Who Was the Scribe of the Radisson Manuscript?
Abstract
This article returns to the subject of my "Radisson's Voyages and their Manuscripts" (Archivaria 48, Fall 1999) in pursuit of a problem unresolved there: identifying the scribe of the only extant manuscript (Oxford: Bodleian Rawlinson A 329) of Pierre-Esprit Radisson's first four travel narratives, a text written about 1668-9 and copied (as I argued on the basis of paper evidence ) ca. 1686-7. The new palaeographical evidence described here shows that the scribe was Nicholas Hayward, a professional notary and a frequent member of the London Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company between 1668 and 1690. The article examines Hayward's career and his possible relationship with Radisson, but also considers the ways in which the London Committee handled the problem of archiving the papers of the new company. Hayward's documented expertise in French translation shows the Bodleian manuscript cannot be a rough-hewn translation, as Grace Lee Nute suggested in 1943, but is almost certainly written in Radisson's own Francophone English.
Authors of manuscripts accepted for publication retain copyright in their work. They are required to sign the Agreement on Authors' Rights and Responsibilities that permits Archivaria to publish and disseminate the work in print and electronically. In the same agreement, authors are required to confirm that "the material submitted for publication in Archivaria, both in its paper and electronic versions, including reproductions of other works (e.g. photographs, maps, etc.) does not infringe upon any existing copyright." Authors of manuscripts accepted for publication retain copyright in their work and are able to publish their articles in institutional repositories or elsewhere as long as the piece is posted after its original appearance on archivaria.ca. Any reproduction within one year following the date of this agreement requires the permission of the General Editor.