Note 4 — XI. THE ANCIENT DRAMA IN CORNWALL.
Reading edition
In case any of my readers should feel desirous of seeing a specimen of the Cornish language at the date of the play, I subjoin the original text of the seven lines of John Keygwyn's translation, quoted above.
"Syr, war nebas lavarow, Tast gy part an avallow, Po ow harenga ty a gyll! Meir, Kymar an avail teake, Po sure inter te ha'th wreage An garenga quyt a fyll Mar ny vynyth y thebbry!"
Some of this looks like a very polyglot language. But the ancient Cornish tongue had altered and deteriorated; and was indeed changing into English at the period of our play. Why the author should have helped himself, in his literary emergency, to the two Latin words in the fifth line (inter te) when English would have served his turn as well, it is difficult to discover, unless he wished to show his learning before the rustic audiences of Piran Round.