M.10.30KD.10.28Þilke þat mooste goode god ȝyeueþM.10.30: M's a-verse is unique among B manuscripts. All others begin Thilke þat god; WHmCr continue gyueþ moost while OC2 have most good gyueþ. leest good þei deleþ
Cr1.10.30KD.10.28 Thylke that god geueth moste , leest good they deleth
W.10.30KD.10.28 Thilke þat god gyueþ moost . leest good þei deleþ W.10.30:nota
C.10.30KD.10.28 Thilk þat god most greueth · lest good · thay deleth
G.11.30KD.10.28 thylke þat god most gyuvethe leyst good they delenynedele[n]
O.10.30KD.10.28Þilk þat god moost good gyueþO.10.30: O alone has moost good gyueþ; variants include moost gyueth (YGBL), gyueþ moost (WHmCr), most good ȝeueþ (C2), most greueth (CR), moost greve (F), and god yeueþ (M). leeste good þei delen
R.10.30KD.10.28 Þilk þat god most greuethR.10.30:
For alpha's greueth, beta reads, more probably, gyueth
(though manuscript C agrees with alpha). The C version tries to resolve
this difference between greueth and gyueþ by rewriting
the line so as to include both words (a timid choice paralleled elsewhere in C), and in the process makes a line that is inferior to both earlier versions.
Evidently, by the time he was laboring on the C revision, Langland had
forgotten which of these two variants he had composed and which one was scribal. Or, having
perhaps written both himself at different times, he had forgotten which one was supposed to
supersede the other. lest gode þei deleth .
F.7.29KD.10.28Þo þat god moost greve mest good he hem deleþ.F.7.29: A space was left for a medial solidus after greve, but it was not written. F's gap may indicate some other dissatisfaction with his exemplar, for his line is unique. Bx probably reads "Thilke þat god moost gyueþ leest good þei deleþ," though manuscript C agrees with alpha in reading "most
greueth" in place of "moost gyueþ."