lOMoARcPSD

Prácticas Diacronía y tipología del Inglés:

E.B.C.

E.B.C.
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991. Hér ws Gyperwíc gehergod; ond fter ám

[Adv] [3ps] [Ns] [paspart] [conj] [Dat s]
CC V S CN CC
(991) (here) (was) (Ipswich) (harried) (and) (after that)
In the year 991 Ipswich was attacked and after that

swíe rae ws Brihtnò ealdorman ofslgen

[adv] [adv][3ps] [N s] [past part]
(very) (soon) (was) (Byrhtnoth nobleman) (slain)
very doon was the nobleman Byrhtnoth slain

t Mldne. Ond on ám géare man gerdde

[Dat s] [conj] [dat s] [Ns] [3ps]
CC CC S V
(at Maldon) (and) (on that year) (someone) (decided)
at Maldon. And on that year, it was decided

t man geald rest gafol Deniscan mannum

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [adv] [Acs] [Dat s]
(that) (someone) (paid) (first) (tribute) (to Danish men)
that for the first time tribute should be paid to the Danish

for ám micclan brògan e hí worhtan be ám sriman;

[Dat s] [adv] [Npl] [3ppl] [Dat s]
CC S V CC
(because great terror) (that) (they) (brought) (along the coast)
because of the great terror that they had brought along the coast

t ws rest týn send punda.

[Ns] [3pps] [adv] [Ns] [Gpl]
S V Atr CN
(that) (was) (first) (ten thousand) (of pounds)
and that was at first ten thousand pounds.

ne rd gerdde Siric arcebiscop.

[Ac s] [3ps] [Ns]
CD V S
(this plan) (decided) (Archbishop Sigeric)
Archbishop Sigeric decided this plan.

992. Hér Òswald, se éadiga arcebiscop, forlét is líf

[adv] [Ns] [Ns] [3ps] [Ac s]
CC S Apos V CD
(here) (Oswald) (the blessed archbishop) (abandoned) (this life)
In the year 992 Oswald, the blessed archibishop, abandoned this life

E.B.C
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ond geférde t heofonlíce; ond elwine ealdorman

[conj] [3ps] [Ac s] [conj] [N s]
(and) (attained) (the heavenly) (and) (Aedelwine nobleman)
and reached the heavenly, and the nobleman Aedelwine

gefòr on ám ilcan géare. a gerdde se cyng

[3ps] [Dar s] [adv] [3ps] [Ns]
V CC V S
(died) (on the same year) (then) (decided) (the king)
died in the same year. Then the king decided

ond ealle his witan t man gegaderode á scipu

[conj] [ N pl] [conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Ac pl]
S S V CD
(and) (all his councillors) (that) (someone) (gathered) (the ships)
with all his councillors that the ships should be gathered

e áhtes wron tò Lundenbyrig. Ond se cyng

[conj] [Gs] [3ppl] [Dat s] [conj] [Ns]
(that) (of value) (were) (to London) (and) (the king)
all those that were of value, in London. And the king

á bethte á fyrde tò ldenne lfríce ealdorman

[adv] [3ps] [Ac s] [inf] [Ac s]
V CD CD
(and) (appointed) (the army) (to lead) (Aelfric ealdorman)
appointed Aelfric ealdorman to lead the army, along with

ond orode eorl ond lfstáne biscop ond scwíge biscop;

[conj] [Acs] [conj] [Ac s] [conj] [Acs]
(and) (Thored earl) (and) (Aelfstan bishop) (and) (Aescwig bishop)
Thored earl, bishop Aelfstan and bishop Aescwig.

ond sceoldan cunnian gif hí meahton one here áhwr

[conj] [3ppl] [inf] [conj] [Npl] [3ppl] [Ac s] [adv]
V S V CD
(and) (should) (try) (if) (they) (could) (the invading army) (anywhere)
and, if they could, should try to (entrap) the invading army anywhere

tene betrppan. a sende se ealdorman lfríc

[adv] [inf] [adv] [3ps] [Ns]
(out) (entrap) (then) (sent) (the ealdorman Aelfric)
Then the ealdorman Aelfric sent
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ond hét warnian one here; ond á on re nihte,

[conj] [3ps] [innf] [Ac s] [conj] [adv] [Dat s]
V CD CC
(and) (ordered) (warn) (the host) (and) (then) (on that night)
and ordered to warn the enemy, and then on that night

e hí on one dg tògdere cuman sceoldon,

[pron] [Npl] [Ac s] [adv] [inf] [3ppl]
S CC V
(that) (they) (on that day) (together) (come) (should)
before the day they should come together

á sceòc hé on niht fram re fyrde

[adv] [3ps] [Ns] [Acs] [Dat s]
V S CC CC
(then) (fled) (he) (at night) (from the army)
then he fled at night from the army

him sylfum tò mycclum bismore; ond se here á tbrst,

[Dat s] [Dat s] [conj] [Ns] [adv] [3ps]
CI CC S V
(himself) (to great discgrace) (and) (the host) (then) (escaped)
to great disgrace; and the enemy then escaped

bton án scip r man ofslòh. Ond á gemette se here

[Ac s] [adv] [Ns] [3ps] [conj] [adv] [3ps] [Ns]
CC S V V S
(but one ship) (where) (anyone) (killed) (and) (then) (found) (the host)
with the exception of one ship, where everyone was killed. And the enemy met

á scipu of Éastenglum ond of Lundene; ond hí r

[Ac pl] [Dat pl] [conj] [Dat s] [conj] [Npl] [adv]
CD CC CC S
(the ships) (of East Anglia) (and) (of london) (and) (they) (there
the fleet from East Anglia and London; and they there

ofslògon micel wl, ond t scip genámon

[3ppl] [Ac s] [conj] [Ac s] [3ppl]
V CD CD V
(made) (great slaughter) (and) (that ship) (captured)
made great slaughter and captured that ship

eall gewpnod ond gewdod e se ealdorman on ws.

[adv] [pastpart] [conj] [pastpart] [pron] [Ns] [p][3ps]
(completely) (equipped) (and) (armed) (which) (the ealdorman) (on) (was)
completely equipped and armed on which the ealdorman was.
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991. Hér ws Gyperwíc gehergod; ond fter ám swíe rae ws Brihtnò ealdorman ofslgen t
Mldne. Ond on ám géare man gerdde t man geald rest gafol Deniscan mannum for ám
micclan brògan e hí worhtan be ám sriman; t ws rest týn send punda. ne rd
gerdde Siric arcebiscop.
992. Hér Òswald, se éadiga arcebiscop, forlét is líf ond geférde t heofonlíce; ond elwine
ealdorman gefòr on ám ilcan géare. a gerdde se cyng ond ealle his witan t man gegaderode
á scipu e áhtes wron tò Lundenbyrig. Ond se cyng á bethte á fyrde tò ldenne lfríce
ealdorman ond orode eorl ond lfstáne biscop ond scwíge biscop; ond sceoldan cunnian gif hí
meahton one here áhwr tene betrppan. a sende se ealdorman lfríc ond hét warnian one
here; ond á on re nihte, e hí on one dg tògdere cuman sceoldon, á sceòc hé on niht fram
re fyrde him sylfum tò mycclum bismore; ond se here á tbrst, bton án scip r man ofslòh.
Ond á gemette se here á scipu of Éastenglum ond of Lundene; ond hí r ofslògon micel wl,
ond t scip genámon eall gewpnod ond gewdod e se ealdorman on ws.

In the year 991, Ipswich was attacked and after that, very soon, ealdorman Byrhtnothwas slain at
Maldon. And, in that year, it was decided for the first time that they should pay tribute to the Danish
because of the great terror they brought along the coast. It should be ten thousand pounds first.
Arbishop Sigeric devised this plan.
In the year 992, Oswald, the blessed Arbishop, abandoned his life and reached the heavenly; and
ealdorman Aethelwine died in the same year. At that time, the King and all his counsellors decided
to gather all the ships of value at London. And the King appointed ealdorman Aelfric, earl Thored,
bishop Aelfstan and bishop Aescwig to lead the army anywhere outside and they might try, if they
could, to entrap the invading army. At that time, the noble Aelfric sent and ordered to warn the
enemy; and then the night before the day when they might come together, he fled from the enemy to
his own great disgrace at night; and the enemy escaped with exception of one ship, where everyone
was killed and the enemy met the fleet from East Anglia and London; and there they made great
slaughter of them, and they captured the ship completely armed and equipped, where the nobleman
was.

1. In the clause below we have an analytic passive structure. Explain this type of structure in
the context of Old English:
- Hér ws Gyperwíc gehergod
It is usually argued that analytic passives are the result of copying exact Latin structures.
However, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle being an original text, we are presented with two options: 1)
That this structure spread its use, over written English this period from Latin or 2) That it was
already present in the language. In this respect Mitchell and Robinson said: “We must avoid the
tendency to rush around slapping the label Latinism on anything which deviates in the slightest
from our preconceived notions of the norms of ordinary speech”.
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2. Describe the word order in this clause:

- ne rd gerdde Siric arcebiscop.
This is an example of OVS word-order, which has not survived to present-day English. The
lack of case endings would have made it impossible to reach the speaker/writer's intended meaning.
In Old English, case endings help to work out the meaning of these clauses.

3. What is the function of this clause?

- gif hí meahton one here áhwr tene betrppan
The clause introduced by gif is a noun clause functioning as the object of cunnian.

4. What pragmatic function does the pronoun him sylfum fulfil in the clause where it is
inserted?
The presence of sylfum emphasises that the agent and the patient are both the same
individual: hé on niht fram re fyrde him sylfum tò mycclum bismore “he left the levies to his
own disgrace”

5. Give reasons for the apparent lack of agreement between the members of this noun phrase
Deniscan mannum. Also explain the referential value of the adjective Deniscan.
The adjective Deniscan is dative singular of the weak declension, while mannum is dative
plural. The dative plural -um is often replaced by -an in West Saxon texts. Mitchell and Robinson
make an interesting point regarding the usage of this adjective: “the Anglo-Saxons used Denisc
loosely to refer to any and all of the Scandinavian people who were invading them. The Vikings at
Maldon seem to have been mainly Norwegians”.
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Jesus and the Tax Gatherer

a eode he geond iericho

[Adv] [3psPretI] [Ns] [Acs]
V S CCL
(that) (went) (he) (through Jericho)
And he went through Jericho

a ws ár sum man on naman zacheus, se ws welig

[adv] [3psPretI] [adv] [N s ] [Dat s] [Ns] [Ns] [3ps] [Ns]
V CCL S CC Atr S V Atr
(that) (was) (there)(one man) (named) (Zacchaeus) (who) (was) (rich)
and there was a man named Zacchaeus, who was rich

& he wolde geséon hwylc se hlend wre,

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [inf] [inter] [Ns] [3ps]
S V CD S V
(and) (he) (wished)(to see) (what) (the saviour) (was)
and he wished to see what the saviour was like

a ne mihte he for re menegu.

[adv] [adv] [3ps] [Ns] [Dat s]
V S CC
(then) (not) (could) (he) (for the crowd)
but he couldn't because of the crowd

foram e he ws lýtel on wstmum.

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Ns] [Dat pl]
S V Atr CC
(for) (he) (was) (little) (in size)
for he was little in size

a arn he beforan & stáh up on án treow, sicomorum

[adv][3ps] [Ns] [adv] [conj] [3ps] [Ac s] [Dat s]
V S CCT V CCL CI
(then) (ran) (he) (before) (and) (climbed up) (on a tree) (mulberry tree)
and so he ran ahead and climed up on a mulberry tree

t he hine gesáwe. foram e he wolde anon faran;

[conj] [Ns] [Acs] [3psSubj][conj] [Ns] [3ps] [adv] [inf]
S CD V S V CC
(so that) (he) (him) (saw) (because) (he) (wished) (from there) (go)
so that he could see him, because he would go from there
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Jesus and the Tax Gatherer

a he còm to re stòwe a ge-seah se hlend hine & cw;

[adv] [Ns] [3ps] [Ds] [adv] [3pps] [Ns] [Acs] [conj] [3ps]
S V CCL V S CD V
(that) (he) (came) (to this stow) (then) (saw) (the lord) (him) (and) (said)
he came to this stow and then the lord saw him and said

Zacheus efst to ínum hse for-am e ic wylle

[Voc] [Imps] [Dat s] [conj] [Ns] [1ps]
V CCL S V
(Zacchaeus) (hurry up) (to your house) (because) (I) (will)
Zacchaeus, hurry up to your house because I will

to-dg on ínum hse wunian;

[adv] [Dat s] [inf]
CCL
(to day) (on your house) (stop)
stop at your house today.

a efste he & hine blielice onféngc;

[adv] [3ps] [Ns] [conj] [Acs] [adv] [3ps]
V S CD CCM V
(then) (hurried up) (he) (and) (him) (happily) (welcomed)
Then he hurried up and he joyfully welcomed him

a hig t gesawon a murcnudun hig ealle.

[adv] [Npl] [conj] [3ppl] [adv] [3ppl] [Nom pl]
S V V S
(then) (they) (that) (saw) (then) (complained) (they) (all)
Then all that had seen that, complained

& cwdon t he to synfullum men gecyrde;

[conj] [3ppl] [conj] [Ns] [D pl] [3ps]
V S CC S
(and) (said) (that) (he) (to sinful men) (turned)
and said that he turned to sinful men.

a stòd zacheus & cw to drihtne;

[adv] [3ps] [Ns] [conj] [3ps] [Ds]
V S V CC
(then) (stood) (Zacchaeus) (and) (said) (to saviour)
Then, Zacchaeus stood and said to the saviour.
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Jesus and the Tax Gatherer

Nu ic sylle earfum healfe míne hta.

[adv] [Ns] [1ps] [D pl] [Ac s f] [Gpl]
S V CI CD CN
(now) (I) (give) (poor) (half mine) (property)
Now I'll give the poor half of my property

& gif ic nigne beréafode ic hit be féowerfealdum agyfe;

[conj] [conj][Ns] [Acs] [1ps] [Ns] [Acs] [D pl] [1ps]
S CD V S CD CC V
(and) (if) (I) (anyone) (defraud) (I) (it) (by for times as much) (restore)
and iif I defraud anyone, then I shall restore it for times as muchh

a cw sé hlend to him to-dg isse híw-rddene ys

[conj] [3ps] [Ns] [Ds] [adv] [D s ] [3ps]
V S CI CCT CCL V
(then) (said) (the lord) (to him) (today) (this house) (is)
then the lord said to him: today to this house

hl gewòrden foram he ws habrahames bearn:

[Ns] [past part] [conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Gs] [Ns]
S S V CN Atr
(salvation) (come) (because) (he) (was) (of Abraham) (son)
salvation has come because hi was a son of Abraham

Mannes sunu còm secean & hál don t forwear.

[Gs] [Ns] [3ps] [inf] [conj] [Ns] [inf] [conj] [3ps]
CN S V S V
(of Man) (son) (came) (to search) (and) (safe) (do) (that) (were lost)
The sone of man came to search those who were lost and saved them.
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Jesus and the Tax Gatherer

a eode he geond iericho a ws ár sum man on naman zacheus, se ws welig & he wolde
geséon hwylc se hlend wre, a ne mihte he for re menegu. foram e he ws lýtel on
wstmum. a arn he beforan & stáh up on án treow, sicomorum t he hine gesáwe. foram e he
wolde anon faran; a he còm to re stòwe a ge-seah se hlend hine & cw; Zacheus efst to
ínum hse for-am e ic wylle to-dg on ínum hse wunian; a efste he & hine blielice
onféngc; a hig t gesawon a murcnudun hig ealle. & cwdon t he to synfullum men gecyrde;
a stòd zacheus & cw to drihtne; Nu ic sylle earfum healfe míne hta. & gif ic nigne
beréafode ic hit be féowerfealdum agyfe; a cw sé hlend to him to-dg isse híw-rddene ys
hl gewòrden foram he ws habrahames bearn: Mannes sunu còm secean & hál don t forwear.

At that time He made his way through Jericho. There was a man named Zacchaeus, who was rich.
He wanted to see what the Lord was like. He could not because of the crowd, because he was short.
Then he ran on ahead and climbed up into a mulberry tree so that he could see Him. For he knew
He would pass that way. Then He came to this place, and the Lord saw him and said: “Zacchaeus
hurry up to your place because I will stop at your house today”. Then he hurried up and welcomed
Him joyfully. When they saw that, they all murmured and said that He went with sinful men. Then
Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord: “Now I will give half of my property to the poor and if I
defrauded anyone I will give them back four times as much”. Then the Lord said to him: “Today,
salvation has come to this house because he is a son of Abraham”. The Son of Man came to search
those who were lost and saved them.

1. In line 2 we find a demonstrative functioning as a relative pronoun. What conditions must

hold of a demonstrative to fulfil the role of a relative pronoun?
- There is a clear antecedent, which must be concluded on semantic grounds since no concord holds
in all cases.
- No other noun in the clause shows agreement in case, number and gender with that demonstrative
- The word-order may also be a helpful clue; bear in mind that adjective clauses are subordinate, the
OV word-order is particular frequent in relative clauses

2. Explain the mood of the verb in this clause: forƿam ƿe he wæs lytel on wæstmum (line 3)
It introduces casual clause. A clause can be hypothetical or based on real evidence. If it is
hypothetical, the verb is subjunctive, otherwise it is indicative. In this clause, the fact that
Zacchaeus is short correspond to a real situation, which is consistent with the occurrence of the verb
in indicative mood, wæs.

3. Identify and explain the direct object of cwædon (line 7)

Here we find a complement clause functioning as the direct object of cwædon: ƿt he to
synfullum men gecyrde; “that he went with sinful men”. We have the customary order for a
subordinate clause, S....V, which means that the subject and the verb are not side by side but
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Jesus and the Tax Gatherer

separated by one or more objects.

4. Identify the embedded structure in line 9.

The embedded clause is introduced by the conjunction forƿam. It is an adverbial clause of
cause: forƿam he wæs habrahames bearn “because he was a son of Abraham”.

5. What is the function of the two infinitives in line 10?

They express purpose.
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Jesus Calms the Storm

We redeth i e holi godspelle of to-dai,

[Npl] [1ppl] [Ds] [Acs]
S V CC CN
(we) (read) (in the holy Gospel) (of today)
We read in today's holy Gospel

at ure lord Jhesu Crist yede one time into ane ssipe
[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Acs] [Ds]
S V CC CC
(that) (our lord Jesus Christ) (went) (one time) (into one ship)
that our lord Jesus Christ went once into one ship

and hise deciples mid him into e séé

[conj] [Npl] [Ds] [Acs]
S CC CC
(and) (his disciples) (with him) (into the sea)
and His disciples with Him into the sea

and so hi were in o ssipe,

[conj] [adv] [Npl] [3ppl] [Ds]
S V CC
(and) (so) (they) (were) (in the ship)
and when they were in the ship

so aros a great tempeste of winde.

[adv] [3ps] [Ns] [Ds]
V S CC
(so) (arose) (a great tempest) (of wind)
a great tempest of wind arose

And ure lord was i-leid him don to slepe ine o ssipe,
[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [pastpart] [Ds] [adv] [inf] [Ds]
S V CC CC
(and) (our lord) (was) (laid) (him) (down) (to sleep) (in the ship)
and our Lord went to sleep in the ship

er ane is tempeste aròòs.

[conj] [Ns] [3ps]
S V
(before) (this tempest) (arose)
Before this tempest arose.
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Jesus Calms the Storm

Hise deciples hedde gret drede of ise tempeste;

[Npl] [3ppl] [Acs] [Ds]
S V CD CC
(his disciples) (had) (great dread) (of this tempest)
His disciples had great dread of this tempest;

so awakede hine
[conj] [3ppl] [Acs]
V CD
(so) (awoke) (him)
so they woke Him up

and seiden to him:

[conj] [3ppl] [Ds]
V CI
(and) (said) (to him)
and they said to Him

Lord, save us,

[voc] [imp] [Acpl]
V CD
(lord) (save) (us)
Lord, save us,

for we perisset.
[conj] [Npl] [1ppl]
S V
(because) (we) (perish)
because we perish.

And ha wiste wel

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [adv]
S V CC
(and) (he) (knew) (well)
And he knew well

et hi ne hadde nocht gode beleave ine him.

[conj] [Npl] [adv] [3ppl] [adv] [Acs] [Ds]
S V CD CC
(that) (they) (not) (had) (at all) (good believe) (in him)
that they did not have good faith in Him.
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Jesus Calms the Storm

o seide to hem:
[adv] [3pp] [Dpl]
V CI
(then) (said) (to them)
then He said to them.

Wat dret yw, folk of litle beliave?

[Acs] [2ppl] [Npl] [voc] [Ds]
CD V S CN
(what) (dread) (you) (folk) (of little believe)
What are you scared of, people of little faith?

o aros up ure lord

[adv] [3pps] [Ns]
V S
(then) (arose up) (our lord)
Then our Lord arose

and tok ane wynd and to séé,

[conj] [3ps] [Acs] [conj] [Acs]
V CD CD
(and) (took) (the wind) (and) (the sea)
and took the wind and the sea

and also rae hit was stille.

[conj] [conj] [adv] [Ns] [3ps] [Ns]
S V Atr
(and) (also) (quickly) (it) (was) (still)
and it was quickly still.

And alse o men,

[conj] [conj] [Npl]
S
(and) (also) (the men)
An the men also,

et weren in o ssipe,

[Npl] [3ppl] [Ds]
S V CC
(that) (were) (in the ship)
who were in the ship,
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Jesus Calms the Storm

hedde i-seghe o miracle,

[3ppl] [pastpart] [Acs]
V CD
(had) (seen) (the miracle)
had seen the miracle,

so awondrede hem michel.

[conj] [3ps] [Acpl] [adv]
(so) (surprised) (them) (much)
that marvelled them greatly,

is is si vaire miracle,

[Ns] [3ps] [Ns]
S V Atr
(this) (is) (the real miracle)
this is the true miracle,

et et godspel of te-day us tel.

[Acs] [Ns] [Acs] [Dpl] [3ps]
CD S CC CI V
(that) (the Gospel) (of today) (us) (tells)
that today's Gospel tells us

erefore sal ure beliave bie e betere astrenged

[conj] [3ps] [Ns] [inf] [pastpart]
V S CC
(therefore) (shall) (our believe) (be) (the better) (strengthened)
Therefore our faith shall be highly strengthened

ine swiche lorde et siche miracle mai do and do

[Ds] [Ns] [Acs] [3ps] [inf] [conj] [3ps]
(in such lord) (that) (such miracle) (may) (do) (and) (does)
in such a Lord who such miracle may do and does

wanne he wile.
[conj] [Ns] [3ps]
S V
(when) (he) (will)
when He will.

Ac hit is ure nyede

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Ns]
S V Atr
(but) (it) (is) (our need)
but it is our need,
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Jesus Calms the Storm

et se et sucurede hem ine a peril,

[Ns] [3ps] [Acs] [Ds]
S V CD CC
(he who) (helped) (them) (in the peril)
as He who helped them in peril,

et us sucuri ine ure niedes,

[Ns][Ds] [3ps] [Dpl]
S CI V CC
(that) (us) (helps) (in our needs)
also helps us in our needs,

et we clepie to him,

[conj] [Npl] [1ppl] [Ds]
S V CI
(that) (we) (ask) (to him)
that we ask Him,

et ha us helpe;
[conj] [Ns] [Acpl] [3ps]
S CD V
(that) (he) (us) (helps)
to help us

and he hit wille do bleeliche,

[conj] [Ns] [Acs] [3ps] [inf] [adv]
S CD V
(and) (he) (it) (will) (do) (happily)
and He will do it happily,

yef we him bisecheth merci mid good i-wille,

[conj] [Npl][Ds] [1ppl] [Acs] [Ds]
S CI V CD CC
(if) (we) (him) (ask) (mercy) (with good will)
if we ask Him for mercy with good will

also himselven seith be e holi writes:

[conj] [Acs] [3ps] [Dpl]
CD V CC
(also) (himself) (says) (in the Holy Scriptures)
He Himself also says in the Holy Scriptures:
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Jesus Calms the Storm

Hic am, ha sei, helere of e folke;

[Ns] [1ps] [Ns] [3ps] [Ns] [Ds]
S V S V Atr CC
(I) (am) (he) (says) (salvation) (of the people)
“I am” He says “the salvation of men,

wanne hi to me clepiedh
[conj] [Npl] [Ds] [3ppl]
S CI V
(when) (they) (to me) (pray)
when they pray to me

ine hire sorghen and ine hire niedes, hic hi suciuri

[Dpl] [conj] [Ds] [Ns][Acpl] [1ppl]
CC CC S CD V
(in their sorrow) (and) (in their needs) (I) (them) (help)
in their sorrow and in their needs, I will help them

and beneme hem al here evel withute ende.

[conj] [1ps] [Dpl] [Acs] [Ds]
V CI CC CC
(and) (take away) (them) (all their evil) (without end)
and take away all their evil without end”.

Grede we to him merci sikerliche,

[1ppl] [Npl] [Ds] [Acs] [adv]
V S CI CD CC
(cry out) (we) (to him) (mercy) (firmly)
We cry out for mercy to Him,

yef se devel us wille acumbri

[conj] [Ns] [Acs] [3ps] [inf]
S CD V
(if) (the devil) (us) (will) (encumber)
if the devil wants to bother us

urch senne, urch prede oer anvie

[Ds] [Ds] [conj] [Ds]
CC CC CC
(through sin) (through pride) (or) (envy)
through sin, through pride or envy
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Jesus Calms the Storm

oer urch wree oer urch oer manere of diadliche senne,

[conj] [Ds] [conj] [Ds] [Ds]
CC CC CC
(or) (through anger) (or through other forms) (of diabolical sin)
or through anger, or through other forms of diabolical sin,

grede we to him merci and sigge we him:

[1ppl][Npl] [Ds] [Acs] [conj] [1ppl] [Npl] [Ds]
V S CI CD V S CI
(cry out) (we) (to him) (mercy) (and) (tell) (we) (him):
We cry out to him for mercy and we tell Him:

Lord, sauve us et we ne perissi

[voc] [imp] [Acs] [conj] [Npl] [adv] [1ppl]
V CD S V
(lord) (save) (us) (that) (we) (not) (perish)
Lord, save us so that we do not perish

and et he us delivri of alle evels and et ha yef us

[conj] [conj] [Ns] [Acpl] [3ps] [Dpl] [conj] [conj] [Ns] [3ps][Dpl]
S CD V CC S V CI
(and) (that) (he) (us) (frees) (of al evils) (and) (that) (he) (give) (us)
and that He frees us from all evils and that He gives us

swiche werkes to done in ise wordle,

[Acpl] [inf] [Ds]
CD CC
(such works) (to do) (in this world)
such works to do in this world,

et o saulen of us mote bien i-sauved a domesdai

[conj] [Npl] [Dpl] [3ppl] [inf] [pastpart] [Acs]
S CN V CC
(that) (the souls) (of us) (might) (be) (saved) (on Judgement Day)
that our souls might be saved on the Judgement Day

and gon to o blisce of hevene.

[conj] [inf] [Ds] [Ds]
CC CN
(and) (go) (to the blessing) (of heaven)
and go the the blessing of heaven.
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Jesus Calms the Storm

We redeth i e holi godspelle of to-dai, at ure lord Jhesu Crist yede one time into ane ssipe and
hise deciples mid him into e séé and so hi were in o ssipe, so aros a great tempeste of winde. And
ure lord was i-leid him don to slepe ine o ssipe, et ane is tempeste aròòs. Hise deciples hedde
gret drede of ise tempeste; so awakede hine and seiden to him: Lord, dave us, for we perisset. And
ha wiste wel et hi ne hadde nocht gode beleave ine him. o seide to hem: Wat dret yw, folk of litle
beliave? o aros up ure lord and tok ane wynd and to séé, and also rae hit was stille. And alse o
men, et weren in o ssipe, hedde i-seghe o miracle, so awondrede hem michel. is is si vaire
miracle, et et godspel of te-day us tel. erefore sal ure beliave bie e betere astrenged ine
swiche lorde et siche miracle mai do and do wanne he wile. Ac hit is us nyede et se e sucurede
hem ine a peril, et us sucuri ine ure niedes, et we clepie to him, et ha us helpe; and he hit wille
do bleeliche, yef we him bisecheth merci mid good i-wille, also himselven seith be e holi writes:
Hic am, ha sei, helere of e folke; wanne hi to me clepiedh ine hire sorghen and ine hire niedes,
hic hi suciuri and beneme hem al here evel withute ende. Grede we to him merci sikerliche, yef se
devel us wille acumbri urch senne, urch prede oer anvie oer urch wree oer urch oer
manere of diadliche senne, grede we to him merci and sigge we him: Lord, sauve us et we ne
perissi and et he us delivri of alle evels and et ha yef us swiche werkes to done in ise wordle, et
o saulen of us mote bien i-sauved a domesdai and gon to o blisce of hevene.

We read in today's Holy Gospel that our Lord Jesus Christ went once into one ship and his disciples
with Him into the sea. And when they were in the ship a great tempest of wind arose and our Lord
went to sleep in the ship before the tempest arose. His disciples had great dread of this tempest so
they woke Him up and they said to Him: Lord, save us, because we perish, and He knew well that
they did not have good faith in Him then He said to them What are you scared of, people of little
faith? Then our Lord arose and took the wind and the sea and it was quickly still and the men also,
the men that were in the ship had seen the miracle that marvelled them greatly, this is the true
miracle that today's gospel tells us therefore our faith shall be highly strengthened in such a Lord
who such miracle may do and does when He will. An it is our need, that He who helped them in
peril also helps us in our needs that we ask Him, to help us and He will do it happily if we ask Him
for mercy with food will. He Himself also says in the Holy Scriptures I am, He says, the salvation
of men, when they pray to me in their sorrow and in their needs I will help them and take away all
their evil without end. We cry out for mercy to Him if the devil wants to bother us through sin,
through pride or envy, or through anger, or through other forms of diabolical sin. We cry out to Him
for mercy, and we tall Him: Lord, save us so that we do not perish. And that He frees us from all
evils and that He gives us such works to do in this world that our souls might be saved on the
Judgement day and go to the blessing of heaven.
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Jesus Calms the Storm

1. Explain the direct object of redeth (line 1).

This is a complement clause functioning as the direct object of redeth read: at ure lord
Jhesu Crist yede one time into ane ssipe. In regard to word-order, this clause has a pattern which
does not differ from present-day constructions. The verb is in indicative mood.

2. Identify and describe the so...so correlation present in this text.

Lines 4-5. This is a remnant of the Old English correlation so...s, where the first so can be
analysed as a subordinating conjunction introducing a clause of time when and the second so as an
adverb then. As with similar construction in Old English, the adverb introducing the main clause
does not need to be rendered in the present-day English version.
Note the position of the verb in the main clause ( so aros). This arrengement, known as verb-
second, was typical in the Old English period. In this case, it is motivated by the initial position of
the adverb. You should also note that the VS position customarily occurs in principal clauses.

3. What problems do we encounter in the passive structure that we find in line 6?

There is one interesting fact that we should comment on abut this passive structure. Its
active counterpart woud have the same referent in the subject and diferent object slots. This is
reflected in the use of him as a reflexive pronoun (a gloss for this structure is: Our Lord was laid
himself down). This construction is quite rare and has not survived into the present-day language.

4. What evidence do we ffind in the text that nothing has substantially changed in the formation of
interrogative structures from the Old English period?
Nothing has substantially changed in the formation of questions from Old English to Middle
English. These structures are marked by the inversion of subject and finite verb, except when the
interrogative pronoun is the subject of the clause. The understanding of questiions does not offer
problems to the modern reader. The appearance of the auxiliary do in interrogative clauses started at
the turn of the fifteenth century.

5. In this text there is a relative construction which is typical of a more traditional dialectal area?
Which one?
The relative pronoun in this clause is se e, and it comes along with its own antecedent. The
survival of this construction in the thirteenth century is a typical feature of South-Western texts. In
the other dialectal areas, it had been replaced by indeclinable at or et.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Anarchy – The Peterborough Chronicle

is gre for e king Stephne ofer s to Normandi

[Dat s] [3ps] [Ns] [Acs] [Acs]
CCT V S CCL CCL
(this year) (travelled) (the king Stephen) (over sea) (to Normandi)
This year king Stephen travelled to Normandi over the sea

and ther wes underfangen,

[conj][adv] [3ps]
CC V
(and) (there) (was welcomed)
and there he was welcomed.

fori at hi wenden at he sculde ben alsuic alse the eom wes,
[conj] [Np] [3pp] [conj] [Ns] [3ps] [inf] [adv] [adv] [Ns] [3ps]
S V S V CC CC S V
(because) (they) (thought) (that) (he) (should) (be) (just like) (also) (the uncle) (was)
because they thought that he should be just like uncle was,

and for he hadde get

[conj] [conj] [Ns] [3pps] [adv]
S V CC
(and) (because) (he) (had) (still)
and because he still had

his tresor; ac he todeld it and scatered sotlice.

[Ac s] [conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Acs] [conj] [3ps] [adv]
CD S V CD V CC
(his treasure) (but) (he) (dispersed) (it) (and) (squandered) (foolishly)
his treasure, but he had spent it and scattered it foolishly.

Micel hadde Henry king gadered gold

[Acs] [3ps] [Ns] [part] [Acs]
CD V S CD
(Much) (had) (Henry king) (gathered) (gold)
King Henry had gathered much gold

and sylver, and na god ne dide me for his saule tharof.

[conj] [Acs] [conj] [Ac s] [adv] [3ps] [Ns] [Dat s] [adv]
CD CD V S CC CC
(and) (silver) (and) (no good) (no) (did) (for his soul) (thereof)
and silver, and it did no good for his soul.
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The Anarchy – The Peterborough Chronicle

a e king Stephne to Englaland com,

[adv] [Ns] [Acs] [3ps]
CC S CC V
(then) (the king Stephen) (to England) (came)
Then king Stephen came to England

a macod he his gadering t Oxeneford.

[adv] [3ps] [Ns] [Acs] [Acs]
CC V S CD CCL
(then) (held) (he) (his council) (at Oxford)
then he held his council at Oxford.

And ar he nam e biscop Roger of Sereberi,

[conj] [adv] [Ns] [3ps] [Acs]
CC S V CD
(and) (there) (he) (arrested) (the bishop Roger of Salisbury)
and there he arrested Roger, bishop of Salisbury,

and Alexander biscop of Lincol and te canceller Roger,

[conj] [Ac s] [conj] [Ac s]
(and) (Alexander bishop of Lincoln) (and) (the chancellor Roger)
and Alexander, bishop of Lincoln, and Chancellor Roger,

hise neves, and dide lle in prisun

[Ac pl] [conj] [3ps] [Acpl] [Ac s]
CD V CD CCL
(his nephews) (and) (did) (all) (in prison)
his nephews, and put them all in prison

til hi iagen up here castels.

[adv] [Npl] [3ppl] [Acpl]
S V CD
(until) (they) (give up) (their castles)
until they surrendered their castles.

a the suikes undergton at he milde man was and softe and god,
[adv] [Npl] [3ppl] [conj][Ns] [Ns] [3ps] [conj] [Ns]
S V S Atr V Atr
(then) (the traitors) (saw) (that) (he) (mild man) (was) (and) (soft and good)
When the traitors saw that he was a mild, soft and good man
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The Anarchy – The Peterborough Chronicle

and na iustise ne dide, a diden hi alle wunder.

[conj] [Acs] [adv] [3ps] [adv] [3ppl] [Npl] [Ac pl]
CD V V S CD
(and) (no justice) (no) (did) (then) (did) (they) (all atrocities)
and he did no justice, then they committed all atrocities.

Hi hadden him manred maked and athes sworen;

[Npl] [3ppl] [Acs] [Acs] [part] [conj] [Acp] [3ppl]
S V CD CD CD V
(they) (had) (him) (homage) (done) (and) (oaths of allegiance) (sworn)
They had paid him homage and they had sworn oaths of allegiance;

ac hi nan treuthe ne heolden.

[conj] [Npl] [Ac s] [adv] [3ppl]
S CD V
(but) (they) (no oath) (no) (held)
but they held no oath.

Alle he wron forsworen and here treothes forloren,

[Npl] [3ppl] [part] [conj] [Npl] [part]
(All of them) (were) (forsworn) (and) (their oaths) (broken)
All of them were forsworn and their oaths were broken,

for vric riceman his castles makede and agnes him heolden,
[conj][Ns] [Acpl] [3ps] [conj] [Acs] [3ppl]
S CD V CC V
(for) (every great man) (his castles) (made) (and) (against him) (held)
because every great man made his castle and held it against him,

and fylden e land ful of castles.

[conj] [3ppl][Acs]
V CD
(and) (filled) (the land full of castles)
and filled the land with castles.

Hi suencten suye e wrecce men of e land mid castel-weorces.

[Npl] [3ppl] [adv] [Ac s] [Acs] [Dat pl]
S V CC CD CN CC
(they) (oppressed) (sorely) (the unhappy people) (of the land) (with castle-building)
They sorely oppressed the unhappy people of the land with castle-building.
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The Anarchy – The Peterborough Chronicle

a the castles waren maked, a fylden hi mid deovles and yvele men.
[adv] [Npl] [3ppl] [part] [adv] [3ppl] [Npl] [Dat pl]
S V V S CC
(then) (the castles) (were built) (then) (filled) (they) (with devils and evil men)
Once the castles were built, they filled them with devils and evil men.

a namen hi a men e hi wenden at ani god hefden,

[adv] [ppl] [Np] [Ac pl] [pron] [Np] [3ppl] [conj] [Acs] [3ppl]
(then) (seized) (they) (the man) (that) (they) (thought) (that) (any good) (had)
Then they seized the people that they believed to have any goods

bathe be nihtes and be dies, carlmen and wimmen,

[Acpl] [Gs] [conj] [Gs] [Acpl] [conj] [Acpl]
CD CC Cc CD CD
(both) (by night) (and) (by day), (men) (and) (women)
both by night and day, men and women

and diden heom in prisun and pined heom efter gold and sylver,
[conj] [3ppl] [Acpl] [Ac s] [conj] [3ppl] [Acpl] [Ac s]
V CD CC V CD CC
(and) (did) (them) (in prison) (and) (tortured) (them) (after gold and silver)
and put them in prison and tortured them longing for gold and silver,

untellendlice pínig, for ne wren nure nan martyrs swa pined alse hi wron.
[adv] [apos] [conj] [adv][3pp] [adv] [N pl] [adv] [part] [conj] [Npl] [3ppl]
CC CC V CC S S V
(unspeakable) (torture) (for) (not) (were) (never) (no martyrs) (so) (tortured) (as) (they) (were)
unspeakable torture, because no martyrs were ever punished as much as they were.
Me henged up bi the fet and smoked heom mid ful smoke.
[Ns] [3ps] [Acpl] [conj] [3ps] [Acpl] [Dat s]
S V CC V CD CC
(one) (hung up) (by the feet) (and) (smoked) (them) (with foul smoke)
They hung them by their feet and smoked them with foul smoke.
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The Anarchy – The Peterborough Chronicle

is gre for e king Stephne ofer s to Normandi and ther wes underfangen, fori at hi wenden
at he sculde ben alsuic alse the eom wes, and for he hadde get his tresor; ac he todeld it and
scatered sotlice. Micel hadde Henry king gadered gold and sylver, and na god ne dide me for his
saule tharof.
a e king Stephne to Englaland com, a macod he his gadering t Oxeneford. And ar he nam e
biscop Roger of Sereberi, and Alexander biscop of Lincol and te canceller Roger, hise neves, and
dide lle in prisun til hi iagen up here castels. a the suikes undergton at he milde man was and
softe and god, and na iustise ne dide, a diden hi alle wunder. Hi hadden him manred maked and
athes sworen; ac hi nan treuthe ne heolden.
Alle he wron forsworen and here treothes forloren, for vric riceman his castles makede and
agnes him heolden, and fylden e land ful of castles. Hi suencten suye e wrecce men of e land
mis castel-weorces. a the castles waren maked, a fylden hi mid deovles and yvele men. a
namen hi a men e hi wenden at ani god hefden, bathe he nihtes and be dies, carlmen and
wimmen, and diden heom in prisun and pined heom efter gold and sylver, untellendlice pínig, for
ne wren nure nan martyrs swa pined alse hi wron. Me henged up bi the fet and smoked heom
mid ful smoke.
This year king Stephen travelled to Normandy over the sea and there he was welcomed, because
they thought that he should be just like uncle was, because he still had his treasure; but he had spent
it and scattered it foolishly. King Henri had gathered much gold and silver, and it did no good for
his soul thereof.
When king Stephen came to England, he held his council at Oxford. And there he arrested Roger,
Bishop of Salisbury, and Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln and Chancellor Roger, his nephews, and he
put them all in prison until they surrendered their castles. When the traitors saw that he was a mild,
soft and good man and he did no injustice then they committed all atrocities. They had paid him
homage and they had sworn oathes of allegiance; but they held none of their oaths.
All of them were forsworn and their oaths were broken, because every great man made his castle
and held it against him, and filled the whole land with castles. They sorely oppressed the unhappy
people of the country with castle-building. Once the castles were built they filled them with devils
and evil men. Then they seized the people that they believed to have any goods, both by night and
day, men and women, and put them in prison and tortured them longing for gold and silver,
unspeakable torture, because no martyrs were ever punished as much as they were. They hung them
by their feet and smoked them with foul smoke.

1. Indicate the nouns that the quantifier micel modifies. Also explain why this quantifier does not
precede directly these nouns.
The adverb Micel much is determining gold and sylver. It seems that the adjective Micel
“much” has been fronted for pragmatic reasons, while the rest of the members of the NP gold and
sylver occupy the expected positions. The meaning of the lexical elements in the clause can serve as
an aid to understand split Nps, gold and silver are materials and as such can be quantified.

2. Is there a counterpart for the structure Alle he in present-day English?

This type of construction no longer exists in present-day English.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Anarchy – The Peterborough Chronicle

3. Categorize the type of clause introduced by fori.

Fori can function either as a consecutive coordinating conjunction or an adverbial clause of
cause. There are no syntactic clues that can help us to distinguish these two functions, since in both
cases it is followed by the indicative, thus we will have to support our decision on a lexical basis.
“Because they thought that he should be like his uncle”. In this sense, it must be a coordinate
consecutive clause.

4. Explain this correlative construction: a e king Stephne to Englaland com, a macod he his
gadering t Oxeneford
In this excerpt we find a typical Old English correlative construction a... a, where one of
the elements is a conjunction and the other is an adverb. This is to be expected in an early Middle
English text. In Old English, mood and word-order helped to disambiguate their function. Both
verbs are in indicative mood, however, word-order clearly indicates which is the subordinate and
which is the main clause. In the first clause we fins S....V word-order which was more common in
subordinate clauses. On the other hand, the second clause shows subject-verb inversion, a usually
unambiguous marker of a main clause. The fact that word-order sticks to its previous organization,
and mood is not used as a differentiating factor, indicates that we are in a state of transition where
SVO will become the norm.

5. What type of relative pronoun do we find in this text? Is this the typical relative pronoun in
Middle English?
In line 14, we find a relative clause introduced by e. However, this type of relative, in the
course of this perios, will be replaced by the use of the demonstrative at. In that same fashion, the
Old English articles ceased to serve this function.
As a result of this new usage, in the thirteenth century, at was the only relative pronoun and
in the fourteenth century the wh-forms, formerly only question words, became quite frequently
used as relative pronouns.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Egyptian days – Eúiptiaci daúas

ry daúas syndon on úeare e we eúiptiaci hata,

[N pl] [3pplPrI] [Dat s] [rel] [N pl] [Npl] [1pplPrI]
S V CCT CD S Pred V
(Three days) (are) (in the year) (that) (we) (Egyptian) (call)
There are three days in a year which we call Egyptians

t is on ure úeeode plihtlice daúas,

[conj] [3ps] [Dat s n] [N pl]
S V CCL Atr
(that) (is) (in our language) (dangerous days)
that is, in our language, dangerous days,

on am natoshwon for nanre neode ne

[Dat s] [Adv] [Gs] [Dat s] [conj]
CCL CC CN CC
(on which) (by no means) (for no need) (neither)
on which by no means for no necessity let either

mannes ne neates blod sy to wanienne;

[Gs] [conj] [Gs] [Npl] [3ps PS] [infinitive]
CN CN S V
(of man) (nor) (of beast) (blood) (be) (to diminish)
man's or beast's blood be diminished;

t is onne utúanúendum am mone

[conj] [3ps] [adv] [D s]
S V CCT CCT
(that) (is) (then) (to the end of the month)
that is then to the end of the month

e we aprelis hata se nyhsta monan dú an;

[rel] [Np] [N] [1ppl] [Nom s]
CD S Pred V Atr
(which) (we) (April) (call) (the nearest Monday)
which we call April, the nearest Monday

onne is oer inúanúendum am mone

[conj] [3ps] [Nom] [Dat s]
CC V S CCT
(then) (is) (another) (to the begining of the month)
Ten another is to the begining of the month

e we aústus hata se resta monan dú;

[rel] [Np] [Ns] [1ps] [Ns]
CD S Pred V Atr
(which) (we) (August) (call) (the first Monday)
which we call August, the first Monday;
 lOMoARcPSD

The Egyptian days – Eúiptiaci daúas

onne is se ridda se resta monan dú fter utúanúe s mones decembris.
[conj] [3ps] [N s] [N s] [Dat s] [G s] [Gs]
CC V S Atr CC CN CN
(then) (is) (the third) (the first Monday) (after the end) (of the month) (of December)
then the third is the first Monday after the end of the month of December

Se e on yssum rim daúum his blod úewaniúe,

[Ns][rel] [Dat pl] [Gs] [Acp] [3ps Subj]
S S CCT CN CD V
(The) (which) (on these three days) (his) (blood) (diminishes)
Whoever diminishes his blood on these three days

sy hit man, sy hit nyten, s e we secúan úehyrdan t sona

[3ps] [Ns][Ns] [3ps] [Ns] [Ns] [Gs] [rel] [Np] [inf] [3pplPret] [conj] [adv]
V S Atr V S Atr CN S V CC
(is) (it) (man) (is) (it) (beast), (of that) (which) (we) (say) (have heard) (that) (soon)
be it man, be it beast, of him we have heard say that soon

on am forman dúe oe am feoram dúe his lif úenda;
[D s] [conj] [Ds] [Gs] [Ns] [3ps]
CCT CCT CN S V
(on the first day) (or) (the fourth day) (his) (life) (ends)
on the first day or the fourth day his life shal end

oe úif his lif lnúre bi, t to am seofoan dúe ne becym,
[conj] [conj] [Gs] [Ns] [Ns] [3ps] [conj] [Dat s] [adv] [3ps]
CN S Atr V CCT V
(or) (if) (his) (life) (longer) (is), (that), (to the seventh day) (not) (become)
or if his life is longer, then he shall not become to the seventh day

oe úif he hwilcne drnc drinc am rim daúum his lif he úenda binnan XV dagum;
[conj] [conj] [Ns] [Ac s] [3ps] [Dat pl] [Gs] [Acs] [Ns] [3ps] [Dat pl]
S CD V CCT CN CD S V CCT
(or) (if) (he) (any draught) (drinks) (in these three days) (his) (life) (he) (ends) (within 15 days)
or if he drinks any draught in these three days, he shall end his life in fifteen days

úif hwa on issum daúum acnned bi, yfelum deae

[conj][Ns] [D pl] [3ps] [D s]
S CCT V Cag
(if) (who) (on these days) (is born), (by an evil dead)
if anyone is born on these days, by an evil dead

he his lif úenda, se e on yssum ylcum rim daúum úose flsces onbyriúe,
[Ns][Gs][Acs] [3ps] [Ns][rel] [ Dat pl] [Gs] [Ac] [3prs]
S CN CD V S CCT CN CD V
(he) (his) (life) (ends), (the) (which) (on these same three days) (goose) (flesh) (eats)
he his life shall end; whoever on these same three days eats flesh of goose
 lOMoARcPSD

The Egyptian days – Eúiptiaci daúas

binnan feowortiúes daúa fyrste he his lif úenda.

[Ac pl] [Ns] [Gs] [Acs] [3ps]
CCT S CN CD V
(within the first forty days) (he) (his) (life) (ends)
he shall end his life within the first forty days.

ry daúas syndon on úeare e we eúiptiaci hata, Three days there are in the year that we call
t is on ure úeeode plihtlice daúas, on am Egyptian, that is in our tonge dangerous days, on
natoshwon for nanre neode ne mannes ne which by no means for no necessity let either
neates blod sy to wanienne; t is onne man's or beast's blood be diminished; that is then
the nearest Monday to the end of the month that
utúanúendum am mone e we aprelis hata se
we call April; then another is the first Monday at
nyhsta monan dú an; onne is oer the beginning of the month we call August; then
inúanúendum am mone e we aústus hata se the third is the first Monday after the end of the
resta monan dú; onne is se ridda se resta month of December.
monan dú fter utúanúe s mones decembris. Whoever diminishes his blood on these three
Se e on yssum rim daúum his blod úewaniúe, days, be it man, be it beast, of him we have heard
sy hit man, sy hit nyten, s e we secúan say that soon on the first day or the fourth day his
úehyrdan t sona on am forman dúe oe life shall end; or if his life is longer, then he shall
am feoram dúe his lif úenda; oe úif his not become to the seventh day, or if he drinks any
draught in these three days he shall end his life
lif lnúre bi, t to am seofoan dúe ne
within fifteen days; if anyone on these days is
becym, oe úif he hwilcne drnc drinc am born, he shall end his life by an evil death;
rim daúum his lif he úenda binnan XV whoever on these same days eats flesh of goose,
dagum; úif hwa on issum daúum acnned bi, he shall ens his life within forty days.
yfelum deae he his lif úenda, se e on yssum
ylcum rim daúum úose flsces onbyriúe,
binnan feowortiúes daúa fyrste he his lif úenda.

