1

Y.ET0 :The Impersonal Verb fリruche? in Layamon's Brut and What It Tells Us 57

THE IMPERSONAL VERB PW n WIN LAYAMON'S BRUT AND WHAT

IT TELLS US* We look before and after,

And pine for what is not.- P.B.She通y

Yasuharu ETC

expressions found in early ME,besidesarchaic ones. This fact indirectly

I corroborates the possib通tv of i).

And Layamon's narrative is alsointeresting historically. It is thework of the first writer of anymagnitude in Middle English, andstanding at the entrance to thatperiod, he may be said to lookbefore and after (Italics by thepresent writer)

The same comment as seen in the above passage (The Cambridge .Hi'story of Engli'sh Literatmre.,Vo1.I.pp.237-8)can be applied to the use of the verb 1フ1mchen found in Layamon's Brut (hereafter, Brut). There are two MSS of Brttt extant, namely MS. Cotton Caligula A.ix (hereafter, C-Text) and MS_ Cotton Otho C. xul (hereafter;. O Text). The former is said to have、been composed at the beginning of the 13th C. and the latter about 1300.'1 The purpose of this essay is,by describing the use of the impersonal verb ;1mchen in Brut to demonstrate that Layamon “looked before and after”when he composed his Brut.

To achieve the purpose of this essay, the following two points in C-Text will be presented in comparison with e-Text:

i)Layamon seems to have deliberatelyused archaic expressions.

ii)Layamon uses new, or innovatory

In the discussion of this essay, thefollowing two points are understood as valid:

i)The language of C-Text is that ofLayamon himself.20

ii)The MS the scribe of 0-Text transcrib-ed is either C-Text itself or a MSstrikingly similar to C-Text.

Ii

Before the description and explanationof the verb f unchen in Brut,the same verbfound in the early ME prose work AMreneR加1e (hereafter, AR)3) is described here.Regarding the date of composition and thedialect Brut and AR are relatively close toeach other.4ｻ Thus,. through a presentationof AR as prose,the characteristics of Brutas verse will show up.

In AR 49 examples of the juttchettconstruction are found. Out of these,40examples have the complement, and thecomplement is usua1ly (38examples) placedafter the verb,as illustrated below:[Fig.1]

{after verb (38)5){w1th complement (40)

(49) before verb (2)without complement (9)61

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58 福島大学教育学部論集34号 1982- 12

The two examples in which the comple- ment is placed before the verb are as follows: [Ex.1]

(87,21) su;etest him l unchea ham.(164,1)pauh hit ser f,unche god。

, Besides the fact that in most cases the complement is placed after the verb,another fact to note is that the choice of adjectives as complement is extremely 置mited. The adjectives found with more or lessfrequency are god (8 examples),7)smote (7.examples),S) mmder (6 examples)9)and sor (3 examples).'°) Thus it can be said that one of these adjectives is used in more than half (24 examples)of the examples with the com- plement. It is highly probable that the t,uMhen-construction with one of these

adjectives as complement was a stereotyped expression in early ME prose.

III

Unlike ,AR, the word order in the funchen-construction in Brut gives us an impression of irregularity. This impression comes from the fact that the construction with the complement before the verb (only two examples in AR) is commonly found in Brut 1l1'Another fact to note is that the two sorts of innovatory expressions,though not mentioned above,found in AR,namely the verb 1:undten as factitive, and the ;tmchen-construction with the preposition of can be observed also in Brut.

Taking these facts into account, the examples in Brut (C-Text) are classified as follows:[Fig.2]

Conventional Construction

with complement before verb(40)- Type Aiw,-th complement after verb (30)- Type B

Innovatory Construction

{factitive (5)with the preposition of (6)

Conventional ConstructionThe examples of the conventional con-

strue文ion are classified according to the position of the complement. 40 examples are of the construction with the complement before the verb (hereafter,Type A). And the remaining 30 examples of the construc- tion with the complement after the verb (hereafter,Type B),much more commonly found in the prose,. are relatively fewer in number.

In the examples of Type A, which seems characteristic of the verse,the three adjectives set,softie and selcu6 (hereafter, the S adjectives),rarely used in AR'2) are found to be frequently employed. Before going further in detail regarding the S adjectives,we should see all the adjectives and nouns used as complement in the ex-amples of Type A,which are divided into four patterns of construction, as illustrated in [Table t]. The number in parenthesis in [Table t] refers to the line in which the verb pa”cfia% occurs. Directly after that, the adjectives (or nouns) as complement are presented in the order of C-Text and 0_Text. When one of the S adjectives is used as complement,the adjective is ita「l- cized.

