What is the illustrated manuscript produced by Celtic monks around 800 AD that has been described as the zenith of Western calligraphy and illumination?
"it was a Romanized Briton, Saint Patrick who introduced Christianity to Ireland around the 5th century. Roman legions had never conquered Ireland, and as the Western Roman Empire collapsed, Christianity managed to survive there. Monks sought out refuge at the far fringes of the known world: like Cornwall, Ireland, or the Hebrides. Disciplined scholarship carried on in isolated outposts like Skellig Michael in Ireland, where literate monks became some of the last preservers in Western Europe of the poetic and philosophical works of Western antiquity. By around 800 they were producing illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells. The"
"the monks fled to Ireland in the face of Viking raids in 807, they probably brought it with them to Kells in Ireland. It is the most richly decorated of the Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts and represents a large array of techniques and motifs created during the 8th century. In the 7th century there emerged a resurgence of metalworking with new techniques such as gold filigree that allowed ever smaller and more detailed ornamentations, especially on the penannular and pseudo-penannular Celtic brooches that were important symbols of status for the elite, and also worn by clergy as part of their vestments. The"
"Book of Kells The Book of Kells (; ; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. [58], sometimes known as the Book of Columba) 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 Britain or Ireland and may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from both Britain and Ireland. It is believed to have been created 800 AD. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn"
"group, where ""the figure-style has become more monumental, more rarified and sublime, at the same time thin in density, insubstantial, mere silhouettes of colour against a shimmering void"". The group introduced the background of solid gold to Western illumination. Pericopes of Henry II The Pericopes of Henry II (; Munich, Bavarian State Library, Clm 4452) is a luxurious medieval illuminated manuscript made for Henry II, the last Ottonian Holy Roman Emperor, made 1002 – 1012 AD. The manuscript, which is lavishly illuminated, is a product of the Liuthar circle of illuminators, who were working in the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau,"
"Pericopes of Henry II The Pericopes of Henry II (; Munich, Bavarian State Library, Clm 4452) is a luxurious medieval illuminated manuscript made for Henry II, the last Ottonian Holy Roman Emperor, made 1002 – 1012 AD. The manuscript, which is lavishly illuminated, is a product of the Liuthar circle of illuminators, who were working in the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau, which housed a scriptorium and artists' workshop that has a claim to having been the largest and artistically most influential in Europe during the late 10th and early 11th centuries. An unrivalled series of liturgical manuscripts was produced at"
"from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure. The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells surpass that of other Insular Gospel books in extravagance and complexity. The decoration combines traditional Christian iconography with the ornate swirling motifs typical of Insular art. Figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts, together with Celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colours, enliven the manuscript's pages. Many of these minor decorative elements are imbued"
"of restraint and proportionality. Still Edward Crocker began publishing his copybooks 40 years before the aforementioned. Sacred Western calligraphy has some special features, such as the illumination of the first letter of each book or chapter in medieval times. A decorative ""carpet page"" may precede the literature, filled with ornate, geometrical depictions of bold-hued animals. The Lindisfarne Gospels (715–720 AD) are an early example. As with Chinese or Islamic calligraphy, Western calligraphic script employed the use of strict rules and shapes. Quality writing had a rhythm and regularity to the letters, with a ""geometrical"" order of the lines on the"
"the continents great scholars and theologians. It was here that the lamp of Latin learning was preserved for the ages. During this age, the great illuminated manuscripts of Ireland were produced. Arguably the finest example of such works is The Book of Kells which may still be viewed at Trinity College, Dublin. The first significant renewal of learning in the West came with the Carolingian Renaissance of the Early Middle Ages. Charlemagne, advised by Peter of Pisa and Alcuin of York, attracted the scholars of England and Ireland, and by decree in AD 787 established schools in every abbey in"
"Hours of Henry VIII The Hours of Henry VIII is a 15th-century illuminated book of hours, painted by Jean Poyet in Tours. Its 400 pages contain 55 full-page miniatures. It is housed under shelfmark MS H.8 in the Morgan Library & Museum, New York. The Hours of Henry VIII, one of Jean Poyer's best-known works, receives its name from ""the possible but unproven eighteenth-century tradition"" that it was once owned by King Henry VIII of England. The manuscript belonged to several later English kings including George III. The manuscript is bound in red velvet. Henry VIII's coat of arms, monogram"
"Sun and Moon witness the event from above. The manuscript's style, too, is considered to show the patron's influence, in an unusually unified work of a small group of artists working in close cooperation. It is 264 mm by 214 mm and has 130 folios. It is lavishly illuminated. Drogo Sacramentary The Drogo Sacramentary (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, MS lat. 9428) is a Carolingian illuminated manuscript on vellum from 850 AD, one of the monuments of Carolingian book illumination. It is a sacramentary, a book containing all the prayers spoken by the officiating priest during the course of the"
"In ""The Illuminated Manuscript"", Backhouse states that ""The Lindisfarne Gospels is one of the first and greatest masterpieces of medieval European book painting"". The Lindisfarne Gospels is described as Insular or Hiberno-Saxon art, a general term for manuscripts produced in the British Isles between 500–900 AD. As a part of Anglo-Saxon art the manuscript reveals a love of riddles and surprise, shown through the pattern and interlace in the meticulously designed pages. Many of the patterns used for the Lindisfarne Gospels date back before the Christian period. There is a strong presence of Celtic, Germanic, and Irish art styles. The"
"Codex Aureus of Echternach The Codex Aureus of Echternach (""Codex aureus Epternacensis"") is an illuminated Gospel Book, created in the approximate period 1030–1050, with a re-used front cover from around the 980s. It is now in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg. The manuscript contains the Vulgate versions of the four gospels plus prefatory matter including the Eusebian canon tables, and is a major example of Ottonian illumination, though the manuscript, as opposed to the cover, probably falls just outside the end of rule by the Ottonian dynasty. It was produced at the Abbey of Echternach under the direction of Abbot"
"carried on in isolated outposts like Skellig Michael in Ireland, where literate monks became some of the last preservers in Western Europe of the poetic and philosophical works of Western antiquity. By around 800AD they were producing illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells, by which old learning was re-communicated to Western Europe. The Hiberno-Scottish mission led by Irish and Scottish monks like St Columba spread Christianity back into Western Europe during the Middle Ages, establishing monasteries through Anglo-Saxon England and the Frankish Empire during the Middle Ages. Thomas Cahill, in his 1995 book ""How the Irish Saved Civilization"","
"life and times of Jesus and in some cases the Old Testament. Depictions of saints are also common, especially in Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration. The earliest surviving substantive illuminated manuscripts are from the period AD 400 to 600, primarily produced in Ireland, Constantinople and Italy. The majority of surviving manuscripts are from the Middle Ages, although many illuminated manuscripts survive from the 15th century Renaissance, along with a very limited number from Late Antiquity. Most illuminated manuscripts were created as codices,"
"island. These monasteries served as sanctuary to many of the continents great scholars and theologians. It was here that the lamp of Latin learning was preserved for the ages. During this age, the great illuminated manuscripts of Ireland were produced. Arguably the finest such work is ""The Book of Kells"" which may still be viewed at Trinity College, Dublin. The first significant renewal of learning in the West came with the Carolingian Renaissance of the Early Middle Ages. Charlemagne, advised by Peter of Pisa and Alcuin of York, attracted the scholars of England and Ireland, and by decree in AD"
"Liuthar Gospels The Liuthar Gospels (also Gospels of Otto III or Ottonian Gospels) are a work of Ottonian illumination which are counted among the masterpieces of the period known as the Ottonian Renaissance. The manuscript, named after a monk called Liuthar, was probably created around the year 1000 at the order of Otto III at the Abbey of Reichenau and lends its name to the ""Liuthar Group"" of Reichenau illuminated manuscripts. The backgrounds of all the images are illuminated in gold leaf, a seminal innovation in western illumination. After the French Revolution, the manuscript fell to private property and was"
"Insular illumination 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"
"that are crusader style manuscripts were commissioned by King Louis IX, especially in the city of Acre. An example of an illuminated manuscript that was commissioned by King Louis IX and is a result of crusader art is the frontispiece of Proverbs 1 in the Arsenal Bible. This manuscript shows Solomon wearing the traditional insignia and clothing of a Byzantine emperor. This illumination is a mixture of the Gothic and Franco-Byzantine Crusader styles, and also showcases French architecture. More manuscripts done in a similar style to the Arsenal Bible include a few Missals, and a Psalter. Most of the significant"
"interest as it is one of the few examples of an illuminated manuscript that is linked to Wales. The early sixteenth century gold-tooled calf covers of the Llanbeblig Hours, which both bear the arms of King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon in shields separated by two roses, are inlaid in the nineteenth century binding. The binding was thus executed before the 1532 annulment of King Henry's marriage to Katherine of Aragon. Llanbeblig Book of Hours The Llanbeblig Book of Hours is an illuminated manuscript in the National Library of Wales (NLW MS 17520A) that dates from the close of"
"metalwork masterpieces created include the Tara Brooch, the Ardagh Chalice and the Derrynaflan Chalice. New techniques employed were filigree and chip carving, while new motifs included interlace patterns and animal ornamentation. The Book of Durrow is the earliest complete insular script illuminated Gospel Book and by about 700, with the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Hiberno-Saxon style was fully developed with detailed carpet pages that seem to glow with a wide palette of colours. The art form reached its peak in the late 8th century with the Book of Kells, the most elaborate Insular manuscript. Anti-classical Insular artistic styles were carried to"
"Vergilius Vaticanus The Vergilius Vaticanus or Vatican Virgil (Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica, Cod. Vat. lat. 3225) is a Late Antique illuminated manuscript containing, in its form today, fragments of Virgil's ""Aeneid"" and ""Georgics"". It was made in Rome in about 400 A.D., and is one of the oldest surviving sources for the text of the ""Aeneid"" and is the oldest and one of only three ancient illustrated manuscripts of classical literature. The two other surviving illustrated manuscripts of classical literature are the Vergilius Romanus and the Ambrosian Iliad. There are 76 surviving leaves in the manuscript with 50 illustrations. If, as"
"446 illuminations. The most renowned scene from the manuscript depicts Pope Gregory the Great, who is surrounded by two groups of noblemen, clerics and Benedictine monks. Hildebert, Everwin and the monk R. (apparently the scribe of the manuscript) are depicted at the bottom of the scene. During the Thirty Years' War, the manuscript was taken to Sweden as war loot, and is now in the National Library of Sweden (codex A 144). In 2009, it was lent for research purposes to the Czech Republic. Hildebert and Everwin Hildebert and Everwin were two lay medieval artists. They are the first artists"
"the dominant colours, and relatively few smaller pieces of glass in other colours. Illuminated manuscripts represent the most complete record of Gothic painting, providing a record of styles in places where no monumental works have otherwise survived. The earliest full manuscripts with French Gothic illustrations date to the middle of the 13th century. Many such illuminated manuscripts were royal bibles, although psalters also included illustrations; the Parisian Psalter of Saint Louis, dating from 1253 to 1270, features 78 full-page illuminations in tempera paint and gold leaf. During the late 13th century, scribes began to create prayer books for the laity,"
"Hereford Gospels The Hereford Gospels (Hereford, Hereford Cathedral Library, MS P. I. 2) is an 8th-century illuminated manuscript gospel book in insular script (minuscule), with large illuminated initials in the Insular style. This is a very late Anglo-Saxon gospel book, which shares a distinctive style with the Caligula Troper (Cotton Library, MS Caligula A.xiv). An added text suggests this was in the diocese of Hereford in the 11th century. The manuscript was likely produced either in Wales (like the Ricemarch Psalter [In the Doomsday books Hereford is referred to as Hereford, Wales] and possibly the Lichfield Gospels) or in the"
"Sabbath, and the marriage of priests. As regards the intellectual life of the monastery in other directions, it is especially celebrated for its famous school of calligraphy which was established by Theodore. The art of manuscript illumination was cultivated, with many brilliant products of the monastic scriptorium now residing in Venice, Vatican City, and Moscow (e.g., Chludov Psalter). The Theodore Psalter, created at the monastery in the twelfth century is in the collection of the British Library. In the eighth and eleventh centuries, the monastery was the centre of Byzantine religious poetry; a number of the hymns are still used"
"from about the 5th century, two distinct styles of writing known as uncial and half-uncial (from the Latin ""uncia,"" or ""inch"") developed from various Roman bookhands. With the onset of the Middle Ages from about the 7th century, literacy in Latin Europe was increasingly limited to the monasteries. The tradition of illumination has its origins in Late Antiquity, and reaches early medieval Europe in about the 8th century, notable early examples including the Book of Durrow, Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells. Charlemagne's devotion to improved scholarship resulted in the recruiting of ""a crowd of scribes"", according to Alcuin,"
"Hedwig Codex The Hedwig Codex, also known as the Codex of Lubin (), is a medieval illuminated manuscript from the mid-14th century which through its sixty-one coloured drawings and inscriptions in ""comics' style"" tells the life story of saint Hedwig of Silesia, spouse of the Silesian Piast duke Henry the Bearded, her family and events related to her canonization (1267). This art piece, a fine example of Central European Gothic art, is valued especially for its depictions of the Tartar invasion of Europe (Silesia). Based on Hedwig's hagiography (), the illustrated codex was produced in 1353 at the court workshop"
"version of the ""Lorica of Laidcenn"", an abbreviated or ""Breviate Psalter"", and a text of the ""Harrowing of Hell"" liturgical drama, which were combined together 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 CE 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,"
"and hardly readable. Christian churches promoted the development of writing through the prolific copying of the Bible, the Breviary, and other sacred texts. Two distinct styles of writing known as uncial and half-uncial (from the Latin ""uncia"", or ""inch"") developed from a variety of Roman bookhands. The 7th–9th centuries in northern Europe were the heyday of Celtic illuminated manuscripts, such as the Book of Durrow, Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells. Charlemagne's devotion to improved scholarship resulted in the recruiting of ""a crowd of scribes"", according to Alcuin, the Abbot of York. Alcuin developed the style known as the"
"Codex Gigas The Codex Gigas () is the largest extant medieval illuminated manuscript in the world, at long. It is also known as the Devil's Bible because of a very unusual full-page portrait of the devil, and the legend surrounding its creation. It was created in the early 13th century in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice in Bohemia, which is a region in the modern-day Czech Republic). It contains the complete Vulgate Bible as well as other popular works, all written in Latin. Between the Old and New Testaments are a selection of other popular medieval reference works: Josephus's ""Antiquities"
"Codex Vaticanus Latinus 3868 The Vatican Terence (Terentius Vaticanus), or Codex Vaticanus Latinus 3868, is a 9th-century illuminated manuscript of the Latin comedies of Publius Terentius Afer, housed in the Vatican Library. According to art-historical analysis the manuscript was copied from a model of the 3rd century. The manuscript was made at Corvey in about the year 825 by a scribe named Hrodgarius. The illustrations were made by three artists, one of them was named Adelricus. It contains illustrations of 141 scenes. Bischoff dated the manuscript between 820–830. It is an example of Carolingian art, but the illustrations follow an"
"Lindisfarne Gospels The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) 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 Lindisfarne Gospels are presumed to be the work of a monk named Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698 and died in 721. Current scholarship indicates a date around 715, and it"
"Codex Aureus of Lorsch The Codex Aureus of Lorsch or Lorsch Gospels (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Pal. lat. 50, and Alba Iulia, Biblioteca Documenta Batthyaneum, s.n.) is an illuminated Gospel Book written in latin between 778 and 820, roughly coinciding with the period of Charlemagne's rule over the Frankish Empire. Both the manuscript and the carved ivory panels from the cover are rare and important survivals from the art of this period. The current location of the various original parts is: It was first recorded in Lorsch Abbey (Germany), for which it was presumably written, and where it was mentioned as"