The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Early Medieval World (review)

With the exception of a short section that incorporates some new research on relations (traders and pilgrims) between the British Isles and both the Near and Far East (pp. 44–45) during the seventh and eighth centuries, in terms of its analysis of and conclusions about the Lindisfarne Gospels, there is little here that cannot also be found in Michelle Brown’s The Lindisfarne Gospels: Society, Spirituality and the Scribe (Toronto, 2003).The chapter titles here are slightly different, but the material covered is essentially the same: the time, place, and culture in which the book was created; the book’s biography: its makers, annotators, and owners from the time of its creation in the late-seventh or early-eighth century to the present; its late-seventh/early-eighth-century Latin text and its tenth-century Old English gloss (Northumbrian dialect); its paleography, orthography, and textual conventions; its art and ornament; its styles, techniques, and principles of design; its place within and its relationship to other forms of art within the Insular tradition; its codicology, both sacred and procedural; and its meaning as an embodiment of the Word of God in connection with the cult of St. Cuthbert in post-Whitby Northumbria.

What distinguishes this work from Brown’s earlier study is its presentation, which covers all of the above subjects in 300 fewer pages than the earlier work. Here, however, less is actually more, in two ways.

First, this book is lavishly illustrated, with not only full-page color reproductions of all of the essential pages from the Lindisfarne Gospels and several similar pages from contemporary manuscripts and books but also both color and black-and-white photographs of contemporary architecture, sculpture, and other artistic creations of the period: jewelry; coins; and metal, wood, and stone carvings and engravings—all of which visually demonstrate the Lindisfarne Gospels’ place within the Insular tradition. Of its 161 pages of text, 110 are illustrated; 108 of those are in brilliant color. Like the Lindisfarne Gospels, this book is a feast for the eyes.

Second, the text itself is color-coded. Information intended for the interested general reader is printed in black; more detail and analysis intended for the scholar is printed in red—making the book suitable for both types of readers.

The combination of its easy-to-follow, two-tiered text; its beautiful visuality; its comprehensive approach; and its excellent bibliography make this a book about a magnificent medieval masterpiece that would be equally at home on a coffee table or a researcher’s desk. For either type of reader, this is a book well worth owning.