The Syntax of Early English - Cryptm.org

An outline of Old English syntax 47Postmodification is attested with quantifiers and with modifiers in -weard:(21) a. hlafordswican manigetraitors many‘many traitors’ (WHom 20.1.64)b. a scipo allethe ships all‘all the ships’ (ChronA(Plummer) 885.7)c. alle Cent easteweardeall Kent eastward‘all eastern Kent’ (ChronA(Plummer) 865.1)Other cases of following modifiers are infrequent and some of them onlyoccur in poetry. Some examples are:(22) a. mægwine minekinsmen-dear mine‘my dear kinsmen’ (Beo 2479)b. a roda reothe roods three‘the three roods’ (El 867)c. tamra deora unbebohtra syx hundtame (G) deer (G) unbought (G) six hundred‘six hundred unsold tame animals’ (Or 1.15.8)We also find cases with both the demonstrative and the modifying adjective inpostposition. In these cases the demonstrative precedes the adjective:(23) cyle one grimmestancold the grimmest‘the grimmest cold’ (HomS17(BlHom5) 136)Certain constituents always follow the rest of the NP: this is true for prepositionalmodifiers, as in (24), and also for relative clauses, as in (25):(24) . . . ane boc be cyrclicum eawum‘. . . a book about ecclesiastical customs’ (ÆCHom II, 5.49.237)(25) to am ylcan campdome e heora fæderas on wæronto the same military service which their fathers in were‘to the same military service which their fathers were in’ (ÆLS(Martin) 31)The second of two conjoined premodifiers, with or without demonstrative,can also follow the head:(26) a. se byrdesta sceall gyldan . . . and berenne kyrtel oethe highest-born must pay and bearskin garment oryterenneotterskin‘the highest born must pay . . . and a garment of bearskin or otterskin’(Or 1.15.17)