xxi. 5, reproduced in Facsimiles of Ancient Charters in the British

Museum, part iv, no. 38, and printed in Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, i., New Series; and the chain extended back to the first extant example of the formula, the charter (C) of Cnut to Æthelnoth, A.D. 1020, preserved by a copy in a Canterbury book, the MacDurnan Gospels (now at Lambeth), and printed in Earle, 232.

There is another copy of the present document, but fragmentary and decayed, in the muniment room of Canterbury Cathedral.

H^1, H^2, and the Harley Charter (H^3) here printed, have been accepted by Dölle in his book, Zur Sprache Londons vor Chaucer (Morsbach’s Studien, xxxii), as specimens of the English of the London Chancellery. As the editors of the Facsimiles of Royal and other Charters point out, H^1, H^2 are in a book hand, not that of an official court scribe; they are without witnesses or place of execution. Their seals do not prove them to be the original grant, for both H^1 and its duplicate Cotton Charter, vii. 1, have seals, and a note on the back of the latter appears to indicate that it is one of four copies. The duplicate of H^3 also has its seal, attached, like the others, in an unusual way to the left side of the document, as if to show that both documents and seals are replicas of the original. They are, in fact, copies, and the natural assumption is that they were made at Canterbury to provide against risk of loss or damage to the actual grant.

H^3 is on a different footing: it is properly attested, its place of origin is given, and its seal is attached in the usual way at the foot. But it is not in a charter hand, and its language shows that it was prepared by a Canterbury scribe to be placed before the king for his acceptance.

It should be noted that the English words from saca to frimtha also appear in the Latin version with the following variants: Sacha, Wude, felde, tolnes, grithbreches, thiofes, flemene.

The charter is then a patchwork of old and new; its phonological position may be defined by an attempt at a version in Late West-Saxon. Ic Henric · þurh Godes gife Englalandes cyng · grēte ealle mīne bisceopas ⁊ ealle mīne scīrgerēfan ⁊ ealle mīne þegnas frencisce ⁊ englisce · on þām scīrum þe Þeobald ærcebisceop ⁊ se hīrēd æt xpīstes cyrican on Cantwarabyrig habbað land inne frēondlice · ⁊ ic cȳðe ēow þæt ic hæbbe heom geunnen ꝥ hi bēon ǣlc þāra landa wurðe þe hi hæfdon in Ēadweardes cynges dæge · ⁊ on Willhelmes cynges mīnes furðor ealdefæder · ⁊ on Henrices cynges mīnes ealdefæder · ⁊ sace ⁊ sōcne · on strande ⁊ on streame · on wudum ⁊ on feldum · tolles ⁊ tēames · griðbryces · ⁊ hāmsōcne · ⁊ fōrstealles · ⁊ infangeneþēofes · ⁊ flȳmena fyrmðe · ofer heora āgene menn · binnan burgum ⁊ butan · swā ful ⁊ swā forð swā mīne āgene wīcneras hit sēcan sceoldon · ⁊ ofer swā fela þegnas swā ic heom tolǣten hæbbe · And ic nelle ꝥ ǣnig mann ǣnig þing þǣrof tēo · butan hī ⁊ heora wīcneras þām þe hi hit betǣcan willað · ne frencisce ne englisce · for þām þingum þe ic hæbbe Crīste þās gerihta forgifen minre sāwle to ēcere ālȳsednesse · ⁊ ic nelle geþafian ꝥ ǣnig mann þis ābrece be mīnum fullan frēondscipe. God ēow gehealde.

It will be seen that the OE. phonetic position is largely maintained; noteworthy divergences are: #æ# as _e_ in hebbe, ercebisceop; as _a_ in habbe (occasionally in OE.), ealdefader; as _ea_ (= #e#) in eafdon, #æ# + #g# in deȝe. ænglelandes (also in H^1, H^2) shows a survival of primitive #æ#, characteristic of the south-east. en 12/6 for #on# is due to loss of stress; Layamon 8059 has æn; #e# + #g# is _ei_ in þeinas. #y# is _e_ in grithbreces of the Latin text and H^1, H^2 (but grithbrices is OE. #griðbrice#); _i_ in Cantuarabirȝ. #ǣ# is _e_ in bitechan, enig, eni, echere, toleten, þer; #ȳ#, _e_ in keþe. #ea# before #l# + cons. is _a_ in forstalles; frimtha is descended from #fiermð# with metathesis of _r_: the others have fermþe and H^1 also feormþe, forms without umlaut: #giefu# appears as ȝefu, but #giefan#, forgifan. #heora# is heara (early Kentish hiara) beside heore; scolden answers to a non-diphthonged OE. form. #flīema# gives flemene in the Latin text (so E, H^1, H^2, the latter also flæmene) and fleamene: alisendnesse is OE. #ālīesednesse# (but once #ālȝsendnesse#), the others have alysednesse. #ēo# is _e_ in frenscipan: _io_ in thiofes of the Lat. text, _ia_ in thiafes; #ā# + #w# is _au_ in saule; #ēo# + #w# appears as geau (ȝeu, Poema Morale, Digby MS.) with ȝ borrowed from the _nom._, helped, no doubt, by the general tendency exemplified in gearfoþe, ungeaþe of the MK. gospels.

#w# is written _u_ in Cantuarabirȝ; an inorganic _n_ is inserted in alisendnesse; #f# is _u_ in geþauian, scirereuan. The dentals are confused: _þ_ for #t#, _t_ for #þ#, _t_ for #d#, _d_ for #þ# appear in theames, theo, teobalt, hiret, habbad, ford; #d# is omitted in frenscipan, as in stan, halen, &c., of the MK. gospels; #č# is written _ch_ in chyrchen, bitechan, echere, ich, grithbriches; the scribe apparently uses _ch_ for [k] in Sacha of the Latin text; #h# is omitted in eafdon; _cht_ for #ht# in gerichtan is an attempt to indicate the guttural sound.

The inflections of OE. are largely preserved, but levelling of #a# to _e_ is shown in fele, fleamene, fullen, heore, lande (_pl. g._), þare, Wicneres, while _a_ is written for older #e# in frimtha, saca, wurþa, and _o_ for #e# in geunnon. OE. #um# is _an_ in burgan, feldan, minan, sciran, þingan, wudan; #þām# appears as þan. Weak forms are gerichtan, frenscipan; ȝefu is nom. form for accusative.

#Dialect:# The levelling of #y#, #ȳ#, #æ#, #ǣ# to _e_; #ea# as _a_, the old Kentish #io#, #ia# in thiofes, thiafes, heara point to Kent. The absence of _v_, _z_ for #f#, #s# initial, the retention of #a# in lande, strande, and of #n# final either mark an early stage in the dialect, or show the conservative influence of the older documents.

#Introduction:# King Henry the Second grants, or rather confirms, to Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the monks of Christ Church their lands and privileges of jurisdiction. The date is February, 1155 (Eyton, Itinerary of Henry II. 5) and the place York. For alisendnessee 12/15, read alisendnesse.

1. #gret . . . mine#, verb of the third person, pronoun of the first: so CE; it is formal, and not a scribe’s error as Stratmann thinks; H^1, H^2 have grete. #bissceopas#, &c.: in Latin, ‘Ep{iscop}is · Com{itibus} · Bar{onibus} · Justic{iariis} · Vi{c}e{comitibus} · Cet{er}isq{ue} suis fidelib{us}.’

3. #þe . . . inne#, in which; see 1/3 note. E has þær . . . inne.

4. #Cantuarabirȝ#; see 1/14.

5. #ꝥ# = þet. #ælc#, each of them: the archbishop and the monks severally, as well as jointly; so H^1, H^2; E omits.

6. #kinges#: see 15/87 note.

7. #saca# and the other genitives are, like lande, dependent on wurþa. Each of these words has a threefold aspect: (1) the simple meaning of the word itself; (2) the right to adjudicate in connection with that; (3) the right to profit by fee or fine arising out of such jurisdiction. #Sacu# and #sōcn# are glossed, _litis, contestatio_ and _quaestio, inquisitio_ respectively. #Sōcn# is the leading word and #sacu# was added to round off the phrase; together they express a single idea, inquisition into a disputed matter (sometimes the area of jurisdiction); then the right to adjudicate privately within one’s own jurisdiction on certain cases which arise within it, and the right in consequence to appropriate the proceeds in fines, &c. #Toll#, tax on merchandise, sometimes exemption from such, the right to collect it, the profit arising therefrom. Sometimes merely the right to tallage one’s villeins. #Tēam#, vouching to warranty, right to adjudicate in cases which involved the production of a guarantor (#getēama#), right to forfeitures, &c., arising out of such processes (see B-T. _s.v._). #Griðbryce#, breach of a special peace, that is, a protection accorded specially to a person, place, or period of time by the king, the right to try such cases and fine. #Hāmsōcn#, in Domesday hāmfare (OE. #hāmfaru#), attack on a man’s house, trial for the offence and fine. #Fōrsteall#, assault on the king’s highway; in Norman law, ‘assultus excogitatus de veteri odio’ (PM. ii. 453). #Infangeneþēof#, thief caught red-handed in a privileged area, the right to judge and hang him. In = within, _adverb_: fangene = #fangenne#, _s. acc._ of the participle agreeing with þēof: as the phrase was almost always _acc._ after a verb of granting, these formed a compound regarded as the _nom._ as well, but a _nom._ by form is sometimes found as _acc._, ‘infangenðeóf,’ Kemble, iv. 226. The dat. ‘mid infangenumþeofe’ occurs, id. 227, but usually ‘mid infangeneðéf,’ id. 190; _gen._ ‘infangeneðeófes,’ id. 193. C, E, H^1, H^2 all have both words inflected _gen._ as here: I have not found the double inflection elsewhere. #Ūtfangeneþēof# was the right to hang one’s own thief wherever caught, if he were found in possession of the stolen property: it appears to have been rarely granted. #Flȳmena fyrmð#, the harbouring or supporting of a wrongdoer or fugitive from justice. (Liebermann, Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen; Pollock and Maitland, History of English Law.)

10. #binnan Burgan#, &c.: a phrase for everywhere. Comp. ‘on ǽlce styde, be lande and be strande,’ Earle, 344/11; ‘be wætere and be lande,’ id. 344/21; ‘inne tíd and út of tíd, binnen burh and búten burh, on stráte and of stráte,’ id. 340/21.

11. #swa ful ⁊ swa ford#: ‘in tantum et tam pleniter,’ as fully and extensively as my own officers are in duty bound to exact: comp. ‘swá wel and swá freolíce swá ic hit meseolf betst habbe,’ Earle, 343/16.

12. #habben#: read habbe as in H^1, H^2; C, E have hæbbe. For #toleten#, granted, E, H^1, H^2 have to gelæten. The Latin has ‘super tot theines[;] quot eis concessit Rex Willelmus proauus meus,’ which is probably the correct version.

13. #þeron theo#: ‘þær on teo,’ C, E; ‘þær on tyo,’ H^1; ‘þer on tyo,’ H^2. The Latin ‘se intromittat,’ meddle (also in H^1, H^2), is not an equivalent, but rather ‘subtrahere,’ ‘exigere,’ ‘ad se trahere’ of similar documents. The meaning is, take any thing from these lands and rights: for #þer on#, comp. ‘ne teó se hláford ná máre on his ǽhte butan his rihtan heregeate,’ Schmid, Gesetze, 308. Fuller expressions are ‘ænig þæra sócna him to hánda drægen,’ Kemble, iv. 222: ‘fram honde téo,’ id. 212, 196: ‘of handa átéo,’ id. 226. #þe#, to whom: see 46/292.

14. #for þan þingan#, for the reason that, because: see the examples of the phrase in B-T., p. 1060. C has for þā; H^1 for þam þingan; E, H^2, as in the text.

15. #to echere alisendnesse#, for the eternal salvation of my soul; comp. ‘to ecere alysednysse,’ Ælfric, Lives, 258/320, ii. 154/178. Keller prints eche, treating the curl attached to the final _e_ as a mere flourish, but the scribe’s model, H^2, had æcere: see 23/161.

16. #bi#, as concerning, having regard to, i.e. on pain of losing. Comp. ‘unrihtwisan deman þe heora domas awendað æfre be þam sceattum,’ Ælfric, Lives, 430/233; ‘bebead eallum his folce, be heora life, þæt hí sceoldon feallan adune,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. ii. 18/23; ‘þat ælc mon bi his liue[;] comen to him swiðe, | bi heore liue & bi heore leme,’ L 19434.

_Cross-References_

1/3 (note) = I. A (Worcester Fragments) 15/87 (note) = V. (A Parable)

_Errata_

The charter is then a patchwork ... land inne frēondlice [_printed as shown: expected form “frēondlīce”_] binnan burgum ⁊ butan ... butan hī ⁊ heora [_printed as shown: expected form “būtan”_] ... alisendnesse is OE. #ālīesednesse# (but once #ālȝsendnesse#) [_initial ā in both words corrected by author from “a”_] #ā# + #w# is _au_ in saule [_#ā# corrected by author from #a#_] 7. ... #Ūtfangeneþēof# was the right to hang one’s own thief wherever caught [Utfangeneþēof]

V. A PARABLE

#Manuscript:# Cotton Vespasian A 22, British Museum. It is composite; a second MS., 224 × 153 mm. in two columns, begins at f. 54 with the pieces printed in OEH i. 217-45. It is written in a small and crabbed hand unlike that of a professed scribe. The use of the contraction marks is unsystematic and the readings are sometimes uncertain. The other articles bound up with this MS. before and after are historical and largely connected with Rochester Monastery.

#Editions:# Morris, R., Old English Homilies, i, pp. 231-41 (with translation), and Specimens of Early English.

#Literature:# Vollhardt, W., Einfluss der lateinischen geistlichen Litteratur auf einige kleinere Schöpfungen der englischen Übergangsperiode, Leipzig, 1888; Lauchert, F., Englische Studien, xiii. 83; Heuser, W., Anglia, xvii. 82.

#Phonology:# #a# is _a_, fram 38, maniȝe 54, lange 83, sandon 30, but _o_ in longe 155, sonden 161. #æ# wavers between _e_ (28 times), feder 42, hwet 17, stef creft 89, þes 72, &c., wes 1, 94, 96, and _a_ (16), fader 40, hwat 49, þas 43, was 19, 27, water 46. #e# is regularly _e_, engel 41, menn 31, but _æ_ in ængles 166 (#ængel#), mæn 22, 78, næmmie 112, and _a_ in anglene 139, angles 146, man, _pl._ 23, 76. #i# is _i_, for which _y_ is written in cyldren 42, cyrce 108, scyft 117: it is _e_ in ȝeðe (= iþe) 165, þeser 74, þeses 113, repen 169 (= #ripon#), swepen 13; _u_ in swupen 132. #o# is _o_, but a, an 4, &c. (= on), þann 120, þáleð 123 (comp. the dialectic taal, Dan. _taale_, EDD). #u# is _u_, but _o_ in come 7, icome 115, sonne 46, all associated with _m_ or _n_. #y# is regularly _e_, berie 7, ded 73, drench 46, euel 41, ferst 167, gelty 153, senne 91, 95, 151, but _i_ in þrimsettles 36, (dier)chin 45; _y_ in cyme 87 (? #cime#); _o_ in formest 50, 72. #mycel# is represented by mucele 129, 137, moche 90: king 1, drihte 52 have _i_, as often.

#ā# is mostly _a_, fa 25, na 55, þa 106; but _o_ in anon 12, cofe 27, cofer 17, gefo 22, go 22, more 97, 120, non 38, soriȝe 104, to 147, þo 140. clone 15, an isolated form, represents #clāne#. #ǣ{1}# is mostly _e_, arerde 80, clene 103, elc 112 (3), er 117, geð 157, helendes 87 (4), þer 139 (4); the traditional _æ_ appears in ælc 91, 152, ær 18, 99, æer 21, ærst 69, ærndraches 16, 69; but it is _a_ in halende 93, lat 124, stanene 81, þar 19 (7), unwraste 23; _ea_ in unwreaste 79, 100, 104, 130, and _eo_ once in leorde 109 (#lǣrde#) between _l_ and _r_. #ǣ{2}# is uniformly _e_, adredeð 147, letes 129. #ē# is regularly _e_, but dieð 51 (= #deð#). #ī# is _i_; written _y_ in tyme 77: gescung 54 is apparently #gītsung#. #ō# is _o_ without exception. #ū# is _u_; but uncoðe 22. #ȳ# is normally _e_, ceðen 16, 70, 113, fer 46, 143, 155, scred 42; but litl 160, leoðre 169.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is _a_ in arme 51, barn 60, middenard 39 (5), widerwardnesse 24; _ea_ in bearn 50, 159, ȝearceon 6, ȝearnede 27; _æa_, gæarced 156; _æ_ in ærfeð 3, and _e_ in merchestowe 124. #ea# before #l# + cons. is regularly _a_, alle 4 (21), manifald 79; but manifeald 46, 90. The _i_-umlaut of #ea# is represented by weregede 131 (#wiergod#). #eo# before #r# + cons. is _eo_ in eorðe 36 (4), heorte 72, leorninchnihtes 106; _e_ in sterren 47; _æ_ in ærlen 20. In the #wur# group, _wur_ is written in wurð 143, otherwise _wr_ = _wur_, derewrlice 10, wrð 77, 123, wrðeð 108, wrhmint 65, 93. The _i_-umlaut is represented by birne 154, abernð 143, sterfeð 163, werpð 45 (#wierpð#), werpeð 142, ?stiarne 13 (#stierne#). #eo# before #l# + cons. is seen in self 61 (7), sielfe 48. #eo#, _u_-umlaut of #e# is _e_ in heuene 107, 163, hefenen 36, but heofene 171; _å_-umlaut is seen in fele 83; #eo#, umlaut of #i#, is _e_ in clepeien 49, ȝeclepien 6, lefede 102, 155, lefie 155, seþe 51, 76, 170; _eo_ in neowelnesse 36; _i_ in silure 92 (#silofr#); _u_ after _w_ in cwuce 162, wude 47. Here also belong tolie 44, #teolian# and hare 85, 172, hares 56 from #heora# through #heara#, both with shifted accent. #ea# after palatals is _a_ in gat 13, 117; _e_ in scel 135; _eo_ in sceol 147, _ea_ in ȝesceafte 93, _ia_ in ȝiaf 97; scandlice 151 is #sceandlice#, before nasal, ȝescepe 56 is #gesceapen#. #ie# after #g# is _i_ in gife 86, ȝife 88, 109; _ie_ in gief 98, ȝief 119, ȝiefe 11, forȝiet 60, underȝeite 4; _e_ in forȝeten 59, 61, bigeten 55; #scieppend# gives sceappend 65, 93, sceppend 40, 41. The conj. #gif# is gief 12 (EWS. #gief#), ȝief 60, gif 63, ȝef 9. #eo# after #g# is seen in iunglenges 107 (#geongling#); #eo# after #sc# in sceolde 7, 25, 87, sceolden 12, 160; #heom# is ham 18, 55, heom 5; #eom# is am 162, ham 63.

#ēa# is _ea_ in bread 162 (4), lean 135, deade 115, deaþe 123 (4), abreað 83; _a_ in admoded 104, brad 29 (4), ȝecas 81, grate 6, hafed 51, hafedmen 108; _e_ in eðelice 124; _æ_ in ære 166. niatt 45 represents #nēat#, ȝie 49, #gēa#. The _i_-umlaut of #ēa# is represented by unhersamnesse 84. #ēo# medial is _eo_ in beoð 108, &c., ibeoð 70, beon 69, bitweone 9, underþeod 6, 66, underþeoden 3, 17, leoem 45 written for leome (#lēoma#); _e_ in betwenen 169, befel 3, 4, ȝede 95, fend 5 (8), frend 5 (9), frenden 28, 157, lefe 96, prestes 111; _ie_ in bieð 54, 65, bienn 135, to bienne 43, diefles 95, dierchin 45, frienden 21, lief 59, underþiede 137; _io_ in þiode 91. Final #ēo# is _i_, hi 50 (4), ibi 135, isi 55 (4), si 50 (6), þri 99, 101, and _ie_, besie 14 (#besēon#). The _i_-umlaut of #ēo# is seen in dierewurð 20, istriened 96, þiestre 53, þiesternesse 14; but derewrþe 138, derewrlice 10, fendes 133, aþestreð 144, þesternesse 27. #īe# gives _ie_ in giet 53, ȝeiet 56, ȝie 24, 26. #ēo# from #ō# after #sc# is _eo_, ȝesceod 8, toȝesceodeð 117, ȝesceop 33, 39; but ȝescod 74, ȝescop 54.

#a# + #g#, #h#, is _ag_, lage 71, &c.; muȝe 49 has _u_ by imitation of other pret. presents. #æ# + #g# is _ei_, deie 126, 137, meide 139, meiden 141, meidenes 166, neiles 146, seið 158, seieð 153; _eȝ_ in deȝe 108, isegd 27, seȝð 163; _eiȝ_ in seigd 34; _e_ in sede 117, 119, seden 69, 160 (= #sǣdon#), ȝesed 114, mede 94 (= #mæden#); _ai_ in mai 152, maie 148. The peculiar spellings dȝeie 68, dȝeies 52, dȝei 134 show the development of a _y_ sound, but deȝie 7, 8, 116, maȝie 59, maȝi 34 appear to be for deiȝe, maiȝe, maiȝ. #e# + #g# is _ei_, þeinen 21, rien 47, written for rein: þenið 142, þeninge 46 go back to #þēnian#, #þēnung#: #ongegn# is represented by aȝen 101, aȝenes 24. A _y_ sound has developed in ȝeie 43, 142 (#ege#); aȝeie 64 seems to have been influenced by OWScand. _agi_. #ig# is preserved in niȝen 138; #ih# in dihte 39, 41: exceptional is forðteh 42 (#forðtihþ#). #o# + #g# is seen in abroden 134, 156, abruden 27; heretoche 80; #u# + #g# in ȝebugon 25; #y# + #h# in drihte 52. #ā# + #g#, #h# give oge 59, ogen 60, oȝeð 64, aȝen 88, ah 43, fa 5. #ǣ{1}# + #h#, echte 55, tehten 110: #ō# + #h#, brochte 101, ibrocht 146, innoh 152: #ū# + #h#, þuhte 11.

#ea# + #h#, #ht# is _ea_ in leahtrum 79, _a_ in wax 81; miht, niht have uniformly _i_. #eo# + #ht# is _i_ in cnihten 20: the _i_-umlaut is represented in isecgð 148, iseȝð 150 (= #siehð#), ȝesecðe 134, 156 (#gesiehð#). #ēa# + #g#, #h# is _ag_, _ah_, hagefaderen 140, hahes 171, þah 112, þahhweðer 60. #ēo# + #h# is _e_ in wex 168; _ih_ in rihtwisnesse 40, richtwise 147, 148, brictnesse 145, with _ct_ for _ht_: lichte 50, 53; loht 45 is #lēoht# with shifted accent: #īe# + #h# gives nixtan 73. #ā# + #w#, daw 47, ȝesawen 165, sawe 44, sawle 42 &c., but feawe 96, scewie 22: ahte 122, nahte 33, ahct 49 come from #āht#, #nāht#. #ǣ{1}# + #w# occurs in ȝecnowe 71: #ēa# + #w# in unþeawes 132: #ēo# + #w# in ableow 42, bleowu 168, treowe 92, fierðe 105 (#fēowerða#), ȝeu 24, 113, ȝehw 119, ȝiu 117, ȝiure 52.

The vowels of the inflections are generally levelled to _e_, but a few remain from the scribe’s original; _inf._ wunian 159; _pr. s._ blissið 50, _pr. pl._ þenið 142; cwaciað 147; _pt. pl._ arerdon 85; _pl._ dunan 37, lagan 70, sandon 30; _s. d._ nixtan 73; _pl. d._ leahtrum 79; buton 38, 72, 95, bufon 149. Among vowels of minor stress are noteworthy _ie_ in laðienge 6 (#laðung#), ȝelaðieres 82 (*#laðere#); _a_ for #e#, þina 37; _æ_ for #e#, anæ 6, ȝæarced 156; _e_ for #æ#, rigtleceden 86, 103; _e_ for #i#, iunglenges 107; _e_ for #o#, hefenen 36, 107, sicernesse 128; _i_ for #e#, adiligde 79, 84; _eo_ for #ie#, ȝearceon 6; _ei_ for #i#, clepeien 49. ableow 42 possibly represents #onblēow#. _e_ is lost in ærndraches 16 (4), witȝin 89, and added in seneȝeden 153: seneȝden 154 is for senȝeden. The prefix #ge#, once written ge, gelest 2, is largely retained, but it is reduced to _i_ in _pp._ ibroht, icome 115, idon, imaced, isent, istriened; _inf._ ibite, isi; ibruce 25, ibeoð 70, isecgð 148, iseȝð 150, innoh 152, uniredlice 131, iwiss 37; noteworthy is unitald 47.

#w# is lost in sa 54, se 86, alse 115; it represents _wu_ in the #wur# group, wrð 77, wrhmint 65, derewrlice 10 &c., and similarly wlcne 145: _u_ is written for it in uin 160, _wu_ in bleowu 168, hwu 99. #l# is lost in swice 75, wic 142: final #ll# often becomes _l_, befel 3, bispel 31, ful 102. #mm# is simplified in wiman 59. The loss of final #n# in inflections is characteristic: it occurs also in bine 90 (#binnan#), bitweone 9, bute 17, morȝe 119, to fore 138, to for 22, upe 132: #n# is assimilated to _m_ in næmmie 112, it is added in hesne 98, doubled in bienn 135, sennenn 132, þann 120 &c. #on# is weakened to a 126 (an 153). #bb# is simplified to _b_ in habe 161; it is _u_ in sweueð 53, perhaps influenced by Scand. _svefja_. For #f# the scribe writes þ in sielþe 48, selþ 61, 149, which perhaps represents an individual pronunciation. The voiced sound between vowels is represented by _f_, not _u_. The added #t# in mistlice is found in OE., that after _n_ in berient, melstanent 170 is local, as sarment, suddent, varmint in the SE. modern dialects: #t# is doubled in fett 14; #ts# is _s_ in milsi 59, _c_ in milce 102. In an 130 #d# is lost (and 145), as in hlafor 21: it is written for þ in dierewurd 20, had 152, hafd 56, sede 170. For #þ#, _f_ is written in of 11, 15, 108, _ft_ in oft 134, 136; _t_ in to 36 (?), 147 after ⁊ = ant: #æt þǣre# is eter 13, 117: it is lost after _h_ in forðteh 42, and intrudes before _h_ in awiðhst 37. #sc# is [š] in biscopes 111, sceolde 7, scandlice 151; _ss_ is written for it in wasse 10, 123. #c# is palatalized in cheðen 70 (ceðen 16), dierchin 45 (fiscynn 46), ærndraches 16, machede 41 (macede 91). #c# is doubled in accenned 94. #g# is lost in witien 140 and final in almihti 32, ȝegen 156, leornin (ch[n]ihtes) 106: it is _ch_ in heretoche 80, _c_ in strencþe 97. The scribe generally uses ȝ for #ġ#: exceptions are gelest 2, gife 86, gief 98, gif 63, bigeten 55, iunglenges 107. The development of a _y_ sound is seen in ȝeðe (= #iþe#), ȝeie 43; ȝ in ȝeu 24, ȝiu 117, ȝehw 119 has been adopted from the nom. #ȝe#. Initial #h# before a vowel is often omitted, abben 160, afeð 150, alste 36, is 28 &c., us 167; before consonants, laford 12, 61, wa 4, wat 24 (hwet 17), wic 142, wile 82: it is added in her 160, his 128 &c., hofne 170, hur 65, hure 44, hus 43, and hwe 69, which helps to the understanding of ȝehw 119. For #ht#, _cht_ is written in echte 55, ibrocht 146, lichte 50, richtwise 147: ahct 49 is for acht (= #āht#); _ct_ in brictnesse 145.

#Accidence:# Strong decl. of _m._ and _neut._ nouns. _Sing. n._ halende 93, helende 109, 163, sceppende 41 with participial terminations (sceppend 40), endedeie 118, gate 117 have added _e_: tacne 145 is #tacen#; drihte 52 has lost _n._ _Gen._ -es. _Dat._ -e: exceptions, anginn 115, bearn 50, barn 60, fer 155, gat 13 (gate 117), ȝegen 156, innoð 60, godspel 161 (godspelle 165), hlaford 65, licht 53 (lichte 50), mancyn 99, sceappend 65 (sceappende 93), þing 53. _Acc._ as _nom._: accennende 103, a participle used as noun, fultume 47 with added _e_. _Plur. n. m._ -es: deade 115 has adj. term., wude 47 (#wuda#); _neut._ wlcne 145. _Dat._ -en, as apostlen 139, bearnen 159, bredene 81, cnihten 20, aldren 20, esten 158, kingen 32, martiren 140, melstanent 170, þeinen 21: exceptions, had 139 (= #hādum#), leahtrum 79, meiden 141, neiles 146, write 85, and ME. repples 13. The accent on hlafordé 32 may be a contraction mark. _Acc. m._ -es: _neut._ folc 68, niatt 45, þing 33, 101, 109; þrimsettles 36 has masc. form. Weak are anglene 139, _pl. g._, esten 159 _pl. n._, hefenen 36 _s. g._ comp. hefene 163. Strong decl. of _fem._ nouns: blisse 125, eorðe 45, lare 90, mihte 38, þiode 91, underþiede 137 (treated as compound of #þēod#), witnisse 149 have added _e_ in the _nom. sing._: ȝefered 138 has lost _en_; its _dat._ is ȝeferede 20. The other cases sing. and pl. which occur end in _e_, as merche (stowe) 124, rode 145, _s. g._; echte 55 (possibly _pl._), gife 86, 88, 109, _s. d._; hesne 98, laðienge 6, lage 80, _s. a._; senne 80, 91, 151, _pl. d._; ahte 122, _pl. a._ Exceptions are wrldes 77, a masc. form, berient 170 (= #byrgenne#), ȝescung 54, gief 98 (possibly for gife), hand 37, nicht 53, _s. d._; wrhmint 65 (wrhminte 93), _s. a._; ceðen 16, 70, 113, underþeoden 17, _pl. d._; hand 14, _pl. a._ underþeod, 6 is adj. used as noun. Weak forms are dunan 37, _pl. a._, lagan 70, _pl. n._, sennenn 132, _pl. a._, underþeoden, _pl. n._ 3.

Weak declension: _Sing. nom._ halege 126, mone 47, sonne 46, tyme 77, witiȝe 35: _d._ ære 166, heorte 72, heretoche 80, time 84, witie 57, uuantruce 122, _acc._ deme 148, lichame 41, 126: leoem 45 is probably for leome. _Plur. nom._ ȝeferen 15, sterren 47, 144; _dat._ swepen 13, swupen 132, witȝin 89, witien 140; _acc._ witiȝe 85, ȝefo 22. ærndraces 69, _pl. n._, 16, _pl. a._ have adopted a strong inflection: nixtan 73, _s. d._ is adj. used as noun.

Minor declensions: burh 166, berie 7, _s. d._; fader 40, 44, feder 42, _s. n._, feder 48, _s. d._, hagefaderen 140, _pl. d._; fett 14, _pl. a._; frienden 21, 28, 157, _pl. d._; mannes 72, 118, _s. g._; man 76, _s. d._, 41, _s. a._; menn 31, hafedmen 108, man 23, 76, _pl. n._; mannen 153, _pl. d._, 159, _pl. g._; mæn 22, mænn 78, _pl. a._

Adjectives: Remnants of the strong decl. linger in ecer 128, _s. d. f._, soðe 65, grate 6, _s. a. f._; and perhaps hage(faderen) 140 (= #hēagum#); of the weak decl. in fulle 127, gode 121, _s. n. m._, lefe 96, _s. n. f._, mucele 137, _s. d. m._, 129, _s. d. f._, richtwise 148, soriȝe 104, _s. a. m._, unwreaste 104, _s. a. neut._ hahes 171 is a strong form for weak; haliȝe 102 a strong fem. qualifying lif, _neut._ The _pl._ inflection in all cases is -e, so ȝeredie 131, stanene 81. Longer words are often uninflected, as manifald 79, 90, dierewurd 20 (derewrþe 138), wrldlic 55; also ful 54, gelty 153, hali 122, 140. Adjectives used as nouns are senfulle 147, _s. n._; fa 25, fo 156, latst 8, 69, nixtan 73, _s. d._; innoh 152, _s. a._; richtwise 147, _pl. n._

Pronouns: Noteworthy are hwe 69, ȝie 24, 26 (ȝe 116); ȝeu 24, 113, ȝiu 117, 160, ȝehw 119. The pronoun of the third person is, _Sing. n._ he, _m._ hi 50, 51, 59, 60, _f._; hit, _neut._; _d._ him, _m._; _a._ hine 10 &c., him 14, _m._ hit, _n._ _Plur. n._ hi, i in combinations icome 17, ibeoð 70, mihti 55; _d._ heom 5, ham 18, 55, 147; _a. m._ hi 117. From *seo _f._ are his 81 _s. a. f._ (= is) and his 117, _pl. a. m._ (= is), es in letes 129, _pl. a. n._, for which forms see Anglia, Beiblatt vii. 331, xi. 302. The dat. _s. pl._ with self uninflected occurs as definitive adj. 61, 81, 149; _s._ and _pl._ with selfe as reflexive, 55, 91, 151, 152; us sielfe 48. Possessives are mine 64, mi 63, _s. n. m._, mine 25, 156, _s. d. m._, mire 24 (with rice _neut._) 26, 154, mine in other cases; þina 37, _s. d. f._; ure, hure, ur, hur 65, with ures 87, 106, _s. g. m._; is, his, hire; ȝiure 52, ȝeur 153; hare 85, 172, hares 56, _s. g. m._ his 21, 29, _pl. d._ is used as noun, his men. The def. article is, _Sing. n. m._ se, once seo 66; _f._ si, with _neut._ tacne 145, but rode is _fem._, gate 117; _neut._ þat 143: _g. m._ þes, with wrldes 77, ses 87, by analogy from #se#; _neut._ þes: _d. m._ þa, þe, (to) ðe 22; _f._ þare 93, with _neut._ gate 129, þar 19, þer 139, (i)þer 123, with _m._ 141, with _neut._ 13, 117; _neut._ þam, þan 118, 158, þe 50, 145, (i)þe 161, ȝeðe 165, þa 110, probably for þa{n}: _a. m._ þann 120; _f._ þa 54 &c., _neut._ þat 168. _Pl. n. m._ þa, þe, (⁊) to 147; _d. m._ þa, þo: _a. m._ þe 85. Used pronominally si 83, _s. n. f._; þat 97, _s. n. neut._; þa 26, _pl. n. m._; þan 141, _pl. d. m._ The compound demonstrative is, _Sing. n. m._ þes; _f._ þes; _neut._ þis: _d. m._ þese 48; _f._ þisser, þesser, þeser; _neut._ þese 118, 163: _a. f._ þas 80; _neut._ þis. _Pl. n._ þes, þas: _g._ þeses: _d._ þesen: _a._ þes. Exceptional is þas 43, _s. n. neut._ (OE. occasional #þæs#). The relative is þe 26, 32, 97; wam 48, 96, _s. d._; introducing dep. questions, wa 4, 66, hwa 67: interrogatives, hwat, hwet, wat 24, wic 142: indefinites are _n. m._ an 1; _d. m._ ane 68, _neut._ ane 164, ene 7, an 53; _a. m._ ænne 7, _f._ anæ 6, _neut._ a 57; _n. m. f._ ælc, elc; _g. m._ elces 118; _a. m._ elce 116; swice, _pl. n. m._; nahte 33, _s. d. n._ Sum 17, _s. n._ has oblique cases in _e_ 56, 82, but sum 92, _pl._: fele 83, maniȝe 54, 109 are plurals: oðre (once oðere) is constant: #eall# is _sing. n._ all, al; _d. f._ alle 66, _neut._ 4, 24 (rice is regarded as _fem._); _a. f._ alle 96, _neut._ all, al 47. The plural is alle; but all 15, al 141.

The infinitive of verbs ends mostly in _e_, fandie 130: noteworthy are besie 14, isi 55: ȝief 119 has lost _e_ before him. wunian 159 is a survival; others in _n_ are ȝearceon 6, ȝeclepien 6, clepeien 49, don 88, finden 173, forȝeten 59, abben 160. _Dat. inf._ with inflection, bienne 43, donne 152; without inflection abiden 11, bigeten 55, don 51, fulforðie 98, ȝelaðie 17, 78, isi 137, sawe 44, tolie 44. _Pres. s._ 1. forȝete 61, lefie 155, nell(ic) 60; 2. awiðhst 37, belocest 37, halst 36; 3. blisseð 52 and 8 others, but contracted forms predominate, abernð 143, belimpð 128, cumþ 114, 121, 129, ett 163, fett 42, fet 171, ȝemet 133, ȝestrenð 112 (#gestrengeþ#), isecgð 148, iseȝð 150 (#siehð#), lat 124 (#lǣdeþ#), sit 138 and 9 others. Exceptional are blissið 50, had 152 (#hæfð#), scred 42 (#scrȳt#), scyft 117, forðteh 42 (#tyhð#). _Subjunctive pr. s._ forȝiet[e] 60, habbe 74, letes 129 (lete + es), milsi 59, underfo 126. _Pres. pl._ 1. habbeþ 48, siggeð 114, wene (we) 49; 3. adredeð 147, aþestreð 144 &c.; but cwaciað 147, þenið 142 (Archiv lxxxix, 160-6). _Subj. pr. pl._ næmmie 112, scewie 22. _Imp. pl._ understandeð 31, 99, witeð 155, wite (ȝe) 125. Past of Strong Verbs: _Sing._ I a. cweð 21, et 28, ȝiaf 97; I b. com 19, nam 5; I c. dranc 28, ȝelamp 1; II. astah 162, wratẹ 81 (#wrāt#); III. abreað 83, ȝecas 81; IV. ȝesceop 33; V. ableow 42, bleowu 168, befel 3, wex 168. _Pl._ I a. cweðe 18, 1. _pl._; I b. come 9; I c. sturfe 28; II. repen 169; III. ȝebugon 25. _Subjunctives_ are I b. come 12, 20; V. ȝewold[e] 55. _Pp._ I b. icome 115; I c. abruden 27, abroden 134, 156; II. begripe 95; III. belocen 16; IV. ȝescepe 56, understande 116; V. beswapen 151, ȝesawen 165, ȝewasse, uniwasse 123. _Past_ of Weak Verbs ends in -de, -ede, arerde 80, clensede 103 &c.: diht 41, gelest 2, send 78, sett 72 have dropped final _e_. _Pl._ -den; once arerdon 85: sede 117, 119, lefede 155, acolede 90, ȝearnede 27 have lost _n_. The _pp._ ends in -ed, -d, -t; once acende 101, beside accenned 94: unwemmede 94, weregede 131 are inflected. Minor groups: wat 54, _pr. s._; ah 43, _pr. s._, oȝeð 64 (#āgon#), 1 _pr. pl._; scel 135, sceol 147, _pr. s._, scule 26 &c., _pr. pl._, once sculen 161, sceolde 87, _pt. s._, sceolde 7, sceolden 12, 160, _pt. pl._; mai 152, _pr. s._, but maȝi 34, maie 148, maȝie 59, _pr. s._ are subjunctive in form; muȝe (we) 49, 1 _pr. pl._, mihtí (mihte hi) 55, mihten 86, _pt. pl._; am 162, ham 63, 1 _pr. s._, his 33 &c., is 36, _pr. s._, beoð 70, 108, 146, bieð 54, 65, _pr. pl._, beon 69, bienn 135, _pr. pl. subj._, was 19, wes 1 &c., _pt. s._, were 99 &c., wer 69, 75, _pt. pl._, were 5, 10 &c., _pt. s. subj._, 8, 15, 16 &c., _pt. pl. subj._, ibi 135 (*#gebion#), _pp._; don 72, 73, _pr. s. subj._ but plural in form, ded[ė] 73, _pt. s._; to gað 145, _pr. pl._, go 22, 1 _pr. pl. subj._

Accents are used extensively, but on no consistent principle, so láge 79, lage 80; arerde 80, arérdon 85; áȝenes 34, aȝénes 24. They are mostly placed over long vowels, but they are used to indicate separate pronunciation of the vowels in méé 158, bethléem 167, besíé 14. Similarly they show that a vowel is not to be slurred in belocést 37, clénséde 103, macéde 91, ?Æér 21; that _i_ is to have its full vowel value (not _y_) in ȝeclepíen 6, ȝelaðíe 17, halíe 85, 107, halíȝe 140, maníȝe 54, 109, witíe 57, 62, witíge 85; and that final _e_ is to be pronounced in forté 137, mihté 38. Sometimes the accent has been exchanged with a contraction mark, as hlafordé 32, acénde 101. It is only a diacritic, answering to the printed dot, in íunglenges 107, ímaced 164, þenínge 46 &c., and over _y_ written for _i_ in scýft 117, cýme 87, týme 77. In diphthongs it marks the stressed element, séo 66, unterþéod 6, líef 59, níatt 45; in leóem 45 it shows shifted accent (as in loht 45), so feáwe 96, ?bleówu 168, ?leórde 109: sónne 46, féce 7 are hard to understand. In unwēmmed 139, the contraction mark has been kept, although _m_ has been added; hīne 133 is curious.

#Dialect:# There is a considerable survival of older spellings from the West-Saxon original. The scribe’s language is South-Eastern strongly affected by Kentish, a mixed dialect such as might be current on the south-eastern border of Kent, or used by a southern man, not of Kentish extraction, but resident in the county, possibly at Rochester.

#Introduction:# This piece, like its predecessor in the MS., which is a transcription of Ælfric’s De Initio Creaturae, is, at least in part, an adaptation of an older, probably pre-Conquest homily, as is shown by the occurrence of archaic inflections and constructions (comp. to 8, hungre 28, hatrede 24, &c.; the extensive use of the subj. mood), and by its OE. vocabulary (þrimsettles 36, hagefaderen 140 &c.) almost free from any foreign element. Vollhardt suggested as its source the 46th chapter of the Liber de S. Anselmi Similitudinibus, a collection of parables and sayings of S. Anselm recorded by his biographer Eadmer, probably after the death of his master in 1109 A.D. This is printed in Anselmi Opera, ed. Gerberon, App. 161; Migne, P. L. clix., 625 and Vollhardt, 25. That the two versions are related cannot be doubted, but a consideration of dates compels the conclusion that they have a common source, or that the Latin is not S. Anselm’s.

The parable and its application is in the Latin brief and direct, in marked contrast to the vivacity, fullness of detail, and diffuseness (comp. 3. 19, 136) of the English. The latter has also expanded the application of the parable by much extraneous matter: i. The Creation Theme, 31-66; ii. The Five Ages of the World; iii. The Doomsday Theme, 136-156; iv. The Living Bread, 160-173, all of which is wanting in the Latin.

For filii 58 read filio, and for descendit 162, descendi.

There is no title in the MS.: Rex Suos Judicans is from Anselm’s title.

2. #gelest#, extended; probably the earliest example of the word in this sense. OE. #gelǣstan#, to accomplish, follow, last. With #wide ⁊ side#, spacious, extensive, comp. ‘Ðu leof cyningc leod-scipas ðine wide and side þu hætst,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 496/145; ‘⁊ ta wass Romess kinedom | Full wid ⁊ sid onn eorþe,’ Orm 173.

3. #ærfeðtelle#, difficult to number; comp. ‘earueðhealde,’ 48/311; ‘Earfoðfynde,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 492/82; ‘arueðwinne,’ OEH ii. 49/14. OE. #earfoðe#, #ēaðe#, #unēaðe# are usually followed by the _dat._ of the infinitive, ‘earfoðe is ænegum men to witanne,’ Cura Past. 51/5, to which corresponds, ‘Hit is arfeð to understonden,’ OEH ii. 205/14; but they are also associated with a kind of verbal noun having a _dat._ termination in _e_, in imitation of the Latin supine in _u_, as earfoðlǣre, ēaþlǣre, unēaþlǣce, and the two words come to be treated as a compound adjective. For the _acc._ inf. comp. ‘Ac þe ben swo fele ꝥ hie ben arfeð tellen,’ OEH ii. 201/30.

4. #ꝥ--befell#, lit. that it occurred to him in purpose, that he formed a resolution: comp. ‘Ich wilnie a mine þo{n}ke[;] to walden al Rome,’ L 25091; ‘þat him wes on þonke,’ id. 13258.

5. #nam him to rede#, lit. took to himself for counsel, adopted the plan: comp. 110/298; ‘nam him to ræde,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 64/230; ‘let him to ræde,’ id. 506/319; ‘hwæt him to ræde þuhte,’ id. 244/113; ‘him to ræde fand,’ BH 201/25. See Minot vi, 68 note. For omission of subject after ꝥ, see 6/18 note.

7. #berie# was meant to supersede #curt#, but the scribe forgot to put dots under the latter. He uses berie regularly afterwards. With ꝥ comp. ‘& swa he nom enne dai[;] þat come heore drihtlice folc,’ L 2550.

8. #be þe latst#, at the latest; so 14/69. #to#, at: comp. 14/68; ‘to þan dæie heo comen,’ L 13187.

9. #mistlice#, variant of mislice (Bülbring § 535). It means, diversely, of different sorts, friends and foes. But note fastlice, 16/114.

10. #derewrlice#, so as to confer honour on him.

11. #formemete#, first meat, breakfast, the ‘morȝemete’ of 16/125; ‘mixtum cibi,’ Ans. With #to lang#, comp. 4/38.

12. #none#, after formemete is probably for nonemete, midday meal, dinner: though #to# might mean _at_, as at l. 8. See 206/323.

13. #stiarne swepen#: ‘strong whips,’ Morris: ‘stiff (strong) whips,’ Specimens: comp. 16/132. But the adj. is rarely applied to a thing: perhaps stearce or smerte would suit better.

14. #besie#, look to, provide for, handle: comp. underfangeð 16/131; ‘Euele thai gonnen him bisen,’ Seuyn Sages, 507 (said of a whipping); bisen, 202/195 is similar, look after.

15. #abide#, _inf._ depends on _he sceolde_ understood from sceolden 12. #clone#, without exception, entirely: comp. ‘Ne dude hit noht þe king ane[;] ah duden we alle clæne,’ L 8825; ‘mare ich habbe ane[;] þane þa oðere al clæne,’ id. 13059, 13264.

17. #hwet bute icome#, lit. What but they came? i.e. What did they but come? they came of course. Comp. ‘nis þer bute þonken God.’ AR 382/26 with ‘Hwæt magon we secgean buton ꝥ hi scotedon swiðe,’ AS. Chron. E 1083. Similar in effect but exclamatory is ‘Hwæt þá se casere cwæð him tó andsware,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 46/358; OEH i. 229/26.

18. #bi ham#, with reference to them, in their case: comp. ‘gif þu witan wille hwæt be Criste gedón wæs on Iudea lande,’ BH 177/1.

23. #wente he hin#, ‘then turned he,’ Morris, as though for hine. But #hin# is rather for in.

24. #lacede#: Morris altered to makede, but the text means, of what did you feel the want?

25. #ȝewinne#, with the rare meaning of contend; usually, to conquer. It takes #wið# in OE., but comp. ‘wunnen aȝean,’ AR 238/17. #ȝebugon#, not ‘bow to, be obedient to,’ Morris, but, turned aside from me and to my foes; L. _declinare_: comp. ‘hi alle to rede gebuȝon,’ OEH i. 219/27. #Swa ibruce# &c., As surely as I possess my kingdom: #brūcan# usually takes a genitive; here with dative or accusative.

26. #mete ibite#: comp. ‘ne moste he nauere biten mete,’ L 15340; KH MS. L 1131 note.

28. #þe#: conj. = #þæt# consecutive, with the result that: see 50/334 note. #sturfe hungre#: contrast 7/75: the construction, like that of the _dat._ ‘hatrede ⁊ widerwardnesse’ 24, is OE., ‘menn . . . lætað cwelan hungre Cristes ðearfan,’ Cura Past. 326/5. Morris translates nam hit him, betook himself: for the correction in the text comp. 17/157, 213/539 note.

30. #sandon#, courses: comp. 207/349; ‘þas beorn þa sunde[;] from kuchene to þan kinge,’ L 24601. For the meaning of #vii.# comp. ‘Id enim frequens & usitatum est in sacris Litteris, ut septenarius numerus interpretetur dona illa, quae perfecta sunt, & quae desursum sunt,’ Gilbert of Hoyland in S. Bernardi Opera, ii. col. 120.

31-39. A parallel passage is ‘He is ealra cyninga Cyning, and ealra hlaforda Hlaford. He hylt mid his mihte heofonas and eorðan, and ealle gesceafta butan geswince, and he besceawað þa niwelnyssa þe under þyssere eorðan sind. He awecð ealle duna mid anre handa, and ne mæg nan þing his willan wiðstandan,’ Ælf., Hom. Cath. i. 8: comp. OEH i. 219, 1-3 for a modernization of the first half to _geswince_. Our writer was acquainted with the De Initio Creaturae, but he has translated ‘Qui celorum,’ l. 35, independently. The ultimate source is the antiphons, &c., at vespers in October and November. ‘Benedictus dominus qui creavit celum et terram,’ York Breviary i. 597; ‘Domine rex omnipotens in ditione tua cuncta sunt posita: et non est qui possit resistere voluntati tue,’ id. 599; ‘Qui celorum contines thronos et abyssos intueris, domine rex regum, montes ponderas, terram palmo concludis,’ id. 610.

34. #wiðstande# has double construction (#1#) with #aȝenes#, (#2#) with #him#: for the former comp. ‘Ic wiðstande ongen eow,’ ‘Ponam faciem meam contra vos,’ Levit. xxvi. 17; for the latter the quotation from Ælfric in the preceding note. #him seigd#: this use of the dative pronoun, mostly in the third person, with intransitive verbs to reinforce the subject, is seen in ‘warschipe hire easkeð,’ 119/75; ‘Affrican hire feader wundrede him swiðe,’ 141/62; ‘ȝe schulen . . . sinken . . . ow,’ 146/111; ‘He is him ripe,’ 159/167; 197/16; ‘ꝥ word him herde Androgeus,’ L 8525; ‘þer him cumeþ iudas,’ OEM 42/174, 38/31; ‘men sullen . . . hem þar bidden,’ OEH ii. 23/21; KH 137 note: with acc. exceptionally, ‘And gon hyne to abidde,’ OEM 41/156. See also 54/27, 81/90, 215/25.

35. #witiȝe#: the antiphon is drawn from Isaiah xl. 12, Daniel iii. 55; see 14/57.

36. #to#: Morris altered to tho without necessity, if it is the art. (see 17/47); but it is probably a preposition, see 124/249 note.

37. #· iii · prou.#: Morris read in pon. The reference is to the Third Book of the Proverbs (the division into books, as in Bede’s commentary, preceded that into chapters), and probably to ch. xxx. 4.

38. #for þan þe# is the usual expression: for þat þe may be right.

42. #sawle ableow#: comp. ‘God þa geworhte ænne mannan of láme, and him on ableow gast,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. i, 12/28; ‘him on bleow gast’, OEH i. 221/17; ‘him anbleow sawle,’ id. 223/9; ‘And his licham of erðe he nam, | And blew ðor-in a liues blast,’ GE 200; ‘dû bliese im dînen geist în,’ MSD i. 81/7. #fett# &c.: comp. ‘he scryt me wel and fett,’ Wright’s Vocabularies, i. 93/27.

43. #þas#: Morris read [_vel_ as].

44. #his# as a correction is not inevitable, but it improves the rhetorical effect.

45. #werpð#, lit. casts, i.e. sends forth: comp. 151/45. #leoem ⁊ lif#: comp. ‘to lif ⁊ to leomen,’ SK 1046.

48. #of wam#: from ‘In ipso enim vivimus et movemur et sumus,’ Acts xvii. 28.

49. #acht#, _acc._ used as _adv._, in any wise, at all: comp. ‘Ne mihte he neuere finde{n} mon[;] þe him oht wolde fulsten,’ L 6601. #moder#: comp. ‘Sed et tu, Jesu, bone Domine, nonne et tu mater? Annon es mater qui tanquam gallina congregat sub alas pullos suos?’ Anselmi Opera, 300.

50. #chereð#. The MS. reading cheteð is explained, console, cheer, as possibly from OWScand. kǣta, but this is rejected by Björkman, 260. There is no other instance of the word. #be# = mid, l. 52, with.

52. All this doth your lord.

53. Comp. ‘Est autem noctis umbra mortalibus ad requiem corporis data, ne operis avida continuato labore deficeret ac periret humanitas,’ Bedae Opera, ed. Giles, vi. 158.

55. #ȝewold#, for omission of subject see 6/18 note.

56. #hares unþances#, see 10/167 note.

57. #word#: Morris reads worden, in wonderful words, which may be right: the same scribe writes wordon once, wordum twice elsewhere. #Numquid# &c. The Vulgate has ‘Numquid oblivisci potest mulier . . . ut non misereatur filio?’ Isaiah xlix. 15.

59. #la lief#, O beloved: comp. ‘Eala men þa leofoston,’ BH 165/32; ‘La leof ic bidde eow,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 522/580; ‘Eala, leof hlaford’ = O mi domine, Thorpe, Analecta, 19. #his#: OE. #wīmman# is masculine.

61. #be -- is#, as regards his being father.

62. In the Vulgate, ‘Si ergo Pater ego sum ubi . . . et si Dominus ego sum’ &c., Malachi i. 6.

63. #manscipe#, the first occurrence of the word in the sense of homage. In OE. it means humanity, courtesy.

64. #G. m.#, Gode men.

70. #fif lagan#: the five laws correspond to five ages of the world. The division here is unusual. The English writers mostly follow S. Augustine, who gives six, so Bede, Alcuin, Ælfric, de vetere Testamento; but Wulfstan has seven, Anselm and Herbert de Losinga eight. In another place Ælfric has five, but different from those of our writer; see Hom. Cath. ii. 74.

71. #ȝecnowe#, revealed.

74. #ȝescod#, discretion, reason: see 122/176.

77. #nas tid# &c. Comp. ‘he fram frymðe middaneardes oð his geendunge ne ablinð to asendenne bydelas and láreowas to lǽrenne his folc,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. ii. 74/10, which is probably from ‘a mundi huius initio usque in finem ad erudiendam plebem fidelium praedicatores congregare non destitit,’ S. Greg. Hom. i. xix.

79. #adiligde#, was destroyed: passive use, OE. #ādīlegian#, to destroy. #unwreaste leahtrum#: see 118/30 note.

81. #wrate# &c. Comp. ‘God awrát ða ealdan ǽ mid his fingre on ðam stǽnenum weax-bredum,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. ii. 204/1. #his#, the law.

82. #ȝelaðieres#: comp. ‘sende hire his sondesmen biforen, þet weren þe patriarkes ⁊ þe prophetes of the Olde Testament,’ AR 388/14.

83. #fele#; see 132/9.

84. #wat#, until: comp. 217/102: often with _al_, 215/26; ‘al hwat hie hine fordemden,’ VV 51/12 and frequently: #wat# is relative conj. substituted for þat, with same meaning; see 72/179, 108/245: so þen exchanges with hwanne, þer with hwær. #þe#, when, so þa 93.

85. #arerdon#, set up, established: comp. ‘þæt is þonne ǽrest þæt ic wylle þæt man rihte laga upp arǽre,’ Schmid, Gesetze, 270.

87. #hlafordes . . . helendes . . . cristes#: this appositional construction is OE.; comp. ‘on drihtnes naman ures hælendes cristes,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 366/46: it is fairly common in early ME.; comp. 8/106, 9/121, 9/137, 12/6, 7.

89. #stef creft#: OE. #stæf cræft#, the art of letters, and hence, book learning.

90. #Eft bine fece ⁊#: with this superfluous and connecting a phrase to the main sentence, comp. ‘Him þa gyt sprecendum ⁊ soþlice þa beorhtwolcn hig oferscean,’ S. Matt. xvii. 5. (= ‘Adhuc eo loquente, ecce nubes lucida obumbravit eos.’) #acolede#, cooled, lost its vigour: comp. ‘⁊ forþam þe unryhtwisnys rixað manegra lufu acolaþ,’ S. Matt. xxiv. 12 (= ‘refrigescet charitas multorum’). See 159/161.

91. #hur ⁊ hur#, especially: a doubling for emphasis of OE. #hūru#, at least: comp. 149/11.

92. #awente# &c.: ‘Qui commutaverunt veritatem Dei in mendacium: et coluerunt et servierunt creaturae potius quam Creatori,’ Romans i. 25.

95. #begripe#, seized, in the grip of: comp. ‘seo sawul bið micele atelicor, gif heo mid mislicum leahtrum begripen bið,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. i. 122/23. #diefles muðe#: comp. 17/150. Mediaeval art gave a very literal rendering of ‘infernus . . . aperuit os suum absque ullo termino: et descendent fortes eius, et populus eius, et sublimes, gloriosique eius ad eum,’ Isaiah v. 14; see Wright, History of Caricature, 69-71.

97. #sette#, ordained, established: comp. ‘þis synd þa . . . laga þe drihten gesette betwyx him and Israhela folc,’ Levit. xxvi. 46.

99-104. Comp. ‘Triplici morbo laborat genus humanum: principio, medio et fine, id est nativitate, vita et morte. Nativitas immunda, vita perversa, mors periculosa. Venit Christus, et contra triplicem hunc morbum attulit triplex remedium. Natus est enim, vixit, mortuus est: atque eius nativitas purgavit nostram, mors illius destruxit nostram, et vita eius instruxit nostram,’ S. Bernardi Op. ii. 776. The Liber Sententiarum, from which this passage comes, is placed by Mabillon among the doubtful works. There can be little doubt that it is the source of the English passage.

100. #ful#: comp. 29/33. #grislic#: inspiring terror and shrinking: see 120/94.

101. #þer aȝen#, to remedy these blemishes of our nature: L. _remedium_.

102. #efer þurh#, ever through, throughout, perpetually. #milce#, not the active mercy, compassion, but meekness, patience.

103. #acennende#, the being born, birth: present participle with the same meaning as the new verbal noun acenneng, 100. The OE. noun is #ācennednes# or #ācennes#.

104. #admoded#, submissive: ‘Humiliavit semetipsum factus obediens usque ad mortem,’ Philippians ii. 8. The contrast is between man’s shrinking from death and His voluntary acceptance of it.

105. #ȝelice#: read grislice as suggested by W. H. Brown, Mod. Lang. Notes, vii. 226.

106. Omit _þer_, put full stop after _iunglenges_, and understand from the previous sentence _were ærndraces_.

110. #þa# may be dat. sing of the article as at 14/57, but more probably it = þan, then. #folce to freme#, for benefit to the folk; see 176/24 note. #bedeles#, heralds: comp. ‘Þa halgan apostolas, þe ðam hælende folgodon, wæron þa getreowan þeowan ⁊ ða fyrmestan bydelas, þe godes lare geond þas land toseowon,’ AS. Hom. ed. Assmann, 56/141; ‘wearð se halga iohannes ætforan him asend swa swa heofonlic bydel,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 342/94; Orm 19/633.

112. They are all one in God’s purpose. For #on# comp. ‘Alle hie bieð forsakene o{n} godes awene muðe,’ VV 3/2.

114. #fastlice#, in steady flow, or, corresponding to ‘þicce þringeð,’ 116, crowding. It sometimes means vigorously, as in ‘hi fengon togadre fæstlice mid wæpnum,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 98/489; sometimes firmly, ‘þing ðe godd fastliche ðe forbett,’ VV 37/23. See 12/9.

117. #his#, them. #scyft#, separates, is a mere synonym of ‘to ȝesceodeð.’ Perhaps scryft = #scrifeþ#, fixes their destiny.

119. #morȝe mete#, the ‘forme mete’ of 12/11.

120. #more mete#, the ‘fulle mete’ of 16/127; ‘none,’ 12/12; ‘vii sandon,’ 13/29.

121. #witetlice# of the MS. may represent OE. #witodlīce#, assuredly.

122. #uuantruce#, failure; as being compounded of #wan#, wanting, and the noun of #trucian#, to fail, it should mean absence of failure. #hað#: for omission of nom. see 6/18.

123. For the pain of dying as penance, comp. ‘Quidam autem electi in fine suo purgantur a levibus quibusdam peccatis,’ Isidore vi. 361; ‘Nullus tui Ordinis peribit, si Ordinem amaverit; aut in morte purgabitur, aut in brevi post mortem,’ Arnulf of Boheries in S. Bern. Opera, ii. 802.

124. #eðelice lette#, easy hindrance, i.e. slight delay. #merchestowe#: Morris suggests ‘merthestowe, a place of mirth,’ or alternatively translates the MS. reading, place marked out, place of separation. The word is not found elsewhere; it is probably a special coinage for the intermediate state, the place of the soul waiting for the body, the place of the ‘morȝemete,’ the limited joy of which the soul is capable in its severed state (‘requies ei, sed in anima sola, interim datur,’ Anselm, in Eadmer, 161 col. 2 B); the banquet of perfect felicity, ‘se fulle mete,’ follows when soul and body meet again at the resurrection, 17/157 (‘in anima simul & corpore laetabuntur,’ Ans.). Comp. #March#, ‘myddys be-twyn ij cu{n}treys,’ Prompt. Parv. ed. Mayhew, 282.

128. #belimpð hit#: a superfluous nominative, as if, what is it that happens?

129. #letes# in Specimens is resolved into lete + his, the latter being _gen._ of hit, governed by fandie, and so like ‘ȝif we his abiriȝdon,’ OEH i. 223/22. But support is lacking for enclitic es = his: it seems better to take letes as lete + es, _pl. acc._, them, or even as _s. a. f._ used incorrectly as _neuter_.

131. #anu# is taken by Morris as for anu{m}, but neither his ‘at once,’ Specimens, nor ‘only,’ OEH, is satisfactory. Probably the original had anūge (= #ānunge#) gerǣde, entirely, quite ready, very keen.

132. #hade#, a past among the presents, is probably a mistake for habe _subj. pres._ of indefinite comparison, Howsoever many vices he has on him, just so many fiends he there encounters: fele has dropped out after swa 133.

135. In Specimens [habbeþ] is inserted after _hi_, with the translation, ‘and they shall have for their reward the home that long shall last.’ The text given means, they shall be thrust from his sight and into their reward which must last long for them. For #hin# = in, comp. 13/23, and for #abroden into#, 13/27. But the original may have had, ⁊ higien him to hire lēan þe lange sceal gelǣstan.

136. #a þa mucele deie#: comp. ‘on þam miclan dæge,’ Christ 1049, and often; ‘in iudicium magni diei,’ S. Jude, 6. See Deering, W., The Anglo-Saxon Poets on the Judgment Day, 8.

138. #niȝen anglene had#: ‘Novem esse distinctiones, vel ordines angelorum sacrae scripturae testantur: id est, Angelos, Archangelos, Thronos, Dominationes, Virtutes, Principatus, Potestates, Cherubim et Seraphim,’ Isidore, vi. 137.

141. #þer midenarde . . . werpeð abec#. The article is _s. d. fem._, the noun _s. d. masc._ The phrase might mean, with all those who for his love turn backwards to the world, but not, ‘put aside the world,’ Morris. It seems to be without parallel: such expressions as, ‘projecerunt legem tuam post terga sua,’ ii Esdras ix. 26, suggest the _acc._ þes midenard here.

142-146. The ultimate source is Ephraem Syrus, ‘Quomodo sustinebimus, Fratres, quum videbimus igneum fluvium . . . comburentem omnem terram et quae in ea sunt opera? Tunc, dilecti, ab illo igne flumina deficient et fontes evanescent, stellae cadent, sol extinguetur, luna abibit, coelum plicabitur ut volumen, sicut scriptum est . . . Quomodo sustinebimus tunc, Christo dilecti, quum videbimus terribilem thronum praeparatum et signum crucis apparens, in quo affixus est Christus voluntarie pro nobis,’ ed. Lamy, ii. 192. Comp. with the present passage BH 91.

144. With #aþestreð# comp. 123/230.

145. #to gað#, should ordinarily mean, parts in sunder, but in view of plicabitur in the quotation above (‘et complicabuntur sicut liber caeli,’ Isaiah xxxiv. 4), it may mean here, is rolled up. Comp. ‘& on þæm dæge heofon biþ befealden swa swa boc,’ BH 91/25. #si hali rode tacne# usually means, the sign of the cross, 130/65; BH 237/21; AR 106/9; here and OEH i. 121/9 it is the cross itself as a sign. Comp. ‘et tunc parebit signum Filii hominis in caelo,’ S. Matt. xxiv. 30, ‘and seo hea ród | Ryht aræred rices to beacne,’ Christ 1063. See also Deering, 42.

147. #cwaciað#: comp. 34/94; ‘oðe dom of Domesdai, þer þe engles schulen cwakien,’ AR 116/19. #senfulle#: comp. ‘þer þe crysmechild for sunnes sore schal drede,’ OEM 90/11. The passage bears considerable resemblance to ‘hinc erunt accusantia peccata, inde terrens justitia: subtus patens horridum chaos inferni, desuper iratus judex: intus urens conscientia, foris ardens mundus. Justus vix salvabitur; peccator sic deprehensus in quam partem se premet?’ S. Anselmi Op. 208.

148. #bechece# is translated in Specimens, ‘gainsay’ and connected with #cigan#, which is difficult both as to form and sense: probably it is written for beceche, deceive. #beswice#, get the better of.

151. #beswapen#, clothed: ‘et induit maledictionem sicut vestimentum,’ Ps. cviii. 18; ‘Qui oderunt te, induentur confusione,’ Job viii. 22.

152. #an himselfe#, concerning himself: comp. ‘Eft ne mot nan mann . . . secgan on hine sylfne,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 274/177.

153. #ecenesse# is strangely said of man’s earthly existence. Perhaps recelesnesse.

158. #esten#, dainties: comp. 50/359; metaphorically, it means delight, at 159. #Delicie# &c.: Prov. viii. 31; _sunt_ is not in the Vulgate.

160. #litl her#, a little time ago.

161. #Ego# &c.: S. John vi. 51; in Vulgate, _descendi_.

162. #astah#: OE. #astīgan# is a neutral word the direction of which is indicated by an adverb. When alone, it is generally used of rising; but comp. ‘Ah crist . . . asteh of heuene riche,’ OEH i. 17/25; ‘he (Christ) asteh to þisse liue,’ id. 19/7.

164. #alswa se#, not, ‘as he also,’ Morris, but, just as, even as, 17/173: so alswa alse, 17/169; alse, 13/42, alswa, 17/170 = as.

165. #⁊ c.#: ‘cadens in terram mortuum fuerit, ipsum solum manet,’ S. John xii. 24. #was ȝesawen#, at the Annunciation. The fanciful comparison is common in mediaeval writers: comp. ‘Elegit autem sibi quasi granum tritici Deus corpus de Spiritu sancto in utero virginali conceptum . . . in cruce illa [grana] moluit, in resurrectione cribravit,’ Petri Cellensis Sermones (Migne, P. L. ccii), 808.

167. #com#, sprang up; a common use in mod. dialects. #ꝥ cweð us of breade# is translated in Specimens, ‘which speaketh to us by bread.’ It means, of course, that is called house of bread: comp. ‘Bethleem is gereht “Hlaf-hús,” and on hire wæs Crist, se soða hlaf, acenned, þe be him sylfum cwæð, “Ic eom se liflica hláf,”’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. i. 34/14; ‘In coelis erat panis angelorum, set in bethleem factus est panis hominum. Merito igitur locus iste domus dicebatur panis, unde angelorum et hominum carnaliter fuerat oriundus panis,’ H. de Losinga, ii. 12; Orm 121/3528-35.

170. #melstanent#: ‘Pastor farinam moluit in cruce tanquam in molendino,’ P. Cellensis, 807. #berient#: the tomb as the oven is original. Comp: ‘Iste est ille, qui seipsum coxit in clibano passionis,’ Bede, vii. 369 (Cologne ed.); ‘Et sicut panis igne coquitur, ita Christus in camino passionis assatur,’ Elucidarium Honorii Augustodun., 1129; Adam. Praemonstr. 178 (Migne, P. L. cxcviii); Petrus Blesensis, iv. 33.

173. #Ego sum# &c.: S. John xv. 1.

_Cross-References_

6/18, 10/167 (notes) = III. (The Peterborough Chronicle) 50/334 (note) = VIII. (Poema Morale) 118/30, 124/249 (notes) = XVI. (Sawles Warde) 176/24 (note) = XXI. (The Bestiary)

_Errata_

#Phonology:# ... _y_ in cyme 87 (? #cime#) [cyme,] .... #ǣ{2}# is uniformly _e_ [#æ{2}#] #ē# is regularly _e_, but dieð 51 (= #deð#) [_text unchanged: error for “dēð”?_] ... Final #ēo# is _i_, hi 50 (4), ibi 135, isi 55 (4), si 50 (6) [(4) si 50] ... #æ# + #g# ... _eiȝ_ in seigd 34 [seigð] _e_ in sede 117, 119, seden 69, 160 (= #sǣdon#) [_corrected by author from #sædon#_] #ǣ{1}# + #h# [#æ{1}#] Minor declensions: ... feder 48, _s. d._ [_d. s._] ... man 76, _s. d._, 41, _s. a._ [41.] The infinitive of verbs ... _Pres. s._ 1. forȝete 61 [1:] ȝestrenð 112 (#gestrengeþ#) [ȝestrend] V. ableow 42, bleowu 168 [V ableow] oȝeð 64 (#āgon#), 1 _pr. pl._ [1. _pr. pl._] muȝe (we) 49, 1 _pr. pl._ [1. _pr. pl._] 26. ... KH MS. L 1131 note. [Ms.] 28. ... see 50/334 note. [_final . missing_] 37. #· iii · prou.# [_anomalous spacing unchanged_]

VI. THE PROVERBS OF ALFRED

#Manuscript:# Jesus College, Oxford, E 29, formerly Arch. i. 29 (J). It consists of two distinct MSS. bound in one; the second begins at f. 217 r. (new foliation) and was written not long after 1276 (Anglia xxx, 222). Its contents are best described in the Owl and the Nightingale, ed. J. E. Wells, Boston, 1907, at pp. ix-xiii. Our piece is written continuously as prose, each stanza forming a paragraph, but iv and v are in one without l. 54, which is here supplied, while l. 43 is written at the end of the preceding paragraph and similarly the lines beginning viii-xvii, xix-xxiii. The scribe was evidently struggling with an original which he could not always read; see footnote to l. 105.

Another MS. is B. 14. 39, Trinity College, Cambridge (T): see The Western Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, by M. R. James, vol. i. p. 438. It gives a much longer text very badly copied by a scribe little skilled in English.

A third copy in MS. Cotton Galba A. xix was destroyed in the fire at Dean’s Yard in 1731. But Wanley had printed a specimen (W), corresponding to ll. 1-21 of this edition, in his Catalogue (published in 1705), p. 231; and Richard James (1592-1638) had copied, from a transcript furnished to Thomas Allen (1542-1633), Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571-1631), in what is now MS. James 6, Bodleian Library (RJ), p. 68, pieces corresponding to ll. 1-23; 27-49; 52, 53; 55-64; 78-85; 168, 9; 173, 4; 211-13; 204-206; 236, 7; 307, 8, and two fragments which correspond to the text in MS. T, ll. 516-32; 652, 3, but are not in MS. J. Allen’s MSS. passed into the possession of Sir Kenelm Digby, who presented them to the Bodleian in 1638. But the transcript was not among them. It is a curious mistake to think that it ever formed part of MS. Digby 4, which has been caused by Langbaine’s calling the copy of the Poema Morale in that MS., Alfredi Regis Parabolae. This is clear from MS. Rawlinson D 325, which consists of Hearne’s notes to Spelman’s Life of Alfred; it contains the note printed on p. 131 of the Life, which is immediately followed by a cancelled extract from the Poema Morale in the Digby version. Allen’s transcript has disappeared.

The Cotton MS. was again used by Sir John Spelman (1594-1643) for his Life of Alfred. He says that ‘by the Courtesy of Sr Thomas [Cotton, 1594-1662] I am provided of a Copy of them.’ Apparently he was himself the copyist, for he speaks of the MS. as ‘faulty and ill writ, in a mungrel Hand (as well as Language).’ He gives what corresponds to ll. 1-64, and a paraphrase of six stanzas more. It is hard to say what Spelman actually wrote, for his own MS., which was probably University Coll. MS. 136. 8, has disappeared, and the three versions of it differ considerably. They are (1) Hearne’s transcript (SH^1) of Spelman prepared for the printer, now MS. Rawlinson D 324 (p. 225); (2) the Life of Alfred in English (SH^2), published in 1709; (3) the Latin translation (SL) published in 1678. A fragment of the latter was copied in MS. Stowe 163, B.M. ff. 101-135; of the English poem it has ll. 1-19. The evidence which is to be got from the Spelman sources as to the text of MS. Galba is suspect. S signifies their agreement.

#Editions:# Wright, T., in Reliquiae Antiquae, i. 170 (J,T): Kemble, J. M., Salomon and Saturn. (T only). This book, without title-page, is dated in pencil in my copy, 1845, 6. It seems a first attempt for the following: Kemble, J. M., The Dialogue of Salomon and Saturnus. Ælfric Society, London, 1848, p. 225. Morris, R., An Old English Miscellany, 1872 (J; and T from Wright and Kemble), p. 53: *Skeat, W. W., The Proverbs of Alfred, Oxford, 1907 (J,T); *Borgström, E., The Proverbs of Alfred, Lund, 1908 (J,T).

