IN LATE ANGLO-SAXON (Circa 1050) 1. On frymde was Word, and þæt Word was mid Gode, and God wæs þæt Word.

2. þæt was on fruman mid Gode.

3. Ealle þing wæron geworhte ðurh hyne; and nan þing næs geworht butan him.

4. pæt was lif þe on him geworht was; and þæt lif wæs manna leoht.

5. And þæt leoht lyht on dystrum; and þystro þæt ne genamon.

6. Mann was from Gode asend, þæs nama was Iohannes.

7. Des com to gewitnesse, þæt he gewitnesse cydde be dam leohte, þæt ealle menn þurh hyne gelyfdon.

8. Næs he leoht, ac þæt he gewitnesse forð bære be þam leohte.

9. Soo leoht was þæt onlyht ælcne cumendne man on þisne middaneard.

10. He was on middanearde, and middaneard was geworht þurh hine, and middaneard hine ne gecneow.

11. To his agenum he com, and hig hyne ne underfengon.

12. Soolice swa hwylce swa hyne underfengon, he sealde him anweald þæt hi wæron Godes bearn, þam de gelyfaþ on his naman:

13. þa ne synt acennede of blodum, ne of flæsces willan, ne of weres willan, ac hig synt of Gode acennede.

14. And þæt Word was flæsc geworden, and eardode on us, and we gesawon hys wuldor, swylce ancennedes wuldor of Fæder, þæt was ful mid gyfe and soðfastnysse.

IN TYNDALE'S BIBLE (1534)

1. In the beginnynge was the worde, and the worde was with God: and the worde was God.

2. The same was in the beginnynge with God. 3. All thinges were made by it, and without it was made nothing that was made.

4. In it was lyfe, and the lyfe was the lyght of men,

5. And the lyght shyneth in the darcknes, but the darcknes comprehended it not.

6. There was a man sent from God, whose name was Iohn.

7. The same cam as a witness of the lyght, that all men through him myght beleve.

IN WYCLIF'S BIBLE (Circa 1385)

1. In the bygynnynge was the worde, that is, Goddis sone, and the worde was at God, and God was the worde.

2. This was in the bigynnynge at God.

3. Alle thingis ben made by hym, and withouten hym is made nou3t, that thing that is made. 4. In hym was lijf, and the lijf was the lizte of

men.

5. And the lizte schyneth in dirkenessis, and dirkenessis comprehenden, or taken, not it.

6. A man was sente fro God, to whom the name was Ioon.

7. This man came into witnessynge, that he schulde bere witnessynge of the li3t, that alle men schulde bileue by hym.

8. He was not the list, but that he schulde bere witnessynge of the list.

9. It was verrey lizte the whiche lizteneth eche man comynge into this worlde.

10. He was in the worlde, and the worlde was made by hym, and the worlde knew hym not.

11. He came into his owne thingis, and his receyueden hym not.

12. Forsothe how many euer receyueden hym, he zaue to hem power for to be made the sones of God, to hem that bileueden in his name;

13. The whiche not of bloodis, nether of wille of fleysche, nether of wille of man, but ben borne of God.

14. And the worde, that is Goddis sone, is made fleysche, or man, and hath dwellide in vs, and we haue seen the glorie of hym, the glorie as of the one bigoten of the fadir, the sone ful of grace and treuthe.

IN THE AUTHORIZED VERSION (1611) 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2. The same was in the beginning with God. 3. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. 4. In him was life; and the life was the light of

men.

5. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8. He was not that lyght: but to beare witnes of the lyght.

9. That was a true lyght, which lyghteth all men that come into the worlde.

10. He was in the worlde, and the worlde was made by him: and yet the worlde knewe him not. 11. He cam amonge his (awne) and his awne receaved him not.

12. But as meny as receaved him, to them he gave power to be the sonnes of God in that they beleved on his name:

13. which were borne, not of bloude nor of the will of the flesshe, nor yet of the will of man: but of God.

14. And the worde was made flesshe and dwelt amonge us, and we sawe the glory of it, as the glory of the only begotten sonne of the father, which worde was full of grace and verite.

8. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man, that cometh into the world.

10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

CHAUCER

THE PROLOGUE

1. 1. Whan that Aprille, etc. When April with its sweet showers hath pierced the drought of March to the root, and bathed every vein in the moisture by means of which power the flower is grown.

8. The Ram. The expression means:
"When the sun had completed the half-
course in the zodiacal sign of the Ram."
During the first half of April the sun is
in Aries, the Ram; during the second, in
Taurus, the Bull. The time is therefore
about the middle of April.
53-65. Pruce-Palatye.

