XX. THE OWL AND THE NIGHTINGALE

XX. THE OWL AND THE NIGHTINGALEManuscripts:i. Jesus College, Oxford, E 29 (J); seep. 285. ii. Cotton Caligula A 9, British Museum (C); seep. 450. They are copies of a common exemplar X, which was probably taken directly from the poet’s original. X was written by two scribes; the work of the first is represented in ll. 1-353 of the present selection; that of the second in ll. 354-437; the former was accustomed to French scribal methods. The writer of C was a mechanical copyist and not at home in English, consequently he reproduces X with tolerable accuracy. The scribe of J was more independent (seep. 293).Facsimile:Of J. The Owl and the Nightingale, ed. J. E. Wells.Editions:Stevenson, J., Roxburghe Club, London, 1838; Wright, T., Percy Society, no. xxxix, London, 1843 (text of C); Stratmann, F. H., Krefeld, 1868 (critical edition); *Wells, J. E., Boston, 1907 (parallel texts with notes); Gadow, W., Palaestra, no. lxv, Berlin, 1909 (text of C with variants of J).Literature:Borsch, J., Ueber Metrik und Poetik der altenglischen Dichtung The Owl and the Nightingale, Münster, 1883; *Breier, W.,Eule und Nachtigall, Halle, 1910, completed in Morsbachs Studien, no. xxxix, Halle, 1910; ES xlii. 306, 408; Ebisch, W., Zur Syntax des Verbs im altengl. Gedicht Eule und Nachtigall, Leipzig, 1905; Gadow, W., Eule und Nachtigall, Berlin, 1907 (completed in edition as above); Kenyon, J. S., Journal of English and Germanic Philology, xii. 572-92; Koch, J., Anglia, Beiblatt, xxi. 227-40; Noelle, H., Die Sprache des altengl. Gedichts von der Eule und Nachtigall, Göttingen, 1870; Sherman, L. A., A Grammatical Analysis of the OE. Poem The Owl and the Nightingale, Transactions of the American Philological Association, vi. 1875. Wells, J., Anglia, xxxiii. 252-69; Modern Language Notes, xxv. 108, xxvi. 139-41.Phonology:(1)of C. The spellings of (a) ll. 1-353 and (b) ll. 354-437 are distinguished, when they show a characteristic difference. Significant rhymes are recorded. Oralaisa, fare 422, tale 3;abefore nasals wavers betweena(10 times) ando(14), can 126, vram 119, man 334, mani 399, þan 22, 24, þane 39, wanne 308, bigon 13, con 199, from 154, monnes 254, moni 355, nome 405, þonkes 70, won 240, wone 243, wonne 38, exceptionally þenne (þænne);abefore lengthening groups iso, honde 400, onde 297, longe 45, tonge 112, but andsuare 105, answare 55, 277;andis and 4, an 7 &c.;man, indefinite, me 32; ferden 432 r. w. uerde, descends fromfēran.æis regularlya, bare 56, 106 r. w. answare, glad 312, hadde 275 r. w. iladde, smal 73 r. w. al.eise, bet 21, hen 291; before lengthening groups, ende 386, felde 357: (a) suich 283, suiche 134 is from a form ini, (b) swucche 354, swuch 374 from one iny: a diphthong has developed in imeind 18, 306 (gemenged, comp. 451/25).iisi, bile 79, chirche 339, is 388 r. w. wis, (a) wile 141 r. w. sckile; before lengthening groups, bringe 311, linde 393, but wsome (= ysome) 136, (b) wulle 373, nulleþ 407, wuste 10 r. w. custe, neltu 106 (nelt), wolcumeð 318, withowritten in this text forufromeby labial influence, comp. wulcume L 8528 &c., grulde 98 (*gryllan).oiso, bodi 73, horne 234, word 45, wolde 128, nolde 115, but walde 370 r. w. scholde; þane 414 isLWS.þane, wan 334,hwan: onprep.is reduced to an 239 and often to a 20 &c.œ,i-umlaut ofo, still lingers in seorhe ON 1599.uisu, cumeþ 298, luueþ 188, wunest 254, butoin lo`u´ue, where `u´ was possibly meant as a correction ofo, ouerkome 386, wode 322 r. w. rude, woning 403, in whichois associated withm,n,w;ubefore lengthening groups isu, dumb 294, tunge 194, but tonge r. w. iþrunge.yisu, kume 314 (perhaps with [u] from cuman), murie 261, vuele 63, stude 410 (styde) r. w. mide, muchel 404, muche 413 (mycel); before lengthening groups, cunde 88, hurne 14; but unrounded in þincþ 430, þincþe 46, þinche 262, wirche 340; wrchen 286 is probably French writing for wurchen.āis regularlyo, bore 286, hoten 192, swo 76, 381, so 52, 289, 415, o 249, 331, þos 95, but a 45, 104, 112, an 4, 80, Portesham 434, swa ON 1577, wa 425, þeos 413 (þās); before two consonantso, wostu 334, but axest 325, 329, hattest 191.ǣ1is regularlye, brede 130, ledeþ 216, sprede 315 r. w. mede, þen 386, but þare 28 &c., þan 156 (3); before two consonantse, fleshe 83, ileste 257, meshe 84 (*mǣscan), neuer 60, but iladde 276, wranne 360.ǣ1is elsewhere sometimesea, eauer ON 922, deale ON 954, bileaue ON 1688.ǣ2is alsoe, forlete 36, rede 425; before two consonants, oferd 277, butain lat 194 (4), lateþ 372 (3), ofdrad 387, þar 16 &c., þareafter 271, þareuore 210, whar 64, war 392, uareuore 203, 333, these pronominal forms probably come from shortenedǣ: before two consonants, fnast 44, raddest 115, misraddest 116.ēise, breme 158, kene 212; before two consonants, dest 49, 237 r. w. preost, spedde 435, but dost 307, dostu 174, 289, doþ 112, 238 withofrom the plural.īisi, wile 155, pipe 22, suiþe ON 376; before two consonants, þriste 127 r. w. liste, wisdom 399, but (a) suþe 2, 12, 111 fromswȳþewith absorption ofw, comp. such from swuch.ōiso, brode 93, ilome 49, noþeles 105, but neoþeles 357 (15 times in Layamon, see 452/8); before two consonants, blostme 315, softe 6.ūisu, kuþe 332, tukest 63, hule 4 &c., but houle 428, a French writing.ȳisu, hud 120, lutle 356, þuuele 214 r. w. foȝle, but litle 419, þe 19, 34, 401, forþe 69, vorþi 65, hwi 407, whi 106, wi 174 (hwī).eabeforer+ cons. isa, areȝ 285, ȝare 171 r. w. aiware, hardeliche 280, þaref 146, but eardingstowe 28; thei-umlaut before a lengthening group isein uerde 433 r. w. ferden:ciermis chirme 221 (see Bülb. 187 anm.) but bichermet 215.eabeforel+ cons. isa, al 8 and the numerous forms ofeall, hale 2 r. w. dale, schaltu 165; before lengthening groupso, which descends from Anglian unbroken lengtheneda, as in Layamon 452/15, bold 233 (3), boldeliche 279, biholde 71, holde 3 (4), wolde 367, but once belde 358: without umlaut are falt 37, halt 32.eobeforer+ cons. iso, for 328, vorre 243, horte 37, 43, rorde 227; before a lengthening group, ilorned 172; but daisterre 244 r. w. vorre: forbernest 297 is frombærnan;wyrwords are worse 219 r. w. mershe, worste 10, worþ 283, wrs 34, elsewhere wurs ON 793, wrþ 256, unwrþ 255, elsewhere wurþ ON 769.eobeforel+ cons. is seen in sulue 69. Theu-umlaut ofais wanting in hauekes 207 (3).eo,u-umlaut ofegives houene 335, 346 r. w. steuene, 350.eo,å-umlaut ofeis seen in feole 415, but uele 20, and fale 365, auale 410 (feala).eo,u- andå-umlaut ofiiso(foreo) in honne 66 r. w. kunne, hore 216 &c., noþerward 100, soþþe 240, but (b) heore 418.eaafter palatals isa, schal 143, ȝaf 55, 105, aȝaf 95, before nasal, schame 50 (3),but schome 123.ieaftergise, biȝete 344, uorȝete 343, underȝete 124, ȝeueþ 419, but ȝiueþ 416, ȝiue 410.ieafterscisiin schille 98, 364,ein schelde 356 r. w. felde.gef,EWS.giefis ȝif 51 &c., ȝef 429.eoaftersciso, scholde 371 r. w. walde, sholdest 54, short 73, but Anglian schulde 390 r. w. wule.eomis Angl. am 126, 212, nam 387,heom, hom 62, 94.ēais regularlye, blete 57, dreme 230; before two consonants, cheste 133 r. w. unwerste, but earen 254, unneaþe ON 1605, dreim 21 (a scribal error). Thei-umlaut ise, grettre 74, ȝeme 345, ihere 180 r. w. fere, iherde 2, ihert 406, but ihire 228.ēois (a)o, a French writing, blo 108, 319, bon 198, 342, bo 107 (9), boþ 75 (4), flo 33 (4), flon 106, floþ 214, ho 19 (13), hom 353, iso 243, isoþ 302, lof 159 (3), oftoned 190, so 34, swore 73, tone 50, prostes 351, þo 26, 155, þos 41 (4), holde 12, hold 100, athold 270, bihold 30, but the corrector has added e in preost 238 r. w. dest, weode 236; (b)eo, beo, beoþ 378, 418, heo 360 (9), heom 407, 408, but ho 368. Thei-umlaut is seen in atfliþ 37 (Angl.flīþ), þuster 154 (3).gesīeneis isene 122, 211 r. w. kene;gīet, ȝet 225.ēofromōaftergisoin ȝomere 293 r. w. sumere,ēafromāaftersc,ein schede 153.a+gisaȝ, draȝe 209.æ+gisai, dai 89 &c., vaire 15 &c., mai 141 (4), fawre 138, miswritten for fayre, buteiin seide 9, 289, 424, 265 r. w. rede, 325 r. w. dede, rhymes which indicate sede 33, 173 representingsǣdeas the original form, so ised 273 r. w. red isgesǣd.e+gisei, aȝein 431, pleie 169, wei 224, under this head come seist 50 (4) fromsegst, seiþ 132 fromsegð, seie 173 fromsege: aȝen 7, 314 isagēn, snailes 87,snægl.i+hisiȝ, adiȝte 242, wiȝt 312, orih, diht 399; foriht,istis written in mist 78: finaligisi, bodi 73.o+gisoȝ, itoȝen 368.u+gisuȝ, fuȝele 64 r. w. vuele, but the spirant has been absorbed in fuelkunne 65; foȝle 213 r. w. þuuele, is a French spelling.y+his unrounded in hiȝte 208, hiȝteþ 314.ā+gisoȝ, oȝe 195, þroȝe 196.ǣ1+giseiin eiþer 9, 141, but aiþer 7, aiware 172.ǣ2+gis seen in iseȝe 303.ō+gisoȝ, boȝe 15, woȝe 120.ō+hisoȝ, broȝte 150, noȝt 58 (nōht), roȝte 305, þoȝte 269, butohin brohte 369.u+hisuȝ, þuȝte 21, ofþuȝte 275.ea+hiseȝ, iseȝ 29, ouerseȝ 30; thei-umlaut isiȝ, miȝt 64, 177, miȝte 42, 411, miȝtest 192, niȝt 89, but mihte 392.eo+ht, ariȝt 278, briȝter 108, viȝte 128, riȝt 76, riȝte 120 r. w. liȝte 398, but riht 379, unrihtfulnesse 385; bituxen 390 represents WS.betux: thei-umlaut gives isiþ 285, but isoþ 302 without umlaut.ēa+g,his (a) eȝe 304 r. w. iseȝe, neȝ 44, þeȝ 48, but þoȝ 220, (b) þeg 367, þah 422.ēo+his (a)iȝ, liȝte 119 r. w.riȝte, (b) ih, lihtlich 402, 417; thei-umlaut is seen in fliȝst 89, 183, fliȝt 132, 224, atfliþ 37:dīegelis diȝele 2.ā+wisow, crowe 220, croweþ 251, snov 308, asnowe 291, owel 80 (*āwul), but nawt 383; clawe 109, 110 is probablyclawe.ī+w, howe 108 (Anglianhēow).ō+w, bigrowe 27,-stowe28, but nouþer 375 (nōwþer).ēa+w, gleu 149, unþeu 150, but sewi 107.ēo+w, eu 436, ower 379, trod.316, representing occasionaldat.trēo.In bisemar 104aappears fore, in svikel- 118, 119eforo, in munekes 347eforu, in gladur 19, uairur 108,ufore, but gladdere ON 737.āisoin oferd 277, elsewhere aferd 288.ehas been added in areȝ 285 (earg), areȝþe 282, arehþe 359, bareȝ 286, bisemar 104, hardeliche 280, narewe 68, steuene 345, 363, þaref 146, lost in warni 246, as already in OE.warnian; houẹneriche 335, houẹneliȝte 350, representheofon-rīce,heofon-lēoht, similarly þornewode 322, þarẹuore 210, warẹuore 203, 333. The prefix in atschet 44 isoþ;be-is regularlybi-, bigrede 220, bitelle 199;ain adun 164 isof; the prefixge-is fully preserved asi-; the suffix-hede, 118 &c. is *hǣd.wis writtenuin suiche 134, 283, tuengst 112, but more frequentlyv, sval 7, tosvolle 101; it stands forwuin wrchen 286, wrs 34, wrþ 256, unwrþ 255, forwiin wle 284, foruuin wl 31, wle 35 (fūle); in wole 8, as Breier explains, the original had uuele (yfele), the copyist took uu as w and read wole (fūle). Metathesis ofris seen in unwerste 134;rris simplified in for 328.nis lost in þane 39 &c., wane 298, 352, ope 124,onis often reduced toa, adwole 420 &c.;nnis simplified in hen 291, kun 332. Forfinitial,f,u,vare used indiscriminately, faire 114, vaire 15, fiȝt 132, viȝte 128, for 328, vorre 243, foruorþ 276, for 32, uor 19, vor 43, vram 119, from 62; it is oncewin waste (fæst), andw=uuin wl 31, wle 35; between vowelsfis regularlyu, buue 164, auale 410 beside fale 365, touore 371, similarly eure 251, cliure 78 (3), sulue 67, butvin eve 41, over 64,fin afere 177, aferd 288, ifare 278, oferd 277; in other positions it is commonlyf, efne 229, stefne 230.tis lost in blosme 16 as already in OE.blōsma, nel tu 106, doubled in sittest 89; fort,dis written in ad 241;ttis simplified in wit 420. Ford,tis written in ihert 406;dis mostly omitted in an 7 &c., beside occasional and 4, 294, also in answare 55, 277, as rarely in OE., but andsuare 105; spene 121 is a new back formation from thept.tense andpp.of spend (NED);ddis simplified in bed- 240, midel- 349. Forþ,dappears in haued 123, lodlich 32 (3),tin witute 139, 200, bigredet 67, biledet 68, hatiet 186, schuniet 185, singet 152, wit 56, 222; dostu 174, 289 is a compendium for dost þu, similarly axestu 329, wenestu 219.sćissch, schal 143, schende 210, bischopen 404, schuniet 185, but occasionallysh, shal 258, ishote 23, mershe 220, and onces, sewi 107. The stopcis regularlykbeforeeandi, unker 107, loki 56, also in kon 326, kume 314, kun 332, kunne 144, kuþe 332, andckin eck 130, haueck 219, otherwisec, cunne 47, 48, cuþe 360, hauec 223, spac 274:ccisck, flockes 216, þicke17, 308; it is simplified in stoc 25: (b) ah 357 (6) is Anglianah, but (a) ac 83 (6).cwis (a)qu, quaþ 143, but (b) cwaþ 372 (5).čis expressed bych, chirche 339, ich 1, swuche 354, unwrenche 125, ilich 232, 234, but ilike 113 r. w. biswike.ččiscch, recche 60, wrecche 251, but reche 58;čǧisgg, alegge 272, hegge 17, 59 (*hecg), legge 164, segge 18. Palatalgis writtenȝ, ȝare 171, ȝaf 105, areȝþe 285, murȝþe 257 (3), areȝ 285, bareȝ 286, folȝeþ 223, isuolȝe 102, unwroȝen 118, but arehþe 359, ibolwe 101.ngappears in lengþe 130, strengþe 129, but strencþe 356 (Horn, Beiträge, 60).hhas been added initially in his 404, hunke 376, hure 141, and dropped in abbe 130, is 281.hrisrin rise 19;hl,lin lud 6, luste 99;hwishwin hwile ON 1591,whin what 60, but otherwisew, aiware 172, wat 141 &c., wan 334, wile 6 (3), wa 425, wo 152, wonne 38, wone 243, won 240, wider 342.(2)Of J.Mainly a record of divergences from C.ais more frequentlyobefore nasals, grome 49, lome 375, mon 334, 355, and before lengthening groups, ondsware 105, onsware 55. Beside hwanne 121, 308, hwenne occurs 38 (4). ewel 80 takes its initial vowel fromæl.æisein hedde 102 (3), queþ 372 (3), wes 1 (7).e, sweche 354, but such 374, suche 134 (swylc).iis often written in French fashiony, especially in conjunction withm,n,u,h, myne 51, ynne 208, clyures 111, fyht 132;willaþis wille 373; welcometh 318 haswelsubstituted forwil; with cleures 84, 206 comp. ‘cleafres,’ AR 102/5, ‘claures,’ Corpus MS.o, wolde 370.u, tunge 37, vnne 382, but schonyeþ 185, vowele 213, a French use.ā, hwo 425, no 202, meaning nor, but naþeles 105, 357.ǣ1dayrewe 244, wrenne 360 (3); eoch 231, euche 151, euych 187 descend fromylc, comp. 288/8; meysse 84 (*mǣscan), vleysse 83, withǣbeforesć, may, in this text, be French spellings, but comp. 428/6.ǣ2is with fewer exceptionse, efne 239, let 194 (4), leteþ 372 (3), ofdred 387.ē, dome 426 is misspelt for deme.ī, swiþe 2, 12, swyþe 149.ȳ, hwy, with y written for i.eabeforer+ cons. isein erdingstowe 28.eobeforer+ cons. iseo, veor 328, veorre 243, heorte 37, reorde 227, steorre 244, ileorned 172.ie, bichirmeþ 215. No umlaut in heuene 346 r. w. stefne, heueryche 335, fele 415, but veole 20.eo,u- andå-umlaut ofi, heonne 66, heore 216 &c. neþerward 100, seþþe 240.eaafter palatal and before nasal, schome 50, 374, schomye 117.ieaftergis regularlye, yeue 410, yeueþ 416, 419.giefis if 283 &c.:heom, heom 62 &c.ēa, eren 254, drem 21; thei-umlaut, ihere 228.ēois mostly preserved, fleo 33, heo 33, heolde 51, leof 159, preostes 351, teone 50, but he 19, holde 12, lesen 267, prest 238, swere 73.The new diphthongs have reached a more advanced stage in which w displaces ȝ; y is used extensively for i.a+g, drawe 209, mawe 138.æ+g, day 89, vayre 15, but seyde 9, iseyd 273.e+g, ayeyn 7 (3), pleye 169, seyþ 132, snayles 87, seist 50.i+h, adihte 242, bitwihen 390 (betwih), myht 78.i+g, unwryen 118.o+g, itowen 368.u+g, vowele 64, fowel 65, muwe 62.ā+g, owe 195, þrowe 196.ǣ1+g, eyþer 9; ihware 172 is OE.gehwǣr.ō+g, bowe 15, wowe 120.ō+hisouh, brouhte 156, 369, þouhte 269, roughte 305, but þoutest 113.ū+h, þuhte 21,of þuhte275.ea+h, iseyh 29, ouerseyh 30; thei-umlaut, myhte 42, nyht 252.eo+h, ariht 278, brihter 108, vyhte 128, ryht 76; thei-umlaut, isihþ 285.ēa+g, eyen 75, 100, eye 304, neyh 44;þēahappears as þeih 367, þeyh 137 &c., þey 287, þah 422 (stressed), þe 48, 220.ēo+h, lyhte 119, ryhte 120; thei-umlaut, flyhst 89, flyhþ 132;dīegelis dyele 2.ā+w, snouh 308, nouht 58, nowiht 256, noht 183.ī+w, hewe 108.ēo+w, eure 379, treo 316.iis levelled toein chireche 339, clerekes 340, 347, mureþe 257, murehþe 336, 343; in gretture 74,uappears fore;eis inserted in bolewe 101, swikedom 119.wstands foruin hw 46, 435; it is written forwuin wrche 340, wrse 219, wrste 10, wrþe 278, and forwein wre 159; it isuin suych 283. Finalnis omitted in a 241 &c.fisvin ivi 27.dis written fortin bid 319; it is doubled in gladdre 19. Forþ,tis written in wit 57,hin bihouhte 155.sćiss, sarp 79, atset 44, sende 210,sc, biscrycheþ 67, scrichest 179, scort 73,sch, schewi 107, scholdest 54, schulle 320, mersche 220. Beside sweche 354 are such 374, suche 134. Finalcis writtenkin spak 279, 288;cciskkin þikke 308;cwisquin iqueme 427. nyk 202 (OE.nič) is a Midland form, and probably due to Scandinavian influence; ic is ic 245 (7) beside ich 1 &c.; ilyche 113 r. w. biswike. Palatalgis very regularly writteny, yaf 55, 105, ayaf 95, yomere 293, voryete 343. Afterl,r,gpasses into the spirantw, bolewe 101, foleweþ 223, iswolwe 102, amorewe 310, moreweninge 361, sorewe 309, but arehþe 282 (areh + þe).gis lost initially in if 260 &c.his lost in þoutest 113.hwis generally preserved, hwan 334, hwar 64, hwi 204, hwile 158, ihware 172.Accidence:(1)of C. Strong declension ofmasc.andneut.nouns. In thes. n. a.bile 79, 205, griþbruche 377, kume 314 (possiblyd.), hete 123 have their OE. vocalic ending; songe 259 is a scribe’s mistake for song; bodi 73 has lost final g, eve 41, final n.Gen.-es, fuȝeles 259, speres 355:d.-e, boȝe 15, bore 286, daie 352, houene 346, sumere 1, 294, wintere 293, but adai 89 (3), aniȝt 89, 175, awinter 290; with loss of final consonant, amorȝe 310, eue 239 (3), iui 27; OE. are blo 108,319,(Portes)hom 395, tro 316; king 371 is miswritten for kinge. Thepl. n. a.of masculines ends in-es, snailes 87, tunes 348, but cliuers 111, 206, fuȝele 64 (see note): neuters are ibere 178, þinge 225, wiȝte 87, 160, and withmasc.termination,wiȝtes 309, wordes 134, unwiȝtis 174. Genitive is cunne 20; datives have mostly-e, foȝle 213, rise 19 (3), songe 82, stude 410, þinge 312, 415, þuuele 214, vnwrenche 125, volde 72, worde 114 (7), but craftes 329, cliures 84, toppes 306, bischopen 404. Thefem.nouns of the strong declension have-eins. n. a., answare 55, 277, blisse 298, 346, eardingstowe 28, godhede 267, skentinge 324, stefne 233, unrihtfulnesse 385, cheste 133, sorȝe 309, but hen 291, insiȝt 151, woning 227, 403, so ME. grucching, luring 301: þuster 154, 186, 188 is neuter.Gen.-e, worlde ON 476:dat.-ewithout exception, blisse 335, brede 130, ME. pipinge 232, 253, see 397.Pl. d.is dede 188, 406;a.blisse 311, clawe 109, tale 193, tide 26. Nouns of the weak declension have-ethroughout,s. n.swore 73, mose 69,d.deme 426, frogge 85, eȝe 304, wise 20, but uo 281,a.daisterre 244, grame 49, ȝeme 345, but dairim 244, iuo 359:pl. n.blosme 16, eȝene 75,d.fere 179, but earen 254. Minor declensions: uotepl. d.51; mans. n.210 (3), monness. g.254, 304, menpl. n.302, mannepl. d.365, menne 368, menpl. a.246; bokes. d.266; muspl. n.87; niȝts. n.250, middelniȝtes. d.241, but aniȝt 89, 175, niȝts. a.247, 252, niȝtespl. n.ON 523; childrepl. d.419.Adjectives which in OE. end in-ehave e in all cases, breme 158, grene 18, isene 122, 211, murie 261, þicke 17, riche 413, similarly those in-a, lame 375, unwille 300, but hoked 79 has loste, while ope 124 has vocalic ending by loss ofn, and fastredes. n. m. st., r. w. unrede, has added e. Those in-iglose g, holi 339. Otherwise thenom.is unchanged. Datives have-ein all genders,str., gode 223, riȝte 170, 200, 212,wk.faire 317, 319, fule 93, 295, olde 163, soacc. m. f. str.stronge 205, vaire 15, bolde 288, schille 98, 364, but stif 205, lodlich 32 before vowels, unwrþ 255,wk.gode 414, longe 247, but ful 94: wrecches. a. m. wk.251 has taken the form ofwreccasb. (Breier). Theacc. neut.is uninflected, god 131; wole 8 is corrupt.myceliss. n.muchel 404,s. d.muchele ON 1217:āgenhas lost n in oȝe 195. Thepl.of all adjectives ends in-e,n.brode 75, isome 378,d.belde 358, smale 213,a.gode 206, scharpe 109, but scharp 206 before a vowel. OE.āniss. n. m.on 25, 238 before vowel, 82, 330 (pronominal), o 331 (num. adj.),f.a 112, an 80 before vowel,s. d. m.one 2, 15, &c.,f.ore 17, 393, 397, one 14, 235,neut.one 1, 236,s. a. m.one 102, a 94, o 249 (num. adj.),f.one 4, 155, 324, an 4, one 403 (num. adj.),neut.a 45, 104.nāniss. n. m.no 210,f.146,s. d. m.none 168, 387; as adv. na more 169 (3). Adjectives used as nouns are wises. n. m.132,pl. d.181, bares. d.106,s. a.56, godes. d.338, ille 299, longe 45, vuele, wroþe 63 (see note), bletes. a.57, woȝe 120, 154, worste 10, but god 245. Comparatives have-e, betere 330 (3), grettere 74, mildre 418, worse 219, but briȝter 108, gladur 19, icundur 85, uairur 108.The personal pronouns are ich, i 353, me, unkerdual g., of us two 107, we, hurepl. g., of us 141, us, þu, (speddes) tu 125, þe, hunke 376 (see note), ȝe, eu. The pronoun of the third person iss. n.hem.21 &c., hof.19, 368, heo 360, 372 &c., he 97, 274, 279, hi 141, hitneut.28,d.himm.167, hiref.104, himneut.ON 682,a.hinem.392, hif.29, 30, 32, hitneut.92,pl. n.hi 10 &c., ho 66, 76, heo 418, 434, 435,d.hom 94, heom 408,a.hi 420, hom 62 (possiblyd.), heom ON 930: reflexive are hi 155, heom 407; definitive, sulue 69. Possessives ares. n.mi, before vowel or pronom. h, min,d.minem.46, miref.384, mine 59, 245,neut.83, 218,a. m.36, 242,f.196;pl.mine;s. n.þi, before vowel or h, þin,d.þinem.58, þin 117, þiref.307, 383, þine 40 (6),neut.88,a. m.119 &c., þin 249, þinef.194, þinneut.121 (before vowel), þi ON 104;pl.þine, but þinpl. n.75, 113 before vowel; his 188, is 281, hisneut.267; hire 26; ure 298; ower 379; hore 216, heore 418; unker 423, 425, 426. The definite article iss. n.þem.132, þof.26, 155, þe 13, 29 &c., þatneut.10 &c., þe 352,g.þasm.254, þaref.28,d.þanm.ON 125, þen 386, þe 322, 371, þaref.31, 397, þe ON 96, þanneut.ON 133, þe 56,a.þanem.414, þef.13, þatneut.8, 10;pl. n.þe 315. The article is also used demonstratively asadj.þat 5, 8 &c., þare 96, as pronoun, þat 82, þan 156, 405. The compound demonstrative iss. n.þesm.195, þosf.41 (3), þeos ON 1667, 1707,d.þisneut.437 (the metre requires þisse),a.þosf.133, þisneut.156 (4);pl. n.þos 348, þeos 413,d.þisse 432,a.þos 95, þeos ON 1653. The relatives are þe ON 1346, þat 10, 144; meaning to which 187, that which 78, 115, 174. Interrogatives are wa 425, wo 152, wat 141, 271, 353, what 60, (to) wan 334, wuch ON 1378 and the correlative suichn. s. m.283, swuchs. a. f.374, suichepl. n.134, swucchepl. d.354.gelīcis ilichs. n. m.232, 234;gelīca, ilikepl. n.113. Indefinites are me 32 &c., man 341; sums. a. f.6, summepl. n.ON 1648; eiþer 9, 141, aiþer 7; oþers. d. f.54,s. a.7,s. a. f.326, oþeress. g.9, oþerpl. n.160,pl. a.225; echs. n. m.231,neut.312, eches. d. m.151; eurichs. n. m.150,f.257,neut.185,g. m.304; enis. a. f.326,neut.338; monis. n. m.355, manis. a. m.399, manie 398, moniepl. d.72,a.193; uales. d. m.410, uelepl. g.20, falepl. d.365, feole 415; als.throughout, except alls. d. f.129, alles. a. f.247; allepl., except alreg.10.The infinitive ends in-e, singe 39 (5), wirche 340 and 40 other instances; exceptions in-enare losen 267, singen 327 before vowel or h, abiten 77, smiten 78 at end of line, hoten 192, speten 39, wrchen 286; the second weak conjugation has-i, liki 258, sewi 107; contract verbs are flo 284, 319, flon 106 before vowel. Thedat. inf.is not inflected, to biholde 71, for teche 408, [for] ȝiue 410, to seche 402 (virtual nominative): no examples in-en. Presents ares.1. abbe 130, adiȝte 242, kep (ich) 110; of secondwk. conj. warni 246, wndri 184; of contract verbs, iso 243, so 34; 2. axest 325, singest 247 (3), passive, hattest 191, axestu 329, wenestu 219, ME. clackes 81; with-ist, singist 175, wenist 231; seist 50 (4) representssegst; syncopated forms are telst 226, tuengst 112, wenst 47, the metre requires woldẹst 84, hauẹst 109; a contract verb is fliȝst 89, 183, fliȝst(e) 283; 3. blisseþ 313, croweþ 251 and 17 others, singet 152, schuniet 185; syncopated forms are numerous, abid 421, berþ 281, bit 319, 323, demþ 420, diht 399, falt 37, fiȝt 132, halt 32, helpþ 127, lat 224, liþ 308, lust 168, 169, singþ 339, telþ 256, þincþ 430, worþ 283, writ 399, þincþe 46 (= þincþ þe); seiþ 132 representssegð; contract verbs are atfliþ 37, fliȝt 132, 224, isiþ 285, isoþ 302;pl.3. bigredeþ 215, habbeþ 309, 406, bigredet 67, biledet 68, haued 123, floþ 214:subjunctive s.1. holde 59, schilde 57; second wk. conj., loki 56; 2. clawe 110, wepe 182; 3. bitide 52, uorȝete 343;pl.1. lete 133, ute 422, fo 135; 3. bigrede 220;imperative s.2. hud 120, stond 431, loke 122, schamie 117, seie 173, flo 33;pl.2. fareþ 379, lateþ 372 (3), lusteþ 372. Past of Strong Verbs: I a.s.3. aȝaf 95, ȝaf 55, 105, iseȝ 29, ouerseȝ 30, quaþ 143, 145, sat 15, 101, spac 274, 288;pl.3. seten ON 1102;subj. s.3. iseȝe 303: I b.s.3. com 361;pl.3. bicome 434: I c.s.3. bigon 13, song 20 (4), sval 7, warp 45;subj. s.3. wrþe 278: II.s.3. abod 41: III.s.3. atschet 44: IV.s.3. stod 25: V.s.3. athold 270, bihold 30, hold 100, let 8;pl.3. holde 12;subj. s.1. holde 51. Participles past: I a. awreke 198, bispeke 381, underȝete 124: I b. ibore 334: I c. ibolwe 101, ibred 367 (breden), isuolȝe 102, iþrunge 38, tosvolle 101: II. itoȝen 368: II, III. vnwroȝen 118: III. ishote 23: IV. ifare 278: V. bigrowe 27, bihote 388, iholde 366, ofdrad 387. Past of Weak Verbs:s.1. iherde 3; 2. raddest 115 (weak form), þoȝtest 113, speddestu 125; 3. broȝte 156, hadde 102, sede 33, seide 9;pl.3. spedde 435, ferden 432:subj. s.3. roȝte 305. Participles past: acoled 161, aferd 288, ihert 406, iladde 276 (lǣded), ilorned 172, imeind 18, 306, ised 273, oferd 277, oftoned 190. Minor Groups: an 1pr. s.382; can 1pr. s.126, 436, con 199, kon 326, conpr. s.415, cunne 1pr. s. subj.47, kunnepr. s. subj.144, kuþept. s.332, cuþe 360; þarefpr. s.146; wot 1pr. s.61, wostu 2pr. s.334, wotpr. s.151, ?wte 2pr. s. subj.318, wistept. s.103, wustept. pl.10, nuȝte ȝe 2pt. pl.394; schaltu 2pr. s.165, schalpr. s.143, shal 258, shulle 1pr. s. subj.320, 323, sholdest 2pt. s.54, scholdept. s.371, schulde 390; mai 1pr. s.184, miȝt 2pr. s.64 (3), mist 78, maipr. s.141, muȝe 1pr. pl.138,pr. pl. subj.62, miȝtest 2pt. s.192, miȝtept. s.42, mihte we 1pt. pl.392, miȝtept. s. subj.411; mote 1pr. s. subj.52; boninf.198, bo 146, beo 378, ?be 296, am 1pr. s.212, icham 126, nam 387, art 2pr. s.38, nart 285, ispr. s.34, his 404, nis 162, boþpr. pl.75 (5), beoþ 418, bo 2pr. s. subj.127,pr. s. subj.107 (4), bo 1pr. pl. subj.137, 2s. imp.197, beoþ 2pl. imp.378; was 1pt. s.1, werept. pl.16,pt. s. subj.21, nere 22, werenpt. pl. subj.76, were 305; wille 1pr. s.198, wilt 2pr. s.121, nel tu 106, wilepr. s.170, wle 284, wulle ȝe 2pr. pl.373, nulleþpr. pl.407, wille 2pr. s. subj.77,pr. s. subj.144, wile 141, willepr. pl. subj.222, wolde 1pt. s.128, nolde 115, woldest 2pt. s.84, woldept. s.70, walde 370; doninf.115, do 374, 1pr. s.245, dest 2pr. s.49, 237, dost 307, dostu 174, 289, deþpr. s.359, doþ 112, 2pr. pl.377,pr. pl.113, misdoð 413, do we 1pr. pl. subj.424, do 2s. imp.431; goninf.170, goþpr. pl.221.The adverb aiware 172, widely, OE.ǣghwǣrhas added e; B-T. quotesǣghwārefrom Lye. Adverbs and prepositions in-anhave-e, abute 16, bute 403, buue 164, honne 66 (heonane), soþþe 240, vorre 243, ine (innan) 266 (3), upe (uppan) 351, touore 426, witute 139, but bituxen 390: mid 18 (4) and mide 411, oft 36 and ofte 81 occur.(2)Of J.The few divergences are briefly indicated. Nouns: eyenpl. n.75, songs. n.259; adjectives: vueles. a. neut. wk.8, iliches. n. f. str.235, oa. s. f.403, nons. d. m.168, icunderes. n. neut.85 (unmetrical), beters. n. m. str.330, 331. The pronoun of the first person is often ic 245, 385; vrpl. g.141; heos. n. m.23, 280, 375, 394, hes. n. f.19, hipl. n.76, mys. a. m.36, þis. a. m.264, þins. d. m.125, þines. d. f.383, eures. d. m.379; þes. n. f.26, þons. d. neut.350; þisses. d. neut.437, þeoss. a. f.133; oþress. g.9, 11. Tellest 226, biholdeð 30, helpeð 127 are not syncopated; wenest 231, hateþ, luuyeþ 186, abit 421; wite 2pr. s. subj.318, unwryenpp.118 (wrigen), vnne 1pr. s.382, beoinf.198; beonpr. pl. subj.137. Noteworthy are mucheleadv.413, ne conjunction 74, than.Vocabulary:French are acorde 137, afoled 162, castel 131, certes 412, clerkes clerekes 340, 347, fals 166, gente 160, granti graunti 157 (the latter Anglo-French), grucching 301, ipeint 76, kanunes 347, maister maistre 147, 421, pes pays 373 (the former phonetic, the latter traditional spelling), plait plaid 5, 380, plaidi 140, plaiding 12, rente 410, schirme 222, possibly crei 251. Scandinavian are ilete lete 281, 358, 35, ille 299, lah(fulnesse) 384, nai 202, skentinge 324, sckile 142, þoȝ 220, wronge 152, possibly wailawai 176 and wise 54, if it means song. Noteworthy is the large number of expressive words bearing a popular stamp, such as clackes, clechest, crempe, galegale, misrempe, snepe, spale, totose, ȝollest, ȝoȝelinge.Dialect:The poem was presumably written in Dorsetshire and so in the dialect of the Middle South; the evidence of the rhymes confirms this. But in its present form there are considerable traces of Anglian influence, and these, as appearing equally in both manuscripts, may be set downto the transcriber of their common exemplar or to one of his predecessors.Metre:The short rhymed couplet, in its original French form, has regularly eight syllables, with masculine ending or nine with feminine ending. But the Anglo-French poets, like Chardry, whose Petit Plet, ‘estrif mut delitus’ is in both our manuscripts, allow themselves more freedom, and the form of the verse in ON is varied by all the licences of native English prosody. The types are i. masculine ending, eight syllables, four stresses, iambic rhythm, as, þat plaít | was stíf | and stárc | and stróng 5; so 7, 8, 29, 30, 43, 44, 174, 176, 183-185, 248, 250, 252, 256, 260, 338, 353, 394: i a. the same, but with trochaic beginning, as, Mé is | þe wúrs | þat ích | þe só 34, 149, 319: i b. seven syllables with light syllable wanting in first foot, as, þíd|er fúnd|eþeúr|ichmán 337: ii. feminine ending, nine syllables, four stresses, iambic rhythm, as, þat ál|re wórst|e þát | hi wúste 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 27, 35, 36, 40, 45, 46, 55, 56, 67, 69, 72, 82, 93, 95, 96, 99, 105 and 104 other lines: ii a. the same with trochaic beginning, as, wénst þu | þat ích | ne cún|ne sínge 47, 38, 52, 78, 80, 98, 121, 122, 215, 222, 225, 244, 295, 302, 304, 318, 325, 334, 342, 349, 352, 406, 417, 424: ii b. eight syllables with light syllable wanting in first foot, as, ánd | me schíld|e wít | þe bléte 57, 70, 71, 87, 91, 110, 117, 131, 147, 148, 217, 378. The unstressed element in a foot is doubled in i. þi bód|i is shórt | þi swór|ẹ is smál 73, þu chát|ẹrest so dóþ | on ír|ish préost 238, Hit lúu|eþ þúst|er and hát|iet líȝt 186, þat þín|e píp|inge nís | ilích 232: i a. Grétter|ẹ is þin héu|ed þán | þu ál 74, Cértes | cwaþ þe húl|e þát | is sóð 412: i b. þát | ho sóng | hirẹ a bís|emár 104: ii. Eurich þíng | mai lós|en hís | godhéde 267, Me lúst|e bet spét|en þán|e sínge 39, 62, 317, and þúȝ|te wel uúl | of þár|e húle 31, 425, þoȝ crów|e bigréd|ẹ him bí | þe mérshe 220, þeníȝt|ingál|e bigón | þe spéche 13, 116, 154, 187, 253, 262, 266, 354, þe wér|ẹ icúnd|ur to ón|e frógge 85, alsó | ho hád|dẹ one frógg|ẹ isuólȝe 102, Þo quáþ | þe húl|e wo schál | us séme 143: ii a. wénes | tu þat háu|eck bó|þe wórse 219, álle | þat ihér|eþ þín|ẹ ibére 178, Schíld þin|e svík|eldom vrám | þe líȝte 119, 234, 359; ii b. Hó | ne míȝt|e no léng | biléue 42, 264, 347, þár | þo v́l|e sóng | hire tíde 26. The light syllable is missing in i. and mák|ẹst þine sóng | só | unwúrþ 255, He wún|eþ át |pórt|eshóm 395, Ich síng|e bét | þan þú | dést 237, vor suích | worþ bóld | ȝif þú | flíȝst 283, 284: ii. On mé | hít | is wél | iséne 211, Ich wót | þat þú | árt | unmílde 61, 303, 390, wel fíȝt | þat wel flíȝt | seíþ | þe wíse 132, werẹ aférd | ho spác | bóld|e tále 288, Bet þúȝt|e þe dreím | þat hé | wére 21: ii a. Nís he | vor þé | nóȝt | afóled 162, Bít me | þat ích | shúll|e sínge323. Inversion of the accent is fairly frequent, as i. Þat ích | shúlle | to hír|e fló 320, An díht | and wrít | máni | wisdóm 399, He náu|eþ bút|ẹ óne | woníng 403: ii. Ne hélpþ | nóȝt þat | þu bó | to þríste 127, 392, 408, 425, Þo stód | on óld | stóc þar | bisíde 25, 32, 199, 372, 381, 422, vor hír|e lú|uẹ óne | skentínge 324, 396. Synizesis takes place in monie 72, 193, 398 (pronounce monye), schamie 117, schuniet 185, hatiet 186, murie 261, unmurie 262, lilie 317. The e of a middle syllable after the stress in a trisyllabic word suffers syncope; certain instances are, sumẹre 1, 327, diȝẹle 2, oþẹres 9, 11, vuẹle 63, fuȝẹle 64, hauẹkes 207, chatẹrest 238, wintẹre, ȝomẹre 293, sumẹre 294, betẹrẹ 330, 331, 401, steuẹne 345, 363, houẹne 346, 350, also warẹuore 333, morẹȝeninge 361, probable are narẹwe 68, eȝẹne 75, svikẹdom 123, as avoiding a three syllable foot. With regard to-est,-eþof thesing. present, the only certain examples of syncope are woldẹst 84, cumẹþ 298, in all other possible cases there is the alternative of a three syllable foot. But taking into account the preponderance of forms syncopated by spelling, and the dissyllabic norm of the foot in the French verse which served as model, it seems more likely that the poet scanned þretẹst 83, hauẹst 109, speddẹstu 125, schirchẹst, ȝollẹst 179, miȝtẹst 192, wenẹst 195, bicumẹþ 207, wenịst 231, singẹst 247, 310, 175, crowẹþ 251, singẹþ 292, forbernẹst 297, cumẹþ 298, hauẹþ 356, nullẹþ 407: similarly werẹn 76, ovẹr 64, euẹr 421 are probable. What has been said about syncope applies also to the relative spheres of elision and hiatus. The letter which suffers elision is weak, mostly inflectional, final e before an initial vowel or pronominal h, presumably also before an inorganic h as in hule; there is no elision in the case of such words as me 38, 164, we 133, he 303, ope 124. It certainly takes place in Bet þúȝt|e þát | he wér|ẹ ishóte 23, and in the same position in 50, 63, 75, 77, 81, 123, 125, 137, 160, 161, 168, 177, 178, 181, 236, 257, 277, 281, 308, 315, 336, 346, 364, 397, 428, alsó | ho hád|dẹ one frógg|ẹ isuólȝe 102, þát | ho sóng | hirẹ a bí | semár 104, Þohúl|ẹone wíl|e hí | biþóȝte 155. Hiatus, which is the maintenance of e under the same conditions, is certain in ll. 28, 31, 92, 140, 163, 168, 173, 227, 268, þat þẹ húl|e hád|de hír|ẹ iséd 273, 289, 305, 344, 386, 409, 418, 425. In all other cases the choice lies between a three syllable foot with hiatus and a two syllable foot with elision; the latter is probably to be preferred.The few lines which are metrically faulty are easily amended, Ilóm|e þu dést | me múch|ẹle gráme 49, þu cúþ|est þát | þu árt | unwíȝt 90, þu féd|ẹst on hóm | a fúl|ne fóde 94, 107 MS. J is correct, þan þú | mid áll|e þín|e stréngþe 129, 164 MS. J is correct, þat hé | for þé | fálse | dom déme 166, Ne maí | no mán | þarẹuór|ẹ me schénde 210, vor þí | ichlóþ | am smál|e fóȝle 213, 235 MS. J is correct, Ích | do gód|e mid mín|e þróte 245, and éu|re seíst | þin ón|e sóng 249, Ac nó|þẹles spác | he bold|elíche 279, þu fár|est ál|so dóþ|þe ílle 299, To uór|e þe kíng|e þáh | heo schólde 371, An dó | þan kíng|e swúch|e scháme 374, þeos rích|e mén | múchel | misdóð 413, 437 MS. J is correct. Peculiar in rhythm are, and mák|ẹst þine sóng | só | unwúrþ 255, þat he míȝt|ẹ héom il|óme | be míde 411. The rhymes are generally correct, but kunne : honne 65, cunde : schende 209, foȝle : þuuele 213, ȝomere : sumere 293, stude : mide 410 are inexact. The poet was all the same a very skilful metrist.Introduction:There has been a wide difference of opinion as to the time when ON was written, but the weight of recent authority is in favour of a date somewhere aboutA.D.1220. The references in the poem to passing events are mostly vague or obscure; only the passage ‘þe king Henri | Jesus his soule do merci’, ON 1091, 2, which can refer to no other than Henry the Second, fixes a superior limit ofA.D.1189. It would equally appear to exclude the reign of Henry the Third, for, as ten Brink concedes, such an indefinite expression would hardly be used when another Henry was on the throne. It is further arguable that its use points to a time when the death of the king was recent. Again such a reference as that to the minstrel go-between saved by the intervention of King Henry the Second from the vengeance of a wronged husband would be to a recent event. Furthermore, it would give point to the expression, ‘ȝet nis he (i. e. the king) nouþer ded ne lame’, 171/375, if it were referred to the good peace kept by the Justiciar Hubert Walter, during Richard the First’s absence from England inA.D.1194-8. These external considerations, slight though they be, are in favour of the end of that reign as the date of the composition of the poem. The stage of development reached by the language may be held to support this view. Our manuscripts are copies of a copy, probably not far removed from the original poem. That copy is primitive in the fullness of the inflections, the extensive preservation of grammatical gender and the form of the new diphthongs.Of the author nothing is known. A certain Johan of Guldeuorde is recorded in a copied note in MS. J as declining to sing more, but any connexion of his with ON cannot be determined. If the author were the Nicholas de Guldeuorde mentioned in the poem, it would lend a characteristic spice of humour to the excellent testimonial which he gives himself (157/147-170, 173/389-401). His name indicates that he was a native either of Guildford in Surrey or of Guldeford near Rye in Sussex.What sort of court he presided over cannot be determined; he may have been bailiff of the hundred court, or steward of a manor, or commissary for the neighbouring Abbotsbury. The attempt made by Gadow to identify him with a certain Nicholaus Capellanus, who appears in the diocese of Salisbury inA.D.1209, 1220, is not convincing.The poem is in the favouritedébatform of the contemporary French literature. The Owl is the Cleric, living a secluded life under a strict rule, the Nightingale is the Minstrel, amateur of the open air and vagabond freedom, the Wren is a poet, like Philippe de Thaün, who has gained a secure place at Court. Though he tries to hold the balance even, the author’s secret sympathies are with the Nightingale; he had been himself sometime a wandering scholar.Read 150/16 þat, 152/57 wit, 154/104 bysemar, 160/183 nyht,160/185vych, 160/191 quaþ, 166/289, 167/289 Þule, 167/310 eue, 168/336 Murehþe ilyche, 168/339 holy.The references are to C, unless J is prefixed.1.sumere, summer,adj. s. d.agreeing with dale; a summer valley. Gadow compares OE.sumer-lidaand similar compounds. But Stratmann explains it ass. d. f.of sum, certain.2.diȝele: comp. ‘on ænne swiðe faire stude. | in ane dale deope;diȝelen bihælues,’ L 26933. ‘North of Portisham is a valley now called Mystecomb, formed by Hampton and Ridge Hills, and on the east side of the former are some pits, where the hundred courts were formerly held and hundred silver paid,’ Hutchins, Dorsetshire, i. 556. Was this the scene of the ‘plait’?5.starc: comp. ‘þat fiht was swiþe strong;swiþe starc and swiþe lang,’L4170, MS. O.6.among, at intervals, at times: comp. 152/81; ‘þar was weping strong;þar was gredinge among,’ L 23563, MS. O, and see KH 1527 note. Similarly ‘bitweonen’, 132/28; ‘And also cussed his feet amyd’, CM 14015, MS. T.7.sval, was puffed out with anger, like L. tumeo. Rare in this absolute use; for a common expression comp. ‘þin heorte in wið þe swelleð of sar grome,’ HM 31/27: see also 155/101.11.hure and hure: see15/91 note.J 13.þo speke, then to speak: the scribe had before him þo speche, the speech, þo representing OE.þā,s. acc. f.ofse, usually þe in these texts. Mistaking þo for the adverb, meaning then, he altered speche into speke, spoiling the rhyme. (Breier, 125.)14.brecheprobably represents OE.bræc,brec, which occurs in theboundaries of charters and appears to mean land left untilled among cultivated fields, such as would be covered with underwood; it would go well withhurnein its dialectal meaning of ‘a nook of land projecting into another parish, district or field.’ The phrase would then mean, in a corner of a spinney, just the position where the nightingale would feel safe; see 153/59, 60. Mätzner takes the word to mean fallowland; there is a dialectic breck, mostly northern and not recorded for the south and a literary word break, given in NED under date 1674, with that meaning.bechein J is generally identified with Layamon’s bach, bæch, valley, but Kenyon holds that it represents OE.bēce, beech, if so, hurne must have its secondary sense of hiding place.J 16.þat: a scribe’s mistake for þar.17.ore: OE.ānre,s. d. f.:heggeis descended from a strong fem. *hecg, but it is treated as masc. at l. 59, perhaps by confusion with OE.hege.waste: written for vaste, that is, faste (comp. ON, J 796), which Breier takes for an adverb qualifying þicke, very thick. But there is no evidence in ME. for the adverb, except with verbs and participles. It is an adjective, secure, safe, as in ‘wel he makede his castles;treowe ⁊ swiðe uæste,’ L 11897; comp. 153/53, 56-60, 157/130, 131, or possibly, dense.18. Tall grasses and green flag plants grew up through the hedge.19.rise, boughs; comp. ‘blisse was among þe rise,’ ON 1664.20.auele: see132/9 note.21.he: see135/127 note.22.þan, than that.26.hire tide, her hours; see163/230 note, and comp. ‘Gif preost on gesetne timan tída ne ringe oððe tida ne singe, gebete þæt,’ Liebermann, Gesetze, i. 382/36.27.⁊: comp. 81/82 note.bigrowe, overgrown: comp. ‘mid iui grene al bi-growe,’ ON 617.30.ouerseȝ, looked down at from her higher position: comp. 34/75.31.þuȝte: impersonal; supply hire from the subject of the preceding sentence:wlis predicative adjective.35.lete, behaviour, i.e. hooting: comp. 165/281, 171/358.37.atfliþ, takes flight, deserts me: comp. ‘expavit cor meum et emotum est de loco suo,’ Job xxxvii. 1. Mostly withacc., but comp. ‘leste þe heorte etfleo ⁊ wende ut,’ AR 50/19.falt, folds, collapses: comp. ‘and þi tunge foldet,’ PRL 250/3, 249/2; OEM 101/4 and see2/19 note.38. when you thrust yourself on me. Comp. ‘Bruttes him þrungen to;þræfliche swiðe,’ L 27796.39.Me luste bet, it would please me better.40.of, by reason of, as the result of.41.fort: comp. 163/248 and see72/179 note.forin J is due to the scribe who avoids the unusual word; comp. 162/248, 166/310.42.bileue, hold in, keep still; a somewhat forced sense.44.atschet, shot out, drove out of her body; its subject and that of warp in the next line is heo, contained in the preceding hire: comp. 98/71. The editors, however, treat fnast as the subject, but in the only other place where the verb occurs, ‘Ah þah mi lif me beo at-schote,’ ON 1623 it is transitive.45.warp, sent forth; see 13/45.48.writelinge, ‘trilling, singing in shakes and flourishes,’ Specimens; a meaning apparently deduced from the context here and ON 914, the only places where the word occurs. It may be a miswriting of wrixelinge or wriselinge; OE.wrixlian, to modulate, vary the voice, as in ‘Ic þurh muþ sprece monȝum reordum. | wrencum singe, wrixle ȝeneahhe | heafodwoþe, hlude cirme,’ Riddle ix (by some interpreted of the nightingale), Grein, iii. 189/1, to which Toller parallels ‘Vox mea diversis variatur pulcra figuris,’ Aldhelm, 252/27; ‘wrixleð woðcræfte . . . | beorhtan reorde,’ Phoenix 127.49, 50.grame . . . tone . . . schame: comp. 40/165 note.51.on, within the compass of, under.52. May it so happen that I have the opportunity, a parenthesis;⁊in the next line is equivalent to and if.54.wisemay mean, song.56.loki—bare, guard myself against the open, i.e. keep in my thicket, as at l. 59, 155/106. Other adjectives used as nouns are blete, l. 57, unsheltered place; woȝe ll. 120, 154, crooked conduct; harde, ON 459, 527, bitter weather, 703, difficulty; toȝte 703, puzzling situation.loki witappears to be without parallel, but wiþ is common in conjunction with similar verbs, see48/299 note; from is usual, 149/77 as with schilde, 153/62, 157/119.63.tukest: the usual construction of this verb in OE. and ME. is seen in, ‘þa halgan . . . to ealre yrmðe tucode,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 494/106 (afflicted the Saints with every kind of misery); ‘ha tukeð ure godes to balewe ⁊ to bismere,’ SK 551. Whether to is to be inserted, or wroþe (which is a noun, ON 944) and vuele are to be regarded as adverbs, in any case the verb must have a direct object;overis probably a misreading of the common original MS. for oþer; comp. ON 1524 where J has correctly oþer and C over. The mistake would lead to the omission of to before wroþe.The sense then is, thou dost harass with evil and harm other small birds wherever thou canst.fugeleaspl. acc.in rhyme can be supported by bridde : amidde, ON 123; wrenche : atprenche, id. 813.67.bischricheþ, screech at; apparently only here. Comp. 160/215.68.narewe, strictly, harshly; comp. 74/203 note.biledet, treat, like L. afficere; comp. ‘He iseyh hw ihesu crist. wes vuele biled,’ OEM 45/278; ‘And luþre heom biledeþ | Mid pykes and myd eaule,’ id. 83/329. The word appears to descend as to form from OE.belǣdan, to lead (astray), and as to meaning from OE.belecgan, to treat (ill), afflict, through the intermediary of their commonpp.belēd. The expression is somewhat like ‘mettre à l’estroict, to put vnto the pinch,’ Cotgrave.70.Hire þonkes, gladly; see10/167 note.72.in monie volde, lit., in many folds, that is, in many respects. The phrase seems to be a mistaken resolution of some such adverbial expression as *on manigfealdum; in ME. on manyfolde, bi manifold are found, as well as many a folde. A natural extension is seen in, ‘ne uint he red in one (none J) uolde,’ ON 696.76.Riȝt swo, just as if; comp. 155/98, 163/222.78.cliure, claw: six times in ON, only once again in ME., see ES xxxi. 7, 17. ‘clifra,ungularum,’ OE. Glosses, ed. Napier, 135/5341, 148/458.80.owel: see58/67 note.J 81.euer among: see148/6 note.83.to: the construction appears to be quite isolated, forþrēatian, þreatien take theacc.of the person or thing threatened. The simpledat.is seen in, ‘swiþe hii gonne þretie;Arthur þan kinge,’ L 20341, MS. O. Comp. ‘escade to,’ 77/44 note.85. Lit. It would be more natural to thee in respect of a frog, i.e. A frog would suit you better.to one froggeis the virtual subject ofwere. The same construction is implied in ‘Ov nas neuer icunde þarto,’ ON 114. Different is ‘Ne lust him nu to none unrede,’ 159/168, for lusten has a prepositional construction (see52/383 note), while icunde has not. For the usual construction of icunde, see3/32 note.86.cogge: probably for cog-stone, a stone propped up at the edge.88.cunde . . . riȝte: datives singular.90.onshould be omitted, it is unmetrical and, no doubt, due to un- in the following word.unwiȝt, hideous.92.Bi, with reference to; see 4/30, 13/18, and comp. the similar use of ‘on’ in l. 94.94. In them (i.e. in their case) thou rearest a very foul brood. Foron homcomp. 161/211 note.100.noþerward, downward: comp. 56/51.101.to svolle&c.: comp. 149/7; ‘heorte to-bollen ⁊ to-swollen,’ AR 282/8.104.a bisemar, a mockery, but ‘a bisemere,’ ON 1311 means in mockery.106.bare: see 152/56.107.þare: so the MS.; Wells thinks it a scribe’s mistake for ware representinghwæþer, but C has elsewhere only hwaþer, wather, hweþer, weþer, and the interrogative pronoun is apparently not contracted. Probably the scribe has left out the first syllable and has been influenced in writing the second by bare in the preceding line.109. The nightingale answers.110.Ne kepich noȝt&c., Nor do I care for your clawing me, i.e. I would rather that you did not claw me.112.tonge, pair of tongs.113.so—ilike, as those like you do, after the manner of your kind.118.svikelhede, attempt at deception: apparently only here and at ON 838.120. And conceal your wickedness beneath an appearance of righteousness. For the combination comp. ‘myd wowe ne myd ryhte,’ OEM 49/412; ‘þat is woh ⁊ na wiht riht,’ L 4333, 5043, 6373; ‘Man mai þer of et inoȝ | Al wiþ riȝt and noȝt wiþ woȝ,’ Heuser, Kildare-Gedichte, 146/62.J 121. The secondþuis a scribe’s mistake for þin.125.unwrenche, evil tricks; comp. ‘For þine fule sunnen | ⁊ for þin uniwrenche,’ OEM 174/93, and for the rhyme 29/2.127.to þriste: see 30/17.128.liste . . . strengþeare often contrasted, ‘Betere is liste þen luðer strencðe’, AR 268/27; ‘hit wes ȝare iqueðen | þat betere is liste;þene ufel strenðe. | for mid liste me mai ihalden;þat strengðe ne mai iwalden,’ L 17209.130.on brede . . . lengþegoes withgod, good in all dimensions, in every respect: comp. ‘A fairer child neuer i ne siȝ, | Neiþer a lingþe ne on brade,’ Sir Beues 536, with Kölbing’s note.132. ‘Wel fyht þat wel flyþ,’ Hendyng, Böddeker,AE.Dicht. 291/77; ‘Mieuz vaut bone fuie que mauvaise atente,’ Li Proverbe au Vilain, no. 64; ‘þu most turne þe rug ȝif þu wult ouercumen ⁊ wið fluht fehten,’ HM 17/28.133.lete awei, give up, drop; comp. 50/348 note.135.fo we on, let us proceed; comp. 143/67.136.wsome: miswritten for ysome, concordant, peaceable, which isadj.as at 171/378: Kenyon points out that the word-order is idiomatic. In J,some, concord, is a noun; comp. 70/158 note.137.at one acorde: the phrases at accord, in accord and with one accord are all found, but this combination is at any rate rare: a similar tautology is seen in ‘Two dogges and one bone | Maye never accorde in one,’ Rel. Ant. i. 233.140.foȝe, fitness, decency: OE.fōg, a joint. Kock (Anglia, xxv. 323) translates, ‘reason, reasonableness, justice and moderation.’ Wells compares G. mit Fug und Recht. The word does not occur elsewhere in ME.; soþe in J is a substitute for a word not known to the scribe.143.us seme, reconcile us, settle our dispute. OE.sēman.148, 149. Comp. 18/16, 30. In J 149,wordeis faultily repeated from l. 148.151.wot insiȝt in, has skill in: the usual verb is seen in ‘insiht he cuðe;a winde and a mone,’ L 30497.153, 154. Comp. 157/120 and 161/186.J 155.bihouhteappears to be a scribal error for biþouhte, which occurs in the same text in a similar line, ‘Ful wel myd rede hire biþouhte,’ l. 704. It can hardly represent OE. *behogodeor *behogde, pasts ofbehogian,behycgan.158.wile, at one time.161.suþe acoled, made cold or grown cold. In J,nu þemay mean now for thee; Skeat takes it for nuþe, now: but the scribe had probably suþe in his original.164. Should condemn me and give you the upper hand: legge goes better with adun than with buue. Comp. ‘That brynges me vnder ⁊ not above,’ Ipomedon 43/1428, 106/3681; ‘who so . . . may not come to his above,’ id. 1/5 with Kölbing’s note; ‘Leve thy resoun and bileve in the wondir | For feith is aboven, and reson is undir,’ Rel. Ant. i. 127.167.him: see 13/34 and add ‘Þe ston hym hys of swiche grace,’KHMS. O. 585; ‘For horn hym was so longe,’ id. 977.fastrede, steadfast of purpose.168.to: comp. 52/383.170.a, on.171.ȝare, Jware: the same variation occurs ON 488, 860.ȝareis the better reading.181.þinchest: a scribe’s mistake for þincheþ.snepe, foolish; apparently only here: now a Lincolnshire dialect word.184.þar of: comp. ‘Þes meiden wes awundret swiðe of þes wordes,’SJ 37/1; ‘þe sunne wundrieð of faire,’ OEH ii. 19/29. Forof= at, see 121/132.186. Comp. 159/154.187.þat, to which: see 44/250, 257 note, 46/292 note.188.to his dede, as accompaniment of his actions.194. Let thy tongue have a holiday.spale: OE.spala, a substitute,spelian, to take the place of another, ME. spelien mostly means to use sparingly. A related word is spell, a neutral word with meaning like þroȝe l. 196, a stretch of time; so a spell of work, a spell of rest: in Somerset dialect it means relaxation, in Australia, cessation from labour.200.riȝte soþe: comp. 156/140.spelle, long story; comp. 175/437.202.nich ne nay, not I nor nay.203.lust: imperative, as at l. 199; but Skeat, ‘I am pleased to tell,’ which would require me lust.208.wune: miswritten for wunne as the rhyme shows. The original probably had ƿ̇unne, which the scribe of J copied as ynne.209.me draȝe to, incline towards, act in accordance with. The physical sense, betake oneself, is seen in ‘þes duc mid his drihte;to þare sæ him droh,’ L 92, and intransitively at 32/47. Comp. also ‘heald þin cunde,’ follow thy nature, OEH ii. 31/6.210.me, as in J, seems necessary as the object of schende, immediately before which it should be inserted.211is formal; comp. ‘on me hit is isene,’ ON 367; ‘On þe hit is wel eþ sene,’ OEH ii. 255/5; Minot viii. 79 note.on me, in my case; for this use of on, comp. 155/94; similar is bi, 4/30.hitrepresents l. 212.212.vor riȝte cunde, it is purely because of my nature that I am so keen.215, 216. Comp. 153/67, 68.to me ledeþ, lead against me, bring to attack me; comp. ‘Me þinkþ þu ledest ferde to me,’ ON 1672.220.bi, near.221.goþ: go might have been expected, as bigrede is subjunctive.222.Riȝt so: comp. 153/76.223.rede: dative.225.me . . . of, about me; comp. 1/3.Þetin J is a mistake for ȝet.227.woning: comp. 159/176, 182.228.to ihire, to be heard, to listen to; comp. 159/180.229.efne, uniformly, without trillings; comp. 153/48.230.Mid fulle dreme, with good round volume of sound, in contrast with the nightingale’s thin shrill pipe, ll. 235, 236.236.weode unripe, half-grown weed, like Milton’s ‘scrannel pipes of wretched straw.’239-246.a riȝte time. The owl takes credit for singing, not all night like the nightingale, l. 247, but only to call the religious to their hours,an eue, Vespers (æfen-sang);bedtime, Compline (niht-sang);ad middelniȝte, Mattins with Lauds (ūht-sang);dairim, Prime (prīm-sang), ‘þærrihte upasprungenum dægriman dægredsang sy begunnen,’ Benedictine Rule, ed. Schröer, 32/22. S. Brendan in his wanderings came to thebird’sparadise where ‘þe foweles sunge ek here matyns: wel riȝt, þo hit was tyme, | ⁊ of þe sauter seide þe uers: ⁊ siþþe also prime, | ⁊ vnderne siþþe ⁊ middai: ⁊ afterwardes non, | ⁊ eche tyde songen of þe dai: as cristene men scholde don,’ Legendary, ed. Horstman, 225/223.note, employment, here divine service; comp. 74/210. The nightingale claims her share in this at ll. 347-353.248.fort: see72/179 note.251.crei: found here only; it has been explained as crowing, or crying, it can hardly be connected with F. cri, but it may possibly be, as Breier suggests, connected with OE.crāwan. More likely it is an imitative word invented by the writer.252.þat, so that.256. A mixed construction combining (i) that one esteems nothing of thy song, values thy song at nothing, and (ii) thy song is worth nothing; with the latter comp. ‘nis noht wurð þratte;buten þer beo dede æt,’ L 26555, with the former 124/265 note; ‘Thei tolde right nauȝt of thyn awe,’ Laud Troy Book, 2178.of þar, thereof, of thy song.258.wel unwreste, right feebly.261. Be the song pleasing beyond all measure, ever so pleasing.nedoes not negative the verb, but goes with and strengthens neuer; comp. ‘Ne beo he nefre swa riche, forð he scal þenne is dei cumeð,’ OEH 35/21; similarly 23/168, 43/225; ‘treouðe nefde he nane;to nauer nane monne,’ L 25471.262.þatis not the correlative of so in the preceding line, which is a conditional clause; it is an illogical repetition of ‘þat’ in ll. 256, 258: the sense is, though the song be ever so pleasing, it must appear unpleasing, if it continues &c. Forne, see 25/240.263.ouer unwille, ‘beyond what is desirable,’ Specimens, but in the glossary unwille is translated, displeasure. Wells takes unwille as an adverb qualified by ouer, ‘too unpleasantly.’ Probablyoueris written for ower which withunwillewould form an adverbial phrase, against your will, or pleasure, representing OE.ūrum unwillum, the latterelement beingpl. d.ofunwilla; comp. ‘ure gast biþ swiþe wide farende urum unwillum,’ Boethius 152/4. Similar combinations descending from OE.unwillare seen in ‘þe man . . . here wuneð on wanrede ⁊ þoleð his unwille hwile druie, ⁊ hwile wete,’ OEH ii. 123/5; ‘hire unwilles,’ 140/25; ‘hire unwil,’ 141/136, HM 31/32; ‘min unwil,’ SM 13/3: see140/25 note.264.aspille, waste.268.unmeþe: comp. 118/47.276.so foruorþ iladde, carried so far, i.e. she had said so much.foruorþ, lit. far onwards; but forþ comes to mean simply, far; comp. ‘uorþ ase ȝe muwen,’ AR 46/10; ‘ouer al ase forð as imei,’ SJ 47/6. Withiladdecomp. ‘Of ðis kinge wil we leden song,’ GE 699; ‘talewise men þe speches driuen,’ OEH ii. 193/27.278.ifare, ‘conveyed,’ Specimens, as if a strongpp.from the weak verbferian. But the writer has elsewhere (l. 1709) ifare aspp.offaran, and the sense yielded, ‘should not be presented, conveyed, aright,’ does not suit the context.Weorðan, wurðen are sometimes used with past participles of intransitive verbs, ‘Denum eallum wearð | æfter þam wælræse willa gelumpen,’ Beowulf 823; ‘swa hit agangen wearð | eorla manegum,’ id. 1234; ‘þa þat forme ȝer;wharð forð igan,’ L 4942; and similarly ‘þe arcebiscop ongan to tellende . . . hu hit gefaran wes,’ AS. Chron. ed. Plummer, i. 130/30: the natural meaning ofariht faranis, to fare well, to prosper, and the present phrase may well mean, that her answer might not turn out prospered, well.281.berþ grete ilete, assumes a haughty bearing; comp. 151/35, 171/358, and forpl.110/273, 129/35.282. So that he do not, through cowardice, give up his case, give way.hitis a vague object; comp. 42/214 note.284.svicst: see footnote: Wells adopts the correction of the MS. and reads vicst, fightest, and Breier thinks the original had fihst; in Specimens niswicst is read without reference, and explained, ‘ceasest not.’ The readings of the MSS. may be accounted for thus. The author probably wrote biswicst (comp. 155/114, ON 930), deludest by a show of fight; the copyist of the exemplar common to CJ, with iswiken (geswīcan), cease, in his mind, altered to iswicst; C copied that, but noting its unfitness emended it to vicst, spoiling the rhythm, while J rejected i and adopted swykst, deceivest.286. He will make a barrow-pig of a boar, i.e. he will climb down, from a fierce animal he will become quite tame. The boar is typically fierce, ‘brem as a bare,’ Sir Degrevant, 1240.298.cumeþ to londe, comes to dwell with us, like ‘Þa æstre wes aȝeonge;and sumer com to londe,’ L 24241 (‘to toune,’MS.O). See KH 153 note.299.þe ille, the evil one, the devil; in modern dialect, the ill man, the ill thief: comp. ‘wurse’ 98/81. Wells says ‘the evil man.’305, 306. Nor would he mind though flocks (coarse felted stuff made of refuse of wool and cotton) were muddled up with fine carded wool and hair, that is, he would take a perverse delight in a confusion which would be troublesome to sort out.roȝte:pt. s. subj.appears to owe its time towolde. Withflokkescomp. ‘xv capella nigra . . . falsi operis et mixti de lana et flokkes,’ Munim. Gildh. Lond. iii. 433 (quoted in NED,s.v.flock2).Imeind bi:mengan, mengen mostly take wiþ, ON 131 or mid, 151/18, 38/142, ON 870;biappears to be quite isolated.310.fort: see 72/179.312.for mine þinge, on my account: comp. ‘Ða ic þas stemne gehyrde and for minum þingum ongeat beon geclypode,’ Ælf. Lives ii. 32/485; ‘þat ich for þine þinge;mid sæxe me of-stinge,’ L 5033.313.blisseþ hitcan mean only, causes it to rejoice, comp. 14/50, 52. Alteration to hine would give a common reflexive use, rejoices; comp. ‘Ne mei nan mon . . . blissien him mid þisse wordle,’ OEH i. 33/29: hine would go withhiȝteþalso, as in ‘hyhte me myd my skentinge,’ ON 532; ‘ic . . . | ellen wylle | habban ⁊ hlyhhan | ⁊ me hyhtan to,’ Cod. Exon. ed. Thorpe, 456/19. J means, blesses my coming.318.þat—wtemay mean, that thou mayest know, but the reading of J gives a better sense, though you find fault with her action, andþatis probably a scribe’s mistake for þah.320, 323.shulle: the ordinary construction ofbiddanwhere its object is expressed by a clause is þat with the subjunctive of the verb, as at 77/60, 141/39; ‘þa bæd he eaðmodlice þæt he hiene ne sende,’ Cura Past., 48/6; the insertion ofshulle, which apparently does not alter the sense, is new; comp. ‘Ðeo apostles hine beden ꝥ he scalde suggen hwet þeo saȝe bicweðe,’ OEH 133/23.327.sume: a mistake of the common exemplar for sumere, as Mätzner pointed out: comp. ‘vor sumeres tide is al to wlonc,’ ON 489.328. Comp. ‘eorlum bringe | blisse in burgum,’ Grein, Poesie, iii. 189.333. Comp. 161/203.334.to wan, to what end, for what purpose: OE.tō hwan(hwon).340.ginneþ . . . wurche, do compose, or, sing: for the periphrasis see KH 1277 note, Anglia xxix. 129. But Sweet translates ‘anginnað ðonne oftrædlice mare secggean,’ Cura Past. 66/3 ‘often try to speak more.’341.bi, through the agency of.342. Comp. 42/210, 48/326, 327.shal, must go: comp. 2/2 note. bon:inf.depending on shal.345. And note from the church song.348.wicke tunes, monasteries and other religious houses: OE.wīctūn, which translates L. atria, ‘introite in atria ejus,’ ‘ingangað on his wic-tunas,’ Ps. xcv. 8, xcix. 3: in form the ME. word is possibly influenced bywīce, office; wike occurs three times in ON.349.to, at; see 163/241.351.prostes: that is, seculars,upe londe, in their parishes, as distinguished from the clerks (l. 347), who are either monks or canons.353. Repeated from ON 484.wat(hwat), as far as; an adverbialacc.of extent: comp. ‘wet we on þisse middelerd liuien,’ OEH 11/2, as long as; ‘also wat se we sinegen,’ OEH ii. 101/29, as soon as; ‘also wat swo þe þridde dageð,’ id. 103/26: see ‘alwat,’ 15/84, 215/26.354begins a paragraph with large initial in both MSS., but it goes with the preceding line ‘heo walde neoþeles ȝefe answere.’ The owl’s language was threatening. Comp. ‘Þe niȝtingale at þisse worde, | mid sworde an mid speres orde, | ȝif ho mon were, wolde fiȝte,’ ON 1067; ‘men weorreð mid þreo kunne wepnen, mid scheotunge, mid speres ord ⁊ mid sweordes egge,’ AR 60/14.356.⁊—scheldegoes with orde.358.ilete: see 165/281.363.þah, not in J, is necessary to the sense.365.awille, to their pleasure.367. Added at bottom of leaf.awolde, in the woodland; for though by her place of birth she was weak in woodcraft, she had learnt wisdom from the men among whom she had been brought up.369.þenne, thence.371. Even if she had to speak in the king’s presence.Touoretakes a dative: see 102/144 and read kinge with J.373.Hwat: an exclamation, What!374.þan kinge: correction by Stratmann: perhaps his is to be read forþisin the preceding line: comp. l. 377.375.lame, crippled, unable to act: comp. ‘Debilis uel eneruatuslame,’ Wright-Wülcker, Vocab. 162/1.376.Hunke: strange in form, as in meaning: we should expect inc, as Wells points out: we, J 377 is more consistent.378.Lateþ beo, cease from your strife.384.doobviates the repetition of an: comp. 122/185.lahfulnesse,loyal holding to her offer, ll. 145-147, contrasted withunrihtfulnesse, l. 385.J 390.euis, of course, a mistake for us.391.An ȝefis clearly wrong, whileȝetin J, meaning moreover, gives a poor sense. The original may have been, ȝif, als ich wene, þat he wolde, if, as I think, he would be willing to act as umpire. Ȝif þat, if, occurs in ‘ac ȝif þat he forlost his wit,’ ON 693, where J rejects þat and spoils the metre: perhaps the avoidance of the construction has caused the corruption of the text.394.nuȝte: in all probability the original had nuste. The scribes, being acquainted with the graph st for ȝt, ht (see KH 249 note), mechanically substituted the latter here. C, starting correctly from nuste, wrote nuȝte; J read the original as miste, which for him meant myhte. There is a similar trouble in the text of ON 1300, where for nustest C has miȝtest or mistest and J nustest, ‘very like mistest,’ Wells.397.utlete: the passage to the sea, now represented by the Fleet between the Chesil Bank and the mainland. Portisham is now about three miles inland, near Abbotsbury, to the monastery in which place it formerly belonged (Dugdale, Monast. iii. 52).400.þurh&c.: by his delivered judgements and by his writings; that they righted matters as far as Scotland is a playful exaggeration.407. Why will they not betake themselves to counsel, that is, take counsel: comp. ‘þe traytours of Scotlond token hem to rede, | þe barouns of engelond to brynge to dede,’ Bödd. AE. Dicht. 133/225; ‘Þe Irise oft tok hem to red, | To ston þat douhti kniȝt to ded,’ Horn Childe, 214; ‘Cnihtes eoden to ræde,’ L 19238; Minot vi. 68 note.409.for teche: see 40/180.410.rente, income of any sort, here probably from church preferments.a uale stude, in many a place; another playful touch.413.riche men, men in high place.414.leteþ, neglect.415.of . . . con: comp. ‘He couþe of wode ⁊ of ryuere,’ R. of Brunne, Chron. 4006, and contrast ‘Brennes cuðe on hundes;Brennes cuðe an hauekes,’ L 4895.417. See 44/260 note.418.litle childre: the appointment of well-connected boys to valuable preferments was an abuse of that time. Comp. ‘Si nepotibus suis paruulis [prelati] mille animas strangulandas tradiderint et dixerint adulatores quod bene faciunt, tales in curiis laudantur,’ Eudes de Cheriton, p. 262. It is frequently referred to in Grosseteste’s letters, as no. 17, 19, 26, 30 &c.420. In this way their wit adjudges them in error, namely, inasmuch as Master Nicholas continues to endure such neglect.swois explained by the clause which begins withþat. Wells translates, ‘So they condemn their intelligence [as] in error (foolish),’ but that is against the order of the words and syncopatedpres. pluralsare rare.423. In J,þatis a mistake for þar.425.rede, present, report.428.al:acc.after telle.ende of orde, end from beginning, that is, from beginning to end; a strange expression, but not more so than ‘ord fram þan ende,’ L 15770, 22983. In OE. as now, ‘from ord oð ende forð,’ Elene, 590; ‘ord and ende,’ Ælf. Hom. ii. 220/34.430.misrempe: only here and in ‘misrempe ⁊ misdo,’ ON 1353, where J substitutes ‘misnyme,’ and the scribe of C adds in the margin ‘steppe’ as a gloss on rempe. The simple verb occurs twice, ‘Oft mon biþ suiðe rempende,’ Cura Past. 149/12, corresponding to ‘praecipitata actio’ of the Latin original, and ‘þe Bretons sawe þer syde ȝede lowe | þey rempede þem to reste a þrowe,’ R. of Brunne, 3491, where Wace has ‘a une part se sont retret,’ 3160. The root of the word, as of OHG. rimpfan, G. rümpfen, F. rampe, a slope, OE. *hrimpan, Gk.κράμβος, Eng. rimple, rumple, appears to mean, crooked, out of straight, hence ‘rempende’ said of headlong action, ‘rempede,’ drew aside, ‘misrempe,’ to go crooked, out of the straight path, in this place, to act on the cross, be dishonest.431.crempe, restrain, check; only here and in the compound forcrempeþ, ON 510: related to cramp, and ultimately to the word with which it here rhymes.433. Absolutely without army or following; comp. ‘Ne scalt þu neuere þider faren;bute mochelere ferde,’ L 3678.434.ꝥ: þat, until; comp. 72/179 note; ‘æuere heo uerden alle niht;þat hit wes dæi-liht,’ L 19200; KH 123 note.þerin J may mean where, but it is more probably a mistaken expansion of the original. Forbicomesee 147/134.Phonology:... þane 414 is LWS.þaneL.W.S.eabeforer...gef, EWS.giefE. W. S.a+g... liȝte 119 r. w. riȝteliȝteIn bisemar 104 ...uforeemisprinted as italic instead of bold(2)Of J....eo,u- andå-umlaut ofiimisprinted as italic instead of boldēois mostly preservedeoThe new diphthongs ... of þuhte 275ofþuhteAccidence:... OE. are blo 108, 319, (Portes)hom 395319 (Portes)homAdjectives ...āgenhas lost nagenMetre:... þíd|er fúnd|eþ eúr|ich mán 337text unchanged: error for “éur|ich”?þe níȝt|ingál|e bigón | þe spécheníȝt | ingál|eHe wún|eþ át | pórt|es hómpórt | es hómÞo húl|ẹ one wíl|e hí | biþóȝtehúl | ẹRead ... 160/185 vychcorrected by author from “160/186”5. ... L 4170, MS. O.L.132. ... Hendyng, Böddeker, AE. Dicht.Æ. Dicht.167. ... KH MS. O. 585KH.239-246. ... the bird’s paradisetext unchanged: expected word “birds’”298. ... (‘to toune,’ MS. O)Ms. O

