HANDBOUND AT THE

UNIVF.RSITY OF TORONTO PRESS

^\ I ^

y?<^

€fje %tSSt$^%titxt^ ^erie^

SECTION II

MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE

GENERAL EDITOR

EWALD FLUGEL, Ph. D.

PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH PHILOLOGY IN LXLAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITT

MIDDLE ENGLISH

HUMOROUS TALES IN

VERSE

EDITED BY

GEORGE H?^McKNIGHT, Ph. D.

PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

BOSTON, U. S. A., AND LONDON D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS

f f'l

€6e ^tlW^%ttttt$ ^mt^

There have already been published in Section II

The Owl and the Nightingale — Edited by Professor John Edwin Wells, Connecticut College for Women.

The Pearl — Edited by Professor Charles G. Osgood, Princeton University.

Early Sixteenth Century Lyrics — Edited by Professor Frederick M. Padelford, University of Washing- ton.

Copyright, 1913, By D. C. Heath & Co.

3 D 2

PRINTED IN CS.A.

pvtfatt

I WISH to offer due apology for the elaborate critical setting provided for three simple tales. It cannot be as- sumed that introduction, notes, and glossary will add to the entertainment afforded by these stories. The justifica- tion for the editor's work lies in the fact that these humor- ous tales have a serious interest. They are interesting not merely as affording specimens of the language of an ear- lier period, but as illustrating what may be called the comedy-relief element in the literature of an age that pro- duced the Cursor Mundi and the Ayenbite of Inivit, and as affording an idea of the mode of diffusion of popular tales and the use made of them by literature.

I wish it were possible more fully to share the pleasures of the chase enjoyed in tracing the courses followed by these three stories. The hunt for sources and parallels has led, now into arid compilations like those by John of Bromyard and Vincent of Beauvais, again into the midst of the luxuriant oriental fictions of Nachshebi and Soma- deva, again among the fresh folk-tales of Saxon, Breton, Finn, Berber, and American Negro. I realize that the pleasures of the hunt are not easily communicable, but it is my hope that some of the trophies of the hunt, mounted and arranged in the introduction to this volume, may have a scientific value.

In the texts of the present volume the capitalization and the punctuation are modern, except in the case of proper names, in which the manuscript form has been reproduced. Abbreviations also have been expanded. In other respects it has been my aim to reproduce the manuscript texts

vi ^XtUitt

exactly. With this in view I have collated the proofs with rotographic copies of the manuscripts. The glossary aims to be exhaustive, including all the words and forms of words in the three texts. In the introduction the discussion of the language in each text has been made brief because of the full lists of forms collected in the glossary.

It is my pleasure to acknowledge courtesies shown me at the Harvard University Library, the Cornell University Library, and the British Museum Library, while I was making preliminary studies in the preparation of this book. I also wish to acknowledge suggestions for notes received from Professors J. M. Hart and W. Strunk, Jr., of Cor- nell University, and from Professor F. Tupper, Jr., of the University of Vermont, and helpful suggestions in the preparation of the manuscript as well as assistance in re- vising the proofs, from Professor Fliigel, general editor of the series.

G. H. McK.

Columbus, O., June, igij.

ContentjS

Introduction ix

Dame Siriz i

The Fox and Wolf in the Well . . . 25

Sir Cleges 38

Notes 61

Bibliography 81

Glossary 93

9|nttot)ucttDn

Or me convient tel chose dire Dont je vos puisse fere rire. QuiT je sai bien, ce est la pure, Que dc sarmun n'aves vos cure Ne de cors seint oir la vie. De ce ne vos prent nule envie, Mes de tel chose qui vose plese.

Roman de Renard, Prol. to Branch IV.

The Humorous Element in Middle English Narrative Literature

Narrative literature in English before the Norman Conquest expresses the ideals of an aristocratic form of society. It is rich in tales of heroic valor and saintly fortitude, which are uniformly dignified in manner and elevated in tone. There has recently been brought to light evidence ' of a taste less severe, in the form of comic stories preserved from oblivion because they served as material for experiments in Latin versification. But there is no evidence that these more trivial tales formed a part of the repertory of the dignified scop.

In the centuries immediately following the Norman Conquest, literature in the English language can hardly be said to have had an independent development. In the main it reflects the fashions prevailing in the contempo-

I W. p. Ker, On the History of the Ballads, iioo-ijoo, pp. ij, 14, and footnote. (Repr. from Proc. of Brit, Acad. vol. iv.) London, 1910.

X 31ntroDuction

rary writings in French. Hence it is that one wishing to find the source of literary tendencies in English during this period, must look in French literature.

The literature in French in the period following the Norman Conquest was much more broadly representative of the different sides of human life than that in Anglo- Saxon had been. If we narrow our attention to narra- tive, we find, corresponding to the dignified English epic tales and legendary narratives, similarly dignified French Chansons de gestey courtly romances, and saintly legends. But along with the Chanson ds Roland and its class and the romances of Chretien de Troyes and of his school, there flourished tales less conventional in form and re- flecting the gay and the humorous side of humanity.

These less serious tales seem to have owed their origin in great part to a spirit of revolt ' against the rigidity of the ideals of chivalry and of religion and against the stiffness and formality of prevailing literary conventions. This spirit of revolt, which in lyric poetry produced the Goliardic songs and in connection with the liturgical drama pro- duced the Feast of Fools and the Prose of the AsSy made itself distinctly felt in narrative literature. Already in the P'elerinage de Charlemagney of the last half of the eleventh century, there is a spirit of burlesque, and in the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries there came into being a series of literary productions quite an- tagonistic to the contemporary chivalrous productions. The gallantry that informs the lyrics of the troubadours and the romances of the Round Table has its counter- part in the keen, often savage, ridicule of women that

I Cf. W. Pttcr, tht Rtnaittamty pp. i, x6.

31ntroDuction xi

forms the subject matter of an important body of French satirical writings. In a similar manner the reaction from the solemn piety of the saintly legends and devout tales leads to a series ' of burlesque writings such as the Mar- tyre de saint Bacchus, the Miracles de saint Tortu et de saint Hareng, or the Fabliaus de Coquaigne.

This gayer spirit manifests itself in another way iiTT the attention paid to the more popular elements of con- temporary story. The trouvere, no longer interested ex- clusively in the themes of court life or of the church, turned his attention also to situations in every day life and to the stories of contemporary folk-lore. The result was the production of two highly interesting sets of tales, the fabliaux and the branches of the Roman de Reiiard. The material o^tht fabliaux is derived in part f from literary collections of stories used for conveying moral instruction, but much more often from tales in popular oral circulation, whether literary or oral in ulti- mate origin. The beast-epic tales also are derived some^ times, directly or indu-ectly, from the literary fable col- I lections, but much more often from the animal tales of J popular lore. The two sets of stories are alike, not only in a similar popular source of material, but in a similar manner of handhng. Both in beast-tale and in fabliau there is manifest the inclination to emphasize the human or individual interest rather than the spiritual content, to tell the story for the story's sake. In the branches of the Roman de Renard, instead of the earlier literary type, the fable, which is little more than the concrete expression of an abstract idea, an animated proverb, wc

I Cf. J. Bedier, Les Fabliaux^ p. 363.

xii 31ntroDuction

have a new literary genre with distinctly individual char- acters; in the fabliaux y instead of stories like those of the Disciplina Cler kalis y or the exempla of Jacques dc Vitry or fitienne de Bourbon, used in literature princi- . pally to convey moral instruction, we have stories told I for their own intrinsic interest, edged with satire, and embellished with much realistic and humorous detail. The two extremes in the literary tendencies of the period, so well represented in the two parts of the Roman de la RosCy the idealism of Guillaume de Lorris contrasting with the cynicism of Jean de Meun, finds further illus- tration in the similar contrast between the excessive idealism of the Round Table romances on the one hand

Iand, on the other, the realism combined with burlesque jn the Roman de Renard_ and the reall^ combined with satire in [\it Jabltaux.

If the tendencies of courtly French literature are re- flected in English writings, it is to be expected that the literature of reaction and revolt also should have its re- presentatives in English. The number of such produc- tions in English is not great but is fairly representative of the several classes in French. Burlesque is represented in English by The Order of Fair- Ease ^ an account of

fan order of monks exhibiting all the characteristic monk- ish vices, and by the Land of Cokaygney a description of a moral topsy-turvy land, or mock paradise,' in which —

Al is dai nis prr no ni^te J?rr nis baret ndper strif Nis per no dep ac txier lif

1 A similar theme ia later bandied in the seventeenth century In " An Invitation to Lubberland, with an account of the great Plenty of that fruitful country," repr. from the Roxburghe Ballads by John Asbton,iEfH- mtur^ fVity and Satirt of tht Stvtntttnth Ctntur;/^ p. 34.

3|ntroDuction xiii

Nis per flei, fle, no lowse

I» clojj, i« toune, bed no house

per hep riuers grate 2nd fine, Of oile, melk, honi, znd wine. Water seruip per to no ping Bot to sijt and to waussing.

Of the beast-epic tales English literature before Chaucer can offer but one representative. England, if: we may believe Mr. Jacobs/ was the ** home of the Fable during the early Middle Age, and the centre of dispersion whence the Mediaeval ^sop spread through Europe." The contributions of the Englishmen, Odo of Sherington and John of Sheppey, to medieval fable literature are well known. It is equally well known that Marie de France, in her famous collection of fables, and Nicole Bozon, in the beast tales of his Contes Moralises^ drew largely from English sources. Throughout the Eng- lish literature of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, for example in the Jyenbite oflnwyt, in Piers Plowmariy and in the Gesta Romanorum, fables appear not infre- quently. Further, Lydgate is the author of a collection of seven fables, and the Scotchman, Robert Henryson, composed a collection consisting of a prologue and thirteen fables, which in interest vie with the tales of the beast-epic. In the light of these facts it seems strange that we should have from the Middle English period, before the Noune Preestes Tale, but the solitary speci- men of the beast-epic tale in the story of Fox and Wolf included in the present volume, and that the other captivating tales of the French Roman de Renard should

I J. W. Jacobs, the Fables 0/ /««/>, I. pp. xvii., 181.

xlv 31ntroDuction

not appear in English until the end of the fifteenth century, when Caxton translated them from the Flem- ish.

That tales of the kind forming the subject-matter of ^z fabliaux circulated among the English population we have evidence in contemporary allusions. Oxford University in 1292 issued a warning against the ** can- tilenas sive fabulas de omasiis vel luxoriosis aut ad libidi- nem sonantibus." ' In Piers Plowman and elsewhere there are frequent, usually disapproving, allusions ^ to tales of the kind. And have we not the evidence afforded by Chaucer in the kind of tales assigned by him to his characters of lower station? That many of the stories of French fabliaux not extant in English in fabliau form were well known among the English population, is further shown by the existence of English ballad ver- sions of the French tales. For example,3 the English ballad of Queen Eleanor'' s Confession tells the story of the Yrtnch fabliau y Du Chevalier qui fist safemme con- fesse (Montaiglon- Raynaud, i. 16); and the ballad. The Boy and the Mantle, handles the theme of the fa- bliau, Le Mantel mautaille (in. 55). Many of the fabliau themes also appear in literature in various col- lections of stories in English. Within the framework of

I Cited by Brandl, PauVi Grundrisi, II. p. 6Z9.

i Piers Plowman (ed. Skcat), A I. 48-50, B IV. 115, V.4n,XIII. 128 ff., J04 ff., 351 ff.,CVII. 185-186, 194, CVIIl. 12,90-96, CI X. 49-50. Cf. also the allusions in Cursor Mundi, etc., quoted below, p. xviii.

J other English ballads with themes of the fabliau sort are : Our Gotd man (Child, 274); Get uf> and bar th* Door {iJS) ; The Friar in the Well (Z76), cf. the later English fabliau^ The IVright's Chaste Wife; The l^ife wrapfed in IVether" s Skin (277), cf. the later English /«A//<Jtt, Th* IVife in Morel's Siin ; The Farmer's Curst IVife (178) ; and The Crafty Farmer (z8j). The ruses employed in The L»chmaben Harftr (192) and Ditk •' the Cow (185) remind one of fabliaux.

iflntroDuction xv

the Seven Sages are included several such tales in verse, and in the Middle English Disciplina Ckricalis^ the philosopher makes use of several in the instruction of his son. The concrete methods of conveying moral in- struction in use during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries supplied a use for humorous tales, and the Gesta Romanorum, that compendium of tales ingen- iously, often naively, applied to the conveyance ' of moral doctrine, contains tales that serve as the subject matter ^or fabliaux. The narrat tones that formed so con- spicuous a feature of the sermons of the period were not always grave in tone, and books for moral instruc- tion, such as Robert Manny ng's work of forbidding title, the Handlyng Synne, contain tales that are decidedly diverting in character.

To the superiority in vitality, then, of story collec- tions over isolated stories and to the concrete methods of the medieval preacher we owe a number of Mid- dle English humorous tales in verse. But of the single narrative interludes, if we may speak oiihe fabliaux as such, the comedy numbers in the minstrel repertory, we have few surviving specimens before Chaucer. Such productions were probably ephemeral, only occasionally regarded as worthy the parchment and the labor of writ- ing. In fact the n^Lmt fabliau seems to have stood for the transitory in literature. Henri d' Andeli,* in writing a se- rious tale, remarks, ** Cepoeme n'etait pasun fabliau — il I'ecrit sur du parchemin, et non sur des tablettes de cire." At all events, corresponding to about one hun-

I For example the theme of the Sir Cleget appears in a tale of the Gesta Romanorum. 1 Bedier, of. cit. p. 38.

xvi 3flntroUuction

dred and fifty ' French fabliaux of the period between 1 1 5 9 and i 320, English ^ literature has but little to show. Besides the Dame Siriz, included in the present vol- ume, the only humorous tale in verse before the time of Chaucer dealing exclusively with human beings is the Pennyworth of Wit. Even this story, although it handles a well known fabliau 3 motive, handles it in such a way as to make classification uncertain. The em- phasis is thrown on the lesson rather than on the inci- dents. The characters are not distinctly portrayed; they are not even distinguished by personal names. Except in somewhat greater fullness of detail there is little to distinguish this story commonly classed as z. fabliau from a dry exemplum or a barren apologue.

Somewhat later in English literature, stories of the kind that formed the subject matter of \.\it fabliaux are more frequent. A great deal of emphasis has been laid of late * upon Chaucer's contribution to the development of the fabliau in English and on the other hand to Chaucer's indebtedness in narrative art to the earlier writers of fabliaux. Besides producing \\\s fabliau masterpieces,

1 Bedier, ef. cit., in his treatment of tlic subject includes 147.

2 Several of the French fabliaux were composed in England. Cf. Bedier, »^. cit.pp. 4J6-440.

J It forms the subject of the French fabliau, De la Bourse Pleint de Sent and of the German metrical tale of Ehefrau und Bulerin {Gtiammtabin- ttur, no. XXXV.). In Middle English the story appears in two versions s a longer version, j4 Pennyworth of IVit (printed by Kolbing, Knglischt Studien, VII. Ill, and elsewhere), and a shorter version. How a Mer- chaunde dyd hys wife betray (printed by K61bing, /of. cit. and elsewhere). The story was also popular in a later, chap-book version, of which numer- ous editions are to be found in the chap-book collections of the Harvard University library and the British Museum library. The latest edition that 1 have seen was in an Edinburgh bookstore. It was published by T. John- ton, Falkirk, 1815.

4 See the articles by H. S. Canby and W. M. Hart referred to in the Bibliography.

3|ncroDuction xvH

Chaucer seems to have stimulated the production of Eng- \ \\^ fabliaux by others. To Chaucer's influence must ) probably be referred Adam Cobsam's The Wright'* s ■ Chaste Wifcy The Lady Prioress and her Suitors , for- merly attributed to Lydgate, the tale of The Pardoner and the Tapster y which served as an introduction to the pseudo-Chaucerian Tale of Beryn^ and the Freiris of Berwiky attributed to Dunbar. Besides these tales v^^ith some degree of literary pretension, the fifteenth century was also familiar with certain more popular stories re- lated in subject matter at least to the fabliaux. This class of * bourdes,* as they were commonly called, in- cludes the tale of 8ir CorneuSy or the CokewoW s Dance, the * * god borde ' ' of The King and the Barker y and the Tale of the Basin. Later on, also, the early printers, Wynkyn de Worde, William Copland, and others, catered to the taste of their time by publishing editions of humorous metrical tales in the form of booklets or tracts. To this means of preservation we owe the survival of a number of later tales of the fabliau order. These ** Mery lestes," as they were called, include the tales of Dane Hewe of Leicestrey the Frere and the Boyy the Miller of Abyngtony the Vnluckie Firmentiey the Wyfe in Morrelles Skiny and How the Plowman lerned his Pater Noster. In imitation of these stories the youthful Sir Thomas More composed his Mery lest how a Sergeaunt wold lerne to be a Frere.

Besides the beast-epic tale, the Fox and the Wolf, and the fabliau, the Dame SiriZy the present volume contains a third humorous tale in verse, the Sir Cleges. This story is not easy to classify, consisting, as it docs.

xviii 3|ntroUuction

of a humorous incident combined with a devout tale to make a Round Table romance. The story of the * blows shared ' is of the kind that form the themes o^ fabliaux ^ but the form of the story as a whole and the spirit in which it is told are not those oi fabliaux. The story is a unique specimen in English, a humorous metrical romance.

A partial explanation of the smallness in the number of Middle English humorous tales is to be found no doubt in the opposition due to English puritanism. The e\d- dencc of Chaucer in this connection is well known. Chaucer's '*gentils" object to tales of "ribaudye," and Chaucer himself apologizes for the **cherles talc** of the Miller and promises in compensation —

. . . ynowe, grete and smale,

Of storial thyng that touchcth gentilcsse,

And eek moralitee and hoolynesse.

The author of Piers Plowman also repeatedly ' con- demns ** harlotries," as he calls the low stories, at- tributing them to the *'deueles disours." Allusions of a condemnatory nature are not infrequent elsewhere. The author of Cursor Mundi says : * —

As jeddyngis, japis, and folies And alle harlotries and ribaudies, Bot to here of Cristis Passioun To many a man it is ful laytsom.

In one of the lyrical 3 poems appears the reference: —

Jjah told beon tales vntoun in toune.

1 See footnote to p. xiv above. For a description of the profeMional purveyors of such tales, sec Fitn Plowman (ed. Skeat) B XIII. Z26, 137.

2 MS. Ashmole 60, f. 4, 5. Quoted by Haliiwell, Thornton Romamtt^ p. t6i.

3 Hart. MS. 2253 (ed. B6ddcker), W. L. iv. 37 (p. «SJ).

31nttoUuction xix

At the opening of the romance Oct avian} appear the two following significant stanzas: —

Bot fele men be of swyche manere, Goodnesse when hy scholden here, Hy nylled naght lesste with her ere.

To lerny wyt, j

But as a swyn with lowryng cher (

All gronne he sytte.

And fele of hem casted a cry

Of thyng pat fallyd to rybaudy,

That noon of hem, that sytte hym by,

May haue no lest. God schylde all thys company

Fram swych a gest.

Evidently the purveyor of reputable tales felt the com- petition. Ribald tales were plentiful enough, but they seem not to have appealed strongly to the class of people for whom literary versions were produced in English. The gayety o^ T esprit gaulois in the Yrtnch-fabliauXt and the tragic quality imparted to the Italian descend- ants of these tales, have often been commented upon. From the small number of examples it is hardly safe to draw any broad generalizations concerning the English fabliaux. It seems possible, however, to discover the influence of English puritanism affecting the quality as well as the number of English stories. M. Bedier * cites one of the Yxtnch. fabliaux which was composed by an Englishman. In lYas, fabliau of English origin, the broad atory of the French Bourgeoise d' Orleans is provided

I Octavian (ed. Sarazzin), South, version, stanzas z, }. I Op, cit. p. 300.

XX 3l»tioDuctiott

with chivalrous setting and moral tone. We cannot say of the English of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries what Tacitus said of the early Teutons, tJiat no one laughed at vice. But we can say that it was very flrmsnal tor them to laugh with vice. In all but one of

I the humorous stories mentioned above, before Chaucer and after Chaucer, the fun is at the expense of vice. The one exception is the Dame Siriz. In several of the other tales the fun is coarser, but in no other do we see a representation of vice triumphant. One of the greatest of Chaucer's literary contemporaries, in a masterpiece. Sir Gazvain and the Green Knighty read morality mto Arthurian romance. The same preoccupation with moral content did not work out as happily in some cases. In the Sir Cleges, a comic incident loses in humorous effect on account of the serious setting provided. Inthe Pennyworth of Wit, a tale which in French and particularly in German is enlivened by boisterous scenes and diverting details is quite stripped of these lighter elements. The tone is more that of Wulfstan than of Chaucer. The puritan spirit is obvious. The homelier ideals of the

(middle -class English-speaking element would not tolerate some of the liberties permitted in the more highly cul- tured French-speaking circles. Perhaps the inferior cul- Iture of the English-speaking class helps to explain why in these tales the moral is made so baldly prominent, why finer weapons were not used.

The three stories in the present volume will serve to illustrate the humorous element in Middle English narra- tive literature. The first two will illustrate what may be called the anti-chivalrous element in medieval literature,

31ntroliuction xxi

the kind of material to which Chaucer turned with profit in his later years when he was emancipated from the formal conventions of contemporary chivalry. A real appreciation of the work of Chaucer demands a know- ledge of the cruder beginnings in a kind of writing at which he excelled.

Dame Siriz »

The story of Dame Siriz is perhaps one such as the world would very willingly let die. In fact the modern world has not found the story a congenial one. A story which, besides being known in several Latin versions, appeared also in the vernacular literatures of England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Iceland, to say no- thing of the oriental versions in Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit, a story which had a place in the stock of stories drawn upon by medieval preach- ers, and in the repertoire of medieval secular story tellers or minstrels, which was to be found in the fable collections of Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain and England, and which supplied the story for dramatic productions in Denmark, Germany, France and Eng- land, is hardly known at the present day except to anti- quarians. The theme of the story is in some respects repellent to the modern mind. Yet a tale once so widely known has an historic interest, and the history of the tale in its migrations is entertaining and instructive. Moreover, in the history of English literature the story

I The form Siriz is preferred, because that is the form used in the title in the manuscript. That the pronunciation, however, was Sirith is proved by the rimes.

xxii ^Introduction

of Dame Siriz has a claim to attention because it is the earliest representative of its class, the fabliaUy in fact the only English composition designated in the original title as a fabliaUy and because its story is that of the earliest play with secular theme in English literature, — according to Creizenach,' ** one of the best products of the medieval comic muse." Such considerations may serve as the apology for the appearance of the story in the present book.

There has been much controversy in recent yeari concerning the provenience of popular stories. In par- ticular the theory of Benfey and his school that India was the great repository of popular stories, and that from India stories were distributed into other coun- tries, has been sharply attacked. ^ In this connection the story of Dame Siriz is of interest and seems to be one instance in support of the theory of Indian, or at least oriental, origin.

It has long been recognized that this story is essen- tially oriental in character. Reduced to its more general terms, the story runs as follows : — A young man loves a lady. A procuress wins his suit for him by exhibiting to the lady a bitch, usually a weeping bitch. This bitch, the procuress asserts, was once a lady, but she has been thus transformed 3 because under circumstances similar to

I W. Creizenach, Geschichtt dts neueren Dramas, I. 454.

Z Cf. J. B6dier, Ltt Fabliaux.

I A transformation of a woman into a bitch appears in an Arabic ver- sion of the story of the' Three Wishes.' (Frcytig., ytrabum frovtrbia, i, 687, quoted by Liebrecht, Orient and Occident, u\. 378.) A similar story ii cited by R. Bassett {Ren. des trad, fof.xv. 150). In a Turkish story ( P/«/- tir afr'es la Peine, trad. J. A. Decourdemanche, Paris, 1896, pp. iij ff.), a woman is converted into a mule by a man with the power of sorcery, be cause she rejected his love overtures.

3flntroliuction xxiii

those in which the lady addressed is placed, she refused to yield to overtures of love. The idea of transforma- tion ^ seems to be rooted in the oriental idea of me- tempsychosis.

A priori evidence, then, seems to point to an orien- al origin for this tale. Corroborative evidence is to be found in an examination of the facts in the history of the story. In Indian literature the story appears in two versions. In the Katha Sarit Sagara,^ or ** Ocean of the Streams of Story," composed by Somadeva Bhatta in the early part of the twelfth century a. d., the story appears as a subordinate element in another story, which itself appears in various versions in oriental and in occi- dental literature, the story of the man who has a talis- man — in this particular case, a red lotus given by the god, Siva — by which he may recognize any unfaith- fiilness on the part of his wife. In the story of Somadeva, four merchants undertake to test the faithfulness of the wife and have recourse to a female ascetic who makes use of the ruse of the weeping bitch. In this case the ruse is unsuccessful, and the suitors are subjected to indig- nities. The fact must not be lost sight of that the weep- ing bitch incident here is a minor one in an independ- ent story, and that relatively this version is not early.

Another Indian version 3 of the story is the one in

1 Transformations of human beings into beasts arc, however, by no means unknown to occidental literature. For instance, think of the story of Circe, of the werwolves, of the Golden Ass of Apuleius, of the unfriendly stepmothers of medieval story.

2 English translation by C. H. Tawney, Calcutta, 1880, vol. i. pp. 85- 91.

J qukasaptati, Textus 5<OT/>/«cjor, transl. into German by R.Schmidt, Kiel, 1894; Textus Ornatior, transl. into German by R. Schmidt, Stutt- gart, 1899.

xxiv BIntroUuction

the (^ukasaptati yOx **Seventy Tales of a Parrot.'* It it the second tale of the collection, and here appears inde- pendently. In this version of the story, a young man, Vira by name, loves the princess (|^a9iprabha. His mother, Ya9odevi, exhibits to ^a9iprabha a dog which, she asserts, in a former existence was a sister to herself and to ^a^iprabha, but has been born as a dog in the present existence on account of her chastity. Moved by her fears, the princess is induced to grant her love to Vira.

From the (^ukasaptati ' this tale seems to have found its way into the Book of Sindibad,^ the oriental version of the Seven Sages. In the Book of Sindibad the second tale of the fourth vizier has affinity with two tales of the Qukasaptati. It seems to be the result of a fusion of the first and second tales of the Indian collection. In the first of these tales a go-between has persuaded a lady to accept the love of a suitor, but, unable to find her cHent, by mistake she brings the lady's husband in- stead. The lady, with ready wit, lays the blame on her husband and says she has tested him and proved him unfaithful. Only after protracted supplication is the hus- band restored to grace. It will be noted that the first part of this tale is like the second tale in the use of a go- between, and it is not difficult to see how in this case fusion might be the result of confusion.

Thus combined, the story of* The Go-between and the dog' and that of * The Libertine Husband,' itself^

I Cf. D. Comparetti, Researches respecting the Book of Sindibad, trnntl. by Cootc, Folli Lore Society, London, i88z.

z For a table showing the contents of the different veraioni of the Boot •f Sindibad, »ct B6dier, Les Fabliaux, pp. Ij6, Ijy.

3|ntrol>uction xxv

well known in occidental as well as in oriental literature, appear in all the oriental versions of the Seven Sages except the late ' Persian Sindibad Ndma, in which the two tales are dibtinct. The various versions of the tale in the diiFerent oriental versions of the Seven Sages differ among themselves in details, but as a group tell a tale distinct from either Indian version. Perhaps the most striking point of difference between the Indian versions and those of the Book of Sindibad is in the cause of the transformation from woman to bitch. In both In- dian versions a woman in one existence has been re-born as a bitch because she did not satisfy the elements of her nature. In all the versions of the Book of Sindibad the woman has been transformed within the present exist- ence because : ' — ( Syriac version ) the young man * * cried unto God concerning her, and she was transformed'*; (Greek version) the young man ** cursed her and she was changed to a dog on the spot"; (Spanish version) the young man ** cursed her, and straightway she be- came a she-dog"; (Hebrew version) the young man ** called to his God concerning her, and she was turned into a bitch"; (Arabic version translated by Scott) the lover, a Jewish sorcerer, enraged, *' by magic transformed her into a she-dog"; (Persian Sindibad Nama, of the 14th century) the lady^ had been changed into that form as a punishment for rejecting a lover's suit.

The tale of * Go-between and Weeping-Bitch ' which occurs in all the versions of the oriental Seven Sages,

I Cf. Eisner, p. 7. See Bibliography.

z An analysis of the SyndihSd Nama by Prof. Forbes Falconer is in- cluded by W. A. Clouston in his Book of Sindibad^ pp. 5 ff.

xxvi 31ntroDuction

the Book of Sindibad, seems to have been lost^ in the migration of that collection of stories from orient to Occident ; it does not appear in any of the extant oc- cidental versions of the Seven Sages. '^ The oldest west- ern version of the story is contained in the famous story collection by the converted Spanish Jew, Petrus Alphonsus, the Disciplina Clericalis, and it was usu- ally by means of this well-known collection that the * Weeping-Bitch ' story became known to the countries of Western Europe. Petrus himself says that he made use of Arabic writers (Elsner,3 op. cit. p. 24) and his version shows a striking similarity to the original Arabic version, notably in the fact that in both the lover falls ill and the procuress comes to him instead of his seeking her out. The most important change made by Petrus in his handling of the tale seems to be due to his aim to adapt the story to a Christian public. For that reason he emphasizes the illness of the lover and represents the go-between as saying that the lady of her fictitious story sinned in that she caused the illness of a fellow man and that for this fault God punished her (Elsner,3 op. cit. p. 26).

In the Disciplina Clericalis,^ besides the significant modification in the cause of the transformation, there arc

1 Comparetti assumes that the loss occurred in the course of oral trans- mission. There seems, however, to be evidence that versions of the Sevtn Sages containing the weeping-bitch story were not unknown in the West. Cf. the versions of the tale by Herolt,by J.de Vitry,also the Dame Sirix and the Italian version discussed below.

2 For a table showing the contents of the different versions of the occi- dental Seven Sagei, see Bidier, o/>. cit. p. I}6.

J See Bibliography.

4 Two modern editions of the Latin version : (l) See. dei Bibliophilti^ Paris, 1825; (2) F. W. Val. Schmidt, Berlin, 1827. In these two editions, the content it the same, though there is difference in phraseology.

3|ntrotiuction xxvii

«ome minor modifications. To the invention of Petrus are to be attributed peculiarities, which are summarized by Eisner as follows : — ( i ) The husband, on his depart- ure, trusts implicitly in the fidelity of his wife; (2) The lover, although ill, goes out, by which means he meets the go-between; (3) The lover is at first reluctant to reveal the cause of his trouble, and when he does so, does not ask for assistance ; ( 4 ) The go-between keeps her bitch without food to make it ready to eat the mustard preparation; (5) The go-between, after giving the lady advice, craftily adds, ** If 1 had known the love of the young man for my daughter, she should not have been transformed. ' ' Through these modifications the action of the story gains in verisimilitude and the characters in distinctness.

Upon this version by Petrus Alphonsus seem to be dependent, to some ' extent at least, all the other occi- dental versions of the story. Eisner, in his dissertation, has compared the details in the diiferent versions and has attempted to show the interrelations. His conclu- sions are not always convincing because he has laid too much stress upon differences in minor details, which are subject to change at the caprice of the individual writer and to modification to suit the purpose for which the story is used.

In the history of the occidental versions of this story it has seemed to the present writer more interesting and profitable to consider the different uses to which the story has been put and the various literary tendencies

I Direct influence of an oriental version is apparent in some cases. See below.

xxviii 31ntroUttction

illustrated, than to make the attempt, necessarily vain, to show the exact interrelations between the score and more of different versions.

In addition to the Latin version, or versions,' of the Disciplina there are prose translations extant in the ver- nacular languages of France, of Spain, of Iceland, and of England. These translations are, in general, close, but with minor variations in detail. For example, the procuress is honorably received by the lady; in the Latin version, pro magnae religionis specie; in the French prose version, ^i?jzr sa simple conversation. In the Spanish ver- sion the bitch is penned up during its foodless period, a feature that persists in the later Spanish fable version. In the Latin, French, Spanish, and Icelandic ver- sions, the bitch is given to eat bread combined with mustard; in the EngHsh version the **old wif" gave to the **fastyng hound" ** brode inowogh with anoy- noun froted." Such modifications in the story, how- ever, are exceptional.

More significant in the history of the story are the modifications in the French metrical versions of the Dis- ciplinay entitled Le Chastoiement d^un Pere a son Fils. One of these versions is included in the Barbazan- Meon collection oi Fabliaux et Contes. The 'Weeping- Bitch ' story in this collection occupies 148 verses, and in general follows closely the Latin version. The most striking departure is the fact that the young man in the story of the go-between not only fell ill, but died from grief. The other French metrical version shows more

I The two versions extant differ in phraseology, but do not differ intht details of the story

3|ntroDuction xxix

striking features of difference. In this version/ which is nearly twice as long as the one just mentioned, the young man at first, not content with messages, tries a personal interview. As in the other metrical version the period of the dog's fast is three days, instead of two as in the Latin version. But more important than minor differences in detail is the difference in tone. In this longer metrical version the young man in love is made an exponent o^ V amour cor tots y and the extended soliloquies of the young lover (vv. 57-1 19, 146-190) as well as other details, are quite in the manner of the school of Chretien de Troyes.

The tales of the Disciplina Clericalis purport to be for the purpose of conveying instruction to a young man. This practical side to these stories led to their inclusion in most of the medieval collections of exempla intended for use in sermons. In consequence the tale of the ' weeping-bitch ' found a place in several versions * of the Gesta Romanorum. Of the version in this collection a most interesting feature is the ingenious, not to say naive, way in which the author, from unpromising material, has drawn a moralization. According to the allegorical interpretation the chaste wife is the soul purified by bap- tism. The soldier husband is Christ. The lover is worldly vanity. The go-between is the devil. The bitch is the

1 Two modern editions : (l) Soc. des Bibliophiles, Paris, 1825; (2) Ed, by M. Roesle, Munich, 1899. In edition (i) there are j88 verses in the ' weep- ing-bitch' story; in (2), a critical edition, there are j68.

2 This story does not appear in the Middle English Gesta Romanorum, It appears, however, in the following continental versions ; (i) Edition publ. by Keller, Stuttgart, 1842; (2) Edition publ. by Oesterley, Berlin, 1871 ; (j) MS. Colmar Issenheim, 10, fol. 32. These references are from Eisner, of, cit. p. 26. (4) Lt Violitr des Histoires Romaines, cd. by M. G Brunct, Paris, 1858.

XXX 3|ntrorjuction

hope of long life and too much presuming on the mercy of God, because, just as that bitch was weeping from mustard, so hope frequently afflicts the soul.

Other exempla versions of this story are to be found in the Preceptorium nouum et perutile by Gotscaldus Hollen and the Destructorium vitiorum by Alexander de Hales. Both these somewhat condensed versions profess to be from Petrus,' and though containing some variant 2 details are probably drawn directly from the Disciplina. Still other versions used as exempla are the condensed ones in the Scala Cell by Johannes Gobii, in the Promptuarium exemplorum by Johannes Herolt, and in the Speculum Morale attributed to Vincentius Bello- vacenses. These three versions Eisner concludes to be derived from the tale in the Gesta Romanorumy mainly on the ground that in the Gesta Romanorum the young man in the fictitious story of the go-between not only is ill but dies on account of love denied. The first and third, however, of these versions profess to be derived from Petrus Alphonsus, and the version by Herolt 3 agrees almost word for word with that of Vincentius, and there seems good reason for accepting the state- ments of the authors. The fact that the lover is repre- sented as dying may be explained by the fact that these three authors of exempla drew not directly from the Latin Disciplina but from one of the doubtless more popularly known French metrical versions, in both of which the feature of the lover's death appears. These

I " Alphigus " in the Destructorium,

Z See the end of the Destructorium,

J The story of the ' weeping dog ' in Herolt's Promptuarium is credited to the Seven ffite Masters. Cf. T. F. Cr«nc, Exemfla if Jacques de Vi- \r/, p. Ixxvii.

3|ntroDuction xxxi

three much condensed versions in their minor details correspond more closely to the metrical versions than to the one in the Gesta Romanorum, notably in the bitch's three days fast in the Sea la Celt and in the personal woo- ing by the lover in Herolt and in the Speculum Mo- rale.

In addition to the exempla versions thus far men- tioned, all of which are related more or less directly to the version in the Disciplina Clericalis, there remain to be considered two others, in which the relationship is lessclose. The first one, by Jacques deVitry (no. ccl.), is important because early.' The most striking peculiar- ities of this version, which is also included in Wright's A Selection of Latin Stories (no. xiii.), are as fol- lows:— (i ) The go-between at first fails in her attempts; (2) She bids the young man feign illness; ( 3 ) The bitch was once ** a certain woman," not " daughter "; (4) The young man, when ill, by certain spells changed the woman into a bitch. This God permitted for her sin in letting a man die whom she might have saved. As Eis- ner has pointed out, here is a mingling of oriental and occidental characteristics. Oriental ^ are the repeated attempt of the go-between, the relationship of go-be- tween to bitch, and the use of spells by the young man. Like the western versions based on the Disciplina^ on the other hand, are the death of the lover in the story

1 " The first to regularly employ in sermons exempla^ or narratives to instruct the people, as well as to keep up their attention when it was likely to flag, was Jacques dc Vitry, who died at Rome in the year 1240." — W. A. Clouston, Popular Tales and Fictions, p. II.

2 That the oriental version of this tale was known in western Europe aeems to be indicated by the fact that in Herolt's Promptuarium the tale it attributed to the Stven ff^is* Masters.

xxxii 3liitroDuction

of the go-between, the use of bread and mustard^ and the fact that God permitted the transformation on ac- count of the woman's sin. Peculiar to this version is the advice of the go-between to the young man to feign illness.

The other variant exemplum version is the one in the Contes Moralises of Nicole Bozon (No. 138). The striking features of this version are as follows : — ( i ) The lady wooed is a demoiselle\ ^ (2) The go-be- tween is a deablesse ; ^ ( 3 ) The lover is a clerk who had long wooed the demoiselle and who paid the go-between for her assistance; (4) In the story of the go-between, the lover, also a clerk, died of grief;

(5) The bitch had been a daughter of the go-between;

(6) God was angry and transformed the daughter into a bitch; (7) The go-between at the end remarks that death takes but one life, but *^ par baudestrote^* are killed three at one time, ** sa alme e deus autres.'*^ It will be noted that this version contains some 3 of the distinctive traits of the versions based upon the Disci- plina version. It will be noted also that in several respects the version is independent. The distinctive peculiarities of this version, however, do not seem to be due to the influence of the oriental versions. Most in- teresting for the purpose of the present volume is the fact that the lover's part is played by a clerk who has

I In this respect like the English Interludium.

1 In the play of Hansen, the go-between, before making use of the weeping-bitch device, has sent a devil to the lady in vain. At the end of the version in the Destructorium, Mnsion is made to the fact that the lady has successfully resisted a devil. In the " Metrical Tales of Adolfus," the go-between is referred to as " Daemonis adjutrix."

} The death of the lover, and the transformation by God.

3|ntroDttction xxxiii

wooed the lady in vain, a feature which appears else- where only in the Dame Siriz and the related Inter- ludium^ and in the late Latin ^ veriion. It is well known that Nicole Bozon in his collection of stories drew freely from English popular sources, and it seems not improbable that this feature of this eclectic version may be related directly or indirectly to the English fabliau version or to the English dramatic version upon which ^Q fabliau is based.

About the time of the invention of printing the sto- ries of the Disciplina Clericalis were introduced into the European book of ^sop. About 1480 Heinrich Stainhowel made a fable collection in German and Latin including, besides fables proper collected from various sources, also ^'fabulae collectacy^'' comprising the stories of the Disciplina Clericalis z.w^ the Facetiae of Poggio. Versions of this fable collection appeared in Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, and English. In this way the tale of the * weeping-bitch ' found a place in European fable collections, and the version of the story in Caxton' s * Fables of ^sop ' is the earhest printed version in English. The form of the story in the dif- ferent fable versions does not differ save in minor de- tails. It seems to have been derived from Petrus Al- phonsus, but indirectly. In minor details it resembles more the story as told in the expanded French metri- cal version, which no doubt was more popularly known. For example, the young man makes direct suit

1 Bozon's version agrees with that of the Interludium in that the lover is a clerk, the lady a maiden. Is it not probable that Bozon's tale offers a condensed form of the tale of which the fragmentary Interludium givet the first part?

2 Published by Tobler. See Bibliography.

xxxiv Blntrouuction

to the lady, the period of the dog's fast is three days, the young man in the story of the go-between dies. In still another respect it resembles the roman cortois * rather than the moral tale, in that instead of God it is the gods that, from pity for the lover, turn the daugh- ter of the go-between into a bitch. An interesting feat- ure of Caxton's version is that the woman is converted into a cat, probably due to one of Caxton's character- istic blunders in translation, the Latin catella being mistaken for * cat.'

This tale, which was included by Caxton in his iEsop, did not find a permanent place in English fable collections. It does not appear in the Wynkyn de Worde collection of 1503. Nor docs it appear in the later collection by Bullokar in 1585, nor in the later collections by Ogilby, by L* Estrange, and by Croxall.

The story of the * weeping-bitch ' appears in an interesting guise in the Metrical Tales of Adolfus (^Fabula v.). Here again is evident the influence of contemporary literary fashions. The story, in Latin verse, though condensed, is told in an elaborate and artificial style and is filled with classical allusions and comparisons. In this version it is Venus,* ** alma Cy- pris,^* the protector of the true lover, that transforms the daughter of the go-between.

That our story was in popular oral circulation seems to be proved by a late Latin version recently published by Tobler.3 This Latin version,* according to Tobler,

I Cf. p. xxix.

z Similarly in the Fastnachtspitl of Ham Sach* it ii the goddeM Veaiu that punitbes the hard-hearted lady by transformation. I Zt.f. rem. Phil. X. 476-480. 4 Thi* version in the manuscript follows a translation of the ' elegiac

3f|ntroUuctton xxxv

seems to have been taken down from oral transmission, and the language seems to indicate a Venetian origin. This version has a number of interesting variations from the common forms of the story, variations such as one might expect in a popular tale. The bitch in this story is a ** ki^oky^' u^hich the go-between takes from her bosom and puts in her lap. No mention is made of the dog's tears. The lady asks the old woman where she got so fine a dog. The old woman bids her not to ask because it grieves her, but at length she is prevailed upon and weepingly tells that the ki^ola was her daughter, transformed by a young man because she had spurned his love. In this story the lover is a clerk as in the Dame Siriz and the exemplum of Nicole Bozon.

Further proof, if further proof were needed, of the universal diffusion of this tale is afforded by the num- ber of dramatic ^ handlings of the theme. In Den- mark ^ a farce was made from this story; m France Gringoire used it in Les Fantaisies de Mere Sotte; 3 in Germany Hans Sachs used it as the theme of one of his Fastnachtspiele ; finally in England it supplies the story for the fragmentary Interludium de Clerico et Puella.

This Middle English interlude is so closely related

comedy' Pamphilus, and itself resembles another 'elegiac comedy ' by one Jacobus. Perliaps it retells the story of an Italian-Latin comedy.

I Tales of lovers and go-betweens are handled in the Latin elegiac comedies of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In one of these the lover is a priest and the lady a married woman. (C. F. Gayley, Re/>r. Engl. Comedies^ N. Y., 190?, p. xvii.) But in none of these does the weeping- bitch appear. (Cf. W. Creizcnzch^ Gesch. des neueren Dramas, I.z6-4Z.)

z See Bibliography, Christiern Hansen's Komedier.

I This version, which is cited by Eisner from a manuscript in the Biblio' thique Nationale, does not appear in the Elzevir edition of the works of Gringoire, and has not been seen by the present writer.

xxxvi JlntroDuction

to the English /a ^/iau that the two cannot conven- iently be treated apart. Hence we proceed directly to the English fabliau of Dame Siriz. In one or two instances it has already been pointed out that there is evidence that the Book of Sindibad version of the weeping-bitch story was not entirely unknown in Western Europe. Very conclusive evidence to that effect is afforded by the English Dame Siriz. This story in its general outline follows the oriental versions of the Book of Sindibad. In the first place is to be noted the absence of all five traits mentioned above as distinctive of the version in the DiscipUna Clericalis. So well known a tale as the one in the DiscipUna can hardly have been unknown to the author of the Dame SiriZy and in certain minor details, for instance the use of mustard, the influence of the DiscipUna version is evident. But the essential details of the Dame Siriz are like those of the oriental versions. A more close examination of the oriental versions shows that the ver- sion of the Book of Sindibad to which the Dame Siriz is most closely related is the Greek Syntipas. Eisner has shown the following points of agreement between the EngHsh tale and the one in the Greek Syntipas: — (i) The lover woos personally; (2) The rejected lover does not become ill; (3) The lover calls on the go-between for assistance; (4) The go-between pro- ceeds to work without delay; (5) The go-between gives the bitch pepper (in Dame Siriz both pepper and mustard); (6) The bitch is said to be the daugh- ter of the go-between; (7) This daughter has been willing to love only her husband; (8) The rejected

3|ntrot)uctton xxxvii

lover has revenged himself. To these features, common to the English and the Greek versions, may be added the fact that in the English version the husband is a merchant, a feature that appears in the Hebrew and other oriental versions, though not explicitly mentioned in the Syntipas.

