Regia-AO, Regia-Officers, bureaucrat, administrator
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The two most useful in this context are:<br>
:An enemy ended my life, deprived me of my physical strength; then he dipped me in water and drew me out again, and put me in the sun where I soon shed all my hair. After that, the knife's sharp edge bit into me and all my blemishes were scraped away; fingers folded me and the bird's feather often moved over my brown surface, sprinkling meaningful marks; it swallowed more wood-dye (part of the stream) and again travelled over me, leaving black tracks. Then a man bound me, he stretched skin over me and adorned me with gold; thus am I enriched by the wondrous work of smiths, wound about with shining metal...
And:<br>
:Of honey laden bees I was first born, but in the forest grew my outer coat; My tough back comes from shoes (the leather thongs), An iron point in artful windings cuts a fair design, and leaves long twisted furrows like a plough.
The first of these riddles describes the production of a fine book or gospel. The second describes the production and use of a wax tablet or wax book.
We do have a small insight as to who copied some of these works. In the Pershore censer, there is an inscription which reads: Godric me wvorht[e], translated as 'Godric made me'. Other inscriptions such as this exist in other wporks, but the most enlightening is from the Lindisfarne Gospels.
:'Eadfrith, bishop of the church at Lindisfarne originally wrote this book for God and St. Cuthbert - jointly - for all the saints whose relics are in the island. And Ethilwald, bishop of the Lindisfarne islanders impressed it on the outside and covered it - as he well knew how to do. And Billfrith, the anchorite, forged the ornaments which are on the outside and adorned it with gold and with gems and also with gilded-over silver - pure metal. And Aldred, unworthy and most miserable priest, glossed it in English between the lines...Eadfrith, Ethilwald, Aldred made or, as the case may be, embellished this Gospel Book for God and Cuthbert.'
Probably one of the earliest forms of advertising in 'print'.
