Hengwrt manuscript
Encyclopedia
The Hengwrt Chaucer manuscript is an early 15th century manuscript
of the Canterbury Tales, held in the National Library of Wales
, in Aberystwyth
, where it is known as MS Peniarth 392D.
This was one of the collection of manuscripts amassed at the mansion of Hengwrt, near Dolgellau
, Gwynedd
, by Welsh antiquary Robert Vaughan
(c.1592-1667); the collection later passed to the newly-established National Library of Wales as the Peniarth or Hengwrt-Peniarth Manuscripts.
The Hengwrt manuscript's very early ownership is unknown, but by the 16th century it can be identified as belonging to Fouke Dutton, a draper
of Chester
who died in 1558. It then seems to have passed into the ownership of the Bannester family of Chester and Caernarfon
, and through them was in the possession of an Andrew Brereton by 1625; by the middle of the 17th century it had been acquired by Vaughan.
The Hengwrt Chaucer has been in Wales for at least 400 hundred years and recent research by English scholars suggests that Chaucer himself may have partly supervised the making of the manuscript, before his death in October 1400, according to the Welsh newspaper The Western Mail.
. The main textual hand has been identified with one found in several other manuscripts of the period (see below); there are a number of other hands in the manuscript, including one of a person who attempted to fill in several gaps in the text. This has been tentatively identified as the hand of the poet Thomas Hoccleve.
There is some illumination in blue, gold and red, used on the border and on initital letters at the opening of individual tales and prologues, but the manuscript contains no illustrations.
, which for many years, following the examples of the editor Frederick Furnivall and W. W. Skeat, was used as the base text for more modern editions of the Canterbury Tales, is now thought to have been written by the same scribe
, though the arrangement of the individual tales in the two manuscripts varies widely. Professor Linne Mooney, a literary scholar at the University of York
, has recently identified this scribe as Adam Pinkhurst
, the same Adam to whom Chaucer wrote a poem, admonishing him for his occasionally inaccurate copying skills.
Since the work of John M. Manly and Edith Rickert
in compiling their Text of the Canterbury Tales (1940), the Hengwrt manuscript has had a much higher degree of prominence in attempts to reconstruct Chaucer's text, displacing the previously prominent Ellesmere and Harley MS. 7334
. Recent scholarship has shown that the variant spellings given in the Hengwrt manuscript likely reflect Chaucer's own spelling practices in his East Midlands / London dialect of Middle English
, while the Ellesmere text shows evidence of a later attempt to regularise spelling; Hengwrt is therefore probably very close to the original authorial holograph
.
The manuscript is conventionally referred to as Hg in most editions giving variant readings.
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
of the Canterbury Tales, held in the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
, in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
, where it is known as MS Peniarth 392D.
History of the manuscript
Dolgellau
Dolgellau is a market town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the county town of the former county of Merionethshire .-History and economy:...
, Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, by Welsh antiquary Robert Vaughan
Robert Vaughan (antiquary)
Robert Powell Vaughan was an eminent Welsh antiquary and collector of manuscripts. His collection, later known as the Hengwrt-Peniarth Library from the houses in which it was successively preserved, formed the nucleus of the National Library of Wales, and is still in its care.-Biography:Vaughan...
(c.1592-1667); the collection later passed to the newly-established National Library of Wales as the Peniarth or Hengwrt-Peniarth Manuscripts.
The Hengwrt manuscript's very early ownership is unknown, but by the 16th century it can be identified as belonging to Fouke Dutton, a draper
Draper
Draper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer, of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
who died in 1558. It then seems to have passed into the ownership of the Bannester family of Chester and Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
, and through them was in the possession of an Andrew Brereton by 1625; by the middle of the 17th century it had been acquired by Vaughan.
The Hengwrt Chaucer has been in Wales for at least 400 hundred years and recent research by English scholars suggests that Chaucer himself may have partly supervised the making of the manuscript, before his death in October 1400, according to the Welsh newspaper The Western Mail.
Description
Peniarth MS 392 D contains 250 folios with a page size of around 29 x 20.5 centimetres. It is written on heavily stained and rather damaged parchmentParchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
. The main textual hand has been identified with one found in several other manuscripts of the period (see below); there are a number of other hands in the manuscript, including one of a person who attempted to fill in several gaps in the text. This has been tentatively identified as the hand of the poet Thomas Hoccleve.
There is some illumination in blue, gold and red, used on the border and on initital letters at the opening of individual tales and prologues, but the manuscript contains no illustrations.
Scribe and relationship to other manuscripts
The lavishly-illustrated Ellesmere manuscriptEllesmere manuscript
The Ellesmere Chaucer, or Ellesmere Manuscript is an early 15th century illuminated manuscript of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, held in the Huntington Library, in San Marino, California...
, which for many years, following the examples of the editor Frederick Furnivall and W. W. Skeat, was used as the base text for more modern editions of the Canterbury Tales, is now thought to have been written by the same scribe
Scribe
A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession and helps the city keep track of its records. The profession, previously found in all literate cultures in some form, lost most of its importance and status with the advent of printing...
, though the arrangement of the individual tales in the two manuscripts varies widely. Professor Linne Mooney, a literary scholar at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
, has recently identified this scribe as Adam Pinkhurst
Adam Pinkhurst
In 2004, Professor Linne Mooney was able to identify the scrivener who worked for 14th century poet Geoffrey Chaucer as an Adam Pinkhurst. Mooney, then a professor at the University of Maine and a visiting fellow at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, was able to match Pinkhurst's...
, the same Adam to whom Chaucer wrote a poem, admonishing him for his occasionally inaccurate copying skills.
Since the work of John M. Manly and Edith Rickert
Edith Rickert
Edith Rickert was an influential medieval scholar at the University of Chicago, whose foundational work includes the Chaucer Life-Records and the eight-volume "Text of the Canterbury Tales ....
in compiling their Text of the Canterbury Tales (1940), the Hengwrt manuscript has had a much higher degree of prominence in attempts to reconstruct Chaucer's text, displacing the previously prominent Ellesmere and Harley MS. 7334
Harley MS. 7334
Harley MS. 7334, sometimes known as the Harley Manuscript, is a mediaeval manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales held in the Harleian Collection of the British Museum....
. Recent scholarship has shown that the variant spellings given in the Hengwrt manuscript likely reflect Chaucer's own spelling practices in his East Midlands / London dialect of Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
, while the Ellesmere text shows evidence of a later attempt to regularise spelling; Hengwrt is therefore probably very close to the original authorial holograph
Holograph
A holograph is a document written entirely in the handwriting of the person whose signature it bears. Some countries or local jurisdictions within certain countries give legal standing to specific types of holographic documents, generally waiving requirements that they be witnessed...
.
The manuscript is conventionally referred to as Hg in most editions giving variant readings.
External links
- Canterbury Tales Project digital facsimile of the whole Hengwrt Chaucer manuscript, edited by Estelle Stubbs
- Specimen pages