The Vernon Manuscript (Bodleian Library MS. Eng. poet. a. 1) is a medieval English manuscript, written in the dialect spoken in the English West Midlands around 1400,
that is now in the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
, to whom it was presented around 1677 by Colonel Edward Vernon.
It has been described as "the biggest and most important surviving late medieval English manuscript"
and "one of the Bodleian Library’s greatest treasures".
The manuscript is lavishly illustrated and decorated,
and includes 370 poetry and prose texts on moral or religious subjects,
intended to be read by the pious.
It has over 700 pages and weighs .
The Bodleian Library estimates that the manuscript was compiled around the final decade of the fourteenth century.
An online exhibition of the manuscript is curated by Professor
Wendy Scase of the
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
.
A facsimile and transcription are available commercially.
References
External links
MS. Eng. poet. a. 1In the Bodleian Libraries Catalogue of Medieval Manuscripts
MS. Eng. poet. a. 1Images available on Digital Bodleian
University of Birmingham Vernon Manuscript ProjectBodleian Library online exhibition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon Manuscript
Medieval manuscripts
1400 books
14th-century manuscripts
Bodleian Library collection
English-language manuscripts