In 2006 a book was found in a Tipperary bog. It turned out to be a psalter from the early 9th century with a global story. The cover of the Faddan More Psalter is lined with papyrus, confirming the reports of imports of resources from the Mediterranean. 1/ #medievalmanuscripts

We know from charters that papyrus was imported into Merovingian Francia. This privilege of Chilperic II from 716 (in a 9th century copy, today Berlin Phill. 1776) confirming an earlier charter mentions toll-free imports of 50 sheets of papyrus for the monastery of Corbie. 2/

Ireland’s connections with the Mediterranean, especially with Egypt, had been also noted in other areas, like monastic organization and manuscript illumination. (Book of Kells (left) and Morgan MS M.574) 3/

Those contacts were probably mostly indirect but, as I often argue, the relay nature of the early medieval connectivity is a feature not a bug! In many ways it helped those connections survive the times of crisis. 4/

The Faddan More Psalter is just another fascinating example of those connections. Please visit the superb page about it @NMIreland to learn more about its discovery and conservation. 5/ https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Irish-Antiquities-Division-Collections/Collections-List-(1)/Early-Medieval/The-Faddan-More-Psalter