Early Christian Art in Ireland

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1888 edition. Excerpt: ... are beautifully preserved, though the lines are very delicate and the outline faint. Their shape is clearly marked out by the stippling, which forms a shaded background to them. The inscription runs thus: --Petri, Pauli, Andri, Jacobi, Johannis, Piliphi, Bartholomei, Thomae, Mathei, Jacobi, Tatheus, Simon. This list of the Twelve Apostles is found in the commemoration in the Canon of the Mass; but in the Roman Missal the names are placed differently, thus: --Petri, Pauli, Andrae, Jacobi, Joannis, Philippi, Bartholomasi, Thomas, Matthaei, Jacobi, Thaddaai, Simonis. It is also in the Litany of the Saints as given in an old Irish MS. at St. Gall, but there is a slight difference in the order of the names. It is also found in the Bobio Missal printed by Mabillon, Museum Italicum (t. i. 279), the only difference being that the order of names at the end slightly varies. No example has hitherto been found in Great Britain of the same class as this exquisite chalice. Indeed, with a few exceptions, such as the chalice in the Abbey of Witten in the Tyrol, this is a unique example of the two-handled chalices used in the earliest Christian times. For illustrations and further particulars of this chalice, see Paper by Edwin, third Earl of Dunraven--Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. xxiv. p. 433 (1869). BOOK-SHRINES. OOK-SHRINES appear to be of rare occurrence save in Ireland. Elsewhere we find that the sacred writings had splendid bindings; one side at least being often of silver or gold, studded with jewels, so that the book thus covered added to the general splendour of the altars on which they were placed. But a different sentiment seemed at work in Ireland, where the book was held as a sacred heirloom by the successors...