Chapter VI: Prepositions (6)

"And because that he saw that she was troubled at his word, he took to comfort her anon." Southern writers, by metathesis, formed from _dreuen_ (_dreue_) the vb. _deruen_ (_derue_), thereby confounding it with another vb. _deruen_ or _derue_, pret. _dorue_, p.p. _doruen_ (A.Sax. _deorfan_, pret. _dearf_, p.p. _dorfen_), to labour, perish, be in trouble. _Dreue_ is a transitive vb. of the weak conjugation, while _derue_ is intransitive and of the strong conjugation, nevertheless we find _derue_ (pret. _dorue_), taking the signification of _dreue_. "Stute nu earme steorue ant swic nuðe lanhure swikele swarte deouel, þ_a_t tu ne _derue_ me na mare."—(Seinte Marherete, p. 12.) "Stop now, poor stern one, and cease now at once, deceitful swart devil, that thou harm me no more." In Laȝamon we find not only pret. _drof_ = distressed, but _derfde_, and the p.p. _iderued_. In the Owl and Nightingale (ed. Wright), p. 40, we find the p.p. _idorve_ = troubled, injured.

"Other thou bodest cualm of oreve (orve),
Other that lond-folc wurth _i-dorve_."

322

_And senkede hire hure aldre bale_
= And poured out to her the bale of us all,

_i. e._ gave her the cup of sorrow, of which we all drink; _senkede_ = _schenkede_, to pour out, to give to drink, to _skink_. See Orm. ii. 181. Laȝ. ii. 202, 431; Alys. 7581; Owl and Nightingale, p. 70.

324

_Quat oget nu ðat for-bode o-wold_
= What does now that prohibition signify?

_i. e._ What is the meaning of the prohibition; _oget_ = has, possesses _o wold_ = _a wold_ = in force, in signification. Cp.

_Quat-so his dremes owen a wold_
= What-soever his dreams do mean.

In ll. 1671, 2122 _wold_ occurs as a noun = interpretation, meaning. The connection between the idea of _power_, and _meaning_, _interpretation_, is not, after all, so very remote. Do we not speak of the _force_ of a word, its _power_, _use_, etc., in an expression? See Ormulum, p. 56, l. 11815.

327

_for is fruit sired [sireð?] mannes mood_,
= for its fruit enlighteneth (cleareth) man's mind.

330 _witent_ for _witen it_ = know it. 333 _on hire mod_ = in her mind. 339 _scroðt_ = _scroð_ = solicited; the pret. of _scriðe_. The original meaning of the verb is, (1) to go; (2) to cause to go, to urge; (3) to solicit.

341

_for to forðen is fendes wil_,
for to further (do) his foe's will.

"For up he rigteð him
redi to deren,
to deren er to ded maken
if he it muge forðen."—(O.E. Miscell. pp. 5, 6.)

342

_At he ðat fruit, and dede unskil_,
Ate he that fruit and committed sin.

_unskil_, literally, signifies indiscretion, folly, and by an easy transition, sin, crime. (See Ormulum, vol. i. p. 12. Cf. O.E. _unskilwis_ = irrational.)

P. 11. l. 345 _Vn-buxumhed_ = disobedience; but in line 346 it signifies weakness, _un-lithesomeness_.

347-8

_Vn-welde woren and in win
Here owen limes hem wið-in._

Their own limbs within them
Were powerless and in strife.

_vnwelde_ = unwieldy = the S. Saxon _vniwælde_, heavy.—(Gower i. 312.)

"——hise limes arn _unwelde_."—(O.E. Miscell. p. 3.)

(_i. e._ weak with age); _in win_, in strife, conflict.

"and wið al mankin
he (the devil) haueð nið and _win_" (envy and strife).
(O.E. Miscell. p. 8.)

"ðis fis wuneð wið ðe se grund,
and liueð ðer eure heil and sund,
til it cumeð ðe time
ðat storm stireð al ðe se,
ðanne sumer and winter _winnen_ (strive)."
(O.E. Miscell. pp. 16, 17.)

"Þar aros wale and _win_."
There arose slaughter and strife.—(Laȝ. i. 18.)

349

_flesses fremeðe and safte same
boðen he felten on here lichame._

Lust of flesh, and shame of form
both they felt in their bodies.

_fremeðe_ seems connected with _fremen_ and _frame_. In the translation I have connected _fremeðe_ with O.E. _frim_, vigorous; but it may be another form of O.E. _frumðe_, beginning. Then the translation of l. 349 would be 'the beginning of flesh and shame of form.'

360

_ðu haues ðe sorges sigðhe waked._
Thou hast for thyself a sight of sorrow roused.

_sigðhe_ = sight, but if it be an error for _siðhe_ it will signify adversity, mishap. 362 _ut luken_ = shut out. 363 _tilen ði mete[n]_ = earn thy food. _tilen_ (till), earn, procure.

"Ne maig he _tilen_ him non fode."
He is not able to procure food for himself.
(O.E. Miscell. p. 3.)

364 _wid_ = _wið_, with. _swotes teres_ = tears of sweat, _i. e._ drops of sweat. We may, however, by spoiling the metre, read _swotes & teres_, for in O.E. writers _swot_ is frequently used in the singular and makes the plural _swotes_.

365, 366

_Til gu beas eft into erðe cumen_,
Till thou art again into earth come.

_beas_ = _be'st_ = art. The present has also a future signification.

369 _niðful_ = envious.

"O _nyth_ þare springes mani bogh,
Þat ledes man to mikel wogh,
for _nithful_ man he luuves lest,
Þe quilk he wat es dughtiest."
—(Cursor Mundi, MS. Cott. Vesp. A iii. fol. 153b.)

_loð an liðer_, loathsome and vile.

372

_And atter on is tunge cliuen_,
And poison on his tongue shall cleave.

373 _san_ = _schand_, disgrace, shame. Did the scribe originally write _sam_ = shame? 377 _pilches_. This word answers to the "coats of skin" in our English version of the Scriptures. In modern English _pilch_ is merely the flannel swathe of an infant, but it formerly signified a fur garment. Cf. Ital. _pellicia_, _pelizza_, any kind of fur; also Fr. _pelisse_ (pelice), a furred garment.

"Here kirtle, here _pilche_ of ermine,
Here keuerchefs of silk, here smok o line,
Al-togidere, with both fest,
Sche to-rent binethen here brest."—(Seven Sages, 473.)

P. 12. l. 384.

_Cherubin hauet [haueð] ðe gates sperd_,
Cherubim have the gates bolted (barred, fastened).

391 _swem_ = sorrow, grief. See Gloss. to Allit. Poems, s.v. _swemande_. Legends of Holy Rood, pp. 135, 201.

392

_Of iwel and dead hem stondeð greim_
Of evil and death they stand in awe.

A similar phrase occurs in l. 432, p. 13. The phrase _stande awe_ is not uncommon in O.E. writers.

"Than sal be herd the blast of bem,
The demster sal com to dem,
That al thing of _standes awe_."
(_i. e._ stands _in_ awe of.)
—(Met. Hom. p. xii.)

"For Crist com sal be sa bright
Þat thoru þat mikel lauerd might
Him sal of _stand sa mikel au_,
Þat alle þe filthes of his maugh
Sal brist ute at his hindwin,
For dred he sal haf of drightin."
—(Antichrist and the Signs of the Doom,
in _Jahrbuch für Romanische und Englische Literatur_,
1863, p. 203, l. 408.)

"Thereof ne _stod him non owe_."—(Seven Sages, 1887.)

See Havelok the Dane, p. 9, l. 277.

393 _on sundri_ = _asunder_ = apart, separate.

398

_And leded_ (ledeð) _samen gunker lif_.
And lead (pass) together your (two) lives.

_leded_ = _ledeð_, is a verb in the imperative mood; _gunker_, the A.S. _incer_ (_dual_) = your two, of you two. Cf. _ȝunkerr baþre_ = of you both.—(Orm. i. 214.)

