the number of the elect by identifying him with St. Gilbert. There are of course, as there cannot help but be, parallels between the Ancren Riwle and the Gilbertine regulations. But there are also contrasts. The emphasis laid upon cleanliness has often been noted as a peculiar feature of the Ancren Riwle (“Waschð ou hwarse ȝe habbeð neode, ase ofte ase ȝe wulleð”[1]). The Gilbertines were warned de prohibitione balnee:
Caveatur ab omnibus nostris balneum, curn sit libidinis fomentum; nec ulla balneatur, nisi graviori labore gravata, vel medicinæ causa, vet scabie occupata.
It is impossible to conclude this rapid sketch of recent work upon the Rule without an expression of regret that G. C. Macaulay was not spared to continue the work he had so well begun. Macaulay, with his extraordinary experience of editing books in all three languages, was probably the only man who could have carried through single handed a satisfactory edition of the Rule. Meantime, his work is indispensable to all students, and though it must no doubt be in the long run superseded, it has cleared the way for a final edition of this extraordinarily interesting and important text.
- ↑ Morton, p. 424. The Corpus Manuscript adds Nes neauer fulðe godd leof.