The English Dame SiriZy then, differs from most other western versions of the tale in that it is based directly on an oriental version of the story. Other pe- culiarities of this version are due to the literary genre to which it belongs. If in the expanded French metrical version the story is colored by the sentiment of courtly love, and if in the Metrical Tales of Adolf us the con- ventional and artificial form of Ovid's tales is given to the story, in this English version the story, as the title informs us, is told as 2i fabliau y characterized by humor and satire. The relation of this English tale to its ex- empla congeners is much that of a beast-epic tale to a fable version of the same story. Emphasis is laid on the living elements of the story. The dramatis personae are no longer merely a young man, a chaste wife and an old woman, but Wilekin, Margeri, and Dame Siriz, whose characters are revealed by means of realistic dia- logue. In the longer French metrical version stress is laid on the love sensations of the young man; in the fabliau y stress is laid on theruse by which the go-between accomplishes her purpose, and upon her dissembling, hypocritical character. Characteristic o'i\}[\^ fabliaux^ the fact that the lover is a clerk, whom the medieval satirical writers oi fabliaux are fond of introducing into such situ- ations. The central figure in the English story is not the

xxxviii 3|ntroDuction

lover, but Dame Siriz herself, and the gradual disclos- ure of her character, from the dissimulation of her first words to the hilarity of her language at the end, is cleverly brought about. The character of the wife Margeri is but dimly revealed. It may be remarked in passing that in her character the author offers an enigma not unlike that which Chaucer has left in the character of Criseyde.

A feature of the Dame Siriz that cannot fail to at- tract attention is the amount of dialogue. More than one fourth of the whole poem is taken up with the dialogue between the clerk, Wilekin, and the wife, Margeri, an amount of space quite out of proportion to the im- portance of this preliminary dialogue to the action of the story. Furthermore it has been pointed out' that in the whole poem, apart from a narrative introduction of 24 verses, there are but 33 narrative verses to 403 verses in dialogue. Within the individual scenes there are but 3 narrative lines. The transitions in the dialogue from one speaker to another are not usually marked. For instance, no explanation is given when Dame Siriz from speaking to Wilekin turns to address the bitch. It is to be noted further that the last six lines of the poem, spoken by Dame Siriz, sound like an epilogue. From reasons such as these, W. Heuser has concluded, correctly it seems, that the fabliau is based upon an original interlude, to which have been added a short introduction and a few narrative interpolations scarcely more than stage di- rections. *

This brings up the question concerning the relation-

I W. HeiMcr, Anglia^ xxx.'3o6-3r9.

3Introlmctton xxxix

ship of the Dame Siriz to the fragmentary Interludium De Clerico et Puella. It has long been recognized from similarity in phraseology amounting to identity between many verses,' that these two works are related, and it has usually been assumed that the interlude was based on l\it fabliau. Heuser comes to a quite contrary con- clusion, which is doubtless correct. The fabliau is obviously based on a dramatic version. This original can hardly have been the extant interlude, because not only are the proper names different, but there is differ- ence in certain important details. For example, the lady loved in the interlude, as in the version by Nicole Bozon, is a **damishel" and '*mayden." The only conclu- sion left to be drawn is that these two works are related to a common original.

The unique manuscript in which the Dame Siriz is preserved, Digby MS. 86, the same one to which we owe the preservation of the unique text of the Fox and Wolf is one of those displayed in the exhibition case of manuscripts in the Bodleian library. This manuscript, we are told, was probably written **at the priory at Worcester between 1272 and 1283." The Dame Siriz begins on folio 165 with the following heading in red ink, Ci comece le fablel ^ le cointise de dame siriz.

On the subject of the dialect of the Dame Siriz dif- ferent opinions have been expressed. Ten Brink assigns the original work to the Southeast, to Kent or Sussex. Brandl, on the other hand, assigns it to the Southwest

I Vv. 82, 8 J in Dame Sirix = v. 5 in the Interludium. Similarly 102 = 9, 112-114 = 25, IJ4 = 12, IJ5 = JO, 161 = J7, 167 = j8, 174 = 42, 175-177 = 4J-47, 187, 188 = 53, 54, 191 = 62, 193 =63, 196-199 = 6s- 69, 105 = 84, 207-209 = 69-71, 221, 222 = 57 i cf. Heuser, loc. tit. Jij.

xl 31ntrot)ttction

Midland (in which dialect the MS. itself doubtless was written). A close examination of the existing form of the text reveals a mixture of forms from different dia- lects. The infinitive ends, now with, now without, final -n. The first personal pronoun appears as ichy ihc, and /. Other varying forms are: yue, geue ; muchekf micheky mikel ; sennCy sunne.

The most striking peculiarities, however, are those of Southern character. Very noticeable is the dropping or wrong application of initial h-y and the use of initial w- for older hw-y and the frequent use of the prefix i- before the verbal forms. Other Southern pecuHarities are: wes for toasy cunnes (O. E. cynnes)y tchy hoe for shcy hye for foeiy the forms of the verb bey such spell- ings as same 'shame,' srud * shroud,' Jies * flesh,* and the forms hauefo and ledep in the plural of the present indicative,

Along with these Southern forms appear a number of non-Southern features. The rimes be (infin.), me i eteuy mete ; farey karey indicate that in the original the final -n of the infinitive was dropped at least sometimes. The rimes inney wenne (O. E. wynn') ; inney senne (O.E. synn)y indicate a non-Southern pronunciation of O.E. y. The rime woldiy vila?ii indicates the use of the form / for the pronoun of the first person. Heuser cites the rime comey blome as a sign of the East Mid- land dialect, and iboeriy noen as specifically Lincolnshire. Besides these rimes we may cite the following non- Southern words or word-forms, some of them already cited by Heuser: s elk y ferity mikely til (for *to'), allegatey witerliy gange (infin.) garden), godlec.

3Inti:oliuction xli

From such dialectal peculiarities and the fact that the related interlude De Clerico et Puella is composed in the dialect of North Lincoln or South York, and from the allusion to the fair at Botolfston in Lincolnshire, Heu- ser concludes that the home of the interlude underlying thQ fabliau of Dame Siriz was Lincolnshire.

The Dame Siriz, then, in its present form is based on an East Midland original, and retains forms peculiar to that dialect. It was probably composed, however, by a resident of the South, and the manuscript, written at Worcester, was probably written by a scribe belong- ing to the Southwest.

The early date of the Dame Siriz is shown by the date of the manuscript, written between 1272 and 1283.

The versification is not uniform. The first 132 verses are in the tail-rime stanza with the rime scheme a a b c c b. Then follow 16 verses in couplets. During the remainder of the poem the tail-rime stanza and the couplet alternate irregularly, the change in the character of the verse seeming to correspond in no respect to the subject matter. Heuser supposes that the composer of t)\t fabliau undertook to transform an original interlude in couplets, possibly from memory, into a poem with tail-rime stanzas, and that he was unequal to the task.

This tale, careless in its versification, is not more finished in other respects. It lacks in proportion, a char- acteristic which it shares with other Middle English tales. A more serious fault is a want of fitness of man- ner to matter, the stiffness of the tail-rime stanza ill suit- ing the trivial character of the story, unless indeed the effect of burlesque was consciously aimed at as in Chau-

xlii 3IntroDuction

ccr*8 Sir Thopas. The situations, however, arc pre- sented with remarkable concreteness, and the charac- ters, especially that of Dame Siriz, presented with a considerable degree of distinctness. The whole poem, too, is pervaded with sly irony, which only near the end breaks out in open hilarity.

The interlude De Clerico et Puella ' is preserved in a unique manuscript, now Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 23986, of the first part of the fourteenth century. The inter- lude, which is in riming couplets, is incomplete, leav- ing off in the course of the dialogue between the lover and the go-between, so that the weeping-bitch does not appear. The theme * in this interlude is the same as that in t\it fabliau, as is proved conclusively by the ver- bal resemblances mentioned above, amounting even to identity between lines in the two works. There are, however, striking points of difference. The object of the clerk's love in the interlude is a ** may den " named Malkyn, and the go-between is named Mome Elwis. The dialogue, owing in part to the use of the couplet throughout, is more lively and natural than in \.\it fabliau.

This interesting dramatic fragment is the sole 3 repre- sentative of a kind of composition once popular in Eng- land. According to Ward, interludes ** from the Plantagenet times onwards seem to have not infre- quently been produced to diversify or fill up the pauses of the banquet ensuing in great houses upon the more

I *' England hat nach dcm Spiel von der Dame Siriz da8 ganze Mittel- alter hindurch kein weiteres komisches Drama aufzuweisen." — W. Creizenach, op. cit. i. p. 454.

Z Cf. p. IJ, note 4.

3 A second possible example is the Dux Moraud, cf. W. Heuser, Art' gUityXXX. 180 ff.

3|ntroUttction xliii

substantial part of the repast." Evidence of the popu- larity of such productions is afforded by the Wycliffite protest * against clergy for taking part in representations of interludes. This piece, according to Creizenach, *' seems to have been used by clerks." The marginal notes in the manuscript are in Latin, and the subject matter deals with a priest. This English interlude is possibly related to a Latin dramatic composition, ** per- haps Italian," referred to by Gayley,^ **by one Jaco- bus," and dealing with the ** intrigue, so dear to medi- eval satirists, between priest and labourer's wife."

E

HE Vox AND Wolf]

To the same interesting manuscript which has pre- served the unique copy of the Dame Siriz we owe also the preservation of the entertaining tale of the l^ox and Wolf. This tale, aside from its own intrinsic interest, has an importance in Enghsh literature, since it is the sole representative lil F.||^1i.k1i lit Imi iIih fljn^ ^tfTihan- ^ ftf i^'^ '•^^"^ ^^ «-^p finma^ ^e Renard. The medi- eval pseudo- natural history dealing witlTthe habits and quahties of beasts is well represented in English by the early Middle English Bestiary y and, as has already been pointed out above, England contributed its full share toward the medieval culture of fables. It is somewhat surprising, then, to find in Middle English but this sol- itary representative of the beast-epic tales so popular in French.

1 Reliquiae Antiquae^ Z, 42 ff. ; MStzner, Lesebuch, 1,2, 224 ff.; c£ Creizenach, o/>. cit. i. 179, 180.

2 Op. cit. p. xvii.

xiiv 3(ltttroDuction

No exact original of the English Fox and Wolf\% known, but the story in its main outline corresponds to Branch iv. of the French Roman de Renard. The story \)f Branch iv. in the ordinary version runs as fol- lows:^— Renard arrives hungry one night before a monastery and finds an open gate. He devours two chickens and is about to proceed to a third when he is overcome with thirst. He finds a well in the courtyard, and at the bottom of this well he sees his own reflection, which he takes to be the face of his wife Hermeline. Renard calls down the well, ** What are you doing?'* An echo answers him. He calls a second time, and then, impatient, jumps into a bucket and descends, so rapidly that he nearly drowns. He is in despair of ever get- ting out, when Isengrim, the wolf, comes along. Isen- grim sees his own reflection in the well beside Renard and thinks it to be his wife Hersent. For a time he heaps abuse upon the supposed Hersent. Renard allows him to proceed for a time; then he calms him by per- suading him that he below is dead and in paradise. Isen- grim wishes to go down. Renard points out the way, but advises him first to confess his sins. While Isengrim, with his face to the west, prays God to pardon his sins, Renard gets into a bucket. Isengrim, his prayer finished, gets into the other bucket, and descends, lifting the bucket with Renard. As the buckets pass, Isengrim asks Renard why he is going up. Renard replies, ** I am going to paradise above; you are going to hell below. ! When one goes, the other comes . . ." Isengrim re- mains in the well all night. Next morning he is dis-

I The summary here follow* that by Sudre. See Bibliography.

JlntroDuction xlv

covered by servants of the monks, and is beaten with clubs and left for dead.

Besides this ordinary version of Branch iv. of thei^ French Romany there is preserved in a single manu-j script ^ another distinct French version which is morel simple in outline. In this unique version no mention is made of Renard mistaking his own reflection in the water for the face of Hermeline nor of the wolf's illu- sion concerning Hersent.^ Isengrim's confession, which plays a conspicuous part in the ordinary version, in this simpler version is disposed of in a single sentence, and the paradise in this version is an earthly paradise. In minor details at the beginning and the end this version differs from the ordinary one, but the main outline of the story is the same. In both versions the story is told in a spirited manner, and it fs hot easy to say which affords the better entertainment. "

Neither of these FrehclT versions corresponds exactly | with the English tale; in the introductory part of the! story the English version resembles more closely the sim- 1 pier French story; in the latter part there is greater! parallelism with the ordinary French version. It is clear, however, that the English tale, with its individual names, Sigrim and Reneuard, its lively narrative and realistic dialogue, and its ^jyjMj^^atire, is closely related to the versions in the Roman de Renard. "^

1 BM. de r Arsenal, 3334. Published by Chabaille in a supplement to the edition of Meon. «..«

2 In the allusions to the well-story in branches vi. and ix. of the sim- 1 pier version, Isengrim is represented as attracted solely by the opportu- I nity offered to gourmandize. _ A

3 The tales of the Roman de Renard are probably based on popular sto" I ries. These popular stories differ from the fables in that the didactic ele- U ment is eliminated. To the popular tales the tales of the Roman de Renard J add an anthropomorphic element. — *^

xlvi 31utioiiuttion

To trace the exact relationship of this English talc of fox and wolf to the scores of other versions, written and oral, in the different countries of Europe, would be an impossible task. The inter-influences between written and oral versions are too complex ever to be exactly determined. There are, however, several related groups of versions which it is possible to distin- guish.

In the first place the history of the version in the Roman de Renard deserves attention. This form of the story is retold, with minor modifications and with espe- cial animus against the black monks, in the French ^^- nart le Contrefait. It is not included in the Latin Tsen- grimus composed at Ghent in 1 1 48 by the scholar Nivard, nor in the Reinardus Vulpesy a later expanded version of the Tsengrimus. It does appear, however, in the German version of the Roman de Renard ^ the Rein- hart Fuchs composed by Heinrich der Glichezare about 1 1 80. In this version appear the illusions caused by the reflections in the well in the case both of Rein- hart and of Isengrim. The paradise in the well is allur- ingly described. Isengrim, seeing the eyes of Reinhart gleaming in the dark, asks what they are, and is told they are carbuncles. There is, however, no mention of the confession and absolution of Isengrim.

Derived from this early German version seems to be the one printed by J. von Lassberg in his Lie der Saal.^ This story has two parts: — ( 1 ) The fox sees his own reflection in a well and mistakes it for his wife. Through love of her, he leaps in. (2) The wolf comes along and

I Vol. II. no. 9J. Reprinted by Grimm, R$inhart Fuchs, pp. JS6-8.

3(|ntroiJuction xivii

is led by the prospect of *' manger siissen spise " to leap into the bucket. Corresponding with the two parts are two morals : — ( i ) One must not be made foolish \>Y loye; (2) One must not trust false friends.

Possibly remotely connected witn the Koman de Renard version are two other tales : — ( i ) A fifteenth-century German version, printed by J. Baechtold ( Germania, xxxiii. 257 fF. )in a collection of twenty-one tales which in the manuscript formed an appendix to Boner's Fables. No mention is made of a paradise in the well. The fox entices the wolf by saying, ** dz mir all min tag nie so wol wz "; (2) The Italian fable in the No- vellette Esempi Morali e Apologhi di San Bernardino da Siena y Racconto vi., in which the wolf is led to descend into the well by the prospect of a hen. Neither of these versions mentions the moon reflection.

The well story does not appear in the first part of the Flemish Reynaert, composed by a poet named William about 1250, but it appears in a somewhat modified form in a later anonymous second part, more than a century later. Here the she-wolf Hersinde, in bringing charges against Reynaert, brings up against him the well adventure. It is Hersinde that has heard Reynaert' s cries in the well, and moved by his account of the fish below has entered the bucket, has sufi^ered hunger and cold, and has escaped alive only after many blows. This Flemish version of the story is reproduced in the Low German Reineke de Fos and ultimately in Goethe's Reinecke Fuchs, in which Gieremund, the wife of Ise- grim, complains concerning her adventure in the well. »

I R$intckt Fuchs, XI. vv. 97-131.

xlviii iflntioouction

Caxton's Renard the Fox^ is a translation from the Flemish, and in Caxton's book it is Erswynde, the wife of Ysengrim, who tells how, attracted by the pro- spect offish, she is beguiled by Renard.

Another version of the well-story which seems to be related * to the version in the Flemish Reynaert is the interesting fourteenth-century Italian 3 fable. In this version, in terza rima, which has been attributed to Boc- caccio, but in the opinion of McKenzie is more likely by Antonio Pucci, the wolf is led, by the prospect of fish in the well, to leap into the bucket. Interesting is the distinctively Italian tragic ending, in which a dog avenges the wolf by killing the escaping fox.

M. Sudre believes that the well story is derived from popular tradition. In support of his belief he cites the fable version of the story by Odo of Sherington, who Uved in the first half of the thirteenth century, and was the author of a number of fables which were before unknown to fable collections and which Odo is hkely to have derived from popular sources. The simple version of the story as told by Odo agrees in its outline with the Flemish version just considered, and is not unlikely derived from a common popular source. The fox falls into a well by accident. The wolf is allured by the ac- count of many fish and large ones. In the morning rus- tics club the wolf, Ysengrimus, nearly to death. It seems not at all improbable that this simple version may repre- sent fairly closely the English form of the original popular

1 Cf. Caxton's Rejnart, ed. Arbcr, p. 96. The adventure in the well it not included in the English eighteenth-century chap-book version, which secnfis to be an abridgment of Caxton.

2 Possibly derived from Odo of Sherington.

J Printed by K. McKenzie. Publ. M. L. jt. tf Amtr. xxi. 226 ff

3IntroDuctton xHx

story, which was expanded in the French Roman by the anthropomorphic details of the illusions produced by the reflections in the water and of the paradise in the well, and by the burlesque account of the shriving of Isen- grim. The fables of Odo were well known in different countries. It is quite probable that Odo's fable supplied the matter for the first part of the Italian fable mentioned above, and Fable no. 14 in the Spanish Libro de los Gatos is a close translation from Odo. Practically the same story is told in no. 59 of the Latin fables by John of Sheppey, who lived in the fourteenth century.

A second family of versions of the story of the fox in the well seems to have a common parentage in the tale as told by Petrus Alphonsus in his Disciplina Clericalis. The tale by Petrus runs as follows: — A peasant vexed at his oxen exclaims, ** May the wolves eat you!" A wolf hears, and at the end of the day claims the oxen. The peasant demurs. They set out to seek a judge and meet a fox, who undertakes to settle the cascc out of court. To the peasant he promises to award the \ oxen if he is given a chicken for himself and one for his j wife; to the wolf he promises that the peasant will give \ a cheese the size of the moon if the wolf will quit his \ claim on the oxen. The fox then conducts the wolf to \ a well in which the moon is shining. He points out the moon's reflection in the well, and tells the wolf this is his cheese. The wolf asks the fox to bring up the cheese. The fox descends in a bucket, but pretends the cheese is too heavy for him alone. The wolf descends to help. The two pass on the way, and the wolf is left to his own devices at the bottom of the well.

1 31«troDuction

In this version there will be recognized two new and quite independent elements : — ( i ) The introduction concerning the peasant, the oxen, and the wolf; (2) The moon mistaken for cheese. Of these elements the first forms the material for Branch ix. of the French Roman de Renart, with a different conclusion, however, and with Bruin the bear playing the part taken by the wolf in the Disciplina story. It also forms the first part of a genuinely Indo-European popular tale known in Fin- land, Lapland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Lithuania, Russia, Greece, Syria and India. K. Krohn,' who has made an exhaustive study of the various forms of this tale, refers to the version in the Disciplina as **die unvollstandige und corrumpirte form des Petrus Alfonsi." The moon element in the tale also is the subject of a widely known popular story. According to Krohn (p. 41), ** it enters not only the beast-epic but fable literature in general through the translation of the story in the Disciplina Clericalis and thus has spread here and there among the folk."

The exact source of this combination of the story of the fox in the well with that of the moon reflection it is impossible to determine. It is interesting, however, to note that practically the same story as told by Petrus, though with a different introduction, was told by the Jewish Rabbi Raschi in the preceding century. Since Petrus derived his tales from Hebrew and oriental sources, one is at first inclined to attribute this story combination to Hebrew origin. The fact, however, that the story does not appear elsewhere * in Hebrew

I See Bibliography.

a It is not told by Hal Gaon (969-1038), who profckiet to tell the tame

31ntroDuction H

fable collections, and that Raschi was born about 1 040 in Troyes, in the part of France where beast tales at that particular time were being actively propagated, leads one to conclude that Raschi made use of a current popular tale which through some channel, Hebrew or other, later supplied Petrus with his version of the story.

The tale as told by Petrus Alphonsus appeared in the various vernacular versions of his story collection. Of these the most interesting is the expanded courtly French metrical version of the C{h')astoiement. Here the in- fluence of the Roman de Renard is apparent. The Fox and Wolf bear the names respectively of Regnart and rsengrimsy and the burlesque element is prominent, particularly in the passage where Regnart proposing himself as judge says,

" Car j'ai este a bone escole Et a Boloigne et a Paris Ou j'ai des lois asses apris i^ue loial jugement ferai De vos contes, quant jes orrai."

ed. Roesle, vv. 81-85.

The tale by Petrus, like the Dame Siriz, found its way into the fable collection of Stainhowel and thence into the fable collections of the Netherlands, Spain, France, and England, besides that of Germany. InCax- ton's edition it stands as number ix. of *< The Fables of Alfonce." It is cited by N. S. Guillon as appearing

tale from Rabbi Meir aa is told by Raschi. (See Publ. M, L. A. Amer. xxiii. pp. 497 ff.) Further, it is not included in the Syriac Fables ofSophos (J. Landsberger, Die Fabeln des Sofihos, Poscn, 1859), nor in the Hebrew Parabolae Vulpium of Barachia Nikdan, which contains several kindred tales, notably the story of the wolf fishing with his tail through the ice.

lii 3nttoDttction

in the Fables of Marie de France from the MS. de la Bib I. de Saint-Germain-des-PreSy no. 1830. It is not included, however, in the Warnke edition of the Fables by Marie.

An interesting version of this form of the story is the one included in the Contes Moralises of Nicole Bozon, no. 128, under the moralization, De Mala societate fu- gienda^ and in the Latin translation from Bozon (Her- vieux, Fabulistes Latins y 111. no. 10). In this version it is a sheep that is led by the fox to mistake the reflec- tion of the moon in the well for a cheese and to descend in the bucket. That Bozon in this fable was drawing from English popular tradition seems certain from the fact that the sheep lamenting his condition at the bottom of the well is made to say, in English y ** For was hyt never myn kynd chese in welle to fynd." It is possible that the English popular story corresponding to the pop- ular stories used by Petrus and by Raschi had the sheep as a principal character. ' In this connection it is worthy of note that in another fable in the collection by Bozon (no. 46) the fox and the wolf see the reflection of the moon in the water, and the wolf is led to fish with his tail for the supposed cheese, a quite difi^erent combina- tion of the moon reflection incident with a story even more widely known than that of the fox in the well.

The Disciplina version of the story is admirably handled by Robert Henryson in his collection of fables. This Scotch fable in seven-line stanzas, on account of

I Perhaps the substitution of sheep for wolf is due to Bozon's desire to differentiate this story from the story of the fox and the wolf fishing with his tail, which, as told by Bozon, is also associated with the moon reflec- tion story.

3|ntroDuction Hii

its concreteness of detail and liveliness of manner and interesting Scotch phrases, deserves to be classed among the very best versions of the story. The Disciplina form of the story is also used by Hans Sachs in his **Fabel mit dem Pauer, Fuchs und WolfF" and, with another story replacing that of the peasant and his oxen, in the sixteenth-century German fable collection by Burkhard Waldis (Book 4, Fable 8). It is also the form used by La Fontaine, who elaborates in details, notably in the appearance of the moon reflection, which is echancr'e in appearance like cheese, and in Renard's enticing descrip- tion of the quality of the cheese. Moland, in his edition of La Fontaine, cites as a source for La Fontaine's fable, the Apologii Phcedrii, 1 00 fables by Jacques Regnier, Pars I, p. 24, published in 1643, which the present writer has been unable to examine. Another version possibly belonging to the Disciplina family is the ItaUan fable della Volpe e V Lupoy one of a collection of one hundred fables by Verdizotti, published at Venice in 1570. The La Fontaine version, in turn, seems to be the source of a later Latin version in the Fabulae Aesopiae, Book 8, Fable 24, by F. J. Desbillons, 5th ed. Paris, 1769. In later English versions the fable in the Dis- ciplina version is not frequent.^ It does appear, however, in a very much condensed form, as number 3 in a collection of fables in The Principles of Grammar y or Youth' s English Directory, by G. Wright, London, 1794.

I It does not appear in Bullokar's collection, 1585, nor among Gay's Fables^ nor in the ^esof> at Tunbridge, London, 1628, nor in Fables for Ladies by E. Moore, about 1750, nor in Fables of Flora by Langhornc, nor in the large collection. Fables and Satires, by Sir G. Boothby, Edinb., 1809, nor in Aesops Fables, by T. James, Philadelphia, 1851.

liv 31ntroDuction

The bucket trick played on the wolf by the fox cer- tainly forms the subject of an amusing tale. The prac- tical lesson, however, to be derived from this tale is not so obvious as in most fables. Perhaps this fact helps* \ to explain why the story was not more generally adopted vin later fable collections, where a very much inferior \tale of the fox in the well makes frequent appearance. iThis inferior version, possibly not related in origin to the story in the present book, appears as number i 5 in the Hecatomithion secunduniy an Italian collection of Latin fables by L. Abstemius, published at Venice in 1499. The very simple narrative is as follows : — A fox falls into a well. He calls on a wolf for assistance. The wolf, instead of assisting, proceeds to ask questions. The fox rebukes him, bidding him first to render aid, then to ask questions. From an Italian collection this fable was adopted into a Turkish collection (^Fables Turques, transl. by J. A. Decourdemanchc, no. 31). It appears in the collection of Cetitum Fabulae by the Italian Gabriele Faerno.* It also appears in the princi- pal English fable collections of the last three centuries. From Abstemius it was adopted by L* Estrange and, like other fables in his expanded collection, supplied with a ** Moral " and a ** Reflexion." It appears also in the collection by S. Croxall, the leading English collection of the eighteenth century, and in the collection by T. Bewick,3 who derives his version from Croxall. It

I The main reason, doubtless, is the fact that the tale never formed a part of the earlier canonical collections, the Fhatdrus^\h^ Avian ^ and the Romulus from which the later collections were put toeether.

z The edition consulted by the present writer was that of London, 1672,

P- 79-

i First published in 1818. In the edition of London, T885, this fable ap- pears on page 311.

3|ntroDttction iv

appears on the continent in the Esope-Esopus (French and German in parallel columns) by Carl Mouton, Hamburg, 1750, and a similar tale with the position of fox and wolf reversed is told by Lenoble ( (Euvres^ t. XIV. p. 515). The ultimate source of this version is not known to the present writer. A similar tale of Hare and Fox, however, appears in the Syriac Sophos ^ (cf. Bib- liography) of the eleventh century, which in turn was probably translated from the Greek.*

Was the story of the fox and wolf in the well de- rived ultimately from the orient ? This must remain an open question. Sudre 3 has pointed out that the tale in the French Roman did not reach France through the Aesopian or Phaedrian collections, and as early as 1855 Weber 4 pointed out that in Indian literature there is nothing analogous to the buckets in the well. Professor Fleischer s of Leipzig is authority for the statement that this fable of fox and wolf does not appear in any Ara- bian book. The oriental fable of fox and goat in the well, which has persisted in fable collections to the pres- ent day and which is perhaps the closest oriental ana- logue, is an independent tale. Its resemblance to Branch xviii. of the Roman de Renard is more close than to Branch iv. On the other hand, in support of the theory of oriental origin, there may be cited certain other ori- ental analogues. In the Pantchatantra^ appears a talc

I The talc of hare and fox in the Sophoi has a moral different from that in the later tale. Fable no. 24 in the Sophos, dealing with a drowning boy and a man on the shore, has the moral of the later tale of fox and wolf, ^^i Cf. J. Jacobs, Fables of Aesop, I. 154, 155. J L. Sudre, op. cit. p. 226.

4 Indische Studien, III. j68.

5 Gelbhaus, Ueber Stoffe Altdeutscher Poetie,p. 39, Berlin, 1887.

6 Transl. by Lanccreau, p. 216. Cf. also Kirchhof's fp^endunmuth.,7, *6.

)

ivi JIntroUuctton

in which a hare conducts a lion to a deep well where the lion sees his own reflection, and led by the hare to take the reflection for an enemy, leaps in and loses his life. A modern Indian form of this tale with jackals taking the place of the hare, is recorded in Old Deccan Days by M. Frere, in a tale entitled "Singh Rajah and the Cunning Little Jackals." This tale, in its main outline and in certain details reminds of the incident in the fox and the wolf story where Isengrim mistakes his reflection in the well for his wife Hersent. Another tale, in which the elephant is conducted by a hare to the edge of a lake, where he mistakes the shadow of the moon for the king of the hares, is also recorded in the Pantchatan- tra.^ These analogues, however, arc not remarkably close, and we must conclude that if the story of fox and wolf in the well came from the East, it did not, as Sudre has pointed out, follow the literary route followed by other fables. If it came from the East by an oral route, the buckets element seems to be a western ^ addition.

There remains to be mentioned an Arabic tale Le renard et la hyene (Meidani, P rover bes (6), t. ii. p. 7, and Ech cherichi ap. cheikhoy MadjanPl adah (7), t. I. p. 89) cited by R. Basset (Rev. des trad. pop. XXI., 300). A parallel to the conception of the earthly paradise in the well is to be found in the Arabic tale 3 of ** Le Paradis Souterrain," in which a man goes to

I Translation by Lancereau, p. zi6.

i In an elegiac poem composed by Riparius in the fourteenth century (cited by Crcizenach,i. 28) a trick like that played by the fox on the wolf is played by a peasant on a clerk. Can the beast tale have been an adapta- tion of a tale originally dealing with human beings f

J Contts et Ligendtt Arabes^by R. Basset, no. 481 {Rtv- dts trad, fcf. XV. p. 667).

3|ntroUttction ivii

a well to draw water. The bucket falls to the bottom. The man descends to get the bucket and finds a door opening into a paradise. r~^It seems probable that the tale of fox and wolf as told I in Branch iv. of the Roman de Renard is derived for Lthe most part from popular tradition. This view is con- firmed by the fact that the tale is a famihar one in mod- ern folk story. It persists in popular story in Spain ^ and in Portugal. 2 A Breton popular version is cited by L. F. Sauve.3 A fox on the point of being eaten by a wolf points out the reflection of the moon in the water, say- ing that it is a young girl bathing. The wolf leaps in to devour her and is drowned. A similar tale, in which, however, the fox pushes the wolf into the well, appears in a cycle of beast tales of La Bresse.4

Another popular tale told in Southern France is effec- tively reproduced by P. Redonnel.s A fox is in a tree eating cheese. A wolf asks what he is eating. The fox replies, * * The moon. ' ' The fox as he eats drops a crumb to the wolf from time to time. Both are thirsty, and they set out for a drink. On the way the fox explains that he found the moon trembling at the bottom of a well and carried it off. The two come to a well with two buckets. The fox descends first and drinks ; then signals for the wolf to get into the other bucket. The wolf is left in the well. It will be noted that this enter- tainingly told story has its inconsistencies. The fox in

1 Airtonio de Trucba, Narradones populares^ Leipzig, 1875, pp. 91 ff.

2 Coelho, Contos fopulares Portugueses^ Lisbon, 1879, pp. I J-15. I Rev. des trad, pop. I. 363-4.

4 Sebillot, Contes des Provinces de France. Le Renard de Bassieu et la hup d'' Hotonnes,

5 Rev. des trad, pop. II. 6lI-lZ.

-i

iviii 3Introt>uction

the tree is not easy to conceive of, and the relation of the moon story to the trick on the wolf is not made clear.

In Northern France the tale is one of an epic cycle of tales concerning the relations of fox and wolf In this collection the wolf, angry at the fox for a trick played on him, pursues him. The fox, about to be caught, comes to a well, leaps into a bucket and goes to the bottom. He cries for assistance. The wolf, still in angry pursuit, gets into the other bucket and is mocked by the fox as the two buckets pass.

In this connection it is worthy of note that the notion of another world at the bottom of a deep well is not unknown to modern folk-lore. In France, we are told,* certain wells are so deep that they are supposed to reach a subterranean world.

Other cycles of popular beast tales are told in parts of Germany and are recorded by J. Haltrich.* One group of tales deals with the wolf alone, another with the fox alone, a third, a cycle of ten stories, with the relations of fox and wolf. In this cycle the well story follows the tale in which the fox, by feigning death, gets fish from a peasant. The wolf eats the fish and then, thirsty, is conducted by the fox to a well, where the buckets adventure occurs.

What is the relation of these popular tales to the lit- erary versions ? In some cases probably we have to do with popular survivals of the oral sources of the beast- epic tales. In other cases the modern popular tales are probably derived from a literary source. It is probable

I p. S^billot, I.e FoH-hrt de Franct^ II. JlJ. a J. Haltricb, Zur V»lkskundt d*r Siib$nbur(*r.

3f|ntroUuctton Hx

that in modern popular story oral and literary streams of tradition meet. In the case of the German cycles of popular tales mentioned above. Wolf, the later editor of the collection by Haltrich, concludes that the tales arc probably not derived from the earlier beast-epic, be- cause: ( I ) the central incident of the beast-epic, the ill- ness and healing of the lion and the trial of the fox, is absent, and the lion does not appear at all; (2) the beasts do not have proper names. Wolf concludes that these German popular tales probably have their source in the well-known German fable collections of the six- teenth century, by Burkhard Waldis in 1548 and by Erasmus Alberus in i 580.

The well adventure has not been recorded among the popular beast tales collected in Africa. ' Among the American negroes, ^ however, a similar tale is told in which it is the rabbit that outwits the fox, an oriental characteristic, since in oriental beast tales the jackal and hare, and occasionally the tortoise, divide the honors in the tales of trickery.

The English tale of The Vox and the Wolf has been '\ much admired and praised. It, perhaps more than any [ other English humorous poem before Chaucer, shows the buoyancy of spirit and lightness of touch that char- , acterize some of the contemporary productions in 7 French. Yetjjip Fingli'ih pnp.m-nffer&-little thal-i&.Jiew. It is probably based on a French original, and in cer- tain cases it has not reproduced its original very dis-

I Cf. A. Seidel, Geschichten der Afrikan*r, Berlin, 1896; Callaway, Nur- sery Tales of the Zulus, London, 1868 ; W. H. I. Blcek, Reintkt Fuchs ■ in uifriia, Weimar, 1870. ^ Z J. C. Harris, Uncle Remus: his songs and sayings, no. 16.

/

Ix 3|ntrotiuction

tinctly. This is evident particularly in the relation of the incident of the henyard with the well story. From references here and there (vv. 34, 40, 54, 55, 98) throughout the tale, one must infer that Reneuard has devoured some, possibly three, of the hens, yet no mention is made of this fact. The most distinctive ad- dition in subject matter in the English version is the dialogue between cock and fox near the beginning. In the emphasis that he has given to this preliminary in- cident, the English writer resembles the author of the Dame Siriz and Chaucer in his Nonne Preestes Tale. The episode has little organic connection with the main incident and in a way mars the proportion of the nar- rative, yet it does contribute to the verisimilitude and the living interest of the story. In manner the English version lacks some of the very effective descriptive touches which make the movements and attitudes of fox and wolf, particularly in the simpler version of the French Roman de Renardy so lifelike. Perhaps the most distinctive quality of the English version is not wit, but the humorous realization of the naivete in the characters cT the beasts, shown where it is said of the fba^.

Him were leucre meten one hen Than half an oundred wimmen.

and when the author remarks concerning the fox caught in the well.

Hit mijtc han ibcn his wille To lete pat boket hongi stille.

and in the cringing manner of the hungry wolf, when he sayt,

* • Ich wende, al so opre doJ> J>at ich Iseie were sop."

3IntroDttction ixi

The poem is composed throughout in Xetrameter couplets, The style is simple and in keeping with the subject matter, more so than in the Dame Siriz. The dialogue, particularly, is simple and natural. An inter- esting feature of the style is the use here and there of popular proverbial expressions, such as : *]7at ne can mej> to his mete,' gj; * Him is wo in euche londc, pat is jjef mid his honde,' loi, 102.

The date of composition was not far from 1275, as is shown by the age of the manuscript as well as by the character of the language.

The dialect^is Southern, as is evident by the spelling of the very title. Other indications are the frequent dropping or misplacing of initial b-, the use of initial w- for earlier hzv-, the forms aweccbe, reabe, the plural forms henneriy etc., the ending -efe in the third plural of the present indicative, the preservation of the prefix /'- in verb forms. The West- Southern scribe betrays himself by the representation of O.E. y by u. The real pronunciation of this sound it is difficult to determine, since the rimes are not consistent. A Southeastern pro- nunciation seems to be indicated by such rimes as ; aquenche, drunche, 13, 14, and sugge^ abugge ; putte^ mette. On the other hand such rimes as : kun^ him; sittey puttCy indicate a Midland pronunciation.

Sir Cleges

The third story of the present collection, that of Sir Cleges, is somewhat more than a century younger than the other two. The time of composition was not far

ixii 31ntroDuction

from that of the Canterbury Tales. If there had been a minstrel in the famous company of pilgrims, this talc might with fitness have been attributed to him. Not only is the tail-rime stanza employed in the tale the fav- orite one in later minstrel stories, but the hero is par- ticularly a minstrel hero. The generosity of Sir Cleges is displayed particularly toward minstrels. At the Christ- mas feasts provided by Sir Cleges, the minstrels figure conspicuously, and the gifts of

Hors and robys and rych thynges, Gold and syluer and ojjer thynges

make it easy to believe in the sincerity of the words of the minstrel in the Edinburgh manuscript,

** We mynstrellys mysse hym sekyrly,

Seth he went out of cuntrc." (vv. 496, 497.)

The animus^ against porters and their kind is appropri- ate to minstrels and appears not infrequently in minstrel tales. Furthermore in the Edinburgh text the minstrel is actually represented as singing before King Uthcr a **gest" concerning the virtues of Cleges. The tale, then, may be regarded as a minstrel tale, exemplifying many of the qualities of style that Chaucer so gleefully burlesqued in his tale of Sir Thopas.

The story of Sir Cleges seems to have been a min- strel's Christmas story, for it will be noticed that the idea of Christmas is everywhere prominent. The lavish hospitality of Cleges was particularly displayed in the annual Christmas feasts, the loss of his property is par- ticularly due to Christmas generosity, and the miracle through which he was restored to prosperity was a

I Cf. King H»rn^ Sir Tristrtm, and the ballad of Hind Etin,

JlntroDuction ixiii

Christmas miracle. Doubtless the story was one which the minstrel loved to tell to encourage liberality at Yule- tide feasts, and we can readily understand why to the listeners at Christmas entertainments this tale might be a favorite one in the minstrel repertory.

The story is one with an evident moral. This moral is enforced by a narrative of dual character. Probably what was intended to be the main theme, was the gen- erosity of Cleges rewarded in this life by divine inter- position; what was possibly not intended as the prin- cipal element, but which nevertheless most catches the attention and clings longest to the memory, is the re- verse of this, the greed of the king's servants punished with logical justice. The unity in the story is to be found only in the presentation of the opposite rewards of generosity and of greed. If we look at the story in this way, we see a logical appropriateness in the inclusion of the humorous anecdote of the strokes shared within the pious tale of generosity divinely rewarded.

The man who has spent all his goods in generosity is by no means a unique character in romantic story. The close resemblance between the beginning of Sir Cleges and that of Sir Amadace ' has often been remarked. In the fifteenth-century tale of The Knyght and his Wyfe ^ also, the knight

. . , cche jere was wont to mak A gret fest for oure lady sake. But he spendyt so largely That in povcrte he fel in hye.

I Three Earlj English Metrical Romances (ed. Robson), Camden So- ciety, London, 1842.

z Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of England, by W. C. Hazlitt, London, 1866, vol. 11.

Ixiv ^IntroDuction

In the late ballad, A True Tale of Robin Hood (Child, no. 154), we learn how Robin Hood, Earl of Hunt- mgton, consumed his wealth in * wine and costly cheere.' In the versions of the Launfal story also, in the Launfal^ by Thomas Chestre and the later version, 5/r Lambewelly^ we meet a similar character. In the Launfal we read how.

He gaf gyftys largelyche, Gold, and sylver, and clodes rychc, To squyer and to knyght.

The manner, however, in which the knight is re- stored to prosperity is widely different in these different tales. In the Sir Amadace, the account of the gener- ous knight serves as an introduction to an interesting version of the well known folk tale of the * grateful dead.' In The Knyght and his Wyfe, it introduces a story of the direct interposition of the Virgin Mary, one of the Mary legends which were so popular in contemporary French literature. In the True Tale of Robin Hoody it introduces the well known ballad story of outlawry. In the Launfal stories, it introduces a tale of aid through the fairy mistress Trieamour. The tale of Sir Cleges is unlike any of these others. If classified ac- cording to its first element, it would be classed as a dit or conte devot, or perhaps better, as a legend, if Sir Cleges may be regarded as one of Saint Julian's devotees, a martyr to hospitality.

The means of relief in the case of Sir Cleges, the miracle of the cherries at Christmas time, is as pleasing

I Launfal (ed. Ritson), reprinted, Edinburgh, 1891. 1 Bishop Percy'i Folio Manuscript (ed. Hales and Furnivall), London, 1867, vol. I.

3|ntroDuction ixv

as in any of the similar stories mentioned. Similar mira- cles figure not infrequently in romantic and legendary story. In the legend of St, Dorothy ' we read how in response to the prayer of the chaste maiden, a fair child appears with a basket of roses and apples, which Doro- thy sends to Theophilus. In the Decamerony^ Ansaldo, the lover of Dianara, successfully accomplishes the sup- posedly impossible task imposed upon him, and on the first of January made to spring up a beautiful garden from which he picked the fairest fruits and flowers and sent as an unwelcome gift to the surprised lady. In the Ludus Coventriae^ (xv), in the play on **The Birth of Christ," when Joseph and Mary are on the way to Bethlehem in the winter time, a cherry-tree, at first bare, successively blooms, bears ripe cherries, and finally bends down to Joseph whom Mary wishes to pluck cherries for her. 4 Ability to exhibit fruit out of season was also one of the accomplishments of the popular he- roes of magic. Friar Bacon and Doctor Faustus.s None

I Caxton, Golden Legend, Life of St. Dorothy.

1 Tenth day, Novella 5.

J Ed. Halliwell, Shakspearc Soc. London, 1841. Halliwell points out that" this fable of the cherry tree is the subject of a well known Christmas carol,which has been printed by Hone, ^nf<>«/ Mysteries Described " p.()0.

4 That similar sto-rics circulate in modern folk-tales is shown by H. Finck in the New York Evening Post (quoted by the Literary Digest, Jan. 7, 191 1). He cites a French folk-tale of the Department of nie-et-Vilaine,of an apple-tree. Mary wished to taste the fruit, and Joseph refused to gather the apples for her, saying it was a shame to touch the apple-tree at Christ- mas time. Whereupon the branches, of their own accord, bent down, and Mary plucked the fruit. Joseph then tried to pick some of the apples for himself, but the branches suddenly returned on high,

5 W. C. Hazlitt, National Tales and Legends, London, 1899, p. 75. Haziitt cites other parallels, among them " Another story of this kind in Painter's 'Palace of Pleasure.' " E. K. Chambers {The Mediaeval Stage, I. 2SZ, 2SJ) cites the thirteenth-century Vita of St. Hadwigis, in which appears the story of trees in bloom in mid-winter, and gives reference to a number of parallel stories. The miracle of the Glastonbury thorn might also be cited in this connection.

ixvi 3|ntrol>uftion

of these stones, however, is more pleasing than that of Sir Cleges, who after kneeling in prayer ** underncth a chcry-trc," in rising takes a branch in his hand, and —

Grcn Icuys J>cr-on he fond

And ronde bcryes in fere.

The cherries have an appropriateness in English story. They have always been a favorite fruit among the Eng- lish. In Piers Plowman (A 7,281) poor people arc represented as eating **ripe chiries monye," ^ and one of the English popular institutions was the cherry fair "^ held in cherry orchards. But the presentation of a gift to the king seems not so appropriate to English story. It is hazardous to form a judgment concerning the origin of a winged tale like the present one, but the presenta- tion of gifts to a king, although not infrequent in Eu- ropean folk-tales, seems like an oriental feature and is especially frequent in oriental story. According to Clouston,3 ** All great men in the East expect a present from a visitor, and look upon themselves as affronted, and even defrauded, when the compliment is omitted. See I Samuely ix, 7, and Isaiah, Ivii, 9.** The same cus- tom persists to-day among African tribes, one is told.

Combined with the tale of generosity divinely re- compensed is another story, of greed requited. As has been said, it is not easy to determine whether the au- thor of Sir Cleges intended this second story as an epi- sode in the story of the generous knight or if he intended the first part of the story to serve as a setting for the widely known story of the blows shared. If we judge by the structure of such a story as Chaucer's Nonne

I Version C. " chiries sam-rede."

X Brand, PofuUr ylntiquities^ H. 457.

3 Popular Tain and Fictions, Edinburgh, 1887, 11. 467.

31ntroDuction ixvii

Preestes Tale we may conclude that the second part was intended as the piece de resistance. In any caie the author has devoted nearly half of his narrative to the second element, and it is this part of the story which provides the greater amount of entertainment whether to the modern reader or to the medieval listener.

The story of the man who is made to promise a share of an expected reward to one or more greedy servants and who, therefore, chooses blows for his reward, is one of the most wide-spread of tales. The universality of its theme makes it appropriate to any nation and to any time, and for that reason it is not possible to assign it to any nationality. The nature of the tale is such that it would be vain to attempt to discover the exact inter- relations between the score and more of different extant versions.

The definiteness of the underlying idea in this story rendered it especially suitable for oral transmission. Hence it is not surprising to find it circulating widely as a folk-tale. Among the Arabs it was well known. M. Rene Basset * cites the following version. A eunuch promises El Mo'tadhib, the Prince of the Faithful, to bring him a man to make him laugh. He introduces a street story-teller named Ibn el Maghazik, but exacts from him a promise of half the expected reward. Ibn fails, and is ordered to be given ten strokes. He asks that the ten be made twenty. When he has received ten, he explains that the other half of the reward is to go to the eunuch. The king laughs.