Manuscripts:i. Jesus College, Oxford, E 29 (J); seep. 285. ii. Cotton Caligula A 9, British Museum (C); seep. 450. They are copies of a common exemplar X, which was probably taken directly from the poet’s original. X was written by two scribes; the work of the first is represented in ll. 1-353 of the present selection; that of the second in ll. 354-437; the former was accustomed to French scribal methods. The writer of C was a mechanical copyist and not at home in English, consequently he reproduces X with tolerable accuracy. The scribe of J was more independent (seep. 293).Facsimile:Of J. The Owl and the Nightingale, ed. J. E. Wells.Editions:Stevenson, J., Roxburghe Club, London, 1838; Wright, T., Percy Society, no. xxxix, London, 1843 (text of C); Stratmann, F. H., Krefeld, 1868 (critical edition); *Wells, J. E., Boston, 1907 (parallel texts with notes); Gadow, W., Palaestra, no. lxv, Berlin, 1909 (text of C with variants of J).Literature:Borsch, J., Ueber Metrik und Poetik der altenglischen Dichtung The Owl and the Nightingale, Münster, 1883; *Breier, W.,Eule und Nachtigall, Halle, 1910, completed in Morsbachs Studien, no. xxxix, Halle, 1910; ES xlii. 306, 408; Ebisch, W., Zur Syntax des Verbs im altengl. Gedicht Eule und Nachtigall, Leipzig, 1905; Gadow, W., Eule und Nachtigall, Berlin, 1907 (completed in edition as above); Kenyon, J. S., Journal of English and Germanic Philology, xii. 572-92; Koch, J., Anglia, Beiblatt, xxi. 227-40; Noelle, H., Die Sprache des altengl. Gedichts von der Eule und Nachtigall, Göttingen, 1870; Sherman, L. A., A Grammatical Analysis of the OE. Poem The Owl and the Nightingale, Transactions of the American Philological Association, vi. 1875. Wells, J., Anglia, xxxiii. 252-69; Modern Language Notes, xxv. 108, xxvi. 139-41.Phonology:(1)of C. The spellings of (a) ll. 1-353 and (b) ll. 354-437 are distinguished, when they show a characteristic difference. Significant rhymes are recorded. Oralaisa, fare 422, tale 3;abefore nasals wavers betweena(10 times) ando(14), can 126, vram 119, man 334, mani 399, þan 22, 24, þane 39, wanne 308, bigon 13, con 199, from 154, monnes 254, moni 355, nome 405, þonkes 70, won 240, wone 243, wonne 38, exceptionally þenne (þænne);abefore lengthening groups iso, honde 400, onde 297, longe 45, tonge 112, but andsuare 105, answare 55, 277;andis and 4, an 7 &c.;man, indefinite, me 32; ferden 432 r. w. uerde, descends fromfēran.æis regularlya, bare 56, 106 r. w. answare, glad 312, hadde 275 r. w. iladde, smal 73 r. w. al.eise, bet 21, hen 291; before lengthening groups, ende 386, felde 357: (a) suich 283, suiche 134 is from a form ini, (b) swucche 354, swuch 374 from one iny: a diphthong has developed in imeind 18, 306 (gemenged, comp. 451/25).iisi, bile 79, chirche 339, is 388 r. w. wis, (a) wile 141 r. w. sckile; before lengthening groups, bringe 311, linde 393, but wsome (= ysome) 136, (b) wulle 373, nulleþ 407, wuste 10 r. w. custe, neltu 106 (nelt), wolcumeð 318, withowritten in this text forufromeby labial influence, comp. wulcume L 8528 &c., grulde 98 (*gryllan).oiso, bodi 73, horne 234, word 45, wolde 128, nolde 115, but walde 370 r. w. scholde; þane 414 isLWS.þane, wan 334,hwan: onprep.is reduced to an 239 and often to a 20 &c.œ,i-umlaut ofo, still lingers in seorhe ON 1599.uisu, cumeþ 298, luueþ 188, wunest 254, butoin lo`u´ue, where `u´ was possibly meant as a correction ofo, ouerkome 386, wode 322 r. w. rude, woning 403, in whichois associated withm,n,w;ubefore lengthening groups isu, dumb 294, tunge 194, but tonge r. w. iþrunge.yisu, kume 314 (perhaps with [u] from cuman), murie 261, vuele 63, stude 410 (styde) r. w. mide, muchel 404, muche 413 (mycel); before lengthening groups, cunde 88, hurne 14; but unrounded in þincþ 430, þincþe 46, þinche 262, wirche 340; wrchen 286 is probably French writing for wurchen.āis regularlyo, bore 286, hoten 192, swo 76, 381, so 52, 289, 415, o 249, 331, þos 95, but a 45, 104, 112, an 4, 80, Portesham 434, swa ON 1577, wa 425, þeos 413 (þās); before two consonantso, wostu 334, but axest 325, 329, hattest 191.ǣ1is regularlye, brede 130, ledeþ 216, sprede 315 r. w. mede, þen 386, but þare 28 &c., þan 156 (3); before two consonantse, fleshe 83, ileste 257, meshe 84 (*mǣscan), neuer 60, but iladde 276, wranne 360.ǣ1is elsewhere sometimesea, eauer ON 922, deale ON 954, bileaue ON 1688.ǣ2is alsoe, forlete 36, rede 425; before two consonants, oferd 277, butain lat 194 (4), lateþ 372 (3), ofdrad 387, þar 16 &c., þareafter 271, þareuore 210, whar 64, war 392, uareuore 203, 333, these pronominal forms probably come from shortenedǣ: before two consonants, fnast 44, raddest 115, misraddest 116.ēise, breme 158, kene 212; before two consonants, dest 49, 237 r. w. preost, spedde 435, but dost 307, dostu 174, 289, doþ 112, 238 withofrom the plural.īisi, wile 155, pipe 22, suiþe ON 376; before two consonants, þriste 127 r. w. liste, wisdom 399, but (a) suþe 2, 12, 111 fromswȳþewith absorption ofw, comp. such from swuch.ōiso, brode 93, ilome 49, noþeles 105, but neoþeles 357 (15 times in Layamon, see 452/8); before two consonants, blostme 315, softe 6.ūisu, kuþe 332, tukest 63, hule 4 &c., but houle 428, a French writing.ȳisu, hud 120, lutle 356, þuuele 214 r. w. foȝle, but litle 419, þe 19, 34, 401, forþe 69, vorþi 65, hwi 407, whi 106, wi 174 (hwī).eabeforer+ cons. isa, areȝ 285, ȝare 171 r. w. aiware, hardeliche 280, þaref 146, but eardingstowe 28; thei-umlaut before a lengthening group isein uerde 433 r. w. ferden:ciermis chirme 221 (see Bülb. 187 anm.) but bichermet 215.eabeforel+ cons. isa, al 8 and the numerous forms ofeall, hale 2 r. w. dale, schaltu 165; before lengthening groupso, which descends from Anglian unbroken lengtheneda, as in Layamon 452/15, bold 233 (3), boldeliche 279, biholde 71, holde 3 (4), wolde 367, but once belde 358: without umlaut are falt 37, halt 32.eobeforer+ cons. iso, for 328, vorre 243, horte 37, 43, rorde 227; before a lengthening group, ilorned 172; but daisterre 244 r. w. vorre: forbernest 297 is frombærnan;wyrwords are worse 219 r. w. mershe, worste 10, worþ 283, wrs 34, elsewhere wurs ON 793, wrþ 256, unwrþ 255, elsewhere wurþ ON 769.eobeforel+ cons. is seen in sulue 69. Theu-umlaut ofais wanting in hauekes 207 (3).eo,u-umlaut ofegives houene 335, 346 r. w. steuene, 350.eo,å-umlaut ofeis seen in feole 415, but uele 20, and fale 365, auale 410 (feala).eo,u- andå-umlaut ofiiso(foreo) in honne 66 r. w. kunne, hore 216 &c., noþerward 100, soþþe 240, but (b) heore 418.eaafter palatals isa, schal 143, ȝaf 55, 105, aȝaf 95, before nasal, schame 50 (3),but schome 123.ieaftergise, biȝete 344, uorȝete 343, underȝete 124, ȝeueþ 419, but ȝiueþ 416, ȝiue 410.ieafterscisiin schille 98, 364,ein schelde 356 r. w. felde.gef,EWS.giefis ȝif 51 &c., ȝef 429.eoaftersciso, scholde 371 r. w. walde, sholdest 54, short 73, but Anglian schulde 390 r. w. wule.eomis Angl. am 126, 212, nam 387,heom, hom 62, 94.ēais regularlye, blete 57, dreme 230; before two consonants, cheste 133 r. w. unwerste, but earen 254, unneaþe ON 1605, dreim 21 (a scribal error). Thei-umlaut ise, grettre 74, ȝeme 345, ihere 180 r. w. fere, iherde 2, ihert 406, but ihire 228.ēois (a)o, a French writing, blo 108, 319, bon 198, 342, bo 107 (9), boþ 75 (4), flo 33 (4), flon 106, floþ 214, ho 19 (13), hom 353, iso 243, isoþ 302, lof 159 (3), oftoned 190, so 34, swore 73, tone 50, prostes 351, þo 26, 155, þos 41 (4), holde 12, hold 100, athold 270, bihold 30, but the corrector has added e in preost 238 r. w. dest, weode 236; (b)eo, beo, beoþ 378, 418, heo 360 (9), heom 407, 408, but ho 368. Thei-umlaut is seen in atfliþ 37 (Angl.flīþ), þuster 154 (3).gesīeneis isene 122, 211 r. w. kene;gīet, ȝet 225.ēofromōaftergisoin ȝomere 293 r. w. sumere,ēafromāaftersc,ein schede 153.a+gisaȝ, draȝe 209.æ+gisai, dai 89 &c., vaire 15 &c., mai 141 (4), fawre 138, miswritten for fayre, buteiin seide 9, 289, 424, 265 r. w. rede, 325 r. w. dede, rhymes which indicate sede 33, 173 representingsǣdeas the original form, so ised 273 r. w. red isgesǣd.e+gisei, aȝein 431, pleie 169, wei 224, under this head come seist 50 (4) fromsegst, seiþ 132 fromsegð, seie 173 fromsege: aȝen 7, 314 isagēn, snailes 87,snægl.i+hisiȝ, adiȝte 242, wiȝt 312, orih, diht 399; foriht,istis written in mist 78: finaligisi, bodi 73.o+gisoȝ, itoȝen 368.u+gisuȝ, fuȝele 64 r. w. vuele, but the spirant has been absorbed in fuelkunne 65; foȝle 213 r. w. þuuele, is a French spelling.y+his unrounded in hiȝte 208, hiȝteþ 314.ā+gisoȝ, oȝe 195, þroȝe 196.ǣ1+giseiin eiþer 9, 141, but aiþer 7, aiware 172.ǣ2+gis seen in iseȝe 303.ō+gisoȝ, boȝe 15, woȝe 120.ō+hisoȝ, broȝte 150, noȝt 58 (nōht), roȝte 305, þoȝte 269, butohin brohte 369.u+hisuȝ, þuȝte 21, ofþuȝte 275.ea+hiseȝ, iseȝ 29, ouerseȝ 30; thei-umlaut isiȝ, miȝt 64, 177, miȝte 42, 411, miȝtest 192, niȝt 89, but mihte 392.eo+ht, ariȝt 278, briȝter 108, viȝte 128, riȝt 76, riȝte 120 r. w. liȝte 398, but riht 379, unrihtfulnesse 385; bituxen 390 represents WS.betux: thei-umlaut gives isiþ 285, but isoþ 302 without umlaut.ēa+g,his (a) eȝe 304 r. w. iseȝe, neȝ 44, þeȝ 48, but þoȝ 220, (b) þeg 367, þah 422.ēo+his (a)iȝ, liȝte 119 r. w.riȝte, (b) ih, lihtlich 402, 417; thei-umlaut is seen in fliȝst 89, 183, fliȝt 132, 224, atfliþ 37:dīegelis diȝele 2.ā+wisow, crowe 220, croweþ 251, snov 308, asnowe 291, owel 80 (*āwul), but nawt 383; clawe 109, 110 is probablyclawe.ī+w, howe 108 (Anglianhēow).ō+w, bigrowe 27,-stowe28, but nouþer 375 (nōwþer).ēa+w, gleu 149, unþeu 150, but sewi 107.ēo+w, eu 436, ower 379, trod.316, representing occasionaldat.trēo.In bisemar 104aappears fore, in svikel- 118, 119eforo, in munekes 347eforu, in gladur 19, uairur 108,ufore, but gladdere ON 737.āisoin oferd 277, elsewhere aferd 288.ehas been added in areȝ 285 (earg), areȝþe 282, arehþe 359, bareȝ 286, bisemar 104, hardeliche 280, narewe 68, steuene 345, 363, þaref 146, lost in warni 246, as already in OE.warnian; houẹneriche 335, houẹneliȝte 350, representheofon-rīce,heofon-lēoht, similarly þornewode 322, þarẹuore 210, warẹuore 203, 333. The prefix in atschet 44 isoþ;be-is regularlybi-, bigrede 220, bitelle 199;ain adun 164 isof; the prefixge-is fully preserved asi-; the suffix-hede, 118 &c. is *hǣd.wis writtenuin suiche 134, 283, tuengst 112, but more frequentlyv, sval 7, tosvolle 101; it stands forwuin wrchen 286, wrs 34, wrþ 256, unwrþ 255, forwiin wle 284, foruuin wl 31, wle 35 (fūle); in wole 8, as Breier explains, the original had uuele (yfele), the copyist took uu as w and read wole (fūle). Metathesis ofris seen in unwerste 134;rris simplified in for 328.nis lost in þane 39 &c., wane 298, 352, ope 124,onis often reduced toa, adwole 420 &c.;nnis simplified in hen 291, kun 332. Forfinitial,f,u,vare used indiscriminately, faire 114, vaire 15, fiȝt 132, viȝte 128, for 328, vorre 243, foruorþ 276, for 32, uor 19, vor 43, vram 119, from 62; it is oncewin waste (fæst), andw=uuin wl 31, wle 35; between vowelsfis regularlyu, buue 164, auale 410 beside fale 365, touore 371, similarly eure 251, cliure 78 (3), sulue 67, butvin eve 41, over 64,fin afere 177, aferd 288, ifare 278, oferd 277; in other positions it is commonlyf, efne 229, stefne 230.tis lost in blosme 16 as already in OE.blōsma, nel tu 106, doubled in sittest 89; fort,dis written in ad 241;ttis simplified in wit 420. Ford,tis written in ihert 406;dis mostly omitted in an 7 &c., beside occasional and 4, 294, also in answare 55, 277, as rarely in OE., but andsuare 105; spene 121 is a new back formation from thept.tense andpp.of spend (NED);ddis simplified in bed- 240, midel- 349. Forþ,dappears in haued 123, lodlich 32 (3),tin witute 139, 200, bigredet 67, biledet 68, hatiet 186, schuniet 185, singet 152, wit 56, 222; dostu 174, 289 is a compendium for dost þu, similarly axestu 329, wenestu 219.sćissch, schal 143, schende 210, bischopen 404, schuniet 185, but occasionallysh, shal 258, ishote 23, mershe 220, and onces, sewi 107. The stopcis regularlykbeforeeandi, unker 107, loki 56, also in kon 326, kume 314, kun 332, kunne 144, kuþe 332, andckin eck 130, haueck 219, otherwisec, cunne 47, 48, cuþe 360, hauec 223, spac 274:ccisck, flockes 216, þicke17, 308; it is simplified in stoc 25: (b) ah 357 (6) is Anglianah, but (a) ac 83 (6).cwis (a)qu, quaþ 143, but (b) cwaþ 372 (5).čis expressed bych, chirche 339, ich 1, swuche 354, unwrenche 125, ilich 232, 234, but ilike 113 r. w. biswike.ččiscch, recche 60, wrecche 251, but reche 58;čǧisgg, alegge 272, hegge 17, 59 (*hecg), legge 164, segge 18. Palatalgis writtenȝ, ȝare 171, ȝaf 105, areȝþe 285, murȝþe 257 (3), areȝ 285, bareȝ 286, folȝeþ 223, isuolȝe 102, unwroȝen 118, but arehþe 359, ibolwe 101.ngappears in lengþe 130, strengþe 129, but strencþe 356 (Horn, Beiträge, 60).hhas been added initially in his 404, hunke 376, hure 141, and dropped in abbe 130, is 281.hrisrin rise 19;hl,lin lud 6, luste 99;hwishwin hwile ON 1591,whin what 60, but otherwisew, aiware 172, wat 141 &c., wan 334, wile 6 (3), wa 425, wo 152, wonne 38, wone 243, won 240, wider 342.(2)Of J.Mainly a record of divergences from C.ais more frequentlyobefore nasals, grome 49, lome 375, mon 334, 355, and before lengthening groups, ondsware 105, onsware 55. Beside hwanne 121, 308, hwenne occurs 38 (4). ewel 80 takes its initial vowel fromæl.æisein hedde 102 (3), queþ 372 (3), wes 1 (7).e, sweche 354, but such 374, suche 134 (swylc).iis often written in French fashiony, especially in conjunction withm,n,u,h, myne 51, ynne 208, clyures 111, fyht 132;willaþis wille 373; welcometh 318 haswelsubstituted forwil; with cleures 84, 206 comp. ‘cleafres,’ AR 102/5, ‘claures,’ Corpus MS.o, wolde 370.u, tunge 37, vnne 382, but schonyeþ 185, vowele 213, a French use.ā, hwo 425, no 202, meaning nor, but naþeles 105, 357.ǣ1dayrewe 244, wrenne 360 (3); eoch 231, euche 151, euych 187 descend fromylc, comp. 288/8; meysse 84 (*mǣscan), vleysse 83, withǣbeforesć, may, in this text, be French spellings, but comp. 428/6.ǣ2is with fewer exceptionse, efne 239, let 194 (4), leteþ 372 (3), ofdred 387.ē, dome 426 is misspelt for deme.ī, swiþe 2, 12, swyþe 149.ȳ, hwy, with y written for i.eabeforer+ cons. isein erdingstowe 28.eobeforer+ cons. iseo, veor 328, veorre 243, heorte 37, reorde 227, steorre 244, ileorned 172.ie, bichirmeþ 215. No umlaut in heuene 346 r. w. stefne, heueryche 335, fele 415, but veole 20.eo,u- andå-umlaut ofi, heonne 66, heore 216 &c. neþerward 100, seþþe 240.eaafter palatal and before nasal, schome 50, 374, schomye 117.ieaftergis regularlye, yeue 410, yeueþ 416, 419.giefis if 283 &c.:heom, heom 62 &c.ēa, eren 254, drem 21; thei-umlaut, ihere 228.ēois mostly preserved, fleo 33, heo 33, heolde 51, leof 159, preostes 351, teone 50, but he 19, holde 12, lesen 267, prest 238, swere 73.The new diphthongs have reached a more advanced stage in which w displaces ȝ; y is used extensively for i.a+g, drawe 209, mawe 138.æ+g, day 89, vayre 15, but seyde 9, iseyd 273.e+g, ayeyn 7 (3), pleye 169, seyþ 132, snayles 87, seist 50.i+h, adihte 242, bitwihen 390 (betwih), myht 78.i+g, unwryen 118.o+g, itowen 368.u+g, vowele 64, fowel 65, muwe 62.ā+g, owe 195, þrowe 196.ǣ1+g, eyþer 9; ihware 172 is OE.gehwǣr.ō+g, bowe 15, wowe 120.ō+hisouh, brouhte 156, 369, þouhte 269, roughte 305, but þoutest 113.ū+h, þuhte 21,of þuhte275.ea+h, iseyh 29, ouerseyh 30; thei-umlaut, myhte 42, nyht 252.eo+h, ariht 278, brihter 108, vyhte 128, ryht 76; thei-umlaut, isihþ 285.ēa+g, eyen 75, 100, eye 304, neyh 44;þēahappears as þeih 367, þeyh 137 &c., þey 287, þah 422 (stressed), þe 48, 220.ēo+h, lyhte 119, ryhte 120; thei-umlaut, flyhst 89, flyhþ 132;dīegelis dyele 2.ā+w, snouh 308, nouht 58, nowiht 256, noht 183.ī+w, hewe 108.ēo+w, eure 379, treo 316.iis levelled toein chireche 339, clerekes 340, 347, mureþe 257, murehþe 336, 343; in gretture 74,uappears fore;eis inserted in bolewe 101, swikedom 119.wstands foruin hw 46, 435; it is written forwuin wrche 340, wrse 219, wrste 10, wrþe 278, and forwein wre 159; it isuin suych 283. Finalnis omitted in a 241 &c.fisvin ivi 27.dis written fortin bid 319; it is doubled in gladdre 19. Forþ,tis written in wit 57,hin bihouhte 155.sćiss, sarp 79, atset 44, sende 210,sc, biscrycheþ 67, scrichest 179, scort 73,sch, schewi 107, scholdest 54, schulle 320, mersche 220. Beside sweche 354 are such 374, suche 134. Finalcis writtenkin spak 279, 288;cciskkin þikke 308;cwisquin iqueme 427. nyk 202 (OE.nič) is a Midland form, and probably due to Scandinavian influence; ic is ic 245 (7) beside ich 1 &c.; ilyche 113 r. w. biswike. Palatalgis very regularly writteny, yaf 55, 105, ayaf 95, yomere 293, voryete 343. Afterl,r,gpasses into the spirantw, bolewe 101, foleweþ 223, iswolwe 102, amorewe 310, moreweninge 361, sorewe 309, but arehþe 282 (areh + þe).gis lost initially in if 260 &c.his lost in þoutest 113.hwis generally preserved, hwan 334, hwar 64, hwi 204, hwile 158, ihware 172.Accidence:(1)of C. Strong declension ofmasc.andneut.nouns. In thes. n. a.bile 79, 205, griþbruche 377, kume 314 (possiblyd.), hete 123 have their OE. vocalic ending; songe 259 is a scribe’s mistake for song; bodi 73 has lost final g, eve 41, final n.Gen.-es, fuȝeles 259, speres 355:d.-e, boȝe 15, bore 286, daie 352, houene 346, sumere 1, 294, wintere 293, but adai 89 (3), aniȝt 89, 175, awinter 290; with loss of final consonant, amorȝe 310, eue 239 (3), iui 27; OE. are blo 108,319,(Portes)hom 395, tro 316; king 371 is miswritten for kinge. Thepl. n. a.of masculines ends in-es, snailes 87, tunes 348, but cliuers 111, 206, fuȝele 64 (see note): neuters are ibere 178, þinge 225, wiȝte 87, 160, and withmasc.termination,wiȝtes 309, wordes 134, unwiȝtis 174. Genitive is cunne 20; datives have mostly-e, foȝle 213, rise 19 (3), songe 82, stude 410, þinge 312, 415, þuuele 214, vnwrenche 125, volde 72, worde 114 (7), but craftes 329, cliures 84, toppes 306, bischopen 404. Thefem.nouns of the strong declension have-eins. n. a., answare 55, 277, blisse 298, 346, eardingstowe 28, godhede 267, skentinge 324, stefne 233, unrihtfulnesse 385, cheste 133, sorȝe 309, but hen 291, insiȝt 151, woning 227, 403, so ME. grucching, luring 301: þuster 154, 186, 188 is neuter.Gen.-e, worlde ON 476:dat.-ewithout exception, blisse 335, brede 130, ME. pipinge 232, 253, see 397.Pl. d.is dede 188, 406;a.blisse 311, clawe 109, tale 193, tide 26. Nouns of the weak declension have-ethroughout,s. n.swore 73, mose 69,d.deme 426, frogge 85, eȝe 304, wise 20, but uo 281,a.daisterre 244, grame 49, ȝeme 345, but dairim 244, iuo 359:pl. n.blosme 16, eȝene 75,d.fere 179, but earen 254. Minor declensions: uotepl. d.51; mans. n.210 (3), monness. g.254, 304, menpl. n.302, mannepl. d.365, menne 368, menpl. a.246; bokes. d.266; muspl. n.87; niȝts. n.250, middelniȝtes. d.241, but aniȝt 89, 175, niȝts. a.247, 252, niȝtespl. n.ON 523; childrepl. d.419.Adjectives which in OE. end in-ehave e in all cases, breme 158, grene 18, isene 122, 211, murie 261, þicke 17, riche 413, similarly those in-a, lame 375, unwille 300, but hoked 79 has loste, while ope 124 has vocalic ending by loss ofn, and fastredes. n. m. st., r. w. unrede, has added e. Those in-iglose g, holi 339. Otherwise thenom.is unchanged. Datives have-ein all genders,str., gode 223, riȝte 170, 200, 212,wk.faire 317, 319, fule 93, 295, olde 163, soacc. m. f. str.stronge 205, vaire 15, bolde 288, schille 98, 364, but stif 205, lodlich 32 before vowels, unwrþ 255,wk.gode 414, longe 247, but ful 94: wrecches. a. m. wk.251 has taken the form ofwreccasb. (Breier). Theacc. neut.is uninflected, god 131; wole 8 is corrupt.myceliss. n.muchel 404,s. d.muchele ON 1217:āgenhas lost n in oȝe 195. Thepl.of all adjectives ends in-e,n.brode 75, isome 378,d.belde 358, smale 213,a.gode 206, scharpe 109, but scharp 206 before a vowel. OE.āniss. n. m.on 25, 238 before vowel, 82, 330 (pronominal), o 331 (num. adj.),f.a 112, an 80 before vowel,s. d. m.one 2, 15, &c.,f.ore 17, 393, 397, one 14, 235,neut.one 1, 236,s. a. m.one 102, a 94, o 249 (num. adj.),f.one 4, 155, 324, an 4, one 403 (num. adj.),neut.a 45, 104.nāniss. n. m.no 210,f.146,s. d. m.none 168, 387; as adv. na more 169 (3). Adjectives used as nouns are wises. n. m.132,pl. d.181, bares. d.106,s. a.56, godes. d.338, ille 299, longe 45, vuele, wroþe 63 (see note), bletes. a.57, woȝe 120, 154, worste 10, but god 245. Comparatives have-e, betere 330 (3), grettere 74, mildre 418, worse 219, but briȝter 108, gladur 19, icundur 85, uairur 108.The personal pronouns are ich, i 353, me, unkerdual g., of us two 107, we, hurepl. g., of us 141, us, þu, (speddes) tu 125, þe, hunke 376 (see note), ȝe, eu. The pronoun of the third person iss. n.hem.21 &c., hof.19, 368, heo 360, 372 &c., he 97, 274, 279, hi 141, hitneut.28,d.himm.167, hiref.104, himneut.ON 682,a.hinem.392, hif.29, 30, 32, hitneut.92,pl. n.hi 10 &c., ho 66, 76, heo 418, 434, 435,d.hom 94, heom 408,a.hi 420, hom 62 (possiblyd.), heom ON 930: reflexive are hi 155, heom 407; definitive, sulue 69. Possessives ares. n.mi, before vowel or pronom. h, min,d.minem.46, miref.384, mine 59, 245,neut.83, 218,a. m.36, 242,f.196;pl.mine;s. n.þi, before vowel or h, þin,d.þinem.58, þin 117, þiref.307, 383, þine 40 (6),neut.88,a. m.119 &c., þin 249, þinef.194, þinneut.121 (before vowel), þi ON 104;pl.þine, but þinpl. n.75, 113 before vowel; his 188, is 281, hisneut.267; hire 26; ure 298; ower 379; hore 216, heore 418; unker 423, 425, 426. The definite article iss. n.þem.132, þof.26, 155, þe 13, 29 &c., þatneut.10 &c., þe 352,g.þasm.254, þaref.28,d.þanm.ON 125, þen 386, þe 322, 371, þaref.31, 397, þe ON 96, þanneut.ON 133, þe 56,a.þanem.414, þef.13, þatneut.8, 10;pl. n.þe 315. The article is also used demonstratively asadj.þat 5, 8 &c., þare 96, as pronoun, þat 82, þan 156, 405. The compound demonstrative iss. n.þesm.195, þosf.41 (3), þeos ON 1667, 1707,d.þisneut.437 (the metre requires þisse),a.þosf.133, þisneut.156 (4);pl. n.þos 348, þeos 413,d.þisse 432,a.þos 95, þeos ON 1653. The relatives are þe ON 1346, þat 10, 144; meaning to which 187, that which 78, 115, 174. Interrogatives are wa 425, wo 152, wat 141, 271, 353, what 60, (to) wan 334, wuch ON 1378 and the correlative suichn. s. m.283, swuchs. a. f.374, suichepl. n.134, swucchepl. d.354.gelīcis ilichs. n. m.232, 234;gelīca, ilikepl. n.113. Indefinites are me 32 &c., man 341; sums. a. f.6, summepl. n.ON 1648; eiþer 9, 141, aiþer 7; oþers. d. f.54,s. a.7,s. a. f.326, oþeress. g.9, oþerpl. n.160,pl. a.225; echs. n. m.231,neut.312, eches. d. m.151; eurichs. n. m.150,f.257,neut.185,g. m.304; enis. a. f.326,neut.338; monis. n. m.355, manis. a. m.399, manie 398, moniepl. d.72,a.193; uales. d. m.410, uelepl. g.20, falepl. d.365, feole 415; als.throughout, except alls. d. f.129, alles. a. f.247; allepl., except alreg.10.The infinitive ends in-e, singe 39 (5), wirche 340 and 40 other instances; exceptions in-enare losen 267, singen 327 before vowel or h, abiten 77, smiten 78 at end of line, hoten 192, speten 39, wrchen 286; the second weak conjugation has-i, liki 258, sewi 107; contract verbs are flo 284, 319, flon 106 before vowel. Thedat. inf.is not inflected, to biholde 71, for teche 408, [for] ȝiue 410, to seche 402 (virtual nominative): no examples in-en. Presents ares.1. abbe 130, adiȝte 242, kep (ich) 110; of secondwk. conj. warni 246, wndri 184; of contract verbs, iso 243, so 34; 2. axest 325, singest 247 (3), passive, hattest 191, axestu 329, wenestu 219, ME. clackes 81; with-ist, singist 175, wenist 231; seist 50 (4) representssegst; syncopated forms are telst 226, tuengst 112, wenst 47, the metre requires woldẹst 84, hauẹst 109; a contract verb is fliȝst 89, 183, fliȝst(e) 283; 3. blisseþ 313, croweþ 251 and 17 others, singet 152, schuniet 185; syncopated forms are numerous, abid 421, berþ 281, bit 319, 323, demþ 420, diht 399, falt 37, fiȝt 132, halt 32, helpþ 127, lat 224, liþ 308, lust 168, 169, singþ 339, telþ 256, þincþ 430, worþ 283, writ 399, þincþe 46 (= þincþ þe); seiþ 132 representssegð; contract verbs are atfliþ 37, fliȝt 132, 224, isiþ 285, isoþ 302;pl.3. bigredeþ 215, habbeþ 309, 406, bigredet 67, biledet 68, haued 123, floþ 214:subjunctive s.1. holde 59, schilde 57; second wk. conj., loki 56; 2. clawe 110, wepe 182; 3. bitide 52, uorȝete 343;pl.1. lete 133, ute 422, fo 135; 3. bigrede 220;imperative s.2. hud 120, stond 431, loke 122, schamie 117, seie 173, flo 33;pl.2. fareþ 379, lateþ 372 (3), lusteþ 372. Past of Strong Verbs: I a.s.3. aȝaf 95, ȝaf 55, 105, iseȝ 29, ouerseȝ 30, quaþ 143, 145, sat 15, 101, spac 274, 288;pl.3. seten ON 1102;subj. s.3. iseȝe 303: I b.s.3. com 361;pl.3. bicome 434: I c.s.3. bigon 13, song 20 (4), sval 7, warp 45;subj. s.3. wrþe 278: II.s.3. abod 41: III.s.3. atschet 44: IV.s.3. stod 25: V.s.3. athold 270, bihold 30, hold 100, let 8;pl.3. holde 12;subj. s.1. holde 51. Participles past: I a. awreke 198, bispeke 381, underȝete 124: I b. ibore 334: I c. ibolwe 101, ibred 367 (breden), isuolȝe 102, iþrunge 38, tosvolle 101: II. itoȝen 368: II, III. vnwroȝen 118: III. ishote 23: IV. ifare 278: V. bigrowe 27, bihote 388, iholde 366, ofdrad 387. Past of Weak Verbs:s.1. iherde 3; 2. raddest 115 (weak form), þoȝtest 113, speddestu 125; 3. broȝte 156, hadde 102, sede 33, seide 9;pl.3. spedde 435, ferden 432:subj. s.3. roȝte 305. Participles past: acoled 161, aferd 288, ihert 406, iladde 276 (lǣded), ilorned 172, imeind 18, 306, ised 273, oferd 277, oftoned 190. Minor Groups: an 1pr. s.382; can 1pr. s.126, 436, con 199, kon 326, conpr. s.415, cunne 1pr. s. subj.47, kunnepr. s. subj.144, kuþept. s.332, cuþe 360; þarefpr. s.146; wot 1pr. s.61, wostu 2pr. s.334, wotpr. s.151, ?wte 2pr. s. subj.318, wistept. s.103, wustept. pl.10, nuȝte ȝe 2pt. pl.394; schaltu 2pr. s.165, schalpr. s.143, shal 258, shulle 1pr. s. subj.320, 323, sholdest 2pt. s.54, scholdept. s.371, schulde 390; mai 1pr. s.184, miȝt 2pr. s.64 (3), mist 78, maipr. s.141, muȝe 1pr. pl.138,pr. pl. subj.62, miȝtest 2pt. s.192, miȝtept. s.42, mihte we 1pt. pl.392, miȝtept. s. subj.411; mote 1pr. s. subj.52; boninf.198, bo 146, beo 378, ?be 296, am 1pr. s.212, icham 126, nam 387, art 2pr. s.38, nart 285, ispr. s.34, his 404, nis 162, boþpr. pl.75 (5), beoþ 418, bo 2pr. s. subj.127,pr. s. subj.107 (4), bo 1pr. pl. subj.137, 2s. imp.197, beoþ 2pl. imp.378; was 1pt. s.1, werept. pl.16,pt. s. subj.21, nere 22, werenpt. pl. subj.76, were 305; wille 1pr. s.198, wilt 2pr. s.121, nel tu 106, wilepr. s.170, wle 284, wulle ȝe 2pr. pl.373, nulleþpr. pl.407, wille 2pr. s. subj.77,pr. s. subj.144, wile 141, willepr. pl. subj.222, wolde 1pt. s.128, nolde 115, woldest 2pt. s.84, woldept. s.70, walde 370; doninf.115, do 374, 1pr. s.245, dest 2pr. s.49, 237, dost 307, dostu 174, 289, deþpr. s.359, doþ 112, 2pr. pl.377,pr. pl.113, misdoð 413, do we 1pr. pl. subj.424, do 2s. imp.431; goninf.170, goþpr. pl.221.The adverb aiware 172, widely, OE.ǣghwǣrhas added e; B-T. quotesǣghwārefrom Lye. Adverbs and prepositions in-anhave-e, abute 16, bute 403, buue 164, honne 66 (heonane), soþþe 240, vorre 243, ine (innan) 266 (3), upe (uppan) 351, touore 426, witute 139, but bituxen 390: mid 18 (4) and mide 411, oft 36 and ofte 81 occur.(2)Of J.The few divergences are briefly indicated. Nouns: eyenpl. n.75, songs. n.259; adjectives: vueles. a. neut. wk.8, iliches. n. f. str.235, oa. s. f.403, nons. d. m.168, icunderes. n. neut.85 (unmetrical), beters. n. m. str.330, 331. The pronoun of the first person is often ic 245, 385; vrpl. g.141; heos. n. m.23, 280, 375, 394, hes. n. f.19, hipl. n.76, mys. a. m.36, þis. a. m.264, þins. d. m.125, þines. d. f.383, eures. d. m.379; þes. n. f.26, þons. d. neut.350; þisses. d. neut.437, þeoss. a. f.133; oþress. g.9, 11. Tellest 226, biholdeð 30, helpeð 127 are not syncopated; wenest 231, hateþ, luuyeþ 186, abit 421; wite 2pr. s. subj.318, unwryenpp.118 (wrigen), vnne 1pr. s.382, beoinf.198; beonpr. pl. subj.137. Noteworthy are mucheleadv.413, ne conjunction 74, than.Vocabulary:French are acorde 137, afoled 162, castel 131, certes 412, clerkes clerekes 340, 347, fals 166, gente 160, granti graunti 157 (the latter Anglo-French), grucching 301, ipeint 76, kanunes 347, maister maistre 147, 421, pes pays 373 (the former phonetic, the latter traditional spelling), plait plaid 5, 380, plaidi 140, plaiding 12, rente 410, schirme 222, possibly crei 251. Scandinavian are ilete lete 281, 358, 35, ille 299, lah(fulnesse) 384, nai 202, skentinge 324, sckile 142, þoȝ 220, wronge 152, possibly wailawai 176 and wise 54, if it means song. Noteworthy is the large number of expressive words bearing a popular stamp, such as clackes, clechest, crempe, galegale, misrempe, snepe, spale, totose, ȝollest, ȝoȝelinge.Dialect:The poem was presumably written in Dorsetshire and so in the dialect of the Middle South; the evidence of the rhymes confirms this. But in its present form there are considerable traces of Anglian influence, and these, as appearing equally in both manuscripts, may be set downto the transcriber of their common exemplar or to one of his predecessors.Metre:The short rhymed couplet, in its original French form, has regularly eight syllables, with masculine ending or nine with feminine ending. But the Anglo-French poets, like Chardry, whose Petit Plet, ‘estrif mut delitus’ is in both our manuscripts, allow themselves more freedom, and the form of the verse in ON is varied by all the licences of native English prosody. The types are i. masculine ending, eight syllables, four stresses, iambic rhythm, as, þat plaít | was stíf | and stárc | and stróng 5; so 7, 8, 29, 30, 43, 44, 174, 176, 183-185, 248, 250, 252, 256, 260, 338, 353, 394: i a. the same, but with trochaic beginning, as, Mé is | þe wúrs | þat ích | þe só 34, 149, 319: i b. seven syllables with light syllable wanting in first foot, as, þíd|er fúnd|eþeúr|ichmán 337: ii. feminine ending, nine syllables, four stresses, iambic rhythm, as, þat ál|re wórst|e þát | hi wúste 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 27, 35, 36, 40, 45, 46, 55, 56, 67, 69, 72, 82, 93, 95, 96, 99, 105 and 104 other lines: ii a. the same with trochaic beginning, as, wénst þu | þat ích | ne cún|ne sínge 47, 38, 52, 78, 80, 98, 121, 122, 215, 222, 225, 244, 295, 302, 304, 318, 325, 334, 342, 349, 352, 406, 417, 424: ii b. eight syllables with light syllable wanting in first foot, as, ánd | me schíld|e wít | þe bléte 57, 70, 71, 87, 91, 110, 117, 131, 147, 148, 217, 378. The unstressed element in a foot is doubled in i. þi bód|i is shórt | þi swór|ẹ is smál 73, þu chát|ẹrest so dóþ | on ír|ish préost 238, Hit lúu|eþ þúst|er and hát|iet líȝt 186, þat þín|e píp|inge nís | ilích 232: i a. Grétter|ẹ is þin héu|ed þán | þu ál 74, Cértes | cwaþ þe húl|e þát | is sóð 412: i b. þát | ho sóng | hirẹ a bís|emár 104: ii. Eurich þíng | mai lós|en hís | godhéde 267, Me lúst|e bet spét|en þán|e sínge 39, 62, 317, and þúȝ|te wel uúl | of þár|e húle 31, 425, þoȝ crów|e bigréd|ẹ him bí | þe mérshe 220, þeníȝt|ingál|e bigón | þe spéche 13, 116, 154, 187, 253, 262, 266, 354, þe wér|ẹ icúnd|ur to ón|e frógge 85, alsó | ho hád|dẹ one frógg|ẹ isuólȝe 102, Þo quáþ | þe húl|e wo schál | us séme 143: ii a. wénes | tu þat háu|eck bó|þe wórse 219, álle | þat ihér|eþ þín|ẹ ibére 178, Schíld þin|e svík|eldom vrám | þe líȝte 119, 234, 359; ii b. Hó | ne míȝt|e no léng | biléue 42, 264, 347, þár | þo v́l|e sóng | hire tíde 26. The light syllable is missing in i. and mák|ẹst þine sóng | só | unwúrþ 255, He wún|eþ át |pórt|eshóm 395, Ich síng|e bét | þan þú | dést 237, vor suích | worþ bóld | ȝif þú | flíȝst 283, 284: ii. On mé | hít | is wél | iséne 211, Ich wót | þat þú | árt | unmílde 61, 303, 390, wel fíȝt | þat wel flíȝt | seíþ | þe wíse 132, werẹ aférd | ho spác | bóld|e tále 288, Bet þúȝt|e þe dreím | þat hé | wére 21: ii a. Nís he | vor þé | nóȝt | afóled 162, Bít me | þat ích | shúll|e sínge323. Inversion of the accent is fairly frequent, as i. Þat ích | shúlle | to hír|e fló 320, An díht | and wrít | máni | wisdóm 399, He náu|eþ bút|ẹ óne | woníng 403: ii. Ne hélpþ | nóȝt þat | þu bó | to þríste 127, 392, 408, 425, Þo stód | on óld | stóc þar | bisíde 25, 32, 199, 372, 381, 422, vor hír|e lú|uẹ óne | skentínge 324, 396. Synizesis takes place in monie 72, 193, 398 (pronounce monye), schamie 117, schuniet 185, hatiet 186, murie 261, unmurie 262, lilie 317. The e of a middle syllable after the stress in a trisyllabic word suffers syncope; certain instances are, sumẹre 1, 327, diȝẹle 2, oþẹres 9, 11, vuẹle 63, fuȝẹle 64, hauẹkes 207, chatẹrest 238, wintẹre, ȝomẹre 293, sumẹre 294, betẹrẹ 330, 331, 401, steuẹne 345, 363, houẹne 346, 350, also warẹuore 333, morẹȝeninge 361, probable are narẹwe 68, eȝẹne 75, svikẹdom 123, as avoiding a three syllable foot. With regard to-est,-eþof thesing. present, the only certain examples of syncope are woldẹst 84, cumẹþ 298, in all other possible cases there is the alternative of a three syllable foot. But taking into account the preponderance of forms syncopated by spelling, and the dissyllabic norm of the foot in the French verse which served as model, it seems more likely that the poet scanned þretẹst 83, hauẹst 109, speddẹstu 125, schirchẹst, ȝollẹst 179, miȝtẹst 192, wenẹst 195, bicumẹþ 207, wenịst 231, singẹst 247, 310, 175, crowẹþ 251, singẹþ 292, forbernẹst 297, cumẹþ 298, hauẹþ 356, nullẹþ 407: similarly werẹn 76, ovẹr 64, euẹr 421 are probable. What has been said about syncope applies also to the relative spheres of elision and hiatus. The letter which suffers elision is weak, mostly inflectional, final e before an initial vowel or pronominal h, presumably also before an inorganic h as in hule; there is no elision in the case of such words as me 38, 164, we 133, he 303, ope 124. It certainly takes place in Bet þúȝt|e þát | he wér|ẹ ishóte 23, and in the same position in 50, 63, 75, 77, 81, 123, 125, 137, 160, 161, 168, 177, 178, 181, 236, 257, 277, 281, 308, 315, 336, 346, 364, 397, 428, alsó | ho hád|dẹ one frógg|ẹ isuólȝe 102, þát | ho sóng | hirẹ a bí | semár 104, Þohúl|ẹone wíl|e hí | biþóȝte 155. Hiatus, which is the maintenance of e under the same conditions, is certain in ll. 28, 31, 92, 140, 163, 168, 173, 227, 268, þat þẹ húl|e hád|de hír|ẹ iséd 273, 289, 305, 344, 386, 409, 418, 425. In all other cases the choice lies between a three syllable foot with hiatus and a two syllable foot with elision; the latter is probably to be preferred.The few lines which are metrically faulty are easily amended, Ilóm|e þu dést | me múch|ẹle gráme 49, þu cúþ|est þát | þu árt | unwíȝt 90, þu féd|ẹst on hóm | a fúl|ne fóde 94, 107 MS. J is correct, þan þú | mid áll|e þín|e stréngþe 129, 164 MS. J is correct, þat hé | for þé | fálse | dom déme 166, Ne maí | no mán | þarẹuór|ẹ me schénde 210, vor þí | ichlóþ | am smál|e fóȝle 213, 235 MS. J is correct, Ích | do gód|e mid mín|e þróte 245, and éu|re seíst | þin ón|e sóng 249, Ac nó|þẹles spác | he bold|elíche 279, þu fár|est ál|so dóþ|þe ílle 299, To uór|e þe kíng|e þáh | heo schólde 371, An dó | þan kíng|e swúch|e scháme 374, þeos rích|e mén | múchel | misdóð 413, 437 MS. J is correct. Peculiar in rhythm are, and mák|ẹst þine sóng | só | unwúrþ 255, þat he míȝt|ẹ héom il|óme | be míde 411. The rhymes are generally correct, but kunne : honne 65, cunde : schende 209, foȝle : þuuele 213, ȝomere : sumere 293, stude : mide 410 are inexact. The poet was all the same a very skilful metrist.Introduction:There has been a wide difference of opinion as to the time when ON was written, but the weight of recent authority is in favour of a date somewhere aboutA.D.1220. The references in the poem to passing events are mostly vague or obscure; only the passage ‘þe king Henri | Jesus his soule do merci’, ON 1091, 2, which can refer to no other than Henry the Second, fixes a superior limit ofA.D.1189. It would equally appear to exclude the reign of Henry the Third, for, as ten Brink concedes, such an indefinite expression would hardly be used when another Henry was on the throne. It is further arguable that its use points to a time when the death of the king was recent. Again such a reference as that to the minstrel go-between saved by the intervention of King Henry the Second from the vengeance of a wronged husband would be to a recent event. Furthermore, it would give point to the expression, ‘ȝet nis he (i. e. the king) nouþer ded ne lame’, 171/375, if it were referred to the good peace kept by the Justiciar Hubert Walter, during Richard the First’s absence from England inA.D.1194-8. These external considerations, slight though they be, are in favour of the end of that reign as the date of the composition of the poem. The stage of development reached by the language may be held to support this view. Our manuscripts are copies of a copy, probably not far removed from the original poem. That copy is primitive in the fullness of the inflections, the extensive preservation of grammatical gender and the form of the new diphthongs.Of the author nothing is known. A certain Johan of Guldeuorde is recorded in a copied note in MS. J as declining to sing more, but any connexion of his with ON cannot be determined. If the author were the Nicholas de Guldeuorde mentioned in the poem, it would lend a characteristic spice of humour to the excellent testimonial which he gives himself (157/147-170, 173/389-401). His name indicates that he was a native either of Guildford in Surrey or of Guldeford near Rye in Sussex.What sort of court he presided over cannot be determined; he may have been bailiff of the hundred court, or steward of a manor, or commissary for the neighbouring Abbotsbury. The attempt made by Gadow to identify him with a certain Nicholaus Capellanus, who appears in the diocese of Salisbury inA.D.1209, 1220, is not convincing.The poem is in the favouritedébatform of the contemporary French literature. The Owl is the Cleric, living a secluded life under a strict rule, the Nightingale is the Minstrel, amateur of the open air and vagabond freedom, the Wren is a poet, like Philippe de Thaün, who has gained a secure place at Court. Though he tries to hold the balance even, the author’s secret sympathies are with the Nightingale; he had been himself sometime a wandering scholar.Read 150/16 þat, 152/57 wit, 154/104 bysemar, 160/183 nyht,160/185vych, 160/191 quaþ, 166/289, 167/289 Þule, 167/310 eue, 168/336 Murehþe ilyche, 168/339 holy.The references are to C, unless J is prefixed.

