The Vernon Manuscript (Bodleian Library MS. Eng. poet. a. 1) is a medieval English manuscript, written in the dialect spoken in the English West Midlands around 1400,[1] that is now in the Bodleian Library, to whom it was presented around 1677 by Colonel Edward Vernon.[1] It has been described as "the biggest and most important surviving late medieval English manuscript"[2] and "one of the Bodleian Library’s greatest treasures".[1]
| Vernon Manuscript | |
|---|---|
| Bodleian Library | |
 MS. Eng. poet. a. 1 (Vernon Manuscript) Folio 265r, showing blue columbine flowers, a praying figure in a religious habit and the image of God the Father with Christ on the cross in the interlace that decorates the initial and frames | |
| Date | c. 1400 |
| Language(s) | Middle English |
The manuscript is lavishly illustrated and decorated,[2] and includes 370 poetry and prose texts on moral or religious subjects,[1] intended to be read by the pious.[2] It has over 700 pages and weighs 22 kilograms (49 lb).[3] The Bodleian Library estimates that the manuscript was compiled around the final decade of the fourteenth century.[1]
An online exhibition of the manuscript is curated by Professor Wendy Scase of the University of Birmingham.[1] A facsimile and transcription are available commercially.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Luxury Manuscripts". Bodleian Library. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ a b c "The Vernon Manuscript Project". University of Birmingham. 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ "Vernon Manuscript aims to unlock West Midlands accent origins". BBC Online. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
External links
edit- MS. Eng. poet. a. 1 In the Bodleian Libraries Catalogue of Medieval Manuscripts
- MS. Eng. poet. a. 1 Images available on Digital Bodleian
- University of Birmingham Vernon Manuscript Project
- Bodleian Library online exhibition