Manuscripts in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: cultures and connections

Associated with the 2019 British Library exhibition Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: art, word, war, these 14 short essays demonstrate the specialised scholarship that lies behind the choice and description of items in such an exhibition. The contents of each closely focused chapter range chronologically from the Durham A II 10 Gospel Book (here dated to the 630s) to examining the motivation of the reader who made 12th-century interventions in the Alfredian Orosius translation. Topics include choice of membrane (calf-, goat-, or sheep-skin), generic scripts and individual hands, punctuation, musical notation, and eclectic scriptorium practices. A recurrent theme is how readers used manuscripts, includi