Major works of island illumination

The main works of insular illumination are those illuminated manuscripts that have been created in Ireland since Christianization in the sixth century and in Northumbria , which was evangelized from there , and which are highlighted in art historical literature as works of particular artistic rank (see especially the general overviews given in the literature list) . Via the way of the Iro-Scottish mission , insular book illumination had a strong influence on that of the European continent and was received, for example, by Carolingian book illumination , especially by the Franco-Saxon school . While book production in Ireland largely came to a standstill from the end of the eighth century due to the raids of the Vikings , illuminated manuscripts in Irish tradition continued to emerge on the mainland for a few decades. In the Ottonian times, the insular book illumination was to be used again as a source of inspiration.

List of manuscripts

Illustration	Common name	Dating	Localization, painting school	Content; particularities	signature
	Orosius (Ambrosiana)	early 7th century	Bobbio Abbey , Italy; created by Irish monks	Historiae adversum Paganus by the late antique theologian Orosius	Milan, Ambrosiana, MS D. 23 Sup.
	Durham Gospels (A.II.10)	7th century	Northumbria ?	Gospels	Durham Cathedral Library, Manuscript A.II.10.
	Book of Durrow	at 675	Durrow Monastery , Ireland, Lindisfarne , Northumbria or Iona, Scotland	Gospels	Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. 4. 15. (57)
	Book of Mulling	second half of the 7th century		Pocket Gospel Book	Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS 60
	Durham Gospels (A.II.17)	Late 7th century	Rathmelsigi , Ireland or Lindisfarne	Gospels	Durham Cathedral Library, MS A II 17
	Echternach Gospels	around 690	Rathmelsigi or Lindisfarne	Gospels	Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Lat. 9389
	Codex Eyckensis	7th / 8th century		Gospels	Maaseik, Katharinenkirche
	Codex Amiatinus	around 700	Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Monastery , Northumbria	Bible	Florence, Bibliotheca Laurentiana, MS Amiatinus 1
	Trier Gospels (Ms 16)	first half of the 8th century	probably Echternach Abbey , Luxembourg	Gospels	Trier, Cathedral Library, Ms 61/134
	Book of Dimma	8th century	Roscrea Monastery	Gospels	Dublin, Trinity College, MS.A.IV.23
	Codex Sangallensis 51	8th century	created by Irish monks	Gospels	St. Gallen, Abbey Library, Cod. 51
	Otho Corpus Gospels	8th century	created by Irish monks	Gospels	London, British Library, Ms. Cotton Otho CV; Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Ms. 197B
	Hereford Gospels	8th century	Wales or South West England	Gospels	Hereford, Hereford Cathedral Library, Ms. PI 2
	Lindisfarne Gospels	715/21	Lindisfarne	Gospels ; Scribe and illuminator: Eadfrith , monk and bishop of Lindisfarne	London, British Library, Cotton MS Nero D. iv
	Durham Cassiodorus	at 730	Northumbria	Commentary on the psalms by Cassiodorus of late antiquity	Durham, Cathedral Library, MS B. II. 30
	Lichfield Gospels or Book of Chad	at 730	probably Wales	Gospels	Lichfield, Cathedral Library
	Codex Aureus of Canterbury or Stockholm Codex Aureus	Middle of the 8th century	School of Canterbury	Gospels	Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, MS.A.135
	Vespasian Psalter	second half of the 8th century	Southern England (possibly Canterbury or Minster-in-Thanet )	Psalter with old English interlinear glosses (oldest English translation of the Bible)	London, British Library, Cotton Vespasian AI
	Gospel Book (London)	End of the 8th century		Gospels	British Library, Add. MS. 40618
	Barberini Gospels or Wigbald Gospels	late 8th century		Gospels	Rome, Vaticana, Barberini Lat. 570
	Book of Kells	around 800	Iona Monastery	Gospels	Dublin, Trinity College Library, Ms. 58 (AI6)
	Book of Cerne	9th century		Gospels	Cambridge University Library, MS L1. 1. 10
	Book of Deer	10th century	probably Scotland	Gospels, with Old Irish and Scottish Gaelic texts from the early 12th century	Cambridge University Library, MS. II.6.32

literature

• Kunibert Bering: Art of the Early Middle Ages . 2nd revised edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-15-018169-0 , ( Art Epochs . 2) ( Reclams Universal Library . 18169).
• Book illumination . In: Severin Corsten / Günther Pflug / Friedrich Adolf Schmidt-Künsemüller (eds.): Lexicon of the Middle Ages 2: Beggars to the Codex of Valencia . License issue. Unchanged reprint of the 1999 study edition. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft , Darmstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-534-22804-1 , Sp. 837-893, (contributions by K. Bierbrauer, Ø. Hjort, O. Mazal, D. Thoss, G. Dogaer, J. Backhouse, G. Dalli Regoli, H. Künzl).
• Ernst Günther Grimme: The History of Occidental Illumination . 3. Edition. Cologne, DuMont 1988. ISBN 3-7701-1076-5 .
• Christine Jakobi-Mirwald: The medieval book. Function and equipment . Stuttgart, Reclam 2004. ISBN 978-3-15-018315-1 , ( Reclam's Universal Library 18315), (especially chapter: History of European book painting pp. 222-278).
• Otto Pächt : Illumination of the Middle Ages. An introduction. Edited by Dagmar Thoss. 5th edition. Prestel, Munich 2004. ISBN 978-3-7913-2455-5 .
• Ingo F. Walther / Norbert Wolf: Codices illustres. The most beautiful illuminated manuscripts in the world. Masterpieces of book illumination. 400 to 1600 . Taschen, Cologne et al. 2005, ISBN 3-8228-4747-X .

Web links

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