fol. 40r (cont.)I
Incipit Passus Octauus
ANdF.8.1: The ornamental capital is written and flourished in green and red ink. as y lay & lookede / vpon þe launde grene.
F.8.4KD.11.6
A-non a merveylous metelys / me tydde to dreme.F.8.4: The defective b-verse is attributable to alpha. Beta witnesses read "mette me þanne."
For y was ravisshidF.8.5: F uniquely omits "riȝt þere" after ravisshid. For at the beginning of the verse is owed to alpha. Beta has That. / & Fortune me fette.
fol. 40vI
Þere folwede Fortune / foureF.8.10: A greater interest in alliteration than in counting perhaps accounts for F's reading. Bx has "two faire damyseles." faire damyselys.
F.8.12KD.11.14
& þe seconde was RycchesseF.8.12: A space is left for the medial virgule. Ful deyntily a-rayed.F.8.12: F's line is unique. Bx reads instead: "And Coueitise of eiȝes ycalled was þat ooþer." F's revision of the name of the second damsel from Coueitise of eighes arises from his confusion of eighe with eighte, the Essex dialectal form of aughte (< OE ǣhte, "property, goods, wealth"). F's attention to this phrase can be seen in the eye-skip which has omitted KD11.46b-52a.
The confusion extends even to Elde's exclamation in 42, where Bx's "Allas eiȝe" has become "Allas Richesse." Such a misunderstanding suggests that the origin of this passage in 1 John 2:16
was lost on the redactor. Perhaps the Bx form eiȝe is the source of the confusion, since one other occurrence of the singular form (7.133) is also revised (to hond). The word caused no difficulty at 7.280.
For to lyven longe on londeF.8.17: This repetition of the poet's signature pun does not appear in other B manuscripts. / & loven ladyes manye.
Þat euere in þis rewme / rycchesse þou knewe.F.8.30: Bx reads "Coueitise of eiȝe þat euere þow hir knewe."
¶ Homo proponit quod a poete þoF.8.35: Alpha and C have þo which is omitted in beta manuscripts. Mayster occurs uniquely in F. / Mayster Plato he hyghte
Concupiscencia carnis / ne Ricchesse of þis rewme.F.8.38: The reading is unique to F. Other B witnesses read "ne Coueitise of eiȝes."
Þat wit shal turne þis wrecche / for wil / to haue lykynge.F.8.43: Alpha by eye-skip omits the following four lines attested by beta manuscripts:
Coueitise of eiȝes conforted me anoon after
And folwed me fourty wynter and a fifte moore
That of dowel ne dobet no deyntee me þouȝte
I hadde no likyng leue me if þee list of hem ouȝt to knowe.
F alone then omits the following lines:
Coueitise of eiȝes com ofter in mynde
Than dowel or dobet among my dedes alle.
Note that C conforms to F's omissions here.
Coueitise of eiȝes conforted me anoon after
And folwed me fourty wynter and a fifte moore
That of dowel ne dobet no deyntee me þouȝte
I hadde no likyng leue me if þee list of hem ouȝt to knowe.
F alone then omits the following lines:
Coueitise of eiȝes com ofter in mynde
Than dowel or dobet among my dedes alle.
Note that C conforms to F's omissions here.
fol. 41rI
For while Fortune is þy frend / Freres wil þe worchepe.F.8.47: The scribe wrote a red "VII" with red flourishes (an error for "VIII") in the upper right margin to indicate the passus number.
Where heF.8.61: F alone omits were after he. Alpha is responsible for a, which is omitted in beta manuscripts. a parshene or noon / ȝit sholde he þere be grauyd.
So it fareþ nou be ȝow / for ȝee ne rowhte neuere.F.8.67: The reading is unique to F. Other B manuscripts read "Riȝt so by þe roode rouȝte ye neuere."
Nisi quis renatus fuerit / þis resoun y radde sone.F.8.78: F completes the Latin tag and then omits the following line from Bx: "Loke ye lettred men wheiþer I lye or noȝt."
¶ And Lewte þoF.8.79: Alpha is responsible for þo, which is absent in beta. lokede on me / for y gan so lowre.
