Treasures from Cardiff University's collections - Trysorau o gasgliadau Prifysgol Caerdydd
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On the evening of 12 August 2026 Europe will experience one of the most dramatic solar eclipses for almost three decades. The Moon will pass between the Sun and the Earth, obscuring our view of the Sun with a partial or total eclipse. Here in Cardiff’s Special Collections and Archives we hold numerous rare astronomical … Continue reading A Treatise of Eclipses of the Sun and Moon (1731)
Printing a book in the 15th century was a risky undertaking, requiring substantial investment with no guarantee of profit. The wealthiest patrons of the day were accustomed to spending their money on beautifully decorated manuscripts, each one a unique handmade work produced to order. Printing, on the other hand, required large quantities of paper or … Continue reading Lighting the way with…
Froissart’s Chronicles is a monumental history of the Hundred Years’ War written in the late 14th century by the court historian, Jean Froissart (c. 1337-1405). The book recounts the battles, sieges, marriages, and political intrigues that took place in England, France, and western Europe from the abdication of Edward II in 1327 to the crowning … Continue reading The Ball of the Burning Men: how a…
For centuries medieval scribes embellished their manuscripts with elaborate opening letters, often painted in bright colours and illuminated with gold leaf. Many of Cardiff’s early printed books contain similar decorative initials, some printed and some added by hand. These beautiful letters served a practical purpose by helping readers to navigate through a complex text; they … Continue reading…
This guest post comes from Luke Bacigalupo. I first came across the 1877 Tynewydd disaster while researching Lewis Baxter, one of the leaders of the Chartist rising in Llanidloes in 1839. I discovered that his nephew, David Hughes, was trapped underground during the disaster. On 11th April 1877, at about 4 p.m., the Tynewydd Pit of the Troedyrhiw Colliery, near Porth in South Wales became…
Among the highlights of a recent acquisition of rare books from the Cardiff Catholic Diocesan Library are two later editions of the Douay-Rheims New Testament, the first approved English Catholic translation of the Latin Vulgate (St Jerome’s 4th century Latin Bible). The Douay-Rheims was originally published in 1582 by English Catholic scholars living in exile … Continue reading The English…
This guest post comes from Luke Bacigalupo. As someone from Mid Wales who no longer lives there, I decided to deal with my hiraeth in the only way a history graduate knows – by diving into local history. I quickly became fascinated with the Chartist Riot of April 1839 in Llanidloes, and the Chartist movement … Continue reading Guest Post: Bloodless Wars of Montgomeryshire
Aldus Manutius (c.1450-1515) was a highly influential Italian humanist scholar and one of the most innovative of the early printers. As founder of the Aldine Press in Venice, his many legacies include the introduction of the italic type to printing and the standardisation of punctuation such as the comma and semicolon. Perhaps Aldus’s most important … Continue reading Cardiff’s Aldines: books…
On the 1st of March Wales celebrates its patron saint, Saint David. St David was a monk and bishop who lived in the 6th century and is known for establishing many monasteries throughout Wales, the most famous at St Davids in Pembrokeshire. He is remembered for his message of simplicity: “Do the little things well.” For St David, faith was not about … Continue reading The other St David: Father of…
One morning in May 1635, Andrew Grünbeide, a Prussian peasant, woke up feeling the worse for wear after a long night drinking at the local tavern. Still a little tipsy, the “rusticke” young man made the inadvisable decision to make himself vomit by irritating his throat with the handle of his knife. What followed was … Continue reading There was a young man who swallowed a knife: a miraculous…
