a. The form for the first person is in the Psalter generally -u. In the Ritual it is generally -o. In West Saxon, -e.
Psalter.—Getreow-u, I believe; cleopi-u, I call; sell-u, I give; ondred-u, I fear; ageld-u, I pay; getimbr-u, I build. Forms in -o; sitt-o, I sit; drinc-o, I drink.
Ritual.—Feht-o, I fight; wuldrig-o, I glory. The ending in -u is rarer.
b. In the West Saxon the plural present of verbs ends in -að: we lufi-að, ge lufi-að, hi lufi-að. The Psalter also exhibits this West Saxon form. But the plurals of the Ritual
end in -s: as, bidd-as=we pray; giwoed-es=put on; wyrc-as=do.
c. The infinitives of verbs end in the West Saxon in -an, as cwed-an=to say. So they do in the Psalter. But in the Ritual the -n is omitted, and the infinitive ends simply in -a: cuoetha=to say; inngeonga=to enter.
d. The oblique cases and plurals of substantives in West Saxon end in -an: as heortan=heart's; heortan=hearts. So they do in the Psalter. But in the Ritual the -n is omitted, and the word ends simply in -a or -e; as nome=of a name (West Saxon nam-an); hearta=hearts.
7. The Rushworth Gospels.—Place, Harewood in Wharfdale, Yorkshire. Time, according to Wanley, the end of the ninth century.
Here observe—
1. That the Ruthwell inscription gives us a sample of the so-called Northumbrian Anglo-Saxon, and that as it is spoken in Scotland, i.e., in Galloway. For the bearings of this see Part II., c. 3.