Historic dictionary to remain in Britain

One of the earliest examples of an English dictionary will remain in the UK after the British Library paid £92,500 to stop the “crucial” manuscript going abroad.

The 15th century work is thought to have been written in the north of England, based on the dialect words used in Yorkshire. Dating from 1483, the bilingual Middle English-Latin dictionary is the only one of its kind and scale in existence.

After an overseas buyer offered £92,500 at auction, an export bar was placed on the Catholicon Anglicum on the grounds that “it was so closely connected with our history and national life that its departure would be a misfortune”.

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Written to help students with Latin composition, it is described as being of “outstanding significance” in the study of the development of English lexicography and of education.

The British Library has also paid £116,500 – with help from an anonymous donor – for a printed manuscript which documents the heated argument between two bishops over the right of priests to marry. The 16th century manuscript is important in the study of the English Reformation.

It is thought to have been partly written by Stephen Gardiner, then Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of England, and belonged to John Ponet, who had replaced Gardiner as Bishop in 1551 but fled into exile.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said: “These manuscripts are of outstanding significance and will make a tremendous addition to the British Library.”