RBS in Oxford: “A Match Made in Library/Book History Heaven”
This summer, Rare Book School hosted its first-ever international courses at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. H-195 Transmission of the Bible from the Beginnings to 1500 was taught by Peter Toth, the Cornelia Starks Curator of Greek Collections at the Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries and former Curator of Ancient and Medieval Manuscripts at the British Library. David Rundle, Senior Lecturer in Latin and Palaeography in the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Kent, taught
M-60 Researching Medieval Manuscripts: From Cataloging to Cultural History.
Several years in the making, the two courses took place during the week of 29 June–4 July 2025 at the Bodleian’s Weston Library for Special Collections. Alexandra Franklin, Co-ordinator for the Centre for the Study of the Book, led two evening printing workshops for RBS students at the Schola Musicae in the Old Bodleian Library. Hindy Najman, the Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture and a Fellow at Oriel College, where she is Founding Director of the Centre for the Study of the Bible, delivered a lecture, open to all RBS participants, on “Pluriformity and Ancient Jewish Scriptures.” Taking advantage of Oxford’s wealth of cultural institutions, the schedule also included field trips to Duke Humphrey’s Library; the libraries at All Soul’s, Christ Church, and Magdalen Colleges; and the Oxyrynchus Papyri Collection at the Bodleian Art, Archeology and Ancient World Library.
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- Photo by Mary Wheaton
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- Photo by Laura Perrings
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- Photo by Mary Wheaton
Students were effusive in their praise of both classes. “This is one of the best courses RBS has offered,” commented a student in Toth’s class. Another student described their experience as “Glorious, inspiring, a perfect week.” Rundle’s students were similarly full of plaudits, noting that M-60 “may have been the most beneficial RBS course I have taken thus far” and that it was “the best hands-on experience any manuscript enthusiast could have!”
RBS is grateful to our stellar faculty and to the staff at the Bodleian Libraries and the University of Oxford, all of whom helped bring these new courses to fruition. Clearly, as one student in Toth’s course concluded, “RBS @ the Bodleian is a match made in library/book history heaven.”
You can get a special peek into the RBS experience at Oxford, thanks to rare books and manuscripts dealer Sienna Wells, who attended Rundle’s course. Watch her video below, or on TikTok or Instagram.
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