manuscriptbook:

The Elegant Simplicity of the St Cuthbert Gospel

This simple page, bare of decoration, is actually one of the most remarkable pages in Western manuscript history. It is in fact a folio (2v) from the St Cuthbert Gospel, also known as the Stonyhurst Gospel (British Library, Add MS 89000), which is the oldest intact European book. The book was apparently tucked away in the coffin of St Cuthbert – a prominent English saint – from 698 to 1104, after which it was discovered in near perfect condition when St Cuthbert’s remains were moved from his coffin to a new location. The book is currently in the collection of the British Library, who bought it in 2012 for the considerable sum of £9 million.

The book consists of the Gospel of St John, in remarkably clear handwritten script. The script is elegant and simple, with only a few initials and rubrications – only one red initial seen on this page – and has been hailed for its “simple design and perfect execution” (Brown, The Stonyhurst Gospel of Saint John, 1969). The subtle decorative elements of the text never muddle the form of the letters, further attributing to its clarity. Almost all letters are in fact very clear even to a modern reader, and show, overall, how closely tied our basic letter forms can be to those of even the oldest books. All elements of the Cuthbert Gospel – ink, page and binding – are a testament to how expertly it was made, and how it has survived to this day as a uniquely well-preserved part of European book history.

- Anna Käyhkö