The library of Sir Robert Cotton (1571-1631) is arguably the most important collection of manuscripts ever assembled in Britain by a private individual. Amongst its many treasures are the Lindisfarne Gospels, two of the contemporary copies of Magna Carter and the only surviving manuscript of Beowulf. It was bequeathed to the nation by Sir Robert's granson in 1701. The British Library is currently engaged in laying the groundwork for a new and definitive catalogue of the manuscripts.

A scholarly study of Sir Robert Cotton as antiquary and politician. It examines his antiquarian writings, the building of his library, his relations with European scholars, his place at court, in parliament, and in the literary society of Renaissance London.

A provocative book from a highly original scholar, challenging much of what we know about early Christian manuscripts In this bold and groundbreaking book, Brent Nongbri provides an up-to-date introduction to the major collections of early Christian manuscripts and demonstrates that much of what we thought we knew about these books and fragments is mistaken. While biblical scholars have expended much effort in their study of the texts contained within our earliest Christian manuscripts, there has been a surprising lack of interest in thinking about these books as material objects with individual, unique histories. We have too often ignored the ways that the antiquities market obscures our knowledge of the origins of these manuscripts. Through painstaking archival research and detailed studies of our most important collections of early Christian manuscripts, Nongbri vividly shows how the earliest Christian books are more than just carriers of texts or samples of handwriting. They are three-dimensional archaeological artifacts with fascinating stories to tell, if we’re willing to listen.

Takes the crowning work of medieval Britain into the twenty-first century