As to the only MS. in which this romance has come down to us, I have mentioned before that it is exceedingly corrupt; many conjectures, more or less sure, were necessary in order to restore metre, rhyme, and meaning; the greater part of them seemed worthy to be entered in the text, the rest being offered in the notes. No attempt has been made to introduce a uniform character of dialect, considering the quite unsettled state of orthography in early times. The only exceptions are where the sounds are fully determined by the rhyme. In general the orthography of the MS. has been reproduced as accurately as possible. The contractions used by the scribe are expanded and printed in italics. At the beginning of a new period, or a proper name within the line, capitals have been introduced. From l. 1200, where the numeration of my text no longer coincides with that of Halliwell’s edition, the line-numbers of the latter are added in brackets. The fragments which I have added as an appendix to the text have been consulted in all cases of difficulty, and proved of no little service in correcting the blunders of the manuscript; they contain indeed a somewhat better text than the MS., though they are by no means free from clerical errors. A detailed comparison gives the following result: In fifty-one lines the text of the fragments is evidently correcter than the MS.: _Fragments._ _Manuscript._ The kyng of Nazareth sent hym me, Torent, I wot-saue hym on the. 466 The kyng of Portynggaƚƚ seyd, ‘So mot I the! Torrent, I wet-saffe of the. The kyng wolde fayne that he ded were, And he wyst nat on what manere. 472 The kyng wolde fayne that he wer ded, And hym wyst in what maner. To Torent that was true as stele, 477 To Torrent trew ase styƚƚ, In what londe that they brede. 487 In what lond they ne bred. He bestrode a noble stede. 502 Tho he bestrod another stede. Cf. 489, 498, 507-10, 512-15, 822, 825, 831, 833, 834, 837, 845, 848, 851, 929, 932, 933, 935, 947, 948, 951, 952, 958, 965, 968-70, 1807, 1808, 1810, 1827, 1828, 1831, 1834-36, 1844, 1854, 1866. Forty-eight lines are coincident: 468, 470, 474, 479, 480, 486, 487, 495, 499, 501, 504, 505, 520, 823, 832, 842, 844, 846, 917, 918, 921, 922, 927, 928, 936, 938, 953, 957, 962, 1809, 1813-17, 1819-21, 1823, 1830, 1832, 1838, 1847, 1850, 1851-52, 1863, 1865. In ninety-one lines it is doubtful which reading is to be considered as the original one: _Fragments._ _Manuscript._ As they walkyd by the ryvers syde. 469 Ase the went be the watyres syd. Howe he myght hym shent. 473 How he schuld be schent.