Purgatoire Saint Patrice, Short Metrical Chronicle, Fouke Le Fitz Waryn, and King Horn
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ROMANCES COPIED BY THE LUDLOW SCRIBE: PURGATOIRE SAINT PATRICE, SHORT METRICAL CHRONICLE, FOUKE LE FITZ WARYN, AND KING HORN A dissertation submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Catherine A. Rock May 2008 Dissertation written by Catherine A. Rock B. A., University of Akron, 1981 B. A., University of Akron, 1982 B. M., University of Akron, 1982 M. I. B. S., University of South Carolina, 1988 M. A. Kent State University, 1991 M. A. Kent State University, 1998 Ph. D., Kent State University, 2008 Approved by ___________________________________, Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Susanna Fein ___________________________________, Members, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Don-John Dugas ___________________________________ Kristen Figg ___________________________________ David Raybin ___________________________________ Isolde Thyret Accepted by ___________________________________, Chair, Department of English Ronald J. Corthell ___________________________________, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Jerry Feezel ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………viii Chapter I. Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Significance of the Topic…………………………………………………..2 Survey of the State of the Field……………………………………………5 Manuscript Studies: 13th-14th C. England………………………...5 Scribal Studies: 13th-14th C. England……………………………13 The Ludlow Scribe of Harley 2253……………………………...19 British Library MS Harley 273…………………………………..26 British Library MS Royal 12.C.XII…………………………….. 28 British Library MS Harley 2253…………………………………31 Approach/Method………………………………………………………..39 II. Editorial and Critical Histories of the Four Romances…………………..44 Purgatoire s. Patrice……………………………………………………..44 Short Metrical Chronicle………………………………………………...50 Fouke le Fitz Waryn……………………………………………………...55 King Horn………………………………………………………………..58 Conclusion……………………………………………………………… 63 III. Purgatoire s. Patrice……………………………………………………..66 Synopsis………………………………………………………………….66 Transmission History…………………………………………………… 70 Structure and Argument………………………………………………… 85 Genre/Type of Romance…………………………………………………90 Analysis of This Text’s Uniqueness……………………………………..95 Bibliography of Versions of This Text…………………………………112 Printed Editions, Translations, and Facsimiles…………………112 Secondary Sources…………………………………………… 113 iii IV. Short Metrical Chronicle………………………………………………..120 Synopsis………………………………………………………………...121 Transmission History…………………………………………………...123 Structure and Argument……………………………………………….. 136 Genre of Romance……………………………………………………...146 Analysis of This Text’s Uniqueness……………………………………150 Bibliography of Versions of This Text…………………………………164 Printed Editions, Translations, and Facsimiles…………………164 Secondary Sources……………………………………………...165 V. Fouke le Fitz Waryn…………………………………………………….172 Synopsis………………………………………………………………...172 Transmission History…………………………………………………...177 Structure and Argument……………………………………………….. 190 Genre of Romance……………………………………………………...198 Analysis of This Text’s Uniqueness……………………………………208 Bibliography of Versions of This Text…………………………………215 Printed Editions, Translations, and Facsimiles…………………215 Secondary Sources……………………………………………...216 VI. King Horn………………………………………………………………225 Synopsis………………………………………………………………...225 Transmission History………………………………………………….. 231 Structure and Argument……………………………………………….. 242 Genre of Romance……………………………………………………...252 Analysis of This Text’s Uniqueness……………………………………256 Bibliography of Versions of This Text…………………………………266 Printed Editions, Translations, and Facsimiles…………………266 Secondary Sources…………………………………………….. 268 VII. The Organizational Methodology of the Ludlow Scribe of Harley 2253……………...……………………………………….273 The Scribe and His Books……………………………………………...274 British Library MS Harley 273…………………………………275 British Library MS Royal 12.C.XII…………………………….277 British Library MS Harley 2253………………………………..278 iv Common Elements and Major Topics of the Four Romances..…..…….281 Romance Elements……………………………………………...281 Subjects of Law, History, Politics, and Science…….………….284 The Extraordinary Case of the Short Metrical Chronicle and Fouke le Fitz Waryn……………………..