ON THE PECULIARITIES EXHIBITED BY THE MINIATURES AND ORNAMENTATION OF ANCIENT IRISH ILLUMINATED MSS.
St. Matthew. Lambeth MS.
The extreme rarity and the singular character of the miniatures and ornaments of ancient Irish illuminated manuscripts, induce me to think that a few particulars relative to their remarkable peculiarities, may not be without interest to the members of the Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
These peculiarities have presented themselves to me whilst collecting materials for my "Palæographia Sacra Pictoria," already published, and for a work to be specially devoted to the miniatures and ornaments of Irish and Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, of which I hope shortly to commence the publication.
The early manuscripts which are ornamented with illuminations, are, for the most part, copies of the Gospels; and in them we have the first few words of each Gospel generally written of a large size, occupying the whole page, the initial letter being of gigantic proportions, and the whole ornamented with a profusion of minute, but exquisitely precise and delicate patterns, which may be referred to four principal types:—
First, interlaced ribbon patterns, varied ad infinitum in the interlacings, but almost symmetrical in their arrangement;
Secondly, patterns formed of monstrously attenuated lacertine animals, or birds, with long interlacing tails, tongues, and topknots;
Thirdly, patterns formed by delicate straight lines, arranged obliquely, resembling Chinese work; and,
Fourthly, patterns formed by spiral lines, several of which
