INTRODUCTION.

Torrent of Portyngale.INTRODUCTION.§1.The MS. and Halliwell’s edition, p. v.§2.Metre and Versification, p. vi.§3.Dialect,p. x;short vowels,p. xi;long vowels,p. xii;inflexions,p. xiii.§4.a.The contents of the Romance,p. xvi;b.its character,p. xx;c.Origin of the story of Torrent,p. xxi;d.Legend of Eustache or Plasidas,p. xxii;e.Sir Isumbras,p. xxiv;f.Romances of Octavian,p. xxv;g.Sir Eglamour,p. xxvi;h.Comparison of Torrent and Eglamour,p. xxvii;i.the 2 Romances independent,p. xxx.§5.Arrangement of this Edition, p. xxxii.§ 1.Themanuscript from which the following romance ofSir Torrent of Portugalis taken, is a folio volume on paper, of the fifteenth century, preserved in the Chetham Library at Manchester.A description of this volume is given by Halliwell in hisAccount of the European MSS. in the Chetham Library at Manchester, Manchester, 1842, page 16, and by Prof. Koelbing in hisEnglische Studien, vii. 195. The only edition of this romance that we have hitherto had was done by Halliwell. As he had, besides his own transcript, another copy made by Madden, his text is a pretty accurate one, and therefore the results of Prof. Koelbing’s collation, printed in hisEnglische Studien, vii. 344 ff., concern, for the most part, things of little importance, except one very curious passage, l. 88, where Halliwell renders the quite correct reading of the MS.,p la more de dewe=par l’amour de dieu, byPericula more bedew[n]e. Also, from l. 1720, the counting of the lines is wrong by 100 lines.A few short fragments of a printed edition were found by Halliwell in the Douce Collection, Bodleian Library, Oxford, and added to his work as an Appendix. They contain the following passages of the MS.:FragmentIII. =lines462–489.„II. =„492–520.„VI. =„820–851.„V. =„917–948.„IV. =„949–970.„I. =„1807–1866.A seventh fragment, of which not much more than the rhyming words are preserved, was omitted by Halliwell, and was printed for the first time in Prof. Koelbing’s collation.This Chetham MS. contains the romance in a very debased and corrupt form, so that the original reading in many passages can hardly be recognized.1The scribe, who copied the poem from an older MS., lived (no doubt) at a far later period than the poet; he did not therefore understand a great many old expressions, and these he used to supplant by words of his own; he also transposed and even omitted many lines, and spoiled the rhyme, because he had not the slightest idea of the nature of the stanza in which the poem is composed. Halliwell did not trouble himself about the restoration of the true readings; he merely reproduced the traditional text, even where it would have been very easy to do more, though many passages are hopelessly corrupt; still worse is thefact,that he did not recognize the metre as the tail-rhymed twelve-line stanza, for he prints six-line stanzas.In consequence, the whole of the philological work on the text had still to be done, and a new edition was plainly necessary; the more that this poem, though not written in the best period of romance poetry, treats of a legendary subject widely spread in the Middle Ages, and is nearly related to another poem,Syr Eglamour of Artois.§ 2.METRE AND VERSIFICATION.In this and the following section, all line numbers are active links. To reduce visual chaos, link highlighting has been turned off. This may be overridden by your personal browser settings.As I mentioned before, the romance ofSir Torrentis composed in the well-known tail-rhymed twelve-line stanza, and belongs to that class of it in which the first and the second couplets have different rhyme-sounds (cf. Koelbing,Amis and Amiloun, p. xiv ff.).Only the incompleteness of many stanzas, and the many defects in reference to the rhyme, can excuse Halliwell for not apprehending the character of the metre. As to the structure of the eight lines of the four couplets, each contains (or at least ought to contain) four accents, thecaudæthree; but as we, unfortunately, possess only one MS., a conclusive statement on this point is impossible. There is no doubt about the fact that neither the really incorrect rhymes nor the wanting of them can be due to the author of the poem: even when romance poetry was decaying, the poets were fairly perfect rhymers: with all deficiencies in this department, the copyists are to be charged.Consonantrhymes (s.Schipper Altengl. Metrik, p. 299) are found inTorrentin the following passages: l.141rode—rodeags.rôd—râd.450the—theags.þeón—þe.1558indede—dede.2205lay—lay,sg.—plr. prt.Identicalrhymes are frequent, especially in thecaudæ:81stond—stond.177there—there.500he—hee.1887there—there.2538blithe—blithe.39take—take.342bold—bold, a. s. o.Assonances:195bon)—Rome.518undyrstond—strong.537name—alone.699yod—fotte.758name—tane.896bryng—wynd.1257overcom)—Aragon).1768man)—cam).2164anon)—fome.2544sithe—hide.Besides the rhymes we find abundant alliteration, as in most of the Middle English Romances. On alliteration, cf. Regel, Die alliteration in Laȝamon,Germ. Stud.I. 171; F. Lindner, The alliteration in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales,Essays on Chaucer, Pt. III., p. 197 ff. Koelbing,Sir Tristrem, p. xxxvii, andAmis and Amiloun, p. lxvi. Lindner as well as Koelbing has adopted Regel’s classification, and so shall I. The most frequent is two alliterative words in one verse; they can be classed in the following way:—I. A. The same word is repeated in two succeeding lines; v.456 f.:Forthe sche browght awhytsted, Aswhytas the flowyr in)med; v.618 f.:In IVquartershe hym drowe, And eueryquartervppon a bowe. v.2026 f.:But ran into awildernes Amongist beests thatwyldwes. v.2465 f.:They axidhorsand armes bryght, tohorsbak went thay in ffere.B.Alliterative combinations, one part of which is a proper name.Torrentis several times combined with the verbtake;26:Towarde hym hetakytheTorrayne;224:Torrent thethertoke the way;519:Torrenttoke a dulful wey;2269:Whan sirTorent wastakyn)than);91:Now, be mytrowthe, seydTorent than);1161:Alas, saidDesonell̴ thedere;2523:As wasdameDesonell̴;1906=1946=1969:Marymyld. Tosend unto herSathanas.v.1091:Thecastell̴ ofCardon).II. A.Words of the same root are alliterative.133:Torrent, onkneknelyd he;671:That on hysknehekneld;2502:Andknelid on herkne;205:Torrentknelyd on hyskne= v.528;881:Andknelyd vppon yskne;1883:Sheknelid down)vppon)herkne;2563:Down)theyknelid on)herkne;512:Bydymmynge of theday;1158:For her lovedid I never nodede;1801:That ylkedede, that she hathdone;1943:How sheflew in afflight;2384:Liffeandlyvelode, whill̴ Ilyve;233:Alyon)& alyonasse;1671:For tose thatsellysight;407:For thetalles thou hast metold;1466:And falstalis hym)told;2578:Euer wewill̴be at yourewill̴.B. Relations in which alliterative words stand to each other according to their meaning.a.Concrete ideas are joined together because they belong to the same sphere of life.2017:Byrdus andbestis, aye woo ye be;113:bone andblod;21:kyng andknyght;83:And rychecastelles in thatcontre;251:In lond with afyndesfere;102:Thatfyndesfare for aye;1094:Both atknyght andknave;584:Bothe in)frethe and infeld;660:Stomlyng thurrowfrythe andfen);1378:Both behold and behyll̴;2398:lym)andlith;750:Lytyll̴ andmykyll̴,lese andmore;1899:That waslord of all̴ thatlond;2152:Loo,lordys of euerylond;2375:With all̴maner ofmynstralsye;149:He reynyd hyssted vnto astake;1065:Waytes on thewall̴ gan blowe;13:water andwynde.b.In the same way abstract ideas are connected, so far as they belong to the same sphere of life.460:Thatdethe ysdynt schalt þou not thole;1600:Ofdeth yaue he nodout;782=2062:feyer andfre;2153:Falshode wyll̴ haue afoule end;1988:Helpeandhold I shall̴ hym yeve;1492:Theysat andsong;683:Cryst hymsaue andsee;1303:That he wassad andsore;1612:setsadly andsore;335:God thatsofryd wonddessore;322:styff andstrong=1491=2590;1205:Thatwekyd was andwight;1584:wekyd andwight;1849:Her one childwoke and be-gan towepe;1559:Andwot yewell̴ and notwene;246:Scheweppte,as sche werewod.C. The grammatical relations in which the alliterative words stand to each other.a.Subst. and adj. in attributive or predicative combinations.Asbold as enybore;Withbrowesbrod and wyde;142:hysbugell̴bold;307:In adongon)that ysdym;82:Myfayer)forestesfellythe downe he;209:Thefeyer)fyld;426:glemyrryng ase theglase;1592:goodgate;171=596:theholteshore;1484:To anhyehyll̴;1183:sydessare;154:Thowe thewey nevyr sowykkyd were;2054:wekydweders;506:In thewyld-someway;535:Wyldsomweyes haue Iwent;2030:Shewent on thatwilsom)way.b.Verbs or adjectives combined with the adverb or substantive which contains their secondary adverbial meaning.1478:Tobe here at hisbane, cf.1678:That there hisbane hathbe;1944:To herbirdus was sheboun);2016:Withblis on euerybowȝe;135:Thatbowght hym with hysblod;1045:Thurrow thebody he gan hymbere;1404:To thebote theybare;334:Thus hecovyrd owt ofcare;27:Thatdowghtty ys indedde, cf.1725;98:With-owtfere that he scholdfare;603=977:Alsofast ase he myghtfare;536:Withfyndes for tofyght;802:Tofyght with thatfyndesfere;1262:That wasgrow bothgrene andgay;1060=2330:Torent be thehond hehent;270:Thatmeche ys ofmyght;713:Thatmeche wase ofmyght;24:For God ysmost ofmyght, cf.1112:To aman offmyght;1879:Vp sherose ageyn)therough;2100:Gosech her in)thesee;2129:Andsett hym)oute in to thesee;2469:Thatsemely tose were;126:Andsymly was tosene;415:That dare Isothelysey;1170:Torrentsett on hym)sosore;139:Serttes, yf I hymslepyngslone;181:Torrent vndyr hysspryt hesprent;179:Butstondstyll̴;2410:He is sostiff at euerystoure;987:Torrent in)thestorropestod;1912:For nostroke wold shestynt;2060:By atokyn)I shall̴ thetell̴;2397:Orwalkyd inwede;383:In hyswalke ther ase hewent;725:Andwent forthe on hyswey;107:And on hyswey gan hewynd;2030:Shewent on thatwilsom)way;989:alewyld atwyle;2088:In nowise hewold;1206:Towed her to mywyffe;749:Thatwyt ys vndyrwede;1315:All̴ menwonderid on thatwight;33:worthyest inwede.c.Substantives and verbs are combined in the relation of subject and predicate.2221:Downknelid thatknyght;854:Whether thefynd canfyght;2390:There that hisladylent;2064:Mylove was on thelent;1219:Gretlordys to churche herled;170:The fyndessperesparrythe hyme nothyng;84:Noston lettythe hestond.d.Verbs and substantives are combined as predicate and object.2490:hisbak tobend;2532:Thatcouth mochecurtesye;273:Thydethe than wyll̴ hedyght, cf.1043:Hysdethe to hyme ysdyght;1648:Thydeth now isdight;2123:Whatdeth they wold hymdo;161:My lordesfrethe thus tofell̴;2235:Found hym hisfill̴ offffyght;1743:Thefforward ye tofulleffylle;651:Hegathyred svm of hysgere;210:Vpp both hishandes heheld;1799:For Iesu is love, thatharoodhell̴;1820:Whan theyled thatlady ffre;2080:Leve we now thatlady gent;1663:Ech on otherlaid goodlode;1495:To god thatmademan;435:A gretmaynerey let hemake ryght;264:To hym schemad heremone;645:Herawght Torrent soche arowght;1172:And all̴ tosheverd hissheld;502:Tho hebestrod anoblestede;2482:Torentbestrodea stedestrong;281:I schall̴ thetell̴ soche atokyn);2013:Newanted she nowoo;115:He that schall̴wend soche awey;439:Hom-ward towend therwey;2448:And than)towend herway;2457:And to her logyngwent herway;1544:Otherwayes yf Iwend;207:That hathe thysworld towyld.