The sun., 1918-07-07
ANCIENT IRISH MSS.
Serious Omission in the Library
Exhibition Detected.


To THE EDITOR OF THE suN-str: In
the exhibition Of ancient manuscripts In
the central building Of the New York
Public Library i was surprised to note
that the Irish scribes who were tho
%originators and earliest teachers Of the
art of Illuminating manuscripts are there
totally unrepresented.
Irish ornamented vellums, which have
excited interest Of photographers from
the time Of Mabillon and Montfaucon,
and which still, after a thousand years
In the case Of some, remain the most
beautiful In the world, have no exemplar
In the New York Library collection. 1t
was the Irish medieval scribes who
trained the whole of Europe in the art
OF Illuminating manuscripts with minia-
ture paintings and interlaced work, and
X was they who had the chief hand in
the development of the Caroline minus
cules. which are the notable character
istics OF the manuscripts from the ninth
century onward.
There is no hin In this exhibition that
u works as the Book Of Kells. the
Book Of Durrow and the Book Of Mac
Durnon. which are the mothers and mod
els Of all subsequent work in Britain
and the Continent. exist at all.
There are facsimile reproductions Of
somo Irish pages. but even these are
vaguely described and wrongly labelled.
There are. for example. two facsimiles
Of pages from the Lindisfarne Gospels.
which were produced in England. but are
pure Irish work in Irish foundations.
These are labelled "Anglo-Celtic." not an
entirely false characteristic, but why
Celtic" which applies to Ireland. Scot
land, Wales. Cornwall and Brittany
alike, rather than Irish" which Is cor
rect? The "Anglo-Celtic' should be
changed to "Anslo-Irish."
l noticed. too. a facsimile reproduction
OF a ninth century manuscript OF the
Latin gospels. Egerton MS. 76s. 1t is
from beginning to end pure Irish work.
but It is Labelled French Production"
There Is also a Latin psalter. ascribed
to the eighth century. Cotton MS. YES
pasian Al. 1t is also in every detail
Irish. but Is described as English Pro-
duction.'' which may. nevertheless, be
true. for there Is no difference between
Irish and English work. A reproduc-
ton Of a marvellously beautiful "Codex
Aureus" Harley MS. PISS, Is described
as "Franco-German.' think It Is Irish
work: II no.. then 1t Is the work of a
scribe who had Irish teachers.
The Carolingian Evangelistarium OF
A. D. $40. the prize OF the collection,
and supposed on slender ground to have
49,. t..z - --Axlol " c.
Michael's. Nerdun, appears to me Irish
work. though 1t may. quite probably
have been made on the Continent.
Every ornamented book in Europe,
outside OF Byzantium, during the sew
enth, eighth and ninth centuries at least,
may be pretty safely attributed to Irish
scribes or the pupils and disciples OF
Irish scribes. The work of producing,
ira nscribing and Illuminating manu-
scripts is a work in which mediava
Irishmen have never been excelled. and
the production OF illuminated manu-
scripts never went beyond the range OF
their influence and practically died out
when tina influence disappeared in con-
tinental Europe.
Nv scrutiny Of the manuscripts In the
exhibition was brief. Had II been more
detailed probably woul a singled
| out other manuscripts wrongly described
! write rather to THE L than to the
library authorities in order that others
we'll Informed on medieval manuscript
may supplement my suggestions and
Judge whether my criticism has or has
not a proper foundation. F.
NEW YORK. jury 6.