Search Results: Early Manuscripts from Ariadne Books

Bruges: The Saint Catherine Press Ltd, 1941. Limited edition of 400 copies, this being no. 112. Hardback. Folio. pp. [6], 7 - 20, followed by the unpaginated facsimile pages, all separated by tissue guards. Brown cloth binding with cream cloth covered boards. Printed labels to upper board and to spine. Original box for the book. The MS contains Aldhelm's 'De laudibus virginitatis' written in a fair Old English hand, together with Latin and Old English glosses written in different hands. There are no illuminations, no richly decorated letters and the writing is not even enhanced throughout with capital letters. The MS seems to have been intended for daily use or study. The arrangements of the text not only permitted the provision of single words with synonyms, translations and diacritic signs, but made it possible to explain the contextual contents of words and phrases by supplementary notes etc. Although there is good agreement that the work dates from the tenth century, that is not the… Read More

Birmingham?: University of Birmingham?, c1960. Proof copy of Eric Gerald Stanley. No copyright page present to give publication details. Hardback. 176pp (mostly printed one side only). Bound in blue cloth with E.G. Stanley and date in gilt to spine. The Latin text of the Lindisfarne Gospels has an Anglo-Saxon Gloss which is of major linguistic importance. This gives rise to three philological matters. First, the Gloss, although generally recognised as old-English does show many of the features which serve to demarcate later English from Anglo-Saxon. Secondly, it presents within one text many features which are linguistically archaic, side by side with many which must have been innovations at the time the glossator was writing. Thirdly, the language of the Gloss is clearly differentiated from West Saxon by features which the Gloss shares with Norse, or with Continental Germanic, or with both of these. This is a very detailed academic study of the Gloss and the indexing is especially valuable. Book in… Read More

London: Wm. Pickering for The Society of Antiquaries, 1842. First edition, 1842. Signed by William Morris on the front free endpaper. Label to front pastedoown "From the Library of Kelmscott House, Hammersmith". Hardback. xvi, 546pp plus publisher's ads at end. No jacket. Brown cloth binding with teal coloured boards and printed paper label to spine. This book offered the first presentation of the collection of poetry from the Exeter Cathedral manuscript with parallel Old English and English texts (translated by Benjamin Thorpe). The manuscript was presented to the Cathedral by Leofric, the first bishop of Exeter, under whom the see was transferred to Exeter from Crediton, where he was the tenth bishop, in 1046. The Exeter manuscript contains some of the most notable examples of Anglo-Saxon poetry including "The Legend of St Guthlac", "The Phoenix", "The Wanderer", "The Seafarer" and some of the famous riddles. The book has two printed book… Read More

Bonn: Sumptibus P. Hanstein, 1929. First edition, 1929. Hardback. 13 pages of text followed by 54 plates. Brown cloth with gilt to upper board and spine. No jacket. Very good condition. A bright and clean copy.

London: Printed for Subscribers and for the Philological and Early English Text Societies., 1883. First edition, 1883. Hardback. Folio. pp. [v], vi - xiv, [1], Facsimile pages with parallel modern printing numbered 1 - 28 by double page spread, p29 notes, followed by a full-page reprint of the prospectus for the book. The Epinal MS is one of the most precious documents in existence. it is quite possibly the oldest extant monument of our language and extends to 28 folio pages written in triple columns. It is also of the greatest paleographocal interest, being a fine example of probably the oldest surviving Celtic-English hand. As an example of the oldest half-cursive, as opposed to uncial writing, it is almost unique. The MS is an alphabetical glossary, in which Latin (and occasionally Greek) words are explained, sometimes in Latin, sometimes in Old-English. The rarity of many of these Latin words and their corruptions, make them of high value to students of Middle-Age Latin. Looseley inserted are… Read More

