The unique opportunity to see some of the world’s most beautiful illuminated manuscripts, dating from between the sixth and sixteenth centuries, has been extended until December 30.
The unique opportunity to see some of the world’s most beautiful illuminated manuscripts, dating from between the sixth and sixteenth centuries, has been extended until December 30.
The Cambridge Illuminations exhibition has been seen by 65,000 visitors since its opening in June, and will now continue, at the Fitzwilliam Museum only, until the end of December.
The Cambridge Illuminations is a spectacular exhibition of over 200 world-class illuminated manuscripts – many on public view for the first time – drawn from the collections of The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University Library and many of the Cambridge colleges. Sacred and secular, scientific and humanistic, historical and literary, the range of manuscripts on display showcases the work of some of the greatest medieval and Renaissance illuminators.
The exhibition includes the sixth-century ‘Gospels of St Augustine’ over which new Archbishops of Canterbury still swear their oaths, the famous thirteenth-century Trinity ‘Apocalypse’, the Peterborough Bestiary, the Free Warren Charter and Statutes of England from Henry III to Richard II, as well as numerous books of hours, bestiaries, Bibles, encyclopaedias, scientific and mathematical manuscripts and historical, mythological and geographical treatises.
An entire gallery is devoted to the display of individual leaves from the renowned Macclesfield Psalter, recently saved for the nation. While it is disbound for conservation, visitors are provided with a unique opportunity to enjoy the richness and variety of its illustrations.
Admission to the exhibition is free and opening times are: 10.00-17.00 Tuesday - Saturday, and 12.00-17.00 on Sundays & Bank Holidays at the Fitzwilliam Museum.
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