Text, early 14th century

Component identifier:

Item 60

Content Summary:

Origin: English

Content: Unusual and unknown. Pencil inscription on mount (modern) says phrasebook, and German, both of which are incorrect

Script: Cursiva anglicana

Extent: 2 leaves

Other detail: English (Latin) in a style of script used in documents, but also for lower grade books from late 13th century onwards - the fashions in documentary script changed rapidly to ensure authenticity and so this can be dated closely to first quarter 14th century.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The documents in this collection were presented to the National Library of Australia by Sir Rex Nan Kivell in 1969. He referred to it as ‘The Nan Kivell Calligraphy Collection’. The documents were collected by him as specimens of early calligraphy and/or examples of early documentation. He acquired them over a number of years from varied sources which were not recorded. However, it seems likely that the group of legal documents in Series 1 relating to the Elliott family of Salisbury would have a single provenance. Nan Kivell had a country house in Devizes, Wiltshire, which is only a short distance from Salisbury.

Access and use