Here bigynnethHere by bigynnethAnd here bigynnethAnd now bigynnethAnd bigynnethAnd þus bigynnethAnd next folowyng now bigynnethAnd next bigynnethAnd next folwithBegynnethOm.the Prologe of the tale of the Reeuethe Prologe of the Reeuethe Prologe of the Reeues talethe Prologe of the Carpenters talethe Reeues talethe Reeues tale Prologethe Carpenters talethe Reeues Prologethe Prologe of the Reeue et ceteraThe Prologe of the Reeues th taleThe Prologe of the Carpenterthe Reeue his Prologe
And here bigynneth9Cx1Cx2Sl2Wy (And here begynneth), En2 (And here byginneth), He (And here begynneyth), Mg (And here bigynneth), Nl (And here begynnyth), Ra3 (And here beginneth)
Om.54Ad1 Ad2 Ad4 Ar Bo1 Ct Do Ds2 Ee El Fi Gg Ha1 Ha2 Ha5 Hg Hk Hl1 Hl2 Hl3 Hl4 Hn Kk La Ld1 Ld2 Ll1 Ll2 Ln Ma Mc Me Np Ox1 Ox2 Ph1 Ph2 Ph3 Ph4 Pl Pn Pp Ps Py Ra2 Ra4 Ry2 Si Sl3 St Tc1 Tc3 To1 To2
Here bigynnethHere by bigynnethAnd here bigynnethAnd now bigynnethAnd bigynnethAnd þus bigynnethAnd next folowyng now bigynnethAnd next bigynnethAnd next folwithBegynnethOm.the Prologe of the tale of the Reeuethe Prologe of the Reeuethe Prologe of the Reeues talethe Prologe of the Carpenters talethe Reeues talethe Reeues tale Prologethe Carpenters talethe Reeues Prologethe Prologe of the Reeue et ceteraThe Prologe of the Reeues th taleThe Prologe of the Carpenterthe Reeue his Prologe
the Prologe of the tale of the Reeue1Edition (the Prologe of the tale of the Reeue)
the Prologe of the Reeue12Bo1 (The Prolog of the Reve), Cn (the prologge of the Rev), Dd (the ꝓloge of the Reve), Ds1Ra3 (the Prolog of the Reue), En1 (þe ꝓloge of þe Reve), En2 (þe prologe of the Reue), En3 (the ꝓlog͗ of the Reve), Ha4 (þe ꝓloge of þe Reeue), Ii (the prologe of the Reve), Lc (the Prologe of the Reue), Ry1 (the prolog of the reve)
the Prologe of the Reeues tale15Ad3 (the prolog of the Reues tale), Bo2Pw (þe ꝓloge of þe Reues tale), Bw (þᵉ prolog of þe Reues tale), Dl (the ꝓlog͗ of the Revis tale), ElHgRy2-mod (The prologe of the Reues tale), Gl (the prolog͗ of the Reves Tale), Ha3 (the Prolog of the Reves Tale), Mm (þe ꝓloge of þe Reves tale), Py (The Prolog of the Reves tale), Ra1 (the ꝓlog of the Reues tale), Sl1 (the ꝓlog of the Reues Tale), Sl2 (the Prolog of þᵉ Reves tale)
the Prologe of the Carpenters tale1Ht(45r.l4) (the prolog of þe Carpenters tale)
the Reeues Prologe8Ch-mod (the Reues ꝓloge), Cx1 (the Reues prolog), Cx2 (the reues prolog), Ld2 (The Reues Prologe), Ne (þe Reves prolog), Se (the Revis ꝓlog͗), Tc2 (the Reves Prologe), Wy (the reuesprologue)
the Prologe of the Reeue et cetera1Mg (the prologe of the Reve ⁊ c̉)
The Prologe of the Reeues th tale1Ry2-orig (The ꝓlog͗ of the Reues th tale)
The Prologe of the Carpenter1Fi (The Prolog of þᵉ Carpent̉)
the Reeue his Prologe2He (the Reve his Prolog), Nl (the Reve his prologg)
Om.40Ad1-orig Ad2 Ad4 Ar Ct Do Ds2 Ee Gg Ha1 Hk Hl1 Hl2 Hl3 Hl4 Hn Kk Ld1 Ll1 Ll2 Mc Me Np Ox1 Ox2 Ph1 Ph2 Ph3 Ph4 Pl Pp Ps Ra1 Ra2 Ra4 Si Sl3 St Tc3 To2
