Chapter XV: Part 15

58. #hope to#: see 178/89 note. #heoreð . . . mid mihte#, strenuously exalt; from #herian#, to glorify: it might be from #hīeran#, to obey, but the former meaning is more suitable here; comp. 102/139.

59-68. There is little doubt that Layamon found this strange jumble of the gods of the Romans, Teutons, and French Romance in his original, but appollin and teruagant are missing in the printed Wace. Identification of the Roman gods with those of the Teutons and Celts proceeded rapidly among the barbarians from the first century onward, so that the Spanish bishop, Martin of Bracara, denouncing in the sixth century the pagan practices of his flock, uses the Roman names of the gods (De Correctione Rusticorum, ed. Caspari, pp. xci, 7-11), in which he is followed by Ælfric in the homily De Diis Falsis (Kemble, Solomon and Saturn, 120; Wulfstan, ed. Napier, 104). L appears not to have known that under this system Mercurius is Woden; Jupiter, Thunor; Mars, Tiw; Venus, Frea; and Phoebus, perhaps the Sun, yet Wace says ‘Mercurion | Qui en nostre langage a non | Woden.’ In L 16790-4, there is a similar list of the Saxon gods with addition of Dido{n} and Mamilon.

60. #weoli#, rich, powerful.

62. #hæhste#: comp. ‘Nu hateð Aganippus[;] þe is þe heȝest ouer us,’ L 3648: ‘Deorum maxime Mercurium colunt,’ Tacitus, Germania, 9: see Müllenhoff, Deutsche Alterthumskunde, iv. 212.

63. #appollin# is the god of Cassivellaunus, L 8081: one of the three idols of the Saracens in French romance, Mahomet and Tervagant being the others; ‘Mahummet sert e Apollin recleimet,’ Chanson de Roland, 8; ‘La lei i fut Mahum e Tervagan,’ id. 611. In L, Tervagant is the god of the Romans, 5353. #wel idon#: see 94/9 note. #of gret win# O, in whom we greatly delight: OE. #wynn#.

66. #hired men#, members of a household, courtiers. But Frea had nothing to do with these; she was the patroness and helper of lovers. Possibly L has misunderstood cortoier or cortois in his original.

67. #dihteð#, guides, directs.

69. Comp. ‘and habben þa ilke læȝen[;] þe stoden bi heore ældre dæwen,’ L 5960. #hehde# is for hefde: comp. ‘what he i Rome hæhde biwunnen,’ L 10547; ‘enne sune he hehde,’ id. 6958, 30185: for other instances in L of h substituted for f, see Luhmann, 45: the expression, to hold the highest law, may well mean, to have the highest authority, for Layamon’s use of laȝe is very wide and varied. But Brotanek treats #hehde# as _past_ of heȝen, OE. #hēgan#, to put in force, to establish: this in L is hæhȝede, heȝede: Logeman suggests hehte (OE. #hatan#), promised.

71. #heom# is written for him, and they did worship to him: the subject heo is not expressed, because it is contained in heore preceding: see 6/18.

72-76. The Romans adopted the week of seven days, with their allotment to the heavenly bodies, from the Chaldaeans. They were already well acquainted with it in the first century A.D., and it was in regular use in the third. Owing to their many points of contact with the barbarians, it spread rapidly everywhere among the northern nations, each of which adapted it by substitution of their own equivalent deities in the names of the days, Saturn alone proving intractable (see Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, 1. 122 ff; Müllenhoff, iv. 644 ff.). The North German invaders were already in possession of the system when they settled in England: comp. Byrhtferth’s Handboc, Anglia, viii. 321/4-17.

72. #to wurðscipe#, in his honour. #wendesdei# O, for Wednesdei, is representative of *Wēdnes-, Wǣdnes-dæg, out of Wōdines. (Holthausen, Anglia, Beiblatt, iii. 39.)

73. #þunres dæi#, day of Thunor: #þorisdai# O is Scandinavian: ODanish þūr (Björkman, 181): OE. #þūres dæg#. Comp. 85/99.

74. #fridæi#: OE. #frige-dæg#, the day of Freya, identified with Venus.

75. #sætterdæi# corresponds to OFrisian saterdei, OE. #Sæterdei#: #sateresdei# O to OE. #sæteresdæg#. The fullest form is #Sæternes dæg# = Sāturni dies (? Sǣ; see Anglia, Beiblatt, xx. 194). #þene# should be #þere#. #sonedæi#: OE. #sunnan-dæg#; perhaps OWScand. sunnudagr has influenced the ME. form.

76. #monedæi#: OFrisian mōnedei. #tisdæi#: OWScand. týsdagr: OE. #tīwes-dæg#. #Tidea# is said in the glossary to Specimens to be a Latinized form of Tiw in the _dat._ case, without support from any parallel and without explanation of _d_: probably it is a mistake for Tiwe, and as O has Tydea, the mistake would be derived from an earlier MS. common to both.

81. #wurse#, the evil one, the devil; comp. 110/291; ‘þat he wið þene wurse spæc,’ L 2841 where O has ‘feonde.’

82. #nohtes#, of a worthless kind: a descriptive genitive used predicatively: comp. ‘eower godas ne synd nahtes,’ Ælf. Lives, i. 182/205; ‘ne beoð ha riht nohtes,’ SJ 22/10: it is in principle the same as ‘ðæt fleax ðæt bið hwites hiewes,’ Cura Past. 86/19.

83. ‘Mult volanters vous retanrai,’ W 6957.

84. #ohte#, doughty: OE. #āht#, shortened from #āwiht#: so the root sense is ‘anything, good for anything, worth something.’ Comp. ‘ahte cniht wes Auelin,’ L 8141.

86. #scome . . . grome#: see 96/57 note, and for the corresponding verbs comp. ‘þerfore him ofte scomede[;] ⁊ his heorte gromede,’ L 13763.

94. #dringches#, warriors: OWScand. drengr, young man: the change of e to i is normal; see Björkman, 292.

95. #hændest# is taken by the editors generally as, nearest (to him), but everywhere else in L it means, courteous, or the like: comp. 98/77: perhaps him should be omitted.

97. #him to#, to Vortigern, but #senden# is corrupt; reading, seoððen siȝen him to, the meaning would be, next the Saxon knights followed after them; comp. ‘þe eorles heom siȝen to[;] mid fele heore cnihtes,’ L 9996.

98. #aldene# cannot be right, its final e does not belong to the dat. sing.: comp. ‘in alden hire de{n}ne,’ L 22027. Read aldrene, of the kin of his ancestors: comp. 98/69, 104/193; ‘of his eoldrene istreon,’ L 18609.

99. #hændeliche# is translated by Mätzner, courteously; rather, making a brave show.

100. #iscrudde . . . iuædde#: comp. ‘he us haueð wel iued[;] he us haueð wel iscrud,’ L 13573; 104/190.

101. #hængest# is the last word on the page, and the scribe has in consequence omitted -es: for #swaine# read swaines.

102. #hehne#, ‘hæhne,’ L 11378, represents OE. #hēanne#, _acc._ of #hēan#, mean, humble, and ‘hæne,’ 106/204, its _nom._ #hēane#: but ‘hæhne,’ 106/205, represents the _acc._ of #hēah#, high (seldom #hēahne#, mostly #heanne#).

104. Comp. ‘Nes hit noh[t] longe[;] buten ane stu{n}de,’ L 14423. #ne#: see 25/241 note. #longe# is adverbial in form.

108. Comp. ‘ꝥ lond heo þurh arnden[;] ⁊ herȝeden ⁊ barnden,’ L 12129, 9934.

109. #ænde#: see 96/34. #iuald#, they fell; comp. ‘sixti þusende[;] he leide to þen gronde,’ L 4751.

111 is formal: see 102/142, L 1035, 3147 &c.

117. #duden--iwune#, behaved as usual: comp. ‘hu Osric Edwines sune[;] dude ut-laȝen wune,’ L 31270.

120. Comp. ‘þat fæht wes swuðe strong[;] ⁊ swuðe stær ⁊ swuðe longe,’ L 4170.

121. ‘Por ce que vaincre les soloient | Lor costume tenir voloient; | Mais lor usage i ont perdu,’ W 6991.

122. #an oðer#, _nom. adj._ agreeing with hit: the construction is frequent in L; comp. ‘ah al an oðer hit iwærd[;] oðer he iwende,’ L 17336: oðer, _adj._ is also found in the same construction; comp. 203/202; ‘ah al hit iwrað (= iwarð) oðer[;] þene heo iwenden,’ L 19506, but it is mostly adverbial, as, ‘ah al heo þohten oðer,’ L 5429; ‘al oþer hit schal go,’ OEM 41/140.

123. If #hele# represents OE. #hælo#, safety, #heom# means, to the Britons, but the transition is abrupt, and Logeman suggests that #hele# may mean, thing hidden, secret; its known meanings being, concealment, hiding-place; it might be better to substitute iheled for #al hele#.

127. #feondliche#, furiously; comp. ‘Dunwal i þan fæhte[;] wes feondliche kene,’ L 4168, where O substitutes ‘swiþe.’ #feollen þa fæie#: an oft-repeated formula in L.

130. #vnnifoȝe#: OE. #ungefōg#, immense; here, countless. Comp. ‘muchel ⁊ unifoh,’ L 8674, ‘monie ⁊ vniuoȝe,’ id. 13187; ‘For noldest þu nefre [hab]ben inouh, buten þu hefdest unifouh,’ Worcester Frag. D 39.

132. #on uast#, close to, fast by him; OE. #on# + #fæst#: comp. ‘He makede an temple onfest þe baðe,’ L 2852: but Luhmann, p. 95, deduces it from #on œfeste#, influenced by the _prep._ fæst bi.

133. The subject of #ȝef# is he, contained in kinge: see 6/18. ‘Et Lindesée et bons manoirs,’ W.

134. ‘unc sceal worn fela | māþma gemǣnra,’ Beowulf, 1783, 4.

136. #a þan ilke#, on the same footing, thus: comp. ‘⁊ þus ane stonde[;] hit stod æ ðon ilka,’ L 3117, 3716, 14890 &c. ‘Ensi ont longement esté | Et lor amor a mult dure,’ W 7001.

137. For #londes# read londe, or for #þan#, þas.

139 O. #hendeliche#, cleverly.

141. #hæȝe dæie#, festival; mostly associated with religious observance; comp. ‘Hit wes an anne hæhȝe dæie[;] halȝede{n} leoden,’ L 10708. ‘Un jor trova le roi haitié | Si l’a à consel afaitié,’ W 7009. #duȝeðe monnen#, the men of his nobility, the retainers of his court; the first element answers to OE. #duguðe#, _s. g._ of #duguð#.

148. #ræcchen . . . runen#, expound, disclose secret counsels; comp. ‘summe heo muche runen[;] ræhten heom bitweone{n},’ L 25123; ‘þe sunne reccheð hire rune euch buten reste,’ SM 9/30. (‘Sol in aspectu annuncians in exitu, vas admirabile opus excelsi,’ Ecclus. xliii. 2.)

150. #halden to wraððe# apparently means, consider it a ground for anger: perhaps wenden should be read for halden.

153. #þine monscipe ihæȝed#, advanced thy dignity; comp. ‘⁊ mine monscipe hæien,’ 5451; ‘þurh þe haueð Morgan mi mæi[;] is mo{n}scipe afallet,’ id. 3838.

154. #þine#: see 92/26.

157. ‘Ai jo assés aparçéu | . . . | Que tu n’en as baron qui t’aint; | Cascuns te het, cascuns te plaint,’ W 7017.

158. #bare#, actual, absolute; comp. ‘his leode hine hateden | in to þan bare dæðe,’ L 7034; ‘bi þine bare life,’ id. 25800. #þare# O is a scribal error.

159. #stilleliche#, secretly; so too stille 104/170; comp. ‘mid stilliche runen,’ L 355; ‘mid heore stil rune,’ id. 3249: with #spilieð# comp. 110/266; ‘Þus speken þeos swiken[;] and spileden mid worde,’ L 3816.

161. #ambrosie#: Aurelius Ambrosius: O has the former name.

163. #laȝen#, ways, practices, a sense developed out of that of custom, but Mätzner translates, in a treasonable manner. His death was compassed by Vortigern, as O says.

169. #androeinnes#: L has elsewhere only Androgeus, and Androgeum as in W, with once Androchies _gen._ 8194. The present form corresponds to Androgen, Andragen, Andragenus of the prose Brut, ed. Brie, p. 33.

173. #kineliche#, royal, and therefore in the king’s gift.

175. Comp. ‘Þin hired þe hateð for me | ⁊ ich æm iuæid for þe,’ L 14458. #iuaid# is _pp._ of ȝefeogen, OE. *#gefēogan#: see NED v. 525, _s.v._ ivee. #iveiþed# is _pp._ of a derivative verb from OE. #fæhð#, feud: it occurs four times in O. #uor þe#, because of your unpopularity. #ic wene# &c., I expect to be killed.

176. #fare# &c.: see 34/86.

177. #biclused#: comp. ‘⁊ hæuede Valentin wel uaste | biclused in ane castle,’ L 12191: elsewhere O substitutes ‘bituned.’ ‘Si ai por toi maint anemi; | Ne puis par nuit estre aséur | Fors de castel et fors de mur,’ W 7040.

180. #of--idon#: see 94/9 note.

182. #wine maies#: OE. #wine mǣg#, a loving kinsman: L has also vniwinen, onwines, enemies, 14466.

184. #hiren#: comp. 94/19, 98/68. ‘Plus séurs en sera de moi | Et jo en servirai mius toi,’ W 7035.

188. #afeoh#: ‘Et bien les recoif et conroie,’ W 7052.

190. #ueden . . . scruden#: see 100/100.

195. #Þa ȝet#, still: OE. #þā git#. Comp. ‘hafde þa ȝet an ho{n}de,’ L 8540; ‘þe ȝet þe he wes i Rome’ (= while he was still in Rome), id. 9733.

196. #driȝen#, submit to. #her# &c., in this and in all things.

201. #stonden--hond#, to be in my possession permanently: comp. ‘Nu stond al þis muchele lo{n}d[;] a Bailenes aȝere hond,’ L 4330. Stonden in L often means little more than beon. #a#, unemphatic on: comp. ll. 215, 210.

202. #anes bule hude#: Madden suggests an or bules, but in the glossary treats bule as genitive: Mätzner thinks bule may represent a Scand. gen. bola; but bule-hude is a compound of which the first element is uninflected, yet genitive in essence, and so capable of association with an adjective in that case: the principle is the same as in ahnes, 74/207 note; the meaning is, the hide of one bull. #Ælches weies#, in every direction, but Mätzner explains, in any wise, any way, quoting ‘Ælches weies him wes wa,’ 18703, where the meaning appears to be, in both directions, on either side. #in grene# O, on a green, is a curious variant, and an early use of the noun in this sense.

204. #hæne . . . riche#; a frequent combination in L: it means the lowly . . . the exalted, the commons . . . the nobles, rather than, the poor . . . the rich.

210. #þer . . . on#, on which: see 1/3.

