Bx.2 – PPEA

Bx.2.4KD.2.4 Bx.2.8KD.2.8 Bx.2.12KD.2.12 Bx.2.16KD.2.16 Bx.2.20KD.2.20 Bx.2.24KD.2.24 Bx.2.28KD.2.27α Bx.2.32KD.2.31 Bx.2.36KD.2.35 Bx.2.40KD.2.39 Bx.2.44KD.2.43 Bx.2.48KD.2.47 Bx.2.52KD.2.51 Bx.2.56KD.2.55 Bx.2.60KD.2.59 Bx.2.64KD.2.63 Bx.2.68KD.2.67 Bx.2.72KD.2.71 Bx.2.76KD.2.74α Bx.2.80KD.2.78 Bx.2.84KD.2.82 Bx.2.88KD.2.86 Bx.2.92KD.2.90 Bx.2.96KD.2.94 Bx.2.100KD.2.98 Bx.2.104KD.2.102 Bx.2.108KD.2.106 Bx.2.112KD.2.110 Bx.2.116KD.2.114 Bx.2.120KD.2.118 Bx.2.124KD.2.122 Bx.2.128KD.2.126 Bx.2.132KD.2.130 Bx.2.136KD.2.134 Bx.2.140KD.2.138 Bx.2.144KD.2.142 Bx.2.148KD.2.146 Bx.2.152KD.2.150 Bx.2.156KD.2.154 Bx.2.160KD.2.158 Bx.2.164KD.2.162 Bx.2.168KD.2.166 Bx.2.172KD.2.170 Bx.2.176KD.2.174 Bx.2.180KD.2.178 Bx.2.184KD.2.182 Bx.2.188KD.2.186 Bx.2.192KD.2.190 Bx.2.196KD.2.194 Bx.2.200KD.2.198 Bx.2.204KD.2.202 Bx.2.208KD.2.208 Bx.2.212KD.2.212 Bx.2.216KD.2.216 Bx.2.220KD.2.220 Bx.2.224KD.2.224 Bx.2.228KD.2.228 Bx.2.232KD.2.232 Bx.2.236KD.2.236

