Alliterative Poetry of the Later Middle Ages

An Anthology

Thorlac Turville-Petre

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9780429575433
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

Originally published in 1989, Alliterative Poetry of the Later Middle Ages is an anthology of texts looking at the tradition of alliterative poetry in medieval English literature. The book presents lesser known alliterative Middle English poems, which are unmodernised and include explanatory footnotes designed to give clarity to the text and enable critical response to the texts. The book illustrates the great range and variety of alliterative verse, both rhymed and unrhymed. The poems range from descriptions of armies, bloody battles, dramatic storms and dreams of goddesses. Whatever the subject, social and political satire, theological controversy and moral admonition is always given a lively and interesting setting. The book contains a succinct and incisive introductory material and a carefully selected bibliography which will encourage further reading.

GLOSSARY

The glossary includes forms and senses of words that might present difficulties. Regular inflected forms and common variant spellings, such as pl. -is/-es, adv. -ly/-liche, or ppl. -ede/-yt, are not generally listed. Sigils for the texts are as follows: A – The Wars of Alexander, E – St Erkenwald; H – The Harley Lyrics; J – The Siege of Jerusalem; K – The Three Dead Kings; P – The Parlement of the Thre Ages; S – A Pistel of Susan; SS – Somer Soneday; T – The Destruction of Troy; W – Wynnere and Wastoure.

In the order y and i are treated as forms of the same letter, as are p and th; 3 follows g, and u/v are distinguished as vowel and consonant. The swung dash, ~, represents the head-word in any of its forms.

abaist pp. dismayed A 1615

abatyd pp. demolished E 37

abyde v. stop K 48

abilly adv. effectively T 1577

abyme n. abyss E 334

abite n. garment

ablode adj. full of blood J 559

aboht pp. paid for H I. 18

abrod adv. far and wide

acast pp. cast down H III. 10, cast out SS 121

ache n. wild celery H II. 14

aconte v. compute A 673; accounttid pp. reckoned up T 1547

acorde n. agreement A 620

acorde v. agree S 345

acounte n. reckoning E 209

adred pp. frightened H VII. 20

affinité n. kindred S 180

affray v. frighten J 668; pp. P 356

afretye pr.3sg.subj. devour H VIII. 8, 38

afriʒt ppl. adj. afraid A 675

after prep, for E 126, according to E 195, in accordance with W 429

agayne(s), agein, aʒayne, aʒen adv. back, in return; prep, towards, against; in the face of T 2445

agaynstande v. withstand A 636

aghe, aʒe n. fear E 234, dread A 1582

aght, aʒt num. eight E 210, A 4915

aghtene num. eighteen E 208

aght(es), aʒt see ow(e)the; aʒayne, aʒen see agayne(s)

aʒtent adj. eighth A 4963

ah conj. but

ay adv. always, ever

aylyng n. discomfort T 1577

ayre n. smell S 94

aire n. ruler A 1729, eyre heiress S 15;ayers pl. heirs P 577

airis pr.3sg. goes

aithire see oÞer

al quasi conj. although E 226

alast adv. in the end H III. 12

alblastir n. crossbow A 1523

albus pl. finches? W 494

ald adj. old A 5198

alder n. ancestor E 295

alder-grattyst adj. greatest of all

alees pl. garden paths S 11

alisaundre n. horse-parsley H II. 14

alkens adj. every sort of A 1523

all adv. entirely

allane adv. only A 4967

allirs gen.pl. of all A 620

allϸofe c...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• Texts cited with their abbreviations
• Introduction
• The Harley Lyrics
• Wynnere and Wastoure
• The Parlement of the Thre Ages
• St Erkenwald
• A Pistel of Susan
• Somer Soneday
• The Three Dead Kings
• The Siege of Jerusalem (ll. 521–724)
• John Clerk: The Destruction of Troy (ll. 1509–628, 2340–448, 12465–547)
• The Wars of Alexander (ll. 597–736, 1508–735, 4842–5200)
• Select bibliography
• Glossary