A colourful and fiercely partisan medieval genealogy created to support Edward IV’s claim to the English throne has now been digitised and made freely available online. In the turbulent fifteenth century, claimants often used elaborate genealogical rolls to legitimise their lineage, and the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Manuscript Lewis E 201 is one of the most striking examples. The newly launched digital edition presents the manuscript through high-resolution images, transcriptions, translations, and extensive annotations.
“It has been so exciting to bring together students, scholars, librarians, and other interested parties to interpret this magnificent manuscript and to make it available to a worldwide audience,” explains Emily Steiner, A.M. Rosenthal Professor of English and project director. “We were grateful to have the financial and practical support of so many different partners. It was wonderful to be able to provide a research opportunity and financial support for our talented graduate students.” Steiner directed a team of graduate students who transcribed, translated, and researched the sources of the manuscript.
Lewis E 201 – Free Library of Philadelphia
The Free Library’s Manuscript Lewis E 201 was acquired by Philadelphia attorney John F. Lewis in 1927 and donated to the library by his widow in 1936. Unique among the dozens of propaganda genealogies produced in this period, it displays multiple colour-coded lines of descent reaching back to Adam and Eve and more than 50 heraldic shields and banners.
“This is one of the crown jewels of the special collections in our library,” says Janine Pollock, head of special collections at the Free Library. “We are thrilled to see the manuscript made available online in this way. As it receives more and more attention from scholars, this digital edition means that they can study it without traveling to Philadelphia or unrolling this fragile item.”
The manuscript images and annotations are presented in the Digital Mappa (DM) interface, an open-source digital humanities platform developed by a team led by Martin Foy. DM allows users to select an image or block of text by clicking on highlights and borders, bringing up transcriptions, translations, and annotations. The site includes instructions on how to navigate the interface.
Lewis E 201 – Free Library of Philadelphia
“Digital Mappa provides two pathways to the content of the manuscript,” explains Dot Porter, the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies Curator of Digital Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and technical lead for this project. “Users can navigate the manuscript visually, by viewing the images and clicking on specific items of interest. They can also navigate the manuscript via a series of text files, which present the transcriptions, translations, and annotations. It’s an ideal combination suited to a wide range of users.”
In addition to the scholars and students, members of the Richard III Society’s American Branch contributed to the project. “We were delighted to provide financial support,” noted Susan Troxell, chair of the American Branch. “But we also provided hands-on assistance by mapping the images and inserting annotations under Dot’s direction.” The society’s team researched and annotated the major illustrations and the 54 coats of arms displayed on the manuscript. “Our membership includes a broad spectrum of academic historians to eager researchers, and this project gave them an opportunity to contribute to a major manuscript from the Wars of the Roses in a meaningful way. We don’t often find these opportunities and we were grateful for the chance to work with medieval scholars on such a transformative project. Now members of the general public can read the text in translation and understand the context of the imagery.”
Screenshot of Digital Mappa interface showing a portion of the symbolic map of the seven Saxon kingdoms together with Yorkist badges and a heraldic banner, as well as two annotations.
The future Richard III appears in Edward IV’s family tree, described as the king’s brother and duke of Gloucester. “It may very well be the first mention of Richard in an English royal genealogy,” says Susan, noting that he was only 8 years old at Edward IV’s coronation and still young when Lewis E 201 is believed to have been created between 1461 and 1464. “One of the great mysteries is how this genealogy was used by Edward IV or whomever owned it.”
The project team hopes their work will stimulate further research. “We hope that this project will open the door to additional research on the manuscript,” observes Steiner. “Much remains to be done in terms of learning how medieval people viewed their history and used it to advance their claims in the power struggles of their time. The history presented in the manuscript is a remarkable blend of historical fact and myth – a combination that is ripe for exploration.” Funding for the project was provided by the Price Laboratory for Digital Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania and the Richard III Society, American Branch.
Free Library staff and project team members view the genealogy. Photo: Laura Blanchard / Richard III Society
“And we have our sights on other manuscripts,” adds Steiner. One project focuses on Ms Roll 1066 at the Penn Libraries, another genealogy of Edward IV. It has already been transcribed with financial assistance from the Richard III Society’s American Branch and is now being translated and annotated with support from the Price Lab.
