ANCRENE WISSE, PART SIX: FOOTNOTES

1 strong, severe; dreheth, endure.

2-3 Al thet ye eaver doth . . . derf ordre, All good things that you ever do (lit., all of good), all that you suffer is a martyrdom for you in so difficult (or, cruel) an order.

4 Si compatimur, conregnabimus, "If we suffer with [Him], we shall reign with [Him]" (2 Timothy 2:12, Romans 8:17).

4-5 As ye scottith with him of his pine on eorthe, As you share with Him in His pain on earth.

6-7 Michi absit gloriari . . . Christi, "Far be it from me to boast (or, glory), except in the Cross of my Lord, Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).

7-8 Nos opportet gloriari . . . Christi, "It is necessary for us to glory in the Cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ" (the Introit for the Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross).

8 mot beon, must be.

8-9 This word nomeliche . . . rode, This word (i.e., statement) applies especially to recluses, whose joy ought to be completely in God's Cross.

10-11 Ich chulle biginnin herre . . . sentence, I will begin higher (see explanatory note) and descend thus [back] to this point (lit., here to). Now pay good attention, for most all [of the following] is St. Bernard's opinion.

12-14 the ane mahe beon . . . Jesuse rode, the first may be compared to good pilgrims; the second, to the dead; the third, to those hanged with their good will (i.e., willingly) on Jesus' Cross.

14 forme, first; othre, second.

16 gredeth, cries out.

16-18 Obsecro vos . . . adversus animam, "I implore you, as foreigners and pilgrims, that you hold yourselves back from carnal desires which war against the spirit" (1 Peter 2:11).

18 "Ich halsi ow," "I implore you"; el-theodie, foreign ones, foreigners.

19 weorrith, make war, attack.

20 halt, holds, keeps to (halt = reduced form of haldeth).

20-22 Thah he seo other here . . . his giste, Though he [may] see or hear idle games (or, entertainments) and marvels (i.e., amazing things) by the way, he does not stand still (edstont = reduced form of edstondeth) as fools do, but holds his route (or, course) forward and hurries toward his lodgings.

22-23 He ne bereth na gersum . . . neodeth, He does not carry any possessions (or, treasure) but barely money [enough] for his expenses, nor [does he carry any] clothes except only those that are necessary to him.

23 hali men the, holy men who.

24-25 with god lif-lade . . . of heovene, with a good way of life toward the kingdom of heaven.

25-26 Non habemus . . . inquirimus, "We do not have here (i.e., in this life) an enduring city, but we seek [a city which is] to come" (Hebrews 13:14).

26 wununge, dwelling.

27-28 Beoth bi the leaste thet ha mahen . . . of pilegrim, [Holy men] exist (lit., are) on the least that they can, nor do they hold worldly comfort of any value, though they be on the worldly path - as I said - of the pilgrim.

29-30 Ant ahen wel to habben . . . Giles, And ought well to have, for other pilgrims go (or, proceed) in great difficulty (or, toil) to seek out one [single] saint's bones, such as St. James or St. Giles.

30-31 Ah theo pilegrimes the gath, But those pilgrims who go.

31 i-sontet, sainted, made saints.

32 hali halhen, holy saints.

32-33 i wunne buten ende, in joy without end.

33-34 Ha i-findeth i-wis . . . bisecheth, They [will] certainly find St. Julian's inn, which wayfaring men eagerly seek out.

35 Nu beoth theose gode, Now these are good.

35-39 for allegate pilegrimes . . . sum neaver mare, for pilgrims nevertheless, as I said before, even though they all go continually forward, and do not become citizens (lit., town-men) in the world's city, [some] of [the things] that they see by the way seem good to them sometimes, and [they] linger a bit, though they do not do [so] completely, and many a thing happens to them whereby they are delayed (or, hindered), so that - more is the harm! - some come home late, some nevermore.

40 skerre, freer, purer (see glossary).

41-42 then theo men . . . toward heovene? than those men who have worldly property (lit., things) and do not love it, but give it as it comes to them, and go unburdened, light (or, easily) as pilgrims do toward heaven?

43 Hwa, Who.

43-44 Godd wat . . . ant seith, God knows, those [people] are better to whom the Apostle speaks and declares.

44-46 Mortui estis . . . cum ipso in gloria, "You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When, however, your life (i.e., Christ) will have appeared, then you too will appear with Him (lit., the same) in glory" (Colossians 3:3-4).

46 i-hud mid Criste, hidden with Christ.

47-48 eadeaweth ant springeth . . . blisse, appears and springs (or, rises) like the dawning after night's darkness, and you will rise with Him more beautiful (or, brighter) than the sun into eternal joy.

48-49 The nu beoth thus deade . . . moni-hwet, Whoever are now dead in this way, their way of life is higher, for many a thing afflicts (or, annoys) the pilgrim.

49-50 The deade nis noht of . . . buven eorthe, To the dead it is of little importance (lit., it is of nothing), though he lie unburied and [though he] rot above ground.

50-51 Preise him . . . i-liche leof, Praise him, blame him, do him shame, slander him (lit., say him shame) - all is equally pleasing to him.

51-52 This is a seli death . . . worlde, This is a blessed death which thus puts a living man, or living woman, out of the world.

52 sikerliche hwa-se, certainly whosoever.

53 this is thet, this is what.

54 Vivo ego . . . Christus, "I live, [but] indeed not I. On the contrary - Christ lives in me" (adapted from Galatians 2:20).

55 thurh his in-wuniende grace, through His indwelling grace.

56 sihthe, sight.

56-57 Ah thet te limpeth to Crist . . . cwicnesse, But that which relates to Christ - that I see and hear, and do in vitality (lit., aliveness).

57-58 Thus riht . . . dead, Thus, [quite] rightly, is each religious [person] (i.e., person who has taken religious vows) dead.

58-59 This is an heh steire . . . the seide, This is a high stair, but [there] is still, nevertheless, a higher [one]. And who ever stood on it (lit., there-in)? God knows, he (i.e., the person) who said.

59-61 Michi absit gloriari . . . ego mundo, "Far be it from me to glory unless in the Cross of my Lord, Jesus Christ, through which the world is crucified to me and I [am crucified] to the world" (Galatians 6:14).

61 thet ich seide th'ruppe, what I said above (lit., up there).

61-63 "Crist me schilde . . . the is ahonget," "Christ shield me from having (lit., to have) any joy in this world except in the Cross of Jesus Christ, my Lord, through whom the world is worthless to me and I am worthless to her, as an criminal who is hanged."

64 hehe stod he the, high stood he who; ancre steire, an anchoress' stair.

65 Michi autem absit . . . et cetera, see gloss to 6.6-7; ne blissi ich me, not take joy (reflex.).

66 thet ich tholie . . . o rode, that I now suffer woe and am reckoned worthless as God was on the Cross.

67 herre, higher.

68-70 ham of heovene . . . of his jurnee, home of heaven, he sees and hears vanity, and speaks [it] for a time, becomes angry (lit., enrages himself) because of wrongs, and many a thing may hinder him from his journey.

70-72 The deade nis na mare . . . ne wunne, To the dead there is no more of shame than of honor, of harsh things than of soft, for he feels neither, and therefore he does not deserve (or, earn) either woe or joy.

72-73 Ah the the is o rode . . . over hure, But he who is on the Cross and has joy in it (lit., thereof), he turns shame to honor and woe to joy, and earns reward over reward.

73-76 This beoth theo . . . ant teone, These (lit., This) are those who are never glad-hearted except when they suffer (i.e., are suffering) some woe or some shame with Jesus on His Cross. For this is happiness on earth, whoever (i.e., when a person) may have shame and hardship for God's love.

76-77 Thus, lo, rihte ancres . . . theos thridde, Thus, look, rightful anchoresses are not only pilgrims, nor yet only dead, but are of this third [group].

78 sariliche, sorrowfully (or, painfully).

78-79 Theos mahe blithe . . . singen, These may joyfully sing with Holy Church.

79 Nos opportet gloriari, (see gloss to 6.7-8).

80 ear, before.

80-82 Hwet-se beo of othre . . . droh o rode, Whatever may be the case with (lit., is of) the others who have their joy, some in the pleasure of the flesh, some in the world's trickery (or, error), some in others' harm, we must needs rejoice (reflex.) in Jesus Christ's Cross - that is, in the shame and in the woe which He suffered on the Cross.

82-85 Moni walde summes weis . . . ham bathe, Many [a person might] want to experience in some way the hardship of the flesh, but to be counted worthless or shameful he could not bear. But he is not but (i.e., is only) halfway upon God's Cross if he is not prepared to experience (or, suffer) them both.

86-89 Vilitas et asperitas . . . blisse of heovene, "Debasement and severity," these two, shame and pain, as St. Bernard says, are the uprights of the ladder which is directed to (i.e., leads to) heaven. And between these uprights the rungs of all good virtues are fastened, by which one climbs to the joy of heaven.

89 For-thi thet, Because.

90 baldeliche, boldly.

91 Vide humilitatem meam . . . delicta mea, "See my humility and my toil and dismiss all my faults" (Psalm 24:18).

92 eadmodnesse ant mi swinc, humility and my toil.

93-95 Notith wel . . . i-tald unwurth, Note well (imper.) these two words which David joins together: "toil" and "humility" - toil in pain and woe, in sorrow, and in sadness; humility in response to the injury of shame which a person (lit., one) suffers who is counted worthless.

95 Ba theos, Both these.

96-97 Dimitte universa . . . mea, see gloss to 6.91.

97-99 "Leaf . . . bi theos leaddre," "Put (lit., Leave)," he said, "behind me and cast away from me all my faults [so] that I, lightened of their heaviness, may lightly climb up to heaven by this ladder."

100-02 i-feiet togederes . . . yetten, joined together - are Elijah's wheels which were burning, it says, and bore him up to paradise, where he lives still (see 2 Kings 2:1-18).

102 is understonden, is to be understood; eileth, afflicts, troubles.

103 Ah wel mei duhen . . . ase hweoles, But it is very fitting (lit., may well be appropriate) [that] they here are rotating like wheels, [and] revolve (lit., turn over) quickly, [and do] not pause any while.

104-05 This ilke is ec bitacnet . . . abuten, This same [thing] is also symbolized by the cherubim's sword before the gates of paradise (see Genesis 3:24), which was [made] of flame and wheeling, turning about.

105-08 Ne kimeth nan . . . agath sone, None (i.e., no one) comes into paradise except through this blazing sword, which was hot and red, and on Elijah's fiery wheels - that is, through sorrow (or, pain) and through shame, which turns over (or, revolves) quickly, and goes away soon.

108-10 Ant nes Godes rode . . . i-heowet? And is God's Cross not ruddied and reddened with His precious blood in order to show in Himself that pain, and care, and sorrow should be colored (or, stained) with shame?

110 Nis hit i-writen bi him, Is it not written concerning Him.

110-11 Factus est obediens . . . crucis, "He was obedient (lit., made obedient) to the father to death, even death on a Cross" (based on Phillipians 2:8).

111 buhsum his feader, obedient (ModE buxom - see glossary) to His father.

112-14 Thurh thet he seide . . . alle othre, By the fact that He first said "death" is pain to be understood. By the fact that afterwards He says "death on the Cross," shame is symbolized, for thus God's death on the dear Cross was painful and shameful over all other [deaths].

115 theos twa ha mot tholien, she must suffer these two things.

116-19 Scheome ich cleopie eaver her . . . ower threal, I always call shame here (i.e., in this section) to be counted worthless, and to beg like a vagabond, if there is need, for her food, and to be given charity to pray for others (lit., to be others' beadsman - see beodes-mon in glossary) - as you are, dear sisters - and to endure often the dominion (or, arrogance) of such [a person] sometimes who might be your thrall.

119-20 thet eadi scheome . . . ow nawt, that blessed (or, fortunate) shame which I tell of. Pain [will] not deceive you.

120-22 I theos ilke twa thing . . . buten ende, In these same two things, in which all penitence is (or, consists), rejoice and be glad (reflex.), for in compensation for these, two-fold (i.e., double) blessings are prepared for you: in compensation for shame, there is honor; in compensation for pain, delight and rest without end.

122-23 Ysa[ias]: In terra . . . possidebunt, Isaiah: "'In their land,' he says, 'they will possess double'" (Isaiah 61:7).

123-24 hare ahne lond . . . her dreheth, their own land possess a two-fold (or, double) joy, in compensation for the double woe which they suffer here.

125-26 for alswa as the uvele . . . eorthe, for just as the evil have no part in heaven, neither do the good have any part in earth.

126-27 Super epistolam Jacobi . . . in terra, Concerning the epistle of James: "The evil have (or, possess) nothing in heaven; the good indeed nothing on earth" (Glossa Ordinaria commentary on James 1:2 [PL 114.671]).

127-30 In hare ahne lond . . . in uncuththe, In their own land they will possess joy, a double kind of reward, in compensation for [their] double sorrow, as though he said, "Let it not seem to them a strange thing, though they suffer here as in a strange land, and in a strange country, among strange people, both shame and sorrow, for so (i.e., in this way) many a gentle (or, well-born) man does (or, acts), who is a stranger in a strange land."

130-32 Me mot ute swinken . . . i the place? Outside (or, away from home) one must work: at home one wants to rest, and is he not a foolish knight who looks for rest in the battle and ease in the field?

132 Milicia est vita . . . terram, "The life of man is warfare on earth" (Job 7:1).

133-35 menske ant reste . . . hit witneth, honor and rest await us at home in our own land - that is, the kingdom of heaven. See now how clearly our Lord Himself bears witness to it.

135-37 Cum sederit Filius hominis . . . commendatur, "When the Son of man will sit in the seat of His majesty, you will sit judging," etc. (Matthew 19:28). Bernard: "In seats (or, thrones), peace undisturbed is commended; [and] in judging, the pinnacle of honor" (Geoffrey of Auxerre, Declamations from the Dialogue between Simon and Jesus Collected from the Sermons of St. Bernard 40.49 [PL 184.463]).

137 demen, to judge.

138-39 thet schal beon i-demet, which will be judged.

139-42 I the sete . . . mildeliche tholeden, By the seat, rest and ease is symbolized, in compensation for the travail that is here. By the honor of judgment what they will judge (i.e., render), honorable majesty (or, loftiness) above all [other honors] is to be understood, in compensation for the shame and lowliness which they meekly suffered here for God's love.

143 tholien, to suffer; bi Godd seolf, about God Himself.

143-44 Quod per penam . . . resurrectionis, "Because through the pain of His shameful passion, He arrived at the glory of the resurrection" (source unidentified).

145 blisful ariste, joyful resurrection (or, arising).

145-47 Nis na sel-cuth . . . us-seolf wulleth, [It] is no wonder, then, if we sinful wretches suffer pain here, if we want to arise joyfully on Judgment Day. And we can do that through His grace, if we ourselves want to.

147-48 Quoniam si complantati . . . erimus, "For if we will have been planted together (i.e., united) in the likeness of His death, we will likewise be [united in the likeness] of [His] resurrection" (Romans 6:5).

149-50 Seinte Paweles sahe . . . of his ariste, [This is the] saying of St. Paul, who always speaks so well: "if we are grafted to the likeness of God's death, we shall [be] of His resurrection."

151 i hwucche twa he deide, in which two He died.

152 i-liche, like; world buten ende, world without end.

153-54 Salvatorem expectamus . . . claritatis sue, "We look for a Savior who will reshape the body of our lowliness, conforming [it] to the body of His brightness" (Phillipians 3:20-21).

154-55 Let othre acemin . . . his ahne, Let others who run ahead adorn their bodies. Let us wait for our Savior, who will adorn our [bodies], according to His own.

155-56 Si compatimur, conregnabimus, "If we suffer with [Him], we shall reign with [Him]" (2 Timothy 2:12, Romans 8:17).

156-58 tholieth with him . . . i the biyete, "suffer with Him, we shall rejoice with Him." Is this not a good agreement? Christ knows, he is not a good or true (i.e., loyal) friend who will not share in the loss, as in turn (i.e., as well as) in the profit.

158-59 Glosa: Illis solis . . . affligunt, Gloss: "The blood of Christ can help only those who abandon pleasures and [who] afflict [their] body" (source unidentified).

159-60 ah heom ane hit is wurth . . . ham-seolven, but to them only is it good, who flee the pleasure of the flesh and [who] torment themselves.

161-63 Nis Godd ure heaved . . . akinde heaved? Is God not our head and we all his limbs? But is each limb not sore with the pain of the head (i.e., when the head is in pain)? He is not his limb (i.e., God's limb), who does not have an ache under (or, beneath) so sore an aching head.

163-65 Hwen the heaved sweat . . . yette monie, When the head sweats profusely (lit., well), that limb which does not sweat - is it not a bad sign? He who is our head sweat a sweat of blood for our sickness, to turn (i.e., cure) us of that pestilence (lit., land-disease) which all lands lay under (i.e., have lain under, suffered from), and many still lie.

165-67 The lim the ne sweat nawt . . . sar Godd, The limb which does not sweat in laborious pain for His love - God knows, it remains in its sickness, and there is nothing [to do] but cut it off - though that seems sad to God.

168 then he ake eaver, than [that] it always ache.

168-69 Cwemeth he nu wel . . . sweaten? Now does he please God well who thus cuts off a limb (him = reflex.) from himself, because he does not want to sweat?

169-70 Oportebat Christum . . . gloriam suam, "It was necessary for Christ to suffer and so enter into His glory" (based on Luke 24:26, see also Luke 24:46).

170 moste swa beon, had to be so.

170-71 "Crist tholie . . . his riche," "Christ [had to] suffer pain and passion, and so have entry into His kingdom."

171 Lo, deale, hwet he seith, Look! See what he says.

172-75 swa, ant nan . . . withute bune! thus, and in no other way. And we sinful wretches want to climb with ease to heaven which is so high above us and worth so very much! And one cannot without toil raise up (i.e., build) a little cottage, or have two thonged shoes (i.e., shoes with leather laces) without the buying (i.e., without paying for them)!

175 Other theo beoth canges, Either they are fools who expect to buy eternal joy on the cheap (see textual note), or the holy saints who bought it so dearly (i.e., expensively).

176-78 Nes Seinte Peter . . . bicorven? Were not St. Peter and St. Andrew stretched out on a cross for this? [And] St. Lawrence on the griddle? And [did not] innocent virgins [have] their breasts torn off, [were they not] shattered on wheels, [did they not have their] heads cut off?

178-80 Ah ure sotschipe is sutel . . . habbe neowe, Our foolishness is evident. And they (i.e., the saints) were like these shrewd children who have rich fathers, [children] who willingly and intentionally tear their clothes up in order to have new ones.

180-84 Ure alde curtel . . . ant with weane, Our old coat is the flesh which we have from Adam, our original (lit., old) father; the new we must receive from God, our rich father, in the resurrection of Judgment Day, when our flesh will shine brighter than the sun, if it is torn apart here with misery and with woe.

184 theo the . . . thisse wise, those who tear apart their coats in this way.

185-86 Deferetur munus . . . populo terribili, "A gift will be brought to the Lord of hosts by a people ripped and torn apart, by a frightful people" (Isaiah 18:7).

186-87 "A folc tolaimet . . . of him-seolven," "A people dismembered and torn apart, a fearful people," he says, "will make a present of themselves to our Lord."

187-89 Folc tolaimet . . . ant seide, A people dismembered and torn apart with a severe and hard way of life he calls "a fearsome people," because the fiend is frightened and afraid of such [people]. Because Job was such [a person], he (i.e., the devil) complained (reflex.) and said.

189-90 Pellem pro pelle . . . et cetera, "Skin for skin and all [that a man has, he will give for his life]," etc. (Job 2:4).

190-92 yeoven fel for fel . . . deadliche fel, "give skin for skin," the old for the new, as though he said, "[It] gains me nothing to attack him: he is from that torn-apart people. He tears his old coat and rips apart the old leather robe of his mortal skin."

193-94 For the fel is undeadlich . . . the sunne, For that skin is immortal which in the new resurrection will shine sevenfold (i.e., seven times) brighter than the sun.

194-96 Eise ant flesches este . . . deth i castel, Pleasure and the gratification of the flesh (or, body) are the devil's marks. When he sees these marks in a man or in a woman, he knows the castle is his and goes boldly in where he sees such banners raised up, as one does in a castle (or, as is done in a castle).

197-98 misseth his merken . . . dred th'rof, misses (i.e., does not find) his marks, and sees in them God's banner raised up - that is, hardship of life - and has much dread of that.

199-200 "Me leove sire" . . . wisre, "But dear sir," some[one] says, "and is it now wisdom (i.e., a wise thing) to do such harm to oneself?" And you give me an answer (i.e., tell me) which of two men is wiser.

200-02 Ha beoth ba seke . . . acovrin heale, They are both sick: the one forgoes all that he loves of foods and drinks and drinks a bitter elixir in order to recover [his] health.

