fol. 47r (cont.)I
p resens
dauid
dauid
x
us x us x[j] us decim us [un]decim
de vis vt sup ione
ra—
—
— Passus
R.11.0: Above the
passus heading, a later reader has inscribed . Below the passus
heading, the same reader has inscribed davidsens david (re). pR.11.0: In the extreme right margin, on the same line as the passus
heading, there are traces of the rubricator's guide, but nothing is discernible except an . x
ÞanneR.11.1: It appears that the blue initial <Þ>
originally had a drawing within it (as with the Passus 10 initial), but it was partially
erased long ago. scptur ri scorned me and a
skile tolde . e
a latynR.11.2: Beta agrees with the P family of manuscripts in reading
this phrase as C; Russell-Kane opt for that reading as
representing in latyne as well, but the X family of Cx
manuscripts clearly agrees with R, and probably alpha (F reads this line eccentrically), in
rendering it C There is, of course, no semantic difference between
these two phrases. a latyn. & liȝt by me heR.11.2:, "she." He sette . In
the right margin, in black ink, there is an early ownership stamp for the Bodleian
Library.
And lakked me p resens p rime
R.11.4KD.11.4
sorweR.11.4:
Cf. alpha's to beta's properly alliterating sorwe.
wo agrees here with beta. Cx and wrath of
hir speche . e
¶ Þo wepte I for your for me elin
Bower
Rondull wylly
Bower
Rondull wylly
wrath eR.11.5: This word amounts to an
inappropriate and virtually meaningless repetition of the same term from the previous line,
but it is witnessed by the beta manuscripts as well as R (F offers six inauthentic lines);
indeed the entire line appears to have been corrupt in . Kane and
Donaldson conjecture a sort of metathesis distorting original Bx;
Schmidt concurs. worþ til I wasR.11.5:
R's is unique. Beta reads til I was. wex I a- slepe
And in a wynkyngueylous metles er me tydde to dreme .R.11.6: The b-verse is from alpha and is clearly inferior, in its redundancy, to
beta's . mette me þanne
A mR.11.8KD.11.8
- to þe lond of
longyng e & loueR.11.8:
Both beta and F read in place of R's allone.
It appears that a majority of the X family of the & loue version supports
this F/beta variant, but the P family and two X-family copies (YcUc) agree with R's harder
reading. C sche me brouȝte .
And in miȝtow
se wondres . eR.11.10: Extending from R10.510 to this line in the right margin is an erased note,
horizontally written, approximately seven lines long.
Sitthen sche seide to me her fol. 47vI
þiR.11.33:
R's is a unique addition to the text of þi. This
addition is also unwitnessed in any Bx copy. C parfit lyuynge
to muche peril þe brynge .
And pruyde of ponit ro
q Homo pd a poete uo þoR.11.37:
Alpha's is omitted by beta but supported by þo. Cx and plato he hiȝte .
¶ graythlyR.11.41:
Beta reads , a more obvious reading, but one which is also the
reading of gretly. Cx ne begile þe but þow wolt .
Ne schal nouȝte greue þe
acorded concupiscencia carnis tilR.11.43:
R's second is a unique addition to the text witnessed by F and beta.
However, til agrees with R on this variant's presence. Cx alle my
werkes .
Til . eR.11.45: The <y> of appears to have been
subpuncted by two red dots but no correction has been made. In reality, the "subpuncting" is
probably accidental offset from the red boxing on the facing page at 11.80. likyngeR.11.45: Hereafter
alpha omits four lines present in the beta manuscripts (KD11.46-49):
And folwed me fourty wynter and a fyfte more
Þat of dowel ne dobet no deyntee me ne þouȝte
I had no lykynge leue me if þe leste of hem auȝte to knowe. Coueityse of eyghes conforted me anon after
F then omits the next two lines of as well. The obvious cause of alpha's four-line omission was eyeskip, since KD11.46 begins with the same phrase as KD11.50: Bx. Coueytyse of eyes
Þat wit schal turne to wrecchednesse for wille to haue his
likyngAnd folwed me fourty wynter and a fyfte more
Þat of dowel ne dobet no deyntee me ne þouȝte
I had no lykynge leue me if þe leste of hem auȝte to knowe. Coueityse of eyghes conforted me anon after
F then omits the next two lines of as well. The obvious cause of alpha's four-line omission was eyeskip, since KD11.46 begins with the same phrase as KD11.50: Bx. Coueytyse of eyes
fol. 48rI
frer m e su For whiles fortune is þi frende R.11.51: R's is unique; sum frere reads Bx, as does Freres. Cx These lines present a
very good illustration of a difficulty sometimes encountered in R: it is nearly impossible
here and in some other instances to distinguish later readers' underlinings from the residue
of the original ruling for text. wil þe louie .