Manuscripts:i. Jesus College, Oxford, E 29 (J); seep. 285. ii. Cotton Caligula A 9, British Museum (C); seep. 450. They are copies of a common exemplar X, which was probably taken directly from the poet’s original. X was written by two scribes; the work of the first is represented in ll. 1-353 of the present selection; that of the second in ll. 354-437; the former was accustomed to French scribal methods. The writer of C was a mechanical copyist and not at home in English, consequently he reproduces X with tolerable accuracy. The scribe of J was more independent (seep. 293).

Facsimile:Of J. The Owl and the Nightingale, ed. J. E. Wells.

Editions:Stevenson, J., Roxburghe Club, London, 1838; Wright, T., Percy Society, no. xxxix, London, 1843 (text of C); Stratmann, F. H., Krefeld, 1868 (critical edition); *Wells, J. E., Boston, 1907 (parallel texts with notes); Gadow, W., Palaestra, no. lxv, Berlin, 1909 (text of C with variants of J).

Literature:Borsch, J., Ueber Metrik und Poetik der altenglischen Dichtung The Owl and the Nightingale, Münster, 1883; *Breier, W.,Eule und Nachtigall, Halle, 1910, completed in Morsbachs Studien, no. xxxix, Halle, 1910; ES xlii. 306, 408; Ebisch, W., Zur Syntax des Verbs im altengl. Gedicht Eule und Nachtigall, Leipzig, 1905; Gadow, W., Eule und Nachtigall, Berlin, 1907 (completed in edition as above); Kenyon, J. S., Journal of English and Germanic Philology, xii. 572-92; Koch, J., Anglia, Beiblatt, xxi. 227-40; Noelle, H., Die Sprache des altengl. Gedichts von der Eule und Nachtigall, Göttingen, 1870; Sherman, L. A., A Grammatical Analysis of the OE. Poem The Owl and the Nightingale, Transactions of the American Philological Association, vi. 1875. Wells, J., Anglia, xxxiii. 252-69; Modern Language Notes, xxv. 108, xxvi. 139-41.

Phonology:(1)of C. The spellings of (a) ll. 1-353 and (b) ll. 354-437 are distinguished, when they show a characteristic difference. Significant rhymes are recorded. Oralaisa, fare 422, tale 3;abefore nasals wavers betweena(10 times) ando(14), can 126, vram 119, man 334, mani 399, þan 22, 24, þane 39, wanne 308, bigon 13, con 199, from 154, monnes 254, moni 355, nome 405, þonkes 70, won 240, wone 243, wonne 38, exceptionally þenne (þænne);abefore lengthening groups iso, honde 400, onde 297, longe 45, tonge 112, but andsuare 105, answare 55, 277;andis and 4, an 7 &c.;man, indefinite, me 32; ferden 432 r. w. uerde, descends fromfēran.æis regularlya, bare 56, 106 r. w. answare, glad 312, hadde 275 r. w. iladde, smal 73 r. w. al.eise, bet 21, hen 291; before lengthening groups, ende 386, felde 357: (a) suich 283, suiche 134 is from a form ini, (b) swucche 354, swuch 374 from one iny: a diphthong has developed in imeind 18, 306 (gemenged, comp. 451/25).iisi, bile 79, chirche 339, is 388 r. w. wis, (a) wile 141 r. w. sckile; before lengthening groups, bringe 311, linde 393, but wsome (= ysome) 136, (b) wulle 373, nulleþ 407, wuste 10 r. w. custe, neltu 106 (nelt), wolcumeð 318, withowritten in this text forufromeby labial influence, comp. wulcume L 8528 &c., grulde 98 (*gryllan).oiso, bodi 73, horne 234, word 45, wolde 128, nolde 115, but walde 370 r. w. scholde; þane 414 isLWS.þane, wan 334,hwan: onprep.is reduced to an 239 and often to a 20 &c.œ,i-umlaut ofo, still lingers in seorhe ON 1599.uisu, cumeþ 298, luueþ 188, wunest 254, butoin lo`u´ue, where `u´ was possibly meant as a correction ofo, ouerkome 386, wode 322 r. w. rude, woning 403, in whichois associated withm,n,w;ubefore lengthening groups isu, dumb 294, tunge 194, but tonge r. w. iþrunge.yisu, kume 314 (perhaps with [u] from cuman), murie 261, vuele 63, stude 410 (styde) r. w. mide, muchel 404, muche 413 (mycel); before lengthening groups, cunde 88, hurne 14; but unrounded in þincþ 430, þincþe 46, þinche 262, wirche 340; wrchen 286 is probably French writing for wurchen.

āis regularlyo, bore 286, hoten 192, swo 76, 381, so 52, 289, 415, o 249, 331, þos 95, but a 45, 104, 112, an 4, 80, Portesham 434, swa ON 1577, wa 425, þeos 413 (þās); before two consonantso, wostu 334, but axest 325, 329, hattest 191.ǣ1is regularlye, brede 130, ledeþ 216, sprede 315 r. w. mede, þen 386, but þare 28 &c., þan 156 (3); before two consonantse, fleshe 83, ileste 257, meshe 84 (*mǣscan), neuer 60, but iladde 276, wranne 360.ǣ1is elsewhere sometimesea, eauer ON 922, deale ON 954, bileaue ON 1688.ǣ2is alsoe, forlete 36, rede 425; before two consonants, oferd 277, butain lat 194 (4), lateþ 372 (3), ofdrad 387, þar 16 &c., þareafter 271, þareuore 210, whar 64, war 392, uareuore 203, 333, these pronominal forms probably come from shortenedǣ: before two consonants, fnast 44, raddest 115, misraddest 116.ēise, breme 158, kene 212; before two consonants, dest 49, 237 r. w. preost, spedde 435, but dost 307, dostu 174, 289, doþ 112, 238 withofrom the plural.īisi, wile 155, pipe 22, suiþe ON 376; before two consonants, þriste 127 r. w. liste, wisdom 399, but (a) suþe 2, 12, 111 fromswȳþewith absorption ofw, comp. such from swuch.ōiso, brode 93, ilome 49, noþeles 105, but neoþeles 357 (15 times in Layamon, see 452/8); before two consonants, blostme 315, softe 6.ūisu, kuþe 332, tukest 63, hule 4 &c., but houle 428, a French writing.ȳisu, hud 120, lutle 356, þuuele 214 r. w. foȝle, but litle 419, þe 19, 34, 401, forþe 69, vorþi 65, hwi 407, whi 106, wi 174 (hwī).

eabeforer+ cons. isa, areȝ 285, ȝare 171 r. w. aiware, hardeliche 280, þaref 146, but eardingstowe 28; thei-umlaut before a lengthening group isein uerde 433 r. w. ferden:ciermis chirme 221 (see Bülb. 187 anm.) but bichermet 215.eabeforel+ cons. isa, al 8 and the numerous forms ofeall, hale 2 r. w. dale, schaltu 165; before lengthening groupso, which descends from Anglian unbroken lengtheneda, as in Layamon 452/15, bold 233 (3), boldeliche 279, biholde 71, holde 3 (4), wolde 367, but once belde 358: without umlaut are falt 37, halt 32.eobeforer+ cons. iso, for 328, vorre 243, horte 37, 43, rorde 227; before a lengthening group, ilorned 172; but daisterre 244 r. w. vorre: forbernest 297 is frombærnan;wyrwords are worse 219 r. w. mershe, worste 10, worþ 283, wrs 34, elsewhere wurs ON 793, wrþ 256, unwrþ 255, elsewhere wurþ ON 769.eobeforel+ cons. is seen in sulue 69. Theu-umlaut ofais wanting in hauekes 207 (3).eo,u-umlaut ofegives houene 335, 346 r. w. steuene, 350.eo,å-umlaut ofeis seen in feole 415, but uele 20, and fale 365, auale 410 (feala).eo,u- andå-umlaut ofiiso(foreo) in honne 66 r. w. kunne, hore 216 &c., noþerward 100, soþþe 240, but (b) heore 418.eaafter palatals isa, schal 143, ȝaf 55, 105, aȝaf 95, before nasal, schame 50 (3),but schome 123.ieaftergise, biȝete 344, uorȝete 343, underȝete 124, ȝeueþ 419, but ȝiueþ 416, ȝiue 410.ieafterscisiin schille 98, 364,ein schelde 356 r. w. felde.gef,EWS.giefis ȝif 51 &c., ȝef 429.eoaftersciso, scholde 371 r. w. walde, sholdest 54, short 73, but Anglian schulde 390 r. w. wule.eomis Angl. am 126, 212, nam 387,heom, hom 62, 94.

ēais regularlye, blete 57, dreme 230; before two consonants, cheste 133 r. w. unwerste, but earen 254, unneaþe ON 1605, dreim 21 (a scribal error). Thei-umlaut ise, grettre 74, ȝeme 345, ihere 180 r. w. fere, iherde 2, ihert 406, but ihire 228.ēois (a)o, a French writing, blo 108, 319, bon 198, 342, bo 107 (9), boþ 75 (4), flo 33 (4), flon 106, floþ 214, ho 19 (13), hom 353, iso 243, isoþ 302, lof 159 (3), oftoned 190, so 34, swore 73, tone 50, prostes 351, þo 26, 155, þos 41 (4), holde 12, hold 100, athold 270, bihold 30, but the corrector has added e in preost 238 r. w. dest, weode 236; (b)eo, beo, beoþ 378, 418, heo 360 (9), heom 407, 408, but ho 368. Thei-umlaut is seen in atfliþ 37 (Angl.flīþ), þuster 154 (3).gesīeneis isene 122, 211 r. w. kene;gīet, ȝet 225.ēofromōaftergisoin ȝomere 293 r. w. sumere,ēafromāaftersc,ein schede 153.

a+gisaȝ, draȝe 209.æ+gisai, dai 89 &c., vaire 15 &c., mai 141 (4), fawre 138, miswritten for fayre, buteiin seide 9, 289, 424, 265 r. w. rede, 325 r. w. dede, rhymes which indicate sede 33, 173 representingsǣdeas the original form, so ised 273 r. w. red isgesǣd.e+gisei, aȝein 431, pleie 169, wei 224, under this head come seist 50 (4) fromsegst, seiþ 132 fromsegð, seie 173 fromsege: aȝen 7, 314 isagēn, snailes 87,snægl.i+hisiȝ, adiȝte 242, wiȝt 312, orih, diht 399; foriht,istis written in mist 78: finaligisi, bodi 73.o+gisoȝ, itoȝen 368.u+gisuȝ, fuȝele 64 r. w. vuele, but the spirant has been absorbed in fuelkunne 65; foȝle 213 r. w. þuuele, is a French spelling.y+his unrounded in hiȝte 208, hiȝteþ 314.ā+gisoȝ, oȝe 195, þroȝe 196.ǣ1+giseiin eiþer 9, 141, but aiþer 7, aiware 172.ǣ2+gis seen in iseȝe 303.ō+gisoȝ, boȝe 15, woȝe 120.ō+hisoȝ, broȝte 150, noȝt 58 (nōht), roȝte 305, þoȝte 269, butohin brohte 369.u+hisuȝ, þuȝte 21, ofþuȝte 275.ea+hiseȝ, iseȝ 29, ouerseȝ 30; thei-umlaut isiȝ, miȝt 64, 177, miȝte 42, 411, miȝtest 192, niȝt 89, but mihte 392.eo+ht, ariȝt 278, briȝter 108, viȝte 128, riȝt 76, riȝte 120 r. w. liȝte 398, but riht 379, unrihtfulnesse 385; bituxen 390 represents WS.betux: thei-umlaut gives isiþ 285, but isoþ 302 without umlaut.ēa+g,his (a) eȝe 304 r. w. iseȝe, neȝ 44, þeȝ 48, but þoȝ 220, (b) þeg 367, þah 422.ēo+his (a)iȝ, liȝte 119 r. w.riȝte, (b) ih, lihtlich 402, 417; thei-umlaut is seen in fliȝst 89, 183, fliȝt 132, 224, atfliþ 37:dīegelis diȝele 2.ā+wisow, crowe 220, croweþ 251, snov 308, asnowe 291, owel 80 (*āwul), but nawt 383; clawe 109, 110 is probablyclawe.ī+w, howe 108 (Anglianhēow).ō+w, bigrowe 27,-stowe28, but nouþer 375 (nōwþer).ēa+w, gleu 149, unþeu 150, but sewi 107.ēo+w, eu 436, ower 379, trod.316, representing occasionaldat.trēo.

In bisemar 104aappears fore, in svikel- 118, 119eforo, in munekes 347eforu, in gladur 19, uairur 108,ufore, but gladdere ON 737.āisoin oferd 277, elsewhere aferd 288.ehas been added in areȝ 285 (earg), areȝþe 282, arehþe 359, bareȝ 286, bisemar 104, hardeliche 280, narewe 68, steuene 345, 363, þaref 146, lost in warni 246, as already in OE.warnian; houẹneriche 335, houẹneliȝte 350, representheofon-rīce,heofon-lēoht, similarly þornewode 322, þarẹuore 210, warẹuore 203, 333. The prefix in atschet 44 isoþ;be-is regularlybi-, bigrede 220, bitelle 199;ain adun 164 isof; the prefixge-is fully preserved asi-; the suffix-hede, 118 &c. is *hǣd.

wis writtenuin suiche 134, 283, tuengst 112, but more frequentlyv, sval 7, tosvolle 101; it stands forwuin wrchen 286, wrs 34, wrþ 256, unwrþ 255, forwiin wle 284, foruuin wl 31, wle 35 (fūle); in wole 8, as Breier explains, the original had uuele (yfele), the copyist took uu as w and read wole (fūle). Metathesis ofris seen in unwerste 134;rris simplified in for 328.nis lost in þane 39 &c., wane 298, 352, ope 124,onis often reduced toa, adwole 420 &c.;nnis simplified in hen 291, kun 332. Forfinitial,f,u,vare used indiscriminately, faire 114, vaire 15, fiȝt 132, viȝte 128, for 328, vorre 243, foruorþ 276, for 32, uor 19, vor 43, vram 119, from 62; it is oncewin waste (fæst), andw=uuin wl 31, wle 35; between vowelsfis regularlyu, buue 164, auale 410 beside fale 365, touore 371, similarly eure 251, cliure 78 (3), sulue 67, butvin eve 41, over 64,fin afere 177, aferd 288, ifare 278, oferd 277; in other positions it is commonlyf, efne 229, stefne 230.tis lost in blosme 16 as already in OE.blōsma, nel tu 106, doubled in sittest 89; fort,dis written in ad 241;ttis simplified in wit 420. Ford,tis written in ihert 406;dis mostly omitted in an 7 &c., beside occasional and 4, 294, also in answare 55, 277, as rarely in OE., but andsuare 105; spene 121 is a new back formation from thept.tense andpp.of spend (NED);ddis simplified in bed- 240, midel- 349. Forþ,dappears in haued 123, lodlich 32 (3),tin witute 139, 200, bigredet 67, biledet 68, hatiet 186, schuniet 185, singet 152, wit 56, 222; dostu 174, 289 is a compendium for dost þu, similarly axestu 329, wenestu 219.sćissch, schal 143, schende 210, bischopen 404, schuniet 185, but occasionallysh, shal 258, ishote 23, mershe 220, and onces, sewi 107. The stopcis regularlykbeforeeandi, unker 107, loki 56, also in kon 326, kume 314, kun 332, kunne 144, kuþe 332, andckin eck 130, haueck 219, otherwisec, cunne 47, 48, cuþe 360, hauec 223, spac 274:ccisck, flockes 216, þicke17, 308; it is simplified in stoc 25: (b) ah 357 (6) is Anglianah, but (a) ac 83 (6).cwis (a)qu, quaþ 143, but (b) cwaþ 372 (5).čis expressed bych, chirche 339, ich 1, swuche 354, unwrenche 125, ilich 232, 234, but ilike 113 r. w. biswike.ččiscch, recche 60, wrecche 251, but reche 58;čǧisgg, alegge 272, hegge 17, 59 (*hecg), legge 164, segge 18. Palatalgis writtenȝ, ȝare 171, ȝaf 105, areȝþe 285, murȝþe 257 (3), areȝ 285, bareȝ 286, folȝeþ 223, isuolȝe 102, unwroȝen 118, but arehþe 359, ibolwe 101.ngappears in lengþe 130, strengþe 129, but strencþe 356 (Horn, Beiträge, 60).hhas been added initially in his 404, hunke 376, hure 141, and dropped in abbe 130, is 281.hrisrin rise 19;hl,lin lud 6, luste 99;hwishwin hwile ON 1591,whin what 60, but otherwisew, aiware 172, wat 141 &c., wan 334, wile 6 (3), wa 425, wo 152, wonne 38, wone 243, won 240, wider 342.

(2)Of J.Mainly a record of divergences from C.ais more frequentlyobefore nasals, grome 49, lome 375, mon 334, 355, and before lengthening groups, ondsware 105, onsware 55. Beside hwanne 121, 308, hwenne occurs 38 (4). ewel 80 takes its initial vowel fromæl.æisein hedde 102 (3), queþ 372 (3), wes 1 (7).e, sweche 354, but such 374, suche 134 (swylc).iis often written in French fashiony, especially in conjunction withm,n,u,h, myne 51, ynne 208, clyures 111, fyht 132;willaþis wille 373; welcometh 318 haswelsubstituted forwil; with cleures 84, 206 comp. ‘cleafres,’ AR 102/5, ‘claures,’ Corpus MS.o, wolde 370.u, tunge 37, vnne 382, but schonyeþ 185, vowele 213, a French use.ā, hwo 425, no 202, meaning nor, but naþeles 105, 357.ǣ1dayrewe 244, wrenne 360 (3); eoch 231, euche 151, euych 187 descend fromylc, comp. 288/8; meysse 84 (*mǣscan), vleysse 83, withǣbeforesć, may, in this text, be French spellings, but comp. 428/6.ǣ2is with fewer exceptionse, efne 239, let 194 (4), leteþ 372 (3), ofdred 387.ē, dome 426 is misspelt for deme.ī, swiþe 2, 12, swyþe 149.ȳ, hwy, with y written for i.eabeforer+ cons. isein erdingstowe 28.eobeforer+ cons. iseo, veor 328, veorre 243, heorte 37, reorde 227, steorre 244, ileorned 172.ie, bichirmeþ 215. No umlaut in heuene 346 r. w. stefne, heueryche 335, fele 415, but veole 20.eo,u- andå-umlaut ofi, heonne 66, heore 216 &c. neþerward 100, seþþe 240.eaafter palatal and before nasal, schome 50, 374, schomye 117.ieaftergis regularlye, yeue 410, yeueþ 416, 419.giefis if 283 &c.:heom, heom 62 &c.ēa, eren 254, drem 21; thei-umlaut, ihere 228.ēois mostly preserved, fleo 33, heo 33, heolde 51, leof 159, preostes 351, teone 50, but he 19, holde 12, lesen 267, prest 238, swere 73.

The new diphthongs have reached a more advanced stage in which w displaces ȝ; y is used extensively for i.a+g, drawe 209, mawe 138.æ+g, day 89, vayre 15, but seyde 9, iseyd 273.e+g, ayeyn 7 (3), pleye 169, seyþ 132, snayles 87, seist 50.i+h, adihte 242, bitwihen 390 (betwih), myht 78.i+g, unwryen 118.o+g, itowen 368.u+g, vowele 64, fowel 65, muwe 62.ā+g, owe 195, þrowe 196.ǣ1+g, eyþer 9; ihware 172 is OE.gehwǣr.ō+g, bowe 15, wowe 120.ō+hisouh, brouhte 156, 369, þouhte 269, roughte 305, but þoutest 113.ū+h, þuhte 21,of þuhte275.ea+h, iseyh 29, ouerseyh 30; thei-umlaut, myhte 42, nyht 252.eo+h, ariht 278, brihter 108, vyhte 128, ryht 76; thei-umlaut, isihþ 285.ēa+g, eyen 75, 100, eye 304, neyh 44;þēahappears as þeih 367, þeyh 137 &c., þey 287, þah 422 (stressed), þe 48, 220.ēo+h, lyhte 119, ryhte 120; thei-umlaut, flyhst 89, flyhþ 132;dīegelis dyele 2.ā+w, snouh 308, nouht 58, nowiht 256, noht 183.ī+w, hewe 108.ēo+w, eure 379, treo 316.

iis levelled toein chireche 339, clerekes 340, 347, mureþe 257, murehþe 336, 343; in gretture 74,uappears fore;eis inserted in bolewe 101, swikedom 119.

wstands foruin hw 46, 435; it is written forwuin wrche 340, wrse 219, wrste 10, wrþe 278, and forwein wre 159; it isuin suych 283. Finalnis omitted in a 241 &c.fisvin ivi 27.dis written fortin bid 319; it is doubled in gladdre 19. Forþ,tis written in wit 57,hin bihouhte 155.sćiss, sarp 79, atset 44, sende 210,sc, biscrycheþ 67, scrichest 179, scort 73,sch, schewi 107, scholdest 54, schulle 320, mersche 220. Beside sweche 354 are such 374, suche 134. Finalcis writtenkin spak 279, 288;cciskkin þikke 308;cwisquin iqueme 427. nyk 202 (OE.nič) is a Midland form, and probably due to Scandinavian influence; ic is ic 245 (7) beside ich 1 &c.; ilyche 113 r. w. biswike. Palatalgis very regularly writteny, yaf 55, 105, ayaf 95, yomere 293, voryete 343. Afterl,r,gpasses into the spirantw, bolewe 101, foleweþ 223, iswolwe 102, amorewe 310, moreweninge 361, sorewe 309, but arehþe 282 (areh + þe).gis lost initially in if 260 &c.his lost in þoutest 113.hwis generally preserved, hwan 334, hwar 64, hwi 204, hwile 158, ihware 172.

Accidence:(1)of C. Strong declension ofmasc.andneut.nouns. In thes. n. a.bile 79, 205, griþbruche 377, kume 314 (possiblyd.), hete 123 have their OE. vocalic ending; songe 259 is a scribe’s mistake for song; bodi 73 has lost final g, eve 41, final n.Gen.-es, fuȝeles 259, speres 355:d.-e, boȝe 15, bore 286, daie 352, houene 346, sumere 1, 294, wintere 293, but adai 89 (3), aniȝt 89, 175, awinter 290; with loss of final consonant, amorȝe 310, eue 239 (3), iui 27; OE. are blo 108,319,(Portes)hom 395, tro 316; king 371 is miswritten for kinge. Thepl. n. a.of masculines ends in-es, snailes 87, tunes 348, but cliuers 111, 206, fuȝele 64 (see note): neuters are ibere 178, þinge 225, wiȝte 87, 160, and withmasc.termination,wiȝtes 309, wordes 134, unwiȝtis 174. Genitive is cunne 20; datives have mostly-e, foȝle 213, rise 19 (3), songe 82, stude 410, þinge 312, 415, þuuele 214, vnwrenche 125, volde 72, worde 114 (7), but craftes 329, cliures 84, toppes 306, bischopen 404. Thefem.nouns of the strong declension have-eins. n. a., answare 55, 277, blisse 298, 346, eardingstowe 28, godhede 267, skentinge 324, stefne 233, unrihtfulnesse 385, cheste 133, sorȝe 309, but hen 291, insiȝt 151, woning 227, 403, so ME. grucching, luring 301: þuster 154, 186, 188 is neuter.Gen.-e, worlde ON 476:dat.-ewithout exception, blisse 335, brede 130, ME. pipinge 232, 253, see 397.Pl. d.is dede 188, 406;a.blisse 311, clawe 109, tale 193, tide 26. Nouns of the weak declension have-ethroughout,s. n.swore 73, mose 69,d.deme 426, frogge 85, eȝe 304, wise 20, but uo 281,a.daisterre 244, grame 49, ȝeme 345, but dairim 244, iuo 359:pl. n.blosme 16, eȝene 75,d.fere 179, but earen 254. Minor declensions: uotepl. d.51; mans. n.210 (3), monness. g.254, 304, menpl. n.302, mannepl. d.365, menne 368, menpl. a.246; bokes. d.266; muspl. n.87; niȝts. n.250, middelniȝtes. d.241, but aniȝt 89, 175, niȝts. a.247, 252, niȝtespl. n.ON 523; childrepl. d.419.

Adjectives which in OE. end in-ehave e in all cases, breme 158, grene 18, isene 122, 211, murie 261, þicke 17, riche 413, similarly those in-a, lame 375, unwille 300, but hoked 79 has loste, while ope 124 has vocalic ending by loss ofn, and fastredes. n. m. st., r. w. unrede, has added e. Those in-iglose g, holi 339. Otherwise thenom.is unchanged. Datives have-ein all genders,str., gode 223, riȝte 170, 200, 212,wk.faire 317, 319, fule 93, 295, olde 163, soacc. m. f. str.stronge 205, vaire 15, bolde 288, schille 98, 364, but stif 205, lodlich 32 before vowels, unwrþ 255,wk.gode 414, longe 247, but ful 94: wrecches. a. m. wk.251 has taken the form ofwreccasb. (Breier). Theacc. neut.is uninflected, god 131; wole 8 is corrupt.myceliss. n.muchel 404,s. d.muchele ON 1217:āgenhas lost n in oȝe 195. Thepl.of all adjectives ends in-e,n.brode 75, isome 378,d.belde 358, smale 213,a.gode 206, scharpe 109, but scharp 206 before a vowel. OE.āniss. n. m.on 25, 238 before vowel, 82, 330 (pronominal), o 331 (num. adj.),f.a 112, an 80 before vowel,s. d. m.one 2, 15, &c.,f.ore 17, 393, 397, one 14, 235,neut.one 1, 236,s. a. m.one 102, a 94, o 249 (num. adj.),f.one 4, 155, 324, an 4, one 403 (num. adj.),neut.a 45, 104.nāniss. n. m.no 210,f.146,s. d. m.none 168, 387; as adv. na more 169 (3). Adjectives used as nouns are wises. n. m.132,pl. d.181, bares. d.106,s. a.56, godes. d.338, ille 299, longe 45, vuele, wroþe 63 (see note), bletes. a.57, woȝe 120, 154, worste 10, but god 245. Comparatives have-e, betere 330 (3), grettere 74, mildre 418, worse 219, but briȝter 108, gladur 19, icundur 85, uairur 108.

The personal pronouns are ich, i 353, me, unkerdual g., of us two 107, we, hurepl. g., of us 141, us, þu, (speddes) tu 125, þe, hunke 376 (see note), ȝe, eu. The pronoun of the third person iss. n.hem.21 &c., hof.19, 368, heo 360, 372 &c., he 97, 274, 279, hi 141, hitneut.28,d.himm.167, hiref.104, himneut.ON 682,a.hinem.392, hif.29, 30, 32, hitneut.92,pl. n.hi 10 &c., ho 66, 76, heo 418, 434, 435,d.hom 94, heom 408,a.hi 420, hom 62 (possiblyd.), heom ON 930: reflexive are hi 155, heom 407; definitive, sulue 69. Possessives ares. n.mi, before vowel or pronom. h, min,d.minem.46, miref.384, mine 59, 245,neut.83, 218,a. m.36, 242,f.196;pl.mine;s. n.þi, before vowel or h, þin,d.þinem.58, þin 117, þiref.307, 383, þine 40 (6),neut.88,a. m.119 &c., þin 249, þinef.194, þinneut.121 (before vowel), þi ON 104;pl.þine, but þinpl. n.75, 113 before vowel; his 188, is 281, hisneut.267; hire 26; ure 298; ower 379; hore 216, heore 418; unker 423, 425, 426. The definite article iss. n.þem.132, þof.26, 155, þe 13, 29 &c., þatneut.10 &c., þe 352,g.þasm.254, þaref.28,d.þanm.ON 125, þen 386, þe 322, 371, þaref.31, 397, þe ON 96, þanneut.ON 133, þe 56,a.þanem.414, þef.13, þatneut.8, 10;pl. n.þe 315. The article is also used demonstratively asadj.þat 5, 8 &c., þare 96, as pronoun, þat 82, þan 156, 405. The compound demonstrative iss. n.þesm.195, þosf.41 (3), þeos ON 1667, 1707,d.þisneut.437 (the metre requires þisse),a.þosf.133, þisneut.156 (4);pl. n.þos 348, þeos 413,d.þisse 432,a.þos 95, þeos ON 1653. The relatives are þe ON 1346, þat 10, 144; meaning to which 187, that which 78, 115, 174. Interrogatives are wa 425, wo 152, wat 141, 271, 353, what 60, (to) wan 334, wuch ON 1378 and the correlative suichn. s. m.283, swuchs. a. f.374, suichepl. n.134, swucchepl. d.354.gelīcis ilichs. n. m.232, 234;gelīca, ilikepl. n.113. Indefinites are me 32 &c., man 341; sums. a. f.6, summepl. n.ON 1648; eiþer 9, 141, aiþer 7; oþers. d. f.54,s. a.7,s. a. f.326, oþeress. g.9, oþerpl. n.160,pl. a.225; echs. n. m.231,neut.312, eches. d. m.151; eurichs. n. m.150,f.257,neut.185,g. m.304; enis. a. f.326,neut.338; monis. n. m.355, manis. a. m.399, manie 398, moniepl. d.72,a.193; uales. d. m.410, uelepl. g.20, falepl. d.365, feole 415; als.throughout, except alls. d. f.129, alles. a. f.247; allepl., except alreg.10.

