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The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) is an
illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
gospel book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels ( Greek: , ) is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the roo ...
probably produced around the years 715–720 in the monastery at
Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...
, off the coast of
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
, which is now in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
in London. The manuscript is considered one of the finest works in the unique style of Hiberno-Saxon or
Insular art Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the sub-Roman Britain, post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin language, Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland ...
, combining Mediterranean,
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
and
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
elements. The Lindisfarne Gospels are presumed to be the work of a monk named Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698 and died in 721.Lindisfarne Gospels
British Library. Retrieved 2008-03-21
Current scholarship indicates a date around 715, and it is believed they were produced in honour of St. Cuthbert. However, some parts of the manuscript were left unfinished so it is likely that Eadfrith was still working on it when he died. It is also possible that he produced them prior to 698, in order to commemorate the elevation of Cuthbert's relics in that year, which is also thought to have been the occasion for which the St Cuthbert Gospel (also in the British Library) was produced. The
Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
s are richly illustrated in the insular style and were originally encased in a fine leather
treasure binding A treasure binding or jewelled bookbinding is a luxurious book cover using metalwork in gold or silver, jewels, or ivory, perhaps in addition to more usual bookbinding material for book covers such as leather, velvet, or other cloth. The actu ...
covered with jewels and metals made by Billfrith the
Anchorite In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress); () is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, Asceticism , ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. Anchorit ...
in the 8th century. During the Viking raids on Lindisfarne this jewelled cover was lost and a replacement was made in 1852.Let Gospels come home
Sunderland Echo, 2006-09-22. Retrieved 2008-03-21
The text is written in
insular script Insular script is a Middle Ages, medieval script (styles of handwriting), script system originating in Ireland that spread to England and continental Europe under the influence of Hiberno-Scottish mission, Irish Christianity. Irish missionaries ...
, and is the best documented and most complete insular manuscript of the period. An
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
translation of the Gospels was made in the 10th century: a word-for-word gloss of the Latin
Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...
text, inserted between the lines by Aldred, Provost of
Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street () is a market town in County Durham, England. It is located around north of Durham and is close to Newcastle. The town holds markets on Saturdays. In 2021, the town had a population of 23,555. The town's history is ancient; ...
. This is the oldest extant translation of the Gospels into the
English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
. The Gospels may have been taken from
Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...
during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
and were acquired in the early 17th century by Sir Robert Cotton from Robert Bowyer,
Clerk of the Parliaments The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parli ...
. Cotton's library came to the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in the 18th century and went to the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
when this was separated from the British Museum.


History

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...
, also known as "Holy Island", is located off the coast of
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
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.Backhouse 1981, 7. King
Oswald of Northumbria Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642. However there is some question of whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and H ...
sent Aidan from Iona to preach to and baptise the pagan
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
, 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.Backhouse 1981, 8. 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 A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...
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. In the 10th century, about 250 years after the production of the book, Aldred, a priest of the monastery at
Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street () is a market town in County Durham, England. It is located around north of Durham and is close to Newcastle. The town holds markets on Saturdays. In 2021, the town had a population of 23,555. The town's history is ancient; ...
, added an
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
translation between the lines of the Latin text. In his colophon he recorded the names of the four men who produced the Lindisfarne Gospels: Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne, was credited with writing the manuscript; Ethelwald, Bishop of the Lindisfarne islanders, was credited with binding it; Billfrith, an
anchorite In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress); () is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, Asceticism , ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. Anchorit ...
, was credited with ornamenting the manuscript; and finally, Aldred lists himself as the person who glossed it in Anglo-Saxon (Old English). Some scholars have argued that Eadfrith and Ethelwald did not produce the manuscript but commissioned someone else to do so. However, Janet Backhouse argues for the validity of the statement by pointing out that "there is no reason to doubt ldred'sstatement" because he was "recording a well-established tradition". 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".


Commission

The Lindisfarne Gospels is a Christian manuscript, containing the four
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
s 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. 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. The gospels used techniques reminiscent of elite metalwork to impress a
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
n 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 Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...
, a Bishop of the Lindisfarne monastery who was becoming "Northern England's most popular Saint". Scholars think that the manuscript was written sometime between Cuthbert's death in 687 and Eadfrith's death in 721.BBC Tyne 2012 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 Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
, a famous monk, historian, and theologian. Cuthbert entered into the monastery of Melrose, now in lowland Scotland but then in
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
, in the late 7th century, and after being ordained a priest he began to travel throughout Northumbria, "rapidly acquiring a reputation for holiness and for the possession of miraculous powers". The
Synod of Whitby The Synod of Whitby was a Christianity, Christian administrative gathering held in Northumbria in 664, wherein King Oswiu ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Roman Catholic, Ro ...
in 664 pitted the Hiberno-Celtic church against the Roman church regarding the calculation of the date of Easter. The dispute was adjudged by King
Oswiu of Northumbria Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig (; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the church in Northu ...
in favour of the Roman church, but many of the leading monks at Lindisfarne then returned to Iona and Ireland, leaving only a residue of monks affiliated to the Roman church at Lindisfarne. Due to increasingly slack religious practice in Lindisfarne, Cuthbert was sent to Lindisfarne to reform the religious community.Backhouse 1981, 9. In Lindisfarne Cuthbert began to adopt a solitary lifestyle, eventually moving to Inner Farne Island, where he built a hermitage. Cuthbert agreed to become bishop at the request of King Ecgfrith in 684, but within about two years he returned to his hermitage in Farne as he felt death approaching. Cuthbert died on 20 March 687 and was buried in Lindisfarne. As a venerated saint, his tomb attracted many pilgrims to Lindisfarne.


Techniques

The Lindisfarne Gospels manuscript was produced in a
scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...
in the monastery of Lindisfarne. It took approximately 10 years to create. Its pages are
vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. It is often distinguished from parchment, either by being made from calfskin (rather than the skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellu ...
, and evidence from the manuscript reveals that the vellum was made using roughly 150 calf skins. 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".Backhouse 1981, 28. 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. Lavish jewellery, now lost, was added to the binding of the manuscript later in the 8th century.Backhouse 1981, 32. Eadfrith manufactured 90 of his own colours with "only six local minerals and vegetable extracts". There is a huge range of individual
pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
s used in the manuscript. The colours are derived from animal, vegetable and mineral sources.Backhouse 2004. Gold is used in only a couple of small details. While some colours were obtained from local sources, others were imported from the Mediterranean. The blue was long thought to be
ultramarine Ultramarine is a deep blue pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. Its lengthy grinding and washing process makes the natural pigment quite valuable—roughly ten times more expensive than the stone it comes fr ...
from Afghanistan, but analysis with
Raman microscopy The Raman microscope is a laser-based microscope, microscopic device used to perform Raman spectroscopy.''Microscopical techniques in the use of the molecular optics laser examiner Raman microprobe'', by M. E. Andersen, R. Z. Muggli, Analytical C ...
in the 2000s revealed it to be
indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
. The medium used to bind the colours was primarily egg white, with fish glue perhaps used in a few places. 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 Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'', lapis lazuli is ...
semi-precious stone with a blue tintfrom the Himalayas but could not get hold of it, so made his own ubstitute. The pages were arranged into gatherings of eight. Once the sheets had been folded together, the highest-numbered page was carefully marked out by pricking with a stylus or a small knife. Holes were pricked through each gathering of eight leaves, and then individual pages were separately ruled for writing with a sharp, dry, and discrete point. 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 tablet A wax tablet is a tablet (disambiguation), tablet made of wood and covered with a layer of wax, often linked loosely to a cover tablet, as a "double-leaved" diptych. It was used as a reusable and portable writing surface in classical antiquity, ...
s (hollowed-out wood or bone with a layer of wax).Backhouse 1981, 31. 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.


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 and the St Cuthbert Gospel. It is estimated that after around seven years the Lindisfarne community settled in the Priory at Chester-le-Street in Durham, where they stayed until 995 (and where Aldred would have done his interlinear translation of the text).Backhouse, 2004 After Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the manuscript was separated from the priory. In the early 17th century the Gospels were owned by Sir Robert Cotton (1571–1631), and in 1753 they became part of the founding collections of the British Museum.


Condition

The Lindisfarne Gospels are in remarkable condition and the text is complete and undamaged.Backhouse 1981, 66 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.


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". 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. 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.Backhouse 1981, 47 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. One of the most characteristic styles in the manuscript is the zoomorphic style (adopted from Germanic art) and is revealed through the extensive use of interlaced animal and bird patterns throughout the book. The birds that appear in the manuscript may also have been from Eadfrith's own observations of wildlife in Lindisfarne. The geometric design motifs are also Germanic influence, and appear throughout the manuscript. The
carpet page A carpet page is a full page in an illuminated manuscript containing intricate, non-figurative, patterned designs.Moss, 57 They are a characteristic feature of Insular manuscripts, and typically placed at the beginning of a Gospel Book. Carpet ...
s (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.Backhouse 1981, 51 The red dots appear in early Irish manuscripts, revealing their influence in the design of the Lindisfarne Gospels. Thacker points out that Eadfrith acquired knowledge from, and was influenced by, other artistic styles, showing that he had "eclectic taste".Thacker 2004 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
majuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally '' majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing syste ...
script in the manuscript.


