Lord William Howard of Naworth (1563-1640): Antiquary, Book Collector, and Owner of the Scottish Devotional Manuscript British Library, Arundel 285

Lord William Howard of Naworth (1563-1640) was a member of an eminent and sometimes ill-fated noble family, who is remembered today chiefly as an antiquary and distinguished collector of manuscripts and printed books. This paper focuses on three topics: Lord William's life and personality, the general characteristics of his library, and one very important Scottish manuscript that he owned, British Library, MS Arundel 285. The latter part of the paper is devoted to a discussion of this pre-reformation devotional work, one of the least well-known of the great manuscript miscellanies compiled in Scotland in the sixteenth century. Particular attention is devoted to the social and literary significance of the manuscript, to the possible printed source of one item and the textual value of its readings, and the woodcuts that form a striking and original feature of this work.