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In a recent note, Jean R. Brink called attention to the problem of the dating of several of Edmund Spenser's works because of discrepancies among the dates given in imprints, dedications, and entries in the Stationers' Register.[1] The crux of the problem is whether Spenser and his publishers followed the Old Style Julian calendar or New Style Gregorian calendar, with the new year beginning respectively on 25 March and 1 January. Brink demonstrates convincingly that the New Style ought to be applied consistently in editorial treatment of dates in modern editions and critical discussions. According to Brink, the dating of Daphnaida remains a “major dilemma” in the chronology of Spenser's works. Daphnaida is an elegy commemorating the death of Lady Howard Douglas in August 1590 (see title transcription below). In brief, Spenser's dedication is dated “London this first of Ianuarie. 1591.” which, if interpreted according to the Old Style dating convention, actually signifies the New Style calendar year 1592. Two problems arise with respect to the Old Style interpretation: (1) since Lady Douglas died in August 1590, the long delay in writing the elegy needs explanation; (2) more significantly, as Francis Johnson notes, “then we must explain why Colin Clout is dedicated from Kilcolman on the 27th of December, 1591, just five days earlier, for Spenser could hardly have been in Ireland on the one date and in London on the other.”[2] As yet, nothing more than common sense reasoning has been offered to settle the issue. The purpose of this study is to present bibliographical evidence which: (1) demonstrates that the dedication and imprint are indeed dated in the New Style, some four months after the death of Lady Douglas in August 1590; and (2) resolves a long-standing problem involving the 1590 imprint date of Muiopotmos and the printing sequence of the four sections of Spenser's Complaints.
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