Manuscripts

Wearmouth-Jarrow was one of the most prolific scriptoria of its age, and there are several manuscripts from the period housed at Durham Cathedral.

The Codex Amiatinus, the oldest single-volume bible in existence, was produced here between 690 - 716. The original is housed in Florence, though half-size replicas are on display in Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens and Bede's World. Recent research demonstrates a link between Wearmouth-Jarrow and the Lindisfarne Gospels – a Wearmouth-Jarrow manuscript was used as the source text, and work may have been partly assisted by monks from W-J (research by Prof Michelle Brown, London).

Benedict Biscop created an extensive library at Wearmouth Jarrow and there was a high demand for the production of books, as well as copying manuscripts. Bede was responsible for writing over 70 books of his own relating to all subjects studied in his time.
Bede’s World houses artefacts linked to manuscript production such as styli, book mounts and book decorations recovered from the excavations of the Scriptorium at St Paul’s.