1518–1547

Abstract

Abstract While many have suggested that the corpus of manuscripts that has survived in England has been marked in a fundamental way by the Dissolution (and the Reformation, more broadly), there is little clarity about how the corpus was marked—or about how much. This chapter takes up this issue by exploring the forms of loss that took place during this tumultuous period. It explores two key questions: (1) what was the impact of the attacks on manuscripts over the course of the Reformation and (2) what kinds of manuscripts were the most likely to be destroyed or preserved? Evaluating the evidence, this chapter shows that the immediate impact of the Reformation on manuscript survival was, in many ways, limited. The evidence suggests that the deliberate destruction of manuscripts was limited in scope and was not, as is often assumed, directed at more Catholic-leaning volumes.

Authors 1

1. Krista A Milne corresponding Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University ,