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Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford
Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Duke_Humfrey%27s_Library_Interior_6,_Bodleian_Library,_Oxford,_UK_-_Diliff.jpg
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Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian

Oxford, England, 1478–88

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The record

Worth knowing

  • Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: An underground book store dug beneath Radcliffe Square in 1909-12 was the largest of its kind in the world at the time.

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    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: An underground book store dug beneath Radcliffe Square in 1909-12 was the largest of its kind in the world at the time.
Source: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/history-bodleian
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#f-0potu5b
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  • Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: In 1550 the Dean of Christ Church stripped the university library of all its books to purge Catholic traces, and some were burnt.

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    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: In 1550 the Dean of Christ Church stripped the university library of all its books to purge Catholic traces, and some were burnt.
Source: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/history-bodleian
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#f-1wx159u
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  • Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: In 2025 the library unveiled a 13th-century Old French New Testament. Ultraviolet light showed erased inscriptions of three members of the English royal family who owned it in the 1400s.

    primarybodleian.ox.ac.uk
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    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: In 2025 the library unveiled a 13th-century Old French New Testament. Ultraviolet light showed erased inscriptions of three members of the English royal family who owned it in the 1400s.
Source: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/media/duke-humfreys-manuscript
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#f-1flri4i
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  • Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: The Bodleian also held pictures, sculptures, coins and medals, and curiosities including a stuffed crocodile from Jamaica.

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    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: The Bodleian also held pictures, sculptures, coins and medals, and curiosities including a stuffed crocodile from Jamaica.
Source: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/history-bodleian
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#f-1n6hs9v
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  • Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: The library had no heating until 1845 and no artificial lighting until 1929.

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    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: The library had no heating until 1845 and no artificial lighting until 1929.
Source: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/history-bodleian
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#f-1wdcnya
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  • Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: The rule that no book may be lent was held so firmly that King Charles I was refused a loan in 1645.

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    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, worth knowing: The rule that no book may be lent was held so firmly that King Charles I was refused a loan in 1645.
Source: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/history-bodleian
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#f-1pnvdn1
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Built

  • Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, built: 1478-1488

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    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, built: 1478-1488
Source: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/history-bodleian
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#f-0w3kq4g
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  • Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, built: Begun 1478, opened 1488 (Selden End extension 1634-7)

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    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, built: Begun 1478, opened 1488 (Selden End extension 1634-7)
Source: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/history-bodleian
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#f-1o1wa37
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Volumes

  • Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, volumes: Duke Humphrey's 1447 bequest was 281 books; only three of his original books remain in the library

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    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, volumes: Duke Humphrey's 1447 bequest was 281 books; only three of his original books remain in the library
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Humfrey%27s_Library
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#f-1yaq3ae
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What happened here

  1. 1488Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, built, 1488: Duke Humfrey's Library begun 1478, opened 1488

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    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, built, 1488: Duke Humfrey's Library begun 1478, opened 1488
Source: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/history-bodleian
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#e-08upoiw
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  2. 1550Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, lost, 1550: Duke Humfrey's Library is emptied of its books on the order of the Dean of Christ Church, and some are burnt.

    primaryvisit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
    Cite
    Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, lost, 1550: Duke Humfrey's Library is emptied of its books on the order of the Dean of Christ Church, and some are burnt.
Source: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/history-bodleian
Evidence tier: primary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/bodleian/#e-1kl2nx5
    Dispute#

Photographs

Reading room of Duke Humfrey's Library, Oxford
Reading room of Duke Humfrey's Library, Oxford. Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Reading room of Duke Humfrey's Library, Oxford. Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Duke_Humfrey%27s_Library_Interior_2,_Bodleian_Library,_Oxford,_UK_-_Diliff.jpg
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Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford
Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
Use this photo
Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Duke_Humfrey%27s_Library_Interior_5,_Bodleian_Library,_Oxford,_UK_-_Diliff.jpg
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Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford
Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford. purplecactus123, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Photo: purplecactus123, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Duke_Humfrey's_Library.jpg
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Old Schools Quadrangle, Bodleian Library, Oxford
Old Schools Quadrangle, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Remi Mathis, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Old Schools Quadrangle, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Photo: Remi Mathis, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oxford_-_Bodleian_Library_-_Quad_in_the_sun.JPG
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North side of the Divinity School, Bodleian Library, Oxford
North side of the Divinity School, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Ozeye, CC BY-SA 3.0
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North side of the Divinity School, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Photo: Ozeye, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_face_of_oxford_divinity_school.jpg
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Schools Quadrangle tower window, Bodleian Library, Oxford
Schools Quadrangle tower window, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0
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Schools Quadrangle tower window, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bodleian_Library_(5650383370).jpg
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Books from this library

Sources