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Manuscript Description
London, British Library MS Harley 2382
 
MS Appellation:Hl3 (Manly and Rickert)
Title:Prioress's Tale, Second Nun's Tale
Author:Chaucer and Lydgate
Contents:Lydgate Life of our Lady, Testament; Fabula monialis de sancta Maria [Prioress's Tale with Latin marginalia]; Vita sancta cecilie [Second Nun's Tale with Latin marginalia]
Language:English
Date Range:1475-1500
Scribal Hands:
Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms.
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Material:Paper
No of Folios:iii + 1-129 + ii
Pagination:Numbered by the scribe in Roman numerals in the top right outer corner of recto folios, viii (first folio corner missing) - cxix is the last number visible on present folio 127; also modern pencil foliation below old foliation in arabic numerals 1-129.
Quiring:12's but missing several folios.
Signatures:None
Catchwords:Where present (eg f39v and 74v) they are in the bottom right hand corner of the verso folio.
Page Size:220 x 145
Frame:2x vertical, 2 x horizontal; brown crayon and dry-point
Writing Space:165 x 100
Incipits and Explicits:Explicits to both Chaucer pieces.
Marginal Headings:Glosses in hand of scribe in ink of text and underlined in red ink.
Running Titles:On each recto folio in the top margin towards the right corner, the scribe has included his title for the piece and this is underlined in red ink.
Title by Scribe:Title for 2nd Nun's Tale (see contents) and title for Prioress's Tale.
Paragraph Marks:Red with red underline for marginal glosses and headings and red tipping to some letters; trefoil marks in ink of the text in the margins define stanzas; red paraphs precede titles to the two Chaucer pieces.
Flourished Initials:Occasional use of red upper case letter 3-7 lines in height; simple and unadorned
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP