fol. 39r (cont.)I
passus
xus
Passus decimus de visione vt supra . —
—
Þ
I seye it be schucheR.10.13:
This form is unique to R. MED, s. v.
swich, indicates that the South English Legendary (ca.
1300) has the only comparable form of this word, which it labels as a SW Midlands form for
swich. Cx reads suche.
quod sche þat scheweth be here werkes .
Þat hem were leuere lond and lordschipe
here .R.10.14: For alpha's here, beta reads on erthe,
which agrees with Ax.
Other ricchesse otherR.10.15:
R's Other ... other is unique. F omits this line, but beta reads Or ... or, which agrees with Ax. rentes
and rest at here wille .
R.10.20KD.10.20
And leden forth a loueday and letten
þe trewthe .R.10.20: Beta reads this b-verse as to latte with treuthe. F has
& lettyn euere trewthe. Ax appears to have read
to lette þe truþe.
fol. 39vI
And þat þei ben lordes inR.10.25: Though Hm agrees with R's in, beta has of (F rewrites the line). vch a londe
þat oute of lawe libbeth .
R.10.28KD.10.26α
Ecce ipsi peccatores
habundantes in seculo optinuerunt .R.10.28: Alpha omits the last word of this citation as found in beta: diuicias.
Þilk þat god most greuethR.10.30:
For alpha's greueth, beta reads, more probably, gyueth
(though manuscript C agrees with alpha). The C version tries to resolve
this difference between greueth and gyueþ by rewriting
the line so as to include both words (a timid choice paralleled elsewhere in C), and in the process makes a line that is inferior to both earlier versions.
Evidently, by the time he was laboring on the C revision, Langland had
forgotten which of these two variants he had composed and which one was scribal. Or, having
perhaps written both himself at different times, he had forgotten which one was supposed to
supersede the other. lest gode þei deleth .
Ȝyue hem to here ȝeresȝyue þe worthR.10.50:
R's worth is an alpha variant. The most reliable beta witnesses, including
L and M, read ȝifte. Ax reads value. of a
grote .
fol. 40rI
Glotonye and grete othes þis murthR.10.53: Beta has murthe þei louieth (though manuscript Y agrees with R in omitting
þey. F completely revises the b-verse. The b-verse of Ax is somewhat different from both alpha and beta, but the stave word, games alliterates appropriately with the unrevised a-verse. Both Kane-Donaldson and
Schmidt emend to the A reading. louyeth .
Is non to nymen hym nere his nuyeR.10.63:
The other B witnesses read his noye to amende. However, Ax agrees with R in omitting to . amende .
R.10.64KD.10.62
But hoen onR.10.64:
Hoen, "shout at, raise an outcry against." hym as an hownde
and hoten hym go þennes .
R.10.72KD.10.69α
Ecce audiuimus
eum in effrata inuenimus
eumR.10.72: In both cases where alpha has eum, beta reads
eam. Both Ax and Cx agree with beta, and most C manuscripts go further, glossing
eam as caritatem.
in campis silue .
Clerkes and other menR.10.73: R's other men is the alpha reading; beta reads other kynnes men. carpen of god faste .
R.10.76KD.10.73
To plese with proude men sitthen þe pestilence .R.10.76: Beta reads pestilence tyme. The Ax
version of this phrase agrees with beta, but a majority of C manuscripts
supports a reading similar to alpha's: pestelences.
Ne sori for here synnes so pruyde isR.10.79:
Beta transposes this phrase as is pryde. Cx agrees
with beta on the word order. woxen . —
Þat preyeres haue no powere þis
pestilencesR.10.81:
R's þis is a plural determiner, as with F's þese. Beta
shows a singular for this phrase: þe pestilence. Cx
reads þis pestilences, agreeing with alpha. to lette .
Þat gerles for here gyltes he for-gryntR.10.83:
MED has no listing for this compound, but the inflected form from the base is
clearly the 3rd singular indicative of "grinden, v. 1" = "to break into small particles;
reduce . . . to powder by crushing." For togrinden, v., a citation is
offered from the cognate line of the C-version of Piers:
And good men for oure gultes he al to-grynt to
deþe. hem alle .—
fol. 40vI
Euere as heR.10.91:
In place of alpha's Euere as he, beta reads And. Cx revises the line, but the opening phrase agrees with beta.
lordeth in londes þe lasse goed he deleth .
R.10.92KD.10.88
¶ Tobie techethR.10.92:
Beta reads telleth. Cx either agrees completely with
alpha (X family) or deploys a preterite of techen (P family).
ȝow nauȝt so taketh hede ȝe riche .
☞
Si tibi sit copia habundanter
tribue
R.10.94:
In the left margin, a hand points at this line and the next.
Si autem exiguum illud inpertireR.10.95: Though several beta manuscripts agree with alpha's verb form here, beta
itself probably read impertiri, as reflected in LCrWO. The readings of
the C manuscripts—for the entire Latin phrase—are quite
mixed, but a majority, including XYcP2, agree with alpha.
libenter studeR.10.95: Beta transposes this phrase as stude
libenter; Cx attests the same word order here as
alpha. .
Nouȝt to fare as a fithelere or asR.10.101: R's as is a unique addition to the text attested by beta
(F completely alters the b-verse). a frere to seke festes .
And alle to spare to spille þat speneR.10.109: R's spene is a unique reading here (the other B manuscripts read spende(n)); however, spene is a verb that developed from spende(n), is synonymous with
it, and occurs in free variation with it throughout R. From its sometimes parallel occurrence
in L (as at KD10.90), the form seems likely to be an authorial relict. schal an-other .
filius
non portabit
fol. 41rI
R.10.120KD.10.114
Filius non portabit iniquitatemR.10.120: R uniquely omits patris after iniquitatem. &cetera .
Roten and to-reueR.10.122: It is uncertain how to transcribe this word; it may be rendered as to-reue or as to-rene. If the latter of these options is adopted, it is
merely a transcriptional error on the scribe's part for Bx's torende. However one construes it, the form is unquestionably intended as a
compound participial adjective and constitutes a unique reading in R (F agreeing here with
the beta majority). MED cites toriuen as a compound s. v.
riven (v. 2), (with toriue and toreuen as possible participle forms). Meaning 3a would seem closest to the context of
R10.122 = "To split, splinter, shatter, or break apart as the result of a blow, collision, or
other force; also, fig. be emotionally shattered; (b) fig. of the heart: to break on account
of emotion." Two examples from fifteenth-century sources of toreue are
cited under this heading. If this is the form intended by R's scribe, it represents an
unconscious substitution of a synonym (in its sense of "torn" or "shattered") for original
to-rende. The third possibility is that the form may be a compound
participle of "reuen, v. 1a" = "to regret, to be embarrassed or shamed," a context that would
fit well (albeit textually aberrant) with the meaning of roten,
"destroyed, ruined." reson walde it neuere .
Or Iudas þe IewR.10.138: For alpha's þe Iew, beta has to þe
iuwes. Ax agrees with alpha. ihesu
betraie . —
Sitth he wilneth to wite which þei ben alle .R.10.143: For alpha's alle, beta reads bothe.
Ax agrees with alpha.
R.10.144KD.10.137
But if he lyue in þe lyueR.10.144: Cf. F's lyȝue
(transcribed by Kane-Donaldson as lyȝne); beta reads lyf. þat longeth to dowel .
For I dare ben his boruȝhR.10.145: Beta reads bolde borgh here. Ax
agrees with beta. þat dobet wil be nere .
¶ And whanne þat wit was Iware howR.10.147: Beta reads what. Ax agrees with
alpha. dame studie tolde
fol. 41vI
AndR.10.157: Alpha's And is omitted by beta. Ax
agrees with beta's wording, but Cx agrees with alpha. forto
werche ȝoure wille þe while my lyf dureth .
With þat ȝe kendely[kenne me] kendelyR.10.158: The omission of verb and object here is unique to R. Cx's wording agrees with the F/beta reading. to knowe what is dowel
.
R.10.160KD.10.153
I schal kenne þe to my cosyn þat clergiseR.10.160: R's clergise is a unique variant; Bx
has clergye, and the archetypes of the other two versions show the same
reading. is hoten .
R.10.164KD.10.157
Schullen wise þe to dowel I dar welR.10.164: R's wel is a unique variant; the other B copies all have it. However, Ax agrees with
R. vndertaken .
R.10.168KD.10.161
And telle me somme tokne quod I
for tyme Is þat weR.10.168: R's we is unique; Bx has I. The other two versional archetypes agree with Bx's
reading. wende .
