re
Affterr thatt little witt tatt me
Min Drihhten hafethth lenedd

I have done so as thou bade,
And performed thee thine will;
I have turned into English
Gospel's holy lore,
After that little wit that me
My lord hath lent.

The poem is written in Alexandrine verses, which may be divided into
octosyllabic lines, alternating with those of six syllables, as in the
extract given above. He is critical with regard to his orthography, as is
evinced in the following instructions which he gives to his future readers
and transcriber:

And whase willen shall this booke
Eft other sithe writen,
Him bidde ice that he't write right
Swa sum this booke him teacheth

And whoso shall wish this book
After other time to write,
Him bid I that he it write right,
So as this book him teacheth.

The critics have observed that, whereas the language of Layamon shows that
it was written in the southwest of England, that of Orm manifests an
eastern or northeastern origin. To the historical student, Orm discloses
the religious condition and needs of the people, and the teachings of the
Church. His poem is also manifestly a landmark in the history of the
English language.

ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER.--Among the rhyming chroniclers of this period,
Robert, a monk of Gloucester Abbey, is noted for his reproduction of the
history of Geoffrey of Monmouth, already presented by Wace in French, and
by Layamon in Saxon-English. But he is chiefly valuable in that he carries
the chronicle forward to the end of the reign of Henry III. Written in
West-country English, it not only contains a strong infusion of French,
but distinctly states the prevailing influence of that language in his own
day:

Vor bote a man couthe French, me tolth of him well lute
Ac lowe men holdeth to Englyss, and to her kunde speche zute.

For unless a man know French, one talketh of him little;
But _low_ men hold to English, and to their natural speech yet.

The chronicle of Robert is written in Alexandrines, and, except for the
French words incongruously interspersed, is almost as "barbarous" Saxon as
the Brut of Layamon.

LANGLAND--PIERS PLOWMAN.--The greatest of the immediate heralds of
Chaucer, whether we regard it as a work of literary art, or as an historic
reflector of the age, is "The Vision of Piers Plowman," by Robert
Langland, which appeared between 1360 and 1370. It stands between t