THORLAC TURVILLE-PETRE is Emeritus Professor of Medieval English at the University of Nottingham, UK. He is the author of numerous books including The Alliterative Revival, England the Nation, and Description and Narrative in Middle English Alliterative Poetry. His Reading Middle English Literature is designed as a companion to this book.

J. A. BURROW¿ was Emeritus Professor at Bristol University, UK, a Fellow of the British Academy and Honorary Director of the Early English Text Society. He was the author of many classic studies, including A Reading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Medieval Writers and their Work, and The Ages of Man.

List of Illustrations ix

Preface to the Fourth Edition xi

Abbreviations xiii

Part One

1 Introducing Middle English 3

1.1 The Period 3

1.1.1 From Old to Middle English 3

1.1.2 From Middle to Modern English 4

1.2 Varieties of Middle English 5

1.2.1 Regional Dialects 5

1.2.2 Early and Late Middle English 8

1.2.3 Spelling 8

2 Pronouncing Middle English 9

2.1 Introduction 9

2.2 Vowels 10

2.2.1 The Long Vowels 10

2.2.2 The Short Vowels 11

2.2.3 Unstressed Final -e 11

2.2.4 The Diphthongs 12

2.3 Consonants 12

2.4 Stress 13

3 Vocabulary 14

3.1 Introduction 14

3.2 Scandinavian 14

3.3 English, French and Latin 15

3.4 Latin Loan-Words 17

3.5 French Loan-Words 18

4 Inflexions 19

4.1 Introduction 19

4.1.1 The Inflexional System 19

4.1.2 Loss of Inflexional Endings 19

4.2 Nouns 20

4.2.1 Introduction 20

4.2.2 Noun Inflexions: Early Southern Texts 21

4.2.3 Developments in Noun Inflexions 22

4.2.4 Genitive Singular Without Ending 23

4.2.5 Unchanged Plurals 23

4.2.6 Mutated Plurals 23

4.3 Pronouns and Articles 24

4.3.1 Forms of the Personal Pronouns 24

4.3.2 First and Second Person Pronouns 25

4.3.3 Third Person Pronouns: Masculine and Neuter Singular 25

4.3.4 Third Person Pronouns: Feminine Singular 25

4.3.5 Third Person Pronouns: Plural 26

4.3.6 The Definite Article 26

4.3.7 Demonstratives 27

4.3.8 The Indefinite Article 27

4.4 Adjectives and Adverbs 27

4.4.1 Definite and Indefinite Inflexions 27

4.4.2 Inflexions for Case 28 4.4.3 Comparison of Adjectives 29

4.4.4 Comparison of Adverbs 29

4.5 Verbs 30

4.5.1 Introduction 30

4.5.2 Present Tense 30

4.5.3 Past Tense and Past Participle 32

4.5.4 Past of Weak Verbs 32

4.5.5 The Verbs 'Have' and 'Say' 33

4.5.6 Past of Strong Verbs 34

4.5.7 Irregular Verbs 35

4.5.8 The Verb 'To Be' 36

5 Syntax 38

5.1 Gender 38

5.2 Number 38

5.3 Use of Cases 39

5.3.1 Nominative and Accusative 39

5.3.2 Genitive 39

5.3.3 Dative 40

5.4 Pronouns and Articles 41

5.4.1 Þou and ¿ e 41

5.4.2 Non-expression of Personal Pronouns 41

5.4.3 Man 42 5.4.4 Self 42

5.4.5 Reflexive Pronouns 43

5.4.6 Relative Pronouns 43

5.4.7 The Articles 44

5.5 Adjectives and Adverbs 44

5.5.1 Position 44

5.5.2 Comparatives and Superlatives 44

5.5.3 Adjectives as Nouns 45

5.6 Verbs 45

5.6.1 Use of Present Tense 45

5.6.2 Use of Past Tense 46

5.6.3 Auxiliaries of the Past 46

5.6.4 Auxiliaries of the Future: shall and will 47

5.6.5 The Infinitive 47

5.6.6 The Subjunctive 48

5.6.7 The Imperative 50

5.6.8 Impersonal Verbs 50

5.6.9 Verbs of Motion 51

5.6.10 The Passive 51

5.7 Negation 52

5.8 Questions 52

5.9 Word-Order 53

5.9.1 Inversion 53

5.9.2 The Object 54

5.9.3 Prepositions 54

5.9.4 Relative Clauses 54

5.9.5 Adverbial Phrases 54

5.9.6 Verb in Final Position 55

5.10 Recapitulation and Anticipation 55

6 Metre 56

6.1 Introduction 56

6.2 Rhymed Verse 56

6.3 Alliterative Verse 59

6.4 Läamon's Brut 61

7 From Manuscript to Printed Text 62

8 Translating Middle English 65

8.1 Trevisa's Dialogue 65

8.2 Words and Their Meanings 66

8.3 Dictionaries 67

8.4 False Friends 68

8.4.1 'lewd' 68

8.4.2 'kind' 70

8.4.3 Some Nouns and Verbs 71

8.5 Idioms 71

8.6 Translating Prose 71

8.7 Translating Verse 73

8.8 Translating Pearl 74

9 Select Bibliography 77

9.1 Bibliographies, Indexes, and Internet Resources 77

9.2 Language Studies 78

9.3 General Studies of the Literature 79

9.4 Studies of Particular Genres 81

9.5 Historical and Social Studies 82

Part Two: Prose and Verse Texts

Note on Treatment of Texts 86

1 The Peterborough Chronicle 1137 87

2 The Owl and the Nightingale 93

3 Läamon: Brut 108

4 Ancrene Wisse 118

5 Sir Orfeo 124

6 The Cloud of Unknowing 144

7 William Langland: Piers Plowman 153

8 Patience 174

9 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 194

10 Pearl 214

11 St Erkenwald 233

12 John Trevisa: Dialogue between a Lord and a Clerk 247

13 John Gower: Confessio Amantis 255

14 Lyrics 267

15 The York Play of the Crucifixion 284

16 Geoffrey Chaucer: The Parliament of Fowls 295

17 Chaucer: Troilus and Criseyde 321

18 Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales 339

18a The Reeve's Tale 340

18b The Prioress's Tale 358

19 Julian of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love 368

Textual Notes 375

Glossary 382