¶ Ȝee be peterF.8.82: An otiose curl appears above the <p>. & poul quod he & took hem boþe to wytnesse.
fol. 41vI
F.8.84KD.11.89
¶ Þey wille a-geyna-[legge]n quod y & be þe gospele þus preve.F.8.84: The ascenders on the top lines of this opening and the next are not decorated. As usual, we have recorded the highlighted
characters.
Existimasti inique quod ero tui similis . arguam te & statuam.F.8.90: Bx ends the Latin tag at similis.
F.8.104KD.11.108
But þe matere þat heF.8.104: Bx reads she. The scribe probably took he to refer to the He of the preceding line, for he is an unlikely form of the feminine nominative singular in this scribe's dialect. He is confused about the gender of Scripture
in 8.107. mevede / lewede men not knowe yt.F.8.104: Bx reads "if lewed men it knewe," though R also omits if and has knowe. F, confused by the error in alpha, attempted to make sense by adding not and revising the following a-verse.
But þei be-leven on þe lord / þat lettrid men hem techeþ.F.8.106: This line is attested only in alpha.
O vos omnes scicientesF.8.117: This spelling appears in alpha and in a substantial number of beta witnesses. venite
fol. 42rI
For þeyhȝ a man coveytede / his cristendom to receyve. The recast sentence reflects F's efforts to make sense of his exemplar. Alpha, reading receyve for the beta manuscripts' reneye, neatly reversed the point. Beta witnesses read as follows:
For þouȝ a cristen man coueited his cristendom to reneye
Riȝtfully to reneye no reson it wolde.
For þouȝ a cristen man coueited his cristendom to reneye
Riȝtfully to reneye no reson it wolde.
But he may renne in reragis / & raykeF.8.127: F's rayke is unique. Beta witnesses have rome. R has repeated renne from the a-verse. fram home.
F.8.128KD.11.130
& þey he renne reccheslyrecche[le]sly / or romeþ a-bowte.F.8.128: F's line is unique, but Bx is defective. Most beta manuscripts read "And as a reneyed caytif recchelesly aboute."
F.8.132KD.11.134
&F.8.132: F's & is unique. Beta witnesses have For, and R has And for. hise reragys rewarde hym þere / til oo day komynge.
¶ Ȝee baw wawF.8.139: F expands the Bx exclamation baw similarly at 15.404. for bookis quod oon / was broke out of helle.
F.8.140KD.11.141
He was Troianus þe knyght / he took witnesse of þe pope.F.8.140: This line shares with Cr and Cx the omission of "had been a" after Troianus. F consistently reflects Trajan's material in third person rather than Bx's first.
Wel awtyn þeF.8.157: Alpha is responsible for þe. Beta witnesses have ye. Though <y> and <þ> are sometimes difficult to distinguish in anglicana hands, this is clearly a <þ>. lawe-keperis / þis lessoun have in mynde.
fol. 42vI
Þan is love & lewte / ryght a leel science.F.8.166: F omits the following line attested in R: "For þat is þe boke blissed of blisse and of ioye."
F.8.176KD.11.177
Who loveþ not to lovel[e]ve meF.8.176: James Weldon claims ["Ordinatio and Genre in MS CCC 201: A Mediaeval Reading of the B-Text of Piers Plowman," Florilegium 12 (1995, for 1993): 174 n 24], that F's reading "is absurd, since Trajan is the speaker here." However, it is difficult
to say with any confidence that the speaker here is Trajan. Kane and Donaldson, for instance, conclude his speech at the
end of line F8.169, and he has clearly ceased speaking by the my in F8.196. The speeches in the middle section of the poem are not clearly voiced. The way that speeches, or parts of speeches,
are reassigned in the C revision also points to a lack of commitment as to who is saying what in this "dialogus." / he lyveþ in deþis drede.
ForF.8.179: Alpha is responsible for For, which is absent from beta. who þat be-leveþ[len]eþ nouht / he loviþ not / god whot þe soþe.
F.8.180KD.11.181
He comandideF.8.180: Alpha is responsible for the preterite comandide, though the reading is shared by C2O. Other beta witnesses have the present tense. ech creature / to conforme hym to love god.
& his neyȝhebore as hym-selue / & hise enemyȝe after.F.8.181: F's reading is unique. Most B manuscripts read "And souereynly pore peple and hir enemyes after."
F.8.184KD.11.185
For oure Ioyȝe & oure helthe / ysF.8.184: Alpha is responsible for ys, which is absent in beta. Iesu crist of hevene.
We sholde not calle oure ken þerto / ne non knowe men ryche.F.8.190: Bx's b-verse reads "ne none kynnes riche." R and other beta witnesses have singular kynne.
But kalliþ þe kareful þerto / þe crokede & þe blyȝnde.F.8.191: In relation to Bx this line and the next are transposed.
F.8.193: An illegible letter resembling <e> appears with a red touch and a period in the left margin. For ȝoure freendis wille fede ȝou / & with foode a-geyn it quyte.
& þe poore shal prayeF.8.195: The manuscript is stained, but the <e> is tolerably clear. for ȝow / & a-quyte so ȝoure trauaile.
fol. 43rI
But alle are we hise creaturys / & of hyse coffres ryche.F.8.199: A "VII" with red flourishes (an error for "VIII") is written in the top right margin.
& ech man helpe oþir heereF.8.213: Alpha is responsible for heere, which is absent in both beta and C. / for hens shulle we alle.
F.8.224KD.11.221
Been but lytil a-lowed / but beleve hem helpe.F.8.224: F's reading is unique. R has "Is litel alowed þei both but by-leue hem helpe." Beta has "Is litel alowaunce maad but if
bileue hem helpe."
For it is ouer-longe ofo[r]F.8.225: or, "ere." F has replaced Bx's er with of. logyk / ony lessoun a-soyle.
For summe wordis fyȝnde y wrete / wher-of feiþ is rote.F.8.229: F's b-verse is unique. Bx has "were of Feiþes techyng."
Eadem mensura qua mensi fueritis . remecietur uobis.F.8.231: The red ink of the lombard capital <E> and the last two words is darker than that of the remainder of this quotation, suggesting
they were copied at slightly different times.
& so seyþ seynt Gregory / for synful mannys helthe.F.8.233: F omits Bx's "Melius est scrutari scelera nostra quam naturas rerum."
fol. 43vI
F.8.244KD.11.242
& a-parayle vs not proudly / for pilgrimys we ben alle.F.8.244: F omits the following line from Bx: "And in þe apparaille of a pouere man and pilgrymes liknesse."
Þere neuere segge hym seyȝ / with syghte / lyk þe ryche.F.8.246: The b-verse in Bx reads "in secte of þe riche." F habitually avoids secte, substituting sewte (F10.734), seut (F11.248), or even selue (F5.499). However, note that at 7.223 F alone reads sekt in place of Bx's book.
F.8.248KD.11.247
And as pore pylgrimes / prayede men of here goodis.F.8.248: F omits two lines from Bx:
Iesu crist on a Iewes doȝter aliȝte gentil womman þouȝ she were
Was a pure pouere maide and to a pouere man wedded.
Iesu crist on a Iewes doȝter aliȝte gentil womman þouȝ she were
Was a pure pouere maide and to a pouere man wedded.
¶ Martha on goddis modirF.8.249: F alone confuses Mary Magdalene with Christ's mother. The confusion is odd and not explicable by the scribal omission of
the preceding two lines. / made an huge tale.
Preyse pouerte for best lyf / if pacyence it welde.F.8.257: F's welde is unique. R has wolde, and beta manuscripts have folwe.
/ [¶] & þeyhȝ Salomon seyde þus / as menF.8.271: Alpha is responsible for men. Beta witnesses have folk. seen in þe byble.
¶ A-noþir Poete seyþ / in his pure speche.F.8.273: F has rewritten this line. Bx reads "Wiser þan Salomon was bereþ witnesse and tauȝte."
