Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The text is elaborately decorated—of the 680 pages, only two are without decoration.
Each gospel begins with a full-page illustration of the Evangelists and their symbols: Mat-
thew (angel), Mark (lion), Luke (ox), and John (eagle)—you'll see these in the exhibit.
These portraits are not realistic; the apostles pose stiffly, like Byzantine-style icons, with
almond-shaped eyes and symmetrically creased robes. The true beauty lies in the intricate
designs that surround the figures.
The colorful book employs blue, purple, red, pink, green, and yellow pigments (all im-
ported)—but no gold leaf. Letters and borders are braided together. On most pages, the
initial letters are big and flowery, like in a children's fairytale book. The entire Chi-Rho
page is dedicated to just the letters “XP” (the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek),
made into an elaborate maze of interlacing lines.
Elsewhere, the playful monks might cross a “t” with a fish, form an “h” from a spindly-
legged man, or make an “e” out of a coiled snake. Animals crouch between sentences. It's
a jungle of intricate designs, inhabited by tiny creatures both real and fanciful, with no two
the same—humans, angels, gargoyles, dragons, wolves, calves, and winged lions.
Stylistically, the monks mixed Christian symbols (the cross, fish, peacock, snake) with
pagan motifs (spirals, key patterns, knotwork; some swirls are similar to those seen on the
carved stones at Newgrange—see here ) . The designs are also reminiscent of the jewelry
of the day, with its ornate filigree patterns studded with knobs (like the Tara Brooch, de-
scribed on here ) .
Scholars think three main artists created the topic: the “goldsmith” (who did the
filigree-style designs), the “illustrator” (who specialized in animals and grotesques), and
the “portrait painter” (who did the Evangelists and Mary). Some of the detail work is un-
believably minute—akin to drawing a Persian carpet on the tiny face of a dice. Did the
monks use a magnifying glass? There's no evidence they had such strong lenses.
The Old Library: The Long Room, the 200-foot-long main chamber of the Old
Library (from 1732), is stacked to its towering ceiling with 200,000 books. Among the
displays here, you'll find one of a dozen surviving original copies of the Proclamation
of the Irish Republic. Patrick Pearse read out its words at Dublin's General Post Office
on April 24, 1916, starting the Easter Uprising that led to Irish independence. Notice the
inclusive opening phrase (“Irishmen and Irishwomen”) and the seven signatories (each of
whom was executed).
Another national icon is nearby: the oldest surviving Irish harp, from the 15th century
(sometimes called the Brian Boru harp). The brass pins on its oak and willow frame once
held 29 strings. These weren't mellifluous catgut strings, like those on a modern harp, but
wire strings that made a twangy sound when plucked. In Celtic days, poets—the equal
of kings and Druid priests—wandered the land, uniting the people with songs and stor-
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