The Piers Plowman Electronic Archive, Vol. 7: <list><item>London, British Library, MS Lansdowne 398 </item><item>Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson Poetry 38</item></list>
– Passus 4William LanglandEdited by Robert AdamsAssociate Editors: Patricia R. Bart, M. Gail Duggan and Catherine A.
FarleyTechnical Editor: Daniel PittiGraduate Research AssistantMichael Blum, John Ivor Carlson, Carrie Lindley, Janice McCoy, Ashley Opps, Timothy L.
Stinson, and Jordan Taylor.Computer Consultants and ProgrammersRobert Bingler, Shayne Brandon, Cynthia Girard, Chris Jessee, Daniel Pitti, David Seaman,
and John Unsworth.The Medieval Academy of America and SEENET by Boydell and
Brewer, LTDWoodbridge, SuffolkISBN: (Individual) 9781843840947 (Institutional): 9781843840930
Commercially available:
copyright 2011, by SEENET
2006 Combined facsimile & documentary edition.Identification of handsIRA = Robert Adams1 computer optical disk : col. ; 4 3/4 in.The Medieval Academy of America and SEENET, by Boydell and
Brewer, LTD.Woodbridge, SuffolkSource copy consulted: London, British Library, MS Lansdowne 398 and
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson Poetry 38
SEENET, A.9
Attribute Valuesbrown inkanglicana bastardaitalicLombard Capornamented capital, N lines highrubricatedtouched in redtexturaunderlinedunderlined in redgreen inkblue ink
LatinFrenchGermanNovember 2005 revise header, update DTD and ent files Hoyt N. Duggan New header created pR.4.0: At the extreme right margin, on the same line as the passus
rubric, there is a small, brown <p>, presumably the remains of a cropped
guide.¶R.4.0:
Possibly other material was erased along with the parasign.Passus quartus de visione petri plowman . vt supra
.¶ SessethR.4.1: There is no blue ornamental capital at the head of this line;
instead, the <S> is the same size and color as all line initials. seyde þe kyng
I suffre ȝow no lengere . Ȝe schal sauȝtne for-sothe
and serue me bothe . Kysse hire quatz þe kyng consience I hote .¶¶ Nay by crist quatz consience
congeye me for euere . But reson rede me þere-to
rather wil I deye .¶ And I comande þe quod þe kyng to consience þenne
. Rape þe to ride and resoun þow fecche . Comaunde hym þat he come my conseille to here
. For he schal reule my reume and rede me þe beste .R.4.9: Like most
B manuscripts, R here lacks a following line attested in YOC2 as well as in the Crowley imprints and in versions A
and C:Of Mede and of mo oþere what man shal hire wedde. And acounte with þe consience so me crist helpe . How þow lernest þe poeple leredþe lered and lewedeþe lewede .R.4.11: R is unique in dropping two determiners from
the Bx b-verse (þe lered and þe lewede). Cf. F's boþe lerede & þe
lewede.¶¶ I am fayn of þat forward seyde þe
freke þanne . And ritt riȝt to resoun and
rounneth in his ere . And seyde as þe kyng bad and sithes tok his leue .¶ I schal araie me to ride quatz resoun reste þe a
while . And called caton his knaue curteyse of speche . And al-so thomme trewe
tonge telle me no tales . Ne lesyng to lawe of for I louede hem neuere . And sette my sadel vppevpponR.4.19:
R's vppe is unique; Bx reads vppon, the same reading found in Ax and Cx. suffre til I se my tyme . And let warrok it wel with witti wordes gerthes . And hange on hym þe heuy bridel to heldeholdeR.4.21:
R's helde is a unique form; the other B copies read
holde. his hede lowe For he wil make wehe tweyeR.4.22: Only LM agree with this R
reading. Cf. F's to trewþe and the predominant beta reading twies. ere he be þere .¶R.4.23: This paraph marker is blotted and smeared. Þanne consience
vppon his capel cayreth forth faste And resoun with hym rit rounynge togyderes
. Whiche maystries on eerth mede þe mayde makethMede maketh on þis ertheR.4.25:
R's phrasing here reflects an alpha error; cf. beta's Mede maketh on þis
erthe. Not only is the alliterative pattern of beta's a-verse appropriate (where
alpha's is not); in its favor there is also the fact that Cx's a-verse
(in a revised line) is identical to beta's.¶¶ On waryn wisdome and witty his fere
. Folwed hem faste R.4.27: R shares with L an omission (for
þei) at the head of this b-verse. The reading of Ax agrees with
that of the B majority. However, because of the extraordinary accuracy
that the R and L scribes regularly demonstrate, and because these copies are at the top of
any credible B stemma, it seems likelier that their shared mistake here
attests the presence of a marginal correction in Bx (which both scribes
overlooked) than a purely random convergence in ordinary omission. haued to done . In þe chekercheker andR.4.28:
After cheker, R uniquely omits and. L and R then agree
against all the other B copies in reading at(te) þe
chauncerie where the majority reads in þe chauncerie with W (and,
probably, Ax). F simply omits the prepositional phrase altogether,
reading & Chawncerye. atte þe chauncerie to be
descharged of thinges . And riden fast for resoun schulde rede hem þe beste . For to saue hem frofor siluerR.4.30: R's fro siluer is a unique error but may reflect alpha;
most other B manuscripts here read for siluer. Cf.
