Taking first the words in whichēis fromǣcorresponding to West-Germanicā, we find the following withę̄:bede(pret. pl.), frombǣdon, (dede:bede, i. 2047 f.).breth(:deth, i. 119, 2127, &c.).fere, ‘fear,’ (:ere, i. 462, ii. 46).her, ‘hair,’ (heres:teres, i. 2999).lete, fromlǣtan, (:grete, i. 3365, &c.).lewed(:thewed, i. 274,beschrewed, iii. 479).sete, pret. pl., (sete:grete, iv. 1309), butsiete(not in rhyme), v. 3339.strete(:grete, i. 938,bete, i. 1156).there(:ere, i. 499, 558, &c.), but alsothere:swere(neck), iv. 859, andhiere(adv.) :there,Praise of Peace, 178.were, fromwǣron, (:ere, Prol. 235, i. 2808, &c.), but alsoẹ̄in a few instances, ashiere(verb):were, i. 2741 f.,hiere(adv.):were, v. 747 f.where(e.g.elleswhere:eere, Prol. 9), buthere(adv.):elleswhere, v. 361 f.The substantive and verbred,rederhyme about equally withẹ̄andę̄, the latter cases being almost all withded,dede(dead, sing. and pl.), as i. 1446, iv. 1940, 1960, &c. On the other hand,rede:hiede, i. 447 f.,rede:spede, i. 1293 f., ii. 103 f., &c.,red:sped, iii. 1991 f.The following words of this class have as a ruleẹ̄:cheke(chieke) (:mieke, v. 2471,eke, v. 3019).dede, ‘deed,’ (:fede, Prol. 465,mede, i. 1553, &c.,spede, i. 2653, &c.,ȝede, ii. 855,forbiede, iii. 1122), butdede(dead):dede, i. 1037 f.drede(:nede, i. 1987, 2240U, :spede, iv. 629, :hiede, iv. 1448, &c.), butdede(dead) :drede, ii. 3405 f.,drede:rede(fromrēad), iv. 185 f.leche(:seche, ii. 3220,beseche, iii. 413).meete, ‘dream,’ (:meete, frommētan, iii. 51).mete(unmete), adj. (:mete, frommētan, ii. 458, iii. 1100).slep,slepe, subst. and verb, (kepe:slepe, Prol. 309 f., 475 f.,slep:kep, i. 155, &c.), butslep:hep(hēap), iv. 3007 f.speche(spieche) (:seche, Prol. 174,beseche, i. 1986).spieke(speke), fromsprǣcon, pret. pl. (:beseke, ii. 959,sieke, ii. 1456).thred(:sped, i. 1419).ȝer,ȝere, (ȝere:stiere, ii. 2379,ȝer:hier, iii. 129,ȝeeres:pleiefieres, iv. 481), with no instances apparently ofę̄.If we take now the words in whichēis fromǣcorresponding to Germanicai, we obtain the following results.Withę̄:er(:ner, ii. 2285).geth(:deth, ii. 1804, 2616, &c.).lene, ‘lend,’ (:bene, v. 4407).leve, ‘remain,’ (:bereve, Prol. 412).se(see), ‘sea,’ (:stree, iii. 86, iv. 1715,sle, iv. 1664), butbe:se, iv. 1625 f.,me:see, viii. 1723 f.ȝe(ȝee), ‘yea,’ (:slee, iii. 262, 2068,stree, iii. 668).(stre,slee, have noẹ̄rhymes, so we have no reason to suppose, as in the case of Chaucer, that finalēhas a close sound.)Withẹ̄:areche, fromārǣcan, (:beseche, ii. 666).clene(:sene, ii. 3461).del(diel),somdiel, &c. (:whiel, Prol. 137,stiel, Prol. 612, 828).evere,nevere, (:levere, Prol. 38, ii. 5, ii. 2417, &c.).-hede(-hiede) as a suffix:hiede:godhiede, Prol. 497 f., cp. i. 1211 f., 1719 f., v. 595 f., viii. 95 f.,mede:wommanhiede, iii. 1607 f.,wommanhiede:fiede, vi. 695 f.,maidenhede:spede, vii. 5145 f., viii. 1419 f., and so on, but onceę̄,Maidenhede:rede(fromrēad), v. 5987.hete, subst. and verb, ‘heat,’ (:swete, ‘sweet,’ ii. 2740, vi. 249), buthete:tobete, iii. 121 f.,hete:bete, viii. 1195 f.lede(:hiede, v. 156, :fede, vii. 2336*), butdede(dead) :lede, ii. 2779 f.lere(liere), fromlǣran, (:hiere, verb, i. 454, iii. 2204, v. 2029,diere, viii. 1462,hiere(adv.), viii. 1497,unliered:stiered, Prol. 233 f.).mene(meene), verb, (:sene, ii. 2830, iv. 1645,wene, i. 1937, &c.,grene, i. 777, &c.,tene, iii. 771,queene, iv. 786).sprede(spriede) (:fede, i. 2824,spede, ii. 504,spredeth:nedeth, v. 7679 f.,feedeth, vi. 895 f.), butsprede:hede(head), vii. 845 f.teche(:beseche, i. 590, 2260, iii. 132).
