The Dering Roll
Grant information
Item date: c. 1270-80
Grant Value: £10,000, and a donation of £5,000 from a private benefactor made to the Library through the Friends of the National Libraries
Item cost: £226,187
Item cost pre-decimal: NULL
Item date acquired: 2008
Item institution: British Library
Item Provenance: Possibly Hugh Fitzwilliam of Sprotborough, mid 16th cent; c. 1590; [Thomas ?] Knevett [of Ashwellthorp, Norfolk, d.1618?]; Sir Edward Dering (d. 1644); Sir Thomas Phillipps (d.1872); Sir Anthony Wagner, Garter King of Arms (d.1995); Sotheby's 4 December 2007, lot 46.
Town/City: London
County:
The oldest surviving English Roll of Arms, containing 324 coats of arms arranged in 54 rows, painted on a green background, six shields to a line, representing about one-quarter of the English baronage at the time of its composition. The knight's name is written above most of the shields. Sir Edward Dering erased the name and arms of Nicholas de Crioll from the 61st shield, and substituted his own arms and the name of a fictitious ancestor, Richard fitz Dering. The roll provides a vital record for the study of knighthood in England, and the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art gave it a starred rating as being of exceptional importance when imposing a temporary ban on its export.
