METS Style Guide

METS Style and Formatting Guide

(Updated March 27, 2024)

METS house style generally follows that of Medieval Institute Publications (MIP), which in turn is adapted from the 17^th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/. METS makes modifications to adjust for the specific needs of editing medieval texts. Guidelines and examples are below, but what matters most is internal consistency within the edition.

Keep in mind that METS editions have a wide readership, and are used by both scholars and students. Assume that some readers will include students encountering Middle English for the first time. Be sure that your glosses are thorough and that your explanatory notes cover general medieval context as well as more detailed scholarship for advanced readers. See individual sections below for more detail.

METS does not expect camera-ready copy from volume editors, though submissions should be as close to final as possible. All volumes go through production in METS’s headquarters at the University of Rochester, and then are professionally typeset by MIP in Kalamazoo, MI. See Submission Instructions for details on formatting and submitting your edition.

NB: This Style Guide pertains only to print editions. Editors need not worry about formatting for digital editions, which is handled in-house by staff. METS digital editions, available at https://d.lib.rochester.edu, reproduce the content of print editions, but format them slightly differently for user convenience.

Table of Contents

1. Middle English Text

1. Transcription Practices                                   
2. Formatting Texts
   1. Verse                                                 
      1. Glossing                              
   2. Prose                                                  
      1. Glossing                              
   3. Translations                                        
   4. Drama

 

2. Critical Apparatus

1. Modern English Style                                      
2. Internal Citations                                                
3. Front Matter                                                    
   1. Abbreviations List                               
4. Introduction                                                                                   
5. Explanatory Notes                                           
   1. Formatting for Verse Texts                  
   2. Formatting for Prose Texts                  
6. Textual Notes                                                  
   1. Formatting for Verse Texts                  
   2. Formatting for Prose Texts                  
7. Bibliography                                                   
   1. Sections                                                           
   2. Types of Sources                                 
8. Glossary                                                         
   1. Formatting                                          
9. Optional Back Matter: Indices and Appendices 
10. Reference Texts                                               

I. Middle English Text

1. Transcription Practices

Middle English texts are lightly modernized for reader convenience. Editorial apparatus is largely invisible in Texts (except for text divisions and glosses). Critical apparatus is, instead, relegated mostly to the Textual Notes.

Spelling

• Do not use Middle English characters (thorn [þ], eth [ð], yogh [ȝ], and wynn [ƿ]). Transcribe them into modern sound equivalents.
• Regularize i/j and u/v spellings (e.g., have rather than haue).
• Use the modern spellings of of and off to distinguish clearly between the two words.
• Regularize initial ff to single f or capital F.
• To distinguish the second person pronoun from the definite article, add an -e to the (i.e., thee rather than the).
• For words ending in single e, where the vowel is long with full syllabic value, mark it with an acute accent (e.g., charité, maugré).
• Silently expand all abbreviations in manuscripts. Be consistent in deciding whether to expand strokes or consider them otiose.

Capitalization

• For poetry, capitalize the first letter of the first word of every line.
• Otherwise, use modern capitalization conventions.
• Capitalize personal pronouns referring to Christ or God. You may also capitalize religious words like Cross, Rood, Lord, Savior, Mass, etc., but do so consistently throughout your text.
• For allegorical texts, capitalize the names of personifications you would like to count as characters

Punctuation

• Use modern punctuation and word division.
• We assume that the vast majority of the punctuation in your Text is editorial. If you follow the base text’s punctuation, say so in the Editorial Practice section of your Introduction (see Introduction section below)
• Use double quotation marks to mark direct speech; single quotation marks belong only within double quotation marks (e.g., “This is the ‘best’ way.”)
• Do NOT replicate any visual aspects of the base manuscript in your edited text: for example, do not boldface letters to indicate enlarged or rubricated capitals, or include catchwords, paraph marks, or marginalia. Such aspects, if you choose to document them, should appear only in the Textual Notes.

Numbers

• Spell out Arabic and Roman numerals up to 99 in their Middle English equivalents, following your text’s usual spelling practices. For numbers 100 or higher, transcribe the numbers, and gloss Roman numerals in Arabic numbers. (See Glosses in Text section below)
  • ex. spell out xii: twelfe, but transcribe MCC and gloss it as 1200
• For non-Middle English texts with facing-page translations, follow the same principle for numbers 1–99, spelling them out in the original language; for numbers 100 or higher, transcribe the numbers. In the modern English translation, spell out numbers 1–99, and Roman numerals 100 or higher should be translated into Arabic numbers.
  • ex. in French, spell out xii: douze and translate it as twelve, but transcribe MCC and translate it as 1200

Emendations

Emendations should be incorporated into the Text. Do not mark them with brackets. Instead, note your emendations in the Textual Notes.

Insertions and Omissions

• Do not indicate insertions from witnesses other than your base manuscript with brackets or different font. Inserted text is not marked at all in the Text section; instead, insertions are noted in the Textual Notes.
• Indicate lost, damaged, or otherwise unreadable text with dotted lines and a (see t-note) tag. Be sure to include a Textual Note for all instances of missing text. See the Verse section of Text below for details on numbering missing text.

NB: METS staff will need access to your base text during the production process. For details, see Submission Instructions.

2. Formatting Texts

A. Verse

Verse texts are laid out in three columns on the page. The leftmost column is for line numbers, the middle column for the text itself, and the rightmost column for glosses.

Use hard returns at the ends of verse lines. Number every 5 lines beginning with 5. Do not use automatic numbering. Every line should begin with a tab, and where the lines are numbered, the numbers should precede the tab. Incipits and explicits should not be included in the line count. Folio numbers must also be indicated in the leftmost column. Use the abbreviation “fol.”, Arabic numbers, and r/v to indicate recto and verso leaves. (If your copy-text includes multiple columns per folio, include a/b/c/d designations.) Where folio numbers and line numbers coincide, folio numbers take precedence. Number the next line.

            Yif ye wyle yef ham of your good without beggyng,                                 
Thai wold nowther begge ne borou, thus dare I say;

And fynd hem here household and here housyng,

Nouther by ne byld — I red ye away!^[1]                 

fol. 35v  Behold, syrys, apon here chyrche, now I you pray,

461      Apon here bellys, on here bokys, and here byldyng,                             

Apon here prechyng, here prayes, her reverent aray;                   prayers
Thai pase ale other men in here goveryng —                              surpass; their governance
            I whot hit is no nay!                                                       know it is undeniable

465           Thai play not the fole,                                                          fool (i.e., honest truth-teller)

                 Contenualy thai gon to scole;                                                school

                 Lordys worchip han thai wole,                                              Lords’ worship they wish to have

                        And poton folys away.                                                  put foolishness

Dignus est mercenareus mercede sua. Ego autem mendicus sum et pauper.^[2]

Indicate missing or lost lines with dotted lines. If you know how many lines are lost, include the correct number of dotted lines and include them in the line count. If it is unclear how many lines are lost, include only one dotted line and do not count it in the line numbering. In the rightmost column, include a (see t-note) tag to draw readers’ attention to a relevant Textual Note discussing the missing lines.

