- s. vii2/s. viii (?)
Through a detailed exploration of decorated folios within the seventh-century Book of Durrow and a discussion of relevant liturgical literature and referential artistic material from the early medieval period, this article constructs a framework for conceptualizing how early Insular artist-scribes created and understood biblical manuscript illumination. The multifaceted nature of studying and copying liturgical texts directly reflected the popular concepts of memoria and meditatio, committing knowledge to the mind and gaining a spiritual transcendence from the transformative powers of the Word itself. The unification of text and image as exegetical literary device in the Book of Durrow reflected mnemonic and allegoric conventions that stemmed from British, Frankish, and Byzantine traditions proliferated in Ireland via the Columban monastic network. Far from being mere textual decorations, elaborately interlaced carpet pages, stylized initial lettering, and zoo-anthropomorphic motifs echoed emerging theological understanding of spiritual consciousness and demonstrated Irish monastic facility in adapting cross-cultural artistic influences.
Welsh manuscript collection of religious texts, mainly in the hand of Hywel Fychan. Other parts of the original manuscript are in Peniarth MS 12 and Cardiff MS 3.242.
- c.1400
- Hywel Fychan ap Hywel Goch
Welsh paper manuscript miscellany (268 pp.) in the hand of John David Rhys containing Welsh poetry as well as a vocabulary, a bardic grammar of the Dafydd Ddu recension, the so-called statutes of Gruffudd ap Cynan, a translation of Genesis I, items of biblical and historical interest, etc.
- c.1579
- John David Rhys
A late 16th-century transcript of the White Book of Rhydderch
- s. xviex
- s. xv2
- Gutun Owain
The Book of Llandaff is one of the oldest manuscripts of Wales. While its core is a gospelbook containing a copy of St Matthew’s Gospel, it is best known for its many substantial additions in the form of the Lives of St Elgar and St Samson, and various documents (such as charters) relating to the see of Llandaff and to bishops Dyfrig, Teilo and Euddogwy.
- s. xii1
A collection of early Welsh poetry, including religious poems, praise poems and elegies.
- c. 1250
- Black Book of Carmarthen scribe
- s. xiv1
- Book of Taliesin scribe
- c. 1350
- Hywel Fychan ap Hywel Goch