HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Royal manuscripts are one of the "closed collections" of the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
(i.e. historic collections to which new material is no longer added), consisting of some 2,000 manuscripts collected by the sovereigns of England in the "Old Royal Library" and given to the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...
by
George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...
in 1757. They are still catalogued with call numbers using the prefix "Royal" in the style "Royal MS 2. B. V". As a collection, the Royal manuscripts date back to Edward IV, though many earlier manuscripts were added to the collection before it was donated. Though the collection was therefore formed entirely after the invention of printing, luxury illuminated manuscripts continued to be commissioned by royalty in England as elsewhere until well into the 16th century. The collection was expanded under Henry VIII by confiscations in the Dissolution of the Monasteries and after the falls of Henry's ministers
Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure ...
and Thomas Cromwell. Many older manuscripts were presented to monarchs as gifts; perhaps the most important manuscript in the collection, the
Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...
, was presented to
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
in recognition of the diplomatic efforts of his father
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
to help the Eastern Orthodox churches under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The date and means of entry into the collection can only be guessed at in many if not most cases. Now the collection is closed in the sense that no new items have been added to it since it was donated to the nation. The collection is not to be confused with the Royal Collection of various types of art still owned by the Crown, nor the
King's Library The King's Library was one of the most important collections of books and pamphlets of the Age of Enlightenment.British LibraryGeorge III Collection: the King's Libraryaccessed 26 May 2010 Assembled by George III, this scholarly library of over ...
of printed books, mostly assembled by
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
, and given to the nation by his son George IV, which is also in the British Library, as is the Royal Music Library, a collection mostly of scores and parts both printed (about 4,500 items) and in manuscript (about 1,000), given in 1957. The Royal manuscripts were deposited in 1707 in Cotton House, Westminster with the
Cotton Library The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts once owned by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631), an antiquarian and bibliophile. It later became the basis of what is now the British Library, which still holds the collection. ...
, which was already a form of national collection under trustees, available for consultation by scholars and
antiquaries An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic sit ...
; the site is now covered by the Houses of Parliament. The collection escaped relatively lightly in the fire of 1731 at
Ashburnham House Ashburnham House is an extended seventeenth-century house on Little Dean's Yard in Westminster, London, United Kingdom, which since 1882 has been part of Westminster School. It is occasionally open to the public, when its staircase and first f ...
, to which the collections had been moved. The Cotton Library was one of the founding collections of the British Museum in 1753, and four years later the Royal collection was formally donated to the new institution by the king. It moved to the new British Library when this was established in 1973. The 9,000 printed books that formed the majority of the Old Royal Library were not kept as a distinct collection in the way the manuscripts were, and are dispersed among the library's holdings. The Royal manuscripts, and those in other British Library collections with royal connections, were the focus of an exhibition at the British Library "Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination" in 2011–2012.


Highlights

*
Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...
, a 5th-century manuscript of the Greek Bible, one of the four
Great uncial codices The great uncial codices or four great uncials are the only remaining uncial codices that contain (or originally contained) the entire text of the Bible (Old and New Testament) in Greek. They are the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican Library, the Co ...
. * Gospel Book (British Library, MS Royal 1. B. VII), an 8th-century
illuminated Illuminated may refer to: * "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts * Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house * ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album) * Illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript ...
Insular Gospel Book, closely related to the
Lindisfarne Gospels The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) is an illuminated manuscript gospel book probably produced around the years 715–720 in the monastery at Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, which is now in the ...
*
Bald's Leechbook ''Bald's Leechbook'' (also known as ''Medicinale Anglicum'') is an Old English medical text probably compiled in the ninth century, possibly under the influence of Alfred the Great's educational reforms.Nokes, Richard Scott ‘The several compil ...
, an Old English medical text probably compiled in the 9th century * Westminster Psalter, from Westminster Abbey, with important miniatures from about 1200 and then 1250 * Rochester Bestiary, 13th century, English *
Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey i ...
, MS Royal 14.C.VII contains his '' Historia Anglorum'' (1250–59), 358 x 250 mm, ff 232, also the last volume of the ''
Chronica Majora The ''Chronica Majora'' is the seminal work of Matthew Paris, a member of the English Benedictine community of St Albans and long-celebrated historian. The work begins with Creation and contains annals down to the year of Paris' death of 1259. ...
'', and various other items. * Queen Mary Psalter, a 14th-century English
psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters wer ...
, later owned by Mary I of England *
Talbot Shrewsbury Book The Talbot Shrewsbury BookLondon, British Library Royal 15 E vi is a very large richly-illuminated manuscript made in Rouen (Normandy) in 1444/5. It was presented by John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (d. 1453) to the French princess, Margaret of ...
a compilation of 15 secular texts in French, made in Rouen, Normandy in 1444/5 and presented by John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (d. 1453) to the French princess,
Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou (french: link=no, Marguerite; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England and nominally Queen of France by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Born in the Duchy of Lorrai ...
in honour of her betrothal to Henry VI *
Psalter of Henry VIII The Psalter of Henry VIII is a 16th-century illuminated psalter that belonged to Henry VIII of England. It is now in the British Library as MS Royal 2 A xvi. The king commissioned the book in the early 1540s from the French illuminator Jean Ma ...
, from the 1540s


