The book of durrow dublin, trinity college library, ms a. In the book of durrow each individual gospel is prefaced with a symbol. The book of kells the book of durrow comments on the vellum, the makeup, and other aspects. In the book of durrow each of the four gospel books has a carpet page facing a page dedicated to the symbol of the evangelist who wrote that gospel, framed by an elaborate interlace border. The book of durrow is unusual in that it does not use the traditional scheme, usual since saint jerome, for assigning the symbols to the evangelists. The book of durrow has always been fascinating to me, probably because it was the first medieval manuscript i studied in college. Saint matthew, folio 18 verso of the ebbo gospels gospel book of the archbishop of reims from hautvillers, france, c. The book of durrow is a seventhcentury christian gospel book, most likely made at a monastery on the island of iona in scotland. Mar 20, 2015 this has resulted in yet a fourth arrangement consisting of irenaeus identifications, but not in the western order, found in the book of durrow made in about 675. One of the most famous images in the book, the evangelist writing, he is identified by his name, partly in greek, and hes accompanied by his symbol of the man, here, winged, who is also identified.
The book of durrow is a handwritten and handillustrated gospel manuscript named after the christian monastery of durrow in central ireland. Size, script, organization, and wear all give indications of how they have been used and treated over the centuries. Lion symbol of saint john, from the book of durrow vs. The shapes of the book of durrow evangelistsymbol pages jstor. The text consists of several prefatory pages and the vulgate version of the gospels but presented in the prevulgate order of matthew, john, luke. Adomnan animals antrim cross ardagh chalice argumentum of st artist blank book of durrow book of kells breues causae british museum calf canon tables carpet page carpet pages causae of st christ colophon colour columban common to matthew coptic county offaly county westmeath croinin detail diminuendo doublearmed cross durham gospels durrow.
It is a gospel book containing the four gospels matthew, mark, luke, john together with the canon tables and some prefatory pages. Matthew in the coronation gospels and ebbo gospels. The book of durrow is a medieval illuminated manuscript gospel book in the insular script style. The lindisfarne gospels is a manuscript that contains the gospels of the four evangelists mark, john, luke, and matthew. The book of durrow the library of trinity college dublin. Book of matthew deals with the geneology of christ. West of the church is a fine high cross, the east face is pictured on the right, the head features christ with sceptre and cross staff, associated with the last judgement, and on. Matthew in the book of durrow depicts a male figure with pale hair and what appears to be a beard or sideburns. Comments on the vellum, the makeup and other aspects, scriptorium 10 1956, 3 21, esp. Each gospel is preceded by the symbol of the evangelist enclosed in a border or ornamental frame, by a page of rich ornament and, as an opening of the text, by an initial in a matching style. This is one of the oldest illustrated gospel books from ireland. The evangelist symbols in the book of durrow are quite similar in style to zoomorphic iconography found on earlier pictish stone carvings.
The early book of durrow introduced the gospel of matthew with an abstract drawing of a man, while the coronation gospels illustrated the beginning of the gospel of matthew with color and modulation of light and shade, not lines, to create shapes. We mean, come onmary doesnt even have to do the deed to conceive jesus. The symbol of matthew from the book of durrow shows frontal head, profile feet, and a cloak and frame that resemble contemporaneous cloisonne metalwork. The colophon curiously states that st columba wrote the codex. It makes the reader into a viewer, as the book of durrow has been made into more than just series of written words, but a work of art. It was probably created between 650 and 700, in northumbria in northern england, where lindisfarne or durham would be the likely candidates, or on the island of iona in the scottish inner hebrides. The symbol of matthew from the book of durrow shows frontal head, profile feet, and a cloak and frame that. The place of creation may perhaps have been durrow abbey in ireland or a monastery in northumbria in northeastern england where the monastery at lindisfarne would be the likely candidate or perhaps iona abbey in western scotlandthe place of origin. Mark is represented by an eagle rather the traditional. Which of the following statements explains this work. The durrow scribes, however, attributed different symbols to the evangelists than found in other works. The book of durrow, like other celtic art, draws in the viewers eye with its intricate patterns, intertwined animals, the embellished capital letters and the stylized illustrations of the lion and saint matthew.