Use footnotes only when glossing an entire line, not for notes. See Glossing below for more details.

Text divisions, like books, chapters, parts, or fits, should be indicated in boldface type and Arabic numbers (i.e., Book 1). Place incipits and explicits in italics. Place non-English words or short phrases in italics if they are in a Roman-alphabet language, but don't italicize non-Roman languages; place direct quotations or more substantial quotations in roman. Indicate any special indentations or stanza forms as best you can. If your text contains mid-line caesuras, format the caesura as six spaces.

Count line numbers carefully. If you are omitting certain sections from numbering — say, chapter rubrics — please do so consistently. Misnumbered lines are the most common error in first drafts.

i. Verse Glossing

Gloss liberally, keeping in mind that readers may be encountering Middle English for the first time. Gloss literally, as much as possible, following modern English word order. For glosses that may have multiple meanings, limit them to two — a primary one and, if necessary, a secondary one in parentheses. For words that appear frequently, you may gloss just the first few instances. If you find yourself glossing multiple consecutive words in a phrase or sentence, gloss the entire phrase or sentence; glossing small units of texts enhances readability. If you think variations in spelling or later instances may be confusing for a reader, gloss them. For reference, consult the Middle English Dictionary: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary

Place all glosses in italics.

If you gloss several words in a phrase, gloss the whole phrase:

In mony wise assault is and defense                                                               In many ways are attack and defense [undertaken]

Capitalize the word if capitalized in the text.                               Lords’ worship

Place any variations in meaning in parentheses.                          fool (honest truth-teller)

Place inserted words in brackets.                                               If you [good Christians]

Separate glosses with a semicolon, unless they occur side-by-side. surpass; their governance

Maintain original punctuation where relevant.                            beg nor borrow, thus I dare wager

Gloss Roman numerals over 99 in Arabic numbers.                    2150

Gloss any non-English words or phrases.                                   Hail Mary

 

Side-glosses should be tabbed over to the right margin. Set glosses in italic font.

There are two situations in which a footnote gloss is preferred to a marginal gloss. First, if the gloss is too long to fit on the line, use a footnote that glosses the whole line. (See lines 456–59 of the sample passage above.) Footnotes should be used only for long glosses, not for notes or source citations. Similarly, if the Middle English syntax is complicated and does not easily match modern English, footnote and gloss the whole line. Italicize the entire gloss.

For multiple-line footnoted glosses, where possible, follow the line breaks (using forward slashes with a space on either side), punctuation, and capitalization in the Middle English text. If the Middle English syntax is complicated and requires rearranging of phrases to make sense in modern English, footnote and gloss it as prose, without indicating line breaks. Include line numbers at the start of the footnote only if multiple lines are glossed. 

Keep (see note) tags to a minimum. Include them only if the reader would not understand the literal meaning of the text without the note.

B. Prose

Prose texts differ from poetry texts in layout: prose is laid out in a single column with paragraph numbers. Number each paragraph on its first line, before the indent. Use Arabic numbers and boldface the number. Do NOT include line numbers. If your text includes books or chapters, restart paragraph numbers at the beginning of each.

Indicate foliation in-line and in square brackets.

ex. doyng of ony vylonye to her, and the [fol. 47v] raunson or gold that they had ordeyned

Put rubrics (introductory summaries or explanations) in boldface font.^[3]

Highlight catchphrases for Explanatory and Textual Notes to facilitate collation between sections. For Explanatory Notes, highlight catchphrases in yellow. For Textual Notes, highlight catchphrases in blue.

i. Prose Glossing

Follow the same principles as for glossing poetry, but format all glosses as footnotes. To gloss a single word, place a footnote at the end of the word and, in the footnote, give only the modern English gloss in italics. To gloss a phrase, place a footnote at the end of the phrase and, in the footnote, provide the Middle English catchphrase, a comma, then the modern English gloss in italics.

ex.:       

[fol. 6r] The first chapitre of this present boke conteyneth how Blanchardyn departed out of the court of his fader kynge of Fryse. Capitulo primo.

 

1          That tyme when the right happy wele^[4] of peas flowrid for the most parte in all Christen realmes, and that moche peple dyde moche peyne to gadre and multyplye vertues, regned in Fryse a kynge of right benewred^[5] and happy fame, loved, doubted,^[6] and well obeyed of his subgettis, ryght habundaunt of the goodes of fortune; but privated^[7] and voyde^[8] he was of the right desyred felicité^[9] in mariage, that is to wyte^[10] of lignage or yssue of his bodye,^[11] wherof he and the quene his wyffe were sore displesed. I leve to telle^[12] the bewayllyngis and lamentaciouns that the goode lady the quene made full often by herself al alone in solytary places of her paleys for this infortune.^[13]

2          But she, knowyng the vertuouse effecte of devote and holy oryson,^[14] excercysed with al her strengthe her right sorowful grevous herte to this gloriouse occupacion. And after this fayre passetyme, by veraye permyssion devyne,^[15] conceyved a right faire sone whiche was named Blanchardyn.  Now it is soo that atte his byrthe and comyng into this world, sourded^[16] and rose up one not acustomed joye and gladnesse of the kynge and of the quene, of the prynces and lordes and of all the comyn^[17] people of the lande that judged hemself^[18] right happy of a successoure legytyme. Yf unto you I wold recounte and telle the joye and the myrthe that atte that daye was made, I myght overmoche lengthe oure matere. Blanchardyn the chylde was taken into the handes of a right noble lady of the lande for to norysshe^[19] and bryngen up. [fol. 6v] But well ye knowe that he was not hadde sore ferre from the kynge^[20] his fadre nor fro the quene his modre. For never daye nor owre^[21] the childe Blanchardyn toke noo fode of none others brestis, but all onely of the queen his modres owne brestis. The childe grew and amended sore^[22] of the grete beaulté^[23] wherof he was garnysshed.^[24] None can telle it you bycause that it was so grete, that God and nature had nothyng forgoten there.

These instructions for formatting prose texts also appear in the Submission Instructions.

C. Translations

For both poetry and prose, METS formats translations as facing page: the original language appears on the verso page and the modern English on the recto page. To format, follow the guidelines for poetry or prose described above. Collate line numbering in the modern English translation to that of the original language.

METS accepts only complete translations of texts. Do not partially gloss a non-English text.

For examples of facing-page translation, see Machaut, Volume 1: The Debate Series, ed. R. Barton Palmer (2016).

