Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library (/ˈbɒdliən, bɒdˈliːən/) is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items,[1] it is the second-largest library in Britain after the British Library.[2] Under the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, it is one of six legal deposit libraries for works published in the United Kingdom,[3][4] and under Irish law it is entitled to request a copy of each book published in the Republic of Ireland.[5] Known to Oxford scholars as "Bodley" or "the Bod", it operates principally as a reference library and, in general, documents may not be removed from the reading rooms.
Not to be confused with the Bodleian Libraries, the library group of which the Bodleian is a member.Bodleian Library
Broad Street, Oxford, United Kingdom
1602
13M+[1]
Included in the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003
Old Schools Quadrangle, Divinity School, Exhibition Room and Bodleian Library Gift Shop open to the public
Students and fellows of University of Oxford
In 2000, a number of libraries within the University of Oxford were brought together for administrative purposes under the aegis of what was initially known as Oxford University Library Services (OULS), and since 2010 as the Bodleian Libraries, of which the Bodleian Library is the largest component.
All colleges of the University of Oxford have their own libraries, which in a number of cases were established well before the foundation of the Bodleian, and all of which remain entirely independent of the Bodleian. They do, however, participate in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online), the Bodleian Libraries' online union catalogue, except for University College, which has an independent catalogue. Much of the library's archives were digitized and put online for public access in 2015.[6]
History[edit]
14th and 15th centuries[edit]
Whilst the Bodleian Library, in its current incarnation, has a continuous history dating back to 1602, its roots date back even further. The first purpose-built library known to have existed in Oxford was founded in the 14th century under the will of Thomas Cobham, Bishop of Worcester (d. 1327). This small collection of chained books was situated above the north side of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin on the High Street.[9][10] This collection continued to grow steadily, but when Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (brother of Henry V of England) donated a great collection of manuscripts between 1435 and 1437, the space was deemed insufficient and a larger building was required. A suitable room was finally built above the Divinity School, and completed in 1488. This room continues to be known as Duke Humfrey's Library.[11] After 1488, the university stopped spending money on the library's upkeep and acquisitions, and manuscripts began to go unreturned to the library.[12]
Sir Thomas Bodley and the re-founding of the University Library[edit]
The library went through a period of decline in the late 16th century: the library's furniture was sold, and only three of the original books belonging to Duke Humphrey remained in the collection.[11] During the reign of Edward VI, there was a purge of "superstitious" (Catholic-related) manuscripts.[12]
It was not until 1598 that the library began to thrive once more,[13] when Thomas Bodley wrote to the Vice Chancellor of the university offering to support the development of the library: "where there hath bin hertofore a publike library in Oxford: which you know is apparent by the rome it self remayning, and by your statute records I will take the charge and cost upon me, to reduce it again to his former use."[13]
Bodley was a former fellow of Merton College, who had recently married a wealthy widow,[14] and the son of John Bodley (d. 15 Oct. 1591) a Protestant merchant who chose foreign exile rather than staying in England under the Roman Catholic government of Queen Mary, and was thereby involved in Rowland Hill's publication of the Geneva Bible.[15]
Six of the Oxford University dons were tasked with helping Bodley in refitting the library in March 1598.[16] Duke Humfrey's Library was refitted, and Bodley donated some of his own books to furnish it. The library was formally re-opened on 8 November 1602 under the name "Bodleian Library" (officially Bodley's Library).[11] There were around 2000 books in the library at this time, with an ornate Benefactor's Register displayed prominently, to encourage donations. Early benefactors were motivated by the recent memory of the Reformation to donate books in the hopes that they would be kept safe.[17]
Bodley's collecting interests were varied; according to the library's historian Ian Philip, as early as June 1603 he was attempting to source manuscripts from Turkey, and it was during "the same year that the first Chinese book was acquired",[18] despite no-one at Oxford being able to understand them at that time.[19] In 1605, Francis Bacon gave the library a copy of The Advancement of Learning and described the Bodleian as "an Ark to save learning from deluge".[20] At this time, there were few books written in English held in the library, partially because academic work was not done in English.[19] Thomas James suggested that Bodley should ask the Stationers' Company to provide a copy of all books printed to the Bodleian[21] and in 1610 Bodley made an agreement with the company to put a copy of every book registered with them in the library.[22] The Bodleian collection grew so fast that the building was expanded between 1610 and 1612 (known as the Arts End),[22] and again in 1634–1637. When John Selden died in 1654, he left the Bodleian his large collection of books and manuscripts. The later addition to Duke Humfrey's Library continues to be known as the "Selden End".
By 1620, 16,000 items were in the Bodleian's collection.[23] Anyone who wanted to use the Bodleian had to buy a copy of the 1620 library catalogue at a cost of 2 shillings and 8 pence.[22]
Schools Quadrangle and Tower of the Five Orders[edit]
By the time of Bodley's death in 1613, his planned further expansion to the library was just starting.[24] The Schools Quadrangle (sometimes referred to as the "Old Schools Quadrangle", or the "Old Library") was built between 1613 and 1619 by adding three wings to the Proscholium and Arts End. Its tower forms the main entrance to the library, and is known as the Tower of the Five Orders. The Tower is so named because it is ornamented, in ascending order, with the columns of each of the five orders of classical architecture: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite.[25]
The three wings of the quadrangle have three floors: rooms on the ground and upper floors of the quadrangle (excluding Duke Humfrey's Library, above the Divinity School) were originally used as lecture space and an art gallery. The lecture rooms are still indicated by the inscriptions over the doors (see illustration). As the library's collections expanded, these rooms were gradually taken over, the university lectures and examinations were moved into the newly created University Schools building.[24] The art collection was transferred to the Ashmolean. One of the schools was used to host exhibitions of the library's treasures, now moved to the renovated Weston Library, whilst the others are used as offices and meeting rooms for the library administrators, a readers' common room, and a small gift shop.
In popular culture[edit]
Novels[edit]
The Bodleian is one of the libraries consulted by Christine Greenaway (one of Bodley's librarians) in Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse novel The Wench is Dead (1989).[65] The denouement of Michael Innes's Operation Pax (1951) is set in an imaginary version of the underground bookstack, reached at night by sliding down the "Mendip cleft", a chute concealed in Radcliffe Square.[66]
Since J. R. R. Tolkien had studied philology at Oxford and eventually became a professor, many of Tolkien's manuscripts are now at the library.[67][68]
Historian and novelist Deborah Harkness, set much of the early part of her 2011 novel, A Discovery of Witches, in the Bodleian, particularly the Selden End. The novel also features one of the library's Ashmole manuscripts (Ashmole 782) as a central element of the book.[69][70]
Medieval historian Dominic Selwood set part of his 2013 crypto-thriller The Sword of Moses in Duke Humfrey's library, and the novel hinges on the library's copy of a magical medieval Hebrew manuscript known as "The Sword of Moses".[71][72]
Location filming[edit]
The Library's architecture has made it a popular location for filmmakers, representing either Oxford University or other locations.[73] It can be seen in the opening scene of The Golden Compass (2007), Brideshead Revisited (1981 TV serial), Another Country (1984), The Madness of King George III (1994), and the first two, as well as the fourth, Harry Potter films, in which the Divinity School doubles as the Hogwarts hospital wing and the room in which Professor McGonagall teaches the students to dance, as well as Duke Humfrey's Library as the Hogwarts library.[74]
Notes
Further reading