Introduction

Abstract

Assistant Professor A variety of different factors have been said to have influenced a medieval manuscript’s chances of survival in England. One of these factors is use; the suggestion is that the more a manuscript was used during the medieval period, the lower its chances of having survived.1 So, it has been argued that manuscripts that were frequently read in medieval England, including those containing works of popular religious instruction or schoolroom works (such as grammar texts), were destroyed in greater numbers than other types of manuscripts.2 On the same grounds, it is widely believed that some of the most vulnerable manuscripts were service books (and related works), such as missals, psalters, and ordinals—books that were typically kept in the choir and were in near-constant use.3 If overuse were indeed a significant threat to a manuscript’s survival, we would expect these and other more frequently used religious volumes to be disproportionately under-represented in today’s collections—in other words, that they would form a smaller portion of collections today than they would have during the medieval period. Of course, religious volumes of any sort might also be under-represented in collections today due to England’s spotted history of violent religious upheaval, which includes such cataclysmic events as the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII.4 Yet religious books on the whole were, we have sometimes been told, more likely to have been cherished, and (so the logic goes) preserved, than secular books, because during the medieval period supposedly single-minded religious houses exercised powerful control over the preservation of manuscripts.5 But other factors are also thought to have affected medieval manuscript survival in England. Unbound and limp-bound manuscripts are thought to have been disproportionately destroyed.6 The same is often said of smaller manuscripts—and especially of single leaves.7 Larger manuscripts are often thought to have had better chances of survival, either on the grounds that they were more valued or that they were less frequently read.8 Cost is also sometimes cited as a factor: it is often assumed that expensive, deluxe, and lavishly illustrated manuscripts tended to be preserved in greater numbers due to their value.9 On the other hand, we have been told that costly volumes, some of which were stored in monastic treasuries due to their worth, were often pilfered during the Reformation, or cut up for their illustrations, and that these volumes therefore have disproportionately low survival rates.10 Latin works, we are told, were targeted during times of religious reform, but on the other hand it has been suggested that vernacular works have survived less well on the whole.11 The overwhelming sense, then, is that certain types of manuscripts were more prone to destruction than others, but there is no consensus about which ones. Humble books and luxury books, Latin books and vernacular books, secular books and purely liturgical books are all thought to have been disproportionately destroyed. Nor is there any consensus about how these manuscripts were prone to destruction or about when they were destroyed. Although it is often claimed that the Dissolution of the Monasteries was the single most significant event in England’s history of medieval manuscript loss, the scholarly consensus on this question is shifting, and it is not clear what mark the Dissolution left on modern manuscript collections, nor what mark was left the more have argued that religious volumes more than other of volumes the of are thought to have manuscript collections, have argued that these volumes were, in more often than other of volumes the Dissolution The of and up volumes are also thought to have left their mark on the but there is no as to have been the and of manuscript destruction in during the and often were manuscripts destroyed in during the and what were most likely to be were the most for the the that in of the to or to those that the Reformation, or to those that the of to more of loss, such as destruction or manuscripts were and in what we expect the of manuscripts to be these which the of this are for in including and the that they which manuscripts and during the medieval period, they are for how we medieval and for how we the of in the books some a of which books during the medieval period be for medieval and books were the and of the medieval period, which books during this period these the and of their medieval to these this what of medieval manuscripts were destroyed in the medieval period the the of this because it is often thought to have had of manuscript destruction because the as the single of manuscript a in But that the under the of and that these were often during and the medieval also some manuscript that on the and on the and also be that the is on medieval manuscript that in England, this is in no to manuscripts (and of course, to manuscripts in of the manuscripts that have or are in in other of the and this was during all of the under The of this is manuscript that to collections of manuscripts of than So, for to the collections during the are to collections during the typically are be a a of volumes are in England, and this was as during the medieval period as it is the of in The of that and books, and the a which is it was not and collections of books such as this is of A on is also that the and of for for and the on collections that the of this are most to the of books in medieval or the which in the medieval period and the Dissolution of the this has significant for the types of manuscripts under that were used in collections during the medieval period (such as collections on not in these that were used most in during the medieval period (such as service books and collections of in these as we this has less to their in collections and more to the of the the the on collections has less on the of manuscripts under as this the of collections in during the modern period and and the of more and Yet as during these the of in were not and some manuscripts over A on is therefore but