The Book of Durrow and Book of Kells: Similarities and Provenance
The Book of Durrow
In the golden age of Insular art, about 650-900 AD, Irish monks transcribed the Bible in intricately crafted and ornamented manuscripts. These works include the Book of Durrow, usually dated circa 700 AD, and the Book of Kells, usually dated circa 800 AD. The design of each work was influenced by artistic styles of various cultures and works in other media. To examine the differences between the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow and to better understand their origins and historical influences, this paper will focus on the contrasting representations of the Evangelist Matthew prefacing their Gospel in the two books.
Matthew, Book of Durrow: Folio 21v
Folio 21v in the Book of Durrow depicts the symbol of Matthew, the man, as a flat, two-dimensional figure set within a rectangular frame. Between Matthew and the frame, the negative space is blank. The frame is not symmetrical, but the right and left sides are nearly superimposable. The frame is outlined by a band in reserve comprising two lines on either side and filled with interlace. Three wide bands of modulating colors, brownish-red, green, and yellow, wind through knotted loops. Within the frame, negative space is shaded in black, and two triangles in reserve flank each knot. Starting from the bottom left corner, the knotted loop motif repeats, alternating green and yellow in color. Because the copper green pigment has reacted with dampness over time, perforations appear in several areas where green pigment was applied.
Covered almost completely by a bell-shaped cloak, Matthew’s body is apparent by his head, lower legs, and feet. His face and hair are much less striking than the cloak, with only a pale flesh-toned hue added to the face. Lacking details and color, the face is rendered by a simple, sparse outline of the main features, including green eyes and downward curved eyebrows and mouth. Outlined in gold and composed of vibrant, colorful squares which alternate between red and gold in a checkerboard pattern, the cloak’s ornament is suggestive of millefiori in metalwork. Within the checkerboard pattern, there are sections of squares that are gray in color, creating eight sections of larger square and rectangle shapes within the cloak. The nesting of shapes and squares adds to the intricacy of design. Some of the small gray squares contain black “x” crosses. On the bottom corners of the cloak, sections of small gray squares create two, larger rectangles. Each of the small squares is bisected on the diagonal with a black line. Meeting at the vertices of each square, these lines join to form diamond outlines, and within each of these is nested a circle surrounding a cross. Down the center of the cloak, where the two sides meet, runs a strip of interlace filled with tiny red dots. Protruding from the bottom of the cloak, Matthew’s legs continue the millefiori-suggestive pattern with smaller squares, alternating between red, gold, and green. The man’s feet are depicted horizontally in two dimensions, toes pointing to the right where Matthew’s Gospel begins.
Facing the image of Matthew is the incipit page of the Gospel of Matthew, Folio 22r.. This page begins with the words “Liber generationis,” or, the book of the generation,3in large font, with small red dots filling the space between the letters in a rectangular strip. The first two letters, “L” and “I,” are the most elaborate and are filled with yellow to imitate gold, terminating in loops and trumpet peltae. The monogram and series of display capitals filled with yellow are surrounded by tiny red dots. An indent marked by a line of s curves in red is created in the following three lines, as “L” and “I,” extend to three lines below. Insular half-uncial script proceeds in the subsequent lines for the rest of the page, smaller and uniform in size, written in black ink, with letters marking the beginning of sense lines surrounded by red dots. Written as some scholars believe about a century later, the Book of Kells surpasses the Book of Durrow in its elaborate ornamentation and rich colors. Matthew is again pictured within a rectangular frame, yet this frame is edged in black, gold, and blue ink borders. Projections of square interlace extend from each corner of the frame; interlace patterns on the right and left are not symmetrical. At the midpoint of each side of the frame is a semicircular projection. In the center of each is a small, light-purple triskele which extends into spirals and trumpets that fill the space against a dark background. Extending from the outside edge of each semicircular arch is a thin-strand black heart-shaped interlace knot filled in with yellow. There are vertices weaving through these heart shapes which terminate in a cluster of three circles. Clusters of three small circles remain a common motif, suggestive of the Trinity throughout the illumination. Within the frame, small, interlocking, diamond-shaped interlace coils around larger zoomorphic looping forms which terminate in snakeheads on one end and hounds’ feet on the other. Most of the snakeheads are white with black pupils, but some snakes have purple, red, or yellow heads and one has red pupils. These zoomorphic loops begin as pale yellow in color in the four corners of the frame. At the midpoint in the bottom frame are three pale yellow zoomorphic curvilinear knots. The leftmost knot is smaller and more cramped than the two on the right, once again proving the design asymmetrical and suggesting that the artist did not work out the spacing as well as he might have. The color of the zoomorphic interlace is also not symmetrical and does not follow a clear pattern as it proceeds along the frame, varying between blue, green, pale-yellow, gold, red, white.
