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60-409: The Domnach Airgid ( [ˈd̪ˠõːnax ˈaɾʲəɟədʲ] ; also Domhnach Airgid , English: Silver Church or Shrine of Saint Patrick's Gospels ) is an 8th-century Irish wooden reliquary . It was considerably reworked between the 13th and 15th centuries and became a cumdach or "book shrine", when its basic timber structure was reinforced and decorated by elaborate silver-gilt metalwork. Its front cover

120-666: A continuation of a manuscript started decades before by the Parement Master for the Duke of Berry, which despite a Gothic framework pioneered a very different style of painting. But outside Florence and the leading courts the International Gothic still held sway, gradually developing in directions that once again diverged considerably between Italy and Europe north of the Alps. The arts and architecture transitioned into

180-606: A cult of saints. Many reliquaries, particularly in northern Europe, were destroyed by Calvinists or Calvinist sympathizers during the Reformation , being melted down or pulled apart to recover precious metals and gems. Nonetheless, the use and manufacture of reliquaries continue to this day, especially in Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian countries. The earliest reliquaries were essentially boxes, either simply box-shaped or based on an architectural design, taking

240-794: A greatly increased number of realistic portraits of the monarch who commissioned them. In architecture , where the style was long-lasting, local varieties of it are often known as Perpendicular architecture in England, and as Sondergotik in Germany and Central Europe, Flamboyant Gothic in France , and later the Manueline in Portugal , and the Isabelline in Spain . In painting and sculpture,

300-468: A local style are hard to distinguish (Weigert, p. 44). The Chatsworth Hunts ( Victoria and Albert Museum ) are inspired by Gaston de Foix 's book on hunting and the many weavings of Trojan War cycles by contemporary romances. Tapestry too was an art that was portable. Suites accompanied their seigneurial owners from one unheated and empty château to another. Tapestry weavers themselves could be induced to move workshops, though they remained tied to

360-539: Is a squared shaped hollow space intended as a holding space, which historians such as Rachel Moss view as possibly intended to hold a "passion relic" of the True Cross. Above that again is an enameled heraldic shield , decorated with a rock crystal , a precious stone that was rarity in Ireland at the time. The lower short side contains three plates also adorned with figures of saints. A cross added in 15th century to

420-416: Is often a matter of debate; for that reason, some churches require documentation of a relic's provenance. Relics have long been important to Buddhists , Christians , Hindus , and to followers of many other religions. These cultures often display reliquaries in shrines, churches, or temples to which the faithful make pilgrimages to gain blessings. The term is sometimes used loosely for containers for

480-599: Is taken in realistically depicted plants and animals. In some works, above all the famous calendar scenes of the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry , the beginnings of real landscape painting are seen. Decoration became increasingly ornate as the style developed in Northern Europe, whereas in Italy the increased sophistication of figure painting was absorbed into Early Renaissance painting . In sculpture

540-579: Is today catalogued as MS. 24. Q. 23. The Domnach Airgid was kept over the centuries in various religious houses and by local families in the Clogher and Clones region. It is thought to have been owned by "The Lord of Enniskillen ", who was likely a member of the Maguire family executed following the Irish Rebellion of 1641 . It is first mentioned in modern literature by John Groves in 1819 when it

600-672: The Archangel Michael and the Virgin and Child depicted in the Nursing Madonna ( Virgo Lactans ) style. In the panel to their right, an unidentified figure wears a broad-brimmed hat and holds what may be palms . He stands alongside saints Paul and Peter . The scribe in the lower right panel, who may represent St Patrick , presents a cumdach, seemingly the Domnach Airgid itself, to St Macartan. Above Jesus's head

660-670: The Cross of Cong (a donation from 1839) and the Ardagh Hoard (acquired 1874), that had languished as mere curiosity pieces . The shrine was transferred to the National Museum of Ireland , Kildare Street , Dublin, on its founding in 1890. Due to its age, the Domnach Airgid is in poor condition. Areas of the gilding contain accumulations of dirt, and any colourisation has long since faded, leading to its current dark appearance of mostly brown and black hues. The metal works between

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720-522: The Holy Sepulchre . Historians believe that such relics would have been collected during trips by Irish clergy to Rome. The shrine was significantly remodelled around 1350 under the commission of John O’Carbri, abbot of Clones , County Monaghan . The work was completed by the Clones craftsman and goldsmith John (Eoin) Ó'Bárdáin, whose signature ( IOHANES: O BARRDAN: FABRICAVIT ) is engraved on

