But it is time to return to John Trevisa, Higden's translator. This
long translation is all in the Southern dialect, originally that of
Gloucestershire, though there are several MSS. that do not always
agree. A fair copy of it, from a MS. in the library of St John's
College, Cambridge, is given side by side with the original Latin in
the edition already noticed. It is worth adding that Caxton printed
Trevisa's version, altering the spelling to suit that of his own time,
and giving several variations of reading.
Trevisa was also the author of some other works, of which the most
important is his translation into English, from the original Latin,
of _Bartholom{ae}us de Proprietatibus Rerum_.
I am not aware of any important work in the Southern dialect later
than these translations by Trevisa. But in quite modern times, an
excellent example of it has appeared, viz. in the _Poems of Rural
Life, in the Dorset Dialect_, by William Barnes.
CHAPTER VII
THE SOUTHERN DIALECT OF KENT
Though the Kentish dialect properly belongs to Southern English,
from its position to the south of the Thames, yet it shows certain
peculiarities which make it desirable to consider it apart from the
rest.
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