The Arrival of Humanistic Script in York?

Abstract

Amongst the very fragmentary collection concerning elections of deans of York, now in the Borthwick Institute of Historical Research at the University of York, is a file of the surviving papers for the election, in 1503, of Christopher Bainbridge, ‘capellanum et consiliarium’ to Henry VII. In it there are two examples of humanistic script - an autograph subscription to a letter written for the prebendary of Botevant, John Colet, and a letter written by Peter Carmelian, prebendary of Ampleforth. The occurrence of this script is rare, possibly unique, in the archbishops’ archives.