The Lindisfarne Gospels : A Masterpiece of Book Painting

This little introduction to the Lindisfarne gospels has clearly written essays and a nice selection of the carpet pages and illuminations. I don't know if the reproductions are true to life as I've never seen the Lindisfarne gospels but they are attractive and suitable for a book with such a low price. I would recommend this little guide if you are interested in insular manuscripts and want an introduction to the Lindisfarne gospels. Only one strange thing--the Book of Kells is never mentioned in the essays and I would think it would be, since they are such related works.

I cannot praise the Lindisfarne Gospels enough, although by that I mean the actual Lindisfarne Gospels, which in my opinion contain the greatest illustrations and insular majuscule script of any manuscript. Janet Backhouse's book has enough large, color photographs and details of the script to make it a worthwhile purchase for anyone interested in medieval illustration and calligraphy. Get it for your friend who thinks that the Book of Kells is the only illuminated manuscript.

This book had smaller pages than I expected, though perhaps I should have expected that considering the price. The discussion was interestingand informative. I think that pictures of all the original pages that have made these gospels so famous are included, though in rather small size. I'm an atheist but this book is really a pleasure. We're lucky it has survived since 698 AD when it was written and coloured, only a hundred miles or so from where I was born. The pages are 6-1/2" x 5" There are 64 numbered pages, about half of which are comprised of full-colour images of the original painted pages, plus images on the two inside binder pages and the two pages facing them). Additional smaller examples of border tesselation are included amid the descriptive text.

Nice reproduction with great text by the expert in this field. Lovely little gift for those who enjoy ancient text reproductions.

This little gem of a book gives a good sample of a miraculous production--and the commentary is by the one person best qualified to write of the book. Miniature treasure.

While this is not a page by page reproduction of the original medieval gospel, it does an excellent job exhibiting the finest pages and providing background on its creation. I bought this after seeing the original in the British Library in London and this book does it justice by describing the meticulous detail required to produce such a masterpiece.

Too small to see.

A very, very small book with 32 very, very small pages discussing the paintings within the gospels and 31 more pages with snippets or very, very small reproductions of the paintings. Read front to back within a few minutes. While it may be well written, it's brevity left me questioning my purchase. Not overly impressed.