note -- this paper was another exploration in a favored topic, with yet another nuance added.  It added to my interest that by this time I had been to Ireland and seen the actual Book of Kells.  The display is poorly lit, and not well designed really.  I was much better off with my CDROM of the complete text.  Curiously, I also had another avenue of research.  I began to learn to draw according to this style, finding insights as my pen created similar intricate designs.  Fun stuff.

 

Illumination

            We have no idea who they are.  Their names have been lost to history a very long time ago, if indeed they were ever really passed along at all.  Their stories, their testimonies, are left to our own imagination, but their work is still vivid and extraordinary in our day.  Indeed, we know very little about their era as a whole, leading scholars of a later age to call their time "Dark".  Yet if our written information is filled with shadow, that which has been passed down is vibrantly full of color and life.  These artists did not write about their art, they did not seemingly reflect on the nature of art for its own sake, yet from their art we can infer and develop an enormously complex understanding of the power of visual creativity.   Spending, for the most part, their lives in what we in a more sun-kissed land would call dank and severe dwellings, they created art which reflects an abundance of joy and bounty.  They were monks, following the "rules" which had been laid down for them by others, yet their creativity was unbounded in expression. 

It is the goal of this paper to look more closely at these monks, the Irish monks of the late first millennium, seeking to understand their understanding of art, of creativity, and especially their theology which is reflected in that which they have passed on to us.  I will first briefly relate the background of the Irish monastic movement, covering their roots and patterns of life.  I will then focus more specifically on some of their work, focusing primarily on the Book of Kells as an example of their style and tendencies.  From this I will seek to develop what could be considered their theology of art, hoping to understand the religious and theological implications which result from their work.   Although considered a "dark age", the influence of the anonymous Irish artists is profound, and may in fact offer some extraordinary insight to our own day and age as we seek to recover a faithful understanding of how the Spirit can work in art.

            In order to understand why a study of Irish art, as seen in their Illuminated Manuscripts, can be separated from a study of early medieval art and manuscript production in general, one needs only to understand the development of the distinctive "Celtic" church.  Of tremendous significance in this development is the basic fact that the Irish, unlike virtually any other people in Europe, were unconquered by Rome.  Although the generals had their eye on this island, the resources and impetus to invade never came about.  Instead, while the Celtic tribes throughout Europe were subdued and assimilated within the Roman Empire and culture, the Irish were left to continue their ancient practices virtually unmolested.  The Roman roads which brought Christianity to other parts of the Continent did not reach to Ireland.  Yet Christianity most certainly did finally reach this most western part of the known world.   Rome, though it seems, had very little to do with this fact.  While there is evidence of a small Christian community in Ireland before his arrival, the credit to the evangelization of the island generally goes to a humble man named Patrick. [1]  

A Briton by birth, Patrick was abducted by Irish raiders while he was in his late teens.  He spent six years as a slave to an Irish nobleman, escaping after he had a vision and felt told by God to leave and go back to his home.   Yet after a some time Patrick had a vision calling him to return to the land of his slavery.  He did return, and the influence he had upon Ireland is quite evident, even to this day. [2]   Yet, the seeming failure of the Roman Church to establish its own officially sanctioned mission to Ireland [3] left the development of the Irish Church in many ways to its own devices, adopting practices and theology which uniquely reflect the Irish culture rather than Roman customs. [4]   While it certainly can be stated the Irish Church eventually, and increasingly, conformed to many Roman practices, the church in Ireland retained some strong distinctives for many, many centuries.

One of the most distinctive aspects of the Irish church was its prevailing government.   Rather than following the custom prevalent throughout the world of a strict hierarchy of bishops ruling over a clear geographic locale, the Irish church adopted a monastic government, in which local Abbas, or leaders of various Monastic communities, held the most influence over a given area and community.  While there is evidence that Bishops were appointed in Ireland, the practical structure gave the real authority to these monastic leaders, whose position was derived more from their developed holiness than from their political connections. [5] In many ways the communities of Ireland reflected more the communities of the Desert Fathers in Egypt than the established pattern found throughout the church in the West or the East. [6]  

The foundation Patrick built in fact probably led to a differing tradition being developed in an increasingly isolated Irish church as the Empire began to slowly fall apart following the sack of Rome, a tradition which was more practical in its theology than philosophical.   This foundation was certainly developed by later thinkers, who also showed more practical theology than philosophical, but who it appears followed a different line of thinking, a line more mirrored in the East than in the West. [7]   These “theologies” are most revealed in the various “rules” which were developed by monastic leaders.  Rather than having orders which would link a series of monasteries these monasteries were fairly independent, relying on the charismatic leadership of an abbot to instruct them in the ways of holiness.  Essentially, the goals of a man or woman who became part of a monastery were purity of heart and eternal life. [8]   It was understood that the contemplation of God and devotion to study and prayer were the primary tasks of the Christian.  The character of this life was one of almost severe austerity, with virtually every area of life regulated. [9]   From a Western perspective these rules point to a “works” centered righteousness, a seeking after justification by doing the “right things.” 

It may be useful, however, to understand this severity from an Eastern perspective, in which these "works" are not for the purpose of justification, but are rather to help the individual pursue that which the Eastern Church calls "theosis" or divinization. [10]   It seems to be the case that the Irish were not as concerned about finding salvation per se, as they were about finding the fullness of God in this life.  This creates an important distinction for our present study.  Rather than being fairly negative about the capacity of humanity in its struggles and abilities, tending to devalue the importance of this present existence, the Irish seemed to be severe in their practices yet celebratory of life in general.  While their rules suggest austerity, their other written sources reflect a joy in the created order, and an honoring of all that God had made, seeing the potential for the positive in all things. [11]

Because Ireland was never conquered by Rome the practices and, more importantly, the prevailing philosophy of the Empire was not reflected in Irish culture.  Rather than having the Platonic division separating the physical from the spiritual, the Irish maintained a mystical understanding of the interrelatedness of the two.  The spiritual often drifted into the physical, and the physical often drifted into the spiritual.  The lines were blurry and indistinct.  Their religion was very nature focused, emphasizing the world around them as being conduits of the divine.  There was no written Irish language, [12] though poets and scholars may have indeed been of a higher status than even kings. [13]   The art and craftmanship of the Celtic people tended towards complex geometric designs and interwoven knots or strands rather than representative art, these designs more often than not, carrying with them complex meanings and symbolic importance.  While they may have strayed away from the tendency towards idols in human shape, the Celts still understood their art to have a religious significance, representing that which is too complex to speak.  Their art reflected their philosophy in a very powerful way, seeking to illustrate the interconnectedness of all things, and the blurry lines between the physical and spiritual worlds. [14]

With these two backgrounds in mind, that of the distinctive Christian theology and the distinctive Irish culture, it is now possible to look more specifically at how the two interacted in creating amazing works of art.  While illuminated manuscripts certainly did not begin with the Irish the uniqueness of their contributions to this style is quite clear.  The Irish manuscripts, called "insular", do not completely reflect the tendency towards clear representation and "story-telling" which we find in other manuscripts from the rest of Europe. [15]   Rather we find a complex geometric patterns, the endless knots and swirls, and a vast array of symbolic, natural, and personal images filling the pages, interwoven into each other in a startling way.  Even after the Council of Whitby, the Irish Church did not import the styles popular throughout the church, but seemed to continue to develop their own clear artistic patterns.  In the Book of Kells we find this style exemplified. [16]  

The Book of Kells is clearly at its core a work of art.  While most manuscripts were produced in order for the monastic or church communities to use on a daily or ceremonial basis, we find that in the case of this manuscript, the words of Scripture are oftentimes lost in the complexity of the art.  Indeed, it has been noted by scholars of the manuscript that it contains a vast amount of simple mistakes, even repeating the same page twice at one point.  The ornateness of the artistic flourishes and the abundance of mistakes prevents this text from being an easily referenced manuscript for regular use. [17] The text it seems is secondary to the creativity of the artist in seeking to illustrate that which is being written.  At its core, this book is not only a written copy of the Gospels, it is a celebration of the Gospels, a vivid visual exegesis of the text in a way which not only stimulates images of the pictures the stories explicitly relate, but also creating images of the emotion, the themes, the underlying theology, so that seemingly random pictures or flourishes are intentionally steering the mind of the reader and viewer. 

