An Insular Odyssey: Manuscript Culture in Early Christian Ireland and Beyond

Between the seventh and twelfth centuries, a distinctive form of script and illumination predominated in the manuscripts produced in the milieu of the Irish church. Although associated principally with Britain and Ireland, Ireland’s reputation for learning and the missionary activity associated with Irish foundations mean that today Insular texts are found in library collections across the Continent and beyond. Arising from recent research at TCD, and marking the retirement of its eminent scholar of Insular manuscripts, Dr Bernard Meehan, this book examines Irish manuscript culture from a broad range of perspectives. Contributors include: Dominique Barbet-Massin (Bibliotheque Municipale de Grenoble), Susie Bioletti (Trinity College Dublin), Claire Breay (British Library), Michelle Browne (emerita, U. London), Denis Casey (Maynooth U.), David Dumville (U. Aberdeen), William Endres (U. Oklahoma), Carol Farr (ind.), Rachel Moss (Trinity College Dublin), Daibhi O Croinin (NUI Galway), Felicity O'Mahony (Trinity College Dublin), Bernard Meehan (Trinity College Dublin), John Gillis (Trinity College Dublin), Paul Mullarkey (National Museum of Ireland), Francis Drake (Duke U.), Robert Babcock (U. North Carolina), Timothy O'Neill (U. College Cork), Heather Pulliam (U. Edinburgh), Mark Stansbury (NUI Galway), and Colleen Thomas (Trinity College Dublin). [Subject: Art History, Insular Art, Medieval Studies, Irish Studies]