the glossary I have had the invaluable cooperation of my friends, Mr H. C. Notcutt, B.A., and Mr D. Johnson. I can only say that their help is as warmly appreciated as it was cordially given. One debt demands separate mention. The Rev. Prof. Skeat, Litt. D., has kindly spared time, from very great pressure of other work, to read the proofsheets, and has made many valuable suggestions which are embodied in the book with no other acknowledgment than this. I should ask him to allow me to dedicate this edition to him, as a small token of my gratitude, were I not of opinion that I should thereby be conferring far greater honour on my book than any that such a dedication could bring to his name.
I have but to add that I alone am responsible for the work as it stands; that I shall be grateful for criticisms and suggestions, especially from teachers and students; and that Mr William Morris has taken the text of this edition as the basis of his modern metrical rendering of the lay.
Cambridge,
March, 1894.
