Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Oxford Keble College is where the CMRS students dine and have full access to their library.
The Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies was founded in 1975 by Drs John and Sandy Feneley to achieve two purposes: first, to establish in Oxford a permanent institute for the interdisciplinary study of the Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern periods; second, to provide an academic training for overseas students who wish to complete part of their education in Oxford but are not matriculate
02/06/2026
our museum studies program is in full swing, and our students are currently on a trip to Compton-Verney (on pic. 3 you can see them listening to a lecture about it!) …so many things to enjoy and discover in Oxford — from our window displays (pic. 2) to cows in the meadows (pic. 4), not to mention all the wonderful museums we are going to visit in the course of next few weeks! keep an eye out for new posts and new adventures 👀
07/05/2026
our very own Eugenia investigated current exhibitions at the Weston library — one is dedicated to birds and the other to pets and their people; both are wonderful and worth a visit. unexpectedly, she also found a solution for those who are desperate to have a pet during their time in Oxford and, let me just tell you, it rocks (sic) — see pics. 2-3!
pic. 1: Eugenia hanging out with sparrows
pics. 2-3: the solution that rocks!
pic. 4: a gentlemen and his pet-rock (ok, I’m joking, it’s a cat but looks like it could be a rock!)
pic. 5: more birds, this one is a phoenix in a medieval manuscript — which one? you have to go and see for yourself!
pic. 6: more birds drawn by Jackie Morris and some beautiful poetry by Robert Macfarlane whose collective work (cf. ‘The Lost Spells’) inspired the exhibition
🪨🐦⬛!!
27/04/2026
It’s Monday and it’s time for some snapshots of Port Meadow over the weekend! We were enjoying the sun and warm weather — May is almost here and it’s time for merrymaking and jollity!
24/04/2026
no students in St Michael’s Hall for the next month but we have some exciting visitors to cheer us all up — say ‘Hi’ to Poppy who hang out with yesterday!
[Both Poppy and this lively picture — courtesy of Eleanor!]
20/04/2026
it is officially the end of our spring term: our students have now left St Michael’s Hall! on their final day here they went punting, and — thanks to Hazel — we have a lovely picture of the whole group!
15/04/2026
and this is a flashback to the seminar-essay-submission party earlier this term, and an encouragement to keep going (and also to repent to eat and sleep) for the next 24 hrs to our students, who are submitting their research projects tomorrow… Tomorrow we will be celebrating again — this time, the end of term! Hooray!
15/04/2026
Last week was a very eventful week — here are a few snippets of it featuring:
pics. 1-2: Eleanor reading some eighteenth-century French gossip about mermaids and three wives; Eleanor and Joanna, who knows loads and loads about treasures of our Feneley Library!, contemplating a fifteenth-century early printed book with some fascinating illuminations and marginalia.
pic. 3: a snapshot of Christ Church Meadow on a spring day.
pics. 4-6: a glimpse at the ‘In Bloom’ exhibit at the Ashmolean; pictures — courtesy of Marie-Louise!
01/04/2026
all work and no play? no fooling around today? how about a play reading!
31/03/2026
Some snippets of CMRS life and some old-school pictures, taken on film:
1. Our students being extremely cool. Location: Keble Quad.
2. Our very own Stella being extremely cool. Location: Stella’s seat in Feneley Library.
3. Our very own librarian showing off an article of her own, printed in a very real book. Location: pp. 227-254.
13/03/2026
We had a few beautiful sunny days last week: Eleanor went on a hunt with her camera and captured the fleeting spring on city streets, in parks, and in Magdalen College [in line with an old Oxford tradition pronounced as ‘Maudlin’ College]! Enjoy! 🌷