R.10.172KD.10.165
For ȝif þow couplest þe þere-with to chercheR.10.172: The correct reading is beta's clergye (as confirmed by an
identical b-verse in the other two versions). R's cherche, which makes
only superficial sense, may derive from alpha or may be an attempt to emend hopeless
corruption; cf. F's reading, crist. comest þow
neuere .
¶ And also þe likerouse launde þat lecherie is hoteR.10.173: Beta reads hatte in place of alpha's is
hote; Ax confirms beta's reading. .
Til þow come to a court kepe wel þi tonge .R.10.175:
Though the next line is marked for a new strophe by the usual cc in the
left margin, the scribe forgot to insert his customary blank line to mark this verse
paragraph.
Þane schaltow se sobrete and symplete of berynge .R.10.177: In place of alpha's berynge, beta reads speche. Ax confirms beta's reading.
fol. 42rI
R.10.184KD.10.177
And alle þe muysones in musikeR.10.184: R uniquely omits I before made.
made hire to knowe .
Aristotele and otherR.10.186: Beta reads other moo. Ax agrees with
beta, but Cx agrees with alpha. to argue I tauȝte
.
For þat þereR.10.198: R's phrase represents a unique transposition of the Bx
form, þere þat. The Bx phrase is rendered identically
in Ax. loue is ledere ne lakkede
neuere grace .
LoueR.10.199: Beta reads Loke. The A version has
Leue. þow loue lelly if þow
thenkeR.10.199: For R's þow thenke, beta reads þe
lyketh. This lapse in alliteration descended to R from alpha (cf. F's þow
þynke to) but is paralleled in the A-version. It
may have resulted from scribal discomfort with the impersonal construction and inverted word
order of Bx: dative pronoun + verb (i.e., þe lyketh
). do wel .
Qui similatR.10.202: Alpha's verb form is supported by L, Cr2-3, and Cot,
but most beta manuscripts read simulat. The A version manuscripts are equally divided between these two forms.
verbis vel inR.10.202: In place of R's vel in, beta
reads nec, which is also the reading of Ax. corde est fidus amicus .
Ac theologie techeth nauȝt so ho-so taketh gome .R.10.207: This unique R reading is a synonym for beta's ȝeme.
MED lists it, s. v.
gome (n. 4), "Attention, heed, notice;" cf. F's heede.
And louen hem þat liȝenR.10.210: R uniquely omits on before vs. Ax confirms the reading
of the B majority.
vs and lene hem whan hem nedeth .
gij
fol. 42vI
R.10.216KD.10.208
¶ And alle þat lakkethR.10.216: Beta has vs immediately after lakketh. or lyeth vs oure lorde techeth vs to louye
.
¶ Ac astronomye is hardR.10.221: Beta has an harde, but Ax supports
alpha's omission of an. þinge and euel for to knowe .
R.10.224KD.10.215
For sorcerye is þe souereyne boke
þat to þo scienceR.10.224: R's combination of a plural determiner (þo) with a
singular noun (science) is unique; some B witnesses
read þe science (which is the Ax reading), while
others, including WHmF, read þo sciences. It may be that R's þo science represents an unmarked plural rather than the casual error it appears (on a
number of occasions, R offers unique, s-less genitive forms for his nouns). longeth
.
And by-fondR.10.229: Cf. F's fond and beta's founded. Ax agrees with beta. hem formest folke to deseyue .
To conseile þe kendely for to knowe dowel .R.10.231: Beta reads this b-verse as to knowe what is
dowel.
And went miȝteliche
my weyR.10.233: Beta reads wiȝtlich awey ; F omits the entire line.
The Ax version seems a mixture of alpha and beta: wiȝtly my wey. with-oute more
lettynge .
I grette þe gode man as þe gode wifR.10.235: R's rendering of this line is unique among the B
manuscripts but is identical to the phrasing in Ax. For R's I, F and beta have And; for R's phrase, þe
gode wif, beta has Studie) while F reads þe Ientil
lady. Neither F nor beta alliterates properly. me tauȝte .
And tolde hem þeR.10.237: It appears that the tail of <e> in þe was written over an erasure, perhaps of an intrusive descender from the
<þ> of þe in the line above. tokenes þat me
tauȝte were .
Was neuer gome vpoun þis
grounde synnesR.10.238: R's synnes is unique (cf. R20.295 =
synnes ȝe desiren) but semantically equivalent to the majority B reading, sith; MED, s.
v.
sinnes, cites this form from R as a rare contracted example of the
conjunction sitthenes. god made þe worlde .
fol. 43rI
Thre propreR.10.251: R's propre is unique, having been omitted by both beta
and F. Nevertheless, it is clear that the alliterative pattern of the line requires it. In
all likelihood, it was found in alpha and Bx. The apparently odd
coincidence of the word's having been separately omitted by beta and F is probably
explainable in terms of how it would have been abbreviated. It would have occurred in a
phrase which, at a glance, looked like this: þre ppre
psones. If the required loop from the descender of the initial <p> was missing or
unobtrusive, a copyist might easily mistake the word for an errant attempt (uncancelled) at
writing the following word (especially if the final <re> was rendered merely as a
superscript loop). Or ppre might have been misconstrued as an unerased
dittography of the preceding word, þre. persones
and nauȝt in plurele noumbre .
R.10.256KD.10.249
¶ Austyne þe olde here-of
heR.10.256: Though the other beta copies omit he, L joins RF in
attesting this variant. At first glance, it appears that the C reading
for this phrase, which agrees with the beta majority, might undercut the authenticity of the
LRF reading here; however, in fact C has expanded this whole passage and
reproduces verbatim the LRF b-verse, with he, some six lines below its
original position. made bokes .
And crist cleped hym-self so
þe euaungeliezR.10.259: Beta's reading is ewangeliste(s); F has wangelye. bereth witnesse .
R.10.260KD.10.252α
Ego in patre et pater in meR.10.260: After me, beta adds est. The X family of C manuscripts agrees with beta in
this addition, but the P family agrees with alpha. et qui me vidit . patrem Mevm vidit
&cetera .R.10.260: R's two uses of vidit are unique in the B tradition; F and beta read videt.
However, a majority of C manuscripts (including copies from both major
families) agrees with R's verb form. With regard to alpha's version of the end of this
citation, beta's rendering involves phrasal transposition: & qui
videt me videt et patrem meum.R.10.260: The &c . has been rubbed or obscured by a stain, so that the final punctus is now
barely detectable.
R.10.264KD.10.256
Ne man hadde no mercyR.10.264: Beta reads merite in place of alpha's mercy. The Latin citation following this line confirms the correctness of beta's
variant, as does its agreement with the reading of Cx.
myȝtte it be proued .
Fides non habet meritum
vbi humana racio . &cetera .R.10.265: Among the B witnesses, R uniquely omits the final
words of this citation: prebet experimentum. The evidence for
Cx is mixed, but a majority of C manuscripts,
primarily those from the X family, agrees with R's omission of these words.
¶ Þanne is do-bet to suffre
for þi souleR.10.266: Though CB support alpha's uninflected possessive, beta reads soules. helthe .
R.10.272KD.10.262
And late no-body be by þi
berynge beR.10.272: This redundancy is owed to alpha (cf. F's berynge here
be); correcting it would have required only common sense and minimal attention from R's
scribe; it is shared by Hm through convergence. bygiled .
giij
fol. 43vI
Quid consideras festucam in oculo fratris tui
trabem in oculo tuo non vides .R.10.281: Beta omits non vides.
WittR.10.285: This reading is unique to R; beta reads Whiche while F
has Þe wiche letteth þe to loke lasse other more .
R.10.288KD.10.273
As persones and parisch prestes
þat preche schulleR.10.288: Both beta and F read shulde. and teche .
¶ Ac it semeth noR.10.294: This obvious error (no for now) stems
from alpha (cf. F's not). R's failure to correct it probably attests to
misplaced reverence for his exemplar. sothliche toR.10.294: Though Cr agrees with
R's omission here, the beta sub-archetype and F show þe before worldes. worldes siȝte .
Þat goddes wordesR.10.295: Beta has worde, while F garbles the entire half-line and
omits any reading at this point. worcheth nauȝth on lered ne on lewed
.
Dum
secus[c]ecus ducit
secum[c]ecumR.10.297: This slip (secus for cecus / caecus) cannot be owed to the scribe's
own pronunciation of Latin (in which the voiceless velar plosive /k/ of classical phonology
would have been rendered, as was conventional in ecclesiastical Latin, as the voiceless
palato-alveolar affricate /č/). Instead, this mental lapse reveals momentary confusion
with English phonology, where initial <c> often represented the voiceless alveolar
fricative /s/. No other B copyist makes this mistake.
ambo in fouiam cadunt .
