MANUSCRIPT ILLUMINATIONA life of Colum Cille written by his successor as abbot,
Adomnán (c. 628–704), contains references to the
copying of texts on Iona, and to Colum Cille’s own
prowess as a scribe. Three manuscripts written at inter-
vals of roughly one hundred years—the Psalter of circa
600 known as the Cathach (“Battler”) (Dublin, Royal
Irish Academy, 12.R.33); the famous gospel manu-
scripts in the Book of Durrow, from circa 700 (Dublin,
Trinity College, 57), and the Book of Kells, produced
circa 800 (Dublin, Trinity College, 58)—all have
strong associations with St. Colum Cille and serve as
landmarks in the progression of insular styles of dec-
oration. The Cathach, perhaps the earliest surviving
manuscript with an unquestioned Irish origin, was tra-
ditionally believed to be the copy made by St. Columba
of a Psalter lent to him by St. Finnian. A dispute about
the ownership of the copy was resolved by King
Diarmait mac Cerbhaill with the judgment “to every
cow her calf and to every book its copy.” This is fre-
quently cited as an early instance of copyright law. It
is not clear whether the Cathach was written and dec-
orated by St. Colum Cille or was the work of a copyist
undertaken some years after his death. Its artistic tech-
niques include trumpet and spiral devices, the fish and
the cross (symbols of Christ), as well as the calli-
graphic device of “diminuendo,” in which the opening
letters of a verse are formed in diminishing sizes. Its
initials are frequently outlined in red dots. Red is used
for rubrics, and there are some yellow and white pig-
ments, but the damaged condition of the manuscript—
a result of its having been kept in a shrine since the
eleventh century—inevitably leads to a diminished
appreciation of its artistry. On certain folios there are
creatures that have been described as dolphin-like.
Such uncertainty over the identity and meaning of par-
ticular devices, the purpose of which was presumably
clear to the artist, is a feature of the study of insular art.
The Book of Durrow employed red dotting, not only
around letters, but also, executed with remarkable deli-
cacy, in places like the face of the Man, symbol of
Matthew (folio 21v). Broad ribbon interlace, in red,
green, and yellow, dominates the carpet pages and
symbols pages preceding its Gospel texts, while trum-
pet and spiral devices and panels set into the carpet
pages are strongly reminiscent of metalwork and jew-
elery. The Eagle, symbol of Mark (folio 84v), is
derived from a Roman imperial model, while the Lion
on folio 191v has joint features in common with Pictish
representations of animals. Both Durrow and the
Cathach are thought to be the work of single artist-
scribes. This is not so with the Book of Kells, which has
such a diversity of approach as to indicate that it was
executed by several different practitioners, probably
working discontinuously rather than together to a com-
mon plan. Its artists and scribes showed extraordinary
assurance and a vivid sense of color in integrating
native Irish art with animal and figure drawings derived
from classical and other Mediterranean prototypes.
The Book of Armagh (Dublin, Trinity College, 52) was
produced around the same time. It contains the earliest
extant New Testament copied in Ireland, along with a
dossier of texts relating to St. Patrick and a life of
St.Martin of Tours. Sections of it can be attributed to
a known scribe, Ferdomnach, “a scholar and an excel-
lent scribe,” as he was termed by the Annals of Ulster.
According to an inscription in the manuscript, Ferdom-
nach made it for Torbach, who was abbot of Armagh
in 807. Ferdomnach’s work resembles the Book of
Kells in its style and virtuosity, though he used only
pen and ink. The identities of other artist-scribes in the
Book of Armagh are not known.
The Macregol Gospels (Oxford, Bodleian Library,
Auct. D.2.19) can also be securely dated and localized.
An inscription on the final page indicates that it was
written and decorated by Macregol, abbot of Birr,
County Offaly, who died in 822. A gloss added in Old
English late in the tenth century indicates that it left
Ireland at a relatively early date and demonstrates how
difficult it is to anchor insular manuscripts in time and
place. Had the final page of the Macregol Gospels,
with its telling colophon, been lost, it might have been
mistaken for one produced outside Ireland. Macregol’s
work has considerable vigor and impact, containing
initials that characteristically have purple or yellow
fillers and are surrounded by red dots. These remain
gleaming on the page and in relief, in contrast to the
Book of Kells, where nineteenth-century processing
has flattened and reduced the impact of such effects.
A few pages that were not glossed in the tenth century
give an unsullied impression of Macregol’s artistry.
It is likely that most major monasteries produced
and cherished great manuscripts as relics of their
founder and as status symbols. It is known from the
comments of the thirteenth-century historian, Giraldus
Cambrensis, that Kildare owned such a book, though
one no longer extant:It contains the concordance of the four gospels accord-
ing to Saint Jerome, with almost as many drawings
as pages, and all of them in marvellous colours....If
you look at them carelessly and casually and not too
closely, you may judge them to be mere daubs rather
than careful compositions....But if you take the
trouble to look very closely, and penetrate with your
eyes to the secrets of the artistry, you will notice such
intricacies, so delicate and subtle, so close together,
and well-knitted, so involved and bound together,
and so fresh still in their colourings that you will not
hesitate to declare that all these things must have
been the result of the work, not of men, but of angels
(Fox, 1999).