202-03 The other folheth al his wil . . . thes twa? The other (or, second, man) follows his pleasure completely and furthers (or, encourages) his desires despite his sickness and soon loses his life. Which is the wiser of these two?

203 ahne, own.

204 nis sec of sunne, is not sick with sin.

205-06 dronc attri drunch . . . us-seolven! drank a poisonous drink on the Cross - and we do not want to taste (lit., bite - see biten in glossary) anything bitter for ourselves!

206-07 Nis ther na-wiht . . . his pine, There is nothing for it. Surely His follower must with pain of his flesh follow His pain.

207 Ne wene nan . . . heovene, Let no one expect to climb to heaven with pleasure.

208 "Me, sire . . . up-o sunne?" "But, sir," someone again says, "will God take revenge so vengefully for sin?"

209-11 Ye, mon! . . . eani licnesse? Yes, sir! For look now how very much he hates it. Now, how would that man beat the thing itself, wheresoever he might find it, who for great hatred would beat the shadow of it and everything that had any likeness (or, resemblance) to it?

211-13 hu beot he . . . of sunne? how bitterly did He beat His precious Son, Jesus our Lord, who never had [any] sin, except only that He bore flesh like ours, which is full of sin?

213-14 Ant we schulden . . . sune death? And should we be spared, [we] who bear on us (i.e., are responsible for) His Son's death?

214-17 The wepne thet sloh him . . . his feader are, The weapon that slew Him - that was our sin, and He who did not have any sin (lit., any[thing] of sin) except the shadow alone was so shamefully abused in that same shadow, so painfully (or, sorrowfully) tormented, that before it came to that (i.e., before the crucifixion), because of the threat of it (i.e., crucifixion) alone, He was so terrified (lit., [it] terrified him) in anticipation of it that He asked for His father's mercy.

218-19 Tristis est anima mea . . . calix iste, "My spirit is sad to the point of death. My father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me" (Matthew 26:38-39).

219-21 "Sare . . . i-vorthet," "I am terribly afraid (lit., it frightens me sorely - see glossary)," He said, "of (or, in anticipation of) my great pain. My father, if it may be, spare Me at this time. Let Your will, though, and not mine, always be furthered."

221-22 His deore-wurthe feader . . . stevene, His precious Father did not excuse Him for [all] that, but laid into Him so violently (or, viciously) that He began to wail with a pitiful voice.

222-23 Heloy! . . . Lama zabatani? "My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34).

223-24 havest tu al forwarpe me . . . se hearde? have You cast me off completely, Your only Son, [You] who beat Me so hard?

224-25 ne lette he nawt . . . o rode, He did not stop, but beat [Him] so very long and so very grimly (or, horribly), that He died on the Cross.

225-26 Disciplina pacis nostre super eum, "The disciplining of our peace [was] upon Him" (Isaiah 53:5).

226-29 he dude him-seolven . . . beaten, He put Himself between us and His Father, who threatened to hit (lit., smite) us, just as the mother who is compassionate puts herself between her child and the angry, stern father when he wants to (or, is about to) beat it.

229-30 i-kepte on him . . . his milce! took on Himself death's blow in order to shield us against it (or, with it). Blessed (lit., thanked) be His mercy!

230-33 Hwer-se muchel dunt is . . . stont neh him, Wherever there is a great blow (or, hit), it recoils back upon those who stand near there. Truly, whosoever is near Him who received so heavy a blow, it will recoil on him, nor will he ever complain (reflex.), because that is the proof that he stands (stont = reduced form of stondeth) near Him.

233-34 Ant liht is the bultunge . . . deofles botte, And the recoiling (or, blow) is easy to suffer (or, tolerate) for the love of Him who received so heavy a blow in order to save us from the devil's cudgel.

236 hweat is Godd the betere . . . pini me, how is God the better [pleased], though (i.e., if) I torment myself.

237 Leove, Dear (or, Beloved).

237-38 Godd thuncheth god . . . we ahen, God thinks well of (or, cares for) our good. Our good is if we do that which we ought.

238 Nim yeme, Pay (lit., Take) attention.

238-42 A mon the were feor i-fearen . . . i delices? [If there were] a man who had traveled far and someone came and told him that his dear spouse mourned so intensely for him that she had delight in nothing without him, but was lean and pale for thought of his love - would [that] not please him better than if (lit., that) one said to him that she made merry and played (or, enjoyed herself) and went mad with other men, and lived in delight?

242-46 Alswa ure Laverd . . . blisse thurh-wuniende, Likewise our Lord, who is the soul's spouse, who sees everything that she does, though He sit on high - He is very well pleased that she mourns for Him, and [He] will hurry towards her much the faster with the gift of His grace or fetch her completely to Him to glory (i.e., heaven) and to perpetual bliss.

247 Ne grapi hire nan . . . bichearren, Let no one handle (or, treat) herself too softly as to delude herself.

247-51 Ne schal ha . . . muchele swinkes, Nor will she, for her life, keep herself completely pure, nor [will she] keep her chastity rightly without two things, as St. Aelred, the abbot, wrote to his sister: the one (or, first) is subduing (or, torture) of the flesh with fasts, with vigils, with [physical] discipline (see discepline in glossary), with rough clothing, rough shelter, with difficult [and] with great labors (or, physical exertions).

251-52 The other is . . . swucche, The second thing is the good habits of the heart: devotion, compassion, right love, humility - and other such virtues.

252-53 "Me sire . . . wil-yeove?" "But, sir," you answer me, "does God sell His grace? Is grace not a free gift?"

254-56 ne beo nawt bune . . . blitheliche tholien, is not a purchase from God but is a gift of grace, unthankful [people] resist it (lit., stand there-against) and make themselves unworthy to hold so high a thing, who do not want to suffer happily any toil for it (lit., there-for).

256-57 Bitweonen delices . . . bearnde? Who was ever chaste amidst pleasure, and comfort, and the gratification of the flesh (i.e., the body)? Who ever engendered (or, fostered) a fire within herself [in such a way] that she was not burned?

257-59 Pot the walleth swithe . . . withdrahene? The pot which boils furiously - will it not be ladled out, or cold water thrown in it and the brands taken away? (Shepherd reads: "will it not spill over unless cold water be thrown . . . " - see overleden in glossary).

259-60 The wombe-pot . . . hire heate, The belly-pot which boils with foods and with drinks is so near a neighbor to that badly disciplined limb (i.e., the genitals) that it (lit., she) shares with it the burning of its heat.

261-63 Ah monie . . . secleth i sunne, But many - more is the harm - are so fleshly (i.e., concerned with the body), and so overly afraid lest their head ache, lest their body weaken too much, and thus [they] protect their health (or, well-being) [so] that the spirit weakens and sickens in sin.

263-65 Ant theo the schulden . . . licomes leche, And those who should only heal their soul with contrition of heart and subduing of the flesh degenerate into physicians and doctor[s] of the body.

265-66 Dude swa Seinte Agace . . . hire tittes, Did St. Agatha do so, who answered and said to our Lord's messenger who brought medicine (or, a remedy) on God's behalf to heal her breasts.

266-67 Medicinam carnalem . . . adhibui, "I have never applied fleshly medicine to my body" (antiphon for the Feast of St. Agatha).

267-68 ne dude ich me neavre, I never did (i.e., applied) to myself.

268 Nabbe ye i-herd tellen, Have you not heard tell.

268-73 Bute the an . . . clowes de gilofre, Only the first (or, the one) was used, because of his cold stomach, to take (or, use) hot spices and was pickier about food and about drink than the two others who, though they were sick, never took heed (or, paid attention to) what was wholesome, what unwholesome to eat or to drink, but always took immediately whatsoever God sent them, nor [did they] ever put store in (lit., make strength of) ginger or setwall or clove.

273-74 A dei, as ha threo . . . with hire, One day, when they three had fallen asleep and the third whom I described (lit., said) lay between these two, the queen of heaven came and two maidens with her.

274-77 The an . . . the midleste, The first [maiden] bore, as it were, a medicine (or, syrup), the second a spoon of gold. Our Lady took [some] of the medicine with the spoon and put [it] in the mouth of the first [sleeper], and the maidens went on (lit., further) to the middle-most [man].

277 leche, leech, doctor.

278 Stod, There stood; of feor, some distance away; ed hond, at hand.

279 he hit mei wel notien, he may well partake (or, make use) of it.

279-80 Ah beon th'refter . . . i-cweme, But to be so anxious about it (i.e., the body), especially for religious people (i.e., living as monks or nuns according to a rule), is not pleasing to God.

281 sawle leche-creft . . . heale, the soul's medicine (i.e., art of healing); Hippocrates and Galen, of the health of the body.

281-82 The an . . . seith, The one who was best instructed in Jesus Christ's medicine says [that].

283 Prudencia carnis . . . bellum, "The wisdom of the flesh [is] death" (Romans 8:6). / "We smell war from far away" (adapted from Job 39:25).

283-84 Swa we dredeth . . . kimeth up, So we fear the disease of the body often before it may come, so that the disease of the soul arises (or, develops).

284-86 Ant we tholieth . . . mistohe wombe, And we endure the disease of the soul in order to escape the disease of the flesh (i.e., body), as though it were better to endure the burning of lust than a headache or the grumbling of an unruly stomach.

286-88 Ant hwether is betere . . . under sunne? And which [of these two] is better: to be God's free (or, noble) child in sickness or (lit., than) to be a slave under sin in [the full] health of the body? (or, Is to be God's free child in sickness better than to be a slave under sin in the health of the body?).

288-89 Ant this ne segge ich nawt . . . gode theawes, And I do not say this so that prudence and moderation, which is the mother and nurse (or, fosterer) of all good virtues, [will] be completely disregarded (lit., not looked to).

289 cleopieth, call.

290-92 For soth wisdom . . . sawle throwunge, For it is true wisdom (or, prudence) always to put the soul's health before the body's health and, when he (i.e., a person; or, wisdom) cannot keep (or, maintain) both together, to choose rather injury of the body than the suffering of the soul through too difficult a temptation.

292-94 Nichodemus brohte to smirien . . . pinsunges, Nicodemus brought to anoint our Lord a hundred weights - it says - of myrrh and of aloes - those are bitter spices and symbolize bitter toils and subduings (or, tortures) of the body.

294-96 Hundret is ful tale . . . mei tholien, A hundred is a complete number and signifies perfection - that is, a complete action - in order to show that one must fully undertake the punishment (or, pain) of the body, as far as ever [one's] capacity can allow (or, powers can endure).

296 I the weie, In (or, by) the weight (see above); meosure, moderation.

297-99 weie hwet he mah don . . . gast theowe, should weigh (or, consider) what he can do, nor be not so excessively in the spirit that he neglect the body, nor conversely [be] so soft in his body that it become[s] unruly and make the spirit into a slave.

299 meast, mostly.

300 ute-with, external (or, outer).

300-01 Of bitternesse in-with . . . in heovene, Concerning biterness inside let us now say something (lit., somewhat), for from these two bitternesses sweetness arises (lit., awakens) - even here in this world, not only in heaven.

302 smirles, ointments.

303 bohten . . . smirien, bought precious spices in order to anoint His body.

303-04 Neometh nu gode yeme, Now pay (lit., take) good attention.

304 bitacnith, symbolize.

305 nome, name.

305-06 as "Meraht" . . . "bitternesse," [just] as [the names] "Meraht" and "Merari," which I spoke of above, mean "bitterness."

306 i sunne . . . deadbote, in the remorse and penance of sin.

307 earst, first.

308 with muche bireowsunge, with great remorse.

309 leafde, left.

309-10 for-thi thet, because.

310 to muche, too much; unhope, despair.

310-12 "Magdaleine," the spealeth . . . heovene blisse, [the name] "Magdalene," which means "the tower's height," is joined with [the name] "Mary," through which hope of high mercy and heaven's joy is symbolized.

312 other bitternesse, second bitterness; wreastlunge ant i wragelunge, wrestling and resistance (or, struggling).

314-15 the beoth ful forth, who are well advanced.

315-17 for the[o] yet . . . strong wraglunge, for they [who are well advanced] still stagger (or, totter) sometimes under temptations - which are the devil's blows (or, throws - see sweng in glossary) - and must wrestle back with strong resistance.

317 Pharao contemptus surgit in scandalum, "Pharaoh ridiculed rises up at the offense" (source unidentified).

318-19 ne leadde he neaver . . . th'refter, he never led an army (i.e., made an attack) on them (lit., thereon), but when it (i.e., the people of Israel) fled from him, then with all his might he went after them (lit., thereafter).

320 feht, fighting (or, battle); neod, necessary.

321 Sanguinem fugies . . . te, "You will flee blood, and blood will follow you" (adapted from Ezekiel 35:6); Flih sunne, Flee sin.

322 folhin, follow.

322-23 Inoh is i-seid . . . fondunges, Enough is said above why the good (i.e., good person) is never free from all temptations.

323 Sone se, As soon as; i-kepe anan an-other, let him expect immediately another [temptation].

324 ennu, vexation.

325-26 hwen ei is se hehe . . . worltliche thinges, when anyone is so high (i.e., spiritually advanced) that he has peace of heart with respect to the attack of vice (or, with respect to the war against vice), and is as at heaven's gates, and all worldly things seem bitter.

328 spealeth "pes," means "peace"; Ant theo yet . . . cleane in-wit, And even those who have peace and rest [which comes] from a pure conscience.

329 hare, their.

329-30 thet edhalt ham . . . luvieth, which keeps them from the joy which they long for (lit., which longs to them), from God whom they love.

330-32 in euch stat rixleth bitternesse . . . leaste ende, in each state (or, condition) bitterness reigns: first in the beginning when one makes peace with God, [then] in the progress (or, course) of a good life, and [also] in the final end.

332 Hwa is thenne . . . este? Then who is [there], for God's sake, who desires comfort or pleasure in this world?

333 Ah neometh nu yeme, But now pay (lit., take) attention.

334 buth hit, buys it.

334-35 swote smeallinde . . . Laverd, sweet smelling spices to anoint our Lord.

335 the beoth swote, which are sweet.

336 Theos Maries hit buggeth, These Marys buy it.

337 me kimeth, one comes; nim, take, understand (imper.).

338 Thurh Maries bone . . . to wine, At Mary's request (or, prayer) water was, at the wedding [of Cana], turned to wine.

339 dreheth, suffers, experiences.

339-41 the heorte the wes weattri . . . alle wines, the heart which was watery, tasteless, and experienced no savor in God any more than in water, will be turned to wine - that is, [will] find taste in Him sweet over all wines.

342-43 Usque in tempus . . . jocunditatis, "The patient person will persevere for a time, and afterwards [there will be] a return of joyfulness" (Ecclesiasticus 1:29).

343-44 "The tholemode . . . of blisse," "The patient person may suffer a bitter [thing] for a time: he will have a reward of joy soon afterwards."

344 bi ure Laverd, concerning our Lord.

344-45 Qui post tempestatem . . . infundit, "[The Lord,] who brings about calm after a storm, and after tears and weeping pours in celebration" (Tobias 3:22).

346-47 "i-blescet beo thu . . . murhthes," "blessed are You, Lord, who makes a calm after storm, and after floods of tears (lit., weepy waters) You repay [with] happy joys (lit., mirths)."

347-48 Salomon: Esuriens . . . dulci sumet, Solomon: "The starving [soul] will take even bitter for sweet" (Proverbs 27:7).

348-49 "yef thu art ofhungret . . . bittre," "if you are famished for the sweet, you must first certainly bite into (or, taste from) the bitter."

349 In Canticis: Ibo michi . . . colles turis, In Canticles: "I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hills of frankincense (or, incense)" (Song of Songs 4:6).

349-50 "Ich chulle," ha seith, "I will," she says.

350 rechleses hul, hill of incense; dun, mountain, hill.

351 Lo, hwuch is the wei . . . myrre of bitternesse, Look, what the way is to the sweetness of incense: through the myrrh of bitterness; eft, again.

352 ilke, same (or, very same).

352-53 Que est ista . . . thuris? "Who is she who goes up through the desert like a column (lit., branch or twig) of smoke [made] out of fragrant spices, myrrh and incense?" (Song of Songs 3:6).

353 Aromaz me maketh, One makes perfume (or, perfume is made).

354 set bivoren, put before, in front.

355-56 Nu meaneth hire sum . . . withinnen, Now some [anchoress] complains (reflex.) that she cannot have any sweetness from God, or sweetness within.

356-58 Ne wundri ha hire . . . sawle heale, Let her not wonder (or, be surprised - reflex.) at all, if she is not Mary (i.e., like Mary), for she must buy it (i.e., sweetness) with outward bitterness - not with every bitterness, for some go (or, lead) away from God, such as every worldly sorrow that is not for the soul's well-being (or, salvation).

359 thisses weis, in this way, in the following way.

359-60 Ut venientes . . . recedentes, "[It is written that they were] coming so that they might anoint Jesus" - [it is not written] however that they left" (based on Mark 16:1).

360-61 weren cuminde to smirien, were coming to anoint.

361-63 Theo beoth cuminde . . . to hondlin, Those [things] which one suffers for His love are coming to anoint our Lord, who stretches Himself [out] toward us as a thing which is [being] anointed, and makes Himself tender and soft to touch.

363 Ant nes he him-seolf, And was He not Himself.

363-66 Theos twa thing limpeth . . . spealeth "bitternesse," These two things apply to the anchoress: narrowness and bitterness, for the womb is a narrow dwelling where our Lord was a recluse, and this word "Mary," as I have often said, means "bitterness."

366-67 i nearow stude . . . i Marie wombe, in a narrow place suffer bitterness, you are his fellows (or, companions), recluse as He was in Mary's womb.

367-69 Beo ye i-bunden . . . hete-feste! Are you bound within four large (or, wide) walls? - and He [was bound] in a narrow cradle, nailed on the Cross, enclosed tightly (see hete-veste, hete-feste in glossary) in a stone tomb (or, coffin)!

369 Marie wombe, Mary's womb; ancre-huses, anchor-houses.

369-71 I nowther nes he . . . i-meane, In neither was he a worldly man, but was as if out of the world in order to show anchoresses that that they must not have anything in common with the world.

371 Ye, Indeed (or, Yes).

371-72 "ah he wende ut of ba!" "but He went out of both!"

372-74 Ye, went tu alswa . . . the licome, Yes, you [will] go out (went = reduced form of wendeth) likewise from both your anchor-houses, as He did, without a rift (or, opening), and leave them both intact (lit., whole) - that will be when the spirit goes out goes out at the end without rift and injury from His two houses: the first is the body.

374-75 Thet other . . . castel, The second is the outer house, which is like the outer wall around the castle.

376 flesches pinsunge, the mortification of the flesh (or, subduing of the body).

377-78 the other-hwile . . . to softe, [you] who sometimes suffer more than I would want - but it is for some [anchoress] who may read this readily enough, [but] who handles (or, treats) herself too softly.

378-79 No-the-les, yunge impen . . . mearewe, Nonetheless, one encircles young saplings with thorns lest (or, for fear that) beasts may eat them up while they are tender.

380 i-set, placed.

381-83 Ant ow is neod . . . ayein-wardes, And it is necessary for you that you be surrounded about with them, so that the beast of hell, when he sneaks (or, creeps) toward you to bite into you, [may] hurt himself on the sharpness [of the thorns] and be frightened back.

383-84 wel i-paiet . . . unwurth, be well pleased if there is little word (or, talk) of you, if you are [held to be] of no account, for a thorn is sharp and of no account.

385 bigurde, encircled.

385-86 Ye ne ahen nawt . . . of ow, You ought not to allow (or, wish) that [there] be bad talk about you.

386-88 Scandle is heaved-sunne . . . with dede, Scandal (see glossary) is a capital sin - that is, a thing said or done so that one can rightly (or, directly) turn it to evil, and sin afterwards through it (lit., there-through), with bad thought, with evil talk, about her, about another, and sin also in deed.

388-91 Ah ye ahen unnen . . . heovene, But you ought to allow (or, wish) that there be no talk about you, any more than [there is talk] of the dead, and be joyful in heart (lit., joyfully hearted) if you suffer the bad mood of Slurry the cook's boy, who washes and dries dishes in the kitchen - then you are hills raised towards heaven.

392 Venit dilectus meus . . . colles, "My beloved comes leaping on the mountains, springing over the hills" (adapted from Song of Songs 2:8).

393 dunes, hills (or, mountains); overleapinde, leaping over.

393-97 bitacneth theo the . . . trode schaweth, symbolize those who lead the highest life; hills are the lower [people]. Now she says that her beloved leaps on the mountains - that is, he tramples them (totret = reduced form of totredeth), soils (lit., fouls) them thoroughly, permits that people trample on them, mistreat them terribly, points out on them his own footprints, so that people may step (reflex.) in them, and discover how He [Himself] was trampled, as His track shows.

398 as munt . . . Armenie, as (or, like) the Mount of Jove (or, perhaps, the Alps - see Munt-giw in Proper Names Index), [like the] hills of Armenia; lahre, lower.

398-401 theo . . . hulles to dunes, these - as the lady says herself - he leaps over, [and] does not trust (trust = reduced form of trusteth) so well in them, because their feebleness (or, weakness) could not bear such a trampling, and he leaps over them, shuns them, and avoids [them] until they grow higher, from hills into mountains.

401-03 His schadewe lanhure . . . his schadewe, His shadow at least passes over and covers them while he leaps over them - that is, some likeness he lays (or, imprints) on them of his life on earth, as though it were his shadow.

404-06 Ah the dunes . . . eadmodliche seide, But the mountains receive the footprints of [Christ] Himself, and show in their life what His way of life was, how and where He went (or, walked), in what meanness, in what pain (or, woe) He lead His life on earth. Such mountains the good [St.] Paul spoke about, and humbly said.

407-08 Deicimur set non perimus . . . manifestetur, "We are thrown down, but we do not perish. We are carrying around the dying (or, mortification) of Jesus in our body, so that also the life of Jesus may be revealed in our bodies" (2 Corinthians 4:9-10).

409 tholieth, suffer (or, endure).

409-10 ah thet is ure selhthe . . . on eorthe, but it is our happiness that we bear in our body Jesus Christ's mortality (or, dying), so that it may reveal in us what kind of life was his on earth.

411 Godd hit wat . . . ure Laverd, God knows, those who do thus (or, act in this way), they prove to us their love towards our Lord.

412 Cuth hit! Show it!; schawin him, reveal itself (reflex.).

412-13 Gregorius . . . est operis, Gregory: "The demonstration of action is the proof of love" (Gregory, Homilies on the Gospels 3.30.1 [PL 76.1220]).

413-14 Ne beo neaver thing . . . sweteth, Be a thing ever so hard (i.e., even if a thing is ever so hard), true love [will] lighten it and soften and sweeten [it].

414 Amor omnia fatilia reddit, "Love renders all things easy" (see Augustine, Sermons 70.3 [PL 38.444]); tholieth, suffer, endure.

415 ful luve, foul, evil love; ant mare walden tholien? and would want to (or, would be willing to) suffer more?

416-17 thet siker luve . . . luve of sunne? that sure love, and true, and [love] sweet beyond all others, cannot master us so far as (i.e., as much as) the love of sin does?

417-20 Nawt for-thi . . . to tholien, In spite of that, I know such [a person] who wears (lit., bears) a heavy mail shirt and a hair shirt both together, bound heavily (or, cruelly) with iron - [on his] torso, thigh, and arms - with wide, thick bonds (or, bands), so that the sweat from it (lit., there-of) is a martyrdom to endure.

420-22 Feasteth, waketh . . . licome derven, He fasts, holds vigils, works, and, Christ knows, complains (reflex.) that it does not harm (or, discomfort) him, and asks (bit = reduced form of bideth) me often to teach him something with which he might torment his body.

422 al him thuncheth swete, all [this] seems sweet to him.

423-24 Deu-le-set . . . secnesse, God knows, he cries to me still, like the most sorrowful of women, and says God forgets (foryet = reduced form of foryeteth) him because He does not send him (sent = reduced form of sendeth) any great sickness.

424 thet maketh luve, love does that.

425-27 for na thing . . . the leasse, for nothing bad that God might do to him, [even] though He might throw him into hell, he could never, it seems to him, love Him the less.

427-28 Yef ei mon . . . theofthe, If anyone suspects such a thing about him (i.e., that he will love God the less), he is (or, will be) more confounded (or, overcome) than a thief caught with [his] theft[s].

428-30 Ich wat ec . . . ure wacnesse, I also know such a woman who suffers little less: but there is [nothing to do] but to thank God for (lit., in) the strength that He gives them, and acknowledge humbly our weakness.

430-32 Luvie we hare god . . . th'ruppe, Let us love their good, and so it is (or, will be) our own. For as St. Gregory says, love is of so much power that it makes another's good, without work, our own, as is said above.

432-33 Nu me thuncheth . . . schir heorte, Now it seems to me that we have come to the seventh part, which is all about love which makes the heart pure.


 

ANCRENE WISSE, PART SIX: EXPLANATORY NOTES

    Penance in Part Six is treated not as the next step in the penitential system after confession of mouth (Part Five), but as a more generalized kind of suffering. The main idea seems to be that penance in the technical sense (more narrowly understood as satisfaction or deadbote, lit. "deed-remedy") is not necessary since the anchoresses' difficult way of life is in itself penance enough. As Georgianna writes, "A marked change in the Ancrene Wisse author's attitude toward the anchoress occurs at the opening of part VI: while in part V he views her as a sinner who must confess, in part VI he views her as a saint whose life of penance imitates Christ's suffering" (p. 120).
    Structurally, Part Six provides a steadily advancing transition between the penitential materials (Parts Four and Five) and the over-riding value of love (Part Seven). It begins with a description of penitential suffering, then describes the sweetness that arises from bitterness, and shows how this sweetness leads to love. And in fact, Part Six is filled with images of climbing from lower to higher (in symbolic terms: from penance to love).

Outline

    Introduction (6.1-11). Here, the author announces that everything about an anchoress' life is penance and that she must share in the sufferings of the Cross. This will eventually lead to joy, a topic to which he will return.
    Three Classes of Believers (6.12-85). The discussion now turns to three ascending ranks of God's chosen, each of which is described metaphorically: [1] pilgrims, the lowest, are in the world, but strangers to it and probably represent priests and those with secular ministries (6.16-44); [2] next come the dead - that is, the enclosed orders of monks and nuns who are dead to the world (6.44-59); and finally, [3] on the highest stair, those who willingly crucify themselves and who are dead not only to the world but to themselves - anchoresses (6.59-85).
    Shame and Pain (6.86-198). Carrying over from the last section is the idea that anchoresses can expect to share in Christ's crucifixion, and specifically in its combined shame and physical pain. These two are imagined as the two uprights of a ladder (6.87) which will enable the anchoress to climb to heaven. Other images follow: Elijah's fiery wheels, the Cross itself, etc. Both have their rewards, however: honor compensates for shame and delight for pain (6.120-42). If anchoresses expect these rewards, though, they must be willing to suffer gladly alongside Christ and pay the price of martyrdom like the saints, offering up their bodies to be torn (6.143-98)
    Is Pain Necessary? (6.199-301). In the style of contemporary theological writing, the author responds to a series of objections to the penitential life: [1] is it wise to torture oneself? (6.199-207); [2] will God punish sin so vengefully? (6.208-35); [3] how is God the better for my suffering? (6.236-46); [4] does God sell his grace? (6.252-301). Also included is a discussion of physical disciplines (fasting, holding vigils, self-flagellation, coarse clothing, etc.) and internal virtues (devotion, contrition, rightful love, and humility) which the anchoress should not spare herself (6.247-52). At the end of the section, this physical pain is now redefined as external bitterness, which leads to the next section on internal bitterness.
    Internal Bitterness (6.302-32). Now the topic turns to three types of internal bitterness symbolized by the three Marys coming to anoint Christ's body and by the bittersweet spices they brought for that purpose: [1] contrition (306-12), [2] struggling against temptation (6.312-23), and [3] longing for heaven (6.324-32).
    Sweetness after Bitterness (6.333-75). Sweetness, however is the reward for the anchoress' bitter life. The discussion is peppered with references to the "Love Book," the Song of Songs, as well as to the Wedding at Cana. Next comes a discussion of the special sufferings shared by Christ (imagined as an anchoress in Mary's womb and in his tight cradle) and the anchoresses: narrowness and bitterness (6.360-75).
    Physical Suffering as Protection (6.376-410). Though the author does not encourage the anchoresses to apply physical disciplines to themselves (since their entire life is a kind of penance), he likens pain to thorns which enclose and protect young saplings (6.378 ff.). In an oblique transition, the anchoresses are called on to be like the thorns themselves: sharp (in the sharpness of their daily pain) and worthless (in their lowliness and humility). This will keep them safe from the devil. The section ends with a complex image drawn from the "sweet love book," the Song of Songs, where Christ as lover steps on his beloved, who is a high mountain. The imprint of his footstep on the anchoresses is like the imprint of Christ's suffering on the Cross.
    Suffering Proves Love (6.411-33). Such suffering shows a sweet and deep love of God, deeper than that of man for woman. The section ends with an account of two people known to the writer (6.417-33). Both, a man and a woman, undergo heroic mortifications of the flesh, all for the sake of love. This provides a smooth transition to Part Seven.

1-3 Al is penitence . . . derf ordre. The series of clauses which begin with al seems to mirror the prayer of the priest from the end of Part Five (5.525-28).

10 Ich chulle biginnin herre. In this phrase, "higher" apparently refers to a passage which occurs earlier or "higher up" in Bernard's sermon (Savage and Watson, p. 393n3).

10 ff. The following section is based closely on Bernard's seventh Sermon for Lent, as Shepherd points out (p. 31). He provides a translation of the entire sermon in an appendix (pp. 71-72). See his excellent notes for a number of specific parallels between Part Six and this sermon.

12 ff. For an interesting rhetorical analysis of this passage, see Price (p. 203).

30 Sein James other Sein Giles. According to legend, the beheaded body of St. James (the Apostle) arrived in a rudderless boat near Santiago de Compostella in north-western Spain, and became the object of widespread veneration and pilgrimage.

St. Giles (or, Aegidius, eighth century) was reportedly an Athenian who settled in France as a hermit and was befriended by Wamba, king of the Visigoths, or by some accounts Charlemagne. The town of St. Giles, near the mouth of the Rhône, grew up around the monastery which his patron built for him and was the object of pilgrimage. St. Giles was very popular in medieval England with at least 160 churches dedicated to him.

33 Sein Julienes in. St. Julian (the Hospitalier) is the patron saint of innkeepers, and to find "St. Julian's inn" means to find hospitable shelter. St. Julian's story has a heavy dose of folklore and romance elements. While out hunting, a hart tells him he will kill his father and mother. This prophecy comes to pass when his new wife welcomes his mother and father (on an unexpected visit). Julian, seeing a man and woman in bed, suspects that his wife is romping with another man and he kills the two (his parents) in a rage. In remorse, he and his wife build an inn and hospital for the poor. He receives forgiveness when he puts a dying leper (really a divine messenger) into his own bed. This story is retold in The Golden Legend (Ryan, vol. 1, pp. 126-30), where the compiler Jacobus tries to sort out the legends of a plethora of Julians.

86 ff. Shepherd traces the theme of shame and pain as the uprights of a ladder to Declamations from St. Bernard's Sermons, probably compiled by Geoffrey of Auxerre, and also notes that a ladder of humility appears in chapter 7 ("On Humility") of the Benedictine Rule. See Shepherd's note for other possible analogues (p. 34).

103 Ah wel mei duhen. Shepherd translates as "This (instead of something else which may come to mind) will serve the present purpose" (p. 35).

103-04 Note the wordplay between hweol "wheel" and hwile "while, period of time." As Shepherd points out, hwilende in OE means "passing, transitory."

110-116 Shepherd cites a passage from Adam the Scot's On the Way of Life of the Praemonstratensian Canons (PL 198, col. 591) which evidently served as the source for these lines (p. 35).

126 Super epistolam Jacobi. The sentence which follows this tag comes from the Glossa Ordinaria, the standard Bible commentary of the late Middle Ages, consisting of both interlinear and marginal glosses. It is essentially a massive compilation of extracts on particular biblical verses from important authorities. The Glossa's commentary for each book of the Bible usually has a complicated history. See the The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church for further information (Cross and Livingstone, p. 572). Though Brepols is beginning to publish editions of the Glossa for individual books of the Bible, see the 1992 facsimile Biblia Latina cum glossa ordinaria: Facsimile Reprint of the editio princeps Adolph Rusch of Strassburg 1480/81 for a text with both marginal and interlinear glosses. The version in PL 103-04 contains only the marginal gloss.

161 Nis Godd ure heaved ant we his limen alle? Shepherd (p. 38) cites a number of analogues to this topos, and notes that it is based on 1 Corinthians 6:15, 12:12-17, Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:15-16, and Colossians 2:19 ff.

175 with liht leapes. See the Textual Note for this line.

176-78 See the Explanatory Note to 3.55 for an account of Peter and Andrew's deaths, the Explanatory Note to 3.57 for St. Lawrence. St. Agatha (see the Explanatory Note to 6.265) had her breasts torn off, and St. Katherine was tortured on a wheel.

178 heafdes bicorven. Shepherd suggests that heafdes may be in the genitive singular. If so, this phrase would be translated as "cut off at the head" (p. 40).

179-94 For a detailed analysis of this passage, see Janet Grayson's "The Eschatalogical Adam's Kirtle."

209 Ye, mon! Though some translate mon loosely as "indeed," it seems clear from the other versions (Lat. Ita, homo, Vitellius oil sire, and Nero Ye, mon, other woman) that it does mean "man." The translation given here, "Yes, sir!" is an attempt to approximate the colloquial tone of the phrase.

215 ff. Shepherd cites patristic discussions of the umbra Christi, Christ's flesh as a shadow (p. 42)

248-49 as Seint Ailred the abbat wrat to his suster. A reference to Aelred's De Institutione Reclusarum - see the outline of the Author's Preface (p. 418). From this point on, the author makes several references to Aelred (see notes below).

257 ff. Pot the walleth swithe. See Job 41:11.

258 nule he beon overleden, other cald weater i-warpe th'rin. Shepherd reads this phrase as "won't it (i.e., the boiling pot) be overbrimmed (i.e., spill over) unless cold water be thrown in it?" (p. 44). It seems much more likely that the phrase should be translated, "will not it be ladled out or cold water thrown in it?" The Latin version reads, Nonne oportet ollam multum bullientem exhaurire aliquantulum aut aquam frigidam inicere? "Now then, is it not necessary to empty out a pot boiling greatly or to throw in either a little something or cold water?"

261-64 Compare a similar, though not identical passage in Aelred: "Now there are some who are impeded in the practice of virtue by a certain fear that overmuch fasting or undue lack of sleep may deprive them of vigor and so make them a burden to others" (chapter 21, pp. 68-69).

265 Seinte Agace. St. Agatha (dates unknown), a child of wealthy parents from Palermo or Sicily, was tortured by the lustful Quintian when she refused his advances. He sent her to a bordello, had her breasts wrenched off, and finally had her rolled to death in hot coals. As John Delaney notes in his Dictionary of Saints, depictions of Agatha often show her "holding a pair of pincers or bearing her breasts on a plate" (p. 30). The incident referred to here takes place the night after her breasts have been torn off. An old man, who turns out to be the Apostle Peter, appears to her with medicine to heal her wounds, but she refuses to apply it. In the version contained in The Golden Legend, she says "I have never applied any material remedy to my body, and it would be shameful to lose now what I have preserved for so long" (Ryan, vol. 1, p. 155).

266 Medicinam carnalem. As Allen ("On the Author," pp. 660-61) and Shepherd (p. 44) note, this prayer was sung as an anthem on St. Agatha's feast day (5 February).

268 the threo hali men. The story of the man who coddles himself with medicine, Shepherd believes, is of Cistercian origin. He cites a number of analogues (p. 44).

279 ancreful. The word ancreful "anxious" (from ON angr-fulr "full of trouble") is not related to ancre "anchorite," though this passage probably plays on the similarity of the two words.

281 Ypocras ant Galien. The two most famous physicians known to the Middle Ages. Hippocrates (?460 B.C.-?377 B.C.), Greek physician and often called the "father of medicine," achieved fame through a number of texts gathered in the Hippocratic Collection. Most commentators believe that a good number of these texts were not written by Hippocrates himself but by a group of physicians and theorists who venerated him. Galen (c. 130-200) was also a Greek physician, born in Pergamum, who authored over 500 treatises in Greek, about a hundred of which survived. Galen's writings were lost after the disintegration of the Roman empire, but were reintroduced in the west through Latin translations of Arabic editions in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

284 ff. Aelred's discussion of sickness seems to lie behind this passage. He writes, "We sniff war from afar and are in such dread of bodily disease before it makes itself felt that we take no notice of spiritual sickness which is already troubling us - as if the flame of lust were easier to bear than the complaints of the stomach" (chapter 21, pp. 68-69).

288-89 Ant this ne segge ich nawt . . . gode theawes. Note the difficult double negative here. The sense is, "I say this so that prudence and moderation, which are the mother and nurse of all good virtues, will not be completely disregarded." The sentence comes from Aelred: "I do not say this in disparagement of discretion, the mother and nurse of all the virtues. But we must keep within due limits those things which provide material for vice (chapter 23, p. 70).

302 ff. Nichodemus brohte smirles. Nicodemus is mentioned in John 19:39-42, while the story of the three Marys comes from Mark 16:1, Luke 24:1, and John 19:25-26. The interpretation of names probably comes from one of the many etymological handbooks of Hebrew names, inspired by and often drawing on the Book of Hebrew Names, wrongly attributed to St. Jerome (see Explanatory Note to 5.276 ff.). Shepherd points out that these texts were often the subjects of Easter sermons and goes on to cite some general analogues to the treatment of the three Marys in AW (p. 46).

322 Inoh is i-seid th'ruppe. See 4.1-22.

359-60 non autem recedentes. This phrase, added as a gloss to the quotation from Mark, goes untranslated in the text.

363 ff. nes he him-seolf reclus i Maries wombe? Shepherd cites passages in Adam the Scot, On the Way of Life of the Premonstratensian Canons and Peter the Cantor for these images (p. 48), while Savage notes that in AW "the crucifixion is inverted into a feminine image: an enclosure, a prison, a narrow womb. . . . I believe these unusual interpretations are to some indefinable degree reflections of the writer's closeness to the women he wrote for, and they are in many ways fighting with the inherited literary tradition" ("The Translation of the Feminine," pp. 189-90).

376 ff. Jocelyn Price notes that in the analogy of the sapling surrounded by thorns, AW forces readers to make a dramatic "conceptual reversal" by imagining the thorns pointed away from the body, to defend it, not pointed inward to inflict pain (p. 205). She sees this as the hallmark of AW's goal of producing a sometimes violent redirection of thinking by pulling the audience through a rapidly shifting and unpredictable interior space (p. 204).

390 Sluri the cokes cneave. As Shepherd and Zettersten (Studies, p. 227) point out, Sluri is not a given name but instead a nickname which must mean something like "Lazybones" or "Slackard." Shepherd suggests "Sloppy" (p. 50n14) - see glossary.

392 ff. Mi leof kimeth leapinde. Shepherd explains the difficulty of this complicated image: "The sense of this passage is involved because of the attempt to combine two mutually excluding metaphors: (i) that the beloved (Christ) leaps on and tramples the mountains, which signify those who lead the most arduous spiritual life; (ii) that Christ Himself is the type of the highest life (and thus a mountain) who was shamefully trampled upon and abused by the world" (p. 50). See R. E. Kaske's "The Three Leaps of Eve" for an account of various medieval interpretations of this passage.

398 munt of Muntgiw. See the Textual Note to this line.

415 ff. For a discussion of self-flagellation and other mortifications of the flesh, see the Introduction (p. 4).

427-28 An alternate reading of these lines: "If any man suspects any such thing of Him (i.e., that God would throw this holy man into hell), he will be more confounded than a thief caught with his theft."

432 as is i-seid th'ruppe. See the discussion of remedies for envy (4.1271 ff.).


 

ANCRENE WISSE, PART SIX: TEXTUAL NOTES

26-27 ah we secheth other. MS: ah we sech./eð oþer. Tolkien is justified in rejecting the intrusive point after sech, especially since it occurs in the middle of a word (p. 178, fol. 94r, lines 17-18).

29-30 for other pilegrimes gath [i] muche swinc. MS: for oðer pilegrimes gað muche swinc. A preposition seems to missing here: "pilgrims go great travail." Though Shepherd suggests a wið "pilgrims go with great travail," Tolkien's solution (to insert an i "in"- p. 178, fol. 94v, line 21) is less intrusive and better supported (see Cleo. and Vitellius), and thus is adopted here. [Cleo.: gað in muche swinc; Titus: gan wið muche swinc; Nero: goð mid swinke; Vernon: ffor oþer pilgrimes. goþ mid muche swynk; Pepys: goþ wiþ mychel trauaile; Caius: for oþere pilegrims. gad mid muchele swinc; Vitellius: vount en grant trauail; Trinity: kar autres pelerins uont ou grant trauail; Lat.: alij peregrini cum multo labore tendunt.]

