Analyzing spelling patterns in the manuscripts of the Tales of Canterbury.
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| Title: | Analyzing spelling patterns in the manuscripts of the Tales of Canterbury. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Robinson, Peter M W1 (AUTHOR), Tresoldi, Tiago2 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Digital Scholarship in the Humanities. Apr2026, Vol. 41 Issue 1, p347-363. 17p. |
| Subjects: | Orthography & spelling, Scribes, Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400, Medieval manuscripts, Canterbury Tales, Quantitative research, Authorship, Paleography, Content analysis |
| Abstract: | For decades, scholars have suggested that analysis of spellings in medieval European manuscripts might be useful in understanding who wrote the manuscripts and where and when they were written. The increased availability of full-text transcripts of manuscripts is creating larger sets of data and has opened the possibility of using quantitative methods. This article reports on analysis of spellings in manuscripts of Geoffrey Chaucer's Book of the Tales of Canterbury. The analysis was successful in confirming long-held beliefs, based on traditional paleography, that multiple manuscripts can be identified as written by the same scribe: these manuscripts are closely aligned in their spelling patterns. Further, the analysis showed that manuscripts written by the same scribes might be closely aligned in spellings even though they are copied from exemplars with significantly different texts. The analysis also suggested some unexpected linkages among the manuscripts, which found support in examination of the text in those manuscripts. Three sets of spelling data were submitted to the analysis: one set with all spellings assigned to regularized forms; a second with spellings sorted by headword and part-of-speech; a third with completely unsorted "bags of words" for each document. While the more structured data did yield more granular results, these gains seemed relatively slight compared to the extra effort required to create the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Digital Scholarship in the Humanities is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 192763871 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Analyzing spelling patterns in the manuscripts of the Tales of Canterbury. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Robinson%2C+Peter+M+W%22">Robinson, Peter M W</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tresoldi%2C+Tiago%22">Tresoldi, Tiago</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Digital+Scholarship+in+the+Humanities%22">Digital Scholarship in the Humanities</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 41 Issue 1, p347-363. 17p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Orthography+%26+spelling%22">Orthography & spelling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scribes%22">Scribes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chaucer%2C+Geoffrey%2C+d%2E+1400%22">Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medieval+manuscripts%22">Medieval manuscripts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Canterbury+Tales%22">Canterbury Tales</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Quantitative+research%22">Quantitative research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Authorship%22">Authorship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Paleography%22">Paleography</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Content+analysis%22">Content analysis</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: For decades, scholars have suggested that analysis of spellings in medieval European manuscripts might be useful in understanding who wrote the manuscripts and where and when they were written. The increased availability of full-text transcripts of manuscripts is creating larger sets of data and has opened the possibility of using quantitative methods. This article reports on analysis of spellings in manuscripts of Geoffrey Chaucer's Book of the Tales of Canterbury. The analysis was successful in confirming long-held beliefs, based on traditional paleography, that multiple manuscripts can be identified as written by the same scribe: these manuscripts are closely aligned in their spelling patterns. Further, the analysis showed that manuscripts written by the same scribes might be closely aligned in spellings even though they are copied from exemplars with significantly different texts. The analysis also suggested some unexpected linkages among the manuscripts, which found support in examination of the text in those manuscripts. Three sets of spelling data were submitted to the analysis: one set with all spellings assigned to regularized forms; a second with spellings sorted by headword and part-of-speech; a third with completely unsorted "bags of words" for each document. While the more structured data did yield more granular results, these gains seemed relatively slight compared to the extra effort required to create the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Digital Scholarship in the Humanities is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1093/llc/fqaf123 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 17 StartPage: 347 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Orthography & spelling Type: general – SubjectFull: Scribes Type: general – SubjectFull: Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400 Type: general – SubjectFull: Medieval manuscripts Type: general – SubjectFull: Canterbury Tales Type: general – SubjectFull: Quantitative research Type: general – SubjectFull: Authorship Type: general – SubjectFull: Paleography Type: general – SubjectFull: Content analysis Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Analyzing spelling patterns in the manuscripts of the Tales of Canterbury. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Robinson, Peter M W – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Tresoldi, Tiago IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 04 Text: Apr2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 2055768X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 41 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Digital Scholarship in the Humanities Type: main |
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