A 9th and 10th-century fragment of writing by theologian St Augustine has been found in the FelixArchives in Antwerp. The document is a fragment of the 'Enarrationes in Psalmos', an interpretation of psalms contained in the Bible. It is believed to be the oldest document now contained in the Antwerp city archive.
9th-century work by St Augustine found to be the oldest document in Antwerp’s city archives
Colin Clapson
Published:
St Augustine was a theologian and church father, who lived in the 4th and 5th centuries. He wrote personal commentaries on verses from the psalms. Monks later transcribed these commentaries onto parchments. The document from the 9th-10th century was identified by researchers from Medieval Manuscripts in Flemish Collections (MMFC), a project involving heritage libraries that specialise in ancient manuscripts.
Cover to reinforce a register or a book
Parchments that had been written on were later often used as packaging material for a book cover or the like.
"When a manuscript like this was no longer relevant, people still found a use for the parchment itself," explains archivist Natalie De Bruyn. "It could be used as a cover around a register or a book, to reinforce it. This is how these documents that are often very small survived. Parchment is an animal skin and as a result very sturdy. It was not cheap either, certainly not comparable to paper or cardboard of today."
"It is an extremely interesting find, because it is a piece of history that had been hidden away. It also shows why it is so important to keep archival material well stored. It addition to digitisation care for the material item is also very important".
Antwerp’s FelixArchives ensure that all archives are properly packaged, acid-free and restored if necessary.
Readers interested in the history of Antwerp can also find the digitised archive collection on the FelixArchive's website .