#Literature:# Wülker, R., Ueber die neuangelsächsischen Sprüche des Königs Ælfred. Paul-Braune, Beiträge, i. 240: Gropp, E., On the Language of the Proverbs of Alfred, Halle, 1879: Zupitza, J., Anglia, iii. 570; Holthausen, F., Archiv, lxxxviii. 370-2 (emendations). Ekwall, E., Anglia, Beiblatt, xxi. 76-8. Skeat, W. W., Transactions of the Philological Society, 1895-8, p. 399. =For Proverbs:= Förster, M., in ES xxxi. 1-20: Kellner, L., Alteng. Spruchweisheit, Wien, 1897: Kneuer, K., Die Sprichwörter Hendyngs. Leipz. Dissert. 1901: Skeat, W. W., Early English Proverbs, Oxford, 1910; Tobler, A., Li Proverbe au Vilain, Leipzig, 1895: Catonis Disticha, in Baehrens, Poetae Latini Minores, iii. 205-42: Senecae Monita, ed. Woelfflin: Publilii Syri Sententiae, ed. Woelfflin, Lipsiae, 1869: Alanus de Insulis, ed. C. de Visch, Antwerpiae, 1654: Arnulf, Deliciae Cleri, Romanische Forschungen, ii. 211: Columbani Monostichon, Poetae Lat. Aevi Carolini, i. 275: Fecunda Ratis, ed. Voigt, Halle, 1889: Florilegium Gottingense, Rom. Forsch. iii. 281, 461: Florilegium S. Omer, id. vi. 557: Florilegium Vindobonense, Müllenhoff u. Scherer, Denkmäler, xxvii: Otloh, Beda, i. 1080: Proverbia Heinrici, MSD: Proverbia Rustici, Rom. Forsch. iii. 633: Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum, ed. Croke, Oxford, 1830: Wipo, ed. Pertz., Hannoverae, 1853.

#Phonology:# Oral #a# is _a_; #a# before nasals and lengthening groups, _o_, but can 231, manyes, 295, fremannes, 299: me, _indef. pron._ < #man# is due to loss of stress: þanne, þane, þan, hwanne are usual, but þenne 72, 91, hwenne 254. #æ# is mostly _a_, as always in after, at, fader, hwat, war 16, but _e_ in eþelyng 44, gedelyng 214, gled 209, glednesse 30, gres 81, heuedest 187, queþ 19, &c., þet 154 (once), þes 63 (once), wes 4 and always; Ealured 6 occurs beside Alured 12, &c. #e# and #e# before lengthening groups is _e_, but ny 124 < #ne#: imulten 276 represents #myltan#. #i# is _i_, often written _y_, mostly in conjunction with _n_, but wule 91, 254, 286 (beside wile 154, wille 142), nule 69, after _w_, nele 254, OE. #nele#. #o# is _o_, but #on# is weakened to a 112, 200; #ðone# is þane 247, 248, þene 114, 116, 198 (LWS. #ðane#, #ðæne#). #œ# is represented in seorewe 151, 233, serewe 156. #u# is _u_, but bycome 138, where _o_ is associated with _m_. #y# is _u_: munye 25 is OE. #mynian#; vordrye 227, OE. #fyrþrian#, is a French spelling; king, kyng, dryhten with _y_ for _i_ are exceptions as usual; steorne 207 is corrupt.

#ā# is _o_; _a_ remains in bihat 245, mayþenes 130, madmes 133, 276. #ǣ{1}# is _e_: exceptions are vyches 276, euer uyches 54, which descend from #ylc#, agoþ 146, ouergoþ 143, without umlaut: nenne 296 is #nænne#. #ǣ{2}# is also _e_, but þar 4 &c., always. #ē# is _e_, but doþ 81. #ī# is _i_, often written _y_, but me 140 (#mīn#) is due to loss of stress. #ō# is _o_, but reowe 96 (#rōwan#), a French spelling. #ū# is _u_: for it _w_ is written in hw 11, 22, 42. #ȳ# is _u_ in byhud 163, cuþe 254, cuþeþ 170, lutel 215, 277, 312, luþre 257, but litel 281; #þȳ# has _i_ in forþi 304, _e_ in þe 82.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is _e_ in erewe 156, _a_ in arewe 152, þarf 108, 244; before length. groups, _e_ in bern 311; its _i_-umlaut is seen in churreþ 53 (#cierran#), and, before length. group, yeorde 328 (#gierd#): #ea# before #l# + cons. is _a_, as al 105, &c.; before length. groups, _e_ in weldan 130 &c., awelde 320, _o_ in cold 237, holde 42, 102, 280, 304, &c., vpholde 113; its _i_-umlaut is seen in ealde 319, 330, elde 68, 71, 72 (#ieldo#), ildre 125 (#ieldran#). #eo# before #r# + cons. is _eo_ in heorte 163, 166, smeorte 164, but _e_ in werk 15, werke 16; before length. groups, _eo_ in cheorl 58, eorl 4, eorþe 81, &c., yeorne 66, 69, leorne 170 &c., but furþ 113; its _i_-umlaut is shown in durlyng 7, hurde 6, vrre 136. The #wur# group has invariably _u_. #eo# before #l# + cons. is _eo_ in seolf 308 &c., but sulue 284 (#sylfe#). #ea#, _u_-umlaut of #a#, is wanting in balewe 282, baleusyþes 189. #eo#, _å_-umlaut of #e#, is shown in feole 2, 249, and weole 78 (5), but fele 2, 132, 302 is without change; vale 300 is #feala# with shifted accent. #eo#, _u_- and _å_-umlaut of #i#, is seen in heonne 115, heore 11, seoluer 121, 134, but is wanting in huntseuenti 79; #leofian# appears only as libben 135. #ea# after palatals is _a_ in schal 35 (8), #gesc(e)apen# is ischapen 92; #ie# after #g# is _e_ in foryeteþ 137, yeue 90: #eo# after #g# is _o_ in yong 195, yonge 328, yongmon 87; youþe 105, youhþe 66, 69, 98 (#geogoð#) show combination with the following _g_: #eo# after #sc# is _o_ in scolde 87 &c., scholden 11: #heom# is heom 9.

#ēa# is normally _a_, but reade 80, lyen (= #lēan#) 289; its _i_-umlaut is _e_, foryemeþ 137, ilef 132, 248, nexte 265, iherest 251, but _u_ in ihure 10, ihurd 205. #ēo# is normally _eo_, but _e_ in forleseþ 137, fremannes 299, _o_ in wolde 278, loþ 234, the latter miswritten for leoþ, _r. w._ forteoþ; the rhyme istreon 125 : lone (#lān#) is noteworthy: neode 141, 217, 265 is LWS. #nēod# arising beside #nied# by confusion with #nēod#, desire. #īe# in #scīene#, #gesīene# gives schene 213, isene 75.

#a# + #g# is _aw_, but seye 152, seyþ 234, 246, sayþ, 305: #æ# + #g# is _ay_, but seyde 24, iseyd 236, ised 230: #e# + #g# is always _ey_: ayeyn 95 = #ongegn#: #o# + #g# always _ow_: #u# + #g# gives mvwe 113 (LWS. #muge#), doweþes 118 (#duguða#).

#ā# + #g# is always _ow_: #ā# + #h# is _ah_ in ahte 79: #ǣ{1}# + #g# occurs in feye 113; #ǣ{1}# + #h# in ayhte 125, 171, 274, but eyhte 145: #ī# + #h# in lyeþ 109 (#lihþ#): #ō# + #g# in inowe 133, plouh 61, brouhte 181: #ū# + #g# in buwe 201.

#ea# + #h# occurs in wexynde 112, 113, iauhteþ 171 (#geeahtian#), probably a miswriting of iachteþ in the scribe’s exemplar (T has hachte for #æht#, nocht, &c.): #eo# + #h# in bryht 211, rihtwis 34, mixe 276 (#meox#), vouh 129 is #feoh#; in case it corresponds to #fēo#, dative; Skeat and Borgström read veoh. #ēa# + #h# gives þeih 88 (9), þey 79. #ā# + #w# is _ow_ in mowe 53, 60, sowen 59, isowen 80, _au_ in saule 23, _ou_ in nouht 35 &c. and _ey_ in iseye 186 (#gesāwe#): #ēa# + #w# is _ew_ in fewe 301, þewes 195, 312, vnþewes 262, _eu_ in glev 256, vnþev 198, _eaw_ in gleaw 30: #ēo# + #w# is _eow_ in greowe 81, reowe 330, treowe 202, _ew_ in rewe 71: the _pron._ #ēow# is ou 21, eu 142, #ēower# ower 141, eure 20, 23.

The acute accent is used twenty-one times over long vowels, in ten cases over _e_ representing #ǣ#: séé 95, 132 is furnished with two, as often in MS. O of Layamon, comp. 95/2. In v́uel 217 it serves to distinguish the vowel.

The consonants show little divergence from OE. use. For #w#, _u_ is written in uexynde 112, for #u#, _w_ in hw 22, 42: #wur# is _wr_ in wrþsipes 22, wrþie 36, 286, wrþe 124: iwrche 83 is OE. #gewyrcan#, wrt 112 is #wyrt#. OE. #swa# is regularly so, but once swo 99, influenced by the initial _sw_ of the following word. #l# is lost in vyches 276, eueruyches 54 and other pronominal words of similar formation: #n# is dropped in euelyche 49, owe 111, wyndrunke 184; uppe _prep._ 132 occurs beside vpen 123. #f# between vowels is commonly _v, u_, but hafst 133, oferhoweþ 323, wife 185 where it is probably voiced; initially it is largely maintained, but it is _v, u_ in urouer 37, velde 112, vouh 129, forvare 147, 260, vere 148, vordrye 227, vayre 245, 6, avynde 291, vale 300, in all these cases before a vowel. #d# is _t_ in huntseuenti 79; schaltu 168 has _t_ for #þ# after a dental: #þ# is represented by _d_ in vordrye 227; madmes 138 answers to LWS. #mādm#: #t# is omitted in lest 316. #c# + #s# is represented by _x_ in arixlye 329. #hw# is generally preserved, but wile 149: in initial combinations with other consonants #h# is lost: swyhc 159 is written for swych, iscohte 303 for ischote. The prefix #ge# is regularly _i_: _k_ is often used for #c#; #cw# is _qu_; #č# is _ch_, as chireche 57, cheorl 58, &c. #sc# is generally _sch_, but scolde 87, wrþsipes 22: #ġ# is regularly _y_.

In syllables of minor stress the vowels have mostly been levelled to _e_, as in egleche, sadelbowe, sikerliche, vppen, &c. An _e_, generally slurred in scansion, is inserted in clerek, euere, seorewe, arewe, erewe, foleweþ, pouere.

#Accidence:# Nouns of the strong declension _m._, _neut._ have _s. g._ -es, cristes 283, cunnes 276; _d._ -e, bure 212, balewe 282, &c., but the termination is sometimes not written before a vowel, god 104, word 16, or omitted by the scribe, lyf 28, lond 12, mod 224, þing 188, or an accusative form is used, cotlyf 174, fryþ 58, loþ 234, through confusion of the prepositional constructions. The plural of masculines ends in -es, _n._ þeynes 1, _d._ wrenches 257, _a._ acres 79: neuter nouns with masc. terminations are _n._ wordes 24, _a._ sedes 59, þinges 21, wyttes 40, but the normal þing, _pl. a._ 143; treowe 202, _pl. n._ represents #trēowu#; þinge 250 is an isolated _pl. a._; worde 300 is probably _pl. g._, an OE. construction after vale; worde 301 is _pl. d._: englene _pl. g._ 6, &c. (#Engla#), iwriten _pl. a._ 67 are weak forms. Of the strong feminines, ayhte 125, blisse 31, 282, 310, lone 126 (read lon), neode 141, vnhelþe 73, youþe 105 have added _e_ in the _s. n._, and worlde 278, wunne 279 in the _s. a._: worldes 22, _s. g._ shows confusion of declensions: the _s. d._ ends regularly in -e, except world 122 (see note): _s. a._ in e. The general termination of the _pl._ is e, _n._ eyhte 145, ayhte 274, leode 20 &c., wene 74; _g._ quene 237 (#cwēna#), or _s. g._ (#cwēne#); _d._ leode 264, honde 259; _a._ custe 170, saule 23, but _d._ blissen 31, deden 47, spechen 249: tales 295, _pl. d._ medes 60, _pl. a._ (#mǣdwa#) show confusion of declensions: doweþes 118 appears to be meant for _s. g._, but it answers to OE. #duguþa#; perhaps doweþe is to be read. Loss of final _n_ has greatly simplified the weak declension, so _s. d._ heorte 163, sadelbowe 153, weole 82, 103, ivere 144, vere 148, wille 35; _s. a._ tunge 190, tyme 114, weole 91, 100, wille 185 &c., but wyllen 283: dwales 296 is a strong _pl. a._ The minor declensions are represented by mon _s. n._ 17, monnes _s. g._ 54, fremannes 299, mon _s. d._ 159, wymmon _s. a._ 204, monne _pl. g._ 32, _pl. d._ 253, 269; boke _s. d._ 39; fader _s. n._ 33, _s. g._ 212, moder _s. d._ 203; freond _s. a._ 83, 245, _pl. v._ 25, _pl. a._ 267.

Remnants of the strong declension of adjectives are longes _s. g. neut._ 109, reade _s. d. n._ 80 (#rēadum#), yonge 328 (#geongum#), godne _s. a. m._ 45, vuelne 231, swikelne 252; wenliche _s. n. m._ 68, godlyche 204 have e, contrary to OE. usage, but vnlede _s. n. m._ 238, is OE. #unlǣde#. Weak forms are wise _s. n. m._ 287, betere _s. n. neut._ 325, 327, wysuste _s. n. m._ 17; for mildest _s. n. m._ 32 mildeste should be read. OE. #āna# is one 29, 41, 118, #ān# is o 79, 278. The participial #āgen# gives _s. n. neut._ owe 149, _d. f._ owere 54, _a. m._ owene 318, _a. neut._ owe 128. With exception of the above, the adjective is not inflected in the singular. The plural in all cases ends in e. Adjectives used as nouns are arewe _s. d._ 152, erewe _s. n._ 156, fayre _s. d._ 172, feye _s. g._ 113, frakele _s. a._ 172, god[e] _s. d._ 225, god _s. a._ 90, ifon _pl. n._ 129, ivo _pl. d._ 186, ildre _pl. g._ 125, loþe _s. a._ 247, more _s. a._ 162, pouere _s. d._, riche _s. d._ 268, _s. a._ 50, vuele _s. d._ 90.

The personal pronouns are ich, we, us, þu, þe, ye, ou 21, eu 142: _s. n._ he _m._ 9, heo _f._ 169 &c.; _d._ him _m._ 35, 71, 88, 330, _n._ 312, 316; _a._ hine _m._ 36 &c., hyne 144 &c., hi _f._ 187, 192, 242, hit _n._ 118, it 96; _pl. n._ hi, heo 76; _d._ heom 9; _a._ hi 80, 170. Reflexives are him seolue 260, hymseolue 137; definitives, heo seolf 308, himseolf 41, seoluen 38: possessives, mi, me 140, myne _pl._ 25, 26; þi _s. n. m._ 272, þin _s. n. f._ 166, þire _s. d. f._ 163, þin _s. a. neut._ 323, þi 168, in all other cases þine, þyne; hire, hyre, once heore 11; vre; eure, ower 141. The definite article is _s. n._ þe _m._ 4 &c., _f._ 141; þes _g. m._ 63, þas 113; þan _d. m._ 55, 152, þare _f._ 5, 217, þe 216 (read þare); þane _a. m._ 247, 248, þene 114, 116, 198, þe _f._ 95 &c., þe _n._ 220, 234, þat 46, 56; _pl._ þe in all cases; for þan _adv._ 240. The compound demonstrative is þis _s. n. f._ 63; _d._ 122: the relatives, þe, þat, once þet 154, hwat 181: interrogative, hwat 84: indefinites, oþre _pl. d._ 242; non _n._ 38, no 112, nones _g._ 299, none _d._ 169, _a. f._ 280, non _a. neut._ 308, nenne _pl. a._ 296; eny _s. d. neut._ 225: nouht _n._ 35, nouhte _d._ 275: me 245, 247: fewe _pl. d._ 301: fele, feole 2, 249, vale 300: vyches _s. g. neut._ 276, echere _s. d. f._ 161, eueruyches _s. g. m._ 54: hwych _s. a. neut._ 52: swuch 53, swyhc 159: al _s. n. neut._ 105, alle _d. f._ 29, 30, _a. m._ 185, al _a. f._ 278, 279, _a. neut._ 89 &c., alre _pl. g._ 62, 110, in other cases of the _pl._ alle; mid alle 128.

Two-thirds of the infinitives end in e, ie, ye, y, lokie 41, wrþie, 36, 286, wyssye 21, arixlye 329, leorny 69, weny 244; n is retained mostly before vowels and at the end of lines and half-lines, but leten and forleten occur six times against lete once. A dative infinitive with inflection is to fone 55, others without inflection are leden 46, mowen 60, reowe 93, sowen 59, swynke 96, for to do 229, for to werie 56, for to vordrye 227. Presents are _s._ 1. holde 304, munye 25; 2. hauest 151, hafst 133, lest 316 (#lǣtest#); 3. leorneþ 66, seyþ 234 &c., foþ 289, wurþ 209, iwinþ 100 (read iwinneþ), let 204, 329, bihat 245: _pl._ 1. wurcheþ 283; 3. ibureþ 45, forteoþ 235: _subjunctive s._ 3. fare 64, lykie 88, lyke 155, loke 64; _pl._ 1. biþenche 284; 2. adrede 27, luuyen, lykyen 28: _imperative s._ 2. seye 152, leorne 170, ilef 132, 248, ryd 153, let 165, wurþ 184, but wrþe 124; _pl._ 2. lusteþ 140. Past of Strong Verbs: _s._ 3. Ia. cweþ 19 &c.; Ic. bigon 9, _pl._ Ia. sete 1; _subj. s._ 2. Ia. iseye 186; 3. Ib. bycome 138; V. greowe 81, wolde 278. Participles present: I c. singinde 153; V. uexynde 112, 313; past: I b. iboren 138, 328, vnbore 327; I c. forswunke 200, aswunde 76; II. biswike 76, idryue 61; III. idrowe 105, iscohte 303; IV. ischapen 92; V. isowen 80; VI. bitowe 106. Past of Weak Verbs: _s._ 2. heuedest 187; 3. brouhte 181, hadde 80, luuede 15, seyde 24, wiste 181. Participles present: lyuyinde 188, werende 316; past: ihurd 205, ilered 2, 39, iseyd 236, ised 230, iwreþþed 187, 222. Minor Groups: wot _pr. s._ 118, 156, not 114; ahte _pt. s. subj._ 79; on _pr. s._ 160, 162; con _pr. s._ 154, 302, kunne _pr. s. subj._ 40, cunne 41; schal _pr. s._ 35 &c., schulle 1 _pr. pl._ 127, schulen 276, schulle _pr. pl._ 49 &c., schule _pr. s. subj._ 42, 1 _pr. pl. subj._ 119, scolde _pt. s._ 87 &c., scholden _pt. pl._ 11; myht 2 _pr. s._ 159, 263, may _pr. s._ 38 &c., mawe 1 _pr. pl._ 286, 2 _pr. pl._ 10, mvwe _pr. s. subj._ 113, myhte _pt. s._ 199 &c., 2 _pt. pl._ 22; mote _pr. s. subj._ 149; beon _inf._ 68, nys _pr. s._ 112, 125, biþ _pr. s._ 322, beoþ _pr. pl._ 74, 76, beo _pr. s. subj._ 35 &c., _pr. pl. subj._ 202, wes _pt. s._ 4, were _pt. pl._ 24, _pt. s. subj._ 200, 325, nere 82; wille 1 _pr. s._ 142, wile _pr. s._ 154, wule 91 &c., nele 254, nule 69, wolde _pt. s._ 21, 2 _pt. pl._ 20, _pt. s. subj._ 191; do _inf._ 197, for to do _dat. inf._ 229, deþ _pr. s._ 288, 321, doþ 81 (read deþ); agoþ _pr. s._ 146, ouergoþ 143, ago _pr. s. subj._ 145.

Noteworthy adverbs are frakele 246, ifurn 236 (#gefyrn#), lihte 198, muchele 162, vuele 171, 176, vayre 245, 246: #oft# is always ofte.

#Dialect:# Southern, free from South-Eastern influence. The wavering in the representation of #a# before nasals points to the Middle South, but ihure 10, ihurd 205 are South-Western. But this representation of #īe#, as well as lyen (= lēan), is found in MS. e of the Poema Morale, which is generally taken as of the Middle South. The forms vyches, eueruyches occur elsewhere in MS. J, and are probably due to the scribe.

#Metre:# The system is that of Layamon and the Bestiary; the Worcester Fragment B shows an earlier stage of its development. It is a mixture of the national alliterative verse loosely constructed and rhyming couplets. The latter are bound together by perfect, imperfect, even inflectional rhymes, and assonances. The halves of the couplets as they appear in MS. J are of varying lengths, two measures as 73, 216, more frequently two and a half 7, 44 &c., three 51 &c., three and a half 8 &c. Three-syllable measures are common, as, ‘hé wes þe | wýsuste | mòn,’ 17, ‘his sé | des to sów | èn,’ 59, ‘his mé | des to mów | èn’ 60. The alliterative combinations present every possible variety, 2 + 2, as 16; the normal 2 + 1, as 67; 1 + 2, as 142; 1 + 1, as 23 and often. The couplet has sometimes the added ornament of alliteration, as 46, 47. Where a line has neither alliteration nor rhyme, it may be assumed that the formless text is corrupt, as at 26, 68 &c.

There is then little to be gained by a metrical analysis of the poem in its present condition. It had originally a quite definite and regular structure, but this has been spoiled by copyists with little feeling for the structure of the verse and possessed by a strong desire to renovate the antique. It is highly probable that the last of them, the writer of MS. J, had a large hand in this alteration, for the copy of the Poema Morale in the same MS. has undergone a drastic revision which sets it apart among the versions of that poem, and the version of the Owl and Nightingale has suffered, though not to the same extent. On the other hand MS. T was copied by a man who was incapable of remodelling it; though a ruin, it often preserves in details the original.

The dilapidations wrought by the copyists may be classed as follow: i. Archaic and uncommon words are rejected: for þeynes 1, read sweynes; comp. L 28359, O 3297, 14953 for this word as meaning the immediate dependants of the king; the line then divides after ‘sete’: l. 13, see note: l. 24 for seyde þe, read wordede; comp. ‘þe king wordede þus,’ L 13052: l. 26 with the help of T may be restored, arme ⁊ edie leode · of lifis wisdom: l. 38, see note: l. 56, adopting ‘here’ from T, read þat land for to werie | wiþ hunger and wiþ here (the Danish marauding host was forgotten): l. 62, for bihoue read biliue (bilif T, W): l. 68, for beon read wurþen: l. 71, 330 for rewe read suwe, smart; comp. 72/199: l. 82, see note and comp. L 30903: l. 87, for howyen, read ȝeomeren, be depressed: l. 88, 155, for lykie read wurþe: comp. ‘Ne scyle nán wís monn gnornian to hwæm his wise weorþe,’ Boeth. 40, 3 (B-T): l. 111, see note: l. 115, for turne read rume (rime T): l. 122, see note: l. 133, for inowe read muche (moch T): l. 136, for Monymen read moni gume: l. 137, for him seolue read his saule, with T: l. 138, for bycome read were, with T, restoring a couplet: l. 143 for þing, read weole (welþe T): half a line is lost after lere: read, And ich eu lere wille · [leoue freond myne] | wit and wisdom · þat alle weole ouergoþ.: ll. 202, 207, see notes: l. 278 for mon read wiht: l. 280 for holde read lenge, as in T. ii. Older forms and constructions are modernised: ll. 159, 160, see note: l. 169 read þat heo þe bringe, making a couplet: l. 187 read heuede: l. 216 read þare for þe: l. 305, read alle for al, comp. 185: other instances are noted in Accidence. iii. Words are rearranged mostly in a prose order, spoiling rhyme and rhythm: read l. 25, leoue freond myne: l. 41 himseólf one lokie: l. 55 bihoueþ þan knyhte, for the alliterating word in the first half of the line comes almost invariably last, the rare exceptions being mostly verbs: for l. 56 see above: read l. 80 and he isowen hadde: l. 118 hit one wot dryhten: l. 130, vre maþmes welden | and vs byhinde leten: l. 142, lere wille: l. 156, if þu hauest serewe | and hit wot þe erewe: l. 203, þe kat museþ: l. 211, wiþute is bryht: ll. 232, 233, þe hire rede folẹweþ | to seorewe heo bringeþ: l. 245, þat he habbe freond: ll. 321, 322, þanne hit sone deþ | þat þe unyqueme biþ. iv. Lines and parts of lines are transposed, most of these as affecting the interpretation have been dealt with in the notes, see 40, 90, 144, 186, 247; read ll. 72, 73, þenne cumeþ vnhelþe | and ek uniselþe: though the combination in the text is found elsewhere as 40/197, elde seems to be due to the preceding line; at l. 190 we should perhaps read wymmon is tungwod · ⁊ haueþ wordes to wroþ. v. Padding is freely used: l. 4 omit þe: l. 7 read On Engelonde king: l. 9 read gon for bigon: omit l. 24, þe before king; l. 35, ne; l. 49, he; l. 66, his; l. 69, þat; l. 98, þe mon, and read þe on youhþe swo swinkeþ | and worldes weole her iwinneþ: l. 105, read on ȝouþe þat he haueþ idrowe: omit l. 132, þu; l. 149, owe; l. 152, þu; l. 188, hit; l. 189, scholde, forþ; l. 192, nowiht, and read ll. 191, 192 as an alliterative line: omit l. 205, ne, he; l. 209, blyþe and; l. 210, þe mon: l. 219-23, with the help of T we may restore, Ne ared þu nouht to swiþe | þe word of þine wyue. | If heo be i wreþþed · myd worde oþer dede; l. 231, for þat wymmon read heo; comp. T: l. 242 omit þe mon: l. 249, see note: l. 254, omit þe before wule: l. 262 omit þe, see note: l. 275, for schulle bicumen read bicumeþ: l. 280, for none read no: ll. 294, 296, omit þu: l. 324 omit þe. vi. The rhymes may, in some cases, have been spoiled by the substitution of alien dialectic forms; it is tempting to read ihere 10, iherd 205, but the _u_ forms do not appear to belong to the dialect of the scribe of J: at l. 102 helde, a patois form (Bülbring § 175 note), might be read: at l. 240 þon. The combinations brouhte : myhte, 181, 182; ayhte : nouhte, 274, 275 are remarkable.

Many intractable lines remain, such as 284, where perhaps bet has been lost at the end.

Elision and slurring are frequent; pronounce þeorl 4, lawẹlyche 47, euẹlyche 49, euẹruyches, owẹre 54, &c.

#Introduction:# The ascription of the Proverbs to Alfred rests on no firmer ground than an affectionate remembrance of the great king as a sage and teacher of his people. The only part of the poem which could with even artistic fitness be attributed to him is ll. 19-64, the rest is mostly the cautious wisdom of the common people, varied by reflections in a higher strain on the favourite mediaeval theme of the shortness and uncertainty of life. Up to l. 64 the poem is connected; afterwards it is without apparent plan, though there is occasionally a slender thread of union between the stanzas. The editors indeed see a new exordium and the beginning of a second section in stanza xiii, which appears to me to be a weak imitation of stanza vii. Perhaps a structural difference may be detected between the more general observations of the first part and the advice to an individual which begins with stanza xiv. Stanza xxi appears to have strayed from its natural place beside stanza vii.

The version of MS. J is not necessarily the more primitive because it is shorter than that of T. A poem of such loose structure readily lends itself to selection on the part of the copyist; and the scribe of MS. J was evidently a critic.

If the suggestions offered in the section on metre have any weight, a considerable time and several copies must have intervened between the original and the present form of the poem. The composition of that original should, I think, be placed somewhere about 1180 A.D.

1. #Seuorde#: siforde T; Sifforde W, RJ, which is identified by Spelman 126 with ‘Shifford, six miles west from Oxford.’ That it is ‘remote from the use of the southern dialect’ does not prevent it from being the place where Alfred discoursed. But Seaford, a seaport in Sussex, is more likely to have been associated in the popular mind and tradition with Alfred.

2. #Biscopes#, &c.: comp. ‘Forð iwenden eorles[;] forð iwenden beornes. | forð iwenden biscopes[;] & þa boc-ilæred m{en}[;] forð iwenden þæines[;] forð iwe{n}den sweines | . . . at þan hustinge,’ L 14620. With #bokilered# comp. 19/39, 4/20 note.

3. #egleche#, valiant: OE. #aglǣca#, a fierce warrior. egloche S.

4. #Alurich#: An Ælfric thesaurarius witnesses a charter of King Alfred, A.D. 892, Birch, Cart. Saxon. ii. 209.

5. #of . . . wis#: comp. 212/533.

6. #hurde#: comp. ‘Swa se æþela lareow sægde, þæt se cyning & se biscop sceoldan beón Cristenra folca hyrdas,’ BH 45/24; ‘folces hyrde,’ Beowulf 610.

7. #Englene durlyng#: so, ‘com Alfred þe king[;] Englelondes deorli{n}g,’ L 6316: he has also ‘Bruttene, Orka[n]es, Denemarkes, Irisce mo{n}nen, utlaȝen deorling.’ See KH 488 note.

9. #bigon#: gon T, gan W,S: set to work to teach.

13. #and# may be redundant, as often in Layamon, as ‘Ic wlle mine riche to-don[;] & alle{n} minen dohtren,’ 2945 but #Alured#, though it is in all the copies, may be an error for Ælder: comp. ‘& þu seolf læuerd king[;] leoden þu ært ælder,’ L 16835, 17252, in the latter place, leader. T,W,S read a.

16. #wis . . . war#: comp. 129/27, 156/148, 186/324, 190/456; ‘þe wes þe wiseste[;] þe wes þe warreste,’ L 2107; ‘wisliche þauh ⁊ warliche,’ AR 138/7.

21. #wisliche#, wise, advisable: OE. #wīslīc#: Layamon has ‘to iwisliche{n} þinge,’ 21052. T has, of wi[s]liche þinges.

28. #lykyen#, please: in this sense it governs a dative, which may be understood out of hine. But Mätzner translates, like.

29. #one#, alone: comp. 19/41, 22/118, 60/2.

30. #glednesse#: after the manner of l. 29, we expect gleawnesse, but comp. ‘Of alkin gladnes es þar gleu,’ CM 23359. T has ⁊ he is gleu | ouer alle glade þinhes: S omits. Line 31 is probably a gloss upon l. 30.

34. #riche#, powerful: comp. 6/30, 133/33; ‘hit ne gerist nanum ricum cynincge,’ Ælf. Lives i. 382/260.

35, 6. that there shall not be wanting anything he desires to him who is purposed to honour Him here in this world. For the construction of #wone#, see 52/368: for the double negative comp. ‘for he ne mihte beon wurðe[;] na þing of his wille,’ L 18704: in the MS. _wc_ the scribe mistook þ for w. T has apparently þo, not wo: Skeat reads [hwo]: that relative is not found in J.

37. For stanza iii generally comp. ‘Decet regem discere legem. | Audiat rex quod praecipit lex. | Legem servare hoc est regnare. | Notitia litterarum lux est animarum,’ Wipo 1-4. An echo of this stanza is evident in, ‘The ferste seide, “I understonde | Ne may no king wel ben in londe, | Under God Almihte, | But he cunne himself rede, | Hou he shal in londe lede | Everi man wid rihte,”’ Wright, Pol. Songs, 254/7 (date 1311 A.D.).

38. #may# has possibly its independent force, is strong, has power, comp. 29/12, but the line is evidently corrupt; #ryhtwis# is a reminiscence of l. 34, as is also _riche_ in T. It is easy to supply beo after #king#, for TS have _ben_. But RJ, S are nearest the right reading with, Ne mai no riht cing ben under crist selve (selve SH{1}; self SH{2}, selfe SL). Read Ne may beon ryht king. #vnder criste#, a favourite expression in Layamon, as, ‘Ȝe beoð under criste[;] cnihten alre kennest | and ich æm rihchest alre kinge[;] vnder gode seolue,’ L 27230, 27976, 28056.

40. It is obvious to substitute for #wyttes#, _wrytes_, or better _iwriten_, as at 20/67, 70, after #writes# in T, but ‘his writings,’ i.e. manuscripts, seems suspicious, and if correct gives a feeble threefold repetition of the same idea; and further the relation between ll. 41 and 42 requires the explanation of #hw# as, ‘so as to know how,’ Skeat. A transposition of ll. 40, 41 with _welde_ read for #kunne# (which seems to be due to the following line), will give a better sequence of ideas, obviate repetition, and restore the alliteration. Comp. ‘ælc bi his witte[;] wisdom sæiden,’ L 25627; ‘he wes swiðe wis mon[;] and witful on bocken,’ id. 22097. For cunne RJ, S have icweme.

41. #lokie#, consult, examine, refer to records for himself: comp. ‘þat yow tels sent Ieremi, | If yee wald lok his propheci,’ CM 9333.

46. #leden#, guide; usually with personal object.

49. #he#, resumes the subject #clerek and knyht#: a frequent construction in this poem, comp. 20/66-68, 21/98-105, 24/204, 5; similarly 24/209, 10 where the pronoun is explained by a noun. It is common in AR ‘þe wreche peoddare more noise he makeð to ȝeien his sope,’ 66/17. Borgström takes #he# as referring to #eorl and eþelyng#, l. 44, with #clerek# and #knyht# as object of #demen#, on the ground that clerks and knights did not exercise judicial power. The matter is not so simple. #Clerek# may include bishops, who sat in pre-Conquest shire-courts by the side of the Alderman, and lawyers generally. And #demen# is a word of wide meaning, comp. ‘Ne wandige ná se mæsse-preost no for rices mannes ege, ne for féo, ne for nanes mannes lufon, ꝥ he him symle rihte deme, gif he wille sylf Godes domas gedégan,’ BH 43/9; ‘Ne sceall nan godes þegn for sceattum riht deman,’ Ælf. Lives i. 430/244; ‘And he hæhte alle cnihtes[;] demen rihte domes,’ L 22115. Alfred meant that there should be no discrimination between rich and poor; discrimination between clerk and knight was not likely. #demen riht# is a phrase in which riht is a noun: comp. ‘Se rihtwisa dema sceall deman æfre riht,’ Ælf. Lives i. 430/239: sometimes, as in the quotation above, it means simply, to administer justice.

52, 3. Comp. ‘Ech man sal eft mowen bi þan þe he nu soweð,’ OEH ii. 159/15; i. 137/31, 131/24; all referring to ‘Qui parce seminat, parce et metet,’ 2 Cor. ix. 6: here the reference is to ‘Quae enim seminaverit homo, haec et metet,’ Galat. vi. 8: l. 54 means that the judgment passed on each man is of his own making: comp. 36/115.

55. #on to fone#, may mean, to take on himself; its ordinary use is, to begin, 143/85. Skeat translates, undertake, but in the place referred to in support, L 31415, the meaning is, proceed. T, RJ have cnouen, cnowen; S. mowen: the former has been explained, to study, to know how to. I think these readings are substitutes for something the scribes did not understand, such as, keneliche to kepen, or keneliche him kepen.

56. T has, of here ⁊ of heregong, where _of_ is remarkable: the simple dative in OE., _wið_, 48/321, 141/41, and later _from_ are the usual constructions with _werien_, of the thing guarded against.

57. #gryþ#: ‘pax regia per manum data,’ Liebermann, Ueber die Leges Edwardi Confessoris, 28: here it means vaguely, protection, much as frið with which it is constantly associated; comp. ‘þonne nam man grið ⁊ frið wið hi,’ AS. Chron. 1011; ‘a þisse londe he heold grið[;] a þisse londe he hulde frið,’ L 9912; Orm 116/3380; 116/133.

58. Comp. ‘þe ælc cheorl eæt his sulche[;] hæfde grið al swa þe king sulf,’ L 4260.

59, 60. Comp. ‘cornes heo seowen[;] medewen heo meowen. | al heo tileden[;] ase heo to þohten,’ L 1941.

62. #bihoue#: comp. 91/108: ‘to his awere bihoue,’ L 4565. T has bilif.

63. #lawe#, rule of conduct, practice: at 176/15, habit. In spite of the consensus of the MSS., the reading of the original was probably _lare_.

64. Let the knight see that it thrive, i.e. be well kept.

65-71. Comp. ‘Disce puer, dum tempus habes, euo puerili, | Ne te nil didicisse fleas etate senili,’ Flor. Gott. 98: ‘Qui vacat in iuventute turbatur in senectute,’ Wipo 63; Cato 231/12; ‘He ꝥ in ȝouþe no vertu vsiþ, | In Age Alle honure hym refusiþ,’ ES xli. 262/27. See Kneuer, p. 19.

69. #lorþeu#: see 1/19.

72. #elde . . . vnhelþe#: for this combination, see 40/197, where _unhelðe_ rhymes with _uniselðe_.