213. #þe# refers to hude. #wunder ane strong#: this combination of wunder ane with an adjective as here and at 106/219, 108/258, is frequent in the older text of L. So we find wunder ane brad, bliðe, cræftie, deop, fæir, laðe, lihte, monie, wod. It is also found with adverbs, as ‘Þa weop Vðer[;] wunder ane swiðe,’ L 18140, and once ‘bitter ane swiðe’ occurs, L 30302, where O has ‘biterliche swiþe.’ For wunder ane, O usually substitutes swiþe or wunderliche or rewrites or omits, but once for ‘wunder ane kene,’ 19935, it has kept ‘wonder one kene.’ #Wunder# is an adverb, as in ‘Þat feht wes wnder strong,’ L 1744; ‘mid wu{n}der muchele strengðe,’ id. 25078, and #ane# is OE. #ǣne#, #āne#, adverbial derivative of #ān#, in an extended use, uniquely, exceptionally, so that the combination means, wonderfully strong beyond all comparison. The translation in Specimens, ‘a wonderfully strong one,’ does not take into account the form of ane, and anticipates the pronominal use of an. In ‘su{m}me heo sæten stille[;] mucle ane stunde,’ L 25121, ane is the acc. of the article, the meaning being, for a long time.

214. #cuðe a#: on and of interchange with this verb elsewhere in L: so ‘And alle þe cuðe a boken,’ C 14431, ‘Ac al þat couþe of boke,’ O.

218. #swulc#, as it were: OE. #swylce#: O regularly substitutes ase.

220. ‘Une coroie en estendi | De coi grant tère avirona,’ W 7072. Similar tales are found in Virgil, Aeneid, i. 371; Saxo Grammaticus, ed. Holder, p. 143, of Ivar’s foundation of London: comp. Geoffrey of Monmouth, ed. San Marte, p. 313.

223. #muchele ⁊ mare#, great and glorious: B-T. quotes ‘Mære ⁊ miclu weorc drihtnes,’ Ps. Lamb., cx. 2.

224. #scop . . . hire#, shaped for it: OE. #naman#, or #to naman scieppan#, with dat. of person or thing named, as ‘scōp him Heor[o]t naman,’ Beowulf, 78; 179/107 note. L has a weak past also, ‘ah scupte him nome,’ 1951. ‘Cest non Vancastre li a mis, | El langage de son païs. | Vancastre cest nom del quir prent, | Sel puet l’on nomer altrement | Chastel de coroie en romans, | Kaer Kaerai en bretans. | Or l’apèlent pluisor Lancastre | Qui ne savoient l’aqoison | Dont Vancastre ot premier cest non,’ W 7075-84. The traditional site is Tong in Kent: ‘Tong Castle or rather Thong Castle, in Saxon Þwangceastre, in British Caer Kerry . . . both whiche woordes signifie a Thong of leather,’ Lambarde, A Perambulation of Kent, ed. 1576, p. 195. But Camden in his Britannia, published in 1586, p. 306, places it in Lincolnshire, at Caster, six miles from Grimsby. L specializes in place-names; see his account of London, 7099, Hampton, 9376, Caen, 27923, Cernel, 29674. The formula in l. 227 occurs at 6062, 9380 &c.

228. #gome# is translated ‘adventure’ by Madden, rather, proceeding, tricky device.

230. #lane castel# and Wace’s ‘Lancastre’ can hardly be meant for Lancaster; they are possibly due to the Lincolnshire tradition.

232. #com# is practically an auxiliary verb: comp. ‘Leir wes cumen liðen,’ Lear had arrived, L 3626, 5379; ‘Þenne þu cumes faren ham,’ when thou dost fare home, id. 4398: similarly ‘gon forð liðe,’ 108/243, 245.

233. Read rideren: used vaguely for knights.

234. #comen# is probably an interpolation. #to iwiten#, that is to say: comp. ‘and forð he gon liðen[;] mid his Brutleoden. | þat is to iwitene[;] mid twa hundred scipene,’ L 30914. #æhtene#, ‘good,’ Madden; but the meaning wanted is, eighteen large ships; ‘Vinrent dix huit nés cargies | De chevaliers et de maisnies,’ W 7087; and so Madden corrects, iii. 487. Mätzner reads æhtetene, OE. #eahta tyne#, but ahtene occurs again C 18015, where O has ehtetene.

237. #umbe while#, after a (short) time: so ‘umbe stunde,’ L 26505; ‘umben ane stunde,’ id. 15924; ‘umben longne first,’ id. 287: O has usually the same variant as here, but ‘bi on lutel stunde,’ O 11969: see KH 333 note.

238. #mid#, among, ranking with: comp. ‘cniht mid þane beste,’ L 707, ‘swike mid þan meste,’ id. 2547; ‘hærm mid þon meste,’ id. 9806.

239. #bad# in C is OE. #bēad#, offered him hospitality; in O, OE. #bæd#, invited him to a banquet, as also in C 241. #gistninge#, entertainment; ME. gistnen, derivative of OE. #giest#, influenced by OWScand. gista: see Björkman, 152.

240. #to ȝeines him#, against his coming, to receive him: comp. ‘scipen he þer funde. | þat to-ȝenes him weoren ibonned,’ L 9731. Elsewhere in L the preposition is joined with a verb of motion.

241. #fæire underfon#: see 5/11 note.

245. #ꝥ#, until: see 72/179.

246. ‘Le castel et l’oevre agarda, | Mult fu bien fais, mult le loa,’ W 7103.

249. Layamon’s delight in descriptions of feasts and music is in strong contrast to Wace’s prosaic manner. The present passage may be compared with L 3634, 5107, 14946. Mätzner would read gomen-men, musicians, or gleomen, with change of cleopien into gleowien, but #gomen# means games, a regular accompaniment of the feast (see KH 478 note), and #cleopien# proclaim, as in ‘Lette þe king gan awal[;] ⁊ lude clepien ouer al,’ L 3644.

250. #hetten#, ordered; perhaps a mistake for letten, as L has generally hehten in this sense. With #breden# comp. ‘bordes heo brædden,’ L 18523, where O has ‘bordes hii leide{n}’: it means, to cover with cloth and viands.

251. #dræm# &c.: comp. 102/146; ‘blisse wes on folke,’ L 5108, ‘blisse wes on hirede,’ id. 14947.

252. #þa--iloten#, then had the better fallen to their lot; lucky men were they! OE. #gehlēotan#, to share by lot.

253-268. In L 14956-81 Ronwen again appears as cupbearer.

254. #vnimete prude#, boundless splendour: OE. #prȳto#, influenced in this meaning by OWScand. prýþi, ornament.

255. #al ꝥ scrud#, all the clothing; _sing._, the _pl._ is ‘alle þa scrud,’ L 10180: the number changes in #heo weoren#. #ibon#, prepared, adorned: comp. ‘wel wes he ibon,’ L 12805, in O alle wel idiht; ‘þas scipen ibone,’ id. 32037. It is an East Scand. _pp._ bōin, as buen is West Scand. búinn: ‘iboned,’ L 8086, with same meaning is _pp._ of the derivative *ibonen parallel with bounen, derivative of buen. See Björkman, 206.

256. #ibrusted#, made bristly, rough: comp. ‘alle þai mete-burdes[;] ibrusted (ibrustled O) mid golde,’ L 24667; ‘vestes auroque ostroque rigentes,’ Virg. Æn., xi. 72.

261. #sæt#, went down on: comp. ‘þa hie for þam cumble on cneowum sæton,’ Grein, ii. 484/180: see KH 781 note.

263. #wæs hæil# is OWScand. væs heill, be well, good health to you! In ‘Lavert King wes hel tant li dist,’ W 7115, the forms are English: comp. ‘Wes þu, Hroðgar, hal!’ Beowulf, 407. #for--uæin#: see 94/24: O means, for thy coming is wholesome to me; for #comes#, plural with meaning of singular, comp. ‘hwanan eowre cyme syndon,’ Beowulf, 257; ‘hwonan his cyme sindon,’ Grein, iii. 89/1196; and for the usual expression, 94/24 note.

266. See 102/159. #weoren#, might be.

267. #Keredic#: ‘Redic li respondi premiers, | Brez ert, si fu bons latiniers; | Ce fu li premiers des Bretons | Qui sot le langaige as Sessons,’ W 7119. The name, Cerdic, Ceredic, Cerdicelmet, is in Nennius, ed. Petrie, ch. xxxvii. #sellic#, marvellous, gifted.

268. #ær# is probably a scribe’s mistake for æuer, due to #her# following.

271. #tiðende#, _pl._ practice: see 96/35; and for Hit with beoð _pl._ 1/10, 94/7. ‘Costume est, sire, en son païs,’ W 7127.

272. #gladieð of drenche#, find enjoyment in drinking: of with the adj. is common, with the verb rare: comp. 126/310.

273. #Mid--hende#, with pleasant courteous looks, or manner, generally including gesture: ME. lat, lot is OWScand. lát, Björkman, 91. Comp. ‘mid leofliche læten,’ L 19396; ‘mid swiðe uæire læten,’ id. 15661; ‘mid wu{n}su{m}me lades,’ id. 12278. In Havelok 1246, ‘Wesseyl þe[i] ledden fele siþe,’ read seyden for ledden.

274. ‘Quant ami boivent entre amis, | Que cil dist wes hel qui doit boire | Et cil drinkel qui doit recoivre,’ W 7128. #drinc hail#, drink health, the latter word being a noun, OWScand. heill.

276. #oðer--fareð#, one brings another full one there. Different in W, ‘Dont boit cil tote la moitié,’ but afterwards he has ‘Et de boivre plain ou demi,’ 7143.

277. #þreoien#: nothing corresponding in W, only ‘entrebaisier.’

278. #sele laȝen#, pleasing customs: see KH 1110 note.

284 O. #swipte#, tossed it off: OE. #swipian#, to lash; comp. OWScand. svipa, to move quickly.

286. #fain#: the English had a bad reputation for their drinking habits among their French neighbours. Wace describes their revels on the night before the battle of Hastings, ‘Bublie crient e weisseil | E laticome e drincheheil, | Drinc hindrewart e drintome, | Drenc folf, drinc half e drinc tode,’ Roman de Rou, ed. Andresen, 7377, that is, They cry, be blithe and wassail, and let it (the cup) come and drinchail, drink after and drink to me, drink full, drink half and drink to thee. ‘Fercula multiplicant et sine lege bibunt. Wessail et dringail,’ says Burnellus of the English students at Paris at the end of the twelfth century, Nigelli Speculum, 63/19. The parallel place in the prose Brut is, ‘þat was þe ferst tyme þat “whatsaile” and “drynkehaile” come vp into þis lande; and fram þat tyme into this tyme it Haþ bene wel vsede,’ 52/13.

290. #mod . . . main#, mind and might: an OE. combination; comp. ‘ða ongunnon heo sticcemælum mod ⁊ mægen monian,’ Bede, 54/8, = ‘vires animosque resumere.’ #halde to#, inclined to: OE. #hieldan#: its use elsewhere in L is quite different; ‘þa hæðene hundes[;] hælden to grunde,’ L 19558, is typical.

291. Comp. ‘þe wurse him wes ful neh,’ L 13284, 16636; ‘þe wurs him wes on heorte,’ id. 9215; ‘þe scucke wes bi-tweonen,’ id. 276; ‘Tant l’a diables cimoné | Qui maint homme a à mal torné,’ W 7159. For #ælche#, swilce should perhaps be read.

292. #mæingde#, troubled, lit. mingled: the verb is mostly passive in L, as ‘his mod him gon menge{n}[;] he morȝnede swiðe,’ 3407; comp. ‘Almast menged him his mode,’ CM 8804.

293. #murnede#, said of painful longing.

295. #leoden to hærme#, to his people’s hurt: comp. ‘Twenti ȝer he heold þis lond[;] þa leoden al to hærme,’ L 2580; 176/24 note: #folk# in O is dative.

298. #funde--ræd#, thought it advisable: comp. ‘he uunde on his ræde[;] to don þat heo hi{n}e bede{n},’ L 21933; ‘Hit is on mine rede[;] to don þat þu bede,’ id. 31106; 12/5 in piece v. But W says he took the advice of his brother and friends, ‘Loë li ont et consillié | Que il li doint délivrement,’ W 7172.

_Cross-References_

5/11 (note) = II. (Saint Godric’s Hymns)
25/241 (note) = VI. (The Proverbs of Alfred)
94/9, 96/57 (notes) = _present selection_
178/89 (note) = XXI. (The Bestiary)

_Errata_

#Phonology:# ... _eo_ in heoreð 58 (if from #herian#)
[_missing close parenthesis_]
#w# is lost ... bilæuen 39, biuoren 95 [39 biuoren]
(2) =Of O.= ... The present forms of #willan#
[_misprinted as plain (non-bold)_]
... Initial #hl# is reduced to _l_
[_“l” misprinted as bold instead of italic_]
#hn# to _n_, nap 275
[_“#hn# to _n_” added by author_]
Adjectives ... enne (ende) 211 [enne(ende)]
The personal pronouns ... mine _neut._ 22 (7) [22(7)]
Four-fifths of the infinitives ... I c. _s._ 3. bigon 221, [221;]
V. _s._ 3. biheold 246, 288 [_period after “s.” invisible_]
(2) =Of O.= ... man _s. d._ 205, [205.]
The personal pronouns ... #ilca# is ilke _s. n. m._ 237, 275,
_s. d. m._ [275 _s. d. m._]
al _a._ 93. [al.]
#Metre:# ... To sechen on folde[;] ænne brædne fæld’
[_close quote missing_]
comp. ‘Þa andswarede eorles þare [comp,]
37. ... one MS. of W [W.]
72-76. ... Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, 1. 122 ff [122ff]
123. If #hele# represents OE. #hælo#
[_text unchanged: error for “hǣlo”?_]
175. ... because of your unpopularity. [unpopularity,]
263. ... Beowulf, 257 [Beowulf 257]

XV. ORM

#Manuscript:# Junius 1, Bodleian Library, Oxford: an oblong folio, written in double columns on 118 leaves of parchment varying considerably in size, the largest being 508 × 200 mm.; about 1210 A.D., and an autograph, but corrected by a second and third hand. See further Holt, i. p. lxxvi.

#Facsimiles:# Skeat, W. W., Twelve Facsimiles, plate iv. Palaeographical Society; Second Series, plate 133. Napier, A. S., Notes on the Orthography of the Ormulum, Oxford, 1893, also in History of the Holy Rood-tree, E. E. T. S., O. S. 103.

#Editions:# White, R. M., Oxford, 1852. Holt, R., 2 vols., Oxford, 1878. Extracts in Mätzner, Sweet’s First Middle English Primer, 48-81, Emerson and other Readers.

#Literature:# =The Author:= Logeman, H., Archiv, cxvii. 29; Björkman, E., Archiv, cxix. 33, cxxiii. 23; Bradley, H., Athenaeum, May 19, 1906; Wilson, J., ibid., July 28, 1906; =Phonology:= Blackburn, F. A., The Change of þ to t in the Ormulum, American Journal of Philology, iii. 46; Bülbring, K. D., Die Schreibung _eo_ im Ormulum, Bonner Beiträge, xvii. 51; Callenberg, C., Layamon und Orm nach ihren Lautverhältnissen verglichen, Jena, 1876; Hale, E. E., Open and Close ē in the Ormulum, Modern Language Notes, viii. 37; Kaphengst, C., An Essay on the Ormulum, Elberfeld, _n. d._; *Lambertz, P., Die Sprache des Orrmulums, Marburg, 1904; Menze, G., Der Ostmittelländische Dialekt, Strassburg. diss., Cöthen, 1889; *Napier, A. S., as above; =Grammar:= Funke, O., see p. 450; Sachse, R., Das unorganische e im Orrmulum, Halle, 1881; Thuns, B., Das Verbum bei Orm, Leipziger Diss., Weida, 1909; Weyel, F., Der syntaktische Gebrauch des Infinitivs im Ormulum, Meiderich, 1896; Zenke, W., Synthesis und Analysis im Orrmulum, Götting. Diss., Halle, 1910, completed in Morsbachs Studien, no. xl; =Consonant Doubling:= Björkman, E., Orrms Doppelkonsonanten, Anglia, xxxvii. 351 (good summary of previous literature); Effer, H., Einfache und doppelte Konsonanten im Ormulum, Anglia, vii, Anzeiger, 166; Holthausen, F., Wel und well im Ormulum, Anglia, Beiblatt, xiii. 16; Trautmann, M., Orm’s Doppelkonsonanten, Anglia, vii, Anzeiger, 94, 208, Anglia, xviii. 371; =General:= Brate, E., Nordische Lehnwörter im Orrmulum, Paul-Braune, Beiträge, x. 1, 580; Deutschbein, M., Die Bedeutung der Quantitätszeichen bei Orm, Archiv, cxxvi. 49, cxxvii. 308; Kluge, F., Das französische Element im Orrmulum, ES xxii. 179; Kölbing, E., Zur Textkritik des Ormulum, ES i. 1, ii. 494; Monicke, C. H., Notes and Queries on the Ormulum, Leipzig, 1853; Reichmann, H., Die Eigennamen im Orrmulum, Göttingen, 1905, and as no. xxv of Morsbachs Studien; Sarrazin, G., Über die Quellen des Orrmulum, ES vi. 1.

