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Cumdach
A cumdach (Old Irish pronunciation: [ˈkuβ̃d̪ax], in Irish "cover") or book shrine is an elaborate ornamented metal reliquary box or case used to hold Early Medieval Irish manuscripts or relics. They are typically later than the book they contain, often by several centuries. In most surviving examples, the book comes from the peak age of Irish monasticism before 800, and the extant cumdachs date from after 1000, although it is clear the form dates from considerably earlier. The majority are of Irish origin, with most surviving examples held by the National Museum of Ireland (NMI).
The usual form is a design based on a cross on the main face, with the use of large gems of rock crystal or other semi-precious stones, leaving the spaces between the arms of the cross for more varied decoration. Several were carried on a metal chain or leather cord, often worn off the belt, or suspended around the neck, placing them next to the heart and thus offering spiritual and perhaps medical benefits (the same was done with the St Cuthbert Gospel in a leather bag in medieval Durham). They were also used to bring healing to the sick or dying, or more formally, as witness contracts. Many had hereditary laykeepers from among the chiefly families who had formed links with monasteries.
Only five early examples of cumdach survive, including those of the Book of Dimma and Book of Mulling at Trinity College Dublin, and the Cathach of St. Columba and Stowe Missal. Of the St. Molaise Shrine, only the Gospels are extant; the casing is lost, but more often the reverse is the case. Other books such as the Book of Kells, Book of Armagh and Book of Durrow are known to have once had either cumdachs or treasure bindings or both, but as they contained valuable precious metals they were a natural target for looters and thieves.
The format and function of cumdachs may derive from book caskets used by early Christian Romans. Both types were intended to protect sacred text or relics. It is plausible that Irish monasteries would seek to emulate the prestige and, according to the Irish art historian Rachel Moss, "splendour of Roman liturgical ceremonies". The Irish church emphasised relics that were thought to be objects frequently used by monastic saints, rather than the body parts preferred by most of the church. However, these were also kept in local versions of the house-shaped chasse form, such as the Scottish Monymusk Reliquary. Another Irish speciality was the bell-shrine, encasing the handbells used to summon the community to services or meals, and one of the earliest reliquaries enshrined the bell of an unknown saint, and was probably worn as a test of truthfulness and to cure illness. It probably dates to the 8th century and was found in a peat bog near Moylough, County Sligo.
As the sample size of 8 to 10 surviving examples is so small (presumably many such works were lost, mostly plundered for their precious metal or stones) they cannot be classified typologically. Their shared characteristics include that they are sealed, metal cases built to protect earlier objects of veneration originally placed in a timber core typically built from Yew wood or (less commonly) from oak. All of the later refurbishments seem to have been commissioned by ambitious clergy members, and the work carried out by single metal-workers and their workshops. In the majority of instances, the master metal worker left an inscribed signature and date of completion, some of which contain wording that hints at their artistic motivations.
All extant cumdachs' contain a frontispiece containing a central cross, a reverse with repetitive openwork patterns consisting of two highly contrasted colours (such as red and black), and sides containing interlace patterns and inscriptions. Distinguishing factors include size (indicating the originally intended function as for example as private fixed shrines pocketbooks, or objects to be worn over the shoulder or from belts), and their later use. The Shrine of Miosach retains its original chain used to carry it around, while the Soiscél Molaisse and Lough Kinsalen Shrine have fittings that once held leather straps, assumed to have held the objects in place during processional ceremonies.
They are to be distinguished from the metalwork treasure bindings that probably covered most grand liturgical books of the period—the theft and loss of that covering the Book of Kells (if it was not a cumdach alone) is recorded. However, the designs may well have been very similar; the best surviving Insular example, the lower cover of the Lindau Gospels (c. 880) in the Morgan Library in New York, is also centred on a large cross, surrounded by interlace panels. Treasure bindings were metalwork assemblies tacked onto the wooden boards of a conventional bookbinding, so essentially the same technically as the faces of many cumdachs, which are also attached with tacks to a core wooden box.
Historians are generally confident in identifying who commissioned the shrines and their provenance. Exceptions include the Book of Durrow and the Stow Missal. Inscriptions on two examples (Durrow and Stowe) indicate they were for a King of Ireland.