As is obviously shown in [Table t],the S adjectives appear with much frequency in Type A (set,9 examples;softie,8 exam- ples;selcui 6 examples,counted in C-Text). These adjectives are almost obsolete in Med E.'3)From this,it can be inferred that already in the age of Layamon they must have sounded''archaic.'' The writer;s infer- ence that the S adjectives were archaic in early ME is corroborated by the fact that in c_Text they are replaced by such adjec- tives as god (or best),')merie''')and u1on- der.'6' Incidentally, god and ωmuier are

3

Y.ET0 :The Impersonal Verb fJtmchen in Layamon's Brnt and What It Tells Us 59

adjectives of common occurrence in AR.In this connection it is worthy of note

that the adjectives god mort'e and toonder can be found, though different in spelling, in Type B,while none of the S adjectives is

used except for one example.''、The patterns of construction and the adjectives and nouns as complement in Type B are presented in [Table 2], in the same way as those in Type A were treated in [Table t]. When

[Table t] Patterns and Complements in Type A

Pattern 1 Comp十V十N or Pm [Dat](14409)softie,seo11i'ch/(30085)softie,INJURED/(30925)set,MISSING/

Pattern 2 Comp十(hit)十Pm [Dat]十V(8) set,merje/(486) seolctg3,selcuj)/(1126) wnder, wonder/(1306) feirest, fairest/(5268) to late,fo late/(6117) set, sell(7249) feir, fair/(7328) si11ich, seo11ich/(10049) heokerliche, hokerliche/(10725)silZic,MISSING/(12038) softie,wonder/(12079) Seolcti6,Wonder/(13121) softie,wonder/(15721)selctia MISSING/(15724) solon3, selcufi/(16767) seolcu,3, DIFFERENT CONSTR./(16898) aOele. murie/(26126) softie, se11ich/(28850) mucchel scome, MISSING/ (31572)god,god/(32m ) wurder,INJURED/

Pattern 3 Nor Pm [Dat]十Comp十V(770)best; best/(7762) bezst; MISSING/(12695) sa・1,best/(13584) god,MISSING/(16942) bezst, best/(19921) set, MISSING/(22578) bezst, MISSING/(25182) set, god/(26346) set, MISSING/(27081)set,god/(27287) sol INJURED/(27949)bezst,MISSING/

Pattern 4 Comp十hit十V(1324) wit men, wimmen/(7514) Selktt3 SelctlP/(22736) wunder, wonder/(26028) se11i'c, wonder/

Comp=ComplementDat =DativeN =NounPm =PronounV =Verb

[Table 2] Patterns and Complements in Type B

Pattern 1 N or Pm [Dat]十V十Comp(9484) muche scome,mochel scame/(9864)pc soOe quides,DIFFERENT CONSTR./ (10385) softie,.s。filch/(14980) gomen,game/(16961) swia? muri, swipe mart'/(29520) swiae mun , MISSING/

Pattern 2 Pm [Nom]十V十(N or Pm [Dat])十Comp(1325) fisc,fis/(4435) seoue 3ere,soue 3ere/(8164) hlerd ra'd, MISSING/(8261) wel idon, wel idon/(11375)wes idon, wet idon/(11643) i-don wet, wet idon/(14897) wet sotto, MISSING/(15523) ta・singe,. 1esinge/(23971) s?r, sor/(25125) god, god/(30577) swi god, mochel god/

Pattern 3 N or Pm [Nom]十Pm [Dat]十V十Comp(2820) swiae murj,swipe muri/(4344)wu11der,.W;ender/(4411) swiae god,swipe god/(8080) mare,MISSING/(8420) sar,MISSING/(9863)al swa god,also god/(10369) god,god/(10791) god,DIFFERENT CONSTR./(14789)god,MISSING/(15856) game,game/(24578) wel idon,

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60 福島大学教育学部論集34号 1982- 12

MISSING/(28297) to log,to long/(31582)god r程d,god read/Nom=Nominative

the adjectives god, m,mr1' and umnder (or toonder) are used,they are italicized. As is shown in [Table 2],in sharp contrast with [Table t],there can be found no alteration except spelling in the use of the words as complement between C-Text and 0-Text. Judging from this, it is certain that the scribe of 0-Text perceived nothing archaic about the words used as complement in the examples (C-Text) of Type B.

What is mentioned above regarding [Table t] and [Table 2] can be summarized as follows:

i) In Type A,considered as characteristicof the verse,the S adjectives tend tobe used.

ii) The S adjectives in Type A soundedarchaic, and the scribe of 0-Textfound it necessary to change them forthe commoner sort of adjectives, whileno alteration of the words as comple-ment is observable in Type B, inwhich the S adjectives are very rare.

Though the S adjctives are dominant in Type A,an S adjective is not always used.

For example,in the examples of Pattern 3 in [Table t] only half of them use an S adjective. The reason for the unpopularity of the S adjectives could be that Pattern 3 is always employed in the subordinate clause, in which Type A (inverted word order) usually occurs also in the prose. That is to say,the inverted word order is an unmarked construction in the subordinate clause. The examples (C-Text) of Pattern3 which do not use an S adjective are asfollows:[Ex 2一」

& alto he boom bi-wuste:(770) swa ht'rn best f)uhte

pa ferde he into Buhline:(7762) per him bezst f ld te.

for 3e sculle(Shabben to drinken: (13584) 'pa while pe eoul god f unche.

acto uaerde heomward:(16942) swa heom be2st fytthte.

andj 1-od soften:(22578) swa heom be2st ?jytche(;;.

inne Burguine:(27949) per hi'm bezst f ultte.

On the other hand,it is found that the S adjective set (or saZ) occurs in the re- maining examples of Pattern3 because of the alliterative device.'BｻThe examples (C-Text), in which alliterated parts are italicized. are as follows:

[Ex.3」 riht fori5 to pere s2e:

'(12694-5) p?r heom sael puhten.

riht to Selechaestre:(19920-1)per him sel puhte.

pa pc Howel iseid hat do:(25181-2)pat him sel puhte.

2elc his sa3e saしide:(26345-6) swa him sel puhte.

pc Bruttes isla3e hafden;(27080-1)pat boom sel puhte.

pa weoren alto pa uerden isette: (27286-7)also Art5ur set 'puhte.

There are some other examples of Type A where none of the S adjectives is used.

5

Y.ET0 :The Impersonal Verb JJw lchen in Layamon's Brut and What It Tells US 61

In most of these examples nonuse of the S adjectives is ascribed to the alliterative device. The examples (C-Text), with alliterated parts italicized, are presented below:[Ex,4]

Pattern 2Ah swa menlo par warentoilde deer

(1125-6) pat fonder boom puhte,

to heora scipe bee hit f usden:(l305-6) feirest pat boom pohte.

Swa heo nehlehte toward Rome:(5267_8) toiateheom pusteare hooper comen

feor ouer saestra:(7248-9) feir hit me punchei5.

pa pis iherden Bruttes:(10048_9)heokerliche heom puhte.

pe king wes inne .aouerwic:(16897-8) ai5ele him puhte.

and swa muchel of pine garsume: (31571_2)god swa pc punche.

pa atooc Cadwalader:(32110_1) ωurder him puhte.

Pattern 4

Ich mai sugge hu hit iular5:(22735_6) founder p?h hit punche.

It must be added that either an S

adjective or alliteration is used in each example of Type A, with the exception of two examples,'9' while no such striking tendencies as in Type A are to be observed in Type B. From this we can draw the conclusion that Layamon seems to have tried hard to use either an S adjective or alliteration in the examples of Type A which are characteristic of the verse,

Considered from this point of view, N. F.Blake's comment,. quoted below,regard-ing the vocabulary and the word order in a verse cannot be applied to the use of the S adjectives or alliteration in Type A of Bntt Blake〕says:

The verse seems more straight-forward because of its stereotypedl1ocabulary and a certain amountof repetition,yet paradoxically itis often more difficult to grasp itsmeaning because of the invertedtoord order and the clumsirless ofsome constructions. (Italics bythe present writer)

When applied to Brut (C-Text), quite the oppos,to sort of explanation seems more convincing. Blake asserts that in spite of the use of stereotyped vocabulary in the verse,the meaning is often more difficult to grasp because of the inverted wordorder. In the case of Brut its stereotypedvocabulary (i.e.the S adjectives) is usedwith much frequency; in order to attractthe attention of the audience,mainly in theinverted word order of Type A Whosemeaning tends to become more difficult tograsp. The writer assumes that the stereo-typed vocabulary and also alliteration inBrut are conducive to understanding themeaning of the inverted construction.

