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 THE 
 
 Inflections and Syntax 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MoRTE D' Arthur 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR THOMAS MALORY 
 
 A Study in Fifteenth-Century English 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES SEARS BALDWIN 
 
 TUTOR IN RHETORIC IN COLUMBIA COLLEGE AND INSTRUCTOR IN ENGLISH 
 LITERATURE AT BARNARD COLLEGE 
 
 BOSTON, U.S.A. 
 
 GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
 
 1894 
 
 c- 
 
 ^ 
 
 C6 
 
f\.tO^% ST 
 
 Copyright, 1894 
 By CHARLES SEARS BALDWIN 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 ABBREVIATIONS AXD BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 NOUN'S.. 
 
 r Inflectio.n 
 \ Syntax 
 
 ADJECTIV 
 
 FLECTIi.lN 
 NTAX 
 
 PROXOUXS .. 
 
 f I.NF 
 ."ES^ 
 
 1_Sy> 
 
 f I.VFLECTIO-X 
 
 \ Syntax 
 
 PAGES 
 
 v-vii 
 
 1-6 
 6-10 
 
 10-13 
 13-16 
 
 16-20 
 
 VERBS 
 
 i 
 
 Inflection — Strong Verbs 34-52 
 
 Weak Verbs 52-54 
 
 Present and Preterit S4-58 
 
 Anomalous Verbs 5S-59 
 
 Preterit-Present Verbs 60-62 
 
 (^Syntax 62-107 
 
 PREPOSITIONS 108-128 
 
 CONJUNCTIONS 128-143 
 
 APPENDIX 145-148 
 
 INDEX 149-156 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The linguistic value of the Morte d' Arthur is equal to its 
 literary value. The latter has been appreciated as deeply, 
 if not yet as widely, as it deserves : it is the aim of the pres- 
 ent work to realize the former. Malory's book is the type 
 of the transition period between Chaucer and Spenser, of 
 the progress of middle English toward modern English. 
 As such it deserves closer study than it has hitherto re- 
 ceived. In the only works that treat specifically of this 
 period it has been lumped with other Caxton prints with- 
 out respect to the unique claims of its unprovincial and 
 scholarly character. Moreover the results obtained from 
 a general examination of what has been called loosely the 
 language of Caxton are quite insufficient. Romstedt's 
 valuable Englisclie Schriftsprache bei Caxton treats only of 
 phonology and, less completely, of inflections. The general 
 survey of Caxton 's inflections and syntax prefixed by Dr. 
 Leon Kellner to his edition of Caxton's Blanchardyn and 
 Eglantine, though often useful, is fragmentary and inad- 
 equate. Thus, for instance, no complete tables of strong 
 verbs have yet appeared, and in syntax no discussion of 
 the auxiliaries. Even the subjunctive and infinitive have 
 been treated but imperfectly, and the particles hardly at all. 
 
 To develop a coherent account of the syntax, particularly 
 of these neglected points of syntax, is the primary concern 
 of the present work. The presentation of inflections. 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 though it aims to be exhaustive, is intended mainly to 
 make sure this discussion of the syntax. Back of both Ues 
 phonology ; but since Romstedt's best work was done here, 
 and since here the individual value of the Morte d' Arthur 
 is slightest — if, indeed, it is definitely ascertainable — the 
 discussion of phonology has been made subordinate and 
 incidental. The only deviation from this rule is the inquiry 
 into the syllabic value of the plural -es, which has, therefore, 
 been relegated to an appendix. 
 
 By limiting the discussion to one great text and to one 
 main line of investigation, it has been possible to attain 
 some degree of completeness. Moreover' the collation of 
 contemporary texts becomes, in great part, a cumbrous 
 catalogue of dialectical variations, much more valuable for 
 phonology than for syntax. Simplicity is perhaps preferable 
 to completeness of this sort. Yet a series of interesting 
 parallels from The Wright's Chaste Wife has been added 
 in foot-notes. This text was chosen as being in several 
 respects antithetical to the Morte d' Arthur. It is non- 
 Caxtonian ; it is non-literary, being a somewhat rude pop- 
 ular ballad ; and it is provincial, being southern in dialect. 
 Thus its divergences and its correspondences are equally 
 significant. Other parallels have been drawn for points of 
 special significance or difficulty, from Chaucer and from 
 Shakspere. But no attempt has been made at complete- 
 ness in this regard, since the arrangement of the book is 
 designed to facilitate reference and comparison. 
 
 For such reference and comparison, indeed, the book 
 aims to be of service, not only to those engaged on 
 the language of the fifteenth century, but to all students 
 of English syntax. How far presentations of our modern 
 syntax have been confused by ignorance or misapprehen- 
 sion of its historical development is painfully apparent. 
 Even now historical syntax has gone but a little way. To 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 the small but happily increasing number of students in this 
 field I shall be grateful for corrections and suggestions. 
 
 Citations from the Morte d 'Arthur, whether single words 
 or passages, are uniformly distinguished by italics. But 
 in citations of any length the particular word in point is 
 emphasized by difference of type. The references are by 
 page and line to the reprint of Caxton's Malory edited by 
 H. Oskar Sommer, and published by David Nutt. It is a 
 pleasure to add that but for this great text the present work 
 would have been practically impossible, and to acknowledge 
 the incidental assistance of j\Ir. Sommer's notes and glossary. 
 
 In its original form this book was written as a disserta- 
 tion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree 
 of Doctor of Philosophy at Columbia College. The succes- 
 sive expansions of the work have left me more and more 
 deeply indebted alike to the kindness and to the scholar- 
 ship of Professor Thomas R. Price. To Professor G. L. 
 Kittredge, of Harvard University, I owe many valuable 
 notes on the manuscript, and to Professor A. V. W. Jackson 
 and Professor Henry A. Todd, of Columbia College, the 
 favor of corrections in proof. I am under obligations, also, 
 to Miss Sadie E. Bawden, of Smith College, and to Miss 
 Ellen A. Hunt, of Barnard College, for the accuracy of the 
 citations and the index. To all these friends I desire to 
 express my sincere appreciation. 
 
 From this grammatical study as a necessary point of 
 departure, I hope to proceed with such annotations, literary 
 and critical, as may make some of the best books of the 
 Morte d' Arthur available for class use. 
 
 Charles Sears Baldwin. 
 Columbia College, April, 1894. 
 
ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 References to Shakspere are to the lines of the Globe text ; refer- 
 ences to Bacon, unless otherwise specified, to the Golden Treasury 
 edition of the essays (Macmillan). The incidental parallels from Defoe 
 are cited from Ballantyne's Edinburgh edition, 1810. 
 
 Abbott, A Shakespearian Grammar, by E. A. Ab- 
 
 bott (Macmillan); cited by section. 
 
 C. T., Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the Six-Text 
 
 Edition of the Chaucer Society.' 
 
 E. E., Early English. 
 
 F., Modern French. 
 
 G., ' Modern German. 
 
 Goth., Gothic. 
 
 Kellner, Caxton's Blanchardyn and Eglantine, ed- 
 
 ited by Dr. Leon Kellner, Early English 
 Text Society's Publications, Extra Series, 
 Iviii ; preface cited by page and section. 
 
 Kellner, Outlines, Historical Outlines of English Syntax, by 
 Dr. Leon Kellner (Macmillan); cited 
 by page. 
 
 M. Du., Middle Dutch. 
 
 M. E., Middle English. 
 
 mod. E., Modern English. 
 
 O. E., Old English (Anglo-Saxon). 
 
 O. R, Old French. 
 
 O. N., Old Norse (Icelandic). 
 
 ' References to other Chaucerian poems are given in full. 
 
X ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Romstedt, Die englische Schriftsprache bei Caxton, Her- 
 mann Romstedt, Gottingen, 1891 (gekronte 
 Preisschrift) ; cited by page and section. 
 
 Sicvers, Angelsachsische Grammatik, Edouard Sievers 
 (Halle, Niemeyer) ; translated by Albert S. 
 Cook (Boston, Ginn & Co.) ; cited by section. 
 
 Sommer, Le Morte Darthur by Syr Thomas Malory, the 
 original edition of William Caxton now re- 
 printed and edited by H. Oskar Sommer 
 (London, David Nutt); vol. I, text; vol. II, 
 introduction, glossary ; vol. HI, study of the 
 sources ; text cited by page and line. 
 
 Strattnanfi, A Middle-English Dictionary, by Francis Henry 
 Stratmann, new edition, revised by Henry 
 Bradley (Oxford, Clarendon Press). ^ 
 
 Ten Brink, Chaucers Sprache und Verskunst, B. Ten Brink 
 (Leipzig, Weigel). 
 
 W., The Wright's Chaste Wife, edited from a MS. 
 
 in the Library of the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury (circ. 1462), by Frederick S. Furnivall, 
 Early English Text Society's Publications, 
 xii ; cited by line. 
 
 ^ References to other dictionaries need no specification. 
 
NOUNS. 
 
 THE PLURAL. ' 
 Plural in -s. 
 
 1. Barj-tone stems in -/, -« and -r invariably make the 
 plural in -x. 
 
 French : quarels, ca/itels, peryh, mantels; moniayns, regyons, 
 courteyns, cosyns ; sateours, colours, prefers, prysoners. 
 
 English : sadels, handels, appels ; tokens, may dens, chycketis ; 
 ansuers, sholders, elders, hunters, faders. 
 
 (a) Some barytones in -k and -/ also make the plural 
 in -J' : buttoks, carry ks, fytloks ; varlets, brackets, buffets; and 
 also felaushyps. 
 
 Plural in -es. 
 
 2. The -es plural persists for the great majority of nouns.' 
 
 Plural in -ys (-is). 
 
 3. The proportion of -ys (-is) variants is about five per 
 cent. 
 
 (a) The diiferent books vary in the proportion of -ys 
 plurals. Book XXI has five per cent.; Book XVII has 
 only about two and one-half per cent.; but Book VI has 
 eight per cent. The following is a list of all -ys (-w) 
 plurals occurring, pp. 273-688, and 725-838 (VIII-XVI, 
 and XVIII-XX, inclusive): Instrumentys, 276.31, 458.3; 
 frendys, 308.17; barrys, 326.24; cracky s, 326.25; warris, 
 328.9; amendys, 359.5, 506.30; learys, 371.4; erys, 371.4; 
 trainys, 378.22; tentys, 410.27, 734.28; gamys, 352.20; 
 
 1 See Appendix. 
 
2 NOUNS— THE PLURAL. 
 
 pappy s, 35 4.16; pecys, 420.14; bendy s, 431.27; wallys, 
 441.18; thretys, 4S7-3i; gatys, fallys, 477.5; dyntys, 487.13; 
 lusty s, 515.1; lystys, 523.5; wedys, 539.11; complayntys, 
 562.31; expencys, 585.24; offencys, 603.19; fetys, 641.36; 
 membrys, 649.34; demenys, 673.28; perys, 728.27; perlys, 
 741.6; turnementys, 763.25; barbys, 764.32; herbys, 773.31; 
 sygnettys, 783.26; bandys, 804.9; sarpys, 822.30; helys, 
 822.32; lordis, 829.23; speerys, 837.19; restys, 837.20. 
 
 Of these nouns, 1 2 are in -;", 7 in -r, 6 in -d, 4 in -/, 3 in -c, 
 2 each' in -n, -b, and -/, i each in -m, -k, and soft -g. 
 
 As for the tonic accent, most are oxytone. There are 
 two paroxytones (inembre, sygtiei), and two proparoxytones 
 (instrument, turnement), both of which probably had in the 
 plural a secondary accent on the last syllable. 
 
 (b) The -ys (-is) variant in the genitive and the plural of 
 nouns is to be compared with the -yr, -yst of adjective com- 
 parison (§ 33), the adverbial -ys in e//ys, the verbal -yd of 
 the weak pret. and ptc, and the parallel forms -ynge and 
 -enge of the pres. ptc. Cf. also the nouns sadel and sadyl, 
 coupel and coupyl, kyrtle and kyrtyl, cedle and sedyl. Safer 
 and Safyr, Hongre (Hungary) and Hongry} 
 
 Plural Invariable. 
 
 4. As in Chaucer, an apparent invariable plural occurs in 
 many phrases with numerals, where it represents an older 
 genitive : 
 
 (a) moneth, in twelve moneth, etc. ; elsewhere monethes. 
 
 (b) nyght,mfourtennyght, 20"]. 26; and seven ny^^te, j 11.28. 
 
 (c) pound, in an honderd pound, 177.28. 
 
 (d) wynter, in thre honderd wynter, 645.6 ; but many 
 wynters, 635.30. 
 
 (e) yere, in fourty yere, 694.20; ten yere, 721.33, etc.; 
 but many yeres agone, 705.15. 
 
 1 W. wondyr, chambyr, tymbyr, monyth, swyngylle, hungyr, hosylle. 
 
JVOUA'S— THE PLURAL. 3 
 
 (f) f adorn, in ten f adorn, 784.11. 
 
 (g) 7nyle, in seven myk, 229.11.^ 
 
 Besides these Chaucerian forms, the following occur in 
 the Morte d' Arthur : 
 
 (h) cast, in two cast of brede (bread), 234.8. 
 
 (i) coupel, in thyrtty coupel, 355.33. Cf. also: Thenne 
 cam the f cure sones by couple, 154.29, which seems to indicate 
 that the plural form is independent of the numeral. 
 
 5. The Chaucerian invariable plurals that are not to be 
 explained as genitive survivals appear in the Morte d' Arthur 
 as follows : 
 
 (a) folk occurs \)e.%\^t. folkes din.6.folke: all folkes, 262.13, 
 their folke, 693.14. 
 
 (b) good survives : ye shallefynde there good oute ofnombre, 
 168.28. But goodes also occurs : the thyrd parte of their 
 goodes, 525.2. 
 
 (c) hors, always makes plural horses. 
 
 (d) tieet, sheep and swin do not happen to occur. 
 
 (e) thynge, appears beside thynges: al maner of thynge, 
 228.27; '^^''^ thynge that he thought on, 708.6; to (two) 
 thynges, 723.16. 
 
 6. As in Chaucer, French nouns ending in a sibilant are 
 invariable in the plural : mareys, harneys, etc. 
 
 Plural in -en. 
 
 7. Of Chaucer's -en plurals only bretheren, children, eyen, 
 oxen, and kyen appear ; but two anomalous cases deserve 
 citation : 
 
 1 It is hard to tell whether tydynge is regarded as a singular or as a 
 plural in the passage: Whanne the word and tydynge came, 120.35. 
 (See Stratmann.) Tydynges is common. W. has : " Glad was )>at 
 lady of that tydyng," 571. In the phrase 'XW fote long, cited by Kellner, 
 I, 3, p. X, fate is plural, not singular. The case is exactly parallel to 
 those cited above. 
 
4 NOUNS — THE GENITIVE. 
 
 (a) gamen : alle the blastes that longen to all nianer of 
 gamen, 500.9. The form, though apparently meant for a 
 plural, may be due to confusion with the older form of the 
 singular. 
 
 (b) synnen : he was ouertaken with synnen, 638.18. Both 
 forms may be dialectic survivals. 
 
 THE GENITIVE. 
 Genitive in -s. 
 
 8. Barytones in -/, -«, -r invariably make the genitive 
 in -s. 
 
 French : damoysels, icnkels, pauelions, lyons, captayns, barons, 
 prysoners. 
 
 English : deuyls, may dens, ivomans, fysshers, faders, broders, 
 wynters. 
 
 (a) French barytones in -/ and proper nouns in -d usually 
 make the genitive in -s : bargets, forests, gyaunts, Isouds, 
 Andreds, Galahads, Reynolds. 
 
 (b) Many proper nouns in -k also make the genitive in -s : 
 Lamoraks, Sadoks, Euelaks. 
 
 (c) The further extension of the -s genitive appears in 
 shyps (708.9) and Gareths (811.31). 
 
 Genitive in -as. 
 
 9. The discussion with regard to the syllabic value of 
 the plural -es (Appendix A) applies also to the genitive 
 -es, as in childis, worldes, husbandes, goddes, lystes, knyghtes, 
 kynges, arowes, etc. 
 
 (a) The nom\forest{e), with excrescent -e, makes genitive 
 forests. Double forms occur for the commonest nouns : 
 ?nans and mannes, lauiicelots and launcelottes. 
 
 (b) The -ys (-is) variant is very rare. Only two cases 
 occur in the one hundred pages comprised in VI, VII and 
 XVII. VIII and IX have two cases each. 
 
NOUXS—THE GEA'/T/V£. S 
 
 Genitive Invariable. 
 
 10. The genitive sign is often omitted in the following 
 cases : 
 
 (a) When the noun ends in a sibilant : ^ hors croupe, 
 341.30; Hermau7ice dctlu\ 522.13; the ahbesse chamber, 
 612.30; Patry 'se dethe, 733.13. But Gaheryse wordes, 401.2, 
 and Gaheryses shehi, 401.26, occur on the same page, and 
 there are other exceptions, as Patry ces tombe, 736.19. 
 
 (b) when the succeeding noun begins with a sibilant : 
 Kyng Lott of Orkeney sone, 108.32; la beak Isoud sake, 
 559.11. Cf. Accolon swcrd, 130.12, with Accolons hand, 
 130.19. 
 
 On the other hand, icoodes syde, 745.24; Elyses sone, 
 486.32; Galyhodyns spere, 492.26; forests syde, 392.32. 
 
 (c) in nouns of kindred ; ^ of fader syde and nioder syde, 
 280.34; syster children, 299.38; brother children, 306.14. 
 Cf. Sievers, 285. But aside from these set phrases the 
 nouns of kindred usually take the -j- genitive. 
 
 (d) in a few cases that seem to be survivals of the O. E. 
 weak feminine genitive: our lady daye, 738.12; herfe blood, 
 682.2; herte rote, 798.4; hertc uylle, 855.2. It is not easy 
 to distinguish such cases from ordinary compounds. 
 
 The F. noun raunge seems to make an invariable genitive 
 in the phrase at the raunge ende, 481.10. 
 
 Chaucer has "lady grace," "herte-spoon," "widow sone," 
 " Sonne upriste " {Morris, xxxiii, 2). 
 
 (e) in a few unexplained cases, usually where the genitive 
 is separated from the noun it modifies: Of Joseph kynne, 
 94. ri; this helme is syr Gareth of Orkeney, 262.25 (where 
 Wynkyn de \^'orde's edition omits helme) ; sir launcelot ownc 
 land, 829.33; for thy sake and for syr Gawayne, 207.11. In 
 this last case, however, the explanation may lie in the force 
 
 1 AA'. For Ihesus loue, 471 ; by his hows syde, 523. 
 ^Cf. Chaucer's "fader day," "doughter name," etc. 
 
6 NOUNS — SYNTAX. 
 
 of the for. Cf. I pray you hertely to be my good f rend and 
 to my sones, 406.27, where the construction changes in a 
 similar manner; and a similar case with pronouns : to your 
 worshyp and to us at, 250.3. 
 
 The Dative. 
 
 11. The -e of the dative singular is no longer distinguish- 
 able as a case sign. See the examples under § 20. 
 
 Graphical Variations. 
 
 12. The neutral ^ of a derivative suffix sometimes appears 
 as a or as y. 
 
 (a) -ar for -er: lustar, 441.29; wy liars, 465.15; causar, 
 269.21; daggar, ^b(>.\()\ lyttar, \i2,-'i-- Cf. mod. E. "liar" 
 (lyar, 618.20).^ 
 
 (b) -al for -el: mynstral. 
 
 (c) -byliox -ble : couestabyl, 469.8. 
 
 13. The syncope seen in the plural of Chaucerian nouns 
 in -el and -er seems to have extended in the singular. But it 
 appears as a mere graphical variation : sabel and sable, sedyl 
 and cedle (' schedule '), nomber and nombre. So anger, ajigre; 
 honger, hongre ; sholder, sholdre ; sklaundcr, sklaundre. 
 
 SYNTAX OF THE NOUN. 
 
 14. Abstract nouns are sometimes used in the plural : 
 lete vs two preue otire strengthes, 193.32; doo you seruyse as 
 maye lye in oure powers, 251.3; to redresse the harmes and 
 scathes that he had of them, 464.13 ; as it pleased them bothe 
 at ty?nes and leysers, 474.34; she chaunged thenne her colours 
 and for wrathe she myght not speke, 550.2 1 ; alle fnen — spake 
 of the beaute of dame Elaytie and of her grete Rychesses, 
 581.24. ^o goodnesses, 2)0\.'^%\ myrthes, c^oo.i. 
 
 1 W. carpentar, 586. 
 
A'OUNS — SYNTAX. 7 
 
 (a) Buryellys, 851.11, may show simply the persistence 
 of the O. E. singular "birgels." Rescowes, also, may be 
 due to the M. E. singular " rescous " (O, F. rescousse) : we 
 wil do rescowes as we can, 373.31 ; whan Gryflet sawe 
 rescowes he smote, etc., 55.25. Spyrytueltci's is used of con- 
 secrated ground: lete bery hym — i?i the spyrytueltees, 724.9. 
 
 15. A plural often takes a singular article or demon- 
 strative, to show that it is considered collectively. This 
 usage appears constantly in many common phrases with 
 numerals: this thrc myle, 190.33; this seuen yere, 199.13; 
 a XXX greete knyghtes, 206.14; (<■ fourty yere, 694.20; an 
 eyght dayes, 694.28; a ten or twelue knyghtes, 704.6; this 
 shal be my tivo gyftes, 216.23. 
 
 16. The reminiscence of the partitive genitive with 
 numerals (§ 4) appears curiously in sporadic cases. Thus 
 the ordinary eyght score helmes, 191. 10, is followed in the 
 next line by four score of helmys, 1 9 1 . 11 . Cf . also XXX 
 coupyl houndes, 65.30. 
 
 17. The familiar construction of the genitive in an of- 
 phrase, where the genitive is apparently expletive, occurs 
 freely: ^ a knyghte of the dukes, 2>1-Ti '^ knysfe of Kynge 
 Arthurs, 263.31. 
 
 18. When a noun is modified by a genitive on which an 
 (2/^phrase depends, the order is usually as in the following: 
 the quenes broder of Irland, 279.16 (i.e., the brother of the 
 queen of Ireland); the lordes cosyn of this place, 398.27. 
 Sometimes, however, the modern form appears : Kynge 
 Faramoti of Fraunces doughter, 279.32.^ A further variety 
 appears in at the porche of the pauelions dore, 36.30. 
 
 ^ Kellner, I, 5, c, p. xix, has an elaborate discussion of this con- 
 struction. 
 
 ^ Kellner (p. cviii) cites two cases of this construction from 
 Blanchardyn. 
 
8 NO UNS — S YNTAX. 
 
 19. A single survival of the genitive with an adverb of 
 time appears m forth dayes (late in the day), 804.19. 
 
 20. The dative survives in the following constructions: 
 
 (a) Dative of Indirect Object: gaf hym kyng Lott, 54.18; 
 promysed hit kynge Arthur, 1 14.30; I dyd neuer this knyght 
 no hartn, 205.14; he — made hit and taiighte hit an harper, 
 457,35 (but in the very next line, he taughte hit to many 
 harpers)} Similar is: I had assygned my lady to haue slepte, 
 etc., 189.10. 
 
 The indirect object with tell is kept in the passive: TJienne 
 was hit tolde the quene, 339.33. 
 
 (b) Dative with Impersonal Verbs (rare) : So the kynge 
 semed veryly that there came syr Gawayne unto hym, 844.14; 
 it lyked your hyhenes to graunte me my bone, 276.10; sir Bars 
 semed that there came the whytest douue (dove), 579.16. 
 
 (c) ■ Dative of Interest (rare) : the laye that sire Dynadan 
 made kynge Marke (i. e., in disparagement of King M.), 
 458.1; T saued Alysaunder his lyf, 469.22; these traitours 
 slewe one of Sadoks cosyns a grete mound in the neck, 495.8. 
 Ihesu forgyue it thy sowle, 812.28 ; there was none of the 
 twelue that myghte stande sir launcelot one buffet, 803.10. 
 
 21. The Adverbial Objective is confined, in the main, to 
 phrases of time : Thenne stood the reame in grete ieopardy long 
 whyle, 40.3; T haue folowed that best long tyme, 65.38; 
 hurlynge lyke two bores the space of two houres, ^zii.jiii. In 
 the following, the lyf is probably a phrase of time : and ye 
 wylle fyghte — ye shall be delyuerd — and els ye escape iieuer 
 the lyf, 127.23. Cf. § 22 b. 
 
 22. Apposition shows some noteworthy peculiarities : 
 (a) Apposition occurs occasionally where a single noun 
 
 and a modifier might be expected:, sore I a7n of these 
 
 1 The to-phrase occurs occasionally where even mod. E. has preserved 
 the dative: tolde to Lucius (Caxton's Rubric), n.12. 
 
NO UNS — S YNTAX. 9 
 
 queries sorceresses aferd, 187.27; the mescreaunts Sarasy7is^ 
 465.20. 
 
 (b) The following cases are perhaps to be explained as 
 partitive appositions : to enoynte the tnaymed kynge both his 
 legges and alle his body, 720.7 (but kynge may be a dative); 
 syr Itican took up the kytige the one parte and Syr Bedwere the 
 other parte, 848.5; wel- armed and horsed and worshipfully 
 bysene his body, 253.18; he shal haue batail of pie his fylle, 
 569.32 ; a man of kynge Euelaks was smyten his hand of (off), 
 626.15; I shold slee the myn owne handes, 556.1 1. Some of these 
 cases, perhaps all, may be explained as adverbial objectives. 
 
 (c) Apposition in the genitive assumes almost invariably 
 the following form : his broders sheld syr Lyonel, 185.6; my 
 two bretheren sheldes syre Ector — and syr Lyonel, 196.4; 
 your broders dethe the black knyghte, 224.34; on the moder 
 syde Igrayne, 65.5; by my faders soule Utherpendragon, 70.10. 
 Cf. § 18. Sometimes, however, the following form occurs: 
 the good knyghtes sir Marhaus seate, 424.5. 
 
 (d) The ordinary apposition with of in the case of names 
 of places {the Cyte of Sarras, 706.13) shows a curious 
 extension in one instance, which may be a misprint: the 
 good knyghte {of) syre Gawayne, 244.18. 
 
 23. The use of nouns as verbs points toward the freedom 
 of the Elizabethan habit: thou couragest me, 282.26; they 
 wold not wrathe them, 374.18; they peaced them self, 405.31 
 (possibly a verb from F. apaiser. See Stratmann, /«/>«?); 
 the quene had mayed (i.e., gone maying), 773.30; for to 
 strengthe the dethe of the quene, 810.27 (possibly due to loss 
 of -n from strengthen. See Stratmann, s. v.). 
 
 24. The construction with the noun maner is in a state 
 of transition.^ 
 
 ^ Romstedt, p. 38, regards mescreaunts as an adj. with the Romance 
 plural -s. 
 
 2 For further explanation of this construction see Kellner, I, 5, p. xvii. 
 
10 ADJECTIVES. 
 
 (a) Chaucer's usage survives: al maner thynge, 118.31; 
 in this manere wyse, 74.22; what maner knyghte, 262.21; in 
 that maner clothing, 856.9. 
 
 (b) But usually maner is followed by an ^phrase. The 
 two constructions occur side by side in the following: 
 alle manere rules and games with al maiiere of mynstralsy, 
 271.25. 
 
 25. The nouns merueylle, nede, pyte, reson and wonder are 
 used in the predicate with the force of their corresponding 
 adjectives. 
 
 (a) Merueylle me thynketh — why ye rebuke, 225.4; it is 
 merueill that ye make suche shameful warre, 235.10; it was 
 merueil to here, 251.28. 
 
 (b) socoure me for now it is nede, 706.35; hit is none nede 
 to telle yf they were glad, 717.7. 
 
 (c) hit was pyte to here, 850.5; it was pyte on to behold, 
 58.9; grete pyte it was of his hurte, 94.13. 
 
 (d) to yelde vs vnto hym it were no reson, 200.37. 
 
 (e)^ it was wonder to telle, 53.31. Wonder is also used 
 attributively: a wonder dreme, 52.35; a wonder tumement, 
 689.8. 
 
 ADJECTIVES. 
 
 26. Such distinctions of inflection as survived in the 
 Chaucerian adjective are in the Morte d' Arthur completely 
 blurred, not so much through the loss of -e where it 
 belongs, as through the addition oi.-e where it does not 
 belong. 
 
 1 W. shows an adverbial use of wonder : A zvondyr strange gyle, 93. 
 Cf. also the use oipayne: Me thynketh yt gret payne, 339. 
 
ADJECTIVES. 11 
 
 Plural -e. 
 
 27. The plural rarely occurs without -c, even in the case 
 of paroxytone adjectives : subtyle craftes, 207.23. But the -<? 
 may be dropped at random : a I lady cs, 197.3; his good dedes, 
 219.29. Compare y^wrs queues, 212,19, with j^?^^ knyghtes, 
 203.28. Moreover, -e appears in the singular: shrewde 
 herberowe, 375.7. 
 
 Weak Inflection -e. 
 
 28. Again the -e is rarely absent where Chaucer's adjec- 
 tives assume it to mark the weak inflection. But compare 
 the fayre faucon, 208.16, with your fab- feJaiiship, 213.33; '^^ 
 the thyrd stroke he slewe the thyrdde theef, 219.22. 
 
 Vocative -e. 
 
 29. The vocative usually shows -e : fayre syre, 235.25; 
 yonge knyght, 282.13; \)\x\. fayr knyghte, 22\.2\\fals traitresse, 
 294.27; A my lytel sone, 274.10. 
 
 30. The adjective inflection ^ in the Morfe d' Arthur rsiz.y 
 be summarized, then, as follows : 
 
 (a) The vast majority of adjectives show -e in all connec- 
 tions. 
 
 (b) The inflectional significance of -e, if not lost, is at 
 least plainly fading.^ 
 
 1 For the survival of the strong genitive plural alther see § 71. A 
 Romance plural in -es occurs at 514.31 : knyghtes errauntes ; but 
 knyghtes erraunt occurs on the next page, 515.18. Romstedt (p. 38) 
 cites two Romance plurals in -s: most valyaunts men, 83.31, and the 
 mescreaunts Sarasyns, 465.20. The former is probably a contract super- 
 lative, the -t having been dropped by the type-setter (see § 36). The 
 latter may be a case of apposition (see § 22, a). 
 
 2 The same wavering appears in t'^e adverbial -f.-j'//(^), 240.23, 223.25; 
 streyght(e), 213.32, 241.32; long{e), 204.14, 232.15. 
 
12 ADJECTIVES. 
 
 31. The -y variant found in tlie -j.f noun plural, the -yd 
 preterit, etc., appears also in the adjective. Thus we find 
 comen and comyn (common), often and oftyner., tender and 
 tendyrly, fytet a.nd lytyl, tenable and unabyl. Cf. §§ 12, c; 33. 
 
 32. The comparative and superlative show the regular 
 -er and -est. The comparative, as in Chaucer, shows no 
 inflection. The remarks in the foregoing sections apply as 
 well to the superlative as to the positive. 
 
 33. A variant -yr for -er in the comparative, and -yst for 
 -est in the superlative, occurs very rarely: reufuUyr, 425.16; 
 strengyst, 69.3; gentelyst, 390.13; fressheyst, 763.23. Cf. 
 §§ 12, c. 31. 
 
 (a) Another rare variant in the comparative is -ar : byggar, 
 96.25; eldar, 105.23. Cf. § 12, a. 
 
 34. Farre makes comparative ferther and further ; yll, 
 werse^ superlative merst; lytel, lesse and lasse, superlative 
 lest; hyghe (Jiyhe), hyher; lo?ige, lenger, superlative lengest; 
 strong, superlative strengest. Old shows eldest and oldest in 
 the same sense. The superlatives vttermest and formest 
 persist without variation. Nere survives as comparative 
 adverb, with ere and the superlative erst. 
 
 35. Dissyllabic and even trisyllabic adjectives take the 
 -^j-/ superlative : famousest, 278.22; worshipfullest, 210.18. 
 A similar habit in the comparative appears in abeler, 658.1. 
 
 36. These longer adjectives, however, when they end in 
 a sibilant, and even in other cases, often make a contract 
 superlative : perylloust, merueylloust (merueyllest), orgulist, 
 cicrteyst (curtest), mytfest, gentylst, vylaynst. Even monosyl- 
 labic adjectives sometimes contract to avoid the repetition 
 of sibilants: fyerst, tromfyers (fierce). 
 
 1 Comparative werre, 87.30, may be a misprint, but cf. O. N. verre. 
 
ADJECTIVES— SYNTAX. 13 
 
 Adverbs. 
 
 37. Adverbs in -ly from proparoxytone adjectives in -ous 
 sometimes appear in contract forms : felloynsly {Jelloynoiis), 
 traytoursjy {trayiourous). In lycours (for lycourous), 771.34, 
 the contraction appears in the adjective. 
 
 38. The adverbial (genitive) -es (zuhyles, 724.36) appears 
 very rarely with an excrescent -/.• whylcst, 229.1. 
 
 39. The -er comparative is used freely: a rycher besene 
 chamber, 126.11; bare hym backer and backer, ■^^\. 22; smote 
 hym harder and sorer, 413.4; neuer were there foure knyghtes 
 eicener matched, 486.16. 
 
 40. The comparative -er and the superlative -est are 
 sometimes added even to -ly forms : there was neuer kynge 
 — falslyer nor traitoitrlyer slayne, 520.10; there was neuer 
 no lady m.ore rychclyer bysene, 580.33; suche peple as he myght 
 lysflyest rere, 120.21. 
 
 41. The double comparative is common : hefoughte more 
 lyker a gyaunt, 218.2. 
 
 SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 
 
 42. The double comparative and superlative are com- 
 mon : more gladder, more leuer, more 'hardyer; moost royallest, 
 moost shamefullest, moost lordlyest. 
 
 (a) Except in these double forms, the more — most com- 
 parison appears very rarely: more hyghe, 222.16. 
 
 43. The construction exemplified by Milton's "fairest of 
 her daughters, Eve," appears in thou art fayrest of alle other, 
 435.25; cf. also Now shalle eueryche of vs (three) chese a 
 damoysel. I shalle telle yow sayd syre Vwayne I am the 
 yongest and moost weykest of yow bothe, therfor, etc., 144.27. 
 
14 ADJECTIVES — SYNTAX. 
 
 44. The superlative is used occasionally in comparisons 
 of two : as for sir launcelot and sir Tristram — the werst of 
 them wille not be lygh(te)ly matched, 439.16. 
 
 45. The use of adjectives as nouns is not so extensive 
 as in Chaucer, being confined in the main to adverbial 
 phrases : at certayn, in certayn, iti dose (' secretly '), vnto the 
 wers, at her large ('at liberty'), on al foicre ('on all fours'). 
 
 (a) Sometimes a freer use appears : ther lacked nothyng 
 that myghte be goten of tame nor wyld, 268.21; thaw shalte 
 haue 7nany felawes and thy betters, 663.25. 
 
 46. Of adjectives used in pairs, one often stands after its 
 noun, with the indefinite article repeated : an horryble dede 
 and a shameful, 2 11 . 1 3 ; a fassyng fayr lady and a yonge, 
 117. 9; a fill fair 7?taner (^ manor '^ and a ryche, 126.34; a 
 grete wounde and a peryllmis, 412.25. 
 
 47. Hook is used sometimes with the plural : the hoole 
 barons, 53.25. 
 
 48. More is used of quantity, size, etc.; mo, of number. 
 He seyth lytyll and he doth moche more, 124.15; wylle ye more, 
 59 1. 14 j make thow no more langage, 827.20; mo other hoimdes, 
 125.24; many mo, 163.25; mo men, 590.35. 
 
 (a) The adverbial use seems to be confined to more: the 
 more beholdy7ig, 640. 1 1 ; chafed more than he ought to be, 
 653.26; he ranne vpon hym more and more, 675.26. 
 
 (b) Moche and moost, as well as more, are used of size, 
 strength, rank, etc., in the sense of 'great': this moche yong 
 man, 213.31 ; more of (' in ') prowesse, 80.27 ; (^ ^ore myght, 
 298.3^; my most f 00, 80.10; the moost charge, 468.5. 
 
 1 W. If he myght ower gete owte 
 Att hole lesse or mare, 320. 
 Lasse occurs in the sense of 'fewer': there was tione of them both that 
 had lasse woundes than XV, 591.20. 
 
sv^^7\^x OF the adverb. is 
 
 49. Other is used sometimes in the sense of ' different ' : 
 he is al anotlier man than yc 7c<cut\ 163.1 ('very different 
 from what you think ') ; another mancr knyght than cuer 
 i^'as I, 35 1- 4- 
 
 (a) The ordinal use of other survives in one passage : he 
 rode alle the other (' second,' ' next ') daye, 243.14.^ 
 
 50. Self has sometimes the sense of ' same ' : the self 
 daye, 722.29. 
 
 51. Siiihc, when used witli a noun accompanied by a 
 numeral, commonly stands before the numeral : suche two 
 douify knyghtes, 220.28; ci. 2l\so suche fyfiy as yc be, 167.15; 
 suche fyiic as ye and T be, 426.38. 
 
 SYNTAX OF THE ADVERB. 
 
 Adverbial Suffixes. 
 
 52. The most important suffixes are as follows : 
 
 (a) -feld, blyndefeld. 
 
 (b) -forth (occasionally used as an adverbial suffix) : the 
 swan is whyte withouteforth, 682.19; they o?i kymg arthurs 
 partye kepte the syege with lytel warre withoutforth, and they 
 withinforth kepte tlicyr walks, 836.27. 
 
 (c) -hand, eicen hand (' quits '), nerehand, afore hand. 
 
 (d) -longe, endelonge. 
 
 (e) -lynge, flatlynge, grouelynge, noselynge, sydelymg, poynte- 
 lynge, 578.2. 
 
 (f) -ward, ageynward, awcy ivard, oiite ward, thens ward, 
 westward, whether ward (' whither '). 
 
 (i) Ward often stands, by a sort of tmesis, after the 
 noun of a prepositional phrase: to the world ward, 720.19; 
 to hym ward, 27.17; ouer see ward, 33.26; to the deth 7vard, 
 70.27. 
 
 1 W. Than yt fell on hat ol>er ('second') daye, 205. 
 
16 FRONO UNS — PERSONAL. 
 
 (2) The contraction southard, 153.8, serves to indicate 
 the pronunciation. 
 
 (g) where and whyle (sometimes used as adverbial 
 suffixes): wyde where, other whyle, ther whyle(i). 
 
 (h) The suffix -ly having both adjective and adverbial 
 force, adjectives in -ly make no change for the adverbial 
 use: he was cowardly led awey, 146.38; I slewe hym 
 knyghtely, 223.17; thafiked her goodely, 264.31; she ansuerd 
 — ful womanly, 103.14; gyrdels — semely wroughte, 699.27. 
 
 Relative Adverbs. 
 
