Celeberrimae Oxoniensis academiae … descriptio

W B Yeats, ‘All Souls’ Night’

This Treasure is paired with: W B Yeats, ‘All Souls’ Night’ (Oxford)

This is the oldest map of Oxford in the Bodleian’s collections, engraved by Augustine Ryther from a drawing by Ralph Agas (1578). Agas was a land surveyor who promoted estate maps as a useful alternative to written surveys. The map of the city is oriented to the south, a feature copied in maps of Oxford until the late 18th century. Agas was particular about using geometrical and arithmetical techniques for exact measurements, and the buildings are drawn in perspective.

This Treasure isn’t currently on display in the Weston Library.