[split] 66v: the widow's part?

[Koen G]

I split this thread since it's an interesting tangent.

So a recap. "Der mus dele" is a legal term mostly known from the Sachsenspiegel, an influential work of law written in a northwest German dialect, translated by the author from his own Latin original. 

Etymologically, the word means "one's part of the food". In the specific legal context it means the inheritance of the wife after her husband dies.

Linguistically, "moes" was still known as "food" to 16th century lexicographer Kiliaan, though he noted it as archaic. Of course, the specific legal meaning in the compound moesdeel has survived longer, losing the transparency of the first part as the meaning of "moes" was forgotten. I'm less informed on the situation in German.

The "del" in the VM would indeed suggest a Low German dialect, since in High German we'd expect something like Teil.
Of course if the legal term comes from a well known source in Low German, the dialectical specifics in the VM may be the result of adoption rather than the scribe's own language/dialect.

Edit: as a complete aside, apparently Chaucer used "del" for "part" as well.