I seigh no man48Ad1DlEn1IiMaWy (I sawe no man), EditionHg (I seigh no man), Bo1En3Sl1To1 (I saw no man), Bo2 (y saugh no man), BwElHa2LcMgMmPsRy2 (I saugh no man), ChCpDs1 (I saugh noman), Cn (I sawe noman̄), Cx1LnNe (y saw noman), Cx2PnTc2 (I sawe noman), DdSeSl2 (I saw noman), En2Ha4 (I sawh no man), Fi (y sawh no man̄), Gl (I sawgh no man), Ha3Ra3 (I saw noman̄), Ha5 (y sagh no man), Hk (I sawe no manne), La (I sauhe no man), Ld2 (I saugh no man̄), Pw (I seghe no man), Py (I sye noman), Ry1 (I Sawe no Man), Tc1 (I saugh noman̄)
If that me liste46Ad1 (Yef that me lyst), EditionElIi (If that me liste), Bo2CpLaMa (If þat me liste), BwDdHa3Pw (If þat me list), ChFi (Yf that me lyste), CnEn3To1 (Yif that me list), Cx1Ha2Ry2 (Yf that me list), Cx2Ld2Wy (Yf that me lyst), Dl (Yif that mee lyste), Ds1Ha5PyRa3SeSl1Tc1 (If that me list), En1HeNe (Yf þat me list), En2 (If þat me lyst), Hg (If þᵗ me liste), Hk (Iff that me liste), Lc (Ȝif þᵗ me liste), Ln (Yef that me liste), Mg (Ȝif that me liste), Mm (Yf þat me liste), Nl (Ȝif that me list), Pn (If that me lyst), Ps (Yif that me lyst), Sl2Tc2 (Yf that me liste)
If that me luste7Bo1Ra1 (If that me lust), Gl (Yf that me luste), Ha4 (If þat me luste), Ht (If þat me lust), Mc (Ȝif þᵗ me luste), Ry1 (Yefe þat me luste)
Til it be roten49EditionAd1Bo1Bo2BwChCpDdDs1ElHgLaLcLnMgPwRa3SeSl1Tc1 (Til it be roten), CnMm (Till it be roten̄), Cx1Cx2Pn (Tyl it be rotyn), Dl (Tille it bee Roten), En1 (Till it be roton̄), En2Ha2 (Till it be roten), En3NeNlRy2 (Til it be rotyn), Fi (Tyll hit be Roten̄), Gl (Tyl it be roten), Ha3 (Til hit be roten̄), Ha5 (Til hit be roten), He (Til it be rotyn̄), Hk (Tille it bee roten), Ht (Til it be roten̄), Ld2Ra1 (Till hit be roten), Ma (Till it be rotyn̄), Mc (Tyll hit be roten), Py (Til it be Roten), Ry1 (Tille hitt be rottone), Sl2 (Tille it be roten), To1 (Till hit be rotyn), Wy (Tyll it be rotyn)
Til it be rote2Ha4 (Til it be rote), Ii (Till it be rote)
For in oure wil52Ad1Cx1Cx2 (For in our wyl), EditionHa4Ha5HgLcMgPsPySe (For in oure wil), Bo1BwChCpHkPnSl1Sl2Tc2To1 (For in oure wille), Bo2 (For in oure whil), CnDs1Ha3HtIiLd2MaRa1Ra3Tc1 (For in oure will), DdEl (For in oure wyl), Dl (Fore in owre will), En1Ry2 (For in our͗ wille), En3Ne (For in our wil), Fi (For in oure wylle), Gl (For in our͗ wyl), Ha2Nl (For in our will), He (For in our͗ wil), La (For in owre wille), Ln (For In our͗ wille), Mc (For in oure wyll), Mm (For in our͗ will), Pw (For in our wille), Ry1 (For in ower wylle), Wy (For in our wyll)
may nat doon21Ad1En3Ha4HeNl (may nat do), Bo1 (may not do), ChEl (may nat doon), Dd (moun nat don), Dl (may not doon), Ha3 (may not doon̄), Hk (may nat doo), LnPwRa1Sl2 (may not don̄), Ma (may not doo), Mm (may not done), Ps (may not doōn), PyTo1 (may nat don)
Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales Peniarth 392 D
This is a test commentary.
