fol. 70r (cont.)I
Incipit Passus
.xiijus.
ANdF.13.1: The initial is blue, flourished with green and red and with red flourishes extending halfway up the left margin. whan y hadde longe leyn / y lawhte to me herte.
fol. 70vI
¶ I am feythȝ quod þat freeke / it falleþ meF.13.10: Alpha and most C manuscripts have me, though R and C have it after nowht. Beta lacks it. nowht to lyȝe.
Pater is his propre name / on persone by hym-selue.F.13.19: The syntactic confusion apparent here is caused by F's omission through eye-skip of three lines after line 19. Bx reads as follows:
The secounde of þat sire is Sothfastnesse filius
Wardeyn of þat wit haþ was euere wiþout gynnyng
The þridde highte þe holi goost a persone by hymselue.
The secounde of þat sire is Sothfastnesse filius
Wardeyn of þat wit haþ was euere wiþout gynnyng
The þridde highte þe holi goost a persone by hymselue.
F.13.20KD.16.189
Þat al þe lyght & þe lyf / on londe & on watre.F.13.20: The syntactic confusion here began in alpha. Beta witnesses read "The light of al þat lif haþ a londe and a watre." R also
omits the verb, reading "Þat alle þe liȝt of þe lif ...."
F.13.28KD.16.197
Þat is childur of charite / & holy chirche þe Moodir.F.13.28: The scribe initially wrote a lower case <m> and added a flourish to capitalize it.
& patriarchis & prophetis / & a-poostlys were þo barnes.F.13.29: An alpha lection. Beta manuscripts read children.
& cristys cristendom / & alleF.13.30: Alpha has alle, which is absent in beta. The same variants appear in C manuscripts. cristene holy chirche.
In menynge þat a man muste / inF.13.31: Alpha and Cr have in. Beta manuscripts have on. oo god be-leve.
¶ Þat hisisF.13.47: In view of the evidence for loss of word-initial aspirate /h/ in the scribe's dialect, his may represent an inverse spelling for is rather than scribal error or sophistication. creator was creature / to knowe what was boþe.
fol. 71rI
¶ Þus been þre persones oon / parfyȝtly þorghȝ manhode.F.13.53: F's reading is unique, and Bx is corrupt. Beta manuscripts read: "Thus in þre persones is parfitliche manhede." R has "Þus in thre persons is perfitliche
puir manhode."
Þat is man & his make / & moyllere hereF.13.54: Alpha and L have here, lacking in beta manuscripts. childryn.
F.13.68KD.16.234
I am ful sekir my sowle is þere / & myn sones boþe.F.13.68: F has significantly revised this line. Bx reads as follows: "I am ful siker in soule þerof and my sone boþe."
Bleddyn blood for þat lordis love / in hope blysse to wynne.F.13.71: F's b-verse is unique. Bx reads "and hope to blisse þe tyme."
& to me & to myn ysseue / ȝitF.13.75: The <ȝ> is larger than usual and perhaps should have been rendered as <Ȝ>. moore he me grauntyd.
Þus haue y been his herawd / heere & eek in helleF.13.82: F omits two lines, creating syntactic confusion. The missing verses in Bx read:
And conforted many a careful þat after his comynge waiten
And þus I seke hym he seide for I herde seyn late.
And conforted many a careful þat after his comynge waiten
And þus I seke hym he seide for I herde seyn late.
Seyden as y seide eer / þat he schal have hem alle.F.13.85: F's reading is unique. Beta reads "Seide þat he seiȝ here þat sholde saue vs alle." Alpha is responsible for substituting
seide for seiȝ and hem for vs.
Ecce agnus dei . ecce qui tollit peccata mundi.F.13.86: F and Hm alone complete the Latin quotation. Bx ends at dei &c.
fol. 71vI
Ne no barn be oure borghȝ / ne bryng vs fram his danger.F.13.97: Alpha omitted the following line attested by beta manuscripts: "Out of þe poukes pondfold no maynprise may vs fecche."
¶ Allas þowhte y þoo / þat is / a long a-bydynge These three lines are from alpha. They are properly judged by Kane and Donaldson as well as by Schmidt to be spurious,
probably motivated by censorship of material deemed to be theologically dangerous. Beta manuscripts read:
Allas I seide þat synne so longe shal lette
The myght of goddes mercy þat myȝte vs alle amende
I wepte for hise wordes wiþ þat sauȝ I anoþer
Rapeliche renne forþ þe riȝte wey he wente.
