Insular illumination refers to the production of illuminated manuscripts in the monasteries of Ireland and Great Britain between the 6th and 9th centuries, as well as in monasteries under their influence on continental Europe. It is characterised by decoration strongly influenced by metalwork, the constant use of interlacing, and the importance assigned to calligraphy. The most celebrated books of this sort are largely gospel books. Around sixty manuscripts are known from this period.
The Insular artistic style began after the conversion of Ireland by St Patrick in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. The new religious institutions of Celtic Christianity, mostly organised around monasteries, ordered the creation of numerous works of art, liturgical objects and vestments, and also manuscripts. Two types of manuscripts dominated: small format gospels to be used by preachers and missionaries or in private worship (e.g. the Book of Dimma and the Book of Mulling), and large works, reserved for the liturgical services of the monasteries (such as the Book of Kells). [1]
The Irish monks took part in the conversion of Scotland and the north of Great Britain, establishing numerous monasteries, such as Iona Abbey, founded by Columba in Scotland in 563 and Lindisfarne, founded by Aidan in Northumbria in 635. The Irish missionaries brought their art to Britain along with their religion. Over the course of the 6th and 7th centuries, especially after the Gregorian mission, the south of Britain came under the direct influence of continental Christianity, mainly Italian. Some Italian and Byzantine manuscripts came to the island as a result, influencing the development of Insular illumination as well. [2] In turn, the major centres of production were concentrated first in Northumbria, then in southern England and Kent over the 7th and 8th centuries. The monasteries in these places benefited from more conditions which were more prosperous than those in Ireland as well as from the protection and patronage of the Anglo-Saxon kings. The scriptoria of Lindisfarne and Iona were the most prolific at the end of the 8th century. [3]
At the end of the 7th century, several Irish missionaries led by Columbanus travelled to the continent and contributed to the creation of several monasteries in France, Switzerland and Northern Italy. Columbanus' disciple, Saint Gall, took part in the foundation of an abbey in Switzerland and St Kilian of Würzburg was active in southern Germany. All these establishments helped to spread the Insular calligraphy and decorative techniques to manuscripts produced on the continent in this period. [1] Often referred to as "Franco-Saxon ", the manuscripts made in northern France in the Carolingian period also show a direct Insular influence. [4]
Despite the great diversity of origins of manuscripts of the Insular style, several common characteristics can be identified.
The treatment of the parchment creates a suede-like appearance, which makes it very receptive to ink and colour. This treatment was applied to both veal-skin and sheep. It enables both calligraphy and ornamentation. [5]
The interlace is the best-known motif of Insular art. This decoration, however, is not limited to Celtic art of Insular illumination. It is also seen in some Egyptian papyrus, Byzantine and Italian works and some Anglo-Saxon works of art, like those found in the tomb at Sutton Hoo. But the use of this pattern in Insular manuscripts is almost systematic from the middle of the 7th century onwards. It can fill out the space around other types of illumination, as well as initials, frames, margins, and carpet pages. Different types of interlace can be identified: simple, double, or triple. [6]
Rectilinear motifs include diamonds, chequerboard patterns, clefs and Greek frets. Round motifs include circles, spirals, and winding helixes. [7]
Zoomorphic motifs generally extend into the interlace: their heads are located at an end and occasionally the rear of the animal reappears at the other end of the interlace. In the earlier manuscripts, their character remains very schematic and it is difficult to identify specific species of animal. From the Lindisfarne Gospels onwards, some kinds of animal begin to appear with more realism, especially dogs and predators, which recall the art of the hunt appreciated by the Anglo-Saxon elite. [8]
The Cathach of St. Columba (beginning of 7th century) is the oldest extant manuscript with initials decorated in the characteristic style of Insular illumination: the first letter is incorporated into the text and is followed by other letters whose size decreases until they reach the size of the main text. The initials themselves are decorated with curves, spirals, points and even animal heads. This type of decoration is found in Celtic art from the la Tène period onwards and marks the true beginning of the distinction between Insular and late antique manuscripts. [9]
The earliest Insular designs are generally images of the cross, sometimes included in a carpet page. The first representations of individuals in Insular manuscripts probably only occur as a result of the influence of works acquired from the continent. Specialists have been able to distinguish several details of these earliest miniatures which are shared with ancient manuscripts of the Diatessaron from Persia, which might have come to the British Isles as a result of pilgrimage to the Near East. Representations of humans are very schematic, with individuals on foot, usually the Evangelists are represented without wings or nimbus. Sometimes their representation is limited to their symbols (lion, cow, eagle, man) depicted in a heraldic manner. [10]
Celtic knots are a variety of knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, used extensively in the Celtic style of Insular art. These knots are most known for their adaptation for use in the ornamentation of Christian monuments and manuscripts, such as the 8th-century St. Teilo Gospels, the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Most are endless knots, and many are varieties of basket weave knots.
