SIR OWAIN: EXPLANATORY NOTES
Abbreviations: see Textual Notes.
In order to maintain consistency with other editions of
Sir Owain and with citation practices in secondary criticism about the poem, this edition includes stanza numbers. The explanatory and textual notes, following METS format, are, however, listed by line number.
1-2 The first two lines of this stanza and probably the five preceding stanzas are missing. E explains the excision from the preceding folio of A that would have caused the loss (p. xxii) and prints in a note (pp. 155-56) the first 36 lines of the Anglo-Norman version of the poem.
11-12 Thai no held it . . . that he sede. The sense of these lines is that the Irish understood (held) everything he said to be "foolishness concerning nothing."
13-24 al thai seyd commounliche . . . No her folies blinne. The Irish say they will all be convinced if a man visits Hell and returns with information about the pain suffered there. This is a bit inconsistent with the primarily purgatorial experience to which the poem turns.
20 suffri. The use of an
i ending for the third person plural present indicative is unusual even in descendants of Class 2 Old English weak verbs. One would expect
-ith. The use of the
i or
y ending for the infinitive, though ordinarily a Southern dialect characteristic (occasionally on the borders of the Southwest Midland), is common throughout: see 23, 76, 208, 246, 250, 251, 305, 328, 391, 614, 807, 853, 857, 864, and 975.
43-102 St. Patrick has a dream vision in which Jesus comes to him. He gives St. Patrick a heavy book, apparently more comprehensive than Scripture, because it includes
Godes priveté (line 54), those matters which are properly the knowledge of God alone and usually not to be enquired into by man. In addition, Patrick is given
Godes Staf (line 58), a symbol of episcopal authority. He is shown an entry way into Purgatory and told that, if a penitent spends a night and a day, he will be forgiven and have a vision of Paradise. When St. Patrick awakes, the book and staff remain with him.
47 dere bought. Redemption is, etymologically, a "buying back." The theological idea is frequently rendered as a process whereby Christ
dere bought ("dearly bought") us.
49 bok. It is tempting to see the book as the ninth-century Book of Armagh, often taken to be a relic of St. Patrick. This book, however, seems to contain more comprehensive information about "Godes priveté" (line 54) than does the Book of Armagh, which is preserved in Trinity College Dublin (MS 52). Indeed, the Book of Armagh contains documents related to St. Patrick, so the book cannot be the Book of Armagh as we know it, but a good deal of confusion surrounds such artifacts in the fourteenth century.
54 Godes priveté. Since men are ordinarily not to know
Godes priveté, the book is a powerful gift to St. Patrick.
58 Godes Staf. The
Staf, "a bishop's staff, crosier" (
MED), is clearly a sign of episcopal authority granted by God.
Godes Staf may have a special meaning with regard to St. Patrick. It is mentioned by Giraldus Cambrensis (c. 1147-1216/1220) in connection with St. Patrick's expulsion of the snakes from Ireland, and it appears in many other Patrician legends. That it was a real object is attested by its being seized from the archbishop of Armagh in 1177 and lodged in London, where it was probably burned in 1538. For an interesting bibliography, see E, p. 196.
64 gret desert. A
desert was "a barren area, wooded or arid" (
MED). The location is on Saints' Island in Lough Derg, County Donegal. The site of the entry was later redefined as Station Island (Lough Derg), which remains a site of penitential pilgrimage. See Introduction for greater detail.
82-83 A night and a day . . . be forgive his sinne. The idea that a day and a night, preceded and followed by prayer and fasting, would forgive sins and satisfy purgatorial punishment was traditional. The inclusion of a view of the "Earthly Paradise" was less common in visions of the hereafter. The foreground of the poem switches to the purgatorial rather than the infernal at this point.
119 Peter. A:
patrike is clearly not possible. I have followed E in substituting
Peter because of the foundation of Sts. Peter and Paul's, Armagh. Around 1130 the Augustinian Canons Regular of the Abbey of Sts. Peter and Paul, Armagh, were given authority over a dependent priory on Saints' Island.
120 rede. More than simply "read"; it is a liturgical observance: "To read aloud or chant during a church service" (
MED).
124 Regles. There is confusion in the manuscripts of various versions of the poem about whether the name
Regles is derived from the Irish
reicles (a small church or monastic cell) or from Latin
regula (rule of a religious order). Regardless, it is clear that the
Regles in A is a monastic establishment and becomes the repository of the book and the staff (lines 130-32).
127 White chanounes. E identifies these as Premonstratensian Canons, founded by St. Norbert at Prémontré in 1120, and called "white" because of their habit. They lived according to the Rule of St. Augustine (St. Augustine appeared to St. Norbert) with some Cistercian influence probably because of St. Norbert's friendship with St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the founder of the Cistercians. Premon-stratensians were extremely austere and propagated the doctrine of Purgatory from their inception. There is, however, no certainty that the canons were Premonstratensian. Other Canons Regular of St. Augustine had existed for some time and generally wore white habits.
143 went into Helle. The meaning is clearly "visited Hell," but some confusion about the use of the terms Purgatory and Hell exists. Purgatorial visions often represented souls as suffering infernal pains, sometimes less severe, but only for a limited time.
144 storie. No specific source may be intended. The poem frequently makes such references to a vague source of a sort much more common in romance than in devotional literature. See Introduction for comment on similarities with romance including formulas of the sort noted below at lines 147 and 163, as well as more substantive narrative techniques.
147 alle and some. A line-filling formula more common in romance than in devotional literature.
154 His. The word is mysterious, but seems intended since it rhymes with "Paradys" (line 155). A word seems to be missing or implied, such as
His [own].
156 Jhesu ous thider bring. This is the first of a number of pious ejaculations that the narrator sprinkles though the poem.
163 lasse and more. A line-filling formula, like "alle and some" (line 147), more common in romance. See also "withouten les" (line 175) and "forsothe to say" (line 191).
166 Now herknes. This address directly to the reader is another feature rather characteristic of romance.
169 Stevenes. King Stephen (r. 1135-54). It is unusual to think of him as a wise king. His contemporary, Henry of Huntingdon (c. 1080-1160), characterized Stephen's reign as a period of civil and political disorder largely the result of Stephen's weakness and indecisiveness. See Henry, archdeacon of Huntingdon,
Historia Anglorum: The History of the English People, ed. and trans. Diana Greenway (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), pp. 698-777. Huntingdon's view has never been seriously challenged.
189 the bischop of Yrlond. The bishop is, of course, not St. Patrick, since the story has moved to the twelfth century. The prior of the abbey becomes Owain's main interlocuter.
192 Penaunce to take. Sir Owain asks to receive the sacrament of Penance, which would forgive his sins but still leave purgatorial satisfaction to be accomplished. The reception of Penance and the Eucharist, as well as a fifteen-day period of prayer and fasting, were required of all fictional visitors to St. Patrick's Purgatory and all pilgrims to the geographical site.
200 blamed. "Rebuked" or "convicted," but not in a legal sense. Rather it is a recognition of Owain's self-admitted sinfulness, a holding accountable.
211 Nay, Owain, frende. The bishop acts according to the tradition in trying to dissuade Owain.
226 priour with processioun. At this point the prior becomes the master of ceremonies and leads the determined Owain to the entry hole. It was traditionally the prior's duty, as well as the bishop's, to try to dissuade penitents from this extreme and dangerous journey, but the prior does not do so in this version.
247 Thritten men. The
Tractatus has fifteen men.
253 the priour and his covent.
Priour and
covent are more characteristically Dominican terms, though Augustinians and Cistercians used them with regard to dependencies as opposed to primary establishments.
271 newe schorn. Their heads were freshly shaved with the tonsure of religious orders.
276 resoun right. "Right reason" is reason informed by the will's selection of higher rather than lower goals. (St. Thomas Aquinas,
ST 1.qu.94)
293 thou gos to Helle. Owain's experience is purgatorial, but he is warned that he is in danger of falling into Hell.
329 tine. This seems to be derived from the verb
tinen, "to perish spiritually" (
MED); thus it means sin's damnation or damnation by sin.
340 fine amour.
Amour is "love between the sexes" (
MED), and
fine amour is usually reserved for "courtly love," characteristic of romance, especially French romance; but in a moral sense
fine can also mean "pure, true, genuine, perfect, faithful, unwavering" (
MED fin adj.6).
345 pride and lecherie. Pride and lust are two of the seven deadly sins, the root sins that are the source of all others. Although Dante constructed his
Purgatory around the seven deadly sins, no such systematic presentation appears in this poem. Other deadly sins - greed, sloth, and gluttony - are mentioned but they are not sche-matically arranged. Anger and envy seem to be missing except implicitly.
385-90 The situation of the suffering souls here is reminiscent of Dante, though it is not shaped into a systematic allegory. Dantean condign punishments are especially notable also at stanzas 69, 70, 71, and 77.
398 slewthe. Sloth is one of the deadly, or source, sins. The Middle English variant used at line 400, "slowe," aptly emphasizes the basic failing involved in the sin - a slowness to act, particularly with regard to spiritual obligations.
403-05 This was the first pain . . . greved him swithe sore. The verb
dede (line 404) refers to his seeing this "first pain" of Purgatory rather than experiencing it. Owain has already been cast upon the fire in the hall. Here he begins his observation of the torments.
420 In herd. "In public." The point is that there is no way to hide from the torments.
479 theves and theves fere. Although the connection is not explicitly made, thieves and their companions are guilty of the deadly sin of greed or covetousness. "Cov-aitise" is mentioned specifically at line 512.
484 bacbiters. Although backbiting is not, by itself, a deadly sin, it flows from the deadly sins of anger and envy. Thus, the effects of all the deadly sins seem to be acknowledged even if the poem is not arranged around them.
493-516 The wheel of punishment, rather than of fortune, seems Dantean in its imaginativeness, but the relation between punishment and sin is not as clear as in Dante.
515 plough. "A unit of land measure" (
MED), thus the greed is for gold, silver, and land.
604-07 In medieval art, usurers and misers are frequently represented as wearing a pouch (of coins) around their necks. E (p. 174) has many examples. Also, in Dante's
Inferno, XVII, 52-57, usurers gaze down into the pouches around their neck. This section of
Sir Owain (stanzas 99-103) is rather Dantean in the way punishment fits the crime.
611 misours. E (p. 298) suggests that
misours is an early form of
misers not found in the
MED and first found in the
OED c. 1560. The generality of
wightes later in the line suggests that perhaps
misours here is also general, a combination of
mis ("sin, sinfulness . . ."
MED) with -
our as an agentive suffix, thus yielding "sinners" or "evildoers."
618 cours. "A sequence of periods, stages, or events" (
MED), thus some indeterminate measurement of time periods.
631 seven maner colours. The significance of the seven colors is not clear. E (p. 175) suggests a relation to the seven seals of Hell mentioned in the thirteenth-century early Middle English "Vision of
St. Paul," but the circumstances here are quite different. Only four colors are mentioned. The number seven may be a numerological convention, but the fires likely are from the "Vision of St. Paul," 23:1-2.
671 sinne of prede. Pride was the chief of the seven deadly sins. Just as the presentation of the deadly sins here is not systematic, pride is not given an especially prominent place as it was in Dante, Langland, Spenser, and many others. See Morton Bloomfield,
The Seven Deadly Sins: An Introduction to the History of a Religious Concept, with Special Reference to Medieval English Literature (East Lansing, MI: Michigan State College Press, 1952).
682-84 Sum sexti eighen bere . . . sum hadde sexti hond. Owain had been dealing with "fiends," largely undescribed physically. Here, just before coming to the bridge, the fiends become loathsome beasts, some with sixty eyes and some with sixty hands. The number sixty may have simply implied many. See S. J. Tucker, "Sixty as an Indefinite Number in Middle English,"
Review of English Studies 25 (1949), 152-53.
697-756 The narrow bridge to Paradise crosses over true Hell and is the last danger to be faced. This bridge appeared in the fourth-century
Apocalypse of St. Paul and became a staple of the medieval literature of Purgatory. It is prominent in the Middle English version of Paul's Apocalypse, "The Vision of St. Paul," and perhaps surfaced in altered form in secular literature in Chrétien's
Lancelot.
Sir Owain borrows or shares many features of the Middle English "Vision," including the seven-colored fire and many of the specific punishments. Both Middle English poems, however, are in fact borrowing from the fourth-century
Apocalypse, a vision of Hell whose influence is
ubiquitous in the medieval literature of Purgatory.
706-08 Thou no schalt . . . To our felawes mo. There is a verb missing in this sentence, perhaps "cross" or "pass over." The sense is: "you will not cross, for all middle-earth, without falling down towards our fellows." E (p. 178) comes to much the same conclusion.
