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The Inharmonious Choristers and Blacksmiths of MS Arundel 292

The Inharmonious Choristers and Blacksmiths of MS Arundel 292 STUDIES IN PHILOLOGY Volume 104 Winter, 2007 Number 1 by RITISH Library MS Arundel 292 contains two short alliterative poems on leaves left blank by the original scribe. Unique to this manuscript, they were the last additions to the miscellany, by two different scribes (Hand 4 and Hand 5), and have been little studied, although the second, conventionally called ``A Complaint (or Satire) Against Blacksmiths,'' has been frequently anthologized. Elizabeth Salter sums up its appeal: ``Much admired for its `magnificent realism,' it has been used as material evidence by both literary and social historians, who have seen in it a proof of the vigor of alliterative verse `on the eve of the alliterative revival' no less than an account of the actual conditions of English urban life in the later Middle Ages.'' 1 The first, ``The Choristers' Lament'' (or ``Monks' Complaint'') requires so much knowledge of musical terminology that it may have been incomprehensible even to many in the monastic audience of the manuscript.That fact could well have been part of its agenda and could also have occasioned ``Blacksmiths'' as a comment and pendant.2 1 Salter, ``A Complaint against Blacksmiths,'' in her English and International: Studies in the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Studies in Philology University of North Carolina Press

The Inharmonious Choristers and Blacksmiths of MS Arundel 292

Schrader, Richard J.
Studies in Philology , Volume 104 (1) – Feb 22, 2007
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Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
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Copyright © 2007 by The University of North Carolina Press.
ISSN
1543-0383
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Abstract

STUDIES IN PHILOLOGY Volume 104 Winter, 2007 Number 1 by RITISH Library MS Arundel 292 contains two short alliterative poems on leaves left blank by the original scribe. Unique to this manuscript, they were the last additions to the miscellany, by two different scribes (Hand 4 and Hand 5), and have been little studied, although the second, conventionally called ``A Complaint (or Satire) Against Blacksmiths,'' has been frequently anthologized. Elizabeth Salter sums up its appeal: ``Much admired for its `magnificent realism,' it has been used as material evidence by both literary and social historians, who have seen in it a proof of the vigor of alliterative verse `on the eve of the alliterative revival' no less than an account of the actual conditions of English urban life in the later Middle Ages.'' 1 The first, ``The Choristers' Lament'' (or ``Monks' Complaint'') requires so much knowledge of musical terminology that it may have been incomprehensible even to many in the monastic audience of the manuscript.That fact could well have been part of its agenda and could also have occasioned ``Blacksmiths'' as a comment and pendant.2 1 Salter, ``A Complaint against Blacksmiths,'' in her English and International: Studies in the

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Studies in Philology – University of North Carolina Press

Published: Feb 22, 2007

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