Film: "The Book of Kells"
Scribes and Scholars Series, 26 mins.
The Art of Ireland
Prof. T.W. Bizzarro
The Book of Kells is mentioned in the Annals of Ulster of ca. 1007. It is recorded that
it was stolen from the sanctuary at Kells for its gold cover. It was then called the
Gospel of Columcille.
--Patrick to Ireland ca. 432; early Christian Ireland was first organized (by Patrick
and his followers) into parishes, such as in Rome.
--by 6th C: Irish church had become monastic in character.
Early monasteries at:
--St. Kevin's at Glendalough with its church, round tower, surrounding burial grounds.
--Skellig Michael with its beehive huts, 700 ft. above the Atlantic waves
--Church Island in Valcencia Harbor
Kells: late 8th, early 9th C Latin gospel book from Kells, Co. Meath
--may have begun on the island of Iona, off coast of Scortland, by Columban monks who
arrived there with abbot to reestablish the monastery at Kells ca. 800.
--has 680 quarto-size pages (13 1/2" long x 9 1/2" wide) with texts of Matthew,
Mark, Luke, John.
--only a few verses on each page (about 16 or 17 lines per page; wide margins).
--semi-uncial script (size)
--insular script (large, rounded letters)
--much color, variety and intricate decoration on all pages.
--decoration of animals, people, plants, interlace, fantastic hybrid beasts
--full-page illustrations depicting the life of Christ, a portrait of Christ, Temptation
of Christ, Arrest of Christ.
Process:
--parchment is cut to size; pricked for drawing of lines, etc.
--quill (made of wing feathers of large birds such as swans, turkeys, or geese) are
used to illuminate; first quills are cured (i.e. soaked and then plunged into hotsand);
--black ink of carbons bound by gums is used.
--angle of pen is different for different styles of lettering.
--basic pigments (earth tones or chemical colors) are mixed with medium such as egg yolk
which is a strong binding medium.
--knife is used to scrape mistakes off of page; heel of knife is used to burnish vellum
after scraping off mistake.
--Filgree of metal and stone are similar to interlace of manuscript pages.
Cross-fertilization of techniques.
--Stylistic influences: Coptic influence (e.g. robes) Viking influence (animal interlace)
Francoise Henry, a French scholar who has worked on Kells, has determined 4 different
hands at work in book:
1. portrait painter (Christ's portrait; portraits of Matthew and John)
2. illustrator (full-page illustrations of life of Christ such as the Arrest and the
Temptation) 3. goldsmith
4. geometrician
She has theorized that it was written ca. 797 to celebrate the bicentennial of
Columcille's death; that it took ca. 30 years to be written.
Poem written by monk:
I and Pangur Ban, my cat
'Tis a like task we are at
Hunting mice is his delight
Hunting words I sit all night
Better far than praise of men
'Tis to sit with book and pen
Pangur bears me no ill will
He too plies his simple skill
'Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Full and fierce and sharp and sly
'Gainst the wall of knowledge, I
All my little wisdom try.
...
I get wisdom day and night
Turning darkness into light.
It remains incomplete.
|| MAIN || COURSE CURRICULUM || GALLERY || BOOK
LIST || FACT SHEET || SYALLABUS||