Book of Durrow
The Book of Durrow ( Book of Durrow , Latin Codex Durmachensis , Irish Leabhar Dharú ) is an illustrated gospel book from the period between 650 and 700. It is the oldest surviving manuscript of insular illumination and was created either in Durrow Monastery in Ireland , where it has been proven to have been since 916 at the latest, in Lindisfarne monastery in Northumberland in England or in Iona Abbey in Scotland. In 1661 it was given to the library of Trinity College in Dublin together with the Book of Kells .
The Book of Durrow is almost completely preserved and comprises 248 pages. The Codex is written in Irish capitals and contains the Vulgate version of the four Gospels . The main colors are light red, yellow, green and brown-black. The style of the book decoration is simple and subtle.
The first page of the book has features that are also found in other manuscripts of island illumination. An essential feature are the carpet pages, a medieval form of illustrated manuscripts that usually form the beginning of evangelists . They have been known since the 7th century. The symbols of the four evangelists are depicted on the carpet sides . The spiral decoration of the sides and the arrangement of the four symbols are rarely found in later Gospels in the British Isles .
The Book of Matthew contains a page depicting the Matthew symbol (winged man); on one of the other of the three illustrated pages are initials with a decoration. Each of the four Gospels contains three illustrated pages (decorative pages): One page with the respective symbol of the evangelist, one with illustrated initials and a carpet page. The books of Mark , Luke and John also contain the representations of their symbols on three illustrated pages, but unlike in other Gospels (Mark - Eagle , Luke - Taurus , John - Lion ) a carpet page and the initials.
On the last page of the Book of Durrow you can see an intertwined pattern. The initials are common throughout the text. Many of the motifs have their origins in manuscripts that were written in the British Isles or by Irish monks on the European mainland ( Bobbio Abbey / Italy ).
In addition to the four Gospels, the Book of Durrow contains a letter from St. Jerome ("Novum Opus"), a glossary with Hebrew names for the Gospel of Matthew, canon tables of Eusebius, chapter headings and summaries of the Gospels . At the end of the book, an important document about a land sale in the 11th century was added.
The Book of Durrow was, unlike, for example, older manuscripts of the island, exposed to stronger Germanic influence; The work has also been compared with Coptic and Italian iconographic evidence. The lack of plant and animal motifs in the initial ornamentation, as well as the abstract and exemplary illustrated symbols, led many scholars to believe that the Book of Durrow was written before the Book of Lindisfarne , which was written around 700 .
See also
literature
- Jonathan JG Alexander: Insular Manuscripts, 6th to the 9th Century . Harvey Miller, 1978.
- Bernard Meehan: The Book of Durrow. A Medieval Masterpiece at Trinity College Dublin . Town House, Dublin, 1996.
- David M. Wilson: Anglo-Saxon Art. From The Seventh Century To The Norman Conquest . Thames and Hudson, 1984.
Web links
- Publications about the Book of Durrow in the Opac der Regesta Imperii
- libraryireland.com