Papers, 1868-1932, of and concerning Walter William Skeat, including correspondence relating to the English Dialect Society, 1887-1912, letters to Skeat, 1868-1912, fragments of letters and drafts of letters by Skeat, 1873-1905, and correspondence of the Skeat family, 1914-1928. The bulk of the collection comprises working papers, almost all undated, including notes and transcripts of various manuscripts and texts, sometimes unattributed but among them Beowulf , The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Piers Plowman by William Langland, Bodleian manuscripts, works of William Shakespeare, homilies, and proverbs; bibliographical references; dictionaries, thesauri, word lists, glossaries; notes on etymology, grammar, place-names, and pronunciation; lectures including 'The Language of Chaucer'; articles including philology, the language of Edmund Spenser with special reference to his Faerie Queen , emendations in Piers Plowman , and phonetics; proofs (largely undated) including an English dictionary, publications relating to Chaucer, The Kingis Quair , Pierce the Plowman's Crede , and an incomplete proof copy of The Seven Sleepers ; printed material by Skeat including William of Palerne (unbound, uncut), 'Souvent me Souvient' (reprinted from Christ's College Magazine), Troilus and Criseyde (incomplete) and A Charter of Canute (a passage from the York Gospels, edited by Skeat); printed material relating to Skeat's interests, including articles on etymology and the derivation of words; leaflets (1911) advertising the proposed University of London Institute of Phonetics; an incomplete copy of The Annual Register 1771 (1772); and an examination questions paper (1911) in English Language and Literature for King's College, University of London.
Skeat, Walter William, 1835-1912, Professor of Anglo-Saxon, philologist, Anglican clergyman
