du gveras a · b · c an pen can henna yv d Cornish Verse Forms Benjamin Bruch Department of Celtic...

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

Cornish Verse Forms

Benjamin BruchDepartment of Celtic Languages and LiteraturesHarvard University13 May 2005

and the Evolution of Cornish Prosodyc. 1350 - 1611

Cornish

Welsh

Breton

Irish Gaelic

Manx Gaelic

Scottish Gaelic

Celtic Languages

Brythonic

Goidelic

Insular

Celtic

Cornwall

Middle Cornish c. 1200 – c. 1575

Language spoken throughout the western half of Cornwall

Most surviving Cornish literature dates from this period

Largely religious

Long texts (2000+ lines)

Stanzaic verse Cornish

English

Highest population of Cornish speakers

Many Cornish monoglots

Devotional poem

Homilies

Mystery plays

Middle Cornish literature:

More prose

Late Cornish c. 1575 – c. 1800

Language in rapid retreat during 17th and 18th centuries

Many writers not native speakers Greater variety of literature:

Many secular works Shorter texts

Last monolingual Cornish speaker died in 1676 Last native speaker died in 1777

Differences in orthography:

tyr ‘land’ teere

Sound changes:

pen ‘head’ pedn

Medieval Cornish Literature in Verse

c. 1350–1400 Charter Endorsement

Pascon Agan Arluth

Ordinalia

c. 1400

c. 1400

Beunans Meriasek 1504

Bewnans Ke c. 1520

Gwreans an Bys 1611

Origo Mundi

Passio Christi

Resurrexio Domini

DateText

36 lines (actor’s part)

2074 lines (poem)

2894 lines

4572 lines

3306 lines (incomplete)

2553 lines

Length

3316 lines

2714 lines

Cornish meter is syllabic, not stress-based

Most lines are seven syllables long

Four-syllable lines are also common

MeterCornish Prosody

— 86%

— 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:

Proper names (native and foreign)

Latin lines, especially liturgical or Biblical material

Gwreans an Bys is less regular than the earlier texts

Charter Endorsement uses stress-based meter

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

MeterCornish 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

The Father of Heaven I am called

Én Tas á Nef ým gylwýr En Tás a Néf ym gýlwyr

At least 30 different accentual patterns for heptasyllabic lines

Comparable variation with four-syllable 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

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

Rhyme between unstressed syllables is common:

Rhyme between stressed and unstressed syllables is permitted:

RhymeCornish Prosody

henna : da

henna : bara

thinking : sing

thinking : doing

These rhyming rules are similar to those of Breton and Welsh

Cornish verse lacks internal rhyme, unlike Welsh and Breton:

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.

Na ve mar dyspar e-z carset

Nearly all Middle Cornish verse is stanzaic

Over 200 different stanza forms are found in our texts

Type I and II stanzas widespread in medieval European poetry

Verse FormsCornish Prosody

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

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

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

Type II

Type III

Type I

ABABABAB

AABCCB

ABABcDDC

alternate rhyme

tail-rhyme

hybrid

Six patterns account for 73% of all stanzas

ABABcDDC

en tas a nef ym gylwyr formyer pup tra a vyt gvrysonan ha try on yn gvyr en tas han map han spyrysha hethyv me a thesyr dre ov grath dalleth an beysy lauaraf nef ha tyr bethens formyys orth ov brys

77777777

en tas a nef ym gylwyr formyer pup tra a vyt gvrysonan ha try on yn gvyr en tas han map han spyrysha hethyv me a thesyr dre ov grath dalleth an beysy lauaraf nef ha tyr bethens formyys orth ov brys

Type I Stanza

Origo Mundi, lines 1-8

ABABABAB

1357

24

86

•••

•


Type I Stanza

lemyn hanwaf goyth ha ara sensaf ethyn hep par the vygyens den war an beyshos payon colom grvgyerswan bargos bryny ha ner moy drethof a vyth hynwys

lemyn hanwaf goyth ha ara sensaf ethyn hep par the vygyens den war an beyshos payon colom grvgyerswan bargos bryny ha ner moy drethof a vyth hynwys

777777

Type II Stanza


AABCCB

Type II Stanza


12

3

645

ythanwaf bugh ha tarowha margh yw best hep parow the vap den rag ymweresgaver yweges karowdaves war ver lavarow hy hanow da kemeres

ythanwaf bugh ha tarowha margh yw best hep parow the vap den rag ymweresgaver yweges karowdaves war ver lavarow hy hanow da kemeres

777777

Type IIA Stanza


AABAAB

a ihesu crist guyn ow bysclewas y vones seuys yn mes an bethrak me a wor fest yn tay vos map the varia ha dev yn weth

a ihesu crist guyn ow bysclewas y vones seuys yn mes an bethrak me a wor fest yn tay vos map the varia ha dev yn weth

774774

Type IIb Stanza

Resurrexio Domini, lines 929-34

AAbCCb

77774777

77774777

me yw gylwys duk bryten ha seuys a goys ryelha war an gwlascur cheften nessa en myterne vhell kyng conanyaye lynnyeth pur wyr yth ofgwarthevyas war gvyls ha dof doutis yn mysk arlyy


ABABcDDC

frons


ABABcDDC

77774777

cauda


ABABcDDC

77774777


ABABcDDC

77774777


ABABcDDC

77774777

Type III Stanza

Beunans Meriasek, lines 1-8

bob

2

45

8

Type III Stanza

:

:13

6

7


Type III Stanza

Type III Stanza


Type III Stanza, two-column format

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Common Variants

Short B lines in Type II stanzas: AAbCCb, AAbCCB

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

Four-line Type I stanza: ABAB

Couplet reduced to a single line: AABAB, ABAAB

Couplet expanded to a triplet: AAABCCCB, AABCCCB, ABABcDDDC

Additional segment: ABABABABAB, AABCCBDDB, ABABABABcDDC

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

Couplet converted to quatrain: ababcdedec

Duplication of rhyme: AABAAB, AABAABcDDC, ABABcAAC

Type III stanza with tail-rhyme frons: AABCCBdEED

Glasney College and Cornish Verse All four of our central texts follow the same basic rules of meter, rhyme, and stanza structure

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

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

Glasney as a Cornish literary center

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

Padel suggests Glasney was founded to provide “spiritual and intellectual leadership in Cornish for the Cornish-speaking laity in west Cornwall” (2004) Could these rules of versification be Glasney’s rules?

Exceptions Charter Endorsement:

Often uses a rhyming rule more like that of English verse

Bewnans Ke:

Gwreans an Bys:

Author’s idiosyncrasy?

Probably written after the dissolution of Glasney in 1549 Uses verse forms that resemble parts of Middle Cornish stanzas

Stress-based meter Series of rhymed couplets

English influence?

May be a secular work No ties to Glasney College

Disyllabic rhymes 4% - 8% in other Middle Cornish texts (3% in Gwreans an Bys)

Incorporates material from Origo Mundi

— 29% of all rhymes in Bewnans Ke

ABABABAB

I

AABCCB

II

ABABCDDC

III

ABABC

3

ABAB

1

ABAB

1

AAB

2

AAB

2 AAB

2

The New Prosodic System

myns es in tyre hag in moer warnothans kymar gallusyn serten rag dry ascore ty a vew may fota loose

myns es in tyre hag in moer warnothans kymar gallusyn serten rag dry ascore ty a vew may fota loose

Type 1 Segment

7777

Gwreans an Bys, lines 356-59

ABAB

Type 1 Segment


1

3

2

4

1357

24

86

•••

•


Type I Stanza

Type 1 Segment


1

3

3

2

21

4

4

yta voice mernans abellthethe vrodar prest ow kyllwall an doer warnas pub tellar

yta voice mernans abellthethe vrodar prest ow kyllwall an doer warnas pub tellar

Type 2 Segment

777


AAB

Type 2 Segment


12

3

Type II Stanza


12

3

645

Type 2 Segment


12

3

omma avy than clowdes war face an dower in sertantry person yn idn dewges ow kysraynya bis vickan yn mere honor ha vertew

omma avy than clowdes war face an dower in sertantry person yn idn dewges ow kysraynya bis vickan yn mere honor ha vertew