The last line was omitted by alpha. The reading of alpha is not entirely clear, since F differs significantly from R which reads as follows:
Allas thouȝte I þo þat is a longe a-bydynge.
And sued hym for he softe ȝede.
Þat he toek vs as tit ac trewly to telle.
Allas I seide þat synne so longe shal lette
The myght of goddes mercy þat myȝte vs alle amende
I wepte for hise wordes wiþ þat sauȝ I anoþer
Rapeliche renne forþ þe riȝte wey he wente.
The last line was omitted by alpha. The reading of alpha is not entirely clear, since F differs significantly from R which reads as follows:
Allas thouȝte I þo þat is a longe a-bydynge.
And sued hym for he softe ȝede.
Þat he toek vs as tit ac trewly to telle.
& whan it ys / a-selyd soo / sathenas haþ lost his power. These lines differ greatly between alpha and beta witnesses as well as within alpha. Beta manuscripts read:
And whan it is enseled so I woot wel þe soþe
That Luciferis lordshipe laste shal no lenger.
R supplies the b-verse "sathanas power schal last no lenger" for the first line, but has a hypometrical following line: "And þus my lettre meneth." W. W. Skeat, The Vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman, in Three Parallel Texts (Oxford: Clarendon, 1886): 2.416, proposed that FR's exemplar must have read:
And when it is aseled so Sathanas power
Schal last no lenger and þus my letter meneth.
And whan it is enseled so I woot wel þe soþe
That Luciferis lordshipe laste shal no lenger.
R supplies the b-verse "sathanas power schal last no lenger" for the first line, but has a hypometrical following line: "And þus my lettre meneth." W. W. Skeat, The Vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman, in Three Parallel Texts (Oxford: Clarendon, 1886): 2.416, proposed that FR's exemplar must have read:
And when it is aseled so Sathanas power
Schal last no lenger and þus my letter meneth.
& þus myn lettre meneþ / men mowe knowe ytF.13.115: The scribe wrote an otiose mark above the <y>. alle.
F.13.116KD.17.10
¶ Let see þat lettreF.13.116: Alpha is responsible for "þat lettre." Beta and C manuscripts have "þi lettres." quod y we myghte þe lawes knowe.
F.13.120KD.17.14
¶ Þis was þe tixt trewly / y took þer-to good keepe.F.13.120: F's b-verse is unique. Beta manuscripts have "I took ful good yeme." R reads "gome" for beta's "yeme."
fol. 72rI
Shal neuere doF.13.125: The scribe (though it is possibly some later revisor) may perhaps here be seen revising the exemplar. The characters <uyl>
are erased after initial <de>. The <e> was converted to <o> by scraping. Other B witnesses read "Shal neuere deuel hym dere
ne deeþ in soule greue." hym dere / ne deuel his soule greve.
F.13.144KD.17.38
& sytthe ryght as my-selue / so to loven al þe peple.F.13.144: Alpha omits eleven lines. Beta witnesses read:
The gome þat gooþ wiþ o staf he semeþ in gretter heele
Than he þat gooþ wiþ two staues to sighte of vs alle
And riȝt so bi þe roode Reson me sheweþ
It is lighter to lewed men o lesson to knowe
Than for to techen hem two and to hard to lerne þe leeste
It is ful hard for any man on Abraham bileue
And wel awey worse ȝit for to loue a sherewe
It is lighter to leeue in þre louely persones
Than for to louye and lene as wel lorels as lele
Go þi gate quod I to Spes so me god helpe
Tho þat lernen þi lawe wol litel while vsen it.
The gome þat gooþ wiþ o staf he semeþ in gretter heele
Than he þat gooþ wiþ two staues to sighte of vs alle
And riȝt so bi þe roode Reson me sheweþ
It is lighter to lewed men o lesson to knowe
Than for to techen hem two and to hard to lerne þe leeste
It is ful hard for any man on Abraham bileue
And wel awey worse ȝit for to loue a sherewe
It is lighter to leeue in þre louely persones
Than for to louye and lene as wel lorels as lele
Go þi gate quod I to Spes so me god helpe
Tho þat lernen þi lawe wol litel while vsen it.
Boþe þe heroud / & spesF.13.150: F alone translates the correctly alliterating hope into Latin. / & me / he mette a toonesat oones
& as nakyd as þe nedle / & noon helpe a-bowten.F.13.154: Alpha is responsible for the omission of hym following abouten. F's form with final <n> is unique, providing a final unstressed syllable for the b-verse.
¶ Feyȝþ hadde first syghte onF.13.155: Alpha is responsible for on. Beta manuscripts have of. hym / but he fleyȝ a-syȝde.
F.13.160KD.17.65
Dredfully by þis day / as a doke doþ fram þeF.13.160: The scribe initially wrote pe and corrected the <p> to <þ>. fawcoun.
He lyghte doun of Lyard / & ladde hym in his handis.F.13.162: Alpha is responsible for plural handis. Beta manuscripts have the singular, and the same variations appear in C.
fol. 72vI
& he took hym two pens / forF.13.174: An otiose curl is written above the <r>. liflode as it wore.F.13.174: H. R. L. Beadle, "The Medieval Drama of East Anglia: Studies in Dialect, Documentary Records and Stagecraft," unpub.
D. Phil. thesis, University of York, 1977, p. 69, lists wore for "were" as a feature of Norfolk dialects. See also E. Björkmann, Scandinavian Loan Words in Middle English, Studien zur englischen Philologie, 7, 11 (1900-1902), p. 85; and G. Försstrom, The Verb "To Be" in Middle English: A Survey of the Forms, Lund Studies in English, 15 (Lund: C.W.K. Glerrup, 1948), pp. 119-20.
& Spes sparklyF.13.179: This unusual form appears also in R, probably reflecting sprakliche in alpha. Compare 14.12 for similar variants. Beta witnesses read spakliche. hym spedde / speden if he myghte.
& he grauntyd me / y to be his goome / graunt mercy y seide.F.13.183: F, perhaps not recognizing "promised" as the sense of grauntyd, has revised the line substantially. Bx reads "And graunted hym to ben his gome [(alpha) or groom (beta)] graunt mercy he seide."
& make a plastre with penaunce / with þeF.13.193: F's with þe is unique. Bx reads and. Alpha is responsible for adding unmetrical þe. passioun of þat babe.
F.13.200KD.17.105
¶ For an owtlawe isF.13.200: Alpha is responsible for "owtlawe is." Most beta manuscripts have the plural. R lacks "an" before "owtlawe," but curiously
Cr2,3 share that reading with F. in þe wode / & vndir balkis lotyeþ.
& he may euery man se / & goode marke takeþ.F.13.201: Alpha is responsible for the finite form takeþ. All beta witnesses have the infinitive take.
fol. 73rI
F.13.204KD.17.109
For he seyþ me samaritan / þat feyþ & his felawe sewen.F.13.204: F's reading is unique. Bx reads "For he seigh me þat am Samaritan suwen Feiþ & his felawe."
He was but an harlotF.13.206: F's a-verse is unique, and error in R suggests that alpha's reading had been botched. R reads "he was vn-harlot." Beta
manuscripts have "He was vnhardy þat harlot." / & hedde hym In inferno.
O mors ero mors tua morsus tuus eie[ro] i[nferne]F.13.210: The scribe appears to have mistaken the abbreviation e. i. for the pronoun.F.13.210: The line appears only in alpha, and F alone continues the quotation with "morsus tuus ero inferne." Alford, Piers Plowman: A Guide to the Quotations, notes that this O antiphon is "sung during Holy Week (e.g. Brev. 1:dcclxxxii, dccci), based on Osee 13:14 (Cf. 1 Cor. 15:55)" (107).
Alpha omitted a dozen lines attested in beta witnesses between F13.210 and 211. Beta family manuscripts read:
And þanne shal Feiþ be forster here and in þis Fryth walke
And kennen outcomen men þat knowen noȝt þe contree
Which is þe wey þat I wente and wher forþ to Ierusalem
And Hope þe Hostilers man shal be þer þe man lith anhelyng
And alle þat feble and feynte be þat Feiþ may noȝt teche
Hope shal lede hem forþ with loue as his lettre telleþ
And hostele hem and heele þoruȝ holy chirche bileue
Til I haue salue for alle sike and þanne shal I returne
And come ayein bi þis contree and conforte alle sike
That craueþ it or coueiteþ it and crieþ þerafter
For þe barn was born in Bethleem þat with his blood shal saue
Alle þat lyuen in Feiþ and folwen his felawes techynge.
Alpha omitted a dozen lines attested in beta witnesses between F13.210 and 211. Beta family manuscripts read:
And þanne shal Feiþ be forster here and in þis Fryth walke
And kennen outcomen men þat knowen noȝt þe contree
Which is þe wey þat I wente and wher forþ to Ierusalem
And Hope þe Hostilers man shal be þer þe man lith anhelyng
And alle þat feble and feynte be þat Feiþ may noȝt teche
Hope shal lede hem forþ with loue as his lettre telleþ
And hostele hem and heele þoruȝ holy chirche bileue
Til I haue salue for alle sike and þanne shal I returne
And come ayein bi þis contree and conforte alle sike
That craueþ it or coueiteþ it and crieþ þerafter
For þe barn was born in Bethleem þat with his blood shal saue
Alle þat lyuen in Feiþ and folwen his felawes techynge.
& alle þre but .oo. god / & alle goomes after.F.13.214: F omits a b-verse, a full line, and an a-verse. Bx reads as follows:
. . . þus Abraham me tauȝte
And Hope afterward he bad me to louye
O god wiþ al my good . . . .
. . . þus Abraham me tauȝte
And Hope afterward he bad me to louye
O god wiþ al my good . . . .
F.13.216KD.17.134
¶ After Abraham seideF.13.216: Seide is supplied above the line by the original scribe as a correction. However, the "correction" makes little sense in context.
The scribe nowhere else shows dissatisfaction with quod. Cf. F14.167, where he substitutes quod in place of correctly alliterating seide. quod he / þat heraude of armes.
F.13.224KD.17.142
Tyl he lyþedF.13.224: F alone reads he lyþed, "relaxed, relented." Beta manuscripts read hym louede, except for Hm, which agrees with Cx in reading lykede. R reads leued. & luste / to vnloose his fynger.
F.13.232KD.17.150
& þorghȝ towchyng & tastyng / &F.13.232: Alpha is responsible for &. Beta and C manuscripts have at. F's a-verse reading is unique, almost certainly reflecting F-Redactor's attempt to make sense of the <&> he found in his
exemplar. He changes the verbs of Bx into gerunds. techynge of þe pawme.
&F.13.237: F uniquely reads &, confusing the sense and syntax. Other B manuscripts omit it. al þat pawme parceyueþ / profitable to feele.
& þus are þey alle but oon / as it a fystF.13.238: The substitution of a fyst for an hand occurred in alpha. were.
How heF.13.242: The scribe perhaps intended to place a punctus between he and þat. þat is holy goost / sire / & sone . y-preve
fol. 73vI
Þus it neediþ euery man / to trowen on non oþir.F.13.249: Alpha has confused the sense. Beta witnesses read "Thus it is nedeþ no man trowe noon ooþer."
& are sunderlepis by hem-selue / & a-sundre werenF.13.251: Alpha and L omit beta's þei before neuere. neuere.
F.13.252KD.17.168
No moore þan may an handF.13.252: Beta's a-verse reads "Na moore þan myn hand may." / meve / with-owtyn fryngrisfyngris.
To keruynge orF.13.258: Alpha reads or. Beta manuscripts have and. cumpassynge / þat is craft of þe fyngris.
He may receyve ryght nowht / of þat he reche myghte.F.13.273: F omits by eye-skip on receyve ryght nowht the following lines from Bx:
... reson it sheweþ
For þe fyngres þat folde sholde and þe fust make
For peyne of þe pawme power hem failleþ
To clucche or to clawe to clippe or to holde
Were þe myddel of myn hand ymaymed or yperissed
I sholde receyue riȝt noȝt ....
As a result of the eyeskip, F changed Bx's I to he in the b-verse.
... reson it sheweþ
For þe fyngres þat folde sholde and þe fust make
For peyne of þe pawme power hem failleþ
To clucche or to clawe to clippe or to holde
Were þe myddel of myn hand ymaymed or yperissed
I sholde receyue riȝt noȝt ....
As a result of the eyeskip, F changed Bx's I to he in the b-verse.
By þis skyle he seyde / þouF.13.278: F's þou is unique. Other B manuscripts have I. see an evydense.
F.13.280KD.17.200
Neyþir heere / ne ellis-where / as y have herd telleF.13.280: F omits the following line from Bx: "Qui peccat in spiritu sancto &c."
fol. 74rI
His hond þat he grypeþ with / & his owene grace he qwenchiþ.F.13.285: F's line is uniquely. Bx reads as follows: "God þat he grypeþ wiþ and wolde his grace quenche."
