Work in the monastery:
Monks believed hard work would bring them closer to God. Monasteries were
very busy places. Each monk had a special duty / job to attend to
Farmer: these monks worked on the land to grow and provide food for all the
monks living within the monastery.
Cooks: They prepared the food for all of the people living there.
Craftsmen: skilled craftsmen made beautiful artwork. This included metalwork
and stone work. A lot of these artefacts are rich sources of art and help
historians to understand the life of Early Christian monks.
Scribes: worked in the scriptorium producing manuscripts.
Making Manuscripts:
Printing was not yet invented so any books that needed to be copied had to be
done by hand, these were called manuscripts. It took a long time to copy
manuscripts, so they were very rare and valuable.
The monks copied down the Bible and many Celtic legends on manuscripts.
Scribes: These were the monks who copied out the manuscripts.
Scriptorium: This is the place where they worked on the manuscripts.
Vellum: This was dried calf-skin. Scribes used it to write on.
Parchment: This was dried sheepskin. This was also used to write on.
Quills: These were goose or swan feathers used as pens. The monks dipped it in
ink, made from plants and powdered rock, and used then to write the
manuscripts.
A lot of the manuscripts were beautifully decorated and illustrated (drawn
on)They were known as illuminated manuscripts.
Early manuscripts:
Manuscripts were beautifully decorated. Some of the illustrations (drawings)
were made from ‘gold leaf’ (actual gold coated drawings!)
A lot of these manuscripts survive today. Here are some of the most important.
The Cathach of St. Columa: This is the oldest Irish manuscript. It is a plain
copy of the Bible. It dates from the 6th century (500AD) This manuscript has a
great legend about the O’Donnell family in Donegal!
The Book of Durrow: This is a copy of the 4 gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke and
John) This is the oldest decorated manuscript.
The Book of Kells: This is also a copy of the 4 gospels. Historians believe it was
written by Irish monks in Iona in Scotland.
The book of Durrow & The Book of Kells can be seen in Trinity college today.
Metalwork:
Monks made beautiful artwork (similar to Le Tène artwork) Most of this
metalwork was made from gold and silver and decorated with precious stones
(rubies, emeralds,etc.) Many of these artefacts are still in Ireland today!
The Ardagh Chalice: used by monks during mass
The Derrynaflan Chalice: Also used during mass by the monks.
The Cross of Cong: A cross made from gold and silver
The Tara Brooch:
Stonework:
Between the 8th and 11th centuries monks made high crosses made from stone.
Very few people could read and write in Ireland, the monks wanted to teach
them about Christianity, so they carved pictures from the Bible onto the
crosses for the people of Ireland.
Examples of these high crosses can be seen at Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly (the
scriptire stone) and Monasterboice, Co. Louth
Find out the answers & write them into your copybook:
List 3 types of people who worked in the monastery:
Why did monks work so hard?
What did a scribe do?
Name two types of material scribes wrote on:
What is a quill?
What was an illuminated manuscript?
What was ‘gold leaf’?
Name the oldest manuscript known to historians.
Where to historians believe the Book of Kells was written?
Where can the book of Durrow be seen today?
Name 2 types of metalwork.
During which centuries did the monks make stone crosses?
Name 2 places high crosses can be found:
Why did the monks carve pictures from the Bible into the crosses?
Find out the answers & write them into your copybook:
List 3 types of people who worked in the monastery:
Why did monks work so hard?
What did a scribe do?
Name two types of material scribes wrote on:
What is a quill?
What was an illuminated manuscript?
What was ‘gold leaf’?
Name the oldest manuscript known to historians.
Where to historians believe the Book of Kells was written?
Where can the book of Durrow be seen today?
Name 2 types of metalwork.
During which centuries did the monks make stone crosses?
Name 2 places high crosses can be found:
Why did the monks carve pictures from the Bible into the crosses?
Find out the answers & write them into your copybook:
List 3 types of people who worked in the monastery:
Why did monks work so hard?
What did a scribe do?
Name two types of material scribes wrote on:
What is a quill?
What was an illuminated manuscript?
What was ‘gold leaf’?
Name the oldest manuscript known to historians.
Where to historians believe the Book of Kells was written?
Where can the book of Durrow be seen today?
Name 2 types of metalwork.
During which centuries did the monks make stone crosses?
Name 2 places high crosses can be found:
Why did the monks carve pictures from the Bible into the crosses?