SIR DEGREVANT: FOOTNOTES

1 Lines 2-4: Grant that they may see Heaven / Who love pleasure and merriment / And to entertain guests

2 Lines 13-16: No knight that he might ever encounter, / In France nor in England, / Was able to knock a lance from his hand / While he was sitting on a strong stallion

3 He harbored a strong grudge against the knight (Sir Degrevant)

4 In my opinion he is a worthless person (not worth a piece of watercress)

5 Nor worse by a pear (i.e., not in the least any worse [because of the fight])

6 She was perfectly beautiful (lit., she had all the beauty)

7 Lines 786-87: But for no reproach would she be stopped / To ask the same thing again

8 Lines 822-23: "How does the Earl spend his days? / Does he go hunting or hawking?"

9 Even if it seems to her, without much ground

SIR DEGREVANT: EXPLANATORY NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: C = Cambridge, Cambridge University Library MS Ff.1.6 (the Findern MS); Cn = Casson edition (1949); L = Lincoln, Cathedral Library MS Cathedral 91 (the Thornton MS); Lu = Luick edition (1917).

26 nevew full ner. Some have argued that Degrevant is a variant of Agravain, who would be one of Arthur's"near" nephews (Davenport,"Sir Degrevant and Composite Romance," p. 115). The name appears as Degrevant in two lists of Arthurian knights in the Healing of Sir Urry episode in Malory and in the muster of knights for the burial of Galahad in Hardyng's Chronicle. See Kennedy,"Malory and His English Sources," pp. 27-55, as cited by Davenport, p. 115n10.

47 ganne. Variants gon/gun, can; auxilliary of the past tense, indicating that the verb preceding or following is in the past tense.

50 revay."To go hawking on riverbanks."

97 him besyd. The Earl is Sir Degrevant's neighbor and territorial rival, a situation not entirely unlike rivalries in the Old West where ranchers might poach or harm the water supply as aggressive harassment of neighbors whose land they coveted.

99 forestes. The word is here used in a specialized sense, either"woodland set apart for hunting" or"a wood enclosed by walls, a park."

100 bowres. The word bower is ambiguous; it may mean"chamber,""dwelling," but also a"place overarched with trees, arbour" (OED). In view of the context (the forests in the preceding line) the latter meaning has been adopted here.

108 he. Refers back to"his" in the previous line and therefore denotes Sir Degrevant.

117 For he was in the Holy Lond. See Edwards on"identifiable social issues" rooted in the poem, particularly with reference to crusader knights whose property was threatened by trespass during their absence ("Gender, Order and Reconciliation," pp. 54-55). See Lloyd, English Society and the Crusade, pp. 163-75, as cited by Edwards.

131 frount. The word makes clear that Sir Degrevant was in the vanguard.

the Garnad. The definite article was standard with a number of place-names (compare"the Rodes" for Rhodes in The Squire of Low Degree, line 198).

136 twelthe nyght. The feast of Epiphany on 6 January commemorates the visit of the three Magi to the newborn Christ child twelve days after His birth and in the Middle Ages marks the end of the Christmas celebrations.

141 tenantrie. Forste-Grupp notes the legal implications of the term:"The poet specifies that the persons whose properties were pillaged were not serfs but householders with their own income." Degrevant is an astute administrator who"takes particular care of those persons who pay him rent" ("'For-thi a lettre has he dyght,'" p. 118).

143 parkes. MED cites park n.1(a) as"an enclosed tract of land; an enclosed area surrounding or bordering a castle or manor."

151-52 lawe . . . schore."The word lawe implies that Degrevant could bring his case before one of the king's justices, state his grievance, give his evidence, and listen to the earl's defense. The word schore implies a forceful and immediate response to an affront to one's honor" (Forste-Grupp,"'For-thi a lettre has he dyght,'" p. 120). The poet emphasizes Degrevant's concern with legality, even though the Earl forces retaliatory violence, the point being that Degrevant's behavior is governed"by the same rules which govern the behavior of the audience of the romance" (Forste-Grupp, p. 120, citing Beckman,"Adding Insult to Iniuria").

153 lettre has he dyght. Forste-Grupp finds it noteworthy that Degrevant is literate and writes the letter himself. This fact"places Degrevant in a new generation of progressive English nobility who could write as well as read" (Forste-Grupp,"'For-thi a lettre has he dyght,'" p. 121). On the other hand, the phrase could also mean that"he has a letter prepared" by someone else.

155-56 ryght . . . wherfore. Degrevant's letter is a writ praecipe, an open patent letter, calling for ryght, wherfore justice may be achieved. Forste-Grupp emphasizes that Degrevant"assumes juridical authority by appropriating the language of the royal government to insist that the earl do what is right or explain his actions" ("'For-thi a lettre has he dyght,'" p. 123). The letter has teeth, for if the Earl chooses to ignore it, Degrevant will bring the matter to the attention of King Arthur. That the Earl fails to recognize the letter"as a document of power, authority, and intent" suggests that he is"of an older generation of nobility who distrusted writing and refused to learn the new skill despite ample opportunity" (p. 126).

167 many knyghte. In OE"manig" is an adjective that is normally followed by a noun in the singular (hence the translation"many a"), and although the plural is found increasingly towards the end of the OE period, the combination of"many" and a singular noun is still quite common in ME.

174-76 Immediately when he sees him the squire rides towards the Earl and pulls up his horse so that his horse's front is level with that of the Earl's horse.

188 woderys. The Earl implies that the tree's branch might well serve as a gallows.

196 In herde is nat to hyde. The phrase is a typical filler, not only occurring here but also in lines 1104 and 1340 as well. Proverbial; see Whiting H281. The proverb is found with variants in Amis and Amiloun (line 501), Guy of Warwick (line 237), Otuel and Roland (line 649), Horn Childe (lines 39, 57, 189, 396, 669, 729), Chester's Sir Launfal (line 57), Sir Owain (line 420), Ipomadon (lines 2479, 2608, 3918, 4803), Emaré (lines 120, 996), Sir Gowther (line 189), and Tryamore (line 1629). Here herd seems to mean"heart"; the Lincoln MS reads"In hert es noght to hyde," as in metaphors of the telltale heart; (i.e.,"it can't be kept a secret" - see MED), though sometimes herd seems to mean"retinue," as"there's no hiding in a crowd," and in others (Ipomadon in particular) the spelling is"erde" or"erthe," rather than"herd," with the sense being"there's no hiding place on earth," with a biblical overtone as in the African-American spiritual.

236 wede. Under wede is as much a filler as"under gore," but wede may mean"armor, coat of mail," which is appropriate here.

250 Withinne the knyghtus boundus. The hounds are unleashed while they are still on Sir Degrevant's property ("groundus" - line 251).

252 halowede. MED cites halouen v.1 (a):"To shout in the chase, either at the hunted animal or at the hunting dogs to incite them to attack, halloo."

263 gyant. A sarcastic reference to Sir Degrevant.

270 game, as in Modern English, can mean both"joke" or"entertainment" and"quarry."

275 baner. Here not just the ensign itself, but also the men fighting under it.

278 Both lase and the mar. Lit.,"both those of high and of low social status," thus, implying everyone.

298 armere. N.b. the break in rhyme scheme. Compare line 143.

364 Ne worse be a pere. The expression is proverbial, and has variants with straw, bean, tare, fly, etc., for pear (see also line 1712). See Whiting P84.

383 The words of the Earl make sense only if we take Y take my leve to mean"I will desist from."

395 cors of wer. The standard expression for a"round" in a joust.

424 My troth y thee plyght. Variants on the phrase occur more than a dozen times in the poem in what Edwards defines as"a sort of symbolic marker" (compare lines 696, 765, 768, 769, 971, 1038, 1222, 1371, 1552, etc.)."The referentiality of the concept of 'trouth' . . . shifts [in the course of the poem] from courtly, amatory fidelity to martial prowess, serving to remind us of the complex social and personal issues that need to be resolved for the creation of harmony" ("Gender, Order and Reconciliation," p. 61). The interrelationship of"different forms of 'trouõth' . . . can only be achieved through the integration of these worlds - inner/outer, masculine/feminine - that the poem explores" (p. 62).

434 reveres. The banks of streams where waterfowl were hunted with hawks. See MED rivere n.2 (a). The destruction of such sites by the diverting of the water was an age-old means of aggression by troublesome neighbors.

439 warreyn. Another technical term:"a piece of land enclosed and preserved for breeding game."

449 inwith wan. Another tag, like"under wede" (line 236).

471 troweloves. Casson translates"fleurs-de-lis," because of the heraldic context, but there is little support for that elsewhere.

497 gentriese. Denotes both Sir Degrevant's noble descent and the qualities that should go with it, like courtesy, clemency, or mercy.

529-44 See Edwards ("Gender, Order and Reconciliation," p. 60) on the poem's formalized emphasis on the use of direct utterance in this"self-contained lyric in which Degrevant declares his love for Melidor." Between a quarter and a third of the poem is cast in direct speech.

542 all the gold in the Reyn. The story of the Nibelungenlied (first recorded c. 1200) was still sufficiently known in the later Middle Ages in most countries in Western Europe for a poet to assume that such a reference would be understood by his audience.

543 Fausoned on floren. Compare Chaucer's Miller's Tale, where Alison's beauty is praised by analogy with a newly minted coin:"Ful brighter was the shynyng of hir hewe / Than in the Tour the noble yforged newe" (CT I[A] 3256-57).

570 the Eorlus owun eyer. Degrevant's love of Melidor is certainly romantic, as her love for him subsequently is. Yet both recognize the politics of the situation in which the relationship constitutes a kind of revenge on the Earl. Forste-Grupp notes Melidor's literacy to suggest that Degrevant's showing her the written document -"Here the chartur in thi hand, / Thiself may hyt see" (lines 975-76) - is a"formidable force" in establishing their relationship, documenting that he is"a canny, literate lord who not only knows the details of land transferral and tenure but also composes and writes legal documents to achieve his own objectives" ("'For-thi a lettre has he dyght,'" p. 129). Melidor is a good match for him, since she too"can decipher a charter and ascertain its validity . . . the new ideal of the late medieval English lady - beautiful and literate" (p. 131).

613 hyt. Grammatically superfluous, daylight being the subject.

646 nuche. A"nucheum," or"ouch," is an ornament (brooch, clasp, earrings) with one or more mounted gems.

647 Anurled. An orle, in heraldry, is a border following the outline of a shield, but within it. It here probably denotes fur lining of Melidor's dress, which she wears turned back to show the fur.

653-54 aspanne. C, Cn: a spanne; the first does not occur in the MED, the second in no useful meaning for this context. Reading recevyd as retenyd does not make the lines any clearer either. Casson admits being unable to interpret these lines satisfactorily. However, if we take spanne as"embrace (by the hands)," aspanne might mean"in an embrace by the hands." Still, as they stand these two lines constitute an odd interruption of the description of Melidor's outward appearance (unfortunately L is defective here: lines 652-55 were apparently skipped by the scribe).

657 hold. So C, L. Casson reads on mold, the sense being"adorned on top." See MED"holde" n. 2. Although there is no citation in the MED of"hold" meaning"pinned up," perhaps that sense might be extrapolated from hold, meaning"to hold together" or"to elevate." This reading avoids the rime riche of lines 657-59, a device which is seldom found in Sir Degrevant.

663 boses. According to the MED a bos is an ornament, so here it could mean a medallion or a pendant. Since the text mentions a payr, it is just possible that"horns" are meant, a kind of headdress popular with women in the later fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and mocked by Lydgate in his poem Horns Away.

681 bordys. Cn; L: borde; C: lordys. Tables usually consisted of planks placed on trestles. Because they took so much space they were cleared away after every meal and stored against the wall. Not so, however, in the house of Chaucer's epicure the Franklin, about whom it is said that the tables"in his halle alway / Stood redy covered al the longe day" (General Prologue, CT I[A]353-54).

682 was not to leyn. A stopgap: lit.,"it was not to be concealed."

690 he. Superfluous here, as Sir Degrevant (line 689) is the real subject.

694 see. The grammar is ambiguous, and various meanings are possible: (a)"May Christ save you and see [you]"; (b)"May Christ save you and see I want to be your servant"; (c)"May Christ save you, and may you see that . . ." I have opted for (c), Casson for (a).

703 ryally arayd. This could be translated both as"splendidly dressed" and as"royal in appearance." The second translation emphasizes the impression Degrevant makes.

779 hur hood of hoe hent. The phrase is ambiguous but most likely means that the maid takes off the hood of her lady.

884 Lok yf thee paye. Since no personal pronoun is given the phrase could mean either"See if he pleases you" or"See if it pleases you."

