VI

Bremly broþe on a bent þat brode watȝ aboute165.

Inflexions: The rimewaþe:ta þe287-9 shows that organic final-ewas sometimes pronounced in the poet's dialect.

VERB: pres. ind. 1 sg.haf23;leue60.2 sg.spelleȝ72.3 sg.prayses4;tas237.2 pl.ȝe han25.3 pl.han345.imper. pl.gotȝ(=gǭs) 51,cayreȝ52.pres. p. normally-ande, e.g.schaterande15; but very rarely-yng:gruchyng58.strong pp.born2,wonnen23;tone(=taken) 91.The weak pa. t. and pp. show occasional-(e)tfor-(e)d:halt11,fondet57, &c.Note that present forms in-ie(n)are preserved, and theiextended to the past tense:louy(OE.lufian) 27,louies31;spuryed25.PRONOUN 3 PERS.: pl. nom.þay9; poss.hor345, besideher352; obj.hom, besidehem353.

VERB: pres. ind. 1 sg.haf23;leue60.

2 sg.spelleȝ72.

3 sg.prayses4;tas237.

2 pl.ȝe han25.

3 pl.han345.

imper. pl.gotȝ(=gǭs) 51,cayreȝ52.

pres. p. normally-ande, e.g.schaterande15; but very rarely-yng:gruchyng58.

strong pp.born2,wonnen23;tone(=taken) 91.

The weak pa. t. and pp. show occasional-(e)tfor-(e)d:halt11,fondet57, &c.

Note that present forms in-ie(n)are preserved, and theiextended to the past tense:louy(OE.lufian) 27,louies31;spuryed25.

PRONOUN 3 PERS.: pl. nom.þay9; poss.hor345, besideher352; obj.hom, besidehem353.

Sounds:ǭfor olderāis common, and is proved for the original by rimes likemore:restore(OFr.restorer) 213-15,þore:restore286-8. Butais often written in the MS.:snaw20, 166 (note rimes),halden29, &c.

ufor OE.y, characteristic of Western dialects, is found especially in the neighbourhood of labial consonants:spuryed(OE.spyrian) 25;muryly268, 277;muntvb. 194 and sb. 282; besidemyntes284,lyfte78,hille13.

ufor OE.eo(normal ME.e) is another Western feature:burne3, 21, &c.,rurde151.

awfor OE.ēow(normal ME.ew,ow) as intrawe44,trawþe219,rawþe136, is still found in some Northern dialects.

Spelling:ȝ(=z) is commonly written for finals:bredeȝ3, &c.;even when the finalsis certainly voiceless as inforȝ, 'force', 'torrent' 105,(aȝ-)leȝ'fear-less' 267.tȝis written forsin monosyllabic verbal forms, where it indicates the maintenance of voiceless finalsunder the stress (see rimes tohatȝ'has',VI81):watȝ'was' 1,gotȝ'goes' 51, &c. In early Norman Frenchzhad the soundts, and so could be writtentz, as inFitz-Gerald'son (Mod. Fr.fils) of Gerald'. But later, French(t)zfell together withsin pronunciation, so that the spellingtzwas transferred to originals, both in fourteenth-century Anglo-French and in English.

qu-occurs for strongly aspiratedhw-inquyte'white' 20,quat'what' 111; but the alliteration is withw, not withk(w), e.g.

And wythquettyng awharf, er hewolde lyȝt152.

The spellinggoud5, 50, &c., forgōd'good' may indicate a sound change.

Notable is the carefully distinguished use ofȝinȝe, butyinyow, e.g. at ll. 23-6.

3.blessed hym, 'crossed himself'; cp.XIIb86.

4-6. 'He gives a word of praise to the porter,— kneeled before the prince (i.e. Gawayn) greeted him with "God and good day," and "May He save Gawayn!"—and went on his way, attended only by his man, who, &c.' Clumsiness in turning direct speech into reported speech is a constant source of difficulty in Middle English. For the suppressed relative cp. note toXIIIa36.

11. 'The clouds were high, but it was threatening below them.'Haltforhaletpp. 'drawn up'.

16. 'The way by which they had to go through the wood was very wild.' Note the regular omission of a verb of motion aftershall,will, &c. Cp. l. 64I wyl to þe chapel; l. 332ȝe schal... to my woneȝ, &c.

28. 'If you would act according to my wit (i.e. by my advice) you would fare the better.'

34.Hector, oþer oþer, 'Hector, or any other'. Hector is quoted as the great hero of the Troy story, from which, and from the legends of Arthur, the Middle Ages drew their models of valour.

35. 'He brings it about at the green chapel ', &c.

37.dyngeȝ: for MS.dynneȝ; Napier's suggestion.

41. 'He would as soon (lit. it seems to him as pleasant to) kill him, as be alive himself.'

43. 'If you reach that place you will be killed, I may warn you, knight.' PossiblyI,y, has fallen out of the text afteryofmay(cp.VI3), though there are clear instances in Old and Middle English where the pronominal subject must be understood from the context, e.g. I 168,VIIIa237, 273. Note thetransitions from pluralȝeto singularþein ll. 42-3; and the evidence at l. 72 f. thatþoucould still be used in addressing a superior.

44.Trawe ȝe me þat:trowhas here a double construction with bothmeandþatas direct objects.

56. 'That I shall loyally screen you, and never give out the tale that you fled for fear of any man that I knew.'

64.for chaunce þat may falle, 'in spite of anything that may happen'.

68-9. 'Though he be a stern lord (lit. a stern man to rule), and armed with a stave'. The short lines are built more with a view to rime than to sense.

72-4. 'Marry!' said the other, 'now you say so decidedly that you will take your own harm upon yourself, and it pleases you to lose your life, I have no wish to hinder you.'

76.ryde me: an instance of the rare ethic dative, which expresses some interest in the action of the verb on the part of one who is neither the doer of the action nor its object. Distinguish the uses referred to in the notes toII289,XVg24.

86.Lepeȝ hym, 'gallops'. Forhym, which refers to the rider, not the horse, cp. note toXVg24.

92.Gryngolet: the name of Gawayn's horse.gedereȝ þe rakeseems to mean 'takes the path'. No similar transitive use of 'gather' is known.

95.he wayted hym aboute, 'he looked around him'. Cp. l. 221wayteȝ, and note to l. 121.

99. 'The clouds seemed to him grazed by the crags'; i.e. the crags were so high that they seemed to him to scrape the clouds. I owe to Professor Craigie the suggestion thatskaynedis ON.skeina'to graze', 'scratch'.

102-4. 'And soon, a little way off on an open space, a mound (as it appeared) seemed to him remarkable.'

107.kacheȝ his caple, 'takes control of his horse', i.e. takes up the reins again to start the horse after the halt mentioned at l. 100.

109.his riche: possibly 'his good steed'. The substantival use of an adjective is common in alliterative verse, e.g. l. 188þat schyre(neck); 200þe schene(axe); 245þe scharp(axe); 343þat cortays(lady). But it has been suggested thatbrydelhas fallen out of the text afterriche.

114. 'And it was all hollow within, nothing but an old cave.'

115 f.he couþe hit noȝt deme with spelle, 'he could not say '. Fordeme'to speak', &c., cp.VI1,XVb29-30.

118.Wheþercommonly introduces a direct question and should not be separately translated. Cp.VI205 and note toXIa51.

121.wysty is here, 'it is desolate here'. NoteWowayn=Wauwayn, an alternative form ofGawaynused for the alliteration. The alternation is parallel to that inguardian:warden;regard:rewardXIVc105;guarantee:warranty;(bi)gyled359:(bi)wyled357;werre'war' beside Frenchguerre;wait'watch' (as at l. 95) beside Frenchguetter; and is due to dialectal differences in Old French. The Anglo-Norman dialect usually preservedwin words borrowed from Germanic or Celtic, while others replaced it bygw,gu, which later became simplegin pronunciation.

125.in my fyue wytteȝ: construe withfele.

127.þat chekke hit bytyde, 'which destruction befall!'þat... hit= 'which'.chekkerefers to the checkmate at chess.

135. Had we not Chaucer's Miller andThe Reeves Tale, the vividness and intimacy of the casual allusions would show the place of the flour-mill in mediaeval life. Havelok drives out his foes

So dogges ut of milne-hous;

and the Nightingale suggests as fit food for the Owl

one froggeÞat sit at mulne vnder cogge.

one frogge

Þat sit at mulne vnder cogge.

These are records of hours spent by the village boys amid the noise of grinding and rush of water, in times when there was no rival mechanism to share the fascination of the water-driven mill.

137-43. 'This contrivance, as I believe, is prepared, sir knight, for the honour of meeting me by the way. Let God work His will, Lo! It helps me not a bit. Though I lose my life, no noise causes me to fear.' It has been suggested thatwel ooo'weal or woe' should be read instead of the interjectionwe loo!But Gawayn's despair (l. 141) is not in keeping with ll. 70 f., 90 f., or with the rest of his speech. The looseness of the short lines makes emendation dangerous. Otherwise we might readHit helppeȝ þe not a mote, i.e. whatever happens, mere noise will not help the Green Knight by making Gawayn afraid; or, alternatively,hermeȝ'harms' forhelppeȝ.

151. 'Yet he went on with the noise with all speed for a while, and turned away with his grinding, before he would come down.' The nonchalance of the Green Knight is marked throughout the poem.

155.A Deneȝ ax: the ordinary long-bladed battle-axe was called a 'Danish' axe, in Frenchhache danoise, because the Scandinavians in their raids on England and France first proved its efficiency in battle.

158.bi þat lace, ' by the lace'. InGawayne(ll. 217 ff. of the full text) the axe used at the first encounter is described. It had:

A lace lapped aboute, þat louked at þe hede,And so after þe halme halched ful ofte,Wyth tryed tasseleȝ þerto tacched innoghe, &c.

A lace lapped aboute, þat louked at þe hede,

And so after þe halme halched ful ofte,

Wyth tryed tasseleȝ þerto tacched innoghe, &c.

'A lace wrapped about , which was fastened at the head, and was wound about the handle again and again, with many choice tassels fastened to it', &c.

159.as fyrst, 'as at the first encounter', i.e. when he rode into Arthur's hall. His outfit of green is minutely described at ll. 151 ff. of the full text.

162.Sette þe stele to þe stone: i.e. he used the handle of the axe as a support when crossing rough ground.stele= 'handle', not 'steel'.

164.hypped... strydeȝ: note the frequent alternation of past tense and historic present. So ll. 3-4passed... prayses; 107-8kacheȝ... com... liȝteȝ; 280-1haldeȝ... gef, &c.

169 f. 'Now, sweet sir, one can trust you to keep an appointment.'

175.þat þe falled, 'what fell to your lot', i.e. the right to deal the first blow.

177.oure one, 'by ourselves'. Toone'alone' in early ME. the dative pronoun was added for emphasis,him one,us one, &c. Later and more rarely the possessive pronoun is found, as here.Al(l)was also used to strengthenone; so that there are six possible ME. types: (1)one, e.g. ll. 6, 50; (2)him one; (3)his one; (4)al one=alonel. 87; (5)al him one, orhim al one; (6)al his one, orhis al one.

181.at a wap one, 'at a single blow'.

183. 'I shall grudge you no good-will because of any harm that befalls me.'

189-90. 'And acted as if he feared nothing: he would not tremble (dare) with terror.'

196. 'He (Gawayn) who was ever valiant would have been dead from his blow there.'

200. It must not be supposed that the chief incidents ofSir Gawaynewere invented by the English poet. The three strokes, for example, two of them mere feints and the third harmless, can be shown to derive from the lost French source, which has Irish analogues. See pp. 71-4 ofA Study of Gawain and the Green Knight(London 1916), by Professor Kittredge, a safe guide in the difficult borderland of folklore and romance.

207. 'Nor did I raise any quibble in the house of King Arthur.' Onkyngeȝ hous Arthorsee note toII518.

222.ryueȝ: the likeness ofnanduin MSS. of the time makes it impossible to say whether the verb isriue'to cleave', which is supported by l. 278, orrine, OE.hrīnan, 'to touch'.

230. 'And look out for your neck at this stroke, if it may survive.'

233.I hope: here, and often in ME.,hopemeans 'believe', 'expect'.

250. Gawayn appears to have carried his shield on his back. By a movement of his shoulders he lets it fall in front of him, so that he can use it in defence.

258.foo, 'fiercely', adv. parallel withȝederly.

269.rykande, 'ringing'; Napier's suggestion for MS.rykande.

271-2. 'Nobody here has ill-treated you in an unmannerly way, nor shown you ': the object ofkydbeing understood fromvnmanerly mysboden.habbeȝfor MS.habbeis Napier's reading.

278-9. 'And cleft you with no grievous wound, I rightly proffered you, because of the compact we made fast', &c. It is better to assume a suppression of the relative, than to put a strong stop afterrofand treatsoreas sb. object ofprofered. This latter punctuation givessorethe chief stress in the line, and breaks the alliteration and rhythm, which is correct as long assoreis taken withrof, so that its stress is subordinated.

286-7. 'Let a true man truly repay—then one need dread no peril.'

291.weued: perhaps not a weak pa. t. ofweave-woven, but rather means 'to give', from OE.wǣfan, 'to move';weuein this sense occurs inGawaynel. 1976.

294-5. 'And truly you seem to me the most faultless man that ever walked on foot.' The ME. construction,on þe fautlest, whereon'one' strengthens the superlative, is found in Chaucer,Clerk's Tale212:

Thanne was she oon the faireste under sonne,

and still survives in Shakespeare's time, e.g.Henry VIII, II. iv. 48 f.one the wisest prince. It has been compared with Latinunus maximus, &c. In modern English the apposition has been replaced, with weakening of the sense:oneofthe (wisest), &c.

298.yow lakked... yow wonted: impersonal, sinceyowis dative, 'there was lacking in you'.

319. 'Let me win your good-will', 'Pardon me'.

331. I have transposed MS.ofþe grene chapelatcheualrous knyȝteȝ, because such a use ofatis hardly conceivable. A copyist might easily make the slip. Cp. l. 35.

344.Boþe þat on and þat oþer: Besides the Green Knight's young wife, there was a much older lady in the castle, 'yellow', with 'rugh, ronkled chekeȝ', and so wrapped up

Þat noȝt watȝ bare of þat burde bot þe blake broȝes,Þe tweyne yȝen, and þe nase, þe naked lyppeȝ,And þose were soure to se, and sellyly blered.Gawaynell. 961-3.

Þat noȝt watȝ bare of þat burde bot þe blake broȝes,

Þe tweyne yȝen, and þe nase, þe naked lyppeȝ,

And þose were soure to se, and sellyly blered.

Gawaynell. 961-3.

350-1. 'And David afterwards, who suffered much evil, was blinded by Bathsheba.'

352-6. 'Since these were injured with their wiles, it would be a great gain to love them well, and not believe them—for a man who could do it [cp. note toXIb209]. For these (Adam, Solomon, &c.) were of old the noblest, whom all happiness followed, surpassingly, above all the others that lived beneath the heavens.'mused'thought' is used for the rime, and means no more than 'lived'. ll. 354-6 amount to 'above all other men'.

Dialect: West Midland, likeGawayne.

The metre occasionally gives clear evidence that final flexional-eof the original has not always been preserved in the extant MS., e.g.

Þaȝ cortaysly ȝe carp<ė> con21.

The most noteworthy verbal forms are:

pres. ind. 1 sg.byswykeȝ208 (once only, in rime);2 sg.þou quyteȝ235;3 sg.leþeȝ17;totȝ(=tǭs=tās=takes) 153 (note).1 pl.we leuen65;we calle70;3 pl.temen100 (and cp. ll. 151-2);knawe145; butþay gotȝ150,pykeȝ213 (both in rime).imperative pl.dyspleseȝ62;gos,dotȝ161.pres. p.spornande3.pp.runne(in rime) 163, besidewroken15, &c.

pres. ind. 1 sg.byswykeȝ208 (once only, in rime);

2 sg.þou quyteȝ235;

3 sg.leþeȝ17;totȝ(=tǭs=tās=takes) 153 (note).

1 pl.we leuen65;we calle70;

3 pl.temen100 (and cp. ll. 151-2);knawe145; butþay gotȝ150,pykeȝ213 (both in rime).

imperative pl.dyspleseȝ62;gos,dotȝ161.

pres. p.spornande3.

pp.runne(in rime) 163, besidewroken15, &c.

Characteristic Western forms areburne37 (OE.beorn);vrþe82 (OE.eorþe).

5. 'Like bubbling water that flows from a spring', i.e. his wild words rise from a heart that can no longer contain its affliction.

11-12. 'You, who were once the source of all my joy, made sorrow my companion.'

15. 'From the time when you were removed from every peril'. The child died before she was two years old (l. 123).

22. 'I am but dust, and rough in manners.' The MS. hasmarereȝ mysse, which has been rendered 'botcher's waste'; but the poet is contrasting his own ill-mannered speech with the Pearl's courtesy.

23. 'But the mercy of Christ and of Mary and of John'. The genitive inflexion is confined to the noun immediately precedingmersy, while the two following nouns, which are logicallygenitives with exactly the same construction asCrystes, remain uninflected. For analogies see note toII518.

36.and: MS.in. The sign forandis easily mistaken forī=in. Cp. note toXVII42.

48.Þat, 'who'.

65.þat... of, 'from whom'; the later relative formof quomoccurs at l. 93.

70.Fenyx of Arraby: the symbol of peerless perfection. Cp. Chaucer,Death of Blanche the Duchess, ll. 980-3

Trewly she was to myn yeThe soleyn Fenix of Arabye,For ther lyveth never but oon,Ne swich as she ne knew I noon.

Trewly she was to myn ye

The soleyn Fenix of Arabye,

For ther lyveth never but oon,

Ne swich as she ne knew I noon.

