Lindisfarne Gospels
The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) is an
The Lindisfarne Gospels are presumed to be the work of a monk named
An
History
Lindisfarne, also known as "Holy Island", is located off the coast of Northumberland in northern England (Chilvers 2004). In around 635 AD, the Irish missionary Aidan founded the Lindisfarne monastery on "a small outcrop of the land" on Lindisfarne.[8] King Oswald of Northumbria sent Aidan from Iona to preach to and baptise the pagan Anglo-Saxons, following the conversion to Christianity of the Northumbrian monarchy in 627. By the time of Aidan's death in 651, the Christian faith was becoming well-established in the area.[9] The Lindisfarne gospel book is associated with the Cult of St. Cuthbert. Cuthbert was an ascetic member of a monastic community in Lindisfarne, before his death in 687. The book was made as part of the preparations to translate Cuthbert's relics to a shrine in 698. Lindisfarne has a reputation as the probable place of genesis according to the Lindisfarne Gospels. Around 705 an anonymous monk of Lindisfarne wrote the Life of St Cuthbert. His bishop, Eadfrith, swiftly commissioned the most famous scholar of the age, Bede, to help shape the cult to a new purpose.[10]
In the 10th century, about 250 years after the production of the book, Aldred, a priest of the monastery at
Some scholars have argued that Eadfrith and Ethelwald did not produce the manuscript but commissioned someone else to do so.[12] However, Janet Backhouse argues for the validity of the statement by pointing out that "there is no reason to doubt [Aldred's] statement" because he was "recording a well-established tradition".[8] Eadfrith and Ethelwald were both bishops at the monastery of Lindisfarne where the manuscript was produced. As Alan Thacker notes, the Lindisfarne Gospels are "undoubtedly the work of a single hand", and Eadfrith remains regarded as "the scribe and painter of the Lindisfarne Gospels".[13]
Commission
The Lindisfarne Gospels is a Christian manuscript, containing the four gospels recounting the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The manuscript was used for ceremonial purposes to promote and celebrate the Christian religion and the word of God.[14] Because the body of Cuthbert was buried there, Lindisfarne became an important pilgrimage destination in the 7th and 8th centuries, and the Lindisfarne Gospels would have contributed to the cult of St Cuthbert.[14] The gospels used techniques reminiscent of elite metalwork to impress a Northumbrian audience, most of whom could not read, and certainly not understand the Latin text.
According to Aldred's colophon, the Lindisfarne Gospels were made in honour of God and Saint Cuthbert, a Bishop of the Lindisfarne monastery who was becoming "Northern England's most popular Saint".[15] Scholars think that the manuscript was written sometime between Cuthbert's death in 687 and Eadfrith's death in 721.[14] There is a significant amount of information known about Cuthbert thanks to two accounts of his life that were written shortly after his death, the first by an anonymous monk from Lindisfarne, and the second by Bede, a famous monk, historian, and theologian.[9]
Cuthbert entered into the monastery of
Techniques
The Lindisfarne Gospels manuscript was produced in a scriptorium in the monastery of Lindisfarne. It took approximately 10 years to create.[19] Its pages are vellum, and evidence from the manuscript reveals that the vellum was made using roughly 150 calf skins.[20] The book is 516 pages long. The text is written "in a dense, dark brown ink, often almost black, which contains particles of carbon from soot or lamp black".[21] The pens used for the manuscript could have been cut from either quills or reeds, and there is also evidence to suggest that the trace marks (seen under oblique light) were made by an early equivalent of a modern pencil.[22] Lavish jewellery, now lost, was added to the binding of the manuscript later in the 8th century.[23] Eadfrith manufactured 90 of his own colours with "only six local minerals and vegetable extracts".[19]
There is a huge range of individual pigments used in the manuscript. The colours are derived from animal, vegetable and mineral sources.[24] Gold is used in only a couple of small details.[23] While some colours were obtained from local sources, others were imported from the Mediterranean.[24] The blue was long thought to be ultramarine from Afghanistan, but analysis with Raman microscopy in the 2000s revealed it to be indigo.[25] The medium used to bind the colours was primarily egg white, with fish glue perhaps used in a few places.[23] Backhouse emphasizes that "all Eadfrith's colours are applied with great skill and accuracy, but ... we have no means of knowing exactly what implements he used".
