| Summary: | Description: SIR THOMAS MALORY: 'Le Morte Darthur'; circa 1471-1483. Imperfect.This unique manuscript of the English prose cycle of Arthurian legends attributed to 'a knyght presoner sir Thomas Malleorre' (f. 70v) wasdiscovered at Winchester College in 1934 by W. F. Oakeshott. Although the earliest printed version, completed by William Caxton on 31 July 1485, displays significant variants from the manuscript text, the presence of offset from Caxton's types 2 and 4 on following 159, 186v, 187 and 407 suggests that it passed through his hands about 1480-1483. The texts are collated in Malory's Works, edition Eugene Vinaver, 3 volumes, 3rd edn., revised by P. J. C.Field, Oxford, 1990. The manuscript was reproduced in facsmile by the Early English Text Society, Supplementary Series, numbers 4, 1976, with a full description. For provenance see Lotte Hellinga, 'The Malory Manuscriptand Caxton', and Hilton Kelliher, 'The Early History of the Malory Manuscript', in Aspects of Malory, edition Toshiyuki Takamiya and DerekBrewer, Arthurian Studies I, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1986 (corrected reprinted),pp. 127-158. Subsequent jottings (f. 348) made before 1535 by Richard Followell of Litchborough, where the lordship of the manor was owned by another branch of the Malory family. Formerly Winchester College MS 13(f.9). Purchased of the Warden and Fellows of Winchester College, 26 March 1976. Paper; following 473 (foliated as 9-31, 34-251, 253-484, in Oakeshott's hand). 287 x 205mm. Gatherings of 8 leaves, most having sheets numbered i-iii or 1-4 and catchwords on last page of each gathering. Missing sections comprise single gatherings before present f. 9 and afterf. 473, two leaves between following 31 and 35 and a stub at f. 252, all with loss of text. Margins ruled in ink at 185 x 135mm., with 28-33 text-lines to the page: rubrication for all personal names, some place names and marginal headings. Copied by two scribes: scribe (A), the supervisor, was responsible for most of following 9-45, lines 1-8, 191v-229 and 349-484v, and scribe (B) for following 35, lines 9-24, 45, lines 7-32, 45v-191 and 229v-346v. Of the three distinct watermarks two are similar to Briquet's nos. 1685 (circa1471-1480) and 8861 (1477). Binding of white pigskin by Roger Powell,1948, with box. Mounted in perspex in a compartment of the box is a fragment (f. i), measuring 59 x 70mm., of an indulgence printed by Caxton in 1489 (STC 14077 c. 115: see E. G. Duff, Fifteenth century Englishbooks, 1917, numbers 212, and Early English Printing, pl. vii(i)), formerly used for a repair to f. 243. One of the covers of an earlier red sheepskin binding,circa 1800, is preserved separately as f. iv.
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