See Submission Instructions for special guidelines for submitting facing-page translations.

D. Drama

Drama texts should mostly follow the poetry, prose, and translation guidelines above. Each play (including individual plays within a cycle) should begin with a Dramatis Personae, with characters listed in order of appearance. If the names are given in a language other than Middle English, gloss them in parentheses, e.g., Imperator (Emperor); II Miles (Second Soldier). If different names are used to refer to the same character, indicate it with an or (e.g., Shipman or Nauta).

In the text itself, set stage directions and scene locations on their own, unnumbered lines and italicize.

In drama cycles, number each individual play, using Arabic numbers, and include these numbers in the titles of each play.

For an example of drama texts following these guidelines, see The Digby Mary Magdalene Play, ed. Theresa Coletti (2018); for a drama cycle, see The Towneley Plays, ed. Garrett Epp (2018).

See Submission Instructions for special guidelines for submitting drama texts.

 

II. Critical Apparatus

All apparatus is written in modern English, so should follow the modern English style conventions below.

1. Modern English Style Conventions

Spelling

Spelling should conform to American practice and follow Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition. When Webster’s gives variants of a spelling (e.g., catalog and catalogue, use the more globally recognized spelling — here, catalogue).

Be consistent in transcribing foreign names. Spellings should conform to the Biographical Names section at the back of Merriam-Webster’s. As a general rule, use the native form of place-names. In some cases, the English form can be retained: Prague, Vienna, Florence, The Hague.

Font

• Use a single font throughout, including italic and boldface.
• Place non-English single words or short phrases in italics if they are in a Roman-alphabet language, but don't italicize non-Roman languages; place direct quotations or more substantial quotations in roman.
• In the case of foreign words, an English translation may immediately follow in normal type, in parentheses, e.g., “the distinction between exhortatio (exhortation) and praedicatio (preaching) became very important in thirteenth-century discussions about lay preaching.” For block quotes and longer translations, place English translations in brackets.
• Use italics for titles of books and journals; titles of articles or essays should be placed between double quotation marks.
• Use regular font for section headings, and italics for subsections within.

Capitalization

On the whole, CMS 17 prefers a “down” style, or a sparing use of capitals. Some of the exceptions are noted below. When in doubt, consult chapter 8, “Names, Terms, and Titles of Works.”

• Nationalities and nouns deriving from people or languages are capitalized (e.g., Latinate, the Lombards), as are nouns and adjectives of movements derived from proper nouns (e.g., Christian, Platonism).
• Historical periods are capitalized (e.g., Middle Ages, the Reformation), but a descriptive designation of a period is usually lowercased, except for proper names (e.g., the medieval era, ancient Greece, the baroque period, antiquity; but the Victorian era).
• Books of the bible are capitalized but not italicized (e.g., the book of Genesis, the Gospel according to John, the First Epistle to the Corinthians); also note biblical, not Biblical; satanic, not Satanic; the Eucharist but eucharistic.
• Named prayers, canticles, creeds, etc., are capitalized but not italicized (e.g., the Ten Commandments, Kaddish, the Nicene Creed). Parables and miracles are lowercased (e.g., doxology, the parable of the prodigal son, the miracle of the loaves and fishes).
• Unique events and periods take capitals (e.g., the Last Judgment, the Peasants’ Revolt).
• Note that church is generally lowercased, unless it is part of the official name of a denomination or building, or unless it refers to the whole body of Christians in all times and places.
• References to particular parts of a book are not capitalized (e.g., chapter 1; appendix 2; part ii, figure 8).
• Seasons of the year are not capitalized (e.g., spring 1349); nor are points of the compass (north of England, northern England), except when they indicate an official name or specific concept (South America, the Western world).
• Civil, military, religious, and professional titles are capitalized when they immediately precede a personal name and are thus used as part of the name (e.g., the Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop Wilberforce). When following a name or used in place of a name, a title is normally lowercased (e.g., the president, the bishop, the pope).

In most European languages, titles of books and other publications are set in sentence-style caps, with just an initial capital. English-language titles are set in headline-style caps, following these basic principles:

• The first and last words in titles and subtitles are capitalized.
• All nouns, pronouns (except the relative that), adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions are capitalized.
• Always capitalize the first element in a hyphenated compound. Capitalize any subsequent elements unless they are articles, prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, or such modifiers as flat or sharp following musical key symbols. If the first element in the compound could not stand by itself as a word (i.e., anti-, pre-, etc.), do not capitalize the second element unless it is a proper noun or adjective.
• Do not capitalize: articles; prepositions; and the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, and nor; to, whether as a preposition or as part of an infinitive; as in any function; and parts of proper names that would be lowercased in text, such as de or von.
• For journals, follow the preferred capitals style of the journal.

Punctuation

• Avoid using abbreviations or contracted forms in ordinary prose (do not, instead of don’t).
• Series (“Oxford”) commas should be used: commas should appear before the final and/or in a list of three or more items (e.g., truth, grace, and beauty).
• Use double quotation marks; single quotation marks belong only within double quotation marks (e.g., “This is the ‘best’ way.”) Translate quotation marks from different systems or languages (e.g. « … » or „…“) into the forms here (“ ”).
• All quotation marks should be curly, not straight.
• Punctuation goes inside quotation marks, except for colons and semi-colons that separate items in a list.
• Footnotes go outside the final punctuation mark: e.g., Smith said that “this was the best way.”¹⁵
• A single space (not two) should follow periods at the end of sentences, as well as commas, colons, and other punctuation marks.
• Do use a space to separate each initial of an author or editor’s surname (e.g., B. C. Cummings, not B.C. Cummings).
• Ellipses should have a space before and after; if the beginning of the sentence is omitted following the ellipses, begin with a capital letter. Do not use ellipses at the beginning of a quotation or at the end, unless there is a specific reason such as a purposefully incomplete thought or sentence.
• Possessives almost always take the ’s. This includes names ending in s or another sibilant (e.g., Jesus’s, Berlioz’s), and names with es endings (e.g., Moses’s leadership, Sophocles’s plays). When the singular form of a noun ending in s is the same as the plural, the possessives of both are formed by adding an apostrophe only (e.g., politics’ true meaning). The same applies for the name of a place, organization, or publication if a plural form ending in s, even though the entity is singular (i.e., the National Academy of Sciences’ new policy).
• Hyphenation is used where the first of two or more words is used adjectively (e.g., a tenth-century manuscript versus in the tenth century). You may find these referred to as compound adjectives or compound modifiers. Where one of the words is an adverb ending in –ly, do not hyphenate (e.g., a handsomely bound codex).
• When using em-dashes (—), put a space before and after (Vernagu fulfills the typical function of a giant in a Western European medieval narrative — that is, to represent the Other — and, in being defeated, to reinforce the supremacy of those belonging to dominant categories.)
• See the Numbers section below for use of the en-dash (–).
• In quotations, forward slashes separate lines of poetry. Put a space before and after a slash. (“He came / And saw the day rise before him.”)
• Use the Merriam-Webster dictionary (available free online at http://www.merriam-webster.com/) as guidance for hyphenation, particularly at ends of lines.

Numbers

• Numbers from zero to one hundred should be written out as words (so, nineteen but 345), and all numbers pertaining to even hundreds and thousands. You may depart from this rule when numerals or numbers form the main part of the text.
• Follow the Chicago Manual of Style for inclusive pairs of numbers (e.g., 96–97, 101–04, 246–48), except for spans of years, which repeat the century (1014–1103). Use an en-dash between number ranges, like date ranges and page ranges.
• Decades should be written as 860s, not 860’s.
• Use Arabic for volume numbers (whether of journals, series, or multivolume works) and for sections of medieval texts. Roman numerals are used for front matter, manuscript shelfmarks as per library usage, and in titles.
• Set dates in month day, year format (February 19, 2018).
• Use BCE and CE for dates

Common Abbreviations

Abbreviations and symbols are most appropriate in tabular matter, explanatory and textual notes, and parenthetical references. The use of less familiar abbreviations should be limited to those terms that occur frequently enough to warrant abbreviation — roughly five times or more within a chapter or section — and the terms must be spelled out on their first occurrence.

The following conventional abbreviations may be used:

• ca. [not ca. or c.]
• b. (birth / born), d. (died), r. (reigned), fl. (flourished)
• Use full-stops / periods after Mr., Dr., ad., vols., eds.; and with e.g., i.e., vol., fol. (for folio; plural fols.), no., ed., vol., chap., pp., n., trans., and so on. Other than Mr. and Dr., these abbreviations should not be used in running text.
• Do not omit the period after abbreviations such as “St.” except in titles that themselves omit it. French place names containing “Saint” are normally spelled out, and the hyphen is essential: “Saint-Denis.”
• Avoid starting sentences and footnotes with abbreviations. Use For example, not e.g.
• Do not use ibid. in footnotes or citations. Use short titles, instead, as indicated in Internal Citations, below.

2. Internal Citations

Internal references appear most frequently in the Introduction and the Explanatory Notes. In both places, they should follow the same format. The only difference is that citations in the Introduction are footnoted, whereas those in the Explanatory Notes are parenthetical. The only exception to footnotes in the Introduction is that quotations from your own edited text may be cited parenthetically, by line or paragraph number(s). Use line or lines; do not shorten to l. or ll. For prose texts, use ¶ or ¶¶.

All internal references should follow the template below. Short titles should match the punctuation given in its bibliographic entry and page numbers should be preceded by p. or pp.:

For secondary sources: Author’s surname, short title, page number(s)

            ex.       Carruthers, The Book of Memory, pp. 60–65

                        Chance, “Allegory and Structure in Pearl,” p. 35

Most primary sources tend to be editions of primary texts, in which case:

            ex.       Author’s surname (if known), short title, editor’s surname, page number(s)

                        Le Fèvre, Le respit de la mort, ed. Hasenohr-Esnos, p. 113

If the author is not known, replace with editor’s name. Use ed.:

            ex.       Harvey, ed., The Court of Sapience, p. 20

To cite your own verse text(s), use line or lines before the number. For prose text(s), follow this format: Book number.Chapter number.Paragraph number. If the text doesn’t have books or chapters, use ¶ or ¶¶ before the number.

            ex.       line 265; lines 260–65

                        1.5.¶20; ¶10

Cite entries from the Middle English Dictionary by word, part of speech, and definition (using “sense” to indicate a specific definition). Entries from other dictionaries should also follow this format.

            ex.        MED, wer(e) (n.5), sense 3a

For a Canterbury Tales reference, use the Riverside Chaucer model of citation [e.g., CT I(A)1655–57], that is, fragment number in Roman numerals, (group indicated by letter), and line numbers in Arabic. If the citation appears in parentheses, replace parentheses around the group identifier with square brackets. Capitalize the titles of individual tales, but do not otherwise punctuate them:

            ex.        In The Knight’s Tale (CT I[A]1655–57), Chaucer compares Arcite and Palamon respectively to the tiger and the lion; see also Troy Book 3:5246 and 3:796.

For all biblical citations, use the Vulgate for chapter and verse numbering, the titles of books,^[25] and the names of individuals. If there is potential confusion (most prominent in Psalms), make your reliance on the Vulgate clear. All translations should be from the Douay-Rheims.

            ex.       Apocalypse (not Revelation) 21:1; Isaias (not Isaiah) 42:18; Zacharias (not Zachary or Zachariah); see Psalm 71:2 in the Vulgate (not Psalm 72:1 as it is listed in RSV): “Give to the king thy judgment, O God: and to the king’s son thy justice.”

Write out biblical titles in full; separate chapters and verse numbers of the Bible with a colon:

ex.       Matthew (not Matt.) 25:16.

Cite Patrologia Latina by volume and column, separated by a period.

            ex.        PL 93.487.

For web citations, list the author (if known), “title of a specific webpage,” title of website (if applicable).

            ex.       (Ainsworth, “Jean Froissart: Chronicler, Poet and Writer,” The Online Froissart)

            ex.       (Klein, “Arm Reliquary of the Apostles,” Treasures of Heaven)

            ex.       (“Wills and Testaments,” National Records of Scotland)

For digital facsimiles of a manuscript, give the institutional website’s title, “title of MS”

            ex.       (British Library, “Landsowne MS 757”)

            ex.       (Biblioteca Nacional de España, “Libro de horas de Carlos V”)

For online dictionaries or encyclopedias, check whether the individual entry is attributed to an author or contributor. If so, give author’s surname, the website’s (abbreviated) title, “title of a specific webpage.” If not, omit the author’s surname.

            ex.       (Johnson, ODNB, “Lydgate, John”)

            ex.        (Catholic Encyclopedia, “St. Martin of Tours”)

Additional Points of Style

When quoting a note (footnote or endnote) from another work, list p., the page, n, and the note number without spaces or periods

            ex.        (p. 193n9).

Separate book and line numbers with a period for a poem or similar work. Do not use line (line, lines) or page designations (p., pp.) in this case:

            ex.        Troy Book 2.479–768.

Separate volume and page numbers with a colon.

            ex.       Minor Poems of John Lydgate 2:695–98.

When referring to a section of your volume, capitalize but do not italicize:

ex.        See the Introduction (pp. 6–9) for more about the historical background of the poem.

