This chapter considers the ways in which medieval miscellanies have been available to scholars from the mid-19th century onwards, and how the uneven nature of that availability, through facsimile, edition, or commentary, has shaped perceptions of the very nature of this type of manuscript. Attention is paid to how fully facsimiles, editions, and studies represent their originals, and to the distortions of critical perception that can result from partial representation. Also noted is the tendency to privilege manuscripts that are associated with particular authors, and with scribes, patrons, or readers who can be named (even though the majority of medieval miscellanies cannot be connected to any type of biographical context); examples include John Shirley, Richard Hill, Robert Reynes, Robert Thornton, and John Vale. The merits and feasibility of editing miscellanies and producing facsimiles, especially digital facsimile, or other types of study are explored, largely in relation to English examples from the later medieval period.
