[Second and Revised Edition, 1873.]
LONDON:
PUBLISHED FOR THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY,
BY N. TRÜBNER & CO., 57 & 59, LUDGATE HILL.
MDCCCLXV.
PREFACE.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MANUSCRIPT, ETC.
The Editor of the present valuable and interesting record of our old English speech will, no doubt, both astonish and alarm his readers by informing them that he has never seen the manuscript from which the work he professes to edit has been transcribed.
But, while the truth must be told, the reader need not entertain the slightest doubt or distrust as to the accuracy and faithfulness of the present edition; for, in the first place, the text was copied by Mr F. J. Furnivall, an experienced editor and a zealous lover of Old English lore; and, secondly, the proof sheets have been most carefully read with the manuscript by the Rev. W. W. Skeat, who has spared no pains to render the text an accurate copy of the original.[[1]] I have not been satisfied with merely the general accuracy of the text, but all doubtful or difficult passages have been most carefully referred to, and compared with the manuscript, so that the more questionable a word may appear, either as regards its form or meaning, the more may the reader rest assured of its correctness, so that he may be under no apprehension that he is perplexed by any typographical error, but feel confident that he is dealing with the reading of the original copy.
The editorial portion of the present work includes the punctuation, marginal analysis, conjectural readings, a somewhat large body of annotations on the text of the poem, and a Glossarial Index, which, it is hoped, will be found to be complete, as well as useful for reference.