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Kane's Piers Plowman
Without question, the most significant recent edition of a Middle English text is the Kane-Donaldson Piers Plowman [38]—a work that will probably influence future Chaucer editors as much as any of the specific Chaucer editions discussed above. I cite this in conclusion in hopes that its editorial language will prove as influential as its substance and tone. Kane's entire enterprise is directed against the possibility of a recension edition; thus, the terminology of Greg designed particularly for such an edition is not easily applicable. The language adopted by Kane, however, is instructive. In the edition of the A Version:
The basic manuscript or copy-text is T. This was chosen for several reasons. First, it is one of the few A manuscripts without large omissions or physical imperfections. . . . The choice is thus between T and Ch, which are both complete and not demonstrably inferior copies. . . . (p 165)
The grammatical and orthographical forms of T have generally been preserved. . . . No attempt has been made to restore the morphology of the author's copy from manuscript evidence. (pp. 168-169)
T is as true a copy-text as could be possible in a non-recension edition, here serving to supply a system of regularization for accidentals. It is also a base text (although Kane does not so describe it), since the kind of edition Kane is engaged in must be called eclectic. Kane wishes to place himself in a direct line with Greg and Housman, and his primary target is the "tyranny of the copy-text"—the editorial procedure that would substitute a physical authority for editorial experience. I assume this is why he refers to T as a copy-text or (using non-technical terminology) as a "basic text." Since all changes from T are shown in square brackets, the degree to which T is the "highest presumptive authority" will reflect the editor's willingness to include such brackets in the text.
In the B Version, the textual-critical language becomes even more explicit, as does the reference to Greg:
Kane uses terminology only when its history has some import: thus his use of the term "copy-text." Elsewhere, non-technical terminology suffices (thus "basic-text" instead of the technical terms "best text" or "base text"). Furthermore, he uses technical terminology to reduce external authority, not to elevate it.[39]
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