The John Fell Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts
Item
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Country
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GB
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Language of name of institution
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eng
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Contact information: postal address
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Christ Church Library, Oxford OX1 1DP
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Contact information: phone number
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0044 01865 276169
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Contact information: email
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library@chch.ox.ac.uk
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Reference number
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MS
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (official language of the state)
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The John Fell Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts
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Language of title
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eng
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Creator / accumulator
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John Fell
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Date note
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15th century/17th century
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Language(s)
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heb
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lad
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spa
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Extent
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13 codices
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Physical condition
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Satisfactory
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Scope and content
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The John Fell collection of Hebrew manuscripts comprises 13 codices gifted by John Fell to Christ Church Library. The manuscripts contain both secular and Jewish subjects, including, for instance, Hebrew translations of Christian and Arabic works, versions of or commentaries on classical Greek writings, Jewish law, rabbinic literature, homiletic literature, and esoteric kabbalah. The following codices stand out by their connection to Iberian Jewry and the Sephardic Diaspora:
MS 187: Hebrew Translations by Eli ben Joseph Ḥabillo of the Queries posed by John Versor (Versorius). The codex contains commentaries to texts by Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. Some of these survived only in this manuscript. Translations were made between 1472 and 1473 in Monzón, Spain.
MS 193: Fragment of an ethical treatise and Letters of Chasdai and the King of the Khazars. Together with a fragment from an ethical treatise by Joshua di Viana is an exchange of letters between Chasdai ibn Shaprut, the head of the Jewish community in Córdoba, Spain, and Joseph, the King of the Khazars. The letter is the basis of the Kuzari, a philosophical work by Yehuda Halevi written about two hundred years after this correspondence. These letters were printed in many editions of the Kuzari translated by Ibn Tibun into Hebrew and differ somewhat from the text of this manuscript. The verse preceding the letter and the letter from Chasdai is much the same, with minor variations, but the reply from King Joseph has several consequential variations. The Christ Church codex is the only known manuscript of the first letter.
MS 197: Codex entitled משריםדובר (A Forthright Speaker), a Commentary by R. Israel on the Hebrew Pentateuch. The author refers to himself as "Bereaved since the Castilian Exile and forlorn in the Portuguese Captivity" (fol. 137v). The volume includes a paragraph written in Spanish, in Sephardic Hebrew script (fol. 89r), and two other paragraphs in Judeo-Spanish (fol. 89a; fol. 226a).
MS 198: Collection of Kabalah and Hekhalot Texts. The codex contains a collection of esoteric Hebrew texts transcribed by Jacob Lagarto on the eve of his departure from Holland for the newly acquired Dutch settlement in Recife, Brazil. The texts are written in cursive Sephardi script.
MS 199: Three opinions on the status of the children of secret Jews. This volume includes a response to a request for advice on an incident that took place in 1650 in the Amsterdam Jewish community. The issue concerned a proselyte, the son of a Portuguese secret Jew and a Christian woman, and his admissibility to hold a senior communal position.
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Sources:
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Pfeffer, Jeremy I. "The John Fell Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts at Christ Church Library, Oxford: Introductory Studies and Notes"
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Christ Church MS 187
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Christ Church MS 193
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Christ Church MS 197
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Christ Church MS 198
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Christ Church MS 199
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Archival history
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Christ Church Library received the manuscripts in this collection from John Fell between 1660 and 1685.
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Administrative / Biographical history
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John Fell was born to Samuel and Margaret Fell at Longworth, Berkshire, on June 23, 1625. He received his early education at Lord William’s School, Thame, and, in 1637, at a very young age, he was made a student of Christ Church, Oxford. He received his MA in 1643 and, a few years later, took Holy Orders as a deacon and, afterwards, as a priest.
During the English Civil Wars, John Fell fought for King Charles I of England against Oliver Cromwell. Consequently, he was deprived of his studentship at Oxford in 1648 and went to live with his brother-in-law, Thomas Willis, for a few years. Despite political opposition, Fell, together with John Dolben and Richard Allestree, continued to hold Anglican services throughout the Commonwealth of England.
At the Restoration of King Charles II, Fell was made chaplain to the king and Canon of Christ Church on July 27, 1660. Like his father before him, on November 30, 1660, Fell became Dean of Christ Church. He was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 1666, holding this office until 1669. In addition to his position as Dean of Christ Church, Fell accumulated the office of Bishop of Oxford in 1676.
John Fell passed into history as a great disciplinarian and reformer. Under him, several structures were built and renovated at Oxford, including Christ Church College. There, he was responsible for completing the north side of Tom Quad and the bell tower known as Tom Tower. In 1683, the Great Tom bell was recast and moved from the Cathedral to the newly finished Tom Tower. Additionally, Fell promoted the construction of the Sheldonian Theater, erected between 1664 and 1669 and financed by Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury. Fell presided at the formal opening of the building on July 9, 1669, and established the Oxford University Press in it. Among many other projects, he was also responsible for rebuilding the Bishop’s Palace at Cuddesdon during his bishopric.
John Fell died on July 10, 1686, aged 61. He was buried beneath the Dean’s stall in the Latin Chapel.
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Godfrey, Jim. (2020). "John Fell" in Christ Church Cathedral Blog
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"John Fell: English educator, priest, and author" in Britannica
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Access, restrictions
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Access to the Hebrew manuscripts at Christ Church is strictly by appointment only.
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Author of the description
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Joana Rodrigues, 2023
Linked resources
Items with "Existence and location of originals: The John Fell Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts"
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| כתיב (Ktiv) |
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Items with "Collections (official language of the state): The John Fell Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts"
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| Christ Church Library |
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