230.doðes: Mätzner’s suggestion, doð us, causes us, gives the best solution. Comp. 206/303.233-236. ‘Impossibile est enim viro idiote tales filios esse · cum etiam regibus talis filiorum copia valde sit difficilis,’ C.forgeten: explained by Mätzner as forgotten, with meaning, of no account, obscure, which is without parallel. Probably for geten, for progeny, offspring: get is however not instanced in that sense before the fourteenth century.235. For seldom hath it befallen even to a king: for this practically adverbial use ofself, comp. ‘God haued swilc fair-hed him geuen, | ðat self ðe fon it leten liuen,’ GE 2609: ‘Self his kinde nile ðat wune forgeten,’ id. 1806.240.for&c.: as the name Benjamin implies.244.gureis due to Morris.245, 246. ‘Timebat enim ne forte et in illum (Benjamin) aliquid deliquissent,’ C.he, Benjamin.hem, the brethren.forred, betrayed.247.dun, to an underground prison.253.sone on on, soon forthwith, very quickly: a favourite phrase of our author.255. Ifsonebe correct, it must stand for sone so, as soon as, as in, ‘sone so loth ut of sodome cam,’ GE 1109. But that is inconsistent with ll. 263, 264, where, as in the Vulgate and C., their lamentations are uttered in the presence of Joseph. Probably sone has been repeated from l. 253, displacing or, before: so ‘ðor,’ l. 257, means, in Joseph’s hearing.258.Wrigtful, guilty; deserving punishment for our misdeed; ‘Meritohec patimur,’ C.; comp. wrigteleslike, undeservedly, 201/130. But Kölbing suggests that the original had Rigtful, justly, rightfully; comp. ‘Rihtful was iacob cald his name,’ CM 3742.260.michil mor, much more than we now suffer.263. None of them suspected that they were understood: ‘nescientes quod intelligeret eos ioseph, quia per interpretem loquebatur eis,’ C.on his mod: a common tag; comp. ‘ðo ðogte thare on his mod, | long bigging is here nogt god,’ GE 717; ‘He þoȝte vpon his mode | Hit nas for none gode,’ KH 281 note.265.ðor quiles, meanwhile, as at 198/45, usually whilst, as at 196/648.270.ðor biforen, ‘there as before,’ Morris; ‘over it,’ Kock. biforen here and at 205/299, 207/362 has plainly the meaning of, in addition, besides. The development of meaning is parallel to that of besidan, by the side of, in addition to: so biforen, in the presence of (the common meaning in our author, as at 207/337), in addition to.ðor biforenthen means, in addition to that; ðor rounds off the expression, as in ðor quiles.273.ouerðogt, ‘vexed,’ ‘grieved,’ NED.; ‘anxious,’ Bradley-Str.; ‘very anxious,’ Morris: it apparently occurs here only. The original had probably, o seri ðogt, of sorry mood; comp. 208/384 for the form of the expression and ‘dredful and bleð and sori mod,’ GE 3520; ‘And sumdel quemeð it his seri mood,’ id. 408.277. Comestor does not mention that one of the sacks was opened on the way: our author follows him, not the Vulgate, Gen. xlii. 27.279.sori, sorely; comp. ‘wiste hire drogen sori for ðrist,’ GE 977. Holthausen suggests sor.280.o rigt: the meaning is doubtful, it may be justly, reasonably, OE.on riht, but for that the author has ‘wit rigt,’ GE 52. In the other place where it occurs, ‘Abraham was buxum o rigt,’ GE 1299, it means, straightway.283.ending non, Of Joseph I know not how he ended: comp. ‘Of his endinge ne wot ic nogt,’ GE 487.286.segeð, descends: OE.sǣgan, cause to sink.288.ðor quiles, as long as: see 196/648.289.us—hard, it will go hard with us.290.no: probably ne should be read.291.derke: so too at 208/399: it seems hardly a mere scribal error for derðe.293. Mätzner thinksheis a mistake for we, but see the examples of sudden transition from indirect to direct speech in Kellner, Syntax, 60.296. Kölbing suggested the addition of non: Schumann would substitutenon forno, but the former gives a better verse. Mätzner reads, And ic ne can, following Morris, who translates, AndIknow no better plan. Understand quan after And.298. That there be wanting to the Egyptians none thereof; comp. ‘ne nawiht ne wonteð ham | of al ꝥ ha wilneð,’ SK 1670.299.ðor biforen, besides: see 205/270.300.wið, with which.304.agen, back; so 208/375.305. Joinforð rigt, straightway, or, by the nearest way.306. Mätzner rightly omitscumenas a gloss. Forligtas a verb comp. ‘Nu am ic ligt to fren hem ðeðen,’ GE 2787; 141/42. ‘Igitur filii iacob descenderunt in egyptum,’ C.308.Kindeðhogt, natural affection; comp. ‘kinde blod,’ 206/330.wasis evidently a substitute for some rhyming word; Emerson suggests lag, Kock, stag, Morris, ðag. It was probably some uncommon word which the scribe altered, possibly wag, stirred, moved, OE.wæg, which is sometimes used intransitively. In the passage corresponding to 207/340, C. has ‘Commota sunt viscera eius,’ which our writer seems to have used here.311.biri, palace: at 12/7 it means, court.312.Her non, none of them: sour non, l. 316.316.wiste . . . gilt, was conscious of wrong-doing: ‘non est in nostra conscientia quis posuerit eam in marsupiis nostris,’ Gen. xliii. 22.318.min forwardis explained in Specimens of the condition that Benjamin should be brought, as in 205/290; but that stipulation was Joseph’s, not the steward’s. It looks like a vague rendering of C., ‘Pax vobis . . . pecuniam quam dedistis mihi probatam (i.e. checked, found correct) ego habeo.’ The French version has, ‘Vostre aveir seit tout vostre, | car nous avons le nostre’; and the English text may mean, for the price which I was ordered to charge for the corn is actually in my possession.320.on and on, one by one; comp. 208/377, 214/573.322.to nome, as captive: comp. 196/665; probably the only instances of its use in ME.; noun ofniman.323.vndren time: ‘meridie,’ C. See 74/209.324. Forriche, see 6/30.325.of frigti mod, through their feeling of fear; comp. ‘Wið reuli lote and frigti mod,’ GE 1162.329.understod, received; comp. 210/447.334. I know there none who does not tremble; a parenthesis whichwould be better placed before l. 333.ðat heis practically equivalent to who.336.after bodeword ðin, in accordance with your commandment; comp. ‘for ðhu min bode-word haues broken,’ GE 361.339.ouerwente: an isolated past of *ouerwenden, in the intransitive use recorded in NED., to go over, pass over; giving the meaning, his heart went out to him forthwith. But the absence of to before him renders this explanation doubtful. More probablyhimrefers to Joseph and reinforceshis, as in ‘þat his ribbes him to brake,’ KH 1077 (see also 80/47 note), with meaning, his heart overflowed forthwith. C. has, ‘commota sunt viscera eius.’340. Forouergon, overcome, see 22/143.342.teres wet: comp. 208/396; teres appears to bepl. gen., of, with tears, so ‘swerdes slagen,’ GE 3721, where swerdes iss. gen.Contrast ‘of is teres wet,’ 209/410.345. Holthausen omitsand; the scribe has taken it from the next line, as he did again at ll. 2839, 2840.him biforen, in his presence.347.wunes, custom: thepl.is used for the rhyme. ‘Deposuitque ioseph fratres secundum ordinem etatis eorum · sicut in domo patris sedere consueuerant,’ C.349.sonde: see 13/30.354. For omission of the subject, see 6/18. There is nothing in the Vulgate or Comestor corresponding to ll. 354-358. There is a similar passage in CM 4863-82, in which Joseph tells his brethren that Pharaoh has no mercy for thieves.355. OmitAnd, with Holthausen.356.vnkinde, foreign; a singular use, but comp. ‘ðog it was nogt is kinde lond,’ GE 1279; ‘to wende into þaire kindely lande,’CM3914; ‘He left bath kiyth and kyndli thede,’ id. 11103.358. Read trewðe, as elsewhere.360.Or or: this doubled or is frequent in GE; perhaps the second or was felt to be adverbial: a further redundancy is seen in ‘or or ðe flod was long biforn | of noe bigeten,’ GE 905.362.biforen: see 205/270.365.ut, out of: the rare prepositional use.368. And accuses of harm and damage.370.on: see 210/454. Read unselðẹ, as elsewhere.371.forholen: this verb takes the dative of the person, 34/77, 208/385, or wiþ, as in, ‘forhele hit wid þin arege,’OEM117/244.373.sikerlike, confidently.374.Vp, upon; comp. ‘Of ȝoure hors aliþteþ;and vp ȝoure feot stondeþ,’ L MS. O, 5862.375.agen: comp. 206/304.382. Comp. ‘Wið bedes and gret and teres wep,’ GE 3888.383, 384. ‘An ignoratis quod non sit similis mihi in auguriandi scientia. Forte ioco dictum est · nec est imputandum,’ C. The French version has ‘ne saviez vous | que je sui engignous | et tant sai deviner | que je n’en truis mon per,’ but GE and CM omit all reference to divination.389.Wið ðan ðat, on condition that.390. Morris added him afterledde; the omission of the relative is fairly common in GE.396. Read, al his.teres wet: see 207/342.398. ‘pro salute vestra misit me dominus ante vos,’ C.400.sulen . . . ben numen, are to be gone through; comp. 202/182.404.min blisses: ‘gloriam meam,’ C.407.gersen: ‘Gessen,’ Vulgate; ‘iessen,’ C., the form in GE was probably influenced by ‘Gerson,’ Gen. xlvi. 11.408.sundriappears to mean, apart from the Egyptians, and to be derived from ‘Hec (i.e. pastores sumus) dicetis vt habebitis seorsum ab egyptiis in optima terra iessen,’ C.; comp. 210/468; Gen. xlvi. 33, 34.413.in herte fagen: so, ‘in herte wooc,’ GE 1874; ‘in herte mild,’ id. 2635.414. Forhimread hem, Joseph’s relatives; formigtein the next line migten. ‘Gauisusque est pharao et dixit ad ioseph. De fratribus tuis. Tollite plaustra de egypto ad subuectionem coniugum,’ C.415. Because of Pharaoh’s love for Joseph they were enabled to prosper. ‘Omnia vestra adducite vobiscum · dabo vobis omnia bona egypti,’ C.timen, to fare well or ill, mostly the former, is almost confined to GE in this sense: comp. ‘Amalech fleg and israel | Hadde hegere hond and timede wel,’ GE 3391; ‘Bi ðan sal sarra selðe timen,’ id. 1023; ‘ðis folc, sprungen of israel, | Is vnder god timed wel,’ id. 4023.421.twinne srud: ‘Deditque ioseph singulis binas stolas,’ C.422. Comp. 198/62.425.Al so fele: ‘totidem,’ C. He sent his father a present similar to that of Benjamin.426.in—wil, at his father’s disposal.427.festis taken by Mätzner as thepp.of esten; so, ‘with burdens fastened’: it might beadj.fæst, ‘with burdens loaded,’ Morris. In either case it is a strange phrase. Probably lest, OE.hlæst, is to be read, meaning, with the burden of a horse load.434. He did not know them in their rich dresses; ‘þai com ham noght als prisuns like, | Bot als þai war knigthes rik; | Cled þai war wit riche wede,’ CM 5133.438.in—cliueð, remains fixed, stands at his disposal. ‘Joseph viuit et dominatur in egypto,’ C. Comp. 209/426.441.Wel me: see2/13 note, 21/92 note, 195/634. Ifwel is me welis correct it must mean, it is very wel for me: perhaps we should read, me is wel wel; comp. ‘wol wel he dede,’ GE 724, ‘Wel wel was hit bitoȝe,’ L MS. O, 23253; ‘Hijs lauerd he kneu wel wel biforn,’ CM 11033: or, fel it me wel; comp. ‘Niðede ðat folk him fel wel,’ GE 1521.442. That I have thus lived to see such good fortune.swil[c] selusually means in GE such time, as ‘it wurð soð binnen swilc sel,’ 1032, it came true within the stated time, so GE 417, 1204, and it may have that meaning here.444.sen: supply as object sune from the preceding line.453.dereis Mätzner’s correction.454.ger: read geres, 203/207, or gere, 202/190.be ðe on: constructions with on are frequent in GE; comp. 205/286, 208/370; ‘ðat burgt folc ðat helde was on,’ GE 1063; ‘For swinc and murning hem was on,’ id. 3205, in each case rhyming with don. Comp. the Latin inscription, ‘scire laboras, annos quod tulerim mecum.’455.xxx: ðritti.456. Have I suffered wo here in the world, not, ‘Have I suffered here in [this] world’s woe’; for dregen generally takes an accusative in GE, and the intransitive use, as at GE 3235, is rare.457.offenis very doubtful, while ðor of occurs frequently in the poem. The original had probably, ðor of an fo, answering to ‘An hundred ger.’460. Here among men, away from my true home: comp. 201/148; ‘And uten erdes sorge sen,’ GE 956.vten erdwas suggested by ‘Dies peregrinationis vite mee,’ C., on which he comments, ‘Peregrinationis dixit · quia sancti vitam hanc pro incolatu habent,’ words which are paraphrased in ll. 461-464. Comestor had in mind, ‘Heu mihi quia incolatus meus prolongatus est,’ Ps. cxix. 5 (actually quoted in Zainer’s ed. of 1473).461.Sois explained by l. 464.466. Ifselirepresents OE.gesǣlig, happy, its use withmel, meal, is singular. But ‘he seruede his fader wel | Wið wines drinc and seles[t] mel,’ GE 1541 suggests sele, good, as the right word here.467.him: corrected by Mätzner.468.sundri: see 209/408: ‘sciens gratum esse egyptiis separari a se pastores,’ C.472.xiiij: The Vulgate and C. say seventeen.474.Quilc time, at what time, when.476. One thing whereof he should be right mindful. Mätzner inserts he afterðat: Schumann suggested the division of offe. But the line is still unmetrical, and the subjunctive mune for should remember is very doubtful; probably og has dropped out after off: comp. ‘And for hise sinne oc (= og) he to munen,’ GE 197, for the infinitive without to, ‘Cristene men ogen ben so fagen,’ id. 15 and for the infinitive in e, ‘fare’ 210/443 in rhyme as here.477.wurð—don, was finished with him: NED quotes ‘He knewe well that it was doon of him,’ Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon, i. 56.479.witterlike, definitely; that is, not merely in Hebron, but in the cave where Abraham was laid; ‘in sepulchro maiorum suorum quod abraamium dicitur,’ C.482.stille, in secret: comp. ‘And stille he dalf him [in] ðe sond,’ GE 2718.483.fer ear biforen, very long beforehand: comp. ‘ðe was of hin fer ear biforen | Or ani werldes time boren,’ GE 47; ‘ear fear biforn,’ id. 253. See 202/187.484-486.hem: Jacob’s ancestors, as in the frequent ‘dormivit cum patribus suis.’ C. has ‘Cura fuit sanctis sepeliri in terra qua sciebant Christum resurrecturum · ut cum eo resurgerent’ (in Zainer’s text the last clause is ‘vbi cum eo multa corpora sanctorum surrexerunt cum eo’). Accordingly Kölbing proposed to read forhem, him, referring to Christ, of whom our author says that he ‘restede him after ðe ded,’ GE 257. A further change ofresteto arist would make the correspondence with C. complete, but it is more probable that the author omitted the clause.489. This line appears to represent ‘Cumque videret diem obitus sui imminere · vocauit Joseph,’ C. which comes in the narrative before l. 415. There is a mixture of constructions, (1) when he felt his departure at hand, and (2) Before his departure. Mätzner proposed to substitute migte forwiste.491. And prophesied of their future: Gen. xlix.493. Comp. 212/526.494.strif: ‘Militia est vita hominis super terram,’ Job vii. 1. Comp. ‘He made on werlde al erue tame, | ðe sulde him her, in swinkes strif, | to fode and srud, to helpen ðe lif,’ GE 174.498.bi waken, ‘waked,’ watched by his body: comp. ‘He was biwaked richeliche, | And wel faire browt on erthe,’ Seuyn Sages (Weber), 2578.502.biqueðen, ‘bewail,’ Morris, whom Mätzner follows. But this use is without parallel and is not a natural development of OE.becweðan: possibly it descends fromcwīþan, to lament. In NED, bigreden, lament, or bigreiðen, prepare, make ready, are suggested. Perhaps biwreðen, representing OE.bewrīðan, to surround with bands: the line would then mean, to anoint, shroud and enwrap.504.migt, power, that is, means, wealth.506. Not to bury it speedily with iron tool. Forwið yre, comp. Minot iii. 102 note.507.rigt, properly, carefully.510-522.This passage is based on ‘Fideles modo quia mortuos suos fide et virtutibus conditos aiunt .xxx. diebus eos plangunt .i. speciales missas sub numero tot dierum pro ipsis celebrant. Quidam tertiam diem maxime celebrant · pro spiritu anima et corpore. Alii septimam,’ C.510-512.Christian folk have other customs. They are anointed during their lifetime with chrism and oil; with chrism and the oleum catechumenorum at baptism, with the oleum infirmorum in Extreme Unction.in trewðe geuen: administered with faith in their efficacy: in Extreme Unction, the ministrant said, ‘da fiduciam tui muneris exequendi.’ ‘Oratio fidei salvabit infirmum,’ S. Jac. v. 15.513, 514. Forðon, Morris read don, Mätzner, ðor. More probably it is a mistake for ðo induced by the ending of the next word,ðanalso has been corrupted out of ðam. For acts of faith accompanied by charity, those are for Christians in place of all that watching of the dead: an idea repeated in ll. 519-521. Strunk, Mod. Lang. Notes, xxvi. 51, proposes forðon ben, don bet, with meaning, For truth and good deeds therewith avail more than that vigil. Formide, see 177/57, 212/532.515.Sumis subject of don, l. 519.on, the first day. The Officium Mortuorum and masses of requiem (‘chirche gong,’ l. 519) were celebrated for thirty days and with special solemnity on the day of the deposition, the third, seventh, thirtieth (the month’s mind) and the anniversary; these or some of them were accompanied by doles (‘elmesse gifte,’ l. 520). See Rock, Church of our Fathers, ii. 315, 516-519.517. Mätzner explainswurðen, ‘accomplished,’ that is, completed: which is the sense required, but such use of the participle is hard to parallel, although ‘þenne weoren heore iwil;allunge iwurden,’ L 19656, comes near it. Awurden, ended, would present less difficulty, and wouldimprove the verse. A participial expression with the same meaning is seen in ‘fowerti winter vten led,’ GE 3348.526.laigeswas corrected by Morris. See 211/493 and comp. ‘Clense ðis folc wel ðis to daiges, | And bidde hem leden clene la[i]ges,’ GE 3453.529.bode: ‘Significauit autem Joseph Pharaoni per intercessores quod iurauerat patri de sepultura,’ C.bōda, messenger.531.ðor—dede, wherein he (Joseph) acted well, his pious act.533.wis of here: neither in OE. nor in ME. doesheremean war, battle, but only army, devastation. Morris reading heren, translates, ‘skilful in armed expeditions,’ which seems forced. Probably were is to be read: comp. ‘Als it were wopnede here, | Redi to silden him fro were,’ GE 1787. A similar phrase is ‘witter of figt,’ GE 864. In l. 534 read dere.535.rad: comp. ‘And iacob was of weie rad,’ GE 1783.536.abuten, making a detour: ‘timentes bella deuiauerunt a recto itinere veneruntque ad aream azad,’ C.adad: ‘atad,’ Vulgate and LXX; not in Codex Amiatinus.539.numen, proceeded: comp. 13/28, 178/78, 179/113, 187/369; ‘And ðeðen he nam to mirie dale,’ GE 745, and often. There is an ellipsis of wei; comp. 206/305. So ‘his weige ðeðen ches,’ GE 2736, compared with ‘Anon of lond he ches,’ Sir Tristrem 2221.541.ouer pharan: not in Comestor or the Vulgate; comp. GE 1248. The desert of Paran on the west side of the Dead Sea is meant.542.biriele: this form without finalsis suspect.544.sent: s added by Morris.549. ‘nos quoque oramus vt patri tuo dimittas iniquitatem hanc,’ C.550.Wið ðan(ne) ðat, inasmuch as, seeing that: differently at 208/389.552. This line is corrupt: Holthausen’s ‘To bidden meðe and beden bot’ gives a good sense and restores the rhyme. He compares ‘Moyses bad meðe,’ GE 3011: see36/126 note.556. This line is unmetrical and otherwise difficult:kinshould besing.,wexenispl.,manige foldformanigfealdis strange. Perhaps we should read, His kin was waxen manig fold.557. Mätzner adds his beforesibbe, which makes the line too long; perhapscumenis in excess.559.biforenqualifieshað . . . sworen.561.in: comp. ‘Tac ðin sune ysaac in hond,’ GE 1287; ‘An. vii. kinge-riches lond | Ic sal hem bringen al on hond,’ id. 2789.564. Fulfil it then, promise it now: so, ‘ðat ic ðe haue hoten wel, | Ic it sal lesten euerilc del,’ GE 2905.568.seli red, happy counsel, possibly in the sense of what is advantageous, helpful; but ‘seli sped,’ 200/192, GE 240 suggests a simpler reading.570.egipte like, after the Egyptian fashion.571. Add he beforebiried.hem, his bones, l. 566.572.late, after many years: ‘nec motus donec egressi sunt filii israel de egypto,’ C.573.on and on: comp. 206/320.578.soulesissing., comp. ‘for liues helpe and soules red,’ GE 496; ‘for sowles frame,’ id. 626.579-590. Not by the author.580.engel tale: ‘on engleis speche,’ GE 14; ‘on engleis tale,’ id. 450; ‘On engle speche,’ id. 814.582. ‘May God help him kindly,’ Morris; this involves helpe, mot, where we should expect helpen, mote. Mätzner suggested wel e mot, God help him, well he may.583.sorge ⁊ grot: see 199/74.584.cold ⁊ hot: see 44/232-236.586.spilen, disport themselves.589. Comp. ‘And to alle cristene men | beren pais and luue bitwen,’ GE 7. Afterus, Holthausen adds be: perhaps, ben ús | bitwén.Phonology:... but ‘loac,’ GE 1798GE.ǣ1iseæ1ēaise... (wēoxfromweacsan)wæcsana+g...ǣ2+gæ2Accidence:... onsagen 99, ðeden 356 have added naddenVocabulary:... til 60, ðeden 84ðeðenMetre:... Goód is | quað jós|ephquáðii b. Ór | for misdéd|e or fór | onságenii. b.quát | he wóren, 434:434;i a. Kínde | lúue | gan him óu|ergón1 a.J́c am | iosép | drédeð | gu nógtJć ameuẹrilc 268text unchanged, but body text has euerilc almost throughout308.Kinde ðhogt,đhogtwhich our writer seems to have used here.here.’356. ... CM 3914CM.371. ... OEM 117/244.OEM.
230.doðes: Mätzner’s suggestion, doð us, causes us, gives the best solution. Comp. 206/303.
233-236. ‘Impossibile est enim viro idiote tales filios esse · cum etiam regibus talis filiorum copia valde sit difficilis,’ C.forgeten: explained by Mätzner as forgotten, with meaning, of no account, obscure, which is without parallel. Probably for geten, for progeny, offspring: get is however not instanced in that sense before the fourteenth century.
235. For seldom hath it befallen even to a king: for this practically adverbial use ofself, comp. ‘God haued swilc fair-hed him geuen, | ðat self ðe fon it leten liuen,’ GE 2609: ‘Self his kinde nile ðat wune forgeten,’ id. 1806.
