'It is the way,
remarked
the former, 'that all
tongues have taken to enrich themselves.
tongues have taken to enrich themselves.
Cambridge History of English Literature - 1908 - v03
438 (#460) ############################################
438
Universities, Schools and Scholarship
vein made familiar by Patrizi and Acontio, the dialogue is modelled
on Castiglione, with, it must be said, but little of the grace of n
Cortegiano. I Galateo (1545), a far better known book, was trans-
lated into English (1576) by Peterson. It is a frank handbook of
manners, a manual for the schoolboy and the parvenu, and became
popular in England under the titles of Refined Courtier and the
like, given to it by later editors and adapters. The Courtier's
Academy, a translation, by Kepers, of the Discorsi of Count
Annibale Romei of Ferrara (1586), treats of the ideal of personality
approved in cultivated society when the renascence was already
on the verge of decline. The Elizabethan scholar or merchant
was interested, we can believe, in the argument for learning and
for wealth as titles to gentilezza, when birth or skill in arms
could not be pleaded.
As the century draws to a close, we trace, on the one hand, a
gradual enlargement of the concept of what is possible in the way
of education for a youth of parts and opportunity, side by side
with a process of ossification of school instruction. Sir Humphrey
Gilbert's project of Queene Elizabethes Achademy (1572) was an
anticipation of later 'academies' and, in a sense, of Milton's
generous' dream. Gilbert's scheme of a training in which lan-
guages, modern no less than ancient, mathematics and law, are
grouped with technical and military exercises is an attempt to
bring education into immediate touch with actual life. In essence,
it is a protest against the narrow humanism of the public school,
the herald of a reaction which was to take one shape in Bacon,
and another in Montaigne. Meanwhile, in spite of Ascham, men
of the world sent their boys to complete their training abroad.
The French court was accounted the best school of courtesy.
Venice was the centre for art, and for such sciences as astronomy;
Florence for letters. Politics, history, painting, building, scientific
invention, the technique of war, drew the interest of Englishmen
wherever they sojourned. And the finer minds returned with a
deeper and more intelligent patriotism. Hakluyt’s Principal
Navigations, Stow's Annales, Camden's Britannia, Holinshed's
Chronicles and its predecessors are evidence of a fuller national
self-consciousness. More truly than works of scholarship do these
represent the genius of Elizabethan England. For the end of a
man's 'whole traine' lay in action rather than in the knowledge
itself which equipped him for it. The universities had definitely
recognised this as their principal function, and the temper of the
English race responded readily to the call.
## p. 439 (#461) ############################################
CHAPTER XX
THE LANGUAGE FROM CHAUCER TO SHAKESPEARE
THE all-important feature in the development of English during
the pre-Chaucerian period consisted of those grammatical changes
which entirely altered the organic character of the language. From
being a highly inflected language, it became one partially stripped
of inflections, whereas its changes in vocabulary during the same
period, though important in themselves, were far less radical in
their effects. After 1400, the order of importance is reversed. It
was a change in the vocabulary, particularly in that of the sixteenth
century, which made almost all the difference; the grammatical
structure was modified in but a comparatively slight degree.
The causes of these differing tendencies are not far to seek.
The period before Chaucer was one in which English was not,
as yet, the literary language: it shared that dignity with Latin
and Anglo-French, and, of its four main dialects, no one had
become predominant. These were conditions which readily per-
mitted grammatical change and led to attempts being made
at removing ambiguities and irregularities from the inflectional
system. After 1400, the restraining influences of a recognised
literary dialect and a growing literature made themselves felt.
Writers became more and more adverse to modifications of
grammatical forms, which had already been simplified almost to
their limit, while the vocabulary grew mechanically under varying
but ever increasing influences.
The period (1400—1600) with which this chapter deals divides
naturally into two centuries, the dividing point being, roughly, the
date of Caxton's death (1491). The first of these two periods—the
fifteenth century-though transitional and somewhat chaotic in
character, was, nevertheless, responsible for certain marked develop-
ments. In it an increased importance was given to the vernacular,
and a uniform written language was established, both of which
effects were due to tendencies visible already in Chaucer's day. And
## p. 440 (#462) ############################################
440 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
the period is further characterised by some considerable changes in
vocabulary, as well as by changes of a more gradual kind in gram-
matical structure and pronunciation, which may be said to culminate
in the following century.
The increasing importance of the vernacular in the fifteenth
century was due, in part, to the growing sense of nationality
under Edward III. Although the use of English had never
died out, and even Robert of Gloucester had been able to
state that 'lowe men holdep to Engliss, yet, in the thirteenth
century and later, Anglo-French was the courtly language, Latin
the language of learned and documentary writings. Under
Edward III, the conditions began to change : in 1362, parliament
was opened by an English speech, and, about the same time,
English began to be used in the law courts and the schools? . It
also came to be generally regarded as the language of literature, as
is seen when Gower forsakes French and Latin to write in Englisb,
and when Capgrave (1462) compiles what was the first ebronicle in
English since the Conquest. Though the struggles of the vernacular
for recognition were not completed in this century, the position it
held was stronger than at any time since 1066, and its supremacy
was to be assured by Caxton's work.
The causes which brought about the recognition of a standard
dialect of English have already been treated. London furnished
that dialect, just as the chief city of Attica furnished the language
of literary Greek and Paris the language of literary French ; and
throughout the fifteenth century this London dialect was gaining
ascendency. Various dialectal forms inserted in a text would still
betray the district from which their writer hailed, even when he
had deliberately adopted the standard dialect; and such pro-
vincialisms remained until the time of printed texts. But, from
now onwards, the one dialect was to represent the spoken language
of the educated, as well as the literary and official medium. The
dialects of Ormulum and the Ancren Riwle lost caste, and
remained, apart from literature, on the tongues of the people
The most striking feature in connection with the fifteenth
century vocabulary was the rapid manner in which old native words
became obsolete. This is clearly seen from the following lists,
taken, on the one hand, from fourteenth century texts, and, on the
a
1 The oldest private records in English are dated 1375 and 1381; the oldest London
documents in English, 1384, 1386; the earliest petition to parliament in English,
1386; the earliest English wills, 1387. See Morsbach: Über den Ursprung der
neuengl. Schriftsprache (Heilbronn, 1888), passim.
5
## p. 441 (#463) ############################################
shall resgeyve
encrece
teke away
axe him
a
olde age
Fifteenth Century Changes in Vocabulary 441
other, from modernised versions of those texts, belonging to the
fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
Trevisa's Chron. Caxton's version Wyclif's trans. Tindale's version
(1387)
(1482)
(1380)
(1525)
icleped
called
heathens gentyls
schullep fonge
Zeerd
rod
to eche
to meke
to humble
byneme
soure dow3
leven
buxom
obedient
bitake
delyver
hist
was named
questen with bim
as me trowej
as men suppose walow a stoon roll a stone
steihe
ascended
abide it
wayte for it
zede
went
elde
nesche
soft
to hie hymself to exalt hym selfel.
Literary diction is not always a true test as to the condition of
the spoken language, but there can be little doubt that the
changes here represented stand for changes of the language in
common use ; for the object in modernising the texts had been to
bring them into conformity with the language of the day. And it
is also interesting to note that the forms of the later texts are
practically those of modern English: they were to be fixed by the
printing press.
It is evident from the above lists that the obsolescent native
words were being mainly superseded by words of French origin.
French words had been borrowed during the preceding centuries,
when Anglo-French represented the language of the official and
governing classes ; but, in the fifteenth century, as a result of
different social and literary influences, the borrowings were mainly
of the Parisian or Picardian type, and their use became more
marked than ever. Already, in the first half of this century, a
change is visible; in Lydgate, for instance, abstract words of
Romance origin are being substituted for Chaucer's concrete
native terms', and the proportion of this foreign element steadily
increased as the century advanced.
Translation, no doubt, accounts for the presence of many of
these French words in fifteenth century English, also for the many
Latin words and constructions which were freely adopted. But
it by no means represents the only influence. Trade relations with
the Netherlands and the settlement of Flemish weavers in England
during the fourteenth century led to the introduction of many
i See T. L. K. Oliphant's New English, 1, pp. 336, 409-10.
: In the diction of Chaucer's Prologue there is 13 per cent. of foreign element; in
Lydgate's Assembly of Gods, 23 per cent. (See 0. T. Triggs, Assembly of Gods,
E. E. T. S. Ex. Ser. LXIX. )
## p. 442 (#464) ############################################
442 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
6
>
Low German words, which were supplemented at a later date,
when relations with the Low Countries were renewed in connection
with printing. Then, again, Italian words like 'pilgrim,' 'alarm’
and 'brigand,' are found naturalised before 1500; and so, in
a variety of ways, the character of the vocabulary changed, antici-
pating the more expansive movements of the following century !
It is also clear, from the above lists, that the decay of the
earlier inflectional system was being gradually completed. Un-
necessary adjuncts like the prefix y-, the negative particle in nas
and endings like -ep in schulleh' (present plural) and 'havep'
(imperative plural), where the plural idea was denoted by the
context, were being discarded. Prepositional forms were increasing,
as well as the periphrastic method of comparison by 'more' and
‘most. ' There was also a growing tendency to avoid impersonal
constructions, while vowel-differences, due to earlier ablaut or
umlaut, as in 'schullep' and 'elde,' in the list given above, were
being rapidly levelled. The most important of these changes,
however, was the loss of final syllabic -e (-es, -en). It is probable
that Chaucer's systematic use of that vowel represented merely an
archaism utilised for metrical purposes, and it was owing to his
influence that its value was preserved in poetry during the early
part of the fifteenth century. But already in Lydgate there are
signs that it had really become mute, more frequently, perhaps, in
Romance words, than in those of Teutonic origin; and this led
to much confusion in both language and metre after the middle of
the century. The secret of Chaucer's metrical methods seemed lost,
and the confused metre, the halting gait and the unmusical com-
binations of words illustrate how misapprehension of this final syllabic
-e had interfered with literary effects. A change in the whole poetic
phraseology was, moreover, involved; dissyllabic words became
monosyllabic, and poetic formulas, received from the past, became
mere prose. Lydgate was able to embody phrases such as Chaucer's
'the grene levės,' or 'oldė stories tellen us’; but, to later poets,
unconscious of the syllabic -e, the phrases were lacking in harmony
and rhythm. Instead of Chaucer’s ‘my grenė yerés,' Surrey has to
.
>
1 Wyclif's phrases the streit zate,' to be of good coumfort,' and such expressions
as 'the pees that the world may not geve,' . for better for warse,' 'tyl dethe us departe'
(translation of York Manual, 1890) are early indications of the influence of 'makers of
English' (see p. 455).
? See Lydgate's later works for y, yë, rimes.
* See vol. 11, chap. ix, and Courthope's History of English Poetry, vol. 1, pp. 87 ff.
For its influence upon Spenser's accentual measures in the Shepheards Calender see
Greg's Pastoral Poetry and Pastoral Drama, pp. 94, 95.
## p. 443 (#465) ############################################
Elizabethan English
443
write ‘my fresh green years'; for Chaucer's 'sootė flourės,'Sackville
writes 'soot fresh flowers 'l.
Of changes in pronunciation during the fifteenth century, those
of open and close è and 7, are, perhaps, the most important. The
open and close values had, apparently, been distinct in Chaucer's
time, for he avoids riming the one with the other; but, in the fifteenth
century, the open values began to approximate those of the close.
This change gave to open 7 what is practically its modern value,
but the other sounds were to undergo further changes in the
sixteenth and later centuries? At the same time, medial gh
ceased to be pronounced. Chaucer does not rime a vowel followed
by ght with a vowel followed by t; but, in Lydgate, 'fought' rimes
with ‘about,' and there is ample evidence that the Old English
sound of medial h was, by this time, lost.
