Runciman Collection
Sir Steven Runciman, historian of the Crusades and specialist in Byzantine history, died in 2000 and bequeathed his important collection of books relating to Near and Middle Eastern art, architecture, history and travel to the University of St Andrews Library. About 4000 volumes have been added to stock, forming a collection which reflects the rich diversity of Runciman's research interests. The main subject areas are the Byzantine Empire (history, literature and art), Balkan history and art, and the Crusades. There is an interesting collection of early travel literature relating to the Middle East and the Balkans, while other subjects include the Greek Orthodox Chruch, medieval art and architecture, and magic. The Collection also reflects Runciman's wide linguistic abilities. Around half the material is written in English, with French, Greek, Bulgarian, Latin and German being the main other source languages. There are also items in a wide variety of other languages, from Italian and Romanian to Armenian and Arabic.
The books are not held together in a separate section, but are dispersed at appropriate classmarks throughout the Library shelves. A full listing in classmark order is available at this SAULCAT link.