The imagery was not simply added to the text, but rather the text and images formed a single complex whole.  One writer notes the decorations "continued the text.  They illustrated it.  They had a liturgical use.  They also had an evangelical purpose." [18]   Indeed while this can be said about all illuminated manuscripts, in the Irish manuscripts, and especially in the Book of Kells the text and the art are really one, rather than having clear lines between pictures and words.  This is most evident in the pages, such as the so-called Chi Rho page, in which only a few opening words make up an entire complex page of art. [19]  

Among the enormous variety of symbols and patterns are some primary emphases.  The person of Christ is of course quite prevalent, not only in clearly representational images of he and Mary, or his arrest, but also in the various symbols used to represent Christ.   The fish, the snake, the lion, and the peacock are found in copious amounts throughout the text, subtly representing various aspects of Christ's humanity. [20]   In addition we find the symbols of the four evangelists themselves found both highlighted on their own, and throughout the text, including intermingling with each other. [21]   These primary symbols are found throughout the text in a vast amount of clear, and less than clear, portrayals along with other representations of common Christian themes such as angels, crosses, eucharistic symbols, doves, as well as many other themes, all contained within a mind boggling framework of geometric patterns.  In the 12^th century, the chronicler Giraldus Cambrensis wrote about this symbolic complexity of the Book of Kells:

This tome contains the concordance of the four Gospels according to St Jerome, with different designs on almost every page, all of them in a marvelous variety of colors.   Here, you can gaze upon the face of divine majesty, drawn with infinite grace.  Here, too,

are the mystical emblems of the Evangelists, now with six wings, now with four, and now two.  Here, you can find the Eagle, the Calf, the Man, and the Lion, along with a host of other wonders.  Look at them casually, with just a superficial eye, and you may think them rapid sketches, rather than the fruits of genuine labor.  You may think them shallow, where all is subtlety.  But, if you take the time to examine more closely, you may penetrate to the very shrine of art.  You will see intricacies, so fine and subtle, so exact and yet so rich in detail, so full of knots and coils, with colors so bright and fresh, that you will not hesitate to declare that you have gazed upon the work, not of men, but of angels. [22]

 

            This complexity, however, is referred to in another way by Umberto Eco who wrote that it is "the product of a cold-blooded hallucination."  In many ways, this work of art is closer what we would consider "modern" art than typical medieval art, letting shapes and patterns impact the soul, oftentimes without intellectual participation.  The emotion of the colors, the styles, the interwoven strands and motifs add a visual commentary which cannot really adequately expressed within the confines of words, even the words of the Gospel.  In some cases, the images seem to reflect more of a "free association" rather than specific symbolic intent, leading interpreters to be humble in attempts to decode the artists intent. [23]   The various influences of their own cultural history, the images of nature seen in flora and fauna, as well as the subtle influences of the Eastern church [24] are combined to make an unparalleled work of art, a work of art which obviously has a complex theology underlying it, though this theology must be derived indirectly from the art itself rather than a systematic development of why the art was created.  "The book,"  Bernard Meehan writes, "was the medium which conveyed the fundamental message of Christianity." [25]   That the Irish monks sought to convey this message in format in which words were partnered with, if not secondary to, the complex patterns and pictures speaks of a profound understanding of the importance of visual art in the understanding of the Christian faith, an understanding which may have been buried underneath a prevailing Roman theology. 

