Search tips

• Each numbered volume or entity has a narrative description recording such information as content, date, language, bibliography, provenance and physical details.
• Indexes provide access based on personal and place names, with some corporate names and subject terms. An entry may refer to a multi-volume collection, a volume or group of volumes, a span of leaves or one side of a single leaf. Indexes are compiled from the manuscripts, not from the descriptions, and will often contain additional information.

Name
Enter a family name, surname, the main or only element of a personal or place name, or the full name of a corporate body. Do not enter forenames or titles of nobility here. You can enter a single word, a hyphenated word or two consecutive words.
e.g.	churchill winchester hanseatic league
If the name includes an accented character such as é, it will still be retrieved in an index search if you type the character without an accent. Please note that this does not apply to a descriptions search. There is a special way of searching for rulers who are indexed under their countries or popes indexed under Rome: enter the country in the name box, with the personal name as descriptive adjunct.
e.g.	Name = england Descriptive adjunct = george iii Name = rome Descriptive adjunct = urban iv
To retrieve entries for a single ruler without including others of the same name, put a full stop after the number.
e.g.	henry v. (to avoid getting Henry VI, VII and VIII as well)
Name in this context can also mean a subject or generic term used as an index heading.
e.g.	heraldry bible diaries
Please note that such terms have not been applied extensively or consistently across the whole range of our catalogues. The four option buttons at the right of the screen allow you to search on a name as a single whole word or as only part of a word.
e.g.	Name = lee (default) whole word / start of name finds lee whole word / any part of name finds also wood-lee include longer words/start of name finds also leech include longer word/any part of name finds also cleeve
Additional name Enter a forename or subordinate name element, the second part of a compound place name, or an alternative name. Do not enter initials here.
e.g.	rudyard (Name = kipling) south (Name = america) burney (Name = arblay)
Descriptive adjunct Enter a title of nobility, an epithet describing occupation, place of residence, relationship etc., or a qualifying term such as a geographical unit.
e.g.	duke of marlborough pianist dorset
Index entry Enter a word or name to search for in the main part of the entry (not the heading).
e.g.	logbook fabula inquisition
In combination with an entry in the name field, this option can be used to restrict the search results.
e.g.	Name = byron Index entry = juan (finds only entries relating to Byron’s Don Juan, not to his other works)
Language Enter the name of a language in full or using the abbreviations found in the printed catalogues. 'English' is understood by default where no language is stated and cannot be used as a search term. If the language is a common one, you are advised to qualify it with a further search term in another field.
e.g.	lettish greek anglo-sax
State Enter a word describing the state of a manuscript. Some common terms are:
e.g.	autograph (autogr.) draft cipher (cypher) copy fair copy engraved (engr.) forgery fragment (fragm.) imperfect (imperf.) lithograph MS annotations palimpsest printed
Note that ‘autograph’ may be understood by default but not stated explicitly, and will not be retrieved by the search. Until editing is completed, you are advised to search also on the variant forms given in parentheses. Start year Enter as a four-figure number the first year to be included in your search:
e.g.	1000 1939
End year Enter as a four-figure number the last year to be included in your search:
e.g.	1025 1945
To search on a single year, enter the same date as both start and end. This search finds all the index records with dates which either match the search span exactly, fall within its range, or encompass it within a wider period. You are advised to qualify a date search by adding a further term in another field, or to restrict search spans to no more than 5 or 10 years. Name, Adjunct + Index Entry Enter a name or word here if you are uncertain which box to use and want to search across the main fields of index records. Find index records for a specific manuscript Select the collection or series name from the drop-down menu and type in the manuscript number.
e.g.	Additional Manuscripts 42130 Stowe 944 Lansdowne 305
	Collection names If no collection name is given in your source of reference, the volume in question is most probably an Additional Manuscript.
	e.g.	4996 = Additional Manuscript 4996 71234 = Additional Manuscript 71234
	Some of the collections listed on the menu are not yet mounted on the Manuscripts Catalogue. In some cases, only descriptions or only indexes are available. See catalogues included and catalogues not yet online for current information. Recently-added collections with complex numbering may not be accessible immediately through the manuscript reference search. Note that the collection name option defaults to Additional Manuscripts after each search. Numbers Enter only one number at a time, not a span. Do not include part or folio numbers. Use roman numerals, following the conventions in the printed catalogues, in Cotton, Royal and Detached Seal references.
	e.g.	Cotton Galba E XIII Royal 2 B VII Detached Seals CC (omit the subordinate arabic number)
	In all other cases use arabic numerals Do not insert commas in Additional Manuscript numbers over 1000. Upper or lower case Letters of the alphabet forming part of manuscript references may be entered in upper or lower case.
	e.g.	Royal 1 d v or Royal 1 D V
	Separation of elements Separate the elements of a reference with either spaces or full stops.
	e.g.	Cotton Nero A I or Cotton Nero.A.I
	Exception: for Royal Music Library shelfmarks, type RM and enter the remaining elements without spaces or with full stops.
	e.g.	Royal Music Library RM20d4 or RM.20.d.4
	Special notes For starred facsimiles, omit * before the number.
	e.g.	Facsimile 483
	The distinction between Charters and Rolls has not been applied consistently. If a search on an Additional Roll fails, search on the same number as if it were an Additional Charter.

