Editing Lindisfarne Gospels (section)

==Iconography==
[[File:Meister des Book of Lindisfarne 001.jpg|thumb|[[Matthew the Evangelist]]]]
The Lindisfarne Gospels is a manuscript that contains the Gospels of the four Evangelists Mark, John, Luke, and Matthew. The Lindisfarne Gospels begins with a [[carpet page]] in the form of a cross and a major initial page, introducing the letter of [[Jerome|St. Jerome]] and [[Pope Damasus I]].<ref name="Backhouse-04"/> There are sixteen pages of arcaded [[canon tables]], where parallel passages of the four Evangelists are laid out.<ref>Backhouse 1981, 41; Backhouse 2004</ref> A portrait of the appropriate Evangelist, a carpet page and a decorated initial page precedes each Gospel. There is an additional major initial of the Christmas narrative of Matthew.<ref name="Backhouse-04"/>

===The Evangelists===
[[Bede]] explains how each of the four Evangelists was represented by his own symbol: Matthew was the man, representing the human Christ; Mark was the lion, symbolising the triumphant Christ of the Resurrection; Luke was the calf, symbolising the sacrificial victim of the Crucifixion; and John was the eagle, symbolising Christ's second coming.<ref name="blboard">The British Library Board, [http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/lindisfarne/overview.html "The Lindisfarne Gospels Tour."] Accessed 13 March 2012.</ref> A collective term for the symbols of the four Evangelists is the [[Tetramorph]]s. Each of the four Evangelists is accompanied by his respective symbol in his miniature portrait in the manuscript. In these portraits, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are shown writing, while John looks straight ahead at the reader holding his scroll.<ref name="blboard"/> The Evangelists also represent the dual nature of Christ. Mark and John are shown as young men, symbolising the divine nature of Christ, and Matthew and Luke appear older and bearded, representing Christ's mortal nature.<ref name="blboard"/>

===The decoration of the manuscript===
A manuscript so richly decorated reveals that the Lindisfarne Gospels not only had a practical ceremonial use but also attempted to symbolize the Word of God in missionary expeditions.<ref name="Backhouse 1981, 33">Backhouse 1981, 33</ref> Backhouse points out that the clergy was not unaware of the profound impression a book such as the Lindisfarne Gospels made on other congregations.<ref name="Backhouse 1981, 33"/> The opening words of the Gospel (the [[incipit]]s) are highly decorated, revealing Roman capitals, Greek and Germanic letters, filled with interlaced birds and beasts, representing the splendour of God's creation.<ref name="blboard"/> On one page alone, there are 10,600 decorative red dots.<ref>Consiglio, Flavia Di. "Lindisfarne Gospels: Why Is This Book so Special?" BBC News, BBC, 20 Mar. 2013, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/21588667.</ref> Different kinds of pigment are used throughout the manuscript.<ref name="Backhouse 2004"/> [[Red lead]] and gold were also used for decoration.<ref name="Backhouse 1981, 32"/><ref name="Backhouse 1981, 51"/>

===The carpet pages===
[[File:F26v.jpg|thumb|[[Carpet page]], F26v]]
Each carpet page contains a different image of a cross (called a cross-carpet page), emphasising the importance of the Christian religion and of ecumenical relationships between churches.<ref name="blboard"/> The pages of ornamentation have motifs familiar from metalwork and jewellery that pair alongside bird and animal decoration.<ref name="Backhouse-04"/>