B. The Outer RulePassages in C (mostly interlined or marginal) which are not in N are inserted between asterisks in the text of the latter. The collations at the foot of pp. 60-75 show the other divergences of C and those of T from N; when not followed by any letter they give the readings of T; those followed by C are the readings of C, while B indicates agreement of T and C as against N.The Eighth Book of the Ancrene Wisse consists of a brief introduction, to the effect that the outer rule is not rigidly binding, and seven sections (‘stucchenes’ 72/188) treating of i. eating and drinking; ii. worldly possessions and dealings, ll. 1-25; iii. clothes, 26-67; iv. occupations, 67-100; v. care of the person, 101-20; vi. servants, 120-222; vii. use of the rule, and conclusion, 223-39.1.bute—readecorresponds to frequent phrases in the Gilbertine Rule, like ‘nisi necessitas postulet aliqua hoc fieri,’ ‘nisi magister aliteriusserit.’ With the former compare 60/18, 62/20, 64/84, 74/217; with the latter 60/13, 62/30, 37, 66/98; ‘þes riwle ⁊ alle oðre beoð in owres scriftes read ⁊ in oweres meistres breoste,’ MS. C f. 190. The master is ‘presbyter aliquis senex maturus moribus, cui raro, nisi de confessione et animae aedificatione, [inclusa] loquatur. A quo consilium accipiat in dubiis, in tribulationibus consolationem,’ Ailred, 642 c.3.þuncheð bet, seemeth to be rather. The contrast of Martha and Mary, the active and the contemplative life, is a favourite topic in the AR; ‘Husewifschipe is Marthe dole;and Marie dole is stilnesse and reste of alle worldes noise,’ 414/16. Less frequently it is Lya and Rachel that are opposed, Hugh of S. Victor, i. 133.5.for&c.: the passage is based on Ailred, ‘Aliae [inclusae] . . . pecuniae congregandae vel multiplicandis pecoribus inhiant: tantaque cum hac sollicitudine in his extenduntur, ut eas matres vel dominas familiarum existimes, non anachoretas. Quaerunt aliquibus pascua, pastores . . . Sequitur emptio et venditio’ &c., 641 c, but its vivid detail and interest are all the writer’s own.6.Olhnin, wheedle, get on the right side of; a word peculiar to AR, SJ, SK, SM; ‘couendra . . . de querre la grace de messer,’ F.heiward: OE. *hægweardoccurring indat.hæigwerde; adopted by the writer of Quadripartitus, p. 22 (c.1100), as heiwardo,d., but often called messor; among other duties, he kept cattle out of the enclosed fields and impounded strays: see Liebermann, Gesetze, i. 452; Leo, Rectitudines, 245.wearien: warien NCT; OE.wergian, curse, revile; comp. ‘ne ne warien hwon me agulteð to ou,’ AR 186/2, 284/22; ‘Ȝe ne schulen uor none þinge ne warien, ne swerien,’ 70/20: ‘mandir (for maudir) le qant il les enparke,’ F.7.ȝelden&c., and moreover pay for the damage done.wat crist: comp. ‘Deu le set,’ AR 382/17.hwen&c., when there is complaint among the people at large about the recluse’s cattle, or possibly, wealth. The order of the words forbids the explanation, ‘complaint of anchoresses’ cattle in an enclosure,’ Morris. For the vague use ofin tune, comp. KH 153 note. Comp. ‘si bestias haberetis, aliena pascua forsitan occuparent, essetque magnus clamor vicinorum dicentium: Utinam isti eremitae nunquam advenissent, nam multiplex eorum possessio multiplex nobis infert impedimentum,’ S. Stephani Grandimontensis Regula; De bestiis non habendis; Migne, P. L. cciv. col. 1143: possibly the source of this place.8.Nu þenneintroduces a command, 123/218, 126/311, or request 119/78, or argument 122/191, but its use here for still, notwithstanding, is peculiar. Note that the scribe of T deleted þenne in favour of þah.10.ifestnet: L has nothing corresponding to the following ancre—heorte, but instead ‘Cauens enimpsalmista [di]cente. Nolite cor appon[ere]’; a reference to Ps. lxi. 11.11.driue, practise, pursue: comp. 130/72; ‘þa þe þone ceaþ drifað,’ Benedictine Rule, ed. Schröer, 95/11; ‘ꝥ nis bute dusilec | al ꝥ ha driueð,’ SK 424, 5, 1798; ‘long wune is her driuen,’ GE 1681.chepilt, a female trader, one who buys to sell at a profit, as the text explains.12.efter: see 7/53.chepeð, offers for sale, withdat.chapmon; comp. ‘And chepte heom to sullen vre helare,’ OEM 40/115, but with prep. in sense of buying, ‘Ȝif me cheapeð on of þeos et ou,’ AR 190/8.14 C: the addition þah—wordes, not in any other MS., is noteworthy: F has nothing corresponding to it or to the sentence in A, þing—honden.14.sumhwile: he is probably thinking of the Fathers of the Desert, who plaited mats of palm, for the Vitas Patrum was a favourite book of his. The regulation is only of general application, these sisters being fully provided for.15.wite, take charge of: in troublous times the anchorhold would be regarded as a place of safe deposit.of: so CN, but T omits (correct footnote by deleting B); it depends onNawt. ‘Rien ne gardeȝ en vostre maisone daltrui choses,’ F. In Nofmust be partitive, for witen takes theacc.of the thing guarded: see118/52 note.16.boistes, boxes, caskets, mostly for ointment, but here probably jewel cases.chartres, deeds; probably the earliest instance.Scoren, scrolls: OF. escroe; comp. ‘Scrowe oðer quaer,’ AR 282/29.17.cyrograffes, indentures, bonds; an early instance of the word.calices: there was a special objection, ‘nulla femina . . . calicem Domini tangat,’ Udalrici Sermo Synodalis, Migne, P. L. cxxxv. 1071 b.18.strengðe, violence: comp. 40/168: ‘bute vor neod one, als strengðe ⁊ deaðes dred,’ AR 6/23; ‘auh teares doð him strencðe’ (= lacrima cogit), id. 244/27; ‘Ne dede dieuel him none strengþe,’ VV 113/19. F has ‘force.’20.makeð—hus, causes your house to be laid open; comp. 117/8, 118/28; ‘oðer ȝif þu iherdest þeoues breken þine woawes,’ AR 242/23. The Gilbertine Rule, while forbidding access to the nuns ordinarily, says ‘propter ignis incendium vel mortis instantis periculum, vel propter furtum et latrocinium omnibus sustinemus introitum,’ p. *lxxvi.22.seoð: comp. ‘Nullich ꝥ no mon iseo ou bute he habbe leaue speciale of ower meistre,’ AR 56/21; ‘inclusa etiam facie velata loqui debet cum viro,’ Ailred, 642 d.wel mei don of, it matters little about:donmeans originally, serve, suffice, as in ‘that will do,’ but the phrasewith the words in this order is specialized: comp. ‘Ah wel mæi donhu hit ga;for wræcches we beoð æuere ma,’ L 12754, 5; ‘Scheome is understonden bi þe reade;auh wel mei don,’ AR 356/11, where Morton mistranslates. Quite different is, ‘an olde ancre mei don wel ꝥ tu dest vuele,’ AR 52/9. T has duhen here, as A at 64/59 and C at 65/52, ordinarily meaning to be of profit, to avail, but the sense is the same as in the phrase containing don. The construction is impersonal; ancre isdativeat 64/59, 65/52, as at 64/74: forof, concerning, comp. ‘he . . . dyde of heom ꝥ he wolde,’ AS. Chron. D 208/9. ‘De colore autemvestiumnon est multumcurandum,’ L; ‘ne puit chaler de voȝ draps,’ F.23.unorne, plain, rough: ‘vils,’ F; ‘dum[ta]mennonn[im]is (?) exquisite,’ L. But Förster (Morsbachs Studien l. 171) would translate, ordinary, usual.24.ow to neodeð: comp. ‘nimen . . . þet hire to neodeð,’ AR 414/24.owisdat.depending directly on the verb, the usual construction of the person in EME. for neoden and neod, comp. 123/210;tois adverbial and a superfluity, quite in the manner of the writer, comp. ‘þurh hwat muhte sonre ful luue of aquiken,’ AR 58/10; ‘þet ich spec er of þeruppe,’ id. 372/23; 130/80 note. Contrast, ‘Nefde he nane neode to us ac we hefden muchele neode to him,’ OEH i. 123/35, where to = of.to bedde: comp. ‘to ruggen and to bedde;iscrud mid gode webbe,’ L 19946, 7; ‘Nowe is the tyme of the yere when provysion was wont to be made . . . of ther wynter vesturys [to] theyr bodyes and to ther beddis,’ Wright, Suppression of Monasteries, 68/4: ‘a lit ⁊ a dos,’ F.26.linnene: its use in any form was a great concession. It was noted that Abbot Roger Norreys of Evesham, in his contempt for the Rule, ‘camisiis et lintheaminibus . . . palam utebatur,’ Chron. Abb. de Evesham, 104.hearde, hard;pl.of heard, l. 44:herdeN 28 is the same word, but Morris glosses it, hards, hurds, tow, and heorden, hards of flax, referring both toheordan, without accounting for the difference in form. The meaning, of hards and of coarse hards, is not satisfactory. F has ‘sil ne seit de stupeȝ ⁊ de grosses estoupes’; the two nouns appear to be an Anglo-French and a French form from the same Latin word, stupa. Possibly the former means tow of flax and the latter tow of hemp; anyhow the cloth was called stupacium. Comp. generally, ‘Porro talia ei vestimenta sufficiant quae frigus repellant. Grossioribuspeliciisutatur, & pellibus propter hyemem, propter aestatem autem unam habeat tunicam: utroque vero tempore duas de stupacio camisias vel staminas,’ Ailred, 644 e.27.Stamin: OF. estamine, an under-garment loosely woven of coarse wool, nearly as uncomfortable as a hair shirt, ‘camiseam de grossiori panno [habeant], si voluerint’ of the Gilbertine Rule, p. *lxxix. ‘Estamiȝ,’ F.28.hetter, garment: ‘vn de voȝ vestures,’ F. OE.pl.hæteru, often in ME. as singular. ‘Vestiti quoque dormiant et cincti, vt semper sint parati,’ Grimlaici Regula Solitariorum, in Holstenii Codex, i. 291. Lay folk did not in those days wear night clothes.leoðeliche, loosely: the ME. adverb corresponding to the OE. adjectiveliþig, flexible; comp. OWScand. liðugr, free: liðeliche, 72/194 is OE.līþe, soft. The writer here and elsewhere shows himself anxious to mitigate the austerities of his pupils. F has nothing corresponding to swa—under.30.cunneis historically genitive plural: see132/9 noteand 81/80 note.schriftes, confessor’s: the ‘meistre’ of 60/2: comp. 80/62; ‘bi ure shriftes rede,’ OEH ii. 55/29; ‘mid ðe rade of þine scrifte,’ VV 127/2. In F ‘sanȝ congie de son confessour’ corresponds to ‘wiðute schriftes leaue,’ 62/33.31.ilespiles felles, hedgehogs’ skins: OE.igil,īl, hedgehog +pīl, prickle; the compound is used in ME. for the animal. Comp. ‘⁊ alle [sunnen] weren prikiende so piles on ile | He biþ þicke mid piles,’ Worc. Frag. F 21, 2. InirspilesN 30ris probably due to OF. heriçun: F has ‘peel diricon.’31 N.ileðeredin this MS. only: it must mean, furnished with leather thongs: F has ‘[pl]umbee.’32.holin: OE.holegn,holen, holly.33.binetli, whip with nettles: NED. quotes from Cotgrave, ‘enortier, to benettle.’34.biuoren, in front of the body.ne na keoruunge, practise no cutting or mutilation.ed eanes, at any one time. F ‘a nule foiȝ.’35.luðere, severe, lit. wicked.disceplines: ‘smerte smiten of smale longe ȝerden,’ OEH ii. 207/6. Comp. ‘Disciplina pacis nostre super eum, seið Isaye, þus ure beatunge ueol upon him,’ AR 366/14, 346/24.36.cundeliche: for sicknesses which come in the natural course they must not put faith in or try remedies which are unnatural, such as the nostrums of the herb-woman: see54/6 note. The writer in another place, 368, says that recluses are apt to be far too much concerned about bodily health.37.leste&c., lest worse befall you: see 30/18.lestedescends fromþȳ lǣs þe; this is an early instance of its use.38.meoke, soft, supple; comp. 64/66: the only instances in Englishof the use of this word in the material sense of OWScand. mjúkr as in Icel. mjúk-hendr, soft-handed. ‘In yeme utamini sotularibusgrossis ⁊ callidis,’ L.39.Hosen wiðute vampez, stockings without feet; the ‘chausses’ were usually footed. ‘En chauces sanȝ auant pieȝ gise qi voudra,’ F; ‘In caligis sine pedalibusdormietis,’ L.vampez,pl.of vampe or vampey, are properly the front part of a boot, the ‘uppers’ (avant pied), here they mean the whole covering of the foot. In Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey (ed. Singer 335), Wolsey is represented as saying, ‘we do intend . . . to go afoot . . . in the vamps of our hosen,’ i.e. in our stocking feet. The secondandin 35 N is superfluous.40.Ischeoed—bedde: another prohibition of undue austerities. The passage is not in any other of the English MSS., nor in F, but L has ‘calciatis numquamnec nisi in lecto.’41.Sum—wereð, it may be that some woman wears &c. Forinohreaðesee 56/43; F has ‘parauenture’ here as there.brech, drawers; OE.brēc,pl.ofbrōc, answering to femoralia of the monastic Rules.here, haircloth; OE.hǣre.42.streapeles, the legs of the drawers; especially so called when they were closely confined to the limb by cross-gartering. They were worn by men also: see Strutt’s Complete View of the Dress &c. i, plates 31, 49, 56, for good illustrations. OE.strapul: ‘Hoc tibiale: a strapylle,’ Wright, Vocab. 