75. #wroþe#, _pl. adj._ agreeing with #wene#, to which latter #heo# and #hi#, variant forms of the _pl. n._, refer. When age and ill-health come, then the expectations of the improvident man are in experience found to be utterly perverse: not only are they cheated, but they actually vanish, i.e., he is left without hope at all. There is a play on wene and wenliche, l. 68.

78. Comp. ‘Melior est sapientia, quam secularis potentia | Plus unicus sensus quam multiplex census,’ Wipo 7.

82. #furþer#. T has wrþere, more worthy, which is, no doubt, original, as it alliterates with _weole_. noht wurþ, RJ.

83. #of frumþe#, from the beginning, betimes: comp. 65/59; ‘þah þu liuedest of adames fru{m}ðe,’ OEH i. 33/31. RJ reads of fremðe, but T fremede, and Skeat adding [of] translates, out of a stranger. But the point is not the making friends early or out of strangers, but the having wisdom along with your gold. Stanza xiii. is a weak echo of vii. and l. 144 is the key to l. 83. Read _hine to freme_ for _him of frumþe_, with the meaning, Unless he make Wisdom his friend to his profit. See 15/110; 176/24 note.

87-92. Comp. ‘ȝif þou be visite[d] w{ith} pou{er}te, | take it not to hevyle, | for he ꝥ sende þe Adu{er}site, | may t{ur}ne þe Aȝen to wele,’ ES xli. 261/5: Li Proverbe au Vilain, no. 133.

87. #howyen#, be anxious, distressed: comp. ‘Ne beo ge na hogiende ymb þa morgenlican neode,’ S. Matt. vi. 34.

89. #welde#: comp. 4/41.

90. Comp. ‘After vuele cumeð god[;] wel is him þe hit habbe mot,’ L 3608. A transposition here restores the alliteration in two verses.

92. Comp. 195/634, where the verb is omitted after wel, as is usual in such expressions; ‘Wel him ðe is clene iþrowen,’ VV 95/30; ‘Ah wel hire ꝥ luueð godd,’ HM 27/35. For #þat#=for whom, see 46/292 note, and for #ischapen#, destined, comp. ‘after ðan ðe hem iscapen is,’ VV 105/4: hit is, of course, good after evil, weal after woe.

94. Comp. ‘Whoso roweth aȝein the flod, | Off sorwe he shal drinke; | Also hit fareth bi the unsele, | A man shal have litel hele | Ther agein to swinke,’ Pol. Songs, 254/20; ‘werig sceal se wiþ winde roweþ,’ Exeter Book, 345/12. For #strong#, difficult, tough, comp. 48/312, 76/18, 200/111; ‘hu strong hit is to arisen of vuel wune,’ AR 326/28: ‘þes ilke Mon is strong to sermonen’ (difficult to preach to, a tough subject), OEH i. 81/14.

98. #mon# is a suspended _nom._, the construction being changed at l. 105: analogous to 19/48.

102. #idelnesse holde#, enjoy leisure. T has hednesse, OE. #ēadnes#, happiness, comfort. ‘Honestior est qui senectutem ad otium rettulit, quam quem in otio invenit,’ Monita 22/75.

106. #wel bitowe#, well employed, profitably experienced. Comp. ‘alle þe ȝeres weren wel bi-toȝe,’ L 19902; VV 13/2; ON 702; ‘uuele bitohe,’ 74/225.

108. See 26/244 note, and for the form of the expression, comp. ‘Ah her, þu wenest ȝet | ꝥ tu wenen ne þerf,’ SK 1153.

110. #lyues#: read lyf is . . . luued: ‘Qui enim vult vitam diligere,’ &c. 1 S. Peter iii. 10.

111. #lyf his owe#: the order is strange, and #owe# is pointless, quite different from 22/128, 23/149, 27/277, where there is a contrast with one’s possessions, &c. Possibly the original had _lifes leowe_, life’s warmth, shelter, OE. #hlēow#: comp. ‘herd leouwe,’ AR 368/12, poor housing. The word was uncommon and likely to puzzle the copyist.

112. #wrt#: Comp. ‘Herba nec antidotum poterit depellere loetum; | Quod te liberet a fato, non nascitur horto,’ Fecunda Ratis 132/725. Skeat quotes as a proverb, ‘Cur moriatur homo, cui salvia crescit in horto?’ It is from the Regimen Sanit. Salern. l. 177, and the next line is, ‘Contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis.’ #a wude#: comp. 181/181.

113. #þas feye furþ#, the life of the doomed man.

118. #doweþes louerd#: prob. the original had duȝeðe, _pl. gen._: ‘duguða dryhten,’ Christ, 781 = Dominus exercituum, Dominus virtutum. T has domis louird.

122. Skeat explains the MS. reading, givest away and controllest; an unnatural order: Borgström takes yefst = yhefst < OE. #gehæbban#, ‘If thou hast and possessest.’ Morris’s conjecture, _yetst_, may mean, gettest, gainest. The passage is corrupt: T has ‘ȝif þu hauest welþe awold iwis ȝerlde:’ #in þis world# is mere padding arising from #vpen eorþe#: the original may have been, Gif þu havest a wold | seoluer and gold: comp. 22/133, 4; ‘Whil ȝe habbeþ wyt at wolde,’ Hendyng 299; 52/387 note.

125. #ildre istreon#: comp. ‘þæt he of his yldrena gestreone hine sylfne fercian mote,’ Ælf. Lives i. 524/597, 528/669; ‘þæ castles aðele weore[;] of his eoldrene istreon,’ L 18608.

126. #lone#: Skeat quotes ‘divitiæ . . . donum Dei,’ Eccles. v. 18.

127. #þar of#, from them: comp. 22/117: the expression is unusual.

128. ‘Homo vitæ commodatus, non donatus est,’ Syri Sent. 220.

129. #vouh#, for veoh: OE. #feoh#. Comp. 3/13: ‘ffrendles ys þe dede,’ Hendyng 288.

130. #Mayþenes# for maþmes: see 102/134. #leten . . . byhinde#: Skeat explains as, forget us; but 4/14 suggests a more pointed meaning.

131. Comp. ‘Cum fueris felix, quae sunt adversa caveto,’ Cato 218/18; ‘Tranquillis rebus semper diversa timeto,’ id. 232/26. The first four lines are imitated in, ‘The ferthe seide, that he is wod | That dwelleth to muchel in the flod, | For gold or for auhte; | For gold or silver, or any wele, | Hunger or thurst, hete or chele, | Al shal gon to nohte,’ Pol. Songs 256/1, where the writer has evidently misunderstood l. 132.

132. #fele# as adverb is not common; Einenkel, Anglia, xxxiii. 531, quotes ‘þonne moton we . . . fela for urum synnum þrowian,’ Wulfstan 151/5, and the present passage: add Beowulf 1385; ‘He bounde{n} hi{m} so fele sore,’ Havelok 2442. #see#, the flowing tide of success: comp. ‘Swo floweð þis woreld þenne men michel tuderið . . . ⁊ beð michel blisse among mannen,’ OEH ii. 177/16.

134. #gnyde# in the intransitive meaning, ‘be rubbed away’: elsewhere active. T has wurþen. Comp. 27/274-6.

135. #to duste . . . dryuen#: comp. ‘makede . . . godes deore temple to driuen al to duste,’ SJuliana 41/1; a less frequent intransitive use. #Dryhten#, &c.: comp. ‘geong ealdian · god us ece biþ,’ Exeter Book, ed. Thorpe, 333/22.

136. #godes vrre#: comp. 46/276.

137. #foryemeþ# &c.: comp. 122/167, 8; ‘Forrletenn ⁊ forrȝemmdenn,’ Orm 259/7502.

138. #by come#: comp. 27/275: in T, were.

142. #wit and wisdom# are often so coupled: ‘Wyt and wysdom is god warysoun,’ Hendyng 21; Kneuer, 20; 130/81: with sing. masc. pronoun hyne, l. 144.

143. #ouergoþ#, surpasses in worth: comp. ‘Þeo luue . . . ouergeð ham alle uoure ⁊ passeð ham alle,’ AR 394/1; an extension of the meaning of OE. #ofergān#, conquer, overcome, which is that of 125/270, 207/340: at 29/45 it means, pass away, so ‘deð ꝥ ouergeað,’ SK 1883; ‘ðæt hi geðencen hu hrædlice se eorðlica hlisa ofergǽð,’ Cura Past. 447/29.

144. #sitte#: comp. 26/270. The recurrence of þe--vere at l. 148 and the divergence of T which gives for the last half of this line, and hwo hem mide senden, preserving the alliteration, shows that something is wrong here. A rearrangement in the order 143, 147, 148, 144, reading syker he may sitte ⁊ þat him mide syndon, 145, 146, 149 gives a good sense.

151, 2. Comp. ‘Tel þou neuer þy fo þat þy fot akeþ,’ Hendyng 93; Kneuer, 29. #arewe#, apparently found only here, malicious person, enemy: OE. #earg#, #earh#.

153. #þe#, an ethical dative; see 13/34 note.

154. The subject of wile is the clause #þet--con#, he who is not acquainted with your circumstances. With 155 comp. 21/88.

158. #teleþ#, derides, makes sport of.

159. #swych mon þat#, &c., such a man as wishes you very well, said ironically: þat is not conjunction, but relative pronoun, and the construction is parallel to, ‘talem igitur te esse oportet qui primum te ab impiorum civium . . . societate seiungas,’ Cic. Fam. x. 6. 3; just as #so . . . þat#, 24/184, 5 is matched by, ‘Quis est tam lynceus qui in tantis tenebris nihil offendat?’ id. ix. 2; and similarly ‘nec tamen ego sum ille ferreus, qui fratris maerore non movear,’ Cic. Cat. iv. 3. Where the expression is generic, the dependent verb should be subjunctive, as is the case with _segge_, and probably here the original had _monne--onne_. Comp. ‘ic bidde . . . swælc monn seðe to minum ærfe foe,’ Thorpe, Diplom. 471/16; ‘Nes þo non so hardy · þat on me leyde honde,’ OEM 43/209; ‘þat na man ne wurðe swa wod[;] ne witte bi-dæled, | þat in his hirede breke grið,’ L 10282; ‘þat na mon on worlde[;] swa wod no iwurðe, | no swa ær witte gume[;] þat his grið bræke,’ id. 22069, 787. With #on# comp. ‘ne beo he no swa luðer mon[;] þat his freond him wel ne on,’ L 22963: Skeat’s insertion of _hit_ spoils the meaning. #Swyhc mon# = such a one: _swillc an_ appears for the first time in Orm 11595.

166. #bywite#: þenkeþ T.

169. Comp. ‘Uxorem fuge ne ducas sub nomine dotis,’ Cato 228/12: ‘Monimon for londe wyueþ to shonde,’ Hendyng 280; Kneuer, 57.

170. #custe#, qualities, virtuous or otherwise.

171. #vuele iauhteþ#, estimates falsely, makes a bad bargain.

172. #of fayre#, not, out of what is fair, but, in choosing a fair wife: of = in the form of, in the person of. For #frakele#, comp. ‘he bið wið-uten feire ⁊ frakel wið-innen,’ OEH i. 25/27. ‘Munditiam seruat sinceram rara uenustas,’ Fec. Ratis 114/581.

175. #So#: Holthausen, Archiv lxxxviii. 370, suggests wo, which gives a common phrase, ‘Wo is hym alyue,’ OEM 183/221; ‘wa is me on liue,’ L 3422.

177. #vppen eorþe#, a favourite tag: see 28/315; KH 247 O.

179-82. These lines are repeated with small variation in Hendyng, 133-7, but the ‘wyf’ is ‘ȝonge’; Kneuer, 53. Zupitza, Anglia, iii. 370, quotes an inscription in Low German from a room in the Lübeck Rathskeller, which is identical with the English proverb, and Holthausen, Archiv, lxxxviii. 371, contributes two more versions in the same dialect.

184. #so wod . . . þat . . . segge#, so mad as to say: see 23/159; and comp. ‘Ne wurðe nan cniht swa wod[;] ne kempe swa wilde,’ L 8593, ‘& þa drihliche gumen[;] weoren win drunken,’ id. 8125.

185. #wille#, all that is in thy mind: comp. 27/305, 23/166.

186. #þu#: T has hue, and Skeat alters here to _heo_, but the text may very well mean, if you ever found yourself. Perhaps the original had: For if þu hi myd worde · iwreþþed heuede | And heo iseye þe · bi vore þine ivo alle. Comp. ‘confundet te in conspectu inimicorum,’ Ecclus. xxv. 35.

188. #lete#, omit, refrain from: form and meaning from OE. #lǣtan#, but with construction, _þat-_ clause with subj., of OE. #lettan#.

189. Omit #scholde#, a mere repetition from the preceding line. Comp. ‘gyf þonne þissa þreora þinga ænig hwylcne man lette, þæt hine to ðam fæstene ne ónhágje,’ Wulfstan 285/3 (quoted in B.-T.). #forþ#, openly, freely: comp. ‘ðane sei ðu forð mid seinte Petre: Tu es Christus,’ VV 25/31. #baleusyþes#, cast up to you your misfortunes: comp. 2/27. But one expects, after l. 185, something like, will reveal all your secrets.

190. #woþ#: T has wod and wordwod may mean word-mad; in that case the second half of the line is little more than repetition. But T has often _d_ for _þ_, and so his reading may be the same in effect as that of J, which does not put _þ_ for _d_. Now in Layamon the younger MS. writes woþ for _wouh_, _woh_ in the elder, 3327, 4333, where the sense requires the latter, and _word woh_, perverse of speech, would fit well here.

191. #wel wolde#, though she desired it ever so much, she cannot control it at all.

194. #ouerprute#, excessive pride: the noun apparently only here; the adj. ouerprut is commoner. In T, orgul prude. Comp. ‘Bruttes hafden muchel mode[;] & vnimete prute,’ L 19408.

196. After #þat#, _heo_ has dropped out.

198. That vice she would readily give up, if she were often in a sweat exhausted with toil. Comp. ‘moni swinc moni swæt[;] . . þolede ich on folde,’ L 2281, 7; ‘he swonc i þon fehte[;] þat al he lauede asweote,’ id. 7488.

202. Read, þat beon uulle treowe: lit. though it is ill to bend what are full-grown trees, i.e. though full-grown trees are hard to bend. It is not necessary to alter #beo#, but #n# of #nule# probably belongs to it; it is subjunctive in an object clause expressing a class of things. For #uulle# comp. 42/219; ‘min fulla freond,’ Thorpe, Diplom. 525/8; ‘heo beoð ure fulle feond,’ L 963; ‘Ech god giue ⁊ fule giue cumeð of heuene dunward,’ OEH ii. 105/17; ‘fulliche cristene mon,’ OEH i. 73/5. ‘Dum curuare potes, vel curuam tendere virgam, | Fac sit ut ad libitum plantula ducta tuum: | Cum vetus in magnum fuerit solidata vigorem | Non leviter flectes imperiale caput,’ Alanus 435. It is difficult to alter a grown-up.

203. #after#, following the example of: comp. ‘Prendere maternam bene discit cattula predam,’ Prov. Heinrici 169; ‘Muricipis proles cito discit prendere mures,’ id. 109: said of innate tendencies. The hindrances to the training of the young wife are that she is already grown up and has an inherited disposition.

204. #þe mon þat . . . he#: see 19/49. Comp. ‘Femina quem superat, nunquam uiuit sine pena; | Libertate caret, turpi constrictus habena,’ Flor. Gott. 724.

205. #ihurd#, listened to, or perhaps, spoken of, as having any independence in what he says. Had the writer in mind, ‘labia nostra a nobis sunt, quis noster Dominus est?’ Ps. xi. 5.

207. #steorne# is strange in form (it should be sturne in this text), and does not suit the context, and the verbs _to-trayen_, _to-teonen_ are apparently found nowhere else. Read, turne to treye and to teone, change his life to sorrow and affliction: in that case the two lines should be printed as one alliterative long line. The combination is common; comp. Minot vi. 2 note, and 133/61. T has, ac he sal him rere dreiȝe, but he shall provide trouble for himself.

210. #þe mon# resumes #he# of l. 209. #qued# occurs again as quet T 702, in the metaphorical sense of devil, evil man. Here Skeat translates, aversion; Borgström, following Morris, contempt, scorn, without any support from other examples. The word is a coarse term of contempt for a ‘poor creature,’ based on the primitive sense of OE. #cwead#: it is easily paralleled in modern dialects.

212. #fader# is pointless: the reading of T, in hire faire bure, which is for, faire in hire bure, points to the right way. Read, So is mony burde · bryht on hyre bure: ‘bright in bower’ is a common tag in the romances; see Guy of Warwick 2674 with Zupitza’s note.

213. #Schene vnder schete#: comp. ‘swete in bedde,’ Havelok 2927.

214. Comp. ‘Ne sont pas tuit chevalier, qui a cheval montent,’ Li Proverbe au Vilain, no. 201.

215. This line is to be rejected: it spoils the symmetry of the contrast, and is not original.

216. #glede#, ‘beside the glowing coal,’ Skeat; ‘in mirth,’ Borgström; glede being identified with OWScand. gleði, joy, with an allusion to boasting at the feast. The original word was probably wede, comp. ‘in wlanke wede,’ Eng. Met. Homilies (ed. Small), 42/2 = _mollibus vestimentis indutus_; ‘Whyle þe wlonkest wedes he warp on hym-seluen,’ Sir Gawayne, 2025; ‘awlencð his lichame,’ OEH ii. 211/36. The contrast would then be between his gay clothes and his unserviceableness. T has werȝe, for which Borgström reads werwe, steed; and Skeat weiȝe, way: for the former might be quoted, ‘Nis so wlonk vnder crist · ridynde on stede,’ OEM 91/19. With 217, comp. 26/265.

221. #arede#, take as advice. ‘Femina quod iurat, errat qui credere curat,’ Prov. Hein. 64.

222. ‘Coniugis iratae noli tu verba timere; | Nam lacrimis struit insidias, cum femina plorat,’ Cato 229/20.

226. #lude ⁊ stille#, under all circumstances: comp. 28/317, 188/377; ‘don we hit wullet | lude and stille,’ L 3665: Minot viii. 54 note.

228. ‘Didicere flere feminae in mendacium,’ Syrus 74/130; ‘Muliebris lacrima condimentum est malitiae,’ id. 87/343; Fecunda Ratis 39/163.

231. Not said by Solomon, but by Syrus, ‘Malo in consilio feminae vincunt viros,’ 86/324.

234. #loþ#, read leoþ; OE. #lēoþ#, song.

235. Skeat equates #scumes# with Icel. skūmi, twilight, and translates, ‘like twilight-shadows (they) mislead (us),’ which is fanciful. #Scumes# may be miswriting for _scunnes_, which would represent OE. #scēones#, #scȳness#, suggestion, temptation, as in ‘deofol þonne þurh þa attor berendan næddran mid hire þære yfelan scéonesse . . . beswác þone ærestan wifmon,’ BH 3/17. The sense would be, as temptation they mislead. But more probably the place is corrupt, and the original may simply have had, as cwen us forteoþ, with an allusion to Eve’s bad counsel.

237. Björkman, 14, thinks that this proverb was originally Scandinavian, and it adds point to understand #cold# in the meaning, disastrous, of the Icelandic version. Comp. ‘Wommennes counseils been ful ofte colde,’ Chaucer, C. T., B 4446. ‘Mulier cum sola cogitat, male cogitat,’ Syrus 87/335.

240, 241. Skeat’s version, ‘I do not say this because a good woman is not a good thing,’ shows that he takes #for þan þat# together, which is contrary to the metrical stress on #þan# and gives no sufficient sense: #for þan#, is, therefore, i.e. in spite of all the hard things I have said about women: #hit# is an anticipatory object, which is expanded in the object clause, #þat . . . wymmon#. The scribe deleted _n_ before #ys#, Skeat restores it; T also has #is#, for which Skeat substitutes [n]is, quoting, ‘Hic ne sige nout byþan | þat moni ne ben gentile man,’ T 665. I think that what the scribe wrote should be retained. It is clear that the relation between a negative principal clause and its dependent object clause was often in ME. very loose and illogical. Comp. ‘For sco was traist and duted noght, | þat godds wil ne suld be wroght,’ CM 12321; ‘Ne doð ham no þing swo wo | . . . | swo ꝥ hi niten, ꝥ here þine | ne sal habben ende,’ Poema Morale, MS. D. 140 (see 46/290); ‘ihc nas na wurdra[;] þenne ich nes weldinde,’ L 3466; also 100/104. ‘Ðat ne forȝeit ðu naure · þat ðu godd ne heriȝe,’ 93/149, means, That forget thou never that thou honour God; what is more natural than to leave out the negative, if the contrary meaning is required? Our text may be paraphrased, Whatever I have said about women in general, I do not say it with reference to the proposition that a good woman is a good thing. For the sentiment comp. ‘Femina raro bona, sed que bona digna corona,’ Prov. Hein. 65; ‘Femina pauca bona est; si forte inveneris ullam, | De celo cecidit, tessella caractere miro,’ Fecunda Ratis 153/919.

242. #þe mon þe#, for the man who. #icouere#, &c. win her from his rivals.

244. Repeated from 21/108.

245. Comp. ‘Nulla sevior pestis quam familiaris hostis. Nis non werse fo[;] þene frakede fere,’ OEH ii. 189/33; ‘Gravior est inimicus, qui latet in pectore,’ Syrus 79/200.

246. #vayre . . . frakele#: see 23/172 note.

247. Skeat explains #þane loþe#, the hostile one, and #lead#, keep on one’s side, #so#, by fair words. T reads So mo{n} mai welþe lengest helden, which is easier of interpretation, but is just as inept. I think both scribes or their exemplars have altered as best they could a displaced line to fit it into its new context. Its proper place is after the good advice of ll. 248-51 (comp. l. 263), and it may have originally run, So myght þu fayre lif · lenguste leden.

248. ‘Nolito quaedam referenti credere saepe: | Exigua est tribuenda fides, qui multa locuntur,’ Cato 224/20.

249 is a very lame verse; we might read, þat feole speken can.

251. With #singen#, comp. ‘Noli homines blando nimium sermone probare: | Fistula dulce canit, uolucrem dum decipit auceps,’ Cato 220/27.

252. #swikelne#, deceitful: comp. ‘Ueond þet þuncheð freond is swike ouer alle swike,’ AR 98/5; ‘Habet suum venenum blanda oratio,’ Syrus 80/214.

254. #cuþe#, give warning.

256. Alfred would hardly have said that a man learns wisdom from proverbs and prudence from good luck. Read for #sawe#, sorewe (the scribe has overlooked the contraction for _re_), and for #hiselþe#, uniselþe, misfortune. Comp. ‘In þes middeneardes iscole · selðen ⁊ uniselðen,’ OEH i. 243/7: ‘Vitat maiora sapiens post dampna minora,’ Prov. Hein. 240. Borgström reads his elde, where _his_ is surely doubtful and þ interchanging with _d_ without parallel.

258. The editors leave out #And#, which is not in T, but l. 257 is complete in itself; #And vnwurþ#, and despicable, is a sort of afterthought: for the combination comp. 4/37; ‘þat he biðe vnworð & lah’ (loþ, MS. O), L 3464, and further for this meaning of #vnwurþ#, 143/92; ‘þe idele ȝelp us beo eure unwurð,’ OEH i. 107/8.

259. #hokede#, thievish: in thieves’ slang, a hook is a pickpocket, his fingers are hooks. Comp. ‘Sutoribus custodem addidit et ut eorum curvos ungues observaret . . . rogavit,’ Disciplina Clericalis, ed. Hilka u. Söderhjelm, 28/19; ‘Arpiis similes armantur in ungue ferino,’ Fec. Ratis, de Predonibus, 173/1154. #þat he bereþ# is rejected by Skeat as a ‘gloss.’ It is certainly feeble; perhaps we should read, þat he herȝeþ, with which he plunders; the relative would be under the régime of the preceding #þurh#.

261. #From--wune#, (dis)accustom thyself from lying: a singular phrase.

262. #þe# may be the reflexive dat. as at 13/34, but it is more probably a mistake, due to #þe# in the previous line: its omission improves the metre.

263. #on þeode#, a tag beloved of Layamon: with him it is always local; comp. ‘he þohte to quellen[;] þe king on his þeode{n},’ 20056 (in his londe, MS. O); ‘þa weoren Rom-leoden[;] bliðen on heore þeoden,’ id. 11144: it corresponds to ‘vpen eorþe,’ 22/123, and differs from #in alle leode#, among all the people, Layamon’s ‘on folke,’ 2218.

265. Comp. ‘behoueð ðe ðat ðu bie well warr ꝥ tu luuiȝe ðine nexte, ðat is, aurich mann ðe berð ðin anlicnesse,’ VV 39/13: a translation of _proximus_, S. Luke x. 29. #þe#: comp. 22/141, 25/217: ‘Au besoing voit on qui amis est’, Li Proverbe au Vilain, no. 72.

266. Comp. 188/378; ‘Vrom mulne ⁊ from cheping, from smiðe ⁊ from ancre huse, me tiðinge bringeð,’ AR 88/26; ‘At chireche and at chepyng | hwanne heo to-gadere come,’ OEM 189/57; Böddeker, AE. Dicht. 112/82.

270. #sytte#: comp. 22/144: rest in contentment; ‘sit soft.’

271. Skeat takes #lond le# as a mere scribal error for londe which T reads. I think it points to an original londe ⁊ se: comp. 40/194; ‘Mid mede man mai ouer water faren And mid weldede of giue[;] frend wuerche,’ OEH ii. 41/20 (possibly a reminiscence of this place). For the proverb comp. ‘Mieux vaut amis en voie, ke deniers en corroie. Melius valet amicus in via quam denarius in corrigia,’ Hauréau, Notices et Extraits, ii. 283.

274-6. Comp. 22/133-5. #mixe#: T has nocht.

280. #holde#, maintain: ‘vpholde,’ 21/113.

285. Comp. 18/9-11.

288. Comp. generally 32/39-65; 29/20-24. Perhaps the allusion is to ‘In timore Domini esto [tuum cor] tota die: Quia habebis spem in novissimo, et praestolatio tua non auferetur,’ Prov. xxiii. 17, 18.

289. #lyen#: comp. ‘ꝥ sind þa gecostan cempan þa þam cyninge þeowað | se næfre þa lean alegeð þam þe his lufan adreogeð,’ Exeter Book, ed. Gollancz, 108/91. See 32/64 note.

293. #gabbe#, talk mockingly or derisively: the meaning of Fr. _gaber_, to talk boastingly, would suit well here, but it lacks support. #schotte# is difficult: the obvious sense is, to pay scot, to take part in convivial assemblies, but this does not go well with #gabbe#. Borgström thinks that it may be _schoute_, to shout, or possibly to scout, sneer, modified for the sake of the rhyme. If that principle may be admitted, _stroute_, to swagger (Havelok, 1779), would be preferable.

294. #chid#, wrangle, engage in a ‘flyting,’ or scolding match: ‘Ne respondeas stulto iuxta stultitiam suam,’ Prov. xxvi. 4. Whether #tales# be taken with the preceding or the following line, it is equally unsuitable, unless it may mean reproaches, charges, after OE. #talian#. It goes best with l. 296; _ne_ should be omitted before _chid_. #dwales#, not ‘fools’ in the general sense, but erring ones; _dwall_ in mod. dialects means to wander in mind, to talk incoherently. With #cunnes# comp. 81/80.

298. ‘Rumores fuge, neu studeas novus auctor haberi,’ Cato 218/12. With 299 comp. ‘Pauca in convivio loquere’, id. 217/51. ‘Inter convivas fac sis sermone modestus,’ Columbanus 92; ‘Contra verbosos noli contendere verbis: | Sermo datur cunctis, animi sapientia paucis,’ Cato 217/10.

302. #biluken#, enclose, comprehend: the brief utterances of the wise man are weighty.

303. See Hendyng 85 and Kneuer 28.

305. With #wille#, comp. 24/185.

307. Comp. Hendyng 144 and Kneuer 55; Förster’s note, ES xxxi. 6; ‘Osse caret lingua, secat os tamen ipsa maligna,’ Prov. Hein. 149; ‘Mo sleað word þene sweord,’ AR 74/1; ‘plaga . . . linguae comminuet ossa,’ Ecclus. xxviii. 21.

310. ‘Exultat gaudio pater iusti,’ Prov. xxiii. 24: ‘Him stondes wel þat god child strenes,’ Havelok 2983.

311. #ibidest#, dost obtain: OE. #gebīdan#, to await, experience, attain to.

312. #mon þewes#: comp. ‘hauest þu nu quene þeouwes inume,’ L 30281. ‘Curva cervicem eius in iuventute, et tunde latera eius dum infans, ne forte . . . erit tibi dolor animae,’ Ecclus. xxx. 12. The ‘child unþewed’ is one of the ‘Ten Abuses,’ OEM 185/9.

314. The better things will ever go in the world. For #buuen eorþe#, see 23/177.

316. #werende#: Skeat reads wexende; if any alteration is made, wuniende would give a common OE. and ME. combination: as ‘þæt he her in worulde wunian mote,’ Christ 817; ‘wuniende ⁊ rixlende on worlde,’ OEH 1. 25/17. But #weren# is equated in Stratmann-Bradley with Mid. Dutch, OHG. weren, to remain, with this place as the only instance.

317. #lude and stille#: see 25/226.

327. Comp. ‘For betere were child ounboren þen ounbeten,’ Hending, MS. O, Anglia iv. 191/4.

328. ‘Qui parcit virge, sua pignora protinus odit,’ Fec. Ratis 93/438; ‘Quippe diu male cesus lamentabitur infans,’ id. 65/289. #spareþ#, with dative.

329. #areche#, get at, control.

_Cross-References_

13/34 (note) = V. (A Parable) 23/172 (note) = _present selection_ 46/292, 50/334 (notes) = VIII. (Poema Morale)

_Errata_

The Cotton MS. ... MS. Stowe 163, B.M. ff. [Stowe, 163 B. M.] ... #īe# in #scīene#, #gesīene# gives schene 213, isene 75. [#scīene# #gesīene#] #ea# + #h# occurs in wexynde 112, 113, iauhteþ 171 [113 iauhteþ] The personal pronouns ... _a. f._ 280, non [non,] _s. g. neut._ 276, echere [echere,] ... Past of Weak Verbs: _s._ 2. heuedest 187; [187:] 1. #Seuorde#: siforde T; Sifforde W, RJ, which is [RJ.,] 38. ... #ryhtwis# [rightwis] 87-92. ... sende þe Adu{er}site [Aduersite] 129. #vouh#, for veoh [_“veoh” misprinted as bold_] 144. ... the divergence of T [of B] 258. ... which is not in T, [T.,] 271. Skeat takes #lond le# as a mere scribal error [_“lond le” misprinted as plain (non-bold)_]

VII. MEMENTO MORI

#Manuscript:# As for no. vi. There are other copies in (C) MS. Cotton Caligula A ix., B.M., of the first quarter of the thirteenth century, and (B) MS. Laud 471, Bodleian, of the end of the same century. In (A) MS. Arundel 57, B.M. there is a fourteenth-century version of nine lines. CJ form a group, B belongs to another branch.

#Editions:# Of CJ; Morris, R., OEM, pp. 156-9 under the inappropriate title, Long Life: of B; Zupitza, J., Anglia i. p. 410: of B, corrected by CJ; Kluge, F., ME. Lesebuch, p. 56; of C; Wright, T., Percy Society, vol. xi. p. 63. Of A; Morris, R., Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 129.

#Literature:# Zupitza, J., Anglia i. 410; Varnhagen, H., Anglia ii. 71; ii. 67.

#Phonology:# The position is the same as that of piece vi: words not in it are blench 4 (#blencan# _vb._); falwy 6 (#fealwian#); luteþ 29 (#lūtian#); sterk 11 (#stearc#); steo 38 (#stīgan#, imitating in the _inf._ flēon, wrēon, Bülbring, Ablaut 88), sunne 10 (#synn#). MS. C does not differ materially from it: it has however drinche 8, deaþes 8, sterch 11, strench 14, tahte 23, fole 33, wormes 34, nowt 50. MS. B is South-Eastern bordering on Kent; it has rene 3 (#rēn#), senne 10, starc 11, sene 13, to yenes 16, Man let lust a{n}d senne stench 19, sede 23, stie 38 and _st_ for _ht_ in brigst 13. The text is often faulty as if written down from memory, and l. 26 is missing, but the rhymes are correct: the original was doubtless in the South-Eastern dialect.

#Accidence:# longe _s. g. neut._ 1 (comp. longes 21/109); heyust _adv._ 38; endi _inf._ 39 (#endian#), last 2 _pr. s._ (#lǣdest#) 36 are the only forms which require notice.

#Metre:# The ten-line stanza of this poem is unique in ME. literature. It is an expansion of the common eight-line stanza: its rhyme formula is abab | baab | bb, two quatrains with contrasted rhymes and a two-line close in which the sentiment of the stanza culminates. In the last stanza the effect is spoiled by the absence of a break at the end of the eighth line.

As a rule the line contains four measures, but four out of five times the ninth line of the stanza has only three, so, Món | er þu fál | lẹ of þi bénch | 9; Ac déþ | lúteþ | in his schó | 29; In déþ | schal þi lýf | endí | 39; wúrcheþ him | pýnẹ eu|er mó | 49. Further, in the original form of the verse, as preserved by MS. B, the tenth line has only two measures, þi sénnẹ | aquénch | 10; wel dó | wel þénch | 20; hím to | fordó | 30 (Zupitza’s correction of the MS. do him for do); on wóp | þi glé | 40; ne dó | þu só | 50. The rhythm is mostly trochaic, as Món may | lónge | lýues | wéne | 1, but sometimes iambic, as Nis nón | so stróng | ne stárk | ne ké|nè 11; her naú|ẹstu blís|se dáy|es þré | 35. Lines with three-syllable measures like 9 are 22, 26: with monosyllabic first foot are 19, 22, 31, 32.

#Introduction:# The comparative smoothness and finish of the verse points to a date considerably later than that of the Proverbs: perhaps about 1210 A.D. The piece seems to have been inspired by stanzas x and xxi of the earlier poem.

1. A man may look forward to a long life, but the trick often deceives him; an oft-quoted proverb, as at 21/108, 222/274; ‘Mani man weneþ þat he wene ne þarf, longe to liven, and him lieþ þe wrench,’ Hending MS. O, Anglia iv. 200. The second line occurs in another connection in AR, ‘moni mon abit to schriuen him uort þe nede tippe. Auh ofte him lieð þe wrench,’ 338/18. For the case of #liues# comp. ‘Ðær sceolan þeofas . . . lifes ne wenan,’ Christ 1608; with #wrench . . . blench# comp. 157/125; ‘wrenceþ he ⁊ blenceþ · worn geþenceþ · hinder-hoca,’ Exeter Book, ed. Thorpe, 315/18.

3. #turneþ#: went, BA.

4. #makeþ#: hit makeð, C; the subject is weder, _neut._: turneþ he, B; i.e. reyne (OE. #regn#, _m._). Comp. ‘Hope maketh fol ma{n} ofte ble{n}kes,’ Havelok 307; ‘þe{n}ne þe ky{n}g of þe kyth a cou{n}sayl hy{m} takes, | Wyth þe best of his burnes, a blench for to make,’ Cleanness 1201, 2.

6. #falwy#: falewi, BC: comp. 133/39, ‘faleweþ so doþ medewe gres,’ OEM 93/16.

8. #deþes drench#: comp. ‘Þær Cristess mennisscnesse | Drannc dæþess drinnch o rodetreo,’ Orm 45/1373.

9. #bench# implies feasting: comp. ‘Ne schaltu neuer sytten · on bolstre ne on benche | Ne neuer in none halle · þar me wyn schenche,’ OEM 175/89; ‘Ye þat weryeþ þat riche schrud · and sytteþ on eure benche,’ id. 169/3; ‘Ac þu sete on þine benche, underleid mid þine bolstre,’ Worcester Frag. C, 26; L 9693.

10. With #aquench#, comp. ‘Her-of we owe þenche. | And vre sunnen aquenche. | Mid beden and myd almesse,’ OEM 79/217.

12. B reads, þat may agein deaþes wiþer clench, that has power against death’s hostile grip: _wiþer-clench_ appears to be without parallel. In our text, Morris takes #ago# for _agon_, escape, but, as Zupitza points out, it is probably for _agon_ = agein, which is also found as age, aȝe. Stratmann-Bradley translates #wiþer-blench#, attack, quoting this place only: more probably it means sly, treacherous attack.

