and the anchoresses, for whom the Ancrene Wisse was written, had a copy at least of Saint Margaret. Hali Meidenhad was probably occasioned by the affair of the nun at Watton, one of Gilbert’s foundations, which is related by Gilbert’s friend, Ailred of Rievaulx, in what is one of the most extraordinary revelations of the mediaeval clerical mind on the subject of the single life: it shows us the younger nuns of Watton far outdoing in ferocity their exemplar Saint Juliana, and helps to the understanding of the sentiment in Hali Meidenhad, which is so distasteful and even revolting to modern feeling that some have thought it impossible that the author of the mild wisdom of the Ancrene Wisse could have any part in it. But it must be observed that much of the abusive language about the married state in Hali Meidenhad is not original, some of it is as old as S. Jerome, and no one is so likely to have written the treatise as the enthusiastic founder of an order of nuns.

The writer has already used the main idea of the allegory in the Ancrene Wisse (M 172, 271). The parallelism pointed out in the note on l. 82 of Sawles Warde is another indication of common authorship; it is not like a borrowing, nor can it be accounted for by independent use of the curt Latin original. Finally, the passage 125/268-278 in glorification of the ‘feire ferreden of uirgines in heouene,’ SK 2309, which is an addition of the author’s, strikes the dominant note of all his works.

The Latin original of Sawles Warde was again adapted by the writer of the supplement to the Ayenbite of Inwyt, pp. 263-9, presumably Dan Michel of Northgate; his version is much closer to the original, and he does not seem to have been acquainted with that of his predecessor.

1. With the title comp. ‘Mid alle cunne warde (= custodia) . . . wite wel þine heorte, uor soule lif is in hire; ȝif heo is wel iwust,’ AR 48/5; ‘þonne se weard swefeð, | sawele hyrde,’ Beowulf, 1741 (with Holthausen’s note).

2. #Si# &c.: S. Matt. xxiv. 43: V has ‘veniret’ with S. Luke xii. 39.

3. #a bisne#: a forbisne T.

5. #to# is omitted by R: to wite{n} T: comp. ‘To wyten vs wyþ þan vnwihte,’ OEM 72/4; ‘ihereð hu ȝe schulen witen ou wið þes deofles wieles, þet he ou ne biwrenche,’ AR 224/20, and see 48/299 note. #þe unwiht of helle#: so HM 41/19; ‘of þe laðe vnwiht þe hellene schucke,’ id. 41/35.

6. #þes lauerd#: þe husebonde RT.

8. #hire#: so all MSS.; the writer is thinking of the allegory rather than of his grammar. With #breoken# comp. 62/20. #mon# &c.: R has, mon . in wið þe monnes wit iþis is þe huselauerd . , T, mon . Jnwið . þe mo{n}nes wit iþis h{us} is te huselau{er}d. Kluge, adopting the text of B, punctuates þis hus, . . ., is seolf þe mon inwið; þe monnes wit i þis hus is þe huselaverd; while W, omitting ‘i þis hus,’ which does not fit into his metrical scheme, has þis hus, . . . , is seolf þe mon . inwið þe monnes wit is þe huselauerd. In both cases ‘inwið’ is adverbial, as at 130/57, and the sense yielded is intelligible. But it diverges strangely from the original, ‘Pater iste familias animus potest intelligi, cuius familia sint cogitationes et motus earum, sensus quoque et actiones tam exteriores quam interiores. . . . Domus est conscientia, in qua pater iste habitans thesauros (see 118/27) virtutum congregat, propter quos ne domus effodiatur, summopere vigilatur,’ V 207 e, 208 a. All three writers appear to have been contending with a faulty archetype: the original may have been:--

þis hus þe ure lauerd spekeð of · is seolf þe mon nes inwit[;] wit i þis hus is þe huselauerd,

where the first line is actually that found in R: the division of mon-nes would readily give rise to the corruptions of all three MSS. In the Ayenbite of Inwyt the Latin is translated, ‘Hous . is inwyt|in huychen þe uader of house woneþ . þe hord of uirtues gadereþ,’ 263/24. For #inwit# comp. ‘wiðinnen us suluen, ure owune conscience, þet is, ure inwit,’ AR 306/1, 206/5. When the writer afterwards speaks of the house of the body, 127/369, he is using a familiar expression, for which there is nothing corresponding in the Latin original. #wit# is Reason = animus rationalis: the contest between it and Will is also in HM 15/23-36; the embodiment of the latter as the ‘fulitohe wif’ is due to our writer.

10. #ꝥ--hire#, whose guidance if the household (hus = familia) follow: see 46/292 note. #diht# &c.: see 66/120 note.

11. #chasti#, discipline, restrain: comp. ‘Hwil þi wit atstond ⁊ chaisteð þi wil . . . ne harmeð hit te nawiht,’ HM 15/26.

13. #hit#: see 1/10: ha RT.

16. #wittes#, senses: comp. ‘hire fif wittes . sihðe ⁊ heringe . smecchunge ⁊ smeallunge ⁊ euch limes felunge,’ HM 13/25; AR 48/8, 116/25.

17. #hwer--ȝemeles#: ‘Nam si vel parum a sua sollicitudine torpuerit,’ V 207 e.

18. #feareð untoheliche#, behaves in unruly fashion. #gulteð ilome#: see 34/91.

19. #ifol semblant#, in foolish demeanour: comp. ‘ȝif þu makest ei semblaunt oðer eni luue lates touward unðeauwes,’ AR 90/17. #Inwið# &c.: following on the division made in ll. 14, 15, we might have expected here something like, Þeo wið innen beoð þohtes.

20. #in#, busied about, intent on such a great variety of purposes to please Will. For #in#, of aim, object, comp. ‘He only, in a general honest thought | And common good to all, made one of them,’ Shakspere, Julius Caesar, v. v. 71. It might also be regarded as, in the shape of.

21. #hit# might be impersonal, that things shall go on to her liking, but comp. l. 10.

22. #iþþlen# can hardly be a mistake for ifelen (Specimens): it is possibly for iðolien. R has felen, T fele. #nurhð#, noise: comp. 129/47 note: ‘His laðliche nurð ⁊ his untohe bere makeð þe to agrisen,’ HM 31/22; ‘nurð ne kimeð in heorte bute of sum þing ꝥ me haueð oðer isehen oðer iherd,’ AR Corpus MS. where MS. Nero, ed. Morton, 92/3, has ‘noise’; ‘leaueð ower nurð . ant oþer ladliche bere,’ SM 21/20. The word is not found outside this group. T has murð, as at 118/22, but R with ‘murhðe’ there has correctly nurð here.

23. #a þet#: see 72/179 note. #hit#: RT have correctly wit. #eie . . . luue#: comp. 72/200. With #tuhte#, discipline, comp. ‘tuhten ne chasten þi meiden uor hire gult,’ AR 268/21.

24. #for#, because of the untrustworthiness of: analogous to 104/175. #for hwen ꝥ#, if on occasion, when: see 72/192 and comp. ‘for hwen þat he cheas hire,’ HM 15/11. Its use appears to be restricted to this group. slepe . oðer ohwider fare R; slepes oðer owhwider fares T.

26. #let ham iwurðen#, lets them have their own way, abandons them to their own devices. Comp. ‘ure Louerd let us one iwurðen oðer hwules ⁊ wiðdraweð his grace,’ AR 230/27, 288/23; ‘Heo let heom alle i-wurþe . þat beoþ so swyþe stronge,’ OEM 89/32; SK 791.

28. #forte breoke . . . abuten#: see 74/229 note. #efter#: see 7/53. #ꝥ# is acc. after bohte, with lette it means, for which: comp. 44/252, 263. With #lette# &c. comp. 144/84.

29. #moni þeof#: ‘Fur autem non unus est sed multiplex, quia singulis virtutibus singula vitia insidiantur,’ V 208 a.

30. #gasttes#: comp. 15/79; ‘ȝewerged gastes . ⁊ unþeawes . ⁊ unwraste lahtres,’ OEH i. 243/7.

31. #castel#: so T, but R has chatel, property, possession. All the MSS. have ‘castel’ at 123/203.

32. #hire#, the corresponding vice. OE. #þēaw#, #un-þēaw# are masculine.

33. #heaued#: ‘Principalis tamen fur diabolus intelligitur. Contra quem et eius satellites pater idem (si tamen non negligens fuerit) domum suam forti custodia muniens, prudentiam in primo aditu constituat,’ V 208 a. #meistreð#, acts as leader to.

34. #keis# is evidently translation of satellites, guards. ‘Item satelles dicitur quia adheret alteri ad eius custodiam,’ Catholicon. But W explains it of those who hold the keys of office.

35. #froure#: so T, comfort, support; comp. 18/19. But fowre R is better.

36. #heaued þeawes#, cardinal virtues. V mentions only three of these here, but Temperantia (= Meað) afterwards takes part in the dialogue. #Warschipe# is Prudentia: #gastelich strengðe# is a translation of the Spiritus Fortitudinis of the very ancient Confirmation Prayer; VV has more literally ‘gost of strengþe,’ 83/22: V has Fortitudo only.

38. #cunestable#, chief officer: an early instance of the word in English.

39. #durewart#: comp. ‘Þe ȝeteward . þet is wittes skile,’ AR 270/26: in VV she is ȝeapnesse, ‘on of ðe holie mihtes ðe wel cunne ⁊ wel muȝe ðo gaten ⁊ ðo duren wel bilokin of ðis holi temple,’ 99/22. #þe#: so R, but ꝥ T: relative with subjunctive of purpose, like the Latin, ‘quae discernat quid sit admittendum, quid vitandum, quid excludendum.’

40. #of feor#, from a distance; explained in NED under afar, as an analytical form = OE. #feorran#, adv., from far. The latter is sometimes treated in ME. as a noun and combined with prepositions of, on, from: comp. 118/55, 198/31: oferrum in Minot vii. 70 is on + dat. s. neut. of #feorr#, adj.

42. #warschipes#: for the construction, see 10/167. R has warschipe, showing confusion of gender. The subject of #warni# is warschipe contained in the preceding genitive; see 6/18. #fore#, adv., previously, comp. 121/140; ‘Ah wel ich warni þe uore,’ SJ 47/15.

44. #ꝥ . . . speken#: see 81/77.

45. #mete#: so T, but meðe R: comp. 122/174. #uueles#: so T, faults of excess and defect, extremes: ‘muchel ⁊ lutel,’ 122/169. R has þing{e}, which perhaps points to an original uuele þinge. #for ꝥ--halden#, lit., for that is in every place (i.e. under all circumstances) virtue and disciplined conduct in the observance; which is practically, for the observance of that moderation is under all circumstances virtuous conduct. So ‘ꝥ ich demi riht ⁊ wisdom to donne,’ 122/185, the doing of that I judge to be proper and wise. This use of the gerundial infinitive is frequent in AR, comp. ‘ne beo þu nout Gius fere ne Gius make uorte birlen him so,’ 114/15, by pouring him out such a drink. With #halden# comp. ‘Al so me tempreð an baþ . . . also deð ðis haliȝe mihte alle ðes mannes ðeawes ðe hes luuiȝeð ⁊ healden cann,’ VV 107/18.

46. #ꝥ nan# &c., that none of them in any case should, in opposition to her, with excess overstep moderation: #wid vnmeoð# is duplicated in #ouer mete#.

48: ‘Iustitia sedeat in medio, ut sua cuique tribuat,’ V 208 b.

49. #efter his rihte#, according to his deserts.

50. #his#: RT have correctly þis, and after #is#, his. Comp. the corresponding passage 127/356-8, where #efter ꝥ he is# is varied by ‘efter ꝥ him limpeð to,’ and #nimed . . . his warde to witene# by ‘fondeð . . . his warde te witene.’ This household, each in his own department, undertakes the care of his charge. R omits to witene. With #warde . . . witene# comp. 74/231; ‘þet he wite ⁊ wardie ou,’ AR 174/24: similar combinations are ‘werieð ⁊ witeð,’ 121/143, 122/192; ‘wite ⁊ werien,’ 123/203, 136/147, 149/169; ‘wardi ⁊ werie,’ 121/141.

52. #of þe oþre#, of the other servants. #wit# is contracted 3 sing. pr. for witeþ, takes care; T has the equivalent in his dialect, wites: comp. ‘swuchne wardein, þet wit ⁊ wereð us euer wið þe unseiene gostes,’ AR 312/8. R reads ant euchan al swa as of þe oðere wið ꝥ wit onont him . ne schal &c.; wið ꝥ wit is an evident mistake for wit ꝥ. #onont him#, so far as he is concerned: see NED under Anent; the final t is possibly due to Scandinavian influence (Björkman, 20), and the second o to the analogy of such pairs as hwenne, hwonne, þenne, þonne. Comp. 70/161 note.

53: ‘His ita dispositis, introducere debet prudentia aliquos nuntios, qui aliqua narrent, quae ad exercitationem valeant,’ V 208 b.

54. #fortruste him# appears to mean, be over confident, the prefix implying excess: the word occurs here only.

55. #in#, adverb. #of feorren#: see 118/40 note.

58. #elheowet#, of strange colour: apparently here only. T has blac ille heowet, which looks like a popular derivation of an uncommon word.

59. #þuncheð ꝥ stont#: see 7/52 note. #biuoren#, as a preliminary, as the first thing to be said: comp. ‘vore,’ 118/42. RT have biuoren ham, which is rather pointless.

61-3. #lust#: ‘se respondit non aliter quicquam dicturum, nisi summum fiat silentium. Quo impetrato sic incipit. Ego sum timor mortis et mortem vobis venire nuncio,’ V. In AR 306, fearlac binds the sinner condemned in Reason’s court. #munegunge#, ‘Memoria mortis,’ V.

64. #bisetten#, employ, expend (NED i. 817, comparing bestow): arrange, dispose would better suit wordes, but not werkes.

67. #ah--hwenne#, but be always expectant of that time: comp. ‘deað þet we beoð siker of ⁊ unsiker hwonne.’ AR 144/13.

68. #unmundlunge#, unexpectedly: vnmunidlinge T. #hwen--weneð#: comp. ‘er me lest wene,’ AR 178/12, and often; ‘þer we lest wenet,’ OEH i. 7/26; SJ 44/3.

70. #of#, with, filled with records of sins: comp. ‘Vre Louerd hefde ifuld him of his þreatunge,’ AR 156/3; 121/130; 201/61 note. See 36/101.

72. #preoouin#, convict: a rare absolute use. preouin R, preoue{n} T.

73. #ꝥ . . . on#, on which: see 1/3 note. #enbreuet#, enrolled: comp. ‘vor nis non so lutel þing of þeos þet þe deouel naueð enbreued on his rolle,’ AR 344/10; ‘in iames ant imembres bokes ibreuet,’ SM 16/31. OF. embriever: n for m is Anglo-French: T has emb{re}uet: ibreuet in R is pp. of *breuen, enroll.

74. #lif siðe#: see 2/27.

75. #soð schrift#: see 88/183, 80/52, and comp. ‘healen ham wið soð schrift ⁊ wið deadbote,’ HM 15/1, 21/24. #hire#: so RT: see 13/34 note.

77. #ha seið warschipe#: comp. 119/79, 80, 215/23; ‘An oðer stede he seið godd,’ VV 81/2; ‘he seið seint Jame,’ AR 10/14 and often; in all cases the name of the person thus added in explanation of the pronoun has been previously mentioned. Analogous are 192/504, 194/602.

78. #ofte ⁊ ilome#: see 32/47. #Nu . . . þenne#: see 60/8 note. #for þi trowðe#: see 94/26, and note in l. 80, the common ‘omi trowðe.’

80. #efter#: comp. 36/119; ‘Vor efter þet me icnoweð his muchele godnesse . . . efter þet me luueð hine more oðer lesse,’ AR 92/13: in the next line #efter--con# means, to the best of my ability and knowledge.

81. #tellen#: RT omit. #þer towart#, lit. in that direction, i. e. concerning that matter: mostly used in local sense as ‘buhen þertoward,’ SK 1473. In l. 83 it means thereto. #readien#, discourse: rodien R, reode{n} T: W reads reordin.

82 ff. The details in this and similar descriptions, as VV 17-19, are ultimately derived from the Visions literature; see Introduction to piece X. The main divisions here correspond exactly to those in AR 144; ‘þe seoruwe of helle, þer bihold þreo þinges--þe untaleliche pinen þet no tunge ne mei tellen (comp. 119/85)--þe echenesse of euerichon, þet lesteð wiðuten ende (comp. 120/106-8)--þe unimete bitternesse of euerichon’ (comp. 120/108-112).

82. #[wid]#: supplied from T, not in R. ‘Infernus latus est sine mensura, profundus sine fundo, plenus ardore incomparabili (‘uneuenlich’), plenus foetore intolerabili (‘unþolelich’), plenus dolore innumerabili’ (‘untalelich’), V 208 d. #wið ute grunde#: comp. 40/178.

83. #uneuenlich#: comp. ‘al so ase heo (blisse) is unefenlich to alle worldes blissen, al so heo is untalelich to alle worldliche tungen,’ AR 410/11. R has unwerilich.

85. #ne mei# &c.: comp. 46/285, 126/303; ‘ne mahte hit na mon rikenin ne tellen,’ SJ 50/4.

88. #smeke#: smoke RT. #smeche forcuðest#, vilest of fumes, but RT have smecche, of flavours (#smæcc#); comp. ‘þreaste smeorðrinde smoke ut smecche forcuðest,’ SM 9/6. The adjective is everywhere else used of moral worthlessness; comp. 26/253.

90. #alles cunnes pinen#: see 81/80.

91. #ase deoflen#: R has as þe deoulen, which is preferable.

94. For #bute bote# T has unbotelich, a rare word, but ‘unboteliche lure,’ HM 17/25. The combination of bote and bale is very common; see Minot i. 4 note. #as--weren# belongs to #hal#. #ful--grure#, and unmistakably they see themselves terrible and awful. #grisle . . . grure#: comp. 56/40, 120/122, 121/131; ‘þet grisliche word ⁊ grureful ouer alle,’ AR 306/5; ‘grislich ⁊ grureful uorto biholden,’ id. 242/12.

95. #froggen#: T has frode{n}: see 46/273 note.

96. The omission of #þe# would improve the grammar of this passage by giving a verb for helle wurmes, tadden ⁊ froggen.

97. #eauraskes#, water-frogs: eaureskes R, eafroskes T.

99. #eauerȝete#, at any time yet: comp. ‘al þe wo ꝥ nu is ⁊ euer ȝete was,’ AR 52/12. In ‘For falshede euer ȝite heo souhten,’ Castel off Loue, 342, it represents Fr. tut tens. #remunge# &c.: ‘Ibi est fletus et stridor dentium (S. Matt. xxii. 13 altered), ibi transitur a frigore nivium ad calorem ignium, et utrumque intolerabile,’ V 208 d. Comp. 42/231-6, 76/25.

100. #hechelunge#: apparently here only: Morris translates ‘chattering.’ If it is connected with ME. hechele, a tool for heckling flax, grating or gnashing is a more likely meaning.

102. #monge#, mixture, alternation of extremes.

103: ‘Ibi omnes comburuntur . . . nec consumuntur,’ V.

104. #forwalleð#, ‘tortures by boiling,’ NED; apparently here only: comp. 43/222.

106. #unhope#, absence of hope, of any prospect of release: ‘ibi nulla spes boni,’ V 208 d. A rare word, differing in meaning from wanhope: comp. ‘in desperaunce, þet is, in unhope ⁊ in unbileaue forte beon iboruwen,’ AR 8/17. See 46/289.

108. #iwa#: i{n} wa RT.

109. #heateð#: ‘Omnis, qui est in eo, odit se et omnes alios,’ V. T has, hateð oðer . ⁊ ter teken hi{m} selue{n}, and in addition thereto (#tō ēacan#).

110. #blake#: ‘bestia nigerrima sicut corvus,’ Visio Tnugdali, 36/4.

114. #tungen of stele#: Virgil’s ‘ferrea vox’; ‘isene stemne,’ Wulfstan, 215/2; ‘teþ and tunge . of stel imaked,’ OEM 154/268.

116. #hefde a mon# &c.: comp. ‘Testis mihi Deus est, quia, si viderem quempiam hominum, qui me et omnes caros meos omnibus damnis, iniuriis et laesionibus et extrema leti sorte affecisset: si, inquam, tam immanissimum hostem meum illis suppliciis, quae vidi, deputatum conspicerem prolixius cruciandum, millies, si fieri posset, pro eius ereptione temporalem mortem appeterem,’ Visio Monachi de Eynsham, ed. Huber, Rom. Forschungen, xvi. 663/25. The date of the Visio is 1196 A.D.

117. #al þe ende#, the whole: ende, portion, as in OE. #micel ende#, #nan# #ende# appears to show in this solitary place the same development of meaning as lot, portion in the colloquial use, ‘the lot,’ ‘the whole lot.’ Morris translates ‘remnant,’ but that is a late meaning of the word: W, starting from the meaning, region (see 127/344), explains, the whole circle of my kin.

120. #ut þrof#, out of that place: comp. ‘arudden mi sawle ut of þine honden,’ SM 6/21: but aredden is usually followed by of alone, as, ‘to aredden of helle,’ OEH i. 203/16.

121. Some distinction is apparently intended between #iseon# (seon RT) and #biseon# (all MSS.) such as that between, to be within sight of, and, to gaze upon.

122. #grimfule ⁊ grurefule#: the first word is rare and the combination apparently without parallel.

124. #schenðlac#, disgrace: schenlac R, schendlac T: a word found only in AR, SK, and here.

125. #⁊ hure þolien#, and especially to bear: in a normal sentence we should look for something like, but it is still worse to endure. #unirude#: unrude RT: see 188/389.

126. #mealles#: melles RT, beetles, clubs: comp. ‘þer ȝe schulen iseon bunsen ham mit tes deofles bettles,’ AR 188/4; ‘Þarfor þe devels salle stryk þam þare | With hevy melles ay,’ Hampole, Pr. of Consc. 7047. #dustlunges#: only here; the parallel place, 58/68, fixes its meaning as flingings, hurlings: ME. dusten, to fling, is a word characteristic of the group. R has reade . hare dustlunges as, T reade Hare dustlunges as, a better division, but requiring ⁊ before hare.

128. #grure# &c.: comp. ‘greden ai ⁊ granen iþe eche grure of helle,’ HM 47/12; ‘ðær is ece gryre . . . þær is wanung and granung,’ Wulfstan 114/4, id. 209/15, 18. #heatel#, full of hate, cruel; OE. #hatol#. R has hatel, T Heates.

129. #wontreaðes#: wondraðes R, wandreðes T: see 58/76. With #bold#, dwelling place, comp. ‘bold of eche blisse,’ OEH i. 273/10.

132. For #schekeð# R reads sorheð. #me . . . me# are dat. pronouns, like ham 120/96: comp. 80/47. #rueð#: runeð T, ruueð R; the first two seem to be mistakes for the last, which may represent a simple form of which ruffle is derivative, with meaning, to stiffen, stand up in disorder. W reads riseð. #of#, at; indicating source or cause: see 160/184.

133. #wumme#: see 2/13. ‘Nulla ibi vox, nisi vae, vae, vae habent, vae sonant,’ V 208 e.

135. #ofearneð#: if the prefix has any force, it means, thoroughly, fully. #hwilinde#: the OE. adj. are #hwīlen#, #hwīlendlic#, #hwīlwende#.

136. #ȝef ꝥ#: R omits ȝef: T has ȝif without þet. ‘Bonum erat ei, si non esset natus homo ille,’ S. Mark xiv. 21.

140. #fore#: see 118/42.

141. #rihte . . . reade#: comp. 141/50, 147/158.

142. Read beo[n] we, let us be.

145. #he#: ha RT.

146. #deore#: ‘pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors Sanctorum eius,’ Ps. cxv. 15.

147. #fikelinde#, deceiving: comp. ‘þis fikele world ⁊ frakele,’ HM 7/34; ‘eorðe ðet is fikel ⁊ fals,’ OEH i. 200/24. #false#: fahe RT., variegated.

148. #wurðeð#: so T, wurcheð R.

151. #iburst#, bristled, and metaphorically, enraged: elsewhere said of the boar, ‘burst bar,’ SJ 68/13, ‘iburst bar,’ id. 69/16; ‘al was heora gristbatinge[;] al swa wilde bares eȝe. | Whil heo weoren blake[;] ⁊ ladliche iburste,’ L 1886; ‘comeþ þe maister budel brust ase a bore,’ Böddeker, AE. Dicht. 104/51. #sechinde#: R adds inȝong{e}, which is superfluous, but not senseless; comp. 118/32.

152. #tis#, for þis after ant, cannot mean ‘thus,’ Morris: the meaning is, this much I can do, warn you against his malice . . . but I have no power against his force.

153. #of#, #for#, against. T has of his leað for hise wrenches ich con . Ah i ne mai &c.

154. #ꝥ te#, what: R has only ꝥ, T reads ꝥ te li{m}peð to.

157. #eðeliche#, morally poor: usually as applied to persons, it means, in humble circumstances. T reads eðeliche ⁊ wake · vnwearnede ⁊ unwepnede of treowe bileaue; preserving the original.

158. #Etstont#: here with dat.; it takes wið 122/182; aȝeines 126/324.

159. #alle# &c., our weapons are all given us by his favour. Fortitudo in the Latin quotes ‘induite vos armaturam Dei,’ Eph. vi. 11.

160. #he#, the adversary.

161. #towart#, against: comp. 126/333; ‘weorreð ⁊ warpeð eauer toward tis tur,’ HM 5/18. #weole ⁊ wunne#: a frequent combination in this group: comp. 143/69, 95; AR 198/30; SK 1501; HM 9/8, also ‘For al þe weole and þe wyn . þat riche men fede,’ OEM 91/22. #este#: comp. 72/187; ‘al hore wil ⁊ flesches eise ⁊ este,’ AR 220/6.

162. #summes weis#, in some respects: comp. 140/30; HM 9/32; at 124/236 it appears to translate aliquantisper, for some time. Similar phrases are ‘þisses weis,’ AR 186/25, ‘eueriches weis,’ id. 218/12.

163. #na þing heardes#: like Lat. nihil duri: comp. 122/183; ‘Wat dostu godes among monne,’ ON 563. With #heardes# comp. 113/37.

165. For both things, i. e. for both the rigour of adversity and the absence of bliss, it behoves one to feel dread. #heart#: hard RT.

167. #ma þah#, still more.

168. #forȝemeð ham#: comp. 22/137.

170. #ȝuldene#: comp. ‘Þe middel weie of mesure is euer guldene,’ AR 336/23. guldene RT.

172. #hwet se# &c., whatever be the case when hardships are concerned, I am not at all afraid of prosperity. For this use of of, comp. ‘Hwen þus is of þe riche . hwat wenes tu of the poure,’ HM 9/16. Morris translates, ‘Whatever may be of hardships I dread’; which involves an impossible ellipsis and the mistake of making ‘of heardes’ partitive depending on ‘hwet.’ In this text that would require ‘heardes’ without the preposition: comp. 122/163, 183.

173. ne of licomliche estes R.

176. #schad# is usually followed by of, as at 130/81, but Orm 6228, 9 has ‘bitwenen.’ Comp. ‘scadwisnesse,’ 92/121; ‘ȝescod,’ 14/74.

178. #fallinde#, perishing: B-T quotes ‘Ðis lif is lǽnlic and feallende,’ Thorpe, Anc. Laws, ii. 400/16.

179. #þurh unweotenesse#, if she sins, it will not be for lack of knowledge. Comp. ‘I þine soule, oðer two--sunne ⁊ ignorance[;] þet is, unwisdom ⁊ unwitenesse,’ AR 278/6.

180. After #nis# T adds ha. #siker of#, free from anxiety about; as ‘sikernesse’ in l. 188 is confidence. #as þeo þe# &c., as being one who thinks herself weak, like Lat. quippe quae: comp. 128/1.

181. #⁊#: so T, but R has correctly to, in.

182. #onont#, as regards, so far as she herself is concerned: Lat. quoad. #etstonden wið#: see 121/158. #turnes#, cunning devices: comp. ‘aȝein þes deofles turnes ⁊ his fondunges,’ AR 78/27. #deð--wise#: comp. ‘þenne doþ we as þe wise,’ OEM 79/228.

185. #deð#: this superfluous use of do is common in AR. ‘ne seið hit nout ꝥ heo biheold wepmen; auh deð wummen,’ 54/19; ‘Auh þe treowe ancren þet we efneð to briddes[;] nout we þauh[;] auh deð God,’ 130/30, and often. Comp. 85/105: different is ‘do’ used to avoid the repetition of a verb as at 49/304, 86/141. #to donne#: see 118/45.

187. T omits halden.

189. T has the better reading, to do riht ⁊ riht for to deme{n}, which is supported by 122/197: R to don riht ant riht fon ⁊ demen; ‘fon riht’ is a strange expression, which may mean to exact justice at the hands of others. #ich deme# &c.: Morris translates, ‘and I deem myself so that I, through myself, may do it (sin) not.’ The meaning is, My duty is to behave justly and to judge justly, and, in my own case, I judge that I do not perform that duty by my own unaided powers.

190: ‘Omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum,’ S. Jas. i. 17.

191. #Nu . . . þenne#: see 60/8.

192. #werien . . . witen#: see 118/50. #halden#: habbe{n} T.

193. #demen# &c., to have a poor and humble opinion of ourselves. Comp. ‘leoten ham lahe ⁊ eðeliche,’ HM 43/29. #Ne beo--swucche#, even if we be not at all such, belongs to the preceding sentence.

199. #of#, in respect to; it comes near in meaning to, in spite of these merits. OE. #fordēman# is constructed with for, #dēman# with be, ymbe.

200. #him ane# is definitive qualifying god: comp. ‘he him ane is to herien,’ 130/75.

201. #þonkeð . . . of#, thank on account of, for: comp. ‘Gode ðanciað mid godum weorcum his gifa,’ Cura Past. 318/3; ‘þet þu luuie þine drihten . . . ⁊ him þonkien alles þinges,’ OEH i. 39/25; but ‘þonkien hit ure drihten,’ id. 5/29.

203. #on helpe#, as a help: comp. 123/226. #wite# &c.: see 118/50.

206. #dreaien#: see 74/233: dreien R, drahen T. #treowliliche# is a scribe’s mistake for treowliche, as in R, treweliche T.

207. #Vmben#: not ‘for,’ Morris, but After. On the other hand, ‘umbe stunde,’ AR 344/27, means, at times; ‘eauer umbe stunde,’ HM 33/30, at all times.

209. #freolich#, goodly, charming, properly, of gentle upbringing: for the combination with #feier#, comp. 129/23, 138/22. ‘Alius nuntius venit pulcher et hilaris, qui videtur afferre bona,’ V 208 c. #aturnet#, attired: see 68/146.

210. #ꝥ--neod#, we should have much need of that: the construction in this expression is dat. of the person needing, nom. of the thing needed, as in ‘Muchel is us þenne neod . . . sod scrift,’ OEH i. 11/1; ‘Þu seist þet te nis no neod medicine,’ AR 178/15; ‘Þe holie man is ned ꝥ he [bie] festned on his holinesse,’ OEH ii. 57/31: see also 62/24.

211. #mid alle#, utterly: the phrase translates L. penitus in SK 658.

214. #ilihtet#, alleviated, freed from depression: comp. ‘þet ich beo ilihted of hore heuinesse,’ AR 356/5. #ham þuncheð# is parenthetic.

215. #schimmeð#, shines: a form found also in SJ, SM: schimereð T.

217. #lustnin#: T has lustin ꝥ helde{n} us swa stille hwil fearlac us agrette, which corresponds to ‘Si nos, dum timor et memoria mortis loqueretur, tacuimus, iustum est ut te loquente multo magis taceamus,’ V 208 c.

219. #munegunge#: see 119/62. #liues luue#: ‘desiderium vitae aeternae’; comp. ‘ꝥ he hire liues luue luueliche leareð,’ HM 3/11.

220. #ꝥ#, in which, where.

222. #drupnin#, to be dejected: a Scand. word; see Björkman 177, 208, durcnin, the reading of R, is for drucnin, a variant of the other: comp. ‘⁊ dearede al adeadet, | druicninde ⁊ dreori,’ SK 2020. See Minot, i. 9 note.

224. #fondin ⁊ ifinden#, experience and discover.

229. #ȝe iseoð#: ȝoi isoð T.

230. #alswa#: R omits. #aȝein#, in comparison with: comp. 124/246, 264; ‘euerich worldes sauur is bitter þer aȝeines,’ AR 102/26, id. 112/10. In l. 232 it means toward, in the direction of (from the place opposite): comp. ‘Ben ðese hangen ðe sunne agen,’ GE 4075.

231. #sunne--schadewe#: comp. ‘te sunne were dosk ȝif hit to þi blisfule bleo mihte beo euenet,’ OEH i. 269/26 (Wohunge); ‘Iesu al feir . aȝein hwam þe sunne nis buten ase a scheadewe,’ id. 200/9; HM 39/32; AR 100/4.

233. #schawere#, mirror; OE. #scēawere#. T has scheawere, R schadewe. The idea was possibly suggested by ‘per speculum in aenigmate,’ 1 Cor. xiii. 12. Comp. ‘Ȝe schulen, ase ine scheauware, iseon ure Lefdi mid hire meidenes,’ AR 92/26.

235. #an#, one; not ‘and,’ Morris: the expression translates individua Trinitas.

236. #summes weis#: see 121/162.

237. #blisful#: wunderful R.

238. #rixleð#: the absence of a connecting word is perhaps due to the original Latin: ‘Aliquantisper tamen intuitus sum Dominum Iesum Christum in dextera patris sedentem, in aeterna vita regnantem, quamvis super omnem creaturam adeo speciosum, ut in eum desiderent Angeli prospicere, ad haec (? adhuc) tamen vulnera passionis, quibus nos redemit, in corpore suo habentem, patri pro nobis assistentem,’ V 208 d.

239. #ful . . . to bihalden#, sated with gazing: a peculiar use of the, historically, dative infinitive as a genitive: comp. ‘sead . . . to iseonne,’ 133/30; ‘upo hwas nebschaft þe engles ne beoð neauer fulle to bihalden,’ HM 39/32: NED quotes under date 1607, ‘full to provide,’ fully occupied in providing. Sometimes ‘of’ is added, as 52/388; ‘Hit bieð sume þat non imeðe ne cunnen of hem seluen to feden,’ VV 139/23. In OE. the dat. inf. is often used to translate the Latin gerundive in the genitive, as ‘swa mycel getydnes ⁊ gelærednes to sprecanne’ = ‘tanta dicendi peritia,’ Bede, ed. Miller, 362/27. For #ich iseh# R has is, T iseh.

240. #etscene#: eðsene R, edscene T.

243. #heouenliche#, heavenly ones: T adds weoredes: comp. l. 251. ‘super omnes ordines beatorum Angelorum . . . exaltatam,’ V.

244. #in#, on.

245. #istirret#: isterret T. #weoleful#: meinful R, powerful.

246. #þear ich iseh as#, I saw where: usually the words are not separated: comp. 127/342; ‘he is ase buruh wiðuten wal, þer ase uerd mei in oueral,’ AR 74/6: so ‘þider as,’ whither, 126/334. For ase, where, comp. 125/272, ‘ine Jerusalem, ase he wunede,’ AR 172/2.

248. #þa#, when. R has after mahte, na mare of hire iþolien; T reads, mihte of hire na le{n}gre þolie{n}.

249. #biseh to#, looked upon, beheld: comp. 3/45; ‘Ða biseh ure drihte mildeliche to hire penitence,’ OEH ii. 145/9, and the similar ‘belocest to,’ 13/36; ‘hwa bihalt to þeo þet beoð of lowe liue,’ AR 276/26; ‘iseh towart’ = intuitus sum 124/254; ‘on to biseonne,’ 136/137. But ‘to . . . bisihð’ 134/81 means, looks up to, like ‘hwon ȝe habbeð touward me eien oðer honden,’ AR 76/16: ‘biseon to’ 136/134, look after, provide for, as in ‘Bisih to me lauedi briȝt, | Hwenne ich schal wende heonne,’ OEM 160/18. T omits ⁊--archangles, probably taking ‘þe oðre þe beoð buuen ham’ to mean the archangels. The Latin is, ‘Sed hanc admirabilem claritatem matris et filii diu ferre non sustinens, converti aspectum meum ad illos beatorum spirituum ordines, qui ante Deum assistunt.’ Probably the author meant by ‘þe oðre’ the four and twenty elders and the four beasts in perpetual adoration about the throne (Rev. iv. 4-11).

251. #unwergeð#: unwerched T. #Nihe wordes#: see 16/138: T has woredes, R ord`r´es, corrected out of wordes.

253. #onsihðe#: see 64/55.

255-8: ‘miro exultantes gaudio, qui eam quam olim a longe salutaverant patriam obtinent, qui ea quae in spiritu praeviderant completa conspiciunt,’ V 209 a. See Heb. xi. 13. #ꝥ#, because.

256. For #igret#, greeted, OE. #gegrētan#, R has igreiðet, prepared.

259. #poure#: ‘de pauperibus et de infirmis tam gloriosos tamque sublimes factos,’ V. T of poure, R `ꝥ´ poure `weren´; omitting on eorðe. #bigoten#, drenched, perfused: comp. ‘Eall ic wæs mid blode bestemed | begoten of þæs Guman sidan,’ Dream of the Rood, 48; ‘ꝥ ha al were bigoten of þe blode,’ SJ 27/6.

261. #alle cunnes ledenes#: RT have the usual alles: the MS. has alleṣ, where the dot may be only a casual resting of the pen: see 81/80, and comp. l. 264.

264. #talden to#, esteemed: for ‘to’ T has of, which is the usual construction, comp. 164/256, ‘telleð lutel þerof,’ AR 200/12, but ‘to’ at 129/30; ‘tellest herto lutel,’ AR 100/20. #aȝeines#: see 123/230.

266. #haliche#: read haliliche with RT.

267: ‘fulgent quasi stellae in perpetuas aeternitates,’ V 209 b, from Daniel xii. 3. #wlite#: ‘Regem in decore suo vident,’ V from Isa. xxxiii. 17. The writer omits any reference to monks, to whom the last clause of this sentence, ‘ꝥ--ehnen’ (Rev. vii. 17), is applied in the Latin. It is significant that he greatly expands the passage which describes the maidens; which should be compared with AS. Hom., ed. Assmann, 42/460-72 (Ælfric, de Virginitate), HM 19/9-15.

269. #ferreden#: comp. ‘i þe feire ferreden | of uirgines in heouene,’ SK 2309. #ilikest towart engles#: so, ‘þu ofearnest meiden to beo engle euening iþe heȝe blisse of heuene,’ HM 13/5; ‘to singen wið engles hwas felahes ha beoð,’ id. 19/8, 21/31.

270. #feolohlukest#, best fitted as associates and equals to rejoice and be glad with them. An isolated superlative of felaȝlich: comp. ‘wunderlukest,’ 34/88; ‘wurðlukest,’ L 25496. The comparative adv. is more common: ‘dimluker,’ 56/43, ‘creftluker,’ 131/88, ‘greatluker,’ 70/157, ‘monluker,’ 66/110, ‘oðerluker,’ 38/149, 86/135, ‘witerluker,’ 125/285: in AR ‘ȝeorneluker,’ ‘gledluker,’ ‘wisluker,’ ‘uestluker,’ 234/5, 7, 8, 9; ‘wunderluker,’ OEH i. 93/28. For #u# in these forms see Bülbring, §§ 420, 421. #ouergað#: see 22/143.

271. #flesches lahe#, desires of the flesh: #lahe# is custom, habit; its use was perhaps suggested by ‘Video autem aliam legem in membris meis . . . captivantem me in lege peccati,’ Rom. vii. 23. #cunde#, natural propensities: comp. 160/209; ‘heald þin cunde,’ follow nature, OEH ii. 31/6.

272. #as#, where: comp. 124/246. There should be a full stop at wunieð, as in RT.

274. R omits þe--singen. The arrangement in T shows how the mistake arose from the similar endings of two lines:

na tu{n}ge telle{n}. Alle ha singeð ꝥ ter beoð. Ah hare song ne mahe nane bute{n} heo singen Se swote smal ham folheð hwi.

#hare song#: ‘Nam cantabant canticum, quod nemo alius poterat dicere,’ V 209 c, from Rev. xiv. 3 (altered).

275. #smeal#: smel R, smal T. ‘Sed odor in regione earum tam suavis erat, ut omnia aromatum genera exuperet,’ V.

277. #aȝein# &c., to receive their petitions. #ꝥ alle# &c.: ꝥ alle þe oðer `he´ walden sitti{n}de ihereð R, ꝥ alle þoðre halhen sittinde hi{m} hereð T.

279. #Ah nu# &c.: ‘De singulis beatorum Ordinibus mira disseris, quaesumus ut quae sit eorum in communi actio edicas,’ V 209 d. The stop should come not after setnesse, but after sunderlepes, as in T; R puts it after sumhwet, which is tolerable. #setnesse#, OE. #setness#, properly ordinance, arrangement, is here by extension, order, class: R has the isolated tosetnesse, corresponding to an OE. *#tō-setness#, division into classes, which is probably the original word. The sense is, Well, thou hast now spoken so admirably about each class of the blessed severally, tell us somewhat as to what bliss is common to all alike. W explains #setnesse# as = swetnesse.

282. #lengðe#: ‘Vivunt, sapiunt, amant, gaudent, laudant, veloces sunt, securi sunt,’ V 209 d.

283. In T #murie# by punctuation goes with ‘loft song,’ which is OE. #lof-song#, Lauds, hymns of praise; see 126/318.

287-330. The messenger proceeds to explain the nature of the seven blisses. The scribe marks off each section with a special capital, but has omitted one at ‘her,’ 126/317.

287. #brihtre#: comp. ‘seouesiðe schenre þen þe sunne,’ HM 41/2; AR 100/4; SK 1665; SM 23/13; a phrase of this group. See Ælf. Lives, i. 538/820.

288. #buten--swinc#: ‘current et non laborabunt,’ Isa. xl. 31.

289. #in a steal#, in one station, condition: contrasted with man’s state on earth, ‘numquam in eodem statu permanet,’ Job xiv. 2, ‘never continueth in one stay.’ R has stel.

290. #wið ute wonunge#: ‘sine diminutione.’

291. #hare lif# &c.: ‘Vita eorum visio et cognitio beatae Trinitatis,’ V, quoting further S. John xvii. 3. R adds ‘in’ after #is#.

295. #nebbe to nebbe#: ‘tunc autem facie ad faciem,’ 1 Cor. xiii. 12. Comp. ‘secheð earst upon hire nebbe to nebbe,’ HM 17/7; ‘cristes wille bo us bitwon. | neb wið neb for him to son,’ OEH i. 61/109. #wise# &c.: ‘Sapiunt consilia atque iudicia Dei, quae sunt abyssus multa,’ V 209 e; partly from Ps. xxxv. 7.

296. R has godes runes ant his reades ꝥ. Comp. 1/5; ‘Godes derne runes ⁊ his derne domes,’ AR 96/3; ‘his derne runes ⁊ his heouenliche priuitez,’ id. 154/2; ‘þe deopschipe ⁊ te derne run,’ SK 1333.

297. #sea dingle# answers to ‘abyssus’: #dingle# is not otherwise known till the seventeenth century: see NED s.v. #ha seoð# &c.: so, ‘Alle þeo ine heouene iseoð ine God alle þing,’ AR 96/1.

298. #hwi ⁊ hwerto#: ‘Sapiunt causas et naturas et origines omnium rerum,’ V. R omits.

300. #bi ham idon#, acted towards them, dealt with them: comp. 80/58. R omits ham.

301. #deorewurðe#: muchele R. #milce# is dat., #hwet# acc. after ȝelden. R omits ase muchel.

302. R omits al, se muchel is not in RT and is not original: the correlatives are ‘Se gleade’ . . . ‘ꝥ ne mei.’

303. #munne#: comp. ‘⁊ monie ma murhðen | þen alle men mahten | wið hare muð munnen | ⁊ tellen wið tungen,’ SK 1697-1700, and 119/85.

304. #Euchan--ahne#: comp. ‘ylc blissæþ on oðres gode ⁊ on oðres murhðe, swá on his aȝene,’ Twelfth Cent. Hom. 120/11; AR 282/14-17.

306. #ase--alle#, as many gladnesses as all the saints in heaven are many: ‘tot gaudia habent quot socios,’ V. R omits alle.

308. #hwen#, since.

310. #of#: see 110/272. #wið uten ei etlunge#, beyond all estimate: comp. ‘wiðuten eni etlunge,’ HM 39/35. eilung{e} R, a scribe’s error.

311. #Neomeð# &c. The Latin of this passage is clear enough: ‘Si ergo cor uniuscuiusque vix capit suum gaudium, quomodo capit tot et tanta gaudia? Ideo dicitur, Intra in gaudium Domini tui: non intret gaudium Domini tui in te, quia capi non posset,’ V 209 b. If hu be read for #ꝥ# in l. 313, it gives a similar turn of expression and sense. As the text stands, it means, Now then note that, even if the heart of any one man can never find room for its own joy taken separately (so great beyond measure is the bliss of the individual) yet it does receive into itself so many and great joys [of others]. That is the meaning of our Lord’s saying, ‘Enter into the joy of thy Lord’ (S. Matt. xxv. 21). You must enter into the joy, it does not enter into you, for you cannot take it in. Such verbal ingenuity is common in scriptural interpretation at this period. #nu þenne#, now, that being so; see 60/8 note.

312. #iseide#, meant, taken: for this use of seggen, see 56/46. T omits, B is defective here.

313. #þe#: #þen# R, te T. ꝥ would in a modern sentence come after ‘ȝeme,’ l. 311.

316. #blisse#: hus R. #bigotten#: see 124/259: biȝeoten R, biȝoten T.

317. #neomen#: in the absolute use of betake itself, proceed: see 213/539: #in# is a mere repetition of the preceding ‘in’: comp. 143/67 note. #her of# begins the expansion of ‘laudant’: it does not refer to what precedes, but means, for the reason given in the following verse, ‘Beati qui habitant in domo tua, Domine; in saecula saeculorum laudabunt te,’ Ps. lxxxiii. 5.

318. #lusti#, finding pleasure: ‘sine fastidio.’ #songes#: read song{e}, as in R.

