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Provenance mysteries: Los treynta libros de la Monarchia Ecclesiastica o Historia Vniuersal del mundo

Censorship on A4r

The May 2025 provenance mystery features Juan de Pineda (approximately 1521-1599), Los treynta libros de la Monarchia Ecclesiastica o Historia Vniuersal del mundo, printed in Salamanca by Juan Fernandez, and published by Hilario de Bonefant, in 1588. Although originally issued as a five volume set, the Library holds volume one only.

Juan de Pineda (not to be confused with the Jesuit of the same name, 1558-1637) was a Franciscan monk, who was born in Medina del Campo, after which he moved to Salamanca, and attended the university there. By 1545 he was located in Zamora, and after 1560 in Valladolid. The author of this biographical entry states that he travelled extensively through Spain and visited numerous libraries, where he consulted works that informed his Monarchia Ecclesiastica, in which we cited over a thousand authors. It took him twenty years to complete the book.

There is one provenance mystery in this book, and one more generalised mystery. The latter concerns the censorship that has taken place on folio A4r. This has all the appearance of Spanish inquisitorial censorship (see for example a 2023 exhibition at the Biblioteca Nacional de España https://www.bne.es/es/agenda/malos-libros-censura-espana-moderna). But none of the digitised copies available to view online reflect this censorship (see for example https://archive.org/details/AFD02411/page/n55/mode/2up?view=theater, or: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=OCRj8_-K3SEC&pg=PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false). I consulted with Barry Taylor, Curator of Hispanic Printed Collections at the British Library who confirmed that it did resemble inquisitorial censorship, but could not find the book listed in the expurgatory indexes of 1612 to 1667. The censored passage states that God loves his church more than he does his Mother (quoting the Fathers).

The provenance mystery concerns the inscription found at the end of the volume: Jeronymo Anriquez(?) Again, with thanks to Barry Taylor for the potential reading of the surname. First, is ‘Anriquez’ correct, and second, does this inscription refer to a previous owner, or to a censor? There are no entries for this possible name, or variations thereof, in the Virtual Authority File.

2. Inscription

The book also shows what Adam Smyth has referred to as ‘book marks’, that is, physical traces left behind in early modern books. In this instance, a fingerprint is clearly visible, possibly left behind by a clumsy printer’s assistant. Chemical analysis of the ink would be required to determine whether it was made by printer’s ink, or by pen ink.

3. Fingerprint

As ever, comments on these mysteries are welcome.

Renae Satterley

Head of the Library

May 2025

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Middle Temple Library's Past Exhibitions: From Squalor to Sanitation

The spring 2023 library exhibition explored the impact of epidemics on public health law. From plagues to the present, the display looked at the way public officials manage the spread of disease, as they try to understand the causes of illness.

Uniquely placed near the epicentre of many of these historic pandemics, the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple observed the streets and sewers change around it- change implemented to improve public health and take London from squalor to sanitation.

If you'd like to read more, the online version of the exhibition is available here.

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Middle Temple Library's collection of legal notes from Sir Vicary Gibbs: A blog post by intern Florent Etheve.

I have spent the last few months transcribing and cataloguing volumes 1 through 4 of MS45, a collection of legal notes from Sir Vicary Gibbs (1751-1820). Gibbs began his legal career as a special pleader, was Called to the Bar in 1783, and became King’s Counsel in 1794. His career would also involve the role of Chief Justice of Chester (1804), Solicitor General (1805), Attorney General (1806), and puisne judge (1812) until his death in 1820.

Where exactly MS45 fits in Sir Vicary Gibbs’ career is unclear. The cases in volumes 1 to 4 cover cases from 1778 to 1780, aligning with his time as a special pleader. However many of the cases in Gibbs’ notes align with those found in the Nominate Reports, in particular the Right Hon. Sylvester Douglas’ (1723-1743) Report of Cases Argued and Determined In the Court of the King’s Bench in the Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-First Years of the Reign of King George III. It is therefore possible that Gibbs was drawing on this report or another similar source, rendering a specific date for the notes difficult to ascertain with much specificity.

The uncertainty of the place of these notes within Gibbs’ career extends beyond their date. The exact purpose of the notes is also unclear, in particular due to the lack of context regarding Gibbs’ concurrent career. The most likely use was as a source for Gibbs’ legal education that he could refer to for precedent and legal insight. This would have been more common at this time, with the system of legal education much less centralized than today. 

