The British Library

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

From the outside of the building, the British Library honestly did not look like much of a library. But as the class walked through the entrance, I soon realized it was one of the most massive libraries I had stepped foot in. When we entered in through the front doors, immediately to the right was a full-functional sculpture of a book with a chain, which also served as a bench to visitors. The class threw out a few ideas as to what this sculpture was trying to convey. A few thought the chain represented the certainty of books, and how the writings in books, for the most part, stay consistent over time. I, personally, was slightly confused by the chain; when I think of libraries and books, I think of endless possibilities and the freedom to explore literary creativity.

A blog post that I discovered titled Mussa Gentil, uncovers that the name of this piece is Sitting On History, and it was created by artist, Bill Woodrow, in 1995. Mussa Hubahimfura, the author of this blog, states that “the sculpture refers to the book as the captor of information from which we cannot escape”. I found this meaning to be interesting due to the fact that Hubahimfura mentions that the books are vessels of information that we cannot escape, yet the book is not chained to anything except a stone ball. I believe that this sculpture would have been more correctly interpreted by viewers if the chain was connected to some sort of symbol relating to mankind.

Also within the library was a section of literature that consisted of historic documents, such as the Magna Carta, music sketches by famous composers, and even the lyrics written by the Beatles. But one very monumental piece of literature residing at the British Library is Tyndale’s English translation of the King James Bible. According to the website of the British Library, “it was strictly forbidden to translate the Bible into English. Tyndale’s translation of the bible in 1525 had led to his execution. But by Shakespeare’s time, England had split with Rome, and the political scenery had changed. Bibles in English were now available, such as Henry VIII’s authorised ‘Great Bible’. King James I abolished the death penalty attached to English Bible translation, and commissioned a new version that would use the best available translations and sources, and importantly, be free of biased footnotes and commentaries”. Because of this single act several hundreds of years ago, the religious culture throughout the world changed dramatically.

-Hannah L. Brown

Hubahimfura, Mussa. “British Library Visit.” bonfils.myblog.arts.ac.uk. Mussa                 Gentil. 2 March 2016. Web. 27 June 2018.

“King James Bible.” bl.uk. The British Library Board. Web. 27 June 2018.