The author convincingly leads us through the routes by which these influences may have reached the shores of Northumbria.
Influences from as far afield as The Holy Land, Coptic Egypt and Ethiopia somehow reached a scribe-artist on tiny Holy Island at the turn of the eighth century. This book does give us insights into this era and does entertain, in a profound way, but these achievements are incidental to its primary purpose - unravelling the complex multi-cultural strands that have influenced the creation of the art of Lindisfarne. This literary ‘faction’ is not light entertainment, neither does it set out to give us a simplified evocation of the period, some sort of leisurely ‘time-travelogue’ or period soap-opera. “This is the story of the extraordinary making of one of the greatest, most beautiful books the world has ever known.” Thus begins the prologue to ‘Eadfrith – Scribe of Lindisfarne’ and this book ‘does exactly what it says on the tin.’ The Lindisfarne Gospels is not just one of the world’s greatest and most beautiful books, it is also an incredibly complex work of art and telling its story is an equally complex challenge. I particularly liked the manner in which she chooses to explain the complex method in which the Lindisfarne Gospel was created and the subtle nuances that only come to be known by the distinguished scholarship that sets Brown/Treeve apart from the average historical novelist.
I recommend 'Eadfrith' to the reader that wishes to expand their knowledge of the era when Christianity took form for today's age. While all of us are entitled to our own opinion, as a general reader of materials from the period, I found the book a most enjoyable 'read' fitting neatly within the genre of historical literature, ( Max Adam's "King of the North, Melvyn Bragg's "Credo" and Nicola Griffith's "Hild") recently published.īrown's first novel written under the pen Name Treeve to distinguish her scholarship from entertaining literature certainly is a new and different tool to educate Brown knows her era and provides a different vehicle to compliment her scholarly work in 'the Lindisfarne Gospels', 'How Christianity came to Britain', and my favourite 'the Book and the Transformation of Britain" Ashley's review did make me think and provokes this commentary. I have just finished reading 'Eadfrith' and after the fact read a recent review by 'Ashley' noted above.
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