Interestingly, the majority of these cases revolve around financial law- debts, bankruptcies, inheritances, and insurances make up the majority of the collection, although whether this was due to Gibbs’ own interest in the area, the available cases at the time, or happenstance in what documents entered into the archival record. This is particularly unclear on account of Gibbs’ notes being bound together and indexed at a later point than when they were first written, with the handwriting of the Table of Contents differing from that of the notes.

 In addition, these notes also include multiple criminal cases, a notable departure from Sylvester Douglas’ focus on civil cases. This makes these notes a valuable source on criminal law in the late 18th century, especially useful when considering the many shifts in the legal and political landscape of England at the time.

One particularly intriguing case found in Gibbs’ notes is Rex v. Austin & Leonard, a case from Michealmas of 1780 which involves Jan Walraad van Welderen (1725-1807), the Dutch Ambassador to the United Kingdom. The case centers around an incident where one of Van Welderen’s servants was arrested. Despite not disclosing his employment with the ambassador to the arresting sherrif’s officer, this led to a breach of ambassadorial privilege, specifically under the 1708 Diplomatic Privileges Act. The Act clearly stated that ambassadorial privilege extended to the ambassador’s servants, offering them protection from arrest. As a result, Austin and Leonard were ordered by the court to go to Count Van Welderen’s residence with an apology for the breach. The sherrif’s officer was fined £30, equivalent to about £4,500 today, and the other defendant, a tradesman, was imprisoned for three months. Gibbs’ notes on the text read as follows:

Rex v Austin & Leonard (Michaelmas 1780)

Information against the Plaintiff in the Cause & the Officer executing an arrest upon a servant of the Count de Welderen Ambassador from Holland. They suffered judgement by default & now, being brought up for judgement they made affidavit – The Plaintiff that he did not know to whom the house belonged or that Count Welderen was an ambassador. The Officer that he knew neither defendant nor House nor anything about it ‘till he was carried there by the Plaintiffs and that as soon as he was informed of it by the Count’s Secretary he departed.

The Court ordered them both to be carried forth a Paper on their Breasts to the Count de Welderen tomorrow & the Plaintiff to be imprisoned three months; the Officer to pay £30.

There is also additional marginal commentary noted down by Gibbs.

Privilege Ambassador

Judgement for violating the privilege of an ambassador by arresting his servant.

1 – Rex v Austin & Leonard, folio 6-7

The specific reasons the servant was arrested are unclear, as are their reasons for not mentioning who their employer was. One possibility is that the servant spoke only Dutch, which may have prevented them from communicating the legal implications of their arrest to the authorities. However, details about the case are sparse, leaving the rest to speculation.

The case is notable not only for its legal implications but also for its timing. It occurred just before the outbreak of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, when tensions between the United Kingdom and the Dutch Republic were escalating. By December 1780, the UK had effectively declared war on the Dutch by recalling its ambassador, signalling the start of hostilities. The breach of ambassadorial privilege in Rex v. Austin parallels these rising tensions, highlighting the delicate balance of diplomatic relations even as Britain prepared for war.

This is highlighted in the case, with the question of the influence of these tensions on the events leading to the arrest. The officer’s actions may reflect the increasingly strained relations between England and Holland, or perhaps solely highlight the difficulties of language barriers.

Beyond the diplomatic and legal aspects, the case also offers insights into the class dynamics of the period. Servants were a significant part of the workforce in 18th-century Europe, often occupying lower social strata, regardless of their employer’s status. The arresting officer, likely from a working-class background, was subjected to a substantial financial penalty. This fine could have been a significant burden, highlighting the economic stakes of these cases.

Unfortunately, many details of the case remain unclear. The identity of the plaintiff (Austin or Leonard), who served a three-month sentence, is never revealed in Gibbs’ notes. Similarly, the exact position of the servant in the household remains unclear, leaving gaps in our understanding of their social role. The fact that Gibbs (or his note-taker) chose to focus solely on Count Van Welderen further limits our insight into the individuals involved in the case.

Despite these gaps, Rex v. Austin & Leonard provides a fascinating snapshot of 18th-century law at the intersection of diplomacy, class, and legal procedure. The case underscores the enduring importance of ambassadorial privileges, even as tensions between European powers were on the rise. However, it is also one of the last cases before the end of a period of relatively stable diplomatic procedures, with British-Dutch relations not being fully restored for another 25 years—by which point both nations would find themselves in a very different place in the geopolitical landscape.

Florent Etheve

April 2025

Citations

“1708: 7 Anne c.12: Diplomatic Privileges Act.” The Statutes Project, April 24, 2017. https://statutes.org.uk/site/the-statutes/eighteenth-century/1708-7-anne-c-12-diplomatic-privileges-act/.       

“Adams Papers Digital Edition.” Adams Papers Digital Edition - Massachusetts Historical Society. Accessed April 14, 2025. https://www.masshist.org/publications/adams-papers/view-index/consolidated/W/9300769. 

Baris, Paul. “Jan Walraad Graaf Van Welderen (1725-1807)" Stamboom Baris " Genealogie Online.” Genealogie Online. Accessed April 14, 2025. https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-baris/I76263.php. 

De Bruin, Renger. ‘An Elite within Dutch Nobility. The Teutonic Order Bailiwick of Utrecht, 1640-1840’ Cahiers de la Mediterranee 104, 2022: 161-176, https://doi.org/10.4000/cdlm.15756. 

Gibbs, Sir Vicary. MS45, Middle Temple Library, London.

Glenbervie, SD, Roscoe, H, Frere, W & Great Britain. Court of King’s Bench. Reports of cases argued and determined in the Court of King’s Bench, in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first [to twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, and twenty-fifth] years of the reign of George III. London: Reed and Hunter, 1813.

'House of Lords Journal Volume 27: December 1748', in Journal of the House of Lords Volume 27, 1746-1752(London, 1767-1830), British History Online, accessed April 14, 2025, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/lords-jrnl/vol27/pp251-257. 

“J.W. (GRAAF) van Welderen.” DBNL. Accessed April 4, 2025. https://www.dbnl.org/auteurs/auteur.php?id=weld010. Scott, H. M. “Sir Joseph Yorke, Dutch Politics and the Origins of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War.” The Historical Journal 31, no. 3 (1988): 571–89. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X00023499.

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Middle Temple Library's Past Exhibitions: Botany at Middle Temple

Middle Temple Library's autumn 2022 exhibition, Botany at the Middle Temple, which was curated in collaboration with The Linnean Society of London explored the fascinating topic of botany and plants at Middle Temple.

Plants provide the foundation for nearly all life on earth. The chloroplasts in green plants provide some 70% of our breathable oxygen and sit at the centre of countless ecosystems. By the same token, plants are essential to human life and civilization. Grains, pulses, fruits, and vegetables are staple foods around the world, and the calories from a single species of rice – Oryza sativa – sustain over 3.5 billion people. Plant fibres provide us with clothing, plant timbers provide us with building materials for shelter, and plant-derived compounds still provide the active ingredients in many of our most effective medicines.

Plants also provide the materials for some poisons, which have been used for centuries to commit heinous crimes. Ricin, for example, which is derived from castor beans, was used to poison the Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov in London in 1978. Even nicotine, found in nightshade plants (Solanaceae), can be a deadly neurotoxin when used in large quantities.

The Library’s Rare Book and Manuscript collections provide a wealth of materials to explore the fascinating topic of botany and plants – from sixteenth-century woodcuts illustrating medical botany, seventeenth-century tracts promoting food security, to murder trials. The Archive has a rich repository of documents that also tell the story of botany at the Inn, such as gardener’s bills and photographs. And, of course, the Inn has a beautiful garden with a rich and interesting past and present.

This exhibition linked materials from the Inn’s Archives, Rare Books, and Manuscript collections, combined with materials from the garden, to explore the splendid and diverse role that plants and botany play at the Inn. It was curated by Will Beharrell, Librarian at the Linnean Society, and Kate Jenrick and Renae Satterley, respectively Gardener and Librarian at Middle Temple, with the generous support of Victoria Hildreth, Assistant Archivist; Liane Owen, Book Conservator; and Siobhán Prendergast, Conservator.

To read more please see the online version of the exhibition.

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Middle Temple Library's Past Exhibitions: Watchmen, Charlies, Peelers: The Story of Policing

Middle Temple Library's 2023 Summer exhibition looked at the history of policing in London.

The story of policing in London is a mutable and ever-changing one. The earliest recorded effort to establish a formal system of policing can be traced back to the reign of King Edward I in his statute of 1285: The Statute of Winchester (13 Edw. I, St. 2). The statute – often referred to as Watch and Ward – received royal ascent on 8th October 1285. It sought to consolidate the various enduring regulations of peace that had existed from the law of Edgar and Canute, through to William the Conqueror, Henry II and Richard I, and reform the system of the watchmen. The statute enforced the need for maintenance of peace in the City of London by outlining that inhabitants of every district must take it upon themselves to remain vigilant and challenge criminal behaviour. It enshrined that those committing the ‘many evils, as murders, robberies, and manslaughters’ must be taken by the keepers of the peace to a place of confinement and punished only if the offence if proved. This loosely mirrors the law and order system in our society today.

To read more, please see the online version of this exhibition.

The police, wearing Peel’s early uniform, contend with a mob at at Coldbath fields, 1833 from Griffiths, Arthur. Mysteries of police and crime. In three volumes. London: Cassell, 1901-1902.

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Provenance mysteries: Las obras del maestro Fernan Perez de Oliva

Title page showing inscription in the gutter

The March 2025 provenance mystery focuses on Las obras del maestro Fernan Perez de Oliva, by Fernán Pérez de Oliva. The book was printed in Cordoba by Gabriel Ramos Bejarano. The printer originally started printing the work in Salamanca, before finishing it in Cordoba. This book is a collected volume of his works, including La tragedia: Hecuba Triste, Guadalquibir, and Dialogo en Latin y en Castellano amongst others. 

Fernán Pérez de Oliva (1494?-1533) was born in Cordoba, and became rector at Salamanca, after studying in there and in Paris, and Rome. He is best known now as a Spanish humanist writer, and as a young man adapted classical comedies into Spanish. He later went on to write original works, or dialogues, of which the Diálogo de la dignidad del hombre is probably the most well-known, and was published posthumously. He ostensibly wrote a biography of Cristoforo Colombo, now lost, which was a source for Fernado Colon’s biography of his father, Historia del S.D. Fernando Colombo.

Folio 8 (signature B4r) with annotations

The provenance mystery concerns the marginalia found on folio 8 (signature B4r). Unfortunately the book was trimmed when it was (poorly) rebound in the 19th century, so some of the annotations are missing. This has also affected the inscription that can be seen on the title page, now obscured by the gutter, which may provide a clue as to the scribe of these annotations.  

Folio 26 (signature D1v) with marginal markings

The book also has a lot of underlining, and use of marginal bracketing, possibly in the hand of Robert Ashley, the founder of the Library. But without further marginalia in his hand, it is difficult to determine definitively if this is his annotation.

The book is in need of restoration. If you are interested in sponsoring its repair, get in touch with the Library, and, as ever, if you have further comments on this provenance mystery please get in touch: library@middletemple.org.uk.

Renae Satterley

Head of the Library

March 2025

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Middle Temple Library's Past Exhibitions: Women in Law

Our Spring 2019 exhibition aimed to highlight women in the law by discussing the pioneers in the profession as well as ‘hidden’ women in professions associated with the law, displaying texts aimed at explaining the law in relation to women and legislative attempts to gain equal rights for women.

Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919

2019 marked the 100th anniversary of the passing of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919. The passing of this Act allowed women to become practising solicitors and barristers in an official capacity, and to join the Law Society and the Inns of Court: “a person shall not be disqualified by sex or marriage from the exercise of any public function, or from being appointed to or holding any civil or judicial office or post, or from entering or assuming or carrying on any civil profession or vocation, or for admission to any incorporated society (whether incorporated by Royal Charter or otherwise), and a person shall not be exempted by sex or marriage from the liability to serve as a juror”.

Image of Helena Normanton from The Women's Library at LSE Library

As a result of that legislation, the first woman to be called to the Bar on 10 May 1922 was Ivy Williams, a member of Inner Temple. Helena Normanton was Called to the Bar at Middle Temple in November 1922.

To read more please visit the online exhibition

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Middle Temple Library's Past Exhibitions: Dickens' Legal World

Painting of Charles Dickens by William Powell Frith (1859). The original is held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

In 2021, Middle Temple Library hosted an exhibition on one of the Inn's most famous past members: Charles Dickens’ Legal World.

Originally intended to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ death in 2020, the exhibition was rescheduled for 2021 due to the library’s closure during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The exhibition focuses on Dickens’ employment and engagements in the legal world, including his admission to The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in 1839 as a student.

Charles Dickens worked as a clerk and court reporter during a period of legal reform in the early Victorian era. His experience shaped some of his most famous works including The Pickwick Papers, Bleak House and Nicholas Nickleby. The Inns of Court are featured locations and the legal professionals he encountered inspired characters throughout his novels.

