02 January 2025
Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts
We have an exciting opportunity for a permanent Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts to join our team, to work with our internationally renowned collection of illuminated manuscripts made in Britain and Europe before 1600.
A personification of Italy as a mourning woman, facing Robert of Anjou, King of Naples (1309–1343), sitting on his throne, from the Carmina regia, made in Tuscany c. 1335: Royal MS 6 E IX, ff. 10v–11r
Does this sound like you? You will help to develop, manage and interpret the Library’s collection of illuminated manuscripts. You will be responsible for cataloguing these manuscripts and presenting them to a variety of audiences, through online resources, writing blog posts, answering specialist enquiries, and contributing to exhibitions and the public programme. You will oversee digitisation projects, including the selection of manuscripts to be digitised. You will also contribute to fundraising initiatives, and strategic communications with our stakeholders.
To be successful in this role, you will have a doctoral degree or its equivalent in medieval art history, history, literature or another closely-related discipline. You will have specialist knowledge and strong research experience relevant to the illuminated manuscripts collection of the British Library. You will have strong knowledge of medieval Latin, and excellent palaeographical and codicological skills. You will have the ability to work with colleagues in other areas, and the ability to work independently and to a high degree of accuracy.
We welcome applicants from all backgrounds.
For more information and to apply for this position, please visit this link or the British Library jobs page https://www.bl.uk/careers, citing job reference R00000821.
Closing date: 9 February 2025.
Interview date: 25 February 2025.
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21 March 2024
Henry VIII’s pastry tent
One of the lesser known items at the British Library is a map of an army encampment of King Henry VIII (Cotton Roll XIII 41), probably dating to one of the invasions of northern France that he led in 1513 and again in 1544. It shows a camp with all the essentials for supporting an army on campaign: a kitchen, storage for weapons and ammunition, quarters for officers and men, and … a pastry tent?
A tent labelled ‘pastrie’: Cotton Roll XIII 41
At the centre of this coloured map is the king’s own tent, by far the largest tent shown. It is made up of three pavilions joined together by corridors leading to an elaborate house with windows and a chimney. This timber house accompanied Henry on both of his invasions of France. It had a fireplace, two rooms, and windows made of horn instead of glass. When the house was dismantled, the pieces filled twelve cartloads.
Henry VIII’s tent at the centre of the map
Around the king’s tent are two horseshoe rings of tents. The inner ring is mostly labelled with simple one-word names: bathhouse, kitchen, scullery, pantry and ‘pastry’. What exactly a pastry tent was for is unclear. It is possible that it was used to store pastries but more likely it housed Henry’s baker, the Groom of the Pastry. The other tents here also match the titles of other household officials like the Grooms of the Kitchen, Scullery, Pantry and Ewery. There are also tents for the king’s doctors and the clerk of the kitchen.
The tents of the king and important officers and officials at the centre of the camp
Henry’s tent encircled by two horseshoes of tents, with three cannon defending the entrance to the horseshoes.
The second ring of tents was for the king’s bodyguards and other senior officials, mostly labelled ‘cursers’, i.e. coursers, a horse, probably housing knights, as well as tents for the Captain of the Guard and the Knight Harbinger, whose role was to arrange accommodation for the king and his court while travelling. These two rings of tents exit onto an open square to the right with groups of soldiers marching back and forth. This was probably the parade or assembly ground, called a ‘market’ or ‘place’ in Harley MS 846, a mid-16th century English guide to setting up an army encampment. The soldiers carry halberds and have swords belted at their waists. A few of them are accompanied by child-sized figures carrying weapons, probably squires or pages.
The parade ground
The rest of the map is taken up with ordered rows of tents with those of other military officials and important figures scattered across the map, including the Provost Marshal, who was in charge of military discipline, a surgeon’s tent, chaplains, a Master of the Horse and a tent for ‘strange’ (foreign) ambassadors.
Cooks preparing food for the army
A scene on the far-right side of the map shows men at a table chopping and preparing meat. Nearby, two others turn a pig on a spit over a fire while one man carries a large basket of bread and another carries an animal carcass on his back.
There are no latrines depicted on the map. This probably wasn’t the cartographer being puritanical. The guide to encampments in Harley MS 846 says that soldiers shouldn’t ‘take their easement’ within 200ft of the camp. This rule did not apply to Henry, of course, who had a chamberpot enclosed in a stool in his tent. Only a few other individuals were so privileged, including the Captain of the Yeoman of the Guard, the Master of the Horse, and the Treasurer-at-War.
Cannon set to defend on the north-eastern edge of the camp
The camp is defended not by ditches or earthworks, which would only be dug when the army was meant to stop for more than one night, but by cannon and a river encircling it to the west and south. On each side, cannon and other guns have been set up facing outwards, often with piles of ammunition nearby. The man responsible for the army’s artillery was the Master of the Ordinance, whose tent is in the top right of the map. His subordinates and supplies are nearby: a tent for storing ordinance, another for storing bows, a powder tent, and four tents for the army’s four Master Gunners.
Tents for the Master of the Ordinance, other military officials, and storage
The presence of so many tents for important army officers and their supplies may make the tent for Henry’s personal baker seem out of place or eccentric. But a royal army camp would include many non-combatant members of the royal household, both to maintain the essential functions of government by issuing royal writs, proclamations, grants and other documents, and to maintain the ruler’s daily routine. A king would not be separated from his comforts just because he was on campaign.
The Groom of the Pastry is a role that still exists today. For the last two hundred years, it has been held by the head of the bakery at Fortnum & Masons, though the position probably no longer comes with its own tent.
This item has been catalogued as part of the British Library's Hidden Collections programme devoted to the Cotton charters and rolls.
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21 December 2023
Interim information sources for British Library manuscripts
We are extremely grateful to everyone for their kind words since the recent cyber-attack. We've now expanded our temporary website where you can find more information about our available services. On 15 January we released a searchable online version of our main catalogue, which contains the majority of our printed collections as well as some freely available online resources — please note that not everything is included.
We are now able to provide our Readers with access to the majority of the Library's special collections, including most of our manuscripts and archives. For the time being you’ll need to come on-site to consult offline versions of the specialist catalogues, and our reference teams will be on hand to help you with searching for and requesting items. Our blogpost Restoring our services an update (10 January) provides more information on what is available and how to access our collections.
We understand your frustration about the impact of this incident on your study and research, and we're continuing to work hard to develop hybrid services and workarounds that can restore some level of access to more of our collections. You can read more about our work in this blogpost by our Chief Executive.
In the meantime, we would like to share with you a list of freely available printed and online resources that provide information about our ancient, medieval and early modern manuscripts. We recognise that this list is not definitive, and that many of our catalogue records will have been updated in recent years. But we will endeavour to update the list whenever possible, and we offer it to you as a means of continuing your research while the Library's physical and online collections remain temporarily unavailable.
The list comprises references to some of the published catalogues for our principal collections of manuscripts, including Cotton, Harley, Sloane, Royal, and those designated as Additionals and Egertons.
We have also provided references for other categories of material, such as our Irish, Welsh and Greek manuscripts, our maps and drawings, and our seals. In many cases, hard copies of these catalogues may be available in other institutional libraries, and we have supplied links to the online versions.
We recommend that you also consult JISC’s Library Hub Discover (https://discover.libraryhub.jisc.ac.uk/) to find United Kingdom holdings of these resources.
We thank you again for your patience and we hope that you find this information useful.
Collection/Subject | Publication Reference | Online Link |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the Years 1836-1840 (London: British Museum, 1843) | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofadd1836brituoft |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1841-1845 (London: British Museum, 1850) | https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfAdditionsToTheMSS184145 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1846-1847 (London: British Museum, 1864) | https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfAdditionsToTheMSS184647 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1848-1853 (London: British Museum, 1868) | https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfAdditionsToTheMSS184853 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1854-1860 (London: British Museum, 1875) | https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfAdditionsToTheMSS185460 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1861-1875 (London: British Museum, 1877) | |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1876-1881 (London: British Museum, 1882) | https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfAdditionsToTheMSS187681 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1882-1887 (London: British Museum, 1889) | https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfAdditionsToTheMSS188287 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1888-1893 (London: British Museum, 1894) | https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfAdditionsToTheMSS188893 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1894-1899 (London: British Museum, 1894) | https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfAdditionsToTheMSS18949 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1900-1905 (London: British Museum, 1907) | https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfAdditionsToTheMSS19005 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1906-1910 (London: British Museum, 1912) | https://archive.org/details/CatalogueOfAdditionsToTheMSS190610 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1911-1915 (London: British Museum, 1925) | https://archive.org/details/catalogueadditions1915 |
Additional/Egerton | Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years 1916-1920 (London: British Museum, 1933) | |
Additional/Egerton | British Museum Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1921-1925 (London: British Museum, 1950) | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofadditionstothemss192125 |
Additional/Egerton | British Museum Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1926-1930 (London: British Museum, 1959) | |
Additional/Egerton | The British Museum Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1931-1935 (London: British Museum, 1967) | |
Additional/Egerton | The British Museum Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1936-1945, 2 parts (London: British Museum, 1970) | |
Additional/Egerton | The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1946-1950, 3 parts (London: British Library, 1979) | |
Additional/Egerton | The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1951-1955, 2 parts (London: British Library, 1982) | |
