incipit Incipit altercatio inter filomenam et bubonem. In contrast to the poem’s traditional title, The Owl and the Nightingale, the title given in the scribe’s rubric is Debate between the Nightingale and the Owl. The well-known title is from line 4: “An ule and one nyhtegale.” In Cotton, there is no rubric. In the lost Tichfield Abbey, MS Q.III, the title is identical to the Latin incipit of Jesus 29. The late thirteenth century witnessed the rise of a genre of devotional passion meditations termed “nightingales” directed toward wealthy patrons, and, if in the vernacular, toward women like Queen Eleanor of Provence, wife of Henry III and widow after 1372. The title might therefore be a clue as to genre: a nightingale poem “draws diverse materials into a single harmony” (VLT, p. 204). The tradition is best represented in the Anglo-French Rossignos (1268–1275) by John of Howden (Queen Eleanor’s clerk and religious advisor) and two Anglo-Latin poems, both titled Philomena, by John of Howden and John Pecham. Wogan-Browne traces the tradition from Rossignos to John Lydgate’s Nightingale, and suggests that the early Middle English Thrush and the Nightingale (contemporary with Owl) springs from it (“The Tongues of the Nightingale”). See also Reed, Middle English Debate Poetry, pp. 245–46. The meditative nightingale genre deserves closer attention in regard to the cultural origin of Owl and its placement in Jesus 29 after Passion (art. 1). See the discussion in the Introduction to this volume (pp. 16–17).↩back to note source

1 in one sumere dale. “in a valley in summer.” The poem opens with an eavesdropping narrator who is out enjoying a natural setting specifed by landscape and season, as in numerous vernacular lyrics (chansons d’aventure). On the grammatical and translational challenge of the phrase sumere dale, see Stanley, p. 105n1; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 106n1. Because trees are said to be in bloom, Millett translates sumere as “springtime.”↩back to note source

4 An ule and one nyhtegale. “an owl and a nightingale.” Cartlidge comments, “The poetic conjunction of owls with nightingales is not unnatural, since both birds are traditionally identified as nocturnal singers” (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 96), and he provides excerpts from several texts that precede and might have influenced Owl, including St. Ambrose’s Hexaemeron, a sermon by Maximus of Turin, and Theodulf of Orléans’s Carmen 27 (Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 96–98). The English bird-name nightingale is first recorded in Owl; it also appears as a surname around 1275; see MED, nightin-gale (n.).↩back to note source

14 beche. “beech trees.” Alternatively, the word could mean a “forest clearing”; Cotton reads breche. See MED, beche (n.), sense 1a, compared to bach (n.(1)), sense 1a. The variants are discussed by Stanley, p. 105n13f; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 107n14.↩back to note source

17 vaste. “thick, impenetrable.” Cotton reads waste, “deserted.”↩back to note source

20 a veole cunne wyse. “in many ways” or “a range of tunes.” See note to line 54, below.↩back to note source

26 song hire tyde. “sang her hours.” This reference initiates an ongoing poetic association of the owl and her music with the Church. The sonorific image of a bird singing hours evokes the “set of observances (combining psalms, prayers, and hymns) recited at regular intervals throughout the day, the ‘canonical hours’ of Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, Nones, Vespers, and Compline. Secular clerics and members of religious orders followed the complex observances of the full Divine Office; the pious laity in this period might also observe the Hours as a private devotion” (Millett, n26). See also Cartlidge-Owl, p. 47n26, and compare The Passion of Jesus Christ (art. 1), line 424 (note). On the musical competition between the birds, see especially Allen, “The Voices”; Holsinger, “Vernacular Legality,” pp. 171–82; and Page, The Owl and the Nightingale, pp. 3–6. John Pecham’s thirteenth-century Philomena, a meditation on Christ’s Passion, is structured as the nightingale’s songs set at different canonical hours (Bestul, Texts of the Passion, p. 102).↩back to note source

35 wle lete. “awful face.” For wle, read vule, “evil, vile, ugly”; the orthography of w for vu is common in both the Jesus and Cotton texts of Owl. On lete, “face,” compare MED, ilete (n.), senses 1a “outward manner or bearing,” and 1b “expression.” This Old Norse-derived word appears only in Owl; compare lines 403, 1446, 1715.↩back to note source

37 falt my tunge. “my speech fails.” See MED, folden (v.(2)), sense 2b, which cites this line. Compare Signs of Death (art. 22), line 4.↩back to note source

38 Hwenne thu art to me ithrunge. “When you press close to me.” A nightingale’s refusal to sing when perched too close to a hawk appears in the fable of The Hawk and the Nightingale, told in Anglo-Norman by Marie de France (Fables, ed. and trans. Spiegel, pp. 178–79), and in Latin by Romulus. See excerpts in Stanley, p. 164; and Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 98–99.↩back to note source

44 That wel neyh hire fnast atset. “She could barely breathe,” literally “That barely could she pass her breath.” The verb is attested only in Owl; see MED, atsheten (v.), “of breath, life: pass out or away, be gone from (sb.),” and compare line 1623.↩back to note source

48 wrytelinge. “warbling, twittering”; MED, writelinge (ger.). The word appears in Owl two times, and nowhere else. See also line 914.↩back to note source

54 wise. “tune, melody.” As Stanley notes, “Both meanings, ‘manner’ and ‘tune’, fit the context, but the latter is perhaps to be preferred” (p. 106n54). See MED, wis(e) (n.(2)), “way, manner,” and wis(e) (n.(3)), “melody, song”; compare lines 20, 519, 1663, and 1703.↩back to note source

57 blete. “exposure.” This noun is attested only in Owl. See MED, blet (adj. and n.), sense 1b, “bareness, lack of cover.” Compare line 616.↩back to note source

65–68 Vorthi thu art loth . . . narewe the byledeth. The medieval Bestiary notes the tendency of other birds to mob the screech-owl, allegorizing this action as wholesome hostility against a sinner: “If other birds see it, they set up a great clamour, and it is vexed by their fierce onslaughts. So when a sinner is recognised in full daylight he becomes an object of mockery for the righteous” (trans. Barber, p. 149). In the cathedrals of Gloucester and Norwich, one may still find carved medieval misericords that depict an owl swarmed by numerous smaller birds. See, for example, the Gloucester Cathedral owl misericord, online at https://misericords.co.uk/images/Gloucester/Gloucester%209.3.jpg(Opens in a new tab or window).↩back to note source

69 forthe. “that’s why, for that reason, therefore.” The word is the same as Vorthi in line 65, and grammatically parallel to it.↩back to note source

76 wode. “a blue dye of vegetable origin.” See MED, wod(e) (n.(1)), sense 1a.↩back to note source

86 That sit at mulne under cogge. Stanley, p. 107n86, notes how a frog dwells under a millwheel cog in Marie de France’s fable of The Mouse and the Frog (Fables, ed. and trans. Spiegel, pp. 34–41), but the resemblance is slight: the frog in the fable merely visits a mouse there, and then entices the mouse to visit a swamp.↩back to note source

91 Thu art lodlich and unclene. The medieval Bestiary notes that the screech-owl fouls its own nest, comparing it to sinners: “It is known as a loathsome bird because its roost is filthy from its droppings, just as the sinner brings all who dwell with him into disrepute through the example of his dishonourable behaviour” (trans. Barber, Bestiary, p. 149).↩back to note source

99–100 ‘Dehaet habbe that ilke best / That fuleth his owe nest.’ “Shame on that creature / Who soils its own nest.” This is a common proverb (Whiting B306) that appears in many different languages in many medieval literary texts, including a Latin translation of Nicholas Bozon’s fable of The Hawk and the Owl (ca. 1350–1400). See commentary in Atkins, pp. 10–11n99–100; Stanley, pp. 107n99f, 160, 162, 164; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 50n99–100.↩back to note source

121 myd the vyrste. “first of all, right away.” See MED, first (ord. num. (as adj. & n.)), sense 5a(c). The Cotton reading is more emphatic and more colorful: mid þe alre wrste, “with the worst muck of all” (Stanley, p. 107n121f).↩back to note source

101–26 That other yer . . . crowe hit todrowe. The funny story of an ugly, ill-mannered owl chick in a falcon’s nest appears in the popular fable of The Hawk and the Owl, retold in collections by Romulus, Nicholas Bozon, and Marie de France (Fables, trans. Speigel, pp. 212–13). It appears, too, in Odo of Cheriton’s fable of The Buzzard and the Hawk’s Nest, where a buzzard is the hideous one (Odo of Cheriton, The Fables, trans. and ed. Jacobs, p. 75). Summaries of the different versions are printed by Stanley, pp. 159, 164; and Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 99–101.↩back to note source

131 freomonne. “free gentry, worthy men.” Compare line 1507; and see Weal (art. 6), line 3 (note).↩back to note source

127–38 Therby men seggeth . . . he is icume. This exemplum of the apple rolling away from its tree of origin appears in versions of the fable of The Hawk and the Owl told by Marie de France and Nicholas Bozon. See Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 99–101. On the proverb of lines 135–38 (Whiting A169), see further commentary in Atkins, pp. 14–15n135–8; Stanley, pp. 107n135,138, 160, 162; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 51n135–8.↩back to note source

150–52 “Hwy neltu fleon . . . of fayrur bleo?” The ploy of flattery to lure an opponent into a vulnerable position is a common device in beast fables. Compare the fox’s flattery of Chauntecleer in Chaucer’s Nun’s Priest’s Tale (CT VII[B2]3289–94).↩back to note source

176 ‘Wel fyht that wel flyhth.’ “He fights well who flees well.” This widespread proverb (Whiting F141) appears in the Harley 2253 Hending (CHMS, 3:224–25 (lines 85–86)). See discussions in Atkins, p. 18n176; Stanley, pp. 108n176, 160, 162; and Cartlidge-Owl, 51–52n176.↩back to note source

180 myd some. “with civil concord.” Compare When Holy Church Is Under Foot (art. 12), line 15.↩back to note source

187 seme. “settle a dispute, reconcile.” See MED, semen (v.(1)), sense 1a.↩back to note source

191 Mayster Nichol of Guldevorde. “Master Nicholas of Guildford.” The poet names here an acquaintance (or possibly himself), for whom the entire poem is a “plea for preferment” (see Hume, The Owl and the Nightingale, pp. 119–26; quote appears on p. 119). The title mayster indicates that he is university educated. At lines 1751–78 we are told that he is a suitable candidate for episcopal preferment, and lives at Portesham in Dorset. See Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 101–02, who lists eight potential historical candidates proposed by scholars, and the discussion in the Introduction to this volume (pp. 16–19).↩back to note source

204 other wyhte gent and smale. “other creatures delicate and small,” that is, women. For later applications of the collocation gent and smal to women, see MED, gent (adj.), sense 1b.↩back to note source

211 fast-rede. “having a fixed purpose, steadfast.” See MED, fast-rede (adj.). The MED lists this occurrence as the only one in Middle English; it appears in both manuscripts.↩back to note source

225 Hit thincheth bothe wise and snepe. “It seems to both wisemen and fools (i.e., to everyone).” Attested only here, the adjective snepe, “foolish,” is applied as a collective noun (dative and plural). See MED, snepe (adj.), and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 192 (glossary, s.v. snepe).↩back to note source

227 Thu flyhst a nyht and noht a day. “You fly by night, and not by day.” The medieval Bestiary offers an allegorical form of the nightingale’s argument: both the night-owl and the screech-owl signify those who seek the darkness of sin and shun the light of justice (trans. Barber, Bestiary, pp. 147–49). On the owl’s nighttime habits being traditionally attached to wickedness, see Cartlidge-Owl, p. 99, for excerpts from Ambrose, Boethius, Rabanus Maurus, Walter Map, and Chaucer’s Parliament of Fowls (lines 599–602).↩back to note source

229–30 For uych thing . . . and hateth lyht. A common proverb; see Whiting E184, and compare lines 245–50.↩back to note source

235 Alvred King. “King Alfred,” that is, Alfred the Great, born 849, ruler of Wessex from 871 to 886, Anglo-Saxon king from 886 to 899, renowned for wisdom, learning, and enlightened governance. Both birds often cite him as a dignified font of proverbial lore. Thus, by name-dropping his austere name, they each intend to lend weight to their individual arguments. Although King Alfred was in fact an impressive Anglo-Saxon prose writer, the birds’ ascriptions are based in popular lore. A late-twelfth- or early-thirteenth-century collection of Middle English proverbs known as The Proverbs of Alfred appears in Jesus 29 (see art. 24). The proverbs cited in Owl almost never overlap with those clustered in Proverbs (see, however, notes to lines 291–92, 1039–42, below).↩back to note source

236 ‘He schuneth that hine ful wot.’ Literally, “He stays away [shuns] who knows himself to be foul” (Whiting S290). Stanley likens the saying to “a nursery situation” of the child with guilty knowledge of his soiled pants (p. 109n236). See also commentary in Stanley, pp. 160, 162; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 113n236. Alan Lupack suggests a plausible alternative translation: “He shuns that one who knows him to be foul (or unclean)” (personal communication).↩back to note source

240 sene. “eyesight, vision, the faculty of sight.” Owl records the last two occurrences of the word, which was common in Old English. See MED, sene (n.(4)), and compare line 368. In Cotton, the word has been glossed eyen, “eyes,” in a later hand (Stanley, p. 109n240).↩back to note source

248 aprenche. “to prank, trick.” This is the reading of both manuscripts, but the scribes may have mistaken a wynn (ƿ) for a p. The word occurs nowhere else in Middle English. See MED, ?atprenchen (v.); Atkins, p. 25n248; Stanley, p. 110n248; and Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 113–14n248.↩back to note source

245–50 ‘Riht so hit . . . bryhte lat away.’ For variants of this widespread proverb, an expansion of lines 229–30, see Whiting E184.↩back to note source

252 nabbeth hi none imunde. “they care nothing at all.” See MED,iminde (n.), sense 2a, and compare line 1516.↩back to note source

256 galegale. “chatterbox.” The word is a comic coinage by the poet, who defines it in the next line. It puns nightegale with galen (v.), “to cry out, complain, squawk”; see MED, gale-gale (n.). Stanley suggests that “to recapture the force of galegale in translation it may perhaps be permissible to make up a word like gabble-gale” (p. 111n256). It is interesting that the phrase gleo and gal appears in Love Rune (art. 19), “mirth and song” (see note to line 63); and gal appears in The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28) as a rare adjective, “lascivious” (see note to line 56).↩back to note source

272 wunne. The MS reads ynne (= ?wune, with an error of y for wynn, n for u); Cotton reads wune. See MED, win (n.(2)), sense 1a, “joy, happiness, pleasure, delight.” The emended spelling, accepted for rhyme, is discussed by Atkins, p. 27n272.↩back to note source

286 sit-worde. “dirty words, obscenities,” literally, “shit-words” (plural in context). Cotton reads schit-worde.↩back to note source

291–92 ‘me ne chide with the gidie /Ne with than ofne me ne yonie.’ “one shouldn’t quarrel with fools / Nor yawn with an oven.” Compare The Proverbs of Alfred (art. 24): “Ne gabbe thu ne schotte / Ne chid thu wyth none sotte, / Ny myd manyes cunnes tales / Ne chid thu with nenne dwales” (Don’t scoff or yell / Or quarrel with a fool, / Or with all sorts of claims / Argue with dimwits) (lines 280–83). The proverb (Whiting O59) warns that one wastes effort quarreling with an unintelligible fool. An open oven is imagined as a yawning face, possibly alluding to a hell-mouth as well. For a similar figure, see Death (art. 14), line 117 (note). Remarking that the “point is that nobody can compete with an oven for bigness of mouth,” Cartlidge provides more citations (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 55n292). See also Stanley, p. 162.↩back to note source

295–97 ‘Loke that thu . . . forth thu go!’ On this proverb (Whiting C165), see commentary in Atkins, pp. 28–29n295–97; Stanley, p. 160; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 55n291, 295–97.↩back to note source

301–02 ‘That with the fule haveth imene, / Ne cumeth he never from him clene.’ “He who mingles with someone filthy / Never walks away from him clean.” On this proverb (Whiting F558), see commentary in Stanley, pp. 160, 162; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 55n301–02.↩back to note source

309 Yet. “What’s more, yet, still.” Both birds employ this conjunction as a formal marker by which to punctuate their long speeches, as they build from point to point. The word often marks a transition from one rebuttal into the next one.↩back to note source

