Lindisfarne Gospels

An illuminated manuscript of the four Christian Gospels, made around 700 at the monastery of Lindisfarne. Its intricate pages combine Insular ornament with Latin text and later Old English glosses.

Insular art: Art produced in the British Isles and Ireland from the late Roman period through the early Middle Ages. The manuscript’s interlaced patterns and animal forms exemplify this artistic tradition.
Illuminated manuscript: A handwritten book decorated with painted or gilded designs, initials, or illustrations. The Lindisfarne Gospels belong to this broader tradition of decorated books.
Eadfrith of Lindisfarne: A seventh-century bishop of Lindisfarne traditionally credited with making the Lindisfarne Gospels. A colophon added later names Eadfrith as the book’s maker.
Aldred's gloss: An Old English translation written between the lines of the Latin text in the Lindisfarne Gospels. Aldred added this gloss in the tenth century, making the Latin understandable in Old English.
Viking raid on Lindisfarne: The attack on the monastery of Lindisfarne in 793, recorded in early medieval sources. The raid made Lindisfarne famous and later framed accounts of the manuscript’s home.
Insular script: A family of medieval scripts developed in Ireland and Britain, recognizable by rounded forms and distinctive letter shapes. Its Latin text is written in a formal Insular majuscule hand.
Calligraphy: The art of producing decorative or carefully formed handwriting. The manuscript’s consistent lettering required deliberate, highly controlled penwork.
Lindisfarne Priory: A monastery established on Lindisfarne in the seventh century and an important center of early English Christianity. Its religious community commissioned or produced the Gospel book.
Old English: The earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken and written in England before about 1150. The interlinear gloss is a major witness to Northumbrian Old English.
St Cuthbert: A seventh-century Northumbrian monk and bishop whose cult became centered at Lindisfarne. The Gospel book was associated with the community that venerated Cuthbert.

Linked from 12 pages