CHAPTER VII

OMISSION IN THE RELATIVE SENTENCE

38. Throughout its entire history, the English language has been characterized by a rather frequent occurrence of relative ellipsis, especially in the accusative case in restrictive clauses. Occurrences in the nominative case, and in non-restrictive clauses, have been noted. In this chapter, I wish to give examples of the ellipses, not only of the relatives themselves, but of antecedents, prepositions, and verbs, which occur in Chaucer's adjective clauses. Examples follow:

A. In which the relative in the nominative case is to be supplied after

a. Substantives:

He sente after a cherl, was in the toun Ph. T. 140. He had a knight, was called Achates L. of G. W. III. 41. Ye ryde as coy and stille as dooth a mayde, Were newe spoused C1. T. Prol. 3. they herd a belle clinke Biforn a cors, was caried to his grave P. T. 337. Other examples are to be found as follows: Ch. Y. T. 581; Ro. of R. 1199; Book D. 702; Par. of F. 19; Tr. & Cr. V. 165; L. of G. W. Prol. 498; Sir T. 4; Som. T. 121; Book D. 823; H. of F. II. 536.

b. Pronouns:

Ther was noon with Gamelyn wolde wrastle more T. of G. 265. But ther is [noon] a-lyve here Wolde for a fers make this wo! Book D. 740. Ther be but fewe can hir begyle Book D. 674. I asked oon, ladde a lymere Book D. 365.

B. In which the relative in the objective case is to be supplied after substantives:

Greet was the wo the knight hadde in his thoght W. of B. 227. Allas! that day The sorwe I suffred, and the wo! Book D. 1245.

Note. Examples occur also in which relatives. governed by prepositions are omitted:

Ye, that to me, . . . ful lever were Than al the good the sonne aboute gooth Tr. & Cr. III. 1108. Of al the lond the sonne on shyneth shene Tr. & Cr. IV. 1239. Ther is

a-nother thing I take of hede Tr. & Cr. I. 577. C. In which prepositions are to be supplied with relatives after conceptions other than those of time:

To knowe a sooth of that thou art in doute Tr. &

Cr. V. 1295. For the mochel love
loved thee T. of G. 400.

my fader

Other examples are to

be found: Mo. T. 486, 487; Tr. & Cr. IV. 1626, 1627; Ro. of R. 2888; Tr. & Cr. 648; Ro. of R. 2936.

D. In which prepositions and relatives are to be supplied after conceptions of time:

Sin thilke day ye wente fro this place L. of G. W.
VIII. 112. Til thilke tyme he sholde y-freten be
L. of G. W. VI. 67. Other examples are to be
found: Tr. & Cr. IV. 1656; Tr. & Cr. IV. 37;
Mo. T. 191.

E. In which the antecedent is to be supplied:

What! shal she crye, or how shal she asterte That hath her by the throte? L. of G. W. V. 124. For wit thou wel, withouten wene, In swich astat ful oft have been That have the yvel of love assayd Ro. of R. 2417. Other examples are to be found: Ro. of R. 1054; Boe. II. Pr. 3:53; Comp. to my Lode-S. 8; Boe. III. Pr. 12:151; Boe. IV. Pr. 4:51; Tr. & Cr. II. 777.

Note. An example of omission and attraction occurs in:

Me thinketh this, that thou were depe y-holde

To whom that saved thee fro cares colde! L. of G. W. VI. 70.

F. In which antecedent, relative, and preposition are to be supplied:

For yif that they mighten wrythen awey in

othre manere than they ben purveyed Boe. V. Pr. 3:16. No other examples occur.

G. In which the relative and a verb are to be supplied: She hadde seyd, and torned the cours of hir resoun to some othre thinges to ben treted and to ben y-sped Boe. V. Pr. 1:2. Where fyndest thou a swinker of labour Have me unto his confessour? Ro. of R. 6858. This use is rare.

H. In which a preposition is to be supplied:

As I have seyd, by him that I have sworn L. of G. W. IX. 101. Save in somme thinges that he was to blame Cl. T. 20. This use is rare.

I. In which the that of the that . . . his construction is to be supplied:

And to be bounden under subieccioun Of oon, she knoweth not his condicioun M. of L. T. 173. No other examples occur.

CHAPTER VIII

CONCORD IN THE RELATIVE SENTENCE

39. C. S. Baldwin, p. 55, § 179, The Inflections and Syntax of the Morte d'Arthur, calls attention to a number of sentences in the edition by Sommer in which plural antecedents are followed in the dependent relative clause by verbs ending in -th. With regard to them he says: "The plural -th seems to survive in the following:"

wil ye al that loveth me speke with Merlyn 47:13; ye knyghtes arraunt, the whiche goth to seke, etc. 629:9; I praye you gyue to me al my ryghtes that longeth to a chrysten man, 858:19; al Ientyl men and Ientyl wymmen that redeth this book, 861:4. Continuing, he says: "It will be observed that all these instances are in relative clauses." W. E. Mead, p. 279, Selections from Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur, gives the following explanatory note on the -th form occurring in the second example given above:

"goth. The plural form in -th may be the survival of the older form."

These suggestions, taken in connection with the additional example from Sommer's edition:*

come on fyersly, and soo slee alle that ever before you stondeth 845:26,

and the one cited by Kellner, p. 205, § 331, Historical Outlines of English Syntax:

Aefter pæm Romane curon III hund cempena and siex, þæt sceolde to anwige gangan.-Orosius, 72, 15.

*All sentences taken from Malory are paged according to the edition by Sommer and punctuated according to the editions by Mead or Baldwin.

point to the fact that the notion of plurality implied in a plural antecedent becomes contracted or focalized into a singular concept on having to pass through the medium of the relative; and that in reality the forms in-th, which Baldwin and Mead consider Old English plurals, are genuine Middle English singulars. This conclusion is confirmed by the examples from Chaucer below (see also C. Alphonso Smith's "Shakespeare's Present Indicative S-Endings with Plural Subjects")* in which plural antecedents are followed by

A. Singular forms of the verb to be:

And after that the melodye herde he That cometh of thilke speres thryes three, That welle is of musyke and melodye Par. of F. 62. Almighty god, that saveth al mankinde, Have on Custance and on hir child som minde, That fallen is in hethen land eft-sone M. of L. T. 811. For we, wol us swich formes make As most able is our preyes for to take Freres T. 174. Now cometh ydel wordes,† that is with-outen profit of him that speketh tho wordes Per. T. § 47. Now wol I speken of lesinges,† which generally is fals significaciuon of word Per. T. § 39.

B. Singulars in -th:

Ye, blisful god, han me so wel beset In love, y-wis, that al that bereth lyf Imaginen ne cowde how to ben bet Tr. & Cr. II. 835. And dide also his othere observaunces That to a lovere longeth in this cas Tr. & Cr. II. 1346. And alle tho that suffreth him his wille L. of G. W. IV. 208. and preye god save the king, that is lord of this langage, and alle that him feyth bereth and obeyeth

*Publications of The Modern Language Association, IV, new series, 363ff. +Ydel wordes and lesinges, though plurals, may be conceived of as single topics to be discussed. If so considered, the correct concord is preserved in the relative clause.