Contacts
Janet Foot (Celtic Librarian)
tel: +44 (0)1865 278141
email: janet.foot@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
More information on Celtic at Oxford.
Related guides
The following guides, although general in scope, do contain useful information for finding material in Celtic languages such as Irish, Welsh, and Cornish.
- Last Updated Apr 27, 2012
A guide to the finding aids available for papyri and medieval manuscripts in the Bodleian Library.
- Last Updated May 4, 2012
A guide to the finding aids available for early modern and modern manuscripts in the Bodleian Library.
Searching the Libraries (via SOLO, Oxlip+ & ORA)
Guides to PCAS: printing, copying & scanning facilities in the Bodleian Libraries
Other links
WISER workshops (Workshops in Information Skills and Electronic Resources) - These workshops are aimed at researchers, academic staff, research students and librarians from across the University.
Research and Resources Guides - a wide range of research, resource and library guides are available from our LibGuides service.
Collection Overview
Library resources for the study of Celtic languages and literature are primarily located in the Taylor Institution Library.
The Celtic collection covers aspects of the linguistic, literary, cultural and archaeological traditions of the British Isles and continental Europe. The collection includes material on the general language and literature of the Celts and each of the following languages: Welsh, Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Manx Gaelic, Cornish, Breton and Gaulish. The collection also covers some historical background, archaeology, mythology and religion. There are a significant number of Celtic periodicals and also some language learning material.
Associated collections
- The Bodleian Library holds material relating to Celtic languages, literature and civilisation. Books published in the UK arrive through legal deposit and are available for reference use only, but may be requested to the Taylor for use in the Main Reading Room. Theses completed in Oxford are also available in the Bodleian; more recent Oxford theses are accessible electronically through ORA.
- Supplementary library provision is available at the Sackler Library and there is some Celtic material in the English Faculty Library, History Faculty Library and the Law Library.
- The Celtic Library at Jesus College has a significant collection.
- The Oxford University Language Centre Library offers multi-media resources for language learning in Breton, Cornish, Gaelic, and Welsh.
Important eResources
Access to electronic library resources is through OXLIP+. To access many of these resources when you are not logged on to the university network you will need to register for the Oxford Single Sign-On.
An important e-resource for Celtic is the digital collection: Early Manuscripts at Oxford University. The collection features digital facsimiles of early manuscripts scanned directly from the originals.
Bibliographic databases
These allow you to find library materials that are not available on SOLO, e.g. journal articles and book reviews. The most important databases for the study of Celtic languages and literature are:
Electronic full-text editions
See the relevant sub-category Celtic on OXLIP+. Examples are:
- Celtic Digital Initiative (CDI)
- Early Irish Glossaries Project
- A Historical Corpus of the Welsh Language 1500-1850
Electronic Journals
Some useful journal titles are available electronically from Oxford University e-Journals.

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