321. Comp. ‘Alle þeo ine heouene schulen beon ase swifte ase is nu monnes þouht, ⁊ ase is þe sunne gleam, þet smit from east into þe west, ant ase þe eie openeð ⁊ tuneð[;] . . . tet bodi schal beon hwar so euer þe gost wule in one hondhwule,’ AR 94/21.

322. #tuneð# &c.: ‘In momento, in ictu oculi,’ 1 Cor. xv. 52: ‘as tu turnest þin hond,’ HM 25/12.

324. #etstonden#: see 121/158.

325. #ȝe#: Ȝea T. #makie to cwakien#: for the dat. inf. of purpose, comp. 128/370; ‘he wæs . . . geneded to onfonne þa ðegnunge biscophades,’ Bede, 368/17. The construction has its equivalent in an object clause, as ‘makeð ham ꝥ ha beoð,’ 131/101.

327. The writer has neglected the translation of ‘de tali velocitate’ after blisse. #ꝥ hit# &c.: ‘quod nullum finem, nullam diminutionem, nullum detrimentum habebunt,’ V 209 b. #me# is miswritten for mei; mai T.

329. #nower neh#, nowhere near, falling far short of the reality; a phrase of this group, comp. ‘Nis hit nower neh gold al ꝥ ter schineð,’ HM 9/15; ‘ne schaltu nower neh | se lihtliche etsterten,’ SK 2094. R reads, Ah nower neh ne neh al[;] ne ꝥ ich iseh . ne ne con ich al tellen: T, Ah nower neh ne seh ich al . ne þat ȝet ꝥ ich seh ne con ich half tellen. Both are quite intelligible, R is nearest the original. W emends, ah nowðer ne seh ich al, | ne þ{et} ȝet þ{et} ich iseh | ne con ich half tellen. The Latin is, ‘Neque enim ut vidi dicere, neque ut sunt videre potui.’ #ȝet#, even.

331. #efter þi sihðe#, in accordance with what you saw: ‘vera vidisse, vera narrasse te intelligimus,’ V 209 c.

332. #bisið him#, takes heed to himself.

333. #towart#: see 121/161.

334. #þider as#, to the place where: see 124/246. þider þer T.

335. #an#, for ant: ⁊ RT. #blisse . . . bale#; comp. ‘in blisse buten euch bale,’ SK 1755; ‘my blysse, my bale ȝe han ben boþe,’ E. E. Allit. Poems, 12/373. R has wið uten balesið.

336. #folhin#, to follow after, or to practise, does not suit the context; but fonden T, to experience, gives a good sense and a characteristic combination: see 123/224. R has folhen an finden. #hwet# &c.: ‘Quis ergo nos separabit a charitate Christi? . . . Certus sum enim quia neque mors neque vita . . . poterit nos separare a charitate Dei,’ Rom. viii. 35, 38, 39.

337. #halden us þeonne#, keep us away from him: comp. ‘halde we us from uniwil,’ OEH i. 69/264. #þeonne#, not ‘then,’ but thence, therefrom: contracted from þeonene, OE. #þanone#: usually meaning from that place and seldom applied to a person as here.

339. #haueð#: the subject is he contained in the preceding ‘his.’ #tresures#: a mistake for tresurers: tresorers T: possibly the earliest instance of its use.

340. #under his wengen#, i. e. if we have his protection: from ‘protegar in velamento alarum tuarum,’ Ps. lx. 5: similar expressions in Pss. lvi. 2, lxii. 8, xc. 4.

341. #warschipe#: T has rihtwisnesse, with the Latin, where Justitia pronounces judgement (comp. l. 350) and Fortitudo executes it (l. 343), while Temperantia says what is translated in ll. 349-52.

342. #þer as#, where: see 124/246. #murðes#: murhðes T.

343. #nu ut quod strenðe# is omitted by T.

344. #ende#: see 96/34. Nu nu q{uoð} fearlaic . T.

345. #lessere# &c., inferior in importance to that of mirth’s messenger; so Morris, taking sondes as s. gen. balancing ‘mi’ after þen. T has sonden.

346. #unbihefre#: see 91/108. #licwurðe ne icweme#: comp. ‘Hesteres bone þe cwene was þe kinge Assuer licwurðe ⁊ icweme,’ AR 146/7, 120/25, 326/13.

347. #ow#: T adds q{uo}ð meað.

349. #þah# with #nu#, nevertheless at this time, on this occasion. T has, flutte nu þah fearlac.

351. ‘Forsitan tu admitteris si Desiderium vitae aeternae aliquando loqui cessaverit,’ V 209 d.

352. #stutteð#, ceases: a word characteristic of the group: comp. ‘þa ne cuðen ha neauer stutten hare cleappe,’ AR 72/14 (Corpus MS.); ‘Stute nu þenne ⁊ stew þe, | ⁊ stille þine wordes,’ SK 1529; ‘Wið þis ꝥ ha stutte stoden þe cwelleres,’ SJ 64/12; ‘stute nu ant stew þine unwittie wordes,’ SM 6/2: it is mostly used of cutting short a discourse: cognate with Du. stuiten (Franck), G. stutzen.

353. #ituht efter#, disciplined in conformity with: similarly #don efter#, l. 355, to behave in subservience to: comp. 106/197.

355. T has, se ful itohen ⁊ don al as ha{m} luste ase wil hare lafdi ⁊ nawt ase wit ham tuhte[;] lustneð &c.

356. #fondeð# &c., each one, owing to those two messages which they have heard, and (owing to) that which the four sisters have taught in addition, ever strives, in discharge of his office, to keep his watch and to guard faithfully against the entrance of each vice.

357. #þurh#: R has the contraction þ with oblique stroke through the lower part of the staff here and at 128/371, not ꝥ. #ꝥ fowr#: to fowr R.

358. #for#, against, with ‘witene’ and ‘warden.’ #warde# &c.: comp. 118/50.

359. #ant--treowliche#: T omits.

360. #ofte# &c.: see 32/47.

361. #þe islep#: ꝥ iþe slep of ȝemles T. For #ȝemeles# comp. 54/10, 17. #hire#: his T. ‘Sic debet quisque torporem suum excutere,’ V 209 d.

362. #efter þeos#: aft{er} þe tidings of þe T. #biseon to#, gaze up to: comp. 124/249: with on, 120/122. Here V ends.

364. T reads his hinen. #efter#, in accordance with that which: after þat his wil T.

365. #ꝥ is#: þe wise T. #tuhten ⁊ teachen#: comp. 47/272: in Specimens connected with ‘wule,’ ‘as Wit . . . will discipline and instruct’; by Morris made to depend on ‘husebonde,’ both wrongly. They depend on #ah#, l. 360, which governs the whole series of infinitives ‘te þenchen,’ ‘awecchen,’ ‘biseon,’ ‘To habben,’ ‘leaden,’ ‘tuhten ⁊ teachen,’ ‘witen,’ l. 368: one ought to train and teach (himself and his servants, l. 363) that Wit should always go before.

366. #teache#: T has the correct reading, drahe. #dihteð ⁊ demeð#, arranges and decrees to be done. The combination is uncommon, but comp. ‘al ich wule dihten | þe domen of mi kinedom,’ SK 1460 (MS. Titus); ‘he dihte feole domes,’ L 7221.

367. #þer fore#: not in T; it is a blundering anticipation of the two words following.

370. #te fleon#: see 126/325. #ontent#, inflames: comp. 70/168; ‘þe hali gast | þe, in furene tungen, | ontende þe apostles,’ SK 1402; ‘Ontend me wiþ þe blase of þi leitinde loue,’ OEH i. 185/6. T has ontende{n}.

372. #feder# &c.: fader ⁊ te hali gast an godd i þrehad rixleð ai bute ende T. #ant e sune# is a strange mistake: comp. 88/190.

374 ff. are not in T. #iohan# is the copyist: comp. 74/237, 75/209; ‘Ant he ꝥ her least on wrat swa as he cuðe,’ SJ 79/18. He may have been the author of the doggerel which follows.

377. #swa#, accordingly, i.e. by reading it.

381. #ꝥ lif#, such a life.

384. #Þet# means that, in conjunction with 381, so that, with 382. Johan was a good scribe, and a poor poet.

Cross-References

1/3 (note) = I. A (Worcester Fragments) 7/52 (note) = III. (The Peterborough Chronicle) 13/34 (note) = V. (A Parable) 46/273, 46/292, 48/299 (notes) = VIII. (Poema Morale) 60/8 (note) = IX. B (Ancrene Wisse: Outer Rule) 66/120, 72/179, 74/229 (notes) = IX. B (Ancrene Wisse: Outer Rule) 118/40 (note) = XVI. (Sawles Warde) p. 269 = V. (A Parable) p. 288 = VI. (The Proverbs of Alfred) Phonology, under “ea”. p. 355, 357-62 = IX. (Ancrene Wisse) under Manuscripts. “described on p. 373” = same, under Dialect “mentioned on p. 373” = same, under Style p. 450 = XIV. (Layamon)

Errata

#Sources:# ... ‘Et qui veniunt cum illa?’ [illa.] #Phonology:# (1) =of B.= [=of B.= misprinted as plain (not spaced)] greot 93 for grot RT (#grot#, particle) [R. T.] #ea# before #r# ... schulde 158 (R{1} has scylde subj.), [comma missing] #a# + #g# ... (R{1} has #frægnast#, Li, #fregna#) [reference “Li” unexplained: Lindisfarne glosses?] tintreohen 264 with eo, å-umlaut of #e# [#e# misprinted as plain (non-bold)] ... The stop #c# is usually k before e, i, [“e” and “i” misprinted as plain (non-italic)] Sweet, Oldest E. Texts, p. 149 [OE. Texts] #Dialect:# ... its u-, å-umlauts; [“u” and “å” misprinted as plain (non-italic)] 8. #hire# ... [all punctuation in this paragraph printed as shown] ... the embodiment of the latter [later] 28. #forte breoke . . . abuten#: [#... abuten#;] 73. ... ibreuet in R is pp. of *breuen, [* breuen,] 116. ... tam immanissimum hostem [immannissimum] 157. ... T reads eðeliche ⁊ wake · vnwearnede [anomalous mid-dot unchanged] 331. ... vera vidisse, vera narrasse [narasse]

XVII. SAINT KATHERINE

#Manuscripts:# As for Sawles Warde. The text of this extract is from the Royal MS.

#Editions:# Morton, James, The Legend of St. Katherine of Alexandria, Abbotsford Club, London, 1841 (text from MS. Titus D 18, with variants from the Royal MS.). Hardwick, Charles, An Historical Inquiry touching Saint Catharine of Alexandria: to which is added a Semi-Saxon Legend, Cambridge, 1849 (text from MS. Titus). Einenkel, Eugen, The Life of Saint Katherine, London 1884 (text based on the Royal MS. with readings of all the manuscripts, the Latin original and an English translation): also as Appendix to The Life and Martyrdom of Saint Katherine of Alexandria, Roxburghe Club, 1884.

#Literature:# (1) =Of the present version.= Einenkel, E. (see p. 493/7); *Stodte, H. (see p. 493/9); Victor, Otto, Zur Textkritik und Metrik der frühmittelenglischen Katharinenlegende, Bonn, 1912; Luick, Karl, Anglia, Beiblatt, xxiii. 226-35 (review of Victor’s dissertation); Bartels, L. (see p. 450/23). (2) =Of the Legend in general.= Knust, H., Geschichte der Legenden der h. Katharina von Alexandrien und der h. Maria Aegyptiaca, Halle, 1890; Varnhagen, H., Zur Geschichte der Legende der Katharina von Alexandrien, Erlangen, 1891; id., Zur Geschichte der Legende der Katharina von Alexandrien, Erlangen, 1901.

#Source:# The most widely spread of the Latin lives of the Saint, called by Varnhagen the Vulgata, and printed opposite the English text by Einenkel. Varnhagen’s tract dated 1891 gives a good account of all the Latin versions and their sources.

#Phonology:# This is of the same type as that of MS. A of the Ancrene Wisse and of MSS. B, R of Sawles Warde. Noteworthy are cang 88 with a for #a# before a lengthening group, and therefore a loan-word; wastum 24 with a for #æ# after #w#; icuret 25 participle of ME. curen, derivative of #cyre#; dale 33 from #dāl#, not #dǣl#; medschipe 79 (#gemǣdd# pp.); teeð 64 with doubled vowel for length; roðeren 21 (reoderen B) from #hrȳðer# through ruðeren L 8106 (roþere O); awariede 48, 82, wariet 67 without i-umlaut of #ea#; horte 38 French writing for heorte; steðeluest 24 u-umlaut of #a#; woorld 97 probably miswritten for weorld (weorlde B); hersumin 49 representing *#hēarsumian# without umlaut; storede 4 French writing for steorede from #stēoran# without umlaut; scheop 73, 80, 103 (#scēop#). Dreien 12 is #dragan# with å-umlaut of #a#; for plohen 36 see 360/19; slaht 67 is Anglian #slæht#; seheliche represents *#gesegenlic#, Li has geseen; rewfule 55 has ew from #ēow#. A glide e is added in halewunde 78, ludere 69; e is lost in ȝeinde 54, wettres 93; #e# is u in halewunde 78 (#hālwende#) through an intermediate i; #o# is u in þrittuðe 15. In ȝurinde 54 #r# has been lost, #d# is t in wurðmunt 73 (wurðmund T); ð in cweðen 45 is from the singular; ð is lost in wurgin 19, wurgið 93 (wurðgin B, ME. derivative of #wierðig#); ȝ is written for #g# in ȝeinen 60 (OWScand. gegna); initial #h# is lost in lowinge, ludinge 48, remes 55.

#Accidence:# This has been sufficiently described in the texts mentioned above. Noteworthy is heoren 85, perhaps the earliest instance of the form with n added from min, þin.

#Vocabulary:# Scandinavian are bule 21, crokes 43 with its derivative crokinde 87, euene 20, ȝeinen 60 (keinen T), (god)lec 98, 101, hap 62, keisere 60, lates 35, menske 45, witer(liche) 96: possibly hird 53, ȝeinde 54. French are lay 55, mawmez 21, mawmetes 48: possibly cang 88, crauant 45.

#Dialect:# As for Sawles Warde.

#Style:# What has been said about the arrangement of Sawles Warde in Layamonic verse applies to Einenkel’s distribution of SK in Otfridic verse, which Trautmann, the discoverer of Otfrid’s verse in England, afterwards recognized as Layamon’s. It produces such strange divisions as, ‘þet an engel ne com | lihtinde, with swuch | leome, from heouene,’ 666-8; ‘He haueð iweddet him to | mi meiðhad mit te ring,’ 1507, 8; ‘to habben ant to halden þe | cwic, þen to acwellen þe,’ 1867, 8; ‘ant heo duden; drohen hire | wið uten þe burhȝetes,’ 2173, 4, and such rhythms as, ‘hwet he warpe a word aȝein ow,’ 643; ‘for hwas nome ich underneome,’ 765; ‘ant kénest of ow álle óf þe créft,’ 814; ‘ant cweðe ham al sker up,’ 867, with many others. There is a parallel to SK in the OHG. Himmel und Hölle printed as verse in MSD i. 67. It is described by Einenkel (p. xxi) as ‘a poem which, curiously enough, is in its unrhymed form unique in O.H.G., and forms the only perfect analogy to our three legends and to numerous other Old and Middle English poems of the same class,’ while Steinmeyer (MSD ii. 162) is of opinion that to treat it as verse and so create an unique rhymeless poem in the earliest German literature is a very doubtful proceeding.

#Introduction:# This is the first version of the Legend extant in English. It was followed by six other redactions in Middle English, all in verse: they are enumerated and traced to their originals in Varnhagen’s tract of 1901.

1. #Maxence#: a mistake of the Latin original and of its source, Simeon Metaphrastes, for Maximinus, as correctly given in the Menologium Basilianum (Hardwick, p. 11). Galerius Valerius Maximinus was raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle, the Emperor Galerius, and made governor of Syria and Egypt in 303 A.D. He died in 313. See 138/16. #as#, as being: comp. 122/180, 131/103, 139/15, 141/49, 142/57, 145/105, 108.

2. #hehest i rome#: comp. 140/32.

3. #þurh#: the usual prep. is bi, as ‘ðe ferden al bi fendes red,’ GE 2921: ‘be his witena ræde,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 106/591. #hwiles#: hwile BT, which is grammatically correct; but comp. ‘umbehwiles,’ l. 5 (where BT have again hwile); ‘sumehwiles,’ AR 272/28; ‘oðer hwiles,’ HM 33/31.

4. #refschipe#: comp. 143/71.

5. #comen#: subject hi, contained in preceding ‘him’: see 6/18. Similarly #warð#, l. 10.

7. #walde#: for omission of gan, see 2/2.

9. #of him siker#, secure so far as he was concerned, fearing no danger from him. #of his cume#: comp. 94/24.

10. #lei into#, appertained to, was subject to; comp. 143/72: a charter expression: B-T quotes ‘ælc ðara landa ðe on mines fæder dæge læg into Cristes cyrcean,’ Kemble, iv. 232/8: in modern dialect it means, to border on.

11. #wedwulf#: ‘repentina rabie incitatus’: comp. ‘þe þurs Maxence, | þe wed wulf, þe heaðene hund,’ SK 1858.

14. #Oleast#, at last, as a final resort: the prefix is on: comp. ‘a last,’ Castel off Loue, 457, AR 18/15.

15. #tintreo#: comp. 144/98, 145/119. tintreohen B, tintrohen T. The first form which occurs five times in R corresponds to OE. #tintrego#, pl. of #tintreg#: the others to #tintregan#, pl. of #tintrega#.

16. #okine seotle#: comp. ‘set in kineseotle,’ SK 722.

18. #iþe tun# does not mean ‘in the town,’ Morton, but, in the court, the enclosure in which the temple was built. The Latin is ‘ad templum deorum suorum.’

20. #bi his euene#, according to his ability, means: ‘iuxta possibilitatem suam’; comp. ‘efter hire efne,’ AR 126/31; ‘mys motinde men alle by here euene,’ Böddeker, AE. Dicht. 110/38. OWScand. efni: Einenkel points out that it has taken the place of OE. #hæfen#, as in ‘Be his agene hæfene,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. i. 582/28. #to wurgen#: wur`d´gede B.

21. #mahte#: so B; mihte T.

22. Add full stop after briddes.

23. #ȝung of ȝeres#: comp. 139/23; ‘ȝung of ȝeres ase he was,’ AR 158/17; ‘ȝunglich of ȝeres,’ SK 545. #twa wone of twenti#: ‘duo de viginti’: see 52/368 and comp. ‘Abraham on wane of an hundred told,’ GE 1028. #feier ⁊ freolich#: comp. 123/209, 138/22. #o wlite# &c.: comp. ‘schan al of wlite ant of wastum,’ SM 2/34: similarly, ‘O schene nebschaft | ⁊ schape se swiðe semlich,’ SK 1446.

24. #steðeluest# goes closely with ‘of treowe bileaue’; not ‘steadfast within, of true faith,’ Morton: comp. ‘stalewarde ⁊ kene ine treowe bileaue,’ AR 272/6. OE. #staþol-fæst# usually takes on, like ‘a þanke unstedefeste,’ 44/241. ‘speciosa valde, sed quod pluris est religiosa fide.’

25. #icuret clergesse#, a choice female scholar: comp. ‘Sum is clergesse, ⁊ sum nis nout,’ AR 6/12.

26. #of#, from: comp. ‘Þah ich beo in alle | of se earliche ilearet,’ SK 858.

27. #wisliche#: see 18/16.

28. #herd#: OE. #heord#, flock: not ‘custodia,’ Einenkel, which is OE. #heorde#. It does not fit the context, and eard B points to an original erde, dwelling-place, ancestral home. Morton took herd to mean hearth, hall. #com of# &c.: com hire of burde B, com hire of burðe T, came to her by birth: Victor quotes ‘⁊ tat com þe of burðe,’ OEH i. 273/27.

30. #telleð wel to#: see 124/264.

32. #kepte . . . of#: like ‘let of,’ 44/260; ‘tellen of,’ 164/256; ‘Hold it of wel litel pris,’ Floriz, 350: ‘nichil cum mundo habere commune decreverat.’

34. #in#, upon.

35. #lasteles lates#, blameless gestures, bearing.

36. #lihte plohen# apparently answers to ‘puellares iocos,’ and Morton’s ‘trifling amusements’ seems preferable to ‘frivolous plays,’ Einenkel. #luue--songes#: sotte songes Nalde he nane ronnes BT.

37. #leornin# refers to ‘songes,’ #lustnin# to ‘runes,’ talk; see 102/159.

39. #to leaf ⁊ to lare#, to belief and to learning: comp. ‘ꝥ tu were iset ȝung | to leaf ⁊ to lare,’ SK 384. #underueng#: undernom B, undernam T.

41. #underneomen#, ‘entrap,’ Morton, a translation which suits also ‘me to underneomene,’ SK 652, but is hard to parallel elsewhere, the usual senses being to receive (in one’s mind), to reprehend. Perhaps the writer had in mind OF. susprendre, to catch in one’s words; ‘ut eum caperent in verbo,’ S. Mark xii. 13. The Latin has attemptassent.

42. #wrenchen . . . ut of þe weie#: a phrase characteristic of this group: Einenkel quotes ‘mahen wrenchen sum rihtwis of þe weie,’ SJ 43/5; ‘tu ne maht . . . me . . . wrenchen ut of þe weie,’ SM 4/25. #crefti crokes#, crafty devices; a figurative use of croke, hook: comp. 131/87, 148/141; SJ 35/5; ‘Mast he cuth o crafte and crok,’ CM 700, 740.

43. #ȝeincleppes#, blows in return, counter strokes; apparently only here: ȝeincleappes B, ȝainclappes T.

45. #crauant#, vanquished: comp. ‘he is crauant ꝥ me wende to ouercumen,’ SM 11/19. #cweðen . . . up#, yield, resign: comp. ‘al ich forsake her | ⁊ cweðe ham al sker up,’ SK 866: possibly an imitation of L. abdicare.

47. #burde boldes#: burðe boldes T: it corresponds to ‘in palatio patris,’ and may mean, ancestral mansion; it occurs only here: at l. 439 is ‘buriboldes,’ = palatium. #murhðe#: murð T, nurð B, which is doubtless correct: see 118/22.

48. #towart#, in the direction of.

49. Comp. ‘gleowinde of euch gleo,’ SK 1667; ‘ꝥ euch mon ah to hersumin | ⁊ herien in eorðe,’ id. 352; 131/84.

51. #were# is subjunctive in a dependent question: contrast with ‘wes’ in preceding line. #sone so#, as soon as: comp. 94/18: ‘Þe child him answerde | Sone so he hit herde,’ KH 199, where MS. L has the alternative ‘so sone.’

52. #of#: comp. ‘þat he of þe holy gost · so vre heorte a-tende,’ OEM 52/548, but ‘wið’ is usual, as at 70/168. #wod--walde#: similar expressions are frequent in this group: comp. 130/81; 146/121; ‘þet wod he walde iwurðen,’ SJ 66/7; ‘for neh wod he walde iwurðen,’ SM 7/34.

53. #hwuch as#, those whom: less common than the equivalent ‘hwich þat.’ For a similar use of as, comp. 72/192.

54. #ȝeinde ⁊ ȝurinde#: comp. ‘⁊ he to rarin reowliche · to ȝuren ant to ȝein,’ SJ 49/4; ‘þe heaðene hundes ȝellen | ⁊ ȝeien ⁊ ȝuren on euch half,’ SK 2013. #wið rewfule remes#: comp. 141/39.

57. #hire#: heo BT; both are necessary and in besides: read, þen heo in hire heorte iwundet inwið: comp. 139/28; ‘Nes þis meiden nawiht | herfore imenget | in hire mod inwið,’ SK 607; ‘Constu bulden a burh | inwið i þin heorte,’ id. 1642. Einenkel reads heo and says that ‘heorte’ is instrumental.

58. #wraðe#: the usual meaning, angry, is unsuitable: the word is connected with OE. #wrīþan#, to twist, OHG. reid, ‘curled’, and crooked, perverse, would give a good sense here and in such places as ‘iboren owraðe time,’ SJ 57/3; ‘to wraðer heale,’ 141/64.

60. #þah#: so all three MSS. Einenkel reads þa, and translates, ‘as she was alone (to strive) against’; rather, when she singly should be against, &c. If any alteration is to be made, ꝥ for þat would be preferable, but þah, even if, as in ‘ꝥ we ne cunnen | ⁊ tah we cuðen, | ne nullen ne ne duren,’ SK 1322, gives a quite sufficient sense.

61. #hef#, lifted: comp. ‘tu schuldest þin herte heouen þiderward as tin heritage is,’ HM 25/34; AR 86/5.

62. #hap#, good fortune, success. #wisliche#, truly.

63. #wepnede#: ‘sumentes scutum fidei,’ Eph. vi. 16; ‘induti loricam fidei,’ 1 Thess. v. 8.

65. #rode taken#: see 17/145.

66. #itend of lei#: comp. 130/52; ‘al þe cwarterne, of his cume | leitede o leie,’ SK 671; but, ‘leitinde al on leie,’ id. 1651; ‘þe halwende lei | of þe hali gast,’ id. 1401. #bimong#: see 66/97 note.

67. #deoulen#, dat. pl., deouele BT, dat. sing. #to lake#, for a sacrifice.

69. #ludere stefne#, dat., as in ‘þa cleopode he hludre stefne,’ BH 181/18; but ‘⁊ ȝeide lude steuene,’ SK 2033; ‘ȝeiden lude stefne,’ SJ 64/12.

71. #ȝeld#, tribute, resumed in ‘hit,’ l. 72.

72. #driueð#: comp. 60/11.

73. #⁊ al walt#: omit al and ⁊ after wisdom, with BT.

75. #he him ane#, he and only he: see 123/200 note.

76. #þah--þolie#, though he be long-suffering; ‘longanimiter ferens,’ Heb. vi. 15.

78. #halde#, keep: comp. ‘haldeð his heastes,’ SK 1788; ‘heaste halden,’ HM 5/28.

80. #wið# is adverbial and repeats ‘þurh’: see 62/24 note, and add, ‘vor vuel ꝥ ter kumeð of hit,’ AR 52/2; ‘þu ꝥ dest eni þing hwarof þer mon is fleschliche ivonded of þe,’ id. 58/22. The repetition of conjunctions is also found as in, ‘nis he fol chepmon þet, hwon he wule buggen hors oðer oxe, ȝif he nule biholden bute þet heaued one?’ AR 208/6; of pronouns, as ‘ꝥ þe muð ne mei uor scheome, þe liht eie spekeð hit,’ id. 60/6. B omits wið. #þen# = þen ꝥ.

81. #schad#: see 122/176. #wit ⁊ . . . wisdom#: see 22/142. #wurðen# &c.: see 130/52.

82. #forð#: se uorð B, se forð T: se being wanting in this text, the following #ꝥ# must mean, so that.

83. #unwitlese#: so B unwitelese, but T witlese, senseless, the meaning required. #wuneð in#: the idea that idols are inhabited by demons is as old as Porphyry: it is frequently expressed in the legends: comp. 145/118; SJ 22/14; CM 2303; SK 553; ‘praecipio tibi, daemon, qui in eo [ydolo] latitas, ut simulacrum istud comminuas,’ Legenda Aurea, ed. Graesse, 39/2; ‘In hoc ydolo quidam daemon habitabat,’ id. 540/30.

84. #hereð# &c.: see 130/49.

87. #fint#: ‘malorum omnium inventor diabolus.’ #crokinde creftes#, comp. 129/42: not ‘crooked crafts,’ but either, perverting devices, or more probably, devices by which he hooks his victims; the idea of both words being pursued in ‘keccheð’ and ‘creftluker’: for the termination of the latter, see 125/270.

88. #cang#: see 58/82.

89. #ꝥ he makeð#, by his making.

92. #sunne# &c.: the Latin has only ‘elementis mundi’; perhaps the author had in mind, ‘Nam solis lunaeque simulacra humanum in modum formant, item ignis et terrae et maris: quae illi Vulcanum, Vestam, Neptunum vocant,’ Lactantius, de Origine Erroris, ch. vi (ed. Spark, 143/5).

95. #bute ꝥ ow þuncheð#, but by your thinking, lit. but that it seems to you; the explanation of ‘þing.’ #schulen#: so B, but T has correctly sehen.

97. B reads, ant of nawt ant i.

98. #of#: comp. 83/5.

99. #ha ꝥ walden#, must mean, they desired that. But BT have correctly he ꝥ walde.

100. #þurh cunde#, by reason of their nature.

101. #makeð# &c.: see 126/325. #in eche#, eternal: T omits in, but the phrase occurs again 149/182, SJ 79/14.

103. #as in sum time#, as conditioned by time: comp. 128/1. BT have ham for as.

104. #ꝥ . . . in#, in which. #ne# does not negative the clause: it continues and emphasizes the negatives of the principal sentence: see the quotations in note on 25/241.

Cross-References

62/24, 66/97 (notes) = IX. B (Ancrene Wisse: Outer Rule) 123/200 (note) = XVI. (Sawles Warde) 360/19 = IX. Ancrene Wisse, Phonology, under “a + g”. p. 450 = XIV. (Layamon) p. 493 = XVI. (Sawles Warde) under Literature.

Errata

#Style:# ... unique in O.H.G. [O. H. G.] while Steinmeyer (MSD ii. 162) [MSD.] 47. ... ‘in palatio patris,’ [close quote invisible]

XVIII. THE ORISON OF OUR LADY

#Manuscript:# Cotton Nero A 14, British Museum. See p. 355.

#Editions:# Morris, R., OEH i. 191-9 (with translation), and Specimens, 129-32 (part only); Zupitza-Schipper, AE. Lesebuch, ed. viii. 106-10.

#Literature:# Kölbing, E., ES i. 169; Lauchert, F., ES xiii. 83; xvi. 124. Marufke, W., Der älteste englische Marienhymnus, Leipzig, 1907; Vollhardt, W. (see p. 269/19).

#Phonology:# This section should be compared with the account of MS. N of the Ancrene Wisse, pp. 363-5, the copy of which is by the same scribe as the Orison.

Oral #a# is a, hauest 9, uare 119; #a# before nasals is o, mon 74, nome 126, hwon 112, 119, but me 45; #a# before lengthening groups is o, londe 16, ilong 96, but and 4: þeonne 118 is influenced by heonne. #æ# is regularly e, et 90, gled 54, hedde 144, nes 68, once ea, sead 30, and a in habbe 82 (4 times), hwat 106, was 88 (4). #e# is e, aleggen 133, seggen 158; before lengthening groups, engles 27, schende 92, but i in siggen 134, siggeð 72, 73: in seoruwe 60, 89, 120 eo represents #œ#, i-umlaut of #o#. #i# is i. #o# is o, uorst 38, hopie 110, note 88; before lengthening groups, gold 34, nolde 143: þene 93, 127, 169 is LWS. #þæne#: #on# without stress is a 9. #u# is u, kume 117, unne 164; before lengthening groups, bunden 123, murnen 44. #y# is u, agult 82, muchele 14 (7), sunne r. w. wiðinnen 92; before lengthening groups, guldene 45, 52, welsprung 72 r. w. þing, but chelle 45: king 57, kinestol 25 have the usual i. #ā# is o, holie 126, loðe 93, one 21, but a adv. 129, a art. 150; before two consonants, wost 145: nenne 131 represents #nǣnne#. #ǣ{1}# is divided between e (15), clenenesse 163, er 66, techen 48; before two consonants, euer 54, lefdi 2 (5), neuer 30 (3), and ea (10) in cleane 42 (3), todealen 95, deale 154, heale 6 (3), healen 124, leafdi 170: ilch 81 is OE. #ylc#. #ǣ{2}# is regularly e, uorbere 106, greden 155, misdeden 156, were 105, but a in hwar 106. #ē# is e, greten 152, swete 17, but eo in steoren 45, weopen 44 represents umlaut #œ̄#, and idreaued 58, 82, from #drœ̄fan#, descends in form from #drǣfan#. #ī# is i, arine 127, bliðe 116, hird 51, but u in hwule 12, 153, swuðe 14 (6), wummon 23, wummen 19. #ō# is o: #ū#, u: #ȳ#, u, kuðe 118 r. w. siðe, fulðe 94 r. w. dweoluhðe, luðere 123, luðernesse 107, schrude 139 r. w. wide, ischrud 51.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is e, der 158, erme 64, ert 158, 160, herm 36, ȝeruh 132, but ȝeirkest 49. #ea# before #l# + cons. is a, al 4 &c., uallen 111, ualuwen 39, schalt 149: the i-umlaut is seen in wille 46 (#wiell#). #eo# before #r# + cons. is eo, eorðe 159 r. w. wurðe, ueor 94, ȝeorne 80, 103, heorte 4 (5); to the #wur# group belong wurðie 7, wurðeð 21, wurð 122, wurschipe 13: beornen 104, wurðe 138, 160 are without umlaut. #eo# before #l# + cons. is u in suluen 64, 66, 100. The u- and å-umlaut of #a# is wanting in kare 120, iðauien 142; it may possibly account for e in were 71, comp. #helwearum# VP 29/4, #Sodomwearena# VH 7/62. #eo#, u-umlaut of #e# is eo, dweolðe 148, dweoluhðe 93, heouene 77 (3), heoueriche 24, 150. #eo#, å-umlaut of #e# is eo, ueole 9. #eo#, å-umlaut of #i# is o, hore 22, 42. #ea# after palatals is a, schal 45, and e, ȝef 100. #ie# after #ġ# is i, ȝiue 162, ȝif 102, 126, ȝiuest 34 (3), uorȝiuenesse 110, 132, but e in forȝelden 135. EWS. #gief# is ȝif 42, 84. #eo# after #sć# is u, schulen 41, 43; #ie# after #sć#, i, ischild 120. #eom# is am 112, 113, ham 98; #heom#, ham 56.

#ēa# is ea, deað 36, leasung 75, read 53, but e in ek 87, ec 159, edmodnesse 79, isched 88; its i-umlaut is e, aulem 94, alesed 15, ȝeme 163, ȝemeð 42, ȝeme 121, ihere 84, but dreameð 27, without umlaut. #ēo# is regularly eo, beon 113 &c., biseon 134, deoflene 15, leoue 2 (10), but looue 100, 170, apparently for lōue; the i-umlaut is e, onsene 27. #ēo# after #g# is eo, ȝeomer 40: #gīet# is ȝet 109.

#a# + #g# is aw, drawe 128, 141. #æ# + #g# is ei, dei 50, feier 137, mei 31, but daie 8, dai 166, fawe 142 (#fagen#). #e# + #g# is also ei, awei 94, pleie 62, reine 58 r. w. kwene. #i# + #g# final is i, holi 70, i 97, 106, moniuold 61, murie 27. #i# + #ht# is iht, wiht 31, 47. #u# + #g# is uw, muwen 65. #ā# + #g# gives ow, owen 13, owune 112; #ā# + #h#, ouh 7. #ō# + #h# is ouh, auouh 119, brouhte 86, inouh 62. #ū# + #g# is uw, buwe 3. #ie#, i-umlaut of #ea#, + #ht# is iht, miht 133, nihte 8. #eo# + #ht# is also iht, briht 19, uihte 60; the i-umlaut is seen in bisihð 81. #ēa# + #g# gives ei, beie 3, beien 18. #ēo# + #ht# is iht, liht 5, lihtliche 133, 135. #ēa# + #h# is seen in þauh 82, 105. #ā# + #w#, bloweð 37, soule 5, snou 38, but iseie (? #gesǣge#). #ēo# + #w#, kneon 3, kneouwunge 136, reoweð 101, þeoudome 98.

#Swā# is so 53. For #e#, u is written in owune 112; for #o#, e in heouene 77, sumer 39: e is added in clenenesse 163, heuede 108, heuedest 107, neuere 143, but neure 111; #e# is lost in hird 51; the suffix #ing# is ung in gretunge 135. #on# is weakened to a 9. u is added in dweoluhðe 93, muruhðe 61, seoruwe 60 (3), þuruh 122 (3); comp. ‘seluðe,’ AR 354/4.

Metathesis of #r# is seen in spert 140; #rr# is simplified in der 158; #ll# in wil 62; #mm# in ȝimstones 55. #n# is lost in i 50, o 96, 114 and medially in heoueriche 24, 150. #bb# is simplified in sib 60. #f# is generally preserved in combination with other consonants, deoflene 15, efter 76, lefdi 2; before u, ful 35, fulðe 94; finally, ȝif 126, lif 6; initially after a word ending in a voiceless sound, fawe 142, feier 137, fif 102, forboren 109, forȝelden 135. Otherwise it is u, v, uorst 38, aulem 94, auouh 119, iureden 38; exceptions are hefedest 143 and the contract hedde 144. t is added by inadvertence in þuruhtut 70; #tt# is simplified in biset 55: #þ# is omitted in wurschipe 13, wurchipe 130. After þet, þu becomes tu 72, 84, 91, but vort þu 64, þet þe 73, 74, bit þe 132, et ðe 90. #ts# is represented by c in milce 79 (3): #bletsung# is blescinge 162. #ss# is simplified in blisful 19. Initial #sć# is sch, gledschipe 14, schende 92, but wurðscipe 141, wurchipe 130; medially it is ssc, englissce 167, ssch, wassche 139. #c# [k] is k before e, i, u, ȝeirkest 49, sike 97, kinescrud 34, kunne 9, c before o, com 36, icoren 67, in other positions it is indiscriminately c or k, Cristes 1, krune 55, kneon 3, licame 163, kare 120, woc 40, ek 87, ec 159. #č# is ch, eche 35, techen 48, stenches 44; #čč# is cch, drecche 148, wrecche 130, but arechen 47: #cw# is kw, kwene 57, but once queadschipe 42: #cg# is gg, aleggen 133, seggen 158. Palatal #g# is written ȝ, ȝef 100, forȝelden 135, ȝimstones 55: the prefix #ge-# is preserved as i, ilong 96. The stop #g# is doubled in singges 8. For #h#, ch is written in ðurchut 142; h is added in ham 98, dweoluhðe 93, ȝeruh 132 (as at AR 394/12), lost in is 126, licame 163, arine 127 (#ahrīnan#), lefdi 2, ringes 34, but #hw# is kept in hwar 106.

#Accidence:# Strong declension of masc. and neut. nouns. In the s. n. sune 57 represents #sunu#, gome 62 has lost final #n#. Gen. -es, deaðes 120, kunnes 92, but heoueriche 150 is not inflected: dat. -e, daie 8, deaðe 90, reine 58, siðe 101, wille 46; no exceptions. In the a. schrifte 152 has added e. The pl. n. a. of masculines ends in -es, engles 27, beies 34, but were 21: neuters are þing 71, kneon 3. Genitives are kunne 9, meidene 21, þinge 76; weak forms are deoflene 15, englene 16 (4); there are no datives. The fem. nouns of the strong declension have -e in the s. n. a., kwene 57, ore 73, sorinesse 36, bene 84, except sib 60, help 116 (often m. in OE.). Gen. -e, helle 44, 104, soule 5: dat. -e, blisse 16 (5), fulðe 94, honde 15, mihte 7. Pl. dat. are honden 32, misdeden 156, wunden 102; a. heorte 18, wunden 124. Nouns of the weak declension have -e in all cases of the singular, except lefdi 2 (6): plurals are n. blostmen 37, d. wrecchen 63, uote 155. The minor declensions are represented by mon s. n. 74, wummon 23, men pl. n. 13, ureondmen 166, wepmen pl. a. 20, wummen 19; nihte s. d. 8, 59, niht s. a. 50; moder s. n. 1, 67; ureondes pl. a. 33.

Adjectives which in OE. end in a vowel have -e throughout, eche 35, 39, 62, 120, swete 17. Of the weak declension are s. n. leoue 2 (5), looue 100, 170, d. erme 64, fule 94, heie 66, 165, holie 126, leoue 125, a. englissce 167, leoue 26, 76, loðe 93. Strong inflections are s. d. m. guldene 45, s. d. f. hwite 51, s. a. m. fulle 65, s. a. f. fulle 110, gode 121: iliche 23, 68 is #gelīca#. The plurals of all adjectives end in -e, holie 71, hwite 37, luðere 123, reade 37; exceptions are gled 54, sead 30, hwit, read 53; gold-ring 34 is an OE. combination. #mycel# is s. n. muchel 79, s. d. muchele m. 14, f. 89, 140, neut. 49. #āgen# gives owune 112. #ān# occurs once as a 150; #āna# is one s. d. m. 125, f. 21: #nān# is s. n. no 23 (9), non 24, 39 (pronominal), 47 (before heorte), 40, s. g. neut. none 92, a. m. nenne 131. Adjectives used as nouns are god s. a. neut. 49, muchel 151: superlatives are best 129, leouest 76.

The personal pronouns are ich, i 97, 106, me, we, us, þu, tu 72 (4), after þet, þe. The pronoun of the third person is s. n. hit neut. 63, a. 11; pl. n. heo 30 &c., d. ham 29, a. 15. Reflexives are mi suluen 100, ðe suluen 64, 66: possessives, s. n. mi 6 &c., min 6, 96, 158 (pronominal), g. mire f. 5, mine 5, 157, mines neut. 2, d. mine m. 117, mire f. 75, mine 7, 107, mine neut. 126, a. mine m. 152, f. 135, mi neut. 133, min 4; pl. mine n. 166, d. 156, a. 3: s. n. þi 25 (3), þin 24 (7) before vowel or h, 157 (predicative), d. ðine m. 26 (4), ðire f. 149 (5), þine 18 (8), þin 27, ðine neut. 89, a. þine m. 116, f. 31 (3), þi neut. 30; pl. þine d. 32, 155, a. 33: is 126: ure 18, 86: hore 22, 42. The definite article is s. n. þe 53 &c., g. þes 100 (pronominal), d. ðe m. 90, þere f. 85, 88, a. þene m. 93, 127, 169; pl. g. þer 24 (for þere). The compound demonstrative is s. n. þes m. 78, d. þisse neut. 64, 119, a. ðesne m. 167, 170. The relative is þet 23 &c., once þe 41; ðet 12, during which; interrogative is hwat 106; indefinites are me 45; ilch s. d. m. 81; sume s. d. m. 101; ueole pl. g. 9; s. n. al 5, g. alle neut. 93, d. m. 42, f. 7, a. al m. 100, neut. 48 &c.; pl. n. alle 13 (6), g. alre 76, a. alle 19.

The infinitives of the second weak conjugation end in -ien, iðauien 142, karien 43, luuien 17, except ualuwen 39; others, 32 in number, end in -en, but without n are deale 154, singge 8, þonkie 12, wurðie 7, iseo 165: to biseonne 137, to iseonne 30 are dat. infinitives. Presents are s. 1. beie 3, hopie 110, liuie 12, offrie 4, þonkie 11, wene 111, wurðie 146; 2. ȝiuest 34, ȝeirkest 49; 3. hateð 145, likeð 29, wurðeð 144, contracted bisihð 81, bit 80, 132, let 56, spert 140, wurð 68, 122; pl. 3. bloweð 37, wurðeð 21: subjunctive s. 1. habbe 116, 156, iðeo 121, 130; 2. bringe 169, ȝiue 162, kume 117, kuðe 118, makie 91, schrude, wassche 139, werie, wite 147; 3. arine 127, derie 148, drawe 128, drecche 148, habbe 82, ihere 84, schende 92, to-drawe 141, unne 164; pl. 1. kumen 66: imperative s. 2. auouh 119, aulem 94, ȝeme 163, haue 159, ȝif 102, 126, ischild 120, iþench 100, nim 121, þole 127. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. s. 1. ȝef 100; 2. iseie 105: I b. 3. com 36; subj. s. 2. uorbere 106: I c. s. 3. funde 170 (weak form): IV. s. 1. uorsoc 99; 2. stode 90. Participles past: I b. forboren 109, iboren 23, 68, ibroken 151, ikumen 112, inumen 107: I c. bunden 123, iholpen 9, isungen 167: III. icoren 67, uorloren 74, 108: V. isched 88. Past of Weak Verbs: s. 1. heuede 108, wreðede 101; 2. heuedest 107, 143: subjunctive s. 3. brouhte 86, hedde 144. Participles present: liuiinde 40 adj.; past: agult 82, alesed 15, biset 55, ibrouht 10, 98, idreaued 58, 82, ischrud 51, isend 16. Minor Groups: wot 1 pr. s. 103, wost 2 pr. s. 145; ouh 1 pr. s. 7, owen 1 pr. pl. 18, owe we 17, owen pr. pl. 13; kunne 1 pr. s. subj. 134; der 1 pr. s. 158; schal 1 pr. s. 104, schalt 2 pr. s. 149, schal pr. s. 45, 95, schulen pr. pl. 41, 43; miht 2 pr. s. 133, mei pr. s. 31, 74, muwen 1 pr. pl. 65; mote 1 pr. s. subj. 165; beon inf. 74, 113, to beonne dat. inf. 29, 138, am 1 pr. s. 112, 113, ham 98, ert 2 pr. s. 5, 158, 160, is pr. s. 25, nis 23 (4), beoð pr. pl. 52, beo 1 pr. s. subj. 23, 116, pr. s. subj. 122, 129, 138, pr. pl. subj. 166, was 1 pt. s. 106, pt. s. 88, nes 68, were 2 pt. s. subj. 105; wulle 1 pr. s. 12 (3), wule 113, wult 2 pr. s. 121, 133, 142, wule pr. s. 142; don inf. 13, do 152, dest 2 pr. s. 149, doð pr. pl. 41, 56, dude 1 pt. s. 106.

Noteworthy are the adverb þereuore 63, 83, an early example of the meaning, that being so, and the prepositions anunder 32, OE. #anunder# (Morsbachs Studien, l. 171), ine 104 (4), onuppe 25 (comp. ‘anuppon’ 77/46).

#Vocabulary:# Scandinavian are laste 69, lasten 123, lune 126, wonteð 73, possibly trust 125. French are cherite 161, ciclatune 51, krune 52, ikruned 52, lai 167, paradise 10, 49, 108, seruise 50, seinte 17, seynte 1, trone 22. Latin are cherubine 25, lilie 53, munuch 169, rose 53, seraphine 26, all OE. borrowings, except the last. The inflectional -e of cherubine, seraphine appears to be quite isolated.

