• Decorated initial 'W'(hanne) at the beginning of the general prologue: 'Whanne that aprill with his shoures soote / The droghte of march hath perced to the roote'., The Canterbury Tales (imperfect), and other works, including the Prose Brut Chronicle of England ('peculiar version' to 1419) (ff. 1-24v), extracts from Gower's Confessio Amantis, and Lydgate's Life of Edmund and Fremund (ff. 136-146v)

also established the British Museum; the Harley manuscripts form one of the foundation collections of the British Library: inscribed by Edward Harley, 'Oxford BH, Dec 1738' (f. 2). Decorated initial John Shirley John Shirley Geoffrey Chaucer Leicester England, Central (Leicester)

• Full band and bar border with illuminated interlace knots and foliate springs at the beginning of the text, possibly with an author portrait of the Dominican John of Genoa at a desk, with a blue weight on a cord over the edge, and an illuminated foliate initial., Summa Grammaticalis (index Catholicon)

the beginning of the text, possibly with an author portrait of the Dominican John of Genoa at a desk, with a blue weight on a cord over the edge, and an illuminated foliate initial. 1 full band and bar border,

• Small miniatures with God the Father, Michael, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, and foliate compartiment borders, in the suffrages., Book of Hours, Use of Rome

Small miniatures with God the Father, Michael, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, and foliate compartiment borders, in the suffrages. Offprints of pilgrim badges (upper and lower parchment flyleaves which faced the original binding).Backhouse 2004 located the manuscript to the

• The arms of Thomas Wall, Windsor herald, in the right margin, the signature of Jo Starkey, in the upper margin, that of Sir Robert Cotton ('Robert Cotton Bruceaus') with the date 1610 in the lower margin., De Regimine Principum; Secrets of the Philosophers; Secretum Secretorum

ex dono HENR. HOWARD / Norfolciensis.', f. 1).Purchased by the British Museum from the Royal Society together with 549 other Arundel manuscripts in 1831. Heraldry and signatures Perhaps John Multon John Multon Thomas Hoccleve, Pseudo-Aristotle London England, S. E. (London)

• Decorated initial 'G'(od)., De Regimine Principum; Secrets of the Philosophers; Secretum Secretorum

/ ex dono HENR. HOWARD / Norfolciensis.', f. 1).Purchased by the British Museum from the Royal Society together with 549 other Arundel manuscripts in 1831. Decorated initial Perhaps John Multon John Multon Thomas Hoccleve, Pseudo-Aristotle London England, S. E. (London)

• Historiated initial 'O' of the beheading of John the Baptist., Cuttings from a choir book

of the beheading of John the Baptist. Italian cuttings.The present cuttings are kept in two boxes with Add. 18197, ff. B-F and G, I-M (there is no f. J). To see these cuttings in the Manuscripts Reading Room order Add.

• Illuminated initial, with the notes of John Ruskin in the margins., Gospel lectionary, imperfect, and in part misbound

the notes of John Ruskin in the margins. Ecphonetic notation.ff. 2-73 are misbound before, instead of after, ff. 76-155.f. i is the inside upper cover; f. ii is the inside lower cover. Small headpieces in gold. Large initials in colours

• Text page with gold initials and the marginal notes of John Ruskin., Gospel lectionary, imperfect, and in part misbound

and the marginal notes of John Ruskin. Ecphonetic notation.ff. 2-73 are misbound before, instead of after, ff. 76-155.f. i is the inside upper cover; f. ii is the inside lower cover. Small headpieces in gold. Large initials in colours and

• Text page with gold initials and on the right the notes of John Ruskin of the 'Names of the Companions accepted, forming St George's Company, March 1876'., Gospel lectionary, imperfect, and in part misbound

on the right the notes of John Ruskin of the 'Names of the Companions accepted, forming St George's Company, March 1876'. Ecphonetic notation.ff. 2-73 are misbound before, instead of after, ff. 76-155.f. i is the inside upper cover; f. ii

• Initial 'A' and border with floral decoration in gold and colours. Headpiece defaced. The arms of the Tornabuoni family of Florence in the bas-de-page., Odyssey

and rubrics in red at the beginning of books. Initials, running titles and marginal scholia in red. Odyssey Written by John Rhosos of Crete (d. 1498): see Gamillscheg and Harlfinger 1981.The Tornabuoni family of Florence, owned in the 15th century:

• Decorated initial 'R'(ex) with pen-flourishing., Baarlam et Josaphat, imperfect

marked with red. Baarlam et Josaphat, imperfect John Batteley (b. 1647, d. 1708), Church of England clergyman and antiquary: sold to Edward Harley with the rest of his collection through his nephew John Batteley on 5 November 1723 (f. 1).The

• Miniature with the portrait of King Henry VIII, and the beginning of John Croke's English translation of Psalms., Psalms in English verse (girdle book)

