Trinity College Library, Cambridge

Lise Meitner (1878-1968) was an Austrian physicist whose pioneering work led to the discovery of nuclear fission. Find out all about her story in our latest blog post!

trinitycollegelibrarycambridge.wordpress.com/2025/08/01/s...

Medieval manuscript with an eel and a heron painted in at the end of lines of text. The eel is two lines above the heron, and it looks furry. The heron has an awesome crown of spikes, and seems to have no legs. Both animals are...ahhh...aspirational. As if the scribe had never really seen either an eel or a heron, but bravely drew them anyway. Kinda like amateur anthropology. The heron is looking up at the eel. The eel is looking down. You can easily imagine them as Mr. and Mrs. Brady in the Brady Bunch intro. Source: Wren Digital Library, B.11.22, f.40v

Good morning, friends. I've got a rather busy day, so I'm afraid I must be quick with the eel post.

But don't worry, friends...I won't leave you eel-less. Please enjoy this wonderful interlinear eel and heron. Perhaps they're having a conversation about the evils of lightning.
🗃️🧪

We've all been there!

A bad day at the printing press, London 1660.
lib-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/Record/fbfb3...

Another day, another ancient artefact...

Image of the front page of a booklet titled 'Cambridge Exhibition: Fascism & War' produced for an exhibition at St Andrew's Hall. The cover shows two illustrated hand prints, one shaded, and another blacked out with ink. Shadows of the two hands are made with lines from a newspaper column.

A black and white picture of John Cornford whilst he was a student at Trinity College in the 1930s.

Our new exhibition, '𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦!' investigates socialist anti-fascism and the anti-war movement from 1914-1939.

Explore the history of the international socialist movement, from letters by Spanish Civil War martyr John Cornford to a first edition 𝘋𝘢𝘴 𝘒𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 signed by Marx!

Zoomed-in image of a richly decorated medieval manuscript, featuring a tunic-dressed man waving an orange cloth in the direction of a large white moth.

Happy #marginaliamonday! This medieval man has been chasing away a moth for over 700 years...

Clearly some things never change!🦋

(Trinity College MS B.11.22)

Page one of a letter from Florence Nightingale to Richard Monckton Milnes.

Page two of a letter from Florence Nightingale to Richard Monckton Milnes.

A typed transcription of the letter reading: 'Dear Mr. Milnes, I thank you very much for your remembrance of me in the beautiful grapes & peaches. You lent us once at Embley, fifty years ago, Currer Bell's Poems. There was one, called, I think, the Captive, which struck me very much. I have since tried to get the book. But it is out of print. Could you lend me the book, if you have it still & by you? Yours affectionately, F. Nightingale.

Did you know that Florence Nightingale had a soft spot for the Brontë sisters' poems?

In this letter to Richard Monckton Milnes, she asks to borrow his copy of 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘳, 𝘌𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘭.

Anne’s poem “The Captive Dove” especially moved her.

(Houghton 18/136)

Passport signed by the Committee for Public Safety in France, 1794, including Maximilien Robespierre.

On this #BastilleDay, we get a glimpse into revolutionary history with the signature of one of the most influential figures of the French Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre.

He signed this passport in May 1794, just two months before his own execution.

Trinity College: Cullum P 176

This is absolutely amazing! (I can see the Wren peeking out in the back!)

Lovely post Izzy! From one admin to another - you are doing a great job😊

The window view from outside the Wren Library, looking down upon a curving river with a grassy bank and overhanging tree. A punting boat that has just travelled under a bridge appear in the distance.

☀️It's a sunny (and hot!) day in Cambridge today, as we look forward to welcoming thousands of prospective students for the University Open Days.

🥛If you are visiting Trinity, make sure you pop by the Wren, and don't forget to stay hydrated!

W is for Wren Library and their window view #WrenLibrary @trincolllibcam.bsky.social

Letter from Amelia Griffiths containing four specimens of seaweed pressed and pasted onto a sheet in a variety of shades of pink and maroon. Her scrawl contains descriptions of locations an characteristics of her findings.

Second leaf of a letter from Amelia Griffiths containing 3 sections of a seaweed specimen pressed and pasted onto a sheet alongside her writing.

These beautiful pressed seaweeds are the work of 19th-century botanist Amelia Griffiths. Sent to Dawson Turner, writer of 𝘚𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘪, around 1808, this volume is currently on display as part of our exhibition 𝘐𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵: 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦’𝘴 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘴.

Amazing pictures!🍎

A picture taken from a distance of a small bird stuck on top of the decorative roofing in the Wren Library entrance hall.

