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(delwedd D5683) (tudalen 00a)
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i
THE PREVERBAL
PARTICLE RE IN CORNISH
INAUGURAL-DISSERTATION
ZUR ERLANGUNG DER PHILOSOPHISCHEN DOKTORWÜRDE AN DER
ALBERT-LUDWIGS-UNIVERSITÄT ZU FREIBURG IM BR.
VON G.P.
WILLIAMS AUS CARNARVONSHIRE, WALES.
HALLE A.S.
DRUCK VON
EHRHARDT KARRAS
1908
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(delwedd D5684) (tudalen 00b)
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ii
THE PREVERBAL
PARTICLE RE IN CORNISH
INAUGURAL-DISSERTATION
ZUR ERLANGUNG DER PHILOSOPHISCHEN DOKTORWÜRDE AN DER
ALBERT-LUDWIGS-UNIVERSITÄT ZU FREIBURG IM BR.
VON G.P.
WILLIAMS AUS CARNARVONSHIRE, WALES.
HALLE A.S.
DRUCK VON
EHRHARDT KARRAS
1908
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iii
To
Profs. Osthoff and Thurneysen,
his honoured teachers,
to whom he is indebted for what insight he has into the scientific study of
his mother tongue,
and for many a kindness and privilege besides, this short essay is dedicated
by
THE WRITER
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(delwedd D5686) (tudalen 00d)
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iv
References and Abbreviations.
Ordinalia:
O. Origo
Mundi.
P.D. Passio Domini nostri.
R. De Resurrexione Domini nostri.
The Ancient Cornish Drama ed. by Edwin Norris.
P. Pascon agau
Arluth, ed. Stokes.
Cr. Gwreans an
Bys, or The Creation of the World, ed. Stokes.
Mer. Beunans
Meriasek, ed. Stokes.
K. Z. Kuhn's
Zeitschrift für vergl. Sprachwissenschaft.
Z.C.P.
Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie.
Z.E.
Zeuss-Ebel, Grammatica Celtica.
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v
Contents.
a rel. particle used like re 21 ff., 30 ; in Welsh 21; Similarty in function
to re 21, 37.
bo. 14 ff.
by. 14.
deva. defe 35.
del; re after,
44, 30.
dos see duth.
duth. Pret. of
dos 10, 35.
eth. re with
27.
gallas. Pret.
not taking re 26 ff.
galse.
Pluperf. not taking re 30.
gruk. Pret. with re 9ff.
Impersonal verb (3rd sing.) after re 38.
Interrogative sentences ; re in, 22 ff.
kymmer 31.
Leuation after re 34ff.
Lhuyd on re 20.
meth. preceded by ydh 25.
na. (neg); no re after 33.
Narrative, re in, 19.
ny (neg.) no re after 23, 29.
pan. re not used after 23, 30.
Personal forms of verb after re 38.
Pluperfect with re 10.
Possibility; in Cornish no re of 32.
Present, re not used with 31.
Preterite as perfect with re 18 ff.
Preterite with re; 4ff.
Preterite of verb substant. 8.
Pronouns (infixed) 7, 8, 11, 13, 16.
Presence or absense of re 20.
re not eliding its e, before vowels 27.
ros. as Preterite of gul 17.
Subjunctive with re. Examples 11 ff.;
of verb substant. examples 22 ff.;
discussed 32 ff.
Unlenated verbs after re 34 ff.
Wish sentences,
re in 14 ff., 36.
whelas = w. chwilio 23.
ydh, re not
used with 24; beginning
a sentence in Cornish 25.
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1
The particle
ro played a very important part in the earlier history of the whole group of
Celtic languages. How significant its role was, has only become evident after
careful enquiry, and minute investigation into its functions in Old-Irish.
Its chief uses in the earlier stages of that language, as we know it, are now
fairly clear and well established, and they have such a bearing upon the
whole complicated Irish verbal system and Irish syntax as to justify to the
full all the attention hitherto given to the elucidation of those uses. The
main features of the results of these investigations may be briefly
summarised as follows:
(1) ro gives to the preterite tense the force of a perfect.
(2) Coupled with the verb, ro enables it to express ability or possibility.
(3) It gives to the subjunctive an optative force.
(4) In general statements, it turns the present into a perfect.
But it was not in Old Irish alone that ro was of importance. The late
Professor Strachan while working at the Old Welsh poetry contained in Skene's
Four Ancient Books of Wales, and the Myvyrian Archaeology, detected several
points of affinity, hitherto unobserved, between the uses of ry in early
Welsh and those of ro in Old-Irish. His paper in Eriu II, pp. 215-220
supplies the evidence, and it is perhaps not without interest to point out
how completely and diametrically opposed are the uses of ry in Old-Welsh, as
observed by Strachan, to those which obtained in Middle-Welsh. The Grammatica
Celtica p. 419, states
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2
'Particula ry
in illis qiiidem libris semper adhaeret verbo ipsi, quare pronomen, si quod
infigendum est, praecedit cum particulis aliis a, y, ny'A) In summing up the
usages for early Welsh, Strachan, though he does not refer to the above
passage, gives a blank denial to all four points contained in it. He says (1)
a pronoun is infixed after ry. (2) ry is not preceded by ydh. (3) ry is not
preceded by the relative particle a.. (4) ry is not used after the negative
ny.
In a later paper in Eriu III, pp. 20-28 he returns to the same subject to
prove that in the oldest Welsh, as in Old-Irish, when the verb, following ry,
was used relatively, there was mutation of its initial consonant. He claims
rightly that this discovery throws light upon the general development of the
Celtic verb; for there is, at least, some ground for believing that this
mutation of the initial consonant of the relative verb after ro was a
characteristic not only of Old-Irish and of Old-Welsh, but also of Cornish.
In the paper already referred to (Eriu II, p. 220) he says: 'But while the
meanings of ro and ry are similar, the syntactic usage in the two families
was not in all respects the same. However, before the Welsh usage can be
satisfactorily discussed, it will be necessary to have a thorough
investigation of the usage in Cornish '. It was with the object of finding
out exactly what the Cornish usage was that the enquiry, the results of which
are contained in this paper, was undertaken. If that enquiry has not been
productive of such significant addition to previous knowledge as might have
been desired, it will at least serve some useful purpose, if, after
examination of all the available material, it confirms views previouslj^
held, based though those were on a comparatively limited number of examples.
2) The collection of examples, — it is hoped an exhaustive one, — of the use
of re in Cornish may enable other observers to detect usages which have not
become clear to the writer.
In Welsh, at an early period, ry was already a disappearing particle: its
functions in Middle-Welsh have been shown to have differed considerably from
those of Old-Welsh; while of its
(1) Cf. also p. 423. Praeterea hac re differt cornica a cambrica quod
prouomen infigit post particulam (viz. re).
(2) The main
features of the Cornish use of re have been pointed* out by Thurneysen, in K.
Z. XXXVII, pp. 87, 88.
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3
earlier use
the modern language retains no trace whatever, (1) When, therefore, we
remember that our oldest extant monument of literary Cornish is the Pascon agan
Arluth — 'the oldest copy of which is pretty certainly of the fifteenth
century’ (2) — it can be no matter for surprise to find that the Cornish use
of re is much more circumscribed than that of Old-Irish and Old Welsh,
preserving, as these do, a condition of things which prevailed some centuries
earlier. Fortunately, however, Cornish was in many respects more conservative
than Welsh, and what testimony it supplies with regard to the use of re
confirms and corroborates the Old-Welsh usage, as stated by Strachan, as
against that of Middle-Welsh. As might be expected the particle is much more
common in connection with certain verbs, and in certain expressions than it
is in others. It has therefore been deemed simpler, and preferable, to
arrange all the examples according to usage rather than according to the
texts from which they are taken. (3) The usage may however admit of finer
distinctions, and the instances of further division into subsidiary groups: —
thus, all the instances of the use of re with the subjunctive have been
grouped together without distinguishing between that use in principal and in
subordinate clauses.
It is of
course important to bear in mind that the literature from which the examples
are taken does not all belong to the same stage in the history of the
language. Between the Pascon and Ordinalia, (probably contemporary), at the
one end, and Jordan's Creation, copied in 1611, at the other, is a span of
between one hundred and fifty, and two hundred years. The Life of Meriasek,
finished in 1504, comes between. This lapse of time, although it did bring
about many other linguistic changes does not seem to have affected the use of
re. The particle is indeed less common in the Creation than in the earlier
texts,
(1) Rhys' suggestion (Red Book of Hergest, vol. II, p. XXXV) that there are
traces of ry in such locutions as pawb ar a welais has been dealt with at
length by Zimmer, Z. C. P. II, pp. 86 ff.
(2) Norris
Ancient Cornish Drama, vol. II, p. 437.
(3) In the
arrangement of the contents of the paper generally the method is the same as
that adopted by Strachan in his paper on Irish ro (Transactions of the London
Philological Society, 1895-98): that is, all the examples are first brought
together and classified; and such remarks as will be made upon them are
reserved for the latter part.
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4
but, so far as
has been observed, no new usages such as those of Middle Welsh were
developed. It was, no doubt, evanescent; and by Lhuyd's day it had so far
fallen into desuetude as to be scarcely recognisable.
I.
a) Instances of the use of re with the preterite.
a das ty r[e] thros thymmo: Father thou hast brought to me, O. 111. ogh trv
trv my re helms ha re dorr as an dyfen:
woe woe I have sinned, and broken the prohibition. O. 250, 251. y won the wyr
dev an tas re sorras dreivyth henen: I know truly God the Father a sorry
woman both angered. O. 256. rag why re sorras an tas: for that ye have
angered the Father. O. 347. rag cola worth un venen gvlan ef re gollas an
plas: by listening to a woman he has quite lost the place. O. 420, 920. My re
brederys gul prat: I have thought of doing a thing. O. 487. heyl syr arluth
lucifer my re gyrhas thy's the dre: Hail sire, lord Lucifer, I have fetched
home to thee. O. 564. hy re gafes dyhogel dor dyseghys yn nep le: she has
certainly, found the earth dried in some place. O. 1143. Moyses sur my re
beghas: Moses surely I have sinned. O. 1863. My re welas y'm hunrus: I have
seen in my dream. O. 1955. Cosel my re bowesas: I have rested softly. O.
2073. ty re thyswrug eredy hevelep thorn face vy: Thou hast destroyed verily,
the likeness to my face. O. 2336. my re vewas termyn hyr: I have lived a long
time. O. 2345. a tus vas why re welas: good people you have seen. O. 2825.
re fethas an fals ievan: he has overcome the false demon. P.D. 154. hag ef
thyn re leverys: he has spoken to us. P.D. 364. ef re thyswrug an marhas: He
has destroyed the market. P.D. 376. my re thysyryas . . . dybry genogh: I
have desired to eat with you. P.D. 718. yn creys me re ysethas: I have sat in
the midst. P.D. 803. ha why gynef re dry gas: and you have dwelt with me.
P.D. 805. ha thywhy me re ordynas glas nef: and
1 have ordained for you the kingdom of heaven. P.D. 807. lyes gueyth me re
besys: many times I have prayed. P.D. 884. me re pysys lour ov thas: I have
prayed my father enough. P.D. 1095. pie re seth the thysJcyblon: where have
thy disciples gone ? P.D. 1246. hemmys thethe re geusys: as much as I have
said^to them. P.D. 1262. an fals re scornyes gyne: the false (man) has
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5
trifled with
us. P.D. 1335. efre thyndylas yn ta: he has deserved well, P.D. 1342. why re
leverys ow hos: you have said I am. P.D. 1493. me re peghes: I have sinned.
