Scottish Christian.com

Home > News > Scottish Christian News Monitor

Historic Arbuthnott Missal goes on the net

One of Paisley's rarest hidden treasures is now available for the world to see, thanks to the help of history buffs on the net.

The unique Arbuthnott Missal has been carefully pictured in all its glory and the 500-year-old, illuminated, mediaeval book of service was converted into a downloadable version for the web.

The Missal, which is locked in a vault at Paisley Library, has only been seen by a handful of people in the past century because of the damage it could suffer through being handled and being exposed to artificial light.

Now everyone can flick through its pages online at www.bl.uk/ttp2/hiddentreasures.html.

[Not quite everyone ... the Missal can only be seen in Internet Explorer using an additional ponderous Microsoft plugin.]

The book was produced for the Arbuthnott family in 1491 and stayed in family hands until 1897 when they were bought by Mr Archibald Coats and presented to Paisley Library.

The manuscripts consist of the Arbuthnott Missal, Prayer Book and Psalter. The Missal is the only complete Catholic service book of its kind that survived the Reformation in Scotland.

Apart from its unique significance in Scottish religion, the Missal is a rare and important example of Scottish mediaeval art and letters.

The large volume has 264 lavishly decorated pages with 23 three-quarter page border illuminations and illustrations.

It also has finely painted miniatures and initials spaced throughout the text along with a painting of St Ternan, the patron saint of the church of Arbuthnott.

Full story at the Paisley Daily Express.