British Library

The decorated initial B ("Britannia") at the head of Liber 1 Caput 1 of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica.

The beginning of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica, Book I, from the manuscript Harley 4124 in the British Library.

The manuscript was created in the Augustinian priory of St. Mary, Worksop, in the mid to late 12 century. The script is protogothic. The decorated initial "B" begins the word "Britannia."

For information about the manuscript, click here. 

Source: British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts

Used under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

The beginning of Book I of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica. From the early 12th-century manuscript Harley 3680, in the British Library. 

The manuscript was created by two scribes in the cathedral priory of St. Andrew in Rochester in the 12th century. The script is protogothic. The decorated initial "B" begins the word "Brittania."  For a detail of the decorated initial, click here. 

Image source: British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts

Used under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

The first page of the Prologus of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica in the manuscript Harley 3680 in the collections of the British Library. 

The manuscript was created by two scribes in the cathedral priory of St. Andrew in Rochester in the 12th century. The script is protogothic.  The decorated initial "G" begins the word GLORIOSISSIMO.

Image source: British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts

Used under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.