Nowell Codex - Name and Date

Name and Date

The current codex is a composite of at least two manuscripts, the first manuscript and the second manuscript.The main division is into two totally distinct books which were apparently not bound together until the 17th century. The first of these dates from the 12th century and contains four works of prose. It is the second, older manuscript that is famous.

This second manuscript is popularly known as the Nowell codex, after Laurence Nowell, whose name is inscribed on its first page; he was apparently its owner in the mid-16th century. It was then acquired by Sir Robert Cotton. In his library, it was placed as the 15th manuscript on the first shelf of the bookcase that had a bust of Vitellius.

The Nowell codex is generally dated around the turn of the first millennium. Recent editions have specified a probable date in the decade after 1000.