Taking first the words in whichēis fromǣcorresponding to West-Germanicā, we find the following withę̄:
bede(pret. pl.), frombǣdon, (dede:bede, i. 2047 f.).
breth(:deth, i. 119, 2127, &c.).
fere, ‘fear,’ (:ere, i. 462, ii. 46).
her, ‘hair,’ (heres:teres, i. 2999).
lete, fromlǣtan, (:grete, i. 3365, &c.).
lewed(:thewed, i. 274,beschrewed, iii. 479).
sete, pret. pl., (sete:grete, iv. 1309), butsiete(not in rhyme), v. 3339.
strete(:grete, i. 938,bete, i. 1156).
there(:ere, i. 499, 558, &c.), but alsothere:swere(neck), iv. 859, andhiere(adv.) :there,Praise of Peace, 178.
were, fromwǣron, (:ere, Prol. 235, i. 2808, &c.), but alsoẹ̄in a few instances, ashiere(verb):were, i. 2741 f.,hiere(adv.):were, v. 747 f.
where(e.g.elleswhere:eere, Prol. 9), buthere(adv.):elleswhere, v. 361 f.
The substantive and verbred,rederhyme about equally withẹ̄andę̄, the latter cases being almost all withded,dede(dead, sing. and pl.), as i. 1446, iv. 1940, 1960, &c. On the other hand,rede:hiede, i. 447 f.,rede:spede, i. 1293 f., ii. 103 f., &c.,red:sped, iii. 1991 f.
The following words of this class have as a ruleẹ̄:
cheke(chieke) (:mieke, v. 2471,eke, v. 3019).
dede, ‘deed,’ (:fede, Prol. 465,mede, i. 1553, &c.,spede, i. 2653, &c.,ȝede, ii. 855,forbiede, iii. 1122), butdede(dead):dede, i. 1037 f.
drede(:nede, i. 1987, 2240U, :spede, iv. 629, :hiede, iv. 1448, &c.), butdede(dead) :drede, ii. 3405 f.,drede:rede(fromrēad), iv. 185 f.
leche(:seche, ii. 3220,beseche, iii. 413).
meete, ‘dream,’ (:meete, frommētan, iii. 51).
mete(unmete), adj. (:mete, frommētan, ii. 458, iii. 1100).
slep,slepe, subst. and verb, (kepe:slepe, Prol. 309 f., 475 f.,slep:kep, i. 155, &c.), butslep:hep(hēap), iv. 3007 f.
speche(spieche) (:seche, Prol. 174,beseche, i. 1986).
spieke(speke), fromsprǣcon, pret. pl. (:beseke, ii. 959,sieke, ii. 1456).
thred(:sped, i. 1419).
ȝer,ȝere, (ȝere:stiere, ii. 2379,ȝer:hier, iii. 129,ȝeeres:pleiefieres, iv. 481), with no instances apparently ofę̄.
If we take now the words in whichēis fromǣcorresponding to Germanicai, we obtain the following results.
Withę̄:
er(:ner, ii. 2285).
geth(:deth, ii. 1804, 2616, &c.).
lene, ‘lend,’ (:bene, v. 4407).
leve, ‘remain,’ (:bereve, Prol. 412).
se(see), ‘sea,’ (:stree, iii. 86, iv. 1715,sle, iv. 1664), butbe:se, iv. 1625 f.,me:see, viii. 1723 f.
ȝe(ȝee), ‘yea,’ (:slee, iii. 262, 2068,stree, iii. 668).
(stre,slee, have noẹ̄rhymes, so we have no reason to suppose, as in the case of Chaucer, that finalēhas a close sound.)
Withẹ̄:
areche, fromārǣcan, (:beseche, ii. 666).
clene(:sene, ii. 3461).
del(diel),somdiel, &c. (:whiel, Prol. 137,stiel, Prol. 612, 828).
evere,nevere, (:levere, Prol. 38, ii. 5, ii. 2417, &c.).
-hede(-hiede) as a suffix:hiede:godhiede, Prol. 497 f., cp. i. 1211 f., 1719 f., v. 595 f., viii. 95 f.,mede:wommanhiede, iii. 1607 f.,wommanhiede:fiede, vi. 695 f.,maidenhede:spede, vii. 5145 f., viii. 1419 f., and so on, but onceę̄,Maidenhede:rede(fromrēad), v. 5987.
hete, subst. and verb, ‘heat,’ (:swete, ‘sweet,’ ii. 2740, vi. 249), buthete:tobete, iii. 121 f.,hete:bete, viii. 1195 f.
lede(:hiede, v. 156, :fede, vii. 2336*), butdede(dead) :lede, ii. 2779 f.
lere(liere), fromlǣran, (:hiere, verb, i. 454, iii. 2204, v. 2029,diere, viii. 1462,hiere(adv.), viii. 1497,unliered:stiered, Prol. 233 f.).
mene(meene), verb, (:sene, ii. 2830, iv. 1645,wene, i. 1937, &c.,grene, i. 777, &c.,tene, iii. 771,queene, iv. 786).
sprede(spriede) (:fede, i. 2824,spede, ii. 504,spredeth:nedeth, v. 7679 f.,feedeth, vi. 895 f.), butsprede:hede(head), vii. 845 f.
teche(:beseche, i. 590, 2260, iii. 132).
The above are the results arrived at by examination of the rhymes with vowels of undoubted quality; i.e.ę̄from O. E.ēa,andẹ̄from O. E.ē,ēo,īe. In addition to this, an investigation has been made of the rhyming of these words among themselves and with words of Romance origin, in the process of which some additional words withēfromǣ, asdele,hele,swete, ‘sweat,’wete, are brought in. This cannot here be given in full, but it may be said that in almost all points it confirms the results arrived at above. A few words, however, to which an open vowel is assigned above, rhyme with other words fromǣwhich almost certainly haveẹ̄, and therefore must be set as having unstable pronunciation. Thus, in spite of the rhymelene(lend) :benementioned above, we havelene:mene(both verb and subst.) andlene:clene, and thoughfererhymes more than once withere, we havelered:aferedandunlered:afered, which suggest that the close sound was possible.