§ 3.THE DIALECT.The stanza of twelve lines was probably first employed in the north of England; at least it would be difficult to prove the existenceof a poem composed in this metre in the southern part of the country; therefore it is beforehand probable that the romance ofTorrentwas composed either in some part of the Midlands or in the North. In order to determine the dialect more precisely, we restrict ourselves to a careful consideration of the rhymes.1. SHORT VOWELS.Old Englishăis (1) preserved beforenandm:744and788Iame—name.927Adryan—jentylmane.13londe—wonande.352stond—lygand.1128stond—shynand. No part. pres.on-ondrhyming with an unvariable-ondhas been traced out until now, but1824wepand—wonde(ags.wunden) seems to be the first. 2. Changed intoo.516rome—fromeags.rûm—fram.2446mon)—done.1190none—shone—anon—done.1257ouercom—Aragon).1989son—can(=con).2040anon)—bone. A curious exception is1929grame(= greme)—teme—Ierusalem; cf.Gaw.l.312.O.E.e, thei-umlaut ofa, is preserved:373end—wend.476went—jent.924tell̴—hell.1702hell—Desonell̴e.1798fell̴—hell̴. The past partic. ofseón,segen, has been contracted intosen.1562sene—wene.O.E.æhas becomea:45spake—take.363ffare—bare.726and876sale—Portynggall̴e.1074passe—was.1131sale—tale.1233thare—fare.1236was—Sathanas.1399care—thare.2287was—alas.æhas becomee:2026wildernes—was.764derre—clere—ware(ags.wær).1951there—bere.328glad(=gled)—redd.æhas becomeayby the vocalization of the followingg:25fayne—Torrayne.1025may—day,wey—laye.1071say—day.2029day—way.O.E.eabecomesobeforeld:303hold—bold,fold(ags.folde)—cold.422gold—mold,hold—told.eahas becomea:399Portyngall̴—bale(ags.bealu).531care—far)(ags.cearu).1891ffare—care.eahas becomee:1166beheld—feld—sheld—weld(ags.wealdan).2359preste—breste(ags.bearst).O.E.eohas turned intoe:1166beheld—ffeld—sheld—weld.O.E.ĭis preserved asiandy:51knyght—nyght.307dym—hym.1783myld—child. Only once this vowel has changed intoe:714wret—get.irhymes withe:3wynde—ende—lende—ffynde.O.E.ŏis unaltered:422gold—mold.1122gold—mold.O.E.ŭhas becomeo:367dore(ags.duru)—befor).765Aragon)—son).1257ouer com—Aragon).1762com)—kyngdome.1801done—sonne(ags.sunu).2320sonne—dungeon.O.E.y̆, thei-umlaut ofŭ, has the value ofi, writteniory:390kysse—iwysse.1564till̴—fullefyll̴,yll̴—wyll̴.1740evyll̴—fulle fylle. Only once it rhymes withe:1484hyll̴(=hell̴)—yell̴—befell̴—well̴, never withu.2. LONG VOWELS.O.E.âis preserved in the following rhymes:2a.39take—stroke(=strake, ags.strâc),spake—take.97sore—fare.103goos—takythe(=gas—tas).280wakyn)—tokyn)(ags.tâcen).334care—sore.590fare—wher,hore—care.705fare—gere(ags.gâr).788Iame—name,bone—schame.834ga—ma.977fare—bare,sare—chaffare.1143glade—rade.1238Cate—gate,bad—wott(ags.wât).1251brod—made; cf.1303,1306,1501,1526,1604,1612,1663,1669,1825,1911,2178,2356,2617.b.O.E.âhas changed intoo:16sone(ags.sunu)—gon.141rode—rode(ags.rôd—râd).195bon(ags.bân)—Rome.238wote(ags.wât)—fote.654browȝ—goo.1062tho—do. Cf.1196,1226,1295,1381,1809,1812,1815,2013,2025,2028,2037,2046,2295,2298,2301,2542. The result is, that in 26 cases oldâis preserved, in 22 cases changed intoô.O.E.æ̂is turned into (1)a:154were—fare.603fare—were.1020were—fare.2074care—ware.Into (2)e.379dede(ags.dæ̂d)—hed.1047were—chere.1053sped—lede(ags.læ̂dan).1263stede—wede(ags.wæ̂d).Into (3)o.1113mone(ags.mæ̂nan)—Aragon.1384beffore—there—were.O.E.ôis preserved throughout:73wode—good.112rode—blod.118Rome—kyrstendome.313done—sone.Beforegthe voweluresp.wis inserted:145browght—nowght.279browght—thowght.2053sought—brought.O.E.êis preserved:123kene—sene.743dede—sped, wede.1849wepe—slepe.2055grene—kene.2458be dene—wene.O.E.îis preserved asy:196tyd—syd.325fyve—lyve.777wyse—deuyce.900ryde—syde.O.E.ûis writtenouresp.owin the French way:921renowne—towyn).978downe—renowne.1425nowe—rowe.2634mouth—couth. It has becomeo:516rome—frome(ags.rûm—from). Cf.2641renown—son.O.E.eáhas becomee:1929grame—streme, Jerusalem.2554Jerusalem)—streme(ags.streám).O.E.eóhas changed intoe:153be—hee:782fre—he.888tre—crystyanté.1643be—charité.1861ffree—cité.O.E.ŷremainsy:1361pride—bedsyde.1433pryde—ryde.1473wyde—pride.ŷorê, thei-umlaut ofeáore, is found ase:63were—here(ags.hŷran).235here—were.327sted—yed,nede—sped.408yede—ned.1552stede—nede, indede.3. THE INFLEXIONS.The plural of the substantives terminates in (1)sresp.ys:837ryghtys—knyghtes.1298stonys—nonys.(2) inn:458slon—appon.1116done—shone.1193shone—anon, done.(3) is formed byi-umlaut:men1784,2282, but2197wan—men(=man).(4) has no inflexion:651gere—spere.705far—gere.836hend—frende,sende.1173ffere—yere.1405hend—frend.1556stone—gone.2188were—yere.2194here—yere. The inflexions of the adjectives have totally disappeared.Theinfinitiveends in-neorn, or has no termination at all.(1) withn:123kene—see(=sene).217ageyne—sayne.262fayne—slayne.489Mavdeleyn—seyne;16sone—gon.(2) withoutn:67sake—take.93kynd—fynd.148wake—stake.184so—goo.434Adolake—take.1062tho—do.1762me—se.The 2nd person sing. of the pres. ind. occurs only once in the rhyme,1333tase—thou hase, tas—gas.The 3rd person sing. of the present indicative ends ins:187tellys—ellys.2317rose—gose.558tellythe—elles(The rhyme shows thattellysmust be inserted; cf.103gos—takythe, and858gothe—toke=gas—tas.) Only oncethoccurs:2047Nazareth—gethe(ags.gæð). On this remarkable form see Zupitza,Guy of Warwick, note on l. 11075. The plural has no termination:3wynde—ende—lende.Thesubjunctivemood has no inflexions:70sped—stede, 3rd pers.87blynd—wynde, 3rd pers.213fyld—schyld, 3rd pers.416sey—may, 2nd pers. sg.584feld—schyld, 3rd pers. sg.1978saue—haue; but observe139slone—noneand1839sene—grene.Thepresent participleends usually in-ande(onde):13londe—wonande.127fonde—growonde.315levand—bond.352stand—lygand.358vndyrstond—levand.1128stond—shynand.1280fayland—lond.1445fleand—waraunt.1452ffand—goand.1821lond—wepand.1899lond—pleyand.2104hond—levand. Thrice-yngis found:268kyng—dwellyng,1638and2568.Thegerundterminates always ining(yng):1479kyng—ryding.1503comyng—kyng.1933ryng—lettyng.2509kyng—lesyng.Observe the 2nd pers. sing. of a past tense,1589thou cam)—slan), of a praeterito-praesens,410they—sey,thow may.1543away—aye,may.2001may—welaway.Thepast participleof strong verbs terminates inn:482syne—schene, wene—clene.675slayne—rayne.800slayne—trayne.1292fayn)—slayn).1562sene—wene.2323alone—slone. We don’t find one certain instance for the dropping of thisn, besides1678and2063be.Thepast tense pluralof strong verbs has the same vowel as the singular:1452Theyffound(r.ffand)—goand.1458began—gentilman.1753tong—dong.The 3rd pers. of the present indic. ofto be=ysores: cf.738blyse—ys.2413ys—Raynes. Onceysis found as plural:2524ys—iwys. Thepresent subjunctiveisbethrough all persons:208be—me, 2nd pers.614be—se, 3rd pers.884the—bee, 3rd pers.2017be—me, 2nd pers. plr. The infinitivebeandbene:49the—bee.483be—see.1643be—charite.903the—bee.1833clene—bene.2161quene—bene.2613bene—kene. Thepast tense singular numberiswasorwes:247alas—wase.426glase—was.771pase—wase.1873wyldernes—was(=wes). The pluralwere,ware,wore, as well aswas,wes: (1)l. 402wer)—cher.1047were—chere.1845were—ffere.2586squiere—were, here—clere. (2)603fare—were.2494ware—bare.1384beffore—there,were(=wore). (3)384pase—wase.1388passe—was. (4)2026wildernes—was(=wes).2545wildernes—was; cf. l.2584. The subjunctive mood of the past tense iswereandware, in sgl. and plr.:225were—clere.235here—were.1696chere—were.2476were—bere.154were(=ware)—fare.1020wer(=ware)—fare.2074care—ware. The past participle:7bedene—ben.172byne—seyn.2344ibene—kene.1678be—crystiaunte.From this inquiry into the sounds and inflexions, the following conclusions can be drawn:The development ofăis of no use in fixing the dialect. Nor isea, which has becomea,o, ande, to be deemed a characteristic either of the Midland or Northern dialect. Ags.eaoccurs asoas early as 1250 in theNorthumbrian Psalter, and 50 years afterwards inSir TristremandSir Perceval; even Richard Rolle in hisPricke of Conscienceoffers one instance of this change (cf.Sir Tristrem, p. lxix f.).The development of the ags.â, which we find in 26 passages asa, in 22 aso, is remarkable. There are only a very few instances of this change inSir Tristrem, p. lxxi, and in thePsalter; and this almost equal number ofa- ando-rhymes proves evidently that the poem cannot belong to a Northern country. At the same time, a proportionlike that would be impossible in a text of Southern origin. The same negative result is to be derived from the fact that Ags.yis always writteny.As to the inflexions, the plurals of the substantives are formed by adding-sor-n(en), or by vowel change, or they have no inflexions at all. As for the inflexion-n, it only occurs inslonandshon, and of this very word the plural innis to be met with even in Northern writers.The infinitives both preserve or drop the finaln, as is the rule with the Midland dialect; the form of the past participle withnaccords with the use of the Northern writers.The present partic. ending in-andand the past tense plurals of strong verbs having adopted the vowel of the singular, agree with the North as well as with the northern districts of the Midland, in the same way as some forms ofto be: plr. prs.ysand plr. prt.was, besides the usual formsbeandare, resp.wereandware, and the contracted forms oftake:758name—tane.1095gane—itane.1825ta—twa(cf.231,286,859,1333,1475,1722,1733,2617).The formsthou hasandthou maypoint to the West.The inflexions of the 3rd pers. prs. sg. are-thand-s. In the western part of the Midland we never meet with the endingth, but only withs. InAmis and Amiloun, the Eastern origin of which seems to be sure, only the inflexion-eþis found in the rhyme (Amis, p. xxx ff.).The romance ofSir Torrentseems to be the first document hitherto considered where both these forms occur, one by the side of the other. Perhaps this fact justifies us in concluding that this poem was composed in the east, but on the borders of the west, Midland.§ 4.THE CONTENTS OF THE ROMANCE.

