#abbey galleries

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Liber Regalis

Among the remarkable treasures in our collection is the Liber Regalis - or 'royal book.'

The beautifully illustrated 14th-century English medieval illuminated manuscript gives ceremonial instructions and the order of service for the coronation.

The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066.

The manuscript is thought to have been made for the crowning of Richard II's queen, Anne of Bohemia, here in 1382.

Despite various changes over the centuries, the instructions it gives still form the basis of the coronation service today.

You can see the Liber Regalis on display in our museum, the Abbey Galleries.

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Richard II (6 January 1367 – c. 14 February 1400)

Anne of Bohemia (11 May 1366 – 7 June 1394)

[thepastisalreadywritten]

This is the cope that will be worn by the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle at the Coronation Service on 6 May 2023.

Made from crimson velvet and decorated with embroidered flowers and stars, the cope was made for the coronation of Charles II in 1661 and is the oldest in our collection.

The cope was also worn by Dean Alan Campbell Don when he took part in the coronation of The King's mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in the Abbey in 1953.

The cope is usually on display in the Abbey Galleries and you'll be able to see it there when we re-open for visiting next week.

NOTE:

Cope is a liturgical vestment worn by Roman Catholic and some Anglican clergy at non-eucharistic functions.

A full-length cloak formed from a semicircular piece of cloth, it is open at the front and is fastened at the breast by hooks or a brooch.