quenes sorceresses aferd, 187.27; the mescreaunts Sarasyns,1 465.20.

(b) The following cases are perhaps to be explained as partitive appositions: to enoynte the maymed kynge both his legges and alle his body, 720.7 (but kynge may be a dative); syr lucan took up the kynge the one parte and Syr Bedwere the other parte, 848.5; wel armed and horsed and worshipfully bysene his body, 253.18; he shal haue batail of me his fylle, 569.32; a man of kynge Euelaks was smyten his hand of (off), 626.15; I shold slee the myn owne handes, 556.11. Some of these cases, perhaps all, may be explained as adverbial objectives.

(c) Apposition in the genitive assumes almost invariably the following form: his broders sheld syr Lyonel, 185.6; my two bretheren sheldes syre Ector and syr Lyonel, 196.4; your broders dethe the black knyghte, 224.34; on the moder syde Igrayne, 65.5; by my faders soule Utherpendragon, 70.10. Cf. § 18. Sometimes, however, the following form occurs: the good knyghtes sir Marhaus seate, 424.5.

(d) The ordinary apposition with of in the case of names of places (the Cyte of Sarras, 706.13) shows a curious extension in one instance, which may be a misprint: the good knyghte (of) syre Gawayne, 244.18.

23. The use of nouns as verbs points toward the freedom of the Elizabethan habit: thou couragest me, 282.26; they wold not wrathe them, 374.18; they peaced them self, 405.31 (possibly a verb from F. apaiser. See Stratmann, paisen); the quene had mayed (i. e., gone maying), 773.30; for to strengthe the dethe of the quene, 810.27 (possibly due to loss of -n from strengthen. See Stratmann, s. v.).

24. The construction with the noun maner is in a state of transition.2

1 Römstedt, p. 38, regards mescreaunts as an adj. with the Romance plural -s.

2 For further explanation of this construction see Kellner, I, 5, p. xvii.

(a) Chaucer's usage survives: al maner thynge, 118.31; in this manere wyse, 74.22; what maner knyghte, 262.21; in that maner clothing, 856.9.

(b) But usually maner is followed by an of-phrase. The two constructions occur side by side in the following: alle manere rules and games with al manere of mynstralsy, 271.25.

25. The nouns merueylle, nede, pyte, reson and wonder are used in the predicate with the force of their corresponding adjectives.

(a) Merueylle me thynketh — why ye rebuke, 225.4; it is merueill that ye make suche shameful warre, 235.10; it was merueil to here, 251.28.

(b) socoure me for now it is nede, 706.35; hit is none nede to telle yf they were glad, 717.7.

(c) hit was pyte to here, 850.5; it was pyte on to behold, 58.9; grete pyte it was of his hurte, 94.13.

(d) to yelde vs vnto hym it were no reson, 200.37.

(e) it was wonder to telle, 53.31. Wonder is also used attributively: a wonder dreme, 52.35; a wonder turnement, 689.8.

ADJECTIVES.

26. Such distinctions of inflection as survived in the Chaucerian adjective are in the Morte d'Arthur completely blurred, not so much through the loss of -e where it belongs, as through the addition of -e where it does not belong.

1 W. shows an adverbial use of wonder: A wondyr strange gyle, 93. Cf. also the use of payne: Me thynketh yt gret payne, 339.

Plural -e.

27. The plural rarely occurs without -e, even in the case of paroxytone adjectives: subtyle craftes, 207.23. But the -e may be dropped at random: al ladyes, 197.3; his good dedes, 219.29. Compare foure quenes, 212,19, with four knyghtes, 203.28. Moreover, -e appears in the singular: shrewde herberowe, 375-7.

Weak Inflection -e.

28. Again the -e is rarely absent where Chaucer's adjectives assume it to mark the weak inflection. But compare the fayre faucon, 208.16, with your fair felauship, 213.33; at the thyrd stroke he slewe the thyrdde theef, 219.22.

Vocative -e.

29. The vocative usually shows -e: fayre syre, 235.25; yonge knyght, 282.13; but fayr knyghte, 221.24; fals traitresse, 294.27; A my lytel sone, 274.10.

1

30. The adjective inflection 1 in the Morte d'Arthur may be summarized, then, as follows :

(a) The vast majority of adjectives show -e in all connections.

(b) The inflectional significance of e, if not lost, is at least plainly fading.2

1 For the survival of the strong genitive plural alther see § 71. A Romance plural in -es occurs at 514.31: knyghtes errauntes; but knyghtes erraunt occurs on the next page, 515.18. Römstedt (p. 38) cites two Romance plurals in -s: most valyaunts men, 83.31, and the mescreaunts Sarasyns, 465.20. The former is probably a contract superlative, the - having been dropped by the type-setter (see § 36). The latter may be a case of apposition (see § 22, a).

2 The same wavering appears in the adverbial -e: yll(e), 240.23, 223.25; streyght(e), 213.32, 241.32; long(e), 204.14, 232.15.

31. The -y variant found in the -ys noun plural, the -yd preterit, etc., appears also in the adjective. Thus we find comen and comyn (common), often and oftyner, tender and tendyrly, lytel and lytyl, unable and unabyl. Cf. §§ 12, c; 33.

32. The comparative and superlative show the regular -er and -est. The comparative, as in Chaucer, shows no inflection. The remarks in the foregoing sections apply as well to the superlative as to the positive.

33. A variant -yr for -er in the comparative, and -yst for -est in the superlative, occurs very rarely: reufullyr, 425.16; strengyst, 69.3; gentelyst, 390.13; fressheyst, 763.23. Cf. §§ 12, C. 31.

(a) Another rare variant in the comparative is -ar: byggar, 96.25; eldar, 105.23. Cf. § 12, a.

34. Farre makes comparative ferther and further; yll, werse, superlative werst; lytel, lesse and lasse, superlative lest; hyghe (hyhe), hyher; longe, lenger, superlative lengest; strong, superlative strengest. Old shows eldest and oldest in the same sense. The superlatives vttermest and formest persist without variation. Nere survives as comparative adverb, with ere and the superlative erst.

35. Dissyllabic and even trisyllabic adjectives take the -est superlative: famousest, 278.22; worshipfullest, 210.18. A similar habit in the comparative appears in abeler, 658.1.

36. These longer adjectives, however, when they end in a sibilant, and even in other cases, often make a contract superlative: perylloust, merueylloust (merueyllest), orgulist, curteyst (curtest), myztest, gentylst, vylaynst. Even monosyllabic adjectives sometimes contract to avoid the repetition of sibilants: fyerst, from fyers (fierce).

1 Comparative werre, 87.30, may be a misprint, but cf. O. N. verre.

Adverbs.

37. Adverbs in -ly from proparoxytone adjectives in -ous sometimes appear in contract forms: felloynsly (felloynous), traytoursly (traytourous). In lycours (for lycourous), 771.34, the contraction appears in the adjective.

38. The adverbial (genitive) -es (whyles, 724.36) appears very rarely with an excrescent -t: whylest, 229.1.

39. The -er comparative is used freely: a rycher besene chamber, 126.11; bare hym backer and backer, 351.22; smote hym harder and sorer, 413.4; neuer were there foure knyghtes euener matched, 486.16.

40. The comparative -er and the superlative -est are sometimes added even to -ly forms: there was neuer kynge -falslyer nor traitourlyer slayne, 520.10; there was neuer no lady more rychelyer bysene, 580.33; suche peple as he myght lystlyest rere, 120.21.

41. The double comparative is common: he foughte more lyker a gyaunt, 218.2.

SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE.

42. The double comparative and superlative are common: more gladder, more leuer, more hardyer; moost royallest, moost shamefullest, moost lordlyest.

(a) Except in these double forms, the more· most comparison appears very rarely: more hyghe, 222.16.

43. The construction exemplified by Milton's "fairest of her daughters, Eve," appears in thou art fayrest of alle other, 435.25; cf. also Now shalle eueryche of vs (three) chese a damoysel. I shalle telle yow sayd syre Vwayne I am the yongest and moost weykest of yow bothe, therfor, etc., 144.27.