Editor in Chief:-F. J. FURNIVALL, 3, St George's Sq., Primrose Hill, N.W.

To do honour to CHAUCER, and to let the lovers and students of him see how far the best unprinted Manuscripts of his works differ from the printed texts, this Society is founded. There are many questions of metre, pronunciation, orthography, and etymology yet to be settled, for which more prints of Manuscripts are wanted, and it is hardly too much to say that every line of Chaucer contains points that need reconsideration. The founder's proposal is to begin with The Canterbury Tales, and give of them (in parallel columns in Royal 4to) six of the best unprinted Manuscripts known. Inasmuch also as the parallel arrangement will necessitate the alteration of the places of certain tales in some of the MSS, a print of each MS will be issued separately, and will follow the order of its original. The first six MSS to be printed are the Ellesmere (by leave of the Earl of Ellesmere); the Hengwrt (by leave of W. W. E. Wynne, Esq.); the Cambridge Univ. Libr., MS Gg. 4. 27; the Corpus, Oxford; the Petworth (by leave of Lord Leconfield); and the Lansdowne 851 (British Museum).

Of Chaucer's Minor Poems,-the MSS of which are generally later than the best MSS of the Canterbury Tales,-all, or nearly all, the MSS will be printed, so as to secure all the existing evidence for the true text.

To secure the fidelity and uniform treatment of the texts, Mr F. J. Furnivall will read all with their MSS.

The Society's publications are issued in two Series, of which the first contains the different texts of Chaucer's works; and the Second, such originals of, and essays on these as can be procured, with other illustrative treatises, and Supplementary Tales.

The Society's issue for 1868, in the First Series, is,

I. The Prologue and Knight's Tale, of the Canterbury Tales, in 6 parallel Texts (from the 6 MSS named below), together with Tables, showing the Groups of the Tales, and their varying order in 38 MSS of the Tales, and in 5 old printed editions, and also Specimens from several MSS of the "Moveable Prologues" of the Canterbury Tales,-The Shipman's Prologue, and Franklin's Prologue,-when moved from their right places, and of the Substitutes for them. (The Six-Text, Part I.)

II. The Prologue and Knight's Tale from the Ellesmere MS.

(separate issues of the Texts forming Part I of the Six-Text edition.)

The issue for 1869, in the First Series, is,

(separate issues of the Texts forming the Six-Text, Part II, No. XIV.)

The issue for 1870, in the First Series, is,

XIV. The Miller's, Reeve's, and Cook's Tales, with an Appendix of the Spurious Tale of Gamelyn, in 6 parallel Texts. (Six-Text, Part II.)

The issue for 1871, in the First Series, is,

XV. The Man of Law's, Shipman's, and Prioress's Tales, with Chaucer's own Tale of Sir Thopas, in 6 parallel Texts from the MSS above named, and 10 coloured drawings of Tellers of Tales, after the originals in the Ellesmere MS. XVI. The Man of Law's Tale, from the Ellesmere MS.

Cambridge MS. 22 Corpus MS.

XIX. The Shipman's, Prioress's, and Man of Law's Tales, from the Petworth MS. XX. The Man of Law's Tale, from the Lansdowne MS.

(each with woodcuts of fourteen drawings of Tellers of Tales in the Ellesmere MS.) XI. A Parallel-Text edition of Chaucer's Minor Poems, Part I:- The Dethe of Blaunche the Duchesse,' from Thynne's ed. of 1532, the Fairfax MS 16, and Tanner MS 346; the Compleynt to Pite,' 'the Parlament of Foules,' and the Compleynt of Mars,' each from six MSS.

XXII. Supplementary Parallel-Texts of Chaucer's Minor Poems, Part I, containing 'The Parlament of Foules,' from three MSS.

Notice. The new Hon. Sec. of the Chaucer Soc. is Mr W. A. Dalziel, 9, Milner St., Islington, London, N. The Subscription for 1877 became due on Jan. 1,-two guineas, payable to the Hon. Sec., by Money Order on the Chief Office, E.C., or cheque, each crosst Alliance Bank.

No books will be sent to any Member till his Subscription is paid.

Subscriptions for 1878 are askt for this year.

828 05

Chaucer Society.

Seventh Report (by Mr Furnivall), March, 1877.

§ 1. Books issued for 1876.

§ 2. Fresh promises of help, and work for 1877-8, p. 3.

§3. The Chaucer-Mangling Association, W. Minto & Co., unlimited,

p. 5.

§ 4. Mr Skeat on the spurious" Court
of Love," p.

6.

§ 5. Death of Mr C. Childs; change
of Honorary Secretary, p. 8.
Cash Account for 1876, p. 14.

§ 1. THE work I had to do for The New Shakspere Society last summer and autumn', the large amount of our long-primer type that the Early English Text Society's books took up, and then the writing of my Introduction to the Leopold Shak

1 Forewords and side-notes to, and seeing through the press, Series VIII. Miscellanies. The late Professor W. Spalding's Letter on the Authorship of The Two Noble Kinsmen, on the Characteristics of Shakspere's later style, and the Secret of his Supremacy,—one of the ablest bits of Shakspere criticism I've ever seen-with a memoir of the Author, by his friend Dr John Hill Burton, the historian of Scotland.

Series VI. Shakspere's England:

1. My pet book in the Series,-William Harrison's Description of England in Shakspere's youth, 1577, 1587, edited from its two versions by me, Part I, with an enlarged copy of Norden's Map of Shakspere's London, by Van den Keere, 1593, and Mr H. B. Wheatley's Notes on it, extracts from foreign travellers' accounts of England in Tudor times, and from Harrison's lately uneartht Chronologie or Chronicle (extracts mainly for his own time). It's a racy, contemporary description of the England Shakspere livd in, and the men and women, houses, food, drink, dress, and institutions of his day.