733 dominical. The term is conjectured from an obscure abbreviation in A (see textual note). The
MED cites the word in
The Eleven Pains of Hell (also called
The Vision of St. Paul), from Laud Miscellany 108 (Bodleian), with the sense "noun: ? a book containing the liturgy for Sunday." That the
Owain-poet cites "Sein Poule" ("St. Paul" - line 735) as his authority helps to substantiate this meaning. Regardless, the dominical here is a source of information about the true Hell that Owain must pass over by means of the bridge that St. Paul mentions.
775 ff. Having escaped the fiends and passed over the treacherous bridge, Owain finds himself at the entry to Paradise. It is, however, not true Heaven, "the celestial Paradise," but the earthly or "terrestrial" Paradise. In the early Church and through the Middle Ages, the Earthly Paradise was, in the first instance, the Garden of Eden, from which Adam and Eve were expelled after the Fall. It was a place of abundant beauty and gratification befitting the prelapsarian state of Adam and Eve. Many people searched for it, unsuccessfully, and learned opinion was that, for one reason or another, it was inaccessible. The terrestrial Paradise took on an additional meaning in controversy and poetry about the places of the afterlife. By some it was considered the temporary abode of the saved until the Last Judgment. By others it was taken to be a stage in the movement to the celestial Paradise after purgation had been completed. Dante's presentation,
Purgatory 27-32, was the most elaborate and theologically complex, but many treatments of Purgatory describe, often with beautiful details of gems, flowers, and birdsong, this place of joy that immediately preceded true, celestial Paradise.
781-822 The catalogue of gems on the door is a familiar poetic figuration of the beauty and value of the terrestrial Paradise. Catalogues (of gems, flowers, birds, weapons, etc.) were a stock decorative feature of Middle English verse, especially the romances. The stones mentioned include jaspers, sapphires, chalcedony, and topaz, all foundation stones of the New Jerusalem (Apocalypse 21:19-20).
784 salidoines. "A fabulous stone of two kinds, said to be found in the stomach of a swallow" (
MED). The term, usually "celadon," is listed under
celidoine with many spelling variations.
785 causteloines. "Some kind of precious stone; ? chalcedony" (
MED). The term is listed under
calcedoine. According to the
OED, it is "transparent or translucent."
786 for the nones. The phrase functions as an intensifier.
787 tabernacles. "A canopied niche or recess in a wall, pillar, etc., designed to contain an image" (
MED). Other definitions associate the term with the portable Hebrew sanctuary, the dwelling place of God, the repository for the Eucharist, and reliquaries. Thus, in context it is architectural and in resonance it is spiritual.
790 charbukelston. The
OED records that carbuncles were said to give off light or glow in the dark.
793-94 our Saveour . . . paintour. God, as the Creator of the world, was frequently described as the greatest of all artists or makers.
813 mani processioun. Although I have not followed E in inserting
in, clearly one single procession is intended.
817-28 These stanzas provide a dignified catalogue of the higher orders of the clergy and laity. Although the list is a bit haphazard, it incorporates the aristocracy, the ecclesiastical hierarchy, monks, friars, and nuns.
820 abbotes, and priours. Although the titles were sometimes used loosely, an abbot was the chief religious and administrative officer of a monastery. A prior was the chief officer of a conventual establishment of friars, especially Dominicans, but sometimes applied to the head of a dependent monastic establishment.
821 chanouns. Canons regular were priests who lived communally, ordinarily at a collegiate church, according to some religious rule. Their role was often to devote their lives to saying masses for the dead.
Frere Prechours. Dominicans. They were especially distinguished for their preaching, notably about Purgatory, and their learning, counting among their number Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas.
823 Frere Menours. Franciscans, technically the Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.), counting among their number St. Bonaventure, Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham.
Jacobins. Dominicans, so called because of their first establishment in Northern France (1218) on the Rue St. Jacques in Paris. Thus, the Dominicans are men-tioned twice in this catalogue, either by accident or design.
824 Frere Carmes (Carmelites) and
Frere Austines (Augustinians) comprise, with the Dominicans and Franciscans, the four great mendicant orders.
825 nonnes white and blake. The habits of nuns, white or black, could apply to many, almost all, of the religious orders of women.
828 order. To take "orders," whether as a monk, a friar, or a nun, meant to live according to some religious rule, such as that of St. Augustine or St. Benedict, though orders could simply refer to the hierarchical stations in life.
829 order of wedlake. It is noteworthy that the poet should list wedlock as an order, suggesting that it is an honored way of life guided by spiritual principles.
851 fithel. "Fiddle," the most popular stringed instrument of the Middle Ages. It had three to five strings, was rectangular with rounded sides, and was about the size of a modern viola (
Dictionary of the Middle Ages).
sautry. "Psaltery," a stringed instrument, essentially a resonator with ten or more strings supported by bridges at each end (
Dictionary of the Middle Ages). The
OED notes that it resembled a dulcimer and was plucked with the fingers or a plectrum.
868 breke her notes. Henry Holland Carter defines the phrase as "To begin to sing," that is, to break out in song. See
A Dictionary of Middle English Musical Terms, p. 52.
869-70 Carter,
Musical Terms, provides the following definitions for vocal music.
Burdoun (line 869) refers to "the recurring refrain, in a low, usually bass, tone, which is sung or sounded with a melody of a higher pitch" (p. 57),
mene (line 869) signifies "the middle part, whether instrumental or vocal" (p. 278), while
hautain (line 870) means "high in range or volume" (p. 200).
874-76 As E notes, this clearly sets the scene as "the Earthly and not the Celestial Paradise" (p. 185). The reference to
that tre of liif (line 874) as the means by which Adam and Eve went to Hell is unusual. The original sin was the eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden so that they would not eat of the tree of life and become immortal (Genesis 3:22-24).
877-82 A decorative catalogue of flowers. Flowers, like birds and gems, were particularly characteristic of the Earthly Paradise.
883-88 The description of perpetual summer echoes the characterizations of medieval "otherworlds" generally associated with fairies. The pleasantness here, however, is of an orthodox spiritual character suitable to the Earthly Paradise.
895 Pison. Although the first letter of this line in A may be
d, the intention must be
p, thus
Pison. The first of the four rivers of Eden was Phison (Genesis 2:11).
898 Gihon. A:
fison must be
Gihon, or something quite like it. St. Jerome's Vulgate says "Geon" (Genesis 2:13), and the two other rivers (Genesis 2:14) are the "Tigris" (line 904) and "Eufrates" (line 901).
931-42 Although not clearly scriptural, the idea of gradations of bliss in Heaven was the recurrent teaching of the fathers and doctors of the early Church. It was not, however, defined as dogma until the Council of Florence in the early fifteenth century.
973-84 The souls in Purgatory in this poem do not know how long they are going to be there. In
The Gast of Gy, the Gast knows that he will be released by Easter. Although there was controversy about what the souls in Purgatory knew, the belief that suffrages (masses, prayers, almsgiving) could shorten the length of purgation was consistent and central to the doctrine.
985-1020 The distinction between the "terrestrial" and "celestial" Paradise is made clear in these lines.
1013 crouthe. A stringed musical instrument identified by the
MED as Celtic and Middle Eastern.
1021-32 Although opinion was somewhat divided, it was broadly held that Adam and Eve would have remained in Eden if they had not sinned. Although they would not have been immortal, they would not have suffered the pains of earthly existence. After death, like the Old Testament patriarchs, they presumably went to that "Hell" (
limbus Patrum), while waiting for the Resurrection of Christ.
1045-50 Adam and all his descendants had to await Redemption by Christ in "Hell." Thus, there are at least two places called Hell. The idea of Christ's "descent into Hell," is based on tenuous interpretations of Matthew 27:52-53, Luke 23:43, 1 Peter 3:18-12, and Ephesians 4:9. The notion appears in the Apostles' Creed by the fifth century. The "harrowing of Hell," Christ's descent to "Hell" to release the virtuous who had died before the Redemption, was popular in the Middle Ages, supported by the apocryphal
Book of Nicodemus and perpetuated by Aelfric's
Homilies, Bede's
Ecclesiastical History, and the mystery plays. The story is well summarized in
Cursor Mundi.
1048 Passioun. The Passion of Christ is His suffering and death described in Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23, and John 18-19.
1057-70 The missing lines probably stated that all of the descendants of Adam required Redemption and were in some intermediate place or state until that time. They probably also indicated that individual sin after baptism required penance and satisfaction.
1087-92 The bishop's speeches recall both the manna that sustained the Israelites during their flight from captivity (Exodus 16:13-20) and reception of the sacrament of the Eucharist.
