Stonyhurst Gospel

The Stonyhurst Gospel is a small Anglo-Saxon pocket gospel which belonged to Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. The book was discovered in 1104 when Cuthbert's tomb was opened so that his relics could be translated to a new shrine behind the altar of Durham Cathedral.

At only three and a half by five inches the Stoneyhurst Gospel is one of the smallest surviving Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. The text is the Gospel of John. It was written at the monastery of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow during the abbacy of Ceolfrith. The original tooled goatskin binding is the earliest surviving binding in Europe.