885 I gyf. A bond is a deed by means of which one binds oneself to pay a certain sum of money to a certain person.

889 Whan here trouthus were plyghth. After the squire and the maid plight their troth as a result of which they are formally, i.e., legally, engaged to be married, Sir Degrevant dubs his squire a knight (see also lines 969-72).

895 As thou wolt that I be thin. Sir Degrevant cannot, of course, mean this too literally, as he"belongs" to the lady; he probably merely wants to express his feeling of obligation towards the maid.

900 pore. Casson translates"worthless," but the word mainly indicates the difference between a suitor like the Duke of Gerle and Sir Degrevant.

904 sothe. Considering that the other three tail lines have a French rhyming word ending in"-o(u)r," sothe must be a scribal mistake, perhaps for"for sure."

923 waturwal. MED defines waturwal or wough as"a retaining wall beside a body of water; a wall on either side of a mill wheel forming a sluice."

951 thei. In view of the singular"byrd" in the preceding line, thei may refer to Sir Degrevant and his squire, and not the lady and her maid; or perhaps it refers to"that gentyl knyght" (line 949) and"that byrd bryght" (line 950).

964 As ever mote thou the. This is a variant of the stopgap"so mote I the," in which the means"to prosper." As there is no modern equivalent for this phrase, translations tend to result in awkward English.

1021-24 The quatrain makes little sense as it stands in C: The ryche Duk, whan he eet, / The Eorle hertely hym hete / And with Mayd Myldore the swet / To have hyr for ay. I have reversed the order of lines 1022 and 1023, and slightly adjusted C's 1023, on the basis of L. Another possibility would be to delete And with from line 1023. Casson also suggests transposing these two lines, but follows the manuscript in his text.

1039 Whedur he wol tornay or fyghth. I.e., whether he wants to challenge me in a tournament or on the battlefield.

1045-48 cheef . . . trewelovus bytwene. The"chief" denotes the upper third of the shield. The partition line with the lower part is engrailed (Engrelyd), i.e., it shows a series of low arcades. The color of the chief is blue (azour), that of the lower part is not given. It is not clear on which part the St. Andrew's cross is found (satur; Cn has engrelyd refer to the saltire). It is not clear either whether the double tressure, i.e., a double band following the edge of the shield, extends over the entire shield or is limited to the lower part. This tressure is ornamented with truelove knots (trewelovus). The in-itself-rare feature of the tressure is characteristically Scottish if ornamented with fleur-de-lis (it occurs, e.g., on the Scottish royal arms), something that poet and audience were no doubt aware of. The chief, saltire, and tressure are all so-called ordinaries, of which some fifteen exist; however, usually a shield displays only one of them. Hence we must conclude that, in spite of all the details given, Sir Degrevant's coat of arms is a fairly poor fabrication by the poet.

1049 is. Since the Earl is describing a knight in full armor, as he would appear on the battlefield, this quatrain probably presents Sir Degrevant's standard, on which the badge would normally appear.

1060 stak. Stake or post driven into the ground.

1062 Seynt Martyn of Toure. As an officer in the Roman army, St. Martin gave away half of his mantle to a naked beggar. He later became bishop of Tours in France, where he died in AD 397.

1064 knew. The Earl is thinking of the common belief that nobody fights better than a man in love (see also lines 1129-32).

1092 pryd. In contexts like the present one pryd combines the features of arrogance, prowess, and splendor.

1098 bachelere. A bachelor was a knight of the lowest degree.

1107 strete. Here a straight strip of land, making up the tournament field.

1129-32 These lines repeat lines 1061-64 and show that the Earl's premonitions about the outcome of the tournament proved only too justified. Note the wordplay on mak, which first meant"match, equal," and here"mate, wife."

1131 The lady lay in the toure. Casson, by putting a semicolon at the end of line 1130, makes lines 1131-32 an independent statement which comes rather unexpectedly and serves no clear purpose. If, on the other hand, line 1130 is made to run on, line 1131 ("the lady [that] lay in the toure") becomes the direct object of"loved," and the sense is much improved.

1137-40 The grammar of these lines is faulty: line 1137 is superfluous, except that it explains that Degrevant is the fre of line 1140.

1190 damysel. In ME the word usually denotes a young lady (OF damoiselle), but it is obvious from the context that the masculine sense is required here, as in OF damoisel.

1198 topteler. On the poem's rich vocabulary of specialized interest in horses, armor, castle architecture, heraldry, jewels, furniture, and the refinements of castle life, see Davenport,"Sir Degrevant and Composite Romance," pp. 116-19. Casson (pp. xlvi-xlix) notes that many of the terms, particularly those devoted to the court and the refined life, are derived from French; many reflect the earliest use of the word in English.

1211 gest. Here used in the original sense, with rather ominous overtones, of"someone coming from outside," hence"a stranger."

1217 des. The dais was the raised platform on which the"high" table stood. It is not exceptional for a knight to ride into a hall and up to the dais (see, e.g., Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, lines 221-22).

1225 Bytwene underun and prime. The order is a bit odd, since underun is the third and prime the first hour of the day after sunrise. The MED also lists a third meaning for underun,"late afternoon or early evening," but this also makes little sense - unless the time referred to is the middle of the night.

1239 resoun. In line 214 of The Squire of Low Degree the context leaves no doubt that"motto" is the required sense. Unfortunately we are not told what the motto is.

1267 o pesse or of were. In tournaments there were two types of combat: à plaisance and à outrance. In the latter case one fought with the normal weapons of war, and death of the opponent was a calculated risk if not the real aim; the other type of combat was primarily for entertainment, and lighter, rebated (blunted) weapons were used.

1302 renckus. The course down which the opponents rushed toward each other. Each rode on his own side of the barrier, the fence dividing the lists into two separate tracks.

1313 the stede. The definite article is curious, as this horse had not been mentioned before.

1321 Apparently Sir Degrevant had taken off his armor, so that he now had to get ready for the final course.

1325 After addressing Sir Degrevant in a most encouraging way Melidor now turns to the Duke, who lies on the ground in bitter agony (see the next stanza), with a taunting remark.

1346 This is a strange moment to reward the minstrels, but since C and L agree here, we shall just have to accept the text as it stands.

1354 This is the same tree as the hawthorn of line 944. In this episode Melidor's maid had shown him a secret entrance to the castle.

1364 Perseved the thoughth. I.e., Melidor guessed that her maid knew that Sir Degrevant had come in.

1368 ff. The gist of the passage is that the maid tells her lady not to conceal herself from her guest and his men because, on her word of honor, he has dearly paid for her. Although it is not said, Melidor apparently consents, which gladdens the maid, who goes out to meet Sir Degrevant and lead him up the stairs and to Melidor's room.

1372 He has dere yboughth: from L's reading - Dere he hase me boghte - it appears that Melidor is speaking here. It is not uncommon for her to address her maid with the word"dameselle," e.g., see below, line 1393. In L the maid explicitly states that it was she who was bought by Sir Degrevant.

1385 Welcome, Syre Aunterous. Davenport notes that the courtly tone of welcome to a conquering hero is appropriate to aristocratic taste that might be pleased with the literary refinements of a"chaumbur of love," a grand banquet, the"rich variety of wine and Meliador's singing to the harp creates an evocative atmosphere of hedonism and sensual enjoyment which might appropriately lead to love-making" ("Sir Degrevant and Composite Romance," p. 124).

1401 Eylyssham. As Casson points out, Aylsham in Norfolk was famous for its linen at the time.

1403 Sanappus. Over-cloth to protect the tablecloth.

1441 ff. On the inner world of the castle with its splendidly decorated bedroom, a veritable Chamber of Venus, see Davenport,"Sir Degrevant and Composite Romance," pp. 124-29. Although the passage is"purely literary," it nonetheless is reminiscent of chambers like those of Longthorpe Tower, with its splendid wall paintings. See illustrations in Davenport, pp. 126-27, or the verbal luxuries of the love grotto in Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan, or the wonders of the Indian Temple in the Wars of Alexander, lines 3664-3703.

1446 ogee and parpon are architectural terms, indicating the diagonal rib of a vault and a binding stone respectively.

1459 Hend. The poet here addresses the audience, hence"gentle people."

1461-62 Gregorius . . . Ambrosius. A: Gregory . . . Ambrose. I have emended to maintain the rhyme. These two church fathers, together with the other two, are traditionally referred to as the four doctors, i.e., great teachers, of the (Roman Catholic) Church.

1466 fylesoferus. These would include Aristotle, Plato, Seneca, but also others. Their writings carried the same authority as those of the four doctors of the Church, and in didactic, moralizing texts one may find them side by side (see, e.g., Chaucer's Parson's Tale).

1467-68 The story of Absalom is the stock example of pride going before a fall (2 Kings [2 Samuel] 18).

1475 moynelus. Mullions are the vertical stone bars between window panes.

1481-83 Charlemagne, Arthur, and Godfrey of Bouillon are the three Christians among the Nine Worthies, the others being three pagan kings (Hector of Troy, Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar) and three Jewish heroes from the Old Testament (Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabeus).

1490 testur. The tester was the paneling at the head end of the bed, or the wooden framework, on which the canopy rested.

1493-94 And all a storye as hyt was / Of Ydoyne and Amadas. L's reading definitely makes better sense here: Also a story ther was. The story of Amadace et Ydoine, though not surviving in English, was well known, judging by the references in this and other texts, like Emaré. The ME Sir Amadace is not related.

1511 Westfal. As Casson points out, knop"is of Low German origin, and the manufacture of crystal gems and other objects was carried on in Germany from Carolingian times until the sixteenth century at least" (p. 143).

1518 The Duk Betyse. The name of the Duke, Betis, occurs nowhere else in the text, and, as Casson asserts, is in fact known only from the Old French Voeux du Paon. There is, however, no obvious link between Sir Degrevant and that story. See textual note to this line.

1523 ff. The conversation has definite sexual overtones, brought out more clearly in L: When thou gase to thi reste, / Lady, wysse me the beste, / Giff it be thi will. An awareness of this will help to understand Melidor's snappy reply, in which the line Thou touchest non swych thing is not free from sexual innuendo either.

1565 bachylere. This is the squire who had just been knighted, and who follows the example of Sir Degrevant with Melidor's maiden.

1594 kayous. According to both the OED and the MED this word occurs only here; its meaning is obscure. Casson suggested"resembling Sir Kay, hence 'uncourtly,'" which was adopted by the MED as"? A steward, the 'Sir Kay' of this romance." L's gracyous is certainly wrong. Casson suggests that the original may have had something like kaytyvous,"villainous" (from caitiff).

1740 yowr. The plural form makes clear that the Earl is accusing both his daughter and Sir Degrevant of treachery.

1757-86 On the concerted advisory effort of Melidor and the Earl's wife to end the Earl's stubborn predatory behavior, see Edwards,"Gender, Order and Reconciliation," pp. 58-59.

1793-94 Bylyve a lettur ho sent / Thorw the Yorlus comandment. The Earl acknowledges the intellectual authority of his daughter and the new circumstances. See Forste-Grupp,"'For-thi a lettre has he dyght,'" pp. 132-33, who notes that"one of the two surviving copies of Sir Degrevant was copied by two women"; and, especially, Edwards on the relationship of gender issues to the Findern MS:"If women were a significant element in the early readership of this manuscript, then this would suggest that the romance had an audience that may have had good reason to be particularly responsive to the representation of the crucial, harmonizing female role in Sir Degrevant" ("Gender, Order and Reconciliation," p. 64).

1841 Trinité day. Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday following on Whitsun (Pentecost).

1870 Nine Doseperus. The Douzepers, lit.,"the twelve equals," were in origin the twelve bravest and most important nobles at the court of Charlemagne. The number nine here is an obvious mistake, possibly by confusion with the Nine Worthies (of whom Charlemagne was one; see note to lines 1481-83). As Casson remarks, the display described here is no doubt a"masque" or"disguising," comparable to the theatrical"mumming" wherein masks representing great heroes of the past were worn by the performers.

1881-84 This quatrain has a faulty rhyme in knyghthus and shaky grammar and makes doubtful sense. Since the impression is given that the jousting consisted in a drinking contest, revele must mean"to revel," forms of the verb"to reveal" being extremely rare in the fifteenth century.

1882 seryd. According to the OED the word serried,"close together, shoulder to shoulder" (used of armed men), came into use only in the seventeenth century. But the Old French verb from which it is derived, serrer, was borrowed a hundred years earlier as serr. The appearance of the past participle seryd at an even earlier moment is therefore not as unlikely as it at first sight seems. On the other hand, it could be a scribal mistake for sere,"various" (as in line 1480); that would definitely make better sense.

