Books, book satchels, and shrines in the Book of Deer (Cambridge University Library, MS Ii.6.32)

Author(s)Constantinou, Meghan
Date Accessioned2011-03-07T23:07:23Z
Date Available2011-03-07T23:07:23Z
Publication Date2010
AbstractThe Book of Deer (Cambridge University Library, MS Ii.6.32), a small gospel book usually dated to the late ninth or early tenth century CE and attributed to present-day Scotland, has inspired heightened scholarly interest in recent decades, although art historical inquiries remain relatively underexplored. Among the many questions posed by Deer’s idiosyncratic art is the identity of the four full-page figures prefacing the gospel texts, whose inconsistencies with early medieval evangelist iconography have invited a host of alternate explanations. Amid these debates, the prominent house-shaped form resting over the mid-section of three of the four figures has received little critical scholarly attention aside from its identification as a book satchel or a house-shaped shrine. My thesis contends that this motif, far from being a mere attribute, was a locus for multiple meanings that, when considered alongside the possible function(s) of the Book of Deer, contributes crucial perspectives on the interpretation and function of its figural imagery. After reviewing the art historical research to date on the Book of Deer, I employ a range of artistic, material, textual, and exegetical evidence to support my central claim that the Deer motif operated as a multivalent sign for both a houseshaped shrine and a book satchel for the gospels. I argue that the many levels of form, function, and symbolism upon which gospel books, book satchels, and house-shaped shrines were linked in the early medieval Insular world imbued the conflation of these forms in Deer with expansive yet circumscribed meanings that facilitated the book’s performance of multiple, overlapping roles. My findings further support a reading of the figures as different versions of Christ, a theory first proposed by Dominic Marner in a 2002 essay.en_US
AdvisorStone, David
DegreeM.A.
DepartmentUniversity of Delaware, Department of Art History
URLhttp://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/5822
PublisherUniversity of Delawareen_US
dc.subject.lcshBook of Deer
dc.subject.lcshSymbolism in art
dc.subject.lcshIllumination of books and manuscripts
dc.subject.lcshJesus Christ -- Art
TitleBooks, book satchels, and shrines in the Book of Deer (Cambridge University Library, MS Ii.6.32)en_US
TypeThesisen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Meghan_Constantinou_thesis.pdf
Size:
450.91 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.22 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: