Centre News

An exhibit titled “Manifold Greatness: the Creation and Afterlife
of the King James Bible” will be on display next year starting
April 17, 2013 in the Grace Doherty Library.

There are many exciting opportunities and events coming to Centre within the next year, including an important exhibit that will make its only stop in Kentucky here on campus. “Manifold Greatness: the Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible” will be on display next year starting April 17, 2013, in the Grace Doherty Library thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The exhibit was developed and organized by the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Bodleian Library and the American Library Association (ALA).

“When ‘Manifold Greatness’ arrives on campus, students and guests will see a series of oversize, beautifully designed panels depicting the history and cultural impact of one of western civilization’s most important books,” says Stan Campbell, director of library services. “The images and text on the panels provides historical context for the King James Bible but also clearly links the best known, most printed and most influential book in the English language to the modern world.”

A series of scholarly lectures, produced by the Grace Doherty Library, Centre’s religion program and the Boyle County Public library, will accompany the exhibit. Centre will also be able to display important pieces from its own collection during that time.

“We will display our copy of the Geneva Bible, which actually pre-dates the King James Bible, in addition to other artifacts,” Campbell says.

The exhibit is meant to teach and to challenge preconceived notions about this version of the Bible.

“Almost everyone is familiar with the King James Bible, but how many people actually know the real name of the King James Bible, or who the actual translators were, or how the book was received in its day or how and where the translators did their work? Or, did Shakespeare translate the King James Bible? The answer to that one is an emphatic ‘No,’” Campbell says. “The exhibit answers those questions and more. I would hope that our students would be fascinated by the beautiful images and intrigued by the text.”

Campbell is proud that Centre will have the unique honor of hosting the “Manifold Greatness” exhibit in the state.

“Centre is the sole Kentucky site for the exhibit, so this will be the only opportunity for our students and for Danville community members to see these remarkable images, compiled from books and manuscripts that had never been in one location before,” Campbell says.

For more information about the “Manifold Greatness” exhibit, click here.

Have comments, suggestions, or story ideas? E-mail elizabeth.trollinger@centre.edu with your feedback.

Centre College, founded in 1819 and chosen to host its second Vice Presidential Debate in 2012, is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges, at 42nd in the nation, and ranks 27th for best value among national liberal arts colleges. Forbes magazine ranks Centre 34th among all the nation’s colleges and universities and has named Centre in the top five among all institutions of higher education in the South for three years in a row. Centre is also ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News for its study abroad program. For more, click here.