133, the extraordinary 15th-century astrological compilation made in Jalāyirid Baghdad known as Kitāb al-Bulhān and MS. 793, a glorious Safavid era copy of the Qur’an (which once belonged to Tīpū Sulṭān of Mysore) MS. Huntington 212, a fine 12th-century illustrated copy of al-Ṣūfī’s Book of Fixed Stars. Pococke 375, a copy of al-Sharīf al-Idrīsī’s Book of Roger and MS. Pococke 400, a 14th-century copy of Kalīlah wa-Dimnah (the Arabic version of the Fables of Bidpai) MS. Several manuscripts from these collections have been digitized, including MS. In 1714 the largest single, named collection of Arabic manuscripts, that of Archbishop Narcissus Marsh, was bequeathed to the Library. Substantial additions of Arabic material were soon made with the collections of scholars such as Archbishop William Laud, Edward Pococke and Robert Huntington. When the Bodleian Library opened in 1602, the library already held a manuscript copy of the Qur’an.
Images from 80 important Arabic manuscripts and maps. Junius 1, “the Orrmulum”, a 12th century book of verse written in phonetic Middle English, and Exeter College’s MS 47, a psalter owned by both Elizabeth of York and Katherine of Aragon. Ashmole 1511, “the Ashmole bestiary”, a richly decorated early 13th century English bestiary MS. The priorities and interests of such collectors have determined the manuscripts surviving in the Bodleian as much as their medieval creators.ĭigitized items include MS. The 19th and early 20th centuries brought further opportunities for acquisitions, notably of books belonging to Francis Douce and Matteo Luigi Canonici. The collection was further enhanced by donations through the 17th and 18th centuries, such as those of William Laud, Sir Kenelm Digby, and Elias Ashmole. Many manuscripts originated from the dissolved monasteries of Great Britain. Some were lost with the destruction of Duke Humfrey’s Library in the 16th century, but Sir Thomas Bodley's re-establishment of the university library in 1602 brought in more manuscripts from around the world than the medieval university itself possessed. The Bodleian’s collection of medieval manuscripts originates with the first books that the University of Oxford acquired. Images from over 2,500 medieval manuscripts from the Bodleian and Oxford colleges, with 500 fully digitized items.