The orthography during this century was somewhat confused.
It was irregular in the sixteenth century, in spite of the influence
of printed texts, but already it was assuming forms which, with
slight changes, were destined to survive all later modifications of
pronunciation, thus producing the anomalies of our modern spelling.
After Caxton's day, old symbols like 3 and þ were discarded, and
final non-syllabic -e was often used, as in 'stone' (nom. ), without any
etymological warrant: its use, in such cases, being due to analogy
with the oblique forms in which it normally occurred.
We pass now to the sixteenth century and there we see the
vernacular duly established as the literary medium, so that the
main interest lies in tracing the subsequent development of
the language of Caxton and in noting how it became a fit vehicle
for some of our greatest literature. Now, for the first time, we see
scholars concerned for its welfare, and attempting to improve
its powers of expression. We also see the renascence movement
and general national activities increasing its vocabulary to an
enormous extent. We see its grammatical structure and its
syntax being slowly modified ; and, while there are visible certain
approaches to modern expression, we also notice certain charac-
teristics which give to Elizabethan English something of its peculiar
charm.
open ē
* See J. Schick, Lydgate's Temple of Glas, E. E. T. S. , 1891.
2 These changes might, roughly, be indicated as follows :
M. E. Example 14th cent. pronunciation 15th cent. pronunciation
mele (meal)
sounded as in Pair
sounded as in Pail
close ē demen (deem)
Pail
Pail
open o
stoon (stone)
Paul
Paul, Pole
close 8 doom (doom)
Pole
Pole,
97
## p. 444 (#466) ############################################
444 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
When Caxton died in 1491, he had fixed, in the rough, the
character of modern English. The works subsequently issued
from the printing press were to give to the vernacular a definite
standing, and to suggest its adoption as the literary medium, with
a force denied to rarely handled manuscripts. But there still
remained many obstacles to be overcome, before the capabilities
of English were completely recognised. It had never yet been the
object of serious study. The grammar schools founded in the
sixteenth and previous centuries existed inainly for the teaching
of Latin; grammar meant Latin grammar, and it became a generic
term only at the close of the Elizabethan age? Moreover, the
English-Latin dictionaries? which had appeared at intervals since
1440, though they afforded valuable collections of English words,
were primarily designed to help Latin scholars; and so it is not
strange to find that, in the first half of the sixteenth century, the
idea of Latin as the language of scholarship and the necessary
medium for attaining literary longevity was still a deeply-seated
notion. Thus, we find bishop Gardiner advising that religious
works should take either Greek or Latin form, because those
languages were well fixed, whereas ‘English had not continued
in one form of understanding for 200 years. ' And, again, Sir
Thomas Hoby, though himself a translator, writes, in 1561, that
oure learned menne for the most part, holde opinion that to have
the sciences in the mother tunge, hurteth memorie and hindreth
learning. The vernacular, too, was constantly being made the
subject of apology. Many still felt with Ascham, that to have
written in a tongue other than English would have been more
honest for their names ; and the monotony of lament for the vile
terms' of English, which had become almost conventional since the
days of Chaucer, was, to some extent, maintained.
The second half of the century, however, witnessed a change
of attitude. Literary criticism began with an enquiry into
language, the outward and visible sign of literature; scholars
began to consider what was correct in the pronunciation and
6
6
1 Besides the English Grammar due to Ben Jonson, the works of Mulcaster and
Bullokar ought to be noticed. The former wrote an Elementarie, Pt I. (1582), 'which
entreateth chefely of the right Writing of the English Tung'; while Wm Ballokar's
Bref Grammar for English (1586) was an 'abbreviation out of his grammar at larg,'
which 'grammar at larg’ he claimed to be the first grammar for Englishe that ever
waz' (see Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. III, pp. 346–7). For an article on
Richard Mulcaster as Elizabethan philologist see Mod. Lang. Nules, w, No. 3,
pp. 129–39. See also ante, pp. 311 and 435.
? See bibliography.
## p. 445 (#467) ############################################
Growing Importance of the Vernacular 445
spelling of English, and to set themselves to the task of improving
its powers of expression.
With the appearance of Toxophilus (1545), the prejudice in
favour of Latin may be said to have begun to wane. Though
journals of the guilds and important records and accounts were still
couched in Latin, there was an occasional championing of the
vernacular even in connection with recondite subjects. Elyot had
already protested: 'If physicians be angry that I have written
physicke in English, let them remember that the Grekes wrote
in Greke, the Romains in Latin ",' and the vernacular slowly
asserted itself in religious and secular works, and even in those
which issued from the citadels of science. A sort of compromise
between the old and new traditions was visible when More's
Utopia was translated into English in 1561, and when Lawrence
Humphrey, having written his Optimates (1560) in Latin, three years
later turned it into English. And, though Bacon was yet to fear that
modern languages would 'play the bankrupt with books,' his timid-
ity was far from being shared by the bulk of his contemporaries.
The causes of this change were, no doubt, complex; but one
great driving force must have been the growing sense of
nationalism, the new-bom temper, which rejoiced in everything
English. Then, again, the desire to disseminate renascence learning,
and to open up easy avenues to the classical stores, induced
scholars to make a further use of their mother tongue. The
reformation movement, in itself an assertion of Teutonism against
Latinism, led to numerous English versions of the Bible; and,
when the English prayer-book had also accustomed the nation
to daily reading of their mother tongue, English, instead of
Latin, had become the language of religion. Moreover, the work
inaugurated by Caxton was duly organised when the Stationers'
company was formed in 1557, and growing facilities for the book
industry in England ensured an increase in the appearance of
English works.
With this gradual recognition of the literary claims of the
vernacular, scholars began to perceive the urgency of fitting it
for its new tasks. The situation was paralleled across the Channel,
where Ronsard and La Pléiade were engaged upon the improve-
ment of their mother tongue; and, at a still earlier date, Bembo,
the foster-father of Italian, had undertaken a similar work in
1 Elyot's Castel of Holth (1584). The interlude called The Four Elements (1520)
bad already discussed the use of English for scholarly purposes, and lamented that it
had been employed hitherto only for idle stories of love and war.
## p. 446 (#468) ############################################
446 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
а.
Italy. In Italy, the end had been obtained by a dictatorship;
in France, the reformers aimed at devising rules; but in England,
the method adopted was the characteristic one of compromise.
A middle way was chosen between two conflicting tendencies, one
of which, being conservative, aimed at retaining the language in its
purity and severity, while the other made for innovation, for the
strengthening of the native growth with foreign material. These
opposing tendencies represented an inevitable stage in linguistic
development. Innovations had been made continuously since the
time of the Romans, and the work of sixteenth century inno-
vators, Latinists for the most part, was simply a continuation of
this practice. But the opposite tendency, that of the purists, was
now felt for the first time; conservatism was generated only when
time had brought about a due consciousness of the past and a pride
in the vernacular as a national possession.
The purists were notably Cheke, Ascham and Wilson, though
their sympathies were shared by many others. Cheke, as a lover of
‘old denisened words,' expressed himself in unequivocal terms.
Our own tung,' he writes, 'should be written clean and pure, un-
mixt and unmangeled with borrowing of other tunges; wherein, if
we take not heed by tym, ever borrowing and never payeng, she
shall be fain to keep her house as bankrupt. ' Ascham, too,
adopted the same attitude, and Wilson decried all 'overflouryshing
wyth superfluous speach. And this love of the vernacular and
confidence in its resources was present with others. Mulcaster
honoured Latin but worshipped English; Sidney maintained that for
‘uttering sweetly and properly the conceits of the mind. . . [English]
hath it equally with any other tongue in the world,' and similar .
sentiments were uttered by Golding and Pettie, while, before the
end of the century, Carew's Epistle on the Excellency of the
English Tongue had appeared! . Under certain conditions, religious
zeal might also account for a purist attitude, as when Fulke, in
his attack of 1583 upon the Rheims translation of the Bible, com-
plains of the number of Latin words used in that version, where
they occur of purpose to darken the sense. . . [and that] it may be
kept [by the Papists] from being understood. '
But there were not a few who held that the vernacular needed
improvement if it was to respond to the demands which were
obviously ahead. To refuse innovation was to neglect the very
1
1 It is contained in the 2nd ed. of Camden’s Remains (1605). See also the
prophecy of the glorious destiny of the English language in Daniel's Musophilus
(1599) (quoted by Courthope, History of English Poetry, vol. ul, p. 23).
## p. 447 (#469) ############################################
6
Conservatism and Reform 447
means by which it had prospered in the past; and it was felt that
the jealous exclusiveness of the extreme purists threatened to
blunt all literary expression and would turn the vernacular into a
clumsy instrument. Many of those whose instincts were conserva-
tive were also alive to the necessity for a certain amount of innova-
tion. Even Cheke made a proviso to the effect that, ‘borrowing,
if it needs must be, should be done with bashfulness,' and both
Pettie and Wilson definitely proposed to improve their language by
Latin borrowings.
'It is the way, remarked the former, 'that all
tongues have taken to enrich themselves. ' Gascoigne, though dis-
liking strange words in general, was bound to admit that, at times,
they might 'draw attentive reading’; while Nashe, complaining of
the way in which English swarmed with the single money of
monosyllables,' proposed to make a royaler show,' by exchanging
his ‘small English . . . four into one . . . according to the Greek, French,
Spanish and Italian. ' Other reasons were elsewhere advanced to
justify innovation; but what is of more importance is that, in actual
practice, the main body of writers were fully in sympathy with the
aims of the movement.
The result of these conflicting tendencies was twofold. The
conservatism of the purists proved a useful drag upon the energies
of the reformers; it tended to preserve from obsolescence the
native element in the language, and was a wholesome reminder of
the necessity for moving slowly in a period of rapid change and hot
enthusiasm. The efforts of the innovators, on the other hand,
made great things possible. The language under their treatment
became more supple, more ornate and more responsive to new
ideas and emotions; but this was only after a certain amount of
licence had been frowned out of existence.
The conservative tendency is revealed, not only in a negative
way, by the general discountenancing of rash innovation, but, also,
by positive efforts made to restore such good and natural English
words as had been long time out of use and almost clean disherited. '
Obsolescent words, no doubt, persisted in the spoken language, for
Ascham, who held 'that good writing involved the speech of the
comon people,' makes use of forms like 'stoure' (fight) and 'freke'
(man), while, in Foxe's Actes and Monuments, which appealed
to provincial and cultured taste alike, are to be found words like
‘spill' (destroy), 'dere' (injure), ‘lin' (cease), ‘spur' (ask), “lese'
(lose) and 'middle-earth' (world). Then, again, works written
under the influence of earlier poetic tradition might, also, contain a
certain amount of the archaic: thus, Wyatt and Surrey have forms
## p. 448 (#470) ############################################
448 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
6
6
a
6
like 'eyen' and 'durre' (door), while Gascoigne, who writes under
the influence of Piers the Plowman, uses "sakeless' innocent),
* fearli’ (wonder) and 'grete' (cry). Very frequently, too, there was
deliberate archaising. Sir John Cheke, in his unfinished transla-
tion of the New Testament, took many liberties not always justifi-
able; for 'publican' he writes 'toller'; for "crucify, cross'; for
'centurion,' 'hundreder'; and, for 'lunatic,' 'moond. ' In the
translations of Phaer, Twyne, Golding and North, further archaisms
appear; while Stanyhurst, who was a man of many devices, bas old
forms like 'sib,' 'gadling,' 'quernstone' and 'agryse? ?