Keyword searches on descriptions

e.g.	watermark	finds single keyword
	sinfonia antartica	finds two words adjacent
	maps and views	finds descriptions containing both terms
	cipher or cypher	finds descriptions containing either term
	evangelist and not matthew	finds descriptions containing the first term but not the second
Use * as the last character to truncate a single search term.
e.g.	welling*	finds Welling and Wellington
If searching on more than one word, note that * at the end of the string truncates all elements, but is ignored in any other position.
e.g.	lo chan*	finds Lord Chancellor
but	lor*	finds nothing
To find an exact phrase which includes Boolean operators, enclose it in inverted commas.
e.g.	“england and scotland”	finds the whole phrase
but	england and scotland	finds the two names within one file but not necessarily adjacent.
Search terms may not appear in the brief descriptions unless they happen to occur within the opening lines. They are highlighted in red in the full descriptions. Note that in different source catalogues, terms may not have been used consistently, and the subject matter of letters and papers may not be stated. You may need to repeat your search using alternative keywords. Names in descriptions are not always given in the preferred authority form and may be repeated many times in a multi-volume collection. Names containing accented characters will not be retrieved unless you use ANSI codes. Single characters are not searchable, so the string 'Elizabeth I' will be treated as if it were simply 'Elizabeth'. If you are searching for proper names alone, you are advised to start with an index search. The index search is not accent-sensitive and finds accented results even if you enter a plain character. Find descriptions for a specific manuscript (by number) The retrieval method is the same as for an index search on a manuscript reference. Select the collection or series name from the drop-down menu and type in the manuscript number.
e.g.	Additional Manuscripts 42130 Stowe 944 Lansdowne 305
	Collection names If no collection name is given in your source of reference, the volume in question is most probably an Additional Manuscript.
	e.g. 4996 = Additional Manuscript 4996 71234 = Additional Manuscript 71234
	Some of the collections listed on the menu are not yet mounted on the Manuscripts Catalogue. In some cases, only descriptions or only indexes are available. See catalogues included and catalogues not yet online for current information. Recently-added collections with complex numbering may not be accessible immediately through the manuscript reference search. Note that the collection name option defaults to Additional Manuscripts after each search. Numbers Enter only one number at a time, not a span. The search will retrieve that number alone and within a range, so that in the brief description display you may see the collection-level description followed by the single volume. From the results screen, you can step through the descriptions hierarchy to view the descriptions of preceding and following volumes within the same archive or collection. Do not include part or folio numbers. Use roman numerals, following the conventions in the printed catalogues, in Cotton, Royal and Detached Seal references.
	e.g. Cotton Galba E XIII Royal 2 B VII Detached Seals CC (omit the subordinate arabic number)
	In all other cases use arabic numerals, with no commas in Additional Manuscript numbers over 1000 Upper or lower case Letters of the alphabet forming part of manuscript references may be entered in upper or lower case.
	e.g. Royal 1 d v or Royal 1 D V
	Separation of elements Separate the elements of a reference with either spaces or full stops.
	e.g. Cotton Nero A I or Cotton Nero.A.I
	Exception: for Royal Music Library shelfmarks, type RM and enter the remaining elements without spaces or with full stops.
	e.g. Royal Music Library RM20d4 or RM.20.d.4
	Special notes For starred facsimiles, omit * before the number.
	e.g. Facsimile 483
	The distinction between Charters and Rolls has not been applied consistently. If a search on an Additional Roll fails, search on the same number as if it were an Additional Charter.

Typing errors and variant spellings.
Use the Modify search button and try again.

Search term not matched in part of catalogue searched.
If you searched the index, try the same search on the descriptions and vice versa.

Search term(s) not matched in index field(s) selected.
Simplify the search using only one field. If unsuccessful, try a different field.

Index search produces only cross-reference.
Go back to search screen and make new search on name suggested -
there is no automatic link.

Required catalogue is not yet online.
See lists of catalogues included and catalogues not yet online.
Publications and printouts may be available in Manuscripts Reading Room.

Descriptions do not link to index entries or vice versa.
Some catalogues do not have both parts online. Consult hard copy.
References must match exactly, so span of numbers in the description will not link to index entries for component volumes.
Enter numbers separately in index search.

Required information is not in mainstream catalogues.
A special catalogue or card index in Manuscripts Reading Room may help.

Item sought is not a western manuscript.
See other British Library catalogues

Manuscript is not held by British Library. Consult -
	National Register of Archives Access to Archives Other external links