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Incarnation as a Motif the Book of Kells

Incarnation as a Motif the Book of Kells


The importance of the book of Kells is primarily due to the fact that it is one of the very few written records available which document the religious beliefs of the Celtic Christians. This book contains the four gospels of the New Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. This book contains several symbols of importance. There are approximately 340 folios which have survived, about 30 folios are considered to be lost (Bologna 1995).

There is a strong element of symbology running through the Book of Kells; Incarnation is a recurrent theme amongst them. Christ is represented in almost in all the folios. The Symbols follow the Celtic pattern of juxtaposition with each sign entwined with the other. Though Jesus is represented by a variety of symbols like the cross, the vine, the fish, the chalice and the otter, the most recurrent animistic representation of Jesus Christ is the fish. The fish occurs sixteen times in the Book of Kells. A snake is also used to represent the Christ's resurrection, probably due to the ability of the snake to regenerate (Bain 1992).

All the four disciples of Christ whose gospels are recorded in the Book of Kells have their own individual symbols, a man for Mathew, a lion for Mark, a calf for Luke and an eagle for John. These symbols occur in their respective gospels and a combined representation of these symbols form the symbol for Jesus Christ. Another recurrent motif representing Christ is the peacock (Francoise 1974).

Another important symbolic representation of Incarnation of god as Jesus Christ is the account of the birth of Christ in the gospel of Mathew. The Nativity scene is the most important incarnational symbol in the Book of Kells. The scene abounds with symbology. All the prominent symbols of Christ like the fish, otter and the peacock are present. Apart from the symbols of Jesus Christ, there is also a portrait of him in the folio. This page is also called the Chi-Rho page or the page of nativity (Brown 2001).

Celtic knots and spirals are also a recurrent motif in the Book of Kells. The spirals are supposed to represent man's quest towards spiritual progress (Bologna 1995). It is important to understand that all the relevant institutions of Christianity like the Virgin
Mother, Churches, the devil, and angels all have symbols to represent them (Bain 1992).
The lion which was the symbol of the evangelist Mark was a mythical animal as far as the ancient Celts were concerned as the lion is not native to the British Isles, hence it was also used to represent the mysterious aspects of the supernatural. Another issue which is relevant is that the symbols were often mixed, for example a snake may be represented with the tail and the fins of a fish and vice versa (Peter 2001). This was an accepted method to convey a juxtaposition of the concept represented by each of the symbols. In the case of a fish with the head of a snake, the fish represents Jesus Christ and the snake represents resurrection and the juxtaposed symbol here implies the resurrection of Christ (Peter 2001).

Incarnation is an especially important motif in the book of Kells and the Chi Rho page is its most important personification. Apart from the Chi Rho page, this study has examined the manner by which Jesus Christ has also been represented by several other symbols. Another important representation of Christ is the symbol formed.



REFERENCES

Caesar, Julius, 1980 (new trans.) The Battle for Gaul, Boston: David R. Godine [Out of Print]

Burton-Christie, Douglas. 1999 (January). "The Sense of Place".The Way" 39:1

Baggot. A. 1999. Celtic Wisdom. London. Judy Piakus

Nash, James A. Loving Nature: Christian Responsibility and Ecological Integrity. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1991

Monks Kallistos and Ignatios, "Nastavlenije bezmolstvujushchim" ["Instructions for Hesychasts"], in Dobrotoljubije (Jordanville, NY: 1966), Vol. V, p. 221

Dewaal, Esther, The Celtic Way of Prayer: The Recovery of Religious Imagination. Servant Publications, Ann Arbour, MI. 1991.

Fitzgerald, John W. A Contemporary Celtic Prayer Book. ACTA Publishing Co. Chicago, IL. 1998

Posted by: Natalie Saturday

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