Catholicon Anglicum

The Monson manuscript of theCatholicon Anglicum,MS. 168, now British Library Add MS 89074

TheCatholicon Anglicumis an English-to-Latin bilingual dictionary compiled in the late 15th century.

History

Writing and publishing

TheCatholicon Anglicumwas written in 1483.Its author was anonymous at the time of its writing in the 15th century, and remains unknown to the present day. From the dialect of English used, the author might have been a native ofYorkshirein the north of England.

The book was republished by theCamden Societyin 1882.The dictionary was edited by Sidney Herrtage prior to its republication.

Current status

Two copies of the dictionary are known to be still in existence, only one of which is complete. Since 2014, both dictionaries reside in theBritish Library.The first is incomplete: some of the leaves in this copy are missing. It was purchased by theBritish Museumin 1846, and was added to theAdditional Manuscriptssequence. It is now British Library Add MS 15562. The second, complete dictionary was manuscript no. 168 in theMonson familycollection and was collated with Add MS 15562 in a publication by the Camden Society in 1882. This complete version was put up for sale in 2013.

Auction

In July 2013, the complete copy of theCatholicon Anglicum,formerly owned by the Monson family, was sold bySotheby'sto a buyer outside of the United Kingdom for £92,500, so an export ban was subsequently placed on the book by then-culture ministerEd Vaizeyafter a recommendation from theReviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Artand Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered byArts Council England.The purchase price was eventually matched by theBritish Library,which purchased the book on 27 February 2014, shortly before the expiration of the ban. It was then added to theAdditional Manuscriptssequence, as Add MS 89074.

Notability

TheCatholicon Anglicumis notable for being one of the earliest dictionaries in the English language.TheOxford English Dictionarystated that many important words in the English language such asdiphthongwere first attested in theCatholicon Anglicum.

The importance of theCatholicon Anglicumhas been described by Ed Vaizey:"The manuscript is of outstanding significance for the history of the English language, which is fundamental to the identity and life of our nation."

Christopher Wright from the RCEWA has said:

This rare survival of a 15th-century English-Latin word list is one of the vital first steps on the road to the English dictionary as we know it today. Its anonymous author, possibly a Yorkshireman on the basis of some dialect words included, provides an invaluable witness to the English language as it existed in the second half of the 15th Century, and can claim an honourable place in the roll of famous lexicographers that stretches through Johnson and Murray into our own age.

— Christopher Wright

See also

• Promptorium parvulorum
• Manipulus Vocabulorum

External links

• "Catholicon Anglicum:an English-Latin wordbook dated 1483: Herrtage, Sidney John Hervon ".1881.Retrieved2014-02-05.
• "Catholicon anglicum:; an English-Latin wordbook, dated 1483 /; edited, from the MS. no. 168 in the library of Lord Monson, collated with the additional MS. 15,562, British Museum, with introduction and notes, by Sidney J. H. Herrtage; with a prefa".europeana.eu.Retrieved2014-02-05.
• Catalog Record:Catholicon anglicum:an English-Latin... | Hathi Trust Digital Library.Early English text society. [Original series;no.75]. catalog.hathitrust.org. 1881.Retrieved2014-02-05.
• Herrtage, S. J. H. (1987).Catholicon Anglicum:An English-Latin Wordbook, Dated 1483.Kraus Reprint.ISBN9780527000745.
• Herrtage, S. J. (2007).Catholicon Anglicum:An English-Latin Wordbook Dated 1483.Read Books.ISBN9781406780680.
• Herrtage, S. J. H.; Wheatley, H. B.; Monson, A. D. J. M.; Camden Society (Great Britain); British Library (1882).Catholicon anglicum:an English-Latin wordbook, dated 1483.Camden Society.