William Henry Hulme

“ No attempt has accordingly been made to treat any phase of the broad subject exhaustively,—not even to give a full bibliography of the literature on the subject. But the titles of a few of the most important works of both a general and a specific character are given, in which the eager student will probably find virtually all the literature on the Disciplina Clericalis, as well as on mediaeval tales and fables, recorded. ”

“ Additions to the Ms. text are indicated by brackets.
In general, what was said about the word forms and language of 'The Mending of Life' (see Western Reserve Studies, vol. I, No. 4, p. 27f) applies equally well to those features of the Disciplina Clericalis. New word-forms occur from time to time which the exigencies of translation required and for the same reason the sentence structure would probably often be found different from that of 'The Mending of Life'. But these peculiarities will receive full treatment in the EETS edition. ”

“ The edition which is now presented will in the nature of things reach only a limited number of students and readers. But it will be of great practical value, I hope, to all who are interested in the study of mediaeval folk-tales generally, as well as of Peter Alphonse's collection in particular, since it offers a convenient and, it is intended, reliable text of the Middle English version as a much needed basis for all further editorial work. ”