fol. 58v (cont.)I
passus xiius
Passus
duodecimus[tertius] decimus de visione
vt supra .
And as a freke þat fereR.13.2:
Cf. F's a-feerd and beta's fre. Cx
appears to have had feye, but X, the best single copy of the final version
of Piers Plowman, reads fayre (with the last two letters
erased later). were forth gan I walken .
fol. 59rI
And no corps in here kirkeȝerde ne in here kirke wereR.13.9: This is a unique reading in R; the other B manuscripts
show the indicative was.
buried .
And how þusR.13.11: R's þus is unique; other B copies
have þis (LMWHm). Most X family copies of the C
version agree with the F/beta reading, but four P family copies (RcScZKc) agree with R. Some
manuscripts of both major families omit the lection completely.
coueytise ouer-cam clerkes and prestes
.R.13.11: There is a pointing hand here in the right margin.
☜
Þoruȝ vnkunnynge curatoures to incurable peynes
.R.13.13: Here RF omit seven lines attested in the beta manuscripts:
And how þat ymagynatyf in dremeles me tolde
Of kynde and of his connyng and how curteise he is to bestes
And how louynge he is to bestes on londe and on water
Leneth he no lyf lasse ne more
Þe creatures þat crepen of kynde ben engendred
And sitthen how ymagynatif seyde vix iustus saluabitur
And whan he had seyde so how sodeynelich he passed.
And how þat ymagynatyf in dremeles me tolde
Of kynde and of his connyng and how curteise he is to bestes
And how louynge he is to bestes on londe and on water
Leneth he no lyf lasse ne more
Þe creatures þat crepen of kynde ben engendred
And sitthen how ymagynatif seyde vix iustus saluabitur
And whan he had seyde so how sodeynelich he passed.
And as A dark smudge partially obscures as
in line 15 as well as the first two words of line 16. criste wolde þere
come consience to conforte me inR.13.15:
R's in is unique; the other manuscripts omit it. þat tyme .
¶ And for consience of clergie spake I camR.13.17: This is an
alpha variant; beta reads come (presumably a preterite as in
alpha). wel þe rathere .
R.13.28KD.13.35
¶ Pacience and I were pote to ben mettes .R.13.28: For alpha's mettes, beta has macches.
Though two C manuscripts agree with beta (one being the highly
contaminated N, Cx agrees with alpha.
And serued hymR.13.31: Though Hm and B concur with R's hym, both F and beta have hem; this is also the reading of Cx. þus sone of sondri metes many .
Ac þei haddeR.13.35:
Where RF read hadde, the beta manuscripts show several variants of eten. Although this passage is revised in C, the verb in
the revision agrees with beta.
metes of more coste mortrewes and potages .
j iijus
fol. 59vI
nota
But if þei synge for þo soules with
manyR.13.39:
R's with is unique, but many is an alpha variant (the
beta phrase = and wepe). Cx agrees with beta.
salt teres .
R.13.40KD.13.45α
Vos qui peccata hominum
comeditis nisi pro eis lacrimas &
oraciones effunderitis
.
Ea que in delicijs in
comediscomedis[tis]R.13.41: R's in comedis is unique and ungrammatical;
cf. F's comedistis and beta's comeditis. Cx agrees with beta. in tormentis
euometis .
by-fore pacience brede to bringe
and me þat was his mete .R.13.43: Once more, for alpha's mete, beta had either macche or make. Though two C manuscripts agree
with beta (one being the highly contaminated N), Cx agrees with
alpha.
¶ As longe quod he as lifR.13.46:
R's phrasing here is unique; F reverses the phrase (=as lyf quod he); most
beta copies have quod I as I lyue (manuscript O concurs with alpha in
attesting the third-person pronoun). However, most C manuscripts read
the phrase as R does. and likam may dure .
R.13.48KD.13.54
¶ And þanne he brouȝt vs forth a mees of other mete
of miserere
meiR.13.48: F and all beta copies except Cr add deus to
the end of this scriptural citation, but the entire text is deleted from C.
AndR.13.50: For R's And, F shows & (but in a completely rephrased line) while beta reads Et.
quorum tecta sunt peccata in a dische
.R.13.50: R
agrees with the beta manuscripts against F in attesting a line break between KD13.54α
and KD13.55 after dische. Although this is impossible, and F correctly
senses that Langland's alliterative pattern requires a line break immediately after the Latin
quotation, it is much more likely that this represents one of F-redactor's many shrewd
editorial guesses than that F alone here retains by vertical transmission the reading of Bx.
Pro hac orabitR.13.54: Here beta distinctively adds ad te to the
Latin quotation. However, in a homologous but heavily revised passage, Cx agrees with alpha in omitting this prepositional phrase from the same
citation. omnis sanctus in tempore oportuno
.
And made hym murth with his meneR.13.58:
R's mene is unique; cf. F's mowht and beta's mete. Cx agrees with beta. ac I murned
euere .
For þis doctor vp-on þisR.13.59: R's vp-on is unique; R shares þis with
Hm alone but shares hey with beta. F reads on þe dees
while beta reads on þe heigh dese. hey deyes dronk wyn so
faste .
