St. Cuthbert’s Gospel of St. John (also known as the Stonyhurst Gospel) dates from the end of the 7th century. It was found in remarkably good condition in the year 1104 inside the coffin of St. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, who now rests at Durham Cathedral.

St, Cuthbert’s Gospel is a small binding, very beautiful and exquisitely made, and is of tremendous importance to bookbinders not only as an example of early English binding, with its intriguing construction, but also for its decoration, which draws on both Islamic, Celtic, and Anglo-Saxon influences. It is now on display in the permanent exhibition of treasures at the British Library.

The book is sewn by link stitch with thread laced into wooden boards. It has a primary endband with a secondary endband sewn through the spine leather. A Celtic knotwork pattern is laid out on the boards with thin cord, and is attached using an ingenious technique of weaving and pegging.

The book is covered in terra cotta goatskin molded over the cords, which picks out the design in relief on the upper board. It is then embellished with a little blind tooling, and part of the tooled area is picked out with yellow pigment, closely emulating the original decoration.

Materials to bring: Materials liste will be emailed to students

Date & Time: Monday-Friday, July 13-17, 2015 :: 9:30am-5:30pm

Workshop + Materials Fee: $700

Recommended: Bookbinding Core 1-4 (Click here to learn more about the Bookbinding Core)

Please review the SF Center for the Book Registration Policies before signing up for a class

About the Instructor | Michael Burke

Michael Burke studied bookbinding with Dominic Riley and paper conservation with Karen Zukor. Michael lives in the Lake District, England, where he teaches bookbinding as well at events across the UK. He is a past chair of the North West and North Wales region of SoB. He has taught for diverse book arts groups in the USA, including Los Angeles, Seattle and Salt Lake City. In recent years he has taught at the Paper and Book Intensive, travelled to São Paulo to teach for the Brazilian group ABER, and in 2011 presented Byzantine binding at the Seminar of the Guild of Bookworkers. Michael researches the structures of ancient and medieval bindings. He is currently studying for a Masters degree in the History of the Book at the University of London.

Past Student Reviews

"This is a brilliant class!"

"Superb teacher; excellent instruction that was always clear and pertinent, friendly to everyone"

"Michael is a gem of a teacher! I always love to take his classes!"

"So organized, excellent clear explanations, superb teacher, great that materials were well prepared"