Festival Prayers for Hanukkah

Posted on December 10, 2012 by cloverodgers

Shaar Bat Rabim Mahzor Helek Rishon : ke-minhag kahal kadosh Ashkenazim. Ṿinitsiʾah : Stamperia Bragadina, 1716-[1731/32. New College Library Dal-Chr 9(1)

The Mahzor Ashkenazim is an example of a mahzor, or festival prayer book, for Ashkenazi usage, published in Venice in the early eighteenth century. Its large size makes it likely that it was intended for synagogue use rather than personal prayer. The Encyclopedia Judaica (available online to University of Edinburgh users) notes that mahzorim, which originally developed in medieval south western Germany, started to appear in the Ashkenazi communities of northern Italy in the fifteenth century.

This item is part of the Dalman-Christie Collection, catalogued as one of the Funk Cataloguing Projects at New College Library. The Dalman-Christie Collection was transferred to New College Library in 1946 from the Church of Scotland Hospice in Jerusalem. With thanks to our Hebrew Cataloguer, Janice Gailani, for helping to identify this item.

This opening shows festival prayers for Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

New on display – The Nativity in twentieth century art

Posted on December 6, 2012 by cloverodgers

The Bible in 20th century art / introduced by Nicholas Usherwood. New College Library sfYF 67 BIB

New on display in New College Library’s Funk Special Collections Reading Room, is The Bible in 20th Century art. It is opened to show a painting of The Nativity by Bernard Buffet (1961), the original of which is held in the collection of the Vatican Museum.

New books at New College Library – December

Posted on December 3, 2012 by cloverodgers

New on the shelves this month is The lost world of Genesis One : ancient cosmology and the origins debate by John H. Walton. This title was purchased to support the new MSc in Science and Religion here at the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh.

New College Library has a regular display of new books at the far end of the Library Hall, close to the door to the stacks.

You can see an regularly updated list of new books for New College Library on the Library Catalogue – choose the New Books Search and limit your search to New College Library. Here’s a quick link to new books arriving in the last few weeks. A word of caution – some of the books listed here may still be in transit between the Main Library (where they are catalogued) and New College Library, so not on the shelf just yet.

The saint, the saltire and a Scottish legend

Posted on November 30, 2012 by cloverodgers

The Holy Bible : containing the Old and New Testaments … Oxford : Printed by the University Printers, 1695. New College Library B.r.468

Today, November 30, is Saint Andrew’s day, also celebrated as Scotland’s national day.

The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (available online to University of Edinburgh users) notes that the cult of St Andrews was evident in England from Anglo-Saxon times, when the church in Rochester was the earliest of 637 medieval dedications to St Andrew. His legend grew to include the translation of his relics from Patras to Scotland by St Rule or Regulus in the 8th century. It is said that under angelic instruction, St Rule stopped at the place in Fife now known as St Andrews and built a church there, which became a centre for Christian evangelization and learning. St Andrew is commonly depicted with the saltire cross (X), which is used to represent Scotland on the Union Jack.

This image of St Andrew, patron saint of Scotland, comes from a seventeenth century English Bible which contains attractive illustrations of Bible scenes and pictures of the saints. It has bound with it metrical Psalms in the version of the Scottish Psalter, 1564. It is part of New College Library’s Early Bibles Collection, catalogued online as part of the Funk Cataloguing projects.

Light Night in Edinburgh – New College Library closing early

Posted on November 29, 2012 by cloverodgers

New College Library will close early at 5pm on Thursday 29 November as installations and road closures for ‘Light Night‘ mean that readers will not be able to exit the building through the main gates after this time.

The ‘Light Night’ performance, including firework display and aerobatics, is scheduled on the grassy area at the top of the Mound at around 5pm to 6pm on Thursday 29^th November, with a rehearsal in the early afternoon. There will be a full road closure in place all day, with pedestrian access to enter and exit the building through the main Quad gates throughout the day until 5pm.

