The Building Accounts of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 1517-18 [Hardback]

Corpus Christi College, Oxford, was founded in 1517 by Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester. He intended it to educate students in classical Greek, Latin and Hebrew, and their literature; Erasmus praised it as a scholarly achievement, and a beacon of Renaissance classical learning.
The heart of this book is an edition of the original fortnightly building site accounts of 1517-1518, giving us a window onto a late-medieval building site, with its details of early sixteenth-century building materials, craft techniques, project management skills and working conditions, including siesta periods and sub-contracting. The introduction describes Fox's long road to 1517: his motives far more complicated than a bishop looking for worldly fame and heavenly reward. Born into a Lincolnshire yeoman, Fox studied law at Oxford, rebelled against Richard III and became Henry VII's closest political adviser. Taken together, they provide a detailed account of the foundation of the College, both literal and metaphorical.

Introduction
Richard Fox
The Building Accounts
The Manuscript
Editorial Note
Transcript of the Manuscript
Appendix 1: Chronology of Bishop Fox's plans and the building of Corpus Christi College
Appendix 2: A set of missing building accounts
Appendix 3: Purchase of land from master mason, John Lebons
Appendix 4: Indenture of 30 June 1513 between Bishop Fox and the Prior and Convent of St Swithun's Priory, Winchester
Appendix 5: John and Jane Huddleston and the Manor of Temple Guiting
Appendix 6: Carved details in the Hall at Corpus
Appendix 7: Fox's endowment of the College. Letter to Fox concerning property, 22 December 1516
Appendix 8: Educational opportunities offered to the sons of Fox's craftsmen
Appendix 9: The text of 1514 Artificers Act, with commentary and comment on working conditions
Appendix 10: Craftsmen and suppliers of materials listed in the Corpus building accounts
Bibliography
Index