And eetR.13.61: Cf. R's And eet to F's Þey etym and
beta's He eet. Cx agrees with R. many sondry
metes mortrewes and poddynges .
Nota
R.13.64KD.13.65
It is nauȝt foure dayes þat þis freke
by-fore þe den of seyntR.13.64:
R's seynt is a unique addition. poules .
fol. 60rI
Et in periculoR.13.70: R uniquely differs from the other B manuscripts in
rendering the opening phrase of this citation as Et in
periculo (cf. beta's Periculum est in). F joins R
in omitting est but otherwise attests the same text as beta.
The C manuscripts divide on this lection, many P copies agreeing with
F while the X family supports beta's reading. falsis fratribus
.
R.13.76KD.13.74
¶ IR.13.76:
Alpha and G omit beta's Ac at the opening of this line; though the b-verse
in the cognate C line is substantially revised, the opening agrees
completely with beta. wist neuere freke þat as frereR.13.76:
R uniquely omits a from the phrase attested by beta (but F uniquely
revises the entire a-verse). ȝede by-fore
men an englich
AcR.13.78:
Both R and F attest an alpha line introduced by a contrastive conjunction (R = Ac; F = But); beta clearly omitted such a conjunction, and Cx agrees with beta. þei prechen þat penaunce
is profitable to þe soule .
Þat he precheth andR.13.82:
Where R attests and, F has þus & while beta reads
he. Most of the X family of C witnesses agree with
R. Manuscripts UcDcTCh and most of the P family agree with beta.
preuethR.13.82:
Both R and F omit the required negative after preueth (beta's phrase = he preueth nouȝt. F substitutes yt). Apparently this
omission derives from alpha. The reading of Cx for this a-verse mostly
agrees with beta's. to pacience I tolde .
R.13.84KD.13.82
Þat disches and dobleres by-for þis doctorR.13.84:
F reads the end of this b-verse as þe doctour; beta has þis
ilke doctour.
Wer molte lede in hereR.13.85:
R's here is unique; the other manuscripts read his. mawe and mahoun a-myddes .
I schal iangle to þis iurdan with his iuystyR.13.86:
This is the alpha reading (F = Iusty). The beta form is iust. Although two C manuscripts (TCh) agree with alpha's form,
the Cx reading was iuyste. wombe .
To telle me what penaunce is of whiche he
preched þere ayR.13.87:
R's þere ay is unique; cf. F's euere and
beta's rather. .
R.13.88KD.13.86
Pacience parceyued what I thouȝt and badR.13.88:
R's bad is an alpha reading; cf. beta's wynked
on. me be stille .
And prouen it hereit [in] hereR.13.93:
The source of this emendation is F, which presumptively preserves alpha here; cf. beta's it by her pocalips. Most C
witnesses agree with beta. pocalips and passion of seynt auereys .
Þat noþer bacoun ne braun neR.13.94:
Beta omits ne(2). Among the C copies, the X family
agrees with alpha on its inclusion while the P family agrees with beta in omitting ne(2). blaumanger ne mortrewes .
Is nother fisch ne flesch but fode for þe
penauntes .R.13.95: R's þe is unique; F omits a determiner here but agrees
with R on penauntes, which is an alpha variant; beta reads the singular,
a penaunte. Though C manuscript N agrees with beta
(presumably as a result of its usual pattern of micro-contamination), none of the other C copies does and Cx agrees with F.
What he fonde in a freiel after a frereR.13.97:
The unmarked possessive, frere, is unique to R; other B manuscripts read freres. However, among the C copies, the predominant form in X family manuscripts is the same as R's.
leuynge .R.13.97: The punctus is topped by a diagonal slash that rises slightly
toward the right; no conventional punctuation mark used by the R scribe matches it.
Furthermore, there appears to be a superfluous dot below and slightly to the right of the
<g> of leuynge.
And þanne is tyme to talkeR.13.99: Though O agrees with R, beta reads take, a lection also supported by most of the X family of C manuscripts. F has a-posen, but F has also revised the b-verse
for this line. Most P family witnesses (and several X family copies) agree with R and O on
talke. and to appose þis doctour .
j iiijus
fol. 60vI
¶ What is dowel sir doctour quod I is
do-bestR.13.105: In place of alpha's dobest, beta reads dowel. Once more, N is unique among the C copies, mirroring its
beta collational source (= dowel), while several C
manuscripts read dobet; nevertheless, Cx clearly
agrees with alpha. any penaunce .
¶ Dowel quod þis doctour and dronk afterR.13.106: R and F differ slightly here (F = dronk a-non þere-after), but alpha's
version of this phrase was obviously quite different from beta's. The entire beta b-verse
reads and toke þe cuppe and dranke. Though N reproduces beta's b-verse
exactly, all the other C manuscripts support alpha, with Cx reading and he dronke aftur. .
For ȝe haueR.13.109: R's haue is the alpha
form (supported by Cr); beta reads han. harmed vs to in
þat ȝe eten þe puddynge .
And ȝeR.13.111: Among the B witnesses, R uniquely omits if before ȝe. However, the opening phrase of the same line in
Cx shows full agreement with R (though the remainder of the line is
revised). fare so in ȝoure fermerie ferly me thenketh
.
