With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Pope's gift to the Queen on display at Holyroodhouse

A copy of the 1,200-year-old book which the Pope gave to the Queen on his visit to the UK has gone on display at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

The manuscript, known as the Lorsch Gospels, contains more than 400 pages written entirely in gold ink on vellum.

The facsimile edition which Benedict XVI presented to the Queen featured reproductions of the ivory covers.

During the visit the Queen presented the Pontiff with a facsimile of drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger.

The manuscript was written in the early 9th Century at the court of the Emperor Charlemagne in Aachen, Germany, and was first recorded in the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch in Germany around 860....
Read entire article at BBC