ABBREVIATIONS: CA: Gower, Confessio Amantis; CM: Cursor mundi; CT: Chau­cer, Canterbury Tales; DBTEL: A Dic­tionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature, ed. Jeffrey; HS: Peter Comes­tor, Historia Scholastica, cited by book and chapter, followed by Patrologia Latina column in paren­theses; K: Kalén-Ohlander edition; MED: Middle English Dictionary; NOAB: New Oxford Annotated Bible; OED: Oxford English Dictionary; OFP: Old French Paraphrase, British Library, MS Egerton 2710, cited by folio and column; Whiting: Whiting, Proverbs, Sentences, and Pro­verbial Phrases; York: York Plays, ed. Beadle. For other abbreviations, see Textual Notes.

4669 bred and wyne. The Bible and HS relate only that the family brought sacrifices to the Temple at Shiloh (not the Temple at Jerusalem, which had yet to be built). That such a sacrifice would consist of bread and wine, the food and drink of the Mass, would certainly seem fitting in a Christian exegetical tradition, though no expansion on the point is made here.

4673–74 He parted then Anna to pyne, / for unto hyr he gaf bot one. The single portion agrees with the Vulgate, but stands against some translations of 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 3:4–5, where Hannah is given a double portion — twice as much as Peninnah — because of Elkanah’s strong love and pity for her (thus, e.g., NRSV). The Septuagint can be translated as “prime portion.”

4681–92 Hannah appears to have set herself within a kind of psychological prison built of her anxiety about her failure to have children, a kind of interior devastation that is akin to the dread of purposelessness that Chaucer’s Parson describes as leaving its victims in a self-inflicted darkness, a “lond of misese” (CT X[I]185). Hannah’s place in this perpetual darkness is here exemplified in her lamenting sleeplessness (withoutyn rest, line 4681), which grows so profound that the high priest, Eli, thinks her mad (wode, line 4688). His advice to her accords well both with the Parson’s dictum that remembrance of the good that one has left to do can provide a way out of overwhelming despair and with Boethius’ therapeutic ideas of self-governance: having lost her sense of self-purpose she acts improperly, forgetful of self-watchfulness as if she were drunk. Worse, the projection of her anguish on the world reflects poorly on her, as it threatens to greve God (line 4692) in a kind of transference of psychological condition to external surrounds that would be familiar from many religious writings. See, for instance, the fourteenth-century lyric “In a Valley of This Restless Mind,” where the soul’s disunity from God affects a kind of psychological topography of despair (in Fein, Moral Love Songs and Laments, pp. 68–71), or Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy 1, where the narrator displaces his condition of imprisonment on Lady Philosophy (trans. Chaucer, Boece 1.pr.3.11–12).

4690–91 thou takes no kepe / All yf thou dronkyn be. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 1:13–14 relates that due to the silent fervency of her prayer, Eli accuses Hannah of being drunk. But the accusation here is not just one of excess drinking: it is the lack of self-governance that such a condition would imply that is of concern to Eli (see note to lines 4681–92, above).

4692 Go slepe. Eli’s advice reverberates not only with his thinking that she might be literally drunk and thus need to “sleep it off” (see note to lines 4690–91), but also with the possibility that her anxiety has divorced her from having any rest, leaving her sleepless in her despondency (see note to lines 4681–92, above). As Hannah will note, however, Eli misunderstands her ministrations before God (see note to line 4695).

4695 To God is that I cry and pray. In response to the priest’s concern over her mental state and the way that it threatens to directly aggrieve God (see note to lines 4681–92), Hannah concedes that she intends to do just that, the implication being that a just and loving God should indeed grieve for the griefs of His Creation. When Eli learns that Hannah intends to make what offering she can as part of her prayer for an audience — that her child, should she conceive one, will be God’s servant — he agrees to join her plea (lines 4699–4700).

4707–08 a sun heyght Samuell, / as scho full oft cane aftur crave. The point being that the child was named Samuel because of her prayers that God provide her with just such a child: in Hebrew Samuel means “God has appointed.”

4719–24 K notes (1:clxxxvi–clxxxvii) that Samuel’s early start on prophecy, here given as well established by age twelve, derives from HS 1 Reg. 4 (1298): “Rediit Elcana in domum suam, et Samuel ministrabat anti Heli, et dicit eum Josephus anno duodecimo pleno prophetasse.” The passage in Josephus which Comestor refers to is Jewish Antiquities 5.10.4. Ohlander observes that the detail is also given in OFP 36a (“Old French Parallels,” p. 214). The age might have been considered particularly appropriate to Christian exegetes since Luke 2:42 gives it as the age at which Jesus first began to teach at the Temple.

4733 lechery. In the biblical account, Eli’s sons are primarily noted for their stealing of sacrifices at the Temple (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 2:12–17); only later is it recorded “how they lay with the women that waited at the door of the tabernacle” (2:22). Here, however, the poet has reversed the order of their sins and thereby the emphasis upon them, choosing to highlight their sexual immorality and to background their sacrificial improprieties — presumably due to the fact that the specifics of the latter acts would be too far foreign for the intended audience. That the two sons are priests is not directly stated here, but it is implied in the sermonlike aside that follows (see note to lines 4741–52).

4741–52 The poet uses the improper behavior of Eli’s sons to make a comment about the proper behavior of all priests at all times — though we might surmise that his attack on those who soil hallowed things and do not dress in a mat-ter fitting of their station is aimed specifically at circumstances in his own personal surrounds since these were among the accusations made by the Lollards against the contemporary priesthood.

4748 for dowt of Hym that all sall deme. That is, for fear of Jesus, who was traditionally figured to be the arbiter of final judgment on the Day of Doom. As noted in the introduction, direct reference to Christ is rare in this “literal” text. Even oblique references, such as this here, are remarkably infrequent.

4753 rede and reherse. It is possible that the direction could be taken literally to indicate the oral means by which the Paraphrase was intended to be delivered: the text would be read out loud and subsequently rehearsed by its listeners, effectively allowing them to memorize parts of the text.

4761–62 wyll ye oght, / I com yow forto kepe. While the Bible has Samuel say only “Here am I: for thou didst call me” (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 3:5), the poet expands his words to point out Eli’s inability to comprehend fully the words that he hears. One understanding of young Samuel’s statement is, as I have glossed it, that if Eli wants something Samuel will go fetch it for him. But Samuel, as we have been told, is also a prophet. At that level of understanding, he tells the old priest that what Eli ought to be doing — the proper rites and directives of God — he (Samuel) will do. This does, indeed, prove true.

