only three known books to preserve Milton’s handwritten reading notes. Additionally, it is one of only nine books to have survived from his personal library. Milton’s annotations in the copy of Holinshed’s Chronicles demonstrate his connection to the work and provide insight into the inspiration behind his renowned poem, Paradise Lost. This discovery sheds new light on the literary influences and intellectual pursuits of the celebrated poet.Milton’s handwritten reading notes are preserved in only three known books. It is also one of only nine books that have survived from his library. The findings, which were detailed today by three researchers in the Times Literary Supplement (TLS), reveal Milton censoring Holinshed by crossing out a lewd anecdote about the mother of William the Conqueror, Arlete. The anecdote describes how Arlete, while dancing, was spotted by Robert I of Normandy and summoned to his bed. However, she refused to let him lift up her smock and instead tore it herself from top to bottom, explaining that it would be immodest for her ‘dependant’ garments to be ‘mountant’ to her sovereig.Milton disapproved of the anecdote, calling it inappropriate and likening it to a pedlar hawking wares on the streets. According to co-author Prof. Jason Scott-Warren, the use of the adverb ‘pedlerly’ was uncommon at the time, showing Milton’s disdain. Despite being known as an opponent of press censorship, this incident demonstrates his disapproval of certain content.The researchers found out about the hidden passage through the Arizona Book History Group, a research forum at the Phoenix Public Library. This group is organized by Assistant Prof. Brandi Adams and Prof. Jonathan Hope from Arizona State University’s Dept. of English. They raised funds for four visiting scholars to study books in the library’s Alfred Knight Collection. In March, Dr. Aaron Pratt, Curator of Early Books and Manuscripts at the John Hay Library at Brown University, and UVA Ph.D. candidate Jordan Alexander Stein also took part in this study. Milton made a nearly invisible mark as he crossed through the passage so that the words beneath remained fully legible.The University of Texas’s Harry Ransom Center and Penn State’s Claire Bourne, an associate professor of English, were conducting research on Holinshed’s Chronicles. They had requested to see a number of books, one of which was the two-volume set of Chronicles. On March 1st, Dr. Pratt noticed a small surprising “e” in the book’s notations. Pratt was initially skeptical but thought it looked similar to the way Milton writes “e.” This sparked Pratt’s interest, and as they continued to examine the book, they began to notice scratchy brackets and notations in the margins, which resembled those found in two other known texts.Milton’s handwriting was found in Shakespeare’s First Folio and Bourne and Scott-Warren discovered it in 2019 at the Philadelphia Free Library. Bourne began comparing the annotations in Holinshed’s Chronicles with those in the Shakespeare Folio, questioning whether certain letters were similar. Bourne then sent images of the handwriting and brackets to Jason Scott-Warren, who later confirmed that Milton was the annotator of a copy of the Shakespeare.The First Folio is located in the Free Library of Philadelphia, and it builds upon Bourne’s previous research. This discovery was referred to as one of the most significant literary finds of modern times by academics and the media. Despite their efforts, Bourne and Scott-Warren have not been able to find any other surviving books from Milton’s library, even with the help of research assistants.
When Bourne shared the Holinshed notations with Scott-Warren, he was unsure of how Scott-Warren would react due to his conservative nature. However, Scott-Warren’s response was quick and enthusiastic, exclaiming “Wow. Bingo!”
Milton’s handwriting
Scott-Warren’s assessment involved analyzing Milton’s handwriting.The comparison involved analyzing the handwriting in the Holinshed annotations and comparing it to Milton’s handwriting found in two surviving handwritten manuscripts: the Commonplace Book (British Library) and the Trinity Manuscript (Trinity College, Cambridge).
Milton’s handwriting changed in the 1630s, and the version found in the Holinshed annotations matches entries from the early 1640s in both manuscripts. The annotations consistently use italic e (e), a feature that Milton started using before his trip to Italy in 1638-39, instead of the epsilon e (ε) that was used previously. Other characteristics align with what we know about Milton’s neat italic hand, which rarely included the letter j.
Joined letters. Giveaways include hooks and curls on specific letters and a characteristic unevenness in the formation of small ‘s’s.
Milton and Holinshed
Holinshed’s extensive account of English, Irish, and Scottish history from ancient times to the reign of Elizabeth I was a significant source for Shakespeare’s histories and other plays, including Macbeth. Milton himself frequently cited Holinshed in his Commonplace Book, to support his republican views. The researchers discovered that over 90% of these references correspond with passages marked in the Knight Collection copy of the second bound volume.
The rese
archers discovered approximately 100 instances in this volume alone. Page 87 contains a passage marked by a bracket which records that Henry II’s wife Eleanor was “enraged against her husband because he kept several concubines,” a note found in Milton’s Commonplace Book: “Concubinatus … turned both wife & children against our Hen. 2. Holinsh. p. 87.”
Additionally, in his annotations on kings and tyrants, Milton copied several details that he had highlighted in Holinshed’s account of Richard II’s deposition, including one which Milton would later use to justify the execution of Charles I.
In the Trinity Manuscript, Milton borrowed source material from theChronicles to plan a series of proposed historical dramas. Milton utilized a portion of Holinshed’s history of Scotland to outline his concept for the initial of 5 “Scotch stories,” a brutal revenge narrative involving a witch.
Importance
The researchers suggest that this finding provides new insights into his exploration of a significant source for his writings, such as Of Reformation (1641) and The History of Britain (1670). He would have been working on both around the time — or shortly after — he was reading the Chronicles.
Several of Milton’s notes referThe library also contained other books such as John Stow’s Annales, which is an important source of historical information. Milton also made notes on Holinshed’s references to Giovanni Villani’s Chroniche di Firenze (Chronicles of Florence</em), a book that he included in the curriculum he created for his nephews in the 1640s.
Milton’s notes also highlight his interest in continental poetry. For example, when Holinshed stated that Richard the Lionheart was “not very notorious,” Milton added: “the booke of Provenzall poets numbers him in / the catalogue, telling of his poetrie, and his Provenzal / mistresses.”Researchers suggest that this book may be a reference to Jean de Nostredame’s Les vies des plus ce?le?bres et anciens poe?tes provenc?aux (Lyon, 1575), which talks about Richard’s poetry and lovers.
Scott-Warren stated: “This finding also adds to the evidence that the Shakespeare First Folio belonged to Milton. Both books have similar decorative brackets and show very similar annotation practices. They also remind us of how much Milton read.”
What happened to Milton’s books
It is not clear what happened to Milton’s books after his death in 1674, but it is widely believed that they wereThe Holinshed volumes were sold off over time and their trail went cold for more than a century. In the early 1800s, the volumes were rebound and new endpapers were added. Around 1847, William Maskell, an ecclesiastical historian and collector, made his own notes in the book.
By 1942, the volumes had reached Beverly Hills, California, where Maxwell Hunley, a bookseller, sold them to Alfred Knight, a real estate magnate and philanthropist. In 1958, Knight left them to the people of Phoenix, Arizona.
The researchers emphasize that public libraries like Phoenix’s are not commonly visited.
Researches at the University of Cambridge have discovered annotations made by John Milton in a copy of Holinshed’s Chronicles. This finding is significant for scholars studying early modern books and manuscripts. The recent discovery of Milton’s annotations comes shortly after the unearthing of the Shakespeare Folio in another public library in the US. This suggests that there may be more of Milton’s books waiting to be found, possibly in lesser-known collections.