---
title: Thus was he of two minds, and thought in his heart that to save hims… — Morien: A Metrical Romance Rendered into English… · tree and pragmatics
description: Thus was he of two minds, and thought in his heart that to save himself from shame 'twere best to let his guest depart so soon as he arose, armed in all points as he came thither, and harm him in no wise, but bring him, unhurt by any man, without the borders of his land and his safe conduct, and the
---

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# Morien: A Metrical Romance Rendered into English Prose from the Mediæval Dutch, Opening, part 6, sentence 51

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Thus was he of two minds, and thought in his heart that to save himself from shame 'twere best to let his guest depart so soon as he arose, armed in all points as he came thither, and harm him in no wise, but bring him, unhurt by any man, without the borders of his land and his safe conduct, and there bid him farewell and return hither; while that his friends, who would fain see him avenged, waylaid Sir Gawain, and wrought their will upon him, and, if they would, slew him.

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**Who acts:** heart, tale, friends, guest · **What happens:** be, think, save, let, depart, arise · **To what, where:** tale, heart, shame, guest, wise

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This is a sentence of «Morien: A Metrical Romance Rendered into English Prose from the Mediæval Dutch» by Jessie L. Weston, Opening, part 6. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (heart, tale, friends, guest), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

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**Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg8447:6:51
# text = Thus was he of two minds, and thought in his heart that to save himself from shame 'twere best to let his guest depart so soon as he arose, armed in all points as he came thither, and harm him in no wise, but bring him, unhurt by any man, without the borders of his land and his safe conduct, and there bid him farewell and return hither; while that his friends, who would fain see him avenged, waylaid Sir Gawain, and wrought their will upon him, and, if they would, slew him.
1	Thus	thus	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	26	nsubj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	minds	mind	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	thought	think	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	heart	heart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
13	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	15	nsubj	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	save	save	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	acl:relcl	_	_
16	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	15	obj	_	_
17	from	from	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	shame	shame	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	_
19	'	'	PUNCT	``	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	twere	twere	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	_
21	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	18	appos	_	_
22	to	to	PART	TO	_	23	mark	_	_
23	let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	21	csubj	_	_
24	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	25	nmod:poss	_	_
25	guest	guest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obj	_	_
26	depart	depart	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
27	so	so	ADV	RB	_	28	advmod	_	_
28	soon	soon	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	31	advmod	_	_
29	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	31	mark	_	_
30	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	31	nsubj	_	_
31	arose	arise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	26	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	33	punct	_	_
33	armed	armed	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	31	advcl	_	_
34	in	in	ADP	IN	_	36	case	_	_
35	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	36	det	_	_
36	points	point	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	33	obl	_	_
37	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	39	mark	_	_
38	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	39	nsubj	_	_
39	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	31	advcl	_	_
40	thither	thither	ADV	RB	_	39	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
41	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	43	punct	_	_
42	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	43	cc	_	_
43	harm	harm	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	26	conj	_	_
44	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	43	obj	_	_
45	in	in	ADP	IN	_	47	case	_	_
46	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	47	det	_	_
47	wise	wise	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	43	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
48	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	50	punct	_	_
49	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	50	cc	_	_
50	bring	bring	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	26	conj	_	_
51	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	50	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
52	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	53	punct	_	_
53	unhurt	unhurt	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	50	conj	_	_
54	by	by	ADP	IN	_	56	case	_	_
55	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	56	det	_	_
56	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	50	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
57	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	60	punct	_	_
58	without	without	ADP	IN	_	60	case	_	_
59	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	60	det	_	_
60	borders	border	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	50	obl	_	_
61	of	of	ADP	IN	_	63	case	_	_
62	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	63	nmod:poss	_	_
63	land	land	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	60	nmod	_	_
64	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	67	cc	_	_
65	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	67	nmod:poss	_	_
66	safe	safe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	67	amod	_	_
67	conduct	conduct	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	63	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
68	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	71	punct	_	_
69	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	71	cc	_	_
70	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	71	expl	_	_
71	bid	bid	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	26	parataxis	_	_
72	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	71	obj	_	_
73	farewell	farewell	ADV	RB	_	71	advmod	_	_
74	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	75	cc	_	_
75	return	return	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	71	conj	_	_
76	hither	hither	ADV	RB	_	75	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
77	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	86	punct	_	_
78	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	86	mark	_	_
79	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	86	mark	_	_
80	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	81	nmod:poss	_	_
81	friends	friend	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	86	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
82	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	85	punct	_	_
83	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	85	nsubj	_	_
84	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	85	aux	_	_
85	fain	fain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	81	acl:relcl	_	_
86	see	see	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	26	conj	_	_
87	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	86	obj	_	_
88	avenged	avenge	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	86	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
89	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	90	punct	_	_
90	waylaid	waylay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	88	conj	_	_
91	Sir	Sir	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	92	nmod:desc	_	_
92	Gawain	Gawain	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	90	obl:agent	_	SpaceAfter=No
93	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	95	punct	_	_
94	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	95	cc	_	_
95	wrought	wrought	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	86	advcl	_	_
96	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	97	nmod:poss	_	_
97	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	95	advcl	_	_
98	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	99	case	_	_
99	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	95	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
100	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	107	punct	_	_
101	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	107	cc	_	SpaceAfter=No
102	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	101	punct	_	_
103	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	105	mark	_	_
104	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	105	nsubj	_	_
105	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	107	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
106	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	105	punct	_	_
107	slew	slay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	95	conj	_	_
108	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	107	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
109	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	26	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past |  | tale |  |  |  | of two minds; thus *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **think** *speech: other* | past |  |  |  | tale's heart |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **save** | to-infinitive | tale's heart | tale |  | shame |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent himself=Theme from shame=Source |
| 4 | **let** | to-infinitive |  | tale's guest |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent guest=Theme |
| 5 | **depart** | present | tale |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 6 | **arise** | past | tale |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 7 | **come** | past | tale |  |  |  |  | thither *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 8 | **harm** | infinitive | tale *not said here* | guest |  | no wise |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus he=Experiencer |
| 9 | **bring** | infinitive | tale *not said here* |  | guest |  |  | by any man; without the borders of tale's land and tale's safe conduct | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Instrument he=Destination |
| 10 | **bid** | past |  | guest |  | there |  | farewell *property* | tree rules |
| 11 | **return** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | hither *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 12 | **fain** | would | tale's friends |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 13 | **see** | infinitive | tale's friends | guest |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 14 | **avenge** | participle | guest *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 15 | **waylay** | participle | guest *not said here* |  |  |  |  | Gawain  Sir *obl:agent* | tree rules |
| 16 | **wrought** | past | tale's friends *not said here* |  |  |  |  | upon tale | tree rules |
| 17 | **slay** | past | tale's friends *not said here* | guest |  |  |  |  | vn murder-42.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Patient |
| 18 | **conduct** |  | tale |  |  |  |  |  | nom conduct «act transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

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**Text:** «Morien: A Metrical Romance Rendered into English Prose from the Mediæval Dutch» by Jessie L. Weston, Project Gutenberg book 8447 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order.

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