Reevaluating Emendations to the Old English Riming Poem LL. 17–18

• Published in: Notes and queries 2010-09, Vol.57 (3), p.301-305
• Main Author: Simms, Douglas P A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: English literature; Literary criticism; Poetry; Poets
• ISSN: 0029-3970; 1471-6941
• DOI: 10.1093/notesj/gjq068

Simms examines the Old English Riming Poem. A reading without emendation is possible, provided one reads pyhte as a variant of pyhtig 'good, advantageous' or 'pleasing', though the particulars of pyhte's morphology and phonology are troublesome. Moreover the verse is unmetrical and is unusually phrased. Editors have put forth a number of possible emendations in hopes of making sense of these verses. The most recent edition of the poem maintains Macrae-Gibson's emendation. However, he argues that emendations put forth by E. Sievers and F. Kluge should be reviewed. These nineteenth-century emendations are preferable because they restore grammar, sense, meter, and rhyme to the text. Furthermore, emendations suggested by Sievers and Kluge are more plausible than competing emendations, from a graphemic standpoint, and thus provide explanation for the errors present in the manuscript copy.