Ellesmere Chaucer
The Ellesmere Chaucer, or Ellesmere Manuscript of the Canterbury Tales, is an early 15th-century
History
Written most likely in the first or second decade of the fifteenth century, the early history of the manuscript is uncertain, but it seems to have been owned by
Description
The Ellesmere manuscript is a highly polished example of scribal workmanship, with a great deal of elaborate
The manuscript is written on fine vellum and the leaves are approximately 400mm (13¾") by 284mm (11¼") in size; there are 240 leaves, of which 232 contain the text of the Tales.[2]
Illuminations
In order of appearance in the Ellesmere Chaucer (note that not all storytellers have an illumination):[3]
- Knight (fol. 10r)
- Miller (fol. 34v)
- Reeve (fol. 42r)
- Cook (fol. 47r)
- Man of Law (fol. 50v)
- Wife of Bath (fol. 72r)
- Friar (fol. 76v)
- Summoner (fol. 81r)
- Clerk of Oxford (fol. 88r)
- Merchant (fol. 102v)
- Squire (fol. 115v)
- Franklin (fol. 123v)
- Physician (fol. 133r)
- Pardoner (fol. 138r)
- Shipman (fol. 143v)
- Prioress (fol. 148v)
- Chaucer (fol. 153v)
- Monk and his greyhounds (fol. 169r)
- Nun's Priest (fol. 179r)
- Second Nun (fol. 187r)
- Canon's Yeoman (fol. 194r)
- Manciple (fol. 203r)
- Parson (fol. 206v)
Scribe and its relation to other manuscripts
The Ellesmere manuscript is thought to be very early in date, being written shortly after Chaucer's death. It is seen as an important source for efforts to reconstruct Chaucer's original text and intentions, though
Linne Mooney identified Ellesmere's scribe as
The Ellesmere manuscript is conventionally referred to as El in studies of the Tales and their textual history. A facsimile edition is available.
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The beginning of The Knight's Tale from the Ellesmere Manuscript
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The opening page of The Wife of Bath's Tale from the Ellesmere Manuscript of The Canterbury Tales, circa 1405-1410.
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Geoffrey Chaucer from the Ellesmere Manuscript
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The Friar from the Ellesmere Manuscript
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Robin the Miller from folio 34v of the Ellesmere Manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
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Roger the Cook from Ellesmere Manuscript
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The Summoner from the Ellesmere Manuscript
References
- ^ "Guide To Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Huntington Library". Archived from the original on 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
- ^ The Ellesmere Chaucer Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine, Long Island University.
- ^ The Storytellers in order of appearance in the Ellesmere Chaucer. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
- ^ The claim was put forth by Linne R. Mooney, 'Chaucer's Scribe', Speculum, 81 (2006), 91-138; for the most extensive rebuttal see Lawrence Warner, Chaucer's Scribes: London Textual Production, 1384-1432 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018). Further discussion in the Wikipedia entry for Adam Pinkhurst.
External links
- The Ellesmere mss at the Huntington Library
- Huntington catalogue images of Ellesmere Chaucer at Digital Scriptorium Archived 2013-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Full digital facsimile on the Huntington Digital Library
- Ezard, John, 'The scrivener's tale: how Chaucer's sloppy copyist was unmasked after 600 years', The Guardian, 20 July 2004
- Nagle, M. Finding Adam, Umaine Today, November–December 2004