"fairy," OED 4a

Douglas G. Wilson douglas at NB.NET
Fri Jan 19 01:19:25 UTC 2007


I downloaded some stuff from Google Books.

In Gower's "Confessio Amantis", Book 5, some dude seems to be flirting with
the ladies at church, if I'm reading it right.

Here is the passage in question as edited by Henry Morley (Routledge,
1889): v. 2, pp. 302-3:

<<

And thus he loketh on his flessh
Right as an hawke which hath a sight
Upon the fowl there he shall light,
And as he were a fairie
He sheweth him to-fore her eye
In holy placé where they sitte
Al for to make her hertés flitte.

 >>

But here is the passage as edited by G. C. Macaulay (Early English Text
Society, 1901): vol.2, pp. 145-6:

<<

And thus he loketh on the fleissh,
Riht as an hauk which hath a sihte
Upon the foul, ther he schal lihte;
And as he were of faierie,
He scheweth him tofore here yhe
In holi place wher thei sitte,
Al forto make here hertes flitte.

 >>

There are various slight differences.

So is it originally "a" or "of"? Maybe the OED folks know for sure, but I
don't.

-- Doug Wilson


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