The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Anglican Ethos of Translation
The Lindisfarne Gospels are an illuminated Gospel book first created around 700 AD on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Now held by the British Library, it is one of the great surviving treasures of the early English Church, broadly appreciated for its precise calligraphy, elegant Celtic designs, jeweled colors, and symbolic art.
The manuscript also illustrates the Anglican ethos of translation in three senses of the word. First, the beauty and artistry of the Lindisfarne Gospels translate key elements of Old English culture onto the sacred page. Second, the gospel book only survives because the monks translated it from Lindisfarne to Durham when they fled the Vikings. Third, the gospel book features the earliest surviving translation of the Bible into Old English, added in the 10th century. As exemplified in the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Anglican tradition is always on the move, crossing territories and languages for the sake of the gospel of Christ.
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Cultural Translation: The Making of the Lindisfarne Gospels
The Lindisfarne Gospels were created by Eadfrith, a monk and Bishop of the late 7th and early 8th century. They take their name from Lindisfarne, the “Holy Island” where Celtic missionary Aidan established a monastery around 634. Eadfrith probably made them in honor of Cuthbert, an early saint of Lindisfarne.
The book is a complete manuscript of the four gospels, written by hand on 516 pages of vellum (sheep-skin), with colorful illumination and iconography. The book would have required extensive planning and years to execute. While the calligraphy and illumination may have been the work of an individual artist (Eadfrith), the entire monastic community worked to provide the materials for the project, including 150 sheepskins and 92 pigments of ink.
Moreover, the book’s illustrations rely on the visual motifs of Old English culture, translating secular motifs of plants, animals, knots, metalwork, and jewelry onto the sacred page. In a culture that put great value on physical treasures, the Lindisfarne Gospels made a treasure of holy writ. It is a physical expression of what the Celtic monk Dallan wrote in Be Thou My Vision:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
Lindisfarne Gospel Showcase
The most famous pages of the Lindisfarne Gospels come from the opening of each gospel. The image at the top of this article, reproduced in full below, is from the opening of the gospel of Matthew. It highlights the “chi-rho,” the first two letters of Christ.
I especially like the “carpet page” featured opposite the beginning of each gospel. These are non-representational designs that set a tone or mood for each gospel, translating elements of Old English culture into the shape of a cross. Here they appear in canonical order: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
For a deeper dive on the artistry and cultural translation of the Lindisfarne Gospels, check out this excellent video from SmartHistory:
Spatial Translation: The Survival of the Lindisfarne Gospels
“Translation” is a Latin term that, in its original meaning, refers to the carrying of a thing across space. Thus, when the monks at Lindisfarne abandoned the Holy Island due to the invading Vikings, they translated the relics of Cuthbert to their new home in Durham. And at the same time, they translated the Lindisfarne Gospels.
In the midst of any dramatic change, only the most essential things can be retained. But it is precisely those things that a people retain that constitute the core of their culture. Or, put it another way, the dramatic life changes reveal what matters most. As Jesus put it:
Where your treasure is, there your heart shall be also.
Matthew 6:21
For the monks of Lindisfarne, their treasures were the sacred scriptures and the relics of the saints. In the face of the murderous Viking raids, their faith was defined by the power of God’s word and the hope of the bodily resurrection.
Linguistic Translation: The Message of the Lindisfarne Gospels
In the 10th century, a monk named Aldred added to the Lindisfarne Gospels an interlinear Old English translation. This is the earliest surviving translation of the Bible into the English language. Notice, for example, the translation of Old English script at the top of the Chi-Rho page:
Look also at the interlinear translation on a more typical page of script, here from the beginning of the gospel of Mark:
This linguistic translation may be the most surprising element of the Lindisfarne Gospels, for two reasons. First, this element was added after the Lindisfarne monks moved to Durham, once the gospel book had become even more sacred. In other words, any addition to the Lindisfarne Gospels would have been a careful and deliberate decision, designed to make a point.
Second, this translation is the earliest surviving translation of the Bible into English, and therefore of monumental significance in the full scope of Anglican history. As I explore more deeply in my chapter in Re-Formed Catholic Anglicanism, the Lindisfarne Gospels reflect a native Anglican tradition of translation into the vernacular.
The Anglican Ethos of Translation
In the various historical narratives of Anglicanism, a tension often exists between the Reformed and Catholic perspectives. On the one hand, Reformation Anglicans emphasize the distinctive doctrines and practices of the 16th century, most of which is grounded in the vernacular translation of the scriptures. On the other hand, Catholic Anglicans emphasize the rich sacramental and cultural heritage of the Church of England, tracing it back to the early Church, the Anglo-Saxon Church, and the High Middle Ages.
I want to suggest that the Lindisfarne Gospels bridge the gap between these two narratives by demonstrating a uniquely Anglican ethos of translation long before the English Reformation. From this perspective, the translations of William Tyndale and the subsequent English Reformation can be seen as a restoration of that original Anglican ethos.
When dramatic changes occur in the life of an individual or a culture, that individual or culture must choose what to preserve. Such preservation requires the work of translation, the moving of concepts, things, and words from one context to another. The goal of such translation is to preserve what is essential, to communicate an original meaning in the midst of a new culture, space, and language.
Taken together, these three senses of translation describe not only the Lindisfarne Gospels but also the broader Anglican ethos that continues to this day, especially in GAFCON and the global Anglican realignment. Though Anglicans are people who love and serve their place, they are also people who will make necessary moves to sustain and advance their faith. We do the work of translation, retaining the core of the gospel of Christ and proclaiming it, to the glory of God and the good of the generations to come.
Cover Image: Matthew incipit (Chi-Rho page) from the Lindisfarne Gospels, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Other images from the British Library, with digital editing by Peter Johnston.
St. Aidan and the Legacy of Lindisfarne
Aidan and his companions knew the value, in imitation of Christ, of recharging our physical and spiritual batteries. It goes against the world’s mindset but is vital to our existence in Christ.
William Tyndale: A Translator Tested By Fire
William Tyndale was the father of the English Bible and the first to translate the text from its Hebrew and Greek original. Forced into exile, Tyndale printed his Bibles on the European continent and smuggled them back into England. Though the authorities burned Tyndale’s Bibles and then Tyndale himself, their fire did not consume his…
