Lancelot compilation. Brabant, c. 1320. Bound in an 18th century binding with the tooled arms of William V.

The "Roman van Lancelot," as this manuscript is also called, can boast all of 87,000 lines of the stories about King Arthur and his Round Table.

The fourth book of the Lancelot compilation tells the story of the death of King Arthur. The only Middle Dutch version of this narrative is found in the "Lancelotcompilatie." The page reproduced here contains lines 1-172 of the prologue to this book. The large initial "M" in red and blue indicates the beginning of a new "book."