 53. The relative adverbs (originally interrogative) are 
 where, wherin, wherof, wherewith, where/or, where thurgh, 
 where vpon, whens, whydder, etc. 
 
 (a) The redundancies from whens and of whens are 
 common. 
 
 (b) There as and there are used as relative adverbs : the 
 place \he.r& she lay, 95.22; the other parte there as the hede 
 stak, 248.32.-' 
 
 PRONOUNS. 
 
 PERSONAL 
 
 PRONOUNS. 
 
 54. I, 
 
 my, mynie) 
 me. 
 
 thou, thow,^ 
 thy,^ thyn{e), 
 the. 
 
 we, 
 
 our(e), ours,''' 
 
 us. 
 
 ye, 
 
 your{e), yours, 
 
 you, yow. 
 
 ' For conjunctive adverbs see under Conjunctions. 
 2 W. owre. 3 W. also thowe and \>i. 
 
he. 
 
 
 his, 
 
 hys, 
 
 hym 
 
 •• 
 
 .1 
 
 PKOiVOU^S — PERSOiVAL. 17 
 
 she;- it, hit,* 
 
 her, hers, his, 
 
 hir, hyr ;^ it, hit (hym) ; 
 
 they, 
 
 their{e), thcyr(e), her,^ 
 
 them, hem, (theyni).'' 
 
 55. My, though commonly attributive, is sometimes 
 predicate. Ours is predicate. 
 
 56. With very few exceptions, the distinction is kept 
 between the nominative ye and the objective you? In the 
 following, the first you may be a dative of interest : therfore 
 chese you whiche of you shalle entre — fyrste, 349.20. There 
 are no plain cases of objective ye. Yours is predicate. 
 
 57. The neuter-genitive his is rare, its place being sup- 
 plied by the definite article or the adverb therof : there cattie 
 a fygur in lykenes of a ehyld, and the vysage was as reed — 
 as ony fyre, 719.8; fonde the tombe of kynge Bagdemagus, but 
 he was founder ihsroi Joseph of Ar?nathyes, 716.16. 
 
 58. The use of hym with reference to antecedents with- 
 out life requires full citation : that rynge encreaceth my beaute 
 moche more than it is of hym self, 257.30; the potnel was of 
 stone, and there was in hym alle manere of colours, 692.18; as 
 for this suerd there shalle neuer ma?i begrype h3'm, 692.31. 
 Beaute is an O. F. feminine ; pomel is an O. F. masculine ; 
 
 ^ W. also hyme and in two cases Item. * W. yt. 
 
 2 W. sche. ^ W. also ther, and her only once. 
 
 ' W. also herre. " W. hem and thain. 
 
 '• Kellner (p. xiii) cites eight cases of nom. you. Seven occur in 
 imperative phrases, and of these, six are in the phrase wete you wele. 
 The seventh is at 255.16, send you ''iito syr Persaunt. The remaining 
 case is in a conditional clause: dut you spede, 206.6. In all these 
 cases _)'i7« is used for the second person singular. W. has two cases. 
 
18 PRONOUNS — DEMONSTRATIVE. 
 
 suerd alone is an O. E. neuter {sweord, swyrd). Since all 
 three would be regarded as neuter in English, the cases may- 
 indicate a provincial survival of the neuter dative. They 
 suggest, however, anomalous confusion of genders. 
 
 59. Anomalous confusion of genders appears, at any rate, 
 in the following passages : thenne shold ye perysshe the shyp 
 for he. is so parfyteh& wylle suffre no syimer in hym, 692.5 
 (O. E. scip, strong neuter); anone as Abel had receyued the 
 dethe vnder the grene tree he lost the grene colour and becam 
 reed, 696.29 (O. E. treow, strong neuter); the shyp was anone 
 shouen in the see, a7id he wente soo faste, etc., 699.10; bere 
 ■with the this holy vessel. For this nyght it shalle departe — 
 for he is not serued — to his ryghte, 719.38 (O. F. vessel, 
 masc.) ; wente vnto the grete stone, and he was so heuy that an 
 C men i7iyght not lyfte hyt vp, 125.5. Less significant is: 
 a Faiuon — flewe unto the eh7ie to take her perche — she henge 
 by the legges — syre launcelot sawe how he henge, 208.14, 15. 
 Cf . also : the chyualry hath ben at alle tymes, soo by the 
 fraternyte whiche was there that she myght not be ouercomen. 
 For 7nen sayd she was founded in pacyence and z;z humylyte, 
 668.33 (chevalerie is a F. feminine); loue is free in hym selfe, 
 and neuer wille be bounden, 762.22. (It is possible that 
 personification is intended in some of these cases.) 
 
 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS. 
 
 60. that^ pi. tho; this (fhys), pi. these''' {this{ej). 
 
 61. The plural this{e), {thyse) is rare : ye may not leue this 
 aduentures, 105.1 ; this englyssh men, 840.31 ; alle thise landes, 
 520.15; this two mette, 626.2. 
 
 1 Thet, at 196.28, may be a survival (Romstedt, p. 42), or it may be a 
 misprint. 
 
 2 W. also t/tes, but the case is doubtful: what doc t/ies meyny here, 
 585, where "meyny" is a collective singular with a plural verb. 
 
PROjVOUiYS— RELA TIVE. 19 
 
 62. Romstedt cites from the Foure Sonnes of Aymon one 
 case of thilk and one case of the plural thoos (p. 41). 
 
 RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 
 
 63. The smiple relatives are that, whiche, what, \_who\ 
 iL'hos, whoos, 7vhom(e), the whiche, whether. 
 
 64. The compound relative forms are as follows : 
 
 (a) compounds with that: who that, whos that, whiche that 
 {that thaf), lohat that. 
 
 (b) compounds with as: that as, whether as. 
 
 (c) compounds with so {soo), so euer, soineuer: %uho so, 
 'what so, what soo euer, what someuer, whom someuer, etc. 
 
 (d) compounds with that and euer, etc. : what that euer, 
 who so that. 
 
 65. That is by far the commonest simple relative, the 
 other forms occurring with comparative infrequency, and 
 the nominative who not at all. Who does, however, occur 
 as a general relative in the sense of 'he that,' or 'whoever'- 
 who is aferd let hym flee, 226.3. 
 
 66. Whether is a general relative, meaning ' whichever 
 of the two,' and is very rare: there with alle was made 
 hostage on bothe partyes — //«(Z/ whether /ar/y had the vyctory, 
 soo to ende, 463.6. 
 
 67. Tlie whiche, though comparatively infrequent, still 
 survives, probably through the influence of F. lequel, which 
 gave it birth. 
 
 68. The form that that is hardly parallel with the others. 
 It is a mere periphrasis for what (that which), as its compo- 
 sition implies, and occurs very rarely : now T see that that 
 hath ben my desyre, 723.8.^ 
 
 1 W. All that that ys here-yn, 393. 
 
20 PR ONO UNS — INDEFINITE. 
 
 69. Whether as is very rare. It is used in the sense of 
 ' whichever of the two ' : whether as hym lyst hym self, 
 230.15. 
 
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS. 
 
 70. The indefinites are all {al), bothe, echone, eueryche, 
 euerychone, eyther, neyther, me7i, tiobody, one, none, ony, other, 
 somme. 
 
 71. The strong adjective genitive plural of al appears 
 once : it is hym self kynge Arthur our alther liege lord, 13 4.1. 
 This represents Chaucer's "alder" in "alderbest," " alder- 
 werst," " alderfirst." ^ Chaucer's more regular form, " aller " 
 (" oure aller cok,'' C. T. 823), has disappeared.^ 
 
 72. Bothe makes an anomalous genitive to agree with 
 our at 98.8 : to our bothes destruction. Cf. § 86. 
 
 73. The indefinite me has disappeared, and men is re- 
 garded as a plural (nien say en, men callen, etc.). But men 
 saith occurs once, 136.13; and man once: the largest handed 
 that euer man sawe, 213.27.^ 
 
 74. Other has plur. other invariably. 
 
 75. Somme is still used in the singular in the sense of 
 'any,' 'a certain': whan a good knyghte doth soo wel vpon 
 somme day, 260.25. 
 
 1 Cf. "mine alderliefest sovereign," Henry 6, pt. II, I, i. 28. 
 
 2 A half-survival appears in two cases : he that was alle oure leder, 
 585.10, 753.26. Defoe has "for all our advantages.'' Captain Singleton, 
 I, vii, p. 157. 
 
 ' The case cited by Kellner (p. xlvii) is doubtful : a man told me in 
 the castel of four stones that ye were delyuerd &' that man had sene vou 
 in the court of kynge Arthur, 83.3. That before the second man may 
 be a demonstrative, in which case the second man would have the same 
 sense as the first. 
 
J^HO.VOUA'S — SYXTAX. 21 
 
 SYNTAX OF THE PRONOUN. 
 Personal Pronouns. 
 
 76. The plural forms of the second person are used com- 
 monly for the singular. Singular and plural forms are often 
 used indiscriminately in the same passage : we V7iderstande 
 your 7vorthynes that thou arte the noblest knyght lyicyng, 187.1.^ 
 
 77. After the distributive euery, the plural of the third 
 person is often used loosely for an indefinite singular : euery 
 man losed other of their boundes, 196.16; euery knyghte wente 
 their inay, 401.35.^ 
 
 78. In rare cases the (7/"-phrase displaces even the pro- 
 noun genitive : they ?nade grete loye of the comynge of hym, 
 780.13; the senile of hym, 843.10; the cors of her, 856.31.^ 
 
 79. The redundant partitive genitive in an ^phrase is 
 already common: a felawe of myne, 193.24; a woode of his, 
 695.29; a cosin of hers, 701.38. Cf. also: of foure of hem 
 he brake their baches, 191.19. 
 
 Note. — Kellner (p. xxxvi, d) remarks : "His instead of the genitive 
 inflexion is very rare," and cites four cases. Of these the one from 
 Blanchardyn (48.35) and the one from Charles the Grete (28.1) seem 
 indisputable. The two from the Morte d' Arthur, however, are open 
 to objection. They are as follows: 
 
 (l) this lord of this castel his name is syr Damas, 126.27. Of this 
 Kellner himself remarks that it is "not exactly equal to a genitive." It 
 is, in fact, one of the many instances of transition syntax. The ordinary 
 construction would be the lordes name of this castel is syr Damas (see 
 § 18). But this construction was beginning to fade, and there are one 
 or two instances of the mod. E. order (kynge Faramon of Fraunces 
 
 1 W. For godys loue change thy mode. 
 
 Forty marke schalle be youre mede. 156. 
 
 * W. Euerych in ther manere, 588. 
 » Cf. Kellner, p. xvi, 4. 
 
22 PHONO UNS — S YNTAX. 
 
 daughter, 279.32). Meantime loose and tentative makesliifts like the 
 above appear for <t season. Tlie sentence cannot fairly be said to 
 indicate a substitution of his for the genitive inflexion. It is simply an 
 anacoluthon. 
 
 (2) For the fyrste knyghte his hors stumbled, 220.30. This again is a 
 case of anacoluthon, as appears from the context : And the last knyghte 
 by myshap thou cainyst behynde hym. In both cases the noun knyghte 
 is loosely separated, in the enumeration, from the construction of the 
 rest of the sentence. It is possible also that for is not a con] unction, 
 but a preposition (see § 332.2). 
 
 80. The Dative Case appears as follows : 
 
 (a) Dative of Indirect Object: he took it hym, 263.1; he 
 — by take hit me, 673.28; there were brought hym robes, 92.20; 
 there was none that wold behote hym the lyf^ 284.33. 
 
 (b) Dative of Interest: who shall lete me blood, 706.1; to 
 lette hym the passage, 220.13; made hym a large wounde, 
 -i-ld-i^j; sane me that knyghtes lyf, 646.14; he commanded hym 
 the wyn, 351.1; a knyghte — withhelde her alle her landes,^ 
 480.16; syr Pelleas was soo strange there myght but few e 
 knyghtes sytte hym a buffet with a spere, 159.20; yf thou mayst 
 stande me thre strokes, 283.4. 
 
 (c) Dative with Adjectives and Interrogatives and the 
 Verb to be: whether is me better, 87.22; hym lothe were, 
 230.31; it were me leuer, 121.31.^ 
 
 But this construction is visibly fading. More frequently 
 appears: thou were better, 264.8; lothe I were to slee the, 
 203.17; Gareth is to me more leuer, 269.11; T had {^ 245, a) 
 leuer, 229.4. 
 
 1 W. The good wyfe rawte hym a rocke, 503 ; Gold and syluer they 
 me brought, 589; Mete and drynke sche hym bare, 244. But also : Syr, 
 and I graunte that to you, 301. 
 
 2 Defoe shows some mteresting survivals : " killed them abundance 
 of men between decks," Captain Singleton, I, xi, p. 255 ; "wounded us 
 a great many men," Memoirs of n. Cavalier, p. 51; "killed us about a 
 hundred men," ibid. p. 189. (Bohn's edition). 
 
 ' W. hym was full fayne, 66 ; Better is me thus to doo, 383. 
 
PROiVOUXS — SiWTAX. 23 
 
 (d) Dative with Impersonal Verbs (see § 312). The 
 commonest collocations are: me forthynketh, 713.23; me 
 semeth, 202.30; me repcnteth, 185.25; the behoueth, 187.5; 
 how lyketh ymv, 215.26; hy7n happend, 200.2; hym besemeth, 
 220.4; hym lyst, 230.15; hym neded, 216.35; hym thought, 
 184.5. 
 
 (e) For the gradual change to the personal construction 
 see § 312 a. But for the fading of this dative cf. also: 
 it pleasyd to her, 255.15; now befalleth it to me, 191.26; 
 a lady soo ledde the where thou semyd thy broder was slayne, 
 682.25; al thyiige that to hym neded, 278.15. 
 
 81. The confusion of cases that appears in Elizabethan 
 English is as yet barely apparent: neuer man but he, 42.4; 
 no mo but thou and I, 326.10;^ made hym passynge good 
 chere and wel easyd bothe his hors and he, 112.30. Cf: § 56. 
 
 82. A pronoun subject is often omitted when it can be 
 supplied readily from the context: the whiche greued his 
 herte, and [he] promysed to reuenge his broder, 185.8; and 
 launcelot after hym with al his my^t and £he] smote hym, etc., 
 199.7; ^"-^ there were brought hym robes to his pleasyr, and 
 [they] wold haue had Balen leue his swerd, 92.22.^ 
 
 83. A pronoun subject is sometimes repeated redun- 
 dantly : the black knyghte within an houre and an half he f elk 
 
 1 Kellner (p. xiii, b) gives cases from other works printed by Caxton. 
 At p. XV he generalizes so far as to say that " but and sauf don't govern 
 the accusative as prepositions, but are followed by the nominative, as if 
 they were conjunctions." 
 
 W. Lett no man wete butt we two, 302 ; Vheue me some mete — of 
 that the wyfe ye brought, 492. Confusion of cases may lie at the 
 bottom of the following: Or ellys to deth mutt me, 432. The equiva- 
 lent of this curious construction occurs several times in the poem. It 
 may be based on an anomalous or dialectic use of mote and moste. Q,i. 
 Yet must vs worke for owre mete, 48 1 . 
 
 ^ Cf. Kellner, p. xxxii, e. 
 
24 PRONOUNS— SYNTAX. 
 
 doune, 222.24; t^^ herte whanne he is old he waxeth yojige 
 ageyne, 703.20.^ 
 
 84. Furthermore the reference of pronouns is often care- 
 less, confused and ambiguous : he lysined and herd an hors 
 come, and one rydynge vpon hym, and whanne he cam nygh he 
 semed a knyghte. And soo he lete hym passe, and wente there 
 as the shyp was; and there he alyghte, and take the sadel aiid 
 the brydel and putte the hors from hym, etc., 708.21. 
 
 85. Prolepsis sometimes occurs : aspyed hym what he 
 had done, 210.30; beheld hy7n how he — Iicsted, 261.24. 
 
 In the following the pronoun subject is both proleptic 
 and expletive: he was the founder ther of Joseph of Armathyes 
 sone, 716.16. 
 
 86. The distinction is firmly kept between the partitive 
 construction with numerals, etc., and the construction of 
 simple agreement. Thus, e. g., tweJue of them, but always 
 alle they, we alle, you bothe, etc., never all of them, bothe of 
 you, etc. Note the following : that one spere hath feld vs 
 al foure, 204.27; they sayd al, 204.28; and they were syxe 
 mo, 220.16; they bledde bothe, 223.31; of theyr bothe sorowes, 
 (Caxton's rubric); ye al Barons, 39.29; yet were they fyfty 
 M, 53.13; both they had many woundes, 11 1.25; with his both 
 handes, 444.36.^ 
 
 87. The simple personal pronouns are still in active use 
 
 as reflexives,^ but the intensive forms are far more common 
 
 than in Chaucer. I fek myself — 7iiery, 543.20; l enforce 
 
 my selfe, 544.10. The two often exist side by side. Thus 
 
 we have drede hym and drede hym self; kepe hym and kepe 
 
 hym self, etc. (For a list of the commonest collocations see 
 
 §313-) 
 
 ^ Cf. Kellner, p. xxxi, d. 
 
 2 W. And ther they be all thre, 594. 
 
 ^ W. As good as thou 
 
 We hold vs that be here now, 478. 
 
PRONO UNS — SYNTAX. 25 
 
 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS. 
 
 88. The collocation ami that, in the sense of the Greek 
 Kttt rauTa, occurs frequently : I shalle shnue yo7C' somme to 
 mome — and that merueyllons, 145.12; shal make the tome 
 ageyne and that lyghtly, 219.36. 
 
 89. As a demonstrative adjective, that is often used 
 before an infinitive as equivalent to such: Atlas — that euer 
 a kechen page shold haiie that fortune to destroye suche — 
 knyghtes, 2 20. 28. Cf. also: he — took the gaynest waye hi 
 that woodenes that many tymes he ivas lyke to perysshe, 243.31, 
 where a clause takes the place of the infinitive. A similar 
 use of that, before adjectives, survives as a modern provin- 
 cialism. " He was that tired he couldn't stand." ^ 
 
 90. This is sometimes used of persons, without any- 
 following noun : this shall neuer preue none suche. For syr 
 Brewnor desyred euer worship and thys desyreth brede dv 
 drynke, 2 1 5 . i . 
 
 91. That survives here and there as an article : that one 
 hyghte kynge Ban, and that other hyght kyng Bars, 47.28. 
 But that one sa7c't' the other, 695.6. Besides this common 
 collocation, a few phrases like the following occur : By that 
 tyme that eyther had sene other, 193.29; but they are only 
 sporadic. 
 
 92. Chaucer's contraction atte (at the) has disappeared. 
 The form atte is merely a graphical variant of the simple 
 preposition at: atte my 7vi7idowe, 201.14; <^^t^ ^^^ tymes, 
 724-3S- 
 
 93. The definite article is sometimes contracted, as in 
 Chaucer, with a word beginning with a vowel : thestate, 
 
 1 Cf. Kelhter, p. xxvii, f. 
 
26 PKONO UNS — SYNTAX. 
 
 thother, thauys, thaffray, thoppynyon, thabyte, theinpyre, thoryent, 
 thold, thende, thordre, thauenture, thystory, therth, thacheyicyng, 
 thabbey. These forms are less common than in Chaucer. 
 They are not invariable, and they occur most frequently in 
 Caxton's preface, rubric and colophons. 
 
 94. The definite article often occurs, as in Chaucer, 
 where it would be expletive in modern usage: from the 
 dethe, 201.18; here at the hande, 213.17; 7vhyie me lasteth 
 the lyf, 131.19; plonged ouer the hede, 243.30; as it had be?i 
 the thonder, 261 .2 \ at the Jiyghte, 6()o.2'j ■, the yonder knyghte, 
 1 46.1; holdyng i<p their handes toward the heiien, 659.1; 
 dranke the wyn, 231.10. The construction is probably due 
 to French influence. 
 
 INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. 
 
 95. All four interrogatives, mho, whyche, what and 
 whether are used in both direct and indirect questions. 
 
 96. Whether keeps its proper sense, 'which of the two,''' 
 whether lyketh yow better — the suerd or the scaiibard, 74.2; 
 ye shal stande betwixe them both, and whether ye lyst better to 
 go to, he shal haue yow, 146.24. But sometimes it is dis- 
 placed by whiche : we thouif to preuc whiclie of vs bothe was 
 better hiyif, 105.29. 
 
 97. What is used of persons in the sense of who: asked 
 her what she was, 231.22; Now wotest thow what / ajit, 
 723.12.^ 
 
 (a) What a in the sense of ' what sort of ' occurs at 
 72.21: I told y OH — what a knyghte he was. 
 
 ^ The interrogative whether survives in Defoe : " we might get a 
 great deal or a very little, we did not know whether.'" Captain Single- 
 ton, I, vii, p. 157. 
 
 2 W. What deuylle art thou, 316 (i. c, 'who the devil art thou?'); 
 Fayne would I wete what they were, 541. 
 
PRO NO UiXS — S YNTAX. 21 
 
 98. Chaucer's adverbial use of what in the sense of 
 ' why ' is very rare : icihat profryst thow proude knyghte the 
 so boldly, 176.13. 
 
 99. Who is used (rarely) with a following partitive geni- 
 tive, where whkhe is usual : syre Cador folde who of his 
 knyghtes were slaync, 172.8.' 
 
 RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 
 
 100. That is by far the commonest relative, occurring 
 alike in restrictive and non-restrictive clauses. 
 
 101. That is used as equivalent to that which, or what : 
 the 'iiertu of my rynge is that that is grene it will tome to reed, 
 257.3 1 ; now haue I certefyed the of that thow stodest in double, 
 697.16; there jnay noo man hold that wille aweye, 300.27.^ 
 
 102. Whichc ■i.TiA. the whiche are used as adjectives: s7note 
 hym on the hede whiche stroke sty?ited not, etc., 170.15; to the 
 whiche tente our knyghtes rode, 169.20.^ 
 
 103. The use of whiche with reference to persons is too 
 common and regular to need citation. 
 
 104. Which is sometimes used after so and such, where 
 the proper correlative is as : T haue none soo hyghe a thynge 
 whiche were worthy to susteyne soo hyhe a suerd, 698.10. 
 
 1 W. shows a compound interrogative form what that: 
 
 The stuard stode the wryght by, 
 
 And of his garlond hadde ferly (' wonder ') 
 
 What that yt be-mente, 259. 
 
 2 W. Yheue me some mete (ye be to blame), 
 
 Of that the wyfe ye brought, 491. 
 So Bacon : " when a man lets fall Signes and Arguments, that he is not 
 that he is.'' Of Simulation and Dissimulation ( Wright, 19.25). 
 2 W. Of roses whyte that wyll not fade, 
 
 Whych floure all ynglond doth glade, 668. 
 
28 PRONOUNS — SYNTAX. 
 
 (a) That is used in like manner : who myghte be soo blessid 
 that myght see openly, etc., 712.20. But the correlation with 
 so is frequently irregular (see\f(?, § 385.4). 
 
 105. The ordinary sense of what (' that which,' ' what- 
 ever ') is retained in its adjective use : a mayde in -whatp/aee 
 she comet h is free, 704.5 ; delyuer hym to what poure 7}ian ye 
 mete, 39.6 (where what is used, as frequently, of a person). 
 
 106. What occurs sometimes as an indefinite in the sense 
 of 'somewhat,' 'some': Thenne there f elk to thetn what of 
 Northwalys and of Cornewaile — to the number of afoicr score 
 knyghtes, 805.5. 
 
 (a) What — what is used with prepositional phrases in 
 the sense of ' partly — partly ' : what for drede and for loue 
 they helde their pees, 75.24; they rode fresshly — what by water 
 and what by land, 101.9; what forwounded and what forbled, 
 350.26. 
 
 107. Whos and whom are sometimes used of antecedents ■ 
 without life : the floure of the lyly, in whome vyrgynyte is 
 sygnefyed, 715.29; oure lord sente hem the Sancgreal, thorow 
 whoos grace they were al waye fulfylled, 722.13.^ 
 
 108. The compound forms with that are regular in 
 Chaucer. That was originally appended, it is likely, to 
 indicate the relative force of a form properly interrogative, 
 just as it was appended to adverbs, etc., to indicate their 
 conjunctive force (see § 388.4). In both cases that gives 
 the word to which it is appended the force of an introductory 
 particle. 
 
 109. Of these compound relative forms, — 
 
 (a) what that and (usually) who that are general rela- 
 tives: I shall abyde \ihdX auenture thaX Cometh, 110.36; what 
 
 ' For the use of liut as a relative see § 361.2. 
 
PRONOUNS— SYXTAX. 29 
 
 iresoitr that there in this castel is I gyiie it you, 199.28 ; ^ who 
 that vseth pcramours shalle be vnhappy, 198.12; he badde the 
 lordes — come after who that wold, 267.38; 
 
 (b) but an oblique case of who that is also used as a 
 simple relative : he myghte more auayle the than thyn armour 
 in whos seruyse that thou arte sette, 710.19. 
 
 (c) ivhiihe that is .a simple relative : he told hym of the 
 aduentures — whiche that he knewe, 715.13. 
 
 110. That as is very rare. It is used in the sense of 
 ' that that ' or ' what ' : But that as syrc launcelot dyd was of 
 his grete gentylnes, 215.16. The appended as has the same 
 force as the appended that, and is so used in Chaucer to 
 make relative adverbs (' ther as '), but not to make relative 
 pronouns (cf. § 359.8). 
 
 111. All the other compound forms have the force of 
 general relatives. 
 
 112. The attempt to express the genitive of the relative 
 gives rise to some noteworthy periphrases : ye are the same 
 knyghte that I lodged ones in your Castel, 266.15 ; '^ gentylwoman 
 whiche we and this castel is hers, 705.13; there came a man that 
 sire Tristram — had slayne his broder, 327.10; that was she 
 that Breioiys saunce pyte took that sheld from her, 345.1 1 ; hit 
 is not thy parte to disprayse thy pryncesse that thou arte under 
 theire obeyssaunce, 358.14. The commonest resort is to the 
 adverbial form wherof which is used of both persons and 
 things: many angels — wherof one helde a candel, 7 11. 15. 
 All these forms are inherited or extended from Chaucerian 
 usage. 
 
 Note, on the other hand, the rare construction : that lady 
 whos was the chamber, 343.13. 
 
 1 W. Thowe wylt worke, yf thou hungyr welle, 
 What worke that the be brought, 356. 
 
30 PRONOUNS — SYNTAX. 
 
 113. Thus it appears that Chaucer's relative periphrasis 
 ("that — he," "that — his," etc.) survives, almost of neces- 
 sity, in the genitive. A few sporadic instances ^ show that 
 it is lingering in the nominative : ^ Now tourne we vnto sire 
 Trystram that vpon a daye he took a lytel Sarget, 330.24; here 
 is a worshipfidl knyght sir Lamorak de galys that for me he 
 shalle be lord of this countreye, 334.1; no7v torne we this tale 
 vnto syre Tristram that by aduenture he cam to a castel, 407.20. 
 All three instances are from the Tristram books. 
 
 ll"!. A restrictive relative may be omitted, even in the 
 nominative : there ben knytfes here wolde doo her power for to 
 rescowe your lady, 216.14; he was the knytf in the world was 
 moost welcome to her, 190.13; where is the lady shold mete vs 
 here, 146.14; l shalle sende hym a gyfte shalle please hym, 
 101.2. 
 
 115. Even a non-restrictive relative may be omitted: 
 thenne was he 7vare of a Faucon came fleynge oner his hede, 
 208.11; they sawe knyghtes al artned came in — and dyd of 
 their helmes, 7 1 8 . i . 
 
 116. When the antecedent is a personal pronoun it is 
 sometimes omitted : thou to loue that loueth not the is but grete 
 foly, 237.17; to 7vhome I shold be moost debonair shall I be 
 most felon, 694.18. 
 
 1 Cited by Kellner, p. xli. 
 
 2 The persistence of this periphrasis appears in the following passage 
 from Defoe : " one was a wolf, one a fine spotted young leopard, and the 
 other (plural) were creatures that we knew not what to call them." 
 Captain Singleton, I, vii, p. 169. Even to-day ignorant people some- 
 times take refuge in this form, when their relative constructions become 
 involved. 
 
/^jco/vocrA-s — syATAA: 31 
 
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS. 
 
 117. A// thyng is used in tlie sense of ' everything ' : all 
 thyfig is imhappy that is aboiite hem, 198.13.^ 
 
 118. Eyther is sometimes used in the sense of bothe : 
 eyther knyghtes departed in sondre — , 226.31.'' 
 
 119. One is used in comparisons witli so — as without 
 adding any apparent meaning or force : so worthy a kny-^t as 
 he was one, 87.34; suche yo?ig knyghtes as he is one, 251.25. 
 But these scattered instances may mark the intensive use 
 that is evident in the following : t/iou arte the goodlyest yong 
 man one that eiier I sawe, 214.18; the worthyest knyghte of 
 the world one, 685 . 1 9. 
 
 120. One is used sometimes in the sense of ' a certain,' 
 very much like the indefinite article : that shalle be at one 
 tyme, 694.19. The ordinary phrase is on a tyine, on a daye, 
 etc. 
 
 121. Xone is sometimes used for neyther : none of them 
 bothe, 97.24. 
 
 122. So ony is sometimes used for eyther : ony of the7n 
 both, 87.19; ony of yow both, 523.25. 
 
 123. Ony is used as an intensive in comparisons (see 
 one, § 119): he is as lykely a man as ciicr ye sawe ony, 233.19; 
 ye be as fayr a lady as euer f sawe ony, 509.8. 
 
 124. Ony is used in the sense of somme in the following: 
 
 1 Cf. " It had been as a gap in our great feast. 
 
 And all-thing unbecoming," Macbetli, III, i. 13, 
 where "all-thing" means 'altogether,' 'in every respect.' 
 2 For eyther in the sense of ' each ' see § 132 (c). 
 
32 PRONOUNS— SYNTAX. 
 
 Hope ye so that T niaye ony whyle stand a proiced knyght, 
 218.14 (pny whyle ^ some time).' 
 
 125. Other has full pronominal force and is- used, in both 
 sing, and plur., without the article : the one of vs shal make 
 ati ende of other, 194.29; euerychone after other (one after 
 another), 76.33. Cf. 132, d. 
 
 126. Other is sometimes used with a half-conjunctive 
 force, like besides : syr beriel &= other (plur.) syr Marys and 
 syr Maurel, 172.9. This appears most commonly in the 
 phrase moo other (others besides, more besides) : moo other 
 loners, 508.29.^ 
 
 127. No7ie other \.s Ms^& in the sense of 'nothing else': 
 I dyd 7ione other but as T wold ye dyd to me, 95.32.^ 
 
 128. He is sometimes used as an indefinite, especially 
 in the genitive : that euery lord and lady shold go vnto his rest, 
 247.29;^ though alle the world were here ryght now he coude 
 not deuyse wherfor, etc., 698.27. 
 
 129. A certayn occurs as an indefinite, as in Chaucer: a 
 
 certayn of the traytours, 495.3.^ 
 
 INTENSIVE PRONOUNS. 
 
 130. The intensive forms are made, as in Chaucer, with 
 selfie) and ow}ie; but the following peculiarities are note- 
 worthy : 
 
 1 Ony the other eyght, 2.1 (Caxton's Preface), is not paralleled else- 
 where. Kellner (p. xvii) regards it as a case of apposition instead of 
 the partitive construction. It is perhaps a printer's error. 
 
 2 Kellner (p. xvii) seems to regard the use of other in the phrase 
 'Other her gentyll women,' Blanchnrdyn, 76.31, as parallel with the use 
 of maner explained at § 24 {what maner knyght, etc.). 
 
 " For the adjective use of other see § 49. * Cf. § 77. 
 
 ^ For the indefinite use of what cf. § 106. 
 
PROiVOU.VS — SiWTAX. 33 
 
 (a) Self(e) is the invariable form for singular and plural.^ 
 
 (b) The incongruous forms show that self keeps its 
 original adjective force, but is coming more and more to be 
 regarded as a noun. Thus we have — /ivm self, them 'self, 
 hem self, but fiiy self thy self, your self, their self' 
 
 131. The intensive form is sometimes used alone as 
 subject: hym selfe was ledde in to a fay re ehamber, 190.9.' 
 
 RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS. 
 
 132. The reciprocals are eche other, eueryche other, eyther 
 other and simple other. All of the pairs occur both side by 
 side and separated b)- intervening words ; thus : 
 
 r eche other: we wil helpe cche other, 83.18. 
 (a) X eche — other : thenne lete they retme eche io other, 
 
 L 704.1S. 
 
 r eueryche other : wou7ided eueryclie other, 97.21. 
 (b)-j eueryche — other: eueryche told other of tlieire adue?i- 
 
 y, ////rj-, 708.37; eueryche knewe other, 6qi. 11. 
 
 {eyther other: they graimted eyther other to rest, 238.35. 
 eyther — other: eyther of hem smote other, 258.18; 
 many a grymme worde Toas there spoken eyder to 
 other, 846.8. 
 (d) The persistence of other alone as a reciprocal is 
 sufficiently noteworthy to need full exemplification: they 
 drewe their swerdes and smote egerly at other, 220.19 ; the reed 
 knyghte and syr Bors smote other, 259.28; 7vhanne that one sawe 
 the other, they made grete loye of other, 695.7 ; Now sone galahad 
 said launcelot — wc shal departe, and neiier .f^,? other, 709.35.' 
 
 1 Romstedt (p. 42) cites they them seluen from Reynard the Fox, 86.13. 
 
 2 For self(e) as an adjective in the sense of ' same ' see § 50. 
 s "Is that the law.' 
 
 Thyself sV^Xt see the ?l.zV — Merch. Ven. IV, 1.305. 
 * To gyder'is sometimes used with reciprocal force: they dyd of their 
 helmes and kyssed to gyder, 707.24. 
 
34 
 
 VERBS — RED UPLICA TING. 
 
 VERBS. 
 
 THE STRONG VERB. 
 
 In the following tables the forms from the Mortc d' Arthur (printed 
 always in Italics) are exhibited parallel with the Chaucerian forms 
 given in Ten Brink's lists. The Chaucerian forms are given first in 
 each case, and are distinguished by difference of type. 
 
 Since the distinction between the preterit singular and the preterit 
 plural has disappeared (§ 152), only the former is given. 
 
 Where a verb shows shifting toward the weak conjugation, the weak 
 forms are put in brackets. 
 
 Conjectural forms are marked by parentheses. 
 
 REDUPLICATING VERBS. 
 
 133. 
 
 bete 
 
 beet 
 
 beten 
 
 bete^ 
 
 bete 
 
 beie(n) 
 
 blowe 
 
 blew 
 
 blowen 
 
 blowe 
 
 blewe 
 
 blowen 
 
 falle 
 
 fel, fil 
 
 fallen 
 
 falh 
 
 fellejyljylle 
 
 falle{n) 
 
 growe 
 
 grew 
 
 growen 
 
 growe 
 
 grewe \_gro7Cied '"] 
 
 growen 
 
 hewe 
 
 
 hewen 
 
 (hewe) 
 
 hewe \Jie7ved ^] 
 
 hewen 
 
 liQlde 
 
 heeld 
 
 hQlden 
 
 /wide 
 
 held{e) * 
 
 holde{n) 
 
 1 The forms from the Morie d' Arthur are printed in Italics. 
 '^ growed occv^is once, 276.32. 
 
 ^ hewed occurs once, 318.30; hewe twice, 170.18, 249.22. 
 * W. has also hyld. 
 
 ' wel and truly haue ye hold your promyse, 420.4 ; she had behold hym 
 longe, 343.18. 
 
VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 35 
 
 \ hqnge 
 
 \ hange 
 
 heeng 
 henge 
 
 \ hQte 
 i hehotc' 
 
 heet, h^^t 
 {_hyghte-\ 
 
 I knowe 
 
 knew 
 
 1 knowe 
 
 knave 
 
 ( throwe 
 
 threw 
 
 1 thrmve 
 
 thrcwc 
 
 \Jianged '] 
 hQten 
 
 knowen 
 knowe (ti) ' 
 
 throwen 
 
 thrower! 
 
 134. Z^d-, lete, siepe, and r^'^^tf have gone over entirely 
 to the weak conjugation. 
 
 ABLAUT VERBS. 
 
 The classification is that of Sievers (Angelsachsische Grammatik, 3S1). 
 Reference to Ten Brink's classification ( Chaucers Sprache und Verskunst, 
 136) may be made with the aid of the following table : 
 
 Sievers. 
 Class I (§ 3S2). 
 " H (§ 384). 
 " III, I (§ 386). 
 " III, 2, 3, 4 (§§ 387-389)- 
 
 " IV (§ 390)- 
 
 " V (§ 391). 
 " VI (§ 392). 
 
 Te7i Brink. 
 Class III (§ 153). 
 " IV (§ 156). 
 " I, A, b (§ 139). 
 I, A, a (§ 139). 
 I, B (§ 142). 
 I, B (§ 142), C (§ 145). 
 " II (§ 149)- 
 
 Citations are given for the rarer forms. 
 
 1 Aang-ed occurs once, 624.14; and behatiged once, 125.32. 
 
 2 tkere was none that wold behote hym the lyf, 284.33 i Heteth occurs 
 once: What heteth your lady, 2i6.t,. 
 
 2 JCno occurs in Caxton's Preface (1.18), at the end of a line. 
 The ptc. mowen occurs at 228.17. The verb seems not to occur in 
 Chaucer. See Stratmanti, ' mawen.' 
 
36 
 
 VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 
 
 Class I. 
 
 
 135. 0. 
 
 E. 
 
 i a 
 
 i i 
 
 Chaucer i Q 
 
 i i 
 
 byde 
 abyde ^ 
 
 
 btjQd 
 
 (a)biden 
 (a)byden 
 
 byte 
 byte 
 
 
 b9Qt 
 boot, bote 
 
 biten 
 
 dryve 
 dryiie 
 
 
 dr^qf 
 droofie), drofe 
 
 driven 
 
 ryde 
 ryde 
 
 
 r(j9d 
 
 rodie) ' 
 
 riden 
 ryden 
 
 ryse 
 {a)ryse 
 
 
 rcjQS 
 
 (a)roos, {a)rose 
 
 risen 
 id)rysen 
 
 ryve 
 ryiie 
 
 
 roof(e), rofe, rafe* 
 
 ryuen, [ryued^ 
 
 shryve 
 
 
 \_shryued~\ 
 
 shriven 
 shryuen 
 
 shyne 
 
 
 shcj^n 
 shone 
 
 
 slyde 
 
 smyte 
 smyte 
 
 slode " 
 
 smijQt 
 smote 
 
 smiten 
 smyten ' 
 
 1 The forms from the Morte d' Arthur are printed in Italics. 
 
 ''■ abode, 196.32, 690.6; bode, 850.31. 
 
 ^ rod, 388.22. A weak pret. rydde occurs in Blanchardyn, 83.27. 
 
