[§ 29.] On the final -e, &c.
There can be little doubt that the final -e is, in general, fully pronounced in this poem wherever it is written, with but a very few exceptions; but at the same time it is liable to be elided when followed by a vowel or (sometimes) by the letter h, as is usual in old English poetry. In the following remarks, I shall use an apostrophe to signify that e is written, but not pronounced; thus “wil’” signifies that “wile” is the MS. form, but “wil” the apparent pronunciation. I shall use an italic e to signify that the e is elided because followed by a vowel or h, as “cuppe” (l. 14); and in the same way, “riden,” “litel,” &c, signify that the syllables -en, -el are slurred over in a like manner. It will be seen that such syllables are, in general, slurred over when they occur before a vowel or h; under the same circumstances, that is, as the final -e. When I simply write the word in the form “gode” as in the MS., I mean that the -e is fully pronounced; so that “gode” stands for “godë.”
The following, then, are instances. I follow the order in Mr Morris’s Introduction to Chaucer’s Prologue, &c. (Clarendon Press Series).
(A) In nouns and adjectives (of A.S. origin) the final -e represents one of the final vowels a, u, e, and hence is fully sounded even in the nominative case in such instances. Examples; gome (A.S. goma), 7, blome (A.S. bloma), 63, trewe (A.S. treowe), 179, knaue (A.S. cnafa), 308, 450, sone (A.S. sunu), 394.
(B) In words of French origin it is sounded as in French verse. Such words are scarce in Havelok. Examples: hayse, 59, beste, 279, mirácle, 500, rose, 2919, curtesye (miswritten curteyse), 2876, cf. 194, drurye, 195, male, 48, large, 97, noble, 1263.
(C) It is a remnant of various grammatical inflexions:—
(1) it is a sign of the dative case in nouns; as, nede, 9, stede, 10, trome, 8, wronge, 72, stede, 142, dede (not elided, because of the cæsura), 167, arke, 222, erþe, 248, lite þrawe, 276. It also sometimes marks the accusative, or the genitive of feminine nouns: accusatives, cuppe, 14, wede, 94, brede, 98, shrede, 99, mede, 102, quiste, 219, sorwe, 238 (cf. sorw’ in l. 240), sone, 308, knaue, 308, sone, 350, wille, 441: genitives, messe, 186, 188, helle, 405.
(2) In adjectives it marks—
(a) the definite form of the adjective; as, þe meste, 233, þe riche (not elided[45]), 239, te beste, 87, þe hexte [man], 1080, þat wicke, 1158, þat foule, 1158, þe firste, 1333, þe rede, 1397. This rule is most often violated in the case of dissyllabic superlatives; as, þe wictest’, 8, þe fairest, þe strangest, 1081, 1110; cf. 199, 200.
(b) the plural number. Examples abound, as, gode, 1, alle, 2, are, 27, yung = yunge, 30, holde, 30, gode, 34, 55, harde, 143, grene, 470, bleike, 470, halte, 543, doumbe, 543, &c.