XV. ORMOrm’s three forms of the letter “g” (screenshot repeated from main volume):page image showing form of letter ‘g’The printed linenotes almost always use yogh (ȝ) for insular g (ᵹ).Manuscript:Junius 1, Bodleian Library, Oxford: an oblong folio, written in double columns on 118 leaves of parchment varying considerably in size, the largest being 508 × 200 mm.; about 1210A.D., and an autograph, but corrected by a second and third hand. See further Holt, i. p. lxxvi.Facsimiles:Skeat, W. W., Twelve Facsimiles, plate iv. Palaeographical Society; Second Series, plate 133. Napier, A. S., Notes on the Orthography of the Ormulum, Oxford, 1893, also in History of the Holy Rood-tree, E. E. T. S., O. S. 103.Editions:White, R. M., Oxford, 1852. Holt, R., 2 vols., Oxford, 1878. Extracts in Mätzner, Sweet’s First Middle English Primer, 48-81, Emerson and other Readers.Literature:The Author:Logeman, H., Archiv, cxvii. 29; Björkman, E., Archiv, cxix. 33, cxxiii. 23; Bradley, H., Athenaeum, May 19,1906; Wilson, J., ibid., July 28, 1906;Phonology:Blackburn, F. A., The Change of þ to t in the Ormulum, American Journal of Philology, iii. 46; Bülbring, K. D., Die Schreibungeoim Ormulum, Bonner Beiträge, xvii. 51; Callenberg, C., Layamon und Orm nach ihren Lautverhältnissen verglichen, Jena, 1876; Hale, E. E., Open and Close ē in the Ormulum, Modern Language Notes, viii. 37; Kaphengst, C., An Essay on the Ormulum, Elberfeld,n. d.; *Lambertz, P., Die Sprache des Orrmulums, Marburg, 1904; Menze, G., Der Ostmittelländische Dialekt, Strassburg. diss., Cöthen, 1889; *Napier, A. S., as above;Grammar:Funke, O., seep. 450; Sachse, R., Das unorganische e im Orrmulum, Halle, 1881; Thuns, B., Das Verbum bei Orm, Leipziger Diss., Weida, 1909; Weyel, F., Der syntaktische Gebrauch des Infinitivs im Ormulum, Meiderich, 1896; Zenke, W., Synthesis und Analysis im Orrmulum, Götting. Diss., Halle, 1910, completed in Morsbachs Studien, no. xl;Consonant Doubling:Björkman, E.,OrrmsDoppelkonsonanten, Anglia, xxxvii. 351 (good summary of previous literature); Effer, H., Einfache und doppelte Konsonanten im Ormulum, Anglia, vii, Anzeiger, 166; Holthausen, F., Wel und well im Ormulum, Anglia, Beiblatt, xiii. 16; Trautmann, M., Orm’s Doppelkonsonanten, Anglia, vii, Anzeiger, 94, 208, Anglia, xviii. 371;General:Brate, E., Nordische Lehnwörter im Orrmulum, Paul-Braune, Beiträge, x. 1, 580; Deutschbein, M., Die Bedeutung der Quantitätszeichen bei Orm, Archiv, cxxvi. 49, cxxvii. 308; Kluge, F., Das französische Element im Orrmulum, ES xxii. 179; Kölbing, E., Zur Textkritik des Ormulum, ES i. 1, ii. 494; Monicke, C. H., Notes and Queries on the Ormulum, Leipzig, 1853; Reichmann, H., Die Eigennamen im Orrmulum, Göttingen, 1905, and as no. xxv of Morsbachs Studien; Sarrazin, G., Über die Quellen des Orrmulum, ES vi. 1.Phonology:Orm supplemented the current graphic methods by devices of his own. Thus he systematically doubled a consonant after a short vowel in a closed syllable, so tunnderrstanndenn 109. Whether he meant thereby to indicate shortness of the vowel or length of the consonant is disputed. The latter view seems the more probable; the difficulty which is presented by the occurrence of the doubled consonant in unstressed syllables, where it is short in ordinary speech, is removed if, with Björkman, we suppose that the phonetist isolated his syllables in testing their value. Where the consonant after an open syllable is in fact short, Orm often places a breve over the preceding short vowel, as wĭtenn 3, tăkenn 40, wăke 76, 82, 105, hĕte 87, hĕre 123, but fails at times, as in sune 20, wake 56, here 114, 143. Likewise he uses very seldom an almost horizontal accent to indicate vowel length, as á 174, but more frequently, as if toemphasize his warning against possible error, doubles it, as le̋t, fe̋t 10, ha̋t 37, űt 53, &c., or even for greater insistence trebles it, as clū̋t 2, ȝē̋t 39, mostly before final t. Here, too, he is not systematic, thus time 115 has a single mark of length twenty times elsewhere, and words like ut have sometimes two, sometimes three accents.see textFurthermore, Orm invented a special symbolsee textwith a flat top projecting on both sides for the guttural stop g, reserving the continental g for the dzh sound in such words as egge (edge), leggen, seggen: the latter occurs in this extract only in gluternesse 167, and that by mistake. In his representation of late OE.eo,ēo, the author hesitated between eo and e, preferring the former at the beginning, but gradually increasing the use of the latter, so that it becomes normal in the last third of the work and invariable in the Dedication and Preface, which were, no doubt, written last of all. He then appears to have aimed at uniformity by scraping out, not always effectually, the o wherever he had written eo, which was restored in many instances (but apparently not in this extract) by a later scribe in a fainter ink and thinner letter. Holt, by printing eo wherever it once existed, fails to represent the actual state of the manuscript: in this extract o is still visible, though partly erased, in heore 56, heoffness, leome 57, þeossterrnesse 65, deofless 67, heoffness, leome 70, heoffness 77, mildheorrtnesse 78, heoffness 107, 113, deofless 126; everywhere else it is completely erased. Finally, heffness 174 is so written without erasure in a line added lengthwise on the margin, perhaps from the following leaf, which is now missing and may have been withdrawn by the author. It is generally held that Orm employed eo and e to represent the same sound, the former being a traditional spelling. This is unlikely on the part of a determined phonetician like Orm, who would naturally be impatient of traditional spellings. Much more probable is Bülbring’s view that Orm spoke a mixed dialect, in which an [ö] sound existed beside the [e] sound, and that he finally decided for the latter.Oralaisa, acc 3, habbenn 51;abefore nasalsa, grammcunndnesse 86, ‘năme’ i. 9717;abefore lengthening groupsa, faldess 56 (fal(o)d), hande 10, sang 131, but short in annd 114, unstressed, stanndenn 67, 117: the indefinite pronoun is mann 36.æisa, affterr 21, fasste 59, wăke 76; ꝥat 46 was probably meant for þatt: wrecche 4 (4 times), wrecchelike 24 is OE.wrecca.eise, cwellen 38, hĕre 123, hĕte 87, sett 146, but se̋tt 68 (probably miswritten), stressed wel 34 (13), qualifying a verb, and in most cases at the end of the first half-line, beside well 29 (4), qualifying adjective or adverb;ebefore lengthening groups ise, ende 113, genge 129, but short are senndeþþ 62 and enngle 15 (10), with a consonant after thelengthening group: whillc 152, iwhillc 134, 161 representhwilc,gehwilc, swillke 69,swilc.iisi, cribbe 2, friþþ 133, inn 2 &c., mikell 93, wĭtenn 3 (Orm divided wiþþ utenn 113), but in 170:ibefore lengthening groups isi, bindenn 10, child 4, shildenn 67, 126, but brinngenn 18, sinndenn 74, 169, winnde clū́t 2, 7.oiso, follc 30, biforenn 16; before lengthening groupso, unorneliȝ 45, worde 60, but short are wollde 5, forrþrihht 1 (usually forþ uncompounded):oisuin wurrþenn 33, 48 (worden) by analogy of the infinitive.uisu, stunnt 27, vnnorne 4; before lengthening groupsu, sungenn 131, tunge 119, wundenn 7, but short are hunngerr 37, unnderrstanndenn 109, wullderr 132, wunnderrliȝ 35.yisi, dill 27 (*dyll), gillteþþ 155, ifell 64, þrisst 37, wrihhte 151; before lengthening groups, kinde 108, but birrþ 3, 44.āisa, á 174, lare 79, whas 90; before two consonantsa, bitacneþþ 100, gast 73: shortening in hallȝhe 69:swāis usually swa 17, but se 1 (swē).ǣ1isæ, hæþenndom 161, læreþþ 73, sæ 12; before two consonantsæ, næfre 41, unnclænnesse 161, butain aniȝ 157 (ānig), lasse 39, mast 169 (North.māst).ǣ2is mostlyæ, færedd 84, 91, lætenn 45, 54, þær 19 (4), wæde 8, wære 17 (3), wærenn 58 (3), butein greditleȝȝc 167, and with shortening fordredd 88 (4); before two consonantsæ, wæpnedd 90, andewith shortening, sellðe 95.ēise, betenn 158, eche 19, fe̋t 10, le̋t 10, butoin doþ 29 &c., from the plural.īisi, bliþe 85, pinenn 36, riche 5 (4); before two consonantsi, crist 1, 90, cristenndom 49, but elsewhere usually crisstendom.ōiso, dom 75, god 71; before two consonantso, frofrenn 60, 66: shortened in comm 26, 30, 55, soffte 85.ūisu, brukenn 174,-clū̋t2, űt (numen) 53; shortened in vpp 18, 142, uss 3, 62.ȳisi, bisne 43 (bȳsne), grisliȝ 91 (*grȳslig), kiþenn 92, litell 21 (3), shrideþþ 6.eabeforer+ cons. isa, naru 13, starrke 75; before lengthening groupsæ, ærd 5, middelærd 6, but harrd 37, towarrd 87, warrþ 3 (3). Thei-umlaut is not represented in this extract, it isein ‘errfe’ i. 1068, beside ‘dærne’ i. 2004, whereærepresentseabefore a lengthening group.eabeforel+ cons. isa(Anglian), all 3 &c., hallf 36, 93; before lengthening groupsa, haldenn 22, kald 37, walde 124; thei-umlaut ise, beldeþþ 79, corrected out of miswritten beoldeþþ; see 359/5.eobeforer+ cons. ise, herrte 89, 119, but misspelt herte 134; before lengthening groupse, erless 164, erþe 20 (4). To thewurgroup belong forrwerrpenn 149, wurrþenn 17 (3), wurrþshipe 132: ȝernenn 21 is without umlaut, but hirde 53, hirdess 46, irre 75, 167.eobeforel+ cons. is seen in sellf 53, sellfenn 19 (4).eo,u-umlaut ofeiseo, heoffness 57 (5), butein heffness 5 (11), hefennlike 8, werelld 9: theå-umlaut ofeis wanting in berenn 29; the umlaut ofiiseoin heore 56, but here 50, ‘fele’ i. 7640.eaafter palatals isa, shall134, shaffte 9, unnshaþiȝnesse 50 (scæþþig).ieaftergisi, ȝifenn 14 (5), ȝifeþþ 72, gife 174:ȝefis ȝiff 80.eoaftergisu, ȝung 108; aftersc,o, shollde 47, 94, sholldenn 50, 96.ēaisæ, læfe 49, ræfenn 89, sæm 29, butein ec 53 &c.; itsi-umlaut ise, ekedd 129, lefenn 96.ēoise, ben 7, bitwenenn 141, defell 86 (3), lefe 34, lem 77 (4), sen 40, þed 15, andeo, deofless 67, leome 57, seo 91; ȝho 2 (hēo) shows shifted accent: thei-umlaut ofēois wanting in lesenn 102, nede 33, stereþþ 9, þessterrnesse 63, 160, þeossterrnesse 65.gīetis ȝḗt 39.ēaafter palatals ise, shep 50, 54,īeafterg,e, ȝemenn 52, 125.a+gisaȝh, laȝhess 22.æ+gisaȝȝ, daȝȝ 99 (= daī), daȝȝesss. g.100 (= dai-iess), laȝȝ 16, maȝȝ 40 (3), but seȝȝde 92 (as if from *segde).e+giseȝȝ, leȝȝd 13 (= leīd). Final-igisiȝ(= ī), aniȝ 157, bodiȝ 173, grisliȝ 91, modiȝnesse 87; greditleȝȝc 167 is probably miswritten.i+hisihh, sihhþe 58, 77.o+gisoȝh, forrhoȝhenn 149.u+gisuȝh, muȝhenn 80, 142.ā+gisaȝh, aȝhenn 3, 54.ō+gisoh, inoh 31.ea+his seen in waxenn 137; thei-umlaut in mihhte 36, 137, nihht 55, 57, but mahht 72, allmahhtiȝ 108, nahht 46 (4) descend from Anglian forms inæ.eo+htisihhtin brihhte 77, rihhte 49, 89, 91, fihhten 123; thei-umlaut is wanting in seþ 84 (corr. out of seoþ).ēa+hisehh, þehh 74 (ðēhshortened by loss of stress), neh 30.ēo+htis seen in lihht 57 (as if fromleoht).ā+wgivesaw, sawless 69, 129, wawenn 151. hewe 70 is from Anglianhēow: ohht 145 representsoht, similarly nohht 40, 91.