 * rafe, 596.18. ^ ryued, 290.12. " slode, 58.21. 
 
 ' smyte, 696.1 (passage perhaps corrupt). 
 
I -£/?BS — ABLA UT. 
 
 37 
 
 (bi)stryde 
 
 (bi)str99d 
 
 
 {bestryde) 
 
 (be) St ra lie 
 
 strike (n)i 
 
 stryke 
 
 sirake, stroke - 
 
 stryken 
 
 strj-ve 
 
 strqqi 
 
 
 strytie 
 
 stroflf ' 
 
 
 thryvt 
 
 
 
 {thryue) 
 
 throfe 
 
 
 wryte 
 
 wrQqt 
 
 writen 
 
 wryte 
 
 7urote 
 
 wrytcn * 
 
 wrythe 
 
 
 
 wrythe 
 
 7vrothe} 
 
 
 136. The rare preterits rafe and bestrade may be due to 
 the analogy of Class IV. Stratmann cites raf and strad 
 from " Iwain and Gawain" (about 1400). 
 
 ^ Stryke does not appear in Ten Brink's lists, but the ptc. occurs in 
 "Merciles Beaute." 
 
 Love hath my name y-strike out of his sclat, 
 And he is strike out of my bokes clene. 
 
 {Chauc. Minor Poems, Skeat, VI, 35.) 
 
 - The pret. straked (370.14) is from a weak verb strake. See Strat- 
 mann, strakien. 
 
 But a weak pret. stryked does occur in Reynard, 66.2, 71.26 {Romstedt, 
 p. 42, I, 3). 
 
 5 stroof (O. F. estriver) is a purely analogical formation (see Ten 
 Brink, 154). It occurs only in Caxton's Rubric, 10.17. Romstedt cites 
 j/ro^ (Reynard, 83.34). 
 
 * \\ . wretyn. 
 
 ° wrothe (326.17, 595.27) seems not to occur in Chaucer, though the 
 ptc. writhen appears. Stratmann cites ' wrooth ' from Wiclif. 
 
38 
 
 VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 
 Class II. 
 
 
 137. 0. E. 
 
 eo(u) ea u 
 
 
 
 Chaucer 
 
 e, u ? 9 
 
 9 
 
 ( cheese 
 ( chese'- 
 
 ch^^s 
 
 chose 
 
 chQsen 
 
 chosen 
 
 ( cleeve 
 \ cleue 
 
 [clefte] 
 
 claf(e),'' claue, \clefte'\ 
 
 clQven 
 
 clouen 
 
 (flye 
 
 \ {fly^) 
 
 fleigh, fley 
 flewe^ 
 
 flowen 
 
 { seethe 
 1 (seethe) 
 
 s??th 
 
 soden 
 
 soden 
 
 ( shouve 
 
 shoof 
 
 shoven 
 
 ( (shoue) 
 
 shone, sheef^ 
 
 shouen 
 
 138. Clafe is probably made, like ' haf ' in Chaucer 
 (heve), after the analogy oi gafe (yeue, Class V). Langland 
 has "clef"; Maundeville, "cleef." 
 
 For the ew in Jlewe see drewe and slewe, Class VI (§ 151). 
 
 139. Chose is due to confusion with the participle, which 
 also explains the prets. crope and frore cited by Romstedt 
 (Reynard, 27.22, 82.10). Cf. foot-note on sheef, and see 
 Stratmann, creopen, freosen. 
 
 140. Shecte has passed over to the weak conjugation, and 
 so have creepe and freese, save for the rare and anomalous 
 forms cited above. 
 
 1 The forms from the Morte d' Arthur are printed in Italics. 
 
 ''■ Claf, 689.22 ; claue, 93.4. 
 
 ^ Romstedt cites Jlough (Aymon, 39,10). 
 
 * Sheef, 624.29 ; shone, 173.12. Sheef is the proper preterit singular, 
 Chaucer's " shoof " having intruded from the plural and the participle. 
 See Stratmann, schuven. 
 
VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 39 
 
 Class III. 
 
 (0 
 
 141. Verbs in nasal + consonant. 
 
 O. E. 
 Chaucer 
 
 9. (a) 
 
 q, a 
 
 u 
 u 
 
 u 
 u 
 
 biginne 
 begynne ' 
 
 bynde 
 bynde 
 
 clymbe 
 (clymbe) 
 
 drinke 
 drynke 
 
 flynge 
 
 \ fynde 
 
 \ fynde 
 
 ( gT)mde 
 I {grynde) 
 
 irenne 
 renne 
 
 ringe 
 rvtige 
 
 (bi)gan 
 
 began, beganne^ 
 
 bqnd 
 
 bond(e), bound(e) 
 
 clQmb 
 damme 
 
 drank 
 drank{e) ^ 
 
 flQng 
 Jiang 
 
 bigonnen 
 
 begonne 
 
 bounden 
 bo7ide(n), bounde{n) 
 
 clomben 
 
 dronken 
 dronken 
 
 fqnd founden 
 
 fondie), foundie) fonde{n) , fond, founde{n) 
 
 grounden 
 
 groundyn * 
 
 ran 
 
 ran, ranne 
 
 rqng 
 
 ronnen 
 ro7ine 
 
 rongen 
 
 ' The forms from the Morte d' Arthur are printed in Italics. 
 
 ^ beganne is the more common form. ^ W. has pret. drunke, 488. 
 
 ^groundyn occurs only once, and then as an adjective: With u 
 groundyn glayue he threst hyjii in behyftde to the herte, 807.18. The 
 passage sounds like a reminiscence of some older alliterative romance. 
 
40 
 
 VERBS —ABLA UT. 
 
 singe 
 synge 
 
 SQng 
 sange 
 
 songen 
 songe 
 
 sinke 
 {synke) 
 
 sank 
 
 sanke, \synked'^~\ 
 
 sonken 
 
 springe 
 
 sprang 
 
 sprongen 
 
 spronge ^ 
 
 stinge 
 stynge 
 
 stcjng 
 stonge 
 
 stongen 
 stongen 
 
 swimme 
 
 swam 
 
 swommen 
 
 swymme 
 
 swamme ^ 
 
 
 thringe 
 {thrynge^) 
 
 thrQng 
 thrangie) 
 
 throngen 
 
 winne 
 
 wan 
 
 wonnen 
 
 wymie 
 
 wan, wanne 
 
 wonne(n) 
 
 wringe 
 
 wrynge 
 
 wrqng 
 
 wrong, wrange ^ 
 
 wrongen 
 
 142. The confusion of preterital and participial forms, 
 or rather of the preterit singular with the preterit plural, 
 appears in the preterits bounde and founde. 
 
 143. The preterits damme, sange, thrang and wrange {a 
 for Chaucer's ^) have ample earlier warrant (see Stratmann, 
 s. vv.). 
 
 1 sanke, 350.25, and synked, 838.18, occur once each. W. has ptc. 
 sotike. 
 
 " W. has pret. sprang. 
 
 2 A pret. swange occurs at 294.21. Swyngen does not seem to occur 
 in Chaucer, nor elsewhere in the Morte d' Arthur. 
 
 * Sommer (Glossary) prints threnge, but cites no instance. 
 5 wrong, 168.14, and wrange, 389.36, occur once each. 
 
VEJiBS — ABLAUT. 41 
 
 144. The preterit fla7ig is from a rare verb borrowed, 
 probably, from O. N. flengja. Ten Brink does not give the 
 form in his lists; but Skeat (Diet.) cites flong, C. T., 17255. 
 It seems to occur first about 1300, in King Alisaunder 
 (^^'eber's Metrical Romances). Most of the instances cited 
 by Stratmann are from northern poems of considerably later 
 date (1380-1460). It is quite likely a northern provin- 
 cialism. The analogy of synge, sang, etc., has drawn the 
 verb into this class, just as strive (O. F. estriver) was 
 drawn in Chaucer's time into III, by the analogy of dryve, 
 droof, etc. (p. 37, foot-note 3). 
 
 (2) 
 
 145. Verbs in i + a consonant. 
 
 O. E. e ea (a) u o 
 
 Chaucer e a u (q) 9 (q) 
 
 helpe halp hqlpen 
 
 helpe"^ halpie), holpe,^ helpe^ holpen 
 
 swelle swal swqllen 
 
 swalle * 
 
 ( yeelde yqlden 
 
 I ye/de \_yelded''\yelde, yolde^ \_yelded\ yolden^ yelden^ 
 
 1 The forms from the Morte d' Arthur are printed in Italics. 
 
 " holpe, 856.20 (see § 152). 
 
 3 helpe, 24.4, Caxton's Rubric. 
 
 * swalle, 729.1. 
 
 ^ yelded, pret., 13.23, ^Xi& yelden, ptc, 13.1, occur only in Caxton's 
 Rubric. 
 
 " yelde, 39.38; yolde, 189.23. The older pret. is 3eald, //. julden 
 (Stratmann, jelden). 
 
 '' yolden is the regular form for the ptc. 180.29, 201. 1, 228.6, 704.4. 
 
42 
 
 VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 (3) 
 146. Verbs in r or fe + a consonant. 
 
 0. E. 
 
 eo ea 
 
 u 
 
 Chaucer 
 
 e, i a 
 
 u(q) 9 
 
 breste^ 
 
 breste '' 
 
 brast 
 
 brast{e), brest{e)'' 
 
 brQSten 
 1 
 
 I fighte 
 
 1 M^fe 
 
 faught 
 faughtie) * 
 
 fqughten 
 foughten 
 
 ( kerve 
 ( /ierue 
 
 karf 
 
 carfe \_kerued ] ^ 
 
 Class IV. 
 
 kqrven 
 
 147. O. E. 
 
 Chaucer 
 
 e £6 £6 
 ? a 1, 
 
 
 
 e (5) Q (u) 
 
 ( bere 
 1 bere ^ 
 
 bar, beer, b^?r 
 Ziar^, bere 
 
 bqren, bqrn 
 
 boren, born{e) 
 
 ( breke 
 ( breke 
 
 brak 
 
 brakie), brack^ 
 
 brqken 
 broken 
 
 1 Berstan, on account of its pret. in a (baerst), is relegated by Sievers, 
 with a few other verbs, to a separate division (4) of Class III (Sievers, 
 
 389)- 
 
 2 The forms from the Morte d' Arthur are printed in Italics. 
 
 ' Romstedt (p. 43, III, 2) cites a pret. to broste (Aymon, 478.13). 
 The preterit wrast (326.16, 368.4) may be due to the analogy of brast. 
 See Stratmann, wracsten. 
 
 * Romstedt (p. 43, III, 2) cites a -^xA. fought (Eneydos, 8.27). 
 ^ carfe, 111.24,689,25; kerued, 158.13. 
 6 hracji, 48.18. 
 
VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 43 
 
 come 
 come 
 
 cam, coom 
 
 cavi{e), come 
 
 (neme) nam, noom 
 
 speke spak 
 
 speke spak{e), spack{ef 
 
 stele stal 
 
 stele stale 
 
 tere'' totar 
 tare * 
 
 comen 
 
 co7ne{ii) 
 
 nomen 
 benome ' 
 
 spQken 
 spoken- 
 
 stolen 
 totoren, tQrn 
 
 148. Speke belongs properly to Class V, but has been 
 drawn over entirely, as gete, trede, wreke and bydde {q. v.) 
 have been draw-n over partially, by the analogy of Class IV. 
 
 
 
 
 Class V. 
 
 
 149. 
 
 0. E. 
 
 e 
 
 £6 
 
 £6 e 
 
 
 Chaucer 
 
 ?« 
 
 • a, ^ (e, \) 
 
 e. ? ? (i) 
 
 ete 
 
 
 eet 
 
 
 eten 
 
 ete' 
 
 
 ete 
 
 
 ^/',?(«)" 
 
 gete 
 
 
 gat 
 
 
 geten 
 
 gete 
 
 
 gat{c), gatte ' 
 
 geten, yeten,^ goten 
 
 1 beiiovte, 647.13, 653.4, 674.23. 
 
 ^ spack, 20.23 (Caxton's Rubric); spacke, i6r.io, 530.25. 
 ' IVere (' wear ') --ivare appears as a full strong verb of this class. In 
 Ch. it is still weak, except for a pret. pi. " weren." 
 * 579-8. 
 
 5 The forms from the Morte d' Arthur are printed in Italics. 
 ^ ptc. ete, 652.21. ''gatte, 297.37, 480.30. 
 
 ^ geten, 132.32; yeten (/oryeten), 840.34. 
 
44 
 
 VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 sty eke •' 
 trede 
 
 wreke 
 (wreke) 
 
 yive yaf 
 
 yeue, geue, gyice yaf, gaf{e) '■ 
 
 stakii), stack '• 
 
 trad 
 
 trade ^ 
 
 \_wrekyd *] 
 
 treden, trqden 
 
 wreken, wroken 
 wrokeiri) ^ 
 
 yiven 
 gyuen, geuen 
 
 (a) O. E. seon is for an older seh(w)on. Hence pret. 
 seah, ptc. sewen. 
 
 see saugh, seih, saygh, sy seyen, scene 
 
 see saw(ey sene 
 
 (b) The following had originally ay in the present (Goth, 
 bidjan). 
 
 bidde bad beden 
 
 bydde bad ^ 
 
 lye, ligge lay 
 
 6'^, lygge layie) 
 
 leyen 
 
 leyne, layne ' 
 
 1 Sty eke is from O. E. stician (weak). The strong verb stecan does 
 not appear in O. E., though its existence is plainly indicated {Skeat, 
 Vict.). Nor does Ch. use the strong verb steken, which appears else- 
 where in M. E. See Stratmann. 
 
 ''■ stak, 248.32, 33; stack, 40.23, 69.29. Cf. speke under IV. 
 
 3 trade, 778.13, 784.10. 
 
 * wrekyd, 229.32. 
 
 5 wroken, 107.5 ! ciwroke, 47.9. Wroken, like Chaucer's treden, is due 
 to the analogy of Class IV. Cf. § 148. 
 
 * gafsx^A gafe are about equally common. 
 
 ' A pret. see seems to occur at 59.8, but the case is doubtful. 
 ^ A ptc. boden, after the analogy of Class IV, occurs at 730.8. 
 ' A ptc. lyen occurs at 35.12. W. has only leyn(e). With leyne cf. 
 borne (IV) and sene (V, a). Chaucer has "seene," adj. 
 
VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 45 
 
 ( sitte 
 I sytte 
 
 sat, seet 
 sat(e)^ satte 
 
 Class VI. 
 
 seten 
 sytten 
 
 150. O.E. 
 
 Chaucer 
 
 a 6 o 
 
 a- a, ?, (f , q) 6 6 
 
 a 
 
 a. a, ? (q) 
 
 \ bake 
 1 {bake) 2 
 
 
 _baken 
 bakeiri) 
 
 ( drawe 
 1 drawe 
 
 drew 
 drewe 
 
 drawen 
 drawe(n) ' 
 
 fare 
 fare 
 
 [fared] 
 lfared'\ 
 
 * 
 
 faren 
 faren * 
 
 ( forsake 
 ( forsake 
 
 forsook 
 forsake 
 
 forsaken 
 forsaken 
 
 ( grave 
 1 (^raa^) 
 
 
 graven 
 grauen 
 
 heve 
 heue 
 
 haf 
 heue ^ 
 
 
 ( laughe 
 1 laugh{e) 
 
 lough 
 
 lough, \laughed^'\ 
 
 laughen 
 
 ( shake 
 
 shook 
 shoke 
 
 shaken 
 
 1 M^^, 244.34. 
 
 - The forms from the Marie d' Arthur are printed in Italics. 
 
 3 drawe occurs once, 106.30. ^ farne, adj., 595.9. 
 
 ^ 4«<if occurs at 847.18, where it is a plural. Romstedt (p. 44, VI, i) 
 cites heef (Reynard, 95.37, 96.8), and explains it as formed after the 
 analogy of the reduplicating class. 
 
 6 lough, 45.29 ; laughed, 367.37. 
 
46 
 
 
 VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 
 shape 
 
 shape 
 
 shoop 
 
 shope 
 
 shapen 
 
 shapen 
 
 slee 
 slee 
 
 slough, slow 
 slough, slewe ^ 
 
 slawen, slayn 
 slaynie) ^ 
 
 stonde, 
 standee) ^ 
 
 stood 
 
 stoodie),* stode 
 
 stqnden 
 
 (witk)stond(e), 
 (lender) standi/) ^ 
 
 swere 
 swere 
 
 swoor 
 
 sware " 
 
 swQren, swQrn 
 sworn(e) 
 
 take 
 take 
 
 took 
 
 took(e), toke 
 
 taken 
 take(n) ' 
 
 wake 
 (a)wake 
 
 wook 
 
 wok{e), wake • 
 
 waken 
 
 wasshe 
 wasshe 
 
 wessh 
 
 wesshe,^ wasshe, 
 \_wasshed ^] 
 
 wasshen 
 wasshen 
 
 waxe, wexe 
 waxe 
 
 weex, wex, wax 
 
 [_waxt{eY''^ [uiaxedl 
 
 waxen, wcjxen 
 
 waxen 
 
 ^slough, 165.31; slewe, 113.30. Rbmstedt cites one case of pret. 
 slowe (Reynard, 34.33). 
 
 ^ The ftc.Jlayne (flayed) occurs at 74.25 ; and the ptc. lade at 196.29. 
 See Stratmann, flean, (h)laden. 
 
 ' W. vndyrstond. * stoode, 801.7. ^ vnderstanden, 166.30. 
 
 8 swere follows the analogy of Class IV (liomstedt, p. 44, VI, 2). 
 Cf. iere. 
 
 ' W. also the contract ' tane.' 
 
 » wesshe is due to the analogy of the reduplicating verbs. 
 
 ''wasshe occurs at 550.19; masshed, at 380.11. 
 
 1" Romstedt cites pret. wexe (Reynard, 18.13) ^"'^ waxe (Reynard, 
 17.14). The former he attributes to the analogy of the reduplicating 
 verbs ; the latter, to that of Class IV. {Romstedt, p. 44, VI, i and 2.) 
 waxt occurs at 130.31 ; waxte, at 463.23. a/ajr«i/ (856.26) is common 
 also in Chaucer. W. has waxyd. 
 
TERBS — ABLA UT. 47 
 
 151. Romstedt (p. 44, VI, i) attributes the -ew- in dreu'e 
 and slewe to the analogy of the reduplicating verbs. Wiclif 
 has both "slooj" and "sleu." " Sleu " occurs in the 
 Romance of Sir Triamor (1430, according to Stratmann, 
 
 SUMMARY OF CHANGES IX THE ABLAUT 
 SERIES. 
 
 152. The preterit plural is entirely assimilated to the 
 preterit singular. The process of assimilation, already far 
 advanced in Chaucer, was hastened by the rapid loss of the 
 plural sign. The sporadic cases in which the old distinc- 
 tion seems to be maintained are misleading. Thus the 
 preterit plural spoken (700.26) is due to mere confusion with 
 the participle. Chaucer has " speken." Sware appears 
 always to be singular, and swore always plural ; but sware 
 is a new preterit, formed after the analogy of Class IV. 
 Chaucer has " swoor," pi. " swooren." The preterit holpe 
 occurs only in the plural, the singular being always halp (or 
 he/pe). 'Ent /wipe occurs only once: these other knyghtes — 
 holpe for to synge masse, 856.20. Until some one discovers 
 a singular holpe or a plural halp, this may stand as a solitarj' 
 survival.' 
 
 153. Besides the verbs which since Chaucer's time have 
 gone over entirely to the weak conjugation {crepe, lepe, lete, 
 sheete, slepe, weepe), the following show double forms in the 
 preterit : deue {clafe, clefte), breste {brast, brest), growe {grewe, 
 growed), hewe (Jiewe, hewed), laughe {lough, laughed), synke 
 {sanke, synked), yelde {yolde, yelded). Ryue has ptc. rytien 
 and ryued. 
 
 1 Caxton's Rubric seems also to have a single case : trystram o- 
 Isoude dronken the loue drynke, IS-SS- 
 
48 VERBS —ABLA UT. 
 
 154. Fare {fared, fareri), waxe (waxed, waxen), and 
 wreke (wrekyd, wroken) show a weak preterit and a strong 
 participle. 
 
 155. The confusion between the strong sytte and the 
 weak sette appears already: euery knyi,t sette in his own place, 
 620.2 ; the knyght sat syr Beaumayns afore the damoisel, 220.2. 
 
 156. The counter-movement from weak to strong appears 
 in the preterit ware and the participle aryuen {-j 00.22), 
 a rare variant for aryued (O. F. arriver).^ 
 
 157. The confusion between preterit singular and pret- 
 erit plural accounts for the double forms bond (bounde), 
 fond {foicnde), woke {wake), wesshe (wasshe). 
 
 158. Final -e seems to be used with some consistency in 
 the preterit after a single consonant to mark a preceding 
 vowel as long. Thus in Class I, Chaucer's drqqf, Tqqs, 
 shqqn, etc., appear as drofe, rose, shone, etc. In Class VI, 
 Chaucer's forsook, shook, shoop, etc., appear as forsoke, 
 shake, shape, etc. But such forms as droofe (I) and stoode 
 (VI) on the one hand, and wok (VI) on the other, show 
 license and confusion in the application of -e. 
 
 (a) In Class IV, Chaucer's preterits bar, brak, cam, spak, 
 are short. Modern usage pronounces them long, and the 
 Morte d' Arthur has bare, brake, came, spake. These forms 
 may indicate a transition of pronunciation, the rare forms 
 brack and spack preserving the older sound. But here again 
 the license suggested by the parallel forms brak and brake, 
 cam and came, spak and spake, prevents any absolute con- 
 clu^on. The form gate, moreover, in Class V, seems to 
 make against the hypothesis. 
 
 1 Quoke, cited by Romstedt (Reynard, 47.2, 56.20), shows that the 
 strong preterit given to the weak verb " cwakien " in Chaucer's time, 
 endured for a while. Chaucer has : 
 
 "For ire he quook, no lenger wolde he byde." — C. T., 1576. 
 
VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 49 
 
 159. Doubling of a consonant after a short vowel appears 
 in the preterits beganne, ranne, swalle, swamme, wanne in 
 Class III, gatte, satte in Class V. 
 
 160. Syncopated participles in -ne appear in borne (IV), 
 sene (Chaucer, seene, adj.), leyne (Y),farne, sworne (VI). 
 
 161. Alphabetical List of Strong Verbs in the 
 
 MoRTE D 'Arthur. 
 
 I. 
 
 abyde 
 
 abode 
 
 abyden 
 
 VI. 
 
 (bake) 
 
 
 bake(n) 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 begynne. 
 
 began, beganne 
 
 begonne 
 
 IV. 
 
 bere 
 
 bare, bere 
 
 boren, born{e) 
 
 R. 
 
 bete 
 
 bete 
 
 bete(ti) 
 
 R. 
 
 blowe 
 
 blewe 
 
 blowen 
 
 IV. 
 
 breke 
 
 brak{e) 
 
 broke{n) 
 
 HI, 3- 
 
 breste 
 
 brasfe, brest(e) 
 
 
 V, b. 
 
 bydde 
 
 bad 
 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 bynde 
 
 bond{e), bound(e) 
 
 bondeiji), boun 
 
 I. 
 
 byte 
 
 boot, bote 
 
 
 II. 
 
 chese 
 
 chose 
 
 chosen 
 
 II. 
 
 cleue 
 
 claf(e), {clefte-\ 
 
 clouen 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 clymbe 
 
 damme 
 
 
 IV. 
 
 come 
 
 cam{e), come 
 
 comein) 
 
 VI. 
 
 drawe 
 
 drewe 
 
 dra-we(n) 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 drynke 
 
 drank(e) 
 
 dronken 
 
 I. 
 
 dryiie 
 
 drofe, droofie) 
 
 
 V. 
 
 ete 
 
 ete 
 
 ete(n) 
 
 R. 
 
 falle 
 
 felk, fylle, fyl 
 
 fallein) 
 
 VI. 
 
 fare 
 
 lfared'\ 
 
 faren 
 
 VI. 
 
 
 
 flayne 
 
 II. 
 
 iflye) 
 
 Jlewe 
 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 flynge 
 
 Jiang 
 
 
50 
 
 VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 VI. 
 
 forsake 
 
 forsake 
 
 forsaken 
 
 Ill, 3- 
 
 fyghte 
 
 faught{e) 
 
 foughten 
 
 III, I. 
 
 fynd(e) 
 
 fond{e), foundie) 
 
 ^ fonde(n), fond, 
 \ foundeiti) 
 
 V. 
 
 gete 
 
 gat{e), gaite 
 
 geten, yeten, goten 
 
 VI. 
 
 {graue) 
 
 
 grauen 
 
 R. 
 
 growe 
 
 grewe \_growed'\ 
 
 groiven 
 
 Ill, 1. 
 
 {grynde) 
 
 
 groundyn 
 
 R. 
 
 hange 
 
 henge 
 
 [hanged^ 
 
 Ill, 2. 
 
 helpe 
 
 halpie), holpe, helpe 
 
 holpen 
 
 VI. 
 
 heue 
 
 heue 
 
 
 R. 
 
 hewe 
 
 hewe, l^hewedl 
 
 hewen 
 
 R. 
 
 hoM{e) 
 
 held{e) 
 
 haldeQi) 
 
 R. 
 
 (be)hote 
 
 \Jiyghte'\ 
 
 
 in, 3- 
 
 kenie 
 
 carfe, \_kerued'\ 
 
 
 R. 
 
 knowe 
 
 knewe 
 
 knowe(n) 
 
 VI. 
 
 
 
 lade 
 
 VI. 
 
 laugh{e) 
 
 lough, [laughed ~\ 
 
 
 V,b. 
 
 lye, lygge 
 
 lay(e) 
 
 leyne, laync, lyen 
 
 R. 
 
 (mowe) 
 
 
 mowen 
 
 IV. 
 
 
 
 {be) name 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 renne 
 
 ran, ranne 
 
 ranne 
 
 I. 
 
 ryde 
 
 rod(e) 
 
 ryden 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 rynge 
 
 range 
 
 
 I. 
 
 ryue 
 
 rofe, roofie), rafe 
 
 ryuen, \_ryued~\ 
 
 I. 
 
 (a)ryse 
 
 (a)roos, (a)rose 
 
 (a)rysen 
 
 V, a. 
 
 see 
 
 saiv(e) 
 
 sene 
 
 II. 
 
 (seethe) 
 
 
 soden 
 
 VI. 
 
 shake 
 
 shake 
 
 
 VI. 
 
 shape 
 
 shope 
 
 shapen 
 
 II. 
 
 shoue 
 
 sheef shoue 
 
 shouen 
 
 I. 
 
 shryue 
 
 \jhryued~\ 
 
 shryuen 
 
 I. 
 
 shyne 
 
 shone 
 
 
VERBS — ABLA UT. 
 
 51 
 
 VI. 
 
 she 
 
 sloughy slace 
 
 slayn{e) 
 
 I. 
 
 
 slode 
 
 
 I. 
 
 smyte 
 
 smote 
 
 stnyte(ti) 
 
 IV. 
 
 speke 
 
 spak(c), spack 
 
 spoken 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 
 
 spronge 
 
 VI. 
 
 \ standie) \ 
 \stond(e) S 
 
 stood, stode 
 
 stand{e), stonde 
 
 IV. 
 
 stele 
 
 stale 
 
 stolen 
 
 I. 
 
 (be)stry(ie 
 
 (be)strade 
 
 
 I. 
 
 stryke 
 
 stroke, stroke 
 
 strykai 
 
 I. 
 
 (stryue) 
 
 stroof 
 
 
 V. 
 
 siycke 
 
 stake, stack 
 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 stynge 
 
 stonge 
 
 stongen 
 
 Ill, 2. 
 
 
 swalle 
 
 
 VI. 
 
 Scare 
 
 sware, s'cvore 
 
 sworn(e) 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 sioymme 
 
 swamme 
 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 (s'ccynge) 
 
 S7C'ange 
 
 
 Ill, 1. 
 
 synge 
 
 saiige 
 
 songe 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 synke 
 
 sanke, \synked'\ 
 
 
 V, b. 
 
 sytte 
 
 sat{e), satte 
 
 sytten 
 
 VI. 
 
 take 
 
 took{e), take 
 
 taken 
 
 IV. 
 
 
 tare 
 
 
 R. 
 
 throwe 
 
 thrnoe 
 
 throwai 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 (thrynge) 
 
 thrangie) 
 
 
 I. 
 
 (thryue) 
 
 throfe 
 
 
 V. 
 
 
 trade 
 
 
 VI. 
 
 {a)wake 
 
 wok(e), 7vake 
 
 
 VI. 
 
 wasshe 
 
 ( wesshe, wasshe, ) 
 (. [uiasshed'] ) 
 
 wasshen 
 
 VI. 
 
 (waxe) 
 
 \_waxed'\, [waxte'] 
 
 7vaxe?i 
 
 IV. 
 
 were 
 
 7iiare 
 
 
 V. 
 
 (u'reke) 
 
 \wrekyd'\ 
 
 wroke(!i) 
 
 Ill, 3- 
 
 (wreste) 
 
 wrast 
 
 
 III, I. 
 
 wrynge 
 
 wrong, wrange 
 
 
52 
 
 
 VERBS— WEAK. 
 
 I. 
 
 wryte 
 
 wrote 
 
 I. 
 
 wrythe 
 
 wrothe 
 
 Ill, I. 
 
 Wynne 
 
 wan, wanne 
 
 Ill, 2. 
 
 yelde 
 
 \ yolde, yelde, 
 \ lyelded^ 
 
 V. 
 
 yeue 
 
 yaf, gafie) 
 
 wryten 
 
 wonnein) 
 yolden, yelden, 
 
 \_y elded '[ 
 gyuen, geuen 
 
 THE WEAK VERB. 
 
 The classification is that of Sievers; but Sievers's Class III (415) is 
 merged into Class I, as in Ten Brink (162 b). 
 
 Class I. 
 
 162. Preterits in -de, -te often drop the -e, and participles 
 in -d, -t often assume an -e. 
 
 (a) The full ending -ede has all but disappeared : de- 
 partede, 716.5. 
 
 163. Double forms in the preterit persist for the verbs 
 drede {dred(de'), drad(de)), lede (Jedde, ladde), dwelle {dwelled, 
 dwelt(e)). 
 
 164. The Chaucerian participles bleynt (blenche), 
 spreynd (sprenge), etc., have disappeared. Drenche makes 
 drenched; but sprenge makes sprent. 
 
 165. The preterits from weak verbs without umlaut of 
 the root-vowel persist, in the main, without variation : 
 thougkte, broughte, wroughte, soughte, raughte {roughti), etc. 
 But stretche makes pret. stratched, and teld occurs once, 
 S7S-I8. 
 
 166. The pret. send(e), 35.6, 172.26 (beside sente), and 
 the pret. and ptc. gyrd, 76.17, 19, 637.27, 694.8 (beside 
 gyrte), persist from O. E. {Sievers, 405.4). 
 
VEUBS— ir£AA: 53 
 
 Class II. 
 
 167. The only important variation from the Chaucerian 
 paradigms is the disappearance of the full ending -vJe 
 (§ 162 a). 
 
 (a) Make has only made {waai/i^e}) for pret. and ptc. 
 The pret. prighte has given way to the regular prycked. 
 Bereue makes pret. berafte, ptc. beraffc and bereued, as in 
 Chaucer. 
 
 168. An apparent syncope of the stem in the ptc. 
 crystned, fastned, etc., may be due to the original form of 
 the infinitive (see Stratmanii, s. ■z'7\). 
 
 Verbs Derived from Other Germanic Languages. 
 
 169. Sterte makes pret. sterte and starte (Chaucer also 
 asterted); shryche, shryched and shryked (Chaucer also 
 shrighte) dye (deye), dyed and ded ; reyse, reysed, as in 
 Chaucer. 
 
 170. Vret.fetfc and -ptc. fetite) (so Chaucer) are regularly 
 formed from E. E. fette(n), O. E. fetian. But the only 
 present in use \s fetche (E. E. fecche(n), pret. feighte ; O. E. 
 feccan). The persistence of these forms may be due to 
 O. N. feta. 
 
 171. The double preterit forms threste (threstyd) and _ 
 thryst correspond respectively to E. E. thraste (thraesten, 
 O. E. frgstan) and E. E. thriiste (thrusten, O. N. frysta). 
 
 172. Pret. and ptc. pyglite (so Chaucer) are from E. E. 
 picche(n), M. Du. picken, O. N. pikka. The form is 
 probably due to analogy. 
 
 Verbs Derived from the French. 
 
 173. As in Chaucer, these verbs make regularly pret. 
 -ed{e) (see § 167), ptc. -ed. 
 
54 VERBS— INFLECTION. 
 
 174. Barytone verbs in -er from F. verbs in -rer and -rir 
 syncopate the e of the preterit and participle : 
 
 couer (F. couvrir) couerd couerd 
 
 delyuer (F. d^livrer) delyuerd delyuerd 
 
 (a) The preterits entred, offred, suffred, etc., are from the 
 presents entre, offre, suffre (cf. § i68). But verbs in -er, 
 both French and EngUsh, show variations which seem 
 merely graphical. Thus gadre makes ptc. gadered and 
 gadred; couer makes ptc. couerd; but discouer makes dis- 
 coueryd; suffre (spelled also suffer') makes pret. suffred, ptc. 
 sufferd, etc. 
 
 175. The preterits caught, quyte, hurte (so Chaucer), and 
 also coste and waUopt(e), are formed by analogy. 
 
 176. The participles distracte, attaynte, discomfyte, accept, 
 mark the tendency to curtail Romance participles from 
 verbs in -t, which went so far in Elizabethan English. 
 
 INFLECTION OF THE PRESENT. 
 
 177. sing. I, -e (sometimes dropped). 
 
 2, -est^ -yst.^ 
 
 3, -etk, -yth,^ -es ^ {-ys), -ed.'^ 
 plur. -en,'' -e (sometimes dropped). 
 
 ^ Romstedt . prints -esie, but cites no instances. 
 
 2 The variants -yst and -yth are rare. In Boolcs VI and VII -yst 
 occurs only three times, -yth only twice. W. has three cases of -yst, six 
 of -yth. A variant -ys occurs at 201.3. 
 
 2 Third sing. -^j is very rare : bytokenes,?:i,-].2y, werches, ?>^?,.i. The 
 only case of -ys is repentys, 836.38. 
 
 * Third sing, -ed: caused, 606.31 ; longed, 615.1, 642.5 ; pleasyd, 751.32; 
 vsed, 771.1s; profered, 652.29. Romstedt cites Reynard, 8.38; 83.21. 
 
 5 Plural -en: 632, 24.25, 636.11, 643.22, 669.8, 771.4.10, 794-24, 797-3- 
 Romstedt (p. 46) thinks that -e seems to be preferred after pronouns, 
 
VERBS— INFLECTION. 55 
 
 Subjunctive, -e (sometimes dropped) for all persons and 
 both numbers. 
 
 Infinitive, -e (sometimes dropped). 
 Imperative, -e, -eth. 
 Participle, -yng(e). 
 
 178. Chaucer's contract forms for the third person (" rit," 
 "fint,"' for "rideth," "findeth," etc.) have disappeared. 
 
 179. The plural -th seems to survive in the following: 
 wil ye a I that loueth me spekewith Merlyn, 47.12 ; ye knyghtes 
 arraunt the whiche goth to seke, etc., 629.9; I praye you gyue 
 to me al my ryghtes that longeth to a chrysten man, 858.20; 
 al lentyl mat and lentyl wymmen that redeth this book, 861.4. 
 It will be observed that all these instances are in relative 
 clauses.^ For men saith, see § 73. 
 
 180. The plural says, 196.23, if it be not a misprint, 
 shows the northern -s plural that occurs sporadically in 
 Shakspere (Abbott, 333). 
 
 181. The infinitive -n appears only in the anomalous and 
 preterit-present verbs. ^ 
 
 182. The plural form of the imperative survives, but has 
 lost its plural f orce ; ^ syrs cometh hyder (plur.), 133.30; 
 holdeth me in your armes (sing.), 702.16; Madame — cometh 
 on, 572.14; syr foloweth me, 616.17. 
 
 -en after nouns. The ending is too rare in the Morte d' Arthur to 
 warrant any generalization. 
 
 Sayne, 187.30, shows a syncope analogous to that seen in certain ptc. 
 (see § 160). 
 
 1 Romstedt cites plural -eth from Reynard, 4.21, 44.2, 68.19. 
 
 2 Romstedt cites several instances from other verbs (p. 46). W. shows 
 a few cases: "And sparyd nott onto leyne,'' 231. 
 
 * Romstedt (p. 46) cites seven cases of the plural imperative from the 
 Book of Curtesye. In every case the subject is singular. 
 There are no cases in W. 
 
56 VERBS — INFLECTION. 
 
 183. Presents in -ye make a present participle in -eng(e) : 
 lyenge, 243.15; sayeng, 244.37.^ 
 
 184. The southern participial ending -end''' appears in 
 dryuend, 223.7. 
 
 185. The French participial ending -a7it appears only in 
 the adjectives arraunt and rccrcaiint. 
 
 INFLECTION OF THE PRETERIT. 
 A. Strong Verbs. 
 
 186. The second person takes regularly the personal 
 ending -«^ of the weak conjugation: slewest, 219.3; ^amyst, 
 220.32; sawest, 113. 31; stodest, (n)"] .i6\ gatiest, 842.14. 
 
 (a) The apparent survival of the regular form for the 
 second personal singular in a few cases such &sfond; 192.35, 
 proves to be merely the omission of the personal ending : 
 took, 111.15; slewe, 220.33, 816.36; cam, 93.1. In all these 
 cases the vowel is the same as that of the first and third 
 persons (cf. § 152). 
 
 187. The plural ends regularly in -e, -en surviving spo- 
 radically: withdrewen, 459.20; chosen, 663.20; token, 672.33. 
 
 188. For -en of the preterit participle -yn appears as 
 a rare variant: comyn, 35.9; holdyn, 44.22; betyn, 228.3; 
 groundyn, 807.18. The verb wryte makes a participle 
 wryton at 850.35 and 851.22.' 
 
 189. The -n of the participle is often dropped, as in 
 Chaucer (see Romstedt, p. 47). 
 
 ^ Romstedt, pp. 45, 46. This is doubtless a mere printer's device to 
 avoid forms like lyynge. 
 
 ^ Romstedt cites connynd from the Book of Curtesye. 
 ' Romstedt (p. 47) cites ptc. wreton (Reynard). 
 
VERBS — INFLECTION. 57 
 
 B. Weak Verbs. 
 
 190. It seems impossible to establish any rule for the 
 occurrence of the -yd {-nf) variant in preterit and participle; 
 but it may be worth noting that : 
 
 (a) it seems to be somewhat more common in French 
 verbs. 
 
 (b) it seems to occur most commonly in stems ending in 
 a liquid (/, «, r) : ; r/iv/, knelyd, callid, fewtryd, scateryd, feryd, 
 sporyd, angiyd, discoueryd, or a sibilant (s, f, sA, soft g') : 
 racyd, pleasyd, pressyd, dressid, lasshyd, rasshyd, auengyd. 
 
 (c) it occurs also after the dental /.• repentyd, 245.27, and 
 after k: wrekyd, 229.32. 
 
 (d) a collation of all the weak preterits in Books VI and 
 VII shows that between seven and eight per cent, end in 
 -yd {-id). This may be taken as a fair average. 
 
 191. The ending of the second person singular some- 
 times omits the -d-: gaynesf, 219.1; kyllest, 219.3; soupest, 
 219.13; lokest, 228.30. 
 
 192. The plural -en occurs a few times : metten (Caxton's 
 Preface), sayden, 40.25, 202.10. 
 
 193. The preterit subjunctive, in both strong and weak 
 verbs, has -e (often dropped) for all persons and both 
 numbers. 
 
 194. The prefix y- of the participle is rare : y fonde, 
 699.35; y hiirte, 744.18; y sought, 754-1; >' barred, 780.27; 
 y sette, 822.32. It is always printed separately. 
 
58 
 
 VERBS — ANOMAL O US. 
 
 CONTRACT FORMS. 
 
 195. The contract forms with ne survive here and there 
 in the case of anomalous verbs : nys, 39.28; nyst, 190.22; 
 nyll, 81.28 ; nylt, 641.17; nold, 705.31; but ne was, 703.10. 
 
 196. The contract forms of the infinitive with to are 
 rare: temprynte (Caxton's Preface, 1.34); texercyse (ibid. 
 4.1); tespye, 1 71.17; taccomplysshe, 177.9. 
 
 197. The contract forms with thou (Chaucer's shaltow, 
 etc.) have disappeared. 
 
 ANOMALOUS VERBS. 
 
 198. Present. 
 
 
 Preterit. 
 
 Infin. bee(n) be{n) ^ 
 
 
 
 Ind. am ai7i 
 
 was 
 
 was 
 
 art art{e) 
 
 were 
 
 were' 
 
 is is (nys) 
 
 was 
 
 was 
 
 bee(n), (am) be(n), ar{e) 
 
 were(n) 
 
 were * 
 
 Subj. be be 
 
 were 
 
 were^ 
 
 bee(n) been^ be 
 
 were(n) 
 
 were^ 
 
 Parte, being beyng 
 
 bee(n) 
 
 be{n), 
 
 1 The left-hand columns are the Chaucerian paradigms ; the right- 
 hand (in italics), the paradigms from the Morte d' Arthur. 
 
 2 W. bene. 
 
 8 Was occurs once for the 2 sing, and once for the plural ; thou was 
 the ?najij 300.15; ye was lykety, etc., 300.33. 
 * Romstedt, iveere {weren, wheren). 
 
 ^ Romstedt cites two instances of ware, one sing., the other plur. 
 " Ptc. byn is rare. 
 
VERBS — A NOMAL O US. 
 
 59 
 
 199. Presefit. 
 Infin. doo(n) doo, liotte^ 
 
 Ind. 
 
 doo 
 
 doost 
 
 dooth 
 
 doo 
 
 doest, dost'- 
 doth 
 
 
 don 
 
 doo, done^ 
 
 Subj. 
 
 doo 
 
 doo 
 
 
 doon 
 
 doo 
 
 Parte 
 
 doing 
 
 dayug 
 
 200. Present. 
 
 
 ( 
 
 loyl, wyllc, 
 
 Ind. 
 
 wil, wol -( 
 
 1 
 
 wol^ 
 
 
 wilt, wolt 
 
 wylt, wolt 
 
 
 wil, wol 
 
 uiyllc, wyl 
 
 i,w9ln-f^'^'^^(^)' 
 ( wvi 
 
 wiln, ,___ , 
 
 xllie) 
 
 wil, wqI liyl, woll^ 
 
 Preterit. 
 
 dide, etc. dyde, etc. 
 
 doon 
 
 done, doon, doo* 
 
 Preterit. 
 wold, etc. wold{e), etc. 
 
 1 Infin. done occurs once, 444.33, with doo in the next line : con- 
 syderyng the grete dedes of armes I haue sene you done shamefully atid 
 vnktiyghtely I haue requyred yaii to doo bataille. 
 
 ^ Romstedt, doost. 
 
 2 Plur. done, 509.5. 
 
 * Ptc. mysdao, 686.22. 
 
 5 wol is rare, 59.8. 
 
 ^ wall (2d person, plur.), 42.22. 
 
60 
 
 VERBS — PRE TERIT-PRESENT. 
 
 PRETERIT-PRESENT VERBS. 
 
 201. Present. 
 Infin. conne(n) conne'^ 
 
 Preterit. 
 
 Ind. can 
 
 can, can7ie 
 
 canst 
 
 canst ^ 
 
 can 
 
 can 
 
 conne(n), (can) 
 
 can, con " 
 
 202. Present. 
 
 !nd. dar 
 
 dare ^ 
 
 darst 
 
 ,larst{ef 
 
 dar 
 
 dar{e) 
 
 kouthe, I 
 koude ) 
 
 couthe, coud(ey 
 
 dorste 
 
 Preterit. 
 durst{e) 
 
 Preterit. 
 
 mighte 
 
 myghtie) 
 
 dor, (dar) darie) 
 
 203. Present. 
 Infin. mowc ' 
 
 Ind. may mayii) 
 
 might ( maystie), 
 (mayst) i maist ' 
 may may(e) 
 
 mowe(n), ) , ,« 
 
 mow, (may) ) 
 
 ' Infin. conne occurs twice, 176.34 (the passage shows plain reminis- 
 cences of the language of some older text), 820.22. 2 Romstedt, caiiste. 
 
 3 Plur. coil occurs at 269.22. Romstedt, conne, * W. cow'de. 
 
 5 Romstedt cites an infinitive dore (Reynard, 72.25). 
 
 •• A 2 sing, durst seems to occur at 192.31 : liere are aduenturcs nere 
 hand, and thou &.-ansX preue he?n. It may, however, be a preterit. 
 
 'Infin. mowe occurs at 122.26. Romstedt cites Reynard, 4.10; 
 Blanchardyn, 14.8. " maxste, 131. 14, is doubtless a misprint. 
 
 ' The subjunctive is maye. Romstedt cites three cases of subjunc- 
 tive mowe from Blanchardyn. 
 
I '£J?£S — J'A'E TER/T-PRESE.VT. 
 
 61 
 
 204. Fresent. 
 Ind. moot mote'^ 
 
 moost 
 moot 
 
 moste 
 
 moote(n), moot 
 Subj. moote mote'^ 
 
 205. Present. 
 Ind. shal shal, shall(e) 
 
 shalt 
 shal 
 
 shalt 
 
 shal, shallie) 
 
 shullen, shuln, ( shal, 
 shul, (shal) 1 shall{ey 
 
 206. Present. 
 Infin. wite(n) 7ccte 
 
 Ind. wqqt li'ote 
 
 \ ic'otest,* 
 
 WC^QSt < ' 
 
 (. wetest 
 
 sholde 
 
 iviste 
 
 wq^t 
 
 mote 
 
 Preterit, 
 mitste 
 
 Preterit, 
 shold^ 
 
 Preterit. 
 
 wis tie), wystie) 
 
 witen (wQQt) wete, wote 
 Subj. wite wete 
 
 Imper. wite wete, wyt{ef 
 
 ^ mote occurs twice : once in the indicative, 67.9 ; once in the sub- 
 junctive, 592.27. The preterit musle is used for all forms, preterit and 
 present. 
 
 2 Romstedt cites s/iul, simile, from Reynard. 
 
 ' Romstedt also shulde, shoiilde. 
 
 ■* Romstedt woost. wetest occurs at 379.14- 
 
 * Romstedt also wyite. 
 
62 VERBS— SYNTAX. 
 
 2fyi. Present. Preterit. 
 
 Ind. owe owe 
 
 owest owest 
 oweth oweth 
 
 oughte oughte 
 
 208. Anomalous and preterit-present verbs sometimes 
 omit the personal ending of the second person singular, 
 particularly when the pronoun thou follows the verb : what 
 wold thou do, 510.4; queue gueneuer shold thou neuer see, 
 207.5; worship may thou none lese by me yf thou mayst 
 stande me thre strokes, 283.4. Cf. also thou shall not chese, 
 198.2 1 ; thou oughte of ryght to hate her, 276.5. 
 
 (a) The omission appears twice in other verbs : thou 
 kepte, 262.37; '^hat cast thou for to do, 774.1.' 
 
 209. The tendency to uniformity appears in the dis- 
 carding of distinctively plural forms, such as conne, dor, 
 mowe, and shiille, and of syncopated forms such as woost. 
 
 THE SUBJUNCTIVE. 
 
 Subjunctive in Conditional Sentences. 
 
 210. The present subjunctive stands regularly in the 
 protasis of anticipatory and ideal ^ conditions : 
 
 (a) with and, and yf, etc. : moche harme he wille doo and 
 he lyue, 92.35; And yf that he trouble yow — I shalle be your 
 rescowe, 197.9; and thou do, thou shalt repente it, 224.26; and 
 he be suche a knyghte as ye make hym, he wylle not, etc., 
 228.34; I will with all my herte — ««</ zV please hym to take, 
 
 ^ W. Sawe Jjou owte (aught), 254. 
 
 2 The terminology for conditional sentences is taken from Gilder- 
 sleeve's Latin Grammar, where "ideal condition" is thus explained: 
 " The Ideal Conditional Sentence represents the matter as still in sus- 
 pense. The supposition is more or less faiiciful, and no real test is to 
 be applied." The other terms are self-explaining. 
 
THE SUBJUXCTIVE. 63 
 
 etc., 232,23; and there ryse warrc — there senile many kynges 
 hold with syr Laimcelot, 797.34; and thoii chauile me ony 
 more, I shal make stryke of thy heed, 840.4. 
 
 (b) with hut, but yf, etc. : ye shalle neuer haue the better 
 of your ene?nyes but yf your persone be there, 39.16; but yf 
 thou telle me, thou shalt neuer escape, 244.13; hors ne harneys 
 getest thou none — but yf thou wynne hem, 222.11. 
 
 (c) double conditions: tvhether it be soo or no, 202.26; 
 Zi'kether that /be gentylman borne or none, 230.1; Tyde me 
 deth betyde m.e lyf — he shall neuer escape, 847.1. 
 
 (d) The preterit subjunctive appears in indirect dis- 
 course : the book sayth — in no wyse he wold medle with the 
 quene and sir Launcelot were /;/ her company, ']']t,.6. 
 
 211. The place of the preterit subjunctive in anticipa- 
 tory and ideal conditions is taken by periphrases with might 
 and shold: [ maye not now but yf I shold be founde fals, 
 112.18; // ivere grete ioye vnto vs alle and hit myghte please 
 the kynge to make her his quene, 37.33; he myghte not take it 
 oute of her hande o?iles he sholde haue hurte her, 82.26. 
 
 212. Even the present subjunctive is sometimes dis- 
 placed by periphrases with may and shall : and yf it may 
 happe me to wynne hym, thenne itnlle kynge Arthur be my 
 good and gracious lord, 80.15.^ 
 
 213. The preterit subjunctive appears in both the pro- 
 tasis and the apodosis of unreal conditions : and he were 
 not my sone, I durst saye, etc., 124.10; yf ye were siiche 
 fyfty as ye be, ye were not able, etc., 167.15; and ye were 
 better than ye ar ye were locl bywaryd vpon hym, 246.17; yf 
 
 1 Periphrases mth will and wold also occur, but with the sense of 
 ■n-illingness proper to this auxiliary : that wylle I not onles that thow wilt 
 yeue me the bracket, 1 1 1 .30 ; and ye wold hold yow stille, I wille vnder- 
 take, etc., 581.21. 
 
64 VERBS— SYNTAX. 
 
 laicncelot were here thcnne were we wd at ease, 691.21; yf we 
 other wayes dyd, we were shamed for euer, 774.19. 
 
 (a) Unreal conditions with as (' as if ') : he ran awey as 
 he were wood, 199.6; as though he were a lordes sane, 214.21.^ 
 
 (b) Protasis implied : // were shame for me to see thre 
 kny-i^tes on otie, 200.15; ^^'■'^^ were tothe to doo, 200.35; to yelde 
 vs vnto hyjn it were no reson, 200.37 ; ^^ were as good for you 
 to hold you styll, 223.1; thou were better flee, 228.33. 
 
 214. But except in the case of the verbs be and haue the 
 subjunctive in the apodosis of unreal conditions is com- 
 monly supplanted by shold with the infinitive : that' ye shold 
 haue founde and we myghte haue stered from one stede, 138.13; 
 alle her knyghtes shold not lyghtely wynne 7ne, atid m.e lyste to 
 fyghte, 148.20. 
 
 Subjunctive in Indefinite Relative Clauses. 
 
 215. A present subjunctive, corresponding to the present 
 subjunctive of ideal condition, appears in indefinite relative 
 clauses : what auenture so befalle me I wille not wete my lady 
 to be in no ieopardy, 120.30; what knyghtes someucr they be 
 r care not, 221.4; T take no foi-ce, but whether as hym lyst 
 hym self (i. e., 'whichever of the two he pleases'), 230.15; 
 ivhat someuer he be, he is comen of a noble blood, 231.33; 
 where someuer thou mete my lord, 264.10; what someuer 
 come of me, 801.25.^ 
 
 216. The place of the preterit subjunctive in such 
 clauses is supplied by shold with the infinitive : who shold 
 saye soo now he shold be a lyar, 618.19. 
 
 1 The following instance is doubtful : Alias it is shame — to see suche 
 u. ladde to matche suche a ktiyghte as the wede ouer grewe the come, 
 224.1; i. c, 'as if the weed should over-top,' though grewe may be 
 indicative and as simply modal. 
 
 2 W. Thowe wylt worke, yf Jpou hungyr welle, 
 
 What worke hat the he brought, 356. 
 
THE SUBJUNCTIVE. 65 
 
 217. Even the present subjunctive is sometimes sup- 
 planted by an auxiliary periphrasis, usually with shall, some- 
 times with may: ui/tat aduenture shalle falle to vie — / wilh- 
 take, 96.35; Gryflet — is — fill tlcsyrous in amies, and who 
 may see hym lyuc he shal prcitc a good knyghte, 123.36. 
 
 218. On the other hand, the general relative clause, in 
 which the reference is definite, takes the indicative : who so 
 bannyssheth jny eosyn g€r?nayn shall bannysshe me, 140.13; 
 who that trespaceth agiyiisf our ordrc dothe tiot iccl, 656.27. 
 
 Subjunctive in Temporal Clauses. 
 
 219. A present subjunctive, corresponding to the pres- 
 ent subjunctive in anticipatory and ideal conditions, stands 
 regularly in temporal clauses looking toward the future and 
 involving the idea of condition, doubt or contingency: 
 bynde thy woiindc or thy blee chaunge, 176.32; he must luste 
 or he passe, 96.18; we shalle neuer departe tyl the one of vs be 
 dede, 195.6; / shalle abyde tyl god send yow here ageyne, 
 206.5; neuer to reste tyl thou come to queue Gucncucr, 2 11. 6; 
 I truste to god to serue hym or he departe, 220.35; ye thre 
 shalle departe — tyl the aduenture brynge yow to the maymed 
 hynge, 706.19.^ 
 
 (a) The preterit subjunctive in parallel cases is rare: 
 syre Ector icold not awey til Gawayne were hole, 690.7. 
 
 (b) The indicative is very rare : / wylle go vnto my bedde 
 and neuer aryse vntyl I z.m. dede, 151. 19 (where Pelleas thinks 
 of his death as beyond contingency). 
 
 220. The preterit subjunctive sometimes appears in 
 temporal clauses dependent on unreal conditions or parallel 
 constructions : /" shold make sir Mellyagraunce herte ful cold 
 
 1 \V. Tyll myne husbond come and se, 18S; For )>ou schalt worke or 
 euer >ou goo, 344. 
 
66 VERBS — SYNTAX. 
 
 or euer I departed, 780.3; T had leuer than to be lord of al 
 crystendome that I had sure armour vpon me, that men myghte 
 speke of my dedes or ezier I were slayne, 801.37. 
 
 221. Temporal clauses referring to what is past and 
 actual/ take the indicative : he rode ey-i,t dayes or he met with 
 auenture, 94.22. . 
 
 Subjunctive in Final Clauses. 
 
 222. The present subjunctive occurs rarely in final 
 clauses after a present tense : It is now your parte to holde 
 with the queue that she be not slayne, 806.9. 
 
 (a) A corresponding preterit subjunctive occurs rarely 
 after a past tense : shold not he doo grete foly that wold lete 
 these two flowres perysshe for to socoure the rotten tre that hit 
 felle not, 674.28. 
 
 223. The preterit subjunctive also occurs in final clauses 
 after a present tense : hyhe (' hie ') the fast that thou were 
 gojie, 827.16; helpe me that I were on my hors, 746.7; helpe 
 me vp that I were there, 746.13.^ 
 
 224. But final clauses usually employ auxiliary peri- 
 phrases. 
 
 (a) with may and myghte: ayde me that I maye be 
 crystned, \i^.(i; I wylle that my moder be sentefor that /may 
 
 ' Kellner (Outlines, p. 241) fails to make this distinction in discussing 
 temporal clauses. Thus the indicative in the following instances cited by 
 him is the regular. English construction where & past fact is referred to 
 without any idea of contingency : " Bifore ^at jho ■m\>\> childe wass.'' 
 Orm, 6484. " Seynt Poul him self was there a phisicien before he was 
 converted." Maundeville, p. 123. These instances are not parallel 
 with the next citation : " Pause, ere thou rejectest." Byron, Manfred, 
 II, 1, which looks to the future, and indicates the decay of the sub- 
 junctive. 
 
 2 W. Nowe helpe Ms lyne were dyght, 465. For the subjunctive in 
 complementary final clauses see § 232. 
 
THE SUBJUNCTIVE. 67 
 
 speke with her, 67.18; // is best ye suffre tyll another tyme 
 that 7i>e may haue hym out of the courte, 104.12; made hem 
 dene of her lyf that her prayer myghte be the more acceptable, 
 40.15; I dyd so that /myghte haue a syghfe of her, 149.7.^ 
 
 (b) more commonly with shold : I suppose we were sente 
 for that I shold be dishonoured, 35.15; to thende that his 
 enemyes shold not escape, 172.35; for this cause he bare the 
 reed sleue that none \f {sic, i. e., of) his ^/w</ shold knowe hym, 
 751.22; putte vpon hit a gloue that it shold not be aspyed, 
 782.3.^ In the following, myghte and sholde occur side by 
 side : I did it to this entent that it sholde better thy courage, 
 and that ye myght see and k7towe her falshede, 95.29. 
 
 Subjunctive in Consecutive Clauses. 
 
 225. The present subjunctive appears very rarely in 
 consecutive clauses looking to the future: (Be) not soo 
 hardy — that thou slee hym, 224.15; (Be) not soo hardy — 
 but thou saue hym, 227.15; and therto make a pomel of 
 precyous stones that it be soo subtylly made that no man 
 perceyue it, 697.33. 
 
 226. Consecutive clauses regularly take the indicative : 
 he ransaked the thre woundes that they bled a lytyl, 794.37; 
 he shalle do you refnedy that your e herte shal be pleasyd, 36.13.^ 
 
 Subjunctive in Concessive Clauses. 
 
 227. The present subjunctive stands regularly in con- 
 cessive clauses: though that I be so pourely clothed — me 
 
 ^ For irregular tense-sequence in final clauses with may and myghte 
 see § 261, c. 
 
 ^ Wold occurs after lest : he dressid hym thens ward, teste folke wold 
 say he had slayne them, 96.1. 
 
 ^ The subjunctive in the following consecutive clause is conditional : 
 he rored and romed so kydously that it were merueill to here, 165.13. 
 .See § 213, b. 
 
68 VERBS— SYNTAX. 
 
 setneth I am fully assured, 77.27 ; parauenticr though he hate 
 yow he hath somme, etc., 140.35; be a ktiyif neuer so good — 
 they wille inake hym a stark coward, 143.19; though this 
 knyght be neuer soo fals I wyl neuer slee hym slepyiige, 151.4; 
 though theyr message please me not — yet T must rejuembre 
 7nyn honour, 16 1.6; I wille not flee, though thou be aferd of 
 hytn, 265.29; be he neuer so strong, here he may be preued, 
 577.16; though he seke me, he shalle not fynde me, 590.16.' 
 
 (a) The indicative is rare : tlioui, ye ar neuer so good a 
 kny-if as yc wote wel ye ar — yet s ho Id ye be aduysed, 783.15. 
 
 Subjunctive in Indirect Question. 
 
 228. The preterit subjunctive occurs sometimes in indi- 
 rect questions: asked Merlyn what counceill ■viexe. best, 39.27; 
 But in no wyse I wold that he wist what I were, but that 
 I were aiiother straunge lady, 245.16; wolde to god that T 
 wyste where were that tray tour, 846.25. 
 
 229. But the indicative is the regular construction : we 
 wote not who is he, 571.12; the kynge lete serche how moche 
 people — there was slayne, 123.7; ''"^ asked Mr — whos was 
 the child, 38.10; we thou-^t to preue whiche of vs bothe was 
 better knyif, 105.29. 
 
 Subjunctive in Substantive Clauses. 
 
 230. The subjunctive appears in clauses of apposition 
 used to make up a periphrasis that has the force of a condi- 
 tional particle : so be hit that thou be not he, 194.18 ; he shal 
 haue his lyf zpon this couenant that he goo, etc., 240.26; / 
 wil wel, with this (i. e., on this condition, that) he make her 
 atnendys, 240.28. 
 
 '^ W. Much hungyr yt schall be thyne 
 
 Though bou make much mone, 380. 
 
THE SUBJUXCTIVE. 69 
 
 231. The present subjunctive appears in explanatory 
 clauses of apposition expressing a contemplated action, 
 after " it is best " and similar phrases : // is best that we 
 brynge yoti to somme toume, S47.33; // is better ye doo 7wt, 
 69.21; // wylle be best ye hold yow styb/e, 803.19; it is more 
 yoiire -worship that ye rescowe the tjiic/ie, S06.26. 
 
 (a) The preterit subjunctive in parallel cases is rare, its 
 place being usurped commonly by shold with the infinitive 
 (§ 289) : // 'iLiere ivel done sayd the heremyte that ye made you 
 redy, 856.35; // ic'ere fyte ye lyued ony letiger, 684.5.^ 
 
 232. The subjunctive stands regularly in "complementary 
 final clauses "' - after expressions of wish, request, charge, 
 command, etc. 
 
 I. present subjunctive. 
 
 (a) after praye and byseche : I praye to god that he send 
 yoic hojiour and ^uorship, 145.19; pray hytn that he be of 
 good herte, 234.16; praye ye to the hyghe fader that he hold 
 me i?i hissencyse, 709.31; I byseche the — that my symple 
 K'orshyp and honeste be sailed, 794.32. 
 
 (b) after uylle: I 7tyl that syre Constantyn be myn heyer, 
 164.26; / 7im7 that thou make the redy, 175.29; I wyl that 
 thou wete and knowe, 195.2 (' 1 wish you to understand '). 
 
 (c) after counceille, charge, cofmjiande : T counceille yo-w that 
 we departe, 35.16; this is my counceil that our kyng — sende, 
 etc., 47.34: / charge the — that thmv neiier destresse 710 
 kny-ifes, 134.20; charge hyjn that he be redy, 255.20; I com- 
 mande — that ye kepe _)w?i:' 7vithin, 40.28; I com?nande the that 
 thou forsake my companye, 854.20. 
 
 (d) after byddc, etc. : byd hym — tJiat he clayme \e crounc, 
 39.37; bad hem sytte styll that none of hem remeue, 104.19; 
 my lord — sendeth the word that thow araye the, 649.30. 
 
 1 AV. That I hadde somewhat for to ete — 
 
 Me thynketh yt were ryght, 235. 
 ^ The term is borrowed from Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar. 
 
70 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 (e) after loke, wayte; beware : loke ye al Barons be bifore 
 kynge Vther to morne, 39.29; loke that the thre knyghtes haue 
 al whyte sheldes, 190.34; wayte ye make not many questions, 
 37.9; awayte ye be redy, 188.12; beware ye be not defoyled, 
 77.1.1 
 
 2. preterit subjunctive, after ze/f?/^.- I wold he r&c&yuedi it, 
 199.30 (' I should like to have him receive it ') ; she wold not 
 //were knowen, 136.26 ('she did not wish it to be known'); 
 I wold haue ye -KtrQ hens, 229.13 ('I should like to get you 
 away from here'); / wold fayne ye sawe her, 241.31; what 
 woldest thow that /dyd, 647.15 ; I wold that ye lefte alle this, 
 797.30. 
 
 (a) Except after wold, the preterit subjunctive in this 
 construction is almost entirely supplanted by shold with the 
 infinitive (§ 291, b). In the following the two stand side 
 by side : the kyng charged that he shold gyue hym — of the 
 best, and also that he hadde al maner of fyndynge, 214.19. 
 
 233. The preterit subjunctive is used in object clauses 
 after wold, to express an extravagant or unattainable wish. 
 The construction is parallel with that of unreal conditions 
 (§ 213) : Ihesu wold that the lady of the castel perillous were 
 so fayre, 246.5; god wold — that they were all thre here, 
 7IS-IS- 
 
 234. The present subjunctive is used to express doubt 
 or uncertainty in object clauses after verbs of thinking, sup- 
 posing, etc. : I trowe it he not ye that hath slayne my husband, 
 205.17; they wene that he be some man of worship, 221.36.- 
 
 1 For the infinitive with will, less commonly with shall, in parallel 
 cases see §§ 291 c, 303. Cf. also Abbott, 311, p. 220, and 369, p. 269. 
 
 2 W. I trowe ))at he be schent, 258. Walker cites from Sidney's 
 Arcadia : " And I think there she ilo dwell " {Abbot/, foot-note to p. 267). 
 
 The preterit subjunctive in parallel cases is very rare, and may be due 
 to the attraction of a preceding subjunctive: and I vnderstode that she 
 were not glad of my comynge, etc., 237.18 (cf. Abbott, § 368, p. 267). 
 
THE IXFIXITIVE. 71 
 
 Imperative Subjunctive. 
 
 235. The first person plural of the imperative is supplied 
 by a hortatory subjunctive, which appears side by side with 
 the periphrasis "let us," etc.: Now leue we of these knyghtes, 
 and lete vs speke of the grete amy, 257.11; ryde we hens, 
 95.11; matche 7i.<e to gydcrs, 106.19.-' 
 
 236. The third person of the imperative is expressed by 
 the subjunctive: av worth this swerd, 132.31; he that alle 
 the world wcldcth gvue the short lyf and shameful dethe, 168.1 ; 
 blame haue she, 34S.29; tio'w forgyue it the god, 667.35; neiier 
 none be soo hardy, 694.9; he haue shatyie that wylle lezie yow, 
 82S.3S; Y2l\\& of hit 'what falle may, 797.32.^ 
 
 THE INFINITIVE. 
 Infinitive with and without to. 
 
 237. The simple infinitive (without to') persists after the 
 auxiliaries, and after certain other verbs, of which the most 
 common are bydde, here, lete,^ see.* But the use of to with 
 
 1 AV. Pray we to Ihesu full of myght, 650. The construction is com- 
 mon in Shakspere: " do we so," Merck. Ven. II, 8.53. 
 " But go we in, I pray thee, Jessica, 
 And ceremoniously let us prepare,'" ibid. V, 1. i,(^. 
 
 ^ W. .goigeue the care, 463. For Shakspere's use of this construc- 
 tion see Abbott, 364. 
 
 Similar is the familiar optative subjunctive in asseverations : W. So 
 god me saue, 37 ; so haue I hele, 140; so god me spede, 210. 
 
 ' And in one case suffre : suffred — Segwarydes ryde after me, 300.19. 
 Kellner (p. Ixiv, § 26) cites one instance after suffre and one after ayde. 
 
 * In one case even after the passive participle : TAere were neuer 
 knyghtes sene fyghte more fyersly, 307.1. 
 
 The simple infinitive seems to be common after verbs of advising, 
 but the cases are doubtful : / rede you not folowe, 244.5 ; we aduyse you 
 ryde not (where ryde may be a subjunctive, or an imperative), 244.7 ; ^ 
 counceylle the flee, 222.34. 
 
 The following may be due to a printer's omission : hit happed hym 
 to leye hym doune slepe, 338.28. 
 
72 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 the infinitive has increased largely since Chaucer's time. 
 Not only is it found regularly after verbs which in Chaucer's 
 time were invariably followed by the simple infinitive, but in 
 the majority of cases there is an evident wavering between 
 the older habit and the new.^ Thus hegynne takes in almost 
 every case the infinitive with to, but in one case the simple 
 infinitive appears : the tzvo kynges sawe hem begyn waxe 
 wi-othe, 50.21. On the other hand, even by tide, haite, make, 
 see, verbs which in mod. E. are followed by the simple 
 infinitive, sometimes take the infinitive with to: ye shal 
 bydde Laitncelot du lake to make me knyi-t, 216.26; sought — • 
 for to haue hir to come oute, 840.14; yet had T letter to dye, 
 1 87.11; and yf ye can make hym to abyde /i«r^, 246.16; to 
 see siiche a ladde to matche suche a knyghte, 223.35. 
 
 Ought is followed by either construction : wel oughte oure 
 lord be sygnefyed to an herte, 703.19; // ought not to be done 
 away, 694.9. 
 
 Infinitive with for to. 
 
 238. The infinitive with/yr /(? is used properly to express 
 purpose: I arose — for to helpe an old felawe, 201.14.} But 
 in the Morte d' Arthur it has a much wider scope : 
 
 (a) subject: me ought for to doo, 201. i(j. 
 
 (b) object: they beganne for to stryue, 18 6. 11.' 
 
 ' For the persistence of this wavering in Shalcspere, see Abbott, 349. 
 W. has : 
 
 (a) the infinitive after "gan" five times with to, ten times without. 
 
 (b) the infinitive without to after " wyst " : I wyst my lord neuer do 
 ryght noght, 598 (mod. E. 'I never knew him do anything'). 
 
 (c) the infinitive with to, and even Vii'Ca.for to, after "bade ": 
 
 And bade hem fast for to -wyndc. 
 
 Or ellys to lett be hys dede, 509. 
 2 W. Ther sche toke hym a bonde 
 
 For to occupy hys lionde, 226. 
 " \V. Lerne for to swete, 225. 
 
THE IXFIA'/TIVi:. 73 
 
 l^c) apposition: that is for to snyi\ 212.22. 
 
 (d') complementary, with adjectives : abei for to haue 
 matched uiiih vs, 87.14.^ 
 
 In short, the infinitive with for to is used commonly with- 
 out ditTerentiation from the infinitive with to. Sometimes 
 the two occur side b)'' side in the same construction : ye shal 
 promysc 7>ie — for to go with iiw and to helpe me, 193.7 ; it 
 were fairer to take hotnage — than for to slee hyin, 240.16. 
 
 Infinitive with Resumptive to. 
 
 239. Wherever an auxiliary is used with two infinitives, 
 the latter infinitive, if it is separated from the former by 
 intervening words, takes to. In such cases to seems to be 
 regarded as a resumptive, to make the construction plain : 
 that lordes and ladyes myghte beholde and to gyue the pryse, 
 1 9 1. 8; we wyl befelawes to gyders and neuer to fayle, 194.2 1 ; 
 god wold that ye shold put hym from ?ne, oiither to slee hym, 
 221.28; I shal he true to you and neuer te (misprint for to^ 
 bitraye _jw/, 242.21; I — wille rescowe her or els to dye, 
 237.23; a leche fonde that he viyght lyue, and to be hole 
 within a moneth, 690.5 ; that ye tnay drawe oute the sowles of 
 erthely payne, and to putte them ijito the loyes of paradys, 
 716.29; she had leuer slee liyr self than to be maryed, 840.16.^ 
 
 ^ W. wyllyng — a wyfe for to wedde, 25. 
 
 '^ This explains the Shaksperian habit noted by Abbott, § 350. 
 " Make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres, 
 
 Thy knotted and combined locks to part," Hamlet, I, 5. 18. 
 " Who would be so mocked with glory, or to live 
 But in a dream of friendship," Timon, IV, 2.33. 
 \V. Thys wrjght would wedde no wyfe, 
 Butt yn yougeth to lede hys lyfe, 19. 
 That no man schuld beseke her of grace, 
 Xor her to begyle, loi. 
 
74 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 Infinitive as Subject. 
 
 240. The infinitive standing as logical subject with im- 
 personal verbs is a familiar construction from the O. E. 
 period down : the behoueth now to chese one of vs fou7; 187.5 ! 
 hym happend ageynst a nyghte to come to a fayr courtelage, 
 200.2. 
 
 (a) Similar is the appositive construction with it as gram- 
 matical subject: it wej-e shame for jne to see thre kny-ifes on 
 one, 200.15; to yelde vs vnto hym it were no resoji, 200.37; 
 it wyll be hard to matche hym, 204.10. 
 
 241. But in the Morte d'Arthicr an appositive infinitive 
 may stand side by side with a noun clause in the same 
 grammatical construction : this is my cou7iceill — that we lete 
 puruey X kny^tes — 6^ they to kepe this swerd, 40.36 (i. e., 
 and that they keep); / wylle that ye gyue vnto your broder 
 alle the hole 7na7toir — vnder thys forme, that sir Ontzelake 
 hold the manoir of yow, and yerely to gyue yow a palfrey, 
 134.16 (i. e., and that he give you yearly). 
 
 (a) A similar construction appears sometimes in alterna- 
 tive sentences : it is better that we slee a coward than thorow 
 a coward alle we to be slay lie, 60.8. 
 
 242. Finally the appositive infinitive with subject ex- 
 pressed may stand alone as the full equivalent of a noun 
 clause: it is gods wyll youre body to be punysshed, 67.10; 
 it is the customme of my Cou?ttrey a knyghte alweyes to kepe 
 his wepen with hym, 92.23; / calk hit foly knyghtes to 
 abyde whan they be ouermatched, 172.12; dyd as nobly as was 
 fossyble a man to doo, 173.18; it were hard o?iy tonge to 
 telle, 859.38; it semeth not ('is not likely') yow to spede 
 there as other haue failled, 77.34. Cf. Abbott, 354. 
 
 243. It appears at first sight as if the nouns in these 
 infinitive phrases were datives, and hence as if this were 
 
THE IXFIiVIT/VE. 75 
 
 a familiar modern construction, except for the absence of 
 the preposition (e. g., ' as nobly as was possible for a man 
 to do '). But the following instances show that the accom- 
 panying case is nominative : That were shame — thou an 
 armed knyghte to slee a naked man, 209.7; thou to loue (her) 
 t/iat loueth not the is but grctc foly, 237.17; hit zvas netier the 
 custome in no place of worship that etier I came in whan a 
 knyghte and a lady asked herborugh {and ') they to receyue 
 hem and after to destroye them, 310.23. 
 
 244. That an older dative,'^ however, lies at the root 
 of this construction is suggested by the fact that the con- 
 struction is found almost invariably after impersonal verbs 
 and verb-phrases. It may be conjectured, then : 
 
 (a) that the origin of this construction is the familiar 
 construction of impersonal verbs with the dative, where the 
 infinitive stands as logical subject (§ 80, d). 
 
 (b) that the anomalous form it took is due to the con- 
 fusion resulting from the decay of the dative. 
 
 (c) that its extension to such sentences as those cited 
 under §§ 241 and 241, a, is due to the analogy of the infini- 
 tive with resumptive to^ (§ 239). 
 
 Infinitive as Object. 
 
 245. The objective infinitive has, in general, much the 
 same extent as in modern English. Thus it appears after 
 verbs expressing hope, fear, intention, promise, and occa- 
 sionally after other verbs of incomplete predication ; after 
 expressions of preference ; and after several verbs taking 
 
 ^ Instances like the following may be mere anacolutha, or they may 
 indicate an extension of the infinitive with resumptive to: the reed 
 knyghte with thre score knyghtes — dyde to syr Gareth homage and feaute 
 and alia tho knyghtes to hold of hym for euermore, 270.29. 
 
 ' Not an accusative, as Kellner (p. Ixx) seems to imply. 
 
76 VERBS — SYNTAX. 
 
 two objects, particularly aske, praye and teche. Modern 
 English limits the construction to certain particular verbs. 
 In the Morte d'' Arthur there is more freedom : / suppose 
 to passe the mountayns, 163.13.^ 
 
 (a) The infinitive with had leiier is objective. Thus in 
 yet had I leuer to dye, 187.12, the fundamental meaning 
 seems to be 'I should hold (had, preterit subjunctive; see 
 § 213, b) it preferable to die.'^ 
 
 246. After verbs of hindering the thing hindered may 
 be expressed by the infinitive : to lette his owne fader to 
 lande, 841.10; l niaye not warne peple to speke of me what 
 it pleaseth hem, 198.2 (i. e., prevent people from speaking).' 
 
 247. The infinitive with an accompanying noun may 
 stand as the full equivalent of an object clause (see § 242): 
 Alas — that euer I shold lyue to here that moost noble kyng 
 that maad me knyght thus to be ouersette, 852.14; he sente 
 you word that he trusteth — to be of as grete noblesse as euer 
 were ye bothe and mo men to speke of his noblesse than euer 
 they did yow, 590.33 (i. e., that he will be — and — that 
 more men will speak).* 
 
 ' When he in to J)e seller felle, 
 He wente to haue sonke (weened he had sunk) in to helle, 451. 
 
 2 Cf. Fitz-Edward Hall in Amer. Jour. Phil., 11, 281. 
 
 3 " If nothing lets to make us happy both. Twelfth Night, V, i, 256 ; 
 " Metaphors far-fet hinder to be understood," Ben Jonson, Discoveries, 
 757 {Abbott, 355). 
 
 * " Be then desir'd — 
 
 A little to disquantity your train, 
 And the remainder that shall still depend 
 To be such men that shall besort your age." 
 
 — Lear, I, 4, 272. 
 " I have deserved 
 All tongues to talk their bitterest." 
 
 — W. T., in, 2, 217 {Abbott, 354). 
 
THE IXFIKITIVE. Tl 
 
 Gerundive Infinitive. 
 
 248. Abbott (356, p. 257) gives the name "gerundive" 
 to many infinitives standing in constructions where they 
 have been supplanted in modern English by the verbal 
 noun : 7ohat daunger I had to brynge (i. e., in bringing) 
 agcyne Queue Isoitif, 372.22; aferd to be dede, 693.16; wayke 
 and feble to goo, 85 7. 2; ve are gretely to blame for to dis- 
 please kyng Arthur, 80.12 ; And as for to say for to take my 
 plesaunce with peramours, that wylle T refuse, 198.6; aboute 
 to doo, 136.19. For other instances see the foregoing 
 sections, and Kcllner, p. Ixv, § 28, (a). 
 
