What is special about the Ellesmere manuscript of the Canterbury Tales?
Why is the Ellesmere Manuscript important? The manuscript is especially famous for its illustrations, which bring Chaucer’s rich and playful poem to life. It contains 22 images of the pilgrims, often found at the beginning of their tales. It also contains a portrait of Chaucer.
Why was Ellesmere manuscript called that?
The manuscript takes its popular name from the fact that it later belonged to Sir Thomas Egerton (1540–1617), Baron Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley, who apparently obtained it from Roger North, 2nd Baron North (1530/31-1600).
Who wrote the Ellesmere manuscript?
The Ellesmere Chaucer is not only the most beautiful manuscript of Chaucer’s best known work, the Canterbury Tales, but the most famous literary manuscript in English. This large beautiful and innovative manuscript was probably produced soon after 1400.
Where is the original Canterbury Tales manuscript?
Preserved in the National Library of Wales, in Aberystwyth, where it is known as MS Peniarth 392D, the Hengwrt Chaucer is the earliest and most authoritative manuscript of the Canterbury Tales.
Where is the Ellesmere manuscript?
the Huntington Library
The Ellesmere Manuscript (which is in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California) is one of the two earliest surviving manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales, the other is the Hengwrt Manuscript (or Peniarth 392 D, now in the National Library of Wales, in Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire).
How many manuscripts of The Canterbury Tales are there?
There are 55 medieval manuscripts in existence that put together some version of the Canterbury Tales. There are also some manuscript fragments, cases where a leaf or two remains from a book otherwise lost.
When were the Canterbury Tales written?
1392
The Canterbury Tales/Date written
Who tells third tale in Canterbury Tales?
The Reeve’s Tale
“The Reeve’s Tale” is the third story told in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. The reeve, named Oswald in the text, is the manager of a large estate who reaped incredible profits for his master and himself.
Is The Canterbury Tales a true story?
It was during these years that Chaucer began working on his most famous text, The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer’s use of such a wide range of classes and types of people was without precedent in English. Although the characters are fictional, they still offer a variety of insights into customs and practices of the time.
What language was the Canterbury Tales first written in?
English
Middle English
The Canterbury Tales/Original languages
The Canterbury Tales is one of the best loved works in the history of English literature. Written in Middle English, the story follows a group of pilgrims who are travelling the long journey from London to Canterbury Cathedral.