775/18, 734/23. F has ‘les braeis de heire m[u]lt bien noueȝ les tiguns aual desqe a pieȝ mult ferm laceȝ,’ but nothing corresponding toah—here, which is in A alone: and yet it is necessary to the sense. The writer does not approve of the ‘brech of here,’ a sweet and patient disposition is better, an often-repeated idea; ‘Þis is Godes heste, þet him is muchele leouere þen þet tu ete gruttene bread, oðer werie herde here,’ AR 186/10. L is with A, ‘Alique utuntur femoralibuscilicium. Mallem tamenin vobis cor humile ⁊ potens sustinere dura verba · et probrosa · quamdurumciliciumportare.’43.swete . . . swote: a frequent combination: comp. ‘swete ⁊ swote iheorted,’ AR 118/3; ‘so unimete swote ⁊ swete,’ id. 102/26.þolien: comp. ‘A mis-word þet ȝe þolieð . . . ȝe nolden sullen hire uor al þe worldes golde,’ AR 190/7.44.ȝef—wullen, If you can do without wimples, and you would doubtless wish to do so.45.beoð bi, have for use: comp. ‘beoð bi þe leste þet heo euer muwen,’ AR 350/7; ‘gifð us al þat we bi ben,’ OEH ii. 69/29, 179/6. Similarly, ‘ne na mâ wifa þonne ân hæbbe, ac beo be þære anre þa hwile, þe heolybbe,’ Wulfstan, 271/14 (B.-T.); ‘ne æac maran getilige to haldænne þonne ic gêmetlice bi beon mage,’ Blooms, ES xviii. 343/43.cappen: the ‘mitras lineas, nigras et forratas de agninis pellibus’ of the Gilbertine Rule, p. *lxxix.46.wimplunge: so S. Bernard contrasts the wimpled fine lady and the veiled nun, ‘Risus immoderatior, incessus lascivior, vestitus ornatior wimplatae magis quam velatae congruerent,’ i. 123 f. The wimple was a long strip of fine linen which encircled the head, neck, and the top of the shoulders; at this time one end of it hung down along the left arm. There is a good illustration of it in Shaw’s Dresses and Decorations, i, on the middle figure of plate 10. Like other linen clothing, it was at this time coloured with saffron; ‘hire winpel wit, oðer maked geleu mid saffran,’ OEH ii. 163/32; Rel. Ant. ii. 15/8; the ‘ȝeolewe clað’ of 82/108. The long passage from Ancren l. 46 to wimplunge l. 59 is in AC only; in the latter it is added on the margin, which has been cropped. L is very fragmentary at this point, but it had matter corresponding to A.47.cundeliche, by reason of her sex, because she is a woman, and ordered as such by S. Paul to veil her head.48.heaued clað: the ‘couvre-chef,’ a veil of fine linen worn on the head. Holy Scripture says nothing of wimples or other head-dress, but speaks of covering only. ‘Si turpe est mulieri tonderi aut decalvari, velet caput suum,’ 1 Cor. xi. 6.51-55. The source of this passage is probably, ‘Linus papa . . . constituit ut mulieres in ecclesia velatae sint. Et hoc propter tres causas fit: una est, cum sint decipula diaboli, ne laxis earum crinibus iuvenum animi illaqueentur; . . . tertia est ut reatus originalis peccati, qui per mulierem evenit, ad memoriam nobis revocetur. Iudex quippe malorum est Christus: sacerdos eius vicarius. Ante sacerdotem ergo debet se mulier velare velut rea et tanti mali sibi conscia coram iudice celare. Unde dicit Apostolus, ut mulier velata sit propter angelos, id est sacerdotes,’ Honorius Augustodunensis (Migne, P. L. clxxii) 589 d.sunfulegoes with eue; comp. 63/44.52.on earst, at the beginning, would correspond to OE. *on ǣrest, which is apparently not found: OE.on ǣrmeans beforehand. Comp. ‘on erest,’ AR 264/8; ‘on earst,’ SM 14/7; ‘on alre earst,’ HM 17/25; SM 14/4. The phrase is confined to AR and its group; elsewhere at erst is used.53.drahe, divert from their proper use: a rare meaning.tiffunge, adornment.54. Ifȝettenmeans yet, furthermore, it repeats and reinforcesEft.As a form it seems to be quite isolated: it may be derived from ȝette and owe its finalnto the influence of such pairs as ofte, often; uppe, uppen; buten, bute; seþþen, seþþe.ȝette47 C is also a rare form; comp. 76/19; HM 13/9, 43/13; ‘ewt ꝥ mon seið þe oðer deð ȝette,’ id. 43/21. It can hardly come fromgīeta, which gives ȝete; perhaps it is for ȝet + þe, like þætte for þæt þe: þe ȝet is frequent in Layamon.55.þurh hire onsihðe, through the seeing of her: comp. 124/253, perhaps the only other place where the word occurs: it is possibly formed on the analogy of OE.ansīen.Et hoc&c.: ‘Ideo debet mulier potestatem habere supra caput propter Angelos,’ 1 Cor. xi. 10.56.iwimplet: the writer is addressing an imaginary disciple who insists on the wimple as satisfying the requirements of S. Paul. He replies that the apostle requires more; the face also must be veiled; his words are directed against the recluse who receives visits from men. The wimple can be dispensed with by the recluse who keeps within her walls and avoids the sight of men. The visits of various people to the recluse are often referred to; see AR 56/20, 58/5, 68/16.57.þeis for þe þe, as in C and at 64/60.59.welis a mistake for þurl due to anticipation of the following wel. Three windows are mentioned, that looking into the church, the ‘chirche þurl,’ AR 68/16; the parlour window, through which they converse with visitors and communicate with the servants, the ‘þurl’ of 74/209, AR 68/19; and the house window, the ‘rund windowe’ of the text. Each window was hung inside and out with black cloths marked with a white cross, AR 50/2, 96/10, and furnished with shutters; compare the elaborate regulations for the windows in the Gilbertine Rule, Dugdale, *lxxv.wel mei duhen: see62/22 note:ancreis dative.60.þus ne dest, i.e. hidest not thyself from men’s gaze.61.þer . . . of, thereby, by reason of that, see1/3 note: so ‘hwarof,’ whereby AR 58/22.63.þah, if. Comp. ‘Ȝif we weopeð for ure owune [sunnen] hit is nout muchel wunder,’ AR 312/23. ‘ki qe vult estre veue mes qele satife nest pas grant merueille,’ F.64.untiffet wið uten: comp. 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4.65.broche: ‘fermail,’ F;‘firmaculos,’L (should be firmacula).imembret, striped, parti-coloured: comp. ‘Singuli Fratres singulas zonas tantum habeant, sintque zonae eorum simplicis corrigiae, sine fibulis & absque omni tinctura,’ Statuta Ord. Grandimont., Holst. ii. 303.glouen: comp. ‘Ut nunquam induant gantos,’ Regulae Sanctimonialium Fontis Ebraldi, Migne, P. L. clxii. 1097.57 C-61. See 66/114-19. The scribe of C copied this passage by inadvertence at the bottom of f. 193rinstead of f. 194r.66.ow ne deh, it is not proper for you.meoke, soft and pliant, not like the heavy sheepskin winter garments. See 62/38 note.67.greattre, coarser and larger pieces of work, not fancy trifles.68.forte—wið,withwhich to get yourselves friends. ‘nec eorum (i.e. friends) munuscula litterasque suscipias, nec illis tua dirigas, prout moris est, puta zonas, marsupia, quae diverso stamine & subtegmine variata sunt,’ Ailred, 642 e. In the Gilbertine Rule the nuns are forbidden to make purses embroidered with silk, p. *xciv.69.huue, coif, skull-cap: OE.hūfe; Germ. haube.blodbinde, ligatures of silk to stop bleeding: ‘tenas,’ L (a LL. form = taenias).laz, not ‘lace’ Morris, but laces, i.e. strings for lacing garments: ‘laqueos de serico,’ L.70.chirche claðes: ‘les vestementȝ de seint iglise,’ F.72.fore, beforehand: OE.fore: without telling him about it beforehand, as well as the circumstances, your relationship to the persons, how often you receive them, how long you entertain them.73.tendre of cunne, affectionate towards kindred. The story which follows is in Eudes de Cheriton (ed. Hervieux, 270) and in Jacques de Vitry (ed. Crane, 54). Both were active in the first quarter of the thirteenth century. Eudes may have found the story (which is, in any case, an interpolation) in AR, he quotes, p. 195, a variant of the proverb found in AR 96/24, ‘euer is þe eie to þe wude leie,’ and applies it correctly.74.⁊—him, to whom came.75.efter:see 7/53.76.dead biburiet: probably and has fallen out between these words.77.dead gasteliche: ‘mortuus sum in claustro sepultus,’ Eudes, 271; ‘Quanti monachorum dum patris matrisque miserentur, suas animas perdiderunt,’ S. Jerome, ii. 577.78. The amice,L.amictus, is the oblong piece of linen which envelops the neck of a vested priest. For a good illustration see Bock, Gesch. der liturg. Gewänder des Mittelalters, ii. Tafel ii. To its upper edge is sewn an apparel which forms a collar to it. The parures, apparels, are pieces of richly embroidered cloth sewn on the amice and on the alb, two at the lower hem before and behind, two on the cuffs, and sometimes two on breast and back. See Shaw’s Dresses, i. plates 14, 16; Rock, Church of our Fathers, i. 424-66. The Gilbertines were allowed to use silk for these embroideries.80.mustreisun, ostentation, boasting: OF. mo(n)straison, L. monstrationem: NED. records a later monstrison and monstration.81. Forgode werkesspoilt by publishing them, see the characteristic passage in AR 146-52.Criblin: the exact meaning of this word, hitherto unrecorded, is hard to determine. Its connexion with F. cribler, LL. criblare (in Mulomedicina Chironis, ivth cent.), L. cribrum can hardly be doubted; it must mean some kind of open work; either embroidery on a net foundation, ‘filatorium,’ or drawn-thread work, or, what seems most probable, ‘tambour,’ wherein the strips of linen stretched in a ring frame, with the pattern pierced by a bodkin and the edges of the holes thus made framed in needlework, would above all things suggest a sieve. Such work might be used for ornamenting altar cloths, or pyx cloths, or even albs (see Bock, ii. 35). It was elaborate work, such as recluses ought not to undertake.82.Taueles, linen cloths which are spread on the mensa of the altar, the ‘tres tobaleae mundae’ of the Roman rite. LL. toualia, Eng. towel.riueð, stitches, sews together; OWScand. rifa, to tack, sew loosely together: in Scottish dialects, riv.83.measse kemese, albs: OE.cemes, LL. camisia.nomeliche oueregede, especially such as are foolishly elaborate:oueregedeis found here only; egede is a characteristic word of the group, AR 282/13; HM 39/2; SM 11/9.84.Helpeð&c.: comp. ‘Quod ut fiat, videat inclusa, ut si fieri potest, de labore manuum suarum vivat, hoc enim perfectum est,’ Ailred, 641 d. A general injunction, not applicable to the sisters, for whom ample provision had been made, AR 192/16.85.se forð se, as far as: comp. ‘so uorð so,’ 65/67; ‘se uorð ase,’ 75/187; ‘ase forð as,’ 72/201; ‘so uorð ase,’ AR 268/10, 382/11.86. The reference is probably to ‘ne quemquam otiosum possit diabolus invenire, ne variis desideriis pateat cordis aditus, altera sororum libros scribat . . . suat altera cucullas sororum,’ Opera v. 442.87.lihtliche, without good reason.allunges, altogether, wholly: the genitive form is less common than the dative, 70/154, which represents OE.eallunga.of sumþing . . . idel, without something to do: comp. 58/73.anan rihtes, immediately, straight away.89.for nawt, to no purpose.90.iȝemen: OE.gegīemanoccurs only in the sense of treating as a patient, amending: ȝeme T means, take heed to, give attention, the variant in N,ihwulen, have leisure: comp. ‘hwon so ȝe euer muwen ihwulen,’ AR 44/5. Apparently it occurs nowhere else.91. ‘In desideriis est omnis otiosus,’ comp. Prov. xxi. 26. Forawakeneðsee 54/24. ‘Ecce haec fuit iniquitas Sodomae, sororis tuae, superbia, saturitas panis et abundantia, et otium ipsius,’ Ezech. xvi. 49.94.rust: ‘otium enim et desidia quasi quaedam rubigo sapientiae est,’ S. Jerome, ii. 773.95, 96. From Ailred; ‘sunt quaedam inclusae, quae in docendis puellis occupantur, et cellam suam vertunt in scholam,’ 641 f.forwurðe, degenerate into; a meaning apparently found only in AR; its ordinary sense is, to perish, 54/23. Comp. ‘Þeo þet schulden one lecnen hore soule mid heorte bireousunge . . . uorwurðeð fisiciens ⁊ licomes leche,’ AR 368/28; ‘bicumeð (forwurðeð T) meister, þe schulde beon ancre,’ 64/24.96.