408

_And sumdel quemeð it his seri mood_
And somewhat it cheereth his sorry mood.

411

_More for erneste dan [ðan] for gamen_,
More for necessity than for pleasure.

P. 13. l. 417 _al swilc sel_ = all such time.

420

_ðan he was of is broðer wold_,
When he was by his brother killed.

421, 422

_An hundred ger after is dead,
Adam fro eue in srifte abead._
A hundred years after his death,
Adam from Eve in shrift (penance) abode.

(_i. e._ on account of the death of Abel.)

"A hundred winter of his liue
fra þan forbar Adam his wiue,
for soru of Abel þat was slayn."—(Cursor Mundi, fol. 8.)

See Legends of the Holy Rood, pp. 20, 21.

431 _and wurð ut-lage_ = and became an outlaw.

432

_wið dead him stood hinke and age._
Of death he stood _in_ dread and fear.

_hinke_ = _inke_, doubt, dread. See note on l. 392.

436

_ðeft and reflac ðhugte him no same_,
theft and robbery appeared to him no shame.

_Reflac_ = robbery with violence, rapine. (See Laȝ. i. 172, 272, 424; ii. 526.)

"Þe first sin is o covatise
Þat revis mani man þair praise,
O þis cumes blindnes and tresun,
_Reuelaic_, theft, extorsiun."
—(The Seven Deadly Sins: _Cursor Mundi_, _Cott. MS. Vesp. A_ iii.)

438 _stonden agon_ = withstand, oppose. Cf. O.E. _again-stande_, to oppose.

439

_Met of corn, and wigte of fe_,
Measure of corn, and weight of goods.

The only objection against explaining _fe_ by goods or money is that in the poem it signifies cattle, the proper term for goods, etc., being _agte_. In Laȝamon _fe_, however, has the meaning of goods, money.

440

_And merke of felde, first fond he_,
And he first devised division (boundary) of fields (lands).

444 _at ðe sexte kne_ = at the sixth degree. _Kne_ in this sense is used by Robert of Gloucester, p. 228:—"He come of Woden þe olde louerd, as in teþe kne" (_i. e._ tenth generation). 450 _On engleis tale_ = in English speech.

P. 14. l. 451 _kire_, modesty, purity. See Laȝ. l. 8077. K. Horn, l. 1446.

456

_He was hirde wittere and wal._
He was herdsman wise and experienced (skilful).

See Gloss. to Allit. Poems, s.v. _wale_.

457-8

_Of merke, and kinde, and helde, & ble,
sundring and sameni[n]g tagte he._

He taught of (concerning) the character, breed, age, colour [of cattle], the keeping them asunder, and the matching them together. _merke_ refers, perhaps, to the _form_, _shape_, etc., of the cattle, and _kinde_ to their _pedigree_. 459 _glew_, music, still exists in glee, _gleeman_, etc., O.E. _gleowinge_ = singing. _gleu_, to amuse by singing.

"Bi a piler was he þar sett
To _gleu_ þaa gomes at þair mete."—(Cursor Mundi, fol. 40b.)

Cf. _gleo_, music.—(Laȝ. i. 298.) _gleo-cræften_ = glee-crafts, arts of music.—(Ibid. i. 299.) _gleo-dreme_ = glee-sound.—(Ibid. i. 77.) _gleowen_, _gleowien_, to chant, play.—(Ibid. ii. 382, 429.) 466 _a sellic smið_, a wonderful (rare) smith. 468 _To sundren and mengen_ = to separate (the ore from the dross) and to mix (alloy).

469

_Wopen of wigte and tol of grið_
= weapon of war and tool of peace.

_wigte_ = _wig_ = war. _Wigte_ may signify sharpness; it usually = strong, brave.

470

_wel cuðe egte and safgte wið._

This line seems to be very corrupt and to stand in need of some emendation. I would propose to read as follows:—

_wel cuðe he fegte and sagte wið_

= well could he _fight_ [_i. e._ with the _wopen_ of _wigte_] and _heal_ with [the _tol_ of _grið_]. If this interpretation be right _tol of grið_ would refer to some curative agents. 472 _wurð bisne_, became blind.

"Þis Lamech was called Lamech þe blind,
Caym he slogh wit chaunce we find."—(Cursor Mundi, fol. 10.)

475

_Al-so he mistagte, also he schet,_
As he mistaught, so he shot.

477 _wende_ = _weened_, thought. 480-481 Cain unwarned, received it (the arrow), groaned, and stretched (fell prostrate), and died with that (immediately). _unwarde_ may be an error for _unwarnde_ = unwarned, or for _unwared_ = A.S. _unwered_ = unprotected. 484 _dedes swog_ = death's swoon. _Swog_ = O.E. _swowe_, _swoughe_.

"_Aswogh_ (in swoon) he fell adoun
An his hynder arsoun (rise of the saddle),
As man that was mate."—(Lybeaus Disconus, 1171.)

The verb to _swoon_ occurs often in English under the form _swoghen_ (p.p. _yswowe_),

"The king _swoghened_ for that wounde."—(Kyng Alys., 5857.)

Cf. Laȝ. 130, "_he fel iswowen_;" i. 192, _stille he was iswoȝen_ (the later copy reads _iswoȝe_).

486

_Of his soule beð mikel hagt._
On his soul is much sorrow.—(See l. 2044, p. 59.)

The literal signification seems to be thought, care. (See _Agte_ in l. 3384.)

P. 15. l. 490 _or or_, etc. = first ere, etc. = first before, etc. _fen_ = mud, dirt.

"Man here is nathyng elles
Bot a foule slyme, wlatsom til men,
And a sekful of stynkand _fen_."
—(Hampole's P. of C., l. 566.)

See R. of Gloucester, 6; Ps. (in Surtees' Psalter) xvii. 43. 492 _drinkilden_ = were drowned; _drinkil_ is a derivative of O.E. _drinke_, to drown, a softer form of which is _drenche_, which often signifies in O.E. a drink, potion (R. of Gl., p. 151; Ayenbite, p. 151, _deaþes drenche_), as well as to drink and to drown. See Laȝ. i. 64.

"& att te lattste _drunncnenn_ þeȝȝ
þa wrecchess, þat hemm trowwenn.
And at the last drown they
The wretches who them trow (believe)."—(Orm. ii. 181.)

"The see him gon _adrynke_
That Rymenil may of-thinke."—(Kyng Horn, 978.)

494

he began holy custom
Of prayers, and of god-fearing-ness,
for life's help and soul's comfort (counsel).

500 _alied_ = _halihed_ = holiness; _toch_ = _toc_ = took. 501 _fro mannes mene_, from man's fellowship, society. The usual form of _mene_ in O.E. is _ymene_, _ymone_ = common, general. 503-510 From Hampole's Pricke of Conscience, pp. 122-126, we learn that both Enoch and Hely (Elijah) shall come before doomsday to turn the Jews from following Antichrist to the Christian law:—"For 1260 days, or three years, shall they continue to preach. Antichrist, in great wrath, shall put the two prophets to death in Jerusalem, where their bodies shall lie in the streets for three days and a half, after which they shall ascend to heaven in a cloud. After their death Antichrist shall only reign fifteen days, at the end of which time he shall be slain before the Mount of Olivet." Some "clerks" affirm that he shall be slain by St Michael in Babylon, "that great hill." (See "_Antichrist and the Signs before the Doom_," in Jahrbuch für Romanische und Englische Literatur, 1863.) 517 _Metodius_. In the "Polychronicon Ranulphi Higdeni," p. 23, ed. by Churchill Babington, 1865, amongst the "auctores names" we find mention made of "Methodius etiam martyr et episcopus, cui incarcerato revelavit angelus de mundi statu principio et fine." 518 _sighe sir_ = _sigðhe sir_ = _sheer insight_, clear fore-knowledge.

