Statuta Collegii Reginalis Praefatio Reginae Fundatricis

Collection

Identifier: SC MS0245

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The manuscript measures 27.5 x 21.5 x 2 cm. The binding is worn and singed brown calf leather with faint traces of gilded decoration on the edges. The cover is thick board separated from the spine with white ink notation S 578.421 C17s. Inside the front board is written in pencil 617 scratched out and 439 and 1000, as well as the bookplate of Sir Thomas E.M. Turton, Bart. Sir Thomas E.M. Turton, Bart. (1790-1854) was the second baronet succeeding to the title in 1844. Since the bookplate is distinctly noted to be the second Turton baronet, it is certain that the manuscript was at one time part of his library. He was mentioned in William Carew Hazlitt’s “A Roll of Honour: A Calender of Names of Over 17,000 Men and Women who Throughout the British Isles and in Our Early Colonies Have Collected Mss. and Printed Books from the XIVth to the XIXth Century.” The first few pages having separated from the binding are watermarked with a Fleur-de-lys FAC (see Swiftbrook Britannia SBM Quarterly 41page 4). It appears that this watermark was used in Irish made paper during the early nineteenth century. The use of this paper fits within the time frame of the second baronet Sir Thomas E.M. Turton having a manuscript collection. The handwritten script is in black ink in a somewhat italic style of script. The first page is blank but has in pencil a note “Presented to the Library of the Lehigh University by R.A. Lamberton.” Robert A. Lamberton was a University Trustee 1871-1880 and president of the University 1880-1893. This page has chipped edges and tan smudges. The next page also chipped and smudged has the title Statuta Collegii Reginalis in black ink and a purple ink property mark of The Lehigh University Library Apr 3 1878 with the number 439 written on upper right corner. The next page has a blue ink number 5262 stamped on upper right corner. Page numbers 1 through 50 are handwritten on upper right corners of following pages. All the following pages are of the same type of brittle tan paper. Following the numbered pages are two pages of Index Statutorum. The handwriting is in black ink. The total number of pages is 57. The language is Latin. Most of the pages are loosely attached to the spine. Paper is brittle but black ink in very distinct.

Dates

Creation: 1446 - 1823
Creation: Majority of material found within 1529 - 1575

Conditions Governing Access

Collection housed remotely. Users need to contact 24 hours in advance.

Conditions Governing Use

Collection is open for research. Please inquire about copyright information.

Biographical / Historical

The College believed named in the title Statuta Collegii Reginalis is the Cambridge University College of St. Margaret and St. Bernard generally referred to as Queens College. The college was established in 1446 by Andrew Dokett (in the manuscript’s Latin version, Andrea Docket, first president of the college) who obtained a charter from King Henry VI (his queen was Margaret of Anjou) to found St. Bernard’s College. In 1447 the charter was revoked and a new charter was obtained from the king to found a new college. In 1448 King Henry VI granted his wife Queen Margaret (of Anjou) the St. Bernard lands to build a new college named Queen’s College of St. Margaret and St. Bernard. In 1465 the college received a new benefactor, Queen Elizabeth (Woodville), wife of King Edward IV. This duel foundation is reflected in the name Queens’ College (officially so designated in 1823). Later in the college’s history another Queen Elizabeth (Tudor) (1533-1603) also became a college benefactor. Elizabeth I became queen of England, France and Ireland in 1558. Her coronation was in 1559. Based on dates mentioned as Interpretations in the document: 1529, 1537, 1560, 1561, 1569, and 1575 and names of endorsers William May (Mey)(d. 1560 as president of Queens’ College), Matthew Parker (1504-1575), William Bill?, Walter Hadeen?, Robert Horne (1510-1579) and James Pilkinton?, as well as the name of Elizabeth as queen of England, France and Ireland appearing in opening chapter, it is believed that this version of the document originated during the Elizabethan age. The 1559 version of the Statutes was officiated by William Meye (May). William May was president of Queens College at the time he died in 1560. Apparently copies of the original were made through the years for commemorative purposes. In 1822 Cambridge University is known to have published a number of copies of the 1559 version of the document in commemoration of the benefactors of Queens’ College on the occasion of the official naming of the college Queens’ College rather than Queen’s. In 1882 the Statutes were first composed in English. The watermark in the paper of this document seems to have originated in the early 19th century fitting into the date of 1822 as a possible date of the creation of this manuscript. Likewise, the bookplate of the second Baron Turton (1790-1854) who was credited as collecting manuscripts from the 14th to 19th centuries also seems to establish the origin of this Lehigh manuscript as early 19th century.

Extent

1 book (One book box measuring 27 x 21.5 x 2.5 cm containing one bound handwritten manuscript.)

Language of Materials

Latin

Additional Description

Arrangement

The manuscript contents are arranged numerically by Chapter numbers.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This manuscript was presented to the University Library as a gift from a former University Trustee and President Robert A. Lamberton approximately April 3, 1878. Apparently the manuscript originated from the collection of Sir Thomas E. M. Turton, Bart. who had a collection of manuscripts from the 14th to 19th centuries. There is a Turton bookplate on the inside cover of the manuscript.

Existence and Location of Originals

Lehigh University, Linderman Library, Special Collections

Related Materials

British Association of Paper Historians. www.baph.org.uk

Hazlitt, William Carew. 1908. “A Roll of Honour: A Calendar of Names of Over 17,000 Men and Women who Throughout the British Isles and in Our early Colonies Have Collected Mss. And Printed Books from the XIVth to the XIXth Century…” Ayer Publishing, 279 pp.

Queens’ College, Cambridge University. www.queens.cam.av.uk/library-archives

Yale University. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.