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COLLECTION Identifier: MS Eng 748

Thomas Percy transcripts of metrical romances

Overview

Transcripts of metrical romances made for the antiquary and bishop of Dromore Thomas Percy with his annotations and introductory notes.

Dates

  • Creation: 1769-1781 and undated

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English, Latin, and French.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.

Extent

.33 linear feet (5 volumes)

Transcripts of metrical romances, made for Bishop Percy, with his annotations and introductory notes, as well as some translations into Latin.

Biographical / Historical

Thomas Percy, born at Bridgnorth Shropshire, was a poet, antiquary, editor of the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, and bishop of Dromore.

Physical Location

f

Immediate Source of Acquisition

41-1675F. Gift of Frederick L. Gay; received: 1915 December 13.

These comprise the bulk of the 26 transcripts sold as lot 180 in the Percy sale at Sotheby's, 29 April 1884. Some of the 26 transcripts are no longer in this collection, and those that remain have been bound into five volumes. At the end of the fourth volume is bound the various transcripts of Flowers of the forest, sold as lot 165 in the Percy sale.

From the listing of lot 180 it is apparent that the following have been removed from the collection: Sir Bevis of Kampton from 2 copies, Launfal Miles, Tundale, Ipomydon, Squyr of Lowe Degre and Amys. Apparently the whole of lot 165 is bound at the end of v. 4.

Laid in v. 1 is an A.L.s. from Frederick L. Gay to Professor George Lyman Kittredge; Brookline, Mass., 13 Dec 1915, presenting the volumes.

Title
Percy, Thomas, 1729-1811. Thomas Percy transcripts of metrical romances, 1769-1781: Guide.
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou01678

Repository Details

Part of the Houghton Library Repository

Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

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