Read Ebook: Early English Alliterative Poems in the West-Midland Dialect of the Fourteenth Century by Morris Richard Editor

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 295 lines and 147210 words, and 6 pages

Positive. Comparative. Superlative. Fer , ferre , ferrest. He?e , herre, he?est . Ne?e nerre, nerrest . Sare , sarre, sarrest. Forme , formast. Mikelle , mo most. Yvel, ill , wers , werst.

first , the forme, secunde, that other, tother, thryd, } thrydde, } fur?e, fyf?e, sexte, seven?e, a?t?e, nente, ten?e, } ty?e. }

Other idioms, which have generally been confounded with those last mentioned, have the indeterminate pronoun preceded by a nominative absolute.

The following table exhibits the declension of the personal and relative pronouns:--

SINGULAR. Nom. I, thou, he, ho, hit. Gen. My, myn, thy, thyn, his, hir, her, hit. Dat. Me, the, him, hir, her, hit. Acc. Me, the, him, hir, her, hit.

PLURAL. Nom. We, ?e, thay, hit. Gen. Oure, yor, youre, her , hor, hit. Dat. Vus , yow, you, hem, hom, hit. Acc. Vus , yow, you, hem, hom, hit.

Nom. Who . Gen. Whose . Dat. . Acc. .

The verb in the West-Midland dialect is conjugated according to the following model:--

INDICATIVE MOOD.

PRESENT TENSE. Singular. Plural. hope, hopen. hopes, hopen. hopes, hopen.

PRETERITE TENSE. hopede , hopeden. hopedes , hopeden. hopede , hopeden.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

Hope . Hopes .

PARTICIPLES.

Imperfect or Active. Perfect or Passive. Hopande. Hoped.

INDICATIVE MOOD.

PRESENT TENSE.

Singular. kerve, renne, smite, stonde. kerves, rennes, smites, stondes. kerves, rennes, smites, stondes.

Plural. kerven, rennen, smiten, stonden. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,,

PRETERITE TENSE.

Singular. carf, ran, smot, stod. carve, ranne, smote, stode. carf, ran, smot, stod.

Plural. corven, runnen, smiten, stonden. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,,

PASSIVE PARTICIPLES.

Corven, runnen, smiten, stonden.

The Northumbrian dialect does not preserve any separate form for the preterite plural, and this distinction is not always observed in the present poems.

+Table of Verbs.+

A.--SIMPLE ORDER.

Present. Preterite. Passive Participle.

B.--COMPLEX ORDER.

Present. Preterite. Passive Participle.

Present. Preterite. Passive Participle.

+Anomalous Verbs.+

Can, pret. couthe. Dare, ,, dorste. May, ,, mi?te. Mot, ,, moste. O?e , ,, o?te. Schal, ,, scholde, schulde. Thar, ,, thurte. Wote, ,, wiste. Wille, ,, wolde.

INDICATIVE MOOD.

PRESENT TENSE. PAST TENSE.

Singular. am. was, wat?. art. was, wat?. is, bes, bet?. was, wat?.

Plural. arn, are, ar. wern, were. arn, are, ar. wern, were. arn, are, ar. wern, were.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MANUSCRIPT USED IN THE PRESENT VOLUME.

+Cotton MS. Nero A. x.+ A small quarto volume, consisting of three different MSS. bound together, which originally had no connection with each other. Prefixed is an imperfect list of contents in the hand-writing of James, the Bodley Librarian.

The first portion consists of a panegyrical oration in Latin by Justus de Justis, on John Chedworth, archdeacon of Lincoln, dated at Verona 16th July, 1468. It occupies thirty-six folios, written on vellum, and is the original copy presented by the author.

This portion of the volume extends from fol. 37 to fol. 126, inclusive, and is written by one and the same hand, in a small, sharp, irregular character, which is often, from the paleness of the ink, and the contractions used, difficult to read. There are no titles or rubrics, but the divisions are marked by large initial letters of blue, flourished with red, and several illuminations, coarsely executed, serve by way of illustration, each of which occupies a page.

In the second the same person appears, drawn on a larger scale, and standing by the stream. In the third he occurs nearly in the same position, with his hands raised, and on the opposite side a lady dressed in white, in the costume of Richard the Second's and Henry the Fourth's time, buttoned tight up to the neck, with long hanging sleeves. Her hair is plaited on each side, and on her head is a crown. In the fourth we see the author kneeling by the water, and beyond the stream is depicted a castle or palace, on the embattled wall of which appears the same lady, with her arm extended towards him.

The poem commences on fol. 39, and consists of one hundred and one twelve-line stanzas, every five of which conclude with the same line, and are connected by the iteration of a leading expression. It concludes on fol. 55b.

It is occupied wholly with the story of Jonas, as applicable to the praise of meekness and patience; and ends on fol. 90.

Mi mind is mukel on on, ?t wil me no?t amende, Sum time was trewe as ston, & fro schame cou? hir defende.

CONTRACTIONS USED IN THE GLOSSARY.

The letters A. B. C. refer severally to the poems, entitled by me, "The Pearl," "Cleanness," and "Patience."

Errata

Sy?en i ?at spote hit fro me sprange, Ofte haf I wayted wyschande ?at wele, ?at wont wat? whyle deuoyde my wrange, & heuen my happe & al my hele, 16 ?t dot? bot ?rych my hert ?range, My breste in bale bot bolne & bele. ?et ?o?t me neu so swete a sange, As stylle stoude let to me stele, 20 For-so?e ? fleten to me fele, To ?enke hir color so clad i clot; O moul ?u marre? a myry mele. My piuy perle wt-outen spotte, 24

?at spot of spyse? my?t nede? sprede, ?er such ryche? to rot is runen; Blome? blayke & blwe & rede, ?er schyne? ful schyr agayn ?e sune. 28 Flor & fryte may not be fede, ?er hit dou drof i molde? dune, For vch gresse mot grow of grayne? dede, No whete were elle? to wone? wone; 32 Of goud vche goude is ay by-gone. So semly a sede mo?t fayly not, ?t sprygande spyce? vp ne spone, Of ?at pcios perle wyth-outen spotte. 36

Bifore ?at spot my honde I spend, For care ful colde ?at to me ca?t; A denely dele in my hert dened, ?a? resou sette my seluen sa?t. 52 I playned my perle ?t ? wat? spened Wyth fyrte skylle? ?at faste fa?t, ?a? kynde of kryst me comfort kened, My wreched wylle i wo ay wra?te. 56 I felle vpon ?at floy fla?t, Suche odo to my herne? schot; I slode vpon a slepyg sla?te, On ?at pcos perle wt-outen spot. 60

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet