Studying Hebrew, 16th-17th centuries
In the late 16th- and early 17th-century, there was great interest in Hebrew as a sacred language, which in turn led Mertonian Thomas Bodley to study the medieval Hebrew documents in the college archives.
Merton Library contains a wealth of volumes relating to the study of Hebrew and which illustrate the proficiency of particular Mertonians in this language, including Bodley and Warden Henry Savile.
Bodley - The Hebraist
Professor Anthony Grafton, Henry Putnam University Professor at Princeton University, discusses Thomas Bodley's scholarly interest in Hebrew and Hebraica in the 16th century.
Thomas Bodley's 1574 translation of the Malden and Chessington starrs, 1247
Sir Thomas Bodley’s competence and interest in Hebrew is graphically illustrated here by his translation of the Hebrew starr or deed relating to Malden and Chessington in Surrey into Latin in 1574.
Hebrew grammar and lexicon with marginal notes, 1506
Johann Reuchlin (d.1522) was a leading Greek and Hebrew scholar. His Hebrew lexicon and grammar transformed the study of this language among Christian scholars. This copy was given to the college by Fellow and Linacre Lecturer Robert Barnes (d. 1604). The marginal notes indicate that it was used for study.
Venetian Mishneh Torah, 1550
This Mishneh Torah was printed by Marco Antonio Giustiniani in Venice in 1550. The conflict between Giustiniani and his rival printer Alvise Bragadin, over whose edition of the Mishneh Torah (both printed in 1550) should be considered authoritative, led to appeals both to the rabbinate and the pope. The dispute is said to have contributed to the decision by a committee of cardinals that led to the confiscation and burning of copies of the Talmud in 1553.
Henry Savile's Talmudic dictionary, 1567
In 1567 Thomas Bodley was granted leave of absence by the college to study abroad. He made his rooms available to his friend Henry Savile (later Warden of the College) and gave Savile a copy of a Talmudic dictionary as a parting present. Bound with the dictionary is an Aramaic grammar by Jean Mercier (d.1570), Professor of Hebrew at the Collège Royal in Paris.
As he studied, Savile filled his grammar text with marginal notes and underlinings, demonstrating his serious engagement with Aramaic and Hebrew.
Hebrew dictionary gifted by Henry Savile, 1575
This Hebrew dictionary was an essential text for any late 16th or early 17th-century scholarly library. This copy was given to the college by Warden Henry Savile, as shown on the inscription on its title page.
Hebrew verse composed in memory of Thomas Bodley, 1613
Members of the college and university commemorated the death of Sir Thomas Bodley in 1613 by producing verse tributes: 22 in Latin, 4 in Greek, 2 each in Hebrew and Italian, and 1 in English.
Regius Professor of Hebrew, Richard Kilbye, composed a short poem in Hebrew, in which he refers to Bodley’s learning and says that he is now ‘blessed forever together with angels’. (Translation by Peter Pormann)