Papers on New Testament manuscripts by the late Professor Neville Birdsall have been deposited in the Cadbury Research Library.
J. Neville Birdsall lectured in New Testament Studies at the University of Birmingham from 1961-1983, when he retired and became Emeritus Professor of New Testament Studies and Textual Criticism until his death in 2005. In conjunction with Professor David Parker, Birdsall's literary executor, ITSEE's summer intern Brett Twist, an undergraduate student in the Department of Theology and Religion, has been examining Birdsall's extensive archive. This has resulted in the digitisation of a number of papers for future preservation and the deposit of material in the Cadbury Research Library.
Birdsall's papers include work on an unfinished catalogue of biblical manuscripts within the Mingana collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts. He also produced a document entitled 'Greek hagiographical mss in the Library of the Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham' and transcribed a number of the Mingana Greek and Coptic manuscripts. The full record of the material which is now available in the Cadbury Research Library may be seen on the University's CalmView system.
Professor Neville Birdsall at the Birmingham Colloquium in March 2005