From Holy Island To Durham

This lavishly illustrated book explores the early history and significance of the Lindisfarne Gospels, widely regarded as the finest surviving Anglo-Saxon manuscript of the early Christian era in England, and an unquestioned masterpiece of medieval calligraphy and illumination.

From its misty beginnings as part of the mainland in the Stone Age, this history covers Lindisfarne's formation as an island, the Roman and Anglo-Saxon eras, the influence of Columba and Iona, Lindisfarne's own apostle, Bede and the monastic tradition, the coming of the Vikings, the Benedictine years and the dissolution of the monasteries.

Twelve expert contributions examine the text, art, and Old English gloss of this masterpiece of Anglo-Saxon book culture in relation to its archaeological, historical, cultural, and art-historical contexts, Insular and Continental.

David Adam has been captivated by the beauty, wonder and holiness of Lindisfarne since first glimpsing its fairytale castle from the train as a young boy. In this absorbing volume, he shows the island's human face, revealing how Lindisfarne and its people have responded to trial, tribulation and triumph in the course of a long and vibrant history. This tiny place witnessed one of the last stands of the 'British' Celtic peoples against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the sixth century. It has been the home of saints and scholars, most notably St Aidan and St Cuthbert, and famously produced the medieval masterpiece known as the Lindisfarne Gospels. Less familiar to readers, perhaps, will be that the island experienced the first recorded Viking invasion in 793, and was involved in the seventeenth century Civil War and the eighteenth century Jacobite Rebellion. Today its Priory and Castle draw pilgrims and visitors from all over the world.

Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, is a small island situated in a spectacular location off the coast of Northumberland. It is famous for its early Christian monastery, founded in 635 by St Aidan, and for Lindisfarne Castle, which dominates the island's scenery. The name Lindisfarne is associated with the Golden Age of Northumbria, as recounted by the Venerable Bede, and many beautiful works of art were produced in the Anglo-Saxon monastery, including the Lindisfarne Gospels, which are probably the finest illuminated English manuscripts of the Middle Ages. The island was also the scene of the first clearly documented Viking raid on the British Isles, which led to the eventual abandonment of the monastery.

This book explores cathedrals, past and present, as spaces for religious but also wider cultural practices. Contributors from history, anthropology, sociology, and religious studies trace major continuities and shifts in the location of cathedrals within religious, civic, urban, and economic landscapes of pre- and post-Reformation Christianity. While much of the focus is on England, other European and global contexts are referenced as authors explore ways in which cathedrals have been, and remain, distinctive spaces of adjacent ritual, political and social activity, capable of taking on lives of their own as sites of worship, pilgrimage, and governance. A major theme of the book is that of replication, pointing to the ways in which cathedrals echo each other materially and ritually in processes of mutual borrowing and competition, while a cathedral can also provide a reference point for smaller constituencies of religious practice such as a diocese or parish. As this volume demonstrates, the contemporary resurgence of interest in pilgrimage, the impact of ‘Caminoisation’, and the (re)presentation of cathedrals as cultural heritage further add to the attractions, popularity, and complexities of cathedrals in the 21st century. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Religion.

"First published 2003 by The British Library, London"--T.p. verso.