We are pleased to welcome Canon Professor Michelle Brown, medieval manuscripts expert, to share her thoughts on the recent return of the 13th-Century Sarum Master Bible to Salisbury. Following a successful fundraising campaign, Friends of the Nations’ Libraries purchased the Bible from a private owner, via Sotheby’s, and donated it to Salisbury Cathedral.
The Sarum Master Bible is a manuscript (handwritten) Bible in Latin, written and illustrated probably in Salisbury in the 1240s or 1250s. It is one of a small number of manuscripts that were illustrated by one of the leading English artists of the time, who today is known to scholars as the Sarum Master, or Sarum Illuminator. No details are known about the artist’s life, but there is considerable evidence that he or she was working in or around Salisbury.
NOTE: The Sarum Master Bible will be on display for Cathedral visitors to view from 20 March until 17 April 2026.
Michelle P. Brown is Professor Emerita of Medieval Manuscript Studies at the University of London. She was previously Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at the British Library. She has written, lectured, and broadcast widely. Her very many books include Bede and the Theory of Everything, and Illumino: a History of Medieval Britain in Twelve Illuminated Manuscripts.
This event will be FREE of charge, but you will need to book a ticket due to limited capacity.
We are grateful to Friends of the Nations’ Libraries for the generous gift of the Sarum Master Bible, and for their support of associated events such as this talk.
This event is organised by Salisbury Cathedral.
Tickets are available through the Cathedral Box Office
01722 656555 | www.salisburycathedral.org.uk
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