#Manuscripts:# i. Bodleian 34, Oxford (B); on vellum, 165 × 120 mm.;
written in one hand throughout about 1210 A.D. Its contents are S.
Katherine f. 1 r; S. Margaret f. 18 r; S. Juliana f. 36 v (see p. 139);
Hali Meidenhad f. 52 v; Sawles Warde f. 72 r (old foliation f. 76 r). It
has lost two leaves after f. 80, which is very faint and defective.
Entries in fourteenth-century hands connect it with Ledbury, Godstow,
and Magna Coworne (Much Cowarne) in Herefordshire. The text is printed
from this manuscript up to its end at 127/4.
The writing is sometimes difficult to decipher; the letters are often
crowded and hesitating, a, e, o are sometimes hard to distinguish.
Doubts are permissible in the following cases, hwen _or_ hwon 118/24,
ihaten _or_ ihoten 37, hondon _or_ honden 51; in sent 55, the last
letter wavers between t and d; in ȝemelese 56, ȝ appears to have been
corrected out of g; after mei 60, there is a half-formed c; under the
second o of preoouin 72, there is what looks like a casual pen mark, not
a dot of erasure; in seoueuald 287, d is corrected out of t, or the
reverse.
ii. Royal 17 A 27, British Museum (R); on vellum, 160 × 117 mm.; early
thirteenth century. Has all the pieces in B except Hali Meidenhad, with
the addition of an incomplete copy of the Oreisun of Seinte Marie
(printed in OEH i., p. 305). This manuscript supplies the end here from
127/4.
iii. Cotton Titus D 18, British Museum (T). See p. 355.
#Editions:# Morris, R., OEH i. 244-267 (with translation); Specimens,
87-95 (part only); Kluge, F., ME. Lesebuch, 8-15; Wagner, W., Kritische
Textausgabe . . . mit Einleitung, Anmerkungen und Glossar, Bonn, 1908.
#Literature:# Bartels, L. (see p. 450/23); Einenkel, E., Ueber die
Verfasser einiger neuangelsächsischer Schriften, Leipzig, 1881,
continued in Anglia, v. 91; Konrath, M., ES xii. 459; Stodte, H., Ueber
die Sprache und Heimat der ‘Katherine-Gruppe,’ Göttingen, 1896;
Vollhardt, W. (see p. 269/19); Williams, Irene F., Anglia, xxix. 413.
#Sources:# SW is a free expansion of chapters xiii, xiv and xv of the
fourth book of the treatise, De Anima, ascribed to Hugh of S. Victor
(Rouen ed., 1648, vol. ii. pp. 207-9). The imaginative detail is mostly
due to the English author: contrast, ‘Et qui veniunt cum illa?’
_Memoria_: ‘Mille daemones ferentes secum libros grandes et uncos
ferreos et igneas catenas’ of the original with its equivalent
119/68-75. The gruesome picture of 119/86-121/140 is mainly derived from
the Visions literature.
#Phonology:# (1) =of B.= The following should be compared with the
account of the MS. A of the Ancrene Wisse on pp. 357-62; explanations of
abnormal forms offered there are not repeated here. Oral #a# is _a_,
habben 41, makid 39; #a# before nasals and lengthening groups is _o_,
from 25, lonc 58, fondin 224, inȝonge 32; þen, þenne, hwen, hwenne are
the usual forms, but þeonne 138 by analogy of heonne: #and# is ant 9,
#man# indefinite is me 45, possibly mon 25. #æ# is mostly _e_, ed 98,
gledd 208, but _ea_ in feader 116 (4 times), forbearneð 103
(#forbærnan#), glead 201 (3), gleadschipes 306, 307, leatere 103, nease
96, 112 (#næs-#), reaðliche 21, smeale 70, wearliche 4, weattres 100,
and _a_ in blac 58, 110, war 195, 332, warliche 39, 178, warre 142,
warschipes 42 &c., and habbe 61, 112, 220. #e# is _e_, bereð 70, herien
320, spekeð 8; before lengthening groups, ende 106, engles 239, but
rikenin 86, stude 46 (3), hwuch 6 &c., swuch 93 (4). Umlaut #e# is _ea_
in beast 332 (but best 64), formealte 104 (Anglian #mæltan#), smeal 275,
spealie 303: from *#swolgian# descend forswolheð 91, forswolhe 152. #i#
is regularly _i_, blisse 136, ȝimmes 245, but wiit 200; before
lengthening groups, binden 71, bringe 113, but _u_ in wule 42 (7),
wulleð 289: in welcume 227, an early instance of this spelling, the
adverb #wel# has been substituted for the original #wil#. #o# is _o_,
bodi 323, bigotten 316; before lengthening groups, bold 129, word 73,
but _a_ in nalde 7, walde 6 (3), wrahtte 74 (descended from an older
form with #a#): dehtren 202 is an umlaut plural: greot 93 for grot RT
(#grot#, particle) is due to confusion with #grēot#, grit. #u# is
regularly _u_, cume 7, stunde 207, tungen 114, once _o_ in comme 60, and
_i_ in kimeð 69, 138. #y# is _u_, arudden 120 (*#āryddan#), brune 83,
ȝuldene 170, sunderlepes 280; #mycel# is muchel 11, muche 105.
#ā# is _a_, ban 131, ouergað 270; before two consonants, gast 323,
tadden 95, but _e_ through loss of stress in se 17 &c., (hwam) se 276,
(hwider) se 275, ase 91, beside stressed swa 120 &c., alswa 230, and _u_
in wumme 133: ohwider 25 is probably influenced by nohwider (#nō#): _ea_
in easkeð 75, 215, easkest 68 comes from a form with #ǣ#. #ǣ{1}# is _ea_
(33 times), deale 105, ear 44, ȝeað 151, leasten 108, but _e_ in flesch
99 (5), lest 54, lesten 178, sumdel 137, 284, þen 158, 212, mostly
before two consonants. #ǣnig# is ei 42 (4), but eni 113; #ǣlc# is euch
16 &c. #ǣ{2}# is _e_ (45 times), bere 23, dede 19, dreden 166 (5),
ferliche 67 (3), þer 27, 150, were 124 (9), and _eo_ in leote 40; _ea_
appears only in deadbote 75, fearlac 62, heale 242, ileanett 35, 202,
offearen 56 (4), reades 296, ?readien 81, reade 142, readeð 177, þear
246, 331. #ē# is _e_; #ī#, _i_, but _u_ in bluðeliche 80 (*#blȳþe#); #ō#
is _o_, but _eo_ in iseoð 229 (beside soð 75, 179, 293, isoðet 257); #ū#
is _u_ without exception; #ȳ# is _u_, cuðen 241, fure 71; before two
consonants, lutlin 327, but stele 114 represents the earlier #stǣli#,
similarly the derivative istelet 126.
#ea# before #r# + cons. is _a_ in igarket 339, ȝarowe 260, swarte 70,
89, and before lengthening groups, hardi 56, inwarde 72, inwardliche
247, towart 81 (4), warde 1 (3), wardi 141, warneð 34, warne 155, warni
42, warnin 63, 140, unwarnede 157, mostly after w, but _ea_ in heard 116
(7), ofearneð 135, as well as hearm 117, hearmin 290, and _e_ in þerf
171. The _i_-umlaut is _e_, derne 296, ferd 151. #ea# before #l# + cons.
is regularly _a_, al 12 &c., fallinde 178, forwalleð 104; before
lengthening groups, bald 183, bihalde 40, bihalden 57 (5), calde 104,
halden 46 &c., half 143 (4), talde 114, but _ea_ in wealdent 226, _eo_
in feole 54. #eo# before #r# + cons. is generally _eo_, feor 40, heorte
163, steorren 267, and before lengthening groups, eorðe 84, ȝeorne 201,
but _e_ in derueð 90, 103 (possibly representing #dierfan#), hercneð
218, werc 74, werkes 64, and _o_ in dorc 130 with accent shifting. To
the #wur# group belong iwurðen 26, iwurden 298, iwurðeð 93, 148; #wyr#
words are deorewurðe 203, wurse 102, 105, wursi 164, wursin 328, wurð
156, 181, 194, wurðe 40: warpe 43 is Scandinavian; istirret 245 a ME.
formation. #eo# before #l# + cons. is seen in seolf 27 &c. #ea#, the
_u_- and _å_-umlaut of #a#, is seen in eawles 126, gleadeð 310, gleadien
223, 270, gleadunge 283 (4), heatel 128, heateð 109, meaðen 99, neauele
98, and analogically in feareð 18, igleadet 214, heatieð 111, but it is
wanting in bale 93, 129, care 150, carien 162, 166, cwakie 131, cwakien
325, waker 53, 57, 142 (Vesp. Ps. #wæc(c)er#), #wakien# 7 (Angl.
#wæcian#, Bülbring, § 231). #eo#, _u_-umlaut of #e#, is represented in
heouene 146 (3), heouenliche 243, but wordes 251, world 169 (7),
worldlich 170 after w. #eo#, _å_-umlaut of #e#, is seen in abeoren 125,
breoken 8, 28, freoteð 96, speoken 61, feole 306, weole 161, weoleful
245; #eo#, the _u_- and _å_-umlaut of #i#, in cleopeð 38, icleopet 36,
hweonene 60, 65, neomen 317, neome 328, neomeð 311, seoðen 213, seoueðe
284, seouenfald 282, 287, þeose 97, unweotenesse 179, and by analogy,
neome 147, bineome 11, but hare 18 (3), suster 43, 207. #ea# after
palatals is _a_, schal 21 &c., schadewe 148, 231, schape 122, but _e_ in
schekeð 132 (_i_-umlaut), _eo_ before nasal, scheome 117. #ie# after #ġ#
is _e_, forȝet 25, 167, ȝef 27, ȝeueð 87, 164, ȝelden 301, ȝeldeð 213,
ȝelpeð 188. #ȝef# is ȝef 6, 14, gef 12. #ie# after #č# is _e_, chele
101; after #sć#, _i_ in schilde 233 (#scildan#), _e_ in scheld 159. #eo#
after #sć# is _u_, schulen 178, 224, 320, schulde 158 (R{1} has scylde
_subj._), schunien 177. #eom# is am 62; #heom#, ham 45, 87.
#ēa# is generally _ea_, beateð 48, deaðes 62, deaðlich 58, eauraskes 97,
but _e_ in ec 64, echen 95 (perhaps representing #īecan#), etscene 240,
eðeliche 157, 193, ȝe 77, 216 (Anglian #gǣ#), gret 70: its _i_-umlaut is
_e_, alesen 242, alesnesse 294, here 22 (5), herunge 16, (an)lepi 313,
(sunder)lepes 280. #ēo# is generally _eo_, beon 10, biheolt 262, breoste
98, deopre 296, þeosternesse 89, but þosternesse 86 and schute 160, with
shifted accent: #hēo# is ha 40; the _i_-umlaut is wanting, deore 31,
144, þeoster 246, neod 211 (see p. 288, last line). Palatalization is
wanting after #ġ# in forȝeme 54, ȝemeð 168, ȝeme 177, ȝeme 147, 311,
ȝemeles 18, 56; after #sć# in schene 233, 268, schenre 287. #gīet# is
ȝet 239.
#a# + #g# is _ah_, drahen 72, sahen 201, mahen 22: islein 116 is
#geslegen#; sei 280, seist 279, seið 6, 61 come from forms with #æ#;
dreaien 206 represents *#dreagan#. #æ# + #g# is regularly _ei_, dei 29,
feier 209, feierleac 272, iteilede 90, mei 10 &c., meiden 243, seide 66,
but mahe 290, 332. #e# + #g# is _ei_, aȝein 20, eie 23, eilin 290, wei
170, but isehen 77 (6). #i# + #g#, #h# is _ih_, nihe 251, diht 10, sihðe
16 (4), unwiht 5, but flið 158 (WS. #flihð#, Rushworth{2} has #flīð#):
freineð 65 is from a form with #æ# or #e# (R{1} has #frægnast#, Li,
#fregna#). The spirant has disappeared in monie 307, 314, murie 283:
final #ig# is _i_, buri 129 (from dat. #byrig#), dreorinesses 131, moni
29, seli 280, unseli 121. #o# + #g#, #h# is _oh_, bohte 28, 237, untohe
23, untohene 13, untoheliche 18; dehtren 35 has umlaut _e_. #u# + #h# is
_uh_, bituhhe 133; #y# + #h#, _uh_, tuht 46, tuhte 23. #ā# + #g#, #h# is
_ah_, ahen 4, ahne 184, 305, wahes 32, ah 165. #ǣ{1}# + #h# is _ah_,
bitaht 144, 149, but #ǣ{1}# + #g#, _ei_, keis 34, eiðer 102, 111. #ī# +
#g#, _ih_, wiheles 155; in sti 186 the spirant has disappeared. #ū# +
#h# is _uh_, buhsam 241. #ea# + #h# is _ah_, mahte 84 (5), but iseh 118
(6); the _i_-umlaut is seen in almihti 324, unmihti 181, 191, niht 29;
lahhinde 213 comes from an Anglian form in #æ#. #eo# + #g# is seen in
tintreohen 264 with eo, _å_-umlaut of #e#; the form is characteristic
of the group. #eo# + #ht# is _iht_, brihte 269, rihte 14 &c., rihtwise
193, but fehte 160 has Anglian #e#. #ie# + #h# is seen in bisið 332.
#ēa# + #g#, #h# is _eh_, ehnen 51, heh 225, neh 329, but tah 11 (3).
#ēo# + #g# is _eh_ in drehen 105, dreheð 167, but liht 87, lihtschipe
283, lihtliche 263. #īe# + #h#, lihteð 69, ilihtet 214, but hest 48
(Anglian #hēst#), nest 41 (Angl. #nēst#). #ā# + #w# is _aw_, cnaweð 55,
cnawen 293, cnawlechunge 292, nawt 7 &c., nawiht 183, sawles 1, 27,
snawi 100, but noht 149 (#nōht#), nowðer 171 (#nōwþer#), sehe 228, isehe
118. #ī# + #w#, elheowet 58 (Anglian #hēow#), speoweð 91 (with
_w_-umlaut). #ēa# + #w# is _aw_, schaweð 240, schawede 265, ischawed
258, schawere 233, but þeaw 30, unþeaw 32, unþeawes 334, heaued þeawes
36. #ēo# + #w# is mostly _eow_, tocheoweð 93, reowðful 120, treowe 157
(#trīewe#), treoweliche 78, 206, but fowr 36 (3), trowðe 78.
In deorewurðe 149, eðeliche 193, euenin 83, husebonde 34 (but husbonde
38), huselauerd 9, 17, husewif 20, 205, leatere 103, steuene 133,
sunegin 179, wrecchedom 85 a glide _e_ has been added, a final _e_ to
ine 337, inwarde 72, ofte 18. #e# is lost in echnesse 108, #i# in
unwerged 251, 318 (#wērigod#): _a_ occurs for #o# in anan 105; #o# is
levelled to _e_ in lauerd 4, sikere 107, sikerliche 171, sikernesse 188,
sunderliche 308, te 71 &c., lost in wordes 251 (#werod#). #u# is _e_ in
durewart 39, it is lost in world 169 &c. The prefix #æt# is _ed_,
edwiteð 123, _et_, etstont 158; #be# is _bi_, bisetten 64, bigineð 1,
bihinden 92, biwiten 5; #ēaþ# is _et_ in etscene 240; #ge# is generally
_i_, icwiddet 257, ifindeð 156, ihal 91, iwis 137, unimete 125, but it
is omitted in bere 23, schape 122, monge 102, schad 176, unrude 71 (but
unirude 125), wissunge 31. The suffix in herunge 16 is noteworthy. #þǣr#
is syncopated in þrin 79, þrinne 53, þrof 33, trof 331, þrute 41.
Metathesis of #r# is seen in wernches 5, wrahhte 74, eauraskes 97
(#forsc#). #rr# is simplified in feor 40. #ll# is simplified in feole
54, tele 79, 228, and finally in ful 82, godspel 4, wil 10. #m# is
doubled in comme 60, #mm# simplified in grimfule 122. #nn# is simplified
in bigineð 1, moncunnes 242, #n# is lost in raketehe 71; the
prepositions in, on are reduced to i, o, except before a vowel or h or
when stressed, as in 316; for #n#, _m_ appears in þrumnesse 234. #p# is
inserted in inempnet 244. #f# is usually _u_ between vowels or vowel and
liquid, biuoren 59, deouel 171, froure 35, seoluen 117, vuel 19, but
deoflen 69 (4), otherwise it is _f_, fondin 224, hefde 113, seolf 27.
#t# is doubled in bigotten 316, bitternesse 130, ileanett 35 (but
ileanet 202), wrahtte 74, lost in best 64, beast 332, added in lustnið
61, loftsong 283. For #t#, _d_ occurs in ed 98; #tt# is simplified in
wit 8 (but wittes 16). For #d#, _t_ is often written finally, ant 9,
dret 50, durewart 39, etstont 158, feont 33, heart 165, hiderwart 139,
hundret 335, lont 130, ontswereð 66, somet 21, þusent 69, towart 81,
wealdent 226, but _ð_ in iseið 280, lauerð 8, schenðlac 124; #d# is
doubled in gledd 208, #dd# is simplified in midel 174 (but middel 45,
170). Initial #þ# becomes _t_ after _t_, tah 12, te 9, tis 106, 152, tu
68, after _d_ (possibly miswritten for t), te 98, trof 331: final #þ#
becomes _t_ before _t_, limpet 154; for #þ#, _d_ appears in blideliche
248, deorewurde 301, iwurden 298, makid 39, makied 255, oder 19, sod
293, swide 208. #s# is doubled in gasstes 30 (#gāst#), but gastes 122,
rihtwissnesse 175 (#wīs#); for #ss#, _sc_ appears in iblescede 221: #sć#
is regularly _sch_, schad 176, schal 21, scheome 117, schilde 233,
schunien 177. The stop #c# is usually _k_ before _e_, _i_, biloke 204,
blake 110, keis 34, kimeð 69, þonkeð 201, _c_ in other positions, blac
58, moncunnes 242, þonc 20: ah 26 is Anglian #ah#, WS. #ac#. #č# is
_ch_, chele 101, echen 95, echnesse 108 (a new formation from eche),
euch 16, hwuch 6, ich 61, ilich 97, licomlich 173, pich 104, rechelese
13, sechen 32, smeche 88 (but North. smeke 88), stench 84, tocheoweð 93,
þulliche 162 (but þulli 326, 327). #čč# is _cch_, dreccheð 90. #cw# is
preserved, cwakie 131, cwemen 20, cwic 84, acwikieð 105, but quoð 139
&c. Palatal #g# is written _ȝ_, forȝeme 54, ȝarowe 260, ȝe 137, ȝe 159,
ȝef 6, 14 (but gef 12), ȝef 27, ȝelden 301, ȝelpeð 188, ȝeorne 201, ȝet
239, ȝimmes 245, but igarket (no breaking). The guttural stop is written
_g_, bigineð 1, gulteð 18, bigoten 259, 316, unwerged 251, but _ȝ_ in
aȝulteð 48, ȝeað 151, inȝonge 32, 41, 146 (comp. Northumbrian #ġeonga,
ġionga#, Bülbring, § 492, anmerkung 1, and #hiniong[a]e#, Sweet, Oldest
E. Texts, p. 149), ȝuldene 170. For the spirant after _l_, _r_, _h_
appears in folhin 12, 336, folheð 275, halhen 278, forswolhe 152,
forswolheð 91, sorhe 85: #myrigþ# is murhðe 253, 255, murðes 219. #hl#
is reduced to _l_ in leane 58, leor 58, 231, lust 261, lustnið 61,
anlepi 313, sunderlepes 280, #hn# to _n_ in nesche 162, 167, #hr# to _r_
in remunge 99. Initial #hw# is usually preserved, hwen 68, hwer 17, hwet
60. _h_ is added in unwhiht 151, doubled in bituhhen 168, bituhhe 133,
169.
(2) =Of R.= The principal divergences from B are noted. #a# before
nasal: unþeonkes 42 (comp. ‘feondeð,’ SM 10/7). #æ#: the spelling _ea_
for _e_ is used only in smeale 70, wearliche 4, otherwise _e_ occurs,
except in latere 103, neose 96, 112 (#nosu#): similarly _ea_ for umlaut
#e# is absent in best 332, formelte 104, smel 275, spelien 303. #o#:
grot 93. #u#: com 60 (#cwōm#), cumeð 69, 138. #y# is regularly _u_, as
in B. #ā#: #swā# stressed and unstressed is so, but once swa 234; eskeð
75, 215, eskest 68. The representation of #ǣ{1}# is divided between _ea_
and _e_, each 28 times: #ǣ{2}# is _e_ 50 times (lete 40); the exceptions
are hear 132, heale 242, hileanet 202, offearen 56 (4), offeared 54,
211, reade 142, reades 296, rodien 81 (reoden T). #ī#: bliðeliche 351.
#ea# (breaking): hard 116 (7), harm 117, herdes 183, þearf 171, weldent
226. #eo#: hercni 349, darc 130. The _u_-, _å_-umlaut of #a# is _e_ in
gledeð 310, gledien 223, 270, gledunge 308, 310, 312, medeð 99 (for
meðen), neuele 98, igledet 214, and is wanting in fareð 18, hatel 128,
hateð 109, hatieð 111. _å_-umlaut of #e#: to speokene 347. _u_-,
_å_-umlaut of #i#: seððen 213, unwitnesse 179. #eo# after #ġ#: ȝuheðe
383. #ēa#: deð 171, dedlich 58, adie 269, eðsene 240, greạt 70. #īe#:
fleme 343. #ēo#: þeosternesse 86, þreohad 372. #a# + #g#: dreien 206.
#æ# + #g#: feirlec 272. #i# + #ht#: unwiht 151. #ē# + #g#: tweien 342.
#ō# + #h#: þohtes 360. #eo# + #g#: tintreon 264.
#r#: wrenches 5. #n#: in 108, 319, on 29. #f#: under fon 57. #t#: et 98.
#d# final is seldom altered to _t_, dred 50, dureward 39, hard 165,
hideward 139, lond 130, toward 81, 127, but heauet 59: other spellings
are onswereð 66, 281, schenlac 124, gled 108, middel 174. Initial #þ# is
often unaltered after final _t_, þu 79, þrof 331 (but it is lost in ant
e 372), so final #þ# in limpeð 154. Normal #þ# appears in bliðeliche
248, makieð 255, makeð 39, oðer 19, soð 293, swiðe 208; for #þ#, _d_ in
beod 15. #s#: gastes 30. #c#: ecnesse 108. #g#: ȝef 12, iȝarcket 339,
biȝeoten 316 (but bigoten 259), agulteð 48, guldene 170, strencðe 153
(5), strencðen 164, strenðe 343. #h#: unwiht 151, hearen 98, her 94,
hileanet 202, hearneð 135, hure 144, er 58, is 28, wilinde 135.
(3) =Of T.= #a# before nasals and lengthening groups is _o_, but fram 25
(5) is invariable. #æ# is _a_ (45 times including nase 96, 112),
exceptions are hefde 116, hefden 256, hweðer 101, forbearneð 103,
readliche 21, smecche 88, wrecchedom 85. #e#: rekenen 86, best 332, smal
275, spelie 303. #i#: wile 42 &c. (but ichulle 81), wilneð 289. #o#:
grot 93. #u#: cumeð 69, 138. #y# is _u_, except winne 161, 173 (but
wunne 166, 169). #ā#: ai 53 (7), a Scandinavian word, leað 153 (?
#lǣþo#, or miswritten for leið, OWScand. leiðr), askeð 75, 215, askest
68, owhwider 25 (comp. ‘ouhwuder’ AR 172/3, ?influence of #ōwer#).
#ǣ{1}# is _ea_, in close agreement with B; sumdeal 284, but lasten 108,
178. #ǣnig# is ani 42, 135, 192. #ǣ{2}#: also as in B; lete 40, rodien
81, þer 246, 331, trinne 86. #ē#: fearreden 269. #ī#: bliðeliche 80,
huinen 17 (comp. OWScand. hjûn). #ō#: isoð 229, sweote 291 (‘swoete’
Vesp. Psalt., Sweet, OET. 217/13). #ȳ# is _u_, written _ui_ in fuire 71,
fuir 83, 87 (but fur 103). #ea# (breaking): wearnið 34, wearne 155,
wearnen 63, unwearnede 157, hard 116 (5), hardes 163, 172, harm 117,
harmen 290, þurf 171; _i_-umlaut, dearne 296, ferd 151. #eo#: isterret
245, self 27 (6), seluen 5 (3), but seolf 8. The _u_- _å_-umlaut of #a#
is wanting, except in eawles 126; for heatel 128 heates is read. The
absence of this umlaut points to Northumbrian or W. Saxon. #eo#,
_u_-umlaut of #e#: heuene 220, 325, heuenliche 243, but heouene 146;
after #w#, woredes 251, world 108 (7), worldlich 170. #eo#, _å_-umlaut
of #e#: breke 28, breken 8, freten 96, speken 61. #eo#, _u_- _å_-umlaut
of #i#: nime 147, 328, binime 11, nimeð 311, siðen 213, clepeð 38,
iclepet 36, seuenfald 282, seuefald 287: for hweonene B 60, 65 T has
hweðen, hwenne; hore 122. #ea# after #sć#, schome 117. #ie#: ȝef 27,
ȝiueð 87, 164, ȝiue 371. ȝif 6, 12, 14. #ēa#: dedes 62, gledred 71; ȝa
216, ȝea 77 (possibly Scandinavian), great 70. #ēo#: biheld 262, depre
296, deulen 69, iseð 89, 94, seð 257, ned 211, þeosternesse 86, ho 40.
#æ# + #g#: dai 29 &c., mai 10 &c. are the regular forms, but mei 303, so
feir 209, 239, feirleic 272. #e# + #g#: aȝain 20 (Angl. #ongægn#),
aȝaines 34, 153, but to ȝeines 196. #ea# + #h#: mihte 113, 118, 162, but
mahte 84, 232. #eo# + #g#: tintrohen 264. #ie# + #h#: bisihð 332. #ā# +
#w#: noht 7. #ī# + #w#: speweð 91. #ēa# + #w#: scheaweð 240, scheawde
265, ischeawet 258, scheawere 233. #ēo# + #w#: treowðe 78; treweliche
78, 206.
#r#: wrenches 5. #m#: com 60. #n#: in 99, 108. #f#: biforen 59, þer fore
150, þurn 225, under fon 57. #t#: blend 87, at 98. #d#: dred 50,
dureward 59, atstond 158, feond 33, hard 165, hiderward 139, hundreð 97,
335 (OWScand. hundrað), lond 130, 256, heauet 59, onswereð 66, 281,
somen 21, þusend 69, þusand 114, 119, þusanð 138, toward 81, 127,
schendlac 124, glad 208, middel 174. #þ#: bliðeliche 248, limpeð 154,
makes 39, makieð 255, swiðe 208. #s#: gastes 30. #c#: cumeð 69, þoncheð
201, long 58, swing 289, smecche 88, euh 58, hwucse 72, stinc 84,
ecnesse 108. #ȝ#: ȝif 12, ȝarket 339, biȝoten 316, unwerched 251,
agulteð 48, guldene 170. #h#: unwiht 151.
#Accidence:# (1) =Of B.= Strong declension of _masc._ and _neut._ nouns.
In the _s. n._ þinge 84 has added e. _Gen._ -es, cunnes 90, deaðes 62,
contracted weis 162, 236: _d._ -e, dome 261, flesche 270, hame 25, with
all nouns which have vowel ending in the _s. n._ as bale 93, chele 101,
in others the inflection is more frequently wanting, deað 222, flesch
99, and generally in words of two syllables, as finger 325, godspel 4,
heaued 59, lauerd 207; wa 86 is indeclinable. In the _s. a._ deale 105,
inȝonge 32, 41 (but inȝong _n._ 146), mete 45, 47 have added e; bere 23
is #gebǣre#; sune 235 represents #sunu#. The _pl. n. a._ of masculines
ends in -es, eauraskes 97, engles 239, deaðes 119, duntes 125: neuters,
with the exception of þing 178, 297, schape 122 (#gesceapu#), have taken
the masc. termination, þinges 89, werkes 64, wittes 16, wordes 251,
wordes 64, or have joined the weak declension, deoflen 89, 91, studen
240, wepnen 159: genitive is smeche 88; datives have mostly -es, eawles
126, gleadschipes 307, but bisocnen 277, colen 104, deoflen 69, 139,
wepnen 162, 184, and siðe 97, 138, 335 (without n). The _fem._ nouns of
the strong declension have -e in the _s. n._, este 173, cnawlechunge
292, and many other derivatives in #-ung#, schadewe 148, but meað 37, 43
(once _masc._ in OE.). _Gen._ -e, helle 95, nease 96, but murðes 219,
sawles 1: _dat._ -e, alesnesse 294, bisne 4, worlde 108, 136, 260, but
ferd 151, half 160, 238, luft 186, sti 186 (#stīg#), world 108, 110,
147, 169 are not inflected: _acc._ -e, blisse 221, froure 35, but
ferreden 269, fulst 225 (#fylst#), half 143. _Pl. n._ is hondon 51; _d._
blissen 267, pinen 90, 127, sunnen 70, wunden 240, dreorinesses 131;
_a._ pinen 263, sahen 201, strengðen 164, sunnen 124, cunreadnes 261,
estes 197, keis 34, runes 296. Nouns of the weak declension have -e in
all cases of the singular, -en throughout the plural. The minor
declensions are represented by uet _pl. d._ 260; mon _s. n._ 8, monnes
_s. g._ 9, 15; boc _s. d._ 72, _s. a._ 70; buri _s. n._ 129 (from dat.
#byrig#); niht _s. d._ 29; feader _s. g._ 237, _s. d._ 241, _s. a._ 116;
moder _s. a._ 116; dehtren _pl. n._ 202, _pl. d._ 35, 195; suster
_s. a._ 43, sustren _pl. n._ 202, _pl. d._ 207; feont _s. n._ 33,
_s. d._ 158; wealdent _s. n._ 226.
Adjectives which in OE. end in e retain that termination in all cases.
Weak inflections are _s. n. m._ ȝuldene 170, rihtwise 193, _neut._ blake
110, willesfule 205, _s. d. f._ swarte 89, _s. d. neut._ ferliche 102,
_s. a. m._ willesfule 44, _f._ brihte 269: strong inflections are _s. d.
f._ inwarde 72, _s. a. f._ longe 254: swote _s. n. m._ 275, _neut._ 291
(#swōt#) has conformed to swete. All other adjectives are uninflected in
the singular. Those in -ig lose g, anlepi 313, eadi 243, hali 234:
#lȳtel# is lutle _s. a. f._ 235; lutle _s. a. neut._ 328, lut _pl. n._
187, few people, are used as nouns; #mycel# is mostly muche, but muchel
_s. d. neut. strong_ 166, muchele _weak_ 300, _pl. a._ 314: #āgen# gives
ahne _s. d. f._ 305, _pl. d._ 184. The plural ends in -e, ȝarowe 260,
wakere 57, 142, misliche 127, unmihtie 191; exceptions are _n._ ful 239,
hal 93, ilich 97, hardi 56, lusti 318, _d._ eadi 269, mislich 20, seli
280, snawi 100, _a._ unseli 121, wurð 194. OE. #āna# is ane 200; #ān# is
an, a, _s. g._ anes 311, _d._ ane 207, _a._ 216: #nān# is nan, na,
_s. g._ nanes 317, _pl. n._ nane 274. Adjectives used as nouns are
rarely inflected, as heardes _s. g._ 163, 172, nesches 172, uuele _pl.
n._ 224: comparatives regularly end in e, brihtre 287, deopre 296, earre
103, leatere 103, wurse 102, but grisluker 97; of superlatives earste
36, forme 195, leaste 115, 118, measte 115 have weak inflection.
The personal pronouns are ich, me, we, ure 181, us, þu, tu after t, þe,
ȝe, ow. The pronoun of the third person is _s. n._ he _m._ 6, ha _f._ 10
&c., hit _neut._ 13; _g._ hire _f._ 11; _d._ him _m._ 35, hire _f._ 42,
_a._ hire _f._ 8 (with hus _neut._), 11, 33 (with þeaw _m._), 43, 87,
hit _neut._ 10, 85; _pl. n._ ha 89 &c., heo 93, 274, 276; _g._ hare 18;
_d._ ham 55; _a._ 13. Reflexives are me 190, him 54, hire 180, 205, ham
94, me seolf 189 (possibly definitive), me seoluen 117, us seolf 191,
193, us seoluen 5, him seolf 27, him seoluen 109, 309, hire seoluen 182;
definitive are seolf 8, 228, him seolf 277, him ane 200; possessives are
mi _s._ 80, 116, min 163, 196, mine _pl._ 164, 234, ure 4, þi _s._ 78,
þin 319, his 5, hire 12, hare 51, 122. The definite article is þe, te
after t; inflected forms are þet _s. n. neut._ 33, 214, þen _s. d. m._
158, _s. a. m._ 212, þet _s. a. neut._ 248; the instrumental is þe 11,
142. Þet is used demonstratively 35, 103, 104, þet ilke 89, 105, 256;
the article is also used pronominally, þeo þe, those who 48, 49, 56,
247, those which 178, one who 180, þeo, those 15. The compound
demonstrative is _s. n._ þes _m._ 6, tis 106, þis _neut._ 8, 53, 124,
tis 26, _s. d._ þis _m._ 318, þisse _f._ 136, þeos 146, þis 110, _neut._
9, 102, 137, 198, 199, _s. a._ þes _m._ 118, þis _neut._ 284, 285, tis
152; _pl. n._ þeos 17, 202, _d._ 24, 101, 207, 285, þeose 97, _a._ þeos
140. The relatives are þe, þet; þet . . . hire 10, = whom, þet te 154, =
what. Interrogatives are hwam 39, hwet 60 (4), hweðer 101, hwuch 6 (6),
hwucche _pl. n._ 14; its correlative is swuch 93, 135, 255, swucche _pl.
n._ 194: #ilca# is ilke 105 &c.; #þyllic#, þulliche _pl. d._ 162, þulli
_s. d._ 326, 327. Indefinites are hwam se _s. a._ 276, hwet se _s. n._
172, hwuch se _s. a._ 72; me 45, 68, 87, 165, 275, mon 25; an 252; sum
54, summes _s. g._ 162, 236, summe _pl. n._ 14; eiðer 102, 111; oðer 37,
oðres _s. g._ 109, 112, oðre _s. d._ 252, _pl. d._ 52, 285, _pl. a._
277; euch 108, euchan 49, 109, euchanes _s. g._ 252, eauereuchan 307;
eni 113, ei 42, 135, 192; nawiht 172, 183, noht 149; moni 20, 29, 166,
monie _pl. n._ 307, _pl. a._ 314, ma 167; feole 306; al _s. n._ 12,
alles _s. g._ 90, 197, 264, al _s. d._ 74, 155, _s. a._ 105, 116, 117;
alle _pl. n._ 13, 114, 214, alre _pl. g._ 181, alle _pl. d._ 30, 46,
281, _pl. a._ 33, 40, 297, mid alle 211.
Verbs in #-an# have infinitive -en, abeoren 125, bihalden 233, 236, and
thirty-five other instances, or -e, bringe 113, 173, cume 7, here 22,
munne 303, neome 328, those in #ian#, mostly of the second weak
conjugation, have -ien, carien 162, 166, gleadien 270, herien 320,
schunien 177, þolien 7 (6), wakien 7, readien 81 (ME. formation from
read = #rǣd#), or -ie, spealie 303, þolie 235, or -in, amurdrin 32,
blissin 270, eilin 290, euenin 83, folhin 12, 336, fondin 224, grapin
87, hearmin 290, lokin 232, 254, lutlin 327, openin 285, rikenin 86,
sunegin 179, warnin 152, wursin 328, and ME. wontin, or -i, wursi 164:
contract verbs are biseon 122, fleon 158, seon 305, underuon 312, unwreo
285. The _dat. inf._ is inflected in to cumene 265, to witene 50, 150,
226; other forms are forte binden 71, forte warnin 140, forte . . .
halden 57, for . . . to drahen 72, forte breoke 28, to alesen 242, to
seon ⁊ to cnawen 293 (virtual _nom._), to warnin 63, to . . . makie 325.
Presents are _s._ 1. cume 76, 220, cwakie 131, demi 185, iseo 150; 2.
cumest 76, easkest 68, seist 279; 3. cleopeð 38, limpet 154, makid 39,
and seventy-four others; contracted, about one-fourth of the total
number, bisið 332, bit 246, flið 158, forȝet 25, 167, halt 180, 195,
205, hat 45, let 26, 212, sent 55, sit 48, 225, 237, wit 52, and nine
others, _passive_ hatte 62; _pl._ 1. habbeð 191, witeð 144, drede we
155; 3. aȝulteð 48, edwiteð 123; of the second weak conjugation,
acwikieð 105, heatieð 111, herieð 317, makied 255, wunieð 272, 320, but
ofearneð 135 and liuieð 287, werieð 143; meallið 90, seoð 257, 295,
iseoð 89, 94: _subjunctive s._ 1. habbe 61, understonde 285; 3. bihalde
40, bineome 11, cume 23, 65, 144, comme 60, feole, forȝeme 54, forswolhe
152, fortruste 54, leade 65, leare 45, leote 40, reade 142, rihte 14,
141, schute 160, seche 60, slepe 25, tuhte 23, werie 141, chasti 11,
loki 39, wardi 141, warni 42; _pl._ 1. demen 191, 193, halden 198,
þonkin 200, neome we 147: _imperative s._ 2. etstont 158, let 209, sei
280, tele 79, 228, warne 155; _pl._ 2. hercnið 218, lokið 67, lustnið
61, neomeð 311, þencheð 115, understondeð 218. Past of Strong Verbs: I
a. _s._ 1. iseh 118 (5), biseh 249, 3. ȝef 27, quoð 315; _pl._ 1. speken
44; _subjunctive s._ 1. isehe 118, 2. sehe 228: I b. _s._ 1. com 139: I
c. _subj. s._ 3. bigunne 299: III. _subj. s._ 3. forbude 13: V. _s._ 1.
biheolt 262, lette (weak form) 28. Participles present: I a. sittende
278: I b. cuminde 40: IV. lahhinde _adj._ 213: V. fallinde _adj._ 178;
past: I a. isehen 77 (6), ispeken 335: I b. ibore 136, icumen 55: I c.
bigunne 112, iborhen 276, formealte 104: II. iwriten 70, untohene _adj.
pl._ 13, untohe _adj. s._ 23, fulitohe _adj. s._ 9: III. bigoten 259,
bigotten 316, biloke 204: IV. islein 116: V. bihalden 57, ihaten 10, 37,
220, underuon 57, ofdred _adj._ 145. Past of Weak Verbs: _s._ 1. hefde
113, talde 114; 3. bohte 28, luuede 241, schilde 233, sende 223, wrahtte
74; _pl._ 3. deiden, liueden 266. Participles present: libbinde 270,
sechinde 151; ME. formations are fikelinde _adj._ 147, smorðrinde _adj._
88; past: bitaht 144, 149, ibet 74, igret 256, ilihtet 214, ischawed
258, iseid 328, iseið 280, unwerged 251, icleopet 36, icwiddet 257,
offearet 54, 211, unwerget 318, and thirteen others in -t, besides
irobbet 26, istirret 245; others used as adjectives are elheowet 58,
fordemde _pl._ 133, forrotet 99, forwerede _pl._ 114, iblescede _s.
