| Design and Distribution of Late Medieval Manuscripts in England Contributor(s): Connolly, Margaret (Editor), Mooney, Linne R. (Editor), Grounds, Amelia (Contribution by) |
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ISBN: 1903153247 ISBN-13: 9781903153246 Publisher: York Medieval Press OUR PRICE: $118.75 Product Type: Hardcover Published: October 2008 Annotation: One of the most important developments in medieval English literary studies since the 1980s has been the growth of manuscript studies. Long regarded as mere textual repositories, and treated superficially by editors, manuscripts are now acknowledged as centrally important in the study of later medieval texts. The potential benefits of this shift in focus from peripheral to central have been highlighted recently by the exciting discovery, by Professor Linne Mooney, of the identity of the scribe who worked for Chaucer as Adam Pinkhurst. The essays collected here discuss aspects of the design and distribution of manuscripts in late medieval England, with a particular focus on vernacular manuscripts of the late fourteenth, fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. They illuminate shared networks of production and dissemination, and increase our knowledge of book production in the period before printing. Major Middle English writings covered include the Canterbury Tales, Piers Plowman, the prose Brut, Love's Mirror, Hilton's Scale of Perfection, the Speculum Vitae, Pricke of Conscience and Middle English herbals. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Reference | Bibliographies & Indexes - Literary Criticism | Medieval - Antiques & Collectibles |
| Dewey: 091.094 |
| LCCN: 2008301197 |
| Series: Manuscript Culture in the British Isles |
| Physical Information: 1.3" H x 6.4" W x 9.3" (2.05 lbs) 352 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453) |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: One of the most important developments in medieval English literary studies since the 1980s has been the growth of manuscript studies. Long regarded as mere textual repositories, and treated superficially by editors, manuscripts are now acknowledged as centrally important in the study of later medieval texts. The essays collected here discuss aspects of the design and distribution of manuscripts in late medieval England, with a particular focus on vernacular manuscripts of the late fourteenth, fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Those in the first half consider material evidence for scribal decisions about design: these range from analysis of individual codices to broader discussions of particular types of manuscripts, both religious and secular. Later essays look at the evidence for the production and distribution of manuscripts of specific English texts or types of text. These include the major Middle English poems 'The Canterbury Tales' and 'Piers Plowman', as well as key religious works such as Love's 'Mirror', Hilton's 'Scale of Perfection', the 'Speculum Vitae' and 'The Pricke of Conscience', all of which survive in significant numbers of manuscripts. The comparison of secular and devotional texts illuminates shared networks of production and dissemination, and increases our knowledge of regional and metropolitan book production in the period before printing. Contributors: DANIEL W. MOSSER, JACOB THAISEN, TAKAKO KATO, SHERRY L. REAMES, AMELIA GROUNDS, ALEXANDRA BARRATT, JULIAN M. LUXFORD, LINNE R. MOONEY, MICHAEL G. SARGENT, JOHN J. THOMPSON, MARGARET CONNOLLY, RALPH HANNA, GEORGE R. KEISER. |