by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) The so-called Nuremberg Chronicle was printed as Registrum huius operis libri cronicarum by Anton Koberger in Nuremberg in 1493. Despite its early date, it is certainly not a rare book. The Incunabula Short-Title Catalogue lists 858 holding institutions, some of which hold multiple copies. It is, however, one of those books you can keepContinue reading “The Nuremberg Chronicle : A Masterpiece of the Incunable Period”
Author Archives: St. John's Library
An Early Fireworks Manual
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) As a form of entertainment firework displays became popular in the Tudors era and reached an early peak during the Elizabethan Age (Kinchin-Smith). There were risks involved, however. In 1572, Robert Dudley presented a fireworks display for Elizabeth I at Kenilworth Castle when an error sent fireballs into the nearbyContinue reading “An Early Fireworks Manual”
Caxton’s Chess Book
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) Among the Library’s early printed books are eleven published by William Caxton, including his second edition of Jacobus de Cessolis’s The Game and Play of Chess, which Caxton translated himself and printed it with woodcuts in his workshop in Westminster around 1483. Almost from the beginning chess was perceived asContinue reading “Caxton’s Chess Book”
A Hand-coloured Atlas
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) This hand-coloured copy of the 1603 edition of Theatrum orbis terrarum by Abrahman Ortelius, printed in Antwerp, is one of the Library staff’s all-time favourite book in St John’s extraordinary collection of early printed books. Ortelius’s Theatrum orbis terrarum is generally considered to be the first modern atlas. Although Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598)Continue reading “A Hand-coloured Atlas”
An unidentified (or presumed lost?) Persian translation of the Book of Psalms
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) MS 105 is an early modern translation of the Book of Psalms into the Persian language: Kitāb-I Zabūr [-I Dā’ūd] (The Book of the Psalms [of David]) completed on 8 Dhū al-Ḥijjah 1071 [= 4 August 1661]. One of the earliest Persian translations of the Bible is the so-called PahlaviContinue reading “An unidentified (or presumed lost?) Persian translation of the Book of Psalms”
Unique Bible Commentaries by Wyclif
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) We are very excited that the unique texts of the renowned Oxford scholar John Wyclif (mid-1320s – 1384) in St John’s College’s early 15th-century MS 171 have been digitized as part of the Library’s digitization project. The freely available digitization will be a valuable source for Wyclif scholarship. Today, WyclifContinue reading “Unique Bible Commentaries by Wyclif”
Hobbes on the Civil War
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) St John’s College’s MS 13 is a fine copy Behemoth, or The Long Parliament, in which the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) discusses the English Civil War (1642-1651). Dividing the subject matter into four sections, called ‘dialogues’ in St John’s copy, Hobbes’s work covers the timespan from 1637 to 1660Continue reading “Hobbes on the Civil War”
A Student Notebook
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) MS 80 is a student notebook written over 500 years ago, probably at the Sorbonne in Paris. The Englishman Thomas Paynell, the writer of this notebook, is believed to have studied there around 1507. The notebook originally started with an elaborate capital with flowers, animals, and monsters. Other than thisContinue reading “A Student Notebook”
A Medieval Self-Portrait
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) Devotional books, Books of Hours in particular, were the “bestsellers” of the late Middle Ages. Indeed, “from the fourteenth to the mid-sixteenth century, more books of hours were made than any other type of book.” (Stein). Books of Hours contain prayers linked to the canonical hours (the hours at whichContinue reading “A Medieval Self-Portrait”
The York Bestiary
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) The so-called “York Bestiary” (MS 61, produced in early 13th-century York) is a firm favourite with library staff and visitors. Who can resist these charming, often funny and sometimes puzzling illustrations of animals together with a dazzling display of gold? Bestiaries are a combination of natural philosophy passed down theContinue reading “The York Bestiary”