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Additional MS 59678

Record Id:

032-002249253

Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:

032-002249253

MDARK:

LARK:

SLARK:

Format:

ISAD(G)

Reference (shelfmark):

Additional MS 59678

Title:

Le Morte Darthur

Scope & Content:

This is a unique manuscript of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur, which was composed in Newgate Prison, London between March 1469 and March 1470. This copy was made shortly before the earliest printed version was published by Caxton in July 1485. The text differs significantly from the printed edition and is imperfect: the first and last quires and 3 internal leaves (ff. 32, 33 and 252), are lacking. It begins ‘kynge Arthur and his courte and to helpe hym in hys warrys...’ (in Chapter 10, Book 1 of Caxton’s edition) and ends ‘..I had passed all the knygts that ever were in the Sankgreall’ (in Chapter 9, Book 21).

Decoration: Marginal drawing of a cross in red (f. 357v). 3 large initials in red with pen-flourishing in brown or in blue with pen-flourishing in red (ff. 71r, 349r and 409v. 108 initials in red. Rubrics, names and some marginal notes in red.

Collection Area:

Western Manuscripts

Project / Collection:

Additional Manuscripts

Hierarchy Tree:

[{ "id" : "032-002249253", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Additional MS 59678: Le Morte Darthur" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]

Hierarchy Record Ids:

032-002249253

Is part of:

not applicable

Hierarchy:

032-002249253

Container:

not applicable

Record Type (Level):

Fonds

Extent:

473 + 8 folios

Digitised Content:

Languages:

English, Middle

Scripts:

Latin

Start Date:

1466

End Date:

1488

Date Range:

c 1471-c 1483

Era:

Access:

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User Conditions:

Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript

Physical Characteristics:

Material: Paper codex.

Dimensions: 285 x 200mm (text space: 190 x 135mm)

Foliation: 473 (+ 4 unfoliated modern paper flyleaves at the beginning and at the end). Foliated as 9-31, 34-251, 253 484 in pencil in Oakeshott's hand (c 1934).

Collation: i-ii⁸(9-24),iii^8-1(25-31), iv^8-1(34-40), v^8-4(41-44),vi-xxx⁸, xxxi^8-1(245-51), xxxii-lx⁸; catchwords at the end of quires and numbering of the first 4 leaves of each quire in arabic or roman numerals (some have been lost when manuscript was trimmed).

Layout: Written in 1 column of 28-33 lines. Margins are ruled in ink at 185-135mm.

Custodial History:

Origin: England, S.

Provenance: William Caxton (c1420–1492), printer, merchant, and diplomat, perhaps in his workshop c1480-1483: print offset visible on ff. 159r, 186v, 187r and 407r (see Hellinga 1986).

Richard Followell of Litchborough (before 1535): his inscription on f. 348r.

The Warden and Fellows of Winchester College, MS 13 (f. 9).

Purchased from Winchester College by the British Library on 26th March, 1976.

Material Type:

Archives and Manuscripts

Legal Status:

Not Public Record(s)