ēa+wappears in awwnedd 105 (*ēawnian);ēo+win reweþþ 158 (corr. out of reoweþþ), trowwþe 90 (treowþwithout umlaut and with shifted accent), þeww 72 (= þeū: fromþeow), so, too, þewwten 31.Ealswāis alls 172: fore,iappears in drihhtin 42 (6); it is lost in wiþþren 150, added in swikedomess 67, 168, onne 29, ‘offe’ i. 4097 by analogy of inne, uppe:oisain anan 1. The prefixgeisi, iwhillc 134, 161.Metathesis ofris seen in þrisst 37, wrihhte 151.nis lost in i 2, o 36; by inadvertence it is not doubled in unorneliȝ 45, comp. vnnorne 4.fis used in every position, faldess 56, hafeþþ 28, hallfe 93, but it was probably voiced between vowels and vowellikes,vas in ‘serven’ i. 506 is rare. Ford,þappears by analogy in wurrþenn 33, 48. Afterd,t, certain pronominal words change initial þ tot, tær 13, tanne 94, tatt 13 &c., teȝȝ 128, te 25, 115, tu 34.sćis regularlysh, shrideþþ 6, shop 9, nesshe 37; in bisscopess 51, ‘bisskopess’ i. 7233 (but elsewhere bisshopess), and mennisscnesse 38, sc is probably due to Scandinavian influence. The stopciskbeforee,i, makenn 5, mannkinn 21,cbeforeo,u, other consonants and final, comm 26, clut 2, flocc 49, ec 53 (contrast ekedd 129),korcin other positions, kald 37.čisch, child 4, eche 19, but palatalization does not take place inswillke 69, illke 13, illkess 161, iwhillc 134, whillc 152 and ekedd 129, mikell 93, miccle 33.ččiscchin wrecche 4:cwis regularly preserved, cwellenn 38, cwike 15;quoccurs in the Latin words quarrterrne, quaþþrigan. Palatalgisȝ, ȝæn 73, ȝernenn 21, ȝifenn 14 (6), but gife 174: the guttural spirant isȝh, follȝhenn 79, 107, 165, hallȝhe 69, sinnȝheþþ 155. The guttural stopsee textis distinguished from the dzh sound in edge, which is represented by g.his lost initially in laferrd 25, nesshe 37, reweþþ 158:hēois ȝho 2:hwiswh, whas 90, whatt 137.Accidence:Strong declension ofmasc.andneut.nouns. In thes. n.sune 20, 106 representssunu.Gen.-ess, daȝȝess 100, deofless 67, heffness 14, lifess 100, but, by a scribal error, daȝȝes 75:d.-e, hewe 170, sune 96, worde 60, and six others, but the inflection is mostly wanting, as in bodiȝ 173, daȝȝ 99, dom 75, and thirty-two others. Theacc.heffne 12 is due to the LWS.fem.heofone. Thepl. n. a.of masculines ends in-ess, hirdess 46, bisscopess 51; neuters are shep 50, 54, ?wiless 126: genitives are enngle (þed) 15, 122, kinne 64, 71, 157: datives have mostly-ess, bandess 11, claþess 24, but þinge 71, wrihhte 151. Thefem.nouns of the strong declension end in e in thes. n. a., blisse, sellðe 95, are 80, bisne 43, except mahht 72, þed 15, werelld 9, and sæ 12.Gen.-e, helle 101, 151, possibly blisse 174:dat.-e, blisse 18, cribbe 2, hallfe 93, but hallf 36.Pl. g.is þede 122;d.sawless 129;a.hande 10, shaffte 9, sawless 69. Nouns of the weak declension have mostly-ein all cases of the singular, but demess 75 is genitive and, before the caesura, lem 77, dative, beside leome 57, lem 107, 163 accusative: apl. n.is wawenn 151. The minor declensions are represented by fetpl. a.10, manns. n.20, mannesss. g.172, mannes. d.30, manns. a.134, mennpl. n.76,pl. d.49, 56; nahhts. d.46, nihhts. a.57; moderrs. d.1; childs. n.4.Adjectives which in OE. end in e retain that termination throughout, as bliþe 85, cweme 152, eche 19, 100, 103, milde 82, riche 5, 112, 165, soffte 85, vnnorne 4. Instances of weak inflections ares. d. m.laþe 165, lefe 34, rihhte 49, starrke 75,s. d. f.brihhte 77,s. a. m.laþe 32, 73, 123,s. a. neut.rihhte 89, rume 14: strong inflections are few,s. d. f.fulle 90, hefennlike 8, 173,s. a. m.gode 153: all others are uninflected in the singular. The plural ends in-e, glade 127, gode 147, hallȝhe 69, laþe 31, 66, 126, cwike 15. Adjectives used as nouns are not inflected.mycelin the strong declension is mikell,s. d. f.131,s. a. f.93,s. a. neut.61, in the weak, miccles. d. f.33 (myclan),s. a. neut.120 (mycle).āgengives aȝhenn 3, 54 without inflection. OE.ānis ann. m.114, a 172, anessg. m.170, and. f.2,a. m.49,a. f.3. Comparatives are bettre, mare 145, lasse 39; superlative, mast 169.The personal pronouns are uss, tu, after t, 34, þe. The pronoun of the third person iss. n.hem.3, ȝhof.2, ittneut.28 (with assemf.);d.himmm.17, 23;a.2, ittneut.29 (with sæmm.);pl. n.þeȝȝ 130, teȝȝ, after t, 52;d. a.þeȝȝm. Reflexives are himm 10, 173, þe sellfenn 44, 45, himm sellfen 19, 35: definitive, himm sellf 53: possessives, ure 4; hiss, as general form for the singular, 1, 3, 16, 34, 47, 54, but hiseg. m.155;pl. a.hise 22; here 50, heore 56, teȝȝre, after t, 32. The definite article is þe, te, after t, 25, 126: þatt (ꝥ), tatt, after t, is demonstrative adjective 13 or demonstrative pronoun 26; its plural is þaadj.56 andpron.22. The compound demonstrative iss.þiss 6,pl.þise. The relative is þatt, tatt, after t, 13, 27; þatt 30, 36, = in, on which, þurrh whatt 137, 144, by that by which. Interrogative is whillc 152 (hwelc); its correlative is swillkepl. a.69:ilcais illkes. n.13, 152,a.97, 118. Indefinites are mann 29, 36, 38, 169; whase 154, whas 90, whoso; illkess 161, every; iwhillc 134, 161; aniȝpl. g.157; alls. n. neut.30,d. neut.64, 94,a. m.32,f.9,neut.14, but alles. d. f.6;pl.allen.128, alreg.169, alle 64, 71, all 122, alled.172,a.5, 9, 22: all 168 is apparentlys. n.= everyone.Infinitives end in-enn, except sen 40, fon 36: of the second weak conjugation are follȝhenn 107, forhoȝhenn 149, lofenn 110, lokenn 156, makenn 5, pinenn 36, ræfenn 89, sammnenn 48, tacnenn 47, þankenn 120. Thedat. inf.is not inflected, to berenn 29, tunnderrstanndenn 109, to sen 116, forr to kiþenn 92, for . . . to makenn 112. Presents ares.3. beldeþþ 79, bitacneþþ 100, and nineteen others; contracted, birrþ 3, 44, seþ 84, stannt 158;pl.cumenn 70, haldenn 22, lufenn 23, stanndenn 117, waken 66, wiþþrenn 150:subjunctive s.3. gife 174, seo 91. Past of Strong Verbs: I a.s.3. laȝȝ 16: I b.s.3. comm 26, 30, 55: I c.s.3. wand 2, warrþ 3, 20, 42;pl.3. sungenn 131: IV.s.3. shop 9, toc 60, 82;pl.3. unnderrstodenn 135, wokenn 46, 56 (form fromwacan, meaning fromwacian): V.s.3. let 10. Participles past: I a. ȝifenn 17: I b. borenn 1, 97, cumenn 92, utnumen 53: I c. wundenn 7, wurrþenn 33, 48: IV. V. waxenn 138: V. forrdredd 88, forrdreddeadj. pl.59, 83, offdredde 74. Past of Weak Verbs:s.3. leȝȝde 2, seȝȝde 92. Participles past: bitacnedd 81, ekedd 129, leȝȝd 13, sett 68, 146. Minor Groups: witenninf.3, witt 2s. imp.34, wisstept. s.83, wisstennpt. pl.128, 139; shallpr. s.134, sholldept. s.47, 94, sholldenpt. pl.50, 96; muȝhenninf.142, maȝȝpr. s.40, 152, 171, muȝhennpr. pl. subj.80, mihhtept. s.36, 137; beninf.7, isspr. s.63, 151 (apparently withpl.nominative), niss 91, sinndennpr. pl.74, 169, bepr. s. subj.28, si 3s. imp.132, wasspt. s.1, wærennpt. pl.58, 76, 127, wærept. s. subj.17, 138, 172; wilepr. s.88, wolldept. s.5; to dondat. inf.32, doþpr. s.29, 109, missdoþ 157, donpp.61, 118.Vocabulary:Scandinavian are afell 28, aȝȝ 44, baþe 10, fra 67, gætenn 52, griþþ 133, laȝhenn 44, lahȝhre 43, mec 85, occ 117, sahht(nesse) 140, skerrenn 88, skill (læs) 27, summ 27, takenn 40, till 49, (inn)till 18, þeȝȝ 74, þeȝȝre 32, þohh 28, usell 4, usell(dom) 24, and the suffix in (modiȝ)leȝȝc, (gredit)leȝȝc 167; possibly also bandess 10, come 148, deȝeþþ 41. French is gluter(nesse) 167; long i in Crist shows new borrowing from French.Dialect:East Midland bordering on the North; a mixed dialect, which possibly accounts for the wavering in the representation ofeo,ēo. The large Scandinavian element in the vocabulary and the absence of u in final syllables (372/34) point to the East; the representation ofā+w, the development ofc,g, and perhaps the uniform appearance ofāas a in this thirteenth-century text, show Northern influence. Lambertz has noted so many correspondences between the phonology of Orm and that of the Rushworth gloss on the Gospel of S. Matthew as to make it probable that they belong to the same dialectal area. The Northern border of Lincolnshire was most probably the place where the Ormulum was written.Metre:For the scheme of the Septenarius seep. 327. Orm’s verse is monotonously regular; every line has its fifteen syllables exactly counted out and ends in x́ x; the caesura comes after the eighth syllable; the rhythm is iambic without substitution. For the sake of this uniformity he does violence to the natural accent in Niþþrédd 35, Bisscópess 51, Enngléss 69, sahhtnésse 140, drihhtíness 171, though Schipper regards such cases as examples of ‘hovering accent,’ wherein the stress is distributed equally over the two syllables having the word-accent and the verse-accent,—a spondee rather than an iamb. Elision takes place regularly before an initial vowel or h, sonẹ, leȝȝdẹ 2, vnnornẹ, wrecchẹ 4, heffnẹ 12, mihhtẹ 36, wolldẹ 54, wilẹ 88, seȝȝdẹ 94, whasẹ 154, &c. Sometimes e is not written, as in whas 90; crasis is found elsewhere in he̋t (= he itt), ȝhőt (= ȝho itt), þűtt (= þu itt), and similar combinations.Introduction:The author of the Ormulum speaks of himself under two names in ‘Þiss boc iss nemmnedd Orrmulum Forrþi þatt Orrm itt wrohhte,’ Preface 1, 2, and ‘Icc wass þær þær I crisstnedd wass Orrmin bi name nemmnedd,’ Dedication 323, 4. The former was a fairly common name in the Scandinavian districts of the North; in the latter, not found elsewhere, he has probably added, as befitting the ritual occasion, the Latin termination īn from īnus, as in Awwstin (= Augustinus). In the same way, as Bradley suggests, he has taken the termination of Ormulum from Speculum, as often occurring in titles of devotional books, like Speculum Laicorum, Conscientiae, Sanctorale. He tells us that he wrote at the request of his brother Walter, who was, like himself, an Augustinian Canon;his purpose was to paraphrase and expound, for the benefit of unlearned English folk, the Gospels of the Mass throughout the year. His exposition is drawn for the most part from S. Bede, and particularly from his sermons and commentaries, and to a small extent from S. Gregory the Great. Traces of his acquaintance with S. Isidore and Josephus, through Hegesippus, have been found by Sarrazin.Nothing further is known of Orm, but Bradley has made it probable that he was an inmate of Elsham Priory in North Lincolnshire (Dugdale, vi. 560). The contention of J. Wilson that he was identical with Orm, brother of Walter, Prior of Carlisle between 1150 and 1170, would be very attractive, if it were not for the philological difficulty, for the Ormulum is undoubtedly written in the Midland dialect, and must be dated about 1210.This extract gives ll. 3662-4009, in Holt, i. pp. 126-38.1.Forrþrihht anan se, lit. Straightway forthwith as, i.e. as soon as. Orm has ‘forrþrihht se, anan se, sone swa, son se, forrþrihht summ, anan summ,’ all with this same meaning, and forrþrihht summ, immediately, ii. 42/11404. Orm’s expletives are a feature of his dreary style; in his dedication he says that he has set ‘maniȝ word | þe rime swa to fillenn,’ that is, to make up the number of syllables required for his metre; he makes extensive use of all, 112/3, 16 &c. Beside anan, Orm has the primitive onn an, continuously, without a break.2-18.The original of this passage is, ‘Et pannis eum involvit et reclinavit eum in praesepio . . . parvulus natus est nobis, ut nos viri possimus esse perfecti. Qui totum mundum vario vestit ornatu, pannis vilibus involvitur, ut nos stolam primam recipere valeamus. Per quem omnia facta sunt, manus pedesque cunis adstringitur, ut nostrae manus ad opus bonum exertae, nostri sint pedes in viam pacis directi. Cui coelum sedes est, duri praesepis angustia continetur, ut nos per coelestis regni gaudia dilatet. Qui panis est Angelorum, in praesepio reclinatur, ut nos quasi sancta animalia carnis suae frumento reficiat,’ Bede, v. 234.2.⁊= annd; see 115/114.3.uss birrþ, we ought: a favourite expression of Orm.5.heffness ærd, heaven’s region: a phrase suggested bymiddellærd.9.shaffte, creatures: OE.gesceafta.10.baþebelongs tofet ⁊ hande.12-14. This section diverges in form from those before and after it, as also from the original. The subject offilleþþisÞatt illke child.heffness rume riche, the wide kingdom of heaven: perhaps suggested by ‘ut amplitudinem nobis supernarum sedium tribueret’ of Bede’s Sermon, vii. 300.16.all alls= all alse, alswa, quite as.17.Swa summ, so as, just as if:summis OEScand. sum: more usually the phrase means, just as, 112/27, 113/47, 55. Variants are ‘all swa summ,’ O. Introd. 43; ‘all all swa summ,’ 114/76; ‘all all swa se,’ O. Dedication, 281.fode: the ass represents the Gentiles, of whom Bede says, ‘plurimi . . . coelestibus eius (= Christi) quaerebant alimoniis ad perpetuam crescere salutem,’ vii. 300.19. And give himself as everlasting food there to us with angels.21.to ȝernenn, &c., to be content with a humble lot.27.stunnt ⁊ dill: comp. ‘⁊ stunnt ⁊ stidiȝ, dill ⁊ slaw | to sekenn sawless seollþe,’ O. i. 344/9885.28.afell, strength. O. has also app.afledd, endowed with strength, ‘Forr cnapechild iss afledd wel,’ O. i. 274/7903; opposed to ‘unnstrang.’30.þatt, when: so þe 15/84, þa 15/93.comm . . . to manne, was incarnate: comp. 36/117, 114/97; ‘þe becom to mannum mid iudeiscum folce,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 60/89; ‘hu hi to mannum comon,’ AS. Hom. ed. Assmann, 26/44; ‘Hwarto was he aure iscapen te manne,’ VV 113/14, regularly withpl. dat.; contrast ‘ic ðe to men gebær,’ I bore thee as a man, Ælf. Lives, ii. 78/175.31.laþe gastess, hateful spirits, i.e. false gods: ‘in asino autem exprimit populum gentium, qui sordibus idololatriae semper manebat immundus,’ Bede, vii. 300.33, 34.þurrh ꝥ . . . þurrh ꝥ, inasmuch as, whereas . . . thereby, as a consequence; propter quod . . . propter id: so 115/114, 116. O. is fond of these formal correlatives: comp. ‘forr þi . . . Forr ꝥ,’ 113/48.35.niþþredd, lowered, humbled: OE.geniþerod,pp.ofniþerian.wannsedd, diminished: OE.wansian. Comp. ‘⁊ illc an lawe ⁊ illc an hill | Shall niþþredd beon ⁊ laȝhedd,’ O. i. 321/9205; ‘Aȝȝ niþþreþþ Godess genge, | ⁊ cwelleþþ hemm ⁊ wannseþþ hemm,’ id. 279/8032.36.o ꝥ hallf ꝥ, in that part of his nature in which: see 46/292.39.ȝet lasse, still lower: ‘qui modico quam Angeli minoratus est,’ Heb. ii. 9.43.lahȝhre inoh, sufficiently lower, i.e. much lower.45.lætenn, &c., think very meanly: comp. 44/260.46-53: suggested by, ‘Apte autem satis hoc superna est providentia dispositum, ut nascente Domino pastores in vicinia civitatis (eiusdem) vigilarent, suosque greges a timore nocturno vigilando protegerent. Oportebat namque, ut cum magnus pastor ovium, hoc est, animarum nutritor fidelium, in mundo natus est, testimonium eius nativitati vigilantes super gregem suum pastores darent. . . . Nam et futurum (iam) tunc erat, ut perorbem universum electi pastores, id est, praedicatores sancti, mitterentur, qui ad ovile Dominicum, videlicet sanctam Ecclesiam, populos credentium cogerent,’ Bede, vii. 301.46.wokenn, kept watch: comp. 113/56.48.forr þi . . . Forr ꝥ, for that reason . . . because: like ‘eone es ferox, quia habes imperium in beluas?’ Terence, Eun. iii. 1. 25.49.rihhte læfe: see 89/28.52.ȝemenn . . . gaetenn: comp. 114/68, 115/125: synonyms, the former English, the latter Scandinavian.53.utnumenn hirde: ‘princeps pastorum,’ 1 Pet. v. 4.56.wakemenn, watchers.57.lihht ⁊ leome: often in O.; comp. 114/70, 77, 115/107; ‘Ah swuch leome ⁊ liht | leitede þrinne,’ SK 1582.leomeis flame, a bright and flashing light. With 57-70 comp. ‘Bene autem vigilantibus pastoribus angelus apparet, eosque Dei claritas circumfulget. Quia illi prae ceteris videre sublimia merentur, qui fidelibus gregibus praeesse sollicite sciunt, dumque ipsi pie super gregem vigilant, divina super eos gratia largius coruscat,’ Bede, v. 235.63.þessterrnesse: comp. ‘Þiss þessterrnesse iss hæþenndom | ⁊ dwillde inn hæfedd sinness,’ O. ii. 303/18855.64.Inn—sinne, in sin of all kinds; comp. 114/71, 116/157, ‘O fele kinne wise,’ O. i. 123/3573, and see132/9 note.67.stanndenn inn: comp. 116/158; ‘Affterr þatt he beoþ fullhtnedd, | Birrþ stanndenn inn to þeowwtenn Crist,’ O. ii. 43/11434, where Mätzner says it = perseverare: in Specimens it is translated, continue. Orm is, in his literal way, translating L.instare, to press on, to be zealous, a meaning which suits well here and elsewhere: the phrase is peculiar to him.71.god innsihht, ‘recta sapere,’ ‘a right judgement in all things.’72.hiss þeww, to his servant.74.þohh swa þehh, notwithstanding: OE.þēah, yet, was reinforced by the addition ofswā,swā þēahmeaning even so yet: to this in Orm is prefixed the Scandinavian þoh, although. See Björkman, 73.75.starrke, rigid, stern: ‘se hearda dæg,’ Christ, 1065.76-91: this passage is mainly a repetition of O. 20/657-80, which comments on the appearance of Gabriel to Zacharias, S. Luke i. 11: it is drawn from Bede’s Commentary: ‘Trementem Zachariam confortat Angelus: quia sicut humanae fragilitatis est spiritalis creaturae visione turbari, ita et angelicae benignitatis est paventes de aspectu suo mortales mox blandiendo solari. At contra daemonicae est ferocitatis quos sui praesentia territossenserit ampliori semper horrore concutere, quae nulla melius ratione quam fide superatur intrepida,’ v. 220.78.hihht, joyful expectation.79.frofreþþ . . . beldeþþ, comforts . . . encourages, a favourite combination: comp. O. Dedication, 237; i. 20/662.82.Toc, betook himself, began.89.shetenn inn hiss herrte: Holt translates, ‘shut up, harden,’ wrongly connectingshetennwith OE.scyttan: it representsscēotan, meaning, to shoot into his heart, to inflict a deadly wound: the expression was suggested by such places as ‘þæt hi magon sceotan þa unscyldigan heortan dygollice,’ = ‘ut sagittent in obscuro rectos corde,’ Ps. x. 3 (Thorpe), and ‘þine flana synt swyþe scearpe on þam heortum þinra feonda,’ id. xliv. 7.90.whasis for whase, whoso.ittis formal nominative; the whole expression is equivalent to, Whosoever is armed. Comp. 116/154; ‘Whasumm itt iss þatt illke mann | Þatt hafeþþ tweȝȝenn kirrtless,’ O. i. 324/9291; ‘Whatt mann se itt iss þatt wepeþþ her,’ id. 196/5666; ‘ꝥ iss ꝥ,’ 116/157.91.rihht,adv., utterly, at all: ‘Rihht all swa summ,’ O. i. 39/1188, means, precisely as.93.o godess hallfe, on God’s behalf.97.borenn . . . to manne: see113/30 note.98-102: ‘notandum quod Angelus qui in noctis utique vigiliis pastores affatur non ait, hac nocte, sedhodie natus est vobis salvator. Non aliam scilicet ob causam, nisi quia gaudium magnum evangelizare veniebat. Nam ubi tristia quaeque nocturnis temporibus gesta vel gerenda significantur, ibi saepe nox vel adiungitur, vel etiam sola nominatur,’ Bede, v. 235.100.all: see 112/3.104-7: ‘Neque enim frustra Angelus tanto lumine cinctus apparuit, ut claritas Dei pastores circumfulsisse . . . dicatur . . . sed mystice praemonuit, quod aperte postea monuit apostolus dicens,Nox praecessit, dies autem appropinquavit,’ Bede, v. 235.107.follc,dative.108-12: ‘Hoc est non tantum humilitatis eum et mortalitatis, sed et paupertatis habitum suscepisse pro nobis. Quiacum dives esset, pauper factus est pro nobis, ut nos illius inopia ditaremur,’ Bede, v. 235.109.wrecche, poor, of lowly condition.doþ uss, causes, gives us to understand: comp. 209/405; ‘us gedyde nu to witanne Alexander,’ Orosius 126/31 (= ‘nobis prodidit Alexander’).111.Off . . . wollde, because of the fact that he was willing;offgovernsthe clause,þatt he wollde: so, ‘writenuppo boc . . . off þatt he wisslike ras,’ O. Dedication, 161, 167, written in book concerning the fact that &c.114-20: ‘mox multitudo militiae coelestis advolans, consono in laudem creatoris ore prorumpit, ut sui sicut semper obsequii devotionem Christo impendat, et nos suo pariter instituat exemplo . . . Deo statim laudes ore, corde et opere reddendas,’ Bede, v. 235.116. Thereby it was given us to see and understand full well in that incident.119.herrtess tunge: see 56/51: apparently, with sincere and heartfelt praise.120.godisacc.of the thing for which thanks are to be given. Comp. 132/11; ‘þonkien hit ure drihten,’ OEH. i. 5/29.121-6. ‘Et bene chorus adveniens Angelorum militiae coelestis vocabulum accipit, qui et duci illo potenti in praelio, qui ad debellandas aëreas potestates apparuit, humiliter obsecundat. Deus . . . ad tutelam nostram constituit exercitus Angelorum,’ Bede, v. 235, 6.123.Allsis shortened alse, as.ȝæn . . . gast: see 114/66, 73.127-9: ‘Glorificant Angeli Deum pro nostro redemptione incarnatum, quia dum nos conspiciunt recipi, suum gaudent numerum impleri,’ Bede, v. 236.132-5: ‘Gloria in altissimis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis,’ S. Luke ii. 14.133.griþþ ⁊ friþþ: a frequent combination in O.; the words are synonyms, one Scandinavian, the other English: see19/57 note.136-8: that the angelic host was to be made up to its full number by the addition of holy souls, by which addition honour and glory in God’s presence should be as though it were increased, if indeed it were capable of increase. The explanation of this passage is helped by the parallel place, ll. 143-5: ‘Ȝiff—mihhte’ corresponds to l. 145. ‘quos infirmos prius abiectosque despexerant [Angeli], nascente in carne Domino iam socios venerantur,’ Bede, v. 236.140.soþ sahhtnesse: see 84/50.146-51: ‘qui cum pacem hominibus poscunt, exponunt et quibus, videlicet bonae voluntatis, hoc est eis qui suscipiunt natum Christum, non autem Herodi, pontificibus et Pharisaeis caeterisque antichristis, qui eius nativitate audita turbati sunt, eumque quantum valuere gladiis insecuti.Non est enim pax impiis, dicit Dominus,’ Bede, v. 236.149.Forrhoȝhenn&c., despise and reject.151.wrihhte, merit, lit. thing done: OE.gewyrht, fromwyrcan:adat. pl.: comp. ‘⁊ he wass flemmd ⁊ drifenn ut | All affterr hise wrihhte,’ O. i. 286/8239, id. 147/4283.154.itt: see 114/90.155.hise þannkess, wilfully, of his own free will: see 10/167.156.himm lokenn, keep watch over himself: see 4/20, 78/85.158.stannt . . . inn: see114/67 note.165.flocc, company: a favourite word of the author’s: comp. 113/49, ‘þe laþe gastess flocc,’ O. i. 226/6546; ‘summ hæþene flocc,’ id. 344/9875.167.modiȝleȝȝc, with same meaning as modiȝnesse, l. 165, but with Scand. suffix, leikr, leiki in Icel. forming abstracts. There are a good many instances in the MS. of-nessecorrected into-leȝȝc.greditleȝȝc: so MS., but the correct form is grediȝleȝȝc, as elsewhere in Orm.170.hewe, form, appearance.173.hefennlike: ‘Angeli corpora in quibus hominibus apparent, in superno aëre sumunt solidamque speciem ex coelesti elemento inducunt, per quam humanis obtutibus manifestius demonstrentur,’ Bede, viii. 294. f. 95 v ends with kinde, l. 174 is added on the margin, and the two leaves following are missing.Literature:... Orrms DoppelkonsonantenOrmms111. ... ‘writen uppo boctext unchanged; text cited has “writenn”
Orm’s three forms of the letter “g” (screenshot repeated from main volume):page image showing form of letter ‘g’The printed linenotes almost always use yogh (ȝ) for insular g (ᵹ).
Orm’s three forms of the letter “g” (screenshot repeated from main volume):
page image showing form of letter ‘g’
The printed linenotes almost always use yogh (ȝ) for insular g (ᵹ).
Manuscript:Junius 1, Bodleian Library, Oxford: an oblong folio, written in double columns on 118 leaves of parchment varying considerably in size, the largest being 508 × 200 mm.; about 1210A.D., and an autograph, but corrected by a second and third hand. See further Holt, i. p. lxxvi.Facsimiles:Skeat, W. W., Twelve Facsimiles, plate iv. Palaeographical Society; Second Series, plate 133. Napier, A. S., Notes on the Orthography of the Ormulum, Oxford, 1893, also in History of the Holy Rood-tree, E. E. T. S., O. S. 103.Editions:White, R. M., Oxford, 1852. Holt, R., 2 vols., Oxford, 1878. Extracts in Mätzner, Sweet’s First Middle English Primer, 48-81, Emerson and other Readers.Literature:The Author:Logeman, H., Archiv, cxvii. 29; Björkman, E., Archiv, cxix. 33, cxxiii. 23; Bradley, H., Athenaeum, May 19,1906; Wilson, J., ibid., July 28, 1906;Phonology:Blackburn, F. A., The Change of þ to t in the Ormulum, American Journal of Philology, iii. 46; Bülbring, K. D., Die Schreibungeoim Ormulum, Bonner Beiträge, xvii. 51; Callenberg, C., Layamon und Orm nach ihren Lautverhältnissen verglichen, Jena, 1876; Hale, E. E., Open and Close ē in the Ormulum, Modern Language Notes, viii. 37; Kaphengst, C., An Essay on the Ormulum, Elberfeld,n. d.; *Lambertz, P., Die Sprache des Orrmulums, Marburg, 1904; Menze, G., Der Ostmittelländische Dialekt, Strassburg. diss., Cöthen, 1889; *Napier, A. S., as above;Grammar:Funke, O., seep. 450; Sachse, R., Das unorganische e im Orrmulum, Halle, 1881; Thuns, B., Das Verbum bei Orm, Leipziger Diss., Weida, 1909; Weyel, F., Der syntaktische Gebrauch des Infinitivs im Ormulum, Meiderich, 1896; Zenke, W., Synthesis und Analysis im Orrmulum, Götting. Diss., Halle, 1910, completed in Morsbachs Studien, no. xl;Consonant Doubling:Björkman, E.,OrrmsDoppelkonsonanten, Anglia, xxxvii. 351 (good summary of previous literature); Effer, H., Einfache und doppelte Konsonanten im Ormulum, Anglia, vii, Anzeiger, 166; Holthausen, F., Wel und well im Ormulum, Anglia, Beiblatt, xiii. 16; Trautmann, M., Orm’s Doppelkonsonanten, Anglia, vii, Anzeiger, 94, 208, Anglia, xviii. 371;General:Brate, E., Nordische Lehnwörter im Orrmulum, Paul-Braune, Beiträge, x. 1, 580; Deutschbein, M., Die Bedeutung der Quantitätszeichen bei Orm, Archiv, cxxvi. 49, cxxvii. 308; Kluge, F., Das französische Element im Orrmulum, ES xxii. 179; Kölbing, E., Zur Textkritik des Ormulum, ES i. 1, ii. 494; Monicke, C. H., Notes and Queries on the Ormulum, Leipzig, 1853; Reichmann, H., Die Eigennamen im Orrmulum, Göttingen, 1905, and as no. xxv of Morsbachs Studien; Sarrazin, G., Über die Quellen des Orrmulum, ES vi. 1.Phonology:Orm supplemented the current graphic methods by devices of his own. Thus he systematically doubled a consonant after a short vowel in a closed syllable, so tunnderrstanndenn 109. Whether he meant thereby to indicate shortness of the vowel or length of the consonant is disputed. The latter view seems the more probable; the difficulty which is presented by the occurrence of the doubled consonant in unstressed syllables, where it is short in ordinary speech, is removed if, with Björkman, we suppose that the phonetist isolated his syllables in testing their value. Where the consonant after an open syllable is in fact short, Orm often places a breve over the preceding short vowel, as wĭtenn 3, tăkenn 40, wăke 76, 82, 105, hĕte 87, hĕre 123, but fails at times, as in sune 20, wake 56, here 114, 143. Likewise he uses very seldom an almost horizontal accent to indicate vowel length, as á 174, but more frequently, as if toemphasize his warning against possible error, doubles it, as le̋t, fe̋t 10, ha̋t 37, űt 53, &c., or even for greater insistence trebles it, as clū̋t 2, ȝē̋t 39, mostly before final t. Here, too, he is not systematic, thus time 115 has a single mark of length twenty times elsewhere, and words like ut have sometimes two, sometimes three accents.see textFurthermore, Orm invented a special symbolsee textwith a flat top projecting on both sides for the guttural stop g, reserving the continental g for the dzh sound in such words as egge (edge), leggen, seggen: the latter occurs in this extract only in gluternesse 167, and that by mistake. In his representation of late OE.eo,ēo, the author hesitated between eo and e, preferring the former at the beginning, but gradually increasing the use of the latter, so that it becomes normal in the last third of the work and invariable in the Dedication and Preface, which were, no doubt, written last of all. He then appears to have aimed at uniformity by scraping out, not always effectually, the o wherever he had written eo, which was restored in many instances (but apparently not in this extract) by a later scribe in a fainter ink and thinner letter. Holt, by printing eo wherever it once existed, fails to represent the actual state of the manuscript: in this extract o is still visible, though partly erased, in heore 56, heoffness, leome 57, þeossterrnesse 65, deofless 67, heoffness, leome 70, heoffness 77, mildheorrtnesse 78, heoffness 107, 113, deofless 126; everywhere else it is completely erased. Finally, heffness 174 is so written without erasure in a line added lengthwise on the margin, perhaps from the following leaf, which is now missing and may have been withdrawn by the author. It is generally held that Orm employed eo and e to represent the same sound, the former being a traditional spelling. This is unlikely on the part of a determined phonetician like Orm, who would naturally be impatient of traditional spellings. Much more probable is Bülbring’s view that Orm spoke a mixed dialect, in which an [ö] sound existed beside the [e] sound, and that he finally decided for the latter.Oralaisa, acc 3, habbenn 51;abefore nasalsa, grammcunndnesse 86, ‘năme’ i. 9717;abefore lengthening groupsa, faldess 56 (fal(o)d), hande 10, sang 131, but short in annd 114, unstressed, stanndenn 67, 117: the indefinite pronoun is mann 36.æisa, affterr 21, fasste 59, wăke 76; ꝥat 46 was probably meant for þatt: wrecche 4 (4 times), wrecchelike 24 is OE.wrecca.eise, cwellen 38, hĕre 123, hĕte 87, sett 146, but se̋tt 68 (probably miswritten), stressed wel 34 (13), qualifying a verb, and in most cases at the end of the first half-line, beside well 29 (4), qualifying adjective or adverb;ebefore lengthening groups ise, ende 113, genge 129, but short are senndeþþ 62 and enngle 15 (10), with a consonant after thelengthening group: whillc 152, iwhillc 134, 161 representhwilc,gehwilc, swillke 69,swilc.iisi, cribbe 2, friþþ 133, inn 2 &c., mikell 93, wĭtenn 3 (Orm divided wiþþ utenn 113), but in 170:ibefore lengthening groups isi, bindenn 10, child 4, shildenn 67, 126, but brinngenn 18, sinndenn 74, 169, winnde clū́t 2, 7.oiso, follc 30, biforenn 16; before lengthening groupso, unorneliȝ 45, worde 60, but short are wollde 5, forrþrihht 1 (usually forþ uncompounded):oisuin wurrþenn 33, 48 (worden) by analogy of the infinitive.uisu, stunnt 27, vnnorne 4; before lengthening groupsu, sungenn 131, tunge 119, wundenn 7, but short are hunngerr 37, unnderrstanndenn 109, wullderr 132, wunnderrliȝ 35.yisi, dill 27 (*dyll), gillteþþ 155, ifell 64, þrisst 37, wrihhte 151; before lengthening groups, kinde 108, but birrþ 3, 44.āisa, á 174, lare 79, whas 90; before two consonantsa, bitacneþþ 100, gast 73: shortening in hallȝhe 69:swāis usually swa 17, but se 1 (swē).ǣ1isæ, hæþenndom 161, læreþþ 73, sæ 12; before two consonantsæ, næfre 41, unnclænnesse 161, butain aniȝ 157 (ānig), lasse 39, mast 169 (North.māst).ǣ2is mostlyæ, færedd 84, 91, lætenn 45, 54, þær 19 (4), wæde 8, wære 17 (3), wærenn 58 (3), butein greditleȝȝc 167, and with shortening fordredd 88 (4); before two consonantsæ, wæpnedd 90, andewith shortening, sellðe 95.ēise, betenn 158, eche 19, fe̋t 10, le̋t 10, butoin doþ 29 &c., from the plural.īisi, bliþe 85, pinenn 36, riche 5 (4); before two consonantsi, crist 1, 90, cristenndom 49, but elsewhere usually crisstendom.ōiso, dom 75, god 71; before two consonantso, frofrenn 60, 66: shortened in comm 26, 30, 55, soffte 85.ūisu, brukenn 174,-clū̋t2, űt (numen) 53; shortened in vpp 18, 142, uss 3, 62.ȳisi, bisne 43 (bȳsne), grisliȝ 91 (*grȳslig), kiþenn 92, litell 21 (3), shrideþþ 6.eabeforer+ cons. isa, naru 13, starrke 75; before lengthening groupsæ, ærd 5, middelærd 6, but harrd 37, towarrd 87, warrþ 3 (3). Thei-umlaut is not represented in this extract, it isein ‘errfe’ i. 1068, beside ‘dærne’ i. 2004, whereærepresentseabefore a lengthening group.eabeforel+ cons. isa(Anglian), all 3 &c., hallf 36, 93; before lengthening groupsa, haldenn 22, kald 37, walde 124; thei-umlaut ise, beldeþþ 79, corrected out of miswritten beoldeþþ; see 359/5.eobeforer+ cons. ise, herrte 89, 119, but misspelt herte 134; before lengthening groupse, erless 164, erþe 20 (4). To thewurgroup belong forrwerrpenn 149, wurrþenn 17 (3), wurrþshipe 132: ȝernenn 21 is without umlaut, but hirde 53, hirdess 46, irre 75, 167.eobeforel+ cons. is seen in sellf 53, sellfenn 19 (4).eo,u-umlaut ofeiseo, heoffness 57 (5), butein heffness 5 (11), hefennlike 8, werelld 9: theå-umlaut ofeis wanting in berenn 29; the umlaut ofiiseoin heore 56, but here 50, ‘fele’ i. 7640.eaafter palatals isa, shall134, shaffte 9, unnshaþiȝnesse 50 (scæþþig).ieaftergisi, ȝifenn 14 (5), ȝifeþþ 72, gife 174:ȝefis ȝiff 80.eoaftergisu, ȝung 108; aftersc,o, shollde 47, 94, sholldenn 50, 96.ēaisæ, læfe 49, ræfenn 89, sæm 29, butein ec 53 &c.; itsi-umlaut ise, ekedd 129, lefenn 96.ēoise, ben 7, bitwenenn 141, defell 86 (3), lefe 34, lem 77 (4), sen 40, þed 15, andeo, deofless 67, leome 57, seo 91; ȝho 2 (hēo) shows shifted accent: thei-umlaut ofēois wanting in lesenn 102, nede 33, stereþþ 9, þessterrnesse 63, 160, þeossterrnesse 65.gīetis ȝḗt 39.ēaafter palatals ise, shep 50, 54,īeafterg,e, ȝemenn 52, 125.a+gisaȝh, laȝhess 22.æ+gisaȝȝ, daȝȝ 99 (= daī), daȝȝesss. g.100 (= dai-iess), laȝȝ 16, maȝȝ 40 (3), but seȝȝde 92 (as if from *segde).e+giseȝȝ, leȝȝd 13 (= leīd). Final-igisiȝ(= ī), aniȝ 157, bodiȝ 173, grisliȝ 91, modiȝnesse 87; greditleȝȝc 167 is probably miswritten.i+hisihh, sihhþe 58, 77.o+gisoȝh, forrhoȝhenn 149.u+gisuȝh, muȝhenn 80, 142.ā+gisaȝh, aȝhenn 3, 54.ō+gisoh, inoh 31.ea+his seen in waxenn 137; thei-umlaut in mihhte 36, 137, nihht 55, 57, but mahht 72, allmahhtiȝ 108, nahht 46 (4) descend from Anglian forms inæ.eo+htisihhtin brihhte 77, rihhte 49, 89, 91, fihhten 123; thei-umlaut is wanting in seþ 84 (corr. out of seoþ).ēa+hisehh, þehh 74 (ðēhshortened by loss of stress), neh 30.ēo+htis seen in lihht 57 (as if fromleoht).ā+wgivesaw, sawless 69, 129, wawenn 151. hewe 70 is from Anglianhēow: ohht 145 representsoht, similarly nohht 40, 91.