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The Owl and the Nightingale: facsimile of Jesus College Oxford MS. 29 and British Museum MS. Cotton Caligula A. ix (Early English Text Society Original Series)
The Owl and the Nightingale: facsimile of Jesus College Oxford MS. 29 and British Museum MS. Cotton Caligula A. ix (Early English Text Society Original Series) - Image 3
The Owl and the Nightingale: facsimile of Jesus College Oxford MS. 29 and British Museum MS. Cotton Caligula A. ix (Early English Text Society Original Series) - Image 4
The Owl and the Nightingale: facsimile of Jesus College Oxford MS. 29 and British Museum MS. Cotton Caligula A. ix (Early English Text Society Original Series) - Image 11

The Owl and the Nightingale: facsimile of Jesus College Oxford MS. 29 and British Museum MS. Cotton Caligula A. ix (Early English Text Society Original Series)

$19.00

The Owl and the Nightingale is a twelfth- or thirteenth-century Middle English poem detailing a debate between an owl and a nightingale as overheard by the poem’s narrator. It is the earliest example in Middle English of a literary form known as debate poetry (or verse contest). Verse contests from this time period were usually written in Anglo-Norman or Latin. This poem shows the influence of French linguistic, literary, and rhetorical techniques. After the Norman Conquest, French became a predominant language in England, but English was still widespread and recognized as an acceptable language for poetry, if only burlesque debates. Date, Authorship and Provenance The Owl and the Nightingale is a mysterious and problematic text, with no certain information about the poem’s author, date of composition or origin. Nicholas of Guildford is mentioned several times in the text as the man best suited to judge which bird presents the strongest argument. His character never actually makes an

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SKU: 019722251X Category:

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

N.R. Ker

Dimensions 6.34 × 0.45 × 8.49 in
Item Condition

Used – Very Good
Condition Note

very good condition, cover slightly stained and worn, pencil marks on inside covers

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