Dr Morris showed that the grammatical forms are uniform and consistent throughout, and may be safely characterised as being West Midland.

Moreover, they are frequently very like Northumbrian, and must belong to the Northern area of the West Midland dialect.

"Much," says Dr Morris, "may be said in favour of their Lancashire origin." The MS.

which contains the above poems also contains the excellent alliterative romance-poem named _Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight_, evidently written by the same author; so that this poem also may be considered as a specimen of West Midland.

For further particulars, see the "Grammatical Details" given in Dr Morris's preface to _The Pearl_, etc., pp.