In some cases, a definite literary motive might occasion the use
of these forms. Spenser, for instance, in his Shepheards Calender
makes a most liberal use of the language of Lancashire peasants as
well as of obsolete forms. To the former class, probably, belong
such northern forms as 'wae' (woe), "gate' (goat), "sike' (such),
‘mickle' and 'kirke,' and they effectively suggest 'the rusticall
rudenesse of shepheards. ' In his Faerie Queene, while he uses
Chaucerisms like 'gan tel,' 'areed' and 'lustyhed,' to suggest a
medieval tone in keeping with his subject, he also finds such forms
as 'ycled,' 'passen' and 'wawes' of great assistance, not only in
completing the requisite number of syllables in the line, but, also,
in affording riming variants. And, again, in the drama, dialectal
forms were frequently employed to obtain greater verisimilitude.
The west country speech was the conventional form of utterance for
rusticity on the stage; whence the forms 'chad,' 'ichotte,' 'vilthy,'
'zembletee' (semblance), in Ralph Roister Doister, with which
may be compared Edgar's diction in King Lear.
But this use of obsolescent and dialectal forms added nothing
to the permanent literary resources. It was an artificial restoration
of words, honourable enough in the past, but which the language
had naturally discarded; for words rapidly become obsolete in a
period of swiftly advancing culture. Where such words appear,
they add a picturesqueness to Elizabethan diction, but it was
not until the close of the eighteenth century that the full capabilities
of words racy of the soil became properly appreciated, when dialect
added new effects to English expression. For the rest, the ancient
words continued to linger in their rustic obscurity, regardless of the
1 The Gospel according to St Matthew . . . translated from the Greek, with original
notes by Sir John Cheke . . . by James Goodwin. London, 1843.
The rogaes' language then current still survives in modern slang; thus : 'bowse'
(drink), dudes' (clothes), 'fylcho' (rob), 'ken' (house), 'mounch' (eat), 'prygger'
(thief), 'tiplinge-house' (ale-house),'typ' (secret). See Awdeley's Fraternitye, Harman's
Caveat and Chandler's Literature of Roguery, vol. I, pp. 119 ff.
6
## p. 449 (#471) ############################################
Classical Influence
449
attention or neglect of literary men. That they were already fast
becoming unfamiliar in polite circles would appear from the fact that
a glossary of obscure words was appended to Speght's edition of
Chaucer (1602), a convenience which had not been deemed neces-
sary in the editions of 1542 and 1561.
The case, however, was different when words, instead of being
drawn from a dead past, were taken from a living present, as
elements contributed to the language by the changing thoughts
and movements of the time. English, in the nineteenth century,
assimilated the respective vocabularies of German metaphysics, the
pictorial art and science; and, in the same way, the language of the
sixteenth century was assimilating the phraseology of renascence
learning and reformation zeal, as well as the expressions of travel
and adventure. And, although English, owing to its plastic state,
accepted, for the time being, more of these elements than it was
destined to retain, the ultimate result was linguistic expansion,
and a considerable step was thus taken by the language towards
its modern form.
The influence of the renascence is seen in the classical importa-
tions with which the language became inundated-an influence
parallel to that which induced scholars to turn to the classics for
assistance in remodelling and reforming their literary art. Just as
attempts were made to introduce classical 'decorum ' into the native
drama, to substitute classical prosody for native forms, so free use
was made of classical diction in the attempt to obtain increased
power of literary expression. The beginning of this influence is
seen in the translations, where numerous words of the originals
were, perforce, retained; then, again, in the fashion of introducing
classical quotations into works of various kinds. This latter pro-
cedure was less pedantic than would at first appear, for Latin was
still, to some extent, the traditional language of the learned, and
represented the great link between our own reformers and those of
other lands. It was used by Elizabeth in conversation with foreign
ambassadors, and 'latine ends,' as Chapman put it,' were part of a
gentleman and a good scholler. The inevitable result was an
almost reckless borrowing of classical words, an occasional use of
Latin idiom and, in some cases, an imitation of classical style.
The process of adopting classical and, indeed, all foreign words,
is plainly shown in the various texts. At first they are frankly
inserted as foreign elements and appear in their alien form ; but
they are often followed by explanations added to such phrases as
that is to saie' or as we terme it. ' Then, later, they take their
29
L. L. III.
CH. XX.
## p. 450 (#472) ############################################
450 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
<
>
places without any explanation, though, as they appear not un-
frequently in synonyms like 'synchroni or time-fellows,''accersed
and called together,' their respective meanings may still be gathered
from the context.
But all classical importations did not meet with the same fate.
In the struggle for naturalisation, different words obtained different
degrees of success, according to the dictates of that mysterious
arbiter 'the genius of the language'; and, when Puttenham, for
instance, objects to such words as 'audacious,' 'fecundity' and
*compatible,' he only shows the inability of contemporaries to
anticipate the verdict of time. Some of the claimants for naturalisa-
tion were adopted with little or no change of form, as, for instance,
'epitome,''effigies,' 'spondee,''catastrophe'l. Others retained their
original forms for a time, as 'subjectum,' 'energia,''aristocratia' and
'statua', or, again, in the case of inflected forms, critici,''sphinges,'
'chori,' 'ideae,' 'misanthropi' and 'musaea. But, in all cases,
naturalisation ultimately meant the loss of foreign endings, or their
assimilation with the endings and inflections of native origin. Other
classical words never became really adopted; they appeared at the
whim of an individual and then disappeared, as, for instance,
‘acroame' (lecture) and 'polypragmon’(busybody). This class was
fairly large, as almost every writer, in the absence of a standard
literary diction, considered himself at liberty to make experiments.
But, if naturalisation in the case of Latin words meant, generally
speaking, assimilation with native forms and the adoption of endings
similar to those assumed by earlier Latin borrowings derived through
the French, no such precedent offered itself in the case of Greek
words; for now, for the first time, it became possible to borrow
from the Greek direct. Greek words, however, had previously entered
the language through the medium of Latin, and now, when techni-
cal or other words were taken from the Greek, they were trans-
literated into Latin forms, as if they had normally passed through
Latin channels. It became recognised in England and elsewhere
that the Greek K, ai, el, ol, ov, v and should be represented in the
vernaculars by c, ae, i, o, u, y and rh; hence, forms like 'acme,'
'phaenomenon,' oeconomia,''enthusiasm' and 'rhythm',
'
'
Each word thus naturalised was made to conform gradu-
ally with the English mode of accentuation, and to this general
3
1 Also, "caveat,''emphasis,'"enigma,''opprobrium,' 'exterior' and 'parenthesis. '
* Also, 'scaene,' epitheton' and 'parallelon. '
3 ·Absonisme' (solecism), 'charientism' (euphemism), 'commorse' (compassion).
* See Bradley, Making of English, p. 98.
## p. 451 (#473) ############################################
Pedantic Spellings
451
>
rule Greek and Latin proper names formed no exception. They
were adopted with or without inflection, and the accent was thrown
as far back as possible, irrespective of quantities: this accounts for
the accentuation of such forms as Hyperion and Andronicus.
It was only natural that these classical borrowings should
retain, at first, their original meanings; and so we find many words
used in a sense from which they have since departed, as, for
instance, ‘fact' (deed), "success' (sequel), “sentence' (opinion),
'prevent' (go before)? Such words as these, being more or less
strange to the common idiom of that age, were well suited to form
part of its literary material; whereas, to a later age, which assigns
to them different meanings, they suggest an archaic flavour, which
is one of the charms of Elizabethan diction. Not unfrequently,
they would deteriorate in meaning; this is true of classical words
to a greater extent than of native words, and of this depreciation,
'impertinent' and officious' are examples.
Sometimes, however, classical enthusiasm would distort word-
forms, which had been derived at an earlier date from Latin through
Romance, and, consequently, attempts were made to restore letters
which had been normally lost in that passage. Thus, b was inserted
in 'doubt' and 'debt,'l in ‘vault' and 'fault,' d in advantage' and
"
'advance,' while ‘apricock' was thus written probably in view of
the Latin in aprico coctus. Then, again, the form 'amicable'
appeared by the side of 'amiable,' 'absency' (Latin 'absentia')
together with the French 'absence'; through the influence of
Greek, 'queriste' became 'choriste,' while 'fantasy' varied with
'phantasy’; and, in other forms like 'fruict,' 'traditour' (traitor),
'feact' (fact), 'traictise' and 'conceipt,' are visible further pedantries
not destined to be permanent. Occasionally, more audacious
changes took place in attempts to suggest a fanciful etymology:
as, for instance, when fere' (O. E. 'gefera, companion) was written
'pheere,' or when 'eclogues' appeared as ‘aeglogues,' as if to connect
it with the Greek ais (goat). The frail foundation upon which most
of such changes rested may be gathered from the statement of one
writer that the words 'wind' and 'way' were derived from the
Latin 'ventus' and 'via,' while the spelling 'abhominable,' as if
from the Latin ab homine, was generally accepted. Indeed,
even in the case of so worthy an antiquary as Camden, we
find the paradox that 'the Old English . . . could call a Comet a
Fixed Starre. . . which is all one with Stella Crinita'? The result
>
6
6
Also, 'expect' (wait), 'record' (remember), 'table' (picture), 'abrupt' (wicked).
That is, crinita'='fixed,' the latter being taken as a derivative of 0. E. 'fear'
(hair) (! ).
29-2
## p. 452 (#474) ############################################
452 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
>
?
of all this was the introduction of a number of artificial spellings,
many of which, having been retained, have greatly contributed to
the vagaries of our modern orthography.
The effect of this host of classical borrowings was to increase, in
many ways, the capabilities of the language in the matter of expres-
sion. They formed the language of reasoning, of science and of philo-
sophy; from them, mainly, were drawn artistic and abstract terms,
whereas the language of emotion, particularly that of the drama,
remained very largely Teutonic in kind. Not unseldom, a classical
,
word was borrowed, though its equivalent already existed in English,
and this usage gave rise to frequent synonyms. The use of synonyms
was by no means abnormal in English, nor was it ineffective as a
literary device. They had entered very largely into Old English
verse, and were still a feature of Elizabethan English, as may be
seen from combinations like 'acknowledge and confess,' 'humble
and lowly,' 'assemble and meet together,' in the English liturgy, or
such forms as 'limited and confined,''wonder and admiration,' to
be found elsewhere. Their increased use, at this date, was due
partly to the exuberant character of the age, partly to an increase
in the material available for such forms and partly to the plastic
condition of the language, which made it easy for an unfamiliar
word to be supplemented by one of a more familiar kind. The
result of this usage was to give to the prose style a greater flexi-
bility of rhythm, while, in course of time, the double forms, having
become 'desynonymised, furnished abundant material for the
expression of slight shades of meaning. Another important effect
of a certain section of these classical borrowings was to give an
impetus to the art of forming compounds, which, though much
practised in the earliest English period, had been somewhat
neglected in Middle English times. Chapman's translation of
Homer, in particular, brought before the age many Homeric com-
pounds, such as thunder-loving Jove,' 'the ever-shining eyes,
'fresh-sprung herbs' and 'well-greaved Greeks. Many of these
'
forms were preserved in the language, and from this period date
some of the happiest of Pope's compound epithets.
Besides these new words of classical origin, there were many
Romance forms which were being tentatively used, and which
ultimately went to enrich the English vocabulary. In general, it
may be said that they are less abstract in character than those con-
tributed by the classics. Being drawn from living languages, they
stand in a closer relation to actual life; they represent new objects
rather than new ideas; and so reflect something of the nature
of the current intercourse between England and the Romance
## p. 453 (#475) ############################################
6
6
Influence of Romance Languages 453
countries. There were, in the first place, many new words of French
origin, and their number, undoubtedly, was increased by the fact
that many classical, as well as Italian, works were translated into
English from French versions. They consist, for the most part, of
words of a general kind, though military terms figure somewhat
largely. The following are instances of borrowings connected with
the soldier's trade : 'accoutrement,' 'battery,' 'flank,' pioneer,'
calibre,''cassock' (a military cloak) and colonel' (pronounced in
three syllables). Phrases such as ‘plaine force' and 'body politicke'
were, occasionally, borrowed, besides such common words as ‘chart,'
'gallimaufry' (mixture), 'baies' (baize) and 'bombast' (cotton
wadding). The word 'essay' now, for the first time, became used
in its modern sense owing to Montaigne; 'genteel' represented a
re-adoption of the French 'gentil' which, previously borrowed, had,
by this date, become 'gentle'; 'collcaryour' (messenger) was a
modification of the French 'colporteur,' while ‘horly borly' was
due to the ingenuity of Rabelais. There were, of course, many
instances of words which never became Anglicised, for example :
'bourreau,''bruit,' 'haut,''sanglier,' 'travise,' 'sparple' (scatter),
'mures' (walls) and 'cassed' (discharged). The word “faubourg'
(suburb) and the phrase 'all amort' (à la mort) were naturalised for
a time, but only to be treated as foreign at a later date. French
influence on the orthography was but slight: the strange forms
'doggue, 'pangue, 'publique' are interesting in view of the
modern spelling 'tongue'; 'eguall' represents a blend of both
Latin and French.
Of still greater importance were the additions to the vocabulary
derived from the Spanish. They were very largely connected with
ideas of the New World, more particularly of the West Indies,
where Spain had large interests, and, unlike the classical importa-
tions, they are concerned with the spoken, rather than with the
literary, language. They became familiar in various ways: through
the numerous pamphlets which aimed at supplying information
about Spain, through translations of Spanish works such as
Oviedo's History of the West Indies, or, again, through accounts
of English voyages. But more important than all was the in-
fluence of English adventurers who returned from the west with
wondrous tales and strange new words. Many of the words
thus introduced had been adopted by the Spaniards from the West
Indian (Hayti) language: for example, 'canoe,' 'hurricane,'
“tobacco,' 'maize,' 'cannibal'; but, in the forms ‘mosquito,' 'El
Dorado,' cocoa’and'alligator,' Romance roots had been employed
6
6
9
6
## p. 454 (#476) ############################################
454 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
6
6
6
6
6
to denote the new phenomena. Of the remaining words, which were
largely bound up with war, commerce or religion, a certain number
ended in -o (-ado), as, cargo,' 'embargo,' desperado,' renegado. '
Hence, in numerous others, the -ado ending is affected where the
Spanish equivalents had -ada : for example, "armado' (armada),
'ambuscado,' 'bastinado, 'bravado,' 'carbonado,' 'palisado,'
“strappado. Other adaptations are, 'Canary,' 'Bilbo' (sword),
* fico' (fig), 'flamingo' and 'grandee'; sometimes phrases were
borrowed as 'paucas palabris'' (in short) and 'miching mallhecho. '
A great number of Italian words, also, were introduced at this
time, but, as they often came through French, for instance,
'gazette' and 'carnival,' their identification is not always easy.
Much of the Italianate English of which Ascham complains never
became naturalised; the use of the Italian adverb ‘via' (go on), and
'ben venuto' (welcome), was merely temporary, while words like
'bona-roba,''amoretti' and 'borachio,' which promised to become
permanent, were soon regarded as foreign. But English travellers,
English traders and English translators could not fail to add some-
thing to their native vocabulary, and such words as 'duello, compli-
mento' and 'bandetto'; 'argosy," magnifico’and 'Bergomask” (rustic
dance); canto,' 'stanza' and 'sonnet,' were among the additions.
Architectural terms, too, were borrowed from Italy, for, in
Elizabeth's reign, the Tudor style was being modified by the
Cinque-cento, English buildings were being constructed after Italian
designs and Italian treatises were being turned into English ; in
consequence, such words as 'belvedere,' 'antic,' 'grotta’ and
'portico' became familiar. The jargon of the Italian fencing-
schools also became fashionable, as a result of the displacement of
the old broadsword by the foreign rapier : the Bobadils of the day
talked freely of the 'punto,' 'reverso,' stoccato' and 'passado?
Dutch borrowings must also be mentioned, though not numeri-
cally large. They were introduced by English adventurers who
had fought against Spain in the Netherlands, and who, on their
return home, larded their conversation with Dutch phrases there
acquired: 'easterling,' 'beleaguer,' 'burgomaster,''domineer' and
' forlorn hope' are instances of such additions. Similarly, oriental
words, such as 'caraway,''garbled, gong,''dervish' and 'divan,'
witness to extended nautical enterprise ; each account of a
voyage contained a host of such words, which might or might
not become naturalised.
While the language, so far as its vocabulary was concerued,
1 Corruption of Span. pocas palabras. See Taming of the Shrew, Ind. 1. 5.
? For commercial terms derived from the Italian, see Einstein, L. , The Italian
Renaissance in England (1902), p. 281.
>
## p. 455 (#477) ############################################
Literary Influence on the Vocabulary 455
thus kept pace with the expansion of national life and thought, by
means of borrowing from abroad, it was also subject to certain
internal influences. Literary men, in general, extended the vo-
cabulary by indulging in coinages; but more important than this
was the vogue given to certain words and phrases in consequence
of their happy use by some of the great writers. Such ex-
pressions were stamped with permanency and became current coin
of the highest value.
In the first place, new formations, devised by contemporary
writers out of material ready at hand, represent an appreciable
extension of the normal vocabulary, though, in many cases, they
were not to prove permanent. A host of newly-coined compounds
are scattered in the works of the time and represent the operation
of various devices upon a plastic stage of the language. A spirited
style would produce sonorous compounds like 'sky-bred chirpers,'
'heart-scalding sighs,' 'home-keeping wits' and 'cloud-capt towers. '
A satirical effect might be obtained by onomatopoeic reduplication
such as 'rif-raf,' 'tag-rag' and 'hugger-mugger,' though this
formation, being crude and mechanical, failed to maintain a
literary rank. A word like 'find-fault' would be coined with an
eye to alliterative effect, 'gravel-blind' with a view to a play upon
the word 'sand-blind' (i. e. sam-blind); while other coinages, like
‘ablesse' and `idlesse,' 'goddise' (deity) and 'grandity,' 'mobocracy'
'fathership,' 'foehood,''praecel' (excel) and "Turkishness' (bar-
barism), though they represent a blending of material, intelligible
then and now, were rendered unnecessary by forms otherwise con-
structed, which, in some way or other, have maintained themselves.
Then, again, literary influences at work on the elements of the
native vocabulary often resulted in the formation of expressions
and phrases to which their authors, indirectly, gave a wide currency
and a permanent value. Many of them were to enter into daily
conversation, while their innate beauty still renders them fit for
the highest literary usage. The main sources of this influence
were the works of Spenser and Shakespeare, and the English
Bible. From Spenser, we get such forms as 'elfin,''Braggadochio,
'blatant,' 'derring-do' and 'squire oi dames’; from Shakespeare,
such expressions as 'benedict,' 'the undiscovered country,' 'the
primrose path,''single blessedness,''to die by inches,''to eat the
leek,''this working-day world' and 'coign of vantage'; while from
the English Bible come the forms, ‘loving-kindness,' “heavy-laden,'
'peacemaker,' 'scapegoat,''shibboleth,' 'mammon,' 'Babel' and
'helpmeet, as well as the phrases, the fat of the land,' 'the
6
2
>
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9
6
>
## p. 456 (#478) ############################################
456 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
eleventh hour,' the shadow of death,' a soft answer' and 'a labour
of love'l. Many of these expressions have attained the dignity of
unidentified quotations, but, nevertheless, they are contributions
to the growth of the language, and, as such, are possessed of
as much significance as separate additions to the vocabulary.
While these changes, due, largely, to external influences, were
taking place in the vocabulary, the language was also undergoing
further changes in its grammatical structure, its syntax and its
pronunciation, such modifications being due to those internal
influences continually at work upon a living language.
In the first place, it is only natural to find that, while Old
English inflections had, for the most part, been levelled, traces of
earlier constructions still remained, and in larger quantity than at
a later date. Disregarding archaic forms such as 'perishen' (they
perish) and ‘killen' (they kill), which appear in Pericles as obsolete
expressions, we find other constructions, which, while they preserve
something of the archaic, are still legitimate survivals. For
instance, the adverbial form ‘moe' is distinguished from the
adjectival ‘more,' the one indicating ‘more in number,' the other,
'greater in size. ' 'Can' and 'may’are still capable of being used in
their earlier senses? As in Old English, a verb of motion is some-
times omitted after will’and ‘shall,' 'must' and 'be,' while the old
imperative is still in use in the expressions go we,' 'praise ye the
Lord,' though periphrastic forms like ‘let us go' are far more
general. The subjunctive is still used in principal sentences to
.
express a wish, also in conditional and concessive clauses, and in
temporal clauses introduced by 'ere,' or 'before. ' But already
this use is obsolete in the spoken language, and, as a result, its
appearance in literary English is somewhat irregular.
The pronominal inflections, as in modern English, are, for the
most part, retained, owing to the monosyllabic character of the
words. The -8 of the old genitive, of course, survived, though the
modern apostrophe was not employed as yet. With this inflection
is found, occasionally, the older word-order, as in ‘Yorick's skull the
king's jester. ' This construction, owing to the uninflected character
of the word in apposition, in this case 'jester,' involved a certain
ambiguity, which had been wanting in Old English, and the idiom,
consequently, was not destined to survive. Of still greater interest,
however, is the use of his,' instead of the genitive -8, in phrases
like 'Sejanus his Fall,' 'Purchas his Pilgrimage,' 'Christ His sake'
1 See Bradley's Making of English, ch. vi.
2 Cf. they can well on horseback' and 'I muy (can) never believe. '
6
9
6
## p. 457 (#479) ############################################
Results of Loss of Inflections
457
and 'Pompey his preparation. This construction, which appears, at
first sight, to be a popular adaptation of the regular suffix -8,
represents, in point of fact, the survival of an idiom found in Old
English and other Germanic languages, and which can be traced in
Middle English, in such phrases as 'Bevis is hed. ' It was, doubt-
less, a form which had come down in colloquial speech, for its
early use in literature is only occasional, and it still occurs in
modern dialectal and colloquial expressions. Its more extended use
in Elizabethan English points to the close connection which then
existed between the spoken and literary languages. Another
survival of an Old English form was that of participles in -ed,
adjectival in their force and derived from nouns. In Old English,
there had occurred occasional words such as "hoferede' (hunch-
backed), and, in Elizabethan times, the manufacture of such forms
as 'high-minded' and 'barefaced’ proceeded apace and added
considerably to the power of expression.
The earlier loss of inflections had begun by this date, however,
to produce certain marked effects. What had once been a
synthetic language had now become analytic, and it was in process
of developing its expression under the new conditions. The im-
mediate result was a vast number of experiments which often led
to confused expressions, more especially as the brevity and concise-
ness formerly obtained with inflectional aids was still sought. Thus,
ellipses were frequent, and almost any word that could be supplied
from the context might be omitted. Intransitive verbs were used
as transitive! , ordinary verbs as causal”, and the infinitive was used
with the utmost freedom, for it had to represent active, passive and
gerundial constructions.
