Oriental manuscripts of E.D. Clarke

E.D. Clarke's oriental manuscripts, 13th?-18th century, are mainly Arabic and Persian, with some Turkish, Coptic, and Ethiopic material. The collection includes several manuscripts of poetry, with three containing works by classical Persian poet Sadi (d. 1291), and manuscripts on astronomy, geography, history, medicine, philology and philosophy.

Edward Daniel Clarke (1769-1822) was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge. He graduated BA in 1790, became Fellow and Bursar of his college before 1798, LLD in 1803, Professor of Mineralogy in 1808, and University Librarian in 1817. Clarke was a keen traveller; he journeyed through Italy in 1792 and 1794, and through the North of Europe, Asia Minor, Palestine and Greece in 1799-1802. In 1805 he was ordained, and, though not severing his connection with Cambridge, he held two country livings, until his death. Further details are given in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card (for admissions procedures see http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk).

Purchased by the Library in 1809.

Collection level description created by Susan Thomas, Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts.

The manuscripts are briefly listed in Falconer Madan, et al., A summary catalogue of western manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford which have not hitherto been catalogued in the Quarto series, with references to the oriental and other manuscripts (7 vols. in 8 [vol. II in 2 parts], Oxford, 1895-1953; reprinted, with corrections in vols. I and VII, Munich, 1980), vol. IV, nos. 18412-53.

T. Gaisford and A. Nicoll Catalogus sive notitia manuscriptorum qui a cel. E.D. Clarke comparati in bibliotheca Bodleiana adservantur, 2 parts (Oxford 1812-15). The first part, compiled by Gaisford, relates to Clarke's western manuscripts; see the second part, compiled by Nicoll, For Clarke's oriental manuscripts: Pars posterior [codices linguis orientalibus complectens a Alexandro Nicoll exaratos] (Oxford 1815).

A. Nicoll Catalogi codicum manuscriptorum Orientalium Bibliothecae Bodleianae pars secunda, Arabicos complectens (Oxford, 1835). See the Arabic Mohammedan section.

E. Sachau, H. Eth and A.F.L. Beeston Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindstn, and Pusht manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, 3 vols. (Oxford, 1889-1953), vols. 1-2.

A. Dillmann Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum bibliothecae Bodleianae. Pars vii. codices Aethiopici (Oxford, 1848); and the second volume of the catalogue, Edward Ullendorff Catalogue of Ethiopian manuscripts in the Bodleian library (Oxford, 1951).

E.D. Clarke's western manuscripts (MSS. E.D. Clarke 1-32, 34-50) are held by the Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts.