The plural of the substantives terminates in (1) _s_ resp. _ys_: 837
_+ryghtys+ -- knyghtes_. 1298 _+stonys+ -- nonys_.
(2) in _n_: 458 _+slon+ -- appon_. 1116 _done -- +shone+_. 1193 _+shone+
-- anon, done_.
(3) is formed by _i_-umlaut: _+men+_ 1784, 2282, but 2197 _wan -- +men+_
(=Â _man_).
(4) has no inflexion: 651 _+gere+ -- +spere+_. 705 _far -- +gere+_. 836
_hend -- +frende+_, _sende_. 1173 _ffere -- +yere+_. 1405 _hend --
+frend+_. 1556 _+stone+ -- gone_. 2188 _were -- +yere+_. 2194 _here --
+yere+_. The inflexions of the adjectives have totally disappeared.
The _infinitive_ ends in _-ne_ or _n_, or has no termination at all.
(1)Â with _n_: 123 _kene -- see_ (=Â _+sene+_). 217 _ageyne -- +sayne+_.
262 _fayne -- +slayne+_. 489 _Mavdeleyn -- +seyne+_; 16 _sone -- +gon+_.
(2) without _n_: 67 _sake -- +take+_. 93 _kynd -- +fynd+_. 148 _+wake+
-- stake_. 184 _so -- +goo+_. 434 _Adolake -- +take+_. 1062 _tho --
+do+_. 1762 _me -- +se+_.
The 2nd person sing. of the pres. ind. occurs only once in the rhyme,
1333 _tase -- +thou hase+, tas -- gas_.
The 3rd person sing. of the present indicative ends in _s_: 187
_+tellys+ -- ellys_. 2317 _rose -- +gose+_. 558 _+tellythe+ -- elles_
(The rhyme shows that _+tellys+_ must be inserted; cf. 103 _gos --
takythe_, and 858 _gothe -- toke_ = _+gas+ -- +tas+_.) Only once _th_
occurs: 2047 _Nazareth -- +gethe+_ (ags. _gæð_). On this remarkable form
see Zupitza, _Guy of Warwick_, note on l. 11075. The plural has no
termination: 3Â _+wynde+ -- ende -- lende_.
The _subjunctive_ mood has no inflexions: 70 _+sped+ -- stede_, 3rd
pers. 87 _+blynd+ -- wynde_, 3rd pers. 213 _fyld -- +schyld+_, 3rd pers.
416 _sey -- +may+_, 2nd pers. sg. 584 _feld -- +schyld+_, 3rd pers. sg.
1978 _+saue+ -- haue_; but observe 139 _+slone+ -- none_ and 1839
_+sene+ -- grene_.
The _present participle_ ends usually in _-ande_ (_onde_): 13 _londe --
+wonande+_. 127 _fonde -- +growonde+_. 315 _+levand+ -- bond_. 352
_stand -- +lygand+_. 358 _vndyrstond -- +levand+_. 1128 _stond --
+shynand+_. 1280 _+fayland+ -- lond_. 1445 _+fleand+ -- waraunt_. 1452
_ffand -- +goand+_. 1821 _lond -- +wepand+_. 1899 _lond -- +pleyand+_.
2104 _hond -- +levand+_. Thrice _-yng_ is found: 268 _kyng --
+dwellyng+_, 1638 and 2568.
The _gerund_ terminates always in _ing_ (_yng_): 1479 _kyng --
+ryding+_. 1503 _+comyng+ -- kyng_. 1933 _ryng -- +lettyng+_. 2509 _kyng
-- +lesyng+_.
Observe the 2nd pers. sing. of a past tense, 1589 _+thou cam~+ --
slan~_, of a praeterito-praesens, 410 _they -- sey, +thow may+_. 1543
_away -- aye, +may+_. 2001 _+may+ -- welaway_.
The _past participle_ of strong verbs terminates in _n_: 482 _+syne+ --
schene, wene -- clene_. 675 _+slayne+ -- rayne_. 800 _+slayne+ --
trayne_. 1292 _fayn~ -- +slayn~+_. 1562 _+sene+ -- wene_. 2323 _alone --
+slone+_. We donât find one certain instance for the dropping of this
_n_, besides 1678 and 2063 _be_.
The _past tense plural_ of strong verbs has the same vowel as the
singular: 1452 They _+ffound+_ (r. _ffand_) -- _goand_. 1458 _+began+ --
gentilman_. 1753 _tong -- +dong+_.
