Early English Alliterative Poems of the West Midland Dialect

438 Pages·1864·22.637 MB·English

by  Richard Morris (ed.)

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COPIED AND EDITED FROM A UNIQUE MANUSCRIPT IN THE LIBRARY OF THE
BRITISH MUSEUM, COTTON, NERO Ax.
INTRODUCTION, NOTES, AND GLOSSARIAL INDEX.
RICHARD
MORRIS,
EDITOR OP "LIBEK CURE COCORUM," AND RICHARD HAMPOLE's "tttlCKE 07
CONSCIENCE," ETC., ETC.,
MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OP THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
[gtanxb (Bhitizn, $efttacfr, 1869.]
LONDON
:
PUBLISHED FOE THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT
SOCIETY,
BY TRUBNER & CO., 8 and 60, PATERNOSTER ROW.
MDCCCLXIV.
n
s
III
1.
HERTFORD
:
PRINTED l'.V STEPHEN A0STIK.
PREFACE
The following poems are taken from a well known manuscript
A
in the Cottonian collection, marked Nero x, which also con-
tains, in the same handwriting and dialect, a metrical romance,1
wherein the adventures of Sir Gawayne with the "Knight in
Green," are most ably and interestingly described.
Unfortunately nothing can be affirmed with any certainty
concerning the authorship of these most valuable and inter-
esting compositions. The editor of " Syr Gawayn and the
Green Knight" considers that Huchowne, a supposed2 Scotch
maker ofthe fourteenth centurv, has the best claimstobe recoo--
nised as the author, inasmuch as he is specially referred to by
Wyntown as the writer of the Gret gest of Arthure and the
Awntyre of Gawayne.
I do not think that any certain conclusions are to be Srawn
from the Scotch historian's assertion. It is well known that
more versifiers than one during the fourteenth century at-
tempted romance composition in the English language, having
for their theme the knightly deeds of Arthur or Sir Gawayne.
These they compiled from French originals, from which they
selected the most striking incidents and those best suited to
an Englishman's taste for the marvellous. We are not sur-
1 Editedby SirFredericMaddenfortheBannatyne Club, undertbetitleof"Syr
Gawaynandthe GreneKnyjt," andbymefortbeEarlyEnglish TextSoc, 1865.
2 WyntownnowhereassertsthatHuchowneisa Scotchman.
b
VI PREFACE.
prised, then, at finding so many romance poems treating of
the exploits of the same hero, and laying claim to be con-
sidered as original productions. In Scotland, Huchowne's
works might no doubt have been regarded as the standard
romances of the period, but that they were the only English
(jests is indeed very doubtful.
The Early English alliterative romance, entitled the Morte
Art////re, published from a manuscript in Lincoln Cathedral by
Mr. Halliwell,1 is considered by Sir F. Madden to be the veri-
table gest ofArthure composed by Huchowne. An examination
of this romance does not lead me to the same conclusion, unless
HuchownewasaMidlandman, forthe poemisnot writteninthe
old Scotch dialect,2 but seems to have been originally composed
in one ofthe Northumbriandialectsspoken South of the Tweed.3
The manuscript from which Mr. Halliwell has taken his text
is not the original copy, nor even a literal transcript of it. It
exhibits certain orthographical and grammatical peculiarities
unknown to the Northumbrian dialect which have been intro-
duced by a Midland transcriber, who has here and there taken
1 EditedforE. E. T. Soc. by Rev. G.G. Perry,—M.'A.
2 Thisisevidentfromthefollowingparticulars:
I. In old Scotch manuscripts we find the guttural gh (or j) represented byeh;
thus, aght, laght, saght, wight, are the English forms which, in the Scotch ortho-
graphy, become aucht (owed), laucht (seized), saucht (peace), wicht (active). It is
theformerorthography, however,thatprevailsintheMorteArthure.
II. We miss tbe Scotch use of (1) -is or -ys, for-esor-s, inthepluralnumber,
andof possessive casesofnouns, andinthe person endings of the present tense in-
dicative mood of verbs; (2) -it or -yt, for -ed or d, in the preterites or passive
participlesofregular verbs.
III. There is a total absence of the well-known Scotch forms begouth (began),
sa{so),sic(such),thro thorow(through). Insteadofthesebigau,so,syehe,thrughe
(thurgh)areemployed. SeePrefaceto Hampolc's PrickeofConscience, pp. via. viii.
3 This is shown bythe frequent employment of -es as the person endingof the
verb in the present tense, plural number. The corresponding Southern verbal in-
flexion -eth. never occurs; while the Midland -en is onlyoccasionallymet with in
the third person plural present, and has been introducedbyalatercopyist. There
are other characteristics, such as the predominance of words containing the A.S.
longa; as home (home),stane(stone), thra (bold), walde (would), etc.; thefrequent
use ofthir (these), tha (the, those), etc.