Editing Old English literature (section)

== Extant manuscripts ==
[[File:Peterborough.Chronicle.firstpage.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Peterborough Chronicle]]'', in a hand of about 1150, is one of the major sources of the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]''; the initial page]]

Over 400 manuscripts remain from the Anglo-Saxon period, with most written during the 9th to 11th centuries.{{sfn|Ker|1990|p=xv}} There were considerable losses of manuscripts as a result of the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] in the 16th century.{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=275}}

Old English manuscripts have been highly prized by collectors since the 16th century, both for their historic value and for their aesthetic beauty with their uniformly spaced letters and decorative elements.{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=275}}

=== Paleography and codicology ===
Manuscripts written in both [[Latin]] and the [[vernacular]] remain. It is believed{{By whom|date=January 2022}} that Irish missionaries are responsible for the scripts used in early Anglo-Saxon texts, which include the [[Insular script|Insular]] [[Uncial script#Half-uncial|half-uncial]] (important Latin texts) and Insular minuscule (both Latin and the vernacular). In the 10th century, the [[Caroline minuscule]] was adopted for Latin, however the Insular minuscule continued to be used for Old English texts. Thereafter, it was increasingly influenced by Caroline minuscule, while retaining certain distinctively Insular letter-forms.{{sfn|Baker|2003|p=153}}

Early English manuscripts often contain later annotations in the margins of the texts; it is a rarity to find a completely unannotated manuscript.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Renswoude |first1=Irene van |url=https://www.academia.edu/35861727 |title=The Annotated Book in the Early Middle Ages Practices of Reading and Writing |last2=Teeuwen |first2=Mariken}}</ref> These include corrections, alterations and expansions of the main text, as well as commentary upon it, and even unrelated texts.{{sfn|Teeuwen|2016|p=221}}{{sfn|Powell|2009|p=151}}  The majority of these annotations appear to date to the 13th century and later.{{sfn|Parkes|2007|p=19}}

=== Scriptoria ===
Seven major [[scriptoria]] produced a good deal of Old English manuscripts: [[Winchester]]; [[Exeter]]; [[Worcester, England|Worcester]]; [[Abingdon, England|Abingdon]]; [[Durham, England|Durham]]; and two [[Canterbury]] houses, [[St Martin's Church, Canterbury|Christ Church]] and [[Augustine of Canterbury|St. Augustine]]'s [[St Augustine's Abbey|Abbey]].{{sfn|Cameron|1982|p=276}}

=== Dialects ===
Regional dialects include [[Northumbrian (Anglo-Saxon)|Northumbrian]], [[Mercian dialect|Mercian]], [[Kentish (Anglo-Saxon)|Kentish]], and [[West Saxon (Anglo-Saxon dialect)|West Saxon]], leading to the speculation that much of the poetry may have been translated into West Saxon at a later date.{{sfn|Baker|2003|p=10}} An example of the dominance of the West Saxon dialect is a pair of [[charter]]s, from the Stowe and British Museum collections, which outline grants of land in Kent and Mercia, but are nonetheless written in the West Saxon dialect of the period.{{sfn|Sweet|1908|p=54}}

=== Poetic codices ===
There are four major poetic manuscripts:
* The [[Junius manuscript]], also known as the [[Cædmon]] manuscript, is an illustrated collection of poems on biblical narratives. It is held at the [[Bodleian Library]], with the shelfmark MS. Junius 11.<ref>{{Cite web|title=MS. Junius 11 – Medieval Manuscripts|url=https://medieval.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/catalog/manuscript_6318|access-date=2022-01-29|website=medieval.bodleian.ox.ac.uk|archive-date=2022-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126132111/https://medieval.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/catalog/manuscript_6318|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The [[Exeter Book]] is an anthology which brings together [[Old English riddles|riddles]] and longer texts. It has been held at the [[Exeter Cathedral]] library since it was donated there in the 11th century by [[Leofric (bishop)|Bishop Leofric]], and has the shelfmark Exeter Dean and Chapter Manuscript 3501.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Exeter Book – Exeter Cathedral Library and Archives & University of Exeter Digital Humanities Lab|url=https://theexeterbook.exeter.ac.uk/index.html|website=The Exeter Book|access-date=2022-01-29|archive-date=2021-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202151254/https://theexeterbook.exeter.ac.uk/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The [[Vercelli Book]] contains both poetry and prose; it is not known how it came to be in [[Vercelli]].
* The Beowulf Manuscript (British Library Cotton Vitellius A. xv), sometimes called the [[Nowell Codex]], contains prose and poetry, typically dealing with monstrous themes, including ''[[Beowulf]]''.{{sfn|Sisam|1962|p=96}}