copyright 2000 by SEENET
CD-ROM edition first published in 2000 by
The University of Michigan Press
for The Society for Early English
and Norse Electronic Texts
Web edition first published in 2014 by
The Society for Early English and
Norse Electronic Texts
www.seenet.org
S. xiv/xv. The texts are all in one hand, the English in Anglicana
Formata, and an enlarged and somewhat formalised version of this as the
display script for Latin lines, Latin words within English lines and for
the Latin incipits in red. George Kane and E. Talbot Donaldson compare
the hand of the Ellesmere manuscript,
147 vellum leaves (with two paper leaves at head and two at end). On iir
(the second paper leaf) is written in a hand of the 17th century: In this volume are
Piers Plowman
A Treatise on Sin
The first of these titles is repeated on iiv and the second at the
top of 131r.
There are two booklets, as follows:
Doyle2 and H) see the edition by S. J. Ogilvie-Thomson
(1988),
The binding is tight, but there are thick binding stubs of about six leaves dividing the two booklets (between fols. 130 and 131) and after fols. 16, 40, 64, 88 and 112 to gather groups of quires. The collation can be determined from the catchwords at the ends of quires 1-16 and 18, thus on the versos of fols. 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88, 96, 104, 112, 120, 128, 138, boxed in red with some highlighting in red. Modern quire and folio numbers are in pencil.
1-168, 172 (ending at fol. 130, a
booklet boundary), 188, 1910
(lacks 10).
Quires, folios and divisions of text correspond as follows:
Overall 290 x 190mm. The leaves have been cropped with some loss of marginalia (e.g. fols. 24v, 25v, 26v) and occasionally text (e.g. fols. 67v, 78r, 115r). There is no loss in the gutter, notwithstanding the apparent loss in a few of the photographs. Fol. 1r has dark stains at the edges from binding and is rubbed in the left margin leaving some text very faint but legible. Fols. 3-4 are creased down the centre. Otherwise the manuscript is in excellent condition.
Fols. 1r-130v (
The main body of English text is written in Anglicana Formata similar in
its features to that of the Hengwrt-Ellesmere scribe.
For headings and Latin lines the scribe uses a larger and bolder version
of this script, with more or less of the broken minims and angled
strokes characteristic of Bastard Anglicana.
The <a> nearly always has a double compartment, and the
single-compartment secretary version is very rarely used (fol. 24r,
W5.64 "garte"
<D> may be an enlargement of the small letter (fol. 5v, W1.28
"Dide"
<H> is usually distinguished from <h> by a loop through the
ascender and sometimes a looped tail (fol. 18v, W3.319 "Huntynge"
<M> is quite often used within the line. It is distinguished from
<m> by a final tail curving to the left, though there may be no
distinction in size. For several clear examples, see fol. 22v, e.g.
W4.162
Long <r>
Long <s>
<T>
The forms of <y> and <þ> are quite distinct, since the
descender of <y> has a pronounced curve, so that the dot often
written above it is unnecessary. The dot over <y> may take the
form of a large curl (e.g. on fol. 56r "gilty" W10.271,littera notabilior
There are often flourishes on final <-c>,
There is very little correction by the scribe. A few miswritten words are neatly erased with corrections overwritten, and missing words are occasionally inserted, see e.g. W20.60, W20.146. There is no subpunction, and there are no words crossed through, although at W19.156 a wrongly placed punctus has a line through it.
The largest textual division of
Each passus begins with a large ornamental capital. On fol. 1r is a fine
illuminated capital "I" of 10 lines (70mm) with a vinet.
The Latin lines or words are enlarged and usually enclosed in a box of
red ink (W13.252 and 259 on fol. 77r
The prose
The lyric "Crist made to man a fair present" begins a third of the way down the second column of fol. 147r, with a space between it and the end of the
Each line of
A nota
In the prose
A number of different hands contribute marginalia and other additions.
(i) In the right margin of fol. 1r a fifteenth-century scribe has written
names which are partly legible, of which "vont" or "bont," "John" and
"Rychard" are clear. The same hand has written "Jon Ryc" on fol. 87r
between W15.44-5. At least some of the many scribbles at the end of the
manuscript (fol. 147v) may be in the same hand, trying out different
scripts, some quoting the text on that page, including "Sum be
<...> and fyn," "loue thy nebur loue," "And loue in loue shal (or shill) make fyn Amen," "Soo muhe," and finally "low
wher y ly my mother ys schilde and lytyll or nothyng y ywe."
(ii) On fol. 4r (against WP.195),
(iii) At the foot of fol. 1v a contemporary hand has written "And heppyd
stanys" (smudged),
(iv) On fol. 32r a hand not much later than the text hand has copied
W5.494 immediately below that line, in a darker ink that has blotted
onto the facing page.
(v) On fol. 56r a hand perhaps of the later fifteenth century has written
an underlined "no(ta)" against W10.274 and 280.notae
(vi) On fol. 77r (against W13.271) a sixteenth-century hand has written
"Stratford" in the right margin,
(vii) Other unidentifiable marginalia are on fol. 37v to the left of
W6.154 a post-medieval "no(ta),"
(viii) Also unidentifiable is the hand (or hands) responsible for the
numerous notaenotaenotae
The binding is seventeenth-century leather, with on the front and back the arms of George Willmer, viz. between a chevron three eagles' heads between two wings expanded, surmounted by a crest of an eagle's head as in the arms, and the motto "Expertus Credo." The binding has five stations, with a bookplate of the arms of Trinity College on the inside front cover. The endleaves ii and 147b have a chalice watermark. There is a parchment binding stub inside the front and back cover from a fourteenth-century Latin document mentioning the name "Huysshe" frequently, as well as "Elizabeth vx<..>," "Johannem Eynsshe," and the place-names "Ludwell" and "Gaynsford." On the stubs bound in between fols. 130-1 is a fragment of a fifteenth-century English text in a hand of the late fifteenth/early sixteenth century, of which "towards the said Mr Fellowes & <...>ollen the said Samuell" can be read.
