The UK's most complete in situ medieval monastic library
We have more than 300 manuscripts from the pre-Reformation era.
These include books produced in Anglo-Saxon Northumberland, medieval Italy, and Norman France. Highlights include:
- flyleaves from a 6th century account of the Book of Maccabees – which was almost certainly known to the Venerable Bede himself
- the earliest complete edition of Cassiodorus’ commentary on the Psalms dating from the 8th century
- the beautiful illuminated Romanesque bible of Norman Bishop of Durham Hugh le Puiset
- copies of the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest
- the Durham Gospels, the sister-book to the Lindisfarne Gospels
The manuscripts include Bibles, biblical commentaries, key works by the patristic fathers and canon law books. There are also medieval library catalogues and mortuary rolls.