EARLY SOUTH ENGLISH LEGENDARY LIFE OF MARY MAGDALEN, FOOTNOTES

1 I will not tell or teach you anything about any witch or scold

2 Lines 5-6: I will not speak or recite verses to you about a king or nobleman, a knight or retainer, / But I shall tell you of a woman who was sinful and unchaste

3 Lines 10-11: If you will listen to me and have thanks from God as a result. / This word "Marie" stands for brightness and signifies the star of the sea

4 For when a person feels in his heart that he has greatly sinned

5 What had been dear and comfortable to her was afterwards her great enemy

6 She was courteous and compassionate, and she was a blessed child

7 Lines 26-28: Of halls and of bedchambers, of saddle horses and of warhorses. / Generous they were with their food to them that had need, / To people of all kinds who would ask them for help

8 They divided all their landed properties into three parts

9 Lines 33-34: To endow each of their children therewith, / So that they would not quarrel when they (the parents) had departed from them

10 People soon did their duty by them

11 And with their hands divided their gold and their movable property

12 But upon [pride] was all her thought and to adorn herself beautifully

13 To go and run far and near, both noisily and quietly (i.e., in every way, place, and time)

14 There was no woman so beautiful in any land

15 "Sinful woman" people called her behind her back and to her face

16 She grew full of care and apprehensive and became sorely ashamed

17 Until our Lord came and preached everywhere in that land

18 Both [when] fasting and also [when] full (i.e., all the time), [so] that she might scarcely endure it

19 She was worried and very afraid of being seized (arrested)

20 Lines 99-101: Judas was close by and smelled it, and on that account he was nearly insane; / That sweet smell nearly killed him and grieved his cursed blood, / And [he] said to put away that rich stuff with which she was anointing our Lord

21 And [he] said, "It could be sold for a great sum, [and used] to buy a lot of food"

22 For always you will have the poor with you, but you will not have me

23 Lines 113-14: Our Lord perceived his wicked thought, but felt no fear of it: / "Simon, you imagine much without good cause. I have something to say to you"

24 Both of whom owed him payment for a very long time

25 And neither of them had any means wherewith to repay the debt

26 Lines 123-24: "Which of the two of them showed him the more love then?" / "Master, he who gave more, it seems to me, as I hope to live"

27 For since I came into your house, you kissed me not at all

28 Lines 150-51: They called it their inn and used it as their own [dwelling]; / They ate and drank whatever was on hand there

29 [And to everyone] great and small, old and young, that dwelled in their house

30 [The] Jews were proud and stern, cruel and of wicked behavior

31 And many people they put to flight who were members of Christ's body

32 They all were driven from the land with wrath and malice and enmity (hatred)

33 Lines 183-84: They found no friend (protector) there who would shelter them, / [Neither] Christian nor Jew, [neither] at night nor in the morning

34 Nor anyone, for love or for hire, from whom they could beg or borrow

35 Those who had been delivered from the sea were all very anxious to go into that place

36 Unless they had great shame and sorrow, and Jews fighting with them

37 The pagans challenged them to fight, to increase their grief

38 They were not certain whither they might flee; because of this they were seized

39 And, with threatening and with violence, to worship their (the attackers') false gods

40 Lines 206-07: For they are both deaf and dumb, and they may not see nor hear, / Nor can they help you in any respect

41 They had completely forgotten to give anything to Christ's followers

42 Neither did they have any kind of work [with which to earn food], nor would anyone lend them anything

43 Lady, it seems to me you are ungracious, because you have much property

44 Know with certainty that sorrow will afflict you very soon

45 Unless you remedy their condition soon, sorrow is all prepared for you

46 Lines 271-72: It is better that we feed and clothe Christ's people very well, / Than [that] we disregard them because of iniquity or pride

47 Lines 274-75: All that to them was needful they provided for them with love and all joy. / Then Magdalen taught them well to guard themselves from sin

48 Can you prove truly that what you preach deserves to be believed?

49 Lines 295-96: Along with us we want our kingdom to become His own, / And we will repay to His people what we have deprived them of

50 Lines 321-23: Rather than that I would even prefer to be skinned alive and remain disabled forever! / But stay you at home and rest yourself well and take charge of all our possessions. / At my home-coming may God send me good tidings about you!

51 Lines 325-26: Dear lord, put that [line of argument] aside and allow me [to accompany you]! / This sorrow itself will kill me unless you give me a remedy for it

52 Lines 328-31: Full of grief and misery she fell down and often said, "Sire, have mercy! / How could I live and be glad unless we were together? / We loved each other [when we were] so young, and now we are getting old (lit., rather grey)." / So persistently and eagerly this lady begged her lord, who was so gracious

53 The holy sign of the Cross should defend them from sorrow

54 Lines 339-40: For she was beloved and dear and pleasing to the King of Heaven, / And entrusted everything to her to guard and take care of

55 Meat of male and female deer and wild boar

56 Lines 344-45: Geese and hens, cranes and swans, and pork, mutton, and beef, / Because they had to cross the Mediterranean ("Greek Sea")

57 As the queen lay on her bed, extremely strong [birth]pangs (contractions) overcame her

58 Lines 365-68: "And now it must unavoidably die, for mother's milk it has none, / Nor do I know on any side what is best for me to do." / The shipmen ordered with stern countenance that people should not hesitate (delay) / To throw the dead queen into the sea, or else they must [all] perish

59 For if his mother may still awaken from her swoon

60 Lines 379-80: It seemed to him that it would be much more fitting to ury the body on that high hill than for fish to eat it there [in the water]

61 He [might] save my wife and my child, so that I will not be ruined

62 May God send them to Rome, for that is where they wished to go

63 May God protect you from harm, and I have prayed for that

64 Lines 424-25: When He is angry He takes vengeance, but that seldom happens; / But often a great and fierce fire grows from a little spark

65 I recount it to you as best I can, in [a] book and not in [a] dream

66 And placed Himself therein, for He was wise and [it] was very fitting for Him [so to do]

67 He was worried that he might have erred in staying there so long

68 We want to embark as soon as we can.

69 Don't be afraid, for you can do it without injury or disgrace

70 Anyone who was not glad and joyful [on such an occasion] would be a fool and unwise

71 As swiftly - for the wind was favorable - as [a] fast swallow or [an] arrow

72 If this woman could quicken again and live and move

73 Why should I hesitate to tell you about it? May the Cross reward her for it!

74 And I would be foolish indeed not to tell you how she has guarded my life

75 To come and go in his (Maximus's) presence and do what he asked them

76 The Magdalen, without difficulty, they found in ceremonial vestments there

77 Under which any animal (beast) might take refuge, in order to rest better

78 Come from the King of Heaven, that he was not supposed to see

79 Lines 573-74: He cried seriously and playfully (i.e., in all ways), "You creature (beast) in your cell, / I adjure you in the name of God to tell me about your mode of existence"

80 And he was very eager to know all about her way of life

81 In church, in hall, and in chamber, that they had never smelled anything like it anywhere

82 Lines 622-23: Mary turned, gracious in speech and without the least hint of discourtesy, / And said, "Father, why do you want to flee from your daughter? Stay, and come nearer to me!"

83 I long for absolution and the Eucharist - grant it to me soon!

84 For seven days after her burial

EARLY SOUTH ENGLISH LEGENDARY LIFE OF MARY MAGDALEN, EXPLANATORY NOTES

Abbreviations: A = Auchinleck (National Library of Scotland MS Advocates 19.2.1), fols. 62r-65v; L = Bodleian Library MS Laud Misc. 108 (SC 1486), fols. 190r-197r [base text]; T = Trinity College, Cambridge MS 605, fols. 127v-133r.

1-10 This opening uses the conventions of oral delivery, most obviously when it urges listeners to pay attention (lines 1-2 and 9-10). It also suggests that the audience it envisions is more accustomed to romances than to saints' legends - hence the mentions of typical romance subjects, such as the heroism of noblemen (line 5), which it is not going to treat.

11-16 This word "Marie . . ." This etymology of Mary's name derives, probably quite indirectly, from St. Jerome's Liber de nominibus hebraicis.

17 the Castel of Magdalé. Latin versions of this legend use the noun castellum, in this context probably meaning "town" or "village." But the anachronistic image of a late-medieval castle goes well with the other romance conventions in the ensuing account of Mary's family background: the titles given to her parents (line 20), the little catalog suggesting their royal lineage and landed wealth (lines 23-26), and their rich endowment of their children when they die (lines 30-34).