240.for&c.: as the name Benjamin implies.
244.gureis due to Morris.
245, 246. ‘Timebat enim ne forte et in illum (Benjamin) aliquid deliquissent,’ C.he, Benjamin.hem, the brethren.forred, betrayed.
247.dun, to an underground prison.
253.sone on on, soon forthwith, very quickly: a favourite phrase of our author.
255. Ifsonebe correct, it must stand for sone so, as soon as, as in, ‘sone so loth ut of sodome cam,’ GE 1109. But that is inconsistent with ll. 263, 264, where, as in the Vulgate and C., their lamentations are uttered in the presence of Joseph. Probably sone has been repeated from l. 253, displacing or, before: so ‘ðor,’ l. 257, means, in Joseph’s hearing.
258.Wrigtful, guilty; deserving punishment for our misdeed; ‘Meritohec patimur,’ C.; comp. wrigteleslike, undeservedly, 201/130. But Kölbing suggests that the original had Rigtful, justly, rightfully; comp. ‘Rihtful was iacob cald his name,’ CM 3742.
260.michil mor, much more than we now suffer.
263. None of them suspected that they were understood: ‘nescientes quod intelligeret eos ioseph, quia per interpretem loquebatur eis,’ C.on his mod: a common tag; comp. ‘ðo ðogte thare on his mod, | long bigging is here nogt god,’ GE 717; ‘He þoȝte vpon his mode | Hit nas for none gode,’ KH 281 note.
265.ðor quiles, meanwhile, as at 198/45, usually whilst, as at 196/648.
270.ðor biforen, ‘there as before,’ Morris; ‘over it,’ Kock. biforen here and at 205/299, 207/362 has plainly the meaning of, in addition, besides. The development of meaning is parallel to that of besidan, by the side of, in addition to: so biforen, in the presence of (the common meaning in our author, as at 207/337), in addition to.ðor biforenthen means, in addition to that; ðor rounds off the expression, as in ðor quiles.
273.ouerðogt, ‘vexed,’ ‘grieved,’ NED.; ‘anxious,’ Bradley-Str.; ‘very anxious,’ Morris: it apparently occurs here only. The original had probably, o seri ðogt, of sorry mood; comp. 208/384 for the form of the expression and ‘dredful and bleð and sori mod,’ GE 3520; ‘And sumdel quemeð it his seri mood,’ id. 408.
277. Comestor does not mention that one of the sacks was opened on the way: our author follows him, not the Vulgate, Gen. xlii. 27.
279.sori, sorely; comp. ‘wiste hire drogen sori for ðrist,’ GE 977. Holthausen suggests sor.
280.o rigt: the meaning is doubtful, it may be justly, reasonably, OE.on riht, but for that the author has ‘wit rigt,’ GE 52. In the other place where it occurs, ‘Abraham was buxum o rigt,’ GE 1299, it means, straightway.
283.ending non, Of Joseph I know not how he ended: comp. ‘Of his endinge ne wot ic nogt,’ GE 487.
286.segeð, descends: OE.sǣgan, cause to sink.
288.ðor quiles, as long as: see 196/648.
289.us—hard, it will go hard with us.
290.no: probably ne should be read.
291.derke: so too at 208/399: it seems hardly a mere scribal error for derðe.
293. Mätzner thinksheis a mistake for we, but see the examples of sudden transition from indirect to direct speech in Kellner, Syntax, 60.
296. Kölbing suggested the addition of non: Schumann would substitutenon forno, but the former gives a better verse. Mätzner reads, And ic ne can, following Morris, who translates, AndIknow no better plan. Understand quan after And.
298. That there be wanting to the Egyptians none thereof; comp. ‘ne nawiht ne wonteð ham | of al ꝥ ha wilneð,’ SK 1670.
299.ðor biforen, besides: see 205/270.
300.wið, with which.
304.agen, back; so 208/375.
305. Joinforð rigt, straightway, or, by the nearest way.
306. Mätzner rightly omitscumenas a gloss. Forligtas a verb comp. ‘Nu am ic ligt to fren hem ðeðen,’ GE 2787; 141/42. ‘Igitur filii iacob descenderunt in egyptum,’ C.
308.Kindeðhogt, natural affection; comp. ‘kinde blod,’ 206/330.wasis evidently a substitute for some rhyming word; Emerson suggests lag, Kock, stag, Morris, ðag. It was probably some uncommon word which the scribe altered, possibly wag, stirred, moved, OE.wæg, which is sometimes used intransitively. In the passage corresponding to 207/340, C. has ‘Commota sunt viscera eius,’ which our writer seems to have used here.
311.biri, palace: at 12/7 it means, court.
312.Her non, none of them: sour non, l. 316.
316.wiste . . . gilt, was conscious of wrong-doing: ‘non est in nostra conscientia quis posuerit eam in marsupiis nostris,’ Gen. xliii. 22.
318.min forwardis explained in Specimens of the condition that Benjamin should be brought, as in 205/290; but that stipulation was Joseph’s, not the steward’s. It looks like a vague rendering of C., ‘Pax vobis . . . pecuniam quam dedistis mihi probatam (i.e. checked, found correct) ego habeo.’ The French version has, ‘Vostre aveir seit tout vostre, | car nous avons le nostre’; and the English text may mean, for the price which I was ordered to charge for the corn is actually in my possession.
320.on and on, one by one; comp. 208/377, 214/573.
322.to nome, as captive: comp. 196/665; probably the only instances of its use in ME.; noun ofniman.
323.vndren time: ‘meridie,’ C. See 74/209.
324. Forriche, see 6/30.
325.of frigti mod, through their feeling of fear; comp. ‘Wið reuli lote and frigti mod,’ GE 1162.
329.understod, received; comp. 210/447.
334. I know there none who does not tremble; a parenthesis whichwould be better placed before l. 333.ðat heis practically equivalent to who.
336.after bodeword ðin, in accordance with your commandment; comp. ‘for ðhu min bode-word haues broken,’ GE 361.
