NOTES (continued 7)

24. þe sea of helle: B iv has ‘Et septem plage erant in circuitu eius (i.e. fornacis): prima nix, secunda glacies’ &c. The writer or his original has changed these plagues of the furnace into waves ‘uþe’ of the ‘flumen orribile in quo multe bestie dyabolice erant quasi pisces in medio maris,’ which is mentioned at a later point in the Latin, while he alters the river into a lake, perhaps due to a recollection of the ‘stagnum ignis et sulphuris’ of the Apocalypse, xx. 9.

25. snau: comp. 120/100.

26. smorðer, thick smoke: B iv has ‘sexta fulgur’; F iv ‘Et la siste de foudres et d’avenimemant.’ F iii agrees with the English text. ful stunch: comp. 46/277; 133/44.

28. unaneomned, without a name, because they were like nothing in this world; not ‘unmentionable, on account of their number,’ Morris. There is no description of the beasts in the Latin, but such details are to be found elsewhere in the Visions literature, e.g. Visio Tnugdali, 16/7, 17, 19/26.

31. to brekene: dative infinitive: OE. swīcan, geswīcan, to cease from, are often constructed with dative of nouns, as, ‘gif he ðonne ðære hnappunge ne swicð,’ Cura Past., 195/11, but apparently not with the dat. inf. This construction is common with analogous verbs such as onginnan, forlǣtan, ieldan. In ME. the dative of the noun occurs, as ‘þa aswac worden; Merlin þe wise,’ L 16112; and the gen., ‘iswikeð unrihtwisra dedan,’ OEH i. 117/32 as in OE., ‘ðæs noldan geswican,’ BH 211/6. Comp. 81/85, 6. þe—nalden: ‘qui non egerunt penitenciam post peccata commissa in hoc mundo,’ B iv. 75/14.

32. enden: see 80/54.

33. lude remeð: ‘ululant’; comp. 120/99, 192/528.

34. his, each of them his; distributive in meaning.

37. Miserere &c.: possibly from some unprinted version of the Visio, or from some version of the Evangelium Nichodemi; comp. The Harrowing of Hell, ed. Hulme, 18/203.

39. ham: the writer frequently doubles the subject or object by a pronoun; comp. ‘ꝥ ic hit efre dude mid mine wrechede licome þas sunnen,’ OEH i. 29/9; ‘þe mon þe leie · xii · moneð in ane prisune nalde he ȝefen,’ id. 33/9; ‘Gif þu hine iseȝe þet he wulle,’ id. 17/13. See also 78/97 note; 136/144; 138/12.

41. midde warðe: OE. middeweard is usually an adjective, occasionally a noun: it is probably adj. here, and miswritten for middewarðre. Comp. ‘In mideward þe felde,’ KH, O 574. clusterlokan is explained as ‘enclosures,’ Morris; ‘cloisters,’ Strat.-Bradley. The corresponding passage in B iv appears to be, ‘Et ostendit illi puteum signatum ·vij· sigillis et ait illi: Sta longe ut possis sustinere fetorem hunc,’ and the meaning, fastening, lock, seems most appropriate here. The word is OE. clūstorloc: comp. Pogatscher, §§ 179, 182; L. L. claustella, pl. of claustellum, is glossed clusterlocæ, Sweet, Oldest E. Texts, 50/220; hæpsan, loca, Napier, OE. Glosses, 106/4003; clustello, loce, fæstene, id. 136/5936. The metrical versions have ‘seals,’ except the Jesus MS., ‘Seoue duren þer beoþ on’; OEM 153/235 and the second prose version renders, ‘a put ylokke wiþ seuen lockes,’ ES xxii. 136/53. Comp. also, ‘Til he vnclustri al þe lokes | þat liif ligges vnder,’ ES ix. 441/59, 60.

42. þar neh, near that place; an expression of rare occurrence; comp. ‘magas þa þe þær neah wæron,’ BH 139/16.

44. escade . . . to: see 77/49; a rare construction, not in OE., and probably influenced by F. demander à; comp. ‘Huet may þe zone betere acsy to his uader þanne bread,’ Ayenbite, 110/14: analogous is, ‘fulluht we to þe ȝeorneð,’ L 29473. But at is older, ‘hwæt axast ðu æt us,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 74/112, and of is in Layamon, ‘he axede gauel of þan londe,’ 6122. Comp. ‘þretest to,’ 155/83.

