Arundel MS 10

This manuscript contains a Latin copy of the Historia Regum Brittaniae ('The History of the Kings of Britain') by Geoffrey of Monmouth (d. 1154/55), bishop of St Asaph and historian. The work presents a pseudo-historical account of the kings of Britain; it opens with a legend that tells of how Brutus, a descendant of Aeneas, travelled to an island named Albion after the Trojan War. After defeating a host of giants, he renamed the island after himself ('Britain'). It also includes the prophecies of Merlin concerning the future King Arthur and tells a legendary history of his reign. Geoffrey claims to have translated the Historia from an old British book he had received from Walter, archdeacon of Oxford.

Geoffrey finished his work at some point between 1123 and 1139. It soon became popular and was widely disseminated in England, the Low Countries and Northern France, especially among aristocratic and monastic audiences; out of the 217 extant manuscripts listed by Julia C. Crick, at least fifty-eight copies were produced in the twelfth century (see Crick, The Historia Regum Britannie, IV (1991), pp. 196-217).

This manuscript testifies to the long-lasting popularity of the Historia on the Continent: it was, most likely, written in Northern France, and was owned by Cambrai Cathedral during the fourteenth century. It remained in France until at least 1530, when notes about the death of Charles the Bold (b. 1433, d. 1477), Duke of Burgundy, were added to a flyleaf (f. 123v).

Contents:

ff. 2r-85r: Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britaniae, beginning ‘Cum mecum multa et de multis sepius animo revolvens · in hystoriam regum britannie inciderem; in mirum contuli quod infra mentionem quam de eis gildas et beda luculento tractatu fecerant; nichil de regibus qui ante incarnationem Christi inhabitaverant; nichil etiam de arturo ceterisque compluribus qui post incarnationem succeserunt repperissem; cum et gesta eorum digna eternitate laude constarent; et a multis populis quasi inscripta iocunde et memoriter predicentur [etc.]’.

[ff. 1r, 1v, [1a] recto, [1a] verso, 122v, 123r, 123v are blank, aside from added notes].

Decoration:

2 large initials in gold enclosing red and blue decoration (f. 1v and f. 2v). Small initials alternately in blue with red decoration, or vice versa. Verse initials alternately in red or blue.