The Early Christian Period

Sample Essay: Development of Manuscripts

There was a significant development in the design, imagery, colour and decoration of Irish illuminated manuscripts from the 7th century through to the Book of Kells in the 9th century. Discuss this statement with reference to at least two manuscripts, to the function, decoration and to the techniques used in production.

And

Name, briefly describe and discuss one page from the Book of Kells.

I agree that there was a significant development in the design, colour, imagery and decoration of Irish manuscripts between the seventh and ninth century. After the arrival of St. Patrick in 432AD, Ireland gradually became Christian. With this cultural shift, monasteries began to spring up across the country and they became the centre of Christianity. Here, monks spent their lives working on skills such as calligraphy and manuscript making. They began to copy Christian manuscripts in designated rooms called scriptoriums. Manuscripts were usually made from vellum (dried calfskin), that was treated. Monks made their own quills using swan and goose feathers and their own ink using pigments they found.

The Cathach

Function: The Cathach dates back to the seventh century and is a Psalter. The book contains writing of the Old Testament and is written in Latin. It is Ireland's oldest manuscript. 'Cathach' translates to 'battler' in old Irish and it was said to be taken into battle by the Clan O'Donnell from Donegal to ensure victory. Because of this, it is very badly damaged.

Decoration and Techniques: The decoration of the Cathach was kept to a minimum. Barely any colour was used, with the exception of black, red and yellow. The only decoration that can be seen in the Cathach is that on the initial letters. These letters were quite large and were often decorated with trumpet ends, spirals and stylised animals - similar to La Tene motifs. These initial letters were sometimes outlined with red and yellow dots. The decoration of some of the initial letters often distorted them completely. The calligraphic style used in the Cathach is an early version of the Irish half-uncial script. Before each psalm, explanations were written in Irish using red ink. The letters that followed the initial letters gradually got smaller until they met the size of the main text. This allowed the initial letter to tie into the rest of the psalm. It is said that only one scribe worked on the manuscript. Although it lacked extravagant decoration, it set the foundations for the creation of later illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Durrow and the Book of Kells.

The Book of Durrow

Function: The Book of Durrow dates back to the eighth century. It was found in Durrow, Co. Laois. It is the oldest fully illuminated manuscript in Ireland. It contains the 4 gospels and is Gospel book. It also contains some other writings and these writings are written in Latin. Its function was to serve as altar use and reading the Gospel at mass. It was commissioned to impress people but was not intended for private reading.

Decoration and Techniques: There are three main types of pages in this manuscript. Carpet pages, initial pages and symbol/frontispiece pages. The carpet pages usually came before a Gospel and were similar to a Persian rug. They often had detailed interlacing around the border. Many motifs and designs were taken from early Christian metalwork and stone carvings. However, I think it is clear that other motifs were taken from la Tene and from the Celtic period. It shows very clearly the fusion between la Tene art and Christian insular art. I think some of the motifs such as trumpet ends could have been inspired by the Petrie Crown and the Loughnashore Trumpet. The initial letter had the same technique as the Cathach, where the letters reduced in size until they met the size of the main text. Red dots can also be seen around some of the initial letters. The manuscript also contains seven symbol/frontispiece pages. There were four pages dedicated to each evangelist. For example, the symbol page for Matthew is a man and for Mark it is a lion. The Chi-Rho monogram which represents Christ is present in this book, as well as the book of Kells. Only five colours were used in this book - black, brown, red, green and yellow. Despite this, the scribe made very good use of these colours. The Book of Durrow is much more lavishly decorated than the Cathach. This may suggest that several books were completed in between, but were lost or damaged. This could also have been as a result of Viking raids.

The Book of Kells

• The Chi-Rho page takes up one full page in the Book of Kells
• These letters are a monogram for the first three letters of Christ's name in Greek
• The size of the monogram shows Christ's importance to the monks
• Intricate detail - shows insular Christian motifs as well as the curvilinear La Tene motifs
• Humour used - scene of cats and mice at the bottom of the page
• Done by 'The Goldsmith'
• Some details are so minute that they can only be seen with a magnifying glass