The Book of Kells is a Latin text of the Gospels (the first four books of the New Testament) dating from c. 800 A.D., created by monastic scribes and illuminators on the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland (Trinity College Library). It is an example of an illuminated manuscript that was produced for public use, as indicated by its large codex format, the lavish use of gold and colour, and large illustrations that could be seen from a distance, as it was used on the altar. It is insular in style, employing Celtic designs, and the text is written in what is described as insular majuscule. Illustrations appear on almost every page of the Book of Kells, in the form of great decorated pages depicting portraits of evangelists, Christ, and the Virgin and child; carpet pages filled with abstract linear patterns; and illuminated initials, borders, and marginal drawings interspersed throughout pages of text. The text itself is also emphasized in places by the use of colour, and pauses or stops between lines of text are often indicated by the insertion of a small decorative illustration.
The relationship between the images and the text in the Book of Kells is varied. Full page miniatures, although heavily stylized, are fairly straightforward illustrations of the text immediately preceding them, such as the arrest of Christ on Folio 114v (below). These illustrations also served a liturgical and evangelical purpose – when Christianity was being preached to a largely illiterate audience, the images were important to their understanding of the text. More than this, these lavishly coloured and illuminated illustrations were designed to “impress with their splendor” (Meehan, 29), a splendor that was thus linked with the sacredness of the gospels, and with Christianity itself. The smaller illustrations that are scattered throughout the pages of text also serve a purpose. Although it would appear that they are mere decoration intended to “[aid] legibility, at the same time repeating the thematic preoccupations of the fully decorated pages” (Meehan, 29), Meehan also suggests that “although the drawings do not have a directly illustrative function in the modern sense, some of them refer, albeit in an oblique way, to passages in the text” (66). For example, Francoise Henry suggested that the figure curled up into the intial ‘U’ on folio 67r may be the “‘wicked one’ (malignus) who interferes with the seed” in the parable of the seed and the sower that appears on the same page (Meehan, 66). However, the ambiguity of illustrations such as this, and the absence of decoration in passages that seem suitable for illustration lead Meehan to the conclusion that in the Book of Kells, “the programme of decoration generally served a symbolic rather than an illustrative purpose” (68).
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| The Arrest of Christ from the Book of Kells, Folio 114v |
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| Christ Led to the Praetorium from Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Folio 143r |
Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry is a book of hours, containing biblical “text for each liturgical hour of the day” (University of Chicago). It also contains a calendar, prayers, psalms, and special masses that were common in this type of manuscript. It was created between 1412 and 1416 by various artists, though a large portion of the work, including the most famous part of the manuscript (the calendar pages) are attributed to the Limbourg brothers. Books of hours were created for personal use, and as such were largely commissioned by the very wealthy, elite noble class. This particular example was made for the Duc de Berry (the brother of King Charles V) a very important figure in French politics, and also an enormously wealthy patron - he owned fifteen Books of Hours among a number of other priceless manuscripts (University of Chicago). Les Tres Riches Heures is naturalistic in style, although laden with symbols and motifs. The manuscript is comprised of full page miniatures, pages of text that are illustrated with smaller miniatures placed at various points within the column of text, decorative borders and illuminated initials. As with the Book of Kells, emphasis of the text itself is shown by colour - here, red lettering, and decorative bars mark stops between lines of text.
On examining several folios from Les Tres Riches Heures, it is clear that images in this manuscript are primarily illustrative. An image of “Christ Led to the Praetorium” from Folio 143r of the manuscript (above) shows a similar scene to that of the arrest of Christ from the Book of Kells. Given that this manuscript was created approximately 600 years after the Book of Kells, the viewer can see noticeable differences in style – the scene is much more naturalistic, is peopled with more figures, and employs a wider palette of colours and shades. I would suggest that although the level of detail and the richness of the colouration is awe-inspiring on its own, the intricacy of the design lends to a more personal, intimate, and up-close examination of the image, as suits its purpose as a personal prayer book. An examination of a page of text, shows similar illuminated of initial letters, smaller illustrations, borders, and dividers as in the Book of Kells. I haven’t yet been able to find a reproduction of a text page from Les Tres Riches Heures large enough to examine the illuminated initials closely – some of them are decorated with coats of arms, generic vines, leaves and other flora, but others contain small figures of animals and humans. What their purpose is I remain uncertain of, although I would think it plausible to suggest that they operate in a similar way to the Book of Kells, as ambiguous and oblique references to the text, or as pure decoration.
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| Example of a page of decorated text from the Book of Kells, Folio 19v |
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| Example of a page of decorated text from Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Folio 113r. |
Sources:
Christus Rex et Redemptor Mundi and Michael Olteanu, Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 2008. Accessed March, 2011: http://www.christusrex.org/www2/berry/index.html
Meehan, B., The Book of Kells: An Illustrated Introduction to the Manuscript in Trinity College Dublin, London: Thames and Hudson, 1994.
Trinity College Library Dublin, “About the Book of Kells” in The Book of Kells DVD-ROM. Accessed March, 2011: http://www.bookofkells.com/the-manuscript.htm
University of Chicago, Les Tres Riches Heures Du Duc de Berry. Accessed March, 2011: http://humanities.uchicago.edu/images/heures/heures.html
