27 th Annual California Celtic Studies Conference University of California, Berkeley

2. Middle English Verse Forms and the Development of Cornish Prosody Bridging the Tamar : Benjamin Bruch Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures Harvard University 27th Annual California Celtic Studies Conference University of California, Berkeley 19 March 2005

3. Middle Cornish Verse Syllabic meter Most lines are seven syllables long — 86% Four-syllable lines are also common — 12% Rhyme usually involves only the final syllable of each line Stressed syllables may rhyme with unstressed syllables Three basic stanza types are found: Type I alternate rhyme ABABABAB Type II tail-rhyme AABCCB Type III hybrid ABABcDDC ABABcDDC ABABcDDC ABABcDDC

4. Middle Cornish Verse : Origins and Influences Parallels with other Celtic languages: Syllabic meter (compare Welsh, Breton, Irish) Rhyming rule similar to that of Breton and Welsh Cornish verse lacks internal rhyme, alliteration, and cynghanedd Cornish uses stanza forms not found elsewhere in Celtic poetry Alternate-rhyme and tail-rhyme stanzas were common in medieval European poetry: Latin, French, Provençal, English As early as 1877, Henry Jenner noted similarities to English verse This connection was overlooked or dismissed by later scholars “Typologically, Cornish versification was closer to English and French than to Welsh, Breton or Irish” (Tristram 2002: 293)

5. frons Me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng Conany aye lynnyeth purwyr y thof gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy Me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng Conany aye lynnyeth purwyr y thof gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy A B A B c D D C A B A B c D D C 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 Me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng Conany aye lynnyeth purwyr y thof gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy Me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng Conany aye lynnyeth purwyr y thof gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy Me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng Conany aye lynnyeth purwyr y thof gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy A B A B c D D C A B A B c D D C A B A B c D D C 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 bob cauda Type III Stanza 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 Me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng Conany aye lynnyeth purwyr y thof gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 Beunans Meriasek, lines 1-8

6. : : Type III Stanza 1 2 3 4 6 5 7 8 Beunans Meriasek, lines 1-8

7. Middle English Verse Stress-based meter Most lines have four or three stresses Shorter lines may have one or two stresses Rhyme generally involves a stressed syllable ‘Masculine’ (monosyllabic) rhymes: say : play ‘Feminine’ (polysyllabic) rhymes: sorow : borow ete : mete A wide variety of verse forms are found

8. Middle English Verse Forms Rhymed couplets — not common in Cornish Alternate-rhyme stanzas ABABABAB Tail-rhyme stanzas AABCCB AAABCCCB Often have shorter B lines — a common variant in Cornish Hybrid forms — thirteener ABABABABcDDDC ABABABABcDDDC ABABABABcDDDC ABABABABcDDDC Parallel structure to the Cornish Type III stanza Type III forms with an eight-line frons are found in Cornish Type III stanzas with a cDDDCcauda are also attested These variants become rarer over time

9. I thank it god hark ye what I mene ffor euen or for od I haue mekyll tene As heuy as a sod I grete with myn eene When I nap on my cod for care that has bene And sorow All my shepe ar gone I am not left oone The rott has theym slone Now beg I and borow A B A B A B A B c D D D C Wakefield Stanza First Shepherds’ Play, lines 27-39 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 1’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ I thank it god hark ye what I mene ffor euen or for od I haue mekyll tene As heuy as a sod I grete with myn eene When I nap on my cod for care that has bene And sorow All my shepe ar gone I am not left oone The rott has theym slone Now beg I and borow 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 1’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’

10. : : : : Wakefield Stanza First Shepherds’ Play, lines 27-39

11. . . . . Extended Type III Stanza Passio Christi, lines 14-26

12. Adam If we it Ete oure self we kylle as god us tolde we xuld be ded to ete yt frute · & my lyf to spylle I dar not do aftyr yi reed Eua A ffayr Aungell yus · seyd me tylle to Ete yt appyl take nevyr no dred so kunnyng as god in hevyn hille yu xalt sone be wt rune a sted yer fore yis frute yuete Adam Off goddys wysdam for to lere & in kunnyng to be his pere of thyn hand j take it here & xal sone tast yis mete A B A B A B A B c D D D c Proclamation Stanza Fall of Man, lines 234-46 Adam If we it Ete oure self we kylle as god us tolde we xuld be ded to ete yt frute · & my lyf to spylle I dar not do aftyr yi reed Eua A ffayr Aungell yus · seyd me tylle to Ete yt appyl take nevyr no dred so kunnyng as god in hevyn hille yu xalt sone be wt rune a sted yer fore yis frute yu ete Adam Off goddys wysdam for to lere & in kunnyng to be his pere of thyn hand j take it here & xal sone tast yis mete 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 3’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 3’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 3’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 3’

13. Proclamation Stanza Fall of Man, lines 234-46

14. now syn þou hast be hetyn me so I wyl go with þe & a say I ne lette for frende ner fo but with þe werld I wyl go play certis a lytyl þrowe In þis world is al my trust to lyuyn in lykyng & in lust haue he & I onys cust we schal not part I trowe A B A B c D D D c Castle of Perseverance Nine-line Stanza now syn þou hast be hetyn me so I wyl go with þe & a say I ne lette for frende ner fo but with þe werld I wyl go play certis a lytyl þrowe In þis world is al my trust to lyuyn in lykyng & in lust haue he & I onys cust we schal not part I trowe 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 3’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 3’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 3’ 4’ 4’ 4’ 3’ Castle of Perseverance, lines 393-401

15. Castle of Perseverance Nine-line Stanza Castle of Perseverance, lines 393-401

16. Type III Stanza — Alternate Layout Beunans Meriasek, lines 4548-56

17. English and Cornish Prosody : Conclusions Medieval English and Cornish verse both use a hybrid stanza form: Alternate-rhyme frons + tail-rhyme cauda Short C line links the two sections This verse form appears to be a British innovation English → Cornish Direction of transmission: Bilingualism more likely in Cornwall than in England Cornish forms attested later than equivalent English forms Early varieties of the Cornish Type III stanza resemble the Middle English thirteener (ABABABABcDDDC) more closely than do later forms (ABABcDDC) — divergent evolution Cornish versification represents a hybrid tradition, combining indigenous notions of rhyme and meter with imported stanza forms

18. Middle English Verse Forms and the Development of Cornish Prosody Bridging the Tamar : Benjamin Bruch Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures Harvard University 27th Annual California Celtic Studies Conference University of California, Berkeley 19 March 2005