University of AberdeenSpecial Interests

Collections & Resources

Manuscript Materials

The archival holdings of the university comprise some 3,700 discrete collections which contain some 250,000 individual items, most of them relating to the history and culture of the North-east of Scotland. The main archival collections are now listed in a web-mounted database. The four main divisions of the archive most relevant to early modern studies are discussed separately on this site, namely the University archives, the collection of medieval manuscripts, the extensive records of local individuals, and the numerous collections of estate and family papers.

University Archive

View of Old Aberdeen

View of Old Aberdeen, showing King’s College in the right middleground and St Machar’s Cathedral in the central background. From John Slezer, Theatrum Scotiae, containing the prospects of Their Majesties castles and palaces, together with those of the most considerable towns and colleges, the ruins of many ancient abbeys, churches, monasteries and convents, within the said Kingdom (London: printed by John Leake for Abell Swalle, 1693). Original edition: Aberdeen SLA SB f91(41) Sle 1; facsimile (Towie Barclay Castle: Heritage Press, 1979), no. 284 of 500 copies: Aberdeen SLA SB f91(41) Sle2. King’s College still forms the heart of the Old Aberdeen campus.

The records of the University were created as part of its administrative activities, and thus represent important historical documents of not only the University of Aberdeen itself but also of the North-east of Scotland. Archival records comprise the administration of the University such as the Senatus Academicus, the Court and the Registry. They also comprise papers relating to University buildings; Papers relating to Marischal College bursaries, classes and professor’s fees; purchases, alumni, and library catalogues, etc. Many of the most important documents from the archives of King’s College and Marischal College are printed in: Fasti Aberdonenses: selections from the records of the University and King’s College of Aberdeen, 1494-1854, ed. C Innes (Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1854) and Fasti academiae Mariscallanae Aberdonensis: selections from the records of Marischal College and University, 1593-1860, vol.1, ed. P J Anderson (New Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1889).

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Medieval manuscripts

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Book of Hours, Dutch, first half of the 15th century (Aberdeen SLA MS 274). This is the first page of the Hours of All Saints. Given to King’s College in 1725 by James Fraser, a graduate of the College and Secretary to the Chelsea Hospital. For further detail, see M. R. James, Catalogue of the Medieval Manuscripts in the University Library, Aberdeen (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1932), no. 274.

The University currently possesses some two hundred medieval manuscripts, ranging in date from the eleventh to the sixteenth century, varying in nature from hard-working books of canon law to sumptuously illuminated artistic masterpieces, and concentrated thematically in theological and classical literature. Some of these treasures have been in the possession of the university from the beginning: the founder of King’s College, Bishop William Elphinstone (1431-1514), bequeathed around thirty manuscripts to King’s College. Thomas Reid (c. 1583-1624), Latin Secretary to James VI and I, gave a further twenty-five in 1624, most notably the thirteenth-century Aberdeen Bestiary. Others reached the university in individual benefactions: the beautiful fifteenth-century Burnet Psalter was bequeathed to Marischal College by one of its most famous graduates, the historian, theologian and advisor to William III, Gilbert Burnet (1643-1715), Bishop of Salisbury; and the Dutch book of hours illustrated opposite was given to King’s College by James Fraser in 1725. Most of the medieval manuscripts have a brief entry on the OPAC. The best guide is still M. R. James, Catalogue of the Medieval Manuscripts in the University Library, Aberdeen (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1932).

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Records of local individuals

Dr Thomas Reid

’Dr Thomas Reid, Moral Philosopher and one time Rector of King’s College, c. 1710’; oil on canvas; a copy, by an unknown artist, of a painting by Sir Henry Raeburn. Photo: Marischal Museum.

The University has attracted numerous personal archives of individuals, most of whom have been connected with the University of Aberdeen or the North-East. Pride of place in this category goes to the vast bulk of the extant papers of Thomas Reid (1710-96), the leader of the Common-Sense School of philosophy and, together with David Hume and Adam Smith, one of the central thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment. An electronic catalogue of these papers is in preparation; selections from them are available on the internet; and the Centre for the Study of Scottish Philosophy based in the Department of Philosophy serves as an international focus on Reid, Common Sense philosophy, and its international historical and contemporary significance. Special Libraries and Archives also house rich collections of manuscript and prointed material relating to Reid’s predecessors, teachers, close circle, and followers, including George Turnbull (1698-1748), George Campbell (1719-96), Alexander Gerard (1728-95), the Aberdeen Philosophical Society, and James Beattie (1735-1803).

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Estate and family papers

Estate

The largest collection of estate papers in the University’s collection are the Moncoffer Papers (MS MS 3175), pertaining to Duff House, near Banff, 70 km north of Aberdeen. Designed by the famous architect, William Adam (1689-1748) and commissioned in 1735 by William Duff Lord Braco (1697-1763), Duff House is perhaps the finest baroque country house in Scotland. As well as fine contemporary furniture and decorative objects, the House now contains the finest collection of pictures in Scotland north of Aberdeen, drawn from the National Galleries of Scotland and a number of private lenders. Photo: National Gallery of Scotland.

There is a vast number of estate and family papers as well as business archives, mainly from the North-east of Scotland, in Special Libraries and Archives. Unique and unparalleled primary research material for studying historical, social, and geographical topics as well as the literary heritage of the North-east is the main attraction of this rich resource. The various archives come in all shapes and sizes ranging from the huge Duff House Papers (AU MS 3175) to those of many prominent families of the North-east, such as Forbes and Hay of Seaton (AU MS 2414), Keith of Kintore (AU MS 3064), Skene of Rubislaw (AU MS 2720) and Fraser of Philorth (AU MS 3004), to name but a few.

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