780-626: The Luxembourg dynasty , was tutored by the future Pope Clement VI , and as a youth spent seven years at the French court, as well as visiting Italy twice. This and family relationships gave him intimate links with the various courts of France, including that of the Avignon Papacy , and from 1363 the separate Valois Duchy of Burgundy under Philip the Bold . The Bohemian style initially lacked

840-700: The National Museum of Ireland in Dublin since 1847. There is an early 20th-century replica in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The earliest records title the shrine as "Domnach" (pronounced Donagh ), a word derived from the Latin " Dominicus " ( Belonging to God or of the Master ). The antiquarian George Petrie (1790–1866) was one of the first to describe the Domnach Airgid. He assumed that

900-520: The True Cross became very popular from the 9th century onward and were housed in magnificent gold and silver cross-shaped reliquaries decorated with enamels and precious stones. From about the end of the 10th century, reliquaries in the shape of the relics they housed also became popular; hence, for instance, the skull of Pope Alexander I was housed in a head-shaped reliquary. Similarly, the bones of saints were often housed in reliquaries that recalled

960-620: The crucified Jesus positioned between these panels forms its center point. The Holy Spirit , shown in the form of a dove enamelled in gold, hovers above his head. A small, square reliquary decorated with crystal is positioned above the dove and is presumed to have once held what its owners believed was a fragment of the true cross . The four panels around Jesus contain eleven smaller, ornately and delicately figures carved in low-relief ( basso-rilievo ), They depict saints and clerics dressed in clothes that draw from both early medieval Irish and European gothic styles. The upper left-hand panel shows

1020-485: The veneration of relics. The faithful often venerate relics by bowing before the reliquary or kissing it; those churches that observe the veneration of relics distinguish between the honor given to the saints and the worship that is due to God alone (see Second Council of Nicea ). Sixteenth-century reformers such as Martin Luther opposed the use of relics since many had no proof of historical authenticity and objected to

1080-561: The 14th century and is made of tinned copper-alloy plates lined with silver, while the 15th-century outer cover is formed from silver plated with gold. And the Saint then left Bishop Mac Carthainn there, at Clogher, and bestowed the Domhnach Airgid upon him, which had been given to Patrick from heaven, when he was on the sea, coming to Erin. Matthew Arnold, "Celtic Literature", 1891 The original early medieval casket

1140-596: The 19th century, the shrine was found to hold badly decayed leaves from a 6th-9th century manuscript recounting the Gospels written in Vulgate Latin. Thirty-nine pages of the manuscript survive, each measuring about nine inches in height. Based on the inscriptions, it is thought to be one of the earliest surviving depictions of apostles portrayed with their attributes and Instruments of the Passion. It has been in

1200-758: The Clogher Diocesan Register, and their work is still considered largely definitive. It was acquired by the Royal Irish Academy from Petrie in 1847, shortly after his death. This took place during a period of refocus and acquisition by the Academy (as they put it, "judicious purchasing"), in part influenced by the antiquities dealer Redmond Anthony's (1768-1848) collection of Irish medieval jewelry and decorative artworks. The museum's new directive sought to bring from private to public collections works of national historical significance such

1260-718: The Magi (below) in Florence in 1423, "the culminating work of International Gothic painting", was almost immediately followed by the painting of the Brancacci Chapel by Masolino and Masaccio (1424–26), which was recognised as a breakthrough to a new style. In similar fashion the Limbourg brothers' masterpiece the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry was followed within a few years by the Turin-Milan Hours ,

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1320-722: The Netherlandish Limbourg brothers in France, and Gentile da Fabriano , Lorenzo Monaco and Pisanello in Italy, the last taking the style into the Early Renaissance . In Burgundy Jean Malouel , Melchior Broederlam and Henri Bellechose were succeeded by Robert Campin and Jan van Eyck who took Early Netherlandish painting in the direction of greater illusionism. Master Bertram and Conrad von Soest were leading regional masters in Germany, working largely for city burghers. Surviving panel paintings of

1380-648: The West, probably in part because the new capital of Constantinople , unlike Rome, lacked buried saints. Relics are venerated in the Oriental Orthodox , Eastern Orthodox , Roman Catholic , and some Anglican Churches. Reliquaries provide a means of protecting and displaying relics. While frequently taking the form of caskets, they range in size from simple pendants or rings to very elaborate ossuaries . The relics were enshrined in containers crafted of or covered with gold , silver , gems, and enamel . Ivory

1440-429: The accessibility of English wool. Religious and secular subjects vied in this essentially secular art. A medium of Late Gothic style that is easily overlooked because it has virtually entirely disappeared is that of painted hangings, which served as a less expensive substitute for woven hangings but could be produced, with appropriate themes, on short notice. In a period lasting approximately between 1390 and 1420 there

1500-597: The best quality from before 1390 are very rare except from Italy and the Prague court. Many of these artists moved between countries or regions during their careers, exposing them to the styles of other centres. In particular Broederlam had spent some years in Italy, and it has been speculated that the Master of the Parement was himself Bohemian, as his known French works are very few, and extremely close to Bohemian art. Illuminated manuscripts remained important vehicles of

1560-494: The body parts of non-religious figures; in particular, the kings of France often specified that their hearts and sometimes other organs be buried in a different location from their main burial. The use of reliquaries became an important part of Christian practices from at least the 4th century, initially in the Eastern Churches , which adopted the practice of moving and dividing the bodies of saints much earlier than

1620-431: The box was created to host relics and only later became a decorative shrine and container for Gospel manuscripts. The Domnach Airgid is oblong shaped and is 23cm high, 16.7cm wide, and 9.8cm long. It contains three covers, each built during separate phases. The inner-most is made of Yew-wood and dates to the early medieval period when the object was built to hold relics and portions of a Gospel. The middle cover dates from

1680-483: The contemporary Middle East or Byzantine Empire , are worn by figures in biblical scenes; many figures seem to be included just to show off these costumes. The number of figures in many standard religious scenes is greatly increased; the Magi have large retinues, and the Crucifixion often becomes a crowded event. This innovation was to survive the style itself. The unveiling of Gentile da Fabriano's Adoration of

1740-636: The detailed realism of Early Netherlandish painting was harder to translate into sculpture. Smaller painted wood figures, most often of the Madonna, were significant, and being relatively portable, probably helped to disseminate the style across Europe. Notable painters included Master Theoderic and the Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece in Bohemia, the Master of the Parement , Jacquemart de Hesdin and

1800-481: The elongated figures of other centres, but had a richness and sweetness in female figures that were very influential. Charles had at least one Italian altarpiece, apparently made in Italy and sent to Prague, near where it remains today in his showpiece Karlštejn Castle . For St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, he first used a French architect, and then the German Peter Parler . Much of the development of

1860-462: The emerging mercantile classes and the smaller nobility. In Northern Europe "Late Gothic" continuations of the style, especially in its decorative elements, could still be found until the early 16th century, as no alternative decorative vocabulary emerged locally to replace it before the Renaissance revival of Classicism . Usage of the terms by art historians varies somewhat, with some using

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1920-444: The established order, partly via an attack on Irish Christianity to detach the island from its Celtic heritage. In response, some clerics fought back by refurbishing and restoring early medieval sacred objects to reinforce the island's cultural identity. During the first phase of reworking, the front plate (front cover) was replaced with four rectangular, silver gilt panels. A full-length, high-relief ( alto-relievo ) representation of

1980-462: The first Bishop of Clogher diocese in southwest Ulster. This story is first mentioned in a 7th-century vita of St. Patrick, in which the shrine is named as the Domnach Airgid. The original casket may have been referred to in the 10th century "Tripartite Life of St Patrick", which mentions gifts made to him, including relics of the Apostles, portions of the True Cross , and tufts of Mary 's hair, or

2040-661: The form of a pagoda ; in Japan, this is known as a tō . Two famous very early excavated reliquaries are the 1st-century Bimaran Casket and the Kanishka Casket of 127 AD, both believed to have contained part of the cremated remains of Gautama Buddha . Relics associated with Buddha are the most important in Buddhism, but those related to other enlightened figures like Sariputta and Moggallana are also highly revered. In Buddhism, relics are known as cetiya ; one of

2100-468: The form of a model of a church with a pitched roof. These latter are known by the French term chasse , and typical examples from the 12th to 14th century have wooden frameworks with gilt-copper plaques nailed on, decorated in champlevé enamel . Limoges was the largest production centre; NB the English usage differs from that of the French châsse , which denotes large size rather than shape. Relics of

