adays. The reflexive pronoun is not myself, thyself, himself, themselves, but " me," "the," "hym," and " hem" (them). Only very rarely forms with self are to be met. Such is, e.g., the case: "hydeft thow thy felf" (834 1); "the rofe her felf" (82 28); whereas: "he roofe hym (95 35); some examples are subjoined: "I affente me" (71 12); “I compte me" (342 12); "I fhalle remembre me" (381 17); "I wylle repose me" (417 1); "I complayne me" (650 2); (650 2); "I drede me" (745 29; 767 24). Other verbs used as reflexives are: "to reft" (131 3; 183 19); "excuse" (367 30); "bethink" (239 31); “arme” (137 23; 90 33); "defende" (404 1); "drawe" (385 3); "torne (39 35); retorne" (46 11); "byhaue" (24 18); and many

others.

Many verbs are used impersonally: "me oughte to doo" (214 16); "me femeth" (127 28); "me lyketh" (74 13); "me lyft" (90 27); "hit lyketh the" (222 10); "how lyketh yow" (215 26); "it mysfortuned me" (418 17; 557 12); "hit fore forthynketh me" (643 12); "as it telleth" (64 31); "as it reherceth afore" (105 11); "hit fortuned" (364 21); etc. etc.

The active voice is frequently used instead of the passive: "for to nourifshe" (37 1); "herde a grete horne blowe" (529 11).

In phrases expressing a wish the pronoun generally precedes the verb: "god yow faue" (541 5); "fayre knyght god the blesse” (745 13); "god yow blyffe" (753 21); "god me forbede" (207 8).

Many verbs are conjugated with to be instead of with to have: were mette" (561 22); "was become" (366 15); "is become" (68 16); "was ryden" (151 7); "was arryued" (367 15); “I am come to the dethe" (706 4); etc.

The short dative is not strictly necessary after some verbs: "sente to me" (3 13); "tolde to Lucius" (11 12); "graunte to hym" (12 27); "gyuen to hym" (15 2); "tolde hym" (15 29); "graunte hem me" (213 17); etc.

Make in the sense of to bid, to order, is generally constructed with to: "made to yelde" (13 22); "made alle lordes to come in" (44 4).

V. The use of the prepositions differs greatly from that of the present day, and is arbitrary in many respects. To enumerate all the differences would take too much space, but I subjoin a few of the most noticeable examples:

By: "by my dayes" (842 11); "now do by me what ye lyst " (371 31).

Of: “defyred of” (29 18); “receyued thys shelde of” (26 16); "fyr L. was rebuked of the quene" (24 15); “reuenge hym of his enemyes" (63 15); "praid the king of accord" (37 27); "prayd hym of his knyghthode" (767 23); "made hem clene of her lyf" (plural!) (40 15); "lyberal of his expenfe" (518 20); "haue pyte of hem" (181 31).

Til, vntil: "til a tree" (380 10; 389 18; 630 3); "til a frende" (385 28); “vntyl hym” (752 9).

With: "affayled with xij knyghtes" (18 19); "eten with lyons (107 3); "came with kyng Arthur," i.e., to his court (99 26); “many questions with her" (37 9); “ashamed with hym selfe” (654 33).

At: "afk counceil at hem" (47 10); come at the caftel" (37 12); "oute att wyndowes" (236 31).

For: "that they be content for" (134 24); "complaynyng for" (19 31).

On: "thynke on me" (627 12; 708 6); "trowest thow more on thy harneis than in thy maker" (710 18); "compleyned on" (10 12), comp. "for"; "kneled on his knee" (489 21); "vpon his owne knee (524 9).

In: "come in the courte" (68 22); "put hem bothe in the erthe" (84 6).

Further, some phrases constructed with different prepositions : "leyd fyege unto hym" (64 14); "on the caftel" (64 8); "aboute the toure of London" (852 7); "aboute fir L." (852 7); "blewe the felde " (490 10); "blewe vnto lodgynge" (549 14); "blewe to the felde " (766 8); etc.

In two passages the preposition with seems at first sight to be omitted, as it is generally used under similar circumstances, but such is not the case; the examples denote a sort of instrumental case: "I shold flee the myn owne handes" (556 11); “I shall flee the myn owne handes" (849 12).

VI. Many conjunctions have a pleonastic that after them, which in a few cases is used in Modern English: "after that" (23 5; 19 4);

1 Another example where a verb governs the accusative is: "I discharge the this Courte" (727 7).

(3 5); (171 1);

"how (25 5; 434 31); "wherfore" (1 6); “but "by cause (84 27); "why" (114 9); "fauf -" 'though—" (77 27); "or" (451 27); "tylle (690 26). To with the infinitive is, with very few exceptions (33 4), generally preceded by "for": see 30 22; 38 32; 567 2; 657 9; etc. etc.

Unless is rendered by "but yf": 417 15; 514 14; 52 2; 91 18; sometimes by " but and": as 61 11.

And replaces if: "and kyng Lot had ben" (87 16); “and he lyue" (92 35); "and I wold" (70 26); occasionally "and yf" occurs: "and yf I myght lyue" (98 8).

As is constantly used for as if: "as he hadde ben dede" (393 28); sometimes "as though": "as though he had ben dede" (393 31); "as though he myght not haue gone" (253 6).

Where and lyke are often followed by "as": "lyke as god wil" (395 22; 555 24); "where as came” (14 4).

