[6.] The peculiarities referred to do not appear to be owing to the copyist of the Lincoln manuscript (Robert de Thornton, a native of Oswaldkirk in Yorkshire), who, being a Northumbrian, would probably have restored the original readings. The non-Northumbrian forms in the Morte Arthure are— 1. The change of a into o, as bolde for balde, bote for bate, one for ane, honde for hande, londe for lande; 2. they, theyre, them, theym, for thay, thaire, tham; 3. gayliche, kindliche, semlyche, etc., for gayly, kindly, seemly, etc. (the termination lich, liche, was wholly unknown to the Northumbrian dialect, being represented by ly or like); 4. churle, churche, iche, mache, myche, syche, wyrche, etc., for carle, kirke, ilk, make, mykelle, swilk, wyrk, etc.; 5. infinitives in -en, as drenschen, schewenne, wacchenne, etc.; 6. the use of eke, thos, for als (alswa), thas; 7. the employment of aye for egg. The former word never occurs in any pure Northumbrian work, while the latter is seldom met with in any Southern production.
[7.] The poems are Northern in contradistinction to Southern, but they are not Northern or Northumbrian in contradistinction to Midland.
[8.] Printed by Mr. D. Laing in his “Inedited Pieces,” from a MS. of Mr. Heber’s. Other copies are in the Vernon MS., and Cotton Calig. A. ii.; the latter imperfect.
[9.] Other specimens of this dialect will doubtless turn up. Mr. Brock has found a MS. in British Museum (Harl. 3909) with most of the peculiarities pointed out by me in the preface to the present work, and I believe that this dialect was probably a flourishing one in the 13th century. See O.E. Homilies, p. li.
[10.] (1) en as the inflexion of the pres. tense pl., indic. mood of verbs; (2) s in the second and third pers. sing. of verbs; (3) ho = she; (4) hit = its; (5) tow = two; (6) deȝter = daughters, etc.
[11.] See p. 36, ll. 1052-1066; p. 37, ll. 1074-1089; pp. 161-162, ll. 4956-4975.
[12.] See pp. 25, 26 (Jason’s unfaithfulness); pp. 74, 75, ll. 2241-2255; p. 75, ll. 2256-2263; p. 69, ll. 2267-2081; p. 158, ll. 4839-4850; p. 189, ll. 4881-4885; p. 165, ll. 5078-5086, etc.
[13.] In the Harl. MS. 3909, nearly all the p. part. and preterites end in -et (-ut and -et occur in Romances ed. by Robson).
[14.] This seems to furnish an etymology for Clent Hills, Worcestershire—brent is the term employed in Alliterative.
[15.] Matthew, chapter xx.