The proper names are those of various countries and cities in the regions involved in the wars between the Christian nations of western Europe and their Moslem enemies. Pruce, Lettow, Ruce-Prussia, Lithuania, Russia. Gernade, Algezir-Granada, Algeciras, in Spain. Belmarye, Tramissene-Moorish kingdoms in Africa. Lyeys, Satalye, Palatye-in Asia Minor.

2. 125. The scole of Stratford atte Bowe. A Benedictine convent at Stratford-le-Bow, near London. There is no slur here on the Prioress's French; Chaucer merely tells us that her pronunciation was not Parisian.

3. 159. Gauded. Furnished with "gaudies," the five large beads in a rosary.

173. Seint Maure. St. Maur and St. Benedict. The latter founded the Benedictine order of monks; St. Maur was one of his disciples.

187. Austin. St. Augustine.

210. Ordres four. The Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and Augustinians.

4. 258. Love-dayes. Certain days which were appointed for settling disputes out of court, through the mediation of an umpire, often a friar.

310. Parvys. "The church-porch, or portico of St. Paul's, where the lawyers were wont to meet for consultation." (Skeat). 319. Al was fee simple. No matter how encumbered property might be, the Sergeant could handle it as if it were held in fee simple. His conveyancing could not be attacked.

5. 340. Seynt Iulian. Saint Julian was famed for his generous providing.

364. Fraternitee. They all belonged to one guild.

5. 377. Vigilyës. Ceremonies on the eve of a church or guild festival.

6. 417-420. Well coude he fortunen, etc. The doctor was an astrologer; in addition, he was familiar with the humors of the body, and knew the causes of all diseases.

In every person, according to the Galenic physiology, there were four humors, viz.: blood, phlegm, bile or choler, and black bile or melancholy. A person's health depended upon maintaining a proper proportion between the four. Thus if blood predominated, the person became too sanguine; if phlegm, he became too phlegmatic.

It

429. Esculapius, etc. These were the
chief physicians and medical writers of
the ancient and mediæval worlds.
460. Housbondes at chirche-door.
was customary for the wedding ceremony
to be performed at the door of the church.
486. Full looth were him. He did not ex-
communicate persons in order to force
them to pay their tithes.

7. 507. He sette nat his benefice. He did
not sub-let his parish, that he might be
appointed to a chantry in St. Paul's.
525. He wayted after. He did not look
for, or expect, pomp and ceremony.
563. He hadde a thombe of gold. He was
a prosperous fellow.

8. 624. Fyr-reed cherubinnes face.

Cher

ubim, in medieval art, were painted with red faces.

646. Questio quid iuris? What is the law?

652. A finch eek coude he pulle. In the idiom of Wall Street, he knew how to shear a lamb. (Skeat).

9. 662. War him of a significavit. The writ of excommunication, which usually began with the word Significavit.

667. For an ale-stake. Ale-houses were usually marked by a pole, ale-stake, on which was hung a garland.

685. A vernicle. A copy of the picture of Christ supposed to have been miraculously imprinted on the handkerchief of St. Veronica.

11. 826. The watering of seint Thomas. The watering place was at a brook a short distance out from Southwark.

THE NUN'S PRIEST'S TALE

24. She fond no lak. She found no fault. 35. By nature knew he ech ascensioun.

This is one of the many passages in which Chaucer uses the language of astronomy for telling time. The meaning is that the cock crew each hour, when the sun had risen fifteen degrees higher.

12. 59. My lief is faren in londe. My loved one has gone away.

103. Swevenes engendren, etc. See note on Prol., 1. 417.

13. 120. Lo Catoun.

Dionysius Cato, to whom was ascribed a collection of maxims, De Moribus, used in Chaucer's time as a text-book for beginners in Latin. 143. Lauriol, centaure, etc. For an explanation of these botanical names see the Oxford Chaucer, v. 252. 15. 303. Macrobeus. Latin writer of the fifth century, annotator of Cicero's Somnium Scipionis.

16. 367. The month in which the world bi

gan. There was an old notion that the creation took place on the eighteenth of March.

369. Y-passed were also, etc. When March was gone, and thirty-two days more; i. e., when it was the third of May. 374. The signe of Taurus. The sun was in the zodiacal sign, or constellation, of Taurus, and had passed the twenty-first degree.

407. Genilon. The traitor who caused the death of Roland, in the Chanson de Roland. Sinon persuaded the Trojans to admit the wooden horse.

421. Augustyn... Boece... Bradwardyn. Famous ecclesiastical writers, St. Augustine, Boethius, and Thomas Bradwardine, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1349.

17. 451. Phisiologus.

A work on natural history, in Latin, well known to the Middle Ages.

473. Boece. Boethius (see 1. 421) was

also author of a treatise on music.

492. Daun Burnel the Asse. A satirical poem of the twelfth century, by Nigel Wireker.

18. 527. O Gaufred. Geoffrey de Vinsauf, who wrote verses lamenting the death of Richard I.

