{{Short description|15th-century illuminated manuscript of the Canterbury Tales}} [[File:Ellesmere Manuscript in Huntington Library.jpg|thumb|260px|Ellesmere Manuscript in Huntington Library]]
The '''Ellesmere Chaucer''', or '''Ellesmere Manuscript''' of the Canterbury Tales, is an early 15th-century [[illuminated manuscript]] of [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'', owned by the [[Huntington Library]], in [[San Marino, California]] (EL 26 C 9). It is considered one of the most significant copies of the ''Tales''.
==History== Chaucer scholarship has long assumed that no manuscripts of the ''Tales'' exist dating from earlier than Chaucer's death in 1400. The Ellesmere manuscript, conventionally dated to the first decades of the fifteenth century, would therefore be one of the first extant manuscripts of the ''Tales''. More recently, the manuscript has been dated to c. 1405 or earlier, leading to speculation that it "was conceived as an immediate response to Chaucer's death by those eager to commemorate his memory through the appropriate preservation of his work."<ref name=":0">Edwards, A.S.G. "The Ellesmere manuscript: controversy, culture and the Canterbury Tales." ''Essays and Studies'', vol. 2010, annual 2010, pp. 59+. {{Gale|CA254401568}}</ref>{{Rp|page=60}} It has even been suggested that, while the final sentence of the manuscript ("Here is ended the Book of the Tales of Canterbury, compiled by Geffrey Chaucer, of whos soule Iesu Crist have mercy. Amen.") makes it clear that Chaucer had died by the time the manuscript was ''finished'', Ellesmere could have been begun while the poet was still alive.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Simpson |first=James |date=2022 |title=The Ellesmere Chaucer: The Once and Future Canterbury Tales |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/882921 |journal=Huntington Library Quarterly |language=en |volume=85 |issue=2 |pages=197–218 |doi=10.1353/hlq.2022.0014 |issn=1544-399X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{Rp|page=208}}
The early history of the manuscript is uncertain, but it seems to have been owned by [[John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford]] (1408–1462). The manuscript takes its popular name from the fact that it later belonged to Sir [[Thomas Egerton, 1st Baron Ellesmere|Thomas Egerton]] (1540–1617), Baron Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley, who apparently obtained it from [[Roger North, 2nd Baron North]] (1530/31–1600).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/hehweb/EL26C9.html |title=Guide To Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Huntington Library |access-date=2009-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412154836/http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/hehweb/EL26C9.html |archive-date=2009-04-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The library of manuscripts, known as the [[Bridgewater Library]], remained at the Egerton house, [[Ashridge]], [[Hertfordshire]], until 1802 when it was removed to London. [[Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere|Francis Egerton]], created Earl of Ellesmere in 1846, inherited the library, and it remained in the family until its sale to [[Henry E. Huntington|Henry Huntington]] by John Francis Granville Scrope Egerton (1872–1944), 4th Earl of Ellesmere. Huntington purchased the Bridgewater library privately in 1917 through [[Sotheby's]]. The manuscript is now in the collection of the [[Huntington Library]] in [[San Marino, California]] (EL 26 C 9). It was published in facsimile in 1911,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chaucer |first=Geoffrey |title=The Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury tales: a working facsimile |date=1990 |publisher=Brewer |isbn=978-0-85991-187-0 |edition=Reprinted |location=Cambridge}}</ref> then reproduced again in colour in 1995.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chaucer |first=Geoffrey |title=The Canterbury Tales: the new Ellesmere Chaucer faksimile; (of Huntington Library MS EL 26 C 9) |date=1995 |publisher=Yushodo [u.a.] |isbn=978-0-87328-151-5 |editor-last=Woodward |editor-first=Daniel |location=Tokyo}}</ref>
Because the manuscript was in the Bridgewater Library for centuries, early scholars working on Chaucer's works were unaware of its existence and it was not consulted for any early editions of the ''Tales''. It first came to public notice following its description in 1810; the text was not available until 1868, when it was edited by [[Frederick James Furnivall|F. J. Furnivall]].<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=|pages=62–63}} [[Walter William Skeat|W. W. Skeat]]'s 1894 edition of the ''Tales'' was the first to use Ellesmere as the basis for its text.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=63}}
==Description== The Ellesmere manuscript is a highly polished example of scribal workmanship, with a great deal of elaborate [[manuscript illumination|illumination]] and, notably, a series of illustrations of the various narrators of the ''Tales'' (including a famous one of Chaucer himself, mounted on a horse).
