Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
These accounts of Jesus of Nazareth are about as old as any in existence, but even
so, they weren't written down until several generations after Jesus' death. Today, Bible
scholars pore diligently over every word in the New Testament, trying to separate Jesus'
authentic words from those that seem to have been added later.
Lindisfarne Gospels
After the fall of Rome, the Christian message was preserved by monks, who reproduced
ancient Bibles by hand. This was a painstaking process, usually done for a rich patron.
The Bibles were often beautifully illustrated, or “illuminated,” and are some of the finest
works of art from what we call the Dark Ages. The little intimate details offer a rare and
fascinating peek into medieval life.
The Lindisfarne version of the four Gospels (
A.D.
698) is the most magnificent of
medieval British monk-uscripts. The text is in Latin, the language of scholars ever since
the Roman Empire, but the illustrations—with elaborate tracery and interwoven decora-
