Sancroft's Adversaria and other papers

Collection

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Sancroft's 'Adversaria', comprise mainly theological writings by Archbishop Sancroft and by Richard Holdsworth. The collection contains many of the archbishop's own notebooks, those of his uncle dr. William Sancroft, master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and several of dr. Richard Holdsworth's.

All manuscripts were written by archbp. Sancroft about the middle of the 17th century, unless otherwise stated.

Dates

Creation: 16th-17th century

Extent

15.95 Linear metres (145 boxes)

Language of Materials

English
Latin
Greek, Modern (1453-)
French
Hebrew

Preferred Citation

Oxford, Bodleian Libraries [followed by shelfmark and folio or page reference, e.g. MS. Sancroft 1].

Please see our help page for further guidance on citing archives and manuscripts.

Full range of shelfmarks:

MSS. Sancroft 1-145

Collection ID (for staff)

CMD ID 21141

Additional Description

Abstract

Sancroft's Adversaria and other papers, 16th-17th century.

Biographical / Historical

William Sancroft (1617-1693) was a Church of England clergyman and a nonjuror. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, of which he also became a fellow. Sancroft was Dean of St Paul, London, and eventually Archbishop of Canterbury from 1678 to 1690. Details are given in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Other Finding Aids

The 'Sancroft MSS.' were described in MS. in 1877 by the rev. W. D. Macray.

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, no. 10302-10446.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

In some cases it is impossible now to decide whether a Sancroft MS. came into the Library through Tanner or Rawlinson.

By his will Tanner's manuscripts passed to the Library, and were received in 1736, about three months after his death.

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.