it is not about or the of this is on this the of the to the most typically was than Nor is this this the of and were (and in of the books that to be medieval religious were and and of the books and collections to on is also in and it is in the for that manuscripts collections up in during the medieval period or the of this is not as as might be a to service this these of the of the medieval religious service and related the most manuscripts during the medieval manuscript collections were less likely to service books than it that service books were the most widely of books during the medieval period. Yet service books in for that are this is the the of service books that to those are modern manuscript collections, but it is in the significant and of these books during the medieval period If we are to the of manuscript we also the of medieval collections and the of volumes (such as service that most the medieval period to the not to of manuscript in which would be this is on what were the of the as the most significant in the history of manuscript in (such as the of service books for during the medieval period, the Dissolution of the and the on service books during the of and more modern (such as the and the during the The of different are significant for the of manuscript the which in modern of medieval manuscript loss, are in this and the more than other are more significant for the types of manuscripts that have or for how or how manuscripts have any of these is of to and some might have this a different of that the of the is to some this of these as a for the hand, and the of is to in the that of its is to and the of of the it on some of the more of of such as and also and a and significant of that that these of are not or The is illustrated in of the in the that these powerful the of less powerful as a of and the of in as a powerful of and other of not be as of of are about all the books we or about the books that we or is as of as it is of it is especially of medieval and modern collections and of be to and times and then, be such as and to more to the But this sort of be for that be or to a such as the of the books that it those that have been and it therefore the of survival that this to this sense, of about medieval history is or what the would the and that it or the of the these of are not is widely and to the that and to the are not to this a history and the related of of these to the as of But the that these are not this also to and these of their and in more that are in and sometimes of So, for the some of the to the of that the and and of the more is in about the to on the of that collections during the to the of more and to sometimes that these are better for or (such as or than more we this has often been but it is The has been widely the of and in the in on the of that the of that on the of is in the that it on that we the we to the in its is as the in this to the of the has to to any that to on or the of The of for the of are and they have been in of on the of the of of or that these are because they to on and in their the that these to the of of the to more than any other in the or the that the of and The to is that in a a the of is to for the of the under which in for all of about are of might for more and to it a for more the of and more to of and are to to the of to that about a of for a on a of to a of the of that are a the of the of the to the is as a and But that of the of the in of in most the of the a of and on this the the of these this on works and on that the to be some of the of more of including more to their for a of for and for some of the of of to the of has the to on of or on that are not typically as the of the of and better for works that have not been and that therefore to in that are on a smaller of the of medieval works such as the of which in modern and volumes the of England’s the of for manuscripts or other of that often in that are on a of or the that they a of than on and on a of and and therefore the of a more this sense, history be thought of as of a that in in the and in of the such as the of that had been the up that and the of and over of a on works, volumes, and and of and this in to in the and of the as it was in such as the and widely popular that in modern and as it to in and the its the the on and in the works of the on the of in the of and to history of this more the books and that have been to these more on the and of a of on these and these of that are than those more to history it be that these are no the of medieval and therefore be for the of a of the and for of that have more these of is especially for a such as this which in on such Yet these of also the of the and has the of to and of the same in more that and on in the same to but to a of a or in this sense, is not a different more is the same a different and of The therefore on the same Of course, of are to that are often less of whole of than in the that the to be on due to their whole or But they be more of these in some are to the same of or as ones. the that on a of that be in the are prone to what is often which when the of are not on a of the under more which to be on the for is but as they are on a and are to any of the no how be to some the and of the some of and on the the of medieval the for is the of the has that for on medieval nor be on a or because such a not any of used to the medieval be and therefore be for its this is as of as it is for smaller ones. is and that is in this the we have been to expect of about the to be in some the of or the and we to is of but it is also of and which is its a of of A containing manuscripts is as likely to have been the and today and the it is to than any would this have in more So, as to the is to these or smaller also in the the that this not either or as as we and of their these in this on a variety of different of a and the of its of these of are on on The a of on to form a its and in of its for this in to how it a be to be to a sort of this be better to the is this it is up for a to the the for the of manuscript during on of about this to which of manuscripts were the most likely to be targeted