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The Awntyrs Off Arthur: A Study of the Production, Circulation and Reception of Manuscripts in Fifteenth-Century England

Pope, Rebecca (2020) The Awntyrs Off Arthur: A Study of the Production, Circulation and Reception of Manuscripts in Fifteenth-Century England. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent,. (doi:10.22024/UniKent/01.02.85543) (KAR id:85543)

Abstract

This thesis, through a detailed study of 'The Awntyrs off Arthure at the Terne Wathelyne' and its four surviving manuscripts (London, Lambeth Palace Library, MS 491a; Lincoln, Cathedral Library, MS 91; Princeton, University Library, MS Taylor 9; and Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Douce 324), builds on existing research into Middle English romance manuscripts, identifies a diverse audience of reader/listeners and makes the argument that the booklet may be the typical material and literary form of Arthurian romance in the fifteenth century, with significant implications on how we interpret the use and survival of these texts.

Taking a combined textual, literary, codicological and biobibliographical approach, this thesis confirms a wider circulation of the poem, beyond its four surviving manuscript versions. A feminist critical reading of the 'Awntyrs' provides the first extended literary analysis of the poem to reveal that women were not only the implied audience of the poem, but active participants in its circulation and important consumers of Middle English romance. The study connects the 'Awntyrs' to canonical texts, including Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde', 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' and the alliterative 'Morte Arthure' through its literary analysis, whilst research into the textual communities of the poem shows that multiple copies of the Awntyrs circulated in London, produced as part of a large, collaborative commercial enterprise alongside texts by Chaucer, Gower, Langland and Hoccleve.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD))
Thesis advisor: Perry, Ryan
DOI/Identification number: 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.85543
Uncontrolled keywords: Manuscript Romance Late-Medieval Medieval Culture Feminist Arthurian Alliterative Codicology Material Book Booklet Audience Chaucer Langland Gower Hoccleve Scribe Commercial Household Gentry
Subjects: Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z4 Books. Writing. Paleography
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of English
Funders: Organisations -1 not found.
SWORD Depositor: System Moodle
Depositing User: System Moodle
Date Deposited: 15 Jan 2021 11:10 UTC
Last Modified: 08 Dec 2022 21:55 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/85543 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Pope, Rebecca.

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