Identification of the Scribes Responsible for Copying Major Works of Middle English Literature
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: English and Related Literature
Abstract
By combining linguistic profiles (the dialect spellings of scribes) with palaeographic evidence (likeness of handwriting), we hope to identify the scribes who were responsible for copying the works of the major Middle English poets. We shall do this by examining all of the medieval manuscripts that preserve copies of works by Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas Hoccleve, John Trevisa, John Gower and William Langland, together with contemporary manuscripts (e.g., of works of lesser-known writers) and documents in order to find a signed piece of writing (to identify the scribe by name) or a corpus of manuscripts written by an anonymous scribe (to find where he was working, perhaps for whom). We shall create a website with searchable characteristics of the handwriting and linguistic features of each scribe so that other scholars can use our data to make further findings, and we shall write two books and six articles about our discoveries and what they mean for interpretation of early English literature and the dissemination of ideas in this pre-print era. The project proposed here will for the first time bring together a number of scholars to collaborate on identification of scribes, contributing knowledge from the two fields of palaeography and linguistics which together can offer the most objective evidence for identification. Since thus far no one has systematically studied who copied what, where, or for whom, our findings will greatly increase knowledge of the production, publication, and dissemination of the earliest major corpus of English literature, written by Chaucer and his contemporaries.
People |
ORCID iD |
Linne Mooney (Principal Investigator) | |
SIMON HOROBIN (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Connolly M
(2008)
Design and Distribution of Late Medieval Manuscripts in England
Horobin S
(2013)
John Cok and his Copy of Piers Plowman
in The Yearbook of Langland Studies
Horobin S
(2013)
Compiling the Canterbury Tales in Fifteenth-Century Manuscripts
in The Chaucer Review
Horobin S
(2009)
The Criteria for Scribal Attribution: Dublin, Trinity College MS 244 Reconsidered
in The Review of English Studies
Horobin S
(2010)
The Scribe of Bodleian Library, MS Digby 102 and the Circulation of the C Text of Piers Plowman
in The Yearbook of Langland Studies
Horobin S
(2009)
Adam Pinkhurst and the Copying of British Library, MS Additional 35287 of the B Version of Piers Plowman
in The Yearbook of Langland Studies
Horobin S
(2010)
Stephan Batman and his Manuscripts of Piers Plowman
in The Review of English Studies
HOROBIN S
(2010)
Adam Pinkhurst, Geoffrey Chaucer, and the Hengwrt Manuscript of the Canterbury Tales
in The Chaucer Review
Description | We discovered that chief clerks of the London Guildhall, working in London courts and for the Mayor and Aldermen, were principal disseminators of Middle English literature by four of the five authors we studied, including Geoffrey Chaucer; they may have been politically motivated in copying texts in Middle English, and key to the introduction of English (as opposed to French or Latin used since the Conquest) in not only literature but in recording government and business records. |
Exploitation Route | The book Scribes and the City has already influenced other scholarly work in books and articles published since 2013, since it changes what we knew about the production and dissemination of Middle English literature in the age of Chaucer. We have successfully bid for an AHRC Follow-On grant to spread word of these findings to school-aged learners and adult learners, in collaboration with London Metropolitan Archives. |
Sectors | Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
URL | http://www.medievalscribes.com |
Description | We created an open-access website of Late Medieval English Scribes that is used by scholars worldwide: we receive grateful correspondence from Japan, China, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, USA, and India. We presented more than 20 papers at academic conferences and four presentations to general audiences related to our research. However, no impact questionnaires were collected, since this had not been a requirement when the grant was awarded in 2007. With support of an AHRC Follow-On award we have reached a much wider audience of c. 915 school-aged pupils, 302 adults and 500 families with information about the discoveries made during the original research. |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Sector | Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | Visiting Professor to bring Collaborator from USA |
Amount | £35,760 (GBP) |
Funding ID | F00224U |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2007 |
End | 12/2008 |
Title | Late Medieval English Scribes |
Description | Open access website, Late Medieval English Scribes, ed. Mooney L R, Stubbs, E, and Horobin S. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2011 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Evidence of use by scholars worldwide |
URL | http://www.medievalscribes.com |
Description | The Belvoir Castle (Duke of Rutland) Manuscript of John Lydgate's Fall of Princes |
Organisation | University of York |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Article on a discovery made by Prof Mooney with Leverhulme Visiting Professor Daniel Mosser (Virginia Tech, USA), who collaborated with the grants team in autumn terms, 2007 and 2008, with his expertise on manuscripts of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and late medieval manuscripts. Other jointly-authored articles on discoveries are in progress. |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | Adult Learning Day at London Metropolitan Archives |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | One of London Metropolitan Archives regular adult learning study days, Medieval London: Magna Carta and Beyond' spent the second half of the day on the discoveries relating to medieval scribes working at the Guildhall relating to our research. Adult learners had an opportunity to hear about our discoveries and to examine some of the documents in the Archives that led to them. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Calligraphy Workshop for adult learners at London Metropolitan Archives |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 'The Art of the Scribe Calligraphy Workshop' held at London Metropolitan Archives for interested members of the general public. A member of London Metropolitan Archives staff told them about features of the calligraphy that had enabled us to make discoveries relation to research on the AHRC-funded grant and a professional calligrapher led them through replicating some of the calligraphic features of the scribes' handwriting. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Clerks of the London Guildhall 1380-1430 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | First of the public lectures in a series hosted by the London Guildhall on this history of the Guildhall as part of the celebrations of the 600th Anniversary of the re-building of the Guildhall Public lecture held in the London Guildhall Art Gallery |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
URL | http://newslinegroup.org/summary/2010080900002610.html |
