4 March 2010
Conservators at Salisbury Cathedral in England have, literally, uncovered the oldest known English-language inscription in a church. The inscription, believed to date to the 15th century, was found behind a monument that had been erected around 1660. Of course, the in a church is key; there are many examples of older English inscriptions (not to mention manuscripts) going back many centuries before this one, but they are not in churches. Cathedral inscriptions of this era are typically in Latin, not English.
Another cool aspect to the story is that the cathedral is applying a 21st century solution to deciphering the partially-legible inscription: crowd-sourcing. They’ve put photos of the inscription on the web and are encouraging the public, especially those who are paleographically inclined, to help in determining what the inscription says.
A Daily Mail article on the inscription is here. The Salisbury Cathedral press release, with links to more photos, is here.