P. 16. l. 525 _quat agte awold_ = what should happen. 526 _water wold_, destroyed by water. _wold_ may = _walled_, flooded, from _wallen_. 530 _hore-plage_, whore-play, whoredom. Cf. O.Sax. _hor-uuilo_; O.H.G. _huorgilust_. In O.E. _hore_ (not _w_hore) was an epithet applicable to men as well as women. It occasionally signifies adultery. It is found in combination as a qualifying term in _hore-cop_, _horesone_, a bastard; _hore-hous_, a brothel. The O.E. _horwed_, defiled, unclean; _horowe_, foul (Chaucer); _hori_, _ouri_, dirty; Provincial E. _horry_ (Devonshire), seem to belong to another family of words.

532

_Wimmen welten weres mester_
Women wielded a man's art.—(See Rom. i. 26.)

See Allit. Poems, p. 46, ll. 269-272.

533

_And swilc woded wenten on_,
And such madness (folly) went on.

_woded_ = _wodhed_. Cf. _alied_ = _alihed_ = holiness (l. 500, p. 15). "Þe oþer ontreuþe þet comþ of prede is _wodhede_, me halt ane man _wod_ þet is out of his wytte, in huam skele is miswent."—(Ayenbite, p. 12.)

534

_Golhed hunkinde he gunnen don_,
Unnatural lust they did commit.

_Golnes_ = lust, lasciviousness, occurs in the Owl and Nightingale, l. 492. Ancren Riwle, p. 198. Ps. lxvii. 14.

"Non lest (listen) on man do amys
Thorȝ hys oȝene _gale_ (lust)."—(Shoreham, p. 107.)

_hunkinde_ = _unkinde_, unlawful, unnatural. 536 _quad mester_, wicked craft (practices). See Allit. Poems, p. 46, ll. 265-268. _Quad_ takes several forms and meanings in O.E.; as _qued_, wicked (Kyng Alys., 5619; evil, 4237); the devil (R. of Gl., 314); _quead_, wickedness (Ayenbite, p. 4); _quathe_, _wothe_, _wathe_, evil, harm (Hampole's P. of C., 2102, 4558; Allit. Poems, B. 885).

"De _quât_ deit, de schuwet gêrn dat licht."—(Reynard the Fox.)

537 _hun-wreste plage_, wicked lust; _hun-wreste_ = _unwreste_, weak, frail, and hence wicked.

"Mærling _vnwærste_ [_onwreste_] man
Whu hæuest þu me þus idon."—(Laȝ. ii. 228.)

"Þenne þat hæfd (leader) is _unwræst_ [_onwrest_]
Þe hæp (host) is þæ wurse."—(_Ibid._ vol. ii. 259.)

"Thanne aȝte men here wyves love,
Ase God doth holy cherche;
And wyves nauȝt aȝens men
Non _onwrestnesse_ werche,
Ac tholye,
And nauȝt _onwrest_ opsechen hy
Ne tounge of hefede holye."—(Shoreham, p. 57.)

See Orm. i. 168-9. A.Sax. Chron., 1052. Wright's Lyric Poems, 37. Kyng Alys., 878. Owl and Night., 178. 538 _A ðefis kinde_ = in thief's kind, in sodomy. _thief_ in O.E. was a general term of reproach. Perhaps in _ðefis_ we have an allusion to _Cain_.

542

_And leten godes frigti-hed_
And forsook the fear of God.

544

_And mengten wið waried kin_
And intermixed with accursed kin.

545

_Of hem woren ðe getenes boren_
Of them were the giants born.
—(See Genesis vi. 4.)

546

_Migti men, and figti, for-loren_
= _Migti men, figti and forloren_,
Mighty men, warlike and forlorn (doomed).

548 _litel tale_, little account (worth). 553 _blissen_ = _lessen_ = _be-lessen_ (?) or _bi_ + _leschen_, to soften. Cf. _blinnen_ and _linnen_ = to cease. See ll. 3653, 3803.

554

_ðat it ne wexe at more hun-frame_
lest it should grow to greater evil.

_hun-frame_ = _unframe_, loss, disadvantage. 556 _deres kin_ = animals.

P. 17. l. 560 _grið_, protection, safety.

"he wuneden (dwelt) seoððen (afterwards) here
inne _griðe_ and inne friðe (peace)."—(Laȝ. ii. 50.)

"Lauerd, lauerd, ȝef (give) me _grið_."—(Ibid. iii. 35.)

Cf. _greth_, quarter (Sir Cleges, 292). _grith-bruch_, breach of the peace (Owl and Nightingale, 1043). _grith-sergeant_ (Havelok, 267). 561 _feteles_, a vessel, a _fat_ or _vat_.

"þe firrste _fetless_ wass
Brerdfull off waterr filledd."—(Orm. ii. 148.)

"Sex _feteles_ of stan war thar stan[d]and,
Als than was cumand in the land
And Crist bad thaim thir _feteles_ fille
Wit water, and thai did son his wille."
—(Met. Hom. p. 120.)

562 _set_, made, formed. _limed_, daubed, pitched. 564 _sperd_, _sparred_, barred. See Orm. D. 261; H. i. 142, ii. 68; Havelok, 448. _spere_ or _sparre_ signifies also to lock, shut up. _Chaucer_, Troilus and Creseide, v. 455; _Bone Florence_, 1774. _ðig_ = _ðic_, thick.

566

_ðor buten noe(.) long swing he dreg._
Thereabout Noah endured long toil.

_swing_ = _swinc_, toil, labour. 568 _welken_, pass away, literally to fade, wither; and usually applied to plants and flowers.

"It wites als gresse areli at dai,
Areli blomes and fares awai;
At euen doun es it brogt,
Un-lastes, and _welkes_, and gas to noght."—(Ps. lxxxix. 6.)

See Hampole's P. of C. l. 707. 576 _arche-wold_. See note to l. 255. 582 _gette_ or _get_, poured down. _gette_ is the preterite of _geten_ or _gete_. See l. 585. Cf. O.E. _yhete_ (_ȝete_); pret. _yhet_; p.p. _yhoten_ (_iȝote_).

"_Yhet_ over þam þi wreth."—(Ps. lxviii. 25.)

See Ps. xli. 5, lxxiii. 21. Percy's Reliq. vol. ii. 81. Cf. "a metal _geoter_," a metal caster, Kyng Alys. 6725. _out-yhetted_, poured out, Hampole's P. of C. 7119. See Gloss. to Allit. Poems, s.v. _Gote_. 592 _moned_ = _moneð_ = month.

P. 18. l. 598 _dragen_ by metrical license for _wið-dragen_, withdrawn. _ðe watres win_ = the water's force (strife). _Winne_ in O.E. has the signification of to fight, contend with, strive, and hence to get. Cf. O.E. _wunne_, victory; _wan_, contrivance, remedy. See l. 347.

"Alle we atter dragen off ure eldere,
ðe broken drigtinnes word ðurg ðe neddre;
ðer-ðurg haueð mankin
boðen nið and _win_."—(O.E. Miscell. p. 11.)

607 _est_ = east. Probably only an error for _eft_ = again. 614 _arche-wolde_. See note to l. 255. 617 _Rad_ = hasty, rash. Literally it signifies ready, and frequently occurs in O.E. writers with this meaning. Cf. O.E. _gerâd_, _rædlîce_, _rædliche_, _radely_, _radly_, promptly, quickly, suddenly. See l. 2481, and Owl and Nightingale, ll. 423, 1041, 1279; Laȝ. 25603; St Marh. p. 10; Avow. Arth. xix. 6.

P. 19. l. 630 _tudered_ (see note to l. 164).

631-637

Often he prayed with timid prayer,
That such vengeance as God then did
Should no more on the world come,
What vengeance so _ever_ there should be taken.
God granted it in token of love,
Showed him in the welkin above
A rainbow, they call it, red and blue.

_so_ after _swiulc_ is a true relative, as in the oldest period.

635 _gat_ = granted. It is the preterite of a verb _gate_, to grant.

"Fourti dais he sal [tham] _yate_
Þat fallen ar ute o þair state
Þoru foluing o þat fals prophet,
Þat þai mai þam wit penance bete."
—(_Antichrist_, in Jahrbuch für Romanische und Englische Literatur,
1863, p. 204, l. 428.)

_gate_ or _yate_, pret. _yatte_, is the Northern form of the word, the corresponding southern term is _ȝete_, pret. _ȝette_.

"& ȝho ne wass nohht tær onnȝæn,
Acc _ȝatte_ hemm hĕre wille
& _ȝatte_ þatt ȝho wollde ben
Rihht laȝhelike fesstnedd
Wiþþ macche, swa summ i þat ald
Wass laȝhe to ben fesstnedd."—(Orm. i. 80.)

"& þe king him _ȝette_
swa Hengist hit wolde."—(Laȝ. ii. 172.)

"& þe king him _ȝette_
al þat he ȝirnde."—(Laȝ. i. 189.)

See Seinte Marherete, p. 18. Allit. Poems, p. 17, l. 557. _a_ = _an_ = in. 637 _men cleped_ = one calleth it; _cleped_ = _clepet_ = _clepe_ + _et_; _et_ = it. We have a similar construction in l. 1082:

"for al ðat nigt he sogten ðor
ðe dure, and _fundend_ neuere mor."

_fundend_ = _funden_ + _ed_ = _founden_ + _et_ = found it. The author of the poem constantly joins the pronoun _et_ = _it_ to the preterite of weak verbs. See line 479, where _letet_ = let it. 590 _stodet_ = _stod it_ = it stood. 1654 _kiddit_ = _kidd it_ = showed it. As the plurals of the present indicative do not end in _-eþ_ or _-et_ in the poem, but in _-en_ (_-n_), _cleped_ may be an error for _clepeð_ or _clepeth_ = calls, and _men_ = O.E. _me_ = one. See line 750.

643-644

And as high the flame shall go,
As the flood flowed on the downs (hill).

_lowe_, a northern term (of Norse origin) for flame, the southern form (of A.Sax. origin) is _leie_. Religious Songs in Old Eng. Miscell., pp. 67, 182.

"Of his neose-þurles
cumeð þe rede _leie_."

See also Legend of St Brandan, 512.

"Þair throtes sal ay be filled omang
Of alle thyng þat es bitter and strang,
Of _lowe_ and reke with stormes melled,
Of pyk and brunstane togyder welled."
—(Hampole's P. of. C., l. 9431.)

653 _vten_ = _wið-vten_, without, besides. See l. 656. Cf. l. 596, with l. 598. 655 _bi tale_, in number.

P. 20. l. 676 _gan ille wune_, began wicked practices. 678 _muni[gin]g_ = remembrance. 692 _fendes fleiðing_, fiends' strife. Probably _fleiðing_ = _flitting_, contention, strife. The phrase _fendes fleathe_ = ? _fendes fleiðing_, occurs in Shoreham's poems, p. 97.

"ȝyf thou rewardest thyne eldrynges nauȝt
A-lyve and eke a-dethe,
That were wel besy to brynge the forthe,
. . . . . . . .
ȝyf thou hy gnaȝst and flagȝst eke,
Ryȝt hys that _fendes fleathe_."

P. 21. l. 713 _hicte_ = _higte_, was called, named. 724 _wol wel_ = _wel wel_ = very well, extremely well. Cf. the O.E. expressions _wel ald_, _wel lang_, etc., very old, very long, etc.; _wol wel_ corresponds exactly to the O.H.G. and M.H.G. _vil wol_; Mod. Ger. _sehr wohl_. See Erec. (ed. Haupt. 1839), 2017.

725

_Thare let hur, and ðeðen he nam_,
Terah left Ur, and thence he went.

_let_ (pret. of _lete_) = left; _nam_, literally took, and hence took the way, departed, went. See ll. 744, 745. 727 _burgt_, an error for _burg_.

P. 22. l. 743 _for_, went. See l. 763.

748

_Of weledes fulsum and of blis_ Rich of (in) wealth and of (in) bliss.

_weledes_ is an error for _welðes_; it may = _werldes_ = world's; _fulsum_ = rich, plenteous, bountiful, occurs in O.E. _fulsumhed_ (see l. 1548), _fulsumly_.

749 _ist_ = _is it_, is there.

751

Each thing dieth that therein is cast.

753 _ðus it is went_ = thus is it turned _or_ changed. 754 _brimfir_, if not an error for _brin-fire_ (burning fire; see l. 1164), signifies wild-fire, _i.e._ brimstone. Cf. A.Sax. _cwic-fyr_ = fire of brimstone. 763 _hunger bond_. We ought, perhaps, to read _hunger-bond_, corresponding to the German _hungersnoth_, famine, dearth. Cf. luue-bond, l. 2692, force of love. 764 _feger_ = _feyer_, far. 767 _to leten_ = to lose.

P. 23. l. 787 _erdne_ = _ernde_, errand, prayer, petition, message.

"Ih scal iu sagen imbot,
gibot ther himilisgo Got,
Ouh nist ther er gihorti
so fronsig _arunti_."—(Otfried's Evangelienbuch.)

_to god erdne beren_ = to intercede with God. _Ernde_ occurs in Lyric Poetry, p. 62, in the sense of to intercede. 792 _arsmetike_ = _arsmet[r]ike_ = arithmetic.

793

_He was hem lef, he woren him hold_,
He was dear to them, they were true to him.

795 _sat_ = _schat_, treasure, still existing in _scot_, _shot_. 796 _vn-achteled_, unestimated, immense; from _achtel_, to estimate, reckon. See Stratmann, s.v. _ahtlien_.

801

_ðor he quilum her wisten wunen_,
Where they formerly wished to dwell.

P. 24. l. 813 _atteð_ = _hatteð_, is called.

827

_ðer het god abre ðat tagte lond_, etc.
There God promised Abraham that promised land, etc.

_tagte_ = _bitagte_, literally, assigned, appointed. 832 _giscinge of louerd-hed_ = desire of lordship, greed of dominion. _Giscinge_ = covetousness; the correct form is _gitsing_ (_ȝitsung_, _ȝittsung_), but _ȝissinge_ is found in Laȝ. ii. 227. Cp. _yssing_, O.E. Miscell. p. 38. _icinge_, Ayenbite, p. 16, and see Orm. i. 157.

"Al his motinge (talk)
was ful of _ȝitsinge_."—(Laȝ. i. 280.)

833

_Neg ilc burge hadde ise louereding_,
Nigh each borough (city) had its lord.

834 _kumeling_ is literally a stranger, foreigner, but here signifies a king or ruler not of native blood, one of foreign extraction. See _Comeling_ in Prompt. Parv. p. 89.

"For I am a _commelyng_ toward þe
And pilgrym, als alle my faders was."
—(Hampole's P. of C., 1385.)

"Wande ein _chomelinch_ ih bin mit dir unde ellente also alle uatere mine."—(Wendb. Ps. xxxviii. 22.)

P. 25. l. 842 _ferding stor_, a great army. See O.E. Hom. 2nd S. p. 189.

844 _gouel_, tribute, tax. Later writers use the word _gauel_ or _gouel_ in the sense of usury. See Ayenbite, p. 35; O.E. Miscell. p. 46. Cf. _gaueler_, usurer. Ayenbite, p. 35; Ps. cviii. 11. 847 _haued_ = _haueð_, hath. 848 _here-gonge_, invasion.

"For ich am witi ful iwis,
And wot (knoweth) al that to cumen is:
Ich wot of hunger [and] of _hergonge_."
—(Owl and Nightingale, l. 1189.)

851 _fowre on-seken and fifue weren_ = four attack and five defend. _on-seken_ = attack.

