From Anglo-Saxon to Early Middle English: Studies Presented to E. G. Stanley 0198117760, 9780198117766

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Table of contents :
From Anglo-Saxon to Early Middle English
Contents
Prefatory Note
Did Grendel's Mother Sit on Beowulf ?
An Alfredian Legacy? On the Fortunes and Fate of some Items ofBoethian Vocabulary in Old English
Some Reflections on the Metre of Christ III
A Grammarian's Greek-Latin Glossary in Anglo-Saxon England
Poetic Words in Late Old English Prose
Old English Weak Genitive Plural -an: Towards Establishing the Evidence
Apocalypse and Invasion in Late Anglo-Saxon England
The Englishness of Old English
Line-End Hyphens in the Ormulum Manuscript (MS Junius 1)
The Paradox of the Archaic and the Modem in Layamon's Brut
An Early English Entführung: A Note on Floris and Blauncheflur
A Bibliography of the Writings of E. G. Stanley
Index
Recommend Papers

From Anglo-Saxon to Early Middle English: Studies Presented to E. G. Stanley
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FROM AN G LO -SA X O N TO EARLY M ID D LE E N G LISH

E. G. Stanley

From Anglo-Saxon to E arly M id d le English S T U D IE S P R E S E N T E D T O E . G . STA N LEY

»

E d ited by

Malcolm Godden, Douglas Gray, and Terry Hoad

C LA R E N D O N PR ESS • O X FO R D 1994

O xford University Press, Walton Street, O xford 0x2 6dp O xford N ew York Toronto D elhi Bom bay Calcutta M adras K arachi K uala Lum pur Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo N atrobi D ar es Salaam Cape Town M elbourne A uckland M a d rid a n d associated companies in B erlin Ibadan O xford is a trade m ark o f O xford U niversity Press Published in the U nited States by O xford University Press Inc., N ew York © The several contributors 1994

A ll rights reserved N o part o f this publication may be reproduced, stored tn a retrieval system, or transm itted, in any form or by any means, w ithout the p rio r perm ission tn uniting o f O xford U niversity Press. W ithin the UK. exceptions are allow ed in respect o f any fa ir dealing fo r the purpose o f research or private study, or criticism or review, as perm itted under the Copyright. Designs a n d Patents Act. 1988. or in the case o f reprographic reproduction tn accordance w ith the terms o f the licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms a n d in other countries should be sent to the Rights departm ent. O xford University Press, at the address above B ritish Library Cataloguing in Publication D ata D ata available Library o f Congress Cataloging in Publication D ata From Anglo-Saxon to early m iddle English: studies presented to E. G . Stanley / edited by Douglas G ray M alcolm Godden. a n d Terry Hoad. Includes bibhographtcal references a n d index. /. English philology— M iddle English, n o o -tfo o . 2. English philology— O ld English, ca. 4 10 -110 0 . 1 . G ray Douglas. II. Godden. M alcolm . III. H oad. T. F. IV. Stanley E n c Gerald. P E i 6.S 7 )F ?6 1994 429— dcto 9 1-4 20 12 IS B N 0 -19 -8 117 7 6 -0

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 1 Typeset by Selw ood Systems, M idsom er Norton P rin ted in Great B ritain on acid-free paper by Biddles L td , G u ildford a n d K ings Lynn

CO NTENTS

Prefatory Note L ist o f Abbreviations

vi viii

D id Grendels M other Sit on Beowulf? F r e d C . R o b in s o n

i

An Alfredian Legacy? O n the Fortunes and Fate o f some Items o f Boethian Vocabulary in O ld English J an et Bately

8

Some Reflections on the Metre o f Christ I I I J ane R o berts

33

A Grammarian’s Greek—Latin Glossary in Anglo-Saxon England H elm u t G n eu ss

60

Poetic Words in Late O ld English Prose R o berta F rank

87

O ld English Weak Genitive Plural -an : Towards Establishing the Evidence T e r r y H o ad

108

Apocalypse and Invasion in Late Anglo-Saxon England M a lco lm G o d d en

130

The Englishness o f O ld English B r u c e M it c h e l l

163

Line-End Hyphens in the Ormulum Manuscript (M S Junius 1) R o b e r t B u r c h f ie l d

182

The Paradox o f the Archaic and the Modern in La3amon s Brut D er ek B rew er

188

An Early English Entführung: A Note on Floris and Blauncheflur D o uglas G ray

20 6

A Bibliography o f the Writings o f E. G. Stanley

214

Index

231

PREFATO RY N O TE

Eric Stanley was educated at University College, O xford, and subsequently awarded a Ph.D at Birmingham University. He was lecturer in English at Birmingham from 1951 to 1962 and then successively Reader and Professor o f English in the University o f London at Queen M ary College from 1962 to 1975. He was lured to Yale to become Professor o f English in 1975, and lured back again to O xford in 1977, when he took up the Rawlinson and Bosworth Chair o f Anglo-Saxon, which he held until his retirement in 1991. H is distinguished record as an Anglo-Saxon philologist and textual scholar, beginning with an article on T h e Chronology o f r-metathesis in O ld English’ in 1952 and A note on Genesis B, 328’ in 1954, has been sustained for some forty years with the same unflagging enthusiasm and sharpness; his 1956 article on ‘O ld English poetic diction and the interpretation o f The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Penitent s P rayer, the collection o f critical essays which he commissioned and edited as Continuations and Beginnings in 1966, and his study o f nineteenth- and early twentieth-century scholarship on Anglo-Saxon, The Search fo r Anglo-Saxon Paganism (1975), have been particular landmarks. In recent years his scholarship and wisdom have been especially devoted to the progress o f the Old English D ictionary in Toronto. But Anglo-Saxon has always been just one o f his accomplishments. His publications in M iddle English range from his magisterial edition o f The O w l and the N ightingale in i960 and his seminal article on ‘La3amon’s antiquarian sentiments’ in 1969 to ‘Directions for making many kinds o f laces’ (1974). As a reviewer he is indefatigable: the total number had risen to well over two hundred reviews by 1992 and the stream has continued unabated. H is name is also closely associated with the quarterly periodical Notes and Queries, which he has co-edited for the last thirty years, encour­ aging the work o f younger scholars and trimming the long-windedness o f older ones. As a Fellow o f the British Academy, an adviser to the University Grants Com m ittee in Britain, and an energetic external examiner he has played a major role in fostering university scholarship in all fields o f English, and his generosity with advice and help to colleagues and students has been marked. In O xford especially his sympathetic concern for graduate students and his devotion to Pembroke College, where he served as librarian and took delight in teaching undergraduates, has made him a fam iliar and influential figure. H is interests and expertise range very w id ely an d th is collection o f essays, VI

Prefatory Note concentrating on the late O ld Engish and early M iddle English periods, bears witness to just one o f the areas to which he has contributed: the continuity o f early English language and literature across the chronological divide o f the eleventh century. It is the work o f only a small number o f his m any academic friends. We would like to dedicate it to him on behalf o f all his colleagues and friends, in honour o f a most distinguished career.

vu

A B B R E V I A T IO N S

The following abbreviations are used throughout this volume. A SE EETS os ss

Anglo-Saxon EAgbtnd Early English Text Society O rdinary Series Supplementary Series

VIII

D id GrendeVs M oth er S it on B eo w u lf? •* »

FRED

C . R O B IN S O N

Adm irers o f Professor Stanley’s learned and w itty textual studies o f O ld English prose and verse w ill recognize in my tide an echo o f ‘D id Beow ulf Com m it “ Feaxfang” against Grendels Mother?’ - the tide o f one o f his masteriy analyses o f a disputed reading in O ld English.1 M y respectfully im itative tide does not, alas, promise in the text o f the article the range o f learning and depth o f insight that distinguish the work o f the man we salute in this volume. The passage that Professor Stanley dealt with in his 1976 article is the same one that this study addresses, only I am concerned with a word which occurs eight lines after the commission o ffeaxfang. Gefeng ]» be fa xe — nalas for faehöe meam— G uö-G cata leod Grendles modor; bnegd f>a beadwe heard, f>a he gebolgen wars, feorhgenidlan, )pxt heo on flet gebeah. Heo him eft hraf>e «ndlean forgeald grimmum grapum ond him togeanes feng; oferwearp J>a werigmod wigena strengest, fe|>ecempa, \>xt he on fylle weard. Ofsatt |>a f>one selegyst, ond hyre seax geteah brad [ond] brunecg; wolde hire beam wrecan, angan eaferan.* (IS 37- 47 ) The man o f the W ar-Geats then seized Grendels mother by the hair; he did not shrink from the conflict. Enraged as he was, the man brave in battle flung then the deadly foe so that she fell to the ground. She swiftly gave him requital with her grim claws and clutched against him; weary in spirit, the strongest o f warriors, o f fighters, stumbled then so that he started to fall. She sat down on the hall-guest then and drew her knife— large and with gleaming blade; she wanted to avenge her son, her only child.

M y translation gives the sense o f the passage as the glossaries o f our editions 1 N ota an d Q uería, 221 (1976), 339-40. * Quoted from B eow u lfan d the Fight at Finnsburg, ed. Fr. Klaeber, third edition with first and second supplements (Boston, 1950), except that I have not reproduced Klaebers macrons, and in deference to our jubilarían I have introduced the emendation he recommended in ‘ Did Beowulf Commit “ Feaxfeng” against Grendels Mother?’ . I

F red C . Robinson

direct us to read it. And those who have taught Beowulfvi\W remember the titters and smiles that invariably greet the half-line ‘Ofsaet J>a |xme selegyst.’ The dignity which elsewhere prevails in the poets description o f Beow ulf’s hand-to-hand encounters suddenly falters here as we are told that the ugly female with whom Beow ulf is grappling takes a seat on the hero before drawing her knife to dispatch him. The glossaries and commentators leave no doubt that this is what she does: they define ofiittan (which occurs only here in Beow ulf) as sit upon (Klaeber, Chambers, W yatt), sit on (W rennBolton), ‘über einem sitzen (Holder), ‘über jemand sitzen (Schücking, Heyne), ‘sich au f etwas setzen’ (von Schauben).’ And Hoops translates the half-line ‘Sie sass da au f dem Saalgast’.1*4* Like the students in our classes, the translators o f the poem, however, are often uncomfortable with the meaning which the glossaries stipulate for ofiittan. To avoid the com ic indignity o f Beow ulf’s being sat upon, they fudge the verb’s meaning in artful ways, accepting the glossaries’ basic sense but trying to make the scene a little less ridiculous: ‘she knelt upon him’ (Charles W. Kennedy), ‘she bestrode her hall-guest’ (Edwin M organ), ‘and bestriding her guest’ (Bernard E Huppé), ‘she straddled her hall-guest’ (M arijane O sborn), she then straddled her hall-guest’ (S. B. Greenfield), ‘on the hall-guest she hurled herself’ (Francis B. Gummere), ‘she dropped on her hall-guest’ (Kevin Crossley-Holland), ‘she threw herself then on her hall-visitant’ (Clark H all-W renn), ‘then she threw herself on her visitor’ (David W right), ‘and over that guest in her chamber she croucheth’ (Archibald Strong), and ‘the demon pounced on the intruder’ (Constance H ieatt).’ There is no hint in the dictionaries o f O ld English that ofiittan can mean ‘kneel’, ‘bestride’, ‘straddle’, ‘hurl’, ‘drop’, ‘crouch’, ‘throw’, or ‘pounce’, but all these words put the ogress on top o f Beow ulf without the translators’ having to say that she sat on him. Considering how arduously translators have struggled to blur the meaning o f ofiittan which the glossaries (and the dictionaries) dictate,6 it is surprising 1 The editions cited are those by R. W. Chambers [a revision o f Wyatt] (Cambridge, 1933), Moritz Heyne (Paderborn, 1898). Alfred Holder (Freiburg i. B., 1899), C . L Wrenn revised by W. F. Bolton (New York, 1973), Levin L Schücking [revision o f Heyne] (Paderborn, 1910), and A. J. Wyatt (Cambridge, 1898). 4 Johannes Hoops, Kommentar zum B eow ulf(Heidelberg, 1931), 178. 1 The translations cited are those by John R. Clark Hall revised by C . L. Wrenn (London, 1950), Kevin Crossley-Holland (New York, 1968), Stanley B. Greenfield (Carbondale, III., 1982), Francis B. Gummere (New York, 1920), Constance B. Hieatt (New York, 1967), Charles W. Kennedy (New York, 1940), Edwin Morgan (Aldington, Kent, 1952), Marijane Osborne (Berkeley, Calif., 1983), Archibald Strong (London, 1925), David Wright (Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1957). 6 A few translators accept the proposed meaning 'to sit on : G . N . Garmonsway and J. Simpson (New York, 1971) say, 'She then seated herself on the guest in her hall’; R. K. Gordon

2

D id G ren dels M other S it on B eo w u lf?

that no one, apparently, has thought to question the evidence for ofeittan meaning sit upon’. Since they recognize in -sittan the modem English word sit, they seem to concede without further scrutiny that oftittan must mean ’sit upon’. But when we examine the thirty-six occurrences o f ofiittan in the corpus o f O ld English writings, we discover that the evidence points in a very different direction. W hile the central meaning o f the simplex sittan is indeed ‘sit’, the deriva­ tives o f this verb have quite diverse meanings. Consider, for example, forsittan ‘neglect, delay, obstruct’, asittan ‘apprehend, fear, dwell together, run aground’, besittan ‘surround, besiege, hold council, occupy, possess’, atsittan ‘remain, stray’, efisittan L a t.4residen (in Æ lfric’s Glossary) , 7 tosittan ‘to be separated’, undersittan Lat. subsidere(in Æ lfric’s Glossary) ,1 andym bsittan ‘surround, reflect upon. We are apt to forget that in Germ anic languages when verbal roots are combined with prefixes they can acquire meanings which are quite remote from that o f the verbal simplex. A student translating modern German would be ill-advised to attempt to guess the meaning o f the common verb besitzen by identifying the root -sitzen ‘sit* and trying from that datum to deduce its meaning. And students o f Latin would be sim ilarly stymied if they tried to determine the meanings o f that large range o f derivatives based on the root sedere sit’ (whence English has borrowed, among many others, obsess, preside, possess, subside, and supersede) by working from the meaning ‘sit’. A M icrofiche Concordance to O ld English by Antonette DiPaolo Healey and Richard L Venezky (Toronto, 1980) tells us that ofiittan occurs thirtysix times in the O ld English corpus. An investigation o f these occurrences reveals a considerable range o f senses. One o f the more commonly docu­ mented meanings is ‘beset, besiege’ translating Latin obsidecr. Fordon ymbsealdon me hundas monige; gef>eaht awergdra

ofiat me.’

Therefore many dogs surrounded me; a band o f evil ones beset me. Me ymbhringdon swide msenige calfru, (net synt lytic and niwe fynd; and f» frenan fcaras me ofiaton, f>xt synd stiengran fynd.10 (New York, 1954) says, ‘then she sat on the visitor to her hall’; G . Roberts (n.p., 1984) says, ‘she then sat upon her hall-guest’. 7 Æ lfria Gram m atik und Glossar, ed. J. Zupitza (Berlin, 1880), repr. with a preface by H. Gneuss (Berlin, 1966), 157. ' Ibid. * D er alunglische Junius-Psalter, ed. E. Brenner, Anglistische Forschungen. 23 (Heidelberg, 1908), 14. Here and in subsequent quotations abbreviations have been silently expanded and punctuation added or modernized. “ L ib ri psalm orum versio antüfua cum paraphrast Anglo-Saxontca, ed. B. Thorpe (Oxford, 1833), 46 .

3

F red C . Robinson A great many calves (that is, small, inexperienced enemies) surrounded me; and the hit bulls (that is, stronger enemies) beset me.

O fiittan also means ‘oppress’ in various senses. In several documentations it refers to someone oppressing a nation with tyranny: G if he |x>nne mid his riccetete hi

ofiit, J>onne bid he tyrannus. .."

I f he oppress them with his tyranny, then he is a tyrant. . .

Pxt is cyninges rihtwisnyss |»aet he mid riccetere ne xlcum deme riht.M

ofiitte ne earmne ne eadigne, ac

It is right for the king that he oppress neither the poor nor the rich with tyranny, but that he grant justice to both.

In a translation o f Deuteronomy 28: 33 ofiittan renders a form o f Latin opprim ere ‘oppress’: Ete eldeodig folc dine tilunga, and de m id bysmore

ofiittan ealle dine dagas..

M ay a foreign people eat your substance, and may they oppress you shamefully all o f your days.

Several occurrences suggest a sense somewhere between ‘oppress’ and ‘occupy’ : Seo menigu getacnad ure unlustas and leahtras J>e us hremad, and ure heortan ofiittad, we ne magon us swa geornlice gebiddan, swa we behofedon.1* The multitude signifies our evil desires and vices, which encumber us and oppress our hearts so that we cannot pray as fervently as we need to. Ic wat l>eah \>xt Jju wilt cwedan Jm wraennes ond ungemetfacstnes hi

ofiitte

I know that you will say that lust and intemperance occupy them.

At times ofiittan means ‘to press down, to cause to be impacted’: Eft t>us |>u scealt £>a yfelan

ofietenan w ztan utadon Jmrh spad and h rzcean ..

Again, in this way you must remove the noxious, impacted fluid through spittle and clearing the throat. . .

In several occurrences ofiittan means ‘possess’ in the sense o f demonic possession:1 11 Æ lfrics Gram m atik und Glossar, 294. " O ld English H om ilies, cd. R. Morris, E E T S o s 34 (London, 1868), 302. Cf. Early English Hom ilies, cd. R. D .-N . Warner, E E T S o s 152 (London, 1917), 14. The O ld English Version o f the Heptateuch, cd. S. J. Crawford, E E T S o s 160 (London, 1921), 361. u The H om ilies o f the Anglo-Saxon Church, cd. B. Thorpe (London, 1844), i. 156. '* K ing A lfred) O ld English Version o f Boethius, cd. W. J. Sedgeficld (Oxford, 1899), 109. * Leechdoms, W ortcunning and Starcrafi o f Early England, cd. T. O. Cockayne, Rolls Scries 35, vol. 2 (London, 1865), 25.

4

D id G rendel’s M other S it on Beow ulf? H e . . . sona ut adraf done caldan feond o f j>am

ofeeterum men.*7

H e . . . immediately drove out the old devil from the possessed man.

De fuero a diabolo obsesur Sum d id wats j>aet se unrihtwisa deofol ofeat.a Concerning a boy possessed by the devil: There was a child whom the evil devil

T h e context and at times the Latin words being translated indicate burly precisely the meanings o f ofeittan in its various occurrences cited here, and it has never occurred to anyone to suggest that the fat bulls and the band o f evil ones in the Psalter passages quoted were sitting on the speaker or that the unrighteous king was sitting on his subjects or that a person suffering from demonic possession has someone sitting on top o f him . Indeed, other than the B eow u lf verse with which we are concerned, there is only one passage out o f the thirty-six documentations which anyone has tried to read while ascribing the sense ‘sit on to ofeittan. The Bosw otth-Toller D ictionary s.v. of-sittan translates the verb ‘to sit on, to press down by sitting* in the follow ing passage: N u sceal se öe wile sittan set Godes gereorde ö z t gaers l>a flzsdican lustas gewyldan.1*

ofeittan, d zt is, öart he sceal

But when we compare this quotation with the source from which it was taken, we discover that the lexicographer has abridged the passage so dras­ tically that its sense has been distorted. This is the full sentence as it appears in Æ lfric’s sermon: N u sceal gehwa, sede wile sittan set Godes gereorde and brucan Jwere gasdican tare oftredan [net gaers and ofeittan, j>zt is J>set he sceal |n flzsclican lustas gewyldan, and his lichaman to Godes j>eowdomc symle gebigan.“ Now anyone who wishes to sit at God's feast and partake o f the spiritual instruction 17 B ischof W arforths von Worcester Übersetzung der D ialoge Gregors des Grossen, ed. H. Hecht, Bibliothek der angelsächsischen Prosa, 5 (Leipzig, 1900), 135. Cf. p. 223: ‘Sodlice to urum Alysende sylfum waes geeweden fram |nm deofla heape, )>c )>one wcdenscocan man ofeeten harfde: “gif }>u us ut adrife o f [jysum men, säend us in |>ysra swyna heap.” ’ ('Verily it was said to our Redeemer himself by the band o f demons who had possessed the insane man, “ If you drive us out o f this man, send us into this herd o f swine.” ’) * The O ld English LifèofM achutus, ed. D. Yerkes (Toronto, 1984), 77. ” J. Bosworth, An Anglo-Saxon D ictionary ed. and enlarged by T. N . Toller (London, 1898), s.v. ofiittan. ” The H om ilies o f the Anglo-Saxon Church, i. 188. (Thorpe translates ‘oftredan [x t gzrs and ofsittan’ as ‘tread and press down the grass’.) In another passage where the pressing down o f grass is allegorized as referring to subduing fleshly desires (‘ . . . us is beboden durh ealdan z ofsittan and fbrtredan da gewilnigcndlican lustas. . . *) ofiittan is correctly defined by Toller as ‘to repress, check', see An Anglo-Saxon D ictionary: Supplem ent by T. N . Toller (London, 1921), s.v. ofiittan.

5

F red C . Robinson must trample and press down the grass; that is, that he must subdue the fleshly desires and subject his body always to G od’s service.

’Press down the grass’ is Thorpes rendering o ffs e t gaers . . . ofsittan’ in his edition; Bosworth apparently departed from this sense in order to provide some supporting evidence for the meaning ‘to sit upon, press down by sitting’, a sense which is otherwise supported only by the B eow u lfverse. T he passage containing ofsittan that is most sim ilar to the passage in B eow u lf vs this sentence from Æ lfric’s sermon on the twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost, in which he is explaining the O ld Testament injunction to ‘love thy friend, hate thy foe’: f>us wats alyfed j>am ealdum mannum f>*t hi moston Godes wiöerwinnan and heora agene fynd mid stranglicere mihte ofiittan and mid waepne acwellan.“ Thus it was permitted to these ancient peoples that they might with strong power set upon the adversaries o f G od and their own enemies and kill [them] with a weapon.

Here, as in B eow ulf1545-6, an assailant is described as first closing in on his enemy and then wielding his weapon. We are not to imagine that the O ld Testament specifies that a person is permitted to sit upon his enemy before killing him. H aving surveyed the meanings attested for ofiittan and determined that there is no support for the sense ‘to sit upon’,“ we must consider which o f the known senses o f the word best serves the passage in B eow u lf Some senses seem manifestly inappropriate. ‘Possess’, either in the sense o f ownership or o f demonic possession would make little sense in B eow u lf 1545, and the same seems true o f‘occupy. ‘Repress’ (as in ‘repress wilful desires’— ‘ofsittan . . . da gewilnigendlican lustas’1’) is inappropriate, as is the sense ‘besiege’, with its implication o f ‘surround’. But a slight narrowing o f ‘besiege’ to ‘beset, close in on, set upon’ would suit the passage well, and it is the sense which seems to fit the passage just quoted, which was said to be most like the B eow u lfpassage. However, the central meaning o f ofiittan, ‘press dow n, might also seem appropriate, especially with the slight m odification ‘force down’: ‘she forced the hall-guest down and drew her sword’. But the example o f the passage from Ælfiric describing people attacking their adversaries persuades me to suggest:1 11 The H om ilies o f the Anglo-Saxon Church, i. 522. “ It may be added that cognates o f ofiittan are preserved in Old Saxon and Old Frisian, and in neither o f these languages is there any support for interpreting the verb as meaning ‘to sit upon. Old Saxon ofiittan means ‘possess’ (‘besitzen1); Old Frisian ofiitta ‘dismount' (absitzen, absteigen). See, respectively, Edward H. Sehrt, Vollständiges Wörterbuch zum H elian d 2nd ed. (Göttingen, 1968), and Karl von Richtofen, Altfiriesisches Wörterbuch (Göttingen, 1840). M The H om ilies o f the Anglo-Saxon Church, vol. 2, p. 398.

6

D id G ren dels M other S it on B eo w u lf? O fsxt |>a |x>ne selegyst, brad [ond] brunecg

ond byre seaxgeteah

She set upon the hall-guest then and drew her large knife with gleam ing blade.

But m aking subtle distinctions as to which o f the attested and suitable meanings for the word is best to render the passage in modern English is less a matter o f textual criticism than o f the translators an . T h e im portant point is that the long-accepted sense sit upon for ofiittan is w ithout evi­ dentiary suppon, and the supposed breach o f dignity in the poet s con­ ception o f the hero’s encounter w ith G rendels dam is a lexical illusion handed down from editor to editor and lexicographer to lexicographer over the years. To point this out is a modest textual gain, perhaps, but it is a useful rem inder that m any o f the textual judgem ents which have become established in the past m ight well be due for reassessment in light o f the evidence which has been placed at our disposal by the H ealey-Venezky Concordance* a scholarly tool the im portance o f which can hardly be over­ emphasized.14 14 In addition to helping us identify assumed but unsubstantiated meanings o f words in O ld English texts, the M icrofiche Concordance can serve to vindicate established readings which come under frivolous attack. In the O ld English N ew sletter vol. 17, no. 2 (Spring, 1984), A-4$, Ronald E. Buckalew singled out Bruce Mitchell and me as perpetrators o f a mistranslation in our G uide to O ld English, 3rd ed. (Oxford, 1984), p. 195, when we stated that Æ lfrics ‘he cuöe be dxle Laeden understandan in the Preface to Genesis means that Æ lfrics erstwhile teacher could understand Latin ‘in part*. Now ‘in part, partially* is the meaning that has been universally assumed for he date. Toller, Supplem ent sx . d a l renders it ‘somewhat, in some measure’ , noting that the phrase translates Latin a liq u id J. R. Clark Hall’s Concise Anglo-Saxon D ictionary, 4th ed. with a supplement by H. D . Meritt (Cambridge, i960) renders it 'in part, partly*. The D ictionary o f O ld English by Angus Cameron et al. (Toronto, n.d.) s.v. d a l D.3 renders it 'in part, to some extent*. But according to the critique in the O ld English N ew sletter 'the true meaning’ o f be date is 'by pan o f speech,* for 'what Æ lfric means is that his teacher could parse the Latin appropriately . . .* O n seeing this assertion that the standard way o f reading be dale 'is a heretofore unrecognized error,' one turns o f course immediately to the Healey-Venezky Concordance to discover how frequently be dale in O ld English has the sense 'by pan o f speech.' What one finds is that although be date (and slightly less frequently be sumum dale) can be seen to occur very commonly both in Æ lfric and in O ld English at large, never once docs the phrase have the meaning 'by pan o f speech.' O ur critic’s 'true meaning’ o f bedalem m s out to be nothing more than an arbitrary assertion with no evidentiary basis whatever. The fact that we do find in the concordance such statements as the observation that from an English translation one can understand 'be suman chele hwæt \>xt Leden ewede’ suggests strongly that be dale in Æ lfrics Preface means exactly what it means everywhere else— 'in part, to some extent*. And this makes the best sense in the context o f the Preface, where Æ lfric is concerned with priests who are only partially learned, not with methods o f construing Latin. The totally unsubstantiated assertion that in this one occurrence out o f a multitude o f be dal¿% in Old English the phrase has the unique meaning 'by pan o f speech’ has, then, nothing to recommend it at all.

7

A n A lfred ia n Legacy? O n the Fortunes a n d Fate o f som e Item s o fB o eth ia n Vocabulary in O ld En glish JAN ET BATELY

In a pioneering study o f Latin abstract nouns employed in Boethius' D e Consolatione Phibsophiae and their vernacular counterparts in the trans­ lations o f that work by King Alfred in the ninth century and by Chaucer in the fourteenth, O lga Fischer compared and contrasted the ways in which these two English writers rendered Boethius’ philosophical terminology.' Am ong her conclusions were (i) that the lexical resources o f O ld English were as adequate as, if not more adequate than, those o f M iddle English to render ‘the often difficult and, in many instances, new philosophical concepts',1*(2) that whereas Chaucer borrowed words freely from Latin and French, Alfred very frequendy took advantage o f his own language’s capacity for com pounding and loan-translation to supplement semantic borrowing,’ and (3) that in a significant number o f cases the king him self was responsible for these coinages.4 W hen I began work on this paper m y aim was to use D r Fischers study as the starting point for an exploration o f the extent to which Alfred’s term inology became accepted as part o f the O ld English lexis and an examination o f the ways in which certain lexical ‘gaps’ left by Alfred in his renderings o f philosophical terms were filled in later O ld English. However, over the last few years a number o f new research aids have been produced,’ providing inform ation that was not available when D r Fischer was writing; as a result, a reassessment o f certain o f her findings has proved necessary. T he present study is therefore a highly selective and lim ited one,

1 O. Fischer, *A Comparative Study o f Philosophical Terms in the Alfredian and Chaucerian Boethius’, Neophily 63 (1979), 622-39. * Ibid. 623. * Ibid. 634-6. 4 Ibid. 635-6. 1 Apart from glossaries to individual texts, these include the Toronto microfiche concordance and dictionary (fase. B, C , and D), to which will shortly be added an Old English Thesaurus. I am indebted to Prof. Jane Roberts for allowing me to consult parts o f the latter in draft. I should also like to acknowledge the invaluable help o f Dr Julie Coleman and Dr Bill Griffiths.

8

A n A lfiredian Legacy?

closing with a discussion o f the representation in late O ld English o f two o f the more distinctive terms used by Boethius in his D e Com olatione (C P h ), predestination and providence’, but starting still from D r Fischers lists, with a scrutiny o f some o f her assumptions and conclusions/

i. D r Fisch er s lists i.i. Words ‘first used by Alfred’ In her lists o f equivalences, grouped under the headings Lehnübersetzung Lehnübertragung and Lehm chöpfung? D r Fischer includes a substantial body o f O E words ‘first found in the Boethius’. I shall be discussing in detail later three o f these equations— praedestinatio: foretiohhung, providentia: foresceawung, and providentia: forepanc. O f the remainder, as the following discussion w ill show, a significant number are found in Werferth’s translation o f Gregory’s Dialogues (G D ),8 the O ld English M artyrology (M art)9 and Alfred’s own translation o f Gregory’s Pastoral Care (C P ),10 all o f which were arguably composed before the Boethius (Bo and Bo m et),11 as well as in * D r Fischer has as one o f the criteria for inclusion in her study the presence o f the words in two dictionaries o f philosophical terminology consulted by her (see ‘A Comparative Study*. 624). However, a number o f the Latin terms cited might equally well be described as religious, some (e.g. vdocitas) belong to neither philosophical nor religious registers, while the majority are polysemous. I follow Dr Fischer in considering only nominal representations o f Latin nouns along with a handful o f adjectival representations o f adjectives. 7 For the terminology see H. Gneuss, LehnbiU ungen und Lehnbedeutungen im Altenglischen (Berlin, 1955) and Fischer, A Comparative Study, 634-6. 1 B ischof W arfrrths von Worcester Übersetzung der D ialoge Gregors des Grossen, cd. H. Hecht, Bibliothek der angelsächsischen Prosa, 5 (Leipzig, 1900-7, repr. Darmstadt, 1963). Short titles and abbreviations in this paper normally follow the format originally suggested by Angus Cameron and adopted for the Toronto microfiche concordance: see A. diP. Healey and R. L. Venezky, A M icrofiche Concordance to O ld English: The List o f Texts and Index o f Editions (Toronto, 1980, repr. with revisions, 1985). 9 An O U English M artyrologe cd. G . Herzfeld, E E T S o s 116 (1900, repr. 1973) and Das altenglische M artyrologium , ed. G . Kotzor, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.Hist. Klasse, Neue Forschung 88 (Munich, 1981). Since Kötzers important edition is less widely available than Herzfeld s, references arc normally to the latter. 40 K ing A lfreds West-Saxon Version o f Gregorys \Pastoral Care\ ed. H. Sweet, E E T S 45 and 50 (1871-2), repr. with corrections and additions by N. R. Ker, 1958. For a valuable, though necessarily partial, glossary based on a fire-damaged copy o f this text see I. Carlson, The Pastoral Care editedfrom B ritish Library M S Cotton Otho B it, part 1, Stockholm Studies in English, 34 (Stockholm, 1975) and part 2, completed by L.-G. Hallander together with M . Löfvcnberg and A. Ryneil, Stockholm Studies in English, 48 (Stockholm, 1978). u K ing A lfreds O U English Version o f Boethius D e Com olatione Philosophiae, cd. W. J. Sedgefield (Oxford, 1899), cited according to page and line o f prose and meter number and line o f verse. References to the Latin text (CPh) are taken from Boethius: The Theological Tractates; The Com olation o f Philosophy ed. and trans. H. F. Stewart, E. K. Rand, rev. S. J. Tester (Loeb, 1918, new edn. 1973, repr. 1978).

9

Ja n et B ately

A lfreds Soliloquies (Sold)11 and prose rendering o f the psalms (Ps),1’ and in a handful o f other works which were most probably in circulation in Alfred’s time— notably the gloss to the Vespasian Psalter and Hymns (P sG IA and PsCaA)'4 and the O E translations o f Bede (Be)1’ and O rosius (O r),'6 while in a handful o f cases the O E word cited is not in fact a rendering o f the Latin term given as its equivalent and thus has no place in the lists.17 i.i.i. Lehnübersetzung In addition to praedestinario: foretiohhung and providentia: foresceawung, the pairs o f equivalents with an O E element marked by D r Fischer as first used by Alfred in Bo are divinitas: godcundnes, firm itudo: fiestnes, infortunium : unsalp, inpatientia: ungepyld, m utatio (recte m utabilitas): W andlung rogado: acsung sim plicitas: anfealdnes, unitas: annes, velocitas: hwatnes, indivisus: untodaled (recte untodalendlic), infinitus: ungeendod, and m ortalis: deadlic O f these pairs three— divinitas: godcundnes, inpadenda: ungepyld, and m ortalis: deadlic (var. deaSlic)*’ — arc found in G D ,10 with the second two employed also in C P ," along with ungeendod and the equivalence sim ­ plicitas: a n fe a ld n e s Shared with Be are the equations divinitas: godcundnes, 11 K ing A lfred's Version o f St Augustine's Soliloquies, cd. T. A. Camicelli (Cambridge, Mass., 1969). 13 L ib ri Ptalm orum Versio A ntiqua Latina cum Paraphrasi Anglo-Saxontea, cd. B. Thorpe (Oxford, 1835). Latin equivalents are taken from the Roman halter. 14 The Vespasian Psalter,; ed. S. M. Kuhn (Ann Arbor, Mich., 1965). 13 The O ld English Version o f Bede's Ecclesiastical H istory o f the English People, cd. T. Miller, E E T S o s 95, 96, no, in (London, 1890-8, repr. 1939-63). For L atin -O E equivalents in Be see the invaluable study by G . G . Waite, ‘The Vocabulary o f the O E Version o f Bedes Historia ecclesiastica’ (Ph.D. dissertation, Toronto Univ., 1984). * The O ld English Orosius, ed. J. Bately, E E T S ss 6 (1980). For the problems o f dating ‘early texts see eadem, ‘Old English Prose before and during the Reign o f Alfred’, A S E 17 (1988), 93-138. For the problems o f deciding whether a paraphrase in the O .E . text is a translation or not’ see Fischer, *A Comparative Study, 624. 17 I am not concerned here with the important stylistic differences discussed by Dr Fischer, ‘A Comparative Study’, 625-6, and the evidence she provides to show that Chaucer follows Boethius in using a high proportion o f nomináis whereas Alfred's style ‘tends to be much more verbal’. See Fischer, 625, and K. Orten, König Alfreds Boethius (llibingen, 1964), 217. 11 Fischer, *A Comparative Study', 635. 1 follow Dr Fischer in generally adopting normalized eO E spellings, for which see J. R. Clark Hall, A Concise Anglo-Saxon D ictionary 4th edn., with a supplement by H. D. Meritt (Cambridge, i960). 19 See e.g. Bo 85.20, 25.6,13.13, and 52.16. *° See e.g. G D 136.5-6, 274.16-17, and 337.2. ” See e.g. C P 220.11 and 159.5. The word deadlic is also used in Solil 49.1; for the use o f godcundnes in the phrase on dære sceawunge dxre godcundnesse’, where the equivalent Latin has contem plando, see C P 101.13-14. u See e.g. Bo 44.18 and 100.11, C P 407.30 (corresponding to ‘sine transitu’ in the Latin text), and C P 237.16.

IO

A n A lfred ia n Legacy?

in fin itiu : ungeendod, m ortalis: deadlic, d ea d lier and im itas: annes.** O ther pairs are not found in known early texts apart from Bo, but have as their O E com ponents words which do occur in these texts, where they render Latin terms o f very sim ilar m eaning to those given by D r Fischer. So velod tas: hwatnes is paralleled by G D celeritas: h w a tn e s w hile rogado: aesung and infortunium : unsalS (var. ungesalp) may be compared w ith quaestio: aesung 16 and inquisidor aesung in G D * 7 and infelicitas: unsalp in Ps.2* T h e word fastnes is found also in O r.19 A t the same tim e the early texts also provide possible O E alternatives for the Latin elements in the equations.’0 In G D frign u n g is linked w ith aesung and socn as a translation o f quaestio;’1 in Be fhgn es is used for interrogado and— along with socn— quaestio;’2 in Be and PsA infelicitas is translated by ungesalignes,il while in Bo itself there are alternative renderings for infortunium and infinitus— nam ely heardsalp and endettas, ungeendodlic.MAlso used to render mis­ fortune’ in these texts are the words heardsalnesanA ungelim p, the latter either alone or in collocation with un(ge)salp.n Alternative nom inal translations likewise existed for other words in D r Fischer s list: for velocitas the king

19 See e.g. Be 134.9, 308.35, and 78.10, beside deadlic: mottuus 360.7. In addition, the O E word godcundnes occurs in Mart 50.6; for deadlic. deadlic see e.g. O r 67.13, Mart 108.12 and 190.18, and PsG IA 78.2. Be and G D also have the noun deaSlicnes for mortalitas, a word not used in C P h . 14 See e.g. Be 62.15. As D r Fischer points out (‘A Comparative Stu d y, 627), Bo annes never actually occurs as a direct translation o f C Ph uni tas. C f e.g. Bo 90.21 sio annes 7 sio goodnes', where C P h 111, pr. 11.24 has unum atque bonum*, and Bo 90.15-16 Tordæm is |>art fülle good |>*t eall ætgaedre is untodzled*, corresponding to C P h 111, pr. 11.20 -1 nonne haec ut bona sint, unitatis fieri adeptione contingit*. For annes in conjunction with prim s sec Solil 86.8. M Bo 54.24, G D 299.15 (var. hradnes). * See e.g. Bo 12.30, G D 323.23. 17 G D 7.5; cf. C P 155.5 'fitndunge 7 ascunge*, Latin text percunctationibus', and C P 155.1 scearplicu 7 smealicu fandung d xs modes*, Latin text acutis inquisitionibus*, also Bo 127.6 aesung, possibly inspired by C P h I V.6.6 quaesitu, See also Solil 82.1 aesung 2nd (in a passage o f paraphrase) Bo 148.9 geascung (M S B; M S C ‘gexscum’). * Bo 21.17, Ps 13*7* cf. Bo 78.11 and C P 407.30 felicitas: gesalp, also Bo 120.31 unsalp (beside C P h I V.4.85 'infelicissimam*), C P 455.10 ungesalp ( - tristitia). 14 O r 43.25, Bo 72.16. 90 Some o f these terms may have been associated with non-West Saxon dialects (see e.g. F. Wenisch, Spezifisch anglisches Wortgut in den nordhum brischen Interlinearglossierungcn des Lukasevangelium s (Heidelberg, 1979) and below, p. 21. However, this does not mean that Alfred, lacking a term o f his own, might not, on occasion, have adopted that o f his helpers. 91 See G D 323.23 ‘[were frignunge (M S O frægninge) 7 aesunge* and 137.29 *socn 7 frignung* (M S O aesunege 7 frininge, M S H axung'). 91 Be 64.3 and 434.13; cf. quaestio: g eß t Be 26.22. 11 See Be 142.26 and PsGIA 13.7. 94 Bo 11714 » 104.15, 44.21; cf. O r 89.27. 95 O r 58.10, Bo 125.18-19; cf. Ps 40.11 ‘fargnad mines ungelimpes* corresponding to Psalter *gaudcbit. . . super me*.