45. In the Latin and the other versions the bad bishop is not in the ‘puteus,’ but in another place of less torment; there he is ‘avarus et dolosus et superbus,’ here he is specialized into one who iniquitously vexed his tenants and dependants by legal proceedings and steady oppression. So the Monk of Eynsham saw a bishop grievously tormented ‘quod placitoris loco inter saeculares iudices consedere plurimum delectari soleret, multis etiam bona conscientia nitentibus in litigantibus violentus contra iustitiam oppressor exstiterit,’ 698/5. Some contemporary is here meant, such as Gilbert Glanville, Roffensis (Godwin, De Presulibus, i. 572), or perhaps the earlier Gerard of York (id. ii. 27; Mapes, De Nugis Curialium, 224). The haughty maiden of ll. 50-54 is not in the Latin; in all probability she is drawn from the life.

46. lokien: ‘non custodivit legem dei,’ B iv. 77/21; see 4/20 and comp. ‘witen,’ 77/58.

49. swiðe unbisorȝeliche, with great want of care, consideration, like ‘mid mycelre reþnesse,’ said of the bishop’s treatment by the devils in BH 43/29.

52. Elmesȝeorn, fond of giving alms, benevolent; OE. ælmes-georn: it occurs here only in ME. prud . . . ⁊ modi: comp. 3/4; ‘So modi and so prute,’ OEM 82/300.

53. wreðful ⁊ ontful: comp. 56/31.

55. forð mid, together with: see 1/19 note. of, from: a common use with dative in OE.; comp. ‘Peahte ðeod com of Scyþþia lande on scipum,’ Bede, 28/7.

56. on þunres liche, in the likeness of thunder: the alteration of the MS. reading wunres is due to Morris, but the resultant meaning is unsatisfactory. He suggested, on þunres sleȝe, comparing ‘þær com swylce þunres slege,’ Ev. Nichod. ed. Thwaites, 13/3, and the expression occurs in ME. ‘ofdradd of ðese muchele ðþunresleiȝ ðe cumþ ut of godes auȝene muðe,’ VV 11/18. The writer has elsewhere, ‘Vre drihten wile cumen dredliche in fures liche,’ OEH i. 143/15, which may suggest the true reading here. The Latin has ‘deus descendit de celo et dyadema in capite eius’; possibly crunes lurks under wunres.

60. toȝeines, adv., in reply: him depends directly on seide, as in ‘ic eou habbe þet godspel iseid,’ OEH i. 5/13; ‘heom seggen godes lore,’ id. 7/33, though the construction with to is also found in these homilies. Comp. ‘Cuðberhtus him togeanes cwæð,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. ii. 138/34. But the word is generally a preposition, as at 64/56, 86/142. ȝef—is: see 134/84.

61. la hwure, ah! at any rate. This writer uses La mostly with interrogatives, ‘La hu ne beað,’ 89/34; ‘Lahwet scal þis beon,’ 89/36. a þet: see 72/179 note.

63. efterward, in quest of, seeking; = ‘efter’ 7/53; comp. ‘þat ha beon þe lasse afterward swuch þing,’ HM 37/7; ‘Iohannes . . . wearð him æfterweard,’ Ælf. de Novo Testamento, 18/21. Similar uses of the compound in the sense of the simple preposition are, ‘al urommard þisse,’ AR 178/18; 58/66 note; 70/165: ‘They met Beues inwarde the paleys,’ Beues of Hamtoun, 69/1208; ‘alysde of þam witum ða þe towearde wæron,’ Wulfstan, 228/11. Similarly ‘þu most beon on ward þine sunnen,’ OEH i. 37/20 appears to mean, thou must give attention to thy sins.

64. swiðe wa: see 40/181 note and comp. ‘Ofte hadde horn beo wo | At neure wurs þan him was þo,’ KH 115, where him shows that horn is dative. abeh &c.: ‘Post hoc prostravit se Michahel et Paulus et angelorum milia milium ante filium dei,’ B iv.

66. for, by: comp. 94/26.

68. þes þe redþer, the sooner on that account, the sooner. The more regular comparison is seen in, ‘ah þes þe we heoueden mare wele on þisse liue, þes we ahte to beon þe edmoddre,’ OEH i. 5/27, 21/12.

69. a þet: see 72/179 note.

71. non, three o’clock, when the Sunday festival began; ‘ab hora nona sabbati usque in prima hora secunde ferie,’ B iv. 79/21; ‘fram nóntide þæs sæternesdæges oð monandæges lihtincge,’ Wulfstan, 207/11. a þa: see 72/179 note.

72. þet efre forð, for all future time: for þet, until, see 72/179 note; it is so used especially when aþet, or aþa precedes it; comp. ‘a þet ic beo ealdre oðer þet ic beo sec,’ OEH i. 23/3. forð, right onwards, develops the meaning, continuously, ever; comp. ‘ðat we moten forð mid ȝew on blisse wuniȝen,’ VV 21/24, 25/12, 113/16.

74. mucheles, by much; an adverbial genitive, mostly used in comparative phrases, as, ‘mucheles þe swuðere,’ AR 368/6; ‘mucheles þe more,’ OEM 86/74; ‘se læce bið micles to bald,’ Cura Past., 60/2.

75. for—seið: ‘Hanc epistolam scripsit dominus Iesus Xristus manibus suis,’ Sunday Letter in An Eng. Misc., p. 400. The Latin quotations which follow are probably from some redaction or expansion of the same fiction.

79. Ne beo &c.: ‘nec aliud faciatis in die dominico nisi sacerdotibus meis seruiatis,’ An Eng. Misc., 403.

80. bisocnie, visit, frequenting; elsewhere, petition, request: Mätzner compares ON. kirkju-sókn: see chirchsocne 82/4; hamsocne 12/9.

82. iset, miswritten for iseit, translating ‘dicitur.’

85. iloken, observe, from the idea of keeping guard over something; comp. 116/156.

86. ester dei: ‘Dominicum ergo diem Apostoli . . . religiosa sollemnitate habendum sanxerunt, quia in eodem Redemptor noster a mortuis resurrexit,’ Pseudo-August. Sermo cclxxx; ‘dies clarus in quo resurrexit Dominus a morte . . . in quo Spiritus sanctus descendit in Apostolos et in quo speramus Dominum nostrum . . . ad judicium venturum,’ id. Sermo clxvii. Comp. Wulfstan 219/27-29, 230/26-28; 294/5-12; Alcuin, ii. 488; OEH i. 143/7.

91. hafð mid hire, there is inherent in it.

92. mihte, virtues, the power to accomplish certain purposes.

93. eorðe þrelles: a combination after the pattern of eorðwaru, as in ‘Sunne dei blisseð togederes houeneware ⁊ horðeware,’ OEH i. 139/22: not ‘slaves,’ Morris, but said of men generally as enslaved by earthly pursuits; comp. 14/54-56.

94. heom: the corrupt reading of the MS. perhaps points to he heom as the original; see 77/39 note. Comp. ‘þe sonenday is best of alle | þanne aungles habbuz heore pley,’ Archiv lii. 35, the Latin has only ‘in quo [die] gaudent angeli et archangeli maior diebus ceteris.’

96. ireste . . . of: comp. 76/6.

97. Whosoever then observes Sunday . . . let them be participators &c., is a sentence of much the same type as, ‘Se þe Drihten ondræde herie hine, eall Iacobes cynn,’ Psalter, ed. Thorpe, xxi. 21; 77/39. Morris suggests the change of heo to he, but singular and plural in these texts often alternate: for beo, pl. subj., see 82/119. þa oðer halie daȝes: the feast-days of obligation.

100. abuten ende: see 34/85 note.

Literature: ... Bedae Opera Historica text unchanged, but work cited spells it “Baedae”

w is added ... ġ is ȝ “ȝ” misprinted as bold instead of italic

Accidence: ... monedeis 72; 72:

The weak declension ... strong and weak, is e; e,

The personal pronouns ... (dei like L. dies is fm.) L dies

(1) S. Paul in ... One of these, the Ἀναβατικὸν Παύλου, is lost Παύλου is

represented in a Latin version Version

The Latin version ... (4) Anonymous, B.M. Add. 15606 B M

XI. HIC DICENDUM EST DE PROPHETA

Manuscript: As for piece x.

Editions: Morris, R., OEH i. 47-53, and Specimens, 21-25.

