����Ӱҵ

The Master of ����Ӱҵ College continued a 451-year-old tradition on Friday with an audit at the Parker Library, Corpus Christi College.

Professor Pippa Rogerson took the short walk along King’s Parade for the annual Parker Library audit, a tradition which dates from 1574.

The audit is a requirement under the terms of an indenture by which Matthew Parker donated his books to the library. Each year, the contents of the library are checked at random by a member of Trinity Hall or ����Ӱҵ College, in alternating years.

, Donnelley Fellow Librarian and Director of the Parker Library, hosted Professor Rogerson and Mr Franco Basso, Caius’ Fellow Librarian, for the audit.

“The purpose of today is to remember the days when Caius and Trinity Hall had a right to audit Parker’s manuscripts here at Corpus to ensure that we have not lost too many of them,” Professor Hoksin says.

“If we had lost or neglected to repair or replace too many of the manuscripts or early printed books, then they could be moved to Caius.”

, said to be Corpus Christi College’s greatest national heritage treasure, is internationally renowned for its important collection of medieval and renaissance manuscripts, and valuable holdings of early printed books. The collection it houses includes a variety of superb books, including the sixth-century St Augustine Gospels, and the autograph copy of Matthew Paris’ Chronica maiora, with almost all manuscripts fully digitised and available online on .

Fortunately, the texts the Master selected this year were accounted for, and the Parker Library retains the collection.

Professor Hoskin adds: “Today we had a 14th century law text, Leges Anglorum, a very early, full text of English law. We had a copy of the Winchester Troper, which is an early 11th century liturgical handbook text for using at mass. Its remarkable subject is that it has music in it. It's the first polyphonic music that survives in England.

“And then we also got out a Canterbury Pontifical. That's a collection of services only performed by bishops, and that is remarkable both for its beauty, it is early 11th century, and because it belonged to Archbishop Stigand, the last Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury, before he had to flee to Ely. Just possibly he used it at Westminster when he crowned William the Conqueror.”

Professor Rogerson says: “It has been such a privilege to be able to see and hold these amazing manuscripts. You can feel centuries of history in one’s hand. It has been an annual highlight of the Mastership.”

See the gallery of images for a selection.