It is time to feast! Our annual winter closure is here. We will return back for our regular hours on Monday 5 January, 2026 Parker Library On the Web will continue to fullfil your medieval manuscript desires: parker.stanford.edu/parker CCCC MS 053, f.65r tinyurl.com/vuyr92pt Happy holidays!

Image: Medicinal prayers for sore eyes, sore ears and illness, in Old English, written in the margin (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 41, p. 326)

"Amantissimo domino et patri B(artholomeo) dei gratia exoniensi frater B(aldewinus) fordensis monasterii" Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 200; Baldwin of Ford OCist, De sacramento altaris; ca. 1175 - 1199; Christ Church, Canterbury; p.1 @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

'Karolus magnus pippini filius' Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 373; Anonymous Chronicle (to 1114 CE, based on Ekkehard of Aura's Imperial Chronicle); ca. 1114 CE - 1125 CE; Germany; f.24r @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

'Pippinus rex francorum pater karoli magni' Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 373; Anonymous Chronicle (to 1114 CE, based on Ekkehard of Aura's Imperial Chronicle); ca. 1114 CE - 1125 CE; Germany; f.14r @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

Prepping some Blickling XIX for tomorrow's Old English ms reading session from @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social CCCC 198 and just cannot get over how adorable this scribe's rustic capitals look. His elongated Hs make me weak at the knees. 🫣

We all need some good and proper boundaries Here the borders surround various texts by Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln (1235-1253) on pastoral care and the teachings of the Church CCCC MS 257, ff. 9r and 181r parker.stanford.edu/parker/catal... #ManuscriptMonday

What a life! #ElephantonFriday Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 016II; Matthew Paris OSB, Chronica maiora II; 13th century; f.152v @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

So, you're a medievalist? What do you do? Study dragons and stuff? Well.... (check the alt text for links to the source manuscripts held @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social)

15 and + years 🎉 Our teenage years online are all about unrestricted screentime Go and explore Parker Library On the Web and find our 560 medieval and early modern manuscripts www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/articles/cel...

There is still time to apply for the position of Fellow Librarian at All Souls College Oxford (deadline is 5 December). Read more: www.asc.ox.ac.uk/fellow-libra... Please spread the word--this is a special opportunity!

Monday mood Baldwin of Ford (d. 1190) focused on writing his text On the sacrament of the altar (De sacramento altaris) CCCC MS 200, f. 1r (c. 1184-1190s) - fully digitised and online: tinyurl.com/4s9v9j9t

20th November is the feast of St Edmund King and Martyr. Here his severed head crying 'hic,hic,hic' adorns the vellum repairing f.322r. Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 002III; 'The Bury Bible'; 12th c; Bury St Edmunds Abbey; f.322r @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

A table of the Hebrew alphabet at the beginning of Lamentations Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 048; Bible; c.1170 CE; England (St Albans); f.121r @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

📢 Delighted to announce that our Visiting Research Fellowships scheme for 2026 is now open for applications. Wonderful collections, world-class library & a brilliant @uofglasgow.bsky.social team to support you. Find out more 👇

We're delighted to digitally contribute to @theul.bsky.social Curious Cures project Curator James Freeman highlights some of way Middle English medical writings have survived to us: specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk?p=30906 One more month to catch the physcial exhibition, do not miss it!

🗞️Newsletter alert🗞️ Issue 85 of the AMARC newsletter is en route to our members, which means Issue 84 is now available online - take a look! amarcsite.wordpress.com/newsletters-...

Compare and contrast with the exquisite initial 'F'(rater) at the beginning of Jerome's letter to Paulinus in 'The Bury Bible', which is the work of Master Hugo. Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 002I; The Bury Bible; 12th century; f.1v @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

Initial 'V'(erbum) at the beginning of the prophet Jeremiah: "A A A, Dominus Deus, ecce nescio loqui, Qui puer ego sum." #lostforwords Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 003; The Dover Bible, Volume I; 12th century; f.195r @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

Our most famous manuscript, available on Parker Library On the Web: tinyurl.com/4a62s8s6 In case you havent noticed, you can have a copy of this too! Download full manuscript pdf directly from the image viewer for you personal enjoyment 📖 We have released all our images with CC BY-NC 4.0 licensing

I'm excited to speak at this week's instalment of the 'Staging the Middle Ages' project in Cambridge - Fri 24th Oct 5:30pm - reflecting on what I learned from the reading of 'The Conversion of the Harlot Thais' which I hosted last year @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/session-2-...

Had fun filming a short video about the fabulous Parker.stanford.edu with @blalbritton.bsky.social today. We have a super NEH project (Global Currents) on the automated retrieval of features of manuscript layout using Parker data.

🚨AMARC GRANTS: upcoming deadline🚨 We give grants of up to £500 to projects that promote the accessibility, preservation and study of manuscripts and archives. 📅Deadline: 1 November Read more on our website: amarcsite.wordpress.com/grants/

A comet appears; Bishop Wilfrid is driven out; AElfwine is killed, and St AEthelthryth dies. Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 173; The Parker Chronicle; started in 9th & continued into 11th century; England (Winchester); f.8r @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

MLGB is back!! Delighted that Medieval Libraries of Great Britain @bodleian.ox.ac.uk is now back online. We are also working had on plans for the next phase of the resource, enhancing & adding data & functionality. HUGE thanks to my colleagues for their hard & clever work mlgb.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Grumpy apprentice grinding some pigment while master painter paints. Have to love the mustach! 👨‍🎨 😍

This glorious day for the Church is a good chance to repost my thread for St. Augustine's day, featuring our new Archbishop of Canterbury proclaiming the Gospel from the St. Augustine Gospels—or so it seems! I very much hope we will see the manuscript come out again at her installation in March. ⚓