Insular context

The Lindisfarne Gospels are not an example of "isolated genius... in an otherwise dark age": 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 also the Durham Gospels and Echternach Gospels. These gospel books were credited to "the 'Durnham-Echternach Calligrapher', thought to be the oldest member of the Lindisfarne Scriptorium". 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. The
Book of Durrow The Book of Durrow is an illuminated manuscript gospel book dated to that contains the Vulgate Latin text of the four Gospels, with some Irish variations, and other matter, written in Insular script, and richly illustrated in the style of Ins ...
(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. The
Book of Kells The Book of Kells (; ; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illustrated manuscript and Celts, Celtic Gospel book in Latin, containing the Gospel, four Gospels of the New Testament togeth ...
(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.


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
carpet page A carpet page is a full page in an illuminated manuscript containing intricate, non-figurative, patterned designs.Moss, 57 They are a characteristic feature of Insular manuscripts, and typically placed at the beginning of a Gospel Book. Carpet ...
in the form of a cross and a major initial page, introducing the letter of St. Jerome and
Pope Damasus I Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384), also known as Damasus of Rome, was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death in 384. It is claimed that he presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list ...
. There are sixteen pages of arcaded canon tables, where parallel passages of the four Evangelists are laid out. A portrait of the appropriate Evangelist, a carpet page and a decorated initial page precedes each Gospel. There is an additional major initial of the Christmas narrative of Matthew.


The Evangelists

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
explains how each of the four Evangelists was represented by his 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.The British Library Board
"The Lindisfarne Gospels Tour."
Accessed 13 March 2012.
A collective term for the symbols of the four Evangelists is the Tetramorphs. Each of the four Evangelists is accompanied by his respective symbol in his miniature portrait in the manuscript. In these portraits, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are shown writing, while John looks straight ahead at the reader holding his scroll. 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.


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.Backhouse 1981, 33 Backhouse points out that the clergy was not unaware of the profound impression a book such as the Lindisfarne Gospels made on other congregations. The opening words of the Gospel (the
incipit The incipit ( ) of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of Musical note, notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin an ...
s) are highly decorated, revealing Roman capitals, Greek and Germanic letters, filled with interlaced birds and beasts, representing the splendour of God's creation. On one page alone, there are 10,600 decorative red dots. Different kinds of pigment are used throughout the manuscript. Red lead and gold were also used for decoration.


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. The pages of ornamentation have motifs familiar from metalwork and jewellery that pair alongside bird and animal decoration.


Campaign to relocate

A campaign exists to have the gospels housed in the North East of England. Supporters include the
Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...
, Viz creator Simon Donald, and the Northumbrian Association. The move is vigorously opposed by the British Library. Several possible locations have been mooted, including
Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...
,
Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...
itself or one of the museums in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
or
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
. In 1971 professor Suzanne Kaufman of Rockford, Illinois, presented a facsimile copy of the Gospels to the clergy of the Island.


Exhibitions in the north of England

Between September and 3 December 2022 the manuscript was exhibited in the
Laing Art Gallery The Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, is located on New Bridge Street West. The gallery was designed in the Baroque style with Art Nouveau elements by architects Cackett & Burns Dick and is now a Grade II listed building. It ...
in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
. From July to September 2013 the Lindisfarne Gospels were displayed in Palace Green Library, Durham. Nearly 100,000 visitors saw the exhibition. The manuscript exhibition also included items from the Staffordshire Hoard, the Yates Thompson 26 ''Life of Cuthbert'', and the gold Taplow belt buckle.Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition website
Also included was the closely related St Cuthbert Gospel, which was bought by the British Library in 2012. This returned to Durham in 2014 (1 March to 31 December) for an exhibition of
bookbinding Bookbinding is the process of building a book, usually in codex format, from an ordered stack of paper sheets with one's hands and tools, or in modern publishing, by a series of automated processes. Firstly, one binds the sheets of papers alon ...
s at the library. Alongside the Lindisfarne Gospels Exhibition was a festival of more than 500 events, exhibitions and performances across the North East and Cumbria.


See also

* List of Hiberno-Saxon illustrated manuscripts * Old English Bible translations


Notes


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?)''
"Oxford Dictionary of Natural Biography"
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.
"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
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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) {{Insular art Gospel Books Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts 8th-century biblical manuscripts Cotton Library, Lindisfarne Vulgate manuscripts