[Manuscript:] Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 444, former mark R 11; on vellum, 186 × 116 mm., in one hand of the end of thirteenth or of the beginning of the fourteenth century. It contains on 81 folios the poem from which the present extract is made. On f. 1 r is the name of a former owner, Richard Southwell, with a motto nearly obliterated, Sapit qui sustinet, or suscepit (James). See further A Descriptive Catalogue of the MSS. in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, by M. R. James, vol. ii, p. 357.
[Editions:] Morris, R., Genesis and Exodus. E. E. T. S., O. S. 7, 1865, revised 1873. Mätzner, E., Altenglische Sprachproben, i. 76-90. Specimens, 153-170. Emerson, O. F., ME. Reader, 21-35.
[Literature:] Fritzsche, A., Anglia, v. 43-90 (authorship, phonology, grammar, metre, notes); Hilmer, H., Ueber die Sprache der altenglischen Story of Genesis and Exodus, Sondershausen, 1876; Holthausen, F., ES xvi. 429-33, Archiv, xc. 143, 144, 295, cvii. 386-92, Anglia, xv. 191-4, xxii. 141 (notes and emendations); Kölbing, E., ES iii. 273-334, xvii. 292-6 (notes and emendations); Schumann, W., Anglia, vi. Anzeiger, 1-32; Stratmann, F. H., ES ii. 120, iv. 98 (notes).
[Analogue:] Die altfranzösische Histoire de Joseph, ed. W. Steuer, Erlangen, 1903, also as L’Estoire Joseph, ed. E. Sass, Berliner Dissertation, 1906.
[Phonology:] This section should be compared with pp. 581-586; explanations of abnormal forms offered there are not repeated. Oral a is a, asses 427, crauen 420; a before nasals is a, gan 8, man 446 r. w. chanaan, nam 84, quanne 14, ðanne 199; men 204 (3 times) is a reduced form of the indefinite pronoun man; a before lengthening groups is o, among 587, fond 30, but and 6 &c., handful 15, Orm’s hanndfull, with consonant following the lengthening group. æ is a, at 25, bad 93 (14), bar 22 (6), dale 79 r. w. bale, faste 93, 248, quat 37, ðat 9, was 1 &c.; the exceptions are fest 427 r. w. best, queðer 111, reste 82, reste 466 (5), weche 514, weches 521 (comp. ‘weciað,’ Vesp. Ps. 126/1), togider 406 r. w. hider. e is e, beden 266, beðen 501, deren 402 r. w. sheren, stede 81 r. w. dede, wel 10 &c. (wēl, Bülbring, § 284); before lengthening groups, ende 588, engeles 587, feld 29, but hate 12, 32, 33, influenced by haten, hatian and perhaps by OWScand. hatr, bi 150, quilke 134 (3), swilc 33, bliscing 452, influenced by blissung, rejoicing, wol 384, GE 621, ‘wol wel he dede,’ id. 724, ‘ðehg wol wel,’ id. 1266, due to labial influence and weakness of stress (Gabrielson, Influence of W-, 207, 8); seigen 548, seið 404 (secgað). i is i, bid 563, driuen 219, is 74 &c., ðider 55, wile 180, wliten 343 r. w. eten; before lengthening groups, bringen 213, wilde 71, winden 502; beðen 552 is a miswriting of bidden, welin 585 of wilen. o is o, biforen 16, on 32, soren 15, wrogt 36 r. w. nogt; before lengthening groups, forð 190, gold 194, ‘wolde,’ GE 1418, but an 95, a 40, 108, without stress, wulde 9 (4), wurðen 517. u is u, kuppe 101, wukes 527; before lengthening groups, grund 164, hunger 204, murnen 107, but boden 67, storue 54, ‘domme,’ GE 2821, French writings. y is regularly i, bigen 220, kin 240, 244 r. w. beniamin, kire 505 r. w. ȳre; before lengthening groups, kinde 129 (5), kinges 87, but deden (dǣdon) 2, 154, 265 r. w. beden, 431, 504, 538 r. w. abiden, dede 44, 82 r. w. stede, come 321, sundri 81 (3), analogy of sundor. ā is o, agon 292 (ongān), gon 242 r. w. pharaon, 249 r. w. symeon, non 283 r. w. symeon, on 320 r. w. symeon, ðo 13, wrot 581 r. w. mot; with oo, ‘ooc,’ GE 1873, ‘wooc,’ id. 1874; but ‘loac,’ GE 1798, ‘ðoa,’ id. 3894 r. w. salmona, 4129 r. w. fasga, ‘woa,’ id. 880 r. w. oba: slo 35, slon 34 r. w. on, come from forms with ā; before two consonants, homward 430, but a 81, an 58 &c., unstressed article, anoðer 43, ali 482, 493, 526, hali 492, clad 174? with shortened a as if from *clādd, gast 482, 492, quam 374 (hwām), bilef, 214, 251 (‘belāf,’ Peterborough Chron., an. 1131), probably by confusion with belǣfan, but Kluge, Grundriss § 125, assumes a change of ablaut, ‘ða,’ GE 1901 r. w. bozra, ‘wac,’ id. 1197 r. w. ysaac. ǣ1 is e, bilewen 287, clene 493, leden 358 r. w. speden, 355 r. w. ðeden, segeð 286, form from sǣgan, meaning from sīgan; before two consonants, fette 154, helðe 398, lesteð 564, but ea in ear 202, 483, a in ani 235 (ā with shortening), ðan 212, 389, 550 (þām with shortening), and o in most 350, 422 (l N māst), ei in fleis 143 (= fles, comp. treweiðe 358), i in ilc 409, 410, 421 (ylc). ǣ2 is e, bedden 327 (bǣdon from biddan in form, but budon from bēodan in meaning), dede 41 (4), mel 466 r. w. wel, red 45, 191 r. w. sped, 568 r. w. dead, sel 442 r. w. wel, ðer 95 r. w. prisuner, 170 r. w. buteler, weren 255 (6), were 228, wet 342, 396 r. w. gret; before two consonants, lewse 44, 407 (lǣswe), redden 34, vnselðehe 370, but ðor 42 r. w. sor, 48 &c., 471 r. w. ger, ðore 324, wor 82 (hwāra), quuor 482 (3), quor 462, wore 139, 246, woren 434 r. w. biforen, and six other instances. ē is e, bene 565, sped 46 r. w. red; before two consonants, kepten 25, but doðes 230. ī is i, but y is written for it in yre 506. ō is o, written oo in good 121, 448, ‘booc,’ GE 4124, ‘tooc,’ id. 4123, but cam 55 (8), bicam 202, breðere 7 (14), an umlaut form, wep (OE. wōp) 382 is a new formation from wēpan, briðere 325. ū is u, but ‘town,’ GE 2739, ‘out,’ id. 72. ȳ is i, hid 364, kid 411 r. w. bitid, srid 73 r. w. bitid, but ðe 357 (þȳ).
ea before r + cons. is a, harme 368; before lengthening groups, forward 290, harde 94 (3), but e in erd 148 (3), gerken 309, speren 248, sperd 93, 147 and wurð 116 (9). The i-umlaut is e, derne 46, erue 44, werneden 261, but chare 444. ea before l + cons. is a, alle 34 &c., salt 20 (3); before lengthening groups o, bold 13, 175, cold 39, 584, holden 94 (3), old 3 (3), sold 4 (4), wold 40 (4), but geld 206, ‘geald,’ GE 2581; the i-umlaut is e, eldere 483, 560, welden 197 (see 359/7 and comp. Bülbring § 175 anm.). eo before r + cons. is e, berge 583, fer 483, feren 31, herte 32 (6), sterres 17. To the wur group belong wurðe 111, 128, wurðen 465, 481, wurðed 20, wurðeden 18, wurðing 194. The i-umlaut is i, hirde 449, hirdnesse 26, but hertedin 76, smeren 496, 502 (smierwan), smered 509, 511, smerles 508 are without umlaut: a wyr word is wurð 39 (5). The u- and å-umlauts of a are wanting, as in bale 80 r. w. dale, faren 292, misfaren 7, as are also those of e, werlde 288 (7), beren 138, fele 425. eo, u- and å-umlaut of i, is e in her 13, but biueð 334, cliued 59, cliueð 438, liued 60, nimen 416, 532, siluer 268 (comp. OWScand. silfr, Björkman, 112), siðen 115 (6) have no umlaut. ea after palatals is a, sal 79 &c., shauen 174, bigat 332 r. w. get, forgaf 553, forgat 146, gaf 45 (5). ie after ġ is e, bigetel 88, bigeten 234, forgeten 156, geuen 452, 512, but forgiue 549 r. w. liuen, ME. gifte 520; after sc, e, sheren 401 r. w. deren. EWS. gief is if 7 (3). eo after ġ is u in gunge 335, gungest 214 (4); after sc, u, sulen 22 &c., sulde 9, sulden 355, ‘suuen,’ GE 107. eom is am 129 (4), heom, hem 9 &c.
