Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS 61, fol. 1v Language: English (Southeast Midland) Manuscript date: ca. 1420 Chaucer wrote his “book of Troilus” about 1381–6; it survives in 16 manuscripts and the same number of fragments; Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, MS 61 is one of the earliest manuscripts. Only two others and an early Caxton print… Continue reading Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde
Tag: British poetry
English Literature Poems
Poem 1 “Miracle of the Boy Singer” Bodleian Library MS English Poetry a.1, fol. 124v (Vernon) The Vernon manuscript is the longest and largest surviving volume of Middle English writings; it was originally over 420 vellum leaves long, the pages ruled in 2 or 3 columns with over 80 lines of text each. The contents… Continue reading English Literature Poems
Conventions and Institutions
Benedictine Rule Monastic orders existed in Ireland and Wales in the fifth century, first arrived in England in the sixth and seventh centuries, and in the eighth century the Rule of St. Benedict (480–ca. 550), Benedict’s set of codes for behavior, also came to be known in the British Isles. Receiving additional impetus after 1066… Continue reading Conventions and Institutions
Writing a Rough Draft
Seated at last, you prepare to write, only to find yourself besieged with petty distractions. All of a sudden you remember a friend you had promised to call, some double- A batteries you were supposed to pick up, a neglected Coke (in another room) growing warmer and flatter by the minute. If your paper is… Continue reading Writing a Rough Draft