[XXIII. KENTISH SERMONS]

[Manuscript:] Laud Misc. 471, Bodleian Library; on vellum, 188 × 130 mm.: consists of two manuscripts bound together; the former, mostly Latin, has at f. 65 r, ‘Man may longe liwes wenen’ (see [p. 308]). The second manuscript, of the end of the thirteenth century, begins at f. 92 with Grosseteste’s Château d’Amour; on f. 128 r is Maurice de Sully’s sermon for January 1st in French, then follows the present article. Other sermons in French by Sully begin on f. 138 v2, but they do not include the originals of these English translations.

[Facsimile:] Skeat, W. W., Twelve Facsimiles, Oxford, 1892; plate v gives ll. 19-78.

[Editions:] Morris, R., An Old English Miscellany, pp. 26-36. Kluge, F., Mittelenglisches Lesebuch, pp. 19-25.

[Literature:] Danker, O., Die Laut- und Flexionslehre der mittelkentischen Denkmäler, Strassburg, 1879; Heuser, W., Zum kent. Dialekt im Mittelenglischen, Anglia, xvii. 73-81; *Konrath, M., Zur Laut- und Flexionslehre des Mittelkentischen, Archiv, lxxxviii. 47-66, 157-180, lxxxix. 153-166; Reimann, M., Die Sprache der mittelkentischen Evangelien, Berlin, 1883. Of the French original, Manuscripts and Text: Meyer, P., Romania, v. 466, xxiii. 178, xxviii. 245; Documents manuscrits, Paris, 1871, pp. 157, 158, 244; Boucherie, A., Le Dialecte poitevin au xiiie siècle, Niort, 1873; the Author: Mortet, V., Maurice de Sully, évêque de Paris, in Mémoires de la Société de l’histoire de Paris, xvi. 105; Bourgain, L., La Chaire française au xiie siècle, Paris, 1879; Lecoy de la Marche, A., La Chaire française au Moyen Âge, Paris 1868.

[Phonology:] Oral a is a, habbe 75, last 212; awakede 172 has its form from āwacian, its meaning from āweccan. a before nasals is a, fram 35 (5 times), man 120 &c., þan conj. 34, þanne 47, 160, wanne 21 (4); man indef. pron. is man 112, me 34; apparently lengthened in naam 237, from the plural. a before lengthening groups is o, belongeth 86, fond 206 (3), hond 138, londes 31, longe 246, 275, but shortened and 10, answerden 18, and amenges 217, influenced by gemengan. æ is divided between e, efter 22 (3), hedde 41 (8), hedden 11 (12), nedden 242, hest 101, smech 50, 53, þet 10 (47), wet 42, 151 and a, hadde 173, spac 20, 87, þat 54 (23), uastinge 57, was 6 &c., wat 26, 86, 174, 221, watere 91 (6), stressless at 84 (6), ate 229; from OE. forms in a, almichti 5 (6), fader 48, habbe 67; flexion form bak (biteres) 111; iheed 248 represents OE. gehæfd. e is e, be prep. 39 &c., iþenche 282, wrench 275; before lengthening groups ende 161, strengþe 267; but bi 54 &c., swiche 127 (4), siche 179, wiche 145, wyche 112; e is raised to i in sigge 53 (11), togidere 95 from the umlaut form togedere, wrichede 59, comp. wrecca; with bie prep. 94, 228 for bi, comp. ‘beo’ for be, Reimann § 18. 2 f; in angles 150 a is probably due to French influence, although a for umlaut e before nasal is characteristic of the South-Eastern area, see 439/9-13, 269/25-27. The isolated o in ongel 28 beside angles may be set down to the representation of OF. a before nasal + cons. in Southern ME. indifferently as a or o, so in Ayenbite, chambren, chombre, chongi (Behrens 78), but the scribe of KS writes always sergant, serganz. i is i, wille 22, finde 24, often written y, especially in contact with m, n, agyn 212, hym 13; here 85, her, is an early instance of the spelling with e. o is o, dorste 87, wolde 23, but an 71, ane 242 (an), a 192 through loss of stress; þane 175, 274, 281 is LWS. þane. u is u, icume 216, 253, to cumene 284, luuie 74, hifunde 21, undren 205 (3), but o in awondrede 177, come 60, comme 55, cometh 22, 159, icomen 215, ffolvellet 90, fonden 208, ifonden 27, louie 243; see 269/31. y is e, spusbreche 110, chereche 149, dede 205, euele 107 (12), ferst 96 (7), uuluelden 93, manken 41, senne 61 (14), þenche 245, werm 55, berdene 219, but forþingketh 221, due to palatal influence, kinges 7, mirre 11, 54, as in French original, niste 98, analogy of wiste, formeste 134 (formest). ā is o, aros 169, holi 5 &c., no 55, none 156, on art. 202, one 134, 199, o 14, one numer. 117 &c., doubled in aróós 171, hool 137, hóót 74, 280, noon 148, 221, 282; before two consonants, o, bitockned 107 &c., gost 48, onlepi 48; but the indef. article is mostly an, ane, a, so too anoþer 30, anoþren 34; askede 13, 17, haleghen 146 have shortened a, contrast ‘oxi,’ Ayenbite 114/1; with namore 87 comp. nammore 231/14. ǣ1 is regularly e, anhet 115, wreþe 188, doubled in anhéét 116, 124, before two consonants, clensed 139, euerich 122 (5), leuedi 83, leuedis 31, but aueriche 69, lauedi 6, 87, goth 51, with o from the plural. ǣ2 is also e, euen 206 (5), þer 60 &c., wer 13 (4), were 91 (4), ofdred 16, werefore 69 (3), but war 26 (hwār), ware 91, waren 215, 216. ē is e, akelþ 108, deþ 70 (3), he 15 &c., se art. 13 &c., wenden 216, but doþ 179, with o from the plural, ha 20 &c., a 250, 264, mostly stressless. ī is i, hwilem 19, niþing 121, wyn 84; doubled in hij 248; before two consonants, wyman 87, winyarde 203; the only exception is bleþeliche 182, comp. ‘blethliche,’ Seuyn Sages 503 (Kentish), ‘bleþeliche,’ Ayenbite, 20/26; according to Konrath (p. 172) ē in MK. had a very close sound approaching ī, which led to their interchange, but there is also ‘bluðeliche’ 119/80, OEH i. 31/4 which needs accounting for. ō is o, comen 35 (4), into 12, to 22, sothfast 38, doubled in good 120, 183, 281, goodman 202, but a in kam 12 (4) and reduced to e in te 7, 20, 256, te dai 5 (4), euerte 135, neuerte 248, inte 250, 251. ū is u, bute 279, ut 239, upward 51, doubled in uut 202, but o in bote 244, don 170. ȳ is e, bredale 80, fer 112, ueréé 51, here 203, herde 208, iherde 228, iherede 232, iherd 248, prede 188, wéé 207 (hwȳ); before two consonants, bredgume 99, but ihierde 236 where ie may be a writing for ē, or equivalent to [je], litle 143 (litel).

