KEY EVENTS
Viking leader Guthrum adopts Christianity.
predominant in the pottery and fresco of the that they had seen on the pagan metalwork or
Greeks and Romans was rarely seen. Instead, jewelry that was in widespread circulation. This 966 CE With the baptism of Mieszko I,
in view of their nomadic circumstances, tribal produced the rich fusion of imagery that made Poland becomes one of the last European
nations to adopt Christianity.
craftsmen tended to lavish the greatest the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book
attention on small, portable objects, such of Kells such extraordinary masterpieces.
MACREGOL PAINTED
THIS GOSPEL BOOK.
WHOEVER READS AND
UNDERSTANDS ITS
NARRATIVE, LET HIM
PRAY FOR MACREGOL
THE SCRIBE
c.820 CE | Macregol
Abbot of Birr, Ireland, written on colophon
page in the Macregol Gospels
Island monastery
Situated off the west coast of Scotland, the island
of Iona was once one of the most important Christian
centers in Europe, with a scriptorium producing
manuscripts of unparalleled beauty.
056 ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL
BEGINNINGS
A FUSION OF STYLES
Some sources for the great decorated Christian manuscripts (a 5th-century CE Roman statesman and scholar) and sent to
of the Dark Ages can be identied. The Gospel of St. Northumbria. Historians have surmised that portraits in the
Augustine was probably brought to the British Isles from Lindisfarne Gospels and the Codex Amiatinus were borrowed
Rome during Augustines mission, and is still used for from this source. The most intriguing Celtic manuscript is
the swearing-in of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Its the Cathach of St. Columba, a fragment of a Psalter. Dating
sole-surviving Evangelist portrait is classical in style. from the early 7th century CE, its decorated initials provide a
In the Ezra portrait (see p.59), nine books are displayed in hint of the glories that were to come. It was long attributed
a cupboard. This is probably the Novem Codices, a fabled to St. Columba and, as its name attestsCathach means
9-volume Bible purchased from the library of Cassiodorus Battlerit was carried onto the battleeld as a relic.
ARTISTIC INFLUENCES
Pictish stoneworkproduced
Pictish Symbol
by a Celtic race in present-day Stone, detail of a slab
Scotlandhad a signicant impact thought to have been a
on the manuscripts of Northumbria. grave marker, 8th century
This is particularly evident in the CE. Brough of Birsay,
stylized forms of animals. Orkney, Scotland
TURNING POINT
CONTEXT
divine persona. The lion represented his royal and majestic role as scriptorium, which produced a succession
of ne manuscripts,
the King of Heaven, while the man referred to his incarnation as possibly including the St. Columba, Dunkeld
a human being. The Durrow lion resembles Pictish stonework, Book of Kells itself. Cathedral, Scotland
suggesting that the manuscript was produced in Northumbria.
058 ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL
TIMELINE
Manuscripts mirrored the dangers and uncertainties of the
SUTTON HOO
Dark Ages: occasionally cryptic marginal notes hint at violence
and theft, the Licheld Gospels (opposite) was exchanged for a The royal cemetery at Sutton
Hoo is the most important Anglo-
horse, while the Canterbury Codex Aureus (see p.60) was stolen
Saxon site in Britain. The main
by Norsemen then ransomed by a dignitary called Aelfred. gravea ship burialis often
Politics, too, was reected: in both the Canterbury manuscript associated with Raedwald (died
c.625 CE), who ruled when East
and Imago Hominis (opposite) the gures heads are shaved like Anglia was converting to
a Roman monk in a bid to promote papal authority. In stylistic Christianity. There are exotic items,
terms, pagan inuencescomplex interlacing, stylized robes, such as Byzantine bowls and
Merovingian coins, but also buckles
and ferocious beastsgradually diminished over time. and clasps with patterns that
CONTEXT
closely resemble decorations in the
Book of Durrow. The prize piece is
The rise of the Franks this helmet, with its ornate face
By 500 CE, Clovis I has largely succeeded in his quest
mask and dragonhead details. Helmet from Sutton Hoo
to subjugate the Alemanni (a confederation of Germanic
tribes) and unite the Franks under his leadership.
500 CE 600
Battle of Tertry
Pepin II, an ancestor Death of
of Charlemagne, wins Venerable Bede
a crucial victory over Bede dies in 735 CE.
the Neustrians at the His Ecclesiastical
Battle of Tertry (687 CE). History of the English
This brings most People is one of the
Frankish territories primary sources for
under his control. this period.
Carpet Page
Lindisfarne Gospels c.698721 CE
British Library, London, UK
As the name suggests, carpet pages may
originally have been inspired by the designs
on prayer mats. The interlacing here
positively teems with life, as fierce-looking
birds and dogs confront each other.
LINDISFARNE GOSPELS
The Lindisfarne Gospels is one
of the outstanding manuscripts of
the period. It was created as part
of the cult of St. Cuthbert, a
former Bishop of Lindisfarne.
A later inscription provides an
unusual amount of detail about
the making of the book, stating
that the artist and scribe was
Eadfrith, another Bishop of
Lindisfarne (c.698721 CE). As to
the decorations, the carpet pages St. Luke
Lichfield Gospels c.720 CE
and calligraphy are mesmerizing, Lichfield Cathedral, UK
CONTEXT
while the artists quirky treatment The evangelist is shown with his symbol
of birdsa jumble of snakelike the winged oxabove his head, and
bodies and vicious beakshas he holds two ceremonial staves in
won particular praise. his tiny hands. The manuscript was
probably produced in Northumbria.
060
Lombards seize
Ravenna
In 751 CE, Aistulf, King of
the Lombards, continues
his expansion, seizing Alfred becomes king
the city of Ravenna. This In 871 CE, Alfred the Great becomes
is the last Byzantine king of Wessex. In the same year, he
stronghold on Italian soil. gains a notable victory over the
Danes at the Battle of Ashdown.
King David was often portrayed supremacy in England, but full recognition
in Psalters, because he was was not achieved until after the Synod of
traditionally regarded as the Whitby in 664 CE, long after his death.
author of the Old Testament
Book of Psalms.
THE DARK AGES 061
Soiscl Molaise,
11th century, National
Museum of Ireland,
Dublin, Ireland
Capetian dynasty
Hugh Capet is elected
to the French throne in
987 CE, succeeding the
Carolingian line. The
Capetian dynasty will
rule France from 987 CE
to 1328.
Liber Sacramentorum
10th century
Biblioteca del Seminario
Arcivescovile, Udine, Italy
This is a Sacramentary, a book
containing the texts that were used
during Mass. The miniature scenes
depict the Adoration of the Magi,
the Marriage at Cana, and the
Baptism of Christ.
MASTERWORK
The Monogram Page
Book of Kells c.800 CE
Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland
This is the most important page in the nest of all The complexity and variety of the tightly coiled spirals
the Gospel Books. Almost the entire design is devoted and knotwork are phenomenal. In addition, there are
to the two Greek letters Chi and Rho (written as XP), several tiny gurative details hidden away in the design,
which form Christs monogram. In the elaborate Celtic including three angels on the left side of the X, an
manuscripts, there were usually ve major pages of otter with a salmon (bottom), and two mice nibbling a
calligraphyone at the beginning of each of the four communion wafer (bottom, left). There has been much
Gospels, and the Monogram Page. The latter was seen debate about these animalssome believe that they
as the most signicant, since it marked the beginning of are related to the symbols of the Eucharist that appear
the passage describing Christs birth (Matthew 1:18), so frequently throughout the manuscript.
most artists gave it special treatment. The illustration of There is an element of mystery about the manuscript.
the same passage in the Canterbury Codex Aureus (see The Book of Kells was an extremely ambitious
p.60) is typically ornate, but the Kells example eclipses undertakingit had more illustrations than other Gospel
all others. It was preceded by two full-page illustrations Books and would have been both costly and time-
in the manuscripta portrait of Christ and a carpet-page. consuming to produce. Yet it was never nished. The
Celtic artists excelled at calligraphy, because it was reason is unknown, though it is tempting to link the
compatible with the swirling, abstract designs that had incomplete state of the book with the Viking attacks
featured on their metalwork and jewelry for centuries. of the time, when many monks were slaughtered.
ORNAMENTAL DETAILS
YOU WILL SEE INTRICACIES SO FINE AND In addition to its celebrated full-page decorations,
SUBTLE...YOU HAVE GAZED UPON THE the Book of Kells features ornamental details scattered
liberally throughout the text. Many of these served a
WORK, NOT OF MEN BUT OF ANGELS practical purpose, highlighting important passages or
helping the scribes to save space. Vellum was an
c.1188 | Giraldus Cambrensis expensive commodity, so there was a natural reluctance
Clergyman and chronicler, description of an illuminated Gospel Book to leave lines unnished. Scribes solved this problem by
from Topographia Hiberniae allowing sentences to run over, nishing on the line above
or below, known as a turn in the path or head under
the wing. In the Book of Kells, the point was marked with
a C symbol. Often, a small animalsuch as the dog
pictured belowwas included with a tail or paw extended
to show the direction that the text should be read.