An illustrated Dutch book on astrology from the early sixteenth century might not be a typical work one would expect to find in the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. How would a copy of Tscep vol wonders (Brussels: Thomas van der Noot, 1514) have ended up in the library of an English archbishop? Figure 1: Tscep vol wonders title page. CCCC SP 53 As scholarship in material philology has continued to demonstrate since the late twentieth century, the physical characteristics of a volume are a rich and fruitful source for unraveling how a book was used, and by whom. A particular ..read more

The Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge owes most of its treasures to the efforts of one man: Archbishop Matthew Parker (1504-1575). However, not all of the manuscripts now housed in the Library came from his original bequest to the College; there were other additions that continued to enrich the collection. One such example is CCCC MS 231, a modest-looking copy of the comedies of Terence from the early 1100s, which came to the Library in the late sixteenth century, possibly donated by the antiquarian and book collector Daniel Rogers (c.1538-1591). Terence was a Latin author wh ..read more

The college’s foundational document has been on display since the start of the year as part of the current ‘Town and Gown’ exhibition, due to run until March. The historic link with St Bene’t’s church, attested in this document, is this year celebrated anew in the year of St Bene’t’s millennium. Edward D.G. (Deo Gracias) King etc ….. May you know that – to the glory of God and the increase of divine worship, and also at the petition of our beloved and faithful kinsman Henry Duke of Lancaster, we have granted and given a license on behalf of ourself and any heirs whomsoever we may have, t ..read more

One of the great privileges of working in The Parker Library is the opportunity to slowly discover the collections, to spend a few minutes looking at a manuscript whose shelfmark you don’t recognise, to talk to readers working on things you’ve never considered, to share in the excitement of new discoveries, and to learn just a little bit more about an item, bit by bit. One could spend a lifetime getting to know the collection, but even given many such lifetimes, there would still be many items that I will never even begin to understand; for now, they must remain filed away in memory, black ..read more