…..289 The Influence of the Ludlow Scribe……………………………………294 Relationship of the Romances to the Auchinleck Manuscript……………………………………...295 The Scribe as a Collector of Narratives………………………...297 Conclusions……………………………………………………………..305 WORKS CITED………………………………………………………………………..310 Manuscripts……………………………………………………………………..310 Primary Sources………………………………………………………………...310 Secondary Sources……………………………………………………………...317 v LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1 The Classes and Versions of the Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii …………………………………………………………………...76 Fig. 2 Matheson’s Classification of the Various Versions of the Prose Brut ...........................................................................................................125 Fig. 3 Zettl’s Relationships Among the Manuscripts of the Short Metrical Chronicle …………………………………………………………………….133 Fig. 4 Hall’s Schema of the Relationship of the Manuscripts of King Horn ……………………………………………………………………...235 Fig. 5 Comparison of the L, C, and O Manuscripts of King Horn…………………….258 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Selected Romances and Narratives in Harley 273 and Royal 12.C.XII………………………………………………………………..299 Table 2 Selected Romances and Narratives in Harley 2253, Copied by the Scribe ca. 1340-42……………………………………………..300 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my dissertation director, Susanna Fein, for her enthusiasm and her meticulous attention to my work. I first met her many years ago when I prepared to begin a master’s thesis in medieval French literature and suddenly found myself without a director. I presented myself at her office door in the English Department, told her my situation, and asked for help. She and David Raybin of Eastern Illinois University guided that French thesis, which would have been impossible without their help. When I began studies later in English, I did so with the intention of working with Susanna Fein. Through her work on MS Harley 2253 I was introduced to the Ludlow scribe, and I found her passion for the subject contagious. I was extremely fortunate that her expertise, among that of others on my committee, allowed me to continue to work in medieval French as well as Middle English. Her guidance was exactly the sort I needed to give my best; her comments and suggestions were lucid and logical, as well as timely. I would like to thank the rest of my committee, as well. Again, David Raybin served as one of my readers, bringing his background in comparative literature. My individual investigation in Anglo-Norman Literature with Kristen Figg was invaluable, as was her expertise as a member of the committee. Don-John Dugas, historian Isolde Thyret, and Jennifer Larson, the Graduate Faculty Representative from Modern and Classical Language Studies, all offered valuable suggestions. viii Carter Revard deserves special thanks. He generously shared his work with me, answering my questions at length and taking the time to track me down in The British Library to introduce himself when he knew I was working there. His dating of the scribe’s handwriting, through paleographic analysis of over forty charters in his hand, has proven invaluable to this study. A number of libraries and librarians provided useful assistance. Many thanks to The British Library for allowing me access to the priceless manuscripts I needed to complete my work. Thanks, too, to the Interlibrary Loan librarians at Kent State University and the Kent State-Stark campus for hunting down obscure tomes on my behalf. Also, I express my gratitude to the tireless librarians and student assistants at the Kent-Stark Learning Resource Center for cheerfully checking in and checking out twenty, forty, or fifty books at a time, and for their interest and encouragement. I am grateful to the members of the Early Book Society who commented on my paper about Fouke le Fitz Waryn and the Ludlow scribe at the Society’s tenth biennial conference at the University of Salford and Chetham’s Library, Manchester, in July, 2007. For miscellaneous assistance, several people should also be recognized. Dawn Lashua, Graduate Secretary in the Kent State University English Department, always had the answers and a kind word when I was frustrated and at a loss for how to navigate the many requirements of the university and the doctoral program. She is a treasure. David J. White of Baylor University gave me help in Latin, and Linda Morosko of Stark State College of Technology provided computer assistance. My Alsatian cousin, linguist ix Pierre Balliet, generously tracked down books I requested from him over the years, while my neighbor Vester Morrison provided a mental boost, often expressing his confidence in me. Several professors, now retired, influenced my life and work in many ways. The late Russell Weingartner of The University of Akron first introduced me to the delights of medieval French literature many years ago, while UA music historian and organist Farley Hutchins showed by example what it is to be a polymath. Shirley Kuiper, Distinguished Professor Emerita of the Management Department, University of South Carolina, has been, in the twenty years since I served as her graduate assistant, a role model and a friend. My friends and colleagues at Stark State College of Technology have also provided moral support over these past several years. Marie Cox usefully reminded