R.11.52KD.11.56
fette And R.11.52: Cf. F's and beta's sette. R's
verb is almost certainly that of alpha (a closely related synonym of beta's variant), a form
misread by F on account of <f> being mistaken for tall <s>. fecche
frat enite and for þe by er- seche . þe to her
R.11.54: Though the
B group agrees with alpha's , beta presumably had pecunious. Some peccuniosus manuscripts agree with beta.
However, four of the X family copies of the C version (P CKUcDc) agree with the P family in supporting alpha's anglicized form (both
2 and OED2, both MED
s. v., agree in citing this line from Langland as the earliest
occurrence of pecunious in English. pecunious
And preyen for þe pol by pol if þow be pecunious . Pena
peculariaR.11.55: R's is unique error. The other
witnesses (both pecularia and B) have C. pecuniaria no sufficit p n
sp roual irit delict ibus. is
R.11.56KD.11.59
of þis wenche I e dedeR.11.56:
R's is unique among the dede manuscripts; most of
the others read some form of B, while F, which rewrites the
a-verse, attests wrouȝte. However, wrowhte agrees with R's
reading. Cx hir wordes wer e so swete . e
¶ By wissyng Til I forȝat ȝouthe and ranR.11.57: Beta shows , while F has ȝarn. Only Hm agrees with R's reading.
Among the ȝeede witnesses, there are various lections attested here,
including a mixed group of six that agrees with R; however, it seems clear that C probably read Cx. yorn
into elde .
but for to welde her Þat wedden non wydewes
e goed .R.11.70: R's singular form is unique; reads Bx, as does godis. Cx
fol. 48vI
d he and
take uoR.11.86:
Though most beta manuscripts read here, R's took
is supported by LMG. take hem bothe to witnesse .
¶ Ȝe be peter and be poule q e- of
sueth lawe q erd leute uone n þaR.11.90:
R's is a unique addition to the text of þanne. In
an almost identical line, no Bx witness includes R's addition. C
if no lif vndertoke it .
¶ And wher AcR.11.99:
Beta omits the conjunction, while F reads instead. A
þing þat alle þe worlde wote wher efore schuldestow
spar e . e
¶ R.11.104KD.11.106
lakkeR.11.104: R's first use of in this line is unique; the
majority of the beta manuscripts read lakke and F, typically, rewrites the
a-verse. The laude line is virtually unchanged, but the verb phrase in
question appears as C. labbe it out it nouȝt ne lakke
it for enuye .
Neither for loue þeR.11.106: R's is a unique addition to the text here witnessed by
both þe and Bx. Cx sothe qd
sc uoptur ri þo and skypte an heyȝ and
p eched . re
¶ He seith þat sche meued re lewed men it knoweR.11.107: The omission of at the head of the b-verse completely
alters the meaning of this line, but it must have occurred in alpha since F also bears
witness to its absence. Likewise, alpha's aberrant if is attested in
F's distorted b-verse ( knowe). The authorial status of
the line as it appears in beta is warranted by its agreement with lewede men not knowe yt:
Cx. Ac þe matere þat she meuede if lewede men hit knewe .
