Psalter of Henry VIII 

A psalter is a book that contains the Psalms, which were often recorded in a separate book from the Bible. This illuminated psalter was commissioned by Henry VIII in the early 1540’s from the French illuminator, Jean Mallard. It contains eight miniatures, including scenes of Henry the harp with his jester Will Somers and of Henry reading a book. Another two scenes depict Henry as King David, in one he is shown defeating Goliath. 

The psalter also has annotations in it that were made in the margins by Henry VIII, in his own hand, these annotations are comments on the Psalms. One annotation is next to the quote ‘I have been young and now I am old’. His addition was that this is a painful saying. Henry would have been obese and gout ridden by the time he wrote the statement, making it particularly poignant.