I pulled out my 1962 Missal and compared its Latin text of the relevant passages to the text shown in the video... The St Cuthbert Gospel text uses a few abbreviations ("ihs" and "ihm" for Jesus, "Do" for "Deo", and "Dne" for "Domine", for example), but the text is word for word exactly the same. The part marked "de mortuori" ("of the dead") in the margin of the Cuthbert text at 12:57 in the video is, at least in the 1962 Missal, still identical to the beginning of the Gospel reading for the "Mass and Absolution on the Day of the Death or on the Day of the Burial of One of the Faithful" (aka the funeral or Requiem). Gave me a bit of a shiver, to think of the ancient age of the tradition and the many, many generations of our ancestors who were laid to rest with these exact words read over them. In an odd way, it gives me a feeling of belonging to the continuity of humanity over the centuries, somewhat similar to the sensation I had when standing in an historic cathedral in Germany, and sort of feeling traces of the presence of so many generations of people who had stood in the same exact spot. It wasn't eerie at all - it was actually very comforting and beautiful.
@mbfrezon11 ай бұрын
As a calligrapher and lover of books this totally blew my mind! Thank you so very much for the fabulous images of this amazing book and the writing within! The historical timeline was fascinating too but now my head is full of that fabulous uncial text and the cover (along with the Codex images offered in support of its origins). Thank you!
@marthavanbeek-putters11 ай бұрын
What beautiful work monks have left behind. Monks were very intelligent and also educated. They could write and read and make beautiful things. It’s a shame that so much has been lost. Thank you Martha
@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo11 ай бұрын
Many people outside of the monastaries could also read and write. The idea that medieval people, and more specifically peasants were illiterate has already been debunked and exposed by historians as a myth.
@marthavanbeek-putters11 ай бұрын
I know that but often the people of the nobility and high nobility were the ones who could write and read.
@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo11 ай бұрын
@@marthavanbeek-putters So did lots of peasants. as overwhelming evidence proofs. Literacy was not just something reserved for rich people. That is simply a myth.
@marthavanbeek-putters11 ай бұрын
@@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo Well if you say so.
@johannesreckel903611 ай бұрын
Some thirty years ago I spent two wonderful years at Durham and from there visited all the places associated with St.Cuthbert on my push bike. Though reproductions of the Lindisfarne Gospels were around, the existence of this contemporary gospel was new to me or it slipped from my memory. The St. Cuthbert gospel is so different and at the same time so elegant in its unostentious way that it strikes me as perhaps one of the most influential manuscripts of its time, because it was there to be read, to be read by The Venerable Bede and other great men.
@ChrisHunt449711 ай бұрын
What a beautiful, little book with such charisma and to be so old. I love anything about St Cuthbert. The fact the monks moved his coffin around with them is a story of its own. What a safe place to hide this glorious treasure of a book. Thanks for sharing.
@stepps51111 ай бұрын
Thank you, Allan. A truly inspiring tale of this Gospel book!
@rhiannonpoole601911 ай бұрын
Thank you so much for another excellent video. Just imagine holding in your hands a book that the Venerable Bede had (might have) handled. Gives me the goosebumps!
@dianapatterson155911 ай бұрын
Thanks for your attention to this volume. As a book historian, I commend your details and references. I think even the great Michelle Brown would approve. My only request would be an assessment of its restoration, for clearly it has has the British Library's conservation laboratory at work on it.
@TerryC6911 ай бұрын
Hi Allan! I watched the earlier video associated with this one about ten months ago. Nevertheless, I went back and watched it again before watching this one. This is something I would very much recommend to anyone watching. Watching both will give one the "whole story." The latest addition of the Antiquary arrived to me digitally yesterday. I tell you, Allan, that magazine is a marvel indeed. God bless the memory of Saint Cuthbert. Blessings to you and yours.
@charliekezza11 ай бұрын
The cover is beautiful, so much work went into it. Let alone the contents.
@4sstg11 ай бұрын
Beautiful little book, and a treasure.
@AulicExclusiva11 ай бұрын
Marvelous.
@jilltagmorris11 ай бұрын
I have so enjoyed watching you grow and also how professional you have become! Excellent episode as ALWAYS. ❤❤
@gezley10011 ай бұрын
Stunning. Never heard of it, although I had the good fortune to visit Stonyhurst in 1992.
@CDForney4 ай бұрын
The leather tooling of the cover is simply astonishing ❤
@johnhaynes991011 ай бұрын
A very enjoyable episode with a very interesting historical trail, excellent.
@hugolandheer700811 ай бұрын
Excellent as usual ... Thanks!
@westernaustralia944211 ай бұрын
Thank you Allan
@joycemichelin25011 ай бұрын
This sent me down so many interesting rabbit holes while I was watching, it took me an hour to watch for all my pausing. I have to go back and watch it again now without pause.
@Jo_Lori11 ай бұрын
I greatly appreciated the construction details of the book. Thank you, Allan!
@christinesuccop181211 ай бұрын
Didn't know about this book, truly a treasure. Thank You.
@charlesrae379311 ай бұрын
I was just reading about this in a marvellous book Hidden hands: The lives of manuscripts and their makers by Mary Wellesley. Highly recommended!
@jimcook174711 ай бұрын
I am a simple man. I see a video of this channel; I immediately open and press the like button.
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
Glad you're enjoying my channel!
@davidhowe690511 ай бұрын
I'd heard about this book before; such a survivor! Sad to think how much has likely been lost though.
@super60sand70s11 ай бұрын
Enjoyed this one.
@dennisthompson235011 ай бұрын
Thank you. Most illuminating.
@David.M.11 ай бұрын
This was quite fascinating. I did not know about this book and am quite surprised that it survives in such great condition. Thanks Allan.
@theblackpearl863211 ай бұрын
Very interesting indeed! I adore that bit of recursion where we see the books being made by the people who were making the books! We call that the 'Mandelbrot Effect'. And it's not even 9AM yet! Thank you Dr Allan.
@jeffcampbell155511 ай бұрын
Fascinating
@daneberhardt271811 ай бұрын
Great video, Allan!
@dianespears605711 ай бұрын
Very very interesting. Thank you.
@markgoddard256011 ай бұрын
Very well researched. Thanks.
@Marjorie-yt7pb11 ай бұрын
So fascinating ! Many thanks to you😊
@swagmanandy8 ай бұрын
Wonderful video about my favourite saint.
@allanbarton8 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@educanassa10011 ай бұрын
Great video, Allan
@jldrake342411 ай бұрын
Very interesting. Thank you, Allan.
@excession307611 ай бұрын
I loved your original video about St Cuthbert and have repeated/outlined the story to many people. This book surviving, it's a bit of a miracle as well.
@curtisdaniel929411 ай бұрын
Fascinating! Great Lesson in History of this Gospel copy. Thanks Ever So Much.
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@ShonicBurn6 ай бұрын
I've been studying St. Cuthbert trying to break apart some of the legend from the truth and this video has really helped me get a handle on where to start. I have a feeling that St. Cuthbert was a very good man who has been obscured by legends and I hope to get a better glimpse into that history.
@PatriRow11 ай бұрын
Thank you so much, Allan. Your studies that you bring to us are wonderful. This is great!
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
Glad you appreciated this!
@dorothysutton516211 ай бұрын
Very well-made. Thanks, Allan!
@TheDevice911 ай бұрын
Wow. I was unaware of this book. Very interesting provenance and very well presented.
@EllenCFarmGirl11 ай бұрын
Thank you!❤
@butterflysigh95775 ай бұрын
excellent work thankyou
@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo11 ай бұрын
One of the most remarkable Orthodox Gospels/relics in Britain.
@chuckspoke11 ай бұрын
Thanks! Have a coffee or cup of tea on me. Thanks for all of the interesring and insightful presentations. CP/Sanfrancisco-CA
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
Thanks for your support of my work! I'm thrilled you're enjoying it 😊.
@benwhitworth88817 ай бұрын
Happy St Cuthbert's Day!
@allanbarton7 ай бұрын
And to you too Ben!
@jamesbell620311 ай бұрын
Thank you for this video; inspiring and informative. Is the book on display at the British Library?
@paulosande803711 ай бұрын
As usual Mr. @allanbarton is on spot on some of the best historical research. I didn't knew that this Gospel had such an amazing story of many times being near total loss only to be saved by dedicated monks, popists and secret english catholics, bibliophiles etc. I already had the notion that this bookbinding was a treasure on itself (I am a conservator-restorer of historical documents, book and photographs) but that the text body and uncial letter was as ancient as Bede that was the best fact that I learned this week. For those who might like seeing this book under the light of scientific imaging, the British Library as on their KZbin channel the tomographic (CT scan) images of the St. Cuthbert Gospel... Here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmXYpZaIj9djg6s
@Floortile11 ай бұрын
Another riveting, erudite, subject expertly articulated - thank you so much. One contextually irelevant nitpick - why on earth is the hand shown holding the book not wearing conservation standard gloves!?
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
Thank you for your kind words. I understand from my conservator friends that gloves are no longer the conservation standard for the handling of rare books, more damage is done from loss of sensation in the fingertips to rare books than from clean hands.
@Floortile11 ай бұрын
@@allanbartonFascinating - I thought gloves were to prevent any acidic transference from skin, but I take the point about loss of sensation. Thank you again.
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
This is the latest advice from the National Archives. A complete about face on where things were twenty years ago. blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/handling-historic-collections-the-gloves-are-still-off/
@Floortile11 ай бұрын
@@allanbarton Quite so; I regret showing my years!
@csc722511 ай бұрын
@@allanbarton When I was a curator, I can attest to accidentally breaking off corners of pages when turning pages with gloved hands (although I was never lucky enough to examine such a historic artifact). A very good wash and complete drying of the hands is all that is needed. Regarding the video, when I saw the first photos of the book, my first thought was it was such a lovely rebinding. Simply amazing it has survived in it's original form and thank you for the superb video!
