PLATE XIII.
CALF BINDING OF A MS. COMMENTARY ON THE CAMPAIGN OF THE EMPEROR CHARLES V. AGAINST THE FRENCH IN 1544. MADE FOR HENRY VIII., TO WHOM THE MS. IS ADDRESSED.
See page [82.]
About 1528 Henry VIII. made a change in the supporters of his royal shield. His father, Henry VII., who was very proud of his descent from Cadwallader, the last of the British kings, adopted and used as one of his supporters the red dragon which had been a badge of that king. The red dragon was used by both Henry VII. and Henry VIII. as their dexter supporter, and with it, as a sinister supporter, they both also used the white greyhound. In or about 1528 Henry VIII. adopted a crowned lion statant as his dexter supporter, transferring the dragon to the sinister side, and leaving out the greyhound altogether. This lion still remains the dexter supporter of the royal coat of arms of England, but the dragon was discontinued on the accession of James I. to the throne of England, a unicorn, one of the supporters of the ancient Scottish coat of arms, being substituted for it. So that the stamp which forms the principal ornament on this book was probably cut about 1528, certainly not much later; indeed, it is possible that this was one of the books bound by Berthelet for the king before his appointment as royal printer. The coat of arms is contained within an oval ribbon bearing the words, “REX HENRICVS VIII. DIEV ET MON DROIT.” The coat is ensigned with a large royal crown, has a dragon supporter on the dexter side and a greyhound on the sinister; above the crown is a fleur-de-lys and a double rose, and two portcullises depend by chains from the lower edge of the shield. The oval is contained within a close rectangular panel, the inner angles of which are filled with an arabesque design. At each outer corner is a leaf of Venetian character.
Above and below the rectangle is a crowned double rose, flanked by the letters K H,—mysterious letters, the meaning of which is not yet understood. Beyond this again comes a broad double border of a narrow running pattern containing a fleur-de-lys and a triple floral ornament. This same border occurs on several of Berthelet’s earlier bindings. The inner corners of the rectangular border are filled with a symmetrical design of a vase with flowers and two curves terminating in human masks. There were originally some outer lines of small gold-tooling, but these, as well as the corners, have been “repaired” away.
On a fly-leaf in this volume is a note which says: “Codex hic fuit olim Henrici VIII., ei Jo. Leylandus Titulum fecit—Vitae illustrium virorum, etc.” John Leyland, the antiquary, was keeper of the king’s library about 1530.
This book undoubtedly should be with the rest of the old royal library at the British Museum, and its inclusion among the books at Oxford is explained by the Rev. W. Dunn Macray in his book, “The Annals of the Bodleian Library,” in which he mentions the interesting fact that in August, 1605, King James I. visited the Bodleian and offered to present to Sir T. Bodley, “from all the libraries of the royal palaces, whatever precious and rare books he might choose to carry away.” So that, in fact, instead of feeling that we in London should have the few “outside” royal books returned to us, we should perhaps feel a debt of gratitude to Sir T. Bodley for leaving anything at all in the libraries of the royal palaces, in face of King James’s generous offer.