THE MARTYRDOM OF SANCTE KATERINE: EXPLANATORY NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: AS: Anchoritic Spirituality, trans. Savage and Watson; B: Bodleian Library MS Bodley 34 [base text]; BT: Bosworth and Toller, Anglo-Saxon Dictionary; D: d’Ardenne and Dobson edition (1981); E: Einenkel, The Life of St. Katherine; H: refers to a series of sixteenth-century scribbles in various hands (see Introduction, p. 22); HM: Hali Meithhad; MED: Middle English Dictionary; OCD: Oxford Classical Dictionary; OED: Oxford English Dictionary; R: British Library MS Royal 17 A XXVII; T: British Library MS Cotton Titus D XVIII; SJ: The Liflade ant te Passiun of Seinte Juliene; SK: The Martyrdom of Sancte Katerine.

Header Sancte Katerine. Katherine of Alexandria was supposedly a fourth-century saint. Little is known about her, despite the popularity of her cult throughout Europe and especially in England. According to D, in the Early Greek legend she was actually persecuted by Maximinus, not Maxentius. Maxentius won power in Italy after Constantine was proclaimed emperor after the death of his father Constantius in 306 CE, but there is no truth to the legend that he ruled in Alexandria (see pp. 204–05n1; see also explanatory note 1.1, below). Katherine’s name appears here in its French form. It is likely that the audience, for whom this text was intended, read French and English as well as some Latin. For a fuller discussion of the nature of the probable audience of these texts, see Robertson, “Living Hand” and Early English Devotional Prose; Savage and Watson, AS; and Millett, “Woman in No Man’s Land.” On the popularity of Saint Katherine in the Middle Ages, see Christine Walsh, Cult of St. Katherine, especially Chapters 2, “The Historical Katherine” (pp. 7–22), and 7, “The Introduction of the Cult of St. Katherine into England” (pp. 97–142).

1.1 Costentin. Constantine “the Great,” emperor from 306–37 CE (although the traditional date given to St. Katherine’s martyrdom is 305). Constantine’s campaigns against Maxentius and Maximinus during the early years of his reign appear to be represented in the beginning of SK, though these figures are conflated with each other (OCD, “Constantine”).

Maxence. Though the name and position suggests Maxentius, Constantine’s enemy and rival for the title Augustus in Rome from 306–12 CE, Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximinus is in fact the Roman aristocrat and governor more likely to have executed St. Katherine. The governor of Syria and Egypt in the early years of the fourth century, Maximinus was notorious for his persecution of Christians, ordering public sacrifices of all citizens in 306 and 308, and inflicting torture and death as punishment. The figure of Maxence in SK is likely a conflation of Maximinus and Maxentius, possibly a result of interpretations of their similar names, or from confusion over their 311 alliance against Constantine (OCD, “Maximinus Gaius”).

1.5 Ylirie. Illyria was a region of the Western Balkan peninsula.

2.1 anes kinges Cost hehte anlepi dohter. In John Capgrave’s fifteenth-century work The Life of Saint Katherine, Katherine is not only Costus’ learned daughter, but also the queen of Alexandria in her own right whose power is being usurped by the emperor Maxence. For an interesting discussion of the integral role of politics in Capgrave’s Katherine, see Winstead, “Capgrave’s Saint Katherine.” Winstead examines the way in which Capgrave’s depiction of Katherine as an active ruler complicates her status as a laudable figure. The Bodley Katherine-poet, by contrast, avoids political complications by depicting Katherine as a learned private landholder with no specific political obligations. Additionally, see Winstead, “St. Katherine’s Hair” for a discussion of Katherine’s princely genealogy.

Cost. Vernacular versions of the Katherine passio develop Cost’s bloodline so that Katherine in a sense becomes localized or nationalized, rather than remaining a distant Greek saint. Walsh, in particular, notes the “anglicization” of the tale in the fifteenth-century prose version of the legend: there, “Costas” actually becomes the elder half-brother of Constantine the Great; thus, as Walsh writes “Katherine is . . . linked both to Constantine, the man who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, and Britain [through his British mother, Helena]” (Cult of St. Katherine, p. 99n6). For more detail, see Walsh, Cult of St. Katherine, pp. 9–10 and p. 99n6.

cleargesse. It is difficult to say precisely what the word cleargesse means. Katherine could not have been clerically trained, but the word suggests she had scholarly training in Latin. The audience for whom this text was intended may well have been similarly trained; although not clerical, they probably had some limited training in Latin. The word is used to describe some anchoresses in Ancrene Wisse (ed. Hasenfratz, “Author’s Preface,” p. 62, line 48). For discussion of the significance of that word in the Ancrene Wisse, see Robertson, “This Living Hand.”

2.2 nawt forthi that . . . telleth wel to. Although the precise audience of this text is unknown, it is likely that many of its readers were women who had been “ladies” in secular life; thus, this comment here would have particular resonance for the audience.

3.3 Modi meistres ant . . . menske al up. This passage both establishes Katherine’s position as a dominant intellectual figure and highlights the steadfastness and power granted to her by the Holy Spirit (3.2). The careful declaration that many learned men have been overcome by her knowledge foreshadows her competition with and victory over the fifty masters that begins at 11.3.

crefti crokes. D glosses “crokes” as “sophistries” (p. 302), referring to the art of formal philosophical dispute. There is a connection here to the Devil’s “crafty tricks” as though philosophical argument were itself a weapon of the devil; for example, see 6.1, where “crokinde creftes” refers specifically to the devil’s tricks. Note the patristic suspicion of formal classical rhetoric and logic, which can be used to obscure truth. Compare also SK,11.3, and see the explanatory note to those sentences, below.

4.1 burdeboldes. D notes that this word translates the Latin palatio patris (p. 301). Literally, the term means “birth-castle” or where Katherine was born, the place of her heritage.

4.3 seide hire thet sothe. The literal translation is “told her that truthfully,” with thet (as well as this and hwet of 4.2) referring to the antecedent swuch nurth of 4.1. For the sake of clarity, however, we have freely translated thet sothe as “the truth,” following Savage and Watson’s translation (AS, p. 263).

4.7 hwet hit mahte . . . al his kineriche. B appears to be missing a verb, and this problem is duplicated in R and T. The Latin text offers no help here. D notes the similarity between the Middle English “yeinen” (see MED yeinen (v.), sense a, “to be useful or profitable; avail; help,” which we have translated as “gain”) and the cognate “geinen” (see MED geinen (v.), sense 2, “to oppose”). This second cognate, according to D, would have been “ʒeinin” in the AB dialect; the scribe of the exemplar may have conflated the two terms, hence our translation. See D, pp. 209–10n63, for a more extended explanation.

4.10 Rode-taken. I.e., the sign of the cross.

5.2 scheop. We have translated this verb as “shape” to illustrate both the very physical sense of creation (God shaping Adam from clay with His hands) and also to demonstrate the modern cognate. See MED shapen (v.), sense 1.

5.5 sculde. D notes that the “sc” spelling is common in the B manuscript, although T and R invariably spell “sch” (see D, p. xlv). This spelling is a holdover from Anglo-Saxon.

6.5 thurh thet. D glosses as “by reason of the fact that” (p. 340).

7.3 lahe sprung. AB’s lahe corresponds to the later Middle English laue, both descendants of Old English lagu, “law” (BT, lagu (n.)). There are two ways to translate the phrase lahe sprung, as we see it: first, to consider AB lahe as an adjectival form of laue, following Savage and Watson’s translation “legitimate source” (AS, p. 265); or, (the more questionable option) to translate hefde lahe sprung as “had originated from law.” Given the lack of preposition, though, we have translated based on Savage and Watson.

7.5 Me hwet is . . . ant te deade? Contrast Maxence’s elaborate and detailed description of Christian doctrine with his very general reference to his own pagan religion. See Bernau, “Christian Corpus,” for a discussion of this “lack of specificity” (pp. 124–26). Maxence gives a clear summary of the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed, affirmed at the Council of Nicea in 325 CE, is the set of words of faith all Catholics are expected to proclaim. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, those words are:

We believe (I believe) in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages. (God of God) light of light, true God of true God. Begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnate of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary and was made man; was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried; and the third day rose again according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose Kingdom there shall be no end. And (I believe) in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son), who together with the Father and the Son is to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the Prophets. And one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We confess (I confess) one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for (I look for) the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

akennet. See MED akennen, (v.2), sense 2a, which cites this occurrence.

9.3 Ah wastu nu hwet is? Literally, “But do you know what is now?” Our translation follows D’s suggestion on p. 216n143. Savage and Watson’s translation is also helpful: “Do you know what happens now?” (AS, p. 265).

9.4 motild. This descriptor is unique to the AB texts. D glosses as “female debater, wrangling woman” (p. 323); MED motild (n.) defines as “A female disputant, debater; female advocate.” Compare Maxence’s use here with the term in On Lofsong of Ure Lefdi, line 305: “Ich . . . bidde þin ore, þet tu beo mi motild aʒeines mine soule fan,” where motild has the connotation of advocate or intercessor as well (ed. Morris, Old English Homilies, p. 205). See also 9.5 of SK, where “theos modi motild” is used more neutrally, to mean “this proud debater.” We have translated the term “motild” in this instance as “argumentative babbler,” to get at the pejorative sense of the term as it is used here. Compare Savage and Watson’s translation: “you spitfire” (AS, p. 265). The word itself only survives in the three examples cited and is most likely derived from Old English mót + -ild. Of note is that this now obscure noun (mot) only survives in occasional legal use as “moot,” where it refers to legislative or judicial meetings (see BT mót (n.)), or to a formal argument about law conducted by legal students discussing hypothetical cases.

9.5 ikennen ant icnawen. On why this is “willing to admit and acknowledge,” see D, pp. 217–18n154–5.

10.4–5 Ah forthi thet . . . Him to Lauerd. Katherine’s dual movement from a worldly position to spiritual one, first in her declaration of her abandonment of worldly knowledge for spiritual knowledge, and later in her renunciation of worldly spouses for the heavenly Spouse, differentiates her from the other two virgin martyrs of the Katherine Group, who have no such worldly position. A number of critics have explored the implications that this dual emphasis has for Katherine’s construction as a gendered figure and as a role model for different audiences. See Jenkins and Lewis “Introduction” to St. Katherine of Alexandria; Francomano, “‘Lady, you are quite a chatterbox’”; Winstead, “St. Katherine’s Hair”; and Reames, “St. Katherine.”

10.5 Perdam sapientiam sapientum et intellectum intelligentium reprobabo. Isaias 29:4; as quoted in 1 Corinthians 1:19. This reference is repeated at 21.3.

10.7 Deus autem noster . . . similes illis fiant. Vulgate Psalm 113:3–8. This quotation indirectly implies that if the pagans are like their gods, then Katherine herself must in turn be like her god, an implication that is borne out in her eventual martyrdom.

11.3 creftes. In order to maintain the alliteration, our translation maintains the modern cognate. However, the sense of this passage supports OED’s reading of craft here ((n.), sense 5b) as a specific branch of knowledge, possibly referring to the seven Liberal Arts, traditionally grammar, rhetoric, and logic (the Trivium) and arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music (the Quadrivium).

13.2 to balewe ant to bismere. This phrase functions as a dative of purpose and reference, following Latinate functions of the dative. We have translated balewe and bismere as adverbs. D also glosses as adverbs “maliciously and contumaciously” (p. 28). This construction is not in the Latin text but seems to follow a Latin dative of purpose and reference. Savage and Watson also translate as adverbs “abusively and insultingly” (AS, p. 267).

14.4 thet ha understonde . . . bute bivore dusie. A difficult line to translate. The Latin text reads ut cognoscat se nondum uidisse aut audisse preter hodie sapientem (D, p. 159, lines 290–91) [in order that she understand that not yet has she before today seen or heard wisdom except]. After dealing with the indirect statement within an ut clause of result, the Middle English translator has modified the text to make the clerks’ arrogance all the more clear. We have translated as “so that she may understand that before this day she never stood except before fools” to keep as much literal meaning as possible; an “anyone” is implied by “thene” (than) with the sense that Katherine has never stood before anyone besides, or other than, fools.

15.1 Dum steteritis ante reges et presides, et cetera. Compare Matthew 10:18–20, Mark 13:9–11, and Luke 21:12–15.

16.1–29.8 Ne beo thu . . . thet tu wult. The contest with the fifty masters is the episode of Katherine’s vita that has caused the most controversy in terms of its potential to be read as a religious precedent allowing women to teach and preach. See Bernau, “Christian Corpus,” p. 122, on Katherine’s status as a dangerous preacher; Francomano, “‘Lady, you are quite a chatterbox,’” on Katherine’s talkativeness and persuasive abilities; Frazier, “Katherine’s Place,” p. 236; and Blamires, “Women and Preaching,” for medieval theological debates regarding women preachers and heresy.

16.2 i stude ant i stalle. An alliterative turn of phrase, meaning literally “in place and in place;” we have used D’s gloss for the phrase in our translation (see D, p. 332).

18.1 thet hoker thuhte. We have consulted D’s gloss (p. 315) in our translation of this phrase.

19.3 cume, cuthe . . . take. These verbs are subjunctives with hortatory force. D (p. 226n302) notes that cume and cuthe, while subjunctive forms, function as imperatives.

20.1 sette sikel forth. Literally, “set the sickle forth.” D glosses the phrase as “begin reaping, start the harvest, cut the first swathe (?)” (p. 330). We have followed D’s and Savage and Watson’s “cut the first swathe.” This invitation is a serious mistake on the philosophers’ part, although, as Savage and Watson point out “in theory it would be to the philosophers’ advantage to speak second.” They continue that despite this, “letting [Katherine] speak first is evidently a major, and telltale, tactical blunder” (AS, p. 424n18).

21.2 Homers motes ant . . . ant Platunes bokes. Christian audiences frequently had mixed feelings regarding the wisdom of classical writers. Here, Katherine whole-heartedly condemns Homer, Aristotle, Asclepius, Galen, Philistion, and Plato. In contrast, the fifteenth-century Dicts and Sayings of the Philosophers regards the sayings of many of these philosophers as highly valuable, and the text is considered as part of the medieval genre of “wisdom literature” (see Sutton’s introduction). More often, though, Christian writers regarded classical texts with cautious pragmatism, as in St. Augustine’s equation of the plundering of the Egyptians’ gold with the Christians’ use of classical material. See On Christian Doctrine, book 2, chapter 60, where he writes: “If those who are called philosophers, especially the Platonists, have said things which are indeed true and are well accommodated to our faith, they should not be feared; rather, what they have said should be taken from them as from unjust possessors and converted to our use” (trans. Robertson, p. 75).

21.3 Perdam sapientiam sapientum et intellectum et cetera. 1 Corinthians 1:19.

21.4 wit. D’Ardenne and Dobson point out that although wit is not the most accurate translation of disciplinam, it does serve the purpose of alliteration. See D, p. 229n328.

21.7 ilatet. D’Ardenne and Dobson emend both R and T following the use of this phrase in SJ (see D’s long discussion, p. 230n333).

22.1–4 An for ham . . . ba somet nanesweis. Maxence here echoes the Nicene Creed. See above, note 7.5.

