The Book Of Kells And The Lindisfarne Gospels
From the 4th century ce the Christian monastic system began to flourish in Ireland. It was from these institutions that the greatest masterpieces of Celtic art were produced - the illuminated gospels.
The magnificent Book of Kells takes its name from the early Irish monastery of this name in County Meath, Ireland. Today, within the ruined monastic site the carved stone Celtic high cross of the monastery is still standing, rather eroded by over one thousand years of exposure to the Irish weather. However some details of the very elaborate knotwork and figures can still be seen on both the cross and its base.
Tradition has it that the Book of Kells was originally created on the tiny sacred island of lona in Scotland's Inner Hebrides by monks who had travelled there from Ireland. During one of the frequent Viking invasions of the island the book was removed for safekeeping to Ireland and housed at the monastery of Kells in County Meath. The first written reference to the Book is in the Annals of Ulster, and dates from 1006. In this book it is documented as having been stolen from the church at Kells and found 'after twenty nights and two months, its gold having been stolen off it, and a sod [placed] over it'.
The Book of Kells is one of the great wonders of the Celtic art world in its beauty and complexity, and dates from the late 8th century. The
Wonderfully ornate Chi-Rho initials artists involved in its creation used various brightly coloured natural from the late 8th century Book of Kells
Spiral carving from the 6th century on pigments,- blue, green, yellow and red-brown being predominant. The a stone slab at Carrowtemple, County
Sligo, Ireland blue, the most precious and most sparingly-used colour, was made from powdered lapis lazuli certainly obtained from overseas, as this mineral is not found anywhere in Britain or Ireland.
The Lindisfarne Gospels are another wonder of the Celtic art world. The tiny island of Lindisfarne, after which the magnificent gospel manuscript is named, lies off the coast of Northumbria in north-eastern England, separated by a causeway accessible only at low tide. The original Celtic monastic settlement on Lindisfarne was founded by St Aidan in about 635. The Lindisfarne Gospels were written and illuminated on the island over 100 years later.
The Lindisfarne Gospels exhibit the distinctive style of the Irish Celtic artists and is closely related to the Book of Kelts. The earliest clue to their origins are contained within the manuscript itself. A priest called Aldred added an Anglo-Saxon translation of the Latin text in the 10th century, over 200 years after it had originally been created. In addition, on the last page he wrote-. 'Eadfrith, Bishop of the Lindisfarne Church originally wrote this book, for God and Saint Cuthbert and, jointly, for all the Saints whose relics are in the island. And Ethelwald, Bishop of the Lindisfarne islanders, impressed it on the outside and covered it, as he well knew how. And Billfrith the anchorite forged the ornaments which are on it on the outside and adorned it with gold and gems and with gilded-over silver, pure metal. And Aldred, unworthy and most miserable priest, glossed it in English between the lines with the help of God and Saint Cuthbert.'
The skills of manuscript illumination were carried to Lindisfarne by the Irish monks of lona. King Oswald of Northumbria, eager to establish Celtic Christianity in his realm, sent a request to lona for Irish priests to establish themselves on Lindisfarne. As a result, a group of missionaries led by St Aidan travelled from lona and founded the monastery on Holy Island, otherwise known as Lindisfarne. St Cuthbert, to whom the Lindisfarne Gospels are dedicated, was St Aidan's successor.
As with many designs in the Book of Kells, the size of the individual panels in the Lindisfarne Gospels is minute, and some form of magnification must have been used to execute them. The main pages are of exquisite complexity, employing highly elaborate spirals, knotwork, key patterning, birds, beasts and illuminated lettering.
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