Codex

Roy. 8vo., First Edition, with engraved title-vignette, parallel texts in Old English and English in double column; full burgundy crushed morocco, back with raised bands, second compartment lettered in gilt (slightly dulled but wholly legible), gilt doublures, uncut, a remarkably bright, crisp, clean copy. FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE EXETER BOOK IN ENGLISH. Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, familiarly known as the 'Exeter Book', is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon literature codices and the largest known collection of Old English literature still in existence. It comprises an anthology of poetry including 'The Seafarer', 'The Wanderer', 'The Phoenix', 'Guthlac', 'Widsith' and others, together with the famous Riddles. This is the first printing of the Old English text, with Thorpe providing the first English translation. EXTREMELY SCARCE.