For w, u is written in uule 72. l is lost in fundes 12, n in cunen 46, druch 20. For p, b is written in unbischbed 17: f medial occurs in bifore 39, biforen 60, vnstaþelfast 5, but biuoren 62 as in A, deoules 70 and w for u in biworen 94, eawer 72, 99, giwere 105, keorwinde 64, 69, kniwes 62, underweng 73. For t, d appears in bihald 82, blend 80; ts is ss in gissere 78, gissunge 14, but giscunge 13; d is lost in an 25 (but and 86 and consequently ⁊ þe 31, 73); it is unaltered in ondfule 31, wondrede 76, worldlich 35, where A has t: t is written for d in hont 60, lauert 95, ð for d, leouerð 49; d is often written for ð, beod 19 &c., drahed 35, gemed 15, libbed 33, puffed 36, serued 34, shuled 52, slead 30, tutelid 71, wid 2, wredfule 32, wigeled 96, wurden 87; t for þ, fondet 29, gat 2, w for þ, thehewen 12, warwið 89. sc is regularly sh, dishes 93, shal 87, shruden 90, &c.: etheliche 76 is miswritten for echeliche; in richkeneres 81, k was added above as a correction of ch not deleted; cw is qu in forquiddares 56. g is used for ġ, agein 5, bigete 11, ge 1. cht for ht is frequent, drichtines 40, iplicht 17, richte 14; þ for h occurs in þwitel 89, th for h in þothten 38, for t in thehewen 12.
(3) Of N. For an account dealing with the whole of Morton’s text see Ostermann: the examples given in the following summary illustrate such differences as exist between N and A. Oral a is a, blasie 143 (blase, sb.), wasshen 124, wassheð 95; gledie 204 is influenced by glæd: a before nasals and length. groups is o; hwon 6, 87, seldwhonne 179 are the usual forms, but þeonne 5, 144, 181 by influence of heonne. æ is regularly e, keppen 38, veder 154, ueste 37, gledliche 168; occasionally ea, heater 29, readliche 77; a in hateren AR 104/24, later 151, was 3 (Bülbring, Ablaut 62), water 76, and the flexion forms baruot 34, warliche 127. e is e, blodbendes 64; raised to i before a palatal, sigge 110, 130, siggen 152 (South-Eastern and Kentish); u in stude 153, sullen 12, swuche 18 &c. i is i, but u in hwuder 103, wute 138, nute 107. o is o: u is u, kumeð 184: y, u, drunch 187, wurcheð 70. ā is regularly o, anon 69, boðe 105, mone 8, more 196, but oa in moare 154, woanes 19 (comp. woaning 2/15, 2/25); eo in beoðe 173, 182, and a in lates 127 (Scand. lát). ǣ1 is regularly e, clene 22, eni 93, geð 100, wreððe 133, but ea in arearen 140, unweawed 119, heale 193. ǣ2 is mostly e, leten 108, lete 19, but ea in heare 36, readeð 208, weaden 125, and a in hwarse 95, hwarto 126. The representation of ǣ1 and ǣ2 is therefore practically identical. ē is e; ī, i, but u in hwule 71, 198, ihwulen 73, swuðe 197, wummen 171: ō is o; ū, u; ȳ, u, hure 167, schruden 67, but ui, expressing length, in huire 6, 164, 205.
ea before r + cons. is mostly e, hermes 7, hermie 9, neruwure 189; before length. groups, herde 28, herdure 189, and a, after w, urommard 146, warme 25; in other conditions occasionally a, sparke AR 296/13, or ea, schearpe AR 82/11; a in warien 6 is to be explained as ea in wearien 60/6. ea before l + cons. is a, halue 174, before length. groups o, holden 177; the i-umlaut is seen in elde 100, helden 181. eo before r + cons. is mostly eo, heorden 28, leornen 79, but e in hercnen 73, werc, werke 70, werkes 62; to the wur group belongs forwurðen 77; wyr words are iwursed 174, wurðe AR 38/17: the i-umlaut is wanting in heordemonne 6. eo before l + cons. is u in sulf 32, suluen 189. The u- and å-umlauts of a are not represented. eo, u-umlaut of e, occurs in heouene 167, but worlde 206, worldliche 90, 115; eo, å-umlaut of e, in beoden 100, ueole 33: eo, u- and å-umlaut of i, in bicleoped 175, seolke 64, but hore 105, sustren 1, wike 172. ea after palatals is a, schal 27, 181, ischauen 84, ea in ȝeate 105, scheape 125, but often e, ȝet AR 74/12; schepieð 65 is from sćeppan. ie after ġ is i, ȝiue 155, 205, uorȝiueð 185, e in ȝelden 7, forȝelde 156: gef is ȝif 20 &c. eo after ġ is u, ȝungre 108; after sć, schule 66, schulde 72. eom is am 210, heom, ham 188. ēa is regularly ea, cheapeð 13, cheapild 12, cweadschipe 75, but e in chepmon 13, cheffare 11, gretluker 137, gretture 62; its i-umlaut is e in ȝeme 173, ȝemen 80, ȝemeleaste 175, leue 156, 193, misleue 165, but ea in dreamen 192. ēo is regularly eo, but e in seke 91, secnesse 93; the i-umlaut has e in nede adv. 9, but neode 20, neodeð 26. Palatalization after ġ, sć is absent in ȝere 83, schon 33. gīeta is ȝete 176; gesīene is represented in eðcene 126.
a + g is aw, dawes 88: auh 54 is the equivalent of Anglian ah, WS. ac. æ + g gives ei, deie 94, feir 100; muwe 163 is LWS. muge for earlier mæge. e + g is also ei, eilie 9, weie 100: seihtnesse 139 is sæhtness. o + g, bitowen 198: o + h, iwrouhte 25. u + g, muwen 37, 67. ā + g, owen 167, owune 67, 190: ā + h, ouh 10, 80, ouhte 163, louh 121, lowe 118, louwe 131, nouhwuder 103. ǣ1 + h, eihte 3, 8. ī + g, iueied 149, iheid 206. ō + g, inouh 36, 210, þouht 10. ea + h, muhte 116. ie + h, nihtes 22, isihð 23, 71, 140: lauhwen 115 corresponds to lahhen in A. eo + h, rihte 136. ēa + g, deih 56, eien 54, heie 168, 176: ēa + h, neih 72, heie 118, but þauh 7 &c., as if from þah > *þĕah. ēo + g, drieð 205. īe + h, nexst 27. ā + w, nout 10, nouhtunge 145, nouðer 112, 159, but drawe 11, itauwed 25 (forms from the scribe’s exemplar), iseie 116. ō + w, touward 71, 112, 199. ēa + w, þeaufule 89. ēo + w, four 83, our 91, ower 175, seouweð 65.
Swā is so 62 &c., once se 187, and in composition hwo se 29, hwer se 60. For e, a is written in demare 176, for on in akneon 129; for o, e in strapeles 37; e is added in heuede 197, sunegeð 174, ȝeorneliche 177, u in gretture 62, herdure, neruwure 189: in contrast with A, syncope is rare. The suffix -lēas is unchanged in wimpelleas 37.
w is assimilated in urommard 146, uppard AR 216/28. iwrouhte 25, corresponding to iwraht in A, has metathesis of r. ll is simplified in griðfulnesse 4; for l, r appears in irspiles 30. Final n is lost in iðe 83, o 141, but it is otherwise very regularly retained; it is simplified in monluker 93. f is kept in the combinations fd, ff, fs, ft, lefdi 208, cheffare 11, ofte 19, lufsumere 54; as a final, strif 134; initially after a word ending in a voiceless sound, foddre 5, fondunge 74, forwurðen 77 (with exceptions at 54, 90, 150, 172); also before u, ful 36, fur 142, 146, þeaufule 89, to avoid uu. Otherwise it is u, v, at the beginning of a sentence, Vor 5, Uorði 23; after a syntactical pause, vor 72, 94; after a word ending in a voiced sound, uet 37, ueond 69, or a liquid, uor 69, ueste 124, uere 110; or medially, iuestned 10, luuien 180. But f is exceptionally written sometimes after d, for 14, four 83, especially after and 147, 156, 204, 209, where the exemplar had ant, as well as in flesshes 74: of is shortened to o 195, 208; w is written for u in unweawed 119. ts is c in milce 157, 165. þ is assimilated in ette 160, but and te 189 is due to ant te in the scribe’s exemplar; þ is d in lodlich 7. For s, c is written in eðcene 126: sć is initially sch, schal 27, schon 33, medially ssh in flesshes 74, wasshen 124, but fleshe 27. c [k] is c before consonants, clene 22, hercnen 73, but akneon 129, iknotted 36, iknowed 185; k is regular before e and i, keppen 38, makien 129, and as frequent as c before other vowel sounds, kat 2, kom 75, kume 102. č is ch, but ecchenesse 207: istihd 119 is miswritten for istichd. Palatal g is regularly written ȝ; rg is rw in midmorwen 162; ng is nc in strencðe 18; čǧ is gg, liggen 29, sigge 110. hs is written xs in nexst 27.