R.10.304KD.10.288
Archa dei
meskapudR.10.304: This is either a mistake or an extremely rare form. MED, s. v.
miskepen, lists no occurrences for the inflected form nor for the base.
OED2, s. v.
miscape, lists R's use of the term as the only known occurrence of meskapud. It is classified as a past tense form of miscape, an intransitive verb meaning "To have a mishap, come to grief." A citation
from 1477 in a treatise on alchemy is the only other known use of the verb as an
intransitive. One transitive use from 1535 is cited. and ely brak his ne..kke .
heare I beganne
And þanne mow ȝe manlicheR.10.306: Beta reads saufly while F has soþly,
but neither word alliterates properly; R's manliche appears to be
authorial. segge as dauid made þe sauter .
R.10.308KD.10.292
¶ And þanne schullen burel clerkes be
abasched to blame ȝow .R.10.308: At the end of this line, beta adds or to
greue.
fol. 44rI
R.10.312KD.10.295
And be presteore at ȝoure
preyeresR.10.312: R's plural is unique; Bx witnesses the singular prayere. þan for a pounde of nobles .
¶ Amonges riȝtful religiouse þis reule schulde be
holde . These lines are not attested in beta. F's version is sufficiently
different from R's to require full reproduction here (cf. Appendix 1, R10.314-26, for details
and any cross-references to the C version):
A-mongis ryghtful relygous / þis rewle sholde be holde.
[¶] Seynt Gregory þe grete clerk / & þe goode pope.
Of Relygyonys rewle / he reersiþ in hise bookis.
& seyþ in exsomple / þat þeyhȝ sholde do þere-after.
¶ Whan fysshis faile þe flood / & þe fressh water.
Þey dyȝen for drowhte / whan þei dreyȝe lyȝe.
Ryght so quod Gregory / religioun trollyþ.
It steruyþ & stynkþ / & stelyþ lordis almesse
Þat owt of Couent & cloistre / coueytyn to lybbe.
For if hevene be in erthe / & ese to þe soule.
It ys in cloystre / or in skole / be fele skylys y fyȝnde.
For in Cloistre comeþ no man / to fyȝhte / ne to chyȝde.
But al is buxumnesse & bookis / to rede & to leerne.
A-mongis ryghtful relygous / þis rewle sholde be holde.
[¶] Seynt Gregory þe grete clerk / & þe goode pope.
Of Relygyonys rewle / he reersiþ in hise bookis.
& seyþ in exsomple / þat þeyhȝ sholde do þere-after.
¶ Whan fysshis faile þe flood / & þe fressh water.
Þey dyȝen for drowhte / whan þei dreyȝe lyȝe.
Ryght so quod Gregory / religioun trollyþ.
It steruyþ & stynkþ / & stelyþ lordis almesse
Þat owt of Couent & cloistre / coueytyn to lybbe.
For if hevene be in erthe / & ese to þe soule.
It ys in cloystre / or in skole / be fele skylys y fyȝnde.
For in Cloistre comeþ no man / to fyȝhte / ne to chyȝde.
But al is buxumnesse & bookis / to rede & to leerne.
¶ In scole þere is skile and scorne but ȝif he lerne .R.10.327: Alpha and beta apparently diverged considerably here (the latter omitting
skile and from mid-verse and expanding he to a clerke wil); R presumably reflects alpha's reading, while F somewhat
distorts it. Kane-Donaldson choose to print the beta version of the line (In
scole þere is scorne but if a clerke wil lerne), while Schmidt endorses R's reading,
which has the merit of alliterating properly.
A ledere of louedays andR.10.330: The omission of the
indefinite article is unique to R. Cf. the Bx phrase, a londebugger. The same phrase occurs in Ax,
where it also includes the indefinite article.
londe buggere .
Of þe pouere haue þei no pite &
þat is hire
pureR.10.338: Beta breaks the alliterative pattern by omitting pure.
Cx confirms alpha's variant here. charite .
giiijus
fol. 44vI
R.10.344KD.10.326
And barones with erles bitenR.10.344: R's form is unique; Bx has beten. hem þoruȝ beatus
virres techinge .
Hij in curribus et hij in equisR.10.346: A
stain has partly obscured the <equ> of equis.
ipsi obligati sunt &cetera .
Þat gregories godeR.10.349: Most B manuscripts read godchildren
instead of the erroneous good(e) children of FHmG. R's gode
childerne almost certainly intends the former, not the latter (cf. MED,
s. v.
god, [n. 1]). childerne han euel despended .
And catoun kenneth vs to coueyten it
noȝt but at pure nede .R.10.367: R's wording is unique. Beta manuscripts show various versions of this line's
last phrase, but beta itself probably read as nede techeth. F has in gret nede.
fol. 45rI
R.10.376KD.10.351
Þat is baptized beth sauf be heR.10.376: A
brown stain has rendered he almost illegible. It is the same stain
responsible for discoloration on fol. 44v at R10.346. riche or pore .
Þat is loue god þi lorde leuest aboue alle .R.10.387: F omits this line completely; beta reads Þat is loue þi lorde god leuest aboue alle.
R.10.392KD.10.366
And oure backes þat mote-etenR.10.392: The correct reading is moth-eten. R's
apparently nonsensical phrase (cf. F = mote be betyn)
attests to the spelling practice of alpha, who frequently renders /θ/ as <t>,
especially in syllable-final position. MED, s. v.
motthe, lists no examples of mote as a variant spelling
of motthe, and OED2, s. v.
moth, notes none earlier than 1520. However, among recorded late-medieval
forms, the closest is moȝte, which makes alpha's form easy to account
for. ben & seen beggeres go naked .
Or deliȝt in wyn & inR.10.393: R's in here is a unique addition to the text of Bx. wildefoule & wote any in defaute .
R.10.400KD.10.374
For Michi vindictam & ego retribuam
.R.10.400: Beta omits this biblical citation completely. Nevertheless, its genuineness
is warranted by its presence at the same point in Ax.
For I schal punischenR.10.401: R's punischen is the
alpha reading; beta reads punysshen hem. Ax agrees
with alpha.
in purgatorie or in þe put of helle .
fol. 45vI
R.10.408KD.10.382
Or elles vn-writen for sum
wikkednesse . as holy writ tellethR.10.408: In place of alpha's telleth, beta's variant is wytnesseth. Cx has sheweth, while the
b-verse in the A cognate of this line has a different word order but
uses the same verb as beta. .
¶ And IR.10.410: Beta omits And; F substitutes For.
However, Ax affirms the presence of R's And at the
head of the line (the two C families disagree on this issue, the P group
agreeing with the beta omission while the X set supports R). leue it welR.10.410: After wel beta adds quod I, but Ax and Cx both support RF on the omission of quod I. be oure lorde & on no
letterure bettere .
R.10.412KD.10.385
God gaf hym grace of witt and alle godesR.10.412: In place of R's alle godes, beta's variant is alle his godes. F reads of alle goodis. Cx has of goed. after .
To reule þe reume and riche to make R.10.413: Beta omits this line
completely. F reads the line thus: To rewle his rewme wel / & hym ryche
make.
Of here wordes þei wissen vs for wisest
inR.10.417: Beta reads as before in. Cx agrees with alpha in omitting as.
here tyme .
R.10.420KD.10.393
Þat for here werkes and hereR.10.420: Beta omits here. Cx agrees with beta
in this omission. In a line whose first half parallels this B / C passage (but whose b-verse differs), the A witnesses
are divided on the presence of here (2) — a majority agreeing with
alpha and a minority agreeing with beta. witt now wonyeth in pyne .
R.10.424KD.10.397
For many man on þis molde more sett here
herte .R.10.424: Beta renders plurals in this line: men instead of alpha's
man and hertis instead of herte.
Cx agrees with beta on men but with alpha on herte.
As salomon and other dedeR.10.427: Instead of alpha's non-alliterating and other dede, beta
more plausibly reads dede and such other. þat schewed
grete wittes .
R.10.428KD.10.402
Ac here werkes as holy writtwritt [seith]R.10.428: Here R uniquely omits an essential verb. was
euere þe contrarie .
Super cathedram moysi .
&cetera .R.10.431: Here the scribe again overlooks his usual
insertion of a blank line to mark a new paragraph.
Þo he schope þat schippe of schides and of bordesR.10.433: Though the CrW branch of beta agrees with alpha on the final b-verse phrase
(and of bordes), it seems likely that beta itself read as LMOHmG (and bordes). This difference extends into C, where the
predominant X-family reading agrees with LMOHmG (i.e., beta) while the majority P-family
reading supports RFCrW (i.e., alpha).
fol. 46rI
¶ Þe culorum of þis
clause in curatouresR.10.442: R's in is a unique addition to the presumptive archetypal
text. F adds of. Beta agrees with Cx in omitting both
of these prepositions. is to mene .
At domes-day þe deluye worth of deth and feer at ones . These three lines are not found in beta. In F, they read as
follows:
At domes-day / þe flood worþ / of watur & feer at onys .
¶ For-þy y conseyle ȝou klerkis / of holy chirche wryghtis.
Werke ȝee / as ȝee seen wrete / o lest ȝe worþ y-drenklid.
At domes-day / þe flood worþ / of watur & feer at onys .
¶ For-þy y conseyle ȝou klerkis / of holy chirche wryghtis.
Werke ȝee / as ȝee seen wrete / o lest ȝe worþ y-drenklid.
R.10.448KD.10.420
¶ For aR.10.448: R's For a is unique; F has For on
while beta simply begins the line On; R's a is,
however, semantically identical to the F/beta preposition, on. Moreover,
both Ax and Cx agree with R on this form, opening
the line with the phrase, A Good Friday. goed friday I fynde
a feloun was I-saued .
Or ho worse dedeR.10.457: Beta omits dede (while F omits ho
worse) , but Ax confirms R's inclusion of dede. þan dauid þat vries deth conspired .
Or poule þe apostle þat no pite hadde .R.10.458: Alpha
omits the following line found in beta (and in slightly different form in the A version):
Moche crystene kynde to kylle to deth.
Moche crystene kynde to kylle to deth.
AndR.10.459: L joins R in omitting now before ben, but F and most beta manuscripts attest its presence. ben this as
souereynes with seyntes in heuene .
And be alowed forR.10.469: Beta reads as. F completely rephrases the
half-line. he lyued so for by lyther . men knoweth þe gode
.
fol. 46vI
¶ And where-by
woteR.10.470:
There is considerable variation on this reading among beta manuscripts, but beta itself seems
to have read either wiste (the lection of CrW) or wote
(the reading of LR, and probably of M before it was changed by erasure and overwriting to
conform to CrW). men which is whit if alle þinge blak
were .
Hem alle þat aȝeynes ȝow R.10.482: R
uniquely omits of before cristendom. F also omits of, but does so in the context of a uniquely phrased b-verse with no
reference to cristendom.
cristendom desputen .
R.10.484KD.10.455
AlR.10.484: Beta reads And; F has Þere. Cx agrees with beta. miȝte no kynge
ouer-com hym as by
cunnynge of speche .
¶ Þe douȝtiorokestR.10.487: A unique form in R; it is impossible to know whether this represents
unintentional morphological error or simply deliberate idiolect, a compounding, for emphasis,
of the comparative with the superlative inflection. doctoure
and dyuinour of þe trinite . In the left margin
opposite these lines, there is the residue of a series of brown inkstains—offset from
the marginal comment in the right margin of fol. 47r.
R.10.488KD.10.459
Was austyn þe olde and heyest of hemR.10.488: R's hem is unique; both Ax and Bx have þe at this point. foure
.
R.10.492KD.10.462
And is to mene to englisch men more noR.10.492: Only Hm
agrees with R; both beta and F read ne. Ax confirms
the correctness of the majority reading. lesse .
Þan aren þis cunnynge clerkes
þat knoweR.10.494: R's knowe is the alpha variant; both Ax and beta have conne. many bokes .
¶ Ȝe men knowe clerkes R.10.502: Before cursen, R uniquely omits þat.
The omission of this relative pronoun at the head of the b-verse makes the entire statement
ambiguous. Beta reads the b-verse thus: þat han cursed þe tyme. F has þat þey haue cursed þe tyme.
cursen þe tyme .
fol. 47rI
Þat seruauntes þat seruen lordes
selde falle in rerageR.10.506: R's rerage is a unique form; F reads reragys. Beta has arrerage, which is supported by Cx in a revised version of the same line. .
As clerkes of holy cherche þat kepen cristes tresor
.R.10.510: From this point in the right margin, extending down to R11.10 (Sitthen sche seide to me) on this same page, there is an erased note, horizontally
written, approximately seven lines long.
david