ꝥ—of, concerning whom it would be danger; comp. 1/3. Forof, meaning ground, cause, comp. ‘strengðe of,’ 66/116; ‘gostlich fondunge þat is more dred of,’ AR 194/23: forpliht, risk, ‘Nu ne sceole ȝe halden eower child to plihte to longe hæþene,’ Twelfth Cent. Hom. 6/7:dute79 N has the same meaning.97.bimong: a form characteristic of AR and the allied writings.99. See 64/68 note. In the next linewritenprobably means compose or copy books; comp. ‘Nulla etiam de nostris praesumat libros aliquos, vel orationes, vel meditationes scribere vel scribi facere sine assensu prioris omnium,’ Gilbertine Rule, p. *lxxxiii.100. Their hair is to be cropped,idoddet, or shaven four times a year, or if any one prefers it, trimmed,ieueset, but in that case, the hair must be washed and combed more often, C 85; not more than seven times in the year according to the Gilbertine Rule.102.beo bi, as at 62/45.103.as ofte: four times a year, as in the Gilbertine Rule, p. *lvi.þe, who, equivalent to whoso; if any one can dispense with bloodletting;þer buten, without it: seeNED.s.v.Here § 16.105.þe þreo dahes, a recognized period of indulgence; ‘Minutis tribus diebus pitantia mane vinum autem bis datur . . . a laboribus vacant, ad lectos redeunt, a post prandium usque ad vesperas colloquium de bonis faciunt,’ Guigonis Consuetudines, Migne, P. L. cliii. 737.106.schurteð, amuse: a rare word supposed to be cognate with Germ. scherzen. ‘Mes dalieȝ de paroles od voȝ meschines ⁊ od honestes countes solaceȝ vous ensemble,’ F.107.beoð: the subject ȝe is understood from the preceding ow.109. They were too severe in their austerities, AR 378/21, 228/18.110. Formonlukersee125/270 note.115.ꝥ—riwledepends onnan. This passage corresponds to 65/57-61.116.strengðe, weight, importance: a favourite word of the writer;comp. ‘of þincges wiðuten . . . nis nout muche strencðe,’ AR 12/12; ‘me schal makien strencðe of onnesse of cloþes,’ id. 12/5. Forofsee 66/97. In the introduction to part viii, he says that they must not promise, as unwise people might do, to observe any of the external rules.117.inre, the inner rule, the ‘lady rule,’ to which the outer is but an handmaid: comp. AR 4/10, 12/24, 410/18.118.skile, reason.119.þuften, handmaid; comp. 68/123; ‘for mi lauerd biseh his þufftenes mekelac,’ HM 45/12; AR 4/11. OE.þyften.120.feareð to wundre, goes to misfortune, ruin: OE.wundor, a portentous thing. Comp. 6/46 note; 117/10; ‘þu scealt to wundre gewurðan,’ AS. Hom., ed. Assmann, 174/163; ‘⁊ tukeð ham alto wundre,’ AR 380/15; ‘ȝeuest þin ahne dere bodi to tuken swa to wundre,’ HM 27/14; ‘so was ðis were to wunder brogt,’ GE 3977.Ancre&c.: the first clause is conditional, as at 54/11; if an anchoress have not her food close at hand, two women are busy, i.e. have plenty to do, are needed. This absolute use ofbisie, meaning fully employed, is noteworthy. F has ‘Recluse qe nad pas sa vetaille pres · mestier ad dauer ij femmes’; L, ‘Anachorita que nonhabet victumad manumindiget duabus ancillis.’ The rule is founded on that of Ailred, ‘Itaque eligatur tibi aliqua anus, non garrula, non vaga, non litigiosa, non nugigerula . . . Haec ostium cellulae custodiat . . . Habeat sub cura sua fortiorem ad onera sustinenda puellam,’ 641 f.121.þe leaue, who may remain, to stay: an intransitive use.123.unorne, not ‘old,’ but plain in appearance; comp. 62/23; either a young girl or middle-aged, without adornment.124.beoden, prayers: comp. ‘Cheatereð ouwer beoden euere, ase sparuwe deð þet is one,’ AR 174/24: ‘voise disant ses proiores,’ F.129.dame, mistress: each of the anchoresses had her own maids; see 74/208.132.ȝe: the reading of N is preferable: CT have no nominative: ‘Nul hom ne lessent entrer,’ F.134.oboke, by book; comp. ‘Sum is clergesse ⁊ sum nis nout ⁊ mot . . . an oðer wise siggen hire ures,’ AR 6/12.bi, by the repetition of: ‘die par patrenostres,’ F. Comp. AR 24, where the writer describes how the lay brethren of his own order say their hours.136. Comp. ‘So þet me seið ine bisawe, “Vrom mulne ⁊ from cheping, from smiðe ⁊ from ancre huse, me tiðinge bringeð,”’ AR 88/26: Ailred, 641 b.140.to uuel turnen: ‘vnde quis aliquidmali poterit suspicari,’ L.141.heaued clað: ‘coeuere chief,’ F.eiðer ligge ane, let each lie by herself, comes in awkwardly among the directions about their clothes: F has it here, but T after habben, l. 143.142.copis apparently the caputium of the Gilbertine Rule: ‘Conversae vero laicae sorores vestiantur sicut monachae, cucullis et scapulari exceptis; quorum loco habeant pallia de adultis agnis forrata; et caputia earum mamillas tegentia ad formam scapulariorum sanctimonialium,’ p. *lxxxvii: so a short cape covering the shoulders instead of the longer cloak called scapular. It was to be sewn high on the breast, not closed by a brooch: hence its namehesmelin N, as a garment with a hole for the head to pass through; Icel. hálsmal:istihdin N is probably miswritten for istichd. ‘lour cotes soient par de sus closes par deuant la poitrine sanȝ fermail,’ F.143.unleppet, literally unlapped, not enfolded; ‘desaffublieȝ,’ F: not in their ‘cop’ or ‘hesmel.’ OE.læppa, skirt.unweawedN, ungarmented, means the same thing, not ‘unveiled,’ Morris: comp. OE.wǣfels, pallium, indumentum.open heaued, bare-headed; ‘teste descouerte,’ F.ihudeketC, covered; from *hȳdecian, derivative ofhȳdan(NED).144.cussen: the mode of salutation then general among lay folk is forbidden them. For the custom at a much later period see Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey, ed. Singer, p. 171.145.toggin, tug, pull about; comp. 186/318. T has the derivative, toggle: Sc. dialect, tuggle.146.aturn, attire, or possibly, bearing, manner. OF. atourn, equipment, adornment. Comp. ‘for þi is hare aturn se briht,’ HM 23/10; ‘aturnet,’ 123/209.147.hwerto . . . iturnde, in what direction they are going, what way of life they have chosen.Hare lates&c., let them wisely give heed to their gestures, behaviour; ‘porteures,’ F.150.venie, acknowledgement of fault and petition for pardon, usually in the form of a genuflection or of a profound bow (curvatio). It was also used as a formal act of humiliation at the end of a Psalm and with the angelic salutation, as ‘cum tribus veniis totidem feci salutationes,’ Caesarius Heisterbach., ii. 33, 39: see also Ecbasis Captivi, ed. Voigt, ll. 769-72. Comp. ‘nimeð ower uenie dun et ter eorðe mid te honden one;oðer ualleð adun al uor muchel misnimunge,’ AR 46/27; ‘sumat veniam super terram,’ Gilbertine Rule, p. *lxxxi.154.do—ut, put it utterly out.156.eiðer&c., and let them raise one another and end with a kiss:hamin N is reciprocal.157.þe greatluker gulte, who was more in fault; see 125/270.158.witen&c.: see90/73 note.some, concord: comp. ‘to some and to sehtnysse,’ Ælf., Hom. Cath. ii. 198/19, ‘myd sib and myd some,’ OEM 89/15; ‘sib ⁊ sæhte,’ 11/184; ‘sib wið ute uihte,’ 133/60.somentalein T means concord; in Orm, sammtale, in CM, samertale, concordant.159.umben: see74/229 note. Forleaððe, OE.lǣððo, hatred, N has substituted the commonerwreððe.160.o brune, alight; comp. ‘bed bringen o brune,’ SK 1355; AR 296/12.aga, go out; an uncommon use of a word which means, to depart. Comp. ‘That other fyr was queynt and al agon,’ Chaucer, C. T., A 2336.161.nond, aphetic form of anond, onond. The emendation appears to be justified by the reading of N, although this shortened form does not occur elsewhere. All the scribes seem to have been puzzled by the peculiar use of the word; N adds a gloss ‘also.’ T has dos hond to, sets his hand to; C omits. The word is adverbial, meaning likewise; a development ofon efen, on a level with. He doth likewise the same thing, is a tautology characteristic of the writer: ‘il fet meismes ceste chose,’ F.162.ꝥ he wule ꝥ, which he wills that it should burn: comp. 7/52: ‘le quel il vult qe arde en nostre queor,’ F.163.ne geineð nawt, is of no avail.164.nohtunge, depreciation: comp. ‘for noht oðer nohtunge,’ HM 9/1. But F interprets it otherwise, ‘ascune altre chose qe rien ne vaut.’to hurten, may dash asunder: ‘par quey il seuerent lune de laltre,’ F.to hurrenCT means, whirl asunder: comp. dialectal Danish hurre, dial. English hurr, to whirr round.165. Forfrommardsee 58/66.cwencheðshould be cwenche orhurten, hurteð. An early instance of cwenchen, to be extinguished.166.halden ham, let them, i.e. the brands, hold themselves firmly together.167.ne—of, let them not heed; see 8/84. F has ‘⁊ ne lour seit a rien tout soffle lenemy.’168.monie, i.e. brondes.iueiet, joined; corresponds to OE.gefēged,pp.ofgefēgan: a favourite word of the author; comp. ‘iveied togederes,’ AR 26/9; ‘iueied somed,’ id. 308/17; ‘hope ⁊ dred beon euer iveied togederes,’ id. 336/9, 356/7.ontende: comp. 128/370; ‘of þeos two treonȝe schulen ontenden fur of luue wiðinnen ower heorte,’ AR 402/7. Forwiðsee 130/52: F has ‘nomeement ensemble. si plusours estes ensemble iointes ⁊ bien damuresprises,’ where the first ensemble is superfluous.170.schriuen ham, let them make their confession: a new development in the meaning of the word: OE.scrīfanmeans, to hear confession, to impose penance (scrift). F has ‘Al prestre ia le plus tard ne se confessent souent,’ where the equivalent ofnoðeleater, nevertheless, is noteworthy.174.se lengre se mare: ‘a touȝ iours · plus ⁊ plus,’ F.177.gruchesi, a hitherto unrecorded form, means, like the other readings, to munch, nibble. It is related togruseT as the mod. dialect. forms growdge (Lincs.), grouge (Notts) are to grouze, to eat noisily (mostly Lincs.):gruselieN may be represented by gruzzle, to eat voraciously (Lanark). Similarly OF. groucier is grutch in ME., in mod. dialects, grouse, to grumble.178.liht, readily given by the mistress; comp. 48/312. F appears to have read liþ, ‘le conge gist en toutes choses la ou ny ad pecche.’179.na word: the rule for the anchoresses was, ‘Silence euere et te mete;vor ȝif oðre religiuse doð hit . . . ȝe owen biuoren alle,’ AR 68/21.⁊ teo stille, and those few in a low voice: N has addedbeon, and let those be &c.complie: after the anchoress has said compline, the servant must be careful not to disturb her obligatory silence. The times of silence are stated in Ailred’s thirteenth chapter.aþet, until; OE.oð ðæt, until that, a conjunctional phrase, as at 72/189, 77/61, 69, 118/23, but here a preposition; comp. ‘aþet endunge þissere weorlde,’ OEH i. 119/15; ‘aðet tes dei,’ SK 1305. þet, þat are used alone as conjunctions, until; comp. 162/248; ‘ꝥ come þes dei,’ OEH i. 33/32; KH 123 note.a þa, 78/71 (= a þe) representsoð þe,conj., until: so tooof= oð, 13/15.uortN 73/162, until, is shortened from for te (= for to); comp. ‘slepte uort midniht,’ AR 236/25; ‘for to þe fowertuðe dai,’ OEH ii. 23/7. But it is mostly a conjunction, as at 134/64, 136/156, 151/41; ‘uort ȝe beon al greiðe,’ AR 16/6; ‘for to þe time cam,’ OEH ii. 23/4; or it forms with þet a conjunctional phrase, 73/172; ‘vort tet we speken,’ AR 64/12; ‘forte ꝥ on þen þridde dai;ꝥ is heorte be liht,’ OEH ii. 103/23. Finally, in ‘ȝet nabbe ȝe nout wiðstonden uorte þet þe schedunge of ower blode,’ AR 262/17,uorte þetis a preposition. Note the readings of TC at l. 172.181.hureappears to be a repetition of the preceding: N has cloð; CT clað: ‘fors le mangier ⁊ auestir,’ F.182.ꝥ . . . bi, by means of which.flutte, subsist; OWScand. flytja, butthe meaning here answers to the reflexive flytjask, to maintain oneself: ‘dunt ele se puit sustenir,’ F. Comp. ‘þet moni þusunt muhten biflutten,’ AR 202/25, apparently the only other place where it is used in this sense. The noun fluttunge is in HM, ‘to fluttunge ⁊ to fode,’ 27/8, 29/4; SM 22/34.Ne misleue&c., Let no recluse’s servant have such want of confidence in God as to think that He will fail her, whatever betide the recluse. The servant may rest assured that she will be provided for in any contingency. ‘Nule ne mescroie dieu qeiqe auienge de la recluse qil lui faille,’ F. See 141/36, and fortrukiecomp. further 82/105, AR 68/6, 234/17, 356/31.183.þe meidnes wið utenwould seem to restrict the application of the last sentence to the aged indoor servant, see 66/121. The reading of T, þeo ꝥ arn wið uten, applied to people in general who help the recluse, seems better.184.alswa as, even as, just as: so ‘alriht so,’ AR 92/8. hom in T is a mistake for ho.185.haueð ehe . . . toward: comp. ‘hwon ȝe habbeð touward me eien oðer honden,’ AR 76/15 (= ‘cum extenderitis manus’): ‘qi ad loil desperance vers si haut louer,’ F. In N 168 ‘of’ has been lost after ‘eie,’ which cannot mean any.186.heh bure, Blake’s ‘heaven’s high bower’ is quite in the manner of the writer; he has ‘breoste bur,’ AR 34/11; ‘heorte bur,’ 102/22; ‘in to þe stirrede bur bliðe to heouene,’ SM 22/12. Comp. also, ‘in to þan heuenliche bure,’ OEH ii. 167/3. A has preserved the original reading: F has ‘vers si haut louer.’187.eise . . . este: a frequent combination in AR, comp. ‘Eise ⁊ flesches este beoð þes feondes merken,’ AR 364/2, 136/26, 220/6, 374/27; ‘Al þe este ⁊ al þe eise is her,’ HM 29/26. ‘Od aise ne od delit ne achate hom pas tiele ioie,’ F.188.reden: F has ‘lire,’ but the women would not understand French.euche wike eanes: ‘Quater in anno legantur scripta fratribus et sororibus,’ Gilbertine Rule, p. *xciv.ou beoðein N 173, to both of you, means, to the anchoresses as well as to their servants; comp. N 176.190.igodet, improved: comp. 8/92; AR 386/15.192.for þi as, for the reason that: comp. 130/53. The writer affects a fullness of expression in such phrases: so ‘ȝef þet’ in the preceding line; ‘uor þi ꝥ,’ in order that, AR 66/22; ‘uor hwon þet,’ if on occasion, id. 160/3, 270/11, 300/16; ‘mid tet ꝥ,’ as soon as, id. 76/22; ‘wið þen þet,’ on condition that, id. 242/27; ‘bi þen þet,’ by that, id. 330/18.ow: dative, to you.194.liðeliche ⁊ luueliche, gently and affectionately.wummone lare, teaching to women.195. Forselthwenne sturne, F has ‘relement estiburne’; the former word is dialectic for rarement, the latter apparently ME. stiborn, Chaucer C. T., D 456; comp. ‘Styburne, or stoburne (or sterne).Austerus,’ Prompt. Parv., ed. Way, 475: OF. estibourner, to palisade.197.eoli ⁊ win. The source is probably, ‘Hinc namque est, quod docente Veritate per Samaritani studium semivivus in stabulum ducitur, et vinum et oleum eius vulneribus adhibetur, ut per vinum scilicet mordeantur vulnera, per oleum foveantur. Necesse quippe est ut quisquis sanandis vulneribus praeest, in vino morsum doloris adhibeat, in oleo mollitiem pietatis,’ S. Gregorii Pastoralis Cura, ii, ch. 6. The biographer of S. Gilbert says he applied this teaching, ‘Quoniam autem vulneribus saucii nunc vinum, nunc oleum infundere debet Samaritanus qui interpretatur custos, studuit . . . medicus iste animarum utroque uti genere medicamenti.’ Dugdale, p. *vi. Wine is mystically interpreted justice; oil, mercy.199.suhinde, biting, smarting: perhaps connected with OWScand. svíða: a Northern word, see Minot, v. 12 note and EDDsou. C substitutes sturne.200.luue eie, love-fear; ‘doute en amur,’ F. Comp. ‘With loue awe, sone, þy wyfe chastyse,’ How the Wyse Man taught hys Sone, 33/140, where the editor reads lone; ‘frigti luue,’ 197/18. The words are often associated, as ‘And quat for luue and quat for age,’ GE 3632.201.icnaweð, confess: arn cnawe in T means are confessing; OE.gecnǣwe; see KH 983 note.Ase forð as: see 64/85: ‘Ausi auant come vuspoeȝ,’ F.203.nearowe, strict, sparing: comp. ‘hold hire neruwe,’ AR 268/25; ‘neruwe domesmon,’ id. 156/14; ‘et te neruwe dome,’ id. 308/9. It is a noun in the next line, as iswide, l. 205: ‘lestreit del corn . . . le large,’ F.hearde: as they in fact were; ‘Noðeleas, leoue sustren, ower mete and ower drunch haueð iþuht me lesse þen ich wolde,’ AR 412/28. Similarly Ailred, ‘parcissimo cibo vix corpus sustentas,’ 644 c.205.ȝe don, may ye do, do ye.207.ahnes, own; a gen. sing., corresponding to OE.āgnes, in a sort of apposition toower: so aunes in C: the construction is probably the same in ‘His ahȝenes þonkes he þrowede for us,’ OEH i. 121/27. WithonesN 193, alone, comp. 147/163; ‘mid his ones mihte,’ AR 160/10, where T has the curious anres as here; ‘wið his anes wit awarpen,’ SK 591, 1283; as in Latin, ‘Mea unius opera respublica salva est.’ In OE. are found, ‘mid þines anes ȝeþeahte,’ Boethius, ed. Fox, 128/19;‘ðæt ge ures nanes ne siendon,’ Cura Past. 211/14, where the possessive has conformed to the adjective.209.cumeð&c., pay a visit to your maids for relaxation. Withfrourecomp. ‘iuvencula quaedam quae ei (sanctimoniali) ad solatium fuerat deputata,’ Caesarius Heisterbach., ii. 216.cumeð . . . to þe þurl: comp. the rule as to visits of the recluse’s friends, ‘ȝif eni haueð deore gist, do hire meiden ase in hire stude te gladien hire uere, ⁊ heo schal habben leaue to openen hire þurl enes oðer twies ⁊ makien signes touward hire of one glede chere,’ AR 68/22.earunder, before undern, noon: undern is from nine to twelve, sometimes twelve as here and at 206/323, sometimes nine as at 220/205: comp. ‘ereyesterday,’ the day before yesterday, quoted from Coverdale in NED iii. 267. Withouerunder, after undern, comp. ‘ofer non,’ Wulfstan, 205/9; ‘ouernon,’ afternoon, R. of Gloucester, ed. Wright, 7302, 7487; ‘mydouernoon,’ Hymns to the Virgin, 84/49; ‘þy feorþan dæge ofor undern,’ BH 93/14. The dialectic overday, overnight, overyear refer to the past day &c.210.note gastelich, spiritual occupation, duties.211.sitte&c.: do not remain at the window talking to them past the proper time for compline.213.hurten heorte, wound another’s feelings, if retailed: that readily works mischief. Comp. AR 256/1-7, where the devil is said to be busy about separating the sisters with gossip.215.lokeð, watches over, preserves; see 4/20.edhalden, entertained: comp. ‘Prohibemus . . . ne aliqua . . . praesumat alicui hospiti dare carnes . . . nec aliquem balneare, vel minuere vel ultra unam noctem retinere,’ Gilbertine Rule, p. *lxxxv.ꝥ beo, let it occur.218.plohienissubj. pr. pl., Let not the anchoress or her maiden play; it represents OE.pleogianas ME. pleien does OE.plegian. Possibly the dialect word ploy, amusement, usually explained as aphetic for employ, is connected with this form. Thegomeneswould be backgammon, chess, and the like.219.ticki to gederes, pat, caress each other, or possibly, romp, play the child’s game of ‘ticky.’ See NEDs.v.Tick,v.1for examples of the phrase ‘tick and toy.’220.fleschlich froure: the reference is perhaps to ‘Venientibus quippe ad religionem non est consideranda carnis fragilitas, ut ei delicate subserviatur, sed impedimenta fervoris spiritus, ut sollicite fugiantur,’ Opera, i. 370 b.221.wið ute met&c., beyond measure (exceptional) exquisite joy. Comp. ‘utnume feir,’ SJ 6/1.222.þruppeusually means, in addition, as at 127/358, but in AR it generally refers to what has previously been said. Comp. ‘Turneð þeruppe (= back to the place) þer ich spec hu he was ipined,’ AR 188/17; ‘þet ich spec er of þeruppe,’ id. 372/23; where it repeats ‘er’; ‘þeruppe is inouh iseid,’ id. 194/5, already enough has been said. The passage to which he refers them is probably ‘ne schal tu nonesweis þeos two ilke cumforz, min ⁊ te worldes—þe joie of the holi gost ⁊ flesches froure habben togederes,’ AR 102/13.223.eise, at leisure, have opportunity: so ‘hwen þu art on eise carpe toward ihesu,’ OEH i. 287/11; ‘eise (= opportunity) makeð þeof,’ HM 17/24; AR 288/21; ‘aisie,’ convenient, OEH ii. 47/16; ‘efter hire eaise,’ to her liking, AR 114/10. In ‘Et te one psalme ȝe schulen stonden ȝif ȝe beoð eise,’ AR 20/27, it means, in good health, as ‘hwo se is ful meseise,’ id. 46/22, means, whoever is very infirm. The Gilbertine Rule gives leave to sit at the choir offices, especially after bloodletting, p. *lvii.225.biheue: see 91/108.bitohe: see 21/106.226.wite: subj. as in the exclamation ‘wite Christ,’ OEH i. 29/26: the ind. as in N is usual. CT have deu le set.do me toward, set out for Rome, a journey of hardship and difficulty; see Arnulfi Lexov. Epistolae, ed. Giles, 197. The simple infinitive afterleouereis noteworthy: the reading of N represents the normal OE.to donne.229.beoð umben, be bent on. The phrase is constructed with (1) inf., 70/159: (2) noun, ‘and beo ge embe þæt ylce,’ Ælf., Lives, i. 120/79, 154/120, 434/34; ‘Ac hi efre beoð ymbe þat an,’ OEH i. 221/7: (3) relative adverb as here and at 75/201: (4) with relative clause, ‘⁊ ymbe þæt wæron þæt hig hig sylfe on Hierusalem beclysan woldon,’ AS. Hom., ed. Assmann, 185/123; ‘is vmbe eueriches weis þet heo him luuie,’ AR 218/12.beon abutenhas the same meaning and constructions: comp. 46/267, 118/29; ‘Aure to feawe men bien abuten to habben ðese hali mihte,’ VV 133/20; ‘Satan is ȝeorne abuten (= expetivit) uorto ridlen þe ut of mine corne,’ AR 234/15, and absolutely, ‘Inouh ich was abuten,’ I did my best, AR 88/8. But ‘abuten to eggen,’ AR 146/1, means, employed in inciting.þeronuuen, thereupon, on that object, i.e. that ye keep it better &c., where the adverb is somewhat superfluous, but in the writer’s manner. OE.þǣr an ufan. Buton uuenhas in two places at least the meaning of, for the future; SJ 53/9; AR 236/14; and the word in the text might mean, thereafter.þer abutenN 202, about that thing.231.wite . . . warde: see 118/50.233.dreheð ⁊ dreaieð, suffer and endure; OE.drēogað ⁊ dragað: comp. ‘þe alre meast derue | ꝥ eni deadlich flesch | mahe drehen ⁊ drawen,’SK 1889; ‘þu hauest for mi luue muchel idrohen ant idrehen,’ SJ 34/9. For the formdreaieð, comp. 123/206, 147/153.234.him seoluen: comp. 50/360.aa, ever: comp. 118/53, 119/90, 120/108, 125/276: so in SK (MS. R) 664, 1480; HM (MS. T) ‘aá’ 15/34. The doubling is merely an indication of length.235.þe leafdi: comp. ‘Saluum la Dame souent,’ Adgar, 200/58.236.meaðful, moderate: OE.mǣþfull; comp. 122/197.237.writere, the scribe; comp. 128/375.sum chearre, sometimes; comp. ‘sume cherre,’ AR 108/10.238.þe, for thee, dative.v. Cotton Cleopatra C 6corrected by author from “C 5”Literature:... Mühe, T.MuhePhonology:... butuin wule 72“u” misprinted as bold instead of italicāis regularly ... (beside leasse 61 (4), leaste b 188)(4) leasteū,u;u,eabeforer... ȝeouen b 71ȝeouen,ēais regularly ...ȝīetis ȝet b 193printed as shown: apparent error for “gīet”a+g... in MS. C ploȝeC. ploȝeFinaligis regularlyi“i” misprinted as bold instead of italicsiehst,siehðwithi-umlaut“i” misprinted as bold instead of italiceabeforer... anda, afterwwmisprinted as italic instead of boldbefore length. groupsolength groupseo,u- andå-umlaut ofiimisprinted as italic instead of bold(4)Of T and C.... investigation of MüheMuheThree-fourths of the infinitives ... witenpr. pl. subj.pr. pl. subj.,idonpp.b 176;176,(2)Of B.... sunnen 26, earen 71 ares. d.d. s.(3)Of N.... ueonde 139 iss. d.,comma missingInfinitives end in-en... II. bitinde 183:183.Infinitives are divided ... II. bitende 183:183;Vocabulary:...all commas in this paragraph are printed (or missing) as shownDialect:Dialect.3. ... inter scorpiones et colubroscolubres32. ... F. T has ‘þe ondfule ⁊ te luðereopen quote missing37. ... a windes pufþuf26. ... Grossioribus peliciis utaturspelling unchanged65.broche: ‘fermail,’ F; ‘firmaculos,’open quote missing68.forte—wið, with which to get yourselves friends“with” added by author75.efter: see 7/53.efter;78. The amice, L. amictusL amictus103. ... p. *lvi ... see NED.s.v.Here § 16.N.E.D.207. ... apposition toowerowermisprinted as plain (non-bold)
Passages in C (mostly interlined or marginal) which are not in N are inserted between asterisks in the text of the latter. The collations at the foot of pp. 60-75 show the other divergences of C and those of T from N; when not followed by any letter they give the readings of T; those followed by C are the readings of C, while B indicates agreement of T and C as against N.The Eighth Book of the Ancrene Wisse consists of a brief introduction, to the effect that the outer rule is not rigidly binding, and seven sections (‘stucchenes’ 72/188) treating of i. eating and drinking; ii. worldly possessions and dealings, ll. 1-25; iii. clothes, 26-67; iv. occupations, 67-100; v. care of the person, 101-20; vi. servants, 120-222; vii. use of the rule, and conclusion, 223-39.
Passages in C (mostly interlined or marginal) which are not in N are inserted between asterisks in the text of the latter. The collations at the foot of pp. 60-75 show the other divergences of C and those of T from N; when not followed by any letter they give the readings of T; those followed by C are the readings of C, while B indicates agreement of T and C as against N.
The Eighth Book of the Ancrene Wisse consists of a brief introduction, to the effect that the outer rule is not rigidly binding, and seven sections (‘stucchenes’ 72/188) treating of i. eating and drinking; ii. worldly possessions and dealings, ll. 1-25; iii. clothes, 26-67; iv. occupations, 67-100; v. care of the person, 101-20; vi. servants, 120-222; vii. use of the rule, and conclusion, 223-39.
