No matter what religion or cultural tradition you belong to, you’ve probably seen a Celtic cross. Unlike traditional crosses, it has a circular ring, or “nimbus,” where the arms and stems intersect. The addition of that element alone gives it a very distinctive look, making it one of the prime examples of island iconography, iconography created in Britain and Ireland in the post-Roman period. Perhaps the most artistically impressive Celtic cross in existence is found on a page of a 9th century book. book of kels (view online here), itself the most famous of all the island’s illuminated manuscripts.
The so-called “carpet page” book of kelsSteven Zucker of Smarthistory explains: video above“You can see a cross so elaborate that it is hard to believe that it is a cross.” “There are two cross beams, each with intricately intertwined delicate circles drawn on them, but the circles are so large that they are difficult to believe to be crosses. It almost overwhelms that.”
These are not the only images of note in this book. This book includes the four Gospels and other texts from the New Testament, as well as numerous gorgeous illustrations, all of which were painstakingly hand-drawn on parchment pages at the time of its creation. Ta. Around 800, in the manuscript room of a medieval monastery. As Zucker’s colleague Lauren Kilroy puts it, these illustrations contain “the earliest representations of the Madonna and Child in Western European manuscripts.”
This is not something to take lightly. Especially when you work on it directly, like when Zucker and Kilroy visited Trinity College in Dublin. “When we stood in front of the book, they realized how many folios the book itself was made up of,” says Kilroy (which included the skins of more than 100 young calves). would have been necessary). Grasp vast amounts of matter book of kels That’s one thing, but figuring out how to interpret it is another thing. Therefore, the free online courses that we previously featured on Open Culture will help you understand this book more deeply in its digitized format, which is available online. Even if the cross, Celtic or not, does not evoke any special religious feelings in you, book of kels tells us a lot about the civilization that produced it. This civilization may have been closed at one time, but it has since changed the shape of the world.
Related content:
Medieval masterpiece ‘Book of Kells’ digitized and available online
Take a free online course about the great medieval manuscript The Book of Kells
Discover medieval illuminated manuscripts Les Tre Riches Heures du Duc de Berry“The Most Beautiful Calendar in the World” (1416)
Check out the beautiful pages of a medieval monk’s sketchbook: A window into how illuminated manuscripts were made (1494)
800 illuminated medieval manuscripts available online: available for viewing and download courtesy of the British Library and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France
How Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts Were Made: A Step-by-Step Look at This Beautiful Centuries-Old Artifact
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages and cultures. His projects include the Substack newsletter books about cities and a book Stateless City: A Stroll Through Los Angeles in the 21st Century. Follow him on Twitter @Colinbemust.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
