Physical Description:
150 leaves : parchment ; 326 x 236 mm Notes:
Work contains copies of grants relating to the earls of Leicester,
collected by William Bowyer, keeper of the royal archives at the
Tower of London and presented by him to Robert Dudley, Earl of
Leicester. Interspersed among the deeds are eulogies in verse of
previous earls of Leicester and of others, and of the kings who
granted the various charters; at the end, satiric anticlerical
verses. Parchment, ff. iii (modern parchment) + i (contemporary
parchment) + 150 + iii (modern parchment); 326 x 236 (263-272 x
154-157) mm. Leaves with miniatures appear to be singletons; 33-47
long lines, frame ruled in reddish-brown ink; horizontal ruling in
lead for the verses only; round prick marks occasionally along
vertical bounding lines on these leaves. Documents in a secretary
script. Verses in different calligraphic scripts based on italic or
roman fonts for each of the first 12 poems (including a broken
italic on f. 18, a mirror italic on f. 19, a trembling italic on f.
21), thereafter in a standardized italic or roman with some
variation in size. The calligraphic passages, but probably not
those in secretary hand, attributed to John de Beauchesne by B.
Wolpe. Fourteen emblematic miniatures of kings of England or of
Catholic clergy preceding some of the verse sections. Twenty-two
other verse sections preceded by coats of arms. On f. 141, a full
page map in green and blue of the British Isles, with cities and
mountains marked in gold and Robert Dudley's arms emblazoned in the
upper right corner. Opening initial, f. 6, 3-line, in painted gold
surrounded by vines, flowers and strawberries on a natural ground
and enclosed within a gold frame. Versals for the first 8 poems in
a variety of colors: gold, silver, red, or with gold dots on blue,
green, purple; thereafter in ink of text. Contemporary foliation in
arabic numerals, with errors; modern pencil foliation used in
description. Biographical Note:
William Bowyer was keeper of the royal archives at the Tower of
London. Subjects:
Bowyer, William. ; Dudley family. ; Leicester, Robert Dudley, Earl
of, 1532?-1588. ; Anti-clericalism -- England -- 16th century. ;
Eulogies -- England. ; Heraldry -- England -- 16th century. Form/Genre:
Manuscripts England 16th century. (aat) ; Miniatures (Painting)
England 16th century. (aat) ; Coats of arms England 16th century.
(aat) Provenance:
Written in England in 1567, with calligraphic passages copied by
John de Beauchesne, as the presentation copy from William Bowyer to
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Sale of Thomas Jett, London, 11
May 1731, n. 19. Was in the Tixall Library of Sir F. A. T. Clifford
Constable of Aston Hall; his sale, Sotheby's, 6 November 1899, lot
90 to B. F. Stevens. Belonged to Robert Hoe: Cat. (1909) pp. 10-11;
his sale, Anderson, New York, 1911, pt. I, n. 2124 to G. D. Smith.
Smith Catalogue 1 (1911) n. 66 to Henry E. Huntington in 1912
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