& as weex & weke / & warm feer is to-gydres.F.13.289: Alpha preserves original warm against the beta family's hoot. The interlinear insertion of is represents a scribal attempt to smooth the syntax, for it appears in no other manuscripts.
So is þe holy goost god / & grace / with greet mercyF.13.297: F has misunderstood the line, revising it from Bx's "So is þe holy goost god and grace wiþoute mercy." He does the same again in 13.304. See also a similar revision at 15.78.
Leel love to þe lyf / þat oure lord schapede.F.13.299: Alpha omits the following twenty-seven lines attested by beta witnesses:
And as glowynge gledes gladeþ noȝt þise werkmen
That werchen and waken in wyntres nyȝtes
As dooþ a kex or a candle þat caught haþ fir and blaseþ
Na moore dooþ sire ne sone ne seint spirit togidres
Graunte no grace ne forgifnesse of synnes
Til þe holy goost gynne to glowe and to blase
So þat þe holy goost gloweþ but as a glede
Til þat lele loue ligge on hym and blowe
And þanne flawmeþ he as fir on fader and on filius
And melteþ hire myȝt into mercy as men may se in wyntre
Ysekeles in euesynges (or eueses) þoruȝ hete of þe sonne
Melteth in a Mynut while to myst and to watre
So grace of þe holy goost þe grete myȝt of þe Trinite
Melteþ to mercy to merciable and to noon oþere
And as wex wiþouten moore on a warm glede
Wol brennen and blasen be þei togideres
And solacen hem þat mowe se þat sitten in derknesse
So wol þe fader forȝyue folk of mylde hertes
That rufully repenten and restitucion make
In as muche as þei mowen amenden and paien
And if it suffise noȝt for assetz þat in swich a wille deyeþ
Mercy for his mekenesse wol make good þe remenaunt
And as þe weke and fir wol make a warm flaumbe
For to murþe men wiþ þat in merke sitten
So wole crist of his curteisie and men crye hym mercy
Boþe forȝyue and foryete and ȝit bidde for vs
To þe fader of heuene forȝifnesse to haue.
And as glowynge gledes gladeþ noȝt þise werkmen
That werchen and waken in wyntres nyȝtes
As dooþ a kex or a candle þat caught haþ fir and blaseþ
Na moore dooþ sire ne sone ne seint spirit togidres
Graunte no grace ne forgifnesse of synnes
Til þe holy goost gynne to glowe and to blase
So þat þe holy goost gloweþ but as a glede
Til þat lele loue ligge on hym and blowe
And þanne flawmeþ he as fir on fader and on filius
And melteþ hire myȝt into mercy as men may se in wyntre
Ysekeles in euesynges (or eueses) þoruȝ hete of þe sonne
Melteth in a Mynut while to myst and to watre
So grace of þe holy goost þe grete myȝt of þe Trinite
Melteþ to mercy to merciable and to noon oþere
And as wex wiþouten moore on a warm glede
Wol brennen and blasen be þei togideres
And solacen hem þat mowe se þat sitten in derknesse
So wol þe fader forȝyue folk of mylde hertes
That rufully repenten and restitucion make
In as muche as þei mowen amenden and paien
And if it suffise noȝt for assetz þat in swich a wille deyeþ
Mercy for his mekenesse wol make good þe remenaunt
And as þe weke and fir wol make a warm flaumbe
For to murþe men wiþ þat in merke sitten
So wole crist of his curteisie and men crye hym mercy
Boþe forȝyue and foryete and ȝit bidde for vs
To þe fader of heuene forȝifnesse to haue.
But þou have taccheF.13.301: Alpha and C read tacche. Beta manuscripts have tow. to take it / with tndirt[i]ndir or brochis.
F.13.304KD.17.252
So is þe holy goost god / & grace with gret mercy.F.13.304: F has again misunderstood the sense as he did in 13.297. Bx reads "So is þe holi goost god and grace wiþouten mercy."
Amen dico vobis nescio vos . Vigilate itaque quia nescitis diem neque horam.F.13.306: The text of Bx ends with vos &c.
& IndulgesIndulge[nc]es y-nowe / & be Ingrate to þyn kynne.F.13.310: Alpha is responsible for the b-verse. Beta and some C manucripts have "and be ingratus to þi kynde."
Si linguis hominum loquar & angelorum caritatem
non habuero nichil michi prodest.F.13.315: The text of Bx ends with loquar &c.
non habuero nichil michi prodest.F.13.315: The text of Bx ends with loquar &c.
fol. 74vI
He ȝaf no mete ne moneF.13.323: An otiose stroke, apparently intentional, appears above the <o>. / to men þat it needede.
F.13.328KD.17.274
¶ Þus vn kyndenesse is his contrarie / for it qwenchiþ hys grace.F.13.328: The scribe (or some later revisor) has mindlessly revised his exemplar by erasing <vn> from vnkyndenesse, changing the sense of this and the following line. Bx reads as follows:
Thus is vnkyndenesse þe contrarie þat quencheþ as it were
The grace of þe holy goost goddes owene kynde.
Thus is vnkyndenesse þe contrarie þat quencheþ as it were
The grace of þe holy goost goddes owene kynde.
For þat kendenessekendenesse [dooþ] / vnkendenesse for-dooþ / as ben þese cursede þeuisF.13.330: Note that the interlinear correction is not archetypal. The line has been revised extensively, though the omission of
dooþ in the a-verse is probably unintentional. Bx reads "For þat kynde dooþ vnkynde fordooþ as þise corsede þeues."
F.13.340KD.17.286
But þis is þeF.13.340: An otiose curl appears slightly to the left and above the <þ>. werste wyȝse / þat ony wyȝt myghte.
fol. 75rI
& nowhtF.13.354: The erroneous substitution of nowht for now occurred in alpha, probably reflecting confusion about a nowth spelling for now. am sory þat y soo / þe seynt spyryȝt a-gultede.
¶ Ȝis seyde þe samaritan / so þou myghtyst repente.F.13.357: Beta manuscripts have "so wel þow myght repente."
Þat ryghtwyȝsnesse toF.13.358: Alpha is responsible for to in place of beta's and most C manuscript's þoruȝ. repentaunce / & to rewþe myghte turne.
Be ramsomed for his giltF.13.361: F's gilt is unique. Bx reads repentaunce. R has no alliterating stave at all, suggesting that alpha was already corrupt. It is characteristic of F to have attempted
to make sense of a defective exemplar. / þere al resoun hym dampneþ.
Numquam dimittitur peccatum nisi restiauaturrestituatur F.13.365: It is possible that the rubricator attempted to correct the first <a> to make a <t> of it, but since it still looks more
like an <a>, we have treated it as an uncorrected error. ablatum.F.13.365: F alone completes the quotation after peccatum as it had appeared above in 5.279. As Alford notes [Piers Plowman: A Guide to the Quotations, Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies 77 (Binghamton: MRTS, 1992), p. 46], the line is a maxim of canon law derived
from Augustine.
/ [¶] Þus it fareþ by swiche folk / þat falsly al here lyve.F.13.366: Alpha reads singular "lyve" for beta's plural.
F.13.368KD.17.313
& drede ofF.13.368: An otiose curl was written over the <o>. desperacioun / þanne dryveþ a-wey grace. These lines are attested only in alpha.
Nowht of þe nounpereF.13.371: Alpha is responsible for the probably erroneous spelling with -per(e). Beta manuscripts have nounpower, "absence of power, impotence." of god / þat he is euere myghtful.
Misericordia dominiF.13.374: Alpha is responsible for domini. Beta manuscripts have eius. super omnia opera eius.
But er his ryghtwysnesse / to rewþe turne / sum restitucioun be-hoviþ.F.13.375: Alpha omitted the following line attested by beta manuscripts: "His sorwe is satisfaccion for hym þat may noȝt paie."
Þere hire feere fleeþF.13.379: Alpha is responsible for omitting fro after fleeþ. hire / for feer of hire tunge.
It dooþ hym worse þan his wif / er þe watur eyþir.F.13.383: F's b-verse is unique. Bx reads "or wete to slepe."
Tyl he be blere-eyȝed or blynd / & a bold cowhe after.F.13.385: F's b-verse is unique. R's "and cowȝhe (="cough") in þe throte" suggests that alpha had lost an alliterating stave. Beta
witnesses make sense but lose the alliterative pattern, reading "and hoors in þe þrote."
fol. 75vI
Been seeknesses & sorwis / þat we suffren awhten.F.13.395: Alpha is responsible for awhten. Beta and most C manuscripts have ofte.
& ben pacientF.13.399: F's reading is unique. Bx reads inpacient. in here penaunce / pure resoun knoweth.
F.13.400KD.17.344
Þat þey have resounF.13.400: The substitution of resoun for original cause occurred in alpha. to contrarie / by kyȝnde of here syknesse.
Explicit Passus
.xiijus.