On either side of Matthew are animal symbols which represent the other evangelists, as pictured in the Four Symbols Page on Folio 27v. On the right, an eagle, the symbol of John, peers over the cushion of Matthew’s throne. In the same position on the left is a calf head, representing Luke. Framing Matthew’s head behind a pink drape and his throne are two snarling lionheads, the symbol of Mark.
Also flanking Matthew is the cushion of a throne upon which is draped a purple, gold-trimmed textile. The cushion is decorated with a pattern of interlocking squares. On either side of Matthew’s feet, two large circles forming the bases of an arch adjoin the frame and are filled with a central triskele that spawns spirals and trumpets. A vibrant red halo edged in purple band surrounds Matthew’s head. Three triangles extend from the edge of the halo to his wavy hair, alternating with clusters of three circles. Depicted in a purple robe adorned with clusters of three circles (all but one of which are colored yellow), Matthew stands holding a book in his left hand. The closed book is bordered with gold edges and has a purple border within, with two red squares at the top and bottom of the cover. Matthew’s eyes are wide, oval-shaped, and colored light brown, with red-purple irises in the middle. The iris on the left is red, while the iris on the right appears purple. It is likely that the inconsistency in coloring is due to condition and fading rather than artistic intention. This is suggested by examination of the pupils as well; the eye on the left has a small, dark pupil in its center, while the other appears to lack a pupil. However, upon close inspection, it seems that the right pupil has faded, as the faint outline of a circle is discernible within the center of the iris. Matthew has flowing brownish-blonde hair and a brown beard. Contrary to the feet of Matthew in the Book of Durrow, here Matthew’s feet face the opposite directions from each other.
Several arches recede above and behind Matthew, casting an illusion of depth. The widest arch is a dark red rust color, filled with fret ornament in reserve. Extending from the sides of this arch and towards the top corners of the frame burst two clusters of trumpets, revealing green and white interiors on the left and purple and yellow ones on the right. The trumpet ornaments sprout stems ending in clusters of three dots, white on the left and yellow on the right.
The incipit page of the Gospel of Matthew in the Book of Kells, Folio 29r: Matthew I.I: Liber generationis, combines ornament and text, the large letters “LIB” making up the majority of the page and filled with intricate interlace and detail. “L” and “I” are outlined in red and then purple, with distinct segments of ornament within them. Circles within “L” and “I” contain interconnected triskeles, spirals and trumpets. The letter “B” holds the smaller “ER” letters intertwined within it, and in a rectangle on the bottom right of the page, “generationis” is spelled out in three lines of display script, in red and purple ink. Behind and extending to the right of the letters “LIB” is a rectangle broken into smaller, rectangular, snaking strips filled with zoomorphic interlace, the interlocking snake motif appearing once again .
Representations of the evangelists again appear, with Luke in the bottom left depicted as a man with cloven hooves, Mark as a lion as seen by lion motifs in the top left corner and above the “B.” A winged angel figure in the top corner next to “L” could be representative of Matthew. A final figure at the top, with a rust red halo outlined in gold and purple who clasps a red book, could also represent Matthew, as would be fitting for the opening to his Gospel.
Overall, the depiction of Matthew in the Book of Durrow and Book of Kells vary mainly in their detail and richness of color. A wider palette of bright, novel colors were used in the Book of Kells, and more negative space was filled with ornament. While the form of the figure of Matthew was more developed and realistic in the Book of Kells, as seen through folds in the cloak and a greater emphasis on anatomy, the face of Matthew in the Book of Kells is more abstracted and less naturalistic than that of the man in the Book of Durrow. This is perhaps intended to give Matthew a more divine, otherworldly appearance and may point to differing paradigms at the time of creation of the respective works.