#Dialect:# The Orison in its present form agrees substantially with the copy of the Ancren Riwle in the same manuscript; both are in the dialect of the scribe, that of the Middle South. But the Midland i for #y#, #ȳ# is attested by the spoilt rhymes þing : welsprung 71; wiþinnen : sunne 91; kuðe : siðe 118; schrude : wide 139, which also point to an original filðe : dwilðe 94 (the forms dweoleð, dweoluhðe, dweolðe are found only in this manuscript), and chille : wille 45. There is nothing else in the rhymes to help to a nearer localization of the author: it can only be said that his dialect was Midland.

#Metre:# This is in dispute. Schipper sees in it a mixture of septenaries, alexandrines, and alliterative verse. He regards l. 28, pléieð and swéieð and síngeð bitwéonen as the only indubitable example of the last, but first half-lines have two accents only in, to þé ich búwe 2; and þónkie wúlle 12; ne wéopen ne múrnen 44, 72, 77, and second half-lines in, þi uéir to iséonne 30; mid gúldene chélle 45; mid énglene wílle 46, 52, 70. The alexandrine is a French verse of six stresses equally divided into two half-verses by a caesura; the ending of each half-line may be masculine or feminine; each half-line may also take a prelude. The scheme of the verse is accordingly (x)x́xx́xx́ (x) || (x)x́xx́xx́(x). Such is held to be the rhythm of nís no | wúmmon i|bóren || þét ðe | béo i|líche 23; þíne | blísse ne | méi || nó wiht | únder|stónden 31, where the stress on ‘þet’ and ‘no’ is forced. It is found necessary to employ all the licences of English prosody in scanning this foreign metre, which moreover in its native form is never mixed with other metres, and rhymes, not in couplets, but only in ‘laisses’ or fours. Scanned as septenaries are, biuór|en ðín|e léo|ue súne || wiðín|nen sér|aphíne 26; þú ham | ȝíuest | kíne | scrúd || beíes | and góld|ringes 34. But a line like vor heo neúer ne beoð séad . þi ueír to iséonne 30 may be scanned as an alliterative long line as marked, or as a septenary, vór heo | néuer | né beoð | séad || þi uéir | tó i|séonne, or as an alexandrine, vor heo neú|er ne béoð | séad || þi uéir | tó i|séonne. On the other hand, Kaluza refuses to admit such an admixture of metres: he regards the poem as written throughout in septenaries. So the first line is to be scanned, Crístes | mílde | mód|èr || séynte | Már|íè. The unstressed syllable in a foot is often wanting; sometimes all the syllables of a word are stressed, as in the first half of l. 55, Mid bríht|e ȝím | stòn|ès. It is very artificial and unconvincing.

The matter is complicated by the fact that the Orison is only a copy, probably a copy of a copy, perhaps one of a succession of copies. A scribe dealing with an older text was generally little concerned about the form and much about the matter and the transcription of its language into his own dialect and idiom. That the text of the Orison has suffered from this preoccupation is evident from the rhymes; it is fairly certain that the author wrote lefdie 2, 11, 17, 170, sorinisse 36, mildheortnisse 78, 149, 164, edmodnisse 79, luðernisse 107, rene 58, leste 69, leasinge 75, gretinge 85, þas 100, seggen 134, and it may be inferred that alterations, including substitution of words, have been made within the verse. But even taking this into account, it is very doubtful whether the poet meant to write syllabic verse at all. Rather his metre exhibits the alliterative long line in the last stage of its dissolution, in which systematic rhyme has largely displaced the older and once essential elements of the verse. If rhythms occur, which can with some violence be forced into the moulds of purely syllabic verse, they are not of the author’s express purpose; precisely the same phenomenon is seen in Layamon (464/5). Moreover the alliterative element is considerable; the poet starts with two perfect lines, and ll. 60, 94, 101, 115, 153, 157, 171 have each three alliterating words; l. 3 is up to the Layamonic norm, and there are twenty-seven others equally good. But the development of the verse towards rhyme is complete and no longer, as in Layamon, occasional and for the most part imperfect (464/16).

#Introduction:# The author speaks of himself as a monk and of his composition as an English lay, as though it were an original production. He shows acquaintance with the earlier English literature, his manner is English, and the French element in his vocabulary is remarkably small. The highly conventional character of his language makes it difficult to speak with any confidence of his reading, but he would find much of it in his service books, and he was probably acquainted with Adgar’s Mary Legends and the long series of Orationes ad Sanctam Mariam Virginem with the Psalterium S. Virginis of S. Anselm (ed. Gerberon, pp. 276-87, 303-8), the enthusiastic promoter of the cult of the Virgin Mary in England. For the same reason it is impossible to give much weight to the series of parallels from the writings of S. Edmund of Pontigny (Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1234-40), by which Marufke has sought to prove his authorship of the Orison.

In #ureisun# of the title, both pretonic and tonic u are characteristic of early Anglo-French: ei is historic spelling, and at this time alternates in AF. with phonetic e.

1. Comp. 134/67; ‘O mater alma Christi charissima,’ York Brev. ii. 182; ‘virgo singularis: inter omnes mitis,’ id. ii. 477; ‘La duce mere al Salueur,’ Adgar 131/39.

2. #mi leoue lefdi#: comp. ll. 11, 17, 63, 115, 170; ‘ma douce dame,’ Wright, Lyric Poetry, 55/1.

3. #buwe . . . beie#: see 143/84.

6. Comp. 134/96, 136/153; ‘te spem meam singularem, te salutem computo,’ Guibert of Nogent, De Laude S. Mariae, 6; ‘Vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve!’ l. 2 of Salve Regina; ‘Ki est salu, ueire esperance | A tuz Crestiens, sanz dutance,’ Adgar 107/845; ‘Þu art hele and lif and liht,’ OEM 160/11. #mid iwisse#: see 32/40.

8. #bi daie# &c.: comp. 133/50.

9. #aueole kunne wise#, lit. in fashion of many kinds, i.e. in very many ways: comp. 62/30, 114/64, 151/20; ‘a vele kunne wise,’ OEM 39/53, 44/241; ‘Aþre cunne wise,’ id. 38/33; L 1717. OE. #fela#, much, many, is an indeclinable noun followed by a genitive case, and this construction is occasionally found in EME., as at 27/300, 34/70 (76/19 is ambiguous), but generally in ME. fele, many, is pl. adj. or pronoun of all cases, as nom. 15/83, 16/115, 18/2; gen. 85/105; acc. 30/9. For the expression with #wise#, comp. ‘on ælches cunnes wise,’ L 8072; ‘on aiȝes cunnes wisen,’ id. 25778; ‘an almes monnes wise{n},’ id. 19641: the genitive is, of course, equivalent to an adjective, as in ‘a seolcuðe wise{n},’ id. 27835; ‘on moni are wisen,’ id. 555.

11. #hit#: see 115/120.

13. Comp. ‘Ceste Dame deit hoem loer | E mult seruir e honurer, | Ki rent as soens si bon luier, | Ke cors e alme lur uelt saluer,’ Adgar 225/65.

15. #of#: see 52/394.

19. Comp. ‘Marie, ki fu si bele, | Vnke si bele ne uit pucele,’ Adgar, 22/75; ‘gaude gloriosa: super omnes speciosa,’ York Brev. ii. 493.

21. #were# Björkman (Archiv cxxii. 398) takes as a scribe’s mistake for wered; comp. ‘He gesceop tyn engla werod,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. i. 10/12. But comparing 134/71, it is more probable that it represents OE. #wara#, #waru#, as in Lundenwaru, in an extended sense of, host, company: possibly influenced in form by OWScand. -veri, -verjar.

22. #blostme#: comp. ‘Leuedi, flour of alle þing,’ OEM 195/28.

23. Comp. 134/68; ‘nis non maiden under sunne | þe mei beo þin eueni[n]g,’ OEH ii. 256/43: ‘Sancta maria, non est tibi similis orta in mundo in mulieribus,’ York Brev. ii. 491.

25. Comp. 124/243; ‘Exaltata est sancta dei genetrix: Super choros angelorum ad celestia regna,’ York Brev. ii. 477; ‘atque in regni solio sublimata post Christum gloriosa resedit,’ id. ii. 492; ‘Tibi thronus regius ab angelis collocatur in aula aeterni regis,’ Sermon of Fulbert of Chartres, in S. Augustini Opera V^2, 246.

26. #wid innen#, surrounded by.

28. #sweieð#, make melody. #bitweonen#: see 148/6.

29. Comp. ‘Kar li angele funt nuit e ior | Son plaisir, par grant amur,’ Adgar 165/287.

30. See 124/239. #sead . . . to iseonne#: see 76/17. For #ueir# as a noun, beauty, comp. 139/27; ‘þe mone ⁊ þe sunne wundrieð of faire · swo fair is ure louerd ihesu crist,’ OEH ii. 19/29.

32. Comp. ‘Tuit est en sa main atachie | Li ciels e li munz ensement,’ Adgar 165/282.

33. #riche#: see 19/34.

34. Suggested by such places as, ‘Tulitque annulum de manu sua, et dedit eum in manu eius: vestivitque eum stola byssina, et collo torquem auream circumposuit,’ Gen. xli. 42; Esther vi. 8. #beies#, crowns; comp. 133/55 note, or less probably, collars, armlets; comp. 202/194.

35. Comp. 50/360.

36-40, 59-62. These passages describing the joys of Paradise have many analogues in the earlier literature. Kölbing, ES i. 169, thought they were borrowed directly from the OE. Phoenix: he compares with l. 38, ‘Ne mæg þær ren ne snaw, | ne forstes fnæst . . . | wihte gewyrdan,’ Ph. 14, 15, 19; with l. 37, ‘is þæt æþele lond | blostmum geblowen,’ Ph. 20; with l. 39, ‘Wintres ⁊ sumeres wudu bið gelice | bledum gehongen,’ Ph. 37, 38; with l. 36, ‘Nis þær on þam londe laðgeniðla | . . . ne se enga deað,’ Ph. 50, 52, and he might have added, ‘ne feallað þær on foldan fealwe blostman,’ Ph. 74. For similar descriptions comp. Grau, G. (Morsbachs Studien, xxxi), p. 130; Pseudo-Cyprian, De Resurrectione Mortuorum, ed. Hartel, iii. 316/193-268; De Die Iudicii (attributed to Bede), 128-47; Christ, 1650-65; BH 65/16-22, but the parallels between the text and the Phoenix are remarkable.

36. #þer ðe#, where: comp. ‘ȝet doð þer þe heo beoð,’ OEH i. 9/9.

37. #hwite ⁊ reade#: lilies and roses; symbols of virgins and martyrs: comp. Be Domes Dæge, 18/286-9.

39. #ualuwen#: see 29/6.

43. #swinken#, be distressed: comp. 134/97, and see 40/194 note.

44. #stinken#, smell, perceive: comp. ‘wrieð hore fulðe so ꝥ heo hit ne muwen stinken,’ AR 86/17.

45. #steoren# &c., cense with golden censer: probably suggested by Rev. viii. 3. #chelle#: OE. #cylle#, vessel; only here in ME.

46. #mid englene wille#, ‘with angels’ joy,’ Specimens; comparing OWScand. vili. But this use of ME. wille for state of felicity is at least rare, and besides something more concrete is needed to balance ‘mid guldene chelle’; wille represents OE. #wiell#, #wiella#, fountain, with allusion to the ‘fluvium aquae vitae’ of Rev. xxii. 1, and to such places as ‘Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus salvatoris,’ Isa. xii. 3; ‘torrente voluptatis tuae potabis eos,’ Ps. xxxv. 9. The sense then would be, and pour out for them eternal life by means of the water of Paradise. The writer uses #englene# vaguely for, of Heaven; comp. ll. 16, 70.

47-50. An application of 1 Cor. ii. 9 already in Adgar, ‘Certes, nul ne poet escrire, | De cuer penser, de buche dire | Les biens de la Dame uaillante, | Ki de tuz biens est puissante, | Ke as soens fait chascun ior, | Vers cels, ke el’ ad puint d’amur,’ 224/7. See 46/285, 119/85. With l. 50 comp. ‘Nostre Dame serui nuit e ior, | El soen seruise out grant amur,’ Adgar 117/27.

51. #ciclatune#, originally a fine silken stuff of Persian origin, usually red. Almeria, in Spain, was the seat of a flourishing manufacture of this stuff in the twelfth century. Comp. 140/37.

53. Comp. ‘eall heora neb-wlite wæron swilce rose and lilie,’ Ælf., Lives i. 536/780.

55. Comp. ‘þær se beorhta beag brogden wundrum | eorcnanstanum eadigra gehwam | hlifað ofer heafde,’ Phoenix 602.

58. Comp. ‘Þær ne hægl ne hrim hreosað to foldan | ne windig wolcen, ne þær wæter fealleþ | lyfte gebysgad,’ Phoenix 60.

60. #uihte#, variance: ‘gewindagas,’ days of strife, Phoenix 612. Comp. also, ‘sib butan niþe,’ Christ 1660; 70/158 note.

61. #teone ⁊ treie#: see 24/208.

62. For #Gleobeames#, harps, gleodreames is suggested in Specimens, with a reference to Beowulf, 3021, ‘gamen ⁊ gleo-dream,’ sport and social joys. #inouh# goes with gome. #liues wil#, joy of life.

63. #long hit þuncheð#: comp. ‘ne biþ him wynne hyht, | þæt hy þis læne lif long gewunien,’ Phoenix 480.

64. For #vort#, see 72/179 note.

67. #Swete#: comp. ‘Bidde we ure lauedi | swetest alre þinge,’ OEM 166/81. #icoren#: comp. ‘Mildest quene ant best icorn,’ E. E. Lyrics, ed. Chambers and Sidgwick, 90/41; ‘Of þe he makede his moder · vor he þe hedde ycore,’ OEM 38/22, 88/37. The expression comes from the service books, ‘praeelecta ut sol,’ York Missal ii. 20; ‘Ista est speciosa electa a domino,’ York Brev. ii. 540.

69. Comp. ‘moder unwemmed ⁊ maiden clene | swich in world non oþer nis,’ OEH ii. 255/3; ‘Virgene en l’emfantement, | Deuant e apres ensement,’ Adgar 225/53.

70. #reste#, abode.

71. #were#: see 132/21.

72. #liues welsprung#: apparently suggested by ‘quoniam apud te est fons vitae,’ Psalm xxxv. 10. In the York Breviary she is called ‘puteus aquarum viventium,’ ii. 480.

74. Comp. ‘Ki fu refuse u cumfus, | Ki unkes out fiance en uus?’ Adgar 107/825.

75. A word has dropped out after soule. In Specimens, leome is supplied, in Zupitza-Schipper, liht, as in l. 5.

79-81. Comp. ‘Duze Dame tresimple e coie, | Plein de misericorde e de uertu, | E de grant grace, mere Jhesu; | Mult tost mustrez uostre duzur | A checun dolent pecheur. | Mult se poent en uus fier, | Ki uus uolent merci crier,’ Adgar 26/243, 38/17, 65/64.

80. #of helpe . . . missen#, fail to obtain help: comp. ‘Þu hauest ymyst of fayrhede,’ ON 581, 825; ‘Hi wenden to wisse | of here lif to misse,’ KH 121 note.

81. #to#: see 124/249. #milce ⁊ ore#: comp. 135/102; ON 1083, 1404.

82. #agult#, offended; a transitive use; the word is usually followed by to, wið, toward, of the person; comp. ‘ne ne warien hwon me agulteð to ou,’ AR 186/2.

84. #ȝif þi wille is#: a common tag: comp. 77/60; ‘ȝef hit were þin wille,’ L, MS. O 20815; ‘ȝef þi deore wil is,’ SJ 37/9; ‘mi swete leuedi, her mi bene | ⁊ reu of me, ȝif þi wille is,’ OEH ii. 255/7.

85. #gretunge#: the first of the five joys of the Virgin; see OEM 87/1-8, as l. 87 refers to the greatest of her sorrows: comp. ‘Bidde we seinte Marie | for hire milde mode. | For þe teres þat heo wep | for hire sone blode,’ OEM 190/93.

93. #loðe#: comp. 46/283. #kunnes#: see 81/80. #dweoluhðe#: also at 136/148 in a similar context, for delusions, deceptions practised by the devil: see AR 224/12, and comp. ‘et ideo prae ceteris | volo te precari, | ne sinas me daemonis | dolo defraudari,’ Mone, Lat. Hymnen ii. 108/85.

94. #fule fulðe#: comp. 29/33.

95. #to dealen#: comp. Rom. vii. 39.

96. #ilong#, dependent: comp. 135/114; ‘Þæt wæs swiþost on ðæm gelong þæt Hasterbal swa late fleah,’ Orosius 198/26: ‘is seo bot gelong | eal æt þe anum,’ Christ 153: ‘On hire is al mi lif ilong,’ OEM 158/1; ‘ꝥ is long on felefelde iuele lastes,’ OEH ii. 71/31: in mod. English, along of. See also ‘bilong,’ 200/112.

97. #wel ilome#: see 32/47.

98. #þeoudome#, bondage: comp. ‘ic em in þine loue bende,’ OEH ii. 256/35.

101. #sume siðe#, at one time, in former days: comp. ‘giet sume siþe,’ Christ 318, yet one day.

102. #fif wunden#: comp. ‘Þat we moten to him cume · for his wundes fyue,’ OEM 57/696; ‘He make vs clene and bryhte | for his wundes fyue,’ id. 87/23; Minot i. 91.

103. #þet# is explained by the noun-clause, l. 104. #wel ȝeorne# and ‘ful ȝeorne,’ l. 145, appear to mean, very accurately, very well. Mätzner quotes in support, ‘Me awaiteð ou, þet wute ȝe ful ȝeorne, wiðuten,’ AR 174/15, which might be punctuated otherwise.

105. #stille#, silent: comp. 36/112.

106. #þauh#, and yet.

107. #wreche inumen#, taken vengeance: different is the sentiment in ‘Sunful ich am an wrecche. | Awrec þe nu on me leuedi. | Er deþ me honne fecche. | Do nim þe wreche ich am redi,’ OEM 162/42.

109. #ȝet#, further, longer.

111. #uallen# &c.: comp. 80/47.

112. #hwon#, since, seeing that. #hine#, household servant: comp. ‘Eyez merci, quar en mon vivant | Serroi vostre lige serjaunt,’ Lyric Poetry, ed. Wright, 56/13; ‘E sa duce mere e chere | Pitusement fist sa preiere, | K’il eussent de sun serf merci,’ Adgar 5/44; ‘Vne nuit, par auisiun, | Vint la Dame a cel son barun,’ id. 56/7; ‘swete leuedi of me þu reowe[;] ⁊ haue merci of þin knicht,’ OEH ii. 255/15; ‘ic crie þe merci, ic am þi mon,’ id. 256/23.

115. #longeð#: impersonal construction, with acc. of person: comp. ‘Loð is me þis eorðliche lif . ⁊ me longeð to criste,’ OEH ii. 149/29.

117. Comp. ‘Bi-sih to me lauedi briȝt. | Hwenne ich schal wende heonne,’ OEM 160/18; Anglia i. 391/45; and elsewhere.

120. #kare#, anxiety about; practically, fear: comp. 121/150.

123. #þuruh#, tightly. #bunden#: see 81/67.

125. Comp. ‘Dame! En uus sule ai ma fiance,’ Adgar 101/649; ‘Apres Deu ne ai autre refui,’ id. 106/818.

126. #lune#, rest, occurs only here in ME.; for the word in modern dialects see EDD s.v. lown, quiet, shelter, which is Northern and North Midland: the solitary instance recorded for Hampshire is probably a stray. Dan. luun; OWScand. logn: see Björkman, 250.

127. #þet he me arine#: a clause instead of an infinitive; comp. 126/325; analogous is 151/21.

129. #so# &c., so that whatever happens may ever be the best for me: comp. ‘And he þat haueþ þis rym iwryten . beo hwat he beo | God in þisse lyue . hyne lete wel iþeo,’ OEM 57/697.

132. #to bote ȝeruh#, ready to make amends: comp. ‘sunbote,’ 80/58; ‘deadbote,’ 119/75.

134. #biseon to me#: see 124/249.

136. #swinc . . . sor#: comp. 40/194.

140. #spert#: comp. 89/44.

141. #to drawe#: tear in pieces, destroy: comp. ‘ichot þe cherl is def, þe del hym to drawe,’ Böddeker, AE. Dicht. 177/34. Morris explains ‘entice me (to sin),’ referring to the glossary to Hampole, Prick of Conscience, where the word so explained is ‘drawe.’

142. #wule#: supply, to-drawen me.

144. Nor that any man that honoureth thee should have gladness: #he# resumes #no mon ꝥ þe wurðeð#; comp. 77/39, 138/12: similar are, ‘Þe wreche peoddare more noise he makeð to ȝeien his sope,’ AR 66/17: ‘ꝥ þe muð ne mei uor scheome þe liht eie spekeð hit,’ id. 60/6.

147. #wite# &c.: see 118/50.

148. #dweolðe#: see 134/93.

149. #dest#: supply witen ⁊ werien.

150. #schalt# can hardly mean, ‘shalt give,’ as Morris translates: some word such as delen has dropped out after me: comp. ‘to pore men dalt his dale,’ Sir Amadas 43. #aueir dol#, a fair, handsome, portion.

151. Comp. ‘De cest e d’el uus frai dreit, | Selunc ceo que uus sui forfait,’ Adgar 163/221.

153. #lif . . . heale#: comp. 132/6.

156. #vort#: see 72/179 note.

157, 8. Adgar has similar uses of lovers’ language: ‘Ne ia, Dame, uus ne larrai; | Kar espuse prise uus ai. | Ja ne larrai uostre amistie, | Ne uostre amur,’ Adgar 163/213, 162/178-85.

160. #al so#, even as; not ‘as much as,’ Morris.

163. The line lost after this may have been something like, and ek mine soule vor þine eadmodnesse.

164, 5. Comp. ‘Pur amur de la Dame chere, | Ki nus duinst la seinte Deu grace, | E Deu nus duinst ueer sa face,’ Adgar 40/98.

166. #ureondmen#, friends: a rare word, which occurs again in OEH ii. 183/23; CM 20242.

170. #bi#, concerning.

Cross-References

40/194 (note) = VIII. (Poema Morale) 72/179 (note) = IX. B (Ancrene Wisse: Outer Rule) p. 269 = V. (A Parable) p. 355 = IX. (Ancrene Wisse) under Manuscripts.

Errata

#Metre:# ... nó wiht | únder|stónden 31 [wiht|únder] and góld|ringes 34 [text unchanged: error for “rínges”?] But a line like vor heo neúer ne beoð séad . þi ueír to iséonne 30 [text unchanged: errors for “néuer” and “uéir”?] or as an alexandrine, vor heo neú|er ne béoð [text unchanged: error for “néuer”?] 6. ... Adgar 107/845; ‘Þu art [107/845; | ‘Þu] 9. ... i.e. in very many ways [“i” in “i.e.” invisible]

XIX. SAINT JULIANA

#Manuscripts:# i. Bodleian 34, Oxford (B). ii. Royal 17 A 27, British Museum (R): for descriptions see p. 492. In this life R is abbreviated, as Einenkel shows; the joints are often visible.

#Edition:# Cockayne, O., Þe Liflade of St. Juliana (parallel texts with translations). E. E. T. S., O. S. 51.

#Literature:# Backhaus, O., Über die Quelle der mittelenglischen Legende von der heiligen Juliane und ihr Verhältnis zu Cynewulfs Juliana, Halle, 1899; Einenkel, E., see p. 493; Stodte, H., see p. 493; Stratmann, F. H., ES iv. 94 (emendations).

#Phonology:# This has been sufficiently described at pp. 493-9: a few forms call for comment. (1) =in R=. #a#: þeauien 102 has å-umlaut. #æ#: awakenin 55 (#āwacenian#), pal 36, hauene 135, if descended from #hæfen#, have a for #æ#; ea appears in breas 118, feader 3. #e#: heolen 43, speoken 59, toteoren 63, weolen 54, seotel 114 have å- or u-umlaut of #e#; sutelin 98 descends from #swutol# with u-umlaut of #i# and loss of #w# as in suster; hatterliche 91 is elsewhere in SJ heatterliche, probably representing u-umlaut of *#hator#; comp. #hatol#, #hetol#; unweommet 28, 120, 133 shows rounding of #e# to [ö] between labials; bitild 36, OE. #beteldan#, comp. ‘tilden’ 82/110, ‘bitillen,’ L 27852, perhaps owes i for #e# to #tilian#; sulliche 48 comes from #syllic#. #i#: neomen 45 has å-umlaut of #i#. #y#: unduhti 18 represents #dyhtig#. #ā#: lechnunge 23 follows #lǣcnian#, the OE. noun is #lācnung#. #ǣ{1}# is e in lefdi 7, erndunge 8, unmeð 17, wreððen 78, wreððede 46, and a in wraðði 42 instead of the normal ea; the adverb eisweis 68 (also in SM 13/26, MS. R, but eanies weis, MS. B) corresponds to #ǣniges weges#. #ǣ{2}# is exceptionally ea in forreadeð 96, reade 55; leoten 63 is imitative of words with umlaut like beoren, eoten (Bonner Beiträge, xv. 128). #ea# before #r# + cons. is a in harmen 107; the i-umlaut is e in merrið 104, sumchere 21 (#cierr#): the i-umlaut of #ea# before #l# + cons. is absent in afal 137, which is in form #āfeallan#, fall, in meaning #āfiellan#, fell; for healden 118 see 359/7. #eo# before #r# + cons. is a in darc 122, perhaps the earliest instance of this spelling; the i-umlaut is seen in iȝirnd 34, firsin 86 (but see Bülbring, § 187 anm. on Anglian #firr#). For ȝeouen see 359/34; #geond# is ȝont 35. #ēa# is e in les 75, but lease 135, e in ȝet 93 descends from #gēt# beside the normal #gēat#; the adverb #gēara# is ȝare 83. The i-umlaut of #ēo# is seen in derure 90; strupen 91 descends from *#strȳpan#; hei[e]nde 17, as if from *#hegan#; the Anglian form is #hēan#. #a# + #g#: for dreihen 122, see 360/13. #æ# + #g#: in fehere 104 (#fægerra#) the spirant is retained; comp. ‘feȝerest,’ L 29485, but feire 53. #e# + #g# final: #tintreg# is tintreow 98. sy 54, with y written for i, represents #sige#; ‘syge’ in L 17409. #ȳ# + #g#: druifot 137, with ui for long u. #ea# + #h#: waxen 55, iseh 22. #eo# + #h#: mix 96 (Anglian). #ēo# + #g#: lihinde 7.

duheðe 18 represents #duguð#: e is added in fuheles 63, liðeri 92: #m# is lost in limel 67 (#lim mǣlum#), #f# in leowinde 95 (#lēofwende#); t occurs often for final #d#, after mit for mid or miþ, þin becomes tin 52. For the stop #c#, ch appears to be written in senchtest 137. The loss of #g# in list 43 is OE. (#līst# for #ligst#). h is added in selhðe 54; nest 129 is Anglian #nēst#, WS. #nīehst#: es 100 has lost initial #h#, so im in ichim 85.

(2) =in B=. Many of those noticed in R occur in B also; other forms in B only are, chearre 166 (#cierran#), see 359/4: neolechin 43 represents a by-form #nēolǣcan#, while nehlechen R 31 comes from the normal #nēahlǣcan#: lattow 170 is OE. #lāttēow#. ch in wlech 151 (#wlæc#) is due to the influence of #wlæce# (Björkman, 148).

#Accidence:# (1) =of R=. were 79 has added e in the nom. cun s. d. 11 is exceptionally without inflection, comp. cunne 19. fetles 97 is a contracted plural; OE. #fǣtels#, pl. #fǣtelsas#, occasionally #fǣtels#. aldrene 14, dahene 117 are weak pl. gen. The dual pronoun occurs in inc pl. d. 107. urne 119 is pt. s. subj. from #irnan#. The contracted þrof 59, the prepositions ine 16, bimong 132, for which see 398/97, are characteristic of the group.

(2) =Of B.= burhene 72, folkene 57 are possibly weak pl. genitives, like aldrene, dahene above, but they are more probably adjectives formed on the analogy of words in -en, like cristen, from nouns. For leoflukest 82, see 125/270.

#Vocabulary:# Scandinavian are bistaðet bisteaðet, crokes, derf, feolahes, lahe, lufte, liðin, menske; probably ihondsald, lustnin, truste; possibly ȝeien, hauene, keiser: in R only, baðen, derfliche; possibly trukeneð: in B only, feolahscipe, ilated, menskin, witere. French are ciclatun, furneise, leuns liuns, maumez mawmez, misspelt mawmex 144/97, purpre, rente, seinte: in R only, cumseð (commencer), serui, tur (MS. reading 140/36), uie: in B only, cendals, eoli.

#Dialect:# See p. 503.

#Introduction:# For style and authorship see pp. 504-6. The author states, 139/7, that he translated from a Latin source. The Life of S. Juliana, printed in Acta Sanctorum under Feb. 16th, is pronounced by Backhaus not to be the immediate source of SJ, because when compared with it the English shows considerable omissions, additions, and divergences. Yet SJ stands in about the same relationship to that Latin text as SK does to what is generally regarded as its original and as Sawles Warde does to the treatise of Hugh of S. Victor (p. 493). The author of these pieces is no mere translator, but an adapter who weaves other matter into his free imitation of his originals. He was apparently unacquainted with Cynewulf’s Juliana. Grau (Morsbachs Studien, xxxi. 157) shows that the earlier writer also introduces ideas into his poem which had been used by him in other works.

S. Juliana never attained in England to the popularity of her associates, S. Katherine and S. Margaret, but there is another life in rhymed septenaries printed as an appendix to Cockayne’s edition of SJ from MS. Ashmole, no. 43 (c. 1310), and a third in the Scottish Legendary, ascribed by the editor to Barbour, the source of which is the Aurea Legenda; it is printed in Barbour’s Legendensammlung, ed. Horstmann, ii. 190.

The references are to B, unless R is prefixed.

3. #feader . . . of frumscheft#: OE. ‘#fæder frumsceafta#,’ Christ, 472.

5. #glideð#, proceeds: comp. ‘þe hali gast · ꝥ glit of inc baðen,’ SM 21/33; ‘⁊ te hali gast, hare beire luue, | þe lihteð of ham baðe,’ SK 1772. #unagin#: found here only; it appears to mean, without beginning: OE. #unāgunnen# with that meaning occurs in ‘on unagunnenre Godcundnysse and on ongunnenre menniscnysse,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. ii. 292/16: perhaps the ME. form has been influenced by angin, beginning. #euch godes ful#, full of every good: contrast ‘euches cunnes gode,’ 141/58.

6. #lideð ⁊ lusteð#: comp. ‘Lusteð me . . . ⁊ liðeð ane hwile,’ SJ 73/14; ‘God make alle soon blithe, | Who so wil lystne and lithe,’ K. Alisaunder 5750.

8. #wið þon þat#, in order that.

R 7. #lif hali#, holy of lif: comp. ‘to summe oðre lif-holie monne,’ AR 346/4; OEH ii. 51/10, 133/10.

9. #lihnide# is probably a miswriting of lihinde as in R, lying, deceptive: ME. lihen, OE. #lēogan#, but it is possibly a pp. of ME. lihnen, OE. #līgnian#, to deny. #eche#: supply lif.

11. #of munne#, commemorate: usually transitive in this sense as, ‘þis meiden þe we munnid wes marherete ihaten,’ SM 2/13, but comp. ‘His deope wounden bledeth fast, | Of hem we ohte munne,’ Lyric Poetry, ed. Wright, 112/22.

12. #i Nichomedese burh#: ‘in civitate Nicomedia’: the adjectival termination is Anglo-French -eis as in Hispaneis, L. Hispanensis: the scribe has ‘Nichomedesse,’ 77/9: ‘iþe Nomecuðe burh Nicomede inempnet,’ 79/9. In Sammlung AE. Legenden, ed. Horstmann, 51/628, Ianuesse means Genoa; Arimminence 20/784, Rimini; Iponence, 79/1046, Hippo.

13. #heascede#, insulted: comp. OE. #hyscan#.

R 12. #of--deaðe#, more than any other heathen he drew cruelly to death those that were Christians: #ham# represents the real object, ‘þeo ꝥ cristene weren’: see 136/144: the Latin has, ‘qui et ipse erat persecutor Christianorum.’

15. #as þeo ꝥ#, as being one to whom: for #as#, see 128/1; for #ꝥ# = to whom, 46/292. #ilenet#: the ME. texts often confuse lǣnen and lēven, to permit.

17. #schupte#: see 2/2. #wealdeð#: comp. 34/84; ‘weldinde ⁊ wissinde | alle worldliche þing,’ SK 933, 1780; L 5279.

R 16. #redegunge# (= redeȝunge) appears to be pres. part. of ME. rǣdien, to discourse (119/81); for ȝ, comp. ‘heriȝinge,’ OEH i. 5/1. But it is possibly a miswriting of ‘redunge’ as in B, which corresponds to L. lectio.

19. #Maximien#: see 128/1 note.

20. #heriende ⁊ heiende#: a favourite phrase with this writer: comp. 149/180; SJ 41/5, 55/10; SK 459, 1041.

R 18. #unduhti duheðe#, ill-spent splendour; because used for the glorification of idols: probably the original reading. In Specimens translated ‘unworthy body of retainers.’

23. #riche of rente#, with a large income. #ȝunge mon of ȝeres#: see 129/23.

24. #wel#, on good terms: comp. 138/21.

25. #iunne#, bestowed; generally said of conferring a favour, but ‘þe þe ufel unnen,’ L 28117, means, who inflicted harm on thee.

27. #utnumne feire#, exceptional beauty: see 133/30; but R 22 means exceptionally beautiful and charming: comp. 123/209; ‘se unimete feier,’ 124/239.

28. #in wið in#: see 130/57.

30. #lechnunge#, healing, medicine: a rare word, found in the Ureisun of God Almihti, OEH i. 202/16.

31. #wið ute longe steuene#, ‘without a long tale,’ Brock. But it seems preferable to connect the noun with OE. #stefn#, time, giving the sense, without long delay, much the same as ‘efter lutle stounde’: the repetition is quite in the manner of the writer; comp. ‘doð hire biliue to deað buten abade,’ SJ 73/3; ‘Anan þrefter sone com a seli wummon,’ id. 77/9.

R 25. For omission of the subject #ha#, see 6/18. #hire unwilles#, to her sorrow, an adverbial genitive: #unwil# is the opposite of ‘wil,’ joy, pleasure, 133/62. A similar adv. phrase is #hire unwil# in 141/36; comp. ‘min unwil hit is[;] to don al ꝥ ti wil is,’ SM 13/3. For the construction see 10/167, and 165/263.

37. #truked# = trukeð from trukien is the usual form; see 72/183: the derivative trukeneð R 26 appears to be quite isolated.

38. #daheðes# is apparently genitive of *daheð, daȝeð, noun derivative of ME. daȝien, to dawn, used adverbially, at dawn. In R 27 euch deis dei means at daylight (dawn) of each day: it is apparently without parallel. The Latin has ‘per singulos dies.’

39. #reowfule reames#: see 130/55. #wissede#, would direct: pt. subjunctive.

R 30. #summes weis#, some while, as at 124/236, corresponding to summe hwile in B.

42. #lihten se lahe#, descend so far: comp. 176/20, 199/79, 206/306; ‘loke þenne her bi hwa se of hire maidenhad lihteð in to wedlac; bi hu moni degrez ha falleð duneward,’ HM 23/24; ‘liht to ure lare,’ SK 1011.

44. #hehest i Rome#: comp. 128/2. #heh reue#: ‘praefectus.’

46. #lette#: supply as subject, Keiser.

R 35. #⁊ te riche riden in#, and to ride in his domain: an addition necessitated by the mistake in ‘tur.’ #tuhen#: the subject heo is to be supplied.

47. #ouertild#, canopied.

48. #purpres ⁊ pelles#, purple cloths and rich stuffs: a frequent combination for gorgeous clothing: comp. ‘ischrud ⁊ iprud ba wið pel ⁊ wið purpre,’ SK 1449; here used of a canopy. #ciclatuns#: see 133/51. #cendals#: sendal is a thin silken stuff, mostly red.

49. #As þe ꝥ#: comp. 128/1.

50. #rihten ⁊ to readen#: comp. 121/141; 147/158.

54. #iswechte# is explained in Specimens as pp. wearied, descending from OE. #geswenct, geswenced#, pp. of #geswencan#: the disappearance of n would be difficult to account for; it might be due to the analogy of þencan: in any case the word is for iswecht + te, thyself. #wreaðe# &c.: see 34/86.

56. #leauen þe lahen#: comp. ‘ant leaue alle þe lahen ꝥ tu list inne,’ SJ 24/3.

57. #folkene froure#: comp. OE. #frōfor-gāst#; ‘folkes froure’ (of the B. V. M.), OEH ii. 255/2; ‘Vroure ⁊ hele folkes fader heouenliche drichte,’ id. 258/5; ‘þe hali gast moncunne froure,’ SM 18/18; ‘folkes feader,’ 149/173, 19/33; ‘froure moncunnes,’ L 9075. #folkene# as gen. pl. appears to be quite isolated; the usual ME. form is folce, OE. #folca#.

58. #igret#, magnified: OE. #grēatian#: ‘greaten’ is in AR 128/1.

59. #windi of#, turned away from, done with: comp. ‘windi (wundi R) of wisdom,’ devoid of wisdom, SK 376. Comp. MHG. wendic, wendec.

R 47. #droh him#, put him off, like L. trahere: apparently without parallel in this meaning.

61. #Efter ꝥ#, notwithstanding the fact that. In R, it means practically, when.

63. #him#: see 13/34 note.

64. #to wraðer heale#, to perverse fortune: see 130/58, and comp. 145/109; L 29556; ‘to ufele hele wes ic iboren,’ OEH i. 33/24; ‘Godere hele þu hit scalt iseon,’ id. 57/44; ‘to goderheale þin he hit þoleð,’ HM 29/10.

67. For ‘fon on,’ to handle a matter, to proceed, comp. 143/85, 97; 157/135; ‘⁊ he bigon to fon on | þisses weis towart hire,’ SK 1863. If the punctuation of the MS. goes for anything, the second #on# is an otiose repetition of the first, and the meaning is, proceeded gently at first to try if &c., as at l. 85. Such repetitions are not uncommon in this group: comp. 126/317; ‘Hef up forði, mid treowe bileaue ⁊ mid herdie, up þine þreo uingres,’ AR 290/29; ‘sitteð al stille, ꝥ hwon he parted urom ou, ꝥ he ne cunne ower god,’ id. 64/20. But in Specimens on to lokin are connected, proceeded at first ‘fairly (= kindly) to look upon her.’

69. #sy . . . selhðe#: comp. 147/157; SJ 24/13; ‘isi ant iselhðe,’ SM 23/13. #sy#: OE. #sige#, victory; in this phrase it must mean something like, prosperity. #weolen# &c.: comp. 121/161.

70. #awakenen#: see 54/24.

R 55. #inoh#, fully, quite: see 62/41.

71. #refschipe#: ‘praefectura’: at 128/4, the imperial dignity.

72. #liggeð#: see 128/10.

73. #luuien ⁊ leuen#: a stock phrase of this group: comp. 142/66, 145/104; ‘ileueð ⁊ luuieð,’ AR 410/11; also 180/135, 194/590.

R 57. #as þeo þat#: see 128/1.

75. #ich--is#: comp. 90/73.

76. #for#, before: I call to witness Apollo; comp. 145/101: somewhat different is ‘for mi lif,’ 145/106, upon my life, staking my life on the fulfilment of my promise.

78. #haldest her on#, perseverest in this determination; comp. ‘hald hardiliche | on ꝥ tu hauest bigunnen,’ SK 677; ‘ȝif me hit halt eure forþ in on,’ ON 356.

79. #toluken# &c.: comp. ‘⁊ leoten toluken þi flesch | þe fuheles of þe lufte,’ SK 2092; ‘þer ase wilde deor limmel to luken ham,’ SJ 79/5; 34/83.

81. #aȝein þe#, in reply to thee, answering thy oath by Apollo and Diana: the stop after #aȝein# is to be disregarded. #ich swerie# &c., I call Christ to witness: the acc. after swerien is perhaps without a parallel, but it gives a sense somewhat different from that which would be gained by the insertion of bi or to.

83. #i leitinde leie#, in flashing flame: comp. ‘for al þe cwarterne, of his cume | leitede o leie,’ SK 671; ‘⁊ i þe reade leie, | ⁊ i þe leitinde fur,’ id. 1360; ‘⁊ leitinde al on leie,’ id. 1651. The full stop after #leie# and the following capital obscure the structure of the sentence--though I be burnt alive, I will not &c.

84. #þe#, dat.: comp. ‘buhð him ase he bit,’ AR 288/24; ‘all we sal him bu,’ CM 16712; ‘þe lauerdes leofmon ꝥ (= to whom) alle kinges buheð,’ HM 5/24. #her onont#, as regards this matter. #Þreate# &c.: see 34/86. #buhe ne beien#: comp. 132/3; SJ 27/10, 43/9; ‘buhsume ⁊ beisume,’ SK 1787.

86. #leoftede# is translated in Specimens, ‘flattered,’ and derived from OE. #lyfettan#, which is hardly possible: leotede luueliche, made affectionate gestures, behaved affectionately, would give a known combination: comp. ‘wið luueliche lates,’ SM 14/4; ‘ȝif þu makest ei semblaunt, oðer eni luue lates touward unðeauwes,’ AR 90/17; ‘mid leofliche læten,’ L 19396; 110/273, but the weak forms of læten are not elsewhere found before the fifteenth century.

88. #wið þerean ꝥ# is explained in Specimens as for wið ꝥ þerean, the last word being taken with wenden as, in respect of that matter; but that seems very improbable, though the order of words is often strange enough in this piece. Stratmann suggested that #þerean# is a mistake for þen, which does not account for the corrupt form. Possibly the scribe had before him, wið þē (= þen) ane ꝥ, on the sole condition that: see 72/192 note. #wið ꝥ# in R 70 means, on condition that.

89. #do#, join.

91. #To soðe#: see 90/73.

92. #Vnwurð#, despicable: see 26/258.

R 75. #ꝥ . . . to#, to whom: see 1/3.

95. #him#: dat. with lihen; acc. with leauen: comp. for the former, 29/2, 191/474; ‘Iff iosephus ne legeð me,’ GE 1281: the combination is uncommon. #weole# &c.: see 121/161.

96. #wa . . . wontreaðe#: comp. ‘wurðe him wurst of wa ⁊ of wontreaðe,’ SJ 27/12; ‘hauest ifunden weane þrin ⁊ wondraðe riue,’ HM 9/4; AR 156/4. See also 58/76.

R 77. #wa . . . wunne#: the repetition of the latter word is probably a scribe’s mistake for weane: comp. ‘ah al þe weane | ⁊ te wa wente,’ SK 1166, 2104.

R 79. #Me#: a word characteristic of the Katherine-group and frequent in AR, where it has been misunderstood by Morton: it wavers between conjunction and interjection, ‘well! but,’ and often introduces a question which offers an objection, or applies what has been said, like, ‘well then’: comp. AR 310/17; SK 325, 589; SM 6/19, 7/22. Its origin is obscure; if another guess may be hazarded, it is perhaps Anglo-French mes (F. mais, L. magis), which was used in contemporary French in much the same way.

98. #ꝥ . . . to#, to whom.

99. #se forð#, so far: comp. ‘ert ibrouht so uorð ouer,’ AR 294/7; ‘to uorð,’ too far, id. 294/14: see also 64/85. #letest lutel of#: see 44/260.

100. #ꝥ ich wite#, so far as I know.

103. #lette lif#: see 118/28.

104. #ꝥ me of þuncheð#: see 30/10. #luuie . . . leue#: see 143/73.

105. #as#: see 121/1; similarly 145/108.

106. #laðin# &c., his love shall be hateful to thee: so, ‘ꝥ te schal laði þi lif,’ HM 9/2.

108. #as on ernesse#, as a foretaste: probably the first occurrence of ernes. #besmen#: so, ‘beateð hire bare bodi wið bittre besmen,’ SM 5/19; ‘mid besman swingan,’ Orosius 68/11. Before #ꝥ# something like, ꝥ þe wule of þunchen, has dropped out. As the reading of R, which means, that it shall turn to misfortune that you were woman, is plainly an attempt to mend a faulty original, it may be concluded that the omission belongs to an earlier stage of the transmission. For #to wraðerheale# see 141/64.

111. Here the scribe became confused: his original had probably, ꝥ ti wil is wurch þu, but he began with wur, and erasing it forgot to add it at the end. Then he omitted het before #swiðe#, and tried to mend matters by changing leggen into #leggeð#, but forgot #strupen#. #bliðeliche#, gladly, is strange.

113. #liðeri#, should be in a lather: comp. ‘ꝥ hire leofliche lich | liðerede al o blode,’ SK 1542; ‘leiden swa luðerliche on hire leofliche lich[;] ꝥ hit . . . liðerede o blode,’ SM 5/20.

115. #beaten# &c.: see 34/86.

118. #fetles#, vessels, i.e. dwellings; comp. 131/83.

119. #heien ne herien#: see 139/20. #teone ne tintreohe#: comp. ‘ne schal þe na teone | ne tintreohe trukien,’ SK 402, 623, 1503, 1795. With #timbrin# comp. ‘to timber trey and tene,’ Minot vi. 2 note.

R 101. #allescunnes#: see 81/80 note.

120. #sutelin#, be made plain: comp. ‘isuteleð ⁊ ischeawed,’ AR 154/2; ‘sutel ⁊ eðcene,’ id. 154/22; ‘for sutel is ⁊ eðsene,’ SK 381.

125. #þeauien ⁊ þolien#, permit and suffer: comp. ‘þauieð ant þolieð,’ SM 15/19; ‘þatt Godd ne þole nohht | Ne þafe,’ Orm i. 188/5456. #mucli#: comp. ‘þi lauerd godd it þoleð him to muccli þi mede,’ HM 47/16. #muchelin#, R 102, is a form characteristic of the group. #mede . . . murhðe#: comp. 147/157; ‘mi murhðe ⁊ mi mede,’ SK 2350.

126. #eauer se# goes with #mare#.

128. #drehen . . . derf#: for the combination, characteristic of the group, comp. ‘ꝥ hit ne sem . . . ꝥ ich derf drehe,’ SM 5/31; ‘abeore bliðeliche þe derf ꝥ tu drehest,’ HM 17/31; ‘hwen ha schulen | þe derf of deað drehen,’ SK 2392; ‘to deaðe | deruest þing to drehen,’ id. 2100.

R 106. #willes#, spontaneously: so, ‘willes ⁊ woldes,’ AR 6/26; ‘willes wiðuten neode,’ id. 242/19; ‘willes ⁊ waldes,’ HM 27/2.

131. #Þet#, because.

134. #bicumen#, arrive, come: comp. 175/434.

135-7. #wei--forð# is a parenthesis (alas for your fates that ye were born in the world and brought forth), and so is #awei--weren# in R 111; comp. ‘Wa me þære wyrde, pæt min wynn alæg,’ Psalter (Thorpe) 373/5. For #se#, which can only mean so, to must be substituted, and if #ȝe schule# is retained, it must be regarded as a mere repetition of the preceding ‘ȝe schulen,’ due to the parenthesis. #to wraðer heale# in R 111 goes with #sinken#; in B its position is ambiguous: probably in the original it belonged to the parenthesis, and the right order in R is, to wraðer heale, sinken ow: for the reflexive, see 13/34 note. For #sar . . . sorhe# see 52/374.

141. #ehsihðe#: a word characteristic of the group: comp. SM 17/27; SK 2315; ‘eihsihðe,’ OEH i. 209/28. In the passage here omitted, Eleusius tries to win her over, but neither suasion nor scourging shake her resolution.

142. #festnin# &c.: comp. ‘to festnin ham | in treowe bileaue,’ SK 1985; 180/143.

143. #isoðe bileaue#: see 89/28: R 116 without it gives a poor sense. #don . . . ut of dahene#, put out of life: the expression is common: comp. ‘þat we haue done him of daghe,’ CM 4168.

144. As #brune# is everywhere else a noun (see 119/83), of must have fallen out after it here. #wallinde bres#: comp. 60/103.

145. #healden#, pour, as at 72/197. Brock translates, ‘hold.’

148. #þer . . . in#, in which. The writer had in mind the second lection in the Breviary for the feast of S. John ante Portam Latinam (May 6th), ‘in olei ferventis dolium missus: ex quo tamen divina se protegente gratia tantum liber exiit a dolore corporis: quantum alienus erat a corruptione carnis,’ York Breviary, ii. 277.

149. #liues lauerd#: OE. #līf-frēa#; ‘auctorem vitae,’ Acts iii. 15. #him#, for himself.

151. #wod þa#, then mad; the text seems defective. With R 121, comp. ‘to weden ⁊ to wurðen | ut of his ahne witte,’ SK 1257; 130/52.

157. #murhðe . . . mede#: comp. 145/125. #sy . . . selhðe#: comp. 143/69. #ꝥ . . . efter#, after whom.

158. #al#, completely, qualifies #bisteaðet ⁊ bistonden#, circumstanced and beset; a combination characteristic of the group: comp. ‘ich iseo me . . . bistaðed ant bistonden as lomb mit wed wulues,’ SM 3/24; AR 264/24. #Riht . . . read#: comp. 121/141.

161. #nestfalde#, nearest: apparently here only. NED compares OE. #nēahfeald#.

162. #mine--hearmen#: ‘et inimici hominis domestici eius,’ Mic. vii. 6, S. Matt. x. 36. #inhine# does not occur elsewhere, but its meaning, ‘household servant,’ is assured by the Latin imitated. In R 130 #heanen# makes no sense, perhaps heanende is to be read.

163. #anes#: see 74/207 note.

164. #wil cweme# apparently answers to OE. #wel-gecwēme#, which is quoted in B-T. as a gloss on beneplacitus in Spelman’s Psalter cxviii. 108, cxlvi. 12.

165. #ilated se luðere#, so wickedly mannered, behaved. #ilated# is a new formation from lat, usually pl. lates, looks, manners: see 129/35. In Specimens translated, ‘visaged so horribly.’

167. #Al#, if not a mistake for Als, goes with #ham#.

168. #wid#, against: see 48/299 note.

169. #wite . . . were#: comp. 118/50 note. #witere#, make wise, teach. In R 134, #ant witen# is to be altered into ant were.

170. #liues lattow#, life’s guide: OE. #lātþēow#, #lāttēow#.

171. #hauene of heale#: ‘salutis portum,’ see 5/12 note. In R 135 with #lestinde#, understand lif.

173. #⁊ tu#, thou too, even so do thou &c. #folkes feader#: see 141/57.

174. #to drif#, drive away; usually means, drive asunder, dispel.

176. #ȝet# goes with #iseon#.

177. #schrenchen ⁊ schunchen#, deceive and terrify: an uncommon combination. #of#, out of, from: comp. ‘wrenchen sum rihtwis of þe weie,’ SJ 43/5.

178. #wið#, see 82/118, 117/5.

179. #crefti crokes#: see 129/42. #crechen#, scratch; if it be a form of cracchen: in NED said to be for crochen, catch with hooks or claws, from F. crocher: comp. ‘crefti crokes,’ 129/42; ‘crokinde creftes,’ 131/87.

180. #iheiet ⁊ iheret#: comp. 138/17.

Cross-References:

5/12 (note) = II. (Saint Godric’s Hymns) 13/34 (note) = V. (A Parable) 48/299 (note) = VIII. (Poema Morale) 72/192, 74/207 (notes) = IX. B (Ancrene Wisse: Outer Rule) 81/80 (note) = XI. (Hic Dicendum est de Propheta) 128/1 (note) = XVII. (Saint Katherine) 359 = IX. Ancrene Wisse, Phonology, under “ea”. 360 = the same, under “a + g”. 398/97 = note to line 97 of IX. B (Ancrene Wisse: Outer Rule) pp. 492, 493-99, 503, 504-506 = XVI. (Sawles Warde) under the corresponding headings (Manuscripts, Literature etc.).

Errata

#Edition:# ... E. E. T. S., O. S. 51. [E.E.T.S., O.S.] #Phonology:# ... u-umlaut of #i# [#i# misprinted as italic instead of bold] neomen 45 has å-umlaut of #i# [a-umlaut] #ǣ{1}# is e in lefdi 7 [#æ{1}#] Anglian #nēst#, WS. #nīehst# [W.S.]

XX. THE OWL AND THE NIGHTINGALE

#Manuscripts:# i. Jesus College, Oxford, E 29 (J); see p. 285. ii. Cotton Caligula A 9, British Museum (C); see p. 450. They are copies of a common exemplar X, which was probably taken directly from the poet’s original. X was written by two scribes; the work of the first is represented in ll. 1-353 of the present selection; that of the second in ll. 354-437; the former was accustomed to French scribal methods. The writer of C was a mechanical copyist and not at home in English, consequently he reproduces X with tolerable accuracy. The scribe of J was more independent (see p. 293).

#Facsimile:# Of J. The Owl and the Nightingale, ed. J. E. Wells.

#Editions:# Stevenson, J., Roxburghe Club, London, 1838; Wright, T., Percy Society, no. xxxix, London, 1843 (text of C); Stratmann, F. H., Krefeld, 1868 (critical edition); *Wells, J. E., Boston, 1907 (parallel texts with notes); Gadow, W., Palaestra, no. lxv, Berlin, 1909 (text of C with variants of J).

#Literature:# Borsch, J., Ueber Metrik und Poetik der altenglischen Dichtung The Owl and the Nightingale, Münster, 1883; *Breier, W., Eule und Nachtigall, Halle, 1910, completed in Morsbachs Studien, no. xxxix, Halle, 1910; ES xlii. 306, 408; Ebisch, W., Zur Syntax des Verbs im altengl. Gedicht Eule und Nachtigall, Leipzig, 1905; Gadow, W., Eule und Nachtigall, Berlin, 1907 (completed in edition as above); Kenyon, J. S., Journal of English and Germanic Philology, xii. 572-92; Koch, J., Anglia, Beiblatt, xxi. 227-40; Noelle, H., Die Sprache des altengl. Gedichts von der Eule und Nachtigall, Göttingen, 1870; Sherman, L. A., A Grammatical Analysis of the OE. Poem The Owl and the Nightingale, Transactions of the American Philological Association, vi. 1875. Wells, J., Anglia, xxxiii. 252-69; Modern Language Notes, xxv. 108, xxvi. 139-41.

#Phonology:# (1) =of C=. The spellings of (a) ll. 1-353 and (b) ll. 354-437 are distinguished, when they show a characteristic difference. Significant rhymes are recorded. Oral #a# is a, fare 422, tale 3; #a# before nasals wavers between a (10 times) and o (14), can 126, vram 119, man 334, mani 399, þan 22, 24, þane 39, wanne 308, bigon 13, con 199, from 154, monnes 254, moni 355, nome 405, þonkes 70, won 240, wone 243, wonne 38, exceptionally þenne (#þænne#); #a# before lengthening groups is o, honde 400, onde 297, longe 45, tonge 112, but andsuare 105, answare 55, 277; #and# is and 4, an 7 &c.; #man#, indefinite, me 32; ferden 432 r. w. uerde, descends from #fēran#. #æ# is regularly a, bare 56, 106 r. w. answare, glad 312, hadde 275 r. w. iladde, smal 73 r. w. al. #e# is e, bet 21, hen 291; before lengthening groups, ende 386, felde 357: (a) suich 283, suiche 134 is from a form in #i#, (b) swucche 354, swuch 374 from one in #y#: a diphthong has developed in imeind 18, 306 (#gemenged#, comp. 451/25). #i# is i, bile 79, chirche 339, is 388 r. w. wis, (a) wile 141 r. w. sckile; before lengthening groups, bringe 311, linde 393, but wsome (= ysome) 136, (b) wulle 373, nulleþ 407, wuste 10 r. w. custe, neltu 106 (#nelt#), wolcumeð 318, with o written in this text for u from e by labial influence, comp. wulcume L 8528 &c., grulde 98 (*#gryllan#). #o# is o, bodi 73, horne 234, word 45, wolde 128, nolde 115, but walde 370 r. w. scholde; þane 414 is LWS. #þane#, wan 334, #hwan#: on prep. is reduced to an 239 and often to a 20 &c. #œ#, i-umlaut of #o#, still lingers in seorhe ON 1599. #u# is u, cumeþ 298, luueþ 188, wunest 254, but o in lo`u´ue, where `u´ was possibly meant as a correction of o, ouerkome 386, wode 322 r. w. rude, woning 403, in which o is associated with m, n, w; #u# before lengthening groups is u, dumb 294, tunge 194, but tonge r. w. iþrunge. #y# is u, kume 314 (perhaps with [u] from cuman), murie 261, vuele 63, stude 410 (#styde#) r. w. mide, muchel 404, muche 413 (#mycel#); before lengthening groups, cunde 88, hurne 14; but unrounded in þincþ 430, þincþe 46, þinche 262, wirche 340; wrchen 286 is probably French writing for wurchen.

#ā# is regularly o, bore 286, hoten 192, swo 76, 381, so 52, 289, 415, o 249, 331, þos 95, but a 45, 104, 112, an 4, 80, Portesham 434, swa ON 1577, wa 425, þeos 413 (#þās#); before two consonants o, wostu 334, but axest 325, 329, hattest 191. #ǣ{1}# is regularly e, brede 130, ledeþ 216, sprede 315 r. w. mede, þen 386, but þare 28 &c., þan 156 (3); before two consonants e, fleshe 83, ileste 257, meshe 84 (*#mǣscan#), neuer 60, but iladde 276, wranne 360. #ǣ{1}# is elsewhere sometimes ea, eauer ON 922, deale ON 954, bileaue ON 1688. #ǣ{2}# is also e, forlete 36, rede 425; before two consonants, oferd 277, but a in lat 194 (4), lateþ 372 (3), ofdrad 387, þar 16 &c., þareafter 271, þareuore 210, whar 64, war 392, uareuore 203, 333, these pronominal forms probably come from shortened #ǣ#: before two consonants, fnast 44, raddest 115, misraddest 116. #ē# is e, breme 158, kene 212; before two consonants, dest 49, 237 r. w. preost, spedde 435, but dost 307, dostu 174, 289, doþ 112, 238 with o from the plural. #ī# is i, wile 155, pipe 22, suiþe ON 376; before two consonants, þriste 127 r. w. liste, wisdom 399, but (a) suþe 2, 12, 111 from #swȳþe# with absorption of w, comp. such from swuch. #ō# is o, brode 93, ilome 49, noþeles 105, but neoþeles 357 (15 times in Layamon, see 452/8); before two consonants, blostme 315, softe 6. #ū# is u, kuþe 332, tukest 63, hule 4 &c., but houle 428, a French writing. #ȳ# is u, hud 120, lutle 356, þuuele 214 r. w. foȝle, but litle 419, þe 19, 34, 401, forþe 69, vorþi 65, hwi 407, whi 106, wi 174 (#hwī#).

#ea# before #r# + cons. is a, areȝ 285, ȝare 171 r. w. aiware, hardeliche 280, þaref 146, but eardingstowe 28; the i-umlaut before a lengthening group is e in uerde 433 r. w. ferden: #cierm# is chirme 221 (see Bülb. 187 anm.) but bichermet 215. #ea# before #l# + cons. is a, al 8 and the numerous forms of #eall#, hale 2 r. w. dale, schaltu 165; before lengthening groups o, which descends from Anglian unbroken lengthened #a#, as in Layamon 452/15, bold 233 (3), boldeliche 279, biholde 71, holde 3 (4), wolde 367, but once belde 358: without umlaut are falt 37, halt 32. #eo# before #r# + cons. is o, for 328, vorre 243, horte 37, 43, rorde 227; before a lengthening group, ilorned 172; but daisterre 244 r. w. vorre: forbernest 297 is from #bærnan#; #wyr# words are worse 219 r. w. mershe, worste 10, worþ 283, wrs 34, elsewhere wurs ON 793, wrþ 256, unwrþ 255, elsewhere wurþ ON 769. #eo# before #l# + cons. is seen in sulue 69. The u-umlaut of #a# is wanting in hauekes 207 (3). #eo#, u-umlaut of #e# gives houene 335, 346 r. w. steuene, 350. #eo#, å-umlaut of #e# is seen in feole 415, but uele 20, and fale 365, auale 410 (#feala#). #eo#, u- and å-umlaut of #i# is o (for eo) in honne 66 r. w. kunne, hore 216 &c., noþerward 100, soþþe 240, but (b) heore 418. #ea# after palatals is a, schal 143, ȝaf 55, 105, aȝaf 95, before nasal, schame 50 (3), but schome 123. #ie# after #g# is e, biȝete 344, uorȝete 343, underȝete 124, ȝeueþ 419, but ȝiueþ 416, ȝiue 410. #ie# after #sc# is i in schille 98, 364, e in schelde 356 r. w. felde. #gef#, EWS. #gief# is ȝif 51 &c., ȝef 429. #eo# after #sc# is o, scholde 371 r. w. walde, sholdest 54, short 73, but Anglian schulde 390 r. w. wule. #eom# is Angl. am 126, 212, nam 387, #heom#, hom 62, 94.

#ēa# is regularly e, blete 57, dreme 230; before two consonants, cheste 133 r. w. unwerste, but earen 254, unneaþe ON 1605, dreim 21 (a scribal error). The i-umlaut is e, grettre 74, ȝeme 345, ihere 180 r. w. fere, iherde 2, ihert 406, but ihire 228. #ēo# is (a) o, a French writing, blo 108, 319, bon 198, 342, bo 107 (9), boþ 75 (4), flo 33 (4), flon 106, floþ 214, ho 19 (13), hom 353, iso 243, isoþ 302, lof 159 (3), oftoned 190, so 34, swore 73, tone 50, prostes 351, þo 26, 155, þos 41 (4), holde 12, hold 100, athold 270, bihold 30, but the corrector has added e in preost 238 r. w. dest, weode 236; (b) eo, beo, beoþ 378, 418, heo 360 (9), heom 407, 408, but ho 368. The i-umlaut is seen in atfliþ 37 (Angl. #flīþ#), þuster 154 (3). #gesīene# is isene 122, 211 r. w. kene; #gīet#, ȝet 225. #ēo# from #ō# after #g# is o in ȝomere 293 r. w. sumere, #ēa# from #ā# after #sc#, e in schede 153.

#a# + #g# is aȝ, draȝe 209. #æ# + #g# is ai, dai 89 &c., vaire 15 &c., mai 141 (4), fawre 138, miswritten for fayre, but ei in seide 9, 289, 424, 265 r. w. rede, 325 r. w. dede, rhymes which indicate sede 33, 173 representing #sǣde# as the original form, so ised 273 r. w. red is #gesǣd#. #e# + #g# is ei, aȝein 431, pleie 169, wei 224, under this head come seist 50 (4) from #segst#, seiþ 132 from #segð#, seie 173 from #sege#: aȝen 7, 314 is #agēn#, snailes 87, #snægl#. #i# + #h# is iȝ, adiȝte 242, wiȝt 312, or ih, diht 399; for #iht#, ist is written in mist 78: final #ig# is i, bodi 73. #o# + #g# is oȝ, itoȝen 368. #u# + #g# is uȝ, fuȝele 64 r. w. vuele, but the spirant has been absorbed in fuelkunne 65; foȝle 213 r. w. þuuele, is a French spelling. #y# + #h# is unrounded in hiȝte 208, hiȝteþ 314. #ā# + #g# is oȝ, oȝe 195, þroȝe 196. #ǣ{1}# + #g# is ei in eiþer 9, 141, but aiþer 7, aiware 172. #ǣ{2}# + #g# is seen in iseȝe 303. #ō# + #g# is oȝ, boȝe 15, woȝe 120. #ō# + #h# is oȝ, broȝte 150, noȝt 58 (#nōht#), roȝte 305, þoȝte 269, but oh in brohte 369. #u# + #h# is uȝ, þuȝte 21, ofþuȝte 275. #ea# + #h# is eȝ, iseȝ 29, ouerseȝ 30; the i-umlaut is iȝ, miȝt 64, 177, miȝte 42, 411, miȝtest 192, niȝt 89, but mihte 392. #eo# + #ht#, ariȝt 278, briȝter 108, viȝte 128, riȝt 76, riȝte 120 r. w. liȝte 398, but riht 379, unrihtfulnesse 385; bituxen 390 represents WS. #betux#: the i-umlaut gives isiþ 285, but isoþ 302 without umlaut. #ēa# + #g#, #h# is (a) eȝe 304 r. w. iseȝe, neȝ 44, þeȝ 48, but þoȝ 220, (b) þeg 367, þah 422. #ēo# + #h# is (a) iȝ, liȝte 119 r. w. riȝte, (b) ih, lihtlich 402, 417; the i-umlaut is seen in fliȝst 89, 183, fliȝt 132, 224, atfliþ 37: #dīegel# is diȝele 2. #ā# + #w# is ow, crowe 220, croweþ 251, snov 308, asnowe 291, owel 80 (*#āwul#), but nawt 383; clawe 109, 110 is probably #clawe#. #ī# + #w#, howe 108 (Anglian #hēow#). #ō# + #w#, bigrowe 27, -stowe 28, but nouþer 375 (#nōwþer#). #ēa# + #w#, gleu 149, unþeu 150, but sewi 107. #ēo# + #w#, eu 436, ower 379, tro d. 316, representing occasional dat. #trēo#.

In bisemar 104 a appears for #e#, in svikel- 118, 119 e for #o#, in munekes 347 e for #u#, in gladur 19, uairur 108, u for #e#, but gladdere ON 737. #ā# is o in oferd 277, elsewhere aferd 288. e has been added in areȝ 285 (#earg#), areȝþe 282, arehþe 359, bareȝ 286, bisemar 104, hardeliche 280, narewe 68, steuene 345, 363, þaref 146, lost in warni 246, as already in OE. #warnian#; houẹneriche 335, houẹneliȝte 350, represent #heofon-rīce#, #heofon-lēoht#, similarly þornewode 322, þarẹuore 210, warẹuore 203, 333. The prefix in atschet 44 is #oþ#; #be-# is regularly bi-, bigrede 220, bitelle 199; a in adun 164 is #of#; the prefix #ge-# is fully preserved as i-; the suffix -hede, 118 &c. is *#hǣd#.

#w# is written u in suiche 134, 283, tuengst 112, but more frequently v, sval 7, tosvolle 101; it stands for wu in wrchen 286, wrs 34, wrþ 256, unwrþ 255, for wi in wle 284, for uu in wl 31, wle 35 (#fūle#); in wole 8, as Breier explains, the original had uuele (#yfele#), the copyist took uu as w and read wole (#fūle#). Metathesis of #r# is seen in unwerste 134; #rr# is simplified in for 328. #n# is lost in þane 39 &c., wane 298, 352, ope 124, #on# is often reduced to a, adwole 420 &c.; #nn# is simplified in hen 291, kun 332. For #f# initial, f, u, v are used indiscriminately, faire 114, vaire 15, fiȝt 132, viȝte 128, for 328, vorre 243, foruorþ 276, for 32, uor 19, vor 43, vram 119, from 62; it is once w in waste (#fæst#), and w = uu in wl 31, wle 35; between vowels #f# is regularly u, buue 164, auale 410 beside fale 365, touore 371, similarly eure 251, cliure 78 (3), sulue 67, but v in eve 41, over 64, f in afere 177, aferd 288, ifare 278, oferd 277; in other positions it is commonly f, efne 229, stefne 230. #t# is lost in blosme 16 as already in OE. #blōsma#, nel tu 106, doubled in sittest 89; for #t#, d is written in ad 241; #tt# is simplified in wit 420. For #d#, t is written in ihert 406; #d# is mostly omitted in an 7 &c., beside occasional and 4, 294, also in answare 55, 277, as rarely in OE., but andsuare 105; spene 121 is a new back formation from the pt. tense and pp. of spend (NED); #dd# is simplified in bed- 240, midel- 349. For #þ#, d appears in haued 123, lodlich 32 (3), t in witute 139, 200, bigredet 67, biledet 68, hatiet 186, schuniet 185, singet 152, wit 56, 222; dostu 174, 289 is a compendium for dost þu, similarly axestu 329, wenestu 219. #sć# is sch, schal 143, schende 210, bischopen 404, schuniet 185, but occasionally sh, shal 258, ishote 23, mershe 220, and once s, sewi 107. The stop #c# is regularly k before e and i, unker 107, loki 56, also in kon 326, kume 314, kun 332, kunne 144, kuþe 332, and ck in eck 130, haueck 219, otherwise c, cunne 47, 48, cuþe 360, hauec 223, spac 274: #cc# is ck, flockes 216, þicke 17, 308; it is simplified in stoc 25: (b) ah 357 (6) is Anglian #ah#, but (a) ac 83 (6). #cw# is (a) qu, quaþ 143, but (b) cwaþ 372 (5). #č# is expressed by ch, chirche 339, ich 1, swuche 354, unwrenche 125, ilich 232, 234, but ilike 113 r. w. biswike. #čč# is cch, recche 60, wrecche 251, but reche 58; #čǧ# is gg, alegge 272, hegge 17, 59 (*#hecg#), legge 164, segge 18. Palatal #g# is written ȝ, ȝare 171, ȝaf 105, areȝþe 285, murȝþe 257 (3), areȝ 285, bareȝ 286, folȝeþ 223, isuolȝe 102, unwroȝen 118, but arehþe 359, ibolwe 101. #ng# appears in lengþe 130, strengþe 129, but strencþe 356 (Horn, Beiträge, 60). #h# has been added initially in his 404, hunke 376, hure 141, and dropped in abbe 130, is 281. #hr# is r in rise 19; #hl#, l in lud 6, luste 99; #hw# is hw in hwile ON 1591, wh in what 60, but otherwise w, aiware 172, wat 141 &c., wan 334, wile 6 (3), wa 425, wo 152, wonne 38, wone 243, won 240, wider 342.

(2) =Of J.= Mainly a record of divergences from C. #a# is more frequently o before nasals, grome 49, lome 375, mon 334, 355, and before lengthening groups, ondsware 105, onsware 55. Beside hwanne 121, 308, hwenne occurs 38 (4). ewel 80 takes its initial vowel from #æl#. #æ# is e in hedde 102 (3), queþ 372 (3), wes 1 (7). #e#, sweche 354, but such 374, suche 134 (#swylc#). #i# is often written in French fashion y, especially in conjunction with m, n, u, h, myne 51, ynne 208, clyures 111, fyht 132; #willaþ# is wille 373; welcometh 318 has wel substituted for #wil#; with cleures 84, 206 comp. ‘cleafres,’ AR 102/5, ‘claures,’ Corpus MS. #o#, wolde 370. #u#, tunge 37, vnne 382, but schonyeþ 185, vowele 213, a French use. #ā#, hwo 425, no 202, meaning nor, but naþeles 105, 357. #ǣ{1}# dayrewe 244, wrenne 360 (3); eoch 231, euche 151, euych 187 descend from #ylc#, comp. 288/8; meysse 84 (*#mǣscan#), vleysse 83, with #ǣ# before #sć#, may, in this text, be French spellings, but comp. 428/6. #ǣ{2}# is with fewer exceptions e, efne 239, let 194 (4), leteþ 372 (3), ofdred 387. #ē#, dome 426 is misspelt for deme. #ī#, swiþe 2, 12, swyþe 149. #ȳ#, hwy, with y written for i. #ea# before #r# + cons. is e in erdingstowe 28. #eo# before #r# + cons. is eo, veor 328, veorre 243, heorte 37, reorde 227, steorre 244, ileorned 172. #ie#, bichirmeþ 215. No umlaut in heuene 346 r. w. stefne, heueryche 335, fele 415, but veole 20. #eo#, u- and å-umlaut of #i#, heonne 66, heore 216 &c. neþerward 100, seþþe 240. #ea# after palatal and before nasal, schome 50, 374, schomye 117. #ie# after #g# is regularly e, yeue 410, yeueþ 416, 419. #gief# is if 283 &c.: #heom#, heom 62 &c. #ēa#, eren 254, drem 21; the i-umlaut, ihere 228. #ēo# is mostly preserved, fleo 33, heo 33, heolde 51, leof 159, preostes 351, teone 50, but he 19, holde 12, lesen 267, prest 238, swere 73.

The new diphthongs have reached a more advanced stage in which w displaces ȝ; y is used extensively for i. #a# + #g#, drawe 209, mawe 138. #æ# + #g#, day 89, vayre 15, but seyde 9, iseyd 273. #e# + #g#, ayeyn 7 (3), pleye 169, seyþ 132, snayles 87, seist 50. #i# + #h#, adihte 242, bitwihen 390 (#betwih#), myht 78. #i# + #g#, unwryen 118. #o# + #g#, itowen 368. #u# + #g#, vowele 64, fowel 65, muwe 62. #ā# + #g#, owe 195, þrowe 196. #ǣ{1}# + #g#, eyþer 9; ihware 172 is OE. #gehwǣr#. #ō# + #g#, bowe 15, wowe 120. #ō# + #h# is ouh, brouhte 156, 369, þouhte 269, roughte 305, but þoutest 113. #ū# + #h#, þuhte 21, of þuhte 275. #ea# + #h#, iseyh 29, ouerseyh 30; the i-umlaut, myhte 42, nyht 252. #eo# + #h#, ariht 278, brihter 108, vyhte 128, ryht 76; the i-umlaut, isihþ 285. #ēa# + #g#, eyen 75, 100, eye 304, neyh 44; #þēah# appears as þeih 367, þeyh 137 &c., þey 287, þah 422 (stressed), þe 48, 220. #ēo# + #h#, lyhte 119, ryhte 120; the i-umlaut, flyhst 89, flyhþ 132; #dīegel# is dyele 2. #ā# + #w#, snouh 308, nouht 58, nowiht 256, noht 183. #ī# + #w#, hewe 108. #ēo# + #w#, eure 379, treo 316.

#i# is levelled to e in chireche 339, clerekes 340, 347, mureþe 257, murehþe 336, 343; in gretture 74, u appears for e; e is inserted in bolewe 101, swikedom 119.

w stands for u in hw 46, 435; it is written for wu in wrche 340, wrse 219, wrste 10, wrþe 278, and for we in wre 159; it is u in suych 283. Final #n# is omitted in a 241 &c. #f# is v in ivi 27. d is written for #t# in bid 319; it is doubled in gladdre 19. For #þ#, t is written in wit 57, h in bihouhte 155. #sć# is s, sarp 79, atset 44, sende 210, sc, biscrycheþ 67, scrichest 179, scort 73, sch, schewi 107, scholdest 54, schulle 320, mersche 220. Beside sweche 354 are such 374, suche 134. Final #c# is written k in spak 279, 288; #cc# is kk in þikke 308; #cw# is qu in iqueme 427. nyk 202 (OE. #nič#) is a Midland form, and probably due to Scandinavian influence; ic is ic 245 (7) beside ich 1 &c.; ilyche 113 r. w. biswike. Palatal #g# is very regularly written y, yaf 55, 105, ayaf 95, yomere 293, voryete 343. After l, r, #g# passes into the spirant w, bolewe 101, foleweþ 223, iswolwe 102, amorewe 310, moreweninge 361, sorewe 309, but arehþe 282 (areh + þe). #g# is lost initially in if 260 &c. #h# is lost in þoutest 113. #hw# is generally preserved, hwan 334, hwar 64, hwi 204, hwile 158, ihware 172.

#Accidence:# (1) =of C=. Strong declension of masc. and neut. nouns. In the s. n. a. bile 79, 205, griþbruche 377, kume 314 (possibly d.), hete 123 have their OE. vocalic ending; songe 259 is a scribe’s mistake for song; bodi 73 has lost final g, eve 41, final n. Gen. -es, fuȝeles 259, speres 355: d. -e, boȝe 15, bore 286, daie 352, houene 346, sumere 1, 294, wintere 293, but adai 89 (3), aniȝt 89, 175, awinter 290; with loss of final consonant, amorȝe 310, eue 239 (3), iui 27; OE. are blo 108, 319, (Portes)hom 395, tro 316; king 371 is miswritten for kinge. The pl. n. a. of masculines ends in -es, snailes 87, tunes 348, but cliuers 111, 206, fuȝele 64 (see note): neuters are ibere 178, þinge 225, wiȝte 87, 160, and with masc. termination, wiȝtes 309, wordes 134, unwiȝtis 174. Genitive is cunne 20; datives have mostly -e, foȝle 213, rise 19 (3), songe 82, stude 410, þinge 312, 415, þuuele 214, vnwrenche 125, volde 72, worde 114 (7), but craftes 329, cliures 84, toppes 306, bischopen 404. The fem. nouns of the strong declension have -e in s. n. a., answare 55, 277, blisse 298, 346, eardingstowe 28, godhede 267, skentinge 324, stefne 233, unrihtfulnesse 385, cheste 133, sorȝe 309, but hen 291, insiȝt 151, woning 227, 403, so ME. grucching, luring 301: þuster 154, 186, 188 is neuter. Gen. -e, worlde ON 476: dat. -e without exception, blisse 335, brede 130, ME. pipinge 232, 253, see 397. Pl. d. is dede 188, 406; a. blisse 311, clawe 109, tale 193, tide 26. Nouns of the weak declension have -e throughout, s. n. swore 73, mose 69, d. deme 426, frogge 85, eȝe 304, wise 20, but uo 281, a. daisterre 244, grame 49, ȝeme 345, but dairim 244, iuo 359: pl. n. blosme 16, eȝene 75, d. fere 179, but earen 254. Minor declensions: uote pl. d. 51; man s. n. 210 (3), monnes s. g. 254, 304, men pl. n. 302, manne pl. d. 365, menne 368, men pl. a. 246; boke s. d. 266; mus pl. n. 87; niȝt s. n. 250, middelniȝte s. d. 241, but aniȝt 89, 175, niȝt s. a. 247, 252, niȝtes pl. n. ON 523; childre pl. d. 419.

Adjectives which in OE. end in #-e# have e in all cases, breme 158, grene 18, isene 122, 211, murie 261, þicke 17, riche 413, similarly those in #-a#, lame 375, unwille 300, but hoked 79 has lost #e#, while ope 124 has vocalic ending by loss of #n#, and fastrede s. n. m. st., r. w. unrede, has added e. Those in #-ig# lose g, holi 339. Otherwise the nom. is unchanged. Datives have -e in all genders, str., gode 223, riȝte 170, 200, 212, wk. faire 317, 319, fule 93, 295, olde 163, so acc. m. f. str. stronge 205, vaire 15, bolde 288, schille 98, 364, but stif 205, lodlich 32 before vowels, unwrþ 255, wk. gode 414, longe 247, but ful 94: wrecche s. a. m. wk. 251 has taken the form of #wrecca# sb. (Breier). The acc. neut. is uninflected, god 131; wole 8 is corrupt. #mycel# is s. n. muchel 404, s. d. muchele ON 1217: #āgen# has lost n in oȝe 195. The pl. of all adjectives ends in -e, n. brode 75, isome 378, d. belde 358, smale 213, a. gode 206, scharpe 109, but scharp 206 before a vowel. OE. #ān# is s. n. m. on 25, 238 before vowel, 82, 330 (pronominal), o 331 (num. adj.), f. a 112, an 80 before vowel, s. d. m. one 2, 15, &c., f. ore 17, 393, 397, one 14, 235, neut. one 1, 236, s. a. m. one 102, a 94, o 249 (num. adj.), f. one 4, 155, 324, an 4, one 403 (num. adj.), neut. a 45, 104. #nān# is s. n. m. no 210, f. 146, s. d. m. none 168, 387; as adv. na more 169 (3). Adjectives used as nouns are wise s. n. m. 132, pl. d. 181, bare s. d. 106, s. a. 56, gode s. d. 338, ille 299, longe 45, vuele, wroþe 63 (see note), blete s. a. 57, woȝe 120, 154, worste 10, but god 245. Comparatives have -e, betere 330 (3), grettere 74, mildre 418, worse 219, but briȝter 108, gladur 19, icundur 85, uairur 108.

The personal pronouns are ich, i 353, me, unker dual g., of us two 107, we, hure pl. g., of us 141, us, þu, (speddes) tu 125, þe, hunke 376 (see note), ȝe, eu. The pronoun of the third person is s. n. he m. 21 &c., ho f. 19, 368, heo 360, 372 &c., he 97, 274, 279, hi 141, hit neut. 28, d. him m. 167, hire f. 104, him neut. ON 682, a. hine m. 392, hi f. 29, 30, 32, hit neut. 92, pl. n. hi 10 &c., ho 66, 76, heo 418, 434, 435, d. hom 94, heom 408, a. hi 420, hom 62 (possibly d.), heom ON 930: reflexive are hi 155, heom 407; definitive, sulue 69. Possessives are s. n. mi, before vowel or pronom. h, min, d. mine m. 46, mire f. 384, mine 59, 245, neut. 83, 218, a. m. 36, 242, f. 196; pl. mine; s. n. þi, before vowel or h, þin, d. þine m. 58, þin 117, þire f. 307, 383, þine 40 (6), neut. 88, a. m. 119 &c., þin 249, þine f. 194, þin neut. 121 (before vowel), þi ON 104; pl. þine, but þin pl. n. 75, 113 before vowel; his 188, is 281, his neut. 267; hire 26; ure 298; ower 379; hore 216, heore 418; unker 423, 425, 426. The definite article is s. n. þe m. 132, þo f. 26, 155, þe 13, 29 &c., þat neut. 10 &c., þe 352, g. þas m. 254, þare f. 28, d. þan m. ON 125, þen 386, þe 322, 371, þare f. 31, 397, þe ON 96, þan neut. ON 133, þe 56, a. þane m. 414, þe f. 13, þat neut. 8, 10; pl. n. þe 315. The article is also used demonstratively as adj. þat 5, 8 &c., þare 96, as pronoun, þat 82, þan 156, 405. The compound demonstrative is s. n. þes m. 195, þos f. 41 (3), þeos ON 1667, 1707, d. þis neut. 437 (the metre requires þisse), a. þos f. 133, þis neut. 156 (4); pl. n. þos 348, þeos 413, d. þisse 432, a. þos 95, þeos ON 1653. The relatives are þe ON 1346, þat 10, 144; meaning to which 187, that which 78, 115, 174. Interrogatives are wa 425, wo 152, wat 141, 271, 353, what 60, (to) wan 334, wuch ON 1378 and the correlative suich n. s. m. 283, swuch s. a. f. 374, suiche pl. n. 134, swucche pl. d. 354. #gelīc# is ilich s. n. m. 232, 234; #gelīca#, ilike pl. n. 113. Indefinites are me 32 &c., man 341; sum s. a. f. 6, summe pl. n. ON 1648; eiþer 9, 141, aiþer 7; oþer s. d. f. 54, s. a. 7, s. a. f. 326, oþeres s. g. 9, oþer pl. n. 160, pl. a. 225; ech s. n. m. 231, neut. 312, eche s. d. m. 151; eurich s. n. m. 150, f. 257, neut. 185, g. m. 304; eni s. a. f. 326, neut. 338; moni s. n. m. 355, mani s. a. m. 399, manie 398, monie pl. d. 72, a. 193; uale s. d. m. 410, uele pl. g. 20, fale pl. d. 365, feole 415; al s. throughout, except all s. d. f. 129, alle s. a. f. 247; alle pl., except alre g. 10.

The infinitive ends in -e, singe 39 (5), wirche 340 and 40 other instances; exceptions in -en are losen 267, singen 327 before vowel or h, abiten 77, smiten 78 at end of line, hoten 192, speten 39, wrchen 286; the second weak conjugation has -i, liki 258, sewi 107; contract verbs are flo 284, 319, flon 106 before vowel. The dat. inf. is not inflected, to biholde 71, for teche 408, [for] ȝiue 410, to seche 402 (virtual nominative): no examples in -en. Presents are s. 1. abbe 130, adiȝte 242, kep (ich) 110; of second wk. conj. warni 246, wndri 184; of contract verbs, iso 243, so 34; 2. axest 325, singest 247 (3), passive, hattest 191, axestu 329, wenestu 219, ME. clackes 81; with -ist, singist 175, wenist 231; seist 50 (4) represents #segst#; syncopated forms are telst 226, tuengst 112, wenst 47, the metre requires woldẹst 84, hauẹst 109; a contract verb is fliȝst 89, 183, fliȝst(e) 283; 3. blisseþ 313, croweþ 251 and 17 others, singet 152, schuniet 185; syncopated forms are numerous, abid 421, berþ 281, bit 319, 323, demþ 420, diht 399, falt 37, fiȝt 132, halt 32, helpþ 127, lat 224, liþ 308, lust 168, 169, singþ 339, telþ 256, þincþ 430, worþ 283, writ 399, þincþe 46 (= þincþ þe); seiþ 132 represents #segð#; contract verbs are atfliþ 37, fliȝt 132, 224, isiþ 285, isoþ 302; pl. 3. bigredeþ 215, habbeþ 309, 406, bigredet 67, biledet 68, haued 123, floþ 214: subjunctive s. 1. holde 59, schilde 57; second wk. conj., loki 56; 2. clawe 110, wepe 182; 3. bitide 52, uorȝete 343; pl. 1. lete 133, ute 422, fo 135; 3. bigrede 220; imperative s. 2. hud 120, stond 431, loke 122, schamie 117, seie 173, flo 33; pl. 2. fareþ 379, lateþ 372 (3), lusteþ 372. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. s. 3. aȝaf 95, ȝaf 55, 105, iseȝ 29, ouerseȝ 30, quaþ 143, 145, sat 15, 101, spac 274, 288; pl. 3. seten ON 1102; subj. s. 3. iseȝe 303: I b. s. 3. com 361; pl. 3. bicome 434: I c. s. 3. bigon 13, song 20 (4), sval 7, warp 45; subj. s. 3. wrþe 278: II. s. 3. abod 41: III. s. 3. atschet 44: IV. s. 3. stod 25: V. s. 3. athold 270, bihold 30, hold 100, let 8; pl. 3. holde 12; subj. s. 1. holde 51. Participles past: I a. awreke 198, bispeke 381, underȝete 124: I b. ibore 334: I c. ibolwe 101, ibred 367 (#breden#), isuolȝe 102, iþrunge 38, tosvolle 101: II. itoȝen 368: II, III. vnwroȝen 118: III. ishote 23: IV. ifare 278: V. bigrowe 27, bihote 388, iholde 366, ofdrad 387. Past of Weak Verbs: s. 1. iherde 3; 2. raddest 115 (weak form), þoȝtest 113, speddestu 125; 3. broȝte 156, hadde 102, sede 33, seide 9; pl. 3. spedde 435, ferden 432: subj. s. 3. roȝte 305. Participles past: acoled 161, aferd 288, ihert 406, iladde 276 (#lǣded#), ilorned 172, imeind 18, 306, ised 273, oferd 277, oftoned 190. Minor Groups: an 1 pr. s. 382; can 1 pr. s. 126, 436, con 199, kon 326, con pr. s. 415, cunne 1 pr. s. subj. 47, kunne pr. s. subj. 144, kuþe pt. s. 332, cuþe 360; þaref pr. s. 146; wot 1 pr. s. 61, wostu 2 pr. s. 334, wot pr. s. 151, ?wte 2 pr. s. subj. 318, wiste pt. s. 103, wuste pt. pl. 10, nuȝte ȝe 2 pt. pl. 394; schaltu 2 pr. s. 165, schal pr. s. 143, shal 258, shulle 1 pr. s. subj. 320, 323, sholdest 2 pt. s. 54, scholde pt. s. 371, schulde 390; mai 1 pr. s. 184, miȝt 2 pr. s. 64 (3), mist 78, mai pr. s. 141, muȝe 1 pr. pl. 138, pr. pl. subj. 62, miȝtest 2 pt. s. 192, miȝte pt. s. 42, mihte we 1 pt. pl. 392, miȝte pt. s. subj. 411; mote 1 pr. s. subj. 52; bon inf. 198, bo 146, beo 378, ?be 296, am 1 pr. s. 212, icham 126, nam 387, art 2 pr. s. 38, nart 285, is pr. s. 34, his 404, nis 162, boþ pr. pl. 75 (5), beoþ 418, bo 2 pr. s. subj. 127, pr. s. subj. 107 (4), bo 1 pr. pl. subj. 137, 2 s. imp. 197, beoþ 2 pl. imp. 378; was 1 pt. s. 1, were pt. pl. 16, pt. s. subj. 21, nere 22, weren pt. pl. subj. 76, were 305; wille 1 pr. s. 198, wilt 2 pr. s. 121, nel tu 106, wile pr. s. 170, wle 284, wulle ȝe 2 pr. pl. 373, nulleþ pr. pl. 407, wille 2 pr. s. subj. 77, pr. s. subj. 144, wile 141, wille pr. pl. subj. 222, wolde 1 pt. s. 128, nolde 115, woldest 2 pt. s. 84, wolde pt. s. 70, walde 370; don inf. 115, do 374, 1 pr. s. 245, dest 2 pr. s. 49, 237, dost 307, dostu 174, 289, deþ pr. s. 359, doþ 112, 2 pr. pl. 377, pr. pl. 113, misdoð 413, do we 1 pr. pl. subj. 424, do 2 s. imp. 431; gon inf. 170, goþ pr. pl. 221.

The adverb aiware 172, widely, OE. #ǣghwǣr# has added e; B-T. quotes #ǣghwāre# from Lye. Adverbs and prepositions in #-an# have -e, abute 16, bute 403, buue 164, honne 66 (#heonane#), soþþe 240, vorre 243, ine (#innan#) 266 (3), upe (#uppan#) 351, touore 426, witute 139, but bituxen 390: mid 18 (4) and mide 411, oft 36 and ofte 81 occur.

(2) =Of J.= The few divergences are briefly indicated. Nouns: eyen pl. n. 75, song s. n. 259; adjectives: vuele s. a. neut. wk. 8, iliche s. n. f. str. 235, o a. s. f. 403, non s. d. m. 168, icundere s. n. neut. 85 (unmetrical), beter s. n. m. str. 330, 331. The pronoun of the first person is often ic 245, 385; vr pl. g. 141; heo s. n. m. 23, 280, 375, 394, he s. n. f. 19, hi pl. n. 76, my s. a. m. 36, þi s. a. m. 264, þin s. d. m. 125, þine s. d. f. 383, eure s. d. m. 379; þe s. n. f. 26, þon s. d. neut. 350; þisse s. d. neut. 437, þeos s. a. f. 133; oþres s. g. 9, 11. Tellest 226, biholdeð 30, helpeð 127 are not syncopated; wenest 231, hateþ, luuyeþ 186, abit 421; wite 2 pr. s. subj. 318, unwryen pp. 118 (#wrigen#), vnne 1 pr. s. 382, beo inf. 198; beon pr. pl. subj. 137. Noteworthy are muchele adv. 413, ne conjunction 74, than.

#Vocabulary:# French are acorde 137, afoled 162, castel 131, certes 412, clerkes clerekes 340, 347, fals 166, gente 160, granti graunti 157 (the latter Anglo-French), grucching 301, ipeint 76, kanunes 347, maister maistre 147, 421, pes pays 373 (the former phonetic, the latter traditional spelling), plait plaid 5, 380, plaidi 140, plaiding 12, rente 410, schirme 222, possibly crei 251. Scandinavian are ilete lete 281, 358, 35, ille 299, lah(fulnesse) 384, nai 202, skentinge 324, sckile 142, þoȝ 220, wronge 152, possibly wailawai 176 and wise 54, if it means song. Noteworthy is the large number of expressive words bearing a popular stamp, such as clackes, clechest, crempe, galegale, misrempe, snepe, spale, totose, ȝollest, ȝoȝelinge.

#Dialect:# The poem was presumably written in Dorsetshire and so in the dialect of the Middle South; the evidence of the rhymes confirms this. But in its present form there are considerable traces of Anglian influence, and these, as appearing equally in both manuscripts, may be set down to the transcriber of their common exemplar or to one of his predecessors.

#Metre:# The short rhymed couplet, in its original French form, has regularly eight syllables, with masculine ending or nine with feminine ending. But the Anglo-French poets, like Chardry, whose Petit Plet, ‘estrif mut delitus’ is in both our manuscripts, allow themselves more freedom, and the form of the verse in ON is varied by all the licences of native English prosody. The types are i. masculine ending, eight syllables, four stresses, iambic rhythm, as, þat plaít | was stíf | and stárc | and stróng 5; so 7, 8, 29, 30, 43, 44, 174, 176, 183-185, 248, 250, 252, 256, 260, 338, 353, 394: i a. the same, but with trochaic beginning, as, Mé is | þe wúrs | þat ích | þe só 34, 149, 319: i b. seven syllables with light syllable wanting in first foot, as, þíd|er fúnd|eþ eúr|ich mán 337: ii. feminine ending, nine syllables, four stresses, iambic rhythm, as, þat ál|re wórst|e þát | hi wúste 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 27, 35, 36, 40, 45, 46, 55, 56, 67, 69, 72, 82, 93, 95, 96, 99, 105 and 104 other lines: ii a. the same with trochaic beginning, as, wénst þu | þat ích | ne cún|ne sínge 47, 38, 52, 78, 80, 98, 121, 122, 215, 222, 225, 244, 295, 302, 304, 318, 325, 334, 342, 349, 352, 406, 417, 424: ii b. eight syllables with light syllable wanting in first foot, as, ánd | me schíld|e wít | þe bléte 57, 70, 71, 87, 91, 110, 117, 131, 147, 148, 217, 378. The unstressed element in a foot is doubled in i. þi bód|i is shórt | þi swór|ẹ is smál 73, þu chát|ẹrest so dóþ | on ír|ish préost 238, Hit lúu|eþ þúst|er and hát|iet líȝt 186, þat þín|e píp|inge nís | ilích 232: i a. Grétter|ẹ is þin héu|ed þán | þu ál 74, Cértes | cwaþ þe húl|e þát | is sóð 412: i b. þát | ho sóng | hirẹ a bís|emár 104: ii. Eurich þíng | mai lós|en hís | godhéde 267, Me lúst|e bet spét|en þán|e sínge 39, 62, 317, and þúȝ|te wel uúl | of þár|e húle 31, 425, þoȝ crów|e bigréd|ẹ him bí | þe mérshe 220, þe níȝt|ingál|e bigón | þe spéche 13, 116, 154, 187, 253, 262, 266, 354, þe wér|ẹ icúnd|ur to ón|e frógge 85, alsó | ho hád|dẹ one frógg|ẹ isuólȝe 102, Þo quáþ | þe húl|e wo schál | us séme 143: ii a. wénes | tu þat háu|eck bó|þe wórse 219, álle | þat ihér|eþ þín|ẹ ibére 178, Schíld þin|e svík|eldom vrám | þe líȝte 119, 234, 359; ii b. Hó | ne míȝt|e no léng | biléue 42, 264, 347, þár | þo v́l|e sóng | hire tíde 26. The light syllable is missing in i. and mák|ẹst þine sóng | só | unwúrþ 255, He wún|eþ át | pórt|es hóm 395, Ich síng|e bét | þan þú | dést 237, vor suích | worþ bóld | ȝif þú | flíȝst 283, 284: ii. On mé | hít | is wél | iséne 211, Ich wót | þat þú | árt | unmílde 61, 303, 390, wel fíȝt | þat wel flíȝt | seíþ | þe wíse 132, werẹ aférd | ho spác | bóld|e tále 288, Bet þúȝt|e þe dreím | þat hé | wére 21: ii a. Nís he | vor þé | nóȝt | afóled 162, Bít me | þat ích | shúll|e sínge 323. Inversion of the accent is fairly frequent, as i. Þat ích | shúlle | to hír|e fló 320, An díht | and wrít | máni | wisdóm 399, He náu|eþ bút|ẹ óne | woníng 403: ii. Ne hélpþ | nóȝt þat | þu bó | to þríste 127, 392, 408, 425, Þo stód | on óld | stóc þar | bisíde 25, 32, 199, 372, 381, 422, vor hír|e lú|uẹ óne | skentínge 324, 396. Synizesis takes place in monie 72, 193, 398 (pronounce monye), schamie 117, schuniet 185, hatiet 186, murie 261, unmurie 262, lilie 317. The e of a middle syllable after the stress in a trisyllabic word suffers syncope; certain instances are, sumẹre 1, 327, diȝẹle 2, oþẹres 9, 11, vuẹle 63, fuȝẹle 64, hauẹkes 207, chatẹrest 238, wintẹre, ȝomẹre 293, sumẹre 294, betẹrẹ 330, 331, 401, steuẹne 345, 363, houẹne 346, 350, also warẹuore 333, morẹȝeninge 361, probable are narẹwe 68, eȝẹne 75, svikẹdom 123, as avoiding a three syllable foot. With regard to -est, -eþ of the sing. present, the only certain examples of syncope are woldẹst 84, cumẹþ 298, in all other possible cases there is the alternative of a three syllable foot. But taking into account the preponderance of forms syncopated by spelling, and the dissyllabic norm of the foot in the French verse which served as model, it seems more likely that the poet scanned þretẹst 83, hauẹst 109, speddẹstu 125, schirchẹst, ȝollẹst 179, miȝtẹst 192, wenẹst 195, bicumẹþ 207, wenịst 231, singẹst 247, 310, 175, crowẹþ 251, singẹþ 292, forbernẹst 297, cumẹþ 298, hauẹþ 356, nullẹþ 407: similarly werẹn 76, ovẹr 64, euẹr 421 are probable. What has been said about syncope applies also to the relative spheres of elision and hiatus. The letter which suffers elision is weak, mostly inflectional, final e before an initial vowel or pronominal h, presumably also before an inorganic h as in hule; there is no elision in the case of such words as me 38, 164, we 133, he 303, ope 124. It certainly takes place in Bet þúȝt|e þát | he wér|ẹ ishóte 23, and in the same position in 50, 63, 75, 77, 81, 123, 125, 137, 160, 161, 168, 177, 178, 181, 236, 257, 277, 281, 308, 315, 336, 346, 364, 397, 428, alsó | ho hád|dẹ one frógg|ẹ isuólȝe 102, þát | ho sóng | hirẹ a bí | semár 104, Þo húl|ẹ one wíl|e hí | biþóȝte 155. Hiatus, which is the maintenance of e under the same conditions, is certain in ll. 28, 31, 92, 140, 163, 168, 173, 227, 268, þat þẹ húl|e hád|de hír|ẹ iséd 273, 289, 305, 344, 386, 409, 418, 425. In all other cases the choice lies between a three syllable foot with hiatus and a two syllable foot with elision; the latter is probably to be preferred.

The few lines which are metrically faulty are easily amended, Ilóm|e þu dést | me múch|ẹle gráme 49, þu cúþ|est þát | þu árt | unwíȝt 90, þu féd|ẹst on hóm | a fúl|ne fóde 94, 107 MS. J is correct, þan þú | mid áll|e þín|e stréngþe 129, 164 MS. J is correct, þat hé | for þé | fálse | dom déme 166, Ne maí | no mán | þarẹuór|ẹ me schénde 210, vor þí | ich lóþ | am smál|e fóȝle 213, 235 MS. J is correct, Ích | do gód|e mid mín|e þróte 245, and éu|re seíst | þin ón|e sóng 249, Ac nó|þẹles spác | he bold|elíche 279, þu fár|est ál|so dóþ|þe ílle 299, To uór|e þe kíng|e þáh | heo schólde 371, An dó | þan kíng|e swúch|e scháme 374, þeos rích|e mén | múchel | misdóð 413, 437 MS. J is correct. Peculiar in rhythm are, and mák|ẹst þine sóng | só | unwúrþ 255, þat he míȝt|ẹ héom il|óme | be míde 411. The rhymes are generally correct, but kunne : honne 65, cunde : schende 209, foȝle : þuuele 213, ȝomere : sumere 293, stude : mide 410 are inexact. The poet was all the same a very skilful metrist.

#Introduction:# There has been a wide difference of opinion as to the time when ON was written, but the weight of recent authority is in favour of a date somewhere about A.D. 1220. The references in the poem to passing events are mostly vague or obscure; only the passage ‘þe king Henri | Jesus his soule do merci’, ON 1091, 2, which can refer to no other than Henry the Second, fixes a superior limit of A.D. 1189. It would equally appear to exclude the reign of Henry the Third, for, as ten Brink concedes, such an indefinite expression would hardly be used when another Henry was on the throne. It is further arguable that its use points to a time when the death of the king was recent. Again such a reference as that to the minstrel go-between saved by the intervention of King Henry the Second from the vengeance of a wronged husband would be to a recent event. Furthermore, it would give point to the expression, ‘ȝet nis he (i. e. the king) nouþer ded ne lame’, 171/375, if it were referred to the good peace kept by the Justiciar Hubert Walter, during Richard the First’s absence from England in A.D. 1194-8. These external considerations, slight though they be, are in favour of the end of that reign as the date of the composition of the poem. The stage of development reached by the language may be held to support this view. Our manuscripts are copies of a copy, probably not far removed from the original poem. That copy is primitive in the fullness of the inflections, the extensive preservation of grammatical gender and the form of the new diphthongs.

Of the author nothing is known. A certain Johan of Guldeuorde is recorded in a copied note in MS. J as declining to sing more, but any connexion of his with ON cannot be determined. If the author were the Nicholas de Guldeuorde mentioned in the poem, it would lend a characteristic spice of humour to the excellent testimonial which he gives himself (157/147-170, 173/389-401). His name indicates that he was a native either of Guildford in Surrey or of Guldeford near Rye in Sussex. What sort of court he presided over cannot be determined; he may have been bailiff of the hundred court, or steward of a manor, or commissary for the neighbouring Abbotsbury. The attempt made by Gadow to identify him with a certain Nicholaus Capellanus, who appears in the diocese of Salisbury in A.D. 1209, 1220, is not convincing.

The poem is in the favourite débat form of the contemporary French literature. The Owl is the Cleric, living a secluded life under a strict rule, the Nightingale is the Minstrel, amateur of the open air and vagabond freedom, the Wren is a poet, like Philippe de Thaün, who has gained a secure place at Court. Though he tries to hold the balance even, the author’s secret sympathies are with the Nightingale; he had been himself sometime a wandering scholar.

Read 150/16 þat, 152/57 wit, 154/104 bysemar, 160/183 nyht, 160/185 vych, 160/191 quaþ, 166/289, 167/289 Þule, 167/310 eue, 168/336 Murehþe ilyche, 168/339 holy.

The references are to C, unless J is prefixed.

1. #sumere#, summer, adj. s. d. agreeing with dale; a summer valley. Gadow compares OE. #sumer-lida# and similar compounds. But Stratmann explains it as s. d. f. of sum, certain.

2. #diȝele#: comp. ‘on ænne swiðe faire stude. | in ane dale deope[;] diȝelen bihælues,’ L 26933. ‘North of Portisham is a valley now called Mystecomb, formed by Hampton and Ridge Hills, and on the east side of the former are some pits, where the hundred courts were formerly held and hundred silver paid,’ Hutchins, Dorsetshire, i. 556. Was this the scene of the ‘plait’?

5. #starc#: comp. ‘þat fiht was swiþe strong[;] swiþe starc and swiþe lang,’ L 4170, MS. O.

6. #among#, at intervals, at times: comp. 152/81; ‘þar was weping strong[;] þar was gredinge among,’ L 23563, MS. O, and see KH 1527 note. Similarly ‘bitweonen’, 132/28; ‘And also cussed his feet amyd’, CM 14015, MS. T.

7. #sval#, was puffed out with anger, like L. tumeo. Rare in this absolute use; for a common expression comp. ‘þin heorte in wið þe swelleð of sar grome,’ HM 31/27: see also 155/101.

11. #hure and hure#: see 15/91 note.

J 13. #þo speke#, then to speak: the scribe had before him þo speche, the speech, þo representing OE. #þā#, s. acc. f. of #se#, usually þe in these texts. Mistaking þo for the adverb, meaning then, he altered speche into speke, spoiling the rhyme. (Breier, 125.)

14. #breche# probably represents OE. #bræc#, #brec#, which occurs in the boundaries of charters and appears to mean land left untilled among cultivated fields, such as would be covered with underwood; it would go well with #hurne# in its dialectal meaning of ‘a nook of land projecting into another parish, district or field.’ The phrase would then mean, in a corner of a spinney, just the position where the nightingale would feel safe; see 153/59, 60. Mätzner takes the word to mean fallowland; there is a dialectic breck, mostly northern and not recorded for the south and a literary word break, given in NED under date 1674, with that meaning. #beche# in J is generally identified with Layamon’s bach, bæch, valley, but Kenyon holds that it represents OE. #bēce#, beech, if so, hurne must have its secondary sense of hiding place.

J 16. #þat#: a scribe’s mistake for þar.

17. #ore#: OE. #ānre#, s. d. f.: #hegge# is descended from a strong fem. *#hecg#, but it is treated as masc. at l. 59, perhaps by confusion with OE. #hege#. #waste#: written for vaste, that is, faste (comp. ON, J 796), which Breier takes for an adverb qualifying þicke, very thick. But there is no evidence in ME. for the adverb, except with verbs and participles. It is an adjective, secure, safe, as in ‘wel he makede his castles[;] treowe ⁊ swiðe uæste,’ L 11897; comp. 153/53, 56-60, 157/130, 131, or possibly, dense.

18. Tall grasses and green flag plants grew up through the hedge.

19. #rise#, boughs; comp. ‘blisse was among þe rise,’ ON 1664.

20. #auele#: see 132/9 note.

21. #he#: see 135/127 note.

22. #þan#, than that.

26. #hire tide#, her hours; see 163/230 note, and comp. ‘Gif preost on gesetne timan tída ne ringe oððe tida ne singe, gebete þæt,’ Liebermann, Gesetze, i. 382/36.

27. #⁊#: comp. 81/82 note. #bigrowe#, overgrown: comp. ‘mid iui grene al bi-growe,’ ON 617.

30. #ouerseȝ#, looked down at from her higher position: comp. 34/75.

31. #þuȝte#: impersonal; supply hire from the subject of the preceding sentence: #wl# is predicative adjective.

35. #lete#, behaviour, i.e. hooting: comp. 165/281, 171/358.

37. #atfliþ#, takes flight, deserts me: comp. ‘expavit cor meum et emotum est de loco suo,’ Job xxxvii. 1. Mostly with acc., but comp. ‘leste þe heorte etfleo ⁊ wende ut,’ AR 50/19. #falt#, folds, collapses: comp. ‘and þi tunge foldet,’ PRL 250/3, 249/2; OEM 101/4 and see 2/19 note.

38. when you thrust yourself on me. Comp. ‘Bruttes him þrungen to[;] þræfliche swiðe,’ L 27796.

39. #Me luste bet#, it would please me better.

40. #of#, by reason of, as the result of.

41. #fort#: comp. 163/248 and see 72/179 note. #for# in J is due to the scribe who avoids the unusual word; comp. 162/248, 166/310.

42. #bileue#, hold in, keep still; a somewhat forced sense.

44. #atschet#, shot out, drove out of her body; its subject and that of warp in the next line is heo, contained in the preceding hire: comp. 98/71. The editors, however, treat fnast as the subject, but in the only other place where the verb occurs, ‘Ah þah mi lif me beo at-schote,’ ON 1623 it is transitive.

45. #warp#, sent forth; see 13/45.

48. #writelinge#, ‘trilling, singing in shakes and flourishes,’ Specimens; a meaning apparently deduced from the context here and ON 914, the only places where the word occurs. It may be a miswriting of wrixelinge or wriselinge; OE. #wrixlian#, to modulate, vary the voice, as in ‘Ic þurh muþ sprece monȝum reordum. | wrencum singe, wrixle ȝeneahhe | heafodwoþe, hlude cirme,’ Riddle ix (by some interpreted of the nightingale), Grein, iii. 189/1, to which Toller parallels ‘Vox mea diversis variatur pulcra figuris,’ Aldhelm, 252/27; ‘wrixleð woðcræfte . . . | beorhtan reorde,’ Phoenix 127.

49, 50. #grame . . . tone . . . schame#: comp. 40/165 note.

51. #on#, within the compass of, under.

52. May it so happen that I have the opportunity, a parenthesis; #⁊# in the next line is equivalent to and if.

54. #wise# may mean, song.

56. #loki--bare#, guard myself against the open, i.e. keep in my thicket, as at l. 59, 155/106. Other adjectives used as nouns are blete, l. 57, unsheltered place; woȝe ll. 120, 154, crooked conduct; harde, ON 459, 527, bitter weather, 703, difficulty; toȝte 703, puzzling situation. #loki wit# appears to be without parallel, but wiþ is common in conjunction with similar verbs, see 48/299 note; from is usual, 149/77 as with schilde, 153/62, 157/119.

63. #tukest#: the usual construction of this verb in OE. and ME. is seen in, ‘þa halgan . . . to ealre yrmðe tucode,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 494/106 (afflicted the Saints with every kind of misery); ‘ha tukeð ure godes to balewe ⁊ to bismere,’ SK 551. Whether to is to be inserted, or wroþe (which is a noun, ON 944) and vuele are to be regarded as adverbs, in any case the verb must have a direct object; #over# is probably a misreading of the common original MS. for oþer; comp. ON 1524 where J has correctly oþer and C over. The mistake would lead to the omission of to before wroþe. The sense then is, thou dost harass with evil and harm other small birds wherever thou canst. #fugele# as pl. acc. in rhyme can be supported by bridde : amidde, ON 123; wrenche : atprenche, id. 813.

67. #bischricheþ#, screech at; apparently only here. Comp. 160/215.

68. #narewe#, strictly, harshly; comp. 74/203 note. #biledet#, treat, like L. afficere; comp. ‘He iseyh hw ihesu crist. wes vuele biled,’ OEM 45/278; ‘And luþre heom biledeþ | Mid pykes and myd eaule,’ id. 83/329. The word appears to descend as to form from OE. #belǣdan#, to lead (astray), and as to meaning from OE. #belecgan#, to treat (ill), afflict, through the intermediary of their common pp. #belēd#. The expression is somewhat like ‘mettre à l’estroict, to put vnto the pinch,’ Cotgrave.

70. #Hire þonkes#, gladly; see 10/167 note.

72. #in monie volde#, lit., in many folds, that is, in many respects. The phrase seems to be a mistaken resolution of some such adverbial expression as *#on manigfealdum#; in ME. on manyfolde, bi manifold are found, as well as many a folde. A natural extension is seen in, ‘ne uint he red in one (none J) uolde,’ ON 696.

76. #Riȝt swo#, just as if; comp. 155/98, 163/222.

78. #cliure#, claw: six times in ON, only once again in ME., see ES xxxi. 7, 17. ‘#clifra#, ungularum,’ OE. Glosses, ed. Napier, 135/5341, 148/458.

80. #owel#: see 58/67 note.

J 81. #euer among#: see 148/6 note.

83. #to#: the construction appears to be quite isolated, for #þrēatian#, þreatien take the acc. of the person or thing threatened. The simple dat. is seen in, ‘swiþe hii gonne þretie[;] Arthur þan kinge,’ L 20341, MS. O. Comp. ‘escade to,’ 77/44 note.

85. Lit. It would be more natural to thee in respect of a frog, i.e. A frog would suit you better. #to one frogge# is the virtual subject of #were#. The same construction is implied in ‘Ov nas neuer icunde þarto,’ ON 114. Different is ‘Ne lust him nu to none unrede,’ 159/168, for lusten has a prepositional construction (see 52/383 note), while icunde has not. For the usual construction of icunde, see 3/32 note.

86. #cogge#: probably for cog-stone, a stone propped up at the edge.

88. #cunde . . . riȝte#: datives singular.

90. #on# should be omitted, it is unmetrical and, no doubt, due to un- in the following word. #unwiȝt#, hideous.

92. #Bi#, with reference to; see 4/30, 13/18, and comp. the similar use of ‘on’ in l. 94.

94. In them (i.e. in their case) thou rearest a very foul brood. For #on hom# comp. 161/211 note.

100. #noþerward#, downward: comp. 56/51.

101. #to svolle# &c.: comp. 149/7; ‘heorte to-bollen ⁊ to-swollen,’ AR 282/8.

104. #a bisemar#, a mockery, but ‘a bisemere,’ ON 1311 means in mockery.

106. #bare#: see 152/56.

107. #þare#: so the MS.; Wells thinks it a scribe’s mistake for ware representing #hwæþer#, but C has elsewhere only hwaþer, wather, hweþer, weþer, and the interrogative pronoun is apparently not contracted. Probably the scribe has left out the first syllable and has been influenced in writing the second by bare in the preceding line.

109. The nightingale answers.

110. #Ne kepich noȝt# &c., Nor do I care for your clawing me, i.e. I would rather that you did not claw me.

112. #tonge#, pair of tongs.

113. #so--ilike#, as those like you do, after the manner of your kind.

118. #svikelhede#, attempt at deception: apparently only here and at ON 838.

120. And conceal your wickedness beneath an appearance of righteousness. For the combination comp. ‘myd wowe ne myd ryhte,’ OEM 49/412; ‘þat is woh ⁊ na wiht riht,’ L 4333, 5043, 6373; ‘Man mai þer of et inoȝ | Al wiþ riȝt and noȝt wiþ woȝ,’ Heuser, Kildare-Gedichte, 146/62.

J 121. The second #þu# is a scribe’s mistake for þin.

125. #unwrenche#, evil tricks; comp. ‘For þine fule sunnen | ⁊ for þin uniwrenche,’ OEM 174/93, and for the rhyme 29/2.

127. #to þriste#: see 30/17.

128. #liste . . . strengþe# are often contrasted, ‘Betere is liste þen luðer strencðe’, AR 268/27; ‘hit wes ȝare iqueðen | þat betere is liste[;] þene ufel strenðe. | for mid liste me mai ihalden[;] þat strengðe ne mai iwalden,’ L 17209.

130. #on brede . . . lengþe# goes with #god#, good in all dimensions, in every respect: comp. ‘A fairer child neuer i ne siȝ, | Neiþer a lingþe ne on brade,’ Sir Beues 536, with Kölbing’s note.

132. ‘Wel fyht þat wel flyþ,’ Hendyng, Böddeker, AE. Dicht. 291/77; ‘Mieuz vaut bone fuie que mauvaise atente,’ Li Proverbe au Vilain, no. 64; ‘þu most turne þe rug ȝif þu wult ouercumen ⁊ wið fluht fehten,’ HM 17/28.

133. #lete awei#, give up, drop; comp. 50/348 note.

135. #fo we on#, let us proceed; comp. 143/67.

136. #wsome#: miswritten for ysome, concordant, peaceable, which is adj. as at 171/378: Kenyon points out that the word-order is idiomatic. In J, #some#, concord, is a noun; comp. 70/158 note.

137. #at one acorde#: the phrases at accord, in accord and with one accord are all found, but this combination is at any rate rare: a similar tautology is seen in ‘Two dogges and one bone | Maye never accorde in one,’ Rel. Ant. i. 233.

140. #foȝe#, fitness, decency: OE. #fōg#, a joint. Kock (Anglia, xxv. 323) translates, ‘reason, reasonableness, justice and moderation.’ Wells compares G. mit Fug und Recht. The word does not occur elsewhere in ME.; soþe in J is a substitute for a word not known to the scribe.

143. #us seme#, reconcile us, settle our dispute. OE. #sēman#.

148, 149. Comp. 18/16, 30. In J 149, #worde# is faultily repeated from l. 148.

151. #wot insiȝt in#, has skill in: the usual verb is seen in ‘insiht he cuðe[;] a winde and a mone,’ L 30497.

153, 154. Comp. 157/120 and 161/186.

J 155. #bihouhte# appears to be a scribal error for biþouhte, which occurs in the same text in a similar line, ‘Ful wel myd rede hire biþouhte,’ l. 704. It can hardly represent OE. *#behogode# or *#behogde#, pasts of #behogian#, #behycgan#.

158. #wile#, at one time.

161. #suþe acoled#, made cold or grown cold. In J, #nu þe# may mean now for thee; Skeat takes it for nuþe, now: but the scribe had probably suþe in his original.

164. Should condemn me and give you the upper hand: legge goes better with adun than with buue. Comp. ‘That brynges me vnder ⁊ not above,’ Ipomedon 43/1428, 106/3681; ‘who so . . . may not come to his above,’ id. 1/5 with Kölbing’s note; ‘Leve thy resoun and bileve in the wondir | For feith is aboven, and reson is undir,’ Rel. Ant. i. 127.

167. #him#: see 13/34 and add ‘Þe ston hym hys of swiche grace,’ KH MS. O. 585; ‘For horn hym was so longe,’ id. 977. #fastrede#, steadfast of purpose.

168. #to#: comp. 52/383.

170. #a#, on.

171. #ȝare#, J #ware#: the same variation occurs ON 488, 860. #ȝare# is the better reading.

181. #þinchest#: a scribe’s mistake for þincheþ. #snepe#, foolish; apparently only here: now a Lincolnshire dialect word.

184. #þar of#: comp. ‘Þes meiden wes awundret swiðe of þes wordes,’ SJ 37/1; ‘þe sunne wundrieð of faire,’ OEH ii. 19/29. For #of# = at, see 121/132.

186. Comp. 159/154.

187. #þat#, to which: see 44/250, 257 note, 46/292 note.

188. #to his dede#, as accompaniment of his actions.

194. Let thy tongue have a holiday. #spale#: OE. #spala#, a substitute, #spelian#, to take the place of another, ME. spelien mostly means to use sparingly. A related word is spell, a neutral word with meaning like þroȝe l. 196, a stretch of time; so a spell of work, a spell of rest: in Somerset dialect it means relaxation, in Australia, cessation from labour.

200. #riȝte soþe#: comp. 156/140. #spelle#, long story; comp. 175/437.

202. #nich ne nay#, not I nor nay.

203. #lust#: imperative, as at l. 199; but Skeat, ‘I am pleased to tell,’ which would require me lust.

208. #wune#: miswritten for wunne as the rhyme shows. The original probably had ƿ̇unne, which the scribe of J copied as ynne.

209. #me draȝe to#, incline towards, act in accordance with. The physical sense, betake oneself, is seen in ‘þes duc mid his drihte[;] to þare sæ him droh,’ L 92, and intransitively at 32/47. Comp. also ‘heald þin cunde,’ follow thy nature, OEH ii. 31/6.

210. #me#, as in J, seems necessary as the object of schende, immediately before which it should be inserted.

211 is formal; comp. ‘on me hit is isene,’ ON 367; ‘On þe hit is wel eþ sene,’ OEH ii. 255/5; Minot viii. 79 note. #on me#, in my case; for this use of on, comp. 155/94; similar is bi, 4/30. #hit# represents l. 212.

212. #vor riȝte cunde#, it is purely because of my nature that I am so keen.

215, 216. Comp. 153/67, 68. #to me ledeþ#, lead against me, bring to attack me; comp. ‘Me þinkþ þu ledest ferde to me,’ ON 1672.

220. #bi#, near.

221. #goþ#: go might have been expected, as bigrede is subjunctive.

222. #Riȝt so#: comp. 153/76.

223. #rede#: dative.

225. #me . . . of#, about me; comp. 1/3. #Þet# in J is a mistake for ȝet.

227. #woning#: comp. 159/176, 182.

228. #to ihire#, to be heard, to listen to; comp. 159/180.

229. #efne#, uniformly, without trillings; comp. 153/48.

230. #Mid fulle dreme#, with good round volume of sound, in contrast with the nightingale’s thin shrill pipe, ll. 235, 236.

236. #weode unripe#, half-grown weed, like Milton’s ‘scrannel pipes of wretched straw.’

239-246. #a riȝte time#. The owl takes credit for singing, not all night like the nightingale, l. 247, but only to call the religious to their hours, #an eue#, Vespers (#æfen-sang#); #bedtime#, Compline (#niht-sang#); #ad middelniȝte#, Mattins with Lauds (#ūht-sang#); #dairim#, Prime (#prīm-sang#), ‘þærrihte upasprungenum dægriman dægredsang sy begunnen,’ Benedictine Rule, ed. Schröer, 32/22. S. Brendan in his wanderings came to the bird’s paradise where ‘þe foweles sunge ek here matyns: wel riȝt, þo hit was tyme, | ⁊ of þe sauter seide þe uers: ⁊ siþþe also prime, | ⁊ vnderne siþþe ⁊ middai: ⁊ afterwardes non, | ⁊ eche tyde songen of þe dai: as cristene men scholde don,’ Legendary, ed. Horstman, 225/223. #note#, employment, here divine service; comp. 74/210. The nightingale claims her share in this at ll. 347-353.

248. #fort#: see 72/179 note.

251. #crei#: found here only; it has been explained as crowing, or crying, it can hardly be connected with F. cri, but it may possibly be, as Breier suggests, connected with OE. #crāwan#. More likely it is an imitative word invented by the writer.

252. #þat#, so that.

256. A mixed construction combining (i) that one esteems nothing of thy song, values thy song at nothing, and (ii) thy song is worth nothing; with the latter comp. ‘nis noht wurð þratte[;] buten þer beo dede æt,’ L 26555, with the former 124/265 note; ‘Thei tolde right nauȝt of thyn awe,’ Laud Troy Book, 2178. #of þar#, thereof, of thy song.

258. #wel unwreste#, right feebly.

261. Be the song pleasing beyond all measure, ever so pleasing. #ne# does not negative the verb, but goes with and strengthens neuer; comp. ‘Ne beo he nefre swa riche, forð he scal þenne is dei cumeð,’ OEH 35/21; similarly 23/168, 43/225; ‘treouðe nefde he nane[;] to nauer nane monne,’ L 25471.

262. #þat# is not the correlative of so in the preceding line, which is a conditional clause; it is an illogical repetition of ‘þat’ in ll. 256, 258: the sense is, though the song be ever so pleasing, it must appear unpleasing, if it continues &c. For #ne#, see 25/240.

263. #ouer unwille#, ‘beyond what is desirable,’ Specimens, but in the glossary unwille is translated, displeasure. Wells takes unwille as an adverb qualified by ouer, ‘too unpleasantly.’ Probably #ouer# is written for ower which with #unwille# would form an adverbial phrase, against your will, or pleasure, representing OE. #ūrum unwillum#, the latter element being pl. d. of #unwilla#; comp. ‘ure gast biþ swiþe wide farende urum unwillum,’ Boethius 152/4. Similar combinations descending from OE. #unwill# are seen in ‘þe man . . . here wuneð on wanrede ⁊ þoleð his unwille hwile druie, ⁊ hwile wete,’ OEH ii. 123/5; ‘hire unwilles,’ 140/25; ‘hire unwil,’ 141/136, HM 31/32; ‘min unwil,’ SM 13/3: see 140/25 note.

264. #aspille#, waste.

268. #unmeþe#: comp. 118/47.

276. #so foruorþ iladde#, carried so far, i.e. she had said so much. #foruorþ#, lit. far onwards; but forþ comes to mean simply, far; comp. ‘uorþ ase ȝe muwen,’ AR 46/10; ‘ouer al ase forð as imei,’ SJ 47/6. With #iladde# comp. ‘Of ðis kinge wil we leden song,’ GE 699; ‘talewise men þe speches driuen,’ OEH ii. 193/27.

278. #ifare#, ‘conveyed,’ Specimens, as if a strong pp. from the weak verb #ferian#. But the writer has elsewhere (l. 1709) ifare as pp. of #faran#, and the sense yielded, ‘should not be presented, conveyed, aright,’ does not suit the context. #Weorðan#, wurðen are sometimes used with past participles of intransitive verbs, ‘Denum eallum wearð | æfter þam wælræse willa gelumpen,’ Beowulf 823; ‘swa hit agangen wearð | eorla manegum,’ id. 1234; ‘þa þat forme ȝer[;] wharð forð igan,’ L 4942; and similarly ‘þe arcebiscop ongan to tellende . . . hu hit gefaran wes,’ AS. Chron. ed. Plummer, i. 130/30: the natural meaning of #ariht faran# is, to fare well, to prosper, and the present phrase may well mean, that her answer might not turn out prospered, well.

281. #berþ grete ilete#, assumes a haughty bearing; comp. 151/35, 171/358, and for pl. 110/273, 129/35.

282. So that he do not, through cowardice, give up his case, give way. #hit# is a vague object; comp. 42/214 note.

284. #svicst#: see footnote: Wells adopts the correction of the MS. and reads vicst, fightest, and Breier thinks the original had fihst; in Specimens niswicst is read without reference, and explained, ‘ceasest not.’ The readings of the MSS. may be accounted for thus. The author probably wrote biswicst (comp. 155/114, ON 930), deludest by a show of fight; the copyist of the exemplar common to CJ, with iswiken (#geswīcan#), cease, in his mind, altered to iswicst; C copied that, but noting its unfitness emended it to vicst, spoiling the rhythm, while J rejected i and adopted swykst, deceivest.

286. He will make a barrow-pig of a boar, i.e. he will climb down, from a fierce animal he will become quite tame. The boar is typically fierce, ‘brem as a bare,’ Sir Degrevant, 1240.

298. #cumeþ to londe#, comes to dwell with us, like ‘Þa æstre wes aȝeonge[;] and sumer com to londe,’ L 24241 (‘to toune,’ MS. O). See KH 153 note.

299. #þe ille#, the evil one, the devil; in modern dialect, the ill man, the ill thief: comp. ‘wurse’ 98/81. Wells says ‘the evil man.’

305, 306. Nor would he mind though flocks (coarse felted stuff made of refuse of wool and cotton) were muddled up with fine carded wool and hair, that is, he would take a perverse delight in a confusion which would be troublesome to sort out. #roȝte#: pt. s. subj. appears to owe its time to #wolde#. With #flokkes# comp. ‘xv capella nigra . . . falsi operis et mixti de lana et flokkes,’ Munim. Gildh. Lond. iii. 433 (quoted in NED, s.v. flock^2). #Imeind bi#: #mengan#, mengen mostly take wiþ, ON 131 or mid, 151/18, 38/142, ON 870; #bi# appears to be quite isolated.

310. #fort#: see 72/179.

312. #for mine þinge#, on my account: comp. ‘Ða ic þas stemne gehyrde and for minum þingum ongeat beon geclypode,’ Ælf. Lives ii. 32/485; ‘þat ich for þine þinge[;] mid sæxe me of-stinge,’ L 5033.

313. #blisseþ hit# can mean only, causes it to rejoice, comp. 14/50, 52. Alteration to hine would give a common reflexive use, rejoices; comp. ‘Ne mei nan mon . . . blissien him mid þisse wordle,’ OEH i. 33/29: hine would go with #hiȝteþ# also, as in ‘hyhte me myd my skentinge,’ ON 532; ‘ic . . . | ellen wylle | habban ⁊ hlyhhan | ⁊ me hyhtan to,’ Cod. Exon. ed. Thorpe, 456/19. J means, blesses my coming.

318. #þat--wte# may mean, that thou mayest know, but the reading of J gives a better sense, though you find fault with her action, and #þat# is probably a scribe’s mistake for þah.

320, 323. #shulle#: the ordinary construction of #biddan# where its object is expressed by a clause is þat with the subjunctive of the verb, as at 77/60, 141/39; ‘þa bæd he eaðmodlice þæt he hiene ne sende,’ Cura Past., 48/6; the insertion of #shulle#, which apparently does not alter the sense, is new; comp. ‘Ðeo apostles hine beden ꝥ he scalde suggen hwet þeo saȝe bicweðe,’ OEH 133/23.

327. #sume#: a mistake of the common exemplar for sumere, as Mätzner pointed out: comp. ‘vor sumeres tide is al to wlonc,’ ON 489.

328. Comp. ‘eorlum bringe | blisse in burgum,’ Grein, Poesie, iii. 189.

333. Comp. 161/203.

334. #to wan#, to what end, for what purpose: OE. #tō hwan# (#hwon#).

340. #ginneþ . . . wurche#, do compose, or, sing: for the periphrasis see KH 1277 note, Anglia xxix. 129. But Sweet translates ‘anginnað ðonne oftrædlice mare secggean,’ Cura Past. 66/3 ‘often try to speak more.’

341. #bi#, through the agency of.

342. Comp. 42/210, 48/326, 327. #shal#, must go: comp. 2/2 note. bon: inf. depending on shal.

345. And note from the church song.

348. #wicke tunes#, monasteries and other religious houses: OE. #wīctūn#, which translates L. atria, ‘introite in atria ejus,’ ‘ingangað on his wic-tunas,’ Ps. xcv. 8, xcix. 3: in form the ME. word is possibly influenced by #wīce#, office; wike occurs three times in ON.

349. #to#, at; see 163/241.

351. #prostes#: that is, seculars, #upe londe#, in their parishes, as distinguished from the clerks (l. 347), who are either monks or canons.

353. Repeated from ON 484. #wat# (hwat), as far as; an adverbial acc. of extent: comp. ‘wet we on þisse middelerd liuien,’ OEH 11/2, as long as; ‘also wat se we sinegen,’ OEH ii. 101/29, as soon as; ‘also wat swo þe þridde dageð,’ id. 103/26: see ‘alwat,’ 15/84, 215/26.

354 begins a paragraph with large initial in both MSS., but it goes with the preceding line ‘heo walde neoþeles ȝefe answere.’ The owl’s language was threatening. Comp. ‘Þe niȝtingale at þisse worde, | mid sworde an mid speres orde, | ȝif ho mon were, wolde fiȝte,’ ON 1067; ‘men weorreð mid þreo kunne wepnen, mid scheotunge, mid speres ord ⁊ mid sweordes egge,’ AR 60/14.

356. #⁊--schelde# goes with orde.

358. #ilete#: see 165/281.

363. #þah#, not in J, is necessary to the sense.

365. #awille#, to their pleasure.

367. Added at bottom of leaf. #awolde#, in the woodland; for though by her place of birth she was weak in woodcraft, she had learnt wisdom from the men among whom she had been brought up.

369. #þenne#, thence.

371. Even if she had to speak in the king’s presence. #Touore# takes a dative: see 102/144 and read kinge with J.

373. #Hwat#: an exclamation, What!

374. #þan kinge#: correction by Stratmann: perhaps his is to be read for #þis# in the preceding line: comp. l. 377.

375. #lame#, crippled, unable to act: comp. ‘Debilis uel eneruatus lame,’ Wright-Wülcker, Vocab. 162/1.

376. #Hunke#: strange in form, as in meaning: we should expect inc, as Wells points out: we, J 377 is more consistent.

378. #Lateþ beo#, cease from your strife.

384. #do# obviates the repetition of an: comp. 122/185. #lahfulnesse#, loyal holding to her offer, ll. 145-147, contrasted with #unrihtfulnesse#, l. 385.

J 390. #eu# is, of course, a mistake for us.

391. #An ȝef# is clearly wrong, while #ȝet# in J, meaning moreover, gives a poor sense. The original may have been, ȝif, als ich wene, þat he wolde, if, as I think, he would be willing to act as umpire. Ȝif þat, if, occurs in ‘ac ȝif þat he forlost his wit,’ ON 693, where J rejects þat and spoils the metre: perhaps the avoidance of the construction has caused the corruption of the text.

394. #nuȝte#: in all probability the original had nuste. The scribes, being acquainted with the graph st for ȝt, ht (see KH 249 note), mechanically substituted the latter here. C, starting correctly from nuste, wrote nuȝte; J read the original as miste, which for him meant myhte. There is a similar trouble in the text of ON 1300, where for nustest C has miȝtest or mistest and J nustest, ‘very like mistest,’ Wells.

397. #utlete#: the passage to the sea, now represented by the Fleet between the Chesil Bank and the mainland. Portisham is now about three miles inland, near Abbotsbury, to the monastery in which place it formerly belonged (Dugdale, Monast. iii. 52).

400. #þurh# &c.: by his delivered judgements and by his writings; that they righted matters as far as Scotland is a playful exaggeration.

407. Why will they not betake themselves to counsel, that is, take counsel: comp. ‘þe traytours of Scotlond token hem to rede, | þe barouns of engelond to brynge to dede,’ Bödd. AE. Dicht. 133/225; ‘Þe Irise oft tok hem to red, | To ston þat douhti kniȝt to ded,’ Horn Childe, 214; ‘Cnihtes eoden to ræde,’ L 19238; Minot vi. 68 note.

409. #for teche#: see 40/180.

410. #rente#, income of any sort, here probably from church preferments. #a uale stude#, in many a place; another playful touch.

413. #riche men#, men in high place.

414. #leteþ#, neglect.

415. #of . . . con#: comp. ‘He couþe of wode ⁊ of ryuere,’ R. of Brunne, Chron. 4006, and contrast ‘Brennes cuðe on hundes[;] Brennes cuðe an hauekes,’ L 4895.

417. See 44/260 note.

418. #litle childre#: the appointment of well-connected boys to valuable preferments was an abuse of that time. Comp. ‘Si nepotibus suis paruulis [prelati] mille animas strangulandas tradiderint et dixerint adulatores quod bene faciunt, tales in curiis laudantur,’ Eudes de Cheriton, p. 262. It is frequently referred to in Grosseteste’s letters, as no. 17, 19, 26, 30 &c.

420. In this way their wit adjudges them in error, namely, inasmuch as Master Nicholas continues to endure such neglect. #swo# is explained by the clause which begins with #þat#. Wells translates, ‘So they condemn their intelligence [as] in error (foolish),’ but that is against the order of the words and syncopated pres. plurals are rare.

423. In J, #þat# is a mistake for þar.

425. #rede#, present, report.

428. #al#: acc. after telle. #ende of orde#, end from beginning, that is, from beginning to end; a strange expression, but not more so than ‘ord fram þan ende,’ L 15770, 22983. In OE. as now, ‘from ord oð ende forð,’ Elene, 590; ‘ord and ende,’ Ælf. Hom. ii. 220/34.

430. #misrempe#: only here and in ‘misrempe ⁊ misdo,’ ON 1353, where J substitutes ‘misnyme,’ and the scribe of C adds in the margin ‘steppe’ as a gloss on rempe. The simple verb occurs twice, ‘Oft mon biþ suiðe rempende,’ Cura Past. 149/12, corresponding to ‘praecipitata actio’ of the Latin original, and ‘þe Bretons sawe þer syde ȝede lowe | þey rempede þem to reste a þrowe,’ R. of Brunne, 3491, where Wace has ‘a une part se sont retret,’ 3160. The root of the word, as of OHG. rimpfan, G. rümpfen, F. rampe, a slope, OE. *hrimpan, Gk. κράμβος, Eng. rimple, rumple, appears to mean, crooked, out of straight, hence ‘rempende’ said of headlong action, ‘rempede,’ drew aside, ‘misrempe,’ to go crooked, out of the straight path, in this place, to act on the cross, be dishonest.

431. #crempe#, restrain, check; only here and in the compound forcrempeþ, ON 510: related to cramp, and ultimately to the word with which it here rhymes.

433. Absolutely without army or following; comp. ‘Ne scalt þu neuere þider faren[;] bute mochelere ferde,’ L 3678.

434. #ꝥ#: þat, until; comp. 72/179 note; ‘æuere heo uerden alle niht[;] þat hit wes dæi-liht,’ L 19200; KH 123 note. #þer# in J may mean where, but it is more probably a mistaken expansion of the original. For #bicome# see 147/134.

Greek

κράμβος [krambos]

Cross-References

2/19, 3/32 (notes) = I. B (Worcester Fragments) 10/167 (note) = III. (The Peterborough Chronicle) 15/91 (note) = V. (A Parable) 48/299, 52/383 (notes) = VIII. (Poema Morale) 58/67 (note) = IX. A (Ancrene Wisse: Seven Deadly Sins) 72/179 (note) = IX. B (Ancrene Wisse: Outer Rule) 132/9, 135/127 (notes) = XVIII. (The Orison of our Lady) 140/25 (note) = XIX. (Saint Juliana) 148/6, 163/230 (notes) = present selection p. 285 = VI. (The Proverbs of Alfred) under Manuscripts. p. 293 = VI. (The Proverbs of Alfred) under Metre. p. 450 = XIV. (Layamon) 452 = XIV. Layamon, Phonology, near end of “ā” section

Errata

#Phonology:# ... þane 414 is LWS. #þane# [L.W.S.] #ea# before #r# ... #gef#, EWS. #gief# [E. W. S.] #a# + #g# ... liȝte 119 r. w. riȝte [liȝte] In bisemar 104 ... u for #e# [#e# misprinted as italic instead of bold] (2) =Of J.= ... #eo#, u- and å-umlaut of #i# [#i# misprinted as italic instead of bold] #ēo# is mostly preserved [#eo#] The new diphthongs ... of þuhte 275 [ofþuhte] #Accidence:# ... OE. are blo 108, 319, (Portes)hom 395 [319 (Portes)hom] Adjectives ... #āgen# has lost n [agen] #Metre:# ... þíd|er fúnd|eþ eúr|ich mán 337 [text unchanged: error for “éur|ich”?] þe níȝt|ingál|e bigón | þe spéche [níȝt | ingál|e] He wún|eþ át | pórt|es hóm [pórt | es hóm] Þo húl|ẹ one wíl|e hí | biþóȝte [húl | ẹ] Read ... 160/185 vych [corrected by author from “160/186”] 5. ... L 4170, MS. O. [L.] 132. ... Hendyng, Böddeker, AE. Dicht. [Æ. Dicht.] 167. ... KH MS. O. 585 [KH.] 239-246. ... the bird’s paradise [text unchanged: expected word “birds’”] 298. ... (‘to toune,’ MS. O) [Ms. O]

XXI. THE BESTIARY

#Manuscript:# Arundel 292, British Museum: on vellum, 200 × 130 mm.: late thirteenth century. Its miscellaneous contents, English, Anglo-French, and Latin, are described in Altdeutsche Blätter, ii. 141-148. The Bestiary is written continuously, but the initials of the lines and, in the long metres, of the half lines are mostly rubricated. In most cases the long lines are divided into half lines by a space and a stop, sometimes one or both are missing. At ll. 439, 493, two words are carried below the last full line of the folio. Final g of ll. 42, 43, 316, 317, 332, 333, 338, 339, 358, 359, 463, 464, 475, 476, 477, 478, 542, 543, 662 has a stroke or hook added, which appears to be merely ornamental: similarly the g of wrengðe 69, among 147, ðing 392, strong 509; h and b are much alike; ƿ is open at the top as in Genesis and Exodus. Latin headings are in red, some are on the margin, the others at the head of their sections. As will be seen from the footnotes, the manuscript was much corrected or altered over erasures, and that after it was finished, for the substituted words do not always fill the gaps left by the scraper. The first leaves of the exemplar were probably damaged at the lower margin, since defective or difficult passages occur at regular intervals, so l. 32, ll. 89-92, 120, 121, 143, 144, 173, 200, 201.

#Editions:# Wright, T., Altdeutsche Blätter, Leipzig, 1836, 1840, ii. 99-120; Reliquiae Antiquae, London, 1841, i. 208-27. Mätzner, E., Altenglische Sprachproben, Berlin, 1867, i. 55-75. Morris, R., An Old English Miscellany, 1872, 1-25.

