'The Bodley Medal was first engraved in 1646 to honour Sir Thomas Bodley, the founder of the Bodleian Library. It was designed by the Frenchman, Claude Warin, one of the leading medal-makers of the 17th century ...
'When the roof of Duke Humfrey's Library was being replaced during the major renovations in the Library at the millennium, the idea was conceived of using the metal from the Library's roof to create a limited number of replicas of the original Medal. The new Medal was struck in 2001 at the Royal Mint, to celebrate the restoration of Duke Humfrey's Library, the first purpose-built library in the University founded in 1438 and endowed by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (fourth son of Henry IV).
'The medal is made from copper salvaged from the old roof of the building. The obverse of the medal shows the right profile of Thomas Bodley and bears the inscription "TH•BODLY•EQ•AVR•PVBL•BIBLIOTH•OXON•FVNDATOR", which translates "Sir Thomas Bodley, Founder of the Public Library in Oxford". The reverse reads "A•P•LITERARIAE•AETERNITAS", which translates "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.'
Source: Bodleian Library website, http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/
Sighted: 02/04/2012
A column canvassing current literary news including a report on Michael Farrell's win in the 2012 Peter Porter Poetry Prize and the awarding of the Bodley Medal to Peter Carey.
Jason Steger also notes the on-going ramifications of the out-of-court settlement following a dispute between Sally Morrision and Judith Pugh. (For further background, see 'Bookmarks' in the Age, 'Life & Style' section (10 March 2012): 35.)