1. Explain the function of the relative pronoun in the genitive case in lines 6-7
The relative in genitive form is not necessary but it is a way of referring to something that
has been mentioned before; Mitchell calls them recapituralory pronouns. This was a frequent device
used in Old English and it helped the writer to control the sentence.

2. Identify the role of Þæt, oÞer and se Þridda in the text.

All these three elements have a cataphoric function. The first Þæt is quite neutral with
respect to ordinal denotation; oÞer is often translated as “second” and as expected se Þridda “the
third” refers to the third bad-luck day.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Egyptian days – Eúiptiaci daúas

3. In this text, we can find an asyndetic paratactic structure. Identify it and explain its
function.
Sy hit man, sy hit nyten: The two clauses are in subjunctive mood and qualify the relative
pronoun that opens up the syntactic structure. They both present parallel structures.

4. What is the referent of the relative pronoun se Þe in line 10? What kind of deixis do we have
here?
It is referring forward to the pronoun he, which is the subject of the main clause. This is a
case of cataphoric deixis.

4. Can hwa fulfil the function of a relative pronoun in Old English?

This is an interrogative an indefinite pronoun, but it is not a relative pronoun in Old English.
The article is used as a relative pronoun. In this sentence, hwa is fulfilling the function of the clause
subject and it is an indefinite pronoun.

)
 lOMoARcPSD

The Magnificence of Arthur's Court

Nes he nvere iboren of nane cnihte icoren,

[3ps] [Ns] [adv] [Ns] [Ds]
V S CC Atr CC
(was not) (he) (never) (born) (of no knight excellent)
No one was ever born of any excellent knight

ilred no lwed, a navere nare leode,

[Ns] [adv] [Ns] [adv] [Ds]
Atr CC Atr CC CC
(learnt) (nor) (unlearnt) (in) (never) (no) (nation)
learned or unlearned, in no nation at all

e cue him itelle an ies cunnes spelle

[Ns] [3ps] [Acs] [inf] [Gs] [Ds]
S V CD CN CC
(that) (could) (him) (tell) (in) (of any kind) (words)
who could narrate in any kind of speech

of halve an richedome e wes inne Kairliune,

[Ds] [Ns] [3ps] [Ds]
CC S V CC
(of half the wealth) (that) (was) (in) (Caerleon)
half the wealth that was in Caerleon,

of seolvere and of golde and gode iweden,

[Dat]
CC
(of silver and of gold and good gears)
of silver and of gold and good garnements,

of hehúe iborene monnen a inne hirede wuneden,

[Dat pl] [Npl] [Ds] [3ppl]
CC S CC V
(of high born men) (that) (in court) (dwelt)
and of high-born men that dwelt in the court,

of horsen and of hafueken, of hunden to deoren,

[Dat pl] [conj] [Datpl] [Datpl] [Datpl]
CC CC CC CC
(of horses) (and) (of hawks) (of hound) (for deers)
of horses, and of hawks and hounds for deers,
 lOMoARcPSD

The Magnificence of Arthur's Court

and of riche iweden a inne hirede weoren.

[conj] [Dpl] [Npl] [Dats] [3ppl]
CC S CC V
(and) (of rich robes) (that) (in court) (were)
and of rich robes that there were in the court.

And of alle an folke e wuneden er on folde,

[conj] [Dats] [Datpl] [Npl] [3ppl] [adv] [Dats]
CC CC S V CC
(and) (of all) (the folk) (that) (lived) (there) (on earth)
And of all the people that dwelt on the earth,

wes isses londes folk leodene hendest itald,

[3ps] [Gs] [Ns] [Datpl] [Ns] [past partciple]
(was) (this land) (people) (men) (most handsome) (told)
the people of this land were said to be the most handsome

and al swa a wimmen wunliche on heowen

[conj][conj] [Npl] [Dpl]
S CC
(and) (also) (the women delicious) (in form)
and the women were also delicious in form

and hahlukest iscrudde and alre bezst itoúene.

[conj] [adv] [Datpl] [conj] [Gpl] [Datpl]
CC CN CC
(and) (most beautiful) (ddressed) (and) (of all) (best bred)
and the most splendidly dressed and the most nobly bred.

For heo hafden on iqueen alle bi heore quike live

[conj] [Npl] [3ppl] [Dat pl] [Npl] [Dat]
S V CC S CC
(because) (they) (have) (on declared) (all) (by their very lives)
Because they had all promised upon their very lives

at heo wolden of ane heowen heore claes habben;

[conj] [Npl] [3pp] [Ds] [G] [Acpl] [infinitive]
S V CC CN CD
(that) (they) (would) (of one colour) (their) (clothes) (have)
that each of them would have clothes of one colour;
 lOMoARcPSD

The Magnificence of Arthur's Court

sum hafde whit, sum hafden rd, sum hafde god grene c,
[Npl] [3pps] [Acs] [Npl] [3ppl] [Acs] [Npl] [3ppl] [Acs] [adv]
S V CD S V CD S V CD CC
(some) (had) (white) (some) (had) (red) (some) (had) (bright green) (also)
some had white, some had red, some had bright green

and alches cunnes fah cla heom wes wunder ane la.
[conj] [Gpl] [Ns] [Dpl] [3ps] [adv] [adv] [Ns]
CN S CI V Atr
(and) (each kind) (variegated cloth) (them) (was) (very) (only) (hideous)
and variegated cloth of any kind was unpleasant to them.

And elche unthtle heo talden unwure.

[conj] [Acs] [Npl] [3ppl] [Acs]
CD S V CD
(and) (each want of discipline) (they) (told) (unworthy)
And they considered any lack of discipline unworthy.

a hafde nglene ard at alre bezste here-word;

[conj] [3ps] [Gs] [Ns] [Acs] [Gpl] [Acs]
V CN S CD CN CD
(then) (had) (of England) (country) (that) (of all) (best praise)
Then the country of England had the best repute of all

and is leodisce volc c leofvuest an kinge.

[conj][Ns] [adv] [Ns] [Dats]
S CC S CC
(and) (this) (of nation) (folk) (also) (most loved) (the king)
and the people of this nation were most loved by their king.

a wifmen hehúe iborene a wuneden a issen londe

[Npl] [Gs] [Npl] [3ppl] [Dats]
(the women) (of high birth) (that) (lived) (in this land)
The women of high-birth that lived in this land

hafden iqueen alle on heore quides soe

[3ppl] [past part] [Npl] [Gs] [Acs]
V S CN CC
(had) (sworn) (all) (on) (their of promise) (truth)
had all promised upon the truth of their words
 lOMoARcPSD

The Magnificence of Arthur's Court

at nan laverd taken nolde inne issere leode

[conj] [Npl] [Acs] [inf] [3ppl] [Dats]
S CD V CC
(that) (no) (husband) (take) (would not) (in this land)
that none would take as husband any man in this land,

nver nnne cniht, neore he noht swa wel idiht,

[adv] [Ns] [3ppl] [Ns] [adv] [adv] [Ns]
S V S Atr
(never) (no knight) (were not) (he) (not) (so) (well fashioned)
were he no so well fashioned,

bute he icostned weoren rie inne compe,

[conj][Ns] [pastpart] [3ppl] [adv] [Dats]
S V CC
(unless) (he) (tested) (were) (three times) (in combat)
unless he had been tested three times in combat.

and his ohtscipen icudde and ifonded hine seolve;

[conj] [Gs] [Npl] [pastpart] [conj] [pastpart] [Acs]
CN S CD
(and) (his) (valour) (shown) (and) (tried) (himself)
and his valour made known and his worth proven,

baldliche he mitte enne úirnen him brude.

[adv] [Ns] [3ps] [adv] [inf] [Ds] [Acs]
S V CI CD
(boldly) (he) (might) (then) (claim) (himself) (bride)
so that he could boldly claim a bride for himself.

For ere ilke tuhtle cnihtes weoren ohte,

[conj] [Dats] [Npl] [3ppl] [Npl]
CC S V Atr
(because) (of this very usage) (knights) (were) (corageous)
For this same behavious, knights were brave,

a wifmen wel idone and a betere biwitene

[Npl] [Npl] [conj] [Npl]
S Atr Atr
(the women) (well bred) (and) (the better taken care of)
women were well-bred, and the more virtuous.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Magnificence of Arthur's Court

a weoren i Brutene blissen inoúe.

[adv] [3ppl] [Dats] [Npl] [adv]
V CC S
(then) (were) (in Britain) (joy) (enough)
Then there was great joy in Britain.

Nes he nvere iboren of nane cnihte iicoren, ilred no lwed, a navere nare leode, e cue him
itelle an ies cunnes spelle of halve an richedome e wes inne Kairliune, of seolvere and of golde
and gode iweden, of hehúe iborene monnen a inne hirede wuneden, of horsen and of hafueken, of
hunden to deoren, and of riche iweden a inne hirede weoren. And of alle an folke e wuneden er
on folde, wes isses londes folk leodene hendest itald, and al swa a wimmen wunliche on heowen
and hahlukest iscrudde and alre bezst itoúene. For heo hafden on iqueen alle bi heore quike live
at heo wolden of ane heowen heore claes habben; sum hafde whit, sum hafden rd, wum hafde
god grene c, and alches cunnes fah cla heom wes wunder ane la. And elce unthtle heo talden
unwure. a hafde nglene ard at alre bezste here-word; and is leodisce volc c leofvuest an
kinge. a wifmen hehúe iborene a wuneden a issen londe hafden iqueen alle on heore quides
soe at nan laverd taken nolde inne issere leode nver nnne cniht, neore he noht swa wel idiht,
bute he icostned weoren rie inne compe, and his ohtscipen icudde and ifonded hine seolve;
baldliche he mitte enne úirnen him brude. For ere ilke tuhtle cnihtes weoren ohte, a wifmen wel
idone and a betere biwitene a weoren i Brutene blissen inoúe.

No one has ever born of any excellent knight, learned or unlearned, in no nation at all, who could
narrate in any kind of speech half the wealth that was in Caerleon, of silver and of gold and good
garments, and of high-born men that dwelt in the court, of horses and of hawks and hounds for
deers, and the rich robes that there were in the court. And of all the poeple that dwelt on the earth,
the people of this land were said to be the most handsome and the women were also delicious in
form and the most splendidly dressed and the most nobly bred. Because they had all promised upon
their very lives that each of them would have clothes of one colour, some had white, some had red,
some had bright green and variagated cloth of any kind was unpleasant to them. And they
considered any lack of discipline unworthy.
Then the country of England had the best repute of all and the people of this nation were most loved
by their king. The women of high-birth that lived in this land had all promised upon the truth of
their words that none would take as husband any man in this land, were he not so well fashioned,
unless he had been testes three times in combat, and his valour made known and his worth proven,
so that he could boldly claim a bride for himself. For this same behaviour, knights were brave,
women were well-bred, and the more virtuous. Then there was great joy in Britain.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Magnificence of Arthur's Court

1. What is the counterpart of the genitive ies cunnes (line 3) in present-day English?
In Old English genitives describing a noun usually preceded that noun. This construction is
still found in Early Middle English. The function it presents here is now fulfilled by an of-PP.

2. What linguistic clues can help us differentiate the relative pronoun e (line 3) from a definite
article?
The fact that it is directly followed by a finite verb form should prevent confusion with a
definite article, particularly in this text and where traces of the inflected article from Old English
still remain. It is perhaps slightly troublesome to fins its antecedent (cnihte) since, in this rare case,
it does not precede the relative pronoun.

3. What do we mean when we say that in For ere ilke tuhtle (line 27) there is a cause of double
marking?
The demonstrative adjective clearly shows that the constituents of the NP governed by the
preposition for are in dative case: for ere ilke tuhtle. Thus, this is a case of double marking, which
is frequently encountered, especially in verse. (use of preposition + case)

4. Identify and explain the superlative construction that we find in this text.
We find an adjective in superlative form preceded by a noun that can function as a partitive
genitive leodene hendest the most handsome of all men.