323 Ich singe an efne a ryhte time. “In evening I sing at a proper time.” The word rihte implies another reference to the canonical hours (see note to line 26, above): vespers in the evening, compline at bedtime, matins at midnight. The owl names “canonical hours of the night rather than those of the day,” taking credit for singing “only to call the religious to their hours,” and “not all night like the Nightingale” (Stanley, p. 113n323–28).↩back to note source

337 adunest. “fill with noise,” a verb attested only here. See MED, adunen (v.), “fill (the ears) with din.”↩back to note source

341–44 Evrych murethe may . . . hit is to long. Proverbial (Whiting M582). Compare Whiting P408, as in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde: “But fle we now prolixitee best is” (2.1564).↩back to note source

351–52 ‘Evrich thing may lesen godhede / Mid unmethe and overdede.’ “Everything can lose its goodness / By lack of measure and excess.” On this proverb (Whiting E168), see commentary in Atkins, p. 33n351–2; Stanley, pp. 114n351f, 160, 162; and Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 56–57n351–52.↩back to note source

353 overquatie. “glutted, satiated, over-full.” This line in Owl is the only appearance of this Middle English verb; see MED, overquaten (v.).↩back to note source

353–62 Mid este thu . . . and ever is iliche. Here and elsewhere, the owl strays into homiletic Christian messaging; compare lines 879–86. At lines 716–20, the nightingale offers similar language.↩back to note source

368 sene. “sense of sight.” See note to line 240, above.↩back to note source

378 blenches. “tricks.” See MED, blench (n.), sense 1a, “changing course (to throw the hunter off scent)” (which cites this line), and sense 1b, “ruse, strategem, trick”; and compare Death’s Wither-Clench (art. 7), line 4 (note).↩back to note source

373–80 The hare luteth . . . pathes to the grove. On the hare’s agility and acuity, compare the late-thirteenth-century comic poem The Names of the Hare, which is copied next to Dame Sirith in MS Digby 86. See Ross, “The Middle English Poem on the Names of a Hare”; and Stanley, p. 115n373–82.↩back to note source

385 auhte. “worthy in warfare, stout-hearted, brave.” For this word, derived from OE āht, found also at lines 389, 1479, and 1481, see MED, ought (adj.), sense 1b.↩back to note source

403 ilete. “face.” See note to line 35, above.↩back to note source

402–08 Vor heo is wis . . . of bore wurche bareh! These lines have the feel of a proverb, but are not listed as such by Whiting or Stanley. Cartlidge compares the sentiment to James 4:7 on withstanding the devil (Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 57–58n402–06). The proverbial sentiment of putting on a brave face before one’s enemy is similarly found in lines 1712–16, where it is the owl who takes the advice.↩back to note source

415 yomere. “sorrowfully, mournfully.” The only instance of this Old English-derived word in Middle English; see MED, yomere (adv.).↩back to note source

427–28 Ne rouhte he . . . and bi here. The image pictured in these difficult and obscure lines has been taken, variously, to reference wool being carded, men fighting in battle, snowflakes falling, or mixed herds being sorted by animal or owner. The last of these options is selected here, with flockes understood as the plural of MED, flok (n.(1)), “herds,” not flok (n.(2)), “tufts of wool” (as chosen by the MED editors). See the explanation given by Cartlidge-Owl, p. 118n427–28; and compare Atkins, p. 40n427–28; Stanley, p. 116n427f; and Millett, n427–28.↩back to note source

433–38 Ac ich mid me . . . and ek in mede. Here the nightingale adopts the classic position of Summer (that is, spring) in the Debate between Winter and Summer, a version of which survives as a long Anglo-Norman debate poem, possibly by Nicholas Bozon, in Harley 2253 (CHMS, 2:34–47). For a summary of a Latin version, see Stanley, pp. 167–68. The nightingale comes close to arguing, audaciously, that it is she who brings about the advent of spring. See discussion in Cartlidge-Owl, p. 59n433–38.↩back to note source

439–49 The lilie myd hire . . . myd myne songe. By this imagery, the nightingale’s song is identified with lyric verse and its clichéd association of the rose and the lily (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 59n439–49). See also Stanley, p. 116n437–49.↩back to note source

483 cundut. “a kind of dance song or motet.” For this French-derived word, see MED, condut (n.). It is recorded only three times in Middle English: in Owl, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Parlement of the Thre Ages. See the comments of Stanley, p. 117n483; Cartlidge-Owl, p. 60n483; and Holsinger, “Vernacular Legality,” pp. 180–82.↩back to note source

504 cokeringe. “coughing, make a choking sound.” Cotton reads chokeringe; see MED, chokeringe (ger.), where the line in Cotton is the only one cited. Compare MED, cokeringe (ger.), sense 1a, where this line is cited with two others, but the definition “fawning” does not suit the context. See discussion by Atkins, pp. 45–46n504.↩back to note source

512 cherles wode res. “churl’s mad frenzy.” See MED, res (n.), sense 3a, and compare Love Rune (art. 19), line 5.↩back to note source

514 boldhede. “ardor, passion, male virility.” Despite the MED’s straightforward definition of boldhede (n.), “boldness, courage, audacity,” the word here has a bawdy sense, for it is the male erection that has fallen. A similar innuendo surrounds the word bold in Love Rune (art. 19), line 60 (note).↩back to note source

515 istunge under gore. “stung under a skirt.” The under gore sexual trope, often found in secular lyrics, is at play here, as it is in Love Rune (art. 19), line 84 (note). Such phrases are frequent in the secular love lyrics of Harley 2253 (Fein, “A Saint ‘Geynest under Gore’”).↩back to note source

519 wise. “tunes, melodies.” See note to line 54, above.↩back to note source

501–22 Sone so thu . . . anon to schome! Stanley offers an intriguing note about the nightingale’s loss of voice after engaging in sex: “The (factually mistaken) belief that the nightingale loses its voice after copulation is ascribed (wrongly) to Pliny by the German philosopher Albertus Magnus (1193?–1280)” (p. 117n507f).↩back to note source

527–28 At than harde, . . . hwo lyth bihynde. “In tough times, it shall be discovered / Who goes forward, who lags behind.” On this proverb (Whiting H107), see commentary in Stanley, pp. 117n529f, 160, 163.↩back to note source

530 wike. “helpful act, dutiful service.” See MED, wik(e) (n.(3)), sense 1d, and compare lines 603 and 805.↩back to note source

540 For lutly. “So as to reduce.” The verb is an attested spelling of MED, litelen (v.), sense 1a, “to diminish, lessen, reduce.”↩back to note source

557 note. “use, usefulness”; see MED, note (n.(2)), sense 1b, with a double entendre on note (n.(3)), “a musical note, tune, harmony.”↩back to note source

562 And nys thi ryel nowiht long. “And your coat’s not long at all.” Among the owl’s insults is a specific mention of the nightingale’s short coat. While this taunt might be taken as a jibe on the difference between religious and secular garb (long versus short), Cartlidge-Owl plausibly sees it as simply another example of species difference: “a jibe at the Nightingale for her unspectacular plumage” (p. 62n562). Giving ryel a metaphorical sense, Atkins, p. 161, translates the line “and thy defence is nothing great” — a definition not supplied in MED, rail (n.), “a garment, clothing, mantle, coat.” This line supplies the last recorded use of this OE word.↩back to note source

571–74 ‘Nis no mon . . . naht ne can.’ On this proverb, see commentary in Stanley, pp. 118n571–74, 160, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 62n571–76.↩back to note source

592 run-huse. “privy.” The word occurs only in Owl, where it appears twice. The reading of rūhus (in both manuscripts) as run-hus, not rum-hus, is based on the analysis of Laing, “The Owl and the Nightingale” pp. 474–75; see line 652, and compare note to lines 651–52, below.↩back to note source

603 gode wike. “useful service.” See note to line 530, above.↩back to note source

604 wike. “dwelling, home.” See MED, wike (n.(1)), sense 1a.↩back to note source

616 blete. “bare.” This adjective is attested only in Owl. See MED, blet (adj. and n.), sense 1a, “bare (boughs).” Compare line 57.↩back to note source

