Accession number
MS M.690
Object title
Confessio amantis.
Created
England, 1350-1399.
Binding
Repaired and rebound in 1861 in English brown calf; rebacked in dark brown morocco by T.M. Moore in 1927; two orange labels on spine lettered: Gower - Confessio Amantis. MS on vellum - English, c. 1390-1400.
Credit line
Purchased by J.P. Morgan (1867-1943) in 1923.
Description
204 leaves (2 columns, 42 lines), bound : vellum, ill. ; 370 x 260 mm
Provenance
Owned ca. 1500 by Francis Tomsone (Townsen?) of Westminster (inscription on fol. 1: Francis Tomsone of Westminster servant to the kings majestie dwelling in longe ditch by the hanging (?) sword); William Meatcalfe (Meatcalf?), ca. 1550 (signature on fol. 94); bound at Ravensworth Castle by Henry Thomas, first Earl of Ravensworth (armorial bookplate on front pastedown; inscription in black ink on second flyleaf verso: this M.S. copy of the Confessio Amantis by John Gower was found at Ravensworth Castle in a very dirty rotten condition and was repaired and rebound in the year 1861...Cura nostra et sumptibus/Ravensworth); purchased by J.P. Morgan (1867-1943) from Maggs Brothers in 1923.
Notes
Ms. written and illuminated in England at the end of the 14th century.
Decoration: 1 miniature, 7 illuminated borders; full-page pencil drawings on fol. 1, recto and verso (supposed portraits of Gower).
Decoration: 1 miniature, 7 illuminated borders; full-page pencil drawings on fol. 1, recto and verso (supposed portraits of Gower).
Script
English cursive
Language
English and Latin
Resources
Century
Catalog link
Classification
Department