College Tour 3 - Corpus Christi College

Main court of Corpus

Corpus Christi College is one of the ancient colleges of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary, it bears the distinction of being the only College in Oxford or Cambridge founded by their citizens.

Corpus is exceptionally rich in silver, but its greatest treasure is the Parker Library, one of the finest and most important collections of medieval manuscripts in the world. Its most famous possession is the Canterbury Gospels, probably brought to England in 597 AD by St. Augustine, when he was sent by Pope Gregory I to convert the people of Britain. However, it also contains the principal manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, works by Matthew Paris and Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, to name only a few.

The most famous alumni from Corpus Christi is Christopher Marlowe. He is a succesful playwright who wrote Dr. Faustaus, Tamburlaine 1 and 2, The Jew of Malta and The Massacre at Paris. Hero and Leander is the greatest poem of his that has come down to us.















Corpus Chapel

Sundial in Corpus old court

The main gate of Corpus