Torrent of Portyngale.

§1.The MS. and Halliwell’s edition, p. v.§2.Metre and Versification, p. vi.§3.Dialect,p. x;short vowels,p. xi;long vowels,p. xii;inflexions,p. xiii.§4.a.The contents of the Romance,p. xvi;b.its character,p. xx;c.Origin of the story of Torrent,p. xxi;d.Legend of Eustache or Plasidas,p. xxii;e.Sir Isumbras,p. xxiv;f.Romances of Octavian,p. xxv;g.Sir Eglamour,p. xxvi;h.Comparison of Torrent and Eglamour,p. xxvii;i.the 2 Romances independent,p. xxx.§5.Arrangement of this Edition, p. xxxii.

§1.The MS. and Halliwell’s edition, p. v.

§2.Metre and Versification, p. vi.

§3.Dialect,p. x;

short vowels,p. xi;

long vowels,p. xii;

inflexions,p. xiii.

§4.a.The contents of the Romance,p. xvi;

b.its character,p. xx;

c.Origin of the story of Torrent,p. xxi;

d.Legend of Eustache or Plasidas,p. xxii;

e.Sir Isumbras,p. xxiv;

f.Romances of Octavian,p. xxv;

g.Sir Eglamour,p. xxvi;

h.Comparison of Torrent and Eglamour,p. xxvii;

i.the 2 Romances independent,p. xxx.

§5.Arrangement of this Edition, p. xxxii.

§ 1.Themanuscript from which the following romance ofSir Torrent of Portugalis taken, is a folio volume on paper, of the fifteenth century, preserved in the Chetham Library at Manchester.