Passus secundus de visione vt supra

Ȝet I courbed on my knees · and cryed hir of grace

And seide mercy Madame · for Marie loue of heuene

That bar þat blisful barne · þat bouȝte vs on þe Rode

Kenne me bi somme crafte · to knowe þe fals

¶ Loke vpponT þi left half · and lo where heT standeth

Bothe fals and fauel · and hereT feres manye

¶ I loked on my left half · as þe lady me taughte

And was war of a womman · wortheliT yclothed

Purfiled with pelure · þe [purest on]T erthe

YcrounedeT with a corone · þe kyng hath non better

Fetislich hir fyngres · were fretted with golde wyreT

And þere-on red rubyes · as red as any glede

And diamantz of derrest pris · and double manere safferes

Orientales and ewages · enuenymes to destroye

¶ Hire robe was ful riche · of red scarlet engreyned

With ribanes of red golde · and of riche stones

Hire arraye me rauysshed · suche ricchesse saw I neuere

I had wondre what she was · and whas wyf she were

¶ What is þis womman · quod I so worthily atired

¶ That is Mede þe Mayde quod she · hath noyed me ful oft

And ylakked my lemman · þat lewte is hoten

And bilowen hireT to lordes · þat lawes han to kepe

In þe popis paleys · she is pryue as my-self

But sothenesse wolde nouȝt so · for she is a bastarde

¶ For fals was hire fader · þat hath a fykel tonge

And neuere sothe seide · sithen he come to erthe

¶T And Mede is manered after hym · riȝte as kynde axeth

Qualis pater talis filius · bonusT arbor · bonum fructum facit

I auȝte ben herre þan she · I cam of a better

¶T Mi fader þe grete god is · and grounde of alle graces

O god with-oute gynnynge · & IT his gode douȝter

And hath ȝoue me mercy · to marye with my-self

And what man be merciful · and lelly me loue

Shal be my lorde and I his leef · in þe heiȝe heuene

¶ And what man taketh Mede · myne hedT dar I legge

That he shal lese for hir loue · a lappeT of caritatis

How construeth dauid þe kynge · of men þat taketh MedeT

And men of þis molde · þat meynteneth treuthe

And how ȝe shal saue ȝow-self · þe Sauter bereth witnesse

Domine quis habitabit in tabernac[u]lo tuo &c

¶ And now worth þis Mede ymaried · toT a mansed schrewe

T To one fals fikel tongeT · a fendes biȝete

Fauel þorw his faire speche · hath þis folke enchaunted

And al is lyeres ledyng · þat she is þus ywedded

¶ To-morwe worth ymade · þe maydenes bruydale

And þere miȝte þow wite if þow wolt · which þei ben alle

That longeth to þat lordeship · þe lasse and þe more

Knowe hem þere if þow canst · and kepe þiT tonge

And lakke hem nouȝt but lat hem worth · til lewte be iustice

And haue powere to punyschen hem · þanne put forth þi resoun

¶ Now I bikenne þe criste quod she · and his clene moder

And latT no conscience acombre þe · for coueitise of Mede

¶ Thus left me þat lady · liggyng aslepe

And how Mede was ymaried · in meteles me þouȝte

Þat alle þe riche retenauns · þat regneth with þe false

Were boden to þeT bridale · on bothe two sydes

Of alle maner of men · þe mene and þe riche

To marie þis maydeneT · was many man assembled

As of kniȝtes and of clerkis · and other comune poeple

As sysours and sompnours · Shireues and here clerkes

Bedelles and Bailliues · and brokoures of chaffre

Forgoeres and vitaillers · and vokates of þe archesT

I can nouȝt rekene þe route · þat ran aboute mede

¶ Ac symonye and cyuile · and sisoures of courtes

Were moste pryue with Mede · of any men me þouȝte

TAc fauel was þe first · þat fette hire out of boure

And as a brokour brouȝte hir [·] to be with fals enioigned

TWhan symonye and cyuile · seiȝ here beireT wille

TheiT assented for siluer · to se[i]T as bothe wolde

TThanne lepe lyer forth · and seide lo here a chartre

That gyle with his gret othes · gaf hem togidere

And preide cyuile to se · and symonye to rede it

Thanne symonye and cyuile · stondenT forth bothe

And vnfoldeth þe feffement · þat fals hath ymakedT

And þus bigynneth þes gomes · to greden ful heiȝ

Sciant presentes & futuri &c ·

¶ Witeth and witnesseth · þat wonieth vpon þis erthe

Þat Mede is ymaried · more for here goodis

Þan for ani vertue orT fairenesse · orT any free kynde

Falsenesse is faine of hire · for he wote hire riche

And fauel with his fikel speche · feffeth bi þis chartre

To be prynces in pryde · and pouerte to dispise

To bakbite and to bosten · and bere fals witnesse

To scorne and to scolde · and sclaundere to make

Vnboxome and boldeT · to breke þe ten hestes

