The Soiscél Molaisse ( ;
[Stokes (1871), p. 14] 'Gospel of St. Molaisse')
[Stevick (2008), p. 37] is an Irish (a type of ornamented metal
reliquary
A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''.
Relics may be the purported ...
box or carrying case for a
holy book
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
) that originated from an 8th-century wooden core embellished in the 11th and 15th centuries with metal plates decorated in the
Insular style. Until the late 18th century, the
shrine
A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...
held a now-lost companion text, presumed to be a small
illuminated
Illuminated may refer to:
* Illuminated (song), "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts
* Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house
* ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album)
* Illuminated manuscript
See also gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
book associated with Saint
Laisrén mac Nad Froích ( 564 or 571), also known as Molaisse or "Mo Laisse". In the 6th century, Molaisse founded a church on
Devenish Island in the southern part of
Lough Erne
Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River E ...
in
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...
, with which the cumdach is associated.
The shrine was constructed in three phases. The 8th-century original wooden box was embellished sometime between 1001 and 1025 with a silver frame under the direction of Cennefaelad,
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
of Devenish. This included embossed silver plates, a front piece depicting a
cross
A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...
, the figures and symbols of the
evangelists, and series of Latin inscriptions. These additions form the bulk of the remaining object. A third phase, dated to the 15th century, incorporates further silver elements, although most have been lost. The Soiscél Molaisse is the earliest surviving cumdach, and with a height of just , also the smallest.
The small size of the Soiscél Molaisse suggests that its companion text was meant to be carried as a pocket gospel book. That book was assumed to have been transcribed by Molaisse until the 19th century. The cumdach was held by the hereditary keepers O'Meehan family of Ballaghameehan,
County Leitrim
County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...
until the mid-19th century, and was acquired by the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
in 1861, an acquisition supported by
Lord Dunraven and
George Petrie. It is now in the collection of the
archaeology branch of the National Museum of Ireland on
Kildare Street,
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
.
Dating

The Soiscél Molaisse was constructed in three phases: the rather plain 8th-century wooden core has bronze casing that once held a small
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
.
This book is assumed to have been a
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
and was traditionally associated with the 6th-century
Laisrén mac Nad Froích, also known as St. Molaisse ( 564 or 571), who founded the church on
Devenish Island on
Lough Erne
Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River E ...
in
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...
, where the shrine was kept.
[Mullarkey (2014), p. 300] The island still contains the remains of the monastery site, including the small church, his cell, and the
round tower
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle ...
in which the Soiscél Molaisse was kept over the centuries.
[Stokes (1871), p. 17]
The book was lost sometime in the late 18th century, and almost nothing of its content or style was recorded.
The 8th-century dating of the core and its manuscript is based on its dimensions, which would have been larger in earlier centuries.
The object was heavily embellished and added to between 1001 and 1025 when bronze, copper and silver plaques were fastened with nails and rivets. Embossed silver plates were added in the 15th century, but are now mostly lost.
[Moss (2014), pp. 298, 300]
The 11th-century inscriptions on one of its long sides are signed by the metalworker Gilla Baíthín, along with the names of its commissioners "Cennfailad" ( 1025, a successor of Molaisse who was an
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
at Devenish from 1001),
and "Ua Sclan" (unidentified, possibly an administrator at the island). The dating of this phase to between 1001 and 1025 is based on the mention of Cennfailad,
making it the oldest-surviving fully intact or "book shrine" (an elaborate ornamented metal reliquary box or case used to hold Early Medieval Irish manuscripts or relics).
[Karkov et al (1997), p. 260] Baíthín would have worked during the
Viking invasions of Ireland, and some Viking influence is apparent, such as the long, stringy bodies of the snake-like animals on the sides.
[Ó Buachalla (1985), p. 155]
Description
The shrine is oblong in shape and measures high, wide and thick, making it the smallest of the extant Irish pocket-book Gospels.
[Mullarkey (2014), p. 301] It is similar in size, type and function to the extant shrine for the 8th-century
Book of Dimma, although the casing is much thicker, suggesting that it had either contained additional texts to the Gospels or had more illuminated pages. The manuscript was made from
vellum
Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. It is often distinguished from parchment, either by being made from calfskin (rather than the skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellu ...
parchment and contained text from the Gospels. Until the early 19th-century, the book was thought to have been written or owned by St. Molaisse; one late medieval text describes how it was "sent down to him from heaven while on a pilgrimage to Rome".
[Ó Floinn (1989), p. 62] The gospel was lost (and the damaged) in the late-18th century while on loan to McLoughlin, who was a priest from either
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...
or
County Roscommon
County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...
.
The original 8th-century inner oblong box is made from
yew wood. It was enshrined in the early 11th century with a cumdach made up of plain sheets of tinned bronze decorated with openwork silver and mountings.
[Ó Floinn (1989), p. 54] The Soiscél Molaisse has six sides: the front piece and its the reverse, two long sides, and two end sides. There are hinged fittings at both of the ends, to which a strap or chain could be attached for carrying during
procession
A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner.
History
Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...
s, swearing of
oath
Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...
s or other ceremonies.
[Ó Floinn (1989), p. 57]
The shrine is in relatively poor condition. The "roof" or "
house-shaped" portions are lost, as are most of its jewels.
[Crawford (1923), p. 82][Moss (2014), p. 137] The 15th-century additions, largely embossed silver plates, are now also mostly missing.
Front piece
A ringed cross dominates the front face, with rectangular terminals decorated with insert panels of
filigree
Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork.
In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver, m ...
and settings for semi-precious stones,
[De Paor (1977), p. 183] which are lost except for one blue stone on the right side.
