Blogum scribo
Blessed ones,
I always try my very best to instil in the hearts and minds of my beloved readers an appreciation for the gospel of Christ, do I not? Well, today I thought I would show you how using the wizardrous British Library digitised collection of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts can amplify that appreciation. So we are going to look at gospel book covers!
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 © British Library Board. London, British Library, Add MS 40165 A (?Africa, c. 300), folio 1r: fragments from St Cyprian’s epistles used as flyleaves in the binding of a 12th-century book. Oh, what twenty-first-century wizardry is upon us! What marvels!
The British Library has just announced that it has completed the full digitisation of 175 Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. Not only have they included manuscripts that were produced in England but also those that were present during the Anglo-Saxon era. So, blessed ones, you can even see fragments from three fourth-century epistles that likely originated in Africa (see the image above). Marvellous, indeed! So please take a look at the list of manuscripts, engage in a spot of virtual browsing (type the name of the manuscript in the search box), and then let me know which manuscript is your favourite. I will reward each blessed one of you who responds with an extra fervent prayer on your behalf. The Anglo-Saxon Monk looks to his later Benedictine brethren to learn about hospital life – and food – in medieval Rochester  Twenty-first-century simnel cake... not quite what was served in a thirteenth-century hospital but not far off! Click on image for picture credit. Blessed readers,
I must confess that the medical wizardry of your twenty-first century is quite beyond me. The other Monk of this website (I'm the holy one) told me of his recent, and marvellous, treatment in a hospital in USA for a sudden attack of something called ischemic colitis. What the physicians and nurses did with intravenous tubing was most fascinating; anaesthesia and pain killers, astounding; and it quite took my breath away when I learned about a seeing device observing parts of his anatomy I imagined would never be visited by anything, let alone a camera! But perhaps this is too much information. What I really want to discuss with you, beloved, is hospital life in medieval times. The other Monk has very kindly passed on to me some of his research he did last year on the customs book owned by Rochester Cathedral. Full of fascinating insights into a medieval Benedictine community, I was particularly impressed by the book's medical related material. And what I learned about hospital diets, well, frankly, I'm astonished... |
