Aspiring English and History students: come and be immersed in the world of medieval manuscripts and texts at our one night residential, hosted in conjunction with the Parker Library.

The programme will include an introduction to manuscripts, how to handle them, how to interrogate them, and what we can learn not only from what is contained within the text but also from them as objects as well. There will be workshops led by University of Cambridge subject specialists, covering narrower themes and topics relating to the further study of the medieval aspects of History, English and Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. 

The internationally renowned Parker Library contains the third largest collection of ancient manuscripts in the UK and has been housed in Corpus since the late 16th century after Matthew Parker (1504-1575), Archbishop of Canterbury and former Master of Corpus Christi, left his extensive personal library of manuscripts and books to the College in his will. This will be the magnificent setting for much of the residential.

When is the residential?

Monday 3 April 2pm - Tuesday 4 April 2pm (overnight accommodation provided in College)

Who is it for?

Year 12 students (Year 13 in Northern Ireland/ S5 in Scotland) who are considering studying English, History or Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at university, and who are interested in the medieval aspects of these courses.

What’s the cost?

No cost! All you’ll need to cover is your transport to and from Cambridge. (Email us if you want to sign up but you’re worried about covering the cost of transport).

Am I eligible?

Nominated students must be in their penultimate year of school, on track to achieve A*AA at A level, and studying English Literature and/or History at A Level (or equivalent). If the residential is oversubscribed then priority will be given to students who come from ‘widening participation’ backgrounds or schools that have less experience with supporting Oxbridge applications.

How do I sign up?

Students need to be nominated by a teacher via this nomination form by Friday 3 March. Due to limited spaces on the residential, a maximum of 2 students per school can be nominated. We’ll then confirm whether or not you have been allocated a place in w/c 6 March.

Want to know more? If you want to find out more about this residential before you ask a teacher to nominate you then email admissions@corpus.cam.ac.uk