The Great Bible, first printed in 1538, was the first to be owned by every parish church in the realm. Unique presentation copies made for the Tudor court are held by the National Library of Wales (NLW) in Aberystwyth and St John’s College Cambridge. Scientists at Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum and historians at Queen Mary University of London are using advanced imaging methods to examine the beautiful hand-painted illustrations – even discovering a cut-and-paste face of Thomas Cromwell. Their findings are helping NLW staff learn more about this unique volume which entered their collection 100 years ago.
Added 21 November 2022