during this period. The of this more are more the of about the which different of manuscripts are as in books that were in during this as the of nor the more is as a form of are to other and to a of the of manuscripts that were and how these The that have been be a of but it is also on a of and to some the same is of this might on different the would on the same a different But that the of this is of in a in which has been and that as as the of the is this it is the of medieval manuscript survival, it is the of what has survived in modern of widely on how a manuscript is the more of the a manuscript as any in its medieval a of A of would therefore be in this as would a of a that had been a some during the medieval or or would are for the of but are not any is not to that single were but because the vulnerable of single that their survival those of manuscripts that to in a of this would to the of this then, the question of what a manuscript is The question of which manuscripts be medieval is have to medieval manuscripts as those and The was because it is in the to for all the books that on the and that as The is a more but for a was because it is a that is often the of the medieval period, is to the of nor the Dissolution of the nor to any other event that is typically the of the period. is this in the and on such events in the of history is on a for medieval we to the question of how in have which be in the of has been the on a of including a of manuscript that there are medieval manuscripts in the to in this all including single and of these that are for the of includes The and in that they are (and they be for that are in this then, be as and the of medieval manuscripts that have survived in the today be in any to the more question of how medieval manuscripts in England’s collections it be that this is a different question the question of how manuscripts have survived medieval be is no of the of manuscripts that in England’s One to the as it might be to all the manuscripts in England’s that are in in but this would be the collections of the collections of the the that was the and then, it is not to the of manuscripts in England’s collections that no is it is to the that are to the has about but this for the question hand of these manuscripts are not medieval ones. on a the the of medieval manuscripts the is to a or a of this The of course, of modern collections in of manuscripts collections in and of these are in England. that there are collections in containing more than most of these are in The therefore of manuscript in England, but in the of any more the of manuscripts the a of the how manuscripts in in we to a different how medieval manuscripts be in manuscripts of be not in England, but in the and these of collections, it is not to the question in any a of the it to collections and are manuscripts that were and than of these are in about manuscripts the same period of which are in manuscripts the same period of which are in this period are and some manuscripts the the period, then, are One of the of medieval manuscripts of is of which manuscripts that be to medieval to in the of it not manuscripts that were in England, but also some manuscripts that were on the or on the and it also manuscripts that were in the of religious houses in most of the books on in collections, also some books that no and it includes books and these and other the of not the of the but it some the The the of the of and and of which a portion of the in of manuscripts that be in the of the of manuscripts that medieval are in would as a to the the of and to vernacular works England. most a in and they in a or portion of what has survived medieval as a But the on works in these has to the numbers of their is due in to the of these their in of and of is also due in to the of the which have in in a of the than it was during the medieval period. of the numbers of is vernacular works England, in a of works that are well in the of which are the than the in the of in of the in of the of and and the over all of its are to these vernacular works, have survived in in more medieval manuscripts in than The might that has a history in than as we the is the of in and during the medieval period. is therefore the question the manuscripts that the and and which includes not more such as but also less such as and and the manuscripts that other of of then, it that the of medieval manuscripts containing that were in the of medieval manuscripts containing that were in a of the of it is to the of manuscripts containing which is over portion of these manuscripts were not in England, and of these manuscripts works that not and of but this a is no of manuscripts containing works of manuscripts containing to be of or some manuscripts England, but it is the of manuscripts containing and in is in the have the question also be we the manuscripts of the works the of the and the more of we manuscripts—and this the manuscripts of most works in the most of manuscripts containing in the of and manuscripts and to in their any manuscript containing that was on the the of manuscripts on this that were in is lower than this of the of manuscripts containing the of the of all manuscripts containing on and it that the numbers of manuscripts in that the numbers of those in that A might be that the grounds of are because the a variety of different types of and is to works, but this be when we that and of is to all the different types of in the of in England, then, to have had the be that this to it not and other of that are and to is is that in England, was used more than for and about the and as has Yet during the a in and the is is no of all manuscripts containing and other works in either or such a for either it would not be for the of the and other in question (such as in single during the period and not be in this to the to manuscripts is therefore to the that manuscripts that in greater numbers than those containing and that the of it is the same is for manuscripts medieval as a whole of the numbers of manuscripts containing and medieval England, it is that of manuscript are manuscripts containing which for the of