I Rene Basset, Contei et Ligendes Arabes^ no. 57, Rev. des trad. fop. XII. 675-7 M, Basset cites several other Arabic versions of this story, besides two Italian folk-tales

Ixviii 3|ntrol>uction

Another ' Arabic version passed over among the Berbers. A chief bids his servant find a man to make him laugh. If the chief is made to laugh, he will pay a hundred reaux ; if not, a hundred blows. The servant brings El' Askolani, but demands half of the reaux in case of success. El' Askolani fails, and the chief orders that one hundred strokes be given. When the story- teller has received fifty, he bids give the remaining fifty to the servant, at the same time explaining the servant's stipulation. The chief doubles up with laughter and gives El' Askolani one hundred reaux.

An Italian popular tale, in which a stupid boy pre- sents a fine fish to the king, but is made to promise shares of the expected reward to three servants, is told by Marc. Monnier.^ A Greek popular story with a sim- ilar beginning but with the conclusion rendered ineffec- tive, is told by E. Legrand.3 From Italy John G. Saxe supposedly derived the version that he tells under the title, ** The Nobleman, the Fisherman, and the Porter, An Italian Legend." In Italy the story is also told by Sacchetti-* and by Straparola.s In Spain it appears in the Cuentos de Juan Ar agones y^ no. 3. In Sweden it is produced by Backstrom in his Svenske l^oks backer (^z,

1 R. Basset, Nouveaux Conies Berbtrts, Paris, 1897, no. I19, " Part h deux.'' In this volume M. Basset discusses numerous other versions, in Arabic, Italian, German, and French.

2 Les Contes Pofulaires en Italie, pp. i}6, Zjy. An Italian version, Ne- rucci, Sessanta Ntvelle Populari Montalesi, Florence, 1880, Nov 27, La Novella di Sonno, pp. 2} 3-7.

J Recueil de Contes Populaires Grecs, Paris, 1881, pp. 5J-SJ.

4 Novelle, Milano, iSiJ, vol. in. p. 169.

5 Notii PiacevoU, Notta 7, Favola J.

6 Another Spanish version cited by Oesterley (in his edition of Schimff und Ernst) is that in the Margerita Facetiarum, Alfonai Aragon, Reg. Vafredicti, etc., Argent. 1508, p. 4b.

KlntroUuction ixix

p. 78, n. 30). In Germany it appears in Pauli's Schimpf und Ernst (no. 614), in Grimm's Kinder and Hausmarchen (no. 7), and in a poem by C. F. G. Hahn,^ organist at Dargun, entitled * * Wallenstein und der kiihne Pferdehirte aus der Umgegend von Gust- row.**

In the world's noodle literature the story is one fre- quently occurring. The adventure is attributed to the famous Turkish court-fool, Nasureddin Chodscha,^ who presented early cucumbers to Tamburlane. In German jest-books it was one of the best-known adventures of the celebrated Pfarrer von Kalenberg.3 In England a similar story appears in ** The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson the Merry Londoner." 4

The same story appears in the form of anecdotes connected with various persons. The anecdote is told of the Italian actor Mezzetin s (fl. 1688-97). Mezze- tin had dedicated a piece to the Duke of Saint Aignan, who paid liberally for dedications. He called on the Duke. The Swiss guard, suspecting the purpose of his visit, was unwilling to admit him. Mezzetin offered him a third of the expected gift. On the stairway he was obliged to make the same promise to the first lackey, and in the ante-chamber a like one to the valet de chambre. When he came into the presence of the

1 Mecklenburg's Folis-Sagen, col. & ed. by A. Niedcrhoffcr, Leipzig,

1859, 1"- 196-199-

Z Flogcl, Geschichte der Hofnarren, 176-178.

3 F. W. Ebeling, Di* Kahlenberger, Berlin, 1890; F. Bobertag, Narren. buck, Berlin, 1885, pp. 7-86; F. H.von der Hagen, Narrenbuch,HMe, 1811, pp. 271-352; Ljrum Larum Lyrissimum, i7oo,no. 184; Henrici Be- bclii, Facetiarum, Tubingen, 1544, Lib. 11. (The last two references are from Liebrecht-Dunlop, History of Fiction, 11. 153 note.)

I "W, C. Hazlitt, Shakespeare's Jest Books, p. 40, no. 24.

S L. Moland, Moliere et la Comedie Italienne, pp. 375-6.

ixx 31ntroDuction

Duke, Mczzetin said, ** Here is a theatrical piece which I take the liberty of presenting to you and for which I ask that you give me a hundred coups de baton. ' * On hearing Mezzetin's explanation, the Duke gave the servants a severe reprimand and sent loo louis to Mez- zetin's wife, who had promised nothing to the servants. TallemantdesReaux ' tells the same anecdote concerning the actor Jodelet. In this case the actor asked his pa- tron, the Chancellor Sequier, to distribute a hundred coups de baton among four valets de chambre who had successively exacted promises.

This story, appearing so frequently in folk- tale, in jest-book, and in biographical anecdote, has a very obvious moral. This moral element made the story a useful one to the medieval preacher, and it appears in books ofexempla. In the Summa Praedicantium of John* of Bromyard it appears (fol. C xiii. b) under the heading Invidia. This exemplumy which is reprinted in Wright's ** Latin Stories," 3 runs as follows : * A cer- tain man coming to the Emperor Frederick with fruits of which the Emperor was very fond, was unable to gain admittance unless he should pay to the doer keeper half his gain. The emperor, delighted with the fruits, bade the bearer ask for something in return. The man asked that the emperor command that a hundred blows be given him. When the emperor learned the cause, he ordered the blows of the bearer of the fruits, to be paid lightly, those of the door keeper, heavily.' Another in- teresting exemplum version of the story is that in the

1 Tsllemant de» Riaux. Memoirs »f ChanctlUr SiquUr.

2 Sec Bibliography.

I Percy Society Publications, viii. Ii».

3|ntroDuctton ixxi

English Gesta Romanoruniy^ no. xc. This version, like the one in the Sir Cleges, has an elaborate intro- duction. In certain essential details also it closely resem- bles the Sir Cleges version. A king had two sons. To one he gave his kingdom; to the other, a prodigal, he gave the choice between two caskets. The chosen casket contained twenty shillings; to these the king added a penny. Thus provided, the prince met a man ,vith a pannier containing a wonderful fish with gold head, silver body and green tail. He bought the fish for twenty shillings and paid the remaining penny for the pannier. He bore the pannier with the fish to the manor house of a great lord. The porter demanded the head of the fish, and instead of it the prince promised him half the expected reward. The usher of the hall demanded the body and was promised half of the re- maining reward. The chamberlain, who demanded the tail, was promised half the remaining part. The noble lord, upon receipt of the gift, bade the prince ask a boon. The servants advised various requests, but the prince asked twelve buffets. The lord granted the request re- garding the buffets to be divided, but threw in for good measure his daughter and his kingdom for the prince alone.

The great variety * in the forms of this popular tale will have been noticed. The one who asks for the blows

I E, E. T. S. Extra scries, xxxiii. 413-416, no. xc.

z There arc in circulation many similar tales, such as the Tale of the Three IVishes (of. Bedier, pp. 220, 22l), the Dit du Buffet (cf. Montaig- lon ct Raynaud, Notes) the Envious and the Avaricious (cf. J. W. Jacobs, op. cit.. Notes), besides scattering folk-tales and adventures like those of Til Eulenspiegel. Most like of all, and closely associated with the story of the blows shared, is the one called " Luckily they are not Peaches " (Cf W. A. Ciouston, Pop, Tales &* Fictions., 11. 467 fF.)

ixxii 3|ntroDuction

is in one story a groom, in another a prince; in one a stupid peasant boy, in another a witty actor. The num- ber of greedy servants varies from one to four, of the blows, from two to five hundred. The variety of gifts offered in the different versions includes cucumbers, ap- ples, berries, cherries, a falcon, and a fish, or the offer- ing is a good story or a good play. The tale is told merely to excite a laugh, or to point a moral. The people who tell it are Berbers in Africa, Arabs in Asia, Germans, Swedes, Spaniards, Greeks, Italians, and Eftglish in Europe. But in all its migrations and with all the vari- ation in detail, the essential idea remains constant.

None of the versions of this protean tale known to the present writer could have served as the exact original for the English Sir Cleges. Nor is it known who was the author or whether the English story is a translation from the French or an original English composition. But though singularly neglected ' by earlier literary historians, it is a highly interesting composition. Its faults are evi- dent. It is a mongrel composition consisting o^z fabliau tale forming an episode in a conte devot and the whole provided with an Arthurian setting. The scenes of the story in general lack the distinctness which usually char- acterizes the scenes in Chaucer's works. The characters lack the many-sidedness of reality; they are little more than types. For instance there is little attempt to dis- tinguish between the porter, the usher, and the steward. Each represents the same type, that of the greedy ser- vant. The description of Sir Cleges is like that burlesqued

I The story of Sir CUg$s is not mentioned by Kfirting, nor by Ten Brlnlc ; Jusserand mentions it only in a footnote.

3|ntroDuctton ixxiii

in Sir Thopas. The manner too is stiff; the humorous anecdote is not presented in correspondingly humorous style. But with all these faults, the story is a pleasing one. Besides the interest it affords as a narrative, the story, while not offering clear pictures, does give interesting details of minstrel customs, of life in the hall, of domes- tic relations and of Christmas cheer. There is a sweet domesticity in the scene where, after Cleges has been comforted by his loyal wife, * they wash and go to meat ' and then * drive the time away with mirth ' in playing with their children, and a prettiness of detail in the scene where Cleges, kneeling in prayer under the tree, finds the branch in his hand covered with green leaves and * beryes ' in clusters. The last part of the story makes up in comedy of situation what it lacks in appropriateness to the main theme. It is this part of the story which is told with greatest gusto. The truculent manners of the king's attendants are brought out with great distinctness by the minstrel who doubtless had himself experienced treatment similar to that experienced by Sir Cleges and been obliged to sit in the * beggars row.* The minstrel lingers with evident satisfaction over the details of the blows paid to the servants.

The fyrst stroke he leyd hym onne, He brake a-two hys schulder bone, And hys ryjht arme also.

There are no fine shades of humor here, but doubtless the details were relished by a gleeman's audience, and they are not entirely unpalatable to the modern reader, it must be confessed.

The Sir Cleges is preserved in two paper manuscripts.

Ixxiv 31ttttotiuctton

both belonging to the end of the fifteenth century; one MS. Jac. V. 7, 27, in the Advocates' Library at Edin- burgh, the other, Ashmole MS. 61, in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The text of the Edinburgh manu script was printed by Henry Weber, in his Metrical Romances, Edinburgh, 1810, i. 329 fF. The two texts have been printed in parallel columns by A. Treichel, Englische Studien, xxii. 374 fF. The Oxford text it printed in the present volume.

Between the texts in these two manuscripts there arc many points of difference ' in detail. As has been said, the story is a minstrel story, and it has evidently been written down twice independently, from oral recitation or from memory. The differences are such as one would expect to originate in oral transmission. Neither manu- script is derived from the other; bo^h texts go back to a common original, and in each appear variations originat- ing in the independent line of transmission. The two manuscripts complement each other admirably. When single lines, or more frequently, three lines, of a stanza, are missing in one, they can be supplied from the other. In some important details the Edinburgh text is the better one, but in the present volume the Oxford text has been printed because the Edinburgh lacks some stan- zas at the end. The Edinburgh text has, however, been used to supply lines missing in the Oxford text. The most important variations are indicated in the notes.

The verse form used in the Sir Cleges is the twelve-line

I Treichel, 0^. fit. pp. J59 ff., give* a careful discussion of the difference! between the two manuscripts. The Edinburgh MS. has 5JI verses, the Ox- ford 570. Only 180 lines, about one third, are exactly alike. Of the remain- der, 108 differ in one word, so that nearly half tha verses are unlike in ser- era] words, or entirely unlike.

3|ntroUuction ixxv

tail-rime stanza. The regular rime scheme \s a a b c c b d d b e e b. Variations from this scheme are found in the Oxford manuscript only in stanzas i6, 17, 19, 33, 41, 46 and 47. Assonance appears in a few instances. There are also a few instances of impure rime, but several of the apparent instances are due to the scribe. Alliteration is not an organic feature of the verse, but occurs occa- sionally, either through the survival of old formulae or through the use of two words with the same root. For a detailed discussion of the metrical features, see Treichel, op. cit. 364 fF.

The dialect of the original work is somewhat disguised on account of scribal peculiarities. In the Oxford man- uscript appear frequent Scottish features. From the ev- idence, however, of the rimes common to the two ver- sions and of the inflectional forms, Treichel {^op. cit. 371 fF. ) concludes that the original work was composed in the northern part of the Midland of England. In the present volume the different inflectional forms will be found registered in the glossary.

From the evidence of the rimes /^/, yte and ee^ y, Treichel (^op. cit. 374) sets the date of composition at not earlier than the beginning of the fifteenth century.

©ante ^(r(?

Ci comence le fab lei et la cointise de dame siriz.

As I com bi an waie, Hof on ich herde sale,

Ful modi mon and proud; Wis he wes of lore, And gou)7lich vnder gore, 5

And cloj^ed in fair sroud.

To louien he bigon On wedded wimmon,

per-of he heuede wrong ; His herte hire wes alon, lo

pat reste neuede he non,

pe loue wes so strong.

Wei ^erne he him bi)?oute Hou he hire gete moute

In ani cunnes wise. >5

In the variant readings, W. = Wright, M. = Matzner. Besides the variants indicated W. & M. have regularly th for p and -v for consonantal «. In the text of the present volume the punctuation is supplied by the editor.

Title. MS. comece, W. fables, MS. fablel. — 7 W. & M. be- gon. — 9 W. & M. Therof. — 13 W. & M. bi-thoute.

2 E>ame ^iti}

pat befel on an day pe louerd wend away

Hon his marchaundisc.

He wente him to )?en inne

per hoe wonede inne, »o

pat wes riche won ; And com in to )7en halle, per hoe wes srud w'i]> palle,

And )7us he bigon : —

CC^'~>| od almi^tten be her-innc! " 25

I -w- " Welcome, so ich euer bide wciine," ^^— ^ Quod ]?is wif.

" His hit ]}[ wille, com and site,

And wat is ]7i wille let me wite,

Mi leuelif. 30

Bi houre louerd, heuene-king, If I mai don ani )7ing

pat pe is lef, pou mi^tt finden me ful fre. Fol ble^eli willi don for );e, 35

Wi)7-houten gref."

12 W. & M. into, M. them. — 25 MS. her inne. — 27 W, & M. Quod. — 28 W. & M. commc. — 30 W. & M. Icve lif.— 36 MS. WiJ) houten, W. & M. Withhouten.

3aE>ame g^in? 3

" Dame, god ])e for^elde,

Bote on )7at ]>ou me nout bimelde,

Ne make pe wroj?, Min hernde willi to ]>e bede ; 40

Bote wra)7)7en pe for ani dede

Were me loj?."

" Nai I-wis, wilekin,

For no-)?ing )7at euer is min,

pau )?ou hit ^irne, 45

Houncurteis ne willi be; Ne con I nout on vilte,

Ne nout I nelle lerne.

pou mait saien al );ine wille,

And I shal herknen and sitten stillc, 50

pat )70u haue told. And if )7at )7ou me tellest skil, I shal don after j?! wil,

pat be J>ou bold.

And l^au jjou sale me ani same, 55

Ne shal I )?e noui^t blame

For )?i sawe." " Nou ich haue wonne Icue, ^if )7at I me shulde greue,

Hit were hounlawe. 60

37 W. &M. for-jelde. — 38 W. & M. bi-meldc. — 43 W. & M. i-wis. — 44 MS. no >ing. — 49 M. alle. — 60 W. & M. hounlaw.

4 SDame &iti}

Certes, dame, ]7ou seist as hende, And I shal setten spel on ende,

And tellen ];e al, Wat ich wolde, and wi ich com ; Ne con ich saien non falsdom, 65

Ne non I ne shal.

Ich habbe I-loued j^e moni ^er, pau ich nabbe nout ben her

Mi loue to schowe. Wile yi louerd is in toune, 70

Ne mai no mon wi)? J^e holden roune

WiJ? no ]?ewe.

Jurstendai ich herde saie, As ich wende bi ])e waie.

Of oure sire ; 75

Me tolde me )7at he was gon To ]>c feire of botolfston

In lincolne-schire.

And for ich weste j^at he ves houte, parfore ich am I-gon aboute 80

To speken wi)? ]>e. Him bur); to liken wel his lif, pat mijtte welde secc a vif

In priuite.

64 W.&M. What. — 67 W, &M.i-loved. — 73 W.&M. jursten-dai. — 78 W. & M. Lincolneschirc, MS. Hncolne ichire. — 80 W. & M. i-gon. — 83 W. sett, M. selc.

E>ame &iti} 5

Dame, if hit is ]>[ wille, 85

Bo)? dernelike and stille,

Ich wille ]>e loue." "pat woldi don for non )?in[g], Bi houre louerd, heuene-king,

pat ous is boue! 90

Ich habe mi louerd j^at is mi spouse, pat maiden broute me to house

Mid menske I-nou ; He loue)? me and ich him wel, Oure loue is also trewe as stel, 95

Wijj-houten wou.

pau he be from horn on his herndc, Ich were ounseli, if ich lernede

To ben on hore. pat ne shal neuere be, 100

pat I shal don selk falsete,

On bedde ne on flore.

Neuer more his lif-wile, Thau he were on hondred mile

Bi-^ende rome, 105

For no ymg ne shuldi take Mon on er)>e to ben mi make,

Ar his hom-come."

88 MS. y>in. — 92 M. mcidcn. — 93 W. & M. i-nou. MS. I nou. — 96 W. & M. With houten, MS. Wip houten. — loi W. fc M- falsete. — 105 MS. Bi jcnde rome. — 106 W. & M. shuld I

6 SDame ^iti}

• • 1 "Vame, dame, torn J?! mod;

I # P* curteisi was euer god, no

"^""^ And ^et shal be ; For )?€ louerd j^at ous haue)? wrout. Amend yi mod, and torn J^i )70ut. And rew on me."

"We, we ! oldest |?ou me a fol ? 115

So ich euer mote biden pi,

pou art ounwis. Mi )7out ne shalt )7ou newer wende; Mi louerd is curteis mon and hende,

And mon of pris ; no

And ich am wif boj^e god and trewe ; Trewerwomon ne mai no mon cnowe

pen ich am. pilke time ne shal neuer bitide pat mon for wouing ne |7oru prude i»5

Shal do me scham."

" Swete leumon, merci ! Same ne vilani

Ne bede I )?e non ; Bote derne loue I ]>e bede, 130

As mon )7at wolde of loue spede, And fi[n]de won."

124 W. & M. bi-tidc. — 127 W. & M. Icmmon, MS. lenmon, or leumon (?). — 132 MS. & W. fide.

SDame ^tri? 7

** So bide Ich euere mete oj^er drinke.

Her )7ou lesest al )7i swinke ;

pou mi^t gon horn, leue broj^er, 1^5

For [ne] wille ich )?e loue, ne non ojjer,

Bote mi wedde houssebonde;

To tellen hit )?e ne wille ich wonde." " Certes, dame, ]7at me for)7inke)? ;

An[d] wo is |;e mon f'a[t] muchel swinke)?, 140

And at pe laste lesej? his sped !

To maken menis his him ned.

Bi me I saie ful I-wis,

pat loue )7e loue j^at I shal mis.

An[d], dame, haue nou godnedai! 145

And yilke louerd, )7at al welde mai,

Leue ]}zt pi )?out so tourne,

pat ihc for J^e no leng ne mourne."

Dreri-mod he wente awai.

And )7oute bo)7e ni^t and dai 150

Hire al for to wende. A frend him radde for to fare, And leuen al his muchele kare,

To dame siriz pe hende.

133 W. & M. ich. — 136 MS. om. < ne.' — 139 W. & M.

for-thinketh. — 140 MS. An, W. & M. And, MS. fa 143

W. & M. i-wis. MS. I. wis. — 145 MS. An. W. & M. godne dai. — 149 M. Dreri-mod. — 154 MS. siriz, as usually.

SDame ^tri?

pider he wente him anon, 155

So sui)7e so he mi^tte gon,

No mon he ni mette. Ful he wes of tene and treie ; Mid wordes milde and eke sleic

Faire he hire grette. 160

" God ]>c I-blessi, dame siriz ! Ich am I-com to speken ^e yv^iz,

For ful muchele nede. And ich mai haue help of ]>e pou shalt haue, )7at )7ou shalt se, ig^

Ful riche mede."

" Welcomen art )70u, leue sone ;

And if ich mai oj^er cone

In eni wise for )7e do,

I shal streng)7en me |7er-to.

For-)7i, leue sone, tel |70u me

Wat |7ou woldest I dude for )7e." " Bote, leue nelde, ful euele I fare ;

I Icde mi lif wi)? tene and kare;

170

Wi)7 muchel hounsele ich lede mi lif. And )7at is for on suete wif pat hei^tte margeri.

1 61 W. & M. i-bleasi. MS. I. blessi. — 162 W, & M. i-com. MS. I-com. — 170 W. & M. ther-to. _ 171 W. & M. For-thi. — 173 W. &M. Nclde.

•75

Dame ^irij 9

Ich haue I-loued hire moni dai, And of hire loue hoe seiz me nai ;

Hider ich com for-pi. i8o

Bote if hoe wende hire mod, For serewe mon ich wakese wod,

0]7er mi selue quelle. Ich heuede I-)7out miself to slo ; For-];en radde a frend me go 185

To )?e mi sereue telle.

He saide me, wi];-houten faille, pat |7ou me cou]?est helpe and uaile,

And bringen me of wo Poru yme crafFtes and j^ine dedes ; 190

And ich wile ^eue J7e riche mede,

Wi)> )7at hit be so."

" Benedicite be herinne !

Her hauest )70u, sone, mikel senne.

Louerd, for his suete nome, ,^5

Lete ])e J^erfore hauen no shome !

pou seruest affter godes grome.

Wen )7ou seist on me silk blame.

For ich am old, and sek and lame ;

Seknesse haue]? maked me ful tame. 200

178 W. & M. i-loved. MS. I. loued.— 179 W. & M. »cith. — 180 W. & M. for-thi. — 183 W. & M. miselve. — 184 W. & M. i-thout. — 187 W. & M. withhouten. — 188 W. & M. vailc

10 SDame ^iti}

Blesse )7e, blesse )>e, leue knauc !

Leste )?ou mes-auenter haue,

For l^is lesing )7at is founden

Opp-on me, ]^at am harde I-bonden.

Ich am on holi wimon, 105

On wicchecrafFt nout I ne con,

Bote wi]? gode men almesdede.

like dai mi lif I fede.

And bidde mi pzter nost^r and mi crede,

pat goed hem helpe at hore nede, »»©

pat helpen me mi lif to lede.

And leue )^at hem mote wel spede.

His lif and his soule wor)7e I-shend,

pat ]>e to me )?is hernde haue)? send ;

And leue me to ben I-wreken 215

On him J^is shome me hauej? spcken.**

CCtT cue nelde, bilef al )?is ;

I Me )?inke)7 )?a[t] );ou art onwis. -■ — pe mon )7at me to )?e taute, He weste )?at )?ou hous cou)7est saute. zio

Help, dame siri)?, if );ou maut, To make me wij? ]>c sueting saut,

201 W. & M. bless. — 202 W. & M. mcsaventer, MS. mes auenter. — 204 W. & M. Oppon, i-bonden, MS. I bondcn. — 207 W. & M. witchccraflft. — 209 W. & M. pater-nostcr. — 213 W. & M. i-shend. — 215 W. & M. i-wreken. — 216 W. & M. speken. —217 W. & M. Neldc. bi-lef. — 218 MS. pa; W. & M. that. — 220 W. touhest, MS. coupest or toupc8t(?).

SDame ^itij 1 1

And ich wille geue |;e gift ful stark,

Moni a pound and moni a markc,

Warme pilche and warme shon, "5

Wi|7 )7at min hernde be wel don.

Of muchel godlec mi^t )70u ^elpe,

If hit be so ]7at pou me helpe.'* " Li^ me nout, wilekin, bi y'l leute

Is hit |7in hernest J>ou tekest me ? 230

Louest )70u wel dame margeri ? " " ^e, nelde, witerli ;

Ich hire loue, hit mot me spille,

Bote ich gete hire to mi wille.'* " Wat, god wilekin, me re we)? ]>i scaj^e, 235

Houre louerd sende )7e help ra)7e !

Weste hie hit mi^tte ben forholen, Me wolde )7unche wel solen

pi wille for to fullen. Make me siker wi)? word on honde, 240

pat )?ou wolt helen, and I wile fondc

If ich mai hire tellen.

For al J)e world ne woldi nout pat ich were to chapitre I-brout

For none selke werkes. »45

224 MS. apound, amarke. — 230 W. tehest, M. techest. — 232 W. & M. Nelde. — 235 MS. wilekin. — 236 MS. louerd. — 237 W. & M. for-holen. — 244 W. & M. i-brout.

12 2Dame ^irij

Mi iugement were sone I-giucn To ben wi|^ shome somer driucn WiJ? prestes and with clarkes."

" I-wis, nelde, ne woldi »So

pat J7ou heuedest uilani

Ne shame for mi goed. Her I ]>e mi troupe pli^tte, Ich shal helen hi mi mi^ttc, Bi be holi roed ! "

»55

" Welcome, wilekin, hiderward ; Her hauest I-maked a foreward

pat )7e mai ful wel like, pou mai^t blesse )?ilke si)?, For )70u mai^t make ])e ful blij? ;

Dar );ou namore sike.

To goder-hele euer come );ou hider, For sone willi gange j^ider,

And maken hire hounderstondc. I shal kenne hire sulke a lore ; »^5

pat hoe shal louien \>e mikel more

pen ani mon In londe."

246 W. & M. jugement, i-givcn. — 249 W. & M. I-wis, Nelde. — 250 W. & M. vilani. — 255 MS. wilekin. 256 W. & M. i-maked. — 261 W. To geder hele, M. To goder hele. W. & M. hide[r]. — 164 MS. alore. — 266 W. & M. in.

160

" Al so haui godes grij;, Wei hauest )70u said, dame sirij?,

And goder-hele shal ben J7in. Haue her twenti shiling, 170

pis ich ^eue Ipe to meding,

To buggen ]?€ sep and swin."

" So ich euere brouke hous o)7er flet, Neren neuer penes beter biset

pen pes shulen ben. »75

For I shal don a iup^rti, And a ferli maistri,

pat )7ou shalt ful wel sen.

Pepir nou shalt )70u eten,

pis mustart shal ben ]>i mete, ago

And gar j^in eien to rene ; I shal make a lesing Of ym heie-renning,

Ich wot wel wer and wenne."

" Wat ! nou const ]70u no god ? 485

Me f^inke); )7at ]7ou art wod :

^euest po ]>e welpe mustard ? " " Be stille, boinard !

270 W. Have, M. Hawe. — 276 W. & M, juperti, MS. aiupfrti. — 279 MS. Pepis. — 282 MS, alesing. — 287 W. tho, M. thou.

1 4 2E>ame g^iri?

I shal mit yis ilke gin

Gar hire loue to ben al ]7in. 290

Ne shal ich neuer haue reste ne ro

Til ich haue told hou )7ou shalt do.

Abid me her til min hom-come." " 3 us, bi ]>e somer blome,

He)?en nulli ben binomen, 195

Til );ou be a^ein comen "

Dame siri)? bigon to go,

As a wrecche )?at is wo,

pat hoe come hire to pen innc

per J;is gode wif wes inne. 300

po hoe to |7e dore com,

Swi];e reuliche hoe bigon : " Louerd," hoe sei)?, " wo is holde wiues,

pat in pouerte ledej? ay Hues ;

Not no mon so muchel of pine 305

As poure wif |7at falle); in ansine.

pat mai ilke mon bi me wite

For mai I nouj^er gange ne site.

Ded woldi ben ful fain.

Houng^r and j;urst me hauej? nei slain; -^ir

Ich ne mai mine limes on-wold.

For mikel hounger and |7urst and cold.

War-to liueth selke a wrecche ?

Wi nul goed mi soule fecche ? '*

291 MS. nero. — 293 MS. horn come. — 294 W. & M. bi- nomen. — 310 W. & M. Hounger. — 311 W. & MS. on wold — 313 W. & M. War-to. MS. awrecche.

SDantf g^irif 15

"Seli wif, god )?€ hounbinde ! 315

To dai wille I )?e mete finde

For loue of goed. Ich haue reuj7e of )7i wo, For euele I-cloJ7ed I se }?e go,

And euele I-shoed. 320

Com her-in, ich wile ]>c fede," " Goed almi^tten do J7e mede,

And ]}G louerd |7at wes on rode I-don,

And faste fourti daus to non,

And heuene and er)?e haue]? to welde. 3»5

As J^ilke louerd )7e for^elde.

Haue her fles and eke bred,

And make pe glad, hit is mi red ;

And haue her );e coppe wij? pe dri«ke j

Goed do j?e mede for ]>[ swinke." 330

penne spac )7at holde wif,

Crist awarie hire lif ! " Alas ! Alas ! J^at euer I Hue !

Al ]>e sunne ich wolde forgiue

pe mon |7at smite of min heued ! 335

Ich wolde mi lif me were bireued ! "

319 W. & M. i-clothed, MS. I. cloM- — 320 W. & M. i-shoed, MS. I shoed. — 321 W. & M. herb. — 323 W. & M. loverd, i-don. — 326 W. & M. for-jelde. — 329 W. & M. drinlce.

— 330 W. & M. Goed mede the for. — 331 W. & M. olde.

334 W. & M. for-give. — 335 W. & M. ofF. — 336 W. & M. bi-rcvcd.

1 6 2E>atne&irt5

" Seli wif, what eille); |;e ? " " Bote e])e mai I sori be :

Ich heuede a dout^r feir and frc,

Feiror ne mi^tte no mon se. 34»

Hoe heuede a curteis hossebonde ;

Freour mon mi^tte no mon fonde.

Mi doutfr louede him al to wel;

For y'l maki sori del.

Oppon a dai he was out wend, 345

And )7ar-J>oru wes mi dout^r shend.

He hede on ernde out of toune ;

And com a modi clarc wi)> croune,

To mi dout^r his loue beed,

And hoe nolde nout folewe his red. 35°

He ne mi^tte his wille haue,

For no );ing he mi^tte craue.

penne bigon j?e clerc to wiche,

And shop mi dout^r til a biche.

pis is mi dout^r )>at ich of speke; 355

For del of hire min herte breke.

Loke hou hire heien greten,

On hire cheken )?e teres meten.

339 W. & M. douter. MS. adouur. — 340 W. & M. Feirer.

— 342 MS. nomon. — 343 W. & M. douter. — 344 W. & M. For-thi male I. — 345 MS. adai, W. & M. oute. — 346 W. & M. thar- forn, douter. — 348 MS. amodi. — 349 W. & M, douter.

— 352 W, & M. nothing. — 353 W. & M. bi-gon. — 354 MS. tbiche. 355 W, & M. douter.

Wnmt&iti^ 17

For |7i, dame, were hit no wowd^r,

pau min herte burste assund^r. 360

A [lid] wose euer is ^ong houssewif,

Ha loue)? ful luitel hire lif,

And eni clerc of loue hire bede,

Bote hoe gr^nte and lete him spede." " A ! louerd crist, wat mai )7enne do ! 365

pis enderdai com a clarc me to,

And bed me loue on his manere,

And ich him nolde nout I-here.

Ich trouue he woUe me forsape.

Hou troustu, nelde, ich moue ascape ? " ^70 " God almi^tten be )?in help

pat ]70u ne be nou)7er bicche ne welp !

Leue dame, if eni clerc

Bede)? ]>c )?at loue-werc,

Ich rede f'at )?ou grante his bone, 375

And bicom his lefmon sone.

And if )7at J>ou so ne dost,

A worse red )7ou ounderfost."

*' Louerd crist, )?at me is wo, pat )7e clarc me hede fro, 380

Ar he me heuede biwonne.

359 "W. & M, For-thi, wonder. — 360 W. & M. thah. — 361 MS. A, W. & M. hever. — 362 M. Hoe. — 363 W. & M. An. — 364 W. & M. graunte. — 365 M. inserts *I* after mai, — 368 W. & M. i-here. — 369 W. & M. for-sape. — 370 W. & M. Nelde. — 375 W. & M. graunte. — 376 W. & M. bi-com.

1 8 2DameS)m5

Me were leuere )7en ani fe That he heuede enes leien bi me, And efft-sones bigunne.

Euer-more, nelde, ich wille be ]7in, 385

WiJ> )7at )70u feche me willekin,

pe clarc of wam I telle, Giftes willi geue pe pat )70u mai^t euer pe betere be,

Bi godes houne belle ! " 390

" Sof>liche, mi swete dame, And if I mai wi)?-houte blame,

Fain ich wille fFonde ; And if ich mai wi)? him mete, Bi eni wei o)7er bi strete, 395

Nout ne willi wonde.

Haue goddai, dame ! for)? willi go." " Allegate loke ]>zt )7ou do so

As ich )7e bad ; Bote )7at )70u me wilekin bringe, 400

Ne mai neuer lawe ne singe,

Ne be glad."

384 MS. cfFt sones, W. & M. bi-gunnc. —385 W. & M. Evermore, Nelde. — 388 W. & M. give.— 392 W. & M. withhoute. — 393 W. & M. fonde. — 397 W. & M. god dai. — 401 M. inserts *l* after mai.

2r>ame ^iti} 19

" I wis, dame, if I mai, Ich wille bringen him ^et to-dai,

Bi mine mi^tte." 405

Hoe wente hire to hire inne, Her hoe founde wilekinne,

Bi houre dri^tte!

" Swete wilekin, be )7ou nout dred, For of j>in her[n]de ich haue wel sped. 410 Swi|7e com for )7ider wi)? me, For hoe hauej? send a.ffter ]>e. I-wis nou mai^t }70u ben aboue. For )70u hauest gr^ntise of hire loue.'*

"God )?e for-^elde, leue nelde, 415

pat heuene and erj^e haue)? to welde ! "

pis modi mon bigon to gon Wi); Siriz to his leuemon

In |7ilke stounde. Dame Siriz bigon to telle, 420

And swor bi godes ouene belle.

Hoe heuede him founde.

" Dame, so haue ich wilekin sout,

For nou haue ich him I-brout." "Welcome, wilekin, swete )7ing, 425

pou art welcomore ]>en )?e king.

403 W. & M. I-wis. — 410 MS. herde. — 411 M. foi*th* thider. — 412 W. & M. affter. — 413 W. & M I-wis. — 414 W. & M. graundse. — 415 MS. for jelde. W. & M. Nelde. — 424 W. & M. i-brout.

20 2E>attte &iri5

Wilekin )?e swete, Mi loue I ]>e bihete,

To don al J^ine wille. Turnd ich haue mi );out, 43®

For I ne wolde nout

pat )7ou |7e shuldest spille."

" Dame, so ich euere bide noen, And ich am redi and I-boen

To don al |7at )7ou saie. 435

Nelde, par ma fai ! pou most gange awai,

Wile ich and hoe shulen plaic."

" Goddot so 1 wille : And loke |;at )70u hire tillc, 44®,

And strek out hire J^es. God ^eue pe muchel kare, ^eif )7at )7ou hire spare, pe wile )7ou mid hire bes.

And wose is onwis. And for non pr/s

Ne con geten his leucmon, I shal, for mi mede, Garen him to spede.

For ful wel I con."

428 W. & M. bi-hete. — 434 W. & M. i-boen. —444 M. here. — 446 W. & M. pris.

Dame ^iti}

21

Jppendix to Dame Striz

Hie Incipt Int^rludiu/w de cl<rico et puella.

Clericus ait, " Damishel, reste wel ! " Clerkus

" Sir, welcu/w, by saynt michel ! '* Pud/a

" Wer esty sire, wer esty dame ? " Clerkus

" By gode, es noyer her at hame." Puella 5

" Wel wor suilc a man to life Clerkus

Yat suilc a may mithe haue to wyfe." " Do way, by cr/st and leonard, Puel/a

No wily lufe na clerc fayllard,

Na kepi herbherg, clerc, in huse, no y flore 10

Bot his hers ly wit uten dore.

Go forth yi way, god sire,

fFor her hastu losye al yi wile/* " Nu, nu, by cr/st and by sant ihon ; CUricus

In al yis land ne wis hi none, 15

Mayden, yat hi luf mor yan ye,

Hif me micht euer ye bether be.

fFor ye hy sory nicht and day,

Y may say, hay wayleuay ! "

Y luf ye mar yan mi lif, 20 Yu hates me mar yan yayt dos chnief.

Yat es nouct for mys-gilt,

Certhes, for yi luf ham hi spilt.

A, suythe mayden, reu of me,

Yat es ty luf hand ay salbe, 25

22 3ar>ame g^iri?

fFor ye luf of y [e] mod [^r] of efne,

Yu mend yi mode and her my steuene ! " " By cr/st of heu(?«e and sant ione, Puella

Clerc of scole ne kepi non,

fFor many god wymman haf yai don scam — 3°

By cr/st, yu michtis haf ben at hame ! " '* Synt it noyir gat may be, curkus

Ihesu cr/st by-te [c] hy ye,

And send neulic bot yar in«e,

Yat yi be lesit of al my pyne." 35

" Go nu, trwan, go nu, go, Pudla

fFor mikel yu cawstu of sory and wo ! "

** God te blis, mome helwis ! " CUrkus

" Son, welcu;w, by san dinis ! " Mome-Elwis

" Hie am comin to ye, mome, CWkus 40

Yu hel me noth, yu say me sone.

Hie am a clerc yat hauwtes scole,

Y lydy my lif wyt mikel dole.

Me wor leu^r to be dedh,

Yan led ye lif yat hyc ledh 45

fFor ay mayden with and schen,

fFayrer ho lond hawy non syen.

Yo hat mayden malkyn, y wcnc.

Nu yu wost quam y mene.

Yo wonys at the tounes ende, 50

Yat suyt lif so fayr and hende.

Bot if yo wil hir mod amende.

2E>amf Strt? 23

Neuly cr/st my ded me send! Men send me hyder, vyt-vte« faylc. To haf yi help anty cuwsayle ; 55

Yar for amy cummen here, Yat yu salt be my herand-bere, To mac me and yat may den sayct, And hi sal gef ye of my nayct, So yat heu^r al yy lyf 60

Saltu be ye better wyf. So help me cr/st, and hy may spede, Riche saltu haf yi mede." "A, son, vat saystu? Benedicite! MomeEllwis Lift hup yi hand and blis ye ! 65

fFor it es boyt syn and scam, Yat yu on me hafs layt thys blam. fFor hie am anald quyne and a lam, Y led my lyf wit godis loue, Wit my roc y me fede, 70

Cani do non oyir dede, Bot my pat^r nost^r and my crede, To say cn'st for missedede, And myn auy mary —

fFor my scynnes hie am sory — 75

And my depr^yfund/j fFor al yat y sin lysj fFor cani me non oyir yi«k — Yat wot cr/st, of he«^ne kync. Ih^su cr/st of hea^ne hey, 80

SDame g^irij

Gef yat hay may heng hey, And gef yat hy may se, Yat yay be heng' on a tre, Yat yis ley as leyit onne me. fFor aly wymam ami on."

Cl^e ^ox ana ^olf in t\)t Wtll

Of )?€ vox and of )?€ wolf

A vox gon out of pe wode go, Afingret so, j^at him wes wo j He nes neuere in none wise Afingret erour half so swij^e. He ne hoeld nouj^er wey ne strete. For him wes lo)? men to mete; Him were leuere meten one hen, pen half anoundred wimmen. He strok swi)7e ouer-al. So ]?at he ofsei ane wal; Wi)7inne pe walle wes on hous. The wox wes ];ider swijje wous ; For he ]7ohute his hounger aqw^nche, 0)7er mid mete, o)7er mid drunche. Abouten he biheld wel ^erne; po eroust bigon ]?e vox to erne. Al fort he come to one walle. And som |7er-of wes afalle,

W. = Wright and Halliwell, Reliquiae Antiquae ; M. = Matzner, AltengUsche sprachproben. In W. and in H. throughout p appears as th and consonantal u as f .

8 W. & M. Than half an oundred. — 9 W. & M. all. _ 1 3 W. & M. aquenche, — 18 W. & M. therof wes a-falle.

IS

26 tE^^e fox anD Molf in t^e OTrll

And wes }>e wal ouer-al to-broke,

And on ^at )?er wes 1-loke; »o

At )>e furmeste bruche )7at he fond,

He lep in, and ouer he wond.

po he wes inne, smere he lou,

And j7er-of he hadde gome I-nou ;

For he com in wi)?-outen leue 25

Bo);en of haiward and of reue.

On hous ]>er wes, ]>e dore wes ope, Hennen weren J?erinne I-crope,

Fine, ]7at make); anne flok.

And mid hem sat on kok.

pe kok him wes flowen on hey.

And two hennen him seten ney. " Wox," q«od ])€ kok, " wat dest ])o\i )7are ?

Go horn, crist pe ^eue kare !

Houre hennen );ou dest ofte shome.'* ^^

"Be stille, ich bote, a godes nome! "

Qua); );e wox, " sire chauntecler,

pou fie adoun, and com me ner.

I nabbe don her nout bote goed,

I have leten );ine hennen blod ; ^q

Hy weren seke ounder );e ribe,

pat hy ne mi^tte non lengour libe.

30

19 MS. to breke. — 20 W. & M. i-loke. — 24 W. & M. i-nou- — 28 W. & M. i-crope, MS. I crope. — 36 MS. agodet.

tETI^e jFop mn Molf in tl^e OTell 27

Bote here heddre were I-take; pat I do for almes sake.

Ich haue hem letten eddre blod, 45

And ]?e, chauntecler, hit wolde don goed. pou hauest )?at ilke ounder )7e splen, pou nestes neuere daies ten ; For ]?ine lif-dayes bej? al ago, Bote )7ou hi mine rede do; 50

I do f>e lete blod ounder ]>e brest, Oj^er sone axe after ]?e prest." " Go wei," quod J?e kok, " wo pe bi-go ! pou hauest don oure kunne wo. Go mid )7an j^at )7ou hauest nouf^e ; S5

Acoursed be )7ou of godes mouj^e ! For were I adoun bi godes nome ! Ich mi^te ben siker of o]7re shome Ac weste hit houre cellerer, pat ];ou were I-comen her. 60

He wolde sone after ]>e ^onge, Mid pikes and stones and staues strongc ; Alle }7ine bones he wolde to-breke; pene we weren wel awreke."

H

£ wes stille, ne spak namore, 65

Ac he wer[7 a)7urst wel sore;

43 W. & M. i-take, MS. I take. — 49 W. & M. a-go. — 58 W. & M. owre, — 59 M. wiste. — 60 W. & M. i-comen, MS. I comen. — 63 MS. to breke.

28 tET^e iFor ant Wolf in t\)t Well

pe )7urst him dede more wo,

pen heuede raj^er his hounger do.

Ouer-al he ede and sohvte ;

On auenture his wiit him brohutc, 70

To one putte wes water inne

pat wes I-maked mid grete ginnc.

Tuo boketes ]7er he founde,

pat o);er wende to ]>e grounde,

pat wen me shulde );at on opwindc, 75

pat oJ?er wolde adoun winde.

He ne hounderstod nout of ]>e ginne,

He nom )7at boket, and lep );erinne ;

For he hopede I-nou to drinke.

pis boket biginne)? to sinke;

To late [7e vox wes bi)?out,

po he wes in ])e ginne I-brout.

I-nou he gon him bi-)7enche,

Ac hit ne halp mid none wrenche ;

Adoun he moste, he wes )7erinne ;

I-kaut he wes mid swikele ginne.

Hit mi^te han iben wel his wille

To lete )7at boket hongi stille.

Wat mid serewe and mid drede,

72 W. & M. i-maked, MS. I malted. — 75 W. & M. op- winde, M. omits on. — 76 W. & M. a-doun. — 79 W. & M, i-nou, MS. Inou.— 80 W. & M. beginneth, —81 W. & M. bi-pout. — 82 W. & M. i-brout, MS. I brout.— 83 MS. bi )jenche. — 85 W. & M. A-doun. — 86 W. & M i-kaut.— 87 W. & M. i-ben, MS. hani ben.

80

®Je ifor mn OTolf in c^e Well 29

Al his |7urst him ouer-hede. 90

Al )7us he com to )?e grounde, And water I-nou jier he foundc. po he fond water, ^erne he dronk, Him )7oute J^at water |7ere stonk, For hit wes to-^eines his wille. 95

" Wo wor|7e," qua]) ]>e vox, " lust and willc, pat ne can me]; to his mete ! Jef ich neuede to muchel I-ete, pis iike shome neddi nou]7e; Nedde lust I-ben of mine mou)?c. 100

Him is wo in euche londe, pat is pef mid his honde. Ich am I-kaut mid swikele ginne, 0]7er soum deuel me broute her-inne. I was woned to ben wiis, 105

Ac nou of me I-don hit hiis."

PE vox wep, and reuliche bigan. per com a wolf gon after )7an Out of ye depe wode bliue, For he wes afingret swi]7e. no

Noj^ing he ne founde in al |?e ni^te, Wer-mide his honger aque«che mi^tte.

90 W. & M. ovcr-hede, MS, ouer hede. — 91 W. & M. come.

— 92 W, & M. i-nou. — 95 MS. to jeines. — 96 W. & M. quath. — 97 M. con. — 98 W. & M. i-ete, MS. I ete. — 100 W. & M. i-ben, MS. I ben. — 103 W. & M. i-kaut, MS. I kaut.