ēa+wappears in awwnedd 105 (*ēawnian);ēo+win reweþþ 158 (corr. out of reoweþþ), trowwþe 90 (treowþwithout umlaut and with shifted accent), þeww 72 (= þeū: fromþeow), so, too, þewwten 31.Ealswāis alls 172: fore,iappears in drihhtin 42 (6); it is lost in wiþþren 150, added in swikedomess 67, 168, onne 29, ‘offe’ i. 4097 by analogy of inne, uppe:oisain anan 1. The prefixgeisi, iwhillc 134, 161.Metathesis ofris seen in þrisst 37, wrihhte 151.nis lost in i 2, o 36; by inadvertence it is not doubled in unorneliȝ 45, comp. vnnorne 4.fis used in every position, faldess 56, hafeþþ 28, hallfe 93, but it was probably voiced between vowels and vowellikes,vas in ‘serven’ i. 506 is rare. Ford,þappears by analogy in wurrþenn 33, 48. Afterd,t, certain pronominal words change initial þ tot, tær 13, tanne 94, tatt 13 &c., teȝȝ 128, te 25, 115, tu 34.sćis regularlysh, shrideþþ 6, shop 9, nesshe 37; in bisscopess 51, ‘bisskopess’ i. 7233 (but elsewhere bisshopess), and mennisscnesse 38, sc is probably due to Scandinavian influence. The stopciskbeforee,i, makenn 5, mannkinn 21,cbeforeo,u, other consonants and final, comm 26, clut 2, flocc 49, ec 53 (contrast ekedd 129),korcin other positions, kald 37.čisch, child 4, eche 19, but palatalization does not take place inswillke 69, illke 13, illkess 161, iwhillc 134, whillc 152 and ekedd 129, mikell 93, miccle 33.ččiscchin wrecche 4:cwis regularly preserved, cwellenn 38, cwike 15;quoccurs in the Latin words quarrterrne, quaþþrigan. Palatalgisȝ, ȝæn 73, ȝernenn 21, ȝifenn 14 (6), but gife 174: the guttural spirant isȝh, follȝhenn 79, 107, 165, hallȝhe 69, sinnȝheþþ 155. The guttural stopsee textis distinguished from the dzh sound in edge, which is represented by g.his lost initially in laferrd 25, nesshe 37, reweþþ 158:hēois ȝho 2:hwiswh, whas 90, whatt 137.Accidence:Strong declension ofmasc.andneut.nouns. In thes. n.sune 20, 106 representssunu.Gen.-ess, daȝȝess 100, deofless 67, heffness 14, lifess 100, but, by a scribal error, daȝȝes 75:d.-e, hewe 170, sune 96, worde 60, and six others, but the inflection is mostly wanting, as in bodiȝ 173, daȝȝ 99, dom 75, and thirty-two others. Theacc.heffne 12 is due to the LWS.fem.heofone. Thepl. n. a.of masculines ends in-ess, hirdess 46, bisscopess 51; neuters are shep 50, 54, ?wiless 126: genitives are enngle (þed) 15, 122, kinne 64, 71, 157: datives have mostly-ess, bandess 11, claþess 24, but þinge 71, wrihhte 151. Thefem.nouns of the strong declension end in e in thes. n. a., blisse, sellðe 95, are 80, bisne 43, except mahht 72, þed 15, werelld 9, and sæ 12.Gen.-e, helle 101, 151, possibly blisse 174:dat.-e, blisse 18, cribbe 2, hallfe 93, but hallf 36.Pl. g.is þede 122;d.sawless 129;a.hande 10, shaffte 9, sawless 69. Nouns of the weak declension have mostly-ein all cases of the singular, but demess 75 is genitive and, before the caesura, lem 77, dative, beside leome 57, lem 107, 163 accusative: apl. n.is wawenn 151. The minor declensions are represented by fetpl. a.10, manns. n.20, mannesss. g.172, mannes. d.30, manns. a.134, mennpl. n.76,pl. d.49, 56; nahhts. d.46, nihhts. a.57; moderrs. d.1; childs. n.4.Adjectives which in OE. end in e retain that termination throughout, as bliþe 85, cweme 152, eche 19, 100, 103, milde 82, riche 5, 112, 165, soffte 85, vnnorne 4. Instances of weak inflections ares. d. m.laþe 165, lefe 34, rihhte 49, starrke 75,s. d. f.brihhte 77,s. a. m.laþe 32, 73, 123,s. a. neut.rihhte 89, rume 14: strong inflections are few,s. d. f.fulle 90, hefennlike 8, 173,s. a. m.gode 153: all others are uninflected in the singular. The plural ends in-e, glade 127, gode 147, hallȝhe 69, laþe 31, 66, 126, cwike 15. Adjectives used as nouns are not inflected.mycelin the strong declension is mikell,s. d. f.131,s. a. f.93,s. a. neut.61, in the weak, miccles. d. f.33 (myclan),s. a. neut.120 (mycle).āgengives aȝhenn 3, 54 without inflection. OE.ānis ann. m.114, a 172, anessg. m.170, and. f.2,a. m.49,a. f.3. Comparatives are bettre, mare 145, lasse 39; superlative, mast 169.The personal pronouns are uss, tu, after t, 34, þe. The pronoun of the third person iss. n.hem.3, ȝhof.2, ittneut.28 (with assemf.);d.himmm.17, 23;a.2, ittneut.29 (with sæmm.);pl. n.þeȝȝ 130, teȝȝ, after t, 52;d. a.þeȝȝm. Reflexives are himm 10, 173, þe sellfenn 44, 45, himm sellfen 19, 35: definitive, himm sellf 53: possessives, ure 4; hiss, as general form for the singular, 1, 3, 16, 34, 47, 54, but hiseg. m.155;pl. a.hise 22; here 50, heore 56, teȝȝre, after t, 32. The definite article is þe, te, after t, 25, 126: þatt (ꝥ), tatt, after t, is demonstrative adjective 13 or demonstrative pronoun 26; its plural is þaadj.56 andpron.22. The compound demonstrative iss.þiss 6,pl.þise. The relative is þatt, tatt, after t, 13, 27; þatt 30, 36, = in, on which, þurrh whatt 137, 144, by that by which. Interrogative is whillc 152 (hwelc); its correlative is swillkepl. a.69:ilcais illkes. n.13, 152,a.97, 118. Indefinites are mann 29, 36, 38, 169; whase 154, whas 90, whoso; illkess 161, every; iwhillc 134, 161; aniȝpl. g.157; alls. n. neut.30,d. neut.64, 94,a. m.32,f.9,neut.14, but alles. d. f.6;pl.allen.128, alreg.169, alle 64, 71, all 122, alled.172,a.5, 9, 22: all 168 is apparentlys. n.= everyone.Infinitives end in-enn, except sen 40, fon 36: of the second weak conjugation are follȝhenn 107, forhoȝhenn 149, lofenn 110, lokenn 156, makenn 5, pinenn 36, ræfenn 89, sammnenn 48, tacnenn 47, þankenn 120. Thedat. inf.is not inflected, to berenn 29, tunnderrstanndenn 109, to sen 116, forr to kiþenn 92, for . . . to makenn 112. Presents ares.3. beldeþþ 79, bitacneþþ 100, and nineteen others; contracted, birrþ 3, 44, seþ 84, stannt 158;pl.cumenn 70, haldenn 22, lufenn 23, stanndenn 117, waken 66, wiþþrenn 150:subjunctive s.3. gife 174, seo 91. Past of Strong Verbs: I a.s.3. laȝȝ 16: I b.s.3. comm 26, 30, 55: I c.s.3. wand 2, warrþ 3, 20, 42;pl.3. sungenn 131: IV.s.3. shop 9, toc 60, 82;pl.3. unnderrstodenn 135, wokenn 46, 56 (form fromwacan, meaning fromwacian): V.s.3. let 10. Participles past: I a. ȝifenn 17: I b. borenn 1, 97, cumenn 92, utnumen 53: I c. wundenn 7, wurrþenn 33, 48: IV. V. waxenn 138: V. forrdredd 88, forrdreddeadj. pl.59, 83, offdredde 74. Past of Weak Verbs:s.3. leȝȝde 2, seȝȝde 92. Participles past: bitacnedd 81, ekedd 129, leȝȝd 13, sett 68, 146. Minor Groups: witenninf.3, witt 2s. imp.34, wisstept. s.83, wisstennpt. pl.128, 139; shallpr. s.134, sholldept. s.47, 94, sholldenpt. pl.50, 96; muȝhenninf.142, maȝȝpr. s.40, 152, 171, muȝhennpr. pl. subj.80, mihhtept. s.36, 137; beninf.7, isspr. s.63, 151 (apparently withpl.nominative), niss 91, sinndennpr. pl.74, 169, bepr. s. subj.28, si 3s. imp.132, wasspt. s.1, wærennpt. pl.58, 76, 127, wærept. s. subj.17, 138, 172; wilepr. s.88, wolldept. s.5; to dondat. inf.32, doþpr. s.29, 109, missdoþ 157, donpp.61, 118.Vocabulary:Scandinavian are afell 28, aȝȝ 44, baþe 10, fra 67, gætenn 52, griþþ 133, laȝhenn 44, lahȝhre 43, mec 85, occ 117, sahht(nesse) 140, skerrenn 88, skill (læs) 27, summ 27, takenn 40, till 49, (inn)till 18, þeȝȝ 74, þeȝȝre 32, þohh 28, usell 4, usell(dom) 24, and the suffix in (modiȝ)leȝȝc, (gredit)leȝȝc 167; possibly also bandess 10, come 148, deȝeþþ 41. French is gluter(nesse) 167; long i in Crist shows new borrowing from French.Dialect:East Midland bordering on the North; a mixed dialect, which possibly accounts for the wavering in the representation ofeo,ēo. The large Scandinavian element in the vocabulary and the absence of u in final syllables (372/34) point to the East; the representation ofā+w, the development ofc,g, and perhaps the uniform appearance ofāas a in this thirteenth-century text, show Northern influence. Lambertz has noted so many correspondences between the phonology of Orm and that of the Rushworth gloss on the Gospel of S. Matthew as to make it probable that they belong to the same dialectal area. The Northern border of Lincolnshire was most probably the place where the Ormulum was written.Metre:For the scheme of the Septenarius seep. 327. Orm’s verse is monotonously regular; every line has its fifteen syllables exactly counted out and ends in x́ x; the caesura comes after the eighth syllable; the rhythm is iambic without substitution. For the sake of this uniformity he does violence to the natural accent in Niþþrédd 35, Bisscópess 51, Enngléss 69, sahhtnésse 140, drihhtíness 171, though Schipper regards such cases as examples of ‘hovering accent,’ wherein the stress is distributed equally over the two syllables having the word-accent and the verse-accent,—a spondee rather than an iamb. Elision takes place regularly before an initial vowel or h, sonẹ, leȝȝdẹ 2, vnnornẹ, wrecchẹ 4, heffnẹ 12, mihhtẹ 36, wolldẹ 54, wilẹ 88, seȝȝdẹ 94, whasẹ 154, &c. Sometimes e is not written, as in whas 90; crasis is found elsewhere in he̋t (= he itt), ȝhőt (= ȝho itt), þűtt (= þu itt), and similar combinations.Introduction:The author of the Ormulum speaks of himself under two names in ‘Þiss boc iss nemmnedd Orrmulum Forrþi þatt Orrm itt wrohhte,’ Preface 1, 2, and ‘Icc wass þær þær I crisstnedd wass Orrmin bi name nemmnedd,’ Dedication 323, 4. The former was a fairly common name in the Scandinavian districts of the North; in the latter, not found elsewhere, he has probably added, as befitting the ritual occasion, the Latin termination īn from īnus, as in Awwstin (= Augustinus). In the same way, as Bradley suggests, he has taken the termination of Ormulum from Speculum, as often occurring in titles of devotional books, like Speculum Laicorum, Conscientiae, Sanctorale. He tells us that he wrote at the request of his brother Walter, who was, like himself, an Augustinian Canon;his purpose was to paraphrase and expound, for the benefit of unlearned English folk, the Gospels of the Mass throughout the year. His exposition is drawn for the most part from S. Bede, and particularly from his sermons and commentaries, and to a small extent from S. Gregory the Great. Traces of his acquaintance with S. Isidore and Josephus, through Hegesippus, have been found by Sarrazin.Nothing further is known of Orm, but Bradley has made it probable that he was an inmate of Elsham Priory in North Lincolnshire (Dugdale, vi. 560). The contention of J. Wilson that he was identical with Orm, brother of Walter, Prior of Carlisle between 1150 and 1170, would be very attractive, if it were not for the philological difficulty, for the Ormulum is undoubtedly written in the Midland dialect, and must be dated about 1210.This extract gives ll. 3662-4009, in Holt, i. pp. 126-38.
Manuscript:Junius 1, Bodleian Library, Oxford: an oblong folio, written in double columns on 118 leaves of parchment varying considerably in size, the largest being 508 × 200 mm.; about 1210A.D., and an autograph, but corrected by a second and third hand. See further Holt, i. p. lxxvi.
Facsimiles:Skeat, W. W., Twelve Facsimiles, plate iv. Palaeographical Society; Second Series, plate 133. Napier, A. S., Notes on the Orthography of the Ormulum, Oxford, 1893, also in History of the Holy Rood-tree, E. E. T. S., O. S. 103.
Editions:White, R. M., Oxford, 1852. Holt, R., 2 vols., Oxford, 1878. Extracts in Mätzner, Sweet’s First Middle English Primer, 48-81, Emerson and other Readers.
Literature:The Author:Logeman, H., Archiv, cxvii. 29; Björkman, E., Archiv, cxix. 33, cxxiii. 23; Bradley, H., Athenaeum, May 19,1906; Wilson, J., ibid., July 28, 1906;Phonology:Blackburn, F. A., The Change of þ to t in the Ormulum, American Journal of Philology, iii. 46; Bülbring, K. D., Die Schreibungeoim Ormulum, Bonner Beiträge, xvii. 51; Callenberg, C., Layamon und Orm nach ihren Lautverhältnissen verglichen, Jena, 1876; Hale, E. E., Open and Close ē in the Ormulum, Modern Language Notes, viii. 37; Kaphengst, C., An Essay on the Ormulum, Elberfeld,n. d.; *Lambertz, P., Die Sprache des Orrmulums, Marburg, 1904; Menze, G., Der Ostmittelländische Dialekt, Strassburg. diss., Cöthen, 1889; *Napier, A. S., as above;Grammar:Funke, O., seep. 450; Sachse, R., Das unorganische e im Orrmulum, Halle, 1881; Thuns, B., Das Verbum bei Orm, Leipziger Diss., Weida, 1909; Weyel, F., Der syntaktische Gebrauch des Infinitivs im Ormulum, Meiderich, 1896; Zenke, W., Synthesis und Analysis im Orrmulum, Götting. Diss., Halle, 1910, completed in Morsbachs Studien, no. xl;Consonant Doubling:Björkman, E.,OrrmsDoppelkonsonanten, Anglia, xxxvii. 351 (good summary of previous literature); Effer, H., Einfache und doppelte Konsonanten im Ormulum, Anglia, vii, Anzeiger, 166; Holthausen, F., Wel und well im Ormulum, Anglia, Beiblatt, xiii. 16; Trautmann, M., Orm’s Doppelkonsonanten, Anglia, vii, Anzeiger, 94, 208, Anglia, xviii. 371;General:Brate, E., Nordische Lehnwörter im Orrmulum, Paul-Braune, Beiträge, x. 1, 580; Deutschbein, M., Die Bedeutung der Quantitätszeichen bei Orm, Archiv, cxxvi. 49, cxxvii. 308; Kluge, F., Das französische Element im Orrmulum, ES xxii. 179; Kölbing, E., Zur Textkritik des Ormulum, ES i. 1, ii. 494; Monicke, C. H., Notes and Queries on the Ormulum, Leipzig, 1853; Reichmann, H., Die Eigennamen im Orrmulum, Göttingen, 1905, and as no. xxv of Morsbachs Studien; Sarrazin, G., Über die Quellen des Orrmulum, ES vi. 1.
Phonology:Orm supplemented the current graphic methods by devices of his own. Thus he systematically doubled a consonant after a short vowel in a closed syllable, so tunnderrstanndenn 109. Whether he meant thereby to indicate shortness of the vowel or length of the consonant is disputed. The latter view seems the more probable; the difficulty which is presented by the occurrence of the doubled consonant in unstressed syllables, where it is short in ordinary speech, is removed if, with Björkman, we suppose that the phonetist isolated his syllables in testing their value. Where the consonant after an open syllable is in fact short, Orm often places a breve over the preceding short vowel, as wĭtenn 3, tăkenn 40, wăke 76, 82, 105, hĕte 87, hĕre 123, but fails at times, as in sune 20, wake 56, here 114, 143. Likewise he uses very seldom an almost horizontal accent to indicate vowel length, as á 174, but more frequently, as if toemphasize his warning against possible error, doubles it, as le̋t, fe̋t 10, ha̋t 37, űt 53, &c., or even for greater insistence trebles it, as clū̋t 2, ȝē̋t 39, mostly before final t. Here, too, he is not systematic, thus time 115 has a single mark of length twenty times elsewhere, and words like ut have sometimes two, sometimes three accents.
see textFurthermore, Orm invented a special symbolsee textwith a flat top projecting on both sides for the guttural stop g, reserving the continental g for the dzh sound in such words as egge (edge), leggen, seggen: the latter occurs in this extract only in gluternesse 167, and that by mistake. In his representation of late OE.eo,ēo, the author hesitated between eo and e, preferring the former at the beginning, but gradually increasing the use of the latter, so that it becomes normal in the last third of the work and invariable in the Dedication and Preface, which were, no doubt, written last of all. He then appears to have aimed at uniformity by scraping out, not always effectually, the o wherever he had written eo, which was restored in many instances (but apparently not in this extract) by a later scribe in a fainter ink and thinner letter. Holt, by printing eo wherever it once existed, fails to represent the actual state of the manuscript: in this extract o is still visible, though partly erased, in heore 56, heoffness, leome 57, þeossterrnesse 65, deofless 67, heoffness, leome 70, heoffness 77, mildheorrtnesse 78, heoffness 107, 113, deofless 126; everywhere else it is completely erased. Finally, heffness 174 is so written without erasure in a line added lengthwise on the margin, perhaps from the following leaf, which is now missing and may have been withdrawn by the author. It is generally held that Orm employed eo and e to represent the same sound, the former being a traditional spelling. This is unlikely on the part of a determined phonetician like Orm, who would naturally be impatient of traditional spellings. Much more probable is Bülbring’s view that Orm spoke a mixed dialect, in which an [ö] sound existed beside the [e] sound, and that he finally decided for the latter.
Oralaisa, acc 3, habbenn 51;abefore nasalsa, grammcunndnesse 86, ‘năme’ i. 9717;abefore lengthening groupsa, faldess 56 (fal(o)d), hande 10, sang 131, but short in annd 114, unstressed, stanndenn 67, 117: the indefinite pronoun is mann 36.æisa, affterr 21, fasste 59, wăke 76; ꝥat 46 was probably meant for þatt: wrecche 4 (4 times), wrecchelike 24 is OE.wrecca.eise, cwellen 38, hĕre 123, hĕte 87, sett 146, but se̋tt 68 (probably miswritten), stressed wel 34 (13), qualifying a verb, and in most cases at the end of the first half-line, beside well 29 (4), qualifying adjective or adverb;ebefore lengthening groups ise, ende 113, genge 129, but short are senndeþþ 62 and enngle 15 (10), with a consonant after thelengthening group: whillc 152, iwhillc 134, 161 representhwilc,gehwilc, swillke 69,swilc.iisi, cribbe 2, friþþ 133, inn 2 &c., mikell 93, wĭtenn 3 (Orm divided wiþþ utenn 113), but in 170:ibefore lengthening groups isi, bindenn 10, child 4, shildenn 67, 126, but brinngenn 18, sinndenn 74, 169, winnde clū́t 2, 7.oiso, follc 30, biforenn 16; before lengthening groupso, unorneliȝ 45, worde 60, but short are wollde 5, forrþrihht 1 (usually forþ uncompounded):oisuin wurrþenn 33, 48 (worden) by analogy of the infinitive.uisu, stunnt 27, vnnorne 4; before lengthening groupsu, sungenn 131, tunge 119, wundenn 7, but short are hunngerr 37, unnderrstanndenn 109, wullderr 132, wunnderrliȝ 35.yisi, dill 27 (*dyll), gillteþþ 155, ifell 64, þrisst 37, wrihhte 151; before lengthening groups, kinde 108, but birrþ 3, 44.
āisa, á 174, lare 79, whas 90; before two consonantsa, bitacneþþ 100, gast 73: shortening in hallȝhe 69:swāis usually swa 17, but se 1 (swē).ǣ1isæ, hæþenndom 161, læreþþ 73, sæ 12; before two consonantsæ, næfre 41, unnclænnesse 161, butain aniȝ 157 (ānig), lasse 39, mast 169 (North.māst).ǣ2is mostlyæ, færedd 84, 91, lætenn 45, 54, þær 19 (4), wæde 8, wære 17 (3), wærenn 58 (3), butein greditleȝȝc 167, and with shortening fordredd 88 (4); before two consonantsæ, wæpnedd 90, andewith shortening, sellðe 95.ēise, betenn 158, eche 19, fe̋t 10, le̋t 10, butoin doþ 29 &c., from the plural.īisi, bliþe 85, pinenn 36, riche 5 (4); before two consonantsi, crist 1, 90, cristenndom 49, but elsewhere usually crisstendom.ōiso, dom 75, god 71; before two consonantso, frofrenn 60, 66: shortened in comm 26, 30, 55, soffte 85.ūisu, brukenn 174,-clū̋t2, űt (numen) 53; shortened in vpp 18, 142, uss 3, 62.ȳisi, bisne 43 (bȳsne), grisliȝ 91 (*grȳslig), kiþenn 92, litell 21 (3), shrideþþ 6.
eabeforer+ cons. isa, naru 13, starrke 75; before lengthening groupsæ, ærd 5, middelærd 6, but harrd 37, towarrd 87, warrþ 3 (3). Thei-umlaut is not represented in this extract, it isein ‘errfe’ i. 1068, beside ‘dærne’ i. 2004, whereærepresentseabefore a lengthening group.eabeforel+ cons. isa(Anglian), all 3 &c., hallf 36, 93; before lengthening groupsa, haldenn 22, kald 37, walde 124; thei-umlaut ise, beldeþþ 79, corrected out of miswritten beoldeþþ; see 359/5.eobeforer+ cons. ise, herrte 89, 119, but misspelt herte 134; before lengthening groupse, erless 164, erþe 20 (4). To thewurgroup belong forrwerrpenn 149, wurrþenn 17 (3), wurrþshipe 132: ȝernenn 21 is without umlaut, but hirde 53, hirdess 46, irre 75, 167.eobeforel+ cons. is seen in sellf 53, sellfenn 19 (4).eo,u-umlaut ofeiseo, heoffness 57 (5), butein heffness 5 (11), hefennlike 8, werelld 9: theå-umlaut ofeis wanting in berenn 29; the umlaut ofiiseoin heore 56, but here 50, ‘fele’ i. 7640.eaafter palatals isa, shall134, shaffte 9, unnshaþiȝnesse 50 (scæþþig).ieaftergisi, ȝifenn 14 (5), ȝifeþþ 72, gife 174:ȝefis ȝiff 80.eoaftergisu, ȝung 108; aftersc,o, shollde 47, 94, sholldenn 50, 96.
ēaisæ, læfe 49, ræfenn 89, sæm 29, butein ec 53 &c.; itsi-umlaut ise, ekedd 129, lefenn 96.ēoise, ben 7, bitwenenn 141, defell 86 (3), lefe 34, lem 77 (4), sen 40, þed 15, andeo, deofless 67, leome 57, seo 91; ȝho 2 (hēo) shows shifted accent: thei-umlaut ofēois wanting in lesenn 102, nede 33, stereþþ 9, þessterrnesse 63, 160, þeossterrnesse 65.gīetis ȝḗt 39.ēaafter palatals ise, shep 50, 54,īeafterg,e, ȝemenn 52, 125.
a+gisaȝh, laȝhess 22.æ+gisaȝȝ, daȝȝ 99 (= daī), daȝȝesss. g.100 (= dai-iess), laȝȝ 16, maȝȝ 40 (3), but seȝȝde 92 (as if from *segde).e+giseȝȝ, leȝȝd 13 (= leīd). Final-igisiȝ(= ī), aniȝ 157, bodiȝ 173, grisliȝ 91, modiȝnesse 87; greditleȝȝc 167 is probably miswritten.i+hisihh, sihhþe 58, 77.o+gisoȝh, forrhoȝhenn 149.u+gisuȝh, muȝhenn 80, 142.ā+gisaȝh, aȝhenn 3, 54.ō+gisoh, inoh 31.ea+his seen in waxenn 137; thei-umlaut in mihhte 36, 137, nihht 55, 57, but mahht 72, allmahhtiȝ 108, nahht 46 (4) descend from Anglian forms inæ.eo+htisihhtin brihhte 77, rihhte 49, 89, 91, fihhten 123; thei-umlaut is wanting in seþ 84 (corr. out of seoþ).ēa+hisehh, þehh 74 (ðēhshortened by loss of stress), neh 30.ēo+htis seen in lihht 57 (as if fromleoht).ā+wgivesaw, sawless 69, 129, wawenn 151. hewe 70 is from Anglianhēow: ohht 145 representsoht, similarly nohht 40, 91.ēa+wappears in awwnedd 105 (*ēawnian);ēo+win reweþþ 158 (corr. out of reoweþþ), trowwþe 90 (treowþwithout umlaut and with shifted accent), þeww 72 (= þeū: fromþeow), so, too, þewwten 31.
Ealswāis alls 172: fore,iappears in drihhtin 42 (6); it is lost in wiþþren 150, added in swikedomess 67, 168, onne 29, ‘offe’ i. 4097 by analogy of inne, uppe:oisain anan 1. The prefixgeisi, iwhillc 134, 161.
