Yoko Iyieri PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText - University ...

alone is quite sufficient here particularly because the collocation of
ne but is used to convey a positive idea emphatically. Jack (1978a:
304; 1978c: 59-60 and 65) also observes that ne tends to stand alone
instead of involving not in ME prose works as far as this linguistic
condition is concerned. In fact, but later develops the meaning
'only' on its own (or rather but comes to carry the meaning 'only'
for itself), and then the negative element which used to be employed
along with but falls into disuse (Curme 1931: 326; Jack 1978c: 65).
This implies that the function of the negative element in this usage
is not to convey a negative force as Kent rightly suggests. Negative
elements make sense only in combination with but, and that, in a
fixed form. Once the meaning 'only' is transferred to but itself,
negation is no longer necessary. Together with the fixed nature of
ne but, the fact that to convey a negative force is not the function
of negative elements here is a factor for the favoured use of the
weak form ne as opposed to ne ... not and not. The frequent
employment of ne alone in this syntactic context is also confirmed by
the ME verse texts investigated in the present study as the table
below displays:6
6 Examples as ifiustrated below also belong to this category:
Pu nard no3t bute ded (O&N 1138).
Here the combination of negation and but possesses the function of
emphasis, but it is not negation that is conveyed emphatically but
the positive idea 'be dead'.
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