Re: Norman French Question

Adam Walker wrote:
> --- R A Brown <ray@...> wrote:
>
>>I notice that at noon UTC on March 1st, all parts of
>>the following site
>>will be open to unrestricted access:
>>http://www.anglo-norman.net/
>>
>>Maybe Adam could contact them for clarification of
>>""saunz plus à ly".
>>
>>--
>>Ray
>
>
> Thanks.  I'll definitely check out that site, but I
> think that lui is almost certainly the word I'm
> looking for.  I got a translation of the poem this
> line comes from quite some while back, but this one
> word (and one other) was bothering me.  My French is
> bad enough; my anitquaited bad French is even worse.
>
> Anyone want to have a go at the word "unkes" in the
> phrase "ke unkes fu forgez".
I know that one. 'unkes' with variants 'onc', 'onqes', 'onques', 'unc',
'uncques', 'unques' is from VL *UNkwa (Classical Latin _umquam_ = 'ever')

In Old French the -s which was etymological in many adverbs came to be
regarded as an adverbial ending and was extended to others by analogy,
e.g. jadis (<-- ja(m) diu), tandis (<-- tam diu), volentiers (<--
voluntarie). In Old French both forms with and without final -s existed
sides by sides, as with 'onque(s)' above.

My Old French glossary says 'onc', 'onqes' etc = JAMAIS

--
Ray
==================================
ray@carolandray.plus.com
http://www.carolandray.plus.com
==================================
MAKE POVERTY HISTORY