@novianovioTV8 ай бұрын
It is so easy as we all know for a book to get damaged. It is indeed remarkable that this is in fine condition. When we think the monks were on the move with the coffin for a century and more. As for the binding - those bookbinders made it to last. They were true to their word.
@Xanaseb11 ай бұрын
Thanks so much Allan. Is there not a slim chance that it was deliberately placed in the saint's coffin as a votive offering? Otherwise they would have remembered to take it back out, no...?
@patriciajrs4611 ай бұрын
Has this book been translated to English? That truly is a beautiful book.
@theblackpearl863211 ай бұрын
Just a few times...
@TeamFish1511 ай бұрын
I find it astonishing that the book is allowed to be handled without gloves.
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
Gloves are no longer recommended for handling rare books. They cause more damage than bare hands.
@TeamFish1511 ай бұрын
@@allanbarton so the oils in our hands is less damaging than a gloved hand? Interesting. What is it about a glove that makes it more damaging?
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
I am not a conservator, if you Google it you will find the rationale behind present conservation thinking.
@HighWealder4 ай бұрын
Remarkable survival.
@TheMinorFallTheMajorLift3 ай бұрын
How is it that this old book was handled in the photographs apparently without gloves? Wouldn’t handling in this way transfer oils from the hand and possibly adversely affect it?
@wabisabi68753 күн бұрын
Can you tell us the source of your intro and outro music? I'd like to hear more by the same musicians.
@allanbarton3 күн бұрын
It is called the Old Tower Inn, a piece of music in the public domain.
@jldisme11 ай бұрын
📖
@nadiabrook787111 ай бұрын
💖👍❤💞
@jovanweismiller711411 ай бұрын
PLEASE remake that first video on the incorrupt body of St Cuthbert! I was going to share it on my blog, but since I can't hear a word you're saying, it's pointless.
@davidniedjaco986911 ай бұрын
Very nice
@elizabethsands447011 ай бұрын
Was Cuthbert an incorrupt please
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
I address that subject in the other video, it seems he was.
@geoffreypiltz27111 ай бұрын
Why assume the goatskin was from Africa? Because of the way it has been tanned? There have been goats in Britain since Neolithic times.
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
No assumption really, we didn’t make quality goatskin for binding in Britain. We generally bound books in oak tanned calf. In this case the leather is tanned with sumac, which indicates sub-Saharan Africa.
@kevinchambers110111 ай бұрын
I question whether any of these people or institutions ever had the legal right to own or sell the book? It should be returned to Durham Cathedral. There is no reason that they couldn't care for it all well as the library. Another fascinating talk.
@geoffreypiltz27111 ай бұрын
When the book was purchased from the Jesuits it was in a formal partnership between the British Library, Durham University and Durham Cathedral and an agreement that the book will be displayed to the public equally in London and the North East, which is what happens.
@kevinchambers110111 ай бұрын
@geoffreypiltz271 There have been many items stolen from churches over time. No one ever had the legal right to remove the book from Durham Cathedral in the first place. Just because there were others that weren't aware if it's original theft does not give them clean hands. Whoever removed the book from Durham in the first place had no legal right to do so.
@geoffreypiltz27111 ай бұрын
@@kevinchambers1101 Durham Cathedral has agreed to the present arrangement. Argue with them.
@kevinchambers110111 ай бұрын
@@geoffreypiltz271 and how do you know that?
@geoffreypiltz27111 ай бұрын
@@kevinchambers1101 Have you heard of Wikipedia?
@bethwilliams49038 ай бұрын
How did this survive the mindless greed and ravages of Henry VIII’s ‘dissolution’ ???
@davidpnewton11 ай бұрын
Medieval monks making an unsubstantiated, impossible claim about the provenance of something supposedly a relic of a saint? Perish the thought. They never do that.
@Xanaseb11 ай бұрын
Its connection to Jarrow & Saint Bede is amazing enough... this new claim is still unsubstantiated, more likely, but still very much worthy of our veneration
@NinaHansen200811 ай бұрын
Why is it being held in a bare hand? Should not white cotton gloves be used to touch such a valuable ancient object?
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
No, that’s not the modern conservation practice. Gloves are now believed by conservators to do more damage to books and are only used for handling certain archival materials such as photographic prints.
@jjhynd730211 ай бұрын
It should be returned to it's original owner
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
There aren't any monks of Lindisfarne anymore and of course the Catholic Church, if that is what you mean, sold it to the British Library!!!!
@geoffreypiltz27111 ай бұрын
When the book was purchased from the Jesuits it was in a formal partnership between the British Library, Durham University and Durham Cathedral and an agreement that the book will be displayed to the public equally in London and the North East, which is what happens.
@GodsOath_com11 ай бұрын
The Bible never said saints should be venerated. This idolatry.
@allanbarton11 ай бұрын
Groan.
@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods11 ай бұрын
The Holy Spirit didn't go to sleep when the canon of scripture was closed, and saints are not idols.
@linguisticanthropologist811211 ай бұрын
Idolatry is the worship of idols. Saints are not worshipped, and veneration is not worship. Veneration is respect for a saint's holy life and the intention to follow his or her example. Biblical literalism strikes again.