2160-652: The form of large pieces of metalwork jewellery also appeared around this time, housing tiny relics such as pieces of the Holy Thorn , notably the Holy Thorn Reliquary now in the British Museum . In Buddhism, stupas are an important form of a reliquary and may be buried inside larger structures such as a stupa or chorten . Particularly in China and throughout East and Southeast Asia, these take

2220-574: The front cover plates are disjointed, while the back end is mostly lost, with just the bronze sheet, which may be early, remaining extant. Petrie said that the order of some of the figures was changed during a repair of the front cover. However, he had an earlier drawing of the shrine, on which he based some of his descriptions. Reliquary Relics may be the purported or actual physical remains of saints , and may comprise bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or with other religious figures. The authenticity of any given relic

2280-544: The front cover. The dove hovering above Christ's head was also added during this rework. The folios of an eight or ninth-century illuminated manuscript were found within the shrine when it was opened in 1832 by the antiquarian William Betham . The manuscript reproduced a Gospel written in Vulgate Latin, and inscribed with Irish majuscule script. The book is severely damaged, with just 39 extant leaves intact, of which some have become detached from their casing. It

2340-416: The late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by the French art historian Louis Courajod at the end of the 19th century. Artists and portable works, such as illuminated manuscripts , travelled widely around the continent, leading to a common aesthetic among the royalty and higher nobility and considerably reducing

2400-567: The leading Italian artists remained closer to classicism, and were less affected by the movement; Lorenzo Ghiberti is in many respects close to the style, but already seems infused with Early Renaissance classicism. Claus Sluter was the leading sculptor in Burgundy, and was one artist able to use the style with a strongly monumental effect. Most sculptors are unknown, and the style tended to survive longer in Northern sculpture than painting, as

2460-571: The most significant is the relic of the tooth of the Buddha in Sri Lanka . In Japan, Buddhist relics are known as shari ( 舎利 , śarīra ) , and are often stored in a shariden ( 舎利殿 , relic hall, reliquary) . (See also: Japanese Buddhist architecture ) International Gothic International Gothic is a period of Gothic art which began in Burgundy , France, and northern Italy in

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2520-438: The period, and afterwards, while the flamboyant Visconti court at Milan, also closely related to the French royal family, was the most important Italian centre of the courtly style. As the style developed in Northern Europe, Italian artists were in turn influenced by it. The marriage in 1384 between the young King Richard II of England and Charles IV's daughter Anne of Bohemia helped to connect Prague and London, and bring

2580-405: The rear panel depicts the three Magi . Other additions by craftsmen during this refurbishment include three circular mounds on the top plate, each of which were set with quartz crystals, though one is now lost. A number of other figures, including running animals and zoomorphic grotesques , some with unusually large jaws and bulbous eyes, were placed on small mounts at the borders and corners of

2640-424: The relic inside. The feretrum was a medieval form of reliquary or shrine containing the sacred effigies and relics of a saint. During the later Middle Ages , the monstrance form, primarily used for consecrated hosts, was sometimes used for reliquaries. These housed the relic in a rock crystal, or glass capsule mounted on a column above a base, enabling the relic to be displayed to the faithful. Reliquaries in

2700-416: The shape of the original body part, such as an arm or a foot. Many Eastern Orthodox reliquaries housing tiny pieces of relics have circular or cylindrical slots in which small disks of wax-mastic are placed, in which the actual relic is embedded. A philatory is a transparent reliquary designed to contain and exhibit the bones and relics of saints. This style of reliquary has a viewing portal to view

2760-528: The shrine. Ó'Bárdáin is known to have lived in Drogheda , and modernised its appearance in the contemporary International Gothic style, including the covering of the earlier wood shrine with tin-lined bronze panels decorated with interlace knots. O’Carbri likely had political motivations for commissioning the redesign in the context of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland . The Normans sought to undermine

2820-534: The son of Charles IV, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford , son of Henry IV of England and "Regent" of English-occupied France, and the Dukes of Burgundy. In the fifteenth century the cities of Flanders , especially Bruges , came to outstrip Paris as a centre of both manuscript illumination and panel painting. A further vehicle of the International Gothic style was provided by the tapestry -weaving centers of Arras , Tournai and Paris, where tapestry production

2880-464: The style is sometimes known in German as the "Schöne Stil" or "Weicher Stil" ("Beautiful style" or "Soft style"). Stylistic features are a dignified elegance, which replaces monumentality, along with rich decorative colouring, elongated figures and flowing lines. It also makes a more practised use of perspective, modelling, and setting. Figures begin to be given more space in their settings, and interest