Place of Origin and Date of Durrow and Kells
While many questions still surround the Book of Durrow and Book of Kells, the issues of greatest debate are those of provenance and date of creation. The Book of Durrow is thought by most scholars to have been written in the late 7th century, c. 650-700 AD. Comprised of 248 folios, it is thought to be the earliest extant, complete Insular gospel book. Despite its age, the Book of Durrow remains in remarkable condition. Some pages have suffered water damage, which is thought to be due to the belief that relics of saints could be immersed in water without causing harm to the book. Evidently, folios 208-221 were dipped in water in the 17th century, and water damage is seen in many parts of the manuscript through staining, fading of text and ornament, and corrosion of the green pigment. Conservator Richard Powell reordered and rebound the leaves of the Book of Durrow in 1953. The leaves were originally bifolia but had been cut to single leaves. By matching the leaves based on similarities between skins, Powell moved closer to what was believed to be the original construction. The carpet page preceding Matthew’s Gospel appears to have been lost, as there is a carpet page before all the other gospelsexcept Matthew. The page may have been misplaced within the book and could be folio 1v or 248r.
There are many hypotheses regarding the provenance of the Book of Durrow, notably that it was made in: Iona, Durrow, Northumbria, or East Anglia. The Book of Durrow was at Durrow in the 11th-12th centuries, as indicated by a note on folio 248v documenting the ceding of land to the monastery of Durrow. Referred to as a monasterium nobile, or ‘noble monastery’ by ecclesiastical historian Bede in the early eighth century, the monastery at Durrow could well have produced a manuscript of Durrow’s quality, due to its plentiful resources, large size, and political importance.8 According to Abdomnán’s Life of St. Columba, the monastery at Durrow was founded by St. Columba c. 585, after the founding of Iona. Little information remains about the monastery at Durrow, as the church burned in 1095, leaving few surviving books.
Many parallels exist between the elements and techniques found in stone and metalwork of early Britain and the illumination of the Book of Durrow. A stone carving of Hadrian’s wall at Housesteads, Northumberland, dating from the 3rd century, depicts three cloaked figures which resemble the Man in Durrow in their lack of anatomical detail. The long, bell-shaped cloaks conceal the arms of the frontal facing figures.
The influence of Anglo-Saxon metalwork on Durrow may suggest that it was created at a monastery in Northumbria, like Lindisfarne. The ornament and Evangelist symbols of Durrow mimic enamel inlay and millefiori techniques. Notably, fol. 192v, a carpet page depicting the only instance of zoomorphic interlace in Durrow, resembles that of the hilt-collar, catalogue no. 168, of the Staffordshire hoard. Looping beasts on the middle top and bottom bands of fol. 192v bite their own tails as do the knotted beasts on the hilt collar. Both beasts contain a remarkably similar head, jaw, and snaking form of the body.
The novel appearance of animal interlace ornament on fol. 192v suggests that this might not have been a style known to the scribe/artist until the later stages of the book’s production. The lack of animal ornament throughout the manuscript also differentiates Durrow from other Insular manuscripts, like the Book of Kells, and thus supports Durrow’s earlier dating.
The possibility that the Book of Durrow was created in East Anglia, as supported by the influence of Anglo-Saxon metalwork on Durrow should not be discounted. The aforementioned beasts of zoomorphic interlace on St. John’s carpet page (f. 192v) are reminiscent of the creatures on the Sutton Hoo purse cover and along the perimeter of the Sutton Hoo shoulder clasps. Furthermore, the chain interlace seen in Durrow, notably on the In Principio page, appears to mimic metal chains like those of a wrought-iron suspension gear found in the Sutton Hoo ship burial. A monastery founded at the Roman Fort at Burgh Castle in East Anglia by the Irish missionary monk, Fursa, in 630 presents a possible site in East Anglia where the Book of Durrow might have been produced.
However, the finding of the Staffordshire Hoard in what was the kingdom of Mercia,west of Northumbria and East Anglia, where most metalwork was typically located, suggests that metalwork may have moved around more than previously suspected. Objects of great craftsmanship and material value were brought as gifts to monasteries. According to Abdomnán, gifts and treasures were often deposited at Iona, and thus it is possible that metalwork such as that of the Sutton Hoo or Staffordshire hoards made their way to Iona and influenced the style of artwork there.15 Thus, the Book of Durrow may have been created in Iona and influenced by metalwork brought to the monastery. This would account for the single occurrence of zoomorphic design on folio 192v in the Book of Durrow. The novelty of this page suggests that zoomorphic design might not have been known to the Durrow scribe when he began the book, and thus, the arrival of a gift of zoomorphic metalwork may have introduced the idea to the scribe.
