Le Beryn Scribe, un copiste anglais prolifique mais méconnu. Étude de la scripturalité commerciale londonienne au XVe siècle

The Beryn Scribe: A Prolific but Unknown Scribe. A Study of the 15th-century London Commercial scripturality

• Auteur / Autrice : Vanessa Nachar
• Direction : Chantal Senseby, Frédérique Lachaud
• Type : Projet de thèse
• Discipline(s) : Histoire
• Date : Inscription en doctorat le 01/09/2025
• Etablissement(s) : Orléans
• Ecole(s) doctorale(s) : Humanités et Langues - H&L
• Partenaire(s) de recherche : Laboratoire : Pouvoirs, Lettres, Normes

Mots clés

Mots clés libres

• Scripturalité médiévale

• Moyen Anglais

• Chronique de Londres

• Scribe commercial

• Culture et identité urbaine

• Middle English

• Urban culture and identity

• Commercial scribe

• London Chronicle

• Medieval Scripturality

Résumé

La deuxième moitié du XVe siècle est marquée par une floraison des écrits populaires vernaculaires en Angleterre, à laquelle le Beryn Scribe participe activement. Douze manuscrits de sa main ont déjà été repérés : de multiples copies des célèbres contes de Chaucer (Canterbury Tales, fin XIVe s.), une du très réputé Prick of Conscience (XIVe s.) ainsi que de nombreuses copies du Brut (histoire mythologique de l'Angleterre) et une chronique de Londres augmentée de sources auxiliaires. Ces manuscrits révèlent l'activité soutenue et plurielle de ce scribe et son potentiel intérêt pour l'histoire de l'espace dans lequel il évolue. Pour autant, le Beryn Scribe demeure mal identifié. Des travaux lui ont été consacrés mais leurs conclusions sont souvent contradictoires de sorte que le dossier mérite d'être examiné de nouveau. Une attention particulière sera accordée à ses copies sur papier, qui pourraient probablement être des brouillons, permettant de saisir le travail d'écriture d'un lettré du XVe siècle, n'hésitant pas à mêler différents types de sources et à user de plusieurs langues en un même manuscrit, le scribe devenant dès lors auteur à part entière et participant à la constitution et à la transmission de savoirs et de contenus historiographiques. C'est pourquoi, il conviendra d'apprécier le rôle du Beryn Scribe dans les transferts culturels à l'œuvre dans la société londonienne et sa participation à la construction d'une identité urbaine. Outre la recherche de nouveaux manuscrits attribuables à ce scribe, il s'agira de s'interroger sur ses pratiques scripturaires peu étudiées : choix du support, des formats, des encres, des langues, des types d'écritures, etc. Il conviendra aussi de s'intéresser à la nature des œuvres copiées tout en relevant celles qui sont délaissées. Ces deux premières approches conduiront à un examen de ses commanditaires éventuels, des lieux et des modalités de son travail et de son statut social et juridique. Il s'agira ainsi de comprendre le parcours du Beryn Scribe, son insertion au sein des scribes actifs à Londres et dans l'espace environnant, et le fonctionnement de son activité à la lumière des copies de sa main, encore conservées, dans l'optique de le replacer dans le contexte scripturaire du XVe siècle londonien. À ce travail s'ajoutera un fac-similé de la Chronique de Londres contenue dans le manuscrit St John's College, Oxford, MS57. Cette thèse est pensée à la croisée de l'histoire culturelle et sociale d'une part et de l'histoire des pratiques d'écritures d'autre part. Avec l'aide des ressources de l'IRHT, elle envisage de mettre en œuvre des approches innovantes (lecture des écritures par ordinateur en vue de les caractériser et analyse des encres et des filigranes).

The second half of the 15th century witnessed a flourishing of vernacular popular writing in England, a phenomenon in which the Beryn Scribe seems to have played an active role. Twelve manuscripts by his hand have already been identified, including multiple copies of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (late 14th century), a copy of the highly regarded Prick of Conscience (14th century), as well as numerous copies of The Prose Brut (a historical account of England) and one London Chronicle, which is enriched with auxiliary sources. It is evident from these manuscripts that the Beryn Scribe under scrutiny was engaged in a variety of activities over an extended period of time. Furthermore, it is apparent that he possessed a keen interest in the history of the region in which he was employed. However, his identity remains elusive. A number of studies have been conducted on this subject, but the conclusions are often contradictory. Therefore, it is necessary to examine this issue afresh, and more broadly, by drawing on a renewed historiography currently evolving both in France, England and the US, notably. The dynamism of research in cultural history is recognised, with a focus on documents as historical objects, scribes and authors, their networks, the places where they were formed, and their integration into the political society that they helped to build. In addition to the search for new manuscripts attributable to this scribe, the following aspects of his scriptural practices will be examined: the choice of medium; formats; inks; languages (Latin or vernacular on the one hand, as well as Middle English dialects on the other hand); types of writing; and embellishments. These aspects have hitherto received little attention from specialists. Furthermore, an examination of the nature of the works copied should be undertaken, with a particular focus on those that have been neglected (probably productions intended for schools, ecclesiastical institutions and the trades). The initial two approached will result in an examination of the identity of the commissioners (nobles, merchants, or the author, as in the case of Chaucer, who employed a scribe); the location and method of the artist's work (solitary practice or participation in a workshop, as a professional of as a secondary occupation, and so on); and the artist's social and legal status (layman or cleric). It is important to note that particular attention will be paid to his copies on paper, which, for some of them, could probably be drafts. This will allow the reader to comprehend the writing of a 15th-century scribe who did not hesitate to mix different types of sources and to use multiple languages within a single manuscript. Consequently, the scribe becomes an author in his own right, contributing to the establishment and dissemination of knowledge and historiographical content. It is therefore essential to assess the role of the Beryn Scribe in the cultural transfers in the Londonian society and his participation in the construction of an urban identity. It is important to note that the aforementioned questions are not exhaustive. The purpose of this study is to comprehend the Beryn Scribe's career trajectory, his position within the broader milieu of scribed operating in London and its environs, and the manner in which his activities were conducted in the context of the copies that are indisputably of his hand and have survived. This investigation aims to situate him within the scriptural milieu of fifteenth-century London, which. This work will be supplemented by a facsimile of the London Chronicle contained in the manuscript St John's College, Oxford, MS57. The present thesis is conceptualised at the intersection of cultural and social history, on the one hand, and the history of writing practices on the other. The IRHT's (CNRS) resources will be utilised to employ innovative approached, namely the computer-assisted reader of handwriting with a view to characterising it, and the analysis of inks and watermarks.