Corrections to records of the "Erthe" poetic tradition

[icornelius]

from Nancy Pope:

1. The opening couplet is not decisive: "The DIMEV lists 41 witnesses under 7 item numbers; there are in fact 35 witnesses. The problem is that some other poems start with the same introductory couplet, which either occurs alone or starts a different poem. These last two groups need to be listed separately, not just as 'Erthe' members."
2. Cross-references are inconsistent: "6 of the 7 items refer to at least one of the others: 6293 refers to none." Three items (1166, 1167, 6369) each refer to just one other item. Three other items (1170, 1171, 6292) each refer to five of the other six, "consistently omitting 1166, which isn't referred to at all."
3. "Formal issues: 1170 says the verse pattern is four lines, aaaa, but 1170.11 (Brogyntyn ii.1) isn't, and there's no note."
4. Incorrect record of bibliographical ghosts: "1171 refers readers to 1170 for its ghost, which is actually listed in 6369."
5. Incomplete record of editions: "Item 1770 ... lists edition of Brog. version under Heege version (... both sets of page numbers are listed, separately, but only under the first witness)."
6. Inaccurate annotation: "Note to 3160 ('really an epilogue to 5256') and title of 5256 could both be changed in line with Marjorie Harrington's chapter in forthcoming book on Brog. ii.1 (2025, York Medieval Press)"
7. Unclear annotation: "6293.1 has a note 'four first lines'; what does that mean?"

See also Nancy P. Pope, “‘Erthe upon Erthe’ Revisited,” The Journal of the Early Book Society 21 (2018): 53–95.