Rare Medieval Arma Christi Scroll Discovered in Box at York’s Bar Convent

An unassuming box in the archives at York’s Bar Convent has yielded the discovery of an illuminated medieval scroll known as an Arma Christi, featuring the prayer poem O Vernicle. 

The discovery in the the oldest living convent in the UK is one of the best-preserved examples extant, and the only one featuring response texts after each verse of the poem, demonstrating that they may have been used in a different way to previously believed.

Up until now, only ten copies were known to have survived, produced in the 14th and 15th centuries, each one handmade by a number of skilled craftsmen. Very few medieval devotional items survived the Reformation in the 1540s and the outlawing of Catholicism some decades later under Elizabeth I, and the Bar Convent Arma Christi is thought to be one of the last examples ever made, dating from around 1475. 

Other copies are held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the British Library, Scottish Catholic Archives in Edinburgh, Beinecke Library, Huntington Library, Pierpont Morgan Library, and the Redemptorist Archives of the Baltimore Province, Philadelphia.

The ten known scrolls have been subject to academic and ecclesiastical scrutiny, offering an insight into religious iconography and devotional practices. However, the Bar Convent Arma Christi may turn conventional thinking on its head, as the responses, written in red, demonstrate that this was scroll was likely used in communal worship as well as private prayer. 

The scroll was discovered by Special Collections Manager Dr Hannah Thomas as she was cataloguing the Bar Convent’s collection. In its rolled format, the unassuming document is just six inches wide with the roll a couple of inches in diameter, but when she unfurled the scroll, she quickly realised that this was something very unusual and rare. 

“This is an illuminated script, with hand-drawn figures and beautiful calligraphy. It is a medieval work of art in its own right. However, where it differs from the other examples that have been discovered is that this is not merely an illustrated poem or prayer created for private contemplation, but featuring response texts suggesting it was used by groups or families as they gathered together for prayers in the home,” said Dr Thomas. 

As one of the only Catholic religious orders that was founded in England after the Reformation, precious objects and documents were often given to the sisters at the Bar Convent, now known as the Congregation of Jesus, for safekeeping, as practicing the Catholic faith was an act of treason against the crown from 1581 onwards. Many of these treasures have been on public display in the Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, but fully cataloguing their archives has only started in recent years. There are no records of when this Arma Christi passed into the Order’s care. 

The full manuscript will not be revealed until it becomes the centrepiece of a major new exhibition at the Bar Covent Living Heritage Centre opening on April 5. 

“We know that there will be huge excitement about this discovery, but given that it has remained hidden for over 500 years, we know that people will not mind waiting a few more weeks before we share this magnificent scroll with the world,” says Sister Ann Stafford, Superior of the Bar Covent. “We also have exciting plans for another world-first. The prayers and devotional material on the scroll will feature in a special Mass in our Chapel. We’re delighted that a representative from the Archbishop of York will be joining us, along with local dignitaries and faith representatives. We hope to livestream the service so that the world can share in its discovery.”