20 Sire Titus . . . Dame Euchirie. The name of Mary's father is generally given in medieval sources as "Syrus," perhaps because his supposed homeland was Syria. As David Mycoff points out, the name of Mary's mother, "Eucharia," probably comes from a Greek word for "thanksgiving" (Caxton, A Critical Edition, p. 155n51-55).

27 Large huy weren. The phrase introduces the ideal of generosity to those in need, an ideal that resembles the familiar aristocratic virtue of "noblesse" but will be extended much further in this text.

40 Is names seovene. The MED (name n. 2a. [c]) conjectures that this phrase might refer to the name "Jesus Christ" plus the six names in Isaiah 9: "Wonderful," "Counselor," etc.

47-48 the Betanie. Bethany, the town near Jerusalem mentioned in the Gospels as the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Genezarez is presumably Gennesaret, a narrow plain bordering the Sea of Galilee, which is mentioned in other versions of the legend only in reference to the location of Magdala. Taking it as part of the family property may be a misunderstanding peculiar to this Middle English version of the legend.

53-54 The narrative suggests that Mary added to her inherited wealth by becoming a kind of high-class prostitute, whose favors were reserved for rich men who gave her lavish gifts.

55-62 This version of the legend seems to be criticizing the youthful selfishness of Lazarus as well as Mary, setting their tendency to follow their own inclinations against the better example of Martha, who responsibly looks after the family property and uses the proceeds to feed and clothe the poor people who depend on them.

79-136 The Gospels give three different accounts of the dinner or dinners at which a woman anoints Jesus with precious ointment. In Luke 7:36-50 Jesus is dining in the house of Simon the Pharisee and the woman is a penitent who washes his feet with her tears before anointing them. Since she is a well-known sinner in this account, the issue is whether Jesus should tolerate the ministrations of such a person. In Matthew 26:6-13, on the other hand, Jesus's host is called Simon the Leper, the woman (who pours the ointment over his head) is not particularly sinful, and the issue is the extravagance of her gesture, which scandalizes the disciples. The version in John 12:2-8 is much like that in Matthew except that Simon is no longer mentioned, the anonymous woman is now identified as Martha's sister Mary, and the protest comes only from Judas, who pretends the money should have gone to the poor but actually just covets it for himself.
    This version of the legend follows the account in Luke for almost all the details in lines 79-98, switches to John for Judas's protest and Jesus's response (lines 99-108), and then returns to Luke for the dialogue between Jesus and Simon (lines 109-36).

117-24 This version of the parable about the money-lender and his two debtors is significantly different from the version in the Gospel (Luke 7:41-43). There the first debtor owed ten times as much as the second and the moneylender forgave both debts, allowing Jesus to point out that the debtor who was forgiven more should logically respond with more gratitude and love to the money-lender he once feared. In the Middle English retelling here, on the other hand, the debts are said to be nearly the same size, both debtors evidently pay up when required to do so, and the lesson seems to be that the measure of one's love for God is how much one repays Him rather than how much one has been forgiven by Him. Perhaps the poet or scribe has simply misunderstood the point of the story. But the emphasis on generous human repayment of debts to God is quite consistent with the unusual focus on almsgiving that runs throughout this text.

138 seve develene. The exorcism is mentioned in Luke 8:2: "And [with Jesus were] certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities; Mary, who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth, [and others]" (Douay-Rheims, Challoner rev.; all Biblical citations come from this edition).

141-46 The source behind this tradition about the healing of Martha is the story of the woman with the hemorrhage in Mark 5:25-34, Matthew 9:20-22, and Luke 8:43-48. According to Mycoff, the identification of that woman with Mary's sister Martha seems first to have been made in a sermon that was once attributed (erroneously) to St. Ambrose (Life of Saint Mary Magdalene, p. 124).

147 Lazarus was swythe sikel a man. With this opening, one expects the passage to continue with the famous Biblical story of Lazarus's death and his resurrection by Jesus (John 11:1-44); but both L and its nearest relative, T, leave that story untold and proceed instead to discuss the siblings' exemplary hospitality to Jesus and his disciples. The transition is so abrupt that one assumes there must have been an error in their common exemplar - perhaps something as simple as writing "sike" instead of "riche" because the scribe was expecting another miracle story at this point.

157 Aftur that He was iwend. Although the chronology here is not very clear, the idea seems to be that Mary was sent out to preach even during Jesus' lifetime, as the male apostles were (Mark 6:7-13; Matthew 10:1, 5-15; Luke 10:1-20). This claim would have few if any precedents, according to Mycoff (see Caxton, A Critical Edition, p. 91).

163-68 The beginning of this persecution and the martyrdom of Stephen are related in Acts 6:8-8:4. An early tradition assigned the division of the apostles and the beginning of their individual journeys as missionaries to the fourteenth (not usually the thirteenth) year after the Crucifixion.

166 that Cristes limes were. An echo of Paul's description of the Church as the body of Christ, an idea developed most fully in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

169 Seint Maximus. St. Maximinus or Maximin, who supposedly became the first bishop of Aix, in Provence. This was an easy name for medieval scribes to misread or miswrite because of all the minims, and the alternative forms "Maximus" and "Maximius" are quite common.

170 Sixti ant ten deciples. Other versions of the legend, including the one in the Legenda aurea, clearly identify Maximinus as one of the seventy or seventy-two disciples personally chosen by Jesus (Luke 10:1). Here he seems to be the leader of that large a group.

182 Everech of heom othur schrof. That is, they heard each others' confessions - presumably to help each other prepare for the possibility of an imminent death.

187 one olde porche. In other versions of the legend, including the Legenda aurea and its adaptations, the place where they take shelter is specifically identified as the portico of an old temple. Hence it makes sense when pagans start arriving to offer sacrifices the next morning (lines 199-200, below).

194 Sarasins. The term Saracen, which originally designated Syrian or Arabian nomads who raided the borders of the Roman Empire, was used loosely and anachronistically in medieval and early modern literature to refer to almost any kind of pagan or infidel who had ever attacked Christians. There are many additional examples in the stanzaic lives of St. Margaret and St. Katherine, below.

205 Mahun. The name Mahoun(d), a corruption of "Mohammed," was often used as the name of a pagan god in medieval texts.

Tervagaunt. The name of a fictitious deity, supposedly worshiped by pagans or Saracens.

230 Instead of attributing Mary's success as a preacher to her beauty, as this version does, her legend tends to credit her with a special kind of persuasiveness, rooted in her close, loving relationship with Jesus. The Legenda aurea, for example, gives this explanation: "All who heard her were in admiration at her beauty, her eloquence, and the sweetness of her message . . . and no wonder, that the mouth which had pressed such pious and beautiful kisses on the Savior's feet should breathe forth the perfume of the word of God more profusely than others could" (Jacobus de Voragine, trans. Ryan, 1.376-77).

247-48 The specificity of the threats here and in lines 261-62 sets this version of the scene apart from those in most other versions of the legend. More typically, Mary Magdalen just warns the prince and his wife of God's anger, leaving the nature of the threatened punishment to their (and the readers') imaginations.

255-56 Mary's startling denunciations of the prince and his wife, calling them instruments and children of the devil, suggest the depth of her anger - and God's - at their continued selfishness when Christ's people are homeless and miserable.

283-86 Her deference to Peter at this point is expressed more clearly and emphatically in the Legenda aurea version: "I am ready indeed to defend [the faith I preach]," she replied, "because my faith is strengthened by the daily miracles and preaching of my teacher Peter, who presides in Rome" (Jacobus de Voragine, trans. Ryan, 1.377).

324-30 This speech portrays the queen's position much more fully and sympathetically than is customary in other retellings of the legend. The Auchinleck version (MS A), for example, neglects to explain why she is so upset: "'For al love, leman,' sche seyd, / 'Lete now that will be doun aleyd!' / Sche wepe and crid and prayd him so / That he graunt hir with him to go" (lines 265-68). And the Legenda aurea just gives a summary that sounds quite disapproving: "But she insisted, doing as women do. She threw herself at his feet, weeping the while, and in the end won him over" (Jacobus de Voragine, trans. Ryan, 1.378).

334-36 In some versions of the legend she places a visible emblem of the Cross on their shoulders, marking them in effect as pilgrims bound for the Holy Land. In this text Peter does that for the prince (see line 410, below).

341-44 The little catalog of aristocratic food in these lines is a distinctive feature of L. Even the retelling in MS A, which resembles it most closely at this point, refers only in general terms to how richly their ship was provisioned: "A schippe thai gun to purvayen, / And richelich within to laien / Of al thing that hem nede stode" (lines 269-71).