Additional/Egerton | The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1956-1965, 3 parts (London: British Library, 2000) | |
Additional/Egerton | The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1966-1970, 2 parts (London: British Library, 1998) | |
Additional/Egerton | The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1971-1975, 3 parts (London: British Library, 2001) | |
Additional/Egerton | The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1976-1980, 2 parts (London: British Library, 1995) | |
Additional/Egerton | The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1981-1985, 2 parts (London: British Library, 1994) | |
Additional/Egerton | The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1986-1990, 3 parts in 4 (London: British Library, 1993) | |
Arundel | Catalogue of Manuscripts in the British Museum, New Series, vol. I, part 1, The Arundel Manuscripts (London, 1834) | https://archive.org/details/b30455881_0001 |
Burney | Catalogue of Manuscripts in the British Museum, New Series, vol. I, part 2, The Burney Manuscripts (London, 1840) | https://archive.org/details/b30455881_0001 |
Cotton | Smith, Thomas, Catalogus librorum manuscriptorum bibliothecæ Cottonianæ (Oxford: Sheldonian Theatre, 1696) | https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_uUAv2HzUGxgC |
Cotton | Planta, Joseph, ed., A Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Cottonian Library Deposited in the British Museum (London: Hansard, 1802) | https://archive.org/details/ACatalogueOfTheManuscripts1802 |
Greek MSS | Richard, Marcel, Inventaire des manuscrits grecs du British Museum, I: Fonds Sloane, Additional, Egerton, Cottonian et Stowe (Paris, 1952) | https://www.persee.fr/doc/dirht_1636-869x_1952_cat_3_1 |
Greek MSS | The British Library Summary Catalogue of Greek Manuscripts, I (London, 1999) | https://archive.org/details/summarycatalogue0000brit |
Harley | A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-12), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008529493 |
Harley | A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-12), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008529436 |
Harley | A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-12), Vol III | https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008529311 |
Harley | A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-12), Vol IV | https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008529378 |
Irish MSS | O'Grady, Standish Hayes, & Robin Flower, Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: Printed for the Trustees, 1926) | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofirish0000brit |
Lansdowne | Ellis, Henry, and Francis Douce, eds., A Catalogue of the Lansdowne Manuscripts in the British Museum (London: Taylor, 1820), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012275638 |
Lansdowne | Ellis, Henry, and Francis Douce, eds., A Catalogue of the Lansdowne Manuscripts in the British Museum (London: Taylor, 1820), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012275521 |
Maps and Drawings | Catalogue of the Manuscript Maps, Charts, and Plans, and of the Topographical Drawings in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1844-1861), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/cataloguemanusc01musegoog |
Maps and Drawings | Catalogue of the Manuscript Maps, Charts, and Plans, and of the Topographical Drawings in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1844-1861), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/cataloguemanusc02musegoog |
Maps and Drawings | Catalogue of the Manuscript Maps, Charts, and Plans, and of the Topographical Drawings in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1844-1861), Vol III | https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OQEVAAAAQAAJ |
Music | Hughes-Hughes, Augustus, Catalogue of Manuscript Music in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1906-1909), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofmanus01brit |
Music | Hughes-Hughes, Augustus, Catalogue of Manuscript Music in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1906-1909), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofmanus02brit |
Music | Hughes-Hughes, Augustus, Catalogue of Manuscript Music in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1906-1909), Vol III | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofmanus03brit |
Papyri and Ostraca | Trismegistos Papyri Database (requires subscription) | https://www.trismegistos.org/collection/192 |
Ostraca | Wilcken, Ulrich, Griechische Ostraka aus Aegypten und Nubien, 2 vols (Leipzig and Berlin, 1899), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/griechischeostra01wilc |
Ostraca | Wilcken, Ulrich, Griechische Ostraka aus Aegypten und Nubien, 2 vols (Leipzig and Berlin, 1899), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/griechischeostra02wilc |
Romances | Ward, H. L. D., & J. A. Herbert, Catalogue of Romances in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 3 vols (London, 1883-1910), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofroman01brituoft |
Romances | Ward, H. L. D., & J. A. Herbert, Catalogue of Romances in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 3 vols (London, 1883-1910), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/b29001079_0002 |
Romances | Ward, H. L. D., & J. A. Herbert, Catalogue of Romances in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 3 vols (London, 1883-1910), Vol III | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofroman03brit |
Royal & Kings | Warner, G. F., & J. P. Gilson, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and King's Collections, 4 vols (London, 1921), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/BMCatalogueOfWesternMssRoyal1 |
Royal & Kings | Warner, G. F., & J. P. Gilson, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and King's Collections, 4 vols (London, 1921), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/BMCatalogueOfWesternMssRoyal2 |
Seals | Birch, Walter de Gray, Catalogue of seals in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 6 vols (1887-1900), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofseals01brit |
Seals | Birch, Walter de Gray, Catalogue of seals in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 6 vols (1887-1900), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofseals02brit |
Seals | Birch, Walter de Gray, Catalogue of seals in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 6 vols (1887-1900), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofseals03brit |
Seals | Birch, Walter de Gray, Catalogue of seals in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 6 vols (1887-1900), Vol III | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofseals04brit |
Seals | Birch, Walter de Gray, Catalogue of seals in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 6 vols (1887-1900), Vol IV | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofseals05brit |
Seals | Birch, Walter de Gray, Catalogue of seals in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 6 vols (1887-1900), Vol V | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofseals06brit |
Sloane | Ayscough, S., A Catalogue of the Manuscripts Preserved in the British Museum, 2 vols (London: John Rivington, 1782), Vol VI | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofmanus01aysc |
Sloane | Ayscough, S., A Catalogue of the Manuscripts Preserved in the British Museum, 2 vols (London: John Rivington, 1782), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofmanus02aysc |
Sloane | Scott, E. J. L., Index to the Sloane manuscripts in the British Museum (London: British Museum, 1904) | https://archive.org/details/indextosloanema00ayscgoog |
Spanish | De Gayangos, Don Pascual, Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Spanish Language in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Printed by order of the Trustees, 1875-1893), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/b29001468_0001 |
Spanish | De Gayangos, Don Pascual, Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Spanish Language in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Printed by order of the Trustees, 1875-1893), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/catalogueofmanu02brit |
Spanish | De Gayangos, Don Pascual, Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Spanish Language in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Printed by order of the Trustees, 1875-1893), Vol III | https://archive.org/details/gri_33125013201435 |
Spanish | De Gayangos, Don Pascual, Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Spanish Language in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Printed by order of the Trustees, 1875-1893), Vol IV | https://archive.org/details/manuscriptsinspa04brit |
Stowe | O'Conor, Charles, Bibliotheca Ms. Stowensis: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Stowe Library, 2 vols (Buckingham: Seeley, 1818-1819), Vol I | https://archive.org/details/bibliothecamsst00ashbgoog |
Stowe | O'Conor, Charles, Bibliotheca Ms. Stowensis: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Stowe Library, 2 vols (Buckingham: Seeley, 1818-1819), Vol II | https://archive.org/details/bibliothecamsst01ashbgoog |
Stowe | Scott, Edward J.L., ed., Catalogue of the Stowe Manuscripts in the British Museum, 2 vols (London: British Museum, 1895), Vol 1 | https://archive.org/details/b29002618_0001 |
Stowe | Scott, Edward J.L., ed., Catalogue of the Stowe Manuscripts in the British Museum, 2 vols (London: British Museum, 1895), Vol 2 | https://archive.org/details/b29002618_0002 |
Welsh | Owen, Edward, A Catalogue of the Manuscripts Relating to Wales in the British Museum, 4 parts, Cymmrodorion Record Series, 4 (London: The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1900-1903), Parts 1-2 | https://archive.org/details/p1catalogueofman04brituoft |
Welsh | Owen, Edward, A Catalogue of the Manuscripts Relating to Wales in the British Museum, 4 parts, Cymmrodorion Record Series, 4 (London: The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1908-1922), Parts 3-4 | https://archive.org/details/p3catalogueofman04brituoft |
Welsh | Huws, Daniel, A Repertory of Welsh Manuscripts and Scribes c. 800-c. 1800, 3 vols (The National Library of Wales and University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, 2022) | |
Yates Thompson | James, M. R., A Descriptive Catalogue of Fifty Manuscripts from the Collection of Henry Yates Thompson (Cambridge, 1898) | https://archive.org/details/descriptivecatal00jame_1 |
Yates Thompson | A Descriptive Catalogue of Twenty Illuminated Manuscripts, Nos. LXXV to XVIV (Replacing Twenty Discarded from the Original Hundred) in the Collection of Henry Yates Thompson (3rd series, Cambridge, 1907) | https://archive.org/details/adescriptivecatalogueoftwe |
Yates Thompson | A Descriptive Catalogue of Fourteen Illuminated Manuscripts (Nos.XCV to CVII and 79A) Completing the Hundred in the Library of Henry Yates Thompson (Cambridge, 1912) | https://archive.org/details/adescriptivecatalogueoffou |
Yates Thompson | Illustrations from one hundred manuscripts in the library of Henry Yates Thompson (London, 1916) | https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924008668554 |
Yates Thompson | Wormald, Francis, 'The Yates Thompson Manuscripts', British Museum Quarterly, 16 (1951), pp.4-5 | https://doi.org/10.2307/4422290 |
Yelverton | The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts: The Yelverton Manuscripts, 2 vols (London: British Library, 1994), Vol 1 | https://archive.org/details/britishlibraryca0001brit |
Yelverton | The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts: The Yelverton Manuscripts, 2 vols (London: British Library, 1994), Vol 2 | https://archive.org/details/britishlibraryca0002brit |
14 October 2023
Cataloguing the Cotton charters
A new project is underway to examine one of the British Library’s oldest and most important collections. The Cotton charters and rolls are being catalogued as part of the Library’s Hidden Collections initiative. Begun by the antiquarian and politician Sir Robert Cotton (1571–1631), and augmented by his son and grandson, the Cotton collection was the first library to be presented to the nation, in 1702, and it has been part of the British Library and its predecessor, the British Museum Library, since the latter’s foundation in 1753. The Cotton manuscripts, which include some of the most famous volumes to survive from medieval Britain, from Beowulf to the Lindisfarne Gospels, are described already on the British Library’s Archives and Manuscripts online catalogue. The whole collection was entered on the UNESCO Memory of the World UK Register in 2018.
A portrait of Sir Robert Cotton (1571-1631), 1st baronet, commissioned in 1626 and attributed to Cornelius Johnson: courtesy of a private collection
But it's probably fair to say that the 1,500 Cotton charters and rolls, aside from a handful of items such as an original exemplification of the 1215 Magna Carta, one of just four in existence, have been much less studied. The vast majority of them are not yet part of the online catalogue, which this new project sets out to remedy. A handwritten list from the 19th century is available in the Manuscripts Reading Room at the Library, but this is inadequate for modern needs.
The handwritten 19th-century catalogue entry for Cotton Ch IV 9
To give one example. Cotton Ch IV 9 is described in the handwritten register as a receipt for delivering robes to the Tower of London for the coronation of King Edward III (1327). This is not in fact correct: the document in question is not a receipt for coronation robes at all but rather for a cup enamelled with the king's arms, a ewer encrusted with pearls, and a golden brooch with pearls and sapphires, each to be used in Edward's coronation.
A receipt that Adam Orleton, bishop of Hereford (1317–1327), has had valuables delivered to the Tower of London for the coronation of Edward III: Cotton Ch IV 9
This project is the first in well over a century to catalogue the entire collection of Cotton charters, rolls and seals to modern standards. It has already uncovered many documents whose significance may have been overlooked. For instance, Cotton Roll IV 61, described in the handwritten register as a historical account of the difficulties faced by Edward II, Richard II and Henry VI, has been identified as a previously-unknown copy of the manifesto of Warwick the Kingmaker and others in their rebellion against Edward IV in 1469.
The manifesto of Richard Neville, 16th earl of Warwick, and others, issued during their rebellion against Edward IV in 1469: Cotton Roll IV 61
Other charters and rolls catalogued for the new project include a set of rules for living in a medieval hospital (Cotton Ch IV 28); a draft set of instructions from Elizabeth I to Sir Francis Drake for his raid upon the Spanish Americas in 1585 (Cotton Ch IV 25); and a seal of William the Conqueror from 1067 (Cotton Ch VI 3/1). There are many discoveries to be made, which we hope will in turn support research into medieval and early modern culture, history, politics and literature. As the project progresses, we will highlight other interesting documents from the collection on this Blog.
Seal of William the Conqueror, once attached to a 12th-century copy of a 1067 charter: Cotton Ch VI 3/1
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15 July 2023
Showing Elizabeth I in a new light
If you have been following the news recently, you may have seen that we've been doing specialist imaging on the draft manuscripts of William Camden's Annals of the Reign of Elizabeth I, with sensational results. This research has been undertaken by Helena Rutkowska, a collaborative DPhil student in partnership between the University of Oxford, Open University and the British Library, with the imaging generously funded by the British Library Collections Trust, carried out by Eugenio Falcioni, and co-ordinated by Calum Cockburn.
The specialist imaging of Camden's Annals, using transmitted light, being carried out at the British Library
Camden's Annals has long been regarded as one of the most important, contemporary accounts of the reign of this famous Tudor queen. The work was originally requested by William Cecil, Lord Burghley (d. 1598), and was then completed by command of King James I of England and VI of Scotland (d. 1625). William Camden (d. 1623), an antiquarian scholar and Clarenceux King of Arms, is credited with authorship of the work, but he was probably writing in collaboration with others, including Sir Robert Cotton (d. 1631), founder of the famous Cotton library. The first three books, covering the period to 1587, were published in Latin in 1615, with the remainder of the work published after Camden had died, in 1625.
Helena's research has focused on the ten volumes of manuscript drafts of the Annals (Cotton MS Faustina F I–X). These manuscripts reveal a continuous process of revision of the text prior to publication, with multiple crossings out, amendments and additions. Most notably, there are dozens of pages on which the original text has been pasted over, with new wording written on top. By using transmitted light, the Library has now been able to reveal what is under those pastedowns, and to read the original text of Camden's Annals for the first time in 400 years.
The draft manuscripts of Camden's Annals contain numerous revisions, with many parts of the original text pasted over and over-written
The new discoveries will be outlined in Helena's doctorate, and we also plan to make the images available online. Early analysis has made some startling revelations, including earlier accounts of Elizabeth's excommunication by Pope Pius V in 1570, the death of King Philip II of Spain in 1598, and the implied involvement of James VI in a plot to assassinate the English queen. There are also subtle changes in the manuscript drafts which suggest that Elizabeth did not nominate James on her deathbed as her successor, unlike the version that made its way into print. Helena suggests that this all indicates that Camden was self-censoring his work, for fear of upsetting his patron, King James, and to paint him (and his mother, Mary Queen of Scots) in a more flattering light.
The British Library is delighted to have been able to support this groundbreaking research, and we look forward to discovering what else has been covered up in the manuscripts of Camden's Annals.
We are very grateful to the British Library's Collections Trust for supporting this project. You can read more about Helena Rutkowska's research in this article by Dalya Alberge, published in The Guardian on 14 July.
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11 May 2023
Medieval and Renaissance Women: full list of the charters and rolls
We always say, never start a blogpost with the words, 'We are delighted to announce that'.
So, in true time-honoured fashion, we are thrilled to release a list of all the rolls and charters digitised as part of our Medieval and Renaissance Women project. There are 25 rolls and 219 charters in total, in addition to the 93 manuscript volumes that we announced in a previous blogpost. The Medieval and Renaissance Women project has been made possible thanks to generous funding by Joanna and Graham Barker.
