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Literary Collections Letters

The Letters of Humfrey Wanley

Palaeographer, Anglo-Saxonist, Librarian, 1672-1726. With an Appendix of Documents

edited by P.L. Heyworth

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Initial publish date
May 1993
Category
Letters
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780198124771
    Publish Date
    May 1993
    List Price
    $79.00

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Description

This collection of 243 letters, only a handful of which have previously appeared in print, illustrates the full range of Humfrey Wanley's interests as Anglo-Saxonist, palaeographer, and the greatest librarian of his age. Covering the years from his arrival in Oxford in 1694 to his death in 1726, they show the genesis and growth of Wanley's great Catalogus, his comprehensive account of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts published in 1705. They also chart his formulation of palaeography as a discipline for English scholarship from an immense range of ancient materials, and illustrate the skill and energy with which Wanley, as library-keeper to Robert Harley, built up the Harleian collection (subsequently one of the foundation collections of the British Museum).

About the author

Contributor Notes

P. L. Heyworth is at University of Toronto.

Editorial Reviews

'a distinguished contribution to English medieval scholarship' E.G. Stanley, Pembroke College, Oxford, Notes and Queries

'impeccably edited ... and handsomely produced ... fascinating reading' Katherine Swift, Rare Books Newsletter

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