 (a) The following survive : moche soronve (trouble) had syre 
 gawayn to avoyde his hors, 204.22; heipe me to gete, 208.18. 
 
 Infinitive of Result. 
 
 249. The infinitive is used to express result after so 
 without a correlative as (§ 385, 4): neuer 7ione be soo hardy 
 to doo awey this gyrdel, 694.9. 
 
 (a) The infinitive seems to express result in the follow- 
 ing : / wille that ye telle hym that T am a knyif of kynge 
 Arthurs, for I icas ?ieuer aferd to reneye (' deny ') my lord, 
 330.21 (where the meaning evidently is 'so afraid as to 
 deny ') ; at alle tymes erly and late I wille be at your com- 
 maundement to lyue as poure a lyf as euer dyd quaie, 371.20; 
 God defaide — that I shold defoyle you to doo syre Persaunt 
 suche a shame, 231.25; for by cause this Damas is so fals — 
 we wold neuer fyghte for hym to 6.ye.for it, 127.16. But the 
 latter cases are doubtful. 
 
 Infinitive Absolute. 
 
 250. The infinitive is used absolutely in phrases of con- 
 dition '■ similar to the absolute participial phrase : for hym 
 
 1 The absolute infinitive of exclamation, which is found in Chaucer 
 and persists in modern English (" To think that we were only a minute 
 late ! ") does not appear in the Morte d' Arthur. Kellner cites one 
 instance from Charles the Crete. See a, 4, following. 
 
78 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 thought no worship to haue a knyght at suche an auaille he to 
 be on horsbak and he on foot, 71.23; And yf that he myght slee 
 kynge Markes knyghte he to haue the truage of Cornewaile, 
 461.26; ye see — that he is a noble knyght for to consydre his 
 fyrste bataile, 350.21 (i. e., considering that it was his first 
 battle) ; he bereth not the lyf — that can fynde suche another 
 knyght to spake of his prowesse and of his handes and his 
 trouthe with alle, 360.34; the whiche ben knyghtes of the moost 
 noble prowesse in the world for to accompte soo many for soo 
 many, 383.10.^ 
 
 (a) Kellner (§ 29, pp. Ixvi-lxx) groups a large number of instances 
 under the caption Infinitive Absolute. Tiie term would seem sufficiently 
 elastic, but it must be objected that of the instances cited from the 
 Morte d^Arthur and other Caxton prints most show infinitives that 
 are not absolute (i. c, .disconnected from the construction of the 
 rest of the sentence). In fact, Kellner's instances are of five distinct 
 kinds : 
 
 (i) Cases explained by the resumptive use of to after auxiliaries 
 (§ 239) : And with the remenaunte he shold make men ryche, and to sette 
 them in good poynte, Charles the Crete, 126.3 (P- Ixviii, bottom). The 
 custom was suche amonge. them, that none of the kynges wold helpe other, 
 but alle the felauship of euery standard to helpe other, Morte d'Arthur, 
 533.18 (p. IxLx). All the instances in the paragraph next following 
 (p. Ixix) are of the same sort, except two which belong under the next 
 heading. 
 
 (2) Appositive Infinitive (instances included above in §§ 241, ff.). 
 
 (3) Objective Infinitive: Morte d'Arthur, 590.33 (cited above, 
 § 247). 
 
 (4) Absolute infinitive of exclamation : yf I retorne wythoute to 
 auenge my barons, I shall do pourcly, sythe they haue susteyned and borne 
 up the crowne Imperial and my wylle, and I now to retorne wythoute to 
 auenge them(l) ffe that gaf me such counceyll loueth me but lytel, 
 Charles the Crete, 16.14 (p- Ixviii). 
 
 1 " In al this world ne was ther noon him lyk. 
 To speke of phisik and of surgerye." 
 
 — C. T., 412 {A). 
 
THE PARTICIPLE. 79 
 
 (5) Absolute infinitive of condition : (instances included above, 
 
 (b) Thus it appears : 
 
 (i) that the infinitive absolute is not common, but rare. 
 (2) that it is used either in exclamations (4) or to express a condi- 
 tion (5). 
 
 THE PARTICIPLE. 
 
 Modifying Participial Phrase. 
 
 251. The modifying participial phrase is fairly common. 
 
 (a) with the present participle : kynge Vther said for this 
 duk, charging hym to brynge his w}/, 35.6; I will e my self 
 assaye — not presumynge vfon my self etc., 76.31; a fayre 
 yonge man — rydynge rpon a hue mair, 102.3; ^fnote hym in 
 the tieck — sa3"eng be ye a good knyght, 103.2; And thou as 
 rebelle not know}-nge hym as thy souerayne withholdest, etc., 
 160.17; Thus the kyng — departed leuyng the qiiene, etc., 
 164.23 ; there he fond a careful wydowe wryngynge her handcs 
 and makyng grete sorowe syttynge by a graue, 167.8; neiier a 
 knyght beynge a murtherer hath 7vorship, 429.32. 
 
 (b) with 'the preterit participle (rare): this sheld was 
 yeuen me not desjrred, 412.4. 
 
 252. The reference of participles is sometimes loose and 
 ambiguous : the teres brast out of his eyen thynkynge on the 
 grete ciirtosy that was in syr launcelot, 819.30; or else thow 
 arte lyke to fyghte with somtne Geaunt thy self be)-ng horryble 
 and abhomynable, 165.32. 
 
 1 The only one of Kellner's instances not noted above, is Morte 
 d' Arthur, 367.38, wljere he has mistaken the intensive adverbial prefix 
 to for the preposition : they rod^ vnto the kepers of beestes and alle 
 to bete them. 
 
80 VERBS — 6- YNTAX. 
 
 Absolute Participial Phrase. 
 
 253. The absolute participial construction, though not 
 common, is fully developed. 
 
 (a) with the present participle : there came m to his halle, 
 he syttynge i7t his throne Ryal xij aimcyen men, 160.4; t^'-^ 
 kynge beyng set at his dyner, ther cam in two messagers, 
 169.4; / sette vpon this erle — my lady there beynge present, 
 559.20; the knyght felle — the blood brastynge oute of his 
 mouthe, 594.9; two palfreyes — hare a lytter, therin lyenge a 
 seke knyghte, 637.3 1 ; '"^y ^ord Arthur hym self wold not haue 
 displayed her coiirtcyns she beyng within her bed, 783.6. 
 
 (b) with the preterit participle : his myght — is most to be 
 doubted, seen the noble- — knyghtes of the round table, 175.15; 
 Marhaus felle doun — the edge of Tristrams swerd left in his 
 brayne pan, 283.27. 
 
 (c) Forms such as ' being seen,' ' being left,' etc., do not 
 occur, the simple passive participle being evidently regarded 
 as adequate.^ 
 
 254. Sometimes an absolute participial phrase is made 
 by mere repetition of the subject, where a simple modifying 
 phrase might be expected: whanne sir Tristram herd hym 
 saye soo knyghtely, he wyste not what to do with hym, he 
 (Tristram) remembryng hym — of what blood he 7iias comen, 
 307.16; he com7tiaunded 7ne to bere this shelde to the Courte of 
 kynge Arthur, he requyrynge and prayenge somme good knyi^t 
 to take this shelde, etc., 340.2 1 ; she knowyng he was there she 
 asked where he was, 137.4. 
 
 255. Constructions like the following, though part of the 
 author's habit of loose coordination, show also that the 
 absolute participial construction was unwieldy: they chalengyd 
 sire launcelot — Syr launcelot not refusyng hem but made hym 
 
 ^ beyng set in (a) above is not preterit in meaning. 
 
rEXS£S. 81 
 
 redj, 3S3.13; t/iey — <•/;■ (7nd ilrank — and their horses walk- 
 yng and somme Uyed, 430.26. 
 
 256. The following prepositional phrase with a past 
 participle has the force of an absolute participial phrase : 
 by this done he icas so faynt that rnnethes he myght sfande, 
 249.24. 
 
 TENSES. 
 
 257. The so-called progressive present and preterit ap- 
 pear in a few instances: ahoeycs he wille be shotynge or 
 castynge dartes, 102.23; ''''"•>" knyghte is goyrig to the sege, 
 232.4: an Heremyte theryn wJiicIie was goynge vnto masse, 
 639.29. 
 
 258. The present of the verb ' to be ' appears rarely with 
 the force of a future (Chaucer, ''I nam but deed"): ye 
 must courage yourself or els ye ben al shente, 235.26. 
 
 259. The future periphrasis with about and the infinitive 
 does not yet appear. Aboute to doo, 136.19, means 'engaged 
 in doing.' 
 
 260. After verbs expressing purpose (intention, prepara- 
 tion, etc.) or belief (opinion, supposition, etc.), where the 
 purpose is unrealized or the belief mistaken, the pluperfect 
 (with had) is commonly used instead of the preterit, and 
 the perfect infinitive (with haue) instead of the present: they 
 7L'end — // hadde ben sir kay, 203.32 ; I supoosed that he had 
 ben to yonge, 349.5; he yssued oute of the caste! — for to haue 
 distressid the kynges hooste, 37.15; syre kay dressid hym for 
 to haue holpen syre Laicncelot, 200.24; vnlaced his helme to 
 haue slayne hym, 239.28; she laboured byfals meanes to haue 
 destroyed kynge Arthur, 361.19; he sette his hand therto to 
 haue opened hit, 710.30; menynge to haue slayne hym. 
 
82 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 209.22; that lyon gaped wyde and came upon hym raumpynge 
 to haue slayne hym, 339.30.^ 
 
 (a) The hadde in these cases is preterit subjunctive. 
 Parallel cases occur in which hadde is supplanted by 
 myght haue, or shold haue, the haue adding nothing to the 
 sense but the idea of unreality : Thenne Bars sette his hand 
 therto yf that he myght haue souded hit ageyne, hut it wold not 
 be, 717.19; and at that tyme kynge Marke said — 7" shold 
 haue ben better rewarded, 2ilZ-'^ (where the meaning is 'King 
 Mark promised that I should be better rewarded, but I was 
 not ') ; Thenne wende sir Dynodan that he shold haue dyed, 
 
 392-33- 
 
 (b) The idea of what is contrary to fact underlying this 
 usage appears also in the following: / wene and god had 
 loued hem we shold not haue had power to haue slayne hem 
 thus, 701.15; he laye as he had ben dede, 248.14.^ 
 
 261. In complex sentences the relation of tenses be- 
 tween principal and subordinate clauses is often loose in 
 sequence. 
 
 (a) conditional : ' I wyl 7iot tome ageyne and they were 
 syxe mo, 220.15; '^'^'^ ^'■^ were as good a knyghte as euer was 
 
 1 For other instances see Kellner, p. Ivii, § 22 (e) and 2. 
 
 2 The modal force of haue appears also in the following : and wel 
 Merlyn knewe the one of the kynges shold be dede that day (5r= loth was 
 Merly7i that ony of them both shold be slayne. But of the tweyne he had 
 leuer kyng Lotte had be slayne (i. c, evidently, ' should be slain ') than 
 kynge Arthur, 87.18. 
 
 The two following cases show a wavering, transitional use of haue : 
 had he not haue be, 180.30 ; ye wold haue had slayne me, 209.29. 
 ' W. has some remarkable conditional sentences: 
 
 My husbond wolle wete wyth-owtyn mare. 
 And I hym dyd that vnryght, 287; 
 
 euyll spede the soppe 
 If eny morcell come in thy throte 
 Butt l>ou wyth vs hadest wrought, 493. 
 
T£A'SES. 83 
 
 /" shalle micer faylc /lym, 236.23; ye shalle not soo — onks 
 that ye were desguysed, 767.28. 
 
 (b) temporal : they trouthplyte eche other to loue and neuer 
 to fay lie whyles their lyfe lasteth, 247.12. 
 
 (c) final : gcntyl knyyt — help that T myghte speke -with 
 hym, 363.12;' lene me that black stede that /"myghte ouer- 
 take, 646.34; made his prayers — that he neuer falle in dedely 
 synne, 658.29. Cf. § 223. 
 
 (d) causal : sytheii I maye not reioyce the — / had kepte 
 no more ioye in this world, 207.17. 
 
 (e) concessive : ye maye not endure ageynstc vs though ye 
 were the best k?iyghtes of the world, 704.16; though it were 
 here ye shalle haue noo p07i.ier to see hit, 657.33. 
 
 262. Even where the subordinate verb is indicative, the 
 sequence of tenses is often loose. 
 
 (a) preterit for perfect (with haue^ : this viij yere I was 
 not so slepy as T am now, 183.29 ; thou hast done — more vnto 
 me than ony knyghte dyd these xij yeres, 185.21 ; here is good 
 mete — for 7i'c had 7iot ma?iy a day no good repast, 196.30; 
 I was never thorouly hole syn I was hurte, 255.11; abyde you, 
 said sir Gawayne, that knyght — beganne not yet, 533.2. So 
 in indirect discourse : his lady — said she wold loue hym. 
 better than euer she dyd, 405.7. 
 
 (b) preterit for pluperfect (with had^ : there they mette 
 with a messager that cam fro kynge Arthur that soughte them 
 wel nyhe a xij moneth, 159.1; 7vha?i syr Launcelot was come 
 to almysburye — quene guenever deyed but halfe an cure afore, 
 857.2.= 
 
 ^ I praye you helpe J>at we were owte, 580. 
 
 2 It is possible that this is a reminiscence of the O. E. preterit with 
 <?r, which was used with the force of a pluperfect. 
 
 The sequence is reversed in the following: told the knyghte how he 
 fond her as she had slept /a.r^, 95.22. 
 
84 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 263. The loose sequence after verbs of relating (telling, 
 saying, reporting, etc.) is due to the confusion between 
 direct and indirect discourse: and whan Arthwe shold 
 departe he warned al hys hoost that and they see ony swerde 
 drawen look ye come 07t fyersly, 845.21 ; thenne the kyng — 
 badde hym be redy — for within xl dayes he wold fetche hym 
 oute of the byggest casteU that he hath, 35.30 ; wcl saide the 
 kynge lete make a crye that all the lordes — shold drawe vnto 
 a caste t called Cantelot in tho dayes, and. 'iher the kynge wold, 
 etc., 76.7. 
 
 THE AUXILIARIES. 
 be. 
 
 264. Be is used regularly as a tense-auxiliary, (a) with 
 many intransitive verbs of motion {come, goo, passe, aryue, 
 entre, aryse, etc. ),^ and (b) with verbs of happening (become, 
 falle, befalle)} But haue occurs also with the same verbs. 
 
 (a) /"am come, 213.35; thou arte conic, 214.10; /^<? is come, 
 215.5; syre Launcelot was come, 217.27; the enchauntement 
 -VI3.S, past, 186.25; the ky7ige ■wa.s alyghie of his hors, 190.16; 
 this shyp was aryued, 693.15; we ben entred, 700.35; they 
 within were arysen, 712.3. 
 
 On the other hand: /had — comen, 691.19; he had come, 
 214.24. 
 
 (b) where is thy courage become, 22i().i<); it \a fallen on you, 
 209.29; the tefnpest was seaced, 706.32; what w2ls fallen of 
 them, 707.10; then7ie was so befalle, 713.29. 
 
 On the other hand: had befallen, 7 15. 11. 
 
 ' W. Whether (whither) that he is wende, 255; 
 And vp Jie steyre be they gane, 446 ; 
 
 workemen thre 
 Be come, 538. 
 2 Be is used once with a verb of deciding, to indicate the resultant 
 state of mind: /am delybered and fully concluded, 162.17. 
 
THE AUXILIARIES. 85 
 
 can. 
 
 265. In almost all cases can is simply an auxiliary with 
 the sense of ability or possibility ; but 
 
 (a) its earlier force (knowledge, skill) appears in sporadic 
 cases : alle the Barhours of Bretayne shal not conne staunclie 
 thy blood., 176.34; he — iaughte hit an harper — and whanne 
 he (the harper) coude hit he taughte it to many harpers, 
 45 7 -3 5- So in the phrase conne thanke, used to translate 
 O. F. sgavoir gre : they luill neuer conne yow thank, 820.22; 
 /"can the no thanke, 323.35. 
 
 (b) in other cases a distinction is discernible between 
 can, used of the ability that comes from knowledge or skill, 
 and mayc, used of the ability that comes from opportunity 
 (see mayc, §§ 275 (a), 278): luhanne he rev/ couthe speke the 
 langage, 276.26. 
 
 Thus the following sentence cited by Kellner (p. liv, c) is 
 not tautological, but merely emphatic : the gretest honotire 
 that men can or may doo to a knyght, Blanchardyn, 66.10. 
 
 (c) because the use of can is more restricted, and the use 
 of maye less restricted, than at present, can does not appear 
 so often as in modern English. 
 
 do. 
 
 266. Do is used with a following infinitive as a causative, 
 like F. f aire, G. lassen : merly?i dyd his maister Bleyse do 
 wryte, 62.9.' 
 
 267. Do is used to resume a preceding verb, in order 
 to avoid repetition: I must take parte as they do, 203.1; 
 
 1 I. c, ' Merlyn caused his master Bleyse to have written.' But the 
 causative construction with do is often irregular and redundant (see § 272) 
 in the Morte d' Arthur. Kellner (p. liv) cites better instances from 
 Blanchardyn. At p. Ixiv, however, he cites from Aymon two instances 
 of do followed, as sometimes in Chaucer, by a passive ptc. 
 
86 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 she loueth you as wel as ye doo her, 246.27; she shalle 
 dye the moost vylanous dethe that euer dyd ony womati, 
 694.13.1 
 
 268. Do is used with the infinitive to make compound 
 forms for the present and preterit : / trust J do not dysplese 
 god, 857.32; he dyd commaunde hys trompettes to blowe, 
 173.9; ^^^ ^^^ staunche sir gareths woundes, 2(>'].29>; alle the 
 trouthe syr Gahalantyne dyd telle, 212.23; ^'■^ ^^^ \y^^ syr 
 Gaherys stande a syde, 376.13; soo they dyd fare, 385.8;^ 
 worshipfully he dyd gouerne hit, 334.10; as soone as my lord 
 kytige Mark doo knowe you, 371.13; he wounded hem sore 
 alle that dyd abyde, 384.25. 
 
 It will be observed that this periphrasis adds no em- 
 phasis. Though it is not common, it is evidently well 
 established. 
 
 gar. 
 
 269. Gar (O. N. gord) is used (rarely, and only in the 
 preterit garteY as a causative auxiliary, like do. The form 
 is common in Northern poetry: garte hym go, 111.28; he 
 garte vnarme them (Sr» bete hem, 184.23. 
 
 have. 
 
 270. For the use of haue as a tense-auxiliary, the con- 
 fusion of subjunctive and indicative in the preterit, and 
 the modal force apparent at times, see § 260, (a), (b), 
 and note. 
 
 1 W. Dame, and ye hadde ben wyth vs, 
 
 Ye would haue wrought, by swete Ihesus, 
 As welle as dyd we, 607 
 
 2 W. The thyrde did rele and spynne, 529; 
 
 Hys garlond — that neuer dyd fade, 663. 
 " Gar is printed as a prefix in gar-make : T wylle founde Sj' gar-make 
 an hows of relygyon, 825.25. 
 
THE AUXILIARIES. S7 
 
 let. 
 
 271. Lete is the common causative auxiliary (cf. G. 
 lassen) : the kynge lete rere and deuyse — a /aire abbeye — 
 and lete it calle the Abbey of la beak aduenture, 123.10; he 
 lete fetche leches and serche his woundes, 135.19.' These 
 causative auxiliaries, do, gar, let, etc., are followed regularly 
 by the active infinitive. - 
 
 272. Lete is often used with other causatives in various 
 redundant expressions : he lete the surgyens doo serche their 
 hiirtes, 174.14. 
 
 make. 
 
 273. Make is also used as a causative auxiliary : / shal 
 make stryke of thy heed, 840.5; syr Mordred maad wryte 
 wryttes, 840.20; syr Kay made cary sir Vwayne to the abbay, 
 402.14; he made to sarche hym and to stoppe his bledynge 
 woundes, 351.1. The passive infinitive occurs in a few 
 cases : there he made her to be kept, 369.6. 
 
 may and might. 
 
 274. Both maye and myghte are used to express ability 
 and possibility, in a very wide range of meanings. 
 
 (a) Simple possibility, with no idea of contingency, like 
 can: 
 
 (i) may: there raz-y no thynge plese vs, &^o.Ti^; I m3.y tiot 
 stonde, myn hede werches soo, 848.1; thou mayst not chese, 
 187.9; I T^'S^y neuer be quyte of hym, 226.30; a knyght may 
 lytel do that may not suffre a damoisel, 229.29; mysdcdcs that 
 
 1 W. The chambyr he lett make fast, 85 ; 
 
 After the wryght the lord letl sende, 106; 
 And lett preue yt be (by) syght, 480. 
 " In certain rare cases the passive is found : she lete poyson be put in 
 a pyece of syluer, 275,9. See § 273, and Kellner, p. Ixiii, b. 
 
88 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 ben done maye not ben vndone, 240.19; // maye not be fals 
 that alle men saye, 332.20.-' 
 
 (2) myghte : as faste fleynge as euer they myghte ryde, 
 184.3; ^^ theyre strength that they 1x1731 dryue, 191.35; there 
 myght neyder sheldes nor harneis hold theyr strokes, 194.8; as 
 ■wel as they myght, 203.26; the moost royallest wyse that 
 myghte be, 215.29; I had as moche to doo as /"myght, 2 18. 11; 
 syre Gareth myghte not ete, 246.10; he bledde so fast that he 
 myghte not stande, 248.12. 
 
 (b) Possibility, with some idea of contingency : 
 
 (i) maye : Hope ye soo that T maye — stand a proiced 
 knyght, 218.13; ™^ shalle greue hem that ('what') zc/^ may, 
 191.2; and ye may matche the rede knyght ye shall be, etc., 
 233.1; it may well be, 234.37; wel maye he be a kynges 
 sone, 244.28; telle vs where we TCL2iy fynde, 251.23: we must 
 purueye vs of goode knyghtes where we may get them, 255.35. 
 
 (2) myghte : Bars sette his hand iherto, yf that he myght 
 haiie souded hit ageyne, 717.19; T myjt haue had tnete ynoui,, 
 229.36.^ 
 
 275. Both mayie) and myght{e) are used to denote per- 
 mission or opportunity. 
 
 (a) may(e) : ye may say what ye wylle, 221.9; y^ '""^7 ''^' 
 be lodged here, 265.37; I maye not warne (prevent) peple to 
 speke of me what it pleaseth hem, 198.2; ye may worshipfully 
 — graunte hem, 213.37; ^'^ ^^'^^ ^ ™^y kave herberowe, 264.2. 
 
 (b) myght (e): thenne — ye my 3! haue blamed me, 253.4; 
 that (boon) was that he myghte haue thadventure of the 
 damoysel, 253.10; praid the ladyes that he myjt repose hym, 
 265.36. 
 
 1 W. Loue me, I pray you, in hat ye maye, 155 ; Swyngyll better yf 
 ye may, 395. 
 
 ' W. The proctoure stode in a stody 
 
 Whetiier he myght worke hem by, 497. 
 
THE AUXILIARIES. 89 
 
 276. As an extension of the preceding usage, both 
 mayie) and myght{e) are used to denote a- future contin- 
 gency : doo you scruyse as ma)e lye in oure powers, 251.3; 
 fc'er haue ye 7c>ayte upon hytn tyl ye may fynde hym slepynge, 
 242.37 (cf. § 219); (and yc myghte lyue) as longe as the world 
 myght endure, 701.28. 
 
 277. Finally, may(e) and myght(e) appear as modal aux- 
 iliaries — 
 
 (a) in final clauses : JVow make the redy that I maye 
 juste with the, 260.14; Go thenne for her — that we may ^^ 
 apoyntcd, 268.3 ' > t^n^f^ ivere scaffoldis — that lordes — myghte 
 beholde, igi.S. For the subjunctive in final clauses, see 
 § 222. 
 
 (b) in clauses of indirect question : nyst not who myghte 
 he her kynge, 722.20; he merueiled what he my3t be, 259.38. 
 For the subjunctive in parallel cases, see § 228. 
 
 278. It is to be observed that mod. E. has may and 
 might in clauses of purpose, ca7i and could in clauses of 
 result. In the fifteenth century this limitation had not yet 
 been established. May{e) and myght{e), in the sense of 
 mod. E. can and could, occur in both kinds of clauses. For 
 the real distinction between may and can, see can, § 265 (b). 
 
 must. 
 
 279. Must{e) ^ has passed over completely to the modern 
 sense of necessity or obligation. The same invariable form 
 serves for present, past and future time. 
 
 (a) present: thou muste dye, 20().6. 
 
 (b) past : they held the loufneye — tyl it was ny^t. Thenne 
 must they nedes departe, 704.35 ; he cam to chaace me &• other 
 I must slee hy?n or he me, 83.26. 
 
 ' For the survival of the form mote, see paradigm, § 204. 
 
90 VERBS — SYNTAX. 
 
 (c) future : than come in — kynge Ban — Ha a said kyng 
 Lot we must b( discomfyte, 57.35; this knyght — had hanged 
 it (the horn) vp ther that yf ther came ony arraunte knyghte 
 he muste ^ Howe, 236.16. 
 
 ought. 
 
 Onghti/) shows various transitional stages, aUke in use 
 and in meaning. 
 
 280. The present owe: 
 
 (a) survives in its original sense of ownership : a lord 
 that oweth yonder cyte, 228.19. 
 
 (b) is used also in the derivative sense of obligation or 
 duty : the feythe we owe vnto god, 233.8 ; yf ye owe hym good 
 wille, 244.8; f owe hym my seruyse, 245.14; and, with an 
 infinitive object, /owe of ryght to worship you, 267.22; by no 
 manere owe I to say y lie of hym, 798.20. 
 
 281. The preterit onght{e) is used, both personally and 
 impersonally: 
 
 (a) in the original sense of ownership : the knyghte to 
 whome the pauelione ought, 188.33; "^ duke oughte it, 199.31; 
 Gawayne — ranne to hym that ought the lady, 336.32. 
 
 (b) in the sense of propriety, or fitness : yf he here me as 
 truly as me oughte to be born, 694.6; here is a gyrdle that 
 oughte to be sette aboute the suerd, 699.30; wel oughte oure 
 lord be sygnefyed to an herte, 703.19 ; buryed her as rychely as 
 a kynges doughter oughte to be, 722.4. 
 
 (c) in the sense of duty or obligation : l sawe neuer man 
 that I oughte so good wille to, 292.3; it oughte not to be 
 done away, 694.9; this knyght oujte to passe, 697.28; thou 
 oughtest not to doo hit, 711.11; that me oujt to do, 840.1. 
 
 1 The meaning of the older " moste " (i. c, ' might ') is possible here. 
 
THE AUXILIARIES. 91 
 
 shall. 
 
 282. Primary Meaxixg: shold of Necessity, Obli- 
 
 gation, Duty (all persons). 
 
 1. to whome I ^o\A. be moost debonair shall I be most felon, 
 694.18; me thynketh I shold haue sene hym here to fore, 
 
 370-32- 
 
 2. yc dyd no thyng but as ye shold doo, 230.7; though I 
 prayse the lady that T loue moost yc shold not be uirothe, 
 
 3. dyd fill nobly as a noble kyng shold, 846.10.^ 
 
 (a) The primary meaning of necessity appears in the use 
 of shall of what is ordained or appointed, as in the prophe- 
 cies of Merh-n : Sire seid the damoysell ye nede not to pulle 
 half so hard ; for he that shalle pulle it out shal do it with 
 lytel tnyghte, 76.36; and that fysshe is called Erta?iax, and his 
 bones be of suche a 7naner of kynde that who that handeleth 
 hem shalle haue soo ?noche wille that he shalle iicuer be wery 
 and he shalle not thy/ike o?i loye nor sorow that he hath had, 
 692.26. 
 
 (b) shold appears in corresponding passages of indirect 
 discourse : Merlyn told kynge Arthur that he that shold 
 destroye hym shold be borne in tnay day, 75.12; now are the 
 wonders true that were sard of Launcelot du lake, that the 
 swerd whiche stak in the stoiie shold gyue me — a buffet, 689.33. 
 
 283. SHALL OF Injun'Ction or Threat (second and 
 
 THIRD persons). 
 
 2. thou shalt dye, 3 3 7. 2 2. _ 
 
 (a) Shall in this use has commonly the force of an 
 imperative: ye shal ryde on afore, 197.8; here shalt thou 
 swere, 211. 4; ye shall leue alle your malyce, 332.15; Thou 
 
 1 W. I wyst my lord neuer do ryght noght 
 Of no Jiing I'at schuld be wrought, 598. 
 
92 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 shalt wete that he is fals, 335.7 ; here shalle ye abyde me these 
 ten dayes, 353.27 ; ye shall not doo so, 355.17; ye shalle goo in 
 to oure lordes temple, 697.30; ye thre shalle departe, 706.19. 
 
 3. she shalle be my lady, 237.8; thy skyn shalle be as wel 
 hewen as thy cote, 341.12; there shalle not passe but one of you 
 at ones, 349.19. 
 
 (b) SHOLD IN Indirect Discourse. 
 
 gaf me charge — that T shold neuer discouer hym, 241.27 ; 
 sir Nabon had made a crye that alle the peple of that yle shold 
 be at his castel the fyfthe day after, 332.24; sire Nerouens told 
 sir Launcelot that he (Launcelot) shold not goo by the castel 
 of Pendragon, 346.35. 
 
 284. SHALL OF Simple Futurity (all persons). 
 
 1. T shalle putte an e?ichauntement ipon hym, 186.14; ^^ 
 shalle haue ynough to doo eyther of vs to socoure other, 331.5; 
 where shalle Ifynde hym, 365.21. 
 
 2. by his deth ye shal haue 7ione auantage, 240.18; T drede 
 me sore lest ye shalle ketche some hurte, 229.12. 
 
 3. the more shalle be my worship, 228.14; That shal not 
 nede, 337. 27.^ 
 
 (a) SHOLD IN Indirect Discourse. 
 
 a damoysel — told hym that he shold lay/tne grete worship, 
 378.2. 
 
 285. shold of Simple Futurity (third person). 
 
 alle the countrey afore them there (' where ') they shold 
 ('were about to') ryde, 52.34; whan he shold haue ben ('was 
 about to be') slayne, 212.6. 
 
 1 W. And that schall do the good, 1 59. 
 
THE AUXILIARIES. 93 
 
 This use of shold is developed directly from the primary 
 meaning of necessity. The latent idea of appointment is 
 often apparent. 
 
 286. SHALL OF Futurity with the Idea of Promise 
 
 (all persons). 
 
 1. /shall not /aile you, 188.23; We shal ben redy at all 
 tymes, 225.28; whaniie I ma ye I shalle hyhe me after yon, 
 353.32; I promyse you — / shalle brynge hym — or els I 
 shalle dye, 397.21. 
 
 2. ye ^7i!i\& haue your askyng, 214.4. 
 
 3. al shal be delyuerd, 194.33; lete vs be sivoi-ne to gyders 
 that neuer none of vs shalle after this day haue adoo with 
 other, 355.24.1 
 
 (a) shold in Indirect Discourse. 
 
 s\re Tristram and sire Lamorak sware that neuer none 
 of hem sholde /r^///if ageynst other, 355.25; ye sware that ye 
 shold not haue a do with your felauship, 401.28; she made 
 hym to swere that he shold neuer do none enchauntement, 
 119.13. 
 
 287. shall of Futurity with the Idea of Resolve 
 
 (first person). 
 
 that knyght is my felawe &- hym shalle T res cow e, 347.3; 
 but yf thou wilt promyse me to abyde with me here I shalle 
 slee thee, 374.10; / shal assaye to handle hit, 692.33. 
 
 shold as a Modal Auxiliary. 
 
 288. in the Apodosis of Unreal Conditions. 
 
 I. wherin ipe shold haue entry d ne had your tydynges ben, 
 699.36; and god had loued hem we shold not haue had power, 
 
 1 W. Forty marke schall be your mede, 157; Syr, that deede schall 
 be done, 160. 
 
94 VERBS — SYNTAX. 
 
 701.15; had ye ben/resshe — as I was fwote wel I shold 7iot 
 haue endured so longe, 350.29. 
 
 2. and I had wyst that, thou sholdest not haue departed, 
 408.3; and ye were gentyl — ye shold 7iot profer me shame, 
 442.14. 
 
 3. and kynge Arthur were here hym self, it shold not lye 
 iti his power to saue his lyf, 335.15; atid he had ben in the 
 realme — somme of his felawes — shold haue fond hym, 
 411.19-'; and with protasis implied: that shold moche re- 
 pente me, 806.35. 
 
 (a) The derivation of this use from the original use of 
 shold appears in the following: syre Tristram shold haue 
 had the werse had not the kynge with the honderd knyghtes be, 
 387.3, where shold might be replaced by must without much 
 change of sense. Cf . also : for that cause I wil spare you — els 
 ye shold luste with me, 336.30 (i. e., would be obliged to joust). 
 
 289. IN Clauses of Apposition after Certain Ex- 
 clamations. 
 
 The construction occurs most commonly after it is pyte, it 
 is shame, less frequently ziX&r fy and alas: pyte and shame 
 it is that ony of you shold take the hyhe ordre of knyghthode, 
 357.15; pyte it were that eyther of these good kfiyghtes shold 
 destroy e others blood, 420.20; Hit is pyte — that euer ony 
 suche fals knyght coward as kynge Marke is shold be matched 
 7vith suche a fayi-e lady, 425.29; Fy for shame that euer suche 
 fals treason shold be wrought, 378.27; alas — that eicer a 
 knyghte shold dye wepetiles, 209.15. For the subjunctive in 
 explanatory clauses of apposition, see § 231. 
 
 (a) The idea of necessity is latent in this construction 
 also. An extension of the usage appears in sentences like 
 
 ' W. Hadest ))0u done that dede with me — 
 That schuld tome me to woo, 436. 
 For the subjunctive in parallel cases, see § 213. 
 
TBE AUXILIARIES. 95 
 
 the following : Thenne was sir Bryan fill gladde — and alle 
 his knyghtes that suche a man shold wynne them, 348.9. 
 
 290. IX Final Clauses. 
 
 I come to you that ye shold make me ktiyght, 339.5; for his 
 sake and (for) pyte{,) that he sholde not be destroyed, Ifolowed 
 hym, 349.1; there folowed hym tioelue knyghtes for to haite 
 meschyeued hym for this cause that vpon the mome — he shold 
 not Wynne the vyctory, 384.15; syre Tristram alyghte of his 
 hors — that they shold not she his hors, 414.1^; Thenne she 
 refused hym in a maner — for the cause he shold be the more 
 ardant, 653.30 (see § 364.3). 
 
 (a) Apparently, where shold is used in this sense, the 
 subject of the final clause is always different from the sub- 
 ject of the principal clause. 
 
 (b) Shold appears (rarely) also in clauses after verbs of 
 fearing : syre Palomydes was adrad lest he shold haue ben 
 drouned, 396.4; he feryd sore that syre Tristram shold gete 
 hym worship, 400.32. But cf. § 2 84, 2. 
 
 291. IX Object Clauses. 
 
 (a) Shold in many object clauses is due simply to indirect 
 discourse or to tense sequence. 
 
 Indirect Discourse : 
 he badde me I shold 7wt 
 haue ado with hym, 41 7.1. 
 
 Principal Verb Preterit: 
 I wiste wel by the maner of 
 their rydyng bothe that sire 
 Palomydes shold haue a f alle, 
 384.11. Cf. § 284, a. 
 
 Direct Discourse : 
 (^ye shalle not haue ado 
 with jne.) See § 283. 
 
 Principal Verb Present; 
 
 {I wote wel — sire Palomy- 
 des shall haue a falle.) See 
 §284. 
 
 1 \\'. For hys wyfe he made that place, 
 
 That no man schuld beseke her of grace, 100. 
 
96 VERBS— SYNTAX. 
 
 (b) Shold appears in " complementary final clauses " after 
 the preterit tense of a verb of wishing, fearing, asking, com- 
 manding, etc., where a present tense would be followed by 
 the subjunctive (§ 232): god wold that ye shold put hym 
 from me, 221.29; Ix^dde hym that he shold goo, 179.24; 
 commaunded that noo man — shold not robbe, 182.32; com- 
 maunded that dame Elayne shold slepe in a chamber nyghe her 
 chamber, 581.26.' 
 
 (c) Shall appears very rarely in parallel cases after a 
 present tense, where the subjunctive is the regular construc- 
 tion (§ 232): what will ye that I shalle doo, 633.16. 
 
 will. 
 
 292. WILL OF Resolve, Determination. 
 
 1. In that pauelione wil I lodge, 188.27; ^ wylle she her 
 maugre thy hede, 210.10; from hens wyl / neuer goo, 850.25; 
 /"wille be reiiengyd, 337.8. 
 
 (a) The first person plural sometimes has the force of a 
 mild imperative : Fayr broder said sir Tristram — lete vs 
 cast vpon vs clokes and lete vs goo see the play. Not soo said 
 sir Persydes, we wille not goo lyke knaues thyder, bjit we wille 
 ryde lyke men, 382.2; Now felawes said syr Tristram here 
 wylle we departe in sondry wayes, 406.35. 
 
 2. is this your ansuer, that ye wylle reffuse vs, 187.18. 
 
 3. /am sure ye shalle be discoueryd by this lytcl brachet, for 
 she wille neuer leue you, 371.12.^ 
 
 1 W. So feyre the wyfe the lord gan praye 
 That he scliuld be working aye, 247. 
 2 A sort of personification, assigning determination to things inani- 
 mate, may underlie the use of wylle in the following : A sayd the kynge, 
 syn ye knowe of your aduenture puruey for hit and put a-Jttey by your 
 craftes that mysauenture. JVay said Jlfer/yn it viyWe not he, I ii).6. The 
 meaning, however, seems to be ' it cannot be,' or ' it is not to be,' which 
 brings this use of wi/t into close correspondence with shatt, § 2S2, a. See 
 also § 293, a, for the parallel use of wold. 
 
THE AUXILIARIES. 97 
 
 (a) WOLD IN Indirect Discourse. 
 al the coimtrey sayde they wold holde of sire Tristram. 
 
 293. WOLD OF Resolve, Determination (third 
 
 person). 
 
 a knyghte — cryed vtido the dore, but they wold not, 713.37; 
 sire launcelot wold not suffer that, 351.21; he putte sir Bryan 
 de hs yles from his latides for cause he wold neuer be withhold 
 with kynge Arthur, 352.26; he reffiised hetti a/ he wold doo 
 none other, 215.11; there was a knyghte wold not lete hem 
 f'lsse, 359.27. 
 
 (a) Some personification, assigning determination to 
 things inanimate, may underlie the phrase it wold not be, 
 which seems, however, to mean ' it was not to be,' or ' it 
 could not be ' (cf. foot-note to § 292, ^): of a dede man how 
 ?nen wold haue hewen, and it wolde not be (Caxton's Rubric), 
 27.26 ; he pulled at the swerd with alle his myghte, but it wold 
 not be, 42.10; he loked for the scaubard, but it wold not be 
 founde, 138.7; Bors sette his hatid therto yf that he myght 
 haue souded hit ageyne, but it wold not be, 717.19. 
 
 294. will of Wish. 
 
 1. /wylle as ye wylle, 725.1; / wyl that thou wete, 195.2 
 ('I wish 3-0U to understand'). 
 
 2. goo where someuer thou wilt, 341.1; what wylle ye with 
 hit, 357.21; wylle ye any more seruysc of me, 197.28; ye may 
 chese whether ye wyll dye or lyue, 200.38. 
 
 (a) wold in Indirect Discourse. 
 told her how ther was a knyght wold haue herberowe, 263.33. 
 
 295. wold of Wish. 
 
 I. by my wille I wold haue dryuen hym aweye, 349.7. 
 
98 VERBS— SYNTAX. 
 
 3. he badde the lordes come after who that wold, 267.38; 
 There was neyther syre Tristram neyther syre Dynas nor syre 
 Fergus that wold sir Sadok ony euylle wylle, 469.34.^ 
 
 Participle, many tymes he myghte haue had her and he had 
 wold, 232.17. 
 
 (a) Wold (preterit subjunctive) is used (often ^NiXh fayne) 
 in the sense of F. voudrais bien, G. mochte gern. 
 
 1. /"wold he receyued it, 199.30 (' I should like to have him 
 receive it ') ; /wold he hadde his dwerf, for T wold he were not 
 wroth, 245.10; I yi old fay ne ye same her, 241.31; / wold / 
 had not mette with you, 374.14. 
 
 2. what knyght was that — that ye wold fayne mete with, 
 356.34; syn ye -viold so fayne ejttre, 714.7. 
 
 3. for the renome atid bounte that they here of you they wold 
 haue your loue, 187.30; syr Gareth — -violA ful fayne — haue 
 had a lodgyng, 263.18.° 
 
 (b) Wold is used in expressions of fervent wish : Ihesu 
 wold that the lady of the castel perillous were so fayre, 
 246.5. 
 
 296. WILL OF Willingness. 
 
 1. Vpon a covenant — / wille telle you my name, 336.7; 
 lend me hors and sure armour and I wille haue adoo with the, 
 333.18; /"wil wel, 239.10 (' je veux bien'). 
 
 2. thanked be thou lord that thou wilt vouchesaufe to calk 
 vs thy synners, 720.25 ; and ye wille telle me your quarel, etc., 
 335-31 (so often in protasis). 
 
 3. many speke behynde a man more than they wylle saye to 
 his face, 335.17 ; Is there ony of you here that wille take vpon 
 
 1 W. Gold and syluer they me brought, 
 
 And forsoke yt, and would yt noght, 589. 
 
 2 W. And would haue had yt fayne, 234 ; 
 
 I would nott he myght yt wete, 289; 
 Now wotild I fayne ete, 336. 
 
THE AUXILIARIES. 99 
 
 hym to welde this shelde, 340.25; that merueylled me — that 
 ony man of worship wylle haue adoo with hy»i, 221.35. 
 
 (a) WOLD IN Indirect Discourse. 
 asked hym whether he wold goo, 353.20. 
 
 297. WOLD OF Willingness. 
 
 I, 2. thouT^ ye wold breke your othe, I wold not breke myn, 
 401.31, 
 
 3. Thenne was there not one that wold speke one word, 
 340.26; I thanke hym of his curtosye and goodenes that he 
 wold (' was willing to ') take vpon hym suche labour for me, 
 234.14. 
 
 298. WOLD OF Customary Action. 
 
 and thenne sir Tristram wold go in to the wilderness and 
 brast doune the trees and bowes, and otherwhyle whan he fond 
 the harp that the lady sente hym, thenne wold he harpe and 
 playe thereupon, and wepe to gyders, and somtyme — the lady 
 — wold — playe vpon that harp. Thenne wold sire Tristram 
 come to that harpe and herken ther to, and somtyme he wold 
 harpe hym self, 366.6. 
 
 (a) The derivation from the sense of wish appears in the 
 following : and euer for the most party he wold be in syr 
 launcelots company, 270.6; euer whanne that he sawe ony 
 lustynge of knyghtes, that wold he see and he myght, 215.22. 
 
 (b) Will is used occasionally to express customary action : 
 But for the moost party they wille not lyghte on foote with 
 yonge knyghtes, 344.28 ; alweyes he wille be shotynge or 
 castynge dartes and glad for to see batailles, 102.23. Here 
 the derivation is plain from the sense of wish or willing- 
 ness. Cf. also the proverb : lyke wille drawe to lyke, 388.13. 
 
100 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 299. WILL OF Futurity with the Idea of Promise 
 
 (first person). 
 
 to his helpe I wylle doo my power, 206.3 ! ^^'^^ wylle / doo 
 by the feithe of my body, 2 1 1.7 ; al this wil / do, 240.33 ; yf I 
 was mysauysed I wille amende hit, 359.4. 
 
 (a) wold in Indirect Discourse. 
 they promysed her that they wold be nyghe, 373.30. 
 
 300. WILL OF Sl.MPLE FUTURITY (aLL PERSONS). 
 
 1. what -^SS^^ we doo, 125.20; ryde on afore — and /wyWe 
 kepe myself in coiierte, 197.8; where ye are called the damoysel 
 Maledysaunt I wille calle you the datnoysel Bien pensaunt, 
 349.10; yf I may spede wel I wille sende for you, 349.23. 
 
 2. this is your aduys ('plan ') that — ye wylle doo make a 
 crye ay ens t the feest, 254.26. 
 
 3. there wille 7nete with you another maner knyght, 351.4; 
 lete me goo as aduenture will lede m.e, 706.12. 
 
 301. WOLD OF Futurity with the Idea of Inten- 
 
 tion (third person). 
 
 they — sawe the good 7na7i in a religious wede — for he wold 
 (' was about to ') synge masse, 702.33 ; whanne she wold haue 
 taken her flyghte, she henge by the legges fast, 208.14. 
 
 Wold as a Modal Auxiliary. 
 
 302. in the apodosis of unreal conditions : 
 
 1 . were I at my lyberte — / wold preue hit, i^'j .xy, I wold 
 not haue hu7-te sir Tristram and I had knowen hym, 395.24. 
 
 2. and thou haddest syre Tristram here, thou woldest do 
 hym 710 har77ie, 405.20. 
 
THE AUXILIARIES. 101 
 
 3. and he had come of gentylmen he wold haue axed of yotc 
 hors and armour, 214.24; he — wold haue slay tie them had 
 t/uy not yelded them, 350.8. 
 
 (a) in " as if " conditions : thcrfelle a sodeyne tempest and 
 thonder — as alle the erthe wold haue broken, 706.30. 
 
 (b) with protasis implied: I wold be lothe to doo that 
 thynge, 806.29. 
 
 For the subjunctive in parallel cases see §§ 213, b, 214. 
 
 (a) The development of this usage from the other uses 
 of unll and wold may be traced in instances that mark the 
 transition. 
 
 (i) from the sense of wish: yf I myght with my worship 
 I wold not haue a doo with yow, 202.37; with falshede ye 
 wold haue slayne me and now it is fallen on you bo the, 209.28 ; 
 Alle this dyd sir Andred by cause he wold haue had sir 
 Tristrams landes, 368.24 (i^ e., in the event of Tristram's 
 death) ; he wold not haue lusted, bid whether he wold or not 
 syre Tristram smote hym, 393.29. 
 
 (2) from the sense of willingness : thenne were T a foole 
 and I \\o\A leue this swerd, 207.5; ^'^^ T had a quarel — / 
 wold with as good a wylle fyghte with hym as 7C'ith yow, 
 439.20; and a wolf and a shepe were to gyders in a pry son, 
 the wolf wold suffre the sheep to be in pees, 405.21. 
 
 (3) from the sense of intention : as she wold haue ronne 
 vpon the swerd, etc., 368.34; he — pulled hym afore hym — 
 and there wolde haue stryken of his hede, 369.30; they wold 
 haue lodged to gyders. But, etc., 376.20. For the use of 
 haue in this construction, see § 260, a, b, and note. 
 
 303. in substantive clauses: 
 
 (a) Will and wold appear in " complementary final 
 clauses " after verbs of asking, etc. The cases are essen- 
 tially parallel with the subjunctive (§ 232) which they 
 supplant, but imply a somewhat more formal courtesy. 
 The use is derived directly from the sense of willingness : 
 
102 VERBS — SYNTAX. 
 
 and there T praye you that ye wille be, 408.8; / byseche yow 
 — that ye wylle praye for my soule, 801.16; prayenge — that 
 he ^o\d ful/ylle the quest, 340.23; he asked — that I wold 
 gyue hym mete, 253.8. 
 
 (b) So wold is used to make a subjunctive periphrasis 
 in clauses after verbs of fearing : for drede of sir Dynadan 
 that he wold telle, etc., 436.9. 
 
 Confusion of shall and will. 
 
 304. The following passages seem to indicate that in the 
 first person, at least, shall and will are not only confused, 
 but even used interchangeably: That shalle we not doo says 
 his bretheren we wylle fynde hym and we may lyue. So shal 
 / sayd syr Kay, 196.23 ^; euer whan I maye I shalle sende 
 vnto you — and at alle tymes — / wille be at your cotnmaunde- 
 ment, 371.18; Thenne wold I liauc baumed hit — and dayly I 
 shold haue clypped the, 207.19. 
 
 Whether this confusion is merely apparent, or whether it 
 really exists, and to what extent, will appear best from a 
 comparative table. 
 
 305. Futurity with the Idea of Resolve (first 
 
 person). 
 
 Aryse — or els there as thou 
 hne/est /sh.3.\\ slee thee, 337.26. 
 
 In the name of god said 
 Percyical T shalle assaye to 
 handle hit, 692.33. 
 
 / wylle slee her maugre thy 
 hede, 2 10.10. 
 
 As ye haue begonne so ende, 
 for I wyll neuer medle with 
 you, 405.9. 
 
 (a) Here, though some confusion is evident, the idea of 
 resolve is far more feebly and, it may be added, far less 
 frequently conveyed by shall. 
 
 1 W. That wyll I wete thys same nyght, 128. 
 That schall I wete thys same daye, 422. 
 
THE AUXILIARIES. 
 
 103 
 
 306. FuTURirv with the Idea of Promise (first 
 person). 
 
 /shall ;w//a//i?jw/, 188.23. I attc next feest of Pentecost 
 
 r wille be at Arthurs courte. 
 
 Indirect Discourse. 
 
 they promised that they 
 373-30- 
 
 wold be nygh 
 
 syre Tristram and sire 
 Lamorak sware that neucr 
 Jione (• neither ') of hem sholde 
 fyghte ageynst other, 355.25. 
 
 (a) Here there is real confusion. In the following sec- 
 tion some distinction seems to appear in the second person. 
 
 307. 
 
 Simple Futurity: shall and will (all persons). 
 
 1. for your noble dedes of 
 armes I shall shew to you 
 kyndenes, 350.31. 
 
 2. / am su?-e ye shall be 
 discoueryd, 371.12. 
 
 3 . knowe thou — that he shal 
 make stronge werre ageynst 
 the, 160.21; That shal not 
 nede (i. e., 'that will not be 
 necessary'), 337.27. 
 
 1. for that cause I wil 
 spare you, 336.30. 
 
 2. this is your aduys 
 (^'plan') that ye wille doo 
 make a crye agenst the f'cst, 
 254.26. 
 
 3. I knowe wet that he wyWt 
 greue some of the courte — for 
 on hym knyghtes w)lle be 
 bolde, 201.30.' 
 
 ^ In indirect discourse the same distinction appears as in § 308 : sir 
 Kehydius saide that he wolde ('was about to ') goo into Bretayne, 367.33, 
 where the idea of resolve is latent ; and they told hym that there was 
 made a grete crye of turtietnent bitiuene kynge Carados — and the kynge 
 of North walys, and eyther sholde (' was to ') Juste ageyne other, 377.16, 
 where the latent idea is of something ordained or appointed. 
 
104 
 
 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 308. Simple Futurity: shold and wold (third 
 person). 
 
 whan Arthur shold (' was 
 about to ') departs he warned 
 al hys hoost that, etc., 845.22. 
 
 sawe the good man in a 
 religious wede — for he wold 
 (' was about to ') synge masse, 
 7°2-33- 
 
 (a) Here there is a distinction. Shold implies appoint- 
 ment ; wold, intention. The distinction appears in the 
 following: 
 
 there vpon the morn shold 
 '■ a grete turnement, 226.12. 
 
 whanne syr Launcelot wold 
 haue gone (' was about to go ') 
 thorou oute them, they scat- 
 teryd, 206.21. 
 
 309. shold and wold in the apodosis of unreal 
 Conditions (all persons). 
 
 I. had ye been fresshe — 
 as T was T wote wel I shold 
 not haue endicred so longe, 
 350.29. 
 
 2. and they wyste that ye 
 were of — Arthurs courte, ye 
 shold be assayled anone, 
 700.23. 
 
 3. thenne felle there a thon- 
 der and a rayne as heicen 
 and erthe shold goo to gyder, 
 263.19. 
 
 1. though she had brought 
 with her syre launcelot — / 
 wold thynke myself good 
 ynough, 234.35 ; that shame- 
 ful syght causeth me to haue 
 courage — more than T wold 
 haue had — and thou were a 
 wel ruled knyght, 237.30. 
 
 2. What wold ye do — 6- 
 ye had sir Tristram, 390.11. 
 
 3. for the with flier felle a 
 sodeyne tempest and thonder — 
 as alle the erthe wold haue 
 broken, 706.29. 
 
IMPERSOKAL VERBS. 105 
 
 310. SHOLD AND WOLD IN OBJECT CLAUSES AFTER VeRBS 
 
 OF Wishing, etc. 
 
 god wold that yc shold put 
 hym from me, 221. 2g. 
 
 I wold that ye wold lede me 
 therto, 716.23. 
 
 (a) In this section and the preceding, a distinction seems 
 to be kept in the second person. It is evident, moreover, 
 that shoId\Qse.s much more of its identity than wold, and is 
 more freely used as a mere modal auxiliary. 
 
 311. To what extent the logical distinction between shall 
 and will according to the person of the subject obtains in 
 this period, appears from the arrangement of instances in 
 the foregoing sections. 
 
 IMPERSONAL VERBS. 
 
 312. The common Chaucerian forms persist: hym thought, 
 184.5; ^f^^ repenteth, 185.25; the behoueth, 187.5; ^^ ought, 
 201. ig; it pleaseth hem, \()?>.y, me semeth, 202.2,0; how lyketh 
 yow, 215.26; me lacketh, 115.15; hym neded, 216.35; ^^y'"- 
 besemeth, 220.4; hym lyst, 230.15; me forthynketh, 713.23; 
 hym happe?td, 200.2; byfelle hym, 712.17. 
 
 (a) But there is a very evident wavering, the impersonal 
 construction existing side by side with a newly formed per- 
 sonal construction, or in some cases giving way before it : 
 and ye lyst, 206.35; ye nede not, 76.36; he shalle repente, 
 153.24: he forthoughte hym, 712.31 ; they thoughte it soo swete 
 that hit was merueillous to telle, 719.28. 
 
 REFLEXIVE VERBS. 
 
 313. The verbs used refiexively are as follows : 
 
 (a) assente : / assente m£, 71.12. 
 
 (b) auyse: balyn auysed hym, ^2.7,2. 
 
 (c) cast: I cast me to be there, 196.9. 
 
106 VERBS — S YNTAX. 
 
 (d) complayne: he wold not complayne kym, ?i^'&.i^. 
 
 (e) desmaye: desmaye you not, 6()q.2^. 
 
 (f) doubte: doubte the no thynge, 166.1. 
 
 (g) drede : he dred hym sore, 206.1']. 
 (h) fere: r shal not fere me, ?i 4.0.1. 
 
 (i) haste: haste you to the courte, 196.21. 
 
 (j) hy(h)e: he — hyed hym, 206. 2<). 
 
 (k) playe : he wente to playe hym, "joi.io. 
 
 (1) purpose: he purposed hym, 'J2df.^. 
 
 (m) remembre: she remembryd her, 6()6.in.. 
 
 (n) repente : l repente me, >] 01. 2<). 
 
 (o) thynke, bethynke, f orthynke : he thought hym self to^ 
 preue hym self 183.20; syr Beaumayns bethoughte hym, 
 239.3 1 ; he forthoughte hym, 712.31. 
 
 VERBS TAKING TWO OBJECTS. 
 
 314. The verbs bereue and benime sometimes take two 
 accusatives: byreue hym his londes, 163.14; the lyon berafte 
 hym his sheld, 578.34; that stede he hath benome me, 647.13; 
 I haue benome hym many of his me7i, 653.3 ; syr launcelot had 
 berafte hym his quene, 814.27. This construction holds even 
 in the passive : many londes that were bereued lordes, 44.7 ; 
 al welthe is hym berafte, 400.8. But the construction with 
 of occurs : to bireue me of my landes, 675.8.^ 
 
 (a) The verbs aske and requyre sometimes show a similar 
 construction : Trystram — asked hym counceil, 279.13 (the or- 
 dinary construction is with of. See § 338.9 and a) ; ye requyre 
 me the grettest thynge that ony man may requyre me, 732.3. 
 
 (b) The following may involve a dative of interest : / dis- 
 charge the this Courte — and Iforfende the my felaushyp, 727.7. 
 
 1 O. E. has sometimes the accusative, sometimes the genitive, of the 
 thing deprived, but regularly the accusative (usually a pronoun) of the 
 person. 
 
THE PASSIVE. 107 
 
 THE PASSIVE. 
 
 315. The sole O. E. passive {lidtaii) is still in use : what 
 }i\s.X&\h your lady, 216.3. The present, however, is extremely 
 rare. The preterit, though often found, is much less com- 
 mon than in Chaucer : the one hyght Tyntagil, and the other 
 castel hyjt Terrabyl, 35.36; there was a kynge that hyghte 
 Pelles, 695.26. 
 
 316. The regular passive periphrasis with be needs no 
 exemplification. The only advance appears in the freedom 
 with which this construction is applied to verbs compounded 
 with prepositions : thus was syr Arthur — euyl sayd of, 
 840.25; they were foughten with al, 29.14; sir Persy des was 
 soo done to, 385.16. 
 
 317. Two older passive periphrases are still in common 
 use : 
 
 (a) The construction with the impersonal men (§ 73), 
 and more rarely 
 
 (b) The construction with a- and a verbal noun (§ 340, b) : 
 whyle as this rcas a doyng, 84.12. 
 
 318. The active infinitive is often used in a passive 
 sense after auxiliaries (see §§ 266, 269, 271, 273). 
 
 319. An active infinitive with passive force appears in a 
 few instances after "it is ": hit is to suppose he that henge 
 that sheld ther he wille not be longe therfro, 141.9 ; ^ what is to 
 meane that syre Launcelot felle doune of his hors he hath left 
 pryde and taken hym to humylyte, 669.30 (an obscure passage). 
 
 The construction seems to be a Gallicism (c'est k supposer). 
 
 1 W. Of thys chaplett hym was full fayne, 
 And of his wyfe, was nott to layne, 68 
 (i. e., 'it was not to be denied'). Shakspere has "what's to do." See 
 Abbott, 359. 
 
108 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 320. aboute with the infinitive means ' engaged in ' (see 
 § 259): and thou to be aboute to dishonoure the noble kynge, 
 774.4 (i. e., 'to be engaged in dishonouring'); Madame ye 
 are aboute to bitraye me., 775.28. 
 
 321. afore (see before and tofore, and for the a-, on, 
 § 340) is used (rarely) of precedence or excellence : there 
 was none that myghte do no manere of maystry afore hym, 
 
 467-3S- 
 
 322. after. 
 
 1 . ' according to ' : euery matt was set after his degree, 
 104.18; alle thys shalle be done sitei your entente, 243.13. 
 
 2. with verbs of desiring, where for is usual: we wysshed 
 aiter yow, 199.23; he asked sittr mete, 201.21. 
 
 323. ageynst(e), ayenst, ageyn. 
 
 1. local (' opposite to ') : there was sene in the chircheyard 
 ayenst the hyghe aulter a grete stone, 40.21; repose hym 
 ageynst the sonne, 370.30. 
 
 2. temporal: Ageyne the feest of pentecost, 159.14; ageynst 
 a nyghte, 200.3; ^y (ciuse he wold not be hurte — ageynste the 
 grete lustes, ZTj.'i'j. 
 
 3. of opposition (^passim). 
 
 4. of mere meeting : the yates of heuen opened ayenst hym 
 (i.e., at his coming), 859.6; he dressid hym ageynst hym (i. e., 
 to meet him), 715.25.^ Cf. also, soo dothe my herte lyghte 
 ageynst hym (i. e., lighten at his approach), 793.33. 
 
 1 W. Hys wyfe was war of hys comyng, 
 And ageynst hym went sche, 534. 
 
PREPOSITIONS. 109 
 
 324. at, atte, att (due to confusion with atte for at the. 
 See § 92). 
 
 1. local, in the ordinary cases, and: syr gaunter was at 
 the erthe, 202.23; threive hem oute at (i. e., through) a wyn- 
 dowe, 249.23. Cf. also, they laid watche bothe att forestes 
 and at alle maner of men, 585.27. 
 
 2. Of the other uses, the most noteworthy is that with 
 personal pronouns and proper nouns, where other preposi- 
 tions have supplanted at : take his leiie at the duchesse &' at 
 them al, 264.31; asked counceil at hem al, 47.10;^ we wille 
 begynne at hym, 105.14; ivould not come at hym, 35.29 (i. e., 
 'to his castle,' F. chez lui); T haiie ben at kyng Ryons, 76.27.^ 
 
 3. Among the set phrases are the common at honde and 
 at leyser, besides at acord, the more noticeable at certayne 
 (certainly. Cf. in certayne in the same sense), and att armes 
 (to arms ! F. aux armes. See the etymology of alarm in 
 Skeat. The phrase unto armes is also used). At travers is 
 a rendering of F. k travers. 
 
 325. before (cf. afore and tofore), of precedence, in the 
 sense of ' beyond ' or ' above ' : alle maner of straunge adiien- 
 tures came before Arthur as at that feest before alle other 
 feestes, 213.10. 
 
 326. besydes, besyde. 
 
 The modern distinction between the two forms does not 
 appear. 
 
 327. betwixe, betwyxie), betwyxte, betwixt, of more than 
 two: betwixe thre knyghtes, 27,2. -^o. 
 
 1 W. I take wytnes att gret and small(e), 637. 
 
 2 " For I have ben right now at Deiphebus," Chaucer, Troilus and 
 Criseyde, II., 1480. In the following, a^ seems to mean 'in the pres- 
 ence of,' and so 'on account of: And yf hit were not at the reuerence 
 of your hyhenes, I shold now haue ben reuenged, 487.36. 
 
no PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 328. by. 
 
 1. Besides the ordinary local uses note: smote of hothe 
 his legges by the knees, 173.25 ; smote hyin thurgh the sheld by 
 lowe of the sheeld, no.3; haue brent and slayne al the peple 
 that they may come by, 64.7 ; the teres began to renne doune by 
 his vysage, 622.22. 
 
 2. Temporal: by tymes (and by tyme), by thys ('now'), 
 by thenne; and further, by my dayes, 842.11; by this done 
 he was — faynt, 249.24; by the space of two yere, 604.5 ! ^^^ 
 in the conjunctive phrase by that (§ 365). 
 
 3. of degree, in comparison: more by a yarde, 206.15. 
 
 4. of distribution: by one and one, 2(i^.T^\ red it word by 
 word, 457.20.^ 
 
 5. 'concerning,' 'about,' etc.: what say ye hj this gest, 
 204.26 ; they spak alle shame by Cornysshe knyghtes, 360.1; 
 he spak grete lylonye by the kynge, and specially by the Qicene 
 Gueneuer, 417.28.^ An extension of this use seems to 
 appear in the following: here haue ye sene this day a grete 
 myrakel by Corsabryn (i. e., in Corsabryn's case), 489.33. 
 
 6. 'in accordance with,' 'according to ': hens wyl I neiier 
 goo — by my wylle, 850.26; // semeth by yotv — that ye 
 knowe, etc., 241.23. 
 
 7. 'on account of,' 'because of: // may 7iot be by 710 
 reason, 214.35; ^hou oughte — to beware hy yonder knyghtes, 
 237.24; by my prowesse — a duke hath maad'e me knyght, 
 95.7. Cf. whereby in the sense of wherefore, 297.24. 
 
 8. of personal instrumentality, passing over to the idea 
 of agency: had word — by the dwerf 233.15; salewed yow 
 by me, 724.25; she shall haue no vylony by me, 115.14; by 
 me thou hast desdayne and scor7ie, 727.4. 
 
 9. of agency {passim). 
 
 10. by cause of is used as a preposition. 
 
 1 Bacon has the phrase " by little and little." 
 
 2 " How say you by the French lord ? " — Merck. Ven., I. 2, 47. 
 
PREPOSJTIONS. Ill 
 
 II. hy meatus of appears in various forms : 
 
 by the moyaiie (^ (Caxton's Preface). 
 
 by the meane of (ibid.). 
 
 by the moyue of (ibid.). 
 
 by this meane, 56.30. 
 
 by no meane (adv.), 1 18.15. 
 
 by the meanes of 12 9. 11. 
 
 by good meatus of 77.16. 
 
 by her meanes, 159.34. 
 
 329. endlong(e) is more specific than along. It means 
 'from end to end': drofe sir Palomydes oner — thzoart and 
 endlonge alle the feld, 524.16. Sometimes, however, it 
 seems to mean no more than ' along ' : he rode endlong the 
 gates of that manoyre, 193.16. 
 
 330. euen longes occurs in much the same sense as 
 along: sir palomydes sailed euen longes humber to the costes 
 of the see, 517.34- 
 
 331. excepte is common. 
 
 Oute excepte occurs once : ye wolde yeue any man the yefte 
 that he wold aske, oute excepte that were vnresonable, 102.10. 
 Cf. the verb otite cepte: I oute cepte hym of a I knyghtes, 
 539.23. In like manner the participle oute taken occurs 
 once: oute taken my lady your qtcene she is makeles, 540.26, 
 and the verb oute take once : of alle knyghtes T oute take 
 none, 542.19. 
 
 332. for. 
 
 1 . Temporal : for thentie. 
 
 2. 'in respect of: that shall not ye knowe for me, 216.5 
 (i. e., so far as I am concerned) ; so the strokes ben on hit as 
 I fond hit, and neuer shalle be amendyd for me, 339.2. This 
 is probably the force oi for in the obscure phrase: in al — 
 dedes of armes both for lyf and deth, 183.9. 
 
112 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 Here too seems to belong the phrase here is for me, used 
 apparently to indicate readiness : As for that sayd Dynadan 
 make the redy,for here is for me, 506.2. 
 
 3. for is used to establish a sort of apposition, where 
 modern usage has either for or as and either preposition 
 is logically expletive : he wylle knowe me for his better, 
 217.10; wel knowen — for noble knyghtes, 252.5; this was 
 taken — for a myrakle, 716.12. Similar is the use — was 
 fedde — for almesse, 221.25. 
 
 4. 'for the sake of {passim). 
 
 5. 'on account of: for dredde of god, 198.7; he durst 
 nowhere ryde nor goo for hym, 155.27 ; / may not — saue thy 
 lyf for the shameful dethes that thou hast caused, 239.34. 
 This use oi for is the base of the conjunctive phrase not for 
 thenne. 
 
 (a) A slight extension of this use appears in the follow- 
 ing : And yf thou be ouercome, thou shall not be quyte for 
 losyng of ony of thy membrys, but thou shall be shamed for 
 euer, 649.33. The same phrase occurs two pages beyond 
 (65 I.I i) with the preposition by. 
 
 (b) The use oi for in the sense of ' against,' of remedies, 
 etc. (Lat. contra), may be derived from this sense. Cf. she 
 lapped the chyld as wel as she myght for cold, 274.18. 
 
 6. 'in spite of : f wylle — assay e hym for alle his pryde, 
 202.14; for al your boost they lye in the dust, 228.5; many 
 knyghtes — ouermatched syr gawayne for alle the thryes myghte 
 that he had, 143.25; this child wylle not laboure for me for 
 ony thyng that — / may doo, 102.2 1 ; T wyll accomplysshe my 
 message for al your ferdful wordes, 167.30.^ 
 
 7. reciprocal and distributive, 'in return,' 'over against'- 
 playne bataille hande for hand, 250.34; there mette two for 
 two, 48.24; there was not one for one that sleeve hym (i. e., it 
 
 1 W. Thou schalt helpe to dyght thys lyne 
 For all thy fers(e) fare, 323. 
 
PJiEPOSITIO.VS. 113 
 
 was not a fair fight), 522.2. This seems to be the force of 
 for in the following : knyghtes of the moost noble pnnvessc in 
 the world for to accompte soo many for soo many, 383.9. 
 8. with the infinitive (see § 23S). 
 
 333. from and fro are both common, and are used with- 
 out distinction. The idea of separation is quite as distinct 
 as the idea of source ; thus, he same his peple so slay?i from 
 hym, 846.17. In ii.cX.from is commonly used in the sense 
 of ' away from,' 'oft',' etc.: halpe hym fro his hors, 217.30; 
 god wold that ye shold put hym from me, 221.29; the dwerf 
 ivas gladde the ryng was from hym, 262.12 (i. e., was off his 
 hand, out of his possession). 
 
 froward. The adverb f reward occurs in the phrase 
 toward and froivard : he rode many lourneyes bothe toward 
 and froward, 634.20. The preposition is used in the sense 
 of 'from' or 'awa)- from': cam froward Camelot, 116.22 
 (' from ') ; on the f erf her syde of the hors froward the knyghte, 
 20().2T. ('away from'); So — Kynge marke rode froward 
 them, 430-34- 
 
 334. in. 
 
 1. local and temporal : in euery day, 500.1 ; borne ('born ') 
 in may day, 75.13 ; and for 07i : felle in a dedely swoiine in the 
 flore, 249.26; made a crosse in his forhede, 710.24. 
 
 2. for into: there came neuer a better in my hand, 204.25; 
 entred the sone of god in the wottibe of a mayd, 703.9; fallen 
 in despair, 723.34.^ 
 
 3. for other prepositions : syrc Marliatis abode in the see 
 ('at,' 'by,' or 'on'), 278.24; Thenne came syre Breiinor — wyth 
 his lady in his hand muffeld (i. e., he led her in by the hand), 
 3 1 1. 16; va. god is al (i. e., with, in the power of), 289.6. 
 
 4. of title and ownership : wherin r am entytled, -l62.ic^\ 
 to take possession in thempyre, 162.19. 
 
 ' \V. If eny morcell come in thy throte, 494. 
 
114 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 5. in seems to be used of purpose in the following: 
 charged hym in remyssyon of his synnes to haste hym, etc., 
 856.28 ('for the remission'?), in may, however, be used 
 here like on in phrases of charge, asseveration, etc.^ Cf. 
 also : doo bataille in the ryght of you and your land, 278.8. 
 
 6. In for on {a-) : In the phrase in lyke hard {soo they held 
 the Journey ('fought throughout the day') eueryche in lyke 
 hard, 704.35), in lyke is equivalent to on lyke, alike (see § 340, 
 and a). Thus the meaning is ' equally hard,' ' with equal 
 vigour.' So also : syr Tristram foughte stylle in lyke hard, 
 610.18; all he loueth in lyke moche, 751.34; syxe Inches depe 
 and in lyke longe, 770.15. As in the corresponding use of 
 on (a-), the preposition is sometimes dropped: helde the 
 bataill all that daye lyke hard, 58.13; syr lawicelot held alwey 
 the stoure lyke hard, 394.1. Cf. also in doune (' adown, 
 down ') in the following : they hewe so fast — that they cutte 
 in doune half theire swerdes, 444.12.^ 
 
 7. The commonest set phrases are in certaynie) ('cer- 
 tainly ' ; so at certayne, which, however, means rather ' cer- 
 tain'), in especyal, in lyke wyse, in close ('secret'), in one ('to- 
 gether, at once ') : euer in one sir Agrauayne and sir Mordred 
 cryed, 801.10. In that entent occurs beside the more common 
 to that entente. In handes means ' at close quarters ' : vnnethe 
 he myght putte upon hym his helme and take his hors but they 
 were in handes with hym, 384.19. 
 
 8. in to, always printed as two words, is used sometimes 
 where in is usual: alyghte in to the ship, 699.2; arryued in 
 to the Ilond (Caxton's Rubric, 14.34); the guene despoylled 
 in to her smok, 810.30. 
 
 ^ This supposition has additional warrant from the following case 
 in W.: 
 
 Haue yt in godes blessyng and myne, 362. 
 
 2 W. uses in still more freely in such phrases: in hye (179), in same 
 (602), in lond (475). 
 
PJiEPOSITIONS. lis 
 
 335. longe on (Jonge vpoii), 'on account of,' 'owing to'- 
 that is longe on your syiiiie, 657.35; alk was long vpon two 
 vnhappy knyghtes, 797.10.' 
 
 336. maugre, magre, maulgre, occurs most commonly in 
 the phrase maugre thy (liis, her) hede. The noun maugre 
 occurs twice : ye shaUe haue — loue and thanke where other 
 shalle haue maugre, 807.10. Cf. 405.28. The phrase 
 maulgre of them al, 744.12, is perhaps an echo of the transi- 
 tional form (i. e., in maugre, etc.). Maugre with the genitive 
 occurs once: maulgre sir mordreds, 841.16. 
 
 337. nere is ordinarily confined to the adverbial use. 
 The phrase 7iere hand{e), commonly adverbial, is used rarely 
 as a preposition: nere hand her, 773.7. 
 
 338. of. 
 
 1. Of is not distinguished in spelling from its adverbial 
 base <?/(' off'). 
 
 2. Besides its ordinary local uses, of has also the sense 
 of on: trauercyd for to be of bothe handes of sire la cote jttale 
 tayle, 350.4 (i. e., on both sides of); and in the sense of 
 'off,' 'from' (cf. 1): the lady of the lake took up her heed 
 and henge itvp by the hayre of ('from') her sadel bowe, 362.19. 
 
 3. Of \% used temporally, in the sense of 'during': of al 
 that day he had but lytel rest, 263.21; blynd of long tyme, 
 715.24; the truage — was behynde of seuen yere, 278.26; of 
 alle that quarter of sommer syr Tristram coude neuer mete with 
 sir palomydes, 570.10; he — had tasted none other mete of a 
 grete whyle, 668.18. This use may explain of in the follow- 
 ing : he loued the queue — aboiie al other ladyes damoysels of 
 his lyf 183.17. 
 
 4. Of separation, with verbs of depriving, delivering, 
 etc., in the sense of 'out of,' 'from,' etc.: wofme the f eld of 
 
 ' " I can nat telle where-ff« it was long.'' — C. T., G. 930. 
 
116 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 this knyghte, 134.13; Gaherys — wanne his lady of hym, 
 368.15 (cf. the modern vulgarism "I won it off him"); 
 rescowed of the theiies, 219.37; // is no good knyghtes parte 
 to lette hym of his worship' 260.26; staunched of his bledyng, 
 250.4; ye maye drawe oiite the sowles of erthely payne, 
 716.29. 
 
 A rarer use appears in the following : awoke of his swoun, 
 811.32; bad them seace of their bataille, 413.29. 
 
 5. Of source, in various relations usually expressed by 
 from. 
 
 (a) of descent : thou arte come of men of worship, 214.10; 
 broder vnto syr Gawayn of fader and moder, 218.22. 
 
 (b) of feudal tenure: knyghtes that hold oi me, 224.20. 
 
 (c) in other relations : loue micste aryse of the herte, 
 762.20; oure kyng brought vp of children two men, 518.32; 
 many ther were that kyttg Arthur had made vp of nought, 
 840.26; that was of his grete gentylnes, 215.16; dame Lyones 
 desyred of the kynge that, etc., 271.29 ; as is of record, 
 160.16. 
 
 (d) shading into the idea of agency: she hadde children 
 oi kynge Melyodas, 275.6; alle the chere that myghte be done 
 bathe of the kynge and of many other kynges, 268.37; neue ere 
 had I suche a stroke of mans hand, 690.1 ; I compte m.e neuer 
 the wers knyght for a fall e of sir Bleoberys, 342.12; this is a 
 grete despyte of ('from ') a Sarasyn, 487.6; and they fayle of 
 the Sangreal hit is in waste (' time thrown away ') of (' on the 
 part of) alle the reme7iau7it to recouer hit, 665.11; of no leche 
 she coude haue no 7-emedye, 705.16. 
 
 6. of agency: he was honoured of hyhe and lowe, 212.30; 
 of hym I wil be made knyght and els of none, 216.27; ^^'^ ^ 
 wel said of ('by') you, 254.9; I wille not be knowen of neyther 
 more ne lesse, 257.25. 
 
 7. of instrument, means, etc.: were fedde of the holy 
 sangreal (Caxton's Rubric), 30.2; dye of my hand, 168.6. 
 
P/;£POS/T/OKS. 117 
 
 8. of cause. 
 
 (a) literally, 'from,' 'on account of: I fde myself — sore 
 brysed of the dedes of yesterday, 543.20; of that stroke syr 
 Blamor felle to the erthe, 259.30; stony ed of the dethe of 
 this fair lady, 107.22 ; / shal dye of the byrthe of the, 
 274.13 ; my modcr dyed of me, 291.4; he shalle ncuer 
 fayle of shame, 693.2 (where the meaning is 'on account 
 of shame '). 
 
 (i) This use seems to explain the meaning borne by 
 the phrase for the lone of in the following: destroyed 
 her self for the loue of his dcth, S2.30 ; thus was al the 
 Courte troubled for the loue of the dcpartycyoii of tho 
 knyghtes, 621.25. 
 
 (2) of in this sense appears frequently with adjectives 
 and participles: bau'dy of the grece, 218.36; dede of oldenes, 
 715.33; T am loth — of that gyfte T haue gyuen yow, 11 2.6; 
 they were sory of his felauship, 428.6 (cf. mod. E. ' glad of 
 his company'); Jieuy of //, 713.22; fayne of his corny rige, 
 211.28^; lam — agreued oi your greuaimee, 205.16; made 
 alle the see reed of his blood, 165.18. 
 
 (3) Similar are the common collocations joye of and pyte 
 of: they made grete loye of hem, 705.10; hit was grete fyte of 
 her dethe, 709.4. 
 
 (b) metaphorically, 'in accordance with,' ' according to ' : 
 promyse pie of your curtosy — to cause hym to be made knyghte, 
 189.29; syn that ye — 7-equyre me of k?iyghthode to helpe yow, 
 208.25; they — requyred hym of his good grace to be of good 
 comforte, 268.9. 
 