ea before r + cons. is a in art 124, 125, winyarde 203 &c., to . . . ward 51, but e in forewerde 203, 204 in syllable of minor stress. ea before l + cons. is a, al 8 &c., and its compounds, falle 155, halt 283, before ld, a in chald 109, schald 108, o in chold 124, itold 67, 222 (as bold, bolde in Ayenbite), but before lde, ia (as for ēa) in ialde 39, ihialde 101; this alternation of a (not o) and ia, as short and long, is specifically Kentish. The i-umlaut is e, elde 260, 268, 270. eo before r + cons. is e, verrene 35, herte 45 (6), sterft 154, sterre 7 (4), werkes 50 (8), werkmen 203 (3), before lengthening groups, erþe 82, 135, erþliche 65, husberners 111; Kentish absence of i-umlaut (Bülb. § 187) in ismered 55; uerste 223. eo before lf is e, selue 115, seluen 123, 183. eo, u- and å-umlaut of e is e, fele 224, 270, heuene 29 (9); after w, o in wordle 191, world 228. eo, u- and å-umlaut of i is e in beneme 186, clepie 181, clepeþ 262, selure 64, here 11 (10), but hire 27, 30, 185. ea after palatals is a, sal 34 (4), yaf 158, 214. ie after ġ is e, yeue 210, 251, yeft 35, yefþ 272, yeue 71, 159, yef 213, yeld 211, yeftte 37. EWS. gief is yef 24 &c. eo after sć is o, solle 271, sollen 200, 254, solde 14 (5), solden 250, but sulle 223. eom is am 184, heom, hem 10 &c.

