The works of Ovid
The Brotherton Ovid
Learn about the remarkable Brotherton Collection copy of the works of Ovid, printed in Parma in 1477. Discover who owned the books, and who might have added the hundreds of marginal annotations and colourful illustrations.
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Incunabula – the first European printed books
Notes on incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds.
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The Brotherton Ovid
Notes on the unique aspects of three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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Condition and binding
Notes on the condition and binding of three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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Provenance - who owned the books?
Notes on three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477. FInd out more about the provenance of the books.
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Dietrich von Plieningen
Dietrich von Plieningen was a former owner of three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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Leonhard von Eck
Leonhard von Eck was a former owner of three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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Oswald von Eck
Oswald von Eck was a was a former owner of one of the items held at Special Collections at Leeds University, a three volume set of the works of Ovid printed in Parma in 1477. He added the numerous annotations and drawings that appear in the margins.
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Georg Franz Burkhard Kloss
Georg Franz Burkhard Kloss was a former owner of three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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William Horatio Crawford
William Horatio Crawford was a former owner of three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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Edward Allen Brotherton
Edward Allen Brotherton acquired one of the most remarkable items held at Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. This set of three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) contains the works of the Roman poet Ovid. The books were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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Other individuals associated with the books
People associated wtih the copy of the works of Ovid printed in Parma in 1477 and held at Special Collections at the University of Leeds.
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Sebastian Linck
Sebastian Linck is associated with three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon is associated with three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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Samuel Leigh Sotheby
Samuel Leigh Sotheby is associated with three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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J. Alexander Symington
J. Alexander Symington is associated with three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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Ovid the poet
Notes on three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477. FInd out more about the Roman poet Ovid.
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The works of Ovid
Notes on the works of Ovid. Part of a digital resource on three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477.
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Medieval and Renaissance reception
Part of a digital resource on three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477. Learn more about the reception of Ovid's works in the medieval and Renaissance periods.
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The annotations
Notes on three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477. Discover more about the annotations that accompany the printed text.
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Heroides
Notes on three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477. Discover more about the annotations that accompany the Heroides
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Amores
Notes on three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477. Discover more about the annotations that accompany the Amores
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Art of Love and Cures for Love
Notes on three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477. Discover more about the annotations that accompany the Art of Love and Cures for Love
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Fasti
Notes on three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477. Discover more about the annotations that accompany the Fasti
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The drawings
Notes on the visual marginalia in three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477. Discover more about the drawings that accompany the printed text.
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List of illustrations to the Fasti
Notes on the visual marginalia in three incunabula (books printed in Europe before 1501) kept in Special Collections in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. The books contain the works of the Roman poet Ovid and were printed by Stephanus Coralllus in Parma in 1477. List of illustrations to the Fasti.
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[Opera] Volume 1
View a high-resolution digitised version of the first volume of Ovid's Opera, held in Special Collections at Leeds University Library.
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[Opera] Volume 2
View a high-resolution digitised version of the first volume of Ovid's Opera, held in Special Collections at Leeds University Library.
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[Opera] Volume 3
View a high-resolution digitised version of the first volume of Ovid's Opera, held in Special Collections at Leeds University Library.
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Ovid's first work, Amores, was a collection of love poems appeared in 16 BC, although the three-book form as it is now know is a later revision.
Next came the Heroides, a collection of fictional letters written by mythological heroines.
His Ars amatoria (The Art of Love) was a humorous "how-to" manual dispensing seduction tips to both men and women; its sequel, the Remedia amoris (Cures for Love) advised readers on how to combat love's ill-effects.
Then Ovid set about writing his great epic, the Metamorphoses, which brought together 250 mythological stories of transformation to form a continuous narrative stretching from the beginning of time to the (then) present day.
A companion poem, the Fasti, was based on the Roman calendar and the rituals and origin stories associated with it. It was apparently left unfinished, covering only the first six months of the year.
In 8 AD, Ovid was exiled from Rome to Tomis on the shores of the Black Sea (now in modern-day Romania). His account of this event in his poems from exile (Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto) emphasise the role of Augustus in personally ordering the punishment.
What did Ovid do? He tells us that he was being punished for "carmen" ("a poem") and "error" ("a mistake"). The "poem" was the scandalous Art of Love, evidently seen by Augustus as offensive to public morals.
The "mistake" is less certain, since Ovid is deliberately vague in his references to it. The question has tantalised readers through the centuries, and is one that will probably remain unresolved.