The Psychology of Editors of Middle English Texts.
- Author / Editor
- Donaldson, E. Talbot.
The Psychology of Editors of Middle English Texts.
- Published
- In Speaking of Chaucer (London: Athlone, 1970), pp. 102-18. Published originally in Ilva Cellini and Giorgio Melchiori, eds. Lectures and Papers Read at the Sixth Conference of the International Association of University Professors of English Held at Venice, August 1965 (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 1966).
- Description
- Describes illusions of objectivity in recension, the genetic method of textual editing, cleverly though earnestly articulating that subjectivity--or "common sense"--is needed in the process of editing. Challenges the principle of grouping manuscript by shared error only and asserts that coincidence of error can and does occur. Denies the notion of a perfect original text and undermines the use and understanding of the label "authoritative" for individual manuscripts. Draws examples from editions of Chaucer (including Donaldson's own) and comments on the strengths and weaknesses of Manly and Rickert's "The Text of the Canterbury Tales" (1940).
- Contributor
- Cellini, Ilva, ed.
Melchiori, Giorgio, ed.
- Alternative Title
- Lectures and Papers Read at the Sixth Conference of the International Association of University Professors of English Held at Venice, August 1965
- Chaucer Subjects
- Mansuscripts and Textual Studies
Facsimiles, Editions, and Translations