On the use of negative na and ne in the Regius Psalter

Abstract

An introductory Old English grammar says that ne is a negative adverb when it precedes a finite verb but a conjunction when it occurs elsewhere. The negative adverb na generally precedes an element other than a verb. In this paper I pick out Old English glosses which correspond to the 'Latin negative + verb' construction in the thirteen Psalter versions (PsG1A to M) and try to show how often the Regius Psalter (PsG1D) uses the 'na + (Pron +) V' construction in contrast with the preference for the '(Pron +) ne + V' construction found in the Vespasian Pssalter (PsG1A) and even in the D-type Stowe Psalter (PsG1F) and Vitellius Psalter (PsG1G). My investigation will show not only the peculiarity of PsG1D but the morphological confusion of na and ne – which reflects the phonological indistinctness and leads to structural variety – in late West Saxon Psalter glosses.