The name of Sir Thomas Bodley remains one of the best known in British library history, thanks entirely to his founding one of the greatest libraries in England, which by royal decree will always bear his name. The Bodleian Library in the University of Oxford was established in 1598 and, owing to Bodley's connections and enthusiasm, rapidly built up its stock of books to become the most significant "public" library available to scholars in England. The securing of the right of legal deposit of new books, which was promoted by Bodley though not originally his idea, was the key to the early importance and fame of the library.

In his own time Bodley was well known as a diplomat and spent several years in the Low Countries, though he eventually found this to be a fruitless and unsatisfactory calling. By training he was a Hebrew scholar, and his endowment...