Bx.7 – PPEA

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Passus septimus de visione vt supra

Treuthe herde telle her-of · and to peres heT sent

To taken his teme [·] and tulyen þe erthe

And purchaced hym a pardoun · a pena & a culpa

For hym and for his heires · for euermore after

And bad hym holde hym at home · and eryen his leyes

And alle þat halpe hym to erie · to sette or to sowe

Or any other myster · þat myȝte pieres auaille

Pardoun with pieres plowman · treuthe hath ygraunted

¶ Kynges and knyȝtes · þat kepen holycherche

And ryȝtfullych in reumes · reulen þe peple

Han pardoun thourgh purgatorie · to passe ful lyȝtly

With patriarkes and prophetes · in paradise to be felawesT

¶ Bisshopes yblessed · ȝif þei ben as þei shulden

Legistres of bothe lawesT · þe lewed þere-with to preche

And in as moche as þei mowe · amende alle synful

Aren peres with þe apostles · þusT pardoun Piers sheweth

And at þe day of dome · atteT heigh deyse to sytte

¶ Marchauntz in þe margyne · hadden many ȝeres

Ac none a penaT & a culpa · þe Pope noldeT hem graunte

For þei holde nouȝt her halida[y]T · as holicherche techeth

And for þei swere by her soule · andT so god mosteT hem helpe

Aȝein clene conscience · her catel to selle

¶ Ac vnder his secret seel · treuthe sent hem a lettre

That þey shulde bugge boldely · þat hem best likedT

And sithenes selle it aȝein · and saue þe wynny[n]geT

And amende mesondieux þere-[with]T · and myseyse folke helpe

And wikked wayes · wiȝtlich hemT amende

And do bote to brugges [·] þat to-broke were

Marien maydenes · or maken hem nonnes

Pore peple and prisounes · fynden hem here fode

And sette scoleres to scole · or to sommeT other craftes

Releue Religioun · and renten hem bettere

TAnd I shal sende ȝow my-selue · seynt Michel myn archangel

Þat no deuel shal ȝow dere · ne fere ȝow in ȝowre deying

And witen ȝow fro wanhope · if ȝe wil þus worche

And sende ȝowre sowles in safte · to my seyntes in ioye

¶ Þanne were Marchauntz mery · many weptenT for ioye

And preyseden Pieres þe plowman · þat purchaced þis bulle

[¶]T Men of lawe lest pardoun haddeT [·] þat pleteden for Mede

For þe sauter saueth hem nouȝte · such as taketh ȝiftes

And namelich of innocentz [·] þat none yuel neT kunneth

Super innocentem munera non accipiesT

TPledoures shulde peynen hem · to plede for such anT helpe

Prynces and prelates · shulde paye for her trauaille

A regibus & pryncipibus erit merces eorum

¶ Ac many a iustice an iuroure · wolde for Iohan do more

Þan pro dei pietate · leue þow none other

TAc he þat spendeth his speche [·] and spekeþ for þe pore

Þat is Innocent and nedy · and no man appeireth

ConfortethT hym in þat cas · with-oute coueytise of ȝiftes

And scheweth lawe for owre lordes loue · as he it hath lerned

Shal no deuel at his ded-dayT · deren hym a myte

Þat he ne worth sauf and his sowle · þe sauter bereth witnesse

Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo &c ·

¶ Ac to bugge water ne wynde · ne witte ne fyre þe fierthe

Þise foure þe fader of heuene · made to þis folde in comune

Þise ben treuthes tresores · trewe folke to helpe

Þat neuere shal wax ne wanye · with-oute god hym-selue

¶ Whan þei drawen on to deyeT · and Indulgences wolde haue

H[is] pardoun is ful petit · at h[is]T partyng hennes

Þat anyT Mede of mene men [·] for her motyng taketh

ȜeT legistres and lawyeres · holdeth þis for treuthe

Þat ȝif þat I lye · Mathew is to blame

For he bad me make ȝow þis · and þis prouerbe me tolde

Quodcumque vultis vt faciant vobis homines · facite eis

¶ Alle lybbyng laboreres · þat lyuen with her hondes

Þat trewlich taken · and trewlich wynnen

And lyuen in loue and in lawe · for her lowe hert[e]T

Haueth þe same absolucioun · þat sent was to peres

¶ Beggeres ne bidderes · ne beth nouȝte in þe bulle

But if þe suggestioun be soth · þat shapeth hemT to begge

For he þat beggeth or bit · but if he haue nede

He is fals with þe fende · and defraudeth þe nedy

And also he gilethT þe gyuer [·] ageines his wilT

For if he wist he were nouȝte nedy · he wolde ȝiue þat an other

Þat were more ned[ier]T þan he · so þe nediest shuld be hulpe

Catoun kenneth menT þus · and þe clerke of þeT stories

Cui des videto · is catounes techyng

And in þe stories he techeth · to bistowe þyn almes

Sit elemosinaT in manu tua donec studes cui des

¶ Ac Gregori wasT a gode man · and bad vs gyuen alle

Þat asketh for his loue · þat vs alle leneth

Non eligas cui miserearis · ne forte pretereas illum qui meretur accipere

Quia incertum est pro quo deumT magis placeas

¶ For wite ȝe neuere who is worthi · ac god wote who hath nede

InT hym þat taketh is þeT treccherye · if any tresoun walke

For he þat ȝiuethT ȝeldeth · and ȝarketh hym to reste

And he þat biddeth borweth · and bryngeth hym-self in dette

ForT beggeres borwen euermo · and her borgh is god almyȝti

To ȝelden hem þat ȝiueth hem · and ȝet vsure more

Quare non dedisti peccuniam meam ad mensam vt ego veniens [& cetera]T ·

¶ For-þi biddeth nouȝt ȝe beggeres · but if ȝe haue gret nedeT

For who-so hath to buggen hym bred · þe boke bereth witnesse

He hath ynough þat hath bred ynough · þough he haue nouȝt elles

Satis diues est qui non indiget pane

¶ Late vsage be ȝowre solace · of seyntes lyues redyng

Þe boke banneth beggarie · and blameth hemT in þis manere

Iunior fui etenim senui · et non vidi iustum derelictum nec semen eius &cT

¶T For ȝeT lyue in no loue · ne no lawe holde

Many of ȝowT ne wedde nouȝt · þe wommenT þat ȝe with delen

But as wilde bestis with wehe · worthen vppe and worchen

And bryngeth forth barnes · þat bastardes men calleth

Or þe bakke or some bone · he breketh in hisT ȝouthe

AT sitthe gon faiten with ȝoureT fauntes · for euermore after

Þere is moo mysshape peple · amongeT þise beggeres

Þan of alle maner men · þat on þis molde walketh

[Þo]T þat lyue þus here lyf · mowe lothe þe tyme

Þat euere he was manT wrouȝt · whan he shal hennes fare

¶ Ac olde men & hore · þat helplees ben of strengthe

And women with childe · þat worche ne mowe

Blynde and bedered · and broken her membres

Þat taketh þis myschiefT mekelych · as meseles and othere

Han as pleyne pardoun [·] as þe plowman hym-self

For loue of her lowe hertis · owre lorde hath hem graunted

Here penaunce and here purgatorie · here [vp]onT þis erthe

¶ Pieres quod a prest þo · þi pardoun most I rede

For I [shal]T construe eche clause · and kenne it þe on englich

¶ And pieres at his preyere · þe pardoun vnfoldeth

And I bihynde hem bothe · bihelde al þe bulle

Al in two lynes it lay · and nouȝt a leef more

And was writen riȝt þus · in witnesse of treuthe

Et qui bona egerunt ibunt in vitam eternam

Qui vero mala in ignem eternum ·

¶ Peter quod þe prest þo · I can no pardoun fynde

But dowel and haue wel · and god shal haue þi sowle

And do yuel and haue yuel · hope þow non other

ÞatT after þi ded-dayT · þe deuel shal haue þi sowle

¶ And pieres for pure tene · pulled it atweyne

And seyde si ambulauero in medio vmbre mortis · non timebo mala quoniam tu mecum es

¶ I shal cessen of my sowyng quod pieres · and swynk nouȝt so harde

Ne about my bely-ioye · so bisi be namore

Of preyers and of penaunceT · my plow shal ben her-after

And wepen whan I shulde slepe · þough whete bred me faille

¶ Þe prophete his payn ete · in penaunce and in sorwe

By þat þe sauter seith · so dede other manye

Þat loueth god lelly · his lyflode is ful esy

Fuerunt michi lacrime mee · panes die ac nocte

¶ And but if Luke lye · he lereth vs bi foulesT

We shulde nouȝt be to bisy · aboute þe worldes blisse

Ne solliciti sitis · he seyth in þe gospel

And sheweth vs bi ensamples · vs-selue to wisse

Þe foules onT þe felde · who fynt hem mete atT wynter

Haue þei no gernere to go to · but god fynt hem alle

¶ What quod þe prest to perkyn · peter as me þinketh

Þow art lettred a litel · who lerned þe on boke

¶ Abstinence þe abbesseT quod pieres · myne abc me tauȝte

And conscience come afterward · and kenned me moche more

¶ Were þow a prest pieres quod he · þow miȝte preche where þow sholdestT

As deuynour inT deuynyte · with dixit insipiens to þi teme

¶ Lewed lorel quod Pieres · litel lokestow on þeT bible

OnT salomones sawes · selden þow biholdest

EcceT derisores et iurgia cum eis ne crescant &c

¶ Þe prest and perkyn · apposeden eyther other

And I þorw here wordes awoke · and waited aboute

And seighe þe sonne in þe south [·] sitte þat tyme

Metelees and monelees · on Maluerne hulles

Musyng on þis meteles · [a]T my waye ich ȝede

Many tyme þis meteles · hath maked me to studye

Of þat I seigh slepyng · if it so be myȝte

And also for peres þe plowman · ful pensyf in herte

And which a pardoun peres hadde · alle þe peple to conforte

And how þe prest impugned it [·] with two propre wordes

Ac I haue no sauoure in songewarie · for I se it ofte faille

Catoun and canonistres · conseilleth vs to leue

To sette sadnesse in songewarie · for sompnia ne cures

¶ Ac for þe boke bibleT · bereth witnesse

How danyel deuyned · þe dremesT of a kynge

Þat was nabugodonosor · nempned of clerkis

Daniel seyde sire Kynge · þi dremelesT bitokneth

Þat vnkouth knyȝtes shul come · þi kyngdom to cleueT

Amonges lowere lordes · þi londe shal be departed

And as danyel deuyned [·] in dede it felle after

Þe kynge lese his lordship · and lower men it hadde

¶ And ioseph mette merueillously · how þe mone and þe sonne

And þe elleuene sterres · hailsed hym alle

TÞanne Iacob iugged · iosephes sweuene

Beau filtz quod his fader · for defaute we shullen

I my-self and my sones · seche þe for nede

¶ It bifel as his fader seyde · in pharaoes tyme

Þat ioseph was iustice · egipte to loken

It bifel as his fader tolde · his frendes þere hym souȝteT

And al þis maketh me · on þis meteles to þynke

¶ And how þe prest preued · no pardoun to dowel

And demed þat dowel · indulgencesT passed

Biennales and triennales · and bisschopes lettres

And how dowel at þe day of dome · is dignelich vnderfongen

And passeth al þe pardoun · of seynt petres cherche

¶T Now hath þe pope powere ·T pardoun to graunte þe peple

With-outen eny penaunce · to passen in-to heuene

Þis is owre bileue · as lettered men vs techeth

Quodcumque ligaueris super terram · erit ligatum et in celis &c ·

And so I leue lelly · lordes forbode ellis

Þat pardoun and penaunce · and preyeres don saue

Soules þat haue synned · seuene sithes dedly

Ac to trust to þise triennales · trewly me þinketh

[It]T is nouȝt so syker for þe soule · certis as is dowel

¶ For-þi I rede ȝow renkesT · þat riche ben on þis erthe

Vppon trust of ȝowre tresoure · triennales to haue

Be ȝe neuere þe balder · to breke þe x hestes

And namelich ȝe maistres · mayres and iugges

Þat han þe welthe of þis worlde · andT wyse men ben holden

To purchace ȝow pardoun · and þe popis bulles

At þe dredeful dome · whan ded shullen riseT

And comen alle bifor cryst · acountisT to ȝelde

How þow laddest þi lyf here · and his lawes keptest

And how þow dedestT day bi day · þe dome wil reherce

A pokeT ful of pardoun þere · ne prouinciales lettres

Theigh ȝe be founde in þe fraternete · of alle þe foure / fyueT ordres

And haue indulgences double-folde · butT dowel ȝow help

I sette ȝowre patentes and ȝowre pardou[n]T [·] at one pies hele

¶ For-þi I conseille alle cristene · to crye god mercy

And Marie his moder · be owre mene bitwene

Þat god gyue vs grace here · ar we gone hennes

Suche werkes to werche · whileT we ben here

Þat after owre deth-day · dowel reherce

At þe day of dome · we dede as he hiȝte

Bx.7.1: he: Omitted in CrHmGO and inserted in L. The support of MWC and alpha establishes it for Bx, though it is omitted in AC.↩

Bx.7.12: felawes: The plural is supported by LMG and alpha.↩

Bx.7.14: bothe lawes: So alpha and WHmCr (beta2), supported by Ax Bisshopis þat blissen & boþe lawes kenne (K.8.13). However LM and beta4 (GOC) read bothe þe lawes, which could be right.↩

Bx.7.16: þus: LM and alpha, against þis in others.↩

Bx.7.17: atte: "at the", as in all beta mss. except M with at. R also has at, with F reading on. MR could be right. Ax reads instead at here deis.↩

Bx.7.19: none a pena: Beta is supported by Ax; alpha's no pena is shared with the X family of C; the P family has a pena.↩

Bx.7.19: nolde: Following the negative in the a-verse, Bx has a second negative in the b-verse, either nolde in beta or wald nauȝt (F wille not) in alpha. Many A mss. also have nolde. C mss. have wolde or nolde depending on whether they include or omit no in the a-verse.↩

Bx.7.20: haliday: The distributive sg. of M and alpha is more likely to have given rise to the plural than vice versa. AC show similar variation.↩

Bx.7.21: by her soule and: Replaced in alpha by ofte, but supported by AC and by alliteration.↩

Bx.7.21: moste: Omitted by M and alpha, but supported by AC.↩

Bx.7.24: liked: The beta reading, against the present in alpha. Cx supports the past tense; A mss. are divided. In the context of present-tense verbs, the past tense is more likely to have given rise to the present.↩

Bx.7.25: wynnynge: Beta's distributive sg. is shared with most A mss., while most C mss. have alpha's plural.↩

Bx.7.26: þere-with: The alpha reading is supported by the AC versions. Beta's þere-myde is perhaps prompted by the alliteration. For similar variation in this situation, cf. Bx.5.77 and note, 6.67 (= RK.8.68), 6.161 (= K.7.145 and RK.8.155), 15.144. There appears to be no settled pattern.↩

Bx.7.27: hem: Supported for Bx by LMHmO and alpha; dropped in others. Yet Ax has to; Cx rewrites.↩

Bx.7.31: somme: Omitted in alpha, but supported by Ax and required by alliteration.↩

Bx.7.33: Alpha has a paraph.↩

Bx.7.37: Marchauntz mery · many wepten: Beta is supported by AC against alpha's manye marchauntz . þat wopen.↩

Bx.7.39: ¶: The spacing in LM indicates that a paraph was intended, as in WHmC.↩

Bx.7.39: hadde: The line ended here in alpha, with F filling out this line, and both RF independently supplying a b-verse for the next line.↩

Bx.7.41: ne: Supported by LWCrG and alpha against omission in others.↩

Bx.7.42: The Latin line, omitted by alpha, appears in A. The passage is revised in C.↩

Bx.7.43: The paraph in WHmC is perhaps prompted by the Latin line above, though R also begins a line group.↩

Bx.7.43: an: "and". Cf. l. 46.↩

Bx.7.48: WHmC begin with a paraph, and R begins a new line group, as at l. 43.↩

Bx.7.50: Conforteth: Alpha begins And conforteth, but beta is supported by Ax.↩

Bx.7.52: ded-day: LCGR have this form, though the usual form is deþ-day. Cf. l. 127.↩

Bx.7.59: on to deye: LMWCrG have the verb; HmO and R have the noun deþ. F's to þe deþ is also the reading of Cx. Drawen to (þe) deþ is common (MED drauen 3b (a)), but note Cleanness 1329 drawes to dyȝe.↩

Bx.7.60: His ... his: In the a-verse R shares the sg, with beta4, but only R has the sg. in the b-verse. However Cx has the sg. in both cases. (Ax also has a sg. pronoun, but the context is different, K.8.59.) The plural pronouns are obviously attracted to the pronouns of the surrounding lines, providing the motive for beta and F independently to rationalise.↩

Bx.7.61: any: Omitted only by R, but it is not in Cx. Ax supports the reading of all other mss.↩

Bx.7.62: Ȝe: Beta is supported by Ax against alpha's Þe. (KD report R's Þe and þe in this line as Ȝe and ȝe.)↩

Bx.7.68: herte: Alpha's distributive sg. is supported by many A mss. There is no parallel in C. Cf. l. 20, 10.420.↩

Bx.7.71: hem: R's hym is also the reading of the X family of C; the P family and Ax support beta's plural.↩

Bx.7.74: gileth: R's reading is supported by AC. The form is less common than bigileth (elsewhere only 20.125 in Bx, where HmO read bi-). We assume that beta and F alter to the commoner form, as on several other occasions in this passage.↩

Bx.7.74: wil: Quite possibly a miswriting for wille, as in all except LCrG, and as the word is always otherwise spelt in L. Cable (1988), 54, argues on metrical grounds that the difference is substantive.↩

Bx.7.76: nedier: For alpha's double comparative, cf. e.g. Bx.11.165 (passage in alpha only) and 15.206. M here reads nediere with -ere erased.↩

Bx.7.77: men: Beta2 and GO read me. The line is not in AC.↩

Bx.7.77: þe (2): Established for Bx by LM and alpha, but omitted by beta1.↩

Bx.7.80: elemosina: LM and alpha against elemosina tua in others. See Alford (1992), 54. F follows with a line of its own. The passage to l. 96 is not in AC.↩

Bx.7.81: was: R has is; F rewrites.↩

Bx.7.84: deum: This is clearly the Bx reading. M corrects deum to deo, in line with the reading of WHmG. For the quotation see Alford (1992), 54-5.↩

Bx.7.86: In: R has Alle in, and F For in.↩

Bx.7.86: þe: Omitted by alpha, perhaps correctly.↩

Bx.7.87: ȝiueth: KD (p. 145) explain alpha's ȝift as "variation through misreading of an -eth suspension". It might also be noted that MED yeven records syncopated forms ending -th and -t.↩

Bx.7.89: For: Alpha's Forthi perhaps anticipates Bx.7.92.↩

Bx.7.91: veniens & cetera: So M. L ends veniens cum vsuris exigerem, but the variant readings suggest that scribes expanded an abbreviated quotation from Luke 19.23. Alford (1992), 55.↩

Bx.7.92: gret nede: Established for Bx by LMR as well as beta2. The others omit the adjective.↩

Bx.7.97: hem: Omitted by beta4. F rewrites.↩

Bx.7.98: semen eius &c: So LW; M ends with derelictum &c, R with iustum. CrHmCOF complete the verse from Psalm 36.25, ... nec semen eius querens panem &c. Evidently scribes expanded a familiar quotation, as in l. 91.↩

