We want nothing but an increased supply of members to enable us to give to a large circle of readers many an equally interesting record of Early English minds.

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Note:  The Old English “yogh” characters have been translated both upper and lower-case yoghs to digit 3’s.  There are Unicode allocations for these (in html Ȝ and ȝ) but at present no font which implements these.  Substiting the digit 3 seemed a workable compromise which anybody can read.  The linked html “Old English ‘yogh’ file” uses Ȝ and ȝ representations, and is included for users with specialist fonts.

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SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T.

[FYTTE the first.]

I.

[A] Siþen þe sege & þe assaut wat3 sesed at Troye, [Fol. 91a.]
Þe bor3 brittened & brent to bronde3 & aske3,
Þe tulk þat þe trammes of tresoun þer wro3t,
4 Wat3 tried for his tricherie, þe trewest on erthe;
Hit wat3 Ennias þe athel, & his highe kynde,
Þat siþen depreced prouinces, & patrounes bicome
Welne3e of al þe wele in þe west iles,
8 [B] Fro riche Romulus to Rome ricchis hym swyþe,
With gret bobbaunce þat bur3e he biges vpon fyrst,
& neuenes hit his aune nome, as hit now hat;
Ticius to Tuskan [turnes,] & teldes bigynnes;
12 Langaberde in Lumbardie lyftes vp homes;
[C] & fer ouer þe French flod Felix Brutus
On mony bonkkes ful brode Bretayn he sette3,
wyth wynne;
16 [D] Where werre, & wrake, & wonder,
Bi syþe3 hat3 wont þer-inne,
[E] & oft boþe blysse & blunder
Ful skete hat3 skyfted synne.

[Sidenote A:  After the siege of Troy] [Sidenote B:  Romulus built Rome,] [Sidenote C:  and Felix Brutus founded Britain,] [Sidenote D:  a land of war and wonder,] [Sidenote E:  and oft of bliss and blunder.]

II.

20 Ande quen þis Bretayn wat3 bigged bi þis burn rych,
[A] Bolde bredden þer-inne, baret þat lofden,
In mony turned tyme tene þat wro3ten;
Mo ferlyes on þis folde han fallen here oft
24 [B] Þen in any oþer þat I wot, syn þat ilk tyme.
[C] Bot of alle þat here bult of Bretaygne kynges
Ay wat3 Arthur þe hendest; as I haf herde telle;
For-þi an aunter in erde I attle to schawe, [Fol. 91b.]
28 Þat a selly in si3t summe men hit holden,
& an outtrage awenture of Arthure3 wondere3;
[D] If 3e wyl lysten þis laye bot on littel quile,
I schal telle hit, as-tit, as I in toun herde,
32 with tonge;
As hit is stad & stoken,
In stori stif & stronge,
With lel letteres loken,
36 In londe so hat3 ben longe.

[Sidenote A:  Bold men increased in the Land,] [Sidenote B:  and many marvels happened.] [Sidenote C:  Of all Britain’s kings Arthur was the noblest.] [Sidenote D:  Listen a while and ye shall hear the story of an “outrageous
  adventure.”]