The early hibernosaxon book of durrow includes four pages devoted to the symbols of the four evangelists. Symbol of the evangelist matthew, gospel book of durrow. But there is a bit of violence with the massacre of innocents courtesy of king herod. Each gospel begins with an evangelists symbol a man for matthew, an eagle for mark not the lion traditionally used, a calf for luke and a lion for john not the eagle traditionally used. Unlike the book of durrow, however, here, the evangelist matthew is shown in the midst of writing his gospel, and his symbol, a winged man, is shown above him.
The page of matthew, like a man from the book of durrow, is also the first page in the introductory gospel sequence. Scribes wrote the text, and illuminators did the illustrations. Each section begins with a carpet page, or a full page illustration, representing each saints symbol. It is believed by art historians that the lion is influenced by art from the picts in scotland. In this detail you can see the use of dots in the face of the lion and in the interlace pattern. The gospel of matthew is followed by a page with his symbol, the man. Matthew page from the gospel book of durrow essay 706 words.
Folio 21 verso of the book of durrow, possibly from iona, scotland, ca. Matthew, from the book of durrow, latter half of the 7th century, ce. It is the oldest illustrated manuscript in ireland. Matthew, from the book of durrow, latter half of the 7 th century, ce. The book of durrow and the question of programme martin werner in a recent study of the iconographie character of the crosscarpet page lv opening the book of durrow dublin, trinity college a. Matthew from the codex colbertinus share a common origin in intense faith.
Saint matthew from the ebbo gospel video khan academy. Book of durrow, 7th century medieval art, medieval. The durrow manuscript was lost in the sixteenth century, at the time of the dissolution of durrow abbey, but recovered some 100 years later. The book of durrow to be displayed at the british library medieval.
The beautifully decorated book of durrow includes the text of the four gospels of the new testament. In the middle of the 6th century a monastery was founded here by st colomba, the monastery is famous for an illuminated manuscript, written here in the 7th century, known as the book of durrow. The lindisfarne gospels begins with a carpet page in the form of a cross and a major initial page, introducing the letter of st. The highly stylized man, who represents st matthew none of the durrow symbols have. Book of durrow included 4 pages devoted to symbols of the four evangelists. Sep 08, 2014 the early book of durrow introduced the gospel of matthew with an abstract drawing of a man, while the coronation gospels illustrated the beginning of the gospel of matthew with color and modulation of light and shade, not lines, to create shapes. Columba as the scribe and creator of the book of durrow, but investigation in the 1980s revealed that the name of the scribe had been erased and st.
Lion symbol of saint john, from the book of durrow. The durrow scribes, however, attributed different symbols to the evangelists than found. The book of kells housed at trinity college in dublin was one of. The book of durrow was probably at durrow abbey by 916. Probably made at iona, scotland, or in northern england.
The gospel of matthew is pretty tame when it comes to sex. Saint matthew was an evangelist that was one of the four books that tells the story of jesus. The importance of the book of durrow and the book of kells. Surrounding this throne were twentyfour other thrones upon which were seated twentyfour elders. The manuscript contains a copy of the four gospels of the new testament, together with some prefaces. This has resulted in yet a fourth arrangement consisting of irenaeus identifications, but not in the western order, found in the book of durrow made in about 675. One of the earliest surviving irish illuminated manuscripts is the gospel of durrow ms 57, trinity college. Each gospel begins with an evangelists symbol a man for matthew, an eagle for mark not the lion. Colophon to matthew in durham cathedral library, ms a.
The shapes of the book of durrow evangelistsymbol pages. These two images of portray the same religious figure from three hundred years apart. Jul, 2016 the material aspects of our project manuscripts can give us insight into the writing and reading culture of early medieval ireland. The place of creation may perhaps have been durrow abbey in ireland or a monastery in northumbria in northeastern england or perhaps iona abbey in western scotlandthe place of origin has been debated by historians for decades without a consensus emerging. The gospel writers have symbols a man, a lion, a bull and an eagle which i think refer to matthew, mark, luke and john. Stevick the variation in size and shape of the frames for the book of durrow evangelist symbol pages has been reported but never explained. Still maintaining stylistic preferences, even when christian images begin.
