Manuscript

National Library of Scotland, Adv.Libr.31.3.20
(Deidis of Armorie)

Codicology

Produced: Scotland, late 16th/early 17th cent
Current Location: National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Manuscript Type: Miscellany
Language: Middle Scots
Folios: 126
Illustrated: No
Binding: 19th century
Media: Paper
Script: Secretary
Dimensions: Height: 29.7 cm Width: 19.7 cm

Description

The Deidis of Armorie is a late fifteenth-century heraldic manual and bestiary translated from French into Scots and copied around 1494 by Kintyre Pursuivant Adam Loutfut at the behest of Marchmont Herald Sir William Cumming of Inverallochy. ... The work derives its title from the explicit. In some 2555 lines it relates the history of the rise and art of heraldry and the colors, animals, and other terms used therein." - [Houwen, 1994, p. xiii]

This copy of the Deidis of Armorie may be based indirectly (via an intermediate source) on Harley MS. 6149, and has some of the same texts. The heraldic bestiary is found at the end of section 8 (ff. 14v-39v). The text is written in a single "secretary" hand. There are no illustrations and no decorations. The manuscript is entirely on paper, with three watermarks: two variations of a pot symbol, and a crown symbol. It entered the Advocates Library in 1723. (Description based on Houwen, 1994.)

The Deidis of Armorie is also found in manuscripts British Library, Harley MS 6149; Oxford, Queen's College Library, MS. 161; National Library of Scotland, Adv.Libr.31.5.2.

This manuscript is designated 'L' in Houwen's 1994 edition of the Deidis of Armorie (which is based on Harley MS. 6149).

Additional Descriptions

None known

Editions and Facsimiles

Printed editions

Used as a secondary witness in Houwen, 1994