F's & hem. fram schame and fram harmes .¶ And consience knewe hem wel þei louede coueytise . And badbad resounR.4.32:
R uniquely omits resoun from the phrase, And bad resoun ride. ride faste and recche of
here nother . Þere arn wiles in here wordes and with mede þei dwelleth
. Þere-as wrathe and wranglyng is
þere wynne þei siluer .¶¶R.4.35: R
uniquely omits the line-head conjunction witnessed in other B
manuscripts as Ac (a majority), And or But. Cx reads Ac.ÞereAc þere is loue and lewte þei wole nouȝte come þere .Contricio & infelicitas in vijs
eorum . &cetera . Þei ne gyueth nouȝt of god on gose wynge .Non est timor dei ante oculos eorum .
For wote god þei wold do more for a doseyne chikenes . Or as many capounes or for a sem of otes . Þanne for loue of oure lorde or alle hys leue seyntes . For-thiR.4.42: R's omission of the
vocative resoun after For-thi is derived from alpha and shared with F.lateresoun lete hem ride þo riche be hem-selue . For consience knoweth hem nouȝt ne crist as I trowe
.¶ And þanne resoun roed fast þe riȝt hye gate
. As consience hym kennede til þei come to þe kynge .¶¶ Curteiselich þe kynge þanne come
aȝeyne resoun .R.4.46: There is a superfluous bar over the <n> of resoun. And bytwene hym-self and his sone
sette hym on benche . And wordeddun wel wyseliche a grete whyle
to-gyderes .¶ And þanne come pees in-to
parlement and putte forth a bille . How wronge aȝeynes his wille haued his wif taken . And how he rauesched rose raynaldes loue . And margarete of hire maydenhode mawgre hire
chekes . Bothe my gees and my gris his gedelynges feccheth . I dar nauȝt for fere of hym fiȝt ne chide . He borwed of me bayard andhe brouȝt ithymR.4.55:
Where the other B manuscripts read the pronoun reference to Bayard as
hym, R uniquely reads it. Both Ax
and Cx agree with the B majority. home
neuere . Ne no ferthyng þere-fore for
nauȝtauȝte I couthe plede . He meynteneth his men to murther myn heuuesR.4.57: The variant
heuues derives from alpha. F's spelling here is heuuys
; cf. beta's hewen = "servants." Kane-Donaldson transcribe this variant in
R as hennes and F's as hennys). What the R scribe
actually thought he was writing is open to doubt since neither he nor the F scribe again uses
<uu> for <w> after <e>. However, R writes the name "Stowe" as stouue at R5.28, and it is reasonable to assume that is what he intended here.
.Henil forstallethR.4.58: R uniquely adds He at line-head position. Cf. F's & to. Beta simply begins the line with Forstalleth.
