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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ 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

___________________________ 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