Re: Norwegian Vocative

There's something about Chaucer's English spelling that always makes me smile.

I guess cherl = Swedish karl, German Kerl, modern English man

Hakan,
a myslyved man myself...

O stronge God
O wommanliche wyf
Nay, olde cherl
Goode fader, shal I dye?
False coward

However, it is dropped after disyllabic adjectives and more generally (see the last example) when alternating rhythm can be sustained without it:

O woful Mars
O wery goost
O verrey lord
O woful eyen two
O cruel fader
O oold unholsom and myslyved man

Piotr