<P> A large number of manuscripts remain from the Anglo - Saxon period, with most written during its last 300 years (9th to 11th centuries). </P> <P> Manuscripts written in both Latin and the vernacular remain . It is believed that Irish missionaries are responsible for the scripts used in early Anglo - Saxon texts, which include the Insular half - uncial (important latin texts) and Insular minuscule (both latin and the vernacular). In the 10th century, the Caroline minuscule was adopted for Latin, however the Insular minuscule continued to be used for Old English texts . Thereafter, it was increasingly influenced by Caroline minuscule, while retaining certain distinctively Insular letter - forms . </P> <P> There were considerable losses of manuscripts as a result of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century . Scholarly study of the language began when the manuscripts were collected by scholars and antiquarians such as Matthew Parker, Laurence Nowell and Sir Robert Bruce Cotton . </P> <P> Old English manuscripts have been highly prized by collectors since the 16th century, both for their historic value and for their aesthetic beauty with their uniformly spaced letters and decorative elements . </P>

What happened to many manuscripts of anglo-saxon literature