[47]. cundeliche, by reason of her sex, because she is a woman, and ordered as such by S. Paul to veil her head.
[48]. heaued clað: the ‘couvre-chef,’ a veil of fine linen worn on the head. Holy Scripture says nothing of wimples or other head-dress, but speaks of covering only. ‘Si turpe est mulieri tonderi aut decalvari, velet caput suum,’ 1 Cor. xi. 6.
[51]-55. The source of this passage is probably, ‘Linus papa . . . constituit ut mulieres in ecclesia velatae sint. Et hoc propter tres causas fit: una est, cum sint decipula diaboli, ne laxis earum crinibus iuvenum animi illaqueentur; . . . tertia est ut reatus originalis peccati, qui per mulierem evenit, ad memoriam nobis revocetur. Iudex quippe malorum est Christus: sacerdos eius vicarius. Ante sacerdotem ergo debet se mulier velare velut rea et tanti mali sibi conscia coram iudice celare. Unde dicit Apostolus, ut mulier velata sit propter angelos, id est sacerdotes,’ Honorius Augustodunensis (Migne, P. L. clxxii) 589 d. sunfule goes with eue; comp. 63/44.
[52]. on earst, at the beginning, would correspond to OE. *on ǣrest, which is apparently not found: OE. on ǣr means beforehand. Comp. ‘on erest,’ AR 264/8; ‘on earst,’ SM 14/7; ‘on alre earst,’ HM 17/25; SM 14/4. The phrase is confined to AR and its group; elsewhere at erst is used.
[53]. drahe, divert from their proper use: a rare meaning. tiffunge, adornment.
[54]. If ȝetten means yet, furthermore, it repeats and reinforces Eft. As a form it seems to be quite isolated: it may be derived from ȝette and owe its final n to the influence of such pairs as ofte, often; uppe, uppen; buten, bute; seþþen, seþþe. ȝette 47 C is also a rare form; comp. 76/19; HM 13/9, 43/13; ‘ewt ꝥ mon seið þe oðer deð ȝette,’ id. 43/21. It can hardly come from gīeta, which gives ȝete; perhaps it is for ȝet + þe, like þætte for þæt þe: þe ȝet is frequent in Layamon.
[55]. þurh hire onsihðe, through the seeing of her: comp. 124/253, perhaps the only other place where the word occurs: it is possibly formed on the analogy of OE. ansīen. Et hoc &c.: ‘Ideo debet mulier potestatem habere supra caput propter Angelos,’ 1 Cor. xi. 10.
[56]. iwimplet: the writer is addressing an imaginary disciple who insists on the wimple as satisfying the requirements of S. Paul. He replies that the apostle requires more; the face also must be veiled; his words are directed against the recluse who receives visits from men. The wimple can be dispensed with by the recluse who keeps within her walls and avoids the sight of men. The visits of various people to the recluse are often referred to; see AR 56/20, 58/5, 68/16.
[57]. þe is for þe þe, as in C and at 64/60.
[59]. wel is a mistake for þurl due to anticipation of the following wel. Three windows are mentioned, that looking into the church, the ‘chirche þurl,’ AR 68/16; the parlour window, through which they converse with visitors and communicate with the servants, the ‘þurl’ of 74/209, AR 68/19; and the house window, the ‘rund windowe’ of the text. Each window was hung inside and out with black cloths marked with a white cross, AR 50/2, 96/10, and furnished with shutters; compare the elaborate regulations for the windows in the Gilbertine Rule, Dugdale, *lxxv. wel mei duhen: see [62/22 note]: ancre is dative.