R.13.112KD.13.110
But cheste be þere charite schulde be R.13.112: R
uniquely splits this line in half.
¶ Þanne consience fulR.13.115: R's ful is an alpha variant omitted by beta. As usual,
C manuscript N agrees with beta's omission, but Cx
agrees with alpha. curteislich a contenaunce he made .
R.13.116KD.13.113
And prentedeR.13.116: R's verb inflection here is unique; F chooses an entirely different lexical
root and produces plukkid, while beta reads preynte.
Cx agrees with beta. vpon pacience to prey me to be
stille .
And seyde hym-selue sir
dottourR.13.117:
OED2 fails to note this form. It might represent nothing more than a slip of
the pen creating an accidental ascender on the <c>. But the R scribe clearly renders
this word in the same way at R18.369 as well. MED cites a parallel from a
fifteenth-century manuscript of Hilton's Scale of Perfection: "If þei
wilen vndirstonden holi writ and dottours sawes þerof, þei
schulden finden as I seye." and it be youre wille .
Dowel quod þis doctour dosR.13.119: Cf. R's dos with beta's do and F's ys to doon. as clerkes techeth .
R.13.124KD.13.120
I haue sonesR.13.124: Before sones, R omits seuene, an
omission exclusively shared with L (whose corrector supplies the missing word in the right
margin). Because of the stemmatic primacy and steady accuracy of both L and R, only two
explanations of this apparent omission seem plausible. Either an authorial marginal in Bx was transmitted in the same form by both alpha and beta, allowing the L
and R scribes each to overlook it by chance, while other beta scribes noticed and inserted it
into their text; or there is no omission here at all, merely an editorial addition of seuene by the scribe of beta prime (progenitor of the CrW subset of beta), a
change which then was passed laterally to the corrector of L. In favor of this latter
possibility is the fact that the line is metrically unexceptionable in the form shared by LR,
and the fact that a reiterative phrase, þo seuene, is invoked two lines
below this passage by the archetypal text. The wording there could well suggest to anyone
that the number reference might have dropped out of the earlier line and thus invited early
editorial "repair." On the other hand, the strongest evidence in favor of the first
hypothesis (randomly shared LR error caused by an overlooked marginal) is that seuene occurs in M as part of the scribe's original copying and not as an erasure /
writeover (the usual sign, in this otherwise independent witness, of later lateral
"correction" from the CrW branch of beta). The line does not appear in the C version. he seyde seruen in a castel .
Þere þe lorde of lif woneth to leren
hymR.13.125:
R shares the spelling hym exclusively with beta copies LM; HmCGYBF read
hem and WCrO simply omit any pronoun. The RLM form is likely that of Bx but as such may be merely a Northern relict: hym =
standard hem. However, Schmidt assumes that the sons of Clergy in this
puzzling allegory are the teachers (rather than the pupils) of the Lord of Life; if so, then
hym would be a singular, a substantive lection preserved solely in these
three witnesses. what is dowel .
I am vn-hardy quod
he to eny wiȝt proueR.13.127: R's proue is shared exclusively with F; cf. beta's to preue(n). it .
Which schal saue mannes soule þus seyth peres þe
plowman .R.13.134: After this line, the R scribe omits his usual line break
between verse paragraphs, presumably because the next line is the last one ruled for this
side.
fol. 61rI
R.13.136KD.13.132
He wil nauȝt aȝeynes holy writ speke I dar wel
vndertaken .R.13.136: Between fols. 60 and 61 there was a leaf removed (the original cognate of
fol. 60) in the course of producing R. Its stub, which measures an average width of 1.4 cm.,
was pasted down to the current fol. 61, causing this quire (the ninth) to be an irregular one
of 7 leaves (8-1). No evidence of text loss or irregularity is apparent in the immediate
vicinity of this intervention, but something must have been awry, either with the scribe's
initial "casting off" of text, or with his first try at copying fol. 61, to cause such a
radical intervention as cancelling a leaf. It may be significant that the text on current
fol. 61v begins precisely at a point where the beta manuscripts omit nine lines of authorial
material. If this material existed as a marginal addition or an attached slip in R's
exemplar, it may have been initially overlooked (as in beta) but then noticed in time to
remedy by means of excising a singleton and recopying. Whatever occurred may also relate to a
gradual change in lineation noticeable from early in the seventh quire (41r-48v): while the
earlier fascicles of R are ruled exclusively for 36 lines, beginning at 42v most sides are
ruled for 37, and at the crucial fol. 60, both sides are ruled for 38 lines.
Pacience hath be in many a placeR.13.138: R's a place is unique; F's agreement here with LWHm in
omitting a suggests that Bx read as they do. The
other beta copies render this lection as places and
par-auenture knoweth .
Þat no clerke canR.13.139: R's omission of negation before can is an alpha reading
shared with OC2; beta has ne can. as
crist bereth witnesse .
At youre preiere quod pacience þo
so no man displese hem .R.13.141: R's hem is unique; the other manuscripts have hym.
R.13.147: R
uniquely omits Þow at the head of this line. F, on the other hand,
preserves all the elements but reverses the phrasing of the a-verse to þy sowle
þowh love leely.