A description of this volume is given by Halliwell in hisAccount of the European MSS. in the Chetham Library at Manchester, Manchester, 1842, page 16, and by Prof. Koelbing in hisEnglische Studien, vii. 195. The only edition of this romance that we have hitherto had was done by Halliwell. As he had, besides his own transcript, another copy made by Madden, his text is a pretty accurate one, and therefore the results of Prof. Koelbing’s collation, printed in hisEnglische Studien, vii. 344 ff., concern, for the most part, things of little importance, except one very curious passage, l. 88, where Halliwell renders the quite correct reading of the MS.,p la more de dewe=par l’amour de dieu, byPericula more bedew[n]e. Also, from l. 1720, the counting of the lines is wrong by 100 lines.

A few short fragments of a printed edition were found by Halliwell in the Douce Collection, Bodleian Library, Oxford, and added to his work as an Appendix. They contain the following passages of the MS.:

A seventh fragment, of which not much more than the rhyming words are preserved, was omitted by Halliwell, and was printed for the first time in Prof. Koelbing’s collation.

This Chetham MS. contains the romance in a very debased and corrupt form, so that the original reading in many passages can hardly be recognized.1The scribe, who copied the poem from an older MS., lived (no doubt) at a far later period than the poet; he did not therefore understand a great many old expressions, and these he used to supplant by words of his own; he also transposed and even omitted many lines, and spoiled the rhyme, because he had not the slightest idea of the nature of the stanza in which the poem is composed. Halliwell did not trouble himself about the restoration of the true readings; he merely reproduced the traditional text, even where it would have been very easy to do more, though many passages are hopelessly corrupt; still worse is thefact,that he did not recognize the metre as the tail-rhymed twelve-line stanza, for he prints six-line stanzas.

In consequence, the whole of the philological work on the text had still to be done, and a new edition was plainly necessary; the more that this poem, though not written in the best period of romance poetry, treats of a legendary subject widely spread in the Middle Ages, and is nearly related to another poem,Syr Eglamour of Artois.

In this and the following section, all line numbers are active links. To reduce visual chaos, link highlighting has been turned off. This may be overridden by your personal browser settings.

As I mentioned before, the romance ofSir Torrentis composed in the well-known tail-rhymed twelve-line stanza, and belongs to that class of it in which the first and the second couplets have different rhyme-sounds (cf. Koelbing,Amis and Amiloun, p. xiv ff.).Only the incompleteness of many stanzas, and the many defects in reference to the rhyme, can excuse Halliwell for not apprehending the character of the metre. As to the structure of the eight lines of the four couplets, each contains (or at least ought to contain) four accents, thecaudæthree; but as we, unfortunately, possess only one MS., a conclusive statement on this point is impossible. There is no doubt about the fact that neither the really incorrect rhymes nor the wanting of them can be due to the author of the poem: even when romance poetry was decaying, the poets were fairly perfect rhymers: with all deficiencies in this department, the copyists are to be charged.Consonantrhymes (s.Schipper Altengl. Metrik, p. 299) are found inTorrentin the following passages: l.141rode—rodeags.rôd—râd.450the—theags.þeón—þe.1558indede—dede.2205lay—lay,sg.—plr. prt.Identicalrhymes are frequent, especially in thecaudæ:81stond—stond.177there—there.500he—hee.1887there—there.2538blithe—blithe.39take—take.342bold—bold, a. s. o.Assonances:195bon)—Rome.518undyrstond—strong.537name—alone.699yod—fotte.758name—tane.896bryng—wynd.1257overcom)—Aragon).1768man)—cam).2164anon)—fome.2544sithe—hide.Besides the rhymes we find abundant alliteration, as in most of the Middle English Romances. On alliteration, cf. Regel, Die alliteration in Laȝamon,Germ. Stud.I. 171; F. Lindner, The alliteration in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales,Essays on Chaucer, Pt. III., p. 197 ff. Koelbing,Sir Tristrem, p. xxxvii, andAmis and Amiloun, p. lxvi. Lindner as well as Koelbing has adopted Regel’s classification, and so shall I. The most frequent is two alliterative words in one verse; they can be classed in the following way:—I. A. The same word is repeated in two succeeding lines; v.456 f.:Forthe sche browght awhytsted, Aswhytas the flowyr in)med; v.618 f.:In IVquartershe hym drowe, And eueryquartervppon a bowe. v.2026 f.:But ran into awildernes Amongist beests thatwyldwes. v.2465 f.:They axidhorsand armes bryght, tohorsbak went thay in ffere.B.Alliterative combinations, one part of which is a proper name.Torrentis several times combined with the verbtake;26:Towarde hym hetakytheTorrayne;224:Torrent thethertoke the way;519:Torrenttoke a dulful wey;2269:Whan sirTorent wastakyn)than);91:Now, be mytrowthe, seydTorent than);1161:Alas, saidDesonell̴ thedere;2523:As wasdameDesonell̴;1906=1946=1969:Marymyld. Tosend unto herSathanas.v.1091:Thecastell̴ ofCardon).II. A.Words of the same root are alliterative.133:Torrent, onkneknelyd he;671:That on hysknehekneld;2502:Andknelid on herkne;205:Torrentknelyd on hyskne= v.528;881:Andknelyd vppon yskne;1883:Sheknelid down)vppon)herkne;2563:Down)theyknelid on)herkne;512:Bydymmynge of theday;1158:For her lovedid I never nodede;1801:That ylkedede, that she hathdone;1943:How sheflew in afflight;2384:Liffeandlyvelode, whill̴ Ilyve;233:Alyon)& alyonasse;1671:For tose thatsellysight;407:For thetalles thou hast metold;1466:And falstalis hym)told;2578:Euer wewill̴be at yourewill̴.B. Relations in which alliterative words stand to each other according to their meaning.a.Concrete ideas are joined together because they belong to the same sphere of life.2017:Byrdus andbestis, aye woo ye be;113:bone andblod;21:kyng andknyght;83:And rychecastelles in thatcontre;251:In lond with afyndesfere;102:Thatfyndesfare for aye;1094:Both atknyght andknave;584:Bothe in)frethe and infeld;660:Stomlyng thurrowfrythe andfen);1378:Both behold and behyll̴;2398:lym)andlith;750:Lytyll̴ andmykyll̴,lese andmore;1899:That waslord of all̴ thatlond;2152:Loo,lordys of euerylond;2375:With all̴maner ofmynstralsye;149:He reynyd hyssted vnto astake;1065:Waytes on thewall̴ gan blowe;13:water andwynde.b.In the same way abstract ideas are connected, so far as they belong to the same sphere of life.460:Thatdethe ysdynt schalt þou not thole;1600:Ofdeth yaue he nodout;782=2062:feyer andfre;2153:Falshode wyll̴ haue afoule end;1988:Helpeandhold I shall̴ hym yeve;1492:Theysat andsong;683:Cryst hymsaue andsee;1303:That he wassad andsore;1612:setsadly andsore;335:God thatsofryd wonddessore;322:styff andstrong=1491=2590;1205:Thatwekyd was andwight;1584:wekyd andwight;1849:Her one childwoke and be-gan towepe;1559:Andwot yewell̴ and notwene;246:Scheweppte,as sche werewod.C. The grammatical relations in which the alliterative words stand to each other.a.Subst. and adj. in attributive or predicative combinations.Asbold as enybore;Withbrowesbrod and wyde;142:hysbugell̴bold;307:In adongon)that ysdym;82:Myfayer)forestesfellythe downe he;209:Thefeyer)fyld;426:glemyrryng ase theglase;1592:goodgate;171=596:theholteshore;1484:To anhyehyll̴;1183:sydessare;154:Thowe thewey nevyr sowykkyd were;2054:wekydweders;506:In thewyld-someway;535:Wyldsomweyes haue Iwent;2030:Shewent on thatwilsom)way.b.Verbs or adjectives combined with the adverb or substantive which contains their secondary adverbial meaning.1478:Tobe here at hisbane, cf.1678:That there hisbane hathbe;1944:To herbirdus was sheboun);2016:Withblis on euerybowȝe;135:Thatbowght hym with hysblod;1045:Thurrow thebody he gan hymbere;1404:To thebote theybare;334:Thus hecovyrd owt ofcare;27:Thatdowghtty ys indedde, cf.1725;98:With-owtfere that he scholdfare;603=977:Alsofast ase he myghtfare;536:Withfyndes for tofyght;802:Tofyght with thatfyndesfere;1262:That wasgrow bothgrene andgay;1060=2330:Torent be thehond hehent;270:Thatmeche ys ofmyght;713:Thatmeche wase ofmyght;24:For God ysmost ofmyght, cf.1112:To aman offmyght;1879:Vp sherose ageyn)therough;2100:Gosech her in)thesee;2129:Andsett hym)oute in to thesee;2469:Thatsemely tose were;126:Andsymly was tosene;415:That dare Isothelysey;1170:Torrentsett on hym)sosore;139:Serttes, yf I hymslepyngslone;181:Torrent vndyr hysspryt hesprent;179:Butstondstyll̴;2410:He is sostiff at euerystoure;987:Torrent in)thestorropestod;1912:For nostroke wold shestynt;2060:By atokyn)I shall̴ thetell̴;2397:Orwalkyd inwede;383:In hyswalke ther ase hewent;725:Andwent forthe on hyswey;107:And on hyswey gan hewynd;2030:Shewent on thatwilsom)way;989:alewyld atwyle;2088:In nowise hewold;1206:Towed her to mywyffe;749:Thatwyt ys vndyrwede;1315:All̴ menwonderid on thatwight;33:worthyest inwede.c.Substantives and verbs are combined in the relation of subject and predicate.2221:Downknelid thatknyght;854:Whether thefynd canfyght;2390:There that hisladylent;2064:Mylove was on thelent;1219:Gretlordys to churche herled;170:The fyndessperesparrythe hyme nothyng;84:Noston lettythe hestond.d.Verbs and substantives are combined as predicate and object.2490:hisbak tobend;2532:Thatcouth mochecurtesye;273:Thydethe than wyll̴ hedyght, cf.1043:Hysdethe to hyme ysdyght;1648:Thydeth now isdight;2123:Whatdeth they wold hymdo;161:My lordesfrethe thus tofell̴;2235:Found hym hisfill̴ offffyght;1743:Thefforward ye tofulleffylle;651:Hegathyred svm of hysgere;210:Vpp both hishandes heheld;1799:For Iesu is love, thatharoodhell̴;1820:Whan theyled thatlady ffre;2080:Leve we now thatlady gent;1663:Ech on otherlaid goodlode;1495:To god thatmademan;435:A gretmaynerey let hemake ryght;264:To hym schemad heremone;645:Herawght Torrent soche arowght;1172:And all̴ tosheverd hissheld;502:Tho hebestrod anoblestede;2482:Torentbestrodea stedestrong;281:I schall̴ thetell̴ soche atokyn);2013:Newanted she nowoo;115:He that schall̴wend soche awey;439:Hom-ward towend therwey;2448:And than)towend herway;2457:And to her logyngwent herway;1544:Otherwayes yf Iwend;207:That hathe thysworld towyld.

