PRONOUN 3 PERS.: pl. nom. þai 45; poss. hor 8, beside þere 9, 10; obj. hom 24.
Sounds and Spelling: Northern and North Midland forms are qwiles (= whiles) 39, hondqwile 117; and wysshe 4 (note). West Midland indications are buernes 'men' 90, 91 = OE. beorn (but buerne 'sea' 159 = OE. burn- is probably miswritten owing to confusion with buern 'man'); and perhaps the spelling u in unaccented syllables: mecull 10, watur 119, wintur 124.
4. wysshe = wisse 'guide'. In the North final sh was commonly pronounced ss; cp. note to I 128-9, and the rimes in XVII 1-4. Conversely etymological ss was sometimes spelt ssh.
7-8. strongest... and wisest... to wale, 'the strongest... and wisest... that could be chosen' (lit. 'to choose').
15. On lusti to loke, 'pleasant to look upon'.
21 ff. A typical example of the vague and rambling constructions in which this writer indulges: apparently 'but old stories of the valiant <men> who <once> held high rank may give pleasure to some who never saw their deeds, through the writings of men who knew them at first hand (?) (in dede), <which remained> to be searched by those who followed after, in order to make known (or to know?) all the manner in which the events happened, by looking upon letters (i.e. writings) that were left behind of old'.
45. Benoît de Sainte-Maure says the Athenians rejected Homer's story of gods fighting like mortals, but charitably explains that, as Homer lived a hundred years after the siege, it is no wonder if he made mistakes:
N'est merveille s'il i faillit,
Quar onc n'i fu ne rien n'en vit.