ēa is e, bed 101, bred 102, dede 519, eddi 140, gret 341, 395 r. w. wet, lepes 132, ee in neet 151; before two consonants e, eðimod 303, lefful 578, but ea in bead 548, bread 133, dead 1 r. w. unred, 485, 547, 567 r. w. red, dead 286, eares 158, and a (shortening) before two consonants in chapmen 85, chafare 47, gatte 531, 567 (Björkman, 109). The i-umlaut is e, herde 107, heren 585, nede 215, 219, ned 295, 578 r. w. red, nedful 184. ēo is invariably e, bed 127, bedden 552, for beden, ben 10 &c., dep 38 r. w. slep, leue 475, sen 26 &c., ðeden 356 r. w. leden, ðre 132 r. w. me; it is written ee in seen 492, ‘teen,’ GE 1344; before two consonants e, fellen 326, 551, leuere 139; but ei in weis 343 (wēox from weacsan), comp. fleis 143: miswritten i in lif 481 for ‘lef,’ GE 340 (6). The i-umlaut is e, dere 301, 453, ten 51 r. w. men. gīet is get 39 (6). ēa after ġ is e, ger 1 (11).
a + g is ag, dragen 100, lages 500, slagen 58, but daiges 499, 509, 525, laiges 510, 526, daies 123. æ + g is ei, dei 141 r. w. weilawei, freinde 107, seide 19 (6), seiden 218 (7), seid 479, 482, and ai, abraid 165, dai 249, 359 r. w. wei, faire 447, mai 19 (6), waines 416, written ay in may 36: fagen 321 (3) is from fagen: æ + h is seen in lagt 135, ‘vnachteled,’ GE 796. e + g is ei, leid 284, weie 293: agen 55 r. w. sen, 125, 304, 403 r. w. ben comes from agēn. i + g is ig in manige 234, 332, but the spirant is absorbed in birien 478, biried 571, ybiried 574, and manie 446: birigeles 528, biriele 542 (byrgels) are analogic: beries 116 is LWS. berie. Final ig is i, eddi 140, seli 568; stiward 87, 317 is LWS. stīweard: i + h is seen in ‘sigðhe’ (gesihþ), GE 1630. o + g, h is og, bogt 90, drogen 456, wrogt 78, 272, ‘dogtres,’ GE 1090, 1094, but dowter 201 (? Northern). u + g, h is ug, fugeles 135, mugen 144. y + h is seen in ME. frigti 18. ā + g is og, ogen 108, but owen 40; ā + h, og, ‘oget,’ GE 324, but agte 363 (? influence of ǣht). ǣ1 + h is ag, agte 144 (ǣht), bitagt 97 r. w. hagt: ǣ2 + g, leigen 16. ō + h is og, brogt 274, nogt 35 r. w. wroht, sogt 30, other spellings are ‘broghten,’ GE 1008, ‘ðohgteful,’ id. 1437, ‘sowt,’ id. 2870, ‘ðhowtes,’ id. 3544, ‘wroutis,’ id. 456. ō + g is og, ug, ‘bog,’ GE 608, ‘ynog,’ id. 3670, buges 114, ynug 210. ū + g is ug, drugte 161, ðhugte 118. ea + h is seen in sag 7 (6), waxen 114; the i-umlaut in migt 504, migte 68 &c., nigt 103, 515 r. w. rigt. eo + h is seen in rigt 15, brictest 6, but sextene 3 (comp. Mercian sex, sexta, Bülbring § 319 anm.); fe 89 represents feoh, dat. fēo. ēa + g is eg, bege 194; hegest 196 may represent hēahsta, but is more probably a new formation from hēh; ēa + h, ‘ðehg,’ GE 1266. ēo + g is also eg, drege 262; ēo + h is seen in wex 211; wexen 158, 556; the i-umlaut in ligten 79 (līhtan). ā + w is ou, ow, sowen 401, soules 578, sowle 579. ī + w, newe 412 is Anglian nēowe. ēa + w is ew, shewed 67, ðewed 10. ēo + w is also ew, knewen 31, 216, reweli 382, rewðe 393, trewthe 390, but gure 232 (5), final, gu 314 &c., knew 221, 222, wintre 113; without umlaut are trewið 91, trewed 439.
