Codex Arundel

The manuscript contains 283 paper leaves of various sizes, most of them around 22 cm × 16 cm. It contains short treatises, notes and drawings on a variety of subjects from mechanics to the flight of birds. From Leonardo's text, it appears that he gathered the pages together, with the intention of ordering and possibly publishing them. It is similar to the Codex Leicester, which is also a compilation of the notes, diagrams and sketches. The Codex Arundel is recognized as second in importance to the Codex Atlanticus. == History ==

The manuscript was written in Italy at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. Most of the pages can be dated to between 1480 and 1518. The manuscript was purchased in the early 17th century by Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1585–1646), art collector and politician. His grandson, Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk (1628–1684), presented it to the newly-founded Royal Society in 1667. The manuscript was first catalogued in 1681 by William Perry, a librarian, as a scientific and mathematical notebook. It was purchased by the British Museum from the Royal Society along with 549 other Arundel manuscripts (half of Arundel's collection) in 1831. It was catalogued by the British Museum in 1834. It remained in the British Library as MS Arundel 263 when the library separated from the British Museum in 1973. The most recent facsimile was published in 1998. On 30 January 2007 the manuscript became part of the British Library's project "Turning the Pages", when it was digitised along with Codex Leicester, and became available in the 2.0 format. These two manuscript of Leonardo notebooks were reunited online. == See also ==