The Old Royal Library


Before Edward IV

Edward IV is conventionally regarded as the founder of the "old Royal Library" which formed a continuous collection from his reign until its donation to the nation in the 18th century, though this view has been challenged. There are only about twenty surviving manuscripts that probably belonged to the English kings and queens between
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal ...
and Henry VI, though the number expands considerably when the princes and princesses are included. A few Anglo-Saxon manuscripts owned by royalty have survived after being presented to the church, among them a Gospel Book, Royal 1. B. VII, given to
Christ Church, Canterbury Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the Ch ...
by King Athelstan in the 920s, which probably rejoined the collection at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. However these works are scattered among a variety of libraries. By the late Middle Ages luxury manuscripts would generally include the heraldry of the commissioner, especially in the case of royalty, which is an important means of identifying the original owner. There are patchy documentary records which mention many more, though the royal library was from about 1318 covered in the records of the "Chamber", which have survived far less completely than the pipe rolls of the main Exchequer. The careful inventories of the French royal library have no English equivalent until a list compiled at
Richmond Palace Richmond Palace was a royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminster, which ...
in 1535. At the start of Edward III's reign there was a significant library kept in the Privy Wardrobe of the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
, partly built up from confiscations from difficult members of the nobility, which were often later returned. Many books were given away, as diplomatic, political or family gifts, but also (especially if in Latin rather than French) to "clerks" or civil servants of the royal administration, some receiving several at a time, such as Richard de Bury, perhaps England's leading bibliophile at the time as well as an important figure in the government, who received 14 books in 1328. By 1340 there were only 18 books left, although this probably did not include Edward's personal books. Despite the cultured nature of his court, and his encouragement of English poets, little is known of the royal books under
Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father die ...
, although one illuminated manuscript created in Paris for
Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...
to present to Richard, the ''Epistre au roi Richart'' of Philippe de Mézières (Royal 20. B. VI), was at Richmond in 1535, and is in the British Library Royal manuscripts. The reign of Henry IV has left records of the building of a ''novum studium'' ("new study") at
Eltham Palace Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham ( ) in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 1930s. ...
finely decorated with more than 78 square feet of
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
, at a cost of £13, and a prosecution involving nine missing royal books, including bibles in Latin and English, valued respectively at £10 and £5, the high figures suggesting they were illuminated. The wills of Henry's son,
Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
refer to a ''Biblia Magna'' ("Big" or "Great Bible"), which had belonged to Henry IV and was to be left to the nuns of Henry V's foundation at Syon. This may be Royal MS 1. E. IX, with fine historiated initials illuminated in London by several artists from the school of Herman Scheerre of Cologne. A considerable number of religious texts were left to family members, staff and his many chaplains. Two of Henry V's younger brothers were notable collectors. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390-1447), who had commissioned translations from Greek into Latin and gave most of his collection, 281 books, to the library at Oxford University, where the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second ...
later grew around
Duke Humfrey's Library Duke Humfrey's Library is the oldest reading room in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. It is named after Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, who donated 281 books after his death in 1447. Sections of the libraries w ...
. At his death his remaining books mostly went to his nephew Henry VI's new
King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
, but some illuminated books in French were kept for the royal library, and are still in the Royal manuscripts. John, Duke of Bedford took over as English commander in France after Henry V's death in 1422, and commissioned two important manuscripts which have reached the British Library by other routes, the Parisian
Bedford Hours The Bedford Hours is a French late medieval book of hours. It dates to the early fifteenth century (c. 1410–30); some of its miniatures, including the portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, have been attributed to the Bedford Master ...
(Ms Add 18850, in fact presented to Henry VI in 1431) and the English Bedford Psalter and Hours (BL Ms Add 42131). He also used the dominant English position in France to buy the French royal library of the Louvre, from which a few examples remain in the Royal manuscripts.