#Literature:# (1) =of the English Bestiary=. Hallbeck, E., The Language of the M. E. Bestiary, Lund, 1905. Holthausen, F., Archiv, lxxxviii. 365-9 (emendations). (2) =of the Bestiaries in general=. A detailed bibliography will be found in Anglia, Beiblatt, x. 274-87, xii. 13-23, xiii. 18, 19, 236-9. The following will provide an introduction to the subject: Ahrens, K., Zur Geschichte des sogennanten Physiologus, Ploen, 1885; Carus, J. V., Geschichte der Zoologie, München, 1872; Land, J. N. P., Encyclopaedia Britannica, s.v. Physiologus; Lauchert, F., Geschichte des Physiologus, Strassburg, 1889; Mann, M. F., Französische Studien, vi. Heft 2, Heilbronn, 1888; Peters, E., Der Griechische Physiologus und seine orientalischen Uebersetzungen, Berlin, 1898.

#Source:# With the exception of the last section, the English poem is generally an adaptation of the Latin Physiologus, written in a variety of verse forms as the concluding line informs us, by one Tebaldus or Thetbaldus, who is variously described in the headings as Italicus, Senensis, Placentinus episcopus, and is identified by some with the Abbot Theobald who presided over Monte Cassino from 1022 to 1035. The poem is extant in a large number of manuscripts and early printed editions, the first of which latter with place and date is that of Antwerp, 1487. It will be found printed in Hildeberti Turonensis Archiepiscopi Opera, ed. D. A. Beaugendre, Paris, 1708, p. 1174, from which it is repeated in Migne, P. L., tom. 171, p. 1218, and also as Appendix i, p. 201 in An Old English Miscellany, ed. Morris. The text is very unsettled, apparently scribes and editors felt themselves free to rewrite it on occasion. The passages where the English adapter notably departs from his original are pointed out in the notes. He was, no doubt, acquainted with one of the older Latin prose versions of Physiologus enumerated by M. F. Mann in Anglia vii. 443-6; there is no positive evidence that he knew the Bestiary of Philippe de Thaün.

#Phonology:# Oral #a# is a, dareð 310, late 453; #a# before nasals is a, bane 370, man 194, ðan 157, ðanne 13, wan 386, wanne 10, wankel 446; #a# before lengthening groups is o, among 147, folde 33, fondeð 532, stonden 497, but gangen 110 (3 times), gangeð 153, 177, gangande 530, standen 531 with Anglian shortening; in gandre 532 d is inorganic; funt 93 (OE. #fant#) descends from OE. *#funt#, its use here possibly influenced by Anglo-Fr. funt. #æ# is mostly a (82 times), barlic 192, fast 161, fasteð 109, qual 598 r. w. al, togaddre 482, 525, ðat 3 &c., was 26 &c.; the exceptions mostly descend from OE. forms in #e#, or are due to analogy, defte 23 (#gedeftan#), dele 4 (comp. #dell#), festeð 438, festen 417, feste 143, 160 (comp. #feste# adv., Scandinavian influence is also possible), heruest 177 (#herfest#), meche 586 r. w. reche (#gemečča#, but make 574, 576, 578, #gemaca#), nese 3, 223 (#næs-#), resteð 178, 504 (#restan#), steppeð 6 (#steppan#), steppes 5 (#stepe#), weder 270, 521 (#hweþer#): togiddre 282 has e raised to i before a dental, wos 628 is *#hwās# with vowel from #hwā#. #e# is e, be 588, fel 109; before lengthening groups, felde 307, lengðe 437, trendled 606, but bi 4, 24 (#bi#); wilc 4, swilc 248, swilk 338, sille 449 (#syllič#) r. w. ille, represent forms with #y#; tetireð 318 (#to-teran#) has i from Fr. tirer, as in tireð 336, possibly helped by the contracted sing. 3, #tyrþ#; seie 613 (4) r. w. haliweie, seien 385 imitate other parts of the verb without c, similarly leigeð 272. #i# is i, biddan 101, is 384, 414 r. w. fis, 509 r. w. fuligewis, mirke 80 r. w. kirke, wile 71 r. w. bile, wille 607 r. w. stille; before lengthening groups i, finden 7, singeð 448, but es 183 r. w. gres, nes 518, merk 341 r. w. werk (due to labial influence), wulle 634, wullen 314. #o# is o, bodes 136, nos 303 r. w. gōs; before lengthening groups, hornes 236, sorgeden 559 (without i-umlaut), word 35, but forwurden 108, wulde 74 (4), wuldest 385 by consonant influence; ouese 362, eaves, is without i-umlaut, comp. #ofesc, owisc# and modern Essex dialectal oavis, but in Layamon eouesen. #u# is u, cumeð 40 &c., dure 134, wude 181, wune 281; before lengthening groups, bunden 443, hunger 306, but towrong 42 r. w. strong, with o before n, ðrist 231, 428 r. w. list (analogy of #þyrstan#, #þyrstig#). #y# is i, dine 646 r. w. wiðerwine, fille 373 r. w. stille, mankin 168, 243 r. w. win, 569 r. w. dim, pit 624 r. w. offrigt, stireð 11 (4), unride 389, 507 r. w. wide, 522 r. w. side, wirm 106 (4); before lengthening groups, birdene 289, minde 263 (3); but dede 171, elp 522 (3) (comp. OE. #elpend#), stereð 309, furg dat. with u from the nominative, hungren 428, hungreð 390 (analogy of #hungor#), sundren 577 (analogy of #sundor#), tunder 419 r. w. wunder (once ‘tunderi,’ Oldest E. Texts 570; comp. also OWScand. tundr), vuemest 639 (#ufemest#), come 664 r. w. nome. #ā# is regularly o, cof 124, invariably non 494 r. w. bon, no 148, on 490 (7) r. w. gon, 635 r. w. bon, one (#āna#) 579 (3), ston 66 r. w. on; before two consonants, bitokneð 152, golsipe 245, gost 214; but a, an frequently, anoðer 262 (unstressed shortened #ā#), atter 121, 241 with shortened #ā# extending from the oblique cases (Bülbring § 344), gast 435 r. w. stedefast, 640 r. w. vuemest, which Morsbach, ME. Gr., § 135, anm. 8 deduces from shortened a, nummore 208, 455, through loss of stress, comp. ‘wumme’ 235/21, 121/133. #ǣ{1}# is e, hete 56 r. w. wete, mene 248 r. w. ouerwene, rede 38 r. w. guðhede, stel 419 (#stǣli#), wete 190, 209; before two consonants, fles 114, 435, eure 402, neure 16, but haliweie 612, through association with #hālig#, most 501, moste 384 from #māst#, goð 66 (5) with o from the plural, oni 378 from #ānig#, ilk 82 (4), ilc 256, ilkines 180 from #ylc#. #ǣ{2}# is also e, dede 82 r. w. mede, forleteð 191, leteð 114, 658, let 156, sed 180 r. w. wed, 658 r. w. ned, slepen 452 r. w. waken, ðer 19 (17), ðere 207, 369, were 61 (8), weren 80 (4), wete 57 r. w. hete, 615 r. w. swete; before two consonants, neddre 107 (3), but lat 327, 328, lateð 271 r. w. wadeð, ðar 8 (7), ðore 81, 88 r. w. lore (#þāra#), wor 514 (5) from #hwāra#, wore 578 r. w. more, broken 242 in both of which o represents #ā#. #ē# is e, let 642, mede 84 r. w. dede, swetnesse 613; boke dat. 665 has the vowel of the nominative, doð 141 (8) the vowel of the plural. #ī# is i without exception. #ō# is o, but kam 29, 352, cam 564, te 107. #ū# is u without exception. #ȳ# is i, briche 293, 592 r. w. heuenriche, fir 123, ðirl 112; before two consonants, filðe 156, wissing 246.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is a, art 139, dar 647, narwe 113, sarpe 318; before lengthening groups, harde 499 (4), forðward 160, but e in ern 73, ernes 37, flerd 351, middelerd 352 and u in wurð 566 (#wearþ#) by confusion with the present tense. The i-umlaut is a in chare 457, char 519 (see 359/4), warmen 421, but derne 21, 75, dernelike 326. #ea# before #l# + cons. is a, al 116 &c., fallen 56, galle 654, half 460, salt 155; before lengthening groups o, biholdeð 365, kold 495, holdeð 573, olde 581, told 459, twifold 322, wolden 139, wolde 482, but the contracted? bihalt 520, biwalt 521 have shortened a; in helden 136 e is probably miswritten for o: the i-umlaut is a in falleð 58 (5), 526 r. w. calleð, e in elde 40, 108, elded 139, eldere 171, 241, unwelde 41, all before lengthening groups, welle 46, 253. #eo# before #r# + cons. is regularly e, berges 481, bergen 8, fer 265, herte 136 (3), stert 6, werc 340; before lengthening groups, erðe 20 (3) and its compounds. To the #wur# group belong forwurðes 138, forwurðe 196, wurðeð 59 and other forms of #weorþan#, wurði 346, wurðlic 173, but not forwerpen 257, werpeð 236. The i-umlaut is seen in hirde 33, 34 (#hirde#), tirgen 275 (not original); hertien 277 is very doubtful: a #wyr# word is wurdi 145, without umlaut. The u- and å-umlauts of #a# are wanting, bale 172, 379, care 563, but heuekes 664: o in noule 444 (*#nafola#, contrast ‘neauele’ 120/98) is ascribed by Morsbach, ME. Gr. § 87, anm. 4, to the influence of v, but a diphthong appears to have developed, the modern East Anglian dialectic word is nowle. The u- and å-umlauts of #e# are also wanting, forgelues 138, hert 218 (3), heuene 49 &c., werlde 106, fele 297, 463. #eo#, u- and å-umlaut of #i# is e, here 280 (5), senden 63, 441, seuene 50, 652, clepeð 221, leneð 510, 523, but limes 41 (3), niðer 4, 500, niðerward 444, siðen 227 r. w. swīðe, liuen 412: widue 578 is Anglian #widwe#, but wude 181 (*#wiudu#) has normal u (Bülbring § 264). #ea# after palatals is a, chaueles 397, sal 16 &c., sakeð 193, sadue 524 r. w. togaddre, but seftes 356; before nasal, same 193, 339, 346 r. w. name, and before lengthening group, o in sonde 431. #ie# after #ġ# is e, geld 338, gelt 316, bigeten 490, 494, forgeten 451, but giueð 291; after #sc#, also e, seld 130 (but #scildan# gives silden 34, sildeð 130), sending 339, seppande 356 (i-umlaut of #ea# after #sc#). EWS. #gief# is gef 274 (5), if 35 (9): if is used from l. 35 to l. 265 and once again at l. 578, gef, which is probably the author’s form, begins at l. 274. #eo# after #ġ# is u in gungling 543, guðhede 39, i in ging 162, gingen 259, gingid 238, after #sc#, u, sulde 123, suneð 193, sunen 210, 285 r. w. munen, sulen 203 (4). #heom# is hem 281 &c.

#ēa# is regularly e, ches 586, ded 26 (9), slep 635, lefful 585, queðsipe 298; the i-umlaut is e (Anglian), gemen 260, here 2 &c., leueð 85, nede 100 (9), nedeð 113, 164, remeð 527; before two consonants, bekneð 213. #ēo# is also e, be 21 &c., bet 213, bitwen 281, crepeð 111 (3), deuel 164 (5), der 322 r. w. her (4), undergede 568 r. w. manhede, wel 600 (Ang. #hwēl#, Bülb. § 217) r. w. wel; before two consonants, brest 117 (4), helde 173, but diuel 21, an early instance of this shortening, cripelande 111 from #crypel#; the i-umlaut is e, strenen 485, ten 109. #gesīene# is sene 356, #gīet#, get 62, 385 r. w. flet. #ēa# after palatals is e, ger 492 r. w. her, sep 34, 483.

#a# + #g# is ag, dages 607, drageð 6, sage 475, but daies 109, 635; mugen 323 has the form of the subjunctive #mugon#; sei 159 descends from #sege#, seieþ 347 from #segeþ#, seit 577 from #segð#. #æ# + #g# is divided between ai and ei, dai 29 (7), 582 r. w. ai, daies 109, 635, faier 629, lai 28, 633, mai 110 (9), maig 64 (3), mainles 110; breid 548, breides 344 (#bregd#), dei 216, 576, deies 309, meiden 23, 442, seide 191, 353, seid 549: fagen 394, 415 r. w. dragen is Anglian #fagen#; muge 126, 187 descends from LWS. #muge#. #e# + #g# is ei, weie 4; forbredes 138 comes from #forbrēdan#, agen 185, 457 from #agēn#: #e# + #h# is seen in hightes 135, 161, hightest 133. #i# + #g#: the spirant has been absorbed in lieð 15; final #ig# is i, mani 429, manie 441, wurði 346. #i# + #h# is ig, idigt 364, sigte 92, wigt 235. #o# + #h# is og, ðogt 501, 559, but forbroiden 108, not from #-brogden#, but #-brōden#, with a variation which perhaps mimics the alternation of the ME. infinitives breden (#brēdan#) and breiden (#bregdan#), see NED. s.v. broiden. #u# + #g# is ug, fugeles 308, mugen 503, 643, but the spirant has disappeared in fules 305, 312. #y# + #h# is ig, drigten 26 (3), fligt 43, 54, offrigt 625 (late North. #fryhta#). #ā# + #g#, #h# is og, og 263 (3), ogen 210 (4), ogt 623 (#āht#), but ovt 560 r. w. ðogt 577, out 521, forms due to the scribe: steg 639 (#stāh#) has borrowed e, as often elsewhere, from the third class of strong verbs. #ǣ{1}# + #g#, #h# is ag, agte 477, er, meaning or, 99 (9) is descended from #ǣgþer#, while er, before, 191 (4) is #ǣr#: neggen 122, negge 3 represent #genēgan#. #ǣ{2}# + #g# is seen in haliweie 612 (#wǣg#). #ī# + #g#: in sti 152 r. w. bi, #g# has disappeared. #ō# + #g#, #h# is og, inog 118, ðogte 354, nogt 122 (9), but nout 11, 593, 622 r. w. ogt, nowt 192, 214, forms due to the scribe. #ȳ# + #g#, drie 615. #ea# + #h#, #ht# is seen in magt (#mæht#) 426, magti 175, waxe 196, waxeð 124, waxen 445 (#wæxan#); the i-umlaut in migt 234, 532 r. w. wiht, migte 21 (3), nigt 47, but sloð 329 (WS. #sliehþ#) r. w. loð, corresponds to North. #slāþ#, influenced by OScand. slá. #eo# + #ht# is igt, brigt 55 r. w. fligt, figtande 128, rigt 52, rigten 102, rigteð 125, but sexe 50 (Anglian #sex#), bitwixen 293 (#betweohs#); without umlaut is seð 49 r. w. teð (WS. #siehþ#) as if from #sēoþ#. #ēa# + #g#, #h# is eg (Anglian), egen 16 (5), heg 18, hege 562; eilond 387, 414 (#īegland#) is from Anglian #ēgland#. #ēo# + #g# is also eg, fleges 366, flegeð 48 (3), legeð 350, 577; #ēo# + #h#, ligtlike 315; without i-umlaut are fleð 123, 165 (comp. #flēð#, Durh. Rit.), teð 48 r. w. seð, 274, but ligten 20, 289. #ā# + #w# is ow, ou, ov, knoweð 106, sowles 103, soule 158 (4), knov 133, but soge 386 as if from *#sāhe#, sawen 599, possibly miswritten for sowen. #ī# + #w#, appears in newe 60 (5), neweð 39 (5), newe 141, all from Anglian forms with #ēo#. #ō# + #w#: nowor 35 represents *#nōwar, nōwer# from #nāhwǣr, nāhwār#. #ēa# + #w# is seen in ðewes 143 and finally in deu 7: #ēo# + #w# in rewen 437, rewe 206, reufulike 528, speweð 116, finally in gu 549 (4): tre 508, 516, 524, 551 r. w. we, is Anglian #tre(o)#: the i-umlaut is wanting in trewe 163, 589, untrewe 61, 96.

In syllables without stress #o# is levelled to e, wankel 446, hunger 203, siker 207, wunder 194, sumer 176, te 107. a appears for #e# in mereman 442, influenced by man. An e, generally unmetrical, has been inserted in deuẹles 436 (but deules 665), folegen 269, folẹgeð 431, 620 (but folgen 439, 643), fugeles 308, lagelike 573, steuẹne 561, husebondes 299, sineginge 149, wisedom 324, and i similarly in hardilike 177, fulịgewis 508 (comp. fuliwis 445), haliweie 612 (‘haleweie,’ L 23072), sinịging 256: e is omitted in biforn 62, 68, 268, but metre requires everywhere biforen. The prefix #be-# is bi-, bisetten 167: #ge-# is i in imong 476, it appears also in uniemete 459 (#ungemǣte#) with ie for i as in attrie 228, perhaps an Anglo-Norman interchange of these symbols. But #ge-# is generally lost, as in bodes 136, minde 263, vnride 389, unwelde 41. #on-# is a in among 147, #to-#, te in tetireð 318. redi 125 (3) is a ME. formation from #gerǣde# + #ig#, the termination in sille is #-lic#; #-ung# is ing, drowing 567, groning, woning 662, lesing 478.

Geminated final consonants are invariably simplified as web 363, coc 300, stoc 224, fel 109, hil 18, spel 335, den 8, fen 630, mankin 168, sin(ful) 82, win 244, char 519, dar 647, fer 265, pit 624; often too medially as #rr#, chare 457, dure 145; #nn#, wiðerwine 645, cune 148, cunen 457; #þþ#, siðen 41 (5); #cc#, fecheð 179, reche 585, meche 586. For #w#, u is written in sadue 524. #r# is doubled in warre 456; metathesis occurs in ðrist 231, 428. n is added in hauen 183, boðen 181, boden 525, doubled in drigtinnes 242, vnneðes 113, omitted in euelike 213, and frequent o for #on#. #p# is doubled in steppes 5, inserted in sampnen 484. #f# between vowels and vowellikes is u, rauen 311, geuelic 173, ouese 362, culuer 650, derue 205, once #v# in weveð 360 (but weueð 363), otherwise it is f. #f# is doubled in off prep. 104, 241, 264, 616, while the adverb appears as of 657. #t# is doubled in little 200, 432, beside litel 131, lost in beste 514, for it th is written in cethegrande 383: #ts# is sc in giscing 245, c in milce 151. #d# is doubled in togaddre 482, gaddreð 180, omitted in selcuðes 441, as already in OE. #selcūþ# and in sille 449, but already #syllic# in OE. For #d#, ð is written in ðon 328, faðer 13, queðsipe 298, seð 191, for #þ#, d in boden 525, broder 287, dede 31, 625, filde 160, lodlike 357, swide 360, swideð 54, dat 634, de 165, dridde 29, drowing 567, wurden 250, mostly due to the scribe’s failure to complete ð: #þ# is t in forsaket 81, wit 136: after voiceless t, s pronominal words begin with t instead of #þ#, tanne 216, tat 18, te 209, (at) te 134, 361, 586, ter 329, tin 161, tine 159, tis 73, 154, tu 133 (7), tus 77 &c., but de 192, once after d, tu 150. In forðward 160, ð has been wrongly inserted. #sć# is s, initially, sadue 524, sakeð 193, sal 16 &c., same 193 (3), sarpe 318, seftes 356, seld 130, sending 339, sep 34, seppande 356, silden 34, sinen 12, sipes 411, sonde 431, sop 356, sulde 123, suneð 193, sures 203, once sc, scrifte 159, once sk, skinbon 272, NED compares NFris. skenbiin, WFris. skynbonke; medially, golsipe 245, queðsipe 298, but ss in wissing 246 (*#gewȳscung#); finally, fis 383, fles 114, 435. The stop #c# is k before e and i and in combination with other consonants, forsaket 81, kinde 10, bitokneð 152, drink 158, but craft 111, in other positions mostly c, cam 564, uncuð 396, blac 598, swic 149, but kam 29, 352, unkuð 97, swik 344, suk 454, smake 3 (ME. formation from #smæcc#): #cc# is ck, necke 303. #č# is ch, chaueles 397, ches 586, erðchine 308, chare 457, char 519, briche 293, 592, eche 139, quenchet 256, riche 480, but ic 38 &c., sekeð 46, kirke 78, Scand. in form, kolde 486, kold 495, mirke 80, merk 341 (see Björkman 146), micle 536, mikle 542 (comp. OWScand. mikil), wilc 4, swilc 248, swilk 338, ilik 343, lic 662. #čč# is cch, dreccheð 88, feccheð 301, but fecheð 179, reche 585, meche 586 and fetchen 265, witches 427, early instances of tch, but ?wikke 468. #cw# is qu, qw, quenchet 256, qwemeð 190, queðsipe 298, quike 253. Palatal #g# is written g, bigeten 490, forgeten 451, gemen 260, geld 338, forgelues 138, ger 491, get 62, ging 162, gingen 259, gingid 238, giueð 291, gu 549, gungling 543, guðhede 39, undergede 568 (#undereode#); it is doubled in negge 3, neggen 122, lost in if 35 &c. The voiceless spirant is also represented by g, as in egen 16, ðogte 354, soge 386, furg 307, inog 118, ðurg 3: doubled in suggeden 559 (in Orm suhhghen), now dialectal, mostly Northern, sough, soo. #h# is lost in ire 183, added in heten 421: #hl# is l, lene 110, lepeð 230, lides 16, list 585, listen 74, louerd 19, lude 377; #hn# is n, necke 303; #hr#, r, raðe 317, rem 13, remeð 527, rewen 437; #hw#, w, wan 386, wat 95, weder 270, wel 600, wete 190, wilc 4, wile 648, wite 599, wos 628, wu 20 &c., and qu in qual (Northern).

#Accidence:# Strong declension of masc. and neut. nouns. In the s. n. a. dine 646, heuenriche 18, 292, hirde 33, bale 379, golsipe 245, se 404, tre 508, 516, wete 190, 209 have e corresponding to their OE. vocalic ending, bodi 172, sti 152 have lost final #g#; seppandẹ 356 and haliweie 612 r. w. seie have added e; mere 448 is shortened from meremenn. Gen. -es, bukes 330, foxes 314, sees 407, but heuenriche 558; brest 121, 160 is a composition form: dat. -e, bale 172, bile 70 and 15 others with vowel termination in the nom., hauen 183 has added n (nunnation, 457/11), dede 31, dele 4 and 31 others with inflection, of which ouese 362 is the only word of more than one syllable: without inflection are bodi 130 (3), drigtin 104, meiden 23, stel 419, der 322, 627, rem 13, 611 and 90 others mostly with long stem vowel or of more than one syllable; always o dei 576, bi dai 47 &c.; many examples are in rhyme as mod 249, 348, muð 395, ðogt 501, 559, wold 620. The pl. n. a. of masculines ends in -es, chaueles 397, witches 427, daies 109, fodredes 361; there are no weak forms: neuters are limes 41, 63, sipes 411, 417, 454, bodes 136, 213, lides 16, sep 34, 483, ger 491, 492, ðing 358: datives have -es, berges 481, breides 344, briddes 660, finnes 445, ðewes 143, ðornes 237, limes 131, wiles 297, but der 603. Of the fem. nouns of the strong declension mire 175, neddre 107, 129, same 193, widue 578 have e corresponding to their OE. vocalic ending in the nom., dede 468, 469, sowle 586 have added e, all others are without e, culuer 650, ned 142, woning 662 (the verbal substantives are rarely inflected in any case). Genitives are sinnes 158, sowles 103: birde 117 (comp. #byrdtīd#), erðe 630, helle 638 (comp. #hellewīte#), heuene 638 (comp. heuen 170), kirke 134, 586, soule 158 may be genitives, but are more probably composition forms. Dat. -e, birdene 289, filde 160, godcundnesse 644, manhede 567, migte 587, werlde 106, sineginge 149, stefninge 451, but blis 140, 638, hid 120, magt 426, migt 416, tunder 419, werld 201, and the verbal nouns lesing 478, reming 542, sending 339, swiking 477, wissing 359 are without inflection. In the acc. forðward 160, migt 234, 532, ned 659, stund 309, 408 and the verbal nouns billing 316, 338, foxing 333, giscing 245, drowing 567, siniging 256, tokning 463, wissing 246, 255 are without inflection, bote 150, guðhede 39, nede 100, 216, 280, soule 172, 478, steringe 451 with 27 others have e, besides fille 319, 373, forbisne 322. Pl. n. are fedres 56; dat. harmdedes 299, misdedes 151, sinnes 75; a. forbisnes 219, kindes 218, seftes 356 (sometimes masc.), sinnes 159, stefnes 448, agte 477. Nouns of the weak declension have -e in the nom., bane 370, sunne 12; d. make 576, erðchine 308; a. fode 64 (5), wille 330, but fod 207, licham 214 before a vowel: genitives are belles 541, huntes 548: pl. n. egen 44, 80, fleges 366, husebondes 299; dat. egen 16, 87; a. egen 55, willen 515. The minor declensions are represented by fet (steppes) pl. a. 5; teð pl. a. 318; man s. n. 73, mannes s. g. 148, man s. d. 444, a. 124, men pl. n. 305, sipmen 451, manne pl. g. 24, men ?pl. d. 144, manne 359, men pl. a. 428; boc s. n. 350, boke s. d. 38 (4); furg s. d. 307; gos s. a. 302; nigte s. d. 588, bi nigt 47, 150, o nigt 576, nigt s. a. 582; faðer s. n. 13, fader 30, s. d. 640; broder s. n. 287, s. a. 535; fend s. n. 349.

Adjectives which in OE. end in a vowel have -e throughout, briche 592, eche 139, minde 263, newe 210, softe 176, but swet s. d. neut. 231 (comp. #swētnes#, #swōt#) and merk s. d. f. 341 have lost e; those in #-ig# lose g, attrie 228 (with ie for i), droui 407, holi 642, redi 311, weri 511. Weak inflections are s. voc. cristene 133, d. rigte 70, sinfule 340, a. olde 210, 581: strong are s. n. f. bare 121, ilike 442, like 444, s. d. m. rigte 435, s. d. f. quike 253; others are uninflected in the singular: mikel s. n. m. 565 has d. mikle 542, but mikel 230, pl. n. mikle 433, 536: litel s. n. neut. 131 has s. a. f. little 200, pl. n. 432. The pl. n. has -e, kolde 486, leue, loðe 594, warre, wise 456; the exceptions are all predicative, fagen 394, 415, kold 495, siker 207, strong 63, twifold 471, uncuð 396, war 204, wod 250; dat. -e, iuele 343, wite 599, but dern 75 r. w. ern; acc. -e, erðliche 213, but brigt 55 r. w. fligt. #ān# as article unstressed is a 28, 46 &c., before consonants, an 391, 282 before vowels and h, twice 106, 596 before w, divided in a neilond 387, 414, while the numeral and indefinite pronoun is on 268, 530, (on) on 223, 635, one s. d. neut. 264; #āna#, alone, is one 579, 580, 622: #nān# as adj. is no 148, 444 &c., non 64 &c., none s. d. neut. 65, as pronoun, non 267, 271, 285, 494, 556, 597. Adjectives used as nouns with inflection are s. d. geuelike 214, 593, gode 65, nakede 165, pl. grete 400, sinfule 167, selcuðes 441, smale 399: nouns used as adjectives are flerd, fox 351. Comparatives and superlatives have -e, s. fairere 597, more 194, beste 514, firste 552, moste 384, swetteste 392, pl. eldere 171, 241, but best 667 r. w. nest, vuemest 639 r. w. gast, most 501 before vowel.

The personal pronouns are ic 38 (6), before vowel, h or palatal g, i 37 (5) before consonants, we, wes (= we es) 651, ur pl. g. 285, 661, vs, ðu, tu 133 &c., ðe, te 142, gu pl. d. 549, 575. The pronoun of the third person is s. n. he m. 2, 330, ge f. 175, 179, get (= ge it) 195, it neut. 29, 450, itt 601, d. him m. 5, 521, hire f. 184, 499, ire 183, a. him m. 13, 128, hire f. 299; pl. n. he 264, 625, g. her 556, d. hem 281, 546, a. 369, is 7, 137, 304. Reflexives are us 663, ðe 160, him s. d. 64, 103, 109, himself 65, hire 372, him s. a. 8 (13), hire 178, 365, hem pl. a. 413, 421, 484: definitive is himseluen 520: possessives are s. ðin 156, tin 161, ði, before consonant, 160, 478, pl. ðine 151, tine 159, ðin 477 before vowel; s. his 3 &c., pl. hise 16 &c., his, before vowel, 44, 55; hire 179, 496; vre 19 &c., here 280, 427. The definite article is ðe without inflection, te 13, 623, de 165, 192, atte 134, 361, 586: s. ðat 18 &c., tat 18, pl. ðo 432, 604 are demonstratives. The compound demonstrative is s. ðis 77, tis 73, pl. ðise 398. The relatives are ðe 19; it means, of which 621, during which 201, and ðat 13, it means, in which 517, on which 206, about which 191, that which 184, 470, dat, for whom, 634. Interrogatives are wat 127, 133, 170, wos 628, wilc 4; the correlative is swilc 248, swilk 338. Indefinites are wo so 335, 577; wat 95; man 2, 194, 221, 304; sum 461; oni 378; oðres s. g. 273, oðer s. d. 378, a. 267, pl. oðre 276 (6), oðer 603; an oðer 10, 262; ilk 82, ilc 256, ilkines 180; eurilc 257, 286; mani 429, pl. manie 441 (4), manikines 358; fele 297, 463; al 54 &c., all 211, pl. alle 5, 241.

Only three verbs have the infinitive in -e, biswike 327 r. w. dernelike, chare 457 r. w. ware, rede 38 r. w. guðhede, one or two in -ien, luuien 135, ?hertien 276, the rest, in number 111, of which 18 are of the second weak conjugation, end in -en. The dat. inf. is not inflected, its sign is to (31) or for to (6). Presents are s. 1. haue 549, mene 248, seie 557 (4); 2. hauest 137, forbredes, forgelues, forwurðes 138; 3. falleð 58 (4), wakeð 33, wuneð 401 (5) and over 200 others in -eð; hatieð 304, rotieð 311; forsaket 81, quenchet 256; atbrested 548, bekned 213, gingid 238, bilimpes 275; contract verbs, fleð 123, 165, teð 48 r. w. seð, 274, seð 49, sloð 329 r. w. loþ, contracted forms are abit 581 r. w. sit, bet 213, bit 195, 211, 370, 379 (read biteð in all these places), bit 330, bit 192 (read bideð), biwalt 521 r. w. bihalt, fet 214, 337 r. w. ket, 605, fint 209 (read findeð), flet 386 r. w. get, fret 319, 373 (read freteð in both places), gelt 316, geld 338, hitt 365, lat 327, 328, lið 11 (read lieð as in l. 15), seit 577, sit 520, 576, 580 r. w. abit, smit 391, underset 516 r. w. bet, stant 2; pl. 1. hauen 176 (3), wunen 201, haue we 295, fele we 552, haue 659; 3. beren 278, cumen 276 (4), haten 299, noten 488, sundren 577, waken 453; sen 413, ten 266, hatien 305, cume 536: subjunctive s. 3. fare 99, se 122, tide 499, but derie 186; pl. 1. bimene we 663, leue we 590, luue we 587, 590, seke we 207, wende we 588: imperative s. 2. bid 150, help 144, swic 149, herkne 506, newe 141, reche 585, sei 159, deme 145; pl. 2. hereð 45, muneð 575. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. s. 3. lai 28, 633; subj. s. 2. soge 386; 3. sete 388: I b. s. 3. bar 24, kam 28, 352, cam 564; pl. 3. broken 242; subj. s. 3. come 22: I c. s. 3. wan 632, wurð 566: II. s. 3. ros 31, 637, steg 639: III. s. 3. ches 586: IV. s. 3. sop 356, stod 557: V. s. 2. hightest 133, hightes 135, 161; 3. fel 551, let 642, slep 635; ?subj. pl. 1. helde we 173. Participle present: V. gangande 530; past: I b. broken 137, forbroken 108: I c. bred 117, bunden 443, doluen 27, forbroiden, forwurden 108, towrong 42 r. w. unstrong: II. fordriuen 411, sinen 12, writen 572: III. forloren 69: IV. faren 589: V. IV. waxen 445: V. biholden 512, fallen 570, sawen 599. Past of Weak Verbs: s. 3. dennede 23, filstnede 30, seide 191, ðogte 354; pl. 3. remeden 561, suggeden 559, wuneden 493. Participles present: cripelande 111, figtande 128, secande 536; past: cloðed 124, cristned 134, elded 139, eried 308, herd 459, idigt 364, ikindled 10, lered 239, offrigt 625, seid 549, set 220, tokned 627, told 621, 628, trendled 600; inflected are cloðedẹ s. d. 166, forbisnede s. d. 464. Minor Groups: og pr. s. 263 (3), ogen 1 pr. pl. 210 (3), pr. pl. 653; can pr. s. 79, canne (= can he) 534, cunen pr. pl. 457, cune 2 pr. s. subj. 148, cunne pr. s. subj. 7 (3); dar pr. s. 647, dure 2 pr. s. subj. 145; salt 2 pr. s. 155, sal pr. s. 16 &c., sulen 1 pr. pl. 203, 292, pr. pl. 485, 594, sulde pt. s. 123; mai pr. s. 110 (9), maig 64, 400, 433, mugen 1 pr. pl. 323, 643, pr. pl. 503, muge pr. s. subj. 126, 187, migte pt. s. 21, 554, 556, migten pt. pl. 560; moten 1 pr. pl. 210, mote 2 pr. s. subj. 151; ben inf. 84 (4), to ben dat. inf. 263, 653, art 2 pr. s. 140, 162, is pr. s. 10, 662, es 183, nes 518, beð 313, ben 1 pr. pl. 34, 204, be we 205, arn pr. pl. 41 (11), aren 394, 415, ben 450, senden 63, 441, be pr. s. subj. 21, 615, ben 1 pr. pl. subj. 207, 293, be we 589, 655, ben pr. pl. subj. 282, be 2 pr. s. imp. 163, was pt. s. 26 &c., weren 1 pt. pl. 250, pt. pl. 80, 559, 625, were 2 pt. s. subj. 134, pt. s. subj. 61 (7), wore 578; wile 1 pr. s. 575, wille 37, wile pr. s. 71 (12), wille 34 (5), wulle 634, wilen pr. pl. 367, wullen 314, wile pr. s. subj. 4, 327, 328, wuldest 2 pt. s. 385, wulde pt. s. 553, 2 pt. s. subj. 74, pt. s. subj. 353, 354; don inf. 330, 531, ðon 328, fordon 354, to don dat. inf. 212, 515, 661, doð pr. s. 141 (10), do we 1 pr. pl. subj. 172, 205, 657, dede pt. s. 171, don pp. 663; gon inf. 155, 225, goð pr. s. 66 (5), gon pr. pl. 482, 491, 1 pr. pl. subj. 35, 254, go 2 pr. s. imp. 157, undergede pt. s. 568.

Noteworthy among adverbs are lic, equally, 662, nede, of necessity, 129 (#nīede#), ðer wile, whilst, 648, welle, very, 18 (also in Layamon, 29622), which seems to have added a superfluous adverbial e; among prepositions, mitte 454, 546, one 334, 388, onẹ 420; conjunctions, ⁊ (ant), meaning if, 2, er, or, 99 &c., wiles, whilst, 88 (4), wor so, wheresoever, 602 (4).

#Vocabulary:# The Scandinavian element is large: ai 46 (7), arn 41 &c., aren 394, 415, blast 541, bone 101, boðe 47, boðen 181, boden 525, brest 458 (OE. #byrst# would in this text be birst), brennen 249, brenning 229, brinneð 227, bro 598 (OWScand. brá), calleð 527, call(ing) 563, costes 284, derflike 313, feg 160, fro 31 &c., gapeð 390, gres 182, heil 59, ille 410, ill(ing) 317, ket 336, lage 15 &c., leiðe 357, oc 55, 159, or 76, 116, 119, rapelike 178, reiseð 13, reisen 553, renneð 178, scaðe 447, skemt(ing) 332, skies 50, swideð 54, takeð 71, til 12, ðeðen 364, ðog 21 &c., (un)skil 331, wille 35, wrengðe 69, wrong 62, probably hileð 318, vncost 148, wore 578, possibly fikeð 532, listneð 306 (comp. #hlystan#), liuenoðe 200, (o) twinne 195; influenced in form are atbrested 548, atbrosten 458, come 664, frame 323 (#fremu#), in meaning, onde 310. French are bec 42, capun 300, caue 186, cete 397, cul 604, dragunes 622 (‘draguns,’ P. de Thaün), gin 521, grace 104, haleð 184, leun 2, market 378, panter 596, poure 144, pride 247, prophetes 555, rime 572, robb(inge) 657, simple 655, spuse 587, tireð 336, turtres 572, uenim 116 (venin); pre-Conquest Latin is crede 98. The proper name Moyses 553 is the Vulgate form.

#Dialect:# The author of the Bestiary lived in East Anglia, sufficiently near its northern border to account for such rhymes as loð : sloð 328, 329, stedefast : gast 434, 435, vuemest (read -mast) : gast 639, 640. The large Scandinavian element also points to the northern part of East Anglia. How far he was responsible for the Northern or North Midland broken 242, offrigt 625, qual 598, sawen 599, senden 63, 441, soge 386, s as the regular and frequent representative of #sć#, as in sadue, sal, sarpe &c., the 2, 3 pr. s. in -es, bilimpes 275, forbredes, forgelues, forwurðes 138, higtes 135, 161, and the participles in -ande it is impossible to determine. But he certainly did not write gangande 530, secande 536, and transmission through a Northern or North Midland copy may accordingly be assumed. Our manuscript was written by a scribe of the Southern border of East Anglia. He has left his mark in a number of syncopated presents which spoil the metre and probably in the case of others where the full form is metrically admissible, in luuien 135, hatieð 304, rotieð 311, wulle 634, wullen 314, and probably in were 134 &c., since wore 578 r. w. more is the only form controlled by rhyme. He is also responsible for dede 171, stereð 309, #æ# + #g# as ei, dei 576, meiden 23 &c., for vuemest 639, daies 109, 635, out 521, ovt 560, nout 11, 593, 622, nowt 192, 214, occasional alterations without any systematic attempt at revision. We may perhaps venture the guess that the poem was written in Lincolnshire and copied in Essex.

#Metre:# Thetbaldus attempts a variety of metres, ‘temptans diversis si possem scribere metris;’ leonine hexameters for his Lion, Eagle, Siren, Onocentaur and Panther, leonine elegiacs for the Ant, Fox, Stag, Whale and Elephant, sapphics for the Serpent, catalectic dactylic tetrameter for the Spider, adonics for the Turtle. The English adapter emulates his versatility and moreover mixes different kinds of verse in the same article. In alliterative long line are ll. 1-24, 32-35, 106-151, 156-161, 164-166, 170-173, 175-179, 184-197, 199-204, 297-299, 304-315, 318, 356, 357, 360-370, 376-381, 441-448, 451, 458, 459. Of these the great majority are of the first kind described on p. 463, lines with alliteration only, as 2-8, 10, 11, 15, 18-21, 23, 106-111 &c. Of the second are 13, 16, 114, 134-136, 141, 150, 171, 173, 176, 185, 195, 312-315, 364, 370, 376, 379, 380, 459, of the third, 24, 112, of the fourth 12, 116, 118, 144, ?298, 305, 306, 362, 381, but groups of lines in this class, such as 26-31, 152-155 have attained to their full development as syllabic verse and are printed like the octosyllables and similar metres from which they are indistinguishable. Lines of the fifth class are discussed in the notes. They are numerous, indeed the parts written in alliterative verse are in much worse state than the rest of the text, probably because the scribe’s ignorance of the technique of the native metre gave him greater scope for alteration. The changes he has made are of the kind described on pp. 464, 465, prominent among them is the rearrangement of words, mostly in a prose order, which often results in the elimination of rhymes. These rhymes are mostly imperfect; inflectional as reiseð : makeð 13, drinkeð : neweð 118 &c., luken : egen 16, leuen : luuien 135, name : queðsipe 298, ouese : felde 362, or partial in correspondence of sound, as sinen : abuten 12, dure : were 134, herte : kirke 136, men : abuten 144, hulen : fules 305, wunder : hunger 306, mere : -mete 459. The most frequent alliterative combination is 2 + 1, as at 4, 15, 18, 19, 106-109, 113, 115, 117, 365 (#h#itt, #h#ole, bi#h#oldeð) &c., it occurs in at least one third of the lines; next in number is 1 + 1, as in 5, 10, 16, 20, 21, 23, 34, 35, 110, 196 (for#w#urðe, #w#axe), 458 (at#b#rosten, #b#rest) &c., 2 + 2 is seen in 111, 123, 160, 363, 367, 1 + 2 in 2, 11, 114, 128, 135, crossed alliteration in 3, 6, 148, 157, 161, 170, 203, 360, 445 (#f#is, #f#uli#w#is, #f#innes, #w#axen), 448, distinct alliteration in 147, 165.

The septenarius is the metre of ll. 205-216, 294, 295, 572-579, 585-594. For the structure of this verse, see p. 327; the following is a restoration and scansion of the passages in the Bestiary.

do wé | forðí | so dóð | ðis dér || ðánne | bé we | gléwe, 205 Ón ðat | daí ðat | dóm sal | bén || ðát it | ús ne | réwe. Séke we | hére | sóules | fód || ðat wé | ben sík|er ðóre, Só ðis | wírm in | wínter | ís || ðan gé | ne tíl|eð móre. ðe mír|e sún|eð ðe bár|lic séd || ðanne gé | fíndeð | ðe wéte; ðe óld|e lág|e we óg|en súnen || ðe né|we we mót|en séken. 210 ðe córn | ðat gé | to cáu|e béreð || ál get | bíteð o|twínne; ðe lág|e us lér|eð gód | to dón || ant ús | forbéd|eð sínne: It bét|eð ús | érðlich|e bódes || ant bék|neð héu|enlíke; It féd|eð ðe líc|ham ánt | te góst || oc nógt | o géu|enlíke. vre lóu|erd críst | it lén|e ús || ðát his | láge us | féde 215 nú in | érd ant o | dómes | deí || ant tán|ne we háu|en néde.

ðús is | úre | lóuerdes | láge || lúue|líke to | fíllen; 294 hérof | háue we | míkel | néd || ðat wé | ðar wíð | ne díllen.

In bók|e ís | ðe túr|tres líf || wríten | ál o | ríme; 572 wu lá|gelík|e ge hóld|eð lúue || ál hir|e líf|tíme. géf ge | ónes | máke | háueð || fro hím | ne wíl|e séden: múneð|, wímmen|, híre | líf || íc it | wíle gu | réden. 575 bi hí|re mák|e ge sít | onígt, || o deí | ge góð | ant flégeð: wó so | séit he | súndren | ógt || i seí|e ðát | he légeð. Oc if hér|e mák|e wér|e déd || ant gé | wídu|e wóre, ðánne | flégeð ge | óne ant | fáreð || non óð|er wíl|e móre.

Líst ilk | léfful | mán her|tó || ant hér|of óft|e réche; 585 vre sówl|e át|te kírk|e dúre || chés hire | críst to | méche. hé is | úre | sóule | spúse || lúue we | hím wið | mígte, ant wénd|e wé | néure | fro hím || be daí|e né | be nígte. ðog he bé | fro úr|e sígt|e fáren || bé we him | álle | tréwe: non óð|er lóu|erd ne léu|e wé || ne lúu|e nón|e néwe. 590 léue we | ðát he | líueð | aí || úp on | héuen|ríche, ant ðéð|en hé | sal cúm|en éft || ant bén | us ál|le bríche, fór to | démen | álle | mén || oc nógt | on géu|elíke; hise lóð|e súl|en to héll|e fáren || hise léu|e tó | his ríche.

The writer handles this metre skilfully; the stresses coincide generally with the natural accent and the rhymes are good. The variations from the norm of the verse are those described on p. 328, but in proportion fewer.

For the octosyllable see p. 564. In this metre are ll. 26, 27, 37-46, 48, 49, 54-59, 62-64, 68-71, 230-236, 238, 239, 250, 257-260, 262-271, 276, 278, 279, 281, 282, 284, 285, 288, 289, 292, 293, 322, 323, 325-331, 334-337, 341, 343-354, 359, 371, 372, 383-388, 390-402, 405-416, 419-424, 426-439, 454, 455, 463, 465, 466, 475, 476, 480-491, 494-496, 499-501, 508-511, 516-526, 528-533, 536-541, 546-549, 551-570, 580-583, 596-625, 627-648, 650-667. Of these some are to be emended, others are peculiar in scansion, as, ðo úr|e drígt|en déd | wás 26, ánt | his ég|en ár|en dím 44, His béc | is gét | bifór|en wróng 62, Bíll|eð tíl | his béc | bifóren 68, háueð | ðe wréng | ðe ál | forlóren 69, Ne háu|eð ðát | uením | non mígt 234, so hért | doð hís|e hórn|es ál 258, óc | on swímm|eð bí|forén || ant áll|e ðe ód|re fól|egén 268, 269, álle | ðe óð|re míd|e cúmen 276, bér|en him óf | ðat wát|er grúnd 278, ant bríng|ẹð us in sínn|ẹ ant tér | us slóð 329, ét|en ant drínk|en wíð | unskílle 331, máni | alsó | ðe fóx|es náme 345, wúr|ði árn | to háu|ẹn to sáme 346, dóð | ge hém | non óð|er gód 372, Céthe | gránde | ís a | gret fís 383, ðerforẹ óð|re físs|es tó | him drágen 393, wúneð | ðis fís | wið ðé | se grúnd 401, ne maí | it wún|en ðán | ðer ínne 406, aneí | lond he wén|en ðát | it ís 414, Of stón | mid stél|e ín | ðe túnder 419, wo só | him fól|ẹgeð fínd|eð sónde 431, ne cúm|en hé | nummór|e úp 455, Féle | men háu|en ðe tók|eníng 463, ðat wán|ne hír|e hárd|e tíde 499, slépeð | bi ðe tré | ál in | ðe sádue 524, ðán|ne cúm|eð ðér | on gángen 530, mánie | ant mík|le cúm|en sáken 536, ðis élp | he reís|en só | on stálle 547, Móy|ses wúld|e hím | up reísen 553, mígt|e hé | it nó | wigt fórðen 554, áft|er hím | prophét|es álle 555, ðo rém|ẹden he áll|e lúd|ẹre stéuẹne 561, hem tó | cam críst | urẹ héu|en kíng 564, ðre dág|es ál | he slép|en wílle 607, ðánne | áfter | ðe ðrídd|e daí 608, wið swét|nessẹ áls | ic ít | gu seíe 613, wor só | he wálk|eð ón | ðe lónde 617, wor só | he wálk|eð, wor só | he wúneð 618, ful wél | his lúu|ẹ he táun|ẹde mán 631, ðannẹ hé | was déd | in blód | ant bón 636, v́p | he rós | ant rém|ẹdẹ iwís 637, ínto | his gód | cundnéss|ẹ afín 644, it óg|en áll|e to bén | us mínde 653, gé | ne háu|eð in hír|ẹ non gálle 654, ðe wírm | ge lét|eð ant líu|ẹð bi séd 658, In wát|ẹr ge is wís | of héu|ẹkes cóme 664, In hól|ẹ of stón | ge mák|ẹð hirẹ nést 666.

