Lindau Gospels

And so the cliché goes: don’t judge a book by it’s cover. While this highly popular saying is meant to encourage readers not to prejudge the worth or value of a book’s contents simply on its external appearance, the true functionality of a book’s cover is to frame or enclose the interior text, to act as an enticing ornament for the scripture found within. This is largely true in the examination of the historically significant Lindau Gospel covers of Medieval art, a religious volume that contains the four New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Lindau Gospels are something of a rare, historical gem; this 9th-century Medieval manuscript is embellished with two exquisitely decorated covers, more accurately described as masterpieces
In the absolute center of the cross, there is a square with a large red precious jewel; both the square and arms of the cross share a border of enamel, with color interspersed throughout. Four identical frontal portrait busts of Christ emerge outwards from the center of the perpendicular bisector. Due to the radial nature of the holy symbol, only one portrait of Christ is facing upwards, encouraging the viewer to see Christ from multiple orientations, although the images of Christ do not draw much attention. The arms of the cross flow into the cover’s seemingly different rectangular border, dividing the remaining negative spaces between into symmetrical segments. Unlike the strict rigid angles of the front cover, there are significantly less right angles, which gives a sense of fluidity to the cross and contributes to the sense of movement at work in the cover as a whole. Additionally, the entire cover is unlike the front, as there are no sections of “pure” untouched materials; the segments carry a complex facade transformed by the intricate, swirly, meticulous material of the interweaving design, consistent among the entire cover. Amongst the precise metalwork, there is a large jewel in the middle of this irregularly-shaped segment. Finally, it is clear the artists of this time were fascinated with the idea of using small inset
The people that had the most access to these covers were probably the best able to analyze and take in the symbolism of the covers. This small viewing audience would, because of their familiarity of these specific objects or with Christianity, be better able to find more complex meanings embedded in the covers. These two ornamental styles (each with a dramatically different impression) stem from two different Medieval traditions: on the one hand, Nordic and Hiberno-Saxon traditions, on the other hand, from the Carolingian era. The lower cover is a clear example of the Nordic traditions of art, starting from the interlacing of the metalwork found in the segments crowning the cross. The interlacing is a clear example of Celtic traditional art as Christianity had flourished in Ireland since the mid-fifth century. The style of the native Celtic spirals and knotwork are especially evident in Christian manuscript paintings. Celtic decoration was known for its attention to detail on the outwards and inwards detail of a scripture, as the craftsman were concerned about looking at each gospel or religious text fairly closely. Here an emphasis was placed on highly intricate, abstract, flat and stylized designs, rarely with any narrative figurative imagery. This was most likely due to the fact that they thought of these works as high-status objects,