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Harley Roll Y 6
- Record Id:
- 040-002746930
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-002404892
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100022595576.0x000001
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100165170242.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Harley Roll Y 6
- Title:
- Life of Guthlac (the 'Guthlac Roll', or Vita Sancti Guthlaci)
- Scope & Content:
-
Parchment roll composed of four and a half pieces of parchment, on which can be found 18 tinted drawings in roundels of the life of St Guthlac (c. 673-714). The roundels are largely in ink, now much faded, with occasional washes of green, and, more rarely, yellow.
The subjects of the roundels are:
1. Half roundel of St Guthlac deciding to devote himself to the religious life, with the inscription 'Guthlaci' (the previous part of the inscription is lacking).
2. Roundel of St Guthlac leaving military service, with the inscription 'Guthlac[us] recedit ab exercitu suo', and inscriptions 'Guthlac[us]', and 'commilitones Guthlaci' labelling the figures in the scene.
3. Roundel of St Guthlac receiving the tonsure at Repton Abbey, with the inscription 'Guthl[acus] tonsura[m] suscipit apud rependune', and inscriptions 'Epi[s]c[opus]', 'Guthlac[us]', and 'Ebba abbatissa' labelling the figures.
4. Roundel of Tatwin (labelled 'Tadwinus') in a fishing boat, setting sail with St Guthlac and taking him to Crowland, with the inscription 'Vehit[ur] Guthl[acus] Croiland[iam]'.
5. Roundel of St Guthlac and two assistants building a chapel, with the inscription 'Guthlac[us] edificat sibi capellam'.
6. Roundel of an angel and St Bartholomew speaking to St Guthlac as Beccelm looks on, with the inscription 'Ang[e]l[u]s et s[an]c[tu]s Bartho[lo]meus loquunt[ur] cu[m] Guthlaco', and inscriptions 'Guthlac[us]', 'Ang[e]l[u]s', 'Barthol[omeus]' and 'Beccelm[us]' labelling the figures.
7. Roundel of St Guthlac being carried aloft and whipped by demons, while Beccelm prays below before an altar, with the inscription 'Demones fer[un]t Guthl[acum] in aere[m], cedentes eum' and inscriptions 'Guthlac[us]' and 'Beccelm[us]' labelling the figures.
8. Roundel of St Bartholomew (the patron saint of Crowland) giving a scourge to St Guthlac so he can drive away the demons who have carried him to the gates of hell, with the inscriptions 'S[an]c[tu]s Bartholom[eus] fert flagru[m] Guthlaco' and 'Demones fer[un]t Guthl[acum] ad portas infer[n]i', and inscriptions labelling the saint and 'Infern[us]' (Hell).
9. Roundel of St Guthlac (labelled 'Guthlacus') whipping the beastly demons who have invaded his house, with the inscription 'Demones circumda[n]t domu[m] Guthl[aci] in diversis formis bestiar[um]'.
10. Roundel of St Guthlac (labelled 'Guthlac[us]') casting a demon out of Ecgga (labelled 'Egga') by binding a belt around him, while two men look on, with the inscription 'Guthl[acus] eicit demoniu[m] a quoda[m] comite cingulo suo'.
11. Roundel of St Guthlac being ordained by the Bishop Hedda (labelled 'Pontifex'), with the inscription 'Guthl[acus] sac[er]dotiu[m] suscipit a hedda ep[is]c[opo] Wintoniensi'.
12. Roundel of St Guthlac (labelled 'Guthl[acus]') comforting the exiled Æthelbald [Ethelbald] of Mercia (labelled 'Ethelbald[us] rex'), with the inscription 'Guthlac[us] consolat[ur] rege[m] Ethelbaldu[m] exulem'.
13. Roundel of St Guthlac (labelled 'Guthlacus') ill in bed, conversing with his disciple Beccelm (labelled Beccelm[us]'), with the inscription 'Guthlac[us] languens loq[ui]t[ur] cu[m] Beccelmo discip[u]lo suo'. The spectacles and pointed hat on St Guthlac are later additions.
14. Roundel of St Guthlac dying and his soul (labelled 'anima') being received by angels, with the inscription 'Guthlac[us] morit[ur]'.
15. Roundel of Beccelm speaking with St Guthlac's sister Pega (labelled 'Pega soror Guthlaci') and conveying his master's final instructions, with the inscription 'Beccelm[us] fert mandata Guthl[aci] pege'. The spectacles and the ostrich feather worn by Beccelm's companions are early modern additions.
