K.B. McFarlane

Scholarly Output

K.B. McFarlane’s school notebooks

McFarlane attended Dulwich School between 1917-1922. Here are two of his student notebooks from his school days. Even as a teenager, McFarlane was meticulous in his work. He took the time to number the pages, create contents pages, and he had excellent penmanship. On the last page, we can see evidence of handwriting practice or perhaps the testing of new ink.

Blue notebook with the Dulwich College coat of arms and 'Dulwich College' written on it in gold lettering.

Inside cover of K.B. McFarlane's school notebook. Inside he has written in pencil "K.B. McFarlane. History essay book. June 1921."

Handwritten contents page of K.B. McFarlane's school History notebook. 9 essays are listed, including "the idea of nature" and "the right of liberty."

Red marbled notebook, belonging to K.B. McFarlane from his schooldays.

Inside cover of notebook. In it, written in blue ink "K. B. McFarlane" then four words which have been crossed out so they can't be read. Then "History form Dulwich College SE Essays."

Contents page (though labelled index) detailing the titles of essays and which page they're on in the notebook. Essay titles include "Innocent III and his eventful Papacy 1198-1216" (page 52) and "The crusading spirit" (page 92)

Page one of the notebook, featuring a handwritten essay on Charles the Great written in blue ink. The essay is very neatly written, with no crossings out or corrections.

Page of a notebook in which McFarlane has written, in pencil, a reading list. The list consists of 19 books, all under the heading 'read'

Second page of the reading list, continuing McFarlane's list of books he'd read. At the end, four additional titles are under the heading 'to read,' 3 of which have been ticked.

Back page of a notebook, in which McFarlane has written his name and the words 'History Form' 5 times, in different coloured ink (light blue, purple, green, red, and orange).

McFarlane, K. B. (Kenneth Bruce). Cardinal Pole; the Stanhope Prize Essay, 1924. Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1924.
Magdalen College Library, Magd. McFA-K (CAR)

Inside cover of Magdalen College Library copy of Cardinal Pole; the Stanhope prize essay, 1924. Inside cover. Magdalen College Library, Magd. McFA-K (CAR)

Cardinal Pole; the Stanhope Prize Essay by K.B. McFarlane

In 1924, McFarlane was awarded the Stanhope Prize for his essay on Cardinal Pole. This was a prestigious award given annually to a History undergraduate and McFarlane was in good company. Previous prizewinning essays were written by John Buchan (1897) and Aldous Huxley (1916). This copy of Cardinal Pole was gifted to the library by McFarlane after he became a Fellow here in 1927. McFarlane spent all his academic life in Oxford and A.J.P. Taylor’s descriptions of Oxford’s ‘inbred’ tutors could easily be applied to him.

John Wycliffe and the Beginnings of English Nonconformity by K.B. McFarlane. Magdalen College Library, McF 274.25 WYC MCF 1966

Inside cover of John Wycliffe and the beginnings of English nonconformity, donated to the library by his student Karl Leyser. Magdalen College Library, McF 274.25 WYC MCF 1966

John Wycliffe and the Beginnings of English Nonconformity by K.B. McFarlane

This book is one of just a few books published during McFarlane’s lifetime. This copy is stored in our McFarlane Library, in the cloisters, which houses specialist works of medieval history which were owned by McFarlane and left to Magdalen following his death. It was given by Karl Leyser (featured in the tutorial photo used at the top of this page), in March 1970.

McFarlane, K. B. (Kenneth Bruce), G. L Harriss, and Karl Leyser. Letters to Friends, 1940 - 1966. Oxford: Magdalen College, 1997.
Magdalen College Library, 942.3 McF (LET)

Letters to Friends: 1940-1966, by K. B. McFarlane, G. L Harriss, and Karl Leyser

McFarlane was a prolific letter writer and Magdalen College Archives holds hundreds of his letters. After he died, some of his correspondence was published as Letters to Friends: 1940-1966. None of his letters to Helena Wright feature in the book. It is unclear if this was due to the discretion of Wright’s family or an editorial decision. McFarlane was rather candid in his letters to Helena; perhaps his honest opinions (including his first impressions of A.J.P. Taylor) were deemed too honest to appear in print.

Britnell, R. H, and A. J Pollard. “The McFarlane Legacy : Studies in Late Medieval Politics and Society.” Stroud: Alan Sutton, 1995. Magdalen College Library,
Magdalen College, Library, 942.04 McF BRI.

The McFarlane Legacy: Studies in Late Medieval Politics and Society, edited by R. H. Britnell and A. J Pollard

This book is a collection of essays on late medieval politics and society. That there was a book dedicated to McFarlane, published nearly fifty years after his death, shows the ongoing influence his work continues to have in shaping our understanding of the medieval world. One of the authors included in this book is G.L. Harriss. Harriss was taught by McFarlane before becoming a Tutorial Fellow in History at Magdalen himself. He was also the College Librarian from 1968-83.