The Book of Kells by R.A. Macavoy
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript from the eighth century. It is currently located at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The images and icons in this book of gospels are Christian; however, the style of the work is pre-Christian in origin. Since the illustrations show both Irish and Germanic influences, they are referred to as Hiberno-Saxon art. The Book of Kells is called an insular manuscript, because its script is in a style known as “Insular majuscule,” a style that was common at that time in Ireland (Meehan 9). The Book of Kells represents a high point in the development of Hiberno-Saxon illumination. In the words of the art historian Carl Nordenfalk, the manuscript is a work of “exquisite perfection” (118). This paper will discuss the Book of Kells in an effort to examine its artistic and historic contribution.
In the sixth century, the Christian Church began spreading its influence by establishing monasteries throughout Europe. The people of Ireland had begun converting to Christianity, as early as the fifth century, and by the seventh century, the nation had become an integral part of the Church’s international monastic system. The monks of the Irish monasteries took religious texts and decorated them, thereby creating what are today known as illuminated manuscripts. The ornamentation of these texts included large, ornate initial letters, interlace patterns, human, animal and religious figures, and various symbolic and iconographic motifs. There were many Irish illuminated books of this period; however, the Book of Kells was the most magnificent of all (Meehan 9-10).
The Book of Kells, is a Latin version of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Book of Kells, was quite large and was usually placed at the altar (NGA 2000). Although the Book of Kells is Christian in theme and principle, its illuminated decorations illustrate a pagan origin. The Irish monks who produced the illuminated manuscripts retained local artists to do the artwork (Nordenfalk 109). The designs and motifs that the, recently converted, artists used were similar to those used by traditional metalworkers and goldsmiths of the time. Therefore, many of the designs of Christian manuscripts have a likeness to the embellishments found on helmets, shields and other ancient pagan artifac...
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...ging Christian and pagan motifs, the end result was the creation of an entirely new art form. The Book of Kells and other insular gospels of that time made an influential contribution to the further development of illuminated manuscripts. Thus, it is apparent that the Book of Kells had an important influence on later artists. In addition, because the Book of Kells provided an artistic treatment of the Christian gospels, it helped further the spread of Christianity in Europe.
Works Cited
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Meehan, Bernard. The Book of Kells: An Illustrated Introduction to the Manuscript in Trinity College Dublin. London: Thames and Hudson, 1994.
National Gallery of Australia (NGA) Official Website. “The Book of Kells and The Art of Illumination.” 2000. http://www.nga.gov.au/kells/Index.htm
Nordenfalk, Carl. Early Medieval Painting from the Fourth to the Eleventh Centuries. Lausanne, Switzerland: Editions d’Art Albert Skira, 1957.
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Mathias Grunewald (c. 1470-1528) was a German painter who created the Isenheim Altarpiece between 1512 and 1516. This work consists of different wings that fold out to reveal more of the work (Collings, 2007) (including the crucifixion of Christ), is on the display at the Unterlinden Museum at Colmar, Alsace, France, and was commissioned for the Monastery of Saint Anthony in Isenheim, near Colmar. On one of these wings is the figure of Saint Anthony of Egypt, whose temptation has been the inspiration for many works of art as well as literature. Unlike other artists of the Renaissance period, Grunewald’s paintings depict religious figures as artists of the middle ages had done, creating imagery for the Church in Rome. And while the Isenheim Altarpiece, and indeed the Temptation of Saint Anthony, was commissioned b...
Scholarly article used: Lucius Grisebach. "Kirchner, Ernst Ludwig." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 29 Nov 2011.
Stanton, Graham. Gospel Truth?: New Light on Jesus and the Gospels. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1995. Paperback.
The three pillars of the justice system are the police, the courts or legal system, and prison system, with some people adding the fourth pillar which is the local community or larger society. Correctional goals can shift over a period of time depending on what is emphasized, whether it is more on retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, or rehabilitation (by reforming the criminal for his eventual re-entry into society). However, despite the best efforts of stakeholders in the justice system to prevent people from committing crimes again, the specter of recidivism always looms large as a big problem.
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Early Christian art during the period of Roman persecution was highly circumspect, and innocuous objects—the fish and the dove—were used to symbolize Christ and the Holy Spirit. Later Christian art, however, became replete with iconographic symbols. In particular, many of the saints became associated with specific objects—Saint Peter with two keys, for instance, or Saint Catherine with a broken wheel.
Wilson, Christopher. "Thirteenth-Century Gothic." The Gothic Cathedral: the Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530. Reprinted ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2008. 91-120. Print.
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Haiti is home to about 9.8 million people. Two million people live in Port-au-Prince, which is not only the most populated city, it is also the capital. The city was established in 1749 and did not grow very rapidly because of earthquakes. Half of the nation’s capital lives in poverty. They have no or rarely any access to safe drinking water or electricity and there is hardly any sanitation. Out of all the Americas, the two largest slums are right in this city. The other half of the city lives in an urban area. It has attractions for tourists and has many hotels. Port-au-Prince also has many industries. A few of these include textile, clothing, footwear, food, and consumer goods. Port-au-Prince, being the most populated city in Haiti, also holds a lo...
Foster, R.F.,ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford University Press: Oxford, New York, 1989.
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