The Early English Text Society (EETS) is a text publication society 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 Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

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 Frederick James Furnivall (4 February 1825 – 2 July 1910) was an English philologist, best known as one of the co-creators of the ''New English Dictionary''. He founded a number of learned societies on early English literature and made pione ...

. 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 The Society keeps the majority of its older publications in print, except those which have been superseded by subsequent editions.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 Walter William Skeat, (21 November 18356 October 1912) was a British philologist and Anglican deacon. The pre-eminent British philologist of his time, he was instrumental in developing the English language as a higher education subject in t ...

(philologist), Alfred Tennyson (poet laureate), Warren De la Rue (astronomer, chemist, and inventor),

Richard Chenevix Trench Richard Chenevix Trench (Richard Trench until 1873; 9 September 1807 – 28 March 1886) was an Anglican archbishop and poet. Life He was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Richard Trench (1774–1860), barrister-at-law, and the Dublin write ...

(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.

References

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