P.D. 1505, 1518. me re peghas: (id.) P.D. 1519. pylat ty re leverys: Pilate,
thou hast said. P.D.I 585. pur wyryoncth re geusys: very truth hast thou
spoken. P.D. 1587. Cayphas re hyrghys thywhy: Caiaphas has enjoined you, P.D,
1648. pylat thywliy re thanvonas un adla: Pilate to you . . . hath sent a
knave, P.D. 1686. y weles my re yevnys: to see him I have wished, P.D. 1701.
y vos efre leverys: that he is so, he has said, P, D, 1723, myghtern erod . .
. re thanfonas ihesu thy's: King Herod . . . has sent Jesus to thee. P.D.
1843. efre trylyas lues cans: he has turned many hundreds, P.D, 1995. ty re
leverys an guyr: thou hast said the truth, P, D, 2019, myns re geusys: he has
said the whole, P.D. 2204. pylat re sorras: Pilate has been angered. P.D.
2253. Icymmys dagrow re olys: so many tears I have shed. P.D. 2608. rag
gwander ef re cothas: for weakness he has fallen. P.D. 2618. ty re worthyas
war nep tro an fals losel: thou hast worshipped, on some occasion, the false
knave. P.D. 2692. an Jioul y lyw re gollas: the sun has lost its brightness.
P.D. 2992. my a grys ny re peghas: I believe we have sinned. P.D. 2993.
emsJcemunys nep re ordenes y lathe: accursed who have decreed to kill him. P.D.
3092.
ty re glewas: thou hast heard, R, 174. an beth me re anysyas: I have arranged
the tomb. R. 399. me re gosJces pos: I have slept heavily. R. 511. pos re
teulseugh: heavily have ye darkened. R, 523. ha re pel ny re strechyas: and
too long we have stayed. R. 721. py le re seth: to what place has it gone? R,
789. ef re thassorghas hythyw: he has risen today. R, 1026, yn sur re re thy
scry ssys: surely too much hast thou disbelieved. R. 1040. an voran re gtusys
gow: The girl has told a lie. R. 1044. me re clewas: I have heard. R, 1231,
ef re thassorhas: he has risen again. R. 1272. ha mur a paynys re thuJc: and
many pains he has borne. R, 1280. yn cref bras me re peghes: very grossly I
have sinned. R. 1569. an corf hepar renothas efre thuswruh: The incomparable
body, by the Father, he has destroyed. R.1840. rah pur ovn me re vrammas: for
very fear I have exploded. R. 2091. me re teulys dew grabel: I have cast two
grappling irons. R. 2271. lemmyn thy's my re deve: now I am come to thee.
R,2620,
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6
rag an termyn
re deve: for the time has come. P. 48 c. plema dhe clus mar voldh re dhyssys:
where is the folk so bold that thou hast chosen. P. 78 b. yn della y re
dhysJcas: as they have learnt. P. 80 c. pur wyr te releverys: Full truly hast
thou spoken. P. 101 a. gwyr re givesys (leg. gewsys): thou hast spoken truth.
P. 102 d. dremas yiv ef neh re werdhys: supremely good is he whom I have
sold. P. 103 d. fest yn cre/f me re heghas: very strongly have I sinned. P.
104 b. yn y golen fast rcgeth mur a gerense wordhys: into his heart quite
hath gone (?) much love for thee. P. 115 b. rag haneth me re welas: for
tonight I have seen. P. 123 d. a7i denma re drehevys: this man has arisen. P.
245 c.
an bewnans ny re gollas: we have lost our lives. Cr. 674. ogh. ogli. trew ny
re heghas: oh oh sad we have sinned. Cr. 852. eave regollas der avail an
xilacc: he lost through an apple the place. Cr. 2135. rag cola orthe udn
venyn glane ef re gollas an place: for l;earkening to a woman he hath clean
lost his place. Cr. 2214.
lemmyn grace an spyrys satis re woloways ov slcyans: now the grace of the
Holy Ghost has enlightened my knowledge. Mer. 213. me re glowes: I have heard.
Mer. 527, 802, 2526, 4349. me re gloways: (id.) Mer. 430. omnia me re fondyas
plas: here have I founded a place. Mer. 990. omma me re powesys: here I have
rested. Mer. 1067. lues den eff re lathays: many men hath he slain. Mer.
1118. me re lathes lues cans: I have slain many hundreds. Mer. 1167. viij
cans sur me re gavas: Eight hundred surely I have found. Mer. 1583. ihesu
crist pur thefry me re weleys: Jesus Christ right certainly I have seen. Mer.
1 847. eff re ros thyn deth hyr lour: he has given to us a day long enough.
Mer. 1930. ha re usias . . . raffna ladra: and (we) have used to rob, to
plunder. Mer. 2143. ty re wares mes an gluas: thou hast put out of the
Kingdom. Mer. 2374. omma avel bohosek ... ty re vewas: Here like a poor man
thou hast lived. Mer. 2940. dtZ re ^ZoM?«/5: as Ihave heard. Mer. 3102. ny re
eves ree: we have drunk overmuch. Mer. 3328. agen tassens ... re roys thynny:
our holy father has given to us. Mer. 3428. an horsens revue methov ha re
ases tus an pov: the whoresons were drunk and have allowed the people of the
country. Mer. 3735. ty re proves eredy: thou hast proved readily. Mer. 4107.
eff re thendeUis . . . treges: he has deserved to dwell. Mer. 4337. ihesu re
grontyas detha age desyr: Jesus has granted to them th%ir desire. Mer. 4555.
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b) Instances
of re with the preterite inlBxing a pronoun.
1st singular.
Uj ru'm
tullas: thou hast deceived me. O. 254. efru'm sorras: he has provoked me. O.
424. ha'm pen ol hy ru'm vras: and all my head she has anointed. P.D. 525.
onan ahanough . . , ru'm gwertlias: one of you has sold me, P.D. 737. the
gueth ru'm lathas: thy shame hath killed me. P.D. 2606. ha ru'm hemeres droh
glos: and an evil pang hath seized me. R. 512. an emprour re'u^) danfonas:
The emperor hath sent me. E. 1645. ow thas rom growntyas dhewy: my Father has
granted me to you. P. 75 c. ty ram tullas: thou hast deceived me. Cr. 885. te
rom lathas: thou hast slain me. Cr. 1119. Meryaseh rum sawyas: Meriasek who
salved me. Mer. 2623. hy rum lathes: she has killed me.
Mer. 4096.
2nd singular.
dew re'th ros: God hath made thee. O. 2136. yn heth del
re'th worsyn: within the tomb as we have put thee. R. 312.
me re'th cervyes: I have served thee. Mer. 3595. me re'th pesys:
I have prayed thee. Mer. 3615.
3rd singular.
ha re'n dros
the vur anJcen: and has brought him to great sorrow. O. 282. ty re'n lathes:
thou hast killed him. O. 611. my re'n scrvyas ef: I have served him. O. 852,
my re'n collas: I have lost it. P.D. 149. ty re'n leverys: thou hast said it.
P.D. 759, 1325. ef re'n dyndylas: he has deserved it. P.D. 1402. me re'n
cafas: I have found him. P.D.I 570. me re'n cusullyes: I have advised him. P,
D, 1811. ef re'n guy seas: he has clothed him. P.D. 1844. ty re'n lathas:
thou hast slain him. Cr. 1201. nyrenwelas: we have sought him. Mer. 1038. me
re'n moghheys eredy: I have greatened it already. Mer. 2402.
1st plural.
the fas ker .
. . ren danvonas: the dear Father hath sent us. P.D. 167. ef ren nahas: he
refused us. Mer. 2907.
3rd plural.
homma gans
daggrow re's holchas: she with tears has washed them. P.D. 520. 1) MS. reu
perhaps = ref for re'm (Norris).
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c) re with the
preterite of the verh substantive.
ov arluth her me re hue yn cyte: My dear lord I have been into the city. O.
2429, bythqueth re hue us genough: There has always been a custom with you.
P.D. 2034. my re hue . . . ov themloth: I was (have been) wrestling. P.D.
2508. my re hue hoghes coynt: I have been little cunning. P.D. 3031. me re
hue peghadoras: I have been a sinner. R. 1097. gans vn huyn re ben tullys: by
a sleep we have been deceived. P. 246b. rag ny rebe laddron dres: for we have
been forward robbers. P. 192 d. drefen an torment in beys thagis corfow rehue
grueys: because of the torment on earth which was done to your bodies Mer. 1304.
a me revue ree cruel orth crustynyon: ah! I have been too cruel to
christians. Mer. 1364. me re hue sur ov stu thya: I have been surely
studying. M€r. 1490. ny revue ov ste thya sur: we have been studying surely.
Mer. 1495. lafuryys rag the ])leysour a dro in pov me revue: Laboured for thy
pleasure about in the country have I. Mer. 1568. Benedycite pan wolov revue
om^ soUehrys: Benedicite, what a light has been here some time ago. Mer.
1845. ny revue ius ongrasycs: we have been graceless folk. Mer. 2142 me revue
in mes dres nos: I have been out during the night. Mer. 3056, 4187. eff revue
trey tour thynny: he has been a traitor to us. Mer. 3356. pyv an iovle revue
oma: who the devil has been here. Mer. 3719. golovder ganso revue: Radiance
was with him. Mer. 3726. an horsens revue methov: the whoresons were drunk.
Mer. 3734. Maria revuff relogh in the gever: Mary, I have been overlax
regarding thee. Mer. 3798. cans den lethys . . . re vue in an geth gensy hy:
a hundred men were slain in one day by her. Mer. 4010. heunans meryasek
certan genen revue dysguethys: Meriasek's life certainly by us hath been set
forth. Mer. 4551.
d) re with the
preterite of the verb substantive infixing a pronoun.
1st singular.
molothov mur a hohyl rag the plesya me rumhue: curs^as great from the people
for pleasing thee I have had. Mer. 1580.
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9
2nd singular.
ty refue i) fest lafur hras: to thee very great labour has been. R. 2628. ty
refue^) napytJi redovnt: Thou hast been some what (?) lofty. Mer. 3570.
e) re with gruk {feci, fecit) the preterite
of gwra.
ty re gamwruk: thou hast done evil. O. 281. an sarf re ruk otv tholle: the
serpent hath deceived me. O. 286. pythueth re rug ow syndye: ever she hath
held me. O. 288. yn hetella ty re wruJc: in that way thou liast acted. O.
2243. ny re wruk y vusyrye: I have measured it. O. 2568.
re wruk re maystry: he has done too much violence. P.D. 363. ef re wruk mur a
theray: he has made much tumult. P.D. 380. the fay re wruk the sawye: thy
faith hath made thee whole. P.D. 531. certan an denma lyes den re wruk
Ireyle: that man certainly many men has turned. P.D. 2424. nep hus ef re wruk
thotho: some jugglerj^ he has done to him. P.D. 2695. me re tvruk scrife: I
have written. P.D. 2791. lyes torn da . . . re wruk the vohosogyon: many good
turns he hath done to the poor. P.D. 3108.
kemmys re tvruk both ow thas: as many as have done the will of my Father. R.
157. an dour re wruk thy'm henna: the water has done that to me. E,. 2211. me
yv myghtern re wruk cas oh I am a King, I have suffered all. R. 2517. map den
me re ivruk prenne: mankind I have redeemed. R. 2624.
an men re ruk inclynya: the stone has bent down. Mer. 1094. moy me re ruk
kuntel: more have I gathered. Mer. 1587. me re ruk . . . ragas: I have made
... for thee. Mer. 1589. ran in Jcerth re ruk fly a: some away did flee. Mer.
2156. lues re ruk y gormel: many have praised him. Mer. 2241. mur a throk eff
re ruk: much of evil has he done. Mer. 2265. an poddren . . . re ruk harher:
the rotten fellow . . . has made a harbour. Mer. 2291. ef re ruk agan tolla:
he has deceived us. Mer. 3348. me re ruk . . . y sesia: I have seized him.