5. Indicate the referent of the pronoun heom (line 16)

It is in dative case and refers to the one who is experiencing the situation presented in the
clause: and alched cunnes fah cla heom wes wunder ane la.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Owl and the Nightingale

Oft an hundes foxes drive

[adv] [conj] [Npl] [Acpl] [3ppl]
CC S CD V
(often) (when) (hounds) (foxes) (hunt)
Often when hounds hunt foxes

e kat ful wel him sulve live,

[Ns] [adv] [adv][Acs] [3ps]
S CD C
(the cat (full) (well) (himself) (lives)
the cat himself lives very well

eú he ne kunne wrench bute anne;

[conj] [Ns] [adv] [3ps] [Acs] [conj] [Acs]
S V CD CD
(although) (he) (not) (know) (trick) (but) (one)
although he doesn't know but one trick;

e fox so godne ne can nanne,

[Ns] [adv] [Acs] [adv] [3ps] [Acs]
S CD C CD
(the fox) (so) (good) (no) (know) (none)
the fox knows none so good,

eú he kunne so vele wrenche

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [adv] [Acpl]
S V CD
(although) (he) (knows) (so) (many trick)
although he knows so many tricks

at he wen eche hunde atprenche;

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Acs] [inf]
S V CD
(that) (he) (believes) (each hound) (get the better)
that he believes to take advantage of each hound

vor he can paes riúte & woúe,

[conj][Ns] [3ps] [Acpl]
S V CD
(for) (he) (knows) (paths straight and devious)
for he knows straight and devious ways,
 lOMoARcPSD

The Owl and the Nightingale

an he kan hongi bi e boúe,

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [inf] [Ds]
S V CC
(and) (he) (can) (hang) (by tthe bough)
and he can hang from a bough,

an so forlost e hund his fore,

[conj] [adv] [3ps] [Ns] [Acs]
V S CD
(and) (so) (lost) (the hound) (his march)
and so the hound lost his march,

an turn aúen eft to an more.

[conj] [3ps] [adv] [adv] [Ds]
V CC
(and) (turns) (again) (agains) (to the moor)
and turns again once more to the moor.

e vox kan crope bi e heie,

[Ns] [3ps] [inf] [Datpl]
S V CC
(the fox) (can) (creep) (by the hedges)
The fox can creep by the hedges

an turne ut from his forme weie,

[conj] [inf] [adv] [Ds]
CC
(and) (turn) (out) (from his former way)
and turns away from his former way,

an eft sone kume arto.

[conj] [adv][adv] [inf] [adv]
CC CC CC
(and) (again) (come) (soon) (thereto)
and once again comes soon to this.

onne is e hundes smel fordo:

[adv] [3ps] [Gs] [Ns] [pastpart]
V CN S
(then) (is) (the hound's) (smell) (destroyed)
Then the smell of the hound is destroyed:
 lOMoARcPSD

The Owl and the Nightingale

He not urú e imeinde smak

[Ns] [3ps] [Ds]
S V CC
(he) (knows not) (through the confound scent)
he does not know, by means of the confounded scent,

Weer he shal auor e abak.

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [adv] [conj] [adv]
S V CC CC
(whether) (he) (shall) (forward) (or) (back)
whether he should go forward or backward.

Úif e vox mist of al is dwole,

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Dpl]
S V CC
(if) (the fox) (missed) (all this tricks)
If the fox missed all of these tricks,

at an ende he crop to hole;

[Ds] [Ns] [3ps] [Ds]
CC S V CC
(at the end) (he) (creeps) (to hole)
at the end he creeps to a hole;

ac naeles mid alle his wrenche

[conj] [conj] [Ds]
CC
(but) (nevertheless) (with all his tricks)
but nevertheless with al his tricks

ne kan he hine so bienche

[adv] [3ps] [Ns] [Acs][adv] [inf]
V S CD
(not) (can) (he) (him) (so) (expect)
he cannot expect so himself

eú he bo úep an sue snel

[conj][Ns] [3ps] [Ns][conj] [adv] [Ns]
S V Atr Atr
(although) (he) (is) (vigorous) (and) (greatly) (active)
although he is vigorous and greatly active
 lOMoARcPSD

The Owl and the Nightingale

at he ne lost his rede vel.

[conj][Ns] [adv] [3ps] [Acs]
S V CD
(that) (he) (not) lost) (his red fur)
that he did not lose his red fur.

e cat ne kan wrench bute anne,

[Ns] [adv] [3ps] [Acs] [conj] [Acs]
S V CD CD
(the cat) (not) (knows) (trick) (but) (one)
The cat doesn't know but one trick

noer bi dune ne bi venne,

[conj] [Dpl] [conj] [Dpl]
CC CC
(neither) (by hills) (nor) (by fences)
neither by hills nor by fences,

bute he kan climbe sue wel;

[conj][Ns][3ps] [inf] [adv] [adv]
S V
(but) (he) (can) (climb) (greatly) (well)
but he can climb greatly well;

armid he were his greie vel.

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Acs]
S V CD
(thereby) (he) (defends) (his grey fur)
thereby he defends his grey fur.

Also ich segge bi mi solve:

[conj] [Ns] [1ps] [Ds]
S V CC
(also) (I) (say) (by myself)
Also I say by myself:

betere is min on an ine twelve.

[Ns] [3ps] [Ns] [conj] [Npl]
S V Atr Atr
(better) (is) (mine one) (than) (your twelve)
better is my one than your twelve.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Owl and the Nightingale

Oft an hundes foxes drive

e kat ful wel him sulve live,
eú he ne kunne wench bute anne;
e fox so godne ne can nanne,
eú he kunne so vele wrenche
at he wen eche hunde atprenche;
vor he can paes riúte & woúe,
an he kan hongi bi e boúe,
an so forlost e hund his fore,
and turn aúen eft to an more.
e vox kan crope bi e heie,
an turne ut from his forme weie,
an eft sone kume arto.
onne is e hundes smel fordo:
He not urú e imeinde smak
Weer he shal auor e abak.
Úif e vox mist of al is dwole,
at an ende he crop to hole;
ac naeles mid alle his wrenche
ne kan he hine so binche
eú he bo úep an sue snel
at he ne lost his rede vel.
e cat ne kan wrench bute anne,
noer bi dune ne bi venne,
bute he kan climbe sue wel;
armid he were his greie vel.
Also ich segge bi mi solve:
betere is min on an ine twelve.
Often when hounds hunt foxes
the cat himself lives very well,
although he doesn't know but one trick;
the fox knows none so good,
although he knows so many tricks
that he believes to take advantage of each hound;
for he knows straight and devious ways,
and he can hang from a bough,
and so the hound lost his march,
and turns again once more to the moor.
The fox can creep by the hedges,
and turns away from his former way,
and once again he comes soon to this.
Then the smell of the hound is destroyed:
he does not know, by means of the confounded
scent,
whether he should go forward or backward.
If the fox missed all of these tricks,
at the end he creeps to a hole;
but nevertheless with all his tricks
he cannot expect so himself
(although he is vigorous and greatly active)
that he did not lose his red fur.
The cat does not know any trick buut one,
neither by hills nor by fences,
but he can climb greatly well;
thereby he defends his grey fur.
Also I say by myself:
better is my one than your twelve.

1. Describe the negative structure that we can find in line 3: eú he ne kunne wrench bute anne.
An interesting fact here concerning sentence negation is the absence of a negative element
supporting ne . In Middle English, as in Old English, ne continued to be supported by other elements
in the sentences. The absence of a formal negative element here is explained by the presence of the
negative adverb bute.

2. Explain the NP that functions as direct object in line 4: e fox so godne ne can nanne.
The head nanne is separated from the modifying adjective by the verb clause.

3. Explain the correlation that we find in line 5 and 6: eú he kunne so vele wrenche at he wen
eche hunde atprenche.
Here we hav the correlation so...at , which is also found in present-day English. The
subordinate clause introduced by at is resultative. In clauses where the conjunction at was found,
the mood was determined by the commitment with reality that the action expressed showed. In this
case, the action is presented as a matter of fact, which requieres the indicative mood.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Owl and the Nightingale

4. What is the function of onne in line 14?

onne in this clause in an adverb. This justifies subject-verb inversion that would not have
been acceptable if the conjunction had played a subordinating role.

5. What motivates the subject-verb inversion in line 20?

The negative adverb at the beginning of 20 (ne) motivates this inversion.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Temptation of Eve

Nim nu úeme hwet beo i-cumen of totunge;

[imp][adv] [Acs] [Ns] [3ps] [past part] [Ac s]
V CC CD S V CC
(take) (now) (heed) (what) (is) (come) (through) (looking)
Now take heed of what has come from looking;

nawt an uvel ne twa, ah al e wa et nu is

[adv] [N s] [conj] [N s] [Ns] [adv] [3ps]
S S S CC V
(not) (an evil nor two) (but) (all the woe) (that) (now) (is)
not an evil or two, but all the woe that now is

ant eaver úete wes ant eaver schal i-wuren,

[conj] [adv] [adv] [3ps] [conj] [adv] [3ps] [infinitive]
CC CC V CC V
(and) (ever) (yet) (was) (and) (ever) (shall) (happen)
ever was, and will ever be,

al com of sihe. et hit beo so, lo her preove:

[Ns] [3ps] [Acs] [conj] [Ns][3ps] [Ns] [inter] [Acs]
S V CD S V Atr CD
(all) (came) (of sight) (that) (it) (is) (true) (look here) (proof)
all came of sight. That it is true, lokk, here is the proof:

Lucifer urh et he seh ant bideold on himself

[Ns] [conj] [Ns] [3ps] [conj][3ps] [Acs]
S S V V CC
(Lucifer) (because) (he) (saw) (and) (looked) (at himself)
Lucifer, because he saw and contemplated himself,

his ahne feiernesse leop into pruede,

[Ac s] [3ps] [Acs]
CD V CC
(his own beauty) (leapt) (into pride)
his own beauty, leaped into pride;

ant bicom of engel eatelich deovel.

[conj] [3ps] [Acs] [Acs]
V CC CD
(and) (became) (of angel) (loathsome devil)
and became a loathsome devil from an angel.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Temptation of Eve

Of Eve ure alde moder is i-writen on alre

[Acs] [3ps] [past part] [Gpl]
CC V CC
(Of Eve our first mother) (is) (written) (in all)
Of Eve, our old mother, it is written that of all,

earst in hire sunne inúong of hire ehsihe,

[Acs] [Acs] [Acs]
CC CC CC
(first) (in her sin entrance) (of her sight)
her first sin entrance was through her sight.

vidit igitur mulier quod bonum esset lignum ad vescendum, et pulchrum oculis aspectuque
delectabile, et tulit de fructu eieus et comedit deditque viro suo;

et is, Eve biheold on e forboden eappel ant seh hine feier
[Ns] [3ps] [Ns] [3ps] [Acs] [conj] [3ps] [Acs]
(that) (is) (Eve) (contemplated) (the forbidden apple) (and) (saw) (it) (fair)
That is, Eve looked at the forbidden apple and it seemed fair to her

ant feng to delitin i e bihaldunge ant toc hire lust ertoward,

[conj] [3ps] [inf] [Acs] [conj] [3ps] [Acs] [adv]
V CD V CD
(and) (began) (to delight) (iin the sight) (and) (took) (her lust) (toward)
and took it to enjoy the sight and took her lust towards it,

ant nom ant et rof ant úef hire laverd.

[conj] [3ps][conj] [3ps] [adv][conj] [3ps] [Acs]
V v V CI
(and) (took) (and) (ate) (thereof) (and) (gave) (her lord)
and tok and ate the fruit and gave it to her husband.

Low hu hali writ speke, ant hu inwaliche

[inter] [adv] [Ns] [3ps] [conj] [adv] [adv]
V CC S V CC CC
(look) (how) (holy scriptures) (tell) (and) (how) (full of detail)
Look how the Holy Scriptures tell, and how full of detail

hit tele hu sunne bigon: us eode sunne biforen

[Ns] [3ps] [adv] [Ns] [3ps] [adv] [3ps] [Ns] [adv]
S V CC S V CC V S CC
(it) (tells) (how) (sin) (began) (thus) (went) (sin) (before)
it narrates how sin began. Thus sin went before
 lOMoARcPSD

The Temptation of Eve

ant makede wei to uvel lust; and com e dede refter

[conj] [3ps] [Acs] [Acs] [conj] [3ps] [Ns] [adv]
V CD CC V S cc
(and) (made) (way) (to evil lust) (and) (came) (the deed)(thereafter)
and made way to evil lust; and the deed came thereafter

et al moncun i-fele. es eappel, leove suster,

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Ns] [voc]
S V S
(that) (all mankind) (feeld) (this apple) (dear sister)
that all humankind feels. This apple, dear sister,

bitacne alle e ing et lust falle to ant delit of sunne.

