Blog Posts : Manuscripts

Medieval Manuscript Fragments

Sian Witherden, Resource Description Librarian ‘Poirot!’ I cried. ‘This is a fragment of a will!’ […] My brain was in a whirl. What was this complication of a will? Who had destroyed it? The person who had left the candle grease on the floor? Obviously. But how had anyone gained…

There’s the Rub: Thomas Becket in Medieval Manuscripts

There’s the Rub: Thomas Becket in Medieval Manuscripts By Sian Witherden, Resource Description Librarian Gold leaf, intricate borders, elaborate illuminations—St John’s College MS 82 has it all. This devotional book, produced c.1475, is one of the most visually impressive medieval manuscripts in the library’s collection. Even after five centuries, many…

Librarian’s Pick #8: Ben Jonson and Terence’s Comedies

Over the course of Trinity Term 2020, the library staff at St. John’s College will be taking you on a ‘tour’ of some of their favourites among our special collections. Every Monday, we will upload a new note on the item of the week. Read on to discover more about…

Librarian’s Pick #7: The Brittany Gospels

St John’s Oldest Book: The Brittany Gospels (MS 194) by Petra Hofmann, College Librarian St John’s oldest book is an inconspicuous Gospel codex, a little smaller than a standard Penguin paperback. The book was produced in the late 9th/ early 10th-century, probably in Brittany but some scholars have suggested England,…

Librarian’s Pick #1: MS 325

Over the course of Trinity Term 2020, the library staff at St. John’s College will be taking you on a ‘tour’ of some of their favourites among our special collections. Every Monday, we will upload a new note on the item of the week. Read on to discover more about…

MS 262: The Little Gidding Harmonies

This Special Collections post explores the biblical harmonies compiled by a religious community at Little Gidding in the seventeenth-century. One of the harmonies, The Whole Law of God, resides at St John’s College. The Little Gidding community provides a fascinating insight into the creation of this manuscript, and the many…

‘Impulse of Delight’: Paul Tod on MS17

In Trinity Term, the College invited me to write a short piece for the catalogue of the exhibition to mark the opening of the new Study Centre, describing two pages of the College’s manuscript MS17. This manuscript is a mathematical compilation, largely concerned with the methods needed for computing the…

Jane and George Austen, Letters (MS 279)

This collection of six letters, either written by or relating to the novelist Jane Austen, is one of the most interesting items held in St John’s College Library. George Austen, Jane’s father (and the writer of one of the letters), and her brothers James and Henry all studied at and…

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