23.1–11 Heo ne sohte . . . . thet He walde. Here Katherine explains the simultaneous humanity and divinity of Christ, arguments related to such influential treatises as Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo.

23.1 derfschipe. A difficult word to translate. D glosses as “secret, hidden meaning”; MED derfshipe citing this occurrence only, glosses as “Irreverence, sacrilege (compare derfnesse)”; E glosses as “baseness, vileness” but includes the translation “strength” (p. 158, 46) ; the Latin source presented in E (p. 46) has: hec est subtilitas [this is the subtlety]. Savage and Watson translate derfschipe as “subtlety” (AS, p. 270). However, compare MED derfnesse (n.), sense a, meaning “audacity, irreverence, sacrilege.” This meaning seems to be a later development of the noun “derf” (used frequently in the Katherine Group to refer to suffering, pain, torment, or the act of martyrdom) not attested until the fifteenth century. We have decided to translate the term as “wicked” to connect with this earlier meaning, as well as reveal the immoral connotations of the philosophers’ overly clever but ultimately false arguments.

D explains that here the English author changes the sense of the Latin source: “The whole run of the English sentence leads up to the proposition that he could do one of these two things, suffer death or overcome death, but not both at once; it is not designed to pose the alternatives that he could be either God or man, but not both” (p. 231n359).

23.3 iwend uppon. Compare Savage and Watson, AS (p. 278). The actual meaning of wenden is “to turn,” so supposedly Katherine builds on the image of humanity as clay, and God as the great Shaper (or potter).

23.8 In euch thing . . . of Godes wisdom. The cleargesse Katherine has already demonstrated her accomplished book-learning by the sophisticated Christological discussion with the fifty teachers. Here, however, she also shows an aptitude for discerning God’s presence in the natural, living world, a kind of divinely inspired wisdom that exists outside of her books. The signs of God’s presence in the living world, briefly described here, are of course later expanded in greater detail in St. Bonaventure’s Itinerarium Mentis in Deum (Mind’s Road to God), especially in section 2: “Of the Reflection of God in His Traces in the Sensible World” (see Boas trans., pp. 14–21). The Welsh life of Katherine places more emphasis on this natural divine wisdom, rather than on her bookish learning. See Cartwright, “Buchedd Catrin,” p. 73.

24.6 seolf the ilke. I.e., the self-same.

26.2 bute sunne ane. “Except sin alone.” Christ took upon Himself all the hardships of humanity except for their sinful state (since He was perfect).

26.4 toschrapede his hefde! See MED scrapen (v.) and shrapen (v.). D glosses as “Scratch to shreds, lacerated” from Old English scrapian (BT, scrapian (v.)). See also the textual note to 26.4, since the manuscript reading in R and T is most likely corrupt. Savage and Watson translate as “lacerated his head” (AS, p. 272), as a reference to Genesis 3:15, God’s curse upon the devil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he [i.e., humankind] will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” The sense is that when Christ took human form, He deceived the devil, and figuratively “crushed his head” by conquering death and redeeming humankind. Compare MED shaven (v.), sense 2a, "to deceive someone"; in later Middle English to give someone a “close shave” essentially means to rob, deceive, or otherwise trick them, thus our translation of robbed him blind.

26.8 te bruchen thet mon hefde ibroken agein Him. I.e., the transgressions that mankind had committed against Him (based on D’s gloss, p. 301).

28.3 studgi. See D’s note, pp. 241–42n464.

30.1–2 bringen . . . warpen. These verbs are infinitives as a result of the indirect command initiated by bed and het, respectively. A passive construction introduced in the following sentence As me droh ham (30.3) (literally “as one dragged them,” but in AB meant “as they were dragged”), we have translated these two verbs as passives.

31.3 furene tungen. The image of a fiery tongue recalls Pentecost (Whitsunday), a Christian feast that commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, fifty days after the resurrection of Christ; see Acts 2:1–4.

33.3 pel ant with purpre. “Pall,” according to the OED (citing this line), is a fine cloth “used for the robes of persons of high rank.” However, MED pel (n.2) notes “a furred skin used as lining or trim on a garment.” It seems most likely that Maxence is suggesting a purple robe trimmed with fur, an appropriate gift for a lady high in status at his court.

33.4 seli. D suggests a possible translation here of “innocent” (p. 330), an interesting alternative that pairs well with Maxence’s eventual blaming of Katherine for the deaths of the fifty masters, Augusta, and Porphirius and his knights. The Middle English terms traverse a spectrum of possible meanings, from “holy, blessed” (sense 1a), to “innocent” (sense 2a), to “foolish” (sense 2b) as it is applied to John the “sely” carpenter of Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale (CT I[A] 3423, 3601, 3614). The term’s modern descendent is the contemporary word “silly.”

34.1–10 Katerine ontswerede — smirkinde . . . thu to wisse. In this passage Katherine shifts tracks from dense theological discussion to a discourse more grounded in matters concerning gender, marriage, and sex. The shift is appropriate here, as Maxence has, in true fiendish form, posed temptations for her similar to those of the world (“ich chulle dihten . . . efter thet tu demest,” 33.5), the flesh (“tu schalt . . . eaver the other beon . . . i bure,” 33.5), and the devil, in offering to make her an object of idolatrous worship (33.5–8). Katherine grounds her rebuttal upon her relationship with her true Husband, and in turn engages questions of gender that emerged both in the fictional landscapes of romance as well as in actual women’s lives. For the idea of marriage in these saints’ lives see Bugge, Virginitas, and Robertson, Early English Devotional Prose. See Wogan-Browne, “Virgin’s Tale,” p. 169, and Saints’ Lives, specifically chapters 1.2, 3, and 4.1, on the romance structure of virgin martyr tales. See also Jenkins and Lewis, “Introduction” to St. Katherine of Alexandria, pp. 13–15, and Lewis, “Pilgrimage,” pp. 47–51, for discussions of Katherine as sponsa Christi; and see also Walsh, “Role of the Normans,” p. 33, for more on Katherine’s divinely wedded virginity as a model for real women, particularly Christina of Markyate.

34.1 meareminnes. See MED mere-maiden (n.), sense b: “one who misleads or deceives.”

34.7 wit. First person dual pronoun.

35.2–4 Het o wodi . . . . et lahinde tholede. The Bodley author specifies that Katherine, is beaten with cnottede schurgen, . . . hit lihtliche aber and lahinde tholede (“with knotted scourges . . . bore it lightly and suffered it laughing”); he later emphasizes the angels’ healing ministrations. Concerning these details, Jacobus de Voragine writes that Katherine was “stripped and beaten with scorpions, and then thrown into a dark cell” (trans. Ryan and Ripperger, p. 712). Jacobus says nothing of her reaction to these tortures. This could be proof that the Bodley Katherine is like the Bodley Juliana in being what Margherita calls a “self-consciously Germanic English narrative” (“Desiring Narrative,” p. 358), sharing in the Anglo-Saxon sensibilities present in Old English saints’ lives. In “Pain and Saint Making,” Dendle notes that most “Old English saints’ lives . . . reflect the anesthetic tradition” in which “the saint is invulnerable to the tortures” (p. 46). This apparent invulnerability was important in Anglo-Saxon culture, where “[t]rial by ordeal” was believed to make “manifest what was hidden, by inscribing on the bodies of the guilty the marks of sin that already stained the soul” (p. 51). An accused person whose wounds healed quickly and cleanly would be judged innocent, a circumstance that places greater importance on Katherine’s ability to ignore her tormentors and to recover quickly from Maxence’s abuse, as well as shedding a different light on the unburned appearance of the martyred masters at 32.3, and on the prayer of the queen at 50.2.

37.3 Ah an se swithe swote smeal com anan. A sweet smell, in contrast with the stench of death, is associated with Christ and faith in 2 Corinthians 2:14–16. Sweet smells thus imply holiness. Memorable examples can be found not only in religious narratives (such as the miraculous smell of the invisible rose and lily crowns in Chaucer’s Second Nun’s Tale [CT VIII[G] 229, 247]), but also in romances with religious components, e.g., the sweet odor associated with Sir Guy’s corpse in The Stanzaic Guy of Warwick (ed. Wiggins, lines 3524–27) or the odor associated with the appearance of the Grail in Arthurian romances.

37.5 bieoden. See OED bego (v.), sense 6, which cites this occurrence. D glosses as “to tend (a wound)” (p. 299).

bruchen of hire bodi. Compare the earlier use of the phrase to refer to a loss of virginity at 7.5; the phrase also occurs in HM 8.12, and in On Lofsong of ure Louerde (ed. Morris, Old English Homilies, p. 205). This is the only occurrence of the phrase that does not specifically refer to the loss of virginity.

38.2 bur inwith thin heorte. See Apocalypse 21:10–27, where the New Jerusalem (Heaven) is described as a city. See also Augustine’s De Civitate Dei, where the New Jerusalem is a condition of being, not just a place. While Jacobus entirely omits mention of the city, the English version expands the Latin version’s account, and anticipates the elaborate description of the New Jerusalem found in Pearl.

38.7 beatewil. See D, p. 257–58n618 on this difficult term; d’Ardenne and Dobson note that MED has “of good will, benevolent; ?humble,” which makes little sense given the context.

the neaver ne linneth nowther ne leassith ah leasteth áá mare, se lengre se mare. The author’s use of the instrumental here (the longer, the greater) to describe the proportions of heavenly pleasures looks ahead to the Pearl-poet’s similar use, as the maiden explains the difficult rationale of the Parable of the Vineyard: “Now he that stod the long day stable / And thou to payment come hym byfore — Thenne the lasse in werke to take more able, / And ever the lenger the lasse, the more” (ed. Stanbury, lines 597–600, emphasis ours). While the maiden’s words reveal an indirect proportion, as opposed to Katherine’s direct proportion, the similar, if reversed, expressions both emphasize the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of describing Heavenly reward in measurable terms which the mortal mind can conceptualize.

38.8 thear as. Our translation is based on D’s gloss of as in this instance as “at the place in which” (p. 298).

38.10 nan eorthliche ehe . . . Him ariht luvieth. 1 Corinthians 2:9.

39.1 wilcweme. MED glosses as “pleased, satisfied,” but see also the Middle English meanings of queme (adj., sense 1), which describe the word as a quality that is “pleasing, acceptable (to God, Christ).” Also compare the Old English wel-gecwéme, “well-pleasing” (BT, wel-gecwéme (adj.)).

39.2–3 Freineden Porphire alle . . . i worldliche wecchen. Clearly Porphirius’ knights wonder if he has been committing adultery with the queen, hence the pun between “wordlich wecchen” and “heovenliche iwaket.” Their almost schoolgirl interest in their commander’s whereabouts demonstrates their interest not only in the fabliaux potential of such a holy story (compare the conception of Christ and the portrayal of Joseph as the senex amans) but moreover, a faithful loyalty to their commander, as evidenced by their immediate conversion to Christianity. In such a way, they are ideal thanes, following their commander to death with absolute loyalty.

39.3 therin is al mi rihte bileave. See corresponding textual note. Both D (pp. 259–60n638–39) and E (p. 143n1751) agree that the exemplar for all three manuscripts was corrupt and that the scribes of the manuscripts did their best to emend the line. Our modern editors emend as “þear as me [learde me mi] rihte bileaue” (D) and “þer as me rihte mi bileaue” (E). The corresponding Latin text reads quibus michi uia uite reuelata est et uere deitatis cognitio reserata (D, pp. 185–86, lines 808–09): [in which [heavenly watches] the road of life was revealed to me and, truly, the knowledge of the deity was made accessible] (translation ours). This text forms the basis for D’s emendation of “þear as me [learde me mi] rihte bileaue” [there as I was taught my true belief]. We have gone with a less extreme emendation of T’s text.

40.1 as He dude Daniel. See the apocryphal Bel and the Dragon (Daniel 14:30–38) for the story of Daniel being fed by Habakkuk.

40.5 with hwucche. Bodley lacks an explicit noun for “hwucche” [which] to modify. D inserted “duheðe” [company] (see MED douthe (n.), sense 1c) to give a noun for “hwuchhe” to modify, and they translate as “with company.” We are translating “with” according to MED with (prep.), sense 14c, as “because of,” which is attested also in AW. We are translating “which” according to MED which (pron.), sense 2b as “that.” With this adjusted translation the antecedent for “hwucche” is “death” earlier in the same sentence.

43.1 deofles budel. A “beadle,” in this context, refers to a person “who delivers the message or executes the mandate of an authority” (OED, beadle (n.), sense 2). Although the term can describe anyone from a simple messenger to a town-crier, the word “beadle” is sometimes pejorative; compare SJ 19.1, as well as Piers Plowman, where beadles make up part of the retinue “that regneth with the false” and attends the marriage of Mede and Falsehood: “Bedelles and bailliues and brokoures of chaffare” (B.II.53, 59). We have translated the term as “beadle” throughout to preserve the alliteration, though the word is somewhat obsolete.

Belial. Belial is a standard name for a demon or devil; the name is also assigned to the demon adversary in SJ.

43.4 Do ido dede. I.e., “make an end of the matter” (D, p. 305).

43.5 wed. “Rage, rave, become mad,” a word that would more appropriately describe Maxence than Katherine.

fowr hweoles. A wheel of torture also occurs in SJ (see 60.1–61.1). SK and SJ clearly are related; d’Ardenne and Dobson explore the question of which text preceded the other, but come to no conclusion about the chronology (see D, pp. 263–65n700). See also Bernau, “Christian Corpus,” p. 119, for the wheel’s associations with knowledge and learning.

44.3 mate. See MED mat (adj., sense 1b); the figurative meaning of the adjective to mean “helpless, powerless; overcome, defeated” comes from the literal origin of the word in the term “check-mate” (see sense 1a). D (p. 268n725) provides a thorough etymological discussion of this word, whose earliest occurrence (preceding even those referring to chess) is in this line.

tohwitherin. Compare 43.7, where the same verb describes the supposed fate for Katherine. Unbeknownst to them, the emperor and his henchman are powerless to dole out this fate, which will instead be meted out upon their invention.

46.5 todriven with a dunt. “Broken to pieces with a blow.” While none of the manuscripts specify that the wheel is meant here, we have included it in our translation for clarity.

48.6 Ant yet ne . . . thing to drehen. Sarah Salih, in “Performing Virginity,” comments on the fact that only the queen, and not Katherine herself, has her breasts ripped off. Salih posits the virgin as belonging to a gender category distinct from the usual male/female divisions, noting that the virgin martyrs are never tormented through the specifically female parts of their bodies. The queen, who falls into the firmly female-gendered category of “wife,” has one of the most visible signs of her femininity, her breasts, mangled during her martyrdom, “a torture enacted on the specifically female body of a rebellious wife . . . The tortures of the virgin heroines are never sexualized in this manner; the texts refuse to mark their naked bodies as female” (p. 104). For a detailed discussion of virgin martyrs whose breasts are mutilated, see Kristen Wolf, “Severed Breast.” While the text does differentiate the sexualized violence meted on the queen from the torture inflicted on the virgin, in our view both are sexualized, albeit in different ways; see Margherita, Romance of Origins, who asserts that we readers, “like Eleusius himself,” are repeatedly “made to gaze with prurient interest at the spectacle of [Juliana’s] broken female body” (p. 49).

