Rawlinson Manuscripts

Collection

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Rawlinson's manuscripts, consisting of:

Rawlinson A: English history
Rawlinson B: English history
Rawlinson C: History, theology
Rawlinson D: Miscellaneous
Rawlinson E: Sermons
Rawlinson F: Poetry
Rawlinson G: Classics
Rawlinson H: Letters
Rawlinson I: Mainly theology
Rawlinson J: Academica
Rawlinson K: Hearne & Smith - English history
Rawlinson L: Liturgical
Rawlinson M: Statutes
Rawlinson N: Numismatics
Rawlinson O: Oriental (not described below)
Rawlinson P: Miscellaneous, Essex

The letters A, B, etc. are used as the headings of the categories in Falconer Madan, et al., A summary catalogue of western manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford which have not hitherto been catalogued in the Quarto series (7 vols. in 8 [vol. II in 2 parts], Oxford, 1895-1953; reprinted, with corrections in vols. I and VII, Munich, 1980). A, B, C, D, E, G, I, J are parts of shelfmarks, but the collections under F, H, K, L, M, and P have a variety of shelfmarks (details are given below).

Dates

8th-18th century

Extent

5122 shelfmarks

Language of Materials

English
Latin
French
Greek, Modern (1453-)
Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
Dutch; Flemish
Italian

Full range of shelfmarks:

4o Rawl. 39, 41-4, 118, 145, 201-2, 204, 245, 263, 323, 335, 550, 582; 8o Rawl. 57, 135, 196, 280, 300, 401, 426, 429, 451, 470, 510, 570, 576, 578, 582, 584-5, 588, 594-5, 614, 621, 629, 645-6, 662, 681, 1047, 1052, 1064, 1079, 1093, 1095-7, 1102-3, 1105-8; MSS. Hearne's diaries 1-192; Rawl. A. 1-499; Rawl. B. 2-36, B. 38-366, B. 368-520; Rawl. C. 1-412, C. 414-18, C. 420-978, C. 980-9; Rawl. D. 1-366, D. 368-401, D. 403-943, D. 945-1037, D. 1039-1374, D. 1376-417, D. 1419-81, D. 1483-6, D. 1488-1511, D. 1514-6; Rawl. E. 1-206, E. 208-19, E. 221-61; Rawl. Essex 1-30; Rawl. G. 2-199; Rawl. I. 1-8, I. 10-11; Rawl. J. fol. 1-33, Rawl. J. 4o 1-38, Rawl. J 8o 1-18; Rawl. letters 1-138; Rawl. liturg. b. 1, c. 1, c. 3, d. 1-6, e. 1*, e. 2-13, e. 15-25, e. 27-9, e. 31-4, e. 36-47, f. 1-13, f. 16-39, g. 1-11; Rawl. N. 1-14; Rawl. poet. 1-242, 244-6; Rawl. Q. b. 1-5, Rawl. Q. c. 1-12, Rawl. Q. d. 1-12, 14-19, Rawl. Q. e. 1-33, Rawl. Q. f. 1-6, Rawl. Q. g. 1; Rawl. statutes 2-19, 21-57, 59-65; Smith 1-86, 88-125, 127-34, 136, 138-140, 142-3

Collection ID (for staff)

CMD ID 16115

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

Richard Rawlinson was born on 3 January 1690 and died on 6 April 1755. His father, Sir Thomas Rawlinson, was a wine merchant, and lord mayor of London in 1706. After being educated at St. Paul's school and Eton, Rawlinson matriculated at St. John's college, Oxford, as a gentleman commoner on 9 March 1708, and proceeded BA in 1711, MA in 1713, receiving the honorary degree of DCL in 1719. He was FRS and FSA, and a Bishop among the Nonjurors (1728). In 1719-26 he travelled in Holland, France, Germany and Italy, gradually amassing a foreign, classical and English library, as well as coins; and few book sales between 1715 and 1755 took place in London without contributing both manuscripts and printed books to his collection. When his elder brother Thomas, who was also a great book collector, died in 1726, Rawlinson catalogued his manuscripts, and at the sale in 1734 secured a large proportion of them, including Oriental volumes. In 1750 Rawlinson founded an Anglo-Saxon Professorship at Oxford. Further details are given in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Other Finding Aids

Falconer Madan, et al., A summary catalogue of western manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford which have not hitherto been catalogued in the Quarto series (7 vols. in 8 [vol. II in 2 parts], Oxford, 1895-1953; reprinted, with corrections in vols. I and VII, Munich, 1980), vol. III, nos. 10884-16087.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Rawlinson gave many printed books and a few manuscripts to the Library during his lifetime. Finally by his will, besides bequests to Hertford and St. John's Colleges and to the Ashmolean Museum, he bequeathed to the University all his manuscripts, medals, coins, matrixes and impressions of seals, prints, paintings and copperplates; and all such printed books as were on vellum or silk, or were not duplicates of books already in the Library. His musical manuscripts were left to the Music School, and only came into the Librarian's custody in 1885.