Metathesis ofris seen in þrisst 37, wrihhte 151.nis lost in i 2, o 36; by inadvertence it is not doubled in unorneliȝ 45, comp. vnnorne 4.fis used in every position, faldess 56, hafeþþ 28, hallfe 93, but it was probably voiced between vowels and vowellikes,vas in ‘serven’ i. 506 is rare. Ford,þappears by analogy in wurrþenn 33, 48. Afterd,t, certain pronominal words change initial þ tot, tær 13, tanne 94, tatt 13 &c., teȝȝ 128, te 25, 115, tu 34.sćis regularlysh, shrideþþ 6, shop 9, nesshe 37; in bisscopess 51, ‘bisskopess’ i. 7233 (but elsewhere bisshopess), and mennisscnesse 38, sc is probably due to Scandinavian influence. The stopciskbeforee,i, makenn 5, mannkinn 21,cbeforeo,u, other consonants and final, comm 26, clut 2, flocc 49, ec 53 (contrast ekedd 129),korcin other positions, kald 37.čisch, child 4, eche 19, but palatalization does not take place inswillke 69, illke 13, illkess 161, iwhillc 134, whillc 152 and ekedd 129, mikell 93, miccle 33.ččiscchin wrecche 4:cwis regularly preserved, cwellenn 38, cwike 15;quoccurs in the Latin words quarrterrne, quaþþrigan. Palatalgisȝ, ȝæn 73, ȝernenn 21, ȝifenn 14 (6), but gife 174: the guttural spirant isȝh, follȝhenn 79, 107, 165, hallȝhe 69, sinnȝheþþ 155. The guttural stopsee textis distinguished from the dzh sound in edge, which is represented by g.his lost initially in laferrd 25, nesshe 37, reweþþ 158:hēois ȝho 2:hwiswh, whas 90, whatt 137.
Accidence:Strong declension ofmasc.andneut.nouns. In thes. n.sune 20, 106 representssunu.Gen.-ess, daȝȝess 100, deofless 67, heffness 14, lifess 100, but, by a scribal error, daȝȝes 75:d.-e, hewe 170, sune 96, worde 60, and six others, but the inflection is mostly wanting, as in bodiȝ 173, daȝȝ 99, dom 75, and thirty-two others. Theacc.heffne 12 is due to the LWS.fem.heofone. Thepl. n. a.of masculines ends in-ess, hirdess 46, bisscopess 51; neuters are shep 50, 54, ?wiless 126: genitives are enngle (þed) 15, 122, kinne 64, 71, 157: datives have mostly-ess, bandess 11, claþess 24, but þinge 71, wrihhte 151. Thefem.nouns of the strong declension end in e in thes. n. a., blisse, sellðe 95, are 80, bisne 43, except mahht 72, þed 15, werelld 9, and sæ 12.Gen.-e, helle 101, 151, possibly blisse 174:dat.-e, blisse 18, cribbe 2, hallfe 93, but hallf 36.Pl. g.is þede 122;d.sawless 129;a.hande 10, shaffte 9, sawless 69. Nouns of the weak declension have mostly-ein all cases of the singular, but demess 75 is genitive and, before the caesura, lem 77, dative, beside leome 57, lem 107, 163 accusative: apl. n.is wawenn 151. The minor declensions are represented by fetpl. a.10, manns. n.20, mannesss. g.172, mannes. d.30, manns. a.134, mennpl. n.76,pl. d.49, 56; nahhts. d.46, nihhts. a.57; moderrs. d.1; childs. n.4.
Adjectives which in OE. end in e retain that termination throughout, as bliþe 85, cweme 152, eche 19, 100, 103, milde 82, riche 5, 112, 165, soffte 85, vnnorne 4. Instances of weak inflections ares. d. m.laþe 165, lefe 34, rihhte 49, starrke 75,s. d. f.brihhte 77,s. a. m.laþe 32, 73, 123,s. a. neut.rihhte 89, rume 14: strong inflections are few,s. d. f.fulle 90, hefennlike 8, 173,s. a. m.gode 153: all others are uninflected in the singular. The plural ends in-e, glade 127, gode 147, hallȝhe 69, laþe 31, 66, 126, cwike 15. Adjectives used as nouns are not inflected.mycelin the strong declension is mikell,s. d. f.131,s. a. f.93,s. a. neut.61, in the weak, miccles. d. f.33 (myclan),s. a. neut.120 (mycle).āgengives aȝhenn 3, 54 without inflection. OE.ānis ann. m.114, a 172, anessg. m.170, and. f.2,a. m.49,a. f.3. Comparatives are bettre, mare 145, lasse 39; superlative, mast 169.
The personal pronouns are uss, tu, after t, 34, þe. The pronoun of the third person iss. n.hem.3, ȝhof.2, ittneut.28 (with assemf.);d.himmm.17, 23;a.2, ittneut.29 (with sæmm.);pl. n.þeȝȝ 130, teȝȝ, after t, 52;d. a.þeȝȝm. Reflexives are himm 10, 173, þe sellfenn 44, 45, himm sellfen 19, 35: definitive, himm sellf 53: possessives, ure 4; hiss, as general form for the singular, 1, 3, 16, 34, 47, 54, but hiseg. m.155;pl. a.hise 22; here 50, heore 56, teȝȝre, after t, 32. The definite article is þe, te, after t, 25, 126: þatt (ꝥ), tatt, after t, is demonstrative adjective 13 or demonstrative pronoun 26; its plural is þaadj.56 andpron.22. The compound demonstrative iss.þiss 6,pl.þise. The relative is þatt, tatt, after t, 13, 27; þatt 30, 36, = in, on which, þurrh whatt 137, 144, by that by which. Interrogative is whillc 152 (hwelc); its correlative is swillkepl. a.69:ilcais illkes. n.13, 152,a.97, 118. Indefinites are mann 29, 36, 38, 169; whase 154, whas 90, whoso; illkess 161, every; iwhillc 134, 161; aniȝpl. g.157; alls. n. neut.30,d. neut.64, 94,a. m.32,f.9,neut.14, but alles. d. f.6;pl.allen.128, alreg.169, alle 64, 71, all 122, alled.172,a.5, 9, 22: all 168 is apparentlys. n.= everyone.
Infinitives end in-enn, except sen 40, fon 36: of the second weak conjugation are follȝhenn 107, forhoȝhenn 149, lofenn 110, lokenn 156, makenn 5, pinenn 36, ræfenn 89, sammnenn 48, tacnenn 47, þankenn 120. Thedat. inf.is not inflected, to berenn 29, tunnderrstanndenn 109, to sen 116, forr to kiþenn 92, for . . . to makenn 112. Presents ares.3. beldeþþ 79, bitacneþþ 100, and nineteen others; contracted, birrþ 3, 44, seþ 84, stannt 158;pl.cumenn 70, haldenn 22, lufenn 23, stanndenn 117, waken 66, wiþþrenn 150:subjunctive s.3. gife 174, seo 91. Past of Strong Verbs: I a.s.3. laȝȝ 16: I b.s.3. comm 26, 30, 55: I c.s.3. wand 2, warrþ 3, 20, 42;pl.3. sungenn 131: IV.s.3. shop 9, toc 60, 82;pl.3. unnderrstodenn 135, wokenn 46, 56 (form fromwacan, meaning fromwacian): V.s.3. let 10. Participles past: I a. ȝifenn 17: I b. borenn 1, 97, cumenn 92, utnumen 53: I c. wundenn 7, wurrþenn 33, 48: IV. V. waxenn 138: V. forrdredd 88, forrdreddeadj. pl.59, 83, offdredde 74. Past of Weak Verbs:s.3. leȝȝde 2, seȝȝde 92. Participles past: bitacnedd 81, ekedd 129, leȝȝd 13, sett 68, 146. Minor Groups: witenninf.3, witt 2s. imp.34, wisstept. s.83, wisstennpt. pl.128, 139; shallpr. s.134, sholldept. s.47, 94, sholldenpt. pl.50, 96; muȝhenninf.142, maȝȝpr. s.40, 152, 171, muȝhennpr. pl. subj.80, mihhtept. s.36, 137; beninf.7, isspr. s.63, 151 (apparently withpl.nominative), niss 91, sinndennpr. pl.74, 169, bepr. s. subj.28, si 3s. imp.132, wasspt. s.1, wærennpt. pl.58, 76, 127, wærept. s. subj.17, 138, 172; wilepr. s.88, wolldept. s.5; to dondat. inf.32, doþpr. s.29, 109, missdoþ 157, donpp.61, 118.
Vocabulary:Scandinavian are afell 28, aȝȝ 44, baþe 10, fra 67, gætenn 52, griþþ 133, laȝhenn 44, lahȝhre 43, mec 85, occ 117, sahht(nesse) 140, skerrenn 88, skill (læs) 27, summ 27, takenn 40, till 49, (inn)till 18, þeȝȝ 74, þeȝȝre 32, þohh 28, usell 4, usell(dom) 24, and the suffix in (modiȝ)leȝȝc, (gredit)leȝȝc 167; possibly also bandess 10, come 148, deȝeþþ 41. French is gluter(nesse) 167; long i in Crist shows new borrowing from French.
Dialect:East Midland bordering on the North; a mixed dialect, which possibly accounts for the wavering in the representation ofeo,ēo. The large Scandinavian element in the vocabulary and the absence of u in final syllables (372/34) point to the East; the representation ofā+w, the development ofc,g, and perhaps the uniform appearance ofāas a in this thirteenth-century text, show Northern influence. Lambertz has noted so many correspondences between the phonology of Orm and that of the Rushworth gloss on the Gospel of S. Matthew as to make it probable that they belong to the same dialectal area. The Northern border of Lincolnshire was most probably the place where the Ormulum was written.
Metre:For the scheme of the Septenarius seep. 327. Orm’s verse is monotonously regular; every line has its fifteen syllables exactly counted out and ends in x́ x; the caesura comes after the eighth syllable; the rhythm is iambic without substitution. For the sake of this uniformity he does violence to the natural accent in Niþþrédd 35, Bisscópess 51, Enngléss 69, sahhtnésse 140, drihhtíness 171, though Schipper regards such cases as examples of ‘hovering accent,’ wherein the stress is distributed equally over the two syllables having the word-accent and the verse-accent,—a spondee rather than an iamb. Elision takes place regularly before an initial vowel or h, sonẹ, leȝȝdẹ 2, vnnornẹ, wrecchẹ 4, heffnẹ 12, mihhtẹ 36, wolldẹ 54, wilẹ 88, seȝȝdẹ 94, whasẹ 154, &c. Sometimes e is not written, as in whas 90; crasis is found elsewhere in he̋t (= he itt), ȝhőt (= ȝho itt), þűtt (= þu itt), and similar combinations.
Introduction:The author of the Ormulum speaks of himself under two names in ‘Þiss boc iss nemmnedd Orrmulum Forrþi þatt Orrm itt wrohhte,’ Preface 1, 2, and ‘Icc wass þær þær I crisstnedd wass Orrmin bi name nemmnedd,’ Dedication 323, 4. The former was a fairly common name in the Scandinavian districts of the North; in the latter, not found elsewhere, he has probably added, as befitting the ritual occasion, the Latin termination īn from īnus, as in Awwstin (= Augustinus). In the same way, as Bradley suggests, he has taken the termination of Ormulum from Speculum, as often occurring in titles of devotional books, like Speculum Laicorum, Conscientiae, Sanctorale. He tells us that he wrote at the request of his brother Walter, who was, like himself, an Augustinian Canon;his purpose was to paraphrase and expound, for the benefit of unlearned English folk, the Gospels of the Mass throughout the year. His exposition is drawn for the most part from S. Bede, and particularly from his sermons and commentaries, and to a small extent from S. Gregory the Great. Traces of his acquaintance with S. Isidore and Josephus, through Hegesippus, have been found by Sarrazin.
Nothing further is known of Orm, but Bradley has made it probable that he was an inmate of Elsham Priory in North Lincolnshire (Dugdale, vi. 560). The contention of J. Wilson that he was identical with Orm, brother of Walter, Prior of Carlisle between 1150 and 1170, would be very attractive, if it were not for the philological difficulty, for the Ormulum is undoubtedly written in the Midland dialect, and must be dated about 1210.
This extract gives ll. 3662-4009, in Holt, i. pp. 126-38.
1.Forrþrihht anan se, lit. Straightway forthwith as, i.e. as soon as. Orm has ‘forrþrihht se, anan se, sone swa, son se, forrþrihht summ, anan summ,’ all with this same meaning, and forrþrihht summ, immediately, ii. 42/11404. Orm’s expletives are a feature of his dreary style; in his dedication he says that he has set ‘maniȝ word | þe rime swa to fillenn,’ that is, to make up the number of syllables required for his metre; he makes extensive use of all, 112/3, 16 &c. Beside anan, Orm has the primitive onn an, continuously, without a break.
2-18.The original of this passage is, ‘Et pannis eum involvit et reclinavit eum in praesepio . . . parvulus natus est nobis, ut nos viri possimus esse perfecti. Qui totum mundum vario vestit ornatu, pannis vilibus involvitur, ut nos stolam primam recipere valeamus. Per quem omnia facta sunt, manus pedesque cunis adstringitur, ut nostrae manus ad opus bonum exertae, nostri sint pedes in viam pacis directi. Cui coelum sedes est, duri praesepis angustia continetur, ut nos per coelestis regni gaudia dilatet. Qui panis est Angelorum, in praesepio reclinatur, ut nos quasi sancta animalia carnis suae frumento reficiat,’ Bede, v. 234.
2.⁊= annd; see 115/114.
