viii. _aun_ occurs occasionally for _an_ final or before a consonant e.g. in _aun_ (annum) _Mir._ 6621, _Bal._ xxiii. 2, _saunté(e)_ _Mir._ 2522, _Ded._ ii. 5, &c., _dauncer_ 17610, _paunce_ 8542, _fiaunce_, _sufficaunce_, _Bal._ iv, _governaunce_, _fraunchise_, _fraunchement_, in the Table of Contents; but much more usually not, as _Alisandre_, _an_ (1932), _avant_, _dance_ (1697), _danger_, _danter_, _France_, _change_, _fiance_ (_Bal._ xiii. &c.), _lance_, _lande_, _pance_ (5522 &c.), _sergant_, _sufficance_ (1738 &c.), _vante_, and in general the words in _-ance_. ix. Contraction or suppression of atonic vowels takes place in certain cases besides that of the termination _-ée_, which has already been discussed. (_a_) When atonic _e_ and another vowel or diphthong come together in a word they are usually contracted, as in _asseurer_, _commeu_, _eust_, _receu_, _veu_ (2387), _vir_ (for _veïr_), _Beemoth_, _beneuré_, _benoit_, _deesce_, _emperour_, _mirour_, _obeissance_, _rançon_, _seur_, &c., but in many instances contraction does not take place, as _cheeu_, _eeu_, _veeu_, _veïr_, _veoir_, _empereour_ (23624), _leësce_, _mireour_ (23551), _tricheour_, _venqueour_, _meëment_, &c. (_b_) In some words with _-ie_ termination the accent falls on the antepenultimate, and the _i_ which follows the tonic syllable is regularly slurred in the metre and sometimes not written. Such words are _accidie_, _contumelie_, _familie_, _misterie_, _perjurie_, _pluvie_, _remedie_, _vituperie_, and occasionally a verb, as _encordie_. The following are examples of their metrical treatment:-- ‘Des queux l’un Vituperie ad noun,’ 2967; ‘Et sa familie et sa maisoun,’ 3916; ‘Car pluvie doit le vent suïr,’ 4182; ‘Maint contumelie irrous atteint,’ 4312; ‘Perjurie, q’ad sa foy perdu,’ 6409; ‘Qui pour mes biens m’encordie et lie,’ 6958, &c. Several of these words are also written with the ending _-e_ for _-ie_, as _accide_, _famile_, _encorde_. Such words are similarly treated in Gower’s English lines, e.g. ‘And ek the god Mercurie also’ (_Conf. Am._ i. 422); cp. Chaucer’s usual treatment of words like _victorie_, _glorie_, which are not used in that form by Gower. (_c_) In _come_ (_comme_), _sicome_, and _ove_ the final _e_ never counts as a syllable in the metre. They are sometimes written _com_ and _ou_. In another word, _ore_, the syllable is often slurred, as in _Mir._ 37, 1775, 3897, &c., but sometimes sounded, as 4737, 11377, _Bal._ xxviii. 1. So perhaps also _dame_ in _Mir._ 6733, 13514, 16579, and _Bal._ ii. 3, xix. 3, xx. 2, &c.