Illustration from Bleak House by Charles Dickens (1852-1854). Illustration by H. K. Browne

If you were unable to see the exhibition in person you can also enjoy this online presentation. These short films were created to demonstrate Dickens’ connections to the legal world and highlight some of his writings.

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Middle Temple Library Exhibition: Sixteenth to Eighteenth Century Spanish Connections at Middle Temple

Defeat of the Spanish Armada 1588, from A new and complete history of England by Temple Sydney. Science Photo Library, Image C011/6849.

Middle Temple Library’s January-April exhibition celebrates Middle Temple Library's significant collection of sixteenth and seventeenth century books published in Spain, and includes some items from the Inn's Archive on the War of the Spanish Succession of 1701 - 1714. The exhibition was curated by Middle Temple Librarian, Dr. Renae Satterley with contributions from Nicholas Ricardo, John Slater, and Ana Sáez-Hidalgo

An online version of the exhibition can be viewed here.

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This depiction of the "Hammersmith Ghost" murder can be found in Middle Temple Library's copy of 'The chronicles of crime; or, the new Newgate calendar' by Camden Pelham, 1887.

In the early 19th century a number of people claimed to have seen and even been attacked by a ghost in the Hammersmith area. The ghost was believed to be the spirit of a suicide victim who had been recently buried in Hammersmith churchyard. In January 1804 A local man, Francis Smith decided to take matters into his own hands and took his gun with him to find the ghost and put an end to his reign of terror. Here is sadly where things took a tragic turn.

While looking for the ghost Smith encountered local bricklayer, Thomas Millwood who was dressed in the traditional all white attire of his trade. Unfortunately for Millwood during this time ghosts were believed to dress in all white which was the colour of the linen shrouds that the dead were buried in. He had in fact already been mistaken for the ghost on a previous occasion and his worried wife had suggested that he should perhaps wear an overcoat to cover his clothes.

"Thomas, says I, as there is a piece of work about the ghost, and your cloaths [sic] look white, pray do put on your great coat, that you may not run any danger".

He didn't however, listen to his wife's warning and on encountering Smith on his return from visiting his mother and sister who lived locally he was shot in the jaw and was sadly killed.

This illustration is by "Phiz" who is probably best known as the illustrator of many Charles Dicken's works including David Copperfield, Martin Chuzzlewit and Bleak House.

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Provenance mysteries: Mr. William Shakespear’s comedies, histories, and tragedies

This edition’s provenance mystery features Mr. William Shakespear's comedies, histories, and tragedies, published in London in 1685. This edition of Shakespeare’s collected works is otherwise (better?) known as the ‘fourth folio’, and as can be seen here, includes the famous portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout. While the portrait that accompanied the ‘first folio’ (1623) appeared on the title page, in this edition it was included as a frontispiece.

The Library did not acquire this folio until the mid-nineteenth century. It first came into the collection between 1845 and 1862. The first listing of it in one of the Library’s catalogues is in 1862 (from a manuscript version of this 1863 catalogue: https://archive.org/details/cu31924021690510/page/550/mode/2up). Although the 1862/3 catalogue lists a first folio as being in the collection, this is in fact a reference to a nineteenth century facsimile of the first folio. We do not know how the Library acquired the fourth folio (whether through purchase or donation).

For some reason, when the book was rebound, or repaired in the twentieth century, one of the front end leaves was turned upside down, and glued to the title page. We know this because there is a price and code (probably a bookseller’s) pencilled onto it, in what was originally the upper right hand corner: ‘£5.5’. The code is difficult to decipher, but it is not a previous Library shelfmark. If the Library acquired the book through purchase, this could be the price it paid at the time for the book.  

Another intriguing discovery was the presence of small pieces of cut-out paper, possibly wallpaper, found in the gutter of the book. One theory is that someone was cutting shapes out, perhaps using the book as a stand, and these pieces of paper fell into the gutter.

But the provenance mystery we are querying concerns the signature on the front end-leaf, which was only recently discovered. The book was in terrible condition, and has recently undergone restoration. As part of that process, the conservation studio realised that one of the front end-leaves had been glued down onto the frontispiece portrait. They were able to separate out the two leaves, revealing an inscription: ‘Captain Bateman’ and ‘Capt Bateman his book’ followed by a date: either 1704, or 1794. We are fairly certain that the date is 1704, however, judging by the second photo of the inscription.

