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The 775-year-old bible on display for first time

Sophie Parker
BBC News, Wiltshire
Reporting fromSalisbury
Salisbury Cathedral An old manuscript page, in tiny, perfectly written medieval Latin. One starting letter to a Bible book - a P - is lavishly decorated in blue and red and shows man inside the letter holding a book while the letter tails off dramatically, a mythical creature incorprated.Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral An old manuscript page, in tiny, perfectly written medieval Latin. One starting letter to a Bible book - a C - is lavishly decorated in blue and red and shows a group of men inside the letter reading from a lectern.Salisbury Cathedral
The Sarum Master Bible features detailed letter illustrations and minuscule Latin text
The bible's pages are no more than 17cm high

A treasured bible illustrated by a medieval master around 775 years ago has gone on public display for the first time – in the city where it was created.

The Sarum Master Bible can now be seen at Salisbury Cathedral, which managed to acquire it after a charity raised £90,000 to buy it.

Handwritten Latin text is squeezed onto its 17cm-high pages, and the first letter of each book of the bible is lavishly decorated.

The Sarum Master – whose real name is unknown – is considered "one of the finest English artists of the period", said cathedral librarian Dr Anne Dutton.

A look down the central walkway of the library's shelves, with a traditional church-style window at the back and a gateway in front. The shelves are very tall and wooden.
Many of the cathedral's medieval manuscripts are kept behind a gate which the public are not allowed through

It is believed the bible was created in Salisbury between 1240 and 1250.

After going on display, the 13th Century manuscript will be carefully kept in the cathedral's 600-year-old library, behind a gate that the public are not allowed through.

Dr Dutton said: "I can honestly say that it was the most spectacular Christmas present I have ever received – of course, not for me personally."

More library shelves from floor to ceiling - large leather-bound traditional-looking volumes are on them. The bottom half have doors in front with metal screens across them.
The cathedral's library is overseen by Dr Dutton

The writing is tiny – which means the decoration and colour on letters and illustrations are too, with none more than 2.5cm high.

Dr Dutton said: "It is virtually impossible to see the details without some kind of magnification."

She said lenses may have been used in the 1200s to magnify and create the illustrations and text.

Salisbury Cathedral The medieval manuscript is held open so a double-page spread can be seen. There are two decorated capital letters in red and blue and some coloured writing in amongst the need medieval Latin.Salisbury Cathedral
The Sarum Master is said to have worked on the bible between 1240 and 1250

Dr Dutton said that "no details of the artist's life are known".

There would have been a lot of artists working in the area at the time, when the cathedral was being built, she said.

Salisbury Cathedral An old manuscript page, in tiny, perfectly written medieval Latin. One starting letter to a Bible book - an A - is lavishly decorated in blue and red and shows a monk with pen and knife writing sitting inside the letter. The A tails off dramatically, like a branch or root.Salisbury Cathedral
Dr Dutton's favourite illustration is an 'A' at the start of the Book of Revelation

Dr Dutton does have a favourite decorated initial letter, one from the Book of Revelation: "The initial capital A shows the author – St John – depicted as a medieval scribe.

"He is holding a quill pen and a pen knife, exactly as a medieval scribe."

The money for the bible was raised by Friends of the Nations' Libraries, after Dr Dutton spotted it for sale at Sotheby's and was contacted when it did not sell at auction.

The bible is on display in Salisbury Cathedral until 20 March, after which it will be kept in the library, which researchers can visit by appointment and the public can see on open days.

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