The book of durrow also contains pages with elaborate illuminated initials, such as the chiro page. Folio 27r from the lindisfarne gospels contains the incipit liber generationis of the gospel of matthew. The book of durrow is a medieval illuminated manuscript gospel book in the insular art style. List of hibernosaxon illuminated manuscripts wikipedia. It is not caused by differences in the shape and size of the images themselves. The beginning of the gospel of mark from the book of durrow. This page of the manuscript represents saint john the evangelist as a lion surrounded by a rectangular border filled with interlace of green, yellow, and red. The book of durrow, or the codex usserianus i trinity collage ms a. He is wrapped from neck to ankles in a heavily decorated cloak. Images of the evangelist matthew in the book of durrow and the. The book of durrow and the question of programme anglo.
The privileged occasions of repairing and rebinding the book of kells during 1953 and the book of durrow during 1954 offered opportunities for examining both books such as had not occurred for nearly sixty years. The books layout follows the roman christian models, but the paintings inside are influenced by the hibernosaxon design. Apr 17, 2007 lion symbol of saint john, from the book of durrow. Study 16 terms art history chapter 11 flashcards quizlet. Patrick, like all effective missionaries, used the native beliefs of the irish to guide them to the gospel. A handmade book made of sewn together vellum calfskin pages. Book of dimma eagle, symbol of john the evangelist dublin, library of trinity. List of hibernosaxon illuminated manuscripts jump to navigation jump to search. The shapes of the book of durrow evangelist symbol pages robert d. The page precedes the nativity story as related by st matthew. Book of durrow, 7th century medieval art, medieval manuscript. The book of durrow is stylistically related to the book of kells an the book of durrow dublin, trinity college library, ms a. Unlike most early irish manuscripts the scribeartist of the book of durrow followed the interpretation of the symbols proposed by st ireneus.
Man symbol of saint matthew, folio 21 verso of the book of durrow, possibly from iona, scotland, ca. The letters chi, rho and i are an abbreviation of christ. An early medieval manuscript from the second half of the seventh century. The page depicting the man, symbol of matthew, is fol. The book of durrow is an illuminated transcript that was originally from either ireland or northumbria in england. Gospels according to matthew, mark, luke and john, illustrated with 12. Book of durrow project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Each gospel begins with an evangelist s symbol a man for matthew, an eagle for mark not the lion traditionally used, a calf for luke and a lion for john not the eagle traditionally used. It was probably created between 650 and the book of durrow was certainly at durrow abbey by beginning of the gospel of mark in the book of durrow. The content of the prefaces is so close in nature to those in the book of kells, it is thought that this part of the book of durrow may have served as a model or exemplar for the kells scribes. Book of mark deals with the resurrection of christ. Jul 15, 2011 much like the artists of the book of durrow, a compass and ruler will be used to draft the images.
The privileged occasions of repairing and rebinding the book of kells during 1953 and the book of durrow during 1954 offered opportunities for examining both books. The book of durrow has always been fascinating to me, probably because it was the. Matthew page from the gospel book of durrow, sample. Matthew in the coronation gospels and ebbo gospels saint matthew from the ebbo gospels lindau gospels cover mosaics, santa prassede praxedes, rome ottonian browse this content ottonian art, an introduction gospel book of otto iii bronze doors, saint michaels, hildesheim germany romanesque browse this content a beginners guide browse this. Secondly, the book of durrow is the first irish illuminated text that included illustrated evangelist pages. Although apparently quite different in sophistication and complexity as pieces of art, the man, symbol of st. The book of durrow is unusual in that it does not use the traditional scheme for assigning the symbols to the evangelists. Each gospel begins with an evangelists symbol a man for matthew, an eagle for mark not the lion traditionally used, a calf for luke and a lion for john not the eagle. Traditionally, the four gospel writers have been represented by the following symbols as indicated in the. There are also simple mathematical equations outlined in the article the shapes of the book of durrow for determining the border size and inner panels which will be recorded in the final report. Today, we are delighted to announce that the book of durrow will be on. Images of the evangelist matthew in the book of durrow and. Geometric patterns, elaborate abstract interlace in border, representative of style, definitely not classical. Apr 06, 2015 the book of durrow is an illuminated transcript that was originally from either ireland or northumbria in england.