Mer. 3547. hy re ruk
(1) The b>f is due to the second singular infixed pronoun (v. Z. E. 568).
Stokes in his note on Mer. 3570 says ' re fue (if not a mistake for revue)
means habuisti ' and refers to R, 2628,
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ov delyfrya: she has delivered me. Mer. 3758. tus re ruk ov liesJcey: folk
have advised me, Mer. 3818.
f) re with gruU, infixing a pronoun.
ty ru'm gruJc pur havel thy's; thou hast made me very like to thee. O. 88. ty
ru'm gruJc vy morothek: thou hast made me sorrowful. Mer. 365.
g) re with the preterite of dos, to come.
thy'm the amme ty re duth sur: to kiss me thou hast surely come. P.D.I 107.
why re thueth thy'm gans arvow: you have come to me with arms. P.D. 1171. me
re thuth the'th comfortye: I am come to comfort thee. E. 473. me re thuth
th'agas myres: I am come to comfort you. R. 1536. pyv henna gans deusys mas
re thueth mar uskys the'n tolas: who is that with Godhead good who hath come
so swiftly to heaven. R. 2487. henna a edom re thueth: He from Edom hath
come. R. 2505: me redeth omma deffry: I have come here indeed. Mer. 234. in
Tiernov . . . theth desyr ty re dufa: In Cornwall according to thy desire
thou hast come. Mer. 623. ny redufe gans an gennas: we have come with the
messenger. Mer. 1432. me re duth: I have come. Mer. 2700. 7iy reduth oma
adre: we have come here from home. Mer. 2899. pyv reduth thymo ome: who has
come to me here. Mer. 3678. me hum crosser re duth: I and my crozier-bearer
have come. Mer. 3932. oma me re dufe: here I have come. Mer. 3995.
II.
a) re with the
pluperfect.
gulan ef
regollas an plas am luf thyghyow a wrussen: clean he has lost the place which
my right hand had made. O. 921. Then tyller crist re dethye: to the place
came Christ. P. 33a.i) gans an re yn y servys war an bys redhewesse: with
those that he had chosen into his service on the world. P. 41 d. aw ioul ynno
re drecse: the Devil had dwelt in him. P. 47d. hag an dydhghtyas pur loweti
maga tek del rebye: and dighted it right gladly as fair as it had been. P. 7
Id. Pedyr sur a onidenna^ yn urna del rebegJise: Peter surely went out in
that houi' that
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he had sinned. P. 86 c. a dus fals y redodhye an ptirre laddron yn pow: of
false folk there came the veriest thieves in the country. P. 90d. lemmyn an
tol re wrussens: but the hole they had made. P. 180 d. Pylat a vynnas scrife
. . . praga dampnys rebee: Pilate would write why he was condemned. P. 187b.
hytqueth yn Ian revewse: he had ever lived pure. P. 204b. yn mernans crist a
geivsys hytqueth dremas rebye: at Christ's death he said he had ever been
supremely good. P. 214 b. dal o ny wely banna ef rehea den a hrys: Blind was
he, he saw not a drop: he was a man of worth. P. 217 b.i) Eddrek mur an
Jcemeres rag an oher re wresse: Great sorrow seized him for the work he had
done. P. 220a. a thotho a leverys re saffe crist heh strevye: and to him
(they) said that Christ had arisen in contestably. P. 248 c. scruth otvn mur
asJcemeras rag an marthus re welsens: a shiver of great fear seized them at
the marvel which they saw. P. 254d.(1)
b) re with the pluperfect, infixing a pronoun.
3rd singular.
rag an keth re
re'n crowse: for those same that crucified him. P.185b.(1)
III.
a) Instances of the use of re with the subjunctive.
am offrym re woffe gras: to my offering may he acknowledge favour. O. 530.
(woffe for gothfe). yn delta thyn re wharfo: so be it done to us. O. 667.
hugh offrynne my a vyn . . . y gras re tJianvonno thy'n: I will offer a cow
... his favour that he may send to us. 0,1187. ha'y gras theughwy re
wronntyo: and his grace may he grant to you. O. 1726. ejus atque spiritus re
worro wyth am ene: and his spirit set a guard over my soul. O. 1978.
mar nyn gorraf an myl dyaul If I do not take him the accursed beast
re dorrow
mellow y gyn The reins of his back may break
(1) In these instances Stokes' translation is given. Elsewhere they are
otherwise translated and commented upon. See pp.28 seq.
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vynyfha na effo coul: So that he may never escape indeed. P.D. 1619 (1)
mar tue venians vyth ragtho warnan ny ef re gotho: if any vengeance come for
him upon us may it fall. P.D, 2502. my a pys an fas ... re thanfono ungeans
cref warnough: I pray the Father that he send heavy vengeance upon you. P.D.
2631. Jhesu yeJies dywJiy re grontya: May Jesus grant healing to you. Mer.
701. du re tlmrharra yehas thywhy: May God provide health for you. Mer. 1681.
neh a vyrivys in grovsjp(r)en regronntya dyso lemen: may He who died on the
cross grant to thee now. Mer. 1834. yehes dhym re grontya: may he grant
health to me. Mer. 2537. ny a beys rag venytha crist re sensa the gallos: we
will pray, for ever may christ keep thy power. Mer. 2675. ha grays thym dhy
ventine re tharbarre: and grace to me to maintain it may he vouchsafe. Mer.
2686. Jhesu regrontya yehes: May Jesus grant healing. Mer. 3073. Maria a
wonethaff dyvchy re wrontya yehays: may Mary, whom I serve, to you grant
healing. Mer. 3141. Jhesu re iverese creff ha guan: may Jesus aid strong and
weak. Mer. 3822. Jhesu . . . re tharbarra dis yehes: May Jesus provide
healing for thee. Mer. 4221. ha regrontya y both mar pea yehes thy so: and
may she grant, if it be her will, healing to thee. Mer. 4229. Jhesu . . . thy
ena re grontya joy: May Jesus grant joy to his soul. Mer. 4385. Bu re sawya
an colgy: May God save the college. Mer. 4407.
b) Instances of re with the subjunctive, and infixing a pronoun.
1st singular.
ru'm gorre thy
wlas: may he bring me to his land. O. 532. an tas dev ru'm gorre the
gosoleth: the Father God, may he put me to rest. O. 855. Jhesu the teller da
rum gedya: may Jesus
(1) The version given above is that by Norris. Williams in his Dictio nary
gives another which seems preferable.
If I do not take him, may a thousand devils
Break the joints of his back
So that he may never drink broth.
effo = 3rd
sing, subjunctive of eve, to drink = (W. yfed). Coul = W. cawl, broth. Norris
, too, in his additional Notes on O. 2701, says of ' vynytha etcf — 'this may
mean, 'thou shalt never drink broth'.
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to a good place guide me. Mer. 629, 1099. arluth nef rum gueresa: may
heaven's Lord help me. Mer. 2536, 2539, 4037.
2nd singular.
an tas mer
re'th ordene: the great Father may he ordain thee. P.D. 685. synt iovyn whek
re'th caro: sweet saint Jove love thee. P.D. 3016. arluth neff re'th weresa:
May Heaven's Lord help thee. Mer. 741. Jhesu Christ . . . re'th gedya: May
Jesus Christ guide thee. Mer. 3015. Neh a yl ressawhyagy (for *re-th-sawya
gy): May he, who can, heal thee. Mer. 3844. Jhesu . . . retrahava (for
'^re-th-drehava): May Jesus raise thee. Mer. 4227. Maria re'th weresa: May
Mary help thee. Mer. 4228.
3rd singular.
ha pesyn rag y
ene may fo dev ren kyrho thotho: and let us pray for his soul that God carry
him to Him. O. 2270. an ioul re'n dogo th'y plath: the Devil carry him to his
place. R. 2189. re'n kergho an dewolow: the devils fetch him. R. 2277. Synt
iovyn whek re'n carro ha dres pup ol ren gorthyo: Sweet saint Jove love him
and honour him above everybody. P.D. 1852-53. Crist Jhesu dys ren tala:
Christ Jesus repay it to thee. Mer. 558. me a heys crist luen a reys in neff
thywhy ren tala: I beseech Christ full of grace in heaven to you may he pay
it. Mer. 755. rengejfo moleth y vam: may he have his mother's curse. Mer.
1022. Du ren tala thyugh tus vays: May God pay it to you good people. Mer.
1097. neb na vo rengeffo crok: may he who is not (ready) have the gallows.
Mer. 1277. an ioule mur re'n ancombra: May the great devil encumber him. Mer.
2112. Jhesu re'n talo dis: May Jesus repay it to thee. Mer. 3082. Jhesu avan
thyugh re'n tala: May Jesus above repay it to you. Mer. 4248. arluth re'n
benyga: May the Lord bless him. Mer. 4541.
1st plural.
re'n sawye
arluth huhel: may it save us exalted Lord. O. 1088. Jhesu pup ur regen
gueresa: May Jesus alwaj^s help us. Mer. 1331, 1758.
3rd plural.
an iovle res
pela: may the devil peel them. Mer. 1268.
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c) Instances of the use of re with the subjunctive after
byner.
Frut da hyner re dhocco: may it never produce good fruit. O. 583.
saw vyner re dhewelly
genes me a wra pysy: but always that thou mayest return I will pray with
thee. O. 2196.
bener regeffy
the con: never mayest thou have thy supper. Mer. 1020.
ny reys thyn
fors py thellen rag hener re thewellen: needs not for us to care where we go,
for never may we return. Mer. 3439.
d) Instances of the use of re with the subjunctive of the verb substantive.
With the 2nd singular present.
gorthys re hy:
be thou worshipped. O. 107; P.D. 35; Mer. 618, 2670, 3699, 4106, 4124. re hy
gorthys: (id.). O. 1379; P.D. 119, 2703; R.2523. hynyges re hy: blessed be
thou. P.D. 817; Mer. 672. veneges re hy: (id.). O. 2023. henyges re hy:
(id.). O. 819, 831, 938, 1795; R. 1557, 1743,i) 2069. mylleges nefre re hy:
cursed ever be thou. O. 580. amalec re hy creges: Amalek may you be hanged.
O. 2786. malegas nefra rehy: accursed ever be thou. Cr. 1158. henegas rehy.
Cr. 1328.
With the 3rd singular present.
an tas dev
gorthyys re ho: the Father God be worshipped. O. 115. the gorf Iter gorthys
re ho: Be thy dear body w^orshipped. O. 408. amen yn delta reho: Ameu so be
it. O. 462. hynyges re ho an prys: Blessed be the time. O. 674. puh oher ol
yn hysma a wren reho plygadow: all work in this world we do, be it agreeable.
O. 1008. an tas dev re ho gorthyys: the Father God be worshipped. O. 1125.
heneges re ho an tas: Blessed be the Father. O. 1745. hynygys (hynyges) re ho
an prys: blessed be the time. O. 1979; R. 152, 485. gorthyys re ho dev an
tas: wor shipped be God the Father. O. 2075. ow tas ynny wolowys reho gueres
theugh pup preys: my Father in him is light, may he be a help to you always.
P.D. 224. ow thas her gorthys re ho: my dear Father be worshipped. P.D. 1051.
the volnogeth re ho gueres: thy will be done. P.D. 1072. ow hanneth y'th chy
re ho:
(1) Norris translates as 3rd singular; but it is clearly 2nd.
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my blessing be
on thy house. P.D. 1803.
Maria re bo
gynes benneth ol a'n benenes: Mary be with thee all the blessings of women.
