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The Early English Text Society (EETS) is a
The Society was founded in England in 1864 by Frederick James Furnivall. Its stated goal was "on the one hand, to print all that is most valuable of the yet unprinted in English, and, on the other, to re-edit and reprint all that is most valuable in printed English books, which from their scarcity or price are not within the reach of the student of moderate means."
As of 2020, the Society had published 354 volumes in its Original Series; 126 volumes in its Extra Series, published between 1867 and 1935, comprising texts previously printed, but only in unsatisfactory or rare editions; and 25 volumes in its Supplementary Series, an occasional and irregular series initiated in 1970. The Society keeps the majority of its older publications in print, except those which have been superseded by subsequent editions. Volumes are now published on behalf of the Society by Oxford University Press.
The Society emblem is a representation of the enamel plaque of the Anglo-Saxon
EETS texts at Project Gutenberg
List of Early English Text Society publications
with brief descriptions {{authority control Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Medieval literature 1864 establishments in England Learned societies of the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1864 Text publication societies
text publication society
A text publication society is a learned society which publishes (either as its sole function, or as a principal function) scholarly editions of old works of historical or literary interest, or archival documents. In addition to full texts, a text p ...
founded in 1864 which is dedicated to the editing and publication of early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes contain editions of Middle English or Old English texts. It is known for being the first to print many important English manuscripts, including Cotton Nero A.x, which contains '' Pearl'', '' Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'', and other poems.
History
The Society was founded in England in 1864 by Frederick James Furnivall. Its stated goal was "on the one hand, to print all that is most valuable of the yet unprinted in English, and, on the other, to re-edit and reprint all that is most valuable in printed English books, which from their scarcity or price are not within the reach of the student of moderate means."
As of 2020, the Society had published 354 volumes in its Original Series; 126 volumes in its Extra Series, published between 1867 and 1935, comprising texts previously printed, but only in unsatisfactory or rare editions; and 25 volumes in its Supplementary Series, an occasional and irregular series initiated in 1970. The Society keeps the majority of its older publications in print, except those which have been superseded by subsequent editions. Volumes are now published on behalf of the Society by Oxford University Press.
Notable members
Notable members of the society when it was formed in 1864 included Furnivall himself, the Rev. Richard Morris (the editor of 12 volumes between 1862 and 1880), Walter Skeat (philologist),Alfred Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
(poet laureate), Warren De la Rue (astronomer, chemist, and inventor), Richard Chenevix Trench (Irish ecclesiastic), and others.
Anne Hudson was the director from 2006 to 2013. The current director is Vincent Gillespie
Vincent Gillespie, FEA (born February 11, 1954) is Emeritus J. R. R. Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Language at the University of Oxford. He was editor of the Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies Series from 2002 until 2023, and is the ...
.
Logo
The Society emblem is a representation of the enamel plaque of the Anglo-Saxon Alfred Jewel
The Alfred Jewel is a piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing work made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold. It was discovered in 1693, in North Petherton, Somerset, England and is now one of the most popular exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum in Ox ...
, omitting its gold frame, but with an added scroll bearing the Society's name.
Cultural references
*A. N. Wilson
Andrew Norman Wilson (born 27 October 1950)"A. N. Wilson"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''.
's novel ''Wise Virgin'' (1982) centres on Giles Fox, a blind scholar who has spent 20 years editing the ''Tretis of Loue Heuenliche'', a 13th-century tract on virginity, for publication by the EETS.
''Encyclopædia Britannica''.
See also
* Aelfric Society, London publisher of Anglo-Saxon texts, 1842–1856References
External links
*EETS texts at Project Gutenberg
List of Early English Text Society publications
with brief descriptions {{authority control Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Medieval literature 1864 establishments in England Learned societies of the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1864 Text publication societies