Zelotes and elnvnges: The Extension of Genitive Singular ‑es in the Gloss to the Durham Collectar

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this article is to study the extension of genitive singular ‑es from the a-stems to other noun classes in the gloss to the Durham Collectar (Durham, Cathedral Library, A.iv.19). To this end a quantitative analysis of sixty-five nouns has been carried out in contexts where they gloss a Latin genitive form. The nouns have been selected on the basis that their etymological inflection for the genitive singular is other than ‑es, and they consist of feminine nouns (nouns ending in ‑ung, nouns ending in ‑ness, ō‑stems, i‑stems), kinship r‑stems and weak nouns or n‑stems. The results of the analysis of the Durham Collectar are compared with those found in the Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library, Nero D.iv) with three main purposes: first, to determine the degree of similarity between the two glosses; second, to establish whether Durham is more conservative or not with regard to this feature, and finally, to contribute to the discussion on the question of authorship.