The Vernon Manuscript (Bodleian Library MS. Eng. poet. a. 1) is a medieval English manuscript, written in the dialect spoken in the English West Midlands around 1400, that is now in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

, to whom it was presented around 1677 by Colonel Edward Vernon. It has been described as "the biggest and most important surviving late medieval English manuscript" and "one of the Bodleian Library’s greatest treasures". The manuscript is lavishly illustrated and decorated, and includes 370 poetry and prose texts on moral or religious subjects, intended to be read by the pious. It has over 700 pages and weighs . The Bodleian Library estimates that the manuscript was compiled around the final decade of the fourteenth century. An online exhibition of the manuscript is curated by Professor

Wendy Scase Wendy Scase is the Geoffrey Shepherd Professor of Medieval English Literature at the University of Birmingham. She is currently researching the material histories of English medieval literature, studying a range of material from one-sheet texts to ...

of the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. A facsimile and transcription are available commercially.

References

External links

MS. Eng. poet. a. 1
In the Bodleian Libraries Catalogue of Medieval Manuscripts
MS. Eng. poet. a. 1
Images available on Digital Bodleian
University of Birmingham Vernon Manuscript Project

Bodleian Library online exhibition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon Manuscript Medieval manuscripts 1400 books 14th-century manuscripts Bodleian Library collection English manuscripts