            The artists of the Book of Kells, and the other Insular manuscripts, are unknown.  While it appears to be the work of three, maybe four, separate scribes, the names of these are lost to history.  Yet, the value that the communities placed upon such artistic work is evident.  The cost of the production of a manuscript like this is enormous, reflecting the lives of over 200 calves, and revealing interesting trade routes and influences. [26]   Later illuminated manuscripts were the product of paid artists, whose services were contracted by wealthy patrons, and who had a well established list of prices for their work.  But the early Insular manuscripts reveal not only more complexity, but were the product of monks whose spiritual task was to produce such masterpieces.  Art was a spiritual gift to contribute to the edification of the community.  The Irish monks held all things of beauty in high regard, taking delight in creation, and honoring skilled craftsmen and artists with high regard and status. 

Collum Cille, the founder of Iona where the Book of Kells was said to have originated, was a man of enormous holiness, learning, Spirituality, and leadership, and it is a credit both to him and the art of the manuscript that the Book of Kells was popularly ascribed as coming from his hand.  The mark of a holy man, full of insight, would naturally be to produce such a work of art.   The expression of theology, for the Irish, was not limited to words.  Indeed words, while celebrated, seem to have been understood as having limits, limits which only creative expressions could surpass.  Just as Nature expressed the realities of the divine, art expressed the broader reality of theology.  While the intricacies of the Trinity could be inadequately expressed in volumes of philosophical thought, an interwoven set of circles or lines could show how three could be one.  Art was used as exegesis, along with words, along with (I'm certain) music, letting the fullness of the creative reality of humanity express Spiritual reality in a much more complete way.  Art was not simply used as a tool, it was an inherent part of theological expression, in a way which is no longer, seemingly, the case. 

            The Celtic tradition did not pass on a great deal of propositional or philosophical theology.  Theirs was an artistic contribution, which saw theology in terms of forms, pictures, complexity. [27]   Through their pens and brushes we find expressions of who we are as a people and what God calls us to be, as well as what it is that God has already done.  As this tradition became lost in the increasingly homogenous West, the ability to express through non-verbal means also became lost, or at least distorted.  Thus, now, Christian art has little to say to the non-Christian world, as those whose Spiritual leanings insist on non-verbal expression find no room within the traditional ecclesiastical structures.  Yet,  as we look at the Irish we see that successful missionary enterprises are not limited to propositional theology, but may in fact be the most successful and long lasting when the whole reality of human and natural life and creativity is affirmed in seeking after the Spirit who is moving among us and all people.  Art is a part of our expression of the Spirit in us, and to divorce this from our expression of faith has meant an impoverishing of our ability to express the fullness of what God has done and is doing in this world.  Art can be exegesis, as the Irish once indicated, and as we increasingly recover not only a dialogue between art and theology, but a marriage of art and theology, speaking as one, our ability to speak to our world will be radically improved. 

---

[1] Bede, I.13 tells us that in 431 Palladius was sent by the Emperor Theodosius to serve as bishop to believers already in Ireland.  These Christians may have been converted through trade with Christian Britain.  However, Palladius did not seem to last very long.  Muirchu, a chronicler of the life of Patrick writes that "those wild and vicious people would not easily accept his teaching, and Palladius did not want to spend long in a land not his own.  So he decided to return to Pope Celestine.  Having crossed the sea from Ireland to Britain, he died there while making his way back to Rome."  Life of Patrick, 7. 

[2] See RPC Hanson,Live and Writings of the Historical Saint Patrick (New York:  Seabury Press, 1983) and Maire

B De Paor, Patrick, the Pilgrim Apostle of Ireland (Dublin:  Veritas, 1998) for a more thorough development of Patrick's influence, history, and writings. 

[3] Of course, various legends do in fact have Patrick receiving the blessing of the Pope, but these come from much later Lives (i.e.  Muirchu writes "Patrick went off to visit the apostolic see, the head of all the chruches of the whole world."  Life, 4.  His own struggles which are revealed in his Confession suggest, however, no clear mandate from the established church which he could use to support his ministry against those who would attack him. 

[4] Creating some major issues which were debated  at the Council of Whitby in 664.

[5] Of course this is an over broad statement.  Politics was involved in Ireland, and holiness was important to Rome.  The importance of holiness indeed waned as the centuries went by, leading later movements imported from the continent, such as the Cistercians, to restore the church in Ireland back to a proper focus. 

