Stubbs, Estelle Vivien (2006) A study of the codicology of four early manuscripts of the Canterbury tales. PhD thesis, University of Sheffield.
Abstract
This thesis is a study of the physical features of the four earliest manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales all dated to the first years after the death of Geoffrey Chaucer. I assess the ways in which codicological examination can contribute to the understanding of a complex textual tradition and inform the study of the text. The thesis is divided into two volumes. The first volume contains the seven chapters which make up the thesis. The first chapter contains a review of the printed editions of the poem since Caxton's first edition of 1476 and a summary of the most important contributions of scholarship in the twentieth century. It reveals that many influential editions and much scholarship on the textual tradition of the poem have been achieved with scant consultation of the extant manuscripts. The second chapter addresses the problems which have arisen as a result of this neglect and offers suggestions for a different approach to manuscript analysis which will be provided as a result of the examination of the manuscripts in the remainder of the thesis. Chapters three to six contain detailed analyses of the four manuscripts in the survey: Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales MS. Peniarth 392D (Hengwrt), Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MS. 198 (Corpus), London, British Library MS. Harley 7334 (Harley 4), and California, San Marino, Huntington Library MS. El. 26 C 9 (Ellesmere). In chapter seven, I summarise the findings and offer suggestions for future research. The second volume contains all the appendices numbered 1-20 followed by 22 Plates. For each manuscript there are four or five separate appendices which provide details of the following: a visual overview, a detailed analysis of individual quires, a list of all rubrics, lines added, omitted or variant in each manuscript, and a list of catchwords.
Metadata
Awarding institution: | University of Sheffield |
---|---|
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > School of English (Sheffield) |
Identification Number/EthosID: | uk.bl.ethos.690018 |
Depositing User: | EThOS Import Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 28 Feb 2017 12:40 |
Last Modified: | 28 Feb 2017 12:40 |
Downloads
690018_vol1.pdf
Filename: 690018_vol1.pdf
Description: 690018_vol1.pdf
690018_vol2.pdf
Filename: 690018_vol2.pdf
Description: 690018_vol2.pdf
Export
Statistics
You do not need to contact us to get a copy of this thesis. Please use the 'Download' link(s) above to get a copy.
You can contact us about this thesis. If you need to make a general enquiry, please see the Contact us page.