And eek more ryalte and holynesse; A. 3180.
He syngeth crowyng as a nightyngale; A. 3377.
What wikked way is he gan, gan he crye; A. 4078.
His wyf burdoun a ful strong; A. 4165.
These examples shew that the Harleian MS. requires very careful watching. There is no doubt as to its early age and its frequent helpfulness in difficult passages; but it is not the kind of MS. that should be greatly trusted.
[§ 15]. The Ellesmere MS. The excellence of this MS. renders the task of editing the Tales much easier than that of editing The House of Fame or the Minor Poems. The text here given only varies from it in places where variation seemed highly desirable, as explained in the footnotes. As to my general treatment of it, I have spoken above (vol. iv. pp. xviii-xx).
One great advantage of this MS., quite apart from the excellence of its readings, is the highly phonetic character of the spelling. The future editor will probably some day desire to normalise the spelling of Chaucer throughout his works. If so, he must very carefully study the spelling of the Ellesmere and Hengwrt MSS., which resemble each other very closely. By their help, it becomes possible to regulate the use of the final e to a very great extent, which is extremely helpful for the scansion of the lines.
[§ 16]. This matter is best illustrated by referring, for a while, to the old black-letter editions; moreover, the whole matter will appear in a clearer light if we consider, at the same time, the remarkable argument put forward by Prof. Morley (Eng. Writers, v. 126) in favour of the genuineness of The Court of Love.
'Chaucer (he says) could not have written verse that would scan without sounding in due place the final -e. But when the final e came to be dropped, a skilful copyist of later time would have no difficulty whatever in making the lines run without it.... If Chaucer wrote—"But that I liké, may I not come by"[[18]]—it was an easy change to—"But that I like, that may I not come by." With so or and, or well, or gat, or that, and many a convenient monosyllable, lines that seemed short to the later ear were readily eked out.' He then proceeds to give a specimen from the beginning of the Canterbury Tales, suggesting, by way of example, that l. 9 can easily be made to scan in modern fashion by writing—'And when the small fowls maken melodye.'