Priceless 14th century Latin 'dictionary' that let nuns translate the Bible and survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries goes on display for the first time
A priceless 700-year-old Bible
'dictionary' which gives a unique insight into the way nuns lived has
gone on display for the first time.
The Expositiones Vocabulorum Biblie by the 12th century clergyman William Brito - sometimes known as Guillaume le Breton - is written entirely in Latin.
It is one of the few monastic documents which is still in its original location after surviving the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII in the 1530s, where the monarch disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland, and seized their assets and income.
The hand written parchment book is
thought to have helped nuns decipher parts of the Bible and contains
explanations and the origins of difficult words.
It is now on display at Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, where the nuns lived, after it was recently bought in an auction by the National Trust.
Sonia Jones, house and collections manager at Lacock, said the 14th century book gave an insight into how the nuns lived during their time in the abbey.
She said: 'We know little about the everyday lives of the nuns at Lacock Abbey.
'This one book gives us a remarkable rare glimpse, a short glance into how they might have lived their lives.
'It tells us that they studied the Bible closely and most would have been literate.
'There is scrap parchment in the bindings which are part of the accounts of the abbey, recycled when the book was bound.
'Those fragments let us see just a little of some of the business side of the abbey, selling wool to provide an income.
'It is a special and important book, but to have it in Lacock and to be able to put it on display in the abbey, in its original home is simply priceless.'
It is also not known whether
books such as the dictionary were ever written at Lacock or where this
copy was laboriously hand written elsewhere.
The book was already known to the Trust and had passed down through generations of the Talbot family who lived at the abbey.
It was put up for sale and was bought by the National Trust at auction at Christie's.
The Expositiones Vocabulorum Biblie by the 12th century clergyman William Brito - sometimes known as Guillaume le Breton - is written entirely in Latin.
It is one of the few monastic documents which is still in its original location after surviving the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII in the 1530s, where the monarch disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland, and seized their assets and income.
Artefact: A 14th century copy of an early Bible
dictionary is one of very few monastic books to have survived the
Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII in the 1530s
Many treasures were lost under Henry VIII's
Dissolution of the Monasteries. The book has gone on display for the
very first time and has been at the abbey for over 700 years
It is now on display at Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, where the nuns lived, after it was recently bought in an auction by the National Trust.
Sonia Jones, house and collections manager at Lacock, said the 14th century book gave an insight into how the nuns lived during their time in the abbey.
She said: 'We know little about the everyday lives of the nuns at Lacock Abbey.
Remnant: The book is a priceless survivor from the days when the nuns lived at Lacock Abbey in Wiltshre
Living history: The front cover of the 700-year-old hand written manuscript Bible dictionary
Written in Latin, it was part of the abbey
library and even has earlier 13th century financial accounts of the
abbey pasted into the binding
'It tells us that they studied the Bible closely and most would have been literate.
'There is scrap parchment in the bindings which are part of the accounts of the abbey, recycled when the book was bound.
'Those fragments let us see just a little of some of the business side of the abbey, selling wool to provide an income.
'It is a special and important book, but to have it in Lacock and to be able to put it on display in the abbey, in its original home is simply priceless.'
Craftsmanship: A clasp mark on the book, which has a wooden cover
Treasure: The book was recently bought in an auction by the National Trust
The book was already known to the Trust and had passed down through generations of the Talbot family who lived at the abbey.
It was put up for sale and was bought by the National Trust at auction at Christie's.