The infinitive ends in-e, singe 39 (5), wirche 340 and 40 other instances; exceptions in-enare losen 267, singen 327 before vowel or h, abiten 77, smiten 78 at end of line, hoten 192, speten 39, wrchen 286; the second weak conjugation has-i, liki 258, sewi 107; contract verbs are flo 284, 319, flon 106 before vowel. Thedat. inf.is not inflected, to biholde 71, for teche 408, [for] ȝiue 410, to seche 402 (virtual nominative): no examples in-en. Presents ares.1. abbe 130, adiȝte 242, kep (ich) 110; of secondwk. conj. warni 246, wndri 184; of contract verbs, iso 243, so 34; 2. axest 325, singest 247 (3), passive, hattest 191, axestu 329, wenestu 219, ME. clackes 81; with-ist, singist 175, wenist 231; seist 50 (4) representssegst; syncopated forms are telst 226, tuengst 112, wenst 47, the metre requires woldẹst 84, hauẹst 109; a contract verb is fliȝst 89, 183, fliȝst(e) 283; 3. blisseþ 313, croweþ 251 and 17 others, singet 152, schuniet 185; syncopated forms are numerous, abid 421, berþ 281, bit 319, 323, demþ 420, diht 399, falt 37, fiȝt 132, halt 32, helpþ 127, lat 224, liþ 308, lust 168, 169, singþ 339, telþ 256, þincþ 430, worþ 283, writ 399, þincþe 46 (= þincþ þe); seiþ 132 representssegð; contract verbs are atfliþ 37, fliȝt 132, 224, isiþ 285, isoþ 302;pl.3. bigredeþ 215, habbeþ 309, 406, bigredet 67, biledet 68, haued 123, floþ 214:subjunctive s.1. holde 59, schilde 57; second wk. conj., loki 56; 2. clawe 110, wepe 182; 3. bitide 52, uorȝete 343;pl.1. lete 133, ute 422, fo 135; 3. bigrede 220;imperative s.2. hud 120, stond 431, loke 122, schamie 117, seie 173, flo 33;pl.2. fareþ 379, lateþ 372 (3), lusteþ 372. Past of Strong Verbs: I a.s.3. aȝaf 95, ȝaf 55, 105, iseȝ 29, ouerseȝ 30, quaþ 143, 145, sat 15, 101, spac 274, 288;pl.3. seten ON 1102;subj. s.3. iseȝe 303: I b.s.3. com 361;pl.3. bicome 434: I c.s.3. bigon 13, song 20 (4), sval 7, warp 45;subj. s.3. wrþe 278: II.s.3. abod 41: III.s.3. atschet 44: IV.s.3. stod 25: V.s.3. athold 270, bihold 30, hold 100, let 8;pl.3. holde 12;subj. s.1. holde 51. Participles past: I a. awreke 198, bispeke 381, underȝete 124: I b. ibore 334: I c. ibolwe 101, ibred 367 (breden), isuolȝe 102, iþrunge 38, tosvolle 101: II. itoȝen 368: II, III. vnwroȝen 118: III. ishote 23: IV. ifare 278: V. bigrowe 27, bihote 388, iholde 366, ofdrad 387. Past of Weak Verbs:s.1. iherde 3; 2. raddest 115 (weak form), þoȝtest 113, speddestu 125; 3. broȝte 156, hadde 102, sede 33, seide 9;pl.3. spedde 435, ferden 432:subj. s.3. roȝte 305. Participles past: acoled 161, aferd 288, ihert 406, iladde 276 (lǣded), ilorned 172, imeind 18, 306, ised 273, oferd 277, oftoned 190. Minor Groups: an 1pr. s.382; can 1pr. s.126, 436, con 199, kon 326, conpr. s.415, cunne 1pr. s. subj.47, kunnepr. s. subj.144, kuþept. s.332, cuþe 360; þarefpr. s.146; wot 1pr. s.61, wostu 2pr. s.334, wotpr. s.151, ?wte 2pr. s. subj.318, wistept. s.103, wustept. pl.10, nuȝte ȝe 2pt. pl.394; schaltu 2pr. s.165, schalpr. s.143, shal 258, shulle 1pr. s. subj.320, 323, sholdest 2pt. s.54, scholdept. s.371, schulde 390; mai 1pr. s.184, miȝt 2pr. s.64 (3), mist 78, maipr. s.141, muȝe 1pr. pl.138,pr. pl. subj.62, miȝtest 2pt. s.192, miȝtept. s.42, mihte we 1pt. pl.392, miȝtept. s. subj.411; mote 1pr. s. subj.52; boninf.198, bo 146, beo 378, ?be 296, am 1pr. s.212, icham 126, nam 387, art 2pr. s.38, nart 285, ispr. s.34, his 404, nis 162, boþpr. pl.75 (5), beoþ 418, bo 2pr. s. subj.127,pr. s. subj.107 (4), bo 1pr. pl. subj.137, 2s. imp.197, beoþ 2pl. imp.378; was 1pt. s.1, werept. pl.16,pt. s. subj.21, nere 22, werenpt. pl. subj.76, were 305; wille 1pr. s.198, wilt 2pr. s.121, nel tu 106, wilepr. s.170, wle 284, wulle ȝe 2pr. pl.373, nulleþpr. pl.407, wille 2pr. s. subj.77,pr. s. subj.144, wile 141, willepr. pl. subj.222, wolde 1pt. s.128, nolde 115, woldest 2pt. s.84, woldept. s.70, walde 370; doninf.115, do 374, 1pr. s.245, dest 2pr. s.49, 237, dost 307, dostu 174, 289, deþpr. s.359, doþ 112, 2pr. pl.377,pr. pl.113, misdoð 413, do we 1pr. pl. subj.424, do 2s. imp.431; goninf.170, goþpr. pl.221.

The adverb aiware 172, widely, OE.ǣghwǣrhas added e; B-T. quotesǣghwārefrom Lye. Adverbs and prepositions in-anhave-e, abute 16, bute 403, buue 164, honne 66 (heonane), soþþe 240, vorre 243, ine (innan) 266 (3), upe (uppan) 351, touore 426, witute 139, but bituxen 390: mid 18 (4) and mide 411, oft 36 and ofte 81 occur.

(2)Of J.The few divergences are briefly indicated. Nouns: eyenpl. n.75, songs. n.259; adjectives: vueles. a. neut. wk.8, iliches. n. f. str.235, oa. s. f.403, nons. d. m.168, icunderes. n. neut.85 (unmetrical), beters. n. m. str.330, 331. The pronoun of the first person is often ic 245, 385; vrpl. g.141; heos. n. m.23, 280, 375, 394, hes. n. f.19, hipl. n.76, mys. a. m.36, þis. a. m.264, þins. d. m.125, þines. d. f.383, eures. d. m.379; þes. n. f.26, þons. d. neut.350; þisses. d. neut.437, þeoss. a. f.133; oþress. g.9, 11. Tellest 226, biholdeð 30, helpeð 127 are not syncopated; wenest 231, hateþ, luuyeþ 186, abit 421; wite 2pr. s. subj.318, unwryenpp.118 (wrigen), vnne 1pr. s.382, beoinf.198; beonpr. pl. subj.137. Noteworthy are mucheleadv.413, ne conjunction 74, than.

Vocabulary:French are acorde 137, afoled 162, castel 131, certes 412, clerkes clerekes 340, 347, fals 166, gente 160, granti graunti 157 (the latter Anglo-French), grucching 301, ipeint 76, kanunes 347, maister maistre 147, 421, pes pays 373 (the former phonetic, the latter traditional spelling), plait plaid 5, 380, plaidi 140, plaiding 12, rente 410, schirme 222, possibly crei 251. Scandinavian are ilete lete 281, 358, 35, ille 299, lah(fulnesse) 384, nai 202, skentinge 324, sckile 142, þoȝ 220, wronge 152, possibly wailawai 176 and wise 54, if it means song. Noteworthy is the large number of expressive words bearing a popular stamp, such as clackes, clechest, crempe, galegale, misrempe, snepe, spale, totose, ȝollest, ȝoȝelinge.

Dialect:The poem was presumably written in Dorsetshire and so in the dialect of the Middle South; the evidence of the rhymes confirms this. But in its present form there are considerable traces of Anglian influence, and these, as appearing equally in both manuscripts, may be set downto the transcriber of their common exemplar or to one of his predecessors.

Metre:The short rhymed couplet, in its original French form, has regularly eight syllables, with masculine ending or nine with feminine ending. But the Anglo-French poets, like Chardry, whose Petit Plet, ‘estrif mut delitus’ is in both our manuscripts, allow themselves more freedom, and the form of the verse in ON is varied by all the licences of native English prosody. The types are i. masculine ending, eight syllables, four stresses, iambic rhythm, as, þat plaít | was stíf | and stárc | and stróng 5; so 7, 8, 29, 30, 43, 44, 174, 176, 183-185, 248, 250, 252, 256, 260, 338, 353, 394: i a. the same, but with trochaic beginning, as, Mé is | þe wúrs | þat ích | þe só 34, 149, 319: i b. seven syllables with light syllable wanting in first foot, as, þíd|er fúnd|eþeúr|ichmán 337: ii. feminine ending, nine syllables, four stresses, iambic rhythm, as, þat ál|re wórst|e þát | hi wúste 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 27, 35, 36, 40, 45, 46, 55, 56, 67, 69, 72, 82, 93, 95, 96, 99, 105 and 104 other lines: ii a. the same with trochaic beginning, as, wénst þu | þat ích | ne cún|ne sínge 47, 38, 52, 78, 80, 98, 121, 122, 215, 222, 225, 244, 295, 302, 304, 318, 325, 334, 342, 349, 352, 406, 417, 424: ii b. eight syllables with light syllable wanting in first foot, as, ánd | me schíld|e wít | þe bléte 57, 70, 71, 87, 91, 110, 117, 131, 147, 148, 217, 378. The unstressed element in a foot is doubled in i. þi bód|i is shórt | þi swór|ẹ is smál 73, þu chát|ẹrest so dóþ | on ír|ish préost 238, Hit lúu|eþ þúst|er and hát|iet líȝt 186, þat þín|e píp|inge nís | ilích 232: i a. Grétter|ẹ is þin héu|ed þán | þu ál 74, Cértes | cwaþ þe húl|e þát | is sóð 412: i b. þát | ho sóng | hirẹ a bís|emár 104: ii. Eurich þíng | mai lós|en hís | godhéde 267, Me lúst|e bet spét|en þán|e sínge 39, 62, 317, and þúȝ|te wel uúl | of þár|e húle 31, 425, þoȝ crów|e bigréd|ẹ him bí | þe mérshe 220, þeníȝt|ingál|e bigón | þe spéche 13, 116, 154, 187, 253, 262, 266, 354, þe wér|ẹ icúnd|ur to ón|e frógge 85, alsó | ho hád|dẹ one frógg|ẹ isuólȝe 102, Þo quáþ | þe húl|e wo schál | us séme 143: ii a. wénes | tu þat háu|eck bó|þe wórse 219, álle | þat ihér|eþ þín|ẹ ibére 178, Schíld þin|e svík|eldom vrám | þe líȝte 119, 234, 359; ii b. Hó | ne míȝt|e no léng | biléue 42, 264, 347, þár | þo v́l|e sóng | hire tíde 26. The light syllable is missing in i. and mák|ẹst þine sóng | só | unwúrþ 255, He wún|eþ át |pórt|eshóm 395, Ich síng|e bét | þan þú | dést 237, vor suích | worþ bóld | ȝif þú | flíȝst 283, 284: ii. On mé | hít | is wél | iséne 211, Ich wót | þat þú | árt | unmílde 61, 303, 390, wel fíȝt | þat wel flíȝt | seíþ | þe wíse 132, werẹ aférd | ho spác | bóld|e tále 288, Bet þúȝt|e þe dreím | þat hé | wére 21: ii a. Nís he | vor þé | nóȝt | afóled 162, Bít me | þat ích | shúll|e sínge323. Inversion of the accent is fairly frequent, as i. Þat ích | shúlle | to hír|e fló 320, An díht | and wrít | máni | wisdóm 399, He náu|eþ bút|ẹ óne | woníng 403: ii. Ne hélpþ | nóȝt þat | þu bó | to þríste 127, 392, 408, 425, Þo stód | on óld | stóc þar | bisíde 25, 32, 199, 372, 381, 422, vor hír|e lú|uẹ óne | skentínge 324, 396. Synizesis takes place in monie 72, 193, 398 (pronounce monye), schamie 117, schuniet 185, hatiet 186, murie 261, unmurie 262, lilie 317. The e of a middle syllable after the stress in a trisyllabic word suffers syncope; certain instances are, sumẹre 1, 327, diȝẹle 2, oþẹres 9, 11, vuẹle 63, fuȝẹle 64, hauẹkes 207, chatẹrest 238, wintẹre, ȝomẹre 293, sumẹre 294, betẹrẹ 330, 331, 401, steuẹne 345, 363, houẹne 346, 350, also warẹuore 333, morẹȝeninge 361, probable are narẹwe 68, eȝẹne 75, svikẹdom 123, as avoiding a three syllable foot. With regard to-est,-eþof thesing. present, the only certain examples of syncope are woldẹst 84, cumẹþ 298, in all other possible cases there is the alternative of a three syllable foot. But taking into account the preponderance of forms syncopated by spelling, and the dissyllabic norm of the foot in the French verse which served as model, it seems more likely that the poet scanned þretẹst 83, hauẹst 109, speddẹstu 125, schirchẹst, ȝollẹst 179, miȝtẹst 192, wenẹst 195, bicumẹþ 207, wenịst 231, singẹst 247, 310, 175, crowẹþ 251, singẹþ 292, forbernẹst 297, cumẹþ 298, hauẹþ 356, nullẹþ 407: similarly werẹn 76, ovẹr 64, euẹr 421 are probable. What has been said about syncope applies also to the relative spheres of elision and hiatus. The letter which suffers elision is weak, mostly inflectional, final e before an initial vowel or pronominal h, presumably also before an inorganic h as in hule; there is no elision in the case of such words as me 38, 164, we 133, he 303, ope 124. It certainly takes place in Bet þúȝt|e þát | he wér|ẹ ishóte 23, and in the same position in 50, 63, 75, 77, 81, 123, 125, 137, 160, 161, 168, 177, 178, 181, 236, 257, 277, 281, 308, 315, 336, 346, 364, 397, 428, alsó | ho hád|dẹ one frógg|ẹ isuólȝe 102, þát | ho sóng | hirẹ a bí | semár 104, Þohúl|ẹone wíl|e hí | biþóȝte 155. Hiatus, which is the maintenance of e under the same conditions, is certain in ll. 28, 31, 92, 140, 163, 168, 173, 227, 268, þat þẹ húl|e hád|de hír|ẹ iséd 273, 289, 305, 344, 386, 409, 418, 425. In all other cases the choice lies between a three syllable foot with hiatus and a two syllable foot with elision; the latter is probably to be preferred.

The few lines which are metrically faulty are easily amended, Ilóm|e þu dést | me múch|ẹle gráme 49, þu cúþ|est þát | þu árt | unwíȝt 90, þu féd|ẹst on hóm | a fúl|ne fóde 94, 107 MS. J is correct, þan þú | mid áll|e þín|e stréngþe 129, 164 MS. J is correct, þat hé | for þé | fálse | dom déme 166, Ne maí | no mán | þarẹuór|ẹ me schénde 210, vor þí | ichlóþ | am smál|e fóȝle 213, 235 MS. J is correct, Ích | do gód|e mid mín|e þróte 245, and éu|re seíst | þin ón|e sóng 249, Ac nó|þẹles spác | he bold|elíche 279, þu fár|est ál|so dóþ|þe ílle 299, To uór|e þe kíng|e þáh | heo schólde 371, An dó | þan kíng|e swúch|e scháme 374, þeos rích|e mén | múchel | misdóð 413, 437 MS. J is correct. Peculiar in rhythm are, and mák|ẹst þine sóng | só | unwúrþ 255, þat he míȝt|ẹ héom il|óme | be míde 411. The rhymes are generally correct, but kunne : honne 65, cunde : schende 209, foȝle : þuuele 213, ȝomere : sumere 293, stude : mide 410 are inexact. The poet was all the same a very skilful metrist.

Introduction:There has been a wide difference of opinion as to the time when ON was written, but the weight of recent authority is in favour of a date somewhere aboutA.D.1220. The references in the poem to passing events are mostly vague or obscure; only the passage ‘þe king Henri | Jesus his soule do merci’, ON 1091, 2, which can refer to no other than Henry the Second, fixes a superior limit ofA.D.1189. It would equally appear to exclude the reign of Henry the Third, for, as ten Brink concedes, such an indefinite expression would hardly be used when another Henry was on the throne. It is further arguable that its use points to a time when the death of the king was recent. Again such a reference as that to the minstrel go-between saved by the intervention of King Henry the Second from the vengeance of a wronged husband would be to a recent event. Furthermore, it would give point to the expression, ‘ȝet nis he (i. e. the king) nouþer ded ne lame’, 171/375, if it were referred to the good peace kept by the Justiciar Hubert Walter, during Richard the First’s absence from England inA.D.1194-8. These external considerations, slight though they be, are in favour of the end of that reign as the date of the composition of the poem. The stage of development reached by the language may be held to support this view. Our manuscripts are copies of a copy, probably not far removed from the original poem. That copy is primitive in the fullness of the inflections, the extensive preservation of grammatical gender and the form of the new diphthongs.

Of the author nothing is known. A certain Johan of Guldeuorde is recorded in a copied note in MS. J as declining to sing more, but any connexion of his with ON cannot be determined. If the author were the Nicholas de Guldeuorde mentioned in the poem, it would lend a characteristic spice of humour to the excellent testimonial which he gives himself (157/147-170, 173/389-401). His name indicates that he was a native either of Guildford in Surrey or of Guldeford near Rye in Sussex.What sort of court he presided over cannot be determined; he may have been bailiff of the hundred court, or steward of a manor, or commissary for the neighbouring Abbotsbury. The attempt made by Gadow to identify him with a certain Nicholaus Capellanus, who appears in the diocese of Salisbury inA.D.1209, 1220, is not convincing.

The poem is in the favouritedébatform of the contemporary French literature. The Owl is the Cleric, living a secluded life under a strict rule, the Nightingale is the Minstrel, amateur of the open air and vagabond freedom, the Wren is a poet, like Philippe de Thaün, who has gained a secure place at Court. Though he tries to hold the balance even, the author’s secret sympathies are with the Nightingale; he had been himself sometime a wandering scholar.

Read 150/16 þat, 152/57 wit, 154/104 bysemar, 160/183 nyht,160/185vych, 160/191 quaþ, 166/289, 167/289 Þule, 167/310 eue, 168/336 Murehþe ilyche, 168/339 holy.

The references are to C, unless J is prefixed.

1.sumere, summer,adj. s. d.agreeing with dale; a summer valley. Gadow compares OE.sumer-lidaand similar compounds. But Stratmann explains it ass. d. f.of sum, certain.

2.diȝele: comp. ‘on ænne swiðe faire stude. | in ane dale deope;diȝelen bihælues,’ L 26933. ‘North of Portisham is a valley now called Mystecomb, formed by Hampton and Ridge Hills, and on the east side of the former are some pits, where the hundred courts were formerly held and hundred silver paid,’ Hutchins, Dorsetshire, i. 556. Was this the scene of the ‘plait’?

5.starc: comp. ‘þat fiht was swiþe strong;swiþe starc and swiþe lang,’L4170, MS. O.

6.among, at intervals, at times: comp. 152/81; ‘þar was weping strong;þar was gredinge among,’ L 23563, MS. O, and see KH 1527 note. Similarly ‘bitweonen’, 132/28; ‘And also cussed his feet amyd’, CM 14015, MS. T.

7.sval, was puffed out with anger, like L. tumeo. Rare in this absolute use; for a common expression comp. ‘þin heorte in wið þe swelleð of sar grome,’ HM 31/27: see also 155/101.

11.hure and hure: see15/91 note.

J 13.þo speke, then to speak: the scribe had before him þo speche, the speech, þo representing OE.þā,s. acc. f.ofse, usually þe in these texts. Mistaking þo for the adverb, meaning then, he altered speche into speke, spoiling the rhyme. (Breier, 125.)

14.brecheprobably represents OE.bræc,brec, which occurs in theboundaries of charters and appears to mean land left untilled among cultivated fields, such as would be covered with underwood; it would go well withhurnein its dialectal meaning of ‘a nook of land projecting into another parish, district or field.’ The phrase would then mean, in a corner of a spinney, just the position where the nightingale would feel safe; see 153/59, 60. Mätzner takes the word to mean fallowland; there is a dialectic breck, mostly northern and not recorded for the south and a literary word break, given in NED under date 1674, with that meaning.bechein J is generally identified with Layamon’s bach, bæch, valley, but Kenyon holds that it represents OE.bēce, beech, if so, hurne must have its secondary sense of hiding place.

J 16.þat: a scribe’s mistake for þar.

17.ore: OE.ānre,s. d. f.:heggeis descended from a strong fem. *hecg, but it is treated as masc. at l. 59, perhaps by confusion with OE.hege.waste: written for vaste, that is, faste (comp. ON, J 796), which Breier takes for an adverb qualifying þicke, very thick. But there is no evidence in ME. for the adverb, except with verbs and participles. It is an adjective, secure, safe, as in ‘wel he makede his castles;treowe ⁊ swiðe uæste,’ L 11897; comp. 153/53, 56-60, 157/130, 131, or possibly, dense.

18. Tall grasses and green flag plants grew up through the hedge.

19.rise, boughs; comp. ‘blisse was among þe rise,’ ON 1664.

20.auele: see132/9 note.

21.he: see135/127 note.

22.þan, than that.

26.hire tide, her hours; see163/230 note, and comp. ‘Gif preost on gesetne timan tída ne ringe oððe tida ne singe, gebete þæt,’ Liebermann, Gesetze, i. 382/36.

27.⁊: comp. 81/82 note.bigrowe, overgrown: comp. ‘mid iui grene al bi-growe,’ ON 617.

30.ouerseȝ, looked down at from her higher position: comp. 34/75.

31.þuȝte: impersonal; supply hire from the subject of the preceding sentence:wlis predicative adjective.

35.lete, behaviour, i.e. hooting: comp. 165/281, 171/358.

37.atfliþ, takes flight, deserts me: comp. ‘expavit cor meum et emotum est de loco suo,’ Job xxxvii. 1. Mostly withacc., but comp. ‘leste þe heorte etfleo ⁊ wende ut,’ AR 50/19.falt, folds, collapses: comp. ‘and þi tunge foldet,’ PRL 250/3, 249/2; OEM 101/4 and see2/19 note.

38. when you thrust yourself on me. Comp. ‘Bruttes him þrungen to;þræfliche swiðe,’ L 27796.

39.Me luste bet, it would please me better.

40.of, by reason of, as the result of.

41.fort: comp. 163/248 and see72/179 note.forin J is due to the scribe who avoids the unusual word; comp. 162/248, 166/310.

42.bileue, hold in, keep still; a somewhat forced sense.

44.atschet, shot out, drove out of her body; its subject and that of warp in the next line is heo, contained in the preceding hire: comp. 98/71. The editors, however, treat fnast as the subject, but in the only other place where the verb occurs, ‘Ah þah mi lif me beo at-schote,’ ON 1623 it is transitive.

45.warp, sent forth; see 13/45.

48.writelinge, ‘trilling, singing in shakes and flourishes,’ Specimens; a meaning apparently deduced from the context here and ON 914, the only places where the word occurs. It may be a miswriting of wrixelinge or wriselinge; OE.wrixlian, to modulate, vary the voice, as in ‘Ic þurh muþ sprece monȝum reordum. | wrencum singe, wrixle ȝeneahhe | heafodwoþe, hlude cirme,’ Riddle ix (by some interpreted of the nightingale), Grein, iii. 189/1, to which Toller parallels ‘Vox mea diversis variatur pulcra figuris,’ Aldhelm, 252/27; ‘wrixleð woðcræfte . . . | beorhtan reorde,’ Phoenix 127.

49, 50.grame . . . tone . . . schame: comp. 40/165 note.

51.on, within the compass of, under.

52. May it so happen that I have the opportunity, a parenthesis;⁊in the next line is equivalent to and if.

54.wisemay mean, song.

56.loki—bare, guard myself against the open, i.e. keep in my thicket, as at l. 59, 155/106. Other adjectives used as nouns are blete, l. 57, unsheltered place; woȝe ll. 120, 154, crooked conduct; harde, ON 459, 527, bitter weather, 703, difficulty; toȝte 703, puzzling situation.loki witappears to be without parallel, but wiþ is common in conjunction with similar verbs, see48/299 note; from is usual, 149/77 as with schilde, 153/62, 157/119.

63.tukest: the usual construction of this verb in OE. and ME. is seen in, ‘þa halgan . . . to ealre yrmðe tucode,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 494/106 (afflicted the Saints with every kind of misery); ‘ha tukeð ure godes to balewe ⁊ to bismere,’ SK 551. Whether to is to be inserted, or wroþe (which is a noun, ON 944) and vuele are to be regarded as adverbs, in any case the verb must have a direct object;overis probably a misreading of the common original MS. for oþer; comp. ON 1524 where J has correctly oþer and C over. The mistake would lead to the omission of to before wroþe.The sense then is, thou dost harass with evil and harm other small birds wherever thou canst.fugeleaspl. acc.in rhyme can be supported by bridde : amidde, ON 123; wrenche : atprenche, id. 813.

67.bischricheþ, screech at; apparently only here. Comp. 160/215.

68.narewe, strictly, harshly; comp. 74/203 note.biledet, treat, like L. afficere; comp. ‘He iseyh hw ihesu crist. wes vuele biled,’ OEM 45/278; ‘And luþre heom biledeþ | Mid pykes and myd eaule,’ id. 83/329. The word appears to descend as to form from OE.belǣdan, to lead (astray), and as to meaning from OE.belecgan, to treat (ill), afflict, through the intermediary of their commonpp.belēd. The expression is somewhat like ‘mettre à l’estroict, to put vnto the pinch,’ Cotgrave.

70.Hire þonkes, gladly; see10/167 note.

72.in monie volde, lit., in many folds, that is, in many respects. The phrase seems to be a mistaken resolution of some such adverbial expression as *on manigfealdum; in ME. on manyfolde, bi manifold are found, as well as many a folde. A natural extension is seen in, ‘ne uint he red in one (none J) uolde,’ ON 696.

