The Canterbury Tales; England, 1450s

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Title

The Canterbury Tales; England, 1450s

Shelfmark

MS. Hatton donat. 1

Place of origin

English (Buckinghamshire dialect)

Date

1450s

Language

Middle English (1100-1500)

Latin

(fols. 1r–257v) Geoffrey Chaucer Canterbury Tales

(fols. 1r–10r) The General Prologue

(fols. 10r–36r) The Knight’s Tale

(fols. 36r–37r) The Knight–Miller link

(fols. 37r–45r) The Miller’s Tale

(fols. 45r–45v) The Reeve’s Prologue

(fols. 45v–50v) The Reeve’s Tale

(fols. 50v–51v) The Introduction to the Man of Law’s Tale

(fols. 51v–52r) The Man of Law’s Prologue

(fols. 52r–64r) The Man of Law’s Tale

(fols. 64r–64v) The Cook’s Prologue

(fols. 64v–65r) The Cook’s Tale

(fols. 65r–75v) Gamelyn

(fol. 75v) The ‘Epilogue’ of the Man of Law’s Tale

(fols. 75v–83v) The Squire’s Tale

(fols. 84r–v) Blank. At least the following two folios, presumably blank, have been cut away, leaving stubs. Only a catchphrase, ‘here endeth’, on the final verso, fol. 84v.

(fol. 85r) The ‘Squire–Franklin Link’

(fols. 85r–98v) The Merchant’s Tale

(fols. 98v–99r) The ‘Merchant’s Endlink’

(fol. 99r) The ‘Squire’s Headlink’

(fol. 99r) The Franklin’s Prologue

(fols. 99r–109v) The Franklin’s Tale

(fols. 109v–119r) The Wife of Bath’s Prologue

(fols. 119r–123v) The Wife of Bath’s Tale

(fols. 123v–124r) The Friar’s Prologue

(fols. 124r–128r) The Friar’s Tale

(fols. 128v–129r) The Sommoner’s Prologue

(fols. 129r–135v) The Summoner’s Tale

(fols. 135v–137r) The Prologue of the Second Nun’s Tale

(fols. 137r–142r) The Second Nun’s Tale

(fols. 142r–144r) The Canon’s Yeoman’s Prologue

(fols. 144r–153r) The Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale

(fol. 153r) Rubric: And next biginneth the Prolog of the Doctour of phisik

(fols. 153r–156v) The Physician’s Tale

(fols. 156v–157r) The ‘Host’s Words’/‘Physician–Pardoner Link’

(fols. 157r–158v) The Pardoner’s Prologue

(fols. 158v–164v) The Pardoner’s Tale

(fols. 164v–165r) The Clerk’s Prologue

(fols. 165r–178v) The Clerk’s Tale

(fol. 178v) Rubric: And next beginneth þe Prolog of þe Shipman

(fols. 178v–183v) The Shipman’s Tale

(fols. 183v–184r) The ‘Shipman–Prioress Link’

(fols. 184r–184v) The Prioress’s Prologue

(fols. 184v–186v) The Prioress’s Tale

(fols. 186v–187r) The Prologue to Sir Thopas

(fols. 187r–189r) The Sir Thopas

(fols. 189v–190r) The ‘Thopas–Melibee Link’

(fols. 190r–206r) Rubric: And next biginneth the tale of the Chauncer

(fols. 206r–207r) The Monk’s Prologue

(fols. 207r–216r) The Monk’s Tale

(fols. 216r–217r) The Nun’s Priest’s Prologue

(fols. 217r–224r) The Nun’s Priest’s Tale

(fols. 224r–225v) The Manciple’s Prologue

(fols. 225v–228v) The Manciple’s Tale

(fols. 228v–229r) The Parson’s Prologue

(fols. 229r–256r) The Parson’s Tale

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Physical extent

ii (modern paper) + 257 + ii (modern paper) leaves

Hands

Written in an Anglicana bookhand, seemingly by a single scribe.

Decoration

Open with an eight-line initial W on a gold field, bordered with penwork and green acanthus scrollwork (fol. 1r).

Textual divisions, either the openings of prologues or tales, are marked by initials of two to four lines with penwork and borders. Versals in blue or gold, with red or blue penwork (Pächt and Alexander iii. 1060).

Rubricated incipits and explicits, running heads, and glosses.

Binding

Fragment from the back of an earlier binding, labelled MSS D Hatton, inside the upper board. The second endleaf (fol. ii) has also been removed from this binding and pasted to a more recent endleaf.

Eighteenth century, brown suade leather over pasteboard.

Acquisition

Bodleian Library, 1669: Hunt, ‘Historical Introduction’, in A Summary Catalogue, 1:xiv.

Provenance

Sixteenth-century inscriptions: William Hurst (fol. 9r), Wyllm Shirley (fol. 124r), Iohn Da (fol. 208r).

Capt. Charles Hatton (1635–after 1708) (inscribed, fol. ii recto); given to the:

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