71. 'which was faultless in form';fleȝe'flew' is used with weakened sense because a bird is normally thought of as on the wing.

74.folde vp hyr face, ' her face upturned';foldeis pp.

91-2. 'And each would wish that the crowns of the others were five times as precious, if it were possible to better them.'

97.Poule: the common OFr. and ME. form, as atVIIIa25, 270,XIb80. But the rime withnaule'nail' (ON.nagl) points to the formPaulefor the original. The reference is to 1 Corinthians vi. 15 and xii. 12 ff.

100.hys body, 'its body', 'the body'.tyste: fortyȝte'tight', like l. 102mysteformyȝte'might'. The rimes withKryst,gryste,lysteshow thatstandȝtwere very similar in pronunciation. See Appendix § 6 (end).

106. 'Because you wear a ring on arm or finger.'

109-11. 'I believe that there is great courtesy and charity among you.' The construction of the next line (which conveys an apology, cp. l. 62) is not clear owing to the following gap in the MS.; nor is it easy to guess the missing rime word, asemongcan rime with OE.-ung-(e.g. withȝonge, ll. 114, 175), or with OE.-ang-; see the note toXVII400.

116.strongemay be adj. 'violent' withworlde, but is more likely adv. 'severely'.

124-5. Note the cumulation of negatives.cowþeȝhas a double construction: 'You never knew how to please God nor pray to Him, nor the Paternoster and Creed.' The Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed were prescribed by the Church as the elements of faith to be taught first to a child.

137. Matthew xx. 1-16.

139. 'He represented it very aptly in a parable.'

141.My regne... on hyȝt, 'My kingdom on high'.

145.þys hyne: the labourers.This,theseare sometimes used in early English to refer to persons or things that have not been previously mentioned, but are prominent in the writer's mind.Cp.XVb4, 19; and the opening of Chaucer'sPrologueto theFranklin's Talequoted in the note toII13.

150.pené: in ME. the final sound developed from OFr.-é(e) fell together with the sounds arising from OE.-ig, OFr.ie, &c. Hencepenéorpeny186 (OE.penig);reprené184 forrepreny;cortaysé120, 121, besidecortaysye72, 84, 96. The acute accent is editorial.

153. 'At midmorning the master goes to the market.'totȝ(=tǭs) =tās, contracted form oftakes'betakes himself'; cp.tone=takenV91. The spelling and rimes witho(which cannot develop normally fromălengthened in open syllables because this lengthening is everywhere later than the changeā≻ǭ) are usually explained as artificial. It is assumed that as Northernbāncorresponded to Midlandbǭn, so from Northerntá'take' an unhistorical Midlandtǭwas deduced. But it is possible that the contraction oftăke(n), and consequent lengtheningtá(n), is older than the ordinary lengtheningtăke≻táke, and also older than the development ofātoǭin North Midland.

164.I yow pay: note the survival of the old use of the present to express future tense.

176.þat at ȝe moun, 'what you can'.Atas a relative appears usually to be from Old Norseat, with the same sense, and it is not uncommon in Northern English. Butþat athere is more likely the normal development ofþat þat≻þat tat(note toII102) ≻þat at.

179.sumounis infin. not sb.: 'he had (them) summoned'; cp. note toVIIIa79.

192. 'It seems to us we ought to receive more.'Vus þynkis a remnant of the old impersonal construction ofþynceþ'it seems'. In this phrase, probably owing to confusion withwe þynk(en), the verb often has no flexional ending; cp. l. 192.vus oȝeis formed by analogy, the verb being properly personal; cp.must vsXVII292, 334.

200.And, 'If'.

205-8.More, which is necessary for the metrical form, is best taken as conj. 'moreover', 'further';weþerintroduces a direct question (note toV118).louylyis perhaps miswritten forlauly'lawful', as thePearl-Gawaynegroup often show the converseau,awfor normalou,ow, e.g.baweforbowe,trawþefortrowþe. 'Further, is my power to do what pleases me with my own lawful?' The meaning is fixed by Matthew xx. 15 'Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good?'

212.mykeȝ.In the few recorded examplesmik,mykseems to mean 'an intimate friend'. Here it is used for the sake of rime in an extended sense 'chosen companion of the Lord'.

221 f.Wheþer, &c., 'Although I began just now, coming into the vineyard in the eventide, ', &c.

224. Note the rime (OE.sŭm) with ON.blóm(i), OE.dōm,cōm. Such rimes occur occasionally in Northern texts of the fourteenth century—never in the South.

233. Psalm lxii. 12 'Also unto Thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy; for Thou renderest to every man according to his work.'

