Style Guide: Middle English Text

Middle English texts are lightly modernized for reader convenience. Editorial apparatus is largely invisible in Texts (except for text divisions and glosses). Critical apparatus is, instead, relegated mostly to the Textual Notes.

Spelling

• Do not use Middle English characters (thorn [þ], edth [ð], yogh [ȝ], and wynn [ƿ]). Transcribe them into modern sound equivalents.
• Regularize i/j and u/v spellings (e.g., have rather than haue).
• Use the modern spellings of of and off to distinguish clearly between the two words.
• Regularize initial ff to single f or capital F.
• To distinguish the second person pronoun from the definite article, add an -e to the (i.e., thee rather than the).
• For words ending in single e, where the vowel is long with full syllabic value, mark it with an acute accent (e.g., charité, maugré).
• Silently expand all abbreviations in manuscripts. Be consistent in deciding whether to expand strokes or consider them otiose.

Capitalization

• For poetry, capitalize the first letter of the first word of every line.
• Otherwise, use modern capitalization conventions.
• Capitalize personal pronouns referring to Christ or God. You may also capitalize religious words like Cross, Rood, Lord, Savior, Mass, etc., but do so consistently throughout your text.
• For allegorical texts, capitalize the names of personifications you would like to count as characters

Punctuation

• Use modern punctuation and word division.
• We assume that the vast majority of the punctuation in your Text is editorial. If you follow the base text’s punctuation, say so in the Editorial Practice section of your Introduction (see Introduction section below)
• Use double quotation marks to mark direct speech; single quotation marks belong only within double quotation marks (e.g., “This is the ‘best’ way.”)
• Do NOT replicate any visual aspects of the base manuscript in your edited text: for example, do not boldface letters to indicate enlarged or rubricated capitals, or include catchwords, paraph marks, or marginalia. Such aspects, if you choose to document them, should appear only in the Textual Notes.

Numbers

• Spell out Arabic and Roman numerals up to 99 in their Middle English equivalents, following your text’s usual spelling practices. For numbers 100 or higher, transcribe the numbers, and gloss Roman numerals in Arabic numbers. (See Glosses in Text section below)
  • ex. spell out xii: twelfe, but transcribe MCC and gloss it as 1200
• For non-Middle English texts with facing-page translations, follow the same principle for numbers 1–99, spelling them out in the original language; for numbers 100 or higher, transcribe the numbers. In the modern English translation, spell out numbers 1–99, and Roman numerals 100 or higher should be translated into Arabic numbers.
  • ex. in French, spell out xii: douze and translate it as twelve, but transcribe MCC and translate it as 1200

Emendations

• Emendations should be incorporated into the Text. Do not mark them with brackets. Instead, note your emendations in the Textual Notes.
• Insertions and Omissions
• Do not indicate insertions from witnesses other than your base manuscript with brackets or different font. Inserted text is not marked at all in the Text section; instead, insertions are noted in the Textual Notes.
• Indicate lost, damaged, or otherwise unreadable text with dotted lines and a (see t-note) tag. Be sure to include a Textual Note for all instances of missing text. See the Verse section of Text below for details on numbering missing text.
• NB: METS staff will need access to your base text during the production process. For details, see Submission Instructions.

A. Verse

Verse texts are laid out in three columns on the page. The leftmost column is for line numbers, the middle column for the text itself, and the rightmost column for glosses.

Use hard returns at the ends of verse lines. Number every 5 lines beginning with 5. Do not use automatic numbering. Every line should begin with a tab, and where the lines are numbered, the numbers should precede the tab. Incipits and explicits should not be included in the line count. Folio numbers must also be indicated in the leftmost column. Use the abbreviation “fol.”, Arabic numbers, and r/v to indicate recto and verso leaves. (If your copy-text includes multiple columns per folio, include a/b/c/d designations.) Where folio numbers and line numbers coincide, folio numbers take precedence. Number the next line.

See below to download a sample of formatted verse. 

Indicate missing or lost lines with dotted lines. If you know how many lines are lost, include the correct number of dotted lines and include them in the line count. If it is unclear how many lines are lost, include only one dotted line and do not count it in the line numbering. In the rightmost column, include a (see t-note) tag to draw readers’ attention to a relevant Textual Note discussing the missing lines.

Use footnotes only when glossing an entire line, not for notes. See Glossing below for more details.

Text divisions, like books, chapters, parts, or fits, should be indicated in boldface type and Arabic numbers (i.e., Book 1). Place incipits and explicits in italics. Place non-English words or short phrases in italics if they are in a Roman-alphabet language, but don't italicize non-Roman languages; place direct quotations or more substantial quotations in roman. Indicate any special indentations or stanza forms as best you can. If your text contains mid-line caesuras, format the caesura as six spaces.