ēa is ia, beliaue 41 (6), diadlich 41, 264, diadliche 143 (7), diath 41, diaþe 274, griat 201, griate 234, 272, ya in yare 282, but ea in beleaue 45 (6), great 141, 169, greater 267, a in belaue 67, e in gret 171, grete 143: slon 24 is from a form with ā. The spelling with e [ē] is not Kentish, that with a is probably meant for ea, which is historic spelling of the same import as the specifically Kentish ia, ya. The phonetic value of the latter is in dispute. Sweet says probably [jaa], that is, with accent shifting; Konrath [jœ̄] for the initial, [œ̄] for the medial position; Heuser maintains that the symbols must have the same value wherever placed and suggests for it [eǣ]. The i-umlaut of ēa is e, beleue 47, 250, bileue 75, bileued 242, beleuede 103, iherde 14, 19, iherd 62 (4), ihere 282, ihereþ 106, 224, onlepi 48, onlepiliche 65, but ie in ihiereth 42, niedes 181, 185, nyede 180. ēo initial is ye, yede 12 (7); medial, ie bien 18, 192, bieth 59, 68, bieþ 152 (10), bied 116, biedh 143, dieule 61, forbiet 73, liese 16, liesed 114, liest 145, 153, forliest 154, but e in betuene 9, deuel 187, deueles 241, frend 221, helden 235, iuel 84, prest 40, and i in sike 58, sikman 136; final, ie, ye, bie 178, 223, 156, 207, ibye 219, hie 207 (hēo), hye 87, þrie 7 (5) and i, bi 14, 71, 139, si 6 (10), hi 87, but e in be (swo) 263, ibe 238, 239, 241, 246, 247. The medial ie, which is characteristic of Kentish, has, according to Sweet, the value of diphthongic [jee], according to Konrath, of the monophthong ē; final ie, ye is ī. The i-umlaut of ēo is e, þefte 144. ēa after ġ is e in yere 66, ēo, e in yemer 114, yemere 113, yemernesse 56, but Morsbach (Anglia, Beiblatt, vii. 326) regards it as umlaut e. gīet is yet 118.

a + g is agh, daghen 252, laghe 17 (3), but ai in daies 66: mowe 53, 260, moue 72, muee 33 represent the subjunctive form mugon: seith 183, 242, seiþ 184, seyth 201, seid 113, 274 come from segeþ. æ + g is ai, dai 5 &c., day 33 (5), mai 148 &c., may 58 (5), maidene 237, vaire 177, but deai 219: seide 20 &c., seyde 88 (6), seiden 172, seyden 217, iseid 19 represent segde &c.: sede 86, seden 230 descend from sǣde, sǣdon. e + g is ei, ileid 170, weye 30: ayen 30, 206, agenes 269 descend from ongēn, so toyenes 235; tojanes 8 (influence of n), from tōgēanes, comp. 428/37. i + g final is i, bodi 60, mani 118, peni 251; lauedi 87, leuedi 83 represent hlǣfdī; the spirant is lost in bodie 158. u + g: mowe 75. ā + g is seen in oghe 112, ǣ1 + h in tachte 249 (shortened tāhte), ō + h in ibrocht 99, nocht 23 (5); in cróós 90 the spirant has been absorbed; nacht 65, 104, 146 comes from shortened nāht. The i-umlaut of ea + ht is e in the specifically Kentish manslechtes 111 (Bülb. § 180 b), but i in almichti 5, micht 137, michte 24, nicht 28. ēo + ht is i in bricht, brichtnesse 44, richt 209, unricht 221: wesse 92 is wēoscon. ēo + g is e in legheþ 275; īe + ht, i in licht 46. e + w: iseghe 176 comes from gesegen. ā + w is au, saule 159, saulen 191: seghe 105, seghen 25, 215 come from sǣgon. ī + w: newe 134. ēa + w is seen in feaue 224, seaweth 199, seawede 37, 39, seauede 237, seaude 249, seauinge 8, seywinge 32, miswriting, perhaps for sewinge. ēo + w occurs in biknewe 8, furti 266 shortened, yure 64, final yu 89, 210, yw 174, 251. Accents are more sparingly used than in piece v, 275/40; they appear to emphasize the length of a vowel already doubled to indicate length in anhéét 116 (anheet 124), aróós 171 (aros 169), cróós 90, hóót 74, 280 (hot 88, 279), wéé 207; in beleauéé 230, icornéé 224, ueréé 51, séé 169, 175 short inflectional e is doubled and accented, possibly to point out that it is not silent, but muee 33 is without accent; similarly iléke 61 (ileke 72, 73, ilke 59), offréde 38 (offrede 38): in galiléé 78 (Vulgate Cana Galilaeae) separate pronunciation of the vowels is indicated.

In godespelle 5, 32, 199, haleghen 146, iherede 232, ileke 61, leuedis 31, leuedi 83, lauedi 6, moreghen 202 a glide e has been inserted, a final e added in ate 229, ofte 275; e is lost in icornéé 224, mor 34. For e, ie is written in sollie 160, o is e in sikerliche 187. The prefix in akelþ 108 is a- intensive; in agyn 212, alast 236, anhet 115 &c., an-, on-; in astrengþed 179 a- from ar-; in answerden 18, and-; in awondrede 177, of-: be- is mostly bi-, but betokned 116 (3), ge-, i-, ihende 55, iwil 114, but it is lost in bore 71. The suffix in sothfast 38 is -fæst (in the Ayenbite it appears as -uest), in felarede 147, -rǣden, in childhede 262, -hǣd; the termination of verbal nouns is -ing, as in ME. gauelinge 144; in baþieres 92 the suffix is Fr. -ière.