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 Medieval Worlds residential is back! After a successful launch last year, The Parker Library and the Corpus Admissions Office is excited to announce that nominations for the this year's iteration are now open. 

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. 

When is the residential?

Tuesday 9 April 14:00 - Wednesday 10 April 14:00 (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 be nominated but you’re worried about covering the cost of transport).

Am I eligible?

Nominated students must be: 

• In Y12 (Y13/S5 in NI/Scotland) at a UK maintained 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. 

How do I sign up?

Students need to write a short response to this set question and then get a teacher to submit this nomination form. The deadline for submitting this form (including your written repsonse) is 17:00 Friday 1 March.  (Please note that we cannot accept written responses separately, they must be included with the form).

To complete the nomination form the following information is required:

• Student's predicted/on course for grades
• Student's personal details such as DOB and home post code
• A short reference from a relevant subject teacher
• Student's written response to the set question

We will notify all successful nominees during the w/c 4 March.

What last year's students said

"It was such an enlightening experience that gave me the confidence to explain my ideas to others like me about subjects I’d never considered before: it allowed me an opportunity to interact with historical artefacts that otherwise I wouldn’t have had, and the welcome that I received throughout the residential really helped me to seriously imagine myself studying at Cambridge."

"I found the course incredibly inspiring. I feel very grateful to have been given the opportunity to engage with the medieval world in a completely different way from that of my study of History at A level through the introduction to the Parker Library's incredible collection of manuscripts and the inspiring academic sessions. The residential sparked my interest in medieval manuscripts, an interest which I don’t think I would have otherwise found and one that I’m excited to explore further."

"The whole thing was just brilliant and everybody was so welcoming. Felt amazing being able to talk to other people interested in the same things as me!"