l : n—cf. l. 363, consaile : slayne. Quite similar is l. 1251, felde : sende.
p : k—l. 820, stoupe : stroke. A similar rhyme occurs in Guy, l. 10903, scapid : nakid.
d : t—l. 2868, gyrde : sterte; 1151, plete : dede.
d : p—l. 283, tyde : depe. But this rhyme is very probably owing to the scribe. For depe we ought to read wide.
A single consonant rhymes with a double consonant. The only certain instance occurs in l. 311, tyde : chidde. For in ll. 312, 317, dele : welle, we might read wele, as this word is frequently spelt in the poem; cf. ll. 385, 2618, 1173, 1651, &c. For dedde in l. 2980 (rede : dedde) we may substitute dede, which occurs in l. 2510. The rhyme glad : hadde, 2687, becomes perfect if we read gladde, which is the usual spelling of the word in the poem; cf. ll. 439, 570, 918, &c. Besides, I believe hadde to be monosyllabic. Ferre : nere l. 1575; in l. 117 we find fere.
The rhyme, l. 2654, sloughe : drowe can easily be restored in reading slowe, which occurs frequently, as in ll. 2401, 2683, 304, 2208, &c. The rhyme ane : shafe, 555, seems to be due to some clerical error.
(4) Rhymes imperfect as concerns the vowels.
a : e—2803, gate : lete; perhaps we are justified in reading late, [‹xliv›] cf. Havelock, 328; l. 2752, made : dede. The rhymes thare : were, 1383; bare : there, 671; Agremare : there, 33, are really perfect ones, as we know the poet to have used thare, there, and thore indiscriminately; cf. ll. 208, 2604, 430, 1805, 1003; l. 1436, ladde : nede; 2365, ladde : bedde, the author probably pronounced ledde. For lefte, l. 2335 : craft, we may read lafte, as is shown by l. 424, lafte : crafte. In ll. 1781, 544, tene : than, the rhyme will be improved by reading then.
a : o (cf. p. xxxv)—504, thane : gone; 1143, 1079, Rolande : honde; 133, sowdone : Lavan (where we might read sowdan, as in l. 1491); 627, sowdane : towne; 2527, 1684, Roulande : londe.
i(y) : e. This rhyme also occurs in Chaucer; cf. Ellis, Pron. i. 272; see also Guy, p. xiv.—l. 21419, him : hem; 1299, dynte : lente; 523, strike : breke; 1643, mylde : shelde; 1263, togedere : thidere; 1277, wepenless : iwis; 344, shitte : mette; 2538, hende : wynde (read wende), &c.; l. 82, vilane : remedye (read vilanye, as in ll. 179, 2577); but 1015, vilane : me, cf. Guy, xi, ν—813, sle : curtesye; 895, we : lye; cf. Ellis, Pron., i. 271.