4764 go slepe. Eli instructs the boy, just as he had his mother Hannah, to go to sleep. But, as before, Eli misunderstands the situation. Hannah did intend to grieve God with her pleas, and Samuel has, indeed, been called by his master.

4777 He sleped in his howse at hame. The Paraphrase seems to suggest here that Samuel leaves the Temple and goes to rest in another location; this would appear to stand against the Bible, which says only that he goes to sleep “in his place” ("in loco suo", 1 Kings [1 Samuel] 3:9) — his previous place of rest being given in 3:3 as “in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.” So, too, HS. If this change in location is intentional, it could either be a subtle means of undercutting the authority either of the Temple (and thus of any Jewish privilege that might be associated with it) or of the Church’s claims about the necessity of a medi-ating priesthood in general.

4783–84 All Jacob suns sall suffer schame / for wekyd dedes that thei have wroyght. That is, the whole of Israel (all of its twelve tribes) will suffer for its wicked deeds. While God does pronounce direct action against Eli and his family in 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 3:11–14, He says nothing there of action against Israel at large, only that what He will do to Eli will be heard throughout that land. This change may go some way toward emphasizing the possible undercutting of the Jews noted for line 4777, above.

4822 ten thowssand, says the Boke. The Bible reports a death count of four thousand (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 4:2), a detail number followed in HS 1 Reg. 7 (1300).

4859–62 K (1:clxxxvii) terms this account of a plague of mice that eat the Philistines as extrabiblical, not appearing at this point in the narrative and only subsequently being alluded to at 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 6:4–5. The lines are parallel to HS 1 Reg. 8 (1301) and, as Ohlander observes, OFP 36d (“Old French Parallels,” p. 214). But while the account does not appear in the now-standard copies of the Vulgate, it is indeed found in a great many copies of that text as an extension of 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 5:6. Thus it ap-pears, for instance, in both the Douay-Rheims and NRSV translations.

4897–4920 That two oxen pull the Ark to Beth-shemesh stands against the Bible (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 6:7) and HS (1 Reg. 8 [1301]) which describe them as two milch cows. The Paraphrase here agrees with OFP 37a (Ohlander, “Old French Parallels,” p. 214).

4929–30 Vengiance com sone unsoyght / apon sexty thowssand. The Paraphrase-poet has rounded off the number of curious onlookers slaughtered by God; HS 1 Reg. 8 (1302) follows 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 6:19, which reads: “seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people.” Despite the fact that the fifty thousand are in the Hebrew, many trans-lations disregard it and only report the death of seventy men (e.g., NRSV), which accords with Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 6.1.4.

5017 In Masphat sojournd Samuel. That Samuel goes to Mizpah to mourn for Israel before he seeks out its king is found neither in the biblical narrative nor in HS. The detail apparently derives from the earlier incidents at Mizpah (not narrated here) in which Samuel leads Israel in confessing their sins against God, an act that leads directly to a defeat of the Philistines and in honor of which Samuel dedicates a shrine at Eben-ezer, between Mizpah and Jeshanah (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 7:2–14). The Paraphrase-poet seems to consider this shrine to be that to which Samuel is making his way when he meets Saul (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 9:14). Since Mizpah is also the location where Samuel will proclaim Saul king before the people (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 10:17–27), the poet is thus able to condense the geography of his story considerably.

5111 Thre loyvys sall thei gyf thee. According to 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 10:4, Josephus (Jewish Antiquities 6.4.2), and HS 1 Reg. 11 (1304), Saul will be offered two loaves.

5213 Ther settes he gybcrokes and engyns. The siege of Jabesh-gilead is presented as a medieval siege, complete with all the implements thereof, sights that perhaps would have been familiar to the poet’s audience from wars in France or elsewhere. Aside from creating a more familiar and thus more historically plausible atmosphere for his contemporaries, the poet’s “medievalizing” of the narrative through these details further underscores the romance nature of his work: the resulting text is thus a generic hybrid in much the same way as another popular text of the period: Siege of Jerusalem.

5272–74 sex hunderth thowsand men myghty, / And of Juda als fell ther fell, / the nowmers ar not forto dyscrye. HS 1 Reg. 12 (1305), following 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 11:8, puts the number of Israelite warriors at 300,000, with the men of Judah being 30,000 more; Josephus’ numbers are 700,000 and 70,000 (Jewish Antiquities 6.5.3).

5301–06 Kyng Saul slogh that day / a hunderth with his handes, / And wan wrschepe. . . . This was fyrst chaunce of chevalry / that Kyng Saul fell in this case. After expanding his account of the siege of Jabesh-gilead in terms of a medieval battle (both in its fictional and historical qualities, see note to line 5213), the poet concludes the sequence by making Saul into a type of the medieval knight familiar to medieval romance, his deeds turning him into a chivalric leader whose doughty deeds win him glory and honor to hym and all his landes (line 5304).

5331–32 He wyll that we forgyf gladly / all tho that to us have trespast. The poet here has Samuel echo Matthew 6:12, part of the Lord’s Prayer.

5353–64 The mention that Saul came to rule over “kynredes twelve / that Jacob suns was cald” (lines 5351–52) leads the poet into a short, seemingly personal (n.b. the first-person pronoun in line 5354) digression on the different terms used to refer to the Jews. Regardless of the word used to collect them, he says, they are the same people, one loved by God as long as they followed His rule. It may well be that the poet intends a subtle comment on the contemporary place of Jews in his world: while they once were His people, they have been replaced in God’s sight by virtue of their denial of Him in Christ.

5443–48 That sexty thowsand sone had thei / of knyghtes . . . thrytty thowsand els . . . And mo that no man tels / on futte full wyght in were. The numbers here are not quite in agreement with 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 13:5 (or HS 1 Reg. 13 [1306]), which records 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and an uncountable number of men: “like the sand on the seashore.” Josephus concurs, though he specifies the number of footmen as 300,000 (Jewish Antiquities 6.6.1). Here the horsemen have become knights and have increased tenfold, while the charioteers have become the additional category of fighters.

5505–08 For he had messege sent . . . Or he com in present / to make no sacrafyce. In the biblical account Samuel had made no such earlier pronouncement to Saul. Rather, it is simply implied that Saul has done ill in overstepping the implicit bounds of his kingship (his duty — see line 5496) by taking on priestly duties. This issue of proper and improper areas of influence would have been a familiar one to the poet and his audience, as the imposition of the State on the Church was an active source of both condemnation and glorification in the late Middle Ages, seen in texts as diverse as the popular Siege of Jerusalem and Gower’s formal In Praise of Peace.

5513–14 Bycawse thou hath done this owtrage, / that suld not passe bot be presthed. In this extrabiblical statement, Samuel here emphasizes that Saul’s misdeed was in taking on duties reserved for the priesthood. Not only does this have political ramifications to the Paraphrase-poet’s contemporary surrounds (see note to lines 5505–08, above) but it also reflects the very serious issue of Lollardy, and the question of whether or not the laity can effectively replace the ordained officials of the Church. The poet’s answer, if we can presume to allow the prophet to speak for him, is that they cannot: the priesthood must be maintained if for no other reason than that they alone can properly conduct the rites sacred to God and man.

5515 God hath ordand a lytyll page. I.e., David, who is here defined as a page in accordance with late medieval structures of knighthood. In 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 13:14 (and HS 1 Reg. 13 [1307]) Samuel is far less specific, saying God will appoint “a man.”

5559–64 On of them wyst well who yt wase . . . soyne ware thei feld that myght not flee. In the biblical account of this incident (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 14:1–15), the sign of God’s favor that Jonathan looks for is whether or not he and his armor-bearer are invited up to engage against the Philistines. Once invited up, the two of them make a direct assault on the enemy that, when it proves successful, causes the ensuing chaos. Here, however, the sign is whether or not they recognize Jonathan; and their awareness of his presence alone puts them into flight. The alteration seems intended mainly to add dimension to Jonathan’s character, presenting him as such a well-known, stalwart knight that his name itself strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies.

5610 Achyas heyght he, os we rede. The priest is unnamed here in 1 Kings (1 Samuel), though the name Ahijah for Saul’s primary priest is found earlier at 14:3 and 9. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 6.6.5, does name the priest at this point, as does HS 1 Reg. 14 (1308).

5663 Sexty thowsand ware slayn. This summary of the total number of Philistines killed in the war, which here acts to close off the account of it, is not biblical in origin, nor can it be found in HS. It does, however, appear in Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 6.6.6.

5718 sexty thowsand at a syght. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 15:4 and HS 1 Reg. 15 (1309) place the total number of men at 200,000 Israelites and 10,000 men of Judah. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 6.7.2, gives the numbers as 400,000 and 30,000. The source for the number given here is unknown.

5731–48 Of knyghtes kene and princes of price . . . in ways withowtyn heuyd. The detail of the pageantry of the armies has a clear “medieval” feel to it, as knights sally forth with pennons and banners above their gleaming arms. The poet deftly turns away from the glory of this earthly finery, however, in presenting the simple image of the bloody aftermath of the battles being undertaken: riderless horses walking aimlessly amid the headless corpses on the field.

5817–18 Sone fro that pepyll he past / ryght way to Ramatha. That is, Samuel started to make his way toward Ramah, not that he actually went there. According to 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 15:34 and HS 1 Reg. 15 (1310), and as is shown here in lines 5853–54, Samuel actually makes his way to Ramah after the tearing of his cloak and the slaughter of Agag (15:27–33). The biblical encounter between the two men described here, rather, takes place at Gilgal (see 15:12).

5889 Sex suns ware sett on raw. There were, according to 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 16:10 (which is followed by HS 1 Reg. 16 [1310] and CM, line 7350), a total of seven sons of Jesse that God rejects before settling on the youngest, David, who is at first away, tending to the sheep. Thus Jesse, as stated clearly in 17:12, had a total of eight sons. The alteration on the part of the Paraphrase-poet surely originates in his awareness that in 1 Chronicles 2:13–15 David is named as the seventh and last son of Jesse. This discrepancy has led to much speculation aimed at resolution, including the possibilities that one of the sons who passed before Samuel was adopted and thus not counted in the later enumeration, or that one of them died shortly afterwards, so that it could be said with equal accuracy that Jesse had seven or eight sons. The Paraphrase-poet takes instead the apparently unique position of simply altering the Kings text so that no discrepancy occurs, though one wonders why he would do so given the fact that Chronicles is not incorporated in his poem. It is possible, then, that an added benefit in the alteration is in making David a seventh son (as opposed to an eighth), seven being a number of totality.

5894 the eldyst two. Unnamed here, the two sons singled out in 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 16:8–9 are Abinadab and Shammah, though the names of the eldest sons in 1 Chronicles 2:13–15 are Eliab and Abinadab. See note to line 5889, above.

5909–24 The prophett hym in armys hentt . . . grett lordschep sal be thee lentt. This long sequence regarding Samuel’s recognition of David and bestowal of honors upon him prior to the anointing is extrabiblical and, with details such as the deyse (“dais,” line 5917) upon which David is set, somewhat anachronistic. It does, however, derive much of its power from that very anachronism, showing an acknowledgment of power relationships in very feudal terms, with further ritualized presentations like Samuel’s public embrace of the boy and the dinner at which individuals are arranged according to ther degree (line 5915).

5923–24 To warn thee of His wyll allway: / grett lordschep sal be thee lentt. Samuel’s reminder that lordship over men is only a temporary state of affairs, and that this lordship is dependent on God’s grace, finds echo in the writings of Gower, especially in his In Praise of Peace, itself an extended elaboration of these themes written in warning to a new king (Henry IV). Gower’s advice in that poem opens by underscoring the observation, noting time and again “that Henry is not himself responsible for having attained the crown. He is not a conqueror by right of martial arms but a passive tool in the active hand of God” (In Praise of Peace, ed. Livingston, p. 119).

5931 The gud gast, that in Saul was. I have glossed this “good spirit,” though it is tempting to read here something more like “Holy Spirit,” thus paralleling the line with the imagery of the later Acts of the Apostles, where the Holy Spirit comes down to rest in believers. HS 1 Reg 16 (1310) makes just such a parallel, though it is only partially picked up in CM, lines 7405–06.

5941–52 This extrabiblical stanza, in which Samuel gives the young David advice on how to rule himself and thus his kingdom, again has parallels with Gower’s work. See the explanatory note to lines 5923–24.

5965–76 K notes (1:clxxxvii) that the advice of Saul’s physicians and clerks, that only music can drive away the evil spirit plaguing him (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 16:16 puts the matter less directly and in the mouth of servants), comes from HS 1 Reg. 16 (1310). Ohlander points out that similar advice is given in OFP 44b, though Comestor specifically mentions “servi,” “physici,” and “mathematici” as those giving advice (“Old French Parallels,” p. 214).

6027–30 Under a banke, wher thei abyde . . . Kyng Saul on the other syde, / the hyll betwen, was on a grett heght. The geography is difficult to construe here, as it seems to indicate that the two forces are arrayed on opposite sides of a single mountain. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 17:3 is more clear: “the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.”

