The Book in the Cathedral

The Last Relic of Thomas Becket

By: Christopher de Hamel

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Hardcover | 6 August 2020 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
64 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
1.2 x 13.6 x 20.3

Hardcover

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The best-selling historian of medieval manuscripts discovers the most intimate surviving relic of Thomas Becket

The assassination of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170 is one of the most famous events in European history. It inspired the largest pilgrim site in medieval Europe and many works of literature from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral and Anouilh's Becket.

In a brilliant piece of historical detective work, Christopher de Hamel here identifies the Anglo-Saxon Psalter which Becket cherished throughout his time as Archbishop of Canterbury and which he may even have been holding when he was murdered.

Beautifully illustrated and published to coincide with the 850th anniversary of the death of Thomas Becket, this is an exciting rediscovery of one of the most evocative artefacts of medieval England, and the only surviving relic from Becket's shrine.

About the Author

In the course of a long career at Sotheby's Christopher de Hamel has probably handled and catalogued more illuminated manuscripts and over a wider range than any person alive.

Since 2000, he has been Fellow and Librarian of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

The Parker Library, in his care, includes many of the earliest manuscripts in English language and history. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Historical Society.

Industry Reviews

Readers will delight in de Hamel's passion for his subject, his book's sumptuous illustrations, and above all his virtuoso display of learning
John Guy * Literary Review *

De Hamel author of the wonderful Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts shows us all the tools of the bibliographer's trade: dating handwriting, identifying pigments, noting the rust marks left by nails from a nowlost ornate binding ... The identification or rehabilitation of his psalter, the book he carried with him into exile, possibly held at his death, is a timely and enjoyable tribute.
Dennis Duncan * The Guardian *

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