II

Ja n et B ately

m ight have used not hwatnesbut— as in C P — h w a ts c ip e or— as in G D — hradnes17 or indeed (variants he uses elsewhere in Bo) tw ifines, sivifto, or hradfem er? instead o f annesfot unitas and the hapax legomenon W andlung” for m utabilitas he might have used in some contexts40— again as in C P — an m odneshw u rju lnes, and either wending or— as elsewhere in Bo— hwearfu n g * Lastly, for sim plidtas4’ he employs not only anfealdnes but also— as in C P , G D , and Be— b ilew itn es* sometimes using the two words in collocation41 and thus clearly dem onstrating that for from needing to coin a word to translate Boethius’ Latin, he had more than one appropriate term already available to him . O nly the adjectival pair indivisus: untoeU lendlic* is unparalleled in known early texts, and even here there were alternatives in existence, with Be em ploying untoeUled to translate individuus and Bo itself using both untoeUled and untodetledlic in comparable contexts.47

* C P 149.13; cf. O r 30.10 hwatscipe ‘bravery, courage*. 17 See e.g. G D 221.23 and above, n. 25. G D also uses hradnes to translate Latin celerias and festinado (see e.g. G D 123.13 and 195.28); cf. Be 50.3, rendering Latin ‘in brevi*. 11 Bo 125.32, Bo met 28.3 ( C P h IV, met. 5.5 celeres) and Bo 72.17 (C P h celeritas); cf. Ps 32.15 swifrnes in an expansion o f the Psalter text. * Bo 15.27. Dr Fischer ('A Comparative Stud y, 635) is wrong in giving the corresponding Latín (C P h I I , pr. 1.31) as murado (for which see below, p. 14). 40 The study o f equivalences, here as elsewhere, is greatly complicated by polysemy: see the definition o f imitas in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin D ictionary (Oxford, 1879, repr. 1958), ‘The state o f being one, oneness, unity, sameness, uniformity, unity o f sentiment, agreement, concord*. Clark Halls O E dictionary gives as the meanings o f ¿finer'oneness, unity; agreement, covenant; solitude* and o f anm odnes‘unity, unanimity; steadfastness, resolution*. For the meanings o f Latin terms see also Novum Glossarium M ediae Latinitatis, ed. Franz Blatt, Yves Lefevre, et aL (Hafnae, Munksgaard, 1957- ) and A D ictionary o f M edieval Latin from B ritish Sources* ed. R. A. Latham and D. R. Howlett (London, 1975- ). 41 e.g. C P 95.5; cf. G D 329.17 unanimitas: anmodnes and Solil 53.5 concordia: anmodnes, 41 See e.g. C P 308.1 and 306.17, Bo 18.31, also below, p. 14 and (for Bo wending) n. 76. Cf. Solil 53.2 onhwarfednes ‘change*. 4’ For simplidtas Lewis and Short*s definitions include 'simpleness, simplicity, plainness, frankness, openness, artlessness, innocence, honesty, candour, directness, ingenuousness, natu­ ralness*. 44 See e.g. C P 291.8, G D 209.4, Be 62.1, beside Be 114 .6 -7 hluttomer* cf. also Or 22.18 bilew itnes. 4t Cf. Bo 128.8 'his anfaldnesse 7 bilewitnesse’, C P h IV , pr. 6.25 ‘suae simplicitatis*; C P 239.1-2 'sio bilewitnes 7 sio anfealdnes*, Latin text 'simplicitate*. The Microfiche Concordance records the collocation only from these two texts. 46 See C P h I I I , pr. 9 .10 -11 ‘Quod enim simplex est indivisumque natura*, Bo 74.30 'God is anfeald 7 untodzlendlic*. 47 Be 456.29, Bo 76.9,89.1; cf. Solil 53.2 todalennes. Pace D r Fischer (A Comparative Study*, 635) untodaled is never used in Bo for indivisus, generally occurring in paraphrases o f Latin passages with the word unum* though interestingly twice collocated with anfeald: see e.g. Bo 76.12 ‘|>cah nu God anfeald sie 7 untodzled*, C P h I I I , pr. 9.45-6 ‘Hoc igitur quod est unum simplexque natura.* Lewis and Short give the meanings ‘not divided, indivisible, inseparable, not separated* for individuus and undivided, common* for indivisus. 12

A n A lfted ia n Legacy?

i.i.z . Lehnübertragung A part from providentia: fbrepanc, pairs listed by D r Fischer under this heading are daritu do: hliseadignes: constan tia: fastradnes; dignitas: arweorpnes; in tem peran tia: ungemetfastnes; m edicina: lacecraft; m úsica: dream craft; m utatio: hw urfidnes; nécessitas: niedpearfi perfidia: untreow; perturbatio: gedreftdn es* Evidence exists today o f the use o f only three o f these pairs in works securely datable to the period before about 900 other than Bo. So n iedp earf is found for nécessitas also in C P , Be, and G D ;49 dream craft is used for m úsica in Mart,*0 w hile perturbatio: gedreftdnes occurs in C P .’1 However, for alm ost all the other pairs, either the O E element in the equation is recorded as rendering Latin words o f sim ilar m eaning, or alternative O E equivalents were in current use for the terms used by Boethius. (Even for m úsica, nécessitas, perturbatio we find the alternatives (i) myrgnes in the Corpus Glossary,’1 (ii) niedpearjhes in PsA, Be, and G D ,” p e a rf 'm C P ,54 n ie d ' in C P , Be, and G D ,* and (iii) gedrefhesin Bo meters, Solil, and Be,57 w hile Ps uses gedreftdnes for conturbado.)* So, for instance, the rendering o f the Latin word d aritu do by hliseadignes is certainly unique to a single passage in B o.’9 However, daritudo occurs nine times in C P h and for two o f the rem aining eight occurrences60 Alfred uses forem am es, another word recorded only from Bo,61 where it also translates d an tas,61 and, along with

* Fischer, ‘A Comparative Study’, 6)5-6. " See e.g. Bo 144.17, C P 75.5, Be 318.21, G D 192.20, Ps 24.15; cf. O r 118.28 n iedfearf. None o f the instances in Bo are in fact direct translations o f nécessitas in C P h . *’ Bo 38.7, M an 212.30. ” See e.g. Bo 13.8, C P 225.2. 11 CorpGI 2 (Hessels) 11.368. ” P sG lA 106.5(6), Be 100.5-6, G D 113.4; see also Mart 68.11 and cf. G D 152.2 necessaria: ‘nydjjearfhessum’ (var. ‘neadjjearfom'). M e.g. C P 281.12. fx& rfi necessity’, is found also in Bo, G D , and Be. ” I include here the variants nead, neod * C P 81.7, Be 130.33, and G D 157.27 (var. neadung). The O E word occurs also in Solil 53.3, O r 94.8, and, adverbially, in Bo 94.15; cf. G D 15.27 ‘mid nyde’ (var. neadlunga) rendering ’inuitum’. 17 Bo met 5.4 0 , Be 112.1; also (under the influence o f Latin perrurbavit) Solil 70.30. * Ps 30.22; similarly P sG lA 30.22(21). The O E word occurs also in G D . » Bo 75.28. 40 Five instances occur in passages rewritten by Alfred; in four o f these the adjectives forem an and m art appear, along with hliseadig. * Bo 56.10 and 76.4 ( » daritudo), also Bo 77.14, referring back to the passage on p. 76. T h e related adjective fo rtm a rtoccurs more widely; cf. e.g. G D 317.25 inlustris: forem am , and 307.1-2 ‘swideaenlic w e r 7 foremsere’ (quidem spectabilisuir’), also Ps 15.6 praedata: forem are. For forem arlic see below, n. 66. *l Bo 87.14; see also Bo 86.24.

13

Ja n et B ately

m ará—likewise used for daritudo in Bo6’— celebritas.64 O n one o f these occasions it is coupled with hlisa, in the collocation good hlisa 7 foremamesS* T he reason for Alfred’s choice o f hliseadignes at Bo 75.28 is apparently the use im m ediately beforehand in the same section o f text o f the adjective hliseadig, which in its turn is there employed as a variation on foremarlic and marlicost.66 O ther alternatives m ight have been bierhto and marsung, found in C P and Be for claritas and celeb ratio respectively.67 A t the same time, m edicina is translated not only by lacecraft but also (in the sense ‘rem edy) by lacedomJ* T he form er term occurs also in G D , for Latin medicinae an f t the latter for medicam entum in C P and Be and for m edicina in C P , while M art has the collocation Ucedomes craft.70 Another possible term— found in G D in collocation with gehalednesfot curatio— is laenung? 1 As for the equation intem perancia: ungemetfastnes?1 this has to be seen in the context o f the positive gemetfitstnes: m oderam en in Be,7’ which in its turn belongs to a group o f words containing also metgung, gemetgung, and ungemetgung, all occurring in texts o f the period.74T he instance o f hwurfiilnes for m utatio (a changing, change, alteration, m utation, etc.’)7' has to be seen in the context o f the use o f tvending, changing’, in Ps and o f onwendednes for com m utatio and inm utado in PsGlA76 on the one hand, and on the other the equating o f m utabilitas (‘changeableness’, ‘m utability’) with hwur­ fiilnes in C P ,77 and with Wandlung and hwearjung in Bo itself,7* while for perfidia: untreow79 G D , Be, and the Corpus, Épinal, and Erfurt glossaries See e.g. Bo $4.6. 64 Bo 56.24 and 74.24. Lewis and Shon define daritudo as dearness, brightness; renown, celebrity, splendour, (ame, reputation and give as edebritas, sense 1 1 B ‘fame, renown, celebrity’. 41 Bo 56.9-10. C f. C P 339. 25 ’for àæm godan hlisan’, Latin text ‘de boni specie’. 44 See Bo 75. 21 weor[>licosd 7 mærlicost', 75.24 ‘weordlic 7 foremzrlic1; and cf. (in this same passage) 75.19 unnutrlic. 47 e.g. C P 387.15 and Be 120.27; cf. Bos use o f bierhto ‘brightness1. Lewis and Short define claritas as ‘dearness, brightness, splendour; distinctness, perspicuity; celebrity, renown, reputation, splendour, high estimation’, cf. celebratio: weorpung Be 418.14 etc. 69 See e.g. Bo 38.8 and 127.24; for remedia: itcecn tft and remedia: Ucedom see Bo 51.1 and 30.21, and cf. Sold 79.27 Ucedom. 69 See e.g. G D 344.6. 70 See e.g. C P 153.4, Be 78.26 (= medicamentum); C P 397.16 ( = m ediana); Mart (ed. Kotzor) 82.8. 71 G D 247.11. The word laenung is also found in medical texts for which an early date is sometimes assumed. 71 Bo 109.9. 71 Be 158.13. 74 See e.g. Be 164.16; C P 145.25; Bo 62.26; C P 141.8. 71 Bo 47.19. 74 Ps 9.26 (non movebor’), P sG lA 54.19(20) and 76.9(11); cf. Bo met 7.41 wending. 77 C P 308.1 and 10. 74 See above, p. 12 and see also onhwerfednes>Sold 53.2. 79 Bo 16.5; see also Bo met 2.13.

14

A n A ljred ia n Legacy?

provide ( ge)trrowleasnes,*° We may compare the use o f untreowp, ‘p erfid y, in O r and ungetreoumes for infidelitas in C P and G D .*1 Again, to match B o fastradnes11 C P has unfastradnes, along w ith unbieldo, for in co n sta n t^ ’ however, in Be the words chosen to render constantia are anradnes and bieldo.** Lastly, in the case o f dignitas: arweorpnes D r Fischer has made a false equation. T h e two instances o f arweorpnes in Bo occur in a section which has been considerably reworked by Alfred but in neither case does the equivalent Latin have the word dignitas. Both instances relate to passages referring to ‘blessings’ and things bringing joy.*5 In those places where dignitas, or its plural dignitates,** has been translated in Bo, then the most usual tenderings are w ith anw ald *7 and weorpscipe.** O n one single occasion it is translated by medemnes.*9 We m ay compare C P with medemnes for dignitas,90 O r with weorpmynd,9' and Be with weorpnes9Xw hile perhaps also to be included here as covering some o f the meanings o f dignitas is C P gepyncpo9) 1.1.3 .

Lehnschöpfitng

affluentia: ofergemet; facultas: andgites m ap; intellectus: gearow ita; tactus: gefrednes; vitium : unpeaw ." *° See c.g. G D 162.20, Be 104.9 and 250.30-252.1; O ld English Glosses in the É p in a l-E rfitrt Glossary cd. J. D. Phcifcr (Oxford, 1974), 39.726. 11 O r 79.19-20, C P 447.6, G D 160.5. 81 Bo 15.27 (M S C "u n ' fæstraednesse, with the letters un inserted above the line); cf. Bo. 20.20-1 auht fcstracdlices’, C P h I I , pr. 3.46 ullam constantiam'. 81 Seee.g. C P 308.5. u Be 36.32-3. * Compare Bo 20.1-5 with C P h I I , pr. 3.14-15 and Bo 20. 13-15 with C P h I I , pr. 3.41-3; cf. G D 196.15, 254.13-14, Be 78.32, 264.12, and also C P 133.15, where arweorpnes renders venerado and reverenda. u Lewis and Short *A being worthy, worth, worthiness, merit, desert, dignity, greatness, grandeur, authority, rank, official dignity, office, value, excellence*, etc., with related words given as honos (honor), honestas, laus, eusrim ario, gloria, fama, nomen. 87 See e.g. Bo 38.33 and cf. h on or an w ealdC P 115.17. For m iht as a possible alternative see below, p. 23. For the spelling anw ald (Clark Hall onw ealdi, see E. G . Stanley, 'Spellings o f the W aldend Group*, Studies in Language» Literature, and Culture o f the M iddle Ages and Later, ed. E. B. Atwood and A. A. Hill (Austin, Tex. 1969), 38-69. 88 See e.g. Bo. 17.7, beside h on or weorpscipe Bo 75.23, Ps 48.20, Solil 54.13, etc., gloria: weorpscipe Ps 7.5, C P 317.23, and gloria: weorpm ynd C P 389.17-18. Cf. e.g. Bo 39.8 where anw eald renders potenria and weorpscipe dignitas, and see Bo weorpm ynd 'honour, dignity*, 30.20 etc. 88 Bo 32.11. 80 C P 85.22. * O r 145.18. 91 See e.g. Be 194.5. 81 See e.g. C P 411.25 and see below, p. 23. 84 Fischer, 'A Comparative Study', 636.

15

Ja n et B ately

T he pairs in D r Fischer’s third group again repay close scrutiny. (i) affluentia: ofergemet D r Fischers equation depends on three assumptions. First that the term affluentia, C P h I I , pr. 5.43, is used in its secondary sense o f ’extravagance’, second that what is printed in Sedgefield’s text as the phrase ofergem et is in fact a com pound noun, and third that this noun is intended as a direct translation o f affluentia. Certainly, affluentia is sometimes found in Latin texts with the meaning ‘extravagance’; however, in the D e Consolatione it appears to be used in the sense abundance’ , and is so translated by Tester,” the concept o f superfluity being expressed through the adjective superfluus in a subsequent sentence: Terrarum quidem fructus animantium procul dubio deben tur alim entis. Sed si, quod naturae satis est, replere indigentiam velis, nihil est quod fortunae affluentiam petas. Paucis enim m inimisque natura contenta est, cuius satietatem si superfluis urgere velis, aut iniucundum quod infuderis fiet aut noxium. (C P h I I , pr. 5.40-

6) The fruits o f the earth are surely intended for the sustenance o f living things. But if you want to satisfy your needs, which is enough for nature, there is no need to ask fortune for abundance. For nature is content with few things and small: if you want to overlay that satisfaction with superfluity, then what you add w ill be either unpleasant or positively harm ful.

In Bo, the equivalent section elaborates on the two themes o f abundance and superfluity and (according to the word-division o f Sedgefield’s text) twice uses the phrase ofergem et H w ilc fremu is f>e f>aet |>aet f>u wilnige (>issa andweardena gesælf>a ofer gemet, |x>nne hie naj>er ne magon ne j)in gehelpan, ne heora self»? (Bo 30 .10 -12) W hat profit is there for you that you should desire these present happinesses to excess, when they may help neither you nor themselves?

and G if du heore mare seiest, o|>er twega odde hit )>e derad, odde hit de j>eah unwynsum bid, odde ungetzse, odde frecenlic, eall |m j>u nu ofer gemet dest. (Bo 30.14-16 ) I f you produce more o f them, either it w ill harm you or it w ill nevertheless be unpleasant for you, or inconvenient, or dangerous, all that you now do to excess.* * Loeb edition, op. cit.; cf. the Penguin Classics edition (Harmondsworth, 1969), where V. E. Watts's freer translation uses the word ‘excess'. A second example o f the Latin word, C P h 11, pr. 2.13 (translated ‘affluence’ by Tester and Watts), is in a passage rewritten by Alfred (Bo 17.11-14) and without exact equivalent. However, it may have influenced the kings choice o f the word w oru ldaru line 13.

16

An Alfredian Legacy? In the second passage ofèr gem et is unam biguously a phrase and clearly inspired by C P h superfluus. In the first passage either com pound noun or phrase is gram m atically possible.96 However, although the Toronto con­ cordance records a substantial num ber o f instances o f the phrasal con­ struction, the only examples o f ofer + gem etúax could possibly be construed as constituting com pound nouns are confined to this and a couple o f no less disputable instances in C P and Solil.97 In all three cases the phrasal interpretation is arguably the more appropriate one. A t the same tim e, it can plausibly be argued that in the first passage quoted above Alfred is m odifying and rewriting Boethius’ statement about abundance in the light o f his subsequent reference to superfluity. T h e equation affluentia: ofergemet must therefore be treated with some caution. However, just as the term affluentia (‘a flow ing to; affluence, abundance, copiousness, fullness, profusion; immoderate pom p or splen­ dour in the management o f ones household, extravagance’) is capable o f m ore than one interpretation, so there was more than one suitable rendering o f it in existence at the tim e when Alfred was w riting. Thus, for instance, for ‘abundance, fullness, copiousness’ (meanings also o f Latin abundantia, plenitudo, and libertas) we find gefyüednes (G D ),9* j fylnes (PsGlA),99 genyht (Ps, Solil, and C P ),100genyhtsumnes (C P , G D , Be),“ 1 and also ofirrfyU 101 and oferjylnes (G D ),10’ though these two last appear rather to be used in the sense o f satietas or o f superfluitas, the latter a word rendered in Bo by oferingand in Be by oforfloumes'04 (ii) facultas: [andgites] map T he word facultas (‘capability, possibility, power, means, opportunity, skill, ability to do anything easily, a sufficient or great number, abundance, plenty, supply, stock, store, pi. goods, riches, property’) occurs twice in C P h : Om ne enim quod cognoscitur non secundum sui vim sed secundum cognoscentium potius com prehenditur facultatem . (C P h V, pr. 4.75-7) * ** For use o f either acc. or dat. with the verb w ilnian see J. E. Wolfing, D ie Syntax in den W erten A lfreds des Grossen, z vols. (Bonn, 1894,1901), i. 11 and 115. r C P 313.14 ‘for gicfcrncsse ofergemet’ (‘per immoderatum usum’); Solil 58.13 ‘loca nu J>xt (>u ofer gemed ne wilnige’. ** Seee.g. G D 120.25. ** Seee.g. P sG lA 23.1. See c.g. Ps 35.8, Solil 53.5, C P 183.1; cf. Bo 76.4 ( - sufficient«). "* See c.g. C P 325.12, G D 98.16, G D 251.5, Be 194.8 and ( = copia) 48.26; cf. affluentia: m enige C P 113.19. •“ G D 339.8. ” * G D 339.3; cf. Bo 70.5 ofrrfyll, ‘superfluity, excess’. 104 Bo 31.23, Be 78.8. The word ofering is not recorded outside Bo, where it occurs twice.

17

Ja n et B ately

For everything which is known is grasped not according to its own power but rather according to the capability o f those who know it. and Videsne igitur ut in cognoscendo cuneta sua potius facúltate quam eorum quae cognoscuntur utantur? (C P h V, pr. 4 .115-17) D o you therefore see that in knowing, all these use their own capability rather than that o f those things which are known? The first o f these passages corresponds to Bo 145.5-7: H u ne wast |>u [>zt manig |>ing ne bid no ongiten swa swa hit bid, ac swa swa )>zs andgites mæd bid |>e J>æræfter spy red? D o you not know that many a thing is not perceived as it is but according to the capacity o f the intellect that is investigating it? The second has no precise equivalent in the final, greatly modified, section o f Bo. However, the O E word map appears with the meaning 'measure, ability, capacity’, both on its own elsewhere in Bo, Solil, and C P 10’ and (in Bo and Solil) in the collocation pas andgietes m ap'06 while in Be another area o f meaning covered by facultas is recognized by the translation sped.'07 (iii) intellectus: gearowita The word gearowita is recorded in the Toronto microfiche concordance only from Bo, where it occurs three times, twice in a passage where Alfred is reworking a section o f C P h dealing with different levels o f knowledge and intelligence,10' and once rendering the single instance o f intellectus in C P h .109 However, translations o f intellectus (a perceiving, discerning, per­ ception, discernment, understanding, comprehension, knowledge, intellect, meaning, sense, signification o f a word’, etc.) in early O E are not confined to Bo, the terms selected including also ‘{jæt inre gewitt’ (Solil),1,0 ingepanc (Solil),'" and andgietibe)."1 Andgiet is a word o f common occurrence in Bo, where it renders a number o f Latin terms, including intellegentia (‘the power o f discerning or understanding, discernment, understanding, intelligence, l°’ e.g. Bo 147.13, Solil 69.20, C P 101.11. “* e.g. Bo 145.7, Solil 70.3. lo’ Be 230.28. Other early O E words for ‘ riches, prosperity' include ah t w* Bo 146.21 and 23. lo* Bo 130.30, C P h IV , pr. 6.79. cf. G D 331.15 ‘ungcare witolncsse' and OccGl 28 (Nap) 108 ‘sagaci: gearwitelum’. 1,0 Solil 59.11. " Solil 59.13. "* Be 84.28.

18

A n A ljred ia n Legacy?

knowledge, perception, art, skill*, etc.)."’ G ew itt is also found on a number o f occasions both here and in other texts o f the period."4 (iv) tactus: gefrednes Since tactus includes amongst its meanings not only ‘touch* but also ‘feeling’, ‘sense o f feeling*, gefrednes is an acceptable translation for it. O f the two instances o f the word in C P h the first (I, pr. 5.44) is w ithout equivalent in Bo. T h e second, Nam ut hoc brevi liqueat exem plo, candem corporis rotunditatem aliter visus aliter tactus agnoscit (C P h V, pr. 4.77-9 ) For— that this m ay become clear by a b rief example— the same roundness o f a body sight recognizes in one way and touch in another corresponds to H w zt, {ni wast J»zt gesihd 7 gehemes 7 gefrednes ongitad Jx>ne lichoman |>zs monnes, 7 J>eah ne ongitad hi hine no gelicne; )>a earan ongitad |>zt hi gehend, 7 ne ongitad hi J>eah (>one lichom an eallunga swylcne swylce he bid; sio gefrednes hine m zg gegmpian 7 gefredan \>xx hit lichom a bid, ac hio ne m zg gefredan hw zder he bid J>e b lzc |>e hwit, de fieger de unfzger. (Bo 145.18-24) Now, you know that sight and hearing and touch perceive the body o f the man and yet they do not perceive it as like; the ears perceive that they hear and yet they do not perceive the body entirely such as it is; the touch may handle it and feel that it is body, but it m ay not feel whether it is black or white, fair or unfair. However, once again there are words for tactus ‘touch’ recorded from early O E other than this hapax legom enon.'” So Be has hrinenes and gehrtnenes"6 Solil hrinung ," 7 G D " ' and Soli! brine ." 901 10 See e.g. Bo 146.27-8 *|>zs hchstan andgites* and 145.32 gewis andgit'. See also Bo 146.1826, where andgiet and gearow ita are both used, along with gesceadwisnes. For G D ongietenes = cognitio, see below, n. 218. 114 For senatu: gew itt see further below, p. 27. Other possible renderings include wisdom and poetic words such as hygecrafi and m odcrafr 1,1 The related verb gefredan is found in a range o f texts, from Bo, C P, Solil, and G D to Æ lfrics homilies and LibSc. 1.6 See e.g. Be 396.11 and 322.25. 1.7 Solil 59 6. G D (M S S C O ) 87.24 (M S H athrine); Latin text contactas, London, Lambeth Palace Library M S 204 tactus changed to contactas. See further below, p. 24 and n. 228. 119 Solil 51.12. C f. the verb forms onhrinan and gehrinan in prose and verse versions o f C P h IV , met. 6, Bo 135.26 and 28 and Bo met 29.10.

19

Ja n et B ately

(v) vitíum : unjeaw Translation o f vitíum by unf>eaw is certainly ‘A lfredian, being attested not only in Bo but also in C P .wo However, O E vocabulary is rich in words for ‘wickedness* o f all kinds and a whole range o f these are recorded in early texts. So in C P , for example, Alfred tenders vitíum (‘fault, defect, blemish, im perfection, moral fault, failing, error, offence, crime, vice*, etc.) not only by unpeaw but also by unwrmcand uncyst'11 the latter a translation shared with G D and Be.'“ Com m on to both C P and Bo is the pair vitíum : yfiri,'*’ while in Bo meters unpeaw is used in collocation with leahtor,'1* a word (frequent in the poetry) that also occurs for vitíum in Be and G D 115 and for crim en (‘crime, fault, offence*, etc.) in C P and Be.11* In Ps uncyst translates Latin delictum (‘fault, offence, crim e, transgression, wrong’), which in its turn appears as misdeed in C P and scyld in Be and PsG lA .'17 A common alternative for scyld is gylt.'** From this brief survey it emerges that o f the O E words included in D r Fischer’s lists as ‘first found in the Boethius’ and form ing genuine pairs with their claimed ‘Latin equivalents’, a very high proportion occur also in other surviving ‘early texts, at least some o f which arguably pre-date Alfred’s translation. Moreover, for a significantly large number o f the Latin terms cited at least one other possible translation was available. W hat then o f the fate o f these words, both Alfredian and non-Alfredian, in the later O E period? 1.1.4. The evidence o f the later O E period Consultation o f the Toronto microfiche concordance reveals that very few o f the words discussed in the first section are recorded only from texts known to have been composed by the end o f the first decade o f the tenth century and so might be presumed not to have survived into the later part o f the O E period. O f these, eight words are restricted to the Boethius, 1X0 Sec e.g. Bo 109.7 and C P 63.19, and cf. nequicia: unpeaw Bo 61.8 beside ncquitia: uncyst C P 273.2, nequitia: yfclnes Be 80.33. 111 C P 215.19 and 67.1. 111 See e.g. G D 22.28 (uncysta*, var. un|>eawa), G D 95.16 (M S H ‘leahtra), Be 72.26. C P 401.25, Bo 109.14. >>4 Bo met 22.25-6 and 29-30, corresponding to Bo 95.8 and 10 unpeaw n' Be 190.25, G D 326.30; see also n. 123. C P 401.25 y fe l. . . leahtrum’; Latin text vitium . . . criminibus’, Be 458.28. 1,7 Ps 18.11, C P 413.26, Be 82.11, PsGlA 18.12(13). For this and other alternatives see G . Büchner, Vier Altenglische Bezeichnungen fiir Vergehen und Verbrechen (Firen, Gylt. M an, ScyldX Inaugural Dissertation (Berlin, 1968), also J. M. Bately, 'Lexical Evidence for the Authorship o f the Prose Psalms in the Paris Psalter*, A S E 10 (1982), 69-95 at 93. For distribution patterns see H. Gncuss, ‘The Origin o f Standard Old English and Æthelwold*s School at Winchester*, A S E 1 (1972), 63-83.

20

A n A lfred ia n LegacyÍ

nam ely form âm es, gefrednes, gearowita, hliseadignes,XX9 hradfomes, oforing; W andlung and (in the verse meters) swifto. O ne other (hwurfidnes) has not been found outside the works o f Alfred,1)0 while recorded only from Alfred and Genesis B is the noun untreoui1,1 A few others can be added if we include words restricted to dem onstrably early texts other than the works o f Alfred or a com bination o f the two, namely: dreamcræft; frignes; frignung;1’1 heardsælnes; heardszl{>; hrine; hrinenes; gehrinenes; hwsetscipe; myrgnes. O f the remaining words discussed in sections 1 . 1 . 1-3 a few are confined to a mixture o f early works and texts preserved in post-ninth century manuscripts whose date o f com position is uncertain:1” bierhto;” 4 gedrehtes;1” fzstrzdn es;” * fyllnes;” 7 hrinung;,,* tw ea^ting;'19 medemnes;140 genyhi;141 oferflownes;'41 oferfyllnes;'43 onwendednes;'44 treowleasnes;'4’ getreowleasnes;144 ungemetfàestnes;147 ungesaelignes;14* unsa»l|);M’ untodzlendlic;1’0 ungetreownes;” 1 weorjm es.” 1 However, the m ajority are recorded both from early works and from demonFor the related adjectives forem are, hliseadig, gearow itol, the noun ungearuw itolna, and the verb gefredan, sec above, pp. 13 ,14 , and nn. 109 and 115. 110 See above, pp. 12 ,13 , and 14. ** See GenA, B 773 and cf. OSaxon untrewa. For suggestions that the related verb frignan is typical o f Anglian dialects see e.g. R. Jordan, Eigentüm lichkeiten des anglischen Wortschatzes (Heidelberg, 1906), 95. Specimen references only are given in this and subsequent sections. In a handful o f instances, where printed texts were unavailable, they have been taken directly from the Toronto concordance. 114 HomS i(VercHom 5) 171, L S 10 (Guth) 20.112. '* AldV 13.1 (Nap) 2420, M onCa 3 (Korhammer) 10.18. '* HomU 9 (VercHom 4) 357. The corresponding adjective, fitstrad* however, is used by a number o f writers including Ælfric and Wulfstan. if7 DurRitGI (Thomp-Lind) 9.11. '* DurRitGI 9(Skt) 43. m Prog 3.1 (Font) 14. 140 HomS i (VercHom 5) 1. 141 Hom U 34 (Nap 42) 128. ^ ChrodR 1 4.0. m OccGI 89.1 (Schlutter) 3. 144 HomS 4 (VercHom 9) 119. 141 HomU 37 (Nap 46) 32. ** C o n f 9.4 (Logeman) 5. 147 ChrodR 1 30.37. * Hom U 18 (BIHom 1) 2. m HomS 19 (Schaefer) 62. 1,0 LawludDei V I I I 2. HomS 36 (Willard) 26. ,,a UbSc 44.11. 21

Ja n et B ately

strably late texts such as the works o f Æ lfric, W ulfstan, and Byrhtferth and the later continuations o f the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:1” andgiet;1*4 anfealdnes;1” anm odnes;'* annes;” 7 anrsednes;'5* anw ald;'” arweorJ>nes;,io ascung-,1*' bilewitnes;'61 deadlic;16’ dea^lic;1*4 gedrefednes;1*5 endeleas;1“ fsestnes;'67 gefyllednes;'4* godcundnes;'6’ gylt;'7° hnednes;*71 hwætnes;'71 lacnung;175 læcecneft;'74 Ixcedom ;17’ leahtor;17* m xrsung;'77 m * ^ ;'7* m «|);,7, misdæd;1*0 nied;111 niedfiearf;'*1 nied[>earfhes;,i> genyhtsumnes;'*4 oferfyll;1*’ scyld;1*6 socn;1' 7 sped;1" swiftnes;'*’ jjearf,'90 g ^ y n c ^ ;1*1 uncyst;1’ 1 ungeendod;” * ungeendodlic;” 4 ungelim p;” 1 ,w Since ic is occurrence not sense that is relevant to the arguments at this point, no attempt is made in the following sections to consider the range o f meanings with which words cited are used. 144 Æ H om 29.100, W H om 9.23, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 182.34. m Æ C H o m I I , 21.184.130, W H om 9.129. '* Æ C H o m I, 25.360.7. tf7 Æ Hom 1.166, W H om ioc.142, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 198.15. Æ Hom 9.141, W H om 9 .4 a ,w Æ Hom 21.369 (for Latin potestas). 140 Æ Hom 6.5, W C an 1.1.1 (Fowler) 26. 141 ÆGram 116.9. ,Äl Æ Hom 16.226, W H om 9.43. ,4j ÆGram 54.10. 144 Æ C H o m 1, 15. 222.10. 141 Æ Hom 5.184. 144 Æ Hom 6.158, W H om 7.76. 147 Æ Gram 41.3 ( ■ mummen). 141 Æ C H o m I I , 7.63.82, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 64.26. l4f Æ Hom 1.3, W H om 6.163, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 142.13. >7° Æ C H o m I, 33.498.20, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 124.22. See Gneuss, 'The O rigin , 76. 171 Æ C H o m I I , 11.103.394. 171 ByrM 1 (Crawford) 116.17. m Æ L S (Apollinaris) 41. ^ Æ Hom 13.3. 171 Æ Hom 1.216. 174 Æ Hom 2.102. See Gneuss, 'The O rigin , 76. 177 Æ C H o m I I , 17.165.154. ,7f Æ Hom 1.360, W H om 7.152. 179 Æ Hom 6.216, W H om 6.149. 140 Æ Hom 6.261. W H om 3.29. 141 Æ Hom 1.218, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 38.14. Æ L S (Christmas) 47, W PoI 2.1.2 (Jost) 115. 145 Æ C H o m I I , 10.90.312. ,M Æ Hom 11.567. ** Æ Hom 16.77, W H om 14.27. M Æ Hom 15.131. Sec Gneuss, 'The O rigin , 76. 147 Æ C H o m I I , 39.1.292.146 ('idol, altar') tU Æ Hom 15.121. 1,9 Æ Hom M i (Bel 9) 188, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 74.4. 190 Æ Hom 19.117, W H om 7.166. 1,1 Æ Hom 19.14, W Pol 2.1.2 (Jost) 36. ,f* Æ Hom 30.53. I9’ Æ Hom 21.21. 194 W C an 1.2 (Torkar) 18. 191 Æ C H o m I I , 35.263.89, W H om 20.2.105.

22

An Alfredian Legacy? ungesæl)>;I9é unge^yM;197 untodæled;198 untodælcdlic;1" untreowjj;100 unljcaw;101 unwrenc;101 wending;105 weorjjm ynd;104 weor^scipe;205 yfel.106 A t the same time it is dear that by the second part o f the tenth century at latest the range o f choices was greater than that indicated by the evidence o f the handful o f known early works that have survived. Even a cursory examination o f late texts and o f those undatable texts that are preserved in manuscripts o f the tenth century and after reveals a number o f further alternatives not attested in texts o f known early composition. Instances that I have noted indude the following:107 affluentia/abundantia: genyhtsumung, oferflowendnes108 daritudo/edebritas/daritas: beorht, beorhtnes109 constantia: geom fulnes, stedefzstnes110 dignitas/honestas: gemedemnes, miht, gej>ungennesin facultas: acumendlicnes111 firm itudo/firm itas: trumnes, trymnes115 indivisus: untodællic114 infinitus/infinitivum : enddeaslic, ungeendigendlic115 infortunium : ungewyrd116 inpatientia: unjxdemodnes117 l,é 197 1,4 m *°° " w

Æ C H o m I, 28.408.22, ChronD (Plummer) ion . Æ C H o m I I , 37.314.124. W Hom 7.32, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 198.15 Æ H om 6.247. ChronE (Plummer) 1086.145. Æ Hom 10.39, W H om 80.173, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 96.9. SeeGneuss, 'T h e O rigin , 80. Æ Hom 18.324, W H om 4.58. Æ Hex 46. 104 Æ Hom 30.41, W H om 12.82. 101 Æ Hom 23.56, W C an 1.1.2 (Fowler) 68, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 170.4. 104 Æ Hom 1.184, W H om 4.62. 107 A number o f these are glosses and therefore must be treated with some caution; see e.g. entries with clipa alongside m edicina, glossing cataplasma. 404 PsG ID (Roeder) 77.25, AntGl 4 (Kindschi) 837. *°* HomS 1 (VercHom 5) 192, PsCaD (Roeder) 5.19, BoGI (Hale) P.9.54, BoGI P.2.29, ArPrGI i (Holt-Campb) 32.14. “ ° ArPrGI 1 (Holt-Campb) 43.13, DurRitGI 1 (Thomp-Lind) 50.13. m DurRitGICom (Thomp-Lind) 192.19, AldV 1 (Goossens) 1582. HIGI (Oliphant) 3353; cf. pungennes BcnRW 60.12. Ul AldV 1 (Goossens) 3285. Uf LibSc 209.5, Æ Hom 5 (M S H) 109, ProgGI 1 (Först) 143; H 1G 1 (Oliphant) 2023 ( - confirmado). Cf. C P 247.7 trumnes ( « talus). 114 AldV i (Goossens) 1077. Uf Æ L S (Auguries) 154, ÆGram ( ■ ¡nfinitívum) 113.18. ** BoGI P.5. 58. Cf. unsaU unhappiness' HomU 37 (Nap 46) 121. 9x7 ConfGI (Först) 17; cf. Æ L S (Memory o f Saints) 334 'Seo feorde miht is patientia. d x t is gcdyld 7 (>olmodnys gecwxden.'

13

Ja n et Bately

intellectus/intellegentia: ongietnes, understanding118 m ortaiis: beheafodlic» deadbære119 m úsica: sangcræft» soncræft, swinsungcræft210 m utabiiitas: onwendedlicnes111 m utatío/com m utatío/inm utatío: awendednes, awending, wandung;111 nécessitas: neaddamm, neadneod, nearones, niedbchefe» niedbehef(ed)nes, niednes» l^earínes11’ perfidia: untreowleast, ungetrcowj)114 perturbatio/conturbatio: drefednes, drefing, styrenes125 rogatio/interrogatio/scisciutio: æsce, befrignung, frasung, smeagung21* superfluitas: oferflewednes» oferflowedlicnes, oferflowendnes117 tactus: æthrine» grapung, hrepung» gehrine118 velodtas: hræding» hrædlicnes, gehwætnes229 vitium : wierdnes.130 T his list does not pretend to be complete: there are many other possible candidates» including poetic compounds» which I have omitted» and doubt­ less a number which I have overlooked.1’1 However» it contains ample material to demonstrate the wealth o f choice available to writers o f the late O ld English period in addition to that provided by King Alfred and his contemporaries.

MkGI (Ru) 12.33, ArPrGI 1 (Holt-Campb) 42.18; cf. G D 256.9 and 139.16 (with ongietenes for cognitio). AldV 13.1 (Nap) 4042; AldV 13.1 (Nap) 1872 (usually however * mortiferus). Aid V i (Goossens) 3018, AldV 7.1 (Nap) 408, C IG 1 1 (Stryker) 295.79. “ * BoGl (Hale) P.8.36 (on wendedlienysse ). m PsGIG (Rosier) 76.11, LibScEcc 26.18, ChrodR 1 50.53; cf. Æ C H o m I I , 12.1.117.272. PsGIH (Campbell) 106.28, ChrodR 150.28, PsGlI (Lindelöf) 106.6, MkGI (Ru) 2.25, LS 8 (Eust) 9, L S 23 (MaryofEgypt) 2.150, BoGl (Hale) P.6.42, PsGIG (Rosier) 30.8, BenRGI 42.6. 114 HomU 54 (Pricbsch) 77, Æ C H om 1 ,1 7 (App) 185.6, Æ Hom 14.144, W H om 20.1.64. PsGIK (Sisam) 30.21, LibSc 28.23, AntGI 2 (Kindschi) 154, OurRitGl 1 (Thomp-Lind) 59.3; cf. drtfnes HomM 14.2 (Healey) 134. BcnR 56, AldV 1 (Goossens) 2267, AldV 13.1 (Nap) 2309, DurRit G 1 3 (Skeat) 75. U7 RegC G I 5.61, BenRGI 61.1, Æ C H om I I, 12.2.124.494. “ * AntGI 4. (Kindschi) 971, ArPrGI 1 (Holt-Campb) 38.16, Æ Hom M 1 (Bel 9) 255, ÆHom 17.82, AntGI 4 (Kindschi) 971, Alex 800. For G D M S H æthrine see D. Yerkes, The Tuh> Versions o f Wærferths Translation o f Gregorys D ialogues: An O ld English Thesaurus (Univ. o f Toronto, 1979) item 1461 and above, p. 20. 149 Æ L S (Mark) 43, W H om 7.50 and 20.3.170, LS 10 (Guth) 105.27, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 118.29. 1K> DurRitGI i (Thomp-Lind) 16.13. A complete study not only must await the publication o f the O E Thesaurus but must take into account contexts and non-substantival alternative renderings. Mine has deliberately been centred on texts with identified Latin sources.

A n A lfiredian Legacy?

1.2 Linguistic gaps D r Fischer also identifies a number o f Latin abstract nouns used in C P h for which there are no nominal equivalents in Bo. For some o f these she supposes that ‘a nominal translation must have been possible’1” — as, for instance, perfectio, rendered by gefremednes in the Life o f St Chad.1” For others she assumes a ’linguistic gap* in O ld English, which is filled by paraphrase or by the use o f vague’ equivalents— as, for instance, causa, rendered by dal, and ratio, rendered by spelLm Once again, however, a significant number o f the words in D r Fischer’s list are to be found with what might be called reasonably close rendering o f one or more o f their senses in other O E texts, both early and late, and sometimes indeed in Bo itself. Even the potentially “fillable” ’linguistic gap’ that she cites is in fact filled in Bo by a word which is found also in C P and a range o f other texts, namely fitlfre m e d n e s In other instances the semantic richness o f the Latin words in her list is such that it would be unreasonable to expect any single vernacular term to cover more than a small portion o f their meaning. So, for instance, Lewis and Short include among their definitions o f causa renderings as various as ‘cause, reason, inducement, occasion, opportunity, just cause, fiction, pretext, condition, state, relation o f friendship, apology, excuse, employment, lawsuit’. For condido they suggest amongst other meanings ‘agreement, stipulation, condition, proposition, terms, demand, situation, circumstances, nature, mode, manner, matter, subject, amour’. At the same time there exist a number o f other Latin words which share at least pan o f the meaning o f the words in D r Fischer’s list. In all these cases a range o f O E words emerges as available to the O E translator. So, for instance, translating casus (‘a falling, fidl, overthrow, error, accident, occur­ rence, event, chance, mischance, misfortune, opportunity, calamity, gram­ matical case’, etc.) beside the paraphrase ‘weas gebyrian noted by D r Fischer,1,6 we find fie lt in Be, and gelim p in a range o f glosses, along with terms such as ungelimp and unw yrdxy} The semantic richness o f the Latin Fischer, Ä Comparative Study, 627. L S 3 (Chad) 54. Gefremednes* however, is normally used to render the Latin terms effectua, perpetrado, etc.: see e.g. G D 318.15, G D 334.14, Be 32.7. 1M Fischer, ‘A Comparative Study, 628-30. m Bo 84.9-10, ‘God is full ælcere fullfremednesse 7 xlces godes 7 xlcere gesxlfle* (CPh 111, pr. 10.41-2 'boni summi summum deum diximus esse plenissimum'); see also G D 98.4-5, Be 412.19, Mart 130.24, C P 467.21-2, ÆHom 18.120, LibSc 107.8, etc. Cf. unfulfrem ednes PsGIA 138.14(16), C P 467.13, Æ C H om I, 35.530.11; ungefremingVsCAK (Sisam) 138.16; unfulfrem m ing ( * mperfectum) PsGlI (Lindelöf) 138.16; and cf. consummatio: geyfyUnes. gefyUednes, gefylling. ** Fischer, A Comparative Study', 624. This usage may have been obsolescent: weas is otherwise recorded only from CIGI 1 (Stryker) 189.85 and CollGl 12 (Holthausen) 54. See further Pastoral Care, cd. Carlson, part 2, p. 91, note to C P 199.22 weas* var. gewealdes. xyf See further below, p. 26.

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words in question and the number o f different spheres o f reference involved, each demanding separate investigation, rule out a full discussion o f all the possible renderings here or their adequacy. However, as an encouragement to those who might be persuaded to take on such detailed investigations and by way o f answer to D r Fischers claim of'genuine linguistic gaps’ I list below a selection o f the O E nouns that I have found employed as trans­ lations for the Latin words in her list, some o f them used already in early O E , others first recorded in the later period:l,i affectas: hyldo, lufu, tosetednes, w illa, gewilnung1” casus: belimp, gebigednes, casus, fier, fiell, gegang, hryre, gelim p, mislimp, misgelimp, nied, unbelimp, ungelimp, untima, ungetima causa: inca, intinga, in|»ng, nied, racu, spræc, (ûng, wise140 conclusio: bedysung, betynung, loc condido: arædnes, geewide, gecynd, dihtnung, raeden, gesceaft, gesceap, wyrd, gewyrd confusio: bysmer, gedrefednes, gedrefnes, forscendung, forwandung, gemang, gemeng, gemengednes, gemengnes, gemengung, scamu, scamung, scand, scandlicnes, gescendnes, gescendj)141 consdentia: ingehygd, inge)>anc, inge[x)ht, ingewitnes, gewitnes, gewitscipe, gewitt disputado: cneatung, geflit, smeagung, spræc, talu habitas: gebzre, had, onlicnes, gesceap; beside gierela, gegierela, hrægl, reaf, ryft, scrud14* im punitas: unwitnung ingenium : andgiet, cræft, gleawnes, ingehygd, inge|>anc, organe, or(>ancscipe, searocræft intentio: atyhting, geornfulnes, georngewilnung, giemen, ingehygd, onbryrdnes, ontyhting, gerad, tyhting, willa, gewilnung iustitia: rihtwisnes, so^faestnes14’ propositum /propositio: foresetednes, foresetnes, racu 1,4 This list would be considerably longer if it were to include not only direct translations but also O E equivalents o f individual meanings o f the Latin terms— as e.g. endrand geendung for conclusio: wise fo t conditio. For caveats see above, p. 25. For details o f distribution see the Toronto microfiche concordance. *” C f. CorpGl 2 (Hessels) 1.371 affectui megsibbe vel dilectione’. 140 I have omitted from this list paraphrases such as Ps 3.6 'butan gcwyrhron (‘sine causa’). For intinga see The L ife o f St Chad, ed. R. Vleeskruyer (Amsterdam, 1933), 30-1. 141 Cf. hosp PsGlI (Lindelöf) 43.16. 141 Cf. m unchad (var. m unucreaf) G D 27.17; w oruldhad habitus secularis Be 332.1, beside haligryft. sanctimonialis Be 318.8. Wcnisch, Spezifisch anglisches Wortgut, 227-8, suggests that the sense ‘justice’ is restricted to Anglian texts.

