The BBC News website has a report about the discovery in the collections of Bar Convent in York of a later fifteenth century copy on a roll of the devotional poem about the Instruments of the Passion, the Arma Christi. This particular roll appears to have been intended for group recitation rather than just private meditation.
Devotion to the Instruments of the Passion, and indeed to the physical sufferings of Christ developed over time and grew particularly in the later medieval period as can be seen from a Wikipedia article at Arma Christi
The poem is available with a commentary as can be seen from this online flier from Routledge at The Arma Christi in Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture: With a Critical Edition of 'O Vernicle'
In York itself in the Minster evidence for the devotion can be seen in one of the carved shields in the spandrels of the arches of the Lady Chapel.
The illustrated article about the chance discovery at York can be seen at
Rare medieval rolled manuscript found in York Bar Convent archive
For those who do not know the extraordinary history of Bar Convent there is an introduction on Wikipedia at Bar Convent
2 comments:
A magnificent discovery, John, and many thanks for highlighting it.
It is such a treasure. To top it all, the Arma Christi will now be used by Mother Superior and her Nuns during their Service.
How wonderful. Made in 1475 and now being used in 2025.
Such devotion.
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