(4) Of T and C. According to the careful investigation of Mühe, MS. T exhibits a varying mixture of Anglian and Southern forms, the former being predominant. MS. C differs in no main feature from A. As in the Lambeth MS. of the PM (317/6) ch for h is frequent, olchni 6, þocht, nawicht 10, iwracht 25, þach 53, echnen 54; noteworthy is the interpolated y sound in muchȝen 67 (mugon), sechȝe 116, lachȝe, hechȝe 118, iueiȝet 149 &c.
[Accidence:] (1) of A. Strong declension of masc. and neut. nouns. In the s. n. sune b 231 represents sunu. Gen. -es, gastes b 165, bearnes 75: d. -e, bedde b 25, bure b 186, chearre b 238, hame b 122 (WS. hām), but the inflection is wanting in more than half the instances, clað b 23, hus b 148, &c. The pl. n. a. of masculines ends in -es, bemeres 36, brondes b 161, but scheos b 39, and schon b 38, a weak form: neuters, with the exception of word 65, have taken the masc. termination, felles b 24, b 31, gomenes b 218, þinges b 140, werkes 62, wordes 96, &c., or have joined the weak declension, beoden b 124, b 206, deoflen 58, 67, sygaldren 6: wa b 186, pl. a. is indeclinable: genitives are cunne b 30, englene 39, 76, þinge b 200; datives have mostly -es, breres b 32, streones 5 and 19 others, but beoden b 237, cneon b 150 (Mercian cnēom), ȝeten b 128, siðen b 19, b 101; mel b 177, þing b 129 are acc. in form. The fem. nouns of the strong declension have -e in the s. n., fulðe b 113, hure b 184, neode b 17, b 202, þuftene b 123; exceptions are heast 18, b 115 (hǣs), neod b 1, b 20, b 217, þuften b 119; the acc. also has -e. Gen. -e, helle 76, heorte 86: dat. -e, honde b 121, worlde b 234, sawle b 175, b 176, but uninflected half 40, 52, help b 75, hond 34, 95, luft 52, world 40, b 234. Pl. n. are teolunges 6, esken 85, weden b 146; d., esken 79, honden b 14, sunnen 21, talen b 106, wunden b 198, sawles b 176; a. ahte b 3, kemese b 83, leasunges b 140, secnesses b 36, glouen b 65, honden b 29, spechen b 139, sunnen 24, talen b 137. The extension of the weak declension at the expense of the strong is Southern. Nouns of the weak declension have -e in all cases of the singular; exception, leafdi s. a. b 235. Pl. n. are neddren, tadden 88, ancres b 188, leafdis b 46, b 79; pl. d. bemen 39, 76, cappen b 45, earen b 206, ehnen 48, b 63, heorden b 27, hosen b 39, nomen 25; pl. a. earen 54, b 136, blodbinde, huue b 69, teone b 187 (Anglian absence of n). The minor declensions are represented by vet s. d. b 42; wummon s. n. b 41, monnes s. g. b 58, wepmonnes b 56, mon s. d. b 220, chapmon b 12, wummon b 47, s. a. b 21, cunnesmon b 144, men pl. n. 99, monne pl. g. b 15, b 70, wummone b 194, heordemonne b 5, wepmen pl. d. b 97; boc s. d. b 223, (o)boke b 134; brech pl. a. b 41; kues s. g. b 5; niht pl. n. b 215; feader s. n. b 173; broðer s. n. b 75, breðer s. d. b 76; moder s. n. 21; dohter s. n. b 52, dehtren pl. n. b 15; suster s. n. b 4, sustren pl. n. b 1, b 232, sustres ?pl. g. b 208; child s. n. 22, godchild s. a. 20, childrene pl. g. b 96; feondes s. g. 92, feond s. d. 34, 63, b 159; hettren pl. a. b 70 (hæteru): hetter s. d. b 28 is a ME. formation.
Adjectives which in OE. end in e retain that termination in all cases, as cleane b 21, softe b 198, swete b 43. Instances of weak inflections are s. n. eadmode b 119, fleschliche b 75, hehe b 185, swote b 43; g. sunfule b 51; d. dredfule 76, grurefule 40, hehe b 192, wide 103; a. greate 97, ondfule 50, rihte 15: a solitary strong inflection is linnene s. a. m. b 26. All other adjectives are uninflected in the singular, as ful b 93, heh b 186, riht 51. Those in -ig lose g, almihti b 231, attri 12; druncwile 105 represents druncwillen; lute b 116, lȳtel; mycel is mostly muche, but s. n. muchel b 18 (3); d. muchele 60, b 225; a. b 226; pl. a. 80: āgen gives s. n. ahne b 61; g. ahnes b 207; d. ahne b 205; pl. n. 57. The pl. ends in e, bĭsie b 121, idele b 137; exceptions are hāli b 14, idel b 87. OE. āna is ane b 2 &c.; ān is an, a; s. g. anes 14: nān is nan, na; s. g. nanes 51; pl. a. nane b 68, b 137, b 218. Adjectives used as nouns are inflected, as s. gode b 238, idele 74, nearewe b 204, slawe 71, wide b 205, wreaðfule 63, wurse 56; pl. neodfule 90, ontfule 31, prude 30, wreaðfule 32; exceptions are ȝemeles (predicative) 10, 12, god 53, 73: feorle 100 represents fǣrlic. Comparatives end regularly in e, lufsumre b 64, except dimluker 43, greatluker b 157: of superlatives only leaste b 188 is inflected.
The personal pronouns are ich, me, us, þu, þe, ȝe, ow b 37, b 196. The pron. of the third person is s. n. he m. 66, ha f. b 4 &c., heo b 127, hit neut. 5; d. him m. 88; a. him m. 69, hire f. b 89, hit neut. b 2; pl. n. ha 33, 51, 53, b 147, b 191, heo b 143, b 149; d. ham 4; a. 58 &c. Reflexives are ow b 106, ow seoluen b 85, him 27, him seolf 81, b 208, him seoluen b 234, hire b 30, b 33, hire seolf b 32, ham b 166, b 170, ham seolf b 138, b 194: definitive is ham seolf 59: possessives are mi s. b 91, mine pl. 99, b 1, b 232, þin b 162, ure b 173, ower b 1 &c., his 11, hire b 9, hare pl. 5 &c. The definite article is mostly þe, te after t; inflected forms are þet s. a. neut. b 205, þer s. d. f. b 155, þen s. d. neut., in ear þen b 126. Þet is used demonstratively 52, 53, 54, b 152, þet ilke b 152, b 153, b 161: the article is also used pronominally in þeo þe, those who b 86, which 25, þeo, that one b 122, teo, those b 179: þer buten, without that, b 103. The compound demonstrative is þes s. n. m. 74, þeos s. n. f. b 117, þis 82, þis s. n. neut. b 158, s. d. f. b 223, s. a. neut. b 188, tis 83, þes pl. n. 81, þeos 20, 56, þeose pl. d. 28, 43, b 115, pl. a. 97. The relatives are þe, þet b 126; þe sometimes means he who 11, she who 21, b 103. Interrogative is hwuch 9; its correlative is swuch b 18, b 65, b 146; ilca is ilke b 152; þyllic, þullich 104, þulliche pl. 3, 20. Indefinites are hwa se 15, hwam se d. 73, hwet se b 183; me 16, b 7; sum 27, summe pl. 47, b 46; eiðer 53 &c.; oðres s. g. 14, oþer s. d. 8, 47, oþre 66, b 239, pl. n. 26, oðer pl. g. b 15; oðerhwet b 177; euch 34, euche s. d. b 188, b 223; ǣnig is mostly ei 8 &c., but eani 8, b 111, b 213; nowðer b 48; eawt 52, nawt b 15, b 89; monie pl. 80, b 168; al s. n. a. 82, 72, alle s. g. b 207, s. d. b 149, pl. n. 20, d. 7, a. 24, mid alle b 20.