Morrill, Georgiana Lea: Speculum Gy de Warewyke: an English poem : here for the first time printed and first edited from the manuscripts (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1898)

clxvi Chapter XIII.—On the Phonology of the Specid/u/m.

examples (also, so) d represents an O.E. d preceded by w, and may
be regarded as developing through that influence (see § 16) a mixture
of both quantities of the vowel. This o might be regarded as pre-
senting in M.E. a closed quality (Morsb., § 135, Anm. 4), or, on
basis of a theory that d (O.E. d) produces through influence of a
preceding w in its O.E. form, both an open and a closed o- sound
(p, p) in a stressed syllable (Morsb., § 135. 4; ten Br., § 31), a third
division of d- rimes, including the preceding list (§ 17), might be
recognized. The rimes are not impure, but embody to full degree
phonological conditions of the language of the period; see Menze,
p. 68.
ou.
§ 18. For the development of M.E. ou, see Luick, Anglia, vol.
xvi., pp. 452—455. ou of the Speculum (MS. Ax) is written ou
before a consonant, ow before a vowel-sound, but o (i. e. o before ht)
in the single instance of noht 32, 171, 195, etc. In R. of G., to the
contrary, o ( + 30 predominates, Pabst, § 48. The open and the closed
quality of ou (Pabst, §§ 50, 51) being treated under the same
division ou of the Speculum, represents uniformly :
1. O.E. 0 + lit, shortened in O.E., Sweet, § 403 : wrouhte (O.E.
worhte, through r- metathesis of pret. of wyrcan) : bouhte (O.E. bohte,
pret.) 26 ; wrouht (O.E. (ge)ioorht, pp. through r- metathesis) : ([ouht,
O.E. [6ht, Orm. [ohht, sb.) 759, 791 ; iwrouht : (noht) 580, 803 ;
bouht (O.E. (ge)boht, pp.) : (noht) 172, 226.
2. O.E. 6 + ht, early shortened through influence of h + t (Siev.,
§ 125) : (sb.) : (wrouht) 792, : noht (O.E. na(wi)ht, no(wi)ht,
noht) 32, 410, 560, etc.; [ouht : ouht (O.E. d(wi)ht, 6(wi)ht, old) 316,
1020; souht (O.E. (ge)soht, pp.) : noht 196; noht : (bouht) 171, 225,
: (iwrouht) 579, 804. It is noticeable that O.E. na(wi)ht, nd(wi)ht,
as produced noht in rime with bouht, ivrouht, [ouht, and souht, the
orthography showing a parasitic -u- as in Clariodus, § 60, while O.E.
d(ioi)ht, d(wi)ht is represented by ouht in rime with [ouht. This 0
is thus a link between the two riming systems representing O.E. 6
and b.
3. O.E. a + g (ow before a vowel): ou'en (abs. poss.) : (hnowen)
227.
4. O.E. d + w; hnowen (O.E. cndwan, inf.) : (owen) 228; hnawe
(knowe, inf.) : (lowe) 180, 629.
5. 0.1ST. d + g: lowe (O.N. Idgr, adv.) : (hnawe, knowe) 179, 630.