OLDEST BOOK OF POEMS.
SECOND EDITION PUBLISHED. The second edition of the oldest book of poems in the English language has recently appeared. The first edition, which consisted of one volume only, came out 1300 years ago. This is the "Exeter Book," which has for centuries, been kept in Exeter Cathedral. According to lengend the book was compiled at the order of King Alfred, who caused the monks to collect in one great volume all the old poems of England. Such epic poems were sung by minstrels and handed down from father to son. To write them was rare indeed. Consequently, the original Exeter Book—which consists of 262 pages of beautifully hand-written and illuminated manuscript—is Unique. The book was taken out to Exeter Cathedral for the first time in nearly 1000 years to be brought to London for the preparation of the second edition. This is limited to 250 copies. For the book is not printed; each of the original pages is reproduced by a special photographic process, and the whole is bound in buckram blocked in gold.
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Bibliographic details
King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3449, 24 November 1932, Page 7
Word Count
178OLDEST BOOK OF POEMS. King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3449, 24 November 1932, Page 7
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