Consonantrhymes (s.Schipper Altengl. Metrik, p. 299) are found inTorrentin the following passages: l.141rode—rodeags.rôd—râd.450the—theags.þeón—þe.1558indede—dede.2205lay—lay,sg.—plr. prt.

Identicalrhymes are frequent, especially in thecaudæ:81stond—stond.177there—there.500he—hee.1887there—there.2538blithe—blithe.39take—take.342bold—bold, a. s. o.

Assonances:195bon)—Rome.518undyrstond—strong.537name—alone.699yod—fotte.758name—tane.896bryng—wynd.1257overcom)—Aragon).1768man)—cam).2164anon)—fome.2544sithe—hide.

Besides the rhymes we find abundant alliteration, as in most of the Middle English Romances. On alliteration, cf. Regel, Die alliteration in Laȝamon,Germ. Stud.I. 171; F. Lindner, The alliteration in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales,Essays on Chaucer, Pt. III., p. 197 ff. Koelbing,Sir Tristrem, p. xxxvii, andAmis and Amiloun, p. lxvi. Lindner as well as Koelbing has adopted Regel’s classification, and so shall I. The most frequent is two alliterative words in one verse; they can be classed in the following way:—

I. A. The same word is repeated in two succeeding lines; v.456 f.:Forthe sche browght awhytsted, Aswhytas the flowyr in)med; v.618 f.:In IVquartershe hym drowe, And eueryquartervppon a bowe. v.2026 f.:But ran into awildernes Amongist beests thatwyldwes. v.2465 f.:They axidhorsand armes bryght, tohorsbak went thay in ffere.

B.Alliterative combinations, one part of which is a proper name.Torrentis several times combined with the verbtake;26:Towarde hym hetakytheTorrayne;224:Torrent thethertoke the way;519:Torrenttoke a dulful wey;2269:Whan sirTorent wastakyn)than);91:Now, be mytrowthe, seydTorent than);1161:Alas, saidDesonell̴ thedere;2523:As wasdameDesonell̴;1906=1946=1969:Marymyld. Tosend unto herSathanas.v.1091:Thecastell̴ ofCardon).

II. A.Words of the same root are alliterative.133:Torrent, onkneknelyd he;671:That on hysknehekneld;2502:Andknelid on herkne;205:Torrentknelyd on hyskne= v.528;881:Andknelyd vppon yskne;1883:Sheknelid down)vppon)herkne;2563:Down)theyknelid on)herkne;512:Bydymmynge of theday;1158:For her lovedid I never nodede;1801:That ylkedede, that she hathdone;1943:How sheflew in afflight;2384:Liffeandlyvelode, whill̴ Ilyve;233:Alyon)& alyonasse;1671:For tose thatsellysight;407:For thetalles thou hast metold;1466:And falstalis hym)told;2578:Euer wewill̴be at yourewill̴.

B. Relations in which alliterative words stand to each other according to their meaning.

a.Concrete ideas are joined together because they belong to the same sphere of life.2017:Byrdus andbestis, aye woo ye be;113:bone andblod;21:kyng andknyght;83:And rychecastelles in thatcontre;251:In lond with afyndesfere;102:Thatfyndesfare for aye;1094:Both atknyght andknave;584:Bothe in)frethe and infeld;660:Stomlyng thurrowfrythe andfen);1378:Both behold and behyll̴;2398:lym)andlith;750:Lytyll̴ andmykyll̴,lese andmore;1899:That waslord of all̴ thatlond;2152:Loo,lordys of euerylond;2375:With all̴maner ofmynstralsye;149:He reynyd hyssted vnto astake;1065:Waytes on thewall̴ gan blowe;13:water andwynde.

b.In the same way abstract ideas are connected, so far as they belong to the same sphere of life.460:Thatdethe ysdynt schalt þou not thole;1600:Ofdeth yaue he nodout;782=2062:feyer andfre;2153:Falshode wyll̴ haue afoule end;1988:Helpeandhold I shall̴ hym yeve;1492:Theysat andsong;683:Cryst hymsaue andsee;1303:That he wassad andsore;1612:setsadly andsore;335:God thatsofryd wonddessore;322:styff andstrong=1491=2590;1205:Thatwekyd was andwight;1584:wekyd andwight;1849:Her one childwoke and be-gan towepe;1559:Andwot yewell̴ and notwene;246:Scheweppte,as sche werewod.

C. The grammatical relations in which the alliterative words stand to each other.

a.Subst. and adj. in attributive or predicative combinations.Asbold as enybore;Withbrowesbrod and wyde;142:hysbugell̴bold;307:In adongon)that ysdym;82:Myfayer)forestesfellythe downe he;209:Thefeyer)fyld;426:glemyrryng ase theglase;1592:goodgate;171=596:theholteshore;1484:To anhyehyll̴;1183:sydessare;154:Thowe thewey nevyr sowykkyd were;2054:wekydweders;506:In thewyld-someway;535:Wyldsomweyes haue Iwent;2030:Shewent on thatwilsom)way.

b.Verbs or adjectives combined with the adverb or substantive which contains their secondary adverbial meaning.1478:Tobe here at hisbane, cf.1678:That there hisbane hathbe;1944:To herbirdus was sheboun);2016:Withblis on euerybowȝe;135:Thatbowght hym with hysblod;1045:Thurrow thebody he gan hymbere;1404:To thebote theybare;334:Thus hecovyrd owt ofcare;27:Thatdowghtty ys indedde, cf.1725;98:With-owtfere that he scholdfare;603=977:Alsofast ase he myghtfare;536:Withfyndes for tofyght;802:Tofyght with thatfyndesfere;1262:That wasgrow bothgrene andgay;1060=2330:Torent be thehond hehent;270:Thatmeche ys ofmyght;713:Thatmeche wase ofmyght;24:For God ysmost ofmyght, cf.1112:To aman offmyght;1879:Vp sherose ageyn)therough;2100:Gosech her in)thesee;2129:Andsett hym)oute in to thesee;2469:Thatsemely tose were;126:Andsymly was tosene;415:That dare Isothelysey;1170:Torrentsett on hym)sosore;139:Serttes, yf I hymslepyngslone;181:Torrent vndyr hysspryt hesprent;179:Butstondstyll̴;2410:He is sostiff at euerystoure;987:Torrent in)thestorropestod;1912:For nostroke wold shestynt;2060:By atokyn)I shall̴ thetell̴;2397:Orwalkyd inwede;383:In hyswalke ther ase hewent;725:Andwent forthe on hyswey;107:And on hyswey gan hewynd;2030:Shewent on thatwilsom)way;989:alewyld atwyle;2088:In nowise hewold;1206:Towed her to mywyffe;749:Thatwyt ys vndyrwede;1315:All̴ menwonderid on thatwight;33:worthyest inwede.

