Diverting Authorities: Experimental Glossing Practices in Manuscript and Print by Jane Griffiths (review)

This book challenges current notions of the role of marginal glossing in late medieval manuscripts and early printed books, through an examination of a range of English texts from the late fourteenth century (Chaucer) to the sixteenth century, which encompass both individually authored texts and translations from Latin and various European vernaculars. Jane Griffiths is primarily concerned with self-glossing, which could mean either a text's author, translator, or indeed even its printer. What becomes apparent when working through the chapters – arranged loosely in chronological order – is the development of rules that governed the use of introductions, marginal glossing, and commentaries, and that once these rules were established, they could be broken for rhetorical effect. Griffiths's analysis covers both what may have been considered incidental marginal notes and the cumbersome humanist-style commentaries that tended to dominate the texts.

The book contains seven chapters with an introduction and afterword. The attempt to create a chronological chapter sequence is undermined by the complexity of the approach to the materials. For example, the first chapter analyses two fifteenth-century texts paired with a fourteenth-century text in books printed in 1598 and 1602. The two fifteenth-century texts by Lydgate were the focus of the analysis; it was not uncommon for Lydgate's Seige of Thebes to be paired with Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. By looking at these works together, Griffiths demonstrates a certain playfulness in glossing, wherein Lydgate becomes one of Chaucer's pilgrims and his Seige of Thebes becomes a literary source for the Knight's Tale. This highlights the rivalry between the two English authors and the significance of marginal glossing in considering the authority of authorship.

Subsequent chapters analyse and interpret a variety of functions for glossing, highlighting the importance of the glossator in determining how a text should be read. Glossing acquired a public aspect as different writers experiment with ways to manipulate the reception of a text. For example, clear didactic glosses were paired with obfuscating ones to ensure the reader engaged actively with the material. Similarly, the ethics of reading is explored in the context of the English Reformation and the consequent increased importance of the Word.

This book is recommended for those interested in manuscript studies, literary practices, and reader engagement in the transition from manuscript to print.