1105-1110 See explanatory note to 1087-92.
1148 The priour.
To must be assumed at the beginning of this line since
the priour must be in the dative case for the line to make sense.
1168 on the fiften day. Owain performs the traditional fifteen days of prayer and fasting following his return from Purgatory.
1170 Scrippe and burdoun. "A pilgrim's wallet" and
"a pilgrim's staff" (
MED). The appurtenances of medieval pilgrims included a cape over a loose frock and a broad-brimmed hat. Over their breasts they wore a pouch (
scrippe) to hold food, money, relics, and whatever. They carried a staff (
burdoun) made of two sticks tightly wrapped together. The traditional dress is well-described in the romance
The Squyr of Low Degre.
SIR OWAIN: TEXTUAL NOTES
The basis of my text is National Library of Scotland MS Advocates' 19.2.1, the Auchinleck Manuscript (
A), which is the only non-fragmentary source extant of the quatrain version. Easting's edition (
E), entitled
St. Patrick's Purgatory, includes, in addition, two couplet versions, the English prose
Vision of William Staunton and the Latin
Tractatus Sancti Patricii. Easting provides extensive commentary on these versions as well as relations to versions in other languages. Easting uses the title
Owayne Miles because that title appears at the head of the couplet version in British Library MS Cotton Caligula A. ii, while the quatrain version in the Auchinleck Manuscript is literally acephalous. I have preferred to entitle the quatrain version
Sir Owain because it is the spelling that appears twenty-three times in the quatrain version. No other spelling appears more than twice.
I have accepted readings from E only when they seem necessary for the coherence or intelligibility of the narrative. I have compared these changes to Kölbing's edition and subsequent addenda (
K) and Zupitza's (
Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum 10.247-57) correc-tions (
Z) to Kölbing. The Auchinleck Manuscript is generally quite clear even in the Scolar Press facsimile. The manuscript does have many places where the scribe has corrected an error by writing over it, but these are easy to decipher and I have accepted them, usually without comment. I have also expanded abbreviations without comment. In the notes as in the text, I have replaced Middle English graphemes with modern orthography unless the original grapheme is relevant to the explanation. Further manuscript and bibliographical details precede the text of the poem.
Missing lines: Approximately 32 lines are missing at the beginning of the poem. Apparently a miniature on the folio preceding where
Sir Owain begins was excised. (See E, p. xxi.) Easting provides the roughly corresponding lines from the Anglo-Norman version in his notes.
5 untrewthe. So K, E. A:
untrewe. A's reading is not attested in the
MED and K, E preserve the rhyme with line 4.
16 sum man. A:
no man (though a bit unclear). E's emendation makes sense of the sentence.
22 thai. Inserted above the line in A.
28 afliccioun. A:
afliccoun; E:
afflicioun. A's reading is not attested in the
MED, which offers no examples of
afliccoun as a variant.
Afliccioun provides a closer rhyme to
orisoun (line 29), though the
affliccoun/
orysoun rhyme recurs in A, line 223. But both "affliccoun" and "orysoun" in this later stanza rhyme with "processioun"; thus my emendation to
afliccioun here and in line 223. N.b., Robert Mannyng's
Handlynge Synne, where "afflycccyouns" (line 310) is rymed with "orysouns" (line 309); the rhyme there sounds right through metathesis.
36 Yrlond. So K, E. A:
Yrluod. A is clearly in error.
83 schuld be forgive. Z, E insert
be, which makes the line appropriately passive.
87 stedfast of bileve. Z, E insert
of, an important clarification.
112 Wharthurth. So A. K reads
thurch throughout, but A's
thurth, though a less common spelling, is clearly correct.
119 Peter. So E. A:
patrike. I have accepted E's emendation. See explanatory note.
152 seye. A:
sei3e. I have followed the rhyme with "heye" (line 151), though elsewhere I have transcribed "seighe" (line 773).
172 Northumberland. A:
Norþhumberland. There is no need to double the
h.
174 As. So K, E. A:
At. The change to
As makes the line intelligible.
175 Oweyn. A:
Uweyn; E:
Oweyne. Although there is variation in the spelling of the hero's name, I have accepted E's emendation because elsewhere the name always begins with
O.
223 afliccioun. A:
afliccoun. See textual note to line 28.
267 thare. So A. As E notes,
there would improve the rhyme with line 270, but the difference does not seem great enough to intrude on A.
292 do as Y. A:
do y. K, E insertion of
as repairs the grammar.
296 do thee. A:
doþe doþe, with the second excised.
416 gloweand. Corrected from
groweand in A.
419 dragouns. A:
dragrouns. K, E's correction of an obvious slip.
425 The scribe of A, normally very consistent, marks the stanza break after this line, though clearly it should come after the next line.
427 strong.
r is inserted above the line in A.
433 thare. So A, E. K:
there. I agree with E's retention of A; it is consistent with line 267, where, in fact, K does not make the change.
440 lichoure. The
ho in
lichoure is partially obscured, but I agree with K, E reading of
ho.
455 the. Inserted above the line in A.
499 and. Inserted above the line in A.
520 thou schalt. A:
he schal. K, E:
thou shalt. The change to the second person is necessary for the sense of the passage.
524 forth. The
þ is added above the line in A.
552 sethen. A:
seþþen. There is no need to double the
th in transcription. So, too, in line 1180.
641 schake. The
ch is added above the line in A.
642 the. Inserted above the line in A.
643 foules. The
s is added above the line in A.
683 were. A:
we. I have accepted K, E's correction on the basis of rhyme.
703 with. Corrected from
wis in A.
708 felawes. A:
fewes. I have accepted K, E's correction.
733 dominical. So K, E. A:
dmcl. Although the stroke over the
m is similar to the abbreviation mark for
m, n, or
e, there is no way to make sense of the word orthographically. See explanatory note.
743 E reads A as
cou and changes to
thou (
þou), but I agree with K that the scribe of A has already made this correction.
746 fendes. Although the first
e of
fendes is obliterated, there is no doubt about the whole word.
762 better. A:
beiter. The A form is not cited in
MED as a variant of
better.
794 goldsmithe. A:
goldsmitþe. The scribe of this part of A frequently combines
t and
þ where either
th or
þ would do, as he does in the A version of
Amis and Amiloun. (See Bliss, p. 658.)
803 ywis. The
y is inserted above the line in A.
813 processioun. So A. E inserts
in before
processioun, but I agree with K that it is not necessary.
817 dignité. A:
dingnite. Clearly a scribal slip.
830 mo. An
r is canceled before
mo in A.
853 may. Corrected from
man in A.
884 groweth here. E notes correctly that the second half of this line is partially obscured, though legible, because of a piece of paper placed in A to repair the damage caused by the excision of a miniature on fol. 31v.
891 is. Inserted above the line in A.
895 Pison. A:
dison. E is clearly correct about the name of the river, though A clearly reads
dison.
898 Gihon. A:
fison. Again E is correct about the name of the river. See explanatory note.
912 be. K, E have properly inserted the
be, which is missing in A.
927 were. A:
weren. I have accepted E's emendation, which is grammatically possible and repairs the rhyme with line 930.
930 While. A:
Whise. K, E's emendation makes sense, and some alteration is clearly necessary.
938 Paradis. A:
parabis; K, E
paradis is obviously necessary; K does not indicate that this is a change from A.
956 K, E read A:
Bothe auen and a morwe. K leaves
auen as a variant of
of even. E changes to:
Bothe an euen and a morwe.
970 sede. Second
e inserted above the line in A.
988 celestien. Corrected from
celestian in A.
993 may. Corrected from
mar in A.
1016 Is. Corrected from
þis in A.
1018 other. Corrected from
oner in A.
1044 midnerd. So A. K incorrectly reads
miduerd. The word in A is a derivative of Old English
middangeard (
MED). It seems to refer to the extra-paradisal world.
1058-70 These lines are lost in A. E: "The excision of the miniature at the head of 'The deputisoun bituen the bodi and the soule' has caused the loss of most of thirteen lines." The miniature was on fol. 31v. The initial
th (
Þ) of line 1058 is legible, as are the upper parts of
have don s in this line. The K, E reading of the whole line is from Laing and Turnbull's early transcription (1837). The initial letters are legible in succeeding lines: 1059
s, 1060
o, and 1070
b. Laing and Turnbull were apparently able also to see initial letters at lines 1061:
h; 1062:
a; and 1069:
Þ.
1180 sethen. A:
seþþen. See textual note to line 552.