George Hickes (1642-1715), titular Bishop of Thetford, was also a noted linguistic scholar. In the 1680's he began work on an Old English grammar, the second edition of which became the basis for the Thesaurus, his most famous work. The Thesaurus is a grammar and dictionary of Old English, Icelandic, and Gothic dedicated to Prince George of Denmark and used by many eighteenth-century scholars, including Grimur Thorkelin and Elizabeth Elstob (works by both of whom are also on display here). Hickes's work was aided by the antiquary Humfrey Wanley (1672-1726), who searched for manuscripts to be consulted; his catalogue of manuscripts containing Old English forms the second volume of this set. The catalogue is dedicated to Robert Harley, whose library of manuscripts was donated to the British Museum as the Harleian collection.