"heo wenden to beon sikere. They weened to be secure
þeo Belin heom _on-sohte_." when Belin attacked them.
—(Laȝ. i. 241.)

864 _witter of figt_ = skilled in fighting. See Gloss. to Allit. Poems, s.v. _wyter_, and Laȝ. i. 260, 409; ii. 247.

866

_Abram let him tunde wel_,
Abram caused himself to be well surrounded (well guarded).

869 _wenden_, thought.

875

_wið-ðuten [= wiðð-uten] ðo ðe cuden flen_
= except those who could flee.

P. 26. l. 882 _bat_ = _bad_ = _bead_ = literally offered, and hence restored. _bat_ = _bette_ occurs in Legends of Holy Rood for _amended_, restored, p. 210, l. 6. 886 _Borwen_, delivered, rescued, the p.p. of _bergen_ (O.E. _berȝe_, _berwen_).

"Þis boc is ymad vor lewede men
vor vader and vor moder and vor oþer ken
Ham vor to _berȝe_ vram alle manyere zen
þet in hare inwytte ne bleve no voul wen."
—(Ayenbite, p. 211.)

"And huo þat agelt ine enie of þe ilke hestes him ssel þer-of vor-þench, and him ssrive, and bidde God merci yef he wyle by _yborȝe_."—(Ibid. p. 1.) Orm uses _berrȝhenn_, to save, preserve, from which he forms the derivative _berrhless_, salvation. 888 _feres wale_, brave companions (allies). _Wale_ signifies select, choice, worthy, and hence brave. See Gloss. to Allit. Poems, s.v. _Wale_.

893

_He froðer[ed]e him after is swinc._
He comforted him after his toil.

Herbert Coleridge (Gloss. Index, p. 33) connects _froðere_ with the A.Sax. _frofrian_, to comfort. Of course there is nothing to be said against the interchange of _f_ and _th_ (cf. _afurst_, thirsty; _afyngred_, hungry, etc.); but the A.S. _freoðian_, to protect, render secure, is nearer in form, and there is the O.E. _vreþie_ (Ayenbite) to prove that this verb had not gone out of use. 895 _ðe tigðe del_ = the tenth part. _tigðe_ = _tithe_ = tenth. 898 _bargt_ = _barg_ (the pret. of _bergen_) preserved. 910 _wið-uten man_ = except the men. The rhyme seems to require us to read _nam_; the meaning would then be "without exception _or_ reserve."

911

_Alle hes hadde wið migte bi-geten._
He had them all with might begotten (obtained).

_hes_ = _he_ + _es_ = he + them. The combination _hes_ occurs again in l. 943. _es_ or _is_ = them, as in l. 949. See Note to l. 135, and Preface to O.E. Miscell. p. xv, and O.E. Hom. 2nd S. p. xii.

P. 27. l. 913 _meðelike wel_, with great moderation, very meetly. Cf. _unmeaðeliche_ in Seinte Marherete, p. 10. _meðeliche_ in O.E. Hom. 2nd S. p. 7. _meðleas_, Ancren Riwle, p. 96. 918 _algen_ = _halgen_ = hallow. 920 _bi-told_ (rescued) should be the pret. of a vb. _bitellen_, but no such word occurs in the poem. See O.E. Hom. 1st S. p. 205. Owl and Night. l. 263. Laȝamon uses _bi-tellen_, to win.

"Ac wih him we scullen ure freoscipe (freedom)
mid fehte _bitellen_."—(Vol. i. p. 328.)

"Bi-ðencheð eow ohte (bold) cnihtes
to _bi-tellen_ eoweore rihtes."—(i. 337.)

The editor explains _bitellen_ by to _win_, but _regain_ would suit the context.

"Nu þu hauest Brutlond,
Al _bi-tald_ to þire hond."—(Vol. ii. p. 335.)

"Nu ich mi lond habben _bi-tald_."—(Vol. iii. p. 258.)

924

_Quo-so his alt him bi-agt_
= Whoso them (goods) holdeth, him it behoveth (yield as tithes).

_His_ = _is_ = _es_, them. 927 _gulden wel_, requited well.

934

_Of ðe-self sal ðin erward ten_,
Of thyself shall thine heir come.

_erward_ = _eruweard_, heir. 939 _nam god kep_ = took good heed to, attended carefully to. _kep_ = care. See R. of Gl. 177, 191. Owl and Night. l. 1226. Hampole's P. of C. ll. 381, 597. 941 _Euerilc_, each, every one. _euerilc_ is the same as the O.E. _euerich_, Mod. Eng. _every_.

943

_Vndelt hes leide quor-so hes tok_,
Undivided he laid them where-so he took (brought) them.

This line refers to the "_duue and a turtul_," in the following line. See Genesis xv. 10. 945 _on-rum_ the same as _a-rum_, apart, aside.

"Tho Alisaundre sygh this,
_Aroum_ anon he drow, ywis,
And suththe he renneth to his muthe (army)."
—(Kyng Alys., 1637.)

946

_And of ðo doles kep he nam._
And of the pieces care he took.

P. 28. l. 949 _kagte is wei_, drove them away. _kagte_ is the pret. of _kache_, to drive.

"And he ansuered als he war medde,
And said, Allas and wailewaye.
That ever I com at yon abbaye,
For in na chaffar may I winne
Of tha lurdanes that won tharinne
For likes nan of thaim my play,
Bot alle thar _kache_ me away."—(Met. Hom. p. 151.)

953-954 God said to him in true dream, the _future_ condition of his seed. _beren-tem_ = _barn-teem_, offspring, descendants.

"We are alle a (one) man _barn-teme_."—(Cursor Mundi, fol. 27b.)

956

_And uten erdes sorge sen._
And in foreign lands sorrow see (experience).

Cp.

"_Outen_ sones to me lighed þai,
_Outen_ sones elded er þai."—(Ps. xvii. 46.)

"Filii alieni mentiti sunt mihi, filii alieni inveteraverunt."

Cf. _uten stede_, l. 1741. O.E. _utenlande_, a foreigner. Havelok, l. 2153. 958 _Hor_ = _or_, before. 960 _ðat hotene lond_, that promised land. 964 _untuderi_, barren. The usual O.E. term is _unberand_, unbearing. See O.E. Hom. 2nd S. p. 177. 965 _abre_ = to Abram. 969-971 And Sarai would not suffer it, that Hagar were thus swollen (with pride). She held her hard in thrall's wise (treated her as a slave). 974 _one and sori_, solitary and sad. 975 _wil and weri_, lonely and weary. _Wil_ literally signifies astray, _wild_, from the verb _wille_, to go astray. See Gloss. to Allit. Poems, s.v. _Wyl_.

"He is hirde, we ben sep;
Silden he us wille,
If we heren to his word
ðat we ne gon nowor _wille_."—(O.E. Miscell. p. 2.)

"And child Jesus _willed_ them fra."—(Met. Hom. p. 108.)

977

_wiste hire drogen sori for ðrist._
Knew her to be suffering sorely for thirst.

_drogen_ may be an error for _drogende_ = suffering. _sori_ as an adjective is not sorrowful, as most editors interpret the word, but heavy, painful, and hence anxious, etc. See l. 974.

"Quen thai him (Jesus) missed, thai him soht
Imang thair kith and fand him noht,
And forthi Joseph and Mari
War for him sorful and _sari_."—(Met. Hom. 108.)

978 _quemede hire list_, satisfied her desire.

P. 29. l. 984 _folc frigti_, formidable folk, _frigti_ does not here signify, as in other parts of the poem, _afraid_, but _to be feared_. 991 _in sunder run_, secret speech or secret communing, private conversation. See O.E. Hom. 2nd S. p. 29. 1010 _ðe ton_ = the one. _ton_ = that one the first; _toðer_ = that other, the second.

P. 30. l. 1019 _quamede_ = _quemede_, pleased.

1021-1024

Quoth this one, "this time next year,
Shall I appear to thee here;
By that time shall bliss befall Sarah,
That she shall of a son conceive."