237-40. Loosely constructed. 'Now, if you came to payment before him that stood firm through the long day, then he who did less work would be more entitled to receive pay, and the further , the less , the more .'

249-51. On the meaning of these lines there is no agreement. Gollancz and Osgood interpret: 'That man's privilege is great who ever stood in awe of Him (God) who rescues sinners. From such men no happiness is withheld, for,' &c. Yet it is difficult to believe that even a poet hard pressed would usedard to Hymto mean 'feared Him'. One of several rival interpretations will suffice to show the ambiguities of the text: 'His (God's) generosity, which is always inscrutable (lit. lay hidden), is abundant to the man who recovers his soul from sin. From such men no happiness is withheld', &c. The sense and construction ofdard(for which the emendationfard, pret. offere'to go', has been suggested, the rest of the interpretation following Gollancz), and the obscurity of the argument, are the chief obstacles to a satisfactory solution.

Dialect: Irregular, but predominantly North-West Midland; cp.VandVI.

Inflexions:—

VERB: pres. ind. 3 sg.warys19,has20.3 pl.ben11,sayn182,haue31.pres. p.claterand137,þriuaund158,leymonde153; besideblowyng106,doutyng114.strong pp.slydyn6,stoken11.The weak pp. and pa. t. have-it,-(e)tfor-(e)d:drepit9,suet24.PRONOUN 3 PERS.: pl. nom.þai45; poss.hor8, besideþere9, 10; obj.hom24.

VERB: pres. ind. 3 sg.warys19,has20.

3 pl.ben11,sayn182,haue31.

pres. p.claterand137,þriuaund158,leymonde153; besideblowyng106,doutyng114.

strong pp.slydyn6,stoken11.

The weak pp. and pa. t. have-it,-(e)tfor-(e)d:drepit9,suet24.

PRONOUN 3 PERS.: pl. nom.þai45; poss.hor8, besideþere9, 10; obj.hom24.

Sounds and Spelling: Northern and North Midland forms areqwiles(=whiles) 39,hondqwile117; andwysshe4 (note). West Midland indications arebuernes'men' 90, 91 = OE.beorn(butbuerne'sea' 159 = OE.burn-is probably miswritten owing to confusion withbuern'man'); and perhaps the spellinguin unaccented syllables:mecull10,watur119,wintur124.

4.wysshe=wisse'guide'. In the North finalshwas commonly pronouncedss; cp. note toI128-9, and the rimes inXVII1-4. Conversely etymologicalsswas sometimes speltssh.

7-8.strongest... and wisest... to wale, 'the strongest... and wisest... that could be chosen' (lit. 'to choose').

15.On lusti to loke, 'pleasant to look upon'.

21 ff. A typical example of the vague and rambling constructions in which this writer indulges: apparently 'but old stories of the valiant who held high rank may give pleasure to some who never saw their deeds, through the writings of men who knew them at first hand (?) (in dede), to be searched by those who followed after, in order to make known (orto know?) all the manner in which the events happened, by looking upon letters (i.e. writings) that were left behind of old'.

45. Benoît de Sainte-Maure says the Athenians rejected Homer's story of gods fighting like mortals, but charitably explains that, as Homer lived a hundred years after the siege, it is no wonder if he made mistakes:

N'est merveille s'il i faillit,Quar onc n'i fu ne rien n'en vit.Prologue, ll. 55-6.

N'est merveille s'il i faillit,

Quar onc n'i fu ne rien n'en vit.

Prologue, ll. 55-6.

53-4. 'That was elegantly compiled by a wise clerk—one Guido, a man who had searched carefully, and knew all the actions from authors whom he had by him.' See Introductory note, pp. 68 f.

66-7. Cornelius Nepos was supposed to have found the Greek work of Dares at Athens when rummaging in an old cupboard (Benoît de Sainte-Maure,Prologue, ll. 77 ff.).

157. Note the slovenly repetition from l. 151. So l. 159 repeats l. 152.

168-9. I have transposed these lines, assuming that they were misplaced by a copyist. Guido's Latin favours the change, and the whole passage will illustrate the English translator's methods:

Oyleus uero Aiax qui cum 32 nauibus suis in predictam incidit tempestatem, omnibus nauibus suis exustis et submersis in mari, in suis uiribus brachiorum nando semiuiuus peruenit ad terram; et, inflatus pre nimio potu aque, uix se nudum recepit in littore, vbi usque ad superuenientis diei lucem quasi mortuus iacuit in arena, [et] de morte sua sperans potius quam de uita. Sed cum quidam ex suis nando similiter a maris ingluuie iam erepti nudi peruenissent ad littus, dominum eorum querunt in littore [et] si forsitan euasisset. Quem in arena iacentem inueniunt, dulcibus uerborum fouent affatibus, cum nec in uestibus ipsum nec in alio possunt subsidio refouere.(MS. Harley 4123, fol. 117 a—the bracketed words are superfluous.)

178.Telamonwas not at the siege, and his name appears here and in l. 150 as the result of a tangle which begins in the confusion of Oyleus Ajax with Ajax the son of Telamon. In classical writers after Homer it is Oyleus Ajax who, at the sack of Troy, drags Cassandra from the temple of Minerva. This is the story in Dictys. Dares, like Homer, is silent. In Benoît de Sainte-Maure's poem (ll. 26211-16), the best MSS. name Oyleus Ajax as Cassandra's captor, but others have 'Thelamon Aiax', i.e. Ajax, the son of Telamon. Guido read Benoît in a MS. of the latter class, and accordingly makesTelamonius Aiaxdo the sacrilege. With the English translator this becomesTelamonsimply (Bk. xxix, ll. 11993-7). So when later, in Bk. xxxi, he comes to describe the shipwreck, he replaces Guido'sAiaxbyTelamon, and spoils the story of Minerva's vengeance on the actual violator of her sanctuary.

Dialect: South Midland, with mixture of forms.

a.VERB: pres. ind. 2 sg.seist226,wilnest256.3 sg.comaundeth16.1 pl.haue118,preye119.2 pl.han11,wasten127.3 pl.liggeth15, &c.; besideben50,waste155.imper. pl.spynneth13.pres. p. (none ina);romyngeb11.strong pp.bake187,ybake278,ybaken175.Infinitives in-ie(OE.-ian) are retained:erye4,hatie52,tilye229 (OE.erian,hatian,tilian).PRONOUN 3 PERS.: pl. nom.þei126, &c., besidehii15; poss.her54; obj.hem2.

a.VERB: pres. ind. 2 sg.seist226,wilnest256.

3 sg.comaundeth16.

1 pl.haue118,preye119.

2 pl.han11,wasten127.

3 pl.liggeth15, &c.; besideben50,waste155.

imper. pl.spynneth13.

pres. p. (none ina);romyngeb11.

strong pp.bake187,ybake278,ybaken175.

Infinitives in-ie(OE.-ian) are retained:erye4,hatie52,tilye229 (OE.erian,hatian,tilian).

PRONOUN 3 PERS.: pl. nom.þei126, &c., besidehii15; poss.her54; obj.hem2.

Sounds: OE.yoften shows the Western development, as inhuyre(d)108, 133, &c.;abugge75, 159; besidebigge275. SoCornehulleb1. But such forms were not uncommon in the London dialect of the time.

b.The second extract has a more Southern dialectal colouring. Note especially the gen. pl. formslollarene31,knauene56,lordene77, continuing or extending the OE. weak gen. pl. in-ena; andmenne29, 74, retaining the ending of the OE. gen. pl.manna.

The representation of unaccented vowels byuinhure(= 'their') 50, (= 'her') 53;(h)us'his' 60, 101;clerkus65, is commonest in Western districts.h(w)is no longer aspirated:wanne1,werby35, MS.eggen19; and converselyhyf'if' 43,his'is' 105.

a9.for shedyng, 'to prevent spilling'; and sofor colde62 'as a protection against cold';for bollyng209 'to prevent swelling';for chillyng306, &c.

a11.Þat ȝe han silke and sendal to sowe: The construction changes as if Piers had begun:Ich praye ȝow, which is the reading in the C-text. The difficulty of excluding modern ideas from the interpretation of the Middle Ages is shown by the comment of a scholar so accomplished as M. Petit-Dutaillis: 'Il attaque les riches peu miséricordieux, lesdames charmantes aux doigts effilés, qui ne s'occupent pas des pauvres' (Soulèvement, p. lxii). But there is no hint of satire or reproach in the text. The poet, always conventional, assigns to high-born ladies the work which at the time was considered most fitting for them. So it is reported in praise of the sainted Isabella of France, sister of St. Louis:Quand elle fust introduicte des lettres suffisamment, elle s'estudioit à apprendre à ouurer de soye, et faisoit estolles et autres paremens à saincte Eglise—'When she was sufficiently introduced to letters, she set herself to learn how to work in silk, and made stoles and other vestments for Holy Church.' (Joinville,Histoire d. S. Louys, Paris 1668, pt. i, p. 169.)