14. #ryueþ#, rakes: Icel. rifja, to rake hay into rows: ‘Ryvyn, or rakyn,’ Prompt. Parvul. ed. Mayhew, col. 386. #on o streng#: so B, but C in one strench, which would represent OE. #strenc#, a by-form of #streng#, recorded in _Funiculus, modicum funus_, rap _uel_ strenc, Wright, Vocabularies 245/6, just as drench, wrench represent #drenc#, #wrenc#. If that be the case here, then C agrees with BJ, save in the preposition _in_. For Death armed with a rake comp. ‘Hwen he com to arudden | of deaðes rake oðre, | hwi deide he him seoluen?’ SK 1137: Satan is often so represented, ‘Þer is sathanas þe qued · | redi wyþ his rake,’ OEM 181/213; SM 11/11; SK, MS. C 917. Death sweeps in his victims with his rope; ‘Ded has vs wit-sett vr strete, | · | All sal we rin into his rape,’ CM 23727; ‘Ded sal rug us til his rape,’ CM 21920; ‘Deþ shal take vs al in rape,’ id. MS. T. The conception then is that of Death sweeping in all sorts and conditions with the same rope. It is just possible that the reading of C, strench, is meant for strech, i.e. stretch, the word still used in Dorsetshire for ‘the space taken in at one stretch of the rake,’ EDD. v. 813. Streche is not common at this period, but comp. 42/231; ‘on his modes streche,’ OEH i. 111/25, in the sweep, or compass, of his mind.

15. #fox#, _adj._: comp. 187/351; ‘fox of fyl’ (_read_ wil), Horst., S.A.L. 12/251; Orm 230/6646: for #wrench#, comp. ‘Alse þe fox þe mid his wrenches walt oðer deor[;] ⁊ haueð his wille þerof,’ OEH ii. 195/7.

16. B has, ne mai him noma{n} to yenes.

17. #þreting#, menace, or possibly upbraiding: B has weping. The nouns #þreting#, #bene#, #Mede#, &c., are subjects of may, l. 16.

18. #Mede#, bribery: B reads, ne listes ne leches drench.

21. Possibly a reference to the advice given at 27/288.

23. Do as He who bringeth thee to thy end taught thee and said. Comp. 27/282-286.

25. #mysdo#, misfare. B leaves out #þenne# and the whole of the following line, which means, But thou hast good reason to live in fear and trembling. ‘A peyne joie avra un sul jur | Ke de sa fyn bien pensera,’ MS. Lambeth 522, Archiv lxiii. 76/23.

27. #such#, such and such a man, indefinitely.

29. #luteþ#, lurkeþ. Comp. ‘Ja n’ert tant prus ne tant vaillanz, | Ne tant de richesces en avra, | Ke tuit nel perde a un launz: | Kar mort tapit enmi sun gaunt, | Kant meyns quide | Chescun,’ Archiv lxiii. 76/33; ‘within the hollow crown | That rounds the mortal temples of a king | Keeps Death his court,’ Shakspere, K. Richard II, iii. ii. 160. The reading of B, ‘deþ him ledes on his sóó,’ apparently means, death on his shoes (OE. #scōum#) directs his footsteps.

33. #fule fulþe#: comp. 134/94. ‘Cum faex, cum limus, cum res vilissima simus, | Unde superbimus? Ad terram terra redimus,’ Hauréau, Notices, vi. 124.

37. Comp. ‘Quor deades strenge warp him dun,’ GE 21/714.

38. Comp. 21/110; ‘Quen þu best wenis to haf all, | Fra al þan sal þou titest fall,’ CM 21939; ‘þenne þu wenest ꝥ þu scalt libben alre best · þenne gest þu forð,’ OEH i. 7/23; ‘quant mielz quidet vivre | e estre a delivre, | la mort li cort sore,’ Reimpredigt 32/16.

41. Comp. ‘Wela · weolla · wella[;] hu þu biswikest monine mon. | þenne he þe treoweðe alre best on[;] þenne biswikes tu heom,’ L 3411.

45, 6. Evidently a popular saying, so ‘Mon let þi fol lust ouergo · and eft hit þe likeþ,’ Poema Morale MS. J. 15 an interpolated line; ‘auh let lust ouergon ⁊ hit te wule liken,’ AR 118/26; ‘Let lust ouergon ⁊ hit þe wule liken,’ id. 238/27; Hendyng 53. For #likeþ# comp. 30/11, and for #ouergo#, pass by, 22/143.

_Errata_

#Manuscript:# ... (B) MS. Laud 471 [_printed as shown: error for “Laud Misc.”?_] #Editions:# Of CJ; Morris, R., OEM [R. OEM] As a rule ... Món may | lónge | lýues | wéne [lyúes] 4. #makeþ#: hit makeð, C; the subject is weder, _neut._ [_neut_]

VIII. POEMA MORALE

#Manuscripts:# i. Lambeth 487 (L), a small quarto, 177 × 135 mm., of 67 leaves, written towards the end of the twelfth century. Its contents are described in Wanley, p. 266, and printed in OEH i. pp. 2-189: nos. x, xi. of this book are also taken from it. The words printed in clarendon in these three pieces are written in red, not inserted afterwards by a rubricator but done at the same time as the rest of the text. The PM ends with fordemet, l. 270, in the middle of a page; the final t has a flourish for its cross stroke; the copyist had apparently no knowledge of any more.

ii. iii. Egerton 613, B.M., described in the List of Additions, 1843. Its contents are mostly in Norman French, but it has two copies of the PM: the second (e) furnishes here a complement to the Lambeth MS. as far as l. 370, with which it ends; the first (E) is used to complete the text. e was written in the first quarter of the thirteenth century, E is somewhat later; the former has accents, the latter none. In e every other line has a red initial, but the rubricator went wrong at ll. 308, 312. These copies are in different hands.

iv. Trinity College, Cambridge, B. 14. 52 (T), on vellum, 135 × 105 mm.; written early in the thirteenth century. Its contents are described in James, M. R., The Western Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, 1900, i. 459. A leaf is lost after f. 8, and a new hand begins with f 9; the PM appears to be a distinct MS. (Anglia, iv. 408). The initials of each line are capitals and written apart from their words. A later hand has glossed aihte 42, goodes; ore 53, favour, grace; lean 64, deserving; manke 70, Manca, Mancus.

Other MSS. are v. Digby A 4, Bodleian D, of the beginning of the thirteenth century; described in Macray, W. D., Catalogue of the Digby MSS., Oxford, 1883. The PM is written in half lines and stanzas; it is in a hand found nowhere else in the MS., which was probably copied at Christ Church, Canterbury (James, M. R., The Ancient Libraries of Canterbury and Dover, Cambridge, 1903; Förster, M., Archiv cxv. 167). Its dialect is Kentish. vi. Jesus College, Oxford, E 29 (J): see p. 285. vii. McClean MS. 123 (M), Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 122 leaves on vellum, 262 × 167 mm.: about 1300: the Nuneaton Book, described by Miss Anna C. Paues, who discovered this copy of the poem, in Anglia xxx. 217-26, and in A Descriptive Catalogue of the McClean Collection of Manuscripts by M. R. James, Cambridge, 1912. Like Egerton 613 it has the Bestiary of William the Norman and the Gospel of Nicodemus in French. The dialect of PM is South-Eastern, bordering on Kent. It begins with two lines from Sinners Beware (OEM p. 72), and has four other lines not found in any other copy: on the other hand, it wants seventy lines found in T; it diverges from the other MSS. in the order of the lines, and in other respects gives the impression of having been written down from memory.

#Facsimile:# Of vi. Skeat, W. W., Twelve Facsimiles, Oxford, 1892; plate vi gives ll. 1-34.

#Editions:# Of L: OEH i. 159-75 with modern version. Kluge, F., ME. Lesebuch, 57-61. Of E: Furnivall, F. J., Early English Poems. Philological Society, 1862, 22-34, with readings of e and OEH i. 288-95, 175-83. Of e: Zupitza-Schipper, Alt- und Mittelenglisches Übungsbuch, Wien, 1907, 80-91, completed from E. Of T: OEH ii. 220-32 and Specimens 195-221. Of J: OEM 58-71 and Specimens 194-220. Of D: Zupitza, J., Anglia i. 6-32, part in Hickes i. 222. Of M: Paues, A. C., Anglia xxx. 227-37 (I read l. 29, hire; 63 þon; 65 na{m}more; 71 ouersicþ; 84 þurȝsicþ; 105 diaþe; 147 þar pine; 152 ysicþ; 191 ofspreng; 223 hi neure; 236 Mot; 268 wulle; 314 hī = hi{m}; 333 ḅyseo = yseo).

A critical edition based on all the MSS. then known was issued by H. Lewin, Halle, 1881. He adopted Zupitza’s filiation of the MSS. as expressed in the following table:

+------------- L +--- X ---+ | | +--- E +--- Y ---+ +--- W ---+ | | +--- e | | U ---+ +----------------------- J | | +----------------------- T +--- Z ---+ +----------------------- D

Miss Paues thinks that M is descended from V co-equal with U, thus displacing the latter from its position of original: to me it seems to belong to the Z group, and to be most nearly related to D.

The MSS. thus fall into two groups, which are here adequately represented by the printed texts, for D is inferior and J much altered, indeed often rewritten. U, the original, was probably written about 1180 A.D.

#Literature:# Einenkel, E., Anglia iv. Anz. 88-93; Jordan, R., ES xlii. 38-42 (dialect of L); Krüger, A., Sprache und Dialekt der ME. Homilien in der Handschrift B. 14. 52. Trinity College, Cambridge, Erlangen, 1885; Paues, A. C., Anglia xxx. 217-37; Zupitza, J., Anglia i. 5-38; iii. 32, 33; iv. 406-10.

#Analogues:# Reimpredigt, ed. H. Suchier, Halle, 1879; Le Sermon de Guischart de Beauliu, ed. A. Gabrielson, Upsala, 1909; Guischart de Beauliu’s debt to religious learning and literature in England, by A. Gabrielson, Archiv cxxviii. 309-28.

#Phonology:# (1) =of the Lambeth MS.= Oral #a# is _a_, baþien 245, faren 176; #a# before nasals is normally _o_, mon 22, þonc 71, but _a_ in manke 70, þanke 241, and þenne, þene, þen, wenne are the usual spellings, with occasional þanne 18, 160; #a# before lengthening groups is _o_, honde 81, ifonded 147; ent 159 is Anglian #end#. #æ# is mostly _e_, brec 183, et 92, feder 148, efþ 171 (#hæfð#), hwet 92 &c., weter 248, but _a_ in bað 218, fader 186, 195, habbe 3, 5, hwat 90, water 142, 194, 240. #e# is _e_, beren 95, ende 179, strengþe 168, but sullic 181 (#syllic#; comp. seollic L 18035), ni 77, meind 142 (#mengde#). #i# is _i_, biden 125, binden 216, child 148; after #w# it is _u_ in wule 34, 39, 155, wulleð 97, 226, uuel 123 (= nule), nute 236, nusten 102, 225. It is _e_ in þerdde 138, _u_ in ofsprung 207; boð 120 is miswritten for bið. #o# is _o_, bifore 16, borde 260, but after #w#, _a_, walde 49, nalde 185, 261; cumen 202 is #c(w)omon#. The prep. #on# is mostly a, sometimes an; #u# is _u_, cumeð 234, funde 68, but come 124, 221, iwoned 57 in contact with #m#, #n#, #w#. #y# is mostly _u_, abuȝeð 195, cunne 202, duden 265, sunne 201, swuch 80, þunchen 62; before lengthening groups, sungede 258, but _i_ in afirst 37, hwice 136, lifte 83, ofþinchþ 130 (5), swich 80 (3), and _e_ in dede 2, vnnet 5: king 50, drihten 80, drihte 110 are the only forms of these words.

#ā# is normally _a_, an 26, are 179, hwam 202, þa 190; before consonant groups, are 207, hattre 247, but it is _o_ in hom 95, hwon 105, þo 53, wori 142, _e_ through loss of stress in se 80 &c., þe 169. #ǣ{1}# is _e_, eni 53, er 11, þen 71, ech 32, efre 68, ledden 209, but _a_ in anige 269, þan 74: uches 90 descends from ylc. #ǣ{2}# is always _e_, adrede 6, brede 143, lende 122, uniselðe 198. #ē# is always _e_; #ī#, _i_; #ō#, _o_, but _e_ in te 108: na 134 is Anglian #nā#. #ū# is always _u_. #ȳ# is normally _u_, cudde 191, fur 76, hud 77, lutel 46, but litel 28, hwi 104.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is regularly _e_, erȝe 17, þerf 43; before lengthening groups, erninge 64, herde 157, 169, wernin 228, but arme 227, warni 226: the _i_-umlaut is represented by derne 78, smirte 114. #ea# before #l# + cons. is once _ea_, bifealt 7; normally _a_ (Anglian absence of breaking), al 7 &c., salt 248, ald 4, -fald 54, 247, waldeð 84, but welde 2, welden 55 (by confusion with #gewieldan#): the _i_-umlaut is seen in elde 14, 15, eldre 192, helde 197, but alder 1. #eo# before #r# + cons. is mostly _e_, herte 74, werke 27 (9), but horte 113; before length. groups it is _o_ in ȝorne 49, horþe 75, orðe 81, orðliche 153. The #wur# group is represented by wurð 140; the _i_-umlaut by wurs 236, wurst 217, 219: bernd 249, berninde 218, bernunde 245 come from #bærnan#. #eo# before #l# + cons. is written _o_ [ö], solf 12 (13), but _u_ in sulf 214 (LWS. #sylf#). #ea#, _u_-umlaut of #a# is represented by kare 45. #eo#, _u_-umlaut of #e# is _o_, houene 25 (7), world 153, 222, but _e_ in heuenriche 42, 63, and by influence of #w#, _u_ in suster 148, 185: #eo#, _å_-umlaut of #e# is written _o_ [ö], brokeð 91, fole 9 (4), unfrome 226, but is _e_ in fele 70, 166, wele 222. #eo#, umlaut of #i# is written _o_ [ö], binoþen 87, hore 101, solure 264, souene 26, soððen 9, 117, but is _e_ in biclepie 107, iclepede 104, seue 140; _u_ in suððen 205, hure 141. The palatal diphthong #ea# is _a_ in scal 24, 35, schal 19, -gate 180; _e_ in scefte 84, ȝere 110; #sceamian# is skamie 163, 165, #sceomu#, scome 166. #ie# after #g# is regularly _e_ (Anglian), ȝeuen 64, 261, ȝefð 144, ȝeue 45, 74, ȝelde 45, forȝeten 34, 98, but _i_ in giue 56; after #č#, _e_, chele 197, 233 (without umlaut); after #sc#, _i_, scilde 220. #eo# after #g# is _u_ in ȝung 4, 10; after #sc#, _u_, sculen 20 (8), sculde 118, 263, sculden 60, 265, but _o_ once in solde 51. #eom# is em 1, 4, #heom#, hom 18 &c.

#ēa# is _ea_ in deaþe 182, uneade 181, otherwise _e_, brede 189, chep 68, deðe 115, uneðe 189: lan 64 is Scandinavian. The _i_-umlaut is _e_, alesed 134, iheren 262, ileuen 255. #ēo# is _eo_ in beoð 17, beo 29, freonde 220, seon 16, otherwise regularly _o_, bon 2 (5), bo 134 (10), boð 26 &c., dore 143, doule 97 (5), frond 30 (4), son 158, þoue 43, but _e_ in lef 252, sec 199, tening 253: bið 233 is due to confusion with the singular. The _i_-umlaut is represented by dore 144, 184, fond 219, frond 220, node 261, þostre 78, but once þestre 76. #gīet# is ȝet 5; #gēar#, ȝer 140. #ō# after #sc# is seen in scop 84.

#a# + #g# is _aȝ_, draȝen 47, 49, laȝe 170: _ah_ 14, 119, ach 58 is Anglian #ah#. #æ# + #g# is _ei_, dei 134, mei 14, seið 114, 133. #e# + #g# is _eȝ_ in weȝes 72, _ei_ in eie 18, weien 63: #ongegn# is aȝein 76; #e# + #h# is seen in hechte 268; #i# + #h# in iwichte 212; #o# + #g# in unwron 160 (#unwrogen#); #o# + #h# in bohte 184, unbocht 59; #u# + #g# in fuȝeles 83, luȝen 159, muȝe 21, wruȝen 160; #y# + #g# in abuh 144 (#abygþ#). #ā# + #g# produces _aȝ_, aȝen 30 (5), maȝe 29, but ahen 161: #ā# + #h# is seen in ahte 2, achten 129. #ǣ{1}# + #g# is _ei_ in eiðer 62, seiden 223; #ǣ{1}# + #h#, _eh_ in ehte 259, echte 42 (3), but _ach_ in tachte 268. #ǣ{2}# + #g# gives _eȝ_ in iseȝen 98, 102, but _ei_ in mei 29, 185. #ē# + #g# is seen in forwreien 97; #ō# + #g# in inoch 235; #ō# + #h# in biþocht 8, brochte 183: uwer 88 is #ōwer# < #ōhwǣr#, comp. ouhwar AR 60/25. #ea# + #h# gives mihte 13, michte 16, 52, mahte 222, isech 261; the _i_-umlaut is represented in nihte 78: #eo# + #h#, brichte 75, rihte 109; its _i_-umlaut is represented in ouersich 75, þurþsicheþ 90. #ēa# + #g# is _eȝ_ in eȝen 75; #ēa# + #h# gives þah 4, þach 102, 222, þech 181; #ēo# + #h#, lihte 76, lihtliche 145. #ā# + #w# is _au_ in cnauð 146, knauð 110, saule 136, 245, naut 48, 212; _aw_ in nawiht 150, 249 (but noht 190, nocht 132 are from #nōwiht#); _auw_ in iknauwen 161; otherwise _aw_, blaweð 136, mawen 20. #ēa# + #w# is _aw_ in scaweð 135. #ēo# + #w# is _ou_ in ou 50; _ow_ in ow 228, rowen 19, sowen 20, _eow_ in eow 25: its _i_-umlaut is represented in untrownesse 265.

In syllables without stress #a# is levelled to _e_, abuten 267, bihinden, binoþen 87, biforen 25, sone 38, but biforan 63; #o# to _e_, atter 142, siker 41, swikele 251. _e_ is added in areles 216 (#ārlēas#), ofte 57. The prefix #ge# is _i_, ilome 47, iswinc 36, itit 125.

For #sw#, _su_ is written once in suilch 120; _qu_ is the regular equivalent of #cw#, iquemen 95, quike 79. An #l# is lost in ful 6, 145, fulenden 243: _gg_ is written for #ng# in biginnigge 119. Initial #f# is once _u_ in uersc 248: #f# between vowels or vowel and voiced consonant is generally _u_, buuen 87, eure 86, iuere 229, solure 264, uuel 251, but _f_ in ufel 59, 93, ufele 17, ifere 102; frure 232 is probably #frōfre#. In heste 242 _t_ is added, but hese 91: #ts# is _c_ in milce 72. #d# is lost in leden 93 and added in ordlinghes 103: _t_ is written for #d# in ent 159, fordemet 270, idemet 106, 171, maket 230, undret 208, 247. #þ# is lost in abuh 144, ouersich 75; written for #d# in hefð 147; for it _th_ is written in with 216, _t_ in etlete 148, 153, 257, hauet 65, ofþinchet 10, seit 133, þunchet 233, _d_ in cud 159 (but kuðe 9), uneade 181, _h_ in þench 33, wih 220, _c_ in eclete 74: it is assimilated in attere 127, at ta 156. #sc# [š] is _sc_ in scal 24, scameþ 165, scilde 220, _sch_ in schal 19, _s_ in bisunien 152, _ss_ in fisses 83 and notably _sk_ in skamie 163. #č# is generally _ch_, chele 197, child 3, ich 1, but drunke 258, smike 16; #c# [k] is palatalized in hech 232, werch 108, 116, werche 254, but werc 177; it is _g_ in þingþ 5; ah 14, 119, 120, ach 58, 166, hi 221 (= ih) have Anglian #h#: #čč# is _ch_, feche 222, reche 221, rechð 133, streche 231, stuche 189, wreche 232: #cg# is _gg_, seggen 94, buggen 65, but abuȝeð 195. Palatal #g# is very regularly represented by _ȝ_, forȝeten 34, ȝeue 74, ȝere 110, but _i_ in medierne 256 (#georne#), _h_ in ahen 161 and _g_ in anige 269: gate 180 is plural: #ng# is _ngh_ in ordlinghes 103, _ngg_ in eueningges 162: #g# is lost in murþe 154. The prefix #ge# is lost in bon 137, hud 77, meind 142, write 101. _h_ has been added initially in hech 232, helche 89, his 72, 121, 229, honde 193, dropped in is 217, raþer 131, undret 208, 247: _þ_ displaces #h# in þurþ 90. For #hw#, _w_ appears in wa 114, wet 79, 94, _h_ in hom 95. _ch_ for #h# is frequent, achten 129, brochte 183, brichte 75, hechte 268, isech 261, ouersich 75, þurþsicheþ 90, &c. In soht 30, _ht_ is written for #tt#.

(2) =of the Trinity College MS.= Oral #a# is _a_, fare 180, habben 39; #a# before nasals regularly _a_, man 20, þanc 245, þanne, þane, þan are the usual forms, but þene 343; #a# before lengthening groups is _o_, fonded 149, longe 3, but hangeð 312. #æ# is regularly _a_, after 28, almesse 28, brac 185, fader 150, water 244, but sæd 392, hweðer 240. #e# is _e_, bed 222, beren 95; before lengthening groups, bende 398, felde 348, imengd 144, strengðe 317, but ængles 94, angles 284, 355, 380. #i# is _i_, þridde 140, child 3, finde 54, but _e_ after #w# in nele 336, nelle 291, nesten 229, 388, also in ofspreng 211, þese 312, þesse 328, 383, þesses 338 (#ðyssum#, #ðysses#), _u_ after #w# in swunche 208, 373, as also in ofsprung 198. #o# is _o_, bode 264, borde 311, but #on# prep. is most frequently a, an. #sorg# is soreȝe 142 (4), but sareȝe 378. #u# is invariably _u_, bigunne 218, grunde 180. #y# is _e_ in deden 269, 270, euel 26 (11), hlesten 230, 387, kenne 206 (4), senne 129 (7), senden 290 (#syndun#), steche 191, vnnet 5, unwenne 212; _u_ in abugeð 197, abuið 146, bugge 65, dude 2, duden 96, fulle 352, furst 37, gulteð 315 (4), gult 197 (4), hulle 351, misduden 101, 194, muchel 76 (8), murie 156, murihðe 396, þunche 62, ofþunche 207 (3), sunegeden 262; _i_ in tihte 272, þincheð 5, 10, 166, swilch 79, 399, hwilch 138, unwinne 250: king, drihten, drihte are the only forms of these words.

#ā# is mostly _o_; the exceptions are aquerne 366, bihat 368, hat 308, hatere 251, hwan 206, lac 203 (loc in corresponding line 73). #ǣ{1}# is mostly _a_, ani 53, are 124, has 91, 349, hate 236, sa 83, sade 131 (LWS. #sǣde#), tache 305, þare 346; before two consonants, ache 235 (4), afre 86, mast 7, unhalðe 16 (4); but _e_ in hete 199, mene 170, ðer 216, and before two consonants arerde 172, ech 23 (8); _æ_ in ænes 185; _ea_ in hease 296. In forgoð 358 a plural form is used for the singular. #ǣ{2}# is mostly _a_, adrade 6, dade 3 (4), lache 306, misdade 132, 166, 275, rade 4, strate 235 (4), before two consonants naddren 277, ofdrad 43, 94, 288, unisalðe 200, 378, wapne 340, but _e_ in mere 393, misdede 209 _r. w._ ofdrade, unsele 201, iselðe 15; _æ_ in læte 345, and _ia_ in þiar 165. #ē# is _e_, beten 242, demde 274, iquemd 174, but _a_ in ache 364 (#ǣce#): doð 35 (8) is plural form for singular. #ī# is _i_, abiden 140, þriste 19, but syrreue 50, ȝietceres 271 (Bülbring, § 306, anm. 1). #ō# is _o_ except in cam 117 (4), te 316. #ū# is invariably _u_. #ȳ# is _e_ in forbet 307, here 45, kedde 193; _u_ in cuðen 99, fure 43, 152, hudden 162, _i_ in litel 46, 264, 331.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is, as a rule, _a_, arme 231, narewe 343, swarte 282, before lengthening groups mostly _a_, hardde 171, warnie 304, but _e_ in erninge 64, metheschele 366; _ea_, _æ_ in middeneard 140, 200, middenærd 195: the _i_-umlaut is represented by erminges 323, derne 77, smierte 114. #ea# before #l# + cons. is regularly _a_, alle 22, biualle 198, before lengthening groups mostly _ea_, bihealde 288, eald 4, but bihelden 392, holde 55: the _i_-umlaut is seen in elde 16 (5), elder 1, 326, elderne 194. #eo# before #r# + cons. is mostly _e_, herte 74 (3), werc 108 (10), but storre 279, hierte 113; before lengthening groups it is _ie_ in ȝierles 324, ȝierne 49, _e_ in erðe 75, erðeliche 155. In the #wur# group _u_ is the rule, wurðe 142, wurðen 334. The _i_-umlaut after #w# gives werse 299, werest 221 (LWS. #wyrsa#, #wyrrest#): barneð 253, barnende 222, descend from #bærnan#; oerre 280 represents #eorre#. #eo# before #l# + cons. is always _e_, self 131 &c. #eo#, _u_-umlaut of #e# is _e_, heuene 27, wereldes 271, but _o_ in woreldes 226, 338; the _å_-umlaut is represented by fele 9 (3), wele 155 (4): #eo#, umlaut of #i# is _e_, icleped 104, henne 400, seðen 9, seuene 28, bineþen 87, but binime 44, ȝieue 74, niþer 347, quike 78, 192, siluer 268, and after #w#, suster 150, 187, wude 348. #ea# after palatals is _a_ in sal 21, 26, safte 84, same 168, samie 165, sameð 167, scat 367. #ie# after #g# is _ie_ in biȝiete 105, 126, ȝielde 45, forȝiete 34 (4), ȝieuen 64 (12), forȝieue 217; after #sc#, #c#, it is _i_, silde 224 (5), _e_ in chele 199, 236, bicherd 322. The conj. #gif# is ȝief 121, 166. #eo# after #g# gives ȝeunge 10, ȝeunger 326, jung 4, ȝieuð 377 (#geogoð#): #eo# after #sc#, solde 37, 267, solden 60, sulle 22, sullen 103. #heom# is hem; #eom#, am.

#ēa# is mostly _ea_, breade 191, deaðe 106 (7), eaðe 210, 288, 376, uneaðe 183, 191, but ec 46, 107, eðlate 74, 150, 261, rauing 257. The _i_-umlaut of #ēa# has regularly _e_, alesed 136, hereð 89, ileuen 49, temen 108, but ȝiemeð 80. #ēo# is mostly _e_, ben 39 (12), biflen 154, deflen 97, lef 73, frend 30, rewen 358, but _ie_ in bien 389, bie 4 (4), biede 266, bieð 291, 315, diere 145, fiendes 223, friende 224, lief 203, 261, hielden 172, 298, isien 18 (5), swiere 146, þieue 43; _i_ in sic 201. The _i_-umlaut is represented in diere 146, 186, fiend _pl. n._ 283, friend _pl. a._ 224, niede 265, þiesternesse 281, but derlinges 389, frend 185, 304, þuster 77. #gesīene# is isene 344; #gīet#, ȝiet 5, 293; #gēar#, ȝier 142: #ō# after #sc# is seen in sop 84.

#a# + #g# is _aw_ in drawen 47, _aȝ_ in laȝe 172, 295. #æ# + #g# is _ai_, dai 370, fair 392, mai 16, 44, but maiȝ 88, 124, 217. #e# + #g# is _ei_, wei 353, eiseliche 285, eie 20, seið 112, 135, but treiȝe 375, weiȝ 341, weiȝen 63: #ongegn# is aȝien 351. #i# + #g# is _ie_, nieðe 342, unwrien 162; final #ig# is _i_, peni 300, weri 244: #i# + #h# is _ih_, sihte 369, wihte 78. #o# + #h# is _oh_, bohte 186. #u# + #g# is _uȝ_, luȝen 161, muȝe 23, 55, muȝen 159, but fueles 83. #y# + #h#, drihte 79, 110 with _i_ as usual, abuið 146, abugeð 197. #ā# + #g#, #h# is _oȝ_, moȝe 187, oȝen 163; _ow_, mowe 29, owen 30; _oh_, foh 365. #ǣ{1}# + #g# is _ei_ in eiðer 62, 239, but aiðer 306, aihware 88: #ǣ{1}# + #h# is _ai_, aihte 42 (5), taihte 272, but eihte 321. #ǣ{2}# + #g# is _æi_ in mæi 29; _ai_ in mai 187, grai 365; _ei_ in iseie 118, iseien 98, 99, 102. #ē# + #g# occurs in forwreien 97, leie 282: #ō# + #g#, #h# in inoh 391, inoȝh 389, biþoht 8, brohte 185. #ea# + #g#, #h# is _ei_, iseih 265; the _i_-umlaut is seen in mihte 15, 52, 202, 226, mihte 76, nihte 77, 370. #eo# + #h# is _ih_ in brihte 75, rihte 109, rihtwisnesse 72, unriht 93; the _i_-umlaut is represented in ouersihð 75, þurhsihð 90. #ēa# + #g# is seen in eien 75, 381, raketeie 283; #ēa# + #h# in heie 16, 284, þeih 4, 102, 131: #ēo# + #g# in drie 292, lie 291; #ēo# + #h# in liht 316, 382, lihtliche 147. #ā# + #w# is _ow_, bloweð 138, cnoweð 110, icnowen 163, nowiht 152, sowle 138, but naht 48, &c., naðer 367. #ī# + #w# is seen in glie 292; #ēa# + #w# in feawe 349; #ēo# + #w# in newe 313, rewen 21, sewen 22, untrewnesse 269: #ēow# is eow 157.

In unstressed syllables levelling to _e_ takes place as in L: _e_ is inserted after #r# between consonants in arefeð 315, harem 198, iboreȝe 167, narewe 343: quica 192, þa 349 have _a_ for #e#; comp. alla 81/76, blaca 82/99.

#r# is lost medially in metheschele 366; #rr# is simplified in werest 221. #n# is lost medially in ore 383, raketeie 283, druken 257, seuenihte 142; #nn# is simplified in done 37, isiene 392. #bb# is simplified in haben 53, 100, habeð 179, 194, libeð 208. #f# between vowels is _u_, buuen 87, eueten 277, deueles 179, but deflen 97, defles 258. #t# is dropped in a te 92, foremes 197, nah 129; #ts# is represented by _c_ in milce 8, by _ch_ in milche 219. #d# is lost in godcunnesse 393, exchanged with _ð_ in idemð 173, and doubled in hardde 171. For #þ#, _d_ is written in habbed 141, 177, bed 104, 381; _th_ in lothe 61, metheschele 366, sathanas 287: #þþ# is simplified in seðen 9, 117, 209. #sc# [š] is _sc_ in scat 367; _s_ in bisunien 154, safte 84, sal 21, same 168, sameð 167, samie 165, senche 335, silde 224 (5), sineð 279, solde 37, sop 84, srud 367, sulle 22, syrreue 50; _ss_ in fisses 83. #gītsere# is ȝietceres 271. #č# is expressed by _ch_, muchel 12 (23), ich 1 (25), but mukel 209, ic 12, 229: #čč# is also _ch_, feche 226, reche 135, 225, steche 191, ?wichen, 103: #cg# is _gg_, seggen 92, _g_, abugeð 197 (but abuið 146), ligeð 283: #cw# is always _qu_, aquerne 366, quike 78. #ġ# is regularly _ȝ_, forȝieuenesse 302, forȝiete 34, but _j_ in jung 4. A _y_ sound has developed initially in ȝierles 324; comp. ȝeie 13/43. #g# before #ð# is _c_ in strencðe 170, _h_ in murihðe 396. For almihtin 337 see 79/17 note. #hw# initial is preserved, but #hr# is _r_, raðer 133, rewen 358.

#Accidence:# (1) =of L.= Strong declension of _masc._ and _neut._ nouns. In the _s. n._ were 31 has added e; sune 186 represents #sunu#. _Gen._ -es, swinkes 64; golde 70 is probably miswritten for goldes: _d._ -e, gode 73, middenerde 193, fure 43, werke 27; exceptions are festen 145, god 49, hunger 145 (#hungre#), king 63 (r. w. erninge), middenerd 198, unriht 209, mostly before vowels, fur 150, werch 116, at mid pause of the verse: misse 234, _acc._ has added e. The _pl. n. a._ of masculines ends in -es, engles 94, weȝes 72, bendes 188, but wintre 208 (#wintru#): neuters are -ȝer 140, iswinc 36, lif 246, þing 84, word 9, 158, doule 97 (#dēoflu#), gate 180 (#gatu#), werkes 63, 72, 111 with masc. termination; _g._ manke 70; _d._ doulen 269, wrenchen 251, bende 134, wintre 1, 4, write 101. Of the _fem._ nouns, blisse 233, endinge 120, mihte 211, milce 72, murþe 154, rihtwisnesse 72, sorȝe 140, 194, sunne 201, tilþe 57, unhelðe 197, witnesse 113, 116, wombe 145 have added e in the _s. nom._, echte 42, 55, ehte 259, node 261 in the _acc._ The other cases _sing._ and _pl._ end in e, helle 216, _s. g._, are 179, _s. d._, 53, _s. a._, but tening 253; _pl. n._ are blisse 153, glede 218, mihte 77, saule 136, uniselðe 198, wihte 79; _g._ misdede 130, souenihte 140, _a._ dede 10, hese 91, saule 245, scefte 84, sorȝe 166, stunde 147, sunne 238, tide 137: worldes 222 _s. g._ is a masc. form, deden 89 _pl. a._ a weak form. In the weak declension the termination of all cases in the singular is e; _n._ mone 76; _g._ houene 65; _d._ deme 96, wawe 151; _a._ grome 166, swore 144: _plural n._ are reuen 256, swicen 103, eȝen 75, ifere 102, iuere 229. The minor declensions are represented by mon _s. n._ 22 &c., monnes _s. g._ 30, monne _s. d._ 117, but mon 201, 259, men _pl. n._ 41, monne _pl. g._ 161, _pl. d._ 18, but men 18; boke _s. d._ 118, (a) boken _pl. d._ 224 (#on bōcum#); feder _s. n._ 148, fader _s. g._ 195, _s. a._ 186; broðer _s. n._ 148, _s. a._ 185; suster _s. n._ 148, 185; frond _s. n._ 30, freonde _pl. d._ 220, frond _pl. a._ 183, 219, 220, fond 219.

With the exception of the weak forms laþe 268, betere 26, 142, hattre 247, loure 29, 263, mare 2, 18, wunderlukeste 68, the adjective in the _s. n._ is uninflected: alder 1 is #ieldra#. The _s. d._ regularly terminates in e, except uuel 24. The _s. a._ is mostly uninflected, as wurst 217, but endelese 141, herdne 169, lesse 60, muchele 191, 205. The participial #āgen# is unvaried, aȝen 30, 108, 113, 116, 261, once ahen 161. The _pl. n._ ends in e, arme 227, erȝe 17, herde 169, orðliche 153, but words in #-ig#, gredi 264, edi 227, weri 240 and idel 9, lut 104 (#lȳt# indeclinable), ofdred 94 are uninflected: _pl. d._ are fulle, gode 219, uuel 251; _pl. a._ with e, bare 137, ȝunge 10, sare 36, uuele 170, wreche 170, 250. OE. #āna# is ane 86, 110, 213: #ān# is an _s. n. f._ 26, are _d. f._ 205, 207, enne _a. m._ 137; #nān# is na _n._ 22, 80, 181, nan 59, nane _d. neut._ 236, nenne _a. m._ 119, nane _a. f._ 235; naþing _a. neut._ 98. Adjectives are used extensively as nouns, _s. n._ sullic 181, ufel 59, uersc 248; _s. a._ beste 51, litel 28, lutel 46, lesse 71, lest 112, mare 2, 54, mest 7 (4), muchel 28. In the _s. d._ and throughout the _pl._ the termination is regularly e, _s. d._ gode 21, 61, laðe 61, ufele 17; _pl. n._ eldre 192, fremede 34, laðe, loue 44, sibbe 34, unholde 36, _pl. a._ dede, quike 190, uuele 192.

