Everlasting Books: The Silver Bible

One of my favourite manuscripts has been added as part of the Memory of the World Register. It is called the Silver Bible (Codex Argentium) and is a part of the Gothic translation of the Bible, written on purple parchment in silver and gold ink. But, here is a much better explanation and you get to see the wonderful manuscript*:

*There are some more pictures of the codex on my Pinterest boards here.

Ageless Words Friday: Bede’s Death Song

A well-known author and scholar, Bede (c. 672 A.D.. – 26 May 735 A.D.) is most famous for his work Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People). Bede (also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede) was a monk at the Northumbrian monasteries of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth[1] and Saint Paul in Jarrow. He was also a skilled translator and linguist, and wrote many works of a scientific, historical and theological nature. On his deathbed he is said to have composed the following five lines of verse, known as Bede’s Death Song.

[2]For þam nedfere    næni wyrþeþ

þances snotera,        þonne him þearf sy

to gehicgenne                       ær his heonengange

hwæt his gaste                     godes oþþe yfeles

æfter deaþe heonon            demed weorþe.

English Translation:

Bede’s Dying Words – Translation by Anthony Cronin

Before the inevitable hour looms

When, however unwilling,

You must face the final court

You cannot give enough thought

To the state of your account,

Its balance of good and evil,

For when that hour arrives

It will be too late

To add or subtract,

Regret or amend.

For more information about Bede, his works or the time he lived in, visit the Labyrinth; a wonderful assemblage of links and resources by Georgetown University, or visit the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Wikipedia also has an article about his life and works, including various links.

I'll be back on Monday with some more fiction and the next instalment of VfH. Enjoy your weekend!

Bede

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[1] Today part of Sunderland.

[2] Anglo-Saxon text and translation by Anthony Cronin taken from The Word Exchange, published by W.W. Norton in 2011.

Ageless Words Friday: A Medieval Allegory of the Scribe’s Tools

A few years ago I came across this short piece when I was researching Icelandic manuscripts for an essay. I am not quite sure what the exact search was, but it was probably something like “parchment + illumination”; as I wanted to know (more for myself than as information necessary for the essay I was working on) what inks were used, how the parchments were readied, etc. Anyway, I ended up putting this piece up in my writing closet[1].

 

A Medieval Allegory of the Scribe’s Tools

The parchment on which we write is pure conscience; the knife that scrapes it is the fear of God; the pumice that smoothes the skin is the discipline of heavenly desire; the chalk that whitens it signifies an unbroken meditation of holy thoughts; the ruler is the will of God; the straightedge is devotion to the holy task; the quill, its end split in two for writing, is the love of God and of our neighbor; the ink is humility itself; the illuminator’s colors represent the multiform grace of heavenly wisdom; the writing desk is tranquility of heart; the exemplar from which a copy is made is the life of Christ; the writing place is contempt of worldly things lifting us to a desire for heaven.

The piece can also be found on Rosemarie Berger’s page under the title “How to pray when you have a desk job”.

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[1] My writing desk is inside a closet and has become known in the family as “The Writing Closet”; and is a mystical place where you will get lost in another dimension for at least a couple of hours if you’re not careful. We DO NOT, however, refer to it as the “WC”… And at least the Afrikaans is “Die Skryfkas”.