On the whole we may set down the following as the result of our examination.
With open vowel: of theǣ(ē) class,bede, pret. pl.,breth,her(pl.heres),lete,lewed,strete: of theā=aiclass,er,geth,leve(remain),ȝee(yea).
With close vowel: of the former class,leche,meete(dream),mete(fit),slepe,speche,speke, pret. pl.,thred,wete,wreche,ȝer, and with one exception only in each casedede,slep: of the latter class,areche,clene,del,evere,lere,mene,nevere,teche, and with one exception in each case,-hede(-hiede),lede,sprede.
With unstable vowel: fromǣ(ē),drede,eve,fere(fear),red(subst.),rede,there,were,where: fromǣ=ai,hete,lene,see(sea).
The conclusions to which we are led are, first that in Gower’s usage there is less instability of vowel-sound in these words than in Chaucer, the number of words with unstable vowel being smaller and the variations even in their case more exceptional; secondly that Gower’s language has a strongly pronounced leaning towardsẹ̄; and finally that this tendency is quite as much visible in the words of theǣ=aiclass as in the others.
O. E.ēa. The substantivebelievehasẹ̄by influence of the verb.
There is no use apparently ofnę̄defromnēador ofȝę̄rfromgēar, andek,eke, seems invariably to haveẹ̄.
Fromēage,flēah,hēah,nēahwe haveyhe,flyh,hih,nyh.
There seems no reason to suppose thatstre,slehadẹ̄, as has been concluded for Chaucer’s language because of such rhymesassle:he,stre:she,stree:we, see ten Brink,Chaucers Sprache, §23.
It has already been shown thatsee(sea), which we have supposed to have unstable vowel quality, very seldom rhymes with words havingẹ̄, notwithstanding the frequent opportunity for such rhymes, andȝee, ‘yea,’ never. It may be questioned whether the rule laid down by ten Brink for Chaucer is a sound one, and whether Chaucer’s practice does not really depend simply upon the larger supply of rhymes inẹ̄, such ashe,she,me,thee,be,se(verb),tre,three, &c. It is at least possible that the difference here between Gower and Chaucer arises from the fact that the latter was less strict in his rhymes, and certainly the later developments ofsle,see,stre,ȝeesupply no confirmation of the idea that they hadẹ̄regularly in Chaucer’s language.
O. E.ēo. By the side ofsek(siek) there is occasionallysik.
The formfil,filleforfell,felle, pret. sing. and pl. fromfalle, are not used by Gower. He rhymesfell(fēoll) :hell(hyll) andfelle, pret. pl.:felle(fyllan).
The personal pronounȝow(ȝou) fromēowrhymes withthou,now, &c.
O. E.ī. Fahrenberg’s instances ofī:ē, i. 177 f. and iii. 413 f., are both founded on mistakes.
O. E.ū. The personal pronoun from O. E.ūsis always writtenous, but rhymes in some instances with-usin Latin names, e.g.Tricolonius:ous,Tereüs:ous.
būtanis shortened tobot, notbut. It occurs also as a dissyllable in the formbote.
O. E.ȳ. The only example ofȳasēisferfromfȳr, which occurs in rhyme withȝer, iii. 694, (elsewherefyr). Chaucer hasfere, dat., rhyming withhere, adv.,Troilus, iii. 978, and alsoaferein rhyme withstere, ‘stir,’Troilus, i. 229.
The cases ofhedde,hed, pret. and past participle (fromhȳdan), are examples of shortenedȳpassing naturally toe, and so alsofestfromfȳst,felthefromfȳlþe,threstefromþrȳsta.
Fromȳgindrȳgewe havedreie, but alsodrye.
O. E.ō. Gower, like Chaucer, rhymes the worddo(misdo,undo, &c.), and occasionallytointherto, with words that haveǭderived fromā, not onlyso,also,two,wo, but alsotho, adv. (i. 2609, iii. 683, v. 5331, &c.),go,ago(ii. 2483, 3513, iv. 1161, 3465,v. 5173, &c.),overmo(i. 2385),no(v. 4776),fo(iv. 3407). These words also rhyme with proper names, such asJuno,Lichao, Babio. The other forms ofdo, asdoth,don, rhyme nearly always withọ̄, but once we havedoth:goth, v. 3967 f., and oncedon:anon, v. 3627 f. The rhymesoth:gothalso occurs, v. 1579 f. This latter class of rhyme, asdon:anon,don:gon,sothe:bothe,soth:wroth, occurs frequently in Chaucer’s earlier work, as theBook of the Duchess, but much less so in the later.
These rhymes, like those ofhomwithcom, &c., noticed above underā, are to be explained as due to scarcity of exactly corresponding rhyme words. The only exact rhyme fordoandtois in factschoo, which is found in Prol. 356, but obviously could not be of frequent occurrence. The explanation given by ten Brink,Chaucers Sprache, § 31, and repeated mechanically by others, is that certain words which haveǭfromā, aswo,two,so(swā), may equally haveọ̄upon occasion owing to the influence ofw. This is shown to be wrong both by the fact that the rhymes in question are, as we have seen, by no means confined to these words, and by the absence of other evidence in the case ofwoandsothat they ever had a tendency toọ̄. The fact that the rhymedo:sois by far the commonest instance is due simply to the more frequent occasion for using the words.
