The manuscript of what's said to be the oldest song in the UK is returning to Berkshire. 'Sumer Is Icumen In' was written at Reading Abbey about 500 years ago and will be on display in Reading Library until May 9, on loan from the British Library. It's the first time the document has been back in the town since the dissolution of Reading Abbey in 1539.
Sometimes called the Reading Rota and dating from 1240, the manuscript is now housed in the British Library - though there's a tablet of stone in the Abbey ruins where it was probably created.
The medieval round has popped up in films and TV: it features at the climax of The Wicker Man (1973) in a mixed translation by Peter Shafferm, is the round sung by the mice in Bagpuss (1974), appears in The Flight of the Dragons (1982) and Woody Allen's 1982 A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, is used in Shawdowlands (1993) and was sung by Glenn Close in the 1991 TV movie Sarah, Plain and Tall.
It's sung by four tenor voices in Wessex dialect. The manuscript is called Sumer is icumen in, which is Middle English for 'Summer has arrived'. It starts with the lines: "Sumer is icumen in / lhude sing cuccu" meaning "Summer has arrived / Loudly sing, cuckoo!"
Thought to have been written by monks at Reading Abbey in the mid-13th century, it's believed to be the earliest English song whose music survives. It's written for six voices all singing different parts at the same time - an early example of that style.
The manuscript is displayed in a special case in The Story of Reading gallery, a short walk from the Abbey ruins where it was probably created.
Helen Schulte, head of culture programmes at the British Library, said: "We're so thrilled to be lending Reading Libraries and Museums the 'Sumer is icumen in' manuscript, as part of our programme, British Library on Tour, which shares special items from the national collection with people across the UK.
We are thankful to The Dorset Foundation for their support of this programme and we can't wait for visitors to Reading Museum to see the 'Reading Rota' manuscript in the very place it's believed to have been created in, over 500 years ago. "
Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter
