ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the material context of this book, describing the Hawthornden manuscripts themselves and summarising their previous history. The chapter is specifically concerned with the material state of Hawthornden and with the history of its transmission and conservation up to the present day. The focus is on the “Fowler” volumes of Hawthornden (Hw 2063–2067), a descriptive catalogue entry of which is included. A brief description of the several identified hands in Hawthornden is also provided at the end of this chapter, along with a survey of Fowler’s library as it can be reconstructed from existing primary and secondary sources, and on the basis of the material still preserved in the most relevant holdings (mostly the National Library of Scotland and the Drummond collection in Edinburgh University Library).
