The ''Catholicon Anglicum'' is an English-to-Latin bilingual dictionary compiled in the late 15th century.

History

Writing and publishing

The ''Catholicon Anglicum'' was written in 1483. Its author was anonymous at the time of its writing in the 15th century, and remains unknown to the present day. From the dialect of English used, the author might have been a native of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

in the north of England. The book was republished by the

Camden Society The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary a ...

in 1882. The dictionary was edited by Sidney Herrtage prior to its republication. Wikisource:A glossary of words used in the neighbourhood of Sheffield/Catholicon Anglicum

Current status

Two copies of the dictionary are known to be still in existence, only one of which is complete. One of the dictionaries resides in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

; some of the leaves in this copy are missing. It has been edited from the manuscript no. 168 and has been collated with the manuscript additional no. 15562.

The British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

acquired it from the library of Lord Monson and it became Additional MS. 89074. The British Library is a successor organisation to the Museum, becoming a separate entity in 1973, when the ''Catholicon Anglicum'' became part of its collection rather than that of the museum. The second known copy, and only complete example, is held in a private collection.

Auction

In 2013, the complete copy of the ''Catholicon Anglicum'' was sold to a buyer outside of the United Kingdom for £92,500, so an export ban was subsequently placed on the book by then-culture minister

Ed Vaizey Edward Henry Butler Vaizey, Baron Vaizey of Didcot, (born 5 June 1968) is a British politician, media columnist, political commentator and barrister who was Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries from 2010 to 2016. A memb ...

after a recommendation from the

Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) is a committee of the United Kingdom government, advising the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the export of cultural property. Some of it ...

and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered by Arts Council England. The purchase price was eventually matched by the

, which purchased the book in March 2014, shortly before the expiration of the ban.

Notability

The ''Catholicon Anglicum'' is notable for being one of the earliest dictionaries in the English language. The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

'' stated that many important words in the English language such as ''diphthong'' were first attested in the ''Catholicon Anglicum''. The importance of the ''Catholicon Anglicum'' has been described by Ed Vaizey: "The manuscript is of outstanding significance for the history of the English language, which is fundamental to the identity and life of our nation." Christopher Wright from the RCEWA has said:

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Dictionaries of English 1483 books English dictionaries