Secret notes, hidden for 500 years in England’s oldest bible, have been discovered.

The notes were written on parts of the book, published by Henry VIII in 1535, which had been pasted over with heavy paper, obscuring them from view.

The book was being housed in Lambeth Palace Library, London, and Dr Eyal Poleg, of Queen Mary University made the discovery while carrying out research.

Using specially developed 3D X-ray technology, Dr Poleg was able to reveal the notes.

“We know virtually nothing about this unique Bible – whose preface was written by Henry himself – outside of the surviving copies,” said Dr Poleg.

“At first, the Lambeth copy first appeared completely ‘clean’. But upon closer inspection I noticed that heavy paper had been pasted over blank parts of the book.

“The challenge was how to uncover the annotations without damaging the book”

The annotations shown separately from the printed text (Lambeth Palace Library)

The handwritten notes are copied from the ‘Great Bible’ of Thomas Cromwell, who was one of the main advocates of the English Reformation, and were written between 1539 and 1549.

They were hidden with the paper in 1600.

One example reads: "'On the iij Sonday [of Lent] | [E]phe. v. a. be ye therfore follo. | Lk. xi. b. and he was casting out."

Dr Poleg told the Mail Online: "This means that the text to be read at Mass on the Fourth Sunday of Lent is the Letter to the Ephesians 5:1 (beginning with 'be ye therfore’) and Luke 11:14 (beginning "and he was casting out")."

According to Dr Poleg, the find is significant because: “Until recently, it was widely assumed that the Reformation caused a complete break, a Rubicon moment when people stopped being Catholics and accepted Protestantism, rejected saints, and replaced Latin with English.”

“This Bible is a unique witness to a time when the conservative Latin and the reformist English were used together, showing that the Reformation was a slow, complex, and gradual process.”

In addition, further notes were discovered on the back pages of the bible; a handwritten receipt between two men: Mr William Cheffyn of Calais, and Mr James Elys Cutpurse of London.

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Getty Images Henry VIII's court recreated at Buckingham Palace art exhibition AN11139469Exhibition Curato.jpg Exhibition Curator Kate Heard adjusts a suit of armour dating from around 1563, part of 'The Northern Renaissance: Durer to Holbein' exhibition, at the Queen's Gallery, in central London, which will run from 2 November 2012 to 14 April 2013. PA Henry VIII's court recreated at Buckingham Palace art exhibition AN11144228LONDON ENGLAND - .jpg A woman admires a painting by 'Circle of the Master of the Legend of Magdalen' entitled 'The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula' in the exhibition 'The Northern Renaissance: Durer to Holbein' at The Queen's Gallery on October 29, 2012 in London, England. The exhibition, which celebrates the Renaissance in Northern Europe through work by some of the finest artists of the era, opens to the general public on November 2, 2012 and runs until April 14, 2013. Getty Images Henry VIII's court recreated at Buckingham Palace art exhibition AN11144214LONDON ENGLAND - .jpg A detailed view of the painting 'Triptych: The Virgin and Child with Saints and Donors' by Jan Provoost in the exhibition 'The Northern Renaissance: Durer to Holbein' at The Queen's Gallery on October 29, 2012 in London, England. The exhibition, which celebrates the Renaissance in Northern Europe through work by some of the finest artists of the era, opens to the general public on November 2, 2012 and runs until April 14, 2013. Getty Images Henry VIII's court recreated at Buckingham Palace art exhibition AN11144032LONDON ENGLAND - .jpg Members of the public admire paintings in the exhibition 'The Northern Renaissance: Durer to Holbein' at The Queen's Gallery on October 29, 2012 in London, England. 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The exhibition, which celebrates the Renaissance in Northern Europe through work by some of the finest artists of the era, opens to the general public on November 2, 2012 and runs until April 14, 2013. Getty Images Henry VIII's court recreated at Buckingham Palace art exhibition AN11144157LONDON ENGLAND - .jpg A woman admires a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger entitled 'Sir Henry Guildford' (C) in the exhibition 'The Northern Renaissance: Durer to Holbein' at The Queen's Gallery on October 29, 2012 in London, England. The exhibition, which celebrates the Renaissance in Northern Europe through work by some of the finest artists of the era, opens to the general public on November 2, 2012 and runs until April 14, 2013. Getty Images

‘Cutpurse’ was a medieval English word for pickpocket.

The note is a record of a transaction between the two men. Cutpurse promises to pay 20 shillings to Cheffyn, or go to Marshalsea prison in Southwark.

Dr Poleg later discovered that Cutpurse had been hung in Tybourn in July 1552.

“Beyond Mr Cutpurse’s illustrious occupation, the fact that we know when he died is significant. It allows us to date and trace the journey of the book with remarkable accuracy – the transaction obviously couldn’t have taken place after his death,” said Dr Poleg.

He added: “The book is a unique witness to the course of Henry’s Reformation. Printed in 1535 by the King’s printer and with Henry’s preface, within a few short years the situation had shifted dramatically. The Latin Bible was altered to accommodate reformist English, and the book became a testimony to the greyscale between English and Latin in that murky period between 1539 and 1549.