There are also similarities between the Book of Durrow and other contemporary manuscripts, notably, the curving, red s pattern filling empty space between text. The decoration appears in a few Insular manuscripts including the Codex Userrianus Primus (Dublin, Trinity College Library MS 55),the Durham Gospels (Durham Cathedral Library, MS A ii 17), and Echternach Gospels (Paris, Bibliothéque Nationale MS lat. 9389).Additionally, the first two letters of the In principio page taper into a v-shape ornament with symmetrical pairs of trumpets and spirals in both Durrow and the Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library, Cotton Nero D IV). This page in Durrow may also display the first instance of ‘spaced interlace,’ where panels of solid color break up sections of interlace. These similarities suggest that Durrow may have served as a model for Northumbrian manuscripts.
However, notable differences in layout and content exist with Northumbrian manuscripts. In the Lindisfarne Gospels, the order of sections is standard: canon tables, liturgical feasts, argumentum to Matthew, and capitula to Matthew, while in Durrow (and Kells), most of the argumenta, capitula, and Hebrew names, for the individual gospels are clustered at the beginning of the book. Furthermore, the capitula in Lindisfarne belongs to a different family, C, beginning Generationum. Durrow (and Kells) have capitulae of the I (Irish) family. Durrow uses old Latin prefaces, while Lindisfarne uses prefaces associated with the Vulgate Gospels. The Lindisfarne and Echternach Gospels were written two columns per page, unlike Durrow, where the text is in a single column. Additionally, in Lindisfarne, Neapolitan saints are included in lists of liturgical feasts, indicating that Lindisfarne was likely copied from an Italian text.
Stylistic similarities between Lindisfarne and Ionan manuscripts could have arisen from the connection between the two monasteries. St. Aidan, along with other monks of Iona, traveled to Northumbria and established the monastery of Lindisfarne c. 635.The scribes would have brought stylistic practices with them to Lindisfarne, resulting in similarities in execution of manuscripts at both monasteries. Ionan monks at Lindisfarne would have been able to translate the skills and traditions of their practice to manuscript production at Lindisfarne. Therefore, Northumbrian manuscripts of a similar style to Durrow could have been created without having Durrow present as a model.
Similarities between the Book of Durrow and Book of Kells suggest either that the two were copied from a common model or that Kells used Durrow as a model. Durrow and Kells follow a similar ordering of texts, with the capitula to Luke and John in Kells and Durrow after the argumentum of the respective evangelists. However, in both books, the capitula precedes the argumentum of Matthew and Mark. The matching sequence of Luke and John and the dislocation of the capitula is reflected in both Durrow and Kells.Contrary to the layout of text in the Lindisfarne and Echternach gospels, Durrow and Kells both feature one column of text, with long lines and no punctuation. Durrow and Kells share many stylistic elements, notably the unusual double-armed crosses on f.1v of the Book of Durrow and on f. 33r of the Book of Kells. This is a unique design uncommon in other manuscripts, suggesting that the cross in Kells may have been inspired by that in Durrow.
Additionally, differences in resources and quality of available parchment separate the Book of Durrow from manuscripts thought to have been made in Britain. Nonuniform and defective leaves in the Book of Durrow indicate that there was a lack of high-quality vellum in the location where the manuscript was created. The scribe of the Book of Durrow may have initially had more elaborate plans, starting with twenty two lines of text on a leaf and gradually increasing, ending with thirty two lines on the last two folios, again suggesting a lack of vellum availability. In contrast, the pages of the Northumbrian-created Lindisfarne Gospels are supple, with consistent thickness and whiteness, suggesting that the scriptorium of Lindisfarne had access to high-quality vellum.
The similarities between the Book of Durrow and Pictish stone carvings of Portmahomack suggest that Durrow was produced in Iona, due to the proximity of the two locations. These stone carvings reflect spiral and trumpet ornaments of Durrow’s carpet pages and Evangelist symbols, like the Lion. St Columba travelled to Pictland in 565 and may have founded the monastery as Portmahomack. Thus, there was certainly interaction between the Picts and the clergy at Iona, further support for the belief that Durrow was created in Iona. The symbol of the Man may have influenced an eighth century Pictish stone sculpture at the Brough of Birsay, Orkney, depicting three warriors in profile with their feet pointing to the right, like the feet of the Man. The shoes of the Man are also of note, as they are drawn with a tongue at both the front and back of the ankle. Leather shoes with extra tongues at the front and back were found in 7th cent. excavations in Iona, suggesting that the shoes could have been based on those worn by residents of Iona, again supporting the book’s origin at Iona. Furthermore, a slate disc found at the Royal site of Dunadd, Scotland, to the south of Iona, displays the words i nomine, in a similar, Insular, half-uncial script to that of the Book of Durrow. Another manuscript now in Schaffhausen, Abdomnán’s biography of St. Columba, was written in Iona by the third abbot of that monastery, Dorbene, between 688 and his death in 713. This manuscript is probably roughly contemporary to Durrow and is a helpful comparison with Durrow. Both manuscripts are made up of low quality vellum and have an irregular arrangement of hair and flesh sides of pages. Vellum was rationed towards the end of the book in both the Schaffhausen book and the Book of Durrow. There are similarities in script style as well; Phase 1 half-uncial script is employed on the in nomine page in the Schaffhausen book, akin to the half uncial script found in Durrow. Thus, the script found in Durrow is known to have been practiced in Iona, thereby indicating that Durrow could have been produced at Iona.