3.uss birrþ, we ought: a favourite expression of Orm.
5.heffness ærd, heaven’s region: a phrase suggested bymiddellærd.
9.shaffte, creatures: OE.gesceafta.
10.baþebelongs tofet ⁊ hande.
12-14. This section diverges in form from those before and after it, as also from the original. The subject offilleþþisÞatt illke child.heffness rume riche, the wide kingdom of heaven: perhaps suggested by ‘ut amplitudinem nobis supernarum sedium tribueret’ of Bede’s Sermon, vii. 300.
16.all alls= all alse, alswa, quite as.
17.Swa summ, so as, just as if:summis OEScand. sum: more usually the phrase means, just as, 112/27, 113/47, 55. Variants are ‘all swa summ,’ O. Introd. 43; ‘all all swa summ,’ 114/76; ‘all all swa se,’ O. Dedication, 281.fode: the ass represents the Gentiles, of whom Bede says, ‘plurimi . . . coelestibus eius (= Christi) quaerebant alimoniis ad perpetuam crescere salutem,’ vii. 300.
19. And give himself as everlasting food there to us with angels.
21.to ȝernenn, &c., to be content with a humble lot.
27.stunnt ⁊ dill: comp. ‘⁊ stunnt ⁊ stidiȝ, dill ⁊ slaw | to sekenn sawless seollþe,’ O. i. 344/9885.
28.afell, strength. O. has also app.afledd, endowed with strength, ‘Forr cnapechild iss afledd wel,’ O. i. 274/7903; opposed to ‘unnstrang.’
30.þatt, when: so þe 15/84, þa 15/93.comm . . . to manne, was incarnate: comp. 36/117, 114/97; ‘þe becom to mannum mid iudeiscum folce,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 60/89; ‘hu hi to mannum comon,’ AS. Hom. ed. Assmann, 26/44; ‘Hwarto was he aure iscapen te manne,’ VV 113/14, regularly withpl. dat.; contrast ‘ic ðe to men gebær,’ I bore thee as a man, Ælf. Lives, ii. 78/175.
31.laþe gastess, hateful spirits, i.e. false gods: ‘in asino autem exprimit populum gentium, qui sordibus idololatriae semper manebat immundus,’ Bede, vii. 300.
33, 34.þurrh ꝥ . . . þurrh ꝥ, inasmuch as, whereas . . . thereby, as a consequence; propter quod . . . propter id: so 115/114, 116. O. is fond of these formal correlatives: comp. ‘forr þi . . . Forr ꝥ,’ 113/48.
35.niþþredd, lowered, humbled: OE.geniþerod,pp.ofniþerian.wannsedd, diminished: OE.wansian. Comp. ‘⁊ illc an lawe ⁊ illc an hill | Shall niþþredd beon ⁊ laȝhedd,’ O. i. 321/9205; ‘Aȝȝ niþþreþþ Godess genge, | ⁊ cwelleþþ hemm ⁊ wannseþþ hemm,’ id. 279/8032.
36.o ꝥ hallf ꝥ, in that part of his nature in which: see 46/292.
39.ȝet lasse, still lower: ‘qui modico quam Angeli minoratus est,’ Heb. ii. 9.
43.lahȝhre inoh, sufficiently lower, i.e. much lower.
45.lætenn, &c., think very meanly: comp. 44/260.
46-53: suggested by, ‘Apte autem satis hoc superna est providentia dispositum, ut nascente Domino pastores in vicinia civitatis (eiusdem) vigilarent, suosque greges a timore nocturno vigilando protegerent. Oportebat namque, ut cum magnus pastor ovium, hoc est, animarum nutritor fidelium, in mundo natus est, testimonium eius nativitati vigilantes super gregem suum pastores darent. . . . Nam et futurum (iam) tunc erat, ut perorbem universum electi pastores, id est, praedicatores sancti, mitterentur, qui ad ovile Dominicum, videlicet sanctam Ecclesiam, populos credentium cogerent,’ Bede, vii. 301.
46.wokenn, kept watch: comp. 113/56.
48.forr þi . . . Forr ꝥ, for that reason . . . because: like ‘eone es ferox, quia habes imperium in beluas?’ Terence, Eun. iii. 1. 25.
49.rihhte læfe: see 89/28.
52.ȝemenn . . . gaetenn: comp. 114/68, 115/125: synonyms, the former English, the latter Scandinavian.
53.utnumenn hirde: ‘princeps pastorum,’ 1 Pet. v. 4.
56.wakemenn, watchers.
57.lihht ⁊ leome: often in O.; comp. 114/70, 77, 115/107; ‘Ah swuch leome ⁊ liht | leitede þrinne,’ SK 1582.leomeis flame, a bright and flashing light. With 57-70 comp. ‘Bene autem vigilantibus pastoribus angelus apparet, eosque Dei claritas circumfulget. Quia illi prae ceteris videre sublimia merentur, qui fidelibus gregibus praeesse sollicite sciunt, dumque ipsi pie super gregem vigilant, divina super eos gratia largius coruscat,’ Bede, v. 235.
63.þessterrnesse: comp. ‘Þiss þessterrnesse iss hæþenndom | ⁊ dwillde inn hæfedd sinness,’ O. ii. 303/18855.
64.Inn—sinne, in sin of all kinds; comp. 114/71, 116/157, ‘O fele kinne wise,’ O. i. 123/3573, and see132/9 note.
67.stanndenn inn: comp. 116/158; ‘Affterr þatt he beoþ fullhtnedd, | Birrþ stanndenn inn to þeowwtenn Crist,’ O. ii. 43/11434, where Mätzner says it = perseverare: in Specimens it is translated, continue. Orm is, in his literal way, translating L.instare, to press on, to be zealous, a meaning which suits well here and elsewhere: the phrase is peculiar to him.
71.god innsihht, ‘recta sapere,’ ‘a right judgement in all things.’
72.hiss þeww, to his servant.
74.þohh swa þehh, notwithstanding: OE.þēah, yet, was reinforced by the addition ofswā,swā þēahmeaning even so yet: to this in Orm is prefixed the Scandinavian þoh, although. See Björkman, 73.
75.starrke, rigid, stern: ‘se hearda dæg,’ Christ, 1065.
76-91: this passage is mainly a repetition of O. 20/657-80, which comments on the appearance of Gabriel to Zacharias, S. Luke i. 11: it is drawn from Bede’s Commentary: ‘Trementem Zachariam confortat Angelus: quia sicut humanae fragilitatis est spiritalis creaturae visione turbari, ita et angelicae benignitatis est paventes de aspectu suo mortales mox blandiendo solari. At contra daemonicae est ferocitatis quos sui praesentia territossenserit ampliori semper horrore concutere, quae nulla melius ratione quam fide superatur intrepida,’ v. 220.
78.hihht, joyful expectation.
79.frofreþþ . . . beldeþþ, comforts . . . encourages, a favourite combination: comp. O. Dedication, 237; i. 20/662.
82.Toc, betook himself, began.
89.shetenn inn hiss herrte: Holt translates, ‘shut up, harden,’ wrongly connectingshetennwith OE.scyttan: it representsscēotan, meaning, to shoot into his heart, to inflict a deadly wound: the expression was suggested by such places as ‘þæt hi magon sceotan þa unscyldigan heortan dygollice,’ = ‘ut sagittent in obscuro rectos corde,’ Ps. x. 3 (Thorpe), and ‘þine flana synt swyþe scearpe on þam heortum þinra feonda,’ id. xliv. 7.
90.whasis for whase, whoso.ittis formal nominative; the whole expression is equivalent to, Whosoever is armed. Comp. 116/154; ‘Whasumm itt iss þatt illke mann | Þatt hafeþþ tweȝȝenn kirrtless,’ O. i. 324/9291; ‘Whatt mann se itt iss þatt wepeþþ her,’ id. 196/5666; ‘ꝥ iss ꝥ,’ 116/157.
91.rihht,adv., utterly, at all: ‘Rihht all swa summ,’ O. i. 39/1188, means, precisely as.
93.o godess hallfe, on God’s behalf.
97.borenn . . . to manne: see113/30 note.
98-102: ‘notandum quod Angelus qui in noctis utique vigiliis pastores affatur non ait, hac nocte, sedhodie natus est vobis salvator. Non aliam scilicet ob causam, nisi quia gaudium magnum evangelizare veniebat. Nam ubi tristia quaeque nocturnis temporibus gesta vel gerenda significantur, ibi saepe nox vel adiungitur, vel etiam sola nominatur,’ Bede, v. 235.
100.all: see 112/3.
104-7: ‘Neque enim frustra Angelus tanto lumine cinctus apparuit, ut claritas Dei pastores circumfulsisse . . . dicatur . . . sed mystice praemonuit, quod aperte postea monuit apostolus dicens,Nox praecessit, dies autem appropinquavit,’ Bede, v. 235.
107.follc,dative.
108-12: ‘Hoc est non tantum humilitatis eum et mortalitatis, sed et paupertatis habitum suscepisse pro nobis. Quiacum dives esset, pauper factus est pro nobis, ut nos illius inopia ditaremur,’ Bede, v. 235.
109.wrecche, poor, of lowly condition.doþ uss, causes, gives us to understand: comp. 209/405; ‘us gedyde nu to witanne Alexander,’ Orosius 126/31 (= ‘nobis prodidit Alexander’).
111.Off . . . wollde, because of the fact that he was willing;offgovernsthe clause,þatt he wollde: so, ‘writenuppo boc . . . off þatt he wisslike ras,’ O. Dedication, 161, 167, written in book concerning the fact that &c.
114-20: ‘mox multitudo militiae coelestis advolans, consono in laudem creatoris ore prorumpit, ut sui sicut semper obsequii devotionem Christo impendat, et nos suo pariter instituat exemplo . . . Deo statim laudes ore, corde et opere reddendas,’ Bede, v. 235.
116. Thereby it was given us to see and understand full well in that incident.
119.herrtess tunge: see 56/51: apparently, with sincere and heartfelt praise.
120.godisacc.of the thing for which thanks are to be given. Comp. 132/11; ‘þonkien hit ure drihten,’ OEH. i. 5/29.
121-6. ‘Et bene chorus adveniens Angelorum militiae coelestis vocabulum accipit, qui et duci illo potenti in praelio, qui ad debellandas aëreas potestates apparuit, humiliter obsecundat. Deus . . . ad tutelam nostram constituit exercitus Angelorum,’ Bede, v. 235, 6.
123.Allsis shortened alse, as.ȝæn . . . gast: see 114/66, 73.
127-9: ‘Glorificant Angeli Deum pro nostro redemptione incarnatum, quia dum nos conspiciunt recipi, suum gaudent numerum impleri,’ Bede, v. 236.
132-5: ‘Gloria in altissimis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis,’ S. Luke ii. 14.
133.griþþ ⁊ friþþ: a frequent combination in O.; the words are synonyms, one Scandinavian, the other English: see19/57 note.
136-8: that the angelic host was to be made up to its full number by the addition of holy souls, by which addition honour and glory in God’s presence should be as though it were increased, if indeed it were capable of increase. The explanation of this passage is helped by the parallel place, ll. 143-5: ‘Ȝiff—mihhte’ corresponds to l. 145. ‘quos infirmos prius abiectosque despexerant [Angeli], nascente in carne Domino iam socios venerantur,’ Bede, v. 236.
140.soþ sahhtnesse: see 84/50.
146-51: ‘qui cum pacem hominibus poscunt, exponunt et quibus, videlicet bonae voluntatis, hoc est eis qui suscipiunt natum Christum, non autem Herodi, pontificibus et Pharisaeis caeterisque antichristis, qui eius nativitate audita turbati sunt, eumque quantum valuere gladiis insecuti.Non est enim pax impiis, dicit Dominus,’ Bede, v. 236.
149.Forrhoȝhenn&c., despise and reject.
151.wrihhte, merit, lit. thing done: OE.gewyrht, fromwyrcan:adat. pl.: comp. ‘⁊ he wass flemmd ⁊ drifenn ut | All affterr hise wrihhte,’ O. i. 286/8239, id. 147/4283.
154.itt: see 114/90.
155.hise þannkess, wilfully, of his own free will: see 10/167.
156.himm lokenn, keep watch over himself: see 4/20, 78/85.
158.stannt . . . inn: see114/67 note.
165.flocc, company: a favourite word of the author’s: comp. 113/49, ‘þe laþe gastess flocc,’ O. i. 226/6546; ‘summ hæþene flocc,’ id. 344/9875.
167.modiȝleȝȝc, with same meaning as modiȝnesse, l. 165, but with Scand. suffix, leikr, leiki in Icel. forming abstracts. There are a good many instances in the MS. of-nessecorrected into-leȝȝc.greditleȝȝc: so MS., but the correct form is grediȝleȝȝc, as elsewhere in Orm.
170.hewe, form, appearance.
173.hefennlike: ‘Angeli corpora in quibus hominibus apparent, in superno aëre sumunt solidamque speciem ex coelesti elemento inducunt, per quam humanis obtutibus manifestius demonstrentur,’ Bede, viii. 294. f. 95 v ends with kinde, l. 174 is added on the margin, and the two leaves following are missing.
Literature:... Orrms DoppelkonsonantenOrmms111. ... ‘writen uppo boctext unchanged; text cited has “writenn”
Literature:... Orrms DoppelkonsonantenOrmms
111. ... ‘writen uppo boctext unchanged; text cited has “writenn”