ABSTRACT
In theory, there are at least five possible ways, deriving from the material itself, in which Middle English prose can be indexed—by author, by title, by date of composition, by genre, and by first line. All of these ways have been used before, either separately or in combination, but the author assumes at the outset that all would agree that the best way is by first line. The first line will be the first line of the actual Middle English text—omitting titles, tables of contents, and prefatory material—which sounds easy in theory but is often difficult in practice. The Benedictine Rule is a fairly simple example of multiple versions, but there are more complicated ones. There are four Middle English prose versions of the Travels, which itself is a compilation originally written in French.
