The Library of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 1584-1637

This book provides a detailed record of the early history of the library at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, from the foundation of the College in 1584 to the completion of the seventh major inventory of the library’s contents in 1637. This half-century formed a dynamic period in the religious and political as well as the educational life of the nation. The influence of Emmanuel, a notoriously Puritan college from its founding, was felt especially in the striking prominence of its alumni among New World settlers (among them John Harvard) and, during the English Civil War, in the placement of Emmanuel men in many key positions, including the Masterships of numerous Cambridge colleges. While these men were being educated Emmanuel’s library expanded dramatically, and the seven increasingly large inventories of library books recorded there during the period give an indication of their concerns and their scholarship. Now, for the first time, the intellectual resources - by no means narrowly ‘Puritan’ - of this major institutional library are available for the study of all who are interested in the history of the period.