Conclusion
The main point of interest to emerge from the collation is that, as
already demonstrated, BLh19 is not a Cameron scriptorium
text
but independently derived from the B-version ancestor. Among the
scriptorium texts, the Restoration pair (V90, VAd43) form
a
sub-group in which VAd43 by virtue of having no unique
variants must be declared the ancestor and V90 the copy;
however, it would be rash to assume that this relationship was consistent
throughout the entire length of these bulky anthologies. There is no firm
evidence among the variants for the existence of an exclusive common
ancestor for the "Venus" group (Np42, Of15, OSe15, Pt2),
distinct from the scriptorium master copy; but a wider analysis of the
collections could well reveal one. In this connection, attention should be
paid to the close similarity of the hands of Of15, OSe15 and
Pt2, which to me suggests conscious mimicry of that of a
common exemplar.