¶ And þe Erldome of enuye · and wratthe togideres

With þe chastelet of chestT · and chateryng oute of resounT

Þe counte of coueitise · and alle þe costes aboute

That is vsure and auarice · alle I hem graunte

In bargaines and inT brokages · with al þe borg[h]eT of theft

¶ And al þe lordeship of lecherye · in lenthe and in brede

As in werkes and in wordes · andT waitynges with eies

And in wedesT and in wisshynges · and with ydel thouȝtes

There as wille woldeT · [and] wermanship failleth

¶ Glotonye he gaf hem eke · and grete othes togydere

And alday to drynke · at dyuerse tauernes

And there to iangle and toT iape · and iugge here euene-cristene

And in fastyngdayes to frete · ar ful tyme were

And þanne to sitten and soupen · til slepe hem assaille

T And bredun as burgh-swyn · and bedden hem esily

Tyl sleuth and slepe · slyken his sides

And þanne wanhope to awake hym so · with no wille to amende

For he leueth be lost · þis is here last ende

¶ And þei to haue and to holde · and here eyres after

A dwellyng with þe deuel · and dampned be for eure

Wiþ al þe purtenauncesT of purgatorie · in-to þe pyne of helle

Ȝeldyng for þis þinge · at one ȝeres ende

Here soules to sathan · to suffre with hym peynes

And with him to wonye withT wo · whil god is in heuene

¶ In witnesse of which / þisT þing · wronge was þe first

And Pieres þe pardonere · of paulynes doctrine

Bette þe bedel · of Bokyngham-shire

Rainalde þe Reue · of RotlandT sokene

Munde þe Mellere · and many moo other

In þe date of þe deuel [·] þis dede I asseleT

Bi siȝte of sire symonye · and cyuyles leue

¶ Þenne tened hym theologye · whan he þis tale herde

And seide to cyuile · now sorwe mot þow haue

Such we[d]dyngesT to worche [·] to wratthe with treuthe

And ar þis weddyng be wrouȝte · wo þe bityde

¶ For Mede is moylere · of amendes engendrethT

And god grauntethT to gyf · Mede to treuthe

And þow hast gyuen hire to a gyloure · now god gyf þe sorwe

Th[e]T tixt telleth þe nouȝt so · treuthe wote þe sothe

For dignus est operarius · his hyre to haue

And þow hast fest hire to fals · fy on þi lawe

For al by lesynges þow lyuest · and lecherouse werkes

TSymonye and þi-self · schenden holicherche

Þe notaries and ȝee · noyeth þe peple

Ȝe shul abiggen it bothe · bi god þat me made

Wel ȝe witen wernardes · but if ȝowre witte faille

That fals is faithlees · and fikel in his werkes

And [as]T a bastarde ybore · of belsabubbes kynne

And Mede is moylere · a mayden of gode

And myȝte kisse þe kynge · for cosyn an she wolde

¶ For-þi worcheth bi wisdome · and bi witt also

And ledeth hire to londoun · þere lawe is yshewed

If any lawe wil loke · þei ligge togederes

And þouȝ Iustices iugge hir · to be ioigned withT fals

Ȝet beth war of [þe]T weddyng · for witty is truthe

And conscience is of his conseille · and knoweth ȝow vchone

And if he fynde ȝow in defaute · and with þe fals holde

It shal bisitte ȝowre soules · ful soure atte laste

¶ Here-to assenteth cyuile · ac symonye ne wolde

Tyl he had siluer for his seruise · and also þe notaries

¶ Thanne fette fauel forth · floreynes ynowe

And bad gyle toT gyue · golde al aboute

And namelich to þe notaries · þat hem none neT faille

And feffe false witnes · with floreines ynowe

For heT may mede amaistrye · and maken at my wille

¶ Tho þis golde was gyue · grete was þe þonkynge

To fals and to fauel · for her faire ȝiftes

And comen to conforte [·] fram care þe fals

And seiden certis sire · cesse shal we neuere

Til Mede be þi wedded wyf · þorw wittis of vs alle

For we haue Mede amaistried · with / þorwT owre mery speche

That she graunteth to gon [·] with a gode wille

To Londoun to loke · ȝif þat þeT lawe wolde

Iugge ȝow ioyntly · in ioye for euere

¶ Thanne was falsenesse fayne · and fauel as blithe

And leten sompne alle segges · in schires aboute

And bad hem alle be bown · beggeres and othere

To wenden wyth hemT to westmynstre · to witnesse þisT dede

¶ Ac þanne cared þei for caplus · to kairenT hem þider

And fauel fette forth þanne · folus ynowe

And sette Mede vponT a schyreue · shodde al newe

And fals sat on a sisoure · þat softlich trotted

And fauel on a flatereT · fetislich atired

¶ Tho haued notaries none · annoyed þei were

For symonye and cyuile · shulde on hire fete gange

¶ Ac þanne swore symonye · and cyuile bothe

That sompnoures shulde be sadled [·] and serue hem vchone

And lat apparaille þisT prouisoures · in palfreis wyse

