[28.] Here again is an allusion to “Havelok’s stone.”
[29.] Hence, by confusion, the placing of Havelok’s father in the time of Ælfred.
[30.] Or, as I should prefer to say, earlier than those times. The two kings spoken of in the Lay may have had names somewhat similar to these, which may have been replaced by the more familiar names here mentioned.
[31.] Cf. Lappenberg’s History of England, tr. by Thorpe, vol. i. pp. 145-154.
[32.] See the same statement in Fabyan’s Chronicles, p. 112; ed. Ellis, 1811.
[33.] “Cf. K. Horn, 1005, where haue rhymes with plawe.” —M. Mr A. J. Ellis would consider slawen, knaue, &c., as assonances— “Do not think of the pronunciation of modern drawen. Read sla-wen, kna-ue, an assonance. Beþe does not rhyme to reden; it is only an assonance.” —Ellis. On the other hand, we find the spellings rathe, rothe instead of rede in ll. 1335 and 2817.
[34.] “Qual = quhal, the aspirate being omitted; and quhal = whal.” —Ellis.
[35.] The use of th for t is not uncommon. In the Romans of Partenay, we have thown, thaken, thouchyng, &c., for town, taken, touching; see Preface, p. xvi. In the copy of Piers Plowman in MS. Camb. Univ. Lib. Dd l. 17, I have observed several similar examples. Cf. Eng. tea, Ital. tè, Span. té, with Fr. thé, Swed. the, G. Du. Dan. thee.
[36.] “Is e for o a mistake, or may it be compared with preue for prove, &c.?” —Ellis. I would observe that greting is the spelling of the substantive in l. 166.
[37.] “This four accents I consider to be a wrong way of stating the fact. . . The metre consists of four measures, each generally, not always, of two syllables, the first often one syllable, the others often of three syllables, and each measure has generally more stress on the last than on any other, but the accents or principal stresses in the verse are usually 2, sometimes 3, perhaps never 4.” —A. J. Ellis. I need hardly add that such a statement is more exact, and that I here merely use the word accent in the loose sense it often bears, viz. as denoting the “stress,” more or less heavy, and sometimes imperceptible, which is popularly supposed to belong to the last syllable in a measure. I must request the reader to remember that this present sketch of the metre is very slight and imperfect, and worded in the usual not very correct popular language. For more strict and careful statements the reader is referred to Mr A. J. Ellis’s work on Early English Pronunciation. Until readers have made themselves acquainted with that work, they will readily understand what I here mean by “accents;” afterwards, they can easily adopt a stricter idea of its meaning.