Books were made working on leather from cows using the
technique called ‘illumination’ from which this practice gets its name and
involved layering gold over the illustrations to illuminate them suitably. The
use of gold was then changed to Copper or Zinc as the main medium for printing.
From c.600-1100 the most common art form was illustrating
religious texts which were drawn on animal skins surrounding the biblical texts
often written in Latin. The illustrations were most commonly of religious
figures such as the Holy Family and Apostles. The Book of Durrow was the first
fully illustrated Gospel Book and took visible inspiration from old Celtic art
with Celtic spirals and dot-edging from books such as the Cathach of Saint
Columba.
(early illustration in the Book of Durrow)