Literature: Cohn, O., Die Sprache in der me. Predigtsammlung der Hs. Lambeth 487, Berlin, 1880.

Phonology &c.: See piece x, pp. 407, 410, 413.

Introduction: No source has been found for this singular piece, which, in its treatment of Jeremiah in the pit as the type of the unshriven sinner, differs from the usual mystical interpretations of this episode in the life of the prophet. So Adam of Prémontré, ‘Pax tibi, o sanctificate in utero, virgo et sacerdos Dei, o Jeremia sanctissime! quem de lacu lutoso et funes et panni levant veteres, quia sanctos Dei ab aeterno ad vitam ab ipso praedestinatos de sordido vitae praesentis profundo et sacrae Scripturae praecepta et sancta elevant exempla,’ De triplici genere Contemplationis, Migne, P. L., cxcviii., col. 824. So for S. Gregory, the ropes are ‘praecepta Dominica,’ the old rags, ‘antiquorum patrum exempla,’ Moralia, xxv. 7, and the interpretation of Hugh of S. Victor, ii. 256, is similar.

The homily consists of two parts, very dissimilar in style and discordant in tone; the joint is plainly discernible at 81/76. The first part is an earnest insistence on the necessity of sacramental confession, a question much debated at the time of this sermon and after, till it was finally disposed of by the fourth Lateran Council in 1215 A.D. The passages in Latin, like 81/64, do not necessarily imply a Latin original, they are rather headings of the divisions of the discourse, which is probably an effort of the writer’s own ingenuity in support of his favourite contention. It contains no hint of the crabs and other ‘wurmes’ of the pit. The second part reads like a translation; it has all the vivacity and simple directness of the contemporary French Sermo ad Populum. Its leading idea was probably suggested by the famous apologue in the legend of Barlaam of the man who, pursued by a furious unicorn, fell into a well tenanted by a dragon, a four-headed snake, and two mice. This story was used by Eudes de Cheriton, p. 217, and Jacques de Vitry, no. cxxxiv.

The thirty-third Homily in OEH ii. should be compared with this second part: it is in the same style, if not by the same author.

1. The Latin is based on Jeremiah xxxviii. 6-13, but there is no authority in that place for the second sentence and the first half of the fourth. Comestor adds to the Scripture narrative, ‘et erat propheta in luto usque ad guttur.’

7. ꝥ = þet: see 76/8, 25.

8. ⁊ ꝥ, and what is more, and indeed: comp. 80/33; OEH i. 121/9.

12. claðes: ‘veteres pannos et antiqua quae computruerant,’ Jer. xxxviii. 11.

15. bitacnunge, spiritual meaning, allegorical significance.

17. fuliwis: see 32/40. almihtin, comp. 51/337: according to NED., it owes its n to imitation of drihtin: Morsbach, ME. Gram. 95/4 sets it down to late OE. acc. ælmihtigne.

18. Beati &c.: S. Luke xi. 28.

23. Alanus de Insulis, Opera, ed. Visch, 78, has the same words as a quotation without naming the author. S. Gregory, Regula Pastoralis, pars iii. ch. 34 and in four other places, quotes 2 Pet. ii. 21 thus, ‘Melius enim eis non cognoscere viam justitiae, quam post agnitionem retrorsum converti ab eo quod illis traditum est.’

25. þe: miswritten for þen; see 80/39: þet, from the preceding clause, is to be understood with it.

26. ‘Qui declinat aures suas ne audiat legem, oratio eius erit execrabilis,’ Prov. xxviii. 9, is quoted by S. Gregory, Moral., xvi. ch. 21, with variant ‘aurem suam,’ as in Codex Amiatinus, and again Moral., x. ch. 15, with ‘avertit aurem suam.’ Obturat is probably due to ‘Qui obturat aures suas,’ Isa. xxxiii. 15, also quoted by S. Gregory, Op. i. 755.

28. þe—beoð, that proceed from him.