The Ax reading agrees with beta's, but Cx begins
the line And forstalleth. my feyres and fiȝteth in
my chepynge . And breketh vppe my bernesdorebernes dore
and bereth a-wey my whete . And taketh me but a tayle for ten quarteres of otes . And ȝet he bet me þereto and lyth by my
mayde . I am nauȝt hardy for hym vnnethe to loke .¶ Þe kynge knewe he seyde sothe For consience hym tolde . Þat wronge was a wikked lusteR.4.64: R shares this obvious transcriptional error
(luste for luft) with G and BmBoCot by convergent
variation. F's wyght has the appearance of a typical smoothing, so R may
have derived the error from alpha. and muche sorwe wrouȝte .R.4.64: R's b-verse
involves a transposition (uniquely shared with H) of the Bx phrase,
which reads and wrouȝte moche sorwe.¶¶ Wronge was aferd þanne and wysdom
he souȝte . To make pees with his pans and profered hym manye . And seyde hadde I loue ofR.4.67: Here alpha and Cr omit a stave; in beta the
phrase would have read my lorde þe kynge.þe kyngemy lorde þe kynge lytel wolde I recche . Þeiȝ pees and his powere pleyned hem
euere .¶ Þo wanR.4.69: Only L and C agree with R's wan; F omits the
entire line, while most beta copies read wente. The b-verse of this line
is unmetrical and the entire line is a revision of the A version
(K4.53), but the uniformity of attestation for its text from L and R (with C's concurrence) make it clearly a genuine Bx line. wysdom
and sire waryn þe witty . For þat wronge hadde I-wrouȝte
so wikked a dede . And warned wronge þo with swyche a wise tale . Hoo-so wercheth by wille
wreth maketh ofte . I sey it by thi-self þow
schalt it wel fynde . But if mede it make þi meschief is vppe .
The eleventh leaf of Rawlinson is slit (part of the same act as the cropping of leaves 1-7)
at the right edge of the writing area for a space of some 3.5 cm, from R4.74-77. For bothe þi lif and þi londe lith in his grace .¶¶ Þanne wowede wronge wisdom ful
ȝerne . To make his pees with his pans handi-dandi payed .¶ Wisdom and wit þanne wenten to-gyderes And token mede myde hem mercy to wynne .¶ Pees putte forth his hed and his panne blody .c iij With-oute gult god it wote
gatt I þis skathe . Consience and þe commune knowen þe sothe
.¶ Ac wisdom and witt were aboute faste . To ouercome þe kynge with catel if þei
myȝte .¶¶ Þe kyng swore by crist and by his
crowne bothe . Þat wronge for his werkes schuld wo thole . And comanded a conestable to casten hym in yrenes . And lat hym nauȝte þis seuen ȝeere
seen his feet ones .¶ God wote quatz wisdom þat were nauȝt þe best . And he amendes mowe make lat meynprise hym haue . And be boruȝ for his bale and buggen hym bote . And so amende þat is mysdo and euere beeuermoreR.4.92:
R's phrase, euere be, is unique, but alpha and Cr agree on euere; cf. beta's euermore. F reads the entire phrase as he shal do euere þe bettre. Both Ax and Cx agree with beta. þe bettere .¶¶ Witt acorded þere-with and seyde þe same .ÞatnilR.4.94:Þat is an alpha addition unattested by any beta manuscript. Both Ax and Cx agree with beta on the phrasing of this
a-verse.bettere is þat bote bale adoun brynge .Þanne bale be I-bete and bote
neuere þe bettere .¶ And þanne gan mede to mekenmengenR.4.96:
Beta reads mengen, but clear majorities of both the A
and C witnesses support alpha's reading. hire and
mercy hesheR.4.96:He, variant of heo, "she." See note at R.3.119:. bysouȝte . And profered pees a present alle of pure golde . Haue þis man of me quatz sche to amende þi scathe . For I wil wage for wronge he wil do so na more .¶¶R.4.100: This paraph marker was
mistakenly executed in red and then erased, in anticipation of being redrawn in blue.
