Bodley Oriental Manuscripts
Item
Country
GB
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
eng
Contact information: postal address
Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BG
Contact information: phone number
0044 1865 277162 (reader services)
0044 (0)1865 277150 (special collections)
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
reader.services@bodleian.ox.ac.uk (reader services)
specialcollections.bookings@bodleian.ox.ac.uk (special collections)
Reference number
MS Bodley Or.
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (official language of the state)
Bodley Oriental Manuscripts
Language of title
eng
Creator / accumulator
Thomas Bodley
Language(s)
cat
heb
lat
Type of material
Textual Material
Cartographic Material
Graphic Material
Scope and content
This collection gathers rare manuscripts from different provenances and languages, such as Arabic, Latin, Persian, Aramaic, and Hebrew. Among its holdings, it is possible to find some volumes produced in the Iberian Peninsula or written by Sephardic authors, such as the following:
MS. Bodley Or. 5 (Neubauer 1092): Maḥzor according to the Sephardi rite (Aragon) for Yom Kipur, dating from the 14th century.
MS. Bodley Or. 9 (Neubauer 1136): Tefilah sidurim ṿe-maḥzorim according to the Sephardi rite, with interlinear Catalan translation, dating from 1475-1525.
MS. Bodley Or. 44 (Neubauer 1280): Collection of works by Judah ben Samuel ibn Abbas, presumably produced in Spain and dating from 1376-1400.
MS. Bodley Or. 92, Neubauer 2131: Nathan ben Joel Falaquera's Tsori ha-guf (Balm for the Body), dating from the 14th century.
MS. Bodley Or. 598 (Neubauer 381): Collection of Mishnah commentaries (Tractate Avot), with commentary on the Mishnah by Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi (fols. 1r-53v) and by Rashi (fols. 54r-62v), dating from 1450-1470.
MS. Bodley Or. 650 (Neubauer 405): Commentary on the Mishnah (Tractate Ḳodashim) by Maimonides, dating from 1276-1300.
Digital copies of some manuscripts are available online:
MS. Bodley Or. 5 (Neubauer 1092): Maḥzor according to the Sephardi rite (Aragon) for Yom Kipur, dating from the 14th century.
MS. Bodley Or. 9 (Neubauer 1136): Tefilah sidurim ṿe-maḥzorim according to the Sephardi rite, with interlinear Catalan translation, dating from 1475-1525.
MS. Bodley Or. 44 (Neubauer 1280): Collection of works by Judah ben Samuel ibn Abbas, presumably produced in Spain and dating from 1376-1400.
MS. Bodley Or. 92, Neubauer 2131: Nathan ben Joel Falaquera's Tsori ha-guf (Balm for the Body), dating from the 14th century.
MS. Bodley Or. 598 (Neubauer 381): Collection of Mishnah commentaries (Tractate Avot), with commentary on the Mishnah by Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi (fols. 1r-53v) and by Rashi (fols. 54r-62v), dating from 1450-1470.
MS. Bodley Or. 650 (Neubauer 405): Commentary on the Mishnah (Tractate Ḳodashim) by Maimonides, dating from 1276-1300.
Digital copies of some manuscripts are available online:
Archival history
The Bodleian Library is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library.
The University’s first purpose-built library was begun in approximately 1320 in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, in a room which still exists as a vestry and a meeting room for the church. By 1488, the room was superseded by the library known as Duke Humfrey’s, which constitutes the oldest part of the Bodleian.
Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester and younger brother of King Henry V, gave the University his priceless collection of more than 281 manuscripts, including several important classical texts. The University decided to build a new library for them over the new Divinity School. It was begun in 1478 and finally opened in 1488.
The library lasted only 60 years. In 1550, the Dean of Christ Church, hoping to purge the English church of all traces of Catholicism, removed all the library’s books – some to be burnt. The University was not a wealthy institution and did not have the resources to build up new collections. In 1556, the room was taken over by the Faculty of Medicine.