Type 3 Segment

77777


ABABC

77777

Type 3 Segment


1

32

45

Type III Stanza



1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Type 3 Segment


1

32

45

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

ABAB : A3

AA : B2

ABABAB1

ABAB : C3

ABAB : C3

ABAB1

AAAA : B2

AA : B2

AA : B2 : C+

ABAB : C3 : D+

AA : B2 : A+

The New Prosodic System Gwreans an Bys, f. 25 verso

The Sources of Cornish Prosody Cornish verse shares a few features with other Celtic traditions Syllabic meter

Rhyming rule like that of Welsh and Breton

Cornish verse lacks the ornamentation (alliteration, internal rhyme) common in Irish, Welsh, and Breton poetry Cornish uses very different verse forms

However:

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

Latin, French, Provençal, English

— compare Irish, Welsh, Breton

AABCCB

Middle English Prosody

Rhymed couplets

Alternate-rhyme stanzas

Tail-rhyme stanzas

Hybrid forms

— not common in Cornish

ABABABAB

— thirteener

AAABCCCB

Often have shorter B lines— a common variant in Cornish

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

ABABABABcDDDC

Parallel structure to the Cornish Type III stanza

Stress-based meter— usually four or three stresses per line

Stress-based rhyming rule

I thank it god hark ye what I meneffor euen or for od I haue mekyll teneas heuy as a sod I grete with myn eenewhen I nap on my cod for care that has bene and sorowall my shepe ar goneI am not left oonethe rott has theym slone now beg I and borow

I thank it god hark ye what I meneffor euen or for od I haue mekyll teneas heuy as a sod I grete with myn eenewhen I nap on my cod for care that has bene and sorowall my shepe ar goneI am not left oonethe rott has theym slone now beg I and borow

ABABABAB cDDDC

2’2’2’2’ 2’2’2’2’1’2’2’2’2’

Wakefield Stanza

2’2’2’2’ 2’2’2’2’1’2’2’2’2’

First Shepherds’ Play, lines 27-39

:

:

:

:

Wakefield Stanza

First Shepherds’ Play, lines 27-39

Extended Type III Stanza

Passio Christi, lines 14-26

.

..

.

now syn þou hast be hetyn me so I wyl go with þe & a sayI ne lette for frende ner fo but with þe werld I wyl go play certis a lytyl þrowein þis world is al my trustto lyuyn in lykyng & in lusthaue he & I onys cust we schal not part I trowe

ABABcDDDc

now syn þou hast be hetyn me so I wyl go with þe & a sayI ne lette for frende ner fo but with þe werld I wyl go play certis a lytyl þrowein þis world is al my trustto lyuyn in lykyng & in lusthaue he & I onys cust we schal not part I trowe

4’4’4’4’3’4’4’4’3’

Castle of Perseverance Nine-line Stanza

Castle of Perseverance, lines 393-401

4’4’4’4’3’4’4’4’3’

Castle of Perseverance, lines 393-401

Castle of Perseverance Nine-line Stanza

English and Cornish Prosody : Conclusions

+ tail-rhyme cauda

Medieval English and Cornish verse both use a hybrid stanza form: Alternate-rhyme frons

Direction of transmission:

Short C line links the two sections

English → Cornish

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

This verse form appears to be a British innovation

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

Cornish Verse Forms

Benjamin BruchDepartment of Celtic Languages and LiteraturesHarvard University13 May 2005

and the Evolution of Cornish Prosodyc. 1350 - 1611

du gveras a · b · c an pen can henna yv d Cornish Verse Forms Benjamin Bruch Department of Celtic...

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