#Phonology:# Orm supplemented the current graphic methods by devices of his own. Thus he systematically doubled a consonant after a short vowel in a closed syllable, so tunnderrstanndenn 109. Whether he meant thereby to indicate shortness of the vowel or length of the consonant is disputed. The latter view seems the more probable; the difficulty which is presented by the occurrence of the doubled consonant in unstressed syllables, where it is short in ordinary speech, is removed if, with Björkman, we suppose that the phonetist isolated his syllables in testing their value. Where the consonant after an open syllable is in fact short, Orm often places a breve over the preceding short vowel, as wĭtenn 3, tăkenn 40, wăke 76, 82, 105, hĕte 87, hĕre 123, but fails at times, as in sune 20, wake 56, here 114, 143. Likewise he uses very seldom an almost horizontal accent to indicate vowel length, as á 174, but more frequently, as if to emphasize his warning against possible error, doubles it, as le̋t, fe̋t 10, ha̋t 37, űt 53, &c., or even for greater insistence trebles it, as clū̋t 2, ȝē̋t 39, mostly before final t. Here, too, he is not systematic, thus time 115 has a single mark of length twenty times elsewhere, and words like ut have sometimes two, sometimes three accents.

Furthermore, Orm invented a special symbol [g] with a flat top projecting on both sides for the guttural stop g, reserving the continental g for the dzh sound in such words as egge (edge), leggen, seggen: the latter occurs in this extract only in gluternesse 167, and that by mistake. In his representation of late OE. #eo#, #ēo#, the author hesitated between eo and e, preferring the former at the beginning, but gradually increasing the use of the latter, so that it becomes normal in the last third of the work and invariable in the Dedication and Preface, which were, no doubt, written last of all. He then appears to have aimed at uniformity by scraping out, not always effectually, the o wherever he had written eo, which was restored in many instances (but apparently not in this extract) by a later scribe in a fainter ink and thinner letter. Holt, by printing eo wherever it once existed, fails to represent the actual state of the manuscript: in this extract o is still visible, though partly erased, in heore 56, heoffness, leome 57, þeossterrnesse 65, deofless 67, heoffness, leome 70, heoffness 77, mildheorrtnesse 78, heoffness 107, 113, deofless 126; everywhere else it is completely erased. Finally, heffness 174 is so written without erasure in a line added lengthwise on the margin, perhaps from the following leaf, which is now missing and may have been withdrawn by the author. It is generally held that Orm employed eo and e to represent the same sound, the former being a traditional spelling. This is unlikely on the part of a determined phonetician like Orm, who would naturally be impatient of traditional spellings. Much more probable is Bülbring’s view that Orm spoke a mixed dialect, in which an [ö] sound existed beside the [e] sound, and that he finally decided for the latter.

Oral #a# is _a_, acc 3, habbenn 51; #a# before nasals _a_, grammcunndnesse 86, ‘năme’ i. 9717; #a# before lengthening groups _a_, faldess 56 (#fal(o)d#), hande 10, sang 131, but short in annd 114, unstressed, stanndenn 67, 117: the indefinite pronoun is mann 36. #æ# is _a_, affterr 21, fasste 59, wăke 76; ꝥat 46 was probably meant for þatt: wrecche 4 (4 times), wrecchelike 24 is OE. #wrecca#. #e# is _e_, cwellen 38, hĕre 123, hĕte 87, sett 146, but se̋tt 68 (probably miswritten), stressed wel 34 (13), qualifying a verb, and in most cases at the end of the first half-line, beside well 29 (4), qualifying adjective or adverb; #e# before lengthening groups is _e_, ende 113, genge 129, but short are senndeþþ 62 and enngle 15 (10), with a consonant after the lengthening group: whillc 152, iwhillc 134, 161 represent #hwilc#, #gehwilc#, swillke 69, #swilc#. #i# is _i_, cribbe 2, friþþ 133, inn 2 &c., mikell 93, wĭtenn 3 (Orm divided wiþþ utenn 113), but in 170: #i# before lengthening groups is _i_, bindenn 10, child 4, shildenn 67, 126, but brinngenn 18, sinndenn 74, 169, winnde clū́t 2, 7. #o# is _o_, follc 30, biforenn 16; before lengthening groups _o_, unorneliȝ 45, worde 60, but short are wollde 5, forrþrihht 1 (usually forþ uncompounded): #o# is _u_ in wurrþenn 33, 48 (#worden#) by analogy of the infinitive. #u# is _u_, stunnt 27, vnnorne 4; before lengthening groups _u_, sungenn 131, tunge 119, wundenn 7, but short are hunngerr 37, unnderrstanndenn 109, wullderr 132, wunnderrliȝ 35. #y# is _i_, dill 27 (*#dyll#), gillteþþ 155, ifell 64, þrisst 37, wrihhte 151; before lengthening groups, kinde 108, but birrþ 3, 44.

#ā# is _a_, á 174, lare 79, whas 90; before two consonants _a_, bitacneþþ 100, gast 73: shortening in hallȝhe 69: #swā# is usually swa 17, but se 1 (#swē#). #ǣ{1}# is _æ_, hæþenndom 161, læreþþ 73, sæ 12; before two consonants _æ_, næfre 41, unnclænnesse 161, but _a_ in aniȝ 157 (#ānig#), lasse 39, mast 169 (North. #māst#). #ǣ{2}# is mostly _æ_, færedd 84, 91, lætenn 45, 54, þær 19 (4), wæde 8, wære 17 (3), wærenn 58 (3), but _e_ in greditleȝȝc 167, and with shortening fordredd 88 (4); before two consonants _æ_, wæpnedd 90, and _e_ with shortening, sellðe 95. #ē# is _e_, betenn 158, eche 19, fe̋t 10, le̋t 10, but _o_ in doþ 29 &c., from the plural. #ī# is _i_, bliþe 85, pinenn 36, riche 5 (4); before two consonants _i_, crist 1, 90, cristenndom 49, but elsewhere usually crisstendom. #ō# is _o_, dom 75, god 71; before two consonants _o_, frofrenn 60, 66: shortened in comm 26, 30, 55, soffte 85. #ū# is _u_, brukenn 174, -clū̋t 2, űt (numen) 53; shortened in vpp 18, 142, uss 3, 62. #ȳ# is _i_, bisne 43 (#bȳsne#), grisliȝ 91 (*#grȳslig#), kiþenn 92, litell 21 (3), shrideþþ 6.

#ea# before #r# + cons. is _a_, naru 13, starrke 75; before lengthening groups _æ_, ærd 5, middelærd 6, but harrd 37, towarrd 87, warrþ 3 (3). The _i_-umlaut is not represented in this extract, it is _e_ in ‘errfe’ i. 1068, beside ‘dærne’ i. 2004, where _æ_ represents #ea# before a lengthening group. #ea# before #l# + cons. is _a_ (Anglian), all 3 &c., hallf 36, 93; before lengthening groups _a_, haldenn 22, kald 37, walde 124; the _i_-umlaut is _e_, beldeþþ 79, corrected out of miswritten beoldeþþ; see 359/5. #eo# before #r# + cons. is _e_, herrte 89, 119, but misspelt herte 134; before lengthening groups _e_, erless 164, erþe 20 (4). To the #wur# group belong forrwerrpenn 149, wurrþenn 17 (3), wurrþshipe 132: ȝernenn 21 is without umlaut, but hirde 53, hirdess 46, irre 75, 167. #eo# before #l# + cons. is seen in sellf 53, sellfenn 19 (4). #eo#, _u_-umlaut of #e# is _eo_, heoffness 57 (5), but _e_ in heffness 5 (11), hefennlike 8, werelld 9: the _å_-umlaut of #e# is wanting in berenn 29; the umlaut of #i# is _eo_ in heore 56, but here 50, ‘fele’ i. 7640. #ea# after palatals is _a_, shall 134, shaffte 9, unnshaþiȝnesse 50 (#scæþþig#). #ie# after #g# is _i_, ȝifenn 14 (5), ȝifeþþ 72, gife 174: #ȝef# is ȝiff 80. #eo# after #g# is _u_, ȝung 108; after #sc#, _o_, shollde 47, 94, sholldenn 50, 96.

#ēa# is _æ_, læfe 49, ræfenn 89, sæm 29, but _e_ in ec 53 &c.; its _i_-umlaut is _e_, ekedd 129, lefenn 96. #ēo# is _e_, ben 7, bitwenenn 141, defell 86 (3), lefe 34, lem 77 (4), sen 40, þed 15, and _eo_, deofless 67, leome 57, seo 91; ȝho 2 (#hēo#) shows shifted accent: the _i_-umlaut of #ēo# is wanting in lesenn 102, nede 33, stereþþ 9, þessterrnesse 63, 160, þeossterrnesse 65. #gīet# is ȝḗt 39. #ēa# after palatals is _e_, shep 50, 54, #īe# after #g#, _e_, ȝemenn 52, 125.

#a# + #g# is _aȝh_, laȝhess 22. #æ# + #g# is _aȝȝ_, daȝȝ 99 (= daī), daȝȝess _s. g._ 100 (= dai-iess), laȝȝ 16, maȝȝ 40 (3), but seȝȝde 92 (as if from *#segde#). #e# + #g# is _eȝȝ_, leȝȝd 13 (= leīd). Final #-ig# is _iȝ_ (= ī), aniȝ 157, bodiȝ 173, grisliȝ 91, modiȝnesse 87; greditleȝȝc 167 is probably miswritten. #i# + #h# is _ihh_, sihhþe 58, 77. #o# + #g# is _oȝh_, forrhoȝhenn 149. #u# + #g# is _uȝh_, muȝhenn 80, 142. #ā# + #g# is _aȝh_, aȝhenn 3, 54. #ō# + #g# is _oh_, inoh 31. #ea# + #h# is seen in waxenn 137; the _i_-umlaut in mihhte 36, 137, nihht 55, 57, but mahht 72, allmahhtiȝ 108, nahht 46 (4) descend from Anglian forms in #æ#. #eo# + #ht# is _ihht_ in brihhte 77, rihhte 49, 89, 91, fihhten 123; the _i_-umlaut is wanting in seþ 84 (corr. out of seoþ). #ēa# + #h# is _ehh_, þehh 74 (#ðēh# shortened by loss of stress), neh 30. #ēo# + #ht# is seen in lihht 57 (as if from #leoht#). #ā# + #w# gives _aw_, sawless 69, 129, wawenn 151. hewe 70 is from Anglian #hēow#: ohht 145 represents #oht#, similarly nohht 40, 91. #ēa# + #w# appears in awwnedd 105 (*#ēawnian#); #ēo# + #w# in reweþþ 158 (corr. out of reoweþþ), trowwþe 90 (#treowþ# without umlaut and with shifted accent), þeww 72 (= þeū: from #þeow#), so, too, þewwten 31.

#Ealswā# is alls 172: for #e#, _i_ appears in drihhtin 42 (6); it is lost in wiþþren 150, added in swikedomess 67, 168, onne 29, ‘offe’ i. 4097 by analogy of inne, uppe: #o# is _a_ in anan 1. The prefix #ge# is _i_, iwhillc 134, 161.

Metathesis of #r# is seen in þrisst 37, wrihhte 151. #n# is lost in i 2, o 36; by inadvertence it is not doubled in unorneliȝ 45, comp. vnnorne 4. #f# is used in every position, faldess 56, hafeþþ 28, hallfe 93, but it was probably voiced between vowels and vowellikes, _v_ as in ‘serven’ i. 506 is rare. For #d#, _þ_ appears by analogy in wurrþenn 33, 48. After #d#, #t#, certain pronominal words change initial þ to _t_, tær 13, tanne 94, tatt 13 &c., teȝȝ 128, te 25, 115, tu 34. #sć# is regularly _sh_, shrideþþ 6, shop 9, nesshe 37; in bisscopess 51, ‘bisskopess’ i. 7233 (but elsewhere bisshopess), and mennisscnesse 38, sc is probably due to Scandinavian influence. The stop #c# is _k_ before _e_, _i_, makenn 5, mannkinn 21, _c_ before _o_, _u_, other consonants and final, comm 26, clut 2, flocc 49, ec 53 (contrast ekedd 129), _k_ or _c_ in other positions, kald 37. #č# is _ch_, child 4, eche 19, but palatalization does not take place in swillke 69, illke 13, illkess 161, iwhillc 134, whillc 152 and ekedd 129, mikell 93, miccle 33. #čč# is _cch_ in wrecche 4: #cw# is regularly preserved, cwellenn 38, cwike 15; _qu_ occurs in the Latin words quarrterrne, quaþþrigan. Palatal #g# is _ȝ_, ȝæn 73, ȝernenn 21, ȝifenn 14 (6), but gife 174: the guttural spirant is _ȝh_, follȝhenn 79, 107, 165, hallȝhe 69, sinnȝheþþ 155. The guttural stop [g] is distinguished from the dzh sound in edge, which is represented by g. #h# is lost initially in laferrd 25, nesshe 37, reweþþ 158: #hēo# is ȝho 2: #hw# is _wh_, whas 90, whatt 137.

#Accidence:# Strong declension of _masc._ and _neut._ nouns. In the _s. n._ sune 20, 106 represents #sunu#. _Gen._ -ess, daȝȝess 100, deofless 67, heffness 14, lifess 100, but, by a scribal error, daȝȝes 75: _d._ -e, hewe 170, sune 96, worde 60, and six others, but the inflection is mostly wanting, as in bodiȝ 173, daȝȝ 99, dom 75, and thirty-two others. The _acc._ heffne 12 is due to the LWS. _fem._ #heofone#. The _pl. n. a._ of masculines ends in -ess, hirdess 46, bisscopess 51; neuters are shep 50, 54, ?wiless 126: genitives are enngle (þed) 15, 122, kinne 64, 71, 157: datives have mostly -ess, bandess 11, claþess 24, but þinge 71, wrihhte 151. The _fem._ nouns of the strong declension end in e in the _s. n. a._, blisse, sellðe 95, are 80, bisne 43, except mahht 72, þed 15, werelld 9, and sæ 12. _Gen._ -e, helle 101, 151, possibly blisse 174: _dat._ -e, blisse 18, cribbe 2, hallfe 93, but hallf 36. _Pl. g._ is þede 122; _d._ sawless 129; _a._ hande 10, shaffte 9, sawless 69. Nouns of the weak declension have mostly -e in all cases of the singular, but demess 75 is genitive and, before the caesura, lem 77, dative, beside leome 57, lem 107, 163 accusative: a _pl. n._ is wawenn 151. The minor declensions are represented by fet _pl. a._ 10, mann _s. n._ 20, manness _s. g._ 172, manne _s. d._ 30, mann _s. a._ 134, menn _pl. n._ 76, _pl. d._ 49, 56; nahht _s. d._ 46, nihht _s. a._ 57; moderr _s. d._ 1; child _s. n._ 4.