26

A n A lfreetian Legacy?

quailtas: andefh, hwilcnes, gchwilcncs, gelicnes244 ratio:14’ racu, gcrad, riht, geriht, rihtnes, rihrwisncs, gescead, sccadwisncs, gesceadwisnes, wisdom , sensus: andgiet, endebyrdnes, feines, gefelnes, gchygd, sefe, |x>ht, gewitt status: anrxdnes, feestnednes, had, ontimber, sta|x>l, sta|x>lfæstnes, steall, gesteall, stede, gef>ync|x>, wunung substantia: seht, bisen, edwist, feoh, genyhtsumnes, sped, standnis, streon, gestreon, Jung.24*

z. Providentia and Praedestinatio In Bo, as D r Fischer points out, the Latin term providentia is translated both by foresceawung (‘ Lehnübersetzung) and forepanc (‘ Lehnübertragung), while praedestinatio is rendered by foreteohhung (‘ Lehnübersetzung). A ll three, she claims, are first found in A lfreds Boethius.247 In fe a , as with the bulk o f the other philosophical’ terms used by Alfeed, the first two o f these words apparendy already had some currency in early O E at the time when Alfred was writing. However, before their distribution patterns and history are examined, it is necessary first to consider the contexts in which the various terms are employed in Bo itself.24* 2.1. Providentia (‘foresight, foreknowledge; providence; Providence’) In C P h Boethius from time to time employs the term providentia in contexts where the translation ‘Providence’, or ‘the deity’, might seem appropriate, and indeed in his version Alfred on occasion renders the word by scieppend or by G o d149 In other contexts one or other o f the meanings ‘foresight’ and ‘foreknowledge’ (or ‘forethought’) is indicated. So in a key passage on providentia and fetum (IV , pr. 6.22-42) Boethius describes providence as the divine reason itself (the manner in which all things behave, ‘contemplated in the utter purity o f the divine intelligence’), established in the highest ruler o f all things, ‘the reason which disposes all things that 1+4 C f. m issenlicnes(for ‘dispar qualitas’) G O 315.14. M’ C f. Fischer, ‘A Comparative Study’, 628, ratio, ‘some meanings o f’. 144 C f ¡andar BenRGI 2.26. Also in Dr Fischers lists are the words inlatum, musae, and tea. Amongst translations o f res see pin g G D 16.19 and w ist Be 80.33. Musa is once glossed la n d *If(sec CIGI 3 (Quinn) 1451 ‘Ruricolas musas: landzlfe); c f O rtades; w udualfm nt C I G I 1 (Stryker) 4640. M’ Fischer, A Comparative Study’, 635. M* Since this paper is concerned with terminology, no attempt is made here to consider Alfred's handling o f Bocthian concepts. For important discussions o f the latter see e.g., Otten, König Alfreds Boethius, F. A. Payne, K ing A lfred and Boethius (Madison, Wis. and London, 1968), L. Hclbig, Altenglische Schlusselbegriffe in den Augustinus- und Bœ thius-Bearbeitungen Alfreds des Grossen (dissertation, Frankfurt, 1960). ** See e.g. Bo 93.20, C P h I I I , pr. 11.98, and Bo 128.18, C P h IV , pr. 6.35.

Ja n et Bately

exist’, and also as the unfolding o f temporal order united in the foresight o f the divine mind. In another place (V, pr. 2.27-9) Philosoph» is made to refer to ’that regard ( intuitus) o f providence which looks forth on all things from eternity’ and ‘sees’. The O E compound foresccawung reflecting the ‘sight’ element o f providentiOj is found only four times in Bo. Two o f the occurrences are collocated with the adjective godcundand are without equivalent in C P h .1’° The others are both used in the collocation ‘Godes foresccawung’ to render C P h provident», on the first occasion standing alone: ‘sio anfealde foresccawung Godes’ (Bo 127.18-19 ): ‘piovidentiae simplicitate’ (C P h IV .6 .11); on the second occasion coupled with the alternative rendering forepanc. ‘Godes fore)>onc 7 his foresceawung’ (Bo 128 .10 -11): ‘prouidentia’ (C P h IV , pr. 6.28). It is in fact forepanc that is used in the m ajority o f contexts where Alfred is rendering Latin provident» in either direct translation or passages o f paraphrase, the word occurring eleven times in all, usually in collocation with either Godes or godcund1" However, as a result o f rewriting, a significant number o f references to ‘providence’ in C P h have been replaced by ref­ erences to ‘predestination’. 2.2. Praedestinatio (‘predestination’) In the De Consolatione the term praedestinatio (‘a determining beforehand, predestination) occurs only once, with a single instance o f the verb form praedesrinata. Its Alfredian counterpart, foreteohhung, in contrast, is found no fewer than eleven times, usually in one or other o f the collocations ‘seo godcunde foreteohhung’ and ‘Godes foreteohhung’, paralleling the collocations in which Alfred uses the words foresceawung and forepanc?n The one exception, ‘)>ære foreteohunga Godes’, occurs in the list o f chapter headings, which may well not have been compiled by Alfred him self.1,1 So, beside Fordern se de ymb j>z t acsian wile, he sceal crest witan hwaet sie sio anfealde foresceawung Godes, 7 hwaet wyrd sie, 7 hwaet weas gebergie, 7 hwaet sie godcund andgit 7 godcund foretiohhung, 7 hwaet monna freodom sie. (Bo 127.17-21) For he who may wish to enquire into it must first know what the single providence o f God is, and what Fate is, and what happens by chance, and what divine intelligence 1.0 Bo 136.7 and 146.31. 1.1 Sec e.g. Bo 129.2 and 128.20. w Sec e.g. Bo 143.18 and 142.2$. *” Bo 6.23-4, relating to ch. xxxix. For a discussion o f the authorship o f chapter headings in late 9th-cent. texts see D. Whitelock, ‘The List o f Chapter-Headings in the Old English Bede’, O ld English Studies in Honor o f John C. Pope, ed. R. B. Burlin and E. B. Irving, Jr. (Toronto, 1974), 263-84.

28

A n A lfredian Legacy? and divine predestination are, and what the freedom o f men is. for In hac enim de providentiae sim plicitate, de fati serie, de repentinis casibus, de cognitione ac praedestinatione divina, de arbitrii libértate quaeri solet. (C P h IV , pr. 6 .11-13) For under this head enquiry is made concerning the singleness o f providence, the course o f fate, the suddenness o f chance, the knowledge and pre­ destination o f G od, and the freedom o f the w ill. we find passages such as Swide riht is |>in lar; ac ic wolde |>e nu myndgian Jwere maenigfealdan lare J>e |>u me aer gehete be jjære Godes foretiohhunge. Ac ic wolde aerest witan xx J>e hwseder |>zt auht sie |>aet we oft gehend dæt men cwedad be sum um )>ingum [net hit scyle weas gebyrian. (Bo 139.20-4) Your teaching is very true; but I would now remind you o f the manifold doctrine you previously promised me concerning the predetermination o f G od. But I would like first to know from you whether there is anything in what we often hear that men say about certain things, that it must happen by chance. corresponding to C P h V, pr. 1.2 -7 : ’Recta quidem’, inquam, exhortado maque prorsus auctoritate dignissima, sed quod tu dudum de providentia quaestionem pluribus aliis im plicitam esse dixisti, re experior. Quaero enim an esse aliquid omnino et quidnam esse casum arbitrere.’ Your exhortation is right indeed and very worthy o f your authority, but what you said just now about providence, that it was a question involving many others, I know from experience. For I want to know whether you think chance is anything at all, and if so, what? while Bo 142.24-8: Hwæt is sio m ide unrotnes? da cw zd ic: H it is ym da Godes foretiohhunge; fordzm we geherad hwilum secgan )>zt hit scyle call swa geweordan swa swa G od act fruman getiohhad hacfde, J>aet hit ne macge nan mon onwendan. W hat is this great sorrow? Then I said, ‘It is about G o d s predetermination; for we hear it sometimes said that it must all happen just as God had appointed at the beginning, so that no man may change it/

Ja n et Bately

appears to have been inspired by C P h V, pr. 3.95-100: cum ex providentia rerum omnis ordo ducatur nihilque consiliis liceat human is, fit ut vitia quoque nostra ad bonorum omnium referantur auctorem. Igitur nec sperandi aliquid nec deprecandi ulla ratio est. Q uid enim vel speret quisque vel etiam deprecetur, quando optanda omnia series indeflexa conectit? since the whole ordering o f things proceeds from providence and nothing is really possible to human intentions, it follows that even our vices are to be referred to the author o f all things good. And therefore there is no sense in hoping for anything or in praying that anything may be averted; for what even should any man hope for or pray to be averted when an inflexible course links all that can be desired? We may compare two other passages, which have no exact equivalent in the Latin: Ic [xmne secge, swa swa calle cristene men secgaô, J>a*t sio godcunde foretiohhung his walde, næs sio w yid. (Bo 131.10 -12) I then say, just as all Christian men say, that the divine predetermination rules it, not Fate. and W it saedon aer j>aet sio godcunde foretiohhung selc god worhte 7 nan yfel, ne nan ne tiohhode to wyrcanne, ne nzfrc ne worhte. (Bo 143.18-20) We said earlier that the divine predetermination made every good and no evil, and it did not determine to make any, nor did it ever do so. D r Fischer is correct in her claim that the term foretiohhung is first found in the Boethius. In fact, although the related verb (ge)teohhian is o f not infrequent occurrence in O E 1M and two instances o f an (Anglian?) foreteon are recorded, along with a single instance o f the noun geteohhungj” the Toronto microfiche concordance cites fbreteohhungovXy from Bo, and it is possible that in the process o f thinking through, and in many respects rewriting, Boethius Alfred coined the term to suit his own special needs. However, there was an alternative word o f sim ilar meaning, fbrestihtung, which is found in a range o f O E texts from G D and Be to LibSc and the >M It occurs, for instance, in G D , Be, Bo, Ps, C P, Soli), and Æ . C f. geteon and fom eon, which are described as 'probably Anglian’ by Jordan, Eigentüm lichkeiten, 65-6 . Be 138.31, PPs 72.12, HomS 22 (CenDom 1) 69. C f. HIGI (Oliphant) 3114 foreteohpad.

30

A n A lfredian Legacy?

works o f Æ lfric1***and which might be supposed to have been known to him .157 T he corresponding verb, fonestihtian, occurs frequently for p r e ­ destinare, again in texts from G D to Æ lfric.1** In contrast to foreteohhung the word foresceaumng is recorded from a range o f texts current at the time when Alfred was translating Boethius, being used also in C P and Be.**9 It occurs also in a number o f later works, including those o f Æ lfric and Byrhtferth, and is found as a translation for providentia in glosses.1*0 Forepanc is likewise not confined to Bo, though here the only other recorded instances are in Alfred’s C P , in a couple o f glosses, and in verse.1*1 Alfred, then, may well have innovated in using foreteohhung for Boethius’ praedestinatio and and possibly also forepanc fo t providentia. However, for both o f these Latin terms there were rivals already established in the language, namely forestihtung and foresceaum ng while at around the same period the author o f the O ld English Bede was likewise drawing on native resources to create the word foreseonnes as a translation for (divina) provisio.1*1 Inter­ estingly, o f all these terms only foresceaumng seems to have become well established - surviving indeed into the M iddle English period.1** Forestihtung certainly spans the early and late O ld English periods. However, there is no instance o f it recorded in the M iddle English Dictionary. Forepanc, as we have seen, is o f very lim ited occurence, while no examples o f foreteohhung other than those used by Alfred are recorded in the Toronto microfiche. King Alfred’s role in the restoration o f learning in the late ninth century was considerable, and his rendering o f Boethius’ D e Consolatione Philosophiae continued to be read long after his death.1*4 However, as the above survey shows, the contribution o f this particular work1** to O ld English vocabulary in respect o f the groups o f concepts categorized by D r Fischer as ** See e.g. G D 54.19, Be 372.27, Æ Hom 11.472, LibScSen (Rhodes) 6.6, AldV 31.1 (Nap) 1489. >f7 For Alfred’s use o f (ge)teohhian where the author o f the O E Orosius has gestihtian see J. M . Bately, 'King Alfred and the O E Translation o f Orosius’, A nglia, 88 (1970), 433-60 at 4467 and 456-7; cf. also ‘Godes gestihtunge’ O r 37.4 etc. See e.g. G D 54.17, L S 13 (Machutus) 1.5; BoGl P.3.8, AldV 1 (Goossens) 855, Æ C H o m I I , 25.209.107. *** See e.g. Be 292.4, G D 214.4, C P 169.6. 140 See e.g. Æ C H o m I I , 36.1.269.53, ByrM 1 (Crawford) 82.27; SedGI 3 (Meritt) 19. *** See e.g. AldV 7.1 (Nap) 344, AldV 9 (Nap) 355, Beo 1060, El 356, Az 19. Ux See c.g. Be 284.8. See e.g. Cursor Mundi 5745. ** B. S. Donaghcy, 'Nicholas Trevet’s Use o f King Alfred’s Translation o f Boethius, and the Dating o f his Commentary’, The M edieval Boethius: Studies in the Vernacular Translations o f D e Consolatione Philosophiae, ed. A. J. Minnis (Cambridge, 1987), 1-31. As this study has shown, a number o f the words discussed above occurred in C P, probably Alfreds first translation.

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philosophical’ appears to have been surprisingly slight. A range o f vernacular terms for these concepts was already in circulation by the end o f the ninth century and some o f these oudived Alfreds own apparently original creations. Not the least significant conclusions to be drawn from this study1** are, first, that at the time when the king was writing o f a serious decline in learning south o f the Humber, he him self was pan o f a group possessed o f a vocabulary capable o f expressing a wide range o f abstract and learned concepts, and, second, that the effects o f the intellectual vigour fostered by the king at the end o f the ninth century were to continue into the tenth. m A further study, this time o f words for ‘philosopher’, ‘philosophy, etc., is in progress.

Som e Reflections on the M etre o f Christ III •* »

JA N E R O B E R T S

It is a feature o f the work o f Anglo-Saxon metrists that their various finding? cannot be reconciled. E. G. Stanley' Som e time ago Eric Stanley drew together all the A3 verses o f Beowulf, thus providing a valuable tool for the understanding o f the poem’s metre. In this article I should like to begin by using his tool in an investigation o f the comparable verses o f a much shorter poem, Christ I I I . Like Stanley’s, m y corpus depends upon a conservative estimate, more conservative than Alan Bliss’s would have been,* and certainly for smaller than a selection made according to the criteria put forward more recendy by Kendall.’ There is a virtue in holding to old conventions, if the resulting data allow interesting comparisons to be drawn. Although Christ I I I is approxim ately a quarter the length o f Beowulf, it yields some 100 comparable verses, rather more than m ight be expected by comparison with their distribution in the longer poem. T h e meat o f this paper lies, therefore, in the presentation o f the A3 half-lines o f Christ I I I (Table 1), and I hope Eric Stanley w ill approve o f the use made o f his methodology. Discussion o f certain interesting features thrown up by the analysis o f A3 half-lines leads into examination o f anacrusis in Christ I I I , a topic that has drawn some attention within the context o f the examination o f O ld English hypermetric verses.1*4 By drawing together 1 E. G . Stanley, ‘Some Observations on the A3 lines in B eo w u lf, O ld English Studies in H onour o f John C Pope, cd. R. B. Burlin and E. B. Irving, Jr. (Toronto, 1974), 139-64. at 139. 1 See ibid. 139-40. 1 C . B. Kendall, 'The Metrical Grammar o f B eow u lf Displacement', Speculum , 58 (1983), 1 30: esp. p. 8; idem , The M etrical Gram m ar o f 'B eo w u lf Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England, 5 (Cambridge, 1991). Contrast the stance taken up by S. Cosmos, 'Kuhn's Law and the Unstressed Verbs in B eow u lf, Texas Studies in Literature and Language, 18 (1976-7), 325, who argues that 'the B eow u lfpoets use o f language is better described in terms o f the utterance dimension than in terms o f grammatical classes'. 4 E. Clemons Kyte, 'O n the Composition o f Hypermetric Verses in Old English', M odem Philology, 71 (1973-4), 160-3; see also R. Willard and E. D. Clemons, 'Bliss's Light Verses in the B eo w u lf, Jo u rn al o f English and Germ anic Philology, 66 (1967), 230-44.

33

Jarte Roberts the examples o f anacrusis to be found in Christ I I I and placing them in a wider context within the poem 1 wish to illustrate some o f the poems more unusual features. In my examination o f the poems A3 verses I have chosen to address the same questions put by Stanley.’ I therefore follow his lay-out in presenting my smaller corpus. There are accordingly two main divisions: B, verses where the stress falls on a verb, and A , those where it does not; and within these divisions an order similar to Stanleys is observed. In each o f divisions A and B the verses are presented according to their openings. First come connectives and then pronouns, except for those subject pronouns which immediately precede their verb. These are to be found arrayed under those verses whose onset otherwise begins with a verb. Where Stanley indicates the metrical weight o f the stressed part o f each verse and the presence o f any unstressed prefix before the stressed form , I append a categorization that makes clear the number o f unstressed lead-in syllables, information o f use in drawing com parisons/ It should be noted that Christ I I I contains five verses that end either in a stressed monosyllable or with a short open syllable.1*7 *1 have not excluded these verses as anomalous, and they can be recognized easily in Table 1, either through the identification o f verse endings or through the appended metrical categorization. As well, I have included a half-line that ends in two monosyllables,1 because, although such verses ate unparalleled in B eow u lf they are to be found elsewhere.9 B rief notes follow as to possibilities o f cross or transverse alliteration.10IEach verse is cited in the form found in the Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records text," and is preceded and followed by brackets within which are to be found any marks o f punctuation used in that edition. 1 Stanley, ‘Some Observations', 140-1. é Here the metrical notation developed by A. J. Bliss, The M etre o f'B eo w u lf' (Oxford 1958, znd edn. 1967), is used. Thus, A3 is represented by aix, where x indicates the number o f syllables before the stress; where 2 follows a, secondary stress may be present. 7 They are: purh ealle list 1318a, H wat, ic pec mon 1379a, pat ic purh pa 1430a, Ic onfong p in sar 1460a, and p at ic pe fo r lufan 1470a. These are represented by eix. I It is: Sonne call preo 964a. Any verse categorized a2 normally ends with a compound: compare P. J. Lucas, ‘Some Aspects o f the Interaction between Verse Grammar and Metre in Old English Poetry*, Studia Neophilologica, 59 (1987), 16 1-2 and n. 107. 9 Compare e.g. Exodus 63a Heht paym b twa niht, Soul and Body I I 82a Ponnepu fo r une bu, and see further J. Roberts, *A Metrical Examination o f the Poems Guthlac A and Guthlac B ’, Proceedings o f the Royal Irish Academ y, 71. C (1971), 116 and n. 117. 10 The abbreviations used in Stanley, ‘Some Observations', are: allât. « alliteration, with the various types cr. « crossed, d. « double and tr. * transverse: ? or even ?? indicates doubt; n.p. = new paragraph. I also follow his presentation o f editorial punctuation to either side o f the verses, because this makes dear their typically clause-initial nature. Note also hyp. for hypermetric. II G. P. Krapp and E. Van K. Dobbie, The Exeter Book, Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records, 3 (New York, 1936). Other verse citations are also to the A S P R texts.

34

Some Reflections on the M etre o f Christ I I I table i

List o f A } Lines in Christ I I I

A . T h e stress (alls on a noun, adjective, adverb, num eral, or ‘heavy7 pronoun: Thefirst elem ent is (or contains) a connective (other than a negative or relative pronoun) ac (,) ac fore [>am m zstan ( ) 963a J_ x [aid] for hwon (.) For hwon ahenge j>u mec hefgor ( ) 1487a J_ x [aig] for j>on (.) Foison nis ænig wundor ( ) 1015a J_ x [aie] (;) fbrjxm [>ær to teonum ( ) 1214a J_ x [aid] nu (. n.p.) N u we sceolon georne ( ) 1327a J_ x [aid]“ ond (,) ond (,) ond (;) ond (;) ond ( ) ond (,) ond

on [xme eadgan ( ) 1122a J_ x [aid] ymb his heafod ( ) 1125a J_ x [aie] be hyra weorcum ( ) 1289a J_ x [aid] [>a |>e on sare ( ) 1355a J_ x [aid] ]>e on )>am eallum ( ) 1400a J_ x [aid] ]>e mine deade'( ) 1462a J_ x [aid]

swa (?) Swa j>am bid grorne ( ) 1204a J_ x [aie]



(,) \>i hyra scyppend ( ) 1131a J_ x [aie] ( ) |>a |>e heo * r beste ( ) 1157a ]_ x [aid] tr. allie. Aeo?? (.) I>a ic de swa scienne ( ) 1386a J_ x [aid] (,) da ic |>e on [>a faegran ( ) 1389a J_ x [aie «• die]1’ (,) da j>u o f |>an gefean ( ) 1403a x J_ x [aie - eie]M (.) t a du |>zs calles ( ) 1497a J_ x [aie] tr. allit. P i or Äi??

V** (,) \>xr hy hit to gode ( ) no6a J_ x [aid] (,) }>ær bid on eadgum ( ) 1234a x [aie] " This verse opens a new fitt. Compare the opening o f the poem, Donne m id fere 867, and Néts mefo r mode 1428. 11 With decontraction this verse could be scanned as a Sicvers C type, i.e. Bliss d type. 14 Line 1403a is among those verses examined by A. Crandcll Amos, Linguistic Means o f D eterm ining the Dates o f O ld English Literary Texts (Cambridge, Mass., 1980), 58.

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(.) (,) (.) (,)

bær he fore englum ( ) 1336a J_x [aid] er. allit. /6re?? tr. - /»er?? [>zr |>u hit wolde sylfa ( ) 1494a J_ x [aie] tr. allit. Ait?? Dær socolan |>eoíás ( ) 1609a J_x [aie] [>aer is seo dyre ( ) 1650a J_x [aie]

( ) [>aet hy (ore leodum ( ) 1238a J_ x [aid] (,) [>*t hy [>urh miltse ( ) 1254a ]_ x [aie] (,) )>aet he m zge fore eagum ( ) 1323a ]_ x [aie] (,) |>*t ic |>urh [>a ( ) 1430a ]_ x [cíe] d. allit. p x t or /wrh?? ( ) )>zt |ju moste geszlig ( ) 1460b x j_ x [aie]1’ cr. allit. /net or /ni?? |wnne (. n.p.) Donne mid fere ( ) 867a ]_ x [aie]'* (.) bonne weor|>ed sunne ( ) 934a J_ x [aid] tr. allit. «corded?? (.) bonne bid untweo ( ) 960a _[_ \_ [a2c] (,) donne eall )>reo ( ) 964a J_ \_ [a2c] ( ) ]>onne hit aenig on mode ( ) 989a J_ x [aif] tr. allit. /x>nne?? (.) Donne beod bealdc ( ) 1076a J_x [aie] d. allit. ¿cod?? (,) donne sio reade ( ) 110 1a J_x [aie] (.) Donne bid )>ridde ( ) 1247a ]_ x [aie] tr. allit. ¿id?? (.) Donne hi |>y geornor ( ) 1255a ]_ x [aid] tr. allit. Donne or /?y?? (. n.p.) Donne bid [>am o[>rum ( ) 1262a J_x [aid] (.) bonne is him o|>er ( ) 1272a ]_ x [aid] (.) Donne bid [>zt [>ridde ( ) 1284a J_ x [aid] (.” n.p.) Donne {>zr ofer calle ( ) 1515a ]_ x [aie] (. n.p.) bonne ]>a gecorenan ( ) 1634a x hn x [aid] Thefirst element is a negative nales (,) nales fore lytlum (,) 962a J_x [aid] Thefirst element is a pronoun Relative or demonstrative pronouns ( ) ]>aes |>e he on foldan ( ) 1033a J_x [aid] (.) baet J>eah to teonum ( ) 1090a J_ x [aie] ( ) )>zt ær dam halgan ( ) 1135a J_x [aie] ( ) |>a [)c heo ær fseste ( ) 1157a J_ x [aid] tr. allit. Aeo?? ( ) [>zt ic |>e for lufan ( ) 1470a Jjx [eid] >f All verses in Table i, apart from this, are a-verses. This half-line is discussed below. 16 This is the opening o f the poem. In the manuscript the first line o f script is filled with capitals, except for the last letters foUL which begin the next verse.

36

Som e Reflections on the M etre o f C hrist I I I

( ) t>am |>e him on gzstum ( ) 1590a J_ x [aid] tr. allât. Aim?? (.) D z t is se e|»el ( ) 1639a J_ x [aie] 'Heavier* (object) pronoun (.) Eall )>is magon him sylfe ( ) 1115a J_ x [aie] tr. allât, /ñs?? (,) eall zfter ryhte ( ) 1220a J_ x [aie] (,) hwact him se waldend ( ) 1601a J_ x [aie] tr. allit. se?? Personal pronouns (other than subject personal pronouns immediately preceding their verb) __ «7

Thefirst elem ent is an interjection (: “) H w zt, ic ]>ec mon ( ) 1379a J_ [eic] tr. allit. /Mart?? T hefirst elem ent is a verb (or a verb preceded by a negative or a subject personal pronoun) (,) geseod him to bealwe ( ) 1105a J_ x [aid] cr. allit. Aim?? (.) Geseod hi ]>a betran ( ) 1291a J_ x [aid] (.) Waere him ]>onne betre ( ) 1301a J_ x [aie] cr. allit. Aim?? (,) hated hy gesunde ( ) 1341a x J_ x [aie] (.“ n.p.) Onginned |xmne to [urn yflum ( ) 1362a J_ x [aig] d. allit. On-?? (.) Bid [>zr seo m iede ( ) 1370a J_ x [aie] (.) Geseod nu [>a feorhdolg ( ) 1454a J_ \_ [a2d] (?) Wurde [>u ]>zs gewiticas ( ) 1472a J_x \_ [a2e] cr. allit. /m or /wes?? (: “) Farad nu, awyrgde(,) 1519a x J_ x [aid] [d. - Würde?? W ith initial negative (.) N e bid him to are ( ) 1083a J_ x [aid] (;) ne bid him hyre yrmdu ( ) 1292a J_ x [aie] (.) N e )>urfon hi |)onne to meotude ( ) 1365a f x x [aig] (. n.p.) Naes me for mode (,) 1428a J_ x [aie] ’* d. allit. me?? (.) N e bid J>*r zngum godum ( ) 1575a J_ x [aie] Verb preceded by subject personal pronoun (. n.p.) He bid |>am godum ( ) 910a J_ x [aie] (.) He bid ]>am yflum ( ) 918a J_ x [aie] (!) Ic onfeng ]>in sar ( ) 1460a J_ [eid] cr. allit. /»in?? Verb precedes main clause occupying only part o f half-line17*

17 It is curious that none o f these verses begins in this way: Stanley 'Some Observations’, 15z, cites ii verses (¡rom B eow u lf e.g. le p ipà fih d e 1380. When some other element opens the clause, the subject pronoun may be separated from its verb: e.g. lines 1106, 1138, 1254, 1255, 1336 .138 6 ,138 9 ,14 0 3,14 30 ,14 70 ,14 9 7. rt This verse opens a new fitt; compare n. 12.

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Thefirst elem ent is a preposition at the head o f a noun phrase19 ( ) mid |>y m zstan ( ) 1008a ]_ x [aib] tr. allit. /y?? ( ) offrant edle ( ) 1075a J_ x [aib] cr. allit. fa m d. allit. of?? (,) mid \>y weorde (,) 1097a J_ x [aib] cr. allit. /y?? ( ) o f hyra zftelum ( ) 1184a f x x [aie] d. allit. of?? ( ) mid hu m ide eine ( ) 1317a J_ x [aid] ( ) )>urh ealle list ( ) 1318a J_ [eic] ( ) ymb min heafod ( ) 1444a J_ x [aib] ( ) o f mince sidan ( ) 1448a J_ x [aie] ( ) on minum folmum ( ) 1455a J_ x [aie] cr. allit. on?? ( ) on mince sidan ( ) 1458a ]_ x [aie] ( ) offrant zhtum ( ) 1501a J_ x [aib] d. allit. of?? Thefirst elem ent in the noun phrase is eall ( ) eallum fram geszlgum ( ) 1651a x J_ x [aid] B . The stress fills on a verb: THE STRESSED VERB IS AN INFINITIVE OR A PAST PARTICIPLE

W ithout preceding finite verb 20 W ith preceding finite verb Thefirst elem ent is a connective swa (.) Swa sceal gewrixled ( ) 1260a x J_ x [aie] I» (.) D a mec ongon hreowan ( ) 1414a J_ x [aid] cr. allit. Dx or mec?? (.) D a ic w zs ahongen ( ) 1446a x J_ x [aid] fraet ( ) f>*t du mostes wealdan ( ) 1388a J_ x [aid] (,) d zt sceolon fyllan ( ) 1605a J_ x [aie] (tonne (. n.p.) Donne bift geyced ( ) 1039a x J_ x [aie] (.) D onne beod gesomnad ( ) 1221a J_ x [aid] cr. allit. Donne?? 19 This entry does not occur in Stanley ('Some Observations'), who places two examples o f Æ fterpâm wordum (1492,1669), both sentence-initial and following immediately after the end o f a speech, under his first heading in Group A. *° It might be possible to place here ( ) to geseonne (,) 919a x J_ x [dib - aib], without assumed decontraction (compare Amos, Linguistic Means, 58).

38

Som e Reflections on the M etre o f C hrist I I I

Thefirst elem ent is a pronoun (. n.p.) Pact we magon eahtan ( ) 1549a J_ x [aid] Thefirst elem ent is a fin ite verb (,) hated arisan ( ) 1024a x J_ x [aie] (,) hated him gewitan ( ) 1227a x J_ x [aid] tr. allit. Aated?? (!“ n.p.) N e magon hi )>onne gehynan ( ) 1524a x J_ x [aig] d. allit. Ai?? THE STRESS FALLS ON A FINITE VERB

Thefirst elem ent is a connective (other than a negative or a relative pronoun) fbr|>on (,) for]>on ]>e he wolde ( ) 1202a J_ x [aid] ond (,) ond )>u meahte ( ) 1431a J_ x [aib] swylce (.) Swylce hi me geblendon ( ) 1437a x J_ x [aie]



(,) da ]>e her fbrhogdun ( ) 1633a x J_ x [aid]

(MCI

(,)[>act he hy generede ( ) 1257a x f x x [aid] (,) ]>æt he ne förleose ( ) 1585a x J_ x [aid] cr. allit. /net?? |wnne (,) [x)nne ge hyra hulpon ( ) 1353a J_ x [aie] d. allit. Ayra?? The first elem ent is a pronoun Relative pronoun (,) se ]>e nu ne giemed ( ) 1552a J_ x [aid] tr. allit. se?? ‘H eavier’ subject pronoun ( ) hwa hine gesette ( ) 1164a x J_ x [aid] The first elem ent is a preposition fallow ed by a (relative) pronoun (.) O f |>am him aweaxed ( ) 1252a x J_ x [aid] T h e last few years have seen a flurry o f new metrical investigations o f B eow u lf adding ever to one’s sense o f alarm as the hope for significant comparative work between texts continually slips further and further into the distant future. The notion that a metrical grammar underpins each poet’s work, interdependent with and complementary to a typology o f metrical patterns, has gained prominence, especially now with the pub39

Ja n e Roberts

lication o f Kendall’s monograph.11 The mainspring o f Kendalls system is, he tells us, based in his elucidation o f Kuhns Satzpartikelgesetz, in which his interpretation o f the A3 verses o f B eow u lfplays a central role. Kendall claims that ‘A significant and largely unnoticed feature o f this type is that it is exclusively clause-initial’.11 This, he points out in a footnote, is something that Pope comes close to seeing.1’ It is a possibility seen also by Eric Stanley in his investigation o f the A3 lines o f Beow ulf'. ‘1 (bund that, like W illard and Clem ons, I was inclined to the view that A3 lines com m only begin the sentence, that being a corollary o f Kuhns Satzpartikelgesetz and his Satzspitzengesetz,’M But Stanley draws back from the generalization that A3 verses are by nature sentence-initial, observing that they also frequendy begin relative clauses and doubting if anything can be added ‘to Professor Pope’s cautious statement “that type A3 is employed very frequently as a light introduction to the weighty verses that follow” Stanley does not therefore have any need to single out for further discussion those clause openings in B eow u lf headed by the connective after: (!’ n.p.) Æ fter

wordum ( ) 1492

(.' n.p.) Æ fter 5àm wordum ( ) 2669 These verses have, within the newer approaches o f ‘metrical grammar’, lent themselves to interpretation as incorporating a resumptive use o f the demonstrative, by way o f explanation o f their offence, through lack o f a sentence particle in the initial dip, against Kuhn’s second law.1* Because Stanley’s examination o f the A3 verses o f B eow u lf is a scrupulous presentation o f many contributory pieces o f evidence, it enables the reader to see how the verses fit into their syntactic contexts. Essentially, therefore, Stanley presents the evidence that A3 verses appear typically in the clause-initial position. Kendall does point to the occurrence o f sim ilar prepositional phrases not in clause-initial position elsewhere in O ld English poetry, in The Panther 44 Æ fter pare stefne, 54 after pare stefne and Genesis A 1043 after Pare synne, arguing that the ‘weakening o f the relative function [o f the demonstrative] may have contributed to the use o f type A3 with this synu Lucas, ‘Some Aspects', 169 n. 16, regards Kendalls term metrical grammar as 'misplaced, as the grammar applies to verse not metre: the verse is metrical but the grammar is not'. u Kendall, M etrical Grammar, 34. M Ibid., n. 14. 14 Stanley, 'Some Observations', 144. M Ibid. 144-5. * Such clause-initial verses accord with the observation made by Alistair Campbell, 'Verse Influences in Old English Prose*, in Philological Essays: Studies in O ld and M iddle English Language an d Literature in Honour o f H erbert Dean M eritt, ed. J. L Rosier (The Hague, 1970), 93-7, at 94, who notes that exceptions arc almost all with forms o f se\

40

Som e Reflections on the M etre o f C hrist I I I

tactical pattern in non-initial position.17 A t the end o f m y Table i, A , eleven comparable phrases are listed, opening variously with m id, of, on, purh and ym b, and these are followed by a dative noun phrase which has the adjective e a llin the predeterminer position: ( ) eallum j>am gesaelgum ( ) 1651. One inference to be drawn is that Christ I I I yields good evidence o f sim ilar structures with prepositions other than after, another is that non-initial A3 verses may be a good indicator o f different traditions within the wider corpus o f O ld English poetry. D iffering practice is certainly to be seen in the two poems that direedy follow Christ I I I in the Exeter Book. Guthlac A , a poem in which the pattern ai (Sievers A3) is relatively frequent and in which there are four examples o f the pattern ei (Sievers A3 with exceptional stressed open short syllable or Sievers B3),1* has four instances o f non-initial prepositional noun phrases;19 Guthlac B, where the A3 type is considerably less frequent, has none.’0 Both Guthlac poems have verses in which the adjective eal stands in the predeterminer position.11 It is worth note that a short initial dip in these verses may tend to correlate with the lack o f a sentence particle. A t any rate this curious group o f A3 verses contradicts Bliss’s generalization on the A3 type in Beow ulf: what the verse lacks in stress it makes up in length.’11 T he generalization may prove less appropriate to a wider range o f O ld English poetry. T he half-lines presented in Table 1 are not all, however, lacking in length o f introductory dip. Whereas in B eow u lfand the Guthlac poems six intro­ ductory syllables constitute the largest introductory dips in such verses, seven syllables are found in four Christ I I I verses: Onginned {>onne to j>am yflum 1362a N e jîurfon hi |>onne to meotude 1365a For hwon ahenge [>u mcc hefgor 1487a N e magon hi jxm ne gehynan 1524a For the second o f these there is no alternative scansion which would make 17 Kendall» M etrical Grammar, 82. * Guthlac A : ge her ateoS 301a, No hy h ine to deaSe (M S deaâ) 549a, Woldun hy geteon 574a and pasp e ge him to dare 700a. Compare the C hrist I I I verses cited in n. 7. 19 Guthlac A : to pisse worulde 47a, ofer pa nipos 49a» from pisum carde 256a, on pare socne 716a. *° A possible example, Guthlac B 1018a on pisse nyhstan, is to be read die (Sievers C) with decontraction. For Guthlac B 892a ealra para wundra see the next n. 91 Guthlac A : ealra para bisena 528a, ealra para giefena 606a; Guthlac B : ealra para wundra 892a. n Bliss, M etre o f'B eo w u lf \ 62.

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possible the treatment o f all as aig (Sievers A3), and their absence from his hypermetric tables indicates that Bliss must have read them in this way.” Were it not for the evidence o f 1365a, the others might be categorized as extended. In the case o f 1487a triple alliteration might even be argued, with stress given also to htvon— such alliteration would not be excessive in a M iddle English poem.14 Yet, the recognition o f stress additional to that on the penultimate syllable, except for 1362a, brings problems in respect o f Kuhns law o f sentence particles. Here indeed it would be convenient to regard the alliteration o f the verbs in 1362a and 1487a as ‘ornamental’” or ‘extra-metrical’,* if the evidence o f 1365a did not tilt the balance towards their alliteration being accidental, except in the case o f 1487a. Whereas in the other three verses the finite verbs are to be taken with a following infinitive, ahenge 1487a is the frill lexical verb o f its clause.” Moreover, in the case o f 1487a, consideration o f the verse’s immediate context supports a hypermetric reading: For hwon ahenge J>u mec hefgor on funra honda rode l>onne iu hongade? H w zt, me |>eos heardra (>ynced!

Nu is swaerra mid mec b'nra synna rod |»e ic unwillum on beom gefrestnad, bonne seo ober wzs J* *c zr gestag, willum minum, b* mcc b‘n wea w 'b 351 act heortan gehreaw, ba >c b“ fr°m helle ateah, b*r bu hit wolde sylfa s¡bt>an gehealdan. Ic w zs on worulde wzdla bz t du wurde welig in heofonum, earm ic w zs on edle b¡num b * 1 du wurde eadig on minum. ha du b^es calles znigne bone binum nergende nysses on mode.

(1487-98) T he movement here is between lines that can— just about— be regarded as ‘normal’ and substantially longer lines, that is between lines that are quieter, reflective rather,1' and lines emotively charged. The strategy is used elsewhere by this poet. N o matter which syllables a modern reader chooses to stress in lines 1495—6, he w ill sense their difference not just because o f length but also because o f the antithetical joining o f verses within each line and because

» Ibid. 160. * See J. C . Pope, The Rhythm o f 'B eow u lf\ (2nd edn., New Haven, Conn, and London, 1966), 101, where this half-line is included in the summary o f the hypermetric verses o f Christ III. ” The point o f view held by Kendall, ‘ Displacement*: see e.g. p. 15. * This is the term used by Kendall, M etrical Grammar, see e.g. p. 33. 97 See Cosmos, 'Kuhns Law*, 308, for discussion o f lexical and nonlexical finite verbs. * Compare A. S. Cook, The Christ o f C ynew ulf(boston* 1900), p. xlv, who complains that 'there is somewhat too much pausing for reflection*.

41

Som e Reflections on the M etre o f C hrist I I I

o f end-verse decoration. Tail-rhym e holds together 1495b and the two parts o f 1496, and the sem antically contrasting verses o f 1496 are linked by full rhyme. T h e effect is incantatory, and must owe something to a repetition o f half-lines that are structurally alike. Such tricks are unlike anything found in B eo w u lf the usual yardstick for O ld English poetic form .19 W hat is less obvious, the ’normal* half-lines, although m etrically more amenable, themselves contain features that indicate that Christ I I I is very different, both from B eo w u lf and from the Cynewulfian poems w ith which it is gen­ erally grouped. Where Christ I 1 1 follows a poem that actually contains a runic C ynew ulf signature, it is itself followed by G uthlacA , a poem that precedes a fragm entary poem once held to have lost just such a signature. Both Christ I I I and G uthlacA have had, undeservedly, almost more attention for their possible place within some larger authorial structure than for their own attrac­ tions. Yet Geoffrey Shepherd writes o f Christ I I I : ’T h is is one o f the most astonishing, powerful and neglected o f English poems. It exhibits a mastery o f the cosm ic sublim e rarely attempted in English and never, even by M ilton, more successfully.’40 Pan o f the poem s power obviously lies in the use made o f hyperm etric lines. W here in The Dream o f the Rood lengthened lines reinforce the awe and terror o f the cross and o f the dreamer, here clusters o f them place emphasis panicularly o n pam wordep e se w ealdendcw yS* By com parison with such poems as B eo w u lf or Exodus these lines are distinctive for their lack o f poetic compounds. Even the one instance o f a Sicvers E type, a measure that typically contains com pounds, is supplied by the sim ple noun phrase anigne pone 1497b. Yet Christ I I I is not without compounds. Som e o f them, for example tirm eahtig 1165 or heafodgimmum 1330, are forms unlikely to be found in prose, and in others a small repertoire o f lim iting elements is effectively used over and over again, for example firm -, heofbn-, magen-, m an-, synn-, worn-, w oruld-, wuldor-. Far more striking than the com pounds, however, is the great use made o f adjectives. T he apocalyptic fire that so dominates the poem’s opening two divisions appears first in the phrase walm fyra mast 931, and four other compounds focus upon aspects o f its advance: Teonleg$6%, deaèleg 982, fyrbade 985, and legbryne 1001. Variation is also provided by phrases: with strong adjective (including present participle)— cwelmendefy r 958, hipende leg 97}, widm are blast 975, weallende wiga 984; with weak adjectives— hata leg 932, fyrsw earta /eg 983, swearta leg 994; with a characterizing genitive—jlyres egsan 974, aides " Contrast the effects found by Kendall, M etrical Grammar, 8-9, in the closing lines o f B eow u lf 40 G . Shepherd, 'Scriptural Poetry’, in Continuations and Beginnings, ed. E. G . Stanley (London, 1966), 1-36, at zo. 41 The Dream o f the Rood, line in .

43

Ja n e Roberts

leoma 1005, and, with adjective as well, won jyres walm 965; with article— se gifra gast 9 71, p a tfy r 1002, p a t h atefyr 1062. Even without citing the other simple nouns and adjectives used to describe the judgement fire in these two divisions o f the poem, it is evident that phrases can assume greater prominence than compounds in Christ 1 1 1 .* 1 The personification o f the fire, im plicit perhaps in the biblical-inspired description se gifra gast, is brought into focus by the use o f wiga 984. O verall these are the phrases o f heightened hom iletic prose, except that they are somewhat lacking in anid es for that genre, and the assumption that they owe much to Latin hom ily is reinforced by the sim ile bym ep water swa weax 988/’ It has often been argued that the facility to coin and manipulate compounds disappeared gradually from O ld English poetry, but I would suggest that the evidence is hardly clear-cut, especially once the possibility o f exercising stylis­ tic choice is considered. It is possible that a poet choosing to move freely in and out o f extended lines may well have been working in a style that itself depends less upon metaphorical compounds. There are not, after all, many poetic compounds to be found generally in hypermetric lines. It is curious that, am ong the longer O ld English poems, Christ I I I and Guthlac A should stand together not only physically in their manuscript but also stylistically in their relatively restrained diction, akin rather to the prose o f the Vercelli and Blickling homilies than to the intricate com plexities o f more generally admired poems. Sometimes an O ld Saxon connection has been advanced for C h ristH I but, as Stanley has shown, it lacks the evidence o f ‘the widespread O ld Saxonisms o f Genesis B ' that had allowed Sievers to argue, before proof was found, that Genesis B is a translation from O ld Saxon.44 Coincidentally, for Stanley Christ 1 1 1 , like Guthlac A , admits some four or five prosaic words.4’ A t various times editors have tried to emend away three o f these.46 4J P. Bethel, 'Regnal and Divine Epithets in the Metrical Psalms and M etres o f Boethius'* Parergon* NS9 (1991), 13, points out that in Old English verse generally 'the use o f the construction o f noun and characterizing adjective is far more restricted than that o f kenning or h e iti'. 41 An analysis o f the homiletic materials that are thought to lie behind Christ i f U s presented by F M. Biggs, 'The Sources o f Christ I f f : A Revision o f Cook's Notes', O U English Newsletter* Subsidia 12 (1986). For the suggestion made by R. M. Trask (' The Last Judgm ent o f the Exeter Book: A Critical Edition', Diss., Univ. o f Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1972) that this simile may be adapted from PsG 96.5 montes sieut cera fluxerun t a fa cie D om ini see Biggs» 'Sources o f C hrist II T * iv, and for Is 4.4 behind gast see p. 14. 44 E. G . Stanley, 'The Difficulty o f Establishing Borrowings between Old English and the Continental West Germanic Languages', An H istoric Tongue: Studies in English Linguistics in M emory o f Barbara Strang* ed. G . Nixon and J. Honey (London and New York, 1988), 11-12. 4* E. G . Stanley, 'Studies in the Prosaic Vocabulary o f Old English Verse', Neuphilologische M itteilungen* 72 (197t), 389. (One o f these, jbreud* should be assigned to C hrist /.) 46 See ibid.: gem onian 1100 (M S genom ian), p. 396; scended 1548, p.412; and f>uxan 1320, p. 415. Stanley also points out, p. 417, that onwalg 1420 occurs in poetry only in Christ IIL

44

Som e Reflections on the M etre o f C hrist I I I

A n infringem ent o f Kuhn’s law o f sentence panicles arises i f the finite verb o f 1490b is placed in its first dip. Two expedients are possible. Either a com pound verb onwesan can be posited, with an unattractive ‘crib* English look to it,47 or the half-line can be added to Christ I I T s already large group o f ‘heavy’ verses.4* I f the latter course is pursued, structurally 1490b is comparable with such a verse as cildgeong on cribbe 142s.49 Proportionately, however, the number o f heavy verses in Christ I I I resembles Guthlac B rather than Guthlac A , a distribution that suggests the use o f such verses was due to stylistic choice. T heir staccato effect is a pronounced feature o f Christ I lly and it seems likely therefore that those half-lines in which the initial verb’s alliteration has sometimes been held to be accidental (or ornamental or extrametrical) should be scanned in the same way, for example: Dyned deop gesceaft 930a Hlemmed h au leg 932a SeoJjecJ swearta leg 994a.50 Heavy verses are usually reconciled to those two-stress patterns which can have secondary stress, that is to D , E , and some A patterns, but they should be separately indexed to allow comparison am ong poems. I f these verses are taken together w ith the general run o f D and E types they m ay give an 47 The status of on here is prepositional. Compare Elene: p e us fo re wstron 637. Such compound verbs as atbion and forebion seem generally to translate Latin closely, but on is well attested with forms of the verb 'to be* in a wide range of prose texts. 48 Roberts, 'Metrical Examination, 113-14 , notes the differing proportions o f heavy verses found in the Guthlac poems. Identifiable as possibly heavy in C hrist I I I are: somod up cym ei 875a, D ynet deop gesceaft 930a, H lem m et hata leg 931a, cyn, cearena fu ll 961a, won fores walm 965a, preo eal on an 969b, brecaS brade gesceaft 991a, Seopet swearta leg 994a, gehreow ond h lu d wop 998a, earm lic aida gedreag 999a, eadig engla gedryht 1013a, fo lc anra gehwylc 1025b, bringan beorhtne w lite 1058a, beraS breosta hord 1072a, bu tu atsomne 1112b, ufan ca llforbarst 1137a, sy lf slat on tu 1140a, cyide craftes meaht 1145a, heofon hluttre ongeat 1149a, H ell eac ongeat 1159b, preo tacen somod 1235a, grim helle fo r 1269a, godes bodan sagdon 1304a, beorht d ies w lite 1346b, sar ond swar gew inn 1411a, cildgeong on crybbe 1425a, hau helle bealu 1426a, swat ut guton 1448b, w ü tig womma leas 1464a, on beom gefastnad 1490b, s y lf sigora weard 1516a, food firen a beam 1598a, beorht boca bibod 1630a, leofite Ufes w eard 1642a, freogaS folces w eard 1647a, Fader ealm gew eald 1647b, gla d gúm ena weorud 1653a, beorht bladesfo il 16572, friSfreondum bitweon 1658a— 39 verses, proportionately akin to Guthlac B rather than to Guthlac A All are in line with Bliss’s observation, M etre o f'B eo w u lf', 75, that heavy verses seem not to have two unstressed syllables before the second stress. 49 This reading, which is to be found in Thorpe and both Gollancz editions, dispenses with the otherwise uninstanced poetic adjective cildgeong. The proportions o f heavy verses could rise with further divisions o f compounds: e.g. gesceafta scircyning 1132a is divided into three words by Cook, The C hrist o f C ynew ulf 10 Note that a definite article would normally be expected in 932a and 994a, but, if present, would give these verses two unstressed syllables before the second stress. Should the alliteration o f the finite verb be regarded as accidental, there can be no metrical reasons for the omission o f these two anieles.

45

Ja n e Roberts

erroneous impression o f the numbers o f poetic compounds in use. Moreover, they are often somewhat cavalierly assigned to an appropriate Sievers twostress type, as would be the case with one Christ I I I a-verse in which the poet achieves three alliterating words: beorht boca bibod 1630a There are only a few such a-verses in the corpus o f O ld English verse,'1 and this one is perhaps best read as comparable with Sievers D types, like, for example: brecad brade gesceaft 991a heofon hluttre ongeat 1149a frid freondum bitweon 1658a. These few examples o f what is a marked trait o f Christ I I I should be sufficient to show why on beom gefastnad 1490b is best read as a heavy verse.'1 O nce such a decision is taken, the emphasis given the consuetudinal beom is felt to contrast effectively both with the is (line 1489) in the initial dip that introduces the sentences in which it appears and with the was at the end o f the following verse (line 1491). As w ill have become evident from Table 1, the usual restriction o f the Sievers A3 type to the on-verse may be broken once in Christ I I I : le onfeng f>in sar f>æt )>u moste gesaclig mines eftelrices eadig neotan.

(1460-1) Acceptance o f stress on the first syllable o f moste; against the evidence o f the alliteration, allows the verse to be drawn into the group o f twelve Christ I I I hypermetric verses discussed by Clem ons Kyte, who points out that these verses stand out in the inventories o f hypermetric lines compiled by Pope and Bliss as an unusual proportion o f single hypermetric half-lines in one9 1 91 Compare Resignation 43a fu l unfyr faca. In the following the verbs could be taken as unstressed: Andreas 107a G cfola peoda preah Elene 464a Ongiu gum a girtgo; The Phoenix 394a worhte wer ond w ifi M axim s 1 132a Woden worhte weort The Rim ing Poem 15a H afde ic heanne h ad Riddles 69:1a W undor wearS on wege. Note also the three stresses o f C hrist I I I 1162a hlope o f Sam hatan hrepre, a hypermetric verse. K. Stevens, 'Some Aspects o f the Metre o f the Old English Poem A n dreai, Ihvceedings o f the Royal Irish Academy 81.C (1981), 7-8, discussing Andreas 107a, deems triple alliteration to be 'highly unlikely*. u D. Donoghue, Style in O ld English Poetry (New Haven, Conn, and London, 1987), argues (pp. 13-14) that beom should be stressed and that it suggests 'perhaps only momentarily, a pun* with beam, but he notes (p. 151) the verse as in violation o f Kuhns first law and describes (p. 210 n. 48) beom as 'the only unstressed auxiliary in clauses clearly dependent in Christ ¡ I T .

46

Som e Reflections on the M etre o f C hrist I I I

poem .” An alternative, hyperm etric, reading is indicated here by C ooks text: le onfèng ¡»In sir, J>act j>Q

möstc gesdfclig mines.

T h e removal o f the possessive adjective mines from im m ediately before its headword results, however, in an unusual line break,H and I have therefore followed the Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records arrangement o f text.” It is worth a m om ents reflection to note how easily a comparable half-line could be produced from another o f the poem s hypermetric singletons: l>zt j>u meahte beorhte uppe on roderum wesan, rice mid englum (1467^-68) with possible transverse alliteration in the following line, but I have no wish here to m ultiply the anomalies o f Christ I I I ? T he unusual line 1460 achieves a satisfying balance without mines, for its atypical light ending gives to its b-verse a single focus in tune with the marked stress that foils upon the final monosyllable o f its a-verse. Clem ons Kyte observes that o f the twelve putatively hypermetric singletons she examines in Christ I I I , nine can be scanned as hypermetric accord­ ing to the criteria for anacrusis in normal half-lines identified by Bliss.” Such may indeed be a safe assumption where a poem is ’m etrically exact’.** W ith this poem there are enough unusual features for such a categorization o f it to be questionable. Just as the introductory dips o f A3 verses may tend to length» so too there may be elsewhere in Christ I I I a greater number o f syllables o f anacrusis than Bliss’s norms would allow, unless a hypermetric scansion is assumed for ‘problem’ verses. I should like therefore to present for consideration two further tables: first, a description o f anacrusis in the poem’s normal verses; and, secondly, a summary o f its hypermetric lines. It m ay be that at least in this poem anacrusis should be examined within the laiger framework both o f its A3 verses and its extended lines. ” Clemons Kyte, ‘ Hypermetric Verses’, 165, reads p at pu moste gesalig as hypermetric, noting that the last two words should be reversed to ‘regularize alliteration but that the verse 'might also be scanned as a light verse', given the presence o f a non-alliterating auxiliary verb. 94 With mines in line 1461a the verse becomes a second C type in which the syllabic consonant should be suppressed in scansion. Compare Amos, Linguistic M eans, 81. ” Krapp and Dobbie ( The Exeter Book, 259) observe that ‘the order in the text seems natural'. 94 It is interesting to note that Thorpe has A3 types both in 1460b and 1467b. 17 Clemons Kyte, ‘ Hypermetric Verses', 164. Compare Bliss, M etre o f‘B eow u lf, 40-3. * Stanley, 'Some Observations’, 161 n. 16, uses this phrase.

47

Ja n e Roberts t a b l e 2 Anacrusis in C hrist I I I

The first element is prefixed: to nouns/adjectives tobroccne burgweaJlas 977a [a.iD *2] gehreow ond hlud wop 998a [a. (iÄ2a): a heavy verse] biscon mid swate 1087a (a.iA ia(i) - a.iA *ia(i)] gesceaita scircyning 1152a [a.iD *3] gecorene bi cystum 1223a [a.iA *ia(i)] gesælgum on swegle 1659a (a.iA *ia(i)] to infinitives gehyran hygegeomor 890a [a.iD *2] gemunan ]>a mildan 1200a [a.iA ia(i)] geseon on him selfum 1264a [a.iA ib(i) - a.iA *ib(i)] geseon on |>am sawlum 1281a [a.iA ib(i) - a.iA *ib(i)] geseon on ]>aere sawle 1306a [a.iA ic - a.iA *ic] geseon on ussum sawlum 1313a [a.iA ic - a .iA 'ic ] agiefan geomormod 1406a [a.iD 4] to past participles (w eard. . . |) birunnen under rindum 1175a [a.iA ’ ib] (hafastp ofslegen synlice 1479a [a.iD i] to an imperative O nfod nu mid fireondum 1344a [a.iA ic - aid] to finite verbs tolesed liffrum a 1042a [a.iD *3] gesegon to sode 1153a [a.iA *ia(i)] ge]>olade fore )>earfe 1172a [a.iA *ib] gesihd |jat fordone 1248b [a.iA ib(i) - a.iA *ib(i)] The first element is proclitic: connectives ]>zt ge bro])or mine 1499b [2C ib - b.2A ia(i)]” bonne wihta gehwylce 981b [b.iA *ia(i) - hyp.] relatives ]>e no geendad weorJ>ed 1639b [c.2Aia(i) - hyp.] w Amos, Linguistic M eans, 81, gives iC ib only for this verse. More recently R. D. Fülle, 'West Germanic Parasiting, Sievcrs Law. and the Dating o f Old English Verse', Studies in P hilobgy 86 (1989), 132 and n. 43, argues that bropor 1499 is accusative plural and 'so with an etymologically nonsyllabic r*.

48

Som e Reflections on the M etre o f C hrist I I I

prepositions bi noman gehatne 1071b [a.iA ia(i)] to w lite t>zs huses 1139b [a.iA ia(i)] to hleo ond to hro|>er 1196a [a.iA ib(i)]60 to widan feore 1543a foBia - a.2A ia(i)] to wracc gesctte 1601b [a.iA ia(i)] modifying elements )>a hwitan honda m o a [a.2Aia(i)] hu fela J>a onfundun 1178a [a.iA ib(i)] Ôæs Ufes ic manige 1478a [a.iA *ia(i)] O f the twenty-five examples o f anacrusis in the first half-line, most are in verses with early juncture, which is where single syllables o f anacrusis occur m ost frequently in Beow ulf.*' There are two verses in which the stressed elements are evenly divided. O f these one, to widan feore 1543a, can alternatively be scanned as a Sievers B type, if lengthening is not assumed in flo re to compensate for -h-, and need not therefore contain anacrusis.61 T h e other presents an interesting balance o f phrases between the first and second half-lines |>a hwitan honda

ond j>a halgan fet m o .

Sim ilarly, balance, as well as wordplay and tail-rhym e, may play a part in the yoking o f the verses o f line 1178: hu fela J>a onfundun

|>a gefelan ne magun.

Here the b-verse ends with a disyllable that should norm ally be resolved, but the verse could be read with a short unresolved second stress, a pattern well attested as a sporadic feature o f O ld English verse.6’ Part o f the effect o f this line is the b-verses repetition o f the introductory anacrusis o f the averse. In line 1478 d zs Ufes ic manige 40 See Stevens, 'Metre o f . . . A ndreas, 16, for two comparable half-lines in Andreas: to hleo ond to hroihre m a and 567a. 41 Bliss, M etre o f'B eo w u lf\ 40 -1. 41 Compare the 3B1C (Sievers B type) scansion advanced by Amos, Linguistic M eans, 37, for ond pas to w idan feore 1343a. 4* See H. Schabram, ' The Seasons fo r Fasting, io6f. Mit einem Beitrag zur ae. Metrik*, Britannica, Festschrift fü r Herm ann M . Flasdieck (Heidelberg, i960), 220-41. Sec also Roberts, 'Metrical Examination, 114.

49

Ja n e Roberts

the unstressed ir should be seen within the light afforded by the absence o f A3 verses headed by ‘Personal pronouns (other than subject personal pronouns immediately preceding their verb)’ am ong A3 half-lines (see Table 1, A). It looks as if the Christ I I I poet is less prone to begin a clause or sentence by placing subject pronouns at some distance from the verbs with which they agree than is the B eow u lfpoet.64 T he anomalous a-verse in Hierusalem 1134 is om itted from Table 2 but should be noted as a possible further example o f anacrusis. There are not any such verses in B eow u lf but a sufficient number o f them appear in the Exeter and Vercelli Books to suggest that they are not to be dismissed as aberrant.* Two o f the seven b-verses in Table 2 can alternatively be viewed as hypermetric. Both are singletons: Ponne wihta gehwylce 981b j>e no geendad weorjjeÔ 1639b. T he first is one o f those half-lines Pope identified only tentatively as hypermetric, but it is included in Bliss’s index o f hypermetric lines. The second is in neither list.“ For Pope, most o f the isolated extended verses he identifies can be read as normal, an effect he prefers on the whole. The striking )>æt ge brojjor mine 1499b, with the stressed portion containing what at first sounds like an adm onitory vocative but is the object o f its clause, might confidendy, together with a second verse that also requires suppression o f its syllabic consonant for a ‘normal’ reading, be viewed as a C type, so long as an alternative scansion, whether with anacrusis or as hypermetric, is not considered.67 It is worth noting here that the poet may have avoided anacrusis in an evenly balanced half-line by the simple expedient o f om itting a definite article from the qualifying phrase that fills 868b: se miela d zg

meahtan dryhtnes.“

64 The absence o f such verses from Table i should be compared with Stanley, ‘Some Observations*, 152, where 9 o f the 11 verses cited begin with the subject personal pronoun. Compare n. 17. 41 Compare GuthLu A 599b his om bifhthera and see Roberts, ‘ Metrical Examination, 115 and n. 113 for further examples. 66 Pope, Rhythm o f'B eo w u lf\ 101; Bliss, M etre o f'B eo w u lf\ 160. 67 See above, p. 48, and n. 59. M Compare Amos, Linguistic Means* 121, who suggests 'metrical exigencies* as an occasional reason for the omission o f expected articles, noting further that 'disproportionate numbers o f weak adjectives might therefore appear in late poems*.

SO

Som e Reflections on the M etre o f C hrist I I I

Sim ilarly, the lack o f article at the head o f fyrsw earta leg 983b means that it is an unexceptional £ type.69 Two further b-verses could be removed from Table 2 by the recently proposed expedient that the mid-verse ge- can be viewed as extra-m etrical:70 bi noman gehatne 1071b to wrace gesette 1601b T h is theory would allow them to be treated as Sievers C type and removed from the group o f verses w ith anacrusis, were it not for two verses w ith form s o f the definite article sim ilarly positioned that cannot so easily be massaged away: to w lite {mbs huses 1139b gesihd |>zt fordone 1248b T h e accom m odation o f such verses to a Sievers C type may, within the context o f the scansion o f B eo w u lf appear appropriately tidy, but w ithin the w ider context o f the whole corpus it has less to recommend it. O n balance, it would seem best therefore to acknowledge that anacrusis is to be found in four ‘normal’ b-verses in Christ I I I and to recognize that in three b-verses (981b, 1499b, and 1639b) two syllables o f anacrusis could be advanced. O verall, even with the lower figure o f 28 verses rather than 31 with anacrusis for Christ I I I , the proportions are sim ilar to those recorded for Andreas and twice those recorded for Beow ulf 7' There have appeared, both in Table 1 and in Table 2, some half-lines for which it is possible to offer either a ‘normal’ or a hypermetric scansion.7* Thus, it is necessary to present as Table 3 a summ ary o f the hypermetric verses o f Christ I I I , to make plain the context w ithin which these verses occur.79 It may be that the unusual number o f hyperm etric singletons in some way complements overall a relatively high proportion o f half-lines* ** Bliss, M etre o f‘Beow ulf", 43, points out that ‘anacrusis is not to be expected in Type E*. 70 O. Donoghue, ‘O n the Classification o f B-Verses with Anacrusis in B eow ulfin á Andreas, Notes an d Queries, 232 (1987), 1-5; Style an d O ld English Poetry: The Test o f the A u xiliary (New Haven, Conn, and London, 1987), 189. See also Kendall, M etrical Grammar, 126. Similarly, Stevens, ‘Metre o f . . . A ndreas, 23-4, recommends ‘dropping the verbal prefix ge-' to regularize Andreas 493a and 499a. ” See Stevens, ‘Metre o f . . . A ndreas', 15. 71 This problem is seen clearly by Clemons Kyte, ‘ Hypermetric Verses’, who identifies as hypermetric on distributional grounds those verses for which Pope prefers a ‘normal’ reading. 77 Here 1 again use modifications to Bliss’s system put forward in my 1971 paper on the metre o f the Guthlac poems, p. 94. Thus, the convention adopted in Table 2 to display syllables o f anacrusis is followed for two-stress hypermctric verses; for three-stress verses the symbols used for light verses are placed before a bracketed normal verse reading o f the last two stresses.

51

Ja n e Roberts

with anacrusis, especially as the singletons are to a very great extent o f the two-stress type.74*76 table

3 H yperm etric verses

G roup i Type b.iA ia I>u t>æs |>onc ne wisses 1385b (allit. pu or /*zs??) Type c.iA ia hatac) hy upp astandan 888b Type d .iA ia f>zt du wurde welig in heofonum 1495b (allit. u/urde??) Type f.iA ia M id )>y ic pe wolde cwealm afyrran 1425b w. heavy verse Type d .iA *ia ond mec f>a on |>eostre alegde 1422b (allit. /a??) Hwaet, ic p x t for worulde gejjolade 1423b p x t J)u wurde eadig on minum 1496b (allit. UAirde??) b zs ge sceolon hearde adreogan 1513b7’ (allit. /won??) Type c.iA *ib For hwon ahenge |>u mec hefgor 1487a Type b .iD *i baet mæg wites to wearninga 921a7* w. 3B*id - hyp., (allit. Act??) Type b .iA ia ond |>e ondgiet sealde 1380b w. iA *ia |>zr |>u |x>lades si{?|)an 1409b w. 3ßib (allit. p x r or /tu??) Type c.2À ia Ond eac J>a ealdan wunde 1107a w. 3Bib (allit. Ond or ¿ac??) Ic w zs on worulde w zdla 1495a (allit. ttoes?) |>zt hi to gyrne wiston 1304b w. heavy verse ond hwz[>re eallc m zned 1377b w. 3B1C (allit. /wzjjre??) p x t [>u on leohte si|>|3an 1463b w. 3BU on [>inra honda rode 1487b H w zt, me [>cos heardra J>ynced 1488b77*w. die 74 The singletons can be identified by the added information w. ( » paired with) followed by scansion appropriate to the adjacent half-line. 71 The accompanying half-line to hynpum heofoncyninge 1513a will be discussed below. 76 P. J. Lucas, ‘Some Aspects o f Genesis B as Old English Verse’, Proceedings o f the Royal Irish Academy 88 (1988), 168 n. 89, suggests a hypermetric scansion for 921b. 77 The accompanying half-line ponne iu hongade 1488a seems to have lost at least a subject pronoun before the first stressed element. Despite the hypermetric context for this line, Lucas suggests (Aspects o f Genesis B %n. 89), that Christ I I I 1488b be read as a normal B type with pyned for pynceâ.

Som e R eflections on the M etre o f C hrist I I I

ond m id )>y egsan forste 1546b T y p e d .iA ia N e sindon him d zd a dym e 1049a w. 3B1C |>xt J)u moste halig scinan 1426b w. heavy verse |>*t J>u meahte beorhte uppe 1467b7* w. d ía Type e .iA ia donne ge hy m id sibbum sohtun 1359a w. zC ic Type f.zA ia gedyde ic J>aet J>u onsyn hxfdest 1382b (allit. /wet or / j u ??) Type C.3E1 P x i mon m xg sorgende folc 889b (cr. allit. j 61c??, d. allit. mon??) G e a f ic de lifgendne g zst 1383b (cr. allit. Geaf??) Type d.3E i (brdon ic |>aet earfefx wonn 1427b (d. allit. sc??) Type b.3E2 Pact bid foretacna m zst 892b w. iA *ia(i)79

G roup 2 Type aia(b.iA ia) O f lame ic J>e leofx> gesette 1381a (allit. /«??) Type d2(iA ia) m xgw lite me gelicne 1383a w. 3Bid Type ei(b.iA *ia) wraec m id deoflum ge|>olian 1514b Type ai(iA *ia) sawlum sorge toglidene 1163a w .2C ib Type ai(b.iA *ia) sneome o f slzpe ¡>y testan 889a (cr. allit. gestan??) Type di(c.iA *ia) arode |>e ofer ealle gesceafte 1382a*0 (allit. /«??) Type ei(a.2A ia) Hyge weard mongum blissad 1162b Type ei(b.2A ia) deorc on |>am dome standed 1560a w. 3BU lx g ic on heardum stane 1424b 79 Compare p. 47 above, where it is suggested that this verse, with uppe moved into the introductory dip o f the next line, might be a second A3 type in the o ff verse. * This half-line is not in Bliss’s summary; it appears with a question mark beside it in Popes list. *° For Bliss a two-stress verse, with arode in the introductory dip.

53

Ja n e Roberts

Type ei(c.zA ia) earm ic w zs on edle |>inum 1496a (allie. ¿??) Type ai(b.zA ia) wite to widan ealdre 1514a Type aia(b.2Áia) bij>eahte mid [xarfan w zdum 1422a Type ai(b.2Ä ia) hlo|>e o f dam hatan hrej>re 1162a (triple allit.) dystra |>zt |>u |>olian sceolde 1585a (allit. pæt or /ni??) eadig on )>am ecan life 1427a Type ai(c.2A ia) egeslic o f |>zre ealdan moldan 888a Lytel j)uhtc ic leoda bcamum 1424a zled hy mid |>y ealdan lige 1546a'1 Type aia(2Aia) geseod sorga m zste 1208a'* w. 3Bib Type dia(a.2Aia) biwundenne mid wonnum clajmm 1423a Type eicO Ei) nysses |>u wean znigne dael 1384b Type ei(b.3E*2) welan ofer widlonda gehwylc 1384a O ld English verse has, over the last century and a half, been subjected to varied straitjackets, some highly com plex. O f the authoritative analyses o f the last few decades, perhaps the most influential are those o f Pope and Bliss. Whereas Pope taught us to listen for significant silence, Bliss gave us a Sievers retread that has become a valued norm against which editorial and critical assumptions are tested. Neither has shirked the necessary task o f confronting the hypermetric lines, but, as Bliss points out, ‘N o satisfactory explanation o f the reason for their appearance has yet been fou n d ."’ So, by comparison with the finely tuned theories that allow the close examination o f variety within what are termed normal lines o f O ld English poetry, the expanded lines tend to be tucked away tidily into a separate appendix, almost as an embarrassment. Despite attempts made to accommodate these longer verses within patterns devised as the norm for the more usual shorter lines, through fusions, doublings, and replacements, the hypermetric lines " For Bliss a two-stress verse, with aled in the introductory dip. " Alternatively, and without decontraction, this half-line might be described as cia(zAia). Lucas ('Aspeas o f Genesis B , 168 n. 89) takes its paired h u h etylfa cyningxzotb as ending in an A type and therefore hypermetric. *’ Bliss, M etre o f "Beow ulf, 88.

54

Some Reflections on the Metre ofChrist III remain different. It is easy enough to gain a sense o f some minimal scansionapparatus for use when reading B eow u lf where the twenty-three hypermetric verses it contains can be put out o f mind, almost as if anomalous. Statistically in B eow u lf they seem scarcely significant, although stylistically, we dimly sense, they may serve to focus attention or generate tension. And no matter i f the appearance o f such verses has not been satisfactorily explained, they are already present within those few short poems and fragments securely dated as early as the eighth century and they occur in significant numbers in Ju d ith , a poem generally agreed to be late. Most often the hypermetric lines scattered throughout the corpus are treated together, but I shall here look at their distribution only in Christ I I I . I shall attempt no theoretical explanation for their existence. Rather I shall look to see how they coexist, and in what forms, with some o f the poem’s shorter verses. The Group i verses o f Table 3 have two stresses. The number o f lead-in syllables preceding the first stress is indicated by a small letter. Thus, Bliss’s aib(iAia) appears here as b.iAia, a simplification that serves to indicate how very little, formally, such hypermetric verses differ from normal verses with anacrusis. The number o f syllables o f the initial dip varies from two to six.*4 An analogy may be drawn between the introductory dips o f the verses presented in Table 1 and these dips. The patterns are listed in order o f weight, which shows that two-stress hypermetric verses most typically end in the commonest o f all verse types, 2Aia (Sievers A type). Such a distribution appears virtually to be complementary with the occurrence o f anacrusis in normal half-lines. The three-stress Group 2 verses are again represented as ending in a normal two-stress pattern, with the preceding syllables noted for convenience in the terminology used for light verses. The presence o f brackets indicates that Group 2 hypermetric half-lines are heavier than Group i ones. The expedient o f prefixing a letter to the pattern described within brackets makes it possible to see that, unlike heavy verses, threestress hypermetric verses tend to have more than one unstressed syllable before the second stress.*’ Moreover, where Group 1 verses resemble the A3 type in having what can be termed a lengthy introductory dip, Group 2 verses usually have only one syllable o f anacrusis.16 The three syllables o f anacrusis in* ** Bliss (ibid. 94) states that the recorded range o f variation overall is between one and eight syllables. Interestingly, the indication given in Tables i and 3 o f accidental alliteration points to a greater use o f deitic elements in Christ H I than in Beowulf. '* See n. 48 for the apparent restriction o f unstressed syllables to one before the second stress in heavy verses. ** The four examples, all in the first half-line, are: geseoS sorga maste 1208a: O f lame ic pe leopu gesette 1381a: bipeahte m idpearfan wadum 1422a: and biwundenne m id wommum clapum 1423a.

55

Jane Roberts nysses |ju wcan aenigne dzl 1384b are atypical, both for their number and their presence in the second half o f the line. Three further verses should be considered here:*7 Jjinre alysnesse 1473a to hynj)um heofoncyninge 1513a lif butan endedeade 1652b.** These resemble the verse in Hierusalem 1134a, discussed above in relation to Table 2, but differ in their greater weight. O f them only 1513a keeps company with a hypermetric half-line: that it does might make it possible to add the other two to the already lengthy list o f singleton hypermetric verses in Christ III. It can be seen from Table 3 that the Christ I I I poet uses Group 1 and Group 2 verses indiscriminately in either half-line. By contrast, in Guthlac A both Group 1 and Group 2 types occur in the first half-line, but the twostress variety only in the second half-line. And what may have been a stricter convention is found in Guthlac B, where Group 2 verses appear in the first half-line and Group 1 verses in the second half-line.*9 Among the longer poems Christ I I I is, as has been noted above, unusual in having so many single hypermetrical verses. In Table 3 the scansion o f any hypermetric singletons accompanying half-lines is given (w. « pairs with). The adjoining half-line for a singleton is most often a B type (lines 921, 10 4 9 ,110 7 ,13 7 7 ,13 8 3 ,14 0 9 ,14 6 3 ,15 6 0 ) and twice a C type (lines 1163 and 1359), patterns which share with the two-stress Group 1 hypermetric verses the likelihood o f two or more introductory syllables. Three o f the singletons are accompanied by heavy verses (lines 1304,1425, and 1426), and only the first o f these is outside a hypermetric cluster. It is noteworthy therefore that the singleton o f line 1380b should be accompanied in the first half-line by a normal A type: aerest geworhte,

ond J)e ongiet sealde.

17 Unless Neorxnawonges wlite 1405a be deemed a heavy verse, it should be noted here as also containing a compound that would, in Beowulf, stand on its own as a full measure. G . Russom, O ld English Meter and Linguistic Theory (198z). seems not to allow for such verses, possibly because they are not found in Beowulf. Qunpare two Andreas verses cited by Stevens, 'Metre o f . . . Andreas, zo, as possibly hypermetric: manige missenlice583a (or i D*i with syllabic consonant suppressed) and drohtigen daghwamlice 68za. " Emendation, leaving out either ende or deade, has been proposed: for details, see Krapp and Dobbic, The Exeter Book, z6i. This half-line does not appear in the lists o f hypcrmetric verse o f either Pope or Bliss. 17 See Roberts, ‘Metrical Examination, 114.

56

Some Reflections on the Metre ofChrist III Were it not that a group o f hypermetric lines fellows, two syllables o f anacrusis might be assumed in the b-verse. As well, two half-lines in Group i accompany light verses. The first accompanying light verse, )>onne iu hongade 1488, may well have lost a subject pronoun.90 For the second, in byrgenne’

|>zt j>u meahte beorhte uppe 1467,

I have already suggested that uppe might more naturally stand in the dip at the head o f the following line, producing a second A3 pattern in the b-vcrses o f C h r is tlll. A possible third accompanying light verse, For hwon ahenge Jm mec hefgor 1487a, is discussed above in the context o f Table 1, where the likelihood o f metrical stress on the finite verb is noted; it is now, despite the resulting infringement o f Kuhn’s first law, classified as a Group 1 hypermetric half-line. Despite the small number o f lines under discussion, certain tendencies may be glimpsed: the hypermetric singletons do not generally pair with ’normal’ verses other than B and C types. There may therefore be some consistency in the sort o f company kept by the single hypermetric verses o f this poem. However, two half-lines from Table 2, where they are noted as possibly hypermetric, contrast interestingly in the light o f this generalization: I>onne wihta gehwylce 981b w. i D * i J>e no geendad weorj>ed 1639b w. aie They are to be compared with bæt bid feretacna mæst 892b w.iA*ia(i) It would be convenient to term the first and the third o f these half-lines normal with anacrusis and the second hypermetric because o f the company they keep, but the poem’s length is scarcely sufficient to allow such an assumption. It is at least plain from the numbers o f hypermetric half-lines it contains that, metrically at any rate, Christ I I I is less than ’strict’.9' Overall the most striking feature o f the half-line in Christ I I I is the frequency with which its patterns repeat themselves. This is evident very obviously in the homiletic enumeration o f lines 1061-8, a passage Cook 90 Compare n. 77 above. * Compare Stanley, 'Prosaic Vocabulary’, 388-9: Absence o f a general statement about a poem indicates that, though there may be some prosaic words in the poem, I have not felt able to conclude that the poem fails to conform to the practice normal in "strict" verse.’

57

Jane Roberts compares with a longer enumeration in the Old English anonymous homily In die iu d icir91 Donne sio byman stefen ond se beorhta segn, ond \>xt hate fyr ond seo hea dugud, ond se engla \>rym ond se egsan hrea, ond se hearda dæg ond seo hea rod» ryht arærcd rices to beacne, folcdryht wera biforan bon nad, sawla gehwylce [>ara \>e sid o\>\>e xr on lichoman leo)>um onfengen.

( io 6 i -8 ) w

The homily cited by Cook has recently been examined closely by Stanley, who claims from it an ‘edited, newly won poetic text*, nearly forty lines long, which he names ‘The Judgement o f the Damned’.94 These are the opening lines o f his C text: La, hwæt [>ence we h *t we us ne ondrædad |>one toweardan dæg \>xs micclan domes: Se is yrmj>a dæg

7 ealra earfoda dæg.

on dam darge us bid æteowed seo geopnung heofona 7 engla [>rym 7 ealwihtna rire 7 eordan forwyrd, treowleasra gewinn 7 tungla gefeal, hunorrada hlinn 7 se Jmtra storm, J>ara lyíta leóma 7 [>ara liggetta gebrastl, )>ara granigendran gesceaft 7 \>zrz gasta gefeoht, {>a grymman gesihde 7 ha godcundan miht, se haca soir 7 helwara ream, hara beorga geberst 7 hara bimena sang, se brada bryne ofer ealworld 7 se bitera dæg, se micda cwealm 7 hara manna man, seo sarc sorh..

Undoubtedly the Christ I I I poet is an able manipulator o f what Stanley Cook, The Christ o f Cyneu>ulf 189. More recently Biggs. 'Sources o f Christ ///*. 40, has usefully drawn together a summary o f the Old English homiletic analogues proposed for Christ III. 99 This is by fir the most striking run o f matching verses; compare also lines 164z f f 94 E. G . Stanley, ‘ The Judgement o f the Dam ned from Corpus Christi College Cambridge zoi and Other Manuscripts, and the Definition o f Old English Verse*, Learning and Literature in Anglo-Saxon England: Studies Presented to Peter Clemoes on the Occasion o f his Sixty-Fifih Birthday, ed. M. Lapidge and H. Gneuss (Cambridge, 198s), 363-91; repr. in E. G . Stanley, A Collection o f Papers with Emphasis on O ld English Literature (Toronto. 1987). 352-83. 99 Stanley, The Judgement o f the Dam ned 382.

58

Some Reflections on theMetre ofChrist III terms the ‘affective rhythms’ o f the Old English homily.9* Perhaps it is the exploitation o f such rhythms that makes Christ I I I so distinctive. The poet is obviously indebted to the vernacular homiletic tradition: the similarity o f some o f his materials to Vercelli Homily 8 has often been remarked.97 In such passages Christ / / / i s not fully heteromorphic; the lines do not pursue that continual matching o f unalike verse patterns which McIntosh has reminded us is general to Old English poetry. Rather the mode is homomorphic when the poet switches into using lines and larger units made up o f a continuous succession o f examples o f the same unit.9* Nevertheless he has a firm grasp o f the alliterative controls customary in Old English poetry, and, as I hope to have demonstrated, those aspects o f his metre that are least in line with the conventions to be glimpsed in B eow u lfhvtc a certain self-consistency. Moreover, when pre­ sented in terms that allow comparisons to be drawn, they prove to be not without parallel in the larger corpus o f Old English poetry. ** Ibid. 380. Compare D. R. Letson, ’The Poetic Content o f the Revival Homily’, in The O U English Homily and Its Backgrounds, ed. P. E. Szarmach and B. F. Huppé (Albany, N Y >978). 139-56. Letson singles out the Vercelli homily II variant for discussion o f an 'affection for rhyme and alliteration. . . present to some extent in a large number o f Old English homilies’ (14*-*)” In particular, see R. Willard, 'Vercelli Homily V I I I and the Christ, P M L A 42 (1927), E. B. Irving, 'Latin Prose Sources for Old English Verse’, Journal o f English and Germanic Philology 56 (1957), 593-94, and M. R. Godden, 'An Old English Penitential M o tif, Angftb Saxon England 2 (1975), 235. ** A. McIntosh, ‘Early Middle English Alliterative Verse’, M iddle English Alliterative Poetry and its Literary Background cd. D. A. Lawton (1982), 21-2. Compare Bliss, The Metre o f ‘B eow ulf’, 2nd edn. (Oxford, 1967), 138: ‘The poet combines his pairs o f verses in such a way as to achieve greater variety, both o f rhythm and o f phrasing, than chance would dictate*.

59

A G ram m arians G reek -L a tin G lossary in A n glo-Saxon E n g la n d HELMUT GNEUSS

Our knowledge o f Anglo-Saxon culture and learning largely depends on the surviving manuscripts known to have been written or owned in early England; their close study remains a rewarding subject. Among them, books containing grammatical treatises and glossary materials are o f particular interest as they yield valuable insights into the study and teaching o f language in this period.' In the present article I propose to edit and discuss a glossary o f literary, grammatical, and metrical terms, preserved in M S B L Harley 3826— into which it was copied at about the time when Ælfric wrote his Gram m ar—and hitherto almost completely ignored by Anglo-Saxonists. I have chosen the title ‘Grammarians Glossary’ in view o f the nature and range o f Roman and medieval grammar, and o f the close links between this discipline and poetics, rhetoric, and prosody.

The Manuscripts i. H

London, British Library, Harley 3826

M S Harley 3826 was written in Anglo-Caroline minuscule in the late tenth or early eleventh century, possibly at Abingdon. It consists o f 168 small folios (12 x 9 cm). The collation is 1-8*, 96,10 -11* , 12* (wants 8), 13-19 ', 20'° (fos. 153 and 156 are singletons), 214, 22* (wants 5); stubs after fos. 153,156, and 167, but no loss o f text. Contents: folios i- 2 4 v Alcuin, D e orthographia. The text represents version I, as in Keil, Gram m atici Latini, V I I . 295-312 (see n. 18), but ends at 309.12. C f. Anna Carlotta Dionisotti, ‘On Bede, Gram­ mars and Greek’, Revue Bénédictine, 92 (1982), m -4 1, at 1 For an introductory survey o f this subject, see H. Gneuss, ‘The Study o f Language in Anglo-Saxon England', Bulletin o f the John Rylands University Library o f Manchester, 72 (1990), 3- 3123 *

60

A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary

24v~7o'

70v- 7 i r 7iv-8 4r

84r-86v 8 7-14 9 ’

149* 150-152* I52*-i 67*

130 -1 and 138. This manuscript was neither recorded nor used in the edition o f Alcuin’s Orthographia by Aldo Marsili (Pisa, 1952). Beda, D e orthographia, collated as H in the edition by C . W. Jones in Bedae Venerabilis Opera. Pars I: Opera didascalia, C C S L 123A (Tumhout, 197$), 1-57; for the textual affili­ ation see ibid. 4. A Latin (Greek)-Latin glossary. Abbo o f Saint-Germain, Bella Parisiacae Urbis, Book I I I , with numerous interlinear Latin glosses, collated as H in the edition o f Paul von Winterfeld, M G H , Poetae L atin i A evi C arolini, IV . i (Berlin, 1899), 116 -21, with a note on the glosses on p. 77. C f. Patrizia Lendinara, ‘The Third Book o f the Bella Parisiacae Urbis by Abbo o f Saint-Germain-desPrés and its Old English Gloss’, A S E 15 (1986), 73-89. Further glossary entries, Latin (Gieek)-Latin. Martian us Capelia, D e nuptiis P h ib b g ia e et M ercurii, Book IV , ‘De dialéctica’. Cf. Claudio Leonardi, ‘I codici di Marziano Capella’, Aevum , 34 (i960), 78-9; this manuscript has not been collated in M artianus Capella, ed. James Willis (Leipzig, 1983). (blank) The Grammarian’s Glossary, printed below from this manu­ script. Further glossary materials, continuing without break after the end o f the Grammarian’s Glossary: Greek and Latin terms explained in Latin. Those on fos. 152* and 153’ (lines 1-3) correspond to the terms for parts o f a Roman house in the Antwerp-London Glossary,1 but the interpretations differ. The glosses on fos. 165-166* may be a continuation o f those on fos. 70*—71'. C f. Michael Lapidge, ‘The Her­ meneutic Style in Tenth-Century Anglo-Latin Literature’, A S E 4 (1975), 6 7 -111, at 75 and 88 n. 1. Fos. 16 1-16 4 * contain glosses to Satires V -V III o f Juvenal; see Patrizia Lendinara, ‘Le glosse secondarie’, in Studi linguistici e fib b g ic i offerti a Girolamo Caracausi (Palermo, 1992), 269-81, at 269-70 n. 3.

1 L Kindschi, 'The Latin-Old English Glossaries in Plantin-Moretus M S 32 and British Museum M S Additional 32, 246* (unpublished diss., Stanford University, 1955). 235.11-236.3; cf. T. Wright, Anglo-Saxon and O ld English Vocabularies, 2nd edn. by R. P. Wtilcker (London, 1884), i. 183.36-184.10.

6l

Helmut Gneuss For M S Harley 3826 see Leonardo Aevum , 34 (i960), 78-9; N . R. Ker, Catalogue o f M anuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon (Oxford, 1957), no. 241; T. A. M . Bishop, English Caroline M inuscule (Oxford, 1971), 13. 2. Manuscripts o f the Grammarian's Glossary written on the Continent’ B

Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, 797 (458), fo. 8ir—81*

A collection o f texts on Latin grammar, metre and rhetoric, written in France, probably in the Rheims region, in the third quarter o f the ninth century. The best and most recent description o f this manuscript is by Simona Gavinelli, ‘ Un manuale scolastico carolingio: II codice Bolognese 797’, Aevum , 59 (1985), 181-95. The Glossary has been edited from this manuscript by Angela Maria Negri, ‘De codice Bononiensi 797’, Rivista d i fib b g ia e d i istruzione classica, 87 (1959), 260-77, at 276-7. D

Berlin, Staatsbibliothek der Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Diez. B Sant. 66, p. 349.

A collection o f texts on Latin grammar and metre, written c.790, probably at the court o f Charlemagne. £ . A. Lowe, Codices L atin i Antiquiores [= CLA\, I - X l and Supplement (Oxford, 1934-71), V I I I . 1044. Facsimile edition: Sam m elhandschrift D iez. B Sant. 66: Gram m atici L atin i et Catabgus L ib rorum. Einführung Bernhard BischofF, Codices Selecti xlii (Graz, 1973)— for the Grammarians Glossary see p. 37 o f the introduction; Louis Holtz, Donat et b tradition de l'enseignement gram m atical (Paris, 1981), 358-61. The Glossary breaks o ff after item 95 because a quire has been lost after p. 349. F

Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, San Marco 38, fo. 3'.

Grammatical treatises, Eucherius, Junilius; written at Corbie in the first quarter o f the ninth century. The contents o f this manuscript are listed in the unpublished ‘Index M S S Bibliothecae FF. Ordinis Praedicatorum Florentiae ad S. Marcum’ (1768) [ = M S San Marco 945], cols. 111-12 . L

Leiden, Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit, Voss. lat. 0 . 74, fos. 146 -147'.

Glossaries, written in France, probably in the Paris region, in the first quarter * I am deeply grateful to the late Professor Bernhard Bischoff, who generously supplied information about the dates and places o f origin o f manuscripts B F L R S X Z . I am also grateful to Miss Inge Milfull, who inspected M S San Marco j8 at Florence (and the unpublished catalogue) for me. I wish to thank the following libraries which sent me photographs o f manuscripts in their possession: Real Monasterio de HI Escorial: Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana: Leiden, Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit; Montpellier, Bibliothèque Inter­ universitaire, Section Médecine; Oxford, Bodleian Library; Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale; Savignano sul Rubicone, Rubiconia Accademia dei Filopatridi; Biblioteca Apostólica Vaticana; Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana; Wolfcnbüttcl, Heizog-August-Bibliothck.

62

A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary o f the ninth century. See K. A. de Meyier, Codices Vossiani Latini, Pars I I I : Codices in Octavo (Leiden, 1977), 128-9. M

Montpellier, Bibliothèque de la Faculté de Médecine, H. 212, fos. 79*8ov.

A manuscript containing the works o f Persius and Nonius Marcellus, written in France (Auxerre?) in the first half o f the tenth century. The Grammarians Glossary is followed on fos. 8ov- 8 iv by a glossary o f rhetorical terms identical with that in M S S. O

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Add. C .144 (S C 28188), fo. 7 1 - 7 1 v.

A collection o f grammatical and metrical treatises and extracts, and including the Synonyma ascribed to Cicero, copied in the early eleventh century in central Italy from a Beneventan exemplar (Monte Cassino?); it reached the Low Countries in the sixteenth century and was bought by the Bodleian in 1825. The manuscript and its contents have been frequently described and discussed; see Colette Jeudy in Viator, 5 (1974), 120-3; Holtz, Donat, 40 912 and passim, Martin Irvine, ‘Bede the Grammarian and the Scope o f Grammatical Studies in Eighth-Century Northumbria’, A S E 15 (1986), 15 44. For a glossary with Old English glosses on fo. 153*. going back to an Anglo-Saxon exemplar o f the eighth century, see Ker, Catalogue o f M anu­ scripts Containing Anglo-Saxon, Appendix no. 22. P

Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 7530, fos. 145-146*.

A collection o f texts mainly on Latin grammar, metre and rhetoric, written between 779 and 796 at Monte Cassino. C LA V. 569. The manuscript has been described and discussed in great detail by Louis Holtz, ‘Le Parisinus Latinus 7530, synthèse cassinienne des arts libéraux’, Studi M edievali, serie terza, 16 (1975), 97-152. R

Rome, Biblioteca Apostólica Vaticana, Reg. lat. 215, fos. i20v- m v.

A miscellaneous collection, including a version o f the Synonyma ascribed to Cicero and the Scholica Graecarum Glossarum, written in France (in the Tours region?) in the second half o f the ninth century. For the contents see André Wilmart, Codices Reginenses Latini, 1 (Vatican City, 1937), 507-12; for the glossaries in the manuscript see M . L. W. Laistner, ‘Notes on Greek from the Lectures o f a Ninth Century Monastic Teacher’, Bulletin oftheJohn Rylands Library, Manchester, 7 (1923), 421-56. The Grammarians Glossary is printed by Laistner, 450-1; in the manuscript it is preceded and followed by other glosses, mainly Greek-Latin, and it consists o f only 64 items in the following order (for the numbering see the edition below): 6 2 -7 4 ,44b, 4559, 61, 3 - 1 0 ,1 2 ,1 4 ,1 9 , 2 0 ,12 4 ,12 6 -8 , 88, 9 0 ,10 0 ,1 0 1 , 103,105, no, 112 -17 ,

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Helmut Gneuss 119-24, with interpretations different from those o f the other manuscripts for 88 and 90 (see the ‘Notes’, below). The manuscript is no. B F 1357 in Marco Mostert, The Library o f Fleury: A Provisional List o f M anuscripts (Hilversum, 1989), 259. S

Rome, Biblioteca Apostólica Vaticana, Reg. lat. 1587, fos. 22v-2 $v.

Fos. 1-6 4 o f this manuscript were written in Western France in the first half o f the ninth century (at the top o f fo. 24* is a Fleury ex libris s. ix/x); they include grammatical treatises by Maximus Victorinus and Sergius, and a copy o f the conflated text o f Alcuin’s and Bede’s D e orthographia. O n fos. 25v- 2 7 r, the Grammarian’s Glossary is immediately followed by a G reekLatin glossary o f 80 rhetorical terms, inc. BARBARISM O S: corruptas sermo, expl. anachefaleosis: recapitulatio. See Elisabeth Pellegrin, Les M anuscrits classiques Latins de la Bibliothèque Vaticane, I I . i (Paris, 1978), 311—14, and Mostert, The Library o f Fleury 284-5. T

Rome, Biblioteca Apostólica Vaticana, Ottobon. lat. 1354, fo. 48'~48v.

A collection o f treatises and extracts on grammar and metre, written in the late eleventh or early twelfth century, probably in Italy. See Pellegrin, Les M anuscrits classiques Latins, I (Paris, 1975), 524-9, and Paul F. Gehl, in Revue d ’h istoire des textes, 8 (1978), 303-7. U

Rome, Biblioteca Apostólica Vaticana, lat. 623, fo. 84-84".

A copy o f Isidore’s Etym obgiae, written in Italy in the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century. See M . Vatasso and P. F. de Cavalieri, Codices Vaticani Latini, I (Rome, 1902), 469-70. V

Venice, Biblioteca Marciana, Lat. Z. 497 (1811), fo. I3V.

A collection o f texts dealing with grammar— including a florilegium from Latin authors— rhetoric, logic, medicine, music, geometry, arithmetic, and astronomy, written in Italy about the middle o f the eleventh century and based on a South Italian exemplar. For the manuscript and its contents see Pietro Zorzanello, Catalogo dei codici latin i della Biblioteca N azionale M arciana d i Venezia non compresi nel catalogi d i G. Valentinelli, vol. I: Fondo Antico, Classi I—X , Classe X I, Codd. 1—100 (Trezzano, 1980), 109-22; Francis L. Newton, ‘Tibullus in Two Grammatical Florilegio o f the Middle Ages’, Transactions and Proceedings o f the Am erican P h ib b g ica l Association, 93 (1962), 253-86; Holtz, Donat, 416. W

Wolfenbüttel, Herzog-August-Bibliothck, Weissenburg 86, fo. 1 4 5 *45*

A collection o f texts on Latin grammar and metre, written at Tours around 64

A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary the middle o f the eighth century. C L A IX . 1394. For the contents see Hans Butzmann, Kataloge der Herzog-August-Bibliothek WolftnbütteL D ie neue Reihe, 10. Band: D ie Weissenburger Handschriften (Frankfurt am Main, 1964), 248-50. The Grammarian’s Glossary was printed from this manuscript by Johann Friedrich Heusinger, in the second edition o f his F I M a llii Theodori de metris lib er (Leiden, 1766), 81-5. Heusingers edition, including his introduction and notes, was reprinted word for word by Thomas Gaisford, Scriptores L atin i rei metricae (Oxford, 1837), 574-6. X

Leiden, Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit, B. P. L 67D , fos. 1-2 .

A copy o f the L iber glossarum, written probably in France in the third quarter o f the ninth century; the Grammarians Glossary, on added leaves, was written towards the end o f the ninth century. The order o f the leaves is reversed, fo. 2 should precede fo. 1. See Bibliotheca Universitatis Leidensis: Codices M anuscripti, I I I . Codices Bibliothecae Publicae L atin i (Leiden, 1912), 36. Y

Savignano sul Rubicone, Rubiconia Accademia dei Filopatridi, Camera I,i,1,9, fos. 8ov-8 iv.

A collection o f texts on grammar and versification, written in Northern Italy about the middle o f the fifteenth century and described by Gavinelli, Aevum , 59 (1985), 193-5. Z

£1 Escorial, Real Biblioteca, B.I.12, fo. 109-109*.

A copy o f Isidore’s Etymologiae, written in the thirteenth century, probably in Italy. The Glossary follows after the end o f Book IX o f the Etymologiae. Another copy o f the Glossary was contained in Chartres, Bibliothèque Municipale, M S 90 (fo. 56'), destroyed in 1944. After this article had been finished, Professor Patrizia Lendinara kindly drew my attention to three further versions o f the Grammarian’s Glossary and generously supplied me with transcripts: Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 4883 A, fos. 26^-27™. From south-west France, possibly St Martial at Limoges, late tenth or early eleventh century. The same version as in M S R, but nos. 100 and 101 have been omitted. Barcelona, Archivo de la Corona de Aragon, Ripoll 74, fo. 55v*-55vc. From the Benedictine abbey at Ripoll, written in the third quarter o f the tenth century. Contains only items no. 21-44. Erfurt, Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek der Stadt, Ampi. 8° 8, fos. I25Y-I26'. 65

Helmut Gneuss Written in the twelfth century; origin unknown. The glossary comprises items 1-10 6 as in M S H; no omissions. 3. English glossaries incorporating entries from the Grammarians Glossary C

Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, 144, fos. i~ 3 v.

A manuscript with two glossaries, written probably in the South o f England in the second quarter o f the ninth century; on fo. ii is the late thirteenthcentury shelfmark and ex libris o f St Augustine’s, Canterbury. The second o f the two glossaries is the well-known ’Corpus Glossary’ (fos. 4'-64*) with over 8,700 entries, more than 2,000 o f them with Old English interpret­ ations. The first is an alphabetic collection o f 341 entries, most o f them Hebrew or Greek names or words, with Latin interpretations; the sources for these entries are Jerome’s L iber interpretationis Hebraicorum nominum, and the Instructiones o f Eucherius. But a number o f entries come from other sources, and these (as has not been realized previously) include fifty items from the Grammarian’s Glossary, here arranged in batches under their respective initial letter, and within these batches still mostly in the order they have in their source; thus Corpus items 72-9 correspond to Grammarian’s Glossary items 43, 6 6 ,114 ,116 ,12 2 - 4 , while Corpus items 253-63 represent entries n o , 1-4 , 61, 65, 70, 75, 108, 124 in the source. The first Corpus Glossary was edited by J. H. Hessels, A n Eighth-Century Latin-A ngloSaxon Glossary (Cambridge, 1890), 3-8; a recent facsimile edition o f the manuscript, with important introduction, is The Epinal, Erfurt, Werden an d Corpus Glossaries, ed. Bernhard Bischoif, Mildred Budny, Geoffrey Harlow, M . B. Parkes, J. D. Pheifer, Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile, X X I I (Copenhagen, 1988). See also C L A II. 122, Ker, Catalogue o f M anuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon, no. 36, and Thiel (see n. 4 below), 176. E

Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, 356, part iii.

An unpublished alphabetic Latin(Greek)-Latin glossary, taking up fos. 1 42' o f a manuscript o f 42 leaves, with c.360 entries, written towards the end o f the tenth century, probably at St Augustine’s, Canterbury. The alphabetic sequence is interrupted on fo. 17” by a list o f synonyms for ships, and on fo. 28' by 21 A-glosses inserted among P-glosses. On fo. 42' is a list o f the names o f the Hebrew letters, with Latin interpretations.4 The following 4 These interpretations correspond almost exactly to type 1 1 1 (taken from the section on the psalms in Jeromes Librr interpretationis Hebraicorum nominum) o f the alphabets listed by Matthias Thiel, Grundlagen und Gestalt der Hebräischkenntnisse desfrühen Mittelalters (Spoleto, 1970; orig, diss. Munich, 1961). 90-3.

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A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary items o f the Grammarians Glossary occur (items with differing interpret­ ations are in parentheses): 86,9, (54), 1 6 ,1 7 ,1 0 0 ,12 , (10), 108, (124), (3), 4, 3, (n), 6 1,10 7 , (48), 4 7 ,12 7 , 90. For the manuscript see M . R. James, A D escriptive Catalogue o f the M anuscripts in the Library o f Corpus Christi College, Cam bridge (Cambridge, 1912), I I . 189-90; X A. M . Bishop, ‘Notes on Cambridge Manuscripts’, Transactiom o f the Cam bridge Bibliographical Society, 2 (1955-7), 188 and 334-6. K

London, British Library, Harley 3376.

An alphabetic glossary, written about the turn o f the tenth and eleventh centuries, probably in the West o f England. The glossary, with 5,563 entries— about one-third o f them with Old English glosses— covers only the initial letters A -F. The remainder was lost.5The existing glossary includes nine items that may have come from the Grammarians Glossary, cor­ responding there to items 5, 41, 43, 57, 104, 114, 115, 122, 123. A different interpretation is given for item 74 (Harley 3376, item D 486). The glossary was edited by Robert T. Oliphant, The H arley L atin -O ld English Glossary (The Hague, 1966); for the shortcomings o f this edition see Hans Schabram’s review in Anglia, 86 (1968), 495-500. For the manuscript and the glossary see especially N . R. Ker, Catalogue o f M anuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon, no. 240, and J. D. Pheifer, O ld English Glosses in the E pinal-Erfurt Glossary (Oxford, 1974), pp. xxxv-xxxvi.

The Glossary The Grammarians Glossary comprises 128 entries in the version o f M S H. In this version, two original entries (44b and 64a) may have been accidentally omitted, while seven entries appear to be a later addition (81-7). I f we disregard faulty copying or individual alterations in the early M S S B D F L P S W X , or— in the case o f M S D — loss o f leaves, we may assume that the original glossary had 123 entries, and that M S H is a late but fairly reliable representative o f the original compilation. Eleven further items occur in M S S O P T U V X Z , or in most manuscripts o f this group (12a, 14a, 28a, 35a, 44a, 74a—c, i04a-b, 121a); these may have been added at some stage in the early history o f the text. The Glossary is arranged according to subjects, as follows: (i) Poetry 1-14 The poet, poetry, its genres and elements* * Two surviving fragments appear to be Oxford. Bodleian Library. Lat.misc.a.3. fo. 49, and Lawrence. Kansas, University o f Kansas. Spencer Research Library. Pryce M S . P iA :i.

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Helmut Gneuss (ii) Grammar 15-20 Grammar 21-28 The parts o f speech 29-54 The noun: 29-34 Gender 35-38 Declension 39-44 The cases 45-51 The number o f formally different cases; comparison 52-54 Species (iii) Versification 55-60 The syllable; quantity 6 1-67 Prosody and accent 68-70 Aspiration and spiritus marks 7 1-74 Special marks; the digamma 75-87 Types o f feet according to the number o f syllables 88-99 Types o f feet 100-109 Metre, verse; further genres o f poetry n o -113 Caesuras in the dactylic hexameter 114 -117 Catalexis (iv) 118-128 Punctuation and the sentence As can be deduced from the contents o f most o f the manuscripts in which our Glossary is extant, it was apparently meant as a supplement to one or more o f the standard treatments o f Latin grammar and versification. The arrangement o f the entries is on the whole systematic, but completeness does not seem to have been the compilers aim: we do not find basic concepts o f grammar like vox (apparently later supplied in the ancestor o f M S S O P T U V X Z ) , like vocales and consonantes, and it is somewhat surprising to see that the categories o f the noun have been treated rather fully, but the categories o f the verb not at all. Each entry consists o f a Greek lemma, transliterated in letters o f the Latin alphabet (often with various spellings and misspellings, as is to be expected), and o f a Latin gloss; the only exception, where the lemma is a Latin word, occurs in item 15 (ars). The gloss may be either a translation or a definition, usually rather brief. In a few cases (items 51-4), the definition has been illustrated by one or two examples, while two entries supply etymological explanations (15, 88); it seems doubtful, however, if that o f ars (15) was understood by all the scribes.6 The Grammarian’s Glossary combines two basically different types o f * * The derivation o f an from Greek aretf may explain why there is a Latin entry among the lemmata.

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A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary lemmata: the majority are Greek words that had been taken over as loan­ words into Latin, especially those employed in prosody: they had become household words in the teaching o f the trivium . In contrast to these, about three dozen o f the lemmata, especially those denoting grammatical concepts (items 21-44), arc words that had not been received into Latin because the Roman grammarians very early had chosen to render them by means o f semantic loans and loan-formations (like nomen for onoma, coniunctio for syndesmos), which then became the standard terms in their language and also in the modern languages to our own day. To identify the sources o f a glossary is notoriously difficult, and it must become even more difficult when we realize that the Grammarians Glossary largely consists o f such terms as form the core and common stock o f the technical vocabulary o f grammar and versification in the early Middle Ages. The entries o f our Glossary could have been excerpted from numerous grammars, grammatical commentaries, and treatises on metre, or could have been taken over from glossaries such as may be well known and accessible to scholars today, or may remain unpublished, or may have been lost. While it is impossible, then, to produce a reliable and complete analysis o f our Glossary’s sources, a few points seem clear. If we recognize that a genuine source o f an entry can only be established where lemma and interpretation are the same, or nearly the same in source and glossary, then it is evident that the compiler o f the Grammarians Glossary made extensive use o f Isidore’s Etymologies. It appears certain that nearly fifty entries are based on this work, and early readers o f the Glossary will have been well aware o f this, as is shown by the rubric in M S W (see the ‘Notes’ section, below). As for the remaining entries, it is doubtful whether another, single source was utilized, or whether the compiler could build on a wider range o f materials. It would seem, however, that most o f these entries were supplied from glossaries rather than from grammars; for quite a number o f entries, especially 21-44, this is likely because— as was mentioned above— the Roman grammarians had developed their own, vernacular terminology for the basic concepts o f grammar and so did not normally employ, or explain, the corresponding Greek terms. I have found more than thirty items that can be traced back to glossaries o f the Hermeneumata type, collections that are based on an original Greek-Latin compilation o f the second century a d .7 Also, I have found more than a dozen entries whose sources seem to 7 The Hermeneumata glossaries have been printed in vol. I l l o f G . Goetz. Corpus Glossariorum Latinorum, 7 vols. (l-cipzig, 1888-1923) [ * C G L]\ cf. A. C . Dionisotti, 'Greek Grammars and Dictionaries in Carolingian Europe', in Tht Sacred Nectar o f the G reek: The Study o f Greek in the West in the Early M iddle Ages, ed. M. W. Herren and S. A. Brown, Kings College London Medieval Studies, 11 (London, 1988). 1-36, at 26-31. The bilingual glossaries

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Helmut Gneuss be glossary materials going back to a sixth-century compilation ascribed to one Placidus, printed in volume V o f the Corpus Glossariorum Latinorum . References to these sources will be found in the ‘Notes' section; but I do not claim to have examined or exhausted all possible sources, whether they are glossaries or grammars. When one considers the complicated and often confusing textual history o f medieval glossaries, the manuscript versions o f the Grammarian’s Glossary appear remarkably uniform.' Yet there are numerous individual peculiarities and cross-connections between the various manuscripts that make it imposs­ ible for us to reconstruct the history o f its transmission, let alone to establish a stemmatic relationship. However, an examination o f the variant readings, o f common errors, additions, and omissions yields some interesting results. Already in the eighth century, presumably in France, the textual transmission split into three branches or hyparchetypes: 1. A branch represented by the French M S S B L W ; because o f the date o f M S W, this must have come into existence in the first half o f the eighth century. The branch is marked by the omission o f items 8-38 and 76-80, and by ordering items 56-73 as in the manuscripts o f branch 3 (except M S D). The late Italian M S Y belongs in this group; it is very closely related to M S B. 2. A branch represented by M S S P X , which is characterized by a number o f additional items (see above, p. 67), and by ordering items 56-73 differendy from all the other manuscripts. Items 8-35 are present, but 36 and 37 have been omitted. Apart from M S S P X , this branch includes all the later Italian manuscripts ( O T U V Z ) except Y, and as M S P was written at Monte Cassino, branch 2 might be considered a specifically Italian text. But, as is dear from M S X , which shares most o f this groups peculiarities, here too we witness a development that must have taken place in France, and not later than the third quarter o f the eighth century, because o f the date o f M S P, which may well be the ancestor o f all the later Italian manuscripts. Among these, M S S U and Z show close affinities. 3. This branch is represented by M S S D F S , which do not form a textual ‘family’ in the strict sense, since each o f them has individual readings or shares some readings with branch 1 and some with branch 2. However, the members o f this group appear to be closer to the original glossary than the other hyparchetypes: they do not omit items 8-38 (but F leaves out 36-8), ascribed to Philoxenus and Cyrillus— both printed in C G L %vol. I I — may also have been available to our compiler; in any case, a considerable number o f entries in the Grammarians Glossary are found in the Hermeneumata collections and in Philoxenus or Cyrillus. 1 For the evidence underlying the following discussion, see the ‘Notes' section, below.

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A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary as does branch I, and they do not include the innovations (items iza etc.)

o f branch 2. O n the other hand, M S S D and F omit items 76-80, as docs branch 1. T he later M S M is closely connected with M S S, but M omits items 36-443. O f the Anglo-Saxon copies and excerpts o f the Glossary, C — the oldest— cannot be derived exclusively from one o f these three hyparchetypes. It docs agree, however, in a few significant variant readings with B ( 1 1 6 ,1 1 7 ,1 2 0 , 121); equally important seems the fact that a number o f readings in C differ from those in H (cf. items 64a, 68, 6 9 ,1 1 7 ,1 2 0 ,1 2 1) . Even if we take into account the selective character o f C , it is clear, therefore, that an ‘English’ branch o f the Glossary text cannot be established on the basis o f significant common readings o f C and H , nor can the items in E and K that are probably derived from the Grammarians Glossary throw more light on its transmission in Anglo-Saxon England, with the exception perhaps o f item E 65 in M S K ( = our item 5), whose peculiar spelling Edulion may link K with C . Although it was written about three centuries after the compilation o f its ultimate ancestor, H is a remarkably full and reliable copy o f our Glossary and appears to belong in the third branch o f its transmission: it neither has the additional items o f the P X group, nor does it omit the items missing in the B L W group (8-38, 53, 76-80), while in ordering items 56-73 it agrees with F S and the B L W group. It shows individual readings shared by none o f the other Continental manuscripts or by C (items 6, 13, 42, 60; 64a omitted; 8 1-7, 9 3,117 ) but has a number o f significant variants in common with M S D or groups o f manuscripts that include D , a member o f the third branch: 5, 31, 32, 36, 37, 61, 69, 94, 95, and cf. the omission o f 44b and 64a only in D and H. This does not mean, however, that H and its presumable exemplar point back to a pure D-type ancestor or even a manuscript closely related to D . For D orders items 56-75 differently and omits a considerable number o f entries contained in H that— with the exception o f 8 1-7— must have been part and parcel o f the original compilation: 17,45-55, 60, 62, 63, 66, 67, 70, 7 1-3, 76-87; moreover, D and H differ clearly in nine readings (13, 24, 38, 56, 68, 74, 88, 91, 93), while nothing definite can be said about entries from 96 onwards, which are lost in D. It may seem idle to speculate about the date and place o f origin o f the anonymous Grammarian s Glossary. As to the date, we have as a term inus a quo the time when Isidores Etymologies became available outside Spain,9and f See B. Bischoff, 'Die europäische Verbreitung der Werke Isidors von Sevilla*, in his M ittelalterliche Studien, I (1966), 171-94, and M. Lapidge, ‘A n Isidorian Epitome from Early Anglo-Saxon England*, in Studi sulla cultura Germanica dei secoli I V - X I l in onore d i G iulia M azzuoli Pome, ed. M . A. d’Aronco et aLt Romanobarbarica, 10 (1988-9), 443-83.

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Helmut Gneuss as a term inus a d quem we can fix the dating o f the earliest manuscript (W) which, however, on account o f its gap between items 7 and 39, must be considered a copy o f the ancestor (or a member) o f the B L W family, which itself is at least at one remove from the original compilation. As a consequence, we should place the origin o f the Glossary at some time in the second half o f the seventh century, or in the first half o f the eighth century, preferably early rather than late. To determine the country, region, or place o f origin o f our Glossary may seem a hopeless task. Was it possibly a place where there was some interest in Greek studies? One might then be tempted to suggest Canterbury in the later seventh century, where, as we know, Greek as well as (Latin) grammar and metrics were taught in the school o f Archbishop Theodore (669-90) and Abbot Hadrian (670-709/710).'° But there is some weighty evidence against such a seemingly attractive hypothesis: (1) The provenance o f nearly all the extant manuscripts, particularly the early ones, points to an origin on the Continent, probably in France. (2) I f the early school o f Canterbury, perhaps Theodore himself, had had a hand in the compilation o f the Glossary, one would expect a reflection o f this in what has been called the original English collection o f glosses, or in one o f the glossaries derived from it, or related to it." But there is no trace o f this. The famous Leiden Glossary, the Epinal Glossary (and its copy, the Erfurt Glossary), and the second Corpus Glossary“ all include a number o f lemmata that occur in the Grammarians Glossary, but their interpretations in nearly all cases differ essentially from those in our compilation, while the few closely corresponding en tries— like the three10 11 entries in the second Corpus Glossary

10 For Greek taught at Canterbury, see M. Lapidgc, ‘The School o f Theodore and Hadrian, A S E 15 (1986), 45-72; for grammar, W. Berschin, Greek letters and the Latin M iddle Ages: From Jerom e to Nicholas o f Cusa, rev. edn., trans. J. C Frakes (Washington, D C , 1988)» 121-5; for metrics, see N. Wright, "Introduction to Aldhelms Prose Writings on Metrics*, in Aidhelm : The Poetic Works, trans. M. Lapidgc and J. L. Rosier (Cambridge, 1985), 183-9. 11 For the history and sources o f this early glossary material in England, sec W. M. Lindsay, The Corpus, Epinal, Erfurt and Leyden Glossaries. Publications o f the Philological Society, V I I I (London, 1921); J. D. Pheifer, O ld English Glosses in the Epinal-Erjurt Glossary (Oxford, 1974), "Introduction, esp. p. lvii; Lapidgc, ‘The School o f Theodore and Hadrian; J. D. Pheifer, ‘ Early Anglo-Saxon Glossaries and the School o f Canterbury*, A S E 16 (1987), 17-44. n A Late Eighth-Century Lan n-Anglo-Saxon Glossary Preserved in the Library o f the Leiden University, ed. John Henry Hessels (Cambridge, 1906); ‘The Epinal Glossary Edited with Critical Commentary o f the Vocabulary', by A. K. Brown (unpublished diss., Stanford Uni­ versity, 1969); C G L V. 337-401 [the (first) Erfurt Glossary]; The Corpus Glossary, cd. W. M. Lindsay (Cambridge, 1921). n Epinal has 18 lemmata in common with the Grammarians Glossary, but only two interpretations are identical; Leiden has 15 such lemmata, with two common glosses; the second Corpus Glossary shares 29 lemmata with the Grammarian's Glossary, o f which three show the same glosses.

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A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary (epigramma E 242, brachus B 184, dactylus D 7)— may well go back to other sources. Moreover, an interest in Greek grammatical terminology may have been more general than we are inclined to think.14 In M S Cotton Cleopatra A.vi, an English manuscript o f the second(?) half o f the tenth century, o f unknown provenance and origin, the only known Anglo-Saxon copy o f Donatuss Ars m aior is followed by three anonymous grammatical treatises. The second o f these (fos. is an introduction to the grammar o f Donatus in question-and-answer form, in which gramma, grammatice, and prohem ium are interpreted as in the Grammarians Glossary, and where the Greek names o f the parts o f speech— with the exception o f that for the article— are supplied in one o f the answers: ‘Quomodo nominabant partes orationis apud Grecos?' ‘Ita nominantur: onoma, antenoma, rema, epirema, metoche, sindesmos, prothesis, parenthesis.’ (fo. 42*) We should conclude from these considerations that the Grammarians Glossary must have found its way to England in the course o f the eighth century, or very early in the ninth. It was then drawn upon by the compiler o f the first Corpus Glossary, unless we are to assume that this glossary as a whole was copied from a Continental exemplar. That C and possibly one or more near relatives survived the vicissitudes o f the ninth century and were then again utilized might appear from the spelling Edulion in K. The version o f the Glossary in H follows another line o f transmission; the exemplar o f H or one o f its forerunners may have been a pre-Alfredian English copy, but it seems more likely that it came to England as part o f one o f the numerous French books imported in the course o f the tenth century.” More may be known about this when all the glossary material in H has been thoroughly studied. Apart from K, the glossaries produced or copied in England in the tenth and eleventh centuries do not seem to have used the Grammarian’s Glossary.16 M For the study o f Greek in the early Middle Ages, see especially B. BischofF, Das griechische Element in der abendländischen Bildung des Mittelalters', in his Mittelalterliche Studien* II (Stuttgart, 1967), 246-75; Berschin, Greek Letten and the Latin M iddle Ages; M. C . Bodden, 'Evidence for Knowledge o f Greek in Anglo-Saxon England', A S E 17 (1988), 217-46. '* Cf. H. Gneuss, Anglo-Saxon Libraries from the Conversion to the Benedictine Reform’, Settimane d i studio del Centro italiano d i studi suUalto medioevo, X X X I I (1986), 678 and n. no, and 'King Alfred and the History o f Anglo-Saxon Libraries, in Modes o f Interpretation in O ld English Literature: Essays in Honour o f Stanley B. Greenfield* ed. P. R. Brown et aL (Toronto, 1986), 37* 16 For the later English glossaries see A. Cameron, A List o f Old English Texts', in A Plan fo r the Dictionary o f O ld English, ed. R. Frank and A. Cameron (Toronto, 1973). 248-54, and Pheifer, O ld English Glosses* pp. xxxi-xxxix.

73

Helmut Gneuss The textual history o f the Grammarians Glossary suggests an origin in France. From there, at an early stage, copies were taken not only to England but also to Italy: the exemplar o f M S P must have been available at Monte Cassino in the later eighth century. Was it possibly Paulus Diaconus himself who procured the Glossary for his monastery? The Grammarian’s Glossary was first published by Johann Friedrich Heusinger in 1766, from M S W, and again by Thomas Gaisford in 1837; Heusinger also knew the version in M S P. In 1876, Gustav Loewe mentioned the Glossary (he knew M S S W and X), and in 1923 Georg Goetz included a paragraph with remarks on the manuscripts and sources in his monumental D e gbssariorum Latinorum origine etfatis. More recently, attention has again been drawn to our Glossary by Bernhard Bischoff, Simona Gavinelli, and Walter Berschin.17

Text The edition reproduces the text o f M S Harley 3826 as faithfully as possible, but is arranged in columns, while in the manuscript the Glossary is written in run-on lines. Abbreviations are indicated by means o f italics. No emen­ dations have been made; where these would be called for, the pertinent information will be found in the ‘Notes’ following the edition. Entries in one or more o f the Continental versions o f the Grammarian’s Glossary that may have been omitted in H (or its exemplar), or may have been added in those versions, are enclosed in square brackets. Lemmata with glosses corresponding to entries in Harley 3826 that occur in other Anglo-Saxon manuscript glossaries are recorded by the respective sigla (C, E, K, see above) to the right o f the Harley entry. [fo. I jo 1] G R A M M A T I C S AR TI S N O M I N A G R E C E

ET

L A T I N E N OT A TA .

3

6

Poeta, i. uates. Poeticus. liber. Poema, i. uniwjlibri opus. Poesis. i. opus multorum librorwrw. Ydillion. paucorum uersuum. Disticon. duoriun locutio. Monosticon. unios uersus. Epodon. clausula m i n poemate.

C C CE CE CK C C

17 For Heusinger and Gaisford see p. 65 above; G . Loewe. Prodromus Corporis Gbssariorum Latinorum (Leipzig, 1876), 231-2; Goetz, C G L I. 102; Bischoff and Gavinelli, see p. 62 above; Berschin, Greek Letters and the Latin M iddle Ages, 106 and no.

74

A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary 9

12 12a

14a 15

18

21

*4

17 28a 28b 30

33

35» 36

39

41

Epigramma. titulus. Proemion. dicendi initium. Prdogus. sequentis operis pnzefatio. Problema, qszestio. [Prothesis, propositio] Thema, norma siue materia. Tragoedia. luctuosum carmen. [Comoedia. laus in canticis dicta] Ars. apo tes. aretis . i . . . . disciplina siuescientia. Gramma, littera. Grammatica. litteratura. Gram m atics, doctor liberdium uel litterarum. Profora, intmogatio. Antifora, responsio. Onoma. nom en. Antenoma. pronomen. Rema, uerbum. Epyrema. adueririum. Methoche. participium. [fo. 150"] Arthron. articulus. Sindesmos. cwiiunctio. Prótesis, pnzepositio. [Parathesis, interiectio] [Schediasmos. interiectio] Genos, g e n s . Arsenicon, mascdinum. Telicon. femininum. Deteron. neutrum. Kynon. commune. Epikenon. promiscuum. Piptosis. declinatio. [Ptosis, casus] Anómala, inzqualia. Analogía, cem psatio. Euphonia, suauitas bene sonandi. Onomastike. nom/natiuus. Genike. genit/sß. Dotike. datiuus. Eutike. accusât/»us. Cletike. uocat/us. Afferetike. ablut/us. 75

E

E

E E

C C CK C CK C

Helmut Gneuss 44a 44b 45

48

51

54

57

60

63

66

69

74a 74b 74c 74d

76

K

CE C

uuu

71a 72

E

uuuuuuuu

64a

[Plithyntice. pluralitcr] [Aptota. in quibus nulla est inflexio casuum] Monoptota. eiusdem casus. Diptota. in quibus similitude» duorum tantum casuum. Triptota. trium casuum uarietas. Tetnptota. iiii. casuum uarietas. Pentaptota. u. casuum inflexio. Exaptota. ui. casuum declinado. Anómala, no m im quae in comparât io ne mutant»/*, ut boni», melior. optimus. Thctica. possessiua. ut euandrius a possidendo dicta. Patronomica. a paren[fo. i5ir]tibus dicta uocabula. ut eacides. agamemnonides. Epitheta, adiectiua quç nom im bus apponuntur. ut magn us homo, doctus philosophus. Syllaba. comprdiensio litterar um. Macra. longa. Brachia, breuis. Monocronon. uni us temporis. Dicronon. communis temporis. Diptongon. uocalis duplicatio. Prosodia, accentus. uel son us. Arsis, eleuatio. Thesis, positio. Oxia. accuta. [Baria, grauis] Pmstomene. circumflexus. Cronos, longitudo u el tem p us. Tonus, accentus. Crisesma. crassitudo. Dapsia. sipidum uelaspem m . Psile. lene u el purum. Apostrophos. regressio. [Yphen. copulatio] Diastole, sepu/atio. Ypodiastole. subseparatio. Digrammos. duplex litten. [Phoni. uox] [Aphona. sine uoce] [Phonienta. uocales] [Imiphonas. semiuocales]

A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary 75



81

84

87

90

93

96

98a

99

102

104a 104b 105

108

hi

Pos. pcs. Monosyllaba. una syllaba. Dyssillabos. duarom syllabarom. Trisillabos. mum. Tetrasillabos. iiii. [fo. 151*] Pentasyllabos. u. syllabarom. Exasyllabos. u. syUabarum. Eptasylln^o*. ui. siMabarum. Ogdosyllo^o*. uiii. Niasylln^o*. uiiii. Diasyllabos. x. Undecasylln¿o*. xi. Dodecasyllabos. xii. Pyrrichio*. a pyrro filio achillis. Spondeus. tractor. Trocheu*. cclcr. Iamb or. maledico*. u el libido*. Dactilus. digitus. Anapesto*, dáctilo contrario* siue repercuss us. Amphimacro*. hiñe inde longo*. Amphibrachis. hiñe inde breuis. Tribrachis. trium breuium. Corios. coris apto*. Iónicos, ineqoalis. [Bacchios. conueniens baccicis cantibus] Palimbachius. contrarius bachio. Metron. mensura. Rithmos. numerus. Heroicon metron. uirorom fortium carmen. Monometron. uersus unio* pedis. Bucolicon. pastorale carmen. [Geórgica, agricultura uel rusticana] [Epos, carmen] Dimetron. duorom pedum uersus. Trimetron. trium pedum. Tetrametron. iiii. pedum. Pentametron. u. pedum. Exametron [fo. 152*] .i. senarium. Pentimemeren. syllaba remanens post duos pedes. Eptimemeten. syllaba remanens po*f tertium pedem. Tritos trócheos, syllaba po*r .iiii. pedes remanens. 77

C

E

E

E C C CK

C C CE CE C C C C

Helmut Gneuss 114

117

120 121a 123

126

128a

Tetobucolicos. syllaba port q «intu m pedem rcmanens. Catalecticos. ubi in pede um uum una syllaba àeest. Brachiacatalectos. ubi duç minttf sunt. Acatalectos. ubi um us legitimo fíne cowcluditwr. Aspircatalectos. ubi super legítimos pedes syllaba crescit. Thesis, positurç. Telia, distinctio. Ypostigme. subdistinctio. Mesi. media distinctio. [Stigmi. i. distinctio seu diastixis] Cola, membrum. Comma, incisum. Periodos, clausula siue circuito, nam cola tot«; um u s est. commata autem ipse incisiones pedum, periodos uem tota sententia. Monocolon, unimembris sententia. [fo. 152*] Dicolor, bimembris. Tricolon. trime mb ris. Tetracolon. quadrimembris. [Pentacolon. quinquemembris]

C CK CK C C C C C C CK CK CE

E

Notes The following notes include all significant variant readings from M S S B C D E F K L P R S V W X , references to corresponding interpretations in Isi­ dores Etymologies, in grammars and glossaries, and references (marked cf.’) to passages that help to explain terms and concepts o f the Grammarians Glossary. Among the variants, minor variations in spelling and scribal errors have not normally been recorded, but I have tried to give the reader an idea o f how the scribes managed to cope with difficult Greek terms transliterated into Latin. The variant readings are also meant to provide corrections where the scribe o f H— or one o f his forerunners— has obviously blundered, as in items 18, 42, 52, 113, 117, 126. Variant readings from the later M S S M O T U Y Z have not been recorded except where these add or omit a whole item (i.e. lemma and gloss). References to grammars and glossaries have had to be selective;1* the Roman grammarians name is always followed by " Full references to the grammars can now be found in the computer concordance by V. Lomanto and N. Marinone, Index Grammaticus: An Index to Latin Grammar Texts,, 3 vols. (Hildesheim, 1990); for the glossaries, see the index in vols. V I and V I I o f C G L . With few exceptions, all references to the grammarians are to the edition by H. Keil, Grammatici Latins, vols. I—V I I (Leipzig, 1856-80), even though a few texts are now available in more recent

78

A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary volume, page, and— in most cases— line in K eils Gram m atici L a tin i ‘Etym .’ refers to the edition o f Isidores work by W. M . Lindsay (Oxford, 1911), while ‘C G L ’ stands for Goetz, Corpus Glossariorum Latinorum (see n .7); ‘Bcda A M * refers to D e arte métrica, ed. C . B. Kendall, in Bedae Venerabilis Opera. Pars I : Opera didascalia, C C S L 123A (Tumhout, 1975). For ‘Byrhtferth’, see Byrhtferth's M anual ed. S. J. Crawford, E E T S 177 (1929). T he best sys­ tematic treatment o f the grammatical terms (items 15-55) Is still that by Ludwig Jeep, Z u r Geschichte der Lehre von den Redetheilen bei den lateinischen Gram m atikern (Leipzig, 1893). Rubric

G R A M M A T IC E ] F L P S V IN C IP IU N T G R .; W E S I D O R I IU N IO R IS P A L E S T I N E N S IS E P I S C O P I G R . (with P A L E S T IN E N S IS no doubt as a copyists error for H IS P A L E N S IS )’, N O T A T A ] D praenotata, Rubric in X: Incipiuntglosae.

1-14 Poetry and its genres 1 om. P; uates] om. V; .i. ( = id est) in 1, 3 and 4 only in H ; Etym. V I I I . vii. 13, C G L V. 9 3 .17 . 2 S lib er uelcontas; cf. C G L V. 93.18. 3-9 Etym. I. xxxix. 21-3. 3 B R poem a: opus unius lib ri (R adds m etrici). 5 D H Ydillion, R ydilion , F idlion, L V W X edition, S edyllion, P edilyon, C K edulion, B diliorc, C G L V. 104. 2. 6 locutioJ B V X uersuum, P uersurum, R uersum, om. D F L S W ; in O P V X , 6 follows item 7. 8-38 om. B L W Y . 8 D H R Epodon, P V ephodon, X epodhon, F ypodorr, clausulara] D R S clausula, X clausa; in] om. X. C f. Diomedes I. 485. 9 titulas] O super lifteras titulas (T V similar), cf. Etym. I. xxxix. 22. H reads at end o f line 7 titulus. Proem i, but begins again line 8 Proemion. 10 P V proym ion, X proymorr, cf. E proem ium : praefatio libriprologum (see item 11), and C G L V. 323.10 , Etym. V I . viii. 9. h om. F; C G L IV . 148. 42, 556.16, V. 137. 48. 12 F quaestio siue m ateria uelform a, cf. item 13. C G L I I . 416. 33, V. 137. 8 and 12; cf. E problem a:parabola, enigma, questio, Etym. V I . viii. 14. 12a only in P U V X Z ; U V prepositio. editions. I am grateful to Professor Patrizia Lendinara for reading a draft o f this article and for a number o f valuable suggestions.

79

Helmut Grteuss 13

14 14a

norma] D P S V and C G L V. 101. zz norma uelform asiue m ateria, X norma uelform ai for F see item iz. Items 13 and 14 precede iz in UZ. Etym. X V I I I . xlv, C G L V. 4Z6. 50. only in O P U V X Z .