weak_ 221, _pl._ 250, isette _pl._ 252, istelet _pl._ 126, iteilede
_pl._ 90, unwarnede _noun pl._ 157, offruhte _pl._ 222. Minor Groups:
witen _inf._ 137, 305, wat _pr. s._ 176, nat 66, witen _pr. pl._ 295,
297, nuten 101, wiste _pt. s._ 6; ah _pr. s._ 165, ahen 1 _pr. pl._ 4,
_pr. pl._ 300; con 1 _pr. s._ 81, 329, _pr. s._ 64, cunnen _pr. pl._
187; þerf _pr. s._ 171, þurue we 1 _pr. pl._ 145, 225; schal _pr. s._ 21
&c., schulen _pr. pl._ 178, 224, 320, schulde we 1 _pt. pl._ 158; mei 1
_pr. s._ 81, _pr. s._ 10 &c., me[i] 327, mahen 1 _pr. pl._ 22, 2 _pr.
pl._ 137, 305, mahe _pr. pl._ 274, _pr. s. subj._ 290, 332, mahte 1 _pt.
s._ 113, 162, 232, _pt. s._ 84, 118; most 2 _pr. s._ 285, 316; beon
_inf._ 10 &c., am 1 _pr. s._ 62, is _pr. s._ 8, nis 18, bið 146, aren
_pr. pl._ 107, 256, beoð 13, 56, 159, 202, beod 306, beo _pr. s. subj._
26 (8), beon 1 _pr. pl. subj._ 142, 198, beo we 193, beon _pr. pl.
subj._ 104, wes _pt. s._ 205, weren _pt. pl._ 94, 114, were _pt. s.
subj._ 127, 136, 210, 253, nere 121, 136, were _pt. pl. subj._ 124, ibeo
_pp._ 331; ich chulle 1 _pr. s._ 81, wule _pr. s._ 145, 193, 325, wulleð
_pr. pl._ 289, wule _pr. s. subj._ 42, 210, 323, walde 1 _pt. s._ 119,
_pt. s._ 6, 12, nalde 7; to donne _dat. inf._ 142, 185, to don 288, 324,
to do 189 (virtual _nom._), do 1 _pr. s._ 190, 197, deð _pr. s._ 182,
doð _pr. pl._ 49, 267, do 2 _s. imp._ 154, idon _pp._ 300, ido 53, 117;
gan _inf._ 21, 316, ȝeað _pr. s._ 151, ga we 1 _pr. pl._ 171, ouergað
_pr. pl._ 270, ga 2 _s. imp._ 315, _pr. s. subj._ 10, 47.
Among adverbs may be noted á 105 (4), áá 53 (3), ever, distinguished by
accent from a 227, ah! hweonene 60, 65, interrogative, earþon 74,
previously, unmundlunge (#unmyndlinga#) 68, unexpectedly, in ME.
apparently only here and once in AR; among prepositions, bituhhen 168,
bituhhe 133, 169, extension of OE. #bituh#, BH 133/33, which comes also
in SK 1515, ‘bituhe’ AR MS. A, 204/20, ‘bituhhen,’ id. 358/11, fore 27,
276, on behalf of, in both places separated from the word governed and
put at the end of the sentence.
(2) =Of R.= This is substantially the same as that of MS. B: some forms
from ll. 339-373 are here noted. Nouns: _neut._ bodi _s. d._ 369, limen
_pl. n._ 364; _fem._ sawle _s. n._ 369, neod 349, sondes _s. g._ 346,
murðes 342, lefdi _s. d._ 355, sonden _pl. a._ 357. Adjective comp.
lessere 345 (#lǣssa#), an early instance of the double comparative; T
has lesre. Pronoun: incker _dual g._: indef. oðer _s. d._ 363, noðres
_s. g._ 347.
(3) =Of T.= It differs from B mainly in the verbal inflection. Forms
with i are few, euennin _inf._ 83, fondin 224, lutlin 327, openin 285,
sunegin 179, wursi 164, mellið _pr. pl._ 90; in the _pr. s._ -es and -eð
alternate, warnes 348, wilnes 286, bides 59 (hat B), fares 25, haues
144, makes 39, slepes 25, spekes 8, wites 52 (wit B), fleoð 158 (flið
B), beoð 146, beð 24, in the _pr. pl._ -en and -eð, habben 191, beon 14
(6), freten 96, ȝelden 213, hatien 111, iwurðen 93, snicken 96, sweren
21, beoð 17 &c., speweð 91: arn 256, schuln 340, þurn 225 are
syncopated. Beside ha, she, ho occurs 12, 40, 181; man 165 is
indefinite. The suffix of the verbal noun is regularly -ing,
cnawlechinge 292, gretinge 213, hechelinge 100. For aðet B, R 104, it
has til ꝥ, for mid B, mit R 28, wið.
#Vocabulary:# Scandinavian are ai T 53 &c., aren 107, drupnin 222,
etlunge 310, far (lac) 341, 363, fear (laic) T 341, (feir) lec R 272,
feoloh(lukest) 270 (OWScand. félagi), flute 349, flutteð 100, ȝa T 216,
ȝea T 77, hird 65, hundreð T 79, keiseres 261, lahe 193, 259, 271, lane
202, meoke 198, nowcin 163 (4), tidinges 140, til T 104, trust 184,
vmben 207, wan 129, warpe 43, varpeð 341, wengen 143, 340, witer(liche)
78, witer(luker) 285, wontin 135 (OWScand. vanta), wontreaðes 129,
wondraðes R 129, wandreðes T 129, þicke 86 (OWScand. þykkr), probably
baðe T 23, iburst 151, lustnin 217, possibly froden T 95, ȝetteð 247
(Björkman 109), ȝeieð 134 (OWScand. geyja) influenced like ȝoulen by
ȝellen (Björkman 69). French are archangles 249 (possibly Latin),
apostle 157, castel 31, chasti 11, chere 213, icheret 209, cruneð 49,
cunestable 38, 200, cunfessurs 266, enbreuet 73, false 147, falsi 163,
fol 19, feh 149, 204, grace 160, iordret 252, irobbet 26, leattres 71,
liun 151, meistre 44, meistreð 33, meoster 189, 252, mesure 174, meosure
45, patriarches 255 (possibly Latin), poure 259, preoouin 72, prophetes
255, semblant 19, seruið 247, 250, tresor 27 (3), treosor 369, tresures
339, tresorers T 339, trone 244, 260, turnes 182, ?turneð 206, aturnet
209. A Latin borrowing is martyrs 262.
#Dialect:# MS. B bears a close resemblance in all dialectal criteria to
MS. A of the Ancrene Wisse; its Anglian peculiarities are somewhat more
pronounced. MS. R differs from MS. B in its representation of #ǣ{1}# and
in the narrower range of its _u_-, _å_-umlauts; it is somewhat more
Southern than MS. B. MS. T, in the same hand as the copy of the Ancrene
Wisse, is of the mixed character described on p. 373, but the Southern
element is more extensive here.
#Style:# Sawles Warde has been divided by its latest editor into one
thousand and seventy-two half-lines of ‘rhymeless Layamonic verse,’ with
three hundred and sixty-two varieties of scansion, nearly two hundred of
which are each represented by a single line. Much ME. verse, the
Proverbs of Alfred, the Brut, the Bestiary for example, is, like Sawles
Warde, written continuously, but its verse character is always
definitely indicated by its punctuation, in Layamonic verse by a half-
or full stop at the end of the half-line and a full stop at the end of
the line. But, as Luick has shown, Sawles Warde has a prose punctuation
of natural pauses in reading, of clause and sentence, a contention which
may readily be tested by the texts in the present book, which reproduce
the manuscripts in this detail. Thus the punctuation of Sawles Warde
which has been adduced as an indication of its verse character is
evidence to the contrary.
Some specimens of the verse with the editor’s scansion are: ‘téacheð us
þùrh a bísnè,’ 117/4: ‘Þis hús þe ùre láuèrd | spékeð òf, is sèolf þe
món,’ 117/8: ‘þe éarèste is Wárschìpe | icléopet, ànt te óðèr | is
gástelìch Stréncðè,’ 118/36: ‘Wárschìpe, þet àa is wáker, | ìs offéared,
lèste súm | fortrúste hìm ant fèole oslép,’ 118/53: ‘hwuch só he mèi
préouìn | þùrh his bóc, þèt is ón | euch súnnè ibréuèt,’ 119/72. Now
Bartels points out that in Layamon’s verse there is no _enjambment_ and
no beginning of a clause in the middle of a half-line. Furthermore,
there is no rhythm in these lines which remotely resembles either the
recitative of Layamon’s alliterative line or the syllabic measure of his
rhymed lines. But the fatal objection is the absence of alliteration or
rhyme, for without one of these or a combination of the two there is no
verse at all in Middle English; they are of the essence of its form. For
Orm is an eccentric and absolutely isolated; his verse would be
recognizable by his contemporaries as such only in virtue of the rigid
uniformity of its rhythm.
Sawles Warde is written in the same rhythmic prose, and by the same
author, as AR and the other pieces mentioned on p. 373, including the
Wohunge of Ure Lauerd (OEH i. 269-87) and the Ureisun of God Almihti
(id. 200-3). The evolution of this style is easily followed. The writer
began his literary career with his memory well stocked with alliterative
formulae and other phrases, derived in some small measure from the
pre-Conquest literature, but mostly from a body of popular poetry which
is represented by isolated pieces like the Worcester Fragments. His
first writings, SJ and SM, are overloaded with them, and they have
impressed their peculiar movement more or less on the stretches of prose
which link them together. Accordingly many passages in SJ for example
approach much more nearly to verse than anything in Sawles Warde. Take
at random 143/68-72:--
sei me hwi þu forsakest[;] þi sy ant ti selhðe.
þe weolen ant te wunnen[;] þe walden awakenen.
ant waxen of þe wedlac[;] þet ich reade þe to.
hit nis nan eðelich þing[;] þe refschipe of rome.
ant tu maht ȝef þu wult[;] beon burhene leafdi.
ant of alle þe londes[;] þe þerto liggeð.
This has the right swing, and its slightly faulty alliteration could
easily be mended, yet Saint Juliana is not verse. In SK, HM, AR, and SW
we can observe a gradual and progressive diminution of this borrowed
matter, but the verse cadences persist to the end.
#Introduction:# Einenkel, in the preface to his edition of Saint
Katherine, claims to have proved that Saint Juliana and Saint Margaret
were written by one author, Saint Katherine by another, and Hali
Meidenhad by a third. His proof rests largely on the untenable
assumption that a Middle English author, whatever the length of his
literary career, or the changes in his environment, or the nature of his
subject, by reason of his unbending ‘individuality’ did not vary in his
vocabulary, phrases, or turns of expression. So if words in sufficient
number occur often in one writing and seldom or not at all in another,
if the percentage of the foreign element is not similar, if the synonyms
for abstract notions like joy and sorrow, luck and mishap are not the
same, the compositions must be the work of different authors. Of far
other significance are the unity, not uniformity, of style which
pervades the whole group in orderly and natural development, the unity
of subject, that is, the praise of virginity and its superior virtue
over other states of life, the recurrence of a considerable number of
characteristic words, phrases, and constructions found seldom or never
outside the group, the presence throughout of a pronounced Scandinavian
element testifying at least to a common dialect of origin.
As has already (p. 376) been suggested, this literature is best
understood as a product of the Gilbertine movement. The lives of the
female saints, of whom two resist marriage and the other says of Christ
‘He haueð iweddet him to mi meiðhad,’ were suitable reading for the
Gilbertine nuns, and the anchoresses, for whom the Ancrene Wisse was
written, had a copy at least of Saint Margaret. Hali Meidenhad was
probably occasioned by the affair of the nun at Watton, one of Gilbert’s
foundations, which is related by Gilbert’s friend, Ailred of Rievaulx,
in what is one of the most extraordinary revelations of the mediaeval
clerical mind on the subject of the single life: it shows us the younger
nuns of Watton far outdoing in ferocity their exemplar Saint Juliana,
and helps to the understanding of the sentiment in Hali Meidenhad, which
is so distasteful and even revolting to modern feeling that some have
thought it impossible that the author of the mild wisdom of the Ancrene
Wisse could have any part in it. But it must be observed that much of
the abusive language about the married state in Hali Meidenhad is not
original, some of it is as old as S. Jerome, and no one is so likely to
have written the treatise as the enthusiastic founder of an order of
nuns.
The writer has already used the main idea of the allegory in the Ancrene
Wisse (M 172, 271). The parallelism pointed out in the note on l. 82 of
Sawles Warde is another indication of common authorship; it is not like
a borrowing, nor can it be accounted for by independent use of the curt
Latin original. Finally, the passage 125/268-278 in glorification of the
‘feire ferreden of uirgines in heouene,’ SK 2309, which is an addition
of the author’s, strikes the dominant note of all his works.
The Latin original of Sawles Warde was again adapted by the writer of
the supplement to the Ayenbite of Inwyt, pp. 263-9, presumably Dan
Michel of Northgate; his version is much closer to the original, and he
does not seem to have been acquainted with that of his predecessor.
1. With the title comp. ‘Mid alle cunne warde (= custodia) . . . wite
wel þine heorte, uor soule lif is in hire; ȝif heo is wel iwust,’ AR
48/5; ‘þonne se weard swefeð, | sawele hyrde,’ Beowulf, 1741 (with
Holthausen’s note).