A work of art attributed to a single monk in the early 8th century AD has survived for over 1,300 years as a testament to faith and devotion. The Lindisfarne Gospels, created around 715-720 AD, is an illuminated manuscript blending Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Mediterranean art styles. Monks in scriptoria meticulously copied and decorated sacred texts on vellum using quill pens as an act of worship. Their dedication preserved classical knowledge and Christian scripture through tumultuous times, layi

In the 13th century, a monk made a practical decision about church property. Vellum was a luxury, a valuable asset, and his investment in a new prayer book required a source. He found an old Greek codex, its mathematical text seemingly irrelevant to his spiritual enterprise. With careful scraping, he erased the ink, seeing the recycled parchment as a success for his monasterys business. He was unaware he was destroying an irreplaceable piece of intellectual history. The development of his prayer