The seal of the Empress Matilda, between 1141 and 1142: Add Ch 75724
Here begins the list. This may take some time, but it's worth it, we promise. From the top... The will of Sibylla Frances of Dunwich. A confirmation by Sybilla of Kaversfeld, widow of Hugh Gargate, to Bicester Priory of land in Stratton. An acknowledgement by Marie, abbess of St Stephen’s Abbey, Soissons, to the Knights Templar of Mont-de-Soissons. A sale by Katherine von Solmesse and Salentin, lord of Isenburg, her husband, to Baldwin, archbishop of Trier. A letter of attorney from Ismania, widow of Laurence Berkerolles. A certificate for the safe delivery of Margaret of Anjou to Louis XI of France. A chirograph of Fredescendis, abbess of Maubeuge, granting land to Guarin, abbot of Vicogne…
Actually, why don't you simply peruse the list for yourself? It's great fun, we promise (again)!
Confirmation by Sybilla of Kaversfeld, widow of Hugh Gargate, to Bicester Priory of land in Stratton, early 13th century: Add Ch 10608
You can download the full list of charters and rolls here, with links to the British Library’s Digitised Manuscripts site and the Universal Viewer. There, you'll be able to read these manuscripts in full and for free from the comfort of your own living room.
PDF: Download Medieval_and_renaissance_women_digitised_charters_rolls_may_2023
Excel: Download Medieval_and_renaissance_women_digitised_charters_rolls_may_2023 (this format cannot be downloaded on all web browsers)
Mortmain licence by Joan of Kent, princess of Wales, for Michael de la Pole, Lord Chancellor, to grant property to the Maison Dieu of Myton, 1383: Egerton Ch 2130
Acquittance by Tomasina de Damis, abbess of the monastery of Santa Giulia, Brescia, to Mafeus de Monte, 1409: Stowe Ch 565
The documents included in the project represent women from all levels of medieval society, from merchants and landowners to nuns and abbesses, from nurses and shopkeepers to noblewomen and queens. They also span a huge variety of different types of documents including grants and confirmations, chirographs and letters with original signatures, leases and genealogies, indentures and religious statutes, licenses for marriages and acknowledgments of divorce, and wills in which women passed on their property and determined their legacy after their deaths. Most importantly, all these manuscripts show medieval and early modern women exerting their own agency and making decisions that influenced not only their own day-to-day lives but also the communities to which they belonged.
The opening of the will of Margaret Paston, 1482: Add Roll 17253
A portrait of Helena Snackenborg, Marchioness of Northampton, from her genealogy, c. 1640: Lansdowne Roll 9
Petition by Joan Astley, nurse of Henry VI, for an increase in salary, 1424: Stowe Ch 643
Over 100 of the documents contain seals that belonged to women or women-run institutions, with many featuring portraits or emblematic images relating to their owners. Some, such as the foundation charter of Bordesley Abbey by Empress Matilda (Add Ch 75724) have even survived with their own seal bags, delicately woven in different coloured silks.
The seals of over 100 women and women-run institutions digitised as part of the Medieval and Renaissance Women project
Seal bag enclosing the seal of Empress Matilda, between 1141 and 1142: Add Ch 75724
Our senior imaging technicians photographed all the seals in the project using an imaging technique called raking light (where light is directed at an object from an angle parallel to the surface) to ensure that all their fine details, legends and sculptural reliefs could be captured.
Seal of Liece, daughter of Ralph of Rouen, 2nd half of the 12th century: Harley Ch 50 B 23
Seal of Idonia of Hurst, 4th quarter of 12th century to 1st quarter of 13th century: LFC Ch XXV 20
We hope you enjoy reading about the stories and lives of the women featured in these incredible items.
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29 April 2023
Lost and found: in praise of Cardinal Wolsey
We recently blogged about our exciting project to bring the burnt volumes of the Cotton collection back to life, following the extensive damage they sustained in the Ashburnham House fire of 1731. Thanks to generous funding from the Goldhammer Foundation, the British Library has used multi-spectral imaging to photograph a selection of the damaged manuscripts, making them available to our readers online for the first time.
One major benefit of multi-spectral imaging is that it has allowed us to read and identify many of the fire-damaged texts, making some incredible discoveries in the process. One of these discoveries is a Latin praise work (or ‘panegyric) addressed by John Leland (b. c. 1503, d. 1552) to his patron, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (b. 1470/71, d. 1530). We can now reveal that this text known as the ‘Panegyricon ad Cardinalem Eboracensem’, and for centuries believed to have been completely lost, has survived in Cotton MS Fragments XXIII.
Portrait of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey: courtesy of Trinity College, Cambridge
Perhaps best known as the mastermind behind the restoration of Hampton Court Palace, Wolsey rose from the son of a butcher’s boy to become Archbishop of York and Chancellor of England. In 1515, he was appointed Cardinal by Pope Leo X (r. 1513–1521), giving him pre-eminence over the rest of the English clergy. He was a major figure in European political and religious life for much of the early decades of the 16th century, until his failure to secure the divorce of Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547) from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (b. 1485, d. 1536) in 1529, caused his downfall. Wolsey was subsequently arrested by the King for treason and travelled to London to await trial, but famously died on route, avoiding the more violent fates of other figures at Henry’s court, such as Thomas More, Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell.
