Affiliations of Texts of Ancrene Wisse: What They Tell Us about Its Origins

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Ancrene Wisse ('a guide for nuns'), a work originally written in the thirteenth century, survives in English, French, and Latin versions and is attested in seventeen manuscript witnesses. In 1976 E. J. Dobson made a stemma of textual relationships which laid out an overview of the whole tradition. However, as he admitted, it was based on trial collations of selected passages. It is necessary to return to traditional text-historical methods, building on his insights into the relationships where there were determined with the aid of strictly comparable passages. Results of my research clearly show that his stemma has many problems; I have suggested some revision which Dobson's stemma needs.A detailed examination of the affiliations of the texts has revealed that there was a substantial multiplication of copies within the first half-century after the original was composed. It is very likely that the author was Dominican although Dobson maintained the work's strong connection with the Augustinians.I have conducted research mainly in the manuscript room of British Library and Cambridge University Library. At the rare-books room of Cambridge University Library I was able to have access to books and periodicals very useful to my work; I obtained many microfilms and photocopies of materials on monasteries, friars, and nuns in the late Middle Ages.I had a chance to invite two excellent scholars of medieval history and literature from abroad to hold a medieval seminar on Old English paleography at Kansai University. I also attended many conferences in Britain and the States to have discussions and exchange ideas with people about my research and related topics. A Book of Ancrene Wisse, which was edited by Yoko Wada and published in 2003, is a collection of essays newly written for the book by the editor and scholars from four countries.