du gveras a b c

1
(No Transcript)
2
du gveras a b c an pen can henna yv d
Cornish Verse Forms
and the Evolution of Cornish Prosody
c. 1350 - 1611
Benjamin Bruch Department of Celtic Languages and
Literatures Harvard University 13 May 2005
3
Celtic Languages
Breton
Cornish
Brythonic
Welsh
Insular Celtic
Irish Gaelic
Manx Gaelic
Goidelic
Scottish Gaelic
4
c. 1200 c. 1575
Middle Cornish

• Most surviving Cornish literature dates from
  this period

• Highest population of Cornish speakers

• Language spoken throughout the western half of
  Cornwall

• Many Cornish monoglots

• Middle Cornish literature

• Largely religious

• Mystery plays

• Devotional poem

• Homilies

• Stanzaic verse

• Long texts (2000 lines)

5
c. 1575 c. 1800
Late Cornish

• Language in rapid retreat during 17th and 18th
  centuries

• Last monolingual Cornish speaker died in 1676

• Last native speaker died in 1777

• Sound changes

pen head
pedn

• Differences in orthography

tyr land
teere

• Many writers not native speakers

• Greater variety of literature

• Many secular works

• Shorter texts

• More prose

6
Medieval Cornish Literature in Verse
Date
Length
Text
c. 13501400

• Charter Endorsement

36 lines (actors part)

• Pascon Agan Arluth

c. 1400
2074 lines (poem)

• Ordinalia

• Origo Mundi

2894 lines
c. 1400

• Passio Christi

3316 lines

• Resurrexio Domini

2714 lines

• Beunans Meriasek

1504
4572 lines

• Bewnans Ke

c. 1520
3306 lines (incomplete)

• Gwreans an Bys

1611
2553 lines
7
Meter
Cornish Prosody

• Cornish meter is syllabic, not stress-based

• Most lines are seven syllables long

86

• Four-syllable lines are also common

12

• Used singly, particularly at hinge points in a
  stanza of
• otherwise heptasyllabic lines

• In groups, as variants of stanza forms found
  elsewhere
• with all seven-syllable lines

• Exceptions

• Latin lines, especially liturgical or Biblical
  material

• Proper names (native and foreign)

• Charter Endorsement uses stress-based meter

• Gwreans an Bys is less regular than the earlier
  texts

8
Meter
Cornish Prosody

• Borlase (1758) described Cornish meter as
  trochaic

• This idea accepted (in part) by Norris, Jenner,
  Nance

• Does not reflect natural stress patterns of
  Cornish

En Tas a Nef ym gylwyr
Én Tas á Nef ým gylwýr
En Tás a Néf ym gýlwyr
The Father of Heaven I am called

• At least 30 different accentual patterns for
  heptasyllabic lines

• Usually three stresses per line, less often four

• Lines with two or five stresses are also found

• Iambic rhythm actually more common than
  trochaic

• Comparable variation with four-syllable lines

• No rules govern the distribution of stressed
  syllables within
• each line, or within the stanza as a whole

9
Rhyme
Cornish Prosody

• In general, only the final syllable of a line is
  involved in rhyme

• Rhyme between unstressed syllables is common

henna bara
thinking doing

• Rhyme between stressed and unstressed syllables
  is permitted

henna da
thinking sing

• These rhyming rules are similar to those of
  Breton and Welsh

• However, rhymes between stressed and unstressed
  syllables
• are never required, as in some Welsh verse

Neud llon eos lle trosai, Neud llafar mân adar
Mai.

• Cornish verse lacks internal rhyme, unlike Welsh
  and Breton

Na ve mar dyspar e-z carset
10
Verse Forms
Cornish Prosody

• Nearly all Middle Cornish verse is stanzaic

• Over 200 different stanza forms are found in our
  texts

• 60 of these forms only occur once or twice in
  the corpus

• Six patterns account for 73 of all stanzas

• Most forms are a variant of one of three basic
  stanza types

• Type I

ABABABAB
alternate rhyme

• Type II

AABCCB
tail-rhyme

• Type III

ABABcDDC
hybrid
ABABcDDC

• Cornish stanza forms do not closely resemble
  those of Irish and
• Welsh verse

• Type I and II stanzas widespread in medieval
  European poetry

11
Type I Stanza
en tas a nef ym gylwyr formyer pup tra a vyt
gvrys onan ha try on yn gvyr en tas han map
han spyrys ha hethyv me a thesyr dre ov grath
dalleth an beys y lauaraf nef ha tyr bethens
formyys orth ov brys
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
en tas a nef ym gylwyr formyer pup tra a vyt
gvrys onan ha try on yn gvyr en tas han map
han spyrys ha hethyv me a thesyr dre ov grath
dalleth an beys y lauaraf nef ha tyr bethens
formyys orth ov brys
A B A B A B A B
Origo Mundi, lines 1-8
12
Type I Stanza
1
2
3
4
5
6
8
7
Origo Mundi, lines 1-16
13
Type II Stanza
lemyn hanwaf goyth ha Zar a sensaf ethyn hep par
the vygyens den war an beys hos payon colom
grvgyer swan bargos bryny ha ner moy drethof
a vyth hynwys
lemyn hanwaf goyth ha Zar a sensaf ethyn hep par
the vygyens den war an beys hos payon colom
grvgyer swan bargos bryny ha ner moy drethof
a vyth hynwys
7 7 7 7 7 7
A A B C C B
Origo Mundi, lines 129-35
14
Type II Stanza
1
3
2
4
6
5
Origo Mundi, lines 123-35
15
Type IIA Stanza
ythanwaf bugh ha tarow ha margh yw best hep
parow the vap den rag ymweres gaver yweges
karow daves war ver lavarow hy hanow da
kemeres
ythanwaf bugh ha tarow ha margh yw best hep
parow the vap den rag ymweres gaver yweges
karow daves war ver lavarow hy hanow da
kemeres
7 7 7 7 7 7
A A B A A B
Origo Mundi, lines 123-28
16
Type IIb Stanza
a ihesu crist guyn ow bys clewas y vones seuys
yn mes an beth rak me a wor fest yn ta y vos map
the varia ha dev yn weth
a ihesu crist guyn ow bys clewas y vones seuys
yn mes an beth rak me a wor fest yn ta y vos map
the varia ha dev yn weth
7 7 4 7 7 4
A A b C C b
Resurrexio Domini, lines 929-34
17
Type III Stanza
7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7
7 7 7 7 4 7 7 7
me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys
ryel ha war an gwlascur cheften nessa Zen
myterne vhell kyng conany aye lynnyeth
pur wyr yth of gwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof
doutis yn mysk arlyZy
Beunans Meriasek, lines 1-8
18
Type III Stanza
Type III Stanza
1
2
3
4
6
5
7
8
Beunans Meriasek, lines 1-8
19
Type III Stanza
Type III Stanza, two-column format
Beunans Meriasek, lines 17-24
20
Common Variants

• Duplication of rhyme AABAAB, AABAABcDDC,
  ABABcAAC

• Four-syllable lines for seven-syllable lines
  abababab, aabccb,
• AABccb, AbAbcDDC, ABABcddC

• Short B lines in Type II stanzas AAbCCb, AAbCCB

• Couplet reduced to a single line AABAB, ABAAB

• Couplet expanded to a triplet AAABCCCB,
  AABCCCB, ABABcDDDC

• Couplet converted to quatrain ababcdedec

• Additional segment ABABABABAB, AABCCBDDB,
  ABABABABcDDC

• Four-line Type I stanza ABAB

• Type III stanza with tail-rhyme frons AABCCBdEED

• Extra pair of lines added (BM only) AABCCBCB,
  ABABcDDCDC

21
Glasney College and Cornish Verse

• All four of our central texts follow the same
  basic rules of meter,
• rhyme, and stanza structure

• Several of these works have a link to Glasney
  College in Penryn

• Place-names in the Ordinalia center around
  Penryn (Bakere)

• Close ties between Camborne and Glasney at the
  time Beunans
• Meriasek was written

• Glasney owned the advowson of Kea church
  (Padel)

• Pascon Agan Arluth used as a source text for the
  Ordinalia

• Glasney as a Cornish literary center

• Padel suggests Glasney was founded to provide
  spiritual and
• intellectual leadership in Cornish for the
  Cornish-speaking
• laity in west Cornwall (2004)

• Could these rules of versification be Glasneys
  rules?

22
Exceptions

• Charter Endorsement

• Stress-based meter

English influence?

• Series of rhymed couplets

• May be a secular work

• No ties to Glasney College

• Bewnans Ke

• Often uses a rhyming rule more like that of
  English verse

• Disyllabic rhymes

29 of all rhymes in Bewnans Ke

• 4 - 8 in other Middle Cornish texts (3 in
  Gwreans an Bys)

• Authors idiosyncrasy?

