Glendalough Manuscript Heritage

The Book of Glendalough was completed in a small scriptorium in St Kevins Church, also known as Kevins Kitchen. According to The Plan of St Gall by Walter Horn and Ernst Born, overcroft Churches like Kevin's Kitchen generally housed scriptoriums for the creating and storing of manuscripts, these were supported on wood floors 8-10 feet from the ground.

           

The Book of Glendalough may have its provenance from this tiny scriptorium however it is one of the foremost examples of 12th Century manuscript illumination. The laborious task of manuscript production in such challenging circumstances may be difficult to imagine today, however this desire to learn and then teach, the children of dignitaries throughout Europe were sent to Ireland for their education throughout the 6th to 9th centuries.

Irish monasticism is responsible for the seismic shift of word spacing, sentences and paragraphs in the written word worldwide today. Before the 6th century the only writing found in Ireland was Ogham, individual letters are created by groupings lines and half lines together, it is mostly found on stones marking land boundaries. After the 6th Century the first clear evidence of manuscripts arriving in Ireland can be found. The written word prior to the impact of Irish Monasticism was a a stream connected lettters. The first recorded examples of word spacing, Capital letters and paragraphs in the Western World are found in 6th Century Irish Manuscripts. They also produced the first latin grammar book in record. Irish writing developed rapidly and with it myriads of manuscripts, culminating in the Book of Kellls, possibly the most well-known and by far the most illustrious version of the gospels worldwide.

One 9th Century scribe lightheartedly described his craft in the poem, Pangur Bán;

I and Pangur Bán my cat,
‘Tis a like task we are at:
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.

Better far than praise of men
‘Tis to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill-will,
He too plies his simple skill.

‘Tis a merry task to see
At our tasks how glad are we,
When at home we sit and find
Entertainment to our mind.

It seems writing may have passed us by when the Romans chose to give Ireland a pass, a clue as to why may be in the latin word for Ireland, winter.

2nd Century.Map of Hibernia.

When the Irish eventually got hold of this extraordinary medium that was WRITING it was received with such enthusiasm that within a few generations The Book of Kells was produced, where an entire page could be dedicated with wonderful creative expression to a single letter! The Irish mastered latin also to the point that Columcilles' Latin letters exhibit the same levels of proficiency as that of his academic peers in Europe. The earliest  known Irish Manuscript is An Cathach, by the hand of Columcille.

Whereas the Irish were unashamed of their own language European academics wouldn't have dreamt of using the "vulgar" tongue of their native countries, for this reason Ireland has the most prolific mythologies of all Europe. The first example of a legal case of copyright is found from 6th Century when Colmcille made a copy of a manuscript after which a dispute and battle ensued with many deaths resulting, he left Ireland with great remorse consigning himself to exile in the Scottish Island of Iona where he established one of the first monastic settlements of Europe. Known as the Green Martyrs, many Irish monks followed establishing monastery after monastery throughout Britain and Europe, they contributed to the preserving of ancient literature through their free education programmes through the Dark Ages following the Fall of the Roman Empire. Many European cities are situated on the grounds where an Irish monastery was first established during the 6th to 9th centuries. Salzburg is possibly the most famous. The first recorded use of the term Europe was when Irish monk, Columbanus was referred to as patron saint of Europe.

 

Location of monastic settlements by Irish monks through 6th-10th Centuries.

Regarding the loss and destruction of Irish Manuscripts, William Petty estimated (in the Down Survey) that the death toll of the wars instigated during British colonial expansionism in 1640s alone was over 618,000 people, or about 40% of the then population. 

Referring to Ireland as a blank canvass Cromwell redistributed the conquered lands among his soldiers and investors(called Adventurers). After the death or confiscation to Connaught of Irish Nobility(to hell or Connaught) there was no meaningful defence for Irish manuscripts with many becoming English spoils of war.

Elizabeth I founded Trinity College in 1591 on lands taken during the Henry VIII Reformation of 1550s, the Book of Kells became an Elizabethan sppoil of war in 1666. In the 1800s Trinity College using an approved outside source had the Book of Kells rebound causing a disastrous cutting of many pages.

 

              

The map of Ireland to the left shows the most accurate map available in 1607, the Mercator, the Downs map beside it was created by Cromwell in 1653. This Downs map was created for a more accurate dispersal of Irish lands to soldiers and investors, and was completed using the lastest cartographic methods. With the Downs method, accurate measurements were taken, written down, the map was then compiled using the gathered statistics. In the same year as the College received the Book of Kells, the college and its Provost received 61,017 acres of Cromwell's confiscations in Limerick, Kerry, Tipperary, Cork and Waterford, the bulk of it in Kerry. In 1870, when evictions were at their highest, Irish people continued to be prohibitted from holding positions of privilege within Trinity, the College still owned 10,000 acres of Cromwell lands in Kerry. 

An Cathach is currently in the Royal Irish Academy, having found its way into their possession in the 1840s. The Academy was established by George III in 1785 when the Penal Laws designed for the continued subjection of the Irish post Cromwell had been in effect for over 100 years.

Durrow Abbey was taken as part of Henry VIII's Reformation, known by some as the Great Land Grab when Irish Monasteries, Churches, their lands and buildings were either taken or destroyed for non conversion to Protestantism, Christchurch Cathedral and St Patricks Cathedral experienced the same fate. In 1668 the Book of Durrow found its way into Trinity College.

The Book of Dimma, an 8th Century Pocket Gospel was loaned by Irish owner Philip Meagher to a Thomas Harrison who without permission sold it to a librarian in Kings Inn, from there it found its way to the Royal Irish Academy and then into Trinity College(1830s).

The Book of Glendalough came into the possession of a Sir James Ware in 1666, it was bought and sold, one buyer, a Richard Rawlinson left it to his Alma Mater, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, where it remains today.

The Book of Lismore was stolen in the 1640s by Lord Lismore, it wasnt found until 200 years later, concealed within the walls of Lismore Castle with the Lismore Crozier. It was bought and sold/ sold and bought, to date it is the only book of its kind to be returned.

Over the centuries, a pattern was set of making the manuscripts and their extraordinary content more of an academic pursuit, the majority remaining inaccessible for contemplation and consideration by the descentants of those for whom they were written.