Vernon Manuscript
| Vernon Manuscript | |
|---|---|
| Bodleian Library | |
|
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) | Medieval English |
The Vernon Manuscript is a medieval English manuscript, written in the dialect spoken in the English West Midlands around 1400,[1] now in the Bodleian Library, to whom it was presented in 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]
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 estimate that the manuscript was compiled around the end of the 14th century, perhaps 1390-1400.[1]
It is commemorated by an online exhibition curated by Professor Wendy Scase of the University of Birmingham.[1] A facsimile and transcription are available commercially.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Luxury Manuscripts". Bodleian Library. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- 1 2 3 "The Vernon Manuscript Project". University of Birmingham. 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ↑ "Vernon Manuscript aims to unlock West Midlands accent origins". BBC Online. 2011-09-11. Retrieved 17 May 2012.