But if the loss of native inflections resulted in a certain
freedom of expression, together with a corresponding amount of
vagueness and confusion, it also led to some new and permanent
usages.
438
Universities, Schools and Scholarship
vein made familiar by Patrizi and Acontio, the dialogue is modelled
on Castiglione, with, it must be said, but little of the grace of n
Cortegiano. I Galateo (1545), a far better known book, was trans-
lated into English (1576) by Peterson. It is a frank handbook of
manners, a manual for the schoolboy and the parvenu, and became
popular in England under the titles of Refined Courtier and the
like, given to it by later editors and adapters. The Courtier's
Academy, a translation, by Kepers, of the Discorsi of Count
Annibale Romei of Ferrara (1586), treats of the ideal of personality
approved in cultivated society when the renascence was already
on the verge of decline. The Elizabethan scholar or merchant
was interested, we can believe, in the argument for learning and
for wealth as titles to gentilezza, when birth or skill in arms
could not be pleaded.
As the century draws to a close, we trace, on the one hand, a
gradual enlargement of the concept of what is possible in the way
of education for a youth of parts and opportunity, side by side
with a process of ossification of school instruction. Sir Humphrey
Gilbert's project of Queene Elizabethes Achademy (1572) was an
anticipation of later 'academies' and, in a sense, of Milton's
generous' dream. Gilbert's scheme of a training in which lan-
guages, modern no less than ancient, mathematics and law, are
grouped with technical and military exercises is an attempt to
bring education into immediate touch with actual life. In essence,
it is a protest against the narrow humanism of the public school,
the herald of a reaction which was to take one shape in Bacon,
and another in Montaigne. Meanwhile, in spite of Ascham, men
of the world sent their boys to complete their training abroad.
The French court was accounted the best school of courtesy.
Venice was the centre for art, and for such sciences as astronomy;
Florence for letters. Politics, history, painting, building, scientific
invention, the technique of war, drew the interest of Englishmen
wherever they sojourned. And the finer minds returned with a
deeper and more intelligent patriotism. Hakluyt’s Principal
Navigations, Stow's Annales, Camden's Britannia, Holinshed's
Chronicles and its predecessors are evidence of a fuller national
self-consciousness. More truly than works of scholarship do these
represent the genius of Elizabethan England. For the end of a
man's 'whole traine' lay in action rather than in the knowledge
itself which equipped him for it. The universities had definitely
recognised this as their principal function, and the temper of the
English race responded readily to the call.
## p. 439 (#461) ############################################
CHAPTER XX
THE LANGUAGE FROM CHAUCER TO SHAKESPEARE
THE all-important feature in the development of English during
the pre-Chaucerian period consisted of those grammatical changes
which entirely altered the organic character of the language. From
being a highly inflected language, it became one partially stripped
of inflections, whereas its changes in vocabulary during the same
period, though important in themselves, were far less radical in
their effects. After 1400, the order of importance is reversed. It
was a change in the vocabulary, particularly in that of the sixteenth
century, which made almost all the difference; the grammatical
structure was modified in but a comparatively slight degree.
The causes of these differing tendencies are not far to seek.
The period before Chaucer was one in which English was not,
as yet, the literary language: it shared that dignity with Latin
and Anglo-French, and, of its four main dialects, no one had
become predominant. These were conditions which readily per-
mitted grammatical change and led to attempts being made
at removing ambiguities and irregularities from the inflectional
system. After 1400, the restraining influences of a recognised
literary dialect and a growing literature made themselves felt.
Writers became more and more adverse to modifications of
grammatical forms, which had already been simplified almost to
their limit, while the vocabulary grew mechanically under varying
but ever increasing influences.
The period (1400—1600) with which this chapter deals divides
naturally into two centuries, the dividing point being, roughly, the
date of Caxton's death (1491). The first of these two periods—the
fifteenth century-though transitional and somewhat chaotic in
character, was, nevertheless, responsible for certain marked develop-
ments. In it an increased importance was given to the vernacular,
and a uniform written language was established, both of which
effects were due to tendencies visible already in Chaucer's day. And
## p. 440 (#462) ############################################
440 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
the period is further characterised by some considerable changes in
vocabulary, as well as by changes of a more gradual kind in gram-
matical structure and pronunciation, which may be said to culminate
in the following century.
The increasing importance of the vernacular in the fifteenth
century was due, in part, to the growing sense of nationality
under Edward III. Although the use of English had never
died out, and even Robert of Gloucester had been able to
state that 'lowe men holdep to Engliss, yet, in the thirteenth
century and later, Anglo-French was the courtly language, Latin
the language of learned and documentary writings. Under
Edward III, the conditions began to change : in 1362, parliament
was opened by an English speech, and, about the same time,
English began to be used in the law courts and the schools? . It
also came to be generally regarded as the language of literature, as
is seen when Gower forsakes French and Latin to write in Englisb,
and when Capgrave (1462) compiles what was the first ebronicle in
English since the Conquest. Though the struggles of the vernacular
for recognition were not completed in this century, the position it
held was stronger than at any time since 1066, and its supremacy
was to be assured by Caxton's work.
The causes which brought about the recognition of a standard
dialect of English have already been treated. London furnished
that dialect, just as the chief city of Attica furnished the language
of literary Greek and Paris the language of literary French ; and
throughout the fifteenth century this London dialect was gaining
ascendency. Various dialectal forms inserted in a text would still
betray the district from which their writer hailed, even when he
had deliberately adopted the standard dialect; and such pro-
vincialisms remained until the time of printed texts. But, from
now onwards, the one dialect was to represent the spoken language
of the educated, as well as the literary and official medium. The
dialects of Ormulum and the Ancren Riwle lost caste, and
remained, apart from literature, on the tongues of the people
The most striking feature in connection with the fifteenth
century vocabulary was the rapid manner in which old native words
became obsolete. This is clearly seen from the following lists,
taken, on the one hand, from fourteenth century texts, and, on the
a
1 The oldest private records in English are dated 1375 and 1381; the oldest London
documents in English, 1384, 1386; the earliest petition to parliament in English,
1386; the earliest English wills, 1387. See Morsbach: Über den Ursprung der
neuengl. Schriftsprache (Heilbronn, 1888), passim.
5
## p. 441 (#463) ############################################
shall resgeyve
encrece
teke away
axe him
a
olde age
Fifteenth Century Changes in Vocabulary 441
other, from modernised versions of those texts, belonging to the
fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
Trevisa's Chron. Caxton's version Wyclif's trans. Tindale's version
(1387)
(1482)
(1380)
(1525)
icleped
called
heathens gentyls
schullep fonge
Zeerd
rod
to eche
to meke
to humble
byneme
soure dow3
leven
buxom
obedient
bitake
delyver
hist
was named
questen with bim
as me trowej
as men suppose walow a stoon roll a stone
steihe
ascended
abide it
wayte for it
zede
went
elde
nesche
soft
to hie hymself to exalt hym selfel.
Literary diction is not always a true test as to the condition of
the spoken language, but there can be little doubt that the
changes here represented stand for changes of the language in
common use ; for the object in modernising the texts had been to
bring them into conformity with the language of the day. And it
is also interesting to note that the forms of the later texts are
practically those of modern English: they were to be fixed by the
printing press.
It is evident from the above lists that the obsolescent native
words were being mainly superseded by words of French origin.
French words had been borrowed during the preceding centuries,
when Anglo-French represented the language of the official and
governing classes ; but, in the fifteenth century, as a result of
different social and literary influences, the borrowings were mainly
of the Parisian or Picardian type, and their use became more
marked than ever. Already, in the first half of this century, a
change is visible; in Lydgate, for instance, abstract words of
Romance origin are being substituted for Chaucer's concrete
native terms', and the proportion of this foreign element steadily
increased as the century advanced.
Translation, no doubt, accounts for the presence of many of
these French words in fifteenth century English, also for the many
Latin words and constructions which were freely adopted. But
it by no means represents the only influence. Trade relations with
the Netherlands and the settlement of Flemish weavers in England
during the fourteenth century led to the introduction of many
i See T. L. K. Oliphant's New English, 1, pp. 336, 409-10.
: In the diction of Chaucer's Prologue there is 13 per cent. of foreign element; in
Lydgate's Assembly of Gods, 23 per cent. (See 0. T. Triggs, Assembly of Gods,
E. E. T. S. Ex. Ser. LXIX. )
## p. 442 (#464) ############################################
442 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
6
>
Low German words, which were supplemented at a later date,
when relations with the Low Countries were renewed in connection
with printing. Then, again, Italian words like 'pilgrim,' 'alarm’
and 'brigand,' are found naturalised before 1500; and so, in
a variety of ways, the character of the vocabulary changed, antici-
pating the more expansive movements of the following century !
It is also clear, from the above lists, that the decay of the
earlier inflectional system was being gradually completed. Un-
necessary adjuncts like the prefix y-, the negative particle in nas
and endings like -ep in schulleh' (present plural) and 'havep'
(imperative plural), where the plural idea was denoted by the
context, were being discarded. Prepositional forms were increasing,
as well as the periphrastic method of comparison by 'more' and
‘most. ' There was also a growing tendency to avoid impersonal
constructions, while vowel-differences, due to earlier ablaut or
umlaut, as in 'schullep' and 'elde,' in the list given above, were
being rapidly levelled. The most important of these changes,
however, was the loss of final syllabic -e (-es, -en). It is probable
that Chaucer's systematic use of that vowel represented merely an
archaism utilised for metrical purposes, and it was owing to his
influence that its value was preserved in poetry during the early
part of the fifteenth century. But already in Lydgate there are
signs that it had really become mute, more frequently, perhaps, in
Romance words, than in those of Teutonic origin; and this led
to much confusion in both language and metre after the middle of
the century. The secret of Chaucer's metrical methods seemed lost,
and the confused metre, the halting gait and the unmusical com-
binations of words illustrate how misapprehension of this final syllabic
-e had interfered with literary effects. A change in the whole poetic
phraseology was, moreover, involved; dissyllabic words became
monosyllabic, and poetic formulas, received from the past, became
mere prose. Lydgate was able to embody phrases such as Chaucer's
'the grene levės,' or 'oldė stories tellen us’; but, to later poets,
unconscious of the syllabic -e, the phrases were lacking in harmony
and rhythm. Instead of Chaucer’s ‘my grenė yerés,' Surrey has to
.
>
1 Wyclif's phrases the streit zate,' to be of good coumfort,' and such expressions
as 'the pees that the world may not geve,' . for better for warse,' 'tyl dethe us departe'
(translation of York Manual, 1890) are early indications of the influence of 'makers of
English' (see p. 455).
? See Lydgate's later works for y, yë, rimes.
* See vol. 11, chap. ix, and Courthope's History of English Poetry, vol. 1, pp. 87 ff.
For its influence upon Spenser's accentual measures in the Shepheards Calender see
Greg's Pastoral Poetry and Pastoral Drama, pp. 94, 95.
## p. 443 (#465) ############################################
Elizabethan English
443
write ‘my fresh green years'; for Chaucer's 'sootė flourės,'Sackville
writes 'soot fresh flowers 'l.
Of changes in pronunciation during the fifteenth century, those
of open and close è and 7, are, perhaps, the most important. The
open and close values had, apparently, been distinct in Chaucer's
time, for he avoids riming the one with the other; but, in the fifteenth
century, the open values began to approximate those of the close.
This change gave to open 7 what is practically its modern value,
but the other sounds were to undergo further changes in the
sixteenth and later centuries? At the same time, medial gh
ceased to be pronounced. Chaucer does not rime a vowel followed
by ght with a vowel followed by t; but, in Lydgate, 'fought' rimes
with ‘about,' and there is ample evidence that the Old English
sound of medial h was, by this time, lost.
The orthography during this century was somewhat confused.
It was irregular in the sixteenth century, in spite of the influence
of printed texts, but already it was assuming forms which, with
slight changes, were destined to survive all later modifications of
pronunciation, thus producing the anomalies of our modern spelling.
After Caxton's day, old symbols like 3 and þ were discarded, and
final non-syllabic -e was often used, as in 'stone' (nom. ), without any
etymological warrant: its use, in such cases, being due to analogy
with the oblique forms in which it normally occurred.
We pass now to the sixteenth century and there we see the
vernacular duly established as the literary medium, so that the
main interest lies in tracing the subsequent development of
the language of Caxton and in noting how it became a fit vehicle
for some of our greatest literature. Now, for the first time, we see
scholars concerned for its welfare, and attempting to improve
its powers of expression. We also see the renascence movement
and general national activities increasing its vocabulary to an
enormous extent. We see its grammatical structure and its
syntax being slowly modified ; and, while there are visible certain
approaches to modern expression, we also notice certain charac-
teristics which give to Elizabethan English something of its peculiar
charm.
open ē
* See J. Schick, Lydgate's Temple of Glas, E. E. T. S. , 1891.
2 These changes might, roughly, be indicated as follows :
M. E. Example 14th cent. pronunciation 15th cent. pronunciation
mele (meal)
sounded as in Pair
sounded as in Pail
close ē demen (deem)
Pail
Pail
open o
stoon (stone)
Paul
Paul, Pole
close 8 doom (doom)
Pole
Pole,
97
## p. 444 (#466) ############################################
444 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
When Caxton died in 1491, he had fixed, in the rough, the
character of modern English. The works subsequently issued
from the printing press were to give to the vernacular a definite
standing, and to suggest its adoption as the literary medium, with
a force denied to rarely handled manuscripts. But there still
remained many obstacles to be overcome, before the capabilities
of English were completely recognised. It had never yet been the
object of serious study. The grammar schools founded in the
sixteenth and previous centuries existed inainly for the teaching
of Latin; grammar meant Latin grammar, and it became a generic
term only at the close of the Elizabethan age? Moreover, the
English-Latin dictionaries? which had appeared at intervals since
1440, though they afforded valuable collections of English words,
were primarily designed to help Latin scholars; and so it is not
strange to find that, in the first half of the sixteenth century, the
idea of Latin as the language of scholarship and the necessary
medium for attaining literary longevity was still a deeply-seated
notion. Thus, we find bishop Gardiner advising that religious
works should take either Greek or Latin form, because those
languages were well fixed, whereas ‘English had not continued
in one form of understanding for 200 years. ' And, again, Sir
Thomas Hoby, though himself a translator, writes, in 1561, that
oure learned menne for the most part, holde opinion that to have
the sciences in the mother tunge, hurteth memorie and hindreth
learning. The vernacular, too, was constantly being made the
subject of apology. Many still felt with Ascham, that to have
written in a tongue other than English would have been more
honest for their names ; and the monotony of lament for the vile
terms' of English, which had become almost conventional since the
days of Chaucer, was, to some extent, maintained.
The second half of the century, however, witnessed a change
of attitude. Literary criticism began with an enquiry into
language, the outward and visible sign of literature; scholars
began to consider what was correct in the pronunciation and
6
6
1 Besides the English Grammar due to Ben Jonson, the works of Mulcaster and
Bullokar ought to be noticed. The former wrote an Elementarie, Pt I. (1582), 'which
entreateth chefely of the right Writing of the English Tung'; while Wm Ballokar's
Bref Grammar for English (1586) was an 'abbreviation out of his grammar at larg,'
which 'grammar at larg’ he claimed to be the first grammar for Englishe that ever
waz' (see Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. III, pp. 346–7). For an article on
Richard Mulcaster as Elizabethan philologist see Mod. Lang. Nules, w, No. 3,
pp. 129–39. See also ante, pp. 311 and 435.
? See bibliography.
## p. 445 (#467) ############################################
Growing Importance of the Vernacular 445
spelling of English, and to set themselves to the task of improving
its powers of expression.
With the appearance of Toxophilus (1545), the prejudice in
favour of Latin may be said to have begun to wane. Though
journals of the guilds and important records and accounts were still
couched in Latin, there was an occasional championing of the
vernacular even in connection with recondite subjects. Elyot had
already protested: 'If physicians be angry that I have written
physicke in English, let them remember that the Grekes wrote
in Greke, the Romains in Latin ",' and the vernacular slowly
asserted itself in religious and secular works, and even in those
which issued from the citadels of science. A sort of compromise
between the old and new traditions was visible when More's
Utopia was translated into English in 1561, and when Lawrence
Humphrey, having written his Optimates (1560) in Latin, three years
later turned it into English. And, though Bacon was yet to fear that
modern languages would 'play the bankrupt with books,' his timid-
ity was far from being shared by the bulk of his contemporaries.
The causes of this change were, no doubt, complex; but one
great driving force must have been the growing sense of
nationalism, the new-bom temper, which rejoiced in everything
English. Then, again, the desire to disseminate renascence learning,
and to open up easy avenues to the classical stores, induced
scholars to make a further use of their mother tongue. The
reformation movement, in itself an assertion of Teutonism against
Latinism, led to numerous English versions of the Bible; and,
when the English prayer-book had also accustomed the nation
to daily reading of their mother tongue, English, instead of
Latin, had become the language of religion. Moreover, the work
inaugurated by Caxton was duly organised when the Stationers'
company was formed in 1557, and growing facilities for the book
industry in England ensured an increase in the appearance of
English works.
With this gradual recognition of the literary claims of the
vernacular, scholars began to perceive the urgency of fitting it
for its new tasks. The situation was paralleled across the Channel,
where Ronsard and La Pléiade were engaged upon the improve-
ment of their mother tongue; and, at a still earlier date, Bembo,
the foster-father of Italian, had undertaken a similar work in
1 Elyot's Castel of Holth (1584). The interlude called The Four Elements (1520)
bad already discussed the use of English for scholarly purposes, and lamented that it
had been employed hitherto only for idle stories of love and war.
## p. 446 (#468) ############################################
446 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
а.
Italy. In Italy, the end had been obtained by a dictatorship;
in France, the reformers aimed at devising rules; but in England,
the method adopted was the characteristic one of compromise.
A middle way was chosen between two conflicting tendencies, one
of which, being conservative, aimed at retaining the language in its
purity and severity, while the other made for innovation, for the
strengthening of the native growth with foreign material. These
opposing tendencies represented an inevitable stage in linguistic
development. Innovations had been made continuously since the
time of the Romans, and the work of sixteenth century inno-
vators, Latinists for the most part, was simply a continuation of
this practice. But the opposite tendency, that of the purists, was
now felt for the first time; conservatism was generated only when
time had brought about a due consciousness of the past and a pride
in the vernacular as a national possession.
The purists were notably Cheke, Ascham and Wilson, though
their sympathies were shared by many others. Cheke, as a lover of
‘old denisened words,' expressed himself in unequivocal terms.
Our own tung,' he writes, 'should be written clean and pure, un-
mixt and unmangeled with borrowing of other tunges; wherein, if
we take not heed by tym, ever borrowing and never payeng, she
shall be fain to keep her house as bankrupt. ' Ascham, too,
adopted the same attitude, and Wilson decried all 'overflouryshing
wyth superfluous speach. And this love of the vernacular and
confidence in its resources was present with others. Mulcaster
honoured Latin but worshipped English; Sidney maintained that for
‘uttering sweetly and properly the conceits of the mind. . . [English]
hath it equally with any other tongue in the world,' and similar .
sentiments were uttered by Golding and Pettie, while, before the
end of the century, Carew's Epistle on the Excellency of the
English Tongue had appeared! . Under certain conditions, religious
zeal might also account for a purist attitude, as when Fulke, in
his attack of 1583 upon the Rheims translation of the Bible, com-
plains of the number of Latin words used in that version, where
they occur of purpose to darken the sense. . . [and that] it may be
kept [by the Papists] from being understood. '
But there were not a few who held that the vernacular needed
improvement if it was to respond to the demands which were
obviously ahead. To refuse innovation was to neglect the very
1
1 It is contained in the 2nd ed. of Camden’s Remains (1605). See also the
prophecy of the glorious destiny of the English language in Daniel's Musophilus
(1599) (quoted by Courthope, History of English Poetry, vol. ul, p. 23).
## p. 447 (#469) ############################################
6
Conservatism and Reform 447
means by which it had prospered in the past; and it was felt that
the jealous exclusiveness of the extreme purists threatened to
blunt all literary expression and would turn the vernacular into a
clumsy instrument. Many of those whose instincts were conserva-
tive were also alive to the necessity for a certain amount of innova-
tion. Even Cheke made a proviso to the effect that, ‘borrowing,
if it needs must be, should be done with bashfulness,' and both
Pettie and Wilson definitely proposed to improve their language by
Latin borrowings.
'It is the way, remarked the former, 'that all
tongues have taken to enrich themselves. ' Gascoigne, though dis-
liking strange words in general, was bound to admit that, at times,
they might 'draw attentive reading’; while Nashe, complaining of
the way in which English swarmed with the single money of
monosyllables,' proposed to make a royaler show,' by exchanging
his ‘small English . . . four into one . . . according to the Greek, French,
Spanish and Italian. ' Other reasons were elsewhere advanced to
justify innovation; but what is of more importance is that, in actual
practice, the main body of writers were fully in sympathy with the
aims of the movement.
The result of these conflicting tendencies was twofold. The
conservatism of the purists proved a useful drag upon the energies
of the reformers; it tended to preserve from obsolescence the
native element in the language, and was a wholesome reminder of
the necessity for moving slowly in a period of rapid change and hot
enthusiasm. The efforts of the innovators, on the other hand,
made great things possible. The language under their treatment
became more supple, more ornate and more responsive to new
ideas and emotions; but this was only after a certain amount of
licence had been frowned out of existence.
The conservative tendency is revealed, not only in a negative
way, by the general discountenancing of rash innovation, but, also,
by positive efforts made to restore such good and natural English
words as had been long time out of use and almost clean disherited. '
Obsolescent words, no doubt, persisted in the spoken language, for
Ascham, who held 'that good writing involved the speech of the
comon people,' makes use of forms like 'stoure' (fight) and 'freke'
(man), while, in Foxe's Actes and Monuments, which appealed
to provincial and cultured taste alike, are to be found words like
‘spill' (destroy), 'dere' (injure), ‘lin' (cease), ‘spur' (ask), “lese'
(lose) and 'middle-earth' (world). Then, again, works written
under the influence of earlier poetic tradition might, also, contain a
certain amount of the archaic: thus, Wyatt and Surrey have forms
## p. 448 (#470) ############################################
448 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
6
6
a
6
like 'eyen' and 'durre' (door), while Gascoigne, who writes under
the influence of Piers the Plowman, uses "sakeless' innocent),
* fearli’ (wonder) and 'grete' (cry). Very frequently, too, there was
deliberate archaising. Sir John Cheke, in his unfinished transla-
tion of the New Testament, took many liberties not always justifi-
able; for 'publican' he writes 'toller'; for "crucify, cross'; for
'centurion,' 'hundreder'; and, for 'lunatic,' 'moond. ' In the
translations of Phaer, Twyne, Golding and North, further archaisms
appear; while Stanyhurst, who was a man of many devices, bas old
forms like 'sib,' 'gadling,' 'quernstone' and 'agryse? ?
