Vi.Some Fresh Evidence from the Second Text
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75 V1.-SOME FRESH EVIIIENCE FROM THE SECOND TEXT OF LAYAMON ON THE POSSESSIVES IN 38 AND HIS. BY F. J. FURNIVALL,ESQ. IN Serjt. Manning’s “Inquiry into the Character and Origin of the Possessive Augment in English and in Cognate Dialects,” extracts from which were read at a late meeting of our Society, the writcr states at p. 22 : “A simplification was effected in the Anglo-Saxon genitive singular, . by reducing the varying singular genitives of all nouns to the most usual of the genitive forms, namely to that ending in es.” I do not believe this statement as to all nouns, though I do not propose to try and disprove it at present, inasmuch as its maker has not attempted to prove it. He has only stated it. Mr. Xanning next says, “ Another etep taken in the same direction, whilst throwing off all case-terminations of nouns, was to leave the relations existing between the noun dominant and the satellite in the case of possessive nouns, to be inferred from the simple expedient of juxta- posit ion. ” “ The progress of alteration in the language between these two periods, mill be shown by copious extracts exhibited in tww tables. Of these the first will show the gradual declen- sion of the Anglo-Saxon genitive case-termination and the substitution of the pronoun ‘ his,’ where the genitive had been used in a possessive sense.” ‘‘ These interesting documents appear to be of the greatest importance with reference to the present inquiry, inasmuch as in them is laid bare the gradual decline of thc Anglo- Saxon genitive, followed by the employment of two separate instruments, exercising different functions, and invested with distinct power. Upon the gradual abandonment of the Anglo- Saxon inflected genitive, our ancestors did not return to the 76 LAYAMON’S POSSESSIVES IN ‘ ES ’ AND ‘ HIS,’ original mode of constructing a genitive for nouns, namely, that by adopting the genitive form of the personal pronoun. They called up the Scandinavian ‘of’ where the existence merely of some general relation was meant to be indicated. But when the special relat.ion of possessor and t,hing possessed wits to be presented, resort was had to one of two distinct courses.” ‘< 8 7. Possessive Genitive by Juxta-position. The earlier of these appears to have becn, simple juxta- position, in which thc satellite or thing possessed, was placed immcdiately after the dominant noun, without any inflection or other change of form, either in the noun dominant or in the satellite, and without the aid of any preposition.” . I‘ The possessive genitive by juxta-position, did not remain long in favour. Our continental neighbours, abandoning all distinct ions between possessive und non-possessive genitives, fell hck upon the preposition de, the range of which became and continues to be co-extensive with that of the ancient in- flexional genitives, objective as well as subjcctive. Our island ancestors, on the contrury, clung firmly to the impor- tant distinction which they have handed down to us. They were not long content to trust to bare juxta-position for the development of tlic possessive character of a dominant noun. But instead of imitating the Romanesquc nations, by huddling possessive and non-possessive together,-plucing them under the spell of one undistinguishing prepositional genitive,-they availed thcmselres of the powerful agency of a reflex adjective possessivc pronoun, to endow our language with a peculiar cha- racter of perspicuity, the advantage-the almost incalculable advantage-of which, our countrymen, where they have not denied its existence, have been c;low to appreciate. It would seem to be impossible to assign any precise date to thc intro- duction of a system which it required the lupse of a century to establish. Fortunately the two versions of Layamon’s Brut furnish us with the means of fixing within certain limits the period of the alteration. In the earlier of these 9Y F. J. FURNIVALL, ESQ. 77 versions I have been able to discover only two instances of this application of the possessive pronoun his,” as a substi- tute for the Anglo-Saxon inflected possessive genitive ; whereas it will be seen that during an interval which can scarcely have reached a century, nearly all the Anglo-Saxon possessiue inflezional genitives of the earlier dlS. became the pronominal possessives of the latter version.” The propositions laid down in the foregoing extracts, therefore, are- I. That the varying singular genitives of all nouns were reduced to es. IT. That this es was then abandoned, in favour of of for the expression of a general relation ; and for, 1. juxta-posi- tion, 2. the substitution of the pronoun his for es, when the special relation of possession was to be indicated. 111. That this substitution of his for es took place in the interval ah. 1200 to ab. 1300, and is shown by the two texts of Lajamon, in the second of which nearly all the A. S. pos- sessives in es of the earlier one” had become his-es, or in the words of p. 34-“The following results may be gathered from the foregoing table. That in the interval between the two versions, which may be assumed to comprise the greater part of the thirteenth century, the genitive in s, when used in a possessive sense, mas superseded by the pronoun ‘his.’ ” Whatever other members of the Society may think, I for one must demur to the correctness of these statements, if put forward (as they seem to be) as intending to em- brace the whole of English nouns ; but my concern is not at present with these first statements, it is with the third, the fact or non-fact of the conversion of nearly all the possessives in es of one MS. into those with /ti.$ in another ; the fact or non-fact of the possessive es-es of the 1st text of Lajamon being superseded by his-es in the 2nd. The most superficial examination of the tests will prove to any one that Serjt. Manning’s statement is incorrect, and a more careful search will show that so far from nearly all the possessive es-es having been converted into his-es, not one- 78 LAYAMON’S POSSESSIVES IN ‘RS’ AND ‘HIS, third of them, or thereabouts, has been so converted.’ Mr. Manning has since the reading of this paper explained to the Society the cause of his over statement of the facts which form the foundation of his argument, but as his paper is still circulating in the Society’s Transactions without correc- tion, and I have myself received letters from members com- mcnting on the remarkable fact (so-called) of the entire change above-mentioned, I conceive that the correct evidence of thc Lajamon text on this point should be laid before the Society and the public, and I therefore give the following list of unchanged possessive es-es in the second test of Lalamon. List of 226 (and more) Possessives in es or s, from the second text of Lapmons Brut (ed. Madden, 1847). VOL. I. F~BBTTEXT, nb. 1200 A.D. SECONDTEXT, nb. 1300 AD. PACE LISE he we8 Lcouena‘Ses sone. 1, 3 hct was I.rucais3 aone (Leuca’s son). hir lifcs ende. 10, 2.1 hirc liues ende (her life’s end).* his lifes endc. 11, 14 his lilies hrmdc. *4 Lnuinc sue. 11, 17 T,nuines3 sone. pis child hefda his cames 11, 22 jis child afclc his hcmee name nome. (his iinclc’s name). * Lauine mawe. 12, 4 Lauincs3 mop. a1 he to-drof jcs kingcs 24, 10 a1 hc to-drof pe kinges here liore. (army). 8 pcs kingcs folc. 27, 22 jis kinges folk. jcs kinges bro5c.r. 29, 20 pis kingee brobcr. * In these ca6ey the second text has put on an 8 or es to the forms of the first text. 1 I SUPPOW Mr. Manning to have produced thcm all or nearly all ; and thnt the sclio1;m whose opinion bas hcen taken on tlic list nftcrmcntioiied are right in their judgment that thc gcnitives therein given are possessive, 2 I iissumc that rcadcrs will udinit that a life does possess a beginning and nu end. 3 Compare Serjt. Manning’s, “the mutilation of hi8 ill the forms of is, ya, 8, hnd not, at the period of the later rcrsion, cnme into wnernl usc.” I believe that i.9 and ys are dialectal variations of the AS. and hr7y English es, just 88 the plurnls ia and ys are of tlie A.S. nu nnd Jhrly English m. BY F. J. 'FURXIVALL, ESQ. 79 FIESTTEXT, ab. 1200 A.D. SECOSDTEST, ab. 1300 A.D. PACIP. LINE pas kinges ferde. 31, 6 pis kinges ferde (army). pes kinges broker. 31, 18 pea kinges broker. 12 to telde pas kinges. 34, 14 to pis kinges Bldes (tents). to telde pres kinges. 35, 4 to pis khges telde. to swa lase mannes 45, 10 to 60 lope mannee bi-hofe. bihoue. je hunties6 i Jm kinges 61, 10 3e hontep in pis kingee parc. frive. 16 hcwes his awene stiwarzrd. 63, 6 pat was kinges stiward. to hirede jes kinges. 63, 20 to pis kinges ferde (king's army). k igmp of onnes monncs 67, 2 and igrop of one mme8 hond. honde. boten pes anes name pa 77, 1-2 bate pes ones name pat hire ahe heorc alre lauerd wes louerd was (the name of the one). 20 Godes wiser-saka. 77, 5 Godee wiper-sake (God's adver- sary). Al Albanakes folc. 92, 3 A1 Albanaekea folk.