29. unwurðe: pl. OE. unwierþ, despicable: see 26/258. Puteus &c. What follows is drawn from S. Augustine’s Enarratio in Psalmum lxviii. 15, 16, ‘Eripe me de luto ut non infigar: libera me ab iis, qui oderunt me, et de profundis aquarum. Non me demergat tempestas aquae, neque absorbeat me profundum: neque urgeat super me puteus os suum,’ on which part of the comment is, ‘Magnus est puteus profunditas iniquitatis humanae: illuc quisque si ceciderit, in altum cadet. Sed tamen ibi positus, si confitetur peccata Deo suo, non super eum claudet puteus os suum,’ Op. iv¹, col. 523, an interpretation adopted by Bede, viii. 655. The writer of the homily probably had for his immediate source the abbreviated quotation in the Liber Poenitentialis of Alanus, 195. Comp. OEH ii. 43 for another comment on this passage.

32. heueð sunnen: see 54/8.

34. glutenerie, gluttony: OF. glutunerie; apparently here only.

35. ꝥ: comp. 1/10.

37. hames, estates, possessions, as in ‘hig cípton ealle hira hámas,’ Gen. xlvii. 20 = ‘vendentibus singulis possessiones suas.’

38. tunes, enclosures, such as parks: comp. OE. dēor-tūn.

39. þe liggeð—arisen: comp. ‘in quo lacu sunt multi qui se ibi esse non sentiunt, quia peccata sua non attendunt, nec clamant ad Dominum,’ Beda, viii. 508.

41. propheta, S. Augustine: the quotation in Alanus is ‘non claudet super te os suum, si tu non claudas os tuum.’

43. Comp. ‘ne ꝥ þe pit tune ouer me his muð,’ OEH ii. 43/16.

45. feower daȝes oðer fiue, for a considerable length of time: comp. ‘Iesus þo his wille wes · aros from deþe to lyue. | Þeyh hyne bi-wusten knyhtes voure oþer vyue,’ OEM 52/538.

46. ualleð &c.: probably suggested by ‘Lacum aperuit, et effodit eum: et incidit in foveam, quam fecit,’ Ps. vii. 16.

47. him: comp. 2/17, 120/96, 121/132. This dative instead of the possessive adj. is common with parts of the body affected: in ‘þat his ribbes him to brake,’ KH 1077 we find both. ꝥ is ꝥ, that means: comp. ‘ꝥ is þet þe deofel þe geð abutan . . . ꝥ he neure ne maȝe cuman wið-innan us,’ OEH i. 127/27. þer &c., where he never again cometh out of penance, i.e. where he must make perpetual expiation instead of a brief one on earth. For omission of the subject comp. 6/18 and for of = out of, ‘forfaren of ða rihte weiȝe,’ VV 125/30: for bote comp. 80/58. Morris, in OEH i. 48, translates, ‘from whence he will never again return to repent,’ joining þer of and taking bote as = to bote. In Specimens it is taken to mean, ‘therefrom neuer again cometh help,’ but of should be after bote for that sense, comp. 64/61, 66/116, and the examples in the note at 1/3, though the prep. is occasionally awkwardly placed before a noun which it does not govern, as at 84/45,106/210.

51. þreo herde weies: comp. ‘Tria debent occurrere ad hoc ut vera sit confessio; scilicet cordis contritio, oris professio, operis satisfactio. . . . Haec est via trium dierum per quam debemus ire in solitudinem,’ Alanus, 99. But it is a commonplace: see the Liber Sacerdotalis on Confession. In a French sermon we find, ‘Vocabatur [diabolus] primo, gallice “Clocuer,” claudens cor contra contritionem; secundo “Cloboche,” claudens os contra confessionem; tertio “Cloborse,” claudens bursam contra satisfactionem,’ Hauréau, Notices, iv. 159.

54. dede wel endinge is wrongly explained in Specimens as = wel dede endinge, completion or performance of good works. It is a very literal translation of the Latin phrase, dede, gen. = operis, wel = satis, endinge = factio. For enden, to perform, especially of religious observances, comp. 77/32; ‘þat oure louerd hem ȝeue grace: þis holi dede wel ende,’ E. E. Poems, 47/137. Cordis &c.: the source of this is unknown to me.

56. þe[nne]: the correction was perhaps unnecessary, for þe = when, occurs in OEH i. 79/21: possibly in both places þe is for þē = þen.

58. sunbote, confession, here corresponds to ‘oris confessione’: its more usual meaning is penance, ‘operis satisfactione,’ as in ‘Alle weldede beoð freomfulle to sun-bote · ah nan mare freomful denne elmes idal,’ OEH i. 135/29: so ‘bote’ in l. 48 above. In 48/314, ‘cume to bote’ has a more general sense of, find pardon.