In the rhymeglove:love, v. 7047 f., we have to deal withọ̄, and there can be no question here oflovefromlufian. Both sense and rhyme point to a verblovecorresponding to the substantiveloforlove, mod.luff, and signifying the action of bringing a ship’s head up nearer to the wind. The other rhymes used withglovearebehove, Prol. 357,prove, iii. 2153.
We may note thatwowefromwōgianrhymes withbowe(būgan), which does not fit in with ten Brink’s very questionable theory about the development ofou(ow),Chaucers Sprache, § 46, Anm.
(3)Romance Vowels.A few notes only will be added here to what has already been said in the Introduction to Gower’s French Works.
Words with-oun(-on) ending, ascondicioun(-on),opinioun(-on), &c., rhyme only among themselves or withtoun,doun, &c. There are no rhymes like Chaucer’sproporcion:upon, and it is to be noted especially that the rhyming of proper names in-on, asSalamon,Acteon, &c., with this class of words, which is very common inChaucer, does not occur in Gower’s English, though we occasionally find it in his French. At the same time the possibility of such rhymes cannot be denied, for we havetoun:Ylioun, v. 7235 f., andLamedon:Jasoun, v. 7197 f.
Adjectives in-ousdo not rhyme with-us, as in ChaucerAurelius:amorous,Theseüs:desirous.
The terminations-arie,-orieare not used at all, but instead of them the French forms-aire,-oire, asadversaire,contraire,necessaire,gloire,histoire,memoire,purgatoire,victoire. Latin proper names inorhyme withǭ, asCithero(:also),Leo(:also),Phito(:tho),Juno(:so,tho), &c., but also in several cases withdo. There seems no sufficient reason to suppose, as ten Brink does, that they regularly hadọ̄.
(4)Consonants.The termination-liche(-lich) in adjectives and adverbs, which Fahrenberg judging by the rhymes sets down as very uncommon compared with-ly, is by far the more usual of the two. It is true that-lyoccurs more frequently in rhyme, but that is due chiefly to the greater abundance of rhyme words corresponding to it, e.g.forthi,by,cri,merci,enemy: we have, however,redely:properly, Prol. 947 f. The general rule of usage is this:-lyusually in rhyme (butbesiliche:swiche, iv. 1235 f.), and before a consonant in cases where the metre requires a single syllable, as i. 2069, ‘Al prively behinde his bak’ (butfrendlich, viii. 2173),-licheor-lichbefore a vowel, as i. 373, ‘That ronne besiliche aboute,’ cp. ii. 1695, v. 1247, and-licheof course where two syllables are required, as i. 1035, ‘Was thanne al openliche schewed,’ so ii. 918, iv. 57, and compare also iii. 2065 f.,
‘Unkindely for thou hast wroght,Unkindeliche it schal be boght.’
‘Unkindely for thou hast wroght,Unkindeliche it schal be boght.’
‘Unkindely for thou hast wroght,Unkindeliche it schal be boght.’
‘Unkindely for thou hast wroght,
Unkindeliche it schal be boght.’
But in Prol. 719 we haveonlybefore a vowel,
‘Noght al only of thorient,’
‘Noght al only of thorient,’
‘Noght al only of thorient,’
‘Noght al only of thorient,’
thoughonlicheoccurs in a similar position, i. 1948, andonlich, iii. 42. Again, 911,
‘And sodeinly, er sche it wiste,’
‘And sodeinly, er sche it wiste,’
‘And sodeinly, er sche it wiste,’
‘And sodeinly, er sche it wiste,’
but Prol. 503,
‘Al sodeinliche, er it be wist,’
‘Al sodeinliche, er it be wist,’
‘Al sodeinliche, er it be wist,’
‘Al sodeinliche, er it be wist,’
cp. iv. 921, compared with i. 1336.
The treatment of the O. E. spiranth(= χ) deserves some attention. This occurring beforetis recognized as having in M. E. a palatal or a guttural sound, according to the nature of thepreceding vowel, but the texts of our period usually give it asghin both cases. Gower, however, makes a distinction, writing almost regularlyalihte,briht,dihte,fihte,flihte,kniht,liht,miht,mihte,niht,riht,sihte,wiht,heihte,sleihte, &c., butaghte,caghte,straghte,boghte,broghte,noght,oght,oghte,soghte. Occasionally however in the first class we findg, as rarelybryghte,lighte, more frequentlyheighte,sleighte, and pretty regularlyeighte; and there are several words in the second which have variants withh, but in these casesw(u) is inserted, ascawhte,strawhte,dowhter(douhter),owhte: otherwiseuis generally absent, as we have already seen. The form referred to is commoner with the vowelathan witho.
It is hardly necessary to repeat here thatplitis a word of Romance origin, and rhymes properly withdelit,appetit, not withliht,niht, &c., being separate in etymology from O. E.pliht.
From the fact that there is no rhyming of-ihtwith-iteither in Gower or Chaucer, we may certainly gather that the sounds were somewhat different; but the fact that Gower does not usually writeghafteriindicates, no doubt, that in this case the sound of the spirant was less marked than when preceded by broader vowels.
Where O. E.his a final aspirate,gis not usually written, assih,hih,nih,bowh,lowh,plowh,slowh,ynowh, except in the case ofthogh, but very occasionally we find such forms asdrogh,plogh. In the words which havew(u)his often dropped, as inbowes,low,slow(preterites),ynow.
v.Inflexion.—(1)Substantives.In a certain number of words there is variation in the matter of finale: thus we havedrink drinke,felawe felawh(fela),flyht flyhte,half halve,help helpe,kep kepe,lack lacke,lyf lyve,myn myne,queene queen,sor sore,wel wele,will wille,wyndou wyndowe, to which must be added many words with the suffixes-hede,-hode,-schipe, and the termination-inge, e.g.falshed(e),knyhthod(e),manhed(e),felaschip(e),hunting(e),knowleching(e),teching(e),wenyng(e). In these latter cases the presence of theeending is not wholly dependent on the accent, for we havehuntíng, i. 350, buthúntynge, iv. 2429,techyngandtechingeboth equally in rhyme, i. 1592, v. 611,gládschipe, i. 3128,knithód, v. 2057,felaschíp, ii. 1217. Accent however has some influence, and it is hardly conceivable that the finaleshould count in the metre except where the accent falls on the preceding syllable, so that where the accent is thrown back, we find that the word is regularly followed by a vowel. In the case of the (English) termination-erethe finaleisusually written: such words arebeggere,forthdrawere,hindrere,ledere,lovere,makere,repere,spekere,writere. This-e, however, is either elided or passed over in the metre (as withjanglere, v. 526), unless an accent falls on the termination, in which case it may be sounded, as vii. 2348, ‘The Sothseiere tho was lief.’
The formsgame,gamenappear side by side both in singular and plural, as i. 347, vi. 1849, viii. 680.
As regards the oblique cases we note the following genitive forms:cherche,herte(alsohertes),hevene,ladi,soule,sterre(pl.),wode(alsowodes), to which adddowhter(alsodowhtres),fader(alsofadres),moder. In the expressionshorse side,horse heved, &c.,horseis genitive singular.
The-etermination of the dative appears in a good many prepositional phrases:to (in) bedde,in boke,to borwe,be (to) bote,with (of) childe,unto the chinne(butunto the chin, i. 1682),be daie,to (fro) dethe(alsofro deth),of dome,on (under) fote(butupon the fot,at his fot),on fyre,to (upon) grounde,fro (unto) the grounde(alsofro the ground),on hede,at (fro) home(alsoat hom),in (on, upon) honde,to (into) honde, (but ‘bar onhond,’be the hond),on horse,to horse,to (in, of) house(butin myn hous),to (into) londe,be (in, over) londe,of (out of) londe,fro the londe, (butof his lond, &c.),be lyhte,to lyve,to manne,to mowthe,be mowthe,be nyhte(alsobe nyht, and regularlyat nyht,on nyht,a nyht,to nyht),to rede,be (to, into, out of) schipe(alsoto schip),to scorne,to slepe(alsoto slep),to toune,to wedde,to wyve,to ȝere,be ȝere.
In the plural we havehors,schepunchanged, and also with numerals,mile,monthe,pound,ȝer(besideȝeres),wynter. The plural ofthingisthinges, sometimesthinge, notthing. Mutation plurals,feet,men,teeth,wommen. Plurals in-en,brethren,children,oxen(alsooxes),ton,yhen.
The forms in-erehave plurals-ers, asjanglers,kepers,lovers. Frommaidenwe have besidemaidensalsomaidenes(three syllables), iv. 255, which is perhaps the true reading in Chaucer,Leg. of G. Women, 722. Fromangelwe have pluralanglis, iii. 2256, as well asangles, andNimphis, v. 6932, but there are few examples of plural in-is.
With regard to Romance substantives Gower appears to be stricter than Chaucer in preserving their form. He gives us regularlybeste‘beast,’feste,requeste,tempeste. We have howeverbaner(alsobanere),host,maner,matier(besidemanere,matiere),press(besidepresse),travaile,conseile(substantives) very occasionally fortravail,conseil.
Several distinctively feminine forms are used, ascapiteine,chamberere,citezeine,cousine,enemie.
In some cases the Latin inflexion is introduced, asTantaly,Apollinis,Centauri,in Cancro,Achillem,Esionam,Phebum, the two last apparently introduced after the first recension.
(2)Adjectives and Adverbs.A few adjectives vary as regards finalein the uninflected form, for exampleech eche,lich liche,low lowe,many manye,moist moiste,old olde,other othre,such suche(?),trewe trew,wommanyssh wommannysshe.
In comparative forms-eis often dropped, asfairer,further,longer,rather,ȝonger, but more often written, asfurthere,deppere,ferre,gladdere,grettere,lengere,rathere. This-e, however, is either elided or passed over in the metre (as ii. 503, iv. 1459, vi. 1490, 1525, 2010). Where there is syncope of the penultimate, as afterv(u) inlevere, the finalecounts regularly as a syllable, so that in case of elision the word is reduced to a monosyllable, which never takes place withrathere,furthere, &c.
When adjectives or adverbs ending in weakeare combined with a suffix or another word,-eis often dropped; thus we haveeveremore evermore,furthermore,joieful joiful,hevenely hevenly,trewelytrewly(so alsotrewman), and so on. In such cases a previously syncopated penultimate ceases to be so on loss of the followinge.
A few cases occur of-idfor-edin adjective endings, asnakid(alsonaked),wickid wikkid(usuallywicked), alsohundrid(usuallyhundred).
The definite form is used pretty regularly in the case of English monosyllabic adjectives, and usually also in monosyllables of French origin. This rule applies (1) to adjectives used after the definite article, a demonstrative pronoun or a possessive; (2) to those employed as vocatives in address; (3) to adjectives in combination with proper names or words used as proper namesV. Thus we have regularly (1) ‘thegretehert,’ ‘thestrongecoffre,’ ‘Theqwikebody with thedede,’ ‘thisproudevice,’ ‘thisȝongelord,’ ‘mylongewo,’ ‘hislosetunge,’ ‘thifullemynde,’ ‘whosrihtename,’ &c. (2) ‘Oderkeypocrisie,’ ‘Ogoodefader,’ ‘lieveSone,’ &c. (3) ‘greteRome,’ ‘BlindeAvarice,’ ‘proudeEnvie’ (but ‘proudEnvie,’ Prol. 712), ‘faireEole,’ ‘strongeSampson,’ ‘wiseTolomeüs,’ &c.
We must note also the inflexions in the following expressions, ‘sohihea love,’ ii. 2425 (buthih, vii. 2413), ‘sogretea wo,’ v. 5737, sogretea lust,’ v. 6452, ‘soschortea time,’ vii. 5201.
With Romance adjectives we find ‘hisfalsetunge,’ ‘thepleinecas,’ ‘falseNessus,’ &c., and so usually in monosyllables.
In the case of English monosyllables the exceptions are few. ‘Hisfullanswere,’ i. 1629, ‘hiregoodastat,’ i. 2764, ‘herewrongcondicion,’ ii. 295, ‘hisslyhcompas,’ ii. 2341 (but ‘hisslyhecast,’ ii. 2374), ‘theferstof hem,’ iii. 27, v. 2863, cp. 5944 (usually ‘theferste,’ as i. 580, &c.), ‘myrihthond,’ iii. 300, ‘thetrewman,’ iii. 2346, ‘hishihlignage,’ iv. 2064 (due perhaps to the usual phrase ‘of hih lignage’), ‘thehihprouesse,’ v. 6428*, ‘hirehihastat,’ v. 6597, ‘thegretoultrage,’ vii.3413, ‘hirefreissharay,’ vii. 5000, ‘hireholentente,’ viii. 1222, cp. viii. 1710, 2968 (but ‘ȝoureholeconseil’).
Among Romance adjectives the want of inflexion is more frequent in proportion to the whole number of instances, e.g. ‘theveinhonour,’ Prol. 221, ‘thefalsemperour,’ Prol. 739, ‘HireclosEnvie,’ ii. 684, &c.
In the case of adjectives of more than one syllable, whether English or French, the definite form is exceptional. The commonest case is that of superlatives, in which the definite form-esteis regularly used when the accent falls on the termination, whether in rhyme or otherwise, asfaireste, i. 767, v. 7427,slyheste, i. 1442,wiseste:myhtieste, i. 1097 f.,wofulleste, vii. 5017. Even when the accent is thrown back, the definite inflexion is more usually given than not, asfaireste, i. 1804,hoteste, i. 2492,treweste, ii. 1282,povereste, iv. 2238,heyeste, vii. 935, but sometimes dropped, as ‘thepurestEir,’ Prol. 921, ‘theȝongestof hem,’ i. 3133, ‘thelowestof hem alle,’ vii. 224: in all cases, however, where the accent is thrown back, the adjective is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, so that the metre is not affected.
Other adjectives of which the termination is capable of accent may take the definite inflexion, when the accent is thrown on the termination, as ‘thecovoitouseflaterie,’ ‘thislecherousepride,’ thistyrannyssheknyht,’ but on the other hand ‘his falspitouslokynge,’ ‘thepietousJustinian,’ ‘the proudetyrannysshRomein,’ and cases where the adjective is used as a substantive, ‘thecoveitous’, ‘ThisEnvious,’ ‘thaverous,’ &c. We have ‘theparfitemedicine,’ iv. 2624 (but ‘the parfit Elixir,’ iv. 2522, with accent thrown back), and ‘O thougentileVenus,’ viii. 2294; but perhapsparfite,gentileare to be regarded as feminine forms, as almost certainlydevolte, i. 636.
Where the final syllable of the adjective is incapable of accent, there is ordinarily no question of a definite inflexion, except where there is syncope afterv(u), as inevele. Such words arecroked,wicked,cruel,litel,middel,biter,dedly,lusti,sinful(l),wilful,woful(l),wrongful, and we may note that comparatives in-ereand adjectives in-liche(with accent thrown back) sometimes appear in the truncated form of spelling even where a definite termination is suggested by their position, e.g. ‘hireȝongerSoster,’ v. 5395, ‘hirgoodlychyhe,’ ii. 2026, ‘Ha, thouungoodlichypocrite,’ v. 6293, ‘hirededlichyhe,’ vii. 5089 (-lichin these latter cases to avoid the hiatus of ‘ungoodly ypocrite,’ &c.). As an exceptional instance the formnakedeshould be observed, ‘hisnakedearm,’ iv. 421, given so both by F and S.
The formation of plurals in adjectives and participles used attributively is governed by the same principles. We have ‘preciouseStones,’ iv. 1354, but ‘the mostprincipal’(pl.), v. 1115. In the expression ‘the chief flodes,’ v. 1112,chiefmust be considered perhaps as a substantive, likehedin ‘the hed planete.’ Naturally words likewicked,woful,lusti, &c., take no plural inflexion, but we havemanye(manie) besidemanyapparently as a plural form, thoughmanyealso occurs in the singular, andenyeonce as plural ofeny. In the expression ‘som men’somis without inflexion in the plural, e.g. Prol. 529, iii. 2113, but ‘sommeclerkes,’ Prol. 355, ‘somethinges,’ i. 1265.
Adjectives used as predicates or in apposition are to some extent treated according to convenience of metre or rhyme, but in the case of monosyllables there is a decided preference for inflexion. The following are some of the instances: ‘Whan we bendede,’ Prol. 2, ‘hem that werengoode,’ 42, ‘my wittes ben tosmale,’ 81, ‘Ther ben of suche manieglade,’ 299, ‘becomegrete,’ 303, ‘ben with mannes sennewrothe,’ 920, soblinde, i. 774,smale, 1145,glade, 1151,hyhe,smale, i. 1678 f.,horeandwhyte, i. 2045,stronge, iii. 1112,dulle, iv. 947,whyte,fatte,grete, iv. 1310, &c. We have also ‘hise thoghtesfeinte,’ iv. 118, ‘thinges ...veine,’ i. 2689, ‘hise bedes mostdevoute,’ i. 669, ‘in wordes socoverte,’ iv. 1606, wher the men bencoveitouse, v. 4800.
On the other hand, ‘Of hem that ben soderkwithinne,’ i. 1077, ‘Hire chekes ben with tereswet,’ i. 1680, ‘Thei wexendoumb,’ iv. 345, ‘Here bodies werenlongandsmal,’ iv. 1320, ‘Thei werengraciousandwys,’ vii. 1447, ‘thei werenglad,’ viii. 881, and so frequently.
The participle used as predicate is ordinarily uninflected, but there are a few examples of a plural form adopted for the rhyme, asmade, Prol. 300,ansuerde, i. 3246, iv. 2343,hidde, v. 6789.
The usage ofal,alleas an adjective is in some ways peculiar, but tolerably consistent. In the singular before an article, a demonstrative pronoun or a possessive, the uninflected formal(occasionallyall) is used, as ‘al the baronie,’ ‘al the world,’ ‘al his welthe,’ ‘all his proude fare,’ ‘al a mannes strengthe’ (also ‘the Cite all,’ ii. 3473), but before a substantive the formalle(dissyllable)W, as ‘alle grace,’ ‘alle thing,’ ‘alle untrouthe,’ ‘alle vertu,’ ‘in alle wise,’ ‘in alle haste,’ ‘alle wel,’ ‘alle charite,’ but sometimes before vowelsal, as ‘al honour,’ i. 879, ‘al Erthe,’ i. 2825, ‘al Envie,’ ii. 168, ‘al untrowthe,’ ii. 1684. In the plural, ‘al the,’ ‘all these,’ ‘alle the,’ &c. (‘alle’ being counted as a monosyllable), and without the article, ‘alle’ (but ‘al othre,’ iv. 1532).
Note also the adverbial expression ‘innonewise,’ cp. ‘othrewise.’ In cases of the combination of a French adjective with a feminine substantive of the same origin the adjective occasionally takes the French feminine form. Instances are as follows: ‘devolteapparantie,’ i. 636, ‘veinegloire,’ i. 2677 ff., ‘vertusovereine,’ ii. 3507, ‘seintecharite,’ iv. 964, ‘herbesovereine,’ vii. 1392, ‘joiesovereine,’ viii. 2530, and even as predicate, ‘Dame Avarice is noghtsoleine,’ v. 1971. Possibly also,‘O thoudivinepourveance,’ ii. 3243, ‘theparfitemedicine,’ iv. 2624, ‘agentile... on,’ v. 2713, and ‘O thougentileVenus,’ viii. 2294, may be examples of the same usage.
There is one instance of the French plural adjective in-s, Prol. 738, evidently introduced for the sake of the rhyme.
(3)Pronouns.The personal pronoun of the first person is regularlyI, notich. It is usually writtenyby the copyist of the last 235 lines of the Fairfax MS. and in thePraise of Peace.
The third person sing. fem. issche(never writtenshe), oncescheo: the oblique case ishire,hir(neverhere), andhire, though usually equivalent to a monosyllable, sometimes has-efully sounded, as i. 367, iv. 766, v. 1178.
The third person neuter isit, seldomhit.
In the first person plural the oblique case isous, not shortened tousin spelling.
The possessives of the first and second persons sing.,min,thin, have no plural inflexion, but the disjunctive formthynepl. occurs, i. 168. On the other handhis, originally an uninflected form, has usually the pluralhise, but sometimeshis. The formhiseis never a dissyllable.
The feminine possessive, 3rd pers., ishireorhir, freely interchanged and metrically equivalent. There is no question of a plural inflexion here, and we find ‘HireNase,’ ‘hirebrowes,’ ‘hirlockes,’ ‘HireNecke,’ quite indifferently used, i. 1678 ff. The disjunctive ishire, v. 6581, andhires, v. 6857. The formsoure,ȝoureare usual for the possessives of the 1st and 2nd pers. plur., and these are commonly used as monosyllables, e.g. i. 2062, 2768, and interchanged withour,ȝour; but they are also capable of being reckoned as dissyllables, e.g. Prol. 5, iii. 1087. Here again there is no plural inflexion (‘ȝourwordes,’ iii. 627). The disjunctiveȝouresoccurs in i. 1852.
The possessive of the 3rd pers. plur. ishere,her, which is practically never confused in good MSS. withhire,hirof the fem. sing.XWe are fully justified in assuming that for Gower the distinction was absolute.
The ordinary relatives arewhichandthat:whois little used as a relative except in the genitive case,whos. The pluralwhicheis usually pronounced as a monosyllable, as ii. 604, iv. 1496, v. 1320, and often loses-ein writing, as Prol. 1016, iv. 1367, 1872, v. 4041, but also sometimes counts as a dissyllable, e.g. i. 404, vii. 1256.
In combination with the definite article the singular form is ‘the which,’ not ‘the whiche,’ as Prol. 71, 975.
(4)Verbs.In the Infinitive and Gerund, apart from the cases ofdo,go,se,sle, &c., few instances occur of the loss of finale. The verbsein(sain) hasseieand alsosay, and beside the regular infinitiveputewe have alsoputin several instances, the next word beginning with a vowel or muteh. The cases are as follows: ‘And thoghte put hire in an Ile,’ i. 1578, ‘To put his lif,’ &c., i. 3213, ‘put eny lette,’ ii. 93, and so also ii. 1021, iii. 1166, iv. 756, 2615, v. 273, viii. 892: but also, ‘It oghteputea man in fere,’ i. 462, ‘ToputenRome in full espeir,’ ii. 1551, ‘Theucerputeout of his regne,’ iii. 2648, &c. In addition to the above there are a few instances of the same in other verbs, as ‘gethire a thank,’ ii. 60, ‘It schal noght welmowbe forsake,’ ii. 1670, ‘flitthis herte aside,’ iv. 214, ‘letit passe,’ viii. 2056. (In vi. 202, ‘If that sche woldeȝifme leve,’ we ought perhaps to readȝivewith S: cp. i. 1648.)
The gerund ‘to done’ is common, but we do not find either ‘to sene’ or ‘to seine.’
Present Tense.In the 1st pers. sing, of the present, apart from such forms asdo,go, &c., andpraibesidepreiepraie, there are a few cases of apocope, as in the infinitive: ‘Than cast I,’ iv. 560, ‘let it passe,’ iv. 363, ‘I put me therof in your grace,’ i. 732, ‘I put it al,’ v. 2951, ‘I red thee leve,’ vi. 1359, ‘Nou thenk I,’ vii. 4212. In two of these instances it will be noticed that the following word begins with a consonant.
In the 3rd pers. sing. the syncopated and contracted forms are very much used by Gower. He says regularlybit,ett,get,put,schet,set,sit(2nd pers.sist),smit,writ;arist,bint,fint,holt(halt),lest,went,wext;berth,brekth,bringth,crith,drawth,drinkth,falth,farth,forsakth,leith,lyth,preith,spekth,takth(ortath),thenkth,ȝifth, and only occasionallydraweth,drinketh,fareth,kepeth,sitteth,waxeth, &c. In vi. 59 the best MSS. agree in givingsterteforstert, and in viii. 2428 most havesitteforsit, but these are probably accidental variations. For the 3rd pers. plural Fahrenberg (p. 404) quotes several supposed instances ofthending. Of these most are expressions like ‘men seith,’ where ‘men’ is used as singular indefinite. One only is valid, viz. vii. 1107, ‘Diverse sterres to him longeth’: cp. vii. 536.
Preterite.With regard to the tense formation of Strong Verbs reference may be made to the Glossary, where all the characteristic forms are recorded. We confine ourselves here to a few remarks.
The following instances may be noticed of gradation between the singular and the plural of the preterite:began, pl.begunne begonne,gan, pl.gonnen,ran, pl.runne,wan, pl.wonne,bond, pl.bounden,fond, pl.founden,song(sang), pl.songe sunge,sprong, pl.spronge sprungen,drank(dronk), pl.drunke,bar, pl.bere(beere),brak, pl.brieken,spak, pl.spieke,sat, pl.sete(n) siete(n)seete,bad, pl.bede,lay(lih), pl.lihe leie(n),wax, pl.woxen,wrot, pl.write(n),rod,pl.riden,ches, pl.chose, and among preterite-presentscan, pl.conne,mai, pl.mowe,schal, pl.schulle schull schol,wot, pl.wite.
There are some few instances in F of strong preterites with irregular-etermination in the 1st or 3rd pers. singular, but in no case is this authenticated by metre or rhyme. The following are examples in which F and S are agreed, ‘schopea wile,’ v. 4278, ‘hebarehim,’ v. 5236, ‘whichsihehis Soster,’ v. 5810, ‘letecome,’ vi. 1186, ‘he thotokehire in his arm,’ viii. 1732. These are perhaps mistakes, and they have sometimes been corrected in the text on the authority of other MSS.
The 2nd pers. sing. has the-etermination, assihe(syhe), iii. 2629, iv. 599,were, iv. 600,knewe, vi. 2313,come, viii. 2076, buttok, i. 2421. The 2nd pers. sing. of the preterite-presentmaiis regularlymiht(myht), never ‘mayest.’ Occasionally the best MSS. give it asmihte, e.g. i. 2457, vii. 2637, 3819, but there is no metrical confirmation of this form. The preterite plural is very rarely found without-e, as v. 3300, 7534, vii. 3574.
Among Weak Verbs those which have the short or syncopated form keep the-etermination almost regularly. Such preterites are, for example,aspide,cride,deide,leide,obeide,payde,preide,seide,teide,hadde,made,brende,sende,answerde,ferde,herde,solde,spilde,tolde,wende,betidde,dradde,fedde,fledde,hedde,gradde,ladde,radde,spedde,spradde,crepte,duelte,felte,hente,kepte,kiste,lefte,lepte,loste,mente,slepte,wente,wepte,alihte,caste,dihte,grette,knette,kutte,laste,liste,mette,plyhte,putte,schette,sette,sterte,triste,arawhte,broghte,cawhte,oghte,roghte,schryhte,soghte,strawhte,tawhte,thoghte,wroghte,cowthe,dorste,mihte,moste,scholde,wiste,wolde.
At the same time it must be noted (as in the case of the infinitive) that with some of these forms there is an occasional tendency to drop the-ebefore a vowel at the beginning of the next word (that is, where elision would take place), and the agreement of the best MSS., especially F and S, makes it certain this was sometimes done by the author. It is impossible to trace any system, but the number of verbs affected is not large, and in nearly every case the instances of this kind of elision-apocope are largely outnumbered by the examples of normal inflexion in the same verbY.