Madden, in 1847. Besides discussions on the language and the date, which is assigned to 1205, the leading passages for beauty or importance are indicated in a way which gives the reader an immediate command of the contents of this voluminous work. Such a poem as this was not the work of any one year, or even of a few years. It must be regarded as the life-long hobby of Layamon the priest, who lived at Areley Kings, on the west bank of the Severn, opposite Stourport, and who there served the church, being the chaplain and inmate of 'the good knight' of the parish. His language runs back and claims a near relationship to that of the close of the latest Saxon Chronicle: and this connection rests not on local but rather on literary affinity.

45. For it is easier to describe Layamon by his literary than by his local affinities. He is the last writer who retains an echo of the literary Englisc. Though he wrote for popular use, yet the scholar is apparent; he had conned the old native literature enough to give a tinge to his diction, and to preserve a little of the ancient grammar. Among the more observable features of his language are the following :— Infinitives in i, ie, or y; the use of v forƒ; the use of u for i ory in such words as dude, did; hudde, hid; hulle, hill; putte, pit. What adds greatly to the philological interest of the Brut is this, that a later text is extant, a text which bears the evident stamp of Northern English. It has been printed parallel with the elder text. One of the most salient characters of the northern dialect was its avoidance of the old sc initial, which had become sh. The northern dialect in such cases wrote simply s. The northern form for shall was sall, as indeed it continues to be to the present day. So among the tribes of Israel at the time of the Judges, it was a peculiarity of the tongue of the Ephraimites that they could not frame to pronounce sh, but said Sibboleth

instead of Shibboleth.

This is so distinct a feature of our

northern dialect that it is worth while to collect some

examples of this contrast in the two texts :

The wall of Severus, which was made against the Picts, is called in the elder text scid wall, that is, wall of separation, Scheide-Wall; and in the later or northern text it is sid wal.

46. Our first quotation presents the two texts side by side, with the editor's translation appended :

ELDER TEXT,

þa cleopede Arður,
ædelest kingen:

Whar beo ze mine Bruttes,
balde mine paines;
þe dæi him ford zeonged,
pis folc us agein stonded.
lette we heom to gliden
scarpe gares inoze,

& techen heom to riden
pene wæi touward Romen.
Æfne pan worde
þe Arður iseide,

he sprong for an stede,
swa sparc de of fure.
Him weore fuliende
fifti þusende.

Line 23495.

YOUNGER TEXT.

po cleopede Arthur,
boldest of kinges:

Ware beo 3e mine Bruttus,
bolde mine cnihtes;
be dai him forb gob,
pis folk vs azen stondep.
lete we to ham glide
sarpe gares inowe,
and teche 3am to ride
pane wei toward Rome.
Efne pan worde
þat Arthur po saide,

hii spronge forp vppen stedes,
ase sparc dop of fure.
Him were folzende
fiftie pousend.

Then called Arthur, noblest [boldest] of kings: Where be ye, my Britons, my bold thanes [knights]? The day it forth goeth; this folk against us standeth. Cause we to glide to them sharp darts enow, and teach them to ride the way towards Rome!' Even with the words that Arthur [then] said he [they] sprang forth on steed [upon steeds], as spark doth of fire. Fifty thousand were following him.

47. In the second specimen, which is from the elder text, th has been substituted for þ and ð, to accommodate the unpractised reader.

THE PASSING OF ARTHUR.
Line 28582.

48. A third specimen shall be taken from near the close of this voluminous work, where the elder text only is preserved.

A BRITISH VIEW OF ATHELSTAN'S REIGN.

and hu he sette moting,
& hu he sette husting;
and hu he sette sciren,
and makede frið of decren;
& hu he sette halimot,
& hu he sette hundred;
and pa nomen of pan tunen,
on Sexisce runen:

and Sexis he gan kennen,
pa nomen of þan monnen:
and al me him talde,

pa tiden of pisse londe. Wa wes Cadwaladere,

þat he wes on liue.

and how he set mote-ting,
and how he set hus-ting;
and how he set shires,
and made law for game;
and how he set synod
and how he set hundred;
and the names of the towns
in Saxon runes!

and in Saxish gan he ken,
the names of [British] men:
and so they told him all
the tidings of this land!
Wo was to Cadwalader,
that he was alive.

49. The Ormulum may be proximately dated at A.D. 1215. This is a versified narrative of the Gospels, addressed by Ormin or Orm to his brother Walter, and after his own name called by the author 'Ormulum'; by which designation it is commonly known.

Icc patt tiss Ennglish hafe sett

Ennglisshe men to lare,
Icc wass þær þær I cristnedd wass
Orrmin bi name nemmedd.

piss boc iss nemmnedd Orrmulum Forrpi þatt Orrm itt wroghte.

I that this English have set
English men to lore,

I was there-where I christened was
Ormin by name named.

This book is named Ormulum
Because that Orm it wrought.

In this poem we find for the first time the word 'English' in the mature form. Layamon has the forms englisc, englis, anglis, anglisce; but Orm has enngliss, and still more frequently the fully developed form ennglissh. The author is lavish of his consonants.

50. This is a constant feature of the Ormulum. For Orm was one of Nature's philologers, and a spellingreformer. He carefully puts the double consonant after the short vowel. Had his orthography been generally adopted, we should have had in English not only the mm. and nn with which German is studded, but many other double consonants which we do not now possess. How