Book Description

Excerpt from The Manuscripts in the Library at Lambeth Palace We find that in Bernard's Catalogi Manuscriptorum Angliae (1697), ii. pp. 198-203, is a list of 312 MSS. belonging to Charles Theyer, of Gloucestershire: and a comparison of this list with Casley's Catalogue of the Royal MSS. shews that with very few exceptions the books enumerated now form part of the Royal Library. In other words, the collection of Charles Theyer, described by Bernard, is that which Charles II. bought. It is clear that when Bernard's Catalogue was issued the Theyer MSS. must have been for some years at St James's: but I do not find any note of the fact either in Preface or Appendix. It will be further noticed that the number of books (312) differs widely from that specified by Wood (about 800). An explanation of this fact is not immediately forthcoming. We should expect at this stage of our investigation to find that the Theyer MSS. in the Royal Library were traceable in large part to Lanthony Priory. That, however, is not the case. Of a large number which I have myself examined, not more than two or three are Lanthony books. Worcester and Gloucester have contributed largely to the collection: and this is not surprising when we know that the ancestral abode of the Theyers was in the immediate neighbourhood of Gloucester. But as to Lanthony - clearly there is something more than meets the eye in the history as given by Wood. We can hardly doubt that he is correct in his account of the connexion between the old Theyer and Prior Hart, and the presence of many books from Lanthony on Theyer's shelves. We also see that these books must have been diverted to some other quarter before the purchase of the collection by Charles II. Can we at this time of day ascertain either when the diversion took place, or where the Lanthony books are now? I believe we can. It would clearly be a very great help if we could arm ourselves with a document showing what books were in the Library whose relics we are pursuing. Such a document is very fortunately accessible. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.