Collaborative Doctoral Award (Open-Oxford-Cambridge) on William Camden’s ‘Annals’
Applications are invited for an Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP-funded Collaborative Doctoral Award at the University of Oxford in partnership with the British Library.
William Camden's Annales Rerum Anglicarum et Hibernicarum Regnante Elizabetha (commonly known as Camden's Annals) is one of the most valuable yet neglected sources on early modern Britain. Written in Latin and first published in two parts in 1615 and 1625, the Annals is the earliest full-scale history of Elizabeth I's reign and hailed as a landmark in the development of English historical writing. The work was arguably the single most important source in shaping the image of Elizabeth and her reign, creating a myth of Elizabeth as a Protestant heroine in the 17th century and influencing the interpretations of countless historians through succeeding centuries and into the present day. Yet the Annals has long been neglected, and crucial questions about its creation remain poorly understood, perhaps most importantly the authorship and process of creating the work.
This doctoral project will be the first comprehensive study of the making of Camden's Annals. The focus of the thesis will initially centre on the Cotton manuscript drafts (Faustina I-X), held at the British Library. The award holder would carry out a thorough study of the manuscripts, with the intent of producing an assessment of the authorship of the Annals, looking at the drafting process and identifying the scribes involved and the existing corrections and additions in other scholars’ hands.
The award holder will be based in Oxford, and will be supervised by Dr Alexandra Gajda and Dr Neil Younger, experts in Elizabethan political and intellectual history and Julian Harrison and Dr Andrea Clarke, Lead Curators of pre-1600 and Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts at the British Library.
The student will also become part of a thriving community of historians working on early modern history at Oxford and will enjoy access to the Bodleian Library, one of the foremost research libraries in the world, also home to a sizeable number of additional manuscripts relating to Camden’s Annals. The student will also be based at the British Library for a significant proportion of the studentship, where they will have a dedicated workspace, access to office equipment and services, and privileged staff-level access to the manuscripts collections, learning more about curatorial activities and the wider collection. Applicants should have knowledge of Latin to A Level or above. Knowledge of early modern palaeography and history is desirable but not essential.
Closing deadline: 8th January 2021
For more information on how to apply, please visit: