History in my Hands

In a previous posting, I mentioned the Bodleian Library or “The Bod” as students affectionately refer to it. The Bodleian itself has a rich history. It is customary for the library not to lend books. All reading must be done onsite. In fact, one anecdotal story tells of a former king who was refused the opportunity to check out a book because of their strict rules. In order for me to receive a library card, I had to fill out an application, be approved, and take an oath that I would not destroy the property or bring open flame into the building. I willingly agreed. One of the professors in the residential hall where we reside was kind enough to write a recommendation for access into the library’s special collections. Today, I made use of this privilege. I had two sets of manuscripts set aside for me. One was a collection of 12th to 13th century Latin texts including manuscripts of some of the writings of Bernard of Clairvaux (this is a focus of my studies here). I don’t actually read Latin, but from my background in Greek, Spanish, and I am pretty good with English, I can get the gist of Latin. However, these texts were written very small and very fancy, in other words, I didn’t have a clue what it said. Needless to say, I didn’t spend much time with this collection, although it was exciting to hold a set of writings that old.

I did, however, spend some significant time looking at the second set of manuscripts. I was searching for some letters by John Wesley. One letter appeared in a collection of 18th century letters owned by a 19th century collector, later donated to the library. As I began searching for Wesley’s letters, I was amazed to realize the richness of the original handwritten letters I was holding. I enjoyed the opportunity to hold letters written by Charles Dickens, George Washington, William Cowper, Thomas Paine, a poem handwritten by Percy Shelley, Isaac Watts, William Wilberforce, John Wesley, and a letter from Charles Wesley written to George Whitefield. To see their personal dealings placed these historical giants into the realm of reality. George Washington, writing from Mount Vernon, was interested in ordering red clover seeds and was earlier distraught about a missing shipment of tobacco. Thomas Paine was presenting a copy of his book “The Decline and Fall of the English System of Finance” to the Council of Ancients. William Wilberforce wrote about getting a banned book of his into Aberdeen. It was a fascinating day indeed.