From: owner-scribes@castle.org (scribes digest) To: scribes-digest@castle.org Subject: scribes digest V5 #56 Reply-To: Sender: owner-scribes@castle.org Errors-To: owner-scribes@castle.org Precedence: bulk scribes digest Monday, March 5 2001 Volume 05 : Number 056 ======================================================================== To unsubscribe from this list, send email to with unsubscribe scribes-digets in the body of the message. Leave the subject line blank. Do not include any additional text. Re: [scribes]: St. Brigid of Kildare ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 08:32:30 -0600 (CST) From: "Pixel, Queen of Cats" Subject: Re: [scribes]: St. Brigid of Kildare On Sun, 4 Mar 2001, Sally Burnell wrote: > > Maybe you have. There's a very strong chance the Book of Kildare seen at > > Kildare by Girardus Cambrensis is the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells > > fits his description of four Gospels after the plan of St. Jerome, with > > decoration on every page; its early loaction is uncertain but had been at > > the abbey of Meath for a long time when in 1541 it disappeared, at the > > time of the Reformation; and it reappeared with unknown provenance in the > > 1600's as a donation by Bishop Ussher to the library at Trinity College in > > Dublin. > > Sorry, it cannot possibly be Kells. First off, Brigid lived from 451 to 525 > and the Book of Kells was illuminated in the mid 8th century, so I hate to > say this, Johannes and Yseult, but you both might be wrong. And Kells was > illuminated NOT at Kildare, but either on at the Columban monastery on the > Island of Iona near Scotland or the monastery at Kells in County Meath. To > quote "Treasures of Early Irish Art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D.", which is the > catalogue for the exhibition that traveled throughout the US in 1976 : "Some > say the Columban monastery at Kells was first founded in A.D. 806 to receive > the community from Iona when Viking raids made their continued stay on that > exposed island impossible. If this is the case, and if the Book of Kells was > in fact written at Kells, then the book cannot be older than the ninth > century." > > So there might have been a Book of Kildare which was lost that was very > beautifully illuminated, given the discrepancy in dates between the > existence of St. Brigid and the illuminating of the Book of Kells. > > Interesting..................... > > ~Saradwen > Midrealm IIRC, from my research back many moons ago for my St. Patrick/St. Brigid paper in one of my medieval religious history classes, there's a certain amount of doubt cast on the historical origins of Brigid. As in, they're not all that sure she really existed. Given how sure we are of dates in early period Ireland anyway, it is actually possible that the "Book of Kildare" was Kells. I think I can put my hands on that paper, if anybody's interested. Margaret FitzWilliam, religion major and medieval studies minor =================================================================== To unsubscribe from this list, send email to with a blank Subject: line and unsubscribe scribes in the body of the message. Do not include any additional text in the body. ------------------------------ End of scribes digest V5 #56 ****************************