[ēa] is normally a, but reade 80, lyen (= lēan) 289; its i-umlaut is e, foryemeþ 137, ilef 132, 248, nexte 265, iherest 251, but u in ihure 10, ihurd 205. ēo is normally eo, but e in forleseþ 137, fremannes 299, o in wolde 278, loþ 234, the latter miswritten for leoþ, r. w. forteoþ; the rhyme istreon 125 : lone (lān) is noteworthy: neode 141, 217, 265 is LWS. nēod arising beside nied by confusion with nēod, desire. īe in scīene, gesīene gives schene 213, isene 75.
a + g is aw, but seye 152, seyþ 234, 246, sayþ, 305: æ + g is ay, but seyde 24, iseyd 236, ised 230: e + g is always ey: ayeyn 95 = ongegn: o + g always ow: u + g gives mvwe 113 (LWS. muge), doweþes 118 (duguða).
ā + g is always ow: ā + h is ah in ahte 79: ǣ1 + g occurs in feye 113; ǣ1 + h in ayhte 125, 171, 274, but eyhte 145: ī + h in lyeþ 109 (lihþ): ō + g in inowe 133, plouh 61, brouhte 181: ū + g in buwe 201.
ea + h occurs in wexynde 112, 113, iauhteþ 171 (geeahtian), probably a miswriting of iachteþ in the scribe’s exemplar (T has hachte for æht, nocht, &c.): eo + h in bryht 211, rihtwis 34, mixe 276 (meox), vouh 129 is feoh; in case it corresponds to fēo, dative; Skeat and Borgström read veoh. ēa + h gives þeih 88 (9), þey 79. ā + w is ow in mowe 53, 60, sowen 59, isowen 80, au in saule 23, ou in nouht 35 &c. and ey in iseye 186 (gesāwe): ēa + w is ew in fewe 301, þewes 195, 312, vnþewes 262, eu in glev 256, vnþev 198, eaw in gleaw 30: ēo + w is eow in greowe 81, reowe 330, treowe 202, ew in rewe 71: the pron. ēow is ou 21, eu 142, ēower ower 141, eure 20, 23.
The acute accent is used twenty-one times over long vowels, in ten cases over e representing ǣ: séé 95, 132 is furnished with two, as often in MS. O of Layamon, comp. 95/2. In v́uel 217 it serves to distinguish the vowel.
The consonants show little divergence from OE. use. For w, u is written in uexynde 112, for u, w in hw 22, 42: wur is wr in wrþsipes 22, wrþie 36, 286, wrþe 124: iwrche 83 is OE. gewyrcan, wrt 112 is wyrt. OE. swa is regularly so, but once swo 99, influenced by the initial sw of the following word. l is lost in vyches 276, eueruyches 54 and other pronominal words of similar formation: n is dropped in euelyche 49, owe 111, wyndrunke 184; uppe prep. 132 occurs beside vpen 123. f between vowels is commonly v, u, but hafst 133, oferhoweþ 323, wife 185 where it is probably voiced; initially it is largely maintained, but it is v, u in urouer 37, velde 112, vouh 129, forvare 147, 260, vere 148, vordrye 227, vayre 245, 6, avynde 291, vale 300, in all these cases before a vowel. d is t in huntseuenti 79; schaltu 168 has t for þ after a dental: þ is represented by d in vordrye 227; madmes 138 answers to LWS. mādm: t is omitted in lest 316. c + s is represented by x in arixlye 329. hw is generally preserved, but wile 149: in initial combinations with other consonants h is lost: swyhc 159 is written for swych, iscohte 303 for ischote. The prefix ge is regularly i: k is often used for c; cw is qu; č is ch, as chireche 57, cheorl 58, &c. sc is generally sch, but scolde 87, wrþsipes 22: ġ is regularly y.
In syllables of minor stress the vowels have mostly been levelled to e, as in egleche, sadelbowe, sikerliche, vppen, &c. An e, generally slurred in scansion, is inserted in clerek, euere, seorewe, arewe, erewe, foleweþ, pouere.
[Accidence:] Nouns of the strong declension m., neut. have s. g. -es, cristes 283, cunnes 276; d. -e, bure 212, balewe 282, &c., but the termination is sometimes not written before a vowel, god 104, word 16, or omitted by the scribe, lyf 28, lond 12, mod 224, þing 188, or an accusative form is used, cotlyf 174, fryþ 58, loþ 234, through confusion of the prepositional constructions. The plural of masculines ends in -es, n. þeynes 1, d. wrenches 257, a. acres 79: neuter nouns with masc. terminations are n. wordes 24, a. sedes 59, þinges 21, wyttes 40, but the normal þing, pl. a. 143; treowe 202, pl. n. represents trēowu; þinge 250 is an isolated pl. a.; worde 300 is probably pl. g., an OE. construction after vale; worde 301 is pl. d.: englene pl. g. 6, &c. (Engla), iwriten pl. a. 67 are weak forms. Of the strong feminines, ayhte 125, blisse 31, 282, 310, lone 126 (read lon), neode 141, vnhelþe 73, youþe 105 have added e in the s. n., and worlde 278, wunne 279 in the s. a.: worldes 22, s. g. shows confusion of declensions: the s. d. ends regularly in -e, except world 122 (see note): s. a. in e. The general termination of the pl. is e, n. eyhte 145, ayhte 274, leode 20 &c., wene 74; g. quene 237 (cwēna), or s. g. (cwēne); d. leode 264, honde 259; a. custe 170, saule 23, but d. blissen 31, deden 47, spechen 249: tales 295, pl. d. medes 60, pl. a. (mǣdwa) show confusion of declensions: doweþes 118 appears to be meant for s. g., but it answers to OE. duguþa; perhaps doweþe is to be read. Loss of final n has greatly simplified the weak declension, so s. d. heorte 163, sadelbowe 153, weole 82, 103, ivere 144, vere 148, wille 35; s. a. tunge 190, tyme 114, weole 91, 100, wille 185 &c., but wyllen 283: dwales 296 is a strong pl. a. The minor declensions are represented by mon s. n. 17, monnes s. g. 54, fremannes 299, mon s. d. 159, wymmon s. a. 204, monne pl. g. 32, pl. d. 253, 269; boke s. d. 39; fader s. n. 33, s. g. 212, moder s. d. 203; freond s. a. 83, 245, pl. v. 25, pl. a. 267.
Remnants of the strong declension of adjectives are longes s. g. neut. 109, reade s. d. n. 80 (rēadum), yonge 328 (geongum), godne s. a. m. 45, vuelne 231, swikelne 252; wenliche s. n. m. 68, godlyche 204 have e, contrary to OE. usage, but vnlede s. n. m. 238, is OE. unlǣde. Weak forms are wise s. n. m. 287, betere s. n. neut. 325, 327, wysuste s. n. m. 17; for mildest s. n. m. 32 mildeste should be read. OE. āna is one 29, 41, 118, ān is o 79, 278. The participial āgen gives s. n. neut. owe 149, d. f. owere 54, a. m. owene 318, a. neut. owe 128. With exception of the above, the adjective is not inflected in the singular. The plural in all cases ends in e. Adjectives used as nouns are arewe s. d. 152, erewe s. n. 156, fayre s. d. 172, feye s. g. 113, frakele s. a. 172, god[e] s. d. 225, god s. a. 90, ifon pl. n. 129, ivo pl. d. 186, ildre pl. g. 125, loþe s. a. 247, more s. a. 162, pouere s. d., riche s. d. 268, s. a. 50, vuele s. d. 90.
The personal pronouns are ich, we, us, þu, þe, ye, ou 21, eu 142: s. n. he m. 9, heo f. 169 &c.; d. him m. 35, 71, 88, 330, n. 312, 316; a. hine m. 36 &c., hyne 144 &c., hi f. 187, 192, 242, hit n. 118, it 96; pl. n. hi, heo 76; d. heom 9; a. hi 80, 170. Reflexives are him seolue 260, hymseolue 137; definitives, heo seolf 308, himseolf 41, seoluen 38: possessives, mi, me 140, myne pl. 25, 26; þi s. n. m. 272, þin s. n. f. 166, þire s. d. f. 163, þin s. a. neut. 323, þi 168, in all other cases þine, þyne; hire, hyre, once heore 11; vre; eure, ower 141. The definite article is s. n. þe m. 4 &c., f. 141; þes g. m. 63, þas 113; þan d. m. 55, 152, þare f. 5, 217, þe 216 (read þare); þane a. m. 247, 248, þene 114, 116, 198, þe f. 95 &c., þe n. 220, 234, þat 46, 56; pl. þe in all cases; for þan adv. 240. The compound demonstrative is þis s. n. f. 63; d. 122: the relatives, þe, þat, once þet 154, hwat 181: interrogative, hwat 84: indefinites, oþre pl. d. 242; non n. 38, no 112, nones g. 299, none d. 169, a. f. 280, non a. neut. 308, nenne pl. a. 296; eny s. d. neut. 225: nouht n. 35, nouhte d. 275: me 245, 247: fewe pl. d. 301: fele, feole 2, 249, vale 300: vyches s. g. neut. 276, echere s. d. f. 161, eueruyches s. g. m. 54: hwych s. a. neut. 52: swuch 53, swyhc 159: al s. n. neut. 105, alle d. f. 29, 30, a. m. 185, al a. f. 278, 279, a. neut. 89 &c., alre pl. g. 62, 110, in other cases of the pl. alle; mid alle 128.