Fundamental to Wolsey’s power and influence during his career was his role as a patron of culture and education. Wolsey was responsible for the patronage of many artists and writers at the Tudor court. One of these figures was John Leland, a poet and Humanist scholar, and one of the very first early modern antiquarians, an advocate for the gathering of knowledge. Leland is best known for his extensive travels around England in the 1530s, when he toured and examined the libraries of many of the country’s religious houses in the years leading up to the Dissolution of the Monasteries. During this time, he compiled numerous lists of significant or unusual books, many of which would subsequently become part of the Royal library. Unfortunately, his life ultimately ended in tragedy: Leland went mad following the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and never recovered.
A list of the religious houses of Wales, written in Leland’s hand: Add MS 38132, f. 39r
Leland was a prolific writer. In his early career, he cultivated a strong circle of literary friends, patrons, and sponsors throughout England and Renaissance Europe, with whom he frequently corresponded and for whom he would write Latin praise works as gifts. As one of his patrons, Wolsey was a particularly strong advocate for Leland at the Tudor Court, securing him a number of positions during this time. This support would continue until the Cardinal’s fall from favour in 1529, at which point Leland gained the patronage of Thomas Cromwell (b. 1485, d. 1540), Wolsey’s successor.
Leland’s work in praise of Wolsey is attested in an important volume of English literary history known as the Illustrium majoris Britanniae scriptorum. This text is a chronological catalogue of British authors, compiled by John Bale (b. 1495, d. 1563), a contemporary and correspondent of Leland. Leland is one of the authors represented in the second edition of the text, published in 1557-1558. Under a list of his recorded writings, Bale includes the following title and Latin incipit (the opening line of a particular work), as well as a note indicating that his source for this information was a copy of the text consulted in Leland’s own library:
Panegyricon ad Cardinalem, Lib. 1. Dicturo de tuis laudibus ampliss.
The entry for John Leland and his ‘Panegyricon ad Cardinalem’ in John Bale’s Illustrium majoris Britanniae scriptorium, published in 1557-1558: C.28.m.6, p. 671
Another important piece of evidence for the text’s existence is presented by the 1542 inventory of the Royal Library at Westminster Palace. This inventory records a work known as the ‘Panegyricon ad Cardinalem’, which was identified by James Carley as a possible copy of Leland’s lost work in his edition and study of the inventory (H2. 243; The Libraries of Henry VIII (2000), p. 92). However, while many of Leland’s other recorded works have survived in numerous manuscripts and printed editions, until now, no copies of Leland’s panegyric to Cardinal Wolsey have ever been found.
Cotton MS Fragments XXIII
We can now turn our attention to Cotton MS Fragments XXIII, a small volume that consists of twelve fragmentary parchment leaves. Like many of the volumes that were heavily burnt in the Ashburnham House fire, these leaves were subsequently mounted on paper guards and rebound.
The opening of Leland’s Panegyricon ad Cardinalem, burnt in 1731: Cotton MS Fragments XXIII, f. 2r
The main text in the manuscript is a Latin prose work, written in a neat italic hand, which begins on f. 2r and ends on f. 12v. The opening of the text features the title ‘PANEGYRICVS’, enclosed within a decorative red border. A blank space within a red frame has been left by the scribe, or potentially created because of the fire damage sustained by the manuscript, and would presumably have held a decorated initial. Much of the rest of the first line remains visible. Its opening words read ‘[D]icturo mihi de laudibus tuis…’ (I am about to speak your praises…), unmistakeably a variant closely resembling the opening line that Bale quotes in his catalogue of Leland’s writings.
The opening of the ‘Panegyricus’, photographed with multi-spectral imaging: Cotton MS Fragments XXIII, f. 2r
Additional evidence that this work was addressed to Cardinal Wolsey appears on the first leaf of the volume. The verso features a short Latin dedicatory poem, only nine lines long, written beneath a coat of arms decorated in colours and gold. The coat of arms has been heavily warped because of the damage sustained in the 1731 fire, and is now barely visible to the naked eye. However, thanks to the multi-spectral imaging, the arms can now be identified as belonging to Wolsey himself.
The coat of arms of Cardinal Wolsey above a Latin dedicatory poem: Cotton MS Fragments XXIII, f. 1v
Notably, the arms in the burnt manuscript show a number of similarities with a contemporary image of Wolsey’s arms painted at the beginning of a Latin encomium (another type of praise work), which is also dedicated to him (Harley MS 1197, ff. 402–413). In Cotton MS Fragments XXIII, most of the embellishments and decorative elements on this heraldic device have burned away, but the central features remain: red tassels descending from a cardinal’s hat now obscured at the top; a golden ‘chief’ (or band) below it; and the ends of two cross-staves emerging from a black shield. In the centre, the shield’s silver cross is still visible, with the faintest impression of the red lion and four blue leopard faces it once held.
The burnt arms of Cardinal Wolsey: Cotton MS Fragments XXIII, f. 1v
The arms of Cardinal Wolsey, painted at the beginning of an Encomium dedicated to him: Harley MS 1197, f. 402r
The discovery of Leland’s lost praise poem for Wolsey highlights the tremendous power that the Cardinal wielded in England and across the Continent during this period. Most importantly, it reinforces how art and literary patronage was a significant part of his influence. By supporting and surrounding himself with a coterie of artists, writers, and scholars, he was reinforcing his position, controlling the dissemination of his image and ensuring his own legacy. The centrality of his role at the Tudor Court was reflected in the paintings, literary compositions, and (in the case of Hampton Court Palace) buildings created in his name. Although that legacy was ultimately tarnished by his fall from favour, his impact on the cultural life of England persisted.
