A Book of Middle English. J. A. Burrow
publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print‐on‐demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials or promotional statements for this work. The fact that an organization, website, or product is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide or recommendations it may make. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Turville‐Petre, Thorlac, author. | Burrow, J. A. (John Anthony) author.
Title: A book of Middle English / Thorlac Turville‐Petre and J. A. Burrow.
Description: Fourth edition. | Hoboken, NJ : Wiley‐Blackwell, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020025354 (print) | LCCN 2020025355 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119619277 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119619291 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119619307 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: English language–Middle English, 1100‐1500–Grammar. | English language–Middle English, 1100‐1500–Readers. | English literature–Middle English, 1100‐1500.
Classification: LCC PE535 .B87 2021 (print) | LCC PE535 (ebook) | DDC 427/.02–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025354 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025355
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: Courtesy of the Warden and Scholars of New College, Oxford / Bridgeman Images
This book is dedicated to the memory of J. A. Burrow
Preface to the Fourth Edition
This book is a companion to Mitchell and Robinson’s Guide to Old English. It contains representative pieces of English writing from the period c.1150–c.1400. We have included examples of romance, battle poetry, chronicle, biblical narrative, debate, dialogue, dream vision, religious and mystical prose, miracle story, fabliau, lyric poetry and drama. Although the choice of pieces has been determined by literary considerations, the general introduction concentrates on matters of language. We have attempted, in this introduction, to give readers only such information about the language as we consider essential for the proper understanding and appreciation of the texts. Since these texts exhibit many varieties of Middle English, from different periods and regions, our account is inevitably selective and somewhat simplified. For further reading on the language, and also on the history and literature of the period, the reader is referred to the Bibliography.
The headnote to each text provides a brief introduction, together with a short reading list. Annotations and Glossary are both quite full; but, for reasons of space, explanations given in notes at the foot of the page are not duplicated in the Glossary.
The fourth edition has been revised throughout. It includes a new Chapter 8, ‘Translating Middle English’, and a new text, Chapter 19 ‘Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love’.
Our debts to earlier editors will be evident throughout. We are particularly grateful to Ronald Waldron for allowing us to use his work on the Trevisa (text 12). Hanneke Wirtjes kindly read Part One and suggested improvements. We received advice from the Custodian of Berkeley Castle, Richard Beadle, Erin Connolly, Alison McHardy, Joanna Martin, Jeremy Smith, Michael Smith, Timothy Stinson and his students, Myra Stokes, and Anthony Tuck. For help with the etymological entries in the Glossary we owe a great debt to David A. H. Evans. We are also grateful to the libraries which granted us access to their manuscripts, to Aberdeen University Press for permission to reproduce the maps on p. 16, to the many colleagues who responded to the questionnaire originally sent out by the publishers, and to several reviewers and correspondents who suggested improvements. I dedicate this edition to the memory of J. A. Burrow.
T.T.‐P.
Abbreviations
| AV | Authorized Version of the Bible |
| Bede, History | Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, ed. Bertram Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors (Oxford, 1969) |
| Chaucer | References are to The Riverside Chaucer, ed. Larry D. Benson (Boston, 1987; Oxford, 1988) |
| EETS | Early English Text Society (e.s. = extra series) |
| Guide to Old English | Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson, A Guide to |
| Old English (6th edn, Oxford, 2001) | |
| Linguistic Atlas | A. McIntosh, M. L. Samuels and M. Benskin, A Linguistic Atlas of Late Mediaeval English (Aberdeen, 1986) |
| ME | Middle English |
| MED | Middle English Dictionary |
| OE | Old English |
| OED | Oxford English Dictionary |
| ON | Old Norse |
| PL | Patrologia Latina, ed. J.‐P. Migne |
| Trevisa, Properties | On the Properties of Things. Ɉohn Trevisa’s Translation of Bartholomæus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (Oxford, 1975) |
| Vulgate | References are to the Douai translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible (see 12/92n.) |
| Whiting | B. J. Whiting and H. W. Whiting, Proverbs, Sentences, and Proverbial Phrases from English Writings Mainly Before 1500 (Cambridge, Mass., 1968) |
Abbreviations of grammatical terms are listed in the Headnote to the Glossary.
1