Add MS 45133

WRIOTHESLEY HERALDIC COLLECTIONS. Vol. III. Miscellaneous heraldic, genealogical and historical material. Parts of the MS. are in Wriothesley's hand, as noted below. The manuscript has close associations with Harley MS. 4205 and with sixteen leaves in the Guildhall Library, London, depicting London aldermen with their arms (rotographs of these form MS. Facs. 486); of these latter, thirteen leaves formed part of the present volume before it was acquired by the British Museum (two being bound between ff. ix and 1, and eleven between ff. 55 and 56) and were transferred to the Guildhall Library which had already acquired from a different source three leaves of the same original manuscript. All three manuscripts are described (as 'Sir Thomas Holme's Book') and their origin and relationship discussed, by A. R. Wagner in Catalogue of English Mediaeval Rolls of Arms, 1950, pp. 92-97, and in Heralds and Heraldry in the Middle Ages, 2nd ed. 1956, pp. 111-115; see also on Wriothesley's work Rolls of Arms: Henry III, Harleian Soc., vols. cxiii-cxiv, 1967, pp. 258-259. The contents of the present volume are as follows:-

(1) Copy, in trick, of the arms depicted in Harley MS. 4205, ff. 41-112, being those of the bannerets in the Parliamentary Roll of Arms (see Wagner, Catalogue, p. 44), followed by 22 blank shields with names below. ff. 1-6.

(2) Copy, in trick, of 3r of the 32 leaves of the military RSU of Arms (See Wagner, Catalogue, pp 93,94 (in Harley MS. 4205, ff 9-40b (i.e. omitting Vellum leaf at f. 23). ff 6b-16.

(3) Nine leaves from the Military Roll of Arms, displaying coats of arms painted on the tabards and trappings of pairs of combatant horsemen; a further thirty-two leaves of the same original manuscript now form Harley MS. 4205, ff. 9-40b. ff. 17-25b.

(4) Arms, painted, of the London Stockfishmongers' Company, with the note 'donnes ano 1494' (cf. the arms dated 1494 on ff. 28b-29b). f. 26.

(5) A collection of shields, mostly painted and shown inclined with helmet, mantling and crest; those on ff. 28b-31 bear various dates from 1494 to 25 Henry VIII [1533-1534], and Wagner suggests that the earlier of these represent arms granted by Roger Machado, Clarenceux King of Arms 1493-1510. ff. 26b-37.

(6) Genealogical tables showing the descendants, mostly to the early 16th cent., of Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (f. 38b), Albert II, Duke of Austria (ff. 39-40; the first page of this table is missing), the Emperor Arnulf (i.e. the house of Wittelsbach; ff. 40b-42), Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (ff. 42- 44), Ferdinand I, King of Naples (f. 45) and Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan (f. 45b); they cannot be earlier than 1525, when John became Elector of Saxony (f. 38b). The tables are preceded (ff. 38, 38b) by miscellaneous coats of arms, painted, and followed (f. 46) by a page of shields illustrating the heraldic tinctures. ff. 38-46.

(7) The Scots Roll of Arms, painted (see Wagner, Catalogue, p. 95, where it is dated circ. 1490-1500). ff. 46b-50b.

(8) Three standards headed 'Thes ij standartz taken by s' Will'm molyneux at the Batayll' of Branxston more' (i.e. Flodden, 9 Sept. 1513), and one shield headed 'Jacke alent', all in trick. f. 51.

(9) A page of ermine spots, headed 'Samoht Esuad [i.e. Thomas Dause, Rouge Croix Pursuivant 1570-1580] serviteur a Jaritier Roy Darmes 1564'. f. 51b.

(10) List of 'The genealogies in the boke of the northe' with, in the margin, Wriothesley's autograph initials 'Th WR'. f. 52b.

(11) Three leaves from a copy, 1483-1485, of the Salisbury Roll of Arms (circ. 1460), showing painted full-length figures of members of the families of the Earls of Salisbury with their wives; a further seven leaves of the same copy are in a manuscript of the Duke of Buccleuch (see Wagner, Catalogue, pp. 104, 123). ff. 53-55b.

(12) Collections of arms, mostly painted, on vellum sheets originally, it seems, in the form of one or more rolls, viz.:-(a) arms of families with names beginning with the letter E, entitled (f. 56b) 'Rotulus E. vocal' cum consonant" (cf. the references to rolls called 'A Litt' ', 'vocal' V', etc., in the index on ff. 99-139). ff. 56, 58, 60, 62;-(b) arms bearing a bend, entitled (f. 64b) 'Bendys ij.^de', including (ff. 73, 75) some of French origin; on the back (ff. 79b, 81b) are a few arms, uncoloured, bearing a fess. ff. 64, 67, 69-93 (alternate leaves). The names on the group of arms with fesses and some others (e.g. on f. 85) are in Wriothesley's hand. On ff. 57-65 (alternate leaves), 68-94 (alternate leaves), on which the vellum sheets were formerly stuck down, and on ff. 95-97, 98b, is an index (letters B-Sa only) to, apparently, two collections of arms, one signified with a maltese cross (possibly College of Arms MS. L. 6; cf. Wagner, Heralds and Heraldry, p. 150), the other as 'Liber North' the remainder of this index (letters A, SE-Z.) is in Harley MS. 1417, ff 4-11. on ff. 97b-98 is an incomplete pedigree of the Arnold family, which was related by marriage to Wriothesley's family, the heading 'Arnold' on f. 97b being in his hand. ff. 56-98b.