When listing numbers, repeat the last two digits unless a previous number changes, then list the whole number. The only two exceptions to this rule are folio numbers and year ranges, where all numbers should be listed in full.

            ex.        pp. 124–79; lines 1220–50; pp. 224–379; fols. 196r–197v; 1980–1985                     

All cited sources must appear in the Bibliography. See Bibliography section below.

3. Front Matter

Front matter consists, in this order, of:

• Title page
• Dedication page (if applicable)
• Table of contents
• List of illustrations and figures (if applicable; for images, see Submission Instructions.) 
• Preface (usually only for 2nd editions)
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations list

See the sample Front Matter, which provides a template of the above for volume editors to fill out. METS/MIP will provide additional standard front matter.

A. Abbreviations List

Sources should be abbreviated in the following cases:

• Manuscript sigla. The base manuscript may be abbreviated MS. Indicate the base manuscript in square brackets; if your edition contains multiple texts, also include the relevant text title. See MS and S below.
• Editions of your Text(s). Editions should be abbreviated using the editor(s)’ surname. If an editor is also an author of a frequently-cited work, add a keyword from the source’s title to the author/editor’s name to distinguish the abbreviations from each other. See Bühler vs. Bühler-Apostles, below.
• Reference Works (see “Reference Texts” section below)
• Sources cited 12 times or more

You may also include abbreviations that are not sources, for example, for institutions, series, and languages.

Formatting: Include a list of abbreviations as the last item in the Front Matter. List abbreviations alphabetically, then tab over and list the source by author (if applicable), short title, and editor (if applicable). Punctuation for titles should replicate how the entry appears in the Bibliography, but do not give full bibliographic information. Italicize abbreviations, as you would titles.

ASD                 Bosworth and Toller, Anglo-Saxon Dictionary

B                      Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, fr. 606

B₁                    London, British Library, Harley 4431 

BI                    Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud misc. 570

BL                   British Library

Bühler              Scrope, Epistle of Othea, ed. Bühler

Bühler-Apostles  Bühler, “Apostles and the Creed”

CA                   Gower, Confessio Amantis, ed. Peck

Chance             Christine de Pizan’s Letter of Othea to Hector, ed. and trans. Chance 

CP                   Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy, trans. Stewart, Rand, and Tester

CT                    Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, ed. Benson

DMF                Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500)

EETS               Early English Texts Society

Fein-Children  Fein, “All Adam’s Children”

FP                    Lydgate, Fall of Princes, ed. Bergen

Gordon            Gordon, ed., The Epistle of Othea to Hector: A ‘Lytil Bibell of Knughthod’ 

GR                   Herrtage, ed., Gesta Romanorum

Hassell             Hassell, Middle French Proverbs, Sentences, and Proverbial Phrases

HJW                 Mason, A History of the Jewish War A.D. 66–74

L                      Warminster, Longleat House, MS 253

M                     New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, MS M.775

MED                McSparran et al., Middle English Dictionary

MP                   Lydgate, Minor Poems, ed. MacCracken

MS                   British Library, Harley 838 [base manuscript for Lytle Bibell of Knyghthod]

NIMEV            Boffey and Edwards, eds., New Index of Middle English Verse

OCD                Hornblower and Spawforth, eds., Oxford Classical Dictionary

ODNB              Matthew and Harrison, eds., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

OE                   Old English

OF                   Old French

OM                  de Boer, ed., Ovide moralisé

Parussa            Christine de Pizan, Epistre Othea, ed. Parussa

RR                    Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, Romance of the Rose, trans. Dahlberg

S                      Cambridge, St. John’s College, MS H.5 [base manuscript for Scrope, Epistle of Othea]

STC                  Pollard and Redgrave, eds., A Short-Title Catalogue of Books

TM                   Mombello, La tradizione manoscritta dell’ Epistre Othea di Christine de Pizan 

Warner             Scrope, The Epistle of Othea to Hector or The Boke of Knyghthode, ed. Warner

Whiting            Whiting and Whiting, Proverbs, Sentences, and Proverbial Phrases           

4. Introduction

An introduction should give a basic overview of your text(s). At minimum, your introduction(s) should include a brief synopsis of your text, authorship (if known), dating, language/dialect, meter and rhyme scheme (if applicable), sources, historical/cultural context, and significance. The maximum length of an introduction should be roughly 30,000 words.

Include a section about the text’s manuscript history and provenance, in which you clearly identify and justify your choice of base manuscript. Describe its physical appearance, including size, binding, collation, hand, scribe(s), if known, and any relevant signatures and other identifying marks. For early print editions, identify the printer, typeface, date, and any running titles/headers. Discuss other major witnesses and modern editions, and identify those you have consulted in your transcription and collation of Textual Notes.

The final section should explain your Editorial Practice. Describe your rationale for emendation and, if appropriate, your choices for large-scale text divisions, stanza forms, etc. If applicable, discuss your treatment of extra-textual elements (i.e., marginalia, images, etc.). If you translate your text into English, provide a brief discussion of your translation philosophy.

Some editors conclude this section with a list of Witnesses and Source Texts, especially if their Text(s) have many textual witnesses, or a list of Further Reading. Such lists are welcome, but not required. If you choose to include such a list, make sure the items listed are identical to their entries in the Bibliography.

5. Explanatory Notes

METS’s Explanatory Notes (‘E-Notes’) are geared towards our student audience. They include substantial general contextualization and information. Therefore, this section tends to be longer than those of comparable series. In keeping with this ethos, we ask that volume editors provide English translations for any non-English phrases or quotations used, in square brackets.

It is common practice for METS texts to include the following types of explanatory notes:

• Specialized ME terminology (e.g., chivalric, liturgical, legal contexts), usually citing the MED
• Proverbs or proverbial phrases. We recommend citing Whiting for Middle English texts and Hassell for French texts. See Reference Texts below.
• References to other texts or figures (Classical, Scriptural, historical), including source texts
• References to the Middle English literary canon
• Genre conventions — verbal tags, or tropes like the disguised knight or the Nine Worthies
• Place names. If your text includes many locations, consider identifying their modern analogues

In addition to these, we encourage you to discuss any thematic elements pertinent to your text.

A. Formatting for Verse Texts

Each individual note should be indicated by line number(s), followed by a tab. Then copy the catchword/catchphrase in italics, followed by a full stop, after which the note begins. Use relevant abbreviations from the Abbreviations List.

4393    A sory beverage there was browen. Proverbial: breuen a bitter (sory) beverage,  denotes “inflict[ing] great harm” (MED, breuen (v.), sense 3a). Compare Whiting B529. [Whiting and MED should appear in the abbreviations list.]

Include catchwords/phrases from your edited text whenever possible. If your note spans multiple lines/sentences, the catchphrase should include the first 2 or 3 words, a three-point ellipsis, and the last 2 or 3 words.

