1tydinges. “musings, thoughts (that come to me), truths.” The full range of meanings in this context is not quite covered by the definitions given in the MED: tiding(e) (n.), senses 1 (“report”), 2 (“news”), and 4 (“events, occurrences”). The word echoes Fire and Ice (art. 21), line 4, where it means “news of one’s fate.”back to note source
4that ich noth hwenne. Not knowing the time of one’s death is frequently lamented in the Jesus 29 lyrics. Compare The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), lines 190–92; Death’s Wither-Clench (art. 7), lines 1–2; and The Proverbs of Alfred (art. 24), lines 103–12.back to note source
6That ich not hwider ich scal fare. Compare The Proverbs of Alfred (art. 24), lines 103–12; and also the Harley lyric A Winter’s Song, lines 17–18: “For Y not whider Y shal, / Ne hou longe her duelle” (CHMS, 2:230).back to note source