Loue lely þi soule al þi Iif-tyme
R.13.148KD.13.142
And so to lere and to louyeR.13.148: Alpha's a-verse seems to have been garbled here; cf. F's &
so to leerne to lowe the and beta's presumably archetypal And so þow lere
þe to louye. for þe lordes loue of heuene .
For he þat loueth þe lelly lyte of þin desireth .R.13.155: R's desireth is an alpha variant; cf. beta's coueiteth.
Vndo it and late þis doctour seR.13.163: The presumably archetypal se is shared by RF with L
(whose lection was sen before "correction" to the common beta reading, deme). R's and and where are alpha
variants; and is simply omitted by beta manuscripts while the meaning of
where is rendered in beta by if. where dowel be here-inneR.13.163: R's here-inne is unique. The other witnesses read þerinne.
.
fol. 61vI
And eek haue god my soule and þow wilt it craue . These lines are omitted by the beta manuscripts. F offers numerous
variants from R's readings in these lines—and completely omits text for KD13.169 and
171 (= R13.176 and 178)—so the most efficient representation of these differences is
to cite F's text here completely (cf. Appendix 1, R13.171-79, for details and any
cross-references to the C version):
& eek so have god my soule / & þou wilt love crave.
Þere nys Emperour ne Empresse / neyþir Erl ne baroun.
Þat pure resoun shal the make.
Mayster of alle men / þoruhȝ myght of his reede.
Nowht þoruh no ryche craft / but þoruh wit of hem-selue.
To ȝeve þe al þat þey may ȝeve / as þou for beest ȝeemere.
Pacientes vincunt
& eek so have god my soule / & þou wilt love crave.
Þere nys Emperour ne Empresse / neyþir Erl ne baroun.
Þat pure resoun shal the make.
Mayster of alle men / þoruhȝ myght of his reede.
Nowht þoruh no ryche craft / but þoruh wit of hem-selue.
To ȝeve þe al þat þey may ȝeve / as þou for beest ȝeemere.
Pacientes vincunt
Pope ne patriarch þat puyre reson ne schalR.13.173: Where R has ne schal, F errs by omitting negation,
producing instead shal the. make .
Ȝyue þe alle þat þei may ȝiue as þe for best ȝemere .R.13.177: R's ȝyue is witnessed in F as To ȝeve; in the b-verse, R's as þe reads as þ(o)u.
Alle þe wit of þis worlde neR.13.181: R's ne is an alpha variant; cf. beta's and. The same variation is attested in the C version, the X
family agreeing with beta while the P family supports alpha's reading. wiȝte
mennes strenthe .
Þat pacience þo moteR.13.186: R's mote is a unique form
here, though its semantics are identical with beta's most(e). F completely
revises the a-verse, producing & leet Pacyense forþ passe.
passe for pilgrimes kunne wel lye .
¶ Ac consience carped a-loudeR.13.187: R's a-loude is a unique
form. The other manuscripts show loude. and curteysliche
seyde .
R.13.192KD.13.184
After ȝeresȝyues or ȝiftes otherR.13.192: R's other is unique. The remaining B
witnesses all begin the b-verse with or. ȝernen to rede
redeles .
Ac þe wille of þe weyeR.13.198:
Weye, "person, being, man." and þe wilR.13.198: R's apparent omission of the preposition of before
folk is not reflected in F but is shared with several key beta
manuscripts. It is quite likely here that R is accurately representing an earlier textual
transmission error, not merely creating one of his own. The most salient clue lies in the
fact that of is also omitted by L (the best beta copy) as well as by M, C
and B. The preposition is later inserted into M above the line by Hand2 (a scribe trying to
re-work M's text to match that of the CrW sub-family). These facts suggest that of was either completely omitted or interlinear in Bx, that it
was inserted (or remained obscurely interlinear) in beta, and was overlooked by alpha. Then
F, who is more attentive to the need for such tidying than is the R scribe, and who has a
variety of collational sources at his disposal, simply resupplied it. Cf. this textual
situation to that found at R.13.124:. On the other
hand, Burrow and Turville-Petre prefer simply defending the reading found in R and L as a
"harder reading," by glossing wil as an adjective (= "errant"). As is
frequently the case with such suggestions, one must decide whether the reading proposed is
merely "harder" or in fact metrically awkward and semantically unlikely. folk here
.
For þere nysR.13.201: R's nys is shared only
with L and W (the others read is); however, the attestational authority of
these three copies in agreement makes it likely that their form represents the reading of Bx. no tresor þere-to to a
trewe wille .
¶ Haued nauȝt marieR.13.202: R's marie is an alpha variant; beta omits it.
magdeleyne more for a box of salue .
fol. 62rI
¶ Clergie andR.13.210: R's and and F's ne attest to an alpha
failure to grasp the meaning of the passage; cf. beta's to (the reading of
LHmOCYB) and the easier reading adopted by CrWG (= of). M was altered at
some point to the latter reading but almost certainly agreed originally with L.
consience no congeye wolde take .
R.13.216KD.13.208
And conformen kynges to pees ofR.13.216: At this point, beta has and. alle kynne londes
.
R.13.228KD.13.220
And as þey wenten be þe weye and of dowel carpedeR.13.228: R's and of dowel carpede is the alpha version of this
b-verse (cf. F's & of Dowel carpeden). The beta half-line is of dowel þei carped. .
Pacience apposed hym furst and preyed hym heR.13.230: The
phrase hym he is another example of a variant attested exclusively by LMR.
The majority beta reading here is simply he while F reads hym. Cx agrees with the beta majority. schulde
hem telle .
actife
R.13.232KD.13.224
¶ Ich am a ministrale quod þat man my
name is actiua vita .R.13.232: In the right margin
opposite this line appears a simple gloss: actife. This marginal gloss is in a very light brown hand and has been partially
erased.
fol. 62vI
A waferere welleR.13.234: R's welle is shared exclusively with Cr; all other B copies,
including F, disagree, attesting instead some form of wil here.
ȝe wite and serue many lordes .R.13.234: At the top right margin
of this side, there is a black ink stain, which also has transferred onto the top left of
63r. At the top left margin, there are pen trials or a cartoon, extending down the left
margin to R13.242.
R.13.236KD.13.228
Coude I lye andR.13.236: R's and is an alpha variant; beta has to. Though C manuscript N also reads to,
showing its unique and typical deference to beta against all its versional siblings, Cx agrees with alpha. do men lawhe þanne lacchen I schulde
.
R.13.240KD.13.232
Iape ne iangeleR.13.240: Beta reads iogly in place of alpha's iangele. Cx is uncertain; large numbers of Cwitnesses agree with each of the B sub-archetypal readings.
ne gentyliche pipe .
For no brede þat I brouȝtR.13.243: The beta manuscripts read brynge. forth
saue a benison on þe soneday .
For peres þe plowman and þat hym profit
waytethR.13.245: R's wayteth is an alpha form; beta shows wayten. .
OfR.13.247: R's Of is unique; cf. beta's For and
F's & for. alle trewe trauailoures and tylieres of þe
erthe .
I fynde payn for þe popeR.13.251: The word pope has been cancelled with a later black horizontal line. and
prouendre for his palfreye .
Nother prouendre ne personage ȝut of
þe popesR.13.253: The word popes has been cancelled with 2 later black
horizontal lines. ȝiftes .
R.13.257: The
beta manuscripts read the opening of this line as And þat.
Þat his blissynge and his bulles bocches mȝtem[y]ȝte destruye .
Argentum & aurum
non est michi quod autem habeo hocR.13.266: Beta omits alpha's hoc; Cx is uncertain: the X family mostly agrees with beta in omitting this
demonstrative, but most P family witnesses include it. tibi do .
R.13.268KD.13.255
Ac if miȝt of miracle hym faile it is for men
bethR.13.268:
R's inflectional form is unique here; the other B manuscripts read be(n). However, Cx agrees with R. nauȝt
worthi
fol. 63rI
MayR.13.270: R uniquely omits a word at the head of this line; cf. F's Þere
may and beta's For may. Cx agrees with
beta. no blissyng don vs bote but if we wil amende .
R.13.272KD.13.259
Til pruide be priuelicheR.13.272: Cf. RF's priueliche with the beta variant purelich. Cx agrees with beta. fordo and alleR.13.272: R's alle is unique; cf. F's omission (shared by WCrM) and
the beta original reading, þat, found in LHmCOG, which is shared with Cx. þoruȝ payne defauteR.13.272: Covering the right
margin opposite R13.272-73 is a black inkblot that has also transferred onto 62v.
Additionally, a black stain that appears to have originated in the margin of 62v, just inside
the aforementioned pen trials of 62v, seems to have transferred to lines 271-72 here,
partially obscuring poeple (271) and payne
(272).
nota
Stratford
With bakeR.13.279: Beta omits bake and thereby produces an unmetrical line
of the format ax/ay. brede fro statfordest[r]atforde þo gan beggeres wepe .
Chicestre
Maior
londoun
londoun
Ac it was moled in many placeR.13.287: The singular form is unique; the other manuscripts show the plural, places. with mony sondri plottes .
Other-wise þanne he hath
with hert andR.13.291: R's and is unique; F omits it (and completely rewrites
the b-verse), while beta reads or. siȝt schewynge .
R.13.292KD.13.279
Hym wilnyngeR.13.292: R's wilnynge is unique; cf. F's wenynge and beta's willynge. In a cognate passage (from C6), the C version agrees with R on this
variant. þat alle men wenteR.13.292:
Wente is a dialect variant for the preterite of ween.
OED2, s. v.
ween (v.), recognizes the form as viable from the thirteenth through the
sixteenth centuries. he were þat he is nauȝte .
With in-wit andR.13.301: Alpha and Cr hereafter omit a repeated with found in all
other beta copies. oute-wit ymagynen and
stodye .
As best for his body be to haue a boldeR.13.302: For alpha's bolde, the beta manuscripts have badde. name .
fol. 63vI
Or for his crafty kunnynge or of clerkes þe wisest . These lines are omitted by beta. F's rendering of these lines is
sufficiently different from R's that F's lines should be cited in their entirety (cf.
Appendix 1, R13.305-311, for details and any cross-references to the C
version):
Or for his crafty konyngge / of clerkis he were þe wisest.
Or strengest on steede / or styffest gyrt with gyrdel.
& lowlyest to loken on / & leellest of werkys.
& non so holy as he / ne non of lyf clennere.
Or fayrest of fetoures / of face / ne of forme.
Or most sotyl of song / or slyest of hondys.
Or looþ for to leene / & large for to cacche.
Or for his crafty konyngge / of clerkis he were þe wisest.
Or strengest on steede / or styffest gyrt with gyrdel.
& lowlyest to loken on / & leellest of werkys.
& non so holy as he / ne non of lyf clennere.
Or fayrest of fetoures / of face / ne of forme.
Or most sotyl of song / or slyest of hondys.
Or looþ for to leene / & large for to cacche.
R.13.312KD.13.299
And if he gyueth ouȝtR.13.312: R and L alone omit the
preposition to before pore. pore gomes
telle what he deleth .
Pore of possession in purs and in coffreR.13.313: Only R
and L end the line with coffre; F omits the entire line and the other beta
copies add boþe at the end. .
And as a lion to lokeR.13.314: R's omission of the preposition on after lion is unique. F includes the preposition but rearranges the phrase so that beta's
a lyon on to loke is rendered a lyoun to looken
on. and lordeliche of speche .
R.13.324KD.13.311
Alle he wolde þat men wist of werkes and wordesR.13.324: Beta reads the final phrase of this line as werkes and of
wordes. .
R.13.336KD.13.321
With eneuyeR.13.336: R's form here is unique; Kane-Donaldson transcribe it as a nonsense error,
enenye; however, a likelier reading of R's intention is that he meant to
render the same word as the other witnesses, enuye. and euel speche
entisynge to fiȝte .
lyȝynge or
lakkynge
fol. 64rI
Lyȝynge
or
lakkyngeR.13.337: R's lakkynge is an alpha variant; cf. beta's erroneous
laughynge. a lef tonge to chide .R.13.337: R shows two small unique features in reading this line: (1)
where the other manuscripts read and in the a-verse, R has or; (2) where most of the others read and at the head of the
b-verse, R has a (cf. G's and a and F's & with a).
R.13.344KD.13.329
AuengedR.13.344: R uniquely deploys the past tense here; the other B
manuscripts show Auenge. However, almost all the C
manuscripts endorse R's lection, reading Venged. me fele tymes
other frete my-sulue .
Cuius malediccione os
plenum
estR.13.346: R's est amaritudine involves a unique
omission. All other B witnesses (as well as Cx)
agree on est & amaritudine. amaritudine
.
Sub lingua eius labor . et dolor .R.13.347: Alpha omits a second tagline, from Ps. 56.5, & alibi filij hominum dentes eorum arma & sagitte & lingua eorum
gladius acutus. Cx agrees with beta and includes the
citation. The first Latin quotation is from Ps. 9.28. Both of these red
boxings have been blotted and partially erased.
And whan I may nouȝt haue þe maystrie whichR.13.350: R's which is unique. F and some of the beta manuscripts
(CrWHm) read swich, while others (LGCO) have with. As
for M, the beta editor has "corrected" its reading (from the spacing it appears likely that
the original reading was with) to the WHm lection. Cx
attests suche, but Kane and Russell choose wiþ for
their edition of C, presumably on the basis of its being a "harder
reading." malencolye I take
Leche-craft orR.13.354: R's or is shared only with L (cf. the common beta reading, of). F reads
be. Although two C manuscripts, Q and F, agree with
this RL reading, Cx certainly agrees with the beta majority. If this RL
lection is, as seems likely, an error (rather than a harder reading distorted by most of
their fellow copyists) it would represent a coincidental misreading of a single
character. oure lorde and leue on a wiche
nota sowter of sotwerk
R.13.356KD.13.339
To þe souter of south-werk
or of schordych dame emme .R.13.356: In the right margin opposite this line,
someone has written sowt(er) of sotwerk. This note is in a thin black,
nearly contemporary hand, apparently the same as the note about Chichestre on 63v. To the
immediate left of this gloss, between it and the end of the text line, there is a design
consisting of a triangle of dots with a penstroke resembling a modern comma extending from
the middle of its base.
¶ I waited wisloker and þanne was IR.13.359: Cf. R's I with F's he and beta's it. Apparently the R scribe failed to notice that the confession ends in the
previous line and that this description is rendered from the narrator's viewpoint.
soyled .
R.13.360KD.13.343
With likynge of lecherie and by
lokynge of mynR.13.360: R's myn is an alpha reading; cf. beta's his. eye .
As welR.13.365: Beta reads wel in for alpha's wel. But
Cx agrees with alpha. fastyng dayes and fridayes and
for-bode niȝtes .
And as lefR.13.366: Beta reads wel. Cx agrees with
alpha. in lente as oute of lente alle tymes I-liche .