339.ouerwente: an isolated past of *ouerwenden, in the intransitive use recorded in NED., to go over, pass over; giving the meaning, his heart went out to him forthwith. But the absence of to before him renders this explanation doubtful. More probablyhimrefers to Joseph and reinforceshis, as in ‘þat his ribbes him to brake,’ KH 1077 (see also 80/47 note), with meaning, his heart overflowed forthwith. C. has, ‘commota sunt viscera eius.’
340. Forouergon, overcome, see 22/143.
342.teres wet: comp. 208/396; teres appears to bepl. gen., of, with tears, so ‘swerdes slagen,’ GE 3721, where swerdes iss. gen.Contrast ‘of is teres wet,’ 209/410.
345. Holthausen omitsand; the scribe has taken it from the next line, as he did again at ll. 2839, 2840.him biforen, in his presence.
347.wunes, custom: thepl.is used for the rhyme. ‘Deposuitque ioseph fratres secundum ordinem etatis eorum · sicut in domo patris sedere consueuerant,’ C.
349.sonde: see 13/30.
354. For omission of the subject, see 6/18. There is nothing in the Vulgate or Comestor corresponding to ll. 354-358. There is a similar passage in CM 4863-82, in which Joseph tells his brethren that Pharaoh has no mercy for thieves.
355. OmitAnd, with Holthausen.
356.vnkinde, foreign; a singular use, but comp. ‘ðog it was nogt is kinde lond,’ GE 1279; ‘to wende into þaire kindely lande,’CM3914; ‘He left bath kiyth and kyndli thede,’ id. 11103.
358. Read trewðe, as elsewhere.
360.Or or: this doubled or is frequent in GE; perhaps the second or was felt to be adverbial: a further redundancy is seen in ‘or or ðe flod was long biforn | of noe bigeten,’ GE 905.
362.biforen: see 205/270.
365.ut, out of: the rare prepositional use.
368. And accuses of harm and damage.
370.on: see 210/454. Read unselðẹ, as elsewhere.
371.forholen: this verb takes the dative of the person, 34/77, 208/385, or wiþ, as in, ‘forhele hit wid þin arege,’OEM117/244.
373.sikerlike, confidently.
374.Vp, upon; comp. ‘Of ȝoure hors aliþteþ;and vp ȝoure feot stondeþ,’ L MS. O, 5862.
375.agen: comp. 206/304.
382. Comp. ‘Wið bedes and gret and teres wep,’ GE 3888.
383, 384. ‘An ignoratis quod non sit similis mihi in auguriandi scientia. Forte ioco dictum est · nec est imputandum,’ C. The French version has ‘ne saviez vous | que je sui engignous | et tant sai deviner | que je n’en truis mon per,’ but GE and CM omit all reference to divination.
389.Wið ðan ðat, on condition that.
390. Morris added him afterledde; the omission of the relative is fairly common in GE.
396. Read, al his.teres wet: see 207/342.
398. ‘pro salute vestra misit me dominus ante vos,’ C.
400.sulen . . . ben numen, are to be gone through; comp. 202/182.
404.min blisses: ‘gloriam meam,’ C.
407.gersen: ‘Gessen,’ Vulgate; ‘iessen,’ C., the form in GE was probably influenced by ‘Gerson,’ Gen. xlvi. 11.
408.sundriappears to mean, apart from the Egyptians, and to be derived from ‘Hec (i.e. pastores sumus) dicetis vt habebitis seorsum ab egyptiis in optima terra iessen,’ C.; comp. 210/468; Gen. xlvi. 33, 34.
413.in herte fagen: so, ‘in herte wooc,’ GE 1874; ‘in herte mild,’ id. 2635.
414. Forhimread hem, Joseph’s relatives; formigtein the next line migten. ‘Gauisusque est pharao et dixit ad ioseph. De fratribus tuis. Tollite plaustra de egypto ad subuectionem coniugum,’ C.
415. Because of Pharaoh’s love for Joseph they were enabled to prosper. ‘Omnia vestra adducite vobiscum · dabo vobis omnia bona egypti,’ C.timen, to fare well or ill, mostly the former, is almost confined to GE in this sense: comp. ‘Amalech fleg and israel | Hadde hegere hond and timede wel,’ GE 3391; ‘Bi ðan sal sarra selðe timen,’ id. 1023; ‘ðis folc, sprungen of israel, | Is vnder god timed wel,’ id. 4023.
421.twinne srud: ‘Deditque ioseph singulis binas stolas,’ C.
422. Comp. 198/62.
425.Al so fele: ‘totidem,’ C. He sent his father a present similar to that of Benjamin.
426.in—wil, at his father’s disposal.
427.festis taken by Mätzner as thepp.of esten; so, ‘with burdens fastened’: it might beadj.fæst, ‘with burdens loaded,’ Morris. In either case it is a strange phrase. Probably lest, OE.hlæst, is to be read, meaning, with the burden of a horse load.
434. He did not know them in their rich dresses; ‘þai com ham noght als prisuns like, | Bot als þai war knigthes rik; | Cled þai war wit riche wede,’ CM 5133.
438.in—cliueð, remains fixed, stands at his disposal. ‘Joseph viuit et dominatur in egypto,’ C. Comp. 209/426.
441.Wel me: see2/13 note, 21/92 note, 195/634. Ifwel is me welis correct it must mean, it is very wel for me: perhaps we should read, me is wel wel; comp. ‘wol wel he dede,’ GE 724, ‘Wel wel was hit bitoȝe,’ L MS. O, 23253; ‘Hijs lauerd he kneu wel wel biforn,’ CM 11033: or, fel it me wel; comp. ‘Niðede ðat folk him fel wel,’ GE 1521.
442. That I have thus lived to see such good fortune.swil[c] selusually means in GE such time, as ‘it wurð soð binnen swilc sel,’ 1032, it came true within the stated time, so GE 417, 1204, and it may have that meaning here.
444.sen: supply as object sune from the preceding line.
453.dereis Mätzner’s correction.
