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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2020 November 12

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November 12

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When Adam delved

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When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman?

John Ball spoke these words first, but obviously they would have been written down by someone who heard him, or we wouldn't know that he'd said this. What was the original spelling of the phrase, or what were some of the original spellings? I don't know how to find the answer without knowing the spelling already. Nyttend backup (talk) 16:14, 12 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I just noticed that the answer appears in Ball's article. Nyttend backup (talk) 16:15, 12 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]