Bx.7.99: ¶: The paraph in LWHm (with a new line-group in M), though not alpha, is appropriate.↩

Bx.7.99: ȝe: AC have third person in this passage (K.8.72-3, RK.9.167). Bennett (1972), 221, explains that the following lines "represent an attempt to return to the original theme from which 71-88 [Bx.7.75-97] (new in B) are a digression. The digression has involved the use of the 2nd person, which is retained up to 94, though the original 3rd person forms are kept in 93 [Bx.7.103]". Though all B mss. have second person here, except for F which alters to beggeres, the situation is more complicated than Bennett suggests, since scribes altered to bring the pronouns into line. See notes to ll. 100, 103, 104.↩

Bx.7.100: of ȝow: As in the previous line, F alters, reading man, and consequently adopting sg. womman in the b-verse. See next note.↩

Bx.7.100: wommen: The plural is supported by LMR as well as CrG. A mss. vary (K.8.73); Cx has the plural in a revised line (RK.9.168).↩

Bx.7.103: he ... his: Beta has sg. pronouns, but alpha has plural. A mss. have his bak, his bon and his ȝouþe, but rather oddly many have þei rather than he at the beginning of the b-verse. Cx brings the pronouns into line with the surrounding plurals.↩

Bx.7.104: A: "And".↩

Bx.7.104: ȝoure: Beta represents Bx's half-hearted attempt to put the passage into the second person; see note to l. 99. O and alpha resolve the difficulty by altering back to third person, thus aligning with AC.↩

Bx.7.105: amonge: WMO and alpha have the form in -es. Either could be Bx. AC mss. also vary.↩

Bx.7.107: Þo: R only, but supported by AC. F adds For, while beta has And þei.↩

Bx.7.108: he was man: Beta2 reads þei were men, but this is not supported by Ax.↩

Bx.7.112: þis myschief: The sg. is established for Bx by agreement of LMR (F myssese) and Ax, though Cx has the plural.↩

Bx.7.115: vpon: In AC the b-verse reads vpon þis pur erþe. Bx has lost the alliterating adjective. R retains vpon, the alpha reading which F garbles, while beta reads on.↩

Bx.7.117: shal: Alpha's reading expressing necessity (cf. most in the line above) is more appropriate than the volition expressed by beta's wil. Most A mss. support alpha. Cx has can (RK.9.282).↩

Bx.7.127: Þat: LM and alpha, supported by Ax. Other beta mss. have But. Lines 127-52 are not in C.↩

Bx.7.127: ded-day: LCG have this form, though the usual form is deþ-day. Cf. note to l. 52 where R also has the form.↩

Bx.7.132: penaunce: For variation with and without <-s>, see note to Bx.14.211.↩

Bx.7.138: bi foules: "(instructs us) by birds"; so beta, anticipating ll. 142-3. Alpha's line means "Unless Luke lies or teaches us to be fools", which cannot be the sense intended. Schmidt accepts beta's he in place of alpha's or, and alpha's foles in place of beta's foules, and this indeed makes sense in reference to Luke's fool as the man who tells his soul to rest now he has laid up treasure for it: "Dixit autem illi Deus: Stulte, hac nocte animam tuam repetunt a te. ... Nolite solliciti esse animae quid manducetis" (Luke 12.20, 22, abbreviated in l. 140). See Schmidt (1995), 376-7. It is worth noting, however, that leren is followed by a to infin. in the closest parallel "alle he lered to be lele" (Bx.19.256). A is no help, with the variant readings by foules, by birdes, be folis, to ben foles. We retain copy-text.↩

Bx.7.142: on: Choice is difficult. The LM reading is generally reliable for beta. R's of may represent alpha, but F has in as do the remainder of the beta mss. The situation is further complicated by the apparent corruption of Bx; the gospel has volatilia caeli (Matt. 6.26), which Ax translates as foulis in þe firmament (K.8.115), suggesting that on þe felde is a Bx error prompting scribes to improve. We follow copy-text.↩

Bx.7.142: at: Supported by LMWCOR against the repetition of in in CrHmF, even though A mss. have either in or a.↩