Ac þe mate Þe bileue
þat lord [of] þat þat lettred men techeth .R.11.109: This line is absent from beta, and F's version is sufficiently different
from R's that the reconstruction of alpha must remain conjectural. F reads the line: . It seems likely,
however, that R's version of this line is more faithful to alpha than is F and that the
omission of the preposition But þei be-leven on þe lord / þat lettrid men hem techeþ from the a-verse occurred in R or its
immediate ancestor. of
p pauciueliche & lete þe remenant go rome . riR.11.113: Here the scribe omits
his usual blank line separating strophes, presumably because the next line is the last one
ruled for this side.
And plukked in gan I wex
. e And In a wer
fol. 49rI
R.11.118: In
the right margin, a black brace extends from this line down to 11.122.
¶ For crist cleped vs alle come if we wolde .R.11.120KD.11.120α
es scicientes nR.11.120: R's is variant spelling of the Vulgate form scicientes. It is found in many sicientes manuscripts (including L, M,
and F) and is not rare in late medieval Latin generally. B venite
&c . etera O vos om
saueR.11.121: RF here read against beta's saue. At first glance, the occurrence of saufly appears to be an
alpha error, either for saue, or for Kane-Donaldson's conjectured safly. However, saufte is also found at this point in the X
family of saue manuscripts (the P family = C). As
evidenced by sauete, MED can have nominal, adjectival, or
adverbial senses. See save
s. v., (n. 1) and saue (adj. and adv.). Moreover,
Russell and Kane seem to have recanted their emendation, since their edition now offers sauf as the original saue reading. In light of the shared
witness of the X family of C, and the ample evidence that SWMidlands
phonology treated /v/ and /f/ as allophonic, R's reading probably is equivalent to "safe" and
directly mirrors C while beta represents an attempt at glossing the
harder reading. Bx at his breste .
And bad hem souke for synne R.11.124KD.11.124
R.11.124: Beta adds before þat. The he version of the line appears to support beta (though
some X family copies omit C). þat
he bouȝte vs vs [wiþ]R.11.124: The omission of at the end of the a-verse is unique
to R and alters the meaning and grammatical status of the clause. with
confirms that R is in error. Cx and þoruȝ baptesme after .R.11.124: In
the right margin, a hand points to this line.
Be þe blod☜
receyue .R.11.126: Alpha generated this error ( for receyue); it makes nonsense of the statement as a whole (which runs into the next
line), though it makes limited sense within its own line. reneye shows the
same verb as beta. Cx
For þouȝ a cristen man coueyted his cristendom to
- outen leue of his lorde
neR.11.129: R's is unique; both ne and Bx read Cx. no lawe wile it gunte
. ra
With- rerage
and renneR.11.130: Beta has ; F reads rowme so. rayke agrees with beta on the verb in question but agrees with alpha on the
omission of Cx. so fro home .
Ac he may rennen in a he
renneth caytif rechelesliche aboute . R's reading of the a-verse of this line
is unique. Beta reads . The problem seems to have
begun at line 130, where R's b-verse involves an awkward redundancy (cf. beta's And as a reneyed caityf). However, this redundancy probably mirrors alpha, while F seeks to repair the
mistake by varying the verb to rowme. At line 131, R's continued confusion
then would be merely reproducing serious corruption in alpha that began in the previous line.
F, typically, attempts to repair the lapse in sense with rayke (F8.128), but & þey he renne
recchesly / or romeþ a-bowte presumably read
something like beta's Bx. And as a reneyed caityf recchelesly gon
aboute
And as sone in
p rirgatorie to brenne . uR.11.134: The word has
been cancelled by a later reader with a horizontal black line. purgatorie
And putten hym after in p AndR.11.135: Beta omits from the opening of this line. The cognate
And line is slightly revised from C, but its opening
phrase is the same (as is the previous line). Most of the P family copies support the beta
omission while most of the X family support alpha's reading B for his a- rerages rewarden hym þer e riȝteR.11.135: Beta completely omits this alliterative stave-word; F rewrites the b-verse
completely and is irrelevant. The a-verse of is slightly revised from
Cx, but its b-verse is identical to R's and affirms the authority of B. riȝte to þe day of dome .