1910 He seysed hys eyr with hys hond. Sir Degrevant put his heir in possession of all his property by means of a verbal agreement, sworn in front of witnesses.

SIR DEGREVANT: TEXTUAL NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: See Explanatory Notes.



With C's first scribe, e cannot always be distinguished from a or o, while his r (in any position) causes problems time and again; the second scribe writes exactly the same sign for n and u. Small corrections by the scribes, like a letter inserted or a word crossed out or corrected, have been mentioned in the notes to the first one hundred lines only; after that only the more significant alterations are given.

Title degreuuaunt. Written at the top of the page, with theynke and thanke added in a different hand.

2 to. Written above the line, a dot between for and se indicating where to insert it.

4 gestys. C, corrected from gestus or possibly gesstus.

7 hem. Inserted above the line in another hand, a caret below the line indicating where to insert it.

8 on. C; Cn: in.

9 y. The first scribe consistently uses a lower case y for I, the second a capital I (retained in the edition), while the third has both (with a predilection for I).

12 of dede. The scribe originally wrote and wyght, crossed that out and added of dede above the line.

13 knyght. C reads kyngh; obviously, the scribe meant knyght. Casson misread C and transcribed knygh.

he. Inserted between that and fond by means of a caret.

14 In Fraunce. After the scribe had written In ffraunce he apparently produced a stain, crossed out these words, and started again on the next line.

25 He was dowghty and der. The scribe first wrote he was herdy and wyght, then crossed it out, continuing to write the correct verse on the next line. Cn's wording gives the wrong impression of what happened:"he was herdy and wyght written above the line, and cancelled."

27 myght. Also written after he, but crossed out.

37 on. C: in.

39 The whole line was added later in a smaller script (but by the same hand).

47 parke. Cn: perke. Both scribes use one and the same abbreviation for per- and par- (a p with a cross stroke through the descender). Since the word parke is written in full in line 70 that spelling has been used throughout.

50 honte and. Cn; C: honte to and.

53 To. Cn; C: Tho. Although the grammatical construction resulting from Cn's emendation is still shaky (the infinitive is not connected to any finite verb), a sentence with tho,"then," produces no better grammar and less sense. In fact, on the basis of seththe,"after that," in line 55 one would have expected the line to open with a word like"first."

54 Trewly. In C followed by to crossed out.

68 muchell. Cn; C: muchll.

71 herdus. C; Cn translates"harts," probably on the basis of L's hertes, or because C also occasionally has herd(e) for herte, heart (lines 196, 1104, 1340). On the other hand, C could just as well have intended herdus to mean"herds" here.

77 he. Inserted above the line.

88 Of. Followed by a word looking like Gvld but crossed out and hence practically illegible.

96 whan. This spelling for wan, won, occurs only here, elsewhere it is used strictly for when; apparently the scribe was not paying close attention to what he was copying.

97 This line is the fourth line of the second column of fol. 96v. The first three repeat lines 77-79 but were subsequently canceled. One gets the impression that lines 77-79 caught the scribe's eye because they opened a column in his exemplar while he was opening one in his own text.

104 grade. Cn; C: grode.

113 drowhe. Cn; C: drow he.

118 Dede. This is the old, endingless plural form (from OE dæde).

127 sey."Saw," C; Cn: seyde,"said."

131 the Garnad. C; L: Degranade; Cn: Garnad (for C), Granade (for L).

137 maner. Inserted, masynges crossed out.

143 comen. C; Cn: comoun. There is no need to emend, see, e.g., the spelling armere (line 298,"armor"), rhyming with"stour" and"honor." His lands had become"common property," as it were, because the Earl had destroyed the fences and gates.

147 hem. Cn; C: hen.

149 for to. Cn; C: for.

154 of gret myght. L; C, Cn: opo myght; although the C text makes no sense Cn has adopted it without comment.

157 And wyth a sqwer. Emended; C, Cn: And wyth sqwer; L: With a sqwyere.

hit. Cn; C: him. Note that he/hys in lines 157-60 first refer to Sir Degrevant, then to the squire, and finally to the Earl.

161-76 This stanza is missing in C; the text given here is from L.

179 sethens. Cn; C: sethes.

barown. Cn; C: bowron.

193 sone. Cn reads C as sono, but the last letter could well be a badly formed e (compare plece in line 427, or trowe in line 471).

209 wroth. Cn; C: worth.

237 was yarmed. Cn; C: W (crossed out) was y armed, with y crossed out and r inserted.

261 Eorl. Cn; C: dukes.

267 sese. Written above the line.

279 yare. L; C, Cn: þare. Repetition of the same rhyming word is rare; moreover, the L reading, meaning"ready," makes more sense.

289 enjoined. A peculiar kind of suspension stroke occurs over the n; hence Cn reads ennjoined. But the stroke was added by the corrector, and looks rather as if he has struck out something; the same hand also inserted the i.

300 hethe. Cn; C: hethene. The scribe first erroneously wrote hethne, then mistook this as a scribal error for hethene ("heathen") and corrected accordingly. The word obviously needed here is hethe,"heath."

301 They. Cn; C: Then.

312 dedus. C; L: bledis. C's dedus seems less likely to be the original than L's version:"many a bold one bleeds"; it moreover has the same word in line 316.

315 Wo wrekes thare wryth. C. The text in L appears more logical: With waa wreke thay thaire wrythe,"By inflicting woe they avenge their anger."

322 Bryttenes. Cn; C: Brghtenes.

343 knyght. C: knygh.

344 mornyng. Cn; C: mornyg.

345 Degrevvant. Cn; C: Degrevvat (ibid. lines 353, 385).

349 laf. C; L: lefte. Since the weak verb"to leave" has always formed its preterite by means of a dental suffix (as in L), laf is best taken as a scribal error for laft.

355 grat. Metathesized form from gart, a characteristic feature of the text (see also lines 384, 422, 437, 558, 944, etc.).

358 myle. Cn; C: mele.

360 dud. In C corrected from earlier and (by merely writing d over a).

361 schygynge. First y corrected from e.

368 After this line the scribe has written: Her endyth the furst fit, to which another hand has added: Howe say ye? will ye any more of hit. No other fits are distinguished.

370 knyght. C has knygh (as in line 343), but the rhyme requires the final -t. It must be concluded that the copyist did not double-check what he wrote.

379 is. Corrected to his by a later hand.

381 was. Corrected from wys by a later hand.