Other noteworthy stonework comparisons for Durrow include the Ballyvourney Cross Slab, located in Co. Cork. The pilgrim figure etched at the top of the stone resembles the Man of Durrow. The hair style is similar, parted in the center and framing the sides of the head, and the feet of both figures point to the right. Both figures are rendered in long cloaks without arms. While Ballyvourney is relatively distant from Iona, this style figure may reflect Irish figural depictions of the time and could have influenced the Man in Durrow.
Further evidence for Durrow’s having originated at Iona lies in its status as a relic of St. Columba, which may have facilitated its travelling from Iona.The Book of Durrow had been attributed to St. Columba soon after its creation. A colophon on f. 247v reads: “I ask your blessedness, holy presbyter Patrick, that whoever holds in his hand this little book may remember [me] Columba the writer who wrote this Gospel myself in the space of twelve days by the grace of our Lord. Subscribed [written below].”It is impossible that the book was written in twelve days, and Columba could not have been the scribe based on the manuscript’s presumed date. The original inscription was edited, perhaps removing the name of the gospel book’s scribe to attribute the manuscript to Columba. Thus, the identity of the scribe remains elusive. However, the attribution of Durrow to St. Columba suggests that it originated either at Iona, giving a nod of respect to the founder of this first Irish monastery, or to another monastery in the Columban paruchia.
The Book of Kells is traditionally thought to have been written in Iona, c. 800. After a Viking raid in 806, the monks of Iona left the island, seeking refuge in Ireland and ultimately settling in Kells. Therefore, it is possible that the manuscript was completed in Kells. This manuscript contains 340 folios and unique features compared to extant, contemporary Insular manuscripts. Land contracts and records regarding the monastery at Kells in the 11th century were added to the beginning of the manuscript, indicating that it was at Kells at that time. Like Durrow, Kells is a Vulgate Gospel manuscript, written in Insular, half-uncial script. The organization and order of prefatory material reveals a unique connection between the Book of Durrow and Book of Kells. In the Book of Durrow, the majority of prefatory material pertaining to the individual gospels was consolidated before the start of the gospel texts. Other Insular manuscripts, including the Echternach Gospels (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale lat. 9389) and Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library, Cotton Nero D IV), both of which are often supposed to have been written at Lindisfarne in the early eighth century, dispersed this prefatory material before the Gospel to which it applied. Notably, however, the Book of Kells follows Durrow’s organization, with the prefatory material clustered at the beginning of the book. Furthermore, the framing of the canon tables in the Book of Durrow is unique when compared to other Insular manuscripts. The tables are structured in a quasi grid surrounded by a slender frame of interlace, a style which the Book of Kells mimics on its last two pages of the Canon Tables. Patrick McGurk has demonstrated that the numbers themselves on the Kells and Durrow tables reveal a common source. The organizational and stylistic similarities between the two manuscripts suggest that the Book of Durrow was used as an exemplar in the production of the Book of Kells, and that the two were at some point together at Iona.
There are several indications that the Book of Kells originated in Iona, including its stylistic similarities to Pictish stone carvings. The snake-boss motif prevalent throughout interlace in Kells, including within the frame surrounding Matthew, mimics the spiral snake patterns observed in Pictish high crosses and the Nigg Stone of Nigg, Scotland, estimated to have been made in the eighth century.
