Lindisfarne Gospels
c. A.D. 715
Facsimiles
The Lindisfarne Gospels is an illuminated Latin manuscript of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The manuscript was produced on Lindisfarne in Northumbria in the late 7th century or early 8th century, and is generally regarded as the finest example of the kingdom's unique style of religious art, a style that combined Anglo-Saxon and Celtic themes. The manuscript is complete (though lacking its original cover), and is astonishingly well-preserved considering its great age.
The Lindisfarne Gospels are presumed to be the work of the monk named Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698 and died in 721. Current scholarship indicates a date around 715, and it is believed they were produced in honour of St. Cuthbert. The Gospels are richly illustrated in the insular style, and were originally encased in a fine leather binding covered with jewels and metals made by Billfrith the Anchorite in the 8th century. During the Viking raids on Lindisfarne, however, this cover was lost, and a replacement made in 1852.
A particularly important feature of the Lindisfarne Gospels is that an Anglo-saxon (Gothic or Old English) translation of the gospels was made in the 10th century, and a word-for-word gloss inserted between the lines of the Latin text by Aldred, Provost of Chester-le-Street. This interlinear insertion constitutes the first known translation of the Gospels into what would become the English language.
The Lindisfarne Gospels are presumed to be the work of the monk named Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698 and died in 721. Current scholarship indicates a date around 715, and it is believed they were produced in honour of St. Cuthbert. The Gospels are richly illustrated in the insular style, and were originally encased in a fine leather binding covered with jewels and metals made by Billfrith the Anchorite in the 8th century. During the Viking raids on Lindisfarne, however, this cover was lost, and a replacement made in 1852.
A particularly important feature of the Lindisfarne Gospels is that an Anglo-saxon (Gothic or Old English) translation of the gospels was made in the 10th century, and a word-for-word gloss inserted between the lines of the Latin text by Aldred, Provost of Chester-le-Street. This interlinear insertion constitutes the first known translation of the Gospels into what would become the English language.
