646 



MK HENKY BELLYSE BAILDON ON 



demiss : semiss, 308, 37. 



b) Angl. e = WS. ie later y. 



meid : neid, 250, 2. speid : neid, 255, 39. 



demiss : temiss, 308, 37. quene : schene, 92, 7, etc., 



etc. 

 demiss : temiss, 308, 37. kene : „ 107, 140. 



110, 200. 

 flemit : 3emit, 3S1, 39. grene : ., 103, 45, 



etc., etc. 



c) OE. eo. 



breid (OE. bredan) : leid (NE. lied praet. of OE 



leogan), 169, 266. 

 quene : fyftene, 352, 28. 



„ : betwene, 352, 34. 370, 47. 



„ : besene : sene, 95, 43, etc., etc. 

 kene : sene, 97, 88. 107, 143. 



„ : bene, 117, 15. 352, 11. 

 qubein : „ 316, 28. 

 quene : „ 92, 4. 11)5, 73. 

 grene : sene, 103, 43. etc., etc. 



„ : bene, 105, 77. 

 quene : teyne, 307, 47. 

 beseik : meik, 42, 23. 

 breikis (s) : cheikis, 268. 23. 



d) ON", ce. 



flemit : temit, 381. 36. 



e) Angl. e = WS. « and Grmc. a. (see § 47). 

 g) OE. 5} mut. of a = Grmc. ai. 



kene : mene, 117, 12. 

 breid : weid, 170, 271. 

 speid : meid : dreid, 352, 31. 

 „ : seid, 221, 24. 

 : weid 221 24. 

 "„ : deid'(deed), 245, 81. 

 quene : clene, 352, 16. 



„ : mene, 353, 64. 370, 47. 

 wene : ene (evening), 70, 9. 

 sbene : clene, 225, 106. 

 h) OE. Ba + guU. 



quene : ene (eyes), 353, 58. 370, 39, etc. 

 grene : „ 110, 203. 

 kene: „ 110,203.367,47. 

 i) OE. 6 - see 3 30. 

 speid : leid, 221, 16. 

 steid (place), meid, 250, 2. 

 beit : meit, 87, 65. 

 feill (NE. feel) : weill, 75, 25. 

 k) OE. I. 



(?) bedene : quene, 370, 41. 

 1) OE. e : feill (OE. e) : weill, 75, 25. 

 m) OF. e and ie. 



breiding : posseding : exceding, 364, 122. 

 quene : sustene, 352, 28. 

 ,, : contene, 352, 40. 

 ,, : prevene : obtene, 353, 70, and 82. 

 ,, : splene, 351, 6, etc., etc. 

 grene : „ 94, 12. 106, 106. 

 „ : serene, 106, 108. 

 „ : sustene, 110, 202. 376, 45. 

 „ : „ 294,66. 

 quene : serene, 92, 11. and 370, 37. 



,, : amene, 370, 37. 

 beit : discret, 87, 66. 

 flemit : redemit, 381, 36. 

 feir : maneir, 106, 95. 



,, : chevallier, 105, 153. 

 breid : excede, 377, 73. 

 kene : sustene, 110, 202. 376, 45. 

 „ : serene, '292, 3. 

 ,, : splene, 352, 12. 

 feir (company) : cheir, 106, 94. 108, 150. 

 „ : cleir, 106, 98. etc. 

 n) OE ai. 



beit : treit, 87, 64. 

 o) OF. i. 



feir : pleseir, 105, 92. 

 p) OE. ea. speid : breid (NE. bread), 254, 36.* 



§ 40. These rimes seem to confirm the view already stated that e had already in 

 certain •positions, i.e., before r and d, and, probably, before t, k, 11, v, and /"become i (or 

 something very close to it), as we may judge from Dunbar's rhyming the three classes 

 of sounds a, /3, y frequently together before these consonants (see § 29). But as 

 already remarked, the absence of such rhymes before n and their rarity before m may 

 give us just pause before ascribing to e before n (and perhaps to) an i sound at this 

 early period. One reason for this is the almost universal avoidance of the ei spelling, 

 and observance of the ene form. This by itself might be accounted for on graphic 

 grounds, but there is another reason for supposing that the spelling ene could not 

 always mean an i sound, viz., the spelling and rimes of a word like suffragene = suffra- 

 gane (NE. suffragan), which rimes with 'twane,' 100, 173, and with meridiane, 

 souerayne, trayne, etc., 371, 68. Now, if our supposition that due has already an e 

 sound be correct, in order to make suffragene a good rime for the other words, or a 

 correct spelling of the word at all, we must suppose ene to indicate at anyrate an e 



* I follow Professor Schipper in taking breid to mean bread, but it may mean breadth (OE. braJdu). 



