Book Selection in Bodley Library

Bodley is very opinionated in choosing books. Chaucer's Complete Works (156 1) is one of the few identical books that appeared in his library and in the catalogue of 20th century collectors, including henry clay folger and Henry E Huntington, who are keen on collecting Elizabethan and Stuart literature. In continental Europe, especially in Basel, Venice, Paris and Antwerp, Bodley likes half-printing. Ninety-five percent of the books are written in Latin by unknown learned writers, such as Bor Havice, Mollus, Farinakus, Menukus, Verolos and so on. Folger or Huntington will be dismissive of these people. The second most common language is Italian, followed by French, Spanish, ancient Greek, Hebrew and English. There are many books about science and geography, including Copernicus and Tico? The works of Blaho, Ottley Uss and Merkat. As for literary works, the enduring authority of Florence Renaissance and the influence he received when traveling in Italy are obvious. Dante has four Divine Comedy, Homer has two, euripides has two, Boccaccio has decameron and Philoclo, but there are no Spencer and skelton. There are Guarini's The Faithful Shepherd and Mena's Juan's Aublas, but there are no works by Long Sha and Wei Yong, and there are no works by Shakespeare and other English playwrights in the library. In a letter to Thomas? In James's famous letterhead, Bodley expressed his determination to expel these "junk books": "I think there is no reason to change my view, that is, to abandon those almanac, drama and many other books printed and sold cheaply every day ... Maybe some drama books are worth keeping, but they may be less than one fortieth ... Even though our drama books may bring some benefits (God knows little), once the library collects cheap books,

The library tries to buy books in oriental languages. It once talked about sending people to Turkey to find books in Hebrew and Arabic, and some books bought at 16 1 1 were in Chinese. However, unlike his predecessors and contemporaries in Europe, Bodley was not very interested in ancient Greek manuscripts. This may be due to his experience in the Netherlands, especially influenced by Joseph, a famous orientalist at Leiden University. The influence of Scari Jay.

The library originally conceived by Bodley was a collection of Protestant theological books, but he did not abandon the theological works against Protestantism, even though he had to get permission from the vice-president of the university and the theological professor appointed by the king before 1620. Anyway, Vernau, Bishop of Faroe and later President of the Portuguese Inquisition? Martins? A set of Mascarenas's works is still on the shelves of the library. They were captured by the Earl of Essex during his expedition to Cadiz and later donated to the library. James I once wrote a book about Robert? Jia Jin, who defended the concept of the Holy Spirit, repeatedly shook his head in On the Puritans' Concept of Saint Mary (Paris, 1498), expressing the hope that books would completely ban such bad books.

Bodley named his library "Oxford University Public Library". From the beginning, the library was open to the public. According to university regulations, undergraduate graduates and aristocratic children have the right to enter the library, and any "foreign gentleman" can get permission to enter the library through appropriate application. On February 1603, the first foreigner admitted to the library was a Frenchman. Readers before 1620 also included Spaniards, Italians, Jews and an Ethiopian. However, for scholars from Protestant northern Europe, such as Germany or Scandinavian countries, the collection in Bodley Library is attractive. One of them is Ludwig? The young Borgen in Holburg used to read books from 1706 to 1708 in Duke Humphrey's library. This experience made him realize for the first time that "it will be a glorious and glorious thing to be among these writers". He really became the "father of Danish and Norwegian literature", and according to legend, when he discovered Denmark, there were no books there, but when he left there, he left a library behind him.

Sir Thomas Bodley donated his property near Maidenhead and London to his library. He is optimistic that the income from these properties can be used to pay the salaries and miscellaneous expenses of library staff and buy foreign books. In the last three years of his life, he added some clauses for the development of the library. 16 10, the publishing company agreed to donate one of all the printed books of its members to Bodley Library. The subsequent copyright law also made the same arrangement, making Bodley Library one of the six legal depository libraries in the British Isles. From 16 10 to 16 12, another hall was built at the east end of Duke Humphrey's reading room, which is called "the corner of liberal arts". It aims to accommodate more and more liberal arts books, as well as all octavo and quarto printed books. Bodley once again demonstrated his innovative spirit. In the new hall, he adopted the latest shelf against the wall in continental Europe, and he could get books from the shelf above through the wall gallery-a function previously adopted only by Ambrose Library.

Thomas Bodley 16 13 died, and a public funeral was held in the chapel of Merton College. Two books of mourning poems in praise of the late jazz were edited, most of which were written in Latin. Robert Burton is one of the authors:

This place used to be ruled by chaos and darkness,

Moths and moths have savage power.

The spider in the corner overhead opened its web,

Ruined, full of rubbish and dirt.

You see, it's carved beams and painted buildings now, and the walls are shining.

Spring shines on the magnificent Bodley Hall.

A beautifully bound and neatly folded book is lifelike.

So that every muse can do his job well.

Under the care of Bodley,

Books that used to be used alone can now be used by everyone.