Descriptive Summary
Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Processing History
Biography / Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Separated Material
Descriptive Summary
Title: Ronald Knox papers
Dates: 1894-1970
Bulk Dates: 1900-1962
Collection number: H2004.4
Creator:
Knox, Ronald Arbuthnott, 1888-1957.
Collection Size:
2.3 linear feet (5 boxes)
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library.
Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library.
Abstract: The Ronald Knox Papers contain over five hundred items, including personal letters, published and unpublished articles, broadcast
transcripts, sermons, a few photographs and some manuscript writings.
Physical location: Please consult repository.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Ronald Knox papers. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library, Claremont University Consortium.
Acquisition Information
Purchase, 2004.
Processing History
Processed by Jennifer Bidwell, 2005.
Biography / Administrative History
Ronald A. Knox was born in Knibworth, Leicestershire on February 17, 1888 to Ellen Penelope French and the Reverend Edmund
Arbuthnott Knox. After completing his formal education at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford in 1910, Monsignor Knox
was appointed as chaplain at Trinity College. Later in 1917, Ronald Knox converted to Roman Catholicism. He served as a
chaplain at the University of Oxford and was later appointed as a prelate by the Pope in 1936. Monsignor Knox was a prolific
writer both in religious commentaries and texts as well as literature. He translated the St. Jerome Latin Vulgate Bible into
English as well as the Old and New Testatment in 1944 and 1945 respectively. He wrote a number of articles with religious
themes such as The Belief of Catholics and A Spiritual Aenied. Although he only wrote six novels such as the Viaduct Murder
and the Footsteps at the Lock, his writings are well known and he was a prominent member of the Detection Club.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Ronald Knox Papers is a partial collection of Monsignor Knox's writings, both published and unpublished articles, letters,
broadcast transcripts, sermons, some photographs and manuscript writings originally compiled Patricia Cowan. The collection
contains Ms. Cowan's notations about his writings as well as a list of his works. In addition, there are laid-in items such
as postcards, letters, and articles found in the Knox books catalogued in the Oxford Collection of Special Collections at
the Honnold/Mudd Library. The bulk of the collection is hand- and type-written letters by Knox and photocopies of published
articles written by Monsignor Knox reproduced in journals such as The Outsider, The Tablet and newspapers such as The Sunday
Times. There are a few manuscript letters and writings but much of the material is unattributed so it is unclear which items
are manuscript writings. Many of the letters are from his early years while he attended Eton College and Balliol College
as well as his appointment as an Anglican chaplain at Trinity College and later as a Roman Catholic chaplain at the University
of Oxford. The unique items in this collection are the laid-in items from Special Collections holdings as well as the letters
written by Knox.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
University of Oxford -- Intellectual life
Religious thought -- Great Britain
Catholic Church -- Sermons
Sermons, English
Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland). Chapel
Separated Material
Ronald A. Knox collection of books individually cataloged, list of items in Knox file in Special Collections.