Scribe D
Encyclopedia
The Trinity Gower D Scribe (fl.
1390-1420), often referred to simply as Scribe D, was a professional scribe
and copyist of literary manuscript
s active during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century in London
, England
. Despite the fact that his real name remains, as yet, unknown, Scribe D has been described as "so well known to students of late Middle English
manuscripts that he hardly needs any introduction".
. The manuscripts in which this hand appears show that Scribe D was active between the 1390s and 1420s.
Although the manuscripts seem to have been produced in London, the spellings used by Scribe D indicate that his original dialect was that of the south-west Midlands of England. In particular, he has been identified as originating from north Worcestershire
: the development of language in the manuscripts he copied appears to indicate that he made an increasing effort to eliminate the dialect of his youth. However, Scribe D's particular specialisation in the works of John Gower
seems to have resulted in him picking up several unusual word forms used by Gower, who had a London ("East Midlands") dialect with idiosyncratic Suffolk
and Kent
influences, and subsequently using them when copying the works of Geoffrey Chaucer
. Kerby-Fulton has suggested that Scribe D can be regarded as one of a class of "'reasonably educated men' who came up from the provinces seeking their fortunes, Dick Whittington style".
One of Scribe D's earliest identified works, based on the style of the illumination used in the manuscript, is the important "C text" of William Langland
's Piers Plowman
, contained in University of London MS. v.88. This contains scribal editing of "real skill" in addition to unique material written either by a "Langland enthusiast" or Langland himself. It may be significant that Scribe D's first surviving commission was for Piers Plowman, a work written in the same south-west Midland dialect that he would have spoken himself.
Once established in London, Scribe D may have worked with other professional scribes. He is known to have worked on the same manuscript, the "Trinity Gower" manuscript, as the scribe of the Ellesmere and Hengwrt manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales (now tentatively identified as Adam Pinkhurst
) and either both men or the bookseller they worked for seem to have had good links to the London literary world, being able to obtain high-quality draft copies of texts. Another of the scribes working on the Trinity Gower was Thomas Hoccleve, himself a poet and an admirer (and possibly friend) of Chaucer.
Some academics, such as Estelle Stubbs, have argued that Scribe D and his colleagues may, rather than trying to assemble the Cantebury Tales after Chaucer's death in 1400, have been steadily revising and recopying manuscripts in several stages with possible authorial supervision or input.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1390-1420), often referred to simply as Scribe D, was a professional 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...
and copyist of literary manuscript
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...
s active during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Despite the fact that his real name remains, as yet, unknown, Scribe D has been described as "so well known to students of late 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....
manuscripts that he hardly needs any introduction".
Identification and conjectured biography
Scribe D was first identified in the 1970s by Ian Doyle and Malcolm Parkes, who noticed that the same scribal hand occurred in a range of prestige manuscripts of late fourteenth and early fifteenth century date. The hand has been characterised as "Anglicana formata at its best"; restrained, traditional and rather austere, with a slight influence of secretary handSecretary hand
Secretary hand is a style of European handwriting developed in the early sixteenth century that remained common in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for writing English, German, Welsh and Gaelic....
. The manuscripts in which this hand appears show that Scribe D was active between the 1390s and 1420s.
Although the manuscripts seem to have been produced in London, the spellings used by Scribe D indicate that his original dialect was that of the south-west Midlands of England. In particular, he has been identified as originating from north Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
: the development of language in the manuscripts he copied appears to indicate that he made an increasing effort to eliminate the dialect of his youth. However, Scribe D's particular specialisation in the works of John Gower
John Gower
John Gower was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works, the Mirroir de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, and Confessio Amantis, three long poems written in French, Latin, and English respectively, which...
seems to have resulted in him picking up several unusual word forms used by Gower, who had a London ("East Midlands") dialect with idiosyncratic Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
and Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
influences, and subsequently using them when copying the works of Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
. Kerby-Fulton has suggested that Scribe D can be regarded as one of a class of "'reasonably educated men' who came up from the provinces seeking their fortunes, Dick Whittington style".
One of Scribe D's earliest identified works, based on the style of the illumination used in the manuscript, is the important "C text" of William Langland
William Langland
William Langland is the conjectured author of the 14th-century English dream-vision Piers Plowman.- Life :The attribution of Piers to Langland rests principally on the evidence of a manuscript held at Trinity College, Dublin...
's Piers Plowman
Piers Plowman
Piers Plowman or Visio Willelmi de Petro Plowman is the title of a Middle English allegorical narrative poem by William Langland. It is written in unrhymed alliterative verse divided into sections called "passus"...
, contained in University of London MS. v.88. This contains scribal editing of "real skill" in addition to unique material written either by a "Langland enthusiast" or Langland himself. It may be significant that Scribe D's first surviving commission was for Piers Plowman, a work written in the same south-west Midland dialect that he would have spoken himself.
Once established in London, Scribe D may have worked with other professional scribes. He is known to have worked on the same manuscript, the "Trinity Gower" manuscript, as the scribe of the Ellesmere and Hengwrt manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales (now tentatively identified 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...
) and either both men or the bookseller they worked for seem to have had good links to the London literary world, being able to obtain high-quality draft copies of texts. Another of the scribes working on the Trinity Gower was Thomas Hoccleve, himself a poet and an admirer (and possibly friend) of Chaucer.
Some academics, such as Estelle Stubbs, have argued that Scribe D and his colleagues may, rather than trying to assemble the Cantebury Tales after Chaucer's death in 1400, have been steadily revising and recopying manuscripts in several stages with possible authorial supervision or input.
Manuscripts attributed to Scribe D
- London University Library v. 88 (the so-called "IlchesterIlchesterIlchester is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, five miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. The parish, which includes the village of Sock Dennis and the old parish of Northover, has a population of 2,021...
manuscript" of Piers PlowmanPiers PlowmanPiers Plowman or Visio Willelmi de Petro Plowman is the title of a Middle English allegorical narrative poem by William Langland. It is written in unrhymed alliterative verse divided into sections called "passus"...
, regarded as possibly Scribe D's earliest work). - Cambridge, Trinity R.3.2 (quires 9, 15-19) (Confessio AmantisConfessio AmantisConfessio Amantis is a 33,000-line Middle English poem by John Gower, which uses the confession made by an ageing lover to the chaplain of Venus as a frame story for a collection of shorter narrative poems. According to its prologue, it was composed at the request of Richard II...
) - British Library, Egerton 1991 (Confessio Amantis)
- Columbia Univesity, Plimpton 265 (Confessio Amantis)
- Oxford, Bodley 294 (Confessio Amantis)
- Oxford, Bodley 902 (Confessio Amantis)
- Oxford, Christ Church 148 (Confessio Amantis)
- Princeton, Taylor 5 (Confessio Amantis)
- British Library, Add. 27944 (John TrevisaJohn TrevisaJohn Trevisa , was a Cornish writer and translator.Trevisa was born at Trevessa in the parish of St Enoder in mid-Cornwall, and was a native Cornish speaker...
's translation of De proprietatibus rerum) - British Library, Harley MS. 7334Harley MS. 7334Harley 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....
(Canterbury Tales) - Oxford, Corpus Christi 198 (Canterbury Tales)