Lichfield Gospels facts for kids
The Lichfield Gospels (also known as the St Chad Gospels) is a very old and beautiful book from the 700s. It is kept safe at Lichfield Cathedral in England. This book is a Gospel Book, which means it contains parts of the Christian Bible, specifically the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
There are 236 pages left in the book today. Eight of these pages have amazing, colorful pictures called "illuminations." Four other pages have special text with decorative borders. Each page is about 30.8 centimeters (12 inches) tall and 23.5 centimeters (9 inches) wide.
What makes this book extra special is that it has some of the oldest known examples of written Old Welsh language. These notes are written in the margins, which are the blank spaces around the main text. An expert named Peter Lord thinks the book was made around the year 730. This means it's older than the famous Book of Kells but newer than the Lindisfarne Gospels.
Notes in the book's margins show that it was owned by a church in Wales, dedicated to St Teilo, in the 800s. Later, in the 900s, it came to Lichfield Cathedral, where it has been ever since.
In 1962, the book was carefully put back together by a bookbinder named Roger Powell. During this process, they found that the pages had been trimmed shorter in 1707. Also, in 1862, the book had been cut into separate pages. In 2010, a team led by Bill Endres started making digital copies of the book. Later, in 2014, they used a special camera technique called Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) to find hidden writing. This writing was scratched into the pages without ink, called "drypoint." One drypoint note on page 226 lists three Anglo-Saxon women's names. This suggests that women might have worked as scribes (people who copied books) at Lichfield a long time ago!
Contents
Where Did the Lichfield Gospels Come From?
Experts have different ideas about where the Lichfield Gospels were made. The main possibilities are Ireland, Northumbria (an old kingdom in northern England), Wales, or Lichfield itself.
The way the book is written and decorated is similar to other old books from Northumbria and Iona (an island off Scotland). For example, the painting styles look a lot like those in the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells. Some people thought the Welsh notes in the margins meant the book was made in Wales, maybe at a place called Llandeilo Fawr.
However, in 1980, a researcher named Wendy Stein argued that Lichfield was the most likely place. Then, in 1996, Pamela James studied the paper, colors, and writing style. She also concluded that Lichfield was the most probable origin. More evidence came in 2003 with the discovery of the Lichfield Angel. This is an ancient stone carving of an angel found buried in Lichfield Cathedral. It showed that Lichfield was an important center for art and writing back then.
The book's style suggests it was made between the years 698 and 800. A special page in the book, called a "carpet page," has patterns of birds woven together. These patterns look very much like designs found on an old stone cross from Aberlady in Northumbria. This might mean the book's artist and the cross's sculptor learned from similar design ideas.
Even though we don't know exactly how the book arrived in Lichfield, it was definitely there by the end of the 900s. The first page has a faded signature that probably belongs to Wynsige, who was the Bishop of Lichfield from about 963 to 972. Another page mentions Leofric, who was bishop from 1020 to 1026.
No matter where it started, the book has been in Lichfield since the 900s. During the English Civil War in 1646, Lichfield Cathedral was attacked, and its library was looted. Many books were stolen. Later, a duchess named Frances Seymour returned them in 1672 or 1673. It was probably at this time that the second volume of the Gospels was lost. A church official named William Higgins is credited with saving the remaining part of the book.
The Lichfield Gospels were put on public display in 1982. Even today, the bishops of Lichfield still promise their loyalty to the Crown by swearing on the Lichfield Gospels.
What's Inside the Book?
The part of the Lichfield Gospels that we still have contains the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and the beginning of the Gospel of Luke. The Latin text is written in a single column. It is based on the Vulgate, which was the standard Latin version of the Bible.
The writing in the book is mostly in a style called "Insular majuscule." This is a large, clear script often used in old Irish and British manuscripts. The writing looks very regular, which might mean one person copied the whole book. However, some experts think that up to four different scribes might have worked on it. The writing style shows strong connections between the Lichfield Gospels and other old books from Northumbria, Iona, and Ireland.
Beautiful Decorations
The Lichfield Gospels are famous for their beautiful artwork. The book has:
- Two special pictures of the Gospel writers, St Mark and St Luke.
- A "carpet page" (page 216), which is a full page of intricate patterns, like a beautiful carpet. This page is so similar to the work of Eadfrith (who made the Lindisfarne Gospels) that some think he might have worked on it.
- Special "incipit" pages for Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These are pages where the first few words of each Gospel are written in a very large, decorated way.
- A special page with the Chi Rho monogram, which is a symbol for Christ.
- A page showing the four symbols of the evangelists (an angel for Matthew, a lion for Mark, an ox for Luke, and an eagle for John).
Sadly, Matthew's incipit page is very worn. It looks like it was used as the front cover of the book for many years. Matthew's Gospel also includes four pages with special borders: three pages showing the Genealogy of Christ (Jesus' family tree) and Matthew's very last page.
Hidden Notes in the Margins
The Lichfield Gospels have eight notes written in the margins. These notes are in Latin and Old Welsh, and they are some of the earliest examples of written Welsh that still exist.
The first note, written in Latin, says that a man named Gelhi gave the book "to God on the altar of St Teilo" after buying it for the price of his best horse from someone named Cingal. For a long time, people thought the "altar of St Teilo" was at a monastery called Llandaff. But now, experts believe the book spent time near Llandeilo Fawr because other notes mention lands close to that area.
The second note is very special. It's a unique example of early Welsh prose (regular writing, not poetry) that describes how a land dispute was settled. These two notes are thought to be from the mid-800s.
Experts Gifford Thomas-Edwards and Helen McKee have also found nine "dry-point glosses." These are notes scratched into the parchment without ink, so you can only see them if you look at the page from a certain angle. The first and last groups of three dry-point notes are Anglo-Saxon personal names. These names are:
- On page 217: Wulfun, Alchelm, Eadric
- On page 221: Wulfun, Berht/elf, and another note that is hard to read
- On page 226: Berhtfled, Elfled, Wulfild
It's possible there are even more hidden notes in this book and other old Gospel books that haven't been found yet! If these names can be dated, it could help us understand more about where the book was before it came to Wales.
It's hard to tell if the same person wrote the main text, the Gospels, and the dry-point notes. However, G. Charles-Edwards and H. McKee believe they have found features in the dry-point letters that suggest they were added later, perhaps in the late 800s. This means these notes were likely added after the Gospels had already moved to Lichfield.
