The Gospels ('The Thorney Gospels'); added Liber Vitae and list of relics of Thorney Abbey
Description
This early 10th-century book of Gospels was produced in France,
but, as is indicated by Old English glosses, was at the Benedictine
abbey of St Mary the Virgin and St Botoph at Thorney
(Cambridgeshire) by the late 10th or early 11th century. At Thorney
Abbey, a Liber Vitae (Book of Life) was added that contains the
names of members and benefactors of the monastery. Contents: ff.
1v-4r, 9v-11r, 12r: A Liber Vitae for the Benedictine Abbey of St
Mary the Virgin and St Botolph, Thorney (Thorney Abbey). It
consists of a record of the names of confraters, monks and
benefactors related to the abbey, who were included in the daily
prayers of the community. The lists of names ranges from the very
end of the 11th century to the end of the 12th century, some names
are written on the leaves of an earlier French book of Gospels,
some on added leaves. There are about 2,300 names of Anglo-Saxon,
Scandinavian and of Anglo-Norman origin, added up to a century
after their death (see Clark, 'The Liber Vitae of Thorney Abbey'
(1995)). The names include monarchs such as King Cnut, King Harold
and Queen Aelfgifu, laypeople including family groups and monks of
Thorney Abbey. An added 15th-century abbatial table (f. 11r) under
the rubric 'No[m]i[n]a Abbatu[m] hu[]i[us] mo[na]st[er]ii' is
preceded by an account of the foundation of the abbey in 973. The
earlier names are the same as those in the 12th-century lists, and
the entries extend to John Ramsey, abbot from 1450 to 1457. ff.
4v-9v: The Eusebian Canon tables; an Old English inscription of the
2nd half of the 11th century refers to a former treasure binding
(f. 4r).ff. 11v-12r: A list of saints' relics at Thorney Abbey. ff.
13r-32v: The Gospel of St Matthew, with Old English interlinear
glosses (Matthew 26:28-end). An added verse in a 10th-century
Anglo-Saxon minuscule in red ink (f. 30r).ff. 32v-45v: The Gospel
of St Mark, preceded by the capitula (ff. 32v-33v) and the preface
(f. 33v).ff. 45v-69v: The Gospel of St Luke, preceded by the
capitula (ff. 45v-47r) and the preface (f. 47r), with Anglo-Saxon
interlinear glosses (Luke 1:1-17). ff. 69v-87v: The Gospel of St
John, preceded by the preface (ff. 69v) and capitula (69v-70v),
imperfect.Decoration:Full page-length or large initials with
geometric and foliate decoration in colours (f. 13r) or in red and
yellow (ff. 34v, 48r, 71v) at the beginning of each Gospel.
Eusebian Canon tables with columns in red or red, green and yellow
(ff. 4v-9v). Numerous initials, rubrics and numbers in red. Blank
pages were left before the opening of each Gospel (ff. 12v, 34r,
47v and 71r), possibly for miniatures. Lectionary notes throughout
in Roman numerals.