1.bute—readecorresponds to frequent phrases in the Gilbertine Rule, like ‘nisi necessitas postulet aliqua hoc fieri,’ ‘nisi magister aliteriusserit.’ With the former compare 60/18, 62/20, 64/84, 74/217; with the latter 60/13, 62/30, 37, 66/98; ‘þes riwle ⁊ alle oðre beoð in owres scriftes read ⁊ in oweres meistres breoste,’ MS. C f. 190. The master is ‘presbyter aliquis senex maturus moribus, cui raro, nisi de confessione et animae aedificatione, [inclusa] loquatur. A quo consilium accipiat in dubiis, in tribulationibus consolationem,’ Ailred, 642 c.
3.þuncheð bet, seemeth to be rather. The contrast of Martha and Mary, the active and the contemplative life, is a favourite topic in the AR; ‘Husewifschipe is Marthe dole;and Marie dole is stilnesse and reste of alle worldes noise,’ 414/16. Less frequently it is Lya and Rachel that are opposed, Hugh of S. Victor, i. 133.
5.for&c.: the passage is based on Ailred, ‘Aliae [inclusae] . . . pecuniae congregandae vel multiplicandis pecoribus inhiant: tantaque cum hac sollicitudine in his extenduntur, ut eas matres vel dominas familiarum existimes, non anachoretas. Quaerunt aliquibus pascua, pastores . . . Sequitur emptio et venditio’ &c., 641 c, but its vivid detail and interest are all the writer’s own.
6.Olhnin, wheedle, get on the right side of; a word peculiar to AR, SJ, SK, SM; ‘couendra . . . de querre la grace de messer,’ F.heiward: OE. *hægweardoccurring indat.hæigwerde; adopted by the writer of Quadripartitus, p. 22 (c.1100), as heiwardo,d., but often called messor; among other duties, he kept cattle out of the enclosed fields and impounded strays: see Liebermann, Gesetze, i. 452; Leo, Rectitudines, 245.wearien: warien NCT; OE.wergian, curse, revile; comp. ‘ne ne warien hwon me agulteð to ou,’ AR 186/2, 284/22; ‘Ȝe ne schulen uor none þinge ne warien, ne swerien,’ 70/20: ‘mandir (for maudir) le qant il les enparke,’ F.
7.ȝelden&c., and moreover pay for the damage done.wat crist: comp. ‘Deu le set,’ AR 382/17.hwen&c., when there is complaint among the people at large about the recluse’s cattle, or possibly, wealth. The order of the words forbids the explanation, ‘complaint of anchoresses’ cattle in an enclosure,’ Morris. For the vague use ofin tune, comp. KH 153 note. Comp. ‘si bestias haberetis, aliena pascua forsitan occuparent, essetque magnus clamor vicinorum dicentium: Utinam isti eremitae nunquam advenissent, nam multiplex eorum possessio multiplex nobis infert impedimentum,’ S. Stephani Grandimontensis Regula; De bestiis non habendis; Migne, P. L. cciv. col. 1143: possibly the source of this place.
8.Nu þenneintroduces a command, 123/218, 126/311, or request 119/78, or argument 122/191, but its use here for still, notwithstanding, is peculiar. Note that the scribe of T deleted þenne in favour of þah.
10.ifestnet: L has nothing corresponding to the following ancre—heorte, but instead ‘Cauens enimpsalmista [di]cente. Nolite cor appon[ere]’; a reference to Ps. lxi. 11.
11.driue, practise, pursue: comp. 130/72; ‘þa þe þone ceaþ drifað,’ Benedictine Rule, ed. Schröer, 95/11; ‘ꝥ nis bute dusilec | al ꝥ ha driueð,’ SK 424, 5, 1798; ‘long wune is her driuen,’ GE 1681.chepilt, a female trader, one who buys to sell at a profit, as the text explains.
12.efter: see 7/53.chepeð, offers for sale, withdat.chapmon; comp. ‘And chepte heom to sullen vre helare,’ OEM 40/115, but with prep. in sense of buying, ‘Ȝif me cheapeð on of þeos et ou,’ AR 190/8.
14 C: the addition þah—wordes, not in any other MS., is noteworthy: F has nothing corresponding to it or to the sentence in A, þing—honden.
14.sumhwile: he is probably thinking of the Fathers of the Desert, who plaited mats of palm, for the Vitas Patrum was a favourite book of his. The regulation is only of general application, these sisters being fully provided for.
15.wite, take charge of: in troublous times the anchorhold would be regarded as a place of safe deposit.of: so CN, but T omits (correct footnote by deleting B); it depends onNawt. ‘Rien ne gardeȝ en vostre maisone daltrui choses,’ F. In Nofmust be partitive, for witen takes theacc.of the thing guarded: see118/52 note.
16.boistes, boxes, caskets, mostly for ointment, but here probably jewel cases.chartres, deeds; probably the earliest instance.Scoren, scrolls: OF. escroe; comp. ‘Scrowe oðer quaer,’ AR 282/29.
17.cyrograffes, indentures, bonds; an early instance of the word.calices: there was a special objection, ‘nulla femina . . . calicem Domini tangat,’ Udalrici Sermo Synodalis, Migne, P. L. cxxxv. 1071 b.
18.strengðe, violence: comp. 40/168: ‘bute vor neod one, als strengðe ⁊ deaðes dred,’ AR 6/23; ‘auh teares doð him strencðe’ (= lacrima cogit), id. 244/27; ‘Ne dede dieuel him none strengþe,’ VV 113/19. F has ‘force.’
20.makeð—hus, causes your house to be laid open; comp. 117/8, 118/28; ‘oðer ȝif þu iherdest þeoues breken þine woawes,’ AR 242/23. The Gilbertine Rule, while forbidding access to the nuns ordinarily, says ‘propter ignis incendium vel mortis instantis periculum, vel propter furtum et latrocinium omnibus sustinemus introitum,’ p. *lxxvi.
22.seoð: comp. ‘Nullich ꝥ no mon iseo ou bute he habbe leaue speciale of ower meistre,’ AR 56/21; ‘inclusa etiam facie velata loqui debet cum viro,’ Ailred, 642 d.wel mei don of, it matters little about:donmeans originally, serve, suffice, as in ‘that will do,’ but the phrasewith the words in this order is specialized: comp. ‘Ah wel mæi donhu hit ga;for wræcches we beoð æuere ma,’ L 12754, 5; ‘Scheome is understonden bi þe reade;auh wel mei don,’ AR 356/11, where Morton mistranslates. Quite different is, ‘an olde ancre mei don wel ꝥ tu dest vuele,’ AR 52/9. T has duhen here, as A at 64/59 and C at 65/52, ordinarily meaning to be of profit, to avail, but the sense is the same as in the phrase containing don. The construction is impersonal; ancre isdativeat 64/59, 65/52, as at 64/74: forof, concerning, comp. ‘he . . . dyde of heom ꝥ he wolde,’ AS. Chron. D 208/9. ‘De colore autemvestiumnon est multumcurandum,’ L; ‘ne puit chaler de voȝ draps,’ F.
23.unorne, plain, rough: ‘vils,’ F; ‘dum[ta]mennonn[im]is (?) exquisite,’ L. But Förster (Morsbachs Studien l. 171) would translate, ordinary, usual.
24.ow to neodeð: comp. ‘nimen . . . þet hire to neodeð,’ AR 414/24.owisdat.depending directly on the verb, the usual construction of the person in EME. for neoden and neod, comp. 123/210;tois adverbial and a superfluity, quite in the manner of the writer, comp. ‘þurh hwat muhte sonre ful luue of aquiken,’ AR 58/10; ‘þet ich spec er of þeruppe,’ id. 372/23; 130/80 note. Contrast, ‘Nefde he nane neode to us ac we hefden muchele neode to him,’ OEH i. 123/35, where to = of.to bedde: comp. ‘to ruggen and to bedde;iscrud mid gode webbe,’ L 19946, 7; ‘Nowe is the tyme of the yere when provysion was wont to be made . . . of ther wynter vesturys [to] theyr bodyes and to ther beddis,’ Wright, Suppression of Monasteries, 68/4: ‘a lit ⁊ a dos,’ F.
26.linnene: its use in any form was a great concession. It was noted that Abbot Roger Norreys of Evesham, in his contempt for the Rule, ‘camisiis et lintheaminibus . . . palam utebatur,’ Chron. Abb. de Evesham, 104.hearde, hard;pl.of heard, l. 44:herdeN 28 is the same word, but Morris glosses it, hards, hurds, tow, and heorden, hards of flax, referring both toheordan, without accounting for the difference in form. The meaning, of hards and of coarse hards, is not satisfactory. F has ‘sil ne seit de stupeȝ ⁊ de grosses estoupes’; the two nouns appear to be an Anglo-French and a French form from the same Latin word, stupa. Possibly the former means tow of flax and the latter tow of hemp; anyhow the cloth was called stupacium. Comp. generally, ‘Porro talia ei vestimenta sufficiant quae frigus repellant. Grossioribuspeliciisutatur, & pellibus propter hyemem, propter aestatem autem unam habeat tunicam: utroque vero tempore duas de stupacio camisias vel staminas,’ Ailred, 644 e.
27.Stamin: OF. estamine, an under-garment loosely woven of coarse wool, nearly as uncomfortable as a hair shirt, ‘camiseam de grossiori panno [habeant], si voluerint’ of the Gilbertine Rule, p. *lxxix. ‘Estamiȝ,’ F.
28.hetter, garment: ‘vn de voȝ vestures,’ F. OE.pl.hæteru, often in ME. as singular. ‘Vestiti quoque dormiant et cincti, vt semper sint parati,’ Grimlaici Regula Solitariorum, in Holstenii Codex, i. 291. Lay folk did not in those days wear night clothes.leoðeliche, loosely: the ME. adverb corresponding to the OE. adjectiveliþig, flexible; comp. OWScand. liðugr, free: liðeliche, 72/194 is OE.līþe, soft. The writer here and elsewhere shows himself anxious to mitigate the austerities of his pupils. F has nothing corresponding to swa—under.
30.cunneis historically genitive plural: see132/9 noteand 81/80 note.schriftes, confessor’s: the ‘meistre’ of 60/2: comp. 80/62; ‘bi ure shriftes rede,’ OEH ii. 55/29; ‘mid ðe rade of þine scrifte,’ VV 127/2. In F ‘sanȝ congie de son confessour’ corresponds to ‘wiðute schriftes leaue,’ 62/33.
31.ilespiles felles, hedgehogs’ skins: OE.igil,īl, hedgehog +pīl, prickle; the compound is used in ME. for the animal. Comp. ‘⁊ alle [sunnen] weren prikiende so piles on ile | He biþ þicke mid piles,’ Worc. Frag. F 21, 2. InirspilesN 30ris probably due to OF. heriçun: F has ‘peel diricon.’
31 N.ileðeredin this MS. only: it must mean, furnished with leather thongs: F has ‘[pl]umbee.’
32.holin: OE.holegn,holen, holly.
33.binetli, whip with nettles: NED. quotes from Cotgrave, ‘enortier, to benettle.’
34.biuoren, in front of the body.ne na keoruunge, practise no cutting or mutilation.ed eanes, at any one time. F ‘a nule foiȝ.’
35.luðere, severe, lit. wicked.disceplines: ‘smerte smiten of smale longe ȝerden,’ OEH ii. 207/6. Comp. ‘Disciplina pacis nostre super eum, seið Isaye, þus ure beatunge ueol upon him,’ AR 366/14, 346/24.
36.cundeliche: for sicknesses which come in the natural course they must not put faith in or try remedies which are unnatural, such as the nostrums of the herb-woman: see54/6 note. The writer in another place, 368, says that recluses are apt to be far too much concerned about bodily health.
37.leste&c., lest worse befall you: see 30/18.lestedescends fromþȳ lǣs þe; this is an early instance of its use.
38.meoke, soft, supple; comp. 64/66: the only instances in Englishof the use of this word in the material sense of OWScand. mjúkr as in Icel. mjúk-hendr, soft-handed. ‘In yeme utamini sotularibusgrossis ⁊ callidis,’ L.
39.Hosen wiðute vampez, stockings without feet; the ‘chausses’ were usually footed. ‘En chauces sanȝ auant pieȝ gise qi voudra,’ F; ‘In caligis sine pedalibusdormietis,’ L.vampez,pl.of vampe or vampey, are properly the front part of a boot, the ‘uppers’ (avant pied), here they mean the whole covering of the foot. In Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey (ed. Singer 335), Wolsey is represented as saying, ‘we do intend . . . to go afoot . . . in the vamps of our hosen,’ i.e. in our stocking feet. The secondandin 35 N is superfluous.
40.Ischeoed—bedde: another prohibition of undue austerities. The passage is not in any other of the English MSS., nor in F, but L has ‘calciatis numquamnec nisi in lecto.’
41.Sum—wereð, it may be that some woman wears &c. Forinohreaðesee 56/43; F has ‘parauenture’ here as there.brech, drawers; OE.brēc,pl.ofbrōc, answering to femoralia of the monastic Rules.here, haircloth; OE.hǣre.
42.streapeles, the legs of the drawers; especially so called when they were closely confined to the limb by cross-gartering. They were worn by men also: see Strutt’s Complete View of the Dress &c. i, plates 31, 49, 56, for good illustrations. OE.strapul: ‘Hoc tibiale: a strapylle,’ Wright, Vocab. 775/18, 734/23. F has ‘les braeis de heire m[u]lt bien noueȝ les tiguns aual desqe a pieȝ mult ferm laceȝ,’ but nothing corresponding toah—here, which is in A alone: and yet it is necessary to the sense. The writer does not approve of the ‘brech of here,’ a sweet and patient disposition is better, an often-repeated idea; ‘Þis is Godes heste, þet him is muchele leouere þen þet tu ete gruttene bread, oðer werie herde here,’ AR 186/10. L is with A, ‘Alique utuntur femoralibuscilicium. Mallem tamenin vobis cor humile ⁊ potens sustinere dura verba · et probrosa · quamdurumciliciumportare.’
