Lindisfarne Gospels. The Lindisfarne Gospels is an illuminated manuscript gospel book produced around 720 in the monastery at Lindisfarne, off Northumberland.
The book is now in the British Library in London. The manuscript is one of the finest works in the unique style of Hiberno-Saxon or Insular art, combining Mediterranean, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic elements.
In addition to text, it contains illustrations used to introduce Gospel sections. These include Saint Matthew and Saint Mark.
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. Current scholarship indicates a date around 715, and it is believed they were produced in honour of Saint Cuthbert.
However, some parts of the manuscript were left unfinished so it is likely that Eadfrith was still working on it at his time of death. 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 Saint Cuthbert Gospel was produced. The Gospels are richly illustrated in the insular style and were originally encased in a fine leather treasure binding covered with jewels and metals made by Billfrith the Anchorite in the 8th century. During the Viking raids on Lindisfarne this jewelled cover was lost and a replacement was made in 1852. The text is wr
The book is now in the British Library in London. The manuscript is one of the finest works in the unique style of Hiberno-Saxon or Insular art, combining Mediterranean, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic elements.
In addition to text, it contains illustrations used to introduce Gospel sections. These include Saint Matthew and Saint Mark.
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. Current scholarship indicates a date around 715, and it is believed they were produced in honour of Saint Cuthbert.
However, some parts of the manuscript were left unfinished so it is likely that Eadfrith was still working on it at his time of death. 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 Saint Cuthbert Gospel was produced. The Gospels are richly illustrated in the insular style and were originally encased in a fine leather treasure binding covered with jewels and metals made by Billfrith the Anchorite in the 8th century. During the Viking raids on Lindisfarne this jewelled cover was lost and a replacement was made in 1852. The text is wr
Wikipedia ...