The Benedictional of St Æthelwold: A Masterpiece of Anglo-Saxon Art: A Facsimile

Abstract

Benedictional of St a book of ceremonial blessings made for St Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester from 963-984, is one of the most lavishly decorated manuscripts to have survived from Anglo-Saxon England. St Aethelwold was one of the leaders of the movement of ecclesiastical and cultural renewal in 10th-century England, which led to the foundation of new monasteries, the building of great cathedrals and the production of magnificent works of art, initiating the Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon art. The benedictional is the most important surviving artistic product of these movements. This facsimile reproduces the complete manuscript in full colour (with special gold), and to actual size, for the first time. In this introduction, Professor Andrew Prescott explores the historical and liturgical context of this remarkable manuscript, and provides translations of some of the blessings.

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