“mænige calfru, þæt synt lytle and niwe fynd” : A study of additions and changes in the translation of the prose psalms in the Paris Psalter

Abstract: The prose translation of the fifty first psalms in the Paris Psalter is quite unique as an early medieval scriptural translation (O’Neill 2016 p. x). There have been several studies made on the Paris Psalter recently, most notably by Patrick O’Neill. One focus of several of these studies has been whether or not the Prose translation is connected to Alfred the Great. However, there is still much left in this translation that has not yet been studied. Something that can be noticed when studying the prose psalms is that throughout the translation the translator made several additions and changes to the psalms. There are several different kinds of additions in the prose psalms, the most common of these is the þæt ys/þæt synt (‘that is’/‘those are’) type. This study focuses on these additions, and it will be suggested that the translator has made additions and changes to the psalms to describe metaphors and concepts that an Anglo-Saxon reader might not have been able to understand without these additions.