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: run̄en (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: spen̄d (spennd). V reads spenud; AW retain spennd.↩back to note source

53 penned. MS: spen̄ed (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: oþ9 (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: iohn̄. 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