BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833)<br /> Pic: PhilYeomans/BNPS<br /> <br /> Richly decorated texts...<br /> <br /> Woman's touch - 1000 year old book from the Royal Anglo-Saxon Convent of Wilton is conserved.<br /> <br /> The ancient book was returned safely to Salisbury Cathedral after fears of a lockdown led to a hastily arranged emergency dash from the conservators in Cambridge.<br /> <br /> Dating from the 10th century the incredibly rare Psalter is fascinating to medieval scholars for two reasons - it is thought to have been used and adapted by women, and it's latin text has been annotated into early English to aid the understanding of the Anglo Saxon noviates who would have studied it.<br /> <br /> Prof Teresa Webber from Cambridge University notes  'The vast majority of surviving medieval monastic manuscripts survive from communities of monks or canons, but at some point early in its history this psalter was clearly adapted for use by a woman, only a handful of such manuscripts survive to this day'.<br /> <br /> This is likely to indicate the book was in use by the nuns of the Benedictine Convent at nearby Wilton expanded by Alfred the Great after a famous victory against the Viking invaders in 871.
{}