F.8.276KD.11.274α
Si vis perfectus esse vade & vende omnia que habes . &c.F.8.276: F alone completes the quotation after vende.
fol. 44rI
F.8.280KD.11.278
To beggerys þat beggyn / & byddyn for goddis sake.F.8.280: The scribe has written in red with red flourishes "VII" in the upper right margin, an error for "VIII."
& Dauid seiþ in þe sawter / & hise sawis ben soþe. Confusion in alpha lies behind F's revision of these lines. For 8.282-283, Bx reads as follows:
As Dauid seiþ in þe Sauter to swiche þat ben in wille
To serue god goodliche ne greueþ hym no penaunce.
R reads as follows:
As dauid seith in þe sauter to swich þat ben in wille.
With eny wel or wo
To serue god godeliche ne greueth hem no penaunte.
Note that only an a-verse appears in R for the equivalent of F8.283.
As Dauid seiþ in þe Sauter to swiche þat ben in wille
To serue god goodliche ne greueþ hym no penaunce.
R reads as follows:
As dauid seith in þe sauter to swich þat ben in wille.
With eny wel or wo
To serue god godeliche ne greueth hem no penaunte.
Note that only an a-verse appears in R for the equivalent of F8.283.
toF.8.283: Though we have taken the scribe to have intended to mark the first character on each line both as touched in red ink and
capitalized, in this instance the contrast between this opening <t> and the capital form at the beginning of the next line
is too great to leave without comment. As we have noted before, consistency in such matters is a more steady concern of modern
editors than of medieval scribes. swiche as been in wille / to suffre wo / for welthe.
But seyn þus for here dygnerF.8.289: F extensively revises the a-verse, the result, perhaps, of misreading a form of Bx's deuoir as dener. Bx reads "And þei hir deuoir dide ...." / as dauid seiþ in þe sawter.
Þey sholde speke of spera in deo whan spendynge wantiþ.F.8.291: F's line is unique. Bx has "Spera in deo spekeþ of preestes þat haue no spendyng siluer."
Or þe BisshopF.8.297: The <B> is atypical here and in F8.307. / þat blessiþ ȝow / if þat ȝee ben worthy.
As fallyþ for his astatF.8.299: F's reading is unique. Most other manuscripts have "As bifel for a knyȝt ...." / or fynde hym for his strengþe.
Þat haþ neyþir lond ne lyflodeF.8.301: F's lyflode is unique. Bx has lynage. Beta and C manuscripts follow lynage with riche, but it is absent in alpha. / ne good loos of his hondis.
If fals latyn be in þat lettre / þe lawe it repugneþ.F.8.310: F alone reads repugneþ, while Bx has impugneþ. The words overlap in their semantic range (see MED, s.v. repugned v. [2], citing the C substitution in at least one manuscript of repugnen for impugnen at C.Prol.136). The same pattern of variation occurs in F10.125.
Or peyntid þe lynyaryes[parentrelynarie]F.8.311: parentrelynarie, "interlined." / or parcelles ouer-skyppid.
Qvi offendit in vno delitto reus est in omnibus.F.8.315: Bx reads "Qui offendit in vno in omnibus est reus &c."
Spallite deo nostro spalliteF.8.317: F alone omits Bx's "quoniam rex terre deus Israel." spallite sapienter.
fol. 44vI
F.8.320KD.11.314
Neyþir synge ne spalmesF.8.320: An otiose curl is written over the <a>. rede / ne syngyn of a feeste.
F.8.324KD.11.318
Þe lookenge of lewede prestis / haþ do me lopeF.8.324: F's lope ["leap" (cf. ON laupa)] is unique. Beta witnesses have lepe. fram pouerte.
Þe wiche y preyse þere pacyence is / more parfyȝt þan is rycchesse.F.8.325: F omits the following line from Bx: "Ac muche moore in metynge þus wiþ me gan oon dispute." The following nine lines, including the repetition of lines 326-27,
are unique to F. Whether the differences between the repeated lines reflect the practice of the immediate scribe or another
is not determinable.
F.8.333: What was probably the scribe's instructions to the rubricator for passus division has been cropped on the left, leaving just
<u> and the <us> abbreviation. & in þis þowht stille y lay / a long tyme after.
Explicit Passus
Octauus.