If jt is true that Layamon thought Of

all the examples of Type A, excludingpattern 3 in the subordinate Clause, asarchaic,jt is possible for us to say that hewas to use the words of P.B.Shelly,“lookingafter,?' when he deliberately used the Sadjectives and alliteration in Type A ofC。Text.

Innovatory ConstructionThe two sorts of innovatory const「uCtiOn

will be presented in this section. It iSappropriate to say that Layamon Was

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62 福島大学教育学部論集34号 1982-21

''looking before” in his use of them.The verb f unchen as factitive is

discussed first. This use of the verb2'' is found in five examples in Bntt (C-Text). They are presented in [Ex.5],side by side with the corresponding examples of .0-Text by way of comparison. Also in AR two examples22)similar to the ones quoted in [Ex. 5] are observable. However, the examples in AR are sufficiently “impersona「' in that they have the pronoun in the dative before the verb,not in the nominative as in the case ot Bntt. Thus in this sort of the ?unchert-construction Brut can be said to be more progressive than AR, because the impersonal verb ??nchen is “personally ' used in Brut.

As is observed in -Ex.5],one example (3955) is pushed back to the conventional,

[Ex.5]

(3955)

C-Text

He ferde awi ouer sic f i,a t lf i ? m hte selest .

f )a f u h t・e a ? u aerte:

(10146-7) fyat tjaende sm ae mmrje

pa heo comen to-somne:(16133) f til sel hit heo f)uhte

after heore iwurhte:(24190) f or he heom fi,uhte tmr3e.

and somneden pa cnihtes alto (28667) selest ?a hoo f;,uhte

impersonal construction with the pronoun in the dative in c-Text. In another example (24190),the impersonal verb is replaced by the personal one.

One reason why the progressive f lmchen-construction of this sort is used in

Brut is that a semantic confusion wm be sure to occur, if in one and the same sentence the two prorlouns in the oblique appear,as in the examples of AR23) in the verse like Brut,in which the inverted word order is of common occurrence. In this connection it is worthy of note that this construction has no fixed word order in Brut.

Another innovatory construction is the product of blending between the fi,unchen- construction and the personal f enchen_ construction with the preposition of: The examples from both of the texts are presented in [Ex.6],This construction can be found also in AR2') The prepositional phrase in the construction is similar to the so-called causative object,and yet it is not the same. Because the OE impersonal verb

0-Text

He verde a-wei ouer see: f at him f)ohte his beste

J)o f)ohte Eleucherie:?eos tidinge smpe murje

MISSING

after hire deades:f or he ham 1oiste toorpe

MISSING

?yncan does not occur with either the prepositional phrase or the noun (or pro_ noun) in the genitive,while the OE personal verb f:'encan is found to be used with either a preposition or the noun (or pronoun) in the genitive,'5) the f tmchen construction

7

Y.ET0 :The Impersonal Verb?unchen in Layamon's Brut and What It Tens Us 63

with the preposition of in early ME should be considered as the product of blending.

[Ex. 6]

C-Text

Heore f:,,tthte swipe elite:(3281-2) of ?aelene hire faedere.

heom f tthte muchel ferlich (5381-2) of al peon folke.

j 「〕,tthte Gurguint 'pen kige:(6187-8) baer of swiae sie11ic ping.

†seolcuOhim ??hte:(16767-8)of pan nakede cnihten.

†This example belongs also in Pattern 2 in [Table t]

Sectile f)tthte Howel:

(21967-8)of swulchere isihae.

heom puhfgmuchel seollic:(23025-6)of solon pan kinge.

Incidentally,it must be added that the use of the personal verb f)enchen with the preposition of is of frequent use in AR26、'

One of the examples (16767-8) in L_Ex, 6」 is changed into the personal construction, replacing the impersonal verb f:;unchen This change could be understood as the one from ''old” to“new'if the change from the impersonal to the personal construction is emphasized.However,it is also possible and more convincing to say that the change is the one from “innovatory' back to “con- ventional.'

Regarding the languages of C-Text and 0_Text of Brut, it has been generally maintained that the language of C-Text is older than that of 0-Text.27' However, as has been observed above, C-Text can be more innovatory than e-Text.28)

0-Text

Hire ?ohte swipe ell:of hire fader cnihtes.

3amf:,ohte mochel ferlich: of alto pan folke.

_Z)ohte Gorgwind pane king her of swipe se11ich 'ping.

and li1ondrede swipe:MISSING

MISSING

boom?ohte mochei wonder of sole pan kinge.

tv

To conclude,it is highly probable that Layamon deliberately used archaic words and alliteration in the inverted word order. Moreover, besides the archaic expressions,. he also used innovatory expressions, not found in OE. In this way we can imagine Layamon having composed his Brut as an artist,who“looks before and after,''search- ing for the ideal way of saying things.

The scribe of 0-Text, on the other hand,does not seem to have appreciated Layamon as poet. Thus it can be inferred that the striking differences between the language of C_Text and that of 0-Text can be largely ascribed to the fact that the former is a literary work,and yet the latte「

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64 福島大学教育学部論集34号 1982- 12

is more like chronology.29)

a matter-of-fact p,ece of

*This is a revised version mainly based on my paper presented at the 27th meeting of the Medieval English Literature Discussion Group held at Gakushuin University in Tokyo,Japan,December 5,1981.

I wish to tender my best thanks to Mr.Michael Pidoux at Fukushima University,. who has kindly assisted me in correcting the final draft. Needless to say,any errors, which might have been made in this essay, are my own.

Notes1)The text used in this essay is Sir F.

Madden,ed.,La3amons Bntt 3 vols (New York :AMS,1970).Each example is identi- fied as a rule by the line number,where the impersonal verb occurs,in parenthesis.

According to MED(Plan and Bibliogra- phy,p.12),the date of composition of each MS is as follows:

C-Text at225 (? at200); 0-Text c1300.2) See the remark found in J. A. W.

Bennett and G. V. Smithers, eds., .Early Middle Eylglish Verse and Prose, (Oxford:

Clarendon,1968),p.342.They say:The language of the Caligula MS.is,_ ,surprisingly consistent;it is in essentialsmuch like one known homogeneousform of written ME; and it may pre-serve many of the main features ofLa3amon's English.

3)The text used is M. Day, ed.;. The Erlglish Ta t of the Ancrene R加1e (Nero), (London,1952)E.E.T.S.,0.S. 225.Each example is identified by the page and line numbers,where the impersonal verb occurs, in parenthesis.

According to MED(Plan and Bibliogra- phy;p.12),the date of composition is at250.

4)Each of the languages is a dialect of south-west midlands. See J.A.W.Bennett

and G.V.Smithers.oP.cit.,p.344 and pp. 402-3.

5)The identification of the examples:(4.7),(16,13), (39,31), (42,23), (43,18), (48,35),(50,14),(52,16),(53,27), (60,4), (61,12),(65,24).(65,26),(72,13), (80,8), (84,21),(85,6), (86;22), (86,27), (88,1), (92,13),(97,30),(98,14),(98,15),(99,14), (107,3),(108,12),(120,14), (139,9), (150, 10),(158,29),(162,15),(166,34),(170;.20), (174,16),(185,28),(186,29),(190,16).6)The identification of the examples:

(55,22),(70,19);. (77,36), (121,8), (124, 22),(145,31),(156,9),(174,19),(174,28).

7)The identification of the examples:(72,13).(80,8),(98,14),(99,14),. (107,3), (120,14),(158,29),(166,34).

8) The identification of the examples:(43,18),(60,4),(87,21),(92,13),(98,15), (139,9),(174,16).9)The identification of the examples:

(4,7),(39;31),(53,27),(97,30);. (185,28), (186,29).

10)The identification of the examples:(50.14),(86,27),(164,1).

11)In AR when the complement is placed before the verb;the noun (or pronoun) in the dative is placed after the verb. However, in Brut the construction with the comple- ment before the verb usually ends with the verb.

12) Only once an S adjective selkua is used in the?unchen-construction in AR. It is redundantly used as follows:

(4,7)3if him punchea tm;nder i「selkui of swuchonswere

13)The date of the last quotation of each word in O E D is as follows:Sole i3.. Sell_y c1400;Selcouth (with Spen- ser and Scott excepted) c1460. Regarding Selcouth it must be added that the examples of Spenser and Scott do not always reflect facts of their own contemporary languages.

