Words of French origin commonly have their accent on a later syllable than at present; as victórie, honóur, pitée, vertú, mirácle, natúre, manére, contrárie, ìmpossíble, àcceptáble, dèceyváble; and even advócat, dèsiróus. Such accents are usually due to the etymology; cf. Lat. uertútem, natúra.
But as the English method inclined towards throwing the accent further back, such words were peculiarly liable to receive an English accent; hence we also find hónour, pítee, vértu, náture, mánere; and, in general, the English habit has so prevailed in modern speech, that the original accentuation of these words has been lost. It must evidently be restored, for the purpose of reading Chaucer aright.
This change of accent even affected the number of syllables. Thus manérë is trisyllabic, but mánere is dissyllabic. In the latter case the scribes frequently write maner; but are not consistent in this. Hence the fact has to be remembered.
Words now ending in -ion end, in Chaucer, in -i-òun, which is dissyllabic, with a secondary accent on -oun. Cases in which the suffix -ioun is melted, as it were, into one syllable, are very rare; however, we find condícion for condici-oun in B 99; and religioun in G 427 is really relígion. As this agrees with the modern method, it is readily understood.
[§ 112]. Elision. The general rules for elision and the slurring of light syllables are given above, in [§ 67]. For examples of elision of final -e, see droght', A 2; couth', A 14; nyn', A 24; áventur', A 25; tym', A 35; Alisaundr', A 51; Gernad', A 56; nóbl', A 60; mek', A 69; lat', A 77; whyt', A 90; long', A 93; sitt', A 94; Iust', A 96; purtréy', A 96; coud', A 106[[76]].
We must here particularly note the article the, which is very often elided before a word beginning with a vowel or mute h. Hence the scribes frequently write theffect for the effect, tharray, thonour for the honóur, and so on. Even if they write the effect as two words, we must often read them as one. In one case, we even find the thus treated before an aspirated h, as in th'harneys, A 2896; however, harneys is, after all, of French origin.
Much more curious is the similar treatment of the pronoun thee; as in thalighte for thee alighte, B 1660. Also, of the pronoun me; as in dó m'endyte, G 32; see M' in the Glossary, p. 157.
Ne is usually elided; cf. nis, nam, nat, nin, nof, &c., in the Glossary; but not in A 631, 3110.
Even unaccented o can be elided; in fact, it is very common in the case of the word to; so that the scribes often write tabyde for to abyde, and the like. This vowel is easily run on to another, as in Italian poetry, without counting as a syllable; as in So estátly[[77]], A 281; cf. Placébo answérde, E 1520.