The manuscript sequence at St John's includes a wide variety of material which has accummulated from numerous donations during the centuries following the College's foundation. Currently the sequence runs to 413 items, but these can consist of collections of material as well as single volumes. Key among the collections are some 200 western medieval manuscripts dating from the 9th century onwards; 26 'oriental' manuscripts, chiefly in Arabic dating from the 14th-18th centuries; and 9 Greek manuscripts produced in Venice during the 16th century. These categories of material have been thoroughly described in a series of published catalogues. The remaining 200 or so post-medieval western manuscripts date from the 16th century to the present day, and incorporate diaries, albums, papers and collections of correspondence. Those that lend themselves to archival treatment will be described here.
Update 01/03/2023
As part of the ongoing digitization project at St John's College Library, we are currently investigating the possibility of adding further records to ArchivesHub for some of the manuscripts in our collections. To learn more about the project and to find available resources, please visit our Digital Library .