Edward IV to Henry VII

About fifty of the Royal manuscripts were acquired by Edward IV (1442-1483), a far larger and more coherent group than survive from any of his predecessors. He was not a scholarly man, and had to fight his way to the throne after inheriting the
Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...
claim to the throne at the age of eighteen after his father and elder brother died in battle. He reigned from 1461 until 1470, when machinations among the leading nobles forced a six-month period of exile in
Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former Regions of France, administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Duke of Burgundy, Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11 ...
. He stayed for some of this period in
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...
at the house of Louis de Gruuthuse, a leading nobleman in the intimate circle of
Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged ...
, who had died three years before. Philip had the largest and finest library of illuminated manuscripts in Europe, with perhaps 600, and Gruuthuse was one of several Burgundian nobles who had begun to collect seriously in emulation. In 1470 his library (much of it now in Paris) was in its early stages, but must already have been very impressive for Edward. The Flemish illuminating workshops had by this date clearly overtaken those of Paris to become the leading centre in northern Europe, and English illumination had probably come to seem somewhat provincial. The Burgundian collectors were especially attracted to secular works, often with a military or
chivalric Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed ...
flavour, that were illustrated with a lavishness rarely found in earlier manuscripts on such subjects. As well as generous numbers of miniatures, the borders were decorated in increasingly inventive and elaborate fashion, with much use of the heraldry of the commissioner. Many of Edward's manuscripts reflected this taste; like that of Philip, his court displayed an increase in ceremonial formality, and interest in chivalry. Most of his books are large-format popular works in French, with several modern and ancient histories, and authors such as
Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...
,
Christine de Pisan Christine de Pizan or Pisan (), born Cristina da Pizzano (September 1364 – c. 1430), was an Italian poet and court writer for King Charles VI of France and several French dukes. Christine de Pizan served as a court writer in medieval France ...
and
Alain Chartier Alain Chartier (1430) was a French poet and political writer. Life Alain Chartier was born in Bayeux to a family marked by considerable ability. His eldest brother Guillaume became bishop of Paris; and Thomas became notary to the king. Jean ...
. They are too large to hold comfortably, and may have been read aloud from
lectern A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...
s, though the large miniatures were certainly intended to be appreciated. The largest purchases were probably made from about April 1479, when a part-payment is recorded to a foreign ("stranger") "merchant" or dealer for £80 to "merchant stranger Philip Maisertuell in partie of paiement of £240 of certaine bokes by the said Philip to be provided to the kyngs use in the parties beyond the see." This was perhaps Philippe de Mazerolles, a leading illuminator who had moved from France to Flanders. At least six of Edward's Flemish books are dated to 1479 and 1480; such large books naturally took a considerable time to produce. Further payments totalling £10 are recorded in 1480 for binding eight books, for which other payments record the transport to Eltham in special pine chests. Other manuscripts are no longer in the Royal collection, such as the "Soane '' Josephus''" (MS 1,
Sir John Soane's Museum Sir John Soane's Museum is a house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of neo-classical architect, John Soane. It holds many drawings and architectural models of Soane's projects, and ...
), which remained in the collection until after an inventory in 1666. One of the most splendid books made for Edward in Bruges in the 1470s is a ''
Bible historiale The Bible Historiale was the predominant medieval translation of the Bible into French. It translates from the Latin Vulgate significant portions from the Bible accompanied by selections from the ''Historia Scholastica'' by Peter Comestor (d. c. ...
'' in French in three volumes (Royal MS 15 D i, 18 D ix-x), which was probably begun for another patron, then completed for Edward. Edward's reign saw the beginning of printing, both in English in 1473-75 and in England itself from 1476, when William Caxton set up a press in Westminster. At the top end of the market the illuminated manuscript continued to retain a superior prestige for many decades. When Edward's brother in law,
Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers (c. 144025 June 1483), was an English nobleman, courtier, bibliophile and writer. He was the brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville who married King Edward IV. He was one of the leading members of the Woodvil ...
had Caxton print his own translation of the '' Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers'' in 1477, the book he presented to Edward was a special manuscript copied from the printed edition, with a
presentation miniature A presentation miniature or dedication miniature is a miniature painting often found in illuminated manuscripts, in which the patron or donor is presented with a book, normally to be interpreted as the book containing the miniature itself.Brow ...
, implying "that a printed book might not yet have been regarded as sufficiently distinguished for a formal gift of this kind". Henry VII appears to have commissioned relatively few manuscripts, preferring French luxury printed editions (his exile had been spent in France). He also added his own arms to a number of earlier manuscripts, a common practice for those bought second-hand. One manuscript, Royal 19. C. VIII, was scribed at
Sheen Palace Richmond Palace was a royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminster, which ...
in 1496 by the Flemish royal librarian, Quentin Poulet and then sent to Bruges to be illuminated, and another, Royal 16. F. II, appears to have been begun as a present for Edward IV, then left aside until completed with new miniatures and Tudor roses in about 1490, as a present for Henry.


