The Thre Prestis of Peblis, how thai tald thar talis. Edited from the Asloan and Charteris texts by T. D. (editor) Robb - 1920

Scottish Text Society, Edinburgh, 1920. First Edition. Hardcover (Quarter Leather). Good Condition. quarter leather with gilt border line to green cloth covers; printed for the Society by W. Blackwood and Sons & illustrated by three facsimiles of the original manuscript & a 45-page introduction. This edition of 'The Thre Prestis of Peblis ' is based on two main authorities, supplemented by two others of minor importance. The main authorities are (i) a fragment, consisting of the first 359 lines, in the Asloan manuscript, which dates back to the early years of the sixteenth century ; and (2) an imperfect copy of a black-letter print published by Charteris in 1603 and now preserved, as the sole survivor of that edition, in the Douce collection at Oxford. The imperfections in the Douce copy of the Charteris text consist in the omission of lines 226-302, and 1226- 1342 — a total of 194. To fill in these lacunae we have the two minor authorities, (i) Pinkerton's edition of 1792, and (2) the handwriting of a scribe of unknown date but modern penmanship, who has filled in the blanks in the Douce copy. The plan, then, which has been adopted for the printing of the poem is this: The Asloan fragment is given on the left side as the book opens, and the Charteris text on the right. After the Asloan ceases the Charteris edition is given on both sides. The omissions in the Douce copy of Charteris are filled in from a collation of Pinkerton and the writing in the Douce copy & these are printed in red colour. The the poem is a telling of tales between three priests, Masters John, Archibald and William. The first tale is of a king who summons a parliament in order to discover what has caused the ills that afflict his realm. The middle tale consists of three separate stories dealing with the subjects of good governance and royal amorousness, & the last tells a version of the ‘Everyman’ narrative. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. 45 + 99 pages. Text is in Scots. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. some faint damp-stain & stress to paper of front/rear pages, but body of book mostly clean. no Dust Jacket as published.. Top edge gilt in fair condition. Gilt titles spine. light rubbing to cloth of covers. Includes notes on the text & glossarial index. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 500 grams. Category: Poetry; Medieval Poetry; Epic Poetry; Scottish Literature; Scotland; Medieval 10th to 15thc; Scots Language; Literature & Literary. Inventory No: 3919. .