Mac Durnan Gospels


The Mac Durnan Gospels or Book of Mac Durnan is an early medieval Irish illuminated manuscript containing the four Gospels, now in the collection of the Lambeth Palace Library in London.

Manuscript history

Vital information concerning the provenance and history of the manuscript comes from an alliterative Latin inscription which was added on folio 3v, possibly by Koenwald, later bishop of Worcester. It suggests that the manuscript was written or commissioned by Máel Brigte mac Tornáin, known as Mac Durnan, abbot of Armagh since 888, who is said to have dedicated the book to God. Rearranged in regular metre, the inscription reads:
The manuscript must have left the scriptorium of Armagh soon after, since it passed into the possession of King Æthelstan of England, presumably as a diplomatic gift. According to the same inscription, Æthelstan presented the book to Christ Church, Canterbury. The Mac Durnan Gospels offer a unique glimpse on the Irish connections of Æthelstan's court, which is known to have been attended by at least one Irish abbot, Dubinsi, abbot of Bangor.
During the 11th century, six Anglo-Saxon charters were copied into the gospel-book, including writs and records of agreements, the latest being no later than AD 1050.

Contents

The text contains the four Gospels of the Latin Vulgate written in Irish minuscule script. The prefatory folio presents the animal symbols of the four Evangelists. Three Gospels are introduced by Evangelist portraits at their opening pages. Related manuscripts associated with Armagh are the Echternach Gospels, the Máel Brigte Gospels, MS Harley 1023, and the Book of Armagh.

Secondary sources