 (c) Hence ' in return for,' etc. : make her amendys of al 
 the trespas, 240.29. It is doubtful whether the common 
 thanked — of belongs here or under 9. 
 
 (i) Very similar is of meaning 'for the sake of: prayd 
 hym oi felauship that was bitwene them to telle hym, 721.13. 
 
 1 \V. Ther-^ was he fulle blythe, 636. 
 
118 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 g. Of\s, very commonly used in the sense of 'concerning,' 
 'about,' 'in respect of: kynge Marke was behynde of the 
 truage, 277.24; he asked the dwerf of best counceil, 263.7; 
 T kepe (' care ') nomore of the dwerf, 245.1 1 ; al men wondred of 
 the noblesse of syr launcelot, 261.11 ; I merueyle of the, 405.19; 
 by hyni that passeth of bounteand of knyghthode al them, etc., 
 716.22; to telle the trouth of his quest, 117.24; remembre of 
 this vnstable world, 723.23; he remembryd of wyles and trea- 
 son, 495.33 ; Syr Persant is — no thyng of myi^te nor strength, 
 229.15. 
 
 (a) Here belong probably the following common colloca- 
 tions : reuenge you oi the dethe of syr Gawayn, ?ic^2.2S; he — 
 prayd them oi foryeuenes, 251.19; they — praid the lord of 
 the castel of her burgh, 427.19; he cryed hem mercy of that he 
 had done to them, 722.17; and perhaps also, that knyghte — 
 requyred hym of lustes, 377.13.^ Cf. also: ye haue rescowed 
 me of my lyf 414.13 ; I shalle helpe yow — of an hors, 642.4; 
 he serched his body of other thre woundes, 795.2. 
 
 (b) Here also belong many ^phrases after adjectives : 
 true of, fals of, noble of, wyse of, myghty of, etc. ; e. g., feble of 
 good byleue, 663.29.° 
 
 10. Hence of is used to mean 'considering,' 'taking into 
 account': wel made of his yeres, 102.28; that was a myghty 
 stroke of ('for') a yonge knyght, 106.24 (i- e-> considering his 
 youth); a woj-shipful knyghte — of his yeres, 252.29; of a 
 sy7iner erthely thow hast no pier e, 660.23. 
 
 1 1 . Of is partitive in the following : they were served of 
 al wynes and metes, 126.7; Sy*^ hym of al maner of metes, 
 214.20; serue hym of the wyn^ 271.8; take with you of the 
 blood, 720.6; salewe my lorde sir launcelot ttiy fader and of 
 
 1 W. beseke her of grace, loi. 
 
 Of mete and drynke he gan her pray, 206. 
 Of thy garlond wondyr I haue, 263. 
 2 W. meke of maners, 35. ^ Cf. sertccd with fysshe, 491.14. 
 
PREPOSITIONS. 119 
 
 hem of the round table, 720.32. This last seems either a 
 misprint or a Gallicism. In fact, this construction is quite 
 possibly kept alive by French influence. 
 
 12. (^phrases corresponding to the genitive of material 
 (source), ' accompaniment,' ' characteristic,' etc. : made a 
 kechyn knaiie of /yv«, 252.25; garnysshed of leues, 641.28; be 
 ye of good chere, 255.12. 
 
 13. Q/^phrases corresponding to the genitive of measure : 
 two flagans — they ar of two galons, 234.7; a /aire doui^ter 
 of xz'iij yere of age, 231.13. 
 
 14. Of with verbs. See also 4 and g. 
 
 (a) Of is used partitively after verbs of serving, supply- 
 ing, etc. (11). 
 
 (b) Of is used with many derivatives from French verbs 
 followed by de: l tnedle not of their maters, 512.29 (se mesler 
 de, Cotgrave") ; sir Mador appeled the queue of the dethe of his 
 cosyn, 729.16. 
 
 (c) Of occurs frequently after impersonal verbs: me 
 forthynketh of the dethe of your daughter, 713.23. 
 
 339. on. 
 
 1. oti is adverbial in the combination sought on, which 
 seems to have about the force of G. versuchen, 'to tempt': 
 he is — ful lothe to fyghte with ony man, but yf he be sore 
 sou3t on, 115.35; Syr Mordred sought on quene Guenever — 
 for to haue hir to come oute, 840.14. 
 
 2. on\% used in senses proper to of 
 
 (a) 'concerning,' 'about,' etc.: thynke on loye, 692.29; 
 he sayth wronge on me, 210.14; he seith not ryght on me, 
 138.25 (cf. mod. E. 'tell on me'); all men wondred on hym, 
 272.4; that was wel preiied on many, 183.7^ (i. e., in the 
 case of many). 
 
 1 "I am glad an't." —Jul. Cats., I. 3, 137- Cf. Abbott, 181, 182. 
 
120 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 (b) ' on account of ' • T am smyten vfon thold wounde — 
 on the whiche Ifele wel I must dye^ 841.34. 
 
 3. C« is used in phrases of charge and asseveration: on 
 my lyf, 187.18; on thy knyghthode, 205.27. 
 
 4. On is used of opposition (' against ') : leyd syege on the 
 castel, 64.8; he rode on kyng Neiitres, 54.13 ; on hym knyghtes 
 wylle be bolde, 201.31. 
 
 5. On is used in senses proper to several other preposi- 
 tions. 
 
 (a) 'over': tary on the foote men, 60.3; regned on vs, 
 161.27. 
 
 (b) ' in ' : wherfor trowest thow more on thy harneis than 
 in thy maker, 710.18. 
 
 (c) 'to'' cryed oxi syre launcelot, 198.25. 
 
 6. Among the set phrases are on hand, on euen handes (of 
 a "drawn" battle), on my costes ('at my expense'), 0}i a daye 
 ('on a certain day'), on a tyme ('once upon a time'). 
 
 340. Adverbial phrases with on and a. 
 
 With regard to these phrases in Shakspere, Abbott re- 
 marks : " In these adverbs the a- represents some preposi- 
 tion, as 'in,' 'on,' 'of,' &c., contracted by rapidity of 
 pronunciation," Abbott, 24. The actual transition, and the 
 exact form of the earlier and later stages of most of these 
 
 1 " lest more mischance on plots and errors happen." 
 
 — Ham.,\. 2, 406. 
 
 " She's wandering to the tower 
 On pure heart's love to greet the tender princes." 
 
 — Rich. Ill, IV. 1, 4 {Abbott). 
 
 On seems to mean ' from ' in the following : yonder is a fayre 
 shadowe. There Tnaye we reste vs on oure horses, 183.28 (whereat they 
 immediately got off their horses to rest). There are no parallel cases; 
 but cf. 354, 3. d. 
 
F/iEFOSITIOAS. 121 
 
 common phrases, is abundantly exemplified in the Morte 
 d' Arthur} Thus we have the parallel forms: 
 
 aback — on bak. 
 
 on foote. 
 
 a foote . , . , 
 
 on /us foote. 
 
 a fore — on fore. 
 
 a loude — on loude. 
 
 a lytic — on lyue. 
 
 a parte — on parte. 
 
 a slepe — on slepe. 
 
 a sondre — in so?idre. 
 
 a two — in two. 
 
 Furthermore we find on lofte ('aloft'), on syde ('aside'), on 
 Mood (his nose braste oute on blood, 192.4), and on day (cf. 
 now adayes, 771.28): on day ('at daybreak') cam Merlyn, 
 37.20. 
 
 (a) The base in each of these cases is, as Mr. Abbott 
 suggests, either a noun or an adjective used as a noun. 
 Thus the same construction appears in : grete lustes doon 
 alle a crystemasse (Caxton's Rubric, 31.20); they — helde 
 landes of arthur a this half the see, 499.25; he wold ryde on 
 pylgremage, 166.35. Here also belongs probably the com- 
 mon phrase that day a twelue moneth (i. e., that day in twelve 
 months), 253.10, which usually omits the a: this day twelue 
 moneth, 214.2. Cf. § 334, 6. 
 
 (b) Such phrases, when formed with verbal nouns, gave 
 rise to the later forms (a-hunting, a-fishing, etc.), and subse- 
 quently to the anomalous modern forms with verbs (a-float, 
 a-swim, etc.). The Morte d' Arthur shows on sltimberynge, 
 on bledynge, on huntyng, on mayeng, etc. The corresponding 
 forms with a are rare (a doyng, 84.13, 389.7). 
 
 ' It is not to be assumed, however, in every case that the form with 
 on is earlier than the form with u. 
 
122 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 (c) The confusion of this prepositional a- with the inten- 
 sive a- from A. S. of-, which is noted by Abbott (24.3), 
 appears rarely: the quene was an angred, 737.23 (of. an 
 hungered, S. Matt., xxv. 44). 
 
 341. only (' except ') is rare : there were all the knyghtes 
 of the round- table only tho that were prysoners or slayn, 
 213.19. 
 
 342. or ('ere'): never ox this tyme, 225.15. 
 
 343. OUte of occurs in the sense of ' beyond ' : good 
 ('goods') oute of 7iombre, 168.28; they be oute of nonbre 
 ('numberless'), 179.7; grete strokes oute oi al mesure, 172.22. 
 
 344. ouerthwart(e) is (a) adjective: ye are — passyng 
 ouerthwarte of your tonge, 359.25; (b) noun: at an ouer- 
 thwart, 239.14; (c) adverb: lepte upon hym ouerthwart, 
 230.33; (d) preposition: layd the naked swerd ouerthwart 
 bothe their throtes, 151.13. 
 
 I. thivart occurs (rarely) : smote Arthur thwart the vysage, 
 I73-37- 
 
 345. sauf, saue: armed al sauf the hedes, 199.2. sauyng 
 to occurs at 176.7 : -withoute ony man sauyng to a page. 
 
 346. syn': syn the dethe of kyng Vther, 44.6. The ad- 
 verbial forms are sythen, sythe, and syn. 
 
 347. thorou (thorowe, thurgh, thorou oute, thurgh oute, 
 thorugh oute) has the ordinary local and temporal uses, and 
 the common meaning 'by means of.' At 1 16.10 it seems to 
 mean ' on account of ' (result) : myn arme is oute of lythe 
 wher thorow / must nedes reste me. 
 
 348. to. 
 
 I. To shows occasionally its original adverbial force : or 
 ('ere') it be long to, 152.5. 
 
 1 W. syth: syth yesterdaye, 257; Syth the tyme I sawe you last, 428. 
 
PHEPOSITIONS. 123 
 
 2. Local, in senses since supplied by other prepositions: 
 leid — a salue to hym, 255.15; stroke ('struck') to the other 
 two bretherai, 203.1 1 ; put the pomels of theire swerdes to the 
 knyght, 155.7. 
 
 3. Temporal, in the common phrases to nyght, to morowe, 
 to tnome, and in : tioo monethes was to the daye that the turne- 
 ment shold be, 256.6. 
 
 4. To is used of extent, limit, etc. 
 
 (a) literally: to ///<■ mountena7ice of an houre, 217.33; '^ 
 coronal of gold besette with stones of vertue to the value of a 
 thousand pound, 254.30; yo}ir botmte and hyhenes may no man 
 prey sc half to the valcwc, 78.33; to the somme of XXX, 65.26. 
 
 (b) metaphorically: to my power, 94.29 (i.e., to the best 
 of my ability); to my wctynge, 691.38 (i. e., to my knowledge, 
 so far as I know); slayne — to my dethe, 520.11. 
 
 5. Hence to is used in phrases of comparison: there 
 myghte none cast bar re nor stone to hym by two yerdys, 215.25; 
 these ben but Japes to that ('what') he shalle doo, 113. 12. 
 
 6. The ancient to of purpose, as with the infinitive, 
 appears in phrases where to has the sense of 'for,' 'as': 
 whyche thou wylt haue to thy per amour, 187.9; ^^^ hadde a 
 passyng fair old ktiyght to her husband, 112.28 (cf. the sur- 
 viving ' take to wife ') ; J sende her hym to a presente (cf . 
 mod. E. 'to boot'), 135.25. Cf. to thys entent, 232.17. 
 
 7. 7b is used with pronouns and names of persons some- 
 what like at (§ 324, 2): goo in to another, 714.3 (i.e., to 
 another man's castle). 
 
 8. To occurs in various senses since supplied by other 
 prepositions. 
 
 (a) 'for': al — shall be to your worship, 250.3; and the 
 kynge — made grete prouysyon to that turncmcnt, 255.4; make 
 a couerynge to the shyp, 698.13; make newe gyrdels to the 
 suerd, 699.23; to his helpe I wylle doo my power, 206.3; 
 made hym redy to that turnement, 258.6. Cf. 6. 
 
124 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 (b) 'according to': worshypped to his ryghte, 719.38. 
 The idea of limit, of the point up to which, may be latent 
 here. Cf. 4. 
 
 (c) ' into ' : felle to grete goodnesse, 211.24. 
 
 (d) Obeyed to, 162.33, is probably after the analogy of 
 ' obedient to.' 
 
 (e) To of direction is used of feeling, much like ' toward ' • 
 a preuy hate — to syr launcelot, 797.13. Cf. § 352.4. 
 
 9. Furthermore, to is used in the sense of ' against ' : warre 
 maad to kyng Arthur (Caxton's Rubric), 4.26; I shalle make 
 warre to the, 817.6; yf euer I trespaced to them, 563.18. Here 
 seems to belong the following also : the cowardyse that is 
 named to the k7iyifes of Cornewaile, 374.6.^ 
 
 349. tofore (cf. afoi-e, before'). The adverb has also the 
 form to forne. 
 
 350. toward (see -ward, § 52, f) occurs as an adverb: he 
 rode — bothe toward and froward, 634.21. 
 
 2. Toward has occasional tmesis: to the world ward, 
 720.19; to me ward, 294.26. 
 
 3. Toward occurs in the sense of 'for,' 'on behalf of ': / 
 shalle ensure the 7ieuer to werre ageynst thy lady but be alwey 
 toward her, 675.33. 
 
 351. tyl, tylle is used not only of tyme, but also (rarely) 
 of place : ledde hym tyl a caue, 716.24; teyed his hors til a 
 tree, 380.9 (cf. vntyl). 
 
 352. vnto. 
 
 I. local : ^ 
 
 (a) ' as far as ' : the kyng of Bretayn and all the lordshippes 
 vnto Rome, 273.15. 
 
 ^ W. shows a use of to not paralleled in the Morte cP Arthur: therto 
 hadde sche nede, 504. 
 
 2 Vnto appears once in W. as an adverb: Howe cam thys vn-to? 549. 
 
PREPOS/TIO.VS. 125 
 
 (b) ' on ' : f/ior was ivryten vnto the tovibe that Quette 
 Gueneuer, etc., 738.3. 
 
 (c) 'at': the fygge tree vnXo Iherusalem, 6^1.2,0. 
 
 (d) 'toward,' 'at': smote a sore stroke vnto syr Raynold, 
 203.10 (so to, cf. 3). 
 
 2. temporal, in the conjunctive phrase vnto the tyme that. 
 
 3. in many of the uses of to (q. v.) 'for': redy vnto 
 bataylle, 206.18; 'for,' 'as': hath — noble knyghtes vnto his 
 kynne, 387.33 ; ' in comparison with ' : lyke to cotiquere alle the 
 world ; for vnto his courage it is to lytel, 163.10; syr Persant 
 is no thyiig of myyte — vnto the knyghte that, etc., 229.15. 
 
 So also, strake one vnto the dethe, 219.21; trust vnto my 
 promyse, 246.29; obeye now vnto hym, 245.19 (cf. § 348.8, d); 
 and he resembled moche vnto sire launcelot, 617.6. 
 
 4. In like manner vnto is used to denote the direction of 
 feeling, much like ' toward ' : syre Tristram had no loye of 
 her letters nor regard wnto her, 279.34; ^f there be ony man 
 that T haue offended vnto, 292.19; they alle had suspecyon 
 vnto her, 729.6; sir mordred had — a preuy hate vnto the 
 Que?ie, 797.12 (cf. § 348.8, e).-" 
 
 353. vntyl is local as well as temporal, and the local 
 use is more frequent than that of tyl : vntyl his owne hors, 
 188.21; vn tyl an ermyte, 72.30; ranne vntyl hym, 847.7.^ 
 
 354. vpon. 
 
 1. Chaucer's vp occurs, but very rarely: as I rode vp tnyti 
 aduentures, 414.30; sire percyual tooke the knyghtes hors and 
 made sire percydes to mounte vp hym, 589.37. 
 
 2. Vpon temporal occurs in the phrases vpon that ('there- 
 upon'), 620.1, and vpon a day ('once upon a time'), 693.13. 
 
 1 Vnto means ' in,' ' with regard to,' in : fortunate vnto the werrys, 
 198.9; and ' of,' ' at the hands of,* in : T haue yll deserued it vnto hym, 
 86.22. 
 
 2 Cf. W. The lady spake the wyfe vn-tylle, 583. 
 
126 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 3. Vpon is used in many senses of on: vpon her party 
 ('on her side'), 257.14; to doo suche cost vpon hym, 214.22; 
 reuengyd vpon hym, 846.32; especially in the following 
 senses : 
 
 (a) in the sense of opposition : dyd many batayUes vpon 
 the myscreantes, 860.38; landed vpon them, 842.33; hys 
 enemyes Vsurpped vpon hym and dyd a grete bataylle vpon his 
 men, 39.12.^ 
 
 (b) in phrases of charge and asseveration : vpon payne of 
 dethe, 202.29; vpon my peryl, 216.22; ipon his blessynge, 
 231.15; vpon payne of myn hede, iZ9-31-^ 
 
 (c) in the sense of ' concerning ' : wel bywaryd vpon hym, 
 246.18; syr Beaumayns bethoughte hym vpon the knyghtes, 
 239.31; wondre ye not soo vpon sire Palomydes, 544.6. In 
 the following vpon may mean either ' concerning ' or ' directed 
 toward ' : the noyse (' outcry ') shall be Icfte that is now vpon 
 
 hym, 5 44- 11-^ 
 
 (d) Cf. also the following : his woimdes renewed vpon 
 bledynge, 790.22; he trusteth — vpon his handes, 809.9; thou 
 saist hit vpon pryde of that good knyghte that is there with the, 
 379.15; a noble swerd that — syre Grynga??iors fader wanne 
 
 1 "But did usurps with wrong and tyrannie 
 
 Upon the sceptre which she now did hold." 
 
 — Faerie Queene, I, 4. 12. 
 
 2 " And Arcite is exyled upon his heed." 
 
 -C. T., 1344. (^). 
 " Namore, up peyne of lesing of your heed." . 
 
 -C. T., 1707. (^). 
 3 Vpon means ' to the decision of ' in the following : lete vs put it 
 bothe vpon hym, 146.19. This may be a metaphorical application of the 
 preposition. The mod. E. phrase is " I put it to you." 
 
 The phrase besy vpon, in Caxton's Rubric, seems to have the idea of 
 insistence conveyed in the mod. E. phrase "kept at him ": syr Agratiayn 
 and syr mordred were besy vpon syr Gawayn for to disclose, etc., 32.23 
 (i. c, were urging him to disclose). 
 
PREPOSITIONS. 127 
 
 vpon an hethen Tyraunt, 258.5 (see § 339.2, b, foot-note; 
 and Imge on, § 335). 
 
 355. with. 
 
 1. ]J'it/i is temporal in certain set phrases: wyth that, 
 loith these tvordes, forthe 7oifh al, ryght ther with al, attone 
 with al, etc. Tlie underlying idea of accompaniment is 
 plain. 
 
 2. With of instrument needs no exemplification. There 
 seems, however, to be an extension of this use to the idea 
 of means in Caxton's Rubric, 22.16 ; How syr Dynadan tnette 
 ivith syr Trystra?n, and wyth lustyng wyth syr Palamydes syr 
 Dynadan knewe hym} 
 
 3. With is used of agency : onercome with a symplyer 
 knyghte, 198.10; distressid — with a fals knyghte, 193.9; 
 tempted- — with afende, 695.5; byseged^\\h. a tyraunte, 215.38; 
 best byloued with this lady, 260.29; ^^'^ with wylde beestes, 
 652.27; bitrayed with his wyf, 793.16; a valeye closed with a 
 rennynge water, 690.27 (of inanimate agency). 
 
 4. Thus with inanimate or abstract things with is some- 
 times used to denote the cause : there with the kynge was 
 angry, 698.8. 
 
 5. With of accompaniment appears in various connections, 
 literal and metaphorical : that nyght were the thre felawes 
 easyd with the best, 705.31; lete in with torche lyghte, 153.26; 
 lyue mth. fastyng, 850.24; suche shame I had with the thre 
 bretheren, 702.5 ('among' the brethren, or possibly 'from'); 
 he was helyd hard \fith. the lyf, 218.30; And yf T myght \\\X\\ 
 my worship, I wold not haue a doo with yow, 202.37. So in 
 the common phrases with wronge ('wrongfully'), marye with, 
 and probably match with, though the idea here may be 
 rather 'pit against.' Cf. also: what wold ye with the best 
 ('beast'), 65.37; he asked — what tydynges were with hem, 
 462.16. 
 
 1 W. My lyfe th.er<vyth (' thereby ') to lede, 507. 
 
128 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 6. With in the sense of against (O. E. wip) needs no 
 exemplification. 
 
 7. With occurs rarely in the sense of by in charges : ye 
 charge me with a grete thynge (i. e., his knightly faith), 298.18. 
 
 8. In anastrophe the adverbial form withal is used : the 
 byggest man that euer T mette with al, 194.16; vpon them thai- 
 I had ado with al\ 229.33; thou shalt anone be met with al, 
 219.12. 
 
 9. With has conditional force in the conjunctive phrase 
 with that (see § 398), but the base idea is accompaniment. 
 
 356. within. 
 
 1 . Within temporal is most common in the phrase within 
 a whyle. 
 
 2. Ellipsis of something implied seems to explain the use 
 of within with personal pronouns and nouns of person : the 
 whyche cyte was within kynge Vryens, 64.2 (i. e., within the 
 domain of). Other cases show a close likeness to the F. 
 use of chez : the same knyght was within hym ('within his 
 house '), 399.25 (cf. §§324.2,348.7); ones I had syr Gawayne 
 within me, 207.12 ('within my power'?); soo shal T come 
 withynne her to cause her to cherysshe me, 149.18 ('into her 
 favour ' ?). 
 
 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 357. also, in addition to its frequent use with and, 
 occurs frequently as an introductory conjunction. 
 
 358. and. 
 
 1. simple copulative {passim). 
 
 2. So loose is the coordination at times that the and is 
 practically expletive: In the name of Ihesu Cryste, and praye 
 
COjX/iLVCTIO.yS. 129 
 
 you that ye gyrd yow, etc., 700.6; goo ye hens where ye hope 
 best to doo and as I bad yow, 720.24. 
 
 3. conditional {passim): and ye wylle be reiilyd by me, I 
 shal help yoic, 187.24. 
 
 359. as. 
 
 1. The simple modal use (as we denied, 199.20) is com- 
 mon in phrases of asseveration : as [ am true knyghte, 
 188.17; sometimes with the added idea of proportion: as 
 ye wylle haue my heipe, lete me alone with hetn, 200.26. 
 
 (a) as that -^ is used (rarely) in the same sense : she 
 praide me as that / loued her hertely that T wold make, etc., 
 240.2. 
 
 2. modal, as — as (^passini). The disjunction is often 
 loose. Thus : 
 
 (a) the former as is often omitted : spared their horses 
 m.yghtely as the horses myife renne, 60.33. 
 
 3. modal, suche (so) — as (passim). 
 
 (a) latter as omitted : thow arte not so old of yeres to 
 knowe my fader, 66.29; ^" suche a plyte to gete my soule hele, 
 854.14. This ellipsis occurs quite regularly before an infin- 
 itive. Cf. §§ 249, 385.4. 
 
 4. The same modal idea is expressed by lyke as: lyke as 
 he dyd yerly, 215.29. 
 
 5 . Of condition contrary to fact (' as if ') : it ferd under 
 hym as the erthe had quaked, 206.27 ; ^'^y^ ^^ ^^^ ^^'^'^ ^^^ dede, 
 248.14. 
 
 (a) as though is used in the same sense : she souned as 
 though she wold dye, 209.30; he ferd as though he myght not 
 goo, 213.27. As yf does not occur. 
 
 (b) lyke as is used, more rarely, in the same sense: he 
 unlaced his helme lyke as he wold slee hym, 224.12; lay there 
 — lyke as she had ben dede, 268.15. 
 
 1 For all compound conjunctive forms made with the relative that ci. 
 also § 388.4. 
 
130 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 6. temporal. 
 
 (a) 'when,' 'while': as these queues loked — they knewe, 
 etc., 186.10; as he paste beyonde, 208.9. 
 
 (b) ' when,' ' after ' • as he had ryden long — he mette, etc., 
 184.28. 
 
 7. causal: by cause we understande — and as we knowe 
 wel, etc., 187.2; as I here say that the turnement shal be here 
 — ye shal sende unto me thre knyghtes, 190.32. 
 
 8. As is added to demonstratives to make relatives : that 
 as ('what'), there as ('where '). Similarly as is added to the 
 interrogative whether, to make a relative : I take no 'force, 
 but whether as hym lyst hym self, 230.15 (i. e., whichever 
 he likes). Cf. §§ 64, b ; 69. 
 
 (a) The relative force of as appears in the construction 
 with same, etc.: that same day as he departed, 253.21. 
 
 9. As is expletive in many common phrases: 
 
 (a) in the familiar as for : as for syr kay, we chaced hym 
 hyder, 200.35; ^^ for my ladyes name, that shall not ye knowe, 
 216.5. 
 
 (b) in other cases of kindred meaning : as touchynge syre 
 Gawayn, 215.13; And as vnto syr Lyonel and Ector de marys 
 he prayeth yow to abyde hym, 196.21; they had not their 
 ententes neyther with other as in her delytes, 247.26; for as by 
 oure aduys the kynge shal sende, etc., 254.4; she had holpen 
 hem as in straunge aduentures, 706.25. 
 
 (c) in expressions of time, like Chaucer's as nowthe and 
 mod. E. as yet: as yet thou shalt not haue, etc., 242.4; for 
 as at this tyme I must ryde, 196.9; alle ma7ier of straunge 
 aduentures came before Arthur as at that feest, 213.10; fyghte 
 as to morne tvith syre Mordred, 844.27. 
 
 360. bothe — and. 
 
 The following common cases show an irregular correla- 
 tion in which bothe is used much like 'besides,' 'also': 
 whan the mayde was horsed and he bothe, 691.1; vnto my 
 
COAJCXCTIOAS. 131 
 
 grete dommage and his bothe, 134.9; I am sore hurte and he 
 bothe, 134.10; serche his woundes atid Accolons bothe, 135.19. 
 Other cases of irregular correlation are due to the loose 
 sentence structure : _i'6' haue bothe saued me and my hors, 
 I9S-27- 
 
 361. but. 
 
 1. negative conditional (' unless ') : but syre launcelot helpe 
 lis we may neuer be delyuerd, 185.33; wylle not be ouermatched 
 — but jd; ouermatche hytn, 193.3; gretely my consayte fayleth 
 inc. but thou shalt preue a man of ryghte grete worship, 214.11 
 (i. e., if — not); no knyght foiinde suche tokens but he were a 
 good lyuer, 124.37; ''"^ " "" reson to fyghte with me but I telle 
 you my name, 505.16.^ 
 
 (a) but yf is used frequently in the same sense : ryde not 
 after syr Gryngamor but yf ye owe hym good wille, 244.8; 
 and but yf / come ageyn wythiii xv dayes, than take your 
 shyppes — o^ departe, 853.30'. 
 
 (b) but so that, in the following: I will not take your 
 yeldyng vnto me, but so that ye wylle yelde you vnto syr kay, 
 200.32, may mean unless, but it is probably best explained 
 as meaning 'except on condition that,' with but as a prepo- 
 sition and so used in its conditional sense (see so). 
 
 2. negative relative, after a negative main clause: I haue 
 no thynge do but I wille auowe, 250.2. 
 
 (a) Usually, however, a pronoun subject or object ap- 
 pears in the relative clause : ther is no knyght lyuynge but 
 lam able ynough for hym, 230.10; he fond no gate nor dore 
 but it was open, 7 1 0.2 7 ; there was none of these other knyghtes 
 but they redde in bookes, 856.20. 
 
 ' W. That he no where myght owte wynne 
 But helpe to hym were brought, 194. 
 Mete ne drynke ne getyst thou none 
 Butt thou wylt swete or swynke, 212. 
 
132 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 (b) The following cases seem to be extensions of the 
 foregoing construction, though the idea of result is sug- 
 gested : Me7-lyn Me make there a hedde, that ther shold neuer 
 man lye therin but he we7ite oute of his zaytte, 99.2; Thus was 
 
 he swerd p relied that none ne dreit'e it but he were dede or 
 maymed, 693.32 ('without going mad,' 'without being killed 
 or wounded '). That this construction was confused with 
 the conditional, appears in the following: ther shalle tieiier 
 none sytte in that syege but one but yf he be destroyed, 571. 11. 
 
 (c) The bict is omitted at 704.33: there was none that 
 saw hym they wend he had ben none erthely man. 
 
 3. in negative clauses of result, after a negative main 
 clause with so, suche, etc. : not soo hardy — but thou saue 
 hym, 227.15; This counceil was not soo pryuely kepte but it 
 was understande, 247.19; / truste — myn eure ('luck') is not 
 suche but some of them may sore repente thys, 59.7; there was 
 neuer so harde an herted man but he wold haue wepte, 855.16 ; 
 / wille not be soo moche a coward but she shalle vnderstaiide, 
 etc., 800.12. 
 
 (a) An extension of this construction appears in the 
 following : there is neyther kynge quene ne knyght — excepte 
 my lord — and yow tnadame shold Ictte me but I shold make 
 sir Mellyagraunce herte ful cold, 780.3; // is fallen so — that 
 T may not with my worshyp but the quene must suffer the 
 dethe, 808.13. 
 
 4. But has the force of than after a comparative with a 
 preceding negative : Is not kyng Arthur your uncle no ferther 
 but your moders broder, 839.33; ''■"ne other lyf but warre 
 and stryffe, 840.23. The commonest collocations are as 
 follows : 
 
 (a) no more but: I will aske no more — but that ye wille, 
 etc., 42.29; no more but one, 228.36. 
 
 (b) not sooner but: they had not sooner sayd that word but 
 there cam four knyghtes, 108.5. 
 
CONJUNCTIONS. 133 
 
 (c) The following passages are probably to be explained 
 as extensions of this usage: he had not rydcii but a whyle 
 but the knyghte badde, etc., 210.24; ''■''C i^'ce not in this land 
 four dayes but there came a crye of a Justes, 498.22 ; I fynde 
 neuer more — of the vcray certenic of his deth but ('than that') 
 thus was he leddc aioeye. 851.1. 
 
 5. But is used to introduce an object clause after the 
 verbe doubte in a negative main clause : doubte not but the 
 vengeaunce wil falle, 94.20; doubte ye not but / ^oille be with 
 yoT.o, 600.11. 
 
 (a) But that appears (rarely) in the same construction: 
 I wold not doubte but that ye wold rescowe me, 801.6. 
 
 (b) Sometimes the object clause appears without intro- 
 ductory particle : doubte not thow shall haue, etc., 108.10. 
 
 6. Simple adversative (^passini). The construction in 
 the following may, perhaps, be regarded as transitional : 
 There nys none other remedye said Merlyn but god wil haue 
 his wille, 39.29. 
 
 362. but that (rare). 
 
 1. negative conditional (cf. but, 1): it were grete shame 
 unto myn estate but that he were 7nyghtely withstand, 76.5. 
 
 2. negative result (cf. but, 3): ye shalle jiot go fer with 
 her but that ye shalle be mette and greued, 1 10.35. 
 
 3. to introduce a negative object clause, after a negative 
 main clause : soo subtylly made that noo man perceyue it but 
 that they be al one, 697.35; / may neuer hyleue but that thou 
 wylt tome to the world ageyn, 854.35.^ Cf. § 361.5. 
 
 363. but yf. See but, i, a. 
 
 364. by cause is primarily an adverbial phrase. Its 
 conjunctive use arises, as in other cases, from the construc- 
 
 1 The irregular construction at 192.10 is probably due to some 
 transposition in printing : there was notte but that he hyt surely he bare 
 none armes that day. Wynkyn de Worde has he was hyt. 
 
134 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 tion with a //^a/'-clause modifying tlie noun cause. Thus by 
 cause that in Chaucer and in Malory is equivalent to 'for 
 the reason that.' This is the second stage ; the third is the 
 dropping of tlie that} 
 
 1 . subordinate causal : by cause we understande your wor- 
 thy nes, 1 8 7. 1. 
 
 2. For by cause is sometimes used in the same sense: for 
 by cause I loue — my cosyn, 210.14; /"^ h' cause he rydeth 
 with me, 221.36; for by cause this JDamas is so fals, 127.16; 
 for by cause T haue slayne — these knyghtes, 805.20. This 
 is a redundancy, but it shows that by cause is not yet firmly 
 estabhshed. For occurs as a subordinate causal in Chaucer, 
 and frequently in the Morte d' Arthur (see § 368, 2). 
 
 3. By cause is used sometimes as a final conjunction : 
 leyd them in chestys of leed, by cause they shold not chauffe ne 
 sauoure, 174.24 (i.e., that they might not); she wold haue 
 slayne Trystram by cause her chyldren shold reioyce his land, 
 275.34; Bagdemagus sente aweye his sone — by cause syr 
 Launcelot shold not mete with hyni, 483.5. 
 
 365. by that (rare) illustrates the fact that at this time 
 almost any preposition might be used with conjunctive force 
 by the simple addition of that (see § 388.4). As a con- 
 junction, by that means so soon as: by that theyr dryiike was 
 iti their bodyes, they loued eyther other, 309.37. 
 
 366. eyther — or. 
 
 The disjunction is frequently loose: so shal I fynysshe 
 it to the ende, eyther ('or else') T shal dye therfore, 219.10; 
 destroye hym eyther els or dye therfor, 80.15. Cf. § 383. 
 
 367. ferthermore is not yet fully established as a con- 
 junction, but occurs in the combination ajid ferthermore. 
 
 1 For cause appears in the same sense : he putte sir Bryan — from his 
 landes for cause he wold neuer be withhold with kynge Arthur, 352.27. 
 
CONJUNCTIONS. 135 
 
 368. for. 
 
 I. co-ordinate causal {passim). 
 
 1. subordinate causal : 7ohy smote ye doune my sheld. For 
 / HI/7 Itcste ivith yow said gryflet., 6g.2o; for she had no cofer 
 to kepe it ill, she put it in the erthe, 696.16; for she cryed to 
 her fader they slewe her, 701.36.^ For the subordinate causal 
 for cause {for by cause) see § 364, and foot-note. See also 
 for why, § 369. 
 
 3. For is sometimes used as a mere resumptive, to intro- 
 duce a clause. In these cases it often seems purely expletive; 
 but some ellipsis is probably implied, as with the Greek 
 {kox) yap: IVhat neueuie said the kynge is the wynde in that 
 dore; for 'luete ye loel I wold not — to be eausar to withdrawe 
 your hertes, 269.20; Also there 7C'as Xynyue the chyef lady of 
 the lake, that had wedded Pelleas the good knyght and this lady 
 had doon moche for kyng Arthur; for she wold neuer suffre 
 syr Pelleas to be — in daunger, 851.7; hut yet the heremyte 
 knewe ?iot in certayn that he ('it') was verayly the body of kyng 
 Arthur ; for thys tale syr Bedwer — made it to be wryton, 
 851.15; whan I am deed T praye you all praye for my soule; 
 for this book was ended the ix yere, etc., 861.8; els my soule 
 wyll be in grete perylle and T dye (here the speech ends and 
 the narrative is resumed as follows), for with grete payne his 
 varlet brought hym to the castel, 410. i. Cf. also 56.15. 
 
 (a) In these cases for is used much like the introductory 
 'now,' Greek ovi/; and this, considering the context, is doubt- 
 less its force in the two following cases, where at first sight 
 it seems to mean 'though' (cf. a somewhat similar use of 
 
 1 Chaucer's imali. for {'for I shold the bet abreyde,'' Hous of Fame, 
 559) appears once : for the hete shold not nyhe hem — foure knyghtes — 
 bare a clothe of grene sylke, 186.4. 
 W. has for that in this sense : 
 
 After the wryght the lord lett sende 
 
 For i>at he schuld \^7th hym lende (' stay ' .'), 106. 
 
136 COAJUA'CTIONS. 
 
 eiret, as in Plato, Protagoras, 335, c) : whan the knyght fdt 
 that he was adrad; for he was a passynge bygge mati of 
 tnyghte, and anone he broughte Arthur under hym, 72.2 ; IVow 
 
 goo thou syr Lucan sayd the kyng . So syr Lucan 
 
 departed; for he was greuously wounded (the context shows 
 that he could hardly walk), 847.23. 
 
 369. for why is used rarely in the sense of ' because ' : 
 they coude not excuse the quene, for why she made the dyner, 
 730. 1 1 ; The kyng was sore abasshed of his accusacion, for why 
 he was come att the somons of kynge Arthur, 303.6. 
 
 370. fro is a temporal conjunction at 142.32 (cf. the 
 remarks on by that) : Syre Gawayne fro it passed ix of the 
 clok waxed euer stronger. The intermediate stage with that 
 does not appear. 
 
 371. how is sometimes used after verbs of telling, etc., 
 without any implication of manner, like simple that: the 
 porter wente vnio the duchesse and told her how ther was 
 a knyghte — wold haue herberowe, 263.33. 
 
 372. how be it (rare) (for the subjunctive be see § 215). 
 
 1 . ' yet ' (co-ordinate) : How be it kytig Constantyn wold 
 haue had them wyth hym, but they, etc., 860.27. 
 
 2. 'although' (subordinate, cases not quite plain): how 
 be it as ye say that he be no man of worshyp he is a ful lykely 
 per s one, 222.2 ; notwithstandyng I wille ass aye hym better how 
 be it I am moost beholdyng to hym of ony erthely man, 246.2 1. 
 Here, as in the case of for, and sometimes of other con- 
 junctions, the distinction between co-ordination and subor- 
 dination is by no means sharp. 
 
 373. in as moche as, in soo 7noche that, etc., and also in 
 soo moche (as omitted, see § 359.3, a). A still further contrac- 
 tion appears in the following : and soo moche it lyked your 
 
CONJUKCTIONS. 137 
 
 hyhenes to graunte me my bone — 7 requyre you hold your 
 promyse, 276.10) occurs rarely and has the force of 'since': 
 in SCO moche as she shal be brente^ 806.21; /« soo moche she 
 hath it for youre sake, 806.27. 
 
 374. I putte caas is a conjunctive phrase used (rarely), 
 like Chaucer's " I pose " to introduce a condition : I put caas 
 my name were syr launcelot, dv that it lyste me not to discouer 
 my name, what shold it greue you here to kepe my counceyl, 
 600.30; I putte caas said sir Palomydes that ye were armed — 
 and I naked — what wold ye doo, 608.17. 
 
 375. ne. 
 
 1 . ne as simple negative adverb is rare : ^ whos vyrgynyte 
 ne was perysshed, 703.10; he t:\& was dede, 707.12 (cf. § 195). 
 
 2. ne has usually the sense of nor: I owe hym none 
 homage ne none of myn elders, 74.35; I care not ne T double 
 hem not, 221.5.- 
 
 376. nevertheles occurs both alone and with a pre- 
 ceding but. 
 
 377. neyder — nor, neyther — nor, neyther — ne. 
 
 I . with neyther omitted : hors ne harneys getest thou 7ione, 
 
 378. nor (see above). 
 
 1. no — nor: no shame nor vylony, 227.24. 
 
 2. nor — nor (rare): nor for wele, nor for woo, 355.26. 
 
 3. not — nor: not brysed nor hurte, 229.14. 
 
 1 W. (more common): I ne can come owte, 185. W. has also ne — 
 ne : Ther ys \ne\ kjmg ne emperoure, 88. The former ne is a con- 
 jecture of Mr. Fumivall's. It may be a false insertion, for W. has else- 
 where the former ne omitted : Mete ne drynke ne getyst Jjou none, 212. 
 
 ^ Xot ne at 242.24 is difficult to understand, unless there is some 
 omission : he rode here and there and wyste not ne where. 
 
138 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 4. simple nor: your grete trauaill nor good loue shal not be 
 lost, 242.14. 
 
 379. nother — ne (see above) : nother my frende ne my 
 foo, 214.14. Cf. modern Scotch "nowther." 
 
 380. onles (rare). On lesse that is, as usual, the transi- 
 tional stage. A form onles thenne that occurs once : Nay 
 said sire Launcelot — / wil not telle you my name, onles 
 thenne that ye telle me your name, 346.26. 
 
 381. or. (see outher, the earlier form), disjunctive. 
 
 1. Or els has practically the force of icnless in two cases : 
 he gaf me suche charge — that T shold neuer discouer (' dis- 
 close ') hym vntyl he requyred me or els // be knowen openly, 
 241.28; ful lotlie I am there shold be ony bataille. Ye shalle 
 not chese sayd the other lady or els youre knyghte withdrawe 
 hym, 675.10. 
 
 382. or temporal (by confusion with the preceding). 
 Langland has the prepositional forms ar and or. (See 
 Stratmann.) 
 
 1. Or is properly a preposition. (For the earlier ad- 
 verbial and nominal forms see Stratmann, under ier?) Cf. 
 or, § 342. 
 
 2. The transitional stage, as usual, is or that. 
 
 3. Or as a temporal conjunction is common : or I departe, 
 230.3. 
 
 4. Or euer is a common intensive form : or euer that grete 
 spere brake, 192.8.^ 
 
 383. outher (see eyther), other. 
 
 I. outher — outher : outher they shalle be ouercome — outher 
 els they shal, etc., 198.9. 
 
 - W. For hou schalt worke or euer bou goo, 344. 
 
COKJUNCTIONS. 139 
 
 2. otUher {other) — or: other I shal encheue hym or blede of 
 the best blood of my body, 66.4; anther I zville wynne luorship 
 — ■ or dye, 236.25.^ 
 
 3. Outher alone means 'or (else)' (cf. § 366): T wylle be 
 slayne outher truly beten, 223.4. 
 
 (a) Other els is also used in the same sense : they asked 
 — truage — other els themperour wold destroy e hytn, 70.4. 
 
 384. sauf. 
 
 1. Sauf is properly a preposition (see § 345). 
 
 2. Sauf that is the intermediate stage. 
 
 3. Sauf as a conjunction is rare : they myght not londe — 
 sauf there was another ship, 691.27; was open withoute ony 
 kepynge sauf two lyons kept the entre, 7 10.9. 
 
 (a) Sauf onelye occurs in Caxton's Preface: sauf onelye it 
 accordeth to the worde of god, 3.2. 
 
 385. so (cf. as, § 359). 
 
 1. conditional: l graunte the thy lyf so thou wilt be 
 sworn, etc., 185.22; All your entente — I wylle fulfylle, soo 
 ye wyl brynge me, etc., 193.9. 
 
 2. So that occurs frequently in the same sense: T shal 
 helpe you — soo that ye hold me a promyse, 187.25; he 
 graunted hym so that he wold telle hym, 189.7. This, doubt- 
 less, shows the transitional stage. Indeed the underlying 
 idea of manner is sometimes plain : I will not take your 
 yeldyng vnto me, but so that ye wylle yeld^e you vnto syr kay, 
 200.32. 
 
 3. So \s common as an introductory illative particle. 
 
 4. So — as, so — that, etc. The correlation is often 
 very loose (cf. as — as). The as is omitted quite regularly 
 before an infinitive : neuer ?ione be soo hardy to doo awey this 
 gyrdel, 694.9; soo — whiche occurs : T haue none soo hyghe a 
 
 1 AV. If my flowers ouJ>er fade or falle, 268. 
 
140 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 thynge whiche were worthy to susteyne soo hyhe a suerd, 
 698.9. Cf..§§ 249, 359.3. 
 
 (a) Sometimes this loose correlation becomes absolute 
 anacoluthon : syr Launcelot encreased soo merueyllously in 
 worship and in honour, therfor he is the fyrst kny^t, etc., 
 183.12; eyther knyght smote other so hard in myddes of theyr 
 sheldes, but syr Gawayns spere brak, 142.17. Sometimes so 
 is followed, not by any conjunction at all, but by a preposi- 
 tion : Gareth rode soo longe in that forest untyl the nyghte 
 came, 263.23. 
 
 386. sythen {syth{e), syn) shows the regular stages of 
 development, (a) adverb, (b) sythe that, etc., (c) subordinate 
 causal. 
 
 387. than. 
 
 1. Thenne (adverb) and than (conjunction) are usually dif- 
 ferentiated in spelling ; but sometimes the latter is used for 
 the former. (The differentiation was not firmly established 
 in the language until after Elizabeth's time. Bacon, for 
 instance, spells the word the7i in both senses.) 
 
 2. The conjunction of the second member of a compar- 
 ison is sometimes loosely omitted after than, particularly 
 if that conjunction be yf: Now am I better pleasyd sayd 
 Pryamus than (if) thou haddest gyuen to me al the prouynce 
 and parys the riche. I had leuer to haue ben torn with wylde 
 horses than (that) ony varlet had wonne suche loos, 17 8.1; 
 and yf thou haue broughte Arthurs wyf dame Gweneuer, he 
 shalle be gladder than (if) thou haddest gyuen to hym. half 
 fraunce, 167.24. 
 
 3. Still more irregular is the correlation at 699.16 : agrete 
 whyle the thre felawes biheld the bedde and the thre spyndels 
 than they were at certayne that they were of naturel colours. 
 (It is possible, however, that than is for thenne, and is meant 
 to begin a new sentence.) 
 
COiXJCN^CTIONS. 141 
 
 388. that. 
 
 1. of purpose {passim)} 
 
 2. of result {passim) : smote the other knyghte a grete buffet 
 that his hors tamed ttL'ycs aboute, 185.14; I shalle putte an 
 enchauntement upon hy?n, that he shalle not awake, 186.14. 
 
 (a) But so that is used also in the same sense. The 
 incipient construction of that alone as a conjunction of 
 result survives, perhaps, in passages like the following : and 
 soo he fleii<e ouer his hors taylle that his helme butte in to 
 the erthe a foote and more that nyhe his neck was broken, 
 191.31. 
 
 3. causal (rare): god is wrothe with the that thow wolt 
 neuer haue done, 61.10; he dredde that the knyn^tes castel was 
 soo nygh, 209.33. 
 
 (a) The following passages show a similar use. That is 
 equivalent to ' in that ' ■ thou hast begyled me foule — that 
 thou kepte my rynge, 262.37 ; for naturel loue that he was his 
 vnkel, 689.27. 
 
 4. That is added to various particles to give them con- 
 junctive force. In all such cases it will be found that the 
 root idea is of a substantive clause governed by a prepo- 
 sition, or an adjective clause agreeing with a noun. The 
 former case is illustrated by the conjunction or that; the 
 latter, by the conjunction while that. 
 
 (a) That added to adverbs and adverbial phrases gives 
 the conjunctions as that, by cause that, onles that, so that, 
 though that, whyle that, the whyle that, the meane whyle that. 
 The conjunction whan that is derived from an interrogative 
 adverb. 
 
 (b) That added to prepositions gives the conjunctions 
 after that, by that, for that, or that, sauf that, syn {syth{en)) 
 that, tofore that, tyl that, vntyl that. 
 
 1 W. sometimes omits: Nowe helpe Hs lyne were dyght, 465. 
 
142 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 (c) In yf that, that is added, by analogy, to a conjunc- 
 tion.-' 
 
 (d) Most of the forms cited above are common in 
 Chaucer. The Morte d' Arthur differs only in the freer 
 discarding of that from old forms, and its free application 
 to make new ones. 
 
 389. though, thouT, (of. remarks on sytheii). 
 
 390. tofore (cf. remarks on s'ythen). 
 
 391. tyl (vntyl, cf. remarks on by that). 
 
 392. vnto (rare, cf. remarks on by that). The successive 
 stages are as follows : 
 
 (a) vnto the tyvie that thou be callyd, etc., 242.5. 
 
 (b) vnto the tyme sire la cote male tayle was hole, 352.18. 
 
 (c) vnto I mette wyth one of them, 240.4; vnto they came to 
 the Bordoure, 349.12. 
 
 393. ■whan(ne), (cf. § 388.4, a). 
 
 I. by thenne is sometimes used with the force of whan: 
 by than they were redy on horsbak there were vij C knyghtes, 
 49.29; by thenne he was al most vnarmed he felle in a dedely 
 swoune, 249.25; by thenne then (misprint for thou) come there 
 thou shall fynde quene Gueneuer dede, 856.29. 
 
 394. ■wherfor(e) (werfor, rare) is frequently illative in 
 the sense of therfore. 
 
 395. whether {wether, rare) is properly an interrogative 
 pronoun. The transitional stage is seen in the following : 
 whether that I lyue or dye, 206.33. 
 
 1. whether is used without a following or, in the sense of 
 'if: to wete whether he wylle knowe me, 217.9. 
 
 2. whether is used expletively to introduce a double 
 
 1 So W. Fekyll or iisSsyf^at sche be, 122. 
 
COAyUXCTIOiVS. 143 
 
 question (like Greek •n-oTcpoy) : ivhether cometh this of the 
 or of thy sone, 102.17. 
 
 396. whyle, why/es(t), (wr/c; rare). 
 
 1. The adverbial phrases are the meane whyle, this meatie 
 whyk. 
 
 2 . The transition is plainly shown : alle the whyle the 
 beest drankc, 65.30; the meane whyle that, 130.5; whyle that 
 (^passi?n). 
 
 3. The force of whyle as a temporal conjunction some- 
 times varies slightly : whyle I wold haue taken you to mercy 
 ye wold none aske, 112.20 ('when'); syr Laiincelot swouned 
 and laye longe stylle whyle the hermyte came, 857.29 (' until ').^ 
 
 397. withoute (cf. remarks on by that) is used in the 
 sense of 'unless': withoute he doo me homage, 75.3; without 
 ye haue my counceill, 85.14; without ye rescowe mc, 315.19. 
 
 398. with this and with that (cf. remarks on by that) 
 are used as conjunctive phrases of condition : With this — 
 I may be delyuerd — I wylle doo the batail, r 2 7.2 5; we wyl 
 not be lothe — with that we knewe your name, 203.1.9. 
 
 399. yf is comparatively infrequent except in the com- 
 bination and yf. It seems likely, therefore, that and is 
 regarded as the ordinary conditional, and that yf is used 
 to avoid and and. This may explain the persistence of 
 an if in Elizabethan literature.^ 
 
 1 W. Better ys me t>us to doo 
 
 WhyU yt must nedys be do, 383 ('since ' .'). 
 
 2 W. The wyfe seyd "so mutt I haue hele, 
 
 And yf \n. worke be wrought wele 
 Thou schalt haue to dyne," 241. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 The Syllabic Value of the Plural -es. 
 
 It is proposed here to inquire briefly liow far the plural -es in 
 the Morte d' Arthur retains its original sellable value. 
 
 I. Rejecting from the count those nouns to which the sibilant 
 sound of the plural sign necessarily adds a syllable (dyches, 
 hedges, 7/tosses, etc.), let us consider first those cases in which the 
 plural -es may be referred to a singular -e. If this -e seems 
 regularl)- to have syllabic value, if it seems to be felt in speech, 
 then in these cases the plural -es also probably had syllabic value. 
 If, on the other hand, -e seems to be disregarded in the singular, 
 then there is antecedent probability for the supposition that it was 
 disregarded also in the plural. 
 
 Nouns having -e in the singular may be divided into t^vo 
 classes : 
 
 (i) nouns in which the -e is derived from old French or old 
 English : 
 
 French — realme, mesure, medecyne, heremyte, etc. 
 
 English — woode, wounde, tere, scathe, stede, wede, throte, etc. 
 
 (2) nouns in which the -e is excrescent, added usually by 
 analogy: bedde (O. E. bed), cole (O. E. col), myrthe (O. E. 
 myrS), threde (O. E. JjrSd). 
 
 (3) Now the number of nouns assuming this analogical or 
 "decorative" -e is very great {Rojnsiedt, pp. 5, 6, 37), and, what 
 is still more significant, many nouns assume it or drop it at will : 
 
 (a) French nouns in -r appear now with -e, now without: tour{e'), 
 armoiir(e), traytour{e), bottleri/), deuoyr(e), displeasyr{e). 
 
 (b) Many other French nouns show the same indifference : 
 buffet{te), engyn{e), forest{e), gardyn{e), pray{e) ('prey'), etc. 
 
146 APPENDIX. 
 
 (c) The variation appears even where the French original 
 has -e : champayn{e), ententi/). 
 
 (d) The same is true of the commonest EngUsh nouns : hert{e) 
 and woodie), with -e derived from O. E.; deih(e), with -e ex- 
 crescent. 
 
 (4) The syllabification of these nouns can hardly have been 
 affected by the presence or absence of this arbitrary -e (cf. § 26). 
 Hence it seems antecedently probable that the plural -es also was 
 losing its syllabic value. 
 
 II. Of those -es plurals which are not to be referred to a 
 singular in -e, the more significant cases are as follows : 
 
 (i) French nouns in -aunt. 
 
 These do not assume -e in the singular. The plural is either 
 -J or -es : seruaiint{e)s, inescreaunt{e)s, pursyuaiini(e)s, ser- 
 geatint{e)s. Whatever may have been the usual accent of these 
 words, the syllabic value of the -es can hardly be assumed when 
 it is remembered that corresponding nouns in Chaucer, even when 
 oxytone, usually make a plural in z, (servauntz, etc.. Ten Brink, 
 228 and 226). 
 
 (2) French nouns in -ment. 
 
 These are fairly uniform in rejecting -e from the singular. The 
 plural is always -es ; argtimentes, enchauntementy s , iurnementys, 
 instrumentys, etc. In Chaucer these nouns commonly have an 
 oxytone accent, either primary or secondary. But in Chaucer 
 they sometimes make the plural in -s (or in -z. Ten Brink, 228) : 
 instruments, arguments, Parlement of Foules, 197, 538 ; pare- 
 ments, ornaments, Legend of Good Women, 1106, 1107. In the 
 Morte d^ Arthur, though the plural is always -^j, the singular is 
 not invariable, such forms as parleinente, 839.5, and poyntemente, 
 845.29, occurring occasionally. 
 
 (3) French nouns in -ailije') and -eil(le). 
 
 These have double forms for both singular and plural : bataille 
 and batail, plural batailles and batails ; so with merueil{le) and 
 counceylije). It is possible, but not probable, that these double 
 forms represent two pronunciations, the accent hovering, as in the 
 case of many French nouns in Chaucer. 
 
APPENDIX. 147 
 
 (4) French nouns in -y, -ay, and -ey make the plural in -es : 
 maystry (O. F. naaistrie), plural tnaystryes. So partyes, pal- 
 frayes, countreyes, from party (O. F. parti), pal/ray (E. E. 
 palefrai), conntrey (also conutre, O. F. contree; Chaucer, contre). 
 In Chaucer, plurals in -yes {-ies) from nouns in -ye {-ie) keep or 
 lose the syllabic value of the -es according to the incidence of the 
 accent ; plurals in -ees. from nouns in -ee {-e) (as contre), lose it ; 
 plurals in -ayes and -eyes, from nouns in -ay and -ey, usually keep 
 it (see Ten Brink, 225). 
 
 English plurals in -yes (-ies), {ladyes, bodyes), the accent being 
 on the first syllable of the word, lose the syllabic value of the -es 
 (see Ten Brink, 219). 
 
 No definite conclusion can be drawii from these words in the 
 Morte d' Arthur until the accent is settled. But since the accent 
 tended naturally toward the English habit, i. e., away from the 
 final syllable, the syllabic value of the -es would tend to be lost. 
 Occasional forms, such as the plural hak?ieis (from /lacktiey), point 
 in the same direction. 
 
 (5) Oxytones in -Id, -nd, -rd make the plural in -es. 
 French — amendys, bendy s, rewardys, etc. 
 English — feldes, ivyndes, swerdes, lordes, etc. 
 
 Though these nouns are uniform in the plural, they are 
 not uniform in the singvJar. Cf. such forms as shelde and 
 frende. 
 
 (6) English oxytones in -Ik, -nk, -rk make the plural in -es: 
 folkes, monkes, thankes, clerkes, workes. Some French nouns 
 in -k also take the -es plural : mockes, hauberkes. 
 
 (7) Very many other oxytones, both French and English, 
 especially those in -/, -r, -n and -/, make the plural in -es ; but 
 most of them have -e in the singular, and many of the others are 
 not known so to end, simply because the singular happens not to 
 occur (cf. 5). 
 
 III. The direct evidence for the syllabic value of the plural -es 
 seems, therefore, to be somewhat slight. On the other hand, the 
 grounds for assuming the -es to be merely graphic are of no little 
 weight. They are, in brief, as follows : 
 
148 APPENDIX. 
 
 (a) The increasing number of nouns in which the plural is 
 written -s. 
 
 (b) The indifference with which many common nouns take 
 either -s or -es. 
 
 (c) The fact that a plural in -es may commonly be traced to a 
 singular having an excrescent -e of no syllabic value. 
 
 IV. Still further confirmation of the theory that the plural -^j- 
 is merely graphic, is given by the following cases. The French 
 nouns traytour and gardyn sometimes assume -e in the singular, 
 but always make the plural in -s. The French nouns gy sarnie, 
 montayne and aduenture derive the -e from the old French. 
 Gysarme and montayne make the plural in -s. Aduenture is 
 sometimes written aduentur, but always makes the plural in -es. 
 Such confusion could hardly exist if the -es were felt in speech, 
 
 (a) Incidental confirmation is sometimes given by the geni- 
 tive -es. Thryes, with adverbial (gen.) -es, is sometimes written 
 thryse. The pronunciation was probably the same in both cases. 
 
 V. But no positive conclusion can be reached without further 
 knowledge regarding the accentuation, and this can be gained 
 only through a complete examination of fifteenth-century poetry. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 The references are to the sections of the grammar. 
 
 For strong verbs, see the alphabetical list at p. 49. The prepositions are 
 discussed in alphabetical order, pp. 10S-12S; the conjunctions, pp. 128-143. 
 
 Ability, may and ca7>, 265 b, 274. 
 aboute, with the infinitive, 259. 
 abstract nouns, plural of, 14. 
 adjectives, inflection, 26-30, 71. 
 
 as nouns, 45. 
 
 in -/)-, 52 h. 
 
 in pairs, 46. 
 
 adverbial suffixes, 52. 
 adverbs in -ly, contract, 37. 
 
 relative, 53. 
 
 al, 71. 
 
 all thy ng, 117. 
 
 analogy, in ablaut series, 136, 138, 
 14S, 151. 
 
 in weak preterits, 172, 175. 
 
 and that, 88. 
 
 anomalous verbs, 2 sing., 208. 
 antecedent omitted, 116. 
 anticipatory conditions, 210-212. 
 apposition, 22. 
 
 clauses of, 230, 231. 
 
 appositive infinitive, 241-244. 
 article, 91-94. 
 
 definite, expletive, 94. 
 
 singular, with plural noun, 1 5. 
 
 that, used as, 91. 
 
 arraunt, 185. 
 
 aryiien (ptc), 1 56. 
 
 as, in compound relatives, 53 b, 
 
 64 b. 
 as, in unreal conditions, 213 a. 
 aske, 314 a. 
 attaynte (ptc), 176. 
 atte, 92. 
 
 B 
 
 Backer (comv.), 39. 
 
 be (auxiliary), 198, 264. 
 
 benime, 314. 
 
 bereue, 314. 
 
 beware, followed by the subjunc- 
 tive, 232. I e. 
 
 bothe, 72. 
 
 brother, 10 c. 
 
 buryellys, 14 a. 
 
 bydde, followed by the subjunctive, 
 232. I d. 
 
 byseche, followed by the subjunc- 
 tive, 232. I a. 
 
 Can (auxiliary), 201 
 cases, confusion of, 
 
 81. 
 caught (pret.), 175. 
 
 265. 
 
 in pronouns, 
 
150 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 causal clauses, sequence, 261 d. 
 causative auxiliaries, 266, 269, 271, 
 
 273- 
 
 certayn, 129, 324. 3, 334. 7. 
 
 charge (v.), followed by the sub- 
 junctive, 232. I c. 
 
 commande (v.), followed by.the sub- 
 junctive, 232. I c. 
 
 comparative, 32-34. 
 
 of adverbs, 39, 40. 
 
 double, 41, 42. 
 
 with viore, 42 a. 
 
 complementary final clauses, 232, 
 291 b, 303 a. 
 
 concessive clauses, 227, 261 e. 
 
 conditions, ideal, 210-212, 215, 
 2ig, 230. 
 
 unreal, 213, 214, 220, 288, 
 
 302. 309- 
 
 sequence, 261 a. 
 
 consecutive clauses, 225, 226. 
 
 consonant doubling, 1 59. 
 
 contraction, of definite article, 93. 
 
 of Romance participles, 176. 
 
 with ne, 195. 
 
 with thou, 197. 
 
 with to, 196. 
 
 in 3 pers. of verbs, 178. 
 
 co-ordination, loose, 255. 
 
 coste (pret.), 175. 
 
 cotinceille (v.), followed by the sub- 
 junctive, 232. I c. 
 
 couer (v.), 174 and a. 
 
 D 
 
 Dar, 202. 
 
 dative, inflection, 11. 
 
 neuter, of pronouns, 58. 
 
 of indirect object, 20 a, 80 a. 
 
 of interest, 20 c, 80 b. 
 
 dative with impersonal verbs, 20 
 
 b, 80 d, c. 
 
 with adjectives, 80 c. 
 
 delyuer, 174. 
 
 demonstrative pronouns, 60-62, 
 
 88-94. 
 derivative suffixes, variations, 12, 
 
 31. 33- 
 discomfyte (ptc), 176. 
 distracte (ptc), 176. 
 do (auxiliary), 199, 266-268. 
 double comparative, 41, 42. 
 doubling of consonants, 1 59. 
 drede, 163. 
 
 drencke, 164. 9 
 
 dwelle, 163. 
 dye {deye), 169. 
 
 -e, in adjectives, 27-30. 
 
 in the preterit of strong verbs, 
 
 158. 
 in the preterit of weak verbs, 
 
 162. 
 in the nom. sing, of nouns. 
 
 Appendix. 
 eche other, 132. 
 -cii, plural, 7. 
 e7itre (v.), 174 a. 
 -er, F. verbs in, 174. 
 ere, 34. 
 
 -es, plural. Appendix. 
 etier, in compound relatives, 64 d. 
 eicery, 77. 
 
 eueryche other, 132. 
 eyther, 118. 
 other, 132. 
 
 F 
 
 Fader, 10 c. 
 /arre, 34. 
 
JXDEX. 
 
 ISl 
 
 fearing, construction with expres- 
 sions of, 290 b, 303 b. 
 
 fetche, 170. 
 
 fcttc, pret. and ptc, 170. 
 
 final clauses, 222-224, 261 c, 290, 
 291 b. 
 
 complementary, 232, 291 b. 
 
 formest, 34. 
 
 forth dayes, 19. 
 
 future, periphrases with shall and 
 -i'ill, 307. 
 
 future, periphrases with shold and 
 wold, 308. 
 
 fyers, 36. 
 
 G 
 
 Gadre, 174 a. 
 
 gametij 7 a. 
 
 ^'(zr (auxiliary), 269, 
 
 general relative cljipses, 21S. 
 
 genitive adverbial, 38. 
 
 in -es, 9. 
 
 in o/^phras?f, 17. 
 
 in -s, 8. 
 
 invariable, 10. 
 
 in -ys, 9 Ij, 
 
 modified by an <y-phrase, 18. 
 
 neuter, pf pronouns, 57. 
 
 of the (relative, 1 1 2. 
 
 partitive, with numerals, 16. 
 
 " in ^phrase, 79. 
 
 suppj(inted by his, p. 21, note. 
 
 witlj adverb of time, 19. 
 
 gerundive infinitive, 248. 
 gyrd (pfet. and ptc), 166. 
 
 Had leuer, 245 a. 
 hdtcfti, 315. 
 
 haf(e (auxiliary), 260 a, b, and note, 
 270. 
 
 herie, 10 d. 
 
 hindering, verbs of, 246. 
 
 hoole, 47. 
 
 hurte (pret.), 175. 
 
 Itys'", 34- 
 
 I 
 
 Ideal conditions, 210-212, 215, 219, 
 230. 
 
 imperative, inflection, 177, 182. 
 
 expressed by shall, 283 a. 
 
 expressed by will, 292 a. 
 
 imperative subjunctive, 235, 236. 
 
 impersonal verbs, 20 b, 80 d, e, 
 2S1, 312. 
 
 indefinite pronouns, 70-75, 77, 
 1 17-129. 
 
 indefinite relative clauses, 215-217. 
 
 indirect discourse, sequence, 263. 
 
 indirect object, 20 a, 80 a. 
 
 indirect question, 22S, 229. 
 
 infinitive, inflection, 177, 181. 
 
 absolute, 250. 
 
 active, after causative auxil- 
 iaries, 266, 269, 271, 273. 
 
 active, after it is, 319. 
 
 appositive, 240 a, 241-244, 
 
 319- 
 
 gerundive, 248. 
 
 object, 245-247. 
 
 of result, 249. 
 
 perfect (with haiie) for pres- 
 ent, 260. 
 
 subject, 240-244. 
 
 with causative auxiliaries, 
 
 271-273. 
 
 -mth/or to, 238. 
 
 with and without to, 237. 
 
 with resumptive to, 239. 
 
 intensive pronouns, 130, 131. 
 
 interrogative pronouns, 95-99. 
 
152 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 K 
 
 Kindred, nouns of, genitive, lo 
 
 Lady, lo d. 
 lasse, 48 b (foot-note). 
 lede, 163. 
 
 let (auxiliary), 271, 272. 
 lake (v.), followed by the subjunc- 
 tive, 232. I e. 
 longe, 34. 
 -ly, adjectives in, 52 h. 
 
 adverbs in, 37. 
 
 lye ours, 37. 
 
 lyfii, 334 6- 
 lytel, 34. 
 
 M 
 
 Make (auxiliary), 273. 
 
 maner, 24. 
 
 may (auxiliary), 203, 274-278. 
 
 in final clauses, 224 a, 277 a. 
 
 in ideal conditions, 212. 
 
 in indefinite relative clauses, 
 
 217. 
 
 in indirect questions, 277 b. 
 
 me (meu), 73. 
 
 merueylle, 25 a. 
 
 vioche, 48 b. 
 
 vioder, 10 c. 
 
 more, 42 a, 48. 
 
 mtist (auxiliary), 204, 279. 
 
 myghte (auxiliary), 274-277. 
 
 in final clauses, 224 a, 277 a. 
 
 In ideal conditions, 211. 
 
 indirect questions, 277 b. 
 
 N 
 
 Ne, 195. 
 
 nede, 25 b. 
 
 nere (comv.), 34, 
 
 none, 121, 127. 
 nouns as verbs, 23. 
 numerals, pronoun 
 with, 86. 
 
 construction 
 
 Object clauses, 233, 234, 291, 303. 
 objective, adverbial, 21. 
 objective infinitive, 245-247. 
 objects, verbs taking two, 246, 314. 
 obligation, expressed by must, 279. 
 
 by owe and ought, 280, 
 
 281 c. 
 
 by shall and shold, 282. 
 
 off re, 174 a. 
 
 old, 34. 
 
 one, 119, 120. 
 
 ony, 122—124. 
 
 other, 49, 74 
 
 ought (auxiliary), 207 
 
 owe, 207, 280. 
 
 owne, I 30. 
 
 25-127, 132 d. 
 
 80, 281. 
 
 Participle, inflection, 177, 183-185. 
 
 absolute, 253-256. 
 
 modifying, 251, 252. 
 
 reference of, 252. 
 
 Romance, contracted, 176. 
 
 of weak verbs in -enche, -enge, 
 
 164. 
 
 partitive genitive, 16. 
 
 passive, 315-319. 
 
 perfect (infinitive) with haue, for 
 present, 260. 
 
 personal and impersonal construc- 
 tions, 3T2 a. 
 
 personal pronouns, 54-59, 76-87. 
 
 pluperfect (with had) for preterit, 
 260. 
 
 plural (of nouns) in -en, 7. 
 
I.VDEX. 
 
 153 
 
 plural (of nouns) in -es. Appendix. 
 
 in 'S, I . 
 
 in -ys, 3. 
 
 invariable, 4-6. 
 
 of abstract nouns, 14. 
 
 with singular article, 1 5. 
 
 plural (of verbs), 177. 
 
 in -J, I So. 
 
 in -t/i, 179. 
 
 possibility, may and inn, 265 b, 
 
 -74- 
 
 /r.ziv, followed by thfi^ubj unctive, 
 232. 1 it. 
 
 present, anticipatory, 25S. 
 
 progressive, 257. 
 
 preterit and participial forms con- 
 fused, 142. 157. 
 
 for perfect, 262 a. 
 
 for pluperfect, 262 b. 
 
 inflection, 186-194. 
 
 of weak verbs without um- 
 laut, 165. 
 
 plural assimilated to preterit 
 
 singular, 152. 
 
 2 sing, of strong verbs, 186 a. 
 
 2 sing, of weak verbs, igi, 
 
 208 a. 
 
 2 sing, of anomalous verbs, 
 
 208. 
 
 prolepsis, 85. 
 
 promise, shall and i;;//, 306. 
 
 pronouns, demonstrative, 60-62, 
 88-94. 
 
 indefinite, 70-75, 77, H7-129. 
 
 intensive, 130, 131. 
 
 as subject, 131. 
 
 interrogative, 95-99. 
 
 personal, as indefinite, 128. 
 
 as reflexives, 87. 
 
 confusion of cases, 81. 
 
 ^ confusion of gender, 59. 
 
 pronouns, personal, construction 
 with numerals, etc., 86. 
 
 dative, 80. 
 
 his for the genitive, 
 
 p. 21, note. 
 
 in relative periphrases, 
 
 "3- 
 
 neuter dative, 58. 
 
 neuter genitive, 57. 
 
 (7/^phrase for the geni- 
 tive, 7S. 
 
 omission of pronoun 
 
 subject, 82. 
 
 partitive genitive in of- 
 
 phrase, 79. 
 
 2 plur. for 2 sing., 76. 
 
 3 plur. for indefinite 
 
 sing., 77. 
 
 reference obscure, 84. 
 
 repetition of pronoun 
 
 subject, 83. 
 
 reciprocal, 132. 
 
 reflexive, 87. 
 
 relative, 63-69, 1 00-116. 
 
 antecedent omitted, 116. 
 
 omitted, 114, 115. 
 
 periphrases for the geni- 
 tive, 112, 113. 
 
 pronoun subject omitted, 82. 
 
 repeated, 83. 
 
 f<yghte (pret.), 172. 
 
 pyte, 25 c. 
 
 quyte (pret.), 175. 
 
 R 
 
 Raunge, 10 d. 
 reciprocal pronouns, 132 
 recreaunt, 18;. 
 
154 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 reflexive pronouns, 87. 
 
 verbs, 313. 
 
 relative adverbs, 53. 
 
 pronouns, 63-69, 1 00-116. 
 
 antecedent omitted, 116. 
 
 compound, with as, 53 b, 
 
 64 b. 
 with that, 64 a, 108, 
 
 log. 
 
 genitive, 112, 113. 
 
 omitted, 114, 115. 
 
 prolepsis, 85. 
 
 clauses, general, 218. 
 
 indefinite, 215-217. 
 
 requyre, 314 a. 
 
 rescowes, 14 a. 
 
 resolve, shall and will, 305. 
 
 reson, 25 d. 
 
 result, clauses of, 225, 226. 
 
 infinitive of, 249. 
 
 resumptive to, with the infinitive, 
 
 239- 
 reysed, 169. 
 
 -s plural, of nouns, i. 
 
 schryche, 169. 
 
 self, 50,87, 130. 
 
 sende (pret.), 166. 
 
 sequence of tenses, 260-263. 
 
 sette and sytte, 155. 
 
 shall (auxiliary), 205, 282-291. 
 
 in ideal conditions, 212. 
 
 in indefinite relative clauses, 
 
 217. 
 
 of injunction and threat, 283. 
 
 of necessity, 282 a. 
 
 of promise, 286. 
 
 of resolve, 287. 
 
 of simple futurity, 284. 
 
 and will, confusion 304-3 1 1 . 
 
 shold, in clauses of apposition, 
 
 231 a, 289. 
 in final clauses, 224 b, 290, 
 
 291 b, c. 
 
 in ideal conditions, 211. 
 
 in indefinite relative clauses, 
 
 216. 
 
 in unreal conditions, 214, 288. 
 
 of necessity, obligation, 282. 
 
 of simple futurity, 2S5. 
 
 so, followed by zu/izV.4-clause, 104. 
 
 in compound relatives, 64 c. 
 
 somme, 75. 
 
 southard, 52 f. 2. 
 
 spreiige, 164. 
 
 spyrytiidtdes, 14 a. 
 
 sterte, 169. 
 
 stretche, 165. 
 
 subject, pronoun, omitted, 82. 
 
 repeated, 83. 
 
 subjunctive imperative, 235, 236. 
 
 in concessive clauses, 227. 
 
 in conditions, 210-214. 
 
 in consecutive clauses, 225, 
 
 226. 
 
 inflection, 177, 193. 
 
 in final clauses, 222-224. 
 
 in general relative clauses, 
 
 218. 
 in indefinite relative clauses, 
 
 215-217. 
 
 ■ in indirect question, 228, 229. 
 
 in substantive clauses, 230- 
 
 234- 
 
 in temporal clauses, 219-221. 
 
 substantive clauses, 230-234, 289- 
 
 291. 3°3- 
 suche, 51. 
 
 suffixes, adverbial, 52. 
 derivative, variations, 12, 31, 
 
 33- 
 
/XDEX. 
 
 155 
 
 siiffre, 174 a. 
 superlative, 32, 35. 
 
 contract, 36. 
 
 in comparison of two, 44. 
 
 with <y"-phrase, 43. 
 
 supposing, verbs of, followed by 
 
 the subjunctive, 234. 
 syncope, 13, 160, 174. 
 syufwn^ 7 b. 
 svsh-r, IOC. 
 jrj'//^ and sMf, 155. 
 
 7l-/</ (pret.), 165. 
 
 temporal clauses, 219-221, 261 b. 
 
 with the indicative, 221. 
 
 with the subjunctive, 219— 
 
 220. 
 tenses, sequence, 260-263. 
 perfect infinitive (with haue) 
 
 for present, 260. 
 pluperfect (with hadde) for 
 
 preterit, 260. 
 that, after so, 104 a. 
 
 as article, 91. 
 
 as compound relative, lor. 
 
 in the sense of ' such,' 89. 
 
 as simple relative, 65, 100. 
 
 in compound relatives, 64 a, d, 
 
 loS, 109. 
 that as, no. 
 that that, 68. 
 thet, 60 (note i). 
 the luhiche, 67, 102. 
 this, of persons, 90. 
 threste (pret.), 171. 
 thryst (pret.), 171. 
 to, resumptive with the infinitive, 
 
 239- 
 two objects, verbs taking, 246, 314. 
 
 u 
 
 Uniformity, tendency toward, 209. 
 unreal conditions, 213, 214, 220, 
 2SS, 302, 309. 
 
 with protasis implied, 213b. 
 
 iittij-fucst, 34. 
 
 w 
 
 waUopt[e) (pret.), 175. 
 
 'oard (suffix), 52 f. 
 
 'Loare (pret.), 156. 
 
 -ivayte, followed by the subjunctive, 
 232. I e. 
 
 weakening of strong verbs, %3, i 54. 
 
 what, adjective use, 105. 
 
 as indefinite, 106. 
 
 in the sense of who, 97. 
 
 in the sense of wJiy, 98. 
 
 what a, 97 a. 
 
 ivhat that, 109 a. 
 
 what-what, 106 a. 
 
 where, 52 g. 
 
 whereof, 112. 
 
 whether, as interrogative, 96. 
 
 as relative, 66. 
 
 whether as, 69. 
 
 whiche, after so and such, 104. 
 
 as adjective, 102. 
 
 -lohiche that, 109 c. 
 
 who, as interrogative, 99. 
 
 as relative, 65, 107. 
 
 who that, 109 a, b. 
 
 whylc, 52 g. 
 
 will (auxiliary), 200, 292-303. 
 
 followed by the subjunctive, 
 
 232. I b and 2, 233. 
 
 in complementary final claus- 
 es, 303 a. 
 
 of promise, 299. 
 
 of resolve, 292. i. 
 
156 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 will of simple futurity, 300. 
 
 of willingness, 296. 
 
 of wish, 294. 
 
 2.xA shall, confusion, 304-311. 
 
 wish, expressed by will and wold, 
 294, 295. 
 
 expressions of, followed by 
 
 the subjunctive, 232, 233. 
 
 followed \>y shall, 291 c. 
 
 followed by shold, 291 b, 
 
 310. 
 
 followed by wold, 310. 
 
 wold, after verbs of fearing, 303 b. 
 
 in complementary final claus- 
 es, ^3 a. 
 
 wold in the apodosis of unreal con- 
 ditions, 302. 
 
 of customary action, 298. 
 
 of intention, 301. 
 
 of resolve, 293. 
 
 of willingness, 297. 
 
 of wish, 295. 
 
 wonder, 25 e. 
 
 y-, prefixed to ptc, 194. 
 
 -yd, variant in pret. and ptc, 
 
 190. 
 yll, 34-