368 The superstition of the sea's refusal to hold a dead body is ancient. See the Latin Historia Apolloni Regis Tyri, in Elizabeth Archibald, Apollonius of Tyre: Medieval and Renaissance Themes and Variations, Including the Text of Historia Apolloni Regis Tyri with an English Translation (Cambridge, UK: D.S. Brewer, 1991), appendix 1. Gower picks up the detail in his telling of the tale in CA 8.1089 ff. The point seems to be that since the sea will cast ashore a dead body, a corpse must be cast out of a ship lest the ship itself be cast ashore as well. See Confessio Amantis, ed. Russell A. Peck (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 2000), vol. 1, pp. 222-23, and notes to lines 271 ff. (pp. 328-29) and 1089 ff. (p. 337).

401 The line can be translated in several different ways, since the verb sende may be either present subjunctive or preterite, and wolden (a plural verb form) seems to conflict with the pronoun subject he. Does it mean "May God send them to Rome, for that is where He wanted [them to go]," or "God sent them to Rome, for that is where they wanted - or He wanted them - [to go]"?

405 Since the prince is presumably already in Rome, it would seem more logical for him to identify his destination as Jerusalem.

410 creoysede. According to the MED, the taking of this emblem often signified a pledge either to engage in a crusade or to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

436-37 A reference to the Harrowing of Hell: the traditional belief that Christ's soul descended into hell when He died, defeated Satan, and freed the souls of all the faithful people of Israel who died too soon to be saved by faith in Christ.

442 his Bileve. This term could refer either in general to a body of religious doctrine or more specifically to the Creed - a single text that summarizes the key tenets of the faith. Given the references to other texts in the next line, the latter possibility seems the more likely.

443 His Oures and is Sauter. Since the prince is a layman, the "Hours" he is credited with learning would probably be the Little Office of the Virgin Mary - a much briefer and simpler set of daily prayers and devotions than the Daily Office performed by monks and other members of the clergy. He would probably not learn the whole Psalter either, but just the psalms recited regularly as part of the Little Office.

451 Peter assures him that he will not be violating his earlier vow (line 312) if he delays baptism until his return to his own kingdom.

455 ne thinche thee nought to longue! Peter urges him not to be distressed at the delay.

478 worldes fiere. That is, the partner of her life in this world.

492 houswif. Mary Magdalen's role as "housewife" would have been to keep the queen and her child supplied with the necessities of daily life. Other versions of the legend, including that in MS A, credit her instead with serving as the queen's midwife when the child was born.

501 The idea may be that it would have been scandalous for the queen to be seen making this pilgrimage without her husband or another male protector.

516-18 The point seems to be that the Christians are no longer afraid of being persecuted by their pagan neighbors for publicly associating with the bishop.

528 That is, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus act as their baptismal sponsors or godparents, as foreseen by St. Peter in lines 452-54.

533-38 The process of conversion is envisioned here in institutional terms: building churches and monastic communities throughout the prince's kingdom, ordaining priests and other kinds of clerics to staff them, and consecrating bishops to oversee the local churches.

537 According to tradition, Lazarus became the first bishop of Marseilles.

539 ff. The legend of Mary Magdalen's thirty years of contemplative solitude in the wilderness seems to have been adapted in the early Middle Ages from the legend of Mary of Egypt, a repentant prostitute who withdrew to the desert. Mycoff gives translations of both legends in The Life of Saint Mary Magdalene.

591 Sonenday. In other versions of the legend, including Mirk's, her promised return takes place specifically on Easter.

602 oure maister. In this context, the phrase could mean that they are acknowledging her as their leader, their spiritual guide and instructor, their model, and/or their superior in knowledge, skill, or courage. It is a dramatic moment in the text, since the term maister was rarely applied in a positive sense to a woman; even the closest relative of L, T, does not include this line. After this line, however, Martha and Lazarus conspicuously disappear from the narrative, leaving Maximinus alone to welcome Mary back to the Christian community she helped to establish.

604-05 This reference to fear of betrayal or deception may just mean that some people could not believe she was returning, after a thirty-year absence, but it also hints at the possibility of some rupture between Maximinus (whose position is strengthened by Mary's return and affirmation of his pastoral authority) and other members of the community.

608-11 Maximinus waits for her in the sanctuary of the church, praying all night before the high altar.