(14) Index to various collections of arms, of which the chief are referred to as:-(a) 'Rotulus Edwardi primi';-(b) 'Rotulus Edwardi tercii et Ricardi secundi';-(c) 'Liber Henrici sexti et Edwardi quarti';-(d) 'Liber militum Ricardi tercii';-(e) 'Rotulus militum Henrici septimi' and 'Liber similis';-(f) 'Liber London" and 'Liber London, Essex, Norff', Suff'' (probably the same collection);-(g) 'Rotulus pic'';-(h) 'Saint George' (Wagner, Catalogue, p. 97, suggests that this was the Garter Book of which

there is a list of contents on f. 100b). Some of the collections are referred to by symbols as well as (or instead of) by name. The headings on ff. 99 ('Ihs Registrum armorum Th. WR alias gartier Regis armorum anglicorum') and 102 ('Ihs Registrum armorum') are in Wriothesley's hand. ff. 99-139.

(15) Incomplete list of names beginning with the letter B, headed 'Norffolke com' Suff". f. 139b.

(16) Leaf found inserted in the manuscript but apparently added to it later than 1718, since it is not included in William Smith's pagination; its contents are:-(a) 25 shields, in trick, with the bearers' surnames only. f. 141;-(b) 'The ordinance and reformacion of apparell for princessis and great astatis w^t other ladies and gentilwome[n] for the tyme of mornyng [i.e. mourning] made by...Margaret countesse of Richemond', 1502-1503; other copies of this tract (from which in the present copy the concluding sentences are omitted) are in Harley MSS. 1107, ff. 81b-82b; 1354, ff. 10b- 13; 1776, ff. 7b-9b; 2129, ff. 27-28b; 4628, ff. 269-269b; 6072, ff. 85-86; and Lansdowne MS. 860, ff. 249b-250. f. 141b. Paper and vellum (watermarks: ff. iv, vi, pot, similar to Heawood, Watermarks, no. 3582; ff. vii, 17-19, 23, 26, 27, 30, 35 (as also Harley MS. 4205, ff. 9-40 passim), anchor, as Briquet, Les Filigranes, no. 391 ; ff. 1 , 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 14, 15, letter B on a crowned shield; ff. 28, 29, crozier, similar to Briquet, op. cit., no. 5788; ff. 40-55 passim, three fleurs de lis on a crowned shield; ff. 72-138 passim, crown, as Briquet, op. cit., no. 4651); ff. xi + 141.

400 mm. x 280 mm. Late XV-early XVI cent. There are three series of early foliation, viz.:-(1) numbered 7, 37-46, 48-52, 55-57, 60, 62: ff. 17- 32, 35, 34, 36, 33, 37 (leaves numbered [2]-6, 8-11, 13-35 in the same series form Harley MS. 4205, ff. 9-40);-(2) numbered xxv-xlvii (ff xxiiii, xlix-ciiii, in same Series in Harley MS. 1417, ff 4-38) ff. 57-98 (excluding vellum leaves);-(3) numbered lvii, lviii: ff. 99, 100. The entire volume was paginated 1-289 (wants 5-12, 47, 48, 69, 70, 81, 82, 93, 94, 123-128, 132-156 and (probably in error) 184; ff. 37b, 38, which were stuck together when the manuscript was acquired by the British Museum, are omitted from the pagination, as also is f. 141) by Smith. Foliation numbers on f. 141 are '107' (replacing '168') and '169', all apparently of the 17th-18th centt. For the descent and binding, see the account preceding the description Of 45131. Sotheby's sale-cat., 25-26 July 1832, lot 149. Thorpe, Catalogue of Twelve Hundred Manuscripts, [1832], item 1193 (unpriced, but the note '£84/0/0' on f. i probably refers to this sale). Clumber Library M S. 189, Sotheby's sale-cat., 14 Feb. 1938, lot 1119.

includes:

• f. ii Bookplates and Book-stamps: Nayler (Sir George), Garter King of Arms: 1822-1831.
• ff. 28b-30 Roger Machado, Clarenceux King of Arms: Arms granted by(?): 1494circ. 1510.
• f. 38b Albert I; Duke of Bavaria: Table of his descendants: early 16th cent.
• ff. 38b-45b Genealogies: European royal and ducal houses; pedigrees: compiled aft. 1525.
• ff. 39-40 Albert II of Austria: Table of his descendants: early 16th cent.
• ff. 40b-42 Arnulf; Emperor of Germany: Table of his descendants: early 16th cent.
• ff. 42-44 Brittany, Duke of: Conan IV. Table of his descendants: early 16th cent.
• f. 45 Ferdinand I of Naples and Sicily: Table of his descendants: early 16th cent.
• f. 45b Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan: Table of his descendants: early 16th cent.
• ff. 46b-50b Scotland General: 'The Scots Roll of Arms': circ. 1490-1500.
• f. 51b Thomas Dawes, Rouge Croix Pursuivant 1570: Inscription by 1564.
• ff. 53-55b Earls of Salisbury; family: Painted figures of members of the Neville families displaying coats of arms: circ. 1460.: Copy, 1483-1485.
• f. 141b Costume: Rules for the dress of court ladies during mourning: 1502-1503.
• f. 141b Margaret Tudor, wife of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond: Rules for dress of court ladies during mourning for: 1502-1503.