634 in heore duhthe. “when they’re older,” literally “in their maturity.” The noun douthe typically signifies “a body of retainers” or, more generally, “power, wealth.” A meaning regarding human development is attested only here. See MED, douthe (n.), sense 2b, “the full powers of manhood, maturity.”↩back to note source

636 mysketh. “defecates,” a verb formed from Middle English mix (n.), “filth, dung.” Compare The Proverbs of Alfred (art. 24), line 263; and An Orison to Our Lord (art. 25), line 35 (note). Laing, “The Owl and the Nightingale,” pp. 455–62, argues for the superiority of this reading in Jesus 29 compared to Cotton’s mysdeþ.↩back to note source

637 of olde iwurne. “of great antiquity.” See MED, ifern (adv.), sense 1a.↩back to note source

638 neode maketh old wif eorne. “Need makes the old woman trot.” On this widespread proverb (Whiting N54), see commentary in Atkins, pp. 56–57n638; Stanley, pp. 118n638, 160, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 63n638.↩back to note source

651–52 among othre iyende, / A run-hus at heore bures ende. “among other conveniences, / A privy at the far end of their bedchambers.” Laing, “The Owl and the Nightingale,” pp. 473–75, offers a cogent explanation of Cotton’s ipende and Jesus’s iwende as joint misreadings of iȝende, “facilities, conveniences,” in the exemplar. She also corrects the traditional editorial reading of rū hus as rum-hus to run-hus, “a private or secret room.” On this arrangement in aristocratic houses, see Girouard, Life in the English Country House, pp. 55–57. On rum-hus, see note to line 592, above.↩back to note source

655 chaterestre. “chattering girl, chatterbox.” This colorful substantive formed from the verb chateren is attested only here. See MED, chaterestre (n.).↩back to note source

658 Hong up thin ax! “Give up!” On this colloquial expression (Whiting A251), see MED, hongen (v.), sense 1a(b), and commentary in Atkins, p. 57n658; Stanley, pp. 118n658, 161, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 64n658.↩back to note source

672 bihemme. “embellish, embroider, put on airs or frills,” the only instance of the word in Middle English. See MED, bihemmen (v.).↩back to note source

674 niseo. “not discover.” This negative form of the verb is not listed separately in the MED, but see MED,isen (v.(1)), sense 3a(a).↩back to note source

679 upe thon. Atkins notes that this phrase derives from OE uppan þam, “as against that” (p. 58n679). Stanley translates it “even so” (p. 119n679f).↩back to note source

683 yephede. “acuity, cunning, astuteness.” See MED, yephede (n.), related to yep(e) (adj.), sense 1a–b, “mentally agile, cunning, wily.” The word occurs only here in Owl.↩back to note source

687–88 ‘Hwenne the bale is alre hekst, / Thenne is the bote alre-nest.’ “When disaster’s the highest, / Then remedy’s the nearest.” On this widespread proverb (Whiting B22), which is repeated at lines 699–700, see commentary in Atkins, p. 59n687–88; Stanley, pp. 119n687f. and 699f., 161, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 65n687–88,699–700. It also appears in the Harley 2253 version of Hending (CHMS, 3:228–29 (lines 195–96)).↩back to note source

694 red-purs. “bag of wisdom, one’s store of good ideas”; MED, purs(e) (n.), sense 1a. On the expression, see Stanley, p. 119n694; Cartlidge-Owl, p. 67n809–36; and Millett, n694. The figure appears in Marie de France’s fable The Fox and the Cat (Fables, ed. and trans. Spiegel, pp. 248–51; summarized by Stanley, p. 164). Compare lines 809–36 (note).↩back to note source

699–700 ‘Hwenne the bale . . . the bote alre-nexst.’ See note to lines 687–88, above.↩back to note source

709 in sumeretyde. “in summertime.” Most editors accept that sumetyde, found in both Jesus and Cotton, is an error for sumeretyde caused by omission of the -er abbreviation. The emendation is adopted by Stanley, Cartlidge-Owl, and Millett (editors of the Cotton version).↩back to note source

716–20 Wostu to hwan . . . of gode can. The nightingale’s argument takes a homiletic turn here. See note to lines 353–62, above.↩back to note source

729 Clerekes, munekes, and canunes. The reference is to cathedral clergy, monks, and regular canons, as distinguished from parish priests (see line 733). Canons are priests living in a religious community according to a rule, usually the Rule of St. Augustine. All of these religious professions followed a more elaborate devotional routine than parish priests. Left off of this list are friars.↩back to note source

730 wike-tunes. This compound appears only in Owl. See MED, wik(e) (n.(1)), sense 1d, “?a religious community.”↩back to note source

732 And singeth of thon hevene lyhte. As Stanley notes, “In the hymns sung during the midnight service (Matins and Lauds) reference to the coming of light is often made” (p. 121n732).↩back to note source

733 preostes upe londe. “priests in the land.” The reference is to parish priests, that is, the secular clergy as distinguished from the regular clergy listed in line 729.↩back to note source

745–46 Ich graunti that thu go to dome / Tovore the sulve Pope of Rome. “I’d let you go for judgment / Before the Pope of Rome himself.” While Jesus reads thu in line 745, Cotton reads þe, which editors generally emend to we (assuming a scribal confusion between wynn and thorn). In Jesus, the nightingale would allow the owl to seek judgment from the pope; in Cotton, the birds would make the appeal together. Under canon law (the international legal system of the Church), the ultimate court of appeal was the papal court. See Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, pp. 128–29.↩back to note source

748 bles. “blast.” Added by a later hand, this reading is a crux. Cotton reads þes, which Cartlidge accepts as a demonstrative pronoun, so that the line means “You shall hear something else about this” (Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 19, 122n748). See also Atkins, p. 64n748; and Stanley, p. 121n747f.↩back to note source

762 ‘Ne may no strengthe ayeyn red.’ “Strength cannot beat wisdom.” On this widespread proverb (Whiting S833), see commentary in Atkins, pp. 65–66n762; Stanley, pp. 122n762, 161, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 66–67n762,769–72.↩back to note source

769–72 Uvel strengthe is . . . naveth non evening. Compare Whiting W418, “Wit is better than force or strength”; and L381, “Better is lith (cunning) than lither (evil) strength.” Compare this saying to line 762, and see commentary in Stanley, pp. 122n769–72, 161, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 66–67n762,769–72.↩back to note source

795–804 If twey men . . . is so genge? On this analogy between disputation and the sport of wrestling, see lines 1285–86 (note); and Stanley, p. 123n795–804.↩back to note source

805 fele wike. “many services.” See note to line 530, above.↩back to note source

816 he can hongi bi the bowe. “he can hang from a branch.” Given the cat’s critical ability to climb trees (line 833), the poet seems to have blundered in listing this among the fox’s tricks: “It is robbing the fable of its point to include the Cat’s one, but supremely effective, shift, the life-saving ability to climb trees, among the many tricks in the Fox’s bag; it is a blunder in the art of narrative” (Stanley, p. 124n816).↩back to note source

824 vorth the abak. “forward or back.” In this construction, the means “or”; compare line 1360.↩back to note source

833 Bute he can clymbe swithe wel. “He simply knows how to climb well.” On the cat’s one life-saving trick, see note to line 816, above.↩back to note source

707–836 “Ule, thu axest me . . . than thine twelve.” Stanley illuminates a scholastic background for the nightingale’s speech: “It seems possible that the Nightingale is echoing, and applying to herself, an important aspect of a problem that was in the foreground of scholastic discussion in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the connexion of the virtues. It was held that one virtue sincerely exercised could, since all the other virtues were interconnected, embrace all other virtues. The devoted exercise of one virtue could, therefore, surpass the weak or indifferent exercise of all the virtues” (p. 120n707–836). See also Cartlidge-Owl, p. 65n712–14.↩back to note source

809–36 Ofte, hwan hundes . . . than thine twelve. This passage about a fox’s many tricks versus a cat’s single one derives from a popular fable of The Fox and the Cat, which is told by Marie de France (Fables, ed. and trans. Spiegel, pp. 248–51; summarized by Stanley, p. 164). Compare line 694 (note).↩back to note source

868 foliot. “snare,” a word occurring only in Owl. See MED, foliot (n.), “a means of ensnaring or beguiling, a lure or decoy.” Atkins, p. 202n868, proposed a pun on the name of Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London (1163–1187), opponent of Thomas Becket (archbishop of Canterbury, 1162–1170), but the theory has been mostly rejected. For some assessments, see Hume, The Owl and the Nightingale, pp. 7, 68–81; Stanley, p. 125n868; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 70n868.↩back to note source

877–78 If riht goth . . . than thi song. “If right goes ahead and wrong behind, / My weeping is better than your song.” Compare Love Rune (art. 19), line 20 (note).↩back to note source

882 That beoth her wo is hom thes. Literally, “They that are here, woe is them thereof.” Compare Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28), lines 207–08: “Ac trichurs and lyeres, and les / That weren her — wo is ham thes!” (But these traitors and liars, who / Were false here — woe to them!). See Stanley, p. 125n882; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 124n882 (“the phrasing here is strikingly coincidental”).↩back to note source

879–86 Theyh summe men . . . biddeth Cristes ore. As elsewhere, the owl’s speech takes a homiletic turn. See note to lines 353–62, above.↩back to note source

904 bilegge. “to interpret (what is said); to have (a certain) meaning; explain (something).” See MED, bileggen (v.), sense 4.↩back to note source

905–10 Hwi nultu singe . . . men of Galeweye? It was common knowledge in medieval England (and a confirmed fact) that nightingales are rarely found elsewhere. Gerald of Wales observed that there were none in Ireland. Cartlidge quotes Alexander Neckam, De naturis rerum, on the matter: “When she is occupying herself with the allurements of love, this bird abhors those places made unpleasant by the great cold, and if by any chance she visits them at that time, she does not perform her [musical] labour with its sweet modulations” (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 70n905–10; see also Stanley, p. 125n905–10). On Neckam (1157–1217), abbot of Cirenchester Abbey (1213–1217), see Neckam, De naturis rerum, ed. Wright.↩back to note source

910 Galeweye. Galloway, a region of southwest Scotland.↩back to note source

914 writelinge. “warbling.” See note to line 48, above.↩back to note source

926 That thi dwele-song heo ne forlere. dwele means “delusive, misleading” (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 173; glossary, s.v. dweole (adj.)) or “heretical, perverse” (Stanley, p. 179; glossary, s.v. dweole (adj.)). See MED, dwele (n.), sense 2b, where dwele song is defined as “beguiling song.” Forleren, an Old English verb, is very rare in Middle English and this line in Owl marks its final instance. It means “to teach (someone) falsely, to mislead, to seduce” (MED, forleren (v.)).↩back to note source

935–38 For the ule . . . to heore ned. The nightingale’s response to the owl’s charge of her singing near human privies has been delayed, as part of the poem’s comedy of legal attack and well-considered counterattack. Stanley comments: “It is strange that the Nightingale should only now be thinking of the Owl’s words at lines 592–96. She has had her chance to answer this charge in her last speech, 707–836” (p. 126n936–38).↩back to note source

941 The wraththe binymeth monnes red. “Wrath deprives a man of his wits.” On this proverb (Whiting W703; compare W701, W702), see commentary in Stanley, pp. 126n941, 161, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 71n941, 945–48.↩back to note source

943–44 “Selde endeth . . . wel the wrothe.” “The hateful seldom end well, / And the wrathful seldom plead well.” On this proverb (Whiting L417), see commentary in Atkins, p. 80n943; Stanley, pp. 126n943f., 161, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 71n943–44. Other instances of the proverb have erendeth, “intercedes,” instead of endeth, and Stanley, Cartlidge-Owl, and Millett (n943) accept this emendation of the Cotton text (positing an omission of the -er abbreviation).↩back to note source

948 breth. “passion.” For this meaning, see MED, breth (n.(1)), sense 2a(b), “fervent spirit, ardor, passion,” where this line and line 1454 are the only instances cited. Translating breth as “vapour,” Cartlidge-Owl, p. 71n945–50, discusses medieval medical theories that may inform lines 945–50. See also MED, breth (n.(2)), “wrath, anger, vengeful spirit,” which might infect the meaning here.↩back to note source

961–64 Wenestu that wise . . . in neste thine? The proverb (Whiting S891) is also recorded in Handlyng Synne; see Stanley, pp. 127n961–64, 161, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 72n963–64.↩back to note source

965 one hole brede. “a board’s hole,” that is, a privy. The Nightingale argues that her natural haunt is near the bedroom of lovers, and it is not her fault if the privy happens to be nearby.↩back to note source

999–1014 That lond nys . . . ut of helle. Commentators sometimes relate this notable description of a wild foreign landscape and its primitive inhabitants to the Anglo-Saxon narrative of Othere’s journey to Norway, recorded in King Alfred’s Orosius; later travel narratives known in England have also been cited. Critics have also disputed whether the place intended is Norway, Scotland, or Ireland. See the summaries in Stanley, p. 128n999–1014; and Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 73–74n999–1014.↩back to note source

1016 (So hwile dude sum from Rome). “As someone from Rome once did.” This seemingly topical reference to a specific papal missionary has not been convincingly identified. The candidates who have been proposed are enumerated by Stanley, p. 129n1016; and by Cartlidge-Owl, p. 74n1015–18.↩back to note source

1021–22 He myhte bet . . . scheld and spere. “He’d do better to teach a bear / How to hold shield and spear.” This fanciful image recalls the colorful drawings of animals impersonating human actions, drolleries found in the margins of ornate manuscripts. It also evokes the world of beast fable, as do two birds of different species in impassioned debate. For some interesting analogues, see Atkins, p. 87n1021–22, who cites Neckam’s De naturis rerum; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 74n1021–22. See also the entertaining array of animals armed for warfare, as depicted in the manuscript marginalia, in Jackson, “Medieval killer rabbits,” and Biggs, Knight v. Snail.”↩back to note source

1030 ise. “iron,” a form of the word attested in Old English; see MED, iren (n.), where this line is cited under sense 3a. Both manuscripts read ire, “iron.” For the rhyme, Atkins emends ire in both manuscripts to ise, a change followed here. Both Stanley and Cartlidge retain the reading ire. See the discussion by Cartlidge-Owl, p. 126n1030.↩back to note source

1035 leve tydinge. “welcome tidings, good news”; see MED, lef (adj. & adv.), sense 2c. In Cotton, the reading is loue tiþinge, “love tidings.”↩back to note source

1039–42 ‘Mon schal eryen . . . ne springth ne bled.’ On this widespread proverb on sowing and reaping (Whiting S542), biblical in origin, see commentary in Stanley, pp. 130n1039f., 161, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 74n1037–42. Compare Poema Morale (art. 3), line 23; and The Proverbs of Alfred (art. 24), lines 52–53.↩back to note source

1052 bothe lowe and buve. “both low and high.” See MED, boven (adv.), sense 1a, and compare note to line 1346, below.↩back to note source

1049–62 Enes thu sunge . . . hors were todrawe! A version of this story of the nightingale and the jealous husband appears in Marie de France’s lai Laüstic (The Lais, trans. Hanning and Ferrante, pp. 155–59; summarized by Stanley, pp. 165–66). The detail of the nightingale torn apart by wild horses appears in the chapter on the nightingale in Neckam’s De naturis rerum (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 103).↩back to note source

1066 sprenge. “bird snare.” This rare word, “sprinkling,” is recorded only here as a physical object. See MED, sprenge (n.), sense 1b.↩back to note source

1072 “Wel viht that wel spekth.” “He fights well who speaks well.” Repeated at line 1074, this proverb (Whiting F142) is recorded only in Owl. See Stanley, pp. 131n1072, 161, 163.↩back to note source

1081 He hire bilek in one bure. “He locked her in a chamber.” The motif of a woman (wife or daughter) imprisoned by a jealous, possessive man (husband, suitor, or father), in a bower (that is, a bedchamber or tower) recurs in romance and fabliau. The situation exists in Marie de France’s lai Yonec (The Lais, trans. Hanning and Ferrante, pp. 137–52), where the wife receives consolation and love from a hawk that can change into a man. See Atkins, p. 91n1081ff.; and Stanley, p. 131n1081–86.↩back to note source

1091 Kyng Henri. The name has been traditionally taken to refer to King Henry II (d. 1189); line 1092 indicates that the king is now dead (Stanley, pp. 131–32n1091f.). According to Millett, Owl “is likely to date from before 1216, the accession of Henry III. Henry II, as a patron of courtly literature (including the Lais of Marie de France), could be seen as an appropriate supporter for the nightingale” (n1091). Cartlidge argues plausibly, however, for a much later date, not very distant from the making of the Cotton and Jesus manuscripts, with the reference being to Henry III (d. 1272) or to a fictitious king (Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 75–76); for the argument in full detail, see Cartlidge, “The Date.” Compare the complimentary references to Henry III that appear in Love Rune (art. 19), lines 41 (note), 51 (note). Compare also the proposed dates based on lines 1730 (note) and 1767 (note), and the discussion on dating in the Introduction to this volume (pp. 11n47, 18).↩back to note source

1093 forbonne. “banished,” a verb attested only here. See MED, forbannen (v.).↩back to note source

1110 agrulle. “annoy.” A rare word; see MED, agrillen (v.), sense 1a.↩back to note source

1111 ermyng. “wretch.” See Poema Morale (art. 3), line 317 (note).↩back to note source

1119 the totorveth and toheneth. “violently pelt and injure you.” The to- prefixes accentuate the acts’ forceful aggression. Both verbs are rare. For totorveth, see MED, totorven (v.), “to pelt (sb.), especially with turf or stones,” attested only thrice in Middle English (two times in Owl; see also line 1166). The verb toheneth is attested only here; see MED, tohenen (v.), “to injure (sb.), greatly, afflict grievously.”↩back to note source

1124 codde. “paunch, belly.” See MED, cod (n.(1)), sense 3b, which cites this line.↩back to note source

1148 Hit is ever of mannes unhwate. “It dwells incessantly on human calamity.” On the ancient and medieval tradition of the owl as a harbinger of death and disaster, see Cartlidge-Owl, p. 77n1145–50, who lists a plethora of sources, from Ovid (Metamorphoses, trans. Mandelbaum, 5.548–49), to Pliny, John of Salisbury, Bartholomeus Anglicus, Albertus Magnus, and Chaucer’s Parliament of Fowls (“The oule ek, that of deth the bode bryngeth,” line 343). Citing Ovid, the medieval Bestiary follows the tradition: “It is a bird associated with death, . . . among the augurs it was said to foreshadow evil” (trans. Barber, Bestiary, p. 148). On unhwate, see MED, unwhate (n.), a word appearing only twice and only in Owl: here (in Jesus and Cotton) and at line 1267 (in Cotton only).↩back to note source

1156 theves rune. Literally, “the secrets of thieves.” For this interpretation of the word rune, which differs from Stanley’s “hue and cry” (p. 136n1215), see Cartlidge-Owl, p. 128n1156; and MED, roun(e) (n.(2)), sense 1a.↩back to note source

1166 totorveth. See note to line 1119, above.↩back to note source

1174 al that wereth lynnene cloth! “all who wear linen cloth.” This line has provoked controversy over who the wearers of linen might be. Context suggests that Millett is right: “the reference may be to the linen surplices of the clergy” (n1174). Others have understood the line to refer more broadly to “All socially respectable people, lay or clerical, but not the poor, nor the peasantry (nor, for that matter, monks),” that is, those who “wore linen (i.e., underclothing)” (Stanley, p. 134n1174). See Cartlidge’s lengthy discussion (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 78n1174).↩back to note source

1177–78 Ertu ihoded . . . thu cursest unihoded? As Stanley notes, “The right to pronounce a curse in the divine name is a part of the priestly office; and outside the priesthood no man has authority to do so” (p. 134n1177–79).↩back to note source

1180 Ich not if thu were preost. The Cotton reading for Jesus 29’s preost is ȝaure prest, a phrase that has puzzled editors. Laing, “The Owl and the Nightingale,” pp. 471–73, corrects the adjective to wavre; the phrase means “vagabond priest,” a type held in contempt by medieval society. The Jesus scribe omitted the exemplar’s adjective, which had yogh for wynn, probably because he could not construe its meaning.↩back to note source

1182 mansynge. “excommunicating, cursing.” See MED, mansing(e) (ger.), sense 1(a), “the act of excommunicating,” which only priests were empowered to do.↩back to note source

1186 Drah to the! “Pull harder!, Try again!” The precise meaning of this saying (Whiting C62) is disputed by critics (see Cartlidge’s summary in Cartlidge-Owl, p. 78n1186). Context suggests that the owl mocks the nightingale for the losing argument just rebutted, taunting her that she will have to find something better in order to win.↩back to note source

1206 smithes sale uvele clenche. Literally, “smiths will badly clinch with rivets.” Stanley explains why smiths are listed: “Smiþes here means ‘armourers’, who are subjects of Mars, and who, if they bungle their riveting, will bring about calamity” (p. 135n1206). Cartlidge thinks the reference embraces “blacksmiths, armourers or shipwrights” (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 79n1206).↩back to note source

1213 toknynge. “prophecy.” See MED, tokning(e) (ger.), sense 2a: “an omen, a portent; a prediction, prophecy.” On the owl’s overall claim that her powers come from “devout and wholesome study,” see Cartlidge-Owl, p. 79n1208–14.↩back to note source

1215 rem. “hue and cry.” See MED rem, (n.(1)), sense 1a. A hue and cry is a call raised for the pursuit of a felon; whoever hears it must arm himself and join in pursuit.↩back to note source

1225–26 ‘If thu isyst her heo beo icume / His strengthe is him wel neyh binume.’ “If you see beforehand that it’s coming, / Its strength is virtually robbed from it.” The proverb is similar in meaning to “Forewarned is forearmed”: if a calamity is perceived in advance, it can be prepared for and somewhat alleviated. Compare Whiting W392: “He is wise that is (will be) ware.” See discussion by Stanley, pp. 136n1225f., 161, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 79n1225–32.↩back to note source

1258 awene. “vex, trouble, distress (someone).” See MED, ahwenen (v.). The only two occurrences of this Old English-derived verb in Middle English appear in Owl; compare line 1564.↩back to note source

1235–60 Thauh ic iseo . . . harem the ner. The argument on divination presented here by the owl can be compared to serious studies and formulations by medieval theologians, philosophers, and scholars who pondered the problem of the relationship between human free will and divine foreknowledge. See especially Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 79–81n1233–42, who cites relevant passages from Augustine’s De civitate Dei, Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, and John of Salisbury’s Policraticus, and adds, as well, Neckam’s De naturis rerum, Albertus Magnus’s writings, and Chaucer’s Nun’s Priest’s Tale (CT VII[B2]3234–50). On the poem’s parody of this weighty topic, see also Stanley, p. 137n1241f.; and A. C. Cawley, “Astrology in ‘The Owl and the Nightingale.’”↩back to note source

1264 huyng. “hooting.” See MED, huing (ger.), derived from heuen (v.(3)). This occurrence is the only attested instance of the gerund.↩back to note source

1267 unhap. “misfortune.” The reading in Cotton is unwhate, “misfortune.” See note to line 1148, above.↩back to note source

1271–72 ‘everich mon the bet him beo / Ever the bet he him biseo.’ “‘the better off each man is, / The more ought he plan ahead.” For this proverb, see Whiting B275.↩back to note source

1273–84 Ne triste no . . . turneth to grome. As Stanley states, “A number of proverbs are here joined together into one gnomic utterance” (p. 138n1271–80); see also Atkins, p. 108n1273–74; Stanley, pp. 161, 163; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 81.↩back to note source

1285–86 Go so hit go, at eche fenge /Thu vallest mid thin owe swenge! “However it goes with every bout, / You fall down by your own swing!” An analogy between disputation and wrestling or boxing, as in lines 795–804. On fenge as “bout,” see MED, feng (n.), sense 1b, “a coming to grips (in an argument), a bout,” where Owl is the only example of this rare word employed this way.↩back to note source

1297 heo hire understod. “she gathered her thoughts, pondered.” On this reflexive use of the verb, see MED, understonden (v.), sense 7a.↩back to note source

1298–1314 “Ule, artu wod? . . . natheles thu were. On the nightingale’s arguments about witchcraft (divination by necromancy) and excommunication by priest’s edict, Stanley offers this summary: “She had authority for cursing the Owl (1169–74), for the priestly authority . . . had been exercised long ago in condemnation of witchcraft; yet even if that had not been so, cursing has become so universal that the Nightingale is not alone in doing so” (p. 139n1305–16). See also Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 81–82n1298–1308.↩back to note source

1325–28 On ape may . . . top ne more. The figurative use of apes and monkeys in literature and art, as comically unreasoning imitators of humans, is widespread in medieval culture. For many pertinent analogies, see Stanley, p, 140n1325–28; Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 82–83n1325–28; and Lerer, “The Owl, the Nightingale, and the Apes.” For the phrase top ne more, see MED, top (n.(1)), sense 1a, “”neither top nor root, nothing at all.”↩back to note source

1342 copinere. “lover.” See MED, copenere (n.); and compare The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28), line 103.↩back to note source

1346 Thane that schal hire beo bove. “The man who will be her lord,” literally “The one who shall be above her.” See MED, bove (adv.), sense 1a, “above, aloft, on high,” and compare note to line 1052, above.↩back to note source

1357 luvye derne. “secret love.” See A Little Sooth Sermon (art. 16), line 34 (note).↩back to note source

1360 wel the wrothe. “good or ill.” In this construction, the means “or”; compare line 824.↩back to note source

1378–81 Beo hwich heo . . . unvele and forbroyde! The nightingale’s distinction is between mutual love (which is always proper) and forcible seduction and rape (which is always wrong). The verb atbroyde, a key to the meaning, is difficult to translate precisely. See MED, atbroiden (ppl.), sense 1b, “diverted,” where this line is the only instance. See also the discussions of Stanley, p. 142n1380; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 132n1380–81.↩back to note source

1392 more. Literally, “root.” On the figurative sense of this line (That stumpeth at the fleysses more), see MED, mor(e) (n.(1)), sense 1c: “to fall into sin because of the stumbling-block of physical appetite.”↩back to note source

1400 wlonkhede. “pomposity.” The only recorded instance of this word, found only in Jesus. See MED, wlonkhede (n.), “?wantonness,” but the meaning would seem to be associated with wlonk (adj.), sense 2, “pompous, proud.” The reading in Cotton is another nonce word: wrouehede, “peevishness, perverseness, irritability.” See discussions in Stanley, pp. 144–45n1400; and Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 133–34n1400.↩back to note source

1395–1408 Ne beoth noht . . . fleys the gost? This passage is often cited as a variation of the many enumerations of the Seven Deadly Sins found in medieval literature. In Jesus 29 specifically, compare The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), lines 79–85 (note); and the more general depictions in A Little Sooth Sermon and A Homily on Sooth Love (arts. 16, 26). Cartlidge-Owl, p. 86n1395–1410, and Stanley, pp. 143–44n1395–1416, provide many analogues, drawn from Hugh of St. Victor, Alain de Lille, Ancrene Wisse, Holy Maidenhood, Handlyng Synne, and the later Piers Plowman. It is typical of Owl that the passage sets up the sins themselves as vying in a contest for “worse” between sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit.↩back to note source

1428 chirche-bende. “church-bond, the sacrament of marriage.” See MED, chirche (n.), sense 9.↩back to note source

1446 tohte ilete. “drawn (taut) expression.” On ilete, see note to line 35, above.↩back to note source

1454 breth. See note to line 948, above.↩back to note source

1449–58 Ic theche heom . . . adun myd alle. On the theme of fleeting love, which is here matched lyrically to a nightingale’s ephemeral song, compare Love Rune (art. 19), lines 21–28. As Cartlidge notes, life’s transitory joys are also evoked in Poema Morale (art. 3) and The Proverbs of Alfred (art. 24), but, he adds, “as far as I know, the beautiful metaphor in l. 1454 is unparalleled in medieval literature” (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 88n1449–54).↩back to note source

1458 myd alle. “altogether, completely.” On the phrase, see MED, mid (prep.(1)), sense 11a; and compare The Proverbs of Alfred (art. 24), line 118.↩back to note source

1461 breth. “breath, sexual passion.” See note to line 948, above.↩back to note source

1468 utschute. “excess.” See MED, outshot (n.), which normally means “a projection or extension of a building.” This instance in Owl is cited as bearing sense 1c, “sexual misbehavior or excess,” and it is the only line with that meaning.↩back to note source

1483 Hure. “least of all.” See Stanley, p. 148n1483.↩back to note source

1485–86 And that he forleose that ther hongeth / That him eft tharto noht ne longeth. “Lest he lose what hangs there, / Causing him to never again desire that way.” According to Stanley, thirteenth-century English law permitted an injured husband to castrate his wife’s lover, but murdering the adulterous couple was not allowed (p. 148n1485f.).↩back to note source

1490 spanne. “seduce.” The verb is attested only here; see MED, spannen (v.(2)), “to seduce (someone’s wife).”↩back to note source

1507 freomon. “worthy man.” See note to line 131, above.↩back to note source

1516 beoth of thine imunde. “are of concern or interest to you.” See MED, iminde (n.), sense 2a, and compare line 252.↩back to note source

1522 unisome. “at odds, in disagreement.” This word of Old English origin appears only twice in Middle English, the earlier one dated 1150. See MED, unisome (adj.).↩back to note source

1527 riche. “proper.” The spelling is a variant of the reading in Cotton: riȝte.↩back to note source

1521–38 For hit ityd . . . fust in the theth. On this depiction of a woman’s lot when married to a sexual cheater and violent abuser, one may compare, in the English tradition, the early-thirteenth-century Holy Maidenhood (Savage and Watson, trans., Anchoritic Spirituality, pp. 236–37). From the patristic period on, strong depictions of the “woes of marriage” were included in works recommending female or male celibacy. On the theme of marriage in Owl, from different perspectives, see especially Cartlidge, Medieval Marriage, pp. 174–99; Coleman, “The Owl and the Nightingale and Papal Theories of Marriage”; Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 90–91, 103–05; and Stanley, pp. 149–50n1521–1602, 166–67.↩back to note source

1564 ahweneth. “vex, upset.” See note to line 1258, above.↩back to note source

1574 sputing. “disputing.” See MED, sputing (ger.), the only instance of this form in Middle English.↩back to note source

1582 iduwe. “useful, profitable.” The only instance of this Old English-derived word in Middle English. See MED, idoue (adj.).↩back to note source

1586 houth-sythe. “departure.” The only instance of this Old English-derived word in Middle English. See MED,houth-sithe (n.), “?An anxious or distressing journey, ?a long journey, ?departure.”↩back to note source

1583–92 The louerd into . . . thinkth a mile. The owl ventures into lyric elegy with this evocation of the faithful wife’s lonely grief upon the departure of her husband. Stanley, pp. 151–52n1586, and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 91n1575–92, cite comparable scenes in Holy Maidenhood, Ancrene Wisse, and the later Franklin’s Tale by Chaucer (CT V[F]817–21).↩back to note source

1604 alemed. “paralyzed, lame.” The only instance of this word in Middle English. See MED, alamed (ppl.).↩back to note source

1613 ascheule. “scare away (birds).” The only instance of this word in Middle English; it is associated with the word sheuel, “scarecrow.” See MED, asheu(e)len (v.).↩back to note source

1618 unmethe. “difficult, ungentle.” The owl is saying that her rebuttal puts the nightingale in a hard spot, that is, at a disadvantage in the dispute. The construction is impersonal and means “it is difficult/disagreeable for you.” Cotton has inmeathe (= unneathe), “difficult,” yielding a similar meaning. See the discussions of this crux by Atkins, p. 136n1618; Stanley, p. 152n1618; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 137–38n1618.↩back to note source

1623 Ah thah my lif me beo atschote. “But yet when my life’s passed out of me.” The verb is attested only in Owl, where it appears twice. See note to line 44, above.↩back to note source

1632 stal ne stode. “nor afford any help.” Compare Love Rune (art. 19), line 100: hit wolde him stonde muchel stel (“it would afford him much help”). Stanley suggests that there is a pun on stal, “decoy bird”: “But you never helped mankind as a decoy bird, alive or dead” (p. 153n1631f.). See MED, stal(le) (n.), sense 5, and stal(e) (n.(4)), “decoy.”↩back to note source

