The page reproduced here (FIG. 16-8) opens the account of the
nativity of Jesus in the Gospel of Saint Matthew. The initial letters of
Christ in Greek (XPI,chi-rho-iota) occupy nearly the entire page, al-
though two words—autem (abbreviated simply as h) and generatio—
appear at the lower right. Together they read: “Now this is how the
birth of Christ came about.” The page corresponds to the opening of
Matthew’s Gospel, the passage read in church on Christmas Day. The
illuminator transformed the holy words into extraordinarily intricate
abstract designs that recall Celtic and Anglo-Saxon metalwork. But
the cloisonné-like interlace is not purely abstract pattern. The letter
rho,for example, ends in a male head, and animals are at its base to
the left ofh generatio.Half-figures of winged angels appear to the left
ofchi,accompanying the monogram as if accompanying Christ him-
self. Close observation reveals many other figures, human and ani-
mal. When the priest Giraldus Cambrensis visited Ireland in 1185, he
described a manuscript he saw that, if not the Book of Kells itself, must
have been very similar:Fine craftsmanship is all about you, but you might not notice it.
Look more keenly at it and you ...will make out intricacies, so
delicate and subtle, so exact and compact, so full of knots and links,
with colors so fresh and vivid, that you might say that all this was
the work of an angel, and not of a man. For my part, the oftener I
see the book, the more carefully I study it, the more I am lost in ever
fresh amazement, and I see more and more wonders in the book.^3HIGH CROSS OF MUIREDACHAs noted, the preserved art
of the early Middle Ages consists almost exclusively of small and
portable works. The high crosses of Ireland and northern England,
erected between the 8th and 10th centuries, are exceptional in their
mass and scale. These majestic monuments, some more than 20 feet
in height, preside over burial grounds adjoining monasteries. Free-
standing and unattached to any architectural fabric, the high crosses
have the imposing unity, weight, and presence of both building and
statue—architecture and sculpture combined.
The High Cross of Muiredach (FIG. 16-9) at Monasterboice, Ire-
land, is one of the largest and finest early medieval crosses. An in-
scription on the bottom of the west face of the shaft asks a prayer for
a man named Muiredach. Most scholars identify him as the influen-
tial Irish cleric of the same name who was abbot of Monasterboice
and died in 923. The monastery he headed was one of Ireland’s old-
est, founded in the late fifth century. The cross probably marked the
abbot’s grave. The concave arms of Muiredach’s cross are looped by
four arcs that form a circle. The arms expand into squared terminals
(compare FIG. 16-1). The circle intersecting the cross identifies the
type as Celtic. At the center of the west side is a depiction of the cru-
cified Christ. On the east side (FIG. 16-9) the risen Christ stands as
judge of the world, the hope of the dead. Below him the souls of the
dead are being weighed on scales—a theme that sculptors of 12th-
century church portals (FIGS. I-6and 17-12) pursued with extraordi-
nary intensity.414 Chapter 16 EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE16-8Chi-rho-iota (XPI) page, folio 34 recto of the Book of Kells,
probably from Iona, Scotland, late eighth or early ninth century.
Tempera on vellum, 1 1 91 – 2 . Trinity College Library, Dublin.
In this opening page to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, the painter
transformed the biblical text into abstract pattern, literally making God’s
words beautiful. The intricate design recalls early medieval metalwork.16-9High Cross of Muiredach (east face), Monasterboice, Ireland, 923.
Sandstone, 18high.
Early medieval Irish high crosses are exceptional in size. Muiredach’s
cross marked his grave and bears reliefs depicting the Crucifixion and
Last Judgment, themes suited to a Christian funerary monument.1 in. 1 ft.
16-9ASouth
Cross, Ahenny,
late eighth
century.