Henry VIII to Elizabeth

By the time Henry VIII came to the throne in 1509, the printed book had become the norm, though the richest buyers, like Henry, could often order copies printed on vellum. But some manuscripts were still commissioned and illuminated, and Henry and his minister
Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure ...
were the main English patrons in the 1520s. Henry retained a scribe with the title "writer of the king's books", from 1530 employing the Fleming Pieter Meghen (1466/67 1540), who had earlier been used by Erasmus and Wolsey. Although some Flemish illuminators were active in England, notably Lucas Horenbout (as well as his father Gerard and sister Susanna), it seems that more often the miniatures and painted decoration were done in Flanders or France, even if the text had been written in England. Meghen and Gerard Horenbout both worked on a Latin New Testament, mixing the gospels in the
Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels us ...
with translations by Erasmus of Acts and the Apocalypse, which has the heraldry of Henry and
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previousl ...
(
Hatfield House Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house, a leading example of the prodigy house, was built in 1611 by Robert Ceci ...
MS 324). Henry also retained a librarian, paid £10 a year in both 1509 and 1534, who in both years was based at
Richmond Palace Richmond Palace was a royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminster, which ...
west of London, which seems to have been the location of the main collection. As well as more common northern European manuscripts, Henry also received Italian manuscripts illuminated in full-blown Renaissance style as gifts; at least three remain in the British Library. It was at Richmond that in 1535 a French visitor compiled the first surviving approach to a list of books in the royal library, though this was only covered the books there, and perhaps was not complete. He listed 143 books, which were nearly all in French, and included many of Edward IV's collection. This was just before Henry's Dissolution of the Monasteries, which was to greatly increase the size of the royal library. In 1533, before the dissolution began, Henry had commissioned John Leland to examine the libraries of religious houses in England. Leland was a young
Renaissance humanist Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
whose patrons included Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell and was a chaplain to the king with church
benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
s, by papal dispensation as he was not yet even a subdeacon. He spent much of the following years touring the country compiling lists of the most significant manuscripts, from 1536 being overtaken by the process of dissolution, as he complained in a famous letter to Cromwell. A large but unknown number of books were taken for the royal library, others were taken by the expelled monastics or private collectors, but many were simply left in the abandoned buildings; at
St Augustine's, Canterbury St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a monastery until its dissolution in 1538 during the English Reformation. After the abbey's dissolution, it underwent ...
there were still some remaining in the 17th century. Those preserved were often not the ones that modern interests would have preferred. The monastic books were initially collected in libraries at the palaces of Westminster (later known as Whitehall), Hampton Court and Greenwich, though from around 1549 they were apparently all concentrated at Westminster. There is an inventory from April 1542 listing 910 books at Westminster, and there are press-marks on many books relating to this. It is often impossible to trace the origin of monastic manuscripts in or passing through the royal library - a large number of the books initially acquired were later dispersed to a new breed of
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic si ...
collectors. The priory of Rochester Cathedral was the source of manuscripts including the Rochester Bestiary, famous for its lively illustrations, and an unillustrated 11th-century manuscript of the ''
Liber Scintillarum {{italic title ''Liber Scintillarum'' (literally "Book of Sparks") is a late seventh or early eighth-century florilegium of biblical and patristic sayings in Latin. It was compiled by Defensor, a monk who in the preface identifies himself as a me ...
'' (Royal 7. C. iv) with interlinear Old English glosses. Very probably a good number of medieval liturgical manuscripts were destroyed for religious reasons under Edward VI. The librarian from 1549 was Bartholomew Traheron, an evangelical Protestant recommended by
John Cheke Sir John Cheke (or Cheek) (16 June 1514 – 13 September 1557) was an English classical scholar and statesman. One of the foremost teachers of his age, and the first Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, he played a great ...
. In January 1550 a letter was sent out from the Council instructing the country to "cull out all superstitious books, as missals, legends, and such like, and to deliver the garniture of the books, being either gold or silver, to Sir Anthony Aucher" (d. 1558, one of Henry's commissioners for the Dissolution in Kent). Despite the additions from the dissolved monasteries, the collection that survived is very short of medieval liturgical manuscripts, and a high proportion of those that do remain can be shown to have arrived under Mary I or the Stuarts. There are no illuminated missals at all, only eight other liturgical manuscripts, eighteen illuminated
psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters wer ...
s and eight
books of hours The book of hours is a Christian devotional book used to pray the canonical hours. The use of a book of hours was especially popular in the Middle Ages and as a result, they are the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript ...
. Edward died at the age of 16, and was a solitary and studious boy, several of whose personal books are in the British Library. He seems to have centralized most of the library at
Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...
, though Richmond still seems to have retained a collection to judge by the reports of later visitors. The significant addition to the library of Edward's reign, though only completed after his death, was the purchase from his widow of the manuscripts belonging to the reformer
Martin Bucer Martin Bucer ( early German: ''Martin Butzer''; 11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a me ...
, who had died in England.
Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...
, who restored Catholicism, may have felt the lack of liturgical books, and was presented with at least two illuminated psalters, one the highly important English Queen Mary Psalter of 1310-1320 (Royal 2 B VII), confiscated from
Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, 13th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG (23 September 152617 September 1563) was an English nobleman. Origins He was the son and heir of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland and his wife Eleanor Paston. Career Li ...
after his arrest. This has in total over 1,000 illustrations, many in the English tinted drawing style. Another, Royal 2 B III, is a 13th-century production of
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...
, which was given by "your humbull and poore orytur Rafe, Pryne, grocer of Loundon, wushynge your gras prosperus helthe", as an inscription says.


Stuarts

The son of
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1594-1612), made a significant addition to the library by acquiring the library of John, Lord Lumley (c.1533-1609). Lumley had married the scholar and author
Jane Lumley Jane Lumley, Baroness Lumley ( Lady Jane Fitzalan; 1537 – 27 July 1578), sometimes called Joanna, was an English noblewoman. She was the first person to translate Euripides into English. Life and family Jane is the eldest child of three sibli ...
, who inherited the library of her father,
Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel KG (23 April 151224 February 1580) was an English nobleman, who over his long life assumed a prominent place at the court of all the later Tudor sovereigns, probably the only person to do so. Court caree ...
(1512-1580), which was among the most important private libraries of the period, with around 3,000 volumes, including much of the library of
Archbishop Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry's ...
. A catalogue survives, a 1609 copy of an original of 1596 that is now lost; Lumley had also given many volumes to the universities in his last years. Soon after Prince Henry's death, the main royal library was moved to St James's Palace where his books had been kept. The Lumley library included MS Royal 14. C. vii, with the '' Historia Anglorum'' and '' Chronica Maiora'' of
Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey i ...
, which had passed from St Albans Abbey to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and later Arundel. James I purchased much of the library of the classical scholar Isaac Casaubon who died in London in 1614, and was given the ''Codex Alexandinus'', as explained above. The royal library managed to survive relatively unscathed during the English Civil War and
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
, partly because the well-known and aggressive figures on the Parliamentarian side of the preacher
Hugh Peters Hugh Peter (or Peters) (baptized 29 June 1598 – 16 October 1660) was an English preacher, political advisor and soldier who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War, and became highly influential. He employed a flamboyant ...
(later executed as a
regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...
) and the lawyer and M.P. Sir
Bulstrode Whitelocke Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke (6 August 1605 – 28 July 1675) was an English lawyer, writer, parliamentarian and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England. Early life He was the eldest son of Sir James Whitelocke and Elizabeth Bulstrode, and was ...
were successively appointed as librarians by Parliament, and defended their charge. Whitelocke wanted the library turned into a national library accessible to all scholars, an idea already proposed by
John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, teacher, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divinatio ...
to Elizabeth I, and thereafter by
Richard Bentley Richard Bentley FRS (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellen ...
, the famous textual scholar who became librarian in 1693. There was a new inventory in 1666. The major purchase in the reign of Charles II was of 311 volumes in about 1678 from the collection of John Theyer, including the Westminster Psalter (Royal 2. A. xxii), a
psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters wer ...
of about 1200 from Westminster Abbey to which five tinted drawings were added some fifty years later, including the kneeling knight illustrated above.Chivalry, 200
BL catalogue
Westminster Psalter, who give a later date for the main MS.