R.11.136KD.11.135
on wel come iR.11.136: The spelling of the
modal in this phrase is relatively unusual, but , OED2
s. v., recognizes will as an acceptable Anglian form for
wel in the fourteenth century. will and crie be hys leueR.11.136: R's is unique; the other copies have leue; the reading of lyue for this final stave (in a slightly
revised line) agrees with that of F and beta. C .
But if contric may alR.11.139: Alpha's is rendered by beta as may al; alle
to revises the a-verse slightly but clearly attests the
presence of alpha's C. may al amende þat mekenesse he folweth .R.11.139: By uniquely substituting for þat,
and if for he (= F) or hym (=
beta), R appears here to lose the drift of Langland's thought, which is the hir operation of Mercy. Beta's version of this line reads conditional. Mercy
alle to amende and mekenesse hir folwe seems to agree with
beta. Cx
Mercy R.11.140KD.11.139
e bokeR.11.140: R's singular is unique; has Bx. bokes confirms the majority Cx
reading. B telleth aboue godes werkes .
For þei beth as ourR.11.143: The word is cancelled by a later reader
using a horizontal line. It is the same ink as was used to cancel pope at 11.134 above; also the same as used to draw the pointing hand at
11.124. purgatorie
Hiȝte troianus had ben a trewe kniȝt toke
witnesse at a pope .R.11.146: Most manuscripts agree with R here in the loss of the negative required for appropriate
sense: B miȝte me cracche ne. The CrWHm group may
have restored the negative through scribal conjecture. miȝte me cracche fro helle
.
Þat alle þe clergie vnder criste fol. 49vI
R.11.152KD.11.151
now And I saued as ȝe R.11.152: The adverb is unique to R. now
and Bx have Cx. R's error presumably resulted from a
misreading of an alpha form such as may. mow(e)
- outen syngyng of
masses . e se with
R.11.153: R's
line is marred by an omitted preposition at its head (beta = ), but the
error appears to stem from alpha; F seems to have attempted to correct the deficit by adding
By but failed to notice the resulting faulty parallelism created later
in the line. Þoru
Loue and bi lernynge of my lyuyng in treuthe . e
leute leute [dide]R.11.155: Omission of the verb at the end of the a-verse (F =
and beta = doþ) is a unique error in R. did by an
empour er of rome . e
¶ Lo ȝe lordes what of a pope e Nouȝt þoruȝ preyerR.11.157: The
word is again cancelled (cf. 11.143 above) by a later reader using a
horizontal line. It is the same ink as was used to cancel pope at
11.134 above; also the same as used to draw the pointing hand at 11.124. purgatorie but
for his pur treuthe e
m
Romanu iscopu m in Ep
of ȝow ac men of holy chercheR.11.161: Kane and Donaldson, lines 11.160-70 (= R 11.161-71) were
omitted by the beta manuscripts and are preserved solely in R and F. F's rendering of these
lines is sufficiently different from R's that F's lines should be cited in their entirety
(cf. Appendix 1, R11.161-71, for details and any cross-references to the version): C
Þe legende sanctorum / lerneþ ȝow ; more largere þan y ȝou telle.
& þus leel love / & leel lyvynge in trewthe
Pytten owt of peyȝne / a payȝnym of Rome.
I-blessid be trowþe / þat brak so helle ȝaatys.
& savede þat sarsyȝn / fram sathenases powher.
/ Þere no Clergie ne cowhde / ne conynge of lawis.
Þan is love & lewte / ryght a leel science.
God wrouht it / & wroot it / with his owne fynger.
& took it Moyses on þe Mount / alle men / it to leere. Þis matere is merk for manye / save men of holy chirche.
¶ Þis matir is merke for mani Þe legende sanctorum / lerneþ ȝow ; more largere þan y ȝou telle.
& þus leel love / & leel lyvynge in trewthe
Pytten owt of peyȝne / a payȝnym of Rome.
I-blessid be trowþe / þat brak so helle ȝaatys.
& savede þat sarsyȝn / fram sathenases powher.
/ Þere no Clergie ne cowhde / ne conynge of lawis.