47 MS: eadeaweð ant springeð as þe dahunge efter nihtes þeosternesse. Tolkien believes that spelling of eadeaweð is faulty and that it should appear as ed-, since it derives from OE ætawan "to appear, reveal" (p. 179, fol. 95r, line 14). The word was apparently obscure to several scribes. However, it seems to represent a genuine spelling since OE æ is sometimes rendered as ea in Corpus (see Zettersten, p. 243), and thus the MS form is retained here. [Cleo.: edeawet ant springeð as þe da3unge efter nichtes þeosternesse; Titus: adaies and springes as te dahing after nihtes þeosternesse; Nero: daweð and springeð ase þe dawunge efter nihtes þeosternesse; Vernon: deweþ and springeþ. As þe dewynge aftur nihtes þesternesse; Pepys: schal springen after þe daweyng after ni3ttes þesternes; Caius: deweð and springeð. as dahunge efter nihtes þeosternesse.]

68 i the wor[l]des wei. MS: i þe wordes wei. The clearly mistaken wordes is emended to worldes here following Tolkien's suggestion (p. 180, fol. 95v, line 11), one fully supported by the MS evidence. [Cleo.: in worl/des wei; Titus: i þe worldes wei; Nero: i ðe worldes weie; Vernon: in worldes wei; Pepys: in þe werlde; Caius: i þe worlddes wei; Vitellius: en la voie del siecle; Trinity: en chemin du siecle; Lat.: in via mundi.]

69 MS: wreaðeð him for weohes. Tolkien would emend weohes "injuries," to wohes, the standard spelling of the word in Corpus (p. 180, fol. 95v, line 13), but the MS reading may well represent a genuine form - both Zettersten and Shepherd accept it, and thus it is allowed to stand. [Cleo.: wreððeð him for wo3es; Titus: wraððes him for wohe; Nero: wreððet him uor wowes; Vernon: wraþþeþ him for wowes; Pepys (lacking); Caius: wreddeð him for wohes.]

80 Hwet-se beo of othre. MS: hwet se beo of ordre. Though MS ordre makes grammatical sense here, it is unlikely, as Shepherd points out, that the author intends a "censure of other religious ways of life" (p. 34n6/4). Both Shepherd and Tolkien (p. 180, fol. 95v, line 27) emend to oðre, the form attested in the other authoritative versions, an emendation which is adopted here. [Cleo.: hwet se beo of oðre; Titus: Hwat se beo of oðre; Nero: hwat se beo of oþre; Vernon: What so ben of oþere; Pepys (lacking); Caius: hwet se beo of oþre; Vitellius: queiqe soit dautres; Trinity: Quei ke seit de autres; Lat.: Quicquid sit de allijs.]

110 Nis hit i-writen bi him. MS: Nis hit iwriten bi him (seolf). The interlinear addition of seolf above him does not seem to be necessary for sense, though it does bring Corpus into line with Nero and Pepys. [Cleo.: nis hit iwriten bi him; Titus: Nis hit writen bi him; Nero: nis hit iwriten bi him sulf; Vernon: Nis hit iwriten bi him; Pepys: nys it writen by hum seluen; Caius: Nis hit iwriten of him; Vitellius: Nest il escrit de lui; Trinity: ne est il issi escrit de lui; Lat.: Nonne de eo scriptum est.]

122 Ysa[ias]. MS: ysa. Tolkien: "sic for ysaie" (p. 182, fol. 96v, line 23); Shepherd emends to Ysaias. We follow Shepherd here because the Latin form Ysaias rather than the English Ysaie is called for by the context of the Latin quotation; Corpus distinguishes rather carefully between forms in this regard. Rather than a mistake, ysa may be an accepted or slightly altered abbreviation for Ysaias or Ysaie. [Cleo.: ysaye; Titus: Ysaias; Nero: Isaie; Vernon: Isaias; Pepys: ysayas; Caius: ysayas; Vitellius: Ysaias; Trinity: Ysaias; Lat.: Ysaie.]

125 ne the gode nabbeth. MS: ne þe / þe gode nabbeð. The accidental repetition of þe is removed, as both Tolkien (p. 182, fol. 96v, lines 26-27) and Shepherd suggest.

175-76 MS: weneð wið lihtleapes buggen eche blisse. The phrase wið liht leapes is difficult to understand. One should probably hesitate to translate it simply as "with light leaps" because liht lacks the expected plural ending -e - that is, liht-leapes may well be a compound. If so, it probably follows the pattern of sunder-lepes "separately" and an-lepi "single" in which -lepes, an adverbial genitive (from OE hliep ["leap"]), seems to carry little meaning other than marking the word as an adverb or adjective. If this is the case, then the word could mean "easily, cheaply" (see liht [adj.]). But the preposition wið seems awkward since it takes lihtleapes as an object. Shepherd speculates that wið lihtleapes means "with easy steps," while Day would read liht cheapes "with cheap bargains" (see Titus and Pepys). As Shepherd points out, the spelling leapes is unusual for the AB dialect, where lupe "leap" is the common form. It is possible that leapes comes from OE leap "basket, measure" and means in this phrase "with light measures." There is sufficient evidence from the other versions that lihtleapes is the original reading, especially since both French versions translate with a/de legier marche "with light step." The form, though, seems to have confused some of the scribes. It is retained here. [Cleo.: weneð wið licht lepes buggen eche blisse; Titus: wenen wið lihte scheapes buien eche blisse; Nero: weneð mid liht-leapes buggen eche blisse; Vernon (lost); Pepys: wenen wiþ li3th chep bugge so hei3e blis; Caius: wened wid lichteleapes to buggen eche blisse; Vitellius: a legier marchee achatier pardurable ioie; Trinity: de legier marche la uie parduarable achater; Lat.: putantes vili precio sublimem emere gloriam.]

179-80 riche feaderes. MS: 3ape feaderes. Both Tolkien and Shepherd emend 3ape ("sly, clever") to riche, a clearly necessary emendation which is also adopted here, since the fathers are anything but clever in giving in to their spoiled offspring. Tolkien: "3ape false repetition for riche" (p. 185, fol. 98r, line 13). [Cleo.: riche fadres; Titus: riche faderes; Nero: riche uederes; Vernon (lost); Pepys: riche faders; Caius: riche faderes; Vitellius: riches pieres; Trinity: riches peres; Lat.: patres . . . diuites.]

188 he cleopeth "folc fearlich." MS: he cleopeð folc fearlac. Tolkien's suggestion (p. 185, fol. 98r, line 24) that fearlac "fear" is a mistake for fearlich "fearful" is fully supported by other MSS and is adopted here. [Cleo.: he cleopeð folc feorlich; Titus: he cleopes folc fear-lich; Nero: he cleopeð folk ferlich; Vernon (lost); Pepys: he clepeþ hem wonderful folk; Caius: he cloped foclc ferlich; Vitellius: Il le apeele poeple hydous; Trinity: apele il pople espontable; Lat:. Populum . . . vocat terribilem.]

189-90 Pellem pro pelle et uni[versa], et cetera. MS: Pellem pro pelle et uni et cetera. Though Tolkien thinks that uni is a mistake for universa (p. 185, fol. 98r, line 26), it seems more likely that it is an ad hoc abbreviation. Note the close relationship between Corpus and Cleo. [Cleo.: Pellem pro pelle et uni et cetera; Titus: Pellem pro pelle. et cetera; Nero: pellem pro pelle et uniuersa et cetera; Vernon (lost); Pepys: PELLem pro pelle et cetera; Caius: Pellem pro pelle et uniuersa que habet et cetera; Vitellius: Pellem pro pelle et uniuersa que habet homo dabit pro anima sua; Trinity: Pellem inquid pro pelle. et omnia que habet homo dabit pro anima sua; Lat.: Pellem pro pelle et, et cetera.]

202 fortheth his lustes. MS: fordeð his lustes. As Tolkien points out, fordeð ("destroys") is unsatisfactory since it gives a sense opposite to the one demanded by the context (p. 186, fol. 98v, line 14). As the other MSS show, the better reading is forðeð "furthers, encourages," though Shepherd, following Mack, defends fordeð as a possible assimilated form of forðeð, while admitting that the d/ð confusion is common. On Cleo.'s for- Dobson comments, "Erased; surviving traces faint but sufficient to show A's text was as Corpus." On deð, "The loop of the ð erased to make d, doubtless by [Scribe] D" (p. 268, fol. 168v, nn10 and 11). [Cleo.: (for)de(ð) his lustes; Titus: forðes hise lustes; Nero: fedeð his lustes; Vernon (lost); Pepys (recast): takeþ al þat his hert stondeþ; Caius: forþed his lustes; Vitellius: parfet ses desirs; Trinity: e par emplit ses desirs; Lat.: vitam cito amittit.]

265-66 seide to ure Laverdes sonde the brohte salve. MS: seide to ure lauerdes sonde. þe brohte sonde (salve). The scribe first wrote sonde "message" (apparently a mistaken repetition of the word from the previous phrase) but canceled it and wrote salve "medicine, remedy" above it. [Cleo.: seide to ure lauerdes sonde. þe bochte salue.]

270 the tweien othre [the], thah ha weren seke. MS: þe tweien oþre þah he weren seke. A relative pronoun has apparently fallen out between oþre and þah (see Tolkien, p. 188, fol. 100r, line 14). The þe "who" is necessary to establish the relative clause and thus is supplied. [Cleo.: þe twa oðre. þe þach ha weren seke; Titus: þe twa oðre. þah ho weren seke; Nero: þe twei oþre. þeo þauh heo weren seke; Vernon (lost); Pepys: þe oþer to þei3 hij weren seek; Caius: þe twa oþere. þah ha weren seke; Vitellius: les dous altres les queus tout fuissent il malades; Trinity: les esu autres. kar ia seit i ceo ke eus fusent malades; Lat. (recast).]

279 he hit mei wel notien. MS: he hit mei wel him notien. Correct emendation by the scribe.

315 for the[o] yet i fondunges. MS: For þe 3et i fondunges. As Tolkien notes, þe "who" must stand for þeo "those" (p. 190, fol. 101r, line 17). [Cleo.: for þeo 3et in fondunges; Titus: for þa 3et te fondinges; Nero: for ðe 3et foundunges; Vernon (lost); Pepys (recast); Caius: for þe fondunges; Vitellius: Kar ceaux vnquore par temptacions; Trinity: kar adonc onkore temptacions; Lat.: quia illi adhuc in temptationibus.]