1026

_And it hire ðogte a selli ðhing_,
And it appeared to her a marvellous thing.

1028 _on wane_, wanting one, _i.e._ one less. "In þis burh was wuniende a meiden swiðe ȝung of ȝeres, _two wone_ of twenti."—(St. Kath. 69.)

1032

_And it wurð soð binnen swilc sel_,
And it became so (came to pass) within such time.

1035 _stelen_ = go away stealthily or secretly.

1036

_Ne min dede abraham helen_, Nor my deed from Abraham hide.

1037 _sinne dwale_ = complaint of sin (see l. 1220); _dwale_ may be taken as an adj. = grievous, mischievous. 1038 _miries dale_, an error for _mirie dale_ = pleasant dale. See l. 1121.

1039-40

_ðo adde abram-is herte sor,
for loth his newe wunede ðor_,
Then had Abraham's heart grief,
For Lot, his nephew, dwelt there.

1041-4 "Lord," quoth he, "how shalt thou do (this), if thou shalt take vengeance thereon; shalt thou not the righteous protect (spare), or for them (for their sake) to the others mercy bear (show)?" _með beren_ = to bear mercy, to show mercy to. See ll. 1046, 1242.

1046

_Ic sal meðen ðe stede for ðo_,
I shall have mercy upon the place for those (for their sake).

_Meðen_ signifies to use gently, act with moderation towards any one, to compassionate, to show mercy to. (See Allit. Poems, p. 45, l. 247; p. 51, l. 436; p. 54, l. 565; O.E. Hom. 2nd S. p. 153.) 1049 _at-wot_, departed. There is no such verb as _æt-wítan_, to depart, in Bosworth's A.Sax. Dict. The only meaning given to _atwiten_ by Stratmann is to reproach, twit. _At-wot_ may be a blunder for _at-wond_, departed. See l. 3058. Laȝ. l. 87. We have the O.E. _at-flegen_, _at-gon_, _at-scape_, etc. The simple verb _wite_ is not uncommon in Early English authors.

"The first dai sal al the se
Boln and ris, and heyer be
Than ani fel of al the land,
. . . . . . . . .
And als mikel the tother day
Sal it sattel and _wit_ away."—(Met. Hom., p. 25.)

"When this was sayd, scho _wyte_ away."—(_Ibid._, p. 169.)

1054 _quake_ is evidently an error for _quate_ = _wait_, look for.

P. 31. l. 1055

_He ros, and lutte, and scroð him_ [hem?] _wel._
He rose, and bowed, and urged (invited) them well.

1060

_He wisten him bergen fro ðe dead._
They wished to preserve him from death.

_bergen_ is literally to preserve, but it may be here used passively, as the infinitive often is by O.E. writers, and we must then render the line as follows:—"They wished him to be preserved from death."

1062

_And he him gulden it euerilc del._
And they him requited it every whit.

1063

_Oc al ðat burgt folc ðat helde was on._
But all that townsfolk that were old enough.

1073

_ðat folc vn-seli, sinne wod._
That wretched folk, mad with sin.

1076 _wreche and letting_ = vengeance and failure.

1079

_Wil siðen cam on euerilc on._
Blindness _or_ bewilderment afterwards came on every one.

1082 _fundend_ = _funden_ + _id_ = _funden_ + _it_ = found it. 1084 _don red_ = do (obey) counsel, i.e. take advice.

P. 32. l. 1095 _in sel_ = in time, timely, opportunely.

1097

_ðat here non wente agen._
That none of them should turn back.

1101 _gunde under dun_, under yond hill. 1103 _sren_, if correct, might signify _screen_, but it seems to be an error for _fren_, to set free, and hence to save.

1105

_Ai was borgen bala-segor._
Aye was saved Bela Zoar (little Bela).

See Gen. xiv. 2; xix. 20, 22. 1107 _hine_ = him, the name of the town being regarded as of the masculine gender. 1108 _erðe-dine_ = earthquake.

"Á hundyr á thowsand and seẅyntene yhere
Frá þe byrth of our Lord dere,
_Erddyn_ gret in Ytaly
And hugsum fell all suddanly,
And fourty dayis frá þine lestand."—(Wyntown, p. i. 289.)

The verb _dinne_ in O.E. has not only the sense of to _din_, but to shake, quake. See Seinte Marherete, p. 20.

"Þe erth quok and _dind_ again."
—(Cursor Mundi; Cott. MS. Vesp. A. iii. fol. 11b.)

1109 _Sone so_, as soon as. 1110 _brend-fier-rein_, rain of burning fire.

1116

_Ne mai non dain wassen ðor-on_,
None may dare to wash therein.

_dain_, if not an error for _darin_ = _daren_, dare, venture, may = _ðain_, a man, a servant, or = _duen_, avail. 1119 _wente hire a-gon_, turned her aback. See l. 1097. 1120 _wente in to a ston_, turned into a stone.

1121

_So ist nu forwent mirie dale_,
So is there now changed merry (pleasant) dale.

_ist_ = _is_ + _it_, _is it_, there is. 1125 _deades driuen_, held (influenced) of (by) death.

P. 33. l. 1127 They say the trees that are near it, come to maturity in time, and bring forth fruit and thrive, but when their apples are ripe, fire-ashes one may see therein. _fier-isles_, fire-ashes. For the meaning of _isle_, see Gloss. to Allit. Poems, s.v. _Vsle_. 1131-2 That land is called dale of salt, many a one taketh thereof little heed (account).

"Of thair schepe thai gif na _tale_,
Whether thai be seke or hale."—(MS. Harl. 4196, fol. 92.)

1137 _biggede_, dwelt. It signifies more properly to _build_. 1139-40 Here is an allusion to the destruction of the world by fire mentioned in lines 640-644, p. 19. Those maidens erewhile heard some say that fire should all this world consume. 1140 _forsweðen_, to burn up entirely, from the O.E. _swethe_ or _swithe_, to burn, scorch. See Ancren Riwle, p. 306 (footnote). Gloss. to Allit. Poems, s.v. _swythe_. 1142 _fieres wreche_, vengeance (plague) of fire. 1143-4 The Cursor Mundi says that Lot's daughters seeing only their father, thought that all men had perished.

"Bot Loth him held þat cave wit-in,
He and his doghtres tuin;
For þai nan bot þair fadre sau,
Þai wend alle men war don odau,
Thoru þat ilk waful wrak;
Þe elder to þe yonger spak:
'Sister to þe in dern I sai,
Þou seis þe folk er alle awai;
Bot Loth our fader es carman (male) nan,
Bot we twa left es na womman;
I think mankind sal perist be,
Bot it be stord wit me and þe.'"—(fol. 18.)

1147 _vnder-gon_, (1) to go under, (2) to cheat, deceive. In line 1160 _under-gon_ = to undertake, take up again.

Cp.

"ȝet our by-leave wole _onder-gon_,
That thyse thre (Persons of the Trinity) beth ryȝt al on."
—(Shoreham, p. 142.)

"Ope the heȝe eȝtynde day
He _onder-ȝede_ the Gywen lay."—(Ibid. p. 122.)

"And tus adam he [Christ] _under-gede_,
reisede him up, and al mankin,
ðat was fallen to helle dim."—(O.E. Miscell. p. 22.)

1151 _eiðer here_, each of them. Cf. O.E. _eiðer eȝe_, each eye, both eyes. 1159-60 Now behoveth us to turn back and take up _the_ song concerning Abraham.

1162

_Wið reuli lote and frigti mod._
With mournful cheer and frightened mood (mind).

_reuli_ = sad, rueful, from the verb _rue_, to pity, compassionate, grieve for. Cf. O.E. _rueness_, compassion; _Ruer_, a merciful person; _reuthe_, pity.

"He saith 'we ben ybore euerichone
Making sorwe and _reuly_ mone.'"—(MS. Addit. 11305.)