The Lindisfarne Gospels is an illuminated manuscript gospel book probably produced around the years 715–720 in the monastery at Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, which is now in the British Library in London. The manuscript is one of the finest works in the unique style of Hiberno-Saxon or Insular art, combining Mediterranean, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic elements.
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in either Ireland, Scotland or England, and may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from each of these areas. It is believed to have been created c. 800 AD. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is regarded as a masterwork of Western calligraphy and the pinnacle of Insular illumination. The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells, County Meath, which was its home for centuries.
The Book of Durrow is an illuminated manuscript dated to c. 700 that consists of text from the four Gospels gospel books, written in an Irish adaption of Vulgate Latin, and illustrated in the Insular script style.
Codex Usserianus Primus is an early 7th-century Old Latin Gospel Book. It is dated palaeographically to the 6th or 7th century. It is designated by r.
The Book of Cerne is an early ninth-century Insular or Anglo-Saxon Latin personal prayer book with Old English components. It belongs to a group of four such early prayer books, the others being the Royal Prayerbook, the Harleian prayerbook, and the Book of Nunnaminster. It is now commonly believed to have been produced sometime between ca. 820 and 840 AD in the Southumbrian/Mercian region of England. The original book contains a collection of several different texts, including New Testament Gospel excerpts, a selection of prayers and hymns with a version of the Lorica of Laidcenn, an abbreviated or Breviate Psalter, and a text of the Harrowing of Hell liturgical drama, which were combined to provide a source used for private devotion and contemplation. Based on stylistic and palaeographical features, the Book of Cerne has been included within the Canterbury or Tiberius group of manuscripts that were manufactured in southern England in the 8th and 9th centuries AD associated with the Mercian hegemony in Anglo-Saxon England. This Anglo-Saxon manuscript is considered to be the most sophisticated and elaborate of this group. The Book of Cerne exhibits various Irish/Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Continental, and Mediterranean influences in its texts, ornamentation, and embellishment.
The Cathach of St. Columba, known as the Cathach, is a late 6th century Insular psalter. It is the oldest surviving manuscript in Ireland, and the second oldest Latin psalter in the world.
Durham Cathedral Library, Manuscript A.II.10. is a fragmentary seventh-century Insular Gospel Book, produced in Lindisfarne c. 650. Only seven leaves of the book survive, bound in three separate volumes in the Durham Cathedral Dean and Chapter Library. Although this book is fragmentary, it is the earliest surviving example in the series of lavish Insular Gospel Books which includes the Book of Durrow, the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Lichfield Gospels and the Book of Kells.
Insular script was a medieval script system originating from Ireland that spread to Anglo-Saxon England and continental Europe under the influence of Irish Christianity. Irish missionaries took the script to continental Europe, where they founded monasteries such as Bobbio. The scripts were also used in monasteries like Fulda, which were influenced by English missionaries. They are associated with Insular art, of which most surviving examples are illuminated manuscripts. It greatly influenced Irish orthography and modern Gaelic scripts in handwriting and typefaces.