2. a. Tell-Trothes New-yeares Gift, 1593, with The passionate Morrice. b. John Lane's Tom Tel-Troths message, and his pens complaint. c. Thomas Powell's Tom of all Trades, or the Plaine Pathway to Preferment. d. The Glasse of Godly Loue. (Presented by 3 Members of the Society.) Edited by me. 4. Part I of The Anatomie of Abuses: Contayning A Discoverie, or briefe Summarie, of such Notable Vices and Imperfections, as now raigne in many Christian Countreyes of the Worlde: but (especiallie) in a vérie famous Ilande called

spere1, have prevented my doing more for the Chaucer Society since the issue of the last Report, than reading for press hal the Parson's Tale in the Ellesmere, Hengwrt, and Lansdown MSS, and getting out the following books, all yet issued fo

1876:

Of the Second Series:

14. Life-Records of Chaucer, Part II, The Household Ordinances of King Edward II, June 1323 (as englisht by Francis Tate in March 1601 A.D.), with extracts from those of King Edward IV, to show the probable duties of CHAUCER as Valet or Yeoman of the Chamber, and Esquire, to Edward III, of whose Household Book no MS is known; together with Chaucer's Oath as Controller of the Customs; and an enlargd Autotype of Hoccleve's Portrait of Chaucer; edited by F. J. Furnivall.

15. Originals and Analogues of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Part III. 13. The Story of Constance, for the Man of Law's Tale, edited by A. J. Horwood and E. Brock. 14. 14. The Boy killed by a Jew for singing 'Gaude Maria,' an Analogue of the Prioress's Tale, edited by Henry Nicol. 15. The Paris Beggar-boy murderd by a Jew for singing 'Alma redemptoris mater!' an Analogue of the Prioress's Tale; with a Poem by Lydgate; edited by Dr C. Horstmann.

16. Essays on Chaucer, his Words and Works, Part III. 7. Chaucer's Prioress, her Nun Chaplain and 3 Priests, illustrated from the Paper Survey of St Mary's Abbey, Winchester, by F. J. Furnivall. 8. Alliteration in Chaucer, by Dr. Paul Lindner. 9. Chaucer a Wicliffite; a critical Examination of the Parsons Tale, by Herr Hugo Simon. 10. The sources of the Wife of Bath's Prologue: Chaucer not a borrower from John of Salisbury, by the Rev. W. W. Wollcombe. 17. Supplementary Canterbury Tales: 1. The Tale of Beryn,

Ailgna [Anglia]: Together, with most fearefull Examples of Gods Iudgementes, executed vpon the wicked for the same, aswell in Ailgna of late, as in other places elsewhere. Verie Godly, to be read of all true Christians, euerie where; but most needefull, to be regarded in Englande. Made dialogue-wise by Phillip Stubbes. 1. Maij. 1583, collated with the 2nd, 5th, and 6th editions; edited by me.

3. William Stafford's Compendious or briefe Examination of certeyne ordinary Complaints of divers of our Countreymen, in these our Days, 1581; with an Introduction by Mr F. D. Matthew; edited by me. (Presented to the Society by Lord Derby.)

1 Just out, published by Cassell, Petter, & Galpin, 10s. 6d. I commend it to all who want to see the latest results of Shakspere criticism, based on the chronological succession of his plays,

§ 1. Books for 1876. § 2. Fresh Promises of Help. 3

with a Prologue of the merry Adventure of the Pardoner with a Tapster at Canterbury, re-edited from the Duke of Northumberland's unique MS, by Fredk. J. Furnivall. Part I, the Text, with Wm. Smith's Map of Canterbury in 1588, and Ogilby's Plan of the Road from London to Canterbury in 1675.

Of the First Series:

47. Notes and Corrections (from Mr Hy. Bradshaw's copy) to the Ryme-Index of the Canterbury Tales (No. 46), with a List of the Rymes in it, by Henry Cromie.

But now that the Parson's Tale is started, I shall go through with it as fast as the printers enable me to: and then at once take up the Minor Poems, and put them through as well. Sixteen Autotypes of pages of the chief British-Museum Chaucer MSS, the Hengwrt, Corpus, and Cambridge-Boethius MSS, are nearly ready. They were orderd 6 months ago; but the Autotype Company is-like the rest of us-terribly overdone with work. Mr A. J. Ellis will not be able to finish the Fifth Part of his Early English Pronunciation, on our Dialects, this year. It must stand over till 1878. I hope to put forth this year the 2nd Part of Beryn, containing the Introduction, Notes, and Glossary, which latter my friend Mr W. D. Stone of Walditch is kindly preparing. Having kept the text of Beryn back for 3 years, in hopes-which proved vain-of making the needed head and tail to it, I resolved at last to let them come in Part II, and to turn out in Part I the Text, with 2 cuts to illustrate its Prologue, those of William Smith's unique plan of Canterbury about 1590 A.D., and the earliest plan of the road from London to Canterbury, that in Ogilby's Roads, 1675 A.D. As our first year's publications had run out of print, they have just been reprinted, with a couple of pages of additions and corrections for my Temporary Preface to the Six-Text.

§ 2. Since the date of my last Report, the following fresh promises of help in our work have been made to me; and the importance of those from the United States, calls for special recognition and gratitude from all of us. America and Germany are one with England, in love for Chaucer, love that means work, not talk. 1. Our old friend and helper from the first, Prof. F. J. Child of Harvard, has promist to revise, and adapt for us to the Ellesmere MS, his former admirable treatise on the final e and the grammar, &c., of Chaucer as shown in Mr Thomas Wright's edition of the Canterbury Tales from the Harleian MS 7334 for the late Percy Society;