R. 817.
ow bennath
genogh re bo: my blessing be upon you. R. 1579.
ihesu crist
myghtern a joy re bo gynen: Jesus Christ, the king of joy, be he with us. R.
2417.
thet vlonogath
rebo collenwys: thy will be fulfilled. Cr. 955, 1331, 2471.
the vlonogath
rebo gwreys: Thy will be done. Cr. 2123.
gorthyes rebo
dew. Cr. 1394, 1911, 2122.
y bosta arluth heb pare Thou art a lord without peer
in pub place
rebo gwerthys In every place that shall be worshipped. Cr. 1417 (1)
yn seth rebo
collemvys In Seth shall be fulfilled
par dell vo
tha voth nefra as is thy will always
oma pur greyf
Here full strong. Cr. 1419 (1)
dew rebo grassy es: To God be thanks. Cr. 2460, 2532. virtu crist rebo yly:
may Christ's virtue be a salve. Mer. 556. the ihesu rebo grasseys: to Jesus
be thanks. Mer. 634, 1066, 1962, 2180, 2656, 3142, 4240, 4257. an ioul re bo
the worfen: May the devil be thy end. Mer. 782. then arluth rebo grasseys: to
the Lord be thanks. Mer. 983. benyges re bo an preys: blessed be the time.
Mer. 1261, 4062. arluth neff rebo gorthys: Heaven's Lord be worshipped. Mer.
1751. gorthys rebo benytha: worshipped be He ever. Mer. 2193. Jhesu arluth
galoseh rebo gorthys benytha: May Jesus, mighty Lord, be worshipped ever.
Mer. 2621. gallus ha confort an tas rebo genen pub termen: the might and the
comfort of the Father be with us always. Mer. 2736. Banneth crist rebo genes:
Christ's blessing be with thee. Mer. 2781. Banneth du genogh rebo: God's
blessing be with you. Mer. 3093. ov map banneth Maria genes rebo: my son,
Mary's blessing be with thee. Mer. 3180. an iovle agis accetour re bo pan
vowhy marrow: the devil be your attendant when you are dead. Mer. 3524. Maria
rebo'^) gorthys: Mary be worshipped. Mer. 3761. Jhesu arluth nor ha neff . .
. rebo 2) gorthys: Jesus, Lord of earth and heaven be worshipped. Mer. 3888.
(1) Stokes' translation.
(2) Of these
two instances Stokes in a footnote states 'perhaps revo'.
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e) Instances of re with the subjunctive of the substantiye verb, infixing a
pronoun.
1st singular. Pronoun infixed.
crog ro’m ho:
hanging be to me. O. 2651.
2nd singular.
myns us yn leys ry'th fo: all that is in the world be thine. O. 459. henneth
, . . re'th fo: blessing be upon thee. O. 2265. thons re'th fo: confusion be
to thee. O. 2822. henneth maghom re'th fo: the blessing of Mahound be on thee.
P.D. 947. vyl despyt re'th fo: vile treatment be to thee. P.D. 1267. re'th fo
croJc: hanging be to thee. P.D. 2097. y despit re'th fo: a plague be on thee.
P.D. 2132. re'th fo droJc lam: a bad leap be it for thee. P.D. 2247. re'th fo
drok pyn: bad pain be to thee. P.D. 2727. re'th fo meaol: curses to thee. R.
79. nmr gras re'th fo: great thanks be to thee. R. 167. ioy re'th fo: joy be
to tbee. Mer. 3230.
2nd plural.
hanneth an tas
ragas ho: the Father's blessing be on you. O. 1723. hanneth re ges ho:
blessing be on j'ou. O. 2585. henneth ol ragas ho: blessing be upon you all.
P.D. 265. ham henneth ragas ho: and my blessing be upon j^ou. P.D. 706. re's
ho droh lam: be it an evil step for you. P.D.I 125. re's ho spit: evil be to
you. P.D. 2322. ragas ho eres: may peace be yours. R. 1285.
Remarks.
One of the most widely distributed and, therefore, naturally one of the
earliest recognised uses of ro- was that of 'nota actionis perfectae'. 9 In
general it may be said that ro with the preterite gives to that tense the
force of a perfect. But how far its use was essential or dispensable, whether
the perfect with ro had or had not a significance peculiarly its own,
whether, again, certain verbs which do not take ro, originally denoted
perfectivity; as well as the question of how it eame about that ro took upon
itself the function of denoting completed action — these, and other
questions, have given rise to much discussion and con
(1) Z. E., p.
411.
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siderable diversity of opinion ranging over a much wider area tlian that
covered by the Celtic languages. Pedersen, for in stance, opens his article ')
— 'Zur Lehre von den Aktionsarten ' — with the following words. 'Durch die
neuesten Entdeckungen auf dem Gebiete der altirischen Grammatik ist die Frage
nach der Rolle der Perfektivitat in den indogermanischen Sprachen wieder
brennend geworden.' The subject, then, opens up a wide field; but with these
remoter and more ultimate issues this paper is of much too modest a nature to
attempt to deal. If it succeeds in making tolerably clear, as a mere matter
of fact, what the Cornish usage of re was, it will answer its purpose.
On the positive side, then, where re actually is used with the Preterite it
gives the same meaning in Cornish as ro in Old Irish and ry in Old Welsh.
This becomes clear at once upon consideration of a few examples:
ogh tru tru my re beghas woe woe I have sinned.
ha re dorres an dyfen and have broken the prohibition. O. 249, 250.
ty re'n lathes ru'm lowte: thou hast killed
him by my faith. O. 611.
thy re
thyswrug eredy hevelep tho'm face vy: thou hast destroyed verily the likeness
of my face. O. 2336.
Hy ru'm lathes
gans hy gvyns: she has killed me with her wind. Mer. 4096.
dremas yw ef
leun a ras neh re werdhys: supremely good is he full of grace whom I have
sold. P. 103d.
pylat thytvhy
gans onour re thanvonas un adla: Pilate to you with honour hath sent a knave.
P.D. 1686.
thy'm the amme
ty re duth sur: to kiss me art thou surely come. P.D. 1107.
oma prest me
re dufe: here at once I have come. Mer. 3995.
syrys me re
ivruk scrife agas cheson: Sires, I have written your accusation. P.D. 2791.
the fay re
wruk the sawye: thy faith hath made thee whole. P.D. 531.
bevnans
Meriasek certan genen revue dysquethys: the life of M. has been displayed by
us.
ow holon ger
caradow dew ruth ros flour hy hynse: My dear beloved heart God hath made thee
the flower of thy sex. O. 2136.(2)
(1) K.Z.
XXXVn, 219 ff.
(2) This
example is interesting because it contains the rare form ros as 3rd singular
Preterite of gul, to do, to make. Norris renders the lines — 'My dear beloved
heart God made a rose, flower of her sex'. 'A doubtful version', as he says,
'modified from Pryce'. In his note he states further, 'dew' may be ' come ',
and ruth ros, red rose, or on thy promise, or, we may read, God hath given
thee.' None of the suggested alternatives will, however, meet the case.
2
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In these examples we have the use of re witli the Preterite in the exact
sense of the Perfect, — of a definite action begun and completed at a certain
definite point of time. As will be seen by referring to the complete list,
this may be regarded as the most common use of re in Cornish. But, like ro in
Irish, re is not confined to such uses. It was pointed out by Pedersen, (K.Z.
XXXVII, 219ff.) that ro in Irish has really nothing to do with the kind of
action (aktionsart) denoted by the verb, whether punktuel or cursive, but
denotes simply the conclusion, the com pletion, of an action. It is a perfect
particle, but not perfective. It is so in Cornish as well, as the following
examples show.
fest pel my re'n servyas ef: very long I have served him. O. 852.
ha re usias
Jiager gas raffna laddra pur lues fest: and we have used, an ugly case, to
rob, to plunder very many indeed. Mer. 2143.
Maria me re'th
cervyas: Msi,rj I have served thee. Mer. 3595.
omma avel
bohosek solla deth ty re vewas: here like a poor man for a long time hast
thou lived. Mer. 2940.
ha why
The translation above given may appear to contain a somewhat violent tran
sition from the second to the third person; but such a change is not without
its parallels. Cf. Colom whek glas hy logos, ke nyg a -ugh lues pow. Sweet
dove, with thy (lit. her) blue eye fly over much country again. O. 1135. a
leversys ath gonow the honon py gyns ken re yu dyssys: hast thou spoken of
thy own mouth or by others art thou taught (i. e. quite literally, is he
taught). P.D. 2002. The form ros occurs also in the expression re thri om
ros. P.D. 1228, 2265; Mer. 3728. This last instance Stokes translated as: 'By
God who made me', and he is certainly right, although he seems to hesitate
bet ween ros as a form of gul, on the one hand, and of ry, to give, on the
other. The two instances in P.D. puzzled Norris and he gave Pryce's version
in both cases, 'but with no confidence'. The first passage runs as follows:
'portheres my oth pys a lavorsos dry oiv cowyth oberveth lia mar tue re thu
om ros me a wra mar vur ragos' and the rendering is: 'Porteress, I pray thee
venture to bring my companion within and if thou grant me my request I will
do very much for thee'. Pryce evidently took tue as a variant of the second
sing, pronoun te, and thu a form of some verb meaning to grant, used with the
particle re. The correct rendering would seem to be: venture to bring my
companion within, and, if he come, by God who made me, I will do very much
for thee. Cf. mar tue nep guas: if any fellow comes. O. 2063. The second
passage is 'me a fyn re thu am ros the gemeres gans carios '. It is rendered.
' I will give thee my promise to take thee with a cart '. It should be; — 'I
will, by God who made me, take thee — Williams under carios gives the same.
Jenner p. 130. thinks ros is more probably the preterite of ry, to give. It
is difficult to see how any other meaning than that of made can suit the
passages and the form ros as the preterite of gul, to make, should' be
regarded as established. See further Stokes' 'Cornish Glossary'.
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gynef re drygas: and you have dwelt with me, P.D. 805. pel me re'n sewyas
(leg. servyas) omma: long have I followed (leg, served) it here. Cr. 2006.
It is so also in the use of the preterite gwruk, he made: and the preterite
of the verb substantive, hue. why a wharth kemmys re ivruk both ow thas: you
shall laugh, as many as have done the will of my Father, R. 137. pythueth re
rug ow syndye: Ever she hath held me, O. 288, me re hue peghadoras: I have
been a sinner. R. 1097. hythqueth re hue us geneugh: there has always been a
custom with you. P.D. 2034. drefen an torment yn beys thagis corfoiv rehue
grueys: because of the torment on earth, which was done to your bodies. Mer.
1304.
In the following examples re with the preterite seems to be used narratively.
Syr justis thy's lowene Sir justice joy to thee
my rehue war ow ene 1 was on my soul
ov themloth may then pur squyth wrestling till I was very
much tired
uskys na yllyn
ponye I could not run immediately
del esof of
tyene as I was panting. P.D. 2507-11.
The use of the imperfect form en after may th- in the clause following rehue
precludes the possibility of translating my rehue by, I have been, and hue is
not the form used for the pluperfect.
The following
lines from Meriasek 2152-2157 are part of the outlaw's story to the saint, of
how he and his companions had been scattered by a 'blow of fire' and
lightening.
me a greys truetheh I cried out piteously
gueres thymo
meryaseh Help me Meriasek
der henna y
fuff sawys By that I was saved
ha part am
felschyp gena And part of my fellowship with me
ran in Jcerth
re ruh flya Some away did flee
ran ny won
pythens gyllys Some I know not where they are gone.
Here the translation given by Stokes seems to be the natural one ; although
it might also be possible to render re ruh flya by some have fled.
The Earl of Vannes, in giving his account of his mission to Meriasek, with
the offer of a bishopric, closes his statement
2*
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thus:
sav eff ren
nahas dijson: but he refused us at once. Mer. 2907.
Enoch's speech
on being carried to Paradise contains the follomng:
der temptacion
an teball Through temptation of the evil one
ow hendas adam
pur tveare My grandsire Adam full truly
eave regoUas
der avail (He) lost through an apple
an place
gloryous pur sure The glorious place full surely.
To translate regollas here as perfect would scarcely suit the context. There
is one other similar instance in O. 420. pan wriige dres ov dyfen fest yn tyn
ef rii'm sorras: when he acted against my prohibition very grievously he
provoked me.
Presence or absence of re with the preterite.
From what has been said it is clear that when re- is used with the preterite
it gives it, as a rule, the force of a perfect. How far its use in the
Cornish we know, represents its earlier use, it is, of course, impossible to
say; but as already intimated, it was becoming less and less frequent, and
its functions more curtailed in the period that elapsed between the
composition of the 'Pascon' and the writing of the 'Creation'. Later, the
rate of decadence was even more rapid, and to such an extent had it proceeded
by Lhuyd's day, that the particle would seem to have lost all significance.
Under the heading 'Words united and abbreviated in Cornish'.i) Lhuyd gives
rum, hath or hast me, Ty rum gruk. Thou hast made me: while as the pre terite
of gurehdv he gives gurig me, me re urig and me a 'urig, I did or have done.
In his past tenses of the regular verb the particle does not appear at all,
unless we are to assume that the form rygtielez, (side by side with mi 'urig
guelei), represents the older re welas. Even so, his translation did see,
shows that it was no longer the index praeteriti which it formerly had been.
The probability is that lihuyd confounded the particle with the preterite
rug^) The same process of simplification of the functions of participles, a
process approaching to their com plete elimination, is a marked feature of
modern Welsh. The relative particle a survives in the spoken language because
it
(1) Archaeologla Britannica, p. 232.
(2) This view
was shared by Williams. See his Dictionary under re.
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has taken upon
itself a novel and peculiar duty to perform. It has virtually became a sign
of tlie perfect. Of this use Anwyl saysi): 'So completely has their relative
origin (i.e. of yr and a) sunk into oblivion in the minds of modern Welshmen
that a before the aorist may be lengthened and emphasized to form a perfect,
e.g. mi a welais, I have seen'. Whether this was also a usage of spoken
Cornish it is impossible to say. The particle a however is used with the
preterite in the sense of the perfect just as often as re, and under
precisely similar conditions. The consideration and comparison of a few
examples will make this clear. The instances are taken, where possible, from
the same text, or from one that is contemporary, and with the same verb.
Moyses thy so
lavara ty a gamwruk yn torma: Moses I will tell thee, thou hast done wrong in
this time. O. 1646.
Ty re gam wruk
eredy ha ren dros the vur anken: Thou hast done evil verily, and hast brought
him to much sorrow. O. 281.
Adam an tas
dev guella a yrghys thy's growethe: Adam, the Father God most good, hath
commanded thee to lie. O. 645.
dev a yrghys
thy's Moyses the welen y kemeres: God has commanded thee Moses to take thy
rod. O. 1663.
Cayphas re
hyrghys^) thywhy a thos the ierusalem: Caiaphas hath commanded you to come to
Jerusalem. P.D. 1648.
Duw a ros
thy'n naw ran: God hath given us the nine parts. O. 493.
eff re ros
thy'n deth hyr lour: He has given us a long day enough. Mer. 1930.
un gusyl da
Jia perfyth thym ty a ros: a counsel good and perfect to me thou hast given.
R. 2143.
pur wyr te re
leverys: full truly hast thou spoken. P. 101a.
Arluth guyr a
leversotigh: Lord you have spoken true. P. 50d.
ty re wores
mes an gliias Meryasek: thou hast put, out of the country, Meriasek. Mer.
2374.
An corf a
worsyn yn bedh: the body we have but in the grave. R 49.
aberth yn bedh
del re'th worsyn: within the grave as we have put thee. R. 312.
genaf lower y
a sorras: with me they have been angry enough. Cr. 1356.
dev an tas re
sorras: God the Father has become angry. O. 256.
fatel fue
Crist mertheryys why a welas yn tyen: how Christ was martyred you have seen
entirely: P.D. 3222.
why re welas a
thasserghyens Crist del fue: You
1) Welsh Grammar, § 570.
(2) The h here has, of course, nothing to do with the h after ro- in Irish.
In Cornish it is also occasionally found after a; cf. me a hyrgh. P.D. 2928.
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have seen the resurrection of Christ as it was. R. 2631.
ty re thyswrug
eredy hevelep thorn face vy: Thou hast destroyed verily the likeness to my face.
O. 2336.
rag an harlot
a thyswruk an keth map ol agan guruk: for the villain has destroyed the same
Son who made us all. R. 1974.
dev a'm
danvonas thyso the wofyn: God hath send me to thee to ask. O. 1480.
an emperour
re'u danfonas a whylas in pow gweras: The emperor has sent me to seek help in
the country. R. 1645.
hy re gafes
dyhogel dor dyseghys yn nep le: she has certainly found the earth dried in
some place. O. 1143.
nep caryn hy a
gafas: Some carrion she has found. Cr. 2465.
Such instances might be multiplied almost indefinitely, but those given
suffice to show how the particles a and re inter change, and how similar they
are in function.
re in interrogative sentences.
Under certain conditions, again, the use of re with the Preterite in the
sense of the Perfect is either very rare or non existent. It is, for
instance, but seldom so used in interrogative sentences. The following are
instances of its use in dependent interrogative clauses.
thy'm lavar .
. py le re seth: tell me — in what place is it gone. R. 789.
lavar thymmo —
ple reseth the thyskyblon: tell me where are gone thy disciples. P.D. 1246.
An example of
a similar use with the pluperfect is:
pylat a vynnas
scrife praga dampny rebea: Pilate would write why he had been condemned. P.
187.C.
Re however is
not always used even in dependent questions. Cf. ny won py theth the wandra:
I know not where he has gone to wander. Cr. 1197.
In independent
interrogative sentences the Perfect is used without re.
ple clevsta gelwel
deo crist: where hast thou heard God called Christ. O. 2642.
Abel ple feste
mar bel: Abel where hast thou been so long. O. 468.
prag y wresta
in delta: why hast thou done so. Cr. 876.
a ow cows why
an clewas: have ye heard him speaking? P. 95.a.
a glewsyugh
why cowethe: have ye heard, comrades? O. 2727.
fattel thuthte
gy the'n cres: how hast thou come to peace ? R. 260.
a wylste gy
Meryasek: hast thou seen Meriasek? Mer. 1017.
a glosugh why
cows annotho: have ye heard speak of him. Mer. 2224.
pur a wylste
war an kee genys yn bysma eneff: Hast thou really seen on thy way a soul left
in the world? Mer. 1253. 1896.
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re not used after pan: when.
I have found no instance of re being used after pan: when. Examples of the
use of pan with the preterite (as perfect) without re are fairly common. The
following will suffice: nynsus ethom nag onan thy why a dusty nye pan
clewseugh cows an gevan: There is no need of anyone to testify to you when
you have heard him speak the lies. P.D. 1338. fy thyso pan leversys temple dev
yn tystrewys: Fy on thee! when thou hast said the temple of God thou wouldst
destroy. P.D. 2861. a Ian golste orty hy: since thou hast hearkened unto her.
Cr. 881.
re after del, (as.) After del, as, re with the Preterite is also of rare
occurrence, aherth yn bedh del re'th worsyn: within the grave as we have put
thee. R. 312. del re glowys meryaseJc a wereses tus bohoseJc: as I have heard
Meriasek has healed poor folk. M. 3102. These are the only examples that I
have noted. 1) On the contrary del without any particle is frequent, my an
gura hepar del yrghsys: I will do like as thou hast commanded. P.D. 187. 642.
gura ol del leverys: do all as I have said. O. 1471. del erghys ef: as he has
commanded. O. 442. del welsough tvarharth omnia: as ye have seen together
here. Cr. 1005. del tvelsyn ni: as we have seen. R. 807. del dythywys: as he
has promised. R. 796.
re not found
after the negative ny, (not).
As in old Welsh the particle ry, is not used after the negative wi,-) so also
in Cornish. The only case which gives even the appearance of re being used
after ny occurs in Meriasek 1038. The passage runs thus: in trevoiv hag in
gonyow ny ren welas siir heb woiv amiotho covs ny wor den. The lines form
part of the speech of the third Torturer on his return from the search after
Meriasek, who had, however, been warned by a vision, and was therefore not to
be found. Stokes translates, ' In villages and on downs we have not seen him
surely without a lie: of him no one can speak'; and, as it stands, the trans
lation certainly conveys the general purport of what the Tor turer had to
say. But there are grammatical difficulties. First
(1) With the Pluperfect there are a few other instances where re follows del.
See p. 30.
(2)
Thurneysen, K. Z. XXXVII, p. 87. Strachan. Eriu II.
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comes the quite exceptional and, therefore, suspicious use of re after ny.
Secondly, if ny were really the negative we should expect to find the verb in
the plural. The explanation is simple. The verb welas is not the preterite of
gueles, to see, (w. gweled). but rather of whclas to seek (w. chwilio). For
the form whclas as preterite, cf. en edhetvon yn tredhe a whelas dustcneow:
the Jews amongst them sought witnesses. P. 90 a: and for the mutation of the
initial wh (generally not mutable), cf. po yw neb a weleugh ivy. who is he
whom you seek. P. 69 b. The passage, then should read. 'In villages and on
downs we have sought him surely: without a lie, no one can speak of him'.
With this emendation disappears the only instance in which re seems to be
used after the negative ny.
Negative perfects without re, on the other hand are very common. The
following are examples: ny wruk an denma vyth queth tvar an hysma drokoleth
na ny peghas ivar neb cor: This man has never done evil deed in this world,
nor has sinned in any sort. P.D. 2903. na rum fay my nyn gwelys: nor by my
faith have I seen him. P.D. 1286. Pedyr ny wolsys y fas: Peter thou hast not
watched well. P.D. 1504. golhy ow treys ny Jiyrsys: to wash my feet thou hast
not offered. P.D. 518. ny theth droke tvJiath anothe: Evil hath not yet come.
Cr. 797. ny thassorghas: it (i. e. Christ'sbody) has not risen. R. 1036. ny
brefsys anken na drok: Thou hast not felt grief nor evil. R. 278. rag ny
glewsyugh yn nep plas satvor an parma vytliqueth: for you have not smelt in
any place savour like this ever. O. 1990. ny thyndylas lowene: he has not
deserved bliss. R. 2325. benythe me nys care: never have I loved them. Mer.
2044. ny welys in bys na mur: I have not seen on earth or sea. Mer. 1414.
re not used with ydh.
Again, after the particle ydh («/), re is never used in Cornish. The example
from P. 90d which seems to be translated as if it were a case of y -{-re is
somewhat loosely rendered. The stanza is as follows:
En edJiewon yn tredhe a whelas dusteneow rag payne crist ha syndye ny getvsys
dhe blegadow Saw war thu y a vynne d^s envy leverell gow a dus fals y
redodhye an purre laddron yn
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pow. ' The Jews amongst them sought witnesses, to torture and hurt Christ:
they spoke not to (their) wishes. But of God they would through envy utter a
lie: of false folks there came the veriest thieves in the country'. Eedoclhye
is rather the pluper fect form, and y the third person plural pronoun. The
last line would, then, seemingly be better rendered thus: false folk! they
had come of the veriest thieves in the country, i)
Of ydh preiixed to the perfect without re there is a large number of
examples, apert vyth queth y tysJcys ow dyshes: openly always I have taught
my doctrine. P.D. 1251, y thadder yw droJc tyllys pan yn lathsons dy byte:
his goodness is ill re warded, since they have killed him without pity. P.D.
3098. y varclc warnaf y settyas: his mark upon me he hath set. Cr. 1530. hag
yth cowsas yn delma: and hath spoken thus. Cr. 1533. Jia falslych yn juggyas
ef: and falsely hath sentenced him. R. 2263. yn mes an dor y lammas: out of
the earth he has leaped. Cr. 2090. yth ymwruh pur wyr heb fal dev ha den: he
hath truly made himself, witliout doubt, God and man. P.D. 2395. yth ymbrovas
gwan dyack: I have proved myself a weak husbandman, Cr. 920.
The use of these preverbal particles a and ydh in Cornish is, in general,
identical with that of modern Welsh; — y being used before a verb in
affirmative sentences when the nominative follows or is omitted; a when the
nominative precedes: a stands for the relative when subject or direct object
of the verb, and y when the object is in other oblique cases. The modern
Welsh usage differs in some respects, however, from that of Middle Welsh.
Thus, in Mid. W,, y can stand at the beginning of a sentence. Cf. the
frequent use of y dywawt, in Kulhtvch ac Olwen. It may not be without
interest to point out that Cornish similarly has y before meth: he says. Cf.
yn meth Crist: quoth Christ. P. 44 b, 45 b, 46 b, 49 b, 52 b, 55 d etc, y
leverys: he spoke, P, 99 c. ytterevys: (with provected d for ydh -\-
derevys), he declared. P. 94 c. But ydh thus standing first in the sentence
is not even con fined to verbs of saying, Cf. above, yth ymwruJc: he hath
made, and, y carsen gwelas an fvu anotho: I would wish to see the form of
him. R. 469.
(1) Cf. Z. E.
p. 595. Venerant perfectissimi latrones in terra.
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Verbs not
taking re in the perfect.
In Irish there
is a number of verbs, eg. Tánis, he has come, with which ro is not found in
the perfect. The number of such verbs may originally have been much larger,
but owing to the process of analogy were gradually brought into line with
those taking ro. Similarly in Cornish the preterite gallas, (1) he went, —
belonging to the same class as Irish tánic — never takes re. The following
list of instances of the use of gallas is, if not quite exhaustive, at least
nearly so, and in no single case is re used.
agan corfow noth gallas: our bodies are become naked. O.253.
gallas ef the
nef wolow: he has gone to the bright heaven. O.587.
gallas an glaw
the vas gvlan: the rain has clean gone away. O. 1097.
gallas Moyses
ha'y pobel: Moses and his people have gone.
O.1627. gallas
hy gohyr gynsy: her reward has gone with her. O. 2764. gallas oiv colon pur
claf: gone is my heart very sick. P.D. 2610. gallas lemmyn lour ganso: Thou
art now very able with it 2) P.D. 3018. corv crist yn beth gallas: Christ's
body is gone into the tomb. K. 39. gallas an porthow hrewyon: Gone are the
gates to pieces. E. 126. gallas mur a enefow a payn: gone are many souls from
pain. R. 304. oiv harluth yn beth gallas: my Lord is gone into the tomb. R.
680. ow harluth yn herth gallas mes an beth: my Lord has gone his way out of
the tomb. R. 722. ihesu agan sylwadur gallas an beth: Jesus our Saviour, has
gone out of the tomb. R. 801. ow colon yn certan gallas pur claf: My heart is
certainly gone very sick. R. 1846. gallas ny wodlian pele: he has gone we
know not where. P. 245 c. gallas the gen le: he has gone to another place. P.
255 c. gallas lucifer droke preve: gone hath Lucifer evil worm. Cr. 335.
gallas gyne hager dowlc: There has gone with me an ugly fall. Cr. 420. ow
holan ter deatv gallas: my heart is gone in two. Cr. 1212. gallas genaf sor
an tas: the Father's anger hath gone with me. Cr. 1339. y vernans gallas
gan(dh)a: his death has gone with it. Cr. 1566. han segh gallas quyte
drethaf:
(1) With adjectives it has the meaning of become, f actus sum. Z. E. p. 575.
Cf. the Welsh use of aeth — he went, in such a sentence as aeth y dyn yn
dlawd: the man became poor.
(2) So Norris:
but literally, 'it has gone enough with him' (viz the spea|w which pierced
Christ's side); i. e. it has gone far enough into him.
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and the arrow hath gone quite through me. Cr. 1573. gallas gon{dh)a hager
feast: Gone (it) has with him, ugly beast. Cr. 1583. molath dev . . . gallas
genaf: the curse of God hath gone with me. Cr. 1687. ov envy in Jcerth
galsons: my enemies have gone away. Mer. 1069. llcriaseJc in kerth galles:
Meriasak has gone away. Mer. 1940. gallas henna the ken tyr: he has gone to
another land. Mer. 2281. galles an turant then fo: the tyrant has gone to
flight. Mer. 2494. galles an turent then guelfoys: The tyrant has gone to the
wilderness. Mer. 3246. In Cornish then it is quite clear that the preterite
gallas never took re. It conveys the sense of the perfect without it. In Old
Welsh it seems to have taken ry — if we are to take the one example quoted by
Williams i) from Llywarch Hen as significant and reliable — Owae fy Haw Ham
rym gallas: 'Woe my hand! the step that befell me.'
re with the preterite eth, he went.
Of re with eth there are but few examples, yn y golon fest r eg eth mur a
gerense wordhys: into his heart quite hath gone(?) much love for thee. P.
115c. pie reseth the thyskyblon: where are gone thy disciples. P.D. 1246. an
corf ^^y le reseth: the body, in what place is it gone? E. 789. ow colon re
seth yn claf: my heart is gone sick. P.D, 1027.
Stokes' translation of regeth as 'hath gone' is followed by a quaere. The
origin of the prosthetic s in these cases is not clear. Norris II, p. 266
says, ' this verb in all its forms beginning with a vowel takes s or its
equivalent th after the conjunction mar and some others', and Jenner p. 144
speaking of the above forms says: ' This is the preterite eth with the
particle re and s (j) for th prefixed'. But this does not explain the
phenomenon; s and th being quite distinct in Cornish. Mar causes provection,
and before vowels is followed by s; while re, on the contrary stands before
vowels without the elision of its vowel, and without the insertion af any
intermediate consonant, e. g. dv a syv emskemunys nep re or denes y lathe:
black they shall be accursed who have decreed to kill him. P.D. 3092. kymmys
dagrow re olys: so many tears I have shed. P.D. 2608. ha thy why me re
ordynas glas nef: and I have ordained for you
^) See Dictionary under gallas.
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the kingdom of heaven. P.D. 807. yn creys me re ysethas: I have sat in the
midst. P.D. 803. By God ny re eves ry: By God we have drunk over much. Mer.
3328. an heth me re anysyas: I have arranged the tomb. R. 399. ha re usias .
. . raffna laclra: and we have used to rob and plunder. Mer. 2143.9 On the
other hand the c of re is always elided before the in fixed pronouns plural:
e. g. ragas, ragen for re agas, and re agen.
Gallas is used
so frequently for the preterite and perfect that eth is very rare except
after conjunctions; e.g. pan, when, and interrogatives e. g. 2^y- ^^ co'^'f
^^'* hythev yn pry: the body has gone this day to earth. R. 21. ogh me re hue
hoghes coynt hag eth yn rah re a poynt: oh I have been little cunning and
have gone forward too much point blank. P.D. 3031.
re with the pluperfect.
The pluperfect is not a common tense in Cornish, and the instances of its use
with re are few. As will be seen from the list given (p. 10, 11) all the
examples quoted (with one exception) are taken from the Pascon agan Arluth.
This is the only narrative poem we have, and that fact may perhaps account
for its more frequent use of this tense. It has been pointed out already by
Thurneysen^) that re can be used or omitted with this new Britannic tense
form without any appreciable change of meaning. Two or three of the examples
collected above require a few words of explanation, e. g. Scruth own mur as
Jcemeres rag an marthus re welsens. P. 254d. re welsens is translated by
Stokes simply by ' they saw '. The line forms part of the description of the
events which took place on the morning of the Resurrection. ' The three Marys
' 3) came to Christ's tomb
(1) The form hyrghys for yrghys after re has already been mentioned. Whether
the h is of any significance seems very doubtful as we the form hyrgh after a
in P.D. 2923.
There is a doubtful instance in R. 2355 where possibly a g may have been
introduced after re. The words are ye regymmy tol ow guen, which might
perhaps be rendered: 'mayest thou kiss uiy anus'. Norris regards the form as
being re-g-ymmy from amme to kiss. See Ancient Com. Drama, vol. II,
Additional Notes p. 122.
(2) K. z.
xxxvn p. 85.
(3) Stokes
translates tyr Marea P.252d and 252a as 'lovely Mary'. > clearly means the
three Marys.
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and found the stone rolled away. Leaning upon the tomb they saw the angel,
and 'they knew it not and a shiver of great fear seized them'. If the fear
came about through seeing the angel, Stokes translation is the natural one,
for they continued to look upon him and afterwards conversed with him. The
meaning, however, is rather that the fear was caused, at least quite as much,
by finding that Christ's body was not in the tomb, and, in that case, we
should translate re w el sens by Uhey had seen' — strictly in accordance with
the pluperfect form, and referring to the whole series of events. Similarly
the sentence — Fylat a vynnas serife proga dampnys reheeV. 187 b is
translated, 'Pilate would write why he (i. e. Christ) was condemned'.
According to the poem, Christ had already been crucified when this thought
occurred to Pilate. The pluperfect would, therefore, be quite as natural and
grammatically more correct: i. e. wliy Christ had been condemned. Thurneysen
has remarked that Ebel was wrong in translating cf. rcbea den a hrys. P. 217
b. by 4s fuisset vir magna pretii'.i) The meaning simply is; the blind
soldier had been a man of worth before he became blind.
The same tense form is used for secondary preterite with the meaning of
would, or would have: but in this modal use re never appears, e. g. yivelas
ow map y carsen: I would like to see my son. R. 442. y carsen gwelas an fvu
anotho: I would wish to see the form of him. R. 469. an gwelesta a thyragos a
alsesta y aswonfos: If thou shouldst see him before thee wouldst thou be able
to know him. R. 863. 864. yalsen y ta: I would be able well. R. 865.
As the pluperfect tense forms themselves are comparatively recent formations
the uses of re- with them are, in consequence, also but newer developments
due to analogy with the preterite usages. It is therefore natural that re-
with these forms should have precisely the same limitations as when used with
the preterite. Thus re is never used with the pluperfect after ny (negative),
cf. ef a doys . . gans Crist na vye tregis na hythqueth ef nan guclse: He
swore that he had not been staying with Crist: that he had never seen him. P.
85d. hedhow pan
1) Z. E. p. 422.
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edhys yn mes cleves vyth nytli hemerse: when thou wentest out today no
illness had taken thee. P. 157 d.
After pan, (when), re is not found with the pluperfect. a vernans Crist pan
ivelse hjnyver tra martlmsy: when he had seen such a number of marvellous
things at Christ's death. P. 208 b, dre y liolon y dheth seth y mob syndis
pan welse: through her heart went an arrow when she had seen her son hurt. P.
223 a.
After del (as). I have noted but two instances of re with the pluperfect.
They are — Fedtjr sur a omdennas yn urna del reheghse: Peter surely went out
in that hour that he had sinned. P. 86b. hag an dydhghtyas maga teh del
rehye: and dighted it (the ear) as fair as it had been. P. 71 d.
