50 minutes
February 2004
R0 (PAL)
Download (SD, mp4)
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The World of the Lindisfarne Gospels

The Lindisfarne Gospels is the greatest of Anglo-Saxon treasures and one of the world’s great works of art. It is a volume of the four Gospels, in Latin, created in the early eighth century, with gloriously, riotously decorated illuminations. Drawing on significant new research, The World of the Lindisfarne Gospels takes a close look at this extraordinary manuscript and the historical and religious contexts in which it was created.

The World of the Lindisfarne Gospels is presented and written by one of the world’s leading experts on the Gospels, Michelle Brown, Curator of Manuscripts at The British Library. In locations across England and Ireland, she explores who made the manuscript, and why they did so. She presents new research on its dating and considers how it brings together a remarkable range of motifs and styles, from the Celtic Iron Age, Germanic prehistory, ancient and Christian Rome, Coptic Egypt and Byzantium.

The World of the Lindisfarne Gospels, produced alongside a major exhibition at The British Library, also features a wealth of objects and images from this dazzlingly rich and often mysterious period of history.