Havelok the Dane (Legendary character) -- Romances
II. _Assonant rimes._ Here the rime is in the vowel-sound; the
consonantal endings differ. Such are _rym, fyn_, 21; _yeme, quene_, 182;
_shop, hok_, 1101 (where _shop_ is probably corrupt); _odrat, bad_,
1153; _fet, ek_, 1303; _yer, del_, 1333; _maked, shaped_, 1646; _beþe,
rede_, 1680; _riche, chinche_, 1763, 2940; _feld, swerd_, 1824, 2634;
_seruede, werewed_, 1914; _wend, gent_, 2138; _þank, rang_, 2560;
_boþen, ut-drowen_, 2658. To the same class belong _name_, _rauen_,
1397, _grauen, name_, 2528; _slawen, rauen_, 2676. _Henged, slenget_,
1922, should rather be called an imperfect rime.[40] There is also found
the exact opposite to this, viz., an agreement or _consonance_ at the
end, preceded by an apparent diversity in the vowel; as _longe, gange_,
795 (but see _longe, gonge_, 843), _bidde, stede_, 2548, _open, drepen_,
1782, _gres, is_, 2698, _boþe, rathe_, 2936 (but see _rathe, bathe_,
1335, 2542), _fet_ (long _e_), _gret_, 2158; and not unlike these are
some instances of loose rimes, as _beþe, rede_, 360, _knaue, plawe_,
949, _sawe, hawe_ (where _hawe_ is written for _haue_), 1187, _sawe,
wowe_, 1962 (but see _wowe, lowe_, 2078, _lowe, sawe_, 2142, _wawe,
lowe_, 2470). Observe also _bouth, oft_ (read _vt_ or _ut_ = _out_?),
883, _tun, barun_, 1001 (cf. _toun, brun_, 1750, _champiouns, barouns_,
1032); _plattinde, gangande_, 2282, &c. _Eir, toþer_, 410, _harde,
crakede_, 567, are probably due to mistakes.[41]
III. Rimes which shew that the final _-en_ was pronounced so slightly as
to be nearly equivalent to _-e_. Examples: _holden, holde_, 29; _gongen,
fonge_, 855; _bringe, ringen_, 1105; _mouthen, douthe_, 1183; _riden,
side_, 1758; _wesseylen, to-deyle_, 2098; _slawen, drawe_, 2476. In the
same way _hon_ rimes to _lond_, 1341, owing to the slight pronunciation
of the final _d_.[42]
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