Details

Subjects:

Richard III, King of England, 1452-1485.
Great Britain -- History -- Richard III, 1483-1485.
Great Britain.
History.

Form/Genre:

Codices.
Biographies (literary works)
Manuscripts, English.
Manuscripts, European.

Summary:

Late 17th-century copy of Thomas More's negative biography of Richard III of England, copied from the version edited by John Rastell in the Workes of Sir Thomas More knyght (London, 1557), including side notes and passages supplied by Rastell in translation from Thomas More's Latin version.

Notes:

Ms. codex.
Title from caption title (p. 1).
Pagination: Paper, ii + 49 leaves; [1], 2-97, [98], contemporary pagination in ink, upper outer corners.
Layout: Written in 31 long lines; frame-ruled in ink.
Script: Written in cursive script, with names of people and places in slightly larger, bold roman script.
Decoration: Margins ruled in faint red ink.
Binding: Contemporary morocco with gilt spine and covers stamped with the arms of John Sheffield after receiving the Order of the Garter; gilt edges and marbled endpapers.
Origin: Written in England between 1674, when John Sheffield received the Order of the Garter, and 1694, when he was created marquess (arms on covers; Philadelphia Rare Book & Manuscript Company).

Local notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Rare Books Acquisition Fund in Honor of Dean Rebecca Bushnell.
Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

Penn Provenance:

Formerly owned by John Sheffield, third Earl of Mulgrave, subsequently first Marquess of Normanby and Duke of Buckingham (Philadelphia Rare Book & Manuscript Company).
Formerly owned by John Yorke, Esq. (several family members with that name and rank), of Bewerley, York, in the late 18th or 19th century (bookplate inside upper cover).
Sold by dealer Arthur Freeman to Eric Rasmussen.
Sold by Philadelphia Rare Book & Manuscript Company, 2013.

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1641.

Contributor:

More, Thomas, Saint, 1478-1535.
Buckingham, John Sheffield, Duke of, 1647-1721, former owner.
Rasmussen, Eric, 1960- former owner.
Rare Books Acquisition Fund in Honor of Dean Rebecca Bushnell.
Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

Related Work:

More, Thomas, Saint, 1478-1535. Works. 1557

OCLC:

1049397969

Web link:

The Rare Books Acquisition Fund in Honor of Dean Rebecca Bushnell Home Page
The Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund Home Page