(AP) -- COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The University of South Carolina has acquired a 13th century Bible for its medieval book collection.
The State newspaper reported the school on Thursday unveiled the leather-bound, pocket-sized Bible acquired from the Christie's auction house in London. Officials think the Latin text was written in Oxford around 1240.
USC English professor Scott Gwara says he saw the book during a visit this summer with students from the Honors College. He says he and the school's agent bid slightly more than $55,000 and didn't think they would get it. He was more worried when he learned it sold for $77,000.
But the president of the New York-based B.H. Breslauer Foundation offered the extra money to make sure USC obtained the book. The foundation had helped the school acquire another 13th century text in 2007.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