53.2 the me seide hit upon. Literally, “upon whom it was said.”

53.3 Lowr! Another possible translation is “Listen!” or simply “Lo!” but we have chosen “Look!” based both on the context (Porphirius is looking for the perpetrator of the crime) but also on D’s evidence that the AB interjection lowr may be related to Old English lo we, or “let us look” (p. 277n809). See BT lá (interj.) meaning “Lo! Oh! Ah!” and BT lócian (v.2) meaning “to apply one’s sight to ascertain.”

54.4 to undervonne. The inflected infinitive indicates the text’s Anglo-Saxon roots. It also suggests a sense of necessity that Porphirius must, both according to Maxence’s law and God’s law, accept the martyrdom that is being offered to him. Our translation has followed the glossing of the line in the MED definition of underfon ((v.), sense 8b) which means “to accept (martyrdom, death, evils, etc.),” rather than E’s and D’s glossing of “receive” to emphasize the role Porphirius’ free choices take in determining his fate. In addition, the term undervonne is notable in that the verb, in the sense of accepting death (in the same definition in MED) is universally used in religious contexts: see Early English Homilies in Cotton Vespasian D XIV: “Gyf we god underfengen of Godes hande, hwy ne scule we eac yfel underfon?” (ed. Warner, p. 126, line 6) [If we accept goodness from God’s hand, why will we not also accept evil?]; HM 33.11: “He underveth blitheliche ant bicluppeth swoteliche the alre ladlukeste” [He (Christ) receives happily and embraces sweetly the loathsomest of all]; Ancrene Wisse: “Ant tah ne gruchede he nawt, ah underueng hit eadmodliche forte learen hise” (ed. Millett, p. 46, lines 1003–04) [And then he did not complain, but accepted it humbly to teach his own]; “Lofsong of our Louerde”: “Ich bidde the thet ich mote under uon in obedience bothe wone and weole” (in Þe Wohunge ed. Meredith, p. 13, lines 126–27) [I pray you that I might receive in obedience both poverty and wealth]. The point is that even though the evil Maxence demands that Porphirius stretch out his neck to accept his martyrdom, he still speaks using holy language; God himself uses Maxence and speaks through him.

55.1 hise. We have provided “men” in the translation, as the “hise” acts as a substantive adjective, and could be translated simply as “his own.” E provides “knights” (p. 112).

heolden ham togederes. Literally, “held themselves together”; i.e., “stayed together.”

55.2 alle clane bihefdet. The verb form (bihefdet) is the third person singular, which in the context of the sentence would imply that either Maxence beheaded them or, presumably, one of his henchmen. Since the subject of this verbal phrase is missing, we have translated as a passive.

55.3 nes hit thet te bodies neren ifatte. Literally, “it was not that the bodies were not fetched . . .” This use of the mutually canceling double negative represents a significant departure from the Old English use of double (or triple, or quadruple) negatives for emphasis, as D points out (p. 278n823). The use of the double negative here implies a kind of secretiveness, or slyness, to the action of the anonymous Christians who bury Porphirius and his knights.

57.2 mine feolahes the . . . virgines in Heovene. Katherine refers here to the 144,000 virgins who reside with Christ in Heaven, described in Apocalypse 14:1–5.

58.1 swithe with hire. This idiom, literally “quickly with her,” is glossed by D as “take her quickly” (p. 344). According to Dobson, this idiom means “take her quickly” but the “with” here suggests an ellipsis of the verb (p. 344).

59.1 bone. Here the word is a form of MED bane (n.) meaning, possibly “slayer, murderer” (sense 1a, which is paralleled by the Morton translation), “destroyer” (sense 2a), or “destruction . . . death, doom” (sense 3); based in Old English bana (BT, bana (n.)), meaning killer or manslayer, the word remains in the modern if slightly archaic sounding “bane.” However, also possible is a pun with the term bon (MED (n.2), sense 1a) meaning a prayer, or “a favor asked for” in prayer, which appears later in this sentence, where Katherine “buhe hire ant bede ane bone.” This reading of 59.1 makes sense since the sword, for Katherine, signifies both her bodily destruction as well as the answer to her “bone,” her prayer.

ha₂. The feminine singular pronoun, literally “she,” but in this context “it,” referring to the soul. The term is feminine as it translates Latin anima.

61.1 Mi lif ant . . . . nu icleopet me. The echoing here of language from the Canticle of Canticles remarks clearly on the association in the Middle Ages of heavenly love with romantic love. Numerous religious, male and female, refer to themselves as the “brides” of Christ and to Christ as the “bridegroom” or “lover.” See in particular the Shewings of Julian of Norwich, the Book of Margery Kempe, and, much later, the writings of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. For discussions of the bride of Christ or sponsa Christi motif see references in note 34.1.

61.3 Ant he, as . . . of thet heaved. See Cartwright, “Buchedd Catrin,” p. 58, for information on the association of Katherine with John the Baptist.

61.4 milc imenget with . . . hire hwite meithhad. For a discussion of this passage and Katherine’s connections with fertility, see Walsh, “Role of the Normans,” p. 27.

as pilegrims the wel witen. On Katherine and pilgrims, see Lewis, “Pilgrimage.”

61.4–7 beren forth hire bodi . . . . rihte bileave habbeth. See Walsh, “Role of the Normans,” for a discussion of the movement of some of Katherine’s relics from Sinai to Rouen (pp. 21–23) and on the need for faith in the occurrence of miracles (pp. 26–27). Lewis, “Pilgrimage,” also discusses the finger bones at Rouen (pp. 44–45). In “Buchedd Catrin,” Cartwright examines this section of the Middle Welsh versions, in which the healing oil flows from Katherine’s breast instead of from her bones (pp. 78–81).

62.1 i Novembres moneth the fif ant twentuthe dei. 25 November is Katherine’s feast day. According to the Gospels (see Matthew 27:46–50, Mark 15:34–37, and Luke 23:44–46), Christ died in the ninth hour, not the third (for a discussion see D, pp. 285–86n914–15).

under. Refers to the undern, the third canonical hour, the prayer said daily according to the ecclesiastical timetable, at approximately 9am.

THE MARTYRDOM OF SANCTE KATERINE: TEXTUAL NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: BT: Bosworth and Toller, Anglo-Saxon Dictionary; D: d’Ardenne and Dobson edition (1981); H: a series of sixteenth-century scribbles in various hands (see Introduction, p. 22); MS: Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Bodley 34 [base text]; R: British Library MS Royal A XXVIII; T: British Library MS Cotton Titus D XVIII.

Our edition is based on Bodley 34’s text; on those occasions when the MS reading has not sufficed, we have supplemented based on the Royal manuscript (R), or emended following d’Ardenne’s and Dobson’s edition from 1981 (D). However, in general we have worked to conserve B’s reading whenever possible. We refer readers who wish to compare all three manuscripts of SK to D’s edition, which presents an excellent triple text manuscript reading as well as an emended text of the Bodley 34 reading.

Title Fol. 1r is heavily damaged and stained almost entirely brown. The title is virtually illegible; we follow Ker’s reconstruction.

1.1 Costentin. The rubricated capital C is very faintly visible, 1.2 cm. The indicator letter has been cropped.

1.5 ter he etstutte. So R. MS is unreadable.

1.6 siker. So D, R, T. MS: the second letter is unreadable.

cume. So D, R, T. MS: cunne. MS’s scribe mistakenly writes an extra minim.

warth. So D, R, T. MS: war.

1.8 I. MS: the capital is badly faded.

of₂. So D, R, T. MS: unreadable. To the right of the line, the symbol ∞ is written in another hand.

