We have two manuscripts of The Owl and the Nightingale. Of these the earlier and more valuable, known as Cotton Caligula A.IX (C), is in the British Museum. In this the Owl is immediately preceded by a chronicle in French prose which ends thus: Apres le mort cestu rei Johan, si regna sun fiz Henry, ‘After the death of King John his son Henry became king.’ It would appear, therefore, that the Owl was copied into this volume not long after the coronation of Henry the Third, October 28th, 1216. The other manuscript, Jesus College Oxford 29 (J), is in the Bodleian Library. In Anglia, xxx, 222, Miss Anna C. Paues reports the following opinion of Mr. E. W. B. Nicholson, Bodley's Librarian, concerning the portion of J which contains our poem:

From f. 217 to the end of the volume is apparently all in one hand, and was certainly written about the same time. It contains a history of Tobias which mentions the then Prior of St. Mary Kenilworth (Gwilleyme): this fixes the date of composition at 1276–9, and I believe that to be approximately the date of the writing.