Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The John Coffin Memorial Lecture in Palaeography 2026: Cutbercht, his Gospels (Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS 1224), Named Scribes and Insular Gospel-Books
Speaker:
Dr Bernard Meehan was Head of Research Collections and Keeper of Manuscripts and is now a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. His research focuses on insular manuscripts and the history and culture of the Early Middle Ages. His publications include studies of the Books of Kells and Durrow, and, most recently, the Turin Gospels.
Chairs:
Prof. Laura Cleaver (IES) & Prof. Julia Crick (KCL)
The Cutbercht Gospels (ÖNB, MS 1224) takes its name from a colophon in which the scribe Cutbercht begs for prayers. Probably made at St Peter’s abbey, Salzburg, it is a late eighth-century copy of the Gospels that has survived in extremely good condition. It has preliminary texts, including decorated canon tables. Perhaps a little neglected by scholars, it stands comparison, in terms of its large format, its artistic impact and its complexity, with more celebrated manuscripts within the corpus of Insular gospel-books. This talk will draw attention to its organisational and codicological features and will question the accepted view that Cutbercht was its only scribe. In that context, the talk will look at the structure of John’s gospel in the manuscript, comparing it to other Insular and European manuscripts.
The John Coffin Memorial Lecture in Palaeography 2026: Cutbercht, his Gospels (Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS 1224), Named Scribes and Insular Gospel-Books
Speaker:
Dr Bernard Meehan was Head of Research Collections and Keeper of Manuscripts and is now a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. His research focuses on insular manuscripts and the history and culture of the Early Middle Ages. His publications include studies of the Books of Kells and Durrow, and, most recently, the Turin Gospels.
Chairs:
Prof. Laura Cleaver (IES) & Prof. Julia Crick (KCL)
The Cutbercht Gospels (ÖNB, MS 1224) takes its name from a colophon in which the scribe Cutbercht begs for prayers. Probably made at St Peter’s abbey, Salzburg, it is a late eighth-century copy of the Gospels that has survived in extremely good condition. It has preliminary texts, including decorated canon tables. Perhaps a little neglected by scholars, it stands comparison, in terms of its large format, its artistic impact and its complexity, with more celebrated manuscripts within the corpus of Insular gospel-books. This talk will draw attention to its organisational and codicological features and will question the accepted view that Cutbercht was its only scribe. In that context, the talk will look at the structure of John’s gospel in the manuscript, comparing it to other Insular and European manuscripts.