— 106 W. & M. i-don, MS. I don. — 112 W., MS. Wer mide, W. & M. aquenche, M. Wer-mid e.

30 tsa^t iFor antj OTolf in t^t Well

He com to ]>e putte, j^ene vox I-herde j

He him kneu wel bi his rerde,

For hit wes his nei^ebore, 115

And his gossip, of children bore.

A-doun bi j^e putte he sat.

Quod )7e wolf, "Wat may ben J^at

pat ich in )7e putte I-here ?

Hertou cristine, o)7er mi fere? no

Say me so)?, ne gabbe )7ou me nout.

Wo haue)? |7e in )7e putte, I-brout ? "

pe vox hine I-kneu wel for his kun,

And ]70 eroust kom wiit to him ;

For he );oute mid soumme ginne, i»5

Him-self houpbringe, )7ene wolf )7erinne.

Quod J7e vox, " Wo is nou ]>ere ?

Ich wene hit is sigr/m );at ich here.*' " pat is S0J7," pe wolf sede, " Ac wat art )7ou, so god ]>e rede ? ** '3®

•• yl yy quod j;e vox, " ich wille J^e telle ; x\.* On alpi word ich lie nelle. Ich am reneuard, J>i frend. And ^if ich |;ine come heuede I-wcnd, Ich hedde so I-bede for )7e, i^j

pat )70u sholdest comen to me."

1 1 3 W. & M. i-herde. — 1 14 W. & M. by. — 1 1 8 M. What. — 119 W. & M. i-here. — 122 W. & M. i-brout. — 123 W. & M. i-kneu, MS. I kneu. — 128 W. & M. Sigrim. — 134 W. & M. i-wend.— 135 W. & M. i-bade.

^\)t iFop auD OTolf in t\)t OTell 31

" Mid ]>e ? " quod pe wolf, " War to ? Wat shulde ich ine J7e putte do ? " Quod ])e vox, " pou art ounwiis. Her is )7e blisse of paradiis ; 140

Her ich mai euere wel fare, Wi)7-outen pine, wi|;outen kare; Her is mete, her is drinke, Her is blisse wi)70uten swinke ; Her nis hounger neuermo, 145

Ne non oj^er kunnes wo ; Of alle gode her is I-nou." Mid |;ilke wordes ]>e volf lou.

•• A rt |7ou ded, so god j^e rede,

JTjl 0)?er of ]7e worlde?" pe wolf sede. j^o

Quod ]>e wolf, " Wenne storue J7ou,

And wat dest J70u )7ere nou ?

Ne be)? nout ^et J^re daies ago,

pat f»ou and ^i wif also.

And )7ine children, smale and gretc, ,55

Alle to-gedere mid me hete." " pat is so)?," quod )?e vox, " Gode )?onk, nou hit is )?us,

pat ihc am to criste vend.

Not hit non of mine frend. 160

I nolde, for al )?e worldes goed,

Ben ine f>e worlde, )?er ich hem fond.

137 W. & M. war-to. — 147 W. & M. i-nou. — 153 W. & M. a-go.

32 tB\)t iFor anDJKKolf in tlje OTell

Wat shuldich ine j?e worlde go,

per nis bote kare and wo,

And liuie in fulj>e and in sunne? 165

Ac her be)? ioies fele cunne ;

Her be)? bo)?e shep and get."

pe wolf haue)? hounger swi)?e grct,

For he nedde ^are I-ete ;

And )?o he herde speken of mete, 170

He wolde ble)?eliche ben )?are. " A ! " quod )?e wolf, " gode I-fere,

Moni goed mel )?ou hauest me binomcj

Let me adoun to )?e kome.

And al ich wole )?e for-^eue." 175

" Je," quod )?e vox, " were )?ou I-sriuc,

And sunnen heuedest al forsake.

And to klene lif I-take,

Ich wolde so bidde for J?e,

pat ]?ou sholdest comen to me." 180

•• ^ I ^O wom shuldich," )?c wolfc selde, X Ben I-knowe of mine misdede ? Her nis no)?ing aliue, pat me kou)?e her nou sriue.

156 MS. to gcdere. — i66 W. & M. joies. — 169 W. & M. i-ete, MS. I ete. — 171 W. & M. i-fere, MS. I fere.— 174 W. & M. a-doun, — 175 MS. for jeue. — 176 W. & M. i-srive, MS. I sriue. — 178 W. & M. i take, MS. I take. — 182 W. & M. i-knowe, MS. I knowe.

W)t iFop anO Wolf in t\)t Witll 33

pou hauest ben ofte min I-fere, 185

Woltou nou mi srift I-here,

And al mi liif I shal );e telle ? " " Nay," quod )?e vox, " I nelle." " Neltou," quod )7e wolf, " |7in ore,

Ich am afingret swi);e sore ; 190

Ich wot to ni^t ich worj7e ded,

Bote );ou do me somne reed.

For cristes loue be mi prest."

pe wolf bey adoun his brest,

And gon to siken harde and stronge. 19S

" Woltou," quod )7e vox, " srift ounderfowge,

Tel yme sunnen on and on,

pat ];er bileue neuer on."

••Oone," quod ]>e wolf, " wel I-faie,

O Ich habbe ben qued al mi lifdaie ; 200 Ich habbe widewene kors, perfore ich fare )7e wors. A )>ousent shep ich habbe abiten. And mo, ^ef hy weren I-writen. Ac hit me of-^inke)? sore. 205

Maister, shal I tellen more ? "

185 W. & M. i-fere, MS. I fere. — 186 W. & M. i-here, WS. I here. — 191 W. & M. to-nijt. — 194 W. & H. a-doun. — 196 W. & M. ounderfonge. — 199 W. & M. quad, MS. I fare, W. & M. i-faie. — 200 W. & M. lif-daie. — 204 W. & M. i-writen, MS. I writen. — 205 MS. ofp'mkep.

34 tETtie iFojc and Molf in t^t OTell

"^e," q«^d )?€ vox, " al )7ou most sugge,

0|?er elles-wer |;ou most abugge." " Gossip," quod ]>e wolf, " for^ef hit me,

Ich habbe ofte sehid qued bi )7e, »io

Men seide ]?at )70u on J7ine Hue '

Misferdest mid mine wiue ;

Ich ]>e ap(?rseiuede one stounde,

And in bedde togedere ou founde.

Ich wes ofte ou ful ney, %i$

And in bedde to-gedere ou sey.

Ich wende, al-so o);re do)?,

pat ich I-seie were so);.

And );erfore )7ou were me \o]> ;

Gode gossip, ne be )70u nohut wro)?.** »2o

••"¥ Tuolf," quod ]>c vox him )7o,

V " Al )7at );ou hauest her biforc I-do,

In )7ohut, in speche, and in dede.

In euche o)7eres kunnes quede,

Ich ])e for^eue at )7isse nede." »»S

" Crist ]7e for^elde ! " );e wolf seide. " Nou ich am in clene Hue,

Ne recche ich of childe ne of wiue.

Ac sei me wat I shal do.

And ou ich may comen \)e to." 230

107 W. & M. quad. — 208 MS. dies wer. — 213 W. & M, aperieivede. — 214 W. & M. to-gcdere. — 216 MS. to gedcre ou ley, M. scy. — 218 W. & M. i-scle, MS. I scie. — 221 W. & M. quad. — 222 W. & M. i-do, MS. I do.

tETlfte Sfov anu molt in tlje Mell 35

" Do ? " quod pc vox. " Ich wille J7e lere.

I-siist );ou a boket hongi )?ere ?

pert is a bruche of heuene blisse,

Lep )?erinne, mid I-wisse,

And )7ou shalt comen to me sone." *35

Quod the wolf, "|;at is li^t to done."

He lep in, and way sumdel ;

pat weste J^e vox ful wel.

pe wolf gon sinke, pe vox arise ;

po gon pe wolf sore agr/se. 240

po he com amidde pe putte,

pe wolfe |7ene vox opward mette. " Gossip," quod pe wolf, " Wat nou ?

Wat hauest J70u I-munt ? weder wolt )70u ? " " Weder, Ich wille ? " pe vox sede. 245

" Ich wille oup, so god me rede !

And nou go doun, wij? )7i meel,

pi bi^ete wor)? wel smal.

Ac ich am );erof glad and hVipe^

pat )70u art nomen in clene liue. 250

pi soule-cnul ich wille do ringe.

And masse for )7ine soule singe."

pe wrecche binej^e nof>ing ne vind,

Bote cold water, and hounger him bind ;

To colde gistninge he wes I-bede, 155

Wroggen haue); his dou I-knede.

232 MS. I siist. — 234 W. & M. i-wisse, MS. I wisse. — 240 W. & M. agrise. — 244 W. & M. i-munt, MS. I munt.

— 25 I W. & M. soul-cnul. — 255 W. & M. i-bede, MS. I bede.

— 256 W. & M. i-knede, MS. I knede.

36 t!ri)e iFor anu WioK in t^e Well

Pe wolf in j^e putte stod, Afingret so )?at he ves wod. Inou he cursede |7at j^ider him broutc ; pe vox J7er of luitel route. jgo

pe put him wes )7e house ney, per freren woneden swij;e sley. po )7at hit com to )7e time, pat hoe shulden arisen Ine, For to suggen here houssong, 265

O frere ]>erc wes among, Of here slep hem shulde awecche, Wen hoe shulden ]7idere recche. He seide, " Arise)? on and on, And kome); to houssong heuereuchon.** »7o

pis ilke frere heyte ailmer ; He wes hoere maister curtiler. He wes hof|7urst swi);e stronge ; Ri^t amidward here houssonge Al-hone to ]?e putte he hede ; 275

For he wende bete his nede. He com to J^e putte, and drou, And J7e wolf wes heui I-nou. pe frere mid al his maine tey So longe l^at he J;ene wolf I-sey ! 180

For he sei )7ene wolf J?er sitte, He gradde, " pe deuel is in ]f€ putte ! "

259 MS. I nou. — 264 W. & M. ime. — 270 M. hevere uchon. — 275 W. & M. Alhonc, MS. Al hone. — 278 W. & M. i-nou, MS. I nou.— 280 W. & M. i-«ey, MS. I sey.

tE^lje iFor anD «olf in t\)t OTell 37

To )?e putte hy gounnen gon, Alle mid pikes and staues and ston, Eucb mon mid );at he hedde ; ^85

Wo wes him j^at wepne nedde. Hy comen to |?e putte )7ene wolf opdrowe j po hede );e wreche fomen I-nowe, pat weren egre him to slete Mid grete houndes, and to bete. »9o

Wei and wro]?e he wes I-swonge, Mid staues and speres he wes I-stou«ge. pe wox bicharde him, mid Iwisse, For he ne fond nones kunnes blisse, Ne hof duntes foqeuenesse. explicit. 295

287 W. & M. op-drowe. — 288 W. & M. i-nowe, MS. I nowe. — 291 W. & M. i-swonge, MS. I swonge. — 292 W. & M. i-stounge, MS. I stottnge. — 293 W. & M. i-wisse, MS. I wisse.

ystyns, lordyng^j, and ^e schall here Ashmolc

fF ansytottrres, ]}at be-fore vs were,

Bothe herdy and wyght, Yn tyme of vter and pewdragonn, Kyng artowr fad^r of grete renouwe, 5

A sembly man of syght. He had a kny^ht, hy^t sir clegys ; A dou^tyer man was now at nedys

Of ];e ronde-tabull ry^ht. He was man of hy statour le

And \er-X.o feyre of all fetowr,

A man of mekyll myjht.

Mo«r curtas kny^ht )7a« he was one Yn all Yt% werld was \er non.

He was so gentyll and fre, <5

To squyres \ax. tr^ueyled \n lond of wcrre And w^r fallyn in pou^rte bare,

He gaff |7ew gold and fe. Hys tenant^j feyr he wold rehete ; No man he wold buske ne bete ; 20

Meke as meyd was he. Hys mete was redy to eu^ry man That wold com and vyset hyw than ;

He was full of plente.

&it Clege0 39

The knyght had a gentyll wyfF^, 25

A better my^ht non be of lyfe,

Ne non semblyer in syght. Dame clarys hyght ]}at lady ; Off all godnes sche had treuly

Glad chere bo];e dey and ny^ht. 30

Grete alm«j--folke bo)7e pel were Both to pore man and to frere ;

They cheryd many a wy^ht. iFor ]>em had no man ou^ht lore Whe)?^r ]}ei wer ryche or pore, 35

Of hym ])ei schuld haue ry^ht.

Euery ^ere sir clegys wold In crystyn-mes a fest hold

Yn )7e worschype of ]}at dey, [As Ryall in all thynge ^o

As he hade ben A kynge,

For-soth as I you saye.] Ryche and pore in ]}at contre At ]>at fest \>ei schuld be ;

Ther wold no man sey nay. ^^

MynstreWus wold not be be-hynd, Myrthys wer ]>e\ may fFynd,

That is most to ^er pay.

Mynstrell«^ when [7e fest was don, Schuld not wit^-outyn gyft^j gon -^^

That wer both rych and gode,

Verses 40-42 arc supplied from the Edinburgh MS.

40 ^ir Clegetf

Hors and robys and rych thyng^j, Gold and sylu<?r and o\er thyng^j,

To mend w/'t^ \er mode X ^ere our xii sych fest<?j j?*?! held 55

Yn worschype of hyw, J?^t all weld

And for vs dy^ed vpon J7e rode. Be than his gode be-gan to schake, Sych fest^j he gan make,

The knyght of jentyll blode. 60

To hold hys feste he wold not letc; Hys rych man<?rs to wede he sete ;

He thou^t hy;n-selue oute to quyte. Thus he festyd many a ^re Both gentyll men and comener 65

Yn |7e name of god all-my^ht. So at \t last, soth to sey, All hys gode was spendyd a-way ;

Than he had bot a lyte. Thoff hys god were ne-hond lestc, 70

Yn \t wyrschyp he made a feste ;

He hopyd god wold \vym quyte.

Hys ryalty he ford^ryd ay, To hys manors wer sold a-wey,

That hy/w was left bot one; 75

And \a\ was of lytell valew. That he and hys wyfe so trew

Oneth myjht lyfe j^^r-one.

Hys men, ])at wer so mych of pr/de,

Wente a-wey o«ne euery syde ; 80

With hym ]7<?r left not one. To duell with hym ]>er left no mo Bot hys wyfe and his chyld<fr two ;

Than made he mekyll mone.

Yt fell on a crystewmes eue; 85

Syr clegys and his wyfe,

They duellyd by cardyfF syde. When it drew to-werd ]>t none, Syr clegys fell in swownywg sone ;

Wo be-thought hym }pat tyde, 9°

What myrth he was wonte to hold, And he, he had hys manors solde,

Tenandrys and land^x wyde. Mekyll sorow made he ^er; He wrong hys hond^j and wepyd sore, 95

ffor fallyd was hys pr/de.

And as he walkyd vppe and done, Sore sy^eng, he herd a sowne

OfF dyu^rse mywstralsy, OfF truwpers, pypers, and nakerners, 1°°

OfF herp<?rs, notys and gytherners.

OfF sytall and of sautrey. Many carrals and grete dansyng Yn eu^ry syde herd he syng.

In eu^ry place, treuly. 105

42 ^it Clegesf

He wrong hys hond^j and wepyd sore ; Mekyll mon he made ])£r, Sy^eng full pytewysly.

" A Ih^^u, heue«-kyng, OfF nought )7ou madyst all thyng; no

Y thanke );e of thy sonde.

The myrth ]}at I was won to make Yn ])is tyme for );; sake.

Y fede both fie and bond,

And all ^at euer com in )?/ name, us

They wantyd noper wylde ne tame,

That was in any lond. Off rych metys and drynk^j gode That long<?j for any imnus fode.

Off cost I wold not wonde." 120

Als he stode in mowrnywg so, And hys wyfe com hym to,

Yn armys sche hym hente. Sche kyssed hym with glad chere. And seyd : "My trew wedyd fere, 125

Y herd wele what ^e ment. ^e se wele, s/r, it helpys nought. To take sorow in pur thought ;

Ther-for I rede ^e stynte. [Let your^ sorowe A-waye gon 13°

And thanke God of hys lone

Of all ]>at he hath sent.]

Be crystfj sake, I rede ^e lyne Of all pe sorow l^at ^e be Ine

A-^ene Ipis holy dey. 135

Now eufry man schuld be mery and glad With sych god^j- as ])ei had;

Be ^e so, I pu pray. Go we to ouer mete be-lyue And make vs both m^rry and blythe, 14°

AIs wele as euer we may. I hold it for pe best, trewly ; Y haue made owre mete treuly,

Y hope, vnto pur pay."

" Now I assent," quo]} cleges tho. H5

Yn with hyr he gan go

Som-what with better chere. When he fell in thou^t and care, Sche comforth hym euer mo«r,

Hys sorow for-to stere. 150

Aft^r he gan to wex blyth And wyped hys terys blyue.

That hang on hys lyre. Than ]>ei wesch and went to mete, With sych god as |?^i my^ht gete, '55

And made m^ry chere.

Verses 130-132 are supplied from the Edinburgh MS. 145 MS. the.

44 &it Clegeflf

When yii had ete, ])e soth to sey,

With myrth ])ii drofe J>e dey a-wcy,

The best wey ]>at they my^ht.

W/t/> ]>er chyld^r pley pe'i dyde i6o

And aft^r euewsong went to bedc

At serteyn of )7e nyght. The sclepyd, to it rong at ]}e chyrche, Godes s^ruys forto wyrche,

As it was skyll and ryght. 165

Vp pel ros and went )7e}7<fr, They and ]>er chyld^r toge)7^r,

When ]7^i were redy dy^ht.

Syr c\eges knelyd on hys kne,

To Ih[es]u cryst pr^yd he 170

Be chesyn of hys wyfe : " Grasyos lord," he seyd tho, " My wyfe and my chyld^r two,

Kepe vs out of stryfFe." The lady pr^yd hym ageyn ; Sche seyd : " god kepe my lord fro peyn

Yn-to eu^r-lastyng lyfFe." »75

Seruys was don and horn ]>ey wente ; The thankyd god omnipotent

They went home so ryfe.

When he to hys palys com, 180

He thou^t his sorow was ou^r-gon ;

Hys sorow he gan stynt. He made hys wyfe be-for hym gon And hy [s] chyld^r eu^rychon ;

Hy/w-selue a-lone he wente Yn-to a garthyn per be-syde. 185

He knelyd a-don in pat tyde

And prayd to god v^rament. He thankyd god with all hys hcit Of all desesyd in pou^rte

That eu<?r to hym he sente. 190

As he knelyd onne hys kne Vnd^r-neth a chery tre,

Makying hys pr^ere, He raw^ht a bow^e in hys bond, 195

To ryse per-hy and vp-stond ;

No leng^r knelyd he per. When p^ bow^he was in hys bond, Gren leuys per-on he fond

And ronde beryes in fere. zoo

He seyd : *' Dere god in tr/nyte, What man(?r beryes may ph be,

That grow J7/s tyme of ^ere ? "

" Y haue not se ph tyme of ^ere, That treys any fruyt schuld here, 205

Als ferre as I haue sought." He thou^t to tayst it, yfF he couthe ;

46 &ir Clegeflf

One of ]>em he put in hys mouthe ;

Spare wold he nought. 210

After a chery it relesyd clene, The best ])at euer he had sene,

Seth he was man wrought. A lytell bow he gan of-slyfe ; And thought he wold schew it hys wyfc ; 215

Yn hys bond he it brought.

" Lo, dame, here is a nowylte ; In ouer garthyn vpon a tre

Y found it, sykerly. aao

Y ame a-ferd, it is tokenywg Be-cause of ou^r grete plenywg, That mo«r greuans is ny." His wyfe seyd : " It is tokenywg Off mour godnes ]>at is comywg ; 115

We shall haue mo^r plente. Haue we les our haue we mour, AU-wey thanke we god |7(?r-fore; Yt is J^e best treulye."

The lady seyd with gode cher: 230

" Late vs fyll a panyer

Off l^e frute ]>at god hath sente. To-morow, when );e dey do spryng, Je schall to cardyff to )7e kyng,

ffull feyre hym to pr^jente.

&ir Clege0 47

Sych a gyft ^e may hafe )7<fr, 235

That a [11] we schall ye heter fare;

I tell ^ou, veramewt." Sir elegy s grantyd sone ]>er-to : " To-morow to cardyff I wyll go

After pur entent." H©

The morne, when it was dey-lyght, The lady had )7e pawnyer dyght ; To hyr eldyst son seyd sche : " Take vp |;/s pawnyer gladly And here it at thy bake esyly »45

After j?! fad^r so fre." Syr clegys )7a« a staff he toke ; He had no hors, so seyth )7e boke,

To ryde hys jorneye, Ne|7^r sted ne palferey, *5o

Bot a stafF was his hakney, As rmner in pou^rte.

Syr cleges and hys son gent The ryght wey to cardyfe went

On cryste^zmes dey. »S5

To )7e castell-^ate ]>ei com full ry^ht, As yei wer to mete dyght,

At none, 'pe soth to sey. As sir cleges wold in go, Yn pore clothyng was he tho, 260

In a symple aray.

48 &ir Clege0

The porter seyd full spytously : " Thow schall w/t^-draw )7e smertly,

Y rede, wkh-oute deley.

Els, be god and seynt mary, 265

Y schall breke J>i hede smertly,

To stond in begers route. YfF ]}on draw any mour in-werd, Thow schall rew it aft^rwerd;

Y schall ]>e so cloute." 270 " Gode s/r," seyd sir cleges tho,

" Y pr^y 30U, late me in go ;

Thys is w/t/>-outen doute. The kyng I haue a present brow^t fFro hyw, pat made all thinge of nou^t ; 275

Be-hold and loke a-boute ! *'

The powrter to J^e pa«nyer wentc; Sone )7e lyde vp he hente ;

T^he cherys he gan be-hold. Wele he wyst, for his cowmyng, 280

ffor hys present to pe kyng,

Grete gyft^J haue he schuld. He seyd : " Be hym pat me dere bought, Yn at yis ^ate cowmys pou nought,

Be hy;« pat made pis mold, 285

The thyrd p^rte bot );ou gr<7unte me Off pat the kyng wyll gyfF J^e,

Wheper it be sylu^r our gold.**

Syr cleges seyd : " ])er-to I sente."

He ^aue hym leue, and in he wente *9o

W/t^-outen mo«r lettyng. Yn he went a grete pas ; The ofFycers at ]>e dore was

With a stafF standyng. Yn com sir cleges so wyght ; 295

He seyd : " Go, chorle, out of my syght,

W/'t^-out any mo«r lettyng. Y schall J?e bete eu^ry lythe, Hede and body, with-outyn grythe,

And J7(7u make mo«r pr^syng." 300

" Gode sir" seyd sir cleges than, " For hys loue, pat made man,

Sese pur angry mode ! fFor I haue a pr^sante brou^t fFro hy;w ]}at made all thyng of now^ht 305

And dyed vpon )7e rode. Thys nyght ]>is fruyt grew ; Be-hold, wheper I be fals our trew;

They be gentyll and gode." The vsscher lyfte vp pe lyde smertly j 310 The feyrest cherys pat cuer he sey ;

He m^ruyllyd in his mode.'*

The vsscher seyd : " Be mary suete, Thou comyst not in pis halle on fete,

Y tell J;e, sykerly, 315

50 &ir Clege0

Bot ]}ou grauwte me, w/t^-out wernyng, The thyrd parte of |;i wyneng,

When )7«u comyst a-geyn to me." Syr cleges sey non oj^er wone, Bot ^er he grantyd hym a-non ;

Yt wold non o)7er-weys be. Than sir cleges v/kh heuy chere Toke his son and his pawnyer;

In-to ]>e hall went he.

The stewerd stert fast in ])e hall, Among )7e lord<?j in )7e halle.

That weryd ryche wede. He went to sir cleges boldly And seyd : " Who made )?e so herdy,

To come he);^r, our ]}oil were bede ? Cherle," he seyd, " ]}ou arte to bolde. W/t^-draw ]>e with j^e clothes olde,

Smertly, I j^e rede." He seyd : " S/V, I haue a pr^sant broujt fFro ]>at lord ]}at vs dere bought

And on ])e rode gan bled."

The stewerd stert forth wele sone And plukyd vp )7e lyde a-non,

Als smertly as he mou^ht. The stewerd seyd : " Be mary dere, Thys saw I neu^r ]ns tyme of ^ere,

Seth 1 was man I-wrou?ht.

Thow schall cum no nere )?€ kyng, Bot if l^ou gr^nte me myn askyng,

Be hym \ax. me dere bought. 345

The thyrd p^rte of ]>c kyng^j gy^e Y wyll haue, be my thryfte,

Or els go truse )7e oute ! "

Syr cleges stode and be-thou^t hym ^zn : " And I schuld parte be-twyx thre men, 350

My-selue schuld haue no-thyng. iFor my tr^ueyll schall I not gete, Bot if it be a melys mete."

Thus thought hym sore sy^eng. He seyd: " Herlot, has ]>on no tong ? 355

Speke to me and tary not long

And gr^nte me myn askyng, Or with a staff I schall );e twake And bete ]>[ ragg^j to )7i bake

And schofe pe out hedlyng ! " 360

Syr cleges saw no« ofer bote, Hys askyng grante hym he mote.

And seyd with sy^hyng sore : <^' What ]>at euer ]?e kyng rewerd, ^e schall haue ]>e thyrd parte, 3^5

Wheper it be lesse our more.** When szV cleges had seyd pat word, The stewerd and he wer a-corde

And seyd to hym no more.

52 &ir Clegeflf

Vp to |?e kyng sone he went ; 370

fFuU feyn he pr^ferd hys pr^sente, Knelyng on«e hys kne hy/w be-fore.

Syr cleges vn-cou^ryd )?e pawnyer And schewyd |?e kyng |;e cherys clere,

Vpon |?e ground knelyng. 375

He seyd : " Ih^ju, ouer sauyoure, Sente pu j^is fruyt with grete honour

Thys dey on«e erth growyng." The kyng saw )?e cherys fressch and new, And seyd : " I thanke )7e, swete Ih^ju, 380

Here is a feyre newyng." He comandyd sir cleges to mete, A word aft^r with hym to speke,

W/t^[out] any feylyng.

The kyng ]>er-for made a pr^sentc 385

And send vn-to a lady gente.

Was born in corne-weyle. Sche was a lady bryght and schen ; Aft^r sche was hys awne quen,

W/t^-outen any feyle. 390

The cherys wer s^rued throu^he j^e hall. Than seyd ])e kyng, a lord ryall :

" Be m^ry, be my conseyle ! And he ]>zt brou^t me )7/s present, Y schall make hy;w so content, 395

It schall hym wele a-vaylc."

u

When all men v/er merye and glad, Anon )7e kyng a squyre bade :

" Bryng hym me be-forne, The pore man }7^t j^e cherys broujt." 400

Anon he went and taryd nought,

W/t^-outen any scorne. He brought cleges be-for )?e kyng ; Anon he fell in knelyng, He wend hys gyft had be lorn. 405

He spake to j^e kyng with word^j felle. He seyd : " Lege lord, what is ipur wylle ?

Y ame ipur man fre-borne."

410

Ithanke )7e hertely," seyd ^^e kyng, " Off J7i grete pr^sentyng.

That J7(?u hast to me do. Thow hast honowryd all my feste With y\ deynt^x, moste and leste.

And worschyped me all-so. What '^at Gxxer thou wyll haue, 15

Y wyll \t gmnte, so god me saue,

That ym hert stond^j to, WheJ^^r it be lond our lede. Or 6)^er gode, so god me spede,

How-)7<7t- eu^r it go." 420

He seyd : " Garem^rsy, lege kyng ! Thys is to me a hye thing, ffor sych one as I be.

54 &it Clesefli

fForto gr^nte me lond our lede

Or any gode, so god me spede, 4*5

Thys is to myche for me. Bot seth \at I schall ches my-sclue, I aske no-thyng bot strok^j xii

fFrely now gr^nte ^e me, Vfith my staff to pay \em all, 43o

Myn adu^rjarys in \is hall,

fFor seynt charyte."

Than ansuerd vt^r, )?e kyng ; He seyd : " I repent my gr^ntyng, The couenand \a\. I made." 435

He seyd : " Be hy w );at made me and the, Thou had be better take gold our fe ;

Mo«r nede '^er-to )7ou hade." Syr cleges seyd w/t/?-outen warryng : " Lord, it is pwr awne gr^nte[yng] ; 44°

Yt may not be deleyd." The kyng was angary and greuyd sore ; Neufr-)7e-les he gr^nte hy/w thore. The dynt^j schuld be payd.

Syr cleges went in-to );e hall 445

Among )7e grete lord^j all,

W/t/)-outen any mo«r. He sought aft^r \t stewerd ; He thou^t, to pay hy;« his rewcrd,

fFor he had greuyd hyw sore. 45o

He gafe ]>e stewerd sych a stroke, That he fell doune lyke a bloke

Among all ])at ther were. And aft^r he gafF hym stroke j thre, — He seyd : " S/'r, for j?! cwrtasse, 455

Stryke ])ou me no moar ! "

Out of }7e hall sir cleges wente ; To pay mo strok^^ he had mente,

W/t^-owtyn any lette. To )?e vsscher he gan go; 460

Sore strok^j ^afFe he tho,

When pel to-ged^r mette, That aft^r-werd many a dey He wold wern no man )7e wey ;

So grymly he hyw grete. 465

Syr [cleges] seyd : " Be my thryfte, Thou hast the thyrd p^^rte of my gyftc,

Ryght euyn as I )7e hy^ht."

To |?e porter com he ^are ;

fFoure strok^j payd he thare ; 470

His parte had he tho. Aftyr-werd many a dey He wold wern no man ])e wey,

Neper to ryde ne go. The fyrst stroke he leyd hym o«ne, 475

He brake a-two hys schuld^r bone

And hys ry^ht arme also.

6>ir Clegefl^

Syr cleges seyd : " Be my thryfte, Thow hast ]>e thyrd pane of my gyfte ; Couenant made we so." 48c

The kyng was sett in hys p^rlcrc, Myrth and reuell forto here ;

Syr cleges thed^r wente. An harper had a geyst I-seyd, That made )7e kyng full wele apayd, 485

As to hys entente. Than seyd Jje kyng to ])is herper ; " Mykyll \>ou may ofte-tyme here,

fFor thou hast ferre wente. Tell me trew, if ]>ou can ; ♦^^

Knowyst ]>ou thys pore man

That ]>is dey me pr^sente ? "

He seyd : " My lege, w/tA-oute« Ics, Som-tyme men callyd hym cleges ;

He was a knyght of pure. 495

Y may thinke, when ^at he was fFuU of fortone and of gr^ce,

A man of hye stature." The kyng seyd : " pis is not he i«-dcdc ; Yt is long gon ]>at he was dede 5®o

That I louyd p^ramo«r. Wold god ^at he wer wyth me ;

Y had hym leu^r than knyght^i thrc, That knyght was styfF in stoure."

&ir Clegetf 57

Syr cleges knelyd be-for )7e kyng ; 505

fFor he had gr^ntyd hym hys askyng,

He thankyd hyw cwrtasly. Spesyally )7e kyng hym pr^yd, The thre men, ]}at he strok^j P^yd, Where-for it was and why. 5 10

He seyd : " I myght not com in-werd, To I gr^ntyd Iche of ])em ]}e thyrd p^rte

Off 'pat ^e wold gyff me. Be pat I schuld haue no^ht my-selue ; To dele among theym strokys xii 5'5

Me thou^t it best, trewly."

The lord^j lew^e, both old and ^enge. And all pat ther wer wyth pQ kyng,

They made solas I-now^e. They lew^e, so )>^i my^t not sytte; 5»o

They seyd : " It was a nobull wytte,

Be cryst we make a vow." The kyng send aft^r hys stewerd And seyd : "y/W he gr^nte pe any rewerd,

Askyth it be pe law.'' 5*5

The stewerd seyd and lukyd grym ; Y thynke neu^r to haue a-do with hym ;

Y wold I had neu^r hym knaw."

The kyng seyd : " W/t^-outen blame. Tell me, gode man, what is J^i name, 530

Befor me anon-ryght ! "

58 ^it Clegesf

" My lege," he seyd, "p/s man pu tellys, Som-tyme men callyd me sir cleges ; Y was ^our awne knyght." " Arte)?ou my knyght, ]}at s^ruyd me, 535

That was so gentyll and so fre, Both strong, herdy and wyght ? " " Je, lord," he seyd, "so mote I the, Tyll god all-my^ht hath vyset me;

Thus poufrte hath me dyjht." 54®

The kyng gaffe hy/w anon-ryjht All l^at long^j to a knyght.

To a-ray hys body with. The castell of cardyff also With all )7e po«rtena«s ])er-tOj 545

To hold with pes and grythe. Than he made hym hys stuerd Of all hys londys aft^r-werd.

Off wat(?r, lond, and frythe, A cowpe of gold he gafe hym blythe, 55®

To here to dam clarys, hyi wyfe,

Tokenywg of loy and myrthe.

The kyng made hys son squyre And gafe hym a coler forte were

With a huwdryth pownd of rente. 555

When ]>e\ com home in )7is maner, Dame clarys, ]>at lady clere,

Sche thankyd god verame«t.

Sche thanked god of all mzner.

For sche had both knyght and squyre 560

Som-what to ])er entente. Vpon ]>e dettys pat they hyght, They payd als fast as Ipe'i myght.

To eu^ry man wer content.

A gentyll stewerd he was hold; 5^5

All men hym knew, png and hold,

Yn lond wer ]}at he wente. Ther fell to hym so grete ryches, He vansyd hys kynne, mo«r and les,

The knyght c«rtas and hend. 57o

Hys lady and he lyued many ^ere With loy and m^ry chere,

Tyll god dyde for them send. fFor f>er godnes pat pe'i dyd here, Ther saulys went to heue« clere, S7S

Ther is loy w/tZ>-outen ende. Amen.

DAME SIRIZ

I . As I com by an waie. The opening lines are significant. In the first place, there is no direct address to the audience such as is usual in metrical romance. In the second place, the reference to source is not to a written source but to a wayside tale. Several of the popular ballads open in a similar way; cf. nos. 26, 38, 108, 180, 188, etc., in Child's collection.

5. vndergore. Cf 'glad under gore,' B6ddeker,^//«ng-/«c/4« Dichtungen, W. L. I, 16 ; < geynest vnder gore,' ib. W. L. 2, 37. ♦ And slepe under my gore,' Chaucer's Sir Thopas, 78. For other references, see Bradley-Stratmann, M. E. Diet, and N. E. D. The idea of the line is the same as that expressed at greater length by Host Bailly in speaking of the monk and of the Nun's Priest in the prologue and epilogue, respectively, to the Nonne Preestes Tale.

10. alon. The rime seems to demand alone y a M. E. com- pound from O. E. eall -j- ana. The line would then read, * to her alone belonged his heart.' Against this interpretation (favored by Professor Fliigel) may be cited the unusual use of hire with dative force and the early use of alone as a single word, not elsewhere cited as early as this. See N. E. D. A second possible interpretation of alon would be ' all on, ' since the manuscript does not make it clear whether one word is intended or two. This explanation has to assume imperfect rime. Cf. ' On hir was al my love leyd,' Bake of the Duchesse, 1 146. A third explanation, advanced by Matzner, is that offered in the glossary to the present volume. This explanation involves imperfect rime, and lacks the support of perfect parallels, alongy in this sense, being usually accompanied by the preposition o«, as in * Mi lif is al on pe ylong,' Boddeker, op. cit. G. L. vni, 154. For other instances, cf. Boddeker, glossary.

13. 3erne he him bi-}>OUte, 'earnestly he reflected.' Cf. ' Godess peoww himm jeorne birrp bipennkenn,* Orm 2916 (Matzner).

62 j^otesf

14. moute. Matzner explains this form as an analogical one influenced by the infinitive form mugariy and cites from Rich. R. of Hampole the form mught.

19. ■wente him. The verb preserves its earlier meaning 'turn* and hence takes an object. Cf. v. 155, etc.

Jjen. O. E. pam, dat. Cf. 22, 299. Cf. also Layamon, 14289,

• to pan inne ' (cited by Matzner).

22. J>en halle. The old gender distinction has been lost, since O. E. heal{l^ was feminine.

23. palle. Cf. Sir Launfal (ed. Ritson), 944, 'The lady was clad yn purpere palle.' Matzner cites also Orm. 81 71, Layamon, i, 55, L. Minot, p. 30, ToivneUy Plays, p. 186.

25. Notice the form of greeting in keeping with clerkly dignity.

26. SO ich euer bide wenne. A frequent form of assevera- tion, 'as sure as 1 expect happiness.' Cf. vv. 113, 116, 273, 433. Cf also Chaucer's Nonne Preestes Tale, 246, ' So haue I loye or blis.' Matzner compares, ' swa ich abide are,' Lay. i, 129, * Swa ich aeuere ibiden are,' Lay. i, 141.

wenne. The spelling is Kentish, but the rime is Midland. 34. fre, ' ready to give and act for you.' Cf. Chaucer' s/r^t/ow, also the similar development o<^ meaning in 'liberal.'

37. Notice how the clerk maintains the sanctimonious manner shown in V. 25. Cf. also 112, 146, 161.

38. Bote on J?at, * only provided that.'

43. Wilekin. This diminutive form was probably not uncom- mon, since it has survived in the surname Wilkin. It is a Low German diminutive form. In the German tale Rittertreue {Ge- sammtabenteuer , i, 6) appears the character 'grave Willekin von Muntaburc'

47. viltd. The context seems to indicate a meaning like that of houncurteh in the preceding line. It looks as if the word has been influenced in meaning by the independent word of the same root form, 'vilani, and meant something like ' boorishness ' or 'churlish- ness.' The French word -vi/tct means, according to Godefroy,

* bassesse,' ' etat miserable,' ' chose miserable,' ' meprisable,' and in the Chanson de Roland it is coupled with hunte, ' hunte e a viltet,' 437. The word vilani, on the other hand, in lines 128 and 250, is coupled with ' shame * and has a meaning more properly belong- ing to villi.

jpote0 63

con. This word, like the modern French savoir, expresses the two meanings of * know ' and * be able. ' Here it means * know.'

54. }>at be )?0U bolde, ' of that be assured. ' Cf Twain and Gaiuain (ed. Schleich), 169, ' pat be je balde,' 1285, ' pat be pou balde,' 2781, pat be je balde.* Cf. also Town/. Myst. (ed. Surt. Soc), p. 78 (Matzner).

56. noui^t, ' not at all.' O. E. na -f- "wiht.

62. Setten spel on ende, * say my speech to the end ' (Matzner). According to N. E. D. the phrase in M. E. means

* begin a discourse.'

75. OUre sire, 'your husband.' The oure probably means

* your,' though, as Matzner has pointed out, the singular forms of the second person are used. But cf. ou * you ' in Vox and Wolf, 214, 215, 216.

77. feire of botolfston. Boston takes its name from St. Botolph, the patron saint of sailors. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Parker MS. 654), Botulf ongon mynster timbran at Icanho. Around this monastery, which was destroyed by the Danes in 870, grew up a town. After the Norman Conquest Boston, or Botolfston, was a port of importance. In 1204, when the quin- zieme tax was imposed on the ports of England, that of Boston was second in amount only to that of London. At this period a great an- nual fair was held at Boston, a great market held by special license from the king, a place that would naturally be visited by the mer- chant husband of dame Margeri. (Cf. Thom.of Walsingham, Hist. Angl. p. 54.) For reference to fairs and some of the customs con- nected with them, see P. Plowman, A iv, 43, v, 119, 171, and Brand's Popular Antiquities (ed. Ellis), 11, 453-470. The etymol- ogy of * fair,' Lat. feriae, later feria, suggests that these yearly markets were held at times of church festivals (Matzner).

In Chaucer's SAipman's Tale the deceived husband is absent at a fair in Bruges (v. 325).

81, 82. Cf. Interludium, 5, 6.

83. Cf. Sir Eglamour (ed. Halliwell), 1088, <Wele were hym that hur myght welde.' Cf. also Floris and BlauncAeJlur, 251-4C.

Wei were pat ilke mon J?at mi^te winne wip pat on j Ne porte he neure, ful iwis, Wilne more of paradis.

64 j^otesf

seCC. Matzner's emendation to ulc seems right. Cf. loi, 198, 145. 264, 313.

102. on flore. Cf. Interludium^ 9.

116. So ich euer biden 30I. Similar expressions occur in lines 26, 133, 273. The modern equivalent is 'assure as Christ- mas.' See 26 note.

119. curteis mon and hende. A frequently occurring formula in metrical romance. Cf. Sir Isumbrat^ (Naples MS.) 15. ' Curteis and hynde he was.' (Quoted by Halliwell, Thornton Ro- mancesy p. 269, etc.)

140. J'a, scribal error for pat.

143. Bi me I saie, * concerning myself I am speaking.* *That is my situation.'

146. Cf. 25 note, 37 note. Cf. also 112, 161.

149-160. The quickness of the transition from the first dialogue to the second is noteworthy as indicating that the underlying form of the story is a dramatic version. It is also worthy of note that Wilekin is not merely a love-sick character needing to be coaxed by the go-between, but is active in every way in prosecuting his suit. He is not a hero of courtly romance.

152. A frend him radde. That the advice of the friend and the method of wooing subsequently adopted, were not strange to English life of the fourteenth century must be inferred from Piers Flowman (C vii. 185, 186) where Luxuria confesses that he —

. . . sende out olde baudes For to Wynne to my wil • wommen with gyle ; By sorcerye som tyme • and some tyme by maiitrye.

154. Siriz. This name does not appear in Engiish outside the present poem. The variant spelling Sirip indicates the true pronun- ciation, as is proved by the rimes (161-2, 267-8), the z replacing />, as in w/z 1 62 (for w/7>), iei% 1 79. The name cannot be French, as is indicated by the non-French ending -p. It is more likely from the Norse SigriSr, a name which is not surprising if, as Heuser (Anglia, XXX, 318) believes, the work was originally composed in the Danish East of England. The name may, however, be derived from the O. E. SigehreS, analogous with the O. E. Sigebryht.

156. SuiJ^e, 'quickly.' The development in meaning is the same as in the Germin gescAiuind, which comes from the same root, meaning * strong.'

jliote0 65

159. wordes milde. A frequent expression in metrical ro- mance, Cf. Sir Eglamour (ed. Halliwell), 85, 607.

161,162. Siriz, wiz. The rime indicates the pronunciation as Sirith.

173. nelde. This word is usually printed as a proper noun. The word, which is always used vocatively, probably means * old lady' and is, as Heuser has pointed out (0/). cit. p. 319) parallel with mome in the Inter ludium. The initial n certainly comes from a preceding indefinite article, and is the result of wrong division be- tween words. Such wrong division is frequent. For instance, in A Pennyworth of Wit appear anice for a nice 34, a neld for an eld 79, no noper for nonoper 194, pinold for pin old 341, peldman 157,

173 ff. Some of the phrases in this love complaint are similar to those in contemporary love lyrics. For example, with line 182 com- pare * On molde y waxe mad,' Boddeker, Altengl. Dichtungen^ W, L. Ill, 2, or with line 189, * broht icham in wo,' op. at. 13, On the whole, however, the language, in spite of the stiffness of the versification, is appropriately prosaic.

179. seiz, for seip. Cf. iviz forivip 162, Siriz for Sirip.

194. senne, see note to V. 26,

201. Blessejje. The earliest use of this phrase in exclamation cited in A^, E. D. is 1590.

204. harde I-bonden. Cf. Ludus Coventriae (ed, Halli- well, p. 345) where Anima Christi says of the devil, ** flFul harde I xal hym bynde."

212. hem mote wel spede, *for them [things] may speed well ' (or * prosper ' ) .

216. On him ^is. Elliptical expression. ♦ That ' must be sup- plied in translation,

233. Cf, Interludium, 22,

240. word on honde. Matzner conjectures that on is for aw, which appears not infrequently for and. It would be less arbitrary, in my opinion, to assume here a reference to the raising of the right hand in taking oath, Cf —

King Arthur then held up his hand According there as was the law. The Marriage of Sir Gaivain, stanza 5; Child, Ballads, no. 3 1.

Cf, also the discussion of an analogous 0,E, phrase, hand ofer heafod, by F. Tupper, Jr,, Journ. of Engl, and Germ. Phil. xi. 97 ff.

66 J^Oteflf

247, SOmer driuen. MStzner assumes either iumer-driuen^

* sumpter-driven,' (O. E. seamere), or [on"] sumer, 'in summer,' or a corrupt line. The first assumption seems most plausible. For an account of the custom of punishing women by making them ride on an ass, see Grimm, Rechtsalt, 4th ed. 11, p. 318. In the Chan- son de Roland, Ganelon, in announcing to Marsilies the punishment in store for him, says, —

•' Getez serez sur un malvais sumier par jugement iloec perdrez le chief: " [481-2]. Cf. also 701, 1828. In these instances i«w/(;r means 'mule* or

• ass.' This same word in England had a developed meaning, and in the dialects sum(m)er is used as the name of supporting beams of various kinds. It seems possible, then, that the custom alluded to in the text is that of chari-vari. Cf. Wright, Dialect Dictionary under summer.

261. Togoder hele. Matzner'g reading To goder hele is right. The phrase ' goder hele ' is not infrequent. Matzner cites Lay, 1. 153, Rob. of Gl. 368, Toivnl. Myst. p. 89. Cf also goder hilt, 268 below. fVroper-hele is not infrequent. Cf P. Plowman, B XIV, 120, Boddeker, op. cit. p. 451.

273. So ich euere. See 26 note.

277. maistri, 'artifice,' 'trick.' Perhaps influenced in its meaning by the independent word mystery.

279. The transition from addressing Wilekin to addressing the dog is very abrupt and is good evidence in support of Heuser's con- tention that the Dame Siriz is based upon a dramatic original.

Pepis. Matzner reads Pepir and seems certainly to be right in his emendation. The use of pepper is one of the oriental traits in the Dame Siri-z-. Cf. Introduction.

315. Seli wif, 'good woman.' Cf. 337.

hounbinde. Cf harde I-bonden, 204.

324. daus =the more frequent 'dawes.' O. E. dagas.

to non. This expression remains a crux. Matzner suggests • at noon,' and it is worth remembering that anchorites and hermits took but one meal a day, and that meal came at 12 instead of 9 on fast- days. Cf. P. Ploivman (ed. Skeat), B vi, 146 note. Can the au- thor's conception have been that Christ merely kept forty successive fast days ? Cf. Sir Cleges, 324 note.

jpote0 67

340. Feiror, etc. : A stereotyped form of expresiion. Cf. Sir Isumbras (ed. Halliwell), 25, 26.

Als fayre a lady to wyefe had he Als any erthly mane thurte see.

353. Clerc to wiche. The medieval idea of the command of clerks over the powers of magic is illustrated in the popular stories that grew up about Roger Bacon. Upon this command depends the well known medieval popular tale, appearing in various forms as Le Pawvre Clerc, Der arme Sckuler, The Freiris of Berwik, etc. Threats of transformation were used by others besides clerks. Ralph Roister Doister (iv, 3), wooing Christian Custance, threatens " Yes, in faith, Kitte, I shall thee and thine so charme That all women incarnate by thee may beware."

390, 421. belle. Matzner translates as 'belly' and cites the analogy of other oaths referring to parts of God's body, blood, bones, etc. It must be noted, however, that the M. E. word for ' belly * without exception elsewhere has a final - / or -y or -a or -iv to correspond with the final -g of O. E. he/g, balg. Another possible interpretation, cited by Matzner from Wright's Prov. Dictionary^ is 'mantle.' Bradley-Stratmann cites belle, meaning * tunic,' and the allusion in the oath may be to a garment familiar through representations of God in liturgical plays or mystery plays. A more likely interpretation, however, is 'bell,' referring to the bell used in the mass. * By bell and book,' or 'book and bell,' was a frequent form of asseveration in the Middle Ages (cf N. E. D.). Cf also " by seint Poules belle," one of the oaths of Host Bailly (Prol. to Nonnes Preestes Tale, 14). Cf also : ' by buke and by belle ' {^•zvntyrt of Arthur e, 30); 'Than he hym cursyd with boke and belle' (Harleian Morte Arthur, 3018).

" But pat ich wille, pat pou swere On auter and on messegere, On pe belles pat men ringes. On messeboke \>t prest on singes." Ha-velok. (Emerson, M. E. Reader, p. 76, vv. 23-26.)

406. wente hire, cf. 19 note.

411. for J?ider, forforf? pider.

68 jl^otesf

THE vox AND WOLF

I. vox, a characteristic Southern form. The corresponding feminine form persists in modern English, as * vixen.*

9. strok. One would like to take this as the preterit of streccAen, suggesting the stretching involved in peering. Matzner't interpretation, however, is probably the correct one ; ' went,* •passed,' O. E. strtcan. The furtive movements of the fox are well expressed by this word. Notice the opposite developments in mean- ing in mod. Engl, strike and swing.

12. WOUS. The iv- replaces f- as it does in ivox 12, 33 (for vox). Vous would be the Southern M. E. form for O. E. /Sj, 'ready,' 'prepared.'

2Z. bruche. Matzner explains as 'opportunity' from O. E. brycty 'use,' 'profit.' Is it not more probably from O. E. brtct^ bricCy * breaking,' ' breach ? ' The Southern character of the text is sufficient to explain the u for the O. E. /. Cf. the rime, ' kun^ him, 123-4} suggCy abuggty 207-8 j sitte, putte, 281-2.

22. WOnd, 'got,' 'passed' (Matzner). Perhaps the original meaning of the word was still felt, and it may be translated by ' twisted ' or ♦ wriggled.'

26. haiward, ' hedge-ward,' an officer whose duty it was to protect the growing crops in the enclosed fields. Cf. Piers Plvwman^ C VI, 16, and C xiv, 45, and the notes by Skeat, who cites from the romance oi Alison der (ed. Weber, 1. 5754) :

In tyme of heruest mery it is ynough, Peres and apples hongeth on bough ; The hayward bloweth mery his home, In eueryche felde ripe is come. The second passage cited reads as follows :

Thauh the messager make hus wey • a-mydde the whete, Wole nowys man wroth be • ne hus wed take j Ys non haiwarde yhote • hus wed for to take ;

Necessitas non habet legem. Ac yf the marchaunt make hus way • ouere menne corne, And the haywarde happe • with hym for to mete. Other hus hatt other hus hode • othere elles hus gloues The marchaunt mot for-go • other moneyc of hus porsc.

0Ott& 69

That the hayward'8 police duties were somewhat more general in character than the etymology of his name would indicate, is shown by the following passages cited by Matzner.

•• The hay ward heteth us harm to habben of his ; The bailif bockneth us bale."

Wright, Political Songs, p. 149.

and "Canstow . . . have an home and be hay-warde,

And liggen out a nyghtes, And kepe my corn in my croft From pykers and theeves."

Cf. the haywart's part in the poem on the * Man in the Moon ' (Harl. MS. 2253, ed. Boddeker, 177). The reeve was the overseer of a farm or manor.

31. There seem to have been some lines omitted between lines 30 and 31. The fox seems to have devoured some of the hens, per- haps two of the four. Cf. 40, 54, 55, opre 58, 68, 98. Cf. 129 note, 151 note.

43. heddre. Matzner suggests the insertion of hlod after hed- dre. He also cites, ' Hwon heo bee's ileten blod on one erm eddre,' Ancr. Riiv. p. 258. ' Wi'Suten eddren capitalen pet bled- den,' ib.

78. nom J>at boket. Cf. the modem uses of the word ' take ' in * take a high note ' in singing, or * take a fence ' in the sense of ' vault.'

87, 88. The litotes in these lines is effective. The lines have Chaucerian quality.

93. The sense seems to require a negative statement. If so the negative ne is carelessly omitted through confusion with the ending -tie in ^erne. Cf. Aquenche, 112. Or is the line to be understood as meaning, (in general) when he found water, he drank eagerly, but . . >

96-7, 1 01-2. Notice the gnomic expressions, which are char- acteristic of popular lore, from which the present poem has obviously been derived.

106. hiis. The initial h- is dialectal ; the vowel length is •• poetic license." Cf. Bedier's comment on the carelessness con- cerning rimes in the Vitnch. fabliaux . (^Les Fabliaux, pp. 342 ff. )

70 ^otti

123-4. '^^^ """* seems to indicate Midland dialect, but the rime is obviously imperfect. Cf. 263-4.

128. Sigrim. The distinctively English form of thii proper name shows that the story circulated in English popular lore. The same remark applies to Reneuard, 133.

135. hedde, Southern form.

140. paradiis. Cf. IntroJ. p. xii,

140-7. This description of the joys of paradise is less concrete than other descriptions in this story. It is expressed in terms ap- propriate to the listening wolf, but is distinctly reminiscent of the contemporary humorous poem, The Land of Cokaygne. For a dis- cussion of the burlesque element in descriptions of an Earthly Para- dise, cf. Schofield, Publ. M. L. A. xix. 187 flf.

151. There seems to be something omitted at this point, — further evidence (cf. 31 note and 129 note) that this English version is abridged in places.

159. vend for ivend. See note to vv. iz and 33.

162. fond. Plainly the nmc fond, goed, is "poetic license." Cf. Bedier, op. cit. 342.

167. he'p, 3 pi. Southern form, cf. 29; 217, etc.

gret, a survival of the O. E. mutated plural.

178. to . . . I-take. Cf. Mod. Engl. « take to drink," etc.

199. I-faie. The rime shows the manuscript reading to be wrong.

199 ff. The enforced confession of Sigrim finds parallels in the devil's confession in CynewulTs Juliana and in that of Faux- Semblaunt in the Roman de la Rose. Analogous literary compositions are the confession of Chaucer's Pardoner and such later satirical compositions as Colyn BloivboPi Testament.

207-8. SUgge, abugge. A Kentish rime. O. E. tecgan^ abycgan. Cf. 24 1-2.

224. 0j>eres kunnes. Cf. nones kunnes, 294.

233. bruche. Cf. 21 note.

246. Ich TVille oup. Cf. Modern dialect, ' I want out,* etc.

256. Wroggen, ' frogs.' Cf. 12 note, 33, 159 note.

264. Ine, for inne (Matzner), another instance of a word dis- torted by the scribe for the sake of the rime. Cf. 106, 162. The author of the original was not averse to assonance. Cf. 1*3-4, 249-50.

265. houssong. Cf. 270, 274. The origin of this interest- ing word is thus traced by Prof. F. Tupper, Jr. : Aoussong < (A) out- song < utsong < uAtsong, * matins.'

272. CUrtiler, 'gardener in a monastery,' Cf. the " Curtal Friar " in the Robin Hood ballad.

SIR CLEGES

Since the difference between the two texts is so great that it ia impossible to print the variant readings at the bottom of the pages, it seems desirable to illustrate the difference by printing the firit stanza of the E. text in full in the notes : —

WILL ye lystyn, and ye schyll here Of Eldyrs that before vs were

Bothe hardy and wyjt. In the tyme of kynge Vtere That was Fadyr of kynge A[r]thyr,

A semely man in sijt. He hade A knyjt pat hight sir Cleges, A dowtyar was non of dedis

Of the Rovnd tabuU Right. He was A man of hight stature, And therto full fayr of ffetur*

And Also of Gret myjt.

I, 2. Lystyns, lordynges ... A conventional minstrel address to his audience. Cf. Sir Eglamour, 4, 5, Sir Isumbras, 4, 5, Octavian (South, vers. 20), etc. The variant forms of this manner of opening a story are illustrated in an interesting manner by Halli- well [Thornton Romancesy 267-9), ^^° ^^^^ ^^ varying opening lines from six texts of Sir Isumbras.

3. herdy and wyght. Stereotyped expression. Cf. the Squyr of Lowe Degre (ed. Mead), 9, and the parallel passages cited by the editor from Kyng Alisaundery 4892; Arthour and Merlin ^ 45 3^) Eglamoury 8 j Guy of Warivicky B 1434 ; Lancelot ^ 2592 ; Eger and Grime, 2573 ; Isumbras, 8. Further instances are not hard to find : e.g. Sir Degrevant (ed. HalliweU), 10, 102, and the present poem, 537.

72 0OM

4. Vter and Pendragoun. In the romances of Merlin Vther is represented as being the younger brother of Pendragon. The E. text obviously offers the correct reading here.

6. A sembly man of syght. Cf. ' semely on to »ee,' Erl of Tolous, 1 21 7; * semly were to see,' Sir Isumbrat, 15. Cf. present poem, 27.

7. Sir Clegys. The name is not a common one. It is used a few times in Malory's Morte d^ Arthur. The name Syr Clegiui (Schir Clegis) also appears in the Aivnturs of Arthur, 96.

9. ronde-tabull. The connection of this story with the Ar- thurian cycle, it will be noticed, is the slightest. The story of Sir Cleges, like that of another generous Arthurian knight. Sir Launfal, was originally quite independent.

10-12. For similar conventional descriptions of strength see Sir liumhras, 13-15, etc.. The Grene Knight, 41, etc.

13. curtas, 15. gentyll and fre. Cf. Chaucer's Knight.

18. gold and fe. A phrase of frequent occurrence. Cf. Sir IsumbraSy 270, 292, Sir Amadace, 849, Squyr of Loivt Degrt^ 481, Cf. present text, 437.

20. buske. Prof. J. M. Hart suggests that the word buskehcrt is used transitively in the sense * hasten ' (cf. A^^. E. D. buske, 6) and that its use here is like the modern colloquial transitive use of * hustle,' an interpretation quite in keeping with the amiable character of the knight. Cf. E. text :

The pore pepuU he wold Relevc And no man wold he Greve.

35. wyff. Cf. description of a noble wife in Sir Isumbrat ^

»S-30.

38. crystynmes. For a contemporary account of Christmas festivities, see Sir Gaivayne and the Grene Knight, Sir Perceval, 1803, stanzas in, xx, xxi, Berners-Froissart, vol. IV, p. 150, Book II, Cap. 28. For contemporary account of entertainment for the poor, see Clannesse, 77ff.

46, 49. Mynstrellus. See note by Halliwell, Thornton Ro- mances, p. 270, Sir Degre-vant, 81 ff., 1157, 1 86 1, Sir Eg/amour^ 1327, Torrent of Forty ngale, 941-3, Sir Isumbras, 1 9-2 1, Libeaut Disconus, 21 16, Octavian (South, vers.), 67-72, Sir Thopat^ 134.

^om 73

See a\so Piers P/oivman (ed. Skeat), Bxin, 225 ff., 437 fF., C viii, 97 ff., C X, 127-136 and notes. 57. dyjed vpon ]>e rode. Cf. Sir humhras, 247, 286.

66. alf-my^ht. Note the riming words, quyte, lyte, showing that the ^h was not pronounced.

73. Hys ryalty he forderyd ay. 'His munificence, he continued ever.' In N. E. D. the earliest citation of ' royalty * with this meaning is 1548. £. reads, This rialte he made than Aye.

79 ff. At this point this story differs from Sir Amadace^ of which the beginning is strikingly similar. Sir Amadace is advised to " putte away fulle mony of jour men," but prefers to conceal his straitened circumstances, and keeps up appearances by being more libera! than ever, 37-60.

85. 86. Notice the rimes eue^ ivyfe (O. E. ; : O. E. a) which indicate a pronunciation of the sound from O. E. T tending toward the modern pronunciation. Cf. Note to 219, 222, 225, 228.

86. E. has : The kynge be-thou^t hym full Evyn.

87. Cardyff. Caerleon, near Cardiff, is the more usual center in Arthurian story.

89. SWOwnyng. Not unusual for heroes of medieval romance. See Floris and Blauncheflur ^ 246, etc.

92. And he, he had . . . E. offers the better reading, And hoiue he hade his maners sold.

94. Mekyll. Northern dialect. Cf. also 107. In each of these cases E. has the Southern form mech.

96. pride, wyde, tyde, Syde. These rimes, which are the same in E. , are sufficient to indicate a non-Southern dialect.

99. dyuerse mynstralsy. Similar lists of musical instru- ments are frequent. Cf. Sir Launfal, 669, Pearly 91, Squyr of Lowe Degre (ed. Mead), 1069 ff., with citations, in the notes, of similar passages. Rich. Coer de L. (ed. Weber), 3429, 3430, 4615-4619, Emare, 388-390, 867, Kyng Alisaunder (ed. Weber), 1041-1046, Thomas of Erceld. (Thornton), vv. 257-260, Libeaus Disconus (ed. Kaluza), vv. 148-150, Buke of the Houlate (ed. Diebler), 755-767. Cf. also Sir Degre-vant (ed. Halliwell), 35 ff., and note by the editor (p. 289) in which is quoted the following from Lydgate : —

74 iRotefif

For they koude the practyke Of al maner mynstralcye, That any mane kanc specifye ; For ther wer rotys of Almanye And eke of Arragone and Spayne ; Songcs, stampes, and eke dauncet, Dyvers plente of pleasaunces, And many unkouth notys newe Of swich folkys as lovde trewe } And instrumentys that dyde excelle, Many moo thane I kane telle. Harpys, fythels, and eke rotys, Wei accordyng with her notys, Lutys, rubibis, and geterns, More for estatys than taverns : Orguys, cytolys, monacordys; And ther wer founde noo discordyi

Nor variaunce in ther souni.

Nor lak of noo proporsiouns.

101. notys, luttys in E.

I06, 107. sore, )>er. E. sore, there. The apparently imper- fect rime seems to be due to scribal writing of per for original pore. Cf. the rimes of the sounds concerned, 148, 149, 195, 198, 201, 204, 363, 366, 369, 372, 442, 443, 469, 470, 447-454- For another possible explanation, see 148, 149 note.

112. won to. Cf. 'wonte to, E.

1 13 ff. Cf. 1 6 fF. , 3 7 ff. For similar instances of generosity, see Sir Amadace (ed. Robson), stanzas iv, v, and xiii, xiv.

119. longes. Northern conjugation.

122 ff. The passage that follows is probably u fine a domestic scene as any in Middle English metrical romance. Dame Clarys chal- lenges comparison with Le Freine, Constance, the faithful wife in The Pennyworth of Wit, or even with Griselda. She is the most human of them all. The only scene rivaling the present one, that occurs to me, is the one at the end of Amis and Amiloun (ed. Kolbing), 2413-24.

129. stynte. This rime, which occurs in both texts, indicates

i^Otefif 75

that in the dialect of the author O. £. y sometimes at least appears as e. Cf. Morsbach, MitteUnglische Grammatik, §§ 127 fF.

148, 149. care, mour. This rime shows the Northern, or Scotch, disJpct of this version. The E. version in these lines seems better to preserve the original, ' But neuer-pe-les hys hart was sore.' Cf. 106, 107, note. ' And sche hym Comforttyd more and more. '

151, 152. blyth, blyue. E. has the better reading, hlyth, yivyth.

154. wesche and went to mete. Equivalent expressions are frequent. Cf. Sir Degrevant (ed. Halliwell), 662, 1 392, and the editor's references to Emare, 218, Sir Gaivayne (ed. Madden), p. 34. Cf also P. Ploivman, B xiii, 28, C xvi, 32. *Thei wesshen and wypeden and wenten to the dyner. '

161. euensong. Vesper services that marked the close of the day (E. soper). Cf P. Plowman, C vii, 396, where Gloton and his companions sit in the ale-house * til euesong rang. '

160, 161. dyde, bede (E. ded, bede). Cf 129 note.

162. serteyn. Cf sertayne, Ludus Coventriaeit^. HzWwicW) p. 53. I have been unable to make a satisfactory explanation of this word. The reading in E. is clear, Whan yt tuas tyme of ny^t.

163. rong at J>e chyrche. Reference to the bell summon- ing to matins. In Piers Plowman, C x, 227 ff., we read that both Itivede and lordes ought —

Vp-on Sonedayes to cesse (daily occupations) . godes seruyce to huyre. Bothe matyns and messe . and after mete, in churches To huyre here euesong . euery man ouhte. Thus it by-longeth for lorde, . for lered, and lewede, Eche halyday to huyre . hollyche the geruice.

See also Sir Degrevant (ed. Halliwell) : —

Tylle the day wex clerc,

Undurne and mare ; Whyle that hurde thei a bell

Ryng in a chapell ; To chyrche the gay dammisel

Buskede hyr jare. (11.619-624.)

76 0otti

With an orrelegge one hyjth To rynge the ours at nyjth To waken Myldore the bryjth

With bellus to knylle. (11, 1451-1456.)

166-8. Not in E.

180. E. hzi And put Aivay penci.

1 81-2. Assonance. E. has cam, than.

183. stynt, wente. Cf. 129 note, 160 note.

191. pouerte, hert (E. pouertt, hartt). The accentuation of pouerte varies. That the accentuation indicated by the present rime is not exceptional is shown by the identical rime in Sir Laun- faly herte, poverty scherte, smerte, ed. Ritson, 195 fF. But see in the present text, pouerte, 252, riming W\xh jorneye,fre, sche.

194. chery-tre, see Introduction, p. Ixvi.

210. Spare wold he nought. Similar verse tags are fre- quent. Cf. * for no cost wolde he spare,' Chaucer's Prologue, 1 92. * For nothyng wolde he spare,' Sir Eglamour (ed. Halliwell), 552.

223-5- These lines, so well in keeping with the character of Dame Clarys, are not in E.

219, 222, 225, 228. The rimes, O. E. -/Fc<r, O. E. neah^ O. F. -t'e, seem to indicate a fifteenth-century origin for the poem. The rimes in E. are similar : sekerly, me, treivly.

226, 227. mour, J>er-fore. (Not in E.) The rimei here indicate a pronunciation different from that indicated in 148, 149. See also 106, 107 note.

232. dey do Spryng. Cf. Chaucer's Prologue, 822, Torrent of Portugal (ed. Halliwell), 362, etc.

241. dey-lyght. The reference to early rising is not unusual. See King Horn (E. E. T. S.), 527, Sir Eglamour (ed. Halli- well), 359.

248. SO seyth J>e boke- A frequent vene tag. Not neces- sarily a reference to a literary original.

252. E. has the better reading, Ai A man in pouerte.

255. Crystenmes dey. The chronology in this story offers difficulty. The incidents of Christmas eve, 85-162, and of Christ- mas day, 163-240, have already been narrated. The day of the journey to Cardiff should be the day after Christmas.

258. At none. Since E. has Anon, too much weight must

0om 11

not be laid on the evidence of this passage regarding meal-timcs. Whether none had its earlier reference to 3 p. m., or its later one to 12 M., it can hardly be assumed to have been a time for the principal meal. The fact that this was Christmas day may have some bearing on the subject. Cf. Fier% Floivman (ed. Skeat), vol. n, p. 112. Cf. Dame Siriz, 324. note.

262. portere. There seems to be personal animus in the way the porter is represented. The minstrel was well accustomed to ill treatment from the porters, and the surly porter appears frequently in minstrel story. Cf. King Horn, ii55fF. See note by Creek, y. G. Phil. X, 436, and references to John de Reeue, 719 ff., Home Childe, 958 flf., etc. For instances where the porter loses hi* life, see Child, Engl, and Scot. Pop. Ballads, no. 119, note in, Part I, p. 95 note.

263. Tho'W. The distinction between the contemptuous singu- lar and the respectful plural is well illustrated in the language of the servants to Cleges and in his replies.

265. be God. Notice the number of oaths used by the porter and the other servants. Cf. 283, 285, 313, 340, 345.

267. begers route. Cf King Horn, 11 59 ff,, Piers Plow- man, B xn, 198 ff., C XV, 138 ff.

* ' Ich haue mete more than ynough • acnoujt so moche worship As tho that seten atte syde-table • or with the souereignes of the

haUe But sitte as a begger bordelees * bi my-self on the grounde."

286. thyrd parte. The artificiality of this feature of the pres- ent version is apparent. The same applies to v. 317 and v. 346.

293. officers. The French word here has the French nom- inative ending. E. vsschere. Cf 310.

310, 311. The rimes -ly (O. E. lice), sey (O. E. seah), in- dicate the beginning of the opening in the pronunciation ofO. E. f. Cf. 315, 318, and 219-28 note.

319. wone (E. von). ApparenUy from O. N. van. Cf. The Erl of Tolous, 1 1 34. Cited by Emerson, M. E. Reader, p. 113, 1. 12.

348. cute. E. reads, Arforthtrt gost pu nott, which affords better rime.

78 il^oteflf

352, 353. gete, mete. The rime, with long vowel, is his- torically correct. O. E. mete, O. N. geta.

363 fF. sore, more, be-for. Cf. 106, J07 note, 148, 149 note.

364, 365. re"werd, parte (E. Reivard, pari). Imperfect rime? Cf. 511, 512.

367-9. Not in E.

370. E. has, Vpe to the desse (dais) sir Cleges ivent, affording a better idea of the situation in the hall.

376 ff. The pious tone here and elsewhere is hardly in keeping with the nature of the anecdote.

382, 383. Assonance. So in E.

386 ff. The author shows familiarity with the story of the love between Vther and Ygerne, wife of the Duke of Tintagel in Corn- wall.

399. hym. E. has the better reading, no'we.

406. E. reads. To the kyng he spake full styll, which aiFordi bet- ter rime and better meaning.

418-20. Not in E.

418, 424. lond our lede. The stanzas are frequently linked together by a form of echo, or of incremental repetition. Cf. 46- 49, 59-61, 68-74, 1^9-^3, 188-193. 204-205, 324-3^5, 333-339. 464-473. etc.

432. Chary te. Charity is personified as a saint. See Sir Isumhras, 152, and note by Halliwell in which are cited insUnces of similar use in Spenser and in Shakespeare {Hamlet, iv. 5).

437. had be better : E. haddyst he better.

461. sore strokes. Cf. Sir Eglamour (ed. Halliwell), 47, * So sore strokes he them gaue.'

474. ryde ne go, * ride or walk. ' Cf. Sir Isumbras (ed. Halliwell), 56, 'I maye bothe ryde and goo.'

479. The minstrel's limited range of expression is evident.

481. parlere. The author of Piers Ploivman (B x, 93-99) deplores the desertion of the hall for private rooms : —

Elyng is the halle • vche daye in the wyke. There the lord ne the lady • liketh noujte to sytte Now hath vche riche a reule • to eten bi hym-teluc

0Otti 79

In a pryue parloure ' for pore mennes sake,

Or in a chambre with a chymneye * and leue the chief halle.

That was made for melcs • men to eten inne 5

484 fF. The E. text at this point differs in certain important detailj and secmi to preserve better the original story. An harpor sange A gest he mowth Of a knyght there be sowth ;

Hym-selffe wcrament. Than seyd the kynge to pe harpor : " Were ys knyjt Cleges, tell me herr* For pu hast wyde I-went. Tell me Trewth yf pu Can, Knowyste pu of pat man ? ' '

The harpor seyd, " Yee, I-wysse."

" Sum tyme for soth I hym knewe ; He was A kny^t of youres full trewe.

And Comly of Gesture. We mynstrellys mysse hym sekyrly, Seth he went out of Cuntre :

He was fayre of stature." The kynge seyd, '* be myne hcde ! I trowe pat sir Cleges be dede,

That I lovyd peramore : Wold god he were A-lyfe! I hade hym levere than othyr v.

For he was stronge in stowre."

503. had hym leuer. Had is used in the sense * hold,' * regard. '

524-6. £. reads:

" Hast pu," he seyd, " thy Reward ? " *' Be Cryst, he ys to lowe! " The styward seyd vfitA lok Grym.

527, 528. E. is imperfect here. T/ie deivle hym born on A lowe, and the lines of the present text seem like awkward im- promptu.

8o /potrjf

544. E. ends with this line, and Weber, not knowing of the existence of the O. manuscript, supplies the following not unsuitable conclusion :

With many other yeftes moo,

Miri to lyue and blyth. The knyght rode to dame Clarys his wyue, Faire[r] ladie was non olyue j

He schewyd his yeftes swyth. Now to Mari that hende may, For all your sowlys Y her pray That to my talys lythc.

554. COler. "The investiture by a collar and a pair of spun was the creation of an esquire in the middle ages : " — Fair holt. Cos- tume in England (ed. Dillon), 11, 127, thus quoted by W. E. Mead in his edition of TAe Squyr of Low e Degre, p. 47. Cf. Way's exc. note to Prompt. ParvuU t. v. Coller, p. 87.

^r

I. DISCUSSION OF FABLIAUX

J". BiDim, Les Fabliaux, ze ed. Paris, 1895.

J. Bedier, article in the Petit de JuUeville HUtoirt dt la Langut

tt dt la Litterature fran^aise, vol. 11. J. V. Le Clerc, Histoire litteraire de la France, vol. xxiii. F. Brunetiere, Revue des Deux Mondes, Sept., 1893. O. PiLz, Die Bedeutung des Wortei Fablel. Stettin, 1889.

B. TEN Brink, Geschichte der engliichen Litteratur, i, 221, 214, *34» 318, 323, 11, 130, 136, 153, 159, 167, 170, 179, 621.

J.J. JussERAND, ^ Literary History of the English People, i, 1 1 8,

152, 183, 184, 225, 325, 442, 447, 496, 498. H. MoRLEY, English Writers, in, 336, 378. W. H. ScHOFiELD, English Literature from the Norman Conquest to

Chaucer, 118, 323-326, 338, 348, 479. Ward and Waller, Cambridge History of English Literature, vol.

I, ch. XVII. W. M. Hart, The Reeve's Tale. Publ. M. L. A. America,

XXIII, 1-44. W. M. Hart, The Fabliau and Popular Literature. Publ.

M. L. A. America, xxiii, 329-374. H. S. Canby, The English Fabliau. Publ. M. L. A. America, xxi,

pp. 200-214.

C. Fromentin, Essai sur les Fabliaux Fran^ais du XII* et du XIII* Siecle. Saint-fitienne, 1877.

F. Herrmann, Schilderung und Beurtheilung der Gesellschaftlichen VerhUltnisse Frankreichs in der Fabliaudichtung des XII und XIII yahrhunderts, diss. Coburg, 1900.

II. COLLECTIONS OF FABLIAUX AND OF STORIES USED IN FABLIAUX

Barbazan, Fabliaux et Contes . . . des XII*, XIII*, XIV*

et XV* Siecles ... 3 vols. Paris, 1756. Legrand, Fabliaux ou Contes du XII* et du XIII* Sieclt ... 4

vols. Paris, X779.

82 llBibliograpti^

Barbazan-Meon, Fabliaux et Contcs fran^ais dts XI*, XII*,

XIII*, XIV* tt XV* Siecles, nouvclle edition ... 4 voU.

Paris, 1808. M. MioN, Nowveau Recueil dt Fabliaux tt Contts ...» vols.

Paris, 1823. JuBiNAL, Nowveau Recueil de Contes, Dils, Fabliaux ... 2 vols.

Paris, 1839-42- A. DiMoNTAiGLON and G. Raynaud, Recueil general et complet des

Fabliaux des XIII* et XIV' Siecles, 6 vols. Paris, 1872-1890. F. H. voN DER Hagen, Gesammtabenteuer . 1850. J. Pauli, Schimpf und Ernst, hrgb. v. H. Ostcrley. l866. J. Ulrich, Prober: der lateinischen Novellistik des Mittelalters.

Leipzig, 1906. T. Wright, Latin Stories (Percy Soc). London, 1842. Nicole Bozon, Les Contes Moralises, ed. by L. T. Smith and P.

Meyer. Paris, 1889. jAcquES DE ViTRY, Exempla, ed. byT. F. Crane. London, 1890. £tienne de Bourbon, Anecdotes historiques, Legendes et Apologues

tires . . . par A. Lecoy de La Marche [Soc. de P Histoire de

France). 1877. Petrus Alvhovsvs, Disciplina Clericalis [Soc. des BibliopA./ranf.

Melanges). Paris, 1825.

Another ed. by F. W. Val Schmidt. Berlin, 1827.

Cf. V. Chauvin, Bibliographie des Outrages arabes, ix, pp.

1-44. Liege and Leipzig, 1905. Le Chastoiement d'un Pert a son Filt, publ. by Soc. des Bibliophiles^

Paris, 1825, and by M. Roesle, Munich, 1899.

Another shorter French metrical version is published in the

Barbazan-Meon collection. Gesta Romanorum, ed. Keller. Stuttgart, 1 842; ed. Osterley. Ber- lin, 1871.

(English), ed. Herrtage (E. E. T. S.). London, 1879. Le Violier des Histoires Romaines, ed. M. G. Brunet. Paris, 1858. K. Campbell, The Seven Sages {En^Vi&h). Boston, 1907.

For bibliography of The Seven Sages see L. Chauvin, Biblio- graphie des Owvrages arabes, vol. viii, entire volume. Liege and

Leipzig, 1897.

Cf. also Catalogue of Romances in British Museum, vol. iii,

by J. A. Herbert. London, 1910.

Bibliograpl^^ 83

III. DAME SIRIZ

I. Editions of Dame Siriz

1. Wright, Anecdota Literaria, pp. 1-13. London, 1844.

E. MXtznkr, Alttngliiche Sprachproben, i, pp. 105-13, with an excellent introduction, pp. 103-4. Berlin, 1867.

2. Besides the works containing a general discussion of fabliaux there

remain to be mentioned the folloiving ivorks dealing especially ivith the " Dame Siriz.^' W. Elsnf.r, Untersuchungen %udem mittelenglischen Fabliau **Dame

Siriz,'' diss. Berlin, 1887. W. Heuser, Das Interludium *De Clerico et Puellay" Anglia, xxx, 306-19.

3. Versions of the Weeping Bitch Story Kathd Sarit Sdgara, transl. by C. H. Tawney, vol. i, pp. 85-

91. Calcutta, 1880. ^ukasaptati (textus simplicior), transl. into German by R. Schmidt,

pp. 9, 10. Kiel, 1894. (^ukasaptati (textus ornatior), transl. into German by R. Schmidt.

Stuttgart, 1899. The Book of Sindibad (Oriental form of the Seven Sages).

Syriac version. Sindban and the Seven Wise Masters, transl. by H. Gollancz, Folk- Lore, viii, 113 ff.

Greek version. Syntipas, critical ed. by Eberhard, Fabulae ro- manenses graece conscriptae, 1, 39. Leipzig, 1879. Summarized by Loiseleur-Deslongchamps, Sur les Fables indiennes,fip. 106-9. Paris, 1838,

Persian version. Syndibdd Nama, analysis by Prof. F. Falconer in Clouston's Book of Sindibad, p. 61. London, 1884.

Hebrew version. Mischle Sindbad, transl. by P. Cassel, pp. Z68-71. Berlin, 1888.

Arabic version. The Seven Vazlrs, transl. by J. Scott in Clouston's Book of Sindibad, pp. 162 ff.

For reference to other Arabic versions see Eisner, op. cit., p. 8. Spanish version. Coote's translation of comparative text of the Libra de los Enganos.

84 llBibliograpl)^

Disciplina Clerkalis, cf. references to editions above, no. xi.

French prose translation (15th cent.) of the Disciplina Cleri- calii {Soc. des Bibliophiles). Paris, 1825.

Spanish translation from the Disciplina Clericalis, El libra dt los Enxemplos {Bibl. autores espafloles, Li, p. 505).

Icelandic translation from the Disciplina Clericalis, ed. by H. Gering, Islendzk ae-ventyri, i, 181. Halle, 1882.

English translation of the Disciplina Clericalis in an unpub- lished manuscript of the Worcester cathedral library, A rotogra- phic copy of this manuscript is in the library of the Western Re- serve University.

French metrical versions of the Disciplina, see references above to versions of Le Chastoietnent d' un Pert a son Fils. Steinhowel, Jsop, ed. Osterly {Bibl. d. lit. Ver. Stuttg. 1843), section Ex Adelfonso, no. 11.

The story is also included in the Italian fable collection by Tuppo, 1485, the French collection by Machaut, circa 1483, the Spanish Tsopo, 1496, the Dutch Esopus, i486, and the Eng- lish edition by Caxton, 1484 (ed. Jacobs, 1889). Gtsta Romanorum, see references above. The Dame Sirix Itory

does not appear in the English version. Alixander de Hales, Destructorium -vitiorum, ill, X c. Colon, 1485. Ref from Eisner.

Another edition. Pars tertia, capitulum 10, fol. ci, b. Lutetiae, 1 51 6. GoTSCALDUS HoLLEN, Prectptorium novum et perutile, etc., fol.

«xcv, c. Colon, 1484. Nicolas de Troys, Le Grand Parangon des Nowvelles Nouvellts,

II, fol. XXIX, b. Ref. from Eisner. P. Gringoire, Les Fantaisies de Mere Sotte. (Ms. in Bibl. Nat, at

Paris. ) Ref. from Eisner. H. Sachs, Das ivainent Huentlein. {Elf Fastnachtspiele aus den

yahren lS53-'554^ hrgb. v. E. (Joetze. Halle, 1884.) loANNES GoBii, Scala cell, 1480.

ViNCENTius Bellovacensis, BibUotheca Mundi, Section iii. Spe- culum Morale, Lib. iii, Dist. vi, Pars ix, p. 1325, edition of 1624 (Brit. Mus. Libr.).

Late Latin version publ. by A. Tobler, Zt. f. rom. PAH. x, 476-80,

Bibliograp^p 85

JoH. Herolt, Discipulus redi-vivus seu Sermones discipu/i, Section iv, Promptuarium Exemplorum, no. 599. Augustae Vindelicorum, 1728.

Nicole Bozon, Les Contes moralises, ed. by L. T. Smith and P. Meyer (iV. des anc. Textesfran^.'), 1889, no. 138.

L. Desmoulins, Catholicon des mal advisee (ed. J. Petit et M. Le Noir, 15 1 3, fol. Diiij). Ref. from ed. of N. Bozon.

jACquES DE ViTRY, Exempla, ccl. See ref. above.

The same version is included in Wright's^ Selection of Latin Stories from Manuscripts of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Cent- uries (Percy Soc. 8). London, 1842.

Metrical Tales of Adolfus, ed. T. Wright (Percy Soc. 8), Fabula V. London, 1842. (Reprinted from Leyser, Historia Poetarum Medii Ae-vi 1721, p. 2015 ff. , cf. Matzner, loc. cit.)

Christiern Hansen, Komedier, ed. S. Birket Smith, p. 60. Ref. from Eisner. Kjobenhavn, 1874,

Prose paraphrase in Le Grand d'Aussy's Fabliaux ou Contes^ IV, 50-3. Paris, 1829.

IV. THE VOX AND THE WOLF

I. Discussion of beast tales

J. Grimm, Reinhart Fuchs. Berlin, 1834.

W. J. Thoms, The History of Reynard the Fox, reprint of Caxton

edition with discussion of the history of the story collection

(Percy Soc. 12). London, 1844. Paulin Paris, Les A-vtntures de Maitre Renard et d' Tsengrin, son

compere, sui-vies de nou-velles recherches sur le Roman de Renart.

Paris, 1 8 61. K. Krohn, Bar {Wolf) und Fuchs. Helsingfors, 1888. K. Krohn, Mann und Fuchs : drei vergleichende Marchenttudien.

Helsingfors, 189 1. Fauriel, Roman de Renard, Histoirelitteraire de la France, vol. 22. PoTviN, Le Roman du Renard, mis en 'vers, precede d'une intro- duction et d'une bibliographie. Paris and Brussels, 1861. C. VoRETzscH, Der Reinhart Fuchs Heinrichs des Glichezaren und ■ der Roman de Renart, Zt. f rom. Phil., xv, 124-182, 344-

374, XVI, 1-39. See especially p. 361.

86 llBibliograp^^

H. BUttner, Studien zu dem Roman de Renart und dem Reinhart

Fuchs. Strasburg, 1891. RoTHE, Les Romans du Renard examines, analyses et compares.

Paris, 1845. JoNCKBLOET, ^tude sur le Roman du Renart. Groningen, 1863. Leonard Willems, Etude sur PTsengrinus. Ghent, 1895. G. Paris, Le Roman de Renard. Paris, 1895. Reissenberger, Reinhart Fuchs. Halle, 1886. M. DE GuBERNATis, La Mythologte zoologique, vol. 11. J. Jacobs, The Fables of Aesop. Vol. i. History of the Aesopic

Fable. Vol. 11, Text and Glossary. London, 1889.

For additional bibliographical references see V.Chauvin, op. cit.,

II, pp. 1 64 ff.

2. Editions of collections of beast stories

Meon, Le Roman du Renard public d'apres les Manuscrits dela Biblio- theque du Roi des xiii', xi-ve, et xv Siecles, 4 vols. Paris, 1825. Chabaille, Supplements, Variantes et Corrections. Paris, 1835.

E. Martin, Le Roman de Renart, 3 vols. Paris, 1882-87.

F. Wolf, Renart le Contrefait, nach der Handschrift dcrK. K. Hof- bibliothek. Vienna, 1861.

HouDOY, Renart-le-Nowvel. Lille, 1874.

Ecbasis cujusdam captivi, Lat. poem of iith cent. ed. by W. J. Thorns (Percy Soc. 12), 1844; ed. E. Voigt, i^ellen und Forschungen, no. win. Strassburg, 1875.

Tsengrimus, ed. by E. Voigt, 1884.

H. DER Glichezare, Reinhart Fuchs, ed. Grimm. Berlin, 1834.

Reinaert, transl. from Flemish into French by O. Delapierre. Brussels, 1857.

Reineke der Fuchs (Volksbuch). Leipzig, i84o(?).

Goethe, Reinecke Fuchs, xi, vv. 97-131.

English versions of Renard the Fox : i) ed. Thorns (Percy Soc. 12), 1844; 2) ed. Arber, 1878 ; 3) ed. Goldsmid, 1884; 4) mod- ernized version by H. Morley (Carisbrookc Library, iv), 1889.

J.Jacobs, seeabove.

L. Hervieux, Les FabuUstes Latins depuis le Siecle d' August e jusqu^a la Fin du Moyen Age. 1st ed. Paris, 1 884 ; 2d ed. 1893.

llBibltograpl)^ 87

3. Editions of Vox and Wolf

1. Wright and Halliwell, Rd. Antiquae, ii, 272.

2. Percy Soc. viii, 1843.

3. W. C. Hazlitt, Early Popular Poetry^ i, 58 f. 1864.

4. Matzner, Alttngl. Sprachpr., i, 130.

4. Analogues a. Oriental

1. Arabic, " Le renard et la hyene," Meidani, Proi;tfr^«(6), t. II, p. 7. V. Chauvin, Bibl. dts Outrages arabes, iii, p. 78, cites Maidani, Arabum proverhia, 11, p. 335, no. 64, ed. Freytag. Bonn, 1837,

2. Hebrew, A. Blumenthal, Rabbi Meir^ p. 100, also 10 1 ff. Frankfurt, 1888.

3. Hebrew, J. Landsberger, Die Fabeln des Sop/ios, no. 10. Posen, 1859.

4. Indian, Pantchatantra, i, 8; Hitapodesa, 11, 11 j Kirchhof* fVendunmuth, 7, 26.

5. Indian, Pantchatantra, 11, 226.

6. Mod. Indian, M. Frere, Old Deccan Days. London, 1868.

b. Versions related directly or indirectly to the ^^ Roman de Renard^*

Reinecke der Fuchs, Volksbuch. Leipzig, 1840.

J. Lassberg, Lieder Saal, 11, no. 93. Eppishausen, 1820.

Grimm, Reinhart Fuchs, pp. 356-8. Berlin, 1834.

John of Sheppey, see Hervieux, op. cit., iii, 441.

Odo of Sherington, see Hervieux, op. cit., iii, 327.

Italian fable, publ. by K. McKenzie, Publ. M. L. A. Amer.y XXI, 226 fF.

Libra de los Gatos, no. 14 (^Bibl. autores espafioles, li.).

N. Bozon, Contes Moralises, no. 128.

For bibliography of the Disciplina Clericalis and its transla- tions, see references above.

c. Versions related to that in the '* Disciplina Clericalis " G. Wright, The Principles of Grammar. London, 1794. B. Waldis, Esopus, ed. by H. Kurz. Leipzig, 1862.

88 )l5iblioarapt)^

Hans Sachs, Faheltij ed. Goetze. Frankfort, 1 888.

R. Henryson, Poems and Fables, ed. by D. Laing, pp. 193-202

Edinburgh, 1865. And Anglia, ix, p. 470. La Fontaine, Book xi. Fable 6. Marie de France, Le Grand d'Aussy, Fabliaux ou Contesy iv,

P- 396-

F. J. Desbillons, Fabulae Aesopiae, 5th ed., Book 8, Fable 24. Paris, 1769.

Gelbhaus, Ueber Stoffe altdeutscher Poeste, p. 39. Berlin, 1886. El libra de los Exemplos, no. cccvii. Btbl. autores espafioles, li.

p. 520.

For editions of this story in fable collections see Steinhowel in

bibliography of Dame Siriz.

d. Other -versions Verdizotti, Cento Favole. Venetia, 1570. San Bernardino da Siena, Nowvelette Esempi Morali e Apolo'

ghiy p. 15, Racconto vi. Bologna, 1868. Fable Collection, publ. by J. Baechtold, Germania, xxxill, 257.

G. K. Pfeffel, Fabeln, 4, 88.

Jacques Regnier, Apologi Phaedrii, Pars i. Fab. 48.

Other fables ivith beasts, usually fox and loolf, in a ivtll L. Abstemius, Hecatomythion secundum, no. 15. L. Abstemius, Hecatomythion, no. 41. G. Faerno, Centum Fabulae, p. 49. London, 1672. R. L' Estrange, Fables of Aesop . . . Fab. 410. London, 1692. S. Croxall, Fables of Aesop and others, no. 166. Boston,

1863. Fables Turques, transl. into French by J. -A. Decourdemanche,

no. 31. T. Bewick, Fables, 18 18. Lenoble, (Euvres,xiv, 515.

Carl Mouton, Esope-Esopus, no. 95. Hamburg, 1750. Fables of Aesop J no. 8. New York, 1862.

e. Folk-tale versions French (Bas-Languedoc). P. Redonnel, Rev. des trad. pop. ill, 611, 612.

llBibliograpl;^ 89

French (Breton). L. F. Sauve, Re-v. des trad. pop. i, 363, 364. German (Saxon). J. Haltrich, Deutsche Volksmdrchen, no. 100.

Vienna, 1877. French (Walloon). A. Gittee et J. Lemoine, Contes du Pays

fFa//cn,pp. 159-69. Paris, 1891. French (La Bresse). P. Sebillot, Contes du Provinces de France. Spanish. Antonio de Trueba, Narraciones populares, pp. 91 fF.

Leipzig, 1875. Portuguese. Coelho, Contos populares portuguezesy pp. 1 3-5.

Lisbon, 1879. American Negro. J. C. Harris, Uncle Remus: his Songs and Say- ings, no. 16.

Additional bibliographical references may be found in Chau-

vin's Bibliographie des Ou-vrages arabes, in, pp. 78, 79, ix, pp.

30, 31.

V. SIR CLEGES

I. Editions

H. Weber, Metrical Romances, i, 329 ff. Edinburgh, 18 10. A. Treichel, Englische Studien, xxii, 374 fF. J. L. Weston, Modern English rendering in 'volume zvith Libeaut Disconus. London, 19 — .

2. Other -versions of the story of * the blows shared * I. English :

J. G. Saxe, The Nobleman, the Fisherman, and the Porter. An Italian legend.

Gesta Romanorum (E. E. T. S.), no. 90. a. French :

Tallemant des Reaux, Les Hi storiettes. . . . L. MoLAND, Moliere et la Com'edie Italienne, pp. 375, 376, Nowveaux Contes a Rire, p. 186. Cologne, 1702. Voltaire, OEu-vres Completes, t. x. Preface de Catherine Vadi, p. 781. Ref. from M. Rene Basset. 3. German :

Graksse, Sagenkreise, p. 25 1. Ref. from Liebrecht-Dunlop.