c.Substantives and verbs are combined in the relation of subject and predicate.2221:Downknelid thatknyght;854:Whether thefynd canfyght;2390:There that hisladylent;2064:Mylove was on thelent;1219:Gretlordys to churche herled;170:The fyndessperesparrythe hyme nothyng;84:Noston lettythe hestond.

d.Verbs and substantives are combined as predicate and object.2490:hisbak tobend;2532:Thatcouth mochecurtesye;273:Thydethe than wyll̴ hedyght, cf.1043:Hysdethe to hyme ysdyght;1648:Thydeth now isdight;2123:Whatdeth they wold hymdo;161:My lordesfrethe thus tofell̴;2235:Found hym hisfill̴ offffyght;1743:Thefforward ye tofulleffylle;651:Hegathyred svm of hysgere;210:Vpp both hishandes heheld;1799:For Iesu is love, thatharoodhell̴;1820:Whan theyled thatlady ffre;2080:Leve we now thatlady gent;1663:Ech on otherlaid goodlode;1495:To god thatmademan;435:A gretmaynerey let hemake ryght;264:To hym schemad heremone;645:Herawght Torrent soche arowght;1172:And all̴ tosheverd hissheld;502:Tho hebestrod anoblestede;2482:Torentbestrodea stedestrong;281:I schall̴ thetell̴ soche atokyn);2013:Newanted she nowoo;115:He that schall̴wend soche awey;439:Hom-ward towend therwey;2448:And than)towend herway;2457:And to her logyngwent herway;1544:Otherwayes yf Iwend;207:That hathe thysworld towyld.

The stanza of twelve lines was probably first employed in the north of England; at least it would be difficult to prove the existenceof a poem composed in this metre in the southern part of the country; therefore it is beforehand probable that the romance ofTorrentwas composed either in some part of the Midlands or in the North. In order to determine the dialect more precisely, we restrict ourselves to a careful consideration of the rhymes.

1. SHORT VOWELS.Old Englishăis (1) preserved beforenandm:744and788Iame—name.927Adryan—jentylmane.13londe—wonande.352stond—lygand.1128stond—shynand. No part. pres.on-ondrhyming with an unvariable-ondhas been traced out until now, but1824wepand—wonde(ags.wunden) seems to be the first. 2. Changed intoo.516rome—fromeags.rûm—fram.2446mon)—done.1190none—shone—anon—done.1257ouercom—Aragon).1989son—can(=con).2040anon)—bone. A curious exception is1929grame(= greme)—teme—Ierusalem; cf.Gaw.l.312.O.E.e, thei-umlaut ofa, is preserved:373end—wend.476went—jent.924tell̴—hell.1702hell—Desonell̴e.1798fell̴—hell̴. The past partic. ofseón,segen, has been contracted intosen.1562sene—wene.O.E.æhas becomea:45spake—take.363ffare—bare.726and876sale—Portynggall̴e.1074passe—was.1131sale—tale.1233thare—fare.1236was—Sathanas.1399care—thare.2287was—alas.æhas becomee:2026wildernes—was.764derre—clere—ware(ags.wær).1951there—bere.328glad(=gled)—redd.æhas becomeayby the vocalization of the followingg:25fayne—Torrayne.1025may—day,wey—laye.1071say—day.2029day—way.O.E.eabecomesobeforeld:303hold—bold,fold(ags.folde)—cold.422gold—mold,hold—told.eahas becomea:399Portyngall̴—bale(ags.bealu).531care—far)(ags.cearu).1891ffare—care.eahas becomee:1166beheld—feld—sheld—weld(ags.wealdan).2359preste—breste(ags.bearst).O.E.eohas turned intoe:1166beheld—ffeld—sheld—weld.O.E.ĭis preserved asiandy:51knyght—nyght.307dym—hym.1783myld—child. Only once this vowel has changed intoe:714wret—get.irhymes withe:3wynde—ende—lende—ffynde.O.E.ŏis unaltered:422gold—mold.1122gold—mold.O.E.ŭhas becomeo:367dore(ags.duru)—befor).765Aragon)—son).1257ouer com—Aragon).1762com)—kyngdome.1801done—sonne(ags.sunu).2320sonne—dungeon.O.E.y̆, thei-umlaut ofŭ, has the value ofi, writteniory:390kysse—iwysse.1564till̴—fullefyll̴,yll̴—wyll̴.1740evyll̴—fulle fylle. Only once it rhymes withe:1484hyll̴(=hell̴)—yell̴—befell̴—well̴, never withu.2. LONG VOWELS.O.E.âis preserved in the following rhymes:2a.39take—stroke(=strake, ags.strâc),spake—take.97sore—fare.103goos—takythe(=gas—tas).280wakyn)—tokyn)(ags.tâcen).334care—sore.590fare—wher,hore—care.705fare—gere(ags.gâr).788Iame—name,bone—schame.834ga—ma.977fare—bare,sare—chaffare.1143glade—rade.1238Cate—gate,bad—wott(ags.wât).1251brod—made; cf.1303,1306,1501,1526,1604,1612,1663,1669,1825,1911,2178,2356,2617.b.O.E.âhas changed intoo:16sone(ags.sunu)—gon.141rode—rode(ags.rôd—râd).195bon(ags.bân)—Rome.238wote(ags.wât)—fote.654browȝ—goo.1062tho—do. Cf.1196,1226,1295,1381,1809,1812,1815,2013,2025,2028,2037,2046,2295,2298,2301,2542. The result is, that in 26 cases oldâis preserved, in 22 cases changed intoô.O.E.æ̂is turned into (1)a:154were—fare.603fare—were.1020were—fare.2074care—ware.Into (2)e.379dede(ags.dæ̂d)—hed.1047were—chere.1053sped—lede(ags.læ̂dan).1263stede—wede(ags.wæ̂d).Into (3)o.1113mone(ags.mæ̂nan)—Aragon.1384beffore—there—were.O.E.ôis preserved throughout:73wode—good.112rode—blod.118Rome—kyrstendome.313done—sone.Beforegthe voweluresp.wis inserted:145browght—nowght.279browght—thowght.2053sought—brought.O.E.êis preserved:123kene—sene.743dede—sped, wede.1849wepe—slepe.2055grene—kene.2458be dene—wene.O.E.îis preserved asy:196tyd—syd.325fyve—lyve.777wyse—deuyce.900ryde—syde.O.E.ûis writtenouresp.owin the French way:921renowne—towyn).978downe—renowne.1425nowe—rowe.2634mouth—couth. It has becomeo:516rome—frome(ags.rûm—from). Cf.2641renown—son.O.E.eáhas becomee:1929grame—streme, Jerusalem.2554Jerusalem)—streme(ags.streám).O.E.eóhas changed intoe:153be—hee:782fre—he.888tre—crystyanté.1643be—charité.1861ffree—cité.O.E.ŷremainsy:1361pride—bedsyde.1433pryde—ryde.1473wyde—pride.ŷorê, thei-umlaut ofeáore, is found ase:63were—here(ags.hŷran).235here—were.327sted—yed,nede—sped.408yede—ned.1552stede—nede, indede.3. THE INFLEXIONS.The plural of the substantives terminates in (1)sresp.ys:837ryghtys—knyghtes.1298stonys—nonys.(2) inn:458slon—appon.1116done—shone.1193shone—anon, done.(3) is formed byi-umlaut:men1784,2282, but2197wan—men(=man).(4) has no inflexion:651gere—spere.705far—gere.836hend—frende,sende.1173ffere—yere.1405hend—frend.1556stone—gone.2188were—yere.2194here—yere. The inflexions of the adjectives have totally disappeared.Theinfinitiveends in-neorn, or has no termination at all.(1) withn:123kene—see(=sene).217ageyne—sayne.262fayne—slayne.489Mavdeleyn—seyne;16sone—gon.(2) withoutn:67sake—take.93kynd—fynd.148wake—stake.184so—goo.434Adolake—take.1062tho—do.1762me—se.The 2nd person sing. of the pres. ind. occurs only once in the rhyme,1333tase—thou hase, tas—gas.The 3rd person sing. of the present indicative ends ins:187tellys—ellys.2317rose—gose.558tellythe—elles(The rhyme shows thattellysmust be inserted; cf.103gos—takythe, and858gothe—toke=gas—tas.) Only oncethoccurs:2047Nazareth—gethe(ags.gæð). On this remarkable form see Zupitza,Guy of Warwick, note on l. 11075. The plural has no termination:3wynde—ende—lende.Thesubjunctivemood has no inflexions:70sped—stede, 3rd pers.87blynd—wynde, 3rd pers.213fyld—schyld, 3rd pers.416sey—may, 2nd pers. sg.584feld—schyld, 3rd pers. sg.1978saue—haue; but observe139slone—noneand1839sene—grene.Thepresent participleends usually in-ande(onde):13londe—wonande.127fonde—growonde.315levand—bond.352stand—lygand.358vndyrstond—levand.1128stond—shynand.1280fayland—lond.1445fleand—waraunt.1452ffand—goand.1821lond—wepand.1899lond—pleyand.2104hond—levand. Thrice-yngis found:268kyng—dwellyng,1638and2568.Thegerundterminates always ining(yng):1479kyng—ryding.1503comyng—kyng.1933ryng—lettyng.2509kyng—lesyng.Observe the 2nd pers. sing. of a past tense,1589thou cam)—slan), of a praeterito-praesens,410they—sey,thow may.1543away—aye,may.2001may—welaway.Thepast participleof strong verbs terminates inn:482syne—schene, wene—clene.675slayne—rayne.800slayne—trayne.1292fayn)—slayn).1562sene—wene.2323alone—slone. We don’t find one certain instance for the dropping of thisn, besides1678and2063be.Thepast tense pluralof strong verbs has the same vowel as the singular:1452Theyffound(r.ffand)—goand.1458began—gentilman.1753tong—dong.The 3rd pers. of the present indic. ofto be=ysores: cf.738blyse—ys.2413ys—Raynes. Onceysis found as plural:2524ys—iwys. Thepresent subjunctiveisbethrough all persons:208be—me, 2nd pers.614be—se, 3rd pers.884the—bee, 3rd pers.2017be—me, 2nd pers. plr. The infinitivebeandbene:49the—bee.483be—see.1643be—charite.903the—bee.1833clene—bene.2161quene—bene.2613bene—kene. Thepast tense singular numberiswasorwes:247alas—wase.426glase—was.771pase—wase.1873wyldernes—was(=wes). The pluralwere,ware,wore, as well aswas,wes: (1)l. 402wer)—cher.1047were—chere.1845were—ffere.2586squiere—were, here—clere. (2)603fare—were.2494ware—bare.1384beffore—there,were(=wore). (3)384pase—wase.1388passe—was. (4)2026wildernes—was(=wes).2545wildernes—was; cf. l.2584. The subjunctive mood of the past tense iswereandware, in sgl. and plr.:225were—clere.235here—were.1696chere—were.2476were—bere.154were(=ware)—fare.1020wer(=ware)—fare.2074care—ware. The past participle:7bedene—ben.172byne—seyn.2344ibene—kene.1678be—crystiaunte.From this inquiry into the sounds and inflexions, the following conclusions can be drawn:The development ofăis of no use in fixing the dialect. Nor isea, which has becomea,o, ande, to be deemed a characteristic either of the Midland or Northern dialect. Ags.eaoccurs asoas early as 1250 in theNorthumbrian Psalter, and 50 years afterwards inSir TristremandSir Perceval; even Richard Rolle in hisPricke of Conscienceoffers one instance of this change (cf.Sir Tristrem, p. lxix f.).The development of the ags.â, which we find in 26 passages asa, in 22 aso, is remarkable. There are only a very few instances of this change inSir Tristrem, p. lxxi, and in thePsalter; and this almost equal number ofa- ando-rhymes proves evidently that the poem cannot belong to a Northern country. At the same time, a proportionlike that would be impossible in a text of Southern origin. The same negative result is to be derived from the fact that Ags.yis always writteny.As to the inflexions, the plurals of the substantives are formed by adding-sor-n(en), or by vowel change, or they have no inflexions at all. As for the inflexion-n, it only occurs inslonandshon, and of this very word the plural innis to be met with even in Northern writers.The infinitives both preserve or drop the finaln, as is the rule with the Midland dialect; the form of the past participle withnaccords with the use of the Northern writers.The present partic. ending in-andand the past tense plurals of strong verbs having adopted the vowel of the singular, agree with the North as well as with the northern districts of the Midland, in the same way as some forms ofto be: plr. prs.ysand plr. prt.was, besides the usual formsbeandare, resp.wereandware, and the contracted forms oftake:758name—tane.1095gane—itane.1825ta—twa(cf.231,286,859,1333,1475,1722,1733,2617).The formsthou hasandthou maypoint to the West.The inflexions of the 3rd pers. prs. sg. are-thand-s. In the western part of the Midland we never meet with the endingth, but only withs. InAmis and Amiloun, the Eastern origin of which seems to be sure, only the inflexion-eþis found in the rhyme (Amis, p. xxx ff.).The romance ofSir Torrentseems to be the first document hitherto considered where both these forms occur, one by the side of the other. Perhaps this fact justifies us in concluding that this poem was composed in the east, but on the borders of the west, Midland.

