Paper Stocks in Western Medieval Manuscripts : Paper stock

Paper Stocks in Western Medieval Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>A fragment of a copy of the year book for 18 Henry VI (1439-40), from the library of Anthony Gell (d. 1583), of Hopton Hall, Derbyshire, and bencher of the Inner Temple (CELM, p. 645).</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>A mixed media quire (ff. 1-18) made up of paper with two parchment stubs in the inner side. Each folio measures approximately 305 mm in height x 207 mm in width, and the sheets are folded in folio. This suggests that the original sheets had dimensions ranging between 300-315 mm in height x 420-460 mm in width, a format of paper known as Chancery, which was the most common size of paper in medieval England. The range of measurements depends on the precise dimensions of the original sheets before folding and the trimming of the folio before binding.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The paper stock is marked by the arms of Valencia. One of the twin marks (f.12) is the same as Briquet 2064, datable to 1464. It also appears in CUL, MS Ee.4.35 (1). The same watermark has been identified in the Paston letters. It also appears in manuscripts copied by the so-called ‘Hammond scribe’: London, British Library, MS Harley 2251; London, British Library, MS Royal 17.D.xv; London, British Library, MS Add. 5140, and Manchester, Rylands Library, English MS 113 (Daniel W. Mosser, 'Hammond Scribe’: What the Paper Evidence Tells Us', <i>Journal of the Early Book Society</i>, 10 (2007), 31-70). Given this evidence, it is reasonable to assume that this paper stock was used in both London and the East of England just after the middle of the fifteenth century. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>These images have been produced through MSI in order to capture physical details of the item.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Orietta Da Rold and Logan Rivers</p>