6049–60 Goliath’s armor as described here does not conform to the description given in the Bible (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 17:5–7), but it does correspond to that found in OFP 44d (Ohlander, “Old French Parallels,” p. 215). Ohlander also notes that the Paraphrase-poet, though willing to spend time with the details of this extrabiblical description, omits the famous physical description of Goliath’s height: “six cubits and a span” (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 17:4). Goliath’s remarkable height is picked up, however, in CM, line 7451.

6068 yond warlaw. The epithet appears to have been borrowed from CM, line 7478, which in several versions has Saul attaching the term to Goliath when he decries his inability to find a man to match the Philistine’s challenge (e.g., “yon warlau” in the Cotton). Note that warlaw here means simply a “monstrous or hideous creature” (MED warlou n.3) or, as I have glossed it here, an “infidel” (n.1b). The term does not indicate, as it does in most modern parlance, someone who “practices occult arts” (n.1c) — though the latter meaning is that which is used in line 11130 of the present poem, where it is applied to the unknown power sought by Ahab, whom the king believes to have caused a great drought; Ahab finds, instead, Elijah (3 Kings [1 Kings] 18:2–6).

6101–08 David and Goliath’s exchange of words across the field before they engage in battle is more brief here than it is in the Bible or in CM, for instance. The brevity, however, presents us with a chance for increased characterization on the part of David who, rather than presenting a drawn-out speech about God’s influence in battle, is a straightforward man of action, whose return of Goliath’s mockery is a true one-liner (line 6104) that cuts directly to the heart of their coming fight. David, it seems, does not have time for more speech. Thus it is not surprising to find that his response to Goliath’s subsequent insult — that David is infantlike (line 6106) — is to ignore it: in determined silence David simply whirls his sling into action and strikes him down with one shot to the brain.

6129 Thryty milia war slayn. Ohlander notes that neither 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 17:52 nor HS give a specific number to the slain Philistines. OFP 45c reads “Treis mile,” while another copy of that poem, Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MS 36, fol. 92a, meets the Paraphrase precisely: “Trente mil” (“Old French Parallels,” p. 215).

6141–43 Tho wyfes sang . . . The madyns sang. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 18:7 simply says that women sang of Saul’s slaying his thousands and David his ten thousands. The Paraphrase-poet adds a romance twist as the maidens answer the wives, who praise Saul, with laughter and adoration of the young hero, the idea being repeated in lines 6146–48. The girls have a soft spot for David from the get-go, which anticipates Michal’s attraction to him, which is so strong that she withers at a mere frown (see lines 6197–6200).

6184 he bare the flour. That is, he achieved victory. The phrase is a chivalric one, once more marking David as part of a late medieval culture of knighthood.

6197–6214 Mycoll . . . hyr fayrnes fast can fale. The poet takes nearly two stanzas expanding on a few words from 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 18:20 (“Michol, the other daughter of Saul, loved David”), further blending the elements of romance into his narrative.

6225–26 Heydes of Phylesteyns / two hunderth suld he bryng. 1 Kings (Samuel) 18:25–27 puts Saul’s demand as one hundred foreskins, and says that David produces two hundred. HS agrees with the Bible, while OFP 46d gives the command to bring “mil chefs,” a charge that David fulfills to the letter as opposed to doubling (Ohlander, “Old French Parallels,” p. 215). Here he is charged to produce two hundred hides of Philistines, but he brings in five hundred hides instead, which he presumably flays (line 6240).

6285–88 That Michal saves her husband from Saul’s spear, as K notes (1:cxciv), has no known source. It is not in the biblical account, nor in HS or CM. Ohlander does not find it in OFP, either (“Old French Parallels, p. 215). Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 6.11.3–4 may be of note here, as it adds a detail that David was able to avoid Saul’s spear because he “was aware of it before it came,” alluding to the possibility that he had been warned. Since the immediately following event is Michal’s warning David about her father’s intention of killing him in the morning (and her aiding his escape), one might see that the Josephan tradition is the first step in a conflation of the events, by which Michal becomes the one to warn him. It makes sense that Michal would be attending her father, but also that she likes to hear David play.

6317 Scho layd a dry stoke in his bed. According to 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 19:13 it is the image (Vulgate statuam; so, too, HS) of one of the household gods that Michal places in the bed. The alteration to a log is in keeping with the folkloristic conventions and avoids the affiliation of images with idols.

6325 K notes a close parallel line in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, line 226: “Gladly I wolde se þat segg in syght.”

6335–36 Again we find a ten-line stanza. The “missing” lines may never have been written, but I have maintained the line count of earlier editors and scholarship on the poem.

6349–60 The poet greatly condenses the narrative here, omitting the account of Samuel’s supernatural ability to put David’s pursuers, ultimately including Saul, into a “prophetic frenzy” that rendered them naked at his feet (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 19:19–24).

6380 or ever I ette. The Paraphrase reduces the elaborate arrangement for notifying David of the results of Jonathan’s questioning (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 20:12– 23), noting instead that the sign will be Jonathan’s refusal to eat, which in the Bible is a result of his recognition of his father’s anger, but one independent of his communications with David (20:34).

6388 sothly. A line-filler here, but perhaps a subtle point, too, in that Jonathan questions his father in honest need to understand the truth of what is happening in the court, and that he does so without lying himself, something he is guilty of in the biblical account of this exchange (see note to lines 6388–6402).

6389–6402 Jonathan’s speech about David’s worth, and his question about why, there-fore, he is not at the feast, is extrabiblical; 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 20:24–29 has instead Saul asking the question regarding David’s absence and Jonathan telling a lie about it in an effort to sound out his father (on Jonathan’s truthfulness here, see the note to line 6388). The alteration allows the poet to once more emphasize David’s excellence, which culminates in speaking of his comeliness as a knyght (line 6401).

6457 Myn armour gart thei me forgete. David initially asks only for food in 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 21:3, but his request for armor here is certainly in fitting with the chivalric presentation of him as a knight, now temporarily divested of his position at court.

6496 Sephyn. Ziph, though it is not so named until much later in the biblical narrative: 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 23:15.

6497–6504 Thore come men to hym . . . of cosyns and of other kyn. . . . owtlayd or exyld . . . fawre hunderth folke in fere. 1 Kings (1Samuel) 22:2 describes David’s band of brothers thus: “And all that were in distress, and oppressed with debt, and under affliction of mind, gathered themselves unto him: and he became their prince, and there were with him about four hundred men.” To the notion that David’s army is made up of the dispossessed and downtrodden the Paraphrase-poet has introduced the further characteristic of outlawry, a designation enwrapped in specifically medieval notions of both justice and romance. David thereby stands in the place of Robin Hood for the poet. Or, perhaps more accurately, Robin Hood can stand in the place of David.

6501–02 bede hym forto be / his men. In addition to presenting David as captain of a band of outlaws (see note to lines 6497–6504), the poet also reveals his relationship with his subjects to be one of proper feudal oaths, as the men swear to be his men in all things. This formal reciprocative structure stands in marked contrast to Saul’s court, where the king’s jealousy of the success of one of his sworn and loyal lieutenants (David) is cause for anxiety and strife.

6505–6708 These two stories, David’s rescue of the city of Keilah (lines 6506–6624) and the betrayal of Doeg the Edomite (lines 6625–6708), appear in reverse order from the Bible, where they are in 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 23 and 22, respectively. Ohlander notes that both HS and OFP follow biblical order (“Old French Parallels,” p. 216). The reversal here in Paraphrase emphasizes David’s romantic role as an outlaw captain, righting the wrongs of the establishment and protecting the common people.

6650 popelard. The word, meaning “hypocrite” or “traitor,” derives from OF papelart, with K querying whether the spelling of the term here shows influence by pope (5:69). If this possibility were true, it would certainly be a strong piece of evidence in debates about whether this text reveals Wycliffite tendencies (or at least reformist ones) — though one wonders how much weight such a minor point of orthography can stand in a text of this length. More likely to be the case here, however, is that the spelling is a result of regional variation, especially since it occurs, too, in the Chester Plays (15.362, 17.157, and in the H-variant of 5.233), which can hardly bear the blanket accusation of Lollardy. In addition, the word here is from Saul, describing Ahimelech, a character that is utterly blameless from any other perspective — including that of Saul’s own men, most of whom will refuse to kill “Goddes byschop blyst” (line 6678).

6769–92 He saw David was well arayd . . . he wyst no bettur wone. The Paraphrase-poet presents an ulterior motive to Saul’s actions in En-gedi. In the biblical account Saul’s decision to exchange oaths with David is depicted as one of genuine remorse, as he weeps (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 24:16) and declares himself in the wrong. Here, however, Saul’s decision is an act not of contrition but of self-preservation: he sees that David has the advantage of superior numbers and thus cuts a deal to escape (even though David has not threatened him with harm). The poet illustrates the separation between Saul’s words and his intent by pointing out that on leaving David once more had to go to his outlaw encampment, nothing better being offered to him.

6803–04 he lyfed not by the law / of Moyses and Josue. Nabal’s status as a nonobservant Jew appears to be original to the Paraphrase.

6879–80 In gud garmentes scho made hyr gay / with pelure and with pyrre fyne. While the story of Abigail is omitted in CM and Peter Riga’s Aurora, and only briefly told in HS, the Paraphrase-poet utilizes the story further to incorporate romantic conceits with the Scriptures, something clearly seen in his unique description of Abigail’s singular beauty and finery — especially her expensive clothes, furred and inwoven with precious stones — that signify her nobility rather than her vanity.

6928 weded hyr unto his wyfe. David’s marriage to Abigail was seen as a tribute to her worship and wisdom. She is regularly cited in the Christian marriage service, along with Rebecca, Judith, and Esther, as wise women and counselors. E.g., see Chaucer’s Tale of Melibee (CT VII[B2]1096–1102) and Merchant’s Tale (CT IV[E]1362–74).

6933-34 Another he wan also / thrugh dughty dedes he dyde. The third wife, unnamed here (and omitted, too, in HS), is Ahinoam of Jezreel. That he won her hand through his brave deeds is nowhere directly described in the Bible, with most translations reading 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 25:43 simply as a statement of marriage: “Moreover David took also Achinoam of Jezrahel” (Douay), or “David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel” (NRSV). The Latin of the Vulgate, however, is more flexible than this: “Ahinoem accepit David de Iezrahel,” which could be translated “David took Ahinoam out of Jezreel.” It is the implication of action in this latter reading that seems the origin of the Paraphrase here; interestingly, the same reading appears strongly in the Greek Septuagint. A fourth wife, Bathsheba (2 Kings [2 Samuel] 11), appears later in the David story.

6964 Abyathar. According to 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 26:6, this must be Ahimelech the Hittite, though the spelling here would appear to have confused him with Abiathar the priest, a confusion I have found nowhere else.

6965 Thoo three ther gatte. That all three men enter Saul’s encampment stands against the Bible, where David asks Ahimelech and Abishai which of them will accompany him, and it is only Abishai who is chosen. Similarly, in HS 1 Reg. 25 (1319) and CM, line 7717, only the presence of Abishai is remarked.

6977–78 a grett coupe of gold full gud / and als the kynges chefe chasyng spere. These proofs are not those retrieved by David in 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 26:11–16 and HS 1 Reg. 25 (1319–20), where David takes the spear and a jug of water. Ohlander notes that the Paraphrase is in accordance with OFP 53c (“Old French Parallels,” p. 216).

7065–66 Achys noyght understud / what Phylesteyns can fele. Assuming a lack of knowledge about the geography of the ancient Holy Land, one wonders how much the audience of the Paraphrase might sympathize with Achish. The rather subtle point here is that the Amalekites and the Geshurites (along with David’s other victims during this period) are subjects of Achish. On each raid, “David wasted all the land, and left neither man nor woman alive” (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 27:9) to tell the truth of his deeds; he would then lie to Achish, claiming that his booty was had from among the lands of the Jews.

7110 wyche. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 28:7 has Saul request “a woman that hath a divining spirit” (“mulierem habentem pythonem” — compare HS 1 Reg. 26 [1320–21]). In his Friar’s Tale Chaucer calls this same female conjuror a “phitonesse” (CT III[D]1510), a term derived from the Latin of the Vulgate here, and one that Chaucer earlier associated plainly with witches in House of Fame, lines 1261–63: “phitonesses, charmeresses, / Olde wicches, sorceresses, / That use exorsisaciouns.” Gower and Lydgate, too, call the medium of Endor a “phitonesse” in CA 6.2387 and Fall of Princes 2.434, respectively. Though many scholars have claimed that the identification of the medium with the term witch derives from the King James translation of the Bible, which uses the designation “Witch of Endor” as a heading for this chapter (see, e.g., DBTEL, pp. 840–41), we see here in Paraphrase evidence going back much further than that. Since the story is untold in CM, one wonders where the poet derived his terminology. One intriguing possibility in this regard is a short passage in Anglo-Saxon affiliated with a few manuscripts of Ælfric’s De Auguriis, which utilizes the story of Saul and the medium as an exemplum against the trickeries of the Devil. In this passage, which may or may not be by Ælfric himself, she is consistently termed a “wicce” (Ælfric, Homilies of Ælfric: Supplementary, 2:786–98).

7115 with your lefe. I have glossed and punctuated this phrase on the assumption that it is Saul’s advisor asking leave to speak, rather than a reference to the witch living in En-dor through Saul’s permission. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 28:9 makes clear that Saul had, in fact, rid Israel of such mediums and that the witch thus operates in fear of his reprisals.

7155–56 This is the same / that maydyns made of in ther sang. A reference back to lines 6147–48, where the women praised Saul for killing thousands but David for killing tens of thousands.

7250 and chefe of all his chevalry. The same phrase occurs in The Alliterative Morte Arthure, where the description is of Arthur’s knights of the Round Table “That chef were of chivalry” (line 18).

7254 lawles. Perhaps one ought to produce the word as Law-less, since the “law” in question is not about secular legal systems but about the Law of Moses, the Torah. This point is made again a few lines later when it is repeated that Saul would rather die than live with “folke of fals lyvyng” (line 7258), meaning “people of false belief systems.”

7261–68 The death of Saul is here given in accordance with 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 1:6–10 rather than 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 31:4, where Saul kills himself without the aid of the young man. The later story of Saul’s death, in addition to being fitted into this earlier account, is also told in full in lines 7327–56. The Paraphrase parallels OFP 55d–56a and 56d in both accounts, whereas HS matches the biblical account (Ohlander, “Old French Parallels,” p. 216).

ABBREVIATIONS: L: MS Longleat 257; H: Heuser edition (partial); K: Kalén-Ohlander edition; O: Ohlander’s corrigenda to K; P: Peck edition (partial); S: MS Selden Supra 52 (base text for this edition).

4633, 35 Lines indented to leave space for an initial capital; first letter of line 4633 written in the middle of the space.

4641 prophetes. So L, K. S: prophet.

4642 banere. So L, O. S, K: private.

4649 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 44v): no heading.

4666 wyfes. So L, K. S: wyfe.
chylder. So L, K. S: chyld.

4669 Thei. So L, K. S: he.

4681 withoutyn. So S, L. K: withowtyn.

4688 wode. S: inserted below the line.

4691 yf. So L, K. S: of.

4698 he. So L, K. S: I.

4699 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 45r): no heading.

4711 to. S: blotted.

4721 The. So L, K. S: he.

4724 well. S: inserted above the line.

4730 both. So L, K. S: bot.

4741 ys. So L, K. S: hys.

4743 Be. So L, K. S: Bot.

4744 beyryng. S: inserted above 6 canceled letters (byrnyg?).

4748 dowt. So L, K. S: dow.

4749 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 45v): no heading.

4753 ryght. So L, K. S omits.

4758 sithes Ser. So L, K. S: s.

4759 wyght. So L, O. S, K: wygh.

4767 certayn. So L, K. S omits.

4780 he. So L, K. S omits.
servaunt. So S. L, K: seruant.

4798 sew. S: be sew.

4801 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 46r): no heading.

4815 Trowghowt. S: t inserted above the line.

4839 Felesteyns. S: e₃ inserted above the line.

4844 for. So L, K. S: or.

4855 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 46v): no heading.

4877 fyve. L, K: V. S: VII.

4884 arke. S: l arke.

4891 clenely. So L, K. S: clene.

4909 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 47r): no heading.

4919 jewells. So L, K. S: jews.

4922 were. S: were so nere.

4944 nothyng. S: no no.

4952 mare. S: þ mare.

4953 Fro. So L, O. S, K: ffor.

4954 fold. So L, K. S: sold.

4961 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 47v): liber primus Samuel.

4996–97 So L, K. S omits lines.

5008 space. So L, K. S: place.

5012 our. So L, K. S omits.

5013 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 48r): Samuel, Saule.

5016 then. So L, K. S: þem.

5021 Saul. S: Saule, with canceled e.

5024 rachyd. So L, K. S: rachayd.

5067 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 48v): no heading.

5087 be. So L, K. S: he.

5117 profecyes. So L, K. S: profecye.

5120 Saul. S: saule, with canceled e.

5121 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 49r): no heading.

5140 myghty. So L, K. S: my3t.

5146 begyne. So L, K. S: be gane.

5150–51 So L, K. S omits lines.

5163 call. So L, K. S: cald.

5165 Then. So L, K. S: þem.

5174 spyll. S: inserted above canceled pyn.

5177 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 49v): no heading.

5190 that. So L, K. S: yt.

5197 towns. So L, K. S: towas.

5200 also. So K. L: theym. S: so.

5202 tho. So L, K. S: þor.

5204 dewlfull. So L, K. S: dewfull.

5210 encrese. So L. S: encreses. K: encresse.

5212 Jabese. So L, K. S: Jabase.

5218 have. So L, K. S: saue.

5219 weld. So L, K. S: well.

5220 save. So L, K. S: haue.

5228 tho. So L, K. S: two.

5230 to. So L, K. S: so.

5233 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 50r): no heading.
The. So L, K. S omits.

5234 same. So L, K. S omits.

5239 of. So L, K. S omits.
new. S: o new.

5242 us. S: l vs.

5258 sone. S: inserted above the line.

5259 bryng. So L, K. S: kyng.

5261 sere. So L, O. S, K: thre.

5271 of₁. So L, K. S omits.

5276 have. So L, K. S omits.

5278 that. S: it þat.
outrayd. So L, K. S: ouerrayd.

5286 on. So L, K. S omits.
he. So L, K. S: forto.

5287 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 50v): no heading.
down. So S, L. K: doun.

5294 bot. So L, K. S: be.

5313 gat. S: gra gart.

5315 S: al at end of line.

5316 than. So L, K. S: þat.

5329 gyfyn. So L, O. S, K: yfyn.

5331 we. So L, K. S: he.

5334 frendschep. S: d inserted above the line.

5337 frend. So L, K. S: frendes.

5340 to. S: h to.
bod. S: bode, with canceled e.

5341 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 51r): no heading.

5342 God. So L, K. S: to god.

5346 Saul. S: inserted above canceled samuel.

5389 harvest. So L, K. S: hardnes.

5391 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 51v): no heading.

5396 bot. So L, K. S: both.

5405 hym. So L, K. S: all.

5406 he. So L, K. S, Stern (Review, p. 281): 3e.
wend. So L, K. S omits.

5412 gentyll. So L, K. S omits.

5414 new tythandes. So L, K. S: noe.

5418 them. So L, K. S omits.

5420 to. So L, K. S omits.

5428 never. So L, K. S omits.

5430 say. So K. S: þei say.
the. So L, K. S omits.

5436 to. So L, K. S omits.

5441 them. So L, K. S: þei.

5443 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 52r): liber primus Regum.

5444 kene. So L, K. S omits.

5445 els. So L, K. S: als.

5450 chyvalry. S: chyl chyvalry.

5464 ware. S: inserted above the line.

5467 abyd. So L, K. S: to abyd.

5470 his. So L, K. S: he.

5475 he. So L, K. S omits.

5488 he. So L, K. S omits.
bestes. So L, K. S: best.

5491 on. So L, K. S omits.

5494 Marginalia in S (at bottom of fol. 52r): sextus.

5495 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 52v): no heading.

5508 no. So L, K. S omits.

5509 Therfor. So L, K. S: þer.

5510 and. S: letter canceled before.

5518 kyng. So L, K. S omits.

5520 So L, K. S omits line.

5536 yf. So L, K. S: of.

5549 thei. So L, K. S omits.

5551 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 53r): no heading.

5557 payn so. So L, K. S: so payn.

5571 when. So L, K. S: whe.

5573 relyed. So L, K. S: releved.

5580 prestely. So L, K. S: presthely.

5581 velany. S: f velany.

5586 swere. S: letter canceled before.

5589 sun. So L, K. S omits.

5591 thore. S: inserted above canceled whore.

5596 honycamys. S: letter canceled before.
camys. S: comy camys.

5603 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 53v): no heading.

5605 thei. So L, K. S: thet.

5645 have. S: corrected from nave.

5654 mekyll. So L, K. S omits.

5655 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 54r): no heading.

5656 hole. So S. L, K: hold.

5669 hym meld. So L, K. S: to mell.

5670 bot. So L, K. S: bo.

5676 hym. S: a hym.

5680 wan. So L, K. S: wang.
grett. S: p grett.

5687 was. So L, K. S omits.

5688 Mycoll. So L, K. S: was mycoll.

5702 pyn. So L, K. S: payn.

5708 fayntnes. S: s inserted above the line.

5709 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 54v): liber primus Regum.

5712 els. So L, K. S: þat.
thou. So L, K. S: þe.

5715 commawndment. So L, K. S: commawndmentes.

5727 wys. S: inserted above canceled was.

5758 ne. So L, K. S: þei ne.

5759 Both. So L, K. S: Bot.

5763 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 55r): no heading.

5766 help. So L, K. S omits.

5768 them. So L, K. S: hym.

5788 bryng. S: inserted above the line.

5792 thyng. S: letter canceled before.

5795 gyfes. So L, K. S: gyfe.

5797 gre. S: gre ue.

5798 sayd. So L, K. S omits.

5800 thou. So L, K. S: þei.

5810 space. So L, K. S: place.

5817 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 55v): no heading.

5821 well. So L, K. S omits.

5822 hym. So L, K. S omits.

5824 yt. So L, K. S omits.

5869 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 56r): no heading.

5899 Ya. S: y 3a.

5900 is. So L, K. S: yt is.

5923 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 56v): no heading.

5954 wher. So S, K. L: where.

5958 mynstralcy. So L, K. S: maystry.

5960 ever. So L, K. S omits.

5964 Saul. S: saule, with e canceled.

5965 spake of. So L. S, K: of spake.

5967 sare. So L, K. S: sere.

5969 wyd. So L, K. S: wyld.

5970 was. So L, K. S omits.

5972 mend. S: inserted above the line.

5973 S: the scribe mistakenly copies line 5981 before canceling it.

5975 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 57r): no heading.

6002 belufed. L, K: be lufed. S: he lufed.

6013 them. So L, K. S omits.

6022 in. So L, K. S omits.

6025 wold. S: inserted above canceled was.

6029 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 57v): no heading.

6055 of: S: ost of.

6073 tythand. S: th tythand.

6079 holy. So L, K. S: hely.

6081 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 58r): no heading.

6090 bere. S: inserted above the line.

6107 thou fro come. So L, K. S: fro con fall.

6109 his. So L, K. S omits.

6117 lerd. So L, K. S: lernyd.

6119 his. So L, K. S omits.

6121 note new. So K. S: note of new. L: tythandes new.

6133 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 58v): no heading.

6134 doyghtynes. So L, K. S: doyghty dede.

6136 price. So S. L, K: þrice.
that prowesse. So L, K. S: þer prownesse.

6142 hand. So L, K. S: handes.

6150 not. So L, K. S: no.

6151 hert he. So L, K. S: hert hele hent he.
holy. So L, K. S omits.

6152 certayn. So L, K. S omits.

6153 He. So L, K. S: Hys.

6157 yf. So L, K. S: of.

6167 For. S, L, K: Fro.

6169 fayged. So L, K. S: fayg.

6175 for. So L, K. S: forus.

6180 in. So L, K. S: on.

6185 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 59r): liber primus Regum. Saul and David.

6200 glad. S: inserted above the line.

6203 dysplessyd. So L, K. S: dysessyd.

6206 no. So L, K. S omits.
hire. So L, K. S: his.

6208 was. So L, K. S: wad.

6210 scho myght ever. So K. S: noy3t to. L: if she myght.

6217 If. So L, K. S: Of.

6218 to gyf. S: to h to gyf.

6223–24 So L, K. S omits lines.

6233 that. So L, K. S: þar.

6239 when. S: wh when.

6241 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 59v): no heading.

6245–6968 Missing in L (fols. 145–148 lost).
6245 sterd. S: ferd sterd.

6246 hedes. So K. S: hendes hom.

6247 then. S: altered from þem.

6248 was. So K. S omits.

6250–95 The overall numbering of these lines in K is incorrect due to miscounting.

6260 heyght. So K. S: dyd.

6270 lede. S: lerde.

6272 hym spede. So K. S: to hym speke.

6297 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 60r): no heading.

6303 not. So K. S: no.

6308 that. So K. S omits.

6315 ded. S: dr ded.
was. S: r was.

6319 dede. So K. S: lede.

6324 went. So K. S: well.

6331 thei. S, K: the.

6335–36 Lines missing in S (and L, see textual note to lines 6245–6968).

6342 that. So K. S omits.

6350 the. S: he þe.
kyng. So K. S omits.
kindes. So K. S: knds, with an e marked for insertion between k and n.

6353 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 60v): no heading.

6355 that con hym quell. So K. S: he wold.

6356 he wold bot wytt. So K. S: bot wytt he wold.

6360 abate. S: a₁ inserted above the line.

6370 all. So K. S: a.

6373 To. So K. S omits.

6375 spare. S: fare spare.

6390 dedes. S: h dedes.

6407 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 61r): no heading.

6419 he. S: hy he.

6426 sped. S: stede sped.

6433 sen. So S. K omits.

6452 meneye. S: ne inserted above the line.

6463 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 61v): no heading.