B. Formatting for Prose Texts

Follow formatting instructions for verse Explanatory Notes as above, except for line numbers. Instead of numbering each note, include a heading above the relevant notes: Book number, Chapter number, Paragraph number. Use Arabic numbers. For Rubrics, use the same heading but replace the Paragraph Number with Rubric.

Chapter 1, Paragraph 4

musycyens. Musicianship was associated with chivalry, especially the ability to perform courtly melodies and lyrics. Sir Tristrem was a noted harper; his lessons with Isolde kindled their love affair. Chaucer says of his Squire that “syngynge he was, or floytynge [piping], al the day; . . . He koude songes make and wel endite” (CT I [A] 91, 95).

hyghe lygnage. Paris’s father is a vassal of the dauphin and without a title.

Chapter 2, Rubric

by nyght tofore the chambre of Vyenne. BN1 and L read aubades, a word from Old Provençal referring to love songs, literally dawn songs. According to convention, they would be performed beneath a lady’s opened window. [CT, BN1, and L should appear in the abbreviations list.]

It is up to you how much secondary material you would like to use, and how deeply you engage with the scholarly literature. We encourage you to cite relevant scholarship, particularly major works in the field that are considered fundamental “Further Reading” for non-specialist readers.

6. Textual Notes

Textual Notes (or ‘T-Notes’) document variant readings among your witnesses. Volume editors should cite substantive variants only, though we leave it to your discretion to determine what counts as substantive variation. Where your emendations do not follow any witnesses, provide a brief justification (like Emended for sense or Emended for rhyme). If your base text includes damaged or lost leaves/passages, include notes explaining how much is missing (if known) and — where possible — reconstructing the sense of the lost content from other witnesses. If your base text has multiple scribes, include notes on where the hand changes.

Unlike the rest of the volume, readings in Textual Notes should use Middle English characters like thorn [þ], eth [ð], yogh [ȝ], and wynn (ƿ), except in the catchwords/phrases from your edited Text. Use Word’s insert symbols feature to add relevant characters. Do not use the number 3 for yoghs or 7 for Tironian ets. When you submit your edition, include a list of special characters including these ME characters; for details, see Submission Instructions.

Words or letters that have been cancelled should be transcribed using Word’s strikeout feature.

            ex. MS: went come

It is up to you whether to document visual or extra-textual material such as enlarged or rubricated capitals, marginalia, illustrations, etc. The same principle stands for early print features, such as transposed letters, catchwords, and paraph marks. However, if you do document such elements, do so consistently — that is, if you have a note about one enlarged capital, include notes for all enlarged capitals.

A. Formatting for Verse Texts

Each individual note should be formatted like an Explanatory Note, with line number(s) and italicized catchphrases. Immediately after the catchphrase, indicate readings that exactly follow the catchphrase (your edited text) with So (see below). Then, list any variant readings. All readings should be italicized. Expand abbreviations silently. Each note MUST contain the reading from your base text; this usually means most catchphrases are followed by So MS.

If there are multiple instances of your catchword in the given line, indicate which instance you mean with a subscript. If, for example, hir appears three times in the relevant line and you mean the second instance, list the catchphrase as hir₂. Include capitalized instances in the count.

27        jestes. So W. MS: ȝyiftys. B: geste. L: gestes. [Here, MS is the base manuscript. W, B, and L are sigla for manuscripts or editions that should appear in the abbreviations list. Note that L’s variant is identical to the catchword, except for the yogh. This counts as a different reading, so include the variants in your notes.]

495–96 The aventurous . . . knyght betydde. Absent in MS, these lines are supplied from W.

            396–426 To the . . . hym drowe. For D’s version of these lines, see Löwenherz, pp. 98–101n.

B. Formatting for Prose Texts

Follow formatting instructions for verse Textual Notes as indicated above, except for line number. Instead of numbering each note, include a heading above the relevant notes: Book number, Chapter number, Paragraph number. Use Arabic numbers. For Rubrics, use the same heading but replace the Paragraph Number with Rubric. Since paragraph numbering is used, longer catchphrases are suggested to facilitate locating the catchphrase within the Text. Using a single catchword (to) is not advised, because to may appear many times in a paragraph.                

7. Bibliography

Bibliographies should function as a Works Cited section. Volume editors should not attempt a full bibliography of all relevant sources.

A. Sections

Include three sections in the Bibliography, in the order below. List all sources alphabetically in each section. When deciding which sources belong in which section, keep in mind that authors of secondary sources may also be editors of primary sources, and that some titles may be very similar. In these cases, make sure to specify whether an individual is an author or editor. You will create short titles for relevant sources, and ensure they are distinct from each other.

• Manuscripts and Documents include any documents with shelfmarks — mostly manuscripts and early print editions (of the edited Text(s)), but also historical documents like the Rolls Series. If a textual witness is available online, include the URL in the bib entry.
• Primary Sources include all literary texts and editions; facsimiles of MSS, early print editions (of any material except edited Text(s)); and historical documents like state records or registers, parliamentary rolls, calendars, royal letters, and treasury accounts.
• Secondary Sources include works of scholarship like monographs, collections of essays, journal articles, as well as reference sources like dictionaries, encyclopedias, databases, annotated bibliographies, and catalogues.

Alphabetization:

• For medieval names with particles, alphabetize by first name (Geoffrey of Monmouth under G, not M; Chretien de Troyes under C, not D or T)
• For modern names with particles, take into account the individual’s preference (if known), as well as traditional and national usages. (Charles de Gaulle, for example, is sometimes listed under D and sometimes G.) Merriam Webster’s Biographical Dictionary is a guide for well-known persons long deceased; library catalogues and encyclopedias are also of assistance. Alphabetize those names as appropriate.

Abbreviations:

• The Abbreviations List does not apply to the Bibliography, other than for Primary Text series like EETS. See Primary Text series in Reference Texts, below.
• Unless an author uses initials in their name, or a title includes an abbreviation, do not use abbreviations in the Bibliography. Do not, for example, use UP to indicate University Press. Spell out all words.

B. Types of Sources

A manuscript:

City of holding institution, institution title, manuscript shelfmark. Online catalog page’s URL (if digitized).

Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, MS fr. 20044. Online at https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10721305x.

An early print:

Author [last name, first name — if known]. Title. Ed. or trans. [first, last] City of publication: Publisher, Year. STC number.^[26]] Holding institution, shelfmark (only for witnesses of the edited text). Online catalog page’s URL (if digitized). 

Caxton, William. Thystorye of the noble ryght valyaunt and worthy knyght Parys, and of the fayr Vyenne de daulphyns doughter. Westminster: William Caxton, 1485. ISTC: ip00113500. London, British Library, C.10.b.10. Online at http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100102251449.0x000001#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=76&xywh=-982%2C-345%2C11693%2C6873.

