Category Archives: Patronage

Art History, Book of Kells, Evangelists, Garland of Howth, Patronage, Reading

The Curious Figures of the Garland of Howth

Described by Francoise Henry and Geneviève Marsh-Michele as ‘disconcerting’ the illumination of folio 1r of the Garland of Howth presents particular iconographical puzzles.

The folio contains the opening letters of Matt. 1.18 ‘χρι autem gener’ (see previous post).1

The lettering of the χρι is formed by fine interlace strands at the top left of the page, with the subsequent letters, in rectilinear display script, organised within along the right side of the page. The remainder of the page is dominated by four figures contained within a cross-shaped framework – a seated figure with a book, a seated figure with a sword, and two angels above. Most scholars have concurred that the figure on the bottom left is ‘probably Matthew’, but have expressed uncertainty about the figure on the right, while Isabel Henderson has suggested that the figures represent David and Abraham below, and Isiah and the Angel above, so acting to illustrate the missing text of the genealogy of Christ that opens Matthew’s gospel.2

Figure 1a The Garland of Howth, 8th-9th century, TCD MS 56, f. 1r © The Board of Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin. 2015. Figure 1b The Garland of Howth. Fol. 1r. Chromolithograph by Margaret Stokes c. 1866. Photo. C.M. Thomas
Figure 1a The Garland of Howth, 8th-9th century, TCD MS 56, f. 1r © The Board of Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin. 2015.
Figure 1b The Garland of Howth. Fol. 1r. Chromolithograph by Margaret Stokes c. 1866. Photo. C.M. Thomas

Continue reading The Curious Figures of the Garland of Howth →

Patronage, pilgrimage, Provenance

St Mullin’s

The Book of Mulling (TCD MS 60) is traditionally associated with the ecclesiastical site of St Mullin’s in Co. Carlow, located on the picturesque banks of the river Barrow (fig. 1). This was a strategic location, overlooking the border between the ancient territories of Leinster and Ossory, and at a crossing point of the river. The river provided easy access to the coast, a benefit in some ways, but one that left it prone to Viking attack in 824/5, 888, 915 and again in 951.

St Mullin's ©
Fig. 1 St Mullin’s today © R. Moss.

St Mullin’s was renowned as a place of pilgrimage, possibly stretching back to pre-Christian times and the festival of Lughnasa.  Continue reading St Mullin’s →

Metalwork, Patronage, Provenance, Reliquary

The Book of Mulling and the Kings of Leinster

The earliest extant Latin Life of Saint Moling was probably compiled in the late twelfth century by the Augustinian canons at Ferns, then seat of the MacMurrough kings of Leinster. Together with recounting the various miracles enacted by the saint, and the places with which he was associated, they also emphasise that Moling had a shared ancestry with the kings of Leinster, and was their patron. The ecclesiastical site at Saint Mullin’s, lying on the border of Leinster (Uí Cheinnselaig; see previous post) and the kingdom of Ossory, was one of the favoured places for royal burial.

Fig. 1 Detail: Meeting of Gloucester and MacMurrough, in La Prinse et mort du roy Richart (Book of the Capture and Death of King Richard II), Paris, c. 1401-1405. London, BL, Harl. MS 1319, f. 9. Creative Commons: this image is free of known copyright restrictions. Source.
Fig. 1 Detail: Meeting of Gloucester and MacMurrough, in La Prinse et mort du roy Richart (Book of the Capture and Death of King Richard II), Paris, c. 1401-1405. London, BL, Harl. MS 1319, f. 9. Creative Commons: this image is free of known copyright restrictions. Source.

As Anglo-Norman control of Ireland began to wane in the fourteenth century, Art McMurrough emerged as a powerful force. Continue reading The Book of Mulling and the Kings of Leinster →