Check it
And another paragraph (Peter Robinson, Nov 16, 2023, 06:00)
his: The Hg Ch reading his is supported by Bo2 Ad1 En3, while El's this appears in Ha5 Ha4, throughout a and in most of bcd. The strength of that support and the fact that there is no logical antecedent for his makes archetypal this more likely. (Peter Robinson, May 20, 2022, 20:19)
ik .. thee: No witness outside Mc Ra1 uses a pronoun other than ik, but a good many were obviously uncertain about the whole phrase. Every o witness has a different spelling: the ik in Hg, theek in El, thee ik in Ch (before Hand 2's obscure "correction"), theyk in Ha5 Ha4 cd, and (less so) a have similar spellings, making the basic shape of the reading quite clear.
At the end of the line, thee appears in Hg, all of a, Ha4, most of b and several early witnesses (which?) in cd. In contrast, El Ch Bo2 Ha5 and the majority of cd have the more formal yow.
[There is an apparent argument for yow from its presence in four o witnesses versus one supporting thee. But of five o readings in L2, Bo2 contains only 1, Ha5 2: I don't fully trust that analysis.
On the other hand there is the possible aural echo of /θek/ at the beginning of the line with /θe kwɪt/ at its end and the apparently more appropriate use of the familiar form thee to indicate the Reeve's scorn for the Miller.] (Peter Robinson, May 20, 2022, 20:25)
no: The vast majority of witnesses reads not pleye. But the El Hg Sl2 reading, by no means impossible syntactically, can readily be defended. El Hg consistently spell the adverb nat or noght (cf. L3 35). The idea that Scribe B would accidentally have spelled either of those forms as no in two separate copies requires something of a stretch to imagine. Thus no pley can be considered an o reading, a lectio difficilior. (Barbara Bordalejo, Jun 6, 2022, 23:03)
also mowled: El uniquely has is mowled also as, a simple transposition error.
herys: At the end of the line, Ch and b offer a typically Chaucerian rhyme of the plural with the copula in heer is, but such an isolated variant (also dependent on the vagaries of word separation) is unlikely to be archetypal.
(Peter Robinson, May 20, 2022, 20:30)
I: Only Hg reads ik, although Py may be inferred to have had something similar that generated its iche (not a form usual in that witness). As in line 37, it is possible to imagine that the dialect form has been smoothed to the London standard in most witnesses, but that is not a stemmatic argument. (Peter Robinson, May 20, 2022, 20:54)
lenger: El's leng is unsupported elsewhere, although La To1 have longe. The reading in the rest of o a b cd e is archetypal. (Peter Robinson, May 20, 2022, 20:55)
hoppe alwey: Metrical issues are highlighted by the variant pairs hoppe alwey / hoppen ay found in Hg and El, respectively (the variants whil / whil that, considered below add another metrical variable). To begin with what seems most certain, El's ay is poorly supported: alwey in Hg, the rest of o, all of a b and almost all of cd is clearly archetypal.
El finds broader support for hoppen in Ch Ha4 and across b cd; monosyllabic hoppe in Hg Ha5 Bo2, all of a and Py . . .
[Again the status of Bo2 Ha5 matters directly to the stemmatic analysis.]
whil that the: A smoother reading is provided by whil the in most of the genetic groups. But the unanimous evidence of the o witnesses, buttressed by unanimity in a, is strong evidence that whil that the is archetypal.
(Peter Robinson, May 20, 2022, 21:27)
The support for Hg's heer in Bo2 a cdis slightly less imposing than that for heed in El Ch Ha5 Ha4 and and a slight majority of witnesses. Look at earlier "heer" readings. Also check metaphor (All editors heed.) The metaphor might work with either reading. (Peter Robinson, May 11, 2022, 18:50) NO APPROVED COMMENTARY
though that in Ch is unique and scribal. (Peter Robinson, May 12, 2022, 01:04) NO APPROVED COMMENTARY
noght v. nat reference the one with the nothing variant (Peter Robinson, May 12, 2022, 01:04) NO APPROVED COMMENTARY