615 the Salmus Seovene and the Letanie. Both the seven penitential Psalms - Vulgate nos. 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142 - and the Litany, a solemn prayer with set responses, were prescibed for recitation on behalf of the dying and the dead, as well as for regular church services on penitential occasions.

618-19 On the odor of sanctity, see 2 Corinthians 2:14-15, Revelation 5:8, Philippians 4:18, and Ephesians 5:2. Compare the miraculous fragrance of the roses and lilies in Chaucer's Second Nun's Tale, CT VII(G)246-52.

627 Schrift and hosel. That is, she asks Maximinus to give her the last rites of the Church before she dies.

633 Her final prayer closely echoes the last words of Jesus on the cross, as recorded in Luke 23:46.

638-39 See explanatory note for lines 618-19.

642 the righte endingue. As this assertion suggests, there were competing accounts of where and how Mary Magdalen died. This version explicitly and emphatically enfolds her within St. Maximin's monastic community at Aix, reinforcing the claim of that abbey that her relics belonged there, in the place she herself had chosen. See the Speculum Sacerdotale, below, lines 55-67, for a competing tradition which undercuts this claim, having her die in an anonymous church after receiving the sacrament from an anonymous priest.

EARLY SOUTH ENGLISH LEGENDARY LIFE OF MARY MAGDALEN, TEXTUAL NOTES

Abbreviations: see explanatory notes.

[The scribe of L has the peculiar habit of writing 3h (yogh + h), which I have transcribed throughout as gh.]

11 brightnesse. L: brighnesse.

43-44 These two lines are written as a single, extended line in the manuscript.

78 heo. Emended from he, the form used in L at this point (and also below in lines 84, 87, 159, and 541). The pronoun he could mean either "he" or "she" in some dialects of early Middle English, but the scribe who copied this manuscript generally prefers heo for the feminine - making a distinction that also clarifies the text for modern readers. At least once (at line 138, below) he over-corrects, writing "heo" for a masculine "he."

104 of drunch and of mete. An early correction in the margin of L suggests replacing these five words with to drinke and to ete. The replacement would avoid rhyming lines 103 and 104 on the same word, but at the expense of relatively unnatural syntax.

118 beyne. Corrected in L from beye.

124 gaf. Apparently corrected in L from gat.

128 heres. Corrected in L from here.

130 smeordest. L: smeredest smeordest, with the latter form presumably intended to replace the former.

138 He. L: heo - an obvious error which strengthens the likelihood that the scribe was copying from a version of the text which used he for both the masculine and feminine forms of the pronoun.

160 was. L: wa.

189 old hous. L: hold hous, with the first h dotted for omission.

192 gret. L: gre.

204 The scribe has omitted or completely erased the rhyme word, which must have been something like here ("heir" - or "army, host").

261 strong. L: stronk.

269-70 These two lines are written as a single, extended line in the manuscript.

279 heo. Corrected in L itself from he.

298 nothing. L: nothinging.

306 and gonne. L: a gonne.

309 redes. Corrected in L from dedes.

312 fullouht. L: fulloutht, with the first t dotted for omission.

329 wore. Corrected in L from were.

332 hire. Corrected in L from him.

336 sorowe. L: seoruwe, with the first e dotted for omission.

337 huy. Emended from L: heo, an obvious error.

359 thet child. This portion of the text uses a number of inflected forms of the definite article, preserved from Old English - including that or thet with the neuter nouns child (here and below at lines 361, 385), "flod" (line 368), and "bodi" (lines 369, 371).

365 hath it. Emended from L: hath i.

367 hieten. Corrected in L from hiete.

371 that dede bodi. Emended from L, which has thad for that. See textual note to line 359.

388 thet. Corrected in L from the.

405 then wey. Another relic of earlier English grammar. The noun wey was masculine in Old English, and then(e) preserves the ending of the masculine singular accusative form of the definite article. There are similar examples in lines 426 ("thene riche man") and 427 ("thene wey"). Compare textual note to line 85 of the longer SEL Life of St. Frideswide, above.

418 They thy. Emended from L, which omits thy.

425 ofte. Emended from L: of.

465 as. L: a.

466 he. Inserted between lines in L.

481 child. L: chil.

488 seide. Omitted from L, though the context demands such a verb.

space. Corrected in L from grace.

492 houswif. L: hou wif.

493 seide. Omitted from L, though the context demands it.

523 tok. L: tok tok.