462 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
spouse, 12072, 12125. 
tente, 16055. 
trumpe, 2176, etc., etc. 
So with adjectives : — 
chaste, 2306. 
excellente, 10459. 
nice, 12421, 12770, 12575 f. 
pore, 480, 16307. 
riche, 866, 1913, 4814. 
solempne, 209, etc., etc.* 
$ 20. The accented final e of French nouns (in 
modern English, y) is of course preserved in Chaucer. 
adversité, 16639. liberté, 9158. 
bounté, 6742. perré, 15791. 
cherté, 11193. plenté, 14226. 
clarré, 1473. pryvyté, 1413, 
contré, 1006, 1215. renomé, 6741. 
$ 21. The Genitive Case, Singular, ends in -és. 
schires, 15. lordes, 47. - pigges, 702. 
cherles, 7788. Cristes, 480. reeves, 601. 
But soth it is, right at his modrés heste, 
Byforn hem allé, duryng the metes space, 
The child stood lokyng in the hyngés face. 
5433 — 5. 
The following have, at least sometimes, no termination. 
Dec. I. holy chirche good, But, holy cherches feith, 
LANGUAGE OF CHAUCER. 
Dec. I. oure lady veyl, 697. 
the sonne upriste, 1053. 
the sonne stremes, 16240. 
myn herte blood, 10221. 
a widow sone, 14913. 
So, fader, brothir, doughter (as in Saxon). 
fader benesoun, 9239. But, fadres folk, 5883. 
fader day, 9012, fadres place, 8738. 
15670. 
fader hous, 8772. fadres hous, 8685, 8747. 
fader kenne, 4036, _fadres pité, 13626. 
9389, 12757, etc. 
fader soule, 15423. fadres soule, 783? 
fadres sake, 10175 ? 
fadres sapience, 14883 ? 
brothir sone, 3086, brothers bedde, 11478. 
15889. 
brother knowleching, 13360 ? 
doughter name, 8485. 
So, modres pité, 15004. 
So, the philosophre stoon, 12790. 
heven king, 6763, 10281, 12470, 16282. 
heven queene, 13017. 
So, many proper nouns in s, as in Anglo-Saxon and 
Modern English. 
Epicurius owne sone, 338. 
Peneus doughter, 2066. 
Venus children, 10586. 
Melibeus wyf, 15382. 
Phebus wyf, 17170. 
And also, the marquys governaunce, 8870. 
Nominative. 
lokkés, 76. bootés, 203. 
argumentes, 4632. 
ornamentes, 8134. 
houndes, 146. 
songes, 95. 
braunches, 1069. 
3981. 11445. 
holy chirche blood, 
3982. 
his lady grace, 88. his ladys grace, 9892. 
$ 22. PLURAL or Nouns. 
The Nominative Plural is formed for the most part in Gest 
ladiés, 900. fowlés, 9. croppés, 7. 
bodyés, 1007. domes, 325. robes, 319. 
kneés, 1105, 1877. — chiknes, 382. knobbes, 635. 
degreés, 17298. bones, 702. wyfes, 234, 15507. 
; fyngres, 129. knyfes, 368. 
swerdes, 2028. 
kaytyves, 1719. 
leeves, 1498. 
And with his stremés dryeth in the grevés 
The silver dropés hongyng on the leevés. 1497, 8. 
His lymés greet[e], his drawnés hard[e] and strongé, 
His schuldrés brood[e], his armés rounde and longé. 2137, 8. 
* Tt is scarcely necessary to mention that an internal e 
in French words is also pronounced, as, comaundément, 
2871, 2981, 12991; juggément, 780, 820; etc., etc. 
t Occasionally in -us or -is, a dialectic variety ; as, leg- 
gus, 593; othus, 812; lordus, 830; argumentis, 9493; 
bestis, 16367 ; etc. 
