Independent helps raise £90,000 to return medieval Bible to Salisbury Cathedral

A rare 13th-century Bible will return to its ancestral home in Salisbury Cathedral more than 700 years after it was written, thanks to the help of The Independent.

- HOLLY EVANS

In an early Christmas present, our campaign with Friends of the Nations’ Libraries (FNL) has successfully raised £90,000 over the last month to purchase the historical artefact from a private collector.

It is one of only six manuscripts attributed to the Sarum Master, one of the greatest artists of the medieval period who illuminated pages of vellum from a workshop in Salisbury.

The English manuscript artist was known for his work in religious manuscripts, particularly the Sarum Missal, used for the liturgical practices of the cathedral, which influenced English Christianity before the Reformation.

At the time, no other cities apart from London and Oxford supported this scale of book production, with Salisbury becoming renowned as an academic and cultural centre.