Exploring the world of books at Oxford
Posts about Oxford’s libraries and our favourite libraries around the world.
Arnold von Harff’s travelogue travels to Oxford by Aysha Strachan The year is 1813. The Bodleian library acquires what is later to be known as MS Bodley 972 as part of a collection of late medieval travelogues which tell of the encounters of knights on their pilgrimage to the Holy Land. One of the most …
On 10 May 2021, the 500th anniversary of the death of Sebastian Brant, the show-and-tell session brought together a multilingual array of his European bestseller, the Ship of Fools, live from the Bodleian Library, the British Library and the Staatsbibliothek Bamberg. Copies presented: Sebastian Brant: Narrenschiff. Basel: Johann Bergmann von Olpe, 12.II.1499.4° (GW 5047) Copy …
A personal encounter with MS. Lat. liturg. f. 4 by Marlene Schilling For my generation it is perfectly normal to meet a partner first online, with dating apps on the rise during the pandemic – but the ultimate desire is to meet in person. This is the story of such a longed-for encounter in the flesh, …
Impressions from my work as an Erasmus intern at the University of Oxford Agnes Hilger At the end of 2020, the UK did not only leave the EU but also the Erasmus programme. Despite of that, I was accepted for an Erasmus internship for Hilary Term 2021 with Prof. Henrike Lähnemann, who introduced me to all …
Part 1 of: Printing an anniversary card for Sebastian Brant at the Bodleian Bibliographical Press Agnes Hilger A snippet from my school knowledge memorised some time ago: Johannes Gutenberg invented “letterpress printing with movable type”. As is so often the case with such facts, I didn’t really think about it much at the time and just put it …
Yesterday, in preparation for a Gregorian chant workshop and as part of the History of the Book show-and-tell sessions, Dr Andrew Dunning, R.W. Hunt Curator of Medieval Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, opened the Handbook of the Medingen Provost, Bodleian Library MS. Lat. liturg. e. 18. A full digitised copy is available, thanks to …
by Charlotte Ross Manuscript decoration enhanced the appearance of a text, increasing the value of the book and bringing a sense of status. The most illustriously decorated manuscripts ooze wealth and sophistication, acting as a statement of the owner’s importance. Even within the manuscript itself, these decorations establish a hierarchy amongst the text, identifying the …
Dr Sven Limbeck (Deputy Director, manuscripts and special collections, Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel) spoke on Wednesday, 18 November 2020 at the Michaelmas Term Lecture of the Queen’s College “Centre for Manuscript and Text Cultures” In recent years the analysis of watermarks has become a standard method in dating paper manuscripts. This was made possible by the …
by Charlotte Ross Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Fr. e. 32 is a beautiful Old French manuscript that dates to the 12th century. Contained in this volume are the Chevalerie Vivien and an incomplete rendition of Aliscans, two poems from the Chanson de Geste tradition, which deals with French crusading narratives against the Moors and Saracens …
Summary of a Show and Tell session for Henrike Lähnemann’s History of the Book students from the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages with Dr Andrew Dunning, R.W. Hunt Curator of Medieval Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library.