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Textual Notes

8
synglure. I.e., “unique.” A and Gor emend to synglere; G to syngulere. I follow the MS reading, since -ure rhymes with -ere in words of French origin, as H notes.back to note source
11
fordolked. G emends to fordokked.back to note source
17
herte. MS: hert. G also emends for the sake of meter.back to note source
25
mot. In the MS only the t is clear. Editors have emended to mot.back to note source
26
runne. MS: ruen (runnen). Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
35
spryngande. MS: sprygande. I accord with A, AW, G, and Gor who emend to spryngande; H and V retain MS reading and divide spryg ande.back to note source
46
fayr reflayr. AW suggest that word division in the MS is unreliable and that fayrre flayr, the conditional/comparative construction gives a more logical reading. But Cleanness, line 1079, gives “Þer watȝ rose reflayr where rote hatȝ ben ever,” which suggests that the MS reading in Pearl is probably correct. See MED reflair(e) n.back to note source
49
spenned. MS: sped (spennd). V reads spenud; AW retain spennd.back to note source
53
penned. MS: speed (spenned). I follow AW and G in emending to penned (“imprisoned”) on the basis of alliteration and the grounds that the poet normally avoids repeating rhymes.back to note source
54
fyrce. MS: fyrte. Editors, except H and V, emend. See note to line 675.back to note source
60
precios. MS: p9cos (precos). Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
68
ryche. MS: rych. G also emends.back to note source
72
adubbemente. MS: adubmente. My emendation accords with AW, G, and Gor. A and V emend to adubbement.back to note source
77
on slydes. MS: onslydeȝ. My reading agrees with A, AW, and Gor, who read as two separate words, “slide over each other.”back to note source
81
gravayl that. G emends to gravayl that I.back to note source
89
flowen. MS: floyen, with y changed to w by scribe.back to note source
95
gracios. MS: gracos. Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
103
feier. G and H emend to feirer.back to note source
106
bukes. Editors, except V, have emended as bonkes. The word in the MS is either bukes or bnkes. Although u and n are virtually indistinguishable in the MS, editors have added o to read bonkes, “steep banks.” V argues for a reading of bukes as variant spelling of bek, “small stream.” Streams sparkling as spun gold makes far more sense than river banks sparkling.back to note source
113
stonden. AW emend to stoden, “shone.”back to note source
115
As. MS: a. Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
119
alle. H emends to all.back to note source
122
wlonke. MS: wlonk. G also emends.back to note source
131
waynes. H reads as “gains”: “the mortal for whom she gains her intent.”back to note source
134
I tom. G emends to tom I.back to note source
138
over. MS: 9 (other). Editors emend to over, except H and V, who retain MS reading.back to note source
142
hoped. MS: hope. Editors, except H and V, emend.back to note source
144
ay. MS: a. Editors, except H and V, emend.back to note source
154
wo. G emends to wothe.back to note source
166
schore. Gor emends to shore.back to note source
179
astount. MS: atount. I follow AW and G in emending to astount on the basis of alliteration.back to note source
185
hoped. MS: hope. Editors, except H and V, emend.back to note source
192
precios. MS: p9cos (precos). Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
200
yyen. G and Gor emend to ene.back to note source
225
tonge. MS: tong. G also emends.back to note source
229
pyse. G and Gor emend to pyece; H to pece.back to note source
241
quoth. Gor and H render as quod. The manuscript abbreviation for this word gives no indication of present or past tense. I expand throughout to quoth.back to note source
244
thee. MS: þe. I have followed METS policy of differentiating the pronoun from the article on grounds that they were probably pronounced differently in the fourteenth century; so too in lines 263, 266, 267, 268, 274, 316, 341, 343, 385, 397, 402, 474, 558, 560, 700, 707, 743, 747, 764, 910, 967, 973, 975, and 1199.back to note source
252
jueler. MS: juelere. I have emended so that the spelling corresponds with the other end-words of stanzas in this fitt.back to note source
262
nee. G emends to ne.back to note source
nere. MS: here. H and V retain here. I follow A, AW, G, and Gor in emending for logic.back to note source
286
broght. MS: broȝ. Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
blysse. MS: blys. G also emends.back to note source
288
joyfol. Gor reads ioyful.back to note source
302
loves. Most editors emend to leves (“believes”) here and in line 308. I agree with V in retaining MS loueȝ. The dreamer’s love of the visible world is central to the story. As V notes, loves also builds effective word-play with the two uses of leve in the stanza.back to note source
319
counsayle. MS: coūsayl (counsayl). G’s emendation, followed by Gor.back to note source
323
man. MS: ma. G, H, and V do not emend.back to note source
331
gares. G emends to gare.back to note source
335
perle. MS: perleȝ. Editors, except H, emend.back to note source
342
in wele and wo. MS: & wele & wo. Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
353
Stynst. A, AW, G, and Gor emend to stynt. As G notes, the scribe also used a similar form in Cleanness, line 359. V cites H. L. Savage’s review of Gordon’s edition of Pearl (MLN 71 [1956], 127), who argues that stynst is a correct form.back to note source
358
And thy. G emends to that alle thy.back to note source
fleme. MS: leme. Along with A, C, and AW, I follow Gor’s emendation to fleme, “banish.” Other editors retain leme, “And through thy losses gently gleam” (H).back to note source
359
marre. G emends to marred.back to note source
363
rapely I rave. MS: rapely raue. Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
369
kythes. MS: lyþeȝ. Following G, editors, except H and V, emend.back to note source
381
carpe. MS: carp. G also emends.back to note source
382
maneres. MS: marereȝ. G emends to maneres, “manners,” and is followed by A, AW, and Gor. H derives mareres from mare res, “great eloquence”; V retains mareres, “vitality,” as variant spelling of marrow.back to note source
396
in. A emends to and.back to note source
399
byde. V reads as uyde, “wade.”back to note source
418
Hys lef is. For logic there must be a stop, however unusual the mid-line caesura, following is.back to note source
426
vyrgyn flour. H emends to vyrgynflor.back to note source
433
sayde. MS: syde. Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
441
hevens. H emends to hevenes.back to note source
460
tryste. MS: tyste. Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
461
sawle. MS: sawhe. Editors emend, though V claims that MS indicates correction to sawle.back to note source
469
Cortaysé. G emends to cortaysye.back to note source
472
Line missing in MS. G supplies, Me thynk thou spekes now ful wronge, and V suggests, To speke of a new note I long.back to note source
479
he. MS: ho. Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
480
cortaysé. G emends to cortaysye. AW and H read cortayse as a noun, “courteous one.”back to note source
486
fyrste. MS: fyrst. G also emends.back to note source
499
In sample. G and V join words as insample for ensample, “parable.”back to note source
505
thys. G emends to hys.back to note source
510
pené on a day. G omits on.back to note source
523
resonabele. G emends to resnabele.back to note source
524
pay. MS: pray. Editors, except H and V, emend.back to note source
527
nw. G emends to new.back to note source
529
date of day. MS: day of date. Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
532
hem. MS: hen. Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
535
yemen. Editors, except V (ye men), write as one word.back to note source
538
and. MS: & &. H and V retain and and, “and when.”back to note source
542
meyny. G emends to meny.back to note source
543
owe. G emends to awe.back to note source
544
reprené. G emends to repreny.back to note source
547
lowe. G emends to lawe.back to note source
550
hade. H emends to had.back to note source
557
on. MS: om, with the third minim crossed out.back to note source
558
