Abstract
From 1340 to 1348 a scribe active in Ludlow compiled a remarkable body of literary texts, including a good number of lyrics that survive nowhere other than in the manuscript he created: London, British Library MS Harley 2253, folios 49–140. The manuscript's contents, in both verse and prose, are composed in Anglo‐French, Middle English, and Latin. A comprehensive view of the non‐narrative Harley verse requires a crosslingual approach because the scribe moved fluently from language to language, preserving poems in each language and some that blend languages. The full corpus of 69 “Harley Lyrics” exhibits much variety: secular lyrics on love and women, religious lyrics, admonitory lyrics, satiric lyrics, lyrics of dramatic monologue, lyrics of dialogue and debate, and political lyrics.
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