a19.for þe Lordes loue of heuene: cp. l. 214, and notes toI44,I83,II518.

a23.on þe teme, 'on this subject';teme'theme' is a correct form, because Latinthwas pronouncedt. The modern pronunciation is due to the influence of classical spelling.

a32.affaite þe, 'tame for thyself'; cp. l. 64(I shal) brynge me= 'bring (for myself)', and the note toII289.

a40-1. 'And though you should fine them, let Mercy be the assessor, and let Meekness rule over you, in spite of Gain.' This is a warning against abuse of the lord of the manor's power to impose fines in the manorial court with the object of raising revenue rather than of administering justice. Cp. Ashley,Introduction to English Economic History, vol. i (1894), pt. ii, p. 266. Formaugré Medes chekescp. 151.

a49. Luke xiv. 10.

a50.yuel to knowe, 'hard to distinguish'.

a72-5. These clumsy lines, which are found in all versions, exemplify the chief faults inPiers Plowman: structural weakness and superfluous allegory.

a79.I wil... do wryte my biqueste, 'I will have my will written';make(n),ger(gar), andlete(n)are commonly used likedo(n)with an active infinitive, which is most conveniently rendered by the passive; sodo wryte'cause to be written';dyd werche'caused to be made'I218;mad sumoun'caused to be summoned'VI179;gert dres vp'caused to be set up'X16;leet make'caused to be made'IX223, &c.

a80.In Dei nomine, amen: A regular opening phrase for wills.

a84. 'I trust to have a release from and remission of my debts which are recorded in that book.'Rental, a book in which the sums due from a tenant were noted, here means 'record of sins'.

a86.he: the parson, as representing the Church.

a91.douȝtres.In l. 73 only one daughter is named. In the B-text, Passus xviii. 426, she is calledKalote(see note tob2 below).

a94.bi þe rode of Lukes: at Lucca (FrenchLucques) is a Crucifix and a famous representation of the face of Christ, reputed to be the work of the disciple Nicodemus. From Eadmer and William of Malmesbury we learn that William the Conqueror's favourite oath was 'By the Face of Lucca!', and it is worth noting that the frequent and varied adjurations in Middle English are copied from the French.

a114. 'May the Devil take him who cares!'

a115 ff.faitoures(cp. ll. 185 ff.), who feigned some injury or disease to avoid work and win the pity of the charitable, multiplied in the disturbed years following the Black Death. Statutes were passed against them, and even against those who gave them alms (Jusserand,English Wayfaring Life, pp. 261 ff.). But the type was long lived. In the extract fromHandlyng Synne(No. I), we have already a monument of their activities.

a141. 'And those that have cloisters and churches (i.e. monks and priests) shall have some of my goods to provide themselves with copes.'

a142.Robert Renne-aboute.The type of a wandering preacher;postelesare clearly preachers with no fixed sphere of authority, like the mendicant friars and Wiclif's 'poor priests'. Against both the regular clergy constantly complained that they preached without the authority of the bishop.

a186.Þat seten: the MS. by confusion hasþat seten to seten to begge, &c.

a187.þat was bake for Bayarde: i.e. 'horse-bread' (l. 208), which used to be made from beans and peas only.Bayard, properly a 'bay horse', was, according to romance, the name of the horse given by Charlemagne to Rinaldo. Hence it became the conventional name for a horse, just asReynardwas appropriated to the fox. Chaucer speaks ofproude Bayard(Troilus, Bk. i. 218) and, referring to an unknown story,Bayard the blynde(Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 860).

a221.Michi vindictam: Romans xii. 19.

a224. Luke xvi. 9.

a229. Genesis iii. 19.

a231.Sapience: the Book of Wisdom, but the quotation is actually from Proverbs xx. 4.

a234.Mathew with mannes face.Each of the evangelists had his symbol: Matthew, a man; Mark, a lion; Luke, a bull; John, an eagle; and in early Gospel books their portraits are usually accompanied by the appropriate symbols.

a235 ff. Matthew xxv. 14 ff.; Luke xix. 12 ff.

a245.Contemplatyf lyf or actyf lyf.The merits of these two ways of life were endlessly disputed in the Middle Ages. InXIbWiclif attacks the position of the monks and of Rolle's followers; and the author ofPearl(VI61 ff.) takes up the related question of salvation by works or by grace.

a246. Psalm cxxviii. 1.

a264. Jusserand gives a brief account of the old-time physicians inEnglish Wayfaring Life, pp. 177 ff. The best were somewhat haphazard in their methods, and the mountebanks brought discredit on the profession. Here are a few fourteenth-century prescriptions:

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