[3ps] [Acpl] [Acs] [Ns] [3ps] [conj] [Ns] [Acs]
V CD CC S V S CN
(symbolizes) (all the things) (that) (lust) (fall) (to) (and) (delight) (of) (sin)
symbolizes the things that lust and delight of sin fall into

Hwen u bihaldest te mon u art in Eve point:

[adv] [Ns] [2ps] [Acs] [Ns] [2ps] [Acs]
CC S V CD S V CC
(when) (you) (contemplate) (the man) (you) (are) (in Eve's point)
when you contemplate the man, you are in Eve's situation

u lokest o e eappel. Hwa-se hefde i-seid to Eve

[Ns] [2ps] [Acs] [Ns] [3ps] [past part] [Acs]
S V CC S V CI
(you) (look) (at the apple) (whoever) (had said) (to Eve)
you look at the apple. Someone said to Eve

a ha weorp earst hire ehe ron: A! Eve, went te awei;

[conj] [Ns] [3ps] [Acs][Acpl] [adv] [Voc] [imp][Acs] [adv]
S V CC CD CC V CD CC
(when) (she) (threw) (first) (her eyes) (thereon) (Ah, Eve) (turn) (you) (away)
when she put her eyes thereon: Ah, Eve, turn away;

u warpest ehe o i dea, hwet hefde ha i-ondsweret?

[Ns] [2ps] [Acs] [Acs] [Acs] [3ps] [Ns] [past part]
S V CD CC CD V S
(you) (put) (eyes) (on your death) (what) (had) (she) (answered)
thus put your eyes on your death: “what did she answer?”
 lOMoARcPSD

The Temptation of Eve

Me, leove sire, u havest woh. Hwerof chalengest tu me?

[adv] [voc] [Ns] [2ps] [Acs] [adv] [2ps] [Ns] [Acs]
S V CC V S CD
(but) (dear sir) (you) (have) (wrong) (why) (accuse) (you) (me)
But, dear Sir, you are wrong. Why are you acusing me?

e eappel et ich loki on is forbode me to eotene ant nawt to bihalden.

[Ns] [Acs] [Ns][1ps] [3ps] [past part] [Acs] [gerund][conj] [adv] [inf]
(the apple) (that) (I) (look at) (is) (forbidden) (me) (to eat) (and) (not) (to behold)
The apple that I'm looking at is forbidden for me to eat and not to behold.

Nim nu úeme hwet beo i-cumen of totunge; nawt an uvel ne twa, ah al e wa et nu is ant eaver
úete wes ant eaver schal i-wuren, al com of sihe. et hit beo so, lo her preove: Lucifer urh et
he seh ant bideold on himself his ahne feiernesse leop into pruede, ant bicom of engel eatelich
deovel. Of Eve ure alde moder is i-writen on alre earst in hire sunne inúong of hire ehsihe, vidit
igitur mulier quod bonum esset lignum ad vescendum, et pulchrum oculis aspectuque delectabile, et
tulit de fructu eieus et comedit deditque viro suo; et is, Eve biheold on e forvoden eappel ant seh
hine feier and feng to delitin i e bihaldunge ant toc hire lust ertoward, and nom ant et rof ant
úef hire laverd. Low hu hali writ speke, and hu inwaliche hit tele hu sunne bigon: us eode sunne
biforen ant makede wei to uvel lust; and com e dede refter et al moncun i-fele. es eappel,
leove suster, bitacne alle e ing et lust falle to ant delit of sunne. Hwen u bihaldest te mon u
art in Eve point: u lokest o e eappel. Hwa-se hefde i-seid to Eve a ha weord earst hire ehe ron:
A! Eve, went te awei; u warpest ehe o i dea, hwet hefde ha i-ondsweret? Me, leove sire, u
havest woh. Hwerof chalengest tu me? e eappel et ich loki on is forbode me to eotene ant nawt
to bihalden.

Now take heed of what has come from looking; not one evil or two but all the woe that now is, was
and will ever be, all came from sight. That this is true, look, here is the proof: Lucifer, because he
saw and contemplated himself, his own beauty, leaped into pride; and became a loathsome devil
from an angel. Of Eve, our old mother, it is written that of all, her first sin entrance was through her
sight, vidit igitur mulier quod bonnum esset lignum ad vescendum, et pulchrum oculis, aspectuque
delectaile, et tuli de fructu eieus et comedit deditque viro suo (saw the woman that the tree was
good to eat, and beautiful to the eyes, and fair to look at, and delightful to observe, and she took the
fruit of it, and ate it and offered it to her husband).

But Eve looked at the forbidden apple and it seemed fair to her and took it to enjoy the isght and
took her lust towards it, and took and ate the fruit and gave it to her husband. Look how the Holy
Scriptures tell, and how full of detail it narrates, how sin began. Thus sin went before and made way
to evil lust; and the deed came thereafter that all human kind feels. The apple, dear sister,
symbolizes the things that lust and delight of sin fall into. When you contemplate the man, you are
in Eve's situation: you look at the apple. Someone said to Eve when she put her eyes thereon. Ah,
Eve, turn away; thus you put your eyes on your death: what did she answer? But, dear Sir, you are
wrong. Why are you accusing me? The apple that I'm looking at is forbidden for me to eat and not
to behold.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Temptation of Eve

1. In this text we encounter a discontinuous coordinate NP. Can you identify it and describe it?
et lust falle to ant delit of sunne, where the conjunction and the second head (post-
modified by a PP) coocurs after the verb.

2. Explain the relationship between the following two nouns and how it relates to present-day
English patterns: sunne inúong (line 5)
It is clear that the first element modifies the second, however the decay of the inflexion
system makes it difficult to understand their relationship further. We are used to this type of
construction, since in present-day English, nouns sometimes have an adjectival function specifying
another noun that follows it.

3. Identify and explain the direct object of tele .

The dependent wh- question functions as the direct object of telle: hu sunne bigon .

4. Describe the word order that you can find in the independent questions included in this text.
As it was already costumary in Old English, they show subject-verb inversion: hwet hefde
ha i-ondsweret? And Hwerof chalengest tu me?

5. Explain why the following structure is relevant in terms of the evolution of English syntax: e
eappel e ich loki on is forbode me to eotene ant nawt to bihalden.
The next structure presents a particular interest because it can be considered the former
phase to the construction [for NP to Infinitive], one of the most important developments that took
place in Middle English. One of the main differences between the two versions is that the Middle
English structure does not include for . This construction has evolved from one in Old English,
where the benefactive in dative case, usually having a human referent, was an object of the matrix
verb. Such a development can be attributed to two main facts. First, the primary consequence of the
decay of the case system was that the benefactive dative ceased to be distingushed from other case
endings. Second, it usually preceded the infinitive at a time when the clause SV word-order was
being consolidated as the norm. These two factors led to the benefactive being analysed as the
subject of the infinitive. The developments described above occurred at the same time as the
preposition for was starting to be used in order to mark the benefactive, before it was simply
expressed by the dative. In the case of this infinitive construction, when the benefactive came to be
interpreted as the subject of the infinitive, for needed to take up the new function of
complementizer. This example is of interest because it shows an intermediate phase, where for had
not yet occurred.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Whale – Se hwl

Nu ic fitte gen ymb fisca cynn

[Adv] [Ns] [Ds] [Adv] [prep] [Gpl] [Acs]
CC S CI CC CN CC
(Now) (I) (song) (further) (about) (of the fish) (family)
Now I, with a song about a kind of fish,

wille wocrfte wordum cyan

[1ps] [Insts] [Instp] [inf]
V CCI CCI
(will) (art of poetry) (verse) (reveal)
I will reveal with the art of poetry, with verse

urh mòdegemynd bi am miclan hwale

[Ac s] [Dat s]
CC CC
(through memory) (about the great whale)
through memory, about the great whale

se bi unwillum oft gemeted

[Ns] [3ps] [Dat pl] [Adv] [part]
S V CCI CCT Pass
(it) (is) (unwillingly) (often) (met)
which is often unwillingly met

frecne ond fergrim farelacendum

[N s] [D pl]
S CI
(dangerous and cruel) (seafarers)
dangerous and cruel to the seafarers

nia gehwyilcum ám is noma cenned

[Gpl] [D pl] [Ds] [3ps] [Ns] [parti]
CN CI CI V Pass
(of men] (all) (it) (is) (name) (given)
All men give it the name of

fyrnstreama geflotan fastitocalon

[G pl] [D s] [N]
CN Pred Pred
(ancient seas) (floater) (Fastitocalon)
Fastitocalon, the floater of the ancient seas.

Is s hiw úelic hréohum stane

[3ps] [Gs][Ns] [D s]
V CN S CC
(is) (of it) (shape) (like a rough stone)
Its shape like a rough stone is
 lOMoARcPSD

The Whale – Se hwl

swylce worie bi wdes òfre

[conj] [3psubj] [pre] [Gs] [Gs]
V CN CN
(as if) (wondered) (by) (of sea) (of shore)
as if it wondered by (the sanddunes) of the seashore

sondbeorgum ymbseald sryrica mst

[Dpl] [Ns] [G pl] [Ns]
CCL Pred CN Pred
(sanddunes) (surrounded) (of sea-reeds) (largest)
the largest surrounded by sea-reeds

swa t wéna wliende

[conj] [3ppl] [Npl]
V S
(so that) (think) (voyagers)
so that voyagers think

t hy on ealond sum éagum wlíten

[conj] [Np] [Ac s] [ Inst pl] [3ppl Sub]
S CC CCI V
(that) (they) (on an island) (with certain eyes) (gaze)
that they are gazing on an island

ond onne gehyda heahstefn scipu

[conj][adv] [3ppl] [Ac pl]
(and) (then) (hide) (high-prowed ships)
and then hide in high-prowed ships

to am unlonde oncyrrapum

[D s] [Ins pl]
CCL CCI
(to the supposed land) (with the anchors)
to the supposed land with their anchors

setla smearas sundes t ende

[3ppl] [Ac pl] [Gs] [Ds]
V CD CN CC
(place) (sea-horses) (of the sea) (at the edge)
and place the sea-horses at the edge

ond onne in t englond up gewíta

[conj] [adv] [Ac s] [adv] [3ppl]
CC CC CC V
(and) (then) (on that isand) (up) (go)
and then go up that island
 lOMoARcPSD

The Whale – Se hwl

collenfere céolas stonda

[Np] [3ppl]
S V
(bold-spirited ships) (remain)
the bold-spirited ships remain

bi stae fste stréame biwunden

[Ds] [Ds] [participi]
CC Inst
(by the shore) (fast tide) (surrounded)
by the shore, surrounded by the fast tide.