2.1 I. MS: small rubricated capital, 6 mm.

2.2 offearet. MS: a inserted above the line.

3.1 Theos. MS: large rubricated capital Þ, 1.3 cm.

3.2 evening. So D, R, T. MS: euenig.

3.3 se. MS: inserted above the line.

ant cwethen. MS: this phrase is marked for insertion in the right margin.

menske. So D, R, T. MS: meske.

4.1 Thus. MS: small rubricated capital Þ, 7 mm.

wiste. MS: corrected from wil.

áá. MS: a. This word is usually spelled áá in MS. Because of this, and to avoid confusion with the definite article, we have silently emended those occurrences of a to áá throughout this volume.

bur. So D, R, T. MS: burh.

towart. MS: o inserted above the line.

aweariede. So D, following R’s awariede. MS: aweari, with the last three letters almost illegible.

of₂. MS: corrected from ef.

4.2 hwet₁. So D, R. MS: wet. T: hwat.

4.3 wreaththe. MS: wreadthe. The MS scribe often does not cross the top of ð, making it resemble d throughout the manuscript.

iwurthen. MS: iwurden; the ð has not been crossed. D, R, T: wurðen.

4.5 heathene. So D, T. MS: headene; another uncrossed ð. R: heðene.

4.7 yeinen. So MS, altered from geinen.

4.11 steavene. MS: decorative line filler in red follows this word to the end of the line.

5.1 Gretunge. MS: large rubricated capital G, 1 cm, with indicator letter cropped.

5.2 fordeth. So D, R, T. MS: forthdeth.

6.1 The. MS: large rubricated capital Þ, 2.6 cm, with indicator letter cropped.

ahten. So D, R, T. MS: ahte.

thurh. MS: þ₂ inserted above the line.

gold. MS: d inserted above the line.

6.2 sehen. So D, T. MS, R: schulen. See D, p. 213n101.

6.3 nawiht. So D. MS: nawhit. The scribe often inverts h and i in this and similar words. We have silently emended obvious examples of metathesis such as this.

6.6 gremieth. So D, R. MS: gremied, with uncrossed ð.

7.1 The. MS: small rubricated capital Þ, 7 mm.

swithe. So D, R, T. MS: swide, with uncrossed ð.

7.2 Thi. MS: small rubricated capital Þ, 6 mm, with indicator letter cropped.

7.3 lahe sprung. So MS, R, and T. D (p. 214–15n116) emends to lahet.

7.5 Me. MS: small rubricated capital M, 4 mm, with indicator letter cropped.

8.1 Theos. MS: large rubricated capital Þ, 2.1 cm, with indicator letter cropped.

9.1 The. MS: small rubricated capital Þ, 6 mm.

yung. So D, R, T. MS: gung.

9.2 forcwethest. So D, R, T. MS: forcwedest, with uncrossed ð.

undedliche. So R. MS: undeðliche. D, T: undeadliche. It seems likely here that the MS-scribe interchanged d and ð.

9.3 nu hwet. So D, following T’s nu hwat. MS: wet. R: hwet.

9.4 kine mede. So D, R, T. MS: þine mede.

9.5 dearneliche. So T. MS: dearliche. R: dernliche. D emends to dearnliche.

het ham. So D, R, T. MS: thet ha.

medin. So D, R. MS: meaðin. T: meden.

thet₂. So D. MS: þe. It appears that the MS-scribe has forgotten to cross the þ, his usual abbreviation for þet.

9.7 hethene. So R. MS: heaðne. D, T: heaðene.

9.8 Nat. MS: small rubricated capital N, 6 mm.

misseist. So D, R, T. MS: mis seist seist.

thu₃. So D. MS, R, T omit. See D, p. 219n166.

10.1 Ha. MS: small rubricated capital H, 6 mm.

10.4 wurthschipe. So D, R, T. MS: wu?rdschipe with the unclear letter probably otiose.

10.7 Beginning on fol. 5r is the first series of sixteenth-century scribblings (hereafter noted as hand “H”). The majority of these notations are most likely “pen-trials made in a lawyer’s office,” most likely somewhere in Herefordshire (Ker, p. xiii). Halfway down the page in the right margin is Th, which is repeated further below, along with a few other scribbles and This in written at the bottom of the page.

argentum. So D, R, T. MS: ar.

10.8 Godd. So D, R, T. MS: goþ.

10.9 sihthe. So D, R, T. MS: siðhðe.

10.11 wurthschipe. So D, R, T. MS: wurdschipe; ð is uncrossed.

11.3 Thes. MS: small rubricated capital Þ, 6 mm.

long. So D, R, T. MS: log. The scribe likely forgot a macron indicating n.

13.2 tuketh. So D, R, T. MS: tuket.

seith. So D, R, T. MS: seid.

13.3 yef. So D, R, T. MS: gef.

13.6 runes. So D, R, T. MS: run, with a stroke through the following ampersand that could signify -es; D reads it as an otiose mark.

14.4 stod. So D. MS: stoð, with a very faded stroke on the d-ascender signifying ð.

14.5 Theos. MS: small rubricated capital Þ, 8 mm.

14.7 nawiht. So D, R, T. MS: nawhit. Metathesis corrected for sense.

15.1 Crist. MS: small rubricated capital C, 5 mm.

Godd. In the top margin of fol. 6r, H: This indenture made the xii daye of July in the fowerth yere of the Rey (see Ker, p. xiii).

sculde. MS: sclude. We have emended the metathesis. D, R, T: schulde.

swete₂. MS: swete swete. D, R, T: swucche.

yef. So D, R. MS: gef. T: ʒif.

15.2 worlde world. So D, R, T. MS: world.

15.3 Nefde. MS: small rubricated capital N, 5 mm.

16.6 strengthe. MS: strengðedeð.

mot. MS, R, T omit. Emended for sense following D (see p. 223n262).

meidnes. So D, T. MS: meiðdnes. R: meidenes.

lives. So MS, corrected from liven.

buten. So D. R, T omit. MS: livesi. D’s emendation allows the phrase to translate as “life without end” (see pp. 223–24n262).

16.9 Theos. MS: small rubricated capital Þ, 1.2 cm.

abad. So D, R, T. MS: abald.

16.13 unimete. So D, R. MS: unimeð. T: unimet. See D, p. 225n275.

16.14 heo. So D, R, T. MS omits. See D, p. 225n275.

hercnende. So T. MS, R: hercnede. D emends to hercneð.

16.16 seggen. MS: decorative line filler in red follows this word to the end of the line.

17.1 Thu. MS: large rubricated capital Þ, 2.1 cm.

18.1 thuhte. So D, R, T. MS: þuþte.

18.4 dei. So R. T: dai. MS, D: de.

19.1 Nu. MS: large rubricated capital N, 8 mm.

lihtliche. MS: lihteliche. D, R, T: lutel.

19.3 the₃. So D, based on T’s þeo. MS, R: þet.

nomecuthest. So D, R, T. MS: nomecudest; the ð is uncrossed.

talien. So D, R, T. MS: talien, corrected to tallien, with i inserted above the line in red.

of₂. So D, R, T. MS: on.

20.1 nu. So D, R, T. MS omits.

21.1 Ich. MS: large rubricated capital I, 1.1 cm.

glistinde. So D, R, T. MS: gllistinde.

nawt. So D, R, T. MS: nawit.

21.2 Aristotles. So D, R. MS: aristocles. T: aristoles.

wreothieth. So D, R, T. MS: wreoðien on. See D, p. 228n318.

21.3 ich beo. So D, R, T. MS omits. We emend to provide a subject.

ilearet. So MS, altered from ileared.

ham₂. So D, R, T. MS omits.

21.3–28.1 After fol. 7v, three leaves have clearly been torn out of the manuscript. We have supplied the missing text from R.

21.5 hefde ham bihaten. So D, T. R omits.

21.7 se luthere ilatet. So D. See p. 230n333. R: he luðere ahte. T: þe luðere lihte.

21.10 soth mon ant soth Godd. So D, T. R: soth godd and soth mon. See D, p. 230n345.

21.15 adun. So D, T. R omits. See D, p. 230n350.

theo. So D, T. R: þet.

riht leveth and luvieth. So D, T. R: luvieð riht and leveð. See D, p. 230n351.

23.1 dustest. So D, T. R: dudest. See D, p. 231n362.

the₃. So D. R, T omit.

His. So D, T. R omits.

23.2 His. So D, T. R: is.

23.4 hit Him. So D, T. R omits.

erveth. R: herveth.

to₂. So D, T. R omits.

duhti. So D. R, T omit. See D, p. 232n370–71.

23.8 leome. So D, T. R: leomen. See D, pp. 233–34n385.

23.10 weneth. R: ne weneth.

23.11 thes. So D, T. R: wes.

euch. So D, T. R: eveh.

23.12 makieth. Emended from R’s maket to agree with men. The phrase miracles thet his men maket yette reads in T as follows: miracles thet beth maked yet. In either reading the phrase is problematic; D emends to miracles þet [bi] his men beoð [i]maket ʒette, which more closely paraphrases the Latin “que si ab eo gesta non credis, fieri ab hominibus in nomine eius, uel certe multotiens facta, cognosce” (see p. 234n394–95).

24.6 onont. So D, T. R: on nont.

25.1 leven. So D, T. R: ileven.

25.3 helpen ant beon. So D, T. R: helpen oðre ant beon.

26.1 wult. R: t inserted above the line.

26.2 ne sorhe uppon . . . te wa wente. So D, T (though D emends wente to wende). R omits. See D, p. 236n427.

26.3 He₁. So D, T. R: Godd. See D, p. 237n432.

26.4 his. So D, T. R omits. See D, p. 237n434–35.

26.5 forto. So D, T. R: to.

moncun. So D, T. R: mon to.

26.7 misdude — tholede. So D, T. R: misdude bette ant eode on bote ant þolede, most likely looking ahead to the bette ant eode on bote of the next line.

26.8 ibet. So D, T. R: ibroken. See D, p. 238n445.

deathe to live thet ne dredeth na deth. So D, T. R: deaðe þet ne dredeð na deð to live. See D, p. 238n446.

26.9 Him we mahen. R: we mahten him; the scribe has indicated that him should precede we. We have emended mahten to mahen following D and T.

26.10 he eaver. So D, T. R: heaver.

26.11 Godd. R: we Godd.

swithe. So D, T. R: swide, with uncrossed ð.

27.1 ant alle his feren. So D, T. R omits. See D, p. 238n456–57.

atine. R: atint. T: a dint. D writes that this word is “one of the trickiest problems in the text” (p. 239n457). d’Ardenne and Dobson choose this form because it accords with tavelin and because it is closest to the recorded form. See their lengthy discussion on pp. 238–40n457.

27.2 agelwede. R: ageide. As it appears in the manuscripts, ageide in R and agide in T, this word is unidentifiable; thus D follows the Old English word agelwan (BT, a-gelwan (v.)). See D’s detailed discussion on p. 240n458.

28.1 Thes. MS: large rubricated capital Þ, 2 cm.

thet. So D, R, T. MS omits.

dead. So D. MS, T: deað. R: ded.

28.5 unstrenget. So D, R. MS: unstreged. T: unstrengðet.

28.7 ikimet. So T. MS, D, R: bikimet. We have emended following T’s close spelling to akimed (see OED akimed (adj.)).

ut. So D. MS, R, T omit. D argues that this must have been omitted by eyeskip (p. 243n473).

29.1 Ontswerede. MS: large rubricated capital O, 7 mm.

nohwer. MS: h inserted above the line.

al tom. So R, T. MS: acomen. D emends to atomet.

turnde. So D, R, T. MS: turde.

29.2 mot₂. So T. MS: us acomen. R omits. D eme nds to us atomet. We have adopted T’s reading following the Old English phrase habban gemot (“hold a council”); compare to D, pp. 245–46n483–84, who compares the Old English but ultimately emends; see also note 29.1 to al tom, above. See also BT, ge-mót (n.).

29.5 cutheth. So D, R, T. MS: cudeth.

29.8 wult. So D, T. MS, R: wult nu, repeating the nu at the beginning of the line.

30.1 The. MS: large rubricated capital Þ, 3.5 cm. The indicator letter has been cropped.

31.3 fur. So D, R, T. MS omits.

32.1 Me. MS: small rubricated capital M, 6 mm.

32.3 iwemmet. So D, T. MS: iweumet. The MS scribe probably missed a minim. See D, p. 249n519. R: iweommet.

her. MS: her thet ha.

lufsume. So D, T. MS: leufsume. See D, p. 249n520. R: lufsum.

turnden. So D, R, T. MS: turden.

33.1 Tha. MS: small rubricated capital Þ, 1.2 cm.

33.2 wurthschipe. MS: decorative line filler in red follows this word to the end of the line.

34.1 Katerine. MS: large rubricated capital K, 1.4 cm.

34.2 thin. So D, R, T. MS: thing.

34.3 áá. MS omits. D, R: a. T: ai.

34.5 wurthshipe. So MS, with h₂ altered from c.

34.8 buve. So D, T. MS: bune. R: bunen.

35.1 The. MS: small rubricated capital Þ, 1.2 cm. The indicator letter is cropped.

35.4 hit lihtliche. So D, R, T. MS: hihtliche, with h₂ altered from t.

35.5 kasten. So R, T. MS: kestten. D: kesten.

nowther. So D, R, T. MS: nowder, with uncrossed ð.

tweolf. MS: o inserted above the line.

36.1 Bicom. MS: large rubricated capital B, 9 mm.

36.3 wurthliche. So D, R, T. MS: wurliche.

hire₃. So D, R, T. MS omits.

36.4 Ant. So D, R, T. MS: And þet.

thus. MS: originally omitted, but inserted in the left margin.

On fol. 10v, bottom margin, H: A medycyn for, in heavily smeared ink and upside down.

37.1 Porphire. MS: space has been left for a large capital P which was never inserted, but the indicator letter in the left margin is clear.

37.3 smeal. MS: a inserted above the line.

37.5 of hire. So D, R, T. MS: of hire of hire.

37.6 the. So D, T. MS: þe þe. R omits.

37.8 wurthschipe. So D, T. MS: wurdschipe, with uncrossed ð. R: wurschipe.

38.1 Feng. So D, R, T. MS: Wende. D argues that MS’s wende is the result of misreading (p. 254n598).

worldliche. So D, T. MS: worlðliche, with l₁ inserted above the line. R: worldlich.

38.2 constu. MS: space has been left for a large capital C that was never inserted. Most likely the paragraph break here would have indicated a pause and new emphasis on the main body of Katherine’s sermon, since the text would probably have been read aloud. We have continued the paragraph and indicated emphasis with a colon.

deorewurthe. So D, R. MS: deorepurðe. T: derewurðe.

schene. So D. MS, R, T: schenre. All three manuscripts have the comparative schenre, but according to D, it makes better sense to avoid the comparative here. D also points out the R scribe’s attempt to correct the error, by writing schenre þen eni ʒimstanes. See p. 255n604.

38.3 slec. So D, R, T. MS: slech, with the c inserted above the line. Possibly the MS scribe forgot to cancel the h. D emends this to follow the other manuscripts and provide a discussion of the etymology of this unusual word (p. 256n609).

o. MS: os. D, R, T: of.

38.4 other₂. So D, T. MS: oder, with uncrossed ð. R: oðere.

longunge. MS: lungunge. We have emended based on the sense of the line in MS, where the blessed are described as not lacking anything thet ha wulleth other mahe wilnin. R: linunge. T: blinnunge. D emends to linnunge; see D’s discussion on emending, p. 257n614.

38.7 linneth. So D, R. MS: limieð, perhaps an error in strokes, but also the scribe’s difficulty with this suggests that he may not have been familiar with this word (D, p. 258n622). T: blimneð.

ne₂. So D, R, T. MS: ne ne.

leasteth. MS: a inserted above the line.

38.10 Wealdent. MS: a inserted above the line.

39.1 Porphire. MS: space has been left for a large capital P that was never inserted.

39.2 Porphire. MS: Porhphire, with h₁ canceled.

39.3 therin is al mi rihte bileave. Our emendation is based on T’s þer is al mi rihte

bileaue. MS: þear as me þear as me rihte bileaue. D emends to thear as me [learde me mi]. R: þer as mi rihte bileaue schawde me.

39.4 isette. So D, following T. MS: isete. R: iset.

39.6 haldeth. So D, R, T. MS: halðeð.

blisse. MS: blissen.

39.7 schal. So D, R, T. MS omits.

40.1 Crist. MS: space has been left for a large capital C that was never inserted.

40.2 Bihalt. So D. MS: Bihaldt, with the dt ligatured. R, T: bihald.

40.3 Healent. MS: e₂ inserted above the line.

nowcin. So D, R, T. MS: newcin.

40.5 hwucche. So MS. D: hwucche duheðe. See also the corresponding explanatory note.

41.1 Under. MS: space has been left for a large capital U that was never inserted.

42.1 This. MS: space has been left for a large capital Þ that was never inserted.

mi₃. So D, R, T. MS: ni.

42.2 Top margin of fol. 13r. H: This byll mad fo.

43.1 Hwil. MS: space has been left for a large capital H that was never inserted.
weol. So D, R, T. MS. wweol.

43.5 pikes₂. So R. MS and T omit. D makes a compelling argument to emend to spikes kenre (p. 265n704). However, we have decided to emend our text from R based on the lack of evidence for the existence of spikes before the fourteenth century (with the exception of two occurrences in the late thirteenth-century Middle English Sea Terms [see MED spike (n.1), sense a]). “Pikes,” however, is well-attested in early Middle English; in particular, see the Worcester fragment of Body and Soul where it is specifically designated as an instrument of torture: “Nu me wulleþ prikien þeo pikes inne helle” (see MED pike (n.1), sense a).

44.1 This. MS: space has been left for a large capital Þ that was never inserted.

swuch. So D, R, T. MS: swuhc.

turnden either. So D, R, T. MS: turden eider. Both ðs are uncrossed.

turnden₂. So D, R, T. MS: turden, with the ð uncrossed.

kahten. So R. MS: chachten. D has emended to cahten, following T.

othre₂. So D, T. MS: odre with the ð uncrossed. R: oðer.

44.3 stille. So D, R, T. MS omits.

Almihti. So D, R, T. MS: al mihte.

menske. So D, R, T. MS: meske.

thet₁. So D; see p. 268n724. MS, R, T omit.

smeortliche. So D. MS: smeordtliche. R, T: smertliche.

45.2 then. MS: þene with final e canceled out.

Healent. MS: e₂ inserted above the line.

45.3 hefde. So D, R, T. MS: hef.

46.1 The. MS: space has been left for a large capital Þ that was never inserted.

46.2 ha. So D, T. MS, R omit.

wreastlin. MS: a inserted above the line.

Wealdent. So D, T. MS: welalden. R: weldent.

46.3 worldliche. So D, R, T. MS: worldlich.

46.6 isihen. So D, T. MS: isehene. R: isehen. Emended for sense to mean “have journeyed.” As D points out, it would have been easy for the scribe to be distracted by the isehen that appears in the line above or sehen in the line below to produce a form meaning “were seen” (p. 272n750).

47.1 Godd. So D, R, T. MS: goðd.

47.3 heom. So D, R. MS: ha?m, most likely either a garbled a or a midword correction from ham. The third letter is unreadable. See D’s discussion on pp. 272–73n756, where they argue that heom is what the scribe intended to write. T: ham.

48.2 Hu. MS: space has been left for a large capital H that was never inserted.

dotest tu. So D, after R’s and T’s dotestu. MS: dutest tu.

49.2 weane. So D, R, T. MS: wene.

50.1 Sone. MS: space has been left for a large capital S that was never inserted.

50.2 deofles. So D. MS: deoflel, though the l looks like it could have been altered to or from an s. R: deoules. T: deoueles.

hire forth. So D. MS, R, T omit.

bilimeth. So D, R, T. MS: bilimieð.

flesch. So R. MS, T: vles (vles=fles). We have emended to flesch for ease of comprehension.

slakie. So T. MS, R: earni. D emends to earhi, citing a misreading of the exemplar (see p. 274n781).

na. MS: inserted above the line.

51.1 Ne. MS: space has been left for a large capital N that was never inserted.

deorewurthe. So D, R. MS: deorewrðe. T: derewurðe.

51.2 linunge. So R. MS: longunge. T: ende. D emends to linnunge.

52.1 istrenget. So D, R, T. MS: istreget.

52.4 In left margin of fol. 15v, H: very faint, illegible writing, most likely Latin.

53.1 Me. MS: space has been left for a large capital M that was never inserted.

thet me. MS, R, T omit. D adds this for sense (see p. 276n804).

53.2 Sathanesse. So MS. D: Sathanase, following T (see p. 277n808). Rather than implying a female Satan (as the -esse at first glance indicates), satanasse and sathanasse are common variants of the word satanas (see MED (n.)). See the Sayings of St. Bede, line 235: “If ʒe miʒtten at-blenche from þe sori satanasse”; and the Quatrefoil of Love, line 96: “Sary sathanasse soughte þam belyue, for to wakken oure waa.” According to the MED, MS’s Katherine is the only text with the variant of sathanesse.

53.5 eorthe. So D, R, T. MS: eorde.

54.1 Nu. MS: space has been left for a large capital N that was never inserted.

55.2 bihefdet. So MS, corrected from bihefden, with t inserted above canceled n.

55.4 forwurthen. So D, following R. MS: forwurdthen. T: forlosen.

56.1 Theyet. MS: space has been left for a large capital Þ that was never inserted.

thurst. So D, R, T. MS omits.

56.2 ant₂. So D, T. MS, R omit.

57.1 Nai. MS: space has been left for a large capital N that was never inserted.

58.1 The. MS: space has been left for a large capital Þ that was never inserted.

nuste. So D, R, T. MS: and nuste.

ehsihthe. So D, R. MS: hehsihðe. T: sihðe.

58.2 heathene. So D, T. MS: headene, with an uncrossed ð. R: heðene.

58.4 Lauerd. MS: space has been left for a large capital L that was never inserted. The indicator letter appears twice (ll) in the left margin.

59.4 ileavet. So T. MS: ileveð. R: ilenet. D emends to ileuet.

59.7 wone. So D, T. MS: weone. R: weane.

60.1 Nefde. MS: space has been left for a large capital N that was never inserted.

61.1 Heo. MS: large rubricated capital H, 2.1 cm. The indicator letter has been cropped. This capital and the next are the work of the second rubricator, using a much better quality ink.

61.7 botneth. MS: a letter has been erased after this word.

62.1 Thus. MS: large rubricated capital Þ, 2.5 cm.