The personal pronouns are ich, hi 221 (= ih), i in ilede 5, me, we, us, þu, þe, ȝe, eow 25, ou 50, ow 155, 228. The pronoun of the third person is _s. n._ he _m._ 21, hit _neut._ 11, _d._ him _m._ 24, 44, _a._ hine _m._ 12, 34, 116, him 110, ha _f._ 215 (Mercian), es (see p. 274) 55, 239, is 144, his 40, 259; hes, hies 56 (= he + es), hit _neut._ 15, 38, _pl. n._ hi 66 (4), ho 19 (11), _d._ him 165, 184, hom 18, 62, 181, hi _a._ 180, hom 182, 184. Reflexives are him _s._ 124, him solue 23 (5), him solf 115; definitives, solf _s._ 46, 129, sulf 214, þe solf 29, him solf 40, 114, 184, hom solf _pl._ 225; possessives, mi 2, þin 29, his 30, 31, 42, is 217, hire 31, vre 57, 247, hore 101, hure 141. The definite article is _s. n._ þe _m._ 39, 68, þe _f._ 74, þa 116, 201, _g._ þes _neut._ 193, _d._ þe _m._ 63, 92, 96, þa 156, (at) ta 156, þere _f._ 233, (at) tere 127, þe 83, þan _neut._ 212, _a._ þe _m._ 232, þe _f._ 13, 261, þat _neut._ 51, _pl. n._ þe 94, þa 103, 136, (ent) ta 103, _a._ þa 190. The article is also frequently used as pronoun antecedent to relatives, þe ðe 69 (5), þa þe 215, þo þe 53, 261, þe þet 55, he who; þa þe 93 (8), þa þi 173, þo þe 61, 96, they who; þa þe 250, þe þe 252, þe ꝥ 263, they to whom; with þa þe 216, with those whom; þen þe 71, to him who; þan þe 225, to those who; ꝥ þe 58, what. Other pronominal uses are of þan 74, of him of whom, þe 169, þa 270, they; þer fore 144, for it. The compound demonstrative is represented by þisse _s. g. f._ 267, þes _pl. n._ 41, þas _pl. a._ 230. The relatives are þe 33 &c., þa 12, 139, 169, þi 173, often meaning he who, they who 12, 19, 23, 253, þet 21 &c., often meaning that which, what: þe 10 is _genitive_, of which, ꝥ 65, 257 _dat._: þen 269 is þe + en. Interrogatives are hwa _s. n._ 133, hwam _d._ 202, hom 95; hwat 244, hwet, wet 79, 103, to hwon 105; hweþer 236, hwilke _s. d. m._ 130, hwice _s. n. f._ 136, correlative suilch _s. n._ 120, swich, swuch 80, swilche _pl. d._ 220: #ilca# is ilke _s. d._ 212. Indefinites are wa se 114; me 48 &c.; sum _s._ 25, summe _pl._ 147; fole 9 (4), fele 70, 166; eiðer 62; oðers _s. g. m._ 30, 263, oðer 257, _s. d. m._ 186, _s. a. neut._ 147, oþre _pl. n._ 166; ech _s. n._ 32 &c., hech 232, ec 171, uches _s. g. m._ 90, elches _s. g. f._ 222, eche _s. d._ 231, ilche _s. d. m._ 86, helche _s. a. f._ 89; eni _s. n. m._ 68, anige _s. d. f._ 269, eni _s. a. neut._ 53; moni _s. n._ 38, monies _s. g._ 36; al _s. n. a._ 81, 54, alle _pl. n. a._ 79, 173, 174, 195, 84, alre _pl. g._ 161, 187.

Five-sixths of the infinitives end in en, showing Anglian influence, the remainder mostly in e, as bode 262 _r. w._ node, ileste 242 _r. w._ unstedefeste, ofþinche 203 _r. w._ swinke; exceptional are wernin 228, warni 226, seon 16, son 158. Dative infinitives are to baþien 245, beten 132, habben 39, swenchen 250, swinden 57, þenchen 252, for . . . cumen 154, for habben 53, for lesen 180, 182; possibly to frure 232, see note. Presents are _s._ 1. adrede, biþenche 6; 3. biswikeð, fulieð 12, þunchet 233, ofþinchet 10, hauet 65, þurþsicheþ 90, and the contracted forms (as numerous as the uncontracted), abuh 144, bernd 249, bet 126, 164, bit 126, iherð 89, itit 125, lest 167, sent 42, 46, ouersich 75, þench 33, wit 84: _pl._ 1. abuȝeð 195, brokeð 91, þenke we 190; 3. fareð 232, þolieð 202, wuneð 136: _subjunctive s._ 1. bidde 134; 2. wende 86; 3. ȝeue 122, giue 56, helpe 156, lipnie 22, 31, rede 8, 156, scilde 220, wite 122, wurð[e] 140: _pl._ 3. ?come 124: imperative _s._ 2. wende 86: _pl._ 2. sendeð 25, vnderstondeð 227. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. _s._ 3. isech 261; _pl._ 1. iseȝen 102; 3. 98: I b. _s._ 1. com 221; 3. binom 259, brec 183, com 117, nom 205; _pl._ 3. comen 139, 202, helen 160, stelen 159: I c. _s._ 3. unbond 188; _pl._ 3. bigunnen 243, swunken 254; _subj. s._ 3. bigunne 214, funde 68: II. _pl._ 3. witen 244, writen 224, wruȝen 160: III. _pl._ 3. luȝen 159: IV. _s._ 3. scop 84: V. _s._ 3. let 260, hechte 268 (weak form); _pl._ 3. biheten 242, holden 170, sowen 20, leten 266. Participles present: I c. berninde 218, bernunde 245: V. wallinde 218; past: I a. biȝeten 105, forȝeten 98, iqueðen 9: I b. bistolen 15, forholen 77, iborene 105: I c. iborȝen 165, _r. w._ sorȝe, ifunde 177, sprunge 173, unforȝolden 59: II. iwriten 118: II, III. unwron 160: III. biloken 81, icorene 104, forlorene 106: IV. forsworene 103. Past of Weak Verbs: _s._ 1. hefde 13, sede 155; 3. biþohte 150, cudde 191, herde 262, likede 11, seide 129, _r. w._ misdede: _pl._ 1. hefden 51, leden 93; 3. ledden 209, luueden 93, iquemde 269: _subj. s._ 3. hefde 137, hefð 147 (miswritten for hefde). Participles past: alesed 134, ibet 132, idemet 106, 171, fordemet 270, igult 27, hud 77, ihud 28, ofdred 43, offerd 157, meind 142, iclepede 104. Minor Groups: wat _pr. s._ 79, 89, 111, nute hi _pr. pl._ 236, wiste 1 _pt. s._ 15, wisten _pt. pl._ 139, nusten 1 _pt. pl._ 102, _pt. pl._ 225; ahte _pt. s._ 2, achten 1 _pt. pl._ 129; kon _pr. s._ 71, cunne _pr. s. subj._ 213, kuðe 1 _pt. s._ 9; þerf _pr. s._ 43, 44, 45, 163; scal _pr. s._ 24, 35, schal 19, sculen 1 _pr. pl._ 47, 95, 161, scule we 92, 95, sculen 2 _pr. pl._ 20, 49, _pr. pl._ 94, sculde _pt. s._ 263, sculden 1 _pt. pl._ 60, solde 51, sculden _pt. pl._ 265, sculde _pt. s. subj._ 118 (the past forms in _u_ are Anglian); mei 1 _pr. s._ 14, mai _pr. s._ 35, 40, 69, mei 65, 88, 124, 145, muȝen 1 _pr. pl._ 157, 206, _pr. pl._ 66, 237 (in form subjunctive), muȝe _pr. s. subj._ 21, 55, 125, muȝen 2 _pr. pl. subj._ 25, _pr. pl. subj._ 19, mahte 1 _pt. s._ (Anglian #mæhte#) 222, mihte 13, michte 16, 1 _pt. pl._ 52, mihten _pt. pl._ 200; mot _pr. s._ 33; bon _inf._ 2 &c., bo 134, em 1 _pr. s._ 1, 4, is _pr. s._ 26, his 72, 121, 229, nis 77, 80, boð _pr. s._ 120 (in form plural), beoð 1 _pr. pl._ 17, boð _pr. pl._ 26, 75 &c., bið 233 (in form singular), bo 1 _pr. s. subj._ 4, _pr. s. subj._ 21 (7), beo 29, bo _pr. pl. subj._ 177, bon 94, wes 1 _pt. s._ 1, _pt. s._ 187, 208, weren _pt. pl._ 102, 230, 251, were _pt. s. subj._ 153, nere 199, ibon _pp._ 3; wule 1 _pr. s._ 155, _pr. s._ 34, 39, wile 55, uuel (miswritten for nule) 123, wulleð _pr. pl._ 97, 226, walde 1 _pt. s._ 14 (Anglian), _pt. s._ 35, _r. w._ unholde 149, wolde 147, nalde 185, 261, nolde 138, walde ȝe 2 _pt. pl._ 49, wolden _pt. pl._ 244, 266, nolden 238; don _inf._ 37, 69, 92, do 185, 186, to done _inf. dat._ 17, 37, deð _pr. s._ 35 &c., doð 53 (plural form), doð 1 _pr. pl._ 58, 60, misdoð 206, doð _pr. pl._ 19, 79, do _pr. s. subj._ 18, 21, 69, 210, dede _pt. s._ 2, misduden 1 _pt. pl._ 99, duden _pt. pl._ 265, misduden 192, dude 96, idon _pp._ 7 &c., fordon 270.

(2) =of T.= Strong declension of _masc._ and _neut._ nouns. In the _s. n._ aquerne 366, were 31 have added e: sune 188 represents #sunu#. _Gen._ -es, godes 313, goldes 70, werkes 64: _d._ -e, ate 262, biede 266, daie 80, 158; exceptions are deað 200, deuel 273, druken 262 (for drunke), fasten 147, 339, god 284, hunger 147 (#hungre#), peni 300, siluer 268 (#seolfre#), þanc 245, þing 320, mostly before a vowel, and fur 152, middenærd 195, peni 67, werc 116 at mid pause of the verse: misse 238 _s. a._ has added e. The _pl. n. a._ of masculines ends in -es, ængles 94, ȝietceres 271, bendes 190, but wintre 212, 356: neuters are folc 217, ȝier 142, iswinc 36, þing 84, word 9, 160, ibede 301 (#gebedu#), werkes 63 (4) (with masc. termination), deflen 97, a weak form: _g._ angles 355, 380, manke 70: _d._ dichen 41, ibeden 339, wallen 41, wrenchen 255, bende 136, 293, 398, wapne 340, winter 4, worde 312, write 101, angles 284, derlinges 389, erminges 323, gultes 318, werkes 258, wines 223. Of the strong feminines blisse 237, 380, este 363, idelnesse 7, mihte 76, 215, milce 72, reste 364, 373, rihtwisnesse 72, senne 129, 196, 205, sihte 369, soreȝe 142, 196, 378, strate 345, tilðe 57, þiesternesse 281, unhalðe 327, unisalðe 378, witnesse 113, 116, wombe 147, have added e in the _s. n._, aihte 42, 55, 263, niede 265 in the _s. a._ The other cases _sing._ and _pl._ end in e, _s. g._ blisse 357, helle 220, sowle 306; _d._ bote 318, dade 3, dure 124; _a._ milche 219, murihðe 396; _pl. n._ glede 222, unhalðe 199, wihte 78; _g._ blisse 355, misdade 132, 275, seuenihte 142; _d._ aihte 271, 321; _a._ dade 10, 89, 160, laȝe 172, soreȝe 168. Exceptions are woreldes 226 (4) _s.g._, sa 83 _s. d._, has 91 _s. a._, rauing 257; wihten 285 _pl. n._, honden 81 _pl. d._, luues 314 _pl. a._, tiden 139. Nouns of the weak declension have e in all cases of the singular; _n._ moȝe 187, almesse 28; _g._ lichame 306; _d._ deme 96, herte 309; _a._ grame 168, swiere 146: _pl. n._ are eien 75, 381, eueten 277, iferen 102, 233, 297; _a._ swiken 278. The minor declensions are represented by man _s. n._ 165, noman 24, mannes _s. g._ 30, 90, 113, manne _s. d._ 117, man 20, maniman 205, men _pl. n._ 162, 260, manne _pl. g._ 163, 380, _pl. d._ 342, men 263, 354; boc _s. d._ 118, 228; broðer _s. n._ 150, _s. a._ 187; fader _s. n._ 150, faderes _s. g._ 197, fader _s. a._ 188; suster _s. n._ 150, 187; frend _s. n._ 30, friende _pl. d._ 224, frend _pl. a._ 185, 304, friend 224; fiend _pl. n._ 283, fiendes _pl. d._ 223, _r. w._ friende.

Remnants of the strong declension of adjectives are wreches _s. g. m._ 338 (with woreldes _f._), ealde[s] 195, euele _s. d. m._ 335, godelease 348, wrongwise 48, bare _s. d. f._ 211, stronge 283, gode _s. d. neut._ 73, unstedefaste 320, wilde 145, hardne _s. a. m._ 171, endelease 143, possibly _dat._, muchele _s. a. f._ 396. Weak are ealde _s. n. m._ 287, loðe 272, 287, narewe 349, swarte 282, brode _s. n. f._ 345, murie 156, bare _s. d. m._ 348, heuenliche 96, muchele 92, muchele _s. d. f._ 156, narewe _s. a. m._ 343, brode _s. a. neut._ 341, the comparatives and superlatives as betre 28, wunderlukeste 68, except elder 1 (#ieldra#), niðer 299, 347, werest 221. All other adjectives are uninflected in the singular: the termination in all cases of the _pl._ is e; arȝe _n._ 19, lichamliche _d._ 398, wreche _a._ 172, but arefeðheald 315, eadi 231, euel 172, 233, gradi 268, idel 9, iwar 334, weri 244 are not inflected. #āgen# is owen 30, oȝen 113, 116, 163, 265 without variation: #āna# gives one _n. s. m._ 86 (7): #ān# is on _n. s. m._ 67, _f._ 28, one _s. d. m._ 348, on 335, ore _s. d. f._ 383, one 209, 211, one _s. d. neut._ 384, on _s. a. f._ 139, #nān#, none _n. s. m._ 367, non 110, no 37, 50, non _s. n. f._ 289, nones _s. g. neut._ 372, none _s. d. neut._ 240, _s. a. f._ 239: #ilca#, ilke _s. d. neut._ 216. Of the numerals twam 312 is _dat._ Adjectives are freely used as nouns, _s. n._ foh, grai 365, sellich 183; _s. g._ godes 371, 372; _s. d._ gode 23, lothe 61, juel (#yfle#) 19; _s. a._ emcristen 310, beste 51, lasse 71, mast 112: the _pl._ has e, _n._ fremde 34, elderne 194, heie 164, unholde 36; _a._ deade 192; exceptions are elder 326 (#ieldran#), ȝeunger 326 (#geongran#), quica 192.

The personal pronouns are ich, i in ibie 4, ibiðenche 6, idude 2, ilade 5, ime 6, ine 16, 225, me, we, us, þu, þe, ȝie, eow. The pronoun of the third person is _s. n._ he _m._ 21, hie 114, ?hi 38, hit _neut._ 13; _d._ him _m._ 20, 21, 44; _a._ hine _m._ 110, 116, 385, him 34, him _f._ 129 (_masc._ form), hes 219, 241, his 263, hies 243, hes 40 (= he + es), 55, 56, hit _neut._ 17; _pl. n._ hie 22 &c., hi 382, he 248 (5), _d._ hem 62, 167, 180, 239 &c., _a._ hem 184, 305, hes 102, 186, 288, 314, mes 259 (= me + es). Reflexives are us self 310, him 21, 124, him selfen _s._ 14, 107, 115, him selfe 25, him self 111; definitives, þe self 29, him self 40, 114, 186, self 131, 218, 379, _pl._ hemself 229; possessives, mi 2, mine _pron._ 304, þi 29, his 30 &c., hire 31, ure 57, _pron._ 251, here 101. The definite article is _sing. n._ se _m._ 287, þe 39 &c., þa 349, þe _f._ 116, 205, þet 68 (_neut._ form), _d._ þan _m._ 63, 96, þe 83, 158, te in ate 92, þare _f._ 346, 347, 397, þe 83, 237, (a)te 127, ðer _neut._ 216 (_fem._ form), _a._ þane _m._ 341, 343, 353, þene 343, þe _f._ 265, þat _neut._ 51; _pl. n._ þe 103, _d._ þo 291, 340, 354, _a._ þo 278, þe 192, 278. The article is also frequently used as pronoun antecedent to relatives, as þe þe, he who 25, 66, se þe 53, 55, se þit 112 (= se þe hit), þan þe, to him who 71, þo þe, those who 213, 234, þar þat, of those who 192, þo þe, to those who 229, those to whom 267, 275, those who and those to whom 256, wið þo þe, with those whom 220. Other pronominal uses are of þare, of that other 328 (representing _neut._ noun), þar fore, for it 146, after þan(e) þe, _conj._, according as 362, þo, those 171. The compound demonstrative is þis _s. g. f._ 271, þesses 338 (_masc._ form), þesse _s. d. neut._ 328, 383, þos _pl. n._ 351, 352, ?þes 103, þese _pl. d._ 312, þos _pl. a._ 234, 303, 314; relatives þe 33, 73, in combinations þis 156, 251 (= þe is), þit 112, 141 (= þe hit): þe often means he who 14, 21, 30, se 221; þe, they who 257, þat, that which 22 &c., þe, to whom 296, of which 10. Interrogatives are hwo 135, hwat 78, 103, 137, hwan _d._ after prep. 95, 206, 330, to hwan, why 105, hweðer 240, hwilch 138 with correlative swilch 79, 399; #ilca# is ilke 216: indefinites, hwo se 114; me 48, 63, 342; sume _pl._ 149, 361; fele 9, 70, 212; feawe 349, 354; eiðer 62, 239, aiðer 306; oðer _s. g._ 30, 261, 267, 363, _s. d._ 116, 188, 360, _s. a._ 149, þoðre _pl._ 168 (= þe oðre), oðer 390; elch _s. n. m._ 107, 173, eche 344, ech 23, elch _s. n. f._ 360, aches _s. g. f._ 226, _neut._ 371, eche _s. d. m._ 86, achen 350, ache _s. d. f._ 235, elche _s. a. m._ 132, _f._ 89; ani _s. n. m._ 68, _d. f._ 273, _a. neut._ 53; mani _n. s. m._ 38, _s. g. m._ 36; afric _s. n. m._ 32, africh 65, afri 117; al _s. n. m._ 198, _neut._ 7, alle _s. d. neut._ 307, 340, _pl. n. m._ 22 &c., _f._ 78, alre _g._ 163, 189, 355, alle _d._ 318, 389, _a. m._ 224, _a. f._ 84, 89, _a. neut._ 84.

The infinitives are equally divided between -en, including isien 18, 379, 385, and -e: exceptions are fulendin 247, warnin 230, 232. Those of the second weak conjugation have -ien, -ie, wunien 153, 181, 249, samie 165, wunie 214, 376. A dat. inf. with inflection is to isiene 392, uninflected are to bete 134, to bihelden 392, to falle 316, to habben 39, te læte 345, te stonde 316, to swenche 254, to swinde 57, to þenchen 256, for to haben 53, for . . . to fulle 352, for lesen 182, 184. Presents _s._ 1. adrade 6, bidde 136; 3. barneð 253, bihoteð 38, exceptionally biswicað 14, mislicað 13, haued 70, 340, singed 311, contracted forms, three-sevenths of the total number, abit 130, abuið 146, bet 126, 166, bit 126, 357, itit 125, last 169, lat 129, lat 342, sent 42, wit 84 and others; _pl._ 1. abugeð 197, brekeð 91, findeð 332, wilnieð 319, but ileued 176, þenche we 192; 3. fareð 236, folȝeð 346, but habbed 141, 177: _subjunctive s._ 2. wende 86; 3. bringe 397, cume 156, ȝieue 56 (4), ȝeue 317, helpe 158, hopie 31, rade 158, reche 135, sende 27, silde 224, 303, warnie 304, wurðe 142; _pl._ 1. late 307, 341, luue 309, silde 308, ute 337, werie 339, all followed by we, haben 100, wurðen 334; 3. wende 400: _imperative s._ 2. wende 86; _pl._ 2. understondeð 231. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. _s._ 3. sat 266, iseih 265; _pl._ 1. iseien 98, 99, 102; _subjunctive s._ 3. iseie 118: I b. _s._ 3. brac 185, cam 117 (4), nam 209; _pl._ 1. come 330; 3. binomen 263, comen 206, halen 161, stalen 162, come 141: I c. _s._ 3. swanc 362, unbond 190; _pl._ 3. bigunnen 247, gunne 276, swunken 258; _subj. s._ 3. bigunne 218, funde 68: III. _pl._ 3. luȝen 161: IV. _s._ 3. sop 84: V. _pl._ 3. biheten 246, hielden 172, 298, leten 270, 352, sewen 22, lete 264. Participles present: I c. barnende 222: V. wallinde 222; past: I a. biȝiete 105, forȝieten 98, ispeken 9: I b. bistolen 17, forholen 76, iborene _pl._ 105: I c. iboreȝe 167, ifunde 179, sprunge 175, unforȝolden 59: II. iwrite 117, write 228: II, III. unwrien 162: III. biloken 81, icorene _pl._ 104, forlorene 106: IV. forsworene 103: V. biualle 198. Past of Weak Verbs: _s._ 1. hadde 15, sade 157; 3. bohte 186, kedde 193 (#cȳðde#), likede 13, sade 131, taihte 272; _pl._ 1. ladden 93, luueden 93; 3. arerde 172, hudden 162, ilaste 246, iquemde 273, leide 263, saden 227, sunegeden 262; _subj. s._ 3. hadde 139, 149 (= hadde he); _pl._ 1. swunke we 321. Participles past: alesed 136, ibet 100, 134, bicherd, bikeihte 322, idemd 106, demde 274, ofdrad 43, 288, ofdradde _pl._ 94, ispend 12, teald 120, wuned 57. Minor Groups: witen _inf._ 386, wot _pr. s._ 78, 89, 111, not 148 (= ne wot), witen _pr. pl._ 294, niten 240 (= ne witen), iwiste 1 _pt. s._ 17, wiste _pt. pl._ 141, nesten _pt. pl._ 229, 388 (= ne wisten); oh _pr. s._ 2; cunnen _inf._ 336, can 1 _pr. s._ 306, _pr. s._ 71, cunnen _pr. pl._ 305, cunne _pr. pl. subj._ 217, cuðe 1 _pt. s._ 9; þarf _pr. s._ 43, 45, 165; sal _pr. s._ 21, 26, sullen 1 _pr. pl._ 163, sulen 58, sulle we 92, sullen _pr. pl._ 103, sulle 22, 106, solde _pt. s._ 37, 267, solden 1 _pt. pl._ 47, 60, solde 51, solden _pt. pl._ 269; mai 1 _pr. s._ 16, miht 2 _pr. s._ 129, mai _pr. s._ 35, 44, maiȝ 88, 124, 217, muȝen 1 _pr. pl._ 159, 210, 332, _pr. pl._ 241, 288, 374, muȝe 207, _pr. s. subj._ 23, 55, 125, 338, muȝe we 1 _pr. pl. subj._ 325, mihte 1 _pt. s._ 15, 226, _pt. s._ 202, 1 _pt. pl._ 52; mot _pr. s._ 33, moten 1 _pr. pl. subj._ 317, 400; ben _inf._ 39 (12), bien 389, to be 2, am 1 _pr. s._ 1, is _pr. s._ 7, 72, nis 76, 79, beð 23, 32, 114, 1 _pr. pl._ 19, _pr. pl._ 75, 94, 237, bieð 291, 315, bed 104, 381, senden 290, bie 1 _pr. s. subj._ 4, 136, _pr. s. subj._ 29, 77, be 32, 251, bien _pr. pl. subj._ 80, ben 28, was 1 _pt. s._ 1, _pt. s._ 189, 212, waren 1 _pt. pl._ 100, 333, _pt. pl._ 102, naren 383, ware _pt. s. subj._ 155, nare 201, 1 _pl._ 322, iben _pp._ 3; wille 1 _pr. s._ 227, wulle 157, nelle 291, wile _pr. s._ 39, 55, nele 336, willeð _pr. pl._ 34, 97, 230, nelleð 374, wolde 1 _pt. s._ 16, _pt. s._ 35, nolde 140, 187, 265, wolde ȝie 2 _pt. pl._ 49, wolden _pt. pl._ 248, 270, nolden 247, nolde 242; don _inf._ 37, 69, 270, to done _inf. dat._ 37, to don 19, deð _pr. s._ 21, 221, doð 35 (8), 1 _pr. pl._ 60, _pr. pl._ 61, 78, do _pr. s. subj._ 8, 20, 23, 214, 1 _pr. pl. subj._ 308, dude 1 _pt. s._ 2, duden 1 _pt. pl._ 96, misduden 101, deden _pt. pl._ 269, 270, misduden 194, idon _pp._ 7, ido 304, fordon 274; forgoð _pr. s._ 358, goð _pr. pl._ 351, go we 1 _pr. pl. subj._ 343, 353.

#Dialect:# L is a copy of a Southern original made by a Midland scribe of the Southern border. His alterations, casual and inconsistent, affect mainly the sounds; the inflections are on the whole Southern, but the extensive retention of inflectional #n# is due to the scribe: the pronoun ha 215 and the infinitives warni 226, wernin 228 are Mercian features of the Katherine Group. T is South-Eastern bordering on Kent, with some trace of Midland influence, such as the exclusive representation of #æ# by _a_, the development of #æ# + #g# as _ai_, distinct from that of #e# + #g# as _ei_, the absence of breaking in #ea# before #l# + consonant, the past participles without prefix, the infinitives in -in, features which point to the northern border of the South-Eastern area as its place of origin. In phonology it closely resembles Vices and Virtues. The dialect of #e# is Middle South: its rhymes are mostly correct, and it is probably the best representative of the original. MS. E is assigned by Jordan to the same area, but nearer its northern border.

#Vocabulary:# The foreign element in these texts is small. French are bikehte bikeihte (first appearance), cunin kuning, ermine (f. a.), martres 50/362 (f. a.), sabeline (f. a.), serueden, werre: sōt is pre-Conquest French, soht 30/30, written for sŏtt, a pre-Conquest Latin borrowing: Sathanas with _th_ is French. Scandinavian are bene, efninges eueningges (influenced by #efen#), ille, laȝe loȝe, lofte, niþinges, þralles þrelles, wrange wronge, and possibly fruden frute, lan 32/64: baþe boþe in a Southern text may descend from OE. #bā þā# (Björkman, 108).

#Metre:# The Septenarius is a purely syllabic metre of seven feet, with or without end-rhyme, fashioned on the model of such mediaeval Latin verse as the well-known méum | ést pro|pósit|úm || ín ta|bérna | móri; the first section of the line having four stresses with a masculine and the second three with a feminine ending. The trochaic rhythm of the verse is very often changed into iambic by the addition of a syllable as prelude before either half of the verse: the full scheme is accordingly (x)x́xx́xx́xx́ || (x)x́xx́xx́x̀. This is perfectly exemplified in the Ormulum with its invariable line of fifteen syllables, but in the PM, the earliest known attempt at the metre in English, the influence of the native prosody is strong, and a regular line like Þe Món | þe wúl|e sík|er bón || to háb|ben Gód|es blíssè L 39 is uncommon. The following scansions of L illustrate the deviations from the norm of the verse:

ich ém | nu áld|er þénẹ | ich wés || awín|tre ént | a láre Ich wél|de má|re þénẹ | ich déde || mi wít | áhte | bon máre Wel lóngẹ | ich háb|be chíld | ibón || a wórd|e ént | a déde þáh ich | bó a | wíntre | áld || to ȝúng | ich ém | on réde v́nnet | líf ich | hábbẹ i|léd || ⁊ ȝét | me þíngþ | iléde 5 þénnẹ ich | mé bi|þénche | wél || ful sárẹ | ich mé | adréde mést al | þét ich | hábbẹ i|dón || bífealt | tó child|háde Wel látẹ | ich háb|be mé | biþócht || búte | Gód me nu | réde Fólẹ id|el wórd | ich hábbẹ | iquéðen || sóððen | ich spék|e kúðe fóle | ȝúnge | dédẹ i|dón || þe mé | ofþínch|et núðe 10 Mést al | þét me | líkedẹ | ér || nú hit | mé mis|líkeð þa múch|el fúl|iéð | his wíl || híne | sólf he bi|swíkeð Ich míh|te háb|be bét | idón || héfdẹ ich | þé i|sélþe Nú ich | wáldẹ ah | ích ne | meí || for éldẹ | ⁊ fór | unhélþe Élde | me ís | bistól|en ón || ér ich | hít | wíste 15 ne míchtẹ | ich séon | bifór|e mé || for smí|ke né | for míste Érȝe | we béoð | to dón|e gód || ⁊ to úf|elẹ ál | to þríste Marẹ éi|e stónd|eð mén | of mónne || þánnẹ hom | dó of | críste þe wél | ne dóð | þe hwílẹ (þe) | ho múȝen || wél oft | hít schal | rówen þénnẹ _ho_ | máwen | scúlen ⁊ | répen || þét ho | ér | sówen 20 Dó he | to gód|e þét | he múȝe || þe hwílẹ (ꝥ) | he bó | alíue ne líp|nie ná | món | to múchel || to chíld|e né | to wíue [þé] þe | hím | sólue | forȝét || for wí|ue né | for chílde hé scal | cúmen in | úuel | stúde || bútẹ him | Gód bo | mílde Séndeð | sum gód | bifór|en éow || (þe) hwíle | (ꝥ) ȝe múȝẹn | to hóuẹne 25 for bét|erẹ is án | elmés|se bifórẹn || þénne | bóð efter | sóuẹne Álto | lómẹ ich | hábbẹ i|gúlt || a wérk|e ént | o wórde Ál to | múchẹl ich | hábbẹ i|spént || to lítẹl | ihúd | in hórde Ne béo | þe ló|ure þé|ne þe sólf || ne þín | mei né | þin máȝe Soht is þét | is óð|ers món|nes frónd || bétre | þén his | áȝen 30 for þer wé | hit mích|te fínd|en éft || ⁊ hább|en bút|en énde 52

Elision of e occurs under the usual conditions: pronouns like me 6, 10, 15, þe 23, and nouns of the type of wintre 1, 4 are not subject to it. Instances of hiatus are worde 3, þe 13, werke 27. Syncopation of e occurs in muȝẹn, houẹne 25, biforẹn, souẹne 26, litẹl 28, and probably in muchẹl 28, though it might be regarded as forming part of a trisyllabic verse. The prelude is wanting in the first section, 4, 5, 6, 14, 20, 27, 28; in the second section, 8, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 26, 30; in both, 7, 11, 20, 24. It is doubled in the first section, 30, 52; in the second, 17. The first foot of each section is sometimes a trochee instead of an iamb; so in the first section, 9, 15, 17, 21, 25; in the second, 9. The unstressed element in a foot is sometimes wanting, 15, 20, 22; sometimes it is of two syllables, 8, 12, 24, 26 (three times), 29. Feminine endings before the caesura are not uncommon, 2, 9, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24; but the ending of the line is invariably feminine. A comparison of the manuscripts shows that the author’s practice was more correct than the representation of any of them; thus the unmetrical second section of 25 is in e, þe hwílẹ | he méi | to héuẹne. But it is clear that he used all the licences detailed above.

#Introduction:# The Moral Ode is, to all appearance, an original work, the natural product of an old man’s musings on life with its lost opportunities, death, and judgement. Its manner and spirit, simple, earnest, austere, sententious, are of the Old English cast. The author lived in Hampshire somewhere near the junction of the Stour with the Avon. He was probably a secular priest, for he makes no reference to the life of the cloister and names no saint or holy place. His theological learning was of a commonplace kind and without subtilty. He may have had some skill in medicine. He lived through the Anarchy, and the faithless vassal and the tyrannous noble wallow in his Inferno with the corrupt judge and extortionate official.

Another poem of similar content, the Sermon of Guischart de Beaulieu in Anglo-Norman, was written in England about the same time as the Poema Morale. If the author took his name from Beaulieu in Hampshire, where King John founded a Cistercian Abbey in 1204 A.D. (Dugdale v. 680), he may have written not far from the home of our poet. It abounds in striking parallels to the PM, but the editor of the Sermon thinks the resemblances are not sufficiently close to prove that Guischart used the English poem.

1. #nu#: in LT only. #awintre ⁊ a lare#: a winter and ek on lore J; of wintre ⁊ of lore M. ⁊ = ent; see 38/159.

2. #welde mare#: not in the usual meaning, possess more wealth, as at 21/89, 22/122, 130, 32/55, but either, am more respected, honoured, as at 18/22; ‘for worulde weorðscypes wealdan,’ Thorpe, Laws, ii. 324. 4, or more probably, possess more knowledge; if so, ‘knowledge comes but wisdom lingers.’ Comp. ‘of wisdom wilde,’ OEM 96/94. For #welde# D reads ealdi, M eldi, age, grow old.

3. #child#: comp. ‘Adhuc enim non pueritia in nobis sed, quod est gravius, puerilitas remanet: et hoc quidem peius est quod auctoritatem habemus senum, vitia puerorum,’ Seneca, Ep. iv; ‘To longe ich habbe sot ibeo | Wel sore ich me adrede,’ OEM 160/31. #a worde#, &c.: comp. 30/27: on worde ⁊ on dede D; of wordes & of dede M.

4. #a#: on D; of JM. #on#: at E; á e; of M.

5-8. Comp. ‘Ki se fie en cest secle por fol tenc mult celui | Par mei meimes le sai ne mie par altrui | Folement le menai itant cum ieo i fui | Kar unkes ne fis riens de quanke faire dui | Trop i dui demurer trop tart men apercui,’ Guischart 32-36; ‘vnnut lif to longe ich lede | hwanne ich me biþenche[;] wel sore ich me adrede,’ OEM 192/3, 4.

6. #wel ful#: wel, wel D; ful J; the other MSS. wel, but T alters the first half of the line. #wel# qualifies biþenche.

7. #ꝥ# = þet; see 32/55. #bi fealt# &c. is not original, but an avoidance of the rare word chilce, which is in E e J T; D has chilðe, M chilse. #chilce#, childishness, appears to be formed from child, on the analogy of milce from mild; it occurs here only. L alters l. 8 for the sake of the rhyme; the other MSS. are with T.

8. #bute#, unless; comp. ll. 24, 210, 271.

9. #iqueðen#: ispeken T; ispeke J. Comp. ‘Ifurn ich habbe isuneȝet mid wurken ⁊ midd muðe | ⁊ mid alle mine lime siððe ich sunehi cuðe | ⁊ wel feole sunne ido þe me ofþincheð nuðe,’ OEM 193/29-31.

10. #þe#: so T e, but þat EJM; þet D. OE. #ofþyncan# is impersonal, it takes dative of the person and genitive or, rarely, nominative of the cause; ‘him ðæs slæpes ofþuhte,’ Ælf., Hom. Cath. i. 86/19 is normal. The indeclinable relative þe here and in similar places, as ‘Ne do þu non oðer man þing þe þe wolde ofþunche gief me hit dude þe,’ OEH ii. 179/20, may be doing duty for the genitive (see 46/292 note). But in ME. generally hit is expressed as subject, 52/370, or the cause is nominative, 38/164, 42/203 (notwithstanding the verb in the singular), 145/104, or the subject is actually personal, 46/271; ‘his freonden hit ofþuhten,’ L 197. Þat in the other texts is nominative.

11. Comp. ‘Or me semblet puillent co ke ieo mult amai | Quant del plait me souent enz en mun queor mes mai,’ Guischart 1205, 6. #Mest#: Best J. The scribe should have put the stop after er.

12. Comp. ‘Mult est fous ke fait trop de sa volontez,’ Archiv lxiii. 84/301. After this line J interpolates, Mon let þi fol lust ouer-go · and eft hit þe likeþ; see 29/45.

13. #þe# is possibly miswriting of þen. M has also þe selþe, but e T D þo; E þer; J eny selhþe. The meanings given in the dictionaries for iselþe, luck, good fortune, happiness, do not give a good sense here; if it could mean experience, the sentiment would be like ‘si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait.’ Morris in OEH i. 160/13 translates discretion.

14. #elde# &c.: comp. 20/72; 40/197; 48/323.

15. #wiste#: awuste E; á wyste e; iwiste TD; er þan ich hit wiste JM.

16. #smike#: smeke E; smeche e D; smoke J; smiche M.

17. #al to þriste#, all too bold, ready; comp. 157/127.

18. #stondeð#: B-T quotes under #standan# (of direction) ‘Swa micel ege stod deoflum fram eow,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. i. 64/25, with meaning, came over; similar is ‘Norð-Denum stod atelic egesa,’ Beowulf, 783. In ME. stonden has developed the meaning, exists (comp. Fr. être < stare). For the construction comp. ‘non eige ne stand of louerde,’ OEH ii. 39/20, 139/28; ‘of iwel and dead hem stondeð greim,’ GE 392: #men# here is dative like #hom#. Variations are, ‘þer hem stod eie[;] þer hem ne sholde,’ OEH ii. 73/30; ‘him ne stod æie to naþing,’ L 11694; ‘alle heom stod him æie to,’ id. 27100; ‘wið dead him stood hinke and age,’ GE 432; 62/37; ‘uor elles vuele us stode,’ AR 312/9. For #do#, subjunctive after þanne with comparative, comp. 31/28; ‘he brycð swiðor on ðone suðdæl þonne he do on þone norðdæl; ⁊ sio hæte hæfð genumen þæs suðdæles mare þonne se cyle þæs norðdæles hæbbe,’ Orosius 24/26.

19. See 32/35. #hwile þe#: comp. 32/33, 55: elsewhere L has the more usual hwile ꝥ (always unmetrically), or hwile.

20. #ȝe#: hy E e; hi DM: but J has, Hwenne alle men repen schule · þat heo ear seowe. For #ꝥ# E has þer þe; e, þer; M, her þat.

21. #to gode#, for good; comp. 32/61. #he# (muȝe): hi D; ȝe E e M; ye J: similarly in the case of the following he.

22. #lipnie#, depend on, trust to: hopie E e; leue D; truste M.

24. #bute--milde#: a formula of frequent occurrence; see KH 80 note.

25. D alters, Sende sum god biuoren him | man, ꝥ wile to heuene; the scribe of E copied the end of l. 21, reading, þe wyle ȝe ben aliue, and in the second half of the next line, þanne ben after vyue.

27, 28 are misplaced, the other MSS. have them as in T. With 27 comp. ‘Ifurn ich habbe isunehed mid worke ⁊ mid worde,’ OEM 193/21; and with 28, ‘muchel ich habbe ispened[;] to lite ich habbe an horde. | Hord þat ich telle · is almesse dede,’ id. 193/24, 25; ‘Ne des altres uertuz nule ne reseruai | . . . | Or ai si despendu ke ieo nule nen ai,’ Guischart 1184, 6.

29, 30 are wanting in D. #þe solf#: þi self EJ. With #mei . . . maȝe#, comp. ‘Ne naueþ he mey ne mowe. | þat durre one þrowe. | Bi hym sitte ne stonde,’ OEM 79/208-10, 179/161, 2. With l. 30 comp. ‘Qui mieux aime autri que sei au molin fu mort de sei.’ ‘Videtur enim quod quis alium plus quam se amat qui alios admonitionibus et correctionibus pascit et seipsum non emendat,’ Hauréau, Notices, ii. 281, an application which robs the proverb of its apparent crude selfishness.

31. #lipnie#: lipne J; hopie E e T D; truste M.

32. #ech#: vych J; the others are with T.

33. #to him#: the others have him. #þe mot#: he is to be understood from him in the preceding clause, see 6/18 note. E has þe he mot, D, ꝥ he, M, þat he, the other MSS. he.

34. #fremede . . . sibbe#: a formula, see KH 64 note. A variant is, ‘to freomede ⁊ to kunne,’ OEH ii. 259/30. #wule# is singular; comp. T.

35. Comp. 30/19, 44/238. The proverb is common, as, ‘he ne mei hwon he wule, þe nolde hwule þet he muhte,’ AR 338/19; ‘hit is riht Godes dom, þet hwo ne deð hwon he mei, he ne schal nout hwon he wolde,’ id. 296/22; Hendyng C., stanza 46.

36. The fruits of many a man’s hard toil often pass into the possession of his enemies. Comp. 22/129, 30. From ‘Scrutetur foenerator omnem substantiam eius: et diripiant alieni labores eius,’ Psalm cviii. 11, in the OE. version, ‘Ealle his æhta unholde fynd, rice reðe mann, rycene gedæle; and his feoh onfon fremde handa,’ Thorpe, Psalter, 317/11. #sare iswinc# is plural.

37. #don afirst#, put off: OE. #fyrst#, respite: comp. ‘Vre deð he do in firste ȝet,’ OEH i. 71/294. #slawen#: so e; but sclakien E; slakien J; sleuhþen D; sclakie M. ‘Nolite deficere benefacientes,’ 2 Thess. iii. 13.

40. #he his#: he it E; he hit JD; he e M. #mid iwisse#, of a certainty: OE. #mid gewisse#: ‘mid iwissen,’ 38/139 is #mid gewissum#: ‘iwis,’ 187/349 represents _s. neut._ of #gewiss#: ‘fuliwis,’ 79/17, ‘fullȝewiss,’ 89/20 is the same strengthened by ful: ‘to fuliwis’ 190/445 shows the same treated as though it were a noun: similarly ‘to fuligewis,’ 192/508, a compound of fulli + #gewiss#; Orm has contracted ‘fuliȝwiss.’ From #to wisse#, #mid wisse# come ‘to nafre none wisse,’ 45/240, ‘mid neure nane wisse,’ 44/236. See KH 1209 note.

42-65. Comp. generally 27/274-291.

43 T. After For, þar ne has been omitted by the scribe.

44. #þerf he#, copied by mistake from the preceding line. The MSS. agree substantially with T: e has, þer ne mei hí be nime. #laðe . . . loue#: formal; comp. ‘mid lufe ge mid laþe,’ BH 45/8; ‘litel me is of ower luue, leasse of ower laððe,’ SJ 27/14.

45. #of ȝeve ne of ȝelde#, of bribes to officials and of taxes; things which subtract from his gains on earth. Comp. ‘hem þat desireth | Ȝiftes or ȝeresȝyues · bi cause of here offices,’ Piers Plowman, B. iii. 98, 99; Böddeker, Alteng. Dicht. 104/53; 44/256: Mede was very busy in those days. This is undoubtedly the original reading; J D concur, but E has of wiue ne of childe, similarly e; M of ȝunge ne of ȝelde: #here# in T is hire, usury.

46. For #solf bereð# E has the singular variant, suuel and bred, savoury meat and bread.

47, 48. Not in D. #draȝen ⁊ don#, convey our wealth and deposit it: comp. ‘La devriüm traire | trestot nostre afaire, | nostre estage prendre, | le nostre doner | por nos delivrer, | partir e despendre,’ Reimpredigt 56/110, which is possibly the source of the English; see also 51 note. Otherwise #draȝen# with #þider# would naturally mean, proceed to that place, as in ‘Traez uers cel pais chascon a grant espleit,’ Guischart 1259, but that leaves #don# without meaning. It has the sense of the fuller phrase in l. 42: see NED, #do# I 3. Morris indeed connects don wel which is against the metrical pause as indicated by the point after #don# in E e J: E e moreover read wel oft ⁊ wel ȝelome, and J has hit in l. 48 for naut. For #wel ofte# see 49/329, for wel ilome, 134/97. M reads þider we scolde bere ⁊ draȝe, ofte ⁊ wel ylome, with hit in the next line, as in J. #ofte ⁊ ilome#: OE. #oft and gelōme#; comp. 48/325, 119/78, 127/360; ‘Hi hedden teone and seorewe · ofte and ilome,’ OEM 89/14, 169/22; ON 1545; L 16500.

48. #wrangwise dome#: comp. 44/256. E reads mid wronge ne mid woȝe.

50. #ne reue#: ne se ireue e, the others with T. The ‘reue’ is the sheriff. Comp. ‘Ia nuls hom ki cel (i.e. luer) ad ne se deit esmaer | Kar li nel pot tolir ne prouost ne ueier,’ Guischart 614, 15; ‘Il nen i ad prouost ne nad plaiz ne contez | Sun aueir ni ert pris ne a marche menez,’ id. 375, 6.

51. #hefden#: hedde e; the others have the present. Comp. ‘Tut le mielz ke auum a deu nus deurum traire,’ Guischart 329.

53. #er#, for her, which the other MSS. have.

55. #halden wel#, possess to good purpose, make good use of. M reads wel wile wite.

56. #hies#: his E e; hit J; hi D; he M. #hes#: heo hit E; he his e; he hit J; he hi D; hi M.

58. #doð#: yeueþ J, with T.

62. #Eiðer#, both. Both of them shall hereafter seem both too little and too much; a curious way of saying, He shall think his good deeds too little and his bad deeds too much. The MSS. are in accord. Comp. ‘De tut le plus kat fait est dolens e pensanz | Del bien li semble poi · li mals li semble granz,’ Guischart 30, 31.

63. #weien#: comp. ‘Dunc serrat a chascon tuz ses biens demustrez | Sulum nostre labur dunc serrum mesurez | E les biens e les mals tuz nus serrunt pesez,’ Guischart 442-4.

64. #swinkes lan#: comp. ‘⁊ ta shall ure Laferrd Crist | Att ure lifess ende | Uss ȝifenn ure swinnkess læn | Wiþþ enngless eche blisse,’ Orm 111/3256-9; ‘lure ow is to leosen | ower swinkes lan,’ SK 804; ‘La receura chacon luer de sun labor,’ Guischart 311. #lan#: lyen E; lien e M; lean JTD: see 27/289.

66. #þe (mare)#: þe þe E e M; se ꝥ D. J rewrites, þe riche and þe poure boþe · ah nouht alle ilyche. #muȝen#: mai E; mei e; the others omit as T.

67. #Al se#, just the same: e Eal se, omitting the nominative, like L, but He alse E; þe poure J; Al suo on D; Ase wel þon M. #alse oðer#: se þe oþer E e; alse þe oþer M; swo oþer D; þe riche J.

68. #cheþ#: ware e J D T M; ȝare E, a case of letter substitution.

69. #mid--þonke#: equivalent to ‘of gode wille,’ l. 73: see 10/167 note.

70. #se þe þe#: se þe E e; swo se D; so he M; J omits 69, 70. #manke#: the mancus was ‘not current coin but merely money of account,’ Grueber, Handbook of Coins, introd. p. ix: ‘fif penegas gemacjað ǽnne scylling and þrittig penega ǽnne mancus,’ Ælf. Gram. ed. Zupitza 296/15, 16. The word was in OE. #mancus#, _g._ -es. _m._ its _pl. n._ #mancussas#, _pl. g._ #mancussa#; _s._ mancs, #pl.# mancsas also occur (ES xxxix. 349). The Latin forms were mancusa, mancus, manca, from the last of which may have been derived an OE. *#manc# with _pl. a._ *#mancas# = mancys, Kemble, Codex Dipl. ii. 380, and _pl. g._ *#manca#, the original of manke here. e reads marke. #golde# may mean, in gold; OE. #on golde#, but more probably it is a mistake for goldes as in the other MSS. For #fele# with genitive see 132/9 note.

71. #kon mare þonc#, acknowledges, feels more thankful; like Fr. savoir gré. #þen þe#, to him who: ðan þe E e D; ye þat J; him þat M.

73, 74 T: see 203, 204 T.

74. #ec lete# appears to be a mistake for eðlete, of small account as in the other MSS.; ȝeþlete M: comp. Et lete 38/148, 153. #of þan#, of whom, of him whose; ðenne E e; þer J; þanne D; of him þat M. J rewrites ⁊ lutel he let on muchel wowe · þer þe heorte is ille; wherein ‘wowe’ is explained by Kock (Anglia xxv. 318) as = vowe, votive offering.

76. #houen fur#, probably daylight; possibly lightning or the stars: heuene · ⁊ fur J; dai ⁊ fur E; dei ⁊ fur e; ⁊ alle sterren D; sterre ⁊ fur M. #þestre#: see 123/230. T omits this line and substitutes a new line at 80, not in the other MSS.

79. #þenkeð . . . doþ#: doþ . . . queþeþ M.

80. #swich se#, such as: swilc se E e; comp. ‘þa com þær heofonlic leoht . . . swilc swa hi ær ne gesawon,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 184/262; 76/29. #swilch# in T, with which the other MSS. agree, = such as; comp. 36/120; ‘Ðonne ic wæs mid Iudeum ic wæs suelc hie,’ Cura Past. 101/5. The fuller expression is seen in, ‘we ne magon . . . nan þing geseon swylc swilc hyt is,’ Blooms, ES xviii. 354/26.

80 T is probably the scribe’s own attempt to remedy the omission of l. 76: #Boðe# appears to refer to ‘crist’ and ‘drihte.’ #þe his bien#, such as be his, his own.

81. #biloken#: comp. 13/37.

82. #wettre . . . londe#: a common formula: comp. 26/271 note; 40/194; ‘Vor hi bynomen him saulen · in water ⁊ in londe,’ OEM 56/682, 162/13; ‘a londe ⁊ a watere,’ L 550, 562, 17990. See KH 245 note.

83. #fuȝeles# &c.: comp. 143/79.

84. #wit ⁊ waldeð#: wit ⁊ walt E. Comp. 139/17.

85. #buten#: abuten, in both places E e; al buten D: a buten ende represents OE. #ā būtan ende#, ever without end; by union of the first two words a false form abuten, without, grew up, as at 52/369, 371, 373, alongside abuten, OE. #abūtan, onbūtan#, around, about. J rewrites, He wes erest of alle þing · and euer byþ buten ende.

86. #wende# &c., go where you will; so ‘Ga quar þou ga,’ CM 14072; ‘for wende woder þou wende[;] þine daȝes beoþ at þe ende,’ L 16110. Expressions of the same form are ‘comen þer heo comen,’ L 20667, 23021; ‘fare wha swa auere fare,’ id. 20849, 23223; 104/176; ‘likien swa me liken,’ L 22511, 30544; ‘wreaðe se þu wreaðe,’ 141/54; 143/84; 145/115.

88. #þe--wille#: the MSS. have the order in T. #uwer#, anywhere: aihwar D (= OE. #ǣhwǣr#, everywhere); ichwer J; oueral M; but E e have eiðer, OE. #ǣgðer#, both; perhaps for eaðe, or eaðere, easily, more easily.

90. #Wi#, alas; not in E e; wy J; wai D. Comp. 36/105; ‘wei þet he eure hit wule iþenche,’ OEH i. 21/28; ‘Awi leof ware þu me, Heu dilecta mihi,’ OEH ii. 183/7: Heu is translated by Aweilewei, id. 183/15. #hwat--rede#, what shall be to us for advisable? a common tag; see KH 825 note.

91. #gulteð#, &c.: comp. 117/18.

92. #et--dome#: comp. ‘at þa{n} muchele dome,’ L 23056; 16/136 note. D has at to heaȝe dome; M, atte heȝe dome.

93-96 are omitted in D. J has them in the order 93, 96, 94, then a new line, Crist for his muchele myhte · hus helpe þenne and rede, 95, 97.

94. #engles#: comp. 17/146; ‘Dunc tremblerunt li angle qui tant sunt beaus e clers | E nus que ferum dunc chaitif maleurez | Ki en peche uiuom,’ Guischart 446-8.

95. #beren biforen us#: e, omitting us, has the right reading. The phrase is Fr. mettre avant, put forward, allege as a plea; comp. ‘Mes tu iés si engresse e fole, | qu’avant vuels metre ta parole,’ Marie de France, Fables, ed. Warnke, 305/15, 16. Gabrielson, Archiv cxxviii. 327, notes the similarity of the expression to ‘Mais eiez charite ke uus metez de uant,’ Guischart 1896, but the metaphor there is that of interposing a shield against the darts of the devil. #hom#: wan E; hwan e J T; wham M: all the readings mean, what.

96. #þo#, a mistake for we, which the other MSS. read. #deme# is object of #iquemen#.

99. The variant #iseien# is peculiar to T: it is evidently due to l. 98.

101. Comp. 119/70, 72.

103. Comp. ‘Quant ileoc tremblerunt martir e confessur | Dites mei que ferunt pariurie e traitur,’ Guischart 319, 20. #þes wichen# in T may be a false division of words, or it may be a deliberate variation, meaning, these witches (#wicca#, #wicce#).

104. #hwi#: the other MSS. have the exclamation like T; a wei D; Awi M. The corruption in L has brought about the insertion of ⁊, which is also in D. ‘Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi,’ S. Matt. xxii. 14.

105. #wi hwi#: comp. ‘Wei hwi beo we uule on þisse wrecche world,’ OEH i. 33/36; ‘Wi qui þan mak we us sa kene,’ CM 23845. #to hwon#: to hwi D; hwi J.

107. #bi clepie#, accuse. D has biclepien, bitelle ⁊ deme.

108. All MSS. except L have temen or teme. For #he# J has hit, which is probably object of temen, the subject of schal being that of the preceding line.

110. #ȝere#, fully; OE. #geare#: the other MSS. have wel. For him J has, his þonk.

112. #bi seiþ#, declares; with #mest#, has most to say about it. Comp. ‘Seó wearð gebróht and besǽd þám cyninge,’ B-T. suppl. _s.v._ #besecgan#; ‘elch sinne þare him seluen biseið,’ OEH ii. 173/6. he seið e J; the others seiþ only; seit E. With #stille#, silent, comp. 135/105; ‘sedebit solitarius et tacebit, Me schal sitten him one ⁊ beon stille,’ AR 156/18.

114. #hal#: vnhol J. M has Þe man þat saiþ þat he is lame, himself he wot þe smerte.

115. ‘Igitur ex nostro iudicio iudicat nos Deus,’ Alcuin ii. 131.

116. J agrees with L, but E e have oðer with T, and D aider: all meaning, either death or life.

117. #com to monne#, was born; comp. 113/30.

118. The original is preserved in swilc hit si abóc jwriten e, as if it were written in a book; similarly E; J has Al so he hit iseye; D swich hit were on boc iwrite, | isien he sel hit þanne. #iþenchen#, remember: OE. #geþencan#.

119-121. Compare generally, ‘forðan ðe god ne besceawað na, hwilce we ær wæron, ac he besceawað, hwilce we beon, þonne we dælan sceolon sawle ⁊ lichaman. Þæt is to witanne, þæt god ne secð na þæs godan weorces angin, ac he secð þæne ænde, forðan ðe ælc man sceal beon demed be ðam geearnungum, þe he hæfð, þonne he of ðisum life hwyrfan sceal,’ AS. Hom., ed. Assmann, 149/138-43; Orm 111/3248-55. S. Bernard quotes as from Isidore, ‘Non iudicat Deus hominem de praeterita vita, sed de suo fine,’ Opera ii. 840: for further parallels see Alcuin ii. 141; Fecunda Ratis 4/8.

119. #efter#: in accordance with: comp. 119/80.

120. #suilch#, such as; comp. 34/80: swulc se E; swich se e; DM have iteald, iteld, estimated; J rewrites, Ah dom schal þolyen vych mon · after his endinge.

121. #ȝefe# is probably due to ȝeue in the next line; ȝif E e; ȝef M; yef J; ef D. The inversion in T is peculiar to it. e reads for the last half of the line ⁊ gód ȝíf gód ís þenne.

122. #wite--lende#: in T lende is probably _pr. s. subj._ of lenden, OE. #lendan#, to arrive, in the very rare causal use, bring to land (#lǣnde#, _pt._ of #lǣnan#, would, by rule, be lande in this text): the sense then may be, grant that he convey us to heaven, a forced meaning for lende; similarly J with, God yef vs vre ende gód · hwider þat he vs lende. On the other hand the scribe of D, regardless of the rhyme, can have meant only #lǣnde# in writing, wite whet he us lende, meaning, preserve what he has entrusted to us, i.e. our souls; the expression of a familiar idea as at 121/144; 127/339, 368, and similarly lenne in e _r. w._ þenne, must be taken to represent #lǣne#, _pr. s. subj._ of #lǣnan#. The meaning of L, with which E and M agree, is probably the same, but if #lende# means convey, then #wite# must have the rare sense of, see to it, provide, as in, ‘Wite ȝe þet ȝe ȝemen þenne halie sunnendei,’ OEH i. 11/28. It would seem that all the texts derive from a corrupt source; the author may have written ⁊ wite us þen we wende; comp. ‘For-þi er we wende. | Makie we us clene and skere. | Þat we englene ivere. | Mawe beon o buten ende,’ OEM 73/27-30; 21/116-17.

123. #uuel#: mistake for nule, due to the persistence of uuel from 121.

124. J reads, þat deþ cume to his dure. #him# is in L only: comp. 30/6.

125. Comp. ‘Mult avient sovent, | quant li mals le prent, | qu’il ne puet parler, | penitence prendre | ne le suen despendre, | partir ne doner,’ Reimpredigt 32/64. #itit#: bilimpeð D.

126. #for þi#: þi E e, with same meaning; D omits. #biet# is difficult; possibly it is a mistake for beiet, kneels; see 132/3; 143/84. For #bit ⁊ bet#, prays for pardon and amends, comp. 86/120. The variations in the MSS. here look like attempts to mend a faulty source. E, like T, has bit ⁊ beȝit ⁊ bet, prays for pardon, obtains it and amends: e has beot ⁊ beat ⁊ bit, the first verb probably from beoden, the second possibly for beȝat: þat bit ore J; þat ore bit M gives a good sense, but is plainly from the previous line. Finally the reading of D, ꝥ bit ⁊ bete ⁊ bet, suggests that the author wrote, þat beot bote ⁊ bet, that offers satisfaction and reforms; comp. 136/132, and for bet, 38/164.

127 T. #þe deað#: the article is often so prefixed in ME.; see NED. iii. 73 for examples.

128. #latheð#: leted E; leteþ e J M; uorlet D: probably the scribe of L meant to write lateð as in T, he does not elsewhere use th.

129, 130 T. These lines, not in L, were added on the margin of e and then partially erased. They are not, in my opinion, original. J has, Bilef sunne hwil þu myht · and do bi godes lore. | And do to gode hwat þu myht · if þu wilt habben ore. #nah#: for naht; Sin leaves you and not you it, when you cannot commit it any longer. #him# shows confusion of genders, #synn# is _fem._ For him þan þu, e has hi þanne þus, E hire þanne þus (= þu es). With the sentiment comp. ‘Nulla igitur laus est non facere quod facere non possis,’ Lactantius 579; ‘Si enim tunc vis poenitentiam agere, quando peccare non potes; peccata te dimiserunt, non tu illa,’ Alcuin ii. 135; ‘Or l’estuet laissier, | ne puet mais pechier, | n’at mais a durer,’ Reimpredigt 36/71 (l’ = son pechié).

130 T. #abit#, puts off, delays.

129, 130. Comp. ‘Ceo dit escriture: | Tant cum li huem dure | en sa poesté, | se dunc se repent: | a deu veirement | s’est ja acordé,’ Reimpredigt, 38/73. The reference is possibly to Isa. lv. 7. #ꝥ#: E e agree with T; For we hit ileueþ wel J; Swa ileuen we hit muȝen D.

132. #þer#: probably a miswriting of er, previously, hitherto: her T; hier D, in this world. #haueð to#: scal E; sceal e.

134. #Ne--bet#, ought I not rather to pray? In 136 T, #bie ich# means, may I be. For #alesed . . . of bende#, see 52/394. D reads, ne recche ic bote bi ic alesd; and M similarly.

135. #scaweð#, shows, is pointless: with T the other MSS. have icnaweð e; iknoweþ J D; knoweþ M; but icwoweð E, an error of anticipation.

137-140. Comp. generally, ‘El mund n’ad nul home, tant eit de leaute, | S’il aveit par mort le siecle trespasse, | E en enfern un oret este | E sentu la puur e veu le oscurte, | S’il reveneit en vie e en prosperite, | Ke james feit mal, tant serreit effree,’ Archiv lxiii. 81/152-7. In 138 T #hit# is a scribe’s mistake for hete.

137. #twa bare tide#, merely two hours; comp. 221/227. After 138, J has Swiþe grimlych stench þer is · ⁊ wurþ wyþ vten ende | ⁊ hwo þe enes cumeþ þer · vt may he neuer þenne wende, which are not in any other MS., followed by two lines corresponding to 42/221-2, which fit in better here.

139. #þa hit#: þit E T = þe hit; ꝥ e; ꝥ hit D; heo hit J; & wite hit M. The allusion is to such legends as those of Owain and Tundale. For #mid iwissen#, see 32/40.

140. #wa wurð#: so T M; but, uuel is E e; þer wurh D; þer þurh J. #for#, in exchange for.

141. #In# is a scribe’s mistake for Ent: wa wurð, or in E e uuel is, must be supplied from the preceding line. The second #þe# is a superfluous repetition of the last word on the preceding recto. J avoiding #for# reads ⁊ for þe blysse þat ende haueþ[;] endeles is þe pyne.

142. #water drunch#, water-drink; comp. ‘Alls iff þu drunnke waterr-drinnch,’ Orm ii. 149/14482. The other MSS. avoid the compound; water to drinke E; weter í drunke e; wateres drung J; betere were drinke wori weter D; wateres drinch M. #atter#: comp. ‘God for ure secnesse dronc attri drunch o rode,’ AR 364/17.

143. #brede#, roast meat; OE. #brǣde#: comp. ‘he nom his aȝe þeh | . . . þer of he makede brede. | he bredde heo an hiȝinge,’ L 30581, 3, 4.

144. All too dear he buyeth it, who giveth his neck for it.

145. ‘Plenus venter facile de ieiuniis disputat,’ S. Jerome, Epist. 158, 2.

146 is intelligible if of pine is understood after #cnauð#. E has þe naht not · hu hi scullen ilesten; similarly e.

147. #stunde#: hwile E.

148. #Et lete#: see 34/74 note. J reads ⁊ lete for crist beo wif.

149, 150 are wanting in e M. For #oðerluker#, see 125/270.

151. #wawe . . . wene#: the combination is formal: comp. 142/77: but E has wa . . . pine, e, wa . . . wawe; D, wo . . . wope; J, Eure he wolde in bonen beon · ⁊ in godnesse wunye | Wiþ þat he myhte helle fur · euer fleon ⁊ schonye, and similarly M.

152. #Wið ꝥ þe#, provided that, if only; wid þan þe E, wið þan ðe e M, = #wīþ þǣm þe#; Wiþ þat J; wið þet D. T J D M add he, unnecessarily, as it is in the principal clause.

153. J reads, ⁊ lete sker al þes worldes weole, where ‘sker’, utterly, is OWScand. skǽrr, clean.

154. L appears to mean, Because to attain to that great bliss is joy of a certainty. But #cume# in T E e, come in D are subjunctives dependent on for, in order that he may come, the subject not being expressed because of _him_ in the principal clause; see 6/18: #for . . . cumen# in L could have the same meaning, comp. ‘for lesen’ 40/180, 182, but a subject is needed for #is#. #For# with the subjunctive is not common, but see NED. iv. 412, col. 3; in this use it descends from #for þǣm þæt#. J has Wiþ þat he myhte to heouene cumen. In Te #þis# = þe is; D has þet is, E þat is heuenriche. For #mid iwisse#, see 32/40.

155. #ꝥ . . . of#: see 1/3.

157. #eþe#: so E e D; J M omit; sore T is isolated, but J reads ⁊ sore vs of-drede.

158. #he#: in L only: the others agree with T: #al# is in L T only.

159, 160. #þer men#, wherein men. #stelen . . . helen# change places in T M only. #wruȝen . . . ⁊ helen#: the combination is formal; comp. ‘ase þe uikelares wreoð ⁊ helieð,’ AR 88/18; a reminiscence of ‘quoadusque veniat Dominus, qui et illuminabit abscondita tenebrarum et manifestabit consilia cordium’, 1 Cor. iv. 5.

162. #riche#: so J only; heiȝe E; heȝe e D M.

164 T. #to þe#: a mistake which has probably arisen out of an original þo: efning is constructed with wið.

163-166. Not in J. After scal E has þei, e þeh, D þeð, T þeih, nevertheless.

164. #ofþincþ#: see 30/10 note. The subject of #bet# is he, as implied by him preceding.

165. #scameþ . . . gromeð#: comp. ‘Teonen þolien ⁊ gromen ⁊ schomen umbe stunde,’ HM 7/8, and for the corresponding nouns in the next line, ‘Þu vs hauest iwroht þes schome. | And alle þene eche grome,’ OEM 83/334, 5; ‘Me to sorge, scaðe and same,’ GE 302; OEH ii. 173/13, 14, 23.

166. #þo þre#: so D þoðre, but þe oþre E e M. #oft#: e D M agree with T; but E has, þat sculle beon forlorene.

167, 168. Comp. ‘Ia ne porrat nuls dire ke il seit enganez | En tant com li oil clot serrat li plaiz finez,’ Guischart 444, 5.

168. #mene#, with #him# reflexive, complain; comp. ‘þat he ne mahte nanes weis | meanen him of wohe,’ SK 1235, 6. D has bimene; comp. ‘Men hem bimenin of litel trewthe,’ Rel. Ant. ii. 121/11. At 196/663, 205/280 it has the more usual sense, with reflexive, of bemoan. #strengþe . . . wronge#: comp. 19/48-51, 32/48-50, 44/256: the perversion of justice by bribed or overawed judges is a common theme in the literature of the time; see Wright, Political Songs, pp. 224-30. #strengþe#, violence, has usually a determining adjective in this sense, as ‘nawt wið luðer strencðe,’ SK 1234; ‘liste ne luðer strengðe,’ id. 1516, but see 60/18.

170. #uuele holden#, handled, treated, hardly; comp. ‘and heom heold swa harde[;] ⁊ mid hærme heo{m} igrette,’ L 29937, 8. #redde#: a mistake for rerde, as in E; the others have arerde, set up, instituted; comp. 15/80, 85.

171. #ec#: Ac E; End e; ech D; Euerich M. 171, 172 are not in J.

176, 178. #forð mid#: see 1/19.

177. #habbeð doules were#: nabbeð god idon E e: comp. 44/254.

178. #grunde#: comp. 46/295; ‘alesde us of helle grunde,’ OEH i. 19/8; ‘al forloren into helle grunde,’ id. 21/35; see also 119/82. For #faren forð mid#, E e have, falle swiþe raþe.

179. #are#: ore E J D. The text means, ever without mercy and without end, but Lewin confusing ore with orde as in ‘Wiþþutenn ord ⁊ ende,’ Orm 234/6775, translates ‘ohne Anfang und Ende.’ e reads á ⁊ buten ende.

180. #gate#: dure E e J D; M omits. #for lesen#: for lese e; the others have to. The infinitive of purpose with _for_ is uncommon, comp. 173/409.

181. #sullic#, wonder. #wa . . . uneade#, OE. #unēaðe#, are historically adverbs, lit. though to them it be wofully and grievously; bet, wwrs, &c., are used in the same construction; see 46/289: comp. with #uneade#, ‘þer fore hire wes uneðe,’ L 4503; ‘an heorte him wes unneðe,’ id. 26730. J has, he mawe wunye eþe, they may easily remain there.

182. #for lesen#: variants as in l. 180, but E for lesen. Comp. ‘Ki deu ne uolt conustre tut serrat cureicus | Il ne morrat ia meis ne por mei ne por uus,’ Guischart 223, 4.

183. #helle brec#, harrowed hell. ‘The Gospel [of Nicodemus] probably reached the climax of its popularity in England during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries,’ The ME. Harrowing of Hell, ed. Hulme, p. lxviii.

184: Comp. ‘Tant cher nus achatað de sun sanc precius,’ Guischart 220; OEM 49/434, 187/20. #hom#: hi D; the others, us.

185. #mei . . . mei#: comp. 30/29, where L has the usual pair, representing OE. #mǣge#, kinswoman, #mǣg#, kinsman: mouwe . . . mey E; maȝhe . . . mei e; moȝe . . . meie D; moȝe . . . mei M: but J Nolde hit nomon do for me.

188. #bendes#: comp. 81/67.

192 T. #þar þat#, of those who: comp. 1 Cor. vi. 2.

192. #ꝥ#, because. #uuele#: harde J D M, meaning hardship; comp. ON. 459, 527. #habbeð . . . on honde#, have to do with, have to suffer: similar expressions are ‘sorhen heom com on honde,’ L 30428; ‘for al hit trukeð us an hond[;] ꝥ we to temden,’ id. 16799; ‘and eoden him luðere an hond,’ id. 31265: ‘him for ðissere worulde wel on hand eode,’ Ælf. Lives i. 488/13. For the matter, comp. 183/241, 193/551-2.

193. #honde#: comp. 56/50: ande e.

194. #sake#: in L only. It means here, guilt, as in ‘Þa lakess mihhtenn clennsenn hemm | Off sakess ⁊ off senness,’ Orm 36/1126, 7. Other similar combinations are ‘sorge, scaðe and same,’ GE 302; ‘sorge and sare,’ Ælf. Lives i. 266/90; ‘swinc and sorwe and deades strif,’ GE 268. With T comp. 42/204, 136/136; ‘on sorhge leofodon and on geswincum,’ Ælf. de Vet. Test. 3/10; ‘labor et dolor,’ Psalm lxxxix. 10. For #a watere#, &c., see 34/82; on se ⁊ on londe D.

195, 196. Comp. ‘Adam le (i.e. nostre pais) nus tolit e sa fole moiller | E nus ki deaus uenimes lauum conpare chier | En grant cheitiuison mult nus pot en nuier,’ Guischart 695-7. #forme#: formes E e; uormes D.

197. Comp. 48/323; ‘þurst and hunger · chele and hete · þis beoð stronge pyne,’ OEM 37/9; ‘muchel hunger ⁊ hæte[;] at æuer ælche monnes ȝete,’ L 20441, 2. #helde ⁊ unhelðe#: comp. 20/72, 30/14, 48/323, 52/373. But, eche ⁊ al unelþe E; eche · ⁊ eal un helðe e; ache and vnhelþe J; ecðe (= eche) ⁊ al unhelðe D; eche ⁊ unhelþe M, show the original reading: OE. #ece, æce#, ache.

198. #uniselðe#: comp. 52/374; 26/256 note. J has vnyselyhþe.

199. #unsele#: vnhele J; vnvele D.

200. #a hele#: on hele E e D; myd blysse and myd wele J.

203, 204 T are copied by mistake from ll. 73, 74. As in both cases the lines are at the top of a folio, it may be inferred that the scribe of T was copying a MS. exactly page by page, and that l. 202 completed a gathering in his original with an added catchword Litel; that he, after beginning f 5^a with the catchword, laid aside his work, and on resuming it began at the wrong place. On discovering his mistake he started afresh.

201. #lutel--mon#: so T J D, it seems a small matter to many a man; but E e omit hit, read iþenchð, iðencð, and hu for ac, many a man little thinks how great, &c.

202. #hwam#: hwan e; whan M; whon J = #for hwǣm#, #for hwon#, why; vor hwy D = #for hwȳ#; E has for þan. #hore# must mean Adam and Eve; M reads adammes: but e reads þe, D þo, yet they begin the next line with Heore e, Here D, and J with heore in this line has Vre sunne and vre sor · vs may sore of þunche.

203. #ofþinche#: see 30/10.

204. #sorȝe#: see 40/194.

206. #eðe#: sore E J M.

208. #an helle pine# &c.: e M go with L; E with T; in pyne ⁊ on vnwunne J.

209. #ledden#: the other MSS. have the present tense. #mid unriht#: comp. ‘Ne wurþ þer vnryht ne wrong,’ OEM 143/85.

210. #buten--do#, unless God’s mercy intervene. #longe#: comp. 48/327, 169/342.

212. #bi þan ilke iwichte#, by the same measure, i.e. as great as his might; comp. 53/384: ah al by one wyhte J; nis him no þing litlinde, | ac bi emliche wihte D (litlinde, decreasing, see 126/327; emliche, equal). In T 216 mihte is a mistake for milce.

213. ‘Nuls ne pot tant pecher com deus pot parduner,’ Guischart 948.

214. #hit bigunne#, made a beginning, took the first step, i.e. repentance, #hit# being indefinite; comp. ‘Li sires est tut prest certes de nus aider | Se il en fust alkun kil uosist comencer,’ Guischart 703, 4. Less probable is, began to show mercy, Einenkel, Anglia iv., Anz. 92. Morris takes #bigunne# as subjunctive of bigan, to seek for. E reads, it bidde gunne.

218. #wallinde#: the other MSS. add pich, and have bed instead of bað: see 44/245, 120/104.

219. Comp. ‘Ke plus fait sun servise, plus fait ke maleurous,’ Archiv lxiii. 81/171; ‘Ki plus fait sun plaisir a celui fait il pis,’ Guischart 59; ‘Ki kunques mielz le sert cil ad peines plus granz,’ id. 102; ‘Hec est natura Diaboli, qui semper malefacit amicis suis et non aliis; pessime remunerat illos qui ei seruiunt,’ Eudes de Cheriton 232/7. #fulle#, utter, deadly: comp. ‘þat is my fulle i-vo,’ OEM 42/174; ‘nawt ane to hare freond, ah to hare fulle fon,’ HM 31/3; 24/202. For #frond#, E e M have wines; D wine. J omits ll. 219-22. #Wurst# is adverbial.

220. #wih#: wihd E; wið e D; fram M.

221. #hi# = ih, I.

222. #þer--feche#, might there procure for myself: but E e D M have for þer me, þerinne, þarinne, and D wende for mahte.

223. #ꝥ his# is a misreading of an original þeh ic, and #on# is for ou. #wise men#: comp. ‘De ceo ke io dirrai asez en ai garanz | Les mielz de seinte glise e tuz les plus uaillanz,’ Guischart 9, 10.

224. #aboken#: comp. ‘Hit is write in þe bok · þer me hit may rede,’ OEM 41/131.

226. #unfrome#, detriment: unfreme e; unureme M; hearme E; harme J; unwines D.

227. #edi men ⁊ arme#: comp. ‘Arme ⁊ edie ledin,’ Prov. of Alfred, ed. Skeat 7/39; ‘ne ermne ne eadine,’ OEH i. 115/19. For arme M reads strangely areȝe. ‘Entendez ca uers mei les petiz e les granz,’ Guischart 1.

229. #twa uuele#: uuele twa e, and similarly the other MSS. #iferen# in T is certainly the noun, companions, so iueren D and probably #iuere# in L: in the others #ifere#, in company.

230. #maket niþinges#, made worthless men, a reading due to the misunderstanding of the compound, as in T and the other MSS., stingy in giving away food: comp. ‘mete custi,’ L 19266. M has, þat were niþinges here.

231. For #waning#, D has sorinesse; for #wow#, all MSS. wop; comp. ‘þær nan stefne styreð butan stearc-heard | wop and waning, na wiht elles,’ Be Domes Dæge, 14/200; 2/10. #efter eche streche#, at every stride, on every hand; comp. 29/14; ‘bið swa mihtles on his modes streche,’ OEH i. 111/25, for the verb, ‘bot inwyth not a fote, | To strech in the strete þou hatȝ no vygour,’ E. E. Allit. Poems, 29/969. The other MSS. agree with T: #after ache strate#, along each road: for #after# comp. ‘Ðonne licggeað ða giemmas toworpne æfter strætum’ (= dispersi per plateas), Cura Past. 135/4; ‘Al þat verden æfter wæi,’ L 13776. M reads in eueriche strete.

With 232-4 comp. 120/100-2. #from hete to hete# may mean from one degree of heat to another, but the MSS. agree with T. The last half of the line which is peculiar to L does not mean, ‘and nearly freeze the wretches,’ as Morris translates, but, and each (change) for comfort to the wretches. The construction is probably the same as at 86/125; see 176/24 note: if #to frure# is a _dat. inf._, it is the only one in L without final _n_.

233. #blisse#: J has here and l. 235, lisse, rest, respite; a word often associated with blisse, as ‘Blisse ⁊ lisse ic sende uppon monnen’, OEH i. 15/2.

234. #of--misse#, they feel the privation of heat. The verb is also constructed with of, ‘Hwo þat for lyue þisse | þer-of schal mysse,’ OEM 73/34, 5, 87/7, 8; Minot ix. 13 note.

235. #hi#, heat and cold; the MSS. agree with T. The omission of the subject to nabbeð T 239 is grammatically correct, but the metre requires hie. #lisse#: T, so E e J M.

236. D reads Niteð hi hwer hi wonieð mest, they know not where they lament most. For #mid--wisse#, see 32/40.

237. #walkeð#: not ‘rolls’ as at 2/12; the place in the writer’s mind is ‘Cum immundus spiritus exierit de homine, ambulat per loca inaquosa, quaerens requiem; et non inveniens dicit,’ &c., S. Luke xi. 24.

238. See 32/35.

239. #for þi#: so J; for hi D; ⁊ hi M, but E has ac þi; e þi, therefore; comp. ‘Ich rede þi þat man bo ȝare,’ ON 860, 1548: ‘þi bileafden heo heore timbrunge,’ OEH i. 93/23.

240, 241. Suggested by ‘Qui enim haesitat similis est fluctui maris, qui a vento movetur et circumfertur,’ S. James i. 6; ‘Vir duplex animo inconstans est in omnibus viis suis,’ id. i. 8. #walkeð# here seems to mean, rolls, tosses; see 2/12. #weri#: comp. ‘wery so water in wore,’ Bödd., AE. Dicht. 148/32, said however of stagnant water. For #weri# J substitutes þar boþe.

241. #a þanke#: comp. ‘stif he wes on þonke,’ L 2110. For #boð#, D has seden, for senden. For the last three words J substitutes Mid hwom me heold feste; Morris, thinking it corrupt, conjectures, hwom me ne heold feste, or, me heold vnfeste, whom men considered unsteadfast. But the scribe of J has deliberately substituted for the men of infirm purpose those who fare sumptuously. These are they who in this world were those with whom men feasted.

242. #⁊ þa þe#: e reads ⁊ to, which gives the best sense. #heste#, not often in the sense of promise: auht E; aht e. In T 246, naht has dropped out before #ilaste#.

243. #ful enden#: fulendi D; OE. #fullendian#, finish.

244. #witen#, went; OE. #gewītan#: the other MSS. have weren E e D; were J M.

245. e reads, þere is pich ðe æure wealð · þer sculle baðie inne, and so the others, but for þer--inne J has, ꝥ heo schulle habbe þere, and M, þat sculle þe beo inne. See 42/218 and comp. ‘In a bytter baþ | ich schal baþe naked. | Of pych and of brunston | wallynde is i-maked,’ OEM 181/209-12.

246. #here#: vuel E; uuel e. #in werre ⁊ in winne#, in war and in strife: the combination is at least rare. M has, mid werre ⁊ mid ywinne. #unwinne# in T 250, meaning distress, is also a rare word; comp. ‘Sinne me hauiþ in care ibroȝt | broȝt in mochil vnwinne,’ E. E. Poems, 21/5, 6: e has, in feoht end in iginne, where iginne is miswritten for iwinne; E in feoh (= feoht) end in iginne (= iwinne), in fighting and strife; comp. ‘ne bilæfde he næuer nænne[;] þat heold feht and iwin,’ L 9042, 4, 11522. D reads, in wele ⁊ in senne; J vnwreste · and eke false were.

247. E has ll. 249, 250 before 247, 248. In 251 T #þis# = þe is.

248. #uersc#, fresh water; OE. _adj._ #fersc# used exclusively of fresh as opposed to salt water. The other MSS. agree with T: nauene strien ne sture E; nauene striem ne sture e; ne auene strém · ne sture J; Hauene stream ne Sture D. There are two places where rivers called Avon and Stour meet, in Warwickshire near Stratford-on-Avon, and in Hampshire near Christchurch.

249. #nawiht#: nomon J; no þing D.

250. #þa þe--lof#, those to whom it was too pleasing, those who took too much delight in: ll. 250, 251 may be a reminiscence of the Anarchy; see 7/49, 6/44.

252. Those who had the power to do evil, (and) those (without the power) to whom it was sweet to contemplate it. But the other MSS., except T D, and M which omits the line, agree with E, þo þe ne mihte euel don · ⁊ lef was it to þenche. In T 256 #þe# does double duty as _nom._ to mihten, and as _dat._ to lief; comp. 118/28.

254. ⁊ á · on ðes deofles weorc · bliðeliche swunche e; comp. 40/177; ‘qui laetantur cum malefecerint, et exultant in rebus pessimis,’ Prov. ii. 14.

255. ‘Or ne set lum ki creire tant est fel e muanz,’ Guischart 13. Comp. 7/47.

256. #Medierne#, greedy of bribes. Comp. 32/48.

257. #ꝥ#: so þe E e, meaning, he to whom; comp. 161/187: Þe þat J; þo ꝥ D: wes has fallen out after #wif#.

258. #ete#: méte J; comp. ‘Inne mete ⁊ inne drinke ic habbe ibeo ouerdede,’ OEM 193/41. A variant is, ‘on hete and on wete,’ OEH i. 101/24; ‘on æte oððe on wæte,’ Ælf. Lives i. 354/270. #druken# in T 262 is miswritten for drunke (#drynce#) through confusion with druken 257 (#druncen#).

259. Who took from the poor man his property, and added it to his store. See 7/51, and comp. ‘leggeþ ine hord,’ OEM 47/364; ‘Vych mon hit scholde legge on hord,’ ON 1224.

260. #lutel let of#, held in small esteem; comp. 113/45; 143/99; ‘Ac se kyngc let lihtlice of oð ꝥ he com to Englalande,’ AS. Chron. D 211/16; ‘ne lete he nout wel of þet he is Godes ȝerde,’ AR 184/21; ‘þat prophet | þat drightin of sa mikel let,’ CM 9149; ‘þat of his wordus lette pure liht,’ AE Legenden, ed. Horstman, 44/206; ‘he let lutel to þe,’ HM 33/14. For similar expressions see 8/84, 124/264, 129/32, 173/417. #borde#: comp. 48/307: bode E J D; bibode e; hest M.

261. #⁊--aȝen#: End te his aȝen e, and to his own relatives, and similarly in L T D, though the preposition be wanting. J has þeo þat almes, adding as next line, Ne his poure kunesmen · at him ne myhte nouht spede. E has And of his owen nolde ȝiuen.

262. #sonde#: so E J; sande e: but D agrees with T. In the second half of the line L stands alone, with an easy phrase, when he heard it announced. But E e have preserved the original, þer he sette his beode, nor would listen to God’s messenger, when He spread His table; the reference being to the parable of the marriage feast, S. Matt. xxii. 4, as expounded at 85/84-7. The OE. word #bēod, bīed# occurs in ‘Þu gearwodest beforan me swiðe bradne beod’ = ‘Parasti in conspectu meo mensam,’ Psalm xxii. 5. The readings of T, of D, þer he set (= sat) at his biede, and of J, þar he sat at his borde, are all corruptions of that original with identical meaning, as in ‘Noldest þu nefre helpen þam orlease wrec[che]n; | Ac þu sete on þine benche, underleid mid þine bolstre,’ Worcest. Frag. C. 25, 26.

263. #ꝥ# does double duty as _dat._, to whom, to loure, and as _nom._, who, to weren in the next line; similarly T: see 44/252. #hit#: him M; leuere þan beon schulde J.

265. #þon þe#: þam þe e, both meaning, to those to whom. E has ȝam, miswritten for þam, to whom. J rewrites, ⁊ luueden vntrewnesse · þat heo schulden beon holde; Morris translates þat, in which; it is a mistake for þar, which M reads. Comp. ‘treowe and holde,’ OEM 38/48: the offence is in OE. #hlāford-swīcung#, Morsbach’s Studien, l. 167. D omits ll. 263-6: J adds after 265, Heo schulleþ wunyen in helle · þe ueondes onwolde.

267. #weren . . . abuten#, were bent on; see 74/229 note. The other MSS. agree generally with T: ȝysceres E; ȝetseres D; ȝeseres M; gaderares J; witteres e = knowing, wise.

268. #hechte to ⁊ tachte#, bid and taught (them) to do: hem tihte ⁊ ec tauhte E; heom tihte ⁊ to tehte e; heom tycede and tahte J; ham tichede to ⁊ taðte D; tiȝte do ⁊ tehte M. The original was probably tuhte to ⁊ tehte, instigated and taught. Comp. 127/365; ‘Þe deofel heom tuhte to þan werke,’ OEH i. 121/33.

269. #þen#: so E e; it = þe en (40/196), in; ꝥ anie wise D; þat in alle wise M; And alle þeo þe myd dusye wise J, in foolish fashion.

270. #fordon# &c.: comp. ‘fordon ⁊ fordemed,’ SK 427; ‘fordude ant fordemde,’ SM 2/32. Here the Lambeth MS. ends.

271. #of ðufte#: see 30/10.

273. Comp. generally 76/27-32; 120/95-7. #frute#, toads: frude E; fruden J D: akin to OWScand. frauðr (Björkman, 76). Frod is a child’s name for a frog in Yorkshire, EDD. ii. 504. NED. iv. 570 quotes from Dives and Pauper, ‘Some man hadde leuer for to mete with a froude or a frogge in the waye than to mete with a knyght or a squyre.’

274. #speke#: speken E; spekeð J D. #niðfulle#: ondfulle D.

276. #hate#: so M; but hete E J D; OE. #hete#, enmity. #eorre#: ȝeorre E; herre D; erre M.

277. #uuel#: muchel J M.

278. #swierte leie#: comp. 76/17; 119/86-8: þiester leie D.

280. #ꝥ beoð þa#: comp. 1/10.

281. #ateliche . . . eisliche#: comp. ‘swo eiseliche and swo ateliche,’ OEH ii. 171/24: J reads ateliche ueondes ⁊ grysliche wyhtes.

282. #ifon#, seize: the other MSS. agree with T: ison E. #ðurh sihte#: bi sihtes J; mid isiȝte M. NED. explains bi sihtes, by looks or glances. The context rather requires, with open eyes, knowingly, wilfully, but I know no parallel. Comp. Heb. x. 26.

283. Comp. 134/93; ‘sathanas þe cwed,’ OEM 180/213. #ealde#: ‘serpentem antiquum, qui est diabolus et Satanas,’ Apocal. xx. 2: comp. ‘Se ealde deofol þe is mid andan afylled,’ Ælf. Lives ii. 180/183; ‘For to beon yuonded · of sathanas þen olde,’ OEM 38/28, 76/130; OEH i. 75/30; SK 1184; HM 15/14. #belzebud#: belsebuc E; belzebuc M: ‘est finalis litera b,’ Catholicon.

285. A common formula; comp. 119/85, 133/48; OEM 173/57-60; AR 144/21.

287. #Wið#, as regards: it has apparently the same meaning in ‘god heom aredde wið heore ifan,’ OEH i. 87/18, for aredden usually takes of or ut of. E T have of, about: comp. 187/350; J For al.

288. #gamen ⁊ gleo#, a favourite combination: comp. ‘Iluued ich habbe gomen and gleo,’ OEM 160/33; Minot iv. 57 note.

292 T. #of þat#, as concerns what; so far as what one may suffer here is concerned.

289, 90. ‘Tut est desespere iceo les par confund | Ke il seuent tres bien ia merci nen aurunt,’ Guischart, 125, 6; CM 23261-4. #deð--wa#, affects them so wofully, causes them such sorrow: see 40/181: such uses of don are very extensive in ME.; comp. 34/69; ‘don us mare wa on,’ SJ 43/8. #naht#: noþing J.

290. #ꝥ#, as that: bute þat E; Ase ꝥ J; swo ꝥ D.

292. #þe#, to whom. The use of þe as oblique relative is not common in OE.; comp. ‘he sealde his dohtor . . . þæm cyninge . . . þe he ær Æpira rice geseald hæfde,’ Orosius 118/27, where #þe# is preceded by another dative. It occurs more frequently in EME.: for þe = to whom, see 9/116, 12/13, 139/15; = in which, 113/36; with which, 88/4. Similarly þat is used in various relationships, with which 8/108, possibly 26/259; to whom, Orm 118/3439, HM 5/24; for whom, 21/92, 195/634; against which, 201/144, 218/147. E reads þe heom, to whom; the personal pronoun is given a relative force by the addition of the relative þe; comp. ‘þe holie man iob þe non ne was his efning on eorðe,’ OEH ii. 69/32, whose equal was not on earth: þet . . . hire 117/10 is analogous. J reads þet = to whom; comp. 143/84; D þer naht of godes bode, a hopeless corruption. #þe nes naht of#, who heeded not: see 8/84 note.

293-6. ‘Quant fustes baptizez de funz regenerez | Ke dunkes premisistes gardez ne li mentez | Ki or nirrad a lui il ert deseritez | Come fel e traitre pus en ert apelez | En destreit serrat mis e a tel ert liurez | Ki nel rendrat pas pus por mil mars dor pesez,’ Guischart 554-9.

294. #cristen dom#, baptismal vow. #heolde#, kept; see 48/310.

295. #on--grunde#: comp. 40/178. J reads anyþe helle grunde: a nyþe is found only here. It may be a preposition formed from #an# + #neoþan# (comp. anunder), like beneoþan and with the same meaning; but probably it is for a niþer as in T and D in niþerhelle grunde.

296. #ut#: so D: but E J vp. ‘Ne porrat morir | n’a merci venir, | senz fin i serat,’ Reimpredigt 34/67. #marke#: see 34/67, and comp. ‘myd markes and myd punde,’ OEM 89/18.

297. #ibede#: bene D.

298. D, vor naht hi solden bidde þer | ore ne ȝeuenesse, in agreement with T, in which hi must be supplied from hem in 301: see 6/18. ‘Almones ne ben faiz ne lur profiterunt | Messes ne ureisuns ia certes nes garrunt,’ Guischart 127, 8.

299. #of#: so E; but T J D M have wiþ, which is normal, as at 304, and for schilden 50/346, 82/121; biwerien 50/334; werien 50/335; biwiten 117/5, 149/168; witen 82/118, 149/170, 178. Less usual are ‘misdon wið’ 6/23 note; ‘loki wit’ 153/56. #of#, in respect of, as regards; a rare use for, against; comp. ‘uor to warnie wummen of hore fol eien,’ AR 54/26: and note _wið_ interchanging with _of_, 46/287.

300. #þer wið#, against it, i.e. hell pine: see 1/3. #habbe#: wille D; wulle M. With #ido# T 304 comp. 122/185 note.

302. #sceal#, must. #leche#: comp. ‘Of vre louerd ihesu crist · þat is soule leche,’ OEM 51/508. From this place it has been inferred that the writer was a priest with some knowledge of medicine. Perhaps he is only asserting the claim of Christianity to benefit the body as well as the soul, as in 1 Thess. v. 23, and often in Missal and Breviary, ‘mente et corpore pariter expediti,’ &c.

304. #we ꝥ#: wel, swo D.

306. #emcristen#: euen cristen J; nexte M; see 26/265. After #eal#, se has probably dropped out: alse E; as J; swo D; al suo M.

307. Every thing we hear in the services of the Church: comp. ‘Al þet me ret and singeð . . . in halie chirche,’ OEH i. 125/27; ‘al þet holi chirche redeð ant singeð,’ AR 268/9; OEM 91/43. #bifore godes borde#, at the altar.

308. #hanget ⁊ bihalt bi#, derive their authority from and depend on. S. Matt. xxii. 40.

311. #earueðhealde#, difficult to keep; see 12/3. J rewrites, Ah soþ ich hit eu segge · ofte we agulteþ alle.

312. #strang#: see 21/94. #lange#: veste D. #liht#, easy: comp. 72/178; ‘All þiss to shæwenn niss nohht lihht | Shorrtliȝ wiþþ fæwe wordess,’ Orm 99/13032, 3: so lihtliche, 50/343, readily.

314. #unne#: lete J; leue M. #bote#: see 80/58 note.

315. #wele#: ayhte J.

316. #eal#: mest leggeþ vre swynk J; leggeð almest D; muchel M. Comp. 32/57.

318. #of#: for oft: ofte J D M; E omits. #bicherd#, misled. #bi kehte#, ensnared, deceived. But J reads for the latter, vuele by þouhte, saddened by remembrance of our sins: comp. ‘þe man kið him seluen mildhertnesse þe biðencheð on his sinnen,’ OEH ii. 189/5.

319. #erminges#, miserable mortals: mostly an adj. in ME. as at 76/22, 31. Morris suggested erninges, gains.

320. #en#: of E J. #her ⁊#: oþer E J D M.

321-3. Comp. 40/197, 8.

324. #of þere#, of that: J has þer of.

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

327. #lange#: comp. 42/210; 168/342.

328. J substitutes ⁊ after gode wel wurche · þenne ne þuruue noht kare, and be vigorous in pursuit of good: comp. 30/21, 32/61.

330. Unless we are on our guard, this world will make us drunk: the meaning of #fordrenche# is fixed by drinche l. 331. adrenche D M, drown. With #wurðe . . . iwer#, comp. 9/122; with #us#, 13/34.

331. #scenche#, draught; OE. #scencan#, to pour out; comp. KH 369 note. #deofles#: M reads, of one duole scenche, of a stupefying draught.

332. A man must know how to protect himself well, if it (i.e. the drink) is not to trip him up. See B-T. _s.v._ #screncan#. J is defective here; D omits ll. 331, 2.

333. #Mid#: Vor D. For #almihtin#, 337 T, see 79/17.

334. #ꝥ#: þe J; see 13/28. #he#: he ne E; heo . . . ne J; hi ne D.

335. #werie . . . wið#: see 48/299.

336. #bi ȝiten#: in e only; ȝiuen alle mancunne E; and similarly in the other MSS. The text may mean, acquired for mankind.

337. #bene#, pleasant, agreeable: ‘spatiosa via . . . quae ducit ad perditionem,’ S. Matt. vii. 13. J reads grene, rejecting, as often, the unusual word: comp. ‘the broad way and the green’ of Milton’s sonnet.

338. #niȝeðe del#, nine-tenths, the great majority: niȝende del D.

339. #wei grene#: the path to heaven is compared to what is still in some parts called a ‘green road’ or a ‘green way,’ ‘a road over turf between hedges,’ EDD., the ‘unmetalled road’ of the Ordnance maps, because, unlike the highway, it is used by few. J has, þene wey so schene, and in the next line, and þat is wel eþ-sene; M, ⁊ þat is þe worlde on-sene. The last half of T 344 appears to be corrupt.

341. #us lað#: comp. ‘lað þah him were,’ L 244; 145/106.

342. #eal#, wholly; but M al hare wil.

343. #mid--hulde#, along the lower (downward) slope: nuðer E; niðer helde D M. J omits ll. 343-4. #mid#, in the same direction as, like the modern ‘with the stream.’

344. #godliese#: gutlease D: the earliest quotation for godless, impious, in NED. is under 1528; words before that time are ranged under goodless, comfortless, worthless. But Mätzner puts examples from SK and HM under the former. Are the cheerless wood and the bare field Virgilian? Aeneas passes by the ‘descensus Averni’ ‘per tacitum nemus’ to the ‘lugentes campi’. #bare#: brode D.

345. #hese#: hes E; heste J M; hesne D. #ðer#: þat J, cognate _acc._; comp. ‘I am a man farand þe way,’ CM 3295.

346. #ꝥ beoð ða#: see 1/10. #sculdeð . . . wið#: see 48/299: silten D (for silden, shielded); schedeþ wel J, possibly, separate themselves completely, but scheden requires from, 159/153, and in the presence of wið the reading may be regarded as a mistake for schildeþ.

347. #ȝeanes#: to ȝeanes E; ayeyn J; aȝenes M; D omits ll. 347, 8. Not, ‘along the cliffs,’ but, breasting the steep slope, up the high hill; comp. Milton’s ‘labour up the hill with heavenly truth.’

348. J reads, þeos leteþ awei al heore wil; comp. 157/133. #fulle#, perform; OE. #fyllan#: M has felle.

352. #ne ðincð# &c.: comp. 12/11 (piece v). J substitutes, Wel edy wurþ þilke mon · þat þer byþ vnderuonge.

353. þe lest haueþ murehþe J; Se ꝥ lest haueð blisce D.

354. #for ðas#, for the bliss of this world.

355. #uuel#: pyne J; hunger M.

358. In accordance with their deeds here, in proportion to the severity of their effort.

359. #este#: comp. 17/159.

360. Comp. ‘giueð hem to medes eche lif · ⁊ blisse · ⁊ heuene mid him seluen,’ OEH ii. 67/25; 74/233.

361. #fah ne græi#: fou ne grei E; fou ne grey J; foȝ ne grei M; D omits ll. 361-2. For the association of the words comp. ‘Ne hedde he none robe · of fowe · ne of gray,’ OEM 39/66; ‘gold · ne seoluer · vouh · ne gray,’ id. 94/28; ‘Monye of þisse riche. | þat werede fouh and grey,’ id. 165/27, 8. In French they are vair (L. _varius_) and gris, as in ‘jamais ne vestirai vair ne gris ne hermine | n’afulerai mantiel ourle de sabeline, | ne coucerai en lit covert de marterine,’ Le Chevalier au Cygne, in Bartsch & Horning, 349/14-16. OE. #fāȝ, fāh#, variegated, coloured, is also in ME. an adj., as at 81/82; ‘fah clað,’ L 24653. As a noun it means a variegated or shaded fur, as distinct from one of uniform colour, like #græi#, which is badger. #kuning#, rabbit fur, but #cuniculus# is glossed marderis, i.e. marten, in Fecunda Ratis 450, where it is associated with migale, ermine, which would go better with the general idea of sumptuosity. But marten is in the next line. konyng J; cunig EM.

362. #aquierne#, squirrel: OE. #ācwern#, in oldest form #ācweorna#, Sweet, Oldest E. Texts, 590: ocquerne E; Okerne M; Ne oter ne acquerne J. #martres cheole#, marten’s throat, explained by Mätzner as throat-piece, collar or boa of marten; but the expression, found here only, is a bad attempt at translating F. gole martrine, fur dyed red, as in ‘ses mantels fu riches et chiers | et fu toz faiz a eschaquiers; | l’uns tavels ert de blanc hermine | et l’altre ert de gole martrine,’ Eneas, 4029-32; a chess-board pattern in white and red. The pelisson of the period was a tunic of fur enclosed between cloths which permitted the red-dyed fur to be seen only at the front edges of the garment. These borders were called goules; comp. ‘Lermes li moillent le menton | E les goles del peliçon,’ Roman de Troie, ed. Constans, 15543-4; ‘Goules de martre, ne vos vuel plus porter,’ Raoul de Cambrai, 6227: the resemblance to the French word for throat has led to the translation here, as to the erroneous explanation of goules, gole, by ‘collet’ in Florence de Rome, 1959; Roman de Thebes, 6375-6. M has simply martrin, OF. martrine, marten’s fur. #metheschele# in T is for merðes chele, the first element being OE. #mearð#, marten; it is equivalent to the reading of E e. #beuer#, &c.: Beuveyr ne sablyne J.

363. #sciet#: sced E; scete D descend from OE. #scīete, scēte#, cloth, but scat T; schat M from OE. #sceatt#, property, money; as in ‘srud and sat,’ GE 795, 881, ‘srud or sat,’ id. 3169. J has, Ne þer ne wurþ ful iwis · worldes wele none. #scrud#, dress; not ‘shroud.’

365. See 125/291.

367, 368. D omits. #na wið uten#: noþing ȝit vten E; nowiht wiþ vte J: the latter and T appear to mean, there is nothing wanting to him: e is probably a corruption of na wiht uten, and ȝit in E is miswritten for wit = wið, as ȝihte 380 for wihte.

368. #wane#: T has the usual construction, as ‘_deest mihi pecunia_, mê ys fêos wana,’ Ælf. Gram. 202/11; ‘He nis naht fulliche cristene þat (= to whom) is ani wane of þese þrie,’ OEH ii. 15/22; 19/35; in E e #wane# is an adj. as in ‘ic eom wana of ðâm getele,’ Ælf. Gram. 202/11; 129/23. J has Nis heom nones godes wone.

369. #gane#, miswritten for wane, misery, the reading of D T; J has wone; E grame.

370. #of ðinche#: see 30/10. e ends with this line; what follows is from E.

371. #treȝe#: so D: J has the often-associated teone; comp. 133/61; 24/208 note. ‘La est uie senz mort ki tut tens li durreit,’ Guischart 1255.

373. #ulde . . . vnhelðe#: see 40/197.

374. #sorewe . . . sor#: comp. 147/137; ‘mid seorwen and mid seore,’ L 6885; ‘to forswelten isar ⁊ isorhe eauer,’ SJ 79/7; ‘iseien sor ⁊ seoruwe,’ AR 190/15; SK 1164: so too, ‘sorwȝe and sariness,’ VV 19/2; ‘seoruhful ⁊ sori,’ AR 88/12.

375. Seoþþe me dryhten iseo. So J, which cannot mean, ‘Afterwards one shall see the Lord’: probably in Seoþþe lurk Swo þer, and schal has fallen out, as it has in T. #swa#, even as, more fully in T, swo se; comp. 34/80: D reads, swo ase he is. For omission of the subject in T comp. 6/18 note. #mid iwisse#: see 32/40. Comp. ‘Kar deus sicum il est tuz tens senz fin uerunt,’ Guischart 117; ‘En l’un qui serat | dampne deu verrat | toztens en present,’ Reimpredigt 54/107.

377-80 are wanting in J. #And ðeh#, and yet.

378. #ði#, because. The reading of T, which is supported by D M, gives a better sense.

380. #ȝihte#, miswritten for wihte; comp. 52/367 note: wiȝte M; rihte D. See 42/212.

381. #seon#: wite M.

382. #icnawen ⁊ iwiten#, understand and get to know: iseon and iwyten J; iknowen ⁊ isien D; biknowe ⁊ yseo M. For #mihte#, J has Milce; M milse.

383. #to#: þer to D; may luste J. The usual preposition is _after_, as ‘þa lisste himm affterr fode,’ Orm ii. 39/11333; ‘Aȝȝ lisste himm affterr mare,’ id. i. 356/10220: but comp. 158/168; ‘Hi sete adoun ⁊ ete faste: for hem luste wel þerto,’ Legendary, 223/127. #hleste# in 387 T is explained in Specimens as a noun, desire: it can only be OE. #hlystan#, listen, suggested by ‘isien’ in the next line.

384. #hali boc#: in liue boc D; on lyues be{c} (MS. bee) iseon J.

385. #alle &c.#: to alle derlinges J.

386. #he#: so J D: for #oþere# J has wordliche.

387. #wealded#: haueð on wealde D, has in his power, under his rule: see 22/122, 198/40 for the synonymous ‘owen a wold.’

388. #of him to sene#, of seeing him; comp. 124/239 note. #sed#: so D. OE. #sæd#, sated, appears to be used here as a noun, for satiety. The adj. is common enough, ‘Ich nam noht giet sad of mine sinnes,’ OEH ii. 75/8; ‘for selden y am sad þet semly forte se,’ Bödd., AE. Dicht. 149/5. ‘Mult porreit estre liez quant deu senz fin uerreit,’ Guischart 1256. J has, Him to seonne murie hit is. In the second half of the line J D agree with T.

389. #mere#: OE. #mǣre#, glorious: swete J.

391. #oþer#: oþre D, both meaning, to another; Ne may nomon hit segge · ne witen myd iwysse J.

392. #godes#: heuene J. Here D adds, Vten eftin þiderward | mid aldre ȝernuolnesse | ⁊ vorsien þisne midelard | mid his wouernesse. || Ef we vorsieð þis loþe lif | vor heuenriche blisce, | þanne selð us Crist ꝥ eche lif | to medes on ecnesse. Zupitza notes that eftin is for efstin (that is, hasten, OE. #efestan#), and wouernesse is OE. #wǣfernes#, pomp, show.

393. #rixlet#: rixeð D; ricscleþ M; lesteþ J. #abuten#: buten J D; ay bute M: see 34/85.

394. #of#: comp. 38/134; 112/11; 132/15: but ‘alesede hem eche deaðe,’ OEH ii. 5/26. Lines 393-4 are echoed in ‘And yef þat eche lif · þat neuere ne haueþ ende. | Hwanne vre soule vnbynd · of lykamlyche bende,’ OEM 53/551, 2. #licames#: J D M agree with T.

395. #ȝyue#: lete J; leue M. #swilc#: swichne D; suicchne M.

396. After this J adds, Bidde we nu leoue freond · yonge and ek olde. | þat he þat þis wryt wrot · his saule beo þer atholde. Amen.; which I take to be a prayer for the scribe himself, not for the composer of the Moral Ode.

_Cross-References_

6/18, 8/84, 10/167 (notes) = III. (The Peterborough Chronicle) 30/10, 34/74, 46/292 (notes) = _present selection_ 74/229 (note) = IX. B (Ancrene Wisse: Outer Rule) 79/17, 80/58 (notes) = XI. (Hic Dicendum est de Propheta) 132/9 (note) = XVIII. (The Orison of our Lady) 176/24 (note) = XXI. (The Bestiary) p. 274 = V. (A Parable, under Pronouns) p. 285 = VI. (The Proverbs of Alfred) under Manuscripts.

_Errata_

iv. ... A leaf is lost after f. 8 [f 8] Other MSS. are v. Digby A 4, Bodleian D [_“D” added by author_] The dialect of PM is South-Eastern [_printed as shown: error for “M” alone?_] #ēa# is _ea_ in deaþe 182 [_paragraph break added by transcriber for consistency_] .... #ā# + #g# produces _aȝ_, aȝen 30 (5), maȝe 29, but ahen 161: [_final : invisible_] For #sw# ... _qu_ is the regular equivalent of #cw# [_#cw# misprinted as italic instead of bold_] #ēa# is mostly ... but _ie_ in bien 389 [_“ie” misprinted as bold instead of italic_] #gēar#, ȝier 142 [_corrected by author from “gear”_] #a# + #g# ... #ǣ{1}# + #g# is _ei_ [#æ{1}#] #ēa# + #h# in heie 16 [#ea#] ... #þþ# is simplified in seðen [#þ#] #Accidence:# ... _d._ -e, gode 73 [_-e misprinted as italic_] _s. g._, are 179, _s. d._, 53 [_s. d._ 53] ... The _s. d._ regularly terminates in e [_“e” misprinted as italic_] Remnants of the strong declension ... (with woreldes _f._) [_f_] The infinitives ... past: I a. biȝiete 105, forȝieten 98 [forȝieten, 98] 18. ... (comp. Fr. être < stare) [être > stare] 82. ... OEM 56/682 [OEM.] 142. ... Orm ii. 149/14482 [_“ii.” added by transcriber_] 153. ... OWScand. skǽrr, clean. [OW Scand.] 185. ... maȝhe . . . mei e [meie] 201. ... read iþenchð, iðencð [iþenchð, iꝥencð _corrected from Zupitza_] 257. ... wes has fallen out after #wif#. [_#wif# misprinted as plain (non-bold)_] 265. ... to those to whom. [to whom,] 292. ... where #þe# is preceded by another dative [_#þe# misprinted as plain (non-bold)_] 361. ... in Bartsch & Horning [Hornung] 385. #alle &c.#: to alle derlinges J. [_printed as shown, with bold “&c.”_]

IX. ANCRENE WISSE

#Manuscripts:# i. Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 402 (A); on vellum, 215 × 150 mm. The fly-leaf fastened down has the mark S. 15, then follow three leaves with writing in a seventeenth-century hand (? Joscelin), mostly a translation of the piece beginning in Morton, p. 6, ‘Nan ancre bi mi read,’ then 117 folios, on the first of which is a marginal rubric, J þe feaderes ⁊ i þe sunes | ⁊ i þe hali gastes nome | her biginneð ancrene | wisse, as at the beginning of SJ (139/1) and SM in MS. Bodley 34. On the lower margin of f. 1 r in a fourteenth-century hand is Liber ecclesie s{an}ct{i} Jacobi de Wygemore: que{m} Joh{ann}es Purcel dedit | eide{m} eccl{es}ie ad instancia{m} fr{atr}is Walt{er}i de Lodel{awe} senioris t{u}nc p{re}ce{nt}oris. The Abbey of Wigmore was dedicated to S. James (Dugdale, vi. 344). There are glosses in red pencil and words underlined in red. The revival of Anglo-Saxon studies under Archbishop Parker, partly prompted by the desire to use in defence of the Reformation the evidences as to the tenets of the early Church in England, caused such books as this to be carefully read. William L’isle extracted from it some of the prayers (in Morton, 26, 28, 30) and, treating them as debased Anglo-Saxon, turned them into the latter speech as he understood it. His efforts are recorded in MS. Laud Misc. 201; they have led Dr. Heuser (Anglia, xxx. 103) to conclude that the Ancren Riwle is not a ME. but an OE. document.

The MS. belongs to the second quarter of the thirteenth century. It cannot be earlier than 1225 A.D., for it mentions the Dominicans and Franciscans, and it is probably later than 1230. It is the most correct, but it has additions to the original, such as 62/46-64/62, 64/73-78. See further A Descriptive Catalogue of the MSS. in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, by M. R. James, vol. ii, pp. 267, 8.

ii. Caius College, Cambridge, 234 (B); on vellum, 124 × 93 mm.; 368 pages; late thirteenth century. Pages 1-185 consist of extracts from the AR, but not in the order of the other manuscripts (ES iii. 536). It is addressed to ‘friends’ 55/1, not sisters, and the second passage printed here is not in this MS. The contents of the manuscript are given in A Descriptive Catalogue of the MSS. in the Library of Gonville and Caius College, by M. R. James, vol. i, p. 298.

iii. Cotton Nero A 14, British Museum (N); on vellum, 146 × 114 mm.; written in the second quarter of the thirteenth century. Its contents are ff. 1-120 r, the Ancren Riwle; 120 v-123 v, The Orison, printed at pp. 132-7 of this book; 123 v-131 v, the pieces printed in OEH i, pp. 200-17. It forms the text of Morton’s edition.

iv. Cotton Titus D 18, British Museum (T); on vellum, 158 × 120 mm.; 148 folios in double columns, written from f. 14, where AR begins, to the end, about 1220 A.D. Its relationship to two other manuscripts in respect to their contents is shown by the following table:

+---------------+------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+ | Manuscripts. | SK | SJ | SM |Sawles| HM |Wohunge| AR | | | | | |Warde | | | | +---------------+------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+ | Royal 17 A 27 | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | | +---------------+------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+ | Bodley 34 . | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | +---------------+------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+ | Titus D 18 . | -- | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | +---------------+------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+

For the Royal and Bodleian MSS. see the introduction to No. xvi.

v. Cotton Cleopatra C 6, British Museum (C), on vellum, 196 × 140 mm.; 196 folios of 19 to 26 lines to a page in a peculiar angular hand, written about 1240 A.D. The scribe, after finishing the book, had access to another manuscript, either A or one closely resembling it, and interlined or put on the margin passages from it which were not in the first exemplar. C was presented to Legh Abbey, Co. Devon, by Matilda de Clare, by whom the Abbey was converted into a Nunnery about 1285 A.D. (Dugdale, vi. 333).

vi. The Vernon MS. of the Bodleian Library (V), a very large book, written in two columns of eighty lines to the column, has a fourteenth-century version of the AR, which begins at folio 371 v^2. It contains our first extract, but only a fragment of the second.