medieval England. is not to the what has survived and what used to On hand, that some manuscripts have on that the manuscripts that had the chances of survival were those containing and those the chances of survival were containing and as well as and But that manuscripts have been that most than had a of to the that to have in medieval that all of the of in as the have and this that be were in to that in of having been in the most of the to works medieval and more on religious works, and that we have a of medieval works and their the of the same to when the for works that have some are to and the that which on and other often that a of have been to The of of the religious that on the have been these are the suggested the that the of a of medieval and that was that more than manuscript in of a have The is that has been But how The question be in any but it is for how we the and of medieval England. those in the question has a manuscripts were the most used for in medieval England, they are for the of of what portion of manuscripts has survived in and which manuscripts were more likely to a better of what in the medieval period in about the and of these of any of different have survived of the of a in single manuscript the and as The in the and the to the in If we that manuscript survival are we that these works a portion of the the of a that was in medieval England. might on this that this was to a medieval we that a of were in but not which is a On the other hand, we that survival are we might that these and the manuscripts that a of what medieval were about the The has significant for especially that the of in the medieval for that a of the has that of the that are to such as the for in the of the of this were also to a medieval If we we have a of what has we might expect a medieval such would have in the of The The question is therefore to how we the medieval and The question also has for The are clear we the to a on of the this of the of the to manuscripts The or and the or is it some or some other of this this question on of manuscript If a portion of what was in the medieval period has it would be most likely that a that is to on the other hand, a portion of what was in the medieval period has it would be more likely that of the of the to and we this to the these and their The question of manuscript survival, then, has for how we the question also has that it what during the medieval period, it is to of medieval religious and other of and modern the question of survival has been more for books than for is in to the of the we have more about the of books than of there is no consensus about the of a and this to have it is that in the was in a we that typically in the we have more about their and numbers than we for and we to about how were a there are of a different we might that of the One these was the to the of of in The for that there were of and and on this that were during this period. of the numbers of volumes be a had the same of and therefore not for the in which be numbers are of which is a than most modern are for the of what in the medieval period, but they be due to the of on the of that were on the other hand, is not affected these and more a of in the period. But as is it not for works that have been destroyed and in this are lower than they would be we were to that was in the The be a significant A of modern has that for the most of is other words, there are more in than in or in The this that the of that the of in be were more likely to be destroyed than other of the that and of all modern in that and have modern they in The is that or of of books have been the of on then, has that books were more in the than what a of what not that the same is of books, were not and Yet some have been to what we about the survival of to that of the question of how manuscripts were in in medieval that the for this question are those for which we how were and how have and that this is not for is for the of of to the of to a survival of in for a survival for manuscripts of the and had better chances of survival than this the survival for manuscripts medieval that were in the and as in this and a of manuscripts that the medieval of and to the survival of medieval manuscripts different is in on manuscripts that were in and that this is a of were to other of also that books all had the same of survival of when they were the that some books, such as those in the or have been more than other to have about in including that it on a of that are not this survival of as a for which is on luxury illustrated in The But this for the luxury manuscripts that the of that that were collections to had a of not manuscripts that their the collections of the (and often up in the of a survival and of which in collections more often than other of books, a survival of the lower of the to on these survival of in for manuscripts in The and the in the and of medieval manuscripts that the of the in the and and the of manuscripts and of in the the question of manuscript survival has and it has been the most of these is the has been in The of is to the numbers of medieval manuscripts that were in during the medieval period, which as of is it is on manuscript and it also loss, and it is on the it also other in the of the is a to has significant about the and are and which to that the of the of these of (and their are and these are therefore all due on of manuscript the question of how manuscripts have survived collections medieval England. on how manuscripts medieval collections and how of these have been that the survival manuscripts that medieval of that to have is a survival of less in the portion of collections that have survived and more in what the for and the of that have these were the for A a of for would have on of its is because it for collections that were different in the for of the collections in the and of some types of having of and other of as having of in survival in the same as those of such as is for different but are as they on their on when manuscripts were or

Authors 1

1. Krista A Milne corresponding Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University ,