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SELECTIONS FROM EARLY MIDDLE ENGLISH 1130-1250
EDITED WITH INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES
BY
JOSEPH HALL
M.A., Hon. D.Litt., DurhamUniversity
PART I: TEXTS
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
M CM XX
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE CAPE TOWN BOMBAY HUMPHREY MILFORD PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY
Some of the texts in this book havealready appeared in the Specimens of Early English edited by the Rev.Richard Morris. But Nos. i, ii, iv, vii, xiii and xv are new, theimportant shorter pieces, Nos. vi, viii, xvi, xviii, xxi and xxiii, areprinted in full, and some, as Nos. viii and ix, are taken fromadditional or better manuscripts. The pieces are arranged tentatively inwhat appears to be the chronological order of their composition, butNos. xix and xvii should have come before the Ancrene Wisse, and No. viihas been placed next to the Proverbs of Alfred, from which it appears tobe derived. It is hoped that those who study the older book will find inthe present one a useful supplement.
The texts follow the manuscripts in all details. The syntax beingcomparatively simple, there is not much to be gained by modernpunctuation, and that of the manuscripts has gained a fresh importancefrom theories which have been founded upon it. Where obvious mistake
is represented as an oversized semicolon