90 Bibliograpl)^

Grimm, Kinderm3rchen, in, p. 20, no. 7.

Pauli, Schimpf and Ernst (ed. Osterlcy), no. 614.

F. BoBERTAG, Narrenbuch, pp. 7-86. Berlin, 1885.

F. H. VON DKR Hagen, Narretibuck, pp. 271-352. Halle, 1811.

F. W. Ebeling, Die Kalenherger. Berlin, 1890.

A. NiEDERHOKFER, Mtckltnburg s Volki-Sagetiy III, 196-9. Leipzig, 1859.

Lyrum Larum Lyrissimum, no. 1 84. 1700.

4. Latin :

J. DE Bromyard, Summa Praedicantium, fol. clxiii, b. The same story is told in T. Wright's Latin Stories (Percy Soc), no. 127.

Facetiarum Henrici Behelii . . . Libri tres. Tubingen, 1542.

5. Greek:

E. LzGRAND, Recuei/ de Contes Populaires Grecs. Paris, 1881. (This story in its conclusion is unlike that in the Sir Cleges.)

6. Spanish :

Cuentos de yuan Aragones, no. 3 in Tunoneda, El Sobremesa, etc. Ref. from Liebrecht-Dunlop.

Margerita Facetiarum Alfomi Aragon, p. 4 b. Argent. 1508.

7. Swedish :

Backstrom, S-venske Volkibocker, 2. Oefvers., p. 78, n. 30.

8. Italian :

Straparola, Ptacevok Notte, n. 7, Fav. 3.

Marc. Monnier, Les Contes Populaires en ItaliCy La Nowvtlle du Sommei/, pp. 236, 237.

Nerucci, Sessanta noveUe populari monta/est, n. 2J, La nove/la di sonno, pp. 233-7. Florence, 1880.

9. Turkish:

FtOGEL, Geschichte der Hofnarren^ 176-8.

10. Arabic:

R. Basset. Contes et Legendes arabes, no. 57. Rev. dtt trad, pop., XIII, 675-7.

R. Basset, Nouveaux Contes berberes, Paris, 1897. Other Arabic versions cited by M. Basset are :

Kitab Nfiar.iat el Djallas, p. 23.

Mas'oudi, Prairies (Tor, t. viii, ch. cvxiii, p. 163. Re- produced by Ben Sedira, Cours de Litter ature arabe, 348, p. 32 fF. Found also in Les Mille et une Nutts, ed. Beyrout, t. iii, p. 176 ; ed. QuaLe, t. 11, p. 206.

3 Related stories

Les Sluatre Souhaits Saint-Martin. The different versions are discussed by Bedier, op. cit.^ pp. 212-28.

Lucky they are not Peaches. W. A. Clouston, Popular Tales and Fictions, vol. 11, 467 ff. This tale is closely associated with the one in Sir Cleges.

Fable of Avaricious and Envious. See notes by Jacobs in his edition of Aesop's Fables.

Du Vilain au Buffet, Montaiglon-Reynaud, iii, Fab. 80.

4. Other stories having points of resemblance to that in ** Sir Clegts "

The ballad of Hind Etin. Child, Ballads. N. BozoN, Contes Moralises, no. 112. Adventures of Oivleglass, no. 39.

P. Sebillot, Contes des Provinces de France. Les jfacqutus a la Cour.

Del Convoiteus et de P Envieus (Montaiglon-Raynaud, v,

Latin Gesta Romanorum, ed. Osterley, cap. 73.

©lojssiati?

ABBREVIATIONS

S = Dame Siriz. C N. E. D. ^

= Sir Cleges. V = Vox and Wolf. New English Dictionary.

A, interj. : S 365, V 172,

C 109. O.E. a. a, prep., in: V 36. O.E.

an, on. abide, v. tr., 'wait for: im-

per. 2 sg., abid, S 293.

O.E. abldan. abite, v. tr., to bite : pret.

part., abiten: bitten, tast- ed, V 203. O.E. abitan. aboue, adv., abo've: S413.

O.E. abufan on bufan. aboute, adv., about : S 80,

C 277 ; abouten, V 15.

O.E. a-butan. abugge, V. tr., atone for:

inf., V 208. O.E. abyc-

gan. ac, conj., but : V 59, 84,

106. O.E. ac. acorde, v., to agree ivith :

pret. part., a-corde, C

368. O.F. acorder. accursed, pret. part., ac-

cursed: V 55. O.E. cur- sian + prefix a.

a-do, n. , to do, affair, busi- ness: C 527. M.E. at do, a Northern form.

adoun, adv., donvn: V 38, 57, etc., C 188 ; doun, V 247 j done, C 97; doune, C 452. O.E. of dune.

aduersarys, n. ip\., adver- saries : C 431. O. F. aversaire (aversier, adver- sier).

afalle, v., to fall donvn: pret. part., afalle, V 18, O.E. afeallan.

a-ferd, adj., afraid: €220, O.E. afaered.

afingret (see hof)>urst), pret. part., ahungered: V 2,4, no, 190, 258,610. O. E. ofhyngrod, of hin- grod, p. p.

94

€>lo0sfar^

after, prep., after ^ for-.

V 6i, C i6i, 246, 448, 513; affter, S 197, 4125 concerning^ ^ 5 * j accord- ing to^ S 53, C 240. O.E. aefter.

after, adv., after^ward : C 151,211, 383, 389,454. O.E. aefter.

after-werd, adv.: C 270, 463, 5485 aftyr-vverd, C 472. O.E. aefterweard.

ag^eyn, adv., again, hack: ^ ^75> 3 ^ ^ 5 ajein, S 296. O.E. ongean.

a-jene, prep., against, on account of: C 135. O.E. ongean.

ago, pret. part. , gone : V 49 ; ago, V 153. O. E. agan.

agrlse, v. intr., infin., be alarmed, frightened : V 240. O.E. agrlsan.

Ailmer, pr. n. : V 271.

al, adj., all: S 49, 134, 153, etc., V III, 200, etc. ; all, C 1 1, 14, 29, no, 276, 430, etc. ; alle,

V 63, 147, 156. O.E. call.

al, adv.: S 151, V 175 all,

C 68, etc. al, pron. : S 63, 146} all,

C 56, etc.

alas, interj. : S 333. O.F. a las, ha las.

al-hone, adv., cf. a-lone.

aliue, adj., ali^e: V 183. O.E. on life.

allegata, adv., in e'very nvay: S 398. Cf. O.N. allagotu. Not cited earlier than 1200. See N. E.D.

all-thyng, n., everything : C 305. O. E. ealle Hng (pi.).

all-wey, adv., in any case: C 228.

almes, n., alms, charity : gen. sg. almes, V 44. O.E. aslmysse.

almes-dede, n., almsdeed^ almsgiving: S 207.

almi^tten, adj., Almighty: n. sg., S 25, 322, 371} all-myjht, C 66 ; all- myjht, C 539. O.E. ael- miht, adj. j aslmeahtig, adj.

almus-folke, n., almsgiv- ers: C 31. Earliest in- stance of this sense cited by N.E.D. is 1709.

alon, adv., helonging{l): S 10. O.E. [andlang] ge- lang.

a-lone, adv., alone: C iSSj al-hone, V 275.

^Io0s?ar^

95

alpi, adj., single: V 132. O. E. anllpig, senllpig, etc.

als, also, al so: see as.

also, conj., also : C 477 5 all-so, C 414. O.E. eal- swa.

amend, v. tr., amend: im- per. 2 sg., S 113. O.F. amender.

amidde, prep., * in middle of,' 'half way down': V241. O.E. on middan.

amidward, adv., in the middle of: V 274.

among, adv., among : V 266. O.E. onmang.

among, prep. : C 326, 446, 515. O.E. onmang.

and, conj., and: S 3, 5, etc., V 18, 19, etc., C i, 3, etc.; //, S 164, 363, C 300, 350, 524; and \i = ify S 168, 392, 394; a, scribal error for and, S 361 ; an, S 140, 1455 on = <and,' S 240, see Notes; and = 'by' in the phrase, on and on, V 197, 269. O.E. and, ond. In conditional sense, possibly from O.N. enda. ^teN.E.D.

3^Z^y,^<^]-i angry: C 303;

angary, C 442 ; fr. anger, n. [O.N. angr]+y, adj. ending,

ani, adj., any: S 15, 41, etc.; eni, S 363, 373, etc. ; any, C 1 1 7, 119, 205, etc. O.E. aenig.

anon, adv., at once: S 155, C 320, 401, 404; pres- ently i C398. O.E. on an.

anon-ryght, adv., right anvay: C 531, 541.

anou^, see I nou.

anoundred (an + hun- dred), V 8.

ansine, n., longings desire^ nvant: S 306. O.E. sin, syn, f. sight + prefix an-, see N.E.D.

ansuerd, v., pret. 3 sg., ansnvered: C 433. O.E. andswarian.

ansytourres, n., ancestors: C 2. O.F. ancestre.

any, see ani.

apayd, pret. part., pleased: C 485. O. F. a payer, apaier.

aperseiuede, v., pret. i sg., perceived^ ohser'ved : V 213. O.F. aperceveir.

aquenche, v., inf transf., appease: V 13, 112. O.E. acwencan.

96

^lofi^fiiar^

ar, prep., ere^ before-. S

1 08; conj., before, S 381.

See er. aray, n,, array, dress: C

261. O.F. aret, arroi, ar-

roy, etc. a-ray, v., infin., array,

dress-. C 543. O. F. ar-

(r)eier, areer, arreer, ar-

(r)oier, etc. arise, arisen, v., arise-, in- fin., V 239, 264; imper.

3 pi., arisen, V 269. O.E.

arlsan. arme, n., arm-. C 477 ; pi.,

armys, C 123. O.E.earni. (Kyng) Artour, pr. n., gen.

sg., C 5. as, conj.: S I, C 21, 97,

137, etc.; al so, S 267;

al-so, V 2 1 7 ; als, C 1 2 1 ;

als . . . as, C 141, 206,

339 ; also . . . as, S 95.

O.E. ealswa. ascape, v., infin., escape:

S 370. O.F. escaper. aske, v., pres. i sg., ask,

request: C 428. O.E. ac-

sian. See axe. askyng, n., asking, request,

boon: C 344, 357, 362,

506. O.E. acsung. assent, v., pres. i sg.,

agree, consent : C 145,

sente, C 289. O.F. as-

(s)enter. assunder, adv. , asunder :

S 360. O.E. on sundran. at, prep. : S 141, etc., V

21, etc., C 8, etc. J by,

C 284. O.E. aet. aj^urst, adj., thirsty: V 66;

hof>urst, V 274. O.E.

of hyrst, p. p. of « of )»yr-

stan.' Cf. afingret, p. p. a-two, adv.,;» tnvo: C476.

O.E. on tu, on twa. a-vayle, v., infin., avail,

help: C 396. Not in O.

Fr. ; first quoted from

Cursor Mundi. auenture, n., adnjenture :

V 70. O.F. aventure. a'wai, adv., aivay: S 149,

437; wei, V 53; away,

S 1 7 ; a- way, C 6 8 ; a- wey,

C74, 80, 150, etc. O.E.

onweg. awarie,v.,subj.3 sg., curse:

S 332. O.E. awergian. awecche, v., infin., aivak-

en: V 267. O.E. awec-

c(e)an. awne, adj., otun: C 389,

440, 534. O.E. agen. awreke, pret. part,,

a'venged: V 64. O. E.

awrecan.

^lofiffliar^

97

axe, v., pres. i sg., ask:

V 52. See aske.

ay, adv., enjer: S 304, C 73. O.N. ei, ey.

bad, bade, v., pret. 3 sg.,

badcy see bidde. bake, n., back-. C 245, 359.

O.E. baec. bare, adj. : C 17. O.E. baer. be, ben, v., infin., be, S

46, C26, 44, 136, 202,

etc. } ben, S 99, 247, 295,

V 105, 118, 162, etc.; pres. I sg., am, S 162, etc., V 103; ame, C 220, 408; be, C 423; pres. 2 sg., art, S 117, 167, V 130, etc.; arte, C 535; hertou (art -f thou), V 120 J bes. arty S 444; pres. 3 sg., is, S 33, etc., V 127, etc., C217; his, S 28, 142; hiis,

V 106; pres. 3 pi., be)),

V 49, 153, 166, etc.; be, C 309 ; is, C 48 ; pres. subj., i sg., be, C 308; 2 sg., be, S 296; 3 sg., be, S 25, 226, C 288 ; 2 pi., be, C 134 ; pret. I sg. , was, C 1 1 2 j a sg., were, V 60, 219, C 330 ; 3 sg., wes (usual

in S & V) J was, S 76, C 49, 68, etc. ; ves, S 79,

V 258 ; wes him (reflex- ive), V 31, 261 ; pret. I pi., weren, V 64, 3 pi., weren, V 28, 40, 289; were, C 2, 31, 168, 453 j wer, C 17, 35, 51, etc.; pret. subj., 3 sg., were, S 246, 336, V 43, 218 ; wer, C 502; I pi., weren,

V 64; 3 pi., weren, V 204; were, C 70 ; pret. part., ben, S 68, V 185, 200, etc. ; iben, V 87, I-ben,

V 100; be, C437. O.E. beon, wesan.

be, prep., by. C 58, 133,

171, 265, etc.; according

lOy C 525. See bi, by. be-cause, conj., C 221.

M.E. hybrid compound.

O.E. be + O.K. cause, bedde, n., bed: S 102, V

214, 216, etc.; bedcy C

161. O.E. bedd. bede, v. tr., offer y announce:

infin., bede, S 40; pres. i

sg., bede, S 129, 130; 3

sg., bedeb, S 374; pres.

subj. 3 sg., bede, S 363;

pret. 3 sg., beed, S 349;

bed, S 367. O.E. beo-

dan.

98

iSlofli^an?

befel, v., pret. 3 sg., be- fell, happened'. S 16. O.E. befeallan.

be-for, prep.: C 183, 403; be-fore, C 2, 372; be- forne, C 3 9 9. O.E. befor- an, bifora, befora (hind), etc.

began, see biginne.

begers, n., beggars: poss. pl.,C267. O.K. begard.

be-hold, v., see, behold: in- fin., C 279; pres. imper. 2 sg., C 276; biheld, pret. 3 sg., V 15. O.E. bihaldan; W. S. beheal- dan.

be-hynd, adv., behind: C 46. O.E. behindan.

belle, n., belly (in oath = O.K. ventre bleu (dieu) quoted by Matzner) scarcely as in Wright = tunic or = bell (?): S 390, 421.

be-lyue, adv., quickly, at once: C 1395 blyue, C 152; bliue, V 109. M.E. comp. bi-life, etc. See bliue.

benedicite, n., blessing: benedicite be herinne = * God save us,' S 193. Lat. benedicite.

bere, v., bear: infin., C

551; imper. 2 sg.,C 245}

bore, p. p. , V 1 1 6 ; bom,

p. p., C 387. O. E.

beran. beryes, n., berries : pi., C

201, 203. O.E. berie. bes, v., pres. 2 sg. = O.E.

bis, bist (Orrm. best,

etc.) : thou art, S 444.

See be, ben. best, adj.: C 142, 159, 212.

O.E. bet(e)st. be-syde, adv., beside: C

187; by . . . syde, C 87.

O.E. be sidan. bete, v., remedy : infin., V

276. O.E. betan. bete, v., beat: infin., V

290, C 20, 298. O.E.

beatan. beter, adj., better : S 274,

C 236; betere, S 389;

better, C 26, 147. O.E.

betera, bet. be-thought, v., reflex.,

seemed : pret. 3 sg., C 90J

reflected, pret. 3 sg., C

349. O.E. bihencan. bey, v., pret. 3 sg., bo^wedi

V 194. O. E. bugan,

beah, bugon, bogen. bi, prep., along: S i, 74; in

oaths, S 31,89; concent'

(Sloflffiiar^

99

ing, S 143, V zio; ac- cording to, S 253, 405, V 50J besUe, S 383. O. E. bi. See be.

bicharde, v., pret. 3 sg. , decei'ved, beguiled : V 2 9 3 . O.E. becerran.

biche, n,, bitch: S 354; bicche, S 372. O. E. bicce.

bicom, v., become: S 376, O.E. becuman.

bidde, v., pray, bid, com- mand, invite: infin., V 179; pres. I sg., bidde, S 209; pret. I sg , bad, S 399; 3 sg., bade, C 398; pret. part. , I-bede, V i35» *55J bede, C 330. Results from confusion of two distinct words, O.E. biddan, * pray,' and beo- dan, 'offer,' 'com- mand.'

biden, v., bide, li-ue to : S 116} pres. I sg. , bide, S 26, 133, 433- O-E. bl- dan. See abide.

biginne, v., begin: pres. 3 sg., biginneK V 80; pret. 3 sg., bigon, S 7, 24, 302, 353; bigan, V 1075 bigon to = <did' (?), S a97, 417, 420; pret. 3

pi., be-gan, C 58J pret. part., bigunne, S 384. O. E. beginnan,

bi-go, v., pres. subj. 3 sg., encompass, take possession of:^Sl. O.E. began.

bi-^ende, prep., beyond: 8 105. O.E. begeondan.

bi^ete, n., getting, earn- ings, spoil (Matzner): V 248. Not cited in O.E. Formed from O.E. verb, begitan. See N.E.D.

biheld, pret., see be-hold.

bihete, w., promise: pres. i sg.,S428. O.E.behatan.

bileue, v., leave, remain-. pres. subj. 3 sg., bileue, V 198; imper. 2 sg., bilef, leave, S 217. O.E. be- laefan.

bimelde, v., pres. subj. 2 sg., betray: S 38. M.E. compound from O.E. bi, prep. + meldian.

bind, v., bind: pres. 3 pi., V 254; pret. part, (harde), I- bonden = < hard pressed, ' S 204. O.E. bindan. See hounbinde.

binejje, adv., beneath: V 253. O.E. blnij^an, be- neohan.

binomen, binome, pret.

100

^lofiififar^

part., taken aivay: S *95> V 173- O.E. beni- man.

bireued, V. tr., pret. part., taken from'. S 336. O.E. bereafian.

biset, v., in<vested '. pret. part., S274. O.E. beset- tan.

bi-)>enche, v. reflex., be- think oneself y reflect: in- fin., V 83; pret. 3 sg., biboute, S 1 3 ; pret. part. , bi>out, V 81. O. E. bi- j^encan.

bitide, v., happen^ betide: infin,, S 124. M.E. com- pound, bi, prep. -\- O. E. tidan.

bi-wonne, pret. part., nvon: S381. M.E. compound, bi, prep. -|- O. E. win- nan.

blame, n., charge^ blame : 8198,393,0529. O.F. blame.

blame, v., blame: infin., S 56. O. F. blamer, blas- mer.

bled, v., bleed: infin., C 336. O.E. bledan.

blesse, v., bless: infin., S 258} opt. 2 sg., blesse (be), « God bless you,' S

201; opt. 3 sg., I-blessi, S 161. O.E. bletsian.

blejjeli, adv., gladly: S 35; blebeliche, V 171. De- rived from O. N. bleab, *weak,' 'gentle,' *kind,' but influenced in meaning byO.E.blibe. See7V.£.Z).

blisse, n., bliss: V 140, 144, 294. O.E. blit>s.

blij?, adj., glad: S 259; blik, V 2495 blythe, C 140; blyth, C 151. O.E. blihe.

bliue, cf. bc-lyue, adv.

blod, n., blood: V 40, 51; dat., blode, C 60. O.E. blod.

bloke, n,, block: C 452. O.F. bloc.

blome, n., bloom: S 294. O.N. blom.

body, n., body: C 299. O. E. bodig.

boinard, n., fooly kna'vei S 288. O.F. buinard.

boke, n., book: C 248. O. E. boc.

boket, n., bucket: V 78, 80, 88, 232; boketes, V 73. O.F. buket (?).

bold, adj., assured, certain: S 54; bolde, C 331. O. E. beald.

^losi^t^

lOI

boldly, adv., C 328. O.E. bealdlice.

bond, adj., bond, ensla'ved: C 114. O.E. bonda, n.

bone, n., requesty boon: S 375. O.N. bon, corr. to O.E. ben.

bone, n., bone: C 476 ^ pi. bones, V 63. O.E. ban.

bore, p. p., see bere, v.

bote, prep., buty besides: S 137, V 39, 164, 254; bot, C 69, 75, 83, 428. O.E. butan.

bote, conj., but: S 38, 41; bot, C 251, 320; bote, unless, S 234, V 43, 193J bot, C 286, 316; bote if, unless, S 181; bot if, C 344> 3 5 3 > bote >at, unless, S 400. O.E. butan.

bote, n., remedy: C 361. O.E. bot.

both, adv., C 32, 51, 65, 114, 140; bothe, C 3, 31; boj'e, S 121, 150, V 167} boh, S 86; boj^en, V 26. O.N. ba«ar.

bo}'e, pron., both: C 31. O.N. balSar, m., batSir, f., baelSi, ba^i, n.

Botolfston, pr. n., Boston: S 77.

boue, prep., abonje: S 90. O.E. bufan.

bowje, n., bough: C 196, 199; bow, C 214. O.E. bog.

bred, n., bread: S 327. O. E. bread.

breke, v., break: infin., C 266} pret. 3 sg., breke, S 356 ; brake, C 476. O.E. brecan.

brest, n., breast: V 194. O.E. breost.

bringen, v., bring: infin., S 189, 404 ; bringe, V 126; pres. subj., 2 sg., bringe, S 400; pres. im- per. 2Sg.,bryng, C 399; pret. 3 sg., broute, S 92, V 104, 259; brohute, V 70; browjt, C2 74;broujt, C 304, 334, 400, 403; broujht, C 2 1 6 ; pret. part. , I-brout, S 244, 424, V 8 2, 122. O.E. bringan.

brojjer, n., brother: S 135. O.E. br5«or.

brouke, v., use, enjoy: pres. I sg., S 273. O.E. bru- can.

bryght, adj., bright: C 388. O.E. beorht.

bruche, n., breach, opening'. V21, 233. O.E. brycc.

102

^AoifHit^

buggen, v., buy. S 272;

pret. part.jboujht, C 283,

335. O.E. bycgan. burste, v.yburst: pret. subj.

3 sg., S 360. O.E. ber-

stan. bur)*, V. impers., behoo'ves:

pres. 3 sg., S 82. O.E.

byrian. buske,v. ,/o thrash yhustleij)

box(J): infin., C 20. Du.

boxen ; L. G. baksen,

baaksen. by, see bi, prep.

callyd, v., calle^i : pret. 3

pi., C 494, 533- O.E.

ceallian. can, see con. cardyff, pr. n. : C 87, 233,

a39> 544 5 cardyfe, C

254. care, n., cart, anxiety: C

148. O.E. ceani. carrals, n., carols: pi., C

103. O.K. Carole. castell, n., castle: C 544.

Late O.E. castel,fr. O.N.

F. castel. castcll-^ate, n., castle gate:

C 256. cellerer, n., cellarer: V 59.

Anglo-Fr. celererj O.F.

celericr.

certes, adv., certainly: S 61, 139. O.F. certes.

chapitre, n., chapter, ec- clesiastical court: S 244. O.F. chapitre.

chary te, n., charity : C 432. O.F. charitet.

chauntecler, pr. n. : V 37, 46.

cheken, n., cheeks: pi., S 358. O.E. ceace.

chere, n., cheer, look, ex- pression: C30, 124, 147, 156, etc. O.F. chere.

cherle, n., churl: C 331} chorle, C 296. O. E. ceorl.

chery, n., cherry: C 211; pi., cherys, C 279, 311, 374, etc. O.N.F. cherise.

cheryd, v., cheered: pret. 3 pi., C 33. P>om chere, n. ; O.F. chere, chiere.

chery-tre, n., cherry tree: C 194. M.E. compound, but cf. O.E. cyrstreow. Cf. N.E.D.

ches, v., choose: infin., C 427. O.E. ceosan.

chesyn, n., cause: be che- sy n of = because o/i C i 7 1 . O.F. acheson, achcisonj Lat. occasionem.

childe, n., child-, dat., V

^loflf^ar^

103

»a8 J pi., children, V 116, 155 jchylder, C 83, 160, 167, 173, etc. O.E. cild.

chorle, see cherle.

chyrche, n., church : dat., C 163. O.E. cyrice.

clarc, n., clerk: S 348, 366, 380, 387} clerc, S 353, 363* 373 > pl-, clarkes, S 248. O.F. clerc.

(dame) Clarys, pr. n. : C

28, 551, 557.

(sir) Clegys, pr. n. : C 7, 37 ; sir cleges, C 259, 271,295, 301, 322, 328, 382, 43 9» 533 5 cleges, C 145, 403, 494 ; syr clegys, C 238, 247 ; syr cleges, C 86, 89, 169, 253,289, 319,349* 361, 373» 445*478, 483* 505; syr , C 466.

clene, adj., pure-. V 227, 250, C 211 ; klene, V 178. O.E. cljene.

clere, adj., deary bright-. C

374» 557, 575- O-F-

cler. doj'ed, v., clothed: pret.

part., S 6 ; I-clohed, S

319. O.E. cla'Sian. clothes, n., clothes: C 332.

O.E. cla«as.

clothyng, v. n., clothing: C 260.

cloute, v., clout ^ heat: in. fin., C 270. O.E.* clu- tian, of which only the pret. part., geclutody sur- vives.

cnowe, v., kno<vo: infin., S 122. O.E. cnawan.

cnul, n. , knell : V 2 5 1 . Sec soule-cnul.

cold, n.ycold: S 3 1 2} adj., V 254;colde, V 255. O.E. ceald, adj.

coler, n., collar: C 554. O.F. colier.

comandyd, v. , command- ed: pret. 3 sg., C 382. O.E. comander.

come, n., coming: S 108, V 134. O.E. cyme.

comen, v., come: infin., co- men, V 136, 180, 230, 235, etc.; kome, V 174J com, C 23, 511 ; come, C 330; cum, C 343; pres. 2 sg., commys, C 284; comyst, C 3 1 4, 318; pres. imper. 2 sg., com, S 22, 28, V 37;3pl.,komeK V 270; pres. part., comyng, C 224 ; pret. I sg., com, S I, 64, 180; 2sg., come, S 262; 3 sg., com, S

104

22, etc., C 122, l8l,

295; come, V 17 } come hire, S 299 ; pret. 3 pi., comen, V 287; com, C 115, 256; pret. part., I- com, S 162; I-comen, V 59 ; comen, S 296. O.E. cuman.

comener, n., commoner-. C 65. M.E. formation from O.F. comun.

comforth, v., comfort: pres. 3 sg., C 149. O.F. cun- fort, confort.

commyng, v. n., coming'. C 280.

con, v., i^noou, knonv hoiVy can : pres. i sg. , con, S 47, 65, 206, 450 ; cone, S 168 ; 2 sg., const, S 285} can, C 490 ; 3 sg., can, V 97 ; pret. 2 sg., cou^est, S 188, 220 J pret. 3 sg., coube, C 208 ; pret. subj. 3 sg., kou^e, V 184. O.E. can, con, cu^e.

conseyle, n., ad'vice : C 393. O.F. conseil.

content, adj., contented^ satisfied y glad : C 395, 564. O.F. content.

contre, n., country, C 43. O.F. contree.

coppe, n., cup : S 319 j

cowpe, C 550. O.E.

cuppe. Corne-weyle, pr. n. : C

387. cost, n., cost: C 120. O.F.

cost, couenant, n., co^venant: C

480 ; couenand, C 435.

O.F. co(n)venant. coujje, cou)>est, see con. crafftes, n., crafts : pi.,

S 190. O.E. craeft. craue, v., ask: infin. , S

352. O.E. crafian. crede, n., creed: S 209.

O.E. creda. Crist, pr. n., Christ: S 33*,

etc.; cryst, C 522J gen.,

crystes, C 133. Cristine, adj.. Christian-.

V 120. Anglo-Fr. Cris-

tien. croune, n., tonsure: S 348.

Anglo-Fr. coroune. Crystenmes, pr. n. : C

85* *55> crystyn-mes,

C 38. Late O.E. crystes

maesse. cunne, n., kind: nom. sg.,

kun, V 123; kunne, V

54} kynne, C 569 ; gen.

sg., kunnes, V 146, 224,

294; cunnes, S 15 } nom.

€ilo00ar^

105

pl.(?), cunne, V166. O. E. cynn.

cursede, v., pret. 3 sg., cursed : V 259. O. E. cursian.

curtasly, adv., courteously: C 507.

curteis, adj., ivell-man- nered^ courteous : S 119, 341 ; curtas, C 13, 570. O.F. corteis.

curteisi, n., courtesy^ man- ners: S iio} curtasse, C 455. O.F. cortesie.

curtiler, n., gardener: V 27a. O.F. cortiller.

dai, n., day: S. 150, ao8, 345 5 day, S 16 j dey, C 30, 39. 135, 158, 232 J pi., daies, V 48, 152 ; dayes, V 49 ; daus, 83245 lif-daie, V 200. O. E. dseg, dagas.

dame, n., lady: S 37, 61, etc. , C 217; dame clarys, C 28, 557 ; dam clarys, 551. O.F. dame.

dansyng, v. n., dancing: C 104.

dar, v., = >ar, etc., pres. 2 sg., needest: S 260. O.E. J>earf.

ded, adj., dead: S jog, V

149, 191 } dede, C 500.

O.E. dead. dede, n., deed., thing: S 41,

V 223. O.E. dsed. dede, v., see do. del, n., lament, grief: S

344> 356. O.F. doel. dele, v., divide, gi<ve : in-

fin., C515. O.E. dslan. deley, n., delay : C 264.

O.F. delei. deleyd, v., delayed: pret.

part., C441. O.F. de- layer. depe, adj., deep: V 109.

O.E. deop. dere, adj., dear: C 202.

O.E. deore. dere, adv., dearly: C 283,

335. O.E. deore. derne, adj., secret: S 130.

O.E. derne, dierne. dernelike, adv., secretly:

S 86. desesyd, v., trouhled, af- flicted: pret. part., C 191.

O.F. desaaisier. dettys, n., debts: pL, C

562. O.F. dette. deuel, n., de<vil: V 104,

282. O.E. deofol. dey, see dai. dey-lyght, n., daylight: C

241.

io6

<&\oeiint^

deyntes, n., dainties', pi., C 413. O.F. deyntee.

do, don, done, v., doy cause to, gi^ve, put: infin, , do, cause, S 126, cause to,

V 25 1 } don, do, S 32, 35, 53 } done, do, V 236 ; pres. I sg., do, cause to,

V 51; 2 sg. , dest, dost,

V 33» 35» 15a ; dost, S 377 5 3 sg., do, C 232 ; 3 pi., doJ>, do, V 217 ; pres. subj. 2 sg,, do, gi've,

V 192 ; 3 sg., do, grant, S 322, 330; pret. 3 sg., dede, caused, V 67 ; dyde, did, C 573 5 pret. 3 pl-. dyd, did, C 574; dyde, ^/^, C 1 60 ; pret. subj. 1 sg., dude, S 172 ; pret. part., I-don, V 106, put, S 323 ; don, done, S 226, V 39, C 49, com- pleted, C I 7 8 ; do, done, y 6S,made, C411; I-do, done, V 222, O.E. d5n.

done, adv., doivn: C 97. See ad own.

dore, n. , door: S 301, V 27, C 293, O.E. duru.

dou, n., dough} V 256. O.E. dah.

dou^tyer, adj., more dough- ty: compar., C 8. Late

O.E. dohtig, for earlier,

dyhtig, dihtig. doun, n., doivn: V 247 j

doune, C452. Seeadoun. doute, n., doubt, fear: C

273. O.F. doute. douter, n. , daughter : S

339, etc. O.E. dohtor. draTV, v., draiu: pres. subj.

2 sg., draw, C 268 } pret.

3 sg., drew, C 88 j drou,

V 277. O.E. dragan. drcd, adj., afraid: S 409.

Aphetic form from M. E. adrad, O.E. of dr3ed(d).

drede, n., dread, fear: dat., V 89. M.E. noun from O.E. verb dr£dan.

dreri>mod, adj., sad in heart: S 149. M.E. com- pound, O. E. dreorlg -f- mod.

drijtte, n.. Lord: S 408. O.E. dryhten.

drinke, v., drink: infin.,

V 79) pret. 3 sg., dronk,

V 93. O.E. drincan. drinke, n., drink: S 133,

V 143 } drunche, V 14 j pl.,drynkes,Cii8. O.E. drinc, str . m. , drinca, w. m.

driuen, pret. part., drinjeni

S 247. O.E. drifan. drou. sec draw.

^loe&nt^

107

made O.E.

drunche, see drinke.

drofe, v., dro've: pret. 3 pL, C T58. O.E. drlfan.

dude, see do.

duell, v., dnuell: infin., C 82 ; pret. 3 pi., duellyd, C 87. O.E. dwellan.

duntes, n., bloivsy strokes: pi., V 295 ; dyntes, C 444. O.E. dynt.

dyde, v., see do.

dyght, pret. part., ready : C 242, dyjht, C 168, 540 dihtan.

dy^ed, dyed, v., died: pret. 3 sg., C 57, 306. Early M.E. dejen. O.N.deyja.

dyntes, see duntes.

dyuerse, adj., divers, dif- ferent kinds of: C 99. O.F. divers(e).

%ddre, n., 'vein : V 45, heddre,V4ji O.E. aedre.

ede, v., nvent: pret. 3 sg., V69; hede, S 347, 380, V275. O.E. code, see go, gon.

efft-sones, adv., again: S 384. O.E. eft sona.

egre, adj., eager: V 289. O.F. egre, aigre.

cien, n., eyes-, pi., S 281;

heien, S 357; heie-rcn-

ning, S 283. O.E. cage, eillejj, v., aileth : pres. 3 sg.,

S 337. O.E. eglan. eke, conj., also: S 159,327.

O.E. eac. eldyst, adj., eldest: superl.,

C 243. O.E. ieldest. elles-wer, adv., else^where:

V 2 o 8 . O.E. elles hwser. els, conj., else: C265, 348.

O.E. elles. ende, n., end: S 62, C 576.

O.E. ende. enderdai, n., a day re- cently past {N. E. D.)y

other day: ^ 1G6. M.l^

compound, O. N. endr +

O.E. daeg. enes, adv., once: S 383.

Early M.E. aenesj O.E.

aene. eni, see ani. entente, n., intent, plan,

purpose: C 240, 486,\56i.

O.F. entente. ernde, n., errand, business:

S 347; hernde, S 40, 97,

214, 226, 410. O. E.

Krende. erne, v., run: infin., V 16.

O.E. iernan. erour, adv., before: V 4.

O.E. Kror.

io8

(Slo^ant^

croust, adv., first: V i6,

114. O.E. Srest. erj?e, n., earth: S 107, 325,

416} erth, C 378. O.E.

eor^e. esyly, adv., easily: C 245.

O. F. aisie, p. p. cten, v., eat: infin.,S 2795

pret. 3 pi., hete, V 156;

pret. part., I-ete, V 98,

1695 ete, C 157. O.E.

etan. ejje, adv., easily: S 338. O.

E. ea}>e. euch, euche, adj., each,

enjery:

loi, 224, 255.

O.E. Sic. cue, n., e've: C 85. O.E.

aefen. euele, adv. , e<vily ///: S 1 7 3,

etc. O.E. yfel. euensong, n., <vespers: C

161. O.E. afen-sang. euer, euere, adv. , enjer:^ 26

etc., V141, C 115,24-1.

149, 1 90, etc. O.E. aefre. euer-lastyng, adj., eHjer-

la sting: C 177, etc. euer-more, adv., efver-

more: S 385. euery, adj., e'very: C 22,

37, 80, 104, 105, etc.

O.E. aefre, aelc. euery chon, pron. , tvtry

o«^ : C 1 8 5 i heucrcuchon, V 270. euyn, adv., t*ven\ C 468. O.E. efne.

fader, father: C 5, 246. O.E. faeder.

faille, n.,fail: S 187. O.F. faillir.

fain, adv., gladly: S 309, 393. O.E. faegen, adj.

fair, adj., yiz/>: S 6; feir, S 339; feyr, C 19, 371} feyre, C 11, 381; corn- par., feiror, S 340; su- perl., fey rest, C 311. O.E. faeger.

faire, adv., fair: S 160; feyre, C 234, 371. O.E. fsegre.

fallen, v., fall: pres. 3 sg., falleh, S 306; pret. 3 sg., fell, C 89, 148, befell, happened, C 85; pret. part. , fallyn, C 1 7 ; fallyd, C 96. O.E. feallan.

fals, ^d}., false: C 308. O. F. fals.

falsdom, n., falsehood: S 65. M. E. compound. Earliest citation in N.E. D., 1297.

falsete, n.,ya///«^j/: S loi. O.F. falsete.

(Slofifflfar^

109

I

fare, v., farty go: infin., S 157,, V 141, C 236; pres. \ sg., fare, S 173,

V 202. O.E. faran. fast, adv., quickly. C 325,

563. O.E. faeste, adv.

faste, v., pret. 3 ^g.y fasted: S 324. O.E. fassten.

fe, n., money y property, S 382, C 18, 437. O.E. feoh.

fecche, v., fetch: infin., S 314} pret. subj. 2 sg., feche, S 386. O.E. fee- can.

fede, V. , feedy nourishy sus- tain: pres. I sg., S 208, 321; pret. I sg., fede J C 114. O.E. fedan.

feire, n.,yi3:;>: S 77. O.K. feire.

fele, adj., many: V i66j felle, C 4o6(?). O.E. fela.

fere, n., companiony friend:

V 120, C 1255 I-fere, V 172, 185. O.E, gefera, m.

fere, n., companionship: in the phrase, in fere, to- gether y C aoi. O.E. geter, n.

ferli, adj., nuonderful: S 277. O.E. fxrlic.

ferre, adv.,yiir: 0207,489. O.E. feor.

fest, n., feast: C 38, 44, 49; feste, C 71, 412; ac. pi., festeSjC 55, 59 J feste, C61. O.F. feste.

festyd, V. , feasted : pret. 3 sg., C 64. O. F. fes- ter.

fete, n., feet: pi., C 314. O.E. fet.

fetour, n., feature: C 11. O.F. faiture.

feyle, n., faily doubt: C 390. O.F. faile, faille.

feylyng, v. n.y fail: C 384.

fey re, adj., adv.; see fair(e).

finden, v. y find: infin., S 34; finde, S 316; fonde, S 342; pret. I sg., foud (scribal error?), V 162; pret. 3 sg., fond, V 21, 93, 294, C 200; founde, S 407, V 73, 92; found, C 2 1 9 j pret. part. , founde, S 422; founden, in<vented (Matzner), S 203. O.E. findan.

fiue, num.,^i;^: V 29. O. E. fif.

fle, v.yfly: imper. 2 sg., V 38; pret. part., flowen, V 31. O.E. fleogan.

no

enoi&m

fies,n., meat: S 327. O.E.

flaesc. flet, u., floor: S 273. O.E.

flet(t). flok, XV., flock: V 29. O.E.

flocc. flore, n.,/oor: S 102. O.E.

flor. flowen, see fle. fode, n., food: C 119. O.

E. foda. fol,n.,/oo/:Sii5. O.F.fol. fol, adv., see ful. folewe, v., folloix): infin.,

S 350. O.E. folgian. fomen, xv.,foes: pi., V 288,

O.E. fahman. fond, fonde, v., see finden. fonde, v., try: infin., S 241,

393. O.E. fandian. for, prep., for: S 35, etc.,

C57, "3> 119. 4-55.etc.;

because of C 34. O.E.

for, fore. for, conj., for: S 79, C 96,

304, 450, 506. forderen, v., to promotty

adfuance: pret. 3 sg., for-

deryd, C 73. O.E. fyrtS-

r(i)an. forevrard, n., agreement,

covenant, S 256. O.E.

forewcard. for^elde, v., pres. subj.

3Sg., pay, requite: S 37, 326, 415, V 226. O.E. forji(e)ldan. lov--^^vie,v.,forgi've: infin.,

V 175; forgiue, S 334J pres. I sg., forjeue, V 225 ; imper. 2 sg., forjef, V 209. O.E. forgi(e)fan.

for^euenesse, n., relenting:

V 295. O.E. forgifnes, forgyfenes, etc.

forhelen, v., conceal: p.p. forholen, S 237. O.E. forhelan.

forsake, v., forsake: pret. part, forsake, V 177. O.E. forsacan.

forsape, v., transform: in- fin., S 369. O.E. for- sceppan.

fort, conj., until: V 17 (for -f to), see for to.

forj>, adv., forth: S 397; forth, C 337. O.E. forb.

for-J>i, conj., therefore: S 171, 180, 344, etc.; for- J>en, S 185. O.E. for \>y.

for }>ider, S 4115 = forth -f- Hder.

forj'inken, v., repent: pres. 3 sg., forbinkeb, S 139. O.E. for-Scncan.

for to, introducing an infini- tive: S 151, 151, 239;

<5lo00ar^

III

forto, C 164, 424, 482;

for-to, C 1 50. Earliest

citation in A^. £. Z). , 1200. fortone, n., fortune: C

497. O.F. fortune. foud, found, founden, see

finden. foure, num.,yb«r: C 470.

O.E. feower. fourti, n^^m.y forty. S 324.

O.E. feowertig. fre, adj., yr^^, noble: S 34,

339, C 114, 246, 536;

compar., freour, S 342.

O.E. freo. fre-borne, 2idi),y free horn-.

C408. frely, adv.,/rr^/y: C 429.

O.E. freolice. frend, n., friend: S 152,

185, V 133; pi., frend,

V160. O.E. freond. frere,n., /ri^r: V266, 271,

*79> C 32; pi., freren, V

262. O.F. frere. fressch, adj.,/r<rj^: C 379.

O.E. fersc. fro, prep. , yrow : S 380, C

176, 305, 335. O.N. fra. frute, n., fruit: C 231 j

fruyt, C 206, 307. O.F.

fruit. frythe, n., luood-. C 549.

O.E. fyr«, fyrh«.

ful, adj.,/«//: S 158; ftill, C24. O.E. ful.

ful, adv., /«//, entirely y quite, 'very: S 3, 34, V 215; fol, S 35, etc.; full, C 108, 234, 256, etc.j ful wel, S 257, 278, 450,

V 238; fullwele, C 485. O.E. ful.

fullen, v., fulfil: infin., S

»39J fyll. filly C 230.

O.E. fyllan. fulj>e,n.,////i: V165. O.E.

fyl«. furmeste, adj., /r//: V 21.

O.E. fyrmest. fyll, see fullen. fynd, \.y find: infin., C 47,

O.E. findan.

g^abbe, v., jest, lie: impcr.

2 sg.,V 121. O.F. gab- (b)er, O.N. gabba.

gan, v., did: pret. 3 sg., C 59, 146, 214, etc.} gon,

V I, 83, 195, 240; pret.

3 pi., gounnen, V 283. Aphetic form of began. In this sense from 1200.

gange, v.^gOyivalk: S 262, 308, 437. O.E. gangan.

gar,garen, v., make, cause-. infin., S 281, 290, 449. O.N. ger(o)a.

112

<$lo00an?

gare-mersy, n., great thanksy gramercy : C 42 1 . O.F. grand merci.

garthyn, n., garden : C 187, ai8. O.N.F. gar- din.

gent, gente, adj., gentle^ noble-. C 253, 386. O.F. gent.

gentyll, adj., gentle, noble: C15, 25, 309, 536, etc., O.F. gentil.

gentyll-men, n., gentle- men: pi., C 65. M. E. compound. N. E. D. 1275.

get, n., goats: pi., V 167. O.K. gat, get.

gete, v., get: infin., S 14, C155. 352; geten, 8447; subj. I sg., gete, S 234J O.E. gietan, gitanj O.N. geta.

geue, v., gi've: infin., S 223, 388 J jeue, S 191 } gyfF, C 287, 513; pres. 2 sg., jeuest, S 287; pres. subj. 3 sg. , jeue, S 442, V 34}pret. 3 sg., jaue, C 2905 jafFe, C 46 1 ; gafe, C 45i» SS°y 554; gaff, C 18, 454} gaffe, C 541; pret. part., I-giuen. O.E. gifan.

geyst, n., geste, tale-. C 484. O.F. geste.

gift, n.ygift:S 223; gyft, C 405; gyfte, C 346, 467, 479; pl-. giftes, S 388; gyftes, C 50, 282. O.E. gift.

gin, ginne, n., trick, cU'v- erness, contri<vance, trap : S289, V72, 77, 82,86, 103, 125. O.F. engin.

gistninge, n., dat., feast, banquet (Matzner) : V 255. Scand. Cf. O. Sw. gastning.

glad, adj. : S 328, 402, V 249, C 30, 124, 136, 397, etc. O.E. glaed,

gladly, adv.: C 244. O.E. glaedlice.

go, gon, v., go, njualk: in- fin., go, S 185, 297, 319, V i,etc.,C 146,239,259, 272, etc. ; go = ivalk, C 474; gon, S 135, 156, 417, V 108, 283, C 50, 184; pres. subj. 3 sg., go, C420} I pi., go, C 139; pres. imper. 2 sg. ,go, C 296} pret. 3 sg., went, C 292, 324, etc.; wente, C 186, 277, 290; pret 3 pi., went, C 154, 161, 167, etc.; wente, C178}

(S^io^sim

"3

pret. part., gon, S 765 gon— ago, C 500} I- gon, S 80, etc. See also ede, hede. O.E. gan, wendan.

God, pr. n., God: S 25, 315, etc., C 176, 179, etc.; goed, S a 10, 314, 317, 322, 330; gen. sg., godes, S 197, V 56, 57, C 164; dat. Gode, V 158. O.E. God.

gode, adj., good: S 300, V

172, C 51, 118, 229, etc. ; god, 8285; goed, V

173. O.E. god.

gode, n., goods, njuealth: V 147, Cs8, 68, 419, 425; goed, V 161 J god, C 70, 1555 godes, C 137. O.E. god.

