21 December 2017
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Portrait of St. Luke, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, MS 286, f. 129v. Courtesy of the Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and the Parker Library
The oldest surviving illustrated Latin Gospel book, known as the Gospels of St. Augustine, can be seen online, along with many other important historic manuscripts, as the Parker Library at the University of Cambridge makes its holdings available from 10 January 2018.
The oldest surviving illustrated Latin Gospel book, known as the Gospels of St. Augustine, can be seen online, along with dozens of other medieval manuscripts, as the Parker Library at the University of Cambridge makes its holdings available from 10 January 2018.
Digital surrogates of the collection, which is housed at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, have been online since 2009 as the result of a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, however until now, only member organizations, and their associated students and scholars, have had access to the full content.
Dr Suzanne Paul, Keeper of Rare Books and Early Manuscripts at Cambridge University Library, said: 'We learned a great deal about managing a large-scale digitisation project, not least the benefits of close collaboration with partners across the river and across the world. The project has really been a game-changer in opening up the whole of a historic library to scholars and interested readers across the world.'
Matthew Parker
Matthew Parker, who was Master of Corpus Christi College, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and Archbishop of Canterbury (1559-75) was an avid collector of books and manuscripts.
He salvaged medieval manuscripts which had fallen victim to the dissolution of the monasteries and his collection ranges from the 6th-century Gospels of St Augustine, to 16th-century records relating to the English Reformation.
For more information, visit Parker Library news.
(Image copyright Parker Library/University of Cambridge)