The discovery of the Phobos ('P') manuscript of '(The Ballade of) Ashen Walls/Halls' brings the total count up to four. While P is largely congruent with the later Hunter ('H') variant, it presents some interesting variations of its own, and casts light on the progression of changes which led to the known texts.
The first change in P is the opening line, In labyrinthine, leaden halls. This line appears in the Barid ('B') text, while H leads with 'In lightless labyrinthine halls'. The far more recent British Museum ('M') manuscript corrupts this into 'In lifeless labyrinthine halls'. It seems clear that the P/B text is the original, with the alteration appearing in later, more sophisticated variants.
The fourth line of P is unique: All knowing how ill runs their plight. The other texts unanimously agree on 'Knowing how desperate is their plight'. A marginal note in B provides the alternate reading 'To face the horror of their plight', which may be the best version in terms of scansion.
Line 6, They shoulder weapons, raise a cry, is also an innovation in P, substituting for B's 'Waving swords, they raise a cry'. The P reading appears to be the older, and in this case by far the better.
The refrain, Past ashen walls and off to die, appears in this form in H and M, while B records the alternate form 'Through ashen halls' &c. It is clear that the later writers followed the P tradition, but which is the older remains unclear.
The second stanza of P is copied verbatim in H, and with minor variants in M, but is almost completely substituted in B:
'Their footsteps ring from wall to wall;
They stand as tall as olden knights.
For innocence they fight and fall:
For those who'd never stray from right,
But fall unnoticed into night
And give the agents reasons why.
So now they march, but not in flight,
Through ashen halls and off to die.'
It seems clear that Stanza 2 of B represents a different tradition, the full text of which is lost. Note the B poet's use of repetition, in 'wall to wall', and the dual use of 'fall' in lines 3 and 5. The variant may have been discarded due to its lower poetic value than P, though line 3 seems to be better phrased in B than P.
At this point B gives out entirely, and the textual variation is significantly reduced. H and M agree that 'ever nearer; in to sight' in S3, L4 should be 'ever nearer, into sight'. H provides 'the agents cry out' in L5, while M foolishly breaks the enjambment to give 'The call out to their foes invite/And shouted curses they let fly'.
The final lines of P contain the only repeated end-of-line word in this version: 'They throw themselves against the night', copying 'night' from S2, L5. H and M agree with this reading, which suggests it may have been an intentional shift - but alas for B's truncation! If we only had the older text to contast with, we could make a definitive statement.
In conclusion, the previously accepted path of B > H > M must now be altered. P stands beside B as one of the oldest texts, and the one which most influenced H. M, as before, is understood to be an attempt to 'regularise' H, but constitutes a corrupted copy; it has little research value. Of all the variants, the P 'Ashen Walls' can safely be said to be the best poem, however dubious its claims to be the oldest.
Seriously, this is absolutely the best way to do it.
I do have something in the works to actually submit - hopefully I'll get it done in time. It's a bit... strange.
hS