Economic considerations for libraries, archives and museums

Abstract

books in Norway and Sweden. Gullick presents his conclusions on the place of origin of the fragments, developed through close inspection of their content and appearance. The work is a fitting end to a fine collection, demonstrating what can be learned through careful study of surviving evidence but also highlighting future avenues of research. The volume is particularly well illustrated with many good quality colour reproductions, including some fascinating examples of multispectral imaging. The usual scholarly apparatus is also present, such as a particularly useful index of manuscripts. The authors of the essays are often required to draw conclusions and develop narratives from fragmentary evidence. This sometimes requires them to utilize very detailed analysis of, for example, scribal hands, orthography, and the measurements of written areas. A very minor criticism of some of the essays is that they contain a lot of technical information which some general readers may find off-putting. In such cases, the length of the essays – all between 10 and 22 pages long – means that they end just as interesting wider discussions are developing. However, this criticism is so small as to be insignificant. The title of this volume is deceptively simple in its suggested scope. Through careful investigations, it looks past the manuscripts to reveal much about life in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and beyond.