BS/1/16/3

BS/1/16/3

File

Commonplace Book

Common Place Book

1860-1865

1 exercise book

A soft-bound stitched exercise book, 195mm x 160mm x 18mm with leather covers. A hand written title page, "Common Place Book", and "John Wordsworth Commoners Winton . . . 1860", dating the origin of the book to Wordsworth's time at Winchester College as a member of the "Commoners" houses (as opposed to "College"). After the title page, four pages headed "Common Place Book - Contents", following which the remaining pages are numbered 1 to 109, and the entries in the book are listed with page numbers in the list of contents. The entries are varied, but typical for a nineteenth century public schoolboy or undergraduate. There are quotations from the Bible and from classical and modern authors including Shakespeare (The Winter's Tale), Southey (Joan of Arc, 1796) and Tennyson ("Morte d'Arthur", from Poems, 1842). Other entries include "Genealogy of the Caesars", "Rivers described in Horace", "Shropshire words", "Horse shoes", "Greek Education", "ARYAN FAMILY (of languages), "Popular Prophecies", "Welsh words", "Mesmerism","Passages concerning the Phoenicians", "Greek and Latin Synonyms", "English Etymologies" and "Latin grammar questions". Two entries are dated: "J.W. April. 1861" (page 59) and "J.W. March. 1861" (page 83). There are references to what appear to be past scholarship examination papers:"Trinity Scholarship 1853" and "Ex[eter] Coll[ege] Schol[arship] 1860". It seems unlikely that the book was used after Wordsworth graduated from New College, Oxford in 1865.

English
Greek
Latin

Wordsworth, John