Þan is love & lewte / ryght a leel science.
God wrouht it / & wroot it / with his owne fynger.
& took it Moyses on þe Mount / alle men / it to leere. Þis matere is merk for manye / save men of holy chirche.
I lefte hereR.11.173: A sixteenth-century
reader has inscribed for himself a personal bookmark. The note is in the same hand as the
marginal note at 43v.
fol. 50rI
ForR.11.182: Beta omits . For
- so leueth hoR.11.182: Kane-Donaldson
transcribe R here as agreeing with beta in reading . Contextually,
leneth must be what leneth read, but there is no reason
in this instance to construe R's <u> as <n> (even though the character forms
sometimes overlap in R), especially since the testimony of F ( Bx)
indicates that the error derived from alpha. be-leveþ
lorde e our nauȝt he loueth nauȝte R.11.182: Both beta and F read non-alliterating in place of R's
god. oure lorde
. wote þe sothe
comaundedR.11.183: Although O agrees with alpha in reading a preterite verb form here, beta
clearly had the present form . comaundeth vch
creatur to conforme hym to louye . e
And wel quiten her e trauail e . Ac for þe pore I schal paie and
puirR.11.198: A pattern of tiny
pinholes (in the shape of saw teeth, with three crests and two troughs facing the page
gutter) runs down the left margin, from this point to R11.201.
¶ R.11.200KD.11.197
Almiȝty god hath made riche men if he wolde .R.11.200: This line is omitted by beta and apparently garbled in alpha;
Kane-Donaldson conjecture from R's shape and F's content () that God myghte ryche a
maad al read as follows: Bx. Alle myȝte
god haue maad riche men if he wolde
¶ AcR.11.201: R's is unique; F has Ac for
and beta simply reads But for. For for þe beste ben some
riche and so mme beggeres . & pore . m
AsR.11.203: R's is unique; F and beta read As. And agrees with the Cx majority. B
bretheren as of o blode as wel beggeres as erles .
R.11.204KD.11.201
at For R.11.204: Beta has , but For on attests Cx. At
. caluarie of cristes blode cristendom gan springe
þeR.11.209: Beta reads in place of alpha's holy. The þe copies are divided: the P family omits any modifier
before C while the X family agrees with alpha's lettre. þe lre telleth . ett
¶ In þe olde lawe as R.11.210: The word is bracketed
by two slanting lines, apparently drawn by an early reader, perhaps to call attention to what
might have been sensed, at first glance, as a case of scribal redundancy eligible for
"correction." men called vs echone .
Mennes sones menhij us
fol. 50vI
- þi loue we as leue childernR.11.214: Beta has , but bretheren agrees
with alpha's Cx. childern schal & vch man lauȝh vp
oþ . er
¶ ForR.11.216KD.11.211
e herR.11.216: Beta omits , and here agrees with
beta. Cx for hennes schulle we alle .
And eueri man helpe oþer alowed
þei bothR.11.227: For RF's , beta has alowed.
The phrase allowaunce is unique to R (F omits the words) but probably
mirrors alpha. Beta's entire a-verse reads: þei both. Is litel allowaunce
made but by- leue hem helpe .
Is litel for toR.11.230: R's is a unique addition to the archetypal
text. for lye .
Bothe logyke and lawe þat loueth nauȝt h ij us
fol. 51rI
was ensaumple - sothe forR.11.246: R's - sothe is unique;
it is omitted by both beta and F. Nevertheless, it may well be original: for here reads Cx. sothly to vs synful here .
And alle mileten m tio in
vestitu
paraileR.11.249: In place of R's , beta has paraile. F omits the entire line. Some apparaille manuscripts of both
major families support R's form and some support beta's. C of a pore man and
pilgrimes liknesse .