The following are examples of the pluperfect after del without re. thy gour
hy a dhan(v)onas a Crist hepar del welse: to her husband she sent as she had
seen of Christ. P. 123 a. lotvan y vam a sensy marya crist del arse:^) John
took Mary (for) his mother as Christ had bidden. P. 199 b.
The pluperfect galse. As gallas is used in the perfect without re, so the
pluperfect form galse, in the only instance. I have noted, of its occurrence,
is also used without it. rag galse glan dhe worto y woys: For clean from him
his blood had gone. P. 207 b.
The pluperfect is used after ydh without re. ol y heyn yn^) tremense: all his
pain had passed him. P. 258c.
Of the pluperfect with a we have the following example: Jcemmys tra a lavarsa
ena y an rehnTcyas. P. 112 a. Stokes translates ' whatever he said there they
rebuked him ' and Z. E. ' quidquid loquebatur ' — both renderings taking ena
as referring to lavarsa. It seems better, however, to read 'Whatsoever He had
said (i. e. during the whole period of his public life) became there, (before
the judges), the subject of rebuke'.
The use of re with the indicative is therefore in Cornish much simpler than
its use in Old Irish and Old Welsh. In Irish, for instance, under certain
conditions, (eg. in a dependent clause of a general sentence), ro gives to
the present indicative the
') arse for arghse. ^
*) The use of y here as relative particle, when the subject precede its verb,
is peculiar and certainly contrary to the general rule in Cornish.
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(delwedd D5718) (tudalen 031)
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31
force of a perfect. Cf. is in nuall dongniat ho rumaith fora ndimtea remib:
or is it the cry which they make when their enemies have been routed by them,
i) Strachan finds in Old Welsh also, several instances of ry with the present
indicative, which he would explain as perfects in meaning. 2) Of such use
there are no examples in Cornish, unless the difficult passage in 0, 366 be a
case in point The words are: otv holon gvaJc dyvoUer rum hymnier ha gawel
bos. Norris translates: 'my heart is weak and empty by my taking and having
food ' — a rendering that is, from every point of view, unsatisfactory. It
ignores both the grammatical difficultes and the context. Adam and Eve have
been driven out of Paradise, and the words form part of Adam's lament that he
had to go 'through the land without clothes and shelter, wellnigh perishing
with cold ' etc. With such a context the translation as given is absurd: it could,
indeed, be scarcely anything but absurd under any conceivable circum stances.
Norris evidently took gawel to be the same word as gavel (to have. W.
caffael) and Jcymmer as the infinitive of kemeres (to take. W. cymeryd).
Stokes would read rum Jcymmer hag awel hosJ) comparing awel with eff an geve
awell hoys: he had a desire for food. P. 10 d and further with Welsh ewyllys,
will. He then translates the whole line thus 'through my trouble and desire
for food'. This fits in with the context: but the word Jcymmer, meaning
trouble, does not seem to be found elsewhere. Moreover the preposition re is
only found in imprecations: e. g. re dev an tas: by God the Father and such
phrases as ru'm leute: by my faith. If we read with Williams *) 'and a desire
for food hath seized me' we should then have Jcymmer the regular 3rd singular
present form used with re in the sense of the perfect. But this too is not
without difficulty. Why should the conjunction hag come between the verb and
its subject? Again, the form dyvotter is strange, and the whole passage so
difficult that nothing can be based upon it.
Another difficult passage where re (if genuine) would seem to have a quite
exceptional use is E. 388. There we read ; scon
(1) Ml. 51c 9.
(2) Eriu n, p. 218.
(3) P. p. 83.
(4) Dictionary, under dyotter.
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(delwedd D5719) (tudalen 032)
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32
me a re clout tliotho may ro'n mayle war an dor: translated by Norris, ' soon
I will give him a clout that shall wrap him to the earth'. There are several
difficulties here. In the first place re is not found elsewhere after the
conjunction may A) Again mayle is the infinitive form, and the particle re
only appears as ro before the infixed pronouns of the first and second
persons singular. Before the third singular it is always re. These facts seem
to justify us in doubting whether we have here a genuine case of the use of
re. Can it be that may ro stands for may fo, when we should read, I will give
him a blow so that he be rolling on the earth?
In Irish and Welsh ro can be used to express possibility. But of this use
which seems to have been common to the two families, Cornish has no trace.
Nor has it any new formations such as the Middle Welsh use of ry with the
verb-noun forming a kind of perfect infinitive: eg. gwedy rygysgu oJionaw:
after he had slept. Nor again is it used with the future as in Welsh. 2)
Me with the subjunctive.
As with the indicative, so also with the subjunctive, the use of re is, in
Cornish, much simpler than in the sister languages. Strachan has dwelt upon
the great significance of the use of ro with the subjunctive in Irish. With
the preterite indicative, perfect! vity can be expressed with or without ro;
but 'whether ro be present or absent the force of the tense is the same. If
we had only these indicative tenses to reason from it would be difficult to
reconstruct its life history. Fortunately ro is also found in the subjunctive
mood, and with this diiference, that here in the same verb, subjunctive forms
are found both with and without ro and that a difference of meaning is
sometimes clearly appreciable,' It has long been pointed out that in
particular cases ro gives to the present and imperfect subjunctive the force
of the Latin future perfect and a pluperfect subjunctive.
In Cornish however re with the subjunctive is strictly con fined to the
expression of wish in positive sentences. The very large number of instances
of the stereotyped form, pre dicative + reby or rtho is a fair index to its
use with this mood.
>) This is the same as saying that re is not fonnd after ydh: for mayth =
tna -\- ydh. ,»
") Strachan. Erin H, p. 216.
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(delwedd D5720) (tudalen 033)
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33
Modern Welsh has completely lost ry in this as in other cases. On the
contrary the use of the jussive form in -ed (eg, givareded duw ni, may God
preserve us), so common in Welsh is very rare in Cornish, eg. hath wereses
amaleJc, and may Amalek save thee. O. 2781.
Of the examples cited above little more need be said. They belong mostly to
the same class of simple principal sentences expressing wish. In some cases,
however, the wish sentence is dependent, eg. my a pys an tas a nef re
thanfono ungeans cref warnough: I pray the Father from Heaven that he send
heavy vengeance upon you. P.D. 2631. ha pesyn rag y ene may fo dev . . . ren
Jcyrho thoth thy wleth: let us pray for his soul that God may carry him to
his kingdom. O. 2370. me a leys Crist yn ncff thywhy ren tala: I beseech Christ
... in heaven may he pay it to you. Mer. 755. ihesu me a heys . . . re
therhara dis yehes: I beseech Jesus . . . may provide healing for thee. Mer.
4221. ny a beys . . . Christ re sensa the gallos: we will pray — may Christ
keep thy power. Mer. 2675.
In negative wish sentences after na as already pointed out by Thurneysen re
is not found in Cornish. He quotes: na allons caffus cheson the wruthyl
crothval: may they not be able to find cause to make complaint. O. 1835. Cf.
also: vynytha na effo coul: may he never drink broth. P.D. 1619.
After hyner^) however re is found.
Frut da hyner re dhoco: may it never produce good fruit. O. 583. hener re
geffy the con: never mayest thou have thy supper. Mer. 1020. ny reys thyn
fors py thellen rag hener re thewellen: needs not for us to care where we go,
for never may we return. Mer. 3439. In the following instance ryner is trans
lated 'always' by Norris: saw vyner re theweUy genes me a wra pysy: but
always that thou mayest return I will pray with thee. O. 2196. The words form
part of Bathsheba's farewell to Uriah before his departure for the war and
she could scarcely tell him, to his face, that she wished him never to
return.
Another point in connection with the Cornish use of re remains to be noticed.
It is now well established, as already,
(1) Williams
is probably right in reyarding the word as a compound similar to W. beunydd
-< *bebnnydd — every day. Hence the meaning — eyery hour. Z. E. however
connects with byth — unquam.
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(delwedd D5721) (tudalen 034)
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34
mentioned, that ro in Irish when standing before a relative verb (with no
intervening relative particle) causes aspiration of the initial consonant of
that verb. Near the close of his paper on Irish ro Strachan says: 'If
statistics are worth anything it is impossible to avoid the conclusion, from
which, I confess, I at first shrank that the rule in these glosses is, that
in relative forms, where no relative particle was introduced, there was
aspiration, in non-relative forms there was no aspiration'. Sub sequently in
Eriu HI, 20 — 28 he has made it clear that the same rule obtained in Early
Welsh.
Can the same be said of Cornish? Before attempting an answer it should be
remarked that in Cornish, as in the earlier periods of Irish and Welsh, the
committing to writing of the initial mutations was very erratic. In this
respect Cornish is no better, if it be not even worse, than the others. But
when the mutation is actually recorded, even though it be rare, its weight as
evidence bearing upon the practice of the spoken language is great as against
those cases, which may be far more numerous, where the mutation is not
written. Hitherto it has been generally believed that the particle re in
Cornish uni formly, causes the initial consonant of the following word to
pass into what is known as the second stage, i. e. re is followed by
lenation. On examining the collection of examples given above it will be seen
that, by far the larger proportion have the lenated forms after re,
especially of those cases where re is used with the preterite. But with
regard to them it should be noticed that almost all such examples are of the
form, subject (mostly pro nouns) -\- re -\- verb. The verb is nearly always
in the third singular. It has been shown too that a frequently stands inthe
place of re under such circumstances. In these cases the verb is indubitably
relative and the lenation after re is in accord with the practice of the
other languages.
But, it may be asked, is it not a fact that re always lenates in Cornish
irrespective of the verb being used relatively? To give a definite
unqualified answer either way is not easy, as will be seen after
consideration of the instances where the unlenated forms occur. Leaving out,
for the moment, the verb substantive, those instances occur:
From P. (three
instances), re deve (reL): 48 c re dethye (rel^ 33 a. re dothye (rel.): 90 d.
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(delwedd D5722) (tudalen 035)
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35
From P.D. (eight instances), re codhas {re\.): 2618. repeghas
(rel): 2192, 2993. re peghes (rel.): 1505, 1518, 1519.
re pysys (rel.): 1095. re duth (rel.): 1107.
From R (five
instances), re teulseugh(non-Ye\): 523. re clewas
(rel.): 1231. re peghas {vel): 1569. re teulys (rel.): 2271.
re deve (rel.): 2620.
From Meriasek
(thirteen instances with the preterite, and six
with present subjunctive), re powesys (rel.): 1067. re
trylyas (rel.): 1995. re proves (rel.): 4107. re grontyas
(rel.): 455. re dufa (rel.): 623, 650. re dufe (rel.):
1432, 3995. re duth (rel.): 2700, 2899, 3678, 3972.
re deth (rel.): 234. re groniya (rel.): 701, 1834, 2537,
3073, 4229, 4385.
The foregoing examples (apart from the verb substantive)
are the only cases I have noted of re with the relative verb
where no lenation is recorded. (The non relative instance will
be referred to later). Many of them, however, have, as might
be expected, under identical circumstances their lenated parallels;
and it is probably only the rarer occurrence of the remaining
verbs which accounts for our not having the lenation recorded
with them as well.
For example, as against the unlenated re peglias (six times) we have re
heghas (four times) O. 249,1893; P.D. 1042; Cr.852 and as against re powesys
(once) compare re howesas (once) O. 2073. Against the one instance re clowas
we have the lenated form (six times) in E. 174; Mer. 527, 730, 802, 2526,
4349. The unlenated me re pysys. (once) is paralleled by me re hesys. (once)
P.D. 884. The preterite defa {deve) after re does not occur at all in the
lenated form. The younger as well as the older texts have defa {deve).
Compare also the only two instances of the pluperfect — Crist re detliye P.
33 a, and y redothye P. 90d — both unlenated. On the other hand the form duth
{deth) — five times unlenated, appears in the lenated form thueth {thuth) in
R. 473, 2487, 2505 and P.D. 1171. As against the subjunctive form re gronntya
(six times) in Meriasek we have one instance of re wrontya. Mer. 3141.
Preterite of the verb substantive unlenated (seven instances).
P. ny rehe (rel.) 192 b. re ben (non-rel.) 246 b. B. rehue
(rel.) 1097. O. rehue (rel.) 2429. P.D. rehue (rel.) 2508. 3031.
3*
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(delwedd D5723) (tudalen 036)
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36
hytliqueth re hue (non-rel.) 2034. Pluperfect of the yerb sub stantive
unlenated (four instances). P. rebye (non-rel.) 7 Id. rebee (non-rel.) 214 b.
rebee (non-rel.) 187 b. rebea (rel.) 217 b. These are all the instances of
the use of the perfect and plu perfect of the verb substantive after re
(without an infixed pronoun) in the older texts, and in no case, whether
relative or non- relative, is there lenation. In the Mer. we have re hue
(twice) 1304, 1490. but on the other hand revue (sixteen times) Mer. 1804,
1364, 1490, 1495, 1568, 1845, 2142, 3056, 3356, 3719, 3726, 3734, 3570, 4010,
4187, 4551.
The examples of re with the present subjunctive of the verb substantive in
wish sentences have already been given on pp. 14, 15. As they are all
unlenated (with two possible exceptions in Mer. 3761, 3888) it is needless to
repeat them here. It should be remembered that the second singular re by is
never used rela tivel3^, while the third singular re bo is, in some cases,
relative and in others clearly non- relative. As relative may be taken such
instances as virtu crist rebo yly: Mer. 556. art, iovle agis acetour rebo:
Mer. 3180; while as non-relative we have: amen delta rebo: O. 462. gorthys
rebo benytha: Mer. 2193. bcnyges re ho an preys: O. 674, 1979; R. 152, 485;
Mer. 1261, 4062.
The subjunctive forms of the verb substantive, then, are always unlenated —
whether the verb be relative or not. This is so in the older texts — the
Ordinalia — as weU as in the Meriasek. In the latter text, as already noted,
there are two doubtful instances: otherwise it is in every instance
unlenated. The subjunctive forms differ from the preterite indicative in this
respect: the latter, although unlenated in the earlier texts, have the
lenated form in Meriasek.
Thus it is the verb 'to be' which forms the great exception to what would
otherwise seem to have been the universal rule in Cornish of lenation after
re. The question naturally arises. — Why should it be so? More especially in
wish sentences, which are of so frequent occurrence, how came it about that
lenation was never recorded if it was in use in the spoken language? Have we
here a trace of the non -relative verb in Cornish, as in the sister languages
remaining unlenated? The second singular by must always be non-relative, can
it then be that the unlenated third singular forms, even in relative use,
have been generalised from the second singular? In this connection it would
perhaps
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(delwedd D5724) (tudalen 037)
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37
be as well to make a few further remarks upon the great simi larity of function
between the particles a and re in Cornish. It is already known that a, when
it is the subject of the verb, is always followed by the third singular form
of the verb, often referred to by Breton and Cornish grammarians as the
impersonal form: when it is the object, it is of course folloAved by the
personal form: e. g. an corf a worsyn yn beth: the body (which) we have put
in the grave. Similarly re is, as a rule, followed by the third singular: but
it takes the personal form after it in circumstances identical with those in
which a would be the object, cf. lemyn mi tol re ivrussens: but the hole
which they had made. P. 180 d. cf. further: re dJiyssys P. 78b. re ivclsens.
P. 254 d. re weleys. Mar. 1847. re geusys. P.D. 1587. re thyscrysseys. R.
1040. re iverdhys. P. 103 d. re wryssys. P. lOld . re olys. P.D. 2608. re
geusys. P.D. 1262.
One reason for dwelling upon this similarity of function between a and re is
that it is not without a wider interest in view of the theories put forward
to account for the mutation after ro with relative verbs in Old Irish. No
quite satisfactory explanation has as yet been offered. Strachan, for
instance, asks 'Why should there be this difference between the two sets of
forms? Was the ro more strongly emphasized? Did it form more of a unity with
the verb in the relature forms?' To support the suggestion that that the
mutation was due to emphasis, he compares the usage in compound verbs whereby
in relative sentences the enclitic form of the verb is permitted. Pedersen however
(K. Z. XXXV, 361) suggests another explanation — namelj^, that before the
relative forms (between the prepositions and the verb) there may have been an
infixed pronominal element standing in the relation of subject or direct
object to the verb, and that the mutation was brought about by the action of
this infixed element.
This theorie, from the Cornish point of view, is at first sight at least very
tempting: the phenomena connected with re in that language become all the
more difficult to explain if some such theory be not adopted. How, for
instance, are we to account for re being used with the third singular form of
the preterite of relative verbs to the almost complete exclusion of other
forms ? and further, if the personal form of the verb is used, how came it to
be under precisely the same conditions as when a would
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(delwedd D5725) (tudalen 038)
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38
be the object and therefore also followed by the personal form? If it were
assumed for the purposes of Cornish, that the infixed pronominal element
suggested by Pedersen was the relative par ticle a, {re and a are never found
thogether), we should have immediately to hand an explanation of the general
use of the third singular verb (except when a would be the object), aswell as
of the lenation. The use of the personal form by after re would exclude the
possibility of a being infixed, and therefore according to the theory there
would be no lenation. The un lenated forms of the relative verb in wishes
might then be re garded (as already intimated), as having been generalised
from those cases where a could not possibly have been present.
In P. 246 b we have one of the few cases of the non-relative personal verb
ofter re, which are not in wish sentences. The words are: gans an Jiuyn reben
tullys: by a dream we have been deceived. Here we have no lenation.
Unfortunately, however, such value as it might possess is considerably
counter balanced by the fact that the preterite forms of the verb sub
stantive are not under any circumstances — relative or non relative — lenated
in the text from which it is taken. There can be no doubt that there was
lenation of the preterite of the verb substantive after re in relative use.
The Meriasek forms supply abundant proof of that, and where relative bue is
written for vu^ in the older text, it is only one other case of the lenation
not being recorded. On the other hand four of the in stances of rebiie
(rebee) quoted above are non -relative and their being unlenated would be in
complete accord with the theory under discussion.
Of re with the personal form of the preterite of verbs other than the verb
substantive in relative use I have but one example: pos re teulseugh agas
dun. K. 523. Norris seems to have been in some uncertainty as to how to
render it. The translation he actually gives is 'heavily have ye darkened
your senses'. In his note he adds "Price gives this 'But cast off your
com plaint' — not a word of which is in the whole line'. The meaning is
clearly 'you have slept soundly, but I cannot justify my version. CZwn is an
unknown word '. Williams gives 'heavily have ye thrown down your haunches'; —
comparing clun with the Welsh clun, a thigh. There can be but little doubt
that he . is right. In North Wales ^rhoi clun iddV is familiarly used for
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(delwedd D5726) (tudalen 039)
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39
to restJ) Here again we have the imlenated form of the per sonal verb where a
could not have been infixed, and so far, it confirms the theory. But this
verb, too, is paralleled in not having lenation in the only other instance of
its use after re. where, moreover, it is clearly relative. Cf. me re teidys
R. 2271. So much then can be said in favour of accepting- the theory. But the
evidence in support of the view that the personal forms of the verb after re
were unlenated is so extremely meagre and the writing generally so unreliable
that in spite of its apparent plausibility, it can, at best command but a
hesitating assent coupled with considerable misgiving. In the last resort it
would have to be based upon the unlenated forms of the verb substantive.
There are indeed certain facts which tell directly against it. We have for
instance, the personal forms of the verb in non relative use after hyner and
here in each case lenation is found. The examples are: hener re geffy the
con. Mer. 1020. rag hener re thewcllen. Mer. 3439. saw vyner re dhewelly. O.
2196. Irut da hyner re dhocco. O. 583. Then in Mer. 3798 occurrs, ^ Maria
revue relogJi in the gever\ which Stokes translated — 'Mary I have been
overlax regarding thee ' ; — another example of the personal form of the verb
in non-relative use, but with initial mutation. It would seem to be true of
the Meriasek that (with the exception of the second singular subjunctive)
there was always lenation after re. It even has two possible cases of lenated
ho.
Moreover if the theory of an infixed a were adopted for Cornish to explain
the use of the third singular verb and the mutation after re, it would be
robbed of a considerable part of its value if it were not applicable to the
other Celtic languages as well. We should expect confirmatory evidence from
other sources. What, for instance, has Old Welsh to say ? Now, with regard to
the use of the verb after a (as subject) Breton agrees with Cornish in having
only the third singular. Old Irish, although the britannic a is not used, has
only the third singular or third plural in sentences of the form — subject -f
relative verb, i. e. the verb does not necessarily agree in person with the
subject. Written Welsh, on the other hand at an early date, made the verb
agree in number and person with the logical
(1) Cf. also Pughe: rhoddi'r glun i lawr, to sit down.
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(delwedd D5727) (tudalen 040)
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40
subject rather than with a. The different languages are not at one in this matter.
But as between Cornish and Breton on the one hand, and Welsh on the other,
there would seem to be no doubt that the former represent the older usage of
the britannic group in having a with the third singular only. In the oldest
Welsh the third singular after a is still by far the more common. Witness the
frequent expression ^gtcyr a aeth' in the Gododin and such lines as gwyr ae
dilynei — men followed him. 1. 141. i) Tryclian meirch a gryssyivs ganthud:
three hundred horses did with them hasten. 1. 409.i) But even in the same
poems we find gwyr a gryssyassant. 1, 330, 340.') If then from the Cornish
stand point we were tempted to regard a as having been originally a relative
of the third singular, we must not ignore such instances as the above of the
third plural in Old Welsh, nor, the Old Irish usage.
Nevertheless one of the most interesting results of Strachan's investigations
into the use of rhy in Old Welsh is the discovery that rhy and the relative
particle a are not found together. In this matter Old Welsh agrees with
Cornish and in view of our theory a natural question to ask is, whether it
agrees further in having the third singular after rhy. Where an infixed a (as
subject) might be assumed the instances of relative verbs after rhy, collected
by Strachan afford some material for investigation and comparison. In the
Book of Taliesien (Skene II, p. 129, 1.7) we have a theyrned dews rygedwys eu
ffyd: and the kings of God who have kept their faith. This example is exactly
parallel with the Cornish usage; but, so far as I have been able to discover,
it is the only instance. On the other hand in the line a gwyr nwython ry
yoUesyn: and the men of nwython lost the day. (Gododin, Skene's ed. 1. 751)
the verb is in the plural. Many of the instances do not, for various reasons,
affect the issue. Some are passive forms, some are used according to the
newer development in Welsh of having a prefixed to rhy, while many would have
a as object, and therefore followed by the personal verb. The Old Welsh
evidence then, is contradictory. We have one clear case where it agrees with
Cornish, and several where it disagrees. Taking all the circumstances into
(1) The references are to the lines in Stephens' Gododin published by the
Cymmrodorion Society.
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(delwedd D5728) (tudalen 041)
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41
consideration, after due regard has been paid to what may be said for the
theory of an infixed element after re and what may be said against it, it is
only possible with the available evi dence, to give a verdict of 'not
proven'.
Briefly recapitulated, the main features of the use of re in Cornish are
(1) Optional with the preterite to denote completed action. Likewise its use
with the Pluperfect is optional.
(2) In wish sentences its use is obligatory: even in ne gative wish sentences
after hyner. After na only is it not used.
(3) Lenation generally follows. The greatest number of exceptions occur in
the various forms of the verb substantive.
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