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Notes
"The Early Printed Editions of the Canterbury Tales," PMLA, 39 (1924), 739-761. His conclusions about Thynne's manuscripts are found on 757-759. It is perhaps worth quoting Greg's summary about the relation of the printed editions to one another (760-761): Caxton printed his first edition from a manuscript closely resembling . . . Tt2 [Trinity College Cambridge R. 3. 15 or Manly's Tc2] . . . His second edition he printed from his first after it had been extensively altered by comparison with another manuscript whose affinities cannot be determined. Pynson printed his first edition from a copy of Caxton's second in which certain readings had been introduced from manuscript of whose nature we know nothing. Pynson's second edition was printed from his first, but the copy used had beeen collated with Caxton's second . . . and a few readings introduced from a manuscript possibly of the Petworth group. Wynkyn de Worde printed his edition from Caxton's second, and it is probable that he too had recourse to some manuscript source. . . . Lastly Thynne's edition was printed by Godfray from that of de Worde, extensive alterations being again made by comparison with a manuscript. This manuscript may have been closely related to one now extant . . . [Phillipps 8137 or Ph3] . . . which is classed as belonging to the Petworth group . . . and it is quite likely that more than one manuscript was used.
J. Koch, ed., Specimens of all the Accessible Unprinted Manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales (Chaucer Society, 1898), Pt. V, §§18-25.
Derek Pearsall, ed., The Nun's Priest's Tale, II, Pt. 9 of A Variorum Edition of the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. P. Ruggiers (1983), pp. 110-112.
"William Thynne," Editing Chaucer: The Great Tradition, ed. P. Ruggiers (1984), pp. 47-49. Blodgett notes 389 readings for Thynne's Canon's Yeoman's Tale that do not appear in preceding printed editions.
Such information is dull, but because of the remarkably high percentage of new readings, I beg indulgence to list Thynne's variants: 10, 14, 16, 20, 21, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 31, 34, 37, 38, 39 (4), 40, 42 (2), 44, 46, 51 (2), 58, 59, 61 (3), 62, 63, 70, 75 (2), 77, 81, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91 (2), 96, 97 (2), 98, 99, 101, 105, 107 (3), 108, 109, 113 (2), 114, 118, 120 (3), 122 (2), 125, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 135, 136 (2), 139, 142, 143, 144, 147, 153 (2), 154, 155, 157, 160, 161 (2), 162, 163, 165, 166, 168, 169, 170, 172 (3), 173 (2), 174, 175, 176, 178 (2), 182 (2), 183, 184 (2), 187, 190, 191 (2), 192, 194, 195, 196, 201, 205 (2), 206, 210, 211 (2), 215 (2), 217 (2), 219, 220, 221 (2), 225, 226, 228 (2), 229, 231, 232 (2), 233, 234 (2), 237 (2), 239, 240, 242, 244, 246, 247, 248 (2), 250, 251 (3), 253, 254, 257, 258, 259, 263, 267, 269, 277, 280, 282, 286, 288, 295 (3), 298 (2), 299, 300, 303 (2), 305 (2), 307 (2), 308, 309, 310, 311, 316, 317, 319, 320, 325, 326, 327, 330, 331, 333 (2), 334, 338, 339, 344, 349 (2), 350, 356, 357, 359, 361, 363, 366, 368, 369, 370 (2), 371, 373, 375, 377, 381, 382, 385, 386, 388, 390, 391, 392, 393, 395, 397, 402 (2), 404, 405, 407, 409, 412, 417, 418, 419, 420, 421, 425, 427, 432, 436, 438, 443, 450, 451, 453, 454 (2), 455, 458, 459 (2), 460 (2), 468, 472, 474 (3), 475, 476 (3), 477, 483 (2), 488, 489, 492, 494 (2), 497, 498, 499, 502, 504, 506, 508, 515, 516, 519, 520, 524, 526, 534 (2), 536, 537, 538, 539 (2), 544, 545, 546, 547, 552, 559, 560 (2), 562, 563, 567, 569, 572, 574, 578, 583, 585, 586, 588, 592 (2), 594 (2), 597, 598, 599 (2), 600, 601 (2), 602, 605, 606, 607, 610, 616 (2), 617, 620, 623, 631, 632, 634, 648, 649, 650, 651, 652, 655, 657 (2), 660, 661, 663, 664, 668, 672 (2), 675, 676, 677, 680, 681 (2), 683, 684, 690, 695, 696 (2), 698, 699 (3), 701, 706 (2). The first eight lines, now called the Squire's Prologue, were out in the b family texts which Caxton printed and were not printed until Tyrwhitt; they were also out in Mc Ra1 Ra2 Ht, and were present only in the seven-line stanza form as the Franklin's Headlink in D1. Thynne naturally followed his printed copies and manuscripts.
The Text of the Canterbury Tales, Studied on the Basis of All Known Manuscripts (1940), I, 451. References will be to Manly and Rickert.
See Thomas's preface (f. k1) in J. Urry, The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer (1721). The Delamere manuscript was also used by Tyrwhitt, for which see the list of manuscripts in the "Appendix to the Preface," I, xv-xvi, The Canterbury Tales of Chaucer, ed. Thomas Tyrwhitt (1798), 2nd ed. 2 vols. The Cholmondeley MS on p. xvi is the same as the Delamere; cf. Manly and Rickert, I, 115.
W. W. Skeat, The Eight-Text Edition of the Canterbury Tales. . . . (Chaucer Society, 1909 for 1905), p. 34. To be fair to Skeat, he was influenced in making this judgement primarily by tale arrangement.
It should be mentioned that WN's conclusion to the Squire's Tale, "There can be found no more of this fore sayd tale. Which I haue ryght dilygently serched in many dyuers places" is paraphrased by Thynne: "There can be founde no more of this fore sayd tale / whiche hath been sought in dyuers places." This is used by editors through the third Speght, and is quoted by Urry.
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