onne gewícia wérigfere

[adv] [3ppl] [Np]
CC V S
(then) (encamp) (weary hearted)
then encamp the weary hearted

faro lácende frécnes ne wéna

[N pl] [Gs] [adv] [3ppl]
S CN V
(sailors) (danger) (no) (expect)
sailers unaware of the danger

on am ealonde led wecca

[D s] [Acs] [3ppl]
CCL
(on that island) (a fire) (light)
on that island light a fire

heah fýr la hle beo on wynnum

[Ac s] [3ppl] [Npl] [3ppl] [Dpl]
CD V S V CCL
(high fire) (set alight) (men) (are) (on joy)
and with the fire set, the men are on joy

reonigmode rste geliste

[N pl] [Ds f] [Npl]
Atr Atr
(worn out) (rest) (pleased)
worn out, pleased with the rest.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Whale – Se hwl

onne gefele facnes crftig

[adv] [3ps] [Gs] [Ns]
CCT V CN Pred
(then) (feel) (of treachery) (skilled)
Then the treachery-skilled feel

t him a ferend on fste wunia

[conj] [Ds] [Ac s] [Ds] [3ppl]
CI CCL CC V
(that) (it) (the sailors) (on fast) (settle)
that it settles fast on the sailors

wíc weardia wedres on luste

[Ac] [3ppl] [Gs] [Da]
CC V CN CC
(encampment) (occupy) (weather) (on joy)
and occupies the encampment on joy of the weather

onne semminga on sealtne wg

[adv] [adv] [Ac s]
CC CC CC
(then) (suddenly) (into salty sea)
then, suddenly, into the salty sea

mid a noe nier gewíte

[Dat s] [Adv] [3ps]
CC CC V
(with the daring) (downwards) (departs)
daringly departs downwards

gársecges gst grund geséce

[Gs] [Ns] [AC] [3ps]
CN S CC V
(of the sea) (ghost) (bottom) (sets out for)
the ghost sets out for the bottom of the sea

ond onne in deasele drence bifste

[conj] [adv] [Ds] [Dp] [3ps]
CC CC CC V
(and) (then) (in hall of dead) (by drowning) (holds)
and then holds in the hall of dead by drowning
 lOMoARcPSD
The Whale – Se hwl
scipu mid scealcum.
[Acpl] [Datpl]
CD CC
(ships) (with men)
the ships with the men
Nu ic fitte gen ymb fisca cynn
wille wocrfte wordum cyan
urh mòdegemynd bi am miclan hwale
se bi unwillum oft gemeted
frecne ond fergrim farelacendum
nia gehwyilcum ám is noma cenned
fyrnstreama geflotan fastitocalon
Is s hiw úelic hréohum stane
swylce worie bi wdes òfre
sondbeorgum ymbseald sryrica mst
swa t wéna wliende
t hy on ealond suméagum wlíten
ond onne gehyda heahstefn scipu
to am unlonde oncyrrapum
setla smearas sundes t ende
ond onne in t englond up gewíta
collenfere céolas stonda
bi stae fste stréame biwunden
onne gewícia wérigfere
faro lácende frécnes ne wéna
on am ealonde led wecca
heah fýr la hle beo on wynnum
reonigmode rste geliste
onne gefele facnes crftig
t him a ferend on fste wunia
wíc weardia wedres on luste
onne semminga on sealtne wg
mid a noe nier gewíte
gársecges gst grund geséce
ond onne in deasele drence bifste
scipu mid scealcum.
Now, a song about a kind of fish,
I will next tell in the art of poetry, in verse,
using my memory, about that great whale.
He is often met with by unwilling seafarers
dangerous and cruel to sailors,
every man gives him the name
Fastitocalon, swimmer of the ancient seas,
its shape is like a rough stone,
as if the greatest of sea-reed surrounded
by sand-dunes wandered by the sea shore.
So that the sailor thought
that they were gazing at a certain island with their
eyes.
And then hid their high-prowed ships
in that supposed land with anchor-ropes,
placed their sea-horses at the water's edge,
and then upon that island
the bold-spirited disembark, the ships remain
secure by the shore, surrounded by the tide.
Then the weary-hearted encamp, the sailors
expect no danger,
they kindle a fire on the island,
a high fire they set alight and the heroes enjoy it
the exhausted men are pleased to rest,
then he, skilled in treachery, feels
that the sailors are firmly settled upon him,
their encampment occupy, enjoying the weather,
then suddenly into salty sea
daringly departs downwards
the ghost of the sea sets out for the bottom
and then in the hall of death holds, by drowning
them,
ships and men.
 lOMoARcPSD

The Whale – Se hwl

1. What is the function of this noun in dative case: oncyrrapum (line 14)?
It expresses means or instrument.

2. What do the following adjectival forms refer to: reonigmode ræste geliste (line 23)?
The adjective reonigmode presents the same ending as geliste, nominative masculine plural
of the strong declension. This ending strongly suggests that both adjectival forms are anaphorically
referring to hæleÞ “men”.

3. Explain the case and semantics of grund (line 29)

This is a case in which the accusative has a locative function, grund is the goal of a
trajectory. Thus, it is a motion relationship.

4. What is the function of Þæs (line 8)?

This demonstrative is not acting as a determiner. It is in genitive case. It refers to the entity
whise form (hiw) is at issue. The gender of this form can either be masculine or neuter, but
considering that it refers anaphorically to the whale, it must be the former.

5. Identify the subject of this clause: on Þonne in Þæt englond up gewītað (line 16)
This sentence lacks a plural subject; preferably one that alludes to the sailors, since this line
says that a group of people are disembarking on the island. The only neighbouring word that can
fulfil that notion is collenferÞe “bold-spirited”, which constitutes a case of an adjective used
substantively.
 lOMoARcPSD

Wulf and Edwacer

Leodum is minum swylče him mon lác gife

[Dat.pl. f.] [3ps pres] [Dat.pl.f] [conj] [Dat.pl.f] [Ns] [Ac.s] [3ps pres subjunctive]
CI V CI S CD V
(people) (is) (my) (as if) (them) (one) (offer) (give)
It is as if someone had given a present to my people

willa hy hine aecgan, gif he on reat cyme

[3ppl pres] [Npl] [Acsm] [inf] [conj] [Ns] [prep+Acs] [3ps pres subjunctive]
V S CD CD S CC V
(will) (they) (him) (capture) (if) (he) (threatening) (come)
They wish to capture him if he comes threatening.

Ungelic is s
[N.s] [3ps pres] [Dat.pl]
Atr V CI
(unequal) (is) (to us)
It is unequal to us.

Wulf is on iefe ic on oerre

[N.s.] [3ps pres] [Dat.s.f] [Ns] [Dat.s.f.]
S V CCL S CCL
(Wulf) (is) (on an island) (I) (on another)
Wulf is on an island, I am on another

fst is t eglond, fenne beiworpen.

[Ns][3ps pres] [Nsntr] [Dat.s] [past participleNs]
Atr V S Locat
(fast) (is) (the island) (fen) (set)
The island, set in the fens, is fast

Sindon wlreowe weras r on ige

[3ppl pres] [Npl] [Adv] [D.s]
V S CCL CCL
(are) (blodthirsty men) (there) (island)
There are bloodthirsty men on the island

willa hy hine aecgan, gif he on reat cyme

[3ppl pres] [Npl] [Acsm] [inf] [conj] [Ns] [prep+Acs] [3ps pres subjunctive]
V S CD CD S CC V
(will) (they) (him) (capture) (if) (he) (threatening) (come)
They wish to capture him if he comes threatening.

Ungelic is s
[N.s] [3ps pres] [Dat.pl]
Atr V CI
(unequal) (is) (to us)
It is unequal to us.
 lOMoARcPSD

Wulf and Edwacer

Wulfes ic mines widlastum wenum dogode

[Gens] [Ns] [Gs] [D pl] [1stp pret]
CN S CN CI V
(Wulf) (I) (my) (distant longings) (suffered)
I have suffered with distant longins for my Wulf

onne hit ws renig weder ond ic reotugu st

[Adv] [Ns] [3ps] [Ns] [conj] [Ns] [Nsf] [3ps]
CT S V Atr S S V
(then) (it) (was) (rainy weather) (and) (I) (sad) (sat)
Then it was rainy and I sat sad

onne mec se beaducafa bogum bilegde,

[conj] [Acs] [Nsm] [Datpl] [3ps pret subjunctive]
CD D CCI V
(when) (me) (the brave) (arms) (surround)
When the warrior surrounded me with his arms.

ws me wyn to on ws me hwre eac la

[3ps] [Dats] [Ns] [Adv] [3ps] [Dats] [conj] [adv] [Ns]
V CI S V CI S
(was) (me) (joy) (to that extend) (was) (me) (yet) (also) (pain)
It was so much joy to me, yet it was to me also pain.

wulf, min wulf, wena me ine

[Voc] [Acpl] [Dats] [Acpl]
(Wulf, my Wulf), (your absence) (me)
Wulf, my wulf, your absence,

seoce gedydon ine seldcymas

[Nsf] [3ppl] [Npl]
Pred V S
(sad) (made) (your rare comings)
your rare comings have made me sad,

murnende mòd nales meteliste

[Ns] [Adv] [Ns]
S
(mourning mood) (not) (lack of food)
this mourning mood, not the lack of food.

Gehyrest u, Eadwacer? Uncerne earmne hwelp

[2ps] [Ns] [Voc] [Ac s]
S CD
(hear) (you) (Eadwacer)? (Our wretched whelp)
Do you hear, Eadwacer? It's our wretched whelp
 lOMoARcPSD

Wulf and Edwacer

bire wulf to wuda.

[3ps] [Ns] [Acpl]
V S CCLL
(carries) (Wulf) (to the woods)
that a wolf carries to the woods.

t mon eae toslite tte nfre gesomnad ws

[] [Ns] [Adv] [3ps] [conj] [Adv] [part] [3ps]
S CCM V CD/S CCT Passive V
(someone) (easily) (separates) (that which) (never) (was joined)
Men easily separates that which was never joined

uncer giedd geador.

[Ns] [Adv]

(Our song) (together)

Our song together

Leodum is minum swylče him mon lác gife It is as if someone had given a present to my
people
willa hy hine aecgan, gif he on reat cyme They wish to capture him if he comes
threatening.
Ungelic is s It is unequal to us.
Wulf is on iege ic on oerre Wulf is on an island, I am on another
fst is t eglond, fenne beiworpen. The island, set in the fens, is fast
Sindon wlreowe weras r on ige There are bloodthirsty men on the island
willa hy hine aecgan, gif he on reat cyme They wish to capture him if he comes
threatening.
Ungelic is s It is unequal to us.
Wulfes ic mines widlastum wenum dogode I have suffered with distant longins for my Wulf
onne hit ws renig weder ond ic reotugu st Then it was rainy and I sat sad
onne mec se beaducafa bogum bilegde, When the warrior surrounded me with his arms.
ws me wyn to on ws me hwre eac la It was so much joy to me, yet it was to me also
pain.
wulf, min wulf, wena me ine Wulf, my Wulf, your absence,
seoce gedydon ine seldcymas your rare comings have made me sad,
murnende mòd nales meteliste this mourning mood, not the lack of food.
Gehyrest u, Eadwacer? Uncerne earmne hwelp Do you hear, Edwacer? It's our whelp
bire wulf to wuda. that a wolf carries to the woods.
t mon eae toslite tte nfre gesomnad ws Men easily separates that which was never
joined,
uncer giedd geador. our song together.
 lOMoARcPSD

Wulf and Edwacer

1. Explain the syntactic pattern to which the verb giefan gives rise (line 1)
The verb giefan is a ditransitive verb and frequently occurs with a human recipient, which is
usually coded by a dative. The noun modified by mīnum, Lēodum can perform this function.
In Old English the personal pronoun him was dative in all genders n plural. In this verse one
may be puzzled by the presence of two dative nouns and just one verb. However, a pronoun can be
modified by an appositive NP that specifies of modifies it. Thus, we mar conclude that Lēodum
mīnum acts as an apposition to him. As regards the other two words remaining to be dealt with,
mon and lāc, both can be either nominative or accusative. Since giefan is a ditransitive verb we
need a nominative, an accusative and a dative in order to actualise its thematic roles. The semantic
content of these two words can help us. Mon does not need to be translated into “man”, because it is
also an indefinite pronoun such as present-day English one. You may therefore translate it by any
impersonal form such as one or they. This pronoun, which denotes a human being, seems to be a
suitable candidate to the subject of gife, particularly taking into account that lāc means “offering” or
“gift”.

2. Account for the subject-verb inversion in line 2.

In spite of not having a question mark, the word-order resembles a question. In present-day
questions the auxiliary precedes the lexical verb, as well, and they are separated by the sentence
subject. However, in this verse the direct object also mediates the relationship between them: willađ
hy hine aÞecgān “they wish to capture him”. This is due to the fact that when the object is a
pronoun, it is often placed between S and V.

3. Describe the categorizing function of the adjective sēoce (line 14).

The adjective sēoce in accusative elaborates the change of state undergone by mē and
expressed by gedydon.

4. What can the position of Sindon indicate?

We can interpret that the presence of bēon in initial position as the introduction of an
interrogative structure, despite the absence of question marks in our edition. However, it could also
be a statement and the placement of the verb in initial position can be a stylistic treatment. This
should not surprise us being located in a work of poetry.
 lOMoARcPSD

Wulf and Edwacer

5. Explain the relative clause in line 18 and the peculiarities that characterise the relative
pronoun.
The relative clause is introduced by Þætte. This pronouns has become frozen, the medial Þ
has become t. According to Bosworth and Toller, one frequently finds this form “when it is in
apposition to Þæt or hit standing as object in the main clause”, which is precisely the case in this
verse. The poet confers the tension to the readers and not until the end is the meaning of Þæt
revealed by a NP: uncer giedd “our song”.