The 19th and early twentieth centuries brought unusual opportunities for acquisitions, most notably of the books belonging to Matteo Luigi Canonici (1727–1806), a Venetian Jesuit. Most of the Bodleian’s medieval manuscripts have shelfmarks named after their donors, most prominently William Laud (1573–1645), archbishop of Canterbury and chancellor of the University of Oxford Sir Kenelm Digby (1603–65), a natural philosopher and courtier Thomas Barlow (1608/9–91), bishop of Lincoln Elias Ashmole (1617–1692), the antiquary who founded the Ashmolean Museum, whose manuscripts were later transferred to the Bodleian Anthony Wood (1632–95), an Oxford antiquary Richard Rawlinson (1690–1755) and Francis Douce (1757–1834), a London antiquary.

Junius 11), given by the Dutch philologist Franciscus Junius (1591–1677). The monastic books that entered the library in its first century include treasures such as the only major illustrated source for Old English poetry: the ‘Cædmon manuscript’ ( MS. His programme encouraged and credited benefaction to the library, bringing in more manuscripts from around the world than the medieval university itself possessed.īodley’s re-foundation took place less than a century after the dissolution of the monasteries in Great Britain, and the library acquired many manuscripts from their libraries. He was personally involved in this effort as well as funding it. Sir Thomas Bodley (1545–1613) re-established the university library in 1598, which opened in 1602.

This library lost funding in the late 15th century, and reformers destroyed most of its collection in the 16th century. Duke Humfrey’s Library once housed many of these, named for Humphrey, duke of Gloucester (1390–1447), who gave 281 books to the university at his death. The Bodleian’s collection of medieval manuscripts originates with the first books that the University of Oxford acquired. Including liturgical manuscripts, Welsh, Irish and English poetry, mathematical and scientific texts and illuminated manuscripts.

Images from over 2,500 manuscripts from medieval Europe from the Bodleian and Oxford colleges, with 500 fully digitized items.

Medieval manuscript