The Lay of Havelok the Dane Part 4

Here the syllables _-nes and_ in l. 3, _of a_ in l. 4, and _it wile_ in l. 5, are so rapidly p.r.o.nounced as to occupy only the room of one unaccented syllable in lines of the strict type. However awkward this appears to be in theory, it is very easy in practice, as the reciter readily manages his voice so as to produce the right rhythmical effect; and, indeed, this variation of arrangement is a real improvement, preventing the recitation from becoming monotonous. Those who have a good ear for rhythm will readily understand this, and it seems unnecessary to dwell upon it more at length. But it may be remarked, that the three lines above quoted are rather _more irregular than usual_, and that the metre is such as to enable us to fix the instances in which the final _-e_ is p.r.o.nounced with great accuracy, on which account I shall say more about this presently. I would, however, first enumerate the rimes which seem to be more or less inexact or peculiar, or otherwise instructive.

I. _Repet.i.tions._ Such are _men, men_; _holden, holde_, 29;[39] _ere, ere_, 739; _heren, heren_, 1640; _nithes, knithes_, 2048; _youres, youres_, 2800. To this cla.s.s belong also _longe, londe_, 172, _heye, heie_, 1151, 2544; where _longe, londe_ is, however, only an a.s.sonance.

II. _a.s.sonant rimes._ Here the rime is in the vowel-sound; the consonantal endings differ. Such are _rym, fyn_, 21; _yeme, quene_, 182; _shop, hok_, 1101 (where _shop_ is probably corrupt); _odrat, bad_, 1153; _fet, ek_, 1303; _yer, del_, 1333; _maked, shaped_, 1646; _bee, rede_, 1680; _riche, chinche_, 1763, 2940; _feld, swerd_, 1824, 2634; _seruede, werewed_, 1914; _wend, gent_, 2138; _ank, rang_, 2560; _boen, ut-drowen_, 2658. To the same cla.s.s belong _name_, _rauen_, 1397, _grauen, name_, 2528; _slawen, rauen_, 2676. _Henged, slenget_, 1922, should rather be called an imperfect rime.[40] There is also found the exact opposite to this, viz., an agreement or _consonance_ at the end, preceded by an apparent diversity in the vowel; as _longe, gange_, 795 (but see _longe, gonge_, 843), _bidde, stede_, 2548, _open, drepen_, 1782, _gres, is_, 2698, _boe, rathe_, 2936 (but see _rathe, bathe_, 1335, 2542), _fet_ (long _e_), _gret_, 2158; and not unlike these are some instances of loose rimes, as _bee, rede_, 360, _knaue, plawe_, 949, _sawe, hawe_ (where _hawe_ is written for _haue_), 1187, _sawe, wowe_, 1962 (but see _wowe, lowe_, 2078, _lowe, sawe_, 2142, _wawe, lowe_, 2470). Observe also _bouth, oft_ (read _vt_ or _ut_ = _out_?), 883, _tun, barun_, 1001 (cf. _toun, brun_, 1750, _champiouns, barouns_, 1032); _plattinde, gangande_, 2282, &c. _Eir, toer_, 410, _harde, crakede_, 567, are probably due to mistakes.[41]

III. Rimes which shew that the final _-en_ was p.r.o.nounced so slightly as to be nearly equivalent to _-e_. Examples: _holden, holde_, 29; _gongen, fonge_, 855; _bringe, ringen_, 1105; _mouthen, douthe_, 1183; _riden, side_, 1758; _wesseylen, to-deyle_, 2098; _slawen, drawe_, 2476. In the same way _hon_ rimes to _lond_, 1341, owing to the slight p.r.o.nunciation of the final _d_.[42]

IV. Rimes which appear imperfect, but may be perfect. _Riche_ answers to _like_, 132, but the true spelling is _rike_, answering to _sike_, 290.

_Mithe_, 196, should probably be _moucte_, as in l. 257, and it would thus rime with _oucte_. _Blinne_, 2670, should certainly be _blunne_; cf. A.S. _blinnan_, pt. t. s. _ic blan_, pt. t. pl. _we blunnon_; and thus it rimes to _sunne_. _Misdede_, 993, is clearly an error for _misseyde_, as appears from the parallel pa.s.sage in ll. 49, 50; and it then rimes with _leyde_. So in l. 1736, for _deled_ read _deyled_, as in l. 2098. _Boe_, 430, has no line answering to it, and a line may have been lost. _Nicth, lict_, 575, is a perfect rime. _Halde, bolde_, 2308, may also be perfect. _For-sworen_ answers to _for-lorn_ (p.r.o.nounced _for-loren_), 1423; _bitawte_ to _authe_ (p.r.o.nounced _aute_), 1409; _yemede_ (p.r.o.nounced _yem-de_) is not an improper rime to _fremde_, 2276; _anon_ rimes with _iohan_ (if p.r.o.nounced _ion_ or _John_, as indicated by the spelling _ion_ in l. 177), 2562, 2956. Yet in another instance it seems to be two syllables, _Jo-han_; see _wimman, iohan_, 1720.[43] Speche should be _speke_, and thus rimes to _meke_, 1065.