[6] See Geoffrey Moorhouse, Sun Dancing (San Diego:  Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997) for an excellent study of a specific monastic community (that of Skellig Michael off the southwest coast of Ireland) and a discussion of the monastic customs of the early medieval era.

[7] More specifically, the concepts which are found in The Conferences of John Cassian.

[8] Abba Moses, in Cassian’s first Conference, says, “The end of our profession is the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven:  but the goal or scopos is purity of heart without which it is impossible for anyone to reach that end.” (IV.3).  The Rule of Comghall, likely written down in the late 8^th century, begins with “Be faithful to the rule of the gentle Lord, because therein lies your salvation.” Uinseann O Maidin, trans. The Celtic Monk:  Rules and Writings of Early Irish Monks.  (Kalamazoo, MI:  Cistercian Publications, 1996), 31.  In the Rule of Ciaran as well we read “Heaven is the reward of the persons who, for the sake of all people, disciplines his own heart.” O Maidin, 46.  See Pierre Riche, “Spirituality in Celtic and Germanic Society.”  Christian Spirituality. New York:  Crossroad Publishing Company, 1985), 165ff.

[9] Although very useful here, it is not within the scope of this paper to detail and analyze these Rules.  See O Maidin, 17-129 for texts and analysis of the various Rules.  In looking at this austerity it is helpful to remember Cassian’s Preface to his first section of his Conferences, where he writes, “if perhaps the reader thinks, by reason of his status and chosen orientation or from the point of view of ordinary custom and way of life, that there are things in these books that are impossible or hard, he should not judge them by the stand of his own ability but according to the dignity of the speakers, whose zeal and chosen orientation he should first mentally grasp.  If anyone wishes to give a true opinion and desires to see whether these things can be fulfilled, let him first hasten to seize upon their chosen orientation with similar zeal and by a similar way of life.  Only then will he realize what seemed beyond human capacity is not only possible but even most sweet.”

[10] This concept is based on such writers as Irenaeus, who in the preface of Book V of Against Heresies writes that Jesus had, "through his transcendent love, become what we are, so that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself."  Athanasius later succinctly stated the concept of theosis when he wrote, 'God became man so that men might become gods."

[11] Irish poetry especially reflects this, see 'O Maidin, 187ff.  The 7^th century Abba Columbanus wrote in his 11^th Sermon, “if men or women abuse what they have received from the breath of God, and corrupt the blessing of their nature, then they distort their likeness to God and destroy its presence in them.”  He continues by saying, however, “if they use the virtues implanted in them appropriately, then they shall be like God. Whatever virtues God sowed in us in our primal state, therefore, he has commanded us to return to him… For to love God is to restore his image.” Columbanus thus offers this exhortation to his listeners, “And so let us restore to God our Father his own image undefiled in holiness since he is holy, according to the words:  ‘Be holy, since I am holy’: in love, since he is love…, in righteousness and truth, since he is righteousness and truth.”

[12] There was, though, a written pattern of lines called "Ogam" used on ceremonially important items such as tombstones.

[13] The oft-maligned Druid was responsible for not only the religious sensibilities of a community, but indeed in maintaining the identity itself of a community.  It could be said that while Kings had political authority, the Druids held the authority of defining "kingship" itself, and served as judges as well as priests.  Their training could take as long as twenty years, a fact which impressed Julius Caesar (Gallic Wars, 6), and included the memorization of a vast amount laws, history, magic, poetry, lore, etc.  See Simon James, The World of the Celts (London:  Thames & Hudson, 1993), 88ff. 

[14] See James, 105ff. 

[15] See John Williams, Imaging the Early Medieval Bible (University Park, Pennsylvania:  Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999).

[16] Other important manuscripts include the Book of Durrow, the Book of Dimma, the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Durham Gospels, and the MacRegol Gospels.

