Rare Treasures of Hereford Cathedral

Hereford Cathedral is one of England’s great medieval buildings, begun in the 12th century, and there has been worship on the site since the 8th century or earlier. Scala’s guide presents some of its many great treasures, the most famous of which is the Mappa Mundi, a 13th-century map of the world that is one of the most remarkable and important medieval works of art, which records how medieval scholars interpreted the world in spiritual as well as geographical terms. Hereford also possesses a near-perfect 1217 copy of Magna Carta, one of the eight oldest copies surviving of perhaps the most famous document in English history. In addition, the cathedral has a unique chained library. Its bookcases and chains date from the early 17th century, while the books housed in the cases range in date from the 8th to the 19th centuries, thus preserving the cultural history of the cathedral from its earliest days.