Adjectives which in OE. end in e retain that termination throughout, as bliþe 85, cweme 152, eche 19, 100, 103, milde 82, riche 5, 112, 165, soffte 85, vnnorne 4. Instances of weak inflections are _s. d. m._ laþe 165, lefe 34, rihhte 49, starrke 75, _s. d. f._ brihhte 77, _s. a. m._ laþe 32, 73, 123, _s. a. neut._ rihhte 89, rume 14: strong inflections are few, _s. d. f._ fulle 90, hefennlike 8, 173, _s. a. m._ gode 153: all others are uninflected in the singular. The plural ends in -e, glade 127, gode 147, hallȝhe 69, laþe 31, 66, 126, cwike 15. Adjectives used as nouns are not inflected. #mycel# in the strong declension is mikell, _s. d. f._ 131, _s. a. f._ 93, _s. a. neut._ 61, in the weak, miccle _s. d. f._ 33 (#myclan#), _s. a. neut._ 120 (#mycle#). #āgen# gives aȝhenn 3, 54 without inflection. OE. #ān# is an _n. m._ 114, a 172, aness _g. m._ 170, an _d. f._ 2, _a. m._ 49, _a. f._ 3. Comparatives are bettre, mare 145, lasse 39; superlative, mast 169.

The personal pronouns are uss, tu, after t, 34, þe. The pronoun of the third person is _s. n._ he _m._ 3, ȝho _f._ 2, itt _neut._ 28 (with asse _mf._); _d._ himm _m._ 17, 23; _a._ 2, itt _neut._ 29 (with sæm _m._); _pl. n._ þeȝȝ 130, teȝȝ, after t, 52; _d. a._ þeȝȝm. Reflexives are himm 10, 173, þe sellfenn 44, 45, himm sellfen 19, 35: definitive, himm sellf 53: possessives, ure 4; hiss, as general form for the singular, 1, 3, 16, 34, 47, 54, but hise _g. m._ 155; _pl. a._ hise 22; here 50, heore 56, teȝȝre, after t, 32. The definite article is þe, te, after t, 25, 126: þatt (ꝥ), tatt, after t, is demonstrative adjective 13 or demonstrative pronoun 26; its plural is þa _adj._ 56 and _pron._ 22. The compound demonstrative is _s._ þiss 6, _pl._ þise. The relative is þatt, tatt, after t, 13, 27; þatt 30, 36, = in, on which, þurrh whatt 137, 144, by that by which. Interrogative is whillc 152 (#hwelc#); its correlative is swillke _pl. a._ 69: #ilca# is illke _s. n._ 13, 152, _a._ 97, 118. Indefinites are mann 29, 36, 38, 169; whase 154, whas 90, whoso; illkess 161, every; iwhillc 134, 161; aniȝ _pl. g._ 157; all _s. n. neut._ 30, _d. neut._ 64, 94, _a. m._ 32, _f._ 9, _neut._ 14, but alle _s. d. f._ 6; _pl._ alle _n._ 128, alre _g._ 169, alle 64, 71, all 122, alle _d._ 172, _a._ 5, 9, 22: all 168 is apparently _s. n._ = everyone.

Infinitives end in -enn, except sen 40, fon 36: of the second weak conjugation are follȝhenn 107, forhoȝhenn 149, lofenn 110, lokenn 156, makenn 5, pinenn 36, ræfenn 89, sammnenn 48, tacnenn 47, þankenn 120. The _dat. inf._ is not inflected, to berenn 29, tunnderrstanndenn 109, to sen 116, forr to kiþenn 92, for . . . to makenn 112. Presents are _s._ 3. beldeþþ 79, bitacneþþ 100, and nineteen others; contracted, birrþ 3, 44, seþ 84, stannt 158; _pl._ cumenn 70, haldenn 22, lufenn 23, stanndenn 117, waken 66, wiþþrenn 150: _subjunctive s._ 3. gife 174, seo 91. Past of Strong Verbs: I a. _s._ 3. laȝȝ 16: I b. _s._ 3. comm 26, 30, 55: I c. _s._ 3. wand 2, warrþ 3, 20, 42; _pl._ 3. sungenn 131: IV. _s._ 3. shop 9, toc 60, 82; _pl._ 3. unnderrstodenn 135, wokenn 46, 56 (form from #wacan#, meaning from #wacian#): V. _s._ 3. let 10. Participles past: I a. ȝifenn 17: I b. borenn 1, 97, cumenn 92, utnumen 53: I c. wundenn 7, wurrþenn 33, 48: IV. V. waxenn 138: V. forrdredd 88, forrdredde _adj. pl._ 59, 83, offdredde 74. Past of Weak Verbs: _s._ 3. leȝȝde 2, seȝȝde 92. Participles past: bitacnedd 81, ekedd 129, leȝȝd 13, sett 68, 146. Minor Groups: witenn _inf._ 3, witt 2 _s. imp._ 34, wisste _pt. s._ 83, wisstenn _pt. pl._ 128, 139; shall _pr. s._ 134, shollde _pt. s._ 47, 94, shollden _pt. pl._ 50, 96; muȝhenn _inf._ 142, maȝȝ _pr. s._ 40, 152, 171, muȝhenn _pr. pl. subj._ 80, mihhte _pt. s._ 36, 137; ben _inf._ 7, iss _pr. s._ 63, 151 (apparently with _pl._ nominative), niss 91, sinndenn _pr. pl._ 74, 169, be _pr. s. subj._ 28, si 3 _s. imp._ 132, wass _pt. s._ 1, wærenn _pt. pl._ 58, 76, 127, wære _pt. s. subj._ 17, 138, 172; wile _pr. s._ 88, wollde _pt. s._ 5; to don _dat. inf._ 32, doþ _pr. s._ 29, 109, missdoþ 157, don _pp._ 61, 118.

#Vocabulary:# Scandinavian are afell 28, aȝȝ 44, baþe 10, fra 67, gætenn 52, griþþ 133, laȝhenn 44, lahȝhre 43, mec 85, occ 117, sahht(nesse) 140, skerrenn 88, skill (læs) 27, summ 27, takenn 40, till 49, (inn)till 18, þeȝȝ 74, þeȝȝre 32, þohh 28, usell 4, usell(dom) 24, and the suffix in (modiȝ)leȝȝc, (gredit)leȝȝc 167; possibly also bandess 10, come 148, deȝeþþ 41. French is gluter(nesse) 167; long i in Crist shows new borrowing from French.

#Dialect:# East Midland bordering on the North; a mixed dialect, which possibly accounts for the wavering in the representation of #eo#, #ēo#. The large Scandinavian element in the vocabulary and the absence of u in final syllables (372/34) point to the East; the representation of #ā# + #w#, the development of #c#, #g#, and perhaps the uniform appearance of #ā# as a in this thirteenth-century text, show Northern influence. Lambertz has noted so many correspondences between the phonology of Orm and that of the Rushworth gloss on the Gospel of S. Matthew as to make it probable that they belong to the same dialectal area. The Northern border of Lincolnshire was most probably the place where the Ormulum was written.