43.swete . . . swote: a frequent combination: comp. ‘swete ⁊ swote iheorted,’ AR 118/3; ‘so unimete swote ⁊ swete,’ id. 102/26.þolien: comp. ‘A mis-word þet ȝe þolieð . . . ȝe nolden sullen hire uor al þe worldes golde,’ AR 190/7.
44.ȝef—wullen, If you can do without wimples, and you would doubtless wish to do so.
45.beoð bi, have for use: comp. ‘beoð bi þe leste þet heo euer muwen,’ AR 350/7; ‘gifð us al þat we bi ben,’ OEH ii. 69/29, 179/6. Similarly, ‘ne na mâ wifa þonne ân hæbbe, ac beo be þære anre þa hwile, þe heolybbe,’ Wulfstan, 271/14 (B.-T.); ‘ne æac maran getilige to haldænne þonne ic gêmetlice bi beon mage,’ Blooms, ES xviii. 343/43.cappen: the ‘mitras lineas, nigras et forratas de agninis pellibus’ of the Gilbertine Rule, p. *lxxix.
46.wimplunge: so S. Bernard contrasts the wimpled fine lady and the veiled nun, ‘Risus immoderatior, incessus lascivior, vestitus ornatior wimplatae magis quam velatae congruerent,’ i. 123 f. The wimple was a long strip of fine linen which encircled the head, neck, and the top of the shoulders; at this time one end of it hung down along the left arm. There is a good illustration of it in Shaw’s Dresses and Decorations, i, on the middle figure of plate 10. Like other linen clothing, it was at this time coloured with saffron; ‘hire winpel wit, oðer maked geleu mid saffran,’ OEH ii. 163/32; Rel. Ant. ii. 15/8; the ‘ȝeolewe clað’ of 82/108. The long passage from Ancren l. 46 to wimplunge l. 59 is in AC only; in the latter it is added on the margin, which has been cropped. L is very fragmentary at this point, but it had matter corresponding to A.
47.cundeliche, by reason of her sex, because she is a woman, and ordered as such by S. Paul to veil her head.
48.heaued clað: the ‘couvre-chef,’ a veil of fine linen worn on the head. Holy Scripture says nothing of wimples or other head-dress, but speaks of covering only. ‘Si turpe est mulieri tonderi aut decalvari, velet caput suum,’ 1 Cor. xi. 6.
51-55. The source of this passage is probably, ‘Linus papa . . . constituit ut mulieres in ecclesia velatae sint. Et hoc propter tres causas fit: una est, cum sint decipula diaboli, ne laxis earum crinibus iuvenum animi illaqueentur; . . . tertia est ut reatus originalis peccati, qui per mulierem evenit, ad memoriam nobis revocetur. Iudex quippe malorum est Christus: sacerdos eius vicarius. Ante sacerdotem ergo debet se mulier velare velut rea et tanti mali sibi conscia coram iudice celare. Unde dicit Apostolus, ut mulier velata sit propter angelos, id est sacerdotes,’ Honorius Augustodunensis (Migne, P. L. clxxii) 589 d.sunfulegoes with eue; comp. 63/44.
52.on earst, at the beginning, would correspond to OE. *on ǣrest, which is apparently not found: OE.on ǣrmeans beforehand. Comp. ‘on erest,’ AR 264/8; ‘on earst,’ SM 14/7; ‘on alre earst,’ HM 17/25; SM 14/4. The phrase is confined to AR and its group; elsewhere at erst is used.
53.drahe, divert from their proper use: a rare meaning.tiffunge, adornment.
54. Ifȝettenmeans yet, furthermore, it repeats and reinforcesEft.As a form it seems to be quite isolated: it may be derived from ȝette and owe its finalnto the influence of such pairs as ofte, often; uppe, uppen; buten, bute; seþþen, seþþe.ȝette47 C is also a rare form; comp. 76/19; HM 13/9, 43/13; ‘ewt ꝥ mon seið þe oðer deð ȝette,’ id. 43/21. It can hardly come fromgīeta, which gives ȝete; perhaps it is for ȝet + þe, like þætte for þæt þe: þe ȝet is frequent in Layamon.
55.þurh hire onsihðe, through the seeing of her: comp. 124/253, perhaps the only other place where the word occurs: it is possibly formed on the analogy of OE.ansīen.Et hoc&c.: ‘Ideo debet mulier potestatem habere supra caput propter Angelos,’ 1 Cor. xi. 10.
56.iwimplet: the writer is addressing an imaginary disciple who insists on the wimple as satisfying the requirements of S. Paul. He replies that the apostle requires more; the face also must be veiled; his words are directed against the recluse who receives visits from men. The wimple can be dispensed with by the recluse who keeps within her walls and avoids the sight of men. The visits of various people to the recluse are often referred to; see AR 56/20, 58/5, 68/16.
57.þeis for þe þe, as in C and at 64/60.
59.welis a mistake for þurl due to anticipation of the following wel. Three windows are mentioned, that looking into the church, the ‘chirche þurl,’ AR 68/16; the parlour window, through which they converse with visitors and communicate with the servants, the ‘þurl’ of 74/209, AR 68/19; and the house window, the ‘rund windowe’ of the text. Each window was hung inside and out with black cloths marked with a white cross, AR 50/2, 96/10, and furnished with shutters; compare the elaborate regulations for the windows in the Gilbertine Rule, Dugdale, *lxxv.wel mei duhen: see62/22 note:ancreis dative.
60.þus ne dest, i.e. hidest not thyself from men’s gaze.
61.þer . . . of, thereby, by reason of that, see1/3 note: so ‘hwarof,’ whereby AR 58/22.
63.þah, if. Comp. ‘Ȝif we weopeð for ure owune [sunnen] hit is nout muchel wunder,’ AR 312/23. ‘ki qe vult estre veue mes qele satife nest pas grant merueille,’ F.
64.untiffet wið uten: comp. 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4.
65.broche: ‘fermail,’ F;‘firmaculos,’L (should be firmacula).imembret, striped, parti-coloured: comp. ‘Singuli Fratres singulas zonas tantum habeant, sintque zonae eorum simplicis corrigiae, sine fibulis & absque omni tinctura,’ Statuta Ord. Grandimont., Holst. ii. 303.glouen: comp. ‘Ut nunquam induant gantos,’ Regulae Sanctimonialium Fontis Ebraldi, Migne, P. L. clxii. 1097.
57 C-61. See 66/114-19. The scribe of C copied this passage by inadvertence at the bottom of f. 193rinstead of f. 194r.
66.ow ne deh, it is not proper for you.meoke, soft and pliant, not like the heavy sheepskin winter garments. See 62/38 note.
67.greattre, coarser and larger pieces of work, not fancy trifles.
68.forte—wið,withwhich to get yourselves friends. ‘nec eorum (i.e. friends) munuscula litterasque suscipias, nec illis tua dirigas, prout moris est, puta zonas, marsupia, quae diverso stamine & subtegmine variata sunt,’ Ailred, 642 e. In the Gilbertine Rule the nuns are forbidden to make purses embroidered with silk, p. *xciv.
69.huue, coif, skull-cap: OE.hūfe; Germ. haube.blodbinde, ligatures of silk to stop bleeding: ‘tenas,’ L (a LL. form = taenias).laz, not ‘lace’ Morris, but laces, i.e. strings for lacing garments: ‘laqueos de serico,’ L.
70.chirche claðes: ‘les vestementȝ de seint iglise,’ F.
72.fore, beforehand: OE.fore: without telling him about it beforehand, as well as the circumstances, your relationship to the persons, how often you receive them, how long you entertain them.
73.tendre of cunne, affectionate towards kindred. The story which follows is in Eudes de Cheriton (ed. Hervieux, 270) and in Jacques de Vitry (ed. Crane, 54). Both were active in the first quarter of the thirteenth century. Eudes may have found the story (which is, in any case, an interpolation) in AR, he quotes, p. 195, a variant of the proverb found in AR 96/24, ‘euer is þe eie to þe wude leie,’ and applies it correctly.
74.⁊—him, to whom came.
75.efter:see 7/53.
76.dead biburiet: probably and has fallen out between these words.
77.dead gasteliche: ‘mortuus sum in claustro sepultus,’ Eudes, 271; ‘Quanti monachorum dum patris matrisque miserentur, suas animas perdiderunt,’ S. Jerome, ii. 577.
78. The amice,L.amictus, is the oblong piece of linen which envelops the neck of a vested priest. For a good illustration see Bock, Gesch. der liturg. Gewänder des Mittelalters, ii. Tafel ii. To its upper edge is sewn an apparel which forms a collar to it. The parures, apparels, are pieces of richly embroidered cloth sewn on the amice and on the alb, two at the lower hem before and behind, two on the cuffs, and sometimes two on breast and back. See Shaw’s Dresses, i. plates 14, 16; Rock, Church of our Fathers, i. 424-66. The Gilbertines were allowed to use silk for these embroideries.
80.mustreisun, ostentation, boasting: OF. mo(n)straison, L. monstrationem: NED. records a later monstrison and monstration.
81. Forgode werkesspoilt by publishing them, see the characteristic passage in AR 146-52.Criblin: the exact meaning of this word, hitherto unrecorded, is hard to determine. Its connexion with F. cribler, LL. criblare (in Mulomedicina Chironis, ivth cent.), L. cribrum can hardly be doubted; it must mean some kind of open work; either embroidery on a net foundation, ‘filatorium,’ or drawn-thread work, or, what seems most probable, ‘tambour,’ wherein the strips of linen stretched in a ring frame, with the pattern pierced by a bodkin and the edges of the holes thus made framed in needlework, would above all things suggest a sieve. Such work might be used for ornamenting altar cloths, or pyx cloths, or even albs (see Bock, ii. 35). It was elaborate work, such as recluses ought not to undertake.
82.Taueles, linen cloths which are spread on the mensa of the altar, the ‘tres tobaleae mundae’ of the Roman rite. LL. toualia, Eng. towel.riueð, stitches, sews together; OWScand. rifa, to tack, sew loosely together: in Scottish dialects, riv.
83.measse kemese, albs: OE.cemes, LL. camisia.nomeliche oueregede, especially such as are foolishly elaborate:oueregedeis found here only; egede is a characteristic word of the group, AR 282/13; HM 39/2; SM 11/9.
84.Helpeð&c.: comp. ‘Quod ut fiat, videat inclusa, ut si fieri potest, de labore manuum suarum vivat, hoc enim perfectum est,’ Ailred, 641 d. A general injunction, not applicable to the sisters, for whom ample provision had been made, AR 192/16.
85.se forð se, as far as: comp. ‘so uorð so,’ 65/67; ‘se uorð ase,’ 75/187; ‘ase forð as,’ 72/201; ‘so uorð ase,’ AR 268/10, 382/11.
86. The reference is probably to ‘ne quemquam otiosum possit diabolus invenire, ne variis desideriis pateat cordis aditus, altera sororum libros scribat . . . suat altera cucullas sororum,’ Opera v. 442.
87.lihtliche, without good reason.allunges, altogether, wholly: the genitive form is less common than the dative, 70/154, which represents OE.eallunga.of sumþing . . . idel, without something to do: comp. 58/73.anan rihtes, immediately, straight away.
89.for nawt, to no purpose.
90.iȝemen: OE.gegīemanoccurs only in the sense of treating as a patient, amending: ȝeme T means, take heed to, give attention, the variant in N,ihwulen, have leisure: comp. ‘hwon so ȝe euer muwen ihwulen,’ AR 44/5. Apparently it occurs nowhere else.
91. ‘In desideriis est omnis otiosus,’ comp. Prov. xxi. 26. Forawakeneðsee 54/24. ‘Ecce haec fuit iniquitas Sodomae, sororis tuae, superbia, saturitas panis et abundantia, et otium ipsius,’ Ezech. xvi. 49.
94.rust: ‘otium enim et desidia quasi quaedam rubigo sapientiae est,’ S. Jerome, ii. 773.
95, 96. From Ailred; ‘sunt quaedam inclusae, quae in docendis puellis occupantur, et cellam suam vertunt in scholam,’ 641 f.forwurðe, degenerate into; a meaning apparently found only in AR; its ordinary sense is, to perish, 54/23. Comp. ‘Þeo þet schulden one lecnen hore soule mid heorte bireousunge . . . uorwurðeð fisiciens ⁊ licomes leche,’ AR 368/28; ‘bicumeð (forwurðeð T) meister, þe schulde beon ancre,’ 64/24.
96.ꝥ—of, concerning whom it would be danger; comp. 1/3. Forof, meaning ground, cause, comp. ‘strengðe of,’ 66/116; ‘gostlich fondunge þat is more dred of,’ AR 194/23: forpliht, risk, ‘Nu ne sceole ȝe halden eower child to plihte to longe hæþene,’ Twelfth Cent. Hom. 6/7:dute79 N has the same meaning.
97.bimong: a form characteristic of AR and the allied writings.
99. See 64/68 note. In the next linewritenprobably means compose or copy books; comp. ‘Nulla etiam de nostris praesumat libros aliquos, vel orationes, vel meditationes scribere vel scribi facere sine assensu prioris omnium,’ Gilbertine Rule, p. *lxxxiii.
100. Their hair is to be cropped,idoddet, or shaven four times a year, or if any one prefers it, trimmed,ieueset, but in that case, the hair must be washed and combed more often, C 85; not more than seven times in the year according to the Gilbertine Rule.
102.beo bi, as at 62/45.
103.as ofte: four times a year, as in the Gilbertine Rule, p. *lvi.þe, who, equivalent to whoso; if any one can dispense with bloodletting;þer buten, without it: seeNED.s.v.Here § 16.
105.þe þreo dahes, a recognized period of indulgence; ‘Minutis tribus diebus pitantia mane vinum autem bis datur . . . a laboribus vacant, ad lectos redeunt, a post prandium usque ad vesperas colloquium de bonis faciunt,’ Guigonis Consuetudines, Migne, P. L. cliii. 737.
