Medieval Caesarean
Illegal English Bible
Chaucer, Canterbury Tales
Monsters in hell
Ptolemy's World Map
Medieval woman poet
Old Hall manuscript
Bedford Hours
Medicinal plants
Chess playing
Medical Treatise by John Aderne
Recipe for 'custarde'
Gutenberg Bible
The Temptation of Eve
Pregnancy
The Legend of King Arthur
Caxton's Chaucer
Valentine's day love letter
Medieval zodiac chart
Heretics burned at the stake
Royal feast
Courtly love
Columbus in America
The Old Hall manuscript is the most important source for our knowledge of early musical harmony in England. It is made up of one of the oldest surviving collections of English part music (music written in parts for separate players or singers). Most of its music survives nowhere else. It was compiled by a single scribe between about 1415 and 1421. The writing is complex and precise, which suggests that the writer and the intended users of the book were sophisticated and knowledgeable, as were the composers.
The manuscript mentions numerous English composers, including one 'Roy Henry', who is most likely to have been Henry V. Two of the pieces of music may be associated with the Battle of Agincourt (1415) and another is one of the most celebrated works by John Dunstable (died 1453) whose music is considered to typical of the spirit of the Renaissance in England.
Shelfmark: Add. MS 57950