There are many more questions to be asked about Cotton MS Fragments XXIII, its origins, the circumstances around its production and its text of Leland’s panegyric, but multi-spectral imaging means that for the first time in 500 years, we are in a position to uncover the answers.
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25 April 2023
Inventing a royal past
Greenwich Palace was a favourite of England’s Tudor monarchs. Beside the palace stood the church of the Observant Friars, founded in 1482. Being so close to a royal residence, the church played a regular part in royal ceremonies — Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I were all baptised there. This church had political and religious importance, which is reinforced by two manuscripts digitised for the Library’s Medieval and Renaissance Women project. Egerton MS 2341/1 and Egerton MS 2341/2 contain instructions for the glaziers creating the stained glass for the church’s East window. These instructions demonstrate how that window was designed to strengthen the new Tudor dynasty.
Probably originally a single roll, the two manuscripts are undated. They must have been written after 1489, when Margaret Tudor was born, as she is one of the individuals to be depicted in the window. In turn, they presumably pre-date the death of Elizabeth of York, Henry VII’s queen, in February 1503, as the text refers to her in the present tense. They may have been made in the early 1490s, and before the church was consecrated by April 1494.
Part of the roll describing the images of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York: Egerton MS 2341/2, membrane 2
The window was to depict Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, his wife, each holding the other’s hand. It would also feature Margaret, their daughter, and Margaret Beaufort, Henry’s mother. Next, there would be several figures widely revered in late medieval England, including Charlemagne, the mythical Constantine (father of the historical Constantine the Great), St Thomas de Cantilupe, and the Saxon saints Edward the Confessor, Edmund the Martyr and Oswald. The choice of these figures is not surprising. What is unusual is the choice of the women to feature on the window.
The window was to include nine saintly women, each of royal blood. The most famous of these was St Helena, who discovered the True Cross and many other relics in Palestine and was the mother of Emperor Constantine. While not a princess, the manuscript describes Helena as ‘daughter to Coyle Kyng of Britaigne’, the Old King Cole of the nursery rhyme, repeating a mythical ancestry popularised by the medieval chroniclers Henry of Huntingdon and Geoffrey of Monmouth.
St Helena’s discovery of the True Cross: Add MS 17275, f. 290v
Another famous saint to be featured in the window was Margaret of Scotland, the granddaughter of Edmund Ironside and wife of Malcolm III, king of Scots. Their daughter, Maud (or Matilda), married Henry I of England, while Margaret’s great-grandson himself became king as Henry II. In an interesting historical parallel, Margaret, Henry VII’s daughter, who was to appear in the pane below St Margaret, would marry a Scottish king, like her saintly namesake, and have a great-grandson who would become king of England: James VI and I.
The next well-known figure was St Winifred. She was descended from a Welsh princely family and became an important saint in Wales and Shropshire, with cult sites at Holywell and Shrewsbury.
A prayer to St Winifred in a 15th-century devotional: Harley MS 955, f. 67v
The remaining six female saints were all Saxon royal women and ranged from the lesser known to the outright obscure: Æthelthryth or Audrey, daughter of King Anna of East Anglia; Edith, daughter of King Edgar of England; Æthelburh, daughter of King Æthelberht of Kent; Eormenhild, daughter of King Eorcenberht of Kent; Blitha, a relative of Æthelred the Unready and Edmund Ironside; and Mildrith, daughter of King Merewalh of Magonsæte, a Mercian sub-king.
Why was the window to include such individuals? Henry VII’s claim to the throne was not especially strong. Although he was a descendant of Edward III, his royal ties were through an unlicensed marriage on his father’s side and illegitimacy on his mother’s. There were other nobles in England who had stronger claim to be king, like the children of George, duke of Clarence, or the Stafford dukes of Buckingham, both families descended legitimately from Edward III. In these two rolls we can see an attempt to bypass this issue by going far back into England’s past to create legitimacy for the fragile new Tudor dynasty.
By focusing on royal women from before the Norman Conquest, the window placed Henry, his queen and his daughter among a cohort of royal women stretching back over a thousand years. He could claim direct descent from St Margaret, the ancestor of every English king from Henry II onwards. She, in turn, was linked to several of these Saxon saints. This window presented a Tudor history that looked beyond the dynastic squabbles of the 15th century, using these women to emphasise Henry VII’s link to a more distant and less contentious Anglo-Saxon past.
We are extremely grateful to Joanna and Graham Barker for their generous funding of Medieval and Renaissance Women.
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Medieval manuscripts blog recent posts
- Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts
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- Interim information sources for British Library manuscripts
- Cataloguing the Cotton charters
- Showing Elizabeth I in a new light
- Medieval and Renaissance Women: full list of the charters and rolls
- Lost and found: in praise of Cardinal Wolsey
- Inventing a royal past
- Lady Lumley’s literary endeavours
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