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Manuscript Description
USA, Austin, Texas, University of Texas at Austin, The Harry Ransom Center, pre-1700 MS 46 (Phillipps 6570, Ph1)
 
MS Appellation:Ph1
Title:Two fragments of the Canterbury Tales
Author:Chaucer
Contents:Two fragments of the Canterbury Tales, each one of twelve folios. The first part contains part of both Pardoner's Tale and Melibeus, with Shipman, Prioress and Thopas; second part contains the end of the Parson's Tale with the Retraction.
Language:English
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:2 x 12 folios
Pagination:Modern foliation numbering 1-12 in the first fragment.
Quiring:2 quires of 12 leaves
Signatures:First quire has signatures in ink from 'vj' to 'vv'. Second quire has occasional faint signatures on the first few folios where not lost by cropping.
Catchwords:A single catchword on f12v of the first fragment.
Page Size:280 x 225
Frame:Brown ink marginal ruling in first fragment.
Writing Space:260 x 200
Marginal Headings:A single marginal note '.i. Chaucer' in Link 25, the introduction to the Tale of Thopas.
Other Names (not owners):Sixteenth century owners may have been the 'Thomas Devynysh' (f16r) of Sussex or a 'John Eglysfield'. See Manly and Rickert I: 417 for the transcription of a note from a fly-leaf of a copy belonging to Urry which gives a good account of the Chaucer folios in the eighteenth century. Owned by Joseph Haselwood in the nineteenth century and went to Sir Thomas Phillipps where it was MS. 6570. In 1923 it went to Rosenbach followed by Louis Silver. In 1966 the manuscript went to the University of Texas.
Further Information:See Manly and Rickert I: 415-420. Seymour II: 248-249.
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP