Bodley Medal
Encyclopedia
The Bodley Medal is awarded by the Bodleian Library
at Oxford University to individuals who have made "outstanding contributions...to the worlds of communications and literature" and who have helped the library achieve "the vision of its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley, to be a library not just to Oxford University but also to the world".
and bears the inscription 'TH BODLY EQ AVR PVBL BIBLIOTH OXON FVNDATOR', which translates 'Sir Thomas Bodley, Founder of the Public Library at Oxford'. The reverse reads 'R P LITERARIAE AETERNITAS', which means "The Eternity of the Republic of Letters'. It shows a female figure, probably representing the Republic of Letters
, bearing a head in each hand. The medal is signed 'Warin' on the obverse.
. It was designed by Claude Warin, a leading medal-maker of the seventeenth century. Library accounts for 1646 contain an entry - 'Item, to ye painter that drew Sir Thomas Bodley's picture, and to Mr. Warren that made his medale, to each of them 2s'. The original medal is gilt, probably on bronze. In 2002, on the quatercentenary anniversary of the Bodleian Library
, the copper metal saved from a renovation of the library's original roof was given to the Royal Mint
to create a limited set of replicas of the original medal. After a hiatus of nearly 400 years, the library started granting awards of the Bodley Medal, beginning with Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the world wide web), Baroness P.D. James (authoress), and Sir Rupert Murdoch
, (Chairman of the News Corporation
).
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
at Oxford University to individuals who have made "outstanding contributions...to the worlds of communications and literature" and who have helped the library achieve "the vision of its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley, to be a library not just to Oxford University but also to the world".
Description of the Medal
The medal's obverse shows the right profile of Thomas BodleyThomas Bodley
Sir Thomas Bodley was an English diplomat and scholar, founder of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.-Biography:...
and bears the inscription 'TH BODLY EQ AVR PVBL BIBLIOTH OXON FVNDATOR', which translates 'Sir Thomas Bodley, Founder of the Public Library at Oxford'. The reverse reads 'R P LITERARIAE AETERNITAS', which means "The Eternity of the Republic of Letters'. It shows a female figure, probably representing the Republic of Letters
Republic of Letters
Republic of Letters is most commonly used to define intellectual communities in the late 17th and 18th century in Europe and America. It especially brought together the intellectuals of Age of Enlightenment, or "philosophes" as they were called in France...
, bearing a head in each hand. The medal is signed 'Warin' on the obverse.
History
The original medal was engraved in 1646 to honor Sir Thomas Bodley who rebuilt the first public library at Oxford in 1602, now called the Bodleian LibraryBodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
. It was designed by Claude Warin, a leading medal-maker of the seventeenth century. Library accounts for 1646 contain an entry - 'Item, to ye painter that drew Sir Thomas Bodley's picture, and to Mr. Warren that made his medale, to each of them 2s'. The original medal is gilt, probably on bronze. In 2002, on the quatercentenary anniversary of the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, the copper metal saved from a renovation of the library's original roof was given to the Royal Mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...
to create a limited set of replicas of the original medal. After a hiatus of nearly 400 years, the library started granting awards of the Bodley Medal, beginning with Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the world wide web), Baroness P.D. James (authoress), and Sir Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
, (Chairman of the News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
).
Laureates
, the restruck Bodley Medal has been awarded to only 13 individuals.| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Alan Bennett Alan Bennett Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years... (author and actor) |
| 2005 | Carl Pforzheimer III (businessman and philanthropist) Helmut Friedlaender Helmut Friedlaender Helmut Nathan Friedlaender was an American lawyer and financial adviser who collected rare books.Friedlaender was born in 1913 in Berlin, Germany. In 1933 he fled to Lausanne, Switzerland afraid that Hitler was about to seal Germany's borders. It was at Lausanne that he received a doctorate in... (businessman and philanthropist) William Scheide (scholar) |
| 2004 | Lord Richard Attenborough Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi... (film director) Professor Seamus Heaney Seamus Heaney Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes... (poet) Sir Thomas Stoppard (playwright and screen writer) |
| 2003 | Pat Mitchell Pat Mitchell Pat Mitchell is the current President and Chief Executive Officer of The Paley Center for Media in New York City and the former President and CEO of Public Broadcasting Service .... (President & CEO of Public Broadcasting Service Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.... ) Dr. Oliver Sacks Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks, CBE , is a British neurologist and psychologist residing in New York City. He is a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University, where he also holds the position of Columbia Artist... (physician and writer) Dr. John Warnock John Warnock John Edward Warnock is an American computer scientist best known as the co-founder with Charles Geschke of Adobe Systems Inc., the graphics and publishing software company. Dr. Warnock was President of Adobe for his first two years and Chairman and CEO for his remaining sixteen years at the company... (Co-founder of Adobe Systems Adobe Systems Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States... ) |
| 2002 | Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the world wide web) Baroness P. D. James P. D. James Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL , commonly known as P. D. James, is an English crime writer and Conservative life peer in the House of Lords, most famous for a series of detective novels starring policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.-Life and career:James... (novelist) Sir Rupert Murdoch Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate.... (Chairman of the News Corporation News Corporation News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster... ) |