The Clerk’s Forgotten Tale: Tolkien’s Lost Chaucer - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Morthoron · 10-19-2019, 03:39 PM

Hmmm...and given the lack of discussion, it would seem my theory that Tolkien's work on 14th century Middle-English text -- save for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo -- is not a point of interest, and has largely gone undiscussed in online Tolkien circles (at least to my recollection).

Has anyone ever analyzed Tolkien's A Middle English Vocabulary? It was originally meant to accompany Kenneth Sisam's Fourteenth Century Verse and Prose, but for some unexplained reason Tolkien's supplement was included in only a few of the subsequent impressions of Sisam's book, and has remained a standalone publication for the most part.

In any case, It is Tolkienesque to the core, reflecting his attention to detail (some would insist it was his belaboring minutiae). The poems and prose in Sisam's tome finish at 203 pages (300 with notes), while Tolkien's supplement equates to 176 pages in the edition I have. An enlightening little book I have used for the thornier passages in both "Vision of Piers Plowman" and "The Canterbury Tales".

10-19-2019, 03:39 PM	#2
Morthoron Curmudgeonly Wordwraith Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Ensconced in curmudgeonly pursuits Posts: 2,515	Hmmm...and given the lack of discussion, it would seem my theory that Tolkien's work on 14th century Middle-English text -- save for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo -- is not a point of interest, and has largely gone undiscussed in online Tolkien circles (at least to my recollection). Has anyone ever analyzed Tolkien's A Middle English Vocabulary? It was originally meant to accompany Kenneth Sisam's Fourteenth Century Verse and Prose, but for some unexplained reason Tolkien's supplement was included in only a few of the subsequent impressions of Sisam's book, and has remained a standalone publication for the most part. In any case, It is Tolkienesque to the core, reflecting his attention to detail (some would insist it was his belaboring minutiae). The poems and prose in Sisam's tome finish at 203 pages (300 with notes), while Tolkien's supplement equates to 176 pages in the edition I have. An enlightening little book I have used for the thornier passages in both "Vision of Piers Plowman" and "The Canterbury Tales". __________________ And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision.