Podcasts: Dr. Roger Dahood
"The Ellesmere Manuscript of The Canterbury Tales" - February 12, 2008
Outline of Podcast
Additional Notes
- Welcome and Introduction
- Jill Newby, librarian and subject liaison for UA English Department. Welcome and background information on Dr. Dahood
- Dr. Dahood's lecture
- "The Ellesmere Manuscript of The Canterbury Tales" introduces the Ellesmere Manuscript. Dr. Dahood presents a short introduction to the scribes of the Chaucer's day. His lecture is visually supplemented by the University of Arizona Special Collections' facsimile. Dr. Dahood details why and how facsimiles are valued by scholars. He points out specific differences that occur in facsimiles by comparing an 1911 facsimile to the facsimile created by the Huntington in 1995. Dr. Dahood describes the different materials used in facsimile; their bindings, gatherings. He explains the manufacturing process, how paste-downs are used, and how wormholes are used as an identification tool. He explains the provenance of the Ellesmere manuscript and similarities in some of the illustration details.
- Questions and Answers
- Audience asks about different manuscript variations. Questions about the scribes' identity, identity of the illuminators, and how much control authors had over scribes. Also comments on how digitalization is improving access.
