Langley, mr. Henry of, fl. 1246-1263

This composite manuscript is famous for its second part, which contains the earliest copy of the Chanson de Roland. Written in the Anglo-Norman dialect of French, this copy was probably produced in England in the second quarter of the twelfth century, but its medieval provenance remains tantalisingly opaque. The first part of the manuscript, containing a Latin translation of Plato's Timaeus, was owned by Oseney Abbey from the thirteenth century: that the abbey also owned the chanson de geste is possible but unproven. MS. Digby 23