I’m so thankful my children have a religious education. Those with a religious education are exposed to art far more than those without. We are all exposed to beautiful stain glass, statues and paintings. Religious imagery and symbolism is very important and is easy to understand.
At the NSW library in Sydney there is a collection of 300 rare bibles, a few which are medieval. One of the manuscripts was the Book of Isiah the Prophet. It is thought that the manuscript was compiled by Italian monks in the monastery of St Michael, Pisa, about 1225 C.E
The Rimini Antiphonal manuscript is thought to be the finest. It is a illuminated choir book from 1328. The Antiphonal was produced on vellum, it contains 21 decorated initials. Antiphonals are used by choirs and include the chants that are sung during mass.
The bibles have a history. John Rogers, called Thomas Matthew, published the second complete bible in English, the Matthew bible , in 1537. The publishing of the bible was illegal at the time and Rogers was sadly burnt at the stake. Mrs Richardson started collecting bibles because she believed she was related to John Rogers. He was the first Martyr of Queen Marys Reign.
During the first world war some Australian troops were based in the UK , Weymouth. The Richardson’s , who were based opposite the camp, would show the troops the manuscripts.
In 1926 the collection of manuscripts were donated to the Public library of New South Wales to honour the Australian troops who supported Britain in the first world war.
Its is definitely worth a visit to the library, to see this collection. Or if you are studying, recently snacks have been on offer for HSC students. It is a beautiful space to write or research, to work on memoirs or novels.
Keep an eye on the website; http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au
SydneySettler 