There are more ancient Bibles at Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War, the splendid new exhibition at the British Library, than most of us will ever have seen in one place.
Side by side are two contrasting 8th-century Scriptures: a palm-sized Gospel of John known as the St Cuthbert Gospel because it was found in his coffin, and an absolutely massive Bible, the Codex Amiatinus, which takes two people to lift. Taken to Italy from Wearmouth-Jarrow in AD 716 as a gift for the pope, this is the first time the Codex Amiatinus has returned to Britain in more than 1,300 years.
