THE mystery surrounding York’s famous lost library will be the focus of a new exhibition in the city.

In the eighth century, the library and school headed by the renowned scholar Alcuin meant York was respected across Europe, but all trace of the library has since disappeared.

Now, an exhibition called The Great Lost Library Of Alcuin’s York will be held at the Old Palace, in the grounds of Dean’s Park, the home of York Minster’s historic collections, to try to solve the mystery.

Its organiser Dr Mary Garrison, of the University of York’s Department of History, said the library was probably either taken to mainland Europe, or destroyed in Viking attacks in 866 and 877AD.

She said: “The library has vanished. No books now existing can be proven to have come from it. But it was extraordinary. Students came from afar to study with Alcuin. The library was dispersed or destroyed, but the surviving information about its growth, use and disappearance make a fascinating and inspiring story.

“I hope that this exhibition will allow York residents and visitors to learn about and value this remarkable era in the city’s past, and to appreciate the extraordinary origins of the Minster Library.”

The exhibition, which runs until April 15, is a collaboration between the Old Palace, the university, the Yorkshire Museum, and the Danelaw Living History Centre at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, and features new designs by Yorkshire calligraphers Dorothy Wilkinson, Sue Sparrow and Angela Dalleywater, based on eighth-century script used by Alcuin’s scribes.

Peter Young, archivist and curator of the manuscript collections at the Old Palace, said: “We are pleased to welcome visitors to this exhibition, which not only looks back on the history of education and learning at our cathedral, but, in doing so, also draws attention to the importance of the role that the Minster plays today in preserving our Christian heritage.”