HRC 46 Chaucer, Geoffrey (d. 1400). Canterbury Tales, two fragments (Manly and Rickert Ph1). England: between 1450 and 1470. 48 leaves: paper, 280 x 210 mm. Written in Middle English, Anglicana script. Layout is 2 columns of 41-48 lines on fol. 1-12, long lines thereafter. Contents include: Tales of the Pardoner (begins incomplete line 831), Shipman, Prioress, Sir Thopas, and the Tale of Melibee (lacks lines 2252-53 and ends incomplete line 2543); the second fragment includes the end of the Parson's Tale (beginning line 587) and the "Retracciouns" (Manly and Rickert C, 831-968; B2 119-2543; I 587-1092). In the 18th century, these fragments of the Canterbury Tales were bound together with a fragment of Chaucer's Legend of Good Women (now British Library Ms. Additional 9832); the two works were separated by Joseph Haslewood, who sold them as two manuscripts in 1833. Binding: Bound in 19th century calfskin. Provenance: 16th-century signatures of Thomas Devynysh (fol. 16r) and John Eglysfelld (fol. 20v); owned by Morell Thurston (d. 1747) of Rochester; Samuel Pegge the elder (1704-1796); Joseph Haslewood (1769-1833), bookplate; Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872), no. 6570; Louis H. Silver (1902-1963) of Wilmette, Illinois, bookplate; Newberry Library, Chicago (1964); sold at Sotheby's on 9 November 1965, lot 357; acquired by the Ransom Center (R2762) through the bookseller Lew David Feldman (House of El Dieff). Bibliography: John M. Manly and Edith Rickert, The Text of the Canterbury Tales, 1940, vol. 1, pp. 415-420. Constance Wright, "On the Eighteenth-Century Ownership of a MS of the Canterbury Tales, Phillipps 6570," ANQ 2 (1989): 134. See also: For other Chaucer manuscripts, see HRC 143 and q PR 1850 1532 cop. 1. Use: Unrestricted, for either reading room or classroom use, but coach user: turn interleaving instead of manuscript pages. Facsimile: Complete digital facsimile available. Information folder: Yes