Professor Brown added that Eadfrith "knew about lapis lazuli [a semi-precious stone with a blue tint] from the Himalayas but could not get hold of it, so made his own [substitute]".[23]
The pages were arranged into
The Lindisfarne Gospels are impeccably designed, and as Backhouse points out, vellum would have been too expensive for "practice runs" for the pages, and so preliminary designs may have been done on wax tablets (hollowed-out wood or bone with a layer of wax).[26] These would have been an inexpensive medium for a first draft; once a sketch had been transferred to the manuscript, the wax could be remelted and a new design or outline inscribed.[26]
History
As a result of Viking raids, the monastic community left Lindisfarne around 875, taking with them Cuthbert's body, relics, and books, including the Lindisfarne Gospels
Condition
The Lindisfarne Gospels are in remarkable condition and the text is complete and undamaged.[29] However, the original binding of the manuscript was destroyed. In March 1852 a new binding was commissioned by bishop Edward Maltby; Smith, Nicholson and Co. (silversmiths) made the binding with the intention of recreating motifs in Eadfrith's work.[30]
Formal and stylistic elements of the manuscript
In The Illuminated Manuscript, Backhouse states that "The Lindisfarne Gospels is one of the first and greatest masterpieces of medieval European book painting".[31] The Lindisfarne Gospels is described as Insular or Hiberno-Saxon art, a general term for manuscripts produced in the British Isles between 500 and 900 AD.[27]
As a part of Anglo-Saxon art the manuscript reveals a love of riddles and surprise, shown through the pattern and interlace in the meticulously designed pages. Many of the patterns used for the Lindisfarne Gospels date back before the Christian period.[32] There is a strong presence of Celtic, Germanic, and Irish art styles. The spiral style and "knot work" evident in the formation of the designed pages are influenced by Celtic art.[32]
One of the most characteristic styles in the manuscript is the
The carpet pages (pages of pure decoration) exemplify Eadfrith's use of geometrical ornamentation. Another notable aspect of the Gospels is the tiny drops of red lead, which create backgrounds, outlines, and patterns, but never appear on the carpet pages.[33] The red dots appear in early Irish manuscripts, revealing their influence in the design of the Lindisfarne Gospels.[33] Thacker points out that Eadfrith acquired knowledge from, and was influenced by, other artistic styles, showing that he had "eclectic taste".[34] While there are many non-Christian artistic influences in the manuscript, the patterns were used to produce religious motifs and ideas.
Eadfrith was a highly trained calligrapher and he used insular
Insular context
The Lindisfarne Gospels are not an example of "isolated genius... in an otherwise dark age":[35] there were other Gospel books produced in the same time period and geographic area that have similar qualities to the Lindisfarne Gospels. The Lindisfarne monastery not only produced the Lindisfarne gospels, but the Durham Gospels and Echternach Gospels as well. These gospel books were credited to "the 'Durnham-Echternach Calligrapher', thought to be the oldest member of the Lindisfarne Scriptorium".[36] The Echternach gospels might have been made during the creation of the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Durham Gospels came after, but in an old-fashioned style.[37] The Lichfield Gospels (Lichfield Cathedral, Chapter Library) employ a very similar style to the Lindisfarne Gospels, and it is even speculated that the artist was attempting to emulate Eadfrith's work.[29] Surviving pages from the Lichfield Gospels also have a cross-carpet page and animal and bird interlace, but the designs do not achieve the same perfection, and are seen as looser and heavier than Eadfrith's.[29]
The design of the Lindisfarne Gospels has also been related to the Tara Brooch (National Museum of Ireland, Dublin), displaying animal interlace, curvilinear patterns, and borders of bird interlace, but unfortunately the origin of the brooch is unknown.[29] The Durham Gospels (Durham Cathedral Library) are suspected as having been created slightly earlier than the Lindisfarne Gospels, and while they have the bird interlace, the birds are less natural and real than Eadfrith's birds in the Lindisfarne Gospels.[38] The Book of Durrow (Trinity College, Dublin) is also thought of as an earlier insular manuscript, as the style of the manuscript is simpler and less developed than that of the Lindisfarne Gospels.[39] The Book of Kells (Trinity College, Dublin, MS A. I.6 (58)) employs decorative patterns that are similar to other insular art pieces of the period, but is thought to have been produced much later than the Lindisfarne Gospels.[40]
Iconography
The Lindisfarne Gospels is a manuscript that contains the Gospels of the four Evangelists Mark, John, Luke, and Matthew. The Lindisfarne Gospels begins with a
The Evangelists
Bede explains how each of the four Evangelists was represented by their own symbol: Matthew was the man, representing the human Christ; Mark was the lion, symbolising the triumphant Christ of the Resurrection; Luke was the calf, symbolising the sacrificial victim of the Crucifixion; and John was the eagle, symbolising Christ's second coming.[42] A collective term for the symbols of the four Evangelists is the Tetramorphs. Each of the four Evangelists is accompanied by their respective symbol in their miniature portraits in the manuscript. In these portraits, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are shown writing, while John looks straight ahead at the reader holding his scroll.[42] The Evangelists also represent the dual nature of Christ. Mark and John are shown as young men, symbolising the divine nature of Christ, and Matthew and Luke appear older and bearded, representing Christ's mortal nature.[42]
The decoration of the manuscript
A manuscript so richly decorated reveals that the Lindisfarne Gospels not only had a practical ceremonial use, but also attempted to symbolize the Word of God in missionary expeditions.
The carpet pages
Each carpet page contains a different image of a cross (called a cross-carpet page), emphasising the importance of the Christian religion and of ecumenical relationships between churches.[42] The pages of ornamentation have motifs familiar from metalwork and jewellery that pair alongside bird and animal decoration.[27]
Campaign to relocate
A campaign exists to have the gospels housed in the North East of England. Supporters include the Bishop of Durham, Viz creator Simon Donald, and the Northumbrian Association. The move is vigorously opposed by the British Library.[45][46] Several possible locations have been mooted, including Durham Cathedral, Lindisfarne itself or one of the museums in Newcastle upon Tyne or Sunderland.[5] In 1971 professor Suzanne Kaufman of Rockford, Illinois, presented a facsimile copy of the Gospels to the clergy of the Island.[47]
Exhibitions in the north of England
Between September and 3 December 2022 the manuscript was being exhibited in the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne.[48]
From July to September 2013 the Lindisfarne Gospels were displayed in
See also
- List of Hiberno-Saxon illustrated manuscripts
- Old English Bible translations
Notes
- ^ "Lindisfarne Gospels" The British Library, in 2018 dates it "c. 715-720".
- ISBN 0-85323-549-X.
- ^ a b Lindisfarne Gospels British Library. Retrieved 2008-03-21
- ISBN 9780714824611.
- ^ a b Let Gospels come home Archived 19 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine Sunderland Echo, 2006-09-22. Retrieved 2008-03-21
- ^ "The Lindisfarne Gospels". Northumbrian Association. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Time line British Library. Retrieved 2008-03-21
- ^ a b c Backhouse 1981, 7.
- ^ a b Backhouse 1981, 8.
- ^ Brown, Michelle (2003). The Lindisfarne Gospels: Society, Spirituality & the Scribe. London, The British Library: University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 12.
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 13.
- ^ Thacker 2004.
- ^ a b c d BBC Tyne 2012
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 7; Chilvers 2004.
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 8–9.
- ^ a b Backhouse 1981, 9.
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 9–10.
- ^ a b Consiglio, Flavia Di (20 March 2013). "Lindisfarne Gospels: Why Is This Book so Special?". BBC. Archived from the original on 21 March 2013.
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 27.
