February 18, 2012
So, for those wondering just how I have been making a living the past few weeks, here ‘tis: Piers Plowman. I have been checking the transcriptions of every manuscript of the A-Text of Langland’s much loved alliterative poem. So basically I have read the prologue and Passus 1 and 2 20ish times. I know this makes me a super nerd, but it’s quite neat to see the same lines in various dialects and iterations. It really makes you appreciate the textual variety and realize how far George Kane’s edition is from the poem’s original state. Not that Kane is wicked or anything, really just a by product of textual editing in general, but the manuscripts certainly embody a more robust and dynamic image of Piers.  This is, by the way, the opening of Trinity MS of Piers.

So, for those wondering just how I have been making a living the past few weeks, here ‘tis: Piers Plowman. I have been checking the transcriptions of every manuscript of the A-Text of Langland’s much loved alliterative poem. So basically I have read the prologue and Passus 1 and 2 20ish times. I know this makes me a super nerd, but it’s quite neat to see the same lines in various dialects and iterations. It really makes you appreciate the textual variety and realize how far George Kane’s edition is from the poem’s original state. Not that Kane is wicked or anything, really just a by product of textual editing in general, but the manuscripts certainly embody a more robust and dynamic image of Piers. 

This is, by the way, the opening of Trinity MS of Piers.

7:55pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZmxX6yGdCL9y
(Notes: 5)
  
Filed under: Medieval medieval literature Piers Plowman Piers Poem Alliterative Revival Poetry manuscript Medieval manuscript Book Literature Literacy Palaeography Book History bookreview 
Liked posts on Tumblr: More liked posts »