The library at Hereford Cathedral is famous as one of the few surviving chained libraries'; but the contents of the books secured to the seventeenth century presses are less well known. There are 227 western manuscripts, of which about half have been at the cathedral since before the Reformation. They range in date from the eighth to the fifteenth century, and include finely-illustrated patristic books of the twelfth century, a large collection of Oxford University legal textbooks, and books of civil and canon law from the end of the thirteenth century. Over half the volumes survive in largely intact medieval bindings. The catalogue, begun by the late Sir Roger Mynors and completed by Professor Thomson, reflects the particular strengths of the collection. The many glossed books are described using a particularly effective system devised by Sir Roger Mynors. An introductory essay by Michael Gullick describes the medieval bindings, and the plates cover not only illumination and bindings, but medieval pressmarks and ownership inscriptions, as well as examples of scripts.

This volume covers a number of significant events and issues in Erasmus' life and in the history of his times. He travels on horseback from Louvain to Basel to assist his publisher and friend Johann Froben during the crucial phases in the production of his revised New Testament, the edition that he feels will be his lasting contribution to the scholarly foundations of the Christian faith. Once it is in the hands of the public he feels he will be able to face the approach of old age more calmly. On the return journey to Louvain he falls gravely ill from what is diagnosed as bubonic plague, but recovers in a month and convalesces in the home of another publisher-friend, Dirk Martens. International politics continue to capture his attention. Requests for funds in support of a papal crusade against the Turks arouse the flames of German national sentiment. With the death of Maximilian I, friends of Erasmus such as Richard Pace, Ulrich von Hutten, and Guillaume Bude are involved in diplomatic negotiations concerning the imperial succession. When Prince Ferdinand arrives from Spain and requires a tutor, the question of Erasmus' own return to active court duties is raised. After the appearance of Luther's Ninety-five Theses on indulgences, purgatory, and papal authority, the question arises among conservatives whether Erasmus' work too is a threat to the traditional ways of the church and society. For the time being, Erasmus is prepared to commend Luther and defend the latter's right to be critical of the church. Erasmus' overriding conviction at this point is that he and Luther are both part of the great intellectual and spiritual renewal that is taking place in so many parts of Europe. As Luther's appearance lends a new kind of spiritual and patriotic vigour to German humanism, the cult of Erasmus-Erasmus the fellow German-becomes an integral part of that new enthusiasm, with Saxony and its elector, Frederick the Wise, at its center.

Edited with a facing-page English translation from the Latin text by: Brooke, C. N. L.; Unknown function: Mynors, R. A. B.

Virgil's Georgics, by common consent one of the greatest poems in western literature, purports to be a didactic poem on agriculture, but its true subject is man and his place in literature and society. It is also a landmark in the use of the natural world as material for literature, and in the history of man's attitude towards his environment. The object of this commentary is to present the poet's meaning and (as far as possible) his choice of expression in the hope of achieving fuller understanding and enjoyment of the poetry. The volume includes the late Sir Roger's Oxford Classical Text of the Georgics together with apparatus criticus, as well as an appendix of Greek sources. After Mynors's death (in 1989) R. G. M. Nisbet added a short Preface to the Commentary and compiled an index.