Cr1.12.29KD.12.25 And if there were any wyght that would me tel
C.12.29KD.12.25 And if ther were any wight · that walde me telle
R.12.27KD.12.25
ȜifR.12.27:
The evidence of both beta and F indicates that R has here dropped a word; F begins the line
Nou if, while beta begins it Ac if.
þere were any witR.12.27:
This is a unique form in R; most of the other manuscripts have wight.
However, R's wit probably does not represent a substantive difference from
the majority reading. OED2, s. v.
wight, documents wyt(e) for the fifteenth century and
wite for the fourteenth century as variant spellings of wight. MED, s. v.
wight, also lists wit(e) as a variant spelling but
offers only one example, from the thirteenth century. þat wolde me telle
.