Professor Dawson has been busy helping fellow academics to identify a bible that was thought to be owned by John Knox. Image Staff at the University of Glasgow Archives and Special Collections have identified a previously unknown book once owned by Scottish religious reformerJohn Knox. The large folio Latin and Hebrew Old Testament published in 1546 in Basel, Switzerland, appears to bear the reformer’s signature dated 1561 on the reverse of the title page. Printed books are inextricably linked with the Reformation: from published Scripture in the vernacular and polemical ‘pamphlet wars’ between clerics holding different confessional viewpoints to the large illustrated works memorialising those ‘martyred’ for their faith, printed books were central to those on both sides of the confessional divide. Large book collections were amassed during the sixteenth century packed with works – often annotated by their owners – tracing the controversies. Yet frustratingly for Reformation historians, all too often these libraries don’t survive intact having been broken up for one reason or another. John Knox’s library is just one such example. Professor Dawson was called upon by fellwo academics to add her extensive knowledge on the subject of John Knox in helping to identify if this bible was in fact owned by John Knox. You can read more about this find on the University of Glasgow library blog. This article was published on 2024-03-19
