Lindisfarne Gospels
Lindisfarne Gospels, now British Library, Cotton MS Nero D.iv. A Latin text of the Gospels, with a later Anglo-Saxon translation or gloss, which was made at the monastery of Lindisfarne, in the north-east of England, by Eadfrith, who was bishop of Lindisfarne 698–721. It is an elaborately decorated book. Each Gospel is preceded by three fully decorated pages: an author portrait, a carpet page, and an initial. Matthew's Gospel has a second initial page (1: 18), to mark the beginning of the story of the Incarnation. It is likely that the manuscript was made for the elevation of the relics of St Cuthbert in 698. The Gospels remained closely associated with the saint during the Middle Ages, travelling with the body to Chester-le-Street and then to Durham. When Cuthbert's shrine was pillaged at the Reformation, the Gospels were taken to London. They became part of Sir Robert Cotton's library and subsequently part of the national collections in the British library.
Lynda Rollason
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Lindisfarne Gospels