‘Unkindely for thou hast wroght,
Unkindeliche it schal be boght.’
But in Prol. 719 we have only before a vowel,
‘Noght al only of thorient,’
though onliche occurs in a similar position, i. 1948, and onlich, iii. 42. Again, 911,
‘And sodeinly, er sche it wiste,’
but Prol. 503,
‘Al sodeinliche, er it be wist,’
cp. iv. 921, compared with i. 1336.
The treatment of the O. E. spirant h (= χ) deserves some attention. This occurring before t is recognized as having in M. E. a palatal or a guttural sound, according to the nature of the preceding vowel, but the texts of our period usually give it as gh in both cases. Gower, however, makes a distinction, writing almost regularly alihte, briht, dihte, fihte, flihte, kniht, liht, miht, mihte, niht, riht, sihte, wiht, heihte, sleihte, &c., but aghte, caghte, straghte, boghte, broghte, noght, oght, oghte, soghte. Occasionally however in the first class we find g, as rarely bryghte, lighte, more frequently heighte, sleighte, and pretty regularly eighte; and there are several words in the second which have variants with h, but in these cases w(u) is inserted, as cawhte, strawhte, dowhter (douhter), owhte: otherwise u is generally absent, as we have already seen. The form referred to is commoner with the vowel a than with o.