In some cases, a definite literary motive might occasion the use
of these forms. Spenser, for instance, in his Shepheards Calender
makes a most liberal use of the language of Lancashire peasants as
well as of obsolete forms. To the former class, probably, belong
such northern forms as 'wae' (woe), "gate' (goat), "sike' (such),
‘mickle' and 'kirke,' and they effectively suggest 'the rusticall
rudenesse of shepheards. ' In his Faerie Queene, while he uses
Chaucerisms like 'gan tel,' 'areed' and 'lustyhed,' to suggest a
medieval tone in keeping with his subject, he also finds such forms
as 'ycled,' 'passen' and 'wawes' of great assistance, not only in
completing the requisite number of syllables in the line, but, also,
in affording riming variants. And, again, in the drama, dialectal
forms were frequently employed to obtain greater verisimilitude.
The west country speech was the conventional form of utterance for
rusticity on the stage; whence the forms 'chad,' 'ichotte,' 'vilthy,'
'zembletee' (semblance), in Ralph Roister Doister, with which
may be compared Edgar's diction in King Lear.
But this use of obsolescent and dialectal forms added nothing
to the permanent literary resources. It was an artificial restoration
of words, honourable enough in the past, but which the language
had naturally discarded; for words rapidly become obsolete in a
period of swiftly advancing culture. Where such words appear,
they add a picturesqueness to Elizabethan diction, but it was
not until the close of the eighteenth century that the full capabilities
of words racy of the soil became properly appreciated, when dialect
added new effects to English expression. For the rest, the ancient
words continued to linger in their rustic obscurity, regardless of the
1 The Gospel according to St Matthew . . . translated from the Greek, with original
notes by Sir John Cheke . . . by James Goodwin. London, 1843.
The rogaes' language then current still survives in modern slang; thus : 'bowse'
(drink), dudes' (clothes), 'fylcho' (rob), 'ken' (house), 'mounch' (eat), 'prygger'
(thief), 'tiplinge-house' (ale-house),'typ' (secret). See Awdeley's Fraternitye, Harman's
Caveat and Chandler's Literature of Roguery, vol. I, pp. 119 ff.
6
## p. 449 (#471) ############################################
Classical Influence
449
attention or neglect of literary men. That they were already fast
becoming unfamiliar in polite circles would appear from the fact that
a glossary of obscure words was appended to Speght's edition of
Chaucer (1602), a convenience which had not been deemed neces-
sary in the editions of 1542 and 1561.
The case, however, was different when words, instead of being
drawn from a dead past, were taken from a living present, as
elements contributed to the language by the changing thoughts
and movements of the time. English, in the nineteenth century,
assimilated the respective vocabularies of German metaphysics, the
pictorial art and science; and, in the same way, the language of the
sixteenth century was assimilating the phraseology of renascence
learning and reformation zeal, as well as the expressions of travel
and adventure. And, although English, owing to its plastic state,
accepted, for the time being, more of these elements than it was
destined to retain, the ultimate result was linguistic expansion,
and a considerable step was thus taken by the language towards
its modern form.
The influence of the renascence is seen in the classical importa-
tions with which the language became inundated-an influence
parallel to that which induced scholars to turn to the classics for
assistance in remodelling and reforming their literary art. Just as
attempts were made to introduce classical 'decorum ' into the native
drama, to substitute classical prosody for native forms, so free use
was made of classical diction in the attempt to obtain increased
power of literary expression. The beginning of this influence is
seen in the translations, where numerous words of the originals
were, perforce, retained; then, again, in the fashion of introducing
classical quotations into works of various kinds. This latter pro-
cedure was less pedantic than would at first appear, for Latin was
still, to some extent, the traditional language of the learned, and
represented the great link between our own reformers and those of
other lands. It was used by Elizabeth in conversation with foreign
ambassadors, and 'latine ends,' as Chapman put it,' were part of a
gentleman and a good scholler. The inevitable result was an
almost reckless borrowing of classical words, an occasional use of
Latin idiom and, in some cases, an imitation of classical style.
The process of adopting classical and, indeed, all foreign words,
is plainly shown in the various texts. At first they are frankly
inserted as foreign elements and appear in their alien form ; but
they are often followed by explanations added to such phrases as
that is to saie' or as we terme it. ' Then, later, they take their
29
L. L. III.
CH. XX.
## p. 450 (#472) ############################################
450 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
<
>
places without any explanation, though, as they appear not un-
frequently in synonyms like 'synchroni or time-fellows,''accersed
and called together,' their respective meanings may still be gathered
from the context.
But all classical importations did not meet with the same fate.
In the struggle for naturalisation, different words obtained different
degrees of success, according to the dictates of that mysterious
arbiter 'the genius of the language'; and, when Puttenham, for
instance, objects to such words as 'audacious,' 'fecundity' and
*compatible,' he only shows the inability of contemporaries to
anticipate the verdict of time. Some of the claimants for naturalisa-
tion were adopted with little or no change of form, as, for instance,
'epitome,''effigies,' 'spondee,''catastrophe'l. Others retained their
original forms for a time, as 'subjectum,' 'energia,''aristocratia' and
'statua', or, again, in the case of inflected forms, critici,''sphinges,'
'chori,' 'ideae,' 'misanthropi' and 'musaea. But, in all cases,
naturalisation ultimately meant the loss of foreign endings, or their
assimilation with the endings and inflections of native origin. Other
classical words never became really adopted; they appeared at the
whim of an individual and then disappeared, as, for instance,
‘acroame' (lecture) and 'polypragmon’(busybody). This class was
fairly large, as almost every writer, in the absence of a standard
literary diction, considered himself at liberty to make experiments.
But, if naturalisation in the case of Latin words meant, generally
speaking, assimilation with native forms and the adoption of endings
similar to those assumed by earlier Latin borrowings derived through
the French, no such precedent offered itself in the case of Greek
words; for now, for the first time, it became possible to borrow
from the Greek direct. Greek words, however, had previously entered
the language through the medium of Latin, and now, when techni-
cal or other words were taken from the Greek, they were trans-
literated into Latin forms, as if they had normally passed through
Latin channels. It became recognised in England and elsewhere
that the Greek K, ai, el, ol, ov, v and should be represented in the
vernaculars by c, ae, i, o, u, y and rh; hence, forms like 'acme,'
'phaenomenon,' oeconomia,''enthusiasm' and 'rhythm',
'
'
Each word thus naturalised was made to conform gradu-
ally with the English mode of accentuation, and to this general
3
1 Also, "caveat,''emphasis,'"enigma,''opprobrium,' 'exterior' and 'parenthesis. '
* Also, 'scaene,' epitheton' and 'parallelon. '
3 ·Absonisme' (solecism), 'charientism' (euphemism), 'commorse' (compassion).
* See Bradley, Making of English, p. 98.
## p. 451 (#473) ############################################
Pedantic Spellings
451
>
rule Greek and Latin proper names formed no exception. They
were adopted with or without inflection, and the accent was thrown
as far back as possible, irrespective of quantities: this accounts for
the accentuation of such forms as Hyperion and Andronicus.
It was only natural that these classical borrowings should
retain, at first, their original meanings; and so we find many words
used in a sense from which they have since departed, as, for
instance, ‘fact' (deed), "success' (sequel), “sentence' (opinion),
'prevent' (go before)? Such words as these, being more or less
strange to the common idiom of that age, were well suited to form
part of its literary material; whereas, to a later age, which assigns
to them different meanings, they suggest an archaic flavour, which
is one of the charms of Elizabethan diction. Not unfrequently,
they would deteriorate in meaning; this is true of classical words
to a greater extent than of native words, and of this depreciation,
'impertinent' and officious' are examples.
Sometimes, however, classical enthusiasm would distort word-
forms, which had been derived at an earlier date from Latin through
Romance, and, consequently, attempts were made to restore letters
which had been normally lost in that passage. Thus, b was inserted
in 'doubt' and 'debt,'l in ‘vault' and 'fault,' d in advantage' and
"
'advance,' while ‘apricock' was thus written probably in view of
the Latin in aprico coctus. Then, again, the form 'amicable'
appeared by the side of 'amiable,' 'absency' (Latin 'absentia')
together with the French 'absence'; through the influence of
Greek, 'queriste' became 'choriste,' while 'fantasy' varied with
'phantasy’; and, in other forms like 'fruict,' 'traditour' (traitor),
'feact' (fact), 'traictise' and 'conceipt,' are visible further pedantries
not destined to be permanent. Occasionally, more audacious
changes took place in attempts to suggest a fanciful etymology:
as, for instance, when fere' (O. E. 'gefera, companion) was written
'pheere,' or when 'eclogues' appeared as ‘aeglogues,' as if to connect
it with the Greek ais (goat). The frail foundation upon which most
of such changes rested may be gathered from the statement of one
writer that the words 'wind' and 'way' were derived from the
Latin 'ventus' and 'via,' while the spelling 'abhominable,' as if
from the Latin ab homine, was generally accepted. Indeed,
even in the case of so worthy an antiquary as Camden, we
find the paradox that 'the Old English . . . could call a Comet a
Fixed Starre. . . which is all one with Stella Crinita'? The result
>
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Also, 'expect' (wait), 'record' (remember), 'table' (picture), 'abrupt' (wicked).
That is, crinita'='fixed,' the latter being taken as a derivative of 0. E. 'fear'
(hair) (! ).
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## p. 452 (#474) ############################################
452 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
>
?
of all this was the introduction of a number of artificial spellings,
many of which, having been retained, have greatly contributed to
the vagaries of our modern orthography.
The effect of this host of classical borrowings was to increase, in
many ways, the capabilities of the language in the matter of expres-
sion. They formed the language of reasoning, of science and of philo-
sophy; from them, mainly, were drawn artistic and abstract terms,
whereas the language of emotion, particularly that of the drama,
remained very largely Teutonic in kind. Not unseldom, a classical
,
word was borrowed, though its equivalent already existed in English,
and this usage gave rise to frequent synonyms. The use of synonyms
was by no means abnormal in English, nor was it ineffective as a
literary device. They had entered very largely into Old English
verse, and were still a feature of Elizabethan English, as may be
seen from combinations like 'acknowledge and confess,' 'humble
and lowly,' 'assemble and meet together,' in the English liturgy, or
such forms as 'limited and confined,''wonder and admiration,' to
be found elsewhere. Their increased use, at this date, was due
partly to the exuberant character of the age, partly to an increase
in the material available for such forms and partly to the plastic
condition of the language, which made it easy for an unfamiliar
word to be supplemented by one of a more familiar kind. The
result of this usage was to give to the prose style a greater flexi-
bility of rhythm, while, in course of time, the double forms, having
become 'desynonymised, furnished abundant material for the
expression of slight shades of meaning. Another important effect
of a certain section of these classical borrowings was to give an
impetus to the art of forming compounds, which, though much
practised in the earliest English period, had been somewhat
neglected in Middle English times. Chapman's translation of
Homer, in particular, brought before the age many Homeric com-
pounds, such as thunder-loving Jove,' 'the ever-shining eyes,
'fresh-sprung herbs' and 'well-greaved Greeks. Many of these
'
forms were preserved in the language, and from this period date
some of the happiest of Pope's compound epithets.
Besides these new words of classical origin, there were many
Romance forms which were being tentatively used, and which
ultimately went to enrich the English vocabulary. In general, it
may be said that they are less abstract in character than those con-
tributed by the classics. Being drawn from living languages, they
stand in a closer relation to actual life; they represent new objects
rather than new ideas; and so reflect something of the nature
of the current intercourse between England and the Romance
## p. 453 (#475) ############################################
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Influence of Romance Languages 453
countries. There were, in the first place, many new words of French
origin, and their number, undoubtedly, was increased by the fact
that many classical, as well as Italian, works were translated into
English from French versions. They consist, for the most part, of
words of a general kind, though military terms figure somewhat
largely. The following are instances of borrowings connected with
the soldier's trade : 'accoutrement,' 'battery,' 'flank,' pioneer,'
calibre,''cassock' (a military cloak) and colonel' (pronounced in
three syllables). Phrases such as ‘plaine force' and 'body politicke'
were, occasionally, borrowed, besides such common words as ‘chart,'
'gallimaufry' (mixture), 'baies' (baize) and 'bombast' (cotton
wadding). The word 'essay' now, for the first time, became used
in its modern sense owing to Montaigne; 'genteel' represented a
re-adoption of the French 'gentil' which, previously borrowed, had,
by this date, become 'gentle'; 'collcaryour' (messenger) was a
modification of the French 'colporteur,' while ‘horly borly' was
due to the ingenuity of Rabelais. There were, of course, many
instances of words which never became Anglicised, for example :
'bourreau,''bruit,' 'haut,''sanglier,' 'travise,' 'sparple' (scatter),
'mures' (walls) and 'cassed' (discharged). The word “faubourg'
(suburb) and the phrase 'all amort' (à la mort) were naturalised for
a time, but only to be treated as foreign at a later date. French
influence on the orthography was but slight: the strange forms
'doggue, 'pangue, 'publique' are interesting in view of the
modern spelling 'tongue'; 'eguall' represents a blend of both
Latin and French.
Of still greater importance were the additions to the vocabulary
derived from the Spanish. They were very largely connected with
ideas of the New World, more particularly of the West Indies,
where Spain had large interests, and, unlike the classical importa-
tions, they are concerned with the spoken, rather than with the
literary, language. They became familiar in various ways: through
the numerous pamphlets which aimed at supplying information
about Spain, through translations of Spanish works such as
Oviedo's History of the West Indies, or, again, through accounts
of English voyages. But more important than all was the in-
fluence of English adventurers who returned from the west with
wondrous tales and strange new words. Many of the words
thus introduced had been adopted by the Spaniards from the West
Indian (Hayti) language: for example, 'canoe,' 'hurricane,'
“tobacco,' 'maize,' 'cannibal'; but, in the forms ‘mosquito,' 'El
Dorado,' cocoa’and'alligator,' Romance roots had been employed
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## p. 454 (#476) ############################################
454 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
6
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6
6
to denote the new phenomena. Of the remaining words, which were
largely bound up with war, commerce or religion, a certain number
ended in -o (-ado), as, cargo,' 'embargo,' desperado,' renegado. '
Hence, in numerous others, the -ado ending is affected where the
Spanish equivalents had -ada : for example, "armado' (armada),
'ambuscado,' 'bastinado, 'bravado,' 'carbonado,' 'palisado,'
“strappado. Other adaptations are, 'Canary,' 'Bilbo' (sword),
* fico' (fig), 'flamingo' and 'grandee'; sometimes phrases were
borrowed as 'paucas palabris'' (in short) and 'miching mallhecho. '
A great number of Italian words, also, were introduced at this
time, but, as they often came through French, for instance,
'gazette' and 'carnival,' their identification is not always easy.
Much of the Italianate English of which Ascham complains never
became naturalised; the use of the Italian adverb ‘via' (go on), and
'ben venuto' (welcome), was merely temporary, while words like
'bona-roba,''amoretti' and 'borachio,' which promised to become
permanent, were soon regarded as foreign. But English travellers,
English traders and English translators could not fail to add some-
thing to their native vocabulary, and such words as 'duello, compli-
mento' and 'bandetto'; 'argosy," magnifico’and 'Bergomask” (rustic
dance); canto,' 'stanza' and 'sonnet,' were among the additions.
Architectural terms, too, were borrowed from Italy, for, in
Elizabeth's reign, the Tudor style was being modified by the
Cinque-cento, English buildings were being constructed after Italian
designs and Italian treatises were being turned into English ; in
consequence, such words as 'belvedere,' 'antic,' 'grotta’ and
'portico' became familiar. The jargon of the Italian fencing-
schools also became fashionable, as a result of the displacement of
the old broadsword by the foreign rapier : the Bobadils of the day
talked freely of the 'punto,' 'reverso,' stoccato' and 'passado?
Dutch borrowings must also be mentioned, though not numeri-
cally large. They were introduced by English adventurers who
had fought against Spain in the Netherlands, and who, on their
return home, larded their conversation with Dutch phrases there
acquired: 'easterling,' 'beleaguer,' 'burgomaster,''domineer' and
' forlorn hope' are instances of such additions. Similarly, oriental
words, such as 'caraway,''garbled, gong,''dervish' and 'divan,'
witness to extended nautical enterprise ; each account of a
voyage contained a host of such words, which might or might
not become naturalised.
While the language, so far as its vocabulary was concerued,
1 Corruption of Span. pocas palabras. See Taming of the Shrew, Ind. 1. 5.
? For commercial terms derived from the Italian, see Einstein, L. , The Italian
Renaissance in England (1902), p. 281.
>
## p. 455 (#477) ############################################
Literary Influence on the Vocabulary 455
thus kept pace with the expansion of national life and thought, by
means of borrowing from abroad, it was also subject to certain
internal influences. Literary men, in general, extended the vo-
cabulary by indulging in coinages; but more important than this
was the vogue given to certain words and phrases in consequence
of their happy use by some of the great writers. Such ex-
pressions were stamped with permanency and became current coin
of the highest value.
In the first place, new formations, devised by contemporary
writers out of material ready at hand, represent an appreciable
extension of the normal vocabulary, though, in many cases, they
were not to prove permanent. A host of newly-coined compounds
are scattered in the works of the time and represent the operation
of various devices upon a plastic stage of the language. A spirited
style would produce sonorous compounds like 'sky-bred chirpers,'
'heart-scalding sighs,' 'home-keeping wits' and 'cloud-capt towers. '
A satirical effect might be obtained by onomatopoeic reduplication
such as 'rif-raf,' 'tag-rag' and 'hugger-mugger,' though this
formation, being crude and mechanical, failed to maintain a
literary rank. A word like 'find-fault' would be coined with an
eye to alliterative effect, 'gravel-blind' with a view to a play upon
the word 'sand-blind' (i. e. sam-blind); while other coinages, like
‘ablesse' and `idlesse,' 'goddise' (deity) and 'grandity,' 'mobocracy'
'fathership,' 'foehood,''praecel' (excel) and "Turkishness' (bar-
barism), though they represent a blending of material, intelligible
then and now, were rendered unnecessary by forms otherwise con-
structed, which, in some way or other, have maintained themselves.
Then, again, literary influences at work on the elements of the
native vocabulary often resulted in the formation of expressions
and phrases to which their authors, indirectly, gave a wide currency
and a permanent value. Many of them were to enter into daily
conversation, while their innate beauty still renders them fit for
the highest literary usage. The main sources of this influence
were the works of Spenser and Shakespeare, and the English
Bible. From Spenser, we get such forms as 'elfin,''Braggadochio,
'blatant,' 'derring-do' and 'squire oi dames’; from Shakespeare,
such expressions as 'benedict,' 'the undiscovered country,' 'the
primrose path,''single blessedness,''to die by inches,''to eat the
leek,''this working-day world' and 'coign of vantage'; while from
the English Bible come the forms, ‘loving-kindness,' “heavy-laden,'
'peacemaker,' 'scapegoat,''shibboleth,' 'mammon,' 'Babel' and
'helpmeet, as well as the phrases, the fat of the land,' 'the
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## p. 456 (#478) ############################################
456 Language from Chaucer to Shakespeare
eleventh hour,' the shadow of death,' a soft answer' and 'a labour
of love'l. Many of these expressions have attained the dignity of
unidentified quotations, but, nevertheless, they are contributions
to the growth of the language, and, as such, are possessed of
as much significance as separate additions to the vocabulary.
While these changes, due, largely, to external influences, were
taking place in the vocabulary, the language was also undergoing
further changes in its grammatical structure, its syntax and its
pronunciation, such modifications being due to those internal
influences continually at work upon a living language.
In the first place, it is only natural to find that, while Old
English inflections had, for the most part, been levelled, traces of
earlier constructions still remained, and in larger quantity than at
a later date. Disregarding archaic forms such as 'perishen' (they
perish) and ‘killen' (they kill), which appear in Pericles as obsolete
expressions, we find other constructions, which, while they preserve
something of the archaic, are still legitimate survivals. For
instance, the adverbial form ‘moe' is distinguished from the
adjectival ‘more,' the one indicating ‘more in number,' the other,
'greater in size. ' 'Can' and 'may’are still capable of being used in
their earlier senses? As in Old English, a verb of motion is some-
times omitted after will’and ‘shall,' 'must' and 'be,' while the old
imperative is still in use in the expressions go we,' 'praise ye the
Lord,' though periphrastic forms like ‘let us go' are far more
general. The subjunctive is still used in principal sentences to
.
express a wish, also in conditional and concessive clauses, and in
temporal clauses introduced by 'ere,' or 'before. ' But already
this use is obsolete in the spoken language, and, as a result, its
appearance in literary English is somewhat irregular.
The pronominal inflections, as in modern English, are, for the
most part, retained, owing to the monosyllabic character of the
words. The -8 of the old genitive, of course, survived, though the
modern apostrophe was not employed as yet. With this inflection
is found, occasionally, the older word-order, as in ‘Yorick's skull the
king's jester. ' This construction, owing to the uninflected character
of the word in apposition, in this case 'jester,' involved a certain
ambiguity, which had been wanting in Old English, and the idiom,
consequently, was not destined to survive. Of still greater interest,
however, is the use of his,' instead of the genitive -8, in phrases
like 'Sejanus his Fall,' 'Purchas his Pilgrimage,' 'Christ His sake'
1 See Bradley's Making of English, ch. vi.
2 Cf. they can well on horseback' and 'I muy (can) never believe. '
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## p. 457 (#479) ############################################
Results of Loss of Inflections
457
and 'Pompey his preparation. This construction, which appears, at
first sight, to be a popular adaptation of the regular suffix -8,
represents, in point of fact, the survival of an idiom found in Old
English and other Germanic languages, and which can be traced in
Middle English, in such phrases as 'Bevis is hed. ' It was, doubt-
less, a form which had come down in colloquial speech, for its
early use in literature is only occasional, and it still occurs in
modern dialectal and colloquial expressions. Its more extended use
in Elizabethan English points to the close connection which then
existed between the spoken and literary languages. Another
survival of an Old English form was that of participles in -ed,
adjectival in their force and derived from nouns. In Old English,
there had occurred occasional words such as "hoferede' (hunch-
backed), and, in Elizabethan times, the manufacture of such forms
as 'high-minded' and 'barefaced’ proceeded apace and added
considerably to the power of expression.
The earlier loss of inflections had begun by this date, however,
to produce certain marked effects. What had once been a
synthetic language had now become analytic, and it was in process
of developing its expression under the new conditions. The im-
mediate result was a vast number of experiments which often led
to confused expressions, more especially as the brevity and concise-
ness formerly obtained with inflectional aids was still sought. Thus,
ellipses were frequent, and almost any word that could be supplied
from the context might be omitted. Intransitive verbs were used
as transitive! , ordinary verbs as causal”, and the infinitive was used
with the utmost freedom, for it had to represent active, passive and
gerundial constructions.
But if the loss of native inflections resulted in a certain
freedom of expression, together with a corresponding amount of
vagueness and confusion, it also led to some new and permanent
usages.
