500-year-old Bible contains secret notes of Reformation, historian discovers

Secret notes of the Reformation were discovered hidden between the pages of England's oldest printed Bible.

Written in Latin and published in 1535 by the printer of Henry VIII, the Bible copy kept in London's Lambeth Library is one of only seven remaining. In it are annotations written some time from 1539 to 1549, when the king're reign was unstable. The notes, quoted from Thomas Cromwell's "Great Bible," were hidden using thick paper in 1600.

The hidden text was discovered by historian Dr. Eyal Poleg of the Queen Mary University of London. During his research, Poleg observed something odd about the pages of the book -- the thick paper.

"We know virtually nothing about this unique Bible – whose preface was written by Henry himself – outside of the surviving copies," Poleg said in a press release. "At first, the Lambeth copy first appeared completely 'clean'. But upon closer inspection I noticed that heavy paper had been pasted over blank parts of the book."

The challenge, according to Poleg, was "how to uncover the annotations without damaging the book." Dr. Graham Davis of the School of Dentistry at QMUL, an expert in 3D imaging, assisted Poleg in finding out what the annotations say.

Using a light sheet placed between the book's pages, they took two images. The first one, with the light sheet turned on, showed both the printed text on the page and the secret ones. The second image taken, with the light sheet turned off, showed only the printed text. Davis, using a novel software he made, removed what's in the second image from the first one, which gave them a clear view of the hidden notes.

This new discovery of Reformation notes hidden for 500 years has led Poleg to believe that the Reformation happened more gradually than what was previously believed.

"This Bible is a unique witness to a time when the conservative Latin and the reformist English were used together, showing that the Reformation was a slow, complex, and gradual process," he said.

There is also a hidden transaction found at the back of the book. It says that a certain Mr. James Elys Cutpurse of London promises to pay 20 shillings to Mr. William Cheffyn of Calais or he'd go to prison. Poleg found that Cupurse (translated as pickpocket) was hanged in 1552. This discovery has allowed the historian to follow the book's journey with more accuracy.