The manuscript is written on 240 high-quality parchment leaves of approximately {{convert|394|by|284|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} in size.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=59}}
== Illuminations == Owing to the quality of its decoration and illustrations, Ellesmere is the most frequently reproduced Chaucer manuscript.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=59}}
In order of appearance in the Ellesmere Chaucer (note that not all storytellers have an illumination):<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Storytellers in order of appearance in the Ellesmere Chaucer|publisher=The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens}}</ref>
*[[:File:The Knight - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Knight]] (fol. 10r) *[[:File:Canterbury Tales - The Miller - f. 34v detail - Robin with the Bagpype - early 1400s Chaucer.png|Miller]] (fol. 34v) *[[:File:The Reeve - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Reeve]] (fol. 42r) *[[:File:Cook from the “Ellesmere Chaucer” (Huntington Library, San Marino).jpg|Cook]] (fol. 47r) *[[:File:The Man of Law from the EllsMan of Law from the “Ellesmere Chaucer” (Huntington Library, San Marino).jpg|Man of Law]] (fol. 50v) *[[:File:Wife-of-Bath-ms-2.jpg|Wife of Bath]] (fol. 72r) *[[:File:The Friar - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Friar]] (fol. 76v) *[[:File:The Summoner - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Summoner]] (fol. 81r) *[[:File:The Clerk of Oxford from the “Ellesmere Chaucer” (Huntington Library, San Marino).jpg|Clerk of Oxford]] (fol. 88r) *[[:File:The Merchant - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Merchant]] (fol. 102v) *[[:File:The Squire - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Squire]] (fol. 115v) *[[:File:The Franklin - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Franklin]] (fol. 123v) *[[:File:The Physician - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Physician]] (fol. 133r) *[[:File:The Pardoner - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Pardoner]] (fol. 138r) *[[:File:The Shipman - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Shipman]] (fol. 143v) *[[:File:The Prioress - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Prioress]] (fol. 148v) *[[:File:Chaucer ellesmere.jpg|Chaucer]] (fol. 153v) *[[:File:The Monk - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Monk and his greyhounds]] (fol. 169r) *[[:File:The Nun's Priest - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Nun's Priest]] (fol. 179r) *[[:File:The Second Nun - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Second Nun]] (fol. 187r) *[[:File:The Canon's Yeoman - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Canon's Yeoman]] (fol. 194r) *[[:File:The Manciple - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Manciple]] (fol. 203r) *[[:File:The Parson - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|Parson]] (fol. 206v)
==Scribe and its relation to other manuscripts==
The Ellesmere manuscript is thought to be very early in date, being written shortly after Chaucer's death. It is seen as an important source for efforts to reconstruct Chaucer's original text and intentions, though [[John M. Manly]] and [[Edith Rickert]] in their ''Text of the Canterbury Tales'' (1940) noted that whoever edited the manuscript probably made substantial revisions, tried to regularise spelling, and put the individual Tales into a smoothly running order. Up until this point the Ellesmere manuscript had been used as the 'base text' by several editions, such as that of [[W. W. Skeat]], with variants checked against British Library, [[British Library, Harley MS 7334|Harley MS 7334]].
The manuscript is believed to have been written by a single scribe, the same scribe who wrote the [[Hengwrt Manuscript]] of the ''Tales.'' The scribe has been identified as [[Adam Pinkhurst]], a man employed by Chaucer himself; however, the attribution is controversial, with many palaeographers remaining undecided for or against.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kerby-Fulton |first=Kathryn |date=2024-07-01 |title=Adam Pinkhurst and the Baffled Jury: Assessing Scribal Identifications within the Margin of Error |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/730564 |journal=Speculum |language=en |volume=99 |issue=3 |pages=664–687 |doi=10.1086/730564 |issn=0038-7134|url-access=subscription }}</ref> If the scribe was employed by Chaucer directly, this would imply that the reconstructions hypothesized by Manly and Rickert were carried out by someone who had worked with Chaucer, knew his intentions for the ''Tales'', and had access to draft materials.
The Ellesmere manuscript is conventionally referred to as '''El''' in studies of the ''Tales'' and their textual history. A facsimile edition is available. <gallery> File:Chaucer knight.jpg|{{center|The beginning of [[The Knight's Tale]] from the Ellesmere Manuscript}} Image:Wife-of-Bath-ms.jpg|{{center|The opening page of ''[[The Wife of Bath's Tale]]'' from the Ellesmere Manuscript of ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'', circa 1405–1410}} File:Ellesmere Chaucer, mssEL 26 C 9, folio 153v color enhanced.jpg|{{center|Geoffrey Chaucer from the Ellesmere Manuscript}} File:Friar-canterbury-tales.jpg|{{center|The Friar from the Ellesmere Manuscript}} File:Canterbury Tales - The Miller - f. 34v detail - Robin with the Bagpype - early 1400s Chaucer.png|{{center|Robin the Miller from folio 34v of the Ellesmere Manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales}} File:Chaucer cook.jpg|{{center|Roger the Cook from Ellesmere Manuscript}} File:The Summoner - Ellesmere Chaucer.jpg|{{center|The Summoner from the Ellesmere Manuscript}} </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090412154836/http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/hehweb/EL26C9.html The Ellesmere mss] at the [[Huntington Library]] *[http://dpg.lib.berkeley.edu/webdb/dsheh/heh_brf?Description=&CallNumber=EL+26+C+9 Huntington catalogue images of Ellesmere Chaucer at Digital Scriptorium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303155823/http://dpg.lib.berkeley.edu/webdb/dsheh/heh_brf?Description=&CallNumber=EL+26+C+9 |date=2013-03-03 }} *[http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15150coll7/id/2838 Full digital facsimile on the Huntington Digital Library]
{{The Canterbury Tales}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Literary illuminated manuscripts]] [[Category:The Canterbury Tales]] [[Category:Collection of the Huntington Library]] [[Category:English-language manuscripts]]