The manuscript was given to the college by George Willmer, JP for
Middlesex, a major benefactor to Trinity College, who died in 1626.
We have expanded the scribe's regular abbreviations and suspensions.
Resolved abbreviations appear in italics, or as roman characters where
italics are used for Bastard Anglicana script. In English words the
scribe uses a superscript <t> in þ(a)tw(i)t(h),c(ri)stenet(ra)uaille.walsyngh(a)m (W5.231).þ(er)tov(er)tue,faito(ur)s.p(er)ilsP(ar)doners;p(ro)phetes,P(re)ntices (W3.226),p(re)sent (W4.97).s(er)uen.virtutu(m)wo(m)men,felou(n).l(ett)res is indicated by a bar
through <l> (W4.134);sp(irit)ualte
It is not always easy to distinguish between meaningful abbreviations and
meaningless ornamentation. Loops and curls on final letters are
notoriously difficult to interpret. In particular, there are the
flourishes on final <-c>,
We have taken final <r> with a curl to represent <re>, as
often in your(e)youre, only once your-self (W2.39)), or in nouns with <-er> suffix which are
elsewhere spelt <-ere>, such as leder(e),lyer(e),maker(e),Robber(e).
Final <g> sometimes has a short horizontal stroke, and sometimes,
especially after the ending <-yng>, it has a loop that is often
quite pronounced, and even bigger than the <g> itself (e.g. W4.182
on fol. 22vbrugg(e) (W5.611)segg(e) (W20.309),segge
both noun and verb, iugge, ligge,
sigge, etc.).brugg to brugg(e)
(KD5.592), and segg to seg(e)
(KD20.310).long is
never written with looped <-g>. In the indefinite singular
declension it is written long;longe.
Similarly, monosyllabic nouns ending in a consonant may have an
inflexional ending <-e> for a dative singular.kyng. It is
written 89x with <-g> without loop, and on several of these
occasions it is dependent on a preposition so that a dative <-e>
would be an option. There are five examples of kynge
with final <-e> (W3.171, 3.189, 4.45, 4.100, 4.187), and on every
occasion the ending can be accounted for as a dative. The fifteen
examples of kyng with looped <-g> follow
exactly the same pattern as if the <-g> were not looped; it is
prepositional in six cases (W3.2, 3.121, 3.231, 4.131, 5.12, 7.167), and
non-prepositional in nine cases (W1.49, 2.37, 3.105, 3.188, 4.3, 4.46,
4.190, 7.169, 15.455). The spelling of þyng is never
with <-e>, 35 times with <-g> without loop, and three times
with looped <-g>, two of them explicable as datives (W15.113,
17.287; contrast W10.219). On fol. 18r the name Agag
is first written with a final <-g> that has a horizontal stroke
rather than a loop (W3.267),brugg(e) in W5.611 and segg(e) in W20.309.
We can find no significance in the loops and downward strokes on final
<-c>, <-d>, <-k> and <-t>. Looped <-t>
often occurs at the end of Latin words, for example in third-person
endings of verbs, such as facitnutriuitBaptist (W10.427). The downward stroke on <-c> is
used for Marc on all six occasions; it is used for
Luc on three out of five; in neither case, or in
other cases where the stroke is used, are there occasions where the
scribe has also written <-ce>.
Final <-p> occasionally has a tilde above it,scipe) might suggest significance:
felaweshipe: twice
<-pe>, twice <-p> with tilde.
lordshipe: 15x
<-pe>.
werkmanshipe: thrice <-pe>, once <-p> with tilde.
And yet worshipe
(n.): once <-pe>, once <-p> with tilde, once <-p> with
no tilde.ship (OE scip) occurs twice with a tilde where it is historically otiose
and four times without. Bisshop (OE biscop) is never spelt with <-pe>, but twelve times with a
tilde, and three times without. The <-p> with tilde is found once
on sharp (W20.305) where the <-e> is not wanted
since the adjective is indefinite sg.; of the two appearances of sharpe, the first (W18.41) is adverbial and the second
(W18.424) is plural. It seems, therefore, unlikely that the tilde over
<-p> was a meaningful sign on any occasion, and so it has not been
marked in the text.Bisshop, WP.80 bisshop, WP.83 Bisshop, W2.209 felawship, W3.333 ship, W3.359 worship, W5.89 warp, W5.301 Bisshop, W5.371 warp, W6.152 bisshop, W10.308 werkmanship, W10.316 Anheep, W10.412
ship, W11.18 yeep, W11.24 felawship, W11.305 bisshop, W11.319
bisshop, W13.132 sop, W15.41 bisshop, W15.143 bisshop, W15.467 bisshop, W20.305 sharp, W20.318 bisshop, W20.326 bisshop.
There are twelve instances of final <-ll>, which is always written
with a bar through it.alle and one
all with barred <-ll>, indicating that in this
instance at least the bar signifies <-e>; there are three examples
of apparaill with barred <-ll>apparaille, while
the other eight instances of barred <-ll> are of words that are
not found with <-lle>. We have expanded to <-ll(e)> in all
cases.
Barred <-h> is used frequently in the ending <-ssh>,fressh would be expected to end in <-e> in the definite
declension, as indeed it does in wiþ þi fresshe blood
(W5.507); the three other examples are all of the indefinite adjective,
of a fressh ryuer where the <-h> is not barred
(W15.342), if it be fressh flessh, where the first
<-h> is barred (W6.317), and For fressh flessh ouþer
fissh, where the <-h> of fressh is not
barred but the other two are (W15.442). The bar on englissh might indicate the old dative in phrases like on englissh(e); however, when the phrase occurs twice in
a row: on englissh / In englissh
(W14.281-2), the <-h> is barred on the first occasion and unbarred
on the second. We conclude that when the scribe needs the <-e> he
writes it out; thus all cases of plural "such" and "which" are written
as swiche and whiche. We have
therefore not expanded barred final <-h>, but medially we have
interpreted it as an abbreviation in Ioh(a)n and in
the standard brevigraphs for IesuIesus.
Common Latin words are often radically abbreviated. Thus Christuscontradominusfratrehabeoomnisquodquoquesimilis
For a somewhat fuller and less discursive list of abbreviations and
suspensions used by the scribe,
We have not distinguished allographic forms, such as the three forms of
<s>,lene instead of leue. The letter
<z> has been printed for yogh in words such as artz, baptize and dozeyne,
though the scribe has only one form for both values.
Our capitalisation follows the scribal use of litterae notabilioreslittera notabilior
We have recorded the marginal notae
The word-division of the manuscript is followed as far as practicable,
though no attempt is made to represent the variety of spacing between
words and letters. The interpretation of the scribe's word division,
though it is generally unambiguous, is occasionally a matter of fine
judgment. The scribe has a category of half-way house, in which a single
word is written in two sections, with what might be interpreted as a
very small space between them. This is usually the case with one-letter
prefixes such as <a-> and the <y-> of the past participle.
There is an example of this ambiguous division in ywroȝt in the last line of fol. 49r,dowel, dobet and dobest (see W8.122-4, fol. 47r
Scribal punctuation is retained. For the most part this is entirely regular, consisting of a punctus to mark the half-line, with the occasional virgule or punctus elevatus, particularly in Latin lines.
The few insertions are recorded as such (e.g. W10.102, W13.259). Erasures made by scraping the parchment are recorded where they are certain (e.g. W1.27 and W19.445). Annotations by later hands are marked with a codicological note.
The boxing and enlarged script of a word within an English line is often
an indication that the scribe (or, of course, his exemplar) took the
word or phrase to be non-English, and we have been able to use this as a
guide in the very imprecise process of determining whether to insert a
"FOREIGN" tag. But it is only a guide.Dieu saue dame Emmedame
Emme had occurred on its own, even if boxed and enlarged, we would
not have described it as "foreign". The boxing of transgressores
Using SGML markup and four different style sheets in the Multidoc Pro
browser, we offer four different views of the text of W. The Scribal
style sheet represents as closely as possible the readings and features
of the manuscript text. Changes of script are reflected by changes in
font. The Middle English text's Anglicana Formata is represented in
roman letters while the Bastard Anglicana of the Latin and emphasized
text is printed in italics. Changes of ink color in the original are
reflected in the displayed text. We represent the scribe's habit of
accentuating various bits of text by enclosing it in a red box by
printing the text so enclosed in red ink inside a black box. The browser
does not permit us to display the text in black and the box in red.
Scribal lapses are noted by means of purple ink. We have used
<SIC> tags to indicate those instances in which we take the scribe
not to have written what he intended to write, but we have ignored
readings the scribe might reasonably be interpreted as having intended.
For instance, at W5.264, the scribe wrote nonsensical bu where he intended to write but. We print bu, but flag it with purple. However, the probably
erroneous lection, at least in relation to the B
archetype, prechede for prayed is
not so marked in W5.43, though a textual note calls attention to this
unique reading in W. Eccentric word divisions, e. g. atones for at ones, or anhundred for an hundred are spelled out as
written but in lime to call attention to them. We have represented the
marginal notae
The Critical style sheet is designed to indicate what we believe the
scribe intended to have written. Emendations displayed in the Critical
style sheet appear in the conventional square brackets. Since the text
displayed in the Critical style sheet is a reconstructed, putative text,
it lacks the color features that appear in the more nearly diplomatic
transcriptions of the manuscript. We conventionally use italics for
Latin and French words and phrases in this style sheet. We have supplied
line references to the Athlone B-text both for the convenience of
readers and to provide a basis for later machine collation of
documentary texts. Eccentric word divisions are silently, at least in
the surface display, corrected in this style sheet. That is, atones appears as at ones, though a
scholar who wishes to find all such divisions can still search for them
in the browser as well as in the underlying SGML text.
In addition to the Scribal and Critical style sheets, we have included a
Diplomatic style sheet that suppresses all notes, marginalia, and
indications of error or eccentric word division. Its text is otherwise
identical to that presented in the Scribal style sheet. The AllTags
style sheet, as its name implies, is intended to display the full
content of markup in SGML tags. In this style sheet alone, deleted text
(where it is legible) appears within curly brackets. The brackets
contain a dash for illegible material. In this style sheet alone,
deleted text (where it is legible) appears within curly brackets. The
brackets contain a dash for illegible material. For a key to our use of
color in each style sheet, see
Three sets of annotations are provided—codicological, paleographic and textual:
(a) Codicological: These draw attention to
physical features of the manuscript, especially those which can not be
clearly interpreted from the images, and also to later additions in the
margins such as names, pointing hands and other drawings. Codicological
notes are marked by a red superscripted "C."
(b) Paleographic: These comment on letter
forms, in particular ambiguous abbreviations, curls and other features.
Paleographic notes are marked by a red superscripted "P."
(c) Textual: These notes recording unique
readings in W require more justification and explanation. Since W is a
close copy of a good witness of the beta tradition, its unique readings
are few, and they are worth recording, firstly to indicate how generally
faithful the W scribe is to his exemplar, and secondly as an aid to
understanding the text on those relatively rare occasions when W has
misread or corrupted it. Formal variants are not misreadings and are
therefore not noted. In general the test of a formal variant is that the
standard dictionaries recognise the different forms as one word. Thus
the reading at WP.24 is degised as against disgised in all other manuscripts, but both forms of the
verb are recorded in
The digital facsimile images were made from 35mm slides. Using a Nikon LS-3510 Slide Scanner attached to a Macintosh Quadra 800 running Adobe PhotoShop, we experimented with scans at input resolutions varying from 635 to 3175 dpi and output resolutions between 72 and 1000 dpi. The resulting JPEG and TIFF files varied in size from a low of 168 KB to just over 35 megabytes. It should go without saying that the largest of these files are expensive to store and slow to call to the screen and to manipulate. We found that a rational compromise between the highest and lowest grades, producing facsimiles more than adequate for most manuscript leaves, involved input resolutions of 1587 dpi, output resolutions of 500 dpi, and JPEG files of 750-1000KB.
Though the quality of most of our images represents a considerable improvement over microfilm and other traditional means of photoduplication, the images presented here reflect their creation six years ago in the spring of 1994. Readers will perhaps notice some differences in size and quality of various leaves. Some of the 1994 images were less crisp than others, and we rescanned in the fall of 1999 about two dozen slides, producing in each case both crisper images with better contrast and resolution. We considered rescanning the entire set of images, but the expense of doing so is considerable, and since the original slides lacked a means of calibration — we expect with future digital images to provide both Kodak color strips and gray scale references — we have left the original images.
The distributions of the spellings of the first four items are closely
parallel in the work of the two scribes, but there are considerable
differences in the other seven items. The influence of W's exemplar may
have prompted the scribe to use spellings that were not his own
preferential forms but were part of his "passive repertoire," that is to
say forms that were acceptable to him.
The text of Piers is thoroughly "translated" into London English, with
few obvious relict forms. Those that indicate a Western dialect
representing Langland's own are as follows:
heo for "she" occurs twice,
both in alliterating positions. See below, Linguistic Description
III.3.3.1hij for "they" occurs three
times in alliterating positions. See below, Linguistic Description
III.3.3.4fuyr, fust,
hulles, huyre. See below, Linguistic
Description III.2.1.2.13 and III.2.1.2.15
Vowel length of <a>, <e> and <o> is often marked by doubling in closed syllables. Final <-e> and <-es> are alternative signs of length.
caas (3x) ~ cas (1x); debaat (1x) ~ debate (1x); made (83x) ~ maad (16x); saaf (9x); waast (1x) ~ waste (1x).
breed (26x) ~ bred (1x);
deeþ (52x) ~ deþe (8x);
feet (8x); heed "head"
(17x)hed (5.554); the plural has /e/:
heddes 6.334, 20.186.kepe (34x) ~ keep (1x); preest (25x) ~ preestes (30x).
blood (23x); flood (8x) ~
flodes (1x); foode (10x);
goon (7x).
caste; hap; lappe.
fram (13x) ~ from (20x);
kan (67x); man (198x); wan 5.466.
hand(e) (19x) ~ hond (4x);
handes (6x) ~ hondes (5x);
hange (6x) ~ honge 17.6;
long(e) (58x) ~ lang (only
in the technical expression lang cart) 2.184;
lomb 5.570 ~ pl. lambren
15.214; stande (3x) ~ stonde (11x).
bank P.8; drank 13.64dronke
20.19 is pa. t. sg. subjunctive (OE drunke);
Kane-Donaldson's emendation of the line involves an impossible
switch of tense.sank 18.69; stank; þanked (1x) 17.88 ~ þonked (1x) 8.108; þonkyng
2.151.
The spelling is always <a> except in þonk-.
abrood 2.179; foo 9.214;
fro (61x); hole "whole"
6.61; hoot 17.208 ~ hote
P.225; lore 10.116; lowe
20.36; Ropere 5.326; soore
5.98 ~ sore 18.51; stoon
15.567 ~ stones 2.16; wroot 10.179.
blowyng 16.27; knowe (54x);
soule (85x).
box; cros (25x)croos (18.75) perhaps indicates lengthening. For
the complex history of the word see cross sb.folk; god ~ goddes "God" (never gode); lok "lock" 1.204; mosse; pecokkes; spottes.
bold(e) (8x) ~ boold (3x);
borde; gold(e); molde (6x) ~ moolde (8x); word ~ wordes.
book (29x) ~ boke (3x) ~
bokes (22x); broþer 5.475;
coom(e); doom (8x) ~ doome (1x) ~ dome (8x) ~ domes (6x); dooþ (37x); foot 5.6 ~ foote 17.106 (not
fote); good(e) "good"
(135x) (never gode); roote
(10x) ~ rootes (1x) ~ rotes (1x); tooles 10.187; tooþaches 20.81.
The spelling <oo> is usual in closed syllables; with <o> before stems followed by <-e> and <-es>.
biswonke pa. t. pl. 20.292; buttre 5.446; dronke (pa. t. pl.)
14.86; flux 5.180; ful
(93x); fulle (n.) (3x); pulle 16.76; sonne "sun" (22x); þoruȝ / Thoruȝ
(156x); wolle "wool" (2x).
The <o> spelling is used predominantly in proximity to minims.
dombe (1x) ~ doumb(e) (2x);
dore (8x); ground(e)
(16x); hound (3x); mourne
(1x) ~ moorne (1x) ~ morned; torne (2x) ~ turne (8x); wode (3x).
The <ou> spelling is an indication of length, as below.
aboute (49x); adoun (14x) ~
adown (4x); cloude 3.194;
how (90x); mous (2x); now (84x); þow (231x) ~ Thow (22x) ~ þou (2x) ~ Thou (1x).
bigge(n) "buy" (2x) ~ bugge(n) (8x) ~ buggere (1x) ~ buggynge (1x); brugges; dide; filled; fullen
10.60 is perhaps from ful adj., as
fullen
v.(1).fulle (n.) 16.11; gilt; hilles (4x) ~ hulles (2x); kyn; murie; synne.
The <y> spellings replace <i> in the proximity of
minims. The <u> ~ <uy> spellings are Western and did
not survive before nasals.
burde 3.14; kynde (115x);
mynde (11x).
fir (11x) ~ fuyr (1x); fust (10x) (never fist);hyre (3x) ~ huyre (1x); kyen "kine" 6.143; wisshe 5.112.
The <u> ~ <uy> spellings are Western.
bitter; nyme; widewe; wight.
blithe; chide; knyf; lif (99x + compounds) ~
lyf (7x); ryde(n) (9x) ~
ride(n) (5x); wis(e) (36x)
~ wys (3x); wyn "wine"
(13x).wynne.
dowel; feþere; rekene; web(be); wrecched.
beest (6x) ~ beestes (33x)
~ bestes (3x); elde; feeste (4x) ~ feste (3x) ~ festes (3x); feld (6x) ~ feeld (2x); selde.
bedeman; beches; contree (12x) ~ contre (1x);
deme; fede (9x) ~ feede (1x); feet; grene; hede "heed"; kene; kepe (34x) ~ keep (1x); mede; swete.
apples; bak; blak; hadde; masse;
wasshen; water.
breeþ; clene; drede; er; leet
(11x) ~ lete (12x); neddres (with shortening of the vowel); slepe ~ sleep; seed
~ sedes; teche.
breed (26x) ~ bred (1x);
deed (8x) ~ ded (2x)
"dead"; deef; leef; rede ~ reed "red."
burn "man" 11.366 ~ buyrn
16.188, 16.276 ~ Burnes 3.272, 12.70; cherl; crepe; depe (8x) ~ deep (2x); frend; heo "she" (2x); herte; leode (7x) ~ lede (1x) "man"; leme; swerd; tree; þef
(4x) ~ þeef (3x).
The three words of Western distribution, bu(y)rn, leode and heo, retain Western rounding at least in spelling,
presumably because there was no London spelling convention for
them. For the <eo> forms see Samuels, "Langland's
Dialect," 241-3.fille
"fell" (14.197, 16.111), ȝit (13x) vs.
yet (40x), togid(e)re(s)
(50x), etc. This is a feature of London English.
OF /ue/ gives rise to a few <oe> spellings:
doel (4x); moebles (2x) ~
mebles (9.87); meue (6x) ~
moeue (19.287) ~ moeuen
(15.75); peple (91x) poeple (1x).
The spelling is consistent: whan, what, where, while, etc.
There are no examples of <qu> or <w>. Two examples of
<wh> for <w>, where "were"
12.81,whasshen "wash" 13.436,
are therefore likely to be errors rather than reverse spellings.
The scribe uses <þ> for the small letter and <Th> for the
littera notabiliorfryth (3x); hath (1x); north (1x); othere (1x); south (1x); with (5x); and in
proper names of foreign origin: Astroth; Makometh; Nazareth.
The spelling is <sh>, with <ssh> medially and finally
after a short vowel: bisshop; childissh; englissh; fissh; flessh; punysshe;
shame; shaft; sheep; ship; sholde
(never scholde).
asked (11x) ~ axed (1x); buskes; scole; skipte; skile; skynnes.
Spellings with initial <sc> are mainly from OF; e.g. scorne; scrippe.
The spelling with <ȝt> predominates: almyȝty (12x) ~ almyghty (4x); briȝt(e) (3x) ~ bright(e)
(3x); fiȝte (5x) ~ fight(e) (5x); noȝt(e) (334x) ~ noght (1x); riȝt(e) (76x) ~
right(e) (31x).
As a general rule the scribe prefers <ȝ> to <gh> for
the velar spirant: eiȝen (20x) ~ eighen (6x); heiȝ(e) (32x) ~
heigh(e) (10x); seiȝ(e)
(36x) ~ seigh(e) (4x).
The scribe's writing of final <-e> is not random, but in words
that are spelt with or without it the usage is motivated by
etymology or analogical developments. So final <-e> can be
used to mark the dative singular noun (III.3.2.3), the plural of the possessive
pronouns myne, thyne, hise (III.3.3.3), and the definite and plural inflection of
adjectives (III.3.4).e," in -e,"
Abrahames 16.185; Adames
11.201; broþeres 10.279; Caymes 9.137; disours 13.174; doweles 9.12 ~ dowelis 14.335;
fadres 9.123 (cf. fader
16.91); Gabrielis 16.93; Hostilers 17.116; Iustices 16.95;B manuscripts read Iustice son.ladies
20.344 (cf. lady 18.344); mannes; Pharaoes 7.179.
The usual ending is <-es>; the <-is> spelling is only after <l> and <r>.
With <-e>: heuene 14.165; soule 11.226.
Without ending: fader 16.91; lady 18.344; Marie 2.2;moder 19.121.
With apocope: Iesus 18.103; 19.121;
to bedde (vs. bed
elsewhere) 6.102; wiþ childe (vs. child) 7.110; at home (vs. hom) 7.5; in-to house (vs. hous) 2.221; by my lyue (vs.
lif) 6.104; bi his firste
wyue (vs. wif) 9.19.
The ten examples of grounde all follow the
prepositions a, aboue, by, of, on,
to. Only in 10.236 is the uninflected form
used with a preposition: vp-on þis ground.
This illustrates the following general pattern: when a noun has
alternative spellings, one without final <-e> and the
other with, the former is the general form used in all
circumstances except as a genitive, while the latter is used
only after prepositions. Other nouns that follow this pattern
are, for example: boke, breste, daye, hande,
kynge.
abbotes; artz (2x); beggeris (17x); bodies; brawleris; cardinals; clerkes; colours; eiȝes (6x) (cf. eighen
and eiȝen); eris; Experimentz 10.224; foes
13.326 (cf. foon); lolleris; lond-leperis heremytes
15.221; Monyals 10.326; Religiouses 10.324; shoes 20.218 (cf.
shoon); sustres 18.206
(cf. sustren); werkes, wordes; yeres.
The <-is> plural is used only after <r> and three
times after <l>; thus gerlis 18.8
(beside gerles 1.35); foolis 10.41, 20.61.
With <-en> ~ <-n>: children; eighen and eiȝen (26x);
foon 5.97; lambren 15.214;
shoon 14.344; sustren
5.638.
Mutated: gees P.226; men;
teeþ 15.13.
beggeris 4.126; losels
10.52; mennes; harlottes.
With <-ene> ~ <-en>: childrene
4.119; clerkene 4.121; Iewene 18.263; kyngene 1.106; wyuen 5.29.
The form ich occurs 15x, always before
<h->, vowel or semivowel (e.g. ich yede
7.157). Archetypal ik occurs in the phrase
so thee ik (5.229), where Langland's joke is
at the expense of the Norfolk dialect of Sir Hervey, as in
Chaucer's
The predominant forms are þow (231x) and Thow (22x); the spelling is þou in 7.148 (twice), and Thou in
14.195.
The two occurrences of heo (3.29, 5.644) are
in alliterating positions.he to he[o] twice in W18.170, where the Bx reading must represent a form of "she" since it refers
to Rightwisnesse.
Myn (42x) occurs as a dependent possessive
with singular nouns before vowel or <h>, or disjunctively
in 13.365. Its plural form is myne (16x),
used before vowel or <h>, disjunctively in 18.285, 18.336,
or in absolute use to mean "my possessions" (6.151) or "my
people" (18.359).
The standard spelling is þi, with þy 5x. Thi is found at 2.124
only. The usage of the forms ending in <-n(e)> is as with
the 1st person: þyn (21x) ~ Thyn (3x) ~ þin (1.42 only) occurs as a
dependent possessive with singular nouns before vowel or
<h>, or disjunctively. Its plural form is þyne (7x), used before vowel or <h>, or in absolute
use to mean "thy possessions" in 13.158.
The general form is his used with singular and
plural nouns: his cofres 11.192. The
inflected form hise, developed by analogy
with myne and þyne, is
used only with plural nouns and also 4x in absolute use to mean
"his people" (13.255, 17.271, 19.218, 20.60).
As in the accusative and dative, the forms with and without <-e> are used in free variation.
The form is is found in 17.248 (perhaps in
error for his).
The three occurrences of hij (P.66, 1.58,
1.193) are in alliterating positions.he with Hm, where all other manuscripts have plural þei. This is likely to be an error in the
subarchetype; there is no reason to suppose that the reading is
an archetypal form of "they." At 10.479 and 13.222 the scribe
has written þe for þei,
presumably in error.
The form is never found without <-e>.
The form without <-e> is found only once, in your-self (2.39).
The forms with and without <-e> are used in free variation. There are no oblique plural forms beginning with <þ->.
Forms are: my-self (-selue); þi-selue (-self, -seluen); hym-self (-selfe, -selue, -seluen); hir-selue ~ hire-self (-selue); oure-selue 13.36 ~ vs-selue 7.141; ye-self
(subject) 16.128 ~ yow-self (object) 16.129 ~
yow-selue (object and prepositional) P.200,
5.44, 10.290, 10.302 ~ your-self 2.39. Lines
16.128-9 offer an instructive example. For line-terminal
position the -selue(n) forms are always used.
There are no -sulf forms.
Monosyllabic adjectives ending in a consonant follow definite and indefinite inflexions; i.e. <-e> is added in the plural, and also in the singular when used with the definite article, a demonstrative adjective or a possessive pronoun. The practice may be observed by looking at examples of "great":
a gret willeof greet loueþe bileue is greta greet mede a greet witne gret lordes wraþelordes is gen. sg.; cf. the reading of L with pl. grete lordes.And greet likyngeof ful greet lengþeweex greet wiþ childewith gret lightto greet Ioyea greet Oostat gret nede
The only exception is 8.9 men of grete witte,
perhaps influenced by the preceding plural noun.
Aristotle þe grete clerkIn þe holy grete godfor al his grete wounde
wiþ hise grete chekesof þise grete lordeshise grete helpesVitailles of grete vertuesof hise grete myȝtesye grete clerkesboþe grete and smalewiþ seuene grete geauntz
Polysyllabic adjectives of French derivation ending in <-ous>
generally follow the same pattern: lecherous
(sg.) 6.273 ~ lecherouse (pl.) 2.127; likerous (2x) ~ likerouse (pl.)
10.174 (though it is sg. in 10.171); precious
(3x) ~ preciouse (pl.) 19.93. As a noun used
adjectivally, religious observes the same
pattern, with <-e> always indicating the plural. However, no
such regular pattern accounts for the alternation between cristen and cristene.
"All" has the following inflexions: sg. al, pl.
alle, gen. pl. aller (16.213).
"Both" as an adjective is always boþe, with gen.
boþer (2.68) and boþeres
(18.39). As a correlative conjunction, "both ... and," it is once
Boþ (5.446).
bettre 11.255; blesseder
11.255; bolder 7.199; clenner
19.251; douȝtier 5.103; hyere 2.29.
Boldest 13.299 ~ boldeste
18.418; brunneste 6.313; clennest 14.48; douȝtieste 10.464; hyeste 12.142.
The ending <-ly> varies with <-lich> and <-liche>
(there are no examples of <-lye> or <-lie>). There seems
to be no clear pattern of usage. The spelling louely (8x) is always used for the attributive adjective, and
loueliche (3x), louelich (1x),
vnlovelich (1x), vnloveliche
(1x) indiscriminately with or without <-e> for the predicative
before of: cf. 5.570 with 11.237. But dedliche and dedly are both used
before pl. synnes (9.220, 14.97). While flesshliche precedes herte
(19.168), comely and comly are
also used attributively.
The same endings <-ly>, <-lich> and <-liche> are
used as in adjectives, and are equally unpatterned.-e," frendlier
10.237; lightlier 15.501; liȝtloker 5.588; rapelier 17.69; wisloker 13.343. Superlatives end in <-lokest>:
hastilokest 19.474; wikkedlokest 10.437.
to kepe 17.5; knowe 17.9;
laste 17.8; to louye
17.129; To rule 17.3; see
17.4; siggen 17.31; to
techen 17.42; vndertaken 17.17.
When the infinitive verb is followed by a vowel or <h->,
the <-en> is common; thus all examples of kepen (8x), sitten (3x), and reden (2x) precede vowels or <h->. However
there are many exceptions to this. (Sometimes W has the ending
against all other manuscripts; e.g. W18.416 abyen
it vs. abye it.)
Endings derived from OE <-ian> verbs are quite well
preserved; thus the following infinitive forms with <-i->
or <-y->: erie 6.4; hatien 10.100; louyen 19.111; prikye 18.11; swerye 14.39;
tilien 7.2; wanye 7.58;
werien 14.343; wonye
2.109. This is a feature of southwestern dialects.
In both the gerund and the pres. ppl. the ending is <-yng> with or without final <-e> or looped <g> (on which see II.1 Transcription of the Manuscript above). The forms appear in free variation.
drynkynge 11.340; etynge
14.60; laughynge 18.429; slepyng P.10; slepynge 5.6; Wenynge 20.33.
There are the following examples of the ending of the verbal noun with the spelling <-ing(e)> after <y>:
buryinge 11.80; deyinge
11.170, 13.418; deying 7.34, 18.219; Lyinge 13.321; seying 8.109;
tulying 14.71.
The only other example of <-ing> is ingoing 5.649.
abidynge 19.295; dryuynge
20.99; etynge 10.108; hangyng 5.136; hippynge 17.61; Lurkynge 2.218; sittynge
3.352; slepynge 7.159; waggyng 8.31.
The only example of pres. ppl. <-inge> is after <y>
in pleyinge 16.269, 18.172. There are no
examples of other forms such as <-ande>, <-ende>,
<-inde> or <-enge>.
be 2.140; com 18.57 ~ come 5.591; Coueite 5.592; et 14.55 ~ Ete 6.268; Go 1.47; hold 18.150; keep 6.270; lakke 2.49; Lat 6.272; rys 6.271 sitte 6.270; Tak 12.158; tel 1.46.
Beþ 10.457; claweþ 10.302;
comeþ 20.73; correcteþ
10.302; fareþ 13.182; gyueþ 17.270; hareweþ 19.318; Holdeþ 20.245; kenneþ 6.14;
Makeþ 6.14; spynneþ 6.13;
Wadeþ 5.587.
The form with <-e> (without ending in stems in <-e>) is used before a subject pronoun:
be 3.87; Deuyne P.209; Loke 5.594; stynte 5.595;wasshe 5.587.
hailse 5.102; holde 5.421;
leeue P.34; seye P.201;
shonye 5.170; swere 5.229;
walke 5.148; warne P.207;
wisse 1.43.
As in OE, stems ending in a vowel have no inflexion: do 5.115; se P.201.
beest 5.608; coueitest
11.11; Getest 18.364; greuest 14.121; lernest 4.11; lyuest 2.127; lixt 5.164;mayst 19.484; myȝtest P.214; myȝt 6.227; seest 12.174;
woost 3.181.
The usual ending is <-(e)st>. The only example of
<-ist> is seist 6.236, 18.435.
akeþ 6.263; bereþ 11.160;
bit (< bidden) 7.72;
brekeþ 4.59; falleþ 8.38;
fareþ 13.53; fyndeþ 15.185
~ fynt (6x); forfreteþ
16.30; gooþ 17.38; halt
17.106 ~ holdeþ 13.405; pleieþ 19.296; putteþ 12.229; rest P.170; ryt (< ryden) 4.13; seiþ 18.32 ~ seith 7.135; sheweth 17.157;
smyt 11.429; smyþeþ 3.330;
stant 18.45; strengþeþ
8.47; wanyeþ 8.39.bit, fynt,
halt, etc.) are used in southern
texts.
For "tells lies" (OE lȳhþ) the forms are
lieþ and lyeþ (1.70,
10.116); for "lies down" (OE līþ) the
forms are lith, liþ, and
lyþ (12.258, 1.126, 4.61).
