Harley MS 634

Origin:

England.

Provenance:

Added, 2nd half of the 13th century: Interpretation of Hebrew Names (ends imperfectly in letter U), in 3 columns (ff. 363r-394v).

Partly erased inscription, 13th century (f. 1v).

Added, ?14th century: table of contents (f. 1v).

Edward Hales, late 15th/early 16th century: inscribed 'Thys is Ed Ward Hales Boke' (f. 1r).

Guilielmus Swift, late 16th/17th century: inscribed with his name (f. 1v).

Mr. Washington (?): inscribed, 17th century and partly erased '(...) Washintons (?) Biblios(...) Londinensi' and perhaps bought from him in 1644 by Sir Simonds d'Ewes (see Watson 1966, pp. 85 n. 165, 333).

Sir Simonds d'Ewes (b.1602, d. 1650), 1st baronet, diarist, antiquary, and friend of Sir Robert Cotton (see Wright 1972): his binding and arms.

Sir Simonds D’Ewes (d. 1722), 3rd baronet and grandson of the former: inherited and later sold the D’Ewes library to Robert Harley on 4 October 1705 for £450 (see Watson 1966).

The Harley Collection, formed by Robert Harley (b. 1661, d. 1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, and Edward Harley (b. 1689, d. 1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts.

Edward Harley bequeathed the library to his widow, Henrietta Cavendish, née Holles (b. 1694, d. 1755) during her lifetime and thereafter to their daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (b. 1715, d. 1785), duchess of Portland; the manuscripts were sold by the Countess and the Duchess in 1753 to the nation for £10,000 (a fraction of their contemporary value) under the Act of Parliament that also established the British Museum; the Harley manuscripts form one of the foundation collections of the British Library.