The Ellesmere Text in the Light of the Hengwrt Manuscript
- Author / Editor
- Blake, N. F.
The Ellesmere Text in the Light of the Hengwrt Manuscript
- Published
- Martin Stevens and Daniel Woodward, eds. The Ellesmere Chaucer: Essays in Interpretation (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library; Tokyo: Yushodo, 1995), pp. 205-24.
- Description
- Since the text of the Ellesmere manuscript is highly edited, Hengwrt is superior to it and should be used as the basis for standard editions of CT.
- Accepting the thesis that Hengwrt is "the earliest extant manuscript," Blake argues that the Ellesmere ordering of CT was developed from Hengwrt. He assumes "that the Hg scribe had access to Chaucer's drafts," and thus argues that any material not included in Hengwrt (e.g., CYT) should be regarded as spurious until it can be proved genuine.
- Alternative Title
- The Ellesmere Chaucer: Essays in Interpretation.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Manuscripts and Textual Studies.
- Canterbury Tales--General.