Jewel Encrusted Lindau Gospel Book Covers (Coursework Sample)

Name:
Course:
Instructor:
Date:
Jewel Encrusted Lindau Gospel Book Covers
The Lindau Gospels is a medieval book that is among the most precious collections in the Morgan Library in New York City. The book is an important work of art from the medieval era and has an illuminated text and its jewel encrusted covers. The elements of the Lindau Gospels were made at different periods in history. The back cover is the oldest and was produced in the late 8th century or early 9th century. The upper cover of the book was produced late in the 9th century. The illuminated text of the book was produced in the Abbot of St. Gall shortly after the production of the upper cover. The jewel embossed covers of the Lindau Gospels book exemplify the attributes and finesse of medieval art and its application in creating visual and impressionistic metaphors for an audience that could not read.
Pierpont Morgan, the founder of the Morgan Library, acquired the Lindau Gospels in 1901. Before he acquired it from the Earl of Ashburnham heirs, the manuscript was renowned for its frequent citation in the 16th to 19th century studies of medieval art (Fletcher 2). The treasure was first mentioned in the 16th century at a Franciscan monastery in Lindau, Germany, and it appeared in the public after the monastery was secularized under the 1803 Napoleonic regime rule (Kibler 170). Lindau, the origin of the Lindau Gospels and its art, is a Bavarian island in Lake Constance at the border point of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The small island town has a well-preserved medieval city center (Fletcher 2). Lindau is only thirty miles from St. Gallen in Switzerland, where the manuscript was produced. St. Gallen and Lindau have a connection that goes back to the 9th century when the Lindau Gospels was created.
The Lindau Gospels bears two jewel encrusted covers and several pages of illuminated text. The metal covers (front and back) of the book are of great artistic value and are regarded as the ‘treasure binding’. The back cover, also referred to as the rear or lower cover in different literature, is older than the text and the front cover. The cover is thought to have been produced in the late 8th century or the early 9th century. Schutz explains that the back cover of the Lindau Gospels was created between 770 and 830 (xiii). The back cover of the Lindau Gospels is one of the largely intact examples of insular metal book covers from the early medieval period. This cover is made with a wonderful interlace of silver and gold in a similar manner to the art in the Lindisfarne Gospels and its style resembles that of the Tassilo Chalice, an Anglo-Saxon work also executed in Europe in the medieval era(Wilson 34). The varied elements and style of this masterpiece negate any certitude about its specific origin but there is a great probability it was created in Southern Germany.
The dominant and central motif in the back cover of the Lindau Gospels is a large enameled cross with arms broadening at their ends. At the center of the cross is a central enamel stud set with a gemstone (topaz) and the monogram inscriptions HIS XPS DNS NOS which mean “Jesus Christ Our Lord”. Each arm of the cross has an enameled figure of Christ in a cruciform halo made of pearls and semiprecious gemstones. The use of enamel in decorations is believed to have been learnt from Italy in the eighth century. The vertical arms of the cross bear silver medallions which are reminiscent of the 9th century Viking animal ornaments (Fletcher 8). Between the arms of the cross in this cover are animal interlaces including beasts in the form of snakes.
The upper cover of the Lindau Gospels is more lavishly decorated with gold and gems compared to the back cover. The front cover, also regarded to as the upper cover, was produced about a century later than the back cover. The Morgan Library (1) dates the production of the cover at 880. This cover and the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram are the finest Carolingian jewel embossed book bindings. Like the back cover, the front cover is centered on a cross. However, in this cover, a full crucifixion scene is demonstrated with the figure of Jesus Christ on a large golden cross and several figures surrounding the cross and apparently in mourning. The figures surrounding the crucified Christ in this cover are identified differently as mourners and as angels. The Morgan Library (2) explains that the figures below the arms of the crucifixion cross are John and the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene and the wife of Cleopas, also named Mary. The figures above the arms of the cross are believed to be angels hovering horizontally and saluting the Christ. Personifications of the moon and sun, Luna and Sol, occupy the upper part of the cross above the figure of Christ. Like all other Carolingian art, the borders of figures and the outside cover border is decorated with an exceptionalinterlace of fine and beautiful gemstones (Needham 57).
The jewel encrusted Lindau Gospel covers are a highly valuable preservation of the medieval art and religious communication. The book covers represent the quality of art in the 8th and 9th centuries and its use to convey a message. It is hypothesized that at that early medieval period, the masses could not read or write and communication was in form of metaphors that told deep stories. Important things were depicted on stones and gold was used to create metaphors of the greatest value. One appalling feature about the treasure bindings of the Lindau Gospel is that they were not made for a wealthy aristocrat but for the ordinary citizens, the congregation, and the procession that attended the church (Kibler 174). The precious masterpiece was created to occupy the altar, and its lavish use of gold, pearls, silver and precious stones intricately harnessed into a fine pattern was meant to show the importance of religion. The covers boast an iconography that can easily be interpreted as indicative of idolatry, but they present a liturgical tale of the Christ in a visual form. In the front cover, the Repousse technique depicts the image of the...