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Harley MS 1764
- Record Id:
- 040-002047595
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 040-002047595
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000000709.0x000110
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100165166117.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Harley MS 1764
- Title:
- The Knight of the Tower, an anonymous Middle English translation of Le Chevalier de La Tour Landry, by Geoffroy IV de la Tour-Landry
- Scope & Content:
-
This manuscript contains the only known surviving copy of the earlier Middle English translation of Le Chevalier de la Tour Landry by Geoffroy de la Tour Landry (b. before 1330, d. between 1402 and 1406), known as The Knight of the Tower. This copy of the text is imperfect, with a catchword on f. 54v indicating the original presence of at least one additional quire. Geoffroy compiled the original French work as an instructional guide for his daughters at court. The later Middle English translation was printed by Caxton in 1484.
A copy of the original French text is now Royal MS 19 C VII.
For an edition of the Middle English translation based on this manuscript, see Wright, ed., Book of the Knight of La Tour-Landry (1868).
Contents:
ff. 1r-54v: The Knight of the Tower, an anonymous Middle English translation of Le Chevalier de La Tour Landry, by Geoffroy IV de la Tour-Landry, imperfect at the end; the text beginning, 'In the yere of the incarnacion of oure lord Ml iijC lxxj as I was in a gardin al hevi and full of thought in the shadow about the ende of the monthe of aprill', and ending 'and y that thought as muche to have suche welthe and worship as for to have you unto my lorde with oute ani nisete y clothed my selff in warme'.
Decoration:
1 historiated initial in pink on a red ground of three women and a male instructor (most likely the author and his daughters) with a border of pink and gold with foliate spray, badly rubbed (f. 1r).
The border decoration is similar to that in Kathleen Scott, Dated and Datable English Manuscript Borders c. 1395-1499 (2002), pl. XVI, dated to 1442, probably from Oxford.
Large decorated initials in gold on pink or blue grounds with spray, marking the beginning of each new section
Initials in blue with red penwork decoration or (twice) gold with blue penwork at the beginning of each rubric.
Catchwords decorated with scrolls (ff. 8v, 16v, 24v, 31v, 38v, 46v, 54v).
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Harley Collection
Medieval and Renaissance Women - Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "040-002047595", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Harley MS 1764: The Knight of the Tower, an anonymous Middle English translation of Le Chevalier de La Tour Landry, by Geoffroy IV de la Tour-Landry" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002045828
040-002047595 - Is part of:
- Harley MS 1-7661 : Harley Manuscripts
Harley MS 1764 : The Knight of the Tower, an anonymous Middle English translation of Le Chevalier de La Tour Landry, by Geoffroy IV de la Tour-Landry - Hierarchy:
- 032-002045828[1766]/040-002047595
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Harley MS 1-7661
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
- 1 volume
- Digitised Content:
- https://iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100165166117.0x000001
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- English, Middle
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1425
- End Date:
- 1474
- Date Range:
- 2nd quarter of the 15th century-3rd quarter of the 15th century
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Materials: Parchment.
Dimensions: 315 x 215 mm (text space: 220 x 160 mm), written in two columns.
Foliation: ff. 1* + 54 (+ 3 unfoliated modern paper flyleaves at the beginning and end); f. 1* is a paper flyleaf.
Collation: Mostly in gatherings of 8.
Catchwords decorated with scrolls; visible ruling.
Script: Gothic cursive.
Binding: British Museum in-house. Red leather binding, tooled in gold, with the Harleian arms gold-stamped on the upper and lower covers; marbled endpapers.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin:
England.
Provenance:
Inscribed, 16th/17th century: 'James by the grace of god king of England, France and Irland and of Scotland defender of the fayt etc' (f. 37r).
Paul Durant, early 17th century: inscribed, 'Paulus Durant' (f. 2r) (see Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972), p. 141).
David Kellie, early 17th century: inscribed 'Dauid Kellie' (ff. 2r, 16r, 49v); inscribed, 'Dust is lighter then a feather yet the wind more light then a feather' (f. 16r), and 'David by (see Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972), p. 208).
George Hickes (b. 1642, d. 1715), bishop of the nonjuring Church of England and antiquary: inscribed, 'Given by Mr. Hickes' (f. 1*r).
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 Harley, 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: old British Museum press mark: '93. B. 8' (f. 1*r).
- Information About Copies:
-
Select digital coverage available for this manuscript, see Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/welcome.htm.
- Publications:
-
A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-1812), II (1808), p. 208 (no. 1764).
Geoffroy de La Tour-Landry, Book of the Knight of La Tour-Landry: Compiled for the Instruction of his Daughters, ed. by Thomas Wright, Early English Text Society, original series, 33 (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1868, rev. edn 1906).
C. E. Wright, Fontes Harleiani: A Study of the Sources of the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts in the British Museum (London: British Museum, 1972), pp. 141, 189, 208.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)