Guide to Scripts Used in English Writings up to 1500

Jane Roberts

ISBN 10: 1781382662 / ISBN 13: 9781781382660

Published by Liverpool University Press, GB, 2015

About this Item

The resurgence of interest in the history of the English language has prompted this indispensable introductory guide to the scripts used in Old and Middle English writing. The best way to gain a sense of changes in scripts across time is through visual examples. The reader is introduced gradually to vocabulary suitable for the description of script through a range of plates, for example, Caedmon's Hymn (the earliest extant English poem); the opening of an Exeter Book poem; the Lindisfarne Gospels; the opening page of King Alfred's first translation; an illustrated version of the story of Abraham and Isaac; passages from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; early (La?amon) and late tellings of the story of Arthur (Malory); contrasting manuscripts of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde; Langland; York plays. Each plate is reproduced full size where possible, accompanied by a full transcript, commentary and notes.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781781382660

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Guide to Scripts Used in English Writings up to 1500
• Publisher: Liverpool University Press, GB
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1781382662
• ISBN 13: 9781781382660
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Dimensions: 27.43W x 1.78H x 21.84D centimeters 27.43 centimeters width by 1.78 centimeters height by 21.84 centimeters depth

About this title

Synopsis

The resurgence of interest in the history of the English language has prompted this indispensable introductory guide to the scripts used in Old and Middle English writing. The best way to gain a sense of changes in scripts across time is through visual examples. The reader is introduced gradually to vocabulary suitable for the description of script through a range of plates, for example, Caedmon’s Hymn (the earliest extant English poem); the opening of an Exeter Book poem; the Lindisfarne Gospels; the opening page of King Alfred’s first translation; an illustrated version of the story of Abraham and Isaac; passages from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; early (Laȝamon) and late tellings of the story of Arthur (Malory); contrasting manuscripts of Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde; Langland; York plays. Each plate is reproduced full size where possible, accompanied by a full transcript, commentary and notes.

About the Author

Jane Roberts MRIA, FSA, FEA is Emeritus Professor of English Language and Medieval Literature at the University of London, where she is a Research Fellow at the Institute of English Studies. She is the author of A Guide to Scripts used in English Writings up to 1500 (Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies, Liverpool University Press 2015) and co-edited the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press 2009).