Reflections on some manuscripts containing 13th-century polyphony

Abstract

The famous manuscript Harley 978 in the British Library is best known for containingSumer is icumen in. Several of the problems of this fascinating book were disposed of in a masterly article by Schofield; but, with the notable exception of Kingsford, few of those who for one reason or another have used the manuscript have given their readers an adequate picture of the source on which they were drawing. It is a species of miscellany, but compiled on systematic lines. It is written in several hands, but the most obvious explanation for this is that the compiler was in a position to tell others to copy things out for him. The size and ruling of the pages is uniform, apart from the ruling of those on which the Conflict of Body and Soul (Noctis sub silentio, item 75 in the Harleian catalogue, item 78 in Kingsford's table) has been added. Format and type of interests alike suggest that the compilation is the work of a single mind, though the compiler's own handwriting may well be one of the cursives rather than any of the book hands.

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