Tour of the British Library Treasures

Event report

On Friday 12 May the CIOL London & South East Network met for a fascinating tour of the British Library, which covered the origins and inner workings of the library as well as some of the "treasures" on display - among them the King's library, the collection of George III bequeathed on the condition that it remain on public display and accessible to scholars; Anne Boleyn's copy of Tyndale's translation of the New Testament,  (pictured below) which we learned had a bigger influence on the English language than many realise; and the Lindisfarne Gospels (pictured below) which have Old English gloss annotations added under the Latin by a priest named Aldred, the earliest rendering of the gospels in English. After the tour the majority of the group gathered in the bright and airy Terrace restaurant for lunch and networking (pictured below), with discussions about machine translation, working in TV and engagement with new entrants to the language industry.

Nicole Hawkesford
CIOL London and South East Network Committee Member