• Gwreans an Bys

• Probably written after the dissolution of
  Glasney in 1549

• Incorporates material from Origo Mundi

• Uses verse forms that resemble parts of Middle
  Cornish stanzas

23
The New Prosodic System
A B A B C
A B A B
A A B
1
3
2
A B A B
A A B
2
A AB
1
2
24
Type 1 Segment
myns es in tyre hag in moer warnothans kymar
gallus yn serten rag dry ascore ty a vew may
fota loose
myns es in tyre hag in moer warnothans kymar
gallus yn serten rag dry ascore ty a vew may
fota loose
7 7 7 7
A B A B
Gwreans an Bys, lines 356-59
25
Type 1 Segment
Gwreans an Bys, lines 344-59
26
Type I Stanza
1
2
3
4
5
6
8
7
Origo Mundi, lines 1-16
27
Type 1 Segment
Gwreans an Bys, lines 344-59
28
Type 2 Segment
yta voice mernans abell thethe vrodar prest ow
kyllwall an doer warnas pub tellar
yta voice mernans abell thethe vrodar prest ow
kyllwall an doer warnas pub tellar
7 7 7
A A B
Gwreans an Bys, lines 1153-55
29
Type 2 Segment
Gwreans an Bys, lines 1153-58
30
Type II Stanza
1
3
2
4
6
5
Origo Mundi, lines 123-35
31
Type 2 Segment
Gwreans an Bys, lines 1153-58
32
Type 3 Segment
omma avy than clowdes war face an dower in
sertan try person yn idn dewges ow kysraynya
bis vickan yn mere honor ha vertew
omma avy than clowdes war face an dower in
sertan try person yn idn dewges ow kysraynya
bis vickan yn mere honor ha vertew
7 7 7 7 7
A B A B C
7 7 7 7 7
Gwreans an Bys, lines 4-8
33
Type 3 Segment
Gwreans an Bys, lines 1-11
34
Type III Stanza
Type III Stanza, two-column format
Beunans Meriasek, lines 17-24
35
Type 3 Segment
Gwreans an Bys, lines 1-11
36
The New Prosodic System
Gwreans an Bys, f. 25 verso
37
The Sources of Cornish Prosody

• Cornish verse shares a few features with other
  Celtic traditions

• Syllabic meter

compare Irish, Welsh, Breton

• Rhyming rule like that of Welsh and Breton

• However

• Cornish verse lacks the ornamentation
  (alliteration, internal
• rhyme) common in Irish, Welsh, and Breton
  poetry

• Cornish uses very different verse forms

• Alternate-rhyme and tail-rhyme stanzas were
  common in
• medieval European poetry

Latin, French, Provençal, English

• As early as 1877, Henry Jenner noted
  similarities to English verse

• This connection was overlooked or dismissed by
  later scholars

• Typologically, Cornish versification was closer
  to English and
• French than to Welsh, Breton or Irish
  (Tristram)

38
Middle English Prosody

• Stress-based meter

usually four or three stresses per line

• Stress-based rhyming rule

• Rhymed couplets

not common in Cornish

• Alternate-rhyme stanzas

ABABABAB
AABCCB

• Tail-rhyme stanzas

AAABCCCB

• Often have shorter B lines

a common variant in Cornish

• Hybrid forms

thirteener
ABABABABcDDDC

• Parallel structure to the Cornish Type III stanza

• Type III forms with an eight-line frons are
  found in Cornish

• Type III stanzas with a cDDDC cauda are also
  attested

• These variants become rarer over time

39
Wakefield Stanza
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2
I thank it god hark ye what I mene ffor euen
or for od I haue mekyll tene as heuy as a
sod I grete with myn eene when I nap on my
cod for care that has bene and
sorow all my shepe ar gone I am not left oone the
rott has theym slone now beg I and borow
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2
First Shepherds Play, lines 27-39
40
Wakefield Stanza
First Shepherds Play, lines 27-39
41
Extended Type III Stanza
Passio Christi, lines 14-26
42
Castle of Perseverance Nine-line Stanza
now syn þou hast be hetyn me so I wyl go with
þe a say I ne lette for frende ner fo but
with þe werld I wyl go play certis a
lytyl þrowe in þis world is al my trust to lyuyn
in lykyng in lust haue he I onys cust we
schal not part I trowe
4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 3
4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 3
Castle of Perseverance, lines 393-401
43
Castle of Perseverance Nine-line Stanza
Castle of Perseverance, lines 393-401
44
Type III Stanza, two-column format
Beunans Meriasek, lines 4548-56
45
English and Cornish Prosody Conclusions

• Medieval English and Cornish verse both use a
  hybrid stanza form

tail-rhyme cauda

• Alternate-rhyme frons

• Short C line links the two sections

• This verse form appears to be a British
  innovation

English ? Cornish

• Direction of transmission

• Bilingualism more likely in Cornwall than in
  England

• Cornish forms attested later than equivalent
  English forms

• Early varieties of the Cornish Type III stanza
  resemble the
• Middle English thirteener (ABABABABcDDDC)
  more closely
• than do later forms (ABABcDDC)

• Cornish versification represents a hybrid
  tradition, combining indigenous notions of rhyme
  and meter with imported stanza forms

46
du gveras a b c an pen can henna yv d
Cornish Verse Forms
and the Evolution of Cornish Prosody
c. 1350 - 1611
Benjamin Bruch Department of Celtic Languages and
Literatures Harvard University 13 May 2005