Early English Text Society. Committee of Management: DANBY P. FRY, ESQ. H. T. PARKER, ESQ. EDWARD B. PEACOCK, Esq. (With power to add Workers to their number.) Honorary Secretary: HENRY B. WHEATLEY, ESQ., 53, BERNERS STREET, LONDON, W. Bankers : THE UNION BANK OF LONDON, REGENT STREET BRANCH, The Early English Text Society was started in 1864 for the purpose of bringing the mass of the Old English Literature within the reach of the ordinary student, and of wiping away the reproach under which England has long rested of having felt little interest in the monuments of her early life and language. A large proportion of our early literature is still unprinted, and much that has been printed by exclusive clubs is almost as inaccessible as that which remains in MS. The E. E. T. Soc. desires to print in its Original Series the whole of our unprinted MS. literature, and in its Extra Series to reprint in careful editions all that is most valuable of printed MSS. and early printed books. The Society's work divides itself into four classes, viz. : I. The Arthurian and other Romances. II. Works illustrative of our Dialects and the history of our Language, including a series of early English Dictionaries. III. Biblical Translations and Religious Treatises. IV. Miscellaneous works of various authors that cannot be included in either of the other three divisions, and having special regard to the illustration of Early English life. By the end of the five years that the Society will have been established next Christmas, it will have issued to its subscribers Forty-two Texts, most of them of great interest; so much so indeed that the publications of the first three years have been for some time out of print, and a special Fund has had to be opened for reprinting them. The Publications for 1867 are : 24. Hymns to the Virgin and Christ; the Parliament of Devils; and other Religious Poems. Edited from the Lambeth MS. 853, by F. J. Furnivall, Esq., M.A. 3s. 25. The Stacions of Rome, and the Pilgrims' Sea-voyage and Sea-sickness, with Clene Maydenhod. Edited from the Vernon and Porkington MSS. etc., by F. J. Furnivall, Esq., M.A. 2s. 26. Religious Pieces in Prose and Verse. Edited from Robert Thornton's MS. (ab. 1440 A.D.) by the Rev. G. G. Perry, M.A. 2s. 27. Levins's Manipulus Vocabulorum, 1570; the earliest Rhyming Dictionary. Edited by Henry B. Wheatley, Esq. 12s. 28. Langland's Vision of Piers Plowman, with Vita de Dowel, Dobet, et Dobest, 1362 A.D. Part I. The earliest or Vernon Text; Text A. Edited from the Vernon MS., with full collations, by the Rev. W. W. Skeat, M.A. 7s. 29. Early English Homilies (ab. 1150-1230 A.D.) from unique MSS. in the Lambeth and other Libraries. Edited by R. Morris, Esq. Part I. 78. 30. Piers Plowman's Crede. Skeat, M.A. 28. Edited from the MSS. by the Rev. W. W. The Publications for 1868 will be : 31. Mirk's Duties of a Parish Priest, in Verse. Edited for the first time from the MSS. in the British Museum and Bodleian Libraries (ab. 1420 A.D.) by E. Peacock, Esq. 4s. 32. The Babees Boke, the Children's Book, Urbanitatis, the Bokes of Norture of John Russell and Hugh Rhodes, the Bokes of Keruyng, Cortasye, and Demeanour, etc., with some French and Latin Poems on like subjects. Edited from Harleian and other MSS. by F. J. Furnivall, Esq., M.A. 15s. 33. The Knight De La Tour Landry, A.D. 1372. A Father's Book for his Daughters. Edited from the Harleian MS. 1764, and Caxton's Text, by Thomas Wright, Esq., M.A., and Mr William Rossiter. 8s. 34. Early English Homilies (ab. 1220-30 A.D.) from unique MSS. in the Lambeth and other Libraries. Edited by R. Morris, Esq. Part II. 88. 35. Sir David Lyndesay's Works, Part III.: The Historie and Testament of Squyer Meldrum. Edited by F. Hall, Esq., D.C.L. 2s. 36. Merlin, Part III. Edited by H. B. Wheatley, Esq. [In the Press. The Publications for 1869 will probably be chosen from the following: English Gilds, 1389 A.D. Edited by Toulmin Smith, Esq. [Nearly ready. The Alliterative Romance of the Destruction of Troy, ed. Rev. G. A. Panton. Langland's Vision of Piers Plowman, Part II. Text B., ed. Rev. W. W. Skeat. Palladius on Husbondrie, from the unique MS., ed. Rev. B. Lodge. Lyndesay's Works, Part IV., ed. F. Hall, Esq., D.C.L. Catholicon Anglicum. Eng.-Lat. Dict. (A.D. 1480), ed. H. B. Wheatley, Esq. Various Poems relating to Sir Gawaine, ed. R. Morris, Esq. The Rule of St Benet. Five Texts, ed. R. Morris, Esq. The Lay-Folk's Mass-Book, and other Poems, ed. Rev. T. F. Simmons. 3 The Life of St Juliana. Two texts, ed. Rev. T. O. Cockayne. EXTRA SERIES. The EXTRA SERIES was commenced in 1867 in order to supplement the work of the Original Series. In it will be included those works which have been previously printed, but are now of great rarity. It contains in the two first years two Romances of great interest that have long been out of print, viz., William of Palerne, and Havelok the Dane, besides the first separate print of Chaucer's Prose Works ever issued. The Publications for 1867 are: I. William of Palerne; or, William and the Werwolf. Re-edited from The Publications for 1868 will be : [In the Press. III. Caxton's Book of Curtesye, in Three Versions: 1, from the unique printed copy in the Cambridge University Library; 2, from the Oriel MS. 79; 3, from the Balliol MS. 354. Edited by F. J. Furnivall, Esq., M.A. 5s. IV. Havelok the Dane. Re-edited from the unique MS. by the Rev. W. V. Chaucer's Prose Works. Part II., concluding the Boethius. Edited Reprinting Fund. The Publications for the first three years, 1864, 1865, and 1866, are out of print, but a separate subscription has been opened for their immediate reprint, and the Texts for 1864 are now at the press. Subscribers who desire all or either of these years should send their names at once to the Hon. Secretary. The Publications for 1864 are: 1. Early English Alliterative Poems, ab. 1320-30 A.D., ed. R. Morris. 2. Arthur, ab. 1440, ed. F. J. Furnivall. 3. Lauder on the Dewtie of Kyngis, &c., 1556, ed. F. Hall. 4. Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight, ab. 1320-30, ed. R. Morris. The Publications for 1865 are :— 5. Hume's Orthographie and Congruitie of the Britan Tongue, ab. 1617, e H. B. Wheatley. 6. Lancelot of the Laik, ab. 1500, ed. Rev. W. W. Skeat. 7. Genesis and Exodus, ab. 1250, ed. R. Morris. 8. Morte Arthure, ab. 1440, ed. Rev. G. G. Perry. 9. Thynne on Chaucer's Works, ab. 1598, ed. Dr Kingsley. 10. Merlin, ab. 1450, Part I., ed. H. B. Wheatley. 11. Lyndesay's Monarche, &c., 1552, Part I., ed. F. Hall. 12. The Wright's Chaste Wife, ab. 1462, ed. F. J. Furnivall. The Publications for 1866 are: 13. Seinte Marherete, 1200-1330, ed. Rev. O. Cockayne. 14. King Horn, Floris and Blancheflour, &c., ed. Rev. J. R. Lumby. 15. Political, Religious, and Love Poems, ed. F. J. Furnivall. 16. The Book of Quinte Essence, ab. 1460-70, ed. F. J. Furnivall. 17. Parallel Extracts from 29 MSS. of Piers Plowman, ed. Rev. W. W. Skeat. 18. Hali Meidenhad, ab. 1200, ed. Rev. O. Cockayne. 19. Lyndesay's Monarche, &c., Part II., ed. F. Hall. 20. Hampole's English Prose Treatises, ed. Rev. G. G. Perry. 21. Merlin, Part II., ed. H. B. Wheatley. 22. Partenay or Lusignen, ed. Rev. W. W. Skeat. 23. Dan Michel's Ayenbite of Inwyt, 1340, ed. R. Morris. A few copies are left of No. 5, Hume's Orthographie, 4s. No. 17, Extracts from Piers Plowman, ls.; No. 20, Hampole's Treatises, 2s.; No. 22, Partenay, 6s.; No. 23, Ayenbite, 10s. 6d. The Subscription is £1 ls. a year [and £1 ls. (Large Paper, £2 28.) additional for the EXTRA SERIES], due in advance on the 1st of JANUARY, and should be paid either to the Society's Account at the Union Bank of London, 14, Argyll Place, Regent Street, W., or by post-office order (made payable at the Chief Office, London) to the Hon. Secretary, HENRY B. WHEATLEY, Esq., 53, Berners Street, London, W. The Society's Report, January, 1868, with Lists of Texts to be published in future years, etc., etc., can be had on application. PUBLISHERS AND AGENTS: LONDON: N. TRÜBNER & CO., 60, PATERNOSTER ROW. DUBLIN: WILLIAM MCGEE, 18, NASSAU STREET. EDINBURGH: T. G. STEVENSON, 22, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET. GLASGOW: M. OGLE & CO., 1, ROYAL EXCHANGE SQUARE. BERLIN: ASHER & CO., UNTER DEN LINDEN, 20. NEW YORK: C. SCRIBNER & CO. LEYPOLDT & HOLT, 451, BROOME PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. The Chaucer Society. To do honour to CHAUCER, and to let the lovers and students of him see how far the best unprinted Manuscripts of his works differ from the printed texts, this Society is founded. It will deal with the works of no other man-except so far as may be found necessary for the illustration of Chaucer-and will dissolve as soon as all the good Manuscripts of the Poet's Works, and all matter wanted for their illustration, are in type. It is not intended to interfere with any edition of Chaucer's Works past or future, but to supplement them all, and afford material for the improvement of his text. Eight or ten years will suffice, if the Society be well supported, to finish its work. If men said it was well-done for Lord Vernon to reprint the first four printed texts of Dante's Divina Commedia, if we know it is well-done of The Early English Text Society to print the three versions of Chaucer's great contemporary's work, William Langland's Vision of Piers Ploughman, it cannot be ill-done of us to print all the best MSS. of the works of him whom all allow among our early men to be the greatest, "I mene fader chaucer / maister galfryde Alas the whyle / that euer he from vs dyde Redith his werkis /ful of plesaunce It semeth vnto mannys heerynge Not only the worde / but verely the thynge." Caxton's Book of Curtesye, 1. 335-343. And though collations to one text might suffice for ordinary readers, yet here something may be conceded to the scholar's desire for fullness of material for criticism, to the often expressed wish of editors and students abroad, like Professor Child, of Harvard, for whole texts, and not collations only, which must often omit variations of spelling, &c., unimportant to one editor, but important to another. There are many questions of metre, pronunciation, orthography, and etymology yet to be settled, for which more prints of Manu * *The printing of the best texts of Chaucer is a necessary condition of a satisfactory edition of his poetry. It is not to gratify a fancy, or to furnish material for simply curious researches, that I, for one, want these texts. I do not myself see how the standard edition of Chaucer can be made, on an enduring basis, until all the best texts are before us. And I want the texts also for general philological purposes.F. J. CHILD. |