OE preterite-present verbs without inflexion in the present 1st
and 3rd sg. are, e.g.: dar P.209; kan P.199; May 1.63; Shal 2.34; woot 5.182.
abiden 15.317; abite "bite"
16.27; aren (7x) ~ arn
(29x) ~ beþ (16x); aske
(1x) ~ asken (3x) ~ askeþ
(1x); borweþ 20.285; burioneþ 15.79; crauen (2x) ~ craueþ (1x); dwelle (3x) ~ dwelleþ (1x); fecche 9.182;
fynde (2x) ~ fynden (4x) ~
fyndeþ (3x); folweþ 3.355;
holdeþ 1.45; smyteþ
17.327; teche (2x) ~ techen (2x) ~ techeþ (2x); writeþ 14.211.
The minority form is <-eþ>, yet it is not uncommon. Samuels
points out that this plural form is very rare in the London
English of Chaucer, but is retained in Southern and Southwestern
areas until after Langland's death. He also comments on the form
aren in alliterating position as evidence for
Langland's west midland dialect.
The plural forms of preterite-present verbs are, for example: kan ~ konne ~ konneþ; may ~ mowe ~
mowen; shul; wite.
carpe 17.136; do 3.312; gladie 18.261; Iangle 4.157;
folwe 3.7; gyue 2.123; like 11.24; rede 4.5; werche 3.7.
The forms are the same as those of the 1st indic. sg.
affrayned 16.287; awakede
14.346; bablede 5.8; boldede 3.200; courbed 1.80; deide 18.375; dwelde 20.343;
lokede 14.53; makede
9.139; paide 6.96; waitede
13.343; Wente P.4.
The forms with <-ed> and <-ede> are in free variation. The endings <-id(e)> ~ <-yd> do not occur.
a-resonedest 12.220; brouȝtest 1.78; conseiledest
3.207; deidest 19.172; graddest 19.430; laddest 7.205; Lakkedest 11.416; madest
5.233; robbedest 18.345; tauȝtest 14.195.
abosted 6.157; armede
20.115; asked 5.310 ~ askede 20.330; baptised 16.262; beknede 10.426; blessede
11.233; deide 10.364; demed 10.393; dremed 8.69; folwede 11.26; mamelede
11.413; paied 5.218; wailede 14.346; wente 13.222; wepte 2.238.
The forms are of course the same as those for the 1st singular.
amendeden 15.115; amortisede 15.325; apposede 1.48; awaiteden 16.145; blustreden
5.531; cared 2.164; cryden
P.225; deyden 18.367; demede 19.145; digged 6.110; eriede 19.268; hateden 18.308;
herde (1x) ~ herden (3x);
made 20.300 ~ maden 10.420
~ maked 6.192; parceyued
18.248; pleiden P.20; sente (2x) ~ senten (1x); tendeden 18.245; vsede 20.65 ~ vseden 12.127; went (9x) ~ wenten (10x); wepten 7.37; woundede 20.301.
abasshed 10.305; acombred
1.34; ascaped 6.80; ybarred 19.164; called (13x) ~ ycalled (3x); cloþed (1x) ~
ycloþed (6x);ycloþed is necessary for the metre of the b-verse, as most
of the scribes recognise; in 13.277 (where it is again line-end)
it is not, and seven manuscripts read clothed.demed 3.312; diademed 3.293; yentred
10.386; yglosed 17.11; yhated 9.107; maked 5.405 ~ ymaked 6.190 ~ maad 5.279; vsed 18.389 ~ yvsed 16.155;
went 3.287.
The W scribe is more conservative than others in the preservation
of the <y-> prefix, retaining it even on verb-stems of
more than one syllable; e.g.: yherberwed
5.234 (against all other manuscripts); yperissed 17.190; even yrebuked 14.173
(where it is necessary for the metre, but against all other
manuscripts).
cam 15.14 ~ com 13.24; gat 4.81; knew 19.418; song 19.210; sauȝ 5.9 ~
seiȝ "saw" P.50; spak
19.377.
breke 18.293; gete 18.341;
knewe 11.32; leighe "lied"
18.415; speke 19.77; toke
20.7.
brak 1.113; cam P.114 ~ com 2.192 ~ Coom 20.343; gaf 2.71; gat 1.35; knew 2.228; song 18.438; spak 5.217; stood P.182.
The forms are of course the same as those for the 1st singular.
cam 13.34 ~ come 4.45 ~ coome 19.343 ~ comen P.24; dronke 14.86; geten 20.156;
knew 12.227 ~ knewe 11.235
~ knewen 12.151; seiȝe "saw" 17.50; stode 18.86 ~
stoode 14.256; Songen
18.331; toke 19.39 ~ token
4.79.
come 5.542 ~ coome 19.425;
dronke 20.19; stode
19.366.
The forms are the same as the 2nd singular.
bake (1x) ~ ybake (4x) ~
ybaken (1x); comen 16.96;
dronke (1x) ~ dronken (3x,
twice attributively) ~ ydronke (3x); founde (4x) ~ yfound (2x) ~
yfounden (1x); geten
5.298; gyuen (1x) ~ ygyue
(1x); holden (14x) ~ yholde (2x) ~ yholden (2x); yholpe 17.62; knowen P.56 ~
yknowe 11.229 ~ yknowen
11.401; taken 1.155 ~ ytake 11.260; wonne (4x) ~ ywonne (3x).
For comments on the retention of the <y-> prefix, see weak verbs, paragraph III.3.5.8.
The following list of sigils of the manuscripts of
For descriptions of the B manuscripts see George Kane
and E. Talbot Donaldson, eds.,