Sire symonye hym-seluen · shal sitte vpon here bakkes

¶ Denes and suddenes · drawe ȝow togideres

Erchdekenes and officiales · and alle ȝowre Regystreres

Lat sadel hem with siluer · owre synne to suffre

As [de]uoutrieT and deuoses · and derne vsurye

To bere bischopes aboute · abrode in visytynge

¶ Paulynes pryuesT · for pleyntes in þe consistorie

Shul serue my-self · þat cyuile is nempned

And cartesadel þe comissarie · owre carte shal he lede

And fecchen vs vytailles · at fornicatores

¶ And maketh of lyer a l[a]nge carteT · to lede alle þese othere

As [fobberes]T and faitours · þat on here fete rennen

TAnd thus fals and fauel · fareth forth togideres

And Mede in þe myddes · and alle þise menT after

¶ I haue no tome to telle [·] þe taille þat hem folweth

Of many maner man · þat on þis molde libbethT

Ac gyle was forgoer · and gyed hem alle

¶T Sothenesse seiȝ h[e]mT wel · and seide but a litelT

And priked his palfrey · and passed hem alle

And come to þe kynges courte · and conscience it tolde

And conscience to þe kynge · carped it after

¶ Now by cryst quod þe kynge · and I cacche myȝte

Fals orT fauel · or any of his feres

I wolde be wroke of þo wrecches · þat worcheth so ille

And don hem hange by þe hals · and alle þat hem meynteneth

Shal neure man ofT molde · meynprise þe leste

But riȝte as þe lawe wil loke · late falle on hem alle

¶ And comanded a constable · þat come atte furst

To / GooT attache þo tyrauntz · for eny thyngeT I hote

And fettereth fast falsenesse · for enykynnes ȝiftes

And gurdeth of gyles hed · and lat hym go no furthere

And ȝif ȝe lacche lyer · late hym nouȝt ascapen

Er he be put on þe pilorye · for eny preyere I hote

And bryngeth Mede to me · maugre hem alle

¶ Drede atte dore stode · and þe dome herde

And how þe kynge comaunded · constables and seriantz

Falsenesse and his felawschip · to fettren an to bynden

Þanne drede went wiȝtliche · and warned þe fals

And bad hym flee for fere · and his felawesT alle

¶ Falsenesse for fere þanne · fleiȝ to þe freres

And gyle doþ hym to go · agast for to dye

Ac marchantz mette with hym · and made hym abide

And bishetten hym in here shopeT · to shewen here ware

AndT apparailled hym as a prentice · þe poeple to serue

¶ Liȝtlich lyer · lepe awey þanneT

Lorkynge thorw lanes · to-lugged of manye

He was nawhere welcome · for his manye tales

Ouer al yhowtedT · and yhote trusse

Tyl pardoneres haued pite · and pulled hym in-toT house

They wesshen hym and wyped hym · and wonden hym in cloutesT

And sente hym with seles · on sondayes to cherches

And gaf pardoun for pens · poundmel aboute

¶ Thanne loured leches · and lettres þei sent

Þat he sholde wonye with hem · wateres to loke

TSpiceres spokeT [to]T hym · to spien here ware

For he couth o[n]T here craft · and knewe many gommes

¶ Ac mynst[r]alles and messageres · mette with hym ones

And helden hym an halfȝereT · and elleuene dayes

¶ Freres with faire speche · fetten hym þennes

And for knowyng of comeres · coped hym as a frere

Ac he hath leue to lepe out · as oft as hym liketh

And is welcome whan he wil · and woneth wyth hem oft

¶ Alle fledden for fere · and flowen in-to hernes

Saue Mede þe Mayde · na moT durst abide

Ac trewli to telle · she trembled for [fere]T

And ekT wept and wronge · whan she was attached

Bx.2.5: vppon: Beta shares the C reading. F's on is the A reading.↩

Bx.2.5: he: O anticipates the appearance of Mede in l. 8; hence sche, so that her in l. 6 is perhaps feminine in O, whereas it is plural in other mss. A mss. vary, with masc., fem. and pl.↩

Bx.2.6: here: "their"; clearly Bx. Ax has hise, referring to fals. Cx rewrites the b-verse, but has here in its following line.↩

Bx.2.8: wortheli: G's wonderslyche is from A or C.↩

Bx.2.9: purest on: F shares this reading with Ax, whereas Cx revises to non puyrere on. The non-alliterating beta reading fynest vpon may of course be a Bx error.↩

Bx.2.10: Ycrounede: Beta has support from Ax; F's addition of And is supported by Cx and may represent alpha.↩

Bx.2.11: golde wyre: G's rynges is from A. Cx rewrites. F omits the line.↩

Bx.2.22: bilowen hire: "made herself pleasing to" (MED biloven); cf. Bx.6.233 where LMR have the -w- form. Both KD and Schmidt emend to bilowen h[ym], "slandered him" (MED bilien v.(2)). A has And lakkide my lore to lordis aboute (K.2.17); Cx has And lakked hym to lordes þat lawes han to kepe (RK.2.21, who emend), with ylow on my lemman in the previous line.↩

Bx.2.27: ¶: Only LM indicate a new paragraph here. WHmCF have a paraph in the line above.↩

Bx.2.28: bonus: LMWF treat arbor as masc.; the others alter to the more usual feminine. At RK.10.244b the X family of C similarly have bonus. F's expansion of the Latin is not supported.↩

Bx.2.30: ¶: L's paraph is supported by a new line-group in M.↩

Bx.2.31: & I: F has & y am, as does Cx but in the a-verse.↩

Bx.2.35: hed: MO read lif. Presumably this is coincident error in a common phrase. Nevertheless, Cx reads my lif y dar (or dar y) wedde. Cf. Bx.18.162, I dar my lyf legge.↩

Bx.2.36: lappe: This must be the Bx reading, with Cr taking lippe from a C text. The P group of C have lappe, the X group lippe. MED cites lippe n.(2), "a little bit", only from Langland. Probably lappe is a scribal substitution of an easier word, as again at RK.11.224 where two mss. read lappe in the same context. It is likely enough that the word developed the sense "small piece"; see MED lap(pe, 3.↩

Bx.2.37: F has revised the line to improve the alliteration, though the reversal in the b-verse might represent alpha. The line has no parallel in AC.↩

Bx.2.41: to: F's reading probably represents alpha, and is supported by Cx. Beta must be al to since it has the support of LMCO, though al is subsequently erased in M. Beta2 reads vnto.↩

Bx.2.42: Here R resumes.↩

Bx.2.42: tonge: The beta reading has support from RK.2.6 over alpha's of tonge.↩

Bx.2.48: þi: So LCR, and probably M before correction. It seems likely that other scribes filled out a short line with þou þi or wel þi. AC read kepe the fro hem alle.↩

Bx.2.52: lat: Probably R's at represents alpha, interpreted by F as that. C mss. have Acombre neuere thy Conscience or And acombre thow ....↩

Bx.2.56: þe: Beta is supported by Ax and the X family of C, while R's þis (F has his) is supported by the P family.↩

Bx.2.58: maydene: The form varies with mayde throughout; there is no equivalent line in AC. Although MED has separate entries, they are different forms of the same word and are listed together by Wittig (2001).↩

Bx.2.62: After this F adds a line that is obviously scribal.↩

Bx.2.66: Alpha has a paraph here.↩

Bx.2.68: Beta2 has a paraph (a paragraph in Cr), as does R.↩

Bx.2.68: beire: Genitive of bo, synonymous with boþere in MWO and bethere in R.↩

Bx.2.69: Thei: Alpha has And, continuing the subordinate clause, but contradicting this syntax with a paraph before the following line. Cx has Thei.↩

Bx.2.69: sei: Falsely corrected to se in L.↩

Bx.2.70: Here and at l. 73 WHm and alpha have a paraph.↩

Bx.2.73: stonden: The past tense as in MF is also a minority form in AC.↩

Bx.2.74: F omits the line.↩

Bx.2.79: or (1): HmCGO read of. The line is not paralleled in AC, though C alters to a line with the same structure, Then for holynesse oþer hendenesse oþer for hey kynde (RK.2.84).↩

Bx.2.79: or (2): LCrWCG and alpha. The parallel line in Cx would give some support to MO or for.↩

Bx.2.85: Vnboxome and bolde: Beta's order is supported by Cx against alpha's reversal.↩

Bx.2.87: chest: i.e. "strife". Supported by Cx against alpha's non-alliterating gestes.↩

Bx.2.87: resoun: Again supported by Cx. Alpha's reading is probably R's tyme. F rewrites the b-verse to alliterate on /j/ in a-verse.↩

Bx.2.90: in (2): The key witnesses LMR are supported by CrWCO. It is omitted by most C mss.↩

Bx.2.90: borghe: L writes borgthe.↩

Bx.2.92: and (2): So LMCGOR. Yet CrWHm have and in as the X family of C; F has in as the P family.↩

Bx.2.93: wedes: The reading of beta; C mss. divide between wedes and woldes. R's wedynges is probably alpha's misreading influenced by the general context, although F offers the attractive and appropriate variant wenyngis, glossed "hopes" by Schmidt (1995).↩

Bx.2.94: and: The line is marked for correction in L. Original wolde and has been revised by the addition of ne before wolde and the subpunction of and, giving the reading of C. A couple of C mss. have the same reading. Possibly the supervisor intended the correction of wermanship instead, though it is not an uncommon spelling and is repeated at this point in the C text by X.↩

Bx.2.97: to (2): Supported by Cx against omission in WHmG.↩

Bx.2.100-03: There is disagreement about number in this passage. Alpha switches to the sg. in l. 100 with a burgh swyne and hym. In l. 101 alpha is joined by LWCGO in his, against hyr in CrHm and corrected M. In 102 alpha + LMCO have hym against pl. hem in CrWHmG. In the a-verse of 103 all mss. except CrHm have sg. he, while in the b-verse beta has pl. here while R has his and F þe. Meanwhile, in the parallel but rewritten passage in Cx, there is also a switch in number, with pl. pronouns throughout except in RK.2.108 (=Bx.2.103), For a leueth be lost when he his lyf leteth. It looks as though scribes made rather ineffective attempts to rationalise number. We follow copy-text, partly on the grounds that it is the least consistent.↩

Bx.2.106: purtenaunces: L and alpha have the aphetic form (initial a- is deleted in R). Other beta mss. vary, as do C mss.↩

Bx.2.109: with (2): Alpha has in; beta probably has with, though MCO read in. Probably this is reversion to the commoner phrase, as in Bx.19.203, though of course this parallel could also be cited in support of in. Ax has "Þere to wone wiþ wrong" (K.2.71).↩

Bx.2.110: which / þis: Beta is supported by Ax and by the alliteration, but alpha's non-alliterating þis is undoubtedly also the Cx reading.↩

Bx.2.113: Rotland: Rutland, according to beta. Alpha's Rokeland, also a variant in a few A mss., is Rockland in Norfolk.↩

Bx.2.115: I assele: This must be Bx, though HmC ys aseled is the AC reading.↩

Bx.2.119: weddynges: LC have wendynges, but the line is marked for correction in L.↩

Bx.2.121: engendreth: Agreement of LR (together with C) indicates that this is an error in Bx, with the obvious correction made by other scribes. A spelling such as engendrit as in some A mss. could have caused the error in Bx.↩

Bx.2.122: graunteth: COF have past tense. There is the same variation in A.↩

Bx.2.124: The: Alpha is supported by Ax against beta's Thi.↩

Bx.2.128: Alpha has a paraph.↩

Bx.2.133: as: Alpha is supported by AC against beta's was.↩

Bx.2.139: with: Supported by Ax against CrWHmG to. Cx rewrites.↩

Bx.2.140: þe: Alpha's article is supported by AC. The line in L is an addition by another scribe.↩

Bx.2.147: to: So LMCrWCR, hence Bx. HmGOF have go, the reading of Ax and the P group of C, presumably by coincident variation or contamination. Crowley "improves" with go in Cr3.↩

Bx.2.148: ne: Supported by LWCR, but dropped in others. It is not in most AC mss.↩

Bx.2.150: he: Established for Bx by LRF and probably original M, as well as AC. The referent is unambiguously plural in MW (witnesses), sg. in L (contrast witnesses Bx.9.77), and ambiguous in other mss.↩

Bx.2.156: with / þorw: The beta reading is supported by most A mss.; alpha's thorȝ, though it may have been picked up from the previous line, is also the reading of Cx.↩

Bx.2.158: ȝif þat þe: So LMCOF. Beta2 and G drop þat, R drops þe. A mss. vary similarly; Cx has if.↩

Bx.2.163: hem: Referring to Fals and Favel. Beta's reading is shared with Ax and the P family of C. Alpha and the X family have hym. Beta seems more appropriate.↩

Bx.2.163: þis: A mss. similarly split between þis and þe. The line is not in C.↩

Bx.1.165: kairen: So LM + alpha; other scribes substitute the easier carien, as also at Bx.P.29, 4.23, 5.310. Note, however, that Ax also has carien.↩

Bx.2.166: vpon: GF read on, as does Ax; R has vppe.↩

Bx.2.168: flatere: So LF. MED distinguishes between flatour (OF flatour) and flaterer (from the verb).↩