2940-491: The style occurred in Italy, and it probably spread north of the Alps to influence France partly through the colony of Italian artists attached to the Papal Court at Avignon, and the works displayed from the residence there in the 1330s and 1340s of Simone Martini , a Sienese precursor of the style. Republican Siena had a large influence on the development of the style, but kept to its own dignified Gothic style throughout

3000-536: The style to England, although Anne died in 1394. A number of central works of International Gothic work are votive portraits of monarchs with a sacred figure – in some cases being received into Heaven by them, as with a miniature of Jean, Duc de Berry , and some of his relatives, being welcomed by Saint Peter in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry . From this period come the earliest surviving panel portraits of monarchs, and royal manuscripts show

3060-614: The style, and in works like the Sherborne Missal were the main English contribution, apart from the stained glass of John Thornton in York Minster and of Thomas Glazier in Oxford and elsewhere. Nottingham alabaster carvings, produced in considerable quantities by workshops to standard patterns, were exported all over Western Europe to value-conscious parish churches. The Hours of Gian Galeazzo Visconti from Milan

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3120-416: The term more restrictively than others. Some art historians feel the term is "in many ways ... not very helpful ... since it tends to skate over both differences and details of transmission." The important Bohemian version of the style developed in the court of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor in Prague, which for a brief period became a leading force in the development of European art. Charles came from

3180-656: The variation in national styles among works produced for the courtly elites. The main influences were northern France , the Netherlands , the Duchy of Burgundy , the Imperial court in Prague , and Italy. Royal marriages such as that between Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia helped to spread the style. It was initially a style of courtly sophistication, but somewhat more robust versions spread to art commissioned by

3240-802: Was a key work, as was the Wenceslas Bible (with the text in German) of Charles IV's son. Both, like the Sherborne Missal, are marked by extravagantly decorated borders. John, Duke of Berry , son and brother of French kings, was the most extravagant commissioner of manuscripts, and the main employer of the Limbourg Brothers, the Master of the Brussels Initials and Jacquemart de Hesdin, as well as using many other artists. Other large-scale collectors included Wenceslas ,

3300-402: Was a particularly close correspondence between works produced far apart in Europe. In the north the miniatures of the Très Riches Heures Limbourg brothers, in Italy the Adoration of the Magi of Lorenzo Monaco, and sculpture and miniatures in many countries show very stylised tall figures, the older men with imposingly long beards and swaying figures. Exotic clothes, based loosely on those of

3360-463: Was built to hold relics , and is dated to either the late eighth or early ninth century. It consisted of a single yew -wood chamber with a sliding door, and was covered with tinned bronze plates decorated with interlace . The original plates on the sides of the shrine are still visible. It is traditionally associated with Patrick and believed to have been in his possession and sanctified by him before he presented or gave it to St Macartan (454—506),

3420-410: Was enhanced by gilded relief showing Jesus in " Arma Christi " (with Instruments of the Passion), alongside depictions of saints, angels, and clerics, in scenes imbued with complex iconography . It is thus considered a mixture of the early Insular and later International Gothic styles. The Domnach Airgid is one of the few extant Irish shrines thought to have held non-Irish relics. When opened in

3480-457: Was kept as a private heirloom in Brookeborough , County Fermanagh . In 1832 it was purchased by the Dublin bookseller George Smith, after which it was acquired by the Anglo-Irish peer , Henry Westenra . Petrie described the shrine's detail c. 1835-39, and in 1896 John Bernard published a detailed paper on the manuscript. In 1918, Edmund Armstrong and H. J. Lawlor provided in-depth descriptions and accounts of its symbolism and provenance for

3540-475: Was permanently disordered by the English occupation of 1418–36. Under the consistent patronage of the Dukes of Burgundy , their courtly International Gothic style, elongated figures, rich details of attire, crowded composition, with figures disposed in tiers, owe their inspiration to manuscript illuminators and directly to painters: Baudouin de Bailleul, a painter established at Arras, supplied cartoons for tapestry workshops there and at Tournai, where elements of

3600-434: Was widely used in the Middle Ages for reliquaries; its pure white color is an indication of the holy status of its contents. These objects constituted a major form of artistic production across Europe and Byzantium throughout the Middle Ages. Many were designed with portability in mind, often being exhibited in public or carried in procession on the saint's feast day or on other holy days . Pilgrimages often centered on

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