Medieval History
- 15th Century Italian Banking Records Discovered In London Manuscript
A rare accounting document, half-concealed beneath a coat of arms design, has revealed the activities of Italian bankers working in early 15th century London, decades before the capital became a financial powerhouse. The discovery was made by economic...
- British Library Purchases The St Cuthbert Gospel For £9 Million
The British Library has announced that it has successfully acquired the St Cuthbert Gospel, a miraculously well-preserved 7th century manuscript that is the oldest European book to survive fully intact and therefore one of the world?s most important...
- British Library Hosts Royal Manuscripts: The Genius Of Illumination
Beginning on November 11th, the British Library will be hosting a new exhibition entitled Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination. It is the Library?s first major exhibition to bring together the its Royal collection, a treasure trove of illuminated...
- British Library Digitises Greek Manuscripts
The British Library has digitised over a quarter of its Greek manuscripts (284 volumes) for the first time and made them freely available online at www.bl.uk/manuscripts thanks to a generous grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The website provides...
- Money Raised To Keep Staffordshire Hoard In England
The campaign to keep the Staffordshire Hoard in England has successfully raised the £3.3 million needed to purchase the Anglo-Saxon treasure. The Art Fund announced today that the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) has pledged £1,285,000 to complete...
Medieval History
Medieval manuscript stays in UK
An 13th Century manuscript, thought to be the earliest surviving English roll of arms, is to stay in the UK.
The British Library paid £194,184 for the Dering Roll, which depicts the coats of arms of medieval knights from Kent and Sussex.
It was auctioned in December 2007 but culture Minister Margaret Hodge placed an export bar on the item.
The British Library said the document was a vital record for the study of knighthood in medieval England.
The painted roll of arms, which is about 2.6m (8.7ft) long, is thought to have been produced in Dover in the last quarter of the 13th Century. '
It contains 324 coats-of-arms beginning with two of King John's illegitimate children, Richard Fitz Roy and William de Say.
Above each shield is written the knight's name.
The 17th Century politician and Lieutenant of Dover Castle, Sir Edward Dering, erased a coat-of-arms on the roll and replaced it with one that bore the name of a fictional ancestor, Richard fitz Dering, in an attempt to forge his family history.
Claire Breay, of British Library, said: "The Dering Roll was identified as a priority acquisition for the British Library, and we are very pleased that we were able to secure the funding required to purchase the Roll and keep it in the UK.
"The acquisition of the Dering Roll provides an extremely rare chance to add a manuscript of enormous local and national significance which will greatly strengthen and complement its existing collection."
'Appealing work'
The British Library received a £100,000 National Heritage Memorial Fund grant, £40,000 from The Art Fund and £10,000 each from the Friends of the National Libraries and Friends of the British Library to help buy the item.
David Barrie, director of The Art Fund, said: "This is the oldest English heraldic manuscript known, and offers a fascinating insight into courtly life in the reign of Edward I.
"It is also a very appealing work of art which probably arose from one man's attempt to prove the noble ancestry of his own family."
The manuscript is currently on display in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library.
From: BBC News.co.uk
- 15th Century Italian Banking Records Discovered In London Manuscript
A rare accounting document, half-concealed beneath a coat of arms design, has revealed the activities of Italian bankers working in early 15th century London, decades before the capital became a financial powerhouse. The discovery was made by economic...
- British Library Purchases The St Cuthbert Gospel For £9 Million
The British Library has announced that it has successfully acquired the St Cuthbert Gospel, a miraculously well-preserved 7th century manuscript that is the oldest European book to survive fully intact and therefore one of the world?s most important...
- British Library Hosts Royal Manuscripts: The Genius Of Illumination
Beginning on November 11th, the British Library will be hosting a new exhibition entitled Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination. It is the Library?s first major exhibition to bring together the its Royal collection, a treasure trove of illuminated...
- British Library Digitises Greek Manuscripts
The British Library has digitised over a quarter of its Greek manuscripts (284 volumes) for the first time and made them freely available online at www.bl.uk/manuscripts thanks to a generous grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The website provides...
- Money Raised To Keep Staffordshire Hoard In England
The campaign to keep the Staffordshire Hoard in England has successfully raised the £3.3 million needed to purchase the Anglo-Saxon treasure. The Art Fund announced today that the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) has pledged £1,285,000 to complete...