A colourful and fiercely partisan medieval genealogy created to support Edward IV’s claim to the English throne has now been digitised and made freely available online. In the turbulent fifteenth century, claimants often used elaborate genealogical rolls to legitimise their lineage, and the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Manuscript Lewis E 201 is one of the most striking examples. The newly launched digital edition presents the manuscript through high-resolution images, transcriptions, translations, and extensive annotations.
“It has been so exciting to bring together students, scholars, librarians, and other interested parties to interpret this magnificent manuscript and to make it available to a worldwide audience,” explains Emily Steiner, A.M. Rosenthal Professor of English and project director. “We were grateful to have the financial and practical support of so many different partners. It was wonderful to be able to provide a research opportunity and financial support for our talented graduate students.” Steiner directed a team of graduate students who transcribed, translated, and researched the sources of the manuscript.
The Free Library’s Manuscript Lewis E 201 was acquired by Philadelphia attorney John F. Lewis in 1927 and donated to the library by his widow in 1936. Unique among the dozens of propaganda genealogies produced in this period, it displays multiple colour-coded lines of descent reaching back to Adam and Eve and more than 50 heraldic shields and banners.
“This is one of the crown jewels of the special collections in our library,” says Janine Pollock, head of special collections at the Free Library. “We are thrilled to see the manuscript made available online in this way. As it receives more and more attention from scholars, this digital edition means that they can study it without traveling to Philadelphia or unrolling this fragile item.”
The manuscript images and annotations are presented in the Digital Mappa (DM) interface, an open-source digital humanities platform developed by a team led by Martin Foy. DM allows users to select an image or block of text by clicking on highlights and borders, bringing up transcriptions, translations, and annotations. The site includes instructions on how to navigate the interface.
“Digital Mappa provides two pathways to the content of the manuscript,” explains Dot Porter, the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies Curator of Digital Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and technical lead for this project. “Users can navigate the manuscript visually, by viewing the images and clicking on specific items of interest. They can also navigate the manuscript via a series of text files, which present the transcriptions, translations, and annotations. It’s an ideal combination suited to a wide range of users.”
In addition to the scholars and students, members of the Richard III Society’s American Branch contributed to the project. “We were delighted to provide financial support,” noted Susan Troxell, chair of the American Branch. “But we also provided hands-on assistance by mapping the images and inserting annotations under Dot’s direction.” The society’s team researched and annotated the major illustrations and the 54 coats of arms displayed on the manuscript. “Our membership includes a broad spectrum of academic historians to eager researchers, and this project gave them an opportunity to contribute to a major manuscript from the Wars of the Roses in a meaningful way. We don’t often find these opportunities and we were grateful for the chance to work with medieval scholars on such a transformative project. Now members of the general public can read the text in translation and understand the context of the imagery.”
The future Richard III appears in Edward IV’s family tree, described as the king’s brother and duke of Gloucester. “It may very well be the first mention of Richard in an English royal genealogy,” says Susan, noting that he was only 8 years old at Edward IV’s coronation and still young when Lewis E 201 is believed to have been created between 1461 and 1464. “One of the great mysteries is how this genealogy was used by Edward IV or whomever owned it.”
The project team hopes their work will stimulate further research. “We hope that this project will open the door to additional research on the manuscript,” observes Steiner. “Much remains to be done in terms of learning how medieval people viewed their history and used it to advance their claims in the power struggles of their time. The history presented in the manuscript is a remarkable blend of historical fact and myth – a combination that is ripe for exploration.” Funding for the project was provided by the Price Laboratory for Digital Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania and the Richard III Society, American Branch.
“And we have our sights on other manuscripts,” adds Steiner. One project focuses on Ms Roll 1066 at the Penn Libraries, another genealogy of Edward IV. It has already been transcribed with financial assistance from the Richard III Society’s American Branch and is now being translated and annotated with support from the Price Lab.
Click here to access the digital edition of Free Library of Philadelphia Lewis E 201
Click here to access the digital edition of Free Library of Philadelphia Ms. Roll 1066
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