318 Pharones hond. MS: hParones hond. A clear mistake for Pharones. Shepherd refers to D'Ardenne, who in her edition of the Katherine Group from Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 34 (p. 201) comments on "the occasional uncertainty of KG scribes with h" (p. 47n14/29), though Tolkien's conjecture that the scribe inadvertently skipped Pharones and began to copy the next word, hond, seems more plausible (p. 190, fol. 101r, line 21). [Cleo.: pharaones hond; Titus: pharaones hond; Nero: pharaones hond; Pepys: pharaoos honde; Caius: pharaones hond; Vitellius: le main pharaon (MS: ph'on); Trinity: le mein pharaon; Lat.: manu Pharaonis.]

346 i-blescet beo thu, Laverd. MS: iblescet ibeo þu lauerd. As Tolkien points out, there is an inadvertent repetition of i before beo, probably because of the presence of iblescet immediately before (p. 191, fol. 102r, line 2). [Cleo.: iblescet beo þu lauerd; Titus: Iblesced be þu lauerd; Nero: iblesced beo þu louerd; Vernon (lost); Pepys: blissed be þou lorde; Caius: Iblessed beo þu lauerd.]

370 ah [wes] as ut of the world. MS: ah as ut of þe world. It seems likely that a wes has fallen out between ah and as. Cleo.'s text, without the as, reads more cleanly, but in view of Titus, Nero, Vitellius, Trinity, and Lat., the as is retained. [Cleo.: ach wes ut of world; Titus: ah was as ut of worlde; Nero: ah was ase ut of ðe worlde; Vernon (lost); Pepys (recast); Caius (lacking); Vitellius: mes fut ausi come hors del siecle; Trinity: mes fu ausi com hors du siecle; Lat.: sed fuit quasi extra mundum.]

381 ow is neod. MS: ow is neoð. Shepherd (p. 49n17/2) suggests that the form neoð, where we would normally expect neod ("needful, necessary"), may represent a form of assimilation with following þet and that it may be influenced by the ON form nauð. The common interchanging of ð and d seems much more likely here, however, and thus this edition follows Tolkien in emending to neod (p. 193, fol. 102v, line 19), the usual spelling in Corpus. [Cleo.: ow is neod; Titus: ow is ned; Nero: ou is neod; Vernon (lost); Pepys (recast): And so it is good; Caius (lacking).]

389 na mare then of deade. MS: ne mare þen of deade. Ne "not" is probably a mistake for na "no." Both na and ne occur in the previous clause and may have confused the scribe. [Cleo.: na mare þenne of dede; Titus: na mare þen of deade; Nero: na more þen of deade; Vernon (lost); Pepys (recast); Caius (lacking); Vitellius: nient plus qe del mort; Trinity: plus ke de homme mort; Lat.: magis verbum quam de mortuo.]

393-95 leapinde," ha seith, "o the dunes, [overleapinde hulles." . . . leapeth o the dunes] - thet is. MS: leapinde ha seið o þe dunes. þet is. Corpus drops two lines here due to eye-skip between two appearances of the phrase leapinde/-eð o þe dunes. The missing text is restored from Cleo. [Cleo.: ha seið leapinde o þe dunes ouer leapinde hulles. dunes bitacneð þeo þe leadeð hech3est lif hulles beoð þe lach3ere. Nu seið ha þet hire leof leapeð o þe dunes. þet is; Titus: ho seis leapinde o þe dunes ouerleapende hulles. Dunes bitacnen þa þet leaden hehest lif. Hulles arn þe lahre Nu seis ho þet hire leof leapes i þ dunes. þet is; Nero: heo seið leapinde oðe dunes. ouerleapinde hulles. Dunes bitocneð þeo þet ledeð hexst lif. hulles beoð ðe lowure. nu seið heo ðet hire leof. leapeð o ðe hulles þet is; Vernon (lost); Pepys: sche seiþ comeþ lepeande ouer þe dounes and ouerlepeþ þe hilles. By dounes is bitokned hij þat leden hei3est lyf. And hylles ben hij þat ben in lower lyf. Now sche seiþ þat hir lef comeþ lepeande ouer þe dounes. þat ben; Caius (lacking); Vitellius: dit ele saillantz sur les montz tressaillanz les huterels. Montz signefient ceaux qe meinent plus haute vie. huterels sunt les plus basses. Ore dit ele qe son amy saut sur les montz. Cest il; Trinity: Des queus montaignes (oez coment la dame parout en le liuere de amurs a soen ami. Mon ami veent fet ele sailant es montaignes.) tressaillant les tertres. Montaignes signefient ceus; ke meinent plus haute uie. tertres ceus ke plus basse. Ore dit ele; ke soen ami saut en les montaignes. Ceo est; Lat. (recast).]

397 i-finde hu he wes totreden. MS: ifinden hu he wes totreden. Tolkien suggests that ifinden should read ifinde, to make it parallel to the preceding subjunctive form trude (p. 194, fol. 103r, line 10): "that they might tread in them [the tracks]; [that they might] find how he was trodden down." Shepherd (p. 50n17/22), on the other hand, believes that ifinden is an infinitive dependent on trude: "that they might tread in them (the tracks), to find how he was trodden down." In truth, there is little semantic difference between the two, though the MS evidence favors Tolkien. [Cleo.: ant finde hu he wes totreden; Titus: ant finde hu he was totreden; Nero: ant iuinde hwu he was totreden; Vernon (lost); Pepys (lacking); Caius (lacking); Vitellius: et croisse coment il fut defolee (Herbert thinks croisse a mistake for trouue); Trinity: e penser coment il sunt defulez; Lat. (recast).]

398 munt of Muntgiw, dunes of Armenie. MS: munt of muntgiw. Dunes of armenie. Tolkien thinks munt should appear as plural mun(t)z (p. 194, fol. 103r, line 11), though the MS evidence is mixed. Shepherd (p. 50n17/23) points out that in OE Muntgiw referred generally to the Alps, though it can refer to a specific peak, St. Gotthard. The strange reading in Cleo. may indicate an early error patched differently by various hands. In view of the confusion, this edition retains the MS reading which, though not parallel, seems to represent an authentic reading. [Cleo.: ase munt þemungyu; Titus: As munz of muntgiw; Nero: ase þe munt of mungiwe; Vernon (lost); Pepys (lacking); Caius (lacking); Vitellius: les montz de mongiu. les montaignes de armeine; Trinity: li mont de monieu e les monz de ermenie; Lat. (lacking).]

399 MS: as þe leafdi seið hire seolf. he ouerleapeð. Tolkien would emend seolf to leof ("beloved"), following the reading in Cleo. (p. 194, fol. 103r, line 13), though the Corpus text makes good sense. Dobson comments, "C[leo.] is supported by both French versions, the Latin version, and Pepys, against Corpus (hire seolf he), Nero (hire sulf), and Titus (hire self). But Corpus may be right, and hire leof an early corruption due to omission of he in [the beta branch of MSS] and influence from [venit dilectus meus saliens in montibus]" (p. 279n3). Thus, the Corpus reading is retained since it makes sense and may be original. [Cleo.: as þe lafdi seið hire leof ouerleapeð; Titus: as te lafdi seis hire self. ouerleapes; Nero: ase ðe lefdi seið. hire sulf ouerleapeð; Vernon (lost); Pepys (lacking); Caius (lacking); Vitellius: sicome la dit la (dame) passe son ami; Trinity: com la dame dit; soen ami tresaut; Lat.: Salit dilectus in montibus.]

399-400 for hare feblesce ne mahte nawt tholien. MS: for hare feblesce. ne ne mahte nawt þolien. Tolkien points out that the doubling of ne here as well as the point after feblesce must be mistakes (p. 194, fol. 103r, line 14). [Cleo.: for hare feblesce. ne muchte naut þolien; Titus: for hore feblesce ne mihte nawt þolien; Nero: uor hore febblesce. uor ne muhte heo nout iþolien; Vernon (lost); Pepys: for he (Zettersten: sic for her) feblesse ne may nou3th þolen; Caius (lacking).]

404 Ah the dunes undervoth the troden of him-seolven. MS: ah þe troden (dunes) undervoð þe troden of him seolven. In its corrected form, the text reads, "the hills receive his tracks." The scribe first mistakenly wrote troden "tracks" (anticipating the appearance of this word after the verb) and then canceled it, writing dunes "hills," above it.

423 he wepeth to me, [as] wivene sarest. MS: he wepeð to me wiuene sarest. The text as it stands is clearly faulty. Dobson suggests emending to wiuene sune sarest "most grief-stricken of the sons of women," while Shepherd proposes wið euene sarest "in the bitterest fashion." Both stress that wiuene must be part of the original reading since it is contained in both Corpus and Titus, which otherwise "do not share inherited errors" (Dobson, p. 280n3). Another solution, which preserves more of the original reading, would be to insert an as before wiuene to give he wepeð to me ase wiuene sarest ("he weeps to me as [or, like] the most sorrowful of women"). Given the complexity of issues, we quote Dobson and Shepherd's notes in full. Dobson: "So also Nero, but probably by independent emendation of the reading wiuene (Corpus, Titus). Corpus and Titus do not share inherited errors, and independent substitution of wiuene for monne is in the context almost unthinkable; moreover the other texts running seem to be avoiding a difficulty, since neither French version has a word corresponding to wiuene (or monne) and the Latin version and Pepys omit the whole phrase wiuene (or monne) sarest. Probably the author intended the phrase wiuene sune sarest 'most grief-stricken of the sons of women'; cf. Corpus f. 43a, l. 4 wiues sunen (Nero wiuene sunes)" (p. 280n3). Shepherd: "MS. wiuene sarest 'sorest of women' (so Tolkien) has no relevance in this context. The scribes of N and C attempting apparently a correction of the same reading wiuene sarest, wrote monne sarest, which improved nothing but the gender. The emendation proposed implies at some earlier stage of transcription the omission of ðe, which is readily understandable. euene . . . is in common use in KG texts (see MED's evene), deriving from ON efni, 'material', 'means', 'state'. The nuances of meaning in ON are various; so too in ME, where there were apparently associations added from adj. even (see MED's even, adj. 12.(e)), and also from OE hæfen, (cp. MED's having, n.3). Within the range of EME usage, a meaning of 'in bitterest fashion' for wið euene sarest here is acceptable" (p. 51n18/19). Zettersten would retain as is: "I think it is possible to accept wiuene sarest as a kind of quasi-predicative with the meaning 'as the saddest of women'" (p. 211). [Cleo.: he wepeð to me monne sarest; Titus: he wepes to me wiuene sarest; Nero: he weopð on me monne sorest; Vernon (lost); Pepys (recast): wepe to his schrift fader; Caius (lacking); Vitellius: se pleint il a mei plorant angoissousement; Trinity: plora il sur lui mout tendrement; Lat.: Adhuc flendo dicit . . . ]