Remembering the life of Guru Nanak

Posted on November 28, 2012 by cloverodgers

The life of Baba Nanuk, the founder of the Sikh sect of the Hindu religion in the Punjab : for the use of schools : compiled from original sources and accompanied by a map. Lahore : The Chronicle Press, by Kunniah Lall, 1859. New College Library P.g.21.13/2

Sikhs around the world will celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak on Wednesday 28 November. Guru Nanak (1469-1539) was the founder of the Sikh religion.

The life of Baba Nanuk, from New College Library’s Pamphlets collection aims to give an introduction for schools to Sikhism’s founder and the early history of the religion. New College is the only library in Scotland to hold a copy of this work.

This item was catalogued as part of the Funk Cataloguing Projects at New College Library.

Thanks for reading NewCollegeLibrarian

Posted on November 27, 2012 by cloverodgers

This blog is six months old now and has had over 3,000 hits – thank you! I’d love to know a bit more about who out there is reading my blog, so I’d appreciate it if you could fill in this 5 second poll. Thanks again!

A prayer for a pudding?

Posted on November 23, 2012 by cloverodgers

The booke of the common prayer and administracion of the Sacramentes : and other rites and ceremonies of the Churche, after the vse of the Churche of England.1549. New College Library DPL 70

25 November 2012 is traditionally Stir Up Sunday, when cooks plan to make their Christmas puddings so they have time to mature before eating on Christmas Day.

This tradition is linked with the opening words of the collect for the day in the Book of Common Prayer of 1549, which reads ‘Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord…’ Always read just before Advent, this became remembered as a reminder to start stirring up the puddings for Christmas.

New College Library holds this copy of the Book of Common Prayer printed in London in 1549, the year the Book of Common Prayer was adopted by the Church of England. We can see the exhortation to “Stir up ..” , spoken over 450 years ago in the reign of Edward VI of England, about two thirds of the way down the page.

This book is part of the Dumfries Presbytery Library, currently being catalogued as part of the Funk Cataloguing Projects at New College Library. It bears the signature of Dr John Hutton, who donated the collection of books that form the foundations of the Dumfries Presbytery Library.

Psalms for St Cecilia’s Day

Posted on November 22, 2012 by cloverodgers

Moore, Thomas “Psalm singers’ pocket companion”, Glasgow 1756. Hymn 264/1

The feast of St Cecilia’s Day is traditionally celebrated on November 22nd. A 3rd century martyr, St Cecilia is known as the patron saint of musicians. Her legend relates that, as a young Christian, she was betrothed to a pagan but she had already vowed her virginity to God. As the organs played at at her wedding feast, Cecilia sang (in her heart) to the Lord, asking that her heart remain pure.

Here’s a book of Psalms to remember her by. Thomas Moore’s Psalm singers’ pocket companion is a publication from the revival era known as Gallery Psalmody, where leading singers and choir were located in a loft of the church. The new style lasted for about a century from 1755, and its main features were choirs singing in harmony of usually three parts, with some solo sections. Thomas Moore (- d. 1792) was a music teacher from Manchester Cathedral who came to Glasgow to teach singing.

This item is small, or pocket sized, and contains a number of manuscript doodles which may testify to the singer’s mind wandering elsewhere. Also interesting are the pages of handwritten music staves, perhaps to allow the singer to make notes of new tunes or harmonies.

The Psalm singers’ pocket companion belongs to the Hymnology Collection, and was catalogued as part of the Funk Cataloguing Projects. With thanks to our Project Cataloguer, Oreste de Tommaso, for supplying details of this item.

New College Library image collections online

Posted on November 21, 2012 by cloverodgers

I’m very pleased to be able to tell you that over 200 images from New College Library’s collections are now available online through the University of Edinburgh Image Collections database.

The collection includes images from some of New College Library’s iconic items such as the first edition of Calvin’s Institutes of Religion (1536) and the manuscript of Covenanter James Renwick’s last speech in 1688.

This is a growing collection, as New College Library items catalogued as part of the Funk cataloguing projects which are found to be unique on ESTC are being photographed and their images added to the database.

New College Librarian

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