2. The Commencement of Layamon's Brut, according to the oldest of the two Versions, MS. Cot. Calig. A. ix.: about 1200.

An preost wes on leoden;
Layamon wes ihoten;

He wes Leouenadhes sone :
Lidhe him beo Drihtē.
He wonede at Ernleye,
At aedhelen are chirechen,
Vppen Seuarne stathe,
On fest Radestone;
Ther he bock radde.
Hit com him on mode,
And on his mern thonke,
Thet he wolde of Engle

Tha aedhelaen tellen.

[A priest was on earth (or, perhaps, in the land, or among the people); Layamon was [he] hight (called); he was Leovenath's son; gracious to him be [the] Lord. He wonned (dwelt) at Ernley, at a noble church, upon Severn bank,-good there to him it seemed-near to Radestone; there he book read. It came to him in mind, and in his chief (?) thought, that he would of Englishmen the noble-deeds tell.]

Here, again, the dh is to be sounded as the th in this, and is represented by one character in the MS. The obsolete character, also, which is here printed y in Layamon and Ernleye, appears to have usually had the sound either of y or of g before a vowel, and a guttural sound, which may be represented by gh, before a consonant. It is sometimes rendered into modern typography by z, to which it can have no phonetic resemblance.

II. Period of Early English; A.D. 1250-1350.

3. Dedication by the Author of the Ormulum to his Brother:-about 1250.

Nu, brotherr Wallterr, brotherr min affterr the flaeshes kinde;

And brotherr min i Crisstendom thurrh fulluhht and thurrh trowwthe;

And brotherr min i Godess hus, yet o the thridde

wise,

Thurrh thatt witt hafenn takenn ba an reghell boc

to follghen,

Vnnderr kanunnkess had and lif, swa summ Sannt Awwstin sette;

Icc hafe don swa summ thu badd, and fortheddte thin wille;

Icc hafe wennd inntill Ennglissh goddspelless halghe

lare,

Affterr thatt little witt tatt me min Drihhten hafethth

lenedd.

[Now, brother Walter, brother mine after the flesh's kind;
And brother mine in Christendom, through baptism and
through truth (faith);

And brother mine in God's house, yet in the third wise,
Through (for) that we have taken both one rule-book to follow,
Under (the) canon's rank and life so as Saint Austin ruled;
I have done so as thou badest, and furthered thy will (wish);
I have turned into English (the) Gospel's holy lore,
After that little wit that me my Lord hath lent.]

There is here preserved the peculiar spelling of the writer, which is supposed to indicate the pronunciation of his day. See ante, pp. 71-74.

The passage is given both by Mr. Guest in his English Rhythms, ii. 208-211, with a translation into modern English, and by Mr. Thorpe in his Analecta Anglo-Saxonica. The only differences are that Mr. Guest has "thride wise" and "that little wit." It appears also, from a note of Mr. Guest's, that in the MS. Wallterr is written only Wallt', and that affterr and some other words are contracted in the same manner.

Mr. Guest conceives that fortheddte is a compound, forthed te, that is, forwarded for thee. Mr. Thorpe, in the Glossary to the second edition of the Analecta (12mo. Lond. 1846), retains, notwithstanding, the interpretation he had given in his first edition, furthered, forwarded.

4. Proclamation of Henry III. to the Inhabitants of Huntingdonshire, A.D. 1258.

Henr', thurg Godes fultume, King on Engleneloande, Lhoaverd on Yrloand, Duk on Norm', on Aquitain', and Eorl on Aniou, send igretinge to alle hise halde, ilaerde and ilaewed, on Huntendon' schir'.

Thaet witen ye wel alle thaet we willen and unnen thaet thaet ure raedesmen, alle other the moare dael of heom, thaet beoth ichosen thurg us and thurg thaet loandes folk on ure kuneriche, habbeth idon, and schullen don, in the worthnesse of Gode, and on ure treowthe, for the freme of the loande, thurg the besigte of than to foreniseide redesmen, beo stedefaest and ilestinde in alle thinge abuten aende.

And we hoaten alle ure treowe, in the treowthe thaet heo us ogen, thaet heo stedefaesliche healden and

swerien to healden and to werien the isetnesses thet beon imakede and beo to makien, thurg than to foren iseide raedesmen, other thurg the moare dael of heom, alswo alse hit is biforen iseid.

And thaet aehc other helpe thaet for to done, bi tham ilche othe, agenes alle men [in alle thaet heo]* oght for to done and to foangen. And noan ne mine of loande, ne of eghteohaero, thurg his besigte, muge beon ilet other iwersed on onie wise. And gif oni other onie cumen her ongenes, we willen and hoaten, thaet alle ure treowe heom healden deadlicheistan.

And for thaet we willen thaet this beo stedefaest and lestinde, we senden yew this writ open, iseined with ure seel, to halden amanges yew ine hord. Witnesse usselven aet Lunden', thane eghtetenthe day on the monthe of Octobr', in the two and fowertighthe yeare of ure cruninge.

[Henry, through God's help, King in England, Lord in Ireland, Duke in Normandy, in Aquitain, and Earl in Anjou, sends greeting to all his subjects, learned and lay, in Huntingdonshire.

This know ye well all that we will and grant that that our counsellors, all or the more part of them, that be chosen through us and through the land's folk in our kingdom, have done and shall do, in the honour of God and in our truth (allegiance), for the good of the land, through the business (act) of those toforesaid counsellors, be steadfast and lasting in all things but (without) end.

And we enjoin all our lieges, in the truth (allegiance) that they us owe, that they steadfastly hold, and swear to hold and to defend the ordinances that be made and be to make through the

*These words are not in the copy here followed, but seem to be required by the sense.

+ An "owe" which is inserted here appears to be a repetition by mistake of the last letters of the preceding word.

to-foresaid counsellors, or through the more part of them, also as it is before said.

And that each other help that for to do, by them (to) each other against all men (in all that they) ought for to do and to promote. And none, nor of my land nor elsewhere, through this business may be let (hindered) or damaged in any wise. And if any man or any woman come them against, we will and enjoin that all our lieges them hold deadly foes.

And, for that we will that this be steadfast and lasting, we send you this writ open, signed with our seal, to hold amongst you in hoard (store). Witness ourselves at London, this eighteenth day in the month of October, in the two and fortieth year of our crowning.]

This proclamation or charter is given, with an interlineary translation into modern English, in an Appendix to the fourth volume of Henry's History of Great Britain. Henry no doubt copied it from some printed book. The text here given, which differs in many minute particulars from the one in Henry, is taken from the Record Commission edition of Rymer's Fœdera, vol. i. (1816), p. 378, where it is entitled "Carta Regis in idiomate Anglico, ad singulos comitatus Angliæ et Hiberniæ super reformatione statûs regni per proceres ejusdem regni ;" and is stated to be transcribed from the original among the Patent Rolls in the Tower of London ("Pat. 43, Hen. III. m. 15, in Turr. Lond.")

See, upon the subject of the language of this document, ante,

p. 75.

5. The Commencement of Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle, as printed by Hearne :-about 1300.

Engelond ys a wel god lond, ich wene of eche lond best, Yset in the ende of the world, as al in the West.