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Cumdach
A cumdach (Old Irish pronunciation: [ˈkuβ̃d̪ax], in Irish "cover") or book shrine is an elaborate ornamented metal reliquary box or case used to hold Early Medieval Irish manuscripts or relics. They are typically later than the book they contain, often by several centuries. In most surviving examples, the book comes from the peak age of Irish monasticism before 800, and the extant cumdachs date from after 1000, although it is clear the form dates from considerably earlier. The majority are of Irish origin, with most surviving examples held by the National Museum of Ireland (NMI).
The usual form is a design based on a cross on the main face, with the use of large gems of rock crystal or other semi-precious stones, leaving the spaces between the arms of the cross for more varied decoration. Several were carried on a metal chain or leather cord, often worn off the belt, or suspended around the neck, placing them next to the heart and thus offering spiritual and perhaps medical benefits (the same was done with the St Cuthbert Gospel in a leather bag in medieval Durham). They were also used to bring healing to the sick or dying, or more formally, as witness contracts. Many had hereditary laykeepers from among the chiefly families who had formed links with monasteries.
Only five early examples of cumdach survive, including those of the Book of Dimma and Book of Mulling at Trinity College Dublin, and the Cathach of St. Columba and Stowe Missal. Of the St. Molaise Shrine, only the Gospels are extant; the casing is lost, but more often the reverse is the case. Other books such as the Book of Kells, Book of Armagh and Book of Durrow are known to have once had either cumdachs or treasure bindings or both, but as they contained valuable precious metals they were a natural target for looters and thieves.
The format and function of cumdachs may derive from book caskets used by early Christian Romans. Both types were intended to protect sacred text or relics. It is plausible that Irish monasteries would seek to emulate the prestige and, according to the Irish art historian Rachel Moss, "splendour of Roman liturgical ceremonies". The Irish church emphasised relics that were thought to be objects frequently used by monastic saints, rather than the body parts preferred by most of the church. However, these were also kept in local versions of the house-shaped chasse form, such as the Scottish Monymusk Reliquary. Another Irish speciality was the bell-shrine, encasing the handbells used to summon the community to services or meals, and one of the earliest reliquaries enshrined the bell of an unknown saint, and was probably worn as a test of truthfulness and to cure illness. It probably dates to the 8th century and was found in a peat bog near Moylough, County Sligo.
As the sample size of 8 to 10 surviving examples is so small (presumably many such works were lost, mostly plundered for their precious metal or stones) they cannot be classified typologically. Their shared characteristics include that they are sealed, metal cases built to protect earlier objects of veneration originally placed in a timber core typically built from Yew wood or (less commonly) from oak. All of the later refurbishments seem to have been commissioned by ambitious clergy members, and the work carried out by single metal-workers and their workshops. In the majority of instances, the master metal worker left an inscribed signature and date of completion, some of which contain wording that hints at their artistic motivations.
All extant cumdachs' contain a frontispiece containing a central cross, a reverse with repetitive openwork patterns consisting of two highly contrasted colours (such as red and black), and sides containing interlace patterns and inscriptions. Distinguishing factors include size (indicating the originally intended function as for example as private fixed shrines pocketbooks, or objects to be worn over the shoulder or from belts), and their later use. The Shrine of Miosach retains its original chain used to carry it around, while the Soiscél Molaisse and Lough Kinsalen Shrine have fittings that once held leather straps, assumed to have held the objects in place during processional ceremonies.
They are to be distinguished from the metalwork treasure bindings that probably covered most grand liturgical books of the period—the theft and loss of that covering the Book of Kells (if it was not a cumdach alone) is recorded. However, the designs may well have been very similar; the best surviving Insular example, the lower cover of the Lindau Gospels (c. 880) in the Morgan Library in New York, is also centred on a large cross, surrounded by interlace panels. Treasure bindings were metalwork assemblies tacked onto the wooden boards of a conventional bookbinding, so essentially the same technically as the faces of many cumdachs, which are also attached with tacks to a core wooden box.
Historians are generally confident in identifying who commissioned the shrines and their provenance. Exceptions include the Book of Durrow and the Stow Missal. Inscriptions on two examples (Durrow and Stowe) indicate they were for a King of Ireland.
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