Come and learn about the Sarum Master Bible at Salisbury Cathedral
The London Rare Books School at the University of London is offering a short course at Salisbury Cathedral Library on Saturday 18 April 10.00 – 17.30.
This special study day will provide an introduction to the Sarum Master Bible, with its exquisite illustrations, and to the work of the Sarum Master who painted them. It will also place the manuscript in the context of English medieval illuminated manuscript production. The course will take place in the Cathedral’s fifteenth-century Library, and there will be the opportunity to see other manuscripts in the collection.
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. In 2024, 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.
This short course is part of the London Rare Books School 2026 programme. Bookings can be made through their website.
The course is open to everyone, and no prior knowledge of manuscripts (or of anything else) is required. You do not need to be a student at the University of London.
Salisbury Cathedral is 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 course.
This event is run in partnership with the London Rare Books School.
For ticketing and enquiries, please contact: London Rare Books School | Institute of English Studies.
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