Manuscripts of John Selden

Country

GB

Name of institution (official language of the state)

Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford

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

https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/

Contact information: email

reader.services@bodleian.ox.ac.uk (reader services)

specialcollections.bookings@bodleian.ox.ac.uk (special collections)

Reference number

MS. Selden

Type of reference number

Archival reference number

Title (official language of the state)

Manuscripts of John Selden

Language of title

eng

Creator / accumulator

John Selden

Date(s)

8th century/18th century

Language(s)

eng

fra

gre

heb

ita

lat

por

rus

spa

Extent

40.48 linear metres (368 boxes)

Type of material

Cartographic Material

Textual Material

Physical condition

Good

Scope and content

This collection is composed of manuscripts collected by John Selden (1584-1654) covering a wide range of subjects, such as Mathematics, Astronomy, Astrology, Medicine and Religion. The manuscripts are written in a variety of languages, mainly Latin, but also English, Greek, Italian, French, Russian, German, Slavonic, Spanish, Portuguese, and Irish.
The collection contains several Hebrew manuscripts, including Bibles, Megillot, Talmuds, Kabbalistic writings and other works, the oldest ones dating from the 12th century. Among them, there are two Hebrew Bibles originally from Spain, one dating from 1303–1304 and produced in Soria (MS. Arch. Selden A. 47), and the other dating from 1475 (MS. Selden Super. 105).
Digital copies of both manuscripts are available online:

MS. Arch. Selden A. 47

MS. Selden Super. 105

Archival history

The great library of manuscripts and printed books amassed by Selden is not mentioned in his will dated June 11, 1653, and would by it have passed to his four executors as residuary legatees; but in a codicil annexed to the will and of the same date, he clearly intended to bequeath some manuscripts and printed works to the Bodleian Library and his Greek marbles and a Chinese map (AA.1. Med. Seld) to the University of Oxford. But by some extraordinary accident of drafting or transcription, the name of the Bodleian and of the University is entirely omitted. As a consequence, the part intended for the Bodleian passed to the executors.
In 1655 and 1656, Thomas Barlow (1607-1691), the librarian of the Bodleian, was in London inquiring about Selden's library. On October 31, 1656, Congregation addressed a letter to the executors beseeching them to present the volumes to the Bodleian, where the new West End was ready to receive them. At last, the executors gave way, and as soon as the University had accepted their proposals in 1659, the volumes arrived. The collection exceeded 8,000 volumes.
Only MS. Arch. Selden B. 62B is not part of the original collection acquired in 1659. It was purchased by the Library in 1725.

(source: Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts — Selden Manuscripts)

Administrative / Biographical history

John Selden was born on December 16, 1584, in Sussex. He matriculated at Oxford from Hart Hall on October 24, 1600, but left the University without a degree. Later, he practised law in the Temple, acquiring a vast store of legal, oriental, and other learning. In 1621, he entered Parliament, taking up a position antagonistic to the royal claims. However, from 1640 to 1653, he represented his University in Parliament. Among the many publications of John Selden, there were Titles of Honour (1614), Analecton Anglo-Britannicon (1608), De diis Syris Syntagmata (1617), History of Tythes (1618), and several works on Judaism, such as De successionibus in bona defuncti secundum leges Ebraeorum (1631), De jure naturali et gentium juxta disciplinam Ebraeorum (1640), Uxor Ebraica (1646), the three-volume De synedriis et prefecturis juridicis veterum Ebraeorum (1650-1655), among others. He died in London on November 30, 1654.

Sources:

Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts — Selden Manuscripts

"John Selden" in Encyclopaedia Britannica

Access points: locations

Soria (Spain)

Spain

Access points: subject terms

Sephardic manuscripts

Spanish Medieval Jewry

14th century

15th century

Access points: document types

Bible

System of arrangement

The manuscripts are divided into four series: Arch. Selden A. (1-76), Selden Superius (1-122), Arch. Selden B. (1-58), and Selden Supra (1-102).

Access, restrictions

Some digital copies of the manuscripts are available at:

Digital Bodleian — Selden

Finding aids

Card catalogue (arranged by language) available in the Oriental Reading Room.

Beit-Ariè, Malachi. 1994. Catalogue of the Hebrew Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library: Supplement of Addenda and Corrigenda to Vol. I (A. Neubauer’s Catalogue). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Madan, Falconer. 1895. A Summary Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford Which Have Not Hitherto Been Catalogued in the Quarto Series, with References to the Oriental and Other Manuscripts. 7 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Neubauer, Adolf, and A. E. Cowley. 1886-1906. Catalogue of the Hebrew Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library and in the College Libraries of Oxford, Including Mss. in Other Languages ... Written with Hebrew Characters, or Relating to the Hebrew Language or Literature; and ... Samaritan Mss. 2 vols. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.

Links to finding aids