Without any further evidence than this, it is very difficult to determine who this Captain Bateman is. The date of 1704, if it is correct, could reveal an owner/reader who was interested in reading Shakespeare’s plays a little over 100 years after the author’s death.

As ever, if you have further comments please get in touch: library@middletemple.org.uk.

Renae Satterley

Librarian

November 2024

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This Halloween Middle Temple Library hosted a special rare booking viewing. Within the session our librarian Renae showcased some of the strangest things she has discovered while working with the Library's rare book collection. Items included books on witchcraft and venoms, as wells as items with printed initials that are illustrated by hand with comical figures.

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Middle Temple Library has created a short quiz on generated AI and the law. Why not take a couple of minutes to test your knowledge? The quiz can be found here.

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Middle Temple Library Exhibition: A Gentleman's Library

It was common for a learned gentleman to amass a private library consisting of thousands of volumes in the 16th and 17th centuries. Works on theology would have a dominant presence in these personal collections, but texts on history, literature, classics and the natural world would also be prevalent. Anyone engaging in society would accumulate material not only reflecting their professional life, but also the contemporary issues and discussions of the time. Although women were not excluded from education, men were more likely employed in professional fields, such as law, medicine and theology, which required access to books.  This exhibition displays some of Middle Temple Library’s rare books, including those donated from such private collections, visualising what a gentleman’s bookshelf looked like in these earlier centuries. The exhibition has been divided into subjects

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This incunabule (incunabulum) which was printed in Cologne in c. 1477, belonged to the collection of Robert Ashley (1565-1641). It is a biographical compendium of Church fathers and a history of the early Church. The printed initials are illustrated by hand with these comical figures. This mimics the way manuscripts were produced, a practice that continued beyond the advent of printing in circa 1450.

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Provenance mysteries: Opera, quae exstant L. Annaei Seneca

This edition’s provenance mystery features a three volume set of the collected work of Seneca: Opera, quae exstant L. Annaei Senecae ; cum integris Justi Lipsii, J. Fred. Gronovii, & selectis variorum commentariis illustrata ; accedunt Liberti Fromondi in quæstionum naturalium libros & [apokolokuntosin] notæ & emendationes, printed by Daniel Elzevir in Amsterdam in 1672. It includes commentaries by the noted Dutch humanist Justus Lipsius and botanist Johannes Fredericus Gronovius amongst others.

As can be seen in the photograph, the book is bound in vellum over boards with a gold-tooled armorial crest on the front (and back) boards. The coat-of-arms has the motto ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense,’ part of the British royal motto, and also used by knights and ladies of the Order of the Garter. The coat-of-arms is probably easily identifiable by someone with the knowledge and skills, but remains a mystery to this writer. There is no other provenance information in the book itself, and no record of its acquisition by the Library.

The book was published during the period when Daniel Elzevir worked with his cousin Louis Elzevir in Amsterdam, printing and publishing a range of classical Latin texts in octavo format, such as this one. The gilt armorial stamp and vellum binding sets this book apart from many of the books in our collection, which tend to have undecorated calf bindings. Vellum and parchment bindings are commonly found in continental libraries, but their presence is not as common in seventeenth century English libraries. Vellum was an expensive material to use as well, suggesting that this was a high status item for its owner.

The book features in the Library’s current exhibition: Mapping the Early Modern Inns of Court. This exhibition highlights some of the areas that the ‘Mapping the Early Modern Inns of Court’ group has explored in seminars and publications: recreation (fencing, revelling, and gaming); literary culture at the Inns; religion and preaching; learning the law and verbal skills; travel and exploration endeavours. Barristers regarded Seneca as a model orator and lawyer, and they frequently studied, quoted, and translated his works. They were taught Senecan verse while still at school, and continued to study, and translate his works as adults.

As ever, if you recognise this armorial device or have further comments please get in touch: library@middletemple.org.uk.

Renae Satterley

Librarian

August 2024

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Middle Temple Library Exhibition: Mapping the Early Modern Inns of Court

The Library holds three exhibitions a year. Our current exhibition, Mapping the Early Modern Inns of Court, will run throughout May-September 2024.

Explore a range of pre-1700 books from the Library, and items from the Inn’s Archive, highlighting highlighting topics such as recreation, literary culture at the Inns, religion and preaching, learning the law and verbal skills, travel and exploration endeavours.

The exhibition will run until September 2024 and can be viewed during the Library’s opening hours.

You can view the online exhibition here.