#Dialect#: Late Yorkshire.
#Vocabulary#: Northern are _then_ 108 (note), and _at_ 'to' 235.
#Inflexions#:
VERB: pres. ind. 2 sg. _thou spekis_ 206.
3 sg. _ligis he_ 84; _he settis_ 92; _(God)
knowes_ 202.
1 pl. _we swete or swynk_ 195.
2 pl. _ye carp_ (in rime) 360.
3 pl. _thay ryn_ (in rime) 277, 357; beside
_has_ 345, _renys_ 351.
pres. p. _liffand_ 73, _bowand_ 76, _wirkand_ 120 (all in
rime); beside _lifyng_ 47, 48; _standyng_ 416; _taryyng_
497.
strong pp. _rysen_ 442; _fon_ 'found' 503 is a Northern
short form.
PRONOUN 3 PERS.: sg. fem. nom. _she_ 186;
pl. _thay_ 27; _thare_ 75; _thaym_ 31. (MS. _hame_ 143 is
miswritten for _thame_.)
#Sounds#: OE. _ā_ appears as _ǭ_ in rime: _old_: _cold_: _mold_
(OE. _móld_) 60-2, and probably _dold_: _old_ 266-70; _sore_: _store_:
_therfor_: _more_ 91-4; but elsewhere remains _ā_, e.g. _draw_ (OE.
_drăgan_): _knaw_ 245-6. The spelling with _o_ is the commoner.
See notes on _emong_ 400; _grufe_ 463.
#Spelling#: Note the Northern spellings with _i_, _y_ following a vowel
to indicate length: _moyne_ 'moon' 6, _bayle_ 'bale' 26, _leyde_ =
_lede_ 48; and conversely _farest_ 'fairest' 79, _fath_ 'faith' 330.
* * * * *
The maritime associations of the play of _Noah_ made it a special
favourite with the Trinity House guild of master mariners and pilots at
Hull; and some of their records of payments for acting and equipment are
preserved, although the text of their play is lost (Chambers, _Mediaeval
Stage_, vol. ii, pp. 370-1):
_anno_ To the minstrels, 6d.
1485. To Noah and his wife, 1s. 6d.
To Robert Brown playing God, 6d.
To the Ship-child, 1d.
To a shipwright for clinking Noah's ship, one day, 7d.
22 kids for shoring Noah's ship, 2d.
To a man clearing away the snow, 1d.
Straw for Noah and his children, 2d.
Mass, bellman, torches, minstrels, garland &c., 6s.
For mending the ship, 2d.
To Noah for playing, 1s.
To straw and grease for wheels, ¼d.
To the waits for going about with the ship, 6d.
1494. To Thomas Sawyr playing God, 10d.
To Jenkin Smith playing Noah, 1s.
To Noah's wife, 8d.
The clerk and his children, 1s. 6d.
To the players of Barton, 8d.
For a gallon of wine, 8d.
For three skins for Noah's coat, making it, and a rope to
hang the ship in the kirk, 7s.
To dighting and gilding St. John's head, painting two
tabernacles, beautifying the boat and over the table,
7s. 2d.
Making Noah's ship, £5. 8s.
Two wrights a day and a half, 1s. 6d.
A halser [i.e. hawser] 4 stone weight, 4s. 8d.
Rigging Noah's ship, 8d.
* * * * *