Aldred the Scribe
Encyclopedia
Aldred the Scribe is the name by which scholars identify a tenth-century priest, otherwise known only as Aldred, who was a provost of the monastic community of St. Cuthbert at Chester-le-Street
in 970.
He is best known for his gloss
of the Lindisfarne Gospels
in the late tenth century. His word for word translation of the Latin texts into the vernacular of Old English made the gospels more accessible to his Old English speaking community. The translation was not just a mechanical transcription, but translated difficult Latin concepts into a clearer Old English context. Aldred also added a colophon
to the text that indicates many important details about this copy of the gospels. Scribes generally added colophons to indicate the circumstances of their work; sometimes including the place, date, price of the manuscript, and client for whom it was copied. Aldred's colophon indicates that the Gospels were written by Eadfrith, a bishop of Lindisfarne
in 698, the original binding was supplied by Ethelwald, Eadfrith's successor in 921, and the outside ornamentation was done by Billfrith, an anchorite of Lindisfarne. He also states that the Gospels were created for God and St Cuthbert.
Apart from the Lindisfarne Gospels, Aldred also glossed the Durham Ritual, the two sets of glosses being the most substantial textual remnants of the tenth-century Northumbrian dialect of Old English.
In a note at the end of the manuscript Aldred calls himself the son of Alfred and Tilwin—‘Alfredi natus Aldredus vocor; bonæ mulieris (i.e. Tilwin) filius eximius loquor.’ It has been maintained that he wrote with his own hand only the glosses to St. John, and that the rest were penned by other scribes under his direction; but there is reason to believe that he wrote the whole of them himself.
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...
in 970.
He is best known for his gloss
Gloss
A gloss is a brief notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the reader's language if that is different....
of the Lindisfarne Gospels
Lindisfarne Gospels
The Lindisfarne Gospels is an illuminated Latin manuscript of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the British Library...
in the late tenth century. His word for word translation of the Latin texts into the vernacular of Old English made the gospels more accessible to his Old English speaking community. The translation was not just a mechanical transcription, but translated difficult Latin concepts into a clearer Old English context. Aldred also added a colophon
Colophon (publishing)
In publishing, a colophon is either:* A brief description of publication or production notes relevant to the edition, in modern books usually located at the reverse of the title page, but can also sometimes be located at the end of the book, or...
to the text that indicates many important details about this copy of the gospels. Scribes generally added colophons to indicate the circumstances of their work; sometimes including the place, date, price of the manuscript, and client for whom it was copied. Aldred's colophon indicates that the Gospels were written by Eadfrith, a bishop of Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...
in 698, the original binding was supplied by Ethelwald, Eadfrith's successor in 921, and the outside ornamentation was done by Billfrith, an anchorite of Lindisfarne. He also states that the Gospels were created for God and St Cuthbert.
Apart from the Lindisfarne Gospels, Aldred also glossed the Durham Ritual, the two sets of glosses being the most substantial textual remnants of the tenth-century Northumbrian dialect of Old English.
In a note at the end of the manuscript Aldred calls himself the son of Alfred and Tilwin—‘Alfredi natus Aldredus vocor; bonæ mulieris (i.e. Tilwin) filius eximius loquor.’ It has been maintained that he wrote with his own hand only the glosses to St. John, and that the rest were penned by other scribes under his direction; but there is reason to believe that he wrote the whole of them himself.