London: Thames & Hudson, 1973. Second printing, 1973. Hardback. Pages 1 - 26 (Preface and Introduction), plates and commentary unpaginated.Pubisher's red cloth with gilt to front and spine. Original slipcase with one of the illustrations pasted to front. Introduction and legends by Jean Longnon, Honorary Curator, Library, Institut de France and Raymond Cazelles, Librarian, Musee Conde. Preface ny Millard Meiss, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. Jean, Duc de Berry, the third son of JeanII, le Bon, King of France, was born in 1340 in the Chateau de Vincennes. In 1360 he received the duchies of Berry and Auvergne to which was added Poitou in 1369. Although circumstances forced Jean Duc de Berry to spend a lot of his time on politics, his passionate interest was in jewels and works of art. He also loved books which he bought and commissioned, received and offered them as gifts. His librarian was a Milanese illuminator, Pietro da Verona, who had arrived in France to sell his works and… Read More

London: Allen Lane, 2022. First edition, signed by the author on the title page. Hardback. 616pp. Dust jacket in a protective sleeve. The illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages are amongst the greatest works of European art and literature. We tend not to devote much thought to the countless men and women who made, collected and preserved them through the centuries, and to whom they owe their existence. This book describes some of those people, the ones who spent their lives among illuminated manuscripts over the last thousand years. This exhilarating fraternity, and the fellow enthusiasts who come with it, throw new light on how manuscripts have survived and been used by very different kinds of people in many different circumstances. Christopher de Hamel's unexpected connections and discoveries reveal a passion which crosses the boundaries of time. This is an engaging work of scholarship, style, and a lifetime's experience. New and unread. Dust jacket unclipped and in a protective… Read More

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1922. First edition issued in 1885. This a second edition dated 1922. Hardback. 80pp. (170mm x 115mm approx). This book is the first of a series of 'Reading Primers' intended to give extracts from the more important works of Old English literature in a convenient and easily accessible form. The texts are printed as found in the original MSS except that the letters thorn and eth are all shown as thorn. This selection of homilies are from the Cambridge MS printed by Thorpe with corrections to Thorpe's erroneous accentuation. This second edition contains some additions to the Glossary. Aelfric of Eynsham (c.955 - c. 1010) was an English Abbot and student of Aethelwold of Winchester. He was a prolific writer of biblical commentaries, homilies and renowned as a grammarian and beleived to have created the first vernacular Latin grammar in Europe. Book in good condition. Light toning to endpapers. Some pencil marginalia in the hand of Professor Stanley. Front… Read More

Oxford: Printed for Presentation to the Members of The Roxburghe Club, 1968. Folio. [xii], 92pp. 4 full-page facsimiles of the complete document plus other sectional facsimiles within the text along with 2 pages of sketch maps. Publisher's original quarter morocco with gilt to spine and top edge gilt. The Will of Aethelgifu dates from the period 980 -990 - there is also a Latin abstract of the will from the Cartulary of St Albans (now in the British Museum). The manuscript of the will is remarkably well preserved and the book begins with an account of its provenance. Not only is the manuscript extremely well preserved but it is one of the most important Anglo-Saxon documents to have survived, rich in both historical information and linguistic interest. Professor Dorothy Whitelock has written sections on The Text and Translation of the Will, An Examination of the Will, The Latin Abstract and the Witness List and The Language of the Will. Professor Neil Ker has written the notes on the Manuscript… Read More

Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1788. Paper covers. Quarto. Untrimmed paper (300 x 245mm approx.) with a simple string binding. iii, [1], 51pp. Front cover has "The Will of King Alfred" written in a contemporary hand. Following a preface and a brief introduction there follows a printed form of the Will in the original Old English (verso) with a parallel literal translation (recto). There are also helpful printed footnotes throughout this section. This is followed by a 'free translation' of the Will and then a Latin version. The final sheet (verso) has a small list of errata. The small reprint is by Pickering, London, 1828 and contains a preface and additional notes. Cloth binding with paper boards and paper title to upper board. xii, 32pp. Document in very good condition. Lacking original half-title. A little soiling to cover sheets with some faint creasing and a little wear around the edges. Overall a clean and bright copy, free of notes and marks. Verso of front sheet has the… Read More