Notes


See also

* King's manuscripts, British Library


References

*Alexander, J.J.G., ''Foreign illuminators and illuminated manuscripts'', Chapter 2 in Hellinga and Trapp. * Backhouse, Janet, ''The Royal Library from Edward IV to Henry VII'', Chapter 12 in Hellinga and Trapp
google books
*Brown, Michelle P., ''Manuscripts from the Anglo-Saxon Age'', 2007, British Library, *Carley, James P., ed., ''The libraries of King Henry VIII'', British Library/British Academy (2000) *"Carley (1999)", Carley, James P., ''The Royal Library under Henry VIII'', Chapter 13 in Hellinga and Trapp. *"Carley (2002)", Carley, James P., "Monastic collections and their dispersal", in John Barnard, Donald Francis McKenzie, eds., ''The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain: 1557-1695'' (Volume 4), 2002, Cambridge University Press, , 9780521661829 *"Chivalry": Jonathan Alexander & Paul Binski (eds), ''Age of Chivalry, Art in Plantagenet England, 1200-1400'', Royal Academy/Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1987 *Doyle, Kathleen, "The Old Royal Library: 'A greate many noble manuscripts yet remaining'", in McKendrick, Lowden and Doyle, below. *"Genius"
British Library Press Release
for the exhibition "Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination" 11 November 2011- 13 March 2012 *Hellinga, Lotte, and Trapp, J. B., eds., ''The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, Volume 3; 1400-1557'', 1999, Cambridge University Press, , *Kren, T. & McKendrick, S. (eds), ''Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe'', Getty Museum/Royal Academy of Arts, 2003, *McKendrick, Scott, Lowden, John and Doyle, Kathleen, (eds), ''Royal Manuscripts, The Genius of Illumination'', 2011, British Library, 9780712358156 *Selwyn, David, in ''Thomas Cranmer: churchman and scholar'', Paul Ayris & David Selwyn (eds), Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 1999, , *Stratford, Jenny, ''The early royal collections and the Royal Library to 1461'', Chapter 11 in Hellinga and Trapp


Further reading

* Birrell, T.A., ''English Monarchs and their Books: From Henry VII to Charles II'', 1987, British Library *Carley, James P., ''The Books of King Henry VIII and His Wives'', 2004, British Library *Doyle, Kathleen; McKendrick, Scot, (eds), ''1000 Years of Royal Books and Manuscripts'', 2014, British Library Publications, *George F. Warner and Julius P. Gilson, ''Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and King's Collections'', 4 vols, 1921, British Museum - source (?) of the British Library online catalogue entries.


External links


Royal Manuscripts (c 1100-c 1800) finding aid
(includes pdf for download)
''Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination''
exhibition at the British Library from November 2011
British Library "typepad"
''Medieval and earlier manuscripts blog'' - several entries on individual manuscripts relating to the 2011 exhibition, with excerpts from the catalogue {{British Library Named Collections British Library collections *