The vocalized edition of the Mishnah (the ancient compilation of Jewish oral teachings) published in Amsterdam in 1646 has long been an object of fascination to scholars. The story of its creation at the confluence of Jewish publishing and Christian millenarian enthusiasm is well-known. However, it was long believed that seventeenth-century Christian readers ignored the book, a view that has only recently begun to be challenged. This article joins that challenge and introduces a vital new source: a copy in the Bodleian Library that has been heavily annotated by a Christian reader, who the article demonstrates was Edward Bernard (1638 – 1697), Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford University and a passionate student of languages. Discussion of the astonishingly rich annotations reveals that this copy—and therefore this edition more broadly—was a crucial linchpin in the history of Christian study of the Mishnah in the seventeenth century.

Henry Savile's Rerum Anglicarum scriptores (1596), his collection of writings of medieval historians, was essential reading for Britain's antiquaries for generations. However, it has not generally figured largely in histories of British antiquarianism and its publication has seemed a puzzling episode in Savile's scholarly career. This article draws on newly-discovered or redated print and manuscript evidence to illuminate the nexus of politics and patronage from which the book emerged. Exploring Savile's place within British antiquarianism, his practice as an editor of medieval manuscripts, and the volume's publication in Frankfurt, the essay argues that Savile's Scriptores constitutes a significant departure from earlier sixteenth-century traditions of medieval textual editing.

Drawing on the evidence of correspondence and draft papers preserved primarily in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, this essay gives a detailed account of the genesis and editing of one of seventeenth-century British antiquarianism's foremost works: the revised version of William Camden's Britannia, published in 1695. It pays particular attention to Edmund Gibson's role as editor of the project and demonstrates the diversity of kinds of antiquarian scholarship to be found within the book (showing that William Camden offered a wide-ranging model for antiquarian practice). The article then situates the Britannia within the context of the religio-political divisions provoked by the Glorious Revolution, showing how Edmund Gibson attempted to navigate those divisions. It concludes by assessing the 1695 Britannia's place within the history of antiquarian scholarship.

This article gives an account of the oriental learning of the cleric and translator of the King James Bible, Miles Smith (1552/53-1624), exploring the motivations for his learning and its impact on his theological thought and translation practice.

The article focuses on editing of works of Jewish historian Josephus by Edward Bernard, Professor of Astronomy and expert on Oriental languages at Oxford University, and its scholarly demand in Europe. Topics discussed include Bishop of Oxford, John Fell wanting to publish work of Josephus, Bernard taking help from professor Hiob Ludolf and letter to Johann Andreas Bosius, Professor of History at University of Jena, to help Bernard with the project for Oxford University Press.