One of the Bodleian Library's most precious acquisitions, the Gospel Manuscript (Tetraevangheliar) was written and illuminated in 1429 in the Romanian Monastery of Neamt by monk Gavril Uric. Experts R. Cleminson and L. Demény state that it was brought from Venice to the University of Oxford around the first half of the 19th Century, but it is still uncertain whether it came from the heirs of the Jesuit Matteo Luigi Canonici, or from the antiquarian Johan Pericinotti.

Dr. Elena Ene D-Vasilescu will deliver a talk on the historical, linguistic and scholarly value of the Manuscript at the Centre for the Study of the Book, Bodleian New Library, Oxford. The lecture also seeks to raise awareness on the project that she is working on as part of a team of specialists, which aims to digitalise, translate and make the manuscript accessible online. This would contribute to the enrichment of academic discussions of Old Slavonic and mediaeval illuminated books.

Dr. Elena Ene D-Vasilescu is a specialist in Byzantine and post-Byzantine Iconography, project leader at the Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies, Bodleian Library University of Oxford and Oxford Centre for Mission Studies.

The lecture is organised by Bodleian Library in partnership with the Romanian Cultural Institute in London.

When: 9 December 2008, 5 pm;
Where: Centre for the Study of the Book, Special Collections Resources room, Bodleian New Library, Oxford OX1 3BG
Admission: free. Giving the high value of the Manuscript which will be in the room, booking is necessary. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .