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du gveras a · b · c an pen can henna yv d

du gveras a · b · c an pen can henna yv d. Cornish Verse Forms. and the Evolution of Cornish Prosody. c. 1350 - 1611. Benjamin Bruch Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures Harvard University 13 May 2005. Cornwall. Celtic Languages. Breton. Cornish. Brythonic. Welsh. Insular

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du gveras a · b · c an pen can henna yv d

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  1. dugverasa· b·c an pen can henna yvd Cornish Verse Forms and the Evolution of Cornish Prosody c. 1350 - 1611 Benjamin Bruch Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures Harvard University 13 May 2005

  2. Cornwall Celtic Languages Breton Cornish Brythonic Welsh Insular Celtic Irish Gaelic Manx Gaelic Goidelic Scottish Gaelic

  3. English Cornish c. 1200 – c. 1575 Middle Cornish • Most surviving Cornish literature dates from this period • Highest population of Cornish speakers • Language spoken throughout the western half of Cornwall • Many Cornish monoglots • Middle Cornish literature: • Largely religious • Mystery plays • Devotional poem • Homilies • Stanzaic verse • Long texts (2000+ lines)

  4. c. 1575 – c. 1800 Late Cornish • Language in rapid retreat during 17th and 18th centuries • Last monolingual Cornish speaker died in 1676 • Last native speaker died in 1777 • Sound changes: pen ‘head’ pedn • Differences in orthography: tyr ‘land’ teere • Many writers not native speakers • Greater variety of literature: • Many secular works • Shorter texts • More prose

  5. Medieval Cornish Literature in Verse Length Date Text • Charter Endorsement 36 lines (actor’s part) c. 1350–1400 • Pascon Agan Arluth 2074 lines (poem) c. 1400 • Ordinalia • Origo Mundi 2894 lines • Passio Christi 3316 lines c. 1400 • Resurrexio Domini 2714 lines • Beunans Meriasek 4572 lines 1504 • Bewnans Ke 3306 lines (incomplete) c. 1520 • Gwreans an Bys 2553 lines 1611

  6. Cornish Prosody Meter • Cornish meter is syllabic, not stress-based • Most lines are seven syllables long — 86% • Four-syllable lines are also common — 12% • Used singly, particularly at ‘hinge’ points in a stanza of otherwise heptasyllabic lines • In groups, as variants of stanza forms found elsewhere with all seven-syllable lines • Exceptions: • Latin lines, especially liturgical or Biblical material • Proper names (native and foreign) • Charter Endorsement uses stress-based meter • Gwreans an Bys is less regular than the earlier texts

  7. Cornish Prosody Meter • Borlase (1758) described Cornish meter as “trochaic” • This idea accepted (in part) by Norris, Jenner, Nance • Does not reflect natural stress patterns of Cornish: Én Tas á Nef ým gylwýr En Tás a Néf ym gýlwyr En Tas a Nef ym gylwyr The Father of Heaven I am called • At least 30 different accentual patterns for heptasyllabic lines • Usually three stresses per line, less often four • Lines with two or five stresses are also found • ‘Iambic’ rhythm actually more common than trochaic • Comparable variation with four-syllable lines • No rules govern the distribution of stressed syllables within each line, or within the stanza as a whole

  8. Cornish Prosody Rhyme • In general, only the final syllable of a line is involved in rhyme • Rhyme between unstressed syllables is common: thinking : doing henna : bara • Rhyme between stressed and unstressed syllables is permitted: thinking : sing henna : da • These rhyming rules are similar to those of Breton and Welsh • However, rhymes between stressed and unstressed syllables are never required, as in some Welsh verse: Neud llon eos lle trosai, Neud llafar mân adar Mai. • Cornish verse lacks internal rhyme, unlike Welsh and Breton: Na ve mar dyspar e-z carset

  9. Cornish Prosody Verse Forms • Nearly all Middle Cornish verse is stanzaic • Over 200 different stanza forms are found in our texts • 60% of these forms only occur once or twice in the corpus • Six patterns account for 73% of all stanzas • Most forms are a variant of one of three basic stanza types: • Type I alternate rhyme ABABABAB • Type II tail-rhyme AABCCB • Type III hybrid ABABcDDC ABABcDDC • Cornish stanza forms do not closely resemble those of Irish and Welsh verse • Type I and II stanzas widespread in medieval European poetry

  10. Type I Stanza en tas a nef ym gylwyr formyer pup tra a vyt gvrys onan ha try on yn gvyr en tas han map han spyrys ha hethyv me a thesyr dre ov grath dalleth an beys y lauaraf nef ha tyr bethens formyys orth ov brys en tas a nef ym gylwyr formyer pup tra a vyt gvrys onan ha try on yn gvyr en tas han map han spyrys ha hethyv me a thesyr dre ov grath dalleth an beys y lauaraf nef ha tyr bethens formyys orth ov brys A B A B A B A B 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 Origo Mundi, lines 1-8

  11. • • • • Type I Stanza 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 7 Origo Mundi, lines 1-16

  12. Type II Stanza lemyn hanwaf goyth ha Zar a sensaf ethyn hep par the vygyens den war an beys hos payon colom grvgyer swan bargos bryny ha ner moy drethof a vyth hynwys lemyn hanwaf goyth ha Zar a sensaf ethyn hep par the vygyens den war an beys hos payon colom grvgyer swan bargos bryny ha ner moy drethof a vyth hynwys A A B C C B 7 7 7 7 7 7 Origo Mundi, lines 129-35

  13. Type II Stanza 1 3 2 4 6 5 Origo Mundi, lines 123-35

  14. Type IIA Stanza ythanwaf bugh ha tarow ha margh yw best hep parow the vap den rag ymweres gaver yweges karow daves war ver lavarow hy hanow da kemeres ythanwaf bugh ha tarow ha margh yw best hep parow the vap den rag ymweres gaver yweges karow daves war ver lavarow hy hanow da kemeres A A B A A B 7 7 7 7 7 7 Origo Mundi, lines 123-28

  15. Type IIb Stanza a ihesu crist guyn ow bys clewas y vones seuys yn mes an beth rak me a wor fest yn ta y vos map the varia ha dev yn weth a ihesu crist guyn ow bys clewas y vones seuys yn mes an beth rak me a wor fest yn ta y vos map the varia ha dev yn weth A A b C C b 7 7 4 7 7 4 Resurrexio Domini, lines 929-34

  16. frons me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng conany aye lynnyeth pur wyr yth of gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng conany aye lynnyeth pur wyr yth of gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy A B A B c D D C A B A B c D D C 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng conany aye lynnyeth pur wyr yth of gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng conany aye lynnyeth pur wyr yth of gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng conany aye lynnyeth pur wyr yth of gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy A B A B c D D C A B A B c D D C A B A B c D D C 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 bob cauda Type III Stanza 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen myterne vhell kyng conany aye lynnyeth pur wyr yth of gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyZy 7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7 Beunans Meriasek, lines 1-8

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

  18. 1 5 2 3 4 8 6 7 Type III Stanza Type III Stanza, two-column format Beunans Meriasek, lines 17-24

  19. Common Variants • Duplication of rhyme: AABAAB, AABAABcDDC, ABABcAAC • Four-syllable lines for seven-syllable lines: abababab, aabccb, AABccb,AbAbcDDC, ABABcddC • Short B lines in Type II stanzas: AAbCCb, AAbCCB • Couplet reduced to a single line: AABAB, ABAAB • Couplet expanded to a triplet: AAABCCCB, AABCCCB, ABABcDDDC • Couplet converted to quatrain: ababcdedec • Additional segment: ABABABABAB, AABCCBDDB, ABABABABcDDC • Four-line Type I stanza: ABAB • Type III stanza with tail-rhyme frons: AABCCBdEED • Extra pair of lines added (BM only):AABCCBCB, ABABcDDCDC

  20. Glasney College and Cornish Verse • All four of our central texts follow the same basic rules of meter, rhyme, and stanza structure • Several of these works have a link to Glasney College in Penryn: • Place-names in the Ordinalia center around Penryn (Bakere) • Close ties between Camborne and Glasney at the time Beunans Meriasek was written • Glasney “owned the advowson of Kea church” (Padel) • Pascon Agan Arluth used as a source text for the Ordinalia • Glasney as a Cornish literary center • Padel suggests Glasney was founded to provide “spiritual and intellectual leadership in Cornish for the Cornish-speaking laity in west Cornwall” (2004) • Could these rules of versification be Glasney’s rules?

  21. Exceptions • Charter Endorsement: • Stress-based meter English influence? • Series of rhymed couplets • May be a secular work • No ties to Glasney College • Bewnans Ke: • Often uses a rhyming rule more like that of English verse • Disyllabic rhymes — 29% of all rhymes in Bewnans Ke • 4% - 8% in other Middle Cornish texts (3% in Gwreans an Bys) • Author’s idiosyncrasy? • Gwreans an Bys: • Probably written after the dissolution of Glasney in 1549 • Incorporates material from Origo Mundi • Uses verse forms that resemble parts of Middle Cornish stanzas

  22. A B A B C D DC A B A B A B A B A A B CC B III I II The New Prosodic System A B A B C A B A B A A B 1 3 2 A A B A B A B 2 A AB 1 2

  23. Type 1 Segment myns es in tyre hag in moer warnothans kymar gallus yn serten rag dry ascore ty a vew may fota loose myns es in tyre hag in moer warnothans kymar gallus yn serten rag dry ascore ty a vew may fota loose A B A B 7 7 7 7 Gwreans an Bys, lines 356-59

  24. 1 2 3 4 Type 1 Segment Gwreans an Bys, lines 344-59

  25. • • • • Type I Stanza 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 7 Origo Mundi, lines 1-16

  26. 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Type 1 Segment Gwreans an Bys, lines 344-59

  27. Type 2 Segment yta voice mernans abell thethe vrodar prest ow kyllwall an doer warnas pub tellar yta voice mernans abell thethe vrodar prest ow kyllwall an doer warnas pub tellar A A B 7 7 7 Gwreans an Bys, lines 1153-55

  28. 3 1 2 Type 2 Segment Gwreans an Bys, lines 1153-58

  29. Type II Stanza 1 3 2 4 6 5 Origo Mundi, lines 123-35

  30. 3 1 2 Type 2 Segment Gwreans an Bys, lines 1153-58

  31. Type 3 Segment omma avy than clowdes war face an dower in sertan try person yn idn dewges ow kysraynya bis vickan yn mere honor ha vertew omma avy than clowdes war face an dower in sertan try person yn idn dewges ow kysraynya bis vickan yn mere honor ha vertew A B A B C 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 Gwreans an Bys, lines 4-8

  32. 1 2 3 5 4 Type 3 Segment Gwreans an Bys, lines 1-11

  33. 1 5 2 3 4 8 6 7 Type III Stanza Type III Stanza, two-column format Beunans Meriasek, lines 17-24

  34. 1 2 3 5 4 Type 3 Segment Gwreans an Bys, lines 1-11

  35. 3 ABAB:A 1 2 + AA : B :C 2 3 ABAB:C 3 3 ABAB:C 4 3 + ABAB:C :D 5 2 AA:B 6 1 ABABAB 7 1 ABAB 8 2 AAAA:B 9 2 + AA: B :A 10 2 AA:B 11 The New Prosodic System Gwreans an Bys, f. 25 verso

  36. The Sources of Cornish Prosody • Cornish verse shares a few features with other Celtic traditions • Syllabic meter — compare Irish, Welsh, Breton • Rhyming rule like that of Welsh and Breton • However: • Cornish verse lacks the ornamentation (alliteration, internal rhyme) common in Irish, Welsh, and Breton poetry • Cornish uses very different verse forms • Alternate-rhyme and tail-rhyme stanzas were common in medieval European poetry: Latin, French, Provençal, English • As early as 1877, Henry Jenner noted similarities to English verse • This connection was overlooked or dismissed by later scholars • “Typologically, Cornish versification was closer to English and French than to Welsh, Breton or Irish” (Tristram)

  37. Middle English Prosody • Stress-based meter — usually four or three stresses per line • Stress-based rhyming rule • Rhymed couplets — not common in Cornish • Alternate-rhyme stanzas ABABABAB • Tail-rhyme stanzas AABCCB AAABCCCB • Often have shorter B lines — a common variant in Cornish • Hybrid forms — thirteener ABABABABcDDDC • Parallel structure to the Cornish Type III stanza • Type III forms with an eight-line frons are found in Cornish • Type III stanzas with a cDDDCcauda are also attested • These variants become rarer over time

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

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

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

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

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

  43. Type III Stanza, two-column format Beunans Meriasek, lines 4548-56

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

  45. dugverasa· b·c an pen can henna yvd Cornish Verse Forms and the Evolution of Cornish Prosody c. 1350 - 1611 Benjamin Bruch Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures Harvard University 13 May 2005

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