The complete works of John Gower, volume 2 : $b The English worksGower, John
General
The complete works of John Gower, volume 2 : $b The English works
Gower, John
Poetry
The Glasgow MS. is especially related to X (iv. 2773, v. 1486,
3582, 3688, 4110, 6848 ff., vi. 101, vii. 769, &c.), and
belongs more generally to the group H₁X &c., which passes over
to the revised class almost completely in a considerable part
of the fifth book. The text, however, is on the whole much
better than that of X, being both individually more correct and
more frequently found on the side of the corrected readings,
e.g. i. 2836, ii. 1441, 1867, v. 781, 1203, 2996, 4425, 5966,
6839, 7223, 7630, vi. 86, 746 (corrected), 1437, vii. 510,
1361, 1574, 2337, 3902, viii. 568. In at least one place, vii.
1574, it stands alone of the first recension, while in others,
as v. 4425, 5966, 7630, vi. 746, 1437, &c., it is accompanied
only by J. On the other hand in some passages, as v. 5802,
6019, 6257, vii. 1172 _marg._ &c., G has an earlier reading and
X the later, while there is also a whole series of passages
where G, sometimes in company with X, seems to show a special
connexion of some kind with B (BT), as ii. 1925, iii. 733, iv.
2295, 2508, v. 4, 536, 2508, 3964, 4072, 7048, vi. 1267, 1733,
vii. 3748, 4123, &c.
The book is carefully written, and corrected in the same hand,
e.g. v. 3145, 5011, vi. 430, 746, vii. 4233. The spelling is
pretty good, and in particular it is a contrast to X in the
matter of final _e_. This is seldom wrongly inserted, and when
it is omitted it is usually in places where the metre is not
affected by it. Punctuation often in the course of the line,
but not at the end.
O. STOWE 950, Brit. Museum. _Confessio Amantis_, imperfect at beginning
and end. Parchment, ff. 175 (177 by numbering leaves of another book
pasted to binding), 14¼ × 10 in., in eights with catchwords and
signatures, double column of 44-46 lines; written in a small, neat
hand. Latin summaries in text (red). No decorated pages.
Has lost seven leaves of the first quire, to i. 165 (incl.), and also
after f. 16 one leaf (i. 2641-2991), after f. 35 one (ii. 2486-2645),
after f. 44 two (iii. 673-998), after f. 97 one (v. 3714-3898), after
f. 108 two (v. 5832-6184), after f. 136 two (vii. 771-1111), and at
least four leaves at the end (after viii. 2549).
Formerly belonged to Lord Ashburnham.
In text this belongs to the XG group, agreeing with them, for
example, at v. 3688, 6848, and in general with H₁XG, where they
go together (so far as I have examined the book), e.g. in the
Latin verses after v. 2858 (‘Vltra testes falsos,’ ‘penitus’)
and in the readings of v. 1893, 1906, 2694, 3110, &c.
The handwriting is somewhat like that of H₁: the spelling
sometimes fairly good, but unequal; bad especially at the
beginning. The metre generally good.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account