waning. MS: wanig. Editors, except H, emend.back to note source
564
aske. MS: ask. G also emends.back to note source
565
louyly. G emends to leuyly.back to note source
572
called. MS: calle. Editors, except H and V, emend.back to note source
574
wore. I follow V’s reading of MS wore as variant of ware, “expend.” Other editors have translated as past of verb “to be,” i.e., “were.”back to note source
586
longe. MS: long. G also emends.back to note source
596
pertermynable. G, Gor, and H expand the abbreviation to read pretermynable.back to note source
615
com. A and H emend to come.back to note source
616
fere. MS: lere. G emends to here (“wage”); H and V retain MS lere (“lure, compensation” — usually a term from hunting). My reading accords with A, AW, and Gor, reading fere which carries meanings in Middle English of “company,” or “rank” or “reward.”back to note source
630
niyght. G and H read as myght, which makes good sense; niyght is more consistent with the pattern of imagery.back to note source
635
hym. A, C, G, and Gor emend to hem. V points out that hym is occasionally used as the plural form in this MS.back to note source
fyrste. MS: fyrst. G also emends.back to note source
645
theron com. MS: þer on com. G joins the verbal: ther oncom.back to note source
astyt. MS: as tyt. H and G write as two words; other editors, and myself, as one, “immediately.”back to note source
649
out. MS: out out. Editors emend.back to note source
656
inne. G emends to in.back to note source
665
con not. A emends to con noght.back to note source
672
As. MS: at. G retains and emends: At inoscence, is saf by ryghte, “In innocence, is saved by right”; Gor emends to And. My emendation accords with H, C, A, and AW.back to note source
673
thus. MS: þ9 þ9 (thus thus). Editors emend.back to note source
675
face. As V notes, in MS t and c are often difficult to distinguish. Editors have read face. See also line 672 for editors’ uncertainties over “inoscent[c]e,” and also “fyrce,” line 54, where MS may read “fyrte.”back to note source
678
hyghe. MS: hyȝ. G also emends.back to note source
hylle. MS: hylleȝ. Editors emend.back to note source
683
stepe. MS: step. G also emends.back to note source
688
nieghbor. G emends to neghbor.back to note source
690
How kyntly oure Koyntyse hym con aquyle. MS: how kyntly oure con aquyle. Although V retains line as written in MS, most editors agree that there is clearly a scribal error. AW emend: Hym Koyntyse oure con aquyle. A and Gor emend: How Koyntise onoure con aquyle. H emends: How kyntly onore con aquyle. My emendation follows the suggestion by G that the scribe dropped two words, koyntyse hym, from the middle of the line. The source of the passage is Wisdom 10:10: Haec profugum irae fratris iustum deduxit per vias rectas, et ostendit illi regnum Dei (“She [Wisdom] conducted the just, when he fled from his brother’s wrath, through the right ways, and showed him the kingdom of God”).back to note source
698
sey. G and Gor emend to syz.back to note source
700
For. MS: sor. All editors emend.back to note source
701
com. G emends to come.back to note source
702
tryed. AW and G emend to cryed, in part to further alliteration and in part to avoid use of two repeating end-words in the same stanza. Yet the stanza is striking for its lack of alliteration; and, as V notes, occasionally end-words are repeated within stanzas, as in the repetition of “clere” in lines 735 and 737. C also follows the MS.back to note source
714
touch. Some editors read touth, then emend. But see note to line 675.back to note source
715
hym. A, G, and Gor emend to hem. Most editors read hym as legitimate variant spelling for “them,” i.e., the people bringing their children to be healed by Christ’s touch. My reading of syntax and punctuation in this line accords with AW. Other editors translate the line with indirect speech, “asked them to let (Christ) be.”back to note source
739
ryghtwys. MS: ryȝ tywys. Editors emend.back to note source
752
carpe. A, AW, G, and Gor emend to carped. The use of present tense, retained by H and V, is consistent with the movement from past to present in the stanza as a whole.back to note source
propertes. G emends to propertys.back to note source
768
And pyght me. G emends to He pyght me.back to note source
775
anunnder. AW, G, and Gor read first letter as o, on-uunder (AW: onuunder). H emends to onunder. My reading accords with A and V.back to note source
778
maryag. G emends to maryage.back to note source
785
Lambes. Gor emends to lambeȝ.back to note source
786
A hondred and forty thowsande flot. G and Gor emend the number to a hondred and forty fowre thowsande for consistency with Revelation 14:1, 3. In lines 869–70 the number of brides is given as 144,000.back to note source
802
lande nem. MS: lande men, though l can easily be read as h, as Gor has noted. A, AW, and Gor emend to hande nem, “took hold of.” V leaves as is, translating “as a lamb that the shearers appraise in fields.” My emendation accords with G and H, “takes hold of in the field,” emending minimally for logic and rhyme while preserving alliteration. The prophecy of Christ as a lamb silent before the shearers derives from Isaiah 53:7.back to note source
803
query. G emends to quere.back to note source
815
lomp. G emends to lomb. As Gor notes, Appendix 2, p. 93, lomp is a legitimate West Midland variant spelling for lomb. The poet uses both spellings in the MS, perhaps to play as well on the metonymy between lamb and light.back to note source
817
Most editors add In: In Jerusalem, etc. H and V retain the line as in MS, as do I for metrical reasons.back to note source
825
wroghte. MS: wroȝt. G also emends.back to note source
829
swete. MS: swatte. Editors, except H and V, emend for rhyme.back to note source
836
John. MS: ioh. MS abbreviates John variously in the many appearances of the word. V expands, unaccountably, to Johan here and in following appearances. I follow practices of former editors in rendering according to modern usage.back to note source
saw. MS: saytȝ. Editors, except H and V, emend.back to note source
838
in seme. G joins inseme, “together.”back to note source
843
masklle. G emends to maskelle.back to note source
848
nouther. MS: non oþ9 (non other). G emends as nother; V writes as no nother; H retains MS. My emendation accords with A, AW, and Gor.back to note source
856
tha. A, AW, C, G, and Gor emend to that. Tha is similarly used in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, line 877, as V notes; it also makes a more musical line.back to note source
861
Lombe. MS: lonbe. G reads loumbe.back to note source
865
tale. MS: talle. Editors, except AW and V, emend. Tale would be glossed as “story.” Talle might mean “account,” as in “tally.” The catch phrase at the bottom of the previous page reads: “leste les þow leue my tale farā,” which supports the emendation.back to note source
867
the. H emends to tha.back to note source
873
fro. Gor emends to from.back to note source
874
laden. G emends to leden.back to note source
892
that1. MS: þay. Editors, except H and V, emend.back to note source
905
among. G emends to amonc.back to note source
911
blose. Blose is a hapax logomenon. I agree with most editors in translating as “churl.” G emends to wose, “wild man of the woods”; AW emend to bose, “boss” or “a lump of a man”; V reads blose as an alteration of blas, “gust of wind.”back to note source
912
vayle. MS: vayl. G also emends.back to note source
918
won. G emends to wone.back to note source
932
I se. MS: & I se, retained by H and V. Other editors emend.back to note source
934
gracious. MS: g9co9 (gracous). Editors, except V, emend.back to note source
935
bygynges. Whether the first letter of the word is a b or l is uncertain. G and H read MS: lygynges, “lodgings”; A, AW, and Gor read as lygynges and emend to bygynges, a common Middle English word meaning “a large house.” V argues convincingly that MS reads bygyngeȝ.back to note source
945
Lompe. G emends to lombe. As in line 1046, the pun links light and the Lamb that is Christ.back to note source
958
flesch. MS: fresth or fresch. Editors, except V, have emended to flesch, “flesh.” V argues for retaining MS fresch, “young bodies,” but the line then becomes a tongue twister.back to note source
977
I. Added by editors, except V. G emends to wolde I ther.back to note source
992
bauteles. Editors read banteles. Michael Thompson, “Castles,” in Brewer and Gibson, p. 121, argues that banteles should properly be read bauteles and describe small arched machicolations, a tiered feature of castle fortification that would date the poem after 1360. Thompson’s argument also applies to bauteles in Cleanness, lines 1458–59.back to note source
995
ilke. MS: ilk. G also emends.back to note source
997
John. Supplied by editors.back to note source
998
name. G emends to names.back to note source
999
fyrste. MS: fyrst. G also emends.back to note source
1004
thrydde. MS: thryd. G also emends.back to note source
1007
rybé. G emends to sarde, after Revelation.back to note source
1014
jacyngh. A, AW, G, and Gor emend to jacynght. I accord with H and V, who note that the scribe dropped final -t before words beginning with th — likely a practice that reflected pronunciation.back to note source
1015
tryeste. MS: gentyleste. Along with AW, I follow G’s emendation, which attempts to correct for what G labels an obvious scribal error, repeating gent from the preceding line.back to note source
1017
bautels. See note to line 992.back to note source
bent. G emends to brent, “steep.” Other editors have retained and translated as “attached,” but bautels would logically be bent or “curved”; see note to line 992.back to note source
1018
Of. Editors, except V, read o. A small f is inserted above the line between o and j. Osgood argued the f is in a later hand, but V notes it is in the same brown ink, a reading with which I concur.back to note source
1026
glayre. Egg-white fixative used in manuscript illumination.back to note source
1028
perre. A, AW, Gor, and V write perré. I retain as perre for metrical regularity.back to note source
1035
poursent. H reads n as u: pourseut, “in succession.”back to note source
1036
ryche. MS: rych. G also emends.back to note source
1046
selfe. MS: self. G also emends.back to note source
lambe-lyght. Lombe or lambe is unclear in the MS, but looks more like lambe. A and V read lambe; other editors read lombe. G emends to lompe.back to note source
1050
syght. MS: lyȝt. With AW, I follow G’s emendation, on the grounds that the poet is unlikely to have repeated the same rhyming word in one stanza. These lines may pun on lamb and lamp.back to note source
1058
As. MS: a. Editors, except H and V, emend.back to note source
1063
mynster. MS: mynyster. AW, Gor, H, and V also emend.back to note source
1064
refet. MS: reget. I accord with A, AW, and Gor in emending to refet, “refresh.”back to note source
1076
selfe. MS: self. G also emends.back to note source
1081
gret. Gor emends to great.back to note source
1083
bayle. MS: baly. G, Gor, and H also emend to bayle. V argues emendation is unnecessary, since y varies with e, but in this case bayle is preferable for rhyme.back to note source
1086
freuch. A and AW emend to frech; Gor to frelich.back to note source
1092
wer. Gor emends to were.back to note source
1097
enpryse. MS: enpresse. I accord with A, G, Gor, and H in emendation for rhyme.back to note source
1104
with gret. MS: wtouten. Emendation for logic accords with A, AW, C, G, and Gor. V follows MS.back to note source
1112
wedes. G emends to wede.back to note source
1117
that. G emends to that ther.back to note source
1125
thurgh the urthe. H emends to thurgh urthe.back to note source
1133
Hys. G emends to hyse.back to note source
1170
brathe. MS appears to have þ written over h, but it is uncertain. G, H, and V write brathe; A, AW, and Gor write braththe. Both spellings were in use in the fourteenth century.back to note source
1179
quyke. MS: quykeȝ. Editors emend.back to note source
1185
If. MS: īf. Editors emend.back to note source
1186
stykes. AW and G emend to strykes, “who come,” i.e., “you who come in a fair crown.”back to note source
1190
gyven. MS: geven. I accord with A, G, and Gor in emending for the sake of rhyme.back to note source
1196
moghten. A, AW, G, and Gor emend to moghte. I retain MS reading for metrical reasons.back to note source