• Decorated initial 'W', at the beginning of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales., Canterbury Tales (begins and ends imperfectly)

out (f. 183). Canterbury Tales (begins and ends imperfectly) Inscribed, 16th-century: 'GH' (f. 4).Inscribed, 16th-century: 'Thomas Wentworth' (f. 222v).Inscriptions in English, 16th-century (ff. 173, 196v, 223).Sir Hans Sloane (b. 1660, d. 1753), baronet, physician and collector. Purchased as part of

• Detail of text page., Canterbury Tales (begins and ends imperfectly)

out (f. 183). Canterbury Tales (begins and ends imperfectly) Inscribed, 16th-century: 'GH' (f. 4).Inscribed, 16th-century: 'Thomas Wentworth' (f. 222v).Inscriptions in English, 16th-century (ff. 173, 196v, 223).Sir Hans Sloane (b. 1660, d. 1753), baronet, physician and collector. Purchased as part of

• Text page., Canterbury Tales (begins and ends imperfectly)

out (f. 183). Canterbury Tales (begins and ends imperfectly) Inscribed, 16th-century: 'GH' (f. 4).Inscribed, 16th-century: 'Thomas Wentworth' (f. 222v).Inscriptions in English, 16th-century (ff. 173, 196v, 223).Sir Hans Sloane (b. 1660, d. 1753), baronet, physician and collector. Purchased as part of

• Illuminated historiated initial 'U' at the beginning of Leviticus, showing Aaron(?), dressed as a thirteenth-century priest, sacrificing a sheep on an altar, watched by similarly dressed Israelites., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial 'P' of Paul handing the book to the messenger Phebe at the beginning of Romans., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial at the beginning of Luke, with Luke shown writing, with the head of his symbol, an ox, and an illuminated initial below of Zacharias censing the altar (Luke 1:9)., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial 'P' at the beginning of Acts, of Luke writing and of Theophilus, to whom the Acts are addressed in the opening lines, with two smaller decorated illuminated initials., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial 'P' at the beginning of I Peter, of Peter writing, and his arrest; the buildings at the top probably represent the cities to which Peter's epistle was addressed., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial 'P' of Paul in prison, giving a scroll to a messenger, at the beginning of Philippians., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Text page with inscriptions., De corpore et sanguine Domini

with other 311 manuscripts from Theyer's library.Presented to the British Museum by George II in 1757 as part of the Old Royal Library. Text page Sistan (perhaps Sigestan; the same scribe as Worcester Cathedral Library manuscript f. 91): inscribed '

• Initial 'Q'(uintus) with decoration in foliate and dot patterns at the beginning of book 4., Commentary on Jeremiah

(Oxford: Sheldonian, '1697', but 1698?), no. 7842.Presented to the British Museum by George II in 1757 as part of the Old Royal Library. Decorated initial Probably the same scribe as Royal 6 C XI Jerome Bath England, S. W. (Bath)

• Initial 'P'(rolixitas) at the beginning of book 6, and initial 'H'(oc) with decoration in foliate and dot patterns., Commentary on Jeremiah

(Oxford: Sheldonian, '1697', but 1698?), no. 7842.Presented to the British Museum by George II in 1757 as part of the Old Royal Library. Decorated initials Probably the same scribe as Royal 6 C XI Jerome Bath England, S. W. (Bath)

• Detail of a miniature of a fox, having grown old and setting off on a pilgrimage, refusing the companionship of the watch-dog, the wild ass, the bear, the lion, the peacock, the wolf, the pig, and the mule, and choosing the companionship of the panther, the ape, the lamb, the hare, the hedgehog, the ox, the young hound, and the ant, at the beginning of Chapter 24 of Book 1., Spiegel der Weisheit

of a fox, having grown old and setting off on a pilgrimage, refusing the companionship of the watch-dog, the wild ass, the bear, the lion, the peacock, the wolf, the pig, and the mule, and choosing the companionship of the

• Illuminated historiated initial, with Moses (identified by his horns) facing a group of Israelites, making a gesture of speaking (or perhaps counting?) at the beginning of Deuteronomy. The blue ground-line on which they all stand is in fact a serpent., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial 'E' at the beginning of Josua, probably inspired by Joshua 5:3, in which Joshua circumcises the Israelites who had been born after the Israelites fled from Egypt, with Josua characterised as an ugly hook-nosed Jew., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial 'P' at the beginning of II Kings, probably representing the events related in II Kings 24:11, in which King Nebuchadnezzar besieged and captured Jerusalem. This subject may have been chosen because it was relatively 'topical': Jerusalem had been captured in the Fourth Crusade just a few decades before this manuscript was made., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial 'T' at the beginning of Tobit, with Tobit on the left (his closed eyes signifying his blindness) sending out his son Tobias with the angel Raphael, instead of the more usual scene of the blinding of Tobit which is more typically is illustrated., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial 'E' at the beginning of I Maccabees of a man being executed for refusing to worship idols (I Macc. 1:52), and one of the many battles which occurred during the Maccabees' reign. In the extreme lower right-hand corner is the word 'emendatus', indicating that the text of this quire has been corrected., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial 'F' at the beginning of II Maccabees of a uncertain scene, but perhaps of Antiochus and his men in the temple of Nanea, and beheading the leader of the priests (II Macc. 1:13-16), with a soldier wearing a thirteenth-century style helmet., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about

• Illuminated historiated initial 'S' at the beginning of II Peter, of Peter addressing a group of men and a youth, identified by his usual attribute, the large key in his hand; his audience may be the 'false teachers' and 'false prophets' mentioned at the beginning of chapter 2., Bible with prologues, without Psalms ('The Bible of Robert de Bello')

not common in English Bibles before c.1240.Marginalia indicate that the text of this Bible has been compared to that of another.The large decorative extensions in the lower margins are of a type which are found in English manuscripts from about