Fitzjames, Richard. Sermo die lune in ebdomada Pasche. London: Wynkyn de Worde, 1491–1499. STC 11024. [Not a witness for the edited text, so holding institution and shelfmark are not needed]

A book:

Author [last name, first name — if known]. Title. Ed. or trans. [first, last]. Vol. [either vol. number or number of vols. in the series]. Name and number of series.^[27] City of publication:[28] Publisher, Year.

Barbour, John. Barbour’s Bruce. Ed. Matthew P. McDiarmid and James A. C. Stevenson. 3 vols. STS 4th series 12, 13, 15. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1980–85.

Geoffrey of Monmouth. The History of the Kings of Britain. Trans. Lewis Thorpe. Baltimore: Penguin, 1966.

Pearsall, Derek. Gower and Lydgate. Harlow: Longman, Greens, and Co., 1969.

An edition with an unknown author:

Editions with unknown authors are formatted as regular book entries, replacing the author’s name with the editor’s name, using ed.

Herrtage, Sidney J. H., ed. The English Charlemagne Romances. Part I: Sir Ferumbras. EETS e.s. 34. London: Oxford University Press, 1879.

An EETS edition:

Note that editions are listed by their original author, if known, otherwise by editor. NB: include o.s. (original series), e.s. (extra series), s.s. (supplementary series), n.s. (new series).

Lydgate, John. Lydgate’s Troy Book. A. D. 1412–20. Ed. Henry Bergen. 4 vols. EETS e.s. 97, 103, 106, 126. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906–35.

An edition other than the first:

Gower, John. Confessio Amantis. Ed. Russell A. Peck. 2nd ed. 3 vols. METS. Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 2006–13.

Hammond, Eleanor P. English Verse between Chaucer and Surrey. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1927. Reprint, New York: Octagon Books, 1969.

A multi-volume work:

Dunbar, William. The Poems of William Dunbar. Ed. Priscilla Bawcutt. 2 vols. Glasgow: Association for Scottish Literary Studies, 1998.

An essay in an edited collection:

Author [last, first]. “Title of article.” In Title of Book. Ed. [first then last]. City: Publisher, year. Pp. [page numbers].

Watson, Nicholas. “Outdoing Chaucer.” In Shifts and Transpositions in Medieval Literature. Ed. Karen Pratt. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1994. Pp. 291–303.

 

If two or more essays from the same collection appear in the bibliography, add the collection of essays as a separate entry and shorten each individual essay entry as follows:

Author [last, first]. “Title of article.” In Name of Editor(s), Short Title. Pp. [page numbers].

Larson, Wendy R. “The Role of Patronage and Audience in the Cults of Sts Margaret and Marina of Antioch.” In Riches and Salih, Gender and Holiness. Pp. 23–35.

 

Elsewhere, the full collection of essays appears as a separate entry:

Riches, Samantha J. E., and Sarah Salih, eds. Gender and Holiness: Men, Women and Saints in Late Medieval Europe. London: Routledge, 2002.

Multiple entries by an author:

List all entries chronologically, oldest to most recent, including monographs, edited volumes, and co-authored texts. Do not list them alphabetically. After the initial entry, repeat the author’s name; do not replace it with three em-dashes, and complete the entry. 

Skeat, Walter W. The Chaucer Canon with a Discussion of the Works Associated with the Name of Geoffrey Chaucer. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1900.

Skeat, Walter, W., ed. Early English Proverbs, Chiefly of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries, with Illustrative Quotations. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910.

An article in a journal:

Author [last, first]. “Title of article.” Journal Title volume number, issue number (date), page numbers. Online at Article DOI, if available.

Sobecki, Sebastian. “Ecce patet tensus: The Trentham Manuscript, In Praise of Peace, and John Gower’s Autograph Hand.” Speculum 90, no. 4 (October 2015), 925–59. Online at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0038713415002316

A book review:

Author [last, first]. Review of Title of book, by author name, ed./trans. name (if applicable). Journal Title volume number, issue number (date), page numbers. Online at Article DOI, if available.

Larrington, Carolyne. Review of Lybeaus Desconus, ed. Eve Salisbury and James Weldon. Medium Ævum 84, no. 2 (Fall-Winter 2015), 356. Online at https://doi.org/10.2307/26396560

A dissertation:

Author [last, first]. “Title.” Ph.D. Dissertation: Institution, year. Online at URI, if available.

Haught, Leah. “Toward an aesthetics of failure: generic expectation and identity formation in Middle English Arthuriana.” Ph.D. Dissertation: University of Rochester, 2011. Online at http://hdl.handle.net/1802/14778

 A contribution to a multi-author reference source:

Author [last, first]. “Title of entry.” In Title of Book. Ed. [first then last]. City: Publisher, year. Pp. [page numbers].

Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane. “Charon (1).” In The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Ed. Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. P. 307.

If two or more contributors from the same reference work appear in the bibliography, add the reference work as a separate bib entry and shorten each contributor’s entry as follows:

Author [last, first]. “Title of entry.” In Short Title. Pp. [page numbers].

Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane. “Charon (1).” In The Oxford Classical Dictionary. P. 307.

Elsewhere, the full reference work appears as a separate entry:

The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Ed. Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

A contribution to an online dictionary or encyclopedia:

Author/contributor [last, first]. “Title of entry.” In Title of Dictionary or Encyclopedia. Publisher, Date of Publication. Online at URL.

Bhattacharji, Santha. “Julian of Norwich (1342–c. 1416).” In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2018. Online at https://doi-org.ezp.lib.rochester.edu/10.1093/ref:odnb/15163.

A website:

Author [if applicable]. “Title of webpage [if applicable].” Title of website. Owner or sponsor, date of publication [if known]. Online at DOI or URL [make sure to include https://].

“Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.” The British Library. Online at http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/welcome.htm.

METS generally follows the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. For additional questions, consult the latest edition of CMS.

8. Glossary

If your text is a Middle English text, include a glossary. For definitions and grammatical information on specific words, consult the MED: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary. Non-English texts do not require a glossary, because that text is fully translated.

The scope of the glossary will differ from edition to edition. Glossaries are selective and the level of comprehensiveness is left to the editor’s discretion. But as a general rule, assume an undergraduate readership. Because readers could very well be encountering ME for the first time, you should include “false friends” (ME words that have a different meaning from their modern counterparts), as well as common words that may look unfamiliar. We recommend including personal pronouns (and their variant spellings), unusual verb forms, prepositions with multiple meanings, words with intensifiers (like words with the for- prefix), and rare or difficult words. You may also want to include thematic terms (chivalric, religious, feudal, etc.) important to your text. Etymologies should not be included.

