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Tales, chaunces, and marvels : a partial edition of Robert Mannyng's Handlyng Synne

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Handlyng Synne is a long Middle English penitential poem that uses dramatic tales and entertaining social and moral commentary to demonstrate core theological principles that all medieval Christians were expected to understand. Written in the early fourteenth century by Robert Mannyng, it is an adaptation of the Anglo-Norman poem Le Manuel de Péchez attributed to William de Waddington. It survives in ten manuscripts ranging across secular and monastic production contexts from the late fourteenth to the early sixteenth centuries. The poem's significance as a didactic text aimed at both clerical and lay readers has long been recognised as a major contribution to vernacular religious literature. However, previous editions of the text are unsatisfactory and fairly inaccessible. The two earlier editions have been criticised for inaccuracies and overly diplomatic, uncritical editorial approaches. This thesis presents a partial edition of the poem: its section on the Seven Deadly Sins. The selection of text is chronological and thematic, acting as a representative critical edition covering half of the most complete version of the text. For the first time, it takes into account all ten extant manuscript witnesses, providing detailed descriptions and examinations of their relationships. The edited text is accompanied by a full apparatus of Textual Notes, Commentary, and Glossary. The Introduction reappraises earlier scholarship and offers new evidence on Mannyng's authorship and Handlyng Synne's composition date, as well as fresh analysis of the poem's genre, context, audience, use of sources, and language. These elements provide a deeper understanding of the originality and influence of Handlyng Synne and its manuscript tradition at a transitional period for medieval English literary and cultural history.
DOI: 10.17630/sta/1769
Language: English
Subfield: History
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225618906
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