16. Roundel of Beccelm and Pega placing St Guthlac's body (labelled 'Corp[us] Guthlaci') in his tomb, with the inscription 'Hic sepelit[ur] Guthlac[us]'.
17. Roundel of St Guthlac (now labelled 'S[an]c[tu]s Guthlacus') appearing in a vision to King Æthelbald, who is keeping vigil at his tomb.
18. Roundel of benefactors at St Guthlac's shrine carrying scrolls detailing their donations to Crowland Abbey, and a demoniac being healed (the chain and ring around his neck are later additions). The benefactors are led by King Æthelbald who approaches the altar, followed by Abbot Thurketel. Æthelbald's scroll reads: 'Ego Rex Ethelbaldus do tibi sedem abbatie cum pertinentiis suis solutam et liberam ab omni seculari exactione' ('I, king Æthelbald, give you the seat of the Abbey with its appurtenances unburdened and free from all secular exaction').
On the verso of roundels 14-18 are a series of 14th-century drawings, in two registers, with scenes from the book of I Samuel, chapters 1-4. This series was probably intended to have stretched along the length of the roll, but was discontinued for unknown reasons; it has been suggested that the drawings were designs for wall paintings. The subject of the drawings is as follows:
Beginning on the verso of roundel 18: [scene unknown]; Hannah praying (almost entirely illegible); Elkanah and Hannah presenting Samuel to Eli; the servants of Eli's sons wielding flesh-hooks; Samuel ministering to Eli, and Hannah bringing Samuel a coat; God calling to Samuel; a battle between the Israelites and the Philistines; the Philistines taking the Ark of the Covenant, and Eli's sons being slain; the death of Eli; the Philistines bringing the Ark into the house of the pagan god, Dagon; the Philistines returning to find the icon Dagon broken into pieces; the Philistines returning the Ark to the Israelites in a cart along with a trespass-offering of five golden mice and five golden emerods (haemorrhoids); the Ark returning to Bethshemesh at the time of the wheat-harvest.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Harley Collection
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002404892
040-002746930 - Is part of:
- Harley Roll : Harley Rolls
Harley Roll Y 6 : Life of Guthlac (the 'Guthlac Roll', or Vita Sancti Guthlaci) - Hierarchy:
- 032-002404892[0001]/040-002746930
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Harley Roll
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
-
1 roll
- Digitised Content:
- https://iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100165170242.0x000001
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- Latin
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1175
- End Date:
- 1215
- Date Range:
- 1175-1215
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
- Restrictions to access apply please consult British Library staff
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript.
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: Parchment.
Dimensions: 2850 mm x 170 mm.
Script: Protogothic.
- Custodial History:
-
The Benedictine abbey of Crowland, Lincolnshire: images of its benefactors, including King Æthelbald of Mercia.
?Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (b. 1571, d. 1631), 1st baronet, antiquary and politician: 'Cotton Roll' inscribed at the top of the first section of parchment (probably attributed to his ownership in error at the British Museum).
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.
- Administrative Context:
- England (possibly Crowland, Lincolnshire)
- Information About Copies:
-
Full digital coverage available for this manuscript; see Digitised Manuscripts: http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/.
- Publications:
-
Jacob Schnebbelie, 'Account of St. Guthlac' in The Antiquaries Museum, illustrating the Antient Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture of Great Britain, from the time of the Saxons to the reign of King James I (London: Nichols, 1791-92), pp. 1-32 (pls I-IX).
Walter de Gray Birch and Henry Jenner, Early Drawings and Illuminations: An Introduction to the Study of Illustrated Manuscripts (London: Bagster and Sons, 1879), p. 4.
[George Warner], Reproductions from Illuminated Manuscripts, Series I (London: British Museum, 1907), pl. 8.
John Alexander Herbert, Illuminated Manuscripts (London: Methuen, 1911), p. 140.
H. Vassall, 'The vignettes of St Guthlac as reproduced in the windows of Repton School Library', Journal of Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 35 (1913), p. 247.
Egerton Beck, 'The Crozier in Heraldry and Ornament', Burlington Magazine, 24 (1914), 335-40 (p. 338, fig. 7).
