The use of the genitive in the Arthurian section of Layamon's "Brut"
New insights into the use of the genitive case in Early Middle English are possible because of the recent publication of Bruce Mitchell's Old English Syntax which updates previous exhaustive grammars. Using Layamon's Brut as a basis of study, it was found that Layamon employs a variety of case endings to indicate the genitive; alternatively, he uses of-periphrasis. He appears to be choosing among these grammatically acceptable possibilities in order to facilitate meter and rhyme.
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