_Stareden_ should perhaps be _stradden_, or some such form, rightly riming to _ladden_, 1037. Under this head we may notice some rimes which throw, possibly, some light on the p.r.o.nunciation. Thus, for the sound of _ey, ei_, observe _hayse, preyse_, 60; _leyke, bleike_, 469; _laumprei, wei_, 771; _deye_ rimes to _preye_, 168; _day_ to _wey_, 663; _seyd_ to _brayd_, 1281; but we also find _hey, fri_, 1071; _hey, sley_, 1083, _heye, heie_, 1151; _heye, eie_, 2544; _leye, heye_, 2010; _heye, fleye_, 2750. _Fram_ rimes to _sham_, 55; yet the latter word is really _shame_, 83; _gange_ is also spelt _gonge_, _halde_ rimes with _bolde_, 2308. The p.r.o.nunciation of _ware_, _were_, or _wore_, seems ambiguous; we find _sore, wore_, 236; _wore, more_, 258; _ware, sare_, 400; _wore, sore_, 414; _were, ere_, 741; _more, ore_, 921. For the sound of _e_, observe _suere, gere_, 388; _suereth, dereth_, 648; _eten, geten_, 930; _yet, fet_, 1319; _stem, bem_, 592; _glem, bem_, 2122; also _yeue, liue_, 198; _liue, gyue_, 356; _lyue, yeue_, 1217; _her, ther_, 1924; _fishere, swere_, 2230. For that of _i_, observe _cri, merci_, 270; _sire, swire_, 310; _swie, vnblie_, 140; _fir, s.h.i.+r_, 587; _sire, hire_, 909; _rise, bise_, 723; _fyr, s.h.i.+r_, 915; _lye, strie_, 997; _hey, fri_, 1071; _for-i, merci_, 2500. For that of _o_, observe _two, so_, 350; _do, so_, 713; _shon, on_, 969; _hom, grom_, 789; _lode, brode_, 895; _anon, ston_, 927; _ston, won_, 1023; _do, sho_ (shoe), 1137; _do, sho_ (she), 1231; _stod, mod_, 1702; _ilkon, ston_, 1842; _shon_ (shoon), _ston_, 2144; _croud, G.o.d_, 2338; _don, bon_, 2354; _sone_ (soon), _bone_, 2504; _bole, hole_, 2438.[44] Only in a few of these instances would the words rime in modern standard English. For the _ou_ and _u_ sounds, observe _coue, moue_, 112; _yow, now_, 160; _wolde, fulde_, 354; _yw, nou_, 453; _bounden, wnden_, 545; _sowel, couel_, 767; _low, ynow_, 903; _sowen, lowe_, 957; _strout, but_, 1039; _ou, nou_, 1283; _doun, tun_, 1630; _crus, hous_, 1966; _wounde, grunde_, 1978; _bowr, tour_, 2072; _spuse, huse_, 2912. _Lowe_, 1291, 2431, 2471, should rather be _lawe_, as in l. 2767. These hints will probably suffice for the guidance of those who wish to follow up the subject. It is evident that full dependence cannot be placed upon the _exactness_ of the rimes.

[Footnote 37: "This _four accents_ I consider to be a wrong way of stating the fact. . . The metre consists of four measures, each generally, not always, of _two_ syllables, the first often _one_ syllable, the others often of _three_ syllables, and each measure has generally more stress on the last than on any other, but the accents or princ.i.p.al stresses in the verse are usually 2, sometimes 3, perhaps never 4." --A. J. Ellis. I need hardly add that such a statement is more exact, and that I here merely use the word _accent_ in the loose sense it often bears, viz. as denoting the "stress," more or less heavy, and sometimes imperceptible, which is popularly supposed to belong to the last syllable in a measure. I must request the reader to remember that this present sketch of the metre is very slight and imperfect, and worded in the usual not very correct popular language. For more strict and careful statements the reader is referred to Mr A. J. Ellis's work on Early English p.r.o.nunciation. Until readers have made themselves acquainted with that work, they will readily understand what I _here_ mean by "accents;" afterwards, they can easily adopt a stricter idea of its meaning.]

[Footnote 38: "You cannot scan this line in any way. This method of doing it is quite impossible; it is a mere chopping to make a verse like this. The line is corrupt. Omit _at_, and you have

Of a tal' ich you wile telle

or better,

Of a tal' ich wil e telle." --Ellis.]