Pytousliche pees þanne preyed to þe kynge . To haue mercy on þat man þat mysdede hym so ofte . For he hath waged me wel as wisdom hym tauȝte . And I forgyue hym þat gult with a goed wille . So þat þe kyng assente I can sey no bettere
. For mede hath made mynmeR.4.105:
For alpha's myn, beta reads me. Both Ax and Cx attest possessive case for this pronoun rather than
objective case. amendes I may namore axe .¶ Nay quatz þe kyng þo so me godcrystR.4.106:
R's god is an alpha reading; cf. beta's cryst.
helpe . Wronge wendeth nauȝt so awey arst wil I wyte more
.For loupe he so liȝtly leyȝhen he wolde .And efte þe bolder be to beten myn hewes . But reson haue reuthe on hym he schal rest in my stokkes
. And þat as longe as he lyueth but lowenesse hyhy[m]hym borwe .¶ Summe men radde reson þo to haue reuth on þat
schrewe . And for to consayle þe kyng and consience after . Þat mede moste be meynpernoure
reson þei besouȝte .¶¶Rede me nauȝt quod reson no reuth to haue
Til lordes and ladyes louyen alle treuthe .And haten alle harlotrie to heren it or to mouthe it .Til peronelles purfil be putte in hire hucche .And childerne chirissynge be chastyng with ȝerdes .And harlotes holynesse be holden for nauȝtean hyne .R.4.120: R's nauȝte is unique; cf. F's vanyte and beta's an hyne. The C version
completely revises this b-verse, but the Ax version agrees exactly with
beta's rendering.Til clerkene coueytise be to clothe þe pore and to fede .And religiouse romares recordare in here
cloystres .As seynt benet hem bad bernard and Franceys .And til prechoures prechynge
be proued on hem-selue .Til þe kynges conseylle be þe commune
profitTil bisshopes bayardes ben beggerebeggeresR.4.126: Beta shows the genitive plural beggeres; F reads beggerys in.chaumbres .Here haukes and here houndes help to pouerereligiousesReligious .R.4.127: R's plural form is unique; beta reads Religious, while F
has relygyouse howsys.¶And til seynt Iames be souȝt þere I schal assygne .Þat no man go to galys but if he goo for euere .And alle rome renneres for robberes of by-ȝende .Bere no siluer ouer see þat signe of kyng scheweth .Nother graue ne vn-graue gold nother
seluer .Vppon forfeture of þat fee ho-so fynt
hym at douere .But if it be marchant or his man or messagere with
lettres .Prouisoure or preest or penaunt for his synnes .
The twelfth leaf of Rawlinson is slit (part of the same act as the cropping of leaves 1-7) at
the right edge of the writing area for a space of some 2 cm, from R4.134-37.¶¶R.4.136: This paraph marker was
mistakenly executed in red and then erased, in anticipation of being redrawn in blue.
And ȝet quod resoun be þe rode I schal no reuthe
haue . While mede hath þe maystrie in þis moot halle . Ac I may schewe ensaumples as I se othere otherwhileotherwhileotherwhile . I sey it be my-selue
quod he and it so were . Þat I were kyng with crowne to kepen a rewme . Schuld neuere wrong in þis world þat I witt
miȝte c iiij Ben vnpunesched in my powere for peril of my soule . Ne gete my grace þoruȝforR.4.143:
R's þoruȝ is an alpha variant shared exclusively with F. Beta reads
for. Cx is revised immediately beyond this point in
the line, but it agrees with alpha on the identity of this preposition. Ax reads the entire a-verse exactly as alpha does. gyftes so me god
saue . Ne for no mede haue mercy but mekenesse it mademake .¶¶For nullum malum þe
man mette with inpunitum .And bad nullum bonum
be irremuneratum .¶ Lat ȝoure confessoure sire kyng
construe þis vn-glosed . And ȝif ȝe werkyn it in werke I wedde myn eres
.☞Þat lawe schal ben a laborere and lede afelde donge .
