In 1723 the clergyman, traveller, amateur botanist and Lincoln alumnus Sir George Wheler (1651-1724) gave Lincoln a collection of 44 Greek and Latin manuscripts, among which were 37 Greek manuscripts he had bought while travelling in Greece and the Levant almost half a century earlier. These range in date from the 10th to the late 16th centuries and include a diverse assortment of biblical, liturgical and patristic texts, several of which are illuminated and one of which is unique. This talk will look in detail at what is still one of the most significant bequests to Lincoln’s library and will be followed by an exhibition.

Nigel Wilson is Emeritus Fellow and Tutor in Classics at Lincoln. As a palaeographer he has also made important contributions to Byzantine and Italian Renaissance studies. His current projects include an edition of an important Byzantine text and work on deciphering a palimpsest which contains part of a treatise by the ancient grammarian Herodian at the Austrian National Library.