Phil D.
ὁ βαπτιστὴς
I just had to share this with my fellow history buffs and bibliophiles on the PB...
My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Europe. We were truly blessed of the Lord to be able to do this, and during the course of it we naturally saw a lot of iconic places and historically significant locations and objects. But one of the absolute highlights for both of us turned out to be an exhibit in the British Library, in London, called Treasures of the British Library. On display within a single large room are (among many other things):
an original Gutenberg Bible (1450's)
a first edition of William Tyndale's New Testament (1526)
an original King James Bible (1611)
numerous medieval Bibles, Psalters and Prayer Books, some more than 1000 years old, and many with incredibly intricate and beautiful highlights and illustrations
the portion of THE Codex Sinaiticus recovered by Tischendorf - some 80% of the total manuscript (4th Century)
THE Codex Alexandrinus (5th Century)
the oldest known fragments of the Gospel of John (2nd or 3rd Century)
some of the oldest extant Hebrew Scriptures in codex form (9th-12th Centuries)
one of the four original copies of THE Magna Carta - as well as the papal bull attempting to nullify it (13th Century)
the original Beowulf manuscript
original manuscripts from, or first published editions by British literary legends such as Chaucer and Shakespeare
personal correspondences from many British monarchs and other royalty, such as Henry VIII, Ann Boleyn, etc.
original writings and drawings, or personal correspondence from historical scientific and artistic giants like Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, etc.
original handwritten musical scores from master composers like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and - my personal favorite - the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah
some interesting original drafts of "secondary" British literary works like Bronte's Jane Eyre
etc., etc. etc...
Words fail to describe the feeling I had when observing these incredible treasures, but stunned, awestruck, and exhilarated perhaps come closest.
If anyone here ever gets even the remotest chance to see this exhibit, they simply must. Moreover, it is actually free, and the Library is quite conveniently located next door to London's St. Pancras and King's Cross train stations. (Our itinerary actually made it necessary for us to temporarily leave our luggage with a storage company at King's Cross Station, which cost 18 pounds - but this was the best money we spent the whole trip!)
Unfortunately no photography is permitted, but I am very grateful these treasures are on public display. To merely make them available to scholars or such would truly be a crime of elitism...
Blessings
My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Europe. We were truly blessed of the Lord to be able to do this, and during the course of it we naturally saw a lot of iconic places and historically significant locations and objects. But one of the absolute highlights for both of us turned out to be an exhibit in the British Library, in London, called Treasures of the British Library. On display within a single large room are (among many other things):
an original Gutenberg Bible (1450's)
a first edition of William Tyndale's New Testament (1526)
an original King James Bible (1611)
numerous medieval Bibles, Psalters and Prayer Books, some more than 1000 years old, and many with incredibly intricate and beautiful highlights and illustrations
the portion of THE Codex Sinaiticus recovered by Tischendorf - some 80% of the total manuscript (4th Century)
THE Codex Alexandrinus (5th Century)
the oldest known fragments of the Gospel of John (2nd or 3rd Century)
some of the oldest extant Hebrew Scriptures in codex form (9th-12th Centuries)
one of the four original copies of THE Magna Carta - as well as the papal bull attempting to nullify it (13th Century)
the original Beowulf manuscript
original manuscripts from, or first published editions by British literary legends such as Chaucer and Shakespeare
personal correspondences from many British monarchs and other royalty, such as Henry VIII, Ann Boleyn, etc.
original writings and drawings, or personal correspondence from historical scientific and artistic giants like Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, etc.
original handwritten musical scores from master composers like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and - my personal favorite - the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah
some interesting original drafts of "secondary" British literary works like Bronte's Jane Eyre
etc., etc. etc...
Words fail to describe the feeling I had when observing these incredible treasures, but stunned, awestruck, and exhilarated perhaps come closest.
If anyone here ever gets even the remotest chance to see this exhibit, they simply must. Moreover, it is actually free, and the Library is quite conveniently located next door to London's St. Pancras and King's Cross train stations. (Our itinerary actually made it necessary for us to temporarily leave our luggage with a storage company at King's Cross Station, which cost 18 pounds - but this was the best money we spent the whole trip!)
Unfortunately no photography is permitted, but I am very grateful these treasures are on public display. To merely make them available to scholars or such would truly be a crime of elitism...
Blessings
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