[Footnote 39: The number is that of the _first_ line of the pair.]

[Footnote 40: "You have omitted the curious _harde, krakede_, 567, here; it is only an a.s.sonance, not a mistake, I believe."

--Ellis. But see note to l. 567.]

[Footnote 41: "On _i, e_ rhymes, see p. 271, last line and following, of my Chap. IV. The _o, a_ depend on a provincialism, and this applies to _sawe_, _wowe_; _bee_, _rede_; _knaue_, _plawe_; _sawe_, _hawe_; &c. _Bouth, oft_ is a case of a.s.sonance, _bouth_ being _bought_, where properly the _ugh_ is the voiced sound of Scotch _quh_, and easily pa.s.ses into _f_. The a.s.sonance is therefore nearly a rhyme. _Plattinde, gangande_ is probably a scribal error. _Eir, toer_ is certainly a mistake; read

Swanborow, helfled, his sistres fair." --Ellis.

We may then perhaps alter _gangande_ to _ganginde_. I do not quite like writing the modern form _fair_ instead of the old plural _fayre_ in order to gain a rime to _eir_. Cf. ll. 1095, 2300, 2538, 2768.]

[Footnote 42: "_Hon, lond_ may arise from a Danism, or from an English custom at that time of not p.r.o.nouncing _d_ after _n_ in _nd_ final; Danish _Mand_ and German _Mann_ are identical."

--Ellis. I prefer to call it Danish; we English, now at least, often _add_ a _d_, as in _sound_, _gownd_, from _soun_, _gown_.]

[Footnote 43: "_Johan_ is almost _Jon_ in Chaucer, however written, but l. 177 wants a measure; read--

Bi [Jhesu] crist, and bi seint ion.

In l. 1720 also the verse is defective; omit _al_, and read--

In denemark nis wimman [non]

So fayr so sche, bi _seint_ Johan,

where _seint_ is a dissyllable; see p. 264 of my Early English p.r.o.nunciation. _Hey, fri_, 1071, is an error; read _hy_, and see p. 285 of my book. The other instances of _ei_, _ai_ are all regular, the confusion of _ei_, _ai_ being perfect in the thirteenth century. _Shame_, l. 88, is dative, and would prove nothing, but _shame_ in Orrmin is conclusive. Hence in _sham'_, 56, we have an _e_ omitted; compare p. 323 of my book, and the German _Ruh'_." --Ellis. In other places, the spelling _heye_ occurs, rather than _hy_: see ll. 719, 987, 1071, 1083, 1289, 1685, 2431, 2471, 2544, 2724, 2750, 2945, &c.]

[Footnote 44: "The instances of _o_ are all regular, except _croud, G.o.d_, 2338, which is a false rhyme altogether; _ou_ = modern _oo_." --Ellis.]

-- 29. ON THE FINAL -E, &c.

There can be little doubt that the final _-e_ is, in general, fully p.r.o.nounced in this poem wherever it is written, with but a very few exceptions; but at the same time it is liable to be elided when followed by a vowel or (sometimes) by the letter _h_, as is usual in old English poetry. In the following remarks, I shall use an apostrophe to signify that _e_ is _written, but not p.r.o.nounced_; thus "wil'" signifies that "wile" is the MS. form, but "wil" the apparent p.r.o.nunciation. I shall use an italic _e_ to signify that the _e_ is elided because followed by a vowel or _h_, as "cupp_e_" (l. 14); and in the same way, "rid_en_,"

"lit_el_," &c, signify that the syllables _-en_, _-el_ are slurred over in a like manner. It will be seen that such syllables are, in general, slurred over when they occur before a vowel or _h_; under the same circ.u.mstances, that is, as the final _-e_. When I simply write the word in the form "G.o.de" as in the MS., I mean that the _-e_ is _fully p.r.o.nounced_; so that "G.o.de" stands for "G.o.de."

The following, then, are instances. I follow the order in Mr Morris's Introduction to Chaucer's Prologue, &c. (Clarendon Press Series).

(_A_) In nouns and adjectives (of A.S. origin) the final _-e_ represents one of the final vowels _a_, _u_, _e_, and hence is fully sounded even in the nominative case in such instances. Examples; gome (A.S. _goma_), 7, blome (A.S. _bloma_), 63, trewe (A.S. _treowe_), 179, knaue (A.S.

_cnafa_), 308, 450, sone (A.S. _sunu_), 394.

(_B_) In words of French origin it is sounded as in French verse. Such words are scarce in Havelok. Examples: hayse, 59, beste, 279, miracle, 500, rose, 2919, curtesye (_miswritten_ curteyse), 2876, cf. 194, drurye, 195, male, 48, large, 97, n.o.ble, 1263.

(_C_) It is a remnant of various grammatical inflexions:--

(1) it is a sign of the _dative_ case in nouns; as, nede, 9, stede, 10, trome, 8, wronge, 72, stede, 142, dede (not elided, because of the caesura), 167, arke, 222, ere, 248, lite rawe, 276. It also sometimes marks the accusative, or the genitive of feminine nouns: _accusatives_, cupp_e_, 14, wede, 94, brede, 98, shrede, 99, mede, 102, quiste, 219, sorwe, 238 (cf. sorw' in l. 240), son_e_, 308, knaue, 308, sone, 350, wille, 441: _genitives_, messe, 186, 188, h.e.l.le, 405.

(2) In adjectives it marks--

(_a_) the _definite form_ of the adjective; as, e meste, 233, e riche (not elided[45]), 239, te beste, 87, e hexte [man], 1080, at wicke, 1158, at foule, 1158, e firste, 1333, e rede, 1397. This rule is most often violated in the case of _dissyllabic_ superlatives; as, e wictest', 8, e fairest, e strangest, 1081, 1110; cf. 199, 200.

(_b_) the _plural_ number. Examples abound, as, G.o.de, 1, alle, 2, are, 27, yung = yung_e_, 30, holde, 30, G.o.de, 34, 55, harde, 143, gren_e_, 470, bleike, 470, halte, 543, doumbe, 543, &c.

The same use is often extended to possessive p.r.o.nouns; we find the plurals mine, 385, 514 (but min', 392), ine, 620, hise, 34, 67, hure, 1231; and even the singulars hire, 84, 85, hure, 338, yure, 171. But the personal p.r.o.noun feminine is often hir', 172, 209; yet see l. 316.

(_c_) the _vocative_ case, as, dere, 839, 2170; leue, 909.

(3) In verbs it marks--

(_a_) the infinitive mood; as, telle, 3, duelle, 4, falle, 39, bey_e_, 53, swere, 254, be-bedde, 421, ber_e_, 549, &c. On this point there cannot be a moment's doubt, for the form _-en_ is found quite as often, and they rime together, as in 254, 255, cf. 29, 30. But it is well worth remarking that _-en_ is slurred over exactly where _-e_ would be, with much regularity. Examples are: rid_en_, 10, biginn_en_, 21, mak_en_, 29, heng_en_, 43, lurk_en_, 68, crep_en_, 68, rid_en_, 88, hau_en_, 270.

Other examples are very numerous. But we sometimes find _-en_ not slurred over, as, drinken, 15; and the same is true even of _-e_, but such cases are exceptional and rare.

(_b_) the gerund; as, to preyse, 60.

(_c_) the past participle of a strong verb; as, drawe, 1802, slawe, 1803. But these are rare, as they are commonly written drawen, slawen, 2224.

(_d_) the past tense of weak verbs, where the _-e_ follows _-ed_, _-t_, or _-d_. Examples are very numerous; as, louede = lov'de, 30, 35 (not elided), 37, hauede = hav'de, 343; cf. haued = havd', 336; urte, 10, durst_e_, 65, reft_e_, 94; dede, 29, sende, 136, seyde, 228, herde, 286.

Observe hated = hated_e_, 40. The plurals of these tenses are rarely in _-e_, generally in _-en_, as, haueden, 241, ded_en_, 242, sprauleden = spraul'den, 475.

(_e_) the subjunctive or optative mood, or the 3rd person of the imperative mood, which is really the 3rd person of the subjunctive. This rule seems to be carefully observed. Examples are yeue, 22, thaue, 296, yerne, 299, leue, 406, were, 513, wit_e_, 517, &c. So for the _first_ person, as, lat_e_, 509, lepe (not elided), 2009, spek_e_, 2079; and for the _second_ person, as, understonde, 1159, fare, 2705, cone, 622, 623.

(_f_) other parts of a _few_ verbs; thus, the 1st person singular present, as, liue, 301, ete, 793, rede, 1660, wille, 388, where _wille_ is equivalent to _wish_.

(_g_) present participles: thus, plattinde, 2282, is a half-rime to gangande. In other places, the author is careful to place them before a vowel, as gretind_e_, 1390, lauhwind_e_, 946, starind_e_, 508, driuend_e_, 2702, fastind_e_, 865.

(4) In adverbs the final _-e_ denotes--

(_a_) an older vowel-ending; as, son_e_ (A.S. _sona_), 136, sone, 218, 251, yete (A.S. _geta_, as well as _get_), 495, ofte (Swed. _ofta_, Dan.

_ofte_), 227.

(_b_) an adverb as distinguished from its corresponding adjective, as, yerne, 153, loude, 96, longe, 241, more, 301, softe, 305, heye, 335, swie, 455, harde, 639. Hence, in l. 640, we should read _neye_.