106.schurteð, amuse: a rare word supposed to be cognate with Germ. scherzen. ‘Mes dalieȝ de paroles od voȝ meschines ⁊ od honestes countes solaceȝ vous ensemble,’ F.
107.beoð: the subject ȝe is understood from the preceding ow.
109. They were too severe in their austerities, AR 378/21, 228/18.
110. Formonlukersee125/270 note.
115.ꝥ—riwledepends onnan. This passage corresponds to 65/57-61.
116.strengðe, weight, importance: a favourite word of the writer;comp. ‘of þincges wiðuten . . . nis nout muche strencðe,’ AR 12/12; ‘me schal makien strencðe of onnesse of cloþes,’ id. 12/5. Forofsee 66/97. In the introduction to part viii, he says that they must not promise, as unwise people might do, to observe any of the external rules.
117.inre, the inner rule, the ‘lady rule,’ to which the outer is but an handmaid: comp. AR 4/10, 12/24, 410/18.
118.skile, reason.
119.þuften, handmaid; comp. 68/123; ‘for mi lauerd biseh his þufftenes mekelac,’ HM 45/12; AR 4/11. OE.þyften.
120.feareð to wundre, goes to misfortune, ruin: OE.wundor, a portentous thing. Comp. 6/46 note; 117/10; ‘þu scealt to wundre gewurðan,’ AS. Hom., ed. Assmann, 174/163; ‘⁊ tukeð ham alto wundre,’ AR 380/15; ‘ȝeuest þin ahne dere bodi to tuken swa to wundre,’ HM 27/14; ‘so was ðis were to wunder brogt,’ GE 3977.Ancre&c.: the first clause is conditional, as at 54/11; if an anchoress have not her food close at hand, two women are busy, i.e. have plenty to do, are needed. This absolute use ofbisie, meaning fully employed, is noteworthy. F has ‘Recluse qe nad pas sa vetaille pres · mestier ad dauer ij femmes’; L, ‘Anachorita que nonhabet victumad manumindiget duabus ancillis.’ The rule is founded on that of Ailred, ‘Itaque eligatur tibi aliqua anus, non garrula, non vaga, non litigiosa, non nugigerula . . . Haec ostium cellulae custodiat . . . Habeat sub cura sua fortiorem ad onera sustinenda puellam,’ 641 f.
121.þe leaue, who may remain, to stay: an intransitive use.
123.unorne, not ‘old,’ but plain in appearance; comp. 62/23; either a young girl or middle-aged, without adornment.
124.beoden, prayers: comp. ‘Cheatereð ouwer beoden euere, ase sparuwe deð þet is one,’ AR 174/24: ‘voise disant ses proiores,’ F.
129.dame, mistress: each of the anchoresses had her own maids; see 74/208.
132.ȝe: the reading of N is preferable: CT have no nominative: ‘Nul hom ne lessent entrer,’ F.
134.oboke, by book; comp. ‘Sum is clergesse ⁊ sum nis nout ⁊ mot . . . an oðer wise siggen hire ures,’ AR 6/12.bi, by the repetition of: ‘die par patrenostres,’ F. Comp. AR 24, where the writer describes how the lay brethren of his own order say their hours.
136. Comp. ‘So þet me seið ine bisawe, “Vrom mulne ⁊ from cheping, from smiðe ⁊ from ancre huse, me tiðinge bringeð,”’ AR 88/26: Ailred, 641 b.
140.to uuel turnen: ‘vnde quis aliquidmali poterit suspicari,’ L.
141.heaued clað: ‘coeuere chief,’ F.eiðer ligge ane, let each lie by herself, comes in awkwardly among the directions about their clothes: F has it here, but T after habben, l. 143.
142.copis apparently the caputium of the Gilbertine Rule: ‘Conversae vero laicae sorores vestiantur sicut monachae, cucullis et scapulari exceptis; quorum loco habeant pallia de adultis agnis forrata; et caputia earum mamillas tegentia ad formam scapulariorum sanctimonialium,’ p. *lxxxvii: so a short cape covering the shoulders instead of the longer cloak called scapular. It was to be sewn high on the breast, not closed by a brooch: hence its namehesmelin N, as a garment with a hole for the head to pass through; Icel. hálsmal:istihdin N is probably miswritten for istichd. ‘lour cotes soient par de sus closes par deuant la poitrine sanȝ fermail,’ F.
143.unleppet, literally unlapped, not enfolded; ‘desaffublieȝ,’ F: not in their ‘cop’ or ‘hesmel.’ OE.læppa, skirt.unweawedN, ungarmented, means the same thing, not ‘unveiled,’ Morris: comp. OE.wǣfels, pallium, indumentum.open heaued, bare-headed; ‘teste descouerte,’ F.ihudeketC, covered; from *hȳdecian, derivative ofhȳdan(NED).
144.cussen: the mode of salutation then general among lay folk is forbidden them. For the custom at a much later period see Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey, ed. Singer, p. 171.
145.toggin, tug, pull about; comp. 186/318. T has the derivative, toggle: Sc. dialect, tuggle.
146.aturn, attire, or possibly, bearing, manner. OF. atourn, equipment, adornment. Comp. ‘for þi is hare aturn se briht,’ HM 23/10; ‘aturnet,’ 123/209.
147.hwerto . . . iturnde, in what direction they are going, what way of life they have chosen.Hare lates&c., let them wisely give heed to their gestures, behaviour; ‘porteures,’ F.
150.venie, acknowledgement of fault and petition for pardon, usually in the form of a genuflection or of a profound bow (curvatio). It was also used as a formal act of humiliation at the end of a Psalm and with the angelic salutation, as ‘cum tribus veniis totidem feci salutationes,’ Caesarius Heisterbach., ii. 33, 39: see also Ecbasis Captivi, ed. Voigt, ll. 769-72. Comp. ‘nimeð ower uenie dun et ter eorðe mid te honden one;oðer ualleð adun al uor muchel misnimunge,’ AR 46/27; ‘sumat veniam super terram,’ Gilbertine Rule, p. *lxxxi.
154.do—ut, put it utterly out.
156.eiðer&c., and let them raise one another and end with a kiss:hamin N is reciprocal.
157.þe greatluker gulte, who was more in fault; see 125/270.
158.witen&c.: see90/73 note.some, concord: comp. ‘to some and to sehtnysse,’ Ælf., Hom. Cath. ii. 198/19, ‘myd sib and myd some,’ OEM 89/15; ‘sib ⁊ sæhte,’ 11/184; ‘sib wið ute uihte,’ 133/60.somentalein T means concord; in Orm, sammtale, in CM, samertale, concordant.
159.umben: see74/229 note. Forleaððe, OE.lǣððo, hatred, N has substituted the commonerwreððe.
160.o brune, alight; comp. ‘bed bringen o brune,’ SK 1355; AR 296/12.aga, go out; an uncommon use of a word which means, to depart. Comp. ‘That other fyr was queynt and al agon,’ Chaucer, C. T., A 2336.
161.nond, aphetic form of anond, onond. The emendation appears to be justified by the reading of N, although this shortened form does not occur elsewhere. All the scribes seem to have been puzzled by the peculiar use of the word; N adds a gloss ‘also.’ T has dos hond to, sets his hand to; C omits. The word is adverbial, meaning likewise; a development ofon efen, on a level with. He doth likewise the same thing, is a tautology characteristic of the writer: ‘il fet meismes ceste chose,’ F.
162.ꝥ he wule ꝥ, which he wills that it should burn: comp. 7/52: ‘le quel il vult qe arde en nostre queor,’ F.
163.ne geineð nawt, is of no avail.
164.nohtunge, depreciation: comp. ‘for noht oðer nohtunge,’ HM 9/1. But F interprets it otherwise, ‘ascune altre chose qe rien ne vaut.’to hurten, may dash asunder: ‘par quey il seuerent lune de laltre,’ F.to hurrenCT means, whirl asunder: comp. dialectal Danish hurre, dial. English hurr, to whirr round.
165. Forfrommardsee 58/66.cwencheðshould be cwenche orhurten, hurteð. An early instance of cwenchen, to be extinguished.
166.halden ham, let them, i.e. the brands, hold themselves firmly together.
167.ne—of, let them not heed; see 8/84. F has ‘⁊ ne lour seit a rien tout soffle lenemy.’
168.monie, i.e. brondes.iueiet, joined; corresponds to OE.gefēged,pp.ofgefēgan: a favourite word of the author; comp. ‘iveied togederes,’ AR 26/9; ‘iueied somed,’ id. 308/17; ‘hope ⁊ dred beon euer iveied togederes,’ id. 336/9, 356/7.ontende: comp. 128/370; ‘of þeos two treonȝe schulen ontenden fur of luue wiðinnen ower heorte,’ AR 402/7. Forwiðsee 130/52: F has ‘nomeement ensemble. si plusours estes ensemble iointes ⁊ bien damuresprises,’ where the first ensemble is superfluous.
170.schriuen ham, let them make their confession: a new development in the meaning of the word: OE.scrīfanmeans, to hear confession, to impose penance (scrift). F has ‘Al prestre ia le plus tard ne se confessent souent,’ where the equivalent ofnoðeleater, nevertheless, is noteworthy.
174.se lengre se mare: ‘a touȝ iours · plus ⁊ plus,’ F.
177.gruchesi, a hitherto unrecorded form, means, like the other readings, to munch, nibble. It is related togruseT as the mod. dialect. forms growdge (Lincs.), grouge (Notts) are to grouze, to eat noisily (mostly Lincs.):gruselieN may be represented by gruzzle, to eat voraciously (Lanark). Similarly OF. groucier is grutch in ME., in mod. dialects, grouse, to grumble.
178.liht, readily given by the mistress; comp. 48/312. F appears to have read liþ, ‘le conge gist en toutes choses la ou ny ad pecche.’
179.na word: the rule for the anchoresses was, ‘Silence euere et te mete;vor ȝif oðre religiuse doð hit . . . ȝe owen biuoren alle,’ AR 68/21.⁊ teo stille, and those few in a low voice: N has addedbeon, and let those be &c.complie: after the anchoress has said compline, the servant must be careful not to disturb her obligatory silence. The times of silence are stated in Ailred’s thirteenth chapter.aþet, until; OE.oð ðæt, until that, a conjunctional phrase, as at 72/189, 77/61, 69, 118/23, but here a preposition; comp. ‘aþet endunge þissere weorlde,’ OEH i. 119/15; ‘aðet tes dei,’ SK 1305. þet, þat are used alone as conjunctions, until; comp. 162/248; ‘ꝥ come þes dei,’ OEH i. 33/32; KH 123 note.a þa, 78/71 (= a þe) representsoð þe,conj., until: so tooof= oð, 13/15.uortN 73/162, until, is shortened from for te (= for to); comp. ‘slepte uort midniht,’ AR 236/25; ‘for to þe fowertuðe dai,’ OEH ii. 23/7. But it is mostly a conjunction, as at 134/64, 136/156, 151/41; ‘uort ȝe beon al greiðe,’ AR 16/6; ‘for to þe time cam,’ OEH ii. 23/4; or it forms with þet a conjunctional phrase, 73/172; ‘vort tet we speken,’ AR 64/12; ‘forte ꝥ on þen þridde dai;ꝥ is heorte be liht,’ OEH ii. 103/23. Finally, in ‘ȝet nabbe ȝe nout wiðstonden uorte þet þe schedunge of ower blode,’ AR 262/17,uorte þetis a preposition. Note the readings of TC at l. 172.
181.hureappears to be a repetition of the preceding: N has cloð; CT clað: ‘fors le mangier ⁊ auestir,’ F.
182.ꝥ . . . bi, by means of which.flutte, subsist; OWScand. flytja, butthe meaning here answers to the reflexive flytjask, to maintain oneself: ‘dunt ele se puit sustenir,’ F. Comp. ‘þet moni þusunt muhten biflutten,’ AR 202/25, apparently the only other place where it is used in this sense. The noun fluttunge is in HM, ‘to fluttunge ⁊ to fode,’ 27/8, 29/4; SM 22/34.Ne misleue&c., Let no recluse’s servant have such want of confidence in God as to think that He will fail her, whatever betide the recluse. The servant may rest assured that she will be provided for in any contingency. ‘Nule ne mescroie dieu qeiqe auienge de la recluse qil lui faille,’ F. See 141/36, and fortrukiecomp. further 82/105, AR 68/6, 234/17, 356/31.
183.þe meidnes wið utenwould seem to restrict the application of the last sentence to the aged indoor servant, see 66/121. The reading of T, þeo ꝥ arn wið uten, applied to people in general who help the recluse, seems better.
184.alswa as, even as, just as: so ‘alriht so,’ AR 92/8. hom in T is a mistake for ho.
185.haueð ehe . . . toward: comp. ‘hwon ȝe habbeð touward me eien oðer honden,’ AR 76/15 (= ‘cum extenderitis manus’): ‘qi ad loil desperance vers si haut louer,’ F. In N 168 ‘of’ has been lost after ‘eie,’ which cannot mean any.
186.heh bure, Blake’s ‘heaven’s high bower’ is quite in the manner of the writer; he has ‘breoste bur,’ AR 34/11; ‘heorte bur,’ 102/22; ‘in to þe stirrede bur bliðe to heouene,’ SM 22/12. Comp. also, ‘in to þan heuenliche bure,’ OEH ii. 167/3. A has preserved the original reading: F has ‘vers si haut louer.’
187.eise . . . este: a frequent combination in AR, comp. ‘Eise ⁊ flesches este beoð þes feondes merken,’ AR 364/2, 136/26, 220/6, 374/27; ‘Al þe este ⁊ al þe eise is her,’ HM 29/26. ‘Od aise ne od delit ne achate hom pas tiele ioie,’ F.
188.reden: F has ‘lire,’ but the women would not understand French.euche wike eanes: ‘Quater in anno legantur scripta fratribus et sororibus,’ Gilbertine Rule, p. *xciv.ou beoðein N 173, to both of you, means, to the anchoresses as well as to their servants; comp. N 176.
190.igodet, improved: comp. 8/92; AR 386/15.
