Codex Amiatinus Sculpture

There are plenty of little gems to see on the Sunderland Riverside Art Trail and one of those appears to be a big pile of concrete books outside of Sunderland University.

The main book is a sculpture of the Codex Amiatinus which is a complete version of the bible written in Latin. We know you love a bit of history so here goes.

The two churches of Wearmouth-Jarrow are St Peter's church in Monkwearmouth and St Paul's church in Jarrow. They were established by the nobleman Benedict Biscop in the 7th century after he visited Rome and wanted to bring the culture back home with him to Northumbria.

One of the main features of these churches was having a fabulous library and was frequented by the Venerable Bede. Following Biscop a chap called Abbot Ceolfrith decided he wanted to make a copy of the bible translated into Latin and so along with six scribes in 692, they set out to create three versions which were beautifully illustrated in Latin calligraphy.

Ceolfrith decided he wanted to gift one of these bibles to Pope Gregory II and so set off for Rome in AD716.

Unfortunately Ceolfrith didn't make it to Rome and died, but some of his followers continued the quest. The Codex Amiatinus eventually turned up in the monastery of San Salvatore in Italy, however it was then moved to the Laurential Library in Florence and you can view it there today. There is no further information on where the other two are to be found.

Due to modern technology, an exact copy of the Codex Amiatinus from the Laurential Library was made and is now on display at the Bede Museum in Jarrow Hall.

The sculpture also has a book indicating that it was unveiled by the Queen in May 1993 to celebrate the new campus here at Sunderland University.