Description | Discover Medieval London Walk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Members of the general public attended a London-Metropolitan Archives sponsored 'Discover Medieval London Walk' with the London Guide who had participated in earlier walks with members of the research team and included information relating to the research in his guided walk/talk. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Discover Medieval London walk with a London Guide |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Members of the Research Team accompanied an Official London Guide as he took a group of adults for a tour of medieval Clerkenwell and London; he had attended a presentation by the Research team at London Metropolitan Archives and included some details relating to scribes in the tour, and members of the Team also added information relating to discoveries made during the AHRC-funded research. The Guide, John Finn, said he would include information gleaned from this experience in future walking tours. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | How to Read a Medieval Manuscript, Including the Wax Tablets found in Swinegate in 1989 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards After the talk, York Archaeological Trust staff expressed interest in collaborating on future research |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Inquiring Minds: Rosenbach Researchers Report Back |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia asked to include our discovery about their manuscript in this exhibition at the Museum in 2011-12, and reported high footfall for the exhibition. High footfall in the Rosenbach Museum during the exhibition |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012 |
Description | Interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Programme Making History |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed at London Metropolitan Archives on BBC Radio 4 programme, Making History Emails from a member of the general public asking for more information |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b048l0rx |
Description | Katherine Swynford and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked enthusiastic discussion and questions After the talk, members of the public who had been present contacted us for more information. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Knowledge sharing workshop with professionals |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | One-day knowledge sharing workshop with archivists, librarians, curators, etc., held at London Metropolitan Archives, in which Research team on the AHRC Follow-On grant and staff at London Metropolitan Archives spoke with these professionals about the best practice in working together that had resulted in an excellent partnership for this Follow-On grant; workshop discussing their ideas for working with HEIs and how to start the dialogue with academics who might collaborate with them in seeking funding for a project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | London Guildhall Clerks and Middle English Literature |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presented results of AHRC research to staff (archivists, librarians, conservators) at London Metropolitan Archives, stimulated questions and discussion afterwards Director of the Archives reported that staff were talking of nothing else for rest of the day; improved staff understanding about the documents in their collection |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | London Guildhall: Cradle of English Literature |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Began as a talk that sparked questions afterwards. In magazine and on-line website of London Metropolitan Archives it reached a much wider audience. Picked up from there to on-line Science Daily magazine. Higher footfall at London Metropolitan Archives |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
URL | http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100809094533.html |
Description | London Metropolitan Archives Youth Advisory Panel discussed scribes and conservation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | London Metropolitan Archives staff and members of its Youth Advisory Panel discussed scribes (our research) and conservation at their regular meeting. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | London Metropolitan Archives summer college |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Portion of the week-long Summer College at London Metropolitan Archives was dedicated to our work on medieval scribes; activities included presentations, calligraphy, document display and guided walking tour of London; students who participated were enthusiastic, asked many questions. Students who attended were enthusiastic about studying further in relation to documents about history of London in the Middle Ages. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Medieval Scribes and Calligraphy workshops at Guildhall Art Gallery |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | At least 200 members of the general public participated in the medieval calligraphy workshop activities held at the Guildhall Art Gallery in September 2015. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Medieval Scribes: Guildhall Clerks Richard Osbarn and John Carpenter |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Gave a talk to explain outcomes of research to members of the public who attended the workshop, assisted Archive staff to show documents, assisted London Guide in the tour of medieval London; all of these activities stimulated thinking, discussion, requests for further information London guide said he would include information about our discoveries in his future guided walks of Clerkenwell and London |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Meeting with London Metropolitan Archives Youth Advisory Panel |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Staff of London Metropolitan Archives met with their Youth Advisory Panel to discuss ways in which the scribes research could attract the attention of youths either in school visits or in visits by school groups to the Archives. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Piers Plowman:Visions of Heaven, Hell and Middle Earth |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | An exhibition in the Bodleian Library Proscholium of manuscripts and printed copies of William Langland's Piers Plowman to accompany the 5th International Conference of the Piers Plowman Society Exhibition of manuscripts and printed books in the collection of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, containing William Langland's Piers Plowman |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Presentation to adult learners at London Metropolitan Archives |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation by academics relating to research on medieval scribes, held at London Metropolitan Archives for interested members of the public; participants had an opportunity to view the original documents from the Archives that had led to the discoveries, with academics on hand to lead them through the discovery process. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Primary School visit to workshops at Guildhall Art Gallery (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Sixty pupils of Willow Bank Primary School attended workshops relating to medieval heritage, including scribes and calligraphy, held at the London Guildhall Art Gallery, where London Metropolitan Archives staff used ideas from our research in their presentations and workshop activities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Primary School workshops held at London Guildhall Art Gallery |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Thirty pupils of St Joseph's Primary School (London) attended workshops held by London Metropolitan Archives staff relating to medieval scribes and calligraphy held at the London Guildhall Art Gallery. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | School Visit (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | A member of London Metropolitan Archives visited Buxton Primary School to give a short presentation about medieval scribes and to lead, together with a professional bookbinder, a workshop on making a medieval book. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | School visit and presentation, workshop (Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Member of London Metropolitan Archives presented materials relating to medieval scribes project and conducted workshops with teachers at the school. Feedback assisted us in creating an educational pack, 'Medieval Scribes' for continued use at this school and others. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | School visit to Langley Academy (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Members of London Metropolitan Archives staff and a professional artist visited Langley Academy (Greater London) over five days in November and December to work with students on artwork related to the scribes project; illustrations from the Metropolitan Archives documents in which our scribes (of the AHRC-funded research) had participated were used as models and the relationship of scribes working at Guildhall and writing copies of literary works was explained. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Summer College held at London Metropolitan Archives |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Students of years 10-12 attended the London Metropolitan Archives Summer College over a week in July 2015, in which the discoveries relating to scribes (research funded by AHRC Research Grant) were the topic for part of the introduction on day 1 and for some or all of the activities on days 3, 4 and 5: students visited a Heritage Gallery, heard presentations about our work, viewed original documents with a member of our Research Team present to explain, participated in a calligraphy workshop relating to the scribes, and attended a medieval London walk conducted by the same London Guide who had attended our presentations and included some information about scribes in his talk. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | The Clerks of Guildhall, 1380-1430 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation at the London Guildhall as the first lecture in a series celebrating 'Guildhall 600', that is, 600 years since rebuilding of the London Guildhall in 1411; talk sparked lively discussion and questions Information about the project's discoveries reached a non-academic audience |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | The Scribe of the Ellesmere Canterbury Tales Manuscript |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Lecture delivered to a non-academic audience, Friends of the Huntington Library, in San Marino, CA, USA, regarding the scribe who wrote the famous copy of the Canterbury Tales in their collection Public lecture |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2007 |
Description | The Scribes Project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Participation in London Metropolitan Archives Study day open to general public, explaining results of research and assisting staff to show documents containing evidence; stimulated significant interest and questions Greater interest in research on the part of members of the public |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | The Scribes Project: Workshop for Professional archivists, librarians, curators |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop with archivists, librarians, curators, to describe best practice in collaborations between academics from HEIs and staff of non-HEIs on the Follow-On grant; advising participants about goals for their own applications for collaboration with HEIs Significant interest. Some participants said they felt more confident now in approaching academics or collaborating with academics in applying for funded projects |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Visit by London Metropolitan Archives staff to school (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Visit by a member of London Metropolitan Archives staff to CoL School Boys Assembly in London, to present findings relating to our research. Addressed principally students in year 7. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Visit by London Metropolitan Archives team to a school Heritage Club (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | A member of the London Metropolitan Archives visited the Heritage Club at St-Martins-in-the-Fields High School to tell them about the work we had conducted on scribes and to lead a workshop. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Visit to Kenmont Primary School (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Members of London Metropolitan Archives staff and a professional artist visited Kenmont Primary School (Greater London) over two days in November and December to work with students on artwork related to the scribes project; illustrations from the Metropolitan Archives documents in which our scribes (of the AHRC-funded research) had participated were used as models and the relationship of scribes working at Guildhall and writing copies of literary works was explained. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Visit to Nettley Primary School (Greater London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Members of London Metropolitan Archives staff and a professional artist visited Nettley Primary School (Greater London) over two days in November and December to work with students on artwork related to the scribes project; illustrations from the Metropolitan Archives documents in which our scribes (of the AHRC-funded research) had participated were used as models and the relationship of scribes working at Guildhall and writing copies of literary works was explained. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Visit to Willow Bank Primary School (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Members of London Metropolitan Archives staff and a professional artist visited Willow Bank Primary School (Greater London) over three days in November and December to work with students on artwork related to the scribes project; illustrations from the Metropolitan Archives documents in which our scribes (of the AHRC-funded research) had participated were used as models and the relationship of scribes working at Guildhall and writing copies of literary works was explained. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Weekend City Festival outreach session at Museum of London (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | London Metropolitan Archives staff held an outreach session over two days as part of the City Festival held at the Museum of London, with information about the research on medieval scribes and calligraphy workshops relating to them. Families and individuals who visited the Museum of London for this two-day Festival participated. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |