Harley 1605, while containing fewer lines than Royal, is the only fragment –– actually, set of fragments –– which gives a clear impression that they come from a completed original, due to the variety of passages covered by the fragments, lack of overlap, as well as stylistic considerations. In terms of Harley 1605 (the fourth-longest text) resembling other manuscripts, in Appendix II of his 1994 doctoral thesis, Peter Damian-Grint, who provides a transcription of the first four fragments, observes that from among all the anonymous

fragments, Harley 1605 bears the closest resemblance to the Bekker fragment, Krakow Jagiellonian 176 (“Vernacular History in the Making,” 369–71; see note 1). While it is true that Bekker, which is Continental, and Harley which is…

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Citation: Blacker, Jean. "Anonymous Verse Bruts: Harley Brut". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 April 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41554, accessed 22 November 2024.]