Lent, Feb. 24, 2016

[dreamflower]

This is from one of my very favorite illuminated manuscripts, dating from the eighth century. It is what is called a "carpet page", from the Lindisfarne Gospels. It contains intricate knots, mazes, spirals and zoomorphic images. One of these days I hope to perhaps make a copy of this page.



It's only one page out of all the pages: the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, all written in a meticulous Celtic uncial script and beautifully illuminated with the same sorts of intricate designs seen on this carpet page.

Historians generally believe it was all the work of one monk, Eadfrith, who took two years to do it all. Imagine the dedication and love of the work it took to do this day after day, and the creativity and devotion that led to such beautiful designs, all of it dedicated to the Creator of All.

Here is a link to a larger and clearer image.

Comments

[hhimring]

Lovely!
Do you know that the British Library has a digitized version of the whole book, zoom-able and all? You can leave through it. If you haven't seen it, have a look on their website.

[dreamflower]

Oh, wow! Thanks for the info!

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

I love celtic designs ... how lovely!

[dreamflower]

So do I. And drawing celtic knotwork is not hard to learn and very meditative to do.

[shirebound]

Historians generally believe it was all the work of one monk, Eadfrith, who took two years to do it all.

Amazing.

[dreamflower]

It is. Especially when you consider that a scribe had to also make his own tools and pigments and inks.

And he wasn't just copying the art of others, but designing it himself as he went along. Not to mention that he was also having to copy the words as accurately as he could at the same time.

Western civilization owes a lot to those scribes, working so hard in their cold monastery scriptoriums.

[meneleth.livejournal.com]

I would love to do a cross-stitch of something from one of the illuminated Bibles.

[dreamflower]

I believe I've seen some cross-stitch kits based on the Book of Kells.

I have a couple of books from back in the early 'nineties: Celtic Needlepoint by Alice Starmore and Medieval Cross Stitch Samplers. Out of the former, I made a pincushion and a bookmark, using cross-stitch instead of needlepoint, which I still have. Never finished the project I started from the latter book, but used some of the designs as inspiration for other projects.

Don't know if they are still in print, but you might be able to find them used, or through inter-library loan. The bookmark design is really nice!

Just occurred to me--if you want to try one of the smaller projects, I could make a photocopy of the pattern and send it to you if you wanted.

[meneleth.livejournal.com]

I will have to look up some patterns when I finish my current project. Thank you for the offer, but photocopying patterns is a big no-no in the needlework world as it violates the artists' copyrights. There have been some very heated discussions about that at groups to which I belong!

Anyway, Celtic things are so popular these days I'm sure I can find lots of patterns.

[dreamflower]

OK, I understand that.

[febobe.livejournal.com]

That's amazing. <3

[dreamflower]

It truly is! I am totally in love with Celtic art.

[gentlehobbit.livejournal.com]

I love the Lindisfarne Gospels. The carpet pages and... well... all of it is exquisite.

Thanks for posting that picture. I always enjoy seeing them again. (By the way, I saw the Lindisfarne Gospels -- the actual thing -- in the British Museum back in 1990. I will never forget that day.)