454.ger: read geres, 203/207, or gere, 202/190.be ðe on: constructions with on are frequent in GE; comp. 205/286, 208/370; ‘ðat burgt folc ðat helde was on,’ GE 1063; ‘For swinc and murning hem was on,’ id. 3205, in each case rhyming with don. Comp. the Latin inscription, ‘scire laboras, annos quod tulerim mecum.’
455.xxx: ðritti.
456. Have I suffered wo here in the world, not, ‘Have I suffered here in [this] world’s woe’; for dregen generally takes an accusative in GE, and the intransitive use, as at GE 3235, is rare.
457.offenis very doubtful, while ðor of occurs frequently in the poem. The original had probably, ðor of an fo, answering to ‘An hundred ger.’
460. Here among men, away from my true home: comp. 201/148; ‘And uten erdes sorge sen,’ GE 956.vten erdwas suggested by ‘Dies peregrinationis vite mee,’ C., on which he comments, ‘Peregrinationis dixit · quia sancti vitam hanc pro incolatu habent,’ words which are paraphrased in ll. 461-464. Comestor had in mind, ‘Heu mihi quia incolatus meus prolongatus est,’ Ps. cxix. 5 (actually quoted in Zainer’s ed. of 1473).
461.Sois explained by l. 464.
466. Ifselirepresents OE.gesǣlig, happy, its use withmel, meal, is singular. But ‘he seruede his fader wel | Wið wines drinc and seles[t] mel,’ GE 1541 suggests sele, good, as the right word here.
467.him: corrected by Mätzner.
468.sundri: see 209/408: ‘sciens gratum esse egyptiis separari a se pastores,’ C.
472.xiiij: The Vulgate and C. say seventeen.
474.Quilc time, at what time, when.
476. One thing whereof he should be right mindful. Mätzner inserts he afterðat: Schumann suggested the division of offe. But the line is still unmetrical, and the subjunctive mune for should remember is very doubtful; probably og has dropped out after off: comp. ‘And for hise sinne oc (= og) he to munen,’ GE 197, for the infinitive without to, ‘Cristene men ogen ben so fagen,’ id. 15 and for the infinitive in e, ‘fare’ 210/443 in rhyme as here.
477.wurð—don, was finished with him: NED quotes ‘He knewe well that it was doon of him,’ Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon, i. 56.
479.witterlike, definitely; that is, not merely in Hebron, but in the cave where Abraham was laid; ‘in sepulchro maiorum suorum quod abraamium dicitur,’ C.
482.stille, in secret: comp. ‘And stille he dalf him [in] ðe sond,’ GE 2718.
483.fer ear biforen, very long beforehand: comp. ‘ðe was of hin fer ear biforen | Or ani werldes time boren,’ GE 47; ‘ear fear biforn,’ id. 253. See 202/187.
484-486.hem: Jacob’s ancestors, as in the frequent ‘dormivit cum patribus suis.’ C. has ‘Cura fuit sanctis sepeliri in terra qua sciebant Christum resurrecturum · ut cum eo resurgerent’ (in Zainer’s text the last clause is ‘vbi cum eo multa corpora sanctorum surrexerunt cum eo’). Accordingly Kölbing proposed to read forhem, him, referring to Christ, of whom our author says that he ‘restede him after ðe ded,’ GE 257. A further change ofresteto arist would make the correspondence with C. complete, but it is more probable that the author omitted the clause.
489. This line appears to represent ‘Cumque videret diem obitus sui imminere · vocauit Joseph,’ C. which comes in the narrative before l. 415. There is a mixture of constructions, (1) when he felt his departure at hand, and (2) Before his departure. Mätzner proposed to substitute migte forwiste.
491. And prophesied of their future: Gen. xlix.
493. Comp. 212/526.
494.strif: ‘Militia est vita hominis super terram,’ Job vii. 1. Comp. ‘He made on werlde al erue tame, | ðe sulde him her, in swinkes strif, | to fode and srud, to helpen ðe lif,’ GE 174.
498.bi waken, ‘waked,’ watched by his body: comp. ‘He was biwaked richeliche, | And wel faire browt on erthe,’ Seuyn Sages (Weber), 2578.
502.biqueðen, ‘bewail,’ Morris, whom Mätzner follows. But this use is without parallel and is not a natural development of OE.becweðan: possibly it descends fromcwīþan, to lament. In NED, bigreden, lament, or bigreiðen, prepare, make ready, are suggested. Perhaps biwreðen, representing OE.bewrīðan, to surround with bands: the line would then mean, to anoint, shroud and enwrap.
504.migt, power, that is, means, wealth.
506. Not to bury it speedily with iron tool. Forwið yre, comp. Minot iii. 102 note.
507.rigt, properly, carefully.
510-522.This passage is based on ‘Fideles modo quia mortuos suos fide et virtutibus conditos aiunt .xxx. diebus eos plangunt .i. speciales missas sub numero tot dierum pro ipsis celebrant. Quidam tertiam diem maxime celebrant · pro spiritu anima et corpore. Alii septimam,’ C.
510-512.Christian folk have other customs. They are anointed during their lifetime with chrism and oil; with chrism and the oleum catechumenorum at baptism, with the oleum infirmorum in Extreme Unction.in trewðe geuen: administered with faith in their efficacy: in Extreme Unction, the ministrant said, ‘da fiduciam tui muneris exequendi.’ ‘Oratio fidei salvabit infirmum,’ S. Jac. v. 15.
513, 514. Forðon, Morris read don, Mätzner, ðor. More probably it is a mistake for ðo induced by the ending of the next word,ðanalso has been corrupted out of ðam. For acts of faith accompanied by charity, those are for Christians in place of all that watching of the dead: an idea repeated in ll. 519-521. Strunk, Mod. Lang. Notes, xxvi. 51, proposes forðon ben, don bet, with meaning, For truth and good deeds therewith avail more than that vigil. Formide, see 177/57, 212/532.
515.Sumis subject of don, l. 519.on, the first day. The Officium Mortuorum and masses of requiem (‘chirche gong,’ l. 519) were celebrated for thirty days and with special solemnity on the day of the deposition, the third, seventh, thirtieth (the month’s mind) and the anniversary; these or some of them were accompanied by doles (‘elmesse gifte,’ l. 520). See Rock, Church of our Fathers, ii. 315, 516-519.
517. Mätzner explainswurðen, ‘accomplished,’ that is, completed: which is the sense required, but such use of the participle is hard to parallel, although ‘þenne weoren heore iwil;allunge iwurden,’ L 19656, comes near it. Awurden, ended, would present less difficulty, and wouldimprove the verse. A participial expression with the same meaning is seen in ‘fowerti winter vten led,’ GE 3348.
526.laigeswas corrected by Morris. See 211/493 and comp. ‘Clense ðis folc wel ðis to daiges, | And bidde hem leden clene la[i]ges,’ GE 3453.
529.bode: ‘Significauit autem Joseph Pharaoni per intercessores quod iurauerat patri de sepultura,’ C.bōda, messenger.
531.ðor—dede, wherein he (Joseph) acted well, his pious act.
533.wis of here: neither in OE. nor in ME. doesheremean war, battle, but only army, devastation. Morris reading heren, translates, ‘skilful in armed expeditions,’ which seems forced. Probably were is to be read: comp. ‘Als it were wopnede here, | Redi to silden him fro were,’ GE 1787. A similar phrase is ‘witter of figt,’ GE 864. In l. 534 read dere.
535.rad: comp. ‘And iacob was of weie rad,’ GE 1783.
536.abuten, making a detour: ‘timentes bella deuiauerunt a recto itinere veneruntque ad aream azad,’ C.adad: ‘atad,’ Vulgate and LXX; not in Codex Amiatinus.
539.numen, proceeded: comp. 13/28, 178/78, 179/113, 187/369; ‘And ðeðen he nam to mirie dale,’ GE 745, and often. There is an ellipsis of wei; comp. 206/305. So ‘his weige ðeðen ches,’ GE 2736, compared with ‘Anon of lond he ches,’ Sir Tristrem 2221.
541.ouer pharan: not in Comestor or the Vulgate; comp. GE 1248. The desert of Paran on the west side of the Dead Sea is meant.
542.biriele: this form without finalsis suspect.
544.sent: s added by Morris.
549. ‘nos quoque oramus vt patri tuo dimittas iniquitatem hanc,’ C.
550.Wið ðan(ne) ðat, inasmuch as, seeing that: differently at 208/389.
552. This line is corrupt: Holthausen’s ‘To bidden meðe and beden bot’ gives a good sense and restores the rhyme. He compares ‘Moyses bad meðe,’ GE 3011: see36/126 note.
556. This line is unmetrical and otherwise difficult:kinshould besing.,wexenispl.,manige foldformanigfealdis strange. Perhaps we should read, His kin was waxen manig fold.
557. Mätzner adds his beforesibbe, which makes the line too long; perhapscumenis in excess.
559.biforenqualifieshað . . . sworen.
561.in: comp. ‘Tac ðin sune ysaac in hond,’ GE 1287; ‘An. vii. kinge-riches lond | Ic sal hem bringen al on hond,’ id. 2789.
564. Fulfil it then, promise it now: so, ‘ðat ic ðe haue hoten wel, | Ic it sal lesten euerilc del,’ GE 2905.
568.seli red, happy counsel, possibly in the sense of what is advantageous, helpful; but ‘seli sped,’ 200/192, GE 240 suggests a simpler reading.
570.egipte like, after the Egyptian fashion.
571. Add he beforebiried.hem, his bones, l. 566.
572.late, after many years: ‘nec motus donec egressi sunt filii israel de egypto,’ C.
573.on and on: comp. 206/320.
578.soulesissing., comp. ‘for liues helpe and soules red,’ GE 496; ‘for sowles frame,’ id. 626.
579-590. Not by the author.
580.engel tale: ‘on engleis speche,’ GE 14; ‘on engleis tale,’ id. 450; ‘On engle speche,’ id. 814.
582. ‘May God help him kindly,’ Morris; this involves helpe, mot, where we should expect helpen, mote. Mätzner suggested wel e mot, God help him, well he may.
583.sorge ⁊ grot: see 199/74.
584.cold ⁊ hot: see 44/232-236.
586.spilen, disport themselves.
589. Comp. ‘And to alle cristene men | beren pais and luue bitwen,’ GE 7. Afterus, Holthausen adds be: perhaps, ben ús | bitwén.
Phonology:... but ‘loac,’ GE 1798GE.ǣ1iseæ1ēaise... (wēoxfromweacsan)wæcsana+g...ǣ2+gæ2Accidence:... onsagen 99, ðeden 356 have added naddenVocabulary:... til 60, ðeden 84ðeðenMetre:... Goód is | quað jós|ephquáðii b. Ór | for misdéd|e or fór | onságenii. b.quát | he wóren, 434:434;i a. Kínde | lúue | gan him óu|ergón1 a.J́c am | iosép | drédeð | gu nógtJć ameuẹrilc 268text unchanged, but body text has euerilc almost throughout308.Kinde ðhogt,đhogtwhich our writer seems to have used here.here.’356. ... CM 3914CM.371. ... OEM 117/244.OEM.
Phonology:... but ‘loac,’ GE 1798GE.
ǣ1iseæ1
ēaise... (wēoxfromweacsan)wæcsan
a+g...ǣ2+gæ2
Accidence:... onsagen 99, ðeden 356 have added nadden
Vocabulary:... til 60, ðeden 84ðeðen
Metre:... Goód is | quað jós|ephquáð
ii b. Ór | for misdéd|e or fór | onságenii. b.
quát | he wóren, 434:434;
i a. Kínde | lúue | gan him óu|ergón1 a.
J́c am | iosép | drédeð | gu nógtJć am
euẹrilc 268text unchanged, but body text has euerilc almost throughout
308.Kinde ðhogt,đhogt
which our writer seems to have used here.here.’
356. ... CM 3914CM.
371. ... OEM 117/244.OEM.