[MR] History Blog: Book of St. Albans Digitized

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

The most recent History Blog post announced the colour digitizing of
Matthew Paris' BOOK OF ST. ALBANS. The book is owned by Dublin's Trinity
College Library and is considered one of their greatest treasures.

Matthew Paris was a 13th century monk and scribe at the Benedictine St.
Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. The work was produced sometime between 1230
and Paris's death in 1259. It is a *vitae* or religious biography about
England's first martyr, Alban. After the monastery was suppressed on the
orders of Henry VIII, the book was owned by astrologer John Dee, and later
by the 17th century Bishop James Ussher. It was the latter who brought the
work to Ireland and bequeathed it to Trinity College.

The story is at http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/64716 .

The digitized manuscript and its illustrations itself can be browsed at
https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/8p58pm63q .

Saint Alban is said to have sheltered a priest named Amphibalus. Roman
authorities learned where the priest was, but Alban took the priest's cloak
and surrendered himself in his place. He was beheaded, and among a lot of
other miracles, the executioner's eyes popped from his head after the deed.
A cult dedicated to Alban later arose, and his shrine at St. Albans
Cathedral became a pilgrimage destination. The rather gruesome image with
the blinded executioner was a popular pilgrim badge.

More about Saint Alban is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Alban .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