Selections from Early Middle English, 1130-1250. Part 2: Notes
General
Selections from Early Middle English, 1130-1250. Part 2: Notes
English literature -- Middle English, 1100-1500
Adjectives which in OE. end in e retain that termination in all cases,
as cleane b 21, softe b 198, swete b 43. Instances of weak inflections
are _s. n._ eadmode b 119, fleschliche b 75, hehe b 185, swote b 43;
_g._ sunfule b 51; _d._ dredfule 76, grurefule 40, hehe b 192, wide 103;
_a._ greate 97, ondfule 50, rihte 15: a solitary strong inflection is
linnene _s. a. m._ b 26. All other adjectives are uninflected in the
singular, as ful b 93, heh b 186, riht 51. Those in #-ig# lose g,
almihti b 231, attri 12; druncwile 105 represents #druncwillen#; lute b
116, #lȳtel#; #mycel# is mostly muche, but _s. n._ muchel b 18 (3); _d._
muchele 60, b 225; _a._ b 226; _pl. a._ 80: #āgen# gives _s. n._ ahne b
61; _g._ ahnes b 207; _d._ ahne b 205; _pl. n._ 57. The _pl._ ends in e,
bĭsie b 121, idele b 137; exceptions are hāli b 14, idel b 87. OE. #āna#
is ane b 2 &c.; #ān# is an, a; _s. g._ anes 14: #nān# is nan, na;
_s. g._ nanes 51; _pl. a._ nane b 68, b 137, b 218. Adjectives used as
nouns are inflected, as _s._ gode b 238, idele 74, nearewe b 204, slawe
71, wide b 205, wreaðfule 63, wurse 56; _pl._ neodfule 90, ontfule 31,
prude 30, wreaðfule 32; exceptions are ȝemeles (predicative) 10, 12, god
53, 73: feorle 100 represents #fǣrlic#. Comparatives end regularly in e,
lufsumre b 64, except dimluker 43, greatluker b 157: of superlatives
only leaste b 188 is inflected.
The personal pronouns are ich, me, us, þu, þe, ȝe, ow b 37, b 196. The
pron. of the third person is _s. n._ he _m._ 66, ha _f._ b 4 &c., heo b
127, hit _neut._ 5; _d._ him _m._ 88; _a._ him _m._ 69, hire _f._ b 89,
hit _neut._ b 2; _pl. n._ ha 33, 51, 53, b 147, b 191, heo b 143, b 149;
_d._ ham 4; _a._ 58 &c. Reflexives are ow b 106, ow seoluen b 85, him
27, him seolf 81, b 208, him seoluen b 234, hire b 30, b 33, hire seolf
b 32, ham b 166, b 170, ham seolf b 138, b 194: definitive is ham seolf
59: possessives are mi _s._ b 91, mine _pl._ 99, b 1, b 232, þin b 162,
ure b 173, ower b 1 &c., his 11, hire b 9, hare _pl._ 5 &c. The definite
article is mostly þe, te after t; inflected forms are þet _s. a. neut._
b 205, þer _s. d. f._ b 155, þen _s. d. neut._, in ear þen b 126. Þet is
used demonstratively 52, 53, 54, b 152, þet ilke b 152, b 153, b 161:
the article is also used pronominally in þeo þe, those who b 86, which
25, þeo, that one b 122, teo, those b 179: þer buten, without that, b
103. The compound demonstrative is þes _s. n. m._ 74, þeos _s. n. f._ b
117, þis 82, þis _s. n. neut._ b 158, _s. d. f._ b 223, _s. a. neut._ b
188, tis 83, þes _pl. n._ 81, þeos 20, 56, þeose _pl. d._ 28, 43, b 115,
_pl. a._ 97. The relatives are þe, þet b 126; þe sometimes means he who
11, she who 21, b 103. Interrogative is hwuch 9; its correlative is
swuch b 18, b 65, b 146; #ilca# is ilke b 152; #þyllic#, þullich 104,
þulliche _pl._ 3, 20. Indefinites are hwa se 15, hwam se _d._ 73, hwet
se b 183; me 16, b 7; sum 27, summe _pl._ 47, b 46; eiðer 53 &c.; oðres
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