Lyell Lectures

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Lyell Lectures

The Lyell readership in bibliography at Oxford University is endowed by a bequest from James Patrick Ronaldson Lyell (1871-1948), a solicitor, book collector and bibliographer. Each year since 1952, a distinguished scholar has been elected to deliver the lectures, usually six in number, on any topic of bibliography, broadly conceived. J.P.R. Lyell lived in Oxford and (on his retirement) in Abingdon from 1927 until the end of his life. Even as a young man he was interested in collecting early printed books, and he made a study of early book illustration in Spain. In the 1930s he began collecting medieval manuscripts, eventually accumulating some 250 of these, of which one hundred were bequeathed to the Bodleian Library. A further series of some 65 manuscripts, mostly post-medieval, were bought by the Library from his executors. The first Lyell lectures, for the academic year 1952-3, were delivered by Neil R. Ker, university reader in palaeography and fellow of Magdalen College.

  1. JUN 20

    Some generalizations about the shape and geographical spread of Latin textual traditions

    Episode 4 of the Lyell lectures 2024 delivered by Professor Stephen Oakley. In this series of lectures, Professor Stephen Oakley, Kennedy Professor of Latin and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, examines the transmission of Latin texts. These five lectures will explore how works of different kinds–the military histories written by Julius Caesar, the poetry of Catullus, and the teachings of early Christians–were passed down over time. A special focus is on the media revolution from hand-written to printed books.

    55 min

  2. JUN 20

    What happens when incunables replace manuscripts?

    Episode 4 of the Lyell lectures 2024 delivered by Professor Stephen Oakley. In this series of lectures, Professor Stephen Oakley, Kennedy Professor of Latin and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, examines the transmission of Latin texts. These five lectures will explore how works of different kinds–the military histories written by Julius Caesar, the poetry of Catullus, and the teachings of early Christians–were passed down over time. A special focus is on the media revolution from hand-written to printed books.

    59 min

  3. JUN 20

    Cross-fertilization and the limits of the genealogical method: the case of Catullus

    Episode 3 of the Lyell lectures 2024 delivered by Professor Stephen Oakley. In this series of lectures, Professor Stephen Oakley, Kennedy Professor of Latin and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, examines the transmission of Latin texts. These five lectures will explore how works of different kinds–the military histories written by Julius Caesar, the poetry of Catullus, and the teachings of early Christians–were passed down over time. A special focus is on the media revolution from hand-written to printed books.

    57 min

  4. JUN 20

    The transmission of the Corpus Cyprianum and Pontius’ Life of Cyprian

    Episode 2 of the Lyell lectures 2024 delivered by Professor Stephen Oakley. In this series of lectures, Professor Stephen Oakley, Kennedy Professor of Latin and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, examines the transmission of Latin texts. These five lectures will explore how works of different kinds–the military histories written by Julius Caesar, the poetry of Catullus, and the teachings of early Christians–were passed down over time. A special focus is on the media revolution from hand-written to printed books.

    56 min

  5. JUN 18

    The transmission of Julius Caesar’s Civil War

    Episode 1 of the Lyell lectures 2024 delivered by Professor Stephen Oakley. In this series of lectures, Professor Stephen Oakley, Kennedy Professor of Latin and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, examines the transmission of Latin texts. These five lectures will explore how works of different kinds–the military histories written by Julius Caesar, the poetry of Catullus, and the teachings of early Christians–were passed down over time. A special focus is on the media revolution from hand-written to printed books.

    1h 4m

  6. 06/01/2023

    Shaping legacies

    Lecture 5 of the 2023 Lyell lecture series A recent focus on practices and working methods in the history of science and of scholarship has revealed a gap between the representation that scholars worked alone, and the reality that their work was frequently carried out with the help of others. This lecture series will focus on the role of amanuenses (literary assistants) in scholarly work in early modern Europe, particularly the Northern Renaissance ca 1500–1630, while noting parallels with both earlier and later European contexts. Professor Ann M. Blair will focus on case studies including Erasmus, Martin Bucer, Adrien Turnèbe, and Petrus Ramus, among others to explore this recent research.

    56 min

  7. 06/01/2023

    Complicating attributions

    Lecture 4 of the 2023 Lyell lecture series A recent focus on practices and working methods in the history of science and of scholarship has revealed a gap between the representation that scholars worked alone, and the reality that their work was frequently carried out with the help of others. This lecture series will focus on the role of amanuenses (literary assistants) in scholarly work in early modern Europe, particularly the Northern Renaissance ca 1500–1630, while noting parallels with both earlier and later European contexts. Professor Ann M. Blair will focus on case studies including Erasmus, Martin Bucer, Adrien Turnèbe, and Petrus Ramus, among others to explore this recent research.

    48 min

  8. 06/01/2023

    Mechanical and intellectual

    Lecture 3 of the 2023 Lyell lecture series A recent focus on practices and working methods in the history of science and of scholarship has revealed a gap between the representation that scholars worked alone, and the reality that their work was frequently carried out with the help of others. This lecture series will focus on the role of amanuenses (literary assistants) in scholarly work in early modern Europe, particularly the Northern Renaissance ca 1500–1630, while noting parallels with both earlier and later European contexts. Professor Ann M. Blair will focus on case studies including Erasmus, Martin Bucer, Adrien Turnèbe, and Petrus Ramus, among others to explore this recent research.

    56 min
See All (25)

About

The Lyell readership in bibliography at Oxford University is endowed by a bequest from James Patrick Ronaldson Lyell (1871-1948), a solicitor, book collector and bibliographer. Each year since 1952, a distinguished scholar has been elected to deliver the lectures, usually six in number, on any topic of bibliography, broadly conceived. J.P.R. Lyell lived in Oxford and (on his retirement) in Abingdon from 1927 until the end of his life. Even as a young man he was interested in collecting early printed books, and he made a study of early book illustration in Spain. In the 1930s he began collecting medieval manuscripts, eventually accumulating some 250 of these, of which one hundred were bequeathed to the Bodleian Library. A further series of some 65 manuscripts, mostly post-medieval, were bought by the Library from his executors. The first Lyell lectures, for the academic year 1952-3, were delivered by Neil R. Ker, university reader in palaeography and fellow of Magdalen College.

Information

  • Creator
    Oxford University
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Oxford University
  • Show Website
    Lyell Lectures

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