76.Riȝt swo, just as if; comp. 155/98, 163/222.

78.cliure, claw: six times in ON, only once again in ME., see ES xxxi. 7, 17. ‘clifra,ungularum,’ OE. Glosses, ed. Napier, 135/5341, 148/458.

80.owel: see58/67 note.

J 81.euer among: see148/6 note.

83.to: the construction appears to be quite isolated, forþrēatian, þreatien take theacc.of the person or thing threatened. The simpledat.is seen in, ‘swiþe hii gonne þretie;Arthur þan kinge,’ L 20341, MS. O. Comp. ‘escade to,’ 77/44 note.

85. Lit. It would be more natural to thee in respect of a frog, i.e. A frog would suit you better.to one froggeis the virtual subject ofwere. The same construction is implied in ‘Ov nas neuer icunde þarto,’ ON 114. Different is ‘Ne lust him nu to none unrede,’ 159/168, for lusten has a prepositional construction (see52/383 note), while icunde has not. For the usual construction of icunde, see3/32 note.

86.cogge: probably for cog-stone, a stone propped up at the edge.

88.cunde . . . riȝte: datives singular.

90.onshould be omitted, it is unmetrical and, no doubt, due to un- in the following word.unwiȝt, hideous.

92.Bi, with reference to; see 4/30, 13/18, and comp. the similar use of ‘on’ in l. 94.

94. In them (i.e. in their case) thou rearest a very foul brood. Foron homcomp. 161/211 note.

100.noþerward, downward: comp. 56/51.

101.to svolle&c.: comp. 149/7; ‘heorte to-bollen ⁊ to-swollen,’ AR 282/8.

104.a bisemar, a mockery, but ‘a bisemere,’ ON 1311 means in mockery.

106.bare: see 152/56.

107.þare: so the MS.; Wells thinks it a scribe’s mistake for ware representinghwæþer, but C has elsewhere only hwaþer, wather, hweþer, weþer, and the interrogative pronoun is apparently not contracted. Probably the scribe has left out the first syllable and has been influenced in writing the second by bare in the preceding line.

109. The nightingale answers.

110.Ne kepich noȝt&c., Nor do I care for your clawing me, i.e. I would rather that you did not claw me.

112.tonge, pair of tongs.

113.so—ilike, as those like you do, after the manner of your kind.

118.svikelhede, attempt at deception: apparently only here and at ON 838.

120. And conceal your wickedness beneath an appearance of righteousness. For the combination comp. ‘myd wowe ne myd ryhte,’ OEM 49/412; ‘þat is woh ⁊ na wiht riht,’ L 4333, 5043, 6373; ‘Man mai þer of et inoȝ | Al wiþ riȝt and noȝt wiþ woȝ,’ Heuser, Kildare-Gedichte, 146/62.

J 121. The secondþuis a scribe’s mistake for þin.

125.unwrenche, evil tricks; comp. ‘For þine fule sunnen | ⁊ for þin uniwrenche,’ OEM 174/93, and for the rhyme 29/2.

127.to þriste: see 30/17.

128.liste . . . strengþeare often contrasted, ‘Betere is liste þen luðer strencðe’, AR 268/27; ‘hit wes ȝare iqueðen | þat betere is liste;þene ufel strenðe. | for mid liste me mai ihalden;þat strengðe ne mai iwalden,’ L 17209.

130.on brede . . . lengþegoes withgod, good in all dimensions, in every respect: comp. ‘A fairer child neuer i ne siȝ, | Neiþer a lingþe ne on brade,’ Sir Beues 536, with Kölbing’s note.

132. ‘Wel fyht þat wel flyþ,’ Hendyng, Böddeker,AE.Dicht. 291/77; ‘Mieuz vaut bone fuie que mauvaise atente,’ Li Proverbe au Vilain, no. 64; ‘þu most turne þe rug ȝif þu wult ouercumen ⁊ wið fluht fehten,’ HM 17/28.

133.lete awei, give up, drop; comp. 50/348 note.

135.fo we on, let us proceed; comp. 143/67.

136.wsome: miswritten for ysome, concordant, peaceable, which isadj.as at 171/378: Kenyon points out that the word-order is idiomatic. In J,some, concord, is a noun; comp. 70/158 note.

137.at one acorde: the phrases at accord, in accord and with one accord are all found, but this combination is at any rate rare: a similar tautology is seen in ‘Two dogges and one bone | Maye never accorde in one,’ Rel. Ant. i. 233.

140.foȝe, fitness, decency: OE.fōg, a joint. Kock (Anglia, xxv. 323) translates, ‘reason, reasonableness, justice and moderation.’ Wells compares G. mit Fug und Recht. The word does not occur elsewhere in ME.; soþe in J is a substitute for a word not known to the scribe.

143.us seme, reconcile us, settle our dispute. OE.sēman.

148, 149. Comp. 18/16, 30. In J 149,wordeis faultily repeated from l. 148.

151.wot insiȝt in, has skill in: the usual verb is seen in ‘insiht he cuðe;a winde and a mone,’ L 30497.

153, 154. Comp. 157/120 and 161/186.

J 155.bihouhteappears to be a scribal error for biþouhte, which occurs in the same text in a similar line, ‘Ful wel myd rede hire biþouhte,’ l. 704. It can hardly represent OE. *behogodeor *behogde, pasts ofbehogian,behycgan.

158.wile, at one time.

161.suþe acoled, made cold or grown cold. In J,nu þemay mean now for thee; Skeat takes it for nuþe, now: but the scribe had probably suþe in his original.

164. Should condemn me and give you the upper hand: legge goes better with adun than with buue. Comp. ‘That brynges me vnder ⁊ not above,’ Ipomedon 43/1428, 106/3681; ‘who so . . . may not come to his above,’ id. 1/5 with Kölbing’s note; ‘Leve thy resoun and bileve in the wondir | For feith is aboven, and reson is undir,’ Rel. Ant. i. 127.

167.him: see 13/34 and add ‘Þe ston hym hys of swiche grace,’KHMS. O. 585; ‘For horn hym was so longe,’ id. 977.fastrede, steadfast of purpose.

168.to: comp. 52/383.

170.a, on.

171.ȝare, Jware: the same variation occurs ON 488, 860.ȝareis the better reading.

181.þinchest: a scribe’s mistake for þincheþ.snepe, foolish; apparently only here: now a Lincolnshire dialect word.

184.þar of: comp. ‘Þes meiden wes awundret swiðe of þes wordes,’SJ 37/1; ‘þe sunne wundrieð of faire,’ OEH ii. 19/29. Forof= at, see 121/132.

186. Comp. 159/154.

187.þat, to which: see 44/250, 257 note, 46/292 note.

188.to his dede, as accompaniment of his actions.

194. Let thy tongue have a holiday.spale: OE.spala, a substitute,spelian, to take the place of another, ME. spelien mostly means to use sparingly. A related word is spell, a neutral word with meaning like þroȝe l. 196, a stretch of time; so a spell of work, a spell of rest: in Somerset dialect it means relaxation, in Australia, cessation from labour.

200.riȝte soþe: comp. 156/140.spelle, long story; comp. 175/437.

202.nich ne nay, not I nor nay.

203.lust: imperative, as at l. 199; but Skeat, ‘I am pleased to tell,’ which would require me lust.

208.wune: miswritten for wunne as the rhyme shows. The original probably had ƿ̇unne, which the scribe of J copied as ynne.

209.me draȝe to, incline towards, act in accordance with. The physical sense, betake oneself, is seen in ‘þes duc mid his drihte;to þare sæ him droh,’ L 92, and intransitively at 32/47. Comp. also ‘heald þin cunde,’ follow thy nature, OEH ii. 31/6.

210.me, as in J, seems necessary as the object of schende, immediately before which it should be inserted.

211is formal; comp. ‘on me hit is isene,’ ON 367; ‘On þe hit is wel eþ sene,’ OEH ii. 255/5; Minot viii. 79 note.on me, in my case; for this use of on, comp. 155/94; similar is bi, 4/30.hitrepresents l. 212.

212.vor riȝte cunde, it is purely because of my nature that I am so keen.

215, 216. Comp. 153/67, 68.to me ledeþ, lead against me, bring to attack me; comp. ‘Me þinkþ þu ledest ferde to me,’ ON 1672.

220.bi, near.

221.goþ: go might have been expected, as bigrede is subjunctive.

222.Riȝt so: comp. 153/76.

223.rede: dative.

225.me . . . of, about me; comp. 1/3.Þetin J is a mistake for ȝet.

227.woning: comp. 159/176, 182.

228.to ihire, to be heard, to listen to; comp. 159/180.

229.efne, uniformly, without trillings; comp. 153/48.

230.Mid fulle dreme, with good round volume of sound, in contrast with the nightingale’s thin shrill pipe, ll. 235, 236.

236.weode unripe, half-grown weed, like Milton’s ‘scrannel pipes of wretched straw.’

239-246.a riȝte time. The owl takes credit for singing, not all night like the nightingale, l. 247, but only to call the religious to their hours,an eue, Vespers (æfen-sang);bedtime, Compline (niht-sang);ad middelniȝte, Mattins with Lauds (ūht-sang);dairim, Prime (prīm-sang), ‘þærrihte upasprungenum dægriman dægredsang sy begunnen,’ Benedictine Rule, ed. Schröer, 32/22. S. Brendan in his wanderings came to thebird’sparadise where ‘þe foweles sunge ek here matyns: wel riȝt, þo hit was tyme, | ⁊ of þe sauter seide þe uers: ⁊ siþþe also prime, | ⁊ vnderne siþþe ⁊ middai: ⁊ afterwardes non, | ⁊ eche tyde songen of þe dai: as cristene men scholde don,’ Legendary, ed. Horstman, 225/223.note, employment, here divine service; comp. 74/210. The nightingale claims her share in this at ll. 347-353.

248.fort: see72/179 note.

251.crei: found here only; it has been explained as crowing, or crying, it can hardly be connected with F. cri, but it may possibly be, as Breier suggests, connected with OE.crāwan. More likely it is an imitative word invented by the writer.

252.þat, so that.

256. A mixed construction combining (i) that one esteems nothing of thy song, values thy song at nothing, and (ii) thy song is worth nothing; with the latter comp. ‘nis noht wurð þratte;buten þer beo dede æt,’ L 26555, with the former 124/265 note; ‘Thei tolde right nauȝt of thyn awe,’ Laud Troy Book, 2178.of þar, thereof, of thy song.

258.wel unwreste, right feebly.

261. Be the song pleasing beyond all measure, ever so pleasing.nedoes not negative the verb, but goes with and strengthens neuer; comp. ‘Ne beo he nefre swa riche, forð he scal þenne is dei cumeð,’ OEH 35/21; similarly 23/168, 43/225; ‘treouðe nefde he nane;to nauer nane monne,’ L 25471.

262.þatis not the correlative of so in the preceding line, which is a conditional clause; it is an illogical repetition of ‘þat’ in ll. 256, 258: the sense is, though the song be ever so pleasing, it must appear unpleasing, if it continues &c. Forne, see 25/240.

263.ouer unwille, ‘beyond what is desirable,’ Specimens, but in the glossary unwille is translated, displeasure. Wells takes unwille as an adverb qualified by ouer, ‘too unpleasantly.’ Probablyoueris written for ower which withunwillewould form an adverbial phrase, against your will, or pleasure, representing OE.ūrum unwillum, the latterelement beingpl. d.ofunwilla; comp. ‘ure gast biþ swiþe wide farende urum unwillum,’ Boethius 152/4. Similar combinations descending from OE.unwillare seen in ‘þe man . . . here wuneð on wanrede ⁊ þoleð his unwille hwile druie, ⁊ hwile wete,’ OEH ii. 123/5; ‘hire unwilles,’ 140/25; ‘hire unwil,’ 141/136, HM 31/32; ‘min unwil,’ SM 13/3: see140/25 note.

264.aspille, waste.

268.unmeþe: comp. 118/47.

276.so foruorþ iladde, carried so far, i.e. she had said so much.foruorþ, lit. far onwards; but forþ comes to mean simply, far; comp. ‘uorþ ase ȝe muwen,’ AR 46/10; ‘ouer al ase forð as imei,’ SJ 47/6. Withiladdecomp. ‘Of ðis kinge wil we leden song,’ GE 699; ‘talewise men þe speches driuen,’ OEH ii. 193/27.

278.ifare, ‘conveyed,’ Specimens, as if a strongpp.from the weak verbferian. But the writer has elsewhere (l. 1709) ifare aspp.offaran, and the sense yielded, ‘should not be presented, conveyed, aright,’ does not suit the context.Weorðan, wurðen are sometimes used with past participles of intransitive verbs, ‘Denum eallum wearð | æfter þam wælræse willa gelumpen,’ Beowulf 823; ‘swa hit agangen wearð | eorla manegum,’ id. 1234; ‘þa þat forme ȝer;wharð forð igan,’ L 4942; and similarly ‘þe arcebiscop ongan to tellende . . . hu hit gefaran wes,’ AS. Chron. ed. Plummer, i. 130/30: the natural meaning ofariht faranis, to fare well, to prosper, and the present phrase may well mean, that her answer might not turn out prospered, well.

281.berþ grete ilete, assumes a haughty bearing; comp. 151/35, 171/358, and forpl.110/273, 129/35.

282. So that he do not, through cowardice, give up his case, give way.hitis a vague object; comp. 42/214 note.

284.svicst: see footnote: Wells adopts the correction of the MS. and reads vicst, fightest, and Breier thinks the original had fihst; in Specimens niswicst is read without reference, and explained, ‘ceasest not.’ The readings of the MSS. may be accounted for thus. The author probably wrote biswicst (comp. 155/114, ON 930), deludest by a show of fight; the copyist of the exemplar common to CJ, with iswiken (geswīcan), cease, in his mind, altered to iswicst; C copied that, but noting its unfitness emended it to vicst, spoiling the rhythm, while J rejected i and adopted swykst, deceivest.

286. He will make a barrow-pig of a boar, i.e. he will climb down, from a fierce animal he will become quite tame. The boar is typically fierce, ‘brem as a bare,’ Sir Degrevant, 1240.

298.cumeþ to londe, comes to dwell with us, like ‘Þa æstre wes aȝeonge;and sumer com to londe,’ L 24241 (‘to toune,’MS.O). See KH 153 note.

299.þe ille, the evil one, the devil; in modern dialect, the ill man, the ill thief: comp. ‘wurse’ 98/81. Wells says ‘the evil man.’

305, 306. Nor would he mind though flocks (coarse felted stuff made of refuse of wool and cotton) were muddled up with fine carded wool and hair, that is, he would take a perverse delight in a confusion which would be troublesome to sort out.roȝte:pt. s. subj.appears to owe its time towolde. Withflokkescomp. ‘xv capella nigra . . . falsi operis et mixti de lana et flokkes,’ Munim. Gildh. Lond. iii. 433 (quoted in NED,s.v.flock2).Imeind bi:mengan, mengen mostly take wiþ, ON 131 or mid, 151/18, 38/142, ON 870;biappears to be quite isolated.

310.fort: see 72/179.

312.for mine þinge, on my account: comp. ‘Ða ic þas stemne gehyrde and for minum þingum ongeat beon geclypode,’ Ælf. Lives ii. 32/485; ‘þat ich for þine þinge;mid sæxe me of-stinge,’ L 5033.

313.blisseþ hitcan mean only, causes it to rejoice, comp. 14/50, 52. Alteration to hine would give a common reflexive use, rejoices; comp. ‘Ne mei nan mon . . . blissien him mid þisse wordle,’ OEH i. 33/29: hine would go withhiȝteþalso, as in ‘hyhte me myd my skentinge,’ ON 532; ‘ic . . . | ellen wylle | habban ⁊ hlyhhan | ⁊ me hyhtan to,’ Cod. Exon. ed. Thorpe, 456/19. J means, blesses my coming.

318.þat—wtemay mean, that thou mayest know, but the reading of J gives a better sense, though you find fault with her action, andþatis probably a scribe’s mistake for þah.

320, 323.shulle: the ordinary construction ofbiddanwhere its object is expressed by a clause is þat with the subjunctive of the verb, as at 77/60, 141/39; ‘þa bæd he eaðmodlice þæt he hiene ne sende,’ Cura Past., 48/6; the insertion ofshulle, which apparently does not alter the sense, is new; comp. ‘Ðeo apostles hine beden ꝥ he scalde suggen hwet þeo saȝe bicweðe,’ OEH 133/23.

327.sume: a mistake of the common exemplar for sumere, as Mätzner pointed out: comp. ‘vor sumeres tide is al to wlonc,’ ON 489.

328. Comp. ‘eorlum bringe | blisse in burgum,’ Grein, Poesie, iii. 189.

333. Comp. 161/203.

334.to wan, to what end, for what purpose: OE.tō hwan(hwon).

340.ginneþ . . . wurche, do compose, or, sing: for the periphrasis see KH 1277 note, Anglia xxix. 129. But Sweet translates ‘anginnað ðonne oftrædlice mare secggean,’ Cura Past. 66/3 ‘often try to speak more.’

341.bi, through the agency of.

342. Comp. 42/210, 48/326, 327.shal, must go: comp. 2/2 note. bon:inf.depending on shal.

345. And note from the church song.

348.wicke tunes, monasteries and other religious houses: OE.wīctūn, which translates L. atria, ‘introite in atria ejus,’ ‘ingangað on his wic-tunas,’ Ps. xcv. 8, xcix. 3: in form the ME. word is possibly influenced bywīce, office; wike occurs three times in ON.

349.to, at; see 163/241.

351.prostes: that is, seculars,upe londe, in their parishes, as distinguished from the clerks (l. 347), who are either monks or canons.

353. Repeated from ON 484.wat(hwat), as far as; an adverbialacc.of extent: comp. ‘wet we on þisse middelerd liuien,’ OEH 11/2, as long as; ‘also wat se we sinegen,’ OEH ii. 101/29, as soon as; ‘also wat swo þe þridde dageð,’ id. 103/26: see ‘alwat,’ 15/84, 215/26.

354begins a paragraph with large initial in both MSS., but it goes with the preceding line ‘heo walde neoþeles ȝefe answere.’ The owl’s language was threatening. Comp. ‘Þe niȝtingale at þisse worde, | mid sworde an mid speres orde, | ȝif ho mon were, wolde fiȝte,’ ON 1067; ‘men weorreð mid þreo kunne wepnen, mid scheotunge, mid speres ord ⁊ mid sweordes egge,’ AR 60/14.

356.⁊—scheldegoes with orde.

358.ilete: see 165/281.

363.þah, not in J, is necessary to the sense.

365.awille, to their pleasure.

367. Added at bottom of leaf.awolde, in the woodland; for though by her place of birth she was weak in woodcraft, she had learnt wisdom from the men among whom she had been brought up.

369.þenne, thence.

371. Even if she had to speak in the king’s presence.Touoretakes a dative: see 102/144 and read kinge with J.

373.Hwat: an exclamation, What!

374.þan kinge: correction by Stratmann: perhaps his is to be read forþisin the preceding line: comp. l. 377.

375.lame, crippled, unable to act: comp. ‘Debilis uel eneruatuslame,’ Wright-Wülcker, Vocab. 162/1.

376.Hunke: strange in form, as in meaning: we should expect inc, as Wells points out: we, J 377 is more consistent.

378.Lateþ beo, cease from your strife.

384.doobviates the repetition of an: comp. 122/185.lahfulnesse,loyal holding to her offer, ll. 145-147, contrasted withunrihtfulnesse, l. 385.

J 390.euis, of course, a mistake for us.

391.An ȝefis clearly wrong, whileȝetin J, meaning moreover, gives a poor sense. The original may have been, ȝif, als ich wene, þat he wolde, if, as I think, he would be willing to act as umpire. Ȝif þat, if, occurs in ‘ac ȝif þat he forlost his wit,’ ON 693, where J rejects þat and spoils the metre: perhaps the avoidance of the construction has caused the corruption of the text.

394.nuȝte: in all probability the original had nuste. The scribes, being acquainted with the graph st for ȝt, ht (see KH 249 note), mechanically substituted the latter here. C, starting correctly from nuste, wrote nuȝte; J read the original as miste, which for him meant myhte. There is a similar trouble in the text of ON 1300, where for nustest C has miȝtest or mistest and J nustest, ‘very like mistest,’ Wells.

397.utlete: the passage to the sea, now represented by the Fleet between the Chesil Bank and the mainland. Portisham is now about three miles inland, near Abbotsbury, to the monastery in which place it formerly belonged (Dugdale, Monast. iii. 52).

400.þurh&c.: by his delivered judgements and by his writings; that they righted matters as far as Scotland is a playful exaggeration.

407. Why will they not betake themselves to counsel, that is, take counsel: comp. ‘þe traytours of Scotlond token hem to rede, | þe barouns of engelond to brynge to dede,’ Bödd. AE. Dicht. 133/225; ‘Þe Irise oft tok hem to red, | To ston þat douhti kniȝt to ded,’ Horn Childe, 214; ‘Cnihtes eoden to ræde,’ L 19238; Minot vi. 68 note.

409.for teche: see 40/180.

410.rente, income of any sort, here probably from church preferments.a uale stude, in many a place; another playful touch.

413.riche men, men in high place.

414.leteþ, neglect.

415.of . . . con: comp. ‘He couþe of wode ⁊ of ryuere,’ R. of Brunne, Chron. 4006, and contrast ‘Brennes cuðe on hundes;Brennes cuðe an hauekes,’ L 4895.

417. See 44/260 note.

418.litle childre: the appointment of well-connected boys to valuable preferments was an abuse of that time. Comp. ‘Si nepotibus suis paruulis [prelati] mille animas strangulandas tradiderint et dixerint adulatores quod bene faciunt, tales in curiis laudantur,’ Eudes de Cheriton, p. 262. It is frequently referred to in Grosseteste’s letters, as no. 17, 19, 26, 30 &c.

420. In this way their wit adjudges them in error, namely, inasmuch as Master Nicholas continues to endure such neglect.swois explained by the clause which begins withþat. Wells translates, ‘So they condemn their intelligence [as] in error (foolish),’ but that is against the order of the words and syncopatedpres. pluralsare rare.

423. In J,þatis a mistake for þar.

425.rede, present, report.

428.al:acc.after telle.ende of orde, end from beginning, that is, from beginning to end; a strange expression, but not more so than ‘ord fram þan ende,’ L 15770, 22983. In OE. as now, ‘from ord oð ende forð,’ Elene, 590; ‘ord and ende,’ Ælf. Hom. ii. 220/34.

430.misrempe: only here and in ‘misrempe ⁊ misdo,’ ON 1353, where J substitutes ‘misnyme,’ and the scribe of C adds in the margin ‘steppe’ as a gloss on rempe. The simple verb occurs twice, ‘Oft mon biþ suiðe rempende,’ Cura Past. 149/12, corresponding to ‘praecipitata actio’ of the Latin original, and ‘þe Bretons sawe þer syde ȝede lowe | þey rempede þem to reste a þrowe,’ R. of Brunne, 3491, where Wace has ‘a une part se sont retret,’ 3160. The root of the word, as of OHG. rimpfan, G. rümpfen, F. rampe, a slope, OE. *hrimpan, Gk.κράμβος, Eng. rimple, rumple, appears to mean, crooked, out of straight, hence ‘rempende’ said of headlong action, ‘rempede,’ drew aside, ‘misrempe,’ to go crooked, out of the straight path, in this place, to act on the cross, be dishonest.

431.crempe, restrain, check; only here and in the compound forcrempeþ, ON 510: related to cramp, and ultimately to the word with which it here rhymes.

433. Absolutely without army or following; comp. ‘Ne scalt þu neuere þider faren;bute mochelere ferde,’ L 3678.

434.ꝥ: þat, until; comp. 72/179 note; ‘æuere heo uerden alle niht;þat hit wes dæi-liht,’ L 19200; KH 123 note.þerin J may mean where, but it is more probably a mistaken expansion of the original. Forbicomesee 147/134.

Phonology:... þane 414 is LWS.þaneL.W.S.eabeforer...gef, EWS.giefE. W. S.a+g... liȝte 119 r. w. riȝteliȝteIn bisemar 104 ...uforeemisprinted as italic instead of bold(2)Of J....eo,u- andå-umlaut ofiimisprinted as italic instead of boldēois mostly preservedeoThe new diphthongs ... of þuhte 275ofþuhteAccidence:... OE. are blo 108, 319, (Portes)hom 395319 (Portes)homAdjectives ...āgenhas lost nagenMetre:... þíd|er fúnd|eþ eúr|ich mán 337text unchanged: error for “éur|ich”?þe níȝt|ingál|e bigón | þe spécheníȝt | ingál|eHe wún|eþ át | pórt|es hómpórt | es hómÞo húl|ẹ one wíl|e hí | biþóȝtehúl | ẹRead ... 160/185 vychcorrected by author from “160/186”5. ... L 4170, MS. O.L.132. ... Hendyng, Böddeker, AE. Dicht.Æ. Dicht.167. ... KH MS. O. 585KH.239-246. ... the bird’s paradisetext unchanged: expected word “birds’”298. ... (‘to toune,’ MS. O)Ms. O

Phonology:... þane 414 is LWS.þaneL.W.S.

eabeforer...gef, EWS.giefE. W. S.

a+g... liȝte 119 r. w. riȝteliȝte

In bisemar 104 ...uforeemisprinted as italic instead of bold

(2)Of J....eo,u- andå-umlaut ofiimisprinted as italic instead of bold

ēois mostly preservedeo

The new diphthongs ... of þuhte 275ofþuhte

Accidence:... OE. are blo 108, 319, (Portes)hom 395319 (Portes)hom

Adjectives ...āgenhas lost nagen

Metre:... þíd|er fúnd|eþ eúr|ich mán 337text unchanged: error for “éur|ich”?

þe níȝt|ingál|e bigón | þe spécheníȝt | ingál|e

He wún|eþ át | pórt|es hómpórt | es hóm

Þo húl|ẹ one wíl|e hí | biþóȝtehúl | ẹ

Read ... 160/185 vychcorrected by author from “160/186”

5. ... L 4170, MS. O.L.

132. ... Hendyng, Böddeker, AE. Dicht.Æ. Dicht.

167. ... KH MS. O. 585KH.

239-246. ... the bird’s paradisetext unchanged: expected word “birds’”

298. ... (‘to toune,’ MS. O)Ms. O

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