#Metre:# For the scheme of the Septenarius see p. 327. Orm’s verse is monotonously regular; every line has its fifteen syllables exactly counted out and ends in x́ x; the caesura comes after the eighth syllable; the rhythm is iambic without substitution. For the sake of this uniformity he does violence to the natural accent in Niþþrédd 35, Bisscópess 51, Enngléss 69, sahhtnésse 140, drihhtíness 171, though Schipper regards such cases as examples of ‘hovering accent,’ wherein the stress is distributed equally over the two syllables having the word-accent and the verse-accent,--a spondee rather than an iamb. Elision takes place regularly before an initial vowel or h, sonẹ, leȝȝdẹ 2, vnnornẹ, wrecchẹ 4, heffnẹ 12, mihhtẹ 36, wolldẹ 54, wilẹ 88, seȝȝdẹ 94, whasẹ 154, &c. Sometimes e is not written, as in whas 90; crasis is found elsewhere in he̋t (= he itt), ȝhőt (= ȝho itt), þűtt (= þu itt), and similar combinations.

#Introduction:# The author of the Ormulum speaks of himself under two names in ‘Þiss boc iss nemmnedd Orrmulum Forrþi þatt Orrm itt wrohhte,’ Preface 1, 2, and ‘Icc wass þær þær I crisstnedd wass Orrmin bi name nemmnedd,’ Dedication 323, 4. The former was a fairly common name in the Scandinavian districts of the North; in the latter, not found elsewhere, he has probably added, as befitting the ritual occasion, the Latin termination īn from īnus, as in Awwstin (= Augustinus). In the same way, as Bradley suggests, he has taken the termination of Ormulum from Speculum, as often occurring in titles of devotional books, like Speculum Laicorum, Conscientiae, Sanctorale. He tells us that he wrote at the request of his brother Walter, who was, like himself, an Augustinian Canon; his purpose was to paraphrase and expound, for the benefit of unlearned English folk, the Gospels of the Mass throughout the year. His exposition is drawn for the most part from S. Bede, and particularly from his sermons and commentaries, and to a small extent from S. Gregory the Great. Traces of his acquaintance with S. Isidore and Josephus, through Hegesippus, have been found by Sarrazin.

Nothing further is known of Orm, but Bradley has made it probable that he was an inmate of Elsham Priory in North Lincolnshire (Dugdale, vi. 560). The contention of J. Wilson that he was identical with Orm, brother of Walter, Prior of Carlisle between 1150 and 1170, would be very attractive, if it were not for the philological difficulty, for the Ormulum is undoubtedly written in the Midland dialect, and must be dated about 1210.

This extract gives ll. 3662-4009, in Holt, i. pp. 126-38.

1. #Forrþrihht anan se#, lit. Straightway forthwith as, i.e. as soon as. Orm has ‘forrþrihht se, anan se, sone swa, son se, forrþrihht summ, anan summ,’ all with this same meaning, and forrþrihht summ, immediately, ii. 42/11404. Orm’s expletives are a feature of his dreary style; in his dedication he says that he has set ‘maniȝ word | þe rime swa to fillenn,’ that is, to make up the number of syllables required for his metre; he makes extensive use of all, 112/3, 16 &c. Beside anan, Orm has the primitive onn an, continuously, without a break.

2-18. The original of this passage is, ‘_Et pannis eum involvit et reclinavit eum in praesepio . . . parvulus natus est nobis_, ut nos viri possimus esse perfecti. Qui totum mundum vario vestit ornatu, pannis vilibus involvitur, ut nos stolam primam recipere valeamus. Per quem omnia facta sunt, manus pedesque cunis adstringitur, ut nostrae manus ad opus bonum exertae, nostri sint pedes in viam pacis directi. Cui coelum sedes est, duri praesepis angustia continetur, ut nos per coelestis regni gaudia dilatet. Qui panis est Angelorum, in praesepio reclinatur, ut nos quasi sancta animalia carnis suae frumento reficiat,’ Bede, v. 234.

2. #⁊# = annd; see 115/114.

3. #uss birrþ#, we ought: a favourite expression of Orm.

5. #heffness ærd#, heaven’s region: a phrase suggested by #middellærd#.

9. #shaffte#, creatures: OE. #gesceafta#.

10. #baþe# belongs to #fet ⁊ hande#.

12-14. This section diverges in form from those before and after it, as also from the original. The subject of #filleþþ# is #Þatt illke child#. #heffness rume riche#, the wide kingdom of heaven: perhaps suggested by ‘ut amplitudinem nobis supernarum sedium tribueret’ of Bede’s Sermon, vii. 300.

16. #all alls# = all alse, alswa, quite as.

17. #Swa summ#, so as, just as if: #summ# is OEScand. sum: more usually the phrase means, just as, 112/27, 113/47, 55. Variants are ‘all swa summ,’ O. Introd. 43; ‘all all swa summ,’ 114/76; ‘all all swa se,’ O. Dedication, 281. #fode#: the ass represents the Gentiles, of whom Bede says, ‘plurimi . . . coelestibus eius (= Christi) quaerebant alimoniis ad perpetuam crescere salutem,’ vii. 300.

19. And give himself as everlasting food there to us with angels.

21. #to ȝernenn#, &c., to be content with a humble lot.

27. #stunnt ⁊ dill#: comp. ‘⁊ stunnt ⁊ stidiȝ, dill ⁊ slaw | to sekenn sawless seollþe,’ O. i. 344/9885.

28. #afell#, strength. O. has also a _pp._ afledd, endowed with strength, ‘Forr cnapechild iss afledd wel,’ O. i. 274/7903; opposed to ‘unnstrang.’

30. #þatt#, when: so þe 15/84, þa 15/93. #comm . . . to manne#, was incarnate: comp. 36/117, 114/97; ‘þe becom to mannum mid iudeiscum folce,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 60/89; ‘hu hi to mannum comon,’ AS. Hom. ed. Assmann, 26/44; ‘Hwarto was he aure iscapen te manne,’ VV 113/14, regularly with _pl. dat._; contrast ‘ic ðe to men gebær,’ I bore thee as a man, Ælf. Lives, ii. 78/175.

31. #laþe gastess#, hateful spirits, i.e. false gods: ‘in asino autem exprimit populum gentium, qui sordibus idololatriae semper manebat immundus,’ Bede, vii. 300.

33, 34. #þurrh ꝥ . . . þurrh ꝥ#, inasmuch as, whereas . . . thereby, as a consequence; propter quod . . . propter id: so 115/114, 116. O. is fond of these formal correlatives: comp. ‘forr þi . . . Forr ꝥ,’ 113/48.

35. #niþþredd#, lowered, humbled: OE. #geniþerod#, _pp._ of #niþerian#. #wannsedd#, diminished: OE. #wansian#. Comp. ‘⁊ illc an lawe ⁊ illc an hill | Shall niþþredd beon ⁊ laȝhedd,’ O. i. 321/9205; ‘Aȝȝ niþþreþþ Godess genge, | ⁊ cwelleþþ hemm ⁊ wannseþþ hemm,’ id. 279/8032.

36. #o ꝥ hallf ꝥ#, in that part of his nature in which: see 46/292.

39. #ȝet lasse#, still lower: ‘qui modico quam Angeli minoratus est,’ Heb. ii. 9.

43. #lahȝhre inoh#, sufficiently lower, i.e. much lower.

45. #lætenn#, &c., think very meanly: comp. 44/260.

46-53: suggested by, ‘Apte autem satis hoc superna est providentia dispositum, ut nascente Domino pastores in vicinia civitatis (eiusdem) vigilarent, suosque greges a timore nocturno vigilando protegerent. Oportebat namque, ut cum magnus pastor ovium, hoc est, animarum nutritor fidelium, in mundo natus est, testimonium eius nativitati vigilantes super gregem suum pastores darent. . . . Nam et futurum (iam) tunc erat, ut per orbem universum electi pastores, id est, praedicatores sancti, mitterentur, qui ad ovile Dominicum, videlicet sanctam Ecclesiam, populos credentium cogerent,’ Bede, vii. 301.

46. #wokenn#, kept watch: comp. 113/56.

48. #forr þi . . . Forr ꝥ#, for that reason . . . because: like ‘eone es ferox, quia habes imperium in beluas?’ Terence, Eun. iii. 1. 25.

49. #rihhte læfe#: see 89/28.