The library was rescued by Sir Thomas Bodley (1545–1613), a Fellow of Merton College and a diplomat in Queen Elizabeth I’s court. In 1598, the old library was refurbished to house a new collection of around 2,500 books, some of them given by Bodley himself. A librarian, Thomas James, was appointed, and the library finally opened on November 8, 1602. In 1610, Thomas Bodley entered into an agreement with the Stationers’ Company of London under which a copy of every book published in England and registered at Stationers’ Hall would be deposited in the new library. This agreement pointed to the future of the library as a legal deposit library, and also as an ever-expanding collection that needed space. In 1610–12, Bodley planned and financed the first extension to the medieval building, known as Arts End.
Bodley died in 1613, shortly after work started on his planned Schools Quadrangle. The quadrangle was structurally complete by 1619, though work continued until at least 1624. The last addition to Bodley’s buildings came in 1634-37 when another extension to Duke Humfrey’s Library was built.
The Oriental manuscripts collection was composed and increased over the history of the Bodleian Library, through donations and acquisitions. For instance, MS. Bodley Or. 9 was acquired around 1611-15, and MS. Bodley Or. 44 about 1680. MS. Bodley Or. 650 was bought from Moses Hecht in May 1852.
The University’s first purpose-built library was begun in approximately 1320 in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, in a room which still exists as a vestry and a meeting room for the church. By 1488, the room was superseded by the library known as Duke Humfrey’s, which constitutes the oldest part of the Bodleian.
Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester and younger brother of King Henry V, gave the University his priceless collection of more than 281 manuscripts, including several important classical texts. The University decided to build a new library for them over the new Divinity School. It was begun in 1478 and finally opened in 1488.
The library lasted only 60 years. In 1550, the Dean of Christ Church, hoping to purge the English church of all traces of Catholicism, removed all the library’s books – some to be burnt. The University was not a wealthy institution and did not have the resources to build up new collections. In 1556, the room was taken over by the Faculty of Medicine.
The library was rescued by Sir Thomas Bodley (1545–1613), a Fellow of Merton College and a diplomat in Queen Elizabeth I’s court. In 1598, the old library was refurbished to house a new collection of around 2,500 books, some of them given by Bodley himself. A librarian, Thomas James, was appointed, and the library finally opened on November 8, 1602. In 1610, Thomas Bodley entered into an agreement with the Stationers’ Company of London under which a copy of every book published in England and registered at Stationers’ Hall would be deposited in the new library. This agreement pointed to the future of the library as a legal deposit library, and also as an ever-expanding collection that needed space. In 1610–12, Bodley planned and financed the first extension to the medieval building, known as Arts End.
Bodley died in 1613, shortly after work started on his planned Schools Quadrangle. The quadrangle was structurally complete by 1619, though work continued until at least 1624. The last addition to Bodley’s buildings came in 1634-37 when another extension to Duke Humfrey’s Library was built.
The Oriental manuscripts collection was composed and increased over the history of the Bodleian Library, through donations and acquisitions. For instance, MS. Bodley Or. 9 was acquired around 1611-15, and MS. Bodley Or. 44 about 1680. MS. Bodley Or. 650 was bought from Moses Hecht in May 1852.
Administrative / Biographical history
Thomas Bodley (1545-1613) was born in Exeter, England. During the reign of Queen Mary (1553-1558) he moved with his family to Geneva, where he received his early education and studied Greek and Hebrew. After returning to England, he matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford, and, in 1563, he received his B.A. and was admitted as a Fellow of Merton College. While at Oxford, Bodley was charged with different roles, such as Greek lecturer, proctor, and deputy public orator. He left Oxford in 1576 and initiated a diplomatic and political career, which lasted until 1596. It was then that he returned to Oxford and invested his time and money in the refurbishment of the old library. His work resulted in the creation of a space capable of housing a collection of 2,500 volumes, to which Thomas Bodley personally contributed.
Access points: locations
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Access, restrictions
Digital copies of some documents are available at:
Finding aids
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Joana Rodrigues, 2022
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