536. Ilioun. The citadel of Troy.
574. Iakke Straw. One of the leaders in
the Peasants' Rebellion of 1381.

22. 406. Chaunge my cheste. "The old man is ready . . . to exchange his chest, containing all his worldly gear, for a single hair-cloth, to be used as his shroud." (Skeat).

24. 561. Avicen. Avicenna, an Arabian physician, wrote as his chief work a medical treatise known as the Canon. The subdivisions are in Arabic called fen.

BALADE DE BON CONSEYL

25. 2. Suffyce unto thy good. Let thy wealth be sufficient unto thee.

9. In trust of hir. Fortune.

22. Thou Vache. Sir Philip la Vache, to whom the poem is addressed. See an article by Miss Edith Rickert in Modern Philology, xi. 209 ƒ.

THE COMPLAINT OF CHAUCER

26. 22. Conquerour of Brutes Albioun. King Henry IV, who came to the throne in 1399 through the deposition of Richard II. Brutes Albioun-the Albion, or England, of Brutus, a legendary descendant of Aeneas, who first reigned in the island.

PIERS THE PLOWMAN

26. Of this poem, which until lately has been accepted as the work of William Langland, there are several versions, the work of different men, and produced at different times during the last forty years of the fourteenth century. The earliest, or so-called A-text, was written about 1365, and was the basis of subsequent revisions. The question of authorship has been argued at great length by Professor John M. Manly, and others, in Modern Philology; and though uncertainties still exist, it is hardly to be questioned that several people had a share in the work, and that the traditional ascription to Langland is erroneous.

27. 39. Qui loquitur, etc. He who speaks

evil.

55. Al the foure ordres. The mendicant friars were the Carmelites, or white friars; the Augustinians; the Dominicans, or black friars; and the Minorites, or grey friars.

NOAH'S FLOOD

The play is taken from the Chester miracle cycle. The text here followed is that of Harleian MS. 2124, edited by Dr. Hermann Deimling for the Early English Text Society (Extra Series, lxii). The text has been modernized, except that rhyme-words and the original word order have been preserved. Stage directions have been translated from the original Latin. Waterleaders and Drawers of Dee. Members of the gild of water-carriers, who presented the play. The River Dee flows through Chester.

27.5-7.

Not... but. Only; my spirit shall remain only till, etc. 28. 42. Art in such will. Hast such a purpose toward me.

100. Frankish fare. Foolish behavior; exact meaning of frankish is not known. 29. 114. In the ship, etc. Hasten to get into the ship.

149. Note the naïvely simple method of indicating the passage of time.

151. The sense requires the addition of some phrase like "To see" at the beginning of the line.

155. That. Would that.

172. Cowle. Forage.

30. 198. With evil hail. Bad luck to you.

236. For his love, etc.

For the love of

him who redeemed you. The anachronistic reference to Christ is quite characteristic of the miracle plays.

31. 269. Between 269 and 270 a line is miss

ing.

301. Comes.

Probably an imperative,

addressed to the members of Noah's

family. In all wise. By all means.

THE ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH
POPULAR BALLADS

32. With one exception the texts here reprinted are from Child's English and Scottish Popular Ballads. "Bonnie George Campbell" is given in Motherwell's version.

SIR PATRICK SPENS

34. On the question of the historical basis for the ballad, see Child, ii, 17-20.

THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT

39. The ballad is an inaccurate account of the battle of Otterburn, which took place in August, 1388. For a detailed account, see Child, iii, 289–293.

MALORY

LE MORTE DARTHUR: PREFACE

44. William Caxton. Caxton (c. 1422-1491), the first English printer. The first book to be printed in English was issued at Bruges in 1474; two years later Caxton set up his press in Westminster.

The Morte Darthur was published in 1485.

37. Stalled. Installed.

72. Aretted. Considered to be.

76. Polichronicon. A history of the world, and encyclopædia of universal knowledge, by Ranulph Higden (d. 1364). 82. Bochas. Boccaccio. De Casu, etc: Concerning the Fall of Great Men.

84. Galfridus. Geoffrey of Monmouth, author of the Historia Regum Britanniae, (c. 1136), the most famous of all AngloLatin chronicles.

In reading Spenser's verse, a final -ed should always be given syllabic value. Book I narrates the adventures of the Knight of Holiness.

51. 20. Gloriana. Standing in the allegory for Queen Elizabeth.

28. Lovely ladie. Una, the personification of Truth.

52. 79. Warlike beech. Lances were frequently of beech wood.

53. 127-234. The passage omitted gives an account of the Knight's combat with the foul monster Error, and of his ultimate triumph.

54. 253. Aged sire. Archimago, the enchanter, represents hypocrisy or false religion.

55. 314. Saintes and popes. In accordance with the purpose of the allegory, Archimago is made a Catholic.