The St Cuthbert Gospel ─ Studies on the Insular Manuscript of the Gospel of John (BL, Additional MS 89000)

The St. Cuthbert Gospel (formerly known as the Stonyhurst Gospel) is the earliest surviving intact European book and thus one of the world’s most historically important books. Made in the late seventh century, the manuscript contains a copy of the Gospel of St. John in Latin, that was placed in the coffin of St. Cuthbert when he was re-interred at Lindisfarne in 698. Cuthbert's coffin was subsequently removed to Durham, where it was opened in September 1104 on the occasion of the translation of his remains, and the book was discovered inside. The Gospel was acquired for the collection of the British Library in 2012 after a major fundraising campaign.

This new collection of essays is the most substantial study of the book since the 1960s. It includes scholarly pieces on Cuthbert in his historical context; the codicology, text, script and medieval history of the manuscript; the structure and decoration of the binding; the other relics found in Cuthbert's coffin; and the post-medieval ownership of the book.

Claire Breay is lead curator, medieval and earlier manuscripts at the British Library. She is the author ofMagna Carta: Manuscripts and Myths and the co-editor of a major exhibition catalogue,Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy. Bernard Meehan is keeper of manuscripts at Trinity College, Dublin. His publications includeThe Book of Kells.