Early Bibles at New College Library

New College Library has rich and distinct Bible collections. This  Geneva Bible, printed in 1599 with an illustrated frontispiece is just one example.  Called a Geneva Bible because it was produced by a group of Protestant scholars who fled to Geneva during the time of Queen Mary I of England (1553 – 1558), it was innovative in being a  mass-produced Bible which came with a variety of scriptural study guides and aids.

Bible, Book of Common Prayer and Psalter. London, 1599. New College Library B.r.438/1

 This 1599 edition also inclues the new “Junius” version of the Book of Revelation, in which the notes were translated from a new Latin commentary by Fransiscus Junius on Revelation. It was the Bible used by John Knox and Oliver Cromwell, making it hugely important to the study of sixteenth and seventeenth century Britain.

University of Edinburgh Edinburgh Divinity students on programmes such as the Masters degree in  Theology in History have the opportunity to handle rare books like this as part of their studies.

 This Bible is newly catalogued online as part of the Funk Cataloguing Projects at New College Library, which has enabled the cataloguing of 631 early Bibles.

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