383 leve. Ibid., from lyfe.

384 wornges. Another instance of metathesis.

385 Degrevvant. Cn; C: Degrevvat.

396 knythus. The spelling of this word and of"hytus" (line 400) on the one hand, and of whyght, whyghth (lines 518, 1402) on the other, proves that at least in the idiolect of the two scribes the gh was no longer pronounced.

408 under wede. See explanatory note to line 236.

411 After the scribe had written this line (with mesger for mesager), he crossed it out - only to write it again one line down.

417 wall. L; C: hall. As Cn put it:"C has missed the point of the carefully thought out localization of the incident . . . . Sir Degrevant and his knights remain outside the castle while the porter goes to the Earl with the message. As they are waiting, the Countess and her daughter appear on the castle wall, not in the hall. 539 makes the author's intention quite clear." In spite of this apt observation Cn retained C's hall.

418-19 The scribe had written these lines in the order 419-18, and subsequently corrected this by writing b, a in the margin.

422 seyth. Cn; C: seygh.

knyghte. Cn; C: kynghtes.

chevalerus. The word has been crossed out, possibly because the scribe thought it was the rhyming word (compare plyght in line 424).

427 plece. c written over ee (or oe?).

428 nyght. Cn; C: nynght.

437 Spayn. C: spyan.

447 slayn. The scribe started off with the wrong rhyme word, and on seeing his mistake, crossed out what he had written, probably flyi. Cn saw correctly that the scribe probably reversed the order of lines 446 and 447; unlike Cn I have adopted that emendation in the text, finding support for this in L's reading:"Or I shall dy in the payne / He that my fosters hase slayne / I sall rewarde hym agayne."

455 vilany. Cn; C: vlany.

470 and. Added Cn; not in C.

475 beuté. Cn; C: beut.

477 wondus. Cn; C: wendus. L: wondid.

485 thy. Cn; C: they.

506-07 The scribe made the same mistake here as with lines 418-19, with the same correction.

514 Tenede. Cn; C: temede.

515 foreste. Cn; C: forste.

516 bernus. After the scribe had written this word the ink ran out, and so he wrote it again, without crossing out his first attempt. Such rewritten words occur regularly with the first two scribes.

520 in wold. in added Cn, but the emendation is unnecessary (compare Floris and Blancheflour E207, A366).

537 in pall. L, Cn; C: pall.

541 levere. L, Cn; C: leve.

544 der. L, Cn; C: drer.

546 After this line the scribe erroneously started with lines 548-49: In payn of my liue / That y; he then discovered his mistake, crossed out these lines except for y, which he made the first word of line 547 (and which caused a faulty word order). Note that the scribe used two different spellings for the word"life" within these two lines.

547 And y. Cn; C: y and.

556 knyef. In C n is represented by a suspension stroke over the y.

560 streff. C; Cn: stryeff.

565 This line begins a new quire and here the second scribe takes over. He consistently spells I where the first scribe wrote y for the personal pronoun (1st sg.). Other differences are that his e is quite distinct from his o, while on the first page and a half the three rhyming lines have been bracketed.

591 Bote. Cn; C: bete.

596 For. Cn; C: fro.

609 coursers. Cn; C: cousers.

646 nuche. C; Cn: nouche, L: miche. C's spelling makes good Latin but bad Middle English.

647 Anurled. Cn; C: an erlud.

651 the. C and; Cn: hur.

657 herre. C; L, Cn: here.

hold. C, L; Cn: mold.

660 worthelychere wyghth. The letters after -ly are smudged, and have been rewritten below the line (which was the last of that column). The emendation is Cn's.

693 Corteys. Cn; L: curtayse, C: certys.

707 thou not dost ryghth. The word order is obviously wrong, not and dost having changed places, but apparently not wrong enough for the scribe to notice or correct it.

733 lat be thee. C; L: lat be, which is the normal expression.

757 oure. C; Cn: our. As with werre and erbere (lines 709, 711) there is a dot over the final r, which in the earlier lines was taken as an abbreviation by Cn, too.

765 be ton. Cn; L: be tane; C: leton.

798 ever. Cn; C: never.

802 One folio is missing here from L, resulting in the loss of lines 802-1008 (L has two columns per page, and roughly fifty lines per column).

848 An. Cn; C: and.

885 I gyf. Cn; C: I gyf l; Lu: igyf I.

893 Recumaunde me. Cn; C: me left out.

899 thenke. Cn; C: thonke.

901 shal be. My emendation; C, Cn: shal. Either"that shal" of line 902 is superfluous, or a verb should be added to line 901.

932 byfore."An odd collocation of textual errors in the tail-rimes: byfore, cornes, morow, hawthrone. The original must have had byforne, corne, morne, hawthorne" (Cn).

943 stod. Written over what was probably wer, crossed out; Cn reads wor, but the form would be exceptional for C.

944 hawthrone. Another case of metathesis (see above, lines 355, 384, 422, 437, 558). Its occurrence here with the second scribe shows that it is a feature of the text rather than of one of the scribes.

946 retenu. Cn: retenue; C: reten; the scribe must have read n for his exemplar's u and ignored the suspension stroke.

952 Since we do not hear anymore of how they spent their night, ne probably dropped out.

979 Degrivaunt. Cn; C: Degrivaunant.

982 no. Cn; C: now.

986 kyng. Cn; C: kyg.

989 nol. My emendation; C, Cn: wol.

999 to so. Cn glosses"ever so (?)"; this use of to is not recorded elsewhere.

1008 foryeod. C; Cn: forʒood.

1014 of. Cn; C: and.

1025 knyghthus. Cn: knyʒthus; C: kyʒthus.

1029 told. Cn; C: tol.

1030 armes. Cn is undoubtedly right in assuming that L has the right reading: harmes; confusion concerning initial h- is no exception in the text (see, e.g., the textual note on is, line 379).

tonn. Cn; C: conn.

1030-31 These lines too had been written in the wrong order, but this time the scribe corrected himself by means of the letters b and a in the margin.

1041 This line verbally repeats line 1037. L is only slightly better, with ansuerde this knyght in line 1037.

1042 knowus. Cn; C: kowus.

1045 a. Cn; C: s.

1049 is. Cn; C: þis.

1057-58 L has the superior reading here: He es bown [ready] to the felde, / Bath with spere and with schilde.

1064 knew. Cn; C: kew.

1070 isworun. Cn; C: iswrun.

1077 sonne. The MS has a c inserted between the s and the o, while the entire word has been struck out. Cn's explanation deserves to be quoted in full:

The present MS. reading may be regarded as a modified haplography: the scribe wrote sonne, then his eye picked up the following word schonne in his copy, and he assumed he had made a mistake in the word already written. So he inserted the c, saw there was no room for the h, cancelled the word without referring to his copy, and went on with schonne, thinking he was repeating the word already cancelled.

1091 this. The MS reads þs, with the s slightly above the line. We are therefore justified in seeing the s as the, very common, abbreviation for is. Cn's emendation to þis is in fact no emendation at all.

1110 sadelus. Cn; C: sadely.

1115 bent. C; Cn's emendation to brent, on the basis of L, is unnecessary.

1137 that very. My emendation; C, Cn: every; L: that ilke.

1152 alle. L, Cn; C: omitted.

1167 lef. Cn; C: lefte; compare L: Whare hym lyked for to dwelle.

1170 tornayde. Cn; C: tornyment.

1187 tow. Cn; C: tolly. C's mistake may be due to a misreading of a w in his original. It once again shows he was writing without much attention to the meaning of the text.

1188 pryvest. C; Cn: pryvest.

1189 Ha. Cn. In the MS two letters, dd, probably canceled, follow Ha.

1197 aget. C; Cn: a get; L: in gete. I have interpreted the a- in aget as a shortened form of"on," as in"aknee" or"aloft" (and compare line 1341: agreff).

1207 The scribe first copied line 1209 here, discovered his mistake, canceled it and wrote line 1207 on the next line. In his first attempt he wrote hul, in his second hull.

1210 and. L, Cn; C: in, a common mistake in medieval writing, as the difference between the abbreviations for and and in is slight.

crest. L, Cn; C: rest.

1215 brad. C, Cn; L: opyn brade.

1227 in. Cn; C: i.

1242 grete. Cn; C: omitted; L: ryche. Cn provides the standard expression.

1251 mowro. C; Cn emends to morow, but the MS spelling occurs elsewhere with this scribe, e.g., mowroun in line 953.

1254 scheld. Cn; C: sched.

1262 feraunt. Cn; C: ferauns.

1272 what hap. Suggested by Cn, but not in his text; C: hap what.

1273 hem. Cn; C: hym. The next line shows that the plural form is required here.

1282 knyghthes. C: knyʒthes; Cn: knyʒthe[s], but the last letter looks more like an s, written a little above the line and signaling the abbreviation"es" (as in line 1091, above).

jusset. Cn correctly observes that the word makes sense only if translated as"approached," but that jusset or was more likely a scribal error for feutor (L fewtir),"support for the spear on the saddle."

they. C, Cn: thy; as it is the only time C has this spelling an emendation is justified.

1286 Gaf. Cn; C: And gaf.

1289 agayne. Cn; C: aʒyn.

1293 Heven. L, Cn; C: heve.

1294 go. Cn; C: so.

1298 whyll. Cn; C: wyll, with a letter, probably h, written over the initial w. Still ME"tyll" would have seemed more logical (compare L to).

1310-11 Having written these lines in the wrong order the scribe corrected this by means of the letters b and a in the margin.

1320 In. Cn; C: I.

1322 felawe. C, Cn; L's reading mayden makes clear that Melidor is meant.

1332 Trewly, that tyde. A stopgap if ever there was one, since that tyde merely repeats that stownd of the preceding line.

1341 agreff. See textual note to line 1197.

1343 Y hope nat y may lyff. Cn; C: y haþe nat y my lyff, L: I hope noghte I may leue.

1368 Layne. L, Cn; C: Delayne.

1378 knyght. L, Cn; C: omitted.

1389 isete. Since L reads fett and double rhymes are rare we must assume that the scribe read isete for his original's ifete.

1392 With mouth for to mete. C, Cn; L uses the plural, as is common with this expression: And thare thir [these] semly wer sett / With mowthis to mete, i.e., with their mouths so close that they (almost) met, hence face to face.

1395-96 The double tt and cc in words like fagattus and fecchyd are not always clearly distinct; in the case of these two words one might just as well read fagactus or fecthyd (as is suggested by Cn). However, since this is a general problem not limited to this one scribe, it is better to give the scribe the benefit of the doubt and opt for the more common reading.

1397 yvore. Cn; L: yvorye; C: yuorere.

1402 see ys. Since C reads see ys it may be that not the genetive form (the seeys fame,"the sea's foam"; thus Cn) was meant but the combination of noun + possessive pronoun ("the sea his foam").

1423 Ryche. C, Cn; L's riche wyne looks more like the original text.

1424 Crete. It looks as if the first letter has been changed to a g, which might give grece.

1427 dentethus. The odd spelling is no doubt caused by confusion between y and þ (compare L's dayntese).

1430 Roche. According to the MED this word occurs only once in ME. It probably denotes a wine from the French city La Rochelle.

1433 Myldore sche. One of the many places where the C text uses a double subject.

1436 hur. In hur the h had to be supplied due to a hole in the manuscript. From this page (fol. 106r) onwards stains on the manuscript page and several holes have obliterated (parts of) words, but usually the manuscript itself (viewed by means of UV light) or L provide enough information to reconstruct the text. My scrutiny of the MS, which I carried out together with Dr. Elizabeth Blom and with the help of UV light, revealed that some letters that could still be seen by Cn were now no longer legible or even visible (in a few cases this has been mentioned).

1438 Swyche. y supplied.

1446 ogee. Cn; C: oger.

1461 Gregorius. C: Gregory. I have emended to match the rhyme.

1462 Ambrosius. C: Ambrose. I have emended to match the rhyme.

1464 Lysten tham. L, Cn; C: Lystened than.

1468 layked. Cn; C, L: lyked.

1470 ours at. C: our[s at].

1471 the bryghth. C: th[e b]ryʒth.

1473 glas. C: g[la]s.

1480 sere. Cn; C: sure.

1482 de. Cn; C: þe.

1488 Afflore. C; Cn: A flore; L: On floure.

1501 testere. C: has testere, but with the abbreviation sign ur written over the second e.

1502 Again L appears to have the better reading: The Erles awen banere.

1518-19 The Duk Betyse. C, Cn; L: The dere Duk.

Medyore: C, Cn; L: Edoyne. With so many uncertainties in C, one is tempted to adopt L's reading.

1523 worthely wyght. My emendation; C, Cn: the worthely wyght. Because the definite article the has no function here, I have followed L in omitting it.

1526 me. C: [m]e.

1527 best. L, Cn; in C only the ascender of the b is visible.

1529 full yare. L, Cn; C: [full ʒa]re.

1555 faukon. Cn; L: fawcon, C: faukons (with the u represented by a line over the a).

1567 han. Cn; C has part of a hole here.

1568 quarterus. Cn; C: [qua]rterus, L: quarter.

1569 missomere. L, Cn; C: [mis]somere.

1570 The mone. L, Cn; C: Þ[e mo]ne.

1571 Syr Degrivaunt. L, Cn; C: S[yr De]grivaunt.

1572 Busked. L, Cn; C: [Bus]ked (the k is partly visible).

1573 The. Cn; L: Þis; in C there is room for a capital and one letter only.

1574 Lyghth. L, Cn; C: [L]yʒth.

1575 gan. L, Cn; C: gam.

1597 sette. L, Cn; C has part of a hole.

1601 heyle. Cn; with UV light much of this stanza can be read, except where letters are really missing. In hey[le] two letters are not there.

1602 this thornne. Cn; C: þi[s þor]nne.

1603 hed on the mornne. Cn; L: hed ham to morne; C: h[ed on þ]e mornne.

1605 wyst noughth. Cn; C: wy[st n]ouʒth.

1606 hade thoughth. Cn; L: had thoghte; C: [hade þ]ouʒth.

1607 had bene. Cn; C: ha[d ben]e.

1608 dede. L, Cn; C: de[de].

1609 yhighth. Cn; L: hight; C: y[hiʒ]th.

1610 knyghth. C: k[n]yʒth.

1627 Stoute. Cn; C: [Sto]ute.

1628 Armede. L, Cn; C: [Ar]mede.

1629 Syre. C: [S]yre.

1630 Blyve. Cn; C: [B]lyue.

1646 schrade. Cn; C: scharde; L: strade.

1655 fosse. C, Cn; L's force (from ON fors,"waterfall") is more likely to be the original.

1662 scheld. L, Cn; C: sche[ld].

1663 weld. L, Cn; C has a hole here.

1670 sort. The meaning"fate" is quite common in ME, and would do here. Cn translates:"In any way they see," but he adds that it is only just possible to make sense of the line as it stands. On the basis of C and L he suggests the following reconstruction:"For the syght that they sees."

1701 Here. C: [H]ere.

1702 Were. C: [W]ere.

1703 Leve. L, Cn; C: [Le]ue.

1704 Youre clothus. L, Cn; C: [ʒoure c]lothus.

1707 never selly. Cn; L: no celly. Cn does not argue his choice for never instead of L's no. In the manuscript there is room for an abbreviated form of never only; on the other hand, the result is more satisfactory both metrically and semantically.

1708 shold us. L, Cn; C: sh[old vs].

1709 as we passed. Cn; L's we come is too short for the space available, hence Cn's conjecture. Apparently he could still see the s of as.

1710 wer our gownus. Cn; L: oure clothis were; C: [wer ou]r gownus.

1711 shalle. L, Cn; C: sh[alle].

1712 cownte. L, Cn; C: [cownt]e. For the expression, see explanatory note to line 364.

1713 knyghth. Cn; L: knyʒthen; C: [knyʒ]th.

1714 So that. Cn; C: S[o that].

1715 The mayde. L, Cn; C: [Þe m]ayde.

1716 The spyces. L, Cn; C: [Þe s]pyces.

1717 At this line scribe C takes over.

1725 wendys. Written between the lines, with a caret pointing at the wrong place for insertion (between on and his).

1737 Yorle. This form of the word is typical of scribe C.

1742 thou dede. L, Cn; C: þ[ou de]de.

1743 is he. L, Cn; C has a hole here.

1744 belayn. Cn; L: forlayne; C: be[layn].

1745 answerde agayn. L, Cn; C: answe[rde aʒayn].

1746 am fayn. L, Cn; C: [am f]ayn.

1747 not slayn. L, Cn; C: [not slay]n.

1748 lye. L, Cn; C: l[ye].

1749 my fyrst make. Cn; L: me to make; C: my f[yrst m]ake.

1750 forsake. L, Cn; C: forsa[ke]. Cn could still read the entire word.

1757 tho. Cn; C: þe.

1767 Owre. Cn; C: [Ow]re.

1768 He. L, Cn; C: [He].

1769 Was. Cn; C: [W]as.

1770 While. Cn; L: When; C: [W]hile.

1827 Degrivvance. Cn; C: Degrivvace. at Sir Degrivvance: L more logically has for Sir Degrevance.

1831 Erchebyschopus. The last two letters in the manuscript are either vʒ, which could for once replace the normal plural ending -us, or bʒ, which could be due to a misreading of the usual abbreviation for this same -us.

1849 the ryche emperour. In C we are not told which emperor this is, in L he is Of Almayne the Emperour.

1850 hur. Cn; L: hir; C has a hole.

1851 worship. Cn; L: wyrchip; C: w[orshi]p.

1852 for hys. L, Cn; C: f[or hys].

1853 sew. L, Cn; C: [se]w.

1854 Well. C: W[ell]; Cn has Welle, but after the W there is hardly room for four letters.

1855 Lay glyteryng. L: Laye gleterand; C: l[ay g]lyteryng. Cn has no indication of letters missing, which seems more of an oversight than anything else, as the hole has rather sharp edges here.

1856 By the. Cn; C: By þ[e].

1857 This line had originally been written as the last line of fol. 108r, but when the scribe discovered that it was the first line of a new stanza he cancelled it and wrote it again on the reverse page. Once more the spelling differences between the two versions are revealing: þen þei semeled þe sale vs. þan þe semelede þe sale.

1860 barnus. C, Cn; L: barouns. Since C uses the word barn only here the original probably had baruns.

1885 fyftenthe. Cn; C: fyfteþe (the first e looks very much like an o here).

1886 herd y. Cn; L: I herd; C: h[erd y].

1887 went. L, Cn; C has a hole.

1888 wale. Cn; C: w[ale].

1903 peres. L, Cn; C: perves or pernes, but neither makes sense.

1920 After the last line there follows the beginning of another, which has been struck out: here e. In the hand of the second scribe two names have been added: Elisabeth Koton and Elisabet Frauncys, and also, in a different hand, Rokeldo.