The Manuscripts of Westminster Abbey

A meticulous reconstruction of Westminster Abbey's medieval library and scriptorium, spanning 1060 to 1660, reveals surprising details about its architecture, furnishings, administrative practices, and manuscript holdings. Despite the dispersal of the original collection during the dissolution of monasteries and a devastating fire in 1694, scholars Joseph Armitage Robinson and M. R. James pieced together extensive information from surviving sources. Their work not only documents the library's operations but also traces the fate of some manuscripts that survived in other collections, offering unprecedented insight into this lost institution.

Robinson, J. A., & James, M. R. (2011). The Manuscripts of Westminster Abbey. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511920110