Church in Wales Plwyf / Parish of Llandeilo Fawr, Maesteilo and Taliaris

Bearing witness to Jesus Christ in Llandeilo, Ffairfach and surrounding rural communities

> Home > Activities > People > Weekly Bulletin > History > Links > Body Building > Llandeilo Gospels > Maesteilo > Taliaris e-mail the Vicar	The Llandeilo Fawr Gospels Opening of the Llandeilo Gospels Exhibition By means of sophisticated digital technology, the Llandeilo Gospel Book can be seen again in Llandeilo, where it spent such a significant part of its early history. The Gospels Exhibition was officially opened by the Bishop of St David’s, Rt Rev Carl Cooper, and the Chairman of Carmarthenshire County Council, Cllr Jim Jones, on Friday 24th February. The highlight of the occasion was a lecture by Professor Michelle Brown on the art and history of the Gospel book. On the following day, Saturday 25th February, a ceremony was held in Lichfield Cathedral to inaugurate a similar display of the book. The Exhibition has been made possible by a grant of £74,528 of European Objective One funding from the 1FUND administered by Carmarthenshire County Council for the Welsh Assembly Government. The successful grant application was made with the assistance of Menter Bro Dinefwr. An exhibition space, designed by the Regan Norris Partnership, has been created under the Medieval tower of Llandeilo Parish Church, to which visitors are welcome at the times stated below. There is also a touring exhibition which will visit various locations, including the National Museum in Cardiff, in the months to June 2006. Opening times. Easter - 31st October. Tuesday to Saturday 11.00am - 4.00pm. Group visits welcomed throughout the year by prior arrangement (01558 822371). Education materials (KS 2) available for schools. Disabled access and facilities. Visitors are welcome - ADMISSION FREE Oriau Agor. Y Pasg - 31 Hydref. Dydd Mawrth i Ddydd Sadwrn 11.00am - 4.00pm. Croesewir ymweliadau gan grwpiau ar hyd y flwyddyn trwy drefnu ymlaen llaw (01558 822371). Deunyddiau addysg (CA 2) ar gael i ysgolion. Mynediad a chyfleusterau I bobl anabl. Mae croeso i ymwelwyr - MYNEDIAD AM DDIM The Llandeilo Fawr Gospels (St Chad Gospels, Lichfield Cathedral Library Ms 1) The Llandeilo Gospel book, a beautifully illuminated Biblical manuscript, is a masterpiece of 8th century book production, and a great spiritual, artistic and cultural treasure. For perhaps 200 years, from the early ninth century, the Gospel book was in the possession of the religious community founded by St Teilo in Llandeilo Fawr. It contains in its margins and blank spaces memoranda of the community’s possessions and transactions, and these include the earliest surviving examples of written Welsh. The origins of the book are shrouded in mystery, but it is closely related to the Lindisfarne Gospels, and the product of a monastic scriptorium. Before the end of the eleventh century, it was removed from Llandeilo in obscure circumstances. Except for a period during the civil war, it has been kept in Lichfield Cathedral, where it is known as the St Chad Gospels. The Gospels Project The project was launched at a meeting in Llandeilo on Monday 9th February 2004 (St Teilo’s Day), chaired by the Vicar of Llandeilo, Rev Dr Peter Bement. Interested parties, including representatives of the church, local authorities and tourism bodies, enthusiastically backed the plan. The project is a co-operative venture between Llandeilo Parish Church, Lichfield Cathedral and the British Library. A digital ‘gallery’ version of the book has been made by the British Library, using an more advanced version of the Library’s award-winning ‘Turning the Pages’ technology. The sound track can be accessed in Welsh or English. The financial costs of the venture were shared between Lichfield Cathedral and Llandeilo Parish Church. The Cathedral has also contributed free use of its copyright in the book. The British Library has provided a travelling exhibition to tour Wales and the Midlands. Turning the Pages Turning the Pages is an award-winning interactive display system developed by the British Library to increase public access and enjoyment of its treasures. Visitors can virtually ‘turn’ the pages of rare books or manuscripts in a highly realistic way, using touch-screen technology and animation. They can zoom in on the high-quality digitised images or read and listen to notes explaining the significance of each page. Turning the Pages allows many more pages to be viewed than when a single opening of the original book is displayed in a glass case, with the added advantage that the original is preserved from damage. Beginning in 1998 with the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Diamond Sutra, the Sforza Hours and the Leonardo Notebook, the Library has applied the process to nine of its greatest treasures. The Llandeilo Gospel book is the first book not owned by the BL to be treated in this way. It is displayed using a new generation of the TTP software which is even more realistic than before. To view a simplified TTP version of the Llandeilo Gospels, click the following link www.lichfield-cathedral.org/ttp/st_chads.htm To view other versions of TTP digital books produced by the British Library, please click the following link. www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html For further information, contact The Vicarage, 10 Carmarthen Road, Llandeilo SA19 6RS, or e-mail peter@bement.fsnet.co.uk Images from the Llandeilo Gospels are shown by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield Cathedral. Updated April 2007 Newspaper articles Lure of Wales' 'Elgin Marbles' Jan 16 2004, Gareth Morgan, The Western Mail Our Lost Treasures, Cambria Magazine
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