And in þe to punysh m
\ þe Between these two lines, Hand2 has tried
to indicate an insertion point for in the previous line where the
scribe had already written þe. Also Hand2 has drawn a tail on the original
character's descender to make its identity more explicit. Apparently, he understood the
scribe's form in line 251 as þe and was attempting to fix
it. ye
u crist on a Iewes douȝter a es- liȝte gentel woman þouȝ aR.11.254: R's (= "she") is unique; other manuscripts have a. she wer . e
¶ IhTo ponyshe me
in shrift
in shrift
AR.11.255: Although Hm and Y have / sche,
beta omits all pronoun reference, beginning the line with she. F omits the
line. Was agrees with beta's omission. Cx was a puir pore mayden
and to a pore man Iweddede .
ota N
ne non est tibi cur omi
e etera &c . DR.11.258: Here R uniquely omits the end of the citation, which in F and beta reads:
. Among
the quod soror mea reliquit me sola(m) ministrare &c manuscripts, the P family agrees with C
while the X family offers various truncations of the citation. Bx
elegit —
Maria optimam partem R.11.262:
Here R uniquely omits the end of the citation, which in most copies
reads: B. In LMCrW, however, the
citation is truncated after que non auferetur ab ea. In the non
tradition, the P manuscripts mostly treat the citation fully, as in the majority of beta
copies; however, the X family offers a variety of truncated versions. C
R.11.264KD.11.257
wolde .R.11.264: R's fourth stave, , is a unique reading; cf. beta's
wolde and F's folwe. welde agrees
with beta. Cx
Preisen pouerte for best lyf if pacience it MakethR.11.271: Beta begins this line with the phrase ; R's
opening, For it maketh, is supported by F and by Maketh. Cx
a man to haue mynde in god and a grete wille .
segge And wel sikerer he slepeth þe R.11.274: Beta reads non-alliterating . man
agrees with alpha. Cx
. þat is pore
fol. 51vI
R.11.284KD.11.275
R.11.284: R uniquely omits the
determiner in the b-verse phrase,
molde þis. on
molde lyuen
And is to mene to men þat on With eny wel or wo /R.11.290: The scribe has left a vertical stroke to mark a position for
inserting more text, indicating his awareness that something may be missing here.R.11.290: In alpha,
KD11.280 (above) was followed by an extra half-verse punctuated as a separate line, as here;
cf. F's . to suffre wo for welthe
wise If prestes weren R.11.295: For R's , F has wise; beta
reads all wise men. parfyt
. þei wolde no seluer take
icos er
in
cl—
e er deuR.11.298: Here R and F are defective in sense; F rewrites the a-verse entirely while R
omits the required verb, . dede as dauid seideR.11.298: R's is unique. All the other seide
manuscripts read a present-tense form, as with W's B. See the
Introduction seiþ on R's seemingly
anomalous tense marking. III.2.2.10 in þe sauter .
And þei herR.11.303: R's seems to be
the reading of alpha (F is substantially different but agrees on the second person); although
W agrees with R on this reading, presumably by enlightened correction (in the b-verse, nearly
all the ȝe copies agree with R on the second-person pronoun reference ),
the mass of evidence indicates that beta had a third-person plural in the a-verse (L = B). þei is partially revised in this line but preserves
the alpha second-person pronouns. Cx take ordres by telleth ȝe ben auaunsed
.
And þe title þat ȝe Nota
fol. 52rI
noþer Þat hath R.11.310: Beta reads ; the P family of no
agrees with this beta lection, but the X family reading matches alpha's C. noþer
R.11.310: R's shows an alpha error of omission
(F = lynage); cf. beta's lyflode, which is also
the reading of lynage riche. Cx ne gode los of his hondes . lond ne lynage
☞
in
Ep Notaos iscop
R.11.324KD.11.309
ib mn
us etera &c .R.11.324: R uniquely omits the end of this citation: . est
reus Qui offendit in vno in
o
R.11.329:
After this line, the scribe omits his usual blank line to separate verse strophes, but no
motive other than inattention is apparent.
Synge ne psalmes rede ne segge a masse of þe daye .neyther er neu neyther er is blameles
þe bisshop neu
pe and Ac
R.11.330: R's is unique; and and Bx both have Cx. ne
. þe chapeleyne
¶ ignorancia . For her eyther is endited and þat of R.11.331: In the right margin, a pointing hand, in smeared brown
ink, directs attention to this line.
on lewde p estes
hath do me luppe reR.11.333: Although there is no semantic difference from the majority
here, R's is a unique form, minimally attested by
luppe, OED2
s. v., and leap, MED
s. v.; F has lepen while most of the beta copies read
lope. lepe fram poute . er
¶ Þis lokyng pacience is more
parfit þanne ricchesse . eR.11.334: The last word of this line is smudged or partially
erased.
Þe wiche I preyse þerh iiij us
fol. 52vI
R.11.344KD.11.329
andR.11.344: R's is unique; and and Bx both read Cx. in wodes and wonderful
foules .
Wilde wormes botheR.11.346: R's is unique (cf. F's I miȝte se bothe. Beta reads ful manye seyȝ y þere; I myȝte bothe
byholde has the same reading as that found in R. Cx .
Man and his make I miȝte se schewenR.11.350: It appears that is an alpha error for beta's schewen (with which the reading of suen agrees); F rewrites
the line. Cx alle bestes .
¶ Reson I seiȝ sothely ges also n ȝede And in eueniR.11.355: Most beta copies have a simple for R's þe, but L's reading, ȝede, suggests itself as a likely
channel of error from the authorial reading to beta and that R's reading may be original
(both for lexical specificity and alliteration); F omits the line. ȝe
. males from females
stikkesR.11.363: R omits beta's after þe, a
feature also characteristic of lege. F revises the entire phrase. Cx
in which aR.11.363:
, "she." He
lenth and bredethR.11.363: Beta (and presumably ) read the b-verse as Bx. Although F attempts to rationalize the
error preserved in R by improvising in whiche she leythe and bredeth, R's general
conformity to beta here indicates that the error began as a small one in alpha: in lengþe & in breede for original lenth. The alpha form of "she" was probably leythe, though it is not clear what the R scribe took it to mean. a
To lege R.11.364KD.11.349
is noR.11.364: For alpha's (which is shared with is no), beta has Cx, a reading also reflected in a few nys witnesses. C
wit w[r]i[ȝ]t as I wene schulde werche hir neste to paye . e
Þere ueyled more er many otherR.11.366: For R's , beta reads many other while F has how many
other. of manye oþire agrees
with R. Cx briddes .
¶ And ȝet me mme m tredenR.11.371: For alpha's , beta reads a preterite, treden (although Cr troden agree with alpha). 2-3
agrees with alpha. Cx her makes and on tres bredde . e
¶ And soR.11.372KD.11.357
breddeR.11.372: This unique error is introduced as an echo from the previous line; from the
evidence of F, it appears that alpha showed a present tense form here, where beta read . brouȝten agrees with beta. Cx forth
her briddes so al a e- boue þe grounde
.
And fol. 53rI
me cauked I toke m hedeR.11.374: R's is a unique error; hede
attests the correctly alliterating Bx. In a revised line, kepe's verb agrees with that of the Cx majority. B
how pekokes breden .
And so noþer buirn ne best e ne mayR.11.377: R's is a unique addition to the text of ne. Bx here briddes reche . n
ÞerR.11.383: Though R's is also
attested by Cr and Cot, it is clear that beta omitted the repeated preposition. F rephrases
the verse. of here colour to carpe it wer e to
longe . e
Of her kende and of tymesR.11.386: For alpha's , beta has tymes and
tyme completely revises this line but agrees with alpha in attesting a
plural, Cx. tymes and ofte . Saue man and his make many
schewestR.11.390: Apparently, alpha failed to understand the meaning of (cf. R11.350), and R reproduces his suwest; F once again
improvises with schewest. makst man and his make þt
no misfeith aR.11.390: Bo and Cot appear to share R's reading here (their spelling is ); cf. F's mysfaith and beta's myschef.
R's form is probably intended to represent the same word as beta's (= ModEng mysfait); cf. the Introduction misdeed on evidence for R's occasional use of final <th> as a phonological
and morphological equivalent to final <t>. III.2.2.10 he folwe . m
Whi þow ne