Edited by Helen Moore and Julian Reid

Synopsis:

Manifold Greatness: the Making of the King James Bible tells the story of the commissioning and translation of the King James version of the Bible, first published in 1611. It is richly illustrated with early printed books, manuscripts, artifacts and archival material, such as an annotated Bishops’ Bible of 1602, notes taken at a meeting of one of the translating committees, pages from the Wycliffite and Tyndale translations of the Bible and an edition of the Bishops’ Bible owned by Elizabeth I. Through detailed chapters written by leading scholars in the field, the narrative explores the cultural, religious and material contexts for the translation, its impact in England and the reception of the King James Bible in America. The collection also features a chapter on the King James Bible and other treasures at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC.

Marking the first collaboration of two of the world’s leading libraries, this book brings together key research and documentation to provide a lively and meticulous account of a publishing phenomenon.

Review:

This book was produced to co-incide with an exhibition at the Bodleian and the Folger Shakespearean Libraries. The book charts the genesis and development of the King James Bible into the literary work that it became. The book covers the origins of the project, the translators and the materials and methods used. The book also provides the cultural and political backdrop to the making of the King James Bible.

The book is  informative with lavish illustrations and comes complete with notes and suggested further reading.

Swami Vivekananda

Anthony Wood has given us, along with a detailed description of the carvings, the sad story of the shabby treatment which this magnificent spectacle received at the King’s hands.” ‘The effigies of King James’ he writes’ was cut very curiously in stone, sitting in a throne and giving with his right hand a book to the picture or emblem of Fame, with this prescription on the cm·er: Haec habeo, quae scripsi’, with his left hand he reachetll out another book to our mother, the University of Oxford, represented in effigy kne.ling to the King with this inscription’ Haec haebo quae dedi’, On the verge of the canopy over the throne and the King’s head, which is also most admirably cut in stone, is his motto • Beati pacifici ” over that also are the emblems of Justice, Peace and Plenty and underneath all this an inscription in golden letters: Regnante D. Jacobo, regum doctissimo, munificentissimo, optimo hae musis extractae moles, congesta bibliotheca et quaecumque adhuc deerant ad splendorem Academicae felicita tentata, coepta, absoluta, soli deo gloria, all which pictures and emblems were at first with great cost and splendour double gilt, but when King James came from Woodstock to see the quadrangular pile he commanded them (being so glorious and splendid that none, especially when the sun shined, could behold them) to be whitened over and adorned with ordinary colours, which hath since so continued’ .4′

It was indeed unfortunate that His Majesty first saw the statues in the dazzling brightness of an August afternoon, but it is doubtful if such gaudy city taste would have proved acceptable to him, even in more favourable circumstances, for John de Critz, the King’s painter, had some years previously set on foot a fashion for the more sober hues which were then current in fashionable Court circles.4′*

*The Building of the Tower of Five Orders III the Schools’ quadrangle at Oxford

• Oxoniensia

Oxford’s libraries are among the most celebrated in the world, not only for their incomparable collections of books and manuscripts, but also for their buildings, some of which have remained in continuous use since the Middle Ages. Among them the Bodleian, the chief among the University’s libraries, has a special place.

First opened to scholars in 1602, it incorporates an earlier library erected by the University in the fifteenth century to house books donated by Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester. Since 1602 it has expanded, slowly at first but with increasing momentum over the last 150 years, to keep pace with the ever-growing accumulation of books and papers, but the core of the old buildings has remained intact.

These buildings are still used by students and scholars from all over the world, and they attract an ever-increasing number of visitors, for whose benefit this guide has been written.*

• * History of the Bodleian Library

After breakfast, where the correct amount of toast for three people was served, we set off for the Bodleian Library. On our way there we stopped off at the “Oxford University Press” bookshop. I am a fan of  their “Very Short Introductions – To Almost Everything” and I was in my element seeing the full collection lined up in one place. We decided to return later to make some purchases.

On arrival at the Bodleian Library we purchased tickets for the tour then sat in the library hall waiting for the tour guide. Mum rushed out at the very last minute saying she didn’t like the thought of the steps in the library… As it turned out her departure was unnecessary, the steps were only a small (easily missed) part of the extremely interesting tour of the building. When we located her after the tour it transpired that she had gone off shopping!! After the tour I purchased a book in the Bodleian Library shop before returning to the Oxford University Press bookshop to purchase three of their short guides for the price of two.

At this point it was time for Mr C to move his car from the hotel car park as we did not have an allocated space for that evening. Mr C deposited mum and I in M&S, the place that mum was aiming for and failed to find on her errant shopping expedition. I am not really a good person to go shopping with because I dislike shopping. I did however spot a lovely glass necklace and bracelet and treated myself for my birthday

When Mr C returned from moving his car we headed off for a creperie that Mr C had seen an advert for. When we arrived it turned out to be a mobile road side booth. We eventually found somewhere more suitable and sat outside enjoying our lunch in the unseasonably warm weather. After lunch we made our way to the University Church of St Mary which we found very interesting.

We then made our way to the Ashmolean museum, taking in Blackwell Bookshop along the way. On arrival at the Ashmolean it was time for a cup of tea before exploring the Ancient Egyptian and Syrian halls, after which it was time to return to the hotel and rest our weary feet and freshen up before our evening meal.

We struggled to find a place to get booked in to. We ended up finding a table available at the Brasserie Blanc.  We traveled by cab to save our weary feet. The brasserie had a nice ambiance and the food was delicious. After the meal we returned to The Head of the River for a nightcap and to pack our cases for the journey home…

Breakfast was cooked to order and very tasty, although it was a little odd that we had two rounds of toast for three people. When we had finished the two pieces we asked for a bit more. After breakfast we set off towards Christ Church College and walked through the memorial garden and water meadows before joining the queue to enter the college. I say joining the queue, in fact there were only two people in front of us but by the time the doors opened, ten minutes late there was a large queue behind us.

We enjoyed the college and the Cathedral, where in the shop I found the Pitkin Guide to Oxford. It shows the best of Oxford via two walking tours. As luck would have it we were part way through the route of one of them. We carried on along the route to the science museum and stopped for a brief visit before carrying on past the Bodleian Library to a nearby pub for lunch. The pub was a bit chaotic but we managed to find ourselves a quiet corner to sit.

After lunch we returned to the Bodleian Library but opted out from rushing to join the last tour of the day. We visited the library hall, with the intention to return the library for a tour the following day. We then carried on along the walking route passing under ‘The Bridge of Sighs’, which is so named due to the apparent resemblance to its Venetian namesake. Just past the bridge we took a slight detour down a narrow alley to find The Turf Tavern where allegedly Bill Clinton imbibed in some ‘pot’. We then continued along the walking route passing many historic buildings, stopping off in a Viennese cake shop to indulge in tea and cake…

We then made our way back to the hotel to freshen up before our evening meal in The Quod Brasserie. On our walk to the brasserie it was lovely to see young ladies in long dresses and young gentlemen in suits and ties queuing up for a function in the college. After dinner we returned to the hotel for a nightcap before retiring to bed.