14) The identification of the examples: Pattern 3 (12695),(25182),(27081).

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Y.ET0 :The Impersonal Verb fyunchen in Layamon's Brtlt and What It Tells Us 65

15)The identification of the example:Pattern 2 (8).

16)The identification of the examples:Pattern 2(12038),(12079),(13121).Pattern 4 (26028).17)The only S adjective used in Type B

is softie (10385),see Pattern l in [Table 2].18)The alliteration in Brut is a much

looser type than the classical one,as seen in Beo1ouif .19)The two examples are (28850) in

Pattern 2 and (1324) in Pattern 4, see [Table t].

20) N.F.Blake,.''The _F:ortrt of Lioing in Prose and Poetry,''Archi'1f f ii'r das Studium der netteren Sprachen and Literaturen,211, (1974),303.

21) According to W.van der Gaaf,The Trans流on f rom the Impersonal to the Personal Co71struction m Middle Engli'sh, Anglistische Forschungen,14 (Heidelberg: Winter, 1904), §106, the verb p%%cha” as factitive appears in all dialects from 1200 till about 1500.

22)The examples in AR:(87,21) swetest him punche5 ham.(150;10) euer me punche3 me unschriuen.

23)See the examples in Note22.24)The examples in AR;

(4,7) 3if him punche3 wunder f selku3 ofswuch onswere

(53,27) hwo nule punchen peonne wunder ofan ancre pet._ .

(88 1) hwo se 'punchea hokerlich of out aetheo isiha bl ot,re,oaer ihere0.

(l58,29) ham puncheli pauh. summe chore godof pet heo iseoa hi aeweie.

(166,34)-god puncheli god ot ure god25)See Bosworth-Toller,Aft Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary,s.v.f)yncan and 1)encan.

26)About 80 examples of the f;,enchen- construction are fomd in AR, and out of these,22 examples occur with the preposi- tion of;.27)See the explanation found in N.

BOgholm.The Layamon To:x;ts:a linguistical investigation,Travaux du Cercle Linguistique do Copenhague, m (Copenhagen: Einar Munksgaard,.1944),p.42.He says:

We find an impersonal construction turn-ed into a personal one:himofte scomede(13763), for which B has: He oftesamede;_..

Here“B”means 0-Text,Or see the “classical” remark in Sir F. Madden,ed.,La3alrlo?s Brlit,vol. I, p. vn. He says:

By the publication also of both the textspreserved of La3amons work,additionallight is thrown on the subject; for asthe second text was undoubtedlycomposed many years after the former,and immediately founded on it, we areenabled to perceive at once the stillfurther change the language hadundergone during that interval,and noteto what extent the diction and forms ofthe earlier text had become obsolete orunintelligible.

28)The S adjectives are used in both of the new, or innovatory constructions. A reason for the use could be that the new construction needed to be made more poetic by the use of archaic words.

29)Regarding this point,see W.J.Keith, “La3amon's Brut: the literary differences between the two texts,'' Medium ? υnm, 29,3 (1960),161-72.

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66 福島大学教育学部論集34号 1982-12

The Impersonal Verb j)ttnchen in Layamon's Brttt:Abstract

Yasuharu ETC

The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that Layamon (Caligula) deliberately used archaic expressions in his Brut

In Brttt the11mchen-constmction with the complement before the verb (Type A),rare in the prose work Ancrene Ritole is more commonly found than the construction with the complement after the verb (Type B). In Type A, the adjectives set, softie and selcua, again rare in the prose, and alliteration are used with much frequency. On the other hand, no such striking tendencies as in Type A are observed in Type B. From this it can be inferred that Layamon used such archaic expressions mainly in Type A which is typical of the verse.

Besides old expressions,new sorts of construction in early ME can be found in Brut That is to say,the impersonal verb j)unchen as factitive and the ?aMhen-constnlction with the preposition of . Layamon's use of these innovatory constructions indirectly corroborates the possibility of Layamon having deliberately used archaic expressions.

In this way,we can imagine Layamon having composed his Brut as an artist,searching for the ideal of expression,or u1ooking before and after' to use the words of P.B.She1ly.