192.for þi as, for the reason that: comp. 130/53. The writer affects a fullness of expression in such phrases: so ‘ȝef þet’ in the preceding line; ‘uor þi ꝥ,’ in order that, AR 66/22; ‘uor hwon þet,’ if on occasion, id. 160/3, 270/11, 300/16; ‘mid tet ꝥ,’ as soon as, id. 76/22; ‘wið þen þet,’ on condition that, id. 242/27; ‘bi þen þet,’ by that, id. 330/18.ow: dative, to you.
194.liðeliche ⁊ luueliche, gently and affectionately.wummone lare, teaching to women.
195. Forselthwenne sturne, F has ‘relement estiburne’; the former word is dialectic for rarement, the latter apparently ME. stiborn, Chaucer C. T., D 456; comp. ‘Styburne, or stoburne (or sterne).Austerus,’ Prompt. Parv., ed. Way, 475: OF. estibourner, to palisade.
197.eoli ⁊ win. The source is probably, ‘Hinc namque est, quod docente Veritate per Samaritani studium semivivus in stabulum ducitur, et vinum et oleum eius vulneribus adhibetur, ut per vinum scilicet mordeantur vulnera, per oleum foveantur. Necesse quippe est ut quisquis sanandis vulneribus praeest, in vino morsum doloris adhibeat, in oleo mollitiem pietatis,’ S. Gregorii Pastoralis Cura, ii, ch. 6. The biographer of S. Gilbert says he applied this teaching, ‘Quoniam autem vulneribus saucii nunc vinum, nunc oleum infundere debet Samaritanus qui interpretatur custos, studuit . . . medicus iste animarum utroque uti genere medicamenti.’ Dugdale, p. *vi. Wine is mystically interpreted justice; oil, mercy.
199.suhinde, biting, smarting: perhaps connected with OWScand. svíða: a Northern word, see Minot, v. 12 note and EDDsou. C substitutes sturne.
200.luue eie, love-fear; ‘doute en amur,’ F. Comp. ‘With loue awe, sone, þy wyfe chastyse,’ How the Wyse Man taught hys Sone, 33/140, where the editor reads lone; ‘frigti luue,’ 197/18. The words are often associated, as ‘And quat for luue and quat for age,’ GE 3632.
201.icnaweð, confess: arn cnawe in T means are confessing; OE.gecnǣwe; see KH 983 note.Ase forð as: see 64/85: ‘Ausi auant come vuspoeȝ,’ F.
203.nearowe, strict, sparing: comp. ‘hold hire neruwe,’ AR 268/25; ‘neruwe domesmon,’ id. 156/14; ‘et te neruwe dome,’ id. 308/9. It is a noun in the next line, as iswide, l. 205: ‘lestreit del corn . . . le large,’ F.hearde: as they in fact were; ‘Noðeleas, leoue sustren, ower mete and ower drunch haueð iþuht me lesse þen ich wolde,’ AR 412/28. Similarly Ailred, ‘parcissimo cibo vix corpus sustentas,’ 644 c.
205.ȝe don, may ye do, do ye.
207.ahnes, own; a gen. sing., corresponding to OE.āgnes, in a sort of apposition toower: so aunes in C: the construction is probably the same in ‘His ahȝenes þonkes he þrowede for us,’ OEH i. 121/27. WithonesN 193, alone, comp. 147/163; ‘mid his ones mihte,’ AR 160/10, where T has the curious anres as here; ‘wið his anes wit awarpen,’ SK 591, 1283; as in Latin, ‘Mea unius opera respublica salva est.’ In OE. are found, ‘mid þines anes ȝeþeahte,’ Boethius, ed. Fox, 128/19;‘ðæt ge ures nanes ne siendon,’ Cura Past. 211/14, where the possessive has conformed to the adjective.
209.cumeð&c., pay a visit to your maids for relaxation. Withfrourecomp. ‘iuvencula quaedam quae ei (sanctimoniali) ad solatium fuerat deputata,’ Caesarius Heisterbach., ii. 216.cumeð . . . to þe þurl: comp. the rule as to visits of the recluse’s friends, ‘ȝif eni haueð deore gist, do hire meiden ase in hire stude te gladien hire uere, ⁊ heo schal habben leaue to openen hire þurl enes oðer twies ⁊ makien signes touward hire of one glede chere,’ AR 68/22.earunder, before undern, noon: undern is from nine to twelve, sometimes twelve as here and at 206/323, sometimes nine as at 220/205: comp. ‘ereyesterday,’ the day before yesterday, quoted from Coverdale in NED iii. 267. Withouerunder, after undern, comp. ‘ofer non,’ Wulfstan, 205/9; ‘ouernon,’ afternoon, R. of Gloucester, ed. Wright, 7302, 7487; ‘mydouernoon,’ Hymns to the Virgin, 84/49; ‘þy feorþan dæge ofor undern,’ BH 93/14. The dialectic overday, overnight, overyear refer to the past day &c.
210.note gastelich, spiritual occupation, duties.
211.sitte&c.: do not remain at the window talking to them past the proper time for compline.
213.hurten heorte, wound another’s feelings, if retailed: that readily works mischief. Comp. AR 256/1-7, where the devil is said to be busy about separating the sisters with gossip.
215.lokeð, watches over, preserves; see 4/20.edhalden, entertained: comp. ‘Prohibemus . . . ne aliqua . . . praesumat alicui hospiti dare carnes . . . nec aliquem balneare, vel minuere vel ultra unam noctem retinere,’ Gilbertine Rule, p. *lxxxv.ꝥ beo, let it occur.
218.plohienissubj. pr. pl., Let not the anchoress or her maiden play; it represents OE.pleogianas ME. pleien does OE.plegian. Possibly the dialect word ploy, amusement, usually explained as aphetic for employ, is connected with this form. Thegomeneswould be backgammon, chess, and the like.
219.ticki to gederes, pat, caress each other, or possibly, romp, play the child’s game of ‘ticky.’ See NEDs.v.Tick,v.1for examples of the phrase ‘tick and toy.’
220.fleschlich froure: the reference is perhaps to ‘Venientibus quippe ad religionem non est consideranda carnis fragilitas, ut ei delicate subserviatur, sed impedimenta fervoris spiritus, ut sollicite fugiantur,’ Opera, i. 370 b.
221.wið ute met&c., beyond measure (exceptional) exquisite joy. Comp. ‘utnume feir,’ SJ 6/1.
222.þruppeusually means, in addition, as at 127/358, but in AR it generally refers to what has previously been said. Comp. ‘Turneð þeruppe (= back to the place) þer ich spec hu he was ipined,’ AR 188/17; ‘þet ich spec er of þeruppe,’ id. 372/23; where it repeats ‘er’; ‘þeruppe is inouh iseid,’ id. 194/5, already enough has been said. The passage to which he refers them is probably ‘ne schal tu nonesweis þeos two ilke cumforz, min ⁊ te worldes—þe joie of the holi gost ⁊ flesches froure habben togederes,’ AR 102/13.
223.eise, at leisure, have opportunity: so ‘hwen þu art on eise carpe toward ihesu,’ OEH i. 287/11; ‘eise (= opportunity) makeð þeof,’ HM 17/24; AR 288/21; ‘aisie,’ convenient, OEH ii. 47/16; ‘efter hire eaise,’ to her liking, AR 114/10. In ‘Et te one psalme ȝe schulen stonden ȝif ȝe beoð eise,’ AR 20/27, it means, in good health, as ‘hwo se is ful meseise,’ id. 46/22, means, whoever is very infirm. The Gilbertine Rule gives leave to sit at the choir offices, especially after bloodletting, p. *lvii.
225.biheue: see 91/108.bitohe: see 21/106.
226.wite: subj. as in the exclamation ‘wite Christ,’ OEH i. 29/26: the ind. as in N is usual. CT have deu le set.do me toward, set out for Rome, a journey of hardship and difficulty; see Arnulfi Lexov. Epistolae, ed. Giles, 197. The simple infinitive afterleouereis noteworthy: the reading of N represents the normal OE.to donne.
229.beoð umben, be bent on. The phrase is constructed with (1) inf., 70/159: (2) noun, ‘and beo ge embe þæt ylce,’ Ælf., Lives, i. 120/79, 154/120, 434/34; ‘Ac hi efre beoð ymbe þat an,’ OEH i. 221/7: (3) relative adverb as here and at 75/201: (4) with relative clause, ‘⁊ ymbe þæt wæron þæt hig hig sylfe on Hierusalem beclysan woldon,’ AS. Hom., ed. Assmann, 185/123; ‘is vmbe eueriches weis þet heo him luuie,’ AR 218/12.beon abutenhas the same meaning and constructions: comp. 46/267, 118/29; ‘Aure to feawe men bien abuten to habben ðese hali mihte,’ VV 133/20; ‘Satan is ȝeorne abuten (= expetivit) uorto ridlen þe ut of mine corne,’ AR 234/15, and absolutely, ‘Inouh ich was abuten,’ I did my best, AR 88/8. But ‘abuten to eggen,’ AR 146/1, means, employed in inciting.þeronuuen, thereupon, on that object, i.e. that ye keep it better &c., where the adverb is somewhat superfluous, but in the writer’s manner. OE.þǣr an ufan. Buton uuenhas in two places at least the meaning of, for the future; SJ 53/9; AR 236/14; and the word in the text might mean, thereafter.þer abutenN 202, about that thing.
231.wite . . . warde: see 118/50.
233.dreheð ⁊ dreaieð, suffer and endure; OE.drēogað ⁊ dragað: comp. ‘þe alre meast derue | ꝥ eni deadlich flesch | mahe drehen ⁊ drawen,’SK 1889; ‘þu hauest for mi luue muchel idrohen ant idrehen,’ SJ 34/9. For the formdreaieð, comp. 123/206, 147/153.
234.him seoluen: comp. 50/360.aa, ever: comp. 118/53, 119/90, 120/108, 125/276: so in SK (MS. R) 664, 1480; HM (MS. T) ‘aá’ 15/34. The doubling is merely an indication of length.
235.þe leafdi: comp. ‘Saluum la Dame souent,’ Adgar, 200/58.
236.meaðful, moderate: OE.mǣþfull; comp. 122/197.
237.writere, the scribe; comp. 128/375.sum chearre, sometimes; comp. ‘sume cherre,’ AR 108/10.
238.þe, for thee, dative.
v. Cotton Cleopatra C 6corrected by author from “C 5”Literature:... Mühe, T.MuhePhonology:... butuin wule 72“u” misprinted as bold instead of italicāis regularly ... (beside leasse 61 (4), leaste b 188)(4) leasteū,u;u,eabeforer... ȝeouen b 71ȝeouen,ēais regularly ...ȝīetis ȝet b 193printed as shown: apparent error for “gīet”a+g... in MS. C ploȝeC. ploȝeFinaligis regularlyi“i” misprinted as bold instead of italicsiehst,siehðwithi-umlaut“i” misprinted as bold instead of italiceabeforer... anda, afterwwmisprinted as italic instead of boldbefore length. groupsolength groupseo,u- andå-umlaut ofiimisprinted as italic instead of bold(4)Of T and C.... investigation of MüheMuheThree-fourths of the infinitives ... witenpr. pl. subj.pr. pl. subj.,idonpp.b 176;176,(2)Of B.... sunnen 26, earen 71 ares. d.d. s.(3)Of N.... ueonde 139 iss. d.,comma missingInfinitives end in-en... II. bitinde 183:183.Infinitives are divided ... II. bitende 183:183;Vocabulary:...all commas in this paragraph are printed (or missing) as shownDialect:Dialect.3. ... inter scorpiones et colubroscolubres32. ... F. T has ‘þe ondfule ⁊ te luðereopen quote missing37. ... a windes pufþuf26. ... Grossioribus peliciis utaturspelling unchanged65.broche: ‘fermail,’ F; ‘firmaculos,’open quote missing68.forte—wið, with which to get yourselves friends“with” added by author75.efter: see 7/53.efter;78. The amice, L. amictusL amictus103. ... p. *lvi ... see NED.s.v.Here § 16.N.E.D.207. ... apposition toowerowermisprinted as plain (non-bold)
v. Cotton Cleopatra C 6corrected by author from “C 5”
Literature:... Mühe, T.Muhe
Phonology:... butuin wule 72“u” misprinted as bold instead of italic
āis regularly ... (beside leasse 61 (4), leaste b 188)(4) leaste
ū,u;u,
eabeforer... ȝeouen b 71ȝeouen,
ēais regularly ...ȝīetis ȝet b 193printed as shown: apparent error for “gīet”
a+g... in MS. C ploȝeC. ploȝe
Finaligis regularlyi“i” misprinted as bold instead of italic
siehst,siehðwithi-umlaut“i” misprinted as bold instead of italic
eabeforer... anda, afterwwmisprinted as italic instead of bold
before length. groupsolength groups
eo,u- andå-umlaut ofiimisprinted as italic instead of bold
(4)Of T and C.... investigation of MüheMuhe
Three-fourths of the infinitives ... witenpr. pl. subj.pr. pl. subj.,
idonpp.b 176;176,
(2)Of B.... sunnen 26, earen 71 ares. d.d. s.
(3)Of N.... ueonde 139 iss. d.,comma missing
Infinitives end in-en... II. bitinde 183:183.
Infinitives are divided ... II. bitende 183:183;
Vocabulary:...all commas in this paragraph are printed (or missing) as shown
Dialect:Dialect.
3. ... inter scorpiones et colubroscolubres
32. ... F. T has ‘þe ondfule ⁊ te luðereopen quote missing
37. ... a windes pufþuf
26. ... Grossioribus peliciis utaturspelling unchanged
65.broche: ‘fermail,’ F; ‘firmaculos,’open quote missing
68.forte—wið, with which to get yourselves friends“with” added by author
75.efter: see 7/53.efter;
78. The amice, L. amictusL amictus
103. ... p. *lvi ... see NED.s.v.Here § 16.N.E.D.
207. ... apposition toowerowermisprinted as plain (non-bold)