Lindisfarne gospels

Date Created
late 7th c., early 8th c. possibly 715.

Place created 
Abbey at Lindisfarne (island) off the coast of Northumbria (NE England). Also known as Holy Island.

Subject 
Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, canonical tables, introductory letters from St. Jerome.

Physical description 
34.2 cm x 24.8 cm. (approx. 10" x 14"). 259 folios. The manuscript is complete, although missing its original binding.

History 
The Lindisfarne Gospels were created as a devotion to St. Cuthbert, who was Bishop of Lindisfarne from 685 until he died two years later. They are the work of Eadfrith, a later Bishop of Lindisfarne and Aethilwald, who became Bishop upon Eadfrith's death and who crafted the binding and cumdach (shrine). In the tenth century yet a third Bishop of Lindisfarne took hand to the book. He translated the Latin text into English, and wrote it in between the lines. This is the oldest surviving version of the Gospels in English.

The Lindisfarne Gospels contain rich and ornately detailed "carpet pages" (so named because of the resemblance to Eastern carpets) that precede each Gospel, and opening pages featuring large, ornamental initials. The Gospel of St. Matthew opens with what's known as a Chi Rho page: an oversized X and P indicate the first two Greek letters of the word Christ. Additionally, each of the Four Evangelists is portrayed alongside his symbol: a man for Matthew, a lion for Mark, a calf for Luke and an eagle for John. Portraits of the Evangelists with their symbols are common in insular manuscripts.

Scribe 
According to a tenth century inscription, the book was created by a single artist-scribe named Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne from 698 until his death in 721.

Currently housed 
British Library, London
www.bl.uk

Shelfmark 
Cotton MS Nero D.IV

Can I see it?
The Lindisfarne Gospels are part of the permanent exhibit Treasures of the British Library.  However, as the Gospels have only recently returned from a temporary exhibit at Durham Cathedral, they have not rejoined the British Library exhibit as of July, 2014.
You can see 40 pages of the gospel online here:
British Library: Turning the Pages

Links
British Library: Sacred Texts Online Gallery

Above Left: Chi-Rho page from the Gospel of St. Matthew (folio 29). Above Right: Cross-carpet page from the Gospel of St. Mark (folio 94b). courtesy and © British Library Board.

The Venerable Bede (a 7th c. English monk-author) relates an account of St. Cuthbert leaving the monastery at Lindisfarne in the middle of the night and walking into the sea. He prayed until morning in water up to his neck. When he emerged from the sea he was followed by two otters who dried his feet by breathing on them and brushing them with their fur.

There are many miraculous stories associated with St. Cuthbert. The most impressive is the description of the opening of his coffin ten years after his death. His body was found perfectly intact, undecayed, gripping his pocket-sized Gospel book.

Gospel books, such as the Lindisfarne and Book of Kells, often contain canonical tables. These were intended to help the reader find corresponding parts of scripture. For instance, if you wanted to read the story of the loaves and the fishes, the canonical tables would direct you to where those passages appear in each of the four Gospels. Canonical tables are an early example of something we take for granted: the index.