Europe After the Fall of Rome: Early Medieval Art in the West MEDIEVAL EUROPE THE ART OF THE WARRIOR LORDS HIBERNO-SAXON ART CAROLINGIAN ART OTTONIAN ART HIBERNO-SAXON ART Among the notable examples of Early Medieval art in the British Isles are illuminated manuscripts embellished with detailed ornamental patterns of elaborately interlaced abstract and zoomorphic forms. Human figures are also reduced to patterns with little understanding of Late Antique pictorial illusionism such as modeling. Megalithic Celtic crosses were also carved with interlace patterns and figure panels in relief. The Conversion of the British Isles: In 432 Saint Patrick established a church in Ireland and began the Christianization of the Celts on that remote island that had never known Roman rule. Hiberno-Saxon Books: A style art historians designate as Hiberno-Saxon (Hibernia was the ancient name of Ireland), or sometimes as Insular to denote the Irish-English islands where it was produced, flourished within the monasteries of the British Isles. A Checkerboard-Cloaked Evangelist: In the Book of Durrow each of the four Gospel books has a carpet page facing a page dedicated to the symbol of the Evangelist who wrote that Gospel, framed by an elaborate interlace border. 16-5 Man (symbol of Saint Matthew), folio 21 verso of the Book of Durrow, probably from Iona, Scotland, ca. 660–680. lion of St. Mark lion of St. Mark lion of St. Mark lion of St. Mark Carpets and Crosses: An excellent example of the marriage between Christian imagery and the animal-interlace style of the North is the cross-inscribed carpet page of the Lindisfarne Gospels. 16-6 Cross and carpet page, folio 26 verso of the Lindisfarne Gospels, from Northumbria, England, ca. 698–721. folio 26 another page another page another page Illuminating the Word: The greatest achievement of Hiberno-Saxon art in the eyes of almost all modern observers is the Book of Kells, the most elaborately decorated of the Insular Gospel books. 16-7 Chi-rho-iota page, folio 34 recto of the Book of Kells, probably from Iona, Scotland, late eighth or early ninth century. folio 34 folio 34 folio 34 folio 34 Southern Motifs in the North: The three Hiberno-Saxon books examined here display the illuminators' pure joy in working on small, infinitely complex, and painstaking projects. 16-8 Saint Matthew, folio 25 verso of the Lindisfarne Gospels, from Northumbria, England, ca. 698–721. folio 25 folio 25 folio 25 folio 25 16-9 The scribe Ezra, folio 5 recto of the Codex Amiatinus, from Jarrow, England, ca. 689–716. folio 5 folio 5 folio 5 folio 5 Sacred Authority in Art: The medieval artist did not go to nature for models but to a prototype– another image, a statue, or a picture in a book. Sculpture on a Grand Scale: The preserved art of the early Middle Ages is, as has been noted, confined almost exclusively to small and portable works. 16-10 High Cross of Muiredach, Monasterboice, County Louth, Ireland, 923. cross cross cross cross MEDIEVAL EUROPE THE ART OF THE WARRIOR LORDS HIBERNO-SAXON ART CAROLINGIAN ART OTTONIAN ART