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The Auchinleck Manuscript: a Study in Manuscript Production, Scribal Innovation, and Literary Value in the Early 14Th Century

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The Auchinleck Manuscript: a Study in Manuscript Production, Scribal Innovation, and Literary Value in the Early 14Th Century University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2014 The Auchinleck Manuscript: A Study in Manuscript Production, Scribal Innovation, and Literary Value in the Early 14th Century Tricia Kelly George University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Literature in English, British Isles Commons, and the Medieval Studies Commons Recommended Citation George, Tricia Kelly, "The Auchinleck Manuscript: A Study in Manuscript Production, Scribal Innovation, and Literary Value in the Early 14th Century. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2014. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2823 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Tricia Kelly George entitled "The Auchinleck Manuscript: A Study in Manuscript Production, Scribal Innovation, and Literary Value in the Early 14th Century." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in English. Thomas J. Heffernan, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Elizabeth Jane Bellamy, Mary C. Dzon, Jay C. Rubenstein Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) The Auchinleck Manuscript: A Study in Manuscript Production, Scribal Innovation, and Literary Value in the Early 14th Century A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Tricia Kelly George August 2014 ii Dedication To Jon, who has taught me so much out of your incredible well of depth. iii Acknowledgements For a project this long, there are so many people to thank, and if I do not mention someone by name please forgive the oversight. First I want to thank Dr. Thomas Hall, Dr. Jana Schulman, and Dr. Michael Lieb for their patience during my MA classes as they introduced me to complex early modern realms. From the University of Tennessee, I would like to thank the many professors who provide us with a top-notch education, such as Dr. Laura Howes and Dr. Heather Hirschfeld. I also want to thank MARCO at UT and the many individuals there who contribute to a dynamic early modern learning environment with offerings such as the Latin reading groups and book discussions. I will also always appreciate the curators and librarians who were invaluable when I chose to complete this dissertation in California: Dr. Vanessa Wilkie at the Huntington Library, Kathleen at UT’s Interlibrary Services, and Leslie Mosson at Allan Hancock College. Of course, I am very grateful to my dissertation committee members, Dr. Elizabeth Jane Bellamy, Dr. Jay Rubenstein, and Dr. Mary Dzon, for taking the time to help me refine this dissertation. I also very much appreciate the unexpected but important encouragement I received from early modern scholars Dr. Sally Harper and Dr. Lynda Dennison. And, after all of these years, I cannot thank enough my dissertation advisor, Dr. Thomas Heffernan. Who knew that intensely debating the merits of St. Augustine of Hippo in my first class with you would lead to such an enduring scholarly bond? I thank you for helping me to develop my strengths as a scholar as well as to become aware of my weaknesses. My kind friends and family who listened and contributed ideas are not to be forgotten, especially Amanda Ayres, Meghan McDonald, Jane Bullington, Dr. Georgia Caver, and Dr. Pat Lees. Finally, my eternal gratitude is to Jon, and our household of pets – Red, Sam, Rosie, Simba, and even Sadie – for bearing with me through the late nights, tiring trips, and occasional absent-mindedness about daily life. I do not know how I would have made it without your love and support. iv Abstract The Auchinleck Manuscript (National Library of Scotland Advocates 19.2.1) was written in London by six scribes and contains 44 extant texts. This manuscript is an early 14th century English manuscript (c. 1331) best known for its many unique and first versions of texts, such as the first version of the Breton lay Sir Orfeo, a Breton adaptation of the Orpheus legend. It is also the first literary manuscript we have that is written almost entirely in English after the Norman Conquest. My research provides answers to some of the perennial questions raised by scholars concerning this manuscript: the identities of the master artist, the patron, and the scribes as well as the date and provenance. I have identified that the master artist for the Auchinleck was the Subsidiary Queen Mary Artist although his contribution is mostly indirect, that the wealthy patron commissioning the manuscript was tied to the Warwick title and most likely was Thomas de Beauchamp, and that the scribes were Chancery clerks who created this manuscript in London c. 1331. I demonstrate that the physical evidence, the mise-en-page, the work of the artists, the scribal agency in decision-making, and the unique content of the texts establish that the scribes and artists were working collaboratively to create this important literary English manuscript and were very likely conscious of its political impact. My analysis also demonstrates for the first time that there were two different scribal teams, a senior team and a junior team, with the senior scribes having agency and supervision over the junior scribes. My new presentation of their scribal collaboration helps not only to further clarify the identity of these scribes but also to make sense of many decisions made in the mise-en-page. Lastly, I also discuss the impact the contents of the Auchinleck literature appears to have had on its powerful patron, Thomas de Beauchamp, as he, his brother John, and their friend King Edward III prepared their countrymen for the Hundred Years War. v Table of Contents Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Auchinleck Manuscript ...............................................13 A: The Auchinleck Discourse ..........................................................................15 B. The Auchinleck Manuscript, Basic Codicology .........................................21 1.Date ................................................................................................21 2.Provenance .....................................................................................22 3.Vellum............................................................................................25 4.Binding ...........................................................................................26 5.Condition, Damage, and Losses.....................................................27 6.Proofreading ...................................................................................36 7.Foliation and Collation ..................................................................41 8.Catchwords ....................................................................................42 9.Signatures .......................................................................................44 C: Conclusion...................................................................................................49 Chapter 2: The Scribal Mise-en-Page of the Auchinleck Manuscript ...............................51 A: The Auchinleck Mise-en-Page and the Bookmaking Discourse ................52 B: The Problematic Auchinleck Standardized Mise-en-Page .........................58 C: Challenging the Standardized Auchinleck Mise-en-Page ...........................63 D: Components of the Scribal Mise-en-Page ..................................................67 1. Columns of Text per Folio .............................................................67 2. Lines of Text per Column ..............................................................72 3. Item Numbers.................................................................................78 4. Titles and Headings........................................................................86 5. Explicit and Amen ..........................................................................94 E: Conclusion ...................................................................................................97 Chapter 3: The Auchinleck Artwork and the Atelier .......................................................100 A: The Auchinleck Artist ...............................................................................101 B: The Traveling Artist and the Auchinleck Workspace ...............................107 C: The Division of Labor in the Auchinleck Artwork ...................................109 vi D: Components of the Decorative Mise-en-Page ..........................................110 1. Illustrated Initials & Miniatures ...................................................111 2. Initial Capitals ..............................................................................125 3. Alternating Red & Blue Paraphs..................................................137
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