The Fox and the Bees: The Early Library of Corpus Christi College Oxford

Rodney M Thomson

ISBN 10: 1843844850 / ISBN 13: 9781843844853

Published by Boydell and Brewer Ltd, GB, 2018

About this Item

The first book-length study of the famous pre-1600 library at Corpus Christi College, one of the few college libraries to survive in its original form and with many of its original books in contemporary bindings.The library of Corpus Christi College is one of the most famous of all of those in Oxford and Cambridge. It is one of the few pre-1600 libraries to survive in something like its original form, and the only one still in use as a library. Its main space is still the original room built in 1517, and its furniture, if not original, is still early, most of it dating from 1604. A high proportion of its earliest book-stock, whether print or manuscript, still survives, and there is a wealth of documentation that makes it possible to chart the process of acquisition, especially the major donations of the Founder, Bishop Fox, and first President, John Claymond. And yet there is no modern, book-length study of the College Library. The present volume is intended to provide a scholarly but attractive and readable account of the Library from its conception in the mind of Richard Fox, to the appearance of its earliest surviving catalogue in 1589. It is extensively illustrated, highlighting the rarely-seen original bindings of the early books.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781843844853

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Fox and the Bees: The Early Library of Corpus Christi College Oxford
• Publisher: Boydell and Brewer Ltd, GB
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1843844850
• ISBN 13: 9781843844853
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 1 gram

About this title

Synopsis

The first book-length study of the famous pre-1600 library at Corpus Christi College, one of the few college libraries to survive in its original form and with many of its original books in contemporary bindings.

The library of Corpus Christi College is one of the most famous of all of those in Oxford and Cambridge. It is one of the few pre-1600 libraries to survive in something like its original form, and the only one still in use as a library. Its main space is still the original room built in 1517, and its furniture, if not original, is still early, most of it dating from 1604. A high proportion of its earliest book-stock, whether print or manuscript, still survives, and there is a wealth of documentation that makes it possible to chart the process of acquisition, especially the major donations of the Founder, Bishop Fox, and first President, John Claymond. And yet there is no modern, book-length study of the College Library. The present volume is intended to provide a scholarly but attractive and readable account of the Library from its conception in the mind of Richard Fox, to the appearance of its earliest surviving catalogue in 1589. It is extensively illustrated, highlighting the rarely-seen original bindings of the early books.

About the Author

RODNEY M. THOMSON is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Tasmania.