60. þruh, coffin, not ‘tomb,’ Morris; the burial belongs to the third stage, 81/63.

61. scrift underuongest, dost undertake, submit to the penance enjoined by the priest: comp. ‘ær he hæbbe godcunde bote underfangen,’ = ‘antequam divinam emendationem susceperit,’ Schmid, Gesetze, 178/5.

62. þenne &c., when thou hast done penance for thy sins in accordance with the directions of thy confessor: see 62/30.

63. þine onwalde, authority, power over thee: þine corresponds to the genitive which goes with OE. anweald, onweald in the same sense, as ‘onwald . . . ðæs folces,’ Cura Past., 3/5, power over the nation.

66. heuie is probably a mistake for heued; comp. 80/32; but ‘heuie sennen,’ OEH ii. 11/29.

67. sunbendes: ‘colligationes impietatis,’ Isa. lviii. 6; comp. 85/100; ‘þeo þat ye aleseþ here · of heore sunnes bende,’ OEM 55/629. Similarly ‘bendes’ 40/188: the verb is common, 135/123; ‘Ðe ilke mann ðe is ibunden mid heaued-senne,’ VV 101/8; OEM 192/5.

76. in alesnesse, for the deliverance: in expresses purpose and the noun is historically accusative; comp. ‘in gemynd þæs wundres,’ Beda, 204/27.

77. þe . . . embe, about which: comp. 1/3; 89/48; 90/73; 118/44; ‘mast ðar embe spekð,’ VV 101/9. So, þe . . . mide, 79.

80. fower cunnes wurmes, crawling things of four kinds; in such expressions the sing. gen. cunnes often displaces the normal plural; comp. 27/295, 88/13, 92/117, 119/90, 124/264, 134/93, 187/358, and contrast ‘kunne,’ 132/9 note. So too the predicative ‘manie kinnes,’ of many kinds, 85/104, 105.

82. ⁊ beoreð, which carry: parataxis as in 150/27; ‘Euelin iseh enne gume . . . ⁊ bar an his riht hond; ænne stelene brond,’ L 8435.

85. euer, as an invariable result; comp. 7/69. Connect se mare, the more. strengðdeð him, exerts himself; comp. ‘⁊ streinþede him by al ys miht | to serue god,’ Bödd., AE. Dicht. 257/7. to swimminde, in order to swim, for swimming: corresponding in form to LWS. to swimmende, alternating with the regular dat. infinitive to swimmene: comp. ‘to quemende,’ 84/68, 70; ‘to lesende,’ 87/148; ‘to clensende,’ 87/177. Another exchange of terminations is seen in ‘Hit is to vnderstondinge þat sir Renaud . . . purchacede’ &c., An Eng. Miscellany, 350/6. The writer has ‘to brekene,’ 76/31, ‘for to lokien,’ 76/9.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

100. þes—ehte: read þes weorldes muchele ehte.

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

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

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

105. trukie: comp. 72/183.

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

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

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

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

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

61. ... Schmid, Gesetze, 178/5. Schmidt

103. ... The parallelism between ‘nec—dare’ and ‘maȝen—godalmihtin’ second set of quotation marks missing