Old Englishăis (1) preserved beforenandm:744and788Iame—name.927Adryan—jentylmane.13londe—wonande.352stond—lygand.1128stond—shynand. No part. pres.on-ondrhyming with an unvariable-ondhas been traced out until now, but1824wepand—wonde(ags.wunden) seems to be the first. 2. Changed intoo.516rome—fromeags.rûm—fram.2446mon)—done.1190none—shone—anon—done.1257ouercom—Aragon).1989son—can(=con).2040anon)—bone. A curious exception is1929grame(= greme)—teme—Ierusalem; cf.Gaw.l.312.

O.E.e, thei-umlaut ofa, is preserved:373end—wend.476went—jent.924tell̴—hell.1702hell—Desonell̴e.1798fell̴—hell̴. The past partic. ofseón,segen, has been contracted intosen.1562sene—wene.

O.E.æhas becomea:45spake—take.363ffare—bare.726and876sale—Portynggall̴e.1074passe—was.1131sale—tale.1233thare—fare.1236was—Sathanas.1399care—thare.2287was—alas.

æhas becomee:2026wildernes—was.764derre—clere—ware(ags.wær).1951there—bere.328glad(=gled)—redd.

æhas becomeayby the vocalization of the followingg:25fayne—Torrayne.1025may—day,wey—laye.1071say—day.2029day—way.

O.E.eabecomesobeforeld:303hold—bold,fold(ags.folde)—cold.422gold—mold,hold—told.

eahas becomea:399Portyngall̴—bale(ags.bealu).531care—far)(ags.cearu).1891ffare—care.

eahas becomee:1166beheld—feld—sheld—weld(ags.wealdan).2359preste—breste(ags.bearst).

O.E.eohas turned intoe:1166beheld—ffeld—sheld—weld.

O.E.ĭis preserved asiandy:51knyght—nyght.307dym—hym.1783myld—child. Only once this vowel has changed intoe:714wret—get.irhymes withe:3wynde—ende—lende—ffynde.

O.E.ŏis unaltered:422gold—mold.1122gold—mold.

O.E.ŭhas becomeo:367dore(ags.duru)—befor).765Aragon)—son).1257ouer com—Aragon).1762com)—kyngdome.1801done—sonne(ags.sunu).2320sonne—dungeon.

O.E.y̆, thei-umlaut ofŭ, has the value ofi, writteniory:390kysse—iwysse.1564till̴—fullefyll̴,yll̴—wyll̴.1740evyll̴—fulle fylle. Only once it rhymes withe:1484hyll̴(=hell̴)—yell̴—befell̴—well̴, never withu.

O.E.âis preserved in the following rhymes:2a.39take—stroke(=strake, ags.strâc),spake—take.97sore—fare.103goos—takythe(=gas—tas).280wakyn)—tokyn)(ags.tâcen).334care—sore.590fare—wher,hore—care.705fare—gere(ags.gâr).788Iame—name,bone—schame.834ga—ma.977fare—bare,sare—chaffare.1143glade—rade.1238Cate—gate,bad—wott(ags.wât).1251brod—made; cf.1303,1306,1501,1526,1604,1612,1663,1669,1825,1911,2178,2356,2617.

b.O.E.âhas changed intoo:16sone(ags.sunu)—gon.141rode—rode(ags.rôd—râd).195bon(ags.bân)—Rome.238wote(ags.wât)—fote.654browȝ—goo.1062tho—do. Cf.1196,1226,1295,1381,1809,1812,1815,2013,2025,2028,2037,2046,2295,2298,2301,2542. The result is, that in 26 cases oldâis preserved, in 22 cases changed intoô.

O.E.æ̂is turned into (1)a:154were—fare.603fare—were.1020were—fare.2074care—ware.

Into (2)e.379dede(ags.dæ̂d)—hed.1047were—chere.1053sped—lede(ags.læ̂dan).1263stede—wede(ags.wæ̂d).

Into (3)o.1113mone(ags.mæ̂nan)—Aragon.1384beffore—there—were.

O.E.ôis preserved throughout:73wode—good.112rode—blod.118Rome—kyrstendome.313done—sone.

Beforegthe voweluresp.wis inserted:145browght—nowght.279browght—thowght.2053sought—brought.

O.E.êis preserved:123kene—sene.743dede—sped, wede.1849wepe—slepe.2055grene—kene.2458be dene—wene.

O.E.îis preserved asy:196tyd—syd.325fyve—lyve.777wyse—deuyce.900ryde—syde.

O.E.ûis writtenouresp.owin the French way:921renowne—towyn).978downe—renowne.1425nowe—rowe.2634mouth—couth. It has becomeo:516rome—frome(ags.rûm—from). Cf.2641renown—son.

O.E.eáhas becomee:1929grame—streme, Jerusalem.2554Jerusalem)—streme(ags.streám).

O.E.eóhas changed intoe:153be—hee:782fre—he.888tre—crystyanté.1643be—charité.1861ffree—cité.

O.E.ŷremainsy:1361pride—bedsyde.1433pryde—ryde.1473wyde—pride.ŷorê, thei-umlaut ofeáore, is found ase:63were—here(ags.hŷran).235here—were.327sted—yed,nede—sped.408yede—ned.1552stede—nede, indede.

The plural of the substantives terminates in (1)sresp.ys:837ryghtys—knyghtes.1298stonys—nonys.

(2) inn:458slon—appon.1116done—shone.1193shone—anon, done.

(3) is formed byi-umlaut:men1784,2282, but2197wan—men(=man).

(4) has no inflexion:651gere—spere.705far—gere.836hend—frende,sende.1173ffere—yere.1405hend—frend.1556stone—gone.2188were—yere.2194here—yere. The inflexions of the adjectives have totally disappeared.

Theinfinitiveends in-neorn, or has no termination at all.(1) withn:123kene—see(=sene).217ageyne—sayne.262fayne—slayne.489Mavdeleyn—seyne;16sone—gon.

(2) withoutn:67sake—take.93kynd—fynd.148wake—stake.184so—goo.434Adolake—take.1062tho—do.1762me—se.

The 2nd person sing. of the pres. ind. occurs only once in the rhyme,1333tase—thou hase, tas—gas.

The 3rd person sing. of the present indicative ends ins:187tellys—ellys.2317rose—gose.558tellythe—elles(The rhyme shows thattellysmust be inserted; cf.103gos—takythe, and858gothe—toke=gas—tas.) Only oncethoccurs:2047Nazareth—gethe(ags.gæð). On this remarkable form see Zupitza,Guy of Warwick, note on l. 11075. The plural has no termination:3wynde—ende—lende.

Thesubjunctivemood has no inflexions:70sped—stede, 3rd pers.87blynd—wynde, 3rd pers.213fyld—schyld, 3rd pers.416sey—may, 2nd pers. sg.584feld—schyld, 3rd pers. sg.1978saue—haue; but observe139slone—noneand1839sene—grene.

Thepresent participleends usually in-ande(onde):13londe—wonande.127fonde—growonde.315levand—bond.352stand—lygand.358vndyrstond—levand.1128stond—shynand.1280fayland—lond.1445fleand—waraunt.1452ffand—goand.1821lond—wepand.1899lond—pleyand.2104hond—levand. Thrice-yngis found:268kyng—dwellyng,1638and2568.

Thegerundterminates always ining(yng):1479kyng—ryding.1503comyng—kyng.1933ryng—lettyng.2509kyng—lesyng.

Observe the 2nd pers. sing. of a past tense,1589thou cam)—slan), of a praeterito-praesens,410they—sey,thow may.1543away—aye,may.2001may—welaway.

Thepast participleof strong verbs terminates inn:482syne—schene, wene—clene.675slayne—rayne.800slayne—trayne.1292fayn)—slayn).1562sene—wene.2323alone—slone. We don’t find one certain instance for the dropping of thisn, besides1678and2063be.

Thepast tense pluralof strong verbs has the same vowel as the singular:1452Theyffound(r.ffand)—goand.1458began—gentilman.1753tong—dong.

The 3rd pers. of the present indic. ofto be=ysores: cf.738blyse—ys.2413ys—Raynes. Onceysis found as plural:2524ys—iwys. Thepresent subjunctiveisbethrough all persons:208be—me, 2nd pers.614be—se, 3rd pers.884the—bee, 3rd pers.2017be—me, 2nd pers. plr. The infinitivebeandbene:49the—bee.483be—see.1643be—charite.903the—bee.1833clene—bene.2161quene—bene.2613bene—kene. Thepast tense singular numberiswasorwes:247alas—wase.426glase—was.771pase—wase.1873wyldernes—was(=wes). The pluralwere,ware,wore, as well aswas,wes: (1)l. 402wer)—cher.1047were—chere.1845were—ffere.2586squiere—were, here—clere. (2)603fare—were.2494ware—bare.1384beffore—there,were(=wore). (3)384pase—wase.1388passe—was. (4)2026wildernes—was(=wes).2545wildernes—was; cf. l.2584. The subjunctive mood of the past tense iswereandware, in sgl. and plr.:225were—clere.235here—were.1696chere—were.2476were—bere.154were(=ware)—fare.1020wer(=ware)—fare.2074care—ware. The past participle:7bedene—ben.172byne—seyn.2344ibene—kene.1678be—crystiaunte.

From this inquiry into the sounds and inflexions, the following conclusions can be drawn:

The development ofăis of no use in fixing the dialect. Nor isea, which has becomea,o, ande, to be deemed a characteristic either of the Midland or Northern dialect. Ags.eaoccurs asoas early as 1250 in theNorthumbrian Psalter, and 50 years afterwards inSir TristremandSir Perceval; even Richard Rolle in hisPricke of Conscienceoffers one instance of this change (cf.Sir Tristrem, p. lxix f.).

The development of the ags.â, which we find in 26 passages asa, in 22 aso, is remarkable. There are only a very few instances of this change inSir Tristrem, p. lxxi, and in thePsalter; and this almost equal number ofa- ando-rhymes proves evidently that the poem cannot belong to a Northern country. At the same time, a proportionlike that would be impossible in a text of Southern origin. The same negative result is to be derived from the fact that Ags.yis always writteny.

As to the inflexions, the plurals of the substantives are formed by adding-sor-n(en), or by vowel change, or they have no inflexions at all. As for the inflexion-n, it only occurs inslonandshon, and of this very word the plural innis to be met with even in Northern writers.

The infinitives both preserve or drop the finaln, as is the rule with the Midland dialect; the form of the past participle withnaccords with the use of the Northern writers.

The present partic. ending in-andand the past tense plurals of strong verbs having adopted the vowel of the singular, agree with the North as well as with the northern districts of the Midland, in the same way as some forms ofto be: plr. prs.ysand plr. prt.was, besides the usual formsbeandare, resp.wereandware, and the contracted forms oftake:758name—tane.1095gane—itane.1825ta—twa(cf.231,286,859,1333,1475,1722,1733,2617).

The formsthou hasandthou maypoint to the West.

The inflexions of the 3rd pers. prs. sg. are-thand-s. In the western part of the Midland we never meet with the endingth, but only withs. InAmis and Amiloun, the Eastern origin of which seems to be sure, only the inflexion-eþis found in the rhyme (Amis, p. xxx ff.).

The romance ofSir Torrentseems to be the first document hitherto considered where both these forms occur, one by the side of the other. Perhaps this fact justifies us in concluding that this poem was composed in the east, but on the borders of the west, Midland.

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