Without stands for unless: "without ye doo me homage" (75 3); "without ye haue my counceyll" (85 14).

Ne is often used for nor or neither, and at the same time is part of the negation (compare below, No. VII.): "whos vyrgynyte ne was perysshed ne hurte" (703 10); "I care not ne doubte hem not " (221 5); "ne none of myn elders" (74 35).

For occurs sometimes in the sense of because or as: "but for tho aduentures were with wylde beeftes and not in the quest of the Sancgreal/therfor the tale," etc.

VII. In this paragraph I bring together a few syntactical

remarks:

The negative is usually double, much as in French, sometimes even threefold: "It may not be by no reason" (214 35); "there nys none other boote" (209 6); "myght not abyde no lenger" (130 38); "but in no wyfe he coude not" (377 5); "neuer erst ne myghte no knyghte knewe the truthe" (703 28); "neuer had I foo grete nede of no knyghtes helpe" (305 4); "ne lete me not be shamed” (654 16); "but of that shame ne reke I noughte" (684 14); "for thy pyte ne haue me not in dyfpyte" (711 4). There occur a few cases where only "ne" is used: "that I ne lay ten tymes where" (717 11); "ne had your tydynges ben" (699 36).

Inversion is often used; regularly after therefore and thenne : "therfor cam I hydder" (735 13); "therfor fhalle I neuer loue the

42 NOTES ON THE LANGUAGE OF "LE MORTE DARTHUR.”

no more" (727 6); (727 6); "thenne was he not a lytel fory" (714* 31); "thenne wote I" (571 14). In many cases, it appears, inversion is used to emphasize certain words: e.g., "an holer man in his lyf was he neuer" (207 38); "as for my ladyes name that shall not ye knowe for me as at this tyme" (216 5); “and crystend wylle I be" (490 2); "and vnto the dethe he is Iuged" (753 31). A number of such examples are to be found throughout the work.

The subject is often changed and the verb omitted: "and so she yede to the knyght that she loued / and he her ageyne" (404 25). Occasionally the subject is entirely omitted in the second part of the sentence: "for they bare no harneis ageynst the / nor none wold bare" (8255); "Marke euer haft thou ben a traytour/and euer wylle be" (496 11).

Direct and indirect speech occur in the same sentence: "But for her loue that gaf me this whyte shelde I fhalle were the" (141 30); "ij ladyes to take the child bound in a cloth of gold / & that you delyuer hym" (39 5); "G. fente to kyng Arthur for focour and that he hye hym for I am sore wounded" (170 32); "and thenne the kynge commaunded his knyghtes to take that naked man with fayrenes and brynge hym to my caftel" (370 15-18).

Not is occasionally used elliptically: "and there he thought to affaye his armour and his spere for his hurte or not” (755 18).

The use of the infinitive of the perfect tense is further remarkable in sentences such as the following:-" he rode to haue foughten" (18 12); "wolde haue had Arthur to haue cryed hym mercy" (131 27); "he wende he shold haue dyed" (392 29); "for ye haue fene me thys day haue had grete traueylle" (412 15); "for ye neded not to haue doubted no knyght" (402 15).

In conclusion I shall quote some sentences which are most peculiar in their construction: "and he that was vpon hym the whiche was the nobleft hors in the world ftrayned hym myghtely and stably ” (755 24); "There is in this Castel a gentylwoman whiche we and this caftel is hers and many other" (705 13); "yf ye wold aske how he lyued / he that fedde the peple of Ifrael with manna in deserte / foo was he fed de" (708 18); “and not foo hardy in Gawayns hede " (487 27).

LIST OF THE VARIOUS READINGS BETWEEN CAXTON'S AND WYNKYN DE WORDE'S EDITIONS.

HERE exist differences between Caxton's text and Wynkyn de Worde's editions of 1498 and 1529. I have decided upon giving the various readings from the third edition (1529): firstly, because the lapse of time between the first and second edition is too short to allow of manifest change in the language; secondly, on account of the imperfect condition of the only known copy of the second edition; lastly and chiefly, because all later Black Letter editions, and all modern reprints, with the sole exception of Southey's and Sir E. Strachey's, can be traced back to Wynkyn de Worde's edition of 1529.

Concerning the variations between the first and third edition of Malory's "Le Morte Darthur," I may state, that they consist of alterations as well as of omissions and additions. Whether Caxton's text was purposely revised previous to the third edition being sent to press, or whether the changes were made by Wynkyn de Worde's compositors during printing,' it is obvious that the alterations were made with the intention of modernising and of rendering the text more readable, although this intention has not always been strictly carried into effect. Sometimes only the position of words in a sentence is altered; now and then a whole sentence is either entirely omitted or replaced by another one; and in many cases obsolete or difficult words are replaced by more modern ones. Sentences begin with capital letters, as do all names of persons and places. Full-stops and commas are distinguished; "p" is throughout rendered by "y," whereas "gh" is never rendered by "3," nor "them" by "hem" or "their" by "her," &c. Occasionally I observed that some of Caxton's terms were misunderstood and wrongly rendered, but on the whole, W. de Worde's text is superior to Caxton's, both in exactness and correctness: I can hardly call to mind a misprint. If we take

1 Observing that the variants are periodically more or less in number leads me to conclude that at least two different hands dealt with the text. In the whole 861 pages of Caxton's volume only one page (105) corresponds absolutely to Wynkyn de Worde's text.