M.6.317KD.6.310But it beM.6.317: M shares the reading it be with F; other B manuscripts have if it be or omit the phrase. fressh flessh . ...?...?...or fissh rostedM.6.317: M's reading of rosted is not shared by other B manuscripts, most of which read fryed. or bakenM.6.317: This half line is written over a significantly longer erasure.
Cr1.6.316KD.6.310 But if it be freshe flesh , other fyshe fried ether or bake
W.6.317KD.6.310 But if it be fressh flessh ouþer fissh : fryed ouþer ybake W.6.317:nota
C.6.305KD.6.310 But fresshe flessh oþer fisshe · fried oþer bake
O.6.317KD.6.310But fresch flesch oþer fisch fryed oþer bakenO.6.317: O alone has fryed oþer baken; variants include fryed ouþer ybake (WBo), fryed othur bake (HmCr3YCBmL), Fried oþer bakon (C2), fryed or bake (GCot), fried ether or bake (Cr12), rosted or baken (M), and omission.
R.6.315KD.6.310-311 But if it be fresche flesche other fische
for chillyng of his mawe .R.6.315: R and F run this line of archetypal B together with the
next by splicing this a-verse, But . . . other fische (= KD6.310) to the
b-verse of the next line (= KD6.311), for chillyng of here mawe. In fact,
R is the only B witness (despite its conflation of two lines) to read
for chillyng of his mawe—the reading of the X
family of C and of four A manuscripts (including
Kane's copytext, T). Most of the other B witnesses attest hir(e), the predominant reading in the A-version copies and in
the P family of C.
F.5.965KD.6.310-311But it be hoot flesh & freshȝ / for flasshyng of here mawe.F.5.965: Alpha omitted a b-verse and an a-verse, creating one line of Bx's two. Bx reads as follows:
But if it be fressh flessh ouþer fissh fryed ouþer ybake
And þat chaud and plus chaud for chillynge of hir mawe.
R preserved chillyng, but F characteristically regularizes the alliteration by substituting flasshyng.