Latest news with #SarumMasterBible
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
700-year-old bible on public display for first time
An ancient bible thought to be more than 700-years-old and illustrated by a medieval master is on public display for the first time in the place it was created. The Sarum Master Bible can now be seen at Salisbury Cathedral, which has managed to acquire the manuscript after a charity raised the £90,000 for it. The small bible - handwritten in Latin and just 17cm high - is an illustrated manuscript, so the first letter of each book of the bible is lavishly decorated, often with figures. The Sarum Master - real name unknown - was a specialist working in Salisbury in between the years of 1240 and 1250 when this book was created. The 13th Century manuscript is now carefully kept among others in a room that has been a library for nearly 600 years, with tall, thick wooden shelves filled with leather-bound volumes and a gate that the public are not allowed behind. Dr Anne Dutton is the librarian there: "I spend a great deal of my working day on a ladder." "I can honestly say that it was the most spectacular Christmas present I have ever received - of course, not for me personally" she said. The writing is tiny - which means the decoration and colour on letters and illustrations is too, with none more than 2.5cm high. Dr Dutton said: "It is virtually impossible to see the details without some kind of magnification." She explained that for whoever added that in the 1200s, there were lenses that may have been used to create artistry like it. More news stories for Wiltshire Listen to the latest news for Wiltshire "The Sarum Master is considered to be one of the finest English artists of the period. "Although no details of the artist's life are known, there is evidence to show they were working around Salisbury in the 1240s or 1250s" Dr Dutton said, which is when this manuscript is believed to have been made. There would have been a lot of artists working in the area at the time, with the cathedral we know today being built. Dr Dutton does have a favourite decorated initial letter, one from the Book of Revelation: "The initial capital A shows the author - St John - depicted as a medieval scribe. He is hold a quill pen and a pen knife, exactly as a medieval scribe." The money for the bible was raised by Friends of the Nations' Libraries, after Dr Dutton spotted it for sale at Sotheby's and was contacted when it did not sell at auction. The bible is on display in Salisbury Cathedral until 20 March, after which it will be kept in the library there, which researchers can visit by appointment and the public can see on open days. Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Stunning Illumination showcase returns to Cathedral Changing the bulb on UK's tallest cathedral spire Rare medieval manuscript found in convent shoebox Salisbury Cathedral Friends of the Nations' Libraries
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
700-year-old bible on public display for first time
An ancient bible thought to be more than 700-years-old and illustrated by a medieval master is on public display for the first time in the place it was created. The Sarum Master Bible can now be seen at Salisbury Cathedral, which has managed to acquire the manuscript after a charity raised the £90,000 for it. The small bible - handwritten in Latin and just 17cm high - is an illustrated manuscript, so the first letter of each book of the bible is lavishly decorated, often with figures. The Sarum Master - real name unknown - was a specialist working in Salisbury in between the years of 1240 and 1250 when this book was created. The 13th Century manuscript is now carefully kept among others in a room that has been a library for nearly 600 years, with tall, thick wooden shelves filled with leather-bound volumes and a gate that the public are not allowed behind. Dr Anne Dutton is the librarian there: "I spend a great deal of my working day on a ladder." "I can honestly say that it was the most spectacular Christmas present I have ever received - of course, not for me personally" she said. The writing is tiny - which means the decoration and colour on letters and illustrations is too, with none more than 2.5cm high. Dr Dutton said: "It is virtually impossible to see the details without some kind of magnification." She explained that for whoever added that in the 1200s, there were lenses that may have been used to create artistry like it. More news stories for Wiltshire Listen to the latest news for Wiltshire "The Sarum Master is considered to be one of the finest English artists of the period. "Although no details of the artist's life are known, there is evidence to show they were working around Salisbury in the 1240s or 1250s" Dr Dutton said, which is when this manuscript is believed to have been made. There would have been a lot of artists working in the area at the time, with the cathedral we know today being built. Dr Dutton does have a favourite decorated initial letter, one from the Book of Revelation: "The initial capital A shows the author - St John - depicted as a medieval scribe. He is hold a quill pen and a pen knife, exactly as a medieval scribe." The money for the bible was raised by Friends of the Nations' Libraries, after Dr Dutton spotted it for sale at Sotheby's and was contacted when it did not sell at auction. The bible is on display in Salisbury Cathedral until 20 March, after which it will be kept in the library there, which researchers can visit by appointment and the public can see on open days. Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Stunning Illumination showcase returns to Cathedral Changing the bulb on UK's tallest cathedral spire Rare medieval manuscript found in convent shoebox Salisbury Cathedral Friends of the Nations' Libraries
BBC News
28-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Salisbury Cathedral displays 700-year-old bible for first time
An ancient bible thought to be more than 700-years-old and illustrated by a medieval master is on public display for the first time in the place it was Sarum Master Bible can now be seen at Salisbury Cathedral, which has managed to acquire the manuscript after a charity raised the £90,000 for small bible - handwritten in Latin and just 17cm high - is an illustrated manuscript, so the first letter of each book of the bible is lavishly decorated, often with Sarum Master - real name unknown - was a specialist working in Salisbury in between the years of 1240 and 1250 when this book was created. The 13th Century manuscript is now carefully kept among others in a room that has been a library for nearly 600 years, with tall, thick wooden shelves filled with leather-bound volumes and a gate that the public are not allowed Anne Dutton is the librarian there: "I spend a great deal of my working day on a ladder.""I can honestly say that it was the most spectacular Christmas present I have ever received - of course, not for me personally" she said. The writing is tiny - which means the decoration and colour on letters and illustrations is too, with none more than 2.5cm Dutton said: "It is virtually impossible to see the details without some kind of magnification." She explained that for whoever added that in the 1200s, there were lenses that may have been used to create artistry like it. "The Sarum Master is considered to be one of the finest English artists of the period. "Although no details of the artist's life are known, there is evidence to show they were working around Salisbury in the 1240s or 1250s" Dr Dutton said, which is when this manuscript is believed to have been would have been a lot of artists working in the area at the time, with the cathedral we know today being built. Dr Dutton does have a favourite decorated initial letter, one from the Book of Revelation: "The initial capital A shows the author - St John - depicted as a medieval scribe. He is hold a quill pen and a pen knife, exactly as a medieval scribe."The money for the bible was raised by Friends of the Nations' Libraries, after Dr Dutton spotted it for sale at Sotheby's and was contacted when it did not sell at bible is on display in Salisbury Cathedral until 20 March, after which it will be kept in the library there, which researchers can visit by appointment and the public can see on open days.
The Guardian
14-02-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘Important and beautiful' 13th-century Bible returns to Salisbury
Almost eight centuries after it was crafted in a workshop in Salisbury, the Sarum Master Bible, a vividly illustrated medieval manuscript, has returned home and will go on display at the city's cathedral this month. Measuring just 17cm by 11.5cm, the book is an early example of a portable Bible, the Latin script so small it can be can be challenge to read and the parchment so thin that the pages have to be turned with extreme care. The Bible was created by a man or woman known as the Sarum master or Sarum illuminator (Sarum is an early name for Salisbury) almost certainly for a wealthy individual. Anne Dutton, Salisbury Cathedral librarian, said the book was of great artistic value with huge significance to Salisbury. Over the centuries it had always been in private hands, she said, only making brief public appearances in the sale rooms of auction houses and art dealers and never going on public display. The Bible was bought last year from its previous owner by the charity Friends of the Nations' Libraries, which raised £90,000 and donated it to the cathedral. Dutton said the Sarum master was one of the greatest artists of the time, a manuscript illuminator working in the 1240s and 1250s with between five and seven surviving manuscripts attributed to them. 'In some of these manuscripts,' Dutton said, 'including our Bible, it is clear that the Sarum master is working with several assistants. This indicates the existence of a workshop. There may have been three or more artists, but it's not clear.' Each book of the Sarum Master Bible begins with an intricate decorated initial. Some are ornamental; others contain human figures, frequently illustrating scenes and characters from the Bible. The initials use a rich colour palette, including a distinctive green. The work is a copy of the Vulgate Bible, which was translated into Latin by St Jerome. It contains prefaces to many of the books of the Bible, written by St Jerome and other early theologians. It is not known who the book was made for. Dutton said: 'The volume is clearly intended for private use. It's too small to have been intended to be used in church services. It's an expensive book, and would have been commissioned by a wealthy individual.' There was a great deal of artistic activity in Salisbury in the 13th century. The cathedral was under construction and was being decorated with wall-painting, ceiling-painting, sculpture and stained glass. It is likely that the different artists working in the city including the Sarum master drew inspiration from and influenced each other. The dean of Salisbury, the Very Rev Nicholas Papadopulos: 'It is thrilling to welcome this important and beautiful manuscript back to Salisbury and to share it with our many visitors to the cathedral.' The Sarum Master Bible will go on display at Salisbury Cathedral from 28 February to 20 March.
