A giant Bible is returning to Britain after more than 1,300 years to go on display, alongside the oldest surviving will written by a woman, in an exhibition on treasures of the Anglo Saxon world.
Codex Amiatinus was made in a monastery in Wearmouth-Jarrow in Northumbria, in the early 8th Century.
Measuring a foot thick, the 'extraordinary object' was described by the British Library's chief executive Roly Keating as 'one of the great acts of creative book production of the entire millennium'.
Giant 8th century bible created by Northumbrian monks returns to Britain on loan after 1,300 years in Florence
Codex Amiatinus was created in a Northumbrian monastery in the 8th Century
The book was gifted to the Pope in the year 716 and has been in Italy ever since
The abbot who took the Bible to Rome died en route, but the book still made it
It is part of a new exhibition at the British Library celebrating six centuries
By Darren Boyle for MailOnline
1 December 2017
A giant Bible is returning to Britain after more than 1,300 years to go on display, alongside the oldest surviving will written by a woman, in an exhibition on treasures of the Anglo-Saxon world.
Codex Amiatinus was made in a monastery in Wearmouth-Jarrow in Northumbria, in the early 8th Century.
Measuring a foot thick, the 'extraordinary object' was described by the British Library's chief executive Roly Keating as 'one of the great acts of creative book production of the entire millennium'.
The giant book, which is a foot deep, was taken to Florence from Northumbria in the 8th century and is the earliest complete surviving manuscript of the bible in Latin
The magnificent bible will go on display at the British Library, pictured, as part of an exhibition
It is the earliest complete surviving manuscript of a Bible in Latin.
Announcing the library's 2018 highlights, Keating said: 'It was gifted to the Pope in the year 716 and has been in Italy ever since.'
The Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence has 'agreed to lend it back to the UK for the first time in 1,302 years'.
The abbot who took the Bible to Rome died en route, but the book still made it to Italy.
'It has never been back to Britain since it set off 1,302 years ago.
'It is one of the greatest treasures of Anglo Saxon England and the earliest complete surviving manuscript of the Bible in Latin, ' Keating said.
Another highlight of the exhibition, Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, which opens in October next year, includes the oldest surviving will by a woman.
Dating from the 10th Century, 'mega-wealthy' noblewoman Wynflaed gives an 'extremely detailed' account of her possessions, which experts said 'gives a flavour of the human intimacy' during 'tumultuous years'.
Written on cotton, the will, thought to originate from southern England, survived a fire in the 18th Century.
Wynflaed lists her estates, slaves, horses, tapestries, dresses, headbands, red tent, seat cushions, bed curtains, wooden chests, cross, metal cups, jewellery, coins and books in the document, which belongs to the British Library.
It will go on show in an exhibition spanning six centuries, from the eclipse of Roman Britain to the Norman Conquest.
Keating described the show as the 'most spectacular and most comprehensive exhibition ever mounted of the arts and literary treasures of the Anglo Saxon world'.
It will bring together four principal manuscripts of Old English poetry 'for the first time,' including the only medieval manuscript of Beowulf, which is already in the British Library's hands.
Next year's shows also include a major exhibition on James Cook.
James Cook: The Voyages marks 250 years since Captain Cook set sail from Plymouth on 'voyages that changed the world'.
The exhibition will track some of the most 'world-changing sea journeys ever made' with maps, art works and Cook's journal, detailing the first crossing of the Antarctic Circle.
It will also feature drawings by the Polynesian high priest and navigator Tupaia, who joined the first voyage at Tahiti and accompanied Cook to New Zealand and Australia.
Next year, the British Library will also be home to a previously announced display on a selection of items from Michael Palin's archive.
Diaries, scripts, ideas and jokes will go on show, including Palin's first Monty Python notebook.
It was announced earlier this year that the former Monty Python star had donated his personal archive, including more than 50 notebooks relating to the comedy show, to the British Library.
On Thursday, the British Library also announced a display on Karl Marx and his daughter Eleanor and an exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of Empire Windrush, bringing hundreds of Caribbean migrants to the UK.
The institution, which is currently enjoying success with a show on the magic of Harry Potter, also announced it had acquired the late Booker Prize-winner Penelope Fitzgerald's archive.