A close up picture of a bird with black and green feathers resting in the grass.

We had an unexpected visitor at the library yesterday!🐦
Some of our librarians turned into temporary bird rescuers when this little fellow got stuck in the roof.

With some teamwork, Otto (as we named him) was rescued, had a little rest, then flew off into the gardens once again.

The full collection of illustrations in 'Costumes of the University of Cambridge' can be viewed on the Wren Digital Library: mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/manuscripts/...

An illustration of two men wearing the traditional academic dress of a Fellow Commoner at Trinity College, Cambridge. The men wear suits underneath their blue gowns, which feature detailed beading patterns, and matching mortarboards.

An illustration of two men wearing the traditional academic dress of a Bachelor of Arts graduate at the University of Cambridge. The men wear suits underneath their black gowns, which feature oversized white fur-lined hoods and matching mortarboards.

Congratulations to all our students graduating today! Everyone at the Library wishes you the very best for the future. 🍾🥂

Academic dress has a long history in Cambridge, and these students from 1862 are rocking the same look students wear today!

(Trinity College, X.26.31)

The solution appears below; the full manuscript is available through the Wren Digital Library: mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/manuscripts/...

Chess puzzle handwritten by Vladimir Nabokov. Sent to R. G. C. McVittie for publication in The Trinity Review, Lent term, 1969.

This brilliant chess problem was composed by Vladimir Nabokov for publication in The Trinity Review (Lent Term, 1969). Recently catalogued, the handwritten manuscript offers a glimpse into Nabokov’s enduring passion for the game.

Using his key below, can you find the mate in two?

(Add. MS a/772)

A poster detailing the timeline of the exhibition: 'In Her Element: Stories of Science's Female Trailblazers' is in the foreground. The background includes bays of books in the Wren and open exhibition cases with items inside.

Letter from Mary Somerville to William Whewell, 7 June 1832, featured in the exhibition (Add MS.a/212/124)

From tomorrow, the Wren Library welcomes a brand-new exhibition: 'In Her Element: Stories of Science's Female Trailblazers'.⚗️Highlights include Mary Somerville's letters, Hertha Ayrton's papers, and Lise Meitner's drafts. As always, we are open to visitors from 12-2pm!

A close-up of a medieval bestiary, featuring a framed man pointing down to a small dragon at his feet.

How do you train a dragon? Just give them a stern talking-to... just like this man spotted in a 12th-century manuscript. (Trinity College, Cambridge, R.14.9)

#HowToTrainYourDragon

A book and DVD display in the modern student library; includes bunting of a range of LGBTQ+ flags.

Celebrating #PrideMonth2025 in the Library with a selection of our favourite LGBTQ+ films and books! 🏳️‍🌈

A photograph of a young James Clerk Maxwell holding a colour wheel. (Add MS b.52/4)

Scottish physicist and mathematician, James Clerk Maxwell was born #otd in 1831. He is known for his work on electromagnetism, but his interests ranged from colour vision to Saturn’s rings.

He entered Trinity as a student in 1850, later becoming a Fellow and the first Cavendish Professor.

Now this is a legacy to be proud of.

Page of a medieval manuscript showing a comical illustration of a man in the margin depicted holding up the annotation above him.

Appreciation post for this little guy in our manuscript of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica.

He's been holding up this annotation in the margin for more than 500 years!! 💪 Not all heroes wear capes... some wear tunics.

(Trinity College MS R.7.3)

👹 Possessed by demons? What a nuisance. But don't worry this herbal remedy will sort you out!

The video features a 14th century German Herbarium (MS O.2.48) from @TrinCollCam, Cambridge, on display at our #CuriousCures exhibition.

🎟️FREE tickets here: loom.ly/kVqsPRY

One page from the 1483 edition of The Play of Chess, featuring a hand-coloured woodcut illustration. the illustration depicts two men playing chess.

Happy #WoodcutWednesday! This is a hand-coloured woodcut illustration from one of Trinity's incunables (books printed before 1501).

This 1483 edition of The Play of Chess by Jacobus de Cessolis was translated by William Caxton, and it is currently part of the Library's Fun and Games display.

🔎 The manuscript is also fully digitised and can be viewed here: mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/manuscripts/...

Certainly! This image shows one of many illuminated pages included in a Persian Manuscript of love poems! The text is 15th-century and is titled, Khamsah-i Jāmī. The artist's identity is unknown.

A full record for this specific manuscript can be found here: www.fihrist.org.uk/catalog/manu...