The Lindisfarne Gospels

Masterpiece of medieval manuscript production and decoration, its Latin text glossed throughout in Old English, the Lindisfarne Gospels is a vital witness to the book culture, art, and Christianity of the Anglo-Saxons and their interactions with Ireland, Italy, and the wider world. The expert studies in this collection examine in turn the archaeology of Holy Island, relations between Ireland and Northumbria, early Northumbrian book culture, the relationship of the Lindisfarne Gospels to the Church universal, the canon table apparatus of the manuscript, the decoration of its Canon Tables, its systems of liturgical readings, the mathematical principles underlying the design of its carpet pages, points of comparison and contrast with the Book of Durrow, the Latin and Old English texts, the nature of the glossator’s ink, and the meaning of enigmatic words and phrases within the vernacular gloss. Approaching the material from a series of new perspectives, the contributors shed new light on numerous aspects of this magnificent manuscript, its milieux, and its significance.

This lavishly illustrated book explores the early history and significance of the Lindisfarne Gospels, widely regarded as the finest surviving Anglo-Saxon manuscript of the early Christian era in England, and an unquestioned masterpiece of medieval calligraphy and illumination.

Michelle Brown presenting the facsimile of the Lindisfarne Gospels at the shrine of St Cuthbert, Durham Cathedral. Cecil Brown --Book Jacket.

"First published 2003 by The British Library, London"--T.p. verso.

The Lindisfarne Gospels, a manuscript produced in the Northumbrian island monastery of Lindisfarne at the end of the seventh century, in honour of Saint Cuthbert, is one of the world's masterpieces of book painting. It is a precious relic of early Christianity in England, and one of the nation's greatest treasures. This is the first book to make the chief glories of the Lindisfarne Gospels accessible to a wide public. All the important illuminated pages are reproduced in colour from a new and accurate set of photographs.

This stunningly illustrated new book focuses on 77 intricate, expressive and individual examples of calligraphy from the unparalleled collection of the British Library. The author, a renowned expert on the history of the form as well as a fine calligrapher herself, writes - uniquely - from a practitioner's point of view. Ranging from the Middle Ages, when beautiful calligraphy was a way of celebrating the divine, to the renaissance of the art form by William Morris, to the modern school of calligraphers following in the wake of master typographer Edward Johnston, Patricia Lovett charts the development of calligraphy through the history of European manuscripts. Large-scale full-colour reproductions enable the reader to see the fine detail of each manuscript, and to understand more clearly than ever before the painstaking craft and great artistic skill that were necessary to create these strikingly beautiful pieces of writing.

The Lindisfarne Gospels, a manuscript produced in the Northumbrian island monastery of Lindisfarne at the end of the seventh century, in honour of Saint Cuthbert, is one of the world's masterpieces of book painting. It is a precious relic of early Christianity in England, and one of the nation's greatest treasures. This is the first book to make the chief glories of the Lindisfarne Gospels accessible to a wide public. All the important illuminated pages are reproduced in colour from a new and accurate set of photographs.

Now dated to the early eighth century, the manuscript contains a beautifully written copy of the Gospel of John in Latin and is famous for the craftsmanship and condition of its contemporary decorated leather binding. Found in Cuthbert's coffin when it was opened in Durham Cathedral in 1104, the Gospel was acquired for the national collection in 2012 after a major fundraising campaign.This new collection of essays is the most substantial study of the book since the 1960s. It includes detailed commentary on Cuthbert in his historical context; the codicology, text, script and medieval history of the manuscript; the structure and decoration of the binding; the other relics found in Cuthbert's coffin; and the post-medieval ownership of the book --