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The Book of Deer (Cambridge University Library, MS. Ii.6.32) is a Gospel Book written in a hand that was current in the period c. 850-1000. The Gospel text has generally been dated to the first half of the tenth century. Of the four Gospels only the text of St John is complete. Each Gospel is prefaced by a full-page illumination. The manuscript belongs to the category of 'Irish pocket Gospel Books', produced for private use rather than for church services. While the manuscripts to which the Book of Deer is closest in character are all Irish, scholars have tended to argue for a Scottish origin. A number of additions were made to the manuscript, the earliest being a communion service for the sick. Additions made in the eleventh-twelfth centuries include the account of the foundation of a monastery by St Columba and St Drostan, land grants to the house, and a brieve of King David I in favour of the 'clerics of Deer'. It is reasonable to assume that the manuscript was at Deer in Aberdeenshire when the additions were made. The fame of the manuscript rests chiefly on the additions, most of which are in Gaelic (or Middle Irish). It later belonged to Thomas Moore, bishop of Ely (d. 1714), whose library was presented to the University of Cambridge by King George I in 1715. Further reading:John Stuart (ed.), The Book of Deer (Spalding Club, 1869). |