December 9th – A semely song
This medieval song takes us into a flourishing springtime garden, to hear the Christmas story. Our narrator leads us through lush greenery to a scene… Read More »December 9th – A semely song
Rare Book Collection
December 8th – Whole ‘quires’ of angels sing
Philosopher and admirer of Descartes, Henry More, provides us with today’s carol. Published under More’s pseudonym “Francisus Palaeopolitanus”, it appears towards the end of his… Read More »December 8th – Whole ‘quires’ of angels sing
December 7th – Singing like a bird
Perusing popular lyrics of bygone decades suggests that, unlike the carols with which we are more familiar today, many traditional carols eschewed wintery scenes and… Read More »December 7th – Singing like a bird
December 5th – It’s snow joke
Here’s a wee verse from a book of children’s rhymes by Hamish Hendry, from 1897, with illustrations by Alice. B. Woodward. “We made a man… Read More »December 5th – It’s snow joke
December 4th – A Christmas Carol (but not that one)
Exploring the rare books brought to light through a simple search for “carols” brought up a few oddballs, and this is one of them. This… Read More »December 4th – A Christmas Carol (but not that one)
December 3rd – Nautical or nice…
Today’s choice is taken from the charmingly titled “The poets’ Christmas: a collection of carols, poems, and plays for Christmastide. With a plea for a… Read More »December 3rd – Nautical or nice…
December 2nd – Carolling at St Andrews
The St Andrews student newspaper “College Echoes” from December 1925 provides what is simply described as a “traditional carol”: “Carol, carol, merrily, Christ is born… Read More »December 2nd – Carolling at St Andrews
‘Unhappy St Andrew’s Day’?
St Andrew’s day (30th November), historically a feast day for Andrew the apostle, officially became a bank holiday in Scotland in 2007. Previous blogs have… Read More »‘Unhappy St Andrew’s Day’?
Sternhold and Whittingham’s Metrical Psalms
In this blog, masters student Ellen Robertson takes a look at a copy of the ‘The whole booke of Psalmes’ in University Collections, which formed… Read More »Sternhold and Whittingham’s Metrical Psalms
A trip down memory lane – summer time in St Andrews
June brings in the summer and memories of the summer holidays. Using the guidebooks and photographs from our collections, in this post, we take a… Read More »A trip down memory lane – summer time in St Andrews
Poisonous books – Dangers from the past
An exhibition looking at hazardous substances found in historic bindings is currently on display at the Research Studio in the Wardlaw Museum. This blog highlights… Read More »Poisonous books – Dangers from the past
University of St Andrews Prize Books
This blog was first issued as an article in St Andrews in Focus. Students at the University of St Andrews in the 19th century aspired… Read More »University of St Andrews Prize Books