The Stockholm Codex Aureus is a Gospel book written in the mid-eighth century in Southumbria, probably in Canterbury, whose decoration combines Insular and Italian elements. Southumbria produced a number of important illuminated manuscripts during the eighth and early ninth centuries, including the Vespasian Psalter, the Stockholm Codex Aureus, three Mercian prayer books, the Tiberius Bede and the British Library's Royal Bible.
Celtic art is associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and stylistic similarities with speakers of Celtic languages.
Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman Conquest of England, whose sophisticated art was influential in much of northern Europe. The two periods of outstanding achievement were the 7th and 8th centuries, with the metalwork and jewellery from Sutton Hoo and a series of magnificent illuminated manuscripts, and the final period after about 950, when there was a revival of English culture after the end of the Viking invasions. By the time of the Conquest the move to the Romanesque style is nearly complete. The important artistic centres, in so far as these can be established, were concentrated in the extremities of England, in Northumbria, especially in the early period, and Wessex and Kent near the south coast.
Migration Period art denotes the artwork of the Germanic peoples during the Migration period. It includes the Migration art of the Germanic tribes on the continent, as well the start of the Insular art or Hiberno-Saxon art of the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic fusion in Britain and Ireland. It covers many different styles of art including the polychrome style and the animal style. After Christianization, Migration Period art developed into various schools of Early Medieval art in Western Europe which are normally classified by region, such as Anglo-Saxon art and Carolingian art, before the continent-wide styles of Romanesque art and finally Gothic art developed.
British Library, Egerton MS 609 is a Breton Gospel Book from the late or third quarter of the ninth century. It was created in France, though the exact location is unknown. The large decorative letters which form the beginning of each Gospel are similar to the letters found in Carolingian manuscripts, but the decoration of these letters is closer to that found in insular manuscripts, such as the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. However, the decoration in the Breton Gospel Book is simpler and more geometric in form than that found in the Insular manuscripts. The manuscript contains the Latin text of St Jerome's letter to Pope Damasus, St. Jerome's commentary on Matthew, and the four Gospels, along with prefatory material and canon tables. This manuscript is part of the Egerton Collection in the British Library.
A carpet page is a full page in an illuminated manuscript containing intricate, non-figurative, patterned designs. They are a characteristic feature of Insular manuscripts, and typically placed at the beginning of a Gospel Book. Carpet pages are characterised by mainly geometrical ornamentation which may include repeated animal forms. They are distinct from pages devoted to highly decorated historiated initials, though the style of decoration may be very similar.
Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from insula, the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different from that of the rest of Europe. Art historians usually group Insular art as part of the Migration Period art movement as well as Early Medieval Western art, and it is the combination of these two traditions that gives the style its special character.
Rath Melsigi was an Anglo-Saxon monastery in Ireland. A number of monks who studied there were active in the Anglo-Saxon mission on the continent. The monastery also developed a style of script that may have influenced the writers of the Book of Durrow.
Lacertines, most commonly found in Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Insular art, are interlaces created by zoomorphic forms. While the term "lacertine" itself means "lizard-like," its use to describe interlace is a 19th-century neologism and not limited to interlace of reptilian forms. In addition to lizards, lacertine decoration often features animals such as birds, lions, and dogs.
In the visual arts, interlace is a decorative element found in medieval art. In interlace, bands or portions of other motifs are looped, braided, and knotted in complex geometric patterns, often to fill a space. Interlacing is common in the Migration period art of Northern Europe, in the early medieval Insular art of Ireland and the British Isles, and Norse art of the Early Middle Ages, and in Islamic art.
Merovingian illumination is the term for the continental Frankish style of illumination in the late seventh and eight centuries, named for the Merovingian dynasty. Ornamental in form, the style consists of initials constructed from lines and circles based on Late Antique illumination, title pages with arcades and crucifixes. Figural images were almost totally absent. From the eight century, zoomorphic decoration began to appear and become so dominant that in some manuscripts from Chelles whole pages are made up of letters formed from animals. Unlike the contemporary Insular illumination with its rampant decoration, the Merovingian style aims for a clean page.
