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English Scholars Reunite Missing Pages of Catholic Text
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In Short: Gage’s life was 'almost cut in half by the English Reformation,' said Wade, noting that Gage spent half of his life as a Catholic who was considered orthodox by both the Church and the state.
Two English researchers, Katie Walter and James Wade, have successfully reunited an incomplete manuscript of 'The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Christ' with several long-lost pages, according to a report in EWTN News.
The manuscript fragments were identified in the East Sussex public records office archives, where they had been held for years without scholars knowing their origin.
Further investigation revealed that a fuller version of the manuscript, held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, was missing the exact pages found in the archives.
The researchers’ findings were published in the journal Notes and Queries, detailing their effort to piece together the history of the manuscript.
The manuscript in question was once owned by John Gage, a royal courtier in Tudor-era England whose life was significantly impacted by the English Reformation.
Wade highlighted Gage’s significance as a notable historic figure who worked for the king while maintaining his Catholic faith, a practice common among many during the Reformation period.
What's still developing
- Pages 8-9 of the “Keep Fragment,” showing thread binding, from Chapter 34, depicting an account of the raising of Lazarus. | Credit: Courtesy of the Trustees of the Firle Estate Settlement and the University of Sussex The researchers eventually identified the manuscript pages in the archive.
- “Half of his life he spent as a Catholic who was considered orthodox by the Church and the state,” Wade said.
- “There were plenty of people at the time of the Reformation who kept their Catholic faith,” the researcher said.