In syllables without stress a is levelled to e, moneð 516, vten 460, so o in hunger 230; ofrigt 104, 279 representing āfyrht has been influenced by ME. offriȝt: on is an 95. An e, often unmetrical, has been inserted in bodẹward 336, bodẹwurd 548, breðere 7 &c., briðẹre 325, coren 158 (9), engẹles 587, manigẹfold 556, gadẹren 188, eldẹre 483, 560, fugeles 135, 143, leuelike 329, leuere 139, reweli 382 (but rewli 64), vnselðẹhe 370, similarly ei, i in trewẹịðe 358, birịgeles 528 (byrgels); an irrational e is added finally in ðogẹ 24, towardẹ 49; e is omitted in bettre 44, biforn 326, first 185, forward 88, 318, gur 314, herdne 127 (ǣrende), mor 260 r. w. or: i is written for e in michil 260, and inserted in eðimod 303 (ēaþmōd), sinịgeden 259. The prefix in tawnen 180 is æt; be- is regularly bi, biforen 16, biment 256, bitwen 23; ge- is generally lost, kinde 129, lefful 578, seli 192, writ 70, but it survives in gede 43, 341 (yet g may be merely parasitic), yoten 470, ynug 210, it is disguised in to ful in wis 575 (comp. 196/637); the suffix ung is regularly ing, ending 283, wurðing 194.
Metathesis of r takes place in wrigtful 258, wrigteleslike 130; rr is simplified in chare 444 r. w. fare, charen 490 r. w. faren, duren 293, fer 483, feren 31. ll is simplified in al 167 &c., handful 15, wil 28 (3), wilen 358. n is added in dalen 27, against metre, and lost in a 40, 108, o 103, 177, 280 for on; nn is simplified in gunen 432, mankin 460 (manncynn), quane 4, 356. p is inserted in dempt 92, ME. drempte 37, 103, and lost in ME. chafare 47. f between vowels and vowellikes is u, crauen 420, erue 44, louerd 237, luue 18, ouer 541, wiue 201, written w in bilewen 287, wiwes 91, but ‘wifwes,’ GE 857, ‘wifuede,’ id. 1588 and even ‘wifes,’ id. 453 also occur; otherwise it is f, fare 85, lif 493; it is doubled in off 476, and lost in lord 226. t is doubled in bettre 44, lutten 217, lost in best 350 and finally in an 122, 575 (the original had ant), ða 128, 244, 372, ef 391, GE 3081, ‘hef,’ id. 4019, ‘flig,’ id. 3084; tt is simplified in fet 152; for t, þ is written in anð 218, and th, ‘soth,’ GE 3685, ‘leth,’ id. 3385: ts is sc in bliscing 452; a curious letter substitution is p for t in waspene 6, GE 1440 (wæstm). d is doubled in bedden 327, 552, eddi 140 (? shortening); b is written for it in glaðe 351 r. w. scaðe, wurðen 517 and frequently elsewhere: dd is simplified in fordred 245. For þ, th appears in trewthe 390, ‘tholen,’ GE 508; it is often written ðh, biðhogte 169, ðhenke 126, ðhing 476, ðhogt 165, 221, 308, ðhogte 24 (3), ðhugte 118, ðhurg 246, welðhe 428, but ðinkeð 457, ðogte 448. Initial þ in pronominal words is seldom assimilated after t, s, so, ðat ðin 189, ‘malt ðat,’ GE 1017, ‘salt ðu,’ id. 1043, but ‘at te,’ GE 2756, ‘and (for ant) te,’ id. 615, ‘and tin,’ id. 926, ‘is tis,’ id. 334. For þ, d is written in dan 54, dat 70, 534, de 97, dogt 486, dor 45, endede 575 (endeð), helped 77, kude 168, quad 35 (4), wid 41 (4), and t in quat 77, 383, ‘Betel,’ GE 760. þþ is simplified in siðen 115 &c., d is substituted for it in siden 509. Noteworthy is derke 291, 399 with rk for rþ. sć is mostly s, sal 79, salt 20, soren 15, srid 73, srud 61, 421, sulde 9, sulen 22, finally, fleis 143, weis 343 (cs), doubled in wassen 345, but shauen 174, sheren 401, shewed 67, schilde 579; she 21, ‘sche,’ GE 235, ‘sge,’ id. 1444, ‘che,’ id. 1227 are equivalent. The stop c is k before e and i and in combination with other consonants, biwaken 498, wukes 527, kid 411, drink 106, often before u, kumen 31, 48, kuppe 101, kude 420, but cloðes 73, folc 82, ranc 159, cumen 123 &c., cuppe 364, 372, cuðe 208, and the proper names ‘Cedar,’ GE 1257, ‘Ceturam,’ id. 1446; otherwise it is c, cam 55, comen 75, coren 158 &c., spac 395, woc 165. For c, g is written in ‘ðig,’ GE 564, ‘swing,’ id. 566, ‘ðengen,’ id. 1571. č is ch, chare 444, childes 61, lich 495 (5), michel 89, riche 324, but biseken 546, euerilk 379, ic 21, swilc 33 &c., are not palatalized: swil 442 has lost c; similarly ‘Qwel,’ GE 170, ‘quil,’ id. 3631. čč is ch, drechen 42, fechen 417, rechen 140, 176, rechede 178, reching 112, wech 514, weches 521: smaken 497 is a ME. formation. čǧ is g in bigen 220, 300, comp. 481/7, 8. cw is regularly qu, quad 35 &c. Palatal ġ is written g, geld 206, ger 1, gunkeste 5; ġe is y in yoten 470, ynug 210; it is lost in if 7 &c. An interpolated y sound appears to be indicated by g in ‘digere’ (dīere), GE 3483, ‘tgen’ (tēon), id. 3824, ‘tgen’ (tīen), id. 3413, 3418, ‘tgelt,’ id. 1840, the second and third also appear as ‘then,’ GE 1514, 3305 (h pronounced separately), similarly ‘thaunen,’ GE 32: comp. 365/23. The guttural spirant is g in swolgen 72, sorge 74 (comp. Orm’s bollȝhenn, sorrȝhe); later forms are sorwe 59 (3), morwen 359; it is lost in sorfull 380. The voiceless spirant is also written g, frigti 325, nigt 103, sogt 30, sag 7, ðog(e) 24, ðurg 577, so probably drugte 161 (drūgað, in Orm, druhhþe), other representations of the same sound are seen in brictest 6, ‘brocte,’ GE 237, ‘hicte,’ id. 713: ‘sagt,’ GE 1301, ‘burgt,’ id. 727 have added an irrational t by analogy of sogt &c. Noteworthy is the insertion of the spirant in the French words haigre 73, ‘olige,’ GE 1624, ‘astronomige,’ id. 792, where ig may be written for ī, but olie 512. ǧ appears in egypte 86 &c. h is lost in adde 14 (5), adden 504, 505, ali 482 (3), aue 442, aueð 523, e 39, 395, 476, is 14 (9), om 324, yoten 470, also by coalescence in fonde 29, madim 62, weli 582, wexem 11. h is added in halle 394, herdes 464, herdne 127, hunne 303, hure 260, 549. hl is l, lene 153, lord 226: hr, r, rad 535, raðe 367, rem 58, ring 193: hw, qu, quane 4, quan 190, quat 37, queðer 111, quiles 37, quilke 134, quam 374, quor 462 and quu, quuan 365, quuor 482, but nā-hwǣr is ‘nogwer,’ GE 1271.