Codex Amiatinus was made in a monastery in Wearmouth-Jarrow in Northumbria, in the early 8th Century.
Measuring a foot thick, the 'extraordinary object' was described by the British Library's chief executive Roly Keating as 'one of the great acts of creative book production of the entire millennium'.
Giant 8th century bible created by Northumbrian monks returns to Britain on loan after 1,300 years in Florence
Codex Amiatinus was created in a Northumbrian monastery in the 8th Century
The book was gifted to the Pope in the year 716 and has been in Italy ever since
The abbot who took the Bible to Rome died en route, but the book still made it
It is part of a new exhibition at the British Library celebrating six centuries
By Darren Boyle for MailOnline
1 December 2017
A giant Bible is returning to Britain after more than 1,300 years to go on display, alongside the oldest surviving will written by a woman, in an exhibition on treasures of the Anglo-Saxon world.
Codex Amiatinus was made in a monastery in Wearmouth-Jarrow in Northumbria, in the early 8th Century.
Measuring a foot thick, the 'extraordinary object' was described by the British Library's chief executive Roly Keating as 'one of the great acts of creative book production of the entire millennium'.
The giant book, which is a foot deep, was taken to Florence from Northumbria in the 8th century and is the earliest complete surviving manuscript of the bible in Latin
The magnificent bible will go on display at the British Library, pictured, as part of an exhibition
It is the earliest complete surviving manuscript of a Bible in Latin.
Announcing the library's 2018 highlights, Keating said: 'It was gifted to the Pope in the year 716 and has been in Italy ever since.'
The Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence has 'agreed to lend it back to the UK for the first time in 1,302 years'.
The abbot who took the Bible to Rome died en route, but the book still made it to Italy.
'It has never been back to Britain since it set off 1,302 years ago.
'It is one of the greatest treasures of Anglo Saxon England and the earliest complete surviving manuscript of the Bible in Latin, ' Keating said.
Another highlight of the exhibition, Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, which opens in October next year, includes the oldest surviving will by a woman.
Dating from the 10th Century, 'mega-wealthy' noblewoman Wynflaed gives an 'extremely detailed' account of her possessions, which experts said 'gives a flavour of the human intimacy' during 'tumultuous years'.
Written on cotton, the will, thought to originate from southern England, survived a fire in the 18th Century.
Wynflaed lists her estates, slaves, horses, tapestries, dresses, headbands, red tent, seat cushions, bed curtains, wooden chests, cross, metal cups, jewellery, coins and books in the document, which belongs to the British Library.
It will go on show in an exhibition spanning six centuries, from the eclipse of Roman Britain to the Norman Conquest.
Keating described the show as the 'most spectacular and most comprehensive exhibition ever mounted of the arts and literary treasures of the Anglo Saxon world'.
It will bring together four principal manuscripts of Old English poetry 'for the first time,' including the only medieval manuscript of Beowulf, which is already in the British Library's hands.
Next year's shows also include a major exhibition on James Cook.
James Cook: The Voyages marks 250 years since Captain Cook set sail from Plymouth on 'voyages that changed the world'.
The exhibition will track some of the most 'world-changing sea journeys ever made' with maps, art works and Cook's journal, detailing the first crossing of the Antarctic Circle.
It will also feature drawings by the Polynesian high priest and navigator Tupaia, who joined the first voyage at Tahiti and accompanied Cook to New Zealand and Australia.
Next year, the British Library will also be home to a previously announced display on a selection of items from Michael Palin's archive.
Diaries, scripts, ideas and jokes will go on show, including Palin's first Monty Python notebook.
It was announced earlier this year that the former Monty Python star had donated his personal archive, including more than 50 notebooks relating to the comedy show, to the British Library.
On Thursday, the British Library also announced a display on Karl Marx and his daughter Eleanor and an exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of Empire Windrush, bringing hundreds of Caribbean migrants to the UK.
The institution, which is currently enjoying success with a show on the magic of Harry Potter, also announced it had acquired the late Booker Prize-winner Penelope Fitzgerald's archive.
Read more: 8th century bible returned to Britain on loan | Daily Mail Online
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