- ^ a b c Backhouse 1981, 28.
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 28–31.
- ^ a b c d e Backhouse 1981, 32.
- ^ a b c Backhouse 2004.
- doi:10.1002/jrs.1110.
- ^ a b Backhouse 1981, 31.
- ^ a b c d e f g Backhouse, 2004
- ^ Chilvers 2004
- ^ a b c d Backhouse 1981, 66
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 90
- ^ Backhouse 1979, 10
- ^ a b c Backhouse 1981, 47
- ^ a b c Backhouse 1981, 51
- ^ a b Thacker 2004
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 62
- ^ Brown, Michelle P., The Lindisfarne Gospels: Society, Spirituality & the Scribe. London: The British Library, 2003.
- ^ Brown, Michelle (2003). The Lindisfarne Gospels: Society, Spirituality & the Scribe. London: University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 67
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 75
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 41
- ^ Backhouse 1981, 41; Backhouse 2004
- ^ a b c d e The British Library Board, "The Lindisfarne Gospels Tour." Accessed 13 March 2012.
- ^ a b Backhouse 1981, 33
- ^ Consiglio, Flavia Di. "Lindisfarne Gospels: Why Is This Book so Special?" BBC News, BBC, 20 Mar. 2013, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/21588667.
- ^ Viz creator urges gospels return BBC News Online, 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2008-03-21
- ^ Hansard, see column 451 Archived 10 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Speech by the Bishop of Durham in the House of Lords in 1998. Retrieved 2009-03-25
- ^ Rockford [Illinois] Register-Star, Sunday 9-27-1970. She led the effort to donate the text after visiting Lindisfarne Island the previous year. Rockford College sponsored the fundraising for the facsimile. She was a professor of art at the college.
- ^ Laing Art Gallery
- ^ "Lindisfarne Gospels Durham exhibition attracts 100,000 visitors", BBC News, Tyne, accessed 5 December 2013
- ^ Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition website Archived 11 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
References
- Backhouse, Janet. "Lindisfarne Gospels." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Accessed 10 March 2012.
- Backhouse, Janet. The Illuminated Manuscript. Oxford: Phaidon Press Ltd., 1979.
- Backhouse, Janet. The Lindisfarne Gospels. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1981.
- BBC Tyne. "The Lindisfarne Gospels." BBC Online, 2012. Accessed 10 March 2012.
- Calkins, Robert G. Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1983.
- Chilvers, Ian. ed. "Lindisfarne Gospels" The Oxford Dictionary of Art. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Accessed 9 March 2012.
- De Hamel, Christopher. A History of Illuminated Manuscripts. Boston: David R. Godine, 1986.
- Thacker, Alan. Eadfrith (d. 721?). doi: 8381, 2004.
- Walther, Ingo F. and Norbert Wolf. Codices Illustres: The world's most famous illuminated manuscripts, 400 to 1600. Köln, TASCHEN, 2005.
- Whitfield, Niamh. "The “Tara” brooch: an Irish emblem of status in its European context", In: Hourihane, Colm (ed), From Ireland Coming: Irish art from the early Christian to the late Gothic period and its European context. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-6910-8825-9
- "Lindisfarne Gospels." The British Library, The British Library, 16 Jan. 2015.
- Brown, Michelle P., The Lindisfarne Gospels: Society, Spirituality & the Scribe. London: The British Library, 2003.
- Consiglio, Flavia Di. "Lindisfarne Gospels: Why Is This Book so Special?" BBC News, BBC, 20 Mar. 2013.
Further reading
- Brown, Michelle P., The Lindisfarne Gospels: Society, Spirituality and the Scribe. London: The British Library, 2003
- Brown, Michelle P., The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Early Medieval World. London: The British Library, 2010
External links
- The Lindisfarne Gospels, a free online seminar from the British Library.
- More information at Earlier Latin Manuscripts
- "The Lindisfarne Gospels", BBC Radio 4 discussion with Michelle Brown, Richard Gameson & Clare Lees (In Our Time, Feb.20, 2003)
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