Verses of three measures are ll. 28-31, 47, 50-53, 60, 61, 65-67, 152-155, 162, 163, 167 (two lines), 168, 169, 180-183, 218-229, 237, 241-249 (241, 242 originally four lines, see note), 251-256, 272-275, 277, 280, 286, 287, 290, 291, 300-303, 316, 319, 320, 324, 332, 333, 338-340, 358, 373, 374, 389, 403, 404, 417, 418, 450, 456, 457, 461, 464, 467-474, 477, 478, 492, 493, 497, 498, 502, 503, 527, 534, 535, 542-545. Noteworthy are, bó|ðe bi nígt | ant bi daí 47, so rígt|e só | he cúnne 52, ánt | he bíll|eð ðer ón 67 (anapaest in last foot occurs several times in this metre), ðis líf | bitók | neð ðe stí 152, ðát | tu sált | ðurg gón 155, aí | ðe sín | fúle || bisétt|en hé | wíle 167, gáddr|eð ílk|ines séd 180, bóð|ẹ of wúd|ẹ ant of wéd 181, of córn | ánt | of grés 182, ðat man clép|ẹð físi | ologét 221, He ðrág|eð ðe nédd|rẹ of ðe stón 222, wiðínn|ẹ he haú|ẹð brenníng 229, bi swílc | átter | i méne 248, drínk|en hís | wissíng 255, it quénch|et ílc | sinịgíng 256, on óðr|es lénd|ebón 273, gef hím | ðat téð | bifóren 274, ?ant hélp|en hím | to hérten 277, hélp|en him át | his néde 290, god gíu|eð ðér|forẹ méde 291, ge fécch|eð óft|ẹ in ðe tún 301, frét|eð hí|re fílle 319, ánt for his | sínful|e wérk 340, bute frét|eð hír|e fílle 373, ðis fís | ðat is ðús | unríde 389, tíl | it cúm|ẹð ðe tíme 403, ðat stórm | stíreð | al ðe sé 404, síp|es ón | to fésten 417, ant áll|e úp | to gángen 418, súm ðing | tókneð | bi ðís 461, ant wík|ke ís | herẹ déde 468, ?on wérld|e wún|en hér 493, ðat he múg|en rís|en wíð 503. Verses of two measures are ll. 317, 449 (mánie | ant sílle), 452, 460.

Common Metre consists of alternate octosyllable and three-bar lines arranged in stanzas of four lines, rhyming a : b : a : b. In this are ll. 73-104, 504-507, 512-515. Scan, ðó|re sát|anás | forsákeð 81, to ihés|u críst | him sélf | bitákeð 83, His múð | is gét | wél | unkúð 97, bídd|en bón|e gérn | to góde 101, ánt | his múð | ðus rígten 102, to dón | wel hís|e wíken 515. The stanza, ll. 89-92, is desperate.

Syncope of the middle vowel takes place in filstnẹde 30, heuẹne 49, 51, 562, 565, 639, seuẹne 50 (but seuene 652), sinịging 256, iuẹle 344, chauẹles 397, folẹgeð 431, 620, deuẹles 436, slumẹren 452, wunẹden 493, stedẹfast 509, suggẹden 559, sorgẹden 559, remẹden 561, steuẹne 561, taunẹde 631, heuẹkes 664: e is also slurred or lost in ouẹr 48, 629, 630, clepẹð 221, hauẹð 229, ogẹn 284, arẹn 394, forbisnẹde 464, bergẹs 481, cumẹð 543, oðẹ 549, makẹn 556, watẹr 664, makẹð 666; in many other cases there is the alternative of a three-syllable foot, as for instance, of an anapaestic last foot in 502, 604. Hiatus occurs in stille 28, golsipe 245, giuernesse 246, pride 247, 257, alle 264, 418, 540, nede 267, raðe 333, same 339, wulde 354, were 387, eure 402, ðanne 485, 511, name 489, wanne 499, helpe 538, 546, migte 556, oliue 583.

#Introduction:# Before the middle of the second century A.D., there appeared at Alexandria a Greek book, in which marvellous accounts of the nature and properties of certain animals, plants, and stones were used as allegorical and mystical illustrations of the dogmas of the Christian faith. The natural history element was an amalgam of popular conceptions and travellers’ tales, sheltering under the authority of ὁ Φυσιολόγος, the Naturalist, by whom the compiler probably meant Aristotle, and from whom the book itself was in later times called Physiologus. The didactic portion was a product of Alexandrian Judaeo-Christian theology, inspired by similar moralisations in the Septuagint and influenced by the pervading atmosphere of Egyptian nature symbolism.

In its primitive form the book is probably best represented by the version printed in Lauchert, pp. 229-270. It had an amazing success, it passed everywhere with the Christian faith and soon found translators into Ethiopic, Armenian, Syriac (more than once), and Arabic. There is evidence of a prose version in Latin as early as the fifth century; from Latin it passed into most of the literatures of Europe. But the metrical version of Thetbaldus appears to have driven out the older Latin versions, one of which, however, is the main source of the Anglo-Norman poem written by Philippe de Thaün on English ground about 1130 A.D.

1-35. Compare generally CM 18641-60.

2. #⁊# = ant, with the subjunctives #here#, #smake# means if; some explain it by supposing ellipsis of ȝif.

3. #smel#, sense of smell, power of smelling; Mätzner compares ‘Smel of neose is þe ueorðe of þe vif wittes,’ AR 104/17; ‘Þonne is þe hundes smel for-do,’ ON 822. #Smake#, perceive by smell; a rare transitive use; see 211/497 for the intransitive, give out a smell.

4. ‘Qualicunque via descendit vallis ad ima,’ T.

5. The second half line is short; read he self filleð.

6. #[dun]#: supplied in Specimens with a reference to l. 22.

7. #deu#: Holthausen suggests fen, mud, restoring the alliteration; comp. 195/630. #he#, the hunter.

8. #driueð dun#, hastens down; comp. ‘se ferliche ha driuen dun to þe eorðe,’ HM 21/20, ‘driue adun swireforð,’ id. 23/32; with ‘ðeðen,’ 187/364. #bergen#: Holthausen conjectures dernen, which is apparently not used in ME. of living things: possibly dennen should be read as in l. 25; the writer is fond of such repetitions. There is nothing in T. corresponding to this line.

10-13. ‘Natus non vigilat dum sol se tercio girat | Sed dans rugitum pater ejus suscitat illum,’ T.

11. #lið#: read lieð, as in l. 15.

12. Holthausen transposes, Til ðe sunne haueð ðries · sinen him abuten. But the inflectional rhyme is sufficient.

13. Transpose, his faðer him reiseð. #makeð#: perhaps remeð; comp. 193/540.

15. #lage#: a variant on ‘kinde,’ l. 10, characteristic, habit; comp. ‘þenne hafest þu þes hundes laȝe,’ OEH i. 25/4; ‘Ðe unwise man and forwened child habbeþ boðe on laȝe,’ OEH ii. 41/23, and see 20/63.

16. ‘Qui quociens dormit nunquam sua lumina claudit,’ T. ‘Crederis esse leo vigilanti semper ocello,’ Ruodlieb iv. 85.

17. This interpretation springs from, ‘Catulus leonis Iuda: ad praedam fili mi ascendisti: requiescens accubuisti ut leo, et quasi leaena, quis suscitabit eum?’ Gen. xlix. 9; see Honorius Augustod. 935 c.

18. #hil#: comp. ‘Twen heuone hil and helle dik,’ GE 281.

20. #wu--liked#, how (anticipating ‘hu,’ l. 22), when it pleased him; similar is ‘hu,’ 192/504. #ligten#: see 141/42 and comp. 199/79.

21. Comp. ‘ah þurh þe mon ꝥ he wes | ischrudd ⁊ ihudd wið, | he bicherde þene feont, | ⁊ schrenchte þen alde deouel, | ⁊ teschrapet his heaued,’ SK 1181. #derne#, cunning.

22. The missing half line may have been something like, to ðis dale niðer, as in l. 4.

23. #dennede him#, hid himself as in a den, suggested by den in l. 8; comp. ‘caldeliche dennet in a beastes cribbe,’ OEH i. 277/29.

24. #to manne frame#, for men’s benefit; #manne# is pl. gen., but the original reading was probably manne to frame with the usual dative: comp. 15/110; ‘naht him to mede ac hus to freme ⁊ to fultume,’ OEH i. 217/17; ‘folce to frofre,’ Beowulf 14: see 3/37, 85/107, 86/126, 110/295, 186/323, 187/360.

27. #doluen#, buried; comp. ‘Brend and doluen was ðat folc soth,’ GE 3685. so for #also# would improve the rhythm; comp. 177/33.

29. #it#: formal subject; comp. ‘Til hit sprang dai liȝt,’ KH 124 note: similar is 114/90.

30. #filstnede#, helped; a derivative beside the more common filsten; comp. ‘He badd hiss maȝȝstre fillstnenn himm,’ Orm i. 181/5236, 213/6170.

32. A half line is missing, something like, liues louerd so he is, corresponding to ‘mortis vindex’ in T. Comp. 147/149. #vs--holden#, to hold us to life, maintain us alive, save us from death; add to before holden; comp. ‘Butt iff þatt Godd himm hullpe þær, | ⁊ helde himm þær to life,’ Orm ii. 63/12033: similarly ‘þa alde[;] þe to fehte heom scolde halden,’ L 9458, the elders who had to keep them fighting. But this transitive use is rare.

33. #wakeð#, keeps watch. ‘Tu nos custodis, tu nullo tempore dormis | Pervigil ut pastor ne demat de grege raptor,’ T. This is the explanation of natura iii. #hirde#: some such word as wakeman 113/56 would restore the alliteration.

35. #heren to#, obey. OE. #hīeran# with this meaning takes the dative, ‘Ne mæg nan mon twæm hlafordum hieran,’ Cura Past. 128/23, but it is rare in ME. #nowor wille#, nowhere, in no case, never, astray; comp. ‘ðo fleg agar fro sarray, | . . . | In ðe diserd, wil and weri,’ GE 28/973, 5; ‘In a foreste þay were gone wylle,’ Ysumbras 157.

37. #kinde# is without rhyme and Holthausen suggests that a line like l. 263 or l. 653 has fallen out. T. has ‘Esse ferunt aquilam super omne volatile primam | Quae se sic renovat quando senecta gravat’: something like, ðe moste ðat on lift we finde, would correspond, comp. 188/384.

39. ‘renovabitur ut aquilae iuventus tua,’ Ps. cii. 5.

40. #cumeð ut of elde#, divests himself of old age.

41. #Siðen#, after, practically means when; comp. ‘Siðen ghe brocte us to woa, | Adam gaf hire name eua,’ GE 237, not ‘since,’ Mätzner. It is an adverb at l. 70 and nine other places, meaning afterwards. With #unwelde# comp. ‘Vn-welde woren and in win, | Here owen limes hem wið-in,’ GE 347.

42. #wrong#, awry; OWScand. rangr; comp. ‘⁊ all þatt ohht iss wrang ⁊ crumb | Shall effnedd beon ⁊ rihhtedd,’ Orm i. 321/9207; see also 177/62, 178/69, 70: al to is then altogether, exceedingly. But Mätzner assumes a participle *#to-wrungen#, which is without parallel. T. has, corresponding to ll. 61, 62, ‘Est autem rostrum quo carpitur esca retortum,’ but nothing here; with ll. 41-43 comp. ‘Solet dici de Aquila dum senectute premitur, quod rostrum illius aduncetur et incurvetur, ita ut sumere cibum nequeat et macie languescat,’ H. de S. Victor, ii. 417.

46. ‘Fons ubi sit quaerit qui nunquam surgere desit,’ T., from ‘fons aquarum, cuius non deficient aquae,’ Isa. lviii. 11.

48. #⁊# rubricated as though beginning another line. #teð#, proceeds; comp. 184/266, 274; ‘To-warde egipte he gunne ten,’ GE 1953.

50. #seuene#: he flies through seven to the highest, eighth, heaven; comp. ‘Eiȝte firmamenz þare beoth: swuche ase we i-seoth. | þe Ouemeste is þe riȝtte heouene: in ȝwan þe steorrene beoth. | for godes riche is þare a-boue: þat last with-outen ende | . . . | þare bi-neoþe beoth seoue firmamenz,’ SE. Legendary, 311/413.

52. as directly in front as he is able.

53. #houeð#, remains poised, floats; comp. 188/395, 189/409, Minot iii. 83.

54. #swideð--fligt#, burns all his wings; comp. ‘In dai swiþe noht sunne (MS. sinne) þe sal,’ Surtees Psalter, MS. E. cxx. 6 (= ‘Per diem sol non uret te’). T. has, ‘Tunc sibi sol ambas incendit (a. l. accendit) fervidus alas. | Et minuit grandes alleviatque graves.’

56. ‘ex calore poris apertis et pennis relaxatis subito descendens in fontem ruit,’ Bartolomeus Anglicus, lib. xii.

57. #mide#, therewith; comp. 212/513 and see 1/19 note.

58. #grund#, bottom, see 188/401.

59. #heil ⁊ sund#: comp. 184/279, 188/402; ‘Tel him ꝥ þou ert sund and hale,’ CM 5112; ‘hol and isunde,’ OEM 42/186.

61. If his beak were not crooked; not ‘unzuverlässig,’ Mätzner, but as artificers still use true, noun and verb, in various expressions, as ‘out of true,’ ‘to true up,’ &c.

62. #biforn#, in front, the upper mandible has curved over the lower, as S. Augustine explains, iv. 1. 839: it is mostly used with verbs of motion, as at 76/10.

64. #tilen#, procure; comp. 179/103, 182/199; ‘In swinc ðu salt tilen ði mete,’ GE 363.

65. with any benefit to himself. Comp. ‘Mare hit hem deð to herme þenne to gode,’ OEH i. 27/12; ‘hi þonne ne mihtan nawþer ne him sylfum, ne þære heorde . . . nænige gode beon,’ BH 45/14. ‘Vix valet ex aliquo sumere pauca cibo,’ T.

67. #billeð#: comp. 186/316, 334, 338; ‘ad petram elidit, immo comminuit et conterit,’ Neckam, De Naturis Rerum, 72.

69. #wrengðe#, distortion: derivative of wrong; apparently here only: see Archiv cxxvii. 47. Add al before forloren.

70. #rigte#, straightened.

75. #sinnes dern# would in any other context mean sins done in secret, but T. has ‘Est homo peccatis que sunt ab origine matris | Qualis adest (a. l. idem est) aquila, sed renovatur ita,’ which requires the sense of original sin not manifest in word or deed. This is clearer in Philippe de Thaün, ‘Pur general pechié (i.e. the universal sin of the human race) | Est enfes baptizié, | E quant il est levez | Cum aigle est renuvez; | Quant il est baptiziez | Dunc est rejuveigniez: | Vertu e veement | En baptisteire prent,’ 78/2115-22. The infant is old in inherited sin, in baptism he renounces Satan and becomes a Christian, then he learns priest’s lore, pater noster and creed: ll. 93-102 are simply variations on the preceding. ‘Nubes transcendit solisque incendia sentit. | Mundum cum pompis despiciendo suis. | Fit novus in Christo ter mersus gurgite vivo. | . . . | Os terit obliquum per verba precancia Christum,’ T.

78. #nimeð#: see 213/539.

79 goes with l. 78, he must betake himself to the Church, before he can find repentance; his eyes were previously too dim to see his guilt.

81. Transpose, ðore satanas forsakeð, and for l. 83 read to ihesu crist him self bitakeð: comp. ‘Ich wole ȝou nou bitake ihesu crist,’ E. E. Poems 106/165.

84. #mede#, reward, gives a poor sense; beten his nede would suit the context; comp. 184/280, ‘For he wende bete his nede,’ Rel. Ant. ii. 278/10; ‘er he bete þy nede,’ Lib. Desconus, 1582.

86. #lereð# &c., learns what the priest teaches, i.e. the articles of the faith.

88. #dreccheð#, tarries: comp. ‘ne wold he ðor | Ouer on nigt drechen nunmor,’ GE 1420.

89-92. This stanza is imperfect, ll. 89, 91 do not rhyme. The former is on an erasure. There is nothing corresponding in the original: it is probably due to the scribe.

89. #to godeward#: not toward God; #ward# is a mere tag, as at 179/115, 180/146, 184/259, 194/588; comp. ‘frommard,’ 58/66 note, 70/165; ‘efterward,’ 77/63 note. For the construction comp. 89/28, 96/58, ‘ich hopie to mede,’ AR 148/16; ‘hopieð to here michele wisdome,’ VV 67/13, 131/18; SJ 29/16; ‘forðæm hie gemunon ðone tohopan þe hie to ðæm gestrionum habbað,’ Cura Past. 344/1.

90. #lereð#: Emerson restores the rhyme by reading leteð; but ‘leten of’ is apparently always accompanied by an adverb of degree; see 44/260 note.

91. #ðat# apparently refers to ‘gode’ l. 89: in one edition of the Latin original ‘solis incendia’ is glossed ‘iusticie calores.’

93. #funt fat#: probably here only in ME. for the usual fantston, as at 85/101; CM 29200: OE. #fant-fæt#.

95. The punctuation of Mätzner and Morris, buten a litel; wat is tat? involves taking ‘litel’ as a little thing. The meaning appears to be, but a small something (= a slight imperfection) is that his mouth is still crooked. Comp. ‘And þeonne sum lutel hwat he mei leggen on þe,’ AR 346/22; ‘Ah ȝette me an hwet,’ SK 767.

96. #untrewe#, with double meaning, crooked and unfaithful.

97, 98. #unkuð wið#, unacquainted with, not knowing (insciens); comp. 191/469 and ‘uncuð . . . of,’ 188/396, apparently the only three places where the word has this meaning. Elsewhere uncuð with the dative means unknown (ignotus); comp. ‘hit is us uncuð ⁊ ungeliefedlic,’ Orosius 214/21.

99. Whatever he does, under all circumstances; comp. 34/86 note.

100. He shall find out what is wanting to him.

101, 102. ‘Os terit obliquum per verba precancia Christum,’ T. After #bone#, a word of one syllable has dropped out, probably gern.

103, 104. ‘Panis is est Christus, fit sine morte cibus,’ T.

105. With this section should be compared OEH ii. 199, which deals with the same subject.

106. #o werlde#, in the world: comp. 180/140.

107. #te name#, a predicative phrase: him has fallen out before it. Comp. ‘fox is hire to name,’ 185/298 = fox is for name to her; ‘him . . . se gemyndega papa Petrus to naman scop,’ Bede 405/31 (‘cui papa memoratus Petri nomen imposuerat’). Mätzner quotes ‘þam is to naman nemned Drihten,’ Psal. lxvii. 4 (Dominus nomen est ei). A curious variation is seen in ‘þat lond þat is to water nemned,’ OEH ii. 177/3. The usual ‘bi name’ is at 176/24. For the noun toname, comp. ‘Ðes wimman hadde ec on toname magdalene,’ OEH ii. 143/12.

108. A padded line; the last half was probably, ⁊ elde forwurðen.

109. #him#: see 80/47 note. #ten#: the bestiaries say forty.

110. #lene#: read megre; ‘jejunans macie perhorret,’ T. #iuele#, with difficulty; an early instance of the meaning. ‘Vix movens sese veniensque tandem,’ T.

111. #craft . . . kiðeð#: comp. ‘Who so kouth wele his craft þare might it kith,’ Minot v. 69 note.

112. #ðat . . . on#, in which: see 1/3 note.

113. Narrow the hole is, but he forces himself to go through it: comp. ‘Long silence ⁊ wel iwust nedeð þe þouhtes up touward þer heouene,’ AR 72/17. #Nimeð#: see 213/359 note. ‘Querit angustum lapidis foramen | . . . | Inde pertransit spoliatque carnem | Pelle vetusta,’ T.: ‘cumeð to ane þurlede ston ⁊ criepeð nedlinge þureh nerewe hole ⁊ bileueð hire hude baften hire,’ OEH ii. 199/25. Transpose him nedeð.

115. #ward# is merely expletive; see 178/89 note.

116. #or#, previously, before drinking; comp. ‘siðen,’ 118. #speweð#: the explanation is in 181/159, 160: comp. ‘heo schal speowen al ut þet wunder,’ AR 346/6; ‘þet is þet beste þeonne speowen hit ut anon mid schrifte to þe preoste,’ id. 240/6; 119/91, 92, mostly with ut. Read here, Oc he speweð ut or. al ðe uenim ðor; for or : ðor comp. GE 4033 with 3845.

118. Transpose, inog siðen drinkeð, making a rhyming line.

120. #of . . . naked#, stripped of, without: #nacod# takes the genitive. Read, Ðanne ðe neddre is newe. ⁊ of his hid naked: comp. 181/162.

121. An abridged line; read, ⁊ in bodi ⁊ in brest. bare of his atter. Comp. ‘helden ham cleane ai fra fleschliche fulðen ibodi ⁊ ibreoste,’ HM 23/1. For #of# comp. ‘bare of euch blisse,’ SK 845; Minot vi. 25 note.

123. Transpose, him fro. #sulde#, would be bound to, obliged to.

124. Read, . cof ⁊ kene: comp. ‘Biforenn kafe ⁊ kene,’ Orm 19962. In AR 66/13 ‘þe coue,’ wrongly translated ‘the chough’ means, the keen one; similarly, ‘þe luðere coue deouel,’ id. 66/14.

125. #rigteð him#: ‘Surgit in ipsum,’ T.

126. #to ded maken# may be a construction by analogy of don, bringen &c., but it is more likely that to has been wrongly repeated and should be omitted. #forðen#, further, effect; comp. 184/280, 192/533, 193/554; ‘for to forðen is fendes wil,’ GE 341.

127. #wat if#: elliptical for, what results if? as at 181/170, what matters it if? Transpose, wurðe war, be on his guard: comp. 9/122, 48/330, 203/204.

128. #figteð#: read fliteð, contends, offers resistance; comp. ‘Ierusalem ⁊ babilonie . . . fliteð eure ⁊ winneð,’ OEH ii. 51/10. #fareð# &c., advances fighting against him; ‘sequiturque multum,’ T. For #on#, comp. ‘hie alle on þone Cyning wærun feohtende,’ AS. Chron. ed. Plummer, 48/4; ‘for to finde me a freke to feȝte on my fille,’ Anturs of Arther, 15/27.

129. After #siðen# insert he seð · ðat, after he sees that he must needs.

130. ‘Negligit corpus, facit inde scutum; | Verticis vero tenet usque curam, | Ne moriatur,’ T. Comp. ‘Ðare næddre ȝeapnesse is ðat hie lið al abuten itrand, ⁊ hire heaued on midden, for to berȝen ðat heaued,’ VV 101/19.

131. #litel--of#, little he cares about, he does not much mind what happens to: see 8/84 note. #bute#, if only.

133-142 are based on ‘Fonte qui sacro semel es novatus, | Denuo peccans, silicernus extas. | Ergo sis semper imitator anguis, | Cum veterascis,’ T.

134. #Atte kirke dure#, at the font, placed symbolically at the entrance to the church: comp. ‘heore godfaderes ⁊ heore godmoderes scullen onswerie for hem et þe chirche dure ⁊ beo in borȝes et þe fonstan,’ OEH i. 73/29.

135. Transpose, on him to leuen. For #leuen . . . luuien# see 143/73 note.

136. For #bodes#, hestes should probably be read; comp. 130/78; ‘þe heste of hali chirche,’ OEH i. 85/18.

137-140. Re-arrange, If ðu hauest is broken. al ðu forbredes. | forwurðes ⁊ forwelkes. eche lif to wolden. | Elded art fro blis. so ðis wirm o werld is. #forgelues#: only here; it may be connected with OE. #geolwian#, and so mean, to spoil by becoming yellow, to fade. But it is suspect; possibly the original word was forwelkes, dost wither. There is nothing in the original to correspond with l. 138; the adapter had perhaps in mind ‘decidat, induret et arescat,’ Ps. lxxxix. 6. #Eche lif to wolden#, so far as the attainment of eternal life is concerned. #Elded#, severed by age, is the writer’s interpretation of silicernus. Silicernium, a funeral feast, is used in Terence, Andria iv. 2. 48, as an abusive term for an old man, hence L.L. silicernus, senex; but the Catholicon, citing this place in T., says ‘Item silicernus ponitur quandoque pro firmo et duro ut silex.’

141. Add at the end, him bi, meaning, in his own case. For the rhyme comp. ‘And manige of ðo greten forði | ðat he adden ben hard hem bi,’ GE 3207, 3208; for the use of bi, see 13/18 note.

142. See 123/210.

143-151. Based on, ‘Sit cibus parcus, minuantur artus. | Unde non mandis miseros (a. l. pauperes) juvabis | Penitens defle dominoque semper | dic miserere,’ T.

143. #Feste# &c. is explained, confirm thyself in steadfastness; but for this ethical sense festnen is used everywhere else (see 147/142) and of seems to be without parallel, though ‘steðeluest . . . of’ occurs at 129/24. The expression is rather pointless and corresponds to nothing in the ways of the serpent, while ll. 109, 110 are the only ones which have no interpretation in the ‘significacio.’ Furthermore the last half of the line is defective. Now l. 144 clearly represents the second line of the original quoted above, which means, from what you do not eat you will help the poor, and it depends for its point on the sparing of food enjoined in the preceding line of the original. Accordingly we should expect something in l. 143 to correspond to it, which as printed above means, let your food be sparing and your limbs reduced by bloodletting (minutio, see 66/103-105 notes). If the poet had before him, or misread his copy so, muniantur artes, he might translate, Feste þe of fastenes. ⁊ filste þe of þewes, that is, fortify thyself by fastings and help thyself by virtues. For he would find ars explained by Papias as bene recteque vivendi virtus . . . ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς, id est a virtute. And the scribe by anticipating ste þe from the last half of the line might readily produce stedefastnesse.

145. #wurði--loken#, worthy to presume to look.

146. #ward#: see 178/89 note.

147. #wið#, in contact with, on: comp. 188/401, 201/148.

150. #bote bid#, pray for deliverance: for the usual combination see 179/201. With l. 151 comp. ‘bidden for heom deies ⁊ nihtes þet crist heom milcie of heore misdede,’ OEH i. 7/36.

152. #sti# is subject of bitokneð: ‘Signat hunc callem lapidis foramen. | Signat et christum petra, nam per ipsum | Fit novus quisque,’ T. Perhaps for tis, l. 154, we should read Christ.

156. Comp. 181/160. #Let#, permit it to escape, as in ‘þe king bigan to grete | ⁊ teres for to lete,’ KH 889. Transpose ðe fro.

157-160. ‘Cuius ad celsum veniendo templum, | Ut bibas sacrum beatumque verbum, | Evomas primum quod habes nocivum | Corde venenum,’ T.

158. A defective line; read drench · þi sinnes to cwenchen. Comp. 28/10; ‘swa bihoueð þe saule fode[;] mid godes wordes mid gode mode,’ OEH i. 63/153; ‘to cwennkenn oþre sinness,’ Orm 11652.

160. Omit #brest#. #forðward#: read forward, covenant of 180/133: the combination is formal; comp. ‘my forwarde with þe I festen on þis wyse,’ E. E. Allit. Poems, 47/327; ‘Pepigi fedus cum oculis meis . . . Ich habbe ivestned, seið Job, foreward mid min eien,’ AR 62/23; ‘ꝥ ich þis forward wulle[;] fastliche halden,’ L 23607. After this there are eight lines in the Latin which are not represented at all in the English poem, which is only slightly dependent on the original for the rest of the section.

161. #firmest#, first of all, at the very beginning.

163. #forðward#, henceforth; at 81/90 it means, straight ahead.

164. #Nedeð#, presses on, vexes: comp. 179/113; ‘I me sellf all ah itt wald | Þatt deofell maȝȝ me scrennkenn, | Þurrh þatt I do min lusst tærto, | To don summ hefiȝ sinne | Þatt he me maȝȝ wel eggenn to, | ⁊ nohht ne maȝȝ me nedenn,’ Orm 11815, a passage which may have been in the writer’s mind here. But Mätzner suggests neggeð, comparing 179/122. Omit the second nogt, and in l. 165 transpose ðe fro.

166. #cliuer#, expert in seizing: the only ME. example of the word clever: noted by Sir Thomas Browne as an East Anglian word. See NED s.v. clever; the connection with #clifer#, claw, suggested by this use is illustrated by, ‘Hweðer þe cat of helle claurede euer toward hire ⁊ cauhte mid his cleafres hire heorte heaued,’ AR 102/4. With #on# comp. ‘gredi uppen woreld richeise,’ OEH ii. 195/1.

169. #nið ⁊ win#: comp. 183/244: ‘nið and strif’ is the equivalent in GE 373: nið usually takes to, ‘he haueð to us muchel nið,’ OEH i. 55/11, but see 197/11.

170. Comp. ‘he haueð leue to fonden mon,’ OEH i. 67/232.

171. Transpose, us for to deren: it is a rhyming line.

172. let us subject the body to pain: #bale# was probably suggested by ‘bote,’ 180/150. The meaning is made clear by, ‘lyued in penance hys lyueȝ longe | With bodyly bale hym blysse to byye,’. E. E. Allit. Poems, 15/476. Omit ðe before bale.

173. that (i.e. the soul) is equal to the head, that is, the head figuratively signifies the soul. But the Latin finally identifies the head with Christ, ‘Hoc caput dico quod habes in ipso | Principe christo,’ which is from ‘omnis viri caput Christus est,’ 1 Cor. xi. 3. #helde# might be subj. past from #healdan#, if we were to keep, but that would give a poor sense; and it cannot be from heldan (#hieldan#) incline, for that would require to: silde should probably be read; comp. 180/130; ‘Semper illesum caput est habendum,’ T.; the meaning would be, let us protect it as it deserves.

176. Transpose, weder softe: sen hauen ofte. #softe#, mild; comp. ‘ðis weder is softe,’ GE 3061.

177. Read, heruestes hete; comp. ‘Heruest, with the heite ⁊ the high sun, | Was comyn into colde,’ Destruction of Troy, 407/12465. #hardilike#: #heardlīce#, energetically; the glide i takes the place of the usual e.

178. #renneð rapelike#: comp. 187/368.

181. #wed#, weed, used, no doubt, for the rhyme: for a more usual expression, see 21/112.

182. Comp. ‘He deden on gres and coren deres,’ GE 3088, 3049.

183. #ire# is for hire. #hauen#, wealth; comp. ‘man hoh . . . loc to chirche bringen ⁊ wurðin þermide godes bord[;] alse his haue beð,’ OEH ii. 217/6: n has been added as to ‘boðen’ 181/181 and elsewhere in this text and GE. Lit., that is to her for wealth; which constitutes her wealth.

185. #winter agen#, to meet, resist, winter: comp. ‘Þe blake cloð . . . is þiccure aȝein þe wind,’ AR 50/15; ‘Ðat arche was a feteles good | set and limed agen ðe flood,’ GE 561. ‘Ut valeat brume fieri secura future,’ T.

186. Holthausen restores alliteration by substituting colde for winter.

187. #hule#, hut, shelter. Mätzner takes the former #ðat# as demonstrative, and divides bi liuen, that is meat by which she can live, quoting ‘mete quorbi ðei migten liuen,’ GE 573. More probably the former ðat has displaced mide (comp. 191/503), then mete is the object of tileð, procures.

188. Transpose, ðar tileð.

189. #it#: the book Physiologus; so 192/506; see 177/38, 183/221.

190. ‘Haec frumenta legit, si comperit; ordea spernit,’ T. #finde ge#, if she find: cleche for finde would restore the alliteration. #corn#, grain or seed, so OE. #hwǣtene corn#, #corn hwǣtes#, ‘granum frumenti,’ S. John xii. 24.

191. Omit al, and for forleteð read sedeð, sheds. #ðat--seide#, of which I have already spoken.

192. ‘She biteth not the barley to bear it about,’ Specimens. Mätzner also takes bit as biteð, eats, but explains beren abuten, about the barn. But #bit#, OE. #bīt#, is contracted form of bideð, endures, which is to be restored here: she cannot endure the carrying of the barley about.

193. but shunneth it and hurries away, as though it were a shame to have anything to do with it. #sakeð#: comp. 192/536; ‘nes þer nan biscop[;] ꝥ forð on his wæi ne scoc | na munec ne nan abbed[;] ꝥ he an his wæi ne rad,’ L 13245; ‘and with his batayle forth he schoke,’ Laud Troy Book, 4886.

195. Omit ðe corn, for #bit# read biteð (so too at l. 211), and transpose, otwinne biteð. #al--biteð#, she bites it all asunder. #otwinne#, on twain: comp. OWScand. tvinnr, double. ‘Sed ne de pluviis aspersum germinet udis, | Aut ea ne pereat, esse quod hinc nequeat, | Granum quod legit prudens formica bipertit,’ T.

196. Add wurþ before #forwurðe#: comp. ‘Ich schal mid one bare worde | Do þat þi speche wrþ forwurþe,’ ON 548. #ne waxe# &c., nor germinate so as to be lost to her.

200. Defective: ðis little wile. ðe we on werlde wunen appears to form a line: Long and liuenoðe are probably the first and last words of a line; the latter must be dative. The Latin original has ‘Nosque laboremus, fratres, dum tempus habemus;’ something too is wanted to balance ‘mikel ge swinkeð,’ 181/175, like, Longe þat we labouren . for ure liuenoðe. This conjecture assumes an earlier use of labour than any recorded.

202. #of#, off, away, adv. representing off ðis werlde; comp. ‘ær ic . . . of gewite,’ ‘prius quam eam,’ Psal. xxxviii. 16. #winter#: ‘tempore judicii, quod simile est hiemi,’ T.

203. #harde sures#, sore troubles; comp. ‘to put þe of peril · i haue ney perisched oft, | ⁊ many a scharp schour · for þi sake þoled,’ W. of Palerne, 4513; ‘ffull sharpe was the shoure (printed shoute), shent were þere mony,’ Destruction of Troy, 10069: the adjective in this sense is usually sharp; ‘hard shoure,’ Destr. of Troy, 11048 is a fierce attack, but ‘sorful scurs,’ CM 24602. Similarly, ‘weorre ⁊ weane baðe | ⁊ untidi wederes,’ SK 2599.

204. The line may be completed by, er we henne wende; see 22/117. The rest of this section consists of rhymed septenaries.

205. For #derue# read glewe, wise, prudent.

206. Transpose, us ne, and omit harde. So that we do not deeply regret our improvidence at doomsday.

207. For #ure# read here, for #ðere#, with Holthausen who cites 178/88, þore. For #liues#, soules should perhaps be read, as at 179/103.

208. For #nummore# read more.

209. After #barlic# add sed or corn. In the earlier bestiaries barley stands for heretical writers: Eudes de Cheriton, p. 247, explains wheat as good works.

210. Omit #to#. #hauen moten#, must have, is feeble and does not rhyme. Holthausen suggests hauen geten, have to observe: moten geten, must get, or moten seken, which makes up for an indifferent rhyme by its contrast with sunen, seem better. ‘Ipse novam legem colligo, non veterem,’ T.

211. get as at l. 195 would be better metrically.

212. Transpose, god to don, and, us forbedeð.

213. ‘Hoc est quod binas lex habet una vias, | Quae terrena sonat, simul et celestia monstrat. | Nunc mentem pascit, et modo corpus alit,’ T. The corrections bet, offers, and erðliche are due to Mätzner. #bodes#, not ‘biddings,’ Specimens, but teachings, information. #bekned#, points to, indicates, proclaims. The meaning of the original depends on the special use of lex, according to Papias ‘a legendo dicta lexis græce, latine locutio, id est quælibet syllaba uel uox, quæ scribi potest,’ hence the written word, here the ‘facts’ of natural history, useful to know for our bodily sustenance, but also charged with spiritual instruction. The ant, as the Latin puts it, ‘in suis factis res monstrat spirituales.’ The English version has obscured the sense by adding, without authority, l. 212, where lex is taken in its natural meaning of law. #euelike#, heavenly (teachings).

214. #o geuelike#, on an equality, equally: OE. #ge-efenlic# adj. here used as noun: comp. 194/593.

215, 216. ‘Nos utinam repleat, famis ut formido recedat, Tempore judicii, quod simile est hiemi,’ T.

216. The first half is short; add, in erd after #nu#.

217. Next to the Ant in T. comes the Fox and then the Hart.

218-221. ‘Cervus habere duas naturas atque figuras | Dicitur a phisio, cum docet inde, logo,’ T. How the hart renews its youth is again told in the Deposition of Richard the Second, 15/8-20, and there is a curious use of the fable in Nova Legenda Anglie, i. 254/23-29.

221. #fisiologet#: the termination is probably borrowed from the familiar donet, a Latin grammar; OF. donet.

223. #ðurg his nese#, by drawing in his breath, ‘spiritu narium,’ or as T. puts it, ‘cum naribus extrahit.’ #on on#, continuously; at 207/339, forthwith.

224. #stoc . . . ston#: ‘de caveis terrae, de latebrisve petrae,’ T. The translator uses a familiar combination.

225. #it#: the adder.

226. #sweleð#, miswritten for swelgeð, swallows: the scribe was probably led by ‘brinneð’ in the next line to think of the word which for him represented #swǣlan#.

227, 228. #ðerof . . . of#: tautology is frequent in this piece: comp. 184/260. The impersonal use of #brinneð# appears to be without parallel: the meaning is, that poisonous matter burns him afterwards.

230. ‘Estuat ad liquidas pergere fontis aquas,’ T.; estuat is glossed festinat, hence #lepeð#; comp. Psal. xli. 1. #wið--list#, displaying great prudence, wisdom: comp. ‘To the fischers hous þai went wiþ list,’ Gregorlegende, ed. Schulz, 52/1015.

232-238. ‘Quas cum forte bibit, his plenus toxica vincit, | Se juvenemque facit, cornua quando jacit,’ T.

235. #non wigt#, no whit, not at all.

236. #er#, before he recovers.

238. #gingid him#, renews his youth; comp. 184/259: a rare word, perhaps only here.

241-249. ‘Nos quoque cum prisci serpentis fraude revicti, | Virus contrahimus, urimur et facibus, | Haec est luxuria quae fert odium vel et iram, | Aut etiam nimia est aeris auaricia,’ T.

241, 242 were no doubt originally couplets, perhaps, Alle we atter dragen | of ure eldere misdeden || ðe broken drigtinnes sonde | ðurg ðe neddres onde: comp. 40/192, 193. #eldere# seems to have been suggested by prisci.

244. #nið ⁊ win#: see 181/169.

245. #giscing#, covetousness: OE. #gītsung#; comp. ‘He bad him chesen steres-men . . . ðe niðing and giscing flen,’ GE 3429, 3432; ‘Mid yuernesse and prude . and yssyng wes þat on,’ OEM 38/35.

246. #wissing#: to OE. #wȳscan#: its meaning as a sin is shown by, ‘Ne wrec þu þe mid wussinge . ne mid warienge,’ OEH ii. 179/22, avenge not thyself by wishing evil or cursing.

247. #ouerwene#, presumption: found here only.

248. Insert bi before #swilc#.

252, 253. ‘Ad fontem vivum debemus currere christum,’ T.

255. #wissing#, instruction. ‘Qui cum nos udat, sumpta venena fugat,’ T. udat is explained, with quotation of this line, in the Catholicon as balneat.

257. #forwerpen# and #gingen# 259 depend on #bihoueð# 252. Holthausen restores the missing rhyme by reading, forwerpen pride hornes | so hert doð hise in þornes. It would be simpler to add al (comp. 178/73, 180/137, 182/191, 190/443), meaning completely, entirely, after hornes; it would balance eurilcdel, and the rhyme is possible; see 190/465, 466.

259. In this way renew our youth to God, that is, restore the baptismal relation to him; comp. 181/162 and 178/89.

260. take heed to ourselves afterward henceforth, ever after. Comp. ‘ðe sunenday | ðat is forð siðen worðed ay,’ GE 261.

263. That ought to be present in thought to us all: comp. 191/487, 196/653; ‘þine beoden þe beoð þe so imunde,’ SM 13/8. #minde# is OE. #gemynde#.

265. ‘Longius et pergunt pascua quando petunt,’ T.

266. #ouer water ten#: ‘Si fluvios tranant,’ T.; ‘quant passent braz de mier,’ Bozon, Contes moralisés, 56/3; ‘Cervi . . . maria trameant gregatim nantes porrecto ordine, et capita imponentes praecedentium clunibus, vicibusque ad terga redeuntes,’ Pliny, N. H. viii. 32, 114. See Fecunda Ratis, 105/522 note, as to the use of this story by the Fathers.

268. Read biforen.

272. #skinbon#, shinbone; OE. #scin-bān#, tibia, which if placed on the haunch of the preceding hart would make swimming difficult. He should have written chin: ‘Portant suspensum gradientes ordine mentum, Alter in alterius clunibus impositus,’ T.; ‘chescun de eux met sa test sus autri croupe,’ Bozon, 56/4.

274. Transpose, teð biforen: ‘Sed qui precedit fessus ad ima redit; Sic se vertentes cuncti mutuoque ferentes | Nunquam deficiunt, atque viam peragunt,’ T.

275. #tirgen#, to be fatigued: OE. #tiergan#, #tyrgan#, to vex. ‘Tirwyn, or make wery, lasso,’ Prompt. Parvul., col. 499. But the word is not original, it does not rhyme. Teren, representing #tēorian#, #teorian#, to tire, would be better; *toren with shifted accent, perhaps influenced by tor, difficult (see NED tor, tere) would restore the rhyme.

276. Transpose, mide cumen.

277. #hertien# is Mätzner’s correction, comparing 199/75, 76; but the inf. in -ien is very doubtful. The original word was probably beren.

278. #grund#: see 188/401: the poet has misunderstood ‘ad ima redit,’ the weary leader, who has no rest for his chin, falls in at the rear of the procession.

280. and supply their necessity; ‘nunquam deficiunt,’ they never fail one another. A line is wanting, such as, ⁊ cumen to here stede, answering to ‘atque viam peragunt.’

281. ‘Hunc retinent usum, si sint vel in agmine centum,’ T. #hem bitwen#, among themselves.

284. ‘Per tales mores alienos ferre labores | Cum pietate monent atque juvare docent,’ T. #costes#, habits, ways: comp. ‘knewen he nogt ðis dewes cost,’ GE 3327.

285. Connect ur non, no one of us.

288. #his wine#, to his friend.

289. ‘Alter alterius onera portate, et sic adimplebitis legem Christi,’ Gal. vi. 2.

291-294. ‘Sic lex est Christi nobis complenda magistri | Cuius, qui faciet, pascua repperiet,’ T.

293. #bitwixen us . . . brice#, useful, serviceable to one another: comp. 194/592.

294. #lage#: acc. after to fillen, which is subject of is.

295. #ðar wið ne dillen#, be not sluggish about that: comp. ‘Hymself to on sware he is not dylle,’ E. E. Allit. Poems, 21/679. The first half of the line is feeble: perhaps dred for ned would be better.

298. #hire# follows the gender of vulpes. For #to name# see 179/107. #queðsipe#: Holthausen suggests flerdscipe to restore the alliteration, with reference to 187/351; the compound does not occur elsewhere. Perhaps fikenunge, deceit; or, for the last half-line read for ure unframe, comp. ‘Quad esau, rigt is his name | hoten iacob, to min unframe,’ GE 1565. But the writer may have intended an inflectional rhyme.

299. #harm-dedes#, injurious action; a compound which apparently occurs here only.

301. #feccheð#, steals: comp. ‘Bothe my gees ⁊ my grys . his gadelynges feccheth,’ P. Plowman B. iv. 51. #tun#, the enclosed farmyard.

305. #hulen# is hardly possible; it is not found elsewhere till the end of the fourteenth century and the construction with the direct acc. hire is improbable. Mätzner suggested hunten, Holthausen, hurlen, drive: huten, revile seems preferable; comp. ‘⁊ ȝiff mann wollde tælenn þatt, | ⁊ hutenn hire ⁊ þutenn,’ Orm 2033, 4875. So chauntecler says to the fox, ‘Acoursed be thou of Godes mouthe,’ Rel. Ant. ii. 273/19. Further the repetition of #hatien# is feeble; harien, persecute, would give a good sense, while huntes (176/21, 192/512) for men would restore the alliteration. So the line would run, harien ⁊ huten . boðe huntes ⁊ fules.

307. #furg#, furrow. ‘In terram scissam se tendit atque supina | Et quasi mortua sit, flamina nulla trahit,’ T.

308 is made up of halves of two lines which may have run thus: fugeles to bilirten . mid hire fel wrenche | In eried lond er in erðchine . ge strekeð adun. #bilirten#, deceive, ensnare, a Midland and Northern word: OE. #belyrtan#. #eried lond#, ploughed land, ‘terram scissam,’ the ‘furg’ of l. 307. #erðchine#, a cleft in the ground: a compound found here only.

309. #stund#, portion (of time): rarely with defining genitive.

310. #dareð#: comp. 187/374, 195/624: here, to lie motionless, in the other places, to lie hid, to lurk; comp. ‘fare man . . . to þam scræfe þær þa wiðer-sacan inne dariað behydde,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 506/321, and see Minot i. 9 for further illustrations of the uses of this word.

311. #swiðe redi#, very prompt to seize the opportunity: comp. 187/368.

312. #fallen bi#, alight near; a use of the verb determined by the needs of alliteration: Mätzner adduces OE. #befeallen#, but that requires on; so in ME. ‘Gredi foueles fellen ðor-on,’ GE 947. ‘insidet ut comedat,’ T. Transpose, bi hire fallen · fode for to winnen.

313. Transpose, beð ded.

314. Mätzner alters #wullen# to billen, spoiling the secondary alliteration: the absolute use of willen, to desire to go, is common enough. #fel#: in Eudes de Cheriton, 303/7 and Jacques de Vitry, no. ccciv, the fox puts out his tongue and the birds make for it, a device which greatly improves the fox’s chance. Transpose, feleð wel.

315. #letteð#, stops, hinders: OE. #lettan#. Transpose, up lepeð . ⁊ hem sone letteð.

317. #illing#, evil treatment. ‘Dentibus et tristem reddit edendo vicem,’ T.

318. #tetoggeð#, pulls to pieces; see 68/145.

323. #frame#: see 176/24.

324. For the combination, see 18/16.

325. ‘Nunc zabulo similis, par aliquando viris,’ T.

327. ‘Nos et dissimulat quod mala non faciat,’ T. #lat#, pretends; comp. 203/222: influenced in form at any rate by OWScand. láta.

329. Omit a and he.

330. #bukes#, belly’s: see 4/19, where it means body.

331. #wið unskil#, without discretion: comp. ‘Ne rend, ne beat nogt wið vnskil,’ GE 3506; Orm 427.

332. And while we are amusing ourselves, he quickly plays us a fox’s trick. #foxing#, a nonce-word in this sense, but it is common in dialect for shamming.

334-341. ‘Cuius (read eius) edit carnem quisquis rem fingit inanem, | Hoc est peccatum quodlibet et malum | Quem quasi deglutit, cum secum ad tartara ducit,’ T.

335. #idel spel#: ‘verbum otiosum,’ S. Matt. xii. 36; ‘tel heom þer spelles,’ L 26538 appears to mean, tell them tales there.

336. Whoever feeds on sin, he tugs at the fox’s flesh.

338. #geld#, requites; comp. l. 316.

339. #sending#, disgrace, confusion; OE. #scendan#.

341. #merk#, dark, murky; OE. #mirce#: comp. 190/439, 193/570.

343, 344. ‘Daemon ab insidiis vulpeculae est similis,’ T. #breides#, stratagems, tricks; comp. 193/548. #swik#, deception; comp. 188/396: OE. #swīc#.

345, 346. ‘Sic cum fraude viri sunt vulpis nomine digni, | Quales hoc plures tempore sunt homines,’ T. For #man# read mani, omit ⁊, transpose wurði arn and insert to before #same#, and many likewise are worthy of the name of fox to their disgrace. Comp. ‘Euerilc ðhing haued he geue name, | Me to sorge, scaðe and same,’ GE 301.

347. #oðer#, to another.

348. Comp. ‘Danne ðogte eue on hire mod,’ GE 333; KH 281 note.

349. #iwis#: see 32/40 note. There is nothing in T. corresponding to ll. 347-349; the writer had probably in mind, ‘Ut quid cogitatis mala in cordibus vestris?’ S. Matt. ix. 4.

350. #legeð# &c., lies not, misleads not in this; so, ‘Iff iosephus ne legeð me,’ GE 1281.

351-354. ‘Herodesque fuit, qui christum querere jussit, | Credere se simulans, perdere dissimulans,’ T.; comp. S. Luke, xiii. 32. #herodes#: Orm has Herode in his English text. #fox ⁊ flerd#: nouns used as adjectives: for the former comp. 29/15; #flerd#, deceit, occurs in Orm, ‘falls ⁊ flærd,’ 12177: OE. #fleard#: see Björkman, 160.

354. #fordon#: ‘Futurum est enim ut Herodes quaerat puerum ad perdendum eum,’ S. Matt. ii. 15.

356. #Seftes# &c.: comp. 2/2. #sene--werlde#, it is seen in the case of the world; parenthetic; but Mätzner takes #ðing# as subject of #is#. With #on# comp. ‘þat was on Tristrem sene,’ Sir Tristrem 1205; ‘On þe hit is wel eþ sene,’ OEH ii. 255/5; ‘Ful soth it was apon vs sene,’ CM 24333.

357. #leiðe#, hateful: OWScand. leiðr = OE. #lāð#: lodlike, OE. #lāðlic# is synonymous. #ðus#: either, as has already been said, that the Creator made these loathly things, or, as follows, that He made them to this end, for the instruction of men generally. The latter is a common medieval idea; men, says Gilbert of Hoyland, contemplate God ‘in speculo creaturarum et scripturarum aenigmate,’ S. Bernardi Opera, ii. 170.

358. #manikines#: see 81/80 note.

359. #manne#: dat.; see 176/24 note.

360. Holthausen supplied web (see l. 363), and swiðe or wide. ‘Plurima fila net (a. l. nectit) assiduus,’ T.

361. Transpose, atte hus rof festeð. #festeð#, binds. #fodredes#, plans, means of securing food: a word found here only.

362. #so--elde#, so it is for her in age, is senseless in this context: read, hire is so on felde, it is for her as if on a field, that is, she moves on a ceiling as if she were on the ground. #so#, as if; comp. 194/583 with 195/625; ‘His brunie he gan lace | So he scholde in to place,’ KH 717.

363. #werpeð#, throws, with perhaps a reference to the specific meaning of warp, OE. #wearp#, stamen.

364. Transpose, al idigt haueð. With #driueð# comp. 176/8.

365. #it#, the web.

366. Transpose, fleges ðer faren . ⁊ ðerinne fallen.

367. #wiðeren#, struggle; properly, resist.

368. #renneð# &c.: comp. 181/178. #redi#: comp. 185/311.

369. #nimeð . . . to#, makes for; see 213/539. #nimeð#, seizes: the repetition is tolerable, because of the different meanings of the word.

370. #bit#: read biteð. #bane#, destroyer: OE. #bana#, mostly used of the agent.

372. This line appears to be derived from ‘Et placet inde sibi nimium | Quando nocere potest alium’ which comes in the application or ‘significacio.’ If so, it means that in this action she finds her greatest profit. But probably hem should be substituted for hire.

373. Read freteð.

374. #dareð#: see 185/310 and 195/624.

376. ‘Hos sequitur homo vermiculos | Decipiendo suos socios,’ T. For man read were.

377. #on--stalle#, in any place whatsoever: comp. ‘i stude ⁊ i stalle,’ SK 683. B-T quotes from a charter, ‘ꝥ hi . . . næfre ne beon on stede ne on stealle þær æfre undon worðe ꝥ ure foregengles geuðen,’ Thorpe, Diplom. Angl., 348/28. The words are synonymous, so, ‘Þer þe fir he has his stall,’ CM 396. See 192/537.

377. #stille er lude#, under any circumstances: see 25/226 note.

378. #mot#, place of meeting, especially in a court of law. For #wise# read mene: comp. ‘mannes mene,’ society of men, GE 501. See 26/266.

379. Read, sarp he him biteð; corresponding to ‘bitterlike’ 187/370; comp. ‘sarp on bite,’ GE 2989. ‘Quos comedit faciens miseros,’ T. #bale selleð#, does him an injury. ME. sellen, to give, is rarely used with immaterial object, but comp. ‘sylle heom forȝefenesse,’ Twelfth Cent. Homilies, 132/20. Similar is ‘nuste noht Bruttes þere[;] þat balu heom wes ȝiueðe,’ L 29817. Transpose, bale him.

380. Transpose, his blod drinkeð. #dreueð#, vexes, annoys.

381. For #hem# read him; the scribe corrected ll. 379, 380, but overlooked this. Transpose, ⁊ ðo him al freteð.

382. #cetegrandie#: genitive of ‘cete grandia,’ Gen. i. 21, treated as though it were one word and a noun singular. Cetegrandia is not in Papias or the Catholicon; it is quite possibly the invention of the present writer; the heading in T. is ‘De Balena’ or ‘De Ceto.’ The word in l. 383 appears to have been formed directly from it; the OF. Bestiaries have cetus only.

383-388. ‘Est super omne pecus quod vivit in aequore cetus, | Monstrum grande satis, cum superexstat aquis | Prospiciens illum, montem putat esse marinum, | Aut quod in oceano insula sit medio,’ T. Insert gret before fis.

385. #ðat#: pronoun anticipating the clause ðat--neilond, l. 387. #get#, too; comp. ‘Of thre ȝere in þe temple sett, | And þerto fourtene winter gett,’ CM 10531.

389. #vnride#, enormous, monstrous; OE. #ungerȳde#; the general idea of the word is excessive. Comp. 192/507, 522, 120/125.

390. #hungreð#: impersonal as at 60/99; comp. ‘crist him ȝeueð swilcne mete ꝥ him nefre eft ne hungreð,’ OEH i. 37/30; ‘þer in onliche stude him hungrede,’ AR 162/1. Omit he. #gapeð# &c.: ‘os aperit | Unde velud florum (a. l. hamum) se flatus reddit hodorum | Ad se pisciculos ut trahat exiguos,’ T.

391. #it smit an onde#, a breath rushes forth; comp. 126/321 note: it is formal nominative, the real subject is #onde#; comp. 188/403; ‘Til hit sprang dai liȝt,’ KH 124 note.

393. #to him dragen#, move towards him: comp. 189/416, 32/49; ‘And whatena hauld shall we draw to?’ Child, Ballads, iii. 434.

394. #it#, the sweet breath.

395. #houen#: see 177/53.

396. #swike#: see 82/111. #uncuð . . . of#: see 179/97.

397. ‘Piscis pisciculos claudit, deglutit et illos,’ T.

401. #wið#, on; comp. 180/147. #se grund#, bottom of the sea; comp. 177/58, 184/278, 189/423; ‘þai sail in þe see gronde . fissches to fede,’ Minot x. 4 note; ‘I’ll set my foot in a bottomless boat, | And swim to the sea-ground,’ Child, Ballads, i. 448.

402. #heil ⁊ sund#: see 177/59.

403. Insert perhaps harde or ille before time. ‘Si sit tempestas, cum vadit vel venit estas, | Et pelagus fundum turbidat omne suum,’ T.

404. For #se#, Holthausen suggests brine, salt sea, by way of improving the rhyme, but comp. time: bi me, KH 533, 534.

405. #winnen#, come into conflict, at the change of the seasons.

407. #droui#, turbid; comp. OE. #drōf#, #drēfan#: comp. ‘Þer faure citees wern set nov is a see called, | Þat ay is drouy ⁊ dim,’ E. E. Allit. Poems, 68/1016.

408. #ðat stund#, at that time; comp. 185/309.

409. ‘Continuo summas se tollit caetus ad undas,’ T. #stireð#, moves; comp. ‘ðis asse is eft of weige stired,’ GE 3961, but stirteð would be more appropriate; comp. ‘And pharaon stirte up anon,’ GE 2931; ‘Þe fisches sturten op with þis song,’ South English Legendary, 232/456. #houeð stille#: comp. ‘Louerd crist, þat swch a best: scholde houi so stille | And soffri men opon him gon: and don al heore wille,’ id. 230/375.

411. #sipes#: Mätzner suggested siperes, OE. #scipere#, but that does not apparently occur in ME. and it would be unmetrical, sipmen might be read, if any change were necessary. #fordriuen#, driven about, so ‘We beoþ séé-weri men[;] mid wedere al for-dreuen,’ L MS. O, 6205: but OE. #fordrīfan# means to drive away, banish, drive out of course.

412. There is nothing in the original corresponding to this line: comp. 91/88.

413. #biloken#: Mätzner explains, look around, comparing ‘Brid . . . biwent him ofte, ⁊ bilokeð him euer ȝeorneliche al abuten,’ AR 132/26, but the meaning of the verb is there qualified by ‘abuten.’ Here its natural sense is better, they look to themselves, they consider their plight.

414. Add ðat after #wenen#: comp. 185/311. ‘Est promontorium cernere non modicum | Huic religare citam pro tempestate carinam | Nautae festinant utque foras saliant,’ T.

416. #mid here migt#, striving their hardest: ‘bi his mihte,’ OEH ii. 189/11.

417, 418. These lines probably ran, Sipes on to festen | ⁊ alle up to gangen. #festen on#, moor.

419, 420. ‘Accendunt vigilem quem navis portitat ignem,’ T.; ‘vigilem,’ ever burning, Virgil, Æn. iv. 200. #wel to brennen# may mean, to light a good fire, but such absolute use of brennen is without support. For #wel# read welm, blazing fire: OE. #wielm#, #wylm#; comp. ‘he wolde hine ifusen[;] to ane bare walme,’ L 22123: the word is common enough in OE. but rare in ME., and so may have puzzled the copyist, who would find wel in the next line. The sense is, They all go up on land to light a blazing fire on this monster by a spark struck out of flint by steel into tinder.

421. #warmen . . . heten . . . drinken# depend on #gangen#: ‘ut cale se faciant aut comedenda coquant,’ T.

423. #grunde#: see 188/401. For the whale mistaken for an island, comp. the South English Legendary, 224/155-176.

426, 427. ‘Viribus est zabulus quasi cetus corpore magnus, | Ut monstrant magni quos facit ille magi,’ T. #wið#, of, as in ‘mekill of maine,’ Minot, i. 85.

427. #hauen# gives a fair sense with ‘wil ⁊ magt’ as object, but the original word was probably taunen (comp. 195/631), rendering ‘monstrant.’

428, 429 are due to a misunderstanding of the original, ‘Mentes cunctorum qui sunt ubique virorum | Esurit atque sitit, quosque potest perimit;’ the devil hungers and thirsts for the souls of men and he destroys all he can.

430. #tolleð#, allures: the earliest occurrence of the word.

431. Omit he. #sonde#, shame.

432. #in leue lage#, low (weak) in faith; a phrase apparently without parallel. ‘Sed modicos fidei trahit in dulcedine verbi, | Namque fide firmos non trahit ille viros,’ T.

435. #in rigte leue#: see 89/28. #mid fles ⁊ gast#, in body and soul.

437. #on lengðe#, in the long run, at length: more commonly used of measure, ‘hit is on lengþe[;] four and twenti mundes,’ L MS. O, 21993.

438. #festeð#: comp. 1/23; ‘In him i hafe min hope al fest,’ CM 5288: ‘spem sibi ponit,’ T.

439. #helle dim#: comp. 186/341.

440. This article is mostly original. #Sirene#, genitive of sirena; the title in T. is ‘De Sirenis’; classical Latin has only siren, -is, fem. In T. they are female and birds in the nether half; his account is very brief and general, and it is followed closely by that of the onocentaur, which is ‘biformis’ like the siren; the ‘significacio’ is common to both. An earlier description is found in Layamon, 1322-1347, which is based on Wace, Brut, 733-771. The author of the Bestiary was acquainted with one or both of these. Comp. also Bozon, Contes Moralisés, p. 47.

441. #selcuðes#, marvels: the word is mostly adjective. ‘Item mare est animancium et monstrorum multiplicis forme productivum; mare enim longe producit monstra et mira quam facit ipsa terra,’ Bartholomeus Anglicus, lib. xiii.

442. #mereman#, mermaid: a better form is meremin, pl. merminnen, L 1322: merman is a much later masculine formed from mermaid. The first half of the line is short: perhaps muchel should be added after is.

443. #oc--bunden#, but in her resemblance to a maiden she is altogether limited to this extent of breast and body. This use of bind has perhaps been helped by Layamon’s ‘wifmen hit þunchet fuliwis[;] bi-neoðe þon gurdle hit þuncheð fisc.’

444. ‘Poisson sunt del nombril aval,’ Wace 737. For the second half line read, ge is noman ilik.

445. #to fuliwis#: see 32/40 note. #waxen#: explained by Mätzner as furnished, in meaning of OE. #beweaxan#, which however is used only of extraneous growths, as ‘burgtunas brerum beweaxne,’ town-dwellings with briars o’ergrown, Cod. Exon. 443/16. Comp. ‘a win-tre | ðat adde waxen buges ðre,’ GE 59/2059.

446. #wankel#, unstable; OE. #wancol#: comp. ‘wanclen,’ weaklings, L 31834. The modern dialect word, wankle, is current in the North and Midlands, and often used of uncertain, unsettled weather, and so probably here of stormy, disturbed seas.

447. #ðer--sinkeð# is a half-line, #sipes--werkeð# a complete line: the former may have run, ðer ðe water sinkeð . dun on west halue, where the sea slopes away down to the west; for the second half-line comp. ‘an æst halue an west halue,’ L 29287. ‘Et modo naufragium, modo dant mortale periclum,’ T.

448. #mirie#: ‘Dolces vois ont, dolcement chantent,’ Wace, 738; ‘Þeos habbeð swa murie song,’ L 1326. Holthausen omits #ge#. #mere#, a shortened form of mereman. #manie#: ‘Sirenae sunt monstra maris resonancia multis | Vocibus et modulis cantus formancia multis,’ T.

449. #sille#, marvellous; OE. #syllic#.

450. #it ben#: see 1/10 note.

451. The scribe should have put the stop before #forgeten#. ‘Li fol home qui le cant oent, | . . . | Lor voie oblient et guerpissent,’ Wace, 743, 745.

452. ‘Quae faciunt sompnum nimia dulcedine vocum,’ T.

454. #suk#, suck, expressing the sound made by the water closing over the vessel.

456-459 appears to be based on the experience of Brutus; ‘Brutus iherde siggen[;] þurh his sæ-monnen | of þan ufele ginnen[;] þe cuðen þa mereminnen | . . . | Þa mereminnen heom to svommen[;] on alchare sidan. | swiða heo heom lætten[;] mid luðere heora craften. | Neðelas Brutus at-bræc[;] al buten burstan, | ⁊ ferde riht on his wei,’ L 1334-1337, 1342-1347.

456. #wise . . . warre#: see 18/16.

457. know how to return, that is, to escape: comp. ‘hwan ic aȝen cherre[;] al ic þe ȝelde,’ OEH i. 79/12, and for the noun, ‘Þer deþ so redi fynt dore opene, | Ne may helpe no ȝeyn char,’ Desputisoun, 76/167; ‘efter-charr,’ CM 21922.

458. Often they have burst away, made good their escape: comp. 193/548 where the verb has an object in the acc. of the thing escaped from, as occasionally in OE., and as probably here also. For the second half of the line in its present form yields no satisfactory sense. Mätzner, who completed he[re], translates, with their heart incorruptible, inflexible, equating #ouel# with OWScand. ófalr. Read, ofte arn atbrosten mid hele . here brest iuel, often have they safely escaped from their evil danger. Comp. ‘Þe king Goffar iseih his burst[;] ⁊ unæðe him seolf atbreac,’ L 1610; ‘þa ofte ure Bruttes[;] makeden hufele burstes,’ id. 19856, and with the form brest, ‘or thei take reste | Er schal thei suffre mochel breste,’ Laud Troy Book, 4226; ‘To-quils þai duelled þar to rest, | O water had þai ful mikel brest,’ CM 6308.

459. Mätzner deletes #herd#, to correspond with, ‘Quod (i.e. periculum) qui fugerunt, hii tales esse tulerunt,’ T.; but in view of L 1334-1337 quoted above, it would be better to leave out #told#; the wise escape because they have been forewarned. With either alteration, the line remains formless: better, he hauen herd tellen . of tis mere unimete, with distinct alliteration in each half-line (comp. 464/15). Holthausen supplies is after #ðat#: the scribe probably understood the connection as, which, monstrous in this wise, as being half human and half fish, has a moral application (‘significacio’, ‘bitacnunge,’ 79/15) in virtue of this monstrosity.

463, 464. Many men illustrate what is signified by this creature here adduced as a symbol. ‘Quam plures homines sic sunt in more biformes,’ T.; comp. 191/471.

465. Mätzner altered #wulues# to sepes; the source is, ‘Attendite a falsis prophetis, qui veniunt ad vos in vestimentis ovium, intrinsecus autem sunt lupi rapaces,’ S. Matt. vii. 15.

467, 468. ‘Utpote sunt multi qui de virtute locuti, | Turpibus indulgent,’ T. Perhaps of should be inserted before godcundhede.

469. #vncuð wið#: see 179/97. ‘Qui foris ut fantur, sic intus non operantur,’ T.

474. #ðe legen#, lie to thee, by presently breaking their oath: ‘unum dicentes, aliud mox tibi facientes,’ T.

475. #sage#, discourse: OE. #sagu#: comp. ‘heo wenden þat his sawen[;] soðe weren,’ L 749.

476. #ðer imong#, all the time they are promising.

477. #agte# and #soule# l. 478 are apparently accusatives in a sort of apposition to ‘ðe’ l. 476. OE. #swician# requires #ymb# or #on# with the name of the thing about which deceit is practised.

480. #Elpes#: the OE. forms are #elpend# and #ylp#; elp is probably a shortened form of the former. #Inde riche#, the realm of India.

481. #berges ilike#, like mountains; ‘bene firmares montibus esse pares,’ T.; ‘ylp is ormæte nyten mare þonne sum hus,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 104/366.

482. #o wolde#, in the woodland: comp. 195/620.

484, 485. ‘Adversi coeunt, cum sibi conveniunt.’ The scribe has put #sampnen# in the place of some less common word; Holthausen proposes hemen which gives an assonance at any rate: if a verb *menen may be inferred from mæne, mene, intercourse, it would fit still better.

486. #kolde of kinde#, chaste by nature: comp. 191/495; ‘so kinde cold,’ GE 1999.

487. #minde#: see 184/263.

488. #noten of#, make use of: see 84/45. #gres#, herb, medicinal plant.

489. #ðe#, to which: see 46/292. #mandragores#, mandrake: L. mandragoras; in Philippe de Thaün mandragora. It is discussed at length in Bartholomeus Anglicus, lib. xvii, ‘dicitur autem habere virtutem prebetivam mulieribus concipiendi.’ There is no mention of it in T., but it is common matter in the Bestiaries.

490-494. ‘Hique semel pariunt quamvis tot tempora vivunt, | Hoc est ter centum, nec faciunt geminum, | Ast unum generant et per duo tempora gestans,’ T. (‘duo tempora’ = duos annos). See Ælf. Lives, ii. 104/569. #wuneden#: read wunen: #more# is probably an addition by the scribe.

495. #blod ⁊ bon#, subject of is: for the phrase, meaning the whole body, comp. 196/636; ‘nys non so feyr of blod ant bone,’ KH MS. L, 916 note.

496. ‘Cum parit in magna, ne cadat, exstat aqua,’ T. The Bestiaries generally say that she takes to the water for fear of the dragon. #sal#, has to, must.

498. #to mid side#: nothing corresponding in T., but ‘Tresque à sun ventre en l’unde,’ P. de Thaün, 1442; ‘pergit ad lacum magnum et ingreditur usque ad ubera,’ H. de S. Victor, ii. 427. #midside# is a compound noun; contrast ‘with a sadel to the midside,’ Desputisoun, ed. Linow, 59/517 (Laud MS.) with the corresponding, ‘Wiþ a sadel to middle þe syde,’ 101/517 (Digby MS.).

499. #wanne--tide#; Mätzner translates, ‘when mischief betides her,’ treating harde as a noun, like 152/56 note. The construction would then be the same as in ‘Aþulf tit no wounde,’ KH MS. L, 1352, and #harde# might better be translated birth pangs. But the order of the words is against that interpretation: #tide# is impersonal and #harde# is an adverb: comp. ‘wel þe sal bityde,’ L MS. O, 2236.

500. #ðat# is often repeated when a clause interrupts the construction, as in ‘sitteð all stille, ꝥ hwon he parted urom ou, ꝥ he ne cunne ower god, ne ower vuel nouðer,’ AR 64/20.

502. ‘Non habet ut (a.l. unde) surgat, quia nunquam crura recurvat,’ T. The elk is also without joints in its legs; see Elton, Origins of English History, p. 54.

504. #Hu--wide# depends on l. 506. With #he# comp. 119/77, 194/602.

505. #walkeð wide#, travels to a distance; a favourite phrase in the romances: comp. ‘Ihc habbe walke wide,’ KH 953 note.

506. #her#: in Physiologus.

507. For resting is difficult because his huge bulk prevents him from lying down.

508. #to fuligewis#: see 32/40.

509. ‘Incumbit trunco arboris haut modico,’ T.

510. #trostlike#, confidingly: ‘Idunc dort a seür,’ P. de Thaün, 1550.

511. #of walke weri#, weary from walking; so, ‘weri of sorȝen,’ L 28081.

512. #ðis# anticipates l. 514: the hunter notes the elephant’s favourite support, ‘his beste wune.’

514. #wune#, resort; usually custom, but comp. ‘Vyche day in þe temple . wes myne ywune,’ OEM 43/207. Eudes de Cheriton, 316/26, has, ‘Elephas, more consueto super illam appodians, simul cum illa cadit.’

515. For #willen# read wiken: to don hise wiken, to perform his functions, here, to sleep. The phrase ‘don wiken’ occurs in OEH i. 137/11, meaning, to do services. Comp. 84/45 note.

516. #underset#: ‘Quam notat atque secat venator, et obice celat,’ T. Mätzner translates, underprops; rather, wedges up, underpins.

517. #bet#: used for the rhyme, where best might have been expected.

518. #he#, the elephant. #it . . . war#, aware of it: see 200/116 note.

519. #makeð char#, returns: comp. 190/457.

520. ‘Clamque sedens spectat dum requiem repetat,’ T. #biwalt# is Mätzner’s correction for biwarlt; it is a rare word and means to rule, manage, wield, as in ‘þe holie þremnesse þe shop ⁊ biwalt alle shafte,’ OEH ii. 25/8. He explains the passage as, the hunter sits alone, observes whether his device helps him in any way. But #olon# for al one or one as in this text, 194/579, 580, the absence of a conjunction before #bihalt# and the meaning given to #biwalt# all raise doubts. Morris translates the last word as ‘deceiveth.’ Perhaps in olon lurks al on, which with *bihalt, observation, would give, intent on watching. *bihalt, noun of bihalden, is not found, but may be inferred from OE. #geheald#. #biwalt# may be miswritten for biualt, representing OE. #befealleþ#: l. 521 might then mean whether his device results in anything for him.

522. #unride#: see 188/389.

524, 525. ‘Ille velud quondam securus ad arboris umbram, | Cum venit, incumbit, cumque ruente ruit,’ T. #boden#, for boðen.

530. #ðer#, to that place. #gangande#: the author wrote gangen, and at l. 536 seken or more probably saken: comp. 108/232; ‘þer com o schelchene gon,’ OEM 45/279, 285; ‘Þer com go a wel fair mon,’ South English Legendary, 223/139, 226/265, 227/272; ‘þat him com biforen gon[;] a wunder ane fair mon,’ L 32064. The infinitive defines; here it means, on foot. ‘Tunc unus currit, qui relevare cupit,’ T.

531. #ut# is a scribe’s mistake for up.

532. #Fikeð#, bustles, fusses: still in dialectic use in the northern counties and Scotland. See Björkman, 145, 306. The combination with #fondeð#, tries, does not occur elsewhere.

533. #forðen#: see 180/126. #no wigt#, not at all.

534. #canne#, can he; nor can he do anything else. ‘Sed nequit et satagit: complorans hic quoque barrit,’ T.

536. #manie#: in the older Bestiaries twelve besides the first try to raise him. The original reading of the MS., sacande, for saken (shake), is preferable to the correction: see 182/193.

537. #on stalle maken#, put him in a standing position, set him up again; comp. 193/539, 547, 556, 557; ‘cumen . . . on stalle,’ 193/539. A deer is said to stall when it stands still in covert.

538. #for#, in spite of, notwithstanding; comp. ‘For roting es na better rede,’ CM 11505; ‘thei scholde come with-outen dwellyng | And speke with him for any thyng,’ Laud Troy Book, 3103: contrast ‘For,’ in consequence of, 193/542.

540-549. ‘Cum nequeunt omnes, contendunt mittere voces, | Ad quas fit subitus parvulus ac minimus | Cuius (et est mirum) promuscida sublevat illum, | Et sic predictas effugit insidias,’ T.

548. Comp. 186/344, 190/458. #atbrested#: supply he (the fallen elp) as subject: see 6/18 note.

552. #ðat fele we#, for that we suffer.

553. Holthausen would read, Moyses wulde him reisen rigt, | migte i forðen no wigt; but reisen : forðen is sufficient rhyme for this author. The lines are, however, short; insert up before reisen, he after migte.

556. #her non#, none of them.

557. By ‘upright’ I mean in his former position as possessor of the riches of heaven. For #iseie# see 56/46 note. Comp. ‘heoueriche wunne,’ AR 242/4; ‘heouenriche murhðe,’ OEH i. 115/1.

559. #suggeden#, sighed; comp. ‘Forr iwhillc mann birrþ wepenn her, ⁊ sikenn sare ⁊ suhhȝhenn,’ Orm 7923. #weren in ðogt#, were very anxious: comp. ‘Euer ⁊ oo for my leof icham in grete þohte,’ Bödd. AE. Dicht. 179/7.

560. #ovt#: read ogt, in any wise, at all.

561. #onder steuene# is meaningless. Mätzner suggested mid are steuene, with one cry; Holthausen for #onder#, luder. But #alle# is superfluous and the rhythm is defective: the original may have been, remeden he ðo ludere steuene. Comp. ‘Þa quað Membricius[;] ludere stefne,’ L 927; ‘Numbert heom to clepede[;] mid ludere stefne,’ id. 1428.

563, 564. ‘Ipsorum precibus venit ad hoc dominus,’ T. #care#, anxiety. #hem . . . to#, to them: see 1/3.

566. #litel#: ‘parvus, quoniam deus est homo factus,’ T.

567. #drowing ðolede#, endured suffering: comp. ‘Ac of cristes þruwinge · þet he þolede her,’ OEM 37/4; ‘He ðrowede and ðolede un-timing ðat,’ GE 1180.

568. #under gede#, went to the help of; said with a reference to l. 545: L. subvenire.

570. #dim#: comp. 186/341.

571. For the Turtle, the author follows the Latin original pretty closely.

572. #boke#: Physiologus. #o rime#, in verse: insert al before o.

573. #lagelike#, loyally, faithfully: comp. ‘ȝif ha hare wedlac laheliche halden,’ HM 13/33.

574. #make#: comp. ‘Forr fra þatt hire make iss dæd | Ne kepeþþ ȝho nan oþerr,’ Orm 1276. #siðen#: read seden, separate, depart, OE. #scēadan#; comp. ‘Þurrh þatt he wollde stilleliȝ | Fra Sannte Marȝe shædenn,’ Orm 2922, 16240. Omit ge as unmetrical.

575. #muneð#, keep in mind; comp. 185/284.

576, 577. ‘Nocte dieque juncta manebit | Absque marito nemo videbit,’ T. #sundren ovt#, separate at all, at any time: comp. 195/623.

578-583. ‘Sed viduata si caret ipso | Non tamen ultra nubet amico, | Sola volabit, sola sedebit: | Et quasi vivum corde tenebit | Opperiensque casta manebit,’ T.

579. #one#, alone: OE. #āna#. #fareð#, passes her life.

581. #luue abit#, awaits, watches for the return of her beloved.

585. #reche#, take heed, bethink thyself.

586. See 180/134. #meche#: ‘Namque maritus est sibi (i.e. animae) Christus,’ T.

588. #fro himward#: see 178/89 note. The metre requires the omission of -ward.

590. Read luue none: for the combination #leue . . . luue#, comp. 143/73. #ne--newe#, nor love any new one; comp. ‘Allas! is every man thus trewe, | That every yere wolde have a newe,’ Chaucer, H. F. 301; ‘He wolde not him chawnge for no newe,’ Guy of Warwick, 122. This gives the best sense and rhythm, but luue may be a noun governed by leue, and l. 581 favours that interpretation.

591-593. ‘Quem superesse credit in aethre, | Inde futurum spectat eundem | Ut microcosmum judicat omnem,’ T.

592. #briche#: see 185/293.

593. #on geuelike#: see 182/214.

594. Omit #men#. #his loðe#, those hateful to him.

598-600. ‘Qui niger ex albo conspergitur orbiculato,’ T. #bro#, eyebrow: OWScand. brá: see Björkman 231. Mätzner sees in the whale’s brow an expression for whalebone: Pliny says ‘ora ballaenae habent in frontibus, ideoque summa aqua natantes in sublime nimbos efflant,’ N. H. ix. 6, 16. The explanation is not convincing. Such comparisons are generally made with familiar objects, so ‘colblake,’ 153/75; ‘And worth al black sum ani cole,’ CM 22489; ‘Al blak so cole-brond,’ King Alisaunder 6260. Perhaps, so brond of cole: the scribe is given to leaving out the end of his words, and the rhyme cole : al is no worse than fel : al, 190/465. In other Bestiaries the panther is of many colours.

600. #trendled# &c., rounded as a wheel.

601. And it sets him off, adorns him, exceedingly: an early instance of this meaning. Comp. ‘þe kirtel bicom him swiþe wel,’ Guy of Warwick, Auch. MS. 14/210.

602. #he#: see 119/77 note.

603. #der#: T. has ‘Diversis pastus venatibus et saciatus,’ but the Bestiaries generally avoid making him carnivorous; ‘Divers mangiers manjue,’ P. de Thaün, 474; ‘Saoulee . . . De boenes viandes plusors,’ Guillaume, 1958, 1960; ‘diversis herbis vescitur,’ Honorius Augustod. (Migne), 887.

604. #cul#, rump: the earliest appearance of this French word in English. Mätzner explains it as cowl, fell.

607. After #dages# insert al: comp. 195/635.

609. #lude so#, as loudly as: but lude should probably be omitted, as the line is too long.

610-615. ‘Exit odor talis de gutture, tamque suavis, | Ut virtute sua superet vel aromata cuncta,’ T. #mid . . . forð# may be equivalent to forð mid, along with (see 1/19), but #forð# is more probably adverbial, far, as in, ‘Sum was wið migte so forð gon, | ðat hadden he under hem mani on,’ GE 835. #oueral#, widely spread.

612. #haliweie#, more usually halewei, some preparation of a balsamic nature used both as a lotion and a drink. It corresponds to an OE. *#hǣlewǣg#, healing water, but the spelling in the text shows an association with #hālig# (NED.). Comp. ‘hwo þet bere a deorewurðe licur, oðer a deorewurðe wete, as is bame, in a feble uetles, healewi in one bruchele glese,’ AR 164/13; ‘Kumeð þerof smel of aromaz, oðer of swote healewi,’ id. 276/11.

615. Comp. ‘For na drie ne for na wate,’ CM 6365. #wete# is by form a noun, as at l. 57; comp. ‘hwīlum fliht se wǣta ꝥ dryge,’ Boethius, ed. Fox, 234/10.

617. #wor so . . . of londe#, wherever in the world; comp. ‘Wher he beo in londe,’ KH 416 note. But the metre requires on ðe londe.

620. #folegeð#: ‘Ferunt odore earum mire sollicitari quadripedes cunctas,’ Pliny, N. H. viii. 17, 62. The original has ‘Ad quem mox tendit quae vocem belua sentit, | Ac sectatur cum nimia dulcedine plenum.’ Eudes de Cheriton says, ‘animalia crudelia, ut Lupus et Leopardus . . . eam pro bono odore sequuntur et non infestant,’ 232: he explains the sweet smell as the soft answer that turns away wrath.

621. #ðe#, of which: comp. 46/292 note.

623-625. ‘Cum sonat, aut fugiunt, aut segnes corpore fiunt | In caveisque latent, nec in ipso tempore parent,’ T. #ogt#, at all.

624. #daren#: see 185/310.

627. #tokned#: ‘per mistica dictus,’ T.

629. ‘Speciosus forma prae filiis hominum,’ Psalm xliv. 3.

630. #fen#, mud; comp. ‘Or or flum noe spredde his fen,’ GE 490.

631. #taunede#, displayed: taunen is an aphetic form of *at-awnen (see NED. s.v. tawne): it is found only here and several times in GE. ll. 631, 632 are the interpretation of ll. 603-605: ‘At satur ille fuit, quia quot vult, tot sibi sumit,’ T.

634. Well is it for the man for whom he was willing to suffer it. ‘Et somnum cepit cum nos moriendo redemit,’ T. For the omission of the verb after #wel#, see 21/92 note: for #dat#, to whom, see 46/292 note.

635. #on on#, continuously.

636. #blod ⁊ bon#: see 191/495.

637. Perhaps #in wis# of the MS. should not have been altered, as it occurs again in GE at 214/575: it may be a genuine, though mistaken, resolution of iwis.

639. #vuemest#, highest.

641. #smel#: ‘nimio suae incarnationis odore,’ H. de S. Victor, ii. 426.

642. #let her#, left behind in the world.

643. For #him#, hin, shortened form of hine, may be read: comp. ‘fleges kin sal hin ouer-gon,’ GE 3004.

644. For #fin# read afin or in fin; the meaning will be, into his divine presence at our ending. The original has ‘Celos ascendens, ubi regnat cum patre presens, | Quem gentes cuncte sunt sic credendo secute:’ the parallel passage in the description is l. 620. #godcundnesse# properly means, divinity, divine nature, here apparently, the manifestation of that divinity in heaven. For #fin#, death, comp. ‘Alle ðhe olde deden ðor fin,’ GE 3852.

645. ‘Serpens antiquus qui nobis est inimicus,’ T.

646. #dine#, sound, preaching: suggested by ‘rem,’ 195/611, and possibly by S. Paul’s use of Psalm xviii. 5, ‘in omnem terram exivit sonus eorum,’ Rom. x. 18.

648. #ðer wile#, whilst, so long as; comp. 198/37, 205/288, 446/59, ‘And mete quorbi ðei migten liuen, | ðor quiles he woren on water driuen,’ GE 573; ‘Therwhile, sire, that I tolde this tale | Thi sone mighte tholie dethes bale,’ Seuyn Sages, 701. #he--beren#, they maintain obedience and cherish love: #he# refers to #noman#: #beren# goes naturally with #luue#, with #lage# it stands for lage halden, to keep the commandments (of God).

649. Thetbald ends with the Panther, and this section is generally said to be taken from Neckam’s De Naturis Rerum, c. xlvi. His dove has eight ‘natures,’ three of which are wanting in our author’s seven, and lacks two of those given here (ll. 656, 657; ll. 660, 661), while Neckam’s explanation of the fifth, ll. 662, 663, is quite different. The matter is common to the Fathers and medieval writers, and our author may have drawn from more than one, but Hugh of S. Victor, De Bestiis et aliis Rebus, lib. i. c. 11, most nearly resembles him. His dove has ten qualities, six of which are here, and there is something resembling the seventh: each of them is quoted.

651. #wes#, we them. #hauen in mode#, keep in mind: so, ‘ben us minde,’ l. 653: see 184/263.

653. Mätzner takes #alle it# together as, all of them, comparing 190/450, where he says it = them, but see 1/10 note: the construction is similar here, #it# is a mere introductory word like there: the order is, it ogen alle &c., and the meaning, they ought all to be present in thought to us.

654. ‘Caret felle, id est, irascibilitatis amaritudine,’ V. Comp. ‘Loke nu þet tu, þet he cleopeð kulure, habbe kulure kunde, þet is wiðuten galle,’ AR 292/19; ‘Forr cullfre iss milde ⁊ meoc ⁊ swet, | ⁊ all wiþþutenn galle,’ Orm 1258; ‘Lauedi scho es o leuedis all, | Mild and mek witouten gall,’ CM 101.

655. #simple#: Comp. ‘Estote simplices sicut columbe · buð admode alse duue,’ OEH ii. 49/25, that is, humble. #softe#, gentle.

656. ‘Non vivit ex raptu, quia non detrahit proximo,’ V. Mätzner divided bi lagt and explained #lagt# as pp. of lacchen used substantively as prey: the word does not occur elsewhere.

657. The scribe probably understood this line as, Let us do aback all thieving; that is, renounce, reject, like ‘werpeð abec,’ 16/142: though aback descends from #on bæc#. But the rhyme is bad, and the emendation hac, due to Mätzner, does not improve it, besides being difficult of interpretation. If it is for ac (comp. 217/87) the meaning might be, Let us also put away from us all thieving. Morris suggests hagt = agt, mind, and the rhyme lagt : hagt occurs in GE, see 201/135, but the word hagt means, in ME., only care, anxiety, peril. Holthausen proposed iþagt, OE. #geþeaht#; in the sense, put out of our counsel, thoughts: the form apparently does not occur elsewhere, and it makes a metrical difficulty. Probably the corruption of the line began with #Ilc#; it may have run, Noman do we robbing of aght; comp. ‘If i giue þe for to kepe | . . . | Hors or ani oþer aght, | And it wit wiþerwin be laght,’ CM 6763; ‘For to spare his aune aght, | þis pore manes schep he laght,’ id. 7927.

658, 659. ‘Colligit grana meliora, id est, meliora dicta. Non vescitur cadaveribus, id est, desideriis carnalibus,’ V. #leteð#, abstains from. Omit #ðe# before #sed#.

660, 661. ‘Geminos nutrit pullos, id est, amorem Dei et amorem proximi,’ V, which is not like the text. Comp. rather, ‘Alienos pullos nutrit dum errantes a regno Dei alienos per poenitentiam reducit,’ Honorius Augustod., 962. #ur ilk#, each of us.

662, 663. ‘Columba pro cantu utitur gemitu, quia quod libens fecit plangendo gemit,’ V. #woning# &c.: see 2/15. #lic#: apparently adv., equally; likewise; her song is at the same time a lament: the order of the words and the absence at this date of a preposition with woning is against the meaning, her song is similar to a lament: comp. ‘Forr þeȝȝre (cullfre ⁊ turrtle) sang iss lic wiþþ wop,’ Orm 7931. For #bimene#, reflexive, see 40/168 note.

664, 665. ‘Super fluenta aquarum (Canticum Canticorum, v. 12) residet, ut, visa acciptris umbra, venientem citius devitet, quia in scripturis studet, ut supervenientis diaboli fraudem declinet,’ V. #wis of#, a variant of ‘war of,’ suggested by the frequent association of ‘wis and war:’ see 18/16. #nome#, seizing, clutches: only here and at 206/322.

666, 667. ‘Nidificat in foraminibus petrae, quia spem ponit in Christi passione,’ V.

Greek

ὁ Φυσιολόγος [ho Physiologos] ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς [apo tês aretês]

Cross-References

1/3, 1/10, 1/19 (notes) = I. A (Worcester Fragments) 6/18, 8/84 (notes) = III. (The Peterborough Chronicle) 13/18 (note) = V. (A Parable) 21/92, 25/226 (notes) = VI. (The Proverbs of Alfred) 32/40, 40/168, 44/260, 46/292 (notes) = VIII. (Poema Morale) 56/46 (note) = IX. A (Ancrene Wisse: Seven Deadly Sins) 80/47, 81/80 (notes) = XI. (Hic Dicendum est de Propheta) 119/77, 143/73 (notes) = XIX. (Saint Juliana) 176/24, 178/89 (notes) = present selection 200/116, 213/539 (notes) = XXII. (Genesis and Exodus) p. 327 = VIII. (Poema Morale) under Metre. 359 = IX. Ancrene Wisse, Phonology, under “ea”. p. 463, 464, 465 = XIV. (Layamon) under Metre. p. 564 = XX. (The Owl and the Nightingale) under Metre.

Errata

#Phonology:# Oldest E. Texts 570 [OE Texts] #a# + #g# ... Anglian #tre(o)#: [#tre (o)#] #Accidence:# ...nigt s. a. 582; [582:] The personal pronouns ... oðer 603 [oder] eurilc 257, 286 [euerilc 257, eurilc 286] Only three verbs ... I c. s. 3. wan 632 [3,] For the octosyllable ... cundnéss|ẹ afín 644 [afin] Verses of three measures ... tíl | it cúm|ẹð ðe tíme 403 [timé] Syncope of the middle vowel ... sinịging 256 [sinigịng] 113. ... #Nimeð#: see 213/539 note. [213/359] 173. ... subj. past from #healdan# [subj. past.] 185. ... AR 50/15 [AR/50/15] 257. ... it would balance eurilcdel [euerilcdel] 260. ... Comp. ‘ðe sunenday | ðat is [open quote missing] 356. ... subject of #is#. [period (full stop) missing] 357. ... the Creator made these loathly things [final “r” in “Creator” invisible] a common medieval idea [“l” in “medieval” invisible] 414. ... Huic religare citam pro tempestate carinam [pre] 428, 429 ... Mentes cunctorum qui sunt ubique virorum [text unchanged: error for “ubicunque”?] 467, 468. ... Turpibus indulgent,’ [close quote invisible] 489. ... habere virtutem prebetivam [text unchanged: error for “prebitivam”?] 612. ... It corresponds to an OE. *#hǣlewǣg# [OE *#hǣlewǣg# ]

XXII. GENESIS AND EXODUS

#Manuscript:# Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 444, former mark R 11; on vellum, 186 × 116 mm., in one hand of the end of thirteenth or of the beginning of the fourteenth century. It contains on 81 folios the poem from which the present extract is made. On f. 1 r is the name of a former owner, Richard Southwell, with a motto nearly obliterated, Sapit qui sustinet, or suscepit (James). See further A Descriptive Catalogue of the MSS. in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, by M. R. James, vol. ii, p. 357.

#Editions:# Morris, R., Genesis and Exodus. E. E. T. S., O. S. 7, 1865, revised 1873. Mätzner, E., Altenglische Sprachproben, i. 76-90. Specimens, 153-170. Emerson, O. F., ME. Reader, 21-35.

#Literature:# Fritzsche, A., Anglia, v. 43-90 (authorship, phonology, grammar, metre, notes); Hilmer, H., Ueber die Sprache der altenglischen Story of Genesis and Exodus, Sondershausen, 1876; Holthausen, F., ES xvi. 429-33, Archiv, xc. 143, 144, 295, cvii. 386-92, Anglia, xv. 191-4, xxii. 141 (notes and emendations); Kölbing, E., ES iii. 273-334, xvii. 292-6 (notes and emendations); Schumann, W., Anglia, vi. Anzeiger, 1-32; Stratmann, F. H., ES ii. 120, iv. 98 (notes).

#Analogue:# Die altfranzösische Histoire de Joseph, ed. W. Steuer, Erlangen, 1903, also as L’Estoire Joseph, ed. E. Sass, Berliner Dissertation, 1906.

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