Texts in early Middle English and non-East Anglian dialects should generally have fuller glossaries. Editors of such texts have traditionally chosen to include more grammatical information, though we leave that to your discretion. If you choose to include grammatical information, include a list of abbreviations for the grammatical categories you use; see below. Include a list of grammatical abbreviations at the top of the glossary. To see glossaries with grammar-heavy entries, see The Katherine Group (MS Bodley 34), ed. Huber and Robertson (2016) and The Palyce of Honour, ed. Parkinson, 2^nd edition (2018).

Grammatical abbreviations: (adapted from EETS Guidelines for Editors)

acc(usative), adj(ective), adv(erb), card(inal), comp(arative), conj(unction), dat(ive), dem(onstrative), gen(itive), imp(erative), impers(onal), ind(icative), inst(rumental), interj(ection), intrans(itive), n(oun), nom(inative), num(eral), ord(inal), p(articiple), pa(st), pa. p. = past participle, pl(ural), poss(essive), ppl. = participial (e.g. in participial adjective, ppl.adj.), pr(esent), pr. p. = present participle, pref(ix), prep(osition), pron(oun), refl(exive), rel(ative), sg. = singular, subj(unctive), superl(ative), t(ense), trans(itive), v(erb).

A. Formatting

Each entry should contain the headword and its definition(s). Include parts of speech only to distinguish between multiple headwords with the same spelling.

Alphabetize all entries, using the modern English alphabet. Do not treat i and y as interchangeable letters.

Boldface the ME word, put the part of speech in parentheses (if applicable), followed by two spaces, and the definition in italics.

            ex.        privé (adj.)  secret, mysterious

Separate homographs (words with the same spelling but different meaning), into different entries. Make sure to differentiate them by assigning the correct part of speech.

            ex.        wight (n.)  a person

                        wight (adj.)  brave, strong, healthy

If multiple forms of a word appear, cross-reference to entry closest to the dictionary form, according to the MED (i.e., the least inflected form; for verbs, see the preferred order of verbs below). Add a semicolon after the definition, put “see” in roman and the relevant headword in boldface:

                        ex. slee (pr.)  slay

                              slough(en) (p.)  slayed; see slee

                              yslawe, yslawghe (pa. p.)  slain; see slee

Separate variations of a meaning with a comma.

                        ex.        her (pron.)  her, their

Indicate different forms of the word with parentheses.

                        ex. yif(fe) (prep.)  if

Phrases including the headword may be indicated, if desired. The phrase should be bolded, a tilde should replace the headword within the phrase, a comma (not bolded) should follow the phrase, and the definition should follow in italics.

                        ex. aventure (n.)  chance, fortune, fate; in ~ that, for fear that

Preferred order of verbs:

Infinitive. Present 1, 2, 3 singular; plural (note there is rarely any need to distinguish persons in the plural). Subjunctive singular, plural. Imperative singular, plural. Present participle. Past singular (person marked only when necessary), plural. Subjunctive singular, plural. Past participle.

Submit Glossary as a simple list. Do not attempt to imitate the two-column layout of METS’s published glossaries.

9. Optional Back Matter: Indices and Appendices

Additional back matter may be provided at the volume editor’s discretion, and should be noted in the original proposal. If your back matter does not fit into the format of the samples, please contact METS as soon as possible.

Indices are useful for helping readers navigate longer texts. An Index for Names and Places should include variant spellings. An Index of First Lines is usually used only in codex volumes (see Complete Harley 2253 Manuscript, ed. Fein). Indices should adopt the layout of the Glossary. 

Volume editors have used Appendices to give full lists of witnesses or miniatures; provide collations, concordances, or specialized glossaries; to include selections or translations of related texts; or include metatextual elements like music.

10. Reference Texts

Below is a list of METS’s standard reference texts (and their abbreviations). You may cite other editions, but if you do not specify editions, we will default to these:

NB: All reference texts cited in your edition must appear in the Bibliography.

Canonical Texts:

Riverside Chaucer, 3^rd edition, ed. Larry Benson, 1987 (CT)

Langland, Piers Plowman: Specify an edition. We default to:

• Piers Plowman: A parallel-text edition of the A, B, C, and Z versions, ed. A.V.C. Schmidt, 2011 or
• Will’s visions of Pier Plowman and Do-Well, ed. George Kane, 1960

Malory, Le Morte D’Arthur, ed. P.J.C. Field, 2 vols., 2013

Riverside Shakespeare

Vulgate Bible:

• Biblia Sacra Iuxta Vulgatam Versionem, ed. Robert Weber, with B. Fischer, J. Gribomont, H.F.D. Sparks, W. Thiele, 5^th ed. rev. R. Gryson, 2007 or
• http://www.drbo.org/lvb/

Douay-Rheims: http://www.drbo.org/

Patrologia Latina (PL): http://pld.chadwyck.co.uk/

Aquinas, Catena Aurea, 2^nd ed., ed. John Henry Newman, trans. Mark Pattison, 4 vols., 1864: https://catalog.lib.rochester.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=1197120 (institutional access required)

Jacobus de Voragine, Golden Legend, trans. William Granger Ryan, 2 vols., 1993 (LA)

Primary Text Series:

Early English Text Society (EETS)

Manual of the Writings of Middle English (MWME)

Scottish Text Society (STS)

Anglo-Norman Text Society (ANTS)

French of England Translation Series (FRETS)

Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis (CCCM)

For Latin texts, use the commonly-accepted critical edition

Dictionaries:

Middle English Dictionary (MED) https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary

Dictionary of Old English (DOE): https://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/index.html

Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (ASD): http://www.bosworthtoller.com/

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) www.oed.com

Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND) http://www.anglo-norman.net/gate/

Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (DMF): http://www.atilf.fr/dmf/

Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL): http://www.dsl.ac.uk/

Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2^nd ed., ed. P.G.W. Glare, 2012: https://archive.org/details/OxfordLatinDictionary_201708

Databases:

Digital Index of Middle English Verse (DIMEV): http://www.dimev.net/

English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC): http://estc.bl.uk/

Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (ISTC): https://data.cerl.org/istc/_search

Universal Short Title Catalogue (USTC): https://www.ustc.ac.uk/

Bodleian Summary Catalogue (SC): http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?vid=SOLO&docid=oxfaleph010116452&context=L

Early English Books Online (EEBO): https://eebo.chadwyck.com

Encyclopedias:

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB): www.oxforddnb.com

Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th edition, ed. Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow

Oxford Music Online: www.oxfordmusiconline.com

Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 5th ed., ed. David Hugh Farmer, 2003

Orbis Latinus: http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/orblata.html

Lexicon des Mittelalters, ed. Robert Auty, 14 vols., 1977–1999

Whiting and Whiting, Proverbs, Sentences, and Proverbial Phrases from English Writings mainly before 1500, 1968 (Whiting)

Hassell, Jr., Middle French Proverbs, Sentences, and Proverbial Phrases, 1982 (Hassell)