mutual intelligibility of OE with ON, &c

[Brian M. Scott]

Gordon Selway wrote:

> there are also reports of internal non-intelligibility in insular Germanic
> - 'eggys' -v- 'eyer' - but what the level of direct contact between SW and
> NE was then, and the dates, and whether this is by inference rather than
> written contemporary evidence I do not know;

Caxton, Prologue to Eneydos (1490), writing of an occurrence 'in my
days': 'And one of theym named sheffelde a mercer cam in to an hows and
axed for mete. and specyally he axyd after eggys And the goode wyf
answerde. that she coulde speke no frenshe. And the marchaunt was angry.
for he also could speke no frenshe but wold haue hadde egges/ and she
vnderstode hym not/ And thenne at laste a nother sayd that he wolde haue
eyren/ then the good wyf sayd that she vnderstod hym wel/ Loo what
sholde a man in thyse dayes now wryte. egges or eyren/ certaynly it is
harde to playse euery man/ by cause of dyuersite & chaunge of langage.'

Brian M. Scott