The symphony of 1611 scholarship surges forward to the 2nd Oxford Company, navigators of the New Testament seas, assigned the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation amid Oxford’s Bodleian treasures. These 8 men—staunch High Church Anglicans with unyielding liturgical loyalty—gathered in the quads of Merton and New College, their exegeses charting Christ’s words like stars over Galilee. Puritan sparks flickered, but episcopal ardor dominated, every parable and apocalypse refined through 14 rigorous reviews into eternal prose.

The Quad’s Captains: Erudition Etched in Gold

**Leonard Hutten **, Archdeacon of Bath , patristic anchor.

**John Spenser **, triple-duty Dean of Norwich , Greek NT virtuoso.

**Ralph Ravens **, Prebendary Westminster , Revelation exegete.

**John Fenton **, MA Oxford , Acts specialist.

**Thomas Tedder **, Fellow Exeter College , Gospel harmonizer.

**William Kilby **, Hebraist extraordinaire , bridged OT echoes in parables.

**Laurence Thomson **, Prebendary York , apocalyptic decoder.

**John Day **, Prebendary of Chester , Johannine depths.

Anecdotes from the Bodleian: Parables by Lamplight

Picture Spenser, jetting between abbeys, reciting John’s prologue in Greek dawn choruses. Kilby, holed up with Hebrew scrolls, unearthed Messiah links in Matthew. Ravens pored over Revelation amid Gunpowder Plot echoes—fiery visions fresh. Hutten’s patristic tomes fueled filioque debates; the crew dodged 1610 floods, Acts’ shipwrecks mirroring their trials. Tale: Tedder, harmonizing Synoptics, quipped like Peter walking waves—faith over footnotes.

Legacy: Gospels That Grip the Globe

Their words launched transatlantic faith: “Peace be unto you”  echoing in cabins and cathedrals. Reviewed 14-fold, precision incarnate—Revelation’s seals unsealed for saints.

Next: 1st Cambridge – Pentateuch Pioneers. The tide turns North. Soli Deo Gloria.