A scientific analysis of pigments in the book of Kells revealed that many of the pigments were derived from materials that could very well have been sourced in Ireland. Contrary to former belief, the ultramarine blue in the Book of Kells was not derived from the precious mineral lapis lazuli, but from an indigo dye, which could have been harvested in Ireland from the cultivated flowering plant, woad. Indigo dye mixes well with other pigments, producing the wide range of blues and greens present in the Book of Kells. Furthermore, the purple and pink pigments were derived from a lichen that is native to Ireland. While white colors in many contemporary Eastern European manuscripts were derived from lead or chalk, the white pigment in the Book of Kells was produced from gypsum, an abundant resource in Ireland.
Depictions of tonsure in the Books of Durrow and Kells also support an Irish, and perhaps Ionan, origin. The 664 Synod of Whitby ruled in favor of the Roman, crown-shaped tonsure, in which a circular portion atop the head was shaved. The Celtic tonsure was thence viewed as unholy, even satanic, and the ecclesiastical community of Lindsisfarne stopped wearing the Celtic tonsure after 664. Northumbrian religious communities would have adopted a Roman tonsure following this, but the transition would have taken longer in areas under direct Irish influence, like Iona. Irish monastic communities may have continued to wear the Celtic tonsure into the eighth century. While the precise haircut that was the Celtic tonsure remains uncertain and may have taken more than one form, it is characterized by the shaving of the hair on the front of the head. This can be seen in the symbol of Matthew in Durrow, where long hair is clearly growing on the back of the man’s head, yet the hair appears to be closely cropped closer to the forehead. Upon close examination, small hatch marks at the top of the head mimic the hatching used to render the Man's beard, indicating that the hair is shaved close to the scalp. A further interpretation of Celtic tonsure describes it as taking a triangular shape, in which the top of the head was shaved in the shape of a triangle, creating a part in the front. This style tonsure was possibly depicted in manuscripts by Irish artists to promote the Celtic tonsure, and may have been used in this way in the Book of Kells. Folios 2v, 32v, 34r, and 273r all contain figures with a distinctive V-shape wedge starting at the brow, creating a triangular shape at the top of the head which is not the same color as the hair. Of these, folios 2v and 32v display a cross directly above and touching the tonsure, perhaps denoting it as sacred.
Further evidence for the provenance of the Book of Kells in Iona lies in its seeming incompleteness. A crucifixion scene was probably intended for folio 123v, which was left blank. The last pages of its canon tables change from an arcade to a grid format. Also, there are no portrait pages for the gospels of St. Mark or Luke. However, it is possible that these were initially created but became detached from the manuscript and were lost. The missing pages suggest that the work was disrupted, supporting a provenance in Iona. Viking raids in the late eighth and early ninth centuries in Iona would have halted production at Iona. Many monks of Iona fled the attacks, moving to Kells in Ireland.The Book of Kells was in Kells at least by the early eleventh century, as the Annals of Ulster report that it was stolen from the monastery at Kells c. 1006 and recovered a few months later.Thus, the Book of Kells was likely taken from Iona to Kells with the monks of Iona, accounting for the incompleteness of the work.
The workmanship and conditions of creation undoubtedly varied for the Book of Durrow and Kells. While Durrow was likely the work of a single scribe, as suggested by the consistency in style, Kells was the work of at least four scribes and three artists. The full page illuminations of the Book of Kells were likely created by different artists. There appears to be symbolism and intentionality in the execution and layout of the Gospel portraits, as depicted in the Matthew portrait. Matthew is posed with his left arm below his right, hand holding a book, and right hand tucked into his robe. This position may allude to Psalm 73, in which a psalmist beseeches God, “why do you not withdraw your hand from your bosom?” This refers to the transition of authority from the Temple to the Church, and the succeeding psalm alludes to the coming of Christ. This may have been symbolically expressed in the Book of Kells, with Matthew’s portrait preceding the portrait of Christ (f. 32v).
While the techniques employed in Durrow and Kells vary considerably, connections remain between the execution and stylistic choices. For instance, in both Matthew portraits, the figures are frontal and look straight at the viewer. Although Matthew’s background is more elaborately ornamented in Kells, in both works, Matthew is framed by a rectangular border filled with interlace. The styles of interlace differ, with Kells employing a zoomorphic snake motif and Durrow a complex, woven interlace. However, the structural concept remains largely the same between the two.
Through text, format, layout, and execution, there exists an inextricable link betweenDurrow and Kells, suggesting a common place of origin. Thus, the Book of Kells Matthew portrait was likely inspired by the Book of Durrow and produced about a century later in thesame scriptorium at Iona.
Article Written by Margaret Ryan
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