Medieval Manuscripts in Marsh's Library: An Unintended Collection in Dublin's First Public Library.

Narcissus Marsh began planning a public library for Dublin at the end of the seventeenth century. By 1704, a library building had been constructed near Saint Patrick's Cathedral, and Marsh turned his attention to its contents. He planned a collection of 10,000 books "with none but ye most usefull Bo...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Manuscript Studies: A Journal of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 170 - 185
Autores principales: Cleaver, Laura, MaGnusson, Danielle, Tookey, Isabel
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: University of Pennsylvania Press Spring2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=193757185&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: hlh
    uiTerm: 193757185
    longDbName: Humanities International Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        23815329
        KBXJ
      jtl: Manuscript Studies: A Journal of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies
      issn: 23815329
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Spring2026
      vid: 11
      iid: 1
      pid: 4636
      pub: University of Pennsylvania Press
    artinfo:
      ui:
        193757185
        10.1353/mns.2026.a990235
      ppf: 170
      ppct: 15
      formats:
      tig:
        atl: Medieval Manuscripts in Marsh's Library: An Unintended Collection in Dublin's First Public Library.
      aug:
        au:
          Cleaver, Laura
          MaGnusson, Danielle
          Tookey, Isabel
        affil: University of London
      su:
        Medieval manuscripts
        Acquisition of manuscripts
        History of libraries
        Libraries
        Book collectors
        Librarians
        Public libraries
        Dublin (Ireland : County)
      sug:
        subj:
          Dublin (Ireland : County)
          Medieval manuscripts
          Acquisition of manuscripts
          History of libraries
          Libraries
          Book collectors
          Librarians
          Public libraries
      keyword:
        early modern Libraries
        medieval
        provenance
      ab: Narcissus Marsh began planning a public library for Dublin at the end of the seventeenth century. By 1704, a library building had been constructed near Saint Patrick's Cathedral, and Marsh turned his attention to its contents. He planned a collection of 10,000 books "with none but ye most usefull Books in each Faculty and Science." Marsh was prepared to buy books from London and the Continent and sought advice on what the most appropriate new titles for his library might be. He bought books individually and en bloc , including volumes from the library of the Dublin scholar Dudley Loftus. However, he recognized that buying collections risked adding books that he did not want. Marsh deliberately bought what he called "Oriental" manuscripts, which he left to the Bodleian Library, but a few European volumes remained in Dublin. Among the volumes acquired from Loftus that did not obviously fit Marsh's plan were a small number of medieval manuscripts. More medieval books were added when, in 1701, Marsh recruited a Huguenot refugee, Elie Bouhéreau, as librarian for the new collection, with the agreement that he give his books to the library. In the following century, further manuscripts were given by Church of Ireland clergymen. Although the twenty-three volumes of medieval manuscripts now at Marsh's Library form but a tiny part of the overall library, they provide insights into of the roles of intention, opportunity, and personal choice in the formation of this early modern library, which in turn ensured the survival of some medieval manuscripts.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: Y
      dt:
        @attributes:
          year: 2026
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N