1

• Indeed, said the doughty knight, and doffed his
  high helm,
• And held it in his hands as he offered his
  thanks,
• I have lingered long enoughmay good luck be
  yours,
• And He reward you well that all worship bestows!
• And commend me to that comely one, your courteous
  wife,
• Both herself and that other, my honoured ladies,
• That have trapped their true knight in their
  trammels so quaint.
• But if a dullard should dote, deem it no wonder,
• And through the wiles of a woman be wooed into
  sorrow,
• For so was Adam by one, when the world began,
• And Solomon by many more, and Samson the mighty
• Delilah was his doom, and David thereafter
• Now these were vexed by their devicestwere a
  very joy
• Was beguiled by Bathsheba, and bore much
  distress
• Could one but learn to love, and believe them
  not.
• For these were proud princes, most prosperous of
  old,
• Past all lovers lucky, that languished under
  heaven,
• bemused.
• And one al all fell prey

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2 Samuel 11 (New International Version)  1 In
the spring, at the time when kings go off to war,
David sent Joab out with the king's men and the
whole Israelite army. They destroyed the
Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained
in Jerusalem.  2 One evening David got up from
his bed and walked around on the roof of the
palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The
woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent
someone to find out about her. The man said,
"Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and
the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4 Then David sent
messengers to get her. She came to him, and he
slept with her. (She had purified herself from
her uncleanness.) Then a she went back home. 5
The woman conceived and sent word to David,
saying, "I am pregnant."
3
(No Transcript)
4
The opening lines of Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight (BL MS Cotton Nero A.x., f.91a)
5
The opening lines of Beowulf (BL MS Cotton
Vitellius A.xv)
6
Sir Robert Cotton (1571-1631)
Cotton Nero A.x (Sir Gawain, Pearl) Cotton
Vitellius A.xv (Beowulf)
7
Chaucer portrait in MS Harley 4866 (Hoccleves
Regement of Princes, c.1412)
8
THE DIALECTS OF LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND (1) The
wery huntere, slepynge in his bed, To wode ayeyn
his mynde goth anon The juge dremeth how his
plees ben sped (Chaucer, The Parliament of
Fowls 99-105, The cartere dremeth how his cart is
gon London dialect c. 1380-82) The riche,
of gold the knyght fyght with his fon The
syke met he drynketh of the tonne The lovere met
he hath his lady wonne. Bot of alle þat here
bult of Bretaygne kynges Ay watz Arthur þe
hendest, as I haf herde telle. Forþi an aunter in
erde I attle to schawe, (Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight 25-32 Þat a selly in si3t
summe men hit holden NW Midlands nr.
Cheshire, And an outtrage awenture of Arthurez
wonderez. s. Lancashire, n. Staffordshire, c.
1400) If 3e wyl lysten þis laye bot on littel
quile, I schal telle hit astit, as I in toun
herde.
9
THE DIALECTS OF LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND (2) Ac
on a May morwenynge on Maluerne hilles (Piers
Plowman B.1.1-10 Me bifel a ferly, of Fairye
me þo3te. Northwest Midlands dialect, I was
wery forwandred and wente me to reste near
Malvern Worcester, c. 1370) Vnder a brood bank
by a bourne syde, And as I lay and lenede and
loked on þe watres I slombred into a slepyng, it
sweyed so murye. Manne on molde, be meke to
me, And haue thy maker in þi mynde, And thynke
howe I haue tholid for þe, With pereles paynes
for to be pyned. The forward of my Fadir
free (York Play of the Harrowing of Hell, Haue
I fulfillid, as folke may fynde,
Yorkshire dialect, c. 1475) Þer-fore a-boute nowe
woll I bee Þat I haue bought for to
vnbynde. Þe feende þame wanne with trayne Thurgh
frewte of erthely foode, I haue þame getyn
agayne Thurgh bying with my bloode.
10
THE DIALECTS OF LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND (3)
Ane dooly sesoun to ane cairfull dyte Suld
correspond, and be equivalent. (Robert Henryson,
The Tesatment of Cresseid 1-7, Richt sa it wes
quhen I began to wryte Late Middle Scots before
1500) This tragedy the wedder richt
fervent, Quhen Aries, in middis of the
Lent, Shouris of haill can fra the north
discend That scantly fra the cauld I micht
defend. why pryncys a'n dewolow scon egereugh
an porthow py mar ny wreugh y fyth guow yn
certan kynys tremene rak an porthow hep
dyweth (Cornish Play of the Resurrection, a vyth
ygerys yn weth Cornwall, 15th c.) sur may
thello aberueth an myghtern a lowene
11
Henryson
York Plays
Sir Gawain
Piers Plowman
Chaucer
Cornish plays