OrR.13.370: In place of R's unique and incoherent Or, F and beta
begin this line And of. Later in the line, R opens the b-verse with and in where all the other copies read in
herlotrie and horedom and in here elde tellen
k jR.13.371: At the bottom of 64r, in the lower right
margin, a signature mark, k j, appears to be partially detectable but is
mostly erased. The bottom middle section of this leaf was torn long ago at a diagonal
extending upwards to the left for 4 cm.; it was repaired by stitching.
fol. 64vI
And awayted þoruȝ whitusR.13.377:
Whitus, "wits." Beta reads which wey to bigile instead
of R's more apt whitus weyus to begile. Cf. F's wit fele
wyȝes to be-gyle. weyus to begile .
R.13.380KD.13.363
And if my neȝbore hadde anR.13.380: Beta has any. Cx agrees with
alpha. hyne or any best elles .
And but if I haddeR.13.383: Here alpha's phrasing differs slightly from
beta, which reads but I (it) had. Cx agrees with
beta, and supports the LMWHm inclusion of it in the phrase; but the P
family mostly agrees with Hm's order (hadde it) while the best X family
copies agree with LMW (= it had). bi other way at þe last
I stale it .
Other bi niȝt otherR.13.385: R's correlative conjunctions other . . . other are
unique; except for F, all the other B copies render both of this pair as
or; F agrees with them on the second but renders the first as Eyþir. bi daye aboute was I euere .
Of my nexte neyȝbore or ȝaf hem rede þat
repen .R.13.389: Here alpha lost a b-verse and a following a-verse, resulting in the
compression of two lines into an aa|bb metrical pattern. In F, the resulting half-line reads
whan y sholde repen it.
Þat it costeR.13.398: Beta becomes more explicit, inserting me after coste. muche more swore many othes .
R.13.400KD.13.384
HaddeR.13.400: After Hadde, R shares with L alone an
obvious error: the omission of the personal pronoun I. Both F and beta
include I, as does Cx. This apparently random error,
shared exclusively by the two best witnesses to Bx, probably derives
from an overlooked marginal correction in that archetypal copy, one that was transmitted
faithfully (as a marginal) by both alpha and beta. nere wil wote god
witterly to be-seche .
For losse of goed leue meR.13.402: A stain or discoloration
of the parchment has partially obscured me. þan fore lihames gultes .
fol. 65rI
To marchaunden with monoye and maken here
chaunges .R.13.409: Beta reads eschaunges in place of RF's chaunges. Cx agrees with beta.
Myȝte nereR.13.410: R's nere is a unique form here. The other copies have neuer(e). The C manuscripts attest the majority
form. me conforte in þe mene tyme .
Nother masse ne matynes ne no maner shytess[yh]tes .R.13.411: R's nonsensical error here is unique among the B
copies. The scribe's usual spelling of the word in question is siȝtes, but the spelling adopted here for the emendation is assumed to have been
inherited from his exemplar, so that his only mistake is likely to have been a simple
reversal of two letters. Two C witnesses, VcAc, render this word as schytes, but Cx presumably had syhtus.
R.13.416KD.13.399
Ȝet glotoun with grete othes his granementR.13.416: Although listing it as a viable spelling variation, MED, s. v.
garnement, offers no other evidence for this spelling of what is commonly
rendered garnement (as in F). OED2, s.
v.
garment, garneament, and garnement,
provides no citations either.
hadde soyled . These lines are omitted by the beta manuscripts. There are, moreover,
substantial variations between R and F in this passage, so that it seems preferable here to
cite F's version uninterrupted (cf. Appendix 1, R13.416-25, for details and any
cross-references to the C version):
Ȝeet þat goome with grete oþis / his garnement was soiled.
& foule be-flobered it / al with fals speche.
& þere no neede was / nempnede god ydellyche.
& swoor þerby / swythe ofte / a-bowte þe ale cuppe.
& ofte moore eet & drank / þan kynde myȝhte defye.
& sumtyme kawte seknesse / þoruh surfetys ofte.
Þat for dowhte y dredde / to dyȝen in dedly synne.
& into wanhope y wente / y wende neuere to be savid.
Þe wyche slewþe is so slowhȝ / þere may no sleyghte it helpe.
Ne no mercy a-mende it / þe man þat dyȝeþ þere-Inne.
Ȝeet þat goome with grete oþis / his garnement was soiled.
& foule be-flobered it / al with fals speche.
& þere no neede was / nempnede god ydellyche.
& swoor þerby / swythe ofte / a-bowte þe ale cuppe.
& ofte moore eet & drank / þan kynde myȝhte defye.
& sumtyme kawte seknesse / þoruh surfetys ofte.
Þat for dowhte y dredde / to dyȝen in dedly synne.
& into wanhope y wente / y wende neuere to be savid.
Þe wyche slewþe is so slowhȝ / þere may no sleyghte it helpe.
Ne no mercy a-mende it / þe man þat dyȝeþ þere-Inne.
Þat in-to wanhope he
wratheR.13.423: Compare R's wrathe, an impossible choice, with F's wente. However, the error probably occurred in alpha (cf. Kane-Donaldson's
emendation worþ), with F, as usual, struggling to smooth nonsense that R
is content to reproduce. and wende nauȝt to be saued .