Bx.7.146: þe abbesse: Lost in alpha but supported by Ax and necessary for the alliteration.↩

Bx.7.148: sholdest: The beta reading. R's woldest is perhaps easier; F revises. Ax has þe likide.↩

Bx.7.149: in: G and alpha have of, perhaps rightly. Cf. of diuinite Maistres (Bx.15.396). There is no parallel in Ax.↩

Bx.7.150: þe: Supported by Ax. R's þi is perhaps prompted by þi in the same position in the line above.↩

Bx.7.151: On: Beta is supported by Ax against R's And (F rewrites).↩

Bx.7.152: Ecce: The reading of all A and most B mss. OF "correct" to Eice (KD mistranscribe MR as Eice). For this line from Prov. 22.10, "Eiice ['eject'] derisores ...", see Alford (1992), 57.↩

Bx.7.157: a: "on": Since AC read a myle wey, we conjecture that R's a my wey, supported by M's on my way, represents the corrupt Bx, understood as and my waye by most scribes, and characteristically expanded by F to as y my way.↩

Bx.7.166: þe boke bible: This rather odd expression, altered by HmCGOF, is confirmed by Cx and paralleled by Bx.10.93, though Ax reads þe bible.↩

Bx.7.167: dremes: Some A mss. have the sg. as in WHmR. The X family of C has the plural, the P family has dremels (as in l. 169).↩

Bx.7.169: dremeles: "dream-vision" (sg. or pl.). A word only recorded in Langland. As in Bx.13.14 (where F is absent), CrHmCF corrupt to dremes.↩

Bx.7.170: cleue: LMGO against easier cleyme in beta2 and C, and hence the beta reading. Alpha has reue, but the sense of cleue is continued in departed in the next line, and confirmed by Daniel 5.28, "divisum est regnum tuum". Yet all A mss. except one have cleyme. Probably the comparative difficulty of cleue (MED cleven v.(2), 4, "break up, dismember") led scribes to alter it. The line is not in C.↩

Bx.7.176: W and Alpha here have a paraph.↩

Bx.7.181: þere hym souȝte: R has the order hym þere souȝte, and F has sowtyn þere. In Cx the equivalent b-verse is hym for nede souhte (RK.9.316).↩

Bx.7.184: indulgences: CR's indulgence may also be plural. See note to Bx.3.23 and variants in l. 209.↩

Bx.7.188-96: ¶: O omits the paragraph.↩

Bx.7.188: RM punctuate the line after pardoun, reflecting uncertainty over the very heavy b-verse which F abbreviates.↩

Bx.7.196: It: Alpha's resumed subject is perhaps more likely to have been lost than added. A and C also vary, though It is supported by the X family of C.↩

Bx.7.197: renkes: Alpha has no difficulty with the seven other instances of renk.↩

Bx.7.201: and: Alpha supported by AC over and for in LMWHmCr.↩

Bx.7.208: rise: LW and alpha, against arise in others. Most C mss. have the former, most A mss. the latter.↩

Bx.7.204: acountis: Alpha begins the b-verse with and, but this is not supported by AC.↩

Bx.7.206: dedest: Beta's past tense is supported by AC against alpha's present.↩

Bx.7.207: poke: For R's form pouhȝ see MED pough(e, but both forms derive from OE pohha. R's less common form is paralleled among A mss. by V powhe, and among C mss. by X pouhe.↩

Bx.7.208: foure / fyue: Ax supports beta and F with foure, but R has fyue. Here and twice elsewhere (RK.8.191, 9.344, 15.80) Cx refers to the five mendicant orders (the usual four plus the crutched friars). Probably R represents a revision, with F reverting to the more usual number of orders.↩

Bx.7.209: but: Alpha is supported by AC against beta's but if.↩

Bx.7.210: pardoun: The sg. is supported by Cx; L's plural is the result of a later correction. F omits the line.↩

Bx.7.214: while: Beta is supported by Ax and the P family of C. The X family, however, has þe while as alpha.↩