Following on from last year’s project with Alice and Indre, interns from the School of Mathematics, this year we had two more interns working with us, again under the supervision of Dr Isobel Falconer, Reader in the…
In Greek mythology the Cyclopes were giant one-eyed creatures. The brothers Brontes (thunder), Steropes (lightning) and Arges (thunderbolt) in Hesiod’s Theogony provide Zeus with the thunderbolt. The most well-known…
The serpentine water monster from Greek and Roman mythology, the Hydra, has a dog-like body and multiple heads – ranging from seven to nine – one of which is said to be immortal. One of the twelve labours of Heracles…
Unable to pick just one of the fantastic beasts shown in this woodcut illustration, we decided to share them all! This chart of sea serpents and monsters is from Münster’s Cosmographia universalis (the 1550 Basel…
As the first University in Scotland, we thought it would be fitting to start the St Andrews Library’s Special Collections advent calendar with the most quintessentially Scottish of fantastic beasts – the unicorn. With…
Last year we brought you an advent calendar of Christmas and winter themed images from our collections. For 2019, we have decided to do something a little different for the theme of our advent calendar – Fantastic…
In the final report by our 2019 visiting scholars, Karie Schultz reflects on her time at St Andrews. Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks at the University of St Andrews Library’s Special…
Ines Neffgen from Bonn spent last year in St Andrews as part of her PhD programme, working with Professor Frank Müller. She asked to volunteer in Special Collections whilst in St Andrews as she would like a career as…
One of our 2019 Visiting Scholars, Daniel Belteki of the University of Kent, shares with us some of his research into James David Forbes and his astronomical connections. James David Forbes, Principal of the United…
The appearance of carved pumpkins (or turnips in Scotland), spooky decorations and plentiful sweet treats marks the arrival of Halloween. In the Christian calendar, Halloween, or its many variants Hallowe’en,…