[17] Indeed the various "helps" that were developed to aid in reading and finding passages were included, but unfinished in the Book of Kells.  For example the Eusebian Canons, which numbered and listed different sections of Scripture, cross-referencing them with parallel passages, were listed in the book, but they were not numbered making it useless for actual help.  See Iaian Zaczek, The Book of Kells (London:  Parkgate, 1997), 22ff.

[18] Bernard Meehan, The Book of Kells (London: Thames & Hudson, 1994), 29.

[19] This is most often used of opening words of the various books, but occasionally for important liturgical passages.   The Chi Rho page opens the text for a Christmas eve service. 

[20] While the fish and lion are well understood, the snake and peacock are less so.  The fish of course is the ICHTHUS.  The lion brings to mind the royal house of Judah, but is also a symbol of resurrection as it was thought that lion cubs were born dead, but revived by the breath of their fathers after 3 days (this concept was found in the Etymologiae of Isidore of Seville). The snake is a symbol of new life and resurrection,  as its regular shedding of skin was thought to also result in a renewing of its youth.  The peacock was popularly understood as representing immortality and incorruptibility, arising from an ancient understanding that its flesh would not putrefy (a concept propagated, and apparently experimented, by Augustine as he notes in his City of God, xxi.4.)  See Meehan, 50ff.

[21] Traditionally, the symbols both relate to individual evangelists as well as a stage of the life of Christ.  The Man, representing Matthew, refers to Christ's birth.  The Lion, Mark, represents his life and ministry.  The Calf, Luke, is the death and sacrifice of Christ.  And the Eagle, John, is a symbol of the ascension.

[22] Quoted in Zaczek, 17ff.

[23] See Meehan, 29ff.  Indeed making interpretation more complex is the strong possibility that images contain multiple meanings and may in some cases simply reflect the whim and mood of the artist at the time.  Doodles in other manuscripts support the fact that monks sometimes drew to simply amuse themselves. 

[24] The potential influence of the Eastern Church on the Art of the Irish is beyond the scope of this paper, but seems to be well attested. See Zaczek 12ff, and 36ff;  Meehan, 17ff.

[25] Meehan, 30.

[26] For example, the cobalt blue used on some of the intricate pages is called lipus lazuli, known at this time to only originate from one mine in north-east Afghanistan. 

[27] This idea of complexity is interesting as one notes the similarities between some of the motifs of the manuscripts and the visual portrayals of Chaotic structures being now understood in mathematics (structures whose seeming disorder is in fact characterized by infinite complexity and order, structures which also include such forms as clouds and trees -- nature).

Bibliography

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Brubaker, Leslie.  "The Sacred Image", The Sacred Image East and West.  Edited by Robert

  Ousterhout and Leslie Brubaker.  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1995. 

Gill, D.M.  Illuminated Manuscripts.  New York:  Brockhampton Press, 1996.

Hanson, R.P.C.  The Life and Writings of the Historical Saint Patrick.  New York:  Seabury

   Press, 1983.

Hughes, Kathleen and Hamlin, Ann.  The Modern Traveler to the Early Irish Church.  London:  

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James, Simon.  The World of the Celts.  London:  Thames and Hudson, 1993.

Ladner, Gerhart.  God, Cosmos, and Humankind.  Translated by Thomas Dunlap.  Berkeley: 

   University of California Press, 1992.                    

Marks, Richard and Morgan, Nigel.  The Golden Age of English Manuscript Painting.  New York:  George Braziller Inc., 1981. 

Meehan, Barnard.  The Book of Kells.  London:  Thames and Hudson, 1994.

Moorhouse, Geoffrey.  Sun Dancing.  San Diego:  Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997.

'O Maidin, Uinseann, editor.  The Celtic Monk:  Rules and Writings of Early Irish Monks.  Kalamazoo, MI:  Cistercian Publications, 1996.

Weitzman, Kurt.  Late Antique and Early Christian Book Illumination.  New York:  George Braziller, 1977.

Williams, John, editor.  Imaging the Early Medieval Bible.  University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.

Zaczek, Iain.  The Book of Kells.  London:  Parkgate, 1997.