Pursuing History: Middle English Manuscripts and Their Texts

Description: Revised versions of fourteen essays by Hanna, plus an introduction and two new essays: "On Stemmatics" and "On the Versions of 'Piers Plowman'."; The eight Chaucerian essays republished here have been revised for consistency. The introduction describes how the canonization and reputation of Chaucer's works have dehistoricized much reading Middle English works. According to Hanna, traditional presentation of Chaucer's works (and of other Middle English works) accords poorly with their presentation in manuscripts amounting to a misrepresentation of the medieval experience of encountering the works.