Count line numbers carefully. If you are omitting certain sections from numbering — say, chapter rubrics — please do so consistently. Misnumbered lines are the most common error in first drafts.

i. Verse Glossing

Gloss liberally, keeping in mind that readers may be encountering Middle English for the first time. Gloss literally, as much as possible, following modern English word order. For glosses that may have multiple meanings, limit them to two — a primary one and, if necessary, a secondary one in parentheses. For words that appear frequently, you may gloss just the first few instances. If you find yourself glossing multiple consecutive words in a phrase or sentence, gloss the entire phrase or sentence; glossing small units of texts enhances readability. If you think variations in spelling or later instances may be confusing for a reader, gloss them. For reference, consult the Middle English Dictionary.

Place all glosses in italics.

If you gloss several words in a phrase, gloss the whole phrase:

In mony wise assault is and defense                                  In many ways are attack and defense [undertaken]

Capitalize the word if capitalized in the text.                     Lords’ worship

Place any variations in meaning in parentheses.                fool (honest truth-teller)

Place inserted words in brackets.                                        If you [good Christians]

Separate glosses with a semicolon, unless they occur side-by-side. surpass; their governance

Maintain original punctuation where relevant.                    beg nor borrow, thus I dare wager

Gloss Roman numerals over 99 in Arabic numbers.             2150

Gloss any non-English words or phrases.                             Hail Mary

Side-glosses should be tabbed over to the right margin. Set glosses in italic font.

There are two situations in which a footnote gloss is preferred to a marginal gloss. First, if the gloss is too long to fit on the line, use a footnote that glosses the whole line. (See lines 456–59 of the sample passage above.) Footnotes should be used only for long glosses, not for notes or source citations. Similarly, if the Middle English syntax is complicated and does not easily match modern English, footnote and gloss the whole line. Italicize the entire gloss.

For multiple-line footnoted glosses, where possible, follow the line breaks (using forward slashes with a space on either side), punctuation, and capitalization in the Middle English text. If the Middle English syntax is complicated and requires rearranging of phrases to make sense in modern English, footnote and gloss it as prose, without indicating line breaks. Include line numbers at the start of the footnote only if multiple lines are glossed. 

Keep (see note) tags to a minimum. Include them only if the reader would not understand the literal meaning of the text without the note.

B. Prose 

Prose texts differ from poetry texts in layout: prose is laid out in a single column with paragraph numbers. Number each paragraph on its first line, before the indent. Use Arabic numbers and boldface the number. Do NOT include line numbers. If your text includes books or chapters, restart paragraph numbers at the beginning of each.

Indicate foliation in-line and in square brackets. 

ex. doyng of ony vylonye to her, and the [fol. 47v] raunson or gold that they had ordeyned

Put rubrics (introductory summaries or explanations) in boldface font. NB: This is not to be confused with rubricated, or red-inked, letters. Do not boldface red-inked text. If you want to draw attention to red-inked text, indicate them in the Textual Notes.

Highlight catchphrases for Explanatory and Textual Notes to facilitate collation between sections. For Explanatory Notes, highlight catchphrases in yellow. For Textual Notes, highlight catchphrases in blue.

See below to download a sample of formatted prose. 

ii. Prose Glossing 

Follow the same principles as for glossing poetry, but format all glosses as footnotes. To gloss a single word, place a footnote at the end of the word and, in the footnote, give only the modern English gloss in italics. To gloss a phrase, place a footnote at the end of the phrase and, in the footnote, provide the Middle English catchphrase, a comma, then the modern English gloss in italics. 

These instructions for formatting prose texts also appear in the Submission Instructions.

C. Translations

For both poetry and prose, METS formats translations as facing page: the original language appears on the verso page and the modern English on the recto page. To format, follow the guidelines for poetry or prose described above. Collate line numbering in the modern English translation to that of the original language.

METS accepts only complete translations of texts. Do not partially gloss a non-English text.

For examples of facing-page translation, see Machaut, Volume 1: The Debate Series, ed. R. Barton Palmer (2016).

See Submission Instructions for special guidelines for submitting facing-page translations.

D. Drama

Drama texts should mostly follow the poetry, prose, and translation guidelines above. Each play (including individual plays within a cycle) should begin with a Dramatis Personae, with characters listed in order of appearance. If the names are given in a language other than Middle English, gloss them in parentheses, e.g., Imperator (Emperor); II Miles (Second Soldier). If different names are used to refer to the same character, indicate it with an or (e.g., Shipman or Nauta). 

In the text itself, set stage directions and scene locations on their own, unnumbered lines and italicize. 

In drama cycles, number each individual play, using Arabic numbers, and include these numbers in the titles of each play.

For an example of drama texts following these guidelines, see The Digby Mary Magdalene Play, ed. Theresa Coletti (2018); for a drama cycle, see The Towneley Plays, ed. Garrett Epp (2018).

See Submission Instructions for special guidelines for submitting drama texts.