Goder-hele, in phr. to goder hele, to {your) good fortune: S261; used like a nom. sg., goder-hele, S 269. Laj. to godere Hre hasle = O. E. to godre hjele.

gode sir, n., like A. F. beau sir, dear sir: C 271.

godlec, n., goodness, bene- fit: S 227. O. N. g5«- leik-r.

godnedai, phr., good day :

accus. sg. , S 1 45 ; goddai,

S 397-

godnes, n., goodness: C 29} good, C 574} good for- tune, C 224. O.E. god- nes.

goed, n.,good: S 252, V 39, 46}god, S285. O.E.god.

gold, n., gold: C 18, 53, 288. O.E. gold.

gome, n., sport: V 24. O. E. gamen.

gon, V. , pret. 3 sg. , see gan.

gore, n., front section of a skirt, nvider at bottom than at top, by synecdoche, skirt, petticoat, go<wn : under gore = under one's clothes {N.E.D.): S 5. O.E. gara.

gossip, n., sponsor in bap- tism: V 116, 208, etc. O.E. godsibb.

gounnen, see gan.

gou]?lich, adj. , goodly of ap- pearance, handsome: S 5. O.E. godlic.

grace, n., grace: C 497. O.K. grace.

gradde, v., cried out: pret. 3 sg., V 282.

grante, v., grant: infin., C 362; pres. subj. 2 sg., grante, S 375, C 344;

114

^lofiffi^ar^

graunte, C 2 86, 3 1 6 ; 3Sg. ,

grante, S 3 62 ; pres. imper.

2sg.,grante, C357jpret.

3 sg., grantyd, C 320;

pret. part., grantyd, C

238, 506. O.F. graunter. grantise, n,, grant, con- cession: S 414. O. F.

grantise. grantyng, n. , granting^

boon-. C 434} granteyng,

C 440. grasyos, adj., gracious:

C 172. O.F. gracious. gref, n., reluctance: S 36.

O.F. grief, gref. gren, adj., green: C 200.

O.E. grene. gret, adj., great: sing.,

Vi68;pl.,grete, V 155,

2 90 J sg. and pi., grete, C

5, 31, 104, 221, 282,

292, etc. O.E. great, grete, v., ^r^^/^^: pret. 3 sg. ,

C 465 J grette, S 160.

O.E. gretan. greten, v., pres. 3 pi.,

nveep: S 357- O.E. grje-

tan. grette, v., see grete. greuans, n., ill fortune: C

222. O.F. grevance. greue, v., grie<ve: infin., S

59; pret. 3 sg.,greuyd,

C 442 ; pret. part. ,greuyd,

refl.,C45o. O.F. grever. grew, v., see grow, grij?, n., peace: S 267;

grythe, C 299, 546. O.

E. gri«, O.N. gri«. grorae, n., anger, nvrath:

S 197. O.E. grama, ground, n., ground: C 375;

dat., grounde = bottom ,

V 74, 91. O.E. grund. grow, v.ygronv: pres. 3 pi.,

C 204 ; pres. part. ,grow-

yng, C 378; pret. 3 sg.,

grew, C 307. O.E.

growan. grym, adv., grimly: C 526.

O.E. grim, grymly, adv., grimly: C

465. O. E. grimllce. grythe, n., see grij>. gyft, n., see gift, gytherners, n., player on

the gittern: C loi. O.F.

g^item.

jare, adv., /or « long time:

V 169. O.E. geara. jare, adv., readily, quickly:

C 469. O.E. gearo. jat, n., gate: V 20; jate, C

284. O.E. geat. je, pers. \>rox\., ye, you: C 1,

»33»*35. 365,4*9jdat.,

€Jlofii0at^

115

ou, V 215} jou, C 377, etc.; accus., ou, V 214, 216; jou, C 272, etc; gen., jour, C 303, 407, 408, etc.; of joure, of yours, C 495. O.E, je, eower, eow.

je, affirm, part. , yea : S 2 3 2, V176, 207, C538. O. E. gea.

jef, 3if, conj., //: jif, S 59; jef, V 98, 204; if, S 32, 52, etc., C 490; yfF, C 208, 268; if ^at, S 52; jif bat, 859; jeif hat, S 443. O. E. gif. See if.

^elpe, v., boast', infin., S 227. O.Eogielpan.

jenge, adj., see ^ong.

jer, n.^year: pi. jer, S 67; sing. & pi. jere, C 37, 55, 64, 204, 205, 571. O.E. gear.

jerne, a.dv. , earnestly , eager- ly. S ii,Y 1 s, 91- O.E. georne, adv.

jet, adv., j^/: S III, 404, V 153. O.E. giet.

jeuc, v., see geue.

}if, conj., see jef.

jirne, v., desire: pres. subj. 2 sg., jirne, S 45. O.E. giernan.

30I, n., Tule, Christmas: S

116. O.E. geol, geohol. jong, adj., young: sing.,

S 361; pi., jong, C 566;

pi., jenge, C 517. O.E.

geong. jonge, v., go: infin., V 61.

See gonge. jurstendai, n., yesterday:

S 73. O.E. geostran -f

dasg. JUS, adv., j'^/: S 294. O.E.

gise, gese.

ha, pers. pron, see hoe. haiward, n., hedge avar-

den, haynjoard: V 26. M.

E. compound. O.E. hege

+ O.E. weard. hakney, n., hackney: C

251. O.F. haquenee. half so, adv., half so: V 4.

O.E. healf swa. halle, n., hall: S 22, C

314, 326; hall, C 324,

325. O.E. heall. halp, see helpe. han, see haue. hang, v., hung: pret. 3

pi., C 153. O.E. h5n,

heng. harde, adv., hard, strongly.

S 204, V 195. O.E.

heardc.

ii6

i3\oi&m

harper, n., harper: C 484; herper, C 487; pi., her- pers, C loi. O.E. hear- pere.

haue, v.yhwve: infin., haue, S 164, C 36, 225, 282; hauen, S 196} han, V 87; hafe, C 2355 pres. i sg., haue, S 58, 424, C 143, 205, 207, etc.; habbe, S 67, V 200, 201, 203, 210; habe, S 91; have, V40J pres. 2 sg., hauest, S 194, 256, 268, V 47, 54» i73» 185, 244; hast, C 411, 412; has >ou?, C 355; pres. 3 sg., haue>, S 112, 214, 216, etc., V 122, 168; hath, C 231; pres. 3 pi., haueb, S 310; pres. subj. 2 sg., haue, S 51, 145; pres. subj. i pi., haue, C 226 ; im- per. 2 sg., haue, S 270; pret. I sg., heuede, S 339, V 134; 3 sg., heuede, S 9, 422, V 68, etc. ; hedde, V 2 8 5 ; hede, V 288; had, C 7, 25, 29, etc.; heldy regard- ed, C 503; pret. 3 pi., had, C 137, 157; pret. subj. I sg., hedde, V '355 * sg. , hade, lAJOuldst

hanjey C 438; heuedest, S 250, V 1 77. O.E.habban, haefde.

haui, haue + I.

he, pers. pron. : nom., he, S 4, 7, etc., V 3, 5, etc., C 7, 10, etc.; dat., him, S 142, V 2, etc.; hym, C 36, 56, 75, etc.; ac- cus., him, S 13, 94, V 114, 259, etc.; hym, C 23, 123, 124, etc.; hine, V 123. O.E. he, his, him, hine.

heddre, see eddre.

hede, v., see ede,

hede, n., see heued.

hedlyng, adv., headlong: C 360. M.E. formation from O.E. heafod + O.E. -ling. Cf O.E. baecling.

heie, heien, see eien.

heie-renning, n., running at the eyes: S 283. Not cited in N. E. D.

heijtte, v., is named: pret. 3 sg., S 177; heyte, V 271; pret. 3 sg., hyght, C 28; pret. part., hyjt, C 7. O.E. hatan, het.

held, see holden.

hele, see goder-hele.

helen, v., conceal: infin., S 241, 253. O.E. helan.

^Io00ar^

117

help, n., help'. S 164, 236, 371. O.E. help.

helpe, v., help: infin., S 188,210, 228} pres.3 sg., helpys, C 127; pres. 3 pi., helpen, S 211; im- per. 2 sg., help, S 221; pret. 3 sg., halp, V 84. O.E. helpan.

hem, pers. pron., see hy.

hen, n., hen: accus. sg., V 7 J nom. pi., hennen, V 18, 3*> 35; gen. pi., hen- nen, V 40. O.E. henn, hen.

hende,adj., gracious^ cour- teous: S 119, 154; hend, C 570. O.E. gehende.

hende, adv., graciously: S 6i. O.E. gehende.

hente, v. ^ took: pret. 3 sg., C 123, 278. O.E. hen- tan.

|her, adv., here: S 68, 194, 252, etc., V 140; here, C 217, 488, etc. O.E. her.

her-bifore,adv., heretofore: V222. O.E. her-f befor- an.

;herdy, adj., ^ar^, hrwve: C 3, 329, 537. O. F. hardi.

[here, pers. pron., see hy.

[here, v., hear: infin., C i,

482, 488, etc.; pres. i

sg., here, V 128; pret.

I sg., herde, S 2, 73;

herd, C 126; pret. 3 sg.,

herde, V 170; herd, C

98, io4j inf., I-here, S

368, V 186; pres. I sg.,

I-here, V 119; pret. 3

sg.,I-herde,Vii3. O.E.

(ge)hieran. her-inne,adv.,/^^m«:S25,

V 104; her-in, S 321. O.

E. herinne. herknen, v., listen: infin.,

S 50. O.E. hercnian. herlot, n., rascal: C 355.

O. F. herlot, (h)arlot,

vagabond. hernde, n., see ernde. hernest, n., real meaning'.

S 230. O.E. eornust. herpers, see harper, herte, n., heart: S 10, 356,

360; hert, C 190. O.E.

heorte. hertely, adv., heartily: C

409. In N.E.D. first qu.

fr. Cursor Mundi. Hertou, art thouy see be,

ben. hete, see eten. he}>en, adv., hence: S 295.

O.N. he«an. hej'er, see hider.

ii8

<!3lofif0ar^

heued, n., head-. S 335;

hcde, C 266, Z99. O.E.

heafod. heuede, v., see haue. heuene, n.^hea^ven-. S 325,

4i6j heuen, C 575. O.

E. heofon. heuenc-blisse, n., bliss of

Hea<ven\ V 233. hcuene-king,n., Hewveri's

King: S 31, 89; heuen-

kyng, C 109. O.E. heo-

foncyning. heuereuchon, pron., see

euerychon. heui, adj., hea'vy, sady de- pressed-. V 278; heuy, C

322. O.E. hefig. hey, adv. phrase, on hey,

on highy to a height: V

31. O.E. heah, see hy. hie, see I. hider, adv., hither: S 180,

261; heber, C 330. O.E.

hider. hiderward, adv., here: S

255. O.E. hiderweard. hile, see goder-hele. hine, pers. pron., see he. hire, pers. pron., see hoe. hire, poss. pron., her: S

412, etc.; hyr, C 243.

O.E. hiere, hire. See

hoe.

his, hiis, v., see be.

his, poss. pron., his: S 10, etc., C 58, 3i2j hys (sing. & pi.), C 61, 62, 74, 152, etc. O.E. his.

hit, pron., ;'/: S 28, 45, 60, etc., V 46, 60, etc.} it, C 88, 165 ; yt, C 321, 441, etc. O.E. hit.

hoe, pers. ^ron.y she: nom., hoe, S 20, 23, 179, etc. J ha, S 362; dat., hire, S 10; hyr, C 146; accus., hire, S 14, 151, etc. O. E. heo, hire, hire, hie. See sche.

hoe, pi., see hy.

hoeld, v., see held.

hof, prep., see of.

hofj'urst, adj., (of+ burst), thirsty: V 274. See a- >urst, V 66; see afingret, p. p. O.E. ofbyrsted, of- byrst, p. p.

holde, adj., see olde.

holden, v., hold: infin., S 71; hold, C 38, 61, 91, 546; pres. I sg., hold, regardy consider y C 1 42 ; 2 sg. , oldest, S 115; pret. 3 sg., hoeld, V 5i 3 pi., held, C 55; p.p., hold, regarded y consider edy C 565. O.E. healdan.

€>loflfflfar^

119

holi,adj., holy: S 205, 254;

holy, C 135. O.E. halig.

horn, n., home: S 97, etc.,

V 34, C 178} home, C 180, 556. O.E. ham,

hom-come, n. ^homecoming: S 293. O.E. hamcyme.

hon, prep., see on.

bond, n.^hand: dat.,Ci96, 198; honde, S 240, V 102; pi., hondes, C 95, 106. O.E. hand, hond.

hondred, num., hundred: S 104; hundryth, C 555. O. E. hundred. North. hundra'5, hundred, n.

hongi, V. intr.,^^«^: infin.,

V 88, 232} pret. 3 pi., hang, C 153. O.E. han- gianj hon, heng.

honour, n., honor: C 377.

O.F. honur. honouren, v., honor: p. p.

honouryd, C 412. O.F.

(h)onorer. hope, v., hope: pres. i sg.,

C 1 44; pret. 3sg.,hopyd,

C 72; hopede, V 79. O.

E. hopian. hore, poss. pron., their: S

210. O.E. hiera; hiora,

heora. See hy. hore, n., •whore: S 99. O.

N.hora. O.H.G. huora.

hors, n., horse: C 248} pi.,

C 52. O.E. hors. hote, v., command: pres.

I sg., V 36. O.E. ha-

tan. hou, conj., honv: S 14, 292,

etc.} ou, V 230. O.E.

hu. hounbinde, v., unbind:

pres. subj. 3 sg., S 315.

O.E. un-f- bindan. houncurteis, adj., uncour-

teous: S 46. O.E. un +

O.F. corteis. houndes, n., dogs: V 290,

O.E. hund. hounderstonde, v., under- stand: infin., S 263; pret.

3 sg., hounderstod, V 77.

O.E. understandan. houne, adj., see ouene. hounger,n.,^««^^r: S 310,

312; V 13, 68, 168, etc.}

honger,Vii2. O.E. hun-

gor. hounlawe, n., 'wrong: S

60. M.E. word, O.E.

un + O.E. lagu. hounsele, n., unhappi-

ness: S 175. O.E. unsael,

m. houp, adv., see oup. houre, poss. pron., our: S

31, 89, 236, 408, etc..

I20

^loflfflfar^

V 35, 59. Seeoure. O.E. ure.

hous,n. ;^o«j/:S273, V 1 1,

27} house, S 92, V 261.

O.E. hus. hous, I pers. pron., see ous. houssebonde, hosse-

bande, n., husband: S

137; hossebande, S 341.

1. O. E. husbdnda. O.N.

husbondi. houssewif, n., houseivife-.

S 361. M.E. compound :

first qu. fr. Ancren

Riwle. houssong, n., matins: V

265, 270; houssonge, V

274. O.E. uhtsong. houte, adv., see oute. how-jjat-euer, adv., honv-

e-ver : C 420. Not cited in

N.E.D. hundryth, see hondred. hy, pers. pron., 3 pi., they:

V 41 , 42, 204, 283; hoe,

V 264, 268} gen., here,

V 43, 265, 267, 274; hoere, V 272 j hore, S 210} dat., hem, S 210, 212, V 45; accus., hem,

V 162, 267; Ime (?), V 264. O. E. hie (hy), hiera (hiora, heora), him. See J'ei, and )'er.

hy, hye, adj., high: C 10,

422, 498. O.E. heah.

See hey. hye, pers. pron., see hoe. hyjht, v., promised: pret.

3 sg., C468} pret. 3 pi.,

hyght, onvedy C 562. O. E.

hatan, he(h)t. hyght, hyjt, <uuas namedy

see hei^tte. hym-selue, pron., himself y

he: nom., C 63.

I, pron., I pers., I: S 32, 47, 50, etc., C 112, 142, etc.; ich, S 2, 26, etc., V 36, 103, 119, 128, 132, 133, 162} ihc, S 148, V 159} hie, S 237} Y, C III, 114, 219, 220, 298, 315, etc.; dat. sing., me, S 42, V 38, C 286} accus. sing., me, S 29, C 272, etc. O.E. ic, min, me, me(c).

I-bede, p. p., see bidde.

I-ben, p. p., see be.

I-blessi, see blesse.

I-boen, part, adj., ready: S 434. Prefix i -j- O. Dan. boin.

I-bonden, part, adj., bound: harde ibonden, ' hard

(Slosfsfan^

21

I

pressed,' *in straits.' S

204. See bind. I-brout, see bringen. ich, see I. iche, see ilke. I-cloJjed, see cloj^ed. I-crope, v., crept: pret.

part.,V28. O.E. creopan. I-do, i-don, p. p., see do. I-ete, see eten. if, see 36 f. l~ia.ie,2idy.y gladly: V 199.

O.E, gefaegen. I-fere, see fere. I-gon, see go(n). i-here, see here. I-kaut, v., caught: p. p.,

V 86, 103. O.F. cachier. I-knede, p. p., kneaded: V

256. O.E. cnedan. I-kneu, see knowen. I-knowe, p. p., confessed:

V 182. M.E. cnawenn, qu. fr. Orm. etc. in the sense of acknoavledge, confess ; cf. M. E. a- knowe, O.E. oncnawan.

ilke, adj., eac/ty e^very: S 208, 307; samey "veryy S 289, V 47, 99, 271, etc.; Iche, eachy C 512. O.E. aelc.

I-loke, p. p., locked: V ao. O.E. lucan.

I-loued, see loue.

I-maked, see make.

I me (?), V 264, refl. pron.

accus. constr. after arisen.

Cf. hy ; or = inne {MaetK-

ner)y prep., in. I-munt, p. p., meant, in- tended: V 244. O. E.

myntan. in, prep., in: S 6, 15, etc.,

V 25, 82, etc., C 105,

etc.; yn, C 4, 14, 104,

etc.; ine, V 138, 162,

163, C 134; ime (?), V

264. O.E. in. in, inne, adv., /'«, inside:

S 20, 300, V 22, 23, 25,

etc. O.E. in. in-dede, adv., indeed: C

499. inne, n., house: S 19, 299,

406. O.E. inn, in. I-nou, adj., enough: S 93,

V24, 147; I-nowe,V288.

O.E. genoh. I-nou, adv., enough: V 79,

83, iS9» ^78; I-nowje,

C 519. O.E. genoh. in-to, prep. : S 22, C 324J

yn-to, C177, 187. O.E.

into, in-werd, adv., innvard: C

268, 511. O.E. inweard. ioies, pi. see 1 07.

122

(Sloflffifar^

I-seie,I-sey,I-siist,see se. I-shend, see shend. I-shoed, part, adj., shod:

S 320. I-sriue, see sriue. I-stounge, V. , p. p. , pierced,

thrust : V 29a. O. E.

stingan. I-s-wongCjV. , p. p.fSnvingedy

beaten: V 291. it, pers. pron., see hit. I-take, see take. I-wend, see wene. I-wis, adv., certainly: S 43,

143; mid I-wisse, V234,

293. O.E. gewis. I-wreken,v.,p.p.,(3:a'^»^^^:

S 215. O.E. wrecan. I-writen, v., p. p., nvrit-

ten: V 204. O.E. writan.

jentyll, adj., gentle, noble:

C 60. O.K. gentil. Ihesu, pr. n. : C 109, 376,

380; Ihesu cry St, C 170. jorneye, n., journey: C 249.

O.F. jomee. loy, n., joy: C 552, 572,

576; pi., ioies, V 166.

O.F. ioye. iugement, n., judgment:

S 246. F. jugement. iuperti, n., 'venture: S 276.

O.F. ill parti.

kare, n., care: S 153, 442,

V34, 142,164, etc. O.E.

cearu, cam. kenne, v., teach: infin., S

264. O.E. cennan. kepe, V. , keep : subj . 2 sg. , C

i74;3Sg.,Ci76. O.E.

cepan. king, n., king: S 31, 89,

426; kyng, C 274. 281,

187, 343. etc.; gen.,

kynges, C 346. O. E.

cyning. klene, see clene. knaue, n., young man: S

aoi. l.O.E. cnafa, O.E.

cnapa. kne, n., knee: C 169, 191.

O.E. cneo. knelen, w., kneel: pret. 3 sg.,

knelyd,Ci69, 188, 191;

pres. part., knelyng, C

372,375.0.E.cneowlian. kny^ht, n., knight: C 7,

13; knyght, C 25, 60;

pi., knyghtes, C 503.

O.E. cniht. knowen, v., kno-zv: pres.

2 sg. , knowyst, C 49 1 ;

pret. 3 sg., kneu, V 114;

I-kneu,V 123; pret. 3 pi.,

knew, C 566; p.p.,knaw,

C528. O.E. cnawanjsee

also I-knowc, p.p.

<Slo00ar^

123

kok, n., cock: V 30, 31,

etc. O.E, cocc. kors, n., curse: V 201.

O.E. curs, kun, kunne, see cunne. kyssen, v., kiss: pret. 3

sg., kyssed, C 124. O.E.

cyssan.

lady, n., lady: C 28, 175,

229. O.E. hlaefdige. lame, adj., lame: S 199.

O.E. lama. landes, see lond. (at W) last, n. , at last : C 6 7 ;

laste, S 141. O.E. latest. late, v., see let. late, adv., /-2/^: V 81. O.E.

laet. law, n., lanv: C 525. O.E.

lagu. lawe, V. , laugh : infin. , lawe,

S 401^ pret. 3 sg., lou, V.

23, 148; pret. 3 pl.jlewje,

C 517, 520. O.E. hleh-

han, &c. Icde, v.^lead: infin,, lede, S

211; pres. I sg., lede, S

174, 1755 3 pl-. ledeb, S

304. O.E. laedan. lede, n., people: C 418,

424. O.E. leode. lef, adj., see leue. lefmon, n., see leuemon.

left, V. intr., remained', pret. 3 sg., C 81, 8a. O.E. Isefde.

left,v. tr.,/^//:p. p.,C75-

O.E. liefan. lege, adj., liege: C. 407,

421,493, etc. O.F. lige, * liege. leien, v. lay ^ place: pret. 3

sg., leyd, C 475. O.E.

lecgan. leng, lengour, adj., corn- par., longer: S 148, V 42;

lenger,C 196. O.E. leng. lepen, v. , leap : imper. 2 sg. ,

lep, V 234; pret. 3 sg.,

lep, V22, 78, etc. O.E.

hleapan. lere, v., teach: infin., V

231. O.E. laeran. lerne, v., learn: infin.,

S 48; pret. I sg., lemede,

S 98. O.E. leomian. les, adj., less^ smaller: C

226, 569. O.E. laessa. les, n., falsehood: C 493.

O.E. leas. lese, v., lose: pres. 2 sg.,

lesest, S 1 34; 3 sg., lese)>,

S 141; p. p., leste, C 70;

lore, C 34 ; lorn, C 405.

O.E. leosan. lesing, n., falsehood: S

203, 283. O.E. leasung.

24

<!5lofif0ar^

leste, cony y that — not: S 202. O.Y,. py las pe.

leste, adj., leasts smallest: pL, C 413. O.E. Isest.

leste, v., see lese.

lete, v.ylety permit: infin., let bloody V 51; pres. i pi., late, C 2305 pres. subj. 3 sg. , lete, S 196, 364; imper. 2 sg., let, S 29; late, C 272; p. p., leten, V 40, 45. O.E. laetan.

lete, v., lea've offy cease -^ infin., C 61. O.E. lettan.

lette, n., hindrance : C 459. M.E. first qu. from

H75-

lettyng, V. n., hindering: €291,297. O.E. lettan. O.E. letting.

leue, n., leanje^ permission: S58, V 25, C 290. O.E. leaf.

leue, adj., deary belonjed: S 135, i7i}lef, S 33} corn- par, leuere, liefer y prefer- able y S 382, V 7; leuer, C 503; cf. compounds: leuelif, leuemon. O. E. leof.

leue, v., grant: pres. subj. 3 sg., S 147, 212, 215. O.E. llfan, lyfan.

leuelif, n., snveetheart: S

30-

leuemon, n., snveetheart, leman: S 418, 4475 leu- mon, S 127; lefmon, S 376. O.E. leof+mann. Early M.E. compound.

leuen, v., league y abandon: infin., S 153. O.E. Isefan.

leute, n., loyalty y fidelity: S 229. O.F. leute, lewtc.

leuys, n., pi. leaves: C 200. O.E. leaf

lewje, see lawe.

leyd, see leien.

libe, v., li've: infin., V 42} lyfe, C 78; liuie, V 165; pres. I sg.. Hue, S 333; pret. 3 pi., lyued, C571. O.E. lifian, libban.

lie, v., //>, prevaricate: in- fin., V 132, imper. 2Sg., lij, S 229. O.E. leogan.

lif, n., life: S 82, V 178, etc.; lyfe, C 26, lyffe, C 177; Hif, V 188; dat., Hue, V21 1,227, 250; j>l., Hues, S 304. O.E. lif.

lif-dayes, n. pi., life daysy V 49; Hf-daie, V 200. O.E. llfdagas.

lijt, adj., easy: V 236. O.E. liht.

^loggnt^

125

liken, v., please: infin., S 82; like, S 257. O. E. llcian.

lim, n., limb: pi. limes, S 311. O.E. lim.

Lincolne-shire, pr. n. : S 78.

liuie, see libe.

lo, inter)., C 217. O.E. la.

loke, v., look, see to it that: pres. imper. 2 sg., S 357, 398, 440, C 276; pret. 3 sg., lukyd, looked, ap- peared, C 526. O.E. I5cian.

lond, n., land: C 16, 117, 418, 424, 549; londe (dat.), S 266, V 1 01; pi., landes, C 94; lon- dys, C 548. O.E. land, lond.

longe, adv., (time), long: V 280 ; long, C 356. O.E. lang.

longen, v., belong: pres. 3 sg., longes, C 119, 542. M. E. longen (first certain qu. fr. Cursor Mundi). cf. O.E. gelang, adj.

lorAytv.flord: C 172, 176, etc., louerd, S 17, 31, etc.; pi., lordes, C 326, 446, etc. O.E. hlaford.

lordynges,n.,«>/: pl.,Ci. M. E. first qu. fr. Orrm (laferrdinngess, pi.), etc.

lore, v., see lese.

lore, n., lore, learning, les- son: S 4, 264. O.E. lar.

lorn, see lese.

loj?, adj., loath, unpleasant, hateful: S 42, V 6, 219. O.E. lab.

lou, I0U3, see lawe.

loue, n., lo<ve: S 12, etc., C 302. O.E. lufu.

loue, v., lo'ue: infin., S 87, 144; louien, S 7, 265; pres. 1 sg., loue, S233; 2 sg., louest, S 231; 3 sg., loueb, S 94, 362; pret. i sg., louyd, C 501 ; pret. 3 sg., louede, S343; p.p., I-loued, S 67, 178. O.E. lufian.

louerd, n., see lord.

loue-uerc, n., lo-ve-ivork: S 374.

luitel,adv., little: S 362, V 260. O.E. lytel.

lukyd, see loke.

lust, n., desire:V 96, 100. O.E. lust.

lyde, n., lid: C 278, 310. O.E. hlid.

lyfe, V. , see libe.

lyfe, lyffe, n., see lif.

126

^losffl^ar^

lyften, v., lift: pret. 3 sg.,

lyfte, C 310. Icel. lypta. lyke, conj., like: C 452.

O.E. ge-llc. lyne, v., cease: infin., C

133. O.E. linnan. lyre, n., cheek: C 153.

O.E. hleor. lysten, v., listen: imper. a

pi., lystyns, C i. O.E.

hlystan. lyte, n., little: C 69. O.E.

lyt. lytell, adj., /;////: C 76.

O.E. lytel. lythe, n., limb : C 298.

O.E. liK lyued, see libe.

mai, v., catty may: pres. i sg., mai, S 32, etc., V 141 ; may, V 230, C 141, 496; 2 sg., mait, S 49; mijt, S 135, 227} mijtt, S 34j maijt, S 258, 259, 389, etc.; maut, S 221; may, C 488; mai, S 1225 may, C 203, etc.; 2 pi., may, C 235; 3 pi., may, C 47; pres. subj. i sg., moue, S 370; pret. i sg., myght, C 511; pret. 3 sg., mijtte, S 83, 237, V iX2;mijte, V87; myjht,

C 26, 78; moujht, C 339;

3 pl.,myjht, C i55»M9}

"^y?** C 520; pret. subj.

3 sg., moute, S 14.

O.E. mugan, mseg. maiden, n., maiden: S 92.

O.E. maegden. main, n., strength: dat.,

maine, V 279. O.E. mae-

gen. maister, n., master: V.

206, 272. O.K. maistre. maistri, n., artifice^ trick:

Szjj. O. F. maistrie. make, v., mate: S 107.

O.E. gemaca. make, v., make: infin., S

39, 222, C 59, 112;

maken, S 142, 263; pres.

3 pi., makeh, V 29; pres.

subj. 2 sg., make, C 300;

I pi. , make, C 1 40 ; pres.

imper. 2 sg., make, S 240,

328; pres. part., makyng,

C 195; pret. 2 sg., mad-

yst, C no; 3 sg., made,

C71, 84, 94, etc.; I pi.,

made, C 480; 3 pi,, made,

C 156 ; p. p., maked, S

200, 256; I-maked, V72.

O.E. macian. maki, make + 1: S 344. man, n., man: C 6, 8, etc.;

mon, S 3, 71, 122, 219,

<5lofli0at^

127

etc., V 285; gen. manus, C 1 195 pi., men, V 6, C 79> 350J gen. pi., men, S 207. O.E. mann.

maner, n., mansion: pi., maners, C 62, 74, 92. O.F. manoir.

manere, n.y manner, nvay, kind of: S 3675 maner, C 203, 252, 556; pi. (?), maner, C 559. O. F. manere.

many, adj., many: C 103, 571, etc.; many a, C 33, 64, 463, 472; moni, S 67, 178, V 173; moni a, S 224. O.E. manig, monig.

marchaundise, n., mer- chandise, O.F. marchan- dise.

Margeri, pr. n. : S 177, 231.

marke, n., mark: S 224. O.E. mearc.

Mary, pr. n. : C 313, 340; seynt Mary, C 265.

masse, n., mass: V 252.

may, see mai.

me, indef. pron., one: S 76, V 75. See mon.

me, pers. pron. See I.

mede, n., renvard: S 166, 191 etc. O.E. med.

meding,n., renvard: S271. O.E. med.

meke, adj., meek: C 21. M.E. meoc, mec, first qu. fr. Orrm.

mekyll, adj., see muchel.

mel, n., meal: V 173; wilj H meel, < toward thy meal,' V247 jgen.,melys, C 353. O.E. mael.

mend, v., mend, impro<ve: infin., C 54. O.F. amender.

menen, v., I. complain, lament : pret. 3 sg., ment, C 126. II. mean, intend: p. p., mente, C 458. O.E. m£nan.

menis, n., laments: S 142. O.E. mene.

menske, n., honor : S 93. O.N. menniska, human.

merci, n., mercy!: S 127; mersy, thanks, C 421. O.F. mercit, merci.

merueilen, v., mar'vel: pret. 3 sg., meruylled, C 312. O.F. merveillier.

mery, adj., merry: C 136; merry, C 140, etc. ; merye, C 397. O.E. myrige.

mes-auenter, n., misfor- tune: S. 202. O.F. mes- aventurc.

128

^loflffifar^

mete, ri.y food-. S 133, a8o, 3 1 6, Vi 4, 170, etc., C 2 2, i39>i43»etc.,-pl.,metys, C 118. O.E. mete.

mete, v., meety encounter: infin., S 394, V 6; meten, V 7; pres. 3 pi., meten, S 358; pret. 3 sg., mette, Si57,V242;3pl., mette, C 462. O.E. metan.

mejj, n., moderation: V 97. O.E. mSK

meyd, n., maid: C 21. O. E. maegeK

mi, poss. pron., my: S 30, 91, etc., V 187, 193, etc.; my, C 125, 173; mine, 8311, 405, V :oo, 160, 182; before vowels or h-, min, S 40, 293, etc., Vi85;myn, C344, 357, 431. O.E. min.

mid, prep., nvith: S 93, 159. V 14, 30, 55, 62, 72; mit, S 289. O.E. mid.

mi^t, n. , might ; dat. , mijtte, S153. 405}my9ht, C 12. O.E. miht.

mikel, adj. & adv., see muchel.

milde, adj., mild: S. 159. O.E. milde.

mile, n., mile: pi., an hon-

dred mile, S 104. O.E.

mil. mis, v., misSy lose: infin.,

S 144. O.E. missan. misdede, n., misdeeds: pi.,

V 182. O.E. misdsed. mi-selue, reflex, pron., my^

self: S 183; miself, S 184; my-selue, /, myself y C 351, 427. Originally me-self. misferen, v., to go astray y transgress y do ivrong: pret. 1 sg., misferdest,

V 212. O.E. misferan. mo, adj. & adv., morey

greater: V 145, 204, C 82, 458; more, S 103, 265, V 206, C 366, 369} mour, C 13, 149, 222, 224, 225, 226, etc. O. E. ma, mara.

mod, n., mood, hearty frame of mind: S 109, 113, 181, etc. ; mode, C 54, 303, 312. O.E. mod.

modi, adj., proud: S 3, 348, 417. O.E. m5dig.

mold, n., earth: C 285. O.E. molde.

mon, indef. pron., one: S 131. O.E. man. See me.

mon, n., see man.

mon, v., must : pres. i sg..

^loflfsfar^

129

5 18a. O.N. monn, ist

6 3rd sing., mon, mun. mon, n., moan-, ace, mon,

C 107 , ace, mone, C 84. Cf. O.E. mSnan, v.

moni, see many.

more, adv., see mo.

morne, n., morriy morning'. C 241. O.E. morgen.

most, adj. & adv., most, greatest: C 485 moste, C 413. O.E. msest.

mote, v., may, must: pres. I sg.,mote, C 538; a sg., most, S 437, V 207, 208; 3 sg. , mot, S 2 3 3 ; mote, C 362; pres. subj. i sg., mote, S 1 1 6 ; 3 sg. , mote, S 212. O.E. mot.

moue, v., see mai.

mou^ht, see mai.

mour, see mo.

mourne, v., care^ njoorry^ mourn: infin., S 148. O. E. murnan.

mournyng, v, n., mourn- ing: C 121.

moute, see mai.

inou}?e, n., mouth: V 100; mouthe, C 209. O.Eo muh.

much, adv., see mikel.

muchel, adj. & adv., much, great: S 140, 175, 227,

3 05, 443, V 9 8 J muchele, S i53> 163; mikel, S 194, 265, 312; mych, C 795 myche, C 426; mekyll, C 12, 84, 94, 107, etc.; mykyli, C 488. O.E. my eel, micel.

mustart, n., mustard: S 280} mustard, S 287. O. F. mostarde.

myche, see muchel.

my^ht, v., see mai.

myght, n., see mijtte,

mykyli, see muchel.

mynstralsy, n., minstrelsy. C 99. O.F. menestral- sie.

mynstrellus, n. pL, min- strels : C 46, 49. O. F. menestrel.

myrth, n., mirth , pleasure ^ joy: C 91, 112, 158, etc.} myrthe, C 552; pi. myr- thys, C47. O.E. myrgIS, mirh'5.

my-selue, see mi-selue.

nabbe (ne + habbe), v.,

S 68, V 39. nai, adv., nay. S 43, 179;

nay, V 188, C 45. O.N.

nei. nakerner, n., kettle-drum

player: pi. nakerners, C

i

130

^losf0ar^

100. O. F. nacre, na-

quere, etc. + -er, ending, name, n.ytiame: C 66, 1 1 5,

530jnome, S 195, V 36,

57. O.E. nama. namore (na + more), adv.,

no more: S 260, V 65.

O.E. na more, nay, see nai. ne, adv., not: S 46, etc.,

V 42, etc. ; ni, S 157. O. E. ne.

ne, conj., nor: S 39, 48, etc., V 5, 146, etc., C 20, 27, etc. O.E. ne.

nedde (ne+hadde): V 100, 169, 286} neddi (ne + hadde + I), V 99.

nede, n., need: S 163, 210,

V 225, 276, C 438J at nedys, C 8. O.E. nied.

ne-hond, adv. , almost, nearly: C 70. M.E. neih hond, Ancr. Riwle, etc. ; nerehond, nerhond, Cur- sor Mundi, etc.

nei, ney, adv. , nigh : S 3 1 o,

V 32, etc.; ny, C 222. O.E. neah.

neijebore, n., neighbor: V 115. O.E. neahgebur,

nelde, n., old ivoman: S 173, 217,232, 249, 371, 385,415,436 See Notes.

nelle (ne + wille): S48, V 188; neltou (ne + wilt + bou), V 189; nul (nc + wil), S 314; nulli (ne + will + I), S 2 95} nolde (ne -f- wolde), V 161.

ner, adv., near: V 38. O. E. near.

nere, adv., nearer: C 343. O.E. nearra.

neren (ne + weren), S 274.

nes (ne + wes), V 2.

nesten, v., build a nest: pres. 2 sg., nestes, V 48. O.E. nist(i)an.

ne)>er . . . ne, conj., neither . . . nor: C 250, 474.

neuede (ne -f heuede), v. : S II, V 98.

neuere, adv., ne<ver: S 100,

V 3, 485 neuer, C 341,

V 145, 198; newer, S 118. O.E. naefre.

neuer-J»e-lcs, conj., ne'ver-

theless: C 443. new, adj., nenjo; j)l , C 379.

O.E. nlwe. newyng, n., no'velty: C

381. nijt, n., night: S 150; nijte,

V III; nyjht, C 30 ; nyght, C 162, 307. O. E. niht.

<Slo00ar^

13

nimen, v., take: pret. 3 sg., nom, V 78; p. p., nomen, V 250. O. E. niman.

nis (ne + is), V 145, 164.

nist (ne + wist), see wot.

no, adj. & adv., no: S 71, 122, 148, 196, 305, C io, 34,45, 82, etc.jnon, S 65, 136, V 42, 146,0 319, 321, 361; none, S 245, V 3, 84 ; nones, V 294. O.E. nan.

nobull, adj., noble: C 521. 0,F. noble.

noen, see none.

nolde, v., see nelle.

nom, see nimen.

nome, see name.

nomon (no + man), n. : S 342. O.E. nan mon.

non, pron., none: S 11, 66, 129, 324 (?), V 160, C 8, 14, 26, 27, etCo O.E. nan.

none, n., noon: C 88, 258; noen, S 433 ; to non, S 324 = 'until noon.' O.E. non.

nones-kunnes, adj., no kind of: V 294.

not (ne + wot), v., knoivs not: pres. 3 sg., S 305, V 160. O.E. ne + wat.

not, adv., not: C 46, 50,

etc., see nout, noui^t. nojjer . . . ne, conj., neither

. . . nor : C 116, see

nej>er . . . ne, nouj'er

. . . ne. no-J>ing, n., nothing: S 44,

352, V 183, 253} no-

thyng, C 428. notys, n., (?): C loi. See

Notes, nou, adv., noiv: S 145,

^79, 285, 424, V 106,

1525 now, C 136, 145.

O.E. nu. nou, conj., noivthat: S 58.

O.E. nu. noui^t, not at all: S 56}

noujht, C 127, 210, 284,

401. O.E. na -|- wiht. See

nout. nout, adv=, not: S 38, 68,

229, 243; nohut, V 210.

O., E. na-wiht. See

noui^t, nout, indef., naughty no^

thing: S 47, 48, 206, V

39, 77; noujht, C iioj

noujt, C 275; nowjht,

C 305; nojht, C 514.

O.E. na + wiht. nouJ>e, adv=, noiv: V 55,

990 OoE. nu + t>a. nouj'er . . . ne, conj., »«'-

132

€^lo00ar^

ther , . . nor\ S 308, 372, V 5; noJ?er . . . ne, C 1 1 6. See nej7er . ne. O.E. ne + aegber. See nejjer, noj^er

now, see nou

nowylte, n.^nonjelty : C 2 1 7. O.F. novelte.

nu, see nou.

nul, nulli, see nelle.

ny, see nei.

nyght, see nijt.

of, prep., of, from-. S 4, 77, etc., V 26, etc., C 4, 9, 56, 60, 66, 102, etc.; hof, S 2, V 295; off, C 2, 29, 99, 100, loi, 102, no, etc.; from, S 189, V 56, 267, C 134; for, C III, 191, 410; of mel-don hit hiis=<it is all lip with me,' V 1 06. O.E. of

of, adv., off: S 335. O.E. of

offycers, n., officer: sing., C 293. O.F. officier.

ofseen, v., see, obser've: pret. 3 sg., ofsei, V 10. O.E. ofseon.

of-slyfe, v., slice off, slive (see Jos. Wright): infin., C 214 O.E. (to) slifan.

ofte,adv.,o//^«: V 35, 185, 210, etc. O.E. oft.

ofte-tyme, adv., oftem C 488.

of-)'inken, V. impers., cause regret, repent: pres. 3 sg., of-HnkeK V 205. O.E. of)>yncan.

old, 2id).,old: S 199, C 517; olde, C 332; holde, S 302, 331; hold, C 566. O.E. eald.

oldest, v., see holden.

omnipotent, adj,: C 179. O.F omnipotent.

on, prep., on: S 16, 47, 102, etc., C 85, 153, 169, etc.; onne, C 80, i93> 37», 378;hon, Si8j on bat, on condition that, S 38; on ende, to an end, S 362; on hey, abo've, V 31. O.E. on.

on, indef art., see a.

on, pron., one: S 2; one, C 13, 423. O.E. an.

one, num., one: V 7, C 75, 81, 209, etc.; on, V 198 O.E. an.

oneth, adv., not easily: C 78. OR uneaSe.

onwis, adj., univise: S 2 1 8, 445; ounwis, S 117. O.E. unwis.

^Io00ar^

133

on-wold, v., nvifld, con- trol: infino, S 311. O.E. anweald, anwald, n.

opdrowe, v., draiv up-. pret. 3 pL, V 287. O.E„ dragan, dr5g, droh, dro- gon, dragen.

ope, adv., open-.V 27. O.E. open.

oppon, prep., upon: S 204, 345. O.E. uppon.

opward, adv., on the njoay up : V 242. O.E. up- weard.

bpwinde, v., ijoind up: in- fin., V 75. O.E. windan.

or, conj., or: C 35, 348, 358, etc.; our (most fre- quent form in C), 55, 226, etc. See oJ>er.

Qt^^xi.^ grace yfa'vor:y 189. O.E. ar.

o}»er, conj., or: S 133, 183, 395, V 52, 120, 208, etc. ; ober . . . o^er, either . . . or,\ 14. O.E. ah- waeber, awber. See or.

oj'er, adj., other j second: S 136, V 76, C 53, 319, 321; pi., oke, V 217. O.E. ober.

oj'er-weys, adv., other- nvise: C 321.

ou, pron., see je.

ou, adv.,^oai;: V 230. See

hou. ouene, adj., oijon: S 421;

houne, S 390. O.E. agen. ouer, prep., over: V 22.

O.E. ofer. ouer, posSe pron., our: C

218, 221, 376. O.E.

ure. See oure. ouer-al, adv., e'verywhere:

V9, 19, 69, etc. O.E.

ofer eall. Cf. Mod.

Germ. uberalL ouer-gon, v., pass: p. p.,

ouer-gon, C 182; pret.

3 sg., ouer-hede, V 90.

O.E. ofergan, ofereode. ouer-hede, see ouer-gon. ou^ht, n., aught y anything:

C 34. O.E. aht, awiht. ounder, prep., under: V41,

47, 51. O.E. under. ounderfonge, v., receive:

infin., V 1965 pres. 2 sg.,

ounderfost, S 378. 0=E.

underfon. ounseli, adj., unhappy^

miserable y ^wicked: S 98.

O.E. unsSlig. ounwis, see onwis. oup, adv., up: V 246; houp,

V 126. O.E. up, upp. our, conj., see or. oure, poss. pron., ourx

134

^lo^flfar^

S 75, etc., V 54} houre, S 31, 89, 236, 408,

V 355 59- O.E. ure. See ouer.

OUS, pers. pron., us: S 90;

vs, C 1405 hous, S 220.

O E. us. See we. out, adv., out: S 345, 441,

C 360; oute, C 348}

houte, S 79. O.E. ut. oute, V, ought (?): pret.

3 sg,, C 63. O.E. ahte. out of, prep , out of:S 347,

V 1, 109, C 174, 295, 457. O.E. ut of.

palferey, n., palfrey: C

250. O.F. palefreL palle, n., a costly doth: S

23. O.E. paell. palys, n., palace: C 181.

F. palais. pannyer, n. , pannier y bread

basket: C 242, 244, 323,

373 J panyer, C 230. F.

panier. paradiis, n., paradise: V

140. OF. paradis. paramour, adv. , fera/ently :

C 501. O E, paramour, parlere, n., room for con-

'versation, parlor: C 48 1.

O.F. parloir. par ma fai, French form of

asseveration, by my fatth:

S 436. parte, n.,/)d:r/: C286, 317.

F. part, parte, v., di'vide: infin., C

350. F. partir. pas, n,, stepy gait: C 292

O.F. pas pater-noster, n., Lord's

Prayer: S 209. Lat. pay, n., pleasure y taste y

satisfaction: C 48, 144.

O.F. paie. pay, v., pay: infin., C 430,

449; pret. 3 sg., payd,

C 509; pret. 3 pi., payd,

C 563. O.F. paier. Pendragoun, pr. n. : C 4. penes, n. pi., pence: S 274.

O.E. penning, pening. pepir, n., pepper: S 279.

O.E. pipor. pes, n.,/)/«f^: C 546. O.F.

pais, peyn, n., pain: C 176.

O.F. peine. pikes, n., pikes: pi., V 62,

284. O.E. pic. pilche, n., fur garments: S

225. O.E. pilece, pylce. pine, n., pain, trouble: S.

305, V 142, O.E. pin. place, n., place: C 105. F.

place.

i&lO&HKt^

135

plaie, v., play: infin., S

4385 pley, C 160. O.E.

plegian. plente, n., plenty: C 24,

225. O.F. plente. plenyng, v. n. , lamentation :

C. 221. O.F. plaign-. pley, see play, pli^tte, v., plight: S 252,

O.E. ^Yihx., pledge. O.E.

plihtan. plukken, v., plucky pull:

pret, 3 sg., plukyd, C

338. O.E. pluccian. pore, adj., poor: C 32, 35,

260, etc. O.F. povre. porter, n., doorkeeper: C

262; pourter, C 277.

O.F. portier. pouerte, n., poverty : S

304, C 17, 191, 252,

540. O.F. poverte. pound, n., pound: S 224;

pi., pownd, C 555. O.E.

pund, pi., pund. pourtenans, n., appurte- nances: n. pi., C 545.

O. F. apartenance, etc. ;

aphetic, partenance, see

Godefroy. praere, n., prayer: C 195.

O.F. preiere. pray, v., pray: pres. i sg.,

C 138, 272; pret, 3sg.,

prayd, C 170, 175, 189;

asked f inquired f C 508.

O.F. preler. present,n.,^///:C 274,281,

394;presante,C3045 pre-

sant, C 3 34 5 presente, C

37i> 385. O.F. present presente, v., present y offer %

infin., C 234; pret. 3 sg.,

presente, C 492. O. F.

presenter- presentyng, v. n., present

making: C 410. prest, n., priest: V 52,

193; pi. prestes, S 248.

O.E. preost. presyng, v. n., pressing,

urging: C 300. M.E. ver- bal noun. In N.E.D.

from 1400 on. pride, n., see prude, pris, n. , hig/i esteem, ivorth,

price, 'value: S 120, 446.

O.F. pris. priuite, n., pri<vacy: S 84.

O.F. privite. prefer (en) , v. , proffer : pret.

3 sg., proferd, C 371.

A.F. profre. proud, adj., proud : S 3.

O.E. prut, prude, n., pride: S 125;

pride, C 79, 96. O.E.

pryte.

136

(5\o&sim

putte, n., pity 'well; V 71, 113, 117, 119, 241, etc.; put, V 261. O.E. pyt.

pypers, n., pipers: C loc. O.E. pipere.

pytewysly, vidv. y piteously. C 108. O.F. pitos, pi- teu8.

qued, n., e^il: V 210; quede, V 224. Early M.E. cwead, cwed,cwad.

qued, adj., e'vil: V 200.

quelle, v., infin., kill: S 183. O.E. cwellan.

quen, n., gueen: C 389. O.E. cwen.

quod, v., quot/i, said: pret. 3sg.,S27,V33, 53, 118, 127, 199, 207, 221, etc.; qua)>, V 37, 96; quob, C 145. O.E. cwaeb.

quyte, v., freey release: infin., C 72; refl., to acquit oneself ivell, do one's party C 63. O.F. quiter.

radde, v., see rede, ragges, n. pi., rags: C

359. Cf. O.E. raggig,

adj., shaggy. ra)>e, adv., soon: S 226;

compar. raj>er, soonePy

befortyV G%. O.E. hraj>e. rawjht, see recche. recche, v., reeky f«r^:pres.

I sg., recche, V 228;

pret. 3 sg., route, V 260.

O.E. recan. recche, v., reachy come:

infin., V 268 ; pret.

3 sg., rawjht, reachedy

caught y C 196. O.E. rae-

can. recche, v. , expound, preach :

infin., V 268. O.E. rec-

can. red, n., counsely ad<vice: S

328, 350, 378; rede, V

50; reed, V 192. O.E.

rxd. rede, v., counsel, adnjise:

pres. I sg., rede, S 375,

C 129, 133, etc.; pres.

subj. 3 sg., rede, V 130,

149, 246; pret. 3 sg.,

radde, S 152, 185. O.E.

rSdan. redi, adj., ready: S 434;

redy, C 22, 168. Cf.

O. E. raede, or gersede. rehete, v., cheery comfort'.

infin., C 19. O.F. re-

heter. relesen, v., relish: pret.

3 sg., relesyd, C 211.

<&los0ar^

137

See reles, n., haste,

aftertaste^ imfression, in

l^.E.D. rene, v. , run : infin. , S 2 8 1 .

O.E. rinnan. Reneuard, pr. n. : V 133. renning, n., running: S

283. O.E. serninge. renoune, n., renown: C 5.

O.F. renon. rente, n., rent, income'. C

555. O.F. rente. repent, v., repent: pres.

I sg., C434. F. repentir. rerde, n., speech: V 114.

O.E. reord. reste, n., rest: S 11, 291.

O.E. rest. reue, n., ree've: V 26.

O.E. gerefa. reuell, n., re'uel: C 482.

O.F. revel, reuliche, adv., sadly, pite-

ously: S 302, V 107. O.

E. hreowlic. reujje, n., pity: S 318. O.

E. hreow, adj. re'W, v., rue, pity: infin.,

C 269; imper. 2 sg., rew,

S 1 1 4; impers. reflex, pres.

3 sg., reweb, S 235. O.E.

hreowan. re'werd, v., re^ward: pres.

subj. 3 sg., C 364. O.N.

F. rewarder. O.F. re^

guard er, regarder. rewerd,n. , re^ward: C 449,

524. O. N. F. reward,

O.F. regiiard, regard, ribe, n., rib: V 41. O.E.

ribb. riche, adj., rich: S 21, etc. 5

ryche, C 35, 43, 3275

rych, C 51, 52, 61, 118.

O.E. rice, ri^t, adv., right, straight,

exactly: V 2745 ry^ht, C

9. 36, 477jryght, C 165,

254, 468. O.E. riht. ringe, v., ring: infin., V

251. O.E. hringan. ro, n., rest, quiet: S 291.

O.E. row. robys, n., robes: pi., C 52.

O.F. robe. rode, n., rood, cross: 83235

C 57, 306, 336} roed, S

254. O.E. rod. Rome, pr. n. : S 105. ronde, adj., round: C 9,

201. O.F. roonde. rong, v., rung: pret. 3 sg.,

C 163. O.E. hringan. ros, v., see ryse. roune, n., colloquy, counsel:

S 71. O.E. run. route, n., throng, company,

C 267. O.F. route.

138

&U>iiUX^

ryall, adj., royal: C 392.

O.F. real, rolal. ryalty, n., royalty, muntfi-

cencexCji. O.F. realte. rych, ryche, see riche. ryches, n., riches-. C 568.

F. richesse. ryde, v., r;V^:infin., C 249,

474. O.E. ridan. ryfe, adj., speedilyy quickly

(See N.E.D., B. 4) : C

180. O.E. rlf. ryght, ryjht, see rijt. ryse, v., arise: infin., C

197; pret. 3 pL, ros, C

167. O.E. rlsan.

saie, \.y say: infin., S 2, 555 saien, S 49; sugge, V 207;suggen, V 265; sey, C 45, 67, etc. ; pres. i sg., saie, S 143; pres. 2 sg., seist, S 6ij pres. 3 sg., seij, S 179} seij>, S 303; seyth, C 248} pres. subj. 2 sg., saie, S 435} imper. 2 sg., sei, V 2295 say, V 121} pret. 3 sg., saide, S 187; sede, V 129, 150; seide, V 226, 2695 seyd, C 125, 176, etc.} pret. 3 pi., seide, V 211; seyd, C 5 2 1 j

p. p., said, S 268; sehid,

V 210} I-seyd, C 484}

pres. 2 sg., seist on,

attributestf S 198. O.E.

secgan. sake, n., sake: V 44, C

416. O.E. sacu. same, n., shame, dishonor'.

S 55, 128; scham, S 126;

shame, S 2515 shome, S

196, 216, 247JV35, 58,

99. O.E. sceamu. saue, v., sa-ve: pres. subj.

3 sg., C 416. O.F. sau-

ver. saulys, see soule. saute, v., reconcile, bring

to terms: infin., S 220J

p. p. (as adjective), saut,

S 222. O.E. sahtlian. sautrey, n., psaltery: C

102. O.F. psalterie. sauyoure, n , Savior: C

376. O.F. sauveour. sawe, n., saying, n.vords:

S 57. O.E. sagu. sca}>e, n., ^^rw: S 235. O.

E. scealSa. schake, v., slip anvay;

infin., C 58. O.E. scacan. schall, schuld, etc., see

shal. scham, see same, sche, pars, pron., she: C 29,

^lofifgar^

139

123, 124, 149, etcj dat., hyr, C 146} gen. (poss.), hyr, C 243. See hoe.

schen, adj., bright: C 388. O.E. sclr.

schewe, see schowe.

schofe, v., sho've: infin., C 360. O.E. scufan.

schowe, v., shonvy reveal: infin., S 69 } schew, C 21 5; pret. 3 sg., schewyd, C 374. O.E. sceawian.

schulder, n., shoulder: C 476. O.E. sculdor.

sclepen, v., sleep: pret. 3 pi., sclepyd, C 163. O, E. slsepan.

scorne, n., scorn: C 402. O.F. escorne.

se, v., see: infin., se, S 165, 340; sen, S 278} pres. i sg.,se, S 319; 2 sg., I- siist, V 232; 2 pi., se, C 127; pret. I sg., I-seie, V 2i8j sey (MS. ley), V 216} 3 sg., I-sey, V 280; saw, C 341, 361, 379; sei, V 281} sey, C 311, 319; p. p., se, C 205; sene, C 212. O.E. seen, geseon.

secc, adj., see selk.

sechen, v., seek: pret, 3

sg., sought, C448; p.p., sought, C 206; sout, S 423. O.E. secean.

sehid, v., see saie.

seke, adj., sick: V 41 ; sek, S 199. O.E. seoc.

seknesse, n., sickness: S 200. O.E. seocnes.

seli(wif), adj., good nvo- man: S 315, 337. O.E, (ge) sSlig.

selk, adj., such: S loi; secca, S 83; silk, S 198} sulke a, S 2645 selke a, S 3135 sych, C 55, 59, etc., sych a, C 235; 451. O.E. swilc, swelc.

sellen, v., sell: p. p. sold(e), C 74, 93. O.E. sellan.

sembly, adj., seemly: C 6; compar. sembly er, 27. O.N. soemiligr,

send, v., send: infin,, C 573; pres. subj, 3 sg,, sende, S 236; pret, 3 sg,, send, C 386, 5235 sente, C 192, 377} P- p., send, S 214, 412; sente, C 231. 0,E, sendan.

senne, see sunne,

sente, v., assent: pres, i sg, , sente, C 2 8 9 . Cf. as- sent,

Sep, see shep.

140

^lo00ait

serew^e, n., sorronv, care, grief: S 182} sereue, S 186} sorrow, C 94, 128, etc. O.E. sorh, sorg, dat., sorge.

serteyn (?): C 162.

Serue, v . , ser^e : pres. 2 sg. , seruest (affter), earnest, S 197,- pret. 3 sg., siruyd, C 535; p. p., serued, C 391. O.F. servir.

seruys, n., sernjtce: C 164, 178. O.F. service.

sese, v., cease-, imper. 2 sg., C 303. O.F. cesser.

seth, conj., since: C zi-^, 342; seth M, C 427. O.E. si^an

setten, v., set, put: infin., S 625 pret. 3 sg., sete, C 62; p. p., sett, seated: C 481. O.E. settan.

sey, see sale.

seynt, n., saint: C 265, 432. O.F. seint.

shal, v., shall, ought: pres, 1 sg., S 50, etc.; schall, C 266, 270, etc.; 2 sg., shalt, S 118, 165, etc., V23 5;schall, C 263,269, etc. ; 3 sg. , shal, S 1 1 1 , etc. ; I pi., schall, C 225, 236; 2 pi., schall, C I, 233; 3pl., shulen, S275,

438; pret. I sg., schuld,

C 35o> 351. etc.; 3 sg.,

schuld, C 136,282; 3 pi.,

shulden, V 264, 268 ;

schuld, C 36, 44, etc.;

pret. subj. i sg., schulde,

S59> V 138; 2sg., shul-

dest, S 432; scholdest, V

136, 180; shuldich (shul-

de + ich), V 163, 181;

shuldi (shuld+I) S 106.

O. E. sceal, scealt, sculon,

sceolde, etc. shame, see shome. shenden, v., disgrace, con-

fourid:Tp. p.,shend, S346;

I-sherid, S 213. O.E.

scendan. shep, n., sheep: pi., V 167,

203; sep, S 272. O.E.

sceap, seep. sheppen, v., create: pret. 3

sg., shop, S 354. O.E.

scieppan, scippan. shiling, n., shillings: pi.,

S 270. O.E. scilling. shome, see same, shon, n., shoes: S 225.

O.E. sceo, sc5h} pi.,

sceos, scos. shop, see sheppen. shuldi, see shal. Sigrim, pr. n. : V 128. sike, v., sigh, groan: infin.,

Mosf&m

141

S260; siken, V 195; pres.

part., syjeng, C 98, 108,

354. O.E. sican. siker, adj., certain, secure:

S 240, V 58; sykerly,

adv., C 219, 315. O.E.

sicor. silk, see such, singe, v., sing: infin., S

401, V 252} syng, C 104.

O.E. singan. sinke, v., sink: infin., V

80, 239. O.E. sincan. sire, n., lord, husband, sir:

S 75, y 37; sir, C 127.

O.F. sires, sire. Siriz, pr. n.: S 154, 161,

418, 420} Sirib, S 221,

268, 297. si}?, n.,time: S 258. O.E.

sitten, v., sit: infin., S 50; site, S 308; sitte, V 281; sytte, C 520 } imper. 2 sg. , site, S 2 8 ; pret. 3 sg. , sat, V 30, 1 17} pret. 3 pi., seten, V 32. O.E. sittan.

skil, n., right: S 52; skyll, C 165. Icel. skil.

sleie, adj., sly, shreivd: S 159; sley, V 262. O.N. slSgr.

slep, n., sleep'. V 267. O.E. slsep.

slete, v., slit, bait: infin.,

V 289. O.E. slltan. slo, v., slay, kill: infin.,

slo, S 184; p. p., slain,

S 310. O.E. slean. smal, adj., small: V 248;

pi., smale, V 155. O.E.

smael. smere,adv. , Jcor«/tt//y : V2 3.

Cf. Bradl.-Stratm. Diet, smertly, adv., quickly: C

263, 266, 310. O.E.

smeart, adj. smite, v., smite: pret. subj.

3 sg., S 335. O.E. smi-

tan. so, adv., so : S 12, etc.,

V 2, etc., C 15, 77, etc. O.E. swa.

so, conj., so that, until: C 67,V 10; in asseverations, S26, 116, 133, 273,433,

V 149, €416,419,425; correlative, as ... as, S 156. O.E. swa.

sohute, see sought, sechen. solas, n., solace: C 519.

O.F. solaz. sold, see sellen. solen, adj., (?) alone (?) (so

expl. by Maetzn.): S 238.

O.F. solain. som, adj., some, some kind

of: V i8j soum, V 104;

142

^lofli0arp

somme, V 192; soumme,

V 125. O.E. sum. somer, n,, summer'. S 294.

O.E. sumor. somer, adv., sumpter

horse (?) : S 247. See Notes. som-tyme, adv., a certain

timey once-. C 494, 533. som-what , adv. , somenjuhat :

C 147, 561. O.E. sum +

hwaet. sonde, n., message: Cm.

O.E. sand, sond. sone, adv., at once: S 246,

262, 376, V 52, 61, 235,

C 89, 238, 278, 337.

O.E. s5na. sone, n., son: S 167, 194,

V 199} son, C243, 253, 323. O.E. sunne.

sore, adv., muchy ^very^ greatly: V 66, 190, 205, 240, C 95, 98, 106, etc. O.E. sar.

sori, adj., sorro^wful: S 338, 344. O.E. sarig.

sorow, seeserewe.

So)>, n., truth: V 121, 129, 157, etc.; soth, C 67, 157, 258. O.E. soK

SO)>liche, adv., truly: S 391. O.E. soHTce.

sought, see sechen.

soule, n., soul: S 213, 314,

V 252; gen., soul, V252J pi., saulys, C 575. O.E. sawel, etc.

soule-cnul, n., soul-knell:W 251.

sout, see sechen.

sowne, n., sound: C 98. F. son.

spare, v., spare: infin., C 210; pres. subj. 2 sg., spare, S 443. O.E. spar- Ian.

speche, n., speech: V 223. O.E. spaec, spraec.

sped, n., success: S 141. O.E. sped.

spede, v., prosper y succeed: infin., S 131, 212, 449; pres. subj. 3 sg., spede, C 419, 425; p. p., sped, S 410. O.E. spedan.

speken, v., speak: infin., S 81, etc., V 1 70 J speke, C383; pres. I sg., speke, S 355} pret. 3 sg., spac, S 331; spake, C 406; spak, V 65; p. p., speken, S 216. O.E. sprecan.

spel, n., story: S 62. O.E. spel.

spendyd, v., spent: p. p., C 68. O.E. spendan.

speres, n., spears: pi., V 292. O.E. spere.

Mo&&m

H3

spesyally, adv., especially:

C 508. O.F. especial, spille, v., ruin: S 233,

432. O.E. spillan. splen, n., spleen: V 47.

Lat. splen. spouse, n., spousey ivife:

S 91. O.F. espouse, spryng, v., spring: infin.,

C 232. O.E. springan. spytously, adv., angrily:

C 262. O.F. despit. squyre, n., squire: C 398,

553, 5605 pi., squyres,

C 16. O.F. esquire. srxit.u.y shrift: ¥186,196.

O.E. scrift. sriue, v., shrive: infin.,

V 184} p. p., I-sriue,

V 176. O.E. scrlfan. sroud, n., dress: S 6. O.E.

scrud. srud, v., clad: p. p., S 23.

O.E. scrydan. staff, n., staff: C 247,

251, 294; pi., staues, V

62, 284, 292. O.E. staef. standyng, see stond. stark, adj., strongs large:

S 223. O.E. stearc. statour, n., stature: C

10; stature, C 498. F.

stature. staues, see staff.

sted, n., steedy horse: C 250. O.E. steda.

stel, n., steel: S 95. O.E. style.

stere, v., controly steer: in- fin., C 150. O.E. steo- ran.

sterten, v., start: pret. 3 sg., sterte, C 325, 337. O.N. sterta.

steruen, v., die: pret. asg., storue, V 1 5 1 . O.E. steor- fan.

stewerd, n., stenxiard: C 3*5>337» 367,448, 451, 523, etc.} stuerd, C 547. O.E. stiward.

stinken, v., stink: pret. 3 sg., stank, V 94. O.E. stincan.

stond, v., stand: infin., C 267; pres. 3 sg., stondes to, inclines tovjard, C 4175 pres. part., stand- yng, C 294} pret. 3 sg., stode, C 121, 349; stod,

V 257. O.E. standan, stod.

stones, n., stones: pl.,V 62; ston, V 284. O.E. Stan. stonk, see stinken. storue, see steruen. stounde, n., time: S 419.

V 213. O.E. stund.

144

6lo00ar^

stoure, n., conflict: C 504.

O.F. estour. strek, v., stretch-, infin., S

441, O.E. streccean. streng}?en, v. refl., try {to

do something): infin., S

170. O.E. streng15u, n. strete, n., street: S 395, V

5. O.E. strjet. strok, see stryke. stroke, n., stroke: C 4515

pi., strokes, C 454;

strokys, C 515. O.E.

strican. strong, adj., strong: S 12,

C 537 5 pl-> stronge, V

62; stronge, adv., strong- ly: V 195, 273. O. E.

strong. stryffe, n., strife: C 174.

O.F. estrif. ttryke, v., strike^ go: pres.

imper. 2 sg., C 456;

pret. 3 sg., strok, V 9.

O.E. strican, gOy mo^ve^

run. sug^g6>suggen,v.,see sale, sulke, see selke. sumdel, adv., somenvhat:

V 237. O.E. sum +

djel. I

stynt, v., restrain: infin.,

C 183} stynte, C 129.

O.E. styntan.

suete, see swetc. sueting, n., darling: S

222. O.E.swete + M.E.

-ing. sunne, n., sin: S 334, V

165; senne, S 194; pi.,

sunnen, V 177, 197. O.

E. synn. sweren, v., sivear: pret.

3 sg., S 421. O.E.

swerian. swete, adj., saveet: S 127,

etc. ; suete, S 176, 195,

C 313. O.E. swete. swiche, see selke. swikele, adj., decei-vingi

V 86, 103. O.E. swicol. swin, n., sivine: S 272. O.

E. swIn. swinke, n., labor: S 134,

330, V 144. O.E. ge-

swinc. swinken, v., labor , nvork:

pres. 3 sg., swinkej>, S

140. O.E. swincan. swij?e, adv., soon: S 411;

sui>e, S 156; 'very, S

302, V 12, 168, 190,

262, 273J much, V 4,

110. O.E. swit>e. swor, v., see sweren. swownyng, n., sivoon: C

89. Cf. O.E. swogan, ge-

swdgung, geswowung.

6lo00ar^

145

sych, syche, see selk. syde, n., side: C 80, 104.

O.E. side, syght, n., sight: C 6, 27,

296. O.E. gesiht. syjeng, see sike. syjhyng, n., sighing: C.

363. O.E. sican. sykerly, see siker. syluer, n., silnjer: C 53,

288. O.E. seolfor. symple, adj., simple^ plain'.

C 261. F. simple, syng, see singe, syre, see Cleges. sytall, n., citole: C loa.

O.K. citole. sytte, see sitten.

tabull, n., table: C 9. O. F. table.

take, v., take: infin., S 106, C 128, 437; pres. imper. 2 sg., take, C 244; pret. 3 sg., toke, C 247, 323; p. p., I- take, V 43, taken tOy V 178. O.N. taka.

tame, ?id].ytame: S 200, C 116. O.E. tam.

tary, v., tarry y delay: pres. imper. 2 sg., C 356 ; pret. 3 sg., taryd, C 401. O.E. tergan, influ-

enced in meaning by O. F. targer.

taute, see teken.

tayst, v., taste: infin., C 208. O.F. taster.

teken, v.y teach, shonjo, di- rect: pres. 2 sg., tekest, S 230J pret. 3 sg., taute, S 219. O.E. taecan.

telle,v.,/^//:infin.,Si86,V 131, 187; tellen, S 242,

V 206; pres. I sg., telle, S 387; tell, C 237, 315J

2 sg., tellest, S 52; 3 sg., tellys, C 532} pres. imper. 2 sg., tel, S 171,

V 197; tell, C 530 } pret. 3 sg., tolde, S 76 j p. p., told, S 51. O.E. tellan.

ten, v., dranvy tug: pret.

3 sg., tey, V 279. O.E. teon.

tenandrys, n., tenancies: pi., C 93. O.F. tenance, tenanche.

tenant, n., tenant: pi., ten- antes, C 19. O.F. te- nant.

tene, n., ^vexation: S 158, 174. O.E. teona.

tere, n., tear: pi., teres, S 358; terys, C 152. O.E. tear.

146

iS\oisidit^

tey, see ten.

J'a, scribal error for bat (?): S 140, 218.

J>an, dem. pron., see }>at.

thanke, v., thank: pres. I sg., C II I J pres. subj. I pi., thanke, C 227; pret. 3 sg., thankyd, C 1 90* 507; 3 pJ-» than- kyd, C 179. O.E. ban- cian.

J>arfore, see J>er-fore.

Jjar-J»oru, conj., thereby. S 346.

J?at, dem. pron., that: S 139, etc., V 118, etc., C 28, 39, 43, 335, etc.; dat., ban, V 55, 108; instr., be, S 389, V 202; bat = of that, S 51. O. E. baet.

J>at, conj., that : S 1 1, 147, etc., V 42, 136, etc., C 206, etc.; that a, C 236; until thaty S 51, 299; so that, V 42, 75, C 75> 77; K scribal error (.?), S 218. O.E. baet.

J>at, rel. pron., that, ivho: S 21, etc., V 119, etc., C 2, i6, 23, 48, etc.; that-whichyS> i65,V285, C 287, 513; ba, scribal

error (?), S 140; warn, ivhoMy S 387. O.E. baet, hwam.

I^at, def. art., see J?e.

jjau, conj., though: S 45, 55> 97, 104, etc.; thoff, C 70. O.E. beah.

J^e, pers. pron., see Jjou.

J?e, def. art., the: nom., be, S 12, etc., V 16, 19, 31, etc., C 49, 157, etc.; the, C 25, 60, 112, 175, etc.; bat, S 331, V 74, 76, 94; dat., be, S 74, 141, V I, II, 41, 74, etc., C 9, 39, etc.; ac- cus. or dat. (.?), ben, S 1 9, 22, 299; accus.,bene, V 113, 126, 242, 280, 281, 287; bat, V 75, 78. O.E. se, seo, bast, etc.

the, v., prosper: infin., C 538. O.E. beon.

theder, see )>ider.

J>ef, n.y thief: V 102. O.E. beof.

J^ei, pers. pron., they: nom., C 31, 35» 36, etc.; they, 33, 87, 116, etc.; the, C 163, 179; dat., bem, C 209, 563; beym, C 515; accus. , bem, C 43 o. See by.

J>en, conj., than: S 123,

^lofif^ar^

H7

266,275,426, V 8. O.E.

J'onne. J>ene, adv. & conj., then-.

V645 benne, S 331, 365,

etc. i than, C 23. O.E.

>onne. See J^o. J>er, adv., there: V 92, 262,

etc., C 82, 94, 107, 187;

Jjcr, V73;}>ere, V94, 127,

152, 232, 2335 bare, V

33, 171; thore, C 443;

thare, C 470 ; ther, C

453> 568, 576, etc. O.

E. >£er. |?er, conj., nuhere-. S 21, 23,

etc., V 162. O.E. baer. J>er, poss. pron., their: C

48, 54, 167, etc.; ther,

C 575. O.N. beirra. See

her. )jer-by, adv., thereby : C

197. I>er-fore, adv. + conj.,

therefore: S 196, V 202,

C 227; barfore, C 580;

therfor, C 129; ber-for,

C385. I?erinne, adv., therein: V

28, 78, 85, 126, 234.

O.E. basrinne. Jjer-of, adv., thereof: S 9,

V 18, 24, 249. fer-on, adv., thereon: C

200 J J?er-one, C 78.

J>er-to, adv. + conj.,M^r^- to: C 1 1, 238, 289, 438.

Jjes, n., thighs: pL, S 441. O.E. beoh.

J7ej?er, see J?ider.

J?ewe, n., propriety: dat., S 72. O.E. beaw.

J?i, poss. pron., thy: S 29, 147, V 247, C 113, 115, 246; Hne, S 49, 190, 429, V 40, 134, 155, 211; Mn, S 283, V 189, C 417; thy, Cm, etc. O.E. bin.

J^ider, adv., thither: S 155, 262, V 13, 259; Hdere, V 268 J beber, C 166} theder, C 483. O. E. bider.

}>ilke (be + like) : 8 124, 258, 326, 419, V 148. O.E. bile.

Jjing, n., thing: S 32; swete Vir^g, darling, S 425; pi., thinge, C 275; thyng, C III; thynges, C 52, 53. O.E. bing.

thinke, v., think, intend, remember: infin., C 496; pres. I sg., thynke, C 527; pret. 3 sg., thoujt, C63, 182, 208; boute, V 125; bohute, V 13. O.E. bencan.

148

€>lo00ar^

J>inke}>, see Jjunche. J>is, dem. pron. & adj., this : S 27, 217, 289,

C 14, "3» i35> etc-} thys, C 273, 307, 341, 422; p]., bes, S 275; Hs, C 203. O.E. «es, tSeos, "Sis.

)>0, conj., nvhen, then: S 301, V 16, 23, 82, 170, 290, etc. O.E. )>a. Sec )>en.

thoff, see J?au.

J»ohut, n., see J>out.

J>onk, n., thanks: V 158. O.E. banc, bone.

thore, see J^er.

Jjoru, prep., through: S 125, 190; bar boru, 346 j throujhe, C 391. O.E. burh.

}>ou, pers. pron. , thou : nom. , S 34, 38, etc., V 35, 38, etc., C no, 268, 284, 411; bo, S287jthow, C 263, 269, 412, 43 6j dat., >e, S33, 34, 37,40, 130, etc.,C287; accus. , be, S 39, V 51, 122, C III, 263, 270, 348} the, C 436. O.E. bu, be. See Jji and 36.

thou^t, v., see thinke.

thou3t, n., see J>out.

Jjousent, n., thousand-. V

203. O.E. busend. )>out, n., thought: S 118,

147, 430; thoujt, C 128,

1 48 J bohut, V223. O.E.

boht. J>re, num., three: V 153;

thre, C 350. O.E. breo. throu^he, see J?oru. thryfte, n., thrift: C 347,

466, 478. O.N. brift. J>unche, v. impers., seem:

infin., S 238; pres. 3

sg., binkeb, S218, 286}

pret. 3 sg., boute, V 94;

thoujt, C 516. O.E.

byncan. J?urst, n. , thirst : S 3 1 o, 3 1 2,

V 67. O.E. burst. J?us, adv. , thus: S 24, V 1 5 8 ;

thus, C 64, 354. O.E.

bus. thy, see }>i. thyng, see J'ing. Jjynke, see thinke. thyrd, num., third: C286,

etc. O.E. bridda. thys, see J^is. til, prep., until: S292, 293;

tyii, c 573; to, s 354.

O.N. til. tille, v., till: pres. subj. 2 sg., S 440. O.E. ti- lian.

(Slosf^ar^

149

time,n.,/iz«^: Si24,V263;

tyme,C 4, 113, etc. O.E.

tima, to, prep., to: S 40, etc., V

1 7, etc., C 1 6, etc. ; until,

C 74, 163, 512, 564;

sign of the infin., S 7,

etc., V 6, etc., C 54, etc.

O.E. to. to, adv., too: S 343, V 81,

98, etc., C 331, 426.

O.E. to. to-breke, v., break doivn,

break to pieces : infin.,

V 63 ; pret. part., to- broke, V 19. O.E. tobre- can.

to-dai, n., to-day: S 316,

404. togedere, adv., together: V

156, 214, 216; togeher,

C 167; to-geder, C 462.

O.E. to-gaedere. to-^eines, prep., against:

V 95. O.E. to-geanes. tokenyng, token, sign: C

220, 223, 552. O.E. tac-

nung. to-moro"w,adv. , to-morronv :

C 232jto-morowe,C239. tong, n., tongue : C 355.

O.E. tunge. to nijt, adv., to-night: V

191.

torn, see tourne.

toune, n., tonvn: S 70, 347.

O.E. tun. tourne, v., turn: pres. subj.

3Sg., S 147; imper. 2 sg.

torn, S 109, 113J pret.

part., tumd, S 430. O.E.

tyrnan, tumian. to-werd, prep., toivardi C

88. O.E. toweard. traueyled, v., travelled-.

pret. 3 sg., C 16. O.F.

travailer. traueyll, n., labor, jour- ney: C is"^- O- F. travail, tre, n., tree: C 218, pi.,

treys, C 206. O.E. treow. treie, n., affliction, grief:

S 158. O.E. trega. treuly, adv., truly: C 29,

105, i43jtrewly, C142;

treulye, C 2285 trew, C

490. O.E. treowlice. trewe, adj., true: S 95,

121; trewT, C 77, 125,

308; com par., trewer, S

122. O.E, treowe, trywe. trinyte, n.. Trinity: C202.

O.F. trinite. trouj^e, n., truth: S 252.

O.E. treow-S. trouue, v., belie^ve: pres. i

sg', S 369; 2 sg., troustu,

S 370. O.E. truwian.

ISO

<J5lo00ar^

trumper, n.y trumpeter ipl.^

trumpers, C too. O.F.

trompeor, trompere, &c. truse, v., pack: C 348.

O.F. trosser, trouser. twake, v., thnvack: infin.,

C 358. O.N. J^jokka. twenti, num., tnventy. S

270. O.E. twentig. two, num. , t^o : V 3 2, C 8 3,

1735 tuo, V 73. O.E.

twa. tyde, n., time: C 90, 188.

O.E. tid. tyll, see til. tyne, see time.

uaile, v., avails assist: in- fin., Si 88. O.F.valoir.

valew, n., 'value: C 76. O.F. value.

vansyd, v.^adnjanced: pret. 3 sg., C 569. O.E. avan- cer.

vend, v., see wende.

verament, adv., 'verily, truly: C 189, 237. O.F. verablement.

vif, Ti., 'woman:S 83. O.E. wif.

vilani, n., baseness, shame, the opposite to curteisi: S 1 2 8 ; uilani, S 250. O. F. vilainie.

vilte, n., meannessy shame: S 47. O.F. vilte.

vind, \.,find: pres. 3 sg., V 253. O.E. findan.

vn-couered, v., unco<veredi pret. 3 sg., C 373- 0.¥. cuvrir, covrir.

vnder, prep., undtr: S 5. O.E. under.

vnderneth, prep., under- neath: C 194.

vnto, prep., unto: C 144, 386.

volf, vuolf, see wolf.

vow, n.,i;oai;: C 522. O.F. veu, vou.

vox, n.,yo;if: V i, 16, 81, 96, 107, 113, 123, 127, 131. i39> 157, 176, 188, 196, 221, 231, 238, 239, 242, 245, 260; wox, V

li, 33. 37, 293- OE.

fox. vp, adv., up: C 166, 244,

278, 310; vppe, C 97.

O.E. up, upp. vpon, prep., upon: C 57,

218, etc. O.E. uppon. vpstond, v., stand up: in- fin., C 197. vs, see we. vsscher, n., door-keeper: C

310, 313, 460. O.F. u»-

sier.

Slo^utt

151

Vter, pr. n. : C 4. vyset, V. , 'visit : infin. ,€23. O.F. visiter.

waie, n., ^way: S ijwei, S

3955 wey, V 5, C 159,

254. O.E. weg. wakese, v., groiVy ivax:

infin., S 182; wex, C

151. O.E. weaxan. wal, n., nvall : V 10,

19 J walle, V II. O.E.

weall. walken, v., ivalk: pret. 3

sg. walkyd, C 97. O.E.

wealcan. wane, see J?at. wanten, v., avant, lack:

pret. 3 pl.,wantyd, C 1 1 6.

O.N. vanta. war, inter, adv., ivhere: V

137. O.E. hwSr. warm, adj., nvarm: pi.,

warme, S 225. O.E.

wearm. warryng, n., denying: C

439- war-to, inter, adv., nvhy:

s 313-

waschen, v., ivash: pret. 3 pi., wesch, C 154. O.E. waescan, waxsan, etc.

wat, inter, pron., nvhat: S 29, 64, etc., V33, 152,

etc. i what, S 172,091.

O.E. hwaet. w^at, rel. pron., thativhich:

C 126. O.E. hwaet. "wat, indef. pron., ivhat:

V 89. O.E. hwaet. wat, adv., ivhy : V 163.

O.E. hwaet. w^at, interj. : S 235, 285.

O.E. hwaet. ^vater, n., nuater: V 92,

93, 94. O.E. waeter. way, see weien. we, interj., alas: S 115.

O.E. wa, O.N. vei. we, pers. pron., nve: C 1 39,

141, etc.} ouer, C 139,

218, 221} owre, C 143;

vs, C 57, 140, 174, etc.

O.E. we, ure, us. wedded, part, adj., ived-

ded: S 8; wedde, S 137;

wedyd, C 125. O.E.

weddian. wede, n.y garments: pi., C

327. O.E. w«d. wede, n., pledge, mortgage:

C 62. O.E. wedd. "weder, adv., nvhither: V

244, 245. O.E. h wider,

hwaeder. weien, v., iveigh: pret. 3

sg., way, V 437. O.E.

wegan.

152

(Slofifsfan?

wel, zdv.f'very much : S 1 3, 82, 94; njery, V 16, 66, 248, C 337; nvell, 8212, 226, C 126, 127, 141, 280. O.E. wel.

welcome, adj., nvelcome: S 26, 255, 425 } wel- comen, S 167; compar., welcomore, S 426. O.E. wilcuma, n.

welde, v., ivieU, rule: in- fin., S 83, 146, 3255 pres. 3 sg., weld, C 56. O.E. wealdan.

welpe, n., nvhelp: S 287; welp, S 372. O.E. hwelp.

wen, conj., nvhen: S 198, V 75, 268;wenne, inter- rog., S 284, V 151; when, C 49, 88, etc.; when hat, C 496. O.E. hwaenne, hwonne.

wende, V. tr., turn-. S 118, 151,181. O.E. wendan.

wende, v. inter. & reflex., turriy ivend, go : pret. 3 sg. , wend, S 1 7 ; wente, S 149; wente him, S 19, 155; wente hire, S 406; pret. 3 pi., wente, C 80; pret. part., wend, S345; wende, ^o«^, V 74; vend, comgy V 159. O.E. wendan.

wene, v., iveetty belienfi:

pres. I sg. , V 128} pret.

I sg., wende, V 21 7 j

pret. 3 sg. , wende, V 2 7 5 }

wend, C 405; pret. part.,

I-wend, V 134. O.E.

wenan. wenne, r\.,joyy bliss: S 26.

O.E. wynn. wepen, n., iveep: pret. 3

sg., wep, V 107; wepyd,

C 95, 106. O.E. wepan,

weop. wepne, n., nveapon: V

286. O.E. wsepen. wer, conj., nvhere: S 284,

C 47; wer hat, C 567.

O.E. hwser. were, v., nvear: infin,, C

554; pret. 3 pi., weryd,

C 327. O.E. werian. werk, n.,<u'or/t:pl.,werkes,

S 245. O.E. weorc. werld, see world, wer-mide, adv., ivhere-

nvith: V 1 12. wern, V. deny^ refuse: inf.,

€464,473. O.E.wiernan. wernyng, v. n., refusal'.

C 316. werre, n.ynvar: C i6- O.F.

werre. wes, was, ves, were,

weren, v., sec be.

<&lo00ar^

153

werj?, v., see worJ?e.

wesch, see waschen.

■weste, v., see wite.

wex, v., see wakese.

wey, see waie.

what, see wat,

what Jjat euer, pron.,

nvhaienjer: C 364, 415. when, see wen, where-for, conj. : C 510. whejjer, conj., whether: C

35, 288, 308. O.E.

hwae^er. who, inter, pron., nvho :

C 329. O.E. hwa. wi, conj., nvhy. S 64, 3155

why, C 510. O.E. hwy. wicchecrafFt, n., nvitch-

craft: S 206. O.E. wicce-

craeft. wiche, v., use nvitchcraft:

infin., S 353. O.E.

wiccian. widewene, n., ividonv:

gen. pi., widewene, V

201. O.E. widwe, wid-

uwe. wif, n., lAJomaTiy ivife: S

27, 121, 315, V 154;

wiue, V 212, 228; wyfe,

C 77, 83, 122, etc.;

wyfF, C 25; pi., wiues,

S 303. O.E. wif. wiis, see wis.

wiit, n., ou/V, intelligence:

V 70, 124. O.E. wit[t]. wile, conj., avhile: S 70,

438. O.E. hwllum.

wile, n., time: S 103, 444. O.E. hwil.

Wilekin, pr. n. : S 43, 229, 2^36, 255> 386,400,409, 423, 425, 42 7 J Wile- kinne, S 407.

wille, v., ftu///: pres. i sg., S 87, etc., V 131, 146, 231; wile, S 191, 241} wote, V 175; wyll, C ^39* 397; » sg., wolt, S 241; woltoce, V 196; wyll, C 4155 3 sg., wolle, S 369; wyll, C 287; pret. I sg., wolde, S334, 43i» V 179; wold, C 120, 528; 3 sg., wolde, S 238, V 46, 171; wold, C 19, 20, 23, etc.; 2 pi., wold, C 513; 3 pi., wold, C 46; pret, subj.

1 sg., wolde, S 64, V 179;

2 sg., woldest, S 172;

3 sg. , wolde, S 131, 238. O.E. willan.

wille, n., <^vill : S 29, etc.,

V 95>96;wil, S53; wylle, C407. O.E. willa.

, Willi (wille 4- 1), S 35, 41, etc.

154

€^lo00ar^

wimmon, n., nvoman : S 8 J womon, S 12a; wi- mon, S 205; pi., wim- men, V 8j O.E. wifman.

winde, v. intr., ivindy turn, go : infin., V 76} pret. 3 sg., wond, V 22. O.E. windan.

winne, n., see wenne.

wis, adj., tuise : S 4; wiis, V 105. O.E. wis.

wise, n., ivise, manner-. S 15, V 3. O.E. wise.

wite, v., knQ<vo\ infin., S »9» 307; pres. I sg., wot, S284, V 191; pret. isg., weste, S 79, 237; pret. 3 sg., weste, S 220, V 59, 238 } wyst, C280. O.E. witan.

witerli, adv., certainly. S 232. O.N. vitrliga.

wij>, prep., 'with: S 23, 174, etc.; wiz, S 162; with, C 54, 81, 82; wyth, C 502, 578; by means of, S 207; wib )>at, provided that, S 192, 226, 386; towuard, V 247. O.E. v/\\>.

with-draw, v. : infin. , C 263; imper. 2Sg., C 332.

wiJ>-houten, prep., ivith- out : S 36, 96 } wi)>-

houte, S 392 ; wi)>outcn,

V 25, 142; with-outen, C 273, 390; with-oute, C 264 } with-outyn, C 50, 2995 with-out, C 297, 316; with-owtyn, C 459. O.E. wibutan.

wij>inne, adv., ivitbini

V II. O.E. wiHnnan. wiz, prep., see wijj.

wo, inter, pron., who: V

122, 127. O.E. hwa. wo, n., ivoe : S 303, V 2,

53, etc., C 90. O.E. wa. wo, adj., ivoeful : S 298,

379.>atmeiswo = *Iam

sorry,' S 379. O.E. wa. wod, adj., mad : S 182,

286, V 258. O.E. wod. wode, n., nuood, forest: V

I, 109. O.E. wudu. wold, v., see wille. woldi(wold + i),S 88,243,

etc. wolf, n., luolf: V 108,

118, 129, 137, 150, etc.;

volf, V 148 ; vuolf, V

221; wolfe, V 181. O.E.

wulf. woltou (wok -\- \>o\\), V

186, 196. won, n., divelling : S 21.

Cf. O.E. (ge)wuna, wu-

nian, wunung.

^loflffliari?

155

won, n., quantity y store: S 13a.

won, adj., see wonte.

wond, v., see winde.

wonde, v., turn aside^ hesi- tate-. S 138, C 120. O. E. wandian.

wonder, n., nvonder: S 359. O.E. wundor.

wone, n., hope^ thought-. C 319. O.N. van.

wone, n. v., divell -. pret. 3 sg., wonede, S 20; pret. 3 pi., woneden, V 262} pret. part., woned, accustomed^ used, nvont, V 105. O.E. wunian. See wonte.

wonne, v. , ^on : pret. part. , S 58. O.E. winnan.

wonte, adj., avont: C 91 ; won, C 112. O.E. wu- nod.

word, n., nvord: S 240, V 132, C 367 ; pi., word, S 159} wordes, V 148, C406. O.E. word.

world, n., njuorld: S 243; worlde, V 162, 163J werld, C 14; gen. sg., worldes, V 161. O.E. weorold.

worschype, n., ivorship, honor: C 39, 56 j wyr-

schyp, C79. O.E. weor>-

scipe. worschypped, p. p. a., hon- ored: C 414. worse, wors, adj., ivorsey

S 378, V 202. O.E.

wyrs. worjje, v., become: pres. i

sg., wor)>e, V 191; pres.

3 sg., worlj, V 298; pres.

subj. 3 sg., wor)?e, S 213,

V 96; pret. 3 sg., werj>,

V 66. O.E. weort>an. wose, pron., nvhoso : S 445 }

wose-euer, S 361. Cf.

O.E. swahwaswa. wot, v., see wite. vrou, •n.f'wrong: S 96. O.

E. woh. wouing, v., plying: n.,

'wooing: S 125. O.E.

wogian. wous, adj., ready: V 12.

O.E. fus. wox, see vox. wra}>J>en, v., make angry:

infin., S 41. O.E. (ge)-

wraHan. w^recche, n., nvretch: S

298, 3i3,V253iwrecke,

V 288. O.E. wrecca. wrenche, n., trick, artifice:

dat., V 84. O.E. wrenc. wringen, v., wing: pret. 3

156

^lofifflfar^

sg., wrong, C 95, 106.

O.E. wringan. wrogge, n., frog: pi.,

wroggen, V 256. O.E.

frogga. wroj?, adj., angry: V 220. wro}?e, adv., angrily: V

291. O.E. wra'S. wrong, n., nvrong: S 10.

O.E. wrang. wroug, see wringen. wrout, p.p., see wy, che. wyde, zd}., nvii^e: C 93.

O.E. wid. wyfe, wyfe, see wif. wyght, adj., nimble, strong:

C 3» 29 5> 5 37J wyjht,

C 33. O.N. vigr, m.,

vigt, n. wylde, adj., ivild: pi., C

1 16. O.E. wilde. wylle, n., see will, wyneng, v. n., ijoinningy

gain: C 317.

wyped, v., nviped. pret. 3 sg., C 152. O. E. wipian.

wyrche, v. , nvork, perform : inf., C 164} p. p., wrout, S 1 1 2 ; wrought, C 2 1 3 ; i- wrought, C 342. O.E. wycran.

wyst, see wite.

wytte, n., avtghi, man: C 521. O.E. wiht.

Y, see wite.

ybe, yboujt, ydijt, ydon, etc., see be, bie, dijt, don, etc.

ye, demonstr. pron., instru- mental case: C 236. O.E. J^e, by.

yjoue, v., pret. part., see jeue.

y-nou3, see nou.

y-slawe, v., pret. part., see slo.

ywis, adv., sec wis.

ROBARTS LIBRARY

DUE DATE

AUG 1 2 1988

K^

r:w:;..r.

a

c

L