The Durham Liber Vitae

The Durham Liber Vitae was created in the mid-ninth-century, as a deluxe manuscript containing lists of royalty, aristocracy and churchmen. It was little used in the tenth and eleventh centuries, but was revived around 1100 when it became the repository for the names of monks at Durham Cathedral Priory up until the Dissolution. Several thousand names of lay persons were also added throughout the Middle Ages - some from the royalty and aristocracy but some from much humbler levels of society.

This publication unlocks its potential for a range of studies into family and religious history, linguistics and palaeography. It offers a text edited to the highest standards, based on the various periods in which names were entered into the book and thus permits real understanding of it use and significance.