1639–51 Nule ic with . . . gest an honde. On the nightingale’s legal ploy, arguing that an error in argument has caused the owl to forfeit, see the discussion of English law provided by Cartlidge-Owl, p. 92n1638–52. Cartlidge finds the nightingale’s claim to be specious.↩back to note source

1658–60 Tharvore, anon to . . . grete and smale. This early instance of a “parliament” of birds is of great literary interest, particularly in comparison to Chaucer’s much-later Parliament of Fowls. In a lengthy note, Atkins, pp. 140–41n1658ff., cites, of works earlier than Owl, Marie de France’s fable of The Eagle, the Hawk, and the Doves (Fables, ed. and trans. Spiegel, pp. 172–73) and Alain de Lille’s De Planctus Naturae. See too Marie’s fable of The Eagle, the Hawk, and the Crane (Fables, ed. and trans. Spiegel, pp. 214–17). Jill Mann comments that “It is equally likely . . . that the poet knew the Speculum stultorum, for the parliament of birds reported by the ass Burnellus provides the only previous model for avian debate, and also anticipates the English poem in its comic blurring of avian behaviour and human morality” (From Aesop to Reynard, p. 149). See, too, discussions provided by Stanley, pp. 153–54n1658–60; Cartlidge-Owl, p. 92n1658–60; and Honegger, From Phoenix to Chauntecleer, pp. 103–30.↩back to note source

1663 wise. “melodies.” See note to line 54, above.↩back to note source

1666 taveleth. “plays at dice.” On this reference to gambling, see the lengthy discussions by Stanley, p. 154n1666; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 92n1665–66.↩back to note source

1679–82 The seolve cok . . . under welkne bi nyhte. Although the cock is not a bird of prey, its nature is bellicose. These lines represent an early reference “to the fighting qualities of the cock, and, by extension, to cock-fighting” (Stanley, p. 154n1679). Medieval writers also classified cocks as nocturnal singers like owls; on this notion, see Cartlidge-Owl, p. 93n1680–82, who cites Ambrose and Pliny.↩back to note source

1683 up eu on utest grede. “raise a hue and cry against you.” See note to line 1215, above.↩back to note source

1689 voreward. “agreement” with quasi-legal, contractual overtones. See MED, fore-ward (n.), sense 1, “an agreement, contract, treaty, bargain,” and compare the end of the General Prologue in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, where the Host certifies the pilgrims’ agreement to tell tales along the way by declaring: “Ye woot youre foreward, and I it yow recorde” (CT I[A]829).↩back to note source

1703 wise. “song.” See note to line 54, above.↩back to note source

1711 The nihtegale. Both manuscripts have a large capital thorn at the beginning of this line, but the syntax does not indicate a break or transition. The error had to have been present in the exemplar (Stanley, pp. 5, 155n1711). The proper break occurs at line 1717.↩back to note source

1710–16 Heo wolde natheles . . . for arehthe swete. The advice to put on a brave face to deflect a powerful enemy was acted upon earlier by the nightingale (lines 402–08, 1067–74). On ilete, “brave face,” see note to line 35, above.↩back to note source

1717 The wrenne. The transition is inserted editorially. See note to line 1711, above.↩back to note source

1724–25 Vor theih heo nere abred ibred a wolde / Heo wes itowen among mankunne. “For though she’d not been bred in the woods, / She’d been educated among humans.” The reference is apparently to a lost fable about a wren (Stanley, p. 155n1724–26).↩back to note source

1728 Tofore the kinge thah heo scholde. “Even if she were in the king’s presence.” The wren is associated with royal rank because the Latin word for “wren” is regulus, “little king.” Neckam explains the Latin name by means of a story: the birds agree that whoever can fly the highest will be their king; the wren succeeds by first hiding in the eagle’s wing and then, when the eagle has flown very high, it perches on the eagle’s head (Neckam, De naturis rerum, ed. Wright, p. xxv; see also Stanley, p. 167, and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 93n1723–28).↩back to note source

1730 pays. “peace,” that is, the king’s peace. Many commentators take this word as a clue as to Owl’s date of composition. It may indicate “the peace declared by the justiciar Hubert Walter in 1195, . . . which was imposed by an oath taken by everyone over fifteen years of age, and so must have had a wide impact” (Mann, From Aesop to Reynard, p. 149n1). See Mann’s presentation of the historical scholarship; and also Stanley, p. 156n1730f., and Cartlidge-Owl, pp. 93–94n1730–34. Compare the proposed dates based on lines 1091 (note) and 1767 (note).↩back to note source

1733 Hunke. “You two.” See MED, ink (pron. (dual)); and Stanley, pp. 156–57n1733f.↩back to note source

1750 in hore lynde. “in a linden tree.” The prepositional form of a (indefinite article) is spelled ore in both manuscripts at lines 17, 1750, and 1754, except for this instance in Jesus 29; see Cartlidge-Owl, p. 166 (glossary, s.v. a). It is possible, however, that the Jesus scribe preserves here an adjective of color: “in a gray-white linden.” See MED, hor (adj.), senses 1a–c.↩back to note source

1754 Bi thare see in ore utlete. “Near the sea on an inlet,” an accurate description of the topography of Portesham.↩back to note source

1767 rente on vale stude. “revenues from many places.” Atkins comments, “There is abundant evidence as to the contemporary practice of inducting into livings persons of influence whom either ignorance or youth disqualified for such charges. Bishop Grosseteste in the first half of the 13th century tried to put an end to these abuses” (p. 150n1775ff.). Yet the practice of granting multiple livings was so common as to be rather ordinary, and it is difficult to gauge whether it is regarded here as an abuse or as a proper way to reward Nicholas. See discussions by Stanley, p. 158n1773–76; and by Cartlidge-Owl, p. 94n1759–68, who argues that if Nicholas was trained in law (line 1756), the poem can best be dated in the period from the 1230s to the 1320s. Compare the proposed dates based on lines 1091 (note) and 1730 (note).↩back to note source

1775–76 With heore kunne, heo beoth mildre / And yeveth rente lutle childre! “To their own families, they’re more gentle / And give revenues to little children!” A complaint about rampant nepotism in the giving of preferments. Cartlidge notes that the problem persisted in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, so the complaint cannot help to date Owl (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 95n1775–76). Bennett and Smithers cite an egregious example: “[I]n the fourteenth century one Philip Beauchamp had a canonry before he was six and fourteen preferments by the time he was as many years old” (Early Middle English Verse and Prose, p. 275n733).↩back to note source

1777–78 So heore wit hi demeth adwole / That ever abit Mayster Nichole. “Thus do their own wits judge them to be wrong / In how Master Nicholas continues to wait.” In upbraiding Nicholas’s superiors, the poet seems unlikely to win them over. As Cartlidge comments, “The request that Nicholas should be better paid is hardly likely to have succeeded, unless his patrons were able to appreciate the poem’s impudence as an aspect of its wit” (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 95n1777–80). On the difficulty in translating line 1777, see MED, adwole (adv. (or phr.)), “falsely, erroneously,” a word appearing nowhere else; Stanley, p. 158n1777f.; and Cartlidge-Owl, p. 141n1777.↩back to note source

1785–86 al ende of orde, / Telle ic con word after worde. “from beginning to end, / I can repeat it word for word.” Cartlidge notes that Nicholas “is clearly expected to receive the debate as a text rather than as a trial taking place in front of him. In this respect, the evidence made available to him for judging between the two birds is no different (at least in form) from that provided to the readers or hearers of the poem” (Cartlidge-Owl, p. 95n1781–88). This observation is not quite true, however, for the owl’s recitation of the speeches would necessarily omit the narrator’s voice, which sometimes depicts the disputants’ emotional reactions and mental ruminations. Nonetheless, the idea that the poem just read is the verbatim transcript to be recited before Nicholas renders Owl akin to Love Rune, which becomes the actual writ (a “rune” or song) to be drawn out and read (or sung) repeatedly by the “maid of Christ”; see Love Rune (art. 19), line 102 (note).↩back to note source

1787 misrempe. “go astray.” This verb is attested only here and, in Cotton only, at line 1353 (where the Jesus manuscript reads misnyme, “goes astray”). See MED, misrempen (v.), “to go wrong, make a mistake.”↩back to note source

1788 me crempe. “make me stop.” The verb is attested only here. See MED, crempen (v.), “to turn (sth.) back, restrain.”↩back to note source