Making of Middle English, 1765-1910

Volume 18

By: David Matthews

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Hardcover | 1 May 1999

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272 Pages

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22.8 x 14.9 x 2.2

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Before the 1760s -- with the major exception of Chaucer -- nearly all of Middle English literature lay undiscovered and ignored. Because established scholars regarded later medieval literature as primitive and barbaric, the study of this rich literary heritage was relegated to antiquarians and dilettantes. In The Making of Middle English, 1765-1910, David Matthews chronicles the gradual rediscovery of this literature and the formation of Middle English as a scholarly pursuit.

Matthews details how the careers, class positions, and ambitions of only a few men gave shape and direction to the discipline. Mostly from the lower middle class, they worked in the church or in law and hoped to exploit medieval literature for financial success and social advancement. Where Middle English was concerned, Matthews notes, these scholars were self-taught, and their amateurism came at the price of inaccurately edited and often deliberately "improved" texts intended for a general public that sought appealing, rather than authentic, reading material.

This study emphasizes the material history of the discipline, examining individual books and analyzing introductions, notes, glossaries, promotional materials, lists of subscribers, and owners' annotations to assess the changing methodological approaches of the scholars and the shifts in readership. Matthews explores the influence of aristocratic patronage and the societies formed to further the editing and publication of texts. And he examines the ideological uses of Middle English and the often contentious debates between these scholars and organizations about the definition of Englishness itself.

A thorough work of scholarship, The Making of MiddleEnglish presents for the first time a detailed account of the formative phase of Middle English studies and provides new perspectives on the emergence of medieval studies, canon formation, the politics of editing, and the history of the book.

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Non-Fiction Language & Linguistics Reference, Dictionaries & Guides Literature, Poetry & Plays History & Criticism of Literature General Literary Studies Classical Literary Studies Linguistics Historical & Comparative Linguistics Dialect

The Making of Middle English, 1765-1910	p. i
Medieval Cultures	p. ii
To Noel King	p. v
Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. xiii
Abbreviations	p. xxxvii
Patronage and the Antiquarian Self	p. 1
The Making of Thomas Percy	p. 3
The Unmaking of Joseph Ritson	p. 25
Walter Scott and the Decade of Romance	p. 54
From the Roxburghe Club to the Camden Society	p. 85
Nationalism and the Selling of Middle English	p. 111
"the Deadly Poison of Democracy"	p. 113
Frederick Furnivall and Early English	p. 138
"wise and Gentle Speech" from the Chaucer Society to the Universities	p. 162
Conclusion	p. 187
Notes	p. 199
Index	p. 223
Medieval Cultures	p. 232
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Making of Middle English, 1765-1910

Volume 18

At a Glance

Hardcover

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