¶ AcR.13.426: R's line opening is unique. F and most beta copies simply omit Ac; Hm replaces it with Þe. However, Cx agrees
with R. whiche ben þe braunches þat bringeth a man to sleuthe .
Ye lordes ye lordesYe lordes and ladies and legates of holy cherchesR.13.438: R is alone in reading a plural; all other B manuscripts
have a singular form, which is also the reading of the C version.
.
Þat feden foleR.13.439: The other B manuscripts show a plural, foles. However, Cx agrees with R. sages
flatereres and lyeres
R.13.440KD.13.423
And han likynge to lithen hem to do
ȝow lawheR.13.440: R's omission of to before this verb is shared only with G
among the B witnesses. However, to is also omitted in
Cx. .
k ij
fol. 65vI
In ȝoure deth-deyinge I drede meR.13.443: R here omits beta's ful (F revises the half-line). Though
three C manuscripts (McFcNc) agree with beta, Cx
agrees with R in omitting the qualifier. sore .
R.13.444KD.13.426
Lest þo thre maner men to muche sorwe bringeR.13.444: R uniquely omits ȝow before bringe. Cx includes yow. .
Consencientes et agentes pari pena puniendi sunt .R.13.445: The phrase puniendi sunt is an alpha
variant. The beta reading is punientur. Cx agrees with beta.
Ac clerkes þat knowethR.13.450: R's inflectional suffix (-eth) is
unique among B witnesses; the others show -e(n).
Although MSS P and F in the C tradition agree with the majority of B copies on this small issue — i.e., knowe(n)
—, the Russell-Kane lemma leaves no doubt that a majority of both sub-families of C agree with R's reading. holy writ schuld kennen lordes
.
R.13.452KD.13.432α
Non habitabit in medio domus mee
qui facit superbiam quiR.13.452: Among
B copies, only Hm joins R in omitting & before qui; however, Cx agrees with R on this omission. loquitur
iniqua .
Schulde no herlotR.13.453: There is an otiose curl above the <r>
of herlot. haue audience in halle ne in chaumbres .
R.13.456KD.13.436
¶ Clerkes and kniȝtes welcometh kynges ministrales . These lines are not found in the beta copies. F's version
is sufficiently different to render it preferable to reproduce it as a single passage here
rather than as a string of unrelated notes (cf. Appendix 1, R13.456-74, for details and
cross-references to the C version):
Boþe knyghtis & Clerkis / wolkome kyngis menstralis.
& for þe love of here loord / þey lyghten hem at festis.
Mychil more me þynkþ þan / ryche men sholde.
Have beggeris be-fore hem / wiche ben goddis menstralis.
As he seyþ hym-selue / seynt Iohan beryþ witnesse.
Qvi vos spernit me spernit.
/ Þerfore y rede ȝou ryche men / at Revelis whan ȝe make.
For to solace ȝoure soulis / swiche menstralis ȝee have.
Þe poore for a fool sage / ȝee sette at þe table.
& a leerned man to leerne the / what oure lord suffrede.
For to save þy soule / fram Sathan þyn enemy.
& withowtyn flaterynge fythele / of good frydaes storye.
& tak a blynd man þy burdour / or a bedrede womman
To criȝe a largesse to oure lord / þyn goode loos to shewe.
Þese þre manere of menstralis / make men to lawhe.
& in his deþ dyeng / þei doon hym gret confort.
Þat be his lyve he lystned hem / & lovede hem to heere.
Þey solace þy soule / tyl þy-selue be fallyn.
In a wol good hope / a-mongis goode seyntys.
Boþe knyghtis & Clerkis / wolkome kyngis menstralis.
& for þe love of here loord / þey lyghten hem at festis.
Mychil more me þynkþ þan / ryche men sholde.
Have beggeris be-fore hem / wiche ben goddis menstralis.
As he seyþ hym-selue / seynt Iohan beryþ witnesse.
Qvi vos spernit me spernit.
/ Þerfore y rede ȝou ryche men / at Revelis whan ȝe make.
For to solace ȝoure soulis / swiche menstralis ȝee have.
Þe poore for a fool sage / ȝee sette at þe table.
& a leerned man to leerne the / what oure lord suffrede.
For to save þy soule / fram Sathan þyn enemy.
& withowtyn flaterynge fythele / of good frydaes storye.
& tak a blynd man þy burdour / or a bedrede womman
To criȝe a largesse to oure lord / þyn goode loos to shewe.
Þese þre manere of menstralis / make men to lawhe.
& in his deþ dyeng / þei doon hym gret confort.
Þat be his lyve he lystned hem / & lovede hem to heere.
Þey solace þy soule / tyl þy-selue be fallyn.
In a wol good hope / a-mongis goode seyntys.
ÞereR.13.475: In place of alpha's Þere, beta reads Ac. Cx agrees with alpha. flateres and foles
thoruȝ here foule wordes .
fol. 66rI
R.13.476KD.13.455
Leden þo þat louedR.13.476: The beta manuscripts show the present tense louen.
hem to luciferes feste .
With turpiloquio a lay of soweso[r]weR.13.477: R's unique error here was overlooked by Kane-Donaldson. and
luciferes fythele .