The 3rd pers. of the present indic. of _to be_ = _ys_ or _es_: cf. 738
_blyse -- +ys+_. 2413 _+ys+ -- Raynes_. Once _+ys+_ is found as plural:
2524 _+ys+ -- iwys_. The _present subjunctive_ is _be_ through all
persons: 208 _+be+ -- me_, 2nd pers. 614 _+be+ -- se_, 3rd pers. 884
_the -- +bee+_, 3rd pers. 2017 _+be+ -- me_, 2nd pers. plr. The
infinitive _+be+_ and _bene_: 49 _the -- +bee+_. 483 _+be+ -- see_. 1643
_+be+ -- charite_. 903 _the -- +bee+_. 1833 _clene -- +bene+_. 2161
_quene -- +bene+_. 2613 _+bene+ -- kene_. The _past tense singular
number_ is _was_ or _wes_: 247 _alas -- +wase+_. 426 _glase -- +was+_.
771 _pase -- +wase+_. 1873 _wyldernes -- +was+_ (=Â _wes_). The plural
_were_, _ware_, _wore_, as well as _was_, _wes_: (1) l. 402 _+wer~+ --
cher_. 1047 _+were+ -- chere_. 1845 _+were+ -- ffere_. 2586 _squiere --
+were+, here -- clere_. (2) 603 _fare -- +were+_. 2494 _+ware+ -- bare_.
1384 _beffore -- there, +were+_ (=Â _wore_). (3) 384 _pase -- +wase+_.
1388 _passe -- +was+_. (4) 2026 _wildernes -- +was+_ (=Â _wes_). 2545
_wildernes -- +was+_; cf. l. 2584. The subjunctive mood of the past
tense is _were_ and _ware_, in sgl. and plr.: 225 _+were+ -- clere_. 235
_here -- +were+_. 1696 _chere -- +were+_. 2476 _+were+ -- bere_. 154
_+were+_ (=Â _ware_) -- _fare_. 1020 _+wer+_ (=Â _ware_) -- _fare_. 2074
_care -- +ware+_. The past participle: 7Â _bedene -- +ben+_. 172 _+byne+
-- seyn_. 2344 _+ibene+ -- kene_. 1678 _+be+ -- crystiaunte_.
From this inquiry into the sounds and inflexions, the following
conclusions can be drawn:
The development of _Ä_ is of no use in fixing the dialect. Nor is _ea_,
which has become _a_, _o_, and _e_, to be deemed a characteristic either
of the Midland or Northern dialect. Ags. _ea_ occurs as _o_ as early as
1250 in the _Northumbrian Psalter_, and 50 years afterwards in _Sir
Tristrem_ and _Sir Perceval_; even Richard Rolle in his _Pricke of
Conscience_ offers one instance of this change (cf. _Sir Tristrem_,
p. lxix f.).
The development of the ags. _â_, which we find in 26 passages as _a_, in
22 as _o_, is remarkable. There are only a very few instances of this
change in _Sir Tristrem_, p. lxxi, and in the _Psalter_; and this almost
equal number of _a_- and _o_-rhymes proves evidently that the poem
cannot belong to a Northern country. At the same time, a proportion like
that would be impossible in a text of Southern origin. The same negative
result is to be derived from the fact that Ags. _y_ is always
written _y_.
As to the inflexions, the plurals of the substantives are formed by
adding _-s_ or _-n_ (_en_), or by vowel change, or they have no
inflexions at all. As for the inflexion _-n_, it only occurs in _slon_
and _shon_, and of this very word the plural in _n_ is to be met with
even in Northern writers.
The infinitives both preserve or drop the final _n_, as is the rule with
the Midland dialect; the form of the past participle with _n_ accords
with the use of the Northern writers.
The present partic. ending in _-and_ and the past tense plurals of
strong verbs having adopted the vowel of the singular, agree with the
North as well as with the northern districts of the Midland, in the same
way as some forms of _to be_: plr. prs. _ys_ and plr. prt. _was_,
besides the usual forms _be_ and _are_, resp. _were_ and _ware_, and the
contracted forms of _take_: 758 _name -- +tane+_. 1095 _gane --
+itane+_. 1825 _+ta+ -- twa_ (cf. 231, 286, 859, 1333, 1475, 1722, 1733,
2617).
The forms _thou has_ and _thou may_ point to the West.
The inflexions of the 3rd pers. prs. sg. are _-th_ and _-s_. In the
western part of the Midland we never meet with the ending _th_, but only
with _s_. In _Amis and Amiloun_, the Eastern origin of which seems to be
sure, only the inflexion _-eþ_ is found in the rhyme (_Amis_,
p. xxx ff.).
The romance of _Sir Torrent_ seems to be the first document hitherto
considered where both these forms occur, one by the side of the other.
Perhaps this fact justifies us in concluding that this poem was composed
in the east, but on the borders of the west, Midland.