Mood Selection in the Old Northumbrian Gloss to Durham <scp>MS</scp> A.<scp>iv</scp>.19

Abstract The aim of this article is to examine the use of the subjunctive in the 10th‐century Old Northumbrian gloss to Durham MS A.iv.19. We assess whether there is evidence for a weakening of the indicative/subjunctive opposition, as has been argued for the earlier gloss to the Lindisfarne Gospels, which was the work of the same glossator, Aldred of Chester‐le‐Street. For this purpose, we analyse the subjunctive forms in both main and subordinate clauses in conjunction with their Latin lemmata, taking into account both their syntactic context and cotext. We also examine the factors that may have conditioned Aldred's selection of mood and, additionally, address instances in which his glosses appear to correct erroneous Latin lemmata. No evidence was found for the breakdown of the subjunctive category in Durham Collectar, which may be related to features of this text type. Our study also identifies corrections of erroneous Latin inflections in the text and, conversely, potential misrecognition of the forms of the relevant Latin lemmata.