Manuscripts from the Anglo-Saxon Age

The Anglo-Saxons first appeared on the historical scene as Germanic pagan pirates and mercenaries, moving into the declining Roman Empire in the 5th Century AD and forging a series of kingdoms which became 'England'. By the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, Anglo-Saxon England was one of the most sophisticated states in the medieval West, renowned for its ecclesiastical and cultural achievements.

The written word was of tremendous importance in this transformation. Within a century o…