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
17
25
26
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
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
60
68
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
89
95
103
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
115
119
122
131
134
138
over. MS: oþ9 (other).
Editors emend to over, except H and V, who retain MS
reading.back to note source
142
144
154
166
179
astount. MS: atount. I follow AW and G in emending to astount on the basis of alliteration.back to note source
185
192
200
225
229
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
nere. MS: here. H and V retain here. I follow A, AW, G,
and Gor in emending for logic.back to note source
286
288
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
323
331
335
342
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
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
363
369
381
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
399
418
Hys lef is. For logic there must be a stop, however unusual the mid-line
caesura, following is.back to note source
426
433
441
460
461
sawle. MS: sawhe. Editors emend, though V claims that MS indicates correction to
sawle.back to note source
469
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
480
cortaysé. G
emends to cortaysye. AW and H read cortayse
as a noun, “courteous one.”back to note source
486
499
505
510
523
524
527
529
532
535
538
542
543
544
547
550
557
558
564
565
572
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
596
615
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
645
astyt. MS: as tyt. H and G write as two words; other editors, and myself, as
one, “immediately.”back to note source
649
656
665
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
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
683
688
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
700
701
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
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
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
768
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
785
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
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
829
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
838
843
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
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
873
874
892
905
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
918
932
934
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
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
997
998
999
1004
1007
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
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
1028
1035
1036
1046
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
1063
1064
1076
1081
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
1092
1097
1104
with gret. MS:
wtouten.
Emendation for logic accords with A, AW, C, G, and Gor. V follows MS.back to note source
1112
1117
1125
1133
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
1185
1186
stykes. AW and
G emend to strykes, “who come,” i.e., “you who come in a fair
crown.”back to note source
1190
1196
moghten. A, AW,
G, and Gor emend to moghte. I retain MS reading for metrical
reasons.back to note source