The Lindisfarne Gospels could go back to the north-east on loan as early as next year following a ruling by the British Library.
The board of the library accepted an independent group of conservation experts' recommendations that the manuscript could be lent for a period of up to three months at intervals of not fewer than seven years.
The decision is a major shift in the library's previously stated policy that the gospels could not be loaned until at least 2019, on conservation grounds.
Colin Lucas, the chairman of the library's board, said the gospels could go on display in one of the region's institutions as early as 2010, with the expectation of a regular cycle of loans after that.
Baroness Joyce Quin, a member of the parliamentary group that has campaigned for the manuscript's return to the north-east, said: "It is very good that it will be seen in our region again, but our goal remains for it to be there permanently, so that it is part of the future of our region, as well as of its past."
But the board rejected a proposal for a permanent outpost of the library in the north-east to house the gospels, saying it had a duty to keep the national collection intact.
Alec Coles, the director of Tyne and Wear Museums, said: "It is hard to describe the resonance that this particular regional treasure has for the people of Northumbria. The various venues and agencies in the region will now consider the most suitable venue to first display it."
The gospels' last appearance in the north-east was at the Laing Art Gallery, in Newcastle, in 2000.
The board of the library accepted an independent group of conservation experts' recommendations that the manuscript could be lent for a period of up to three months at intervals of not fewer than seven years.
The decision is a major shift in the library's previously stated policy that the gospels could not be loaned until at least 2019, on conservation grounds.
Colin Lucas, the chairman of the library's board, said the gospels could go on display in one of the region's institutions as early as 2010, with the expectation of a regular cycle of loans after that.
Baroness Joyce Quin, a member of the parliamentary group that has campaigned for the manuscript's return to the north-east, said: "It is very good that it will be seen in our region again, but our goal remains for it to be there permanently, so that it is part of the future of our region, as well as of its past."
But the board rejected a proposal for a permanent outpost of the library in the north-east to house the gospels, saying it had a duty to keep the national collection intact.
Alec Coles, the director of Tyne and Wear Museums, said: "It is hard to describe the resonance that this particular regional treasure has for the people of Northumbria. The various venues and agencies in the region will now consider the most suitable venue to first display it."
The gospels' last appearance in the north-east was at the Laing Art Gallery, in Newcastle, in 2000.
