The St Cuthbert Gospel is an early 8th-century pocket Gospel book,
written in Latin. The essentially undecorated text is the Gospel of John
in Latin, written in a script that has been regarded as a model of
elegant simplicity. Its finely decorated leather binding is the earliest
known Western bookbinding to survive, and both the 94 vellum folios and
the binding are in outstanding condition for a book of its age. It is
one of the smallest surviving Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. The book takes
its name from Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, North East England, in
whose tomb it was placed, probably a few years after his death in 687.
It was probably a gift from Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey, where it was
written, intended for St Cuthbert's coffin when his remains were placed
behind the altar at Lindisfarne in 698. It presumably remained in the
coffin through its long travels after 875, forced by Viking invasions,
ending at Durham Cathedral. The book was found inside the coffin and
removed in 1104. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in England by
Henry VIII between 1536 and 1541, the book passed to collectors, and is
now owned by the British Library.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Cuthbert_Gospel>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1557:
Arauco War: Spanish forces of the Governor Francisco de
Villagra launched a surprise dawn attack against the Mapuche headed by
their toqui Lautaro in what is now Chile.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mataquito>
1636:
Eighty Years' War: Dutch Republic forces recaptured a
strategically important fort from Spain after a nine-month siege.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Schenkenschans>
1883:
Governor of New York Grover Cleveland signed legislation that
led to the creation of Niagara Falls State Park (American Falls
pictured), the United States' first state park.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls_State_Park>
1963:
The Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian
bus crews led to a bus boycott in Bristol, drawing national attention to
racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bus_Boycott>
2009:
A Dutch man drove his car at high speed into a parade in an
attempt to kill the Dutch royal family.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_attack_on_the_Dutch_Royal_Family>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
exhilarate:
1. (transitive) To cheer, to cheer up, to gladden, to make happy.
2. (transitive) To excite, to thrill.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exhilarate>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have not come into this world to make men better, but to make
use of their weaknesses.
--Adolf Hitler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler>