Guide to Scripts Used in English Writings Up to 1500

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 (Layamon) 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.

Author: Jane Roberts
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Published: 05/01/2016
Pages: 328
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 2.00lbs
Size: 10.80h x 8.60w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9781781382660
ISBN10: 1781382662
BISAC Categories:
- Literary Criticism | Medieval
- Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics | Phonetics & Phonology
- History | Ancient | General

About the Author

Jane Roberts is Professor Emerita of Medieval English Language & Literature at King's College London.