The Language of the Ellesmere Manuscript
- Author / Editor
- Smith, Jeremy J.
The Language of the Ellesmere Manuscript
- Published
- Martin Stevens and Daniel Woodward, eds. The Ellesmere Chaucer: Essays in Interpretation (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library; Tokyo: Yushodo, 1995), pp. 69-86.
- Description
- Argues for the superiority of Hengwrt over Ellesmere on metrical and dialectical grounds.
- Hengwrt, which better reflects both the Northernisms of RvT and Chaucer's admittedly difficult-to-ascertain metrical goals, should be the basis for modern editions of CT. Hengwrt's superiority results from the fact that it "was a makeshift volume assembled in some haste, whereas the Ellesmere manuscript was more carefully planned and executed."
- Since Ellesmere is more heavily edited, Hengwrt more accurately represents "the authorial original."
- Alternative Title
- The Ellesmere Chaucer: Essays in Interpretation.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Manuscripts and Textual Studies.
- Style and Versification.
- Language and Word Studies.
- Reeve and His Tale.