Anonymous, Sir Owain

Shawn McAvoy (Arizona State University)
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Owain Miles contains an early Middle English description of Purgatory, specifically of St. Patrick’s Purgatory in Ulster. The work extends to just over 1100 lines in 198 stanzas. The early 14th century Owain Miles in the Auchinleck manuscript (National Library of Scotland Advocates’ MS 19.2.1, dated 1330-1340) is both the earliest version and the only witness of the six-line tail rhyme stanza (aabccb) recension. The second recension dates from the late 14th to early 15th centuries. This second Owain Miles, in octosyllabic couplets, exists in the Cotton Caligula A ii and the Yale 365 manuscripts. The source for Owain Miles is the Latin Tractatus de …

2867 words

Citation: McAvoy, Shawn. "Sir Owain". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 December 2017 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38766, accessed 29 March 2024.]

38766 Sir Owain 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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