W. R. Lethaby, 'The Guthlac Roll', Burlington Magazine, 31 (1917), p.147.
[John Alexander Herbert], Illuminated Manuscripts and Bindings of Manuscripts Exhibited in The Grenville Library, Guide to the Exhibited Manuscripts, 3 (Oxford: British Museum, 1923), no. 17.
George Warner, The Guthlac Roll (London: Roxburghe Club, 1928) [facsimile].
Guide to an Exhibition of English Art gathered from Various Departments and held in the Prints and Drawings Gallery (London: British Museum, 1934), no. 99.
Francis Wormald, 'Some Illustrated Manuscripts of the Lives of the Saints', Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 35 (1952), pp. 248-66 (pp. 262-63).
Richard Branner, 'Le rouleau de Saint Éloi', Information de l’Histoire de l’Art, 12 (1967), p. 65.
Derek Howard Turner, Illuminated Manuscripts Exhibited in the Grenville Library (London, 1967), no. 11.
M. W. Evans, Medieval Drawings (London: Hamlyn, 1969), no. 91.
D. H. Farmer, 'Guthlac von Crowland', Lexikon der christlichen Iknongraphie, 6 (1974), col. 466.
Jonathan J. G. Alexander, 'The Middle Ages', in The Genius of British Painting, ed. by David Piper (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975), p. 36.
Carl Nordenfalk, 'Heaven and Hell in a Bohemian Bible of the Early Thirteenth Century' in The Year 1200: A Symposium (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975), pp. 283-300 (fig. 11).
The Benedictines in Britain, British Library Series, 3 (London: British Library, 1980), no. 35 [exhibition catalogue].
Nigel Morgan, Early Gothic Manuscripts, 2 vols, A Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles, 4 (London Harvey Miller, 1982-1988), I: 1190-1250, no. 22.
George Henderson, 'The Imagery of St Guthlac of Crowland' in England in the Thirteenth-Century: Proceedings of the 1984 Harlaxton Symposium, ed. by W. M. Ormrod (Woodbridge: Boydell, 1985), p. 85.
Age of Chivalry: Art in Plantagenet England 1200-1400, ed. by Jonathan J. G. Alexander and Paul Binski (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1987), no. 37 [exhibition catalogue].
Suzanne Lewis, The Art of Matthew Paris in the Chronica Majora (Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1987), pp. 10, 30.
Charles Kightly, A Mirror of Medieval Wales: Gerald of Wales and his Journey of 1188 (Cardiff: Cadw, 1988), p. 85.
Kimberly Kelly, 'Factors Behind the Production of the Guthlac Roll', Athanor, 7 (1989), 1-13.
Michael T. Clanchy, From Memory to Written Record: England 1066-1307 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1993), pp. 257, 384-85, and front cover.
Peter C. Jupp and Clare Gittings, Death in England: An Illustrated History (Manchester: University of Manschester Press, 1999), fig. 36.
Michelle P. Brown, ‘Marvels of the West: Giraldus Cambrensis and the Role of the Author in the Development of Marginal Illustration’, in Decoration and Illustration in Medieval English Manuscripts, ed. by A. S. G. Edwards, English Manuscript Studies 1100-1700, 10 (London: British Library, 2002), pp. 34-59 (p. 39).
Alfred Hiatt, The Making of Medieval Forgeries: False Documents in Fifteenth-Century England (London: British Library, 2004), pp. 42-43, fig. 4.
Cambridge Illuminations: Ten Centuries of Book Production in the Medieval West, ed. by Paul Binski and Stella Panayotova (London: Harvey Miller, 2005), p. 310.
John Black, 'Tradition and Transformation in the Cult of St. Guthlac in Early Medieval England', The Heroic Age: A Journal of Medieval Northwestern Europe, 10 (2007), pp. 1-21 (p. 10) http://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/10/black.html [accessed 19 December 2008].
Michelle Brown, The Holkham Bible: A Facsimile (London, British Library, 2007), p. 11.
Deirdre Jackson, Marvellous to Behold: Miracles in Medieval Manuscripts (London: British Library, 2007), pls 45-46.
Joe Flatman, Ships and Shipping in Medieval Manuscripts (London: British Library, 2009), pl. 22.
Melanie Holcomb, Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009), pp. 8, 139, fig. 40.1 [exhibition catalogue].
Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War, ed. by Claire Breay and Joanna Story (London: The British Library, 2018), no. 39 [exhibition catalogue].
- Exhibitions:
- Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War, British Library, London, 19 October 2018 - 19 February 2019
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)