Wall’s Book. Original

MSS/0679/01

Wall’s Book. Original

1530-1538

item

Paper; Vol. I: modern pagination 5-426 (original foliation 1-158 starting at p. 115); Vol. II: pp. 340 (original foliation 159-273, ending at p. 225). Folio. Leather, russet (modern). Verses, etc., later 16th century, added to the titlepage, Vol. I, p. 9:- Four lines in praise of penmanship 'Dor et dargent puist amasser ... qui bien scet Iouuer [jouer] de la plume', with English verse translation, and 'En passant mon temps ... Dieu me pourvoye'; followed by a monogram with motto 'Tyll Than Thvs' of Longueville.

Alphabet of arms compiled and written by Thomas Wall, Windsor Herald (Garter 1534-6); 1530 (titlepage), with additions by Wall (d. 1536) and others to after 29 Hen. VIII (1537/8), and later annotations. Titlepage, Vol. I, p. 9, inscription: 'This boke belongyth vnto Thomas Wall otherwise named Wyndesor herauld.. The whiche booke by his diligent labour he dyd accumulat to gether And Wrytin yt With his aune hand And it Was made Vp In the yere of oure Lord god a thousand. fyue hundrith and therty'. Two volumes:- Vol. I. Index, pp. 11-114. Alphabet, A-O, in blazon, beg. p. 115 (original fol. 1), with 'Abraham patriarke', Arthur, 'king and oon of the nyne', Alexander. Each letter of the alphabet is preceded by a large illuminated letter of strapwork in gold or silver on a coloured ground; penwork initials to the first entry in each letter. At the end a section of additional blazons for letter B, pp. 415-22;- Vol. II. Alphabet, P-Z, pp. 1-176. Additional entries for C, pp. 153-7; H, pp. 177-9; S, pp. 207-8. At pp. 215-6, arms of the kings of England, beg. with Lucius and ending with Cadwallader. At the end crests, 'Here folowith Crestys of Noble Men' (rubric with penwork initial), pp. 227-97, with index, pp. 303-26. The crests were published by O. Barron, The Ancestor, 11 (1904), 178-90; 12 (1905), 63-98. There is possibly some relationship between Wall's Book and College of Arms SAL/MSS/L. 1 and L. 2 and the projected alphabet rolls of Garter Wriothesley (see Aspilogia, II (1967), 259; L. Campbell and F. Steer, A Catalogue of Manuscripts in the College of Arms Collections, I (1988), 21-2). BL Add. MS 6113 is another manuscript by Thomas Wall (inf. John A. Goodall, FSA).

Wall, Thomas (d 1536), herald
London, Hugh Stanford (1884-1959), antiquary

SAL/MS/679/1