_lote_, fare, cheer.

"Þis isah þe leodking
grimme heore _lates_."

The king saw this,
their grim gestures.
—(Laȝ. ii., 245.)

"Þat freond sæiðe to freonde, mid fæire _loten_ hende, 'Leofue freond, wæs hail!'"

That friend saieth to his friend
With fair comely looks,
"Dear friend, wassail!"
—(_Ibid._ ii., 175.)

P. 34. l. 1163 _Roke_, East Anglian for _reke_, smoke. See Prompt. Parv. p. 436; Beve's, l. 2471.

1164

_And ðe brinfires stinken smoke_,
And the sulphur's stinking smoke.

_stinken_ = _stinkende_, stinking. 1166 _him reu_. The verb _rewe_ is used impersonally in O.E. 1167 _suðen_ = southwards. (See Gen. xx. 1.) 1171-2 Erewhile as first Pharaoh her took, now taketh Abimelech her also. 1177 _wif-kinnes_, womankind. 1178 _wið-helð_ = _wið-held_. 1179-80 In dream to him came tidings why he suffered and underwent that misfortune. 1180 _untiming_ is literally that which is unseasonable. We have the same notion expressed in O.E. _unhap_ (mishap), misfortune; E. _happen_, happy, and E. _hap_, _happen_, etc. Cp. _untime_, in Ancren Riwle, p. 344. 1184 _ðat il sel_, that same time, immediately.

1186

_And his yuel sort was ouer-gon_,
And his evil lot was passed.

1188

_ða ðe swinacie gan him nunmor deren_,
When the quinsy did him no more vex (annoy).

Our author or his transcriber is certainly wrong about the "_swinacie_;" for the punishment of "_lecher-craft_" was _meselry_ (leprosy), the quinsy being the penalty for _gluttony_. The seven deadly sins were thus to be punished in Purgatory:—

1. Pride, by a daily fever.
2. Covetousness, " the dropsy.
3. Sloth, " the gout.
4. Envy, " boils, ulcers, and blains.
5. Wrath, " the palsy.
6. Gluttony, " the quinsy.
7. Lechery, " meselry or leprosy.

1192 _ðat faire blod_, that fair woman. _blod_ in O.E. was used as a term of the common gender, as also were such words as _girl_, _maid_, etc. See Gloss. to Allit. Poems, s.v. _blod_.

1193

_Bad hire ðor hir wið heuod ben hid_
= _Bad hire ðor-wið hir heuod ben hid_?
Bad her there-with her head to be hid,
(That is, she was to buy a veil for her head).

1194 _timing_, good-fortune, happiness. See note to line 1180. 1195 _bi-sewen_, be seen. _so_ in this line seems an unnecessary addition of the scribe's. 1197 _wurd_ = _wurð_, became; _on elde wac_, in age weak (feeble). _Woc_ = weak; the older form is _wac_. See Laȝ. ii. 24, 195, 411.

"Forr icc amm i me sellfenn _wac_,
& full off unntrummnesse."—(Orm. ii. 285.)

"Vor nout makeð hire _woc_ but sunne one."
For nought maketh hir weak but sin only.
—(Ancren Riwle, p. 4.)

See O.E. Miscell. p. 135; ll. 581, 595.

1198 _trimede_ is, perhaps, for _timede_ = _teemed_ = brought forth; if not it must be referred to O.E. _trumen_. See _trimen_ in l. 1024.

P. 35. l. 1200 _a-buten schoren_ = about shorn, is merely the explanation of circumcized.

"O thritte yeir fra he was born,
was ysmael wen he was _schorn_."—(Cursor Mundi, fol. 16b.)

1201 _lay_ is another form of _law_. Cf. O.E. _daye_ and _dawe_. 1204 _al swilk sel_, even at such time. 1206 _is told_, is reckoned. 1208 _fro teding don_, removed from his mother's care (?). _teding_ = _tending_ (?), nursing, care, not _teðing_ = _teething_. "_fro teding don_" in the Cursor Mundi is expressed by the phrase _spaned fra the pap_ = weaned from the breast.

1209

_Michel gestninge made abraham_,
great feasting _or_ entertainment made Abraham.

_gestninge_ (feasting) seems to be the same as the S.Saxon _gistninge_, a banquet. The original meaning is hospitality; O.E. _gesten_, to entertain a guest; S.Sax. _gistnen_, to lodge. See Ancren Riwle, p. 288_a_, 414. Laȝ. ii. 172.

1212

_And ysmael was him vn-swac_,
And Ishmael was to him (Isaac) disagreeable.

_vn-swac_, displeasing, distasteful. There is no such word as _un-swæc_ to be found in the A.Sax. glossaries, but we have _swæc_, savour, taste, from which I have deduced the meaning here given to _un-swac_. See Ancren Riwle, p. 48, where _spekung_ = _swekung_, and cp. _swæc_, stenc, and hrepung, in Ælfric's Hom. i. 138.

1213 _un-framen_, to annoy, from O.E. _frame_, to benefit, to profit.

1216 _Hir was ysmaeles anger loð_, To her was Ishmael's anger displeasing.

1217 _Ghe bi-mente hire to abraham_, She bemoaned her to Abraham. _bimente_ = pret. of _bimene_, to complain, lament.

"_bimene_ we us, we hauen don wrong."—(O.E. Miscell. p. 25; see R. of
Gloucester, p. 490.)

1220 _dwale_, complaint, grief. See l. 1037.

"Be þu neuere to bold, to chiden agen oni scold,
ne mid mani tales to chiden agen alle _dwales_."
(O.E. Miscell., p. 127. See p. 126, l. 414.)

1221 _rapede_, hastened, hurried away. See Rich. Cœur de Lion, 2206.

"The wretche stiward ne might nowt slape;
Ac in the morewing he gan up _rape_."—(Seven Sages, l. 1620.)

"The king saide, 'I ne have no _rape_ (I am in no hurry)
For me lest yit ful wel slape.'"—(Ibid. l. 1631.)

1224

_In sumertid, In egest sel_,
In summer time, in the highest time (the hottest season) of the year.

Cp. 'in a _hyȝ_ seysoun.'—Allit. Poems, p. 2, l. 39. 1228 _hete gram_, fierce heat. 1229 _wexon ðrist_. The sense requires us to read _wex on ðrist_, with fatigue and heat thirst waxed on them.

1231

_Tid-like hem gan ðat water laken_,
Soon did that water fail them.

P. 36. l. 1238

_Bi al-so fer so a boge mai ten_,
By as far as a bow may reach.

1239 _sik and sor_, sighing and sadness. 1241 _dede hire reed_, brought her help.

1242

_An angel meðede hire ðat ned_,
An angel alleviated her distress.

_hire_ is the dative of the personal pronoun. 1244 _seli timing_, a fortunate occurrence. See note to l. 1180. 1247 _nam fro ðan_, went from that place. _fro ðan_ = Sc. _fra thine_, from thence. 1252 _mikil and rif_, great (powerful) and wide-spread. 1254 In Arabia his kin dwell. 1258 _kungriche_ = _kineriche_, kingdom. Cf. _kungdom_ = _kunedon_ = kingdom, l. 1260. _kunglond_, _kunelond_ = _kinglond_, kingdom, l. 1262. _guglond_ = _kunglond_, kingdom, l. 1264.

1261-2

His ninth son was Tema,
Wherefore is there a kingdom called Teman.

1264

_Het a guglond esten_ (eften ?) _fro ða_,
Was called a kingdom afterwards from that time.

_esten fro ða_ = eastwards from those _other kingdoms_. 1269 _siker pligt_, firm, sure pledge.

P. 37. l. 1275 _feren pligt_, pledged fellows.

1279

_ðog [it] was nogt is kinde lond_,
Nevertheless it was not his native land.

1280

_Richere he it leet ðan he it fond_,
richer he left it than he found it.

