Winchcombe Manuscripts of the Twelfth Century

The surviving early twelfth-century manuscripts made at and for Winchcombe abbey in Gloucestershire have long been known as a distinguished group. Neil Ker in particular gave them much attention, but they have never been described as a group, nor have their distinctive palaeographical features been isolated. The purpose of this article is to list all of the known manuscripts and to describe their distinctive features. It will be seen that no single book exhibits all of the features, but that some of the features are found in each. It is hoped that this procedure will enable the identification of more Winchcombe manuscripts of the same period.