15-zo Grammar 15 H c. five letters erased at end o f line 11 and five letters at beginning o f line iz; a retis./.] F P V aretes (V arates) id a t uirtus; D reads: Ars apo ta siue m entía, X reads: Apo ta . ars. A reta. uirtus disciplinç siue scientiae; apo ta is written as one word in all M S S ; Etym. I. i. i- z ; cf. Diomedes 1. 421.8 f., Cassiodorus, Institutiona, ed. Mynors (Oxford, 1937), ii. 4, etc. 16 om. F; C G L I I I . 71. 4; Etym. I. v. i. 17 om. F D ; cf. Etym. I. v. 1. 18 om. F; uel] om. D P S V X ; C G L IV . 8 4 . 1 , 5ZI. 14; cf. E gram m ati: litteratr, cf. Diomedes I. 421. 9-13. 19-20 P V prophora P R V antiphora These entries may refer to a grammar o f the question-and-answer type, like the Ars m inor o f Donatus, or the Excerpta o f Audax. 2 1-2 8 The parts o f speech Corresponding lists in Charisius, ed. Barwick (Leipzig, 1964), 470, and C G L I I I . 3 2 7 f., 375. 72-9; also, numerous occurrences o f individual items in C G L II and I I I . zz D F P S V antonom a.X ontonoman. 23 U Z rim a 24 om. F; V X epirrem a, P S epyrrema, X expirrem a 25 P S V metoche, D methoce, X Inethoche. 26 M S archorc, in O U V X follows after 28a, in P follows after 28b. 27 cf. Quintilian, Inst. orat. I. iv. 18. 28 F P V X prothesis', om. U Z . 28a only in O P T V X ; 28b only in PT . 29 -34 The noun: gender 29-32 C G L 111. 376. 2 ,8 - 10 , etc. 31 D F S thelicon, V thilicon, P X thylie on; C G L V. 1 0 1 . 17. 32 D deceron, F detheron(i), O P V udeteron, M S undetheron, X udetherorr, in X follows after 33. 33-4 C G L I I I . 147. 38, 461. 23; etc.; cf. Priscianus II . 140, Donatus I I I . 375, etc. 33 S chynon. 80

A Grammarian's Greek-Latin Glossary 34

D epykenon, S epychenon, P epicynon, V epikynon, X E P K IN C O N ; in X follows after 35.

35-51 The noun: declension, die cases 35 F P X pipthosis. 35a only in O P T V X . 35-6 om. F O P U V X Z ; for the position in this section see Etym. I. xviii, Probus IV . 48 f. In T, 36-8 follow 50. 36 C G L I I I . 488. 73. Items 36-443 om. M . 37 Etym. I. xxviii. 1, Pompeius V. 197. 24. 38 om. F O P U V Z ; D eophonia: suauitas sonorum; X eufonía: bene sonans oratio, in X follows after 75; for the relation to analogía (item 37), see Cledonius V. 4 7 .12 -18 , etc. 39 ff. B L W resume again. 39-44 For corresponding lists o f cases see C G L I I I . 376 and 382; also, individual entries in C G L . 39 nominatiuus] C genitiuus. 40 X geratice. 41 D doctice. 42 B D P S V X etiatice (V etiatici), F epiatice, C ethiantike, LW atiatike1 LW accusatiuum. 43 V cletici, B X eletice; LW uocatiuunr, 43 om. U Z . 44 D S W aferrtike, P X apheretice, V apheretici, L afaretike, F aferitice, C afertice, B auestice. 44a only in O P T U V X Z ; C G L I I I . 376 .13. 44b-50 cf. Etym. I. vii. 33, Donatus IV . 377. 23-5. 44b not in D H ; est] om . W; follows 45 in B F L M S T W Y . 45-55 om. D . 45 F P V W X casuU L causa. 46 in . . . casuum] B F R duorum casuum; casuum] V casuum uarietas, S W casuum est. 47,48 uarietas] om. F O R X ; cf. E tetraptota: nomina quae tantum in quatuor casibus declinantur. 49 inflexio] B uarietas, om. F R . 50 ui. casuum] B L P S V W X omnium casuum uaria (B om. uaria); declinado] om. F O R . 51 nomina] B nom ina inequality quae . . . optimus] om. D F ; in comparatione] om. B; optimus] B L P S V W X add malus, peior. pessimusi R reads anom alía nom ina sunt inaequalia, Pompeius V. 154. 24-6, etc. 81

Helmut Gneuss 52-54 The noun: species 52 Theticd\ B D e elitica; S possessiui; u t . . . dicta] om. F O R W ; euandrius] B P S V X (L ?) euandrius ensis, correctly, see Etym. I. vii. 21, Donatus IV . 574. 1, Priscianus I I . 68. 16; dicta] B L P S V utique dicta, cf. Priscianus 11. 68-82. 53 om. B L W Y ; Patronomica] F H P S V X ; a . . . uocabula] S p arentibus uoc. ducta; dicta . . . agamemnonides] om. F; dicta . . . eacides] X uocabula ducta ut alcides; agamemnonides] V agamemnon, X agamemnon q u i et herculus, in O P U V Z follows after 54; cf. Priscianus II . 62-8 (Aeacides: 62.17). 54 adiectiua] id est adiectiua B L P W ; quç] S id est quae; quç . . . philosophic] om. F O R W ; n/j B P S V utputa; doctus] P V doc­ tor; philosophic] B L P S V add magnus et doctus epitheta (V epithete; B aphiteta) suns, in X 54 precedes 52; Etym. I. vii. 22, C G L V. 19 .10 ,6 5 . 6; cf. E: Epiteta: nom ina aliis nom inibus adicta. 55-74 The order o f entries in O P U V X Z differs: 55-7, 64, 64a, 65, 6 9 73 (72 om. P V X ), 66, 58-63, 67, 68, 74. The order o f entries in D is: (45-55 om.), 74, 75, 6 1,5 6 -9 , 64, 65, 68, 69,88-95 (60, 62, 63, 66, 67, 70 -3, 76-87 om.) 55- 60 The syllable; quantity 55 B F L P S V W X litterarum congregada, Priscianus I I . 44.2, Donatus IV . 368. 18, C G L IV . 285. 14, V. 99. 2, 558. 5: comprehensior, C G L V. 99. 2: congregada, Diomedes I. 427. 4: congregado uel comprehensio. 56- 7 D R macron: longa D R brachia Etym. I. xix. 4-5, C G L V. 114.

39* 58-9 60

B X monochron, LW m ochroa X dicroa W dischronoa 59 om. B M Y ; cf. Sergius IV . 533. om. D ; Diptongon] P V diphthongoa X diptonga; uocalis duplicadoJ P V uoglis id est duplex sonus, S duplex uocalis, X duplex sonussiue uocalis, F dualissonus, B L duae uocales (B adds iunctae); W gem inado uocalium.*26 1

6 1- 67 Prosody and accent 61 om. F; u el some] om. C ;

uel] all except D H R siue, Etym. I.

xviii. I.

6 2 -3 64-6 64a 65

om. D ; posido] L proposition, Etym. I. xvii. 21, C G L V. 101. 27. Etym. I. xix. 1-3; Byrhtferth 182.31—184.2. all except D H ; Baria] X barucb, grauis] C L breuis, F breuis uel grauis. V perispom eni, B S perispomene, X perismomens, C pistom ine. 82

A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary 66

67

om. D ; lonptudo uel] om. C and C G L I I I . 524. 57, IV . 224. 10. om. D ; Etym. I. xviii. i, C G L V. 102. 8.

6 8 -70 Aspiration and spiritus Etym. I. xix. 9 -10 , Priscianus I I I . 5 2 0 .14-17» etc. 68 H W Crisesma, R Chrisesma, D F P S V (X ? ) and C G L V. 102. 15 trisesma, L trissesma, B trissisma, C trissirmt, D U Z and C G L V. 10 2 .15 grassitudcr, cf. Sergius IV . 5 2 6 .1-3: crassitudo autem in spiritu est, unde etiam Graeci adspirationem appellant, an alternative term used by Priscianus (II. 6. 22) is latitudo. For trisesma see C G L V I I . 368; for chrisesma, Laistner (edition o f R , see above, p. 63) suggests chrisma. 69 Dapsia] D dapsya, R dapsid, B C F L P R S V W dasia, X basia; sipidum ] B C D F L P W X hispidum , V ispidum S spidum ; u el asperuni] D u el aspex, F u el aspersum, C om.» B L S V W add unde et aspiratio (V aspitio); B Y follows after 70; C G L I I I . 514. 70

3om. D ; S phyle; lene uelpurum \ LW leue u.p., B leuem u.p., X lenç u elpunte, C purum , C G L V. 9 5 .17 -18 .

7 1-7 4 Special marks; the digamma 71 om. O ; B egressio, cf. Etym. I. xix. 8, Priscianus I I I . 5 2 0 .11-14 , etc. 71a only in H . 72 om. D P V X ; Etym. I. xix. 7, Priscianus I I I . 520. 10, etc.; C G L IV . 229. 39. 73 in H at the foot o f the page, with signe de renvoi after 72; om. B D Y ; W spondiastole, X separatio, C G L V. 104. 8. 74 B C D R digammos; littera] S gramma; Etym. I. iv. 8; cf. Pompeius V. 105, etc., and K (entry D 486) Digam m a, .i. uau u e lf. 74a -b only in O P T U V X Z . 74b in X follows after 38 (both after 75); uoce] X uoce id est mutai cf. C G L I I . 254.15, etc. 74c only in O P T U V Z . 74d o n ly in O U Z . 756 7 5 - 87 Types o f feet (i) 75 Pos] P V pus, S per, C G L V. 94. 2. 7 6 - 87 om. in B D F L W Y ; 8 1-7 om. in M O P S T U V X Z , and so 8 1-7 only in H , where they may represent a later addition. Otherwise, the P X branch may have omitted 8 1-7 because they were con­ sidered inappropriate; cf. Diomedes I. 474-82, Sergius IV . 480 f., «3

Helmut Gneuss

76 77 78 79 80 86

Pompeius V. 122 f., Beda A M ix. 4 -11, and especially Mallius Theodom s V I . 588 and Etym. I. xvii. 1 and 28. om. S V ; follows after 80 in P X ; P monosyllabon: unius syllabe. V duo syllabe. om. V; X m um syllabarum^ cf. C G L 111. 522. 65. P S V X quattuor syllabarum , cf. C G L I I I . 522. 63. syllabarum ] V syllabe, S om. cf. E Endeca: uersus decem sillabarum .

88-99 Types o f feet (U) 88 pyrrd] om. X ; achillis) W achelli, X achillor, PX(L?) add nominatus, S nominatos, V W nom inatur-, Audax V I 1.334.8 f.; different explanations in R and Etym. I. xvii. 2. 89 om. L; Etym. I. xvii. 2, C G L V 100. 5. 90 Etym. I. xvii. 3, quoted more fully in E; R trochaeus: rotatilis (cf. Prudentius, ed. Cunningham, C C S L 126, p. 401, ‘Epilogue’, line 91 92 93 94 95 96 97

98 98a 99 10 0 -10 9 100 101 102 103 104

8). D iam bicus; u el libidus] F siue libidus, B P S V W siue liuidus, F u el liuidus-, Etym. I. xvii. 4; cf. Diomedes I. 48 5.11. Etym. I. xvii. 8. siue repercussus] only in H ; Etym. I. xvii. 7 (manuscript B). hinc] h in c e tB F L P S V W X ; Etym. I. xvii. 10. om. X ; hinc1 hinc e tF L P S V W ; etom . in B D H and C G L I I I . 488. 31; Etym. I. xvii. 9. D ends after breuis. C G L V. 10 2 .11; Etym. I. xvii. 5: Tribrachys, qu i et chorius appellatur . . . , cf. item 97. Corios] X corius, P S V W chorios, L chorius, F coriam bi, B coriambus. Ail except B and F erroneous, as is clear from Etym. I. xvii. 5 (see item 96), and I. xvii. 16: Choriam bus uero, quia ex hoc pede compositum carmen chotis aptissimum sit. Etym. I. xvii. 17. only in H. Audax V I I . 335.12. Metre, verse, genres o f poetry Etym. I. xxxix. 1. V X arithm or, Etym. I. xxxix. 3. uirorum ] om. F; carmen] om. B; Etym. I. xxxix. 9; cf. Diomedes I.4 94 . 32 f. P V unius pedis uersurm in B F L M S W Y follows after 104, in O P T U V X Z follows after 104b. F L P V W pastoralem , Etym. I. xxxix. 16, Diomedes I. 4 8 6 .17. 84

A Grammarians Greek-Latin Glossary 104a 104b 105-9 105 106 107 108 109

only in O P T U V Z . only in O P T U V X Z . c f Etym. I* xxxix. 6, Diomedes I. 506 f. pedum ] B uersuum ; uersus] L uersurum, W uersuum, B C R X om. pedum ] B F W pedum uersus, L pedum uersum. .mi.] B P V W quattuor, X iiiio r, L quinqué (cf. item 108); pedum ] E pedum uersus 107 om. U Z ; C G L V. 101. 29. om. L U Z ; C G L IV . 270. 32; E and C G L IV . 139. 44, 550. 12: pentam etrum : uersus quinqué syUabarum. cf. C G L V. 66. 6.

110 -113 Caesuras C f Diomedes 1.4 9 7 f t Servius IV . 457, Sergius IV . 523, Maximus Victorinus V I . 240, etc; Beda A M xii, Byrhtferth, 98-100. 110 syllaba. . . pedes] R post tres pedes remanens. W places post duos pedes to the right o f eptim im eren (item h i ), and from here until item 12 0 each gloss in W interprets the lem m a o f the preceding line. hi syllaba. . . pedem ] B L P S V X syllaba post tertium pedem (S: pedum , B X : tres pedes) remanens; (rem. om. B) tertium pedem ] C iii. pedes. 112 F H P V fritos trócheos, B C trim s trocheus, L S W X and C G L V. 10 2 .4 titos trocheus (L chroceus), R tetratrochaeos; .////.] R X quat­ tuor, L P V quartum , W ter, B tres, C .u ii.; pedes] P V pedem , S pedum , L om.; remanens] om B. 113 Tetobucolicos] C terte bocolicon, S tétanos bucholicos, LW tetarto buccolicon, R texobucolicos, B tetartecobilicon, P V tétanos (V tetrartos) trócheos, X tardos trocheus, syllaba] om. R; quinm m ] C R X quinqué, B quattuor, L P V W quartum, pedem ] B C R X pedes; remanens] om B. For the terminology cf. Iulius Severus V I . 645. 30 tetarte bucolicon (t. bucolice, Audax V I I . 333. 15); Servius IV . 4 5 7 .12 tetanum trochaeum, Diomedes I. 4 9 7 .10 tetrapodia bucolice; Maximus Viet. V I . 240 and Beda A M xii. 35 bucolice tome. For the confusion about item 113 in the glossary versions (and in several grammars) o f what are in fact two different types o f caesura, sec Neil Wright in Lapidge and Rosier, A ldhelm : The Poetic Works, 267 n. 40. 114 -117 Catalexis C f. Servius IV . 457, Marius Viet. V I . 61, Audax V I I . 333, etc. 114 uersuum] B C R uersus, L uersu. 115 PRVW brachicatalectos, C L X brachicatalecticus, B bracchicatalecticon; duç] P V X due syllabe, B duo. 85

Helmut Gneuss 116 117

B catalecticus, C catalectus; uersus] L uersu; concluditur] X cortcluduntur, R clauditur, Scrvius IV . 457. 16, C G L IV . 22. 44. L P R S V X (W ? ) Ypercatalectos, B C Ypercatalecticus; super] B C sub; crescii] B adcrescit.

118 -128 Punctuation and the sentence 118 -24 Etym. I. xx, I I . xviii. 1, Diomedes I. 437. 39, 465. 2 3 f., Donatus IV . 372, Sergius IV . 533 f. 118 om. L; positurç] C positura, P V X positure u el stigrne. 119 B C F L P R V X thelia (V thelza); C G L V. 1 0 1 . 16. 120 S yposticme, B C L W (F ?) yposticen (L yposticem), V yposticma, R ypostigma, Audax V I I . 324.18, etc.; C G L V. 104. 9. 121 B L mes, C mec, W with gloss for 120 and 121; Diomedes I. 437. 17 f. 121a only in O P T U V X Z ; X stiem a: distinatio (seu d. om.). 123 X comata: incisiones pedum , cf. Etym. I. xx. 6, Marius Viet. V I . 53 f., etc., and item 124. 124 B L P W (F ?) and C G L V. 92. 4 as H ; circuitos] X circuitos uel tota sentential X ends with uersus est, V with uersus; R splits 124 into two entries (ed. Laistner nos. 46 and 58); C no. 78: commata . . . pedum , C . no. 263: Periodos clausula u el tota sententia est. The gloss (except in C ) does not properly distinguish between the senses o f comma and colon as applied to prose and verse; cf. Pompeius V. 133 f., Beda A M xii. 42-51. 125-8 om. B L V Y . 125 unimembris] F W X unius membri. 126 P R S W dicolon, F discolon, X bicolore, bim em bris] R dim em bris, X bim em bri sententia, 127 trim em bris] X trim em brisententia; C G L V. 10 2 .12 . 128 om. B L V X Y ; C G L V. 101. 28. 128a only in W. X adds alter 127 definitions o f Ecloga and Hyperbaton; M and S continue with glosses o f rhetorical terms.

86

Poetic W ords in L a te O ld E n glish Prose RO BERTA FRAN K

Imagination is to reality what poetry is to prose: the former will always think o f objects as massive and vertical; the latter will always try to extend them horizontally. Goethe, Italian Journey (Messina, 18 May 1787) Theorists since Isocrates have tried to epigrammatize the essential difference between poetry and prose. Prose is bread, sweet new wine, a stately walker; poetry is a wreath o f flowers, heady mead, a swift runner.1*9Prose is conceptual, intellectual, judicious, inform ative; verse is im agistic, em otional, playful, attitudinal. Prose raises the walls, poetry lays the roof; prose extends hori­ zontally, poetry, vertically.1 Baffled, we suspect the worst, that nothing fundamental separates the two modes. N ot that they are interchangeable. We want our prose not too regular in its rhythm , not too fond o f patterns o f repetition. But how many are too many? W here do we draw the line? A t what point on the stylistic spectrum does prose turn into poetry? In the late twentieth century, it is not subject or diction or rhyme that screams verse’ but typographical convention. A ragged tight margin tells readers to adopt a particular stance, to look at words, not through them. ‘Print it as poetry and it is poetry.’’ 1 T h e se m etaphors, am o n g others, are used by A n g lo -L a tin authors to explain w h y they w ro te o n o n e subject in prose an d verse. See G e rn o t W ie lan d , 'G em inas Stilu s: Stu d ies in A n g lo -L a tin H a g io g ra p h y , in Insular Latin Studies, ed. M . H erren , Papers in M ediaeval Studies, i (T o ron to , 19 81), 113 - 3 3 . A lso E . R . C u rtiu s, European Literature and the Latin M iddle Ages (1945), trans. W . R . T rask (N e w York, 1953), 14 7 - 5 4 (‘ P oetry an d Prose* an d ‘S ystem o f M ed ieval Styles*). 1 A ld h e lm , D e virginitate ; ed. R . E h w ald , M o n u m e n ta G e rm an iae H istó rica A u a . A n t. 15 (B erlin , 19 19 ), 32 1: 'T h e rhetorical fou n d ation stones w ere n o w laid an d the w alls o f prose w ere b u ilt, $0 I shall— tru stin g in heavenly su p p ort— b u ild a stu rdy ro o f w ith trochaic slates and d actylic tiles o f metre*; trans. M . L ap id g e, in M . L ap id g e an d M . H erren , A ldhelm : The Prose

Works (C am b rid g e , 19 79 ). 131. Fo r p o e try as up’ and prose as 'across*, see the epigraph. 9 R. A . Lanham, Style: An Anti-Textbook (New Haven, Conn, and London, 19 7 4 ), 99. Cf. the 19 6 0 s phenomenon o f Found Poetry, in which doaors* prescriptions, 1R S bulletins, and airline instruaions to passengers were set out on the page as verse; Ronald Gross and George Quasha, Open Poetry: Four Anthologies o f Expanded Poems (New York, 1973)» 4 3 1-5 2 6 .

87

Roberta Frank But O ld English verse is written out as prose, without line divisions and largely unpointed. W hat oral-culture equivalent to the printed page alerted Anglo-Saxon audiences to put on a poetic hat, to prepare to hear words sing? They certainly distinguished between verse and prose. Æ lfric calls Bedes prose life o f Cuthbert an anfeald gereccednys straightforward nar­ rative’, the verse life, a leoSlic gyddung ‘poetic recitation ; the preface to Alfred’s Boethius describes the king’s prose paraphrase o f the metres as spell ‘speech’, his subsequent verse rendition as leoS'song’.4*Practised in applying Latin categories to their own language and literature, Anglo-Saxon authors, unlike M . Jourdain, knew when they were speaking prose. It is we who are not quite certain where they drew the boundary.’ In two recent essays, Eric Stanley has reminded us that the rhythmical stringing together o f parallel phrases linked by alliteration, a feature o f several kinds o f O ld English rhetorical prose, does not in itself make ‘poetry’. To be considered verse, a piece o f rhythmic, alliterative prose ‘must contain some items . . . from the language o f O ld English poetry’; when these are located, ‘we may then go on, if we wish, and allege that the author too recognized, and intentionally used, these items as a sign that his discourse here is poetical’.6 Like make-up and dress, poetic words invite a certain attitude, a particular sort o f attention. But one robin does not make a spring, and quantitative definition again raises its hoary head. How many poetic words have to be present to push O ld English prose over the edge, into the leafy-green region o f poetry? W ho decides? And under what circumstances 4 Æ lfrics Catholic H om ilies: The Second Series, Text, cd. M . G o d d e n , E E T S s s 5 (L on d o n , 19 79 ). 81 (H o m ily X , St C u th b ert); King A lfred's O ld English Version o f Boethius' De consolatione phibsophiae, cd. W. J . Sedgeficld (O xfo rd , 1899; repr. D arm stadt, 1968), 1. Æ lfr ic s Gram m ar defines prose (negatively) as plain Latin com posed and ordered w ith ou t poetic a n ': Æ lfrics Gram m atik und Gbssar: Text und Varianten, ed. J . Z u p itza (B erlin, 1880; repr. 19 66 ), 295. 1 T h u s Æ lfric s alliterative and rhythm ic discourse, initially assum ed to be verse (e.g. J . Schipper, 'M etrisch e Randglossen , Englische Studien , 9 (1886), 18 4 -9 4 ), looks m ore like prose to tw entieth-century readers: e.g. K . L u ick, ‘ Englische M etrike: G esch ich te der H eim ischen V crsartcn , in Grundriss der germ anischen P h ib b g ie , cd. H . Paul (2nd cd n ., Strassburg, 1 9 0 1 2), i i . ii. 14 1- 8 0 , at 14 2 -3 ; G . G e ro u ld , ‘A b b o t Æ lfric s R h yth m ic Prose*, M odem P h ib b g y 22 (19 2 4 -5 ), 353-6 6 ; O . Funke, ‘ Studien zur alliterierenden und rhythm isierenden Prosa in der älteren altenglischen H om iletik*, A nglia, 80 (1962), 9 -3 6 . B u t the con trary view , that Æ lfric w as w ritin g poetry, still has supporters: e.g. S. K u h n , ‘W as Æ lfric a Poet?*, P hiblogical Quarterly, 52 (1973). 6 4 3 -6 2 .

* The Judgem ent o f the Dam ned, from C o rp u s C h risti C o llege C am b rid g e 2 0 1 and O th er M anuscripts, and the D e fin ition o f O ld English Verse*, in Learning and Literature in A ngbSaxon E ngbnd: Studies Presented to Peter Clemoes on the Occasion o f his Sixty-Fifth Birthday ed. M . Lapidge and H . G n euss (C am b rid ge, 1985), 3 6 3 -9 1; repr. A Collection o f Papers with Emphasis on O ld English U terature, Publications o f the D ictio n ary o f O ld En glish , 3 (Toron to, 1987)» 352-8 3, at 357. Sec also ‘A lliterative O rn am en t and Alliterative R h yth m ical D iscourse in O ld H igh G erm an and O ld Frisian com pared w ith Sim ilar M anifestations in O ld English*, Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur, 10 6 (1984), 18 4 -2 17 .

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Poetic Words in Late OldEnglish Prose was it permissible for prose writers to reach out and 'quote9 from the other register» plucking for their own pleasure both 'the mud-flowers o f dialect I And the immortelles o f perfect pitch9?7 Anglo-Saxon England is far enough distant for its stylistic etiquette to be based on rules very different from our own; it is dear, however, that literary good manners mattered. Authors tell us again and again o f their concern for tone and register, for choosing the right word. The chronider Æ thdweard interrupts his account o f a V iking defeat to 'correct9 his diction: 'There fell three o f their kings in that same "storm99 (or "battle" would be the right thing to say).98 Vernacular writers would have possessed at least as delicate a sense o f appropriateness, o f the distinctions between synonyms. Some O ld English words seem to have been confined to prose (e.g. pytt9 borg cnapa, bradnes, poden, biblioÖece), others to poetry (e.g. frod, w ieg eoh, guff, beadu, tin hruse, geofon, dreor);9 still others had different meanings, depending on whether they are used in poetry or prose (e.g. bord, b ill, m al, blad (m .), mere, gewinn, rand).10 A fourth group o f words, catalogued over twenty years ago by Eric Stanley, occurs almost exdusively in prose and only rarely in verse (e.g. digoUice, ege, gedrefednes, 7 Seamus Heaney, F ield Work (London,

19 79 ), 56 (‘Song’).

1 The Chronicle o f Æ thelweard, ed. Alistair Campbell (London,

19 62), 53: ‘Ibidemque ruunt reges tres eorum turbine in eodem (uel certamine dicere fas est).’ ‘Storm’ is a natural metaphor for battle (cf. Gm. Sturm , O E storm, scur [of arrows]). But Æthelweard had an interest in Old Norse names and words (see pp. lix-lx), and turbo, esp. in the context o f a Viking assault at Wodnesfeld, recalls the skaldic kenning for ‘battle’ : ‘storm, gust, whirlwind, eddy, shower (of Woden or missiles)'. See Rudolf Meissner, D ie Kenningar der Skalden (Halle, 19 2 1), 17 6 - 2 0 2 . At least one chronicler in late Anglo-Saxon England shows a similar tendency to use Old English poetic words to portray Viking ships and Viking warfare: see R. I. Page, ‘ “A Most Vile People” : Early English Historians on the Vikings', The Dorothea Coke M em orial Lecture in Northern Studies (University College London, 1986), 3 -2 5 , at 2 6 -

7. 9 T h is split has been acknow ledged for over 150 years: ‘T h e language o f p oetry is as d is t in a from that o f prose am o n g the A n glo -Saxo n s as an y tw o dialects’ (J. M . K em ble,

The Poetry o f the Codex Verceltensis w ith an English Translation (L on d o n , 1843), p. ix). A n u m b er o f poetic w ords that never o ccu r in prose do appear in glosses and glossaries (e.g. mece, breahtm , gecringan, gas); these texts cannot sim ply be handed over to the register o f prose, since som etim es the O ld English w ord glosses a Latin poetic expression. Figures from The D ictionary o f O ld English: D , ed. A . C am ero n et aL (Toron to, 1986), reveal the extent o f the prose/poetry division . O f the 897 headw ords in *D ', 118 are used in p oetry on ly; o f these, the vast m ajority (10 0 ) are com po u n d s, m ost o f w h ich are hapax legomena o r nearly so.

10 Words in this group tend, in poetry, to be generalizing and metaphorical (‘this is that’); in prose, particularistic (‘this is put for that*), treating local variations in size, hue, material as distina entities: cf. mere ‘sea, water’ vs. ‘small lake*; m al ‘time’ vs. ‘specific time (for eating)’. Theoretically, the poetic word favours speakers, whose ideal ‘economy’ consists o f a few general terms, the prose word, auditors, whose ideal ‘economy’ consists o f a vast, precise vocabulary. See G . K. Zipf, Human Behavior and the Principle o f Least Effort: An Introduction to Human Ecology (Cambridge, Mass., 1949), 19 -2 0 .

89

Roberta Frank gladian, m ildheort, spellian, gewiss, cafertun, hwilwende)." A fifth group, made up o f words frequent in verse but not totally lacking in prose, has yet to receive official recognition.” T his essay looks at some o f the circumstances under which poetic words were admitted into prose. It has, however, some wider implications. W ith a few notable exceptions, our scholarship has tended to treat as interchangeable adjectives like ‘poetic’, 'early, ‘Anglian’, ‘archaic’, ‘dialectal’, and ‘obsolescent’.1* Texts with ‘poetic’ and ‘Anglian’ symptoms and no named author are likely to end up quarantined in ninth-century M ercia.14 W hen a pillar o f W inchester usage like Æ lfric publicly indulges in poetic language (nos. 5, 6, and 15), these ‘deviations’ can be explained ‘by his concern for style’.1* But a poetic word in an anonymous hom ily tends to be looked upon as a lonely, passive survivor, to be interrogated solely for genealogical or linguistic inform ation: ‘interesting occurrence o f the poetical and Anglian word in a prose hom ily’ is the inevitable professional diagnosis.1* Even an archaism’, however, lives in the present, if it lives at all. Where in the literature, for example, do poetic words ‘hang out’? The fifteen terms surveyed below tend to cluster in rhetorical set-pieces: a prose soul and body address (no. 1), a description o f the tum ult o f Judgement 11

'Studies in the Prosaic Vocabulary o f Old English Verse’, Neuphilologische M itteilungen,

7 2 (1971). 385-418. 11 Id en tifyin g these w ords has been greatly facilitated b y the M icrofiche Concordance o f O ld

English (« M C O E ), ed. A . diP. H ealey and R . L . V enczky (T oron to. 1980). K en n eth Sisam notes their existence in Studies in the H istory o f O ld English Literature (O xfo rd , 1953). 6 8 -9 : 'S igo r "v ic to ry ” , occu rrin g on ce (in St Christopherj , is usually reckoned poetical and A n glian , but Æ lfric has it, and at this date w ell-kn ow n poetical w ords m ay be expected in elevated prose*. D e fin in g 'poetic* is, as B unyan said o f life, *a hard m atter, yea, a harder m atter than m an y are aw are of*. For the purposes o f this essay, 'poetic word* designates a sim plex m ore than 7 0 % o f w hose total occurrences (in p oetry and prose) are in verse; such a w ord is labelled 'm ain ly poetic* in the T o ron to D ictionary o f O ld English. (In D \ o n ly 16 out o f 897 headw ords fit into this category.) Sin ce poetic texts com prise barely 6 % o f the corpus o f O E literature, the 7 0 % c u t-o ff ensures a generous safety m argin. In addition , to be eligible for inclusion the w ord m ust occur in at least tw o poem s and m ore than fou r tim es. I have not coun ted glosses in m y statistics (see n. 9); their n u m ber is sufficient, however, to affect the 'poetic' status o f o n ly tw o o f the w ords exam ined (see nos. 14 and 15 below ). 'L ate prose’ m eans, in practice, alm ost all O E prose, for m ost o f the tim e w e have no secure w a y o f d istin gu ish in g betw een an on ym o u s w orks com posed after 950 and any that are earlier. M oreover, som e o f the prose texts that can be assigned w ith certain ty to the early period are extant o n ly in m odernized copies o f the n th and 12th centuries. M J . Bately, ‘Old English Prose Before and During the Reign o f Alfred*, A S E 17 (1988), 9 3 138, casts a critical eye on this tradition.

14 See ibid, on the lack o f evidence for any tradition o f vernacular prose in Mercia before Alfred and his collaborators set to work. M W. Hofstetter, 'Winchester and the Standardization o f Old English Vocabulary*, A S E 17 (1988). 13 9 -6 1. at 16 1. 16 R . W illard, ‘Address o f the Sou l to the B o d y ’ , P M LA 50 (1935). 9 5 7 -8 3, at 962 n. 27.

90

Poetic Words in Late OldEnglish Prose D ay (nos. 4, $d, 12a, and 13b), and an ubi sunt catalogue (nos. $c and 13c), three themes well represented in O ld English verse; some words occur in passages that closely parallel extant poems (nos. $d, 7a, and 13a). Poetic words apparently prefer direct or reported speech to straight narrative (nos. 1,2 a , 5a, 5e, 6c, 7c, 8 ,14b, 14e, and 15a); homilists in oral performance may have found it easier to put poetic words in the mouths o f others (just as Chaucer only repeats what the coarse M iller says). G od, Christ, saints, angels, souls, and scripture speak more poetically than ordinary men; and the attributes o f holiness attract poetic language (nos. 2b, 3a, 6a-b, 7c, 10, it, and 12).17 Poetic words twice advertise the English past, a kind o f lexical ye olde’ sign (nos. 2b and 3b).11 They often occur as variation, in apposition to a prosaic near-synonym (nos. 2a, 4, 6c, and i3c-d). Sometimes their appearance signals closure: it is in the final sentence o f a peroration that Æ lfric twice uses metod in his First Series o f Catholic Hom ilies, and it is in the final sentence o f a prayer that poetic swegl occurs for the first and only time in prose (no. 8). Late copies o f early works add and subtract poetic words with apparent freedom. Three eleventh-century manuscripts o f the O E Bede, a text also preserved in copies from the early tenth century, substitute a poetic word for the ‘unmarked’ term o f the original (no. 9); while the ‘late-West-Saxon corrector o f Werferth s translation o f Gregorys Dialogues is responsible for expunging at least one poetic word from that Alfredian text (no. 3). Such changes may be attributed to the teachings o f a particular school, to tra­ ditions o f interlinear glossing o f Latin texts, to a revisers idiosyncratic taste, even to an authors second thoughts. Malcolm Godden has shown how Æ lfric, shortly after completing the Second Series o f Catholic Hom ilies, changed his mind about the suitability o f poetic metod, replacing it with an ‘equivalent* expression.'9 Scribal literary criticism appears to have cleansed some anonymous homilies o f their poeticisms (nos. 4, jb -c , 1 0 , 1 1 , 12a, and 17 Verse is sim ilarly an attribute o f kingship in Shakespeare’s Henry IV : Prince H al uses prose in the taverns to hide his real nature» reverting to poetry w hen he addresses his hither and other m em bers o f the royal court. rt For ‘ye olde’ signs in early M id d le English» see E . G . Stanley, *La3am on’s A ntiquarian Sentim ents’ , M edium Æ vum , 38 (1969), 2 3 -3 7 , at 27. * ‘Æ lfric ’s C h a n g in g Vocabulary*, English Studies, 61 (1980), 2 0 6 -2 3 . B u t Æ lfric did not expunge the poetic form ula roderes wealdend (var. rodent) ‘ ruler o f the skies’ ( Æ C H o m I I .1 4 .1 146.253), an expression occu rrin g sixteen tim es in verse and o n ly this on ce in prose. T h e expression metoda dryhten ‘lord o f hites’ occurs five tim es in Æ lfric ’s Second Series, tw ice in the First Series. M etod appears about 2 6o x in verse, 8x in prose; the on ly non-Æ lfrician prose use is in A lfre d s translation o f a m etre in the Boethius (IV . 6): se metod eallm gesceafta (ed. Sedgefield, p. 136, line 19). A lfred perm itted h im se lf the occasional poetic w ord in his prose paraphrase o f the m etres, som ething he never d id w hen rendering Boethius* prose: see item s 2a and 13a below.

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Roberta Frank 15b). Yet the passing o f centuries did not always make a text less poetic: a scribe w riting in transitional English in the second h alf o f the twelfth century managed twice to insert a poetic word avoided in earlier versions o f the hom ily (no. 13d).“ N ot all poetic words seem equally able to pass into the everyday w orld o f prose. I f they have already ‘intermarried’ with a prosaic word, either as a collocation (nos. iz, 13b, and 13d) or as a ‘composed’ form , their path into prose appears smoother. T h e existence o f prosaic hygeleas ‘thoughtless’ and hygeleast ‘folly’ probably improved hyges chances o f assimilation (no. 7). There are many poetic sim pliccs for ‘man’ or ‘lord’ that never appear in prose (e.g. bealdor, beom , secg hale, firas, freo, hyse, fireca, hleo, rinc, and seealc); three that cross over— brytta, guma, and wiga— are also found in prose compounds denoting specific occupations (e.g. fbdderbrytta, brydguma, and radewiga), a fact that may not have hurt their prosaic careers.” Numerous appearances in glosses, especially in manuscripts with Kentish associations, may be another sign o f potential acceptability in prose (nos. 14 and 15); but we still have much to learn about this neglected asp ea o f O ld English literary history.” Poetic words occurring in prose include atberan, afysan, agalan, andsaca, ansyn (‘lack’), aswebban, atol, awa, bal, bealu (adj.), befaSm an, bem um an, bene, bepringan, bew itian, gebiden, geblanden, brego, brim , dam (‘bond, grip’), gecost, demend, eafbra, fa im (‘bosom, embrace’), fits, fysan, geomor, hador, h a lei, hw earfi, leod (‘prince’), linnan, list, m aiel, metod, nergend, oppringan, scripan, sigor, slipen, swase, torht, tom , peoden, prag upheofbn, wadan, and wap. For reasons o f space, the analysis that follows has been lim ited to fifteen such sim plices, selected solely for their capacity to surprise, puzzle, and delight. There are some principles behind the ordering o f items, and not all are lexical. In honour o f the scholar to whom this piece is dedicated, the list begins with three words meaning ‘man, prince’, for he, T h is m an u script, B o d ley 343, is som etim es given credit for another poeticism * : the hapax Iegom enon im etodlice ‘ inevitably, certain ly (see J . R. C la rk H all, A Concise Anglo-Saxon

D ictionary (4th edn ., C a m b rid g e , i9 6 0 ), s.v. gem etodlice; M iddle English D ictionary s.v.). In the fo u r earlier copies o f the text in question (B 3 .2 .11), the hom ilist m entions eight capital sins w ith o u t som e o f w h ich no m an can easily be fo u n d ': [un\eaSlice gem et [ed\ bion (M ax Förster, D ie V ercelli-H om ilien: I.- V I I I . H om ilie, B ib . ags. Prosa 12 (H am b u rg, 1932; repr. D arm stad t, 19 6 4 )' 55» lines 2 1- 2 ) ; the B o d ley 343 reading ‘w it h o u t . . . w h ich no m an can in evitab ly (?) be’ is not felicitous, and im etodlice is as likely to be a false con flatio n o f eadlice and gem eted as an adverbial form o f poetic m etod " B u t cf. poetic brego ‘ ruler, lord ’ , w h ich occurs th irty-fo u r tim es in verse an d o n ce in Æ lfr ic s prose; it never form s p a n o f a prose co m p o u n d , yet crosses over all the sam e.

11 See E. G . Stanley, ‘The Scholarly Recovery o f the Significance o f Anglo-Saxon Records in Prose and Verse: A New Bibliography, A S E 9 (198 1), 2 2 3 -6 2 , at 249; repr. in A Collection o f Papers, 3 -4 8 , at 33.

9*

Poetic Words in Lou OUEnglish Prose too, is gúmena segetyddusta ‘the most learned o f men’, godes brytta ‘a generous dispenser o f good*, and, not least, sträng wiga ‘a strong warrior’.1J 1. Brytta m. ‘lord, prince, dispenser* (36x verse, ix prose) Soul and Body address: Hom M 14.2 (Healey) 34 (B 3.5.14.2) Bodleian, Junius 85 and 86 (Ker 336 art 2) s. xi med. The soul says: ‘Geherstu, goda lichoma and |>u geleaffulla, )>u waere godes brytta, fordon du Godes willan worhtest’ (‘ Hear ye, good body and you faithful one, you were a dispenser/princc o f good, because you carried out G od’s purpose'). A few sentences earlier, another soul had castigated its body in equally rhythmic and alliterative phrases: ‘I>u eart deofles hus, fordan du deofles willan worhtest. Pu w zrc yries hyrde and oferhydig’ (‘You are a house o f the devil, because you carried out the devil’s purpose; you were a guardian/prince o f anger and proud’). Brytta parallels hyrde, here used in its poetic sense ‘guardian, prince’, not ‘herdsman, shepherd’, and provides a vehicle for the homilist’s paronomastic linkage o f goda, god, and G od An abbreviated paraphrase o f this address occurs in HomS 6 (Ass 14) 81 (B 3.2.6) Cambridge, Corpus Christi College (hereafter C C C C ) 302 (Ker 56, art 11, s. xi/xii) and B L , Cotton Faustina A . IX (Ker 153 art 5, s. xii1); this late homily retains deofles hus but omits both yrres hyrde and godes brytta. Like brytta, poetic andsaca ‘adversary’ (i8x verse; ix prose) occurs only once in the extant prose, in a Soul and Body address in which a sinful body is apostrophized as Godes andsaca: Hom U 9 (VercHom 4) 294. It is curious that— while the Vercelli prose So\A and Body pieces exhibit poeticisms— the Vercelli version o f the Soul and Body poem seems less ‘poetic’ than its Exeter Book counterpart, the former presenting, for example, common aht and fro jb r where the latter has poetic geahS and hroSor respectively. 2. Guma m. ‘man, lord, hero’ (159X verse, 3X prose in 3 M S S ) (a) A lfreds Boethius, Bk IV , met 7: Bo 40.139.5 (B 9.3) B L , Cotton Otho A . V I (Ker 167) s. x med.; Bodleian, Bodley 180 (Ker 305) s. xii1. ‘Wella, wisan men, wel; gad calle on |x>ne weg de cow [lærad] [>a 11 Each prose text in w hich the poetic w ord occurs is norm ally identified b y its (i) M C O E short title and line num ber, (z) C am eron num ber, (3) m anuscript, and (4) K er num ber and date. (For m anuscripts o f Æ lfric s Catholic H om ilies, Second Series, see edn. b y M . G o d d e n , pp. x xv-lxxiv.) Edition s and abbreviations are those cited in the M C O E : The List o f Texts and Index o f Editions. For C am eron num ber, see A. C am eron , ‘A List o f O ld English Texts’, in A Plan fo r the D ictionary o f O ld English , ed. R. Frank and A. C am eron (Toronto, 1973)* 2 5-30 6 ; for K e r num ber and date, see N . R. Ker, Catalogue o f M anuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon (O xfo rd , 1957).

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Roberta Frank f[oremæran bisna] )>ara godeña gúmena & J>ara weordgeornena wera [>e z r cow w zron ('Ah, ye wise men, walk, all o f you, on that path shown to you by the famous examples o f those good lords and honour-seeking men who lived before you ). C f. Ite nunc fortes u bi celsa m agni I D ucit exem pli uia. (b) Byrhtferth’s M anual (10 0 8 -11): ByrM 1 (Crawford) 44.1 and 158.10 (B 20.20.1) Bodleian, Ashmole 328 (Ker 288 art 1) s. xi med. (i) Introducing Bedes verses concerning the months: ‘Beda |>us giddode, gúmena se getyddusta . . . ’ ('Bede thus recited, the most learned o f m en). (ii) Introducing a passage from Bedes D e natura reruns 'Beda cwyÔ, gúmena se getiddusta on Angelcynne . . . ’ (‘ Bede says, the most learned o f men among the English people’). Metre IV .7 is one o f the nine not translated into O ld English verse in Cotton O tho A. V I . Alfred’s alliterative prose never mentions Agamemnon, Ulysses, and Hercules, whose deeds take up most o f Boethius’ poem; instead, he speaks more generally o f the example o f good men o f the past, the gum an ‘heroes’ o f ancient days. Byrhtferth twice names Bede ‘the most learned o f men’, as if repetition might drill the epithet into his pupils’ heads and the resonant gum a recall for them a distant, golden age in the north o f England.14 The first occurrence (b.i) is in an alliterative long line: cf. ‘J>zt gyddedon gúmena m znigeo’ (D an 727); ‘guma gilphlzden gidda gemyndig’ (Beo 868).

3. Wiga m. warrior, man’ (42X verse, 2x prose in m ultiple M S S , 3x gloss: note [héros] Æ Gram 57.9) (a) Werferth’s translation o f Gregory’s Dialoguer. G D 2(C) 3.110.13 (B 9.5.4) C C C C 322 (Ker 60) s. xi1, B L , Cotton O tho C . I vol. 2 (Ker 182 art 1) s. xi in. 'And swa se Godes stranga wiga sanctus Paulus nolde beon gehzfd binnan Jjzre byrig Damasco, ac sohte £>one feld |>zs campes’ (‘and thus the strong warrior o f G od, St Paul, wished not to be confined within the city o f Damascus, but sought the battlefield’). C f. praeliator D ei teneri intra claustra noluit, certam inis campum quaesivit. C f. G D 2(H) 3.110 .12 (B 9.5.10.2) Bodleian, Hatton 76 (Ker 328A art 1) s. xi1: ‘Sojdice se stranga Godes fyhtling nolde beon gehzfd binnon clysingum J>zre bürge Damasci, ac sohte J>one feld |>zs gecampes.’ 14 B yrh tferth also calls B ed e ‘sc agUca larcow ' (‘the aw esom e teacher*, 74 .15), u sin g a term otherw ise fou n d o n ly in poetry. See now A . N ich olls, ‘ B ede “A w e -In sp irin g” not “ Monstrous**: S om e Problem s w ith O ld E n glish agiaca\ N otesand Queries, 236 (19 9 1), 14 7 - 8 .

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Poetic Words in Late OldEnglish Prose (b) O E Bede. Bede 1 12.50.27 (B 9.6.3) Bodleian, Tanner 10 (Ker 351) s. x1. hi f>a sona hider sendon maran sciphere strengran wighena [C C C C 41, s. xi1: strangra wigena]’ (‘A nd then they at once sent here a larger fleet with a stronger force o f warriors’). C f. m ittitur confestim illo classis prolixior, armatorum form s manum fortiorem . Werferth completed his translation by 893 at the latest; sometime between 950 and 1050, an anonymous reviser, whose vocabulary corresponds to that o f the ‘Winchester school’, made many minor modifications, including the change o f wiga to fy h t lin g Poetic wiga was known in Æ thelwold’s Winchester, as Æ lfric’s gloss suggests, but for some, presumably contextual, reason, the Hatton reviser preferred to depict Paul as a ‘soldier’, not ‘w arrior. In the O E Bede, the invading Saxons o f 449 are depicted as wigan, the poetic word perhaps hcroicizing and distancing these ancestral pirates. The Anglo-Saxon chronicler used another poeticism, equally rare in prose, to describe how the same founding fathers arrived in three ceolum ‘ships’, a learned echo perhaps o f Gildas who reports in the D e excidio Britanniae 23 (sixth century in s. xi M S) that the Anglo-Saxons came to Britain in cyulis— ut lingua eius exprim itur. 4. B lastm. ‘flame, blaze, gust’ (6x verse, ix prose in 3 M S S , ix gloss; blast in PsCaG 6.13 is in hand o f s. xiii) Judgement Day homily in four copies ( = VercHom 2 with additions in style o f Wulfistan): Hom U 32 (Nap 40) 71 (B 3.4.32) C C C C 419 (Ker 68 art 8) s. xi1; Bodleian, Hatton 114 (Ker 331 art 82) s. xi (3rd quarter); B L , Cotton Cleopatra B. X II I (Ker 144 art 1) s. xi (3rd quarter). ‘In t>am dzge us byÔ æteowed . . . J>æra ligetta blæst’ (‘On that day will be revealed to u s . . . a blaze o f lightnings’). C f. liggetta gebrastl crackling o f lightnings’ C C C C 201 (Ker 49B art 15) s. xi med. HomU 8 (VercHom 2) 46 (B 3.4.8) Vercelli, Biblioteca Capitolare C X V II (Ker 394 art 2) s. x1: liga blastm ‘flash o f flames’. HomM 13 (VercHom 21) 223 (B 3.5.13) as above, art 26; liga gebrasl crackling o f flames’. The text o f rhythmical, alliterative prose in which blast appears has been 11 O n the ‘W inchester school’ see H . G neuss, Hymnar und Hymnen im englischen M ittelalter, Buchreihe der A nglia, 12 (Tübingen, 1968), 18 6 -7 , and 'T h e O rigin o f Standard O ld English and Æ th e lw o ld s School at W inchester*, A S E 1 (1972), 6 3-8 3, at 7 8 -8 1. H ans H echt early connected the reviser o f W erferth s translation w ith this school: Bischof W arferths von Worcester Übersetzung der D ialoge Gregors des Grossen, Bib. ags. Prosa 5 (Leipzig and H am burg, 19 0 0 -7 ), ii. 131.

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Roberta Frank published by E. G . Stanley (n. 6) who observes the connections among the related pieces in Hatton 113/114, C C C C 201, and Vercelli. T he unique blastm seems to have inspired creativity in later adapters o f Vercelli 2. Three o f the four surviving M S S o f Napier 40 use the poetic word blast, CCCC 201 shares with Vercelli 21 the reading gebras(t)U a term that, with the exception o f one gloss, occurs only in the related Judgement Day I I (in CCCC 201) and Napier 29 (in Hatton 113). Both poetic blast and prosaic gebrastl (Æ lfric uses gebrastlian with some frequency) appear to be separate ‘updatings' o f a perhaps no longer comprehensible blastm. 5. Folde f. ‘earth, land, world’ (192X verse, 6x prose in multiple M S S , 3X gloss) (a) Æ lfric s St M artin hom ily: Æ C H o m 11.39.1 292.164 (B 1.2.42) Pagans challenge the saint to stand under a tree as it is fallende to foldan ‘falling to the earth’. (b) Vercelli 2/Napier 40: Hom U 8 (VercHom 2) 80 (B 3.4.8); Hom U 32 (Nap 40) 100 (B 3.4.32) [M SS as no. 4 above]

The body decays in pare cealdanfoldan ‘in the cold earth’. Cf. foldan in Hatton 114 and Cleopatra B. X I I I ; eorban in Vercelli 21 and CCCC 419; moldan in CCCC 201. (c) Vercelli 10/N apier 49 and 30 (i) Hom S 40.3 (VercHom 10) 317 (B 3.2.40) Hwar comfoldan fagemed (‘Where has the earth’s beauty gone?’) Hom S 40.1 (Nap 49) 291: foldan in C C C C 421 (Ker 69 art 9) s. xi1, C C C C 302 (Ker 56 art 33) s. xi./xii, C C C C 302 (Ker 56, art 12), and (Hom S 7.156, B 3.2.7) Cotton Faustina A . IX (Ker 153 art 6) s. xii1; cf. folce( Hom U 3 [B elf 12] 132, B 3.4.3) Bodleian, Bodley 343 (Ker 310 art 80) $. xii1; eorban (H om U 27 (Nap 30) 184 (B 3.4.27) Bodleian, Hatton 113 (Ker 331 an 23) s. xi (3rd quaner). (ii) Hom S 40.3 (VercHom 10) 281 mountains hrioseS to foldan ‘fall to earth’; cf. eorban in Napier 49 (all M S S ); eorSein Bodley 343. (d) Napier 29/Judgement Day I I Hom U 26 (Nap 29) 100 (B 3.4.26) Hatton 113 (Ker 331 an 22) s. xi (3rd quarter). ‘eall Adames cynn eordbugjendra, [>e on foldan weard zfre gefeded’ (‘all the race o f Adam, o f earthdwellcrs, who were ever reared in the world’); cf. JDay II: ‘eal Adames cnosl eordbuendra I f>e on foldan weard feded zfre’. Neither is a close translation o f the Latin poetic source (De diejudien , attributed to Bede). 96

Poetic Wordsin Late OldEngUshProse (e) Prose Solomon and Saturn dialogue Sol I 9.1 (B 5.1) B L , Cotton Vitellius A . X V (Ker 215 art 3) s. xii med. O f the elements from which Adam was created, ‘J>art æroste waes foldan pund o f dam him waes flesc geworht’ (‘the first was a pound o f earth, from which his flesh was made’). C f. pondus lim i inde foetus est caro (U. Lindelöf, ed. Rituale ecclesiae Dunelmensis, Surtees Society 140 (London, 1927), 192). Folde is the poetic, eorSe the prosaic word for ‘earth’ in O ld English, as in O ld Norse, where an eddic poem announces that the earth is called jç rS b y men, fo ld by the gods (Alvissm àl 10.1). Folde occurs in both early and late prose; when multiple manuscripts exist, we find eorie freely if inconsistendy substituted. The most tenacious fo lde is in item c.i, an ubi sura catalogue based on a passage found in Isidore’s Synonyma and Defensor’s L iber SeintiUarum (neither o f which, however, includes this particular im a g e ).O n ly Hatton 113 ‘corrects’ to eorie, but the same manuscript admits fo lde into a preceding prose piece that corresponds to parts o f JD a y I I (item d). The m id-twelfth-ccntury manuscript that describes how G od created Adam’s flesh from fo lde (item e) uses another poetic word for the first man’s ‘mind’ (see 14e). In both instances, the O ld English gloss to the Latin o f the Durham R itu al employs non-poetic terms. 6. Folm, folm e f. folm a m. ‘hand, palm’ (59X verse, 4X prose in multiple MSS, $x gloss [ix for ‘palm branch’], 3x plant name Fometesfolm) (a) Æ lfrics Invention o f the Cross homily: Æ C H om 11.19 175.46 (B 1.2.22). Elene brings to Constantine ‘da isenan næglas J>e waeron adrifene |mrh Cristes folman 5a da he gefaestnod waes’ (‘the iron nails that were driven through Christ’s hands when he was fastened’). (b) Werferth’s translation o f Gregory’s Dialogues (i) G D 2(C) 32.166.5 (B 9.5.4) (see no. 3a above) Benedict, to revive a dead child, ‘aj>enode his folmas upp to heofonum’ (stretched out his hands to heaven ). C f. a d caelum palm as tetendit. (ii) G D Pref 3(C) 15.208.18 (B 9.5.5) Florence, to rid the land o f serpents, ‘ahof his eagan up to heofonum & his folme adenede’ (‘lifted his eyes up to heaven and stretched out his hands’). C f. ad caelum oculos et palm as tetendit. u See J. E. Cross, 'U bi Sunt Passages in Old English— Sources and Relationships’, in Vrtentkaps-soáeteten i LundA nbok (1956), 25-4 4 . 97

Roberta Frank (c) Prose Solomon and Saturn dialogue: Sol II (Menner 1941) 65 (B 5.3) C C C C 422 (Ker 70A) s. x med. The arms o f the Pater Noster are longer than the whole world, ‘deah de hie sien mid [>e beorhtestan wyrhtan folmum tosomnc gefeged’ (‘though they may be joined together by the hands o f a most excellent craftsm an). T he ‘Winchester* reviser o f G regorys Dialogues accepts folm , at least in W erferths second book (which is as far as he corrected’). Æ lfric’s alliterative pairing o f C hrists folm an, gefastnod by nails to the cross, parallels that o f Elene 1062 and Christ 1454. W erferths translation o f G regorys Latin is faithful to a fault. Like an ‘early Mercian’ Grim m , he glosses the palm a o f his original as folm , its O ld English cognate.*7 In the prose Solomon, which separates fragments o f two verse dialogues, folm elegantly varies the Pater Noster’s earmas and handa in the same sentence. 7. H ygem. ‘thought, intention, desire’ (132X verse, 4X prose in 5 M S S , 2x gloss) (a) Rogation hom ily: Hom M 13 (VercHom 21) 176 (B 3.5.13) (see no. 4). ‘A c uton blidum mode on haligum hige waeccan lufian & gebedum fyigian on J>isse hwilwendan tide’ (‘ But let us with happy heart in holy intention love vigils . . . ’) Hom U 27 (Nap 30) 87 (B 3.4.27) (Worcester; see no. 5-c.i). ‘And blidum mode on halgum hige waeccan lufjan and ure cyrican secan and urum gebedum fyljan . . . ’ C f. An Exhortation to Christian Living, A S P R V I , p. 67, lines 4b -6 (A 18) C C C C 201 (Ker 49A art 2b) s. xi. med.: ‘and w zccan lufa I on hyge halgum on j>as hwilwendan tid I blide mode, and gebedum Elige’. (b) Sunday Letter homily: Hom U 46 (Nap 57) 29 7.17-19 (B 3.4.46) Lambeth Palace 489 (Ker 283 art 4) s. xi (3rd quarter) (Exeter). ‘swa hwa swa haefd znigne hyge to gode, he wile hlistan pissera worda’ (‘whosoever has any thought to goodness, he w ill listen to these words’). (c) Life o f St Margaret: L S 14 (MargaretAss 15) 298 (B 3.3.14) C C C C 303 (Ker 57 art 23) s. xii1 (Rochester?). G od’s voice announces to the saint: ‘Pine handc and j>inne hige d z n e gehylde and for minre lufa mycel ge^rowedest’ (‘Your hands and your thought you kept pure and for love o f me endured much’).17 17 Folm glosses palm as, palm i, palm ites in, respectively, L o rG I i (G rattan-Sin ger) 29, O c c G l 45.1 (M critr) 224, and P s G IE (H arsley) 7 9 .12 . ‘G rim m s-law * correspondences betw een fisc/ pise -, fiidtr!pater, fell/p ell- . far-fper- , fot/ped -, etc. are likely to have been noticed by A n gloSaxon students o f L atin , i f o n ly because the vernacular w as so poo r in p-w ords.

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Poetic Words in Late OldEncash Prose (d) Prayer: Lit 4.5 (Banks) 1 (B 12.4.5) B L , Cotton Galba A . X IV (Ker 157 art iv) s. xi' (Winchester?). Penitent to God: ‘Ic bebiode m inie sawle gehealdnesse & mines lichoman, min word & weorc & mine ge|x>htas, mine heortan & minne hyge, min leomu & mine lie, du min fell & flaesc, min blod & ban min . . . ’ (‘I commit the keeping o f my soul and o f my body, my words and deeds and my thoughts, m y heart and my desire, my limbs and my body, you my skin and flesh, my blood and my bones. . . ’). Poetic hyge occurs in prose passages with strong alliterative and rhythmic patterning. In item (a), the homily may have taken the word from the poem (as usually argued) or the borrowing could have gone the other way: hyge suggests the former, and prosaic hwilwende, with which it alliterates, the latter.1* (Napier 30 rejects the poetic epithets for God preceding this passage in Vercelli and thought to derive from another, this time unknown, verse source.) In item (b), the homilist uses hyge and an old ploy to ensure his audience’s attention: if you are going to be good (and saved) you’ll sit quietly and listen to me. G od’s poetical commendation in item (c) stands out from its prosaic context and recalls in its choice o f words the versifled psalms o f the Paris Psalter (e.g. pa de heortan gehygd healdaí cUne, 83.12; cf. 61.8, 72.17, 89.14, 118.30). The balanced phrasing o f the prayer in item (d) seems to be striving for a liturgical majesty as it praises God. (Some o f its alliterating collocations— e.g. ’blood and bones’, ‘fell and flesh’— survived into early modern English.) Hyge and its seat, the heorte, are also paired in the poetic psalms and once, memorably, in Maldon 312.8 8. Swegln. ‘sky, heaven (8$x verse, ix prose in 2 M S S ) Prayer: Lit 4.3.3 (Hallander) 25 (B 12.4.3.3) B L , Royal 2 B. V [Regius Psalter M S] (Ker 249 art e) s. xi med.; B L , Cotton Tiberius A. I l l (Ker 186 art 9O s. xi med. (Christ Church, Canterbury). The speaker in the Anal sentence o f the prayer recalls Christ’s invitation to enter his fathers kingdom where the blessed live ‘mid dreame butan deaj>e on swegle butan susle’ (‘joyously without death in heaven without misery’). The eleventh-century corrector o f the Old English text in Royal 2 B. V, who 11 T h e m ost recent contribution to the debate m aintains the p riority o f the prose: *1suspect that the . . . prose has been turned w ith a little difficulty into verse, not that the prose is a “ dilution** o f the verse’ : J . E. C ross, Cam bridge, Pembroke College M S. a j: A Carolm gian

Serm onary Used by Anglo-Saxon Preachers, K in g ’s C o llege Lon don M edieval Studies, i (Lon don ,

1987). «50.

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Roberta Frank modernized many words to the late West Saxon standard o f Tiberius A . I l l , left poetic sw eglalone, restricting him self to ‘updating’ the preceding preposition (in to on). The two poeticisms (dream is here used in its poetic sense o f ‘jo y , not prosaic ‘music’) describe heaven, the two prose words, life on earth. 9. FerhSmm. ‘life, m ind’ (8$x verse, ix prose in 3 M S S ) O E Bede. Bede 5 8.406.25 (B 9.6.7) Bodleian, Tanner 10 (see 3b). Bede, quoting scripture, says o f Archbishop Theodore and his peers that ‘their bodies are buried in peace, and their name w ill live w ide ferh in ecnesse ‘forever in eternity’. C f. Ecclesiasticus 4 4 :14 : in generationes et generationes. feorh B L , Cotton Otho B. X I (Ker 180 art 1) s. x med. (W inchester). fa rd (with a in a pardy erased) O xford, C C C 279 pt. II (Ker 354) s. xi in. ferh S Q Q C Q 41 (Ker 32 art 1) s. xi1; C U L Kk. 3.18 (Ker 23) s. xi*. FerhSis substituted in three late manuscripts o f the Bede fo t the synonymous, more common, and probably cognate feorb, both nouns combine in verse with w id (widan feorh!ferhS, w ide fo rh lferh S , widefeorhfwideferhS). An ele­ venth-century scribe, not recognizing smoothed ferh as feorh, may have supplied a final -fr, it is also possible that poetic ferh S was chosen to close the scriptural quotation. 10. D ry S f ‘strength, majesty, glory’ (i8x verse plus 8 nominal compounds, ox prose); SrySfuladj. ‘strong, glorious’ (2x verse, ix prose) Hom S 40.3 (VercHom 10) 41 (B 3.2.40.6) (see 5c). Before the com ing o f Christ, men were orphans, deprived o f the heav­ enly kingdom and blotted out from pam prySfullan frum gew rite ‘the glorious original charter’. Hom S 40.1 (Nap 49) 291 (see 5c): frym pelican ‘primeval, original’ , C C C C 302 (Ker 56 art 33) s. xi/xii; frym plican, Bückling H om ily 9 (Ker 382 an 9) s. x/xi; frum sceapenan ‘first created’, C C C C 421, s. xi1. Both prySful and frym plic are appropriate modifiers for the unique frum gew rit, which refers to the divine charter granting heaven to man as a home­ land; frum sceapen, frequent in Æ lfric who applies it to Adam (and once Eve), is perhaps less successful. In O ld English verse, p ry ifu l designates devils and persecutors, and the p ryS fu lb d ‘proud, puffed up’ in the Regius Psalter gloss to elati (130.1) are eyes; p ry ifu l with reference to a document may presuppose a certain degree o f personification. 11. W ratlic adj. ‘artistic, beautiful, wonderful’ (48X verse, ix prose)

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Poetic Wordsin Late OldEnglish Prose Nativity o f M aty: L S 18.2 (NatMaryAss io j) 362 (B 3.3.18.3) Bodleian, Hatton 114 (see 4) s. xi (3rd quarter). [She was] on Sam dauidtidiscum sangum w ratlicre ‘more wonderful in psalmody* [than anyone was before]; cf. Ps-M t 6.63.14 in carm inis D avidicis elegantior. C f. L S 18.1 (NatMaryAss 10N ) 359, Bodleian, Bodley 343, s. xii* (see $c.i): on pam dauidisce sange wrastlicre ‘mote able, excellent, delicate*; C C C C 367 pt I I , i4r.26 (Ker 63 art 6) s. xii1 on pam dauitidiscum sangum w arlicre ‘more careful, circumspect*. W ratlic had a short prosaic life. A ll three adjectives are possible synonyms for elegans ‘fastidious, cultivated, punctilious, graceful, skilful with words’, and there is no deciding between them. Poetic w ratlic is used o f G od’s voice in Andreas 93 and 630, o f angels’ speech in Christ 509, and o f the saint’s words in Andreas 1200. 12. Blican vb. st. 1 ‘shine, glitter (26x verse, 2x prose in 3 M S S , ix gloss) (a) Wednesday in Rogationtide HomS 33 (Först) 104 (B 3.2.33), Bodleian, Hatton 116 (Ker 333 art 26) s. xii'. O n the seventh day o f the Last Week ‘drihten cymd |x>nne on m icdum megen[>rimme, & fyr on his ansyne seine]} & blyced’ (‘the Lord w ill come then in a great heavenly host and fire will shine and glitter in his sight’). C f. HomS 44 (B 3.2.44) C C C C 162 (Ker 38 an 37) s. xi in.: ‘drihten cymd J)onne on m icdum mzgen[>rymme and fyr on his onsyne scintJ*. (b) Invention o f the Cross L S 6 (InventCrossMor) 238 (B 3.3.6) Bodleian, Auctarium F.4.32 (Ker 297 an a) s. xi1. ‘& [wer com mycel leoht up o f [>ære stowe [>e seo halige rode on afunden wæs & [wer ztywedon |>a naeglas & on [>are corean scinan & blican swa [>aet seloste gold’ (‘A nd there came a great light up from the place where the holy cross was found, and there were revealed the nails— shining and glittering in the earth like the best gold’). C f. tamquam aurum folgern in terra. C f. C C C C 303 (Ker 57 an 18) s. xii1 (Rochester), as above. In verse, blican is used o f the sun, glinering metals, cliffs, and heavenly presence and glory. It often signals an ‘end’, the completion o f a journey o f discovery, possibly one o f its connotations in the two homilies cited above. The homilist s description o f divinity at the Last Judgement (item (a) )IO IOI

Roberta Frank echoes Ps. 49: 3 ‘A fire w ill shine in his sight*. T he Hatton 116 scribe writes scinep and blyced (using the unsyncopated form characteristic o f verse) in contrast to the preceding cymd, as if signalling a shift in register and rhythm. T he earlier C C C C 162 text o f the same homily, almost certainly not the copy from which Hatton 116 descends, has only scinS. In item (b), the nails o f the cross attract poetic diction as they did in Æ lfric’s hom ily on the same subject (6a). Blican appears both times in the com pany o f scinart, as if it were good form in late Anglo-Saxon England to use the poeticism in conjunction with a clarifying synonym. 13. (Ge)dreosan vb. st. 2 ‘to fall, perish’ (26x verse, $x prose in m ultiple

MSS) (a) A lfreds Boethius, Bk 2, met 4: Bo 12.26.28 (B 9.3.2) (see 2a). ‘Fordam swa swa sigende sond |x>ne ren swylgd, swa swylgd seo gitsung j>a dreosendan welan fisses middangeardes’ (‘Just as the sinking sand swallows rain, so avarice swallows the falling/perishing riches o f this earth’). C f. M et. 7.13: dreosendne welan ‘perishing wealth’. (b) Last Judgem ent: H om U 26 (Nap 29) 82 (B 3.4.26) (see $d). A nd calle duna dreosad and hreosad’ (A nd all mountains hill and sink’). C f. /D ay I I , 99: ‘|>a duna dreosad and hreosad’; and D e die ju d ic ii, 51: montesque ruent. (c) U bi sunt catalogue in Vercelli 10/N apier 49 and 30. Hom S 40.3 (VercHom 10) 319 (see 5c.i). ‘ . . . gelice rena scurum f>onne o f heofenum swidost ’ (M S dreosed) (‘like rain showers when they fall most violently from heaven’). Hom S 40.1 (Nap 49) 295: dreosad, C C C C 302 art 33, s. xi/xii; hreosad. Cotton Faustina A IX , s. xii1, C C C C 302 art 12, s. xi/xii, and C C C C 421, s. xi'; reoseé, Bodley 343 ( = H om U 3 [B elf 12] 135), s. xii1. H om U 27 (Nap 30) 189: dreoseS (em. to dreosad). (d) U bi sunt catalogue in Bodley 343 H om U 3 (B elf 12) n o (see 5c.i). ‘swa eac j)a heagæ m ihtz her on worlde fzllæ d & drosæd’ (‘so too the great powers here in the world fall and fail’). C f. hreosad & feallad, VercHom 10, Nap 49; afrailad and ahreosad, N ap 30. C f. H om U 3 (B elf 12) 121. The world is ‘hwilwendlic & feallendlic & brosnodlic & drosendlic & brocenlic & yfellic & forwordenlic’ (dreosendlic not in VercHom 10, Nap 49 or 30). 10 2

Poetic Words in Late Old English Prose (e) Blickling hom ily io H om U 20 (BIHom io) 119 (B 3.4.20) (see 10). ‘M ine welan |je ic io hzfde sindon calle gewitene & gedrorene’ (‘M y riches chat I form erly had are all departed and perished’). Once again K ing Alfred’s diction shows poetic symptoms when he translates a metre into prose; and once again Napier 29 employs a poetic word found in the corresponding Unes o f JD a y I I . But where Napier 49 and Vercelli 10 shared a poetic reading in item 5c, and N apier 30 went its own way, here Vercelli 10 and Napier 30 agree on dreosan, while Napier 49, with one exception, substitutes hreosan. And Bodley 343, which avoids dreosan in 13c, may have done so out o f exhaustion rather than distaste, for it uses that verb twice in an earlier section o f the same exhortation (13d): its paired verbs fa lla d & drosaÓ recall sim ilar collocations in O ld English verse (e.g. Wan 63 and Beo 1753), as do the linked gew iten andgedroren in 13e (e.g. Sea 86). T he need for synonyms in rhetorical prose seems to have encouraged words norm ally confined to poetry to perform their magic on a broader stage. 14. Sefa m. ‘understanding, heart, m ind’ (93X verse plus 62 nominal com ­ pounds, 6x prose in 6 M S S , i;x glosses [lemma always sensus]) (a) Pentecost hom ily Hom S 47 (BIHom 12) 10 1 (B 3.2.47) (see 10). ‘H ie dam Halgan Gaste onfengon on heora sefan’ (‘T hey received the H oly Spirit in their understanding/heart’). (b) Life o f St Margaret L S 16 (MargaretHerbst) 53 and 219 (B 3.3.16) B L , Cotton Tiberius A . I l l (Ker 186 art 15) s. xi med. (Christ Church, Canterbury). (i) She prays to G od for angels to help her, ‘to ontynenne mine sefan and to answariende mid bylde’ (‘to reveal my heart/mind and to respond with boldness’). C f. a d aperiendos sensus meos et os meos a d respondendum cum fidu cia. (ii) The Devil says, ‘Ic heo[m] ableonde hera sefan & ic hi gedyde ofergeotan [>a heofenlican snyttro’ (‘I blinded their under­ standing and I caused them to forget heavenly wisdom’). C f. et occaeco oculos eorum et obscuro sensus eorum etfació eos oblivisci omnem caelestem sapientiam . M S hera sefan underlined and corrected (s. xi1) to from geleafan. (c) Life o f M achutus L S 13 (Machutus) 38.14-15 (B 3.3.13) B L , Cotton Otho A. V I I I , O tho B. X (Ker 168) s. xi in. ‘Ne mæg na ure sefa areccean . . . ’ ‘O ur understanding is not at all able to relate. . . ’). C f. noster sensus explicare non valet. 103

Roberta Frank (d) Heading/Introduction for Latín O ffice L it $.3.2.4 (Fehr) 1$ (B 12.5.3.2.4) C C C C 422 (Ker 70B art p) s. xi m ed.; also Lit $.11.6 (Fehr) 11 (B 12.5.11.6) Bodleian, Laud M ise. 482 (Ker 343 an 18) s. xi med. Priest tells penitent: ‘D u most ¡>a digelnysse dines modes sefàn [Laud M ise, seoßtn] 3urh sojje andetnisse geyppan’ (‘You must those hidden things in the understanding o f your heart disclose in true confession ). (e) Prose Solom on and Saturn dialogue Sol 1 911 (B 5.1) (see $e). ‘Fiftc wars gyfe pund, [>anon hym wars geseald sefa and geÔang’ (‘the fifth was a pound o f grace, from which was given his under­ standing and thought’). C f. pondus gratiae inde est sensus hominis (Durham Ritual, 192). A t least four o f the six occurrences o f sefa in prose are in texts that closely translate a Latin original. There seems to have been no inclination to edit the word out: the ‘correction o f hera sefa to fram geleafan in b(ii) probably has less to do with the poetic word than the reviser’s conviction that the sentence with its two accusative objects (M S heo, sefan) made no sense as it stood. The appearance o f ‘A nglian’ sefa in prose and glosses, particularly in manuscripts with Kentish associations, was noted by Helm ut Gneuss in 1968 and most recently by Walter Hofstetten1’ Sefa translates sensus 4X in metrical hymns o f the Durham Ritual (Canterbury); 3x in the interlinear glosses to prayers in M S Arundel 155 (probably Canterbury); 2x in the St M argaret life in Tiberius A . I l l (Christ Church, Canterbury); ix in the St M achutus life in O tho A . X I I I (probably Canterbury); it also occurs ix in Psalter D (Canterbury connection), 2x in £ (Eadwine’s Canterbury Psalter), once each in K and M , and in C leoG l (St Augustine’s, Canterbury), SedG l 2, and B rG l. Although it is predom inantly poetic (and its O ld Norse cognate is exclusively poetic), sefa at some particular moment and place in AngloSaxon England became a rival to andgiet as the agreed-upon translation o f sensus. It is never used by Æ lfric or W ulfstan; and, unlike hyge, it never graces passages o f rhythm ic, alliterative prose. 15. Heolstor m. place o f hiding, darkness’ (14X verse plus 6 nom inal com ­ pounds, 4x prose in m ultiple M S S , 22x glosses) (a) Æ lfric’s St Cuthbert hom ily: Æ C H o m II 10.88.231 (B 1.2 .11). T he saint tells an abbess that no one escapes (forfieon) G od’s power 19 Hym nar und Hymnen, 18 0 and 188; W inchester und der Spätaltenglische Sprachgebrauch: Untersuchungen zur geographischen und zeitlichen Verbreitung altenglischer Synonyme (M u n ich , 19 87). 1 0 8 - 9 ,1 3 3 - 4 -

IO4

Poetic Words in Late OldEnglish Prose ‘on nanum heolstrum. heofenan. o)>|>e eordan. oJ>J>e sac driddan’ (‘in any hiding-place, heaven or earth or sea third*). (b) VercelÚ hom ily 23 (St Guthlac): L S 10 (Guth) 345 (B 3.3.10) (see no. 4). T he devils torm enting the saint ‘hie sylfe in heolstre hyddon (‘hid themselves in darkness*). C f. Bodleian, Laud M ise. 509 and B L , Cotton Vespasian D . X X I fos. 18-40 (Ker 344 art 5) s. xi1: ‘ac hi sylfe on J>eostre gehyddon*. (c) Life o f St M achutus: L S 13 (Machutus) 23'. 16 (see no. 14). A nobleman ‘fleonde heolster gesohte’ (‘fleeing, soughr a hidingplace’). C f. fisgiens latebram expetiit (d) Easter D ay hom ily; Hom S 28 82 (B 3.2.28) Bodleian, Junius 121 (Ker 338 art 33) s. xi (3rd quarter) (Worcester). T h e devils ‘on J>am heolstre geflymde waeron’ (‘were banished in that darkness’).

Heolstor is by definition a ‘poetic word’, for 78 per cent o f its combined occurrences in poetry and prose are in verse. But it is even more feequent in glosses, occurring in manuscripts dating from s. viii/ix (Corpus Glossary in C C C C 144, St Augustine’s, Canterbury) to s. xi* (Arundel psalter glosses). T he greatest single concentration (8x) is found in two related Abingdon M S S containing Aldhelm glosses. T he anonymous prose texts containing heolstor are usually classified on the basis o f vocabulary as early and Anglian/M ercian; the replacement o f the poetic word by peostru in the Cotton Vespasian Guthlac text is regarded as scribal modernization. Yet ‘poetic’ and ‘A nglian’ heolstor is employed by Æ lfiic in a hom ily that was probably his first piece w holly in the alliterative style.*’ We can only guess why he chose it, and be sure that he did not do so absentmindedly. Despite a life spent in Wessex and among Wessexmen, Æ lfric went ‘poetic’, confident that his intended audience was practised in the separate dictions o f verse and prose, utriusque linguae peritus. Since such ‘bilingualism’ is not a constitutive feature o f our own literary language, we barely notice when O ld English poetic words stray into prose. Current English registers as com ic the dash o f colloquial and ‘fancy’ language in, for example, the New Yorkercartoon o f the criminal testifying before the judge: ‘So den I got piqued and bashed him one.’ But the poeticisms that adorn O ld English prose seem to have been neither parodie nor ‘artificial’; and the settings in which they glitter would not have struck anyone as *° See J . C . Pope, H om ilies o f Æ lfric: A Supplem entary Collection, z vo ls., E E T S 259—6 0 (L o n d o n , 19 6 7 - 8 ), i. 113 ; G o d d e n .'Æ lfric ’s C h a n g in g V ocab u lary’ , 219 an d 221.

105

Roberta Frank vulgar. To appreciate the distance between our expectations and those o f an Anglo-Saxon audience is a first step in increasing our sensitivity to a m inor but still undervalued aspect o f O ld English style. There are a few practical benefits to the kind o f analysis performed here. Sometimes light is shed on the meaning o f an individual word or on the interpretation o f a puzzling passage.” Sometimes the local effects that a prose w riter sought with his poeticisms become a little dearer.’1 And sometimes awareness o f the distribution o f com peting synonyms can stop us from introducing a poetic word editorially into prose.” M ore often, however, the findings o f this study make cloudy what was form erly dear. T he frequency o f poetic words in prose, at least in the sample tested here, is on the whole unrelated to date or dialect: guma, bridging a gap o f some six-score years, occurs in Alfred and Byrhtferth; folm, in W erferth and Æ lfric. Before r.950, poetic words occur both in early-M ercian and early- West-Saxon prose texts; after r.950, in ’A nglian’ ( = late-nonWest-Saxon) and ’W inchester-School’ writings. And various kinds o f late prose, not only that composed in a rhythm ic, alliterative style, have and hold the occasional poetic word. T he question o f priority raised twenty years ago by Eric Stanley remains unanswered. W hich came first, Judgement Day I I or the corresponding section o f Napier 29? Does An Exhortation to Christian Living underlie the prose o f Vercelli hom ily 21 and Napier 30, or is it the other way around? T he two poems adm it prosaic words freely, words that seem at home in the homilies; but the prose itself has an unusual concentration o f poetic words v O n ce the un usually poetic* style o f Ælfric*s St C u th b e rt h o m ily is recognized, for exam ple, the saint is heard to ord er his attendant seals back to the sea (the p oetic m ean in g o f sundj, and not, m ore puzzlingly, to sw im m ing* (its prose m eaning). Poeticism s already identified in this h o m ily in clude heolstor an d siplice (G o d d e n , ‘Æ lfr ic s C h a n g in g Vocabulary*, 2 17 - 1 9 and 2 2 1- 2 ) an d frem de (H ofstetter, Winchester, 39). Pope ( H om ilies, 115) observes that Æ lfric is here 'im ita tin g the p oetical verse a little m ore closely w ith respect to n u m b er o f syllables an d even stress-patterns*. u See discussion o f gum a (no. 2) and wiga (no. 3). ” For exam ple, poetic lixende has been tentatively inserted in ÆIfric*s N ativ ity h o m ily as a translation o f lucens in Jo h n 5: 3$ erat lucerna ardens et lucenr. 'leo[h tfæ t w æ re beorhte lixen d e]’ (Æ H o m 1 312 [B 1.4 .1] Pope 1 ,1 9 6 - 2 1 6 ) . Lixende occurs 2 6 * in verse (in clu d in g M etres

o f Boethius), 4 * in 'Anglian* prose, as w ell as in late glosses (see Franz W enisch, Spezifisch anglisches Wortgut in den nordhum hrischen Interlinearglossierungen des Lukas-evangelium s (H eidelberg, 19 79 ), 18 1- 2 ) . In the Lin d isfarn e an d R u sh w orth G o sp e ls, lucens (Joh n 5: 35) is glossed by lixende, in the W est-Saxon G o sp els, b y lyhtende. B u t even the L in d isfarn e glossator adds vel scinende, and the late-W est-Saxon reviser o f G re g o ry ’s Dialogues ‘corrects* W erferths lixende to scinende (see D avid Ycrkes, The Two Versions o f W arfrrths Translation o f Gregorys D ialogues: An O ld English Thesaurus (T oron to, 19 79 ), §9 92). Æ lfric em p loys scinende m an y tim es (tw ice w ith leohtfat) and lixende never; he had little incentive to use the latter poetic w o rd to translate lucens w hen tw o acceptable syn on ym s (in clu d in g on e, lyhtende, w ith /» alliteration) existed.

10 6

Poetic Words in Late OldEnglish Prose (e.g. fb ld e (9e

wyrsan gej>ingea

the adjectival form wyrsan has been explained as probably or possibly genitive plural,’ as has wyrsan at Free 7 .'° So too have the substandval forms banan 4 Ib id ., $ 2 7 6 A n m . 5. C a m p b e ll appears to be silent o n this point. 9 R . G irv a n , Angelsaksisch H andboek (H aarlem , 19 31), $ 3 0 7 A an m . 1. * Ib id ., $28 5 A an m . 2. 7 B u t see also n. 31, below. 1 In references to O ld English texts I use the short tides adopted in R . L V enezky and A . diP. H ealey, A M icrofiche Concordance to O ld English (N ew ark and T o ron to , 1980). • See C . W . M . G re in , Sprachschatz der angelsächsischen D ichter, B ib lio th ek d er angel­ sächsischen Poesie, 3 - 4 , 2 vols. (C assel and G ö ttin g e n , 18 6 1-4 ), ü. 765 (sim ilarly in the revision o f this w o rk b y J . J . Köhler, H eidelb erg, 19 12 , 847); A . J . W yatt, Beoum lf w ith the Finnsburg Fragm ent (C am b rid ge, new edn. rev. b y R . W. C h am b e rs, 19 14 ), 29; E . A . K o ck, ‘ Interpretations and E m en d ation s o f E arly E n glish Texts, V \ A nglia, 43 *

nf

31 (19 19 ), 2 9 8 -3 12 (see 30 1); J .

H o o p s, Komm entar zum B eow u lf(H eidelb erg, 19 32), 80; F. Klaeber, B eow u lfand the Fight at

Finnsburg& osion, 3rd edn. w ith Su pp lem en ts, 1950), 150; E . V. K . D o b b ie , B eow u lfan dJu dith , A n glo -S axo n Poetic R ecords, 4 (N ew York an d L o n d o n , 1953), 145; C . L . W renn, Beoum lfw ith the Finnsburg Fragm ent (2nd e d n ., L o n d o n , 1958), 306 (so in the 3rd edn. rev. W. F. B o lto n , 19 73, xi8); E . von Sch au bert, Heyne-Schückings 'B eo w u lf, 3 vols (i7 th /i8 th ed n ., Paderborn, 19 6 1- 3 ) , ii. 51; B . M itch e ll, O ld English Syntax, 2 vols. (O xfo rd , 1985), $13 33. *° See G re in , Sprachschatz, ii. 765 (also G re in -K ö h ler, Sprachschatz, 846, s.v. ge-wyrht.

IO9

Terry Hoad and gum an at Dream 66 and 146," brogan at Beo 583,11 flotan [an d Sceotta] at Brun 32,’’ gingran, sceaSan, and welan at A nd $ 9 4 ,1133,1159, and 129 1,14 and sceapan at Christ A , B , C 7 7 5 ." None o f these forms requires by its context to be read as genitive plural. The supposed existence o f a substantival genitive plural ending -an has also quite recently been brought into the discussion o f the form granigendran at H om U 32 90 (M S C ).'6 M atti Rissanen, in his study o f the uses o f one in O ld and Early M iddle English, also speaks o f -an as a weak genitive plural ending, with a reference to Brunner.17 -weorhty, E . A . K o ck , Ju b ilee Jaunts and Jottings (L u n d and Leipzig, 19 18; L u n d s U niversitecs À rsskrift, N . E A vd. 1, B d 14, N r 16 ) , 28; G . P. K rapp and E . V. K . D o b b ie , The Exeter Book, A n glo -S axo n Pbctic R ecords, 3 (N e w York, 19 36), 293. For a different interpretation see T. A . Shippey, Poems o f Wisdom and Learning in O ld English (C am b rid g e and T o to w a, N J , 19 76 ), 5 an d 49. 11 F o r banan 66 sec c.g. A . S. C o o k , The Dream o f the Rood (O xfo rd , 19 05), 3 3 -4 , and K o ck , in te rp re ta tio n s, V ’ , 30 1, and for both banan 66 and gum an 146 see e.g. G re in , Sprachschatz, i. 75 (*gen-pL . . . o n banan gesyhôc (?) Ar. 6 6 ’) and 532 -3 (also G rein -K ö h ler, Sprachschatz, 34 and 282); C . L . W renn, review o f The Dream o f the R ood(cá. B . D ick in s and A . S . C . Ross), Review

o f English Studies, 12 (1936), 10 5 -8 (see 10 6 ), and W renn, B eow u lf( i nd e d n .)t 306, s.v. wyruL M . Sw an to n , The Dream o f the Rood (M anchester, 19 7 0 ). 12 3 - 4 an d 134, takes both banan and

gum an as gen itive singular, but refers to their h avin g been th ou gh t b y others to represent a kn ow n late W S gen. pi. form ’ (p. 124 ).

11 See E. A . Kock, interpretations and Emendations o f Early English Texts, V I ', A nglia 4 4 * NF 32 (19 2 0 ), 9 7 - 1 1 4 (see 10 0 - 1 ) . ” See G re in , Sprachschatz, i. 305 (also G re in -K ö h ler, Sprachschatz, 2 0 2); K o ck , in te r p r e t­ ations, V *, 301 (note to A nd 8 9 3-5); W yatt (rev. C h am b e rs), Beowulf, 29 (also A . J . W yatt, An Anglo-Saxon Reader (C am b rid ge , 19 19 ), 278). A . C a m p b e ll, The Battle o f Brunanburh (L o n d o n , 1938), 108, gives no con sideration to the possib ility o f Jlotan b ein g a go od genitive plural fo rm ; acco rd in g to Yarn, flotan is to be em en ded to flotena, o r else w e m ust em end Sceotta to Sceottas (w ith both w ords then b ein g treated as n o m in ative form s). E . E kw all, in a review o f C a m p b e ll’s edition ( English Studies, 21 (1939), 2 18 - 2 0 ; see 220 ), takes Jlotan as a gen itive sin gu lar form :

'flo ta also m eans ’’fleet” an d “ crew o f a fleet” . T h e c o r r e a explan ation is in B o sw orth -T ollcr (S u p p l.).’ E kw all is follow ed b y E . V. K . D o b b ie , The Anglo-Saxon M inor Poems, A n g lo -S axo n Poetic R ecords, 6 (N e w York, 19 43), 148. 14 See K o ck , 'In terpretatio n s, V ’, 30 1 (on gingran 894), an d K . R . B roo ks, Andreas an d the

Fates o f the Apostles (O xfo rd , 19 6 1), 10 1 (on sceadan 1133), 10 2 (on welan 1159 ), an d 10 9 (on sceaian 12 9 1). B roo ks (p. 93) takes gingran 894 as the subject o f gehyrdon, an d therefore as n o m in ative plural.

11 See Kock, 'Interpretations, V I ’, 1 0 0 - 1 , and Brooks, Andreas, 10 1 (note to line 1133). 14 See E. G . Stanley, ‘ The Judgem ent o f the D am ned (from Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 201 and Other Manuscripts), and the Definition o f Old English Verse', in M . Lapidge and H . Gneuss (eds.), Learning and Literature in Anglo-Saxon England: Studies Presented to Peter Clemoes (Cambridge, 1985), 3 6 3 -9 1 (the form granigendran is discussed on p. 387). M . R issanen , The Uses o f'O n e' in O ld and Early M iddle English, M ém o ires de la Société N éo p h ilo lo g iq u e de H elsin k i, 31 (H elsin k i, 19 6 7 ), 83 n. 1. R issanen is illu stratin g the co n ­ struction ‘ one + genitive/posscssive p ron o u n + n o u n ', an d in m ost o f his exam ples there is apparent concord betw een the form o f one and the n oun (e.g. Bede f 1.38 4 .11 g if ic aan his

wundor aseego; Exod 2.5 sende heo arte hire pinene p id er

7

het hine Jèccan). For three o f his

exam ples, Rissanen ad m its the alternative p ossib ility that a form in -an m ay be a genitive plural: M tfW SC p) 26.51 asloh o f anys para sacerda ealdres peowan eare; Æ CH om L33 492-34

HO

Old English Weak Genitive Plural -an It is always desirable in such matters to have the evidence firm ly estab­ lished. I w ill consider first the supposed adjectival genitive plural ending -an and then the supposed substantival ending. As may be seen from the passages cited above, the only evidence offered in the handbooks for weak adjectival genitive plural -an is that o f the ‘M ischform en wie häliyana und häliyan mentioned by Brunner. It may be noted that whereas Cam pbell restricts his statement to late West Saxon, Brunners form ulation seems to im ply that he believes the forms in question to occur more widely in O ld English. T h e basis for Brunners statement is to be found in notes published by Sievers in 1884 to correct and supplement the first edition o f his Angel­

sächsische Grammatik. Im gen. pi. [sc. o f weak adjectives] findet sich bisweilen auch das -an der übrigen casus: his unnytanfarelta Cura past. z $ 7 ,9, heorayfelan dàda Aelfr. N . T. 21, 22, Sara ylcan yrihta C . D . 3,138 . . . Eine mischung von starker und schwacher declination [zeigt] endlich der sonderbare genetiv Sire häliyana und Sire häliyan in der urkunde C . O. 2, 5 (Sweet O . E. T. 454, 9 und 20).'*

Brunners grammar is in origin a revision o f that o f Sieve», and indeed the note under discussion is scarcely changed from the one which appeared in the second edition o f the Angelsächsische Grammatik. G en. pi. au f -ena, wie Rodena, finden sich wol nur in der gelehrten überSetzungsliteratur, wie Cura past. Daneben finden sich vereinzelte an Sätze zu bildungen au f -an (nach der analogie der übrigen casus au f -an) oder -a (nach der substantivdedination). Auch mischformen wie häliyana und häliyan begegnen ganz vereinzelt in urk.1’

In assessing the evidence for weak adjectival genitive plural -an, therefore, we should look firet at the examples assembled by Sieve». T h ey prove on exam ination not to be uniform ly convincing. T he alleged example from the Curapastoralis translation was questioned by C osijn just two yean after Sieve»’ article appeared.10 Cosijn s grounds were that such an ending would be without parallel in the early West Saxon texts, and that a genitive plural would not be appropriate in the context: Sua mon oft let[t] fundigendne monnan, & his bereit gælô, sua gæld se lichoma ôæt cw éti se hétlend to anum his gecorenan; Æ L S (M artin) 36 betaht to f>am gew inne m id anum his peowan pe his gesiàe was. Since these examples are ambiguous as to case they will not be discussed further here. 11 E. Sievers, ‘Miscellen zur angelsächsischen Grammatik’. Beiträge zur Geschichte der deut­ schen Sprache und Literatur, 9 (1884), 197-300 (see 260). 19 E. Sievers, Angelsächsische Gram m atik (2nd edn., Halle, 1886), §304 Anm. 2. (The first sentence appears in almost identical form in the ist edn. (Halle, 1882).) *° P. J. Cosijn, Altwestsächsische Gram m atik, 2 vols. (The Hague, 1883—6), ii. 13.

Ill

Terry Hoad mod, oddact he gebrocad wierd mid sum re menrymnesse, & donne da mettrymnesse geucnad se lichoma dzm mode done ungesewenan engel de him togenes stem , & him wiem d his unnyttan fzrelta durh Öxs lichoma mettrymnesse.“

C osijn takes fitreltaas a festem genitive singular, which is also the explanation offered by Cam pbell.“ Sieve«’ example Sara ylcart gerihta comes from a charter purporting to record the confirm ation o f land to W inchester Cathedral by King Edgar in the second h alf o f the tenth century: Her ys geswutelod on |jysum gewrite hu Eadgar cyning mid geheahte his witena geniwode Tantunes freo Is |>zre halgan l>tynnesse 7 s£e Petre 7 s£e Paule into W in* tanccastre to |>sun biscopstole ealswa Eadweard cyning hit ær gefreode 7 geu|>e f aegber ge twelfhynde men ge twyhynde weron on 1» ™ Godes hame (>ara ylcan gerihca wyrfie J>e his agene men sindon on his agenum cynehamum.**

T h e text, however, survives only in a twelfth-century cartulary, and its authenticity is not above suspicion.*4 It is therefore poor evidence on which to base a linguistic argument with regard to O ld English. T he alleged ‘mixed’ forms haligrana and haligran, which were transformed between 1884 and 1886 from peculiarities occurring in a single text to a type found ‘ganz vereinzelt in urk[unden]’, are not very securely attested and present problems with regard to their interpretation. Sievers cited them from a ninth-century charter o f Berhtw ulf o f M ercia, following Kem bles text: Ic berhtw ulf. rex. das mine gesaldnisse trymme 7 faestna in cristes rode tacne 7 in his daere haligrana 7 in his wotona gewitnisse 7 we aec aile bibeodad de aet disse gewitnisse w eru n ......... on cristes noman 7 on

his daere haligran g if aenig m onn. das ure gewitnisse in-cerre on owihte daet he aebbe daes aelmaehtigan godes u n h li............. 7 his daere h aligran ...............................*’

T he dots are Kemble’s. For com parison, I give the corresponding portions o f the text as I printed them in the revised edition o f Sweet’s Second Anglo-

Saxon Reader'. "

C P j 6 .15 7 .5 ; H . Sw eet, K ing A lfred's West-Saxon Version o f Gregorys Pastoral Care, E E T S

o s 45, 50, z vols. (L o n d o n , 18 7 1), i. 257 (B od leian M S H atto n zo , d ated ‘8 9 0 - 7 ’ b y K e r (Catalogue, 384 (item 324) ); the reading his unnyttan fitrelta is shared b y B ritish L ib rary M S C o tto n T ib eriu s B .x i, also dated ‘ 8 9 0 - 7 ' b y K e r (Catalogue, 237 (item 195) ) ). “ C a m p b e ll, O ld English Grammar, § 6 14 . *’ Ch 8o6(Rob 4$) 1; A . J . R o b ertson , Anglo-Saxon Charters (C am b rid ge , 1956), 9 2 (no. 43). M See the references cited b y R H . Saw yer, Anglo-Saxon Charters: An Annotated List and Bibliography (L o n d o n , 1968), 2 3 6 - 7 (no. 806). *’ Ch 204(H arm D f) 8 an d 11; J . M . K em b le, Codex diplom áticos aevi saxonici, 6 vols. (L o n d o n , 18 39 -4 8 ), ii. 3 - 6 (no. 243). T h e charter is reckoned to be an authentic d o cu m en t, and is preserved in a m an uscript d ated ‘s.ix. m ed .’ ; see Saw yer, Anglo-Saxon Charters, 12 2 - 3 (no. 204).

112

OldEnglish Weak Genitive Plural -an Ic Beihcwulf nor Sas mine gesaldnisse trymme 7 faestna in Cristes rodetacne 7 in his daere haligran a [footnote: free, by two unexplained marks] 7 in his *wotona gewitnisse 7 we aec aile bibeodad de aet disse gewimisse werun on Cristes noman 7 on his daere haligra[n], gif aenig monn das ure gewitnisse incerre on owihte, daet he aebbe daes aelmaehtgan Gode[s unhlis.. 7] his daere haligran up in heofhum daes we him [ge]beodan maege.1* None o f the principal editors o f this charter other than Kem ble has printed haligrana as one word in the first passage cited above, and the interpretation o f in his daere haligran a is quite uncertain.17 In the second passage, the first o f the two examples o f the phrase his ¡aere haligran is today not to be read with certainty, and the interpretation o f neither is without problems. O f the examples given in Sievers’ note we are left, therefore, w ith the Æ lfrician one, which is harder to dismiss. A t the end o f his Letter to Sigeweard, Æ lfric discusses the wrong-doings o f the Jew s and the retribution which befell them, concluding:

7 |>is wars predican heora yfeian daeda 7 eac hellewice, \>xt |>«f him hefegore ys.11 Crawford prints the text from Bodleian M S Laud M ise. 509, dated ‘s. xi1’ by Ker,19 although the same reading is found in British Library M S Harley 3271, which Ker dates‘s. xi1’.*0 There is therefore no apparent reason to doubt the reliability o f yfelan* at least, as an O ld English form . * H . Sweet, A Second Anglo-Saxon Reader (2nd edn. rev. T. F. Hoad, Oxford, 1978), 119 -2 0 . The square brackets ‘enclose letters supplied because missing from or not legible in the M S S .', single points are ‘used to indicate lost or illegible letters’, and the asterisk indicates ‘an erroneous or anomalous form, being thus equivalent to “sic” ’ (pp. (xi]-xii). 17 W. B. Sanders, in Facsim iles o f Anglo-Saxon M ansucripts, 3 vols. (Southampton, 1878-84), i, item 8, prints haligrunna. W. de G . Birch, Cartularium saxonicum , 3 vols. (London, 1885-93), ii. 35 (no. 452), prints ‘in his daere haligran U a’. J . Earle, A H and-Book to the Land-Charters, an d O ther Saxonic Documents (O xford, 1888), 122-3, prints ‘in his daere haligran 7 in his wotona gewitnisse’, with the note: ‘haligrana, K(emble); haligranna, S[ander$]:-but two subsequent instances seem to justify haligran, and the added -a or -na looks rather like the anempt o f a 6top6(irrf|9 to fill in a gap left by the scribe’. F. E. Harmer, Select English H istorical Documents o f the N inth an d Tenth C enturia (Cambridge, 1914), s f (no. 3), prints ‘in his daere haligran '* a 7 in his wotona gewitnisse', with the note (pp. 81-2): ‘cf. 1.25 and 1.27 below. Sievers (Angelsächt. Gramm. $ 304, n.2) seems to regard haligran as an isolated gen.plur., but is it not more probable that the explanation is to be found in a misunderstanding o f some Latin formula? The hieroglyphics following haligran are unexplained. They can hardly be a later insertion to fill a blank space, since they are in exactly the same ink as the rest o f the text.’ 11 Æ Let 4(SignveardZ) 8; S. J. Crawford, The O ld English Version o f the Heptateuch, Æ lfrics Treatise on the O ldandN ew Testament an d his Preface to G enais, E E T S o s 160 (London, 1922),

74 -

79 N .

R . Ker, Catalogue o f M anuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon (Oxford, 1957), 422 (item

344)K Ibid. 309 (item 239).

H3

Terry Hoad W ith regard to -an as a genitive plural ending o f weak substantives in late O ld English (which if it were to be established might lend support to such evidence as there is for a sim ilar ending in the adjectives), the origin o f Brunners remark lies once again in Sievers’ article o f 1884: Im gen. pi. erscheint eine starke form in baristra Gen. 4 0 , 16. 29. 4 1,10 ; vereinzelt spät -enan statt -ena, faenan Ld. 1, 72 O , mà heofenan Ld. 3, 232 (fiir *heofenenan, wie teóna Haupt gl. $o6b fiir teónena); vgl. auch pára cajean L C nut 2, 77 s. 180; Sara häljena castran Beda 118; ilera liman Ld. 2, 314 (zu dem stfi limu glied, dat. Mere lime Ld. 2, 288, acc. pl. leome Ld. 3, 20).11

O nce again, Sievers’ examples are not entirely satisfactory. O f those (rom the Leechdoms one, egenan, from the later-twelfth-century or thirteenthcentury British Library M S Harley 6258 B ,’1 is too late to stand as reliable evidence for O ld English (the ending -enan is in any case beyond the scope o f the present discussion), while alera lim an, which appears to be misreported from the sentence: he is god wi|> adere liman untrumnesse”

is dubious as an example of a genitive plural form lim an. It seems likely that alert is in agreement with untrumnesse, and so is of no help in determining the number and case of lim an. Sievers recognizes a strong feminine noun lim u, but ’limb’ is usually a strong neuter in Old English.*4 The form lim an could perhaps be explained as a spelling for strong genitive plural lim a in a ” Sievers, ‘M is c e lle n , 246. O n ce again, B ru n n e rs n ote follow s closely that in the second edition o f Sievers’ g r a m m a r ’ Vereinzelt findet sich spät -an [sc. for the gen itive plural o f w eak substantives] w ie castran, cajean, od er -enan, w ie ¿ajenan, und stark -a, w ie bacistra, prica,

nama (Sievers, Angelsächsische Gram m atik (2nd e d n .), § 2 7 6 A n m . 1; the form bacistra is corrected to bacistra in the 'N ach träge u n d B erichtigu ngen (sec p. 228) ). It m ay be noted here that G re in ’s interpretation o f a n u m b er o f substantival form s in -an in verse texts, as w ell as adjectival wyrsan at Beo 525 (see nn. 9 - 1 1 an d 13, above), antedates this article b y m ore than tw en ty years. O n the date see Ker, Catalogue, p. xix, and H . J . de V rien d , The O ld English H erbarium and M edicina de Quadrupedibus, E E T S 286 (O xfo rd , 1984), p. xxx. T h e passage correspon ds to Lch i(H crb) 1.6 .2 , w here the reading (in the u th -cen t. m an u script C o tto n V itelliu s C .iii) is eagena; de V rien d , The O ld English H erbarium , 32 (w ith the form ejenan prin ted p. 33, line 2). ” Lch II($) 12 .2 .6 ; O . C o ck a y n e , Leechdoms, W ortcunning, and Starcrafi o f Early England, 3 vols. (18 6 4 -6 6 ), ii. 314; G . L eon h ard i, K leinere angelsächsische D enkm äler. / (no m ore published), B ib lio th ek d er angelsächsischen Prosa, 6 (H am b u rg , 19 05), 96. T h e m an u script is B ritish L ib rary R oyal 12 D .x v ii, dated ’s. x m ed .' b y K er ( Catalogue, 332 (item 264) ). M T h e re is at least on e occurrence, noted b y Sievers, o f 'lim b ’ w ith apparent fem in in e gender: g if mon eac o f his gew itte w eorie ponne nim e he his d a l 7 wyree cristes m al on a im lim e,

butan cruc on pam heafde fbran se sceal on balzam e beon 7 oper on pam heafde ufan (Lch 11 (2) 6 4 .1.10 ; C o c k a y n e , Leechdoms, ii. 288 (C o ck ayn e suggests em en dation to alcum ) ). O n the m an uscript, sec the preceding note. I f in the phrase presently under discussion lim an is to be taken as an advanced spellin g for a fem in in e form , it cou ld e q u ally w ell be sin gu lar o r plural on form al grounds.

OldEnglish Weak Genitive Plural -an variety o f O ld English in which final -n had been lost from at least some inflectional endings. There is, however, some evidence for possible weak declension for ‘lim b’: N e m ihte nan wana beon f>am welwillendan Haciende acnig his limeña zfter his atriste” f>a eodan hi mid m iede gefean to him & hi cyston his leoman & ofslogan hine Jm 1* And fbrdan men f>a leofestan, weorfriaÖ cow seife betweonan cow fbrdan we syndan caira anta leoman and crist is ure heafod’7 bregded sona frond be dam feaxe, laeted flint brecan seines sconcan; he ne besceawad no his leomona lid, ne bid him latee god*

I f lim an can be a weak form in the phrase w ip alert lim an untrumnesse, it m ay seem more natural to take it as a singular (translating ’for each infirm ity o f [a] lim b’).* It seems that nothing exactly like Sievers’ para cagean occurs in the manuscripts o f 11 C n 76, ia (using Ueberm anns numbering40). T he readings recorded by Liebermann are pare cagean? Sara cagan,*1 and Pare cagen.4’ T he context may suggest that the phrase is plural: And g y f hwylc man forstolen fringe ham to his cotan bringe 7 he arasod wurde, riht is, |>«r he haebbe \>*t he atfteteode. 7 butan hit under (>zs wifes atglocan gebroht warre, si heo dacne. Ac f>atre cægean heo sceal weardian, is hyre hordern 7 hyre cyste 7 hyre tege: g if ” Æ Hom 7 15 6 ; j . C . Pope, H om ilies o f Æ lfric, E E T S 259, 2 6 0 , 2 vols. (O xfo rd , 19 6 7 - 8 ), i. ¿4 7. Pope says o f lim eña ‘T h is form , unless m erely scribal, m ay have been preferred for its extra syllable. A n o th er instance o f the w eak form o f the genitive plural is cited in B (osw orth-) T [o lle r] from Solomon an d Saturn, I.io 2 a , w here the extra syllable is m etrically necessary’ (i. 351, n ote to line 157).

* L S jo (Pantaleon) 4 7 7 . T h e M icrofiche Concordance enes this text from the u n p u b lish ed edition b y P. M . M atth e w s (dissertation, U n iversity C o lle g e L o n d o n , 19 6 3 -6 ), w ith m in o r correction s b y J . Söd erlin d .

17 Hom M j (W illard) 213

(but this part o f the text is n o t in cluded in the partial edition b y

R . W illa rd , Two Apocrypha in O ld English H om ilies, Beiträge zur englischen Ph ilo lo gie, 30 (Leipzig, 1935) ). * M S o l 99; D o b b ie , The Anglo-Saxon M inor Poems, 35. " C o c k a y n e translates ‘fo r every ailm en t o f limb* ( Leechdoms, ii. 315). 40 E L ieb erm an n , D ie Gesetze der Angebachsen, 3 vols. (H alle, 19 0 3 -16 ), i. 362. I have n ot ascertained to w h ich edition o f the A n glo -S axo n laws Sievers’ reference applies. 41 M S G , i.e. B ritish L ib rary M S C o tto n N ero A .i. fos. 3 - 5 7 . dated s. xi m cd .’ b y K cr

{Catalogue, 2 to (item 163) ). 41 M S B , i.e. C o rp u s C h risti C o lle g e , C a m b rid g e , M S 383, d a te d ‘s. xi/xii* by K er ( Catalogue, 110 (item 65) ). 41 M S A , i.e. B ritish L ib rary M S H arley 55, dated s. xii m cd .’ b y K er {Catalogue 302 (item

m 6) ).

»5

Terry Hoad hit under )>yssa znigum gebroht by3 , {x»nnc by3 heo scyldig.44

This is the view towards which Liebermann inclines, translating: Dagegen au f folgende (-den?) Schlüssel muss sie Acht geben, nämlich ihre Vor­ rathskammer und ihre Kiste und ihren Schrein [beaufsichtigen]4’

The singular cannot be entirely ruled out, however. I f the phrase is plural, the only case possible is the genitive. The verb weardian is said to govern both the accusative and the genitive,46 although there appears to be little certain evidence for the latter.47*It must be said that the interpretation o f pare cagean in this passage remains somewhat uncertain. Sievers’ example eastran is evidently taken from W helocs edition o f the O ld English Bede,4* the base manuscript o f that edition being Cam bridge University Library Kk. 3.18.44 The same reading is found a little earlier in Corpus Christi College, O xford, M S 41.50 The earliest manuscript o f the O ld English Bede,’1 however, reads Eastrana: Fordon he ongeat |>art heo on monegum )>mgum Godes cirican ungefjwacrodon, ond caira swidust \>xt heo 1» symbelnesse Eastrana 7 |x>ne dzg |»acre drihtenlecan zriste ne weordodon mid rihtre tide.'1 The inflectional forms o f the ‘Easter* word are exceptional in various ways, as is noted by Campbell and Brunner,” and this example is therefore not a particularly good one for establishing the existence o f an O ld English genitive plural ending -an o f substantives. The phrase ma heofenaru, from Æ Temp 1.8: 44 L a w IIC n 7 6 -7 6 .il Lieberm ann , Gesetze, i. 3 6 2 - 4 ( II C n 7 6 -7 6 ,12 ; M S G ). 41 Gesetze, i. 363. In che notes he says 'pare und cagean können spätw estsachs. G e n . plur. sein. D e r Plural, den Lateiner annehm en, passt besser in d en Z u sam m en h an g (iii. 213, note to I I C n 76 ,1a). 44 See e.g. M itch ell, O ld English Sytax. $ 10 9 2 . Lieberm ann suggests that in this passage ‘ weardian regiert erst G e n ., dann Acc.* (Gesetze iii. 213, note to I I C n 76,1a). 47 T h e exam ple cited in J . Bosw orth and T. N . Toller, An Anglo-Saxon D ictionary (O xfo rd , 1898), s.v. weardian , As., is from the Peterborough Chronicle annal for 1088: Ac pa englisce men p e wardedon pare sa gelahton ofpam man non [r in wardedon is added above the line]; C . C la rk , The Peterborough Chronicle 1070-U S4 (2nd edn ., O xfo rd , 19 70 ), 16. T h e w ritin g o f this p a n o f the Peterborough Chronicle is thought to be datable to shortly after 112 1 and the scribe to be the sam e as the on e responsible for the First C o n tin u atio n , w o rkin g up to 1131 or shortly thereafter (see C lark , Peterborough Chronicle, p. xvi). It therefore provides go od evidence o n ly for a very late variety o f w hat m ight still be called O ld English. 41 A brah am W h eloc, H istoria Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum L ib ri V (C am b rid ge, 1643), 118

(HE. II.hr). 44 D ated s. xi*’ b y K e r ( Catalogue, 36 (item 23) ). 90 D ated 4s. xi in.* by K er ( Catalogue, 432 (item 354) ). 91 B odleian M S Tanner 10 , dated *s. x 1' b y K er ( Catalogue, 428 (item 351) ). 91 Bede 2 4 .10 6 .3 0 ; T. M iller, The O ld English Version o f Bedes Ecclesiastical H istory o f the

English People, E E T S o s 95, 96, n o , i n , 2 parts (L on do n , 18 9 0 -8 ), i. 10 6 -8 . 19 C am p b e ll, O ld English Grammar. $ 6 19 .1; B runner, Altenglische Gram m atik, $2 7 8 A n m . 3.

lió

Old English Weak Genitive Plural -on Sind swa deah mâ heofenan • swa swa sc witega cwzd; Ceii celorum-\>*t is hcofena • heofenan54

may be better evidence, if we demand a partitive genitive after ma.n The unambiguous forms from Ælfric in the citations in the Microfiche Concordance, s.v. mo, suggest that in his works ma is usually followed by a genitive form. A possible exception, however, is ma odre at Æ LS {Agatha) 220: Se mum byrnÔ x f r e . swá swá m i o|>re dod.*

We might also note that Pope, in the Glossary to his edition of Homilies o f Ælfric, records ma as occurring both as a substantive and as an adjective (it not being always certain which) .57 Since his example of adjectival md* is itself in combination with a substantival form in -an, however, we are no further on. It is perhaps significant that in the close vicinity of ma heofenan we apparendy find distinctive forms heofrna gen. pi. « heofenan nom. pi.” Does this make it less likely that heofenan can be a genitive plural form? In his Glossary Pope reports the form heofim (strong masculine or strong feminine) as occurring in the texts he edits over seventy times in the plural but just once in the singular, but heofone (weak feminine) as occurring exclusively in the singular in the twenty-eight places in which it is used.60 Only one of the examples seems unambiguously singular, however.6' Given 94 H . H en e l, Æ lfrics D e tem poribus anni* E E T S

os

213 (L o n d o n 19 4 2 ), 6. T h e base

m an u scrip t is C a m b rid g e U n iv ersity L ib ra ry G g . 3.28» dated *s. x /x i’ b y K e r (Catalogue* 13 (item

15)). 99 I f Sievers’ explan atio n o f heofenan as a sh o rten in g o f * heofenenan w ere c o r r e a , the e n d in g (-enan) w o u ld n o t (all w ith in the scope o f the present article. H ow ever, it does n ot seem necessary to e xplain it in that way. It is sim p ler to assum e that it is a fo rm o f the w eak fem in in e su b stan tive heofone, 94 Skeat, Æ lfrics Lives o f Saints* i. 208. M itch e ll, O ld English Syntax* appears n ot to discuss e x p lic itly the case govern ed b y mo* alth ou gh c o n s tru a io n s w ith ma are p resu m ab ly parallel to th ose w ith fila * o n w h ich see M itch ell's $ 12 9 9 (sho w in g exam ples o f frla b oth follow ed b y a g e n itive plu ral form an d b y an accu sative plu ral form ). 97 Pope, H om ilies o f Æ lfric* ii. 886. * Æ Hom ) 12 2 ; see p. 125 an d n. 10 7 , below . 99 T h e alternative possibility, that heofrna is a n o m in ative plu ral form o f stron g fem in in e heofon an d heofenan a gen itive plu ral form o f w eak fem in in e heofone* seem s less likely. F em in in e seo heofon occu rs at e.g. Æ Tem p 1.5: Seo heofon b e lid on hire bosme ealne m iddaneard (H en el, Æ lfrics D e temporibus* 4 ), an d 5.3: Seo heofon 7 sa 7 eorie sin d gehatene m iddangeard (H en el, Æ lfric s D e temporibus* 4 2), an d elsew here in Æ lfric . A c c o rd in g to Pope, how ever, 'it is app aren tly Æ lfric s su b stitu te fo r the w e ak seo heofone in the n o m in ative singular, since he uses heofonan fo r the sin gu lar in the o th er cases, as the G lo ssa ry show s; an d in all p ro b ab ility he uses the stro n g m ascu lin e w o rd o n ly in the p lu ral, heofonas* e tc .’ (H om ilies o f Æ lfric* ii. 7 17 (note to X X I . 186) ). 40 Ib id . ii. 873. C f. P ope’s com m en ts q u oted in the preced in g note. 41 Æ Hom i i 508 on ta re niw an heofonan\ Pope, H om ilies o f Æ lfric* i. 4 4 4 (line 516).

117

Terry Hoad the apparent general rarity o f -an as a genitive plural ending o f weak nouns in Æ lfrician texts, it seems unlikely that all the twenty examples in the pieces edited by Pope o f a genitive form heofonan (seventeen o f which are in the phrase heofonan rice) are plural. Some may be, however (and we may note beside the examples o f heofonan rice just mentioned the occurrence o f the unambiguously plural forms o f ‘heaven at Æ Hom 3 179 heofona rice and Æ Hom 2 8 10 heofona rice). It was earlier noted that G irvan cites a form watan as an example o f genitive plural -an.61 T he only place at which such a form appears to be attested with that function is Æ C H om I I , 3 19 .17, as preserved in M S K (Cam bridge University Library M S G g. 3.28): ne dránc hé [sc. John the Baptist] nador ne win. ne beor. ne ealu. ne nan 3 zra w ztan de menn o f druncniae druncennysse styriad*4

and there is a further parallel passage at Æ CH om I, 23 352.4 [Luke 1]: He [sc. John the Baptist] bid m zre ztforan gode: ne abyrigd he wines ne nan |>zra w ztana [>e men o f druneniad.*

Godden believes that the form watan at Æ CH om I I , 3 19 .17 is ‘almost certainly an error, since the genitive plural is always watena in the Catholic H om ilies and that is the B R reading [sc. the reading o f Bodleian M S Bodley 343 and Corpus Christi College, Cam bridge, M S 178] here’.6* He therefore prints watena in his text. However, the only occurrences o f wate in Æ lfric in which the genitive plural is required appear to be the three mentioned above, which is too few for us to be able to draw conclusions about the validity o f the forms. Cam bridge University Library M S G g. 3.28, d ated ‘s. x/xi’ by Ker,67 cannot easily be set aside as a witness in such matters. T he example remains unreliable, however. Can the existence o f genitive plural -an be more firm ly established? It is “

See p. 10 9 , above.

61 M . G o d d e n , Æ ifrics Catholic H om ilies: The Second Señes. E E T S s s 5 (O xfo rd , 19 79 ), 19 . ** Ib id. 17 1. *’ T h e M icrofiche Concordance axes Æ CH om / from the unp u b lish ed edition b y R A M . C le m o e s (dissertation, C a m b rid g e , 19 5 5 -6 ); the passage is not printed in B . T h o r p e , The

H om ilies o f the Anglo-Saxon Church: The First Part, C ontaining the Sermones C atholici, or H om ilies o f Æ lfric, 2 vols. (L o n d o n , 18 4 4 -6 ), i. 352. 44 G o d d e n , Æ ifrics Catholic H om ilies, 34 7 (note to 111.18). 47 See n. 54, above.

118

O ld EngUsh Weak G en itive P lu ra l -an

not an easy matter to determine how many other forms o f this type have been identified, or exist but remain unidentified, in O ld English texts. References to such forms appear to be generally lacking in the scholarly literature. I have looked at a considerable number o f forms in -an in the M icrofiche Concordance in an attempt to locate examples o f that ending in the genitive plural o f weak adjectives and substantives, but since the ending occurs with extremely high frequency in the Old English corpus I have only been able to examine a fairly small proportion o f the total number. I will consider first the weak adjective. Since Sievers* only good example6* is from Ælfric, it is reasonable to start the search for further examples in the works o f that author.69 There is frequently considerable difficulty in determining the case or number o f a given form, since the ending -an occurs at a number o f places in the familiar paradigms o f weak adjectives and nouns in Old English, and since the forms o f accompanying demonstratives are also often ambiguous as to case or number. Thus while the form heofonlican at Æ C H om I, 6 90.6 is possibly genitive plural: Se godspellere lucas beleac )>is dzgherlice gospel mid feawum wordum. ac hit is mid menigfealdre mihte {Mera heofonlican gerinu afylled70 the phrase para heofimUcan gerinu may equally well be singular.71 Rather dearer are two examples similar to that in the Letter to Sigeweard and found at Æ CH om I I , 30 238.104 (julan): Pxt meox is {Met gemynd his fulan dacda. on Ôære dzdbote” and Æ C H om I I , 33 251.35 (godan): Nis gode nan neod ure godan daeda.71 Another apparendy reliable example from Ælfric is foresadan at Æ CH om I, 40 610.11: {Mere sz gem encgednys. and {>zra y{>a sweg ungew unelice gyt ne asprungon: ac “

That is. yfelan at Æ Let 4(Sigew eardZ) 8; see p. 113, above.

** In addition to the reverse index in the M icrofiche Concordance I have had the benefit o f

the use o f a print-out o f a reverse index to the vocabulary o f Ælfric's Catholic H om ilies kindly lent to me by Professor Malcolm Godden. 70 For the corresponding passage see Thorpe, H om ilies, i. 90. 71 For para as a genitive singular form, cf. e.g. Æ L S (Basil) 143 ealle Sa penunga para halgan massart, 353 ac let pa godas peowas p a t godes tem pi bugian and para are brucan pe him geahnod was; Æ CH om U24 348.6 Sa opre tuend pe him m id wuniaS brucaS Sant incundan ym bwlatunge his godcundnysse; Æ CH om l l , a 251.50 ac we sceolon gerim an ure m isdada m id wope and geomerunge an d para m iltsunge gebiddan. 71 Godden, Æ lfric's Catholic H om ilies, 238. On the base manuscript see n. 54, above. n Ibid. 251. O n the base manuscript see n. 54, above.

»9

Terry Hoad |x>nne ftrla |>zra foreszdan tacna gefyllcde sind nis nan twynung |>art da feawa J>e Ôzr to lafe sind witodlice gefyllcde beoonc halga gast • gcfeana7*

sie on ús geedniwad • se willa • |>ara heofonlican

does not appear to be ambiguous as to case or number. Furthermore, the manuscript (British Library M S Cotton Otho A.viii) is dated *s. xi in.’ by Ker,74 75*79 and the written language o f the L ife o f Machutus seems in principle to be what a scribe writing ‘late West Saxon towards the close o f the AngloSaxon period would have found acceptable. In what sense this example can be taken to show that -an was a possible genitive plural ending o f adjectives is not entirely clear, however. Yerkes notes forms such as 25.R.12 weran (genitive plural) and 32.R.6 lichom a*° (dative singular) which seem to suggest a more general loss o f distinctions 74 T h o rp e , The Hom ilies o f the Anglo-Saxon Church, i. 6 10 , prints Arm fbresadra tacna. W. Skeat, Æ lfrics Lives o f Saints, E E T S o s 76 , 82, 94. 114 , 2 vols. (L on do n , 18 8 1-

75 W.

19 00), ii. 16. A s Skeat recognized (see ii. 446), the text is not by Æ lfric. T h e base m anuscript is British L ibrary C o tto n Ju liu s E. vii, dated s. xi in / by K er ( Catalogue, 206 (item 162) ). * Skeat, Æ lfrics Litres o f Saints, ii. 17. 77 For para as a genitive singular form see n. 7 1, above.

79 D . Yerkes, The O ld English L ife o f Machutus, T oron to O ld English Series, 9 (Toronto. B u ffalo, and L on d o n , 1984), 104. 79 Catalogue, 218 (item 168). ®° Yerkes, The O ld English L ife o f M achutus, p. xxvii; weran occurs on p. 43, line 12, o fY e rk e s’s edition and lichom a on p. 19, line 6.

120

O ld English Weak G en itive P lu ra l -an

between inflectional endings than is helpfully dealt with by formulations o f the type ‘ 1W-S sporadically extends -an to the genitive plural’ . Also undoubtedly genitive plural is erran at L S ¡(C h ad) 190: 7 l>a dydon hi swa hit halgum gcdafnadc. sprecon be |>am life l>era erran hzhfzdera.*'

The L ife o f St Chad, however, is preserved only in Bodleian M S Hatton 116, o f the first half o f the twelfth century,'1 and its modern editor is o f the opinion that alongside some ‘late West Saxon linguistic features the text shows ‘a number o f Transitional elements better termed E[arly] M[iddle]Efnglish] than LlatclOfldlEfnglish]’.1’ Forms from this text are therefore o f limited value for establishing whether -an was a genuine Old English genitive plural ending. L a w lIC n 1 (II C n Prol, by Liebermanns numbering) reads: his is sco woruldcunde geraednes, |jc ic wylle mid minan witenan rzde, healde ofer call Englaland.'4

|tat man

The form witenan seems to be a substantival genitive plural o f the type mentioned by Brunner and Sievers in the notes cited e a rlie r,b u t is not within the scope o f the present discussion. Liebermann appears to take witenan as genitive plural but m inan as dative singular (in agreement with rade).M Robertson, however, is inclined to take m inan too as genitive plural: In spite o f the difficulty o f explaining minan as a gen. pi. adjectival form (except, perhaps, as due to the influence o f the following noun), I am inclined to think that the whole phrase is simply equivalent to mid witena gepeahte, cf. II Edm. Pre.; II Edg. Pre.; V I I I Atr. Pre.; I Cn. Pre.*7

The form is therefore perhaps to be considered a further example o f a weak adjectival genitive plural in -an, with the additional anomaly that the possessive adjectives normally follow the strong declension. It is not, for our present purpose, a very secure example. *' R . V lecskn iyer, The L ife o f St Chad (A m sterdam , 19 s)). 180. C f. p .13 5 : ‘ W eak plural genitives in -an* o f w hich erran is an exam ple, appear sporadically in ocher M S S also (S(ievers-) B(runner) $ 3 0 4 , n. 2).’ ix Ker, Catalogue 403 (item 333): s. x ii'\ Vleeslcruyer, St Chad* 67. 94 Lieberm ann . Gesetze* i. 308 (M S G ; the other m anuscripts share the reading m id m inan

witenan rade), ** See pp. 10 9 and 114 , above. u See Gesetze* iii. 202 (note 2 to I I C n Prol): ‘ Ü b er späten G e n .p l. s. Sievers and L ieb erm an n s translation ‘ D ies ist nun die w eltliche V erordnung, die ich W itanrathe w ill, dass m an über ganz England hin halte* ( Gesetze* i. 309). *7 A . J . R obertson, The Laws o f the Kings o f England from Edm und to Henry l 1925), 351. R obertson translates: T h i s is further the secular ordinance w h ich , by m y coun cillors, I desire should be observed over all E n glan d ' (p. 175).

121

Gram. 276'*, m it m einem (C am b rid ge, the advice o f

Terry H oad

Among verse texts, m ielan at KtH y 7 might appear to be unambiguously genitive plural: We de heriad and |>e [>anciadv dines weordlican and dinra mielan

halgum stefnum

[>iodz walden, wuldordreames mægena gerena.“

However, dinra in the edited text is an emendation o f M S (fare, and it is at least possible that dare m ielan gerena is genitive singular (with gerena being a form o f feminine gerynu).** Two other not entirely clear-cut verse examples are at M Charm 1 51: Ercc, Erce, Erce, eor|>an modor, geunne \>e se alwalda, ece drihten, æcera wexendra and wridendra, eacniendra and elniendra, sceafta hebra, scirra wæstma, and |>æra bradan berewæstma, and \)xn hwitan hwætewæstma, and ealra eorjjan wæstma.90

The phrases para bradan berewastma and para hw itan hwatewastm a have usually been taken as genitive plural, parallel to acera wexendra (etc.), sceafta hehra, and scirra wastm a?1

n Dobbie, The Anglo-Saxon M inor Poems, 87. T h e manuscript is British Library Cotton Vespasian D.vi, dated *s. x mcd.’ by Ker (Catalogue, 268 (item 2 0 7 ) ) . A facsimile o f the manuscript text is now available in Fred. C . Robinson and E. G . Stanley, O U English Verse Textsfrom M any Sources, Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile, 23 (Copenhagen, 19 9 1), plates 2 1 .1- 3 (the relevant passage is on plate 2 1.1). 19 For this and other proposed readings o f the line see Dobbie, The Anglo-Saxon M inor Poems, 19 0 . 90 Ib id . 117 - 18 . T h e text is in B ritish L ib rary M S C o tto n C a lig u la A .v ii, in a hand dated s. x i" b y K er (Catalogue, I72(item 137) ). For a facsim ile o f the m an uscript see n ow in R o b in son an d Stanley, O U English Verse Textsfrom M any Sources, plates 19 .4 .1- 5 (the relevant passage is on plate 19 .4 .4 ).

v The text is edited, translated, and discussed by G . Storms, Anglo-Saxon M agic (The Hague, 1948), 17 2 -8 6 . Storms translates the relevant portion: Erce, Erce, Erce, mother o f earth. m ay the om n ip o te n t eternal L ord grant you

fields growing and thriving, flo u rish in g and b o u n tifu l,

bright shafts o f millet-crops, and o f broad barley-crops, and o f white wheat-crops.

122

O ld English Weak G en itive P lu ra l -an

The manuscript text, it may be noted, has the reading pare (rather than pardi in both the relevant phrases, as well as the readings hen se and scire (rather than hehra and sam t as in the edited text). While the edited text as reproduced above and the interpretation o f the phrases para bradan herewastrna and para hwitan hwatewastma as genitive plural may be the best that can be done by modern readers, the piece at this point raises enough questions for it not to be an ideal witness to grammatical forms. An apparendy better prose example than those mentioned above is mastan at H om U p (VercHom 4) 286: 1» camode he me Jwere maesta 3cstyn{x> 7 ¡»ara nuestan benda.’ 1

The phrase pare mastagestynpo raises some questions,” and the form masta— apparently for mastan— may suggest that we should be cautious about taking the form mastan itself at face value. However, this can probably be accepted as a relatively safe example o f genitive plural -an. In turning to substantival forms, we may first o f all note the study by Connie C . Eble o f the substantival inflections in one o f the main manuscripts containing the First Series o f Ælfric s Catholic H om ilía.9* This study includes a table” indicating that -an occurs five times in the manuscript in question as the ending o f the genitive plural o f substantives. These five occurrences o f weak genitive plural -an appear to be identifiable as follows. First, Eble mentions two forms o f masculine weak substantives which appear to indicate extension o f -an to gen.pl.’.96These arcyldran at Æ C H om /, 4 60.21: on dam odrum cbege code se apóstol be ¿aere street )>a ofseah he hwaer sum udwita laedde twegen gebrodru, |>e haefdon bchwyrfcd call heora yldran gestreon on deorwurdum gymstanum97

and gefan at Æ CH om /, 15 226.26: Ac se stranga samson aras on midre nihte: and gelæhte |m burhgeatu and abær hi uppon anre dune, to bismre his gefan.9* and o f all the crops o f the earth. ** M . Förster, D ie VerceUi-HomiUen: I.—V III. H om ilie, Bibliothek der angelsächsischen Prosa, 12 (Hamburg, 1932), 97. The manuscript (Vercelli, Biblioteca Capitolarc M S C X V I I ) is dated ‘$. x“ by Ker (Catalogue, 460 (item 394) ). ” See Förster, D ie Vercelli-H om ilien, 97 (nn. 143 and 144). ** C . C . Eble, ‘Noun Inflection in Royal 7 C . X 1 1 , Ælfric’s First Scries o f Catholic Homilies' (dissertation, University o f North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1970). The manuscript is dated‘s. x ex.’ by Kcr (Catalogue, 324 (item 257) ). ” Eble, ‘Noun Inflection, 19. 94 Ibid. 35. 97 For the corresponding passage see Thorpe, H om ilies, i. 60. Thorpe prints yldrena. ** For the corresponding passage sec ibid. 226.

123

Terry H oad

The latter example may, however, be a dative plural form with -(a)n instead o f -(u)m.** Eble claims further that ‘genitive plurals namana and watana appear’ in which ‘the spelling -ana instead o f -ena is probably an attempt to rectify an incorrect gen.pl. in -an by simply adding an -a \ ,0° Her example watana is that discussed above.101 The form namana to which she refers is apparendy at Æ CH om 1 , 38 586.8: nu wide we eow secgan f>a getacnunge |>*ra feowera apostóla namana |»e crist ztfruman geceas101

although it does not seem to be explicitly identified in the course o f the dissertation.10’ Finally, Eble says o f the feminine weak substantive form culfran at Æ CH om I, 2