READING, ENGLAND—Live Science reports that librarian Erika Delbecque found a page from a Latin text of instructions for priests known as the Sarum Ordinal or Sarum Pye in an archive at the University of Reading. The book was printed in late 1476 or early 1477 by William Caxton, who introduced the printing press to England, with black text, red paragraph marks, and double-sided pages. Delbecque said that the page is one of only two surviving fragments of the medieval book, which fell out of use after the Reformation. The rare leaf had been pasted into another book to reinforce its spine for about 300 years, until it was recovered at the University of Cambridge around 1820. The University of Reading purchased the page 20 years ago as part of a collection belonging to a typographer. To read in-depth about the search for medieval manuscripts, go to "Recovering Hidden Texts."
