Lindisfarne Gospels

We left at 10 to leave the car in Gosforth and get the metro into Monument as I had booked slots to see the Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition at the Laing. The book itself is on loan from the British Library, London.

We were a bit early so had time to look round a history of Northumberland in 100 objects. It was particularly pleasing to see 3 beautiful woodcuts by Thomas Bewick.

The gospels exhibition was well put together and very accessible for children. The first room was a floor to ceiling Video explaining the history of Christianity in Britain and the importance of this beautiful art work with special reference to St Cuthbert. It was very loud and the graphics were reminiscent of the Van Gogh experience.

The next room showed pieces relating to early Christianity such as the Rothbury cross and a bowl from St Ninian’s Isle, Shetland, a book by Venerable Bede and some Irish pocket gospels.

The next area show-cased the Lindisfarne Gospels, the decoration of which is a remarkable artistic achievement. The Lindisfarne Gospels is the most spectacular surviving manuscript from Anglo-Saxon Britain. It is in virtually perfect condition, even after more than thirteen centuries and it holds an important place in the heritage and culture of the North East. Created around 700AD, they were written by Eadfrith, a monk and Bishop of Lindisfarne. We know this from an Old English inscription added to the manuscript in the tenth century:

Eadfrith was also the artist behind the manuscript's illustrations, which took about 10 years to complete. The Lindisfarne Gospels is made up of 259 leaves of vellum. Its pages contain very few imperfections, suggesting only the best quality material was chosen. Each piece of vellum was soaked, stretched, scraped clean and cut to size. The areas for text were then carefully measured and ruled. Some of the decoration was sketched out with a lead point, before colour was applied with a brush. The exquisite colours found in the manuscript were produced by Eadfrith using local animal, vegetable and mineral pigments. Its page designs are influenced by many cultures, including Celtic, Germanic, and Mediterranean styles. Each of the four gospels begins with the portrait of an evangelist. The figures are much more lifelike than others found in Anglo-Saxon art and are thought to have been copied from books imported from Italy. Five 'carpet pages' best show the manuscript's intricacy. Their decoration is made up of geometric designs around the form of a cross, named for its resemblance to Mediterranean carpets. In order to preserve this historic book it stays open at the same page for 5 years.

The last room was linked rather tenuously to the theme, showing works of art related in some way to religion or spirituality. I particularly liked a work by Ali Kazim. A composition by Emma Kunz, a Swiss spiritualist and healer who was said to have used telepathy and extra-sensory powers to cure her patients of their physical and psychological illnesses, was made up of complex geometric patterns similar to a mandala.

We had lunch in Mr C’s favourite place Wagamama after I’d gone to the outdoor shop to buy a merino wool base layer. He made the mistake of insisting on his preferred route which meant we went by Waitrose so I nipped in - I was very restrained only buying some edible gold cake decoration, a packet of dried porcini and a packet of pappardelle.

Because the box office at Whitley Bay was closed yesterday Mr C went back to get the panto tickets - we used to treat the family to it every year till Covid - while I picked Nathaniel up from school. He was full of chat about the PSHE lesson they’d had about emotions. He’s a bit despondent about Oliver Twist. It’s taken him a week to read 60 pages which means there’s still over 500 left. He’s been told he doesn’t have to finish it but he feels he’s taken it on and doesn’t want to give up.

We weren’t to pick Ella up as she was at choir then likes to walk back with a little gang. She was very pleased as not only had she got a silver certificate this week, but she also got a gold, whereas last year she got 3 silvers in the whole school year. She’s been very thoughtful with Amna and Imman, the twins she befriended in reception. Their disabled older brother died suddenly in the night a few weeks ago and she had a big discussion with her mum about what she should say when they came back to school. It was so lovely to see them all.