1290

_On an hil ðor ic sal taunen ðe_,
on a hill where I shall show thee.

1292 _ðat he bed him two_ [to ?], that he commanded him to go to. _two_, an error for _to_. See l. 3752. 1295-6 They say on that hill's side was made the temple of Solomon. 1295 _dune-is siðen_ = _dune-is siden_, down's (hill's) sides. 1299 _buxum o rigt_, rightly obedient. 1301 _sagt_, an error for _sag_ (saw). See l. 1334.

P. 38. l. 1308

_ðo wurð ðe child witter and war_,
Then became the child wise and wary.

1315-20

Wonderfully art thou in the world come,
Wonderfully shalt thou be hence taken;
Without long suffering and fight (struggle)
God will thee take from world's night,
And of thyself holocaust have,
Thank Him that He would it crave (demand).

1317 _ðhrowing_ = _throe_, suffering, agony.

"_ðrowwinge_ and pine."—(Orm. ii. 174.)

"Vor soð wisdom is don euere soule-hele biuoren flesches hele: and hwon me ne mei nout boðe holden somed, cheosen er licomes hurt þen þuruh to stronge vondunges, soule _þrowunge_."—(Ancren Riwle, p. 372.) For true wisdom is ever to put soul-health before flesh-health, and when one may not hold both together, to choose rather bodily hurt than, through too strong trials, soul-agony (death). 1323 Supply _don_ after _wulde_. 1328 _nuge_ = _nog_, now. 1331 _frigti fagen_ may be either _frigti and fagen_, timid _and_ glad, or else _frigti-fagen_, timidly glad.

1332 _for ysaac bi-leaf un-slagen_, for Isaac remained unslain.

1333 _Bi-aften_, behind, abaft.

"Tacc þær an shep _bafftenn_ þin bacc
and offre itt forr þe wennchell."—(Orm. ii. 156.)

1336 _on ysaac stede_, instead of Isaac.

P. 39. l. 1345

_Sarra was fagen in kindes wune_, Sarah was naturally glad.

_in kindes wune_ = after the manner of kinde (nature); _kindes wune_ = kind-wise, kin-wise. 1365 _semeð_ is an error for _semes_, burdens, loads, or for _semed_, burdened, loaded. See l. 1368. _seme_ is properly a load for a pack-horse.

"An hors is strengur than a mon,
Ac for hit non i-wit ne kon,
Hit berth on rugge grete _semes_,
And draȝth bi-vore grete temes."
—(Owl and Nightingale, ed. Wright, p. 27.)

1372 _min erdne ðu forðe selðhelike_, mine errand do thou perform, accomplish successfully. _forðe_ = _forðen_. See Orm. l. 1834; Ancren Riwle, p. 408; Laȝ. l. 31561. 1373 _lene_, grant, still exists in _lend_, _loan_, etc.

1375

_He bad hise bede on good sel_,
He offered his prayer (in good time) opportunely.

P. 40. l. 1379 _ilc on_ = each one.

1382

_Ne wor nogt so forð ðeuwe numen_,
The custom had not been so forth (up to that time) practised.

1388 _bofte_ = _bi-ofte_, behoof; cf. O.E. _byefþe_, _bi-ofþe_. See l. 1408. 1390 _beges_ = bracelets, armlets, probably from A.Sax. _bugan_ (= _beogan_), to bow, to bend. The original meaning of _beg_ is crown. In Piers Ploughman 346, _beighe_ signifies a collar. In the Middle High German version of the Book of Genesis (ed. Diemer) it is stated that Eliezer, for love, gave Rebekah

"Zwêne ôringe
und zuêne arm-_pouge_
ûz alrôteme golde."

1391 _ghe_ seems to be an error for _he_. 1394 _kiddit_ = made it known, showed it. 1397 _good grið_ = good entertainment. 1398 _Him_ (the dative of the personal pronoun), for him.

1404

_Quilc selðe and welðhe him wel bi-cam_,
What prosperity and wealth had well befallen him.

1409 _wið-ðan_, with-that, thereupon.

1410

_fagneden wel ðis sondere man_,
welcomed well this messenger.

_fagnen_ is literally to make _fain_ or glad, to welcome, entertain; _sondere man_. The proper form is _sondes-man_. Ancren Riwle, p. 190. Cf. _loder-man_ for _lodes-man_, l. 4110, p. 117; and _sander-bodes_, O.E. Hom. 2nd S. p. 89.

P. 41. ll. 1411-12

When God hath it so ordained,
As he sendeth so it shall be.

1417 _garen_, to prepare (to set out), to make _yare_, to get ready.

1419-20

For entreaty nor meed not would he there.
Over one night delay no (any) more.

_drechen_ is (1) to trouble, annoy, (2) to hinder, delay.

(1) "Sir Pilates wife dame Porcula
Tille hir Lord thus gan say—
'Deme ȝe noght Ihesus tille ne fra,
Bot menske him that ȝe may
I have bene _drechid_ with dremes swa,
This ilk night als I lay.'"
—(Gospel of Nichodemus, Harl. MS. 4196.)

(2) "Quhen Claudius þe manhed kend
Of þe Brettownys, he message send
Tyl Arẅyragus, þan þe kyng
Þat Brettayne had in governyng,
For til amese all were and stryfe,
And tak his dochtyr til his wyfe,
And to Rowme þat Tribwte pay
Wycht-owtyn _drychyng_ or delay."—(Wyntown, vol. i. p. 92.)

In the Cursor Mundi we are told that _wanhope_ (despair) causes

"Lathnes to kirc at sermon here
_Dreching_ o scrift (delay of shrift)," etc.—(Cott. MS. Vesp. A. iii.)

1427 _Or or_ first ere, i.e. before. 1428 _morgen-giwe_ = _morgen-giue_, nuptial gift, the morning gift, the gift of the husband presented to the wife on the morning after marriage. See Ancren Riwle, p. 94. Hali Meid. p. 39. 1430 _godun dai_, good day. _godun_ = _godne_, the accusative of the adjective.

"He let clipie þe saterday:
Þe freres bifore him alle
And bed alle _godne_ day."—(St Dunstan, l. 200.)

1434 _sondes fare_, the journey of the messenger (Eliezer). 1437 _on felde_ = the O.E. _afelde_. 1439 _Eððede_ = _eðede_, alleviated, is connected with the O.E. _eþe_ (_eað_), easy, and literally signifies softened. 1440 _Of faiger waspene_, of fair form; _waspene_ is evidently an error for _wasteme_ or _wastene_. "He seh þeos seli meiden marherete ... þe schimede ant schan al of wlite (face) ant of _wastum_ (form)."—(Seinte Marherete, p. 2.) "In þis burh was wuniende a meiden swiðe ȝung of ȝeres, two wone of twenti, feir ant freolich o wlite & o _westum_."—(St Kath. p. 69.) 1442 _Here samening_, their union, intercourse.

1444

_And sge ne bi-spac him neuere a del._
And she contradicted him never a whit.

_bispeke_ in O.E. also signifies to threaten. See Castle of Love, l. 221.

P. 42. l. 1448

_Abraham dede hem siðen sundri wunen_,
Abraham assigned them afterwards sundry abodes.

1456

_Him bi-stoden wurlike and wel_,
Mourned for (bewailed) him worthily and well.

See ll. 716, 3857. _wurlike_ = _wurðlike_, worthily. 1461-4 Long it was ere she him child bare, And he entreated God, when he became aware of it (_i.e._ that Rebekah was barren), That he should fulfil that promise, That he to Abraham erewhile made. 1463 _fillen_, to fulfil, accomplish. See Orm. i. 91. _quede_, promise, saying, is the same as the O.E. _quede_, a bequest, _quide_, a saying, from _queðe_, to say, still existing in _quoth_. See Laȝ. i. 38, 43; ii. 151, 197, 613 ; iii. 3; Orm. ii. 321.

1467-8

At one burden she bore
Two, who were to her akin of blood.