6465 Bot. S: Bor, with t inserted above the line.

6471 then. So K. S: þem.

6474 store. So K. S: stere.

6477 thore. So S. K: fore.

6484 aspy. S: a inserted above the line.

6490 he. So K. S omits.

6502 in all. So K. S: all in.

6509 maystrays. S: rays above canceled ters.

6517 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 62r): no heading.

6518 he. So K. S: þei.

6522 Go. So K. S: do.

6524 unto. So K. S: vnt.

6532 to. S: town to.

6535 So. S: Soi.

6538 wedys. S: weddys.

6545 tythyng. S: th tythyng.

6554 to. So K. S omits.

6563 to be. S: to be be.

6571 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 62v): no heading.

6572 lett. So K. S: sett.

6575 ferther. So K. S: fererther.

6577 to. So K. S omits.
Gedyn. So S. K: Geden.

6579 Then. So K. S: Bot.

6583 glad. So K. S omits.
wyn. So K. S: wysch.

6585 when thei. So K. S: when þat þei.

6590 threpe again. So K. S: þre ennen in.

6592 governd. K notes this and an instance in line 9343 as cases of inverted spelling.
in. So K. S omits.

6593 thin. So K. S: in.

6619 uncertayn. S: un inserted above an uncanceled in.

6625 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 63r): no heading.

6629 to. So K. S: forto.

6632 to. S: to by.

6640 con. S: corrected from com.

6642 bede. So K. S: be.

6651 made. So K. S omits.

6660 bot. S: t inserted above the line.

6662 two. So K. S: o and part of w lost due to trimming.

6668 wo. So K. S: fo.

6675 cummand. So K. S: cumnand or cunnand (minim missing from written nasal).

6679 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 63v): no heading.

6680 werke. So K. S: werke hym.
hys. So K. S omits.

6683 thor. So S. K: þer.

6686 all. S: inserted above that₁.

6692 otterest. So K. S: ottest.

6694 non away. So K. S: non of þem away.

6718 time. So K. S: tome.

6721 raythely. So K. S: rayly.

6729 Bot. So K. S: Bor.

6732 the soth. S: þe sone wo soth.

6735 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 64r): no heading.

6740 thee. So K. S omits.

6752 yt. S: inserted above canceled he.
slytt. S: inserted above canceled kytt.

6777 Marginalia in S (at right of fol. 64r): Saul and David unitas.

6786 thou. S: inserted above canceled I.

6789 then hyne. So K. S: with hym.

6791 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 64v): no heading.
To. S: And To.

6808 do. So K. S: to.

6818 als. So K. S: & als.

6825 the. S: inserted above the line.

6831 In. So K. S omits.

6833–34 Lines missing in S (and L, see textual note to lines 6245–6968).

6837 wyght. So K. S: wyghty.

6845 Who. So K. S: When.

6849 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 65r): no heading.

6851 All. S: als all.

6867 aftur. So K. S omits.

6872 had. So K. S omits.

6880 pelure. So K. S: penure.

6881 presentes scho. So K. S: present sch.

6889 kynd. S: kyng kynd.

6900 fud. So K. S: gud.

6901 knight. So S. K: kny3t.

6905 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 65v): liber primus Regum. De nupciis david and Abygay.

6909 mett. S: þer mett.

6937 Then folke. So K. S: þen grett folke.

6952 buske. S: but I buske.

6963 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 66r): no heading.

6965 ther. So K. S: þei, above canceled þor.

6969 The text of L continues here (fol. 149r).

6972 sure. So L, K. S: sone.

6981 on. So L, K. S omits.

6982 thei. So L, K. S: þat.

6984 wake₂. So L, K. S: make.

6988 heryng. So L, K. S: hethyng.

6992 Saul. S: u inserted above the line.

6997 begun. So L, K. S omits.

7001 thou me. So L, K. S: I þe.
fun. So L, K. S: slayn.

7010 of. S: of w.

7012 unto. So L, K. S: to.

7013 lefes. So L, K. S: lofes.
lessons. So L, K. S: lessens.

7016 that. So L, K. S omits.

7021 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 66v): no heading.

7028 went. So L, K. S: ware.

7032 the. So L, K. S omits.

7035 a. So L, K. S omits.

7039 wene. So L, K. S: were.

7042 thei. So K. S: þat. L alters line.

7045 landes. S: three letters canceled before.

7048 to₂. S: inserted above the line.
of his. S: inserted above the line.

7051 wo. So K. S: mo. L: fayle.

7056 Cananews. So K. S: phylysteyns. L: Philistiens.

7072 S: line 7075 canceled after.

7073 men. So L, K. S omits.

7077 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 67r): no heading.

7083 fare. So L, K. S omits.

7087 soundly. So L, K. S: sodanly.

7088 grett. S: gt grett.

7089 And. So L, K. S: All.

7092 byd. So K. S: abyd. L: abyde.

7103 howsoever. L, K: how s[o] euer. S, O: how sum ever.

7105 prophettes. So L, K. S: prophett.
prays. So L, K. S: prayd.

7106 helpe. So L, K. S: hym.

7107 God not pays. So L, K. S: god was not payd.

7108 sum. So L, K. S: of sum.

7110 wyche. S: inserted above canceled wythe.
hym. So L, K. S: Them.

7115 One. S: in left margin, before canceled And.

7123 asked. So L, K. S: aske.

7129 beforne. S: n inserted above the line.

7137 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 67v): no heading.

7145 borows. So K. S: brorows. L: Burghes.

7147 wyghtly. So L, K. S: wyttely.

7148 non. So K. S: no. L: noone.

7161 us. So L, K. S: was.

7167 to. So L, K. S: to he to.

7183 spoyle. So L, K. S: speke.

7186 them. So L, K. S: þem þem.

7193 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 68r): no heading.

7195 Thei. S: D þei.
hamwerd. So L, K. S: hanwerd.

7204 for mete. So K. S: forthermer. L: farthere.

7227 telle. S: second e inserted above the line.

7251 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 68v): no heading.

7257 past. So L, K. S: pist.

7266 be rownde. S: ro inserted above the line.

7273 tyll. S: w tyll.

7278 that. S: at inserted above the line.

7289 thei. S: of þei.

7294 lade. So L, K. S: lede.

7303 hedes. So K. S: hed. L: hevedes.

7306 worthy. So L, K. S: vnworthy.

7307 Marginalia in S (at top of fol. 69r): no heading.

7309 When. S: h When.
was. So L, K. S omits.

7310 had. So L, K. S omits.

7312 he. S: hed.

7316 kynges. So L, K. S: kyng.
in. So L, K. S: inserted above to.

7317 Forther. So L, K. S: For heyr.