Henry VIII, and the beginning of John Croke's English translation of Psalms. A very small girdle book, bound in gold.John Croke was one of the clerks in Chancery.Contents: ff. 2-5: Veni Creator; ff. 6-68v: seven Penitential Psalms followed by the

• Miniature of the presentation of the book to a king, with a foliate initial 'C'(omme) and a full border containing the arms of John Donne, at the beginning of the Romance of Sydrac and Boctus., Romance of Sydrac and Boctus, treatise on the Seven Deadly Sins

a foliate initial 'C'(omme) and a full border containing the arms of John Donne, at the beginning of the Romance of Sydrac and Boctus. Includes the Romance of Sydrac and Boctus (ff. 1-113v) and a treatise on the Seven Deadly

• Detail of a miniature of Jocasta's embassy to Adrastus., Troy Book, Siege of Thebes, Testament and The reignes of the kyngis of England; A Treatise between Information and Truth; On the Death of the Earl of Northumberland; Le assemble de dyeus; Descent of the Lords Percy

two works by John Lydgate, the Troy Book, a translation from Historia destructionis Troiae of Guido delle Colonne, originally presented by Lydgate to Henry V in 1420, and the Siege of Thebes of 1421-1422.Part 3 includes: John Lydgate, Testament (ff.

• Miniature of Michael driving Lucifer and the other fallen angels from heaven., Troy Book, Siege of Thebes, Testament and The reignes of the kyngis of England; A Treatise between Information and Truth; On the Death of the Earl of Northumberland; Le assemble de dyeus; Descent of the Lords Percy

two works by John Lydgate, the Troy Book, a translation from Historia destructionis Troiae of Guido delle Colonne, originally presented by Lydgate to Henry V in 1420, and the Siege of Thebes of 1421-1422.Part 3 includes: John Lydgate, Testament (ff.

• Text page with calligraphic initials., Testament and The reignes of the kyngis of England, A Treatise between Information and Truth; On the Death of the Earl of Northumberland; Le assemble de dyeus; Descent of the Lords Percy

two works by John Lydgate, the Troy Book, a translation from Historia destructionis Troiae of Guido delle Colonne, originally presented by Lydgate to Henry V in 1420, and the Siege of Thebes of 1421-1422.Part 3 includes: John Lydgate, Testament (ff.

• Miniature of Priam and his court mourning over the body of Hector., Testament and The reignes of the kyngis of England, A Treatise between Information and Truth; On the Death of the Earl of Northumberland; Le assemble de dyeus; Descent of the Lords Percy

two works by John Lydgate, the Troy Book, a translation from Historia destructionis Troiae of Guido delle Colonne, originally presented by Lydgate to Henry V in 1420, and the Siege of Thebes of 1421-1422.Part 3 includes: John Lydgate, Testament (ff.

• Miniature of two monks (one of them being John Lydgate) kneeling before saint Edmund at the beginning of Lydgate's dedication to Humfrey of Gloucester, with a partial foliate border., The Fall of Princes (index De casibus virorum et feminarum illustrium), abridged

abridged Numerous medieval and post-medieval added inscriptions in Greek, English and Latin (ff. 1*v, 2*v, 265v, 266). John Bentley: inscribed in 1587 'John Bentley aetatis sue xxxiiii, fe. viii 1587 Anno eliza xxx' (f. 4v).Thomas Cotton, 16th century: inscribed with

• Detail of a miniature of two monks (one of them being John Lydgate) kneeling before saint Edmund at the beginning of Lydgate's dedication to Humfrey of Gloucester; decorated border., The Fall of Princes (index De casibus virorum et feminarum illustrium), abridged

abridged Numerous medieval and post-medieval added inscriptions in Greek, English and Latin (ff. 1*v, 2*v, 265v, 266). John Bentley: inscribed in 1587 'John Bentley aetatis sue xxxiiii, fe. viii 1587 Anno eliza xxx' (f. 4v).Thomas Cotton, 16th century: inscribed with

• Miniature of a king enthroned surrounded by courtiers with Sir William Herbert and his wife, Anne Devereux wearing clothes decorated with their coats of arms, kneeling before him, with a full border with a scroll inscribed with William Herbert's and his wife's mottos reading 'e las sy longuement', and 'De toute'; a foliate initials 'O'(mighty), at the beginning of the Troy Book; and the arms of William Herbert and Anne Devereux with mottos, between the column of the text., Troy Book (ff. 6-146); Siege of Thebes (ff. 147v-162)

two works by John Lydgate, the Troy Book, a translation from Historia destructionis Troiae of Guido delle Colonne, originally presented by Lydgate to Henry V in 1420, and the Siege of Thebes of 1421-1422.Part 3 includes: John Lydgate, Testament (ff.