Harley MS 4827

Origin:

England.

Provenance:

Unidentified 16th-century owners or readers: their monograms inscribed on f. 1*recto: 'E.L.' and 'M.H.'; and f. 159r: 'T.H.R.' and 'R.T.Y.S'.

Anthony Tyrrell, ? 16th century: his name inscribed in pencil on f. 158v: ‘Anthony’ and ‘Antony Tyrrell’ (not in Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972)).

A member of the Holdernes family: noted memoranda concerning their (?) sons Robert and Matthew on f. 159r, the first one begins: ‘Memorandum that Roberte holdernes begynnythe his terme a ffortnyght a ffore myhilmas In the xxjti yere of Kyng Henri the viijth’; and includes a list of payments to Robert for ‘a bowe’, ‘a cote’, ‘a payer of hosse’, ‘ij calvys skyns’, and payments to ‘Holdernes’ for different occasions: ‘when he wente to london’, ‘at the mareage of Rowsse dowghter at Suton’; and various feast days. The second one begins: ‘Memorandum that mathew begynnythe his terme on Seynte mathew day in the yere a bove sayde and he hathe by the xxs ij Calvys skyns and ij peyer of shois and he hathe receyvyd onward at efter of his yere – iijs iiijd’; followed by a similar list of payments.

Margaret Appulton, 16th century: inscribed with her name, between the names of Thomas Harman and Elizabeth Harman, on f. 158r (see Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972), p. 52).

Elisabeth Harman, 16th century: her name inscribed on f. 158r: 'Ellysabeth' and 'Ellisabethe Harman'.

Thomas Harman (?= writer on vagabonds, (fl. 1547-1567), maternal uncle of Sampson Lennard, 16th century: an inscription on f. 1*recto records his gift of the manuscript to his nephew: 'Samson Lennard quondam possessor huius libri ex dono avunculi Thome de Harman'; and inscribed with his name on ff. 158r and 158v [4x in pencil] (see Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972), p. 180).

Sampson Lennard (d. 1633), antiquary and nephew of the former: given to him by his uncle, according to an inscription on f. 1* [see above] (see Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972), p. 221).

'George [...]', 16th century: his name inscribed on f. 159r, but erased and his surname is now illegible.

'Margararet [...]', 16th century: her name inscribed on f. 159r, but erased and her surname is now illegible; the remaining letters suggest that the inscription is not that of Margaret Appulton (above).

William Lambarde (b. 1536, d. 1601), antiquary and lawyer: inscribed with his name, the date of 1576, and a price of xiis, on f. 1r (see Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972), p. 214).

Henry Cutts [or Cutte]], 17th century: inscribed with his name on f. 158v (not in Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972)).

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.