Bx.2.173: þis: FG omit, and R reads þe. A mss. also vary, but most support beta.↩

Bx.2.178: deuoutrie: The alliterating alpha synonym for beta's easier auoutrie. There is no parallel line in AC, although Cx has deuoutours at RK.2.187. R again has deuoutrie at Bx.12.86. MED does not record either de- form otherwise, but note OED devoterer, with an instance from 1550.↩

Bx.2.180: pryues: "parties to suits" (Alford (1988), 120-1). GF's peple is an A reading.↩

Bx.2.184: lange carte: Wittig (2001) lists the spelling lange once in each of the three versions, for this line only. WR always elsewhere have longe, and presumably the archetypal scribes recognised this as a technical expression for the longa caretta, a "four-wheeled military cart" (Galloway (2006), 278).↩

Bx.2.185: fobberes: "cheats". Alpha's reading has support from Cx fobbes (related to fobben vb.). Beta's Freres is much easier; most A mss. have folis.↩

Bx.2.186: W and alpha have a paraph here.↩

Bx.2.187: men: LCrWHmR supported by Cx. G has the Ax reading meyny. Oddly, the disparate group MCOF have oþere.↩

Bx.2.189: The line is lost in beta2 and G.↩

Bx.2.191: ¶: The paraph is in beta and F. The line is at the bottom of the page in R.↩

Bx.2.191: hem: The beta reading is probably hym, though CrWG and alpha have the plural, supported by AC.↩

Bx.2.191: a litel: Apparently Bx, though omission of a in MCrWG is shared with Cx and most A mss.↩

Bx.2.196: or (1): Alpha reads other / eyþir, with R alone reading other for the second or. AC mss. vary in both instances.↩

Bx.2.199: of: Secure for Bx, in L, original M, C and R. The variants of þis (corrected M, CrW), on (OF), on thys (G) and vpon (Hm) may be prompted by the oddity of the phrase man of molde, as well as by l. 189 above. A mss. vary, but Cx has on þys.↩

Bx.2.202: To / Goo: Beta shares To with Ax; alpha's Goo is also Cx. Cf. the variants in Bx.2.147 above. The direct speech of "Goo atache ... I hote" is attractive; perhaps it suggested itself as an authorial or scribal improvement.↩

Bx.2.202: thynge: Presumably an error, but undoubtedly Bx. AC have tresour.↩

Bx.2.212: felawes: F's feerys is probably from A. It is also the reading of Cx which however avoids the pun on fere by altering the a-verse to And bad falsenesse to fle (RK.2.222).↩

Bx.2.216: shope: The distributive sg. is supported by LMCOR. Ax has the plural; C mss. vary.↩

Bx.2.217: And: Ax is without it, as are CrWHmG; it is the reading of Cx.↩

Bx.2.218: þanne: i.e. "from there". Both beta and alpha forms represent MED thenne adv.; cf. LALME 4.262.↩

Bx.2.221: yhowted: "shouted at". Beta2 has yhonted, an easy error, though supported by AC. On Crowley's revisions here, see Hailey (2007), 152-4.↩

Bx.2.222: in-to: This must be Bx, supported by the X family of C, despite MHmF support for the Ax reading to.↩

Bx.2.223: cloutes: Hm and alpha have clothes. A mss. vary; Cx has cloutes, though five C mss. read clothes.↩

Bx.2.228: W and alpha have a paraph.↩

Bx.2.228: spoke: The form speken in CrWGR is also past plural; cf. Bx.15.285 for a clear instance, where L also has speken.↩

Bx.2.228: to (1): The alpha reading is also that of Cx; A mss. divide. The beta reading with is likely to have been influenced by the line above.↩

Bx.2.229: on: Both Ax and Cx agree with alpha here against beta's of.↩

Bx.2.231: an half: Beta is challenged by alpha half a. Cx has no article; A mss. vary between all three possibilities.↩

Bx.2.237: mo: R has man, as do four A mss.↩

Bx.2.238: fere: Beta's reading drede is also that of four A mss., but the others have fere, as do alpha and Cx.↩

Bx.2.239: ek: The beta reading is supported by Ax against alpha's also. Cx has bothe.↩