What a success! We recently held our doors open for Open Cambridge celebrations. Over 300 visitors had a chance to check out our exhibition, the room & talk to the Conservation and the Archives of @corpuscambridge.bsky.social www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/articles/ope...

a-sēon, str.v: to look at or upon, set eyes on (something). (ah-SAY-on / a-ˈseːɔn) Image: Peterborough Bestiary; England (Peterborough), c. 1300-1310; @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social MS 53, f. 197v. #OldEnglish #WOTD

30th September is the feast of St Jerome. This portrait of St Jerome was added perhaps c. 1070 CE. Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 389; Jerome's Life of St Paul (Vita Pauli, ); 10th century CE; St Augustine's, Canterbury; f.1v @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

Getting ready for Open Cambridge at the Parker: Thursday 18 Sept, 10-12 and 2-4pm we'll keep the doors open for anyone to drop by www.opencambridge.cam.ac.uk/events/open-... Did you know we also have Youtube Playlist: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dsv... Why not listen and find out what we're all about

Initial 'Q'(uid gloriaris) at the beginning of Psalm 51 Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 411; Psalterium (Cantuariense); 10th c; probably written at Tours, but with some ornament added in England in 11th c; f.40r @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

Come and see what the fuss is all about! In one week we're taking part in Open Cambridge. Visitors are welcome on Thu 18 Sept, 10-12 and 14-16. Conservation and Archives will be there too! youtu.be/1dsvMieq01o?...

9 Sept 1559: Elizabeth I issues letters patent for the consecration of her mother's former chaplain (Anne Boleyn), Matthew Parker as Archbishop of #Canterbury #otd (Lambeth Palace)

Earliest extant portrait of an English king: Aethelstan (r. 924–927) with St Cuthbert from the Parker Library copy of Bede's two Lives of St Cuthbert (CCCC MS 183) Prof David Woodman of @camhistory.bsky.social highlights Aethelstan's impact on England's history www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/articles/new...

Drop in for a visit! We're taking part in Open Cambridge events - Thursday 18 September visitors get a chance to talk to our exhibition curators: the conservators at Cambridge Colleges' Conservation Consortium & @tainonen.bsky.social www.opencambridge.cam.ac.uk/events/open-...

Parker Library tours are on! 📖 👀 Hole-y parchment, pricking, ruling, complex layouts, scribes and painters, colours and gold - we have it all bound in nice covers www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/articles/mak... Book you place on our weekly tour through our Evenbrite page: www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/parker-lib...

Recently one of our manuscripts was rebound in modern conservation binding. Follow the progress, and an amazing discovery, as our Head of Conservation reveals the steps taken for this careful work A deep dive in medieval manuscript binding 🕵️ www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/articles/chr...

Picture of the elephant given by Louis IX to Henry III Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 016I; Matthew Paris OSB, Chronica maiora II; 13th century; f. iir @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

Magnificent full-page frontispiece to Deuteronomy: 'hec dicit dominus deus' Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 002I; The Bury Bible, Bibliorum Pars I; 12th c; Bury St Edmunds Abbey; f.94r @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

Join @corpuscambridge.bsky.social alumnus Dr James Freeman @theul.bsky.social this evening for an online discussion inspired by the 'Curious Cures' exhibition www.lib.cam.ac.uk/whats/mediev... The 4 panellists will discuss some of the fascinating and complex remedies used to treat various ailments

Archbishop Matthew Parker was born #OTD in 1504. He left the bulk of his collection to @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social but in 1574 gave us 100 books, including this new edition of the Gospels in Anglo Saxon type (1571). The notes are by Abraham Wheelock, first Cambridge Professor of Arabic. CUL 1.24.9.

Initial 'B'(eatus) at the beginning of Psalm 1 in which David is depicted as playing music both in youth and later as king. Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 004: The Dover Bible, Volume II; 12th c; ? Christ Church, Canterbury; f.14r @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

📍 The Parker Library, @corpuscambridge.bsky.social Internationally renowned for its important collection of medieval and renaissance manuscripts, the @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social is a national heritage treasure. Explore more 👇 bit.ly/40Kgxxh

"Come on, everybody! We're going on holiday!" Our reading room for manuscript and early printed books is closed Monday 28 July-Friday 8 August 2025 (also, always closed on weekends and bank holidays) www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVYm...

190 mss, over 7000 pages of medieval medical recipes, 42000 new images, 7700+ texts, new cataloguing, imaging and conservation treatments - oh my! We're so pleased to have been part of Curious Cures Congrats to @theul.bsky.social and everyone who worked on it 🎉👏👏 www.lib.cam.ac.uk/stories/curi...

Have you ever seen angel's wings used to picture confession? How about a 'tree of consanguinity' drawn on the figure of a man? Perhaps you're a fan of calendars, genealogies, doodles & indexes? If you missed our exhibition, you can always find it online! www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/parker-libra...

Initial 'I'(n principio) at the beginning of Genesis with six medallions one of which is marked HILE (ὕλη) and refers to matter or stuff. Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 048; Bible; c1170 CE; St Albans; f.7v @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social

Alert observers may be surprised to see an interlinear gloss on the Old English page and not the Latin; it's usually the other way around! This is the Tremulous Hand of Worcester, working on teaching himself OE. Note e.g. DÆDUM: FACTIS; BEARNA: FILIORUM. Can you pick out others?

Initial 'd'(ixit) at the beginning of Psalm 52 depicting Balaam, his donkey, and the angel with his sword standing in the way: Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 075; Glossed Psalter (Glossa ordinaria); 13th century; England; f.95r @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social