XII. SERMONS FOR PALM SUNDAY AND EASTER DAY

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

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

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

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

Phonology: Oral a is a, ateliche 128, axen 183; a before nasals, a, manne 168, þanken 48, but o in þonc 72, þonked 84, 139; a before lengthening groups, o, honde 23, understondeð 146, but a in lange 101, 184, understandeð 180: þanne 45, 136 alternates with þenne 52, 117. æ is a (12 times), bad 88, 120, wat 175, and e (9 times), bed 11, set 71, wecche 97. e is e, eft 37, bendes 100, but understont 176, understant 181 (-stent). i is i, bidden 188, bringen 11, often written ȳ in synne OEH ii. 57/5, synfulle id. 57/17, synegeden id. 65/16, and similar words: but i is e in beð 122 (from pl.), sleðrende 169. o is o, biforen 28, one 11, 14, borde 87, wolde 22, but an 185, a 4 (5 times). u is u, burh 21, bunden 127, but o in comen 66, 69, folcninge 111, beside fulcninge 114. y is i (29 times), iuele 116, kinne 103 (3), but e in specð 85, euel OEH ii. 183/10, kenne id. 201/11, u in cunde 162, fulste 76; cuinde 160 shows hesitation between u and i. ā is normally o, aros 137, bitocneð 102, but a 11, an 19, hatte 9, naðeles 13, 74. ǣ₁ is mostly e, bileueð 158, clensinge 186, leren 65, but a in ani 136, ar OEH ii. 11/24, lareð id. 15/2, o in goð 4, 56 (from plural); a diphthong has developed before sc in fleis 144 (6). ǣ₂ is also mostly e, beren 23, selðe 123, but a in aristes 140, adrade OEH ii. 193/18, dade id. 187/22. ē is e, bete 73, este 166, but o in doð 15, 159, 164 (from plural), ie in gie OEH ii. 21/9. ī is i, lichame 126, lif 67. ō is o, blod 47, blostme 24, but te 11. ū is u, abuten 101, husel 47. ȳ is i, kidde 135, e, bet 147, u, cudden 18.

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

a + g is ag, lage OEH ii. 3/6, dages id. 3/14. æ + g is ai, dai 4 (5), fair 12 (3), mai 38 (4), but sunedeies 99, seið 24, 31, seide 155. e + g is ei, leiden 20, wei 32 (5); agen 37, 182 descends from ongēn, so togenes 19, but toȝanes OEH ii. 177/32 is tōgēanes. e + h gives eh, sehte 51 (3), sehtnesse 53, but Scand. sahtnesse 50. i + g, reine 171 (O.North. regnian). u + g is ug, muge 152, 188, but mo 77 (Kentish). y + h, drihten 33, driste 189. ā + g is seen in agen 165, ogen 121; ǣ₁ + g in eiðer 126; ē + g in tweie 39, tweien 10, 17, tweire 103; underfoð 106 (-fēhþ) has o from the plural. ō + g gives boges 33, 65; ō + h, boh 24, brohten 34; ū + g, bugen 88 (3). The i-umlaut of ēa + ht is i in mihte 135, 159, ie in niehtes OEH ii. 11/5. eo + h is represented in riht 68, rihte 143, six 96, sixte 101, its i-umlaut in sest OEH ii. 137/5, seð id. 121/26. ēa + g, h in hege 21, heg 35, nehgebures 122; hegeste 176 has no umlaut. ēo + ht is seen in leochtes OEH ii. 11/5, liht id. 13/16. ā + w is ou, ow, soule 116 (4), snow 169, wowe 138, 181; noðer 12 is nōþer, noht 65, nōht. ēa + w is ew, sheweð 94. ēo + w is eow, eou in reoweð 119, reouð 122, ew in trewes 34, 60, hew 159 but hiu 158 (hīew), giu 147, 148, 153, comp. ȝiu 16/117: feorðe 99 is fēorþa, reoðe 121 (*hrēowð) is probably miswritten for reowðe.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

52. of þe calice. At this period, the celebrant after the consecration of the elements kissed the chalice and then the Deacon, with the words ‘Habete vinculum pacis et caritatis’; the Deacon next passed on the kiss to the assistants and so to the congregation. See York Missal, i. 198, Zaccaria, Bibliotheca Ritualis, ii². cxlviii-cli. Ælfric calls the messe cos, ‘sibbe coss,’ Lives, ii. 46/699.

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

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

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

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

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

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

68. quemende: see 81/85 note.

69. hereworde: see 56/37.

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

73. semeð, burdeneth, as at 4/18.

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

79. Read secla.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

100. sinne bendes: see 81/67 note. crepe to cruche, creeping to the cross; the adoration of the cross on Good Friday; Rock, Church of our Fathers, iii². 88.

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

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

105. do: comp. 122/185 note.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

148. to lesende: see 81/85 note.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

163. swo doð: comp. 6/18 note.

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

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

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

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

177. clensende: see 81/85 note.

178. michele sinnes, mortal sins.

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

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

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

Phonology: ... and e (9 times), bed 11 comma missing

ea in smeart pt. s. OEH ii. 21/27, ia in giarked 84 “ia in giarked 84” added by author

eo, å-umlaut of e a-umlaut

eo, u- and å-umlaut of i a-umlaut

a + g ... toȝanes OEH ii. 177/32 is tōgēanes. corrected by author from togeanes

underfoð 106 (-fēhþ) has o from the plural —fēhþ

ēa + g eā

In nemed 118 ... ss is simplified s is

The infinitive ... pr. pl. subj. 88, 88;

pt. pl. 31; gon inf. 101, goð pr. s. 4, 56. 31,

112. ... secundum rabanum lower-case as shown

XIII. VICES AND VIRTUES

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

Facsimile: Palæographical Society; Second Series, plate 92.

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

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

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

The representation of ā wavers between a and o, the former predominating, lare 20 (3), lore 57 (3), swa 5, swo 12, wat 136, wot 137; before two consonants, annesse 115, onnesse 148, tacneð 79, tocneð 130. ǣ₁ is regularly a, ani 35 (5), sade 75 (8); before two consonants, alche 139, aure 125 (3), but æ in ær 4, 47, bræde 44, mæst 29, næure 31, tæche 54, ea in sea 22; ilke 130 descends from ylc. ǣ₂ is also a, dade 92, 98, rad 19, 42, ware 129; before two consonants, blastes 27, latst 48, but æ in ræd 44, wære 60, and e in leten 56, nahwer 83. ē is e, bene 95, feden 116, before two consonants, dest 36, misferde 125, but ie in hie 36, hier 144, and more frequently in other places, bienes VV 65/3, diest id. 41/2; o in doð 33, 42 is from the plural. ī is i, liue 8, wisdome 32, but bleðeliche 66 beside bliðeliche 63. ō is o, don 123, godnesse 91. ū is u, trukede 120, dust 70. ȳ is e in screden 116, ie in inȝied 80, 91 (ingehȳd), i in litle 12, litel 42, 91, little 136.

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

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

a + g is aȝ, laȝe 128, 131, forðdraȝen 97. æ + g is ai, faire 11, mai 34, sai 94 (sæge), tail 129, but daiȝ 77. e + g is ei, aweiward 48, seið 17 (segeð), but iseȝen 119 (gesegen). o + g is seen in ibroiden 28; o + ht in þohtes 25, 30. u + g is uȝ, muȝe 97, muge 125. ā + g, h are seen in wauȝe 89, auh 17; ǣ₁ + ht in betaht 7; ǣ₂ + g in ȝeseiȝe 124; ē + g in wreiȝede 83; ī + g in stieð 24; ō + g in bowes 44, ō + ht in besouhte 84, ȝeþouht 46, þouhten 77; ea + h in iseih 94; ie + ht in miht 98, mihte 5 &c., mihtes 46, niht 77; eo + ht in riht 146; ēa + h in þeih 105; īe + ht in ieiht 96; ā + w in saule 10 (6), sawle 80: naht 12, 87, 126 is nāht. nielnesse 30 represents neowolnes. ēa + w gives eaw, feawe 40, sceawin 25 (3), unðeawes 55; ēo + w, ew, ȝew 20, ȝewer 19, ȝewere 20, newe 131, īe + w, ew, trewe 39.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. ute, in the cloister.

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

4. þe, with which: see 46/292 note.

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

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

10. For none winde, because of any wind.

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

13. kennes: see 81/80 note.

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

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

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

20. fullȝewiss: see 32/40.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

42. te gode: comp. 30/21.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

66. on iþanke: comp. 12/4.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

86. cwide, legacy.

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

89. dede þat betste, took the best course.

90. for—idon, exerted myself cheerfully for love of thee.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

127. ðe—to sant, to whom God sends it.

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

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

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

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

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

139. twene, doubt: OE. twȳn.

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

147. on, in: see 83/15.

149. ne heriȝe: see 25/241 note.

151. ofte ⁊ ȝelome: see 32/47.

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

Facsimile: Palæographical Society anomalous æ unchanged

ea before r ... halt 40 (heald) 40,

ēa is ea ... ȝīet is ȝiet 90, 95. text unchanged: apparent error for gīet

a + g is aȝ, laȝe 128, 131, forðdraȝen 97 forðdragen

59. ... ‘ðarof ðe,’ id. 69/26 open quote missing

‘ðar to ðe,’ id. 73/15 close quote missing

93. ... Comp. ‘þa ða he hamwerd wæs,’ Comp,

XIV. LAȜAMON

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

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

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

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

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

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