A hand in the left margin points to these lines.And loue schal lede þi londe as þe leef lyketh .¶¶ Clerkes þat were confessores
couplede hem to-gyderes . Alle to construe þis clause and for þe kynges
profit . Ac nauȝt for conforte of þe commune ne
for þe kynges soule .¶ For I seyȝ mede in þe moot halle on men of lawe wynken
. And þei lawhynge lope to hire and left
reson manye .¶¶ Waryn wysdom wynkede vppon mede
. And seyde madame I am ȝoure man what-so my mouth iangle . I falle in floreyns quod þeþatR.4.158:
R's þe is an alpha variant (cf. beta's þat), shared by
convergence with Cr2-3. freke and faile speche ofte .¶ Alle riȝtful recordede þat resounR.4.159: The
scribe's rendering of this word is ambiguous; he has placed a dot over the final character
rather than the customary nasal bar, but his typical spelling suggests that he intended this
word to be construed here as resoun. trewthe tolde . And witt acordede þere-with
and comended his wordes . And þe most poeple in þisþeR.4.161:
R's þis is unique. The other B manuscripts read þe. halle and many of þe grete . And leten mekenesse a maystere and mede a
mansed schrewe .¶¶Loue loueLoueLoue lett of hire lyȝte and leute welȝitR.4.163:
R's wel is an alpha variant shared with Hm by convergence. Beta reads ȝit. Cx agrees with beta. lasse . And seyde it so hye þat alle þe halle it herde .Ho-so wilneth hire to wyue for welth of
hire godes .But he be knowe for a kokewolde bittekutR.4.166: R's bitte is unique error. The other B manuscripts read kut, which matches the line's alliterative
pattern. Both Ax and Cx agree with the B majority's reading.of my nose .¶ Mede morned þo and made heuy chere . For þe most commune of þat courte called
hire an hore . Ac a sysoure and a sompnoure
sued hire faste . And a schirreuesclerkeschirreues clerke
by-schrewed alle þe route . For ofte haue I quod he I-hulpeholpe(n) ȝow atte barre . And ȝet ȝeue ȝe me neuere þe
worth of a rusche .¶ Þe kyng called consience and afterwardes resoun
. And recordede þat resoun hadde
riȝtfulliche yschewedschewed . And modiliche vppon mede miȝtewith myȝte þatþe kyng lokeloked .R.4.175: Alpha wrongly construed myȝte as a modal instead of a
noun. And gan wax wroth with lawe for mede almost had schent it
.¶¶ And seyde þurȝ
ȝoure lawe as I leue I lese many chetes .Mede ouer-maystrieth lawe and muche
treuthe letteth . Ac resoun schal rekne with ȝow
ȝif I regne any while . And deme ȝow be þis daye as ȝe haue deseruede
. Mede schal nouȝt meynprise ȝow be þe marie of
heuene . I wil haue lewte in lawe and let be al ȝoure
iangelynge . And as allemosteR.4.183:
R's alle is an alpha reading. Cf. beta's moste. If beta
is original at this point, the omission of the second alliterating stave wel at the end of the a-verse is also derived from an alpha error but one shared with
Cr, G, and H. However, it is quite conceivable that F's reading for this half-line is the
authorial one (though unlikely to have been derived from alpha): & as alle
wyȝes witnesse. folke witnesseth wronge schal be ydemeddemed .¶ quatz consience to þe kynge but þe
commune wil assente . It is ful hard be my hed herto to brynge it . Alle ȝoureȝowre ligeR.4.186:
R uniquely omits beta's lige from the phrase lige
leodes; cf. F's phrase, londys leedys. In the C
tradition, the phrase is either identical to beta's (a majority of C
witnesses) or more closely resembles beta's (XYcP2 = lege
lordes). Most A witnesses also agree with beta. leedes
to lede þus euene .¶¶ By hym þat rauȝte on þe rode
quod resoun to þe kynge . But if I rewle þus ȝoure rewme rend oute my guttes
. If ȝe bydden buxumnesse be of myn
assente .¶ And I assente quatzR.4.190: Here beta probably read seith (the reading of LMCrW), but several beta witnesses (HmGOH) support alpha's quod (F) or quatz (R). Ax clearly
agrees with the alpha reading, despite its deficient alliteration. þe kyng by
seint marie my lady . Be my conseille I-come of clerkes and of erles .¶¶ Ac redily resoun þow
schalte nouȝt ride fro me . In the right margin, in black ink, there
is an early ownership stamp for the Bodleian Library. The thirteenth leaf
of Rawlinson is slit (part of the same act as the cropping of leaves 1-7) at the right edge
of the writing area for a space of some 2 cm, from R4.192-94. For as longe as I lyue leet þe InelleI
nelle .¶ I am aredy quod resoun to rest
with ȝow euere . So consience be of oure conseil I kepe no
bettere . And I graunt quod þe kyng
godesforbodegodes forbodeheitR.4.196:
For R's he, cf. F's þou and beta's it. Ax agrees with R's reading. faile . As longe as oure lif lastlastethR.4.197:
Beta reads lasteth. leue we to-gyderes .