by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) St John’s College has a significant collection of medical manuscripts and early printed books. Among the medieval medical manuscripts is this fascinating volume of John Arderne’s work (MS 86), full of marginal decorations and even one English case history among the otherwise Latin text. The manuscript dates from 14th/15th-century England.Continue reading “Medieval Medicine”
Author Archives: St. John's Library
Archbishop William Laud’s Qur’ān
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) MS 107 is one of St John’s five Qur’ān manuscripts. MS 107 is of North African provenance, probably from Morocco, dating from the late 16th or early 17th century. This is based on the decorations which suggest a production during the Sa’did dynasty (1511-1659) in Morocco. Wikipedia describes the Sa’did familyContinue reading “Archbishop William Laud’s Qur’ān”
A gift to support William Laud’s bid for President?
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) This manuscript of Terence’s Comedies (MS 117), produced in France around 1475, is one of the few manuscripts not produced in England that we hold at St John’s College. It is one of two medieval Terence manuscripts in the Library and one of several with Classics texts. Its beautiful decorationsContinue reading “A gift to support William Laud’s bid for President?”
Ink and Illumination : Colour in Medieval Manuscripts and Beyond
Library Exhibition 20 January – 15 March 2025 Curated by Victoria Kinne (History of Art Undergraduate at St Catherine’s College, Oxford) Contents Part 1: The Effect of Colour Colour as Political Symbolism Colour as a Teaching Tool Colour as Character Colour in the Medieval Imagination The Effect of Colour Colour as Accident Colour as LuxuryContinue reading “Ink and Illumination : Colour in Medieval Manuscripts and Beyond”
Surprising Diversity : The Length and Breadth of St John’s Historic Collections
Celebrating the Reopening of St John’s College’s Historic Libraries 4 October – 13 December 2024 Contents Introduction The Oldest … in Our Collections Royal Connections Words & Deeds: Women in Print(ing) From Bestiaries to Zoology: Animals through the Centuries Middle Eastern Manuscripts 1: Sciences Middle Eastern Manuscripts 2: Qurans & the Hadith Middle Eastern ManuscriptsContinue reading “Surprising Diversity : The Length and Breadth of St John’s Historic Collections”
Thomas Willis (1621-1675) : Neurologist, Chemist, Physician
Willis, Opera omnia (Amsterdam: Heinricus Wetstein, 1682), frontispiece. Portrait of Thomas (engraving by David Loggan, 1667) Thomas Willis was born on 27 January 1621 to Thomas Willis (d. 1643) and Rachel Howell (d. 1631). He matriculated at Oxford’s Christ Church in 1638, possibly aiming for a clerical career at first. His interest for medicine wasContinue reading “Thomas Willis (1621-1675) : Neurologist, Chemist, Physician”
Volunteering with the Digitization Project Team
Kiana gazes at MS 13, Thomas Hobbes’ Behemoth, at the start of her week at the SJC library, with many more treasures to come! By Kiana Rezakhanlou “Down the centuries, vast, unquantifiable numbers of books have been destroyed because they were worn out, unwanted, superseded or otherwise surplus to requirements.” David Pearson, Provenance Research in BookContinue reading “Volunteering with the Digitization Project Team”
From Ink to Pixels: Digitizing Manuscripts at St John’s College
Library Exhibition 24 April – 22 June 2023 Introduction St John’s College Library has over 400 manuscripts, which are the focus of an ongoing digitization project begun in 2020. The aim of this project is to support global research by making catalogue records of our manuscripts accessible online in central databases (the metadata phase) andContinue reading “From Ink to Pixels: Digitizing Manuscripts at St John’s College”
Capturing Gold Leaf: Photographing St Johns College MS 26
By Sophie Bacchus-Waterman, Special Collections Photographer A number of the items which are going to be digitized for the St Johns College Digitization Project include gold leaf. The application of gold leaf to illuminations was done by hand, and the process is still the same as it was centuries ago. We are lucky enough toContinue reading “Capturing Gold Leaf: Photographing St Johns College MS 26”
St John’s Printed Manuscript
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) Enchiridion preclare ecclesie Sarum St John’s College holds a remarkable 16th-century book of hours (Use of Salisbury) printed by Germain Hardouyn in Paris in 1530 with the title Enchiridion preclare ecclesie Sarum. The volume is full of decorative features (borders with floral motifs on gold, initials in various colours) andContinue reading “St John’s Printed Manuscript”