[Wallace (2002), p. 251] The filigree on the arms of the cross is
gilded and decorated with ribbon interlace. Some of the panels on the front face are missing, and those that remain are in bronze and
silver-gilt
Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French language, French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling silver, sterling) which has been gilding, gilded. Most large objects made in goldsmithing tha ...
, with gold filigree interlaced
knotwork.
[Wallace (2002), p. 233] Like other contemporary Insular objects found in nearby areas, such as the 12th-century stone figures on
White Island on Lough Erne, and the
Breac Maodhóg from
Drumlane,
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...
, it contains series of closely related figures.
[Moss (2014), p. 138]
The central panels depict the
four Evangelists
In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...
and their symbols and are placed in the spaces between a ringed cross. The Evangelists are depicted in profile or full front,
standing behind large angular ribbons,
and their names and representative figures are inscribed in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
on each side of their silver frames.
These read:
Art historian Paul Mullarkey interprets these inscriptions as reading "the man (
Matthew), the lion (
Mark
Mark may refer to:
In the Bible
* Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark
* Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels
Currencies
* Mark (currency), a currenc ...
), the eagle (
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
) and the ox (
Luke)".
The figures are rendered in a style that closely resembles those on the cumdachs of the near-contemporary
Stowe Missal and slightly later Breac Maodhóg.
[Wallace (2002), p. 219] The scholar of medieval art,
Roger Stalley, describes the somewhat squarish style of the figures in these works as "heavy and
massive".
File:Soiscél Molaisse (St. Matthew).jpg, Detail of front panel; top left-hand panel (Matthew the Apostle
Matthew the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles, twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist.
Th ...
, the man). The vertical Latin on the right reads .[Stokes (1871), p. 19]
File:Soiscél Molaisse (St. Mark).jpg, Top right-hand panel (Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist (Koine Greek, Koinē Greek: Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Mârkos''), also known as John Mark (Koine Greek, Koinē Greek language, Greek: Ἰωάννης Μᾶρκος, Romanization of Greek, romanized: ''Iōánnēs Mârkos;'' ...
, the lion). The inscription on the right-hand side is translated as "Leo".
File:Soiscél Molaisse (St. Luke).jpg, Lower left panel (Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...
, the ox)
File:Soiscél Molaisse (St. John).jpg, Lower right panel (John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how ...
, the eagle). The inscription on the side translates as " Aquila".
Matthew wears a knee-length
tunic
A tunic is a garment for the torso, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the ankles. It might have arm-sleeves, either short or full-length. Most forms have no fastenings. The name deri ...
containing a row of shields () in the
La Tène style, positioned above a wide hem. His long hair curls into spirals which merge with the surrounding ribbon pattern.
Mark is shown in
profile with large, animalistic teeth and donkey-like ears, and also wears a half-length tunic with interlocking scrolls. Luke is represented by an ox, whose hind leg and tail lead into spiral patterns. John, as the eagle, has feathers, pointed ears, large
talons and a broad tail. A tear-shaped drop, which may be blood, hangs from the coiled beak.
Reverse, side and end panels
Two of the panels around the sides are lost. The two remaining side panels contain interlace, signatures and other Latin inscriptions around their borders.
Both of the short (or end) sides have triangular bronze mounts that would have functioned as clasps so that the shrine could be carried.
[Ó Floinn (1989), p. 53] Both have half-length decorative panels to hold inserts of ecclesiasticals. One is lost but the one that remains contains a figure, generally assumed to be St. Molaisse, in full profile wearing a tunic or
habit
A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.
A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...
.
He has rounded facial features, a disproportionally large head,
[Moss (2014), p. 57] and a forked beard. He holds a book, probably his Gospel, to his chest with one hand and a pastoral staff, a
flail or a sprinkler for
holy water
Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...
with the other.
[Stokes (1868), p. 274] His outer vestment, or
chasuble
The chasuble () is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. In the Eastern ...
, was originally embroidered by palm-leaf designs, while the collar is cut in sharply pointed V-shapes.
The insert is surrounded by highly ornate and intricate panels decorated with filigree and ribbon interlace.
It also contains
triquetra (triangular figures composed of three interlaced arcs) knots and a zoomorphic lizard "whose head is formed with very long ears
hat resemblehorns". The two long sides consist of a silver plate divided into three compartments, which would have held decorative inserts, but these are now lost.
Both long sides have corners with bronze mountings.
The base contains a grid of L-shaped
openwork
In art history, architecture, and related fields, openwork or open-work is any decorative technique that creates holes, piercings, or gaps through a solid material such as metal, wood, stone, pottery, cloth, leather, or ivory. Such techniques ha ...
patterns in red
enamel.
[De Paor (1977), p. 182] The ends have large chain-rings or knots that bear obvious influence from
Viking art
Viking art, also known commonly as Norse art, is a term widely accepted for the art of Scandinavian Norsemen and Vikings, Viking settlements further afield—particularly in the British Isles and Iceland—during the Viking Age of the 8th-11th ...
, and many other aspects of the shrine resemble objects uncovered during 20th-century archaeological digs of
Viking Dublin, to the extent that Ó Floinn suggested in 2014 that Dublin might have been its place of origin.
Inscriptions
The Latin inscriptions are written in
Insular script
Insular script is a Middle Ages, medieval script (styles of handwriting), script system originating in Ireland that spread to England and continental Europe under the influence of Hiberno-Scottish mission, Irish Christianity. Irish missionaries ...
and appear along three edges of the page-end side (i.e., the long side missing the insert and positioned opposite to the front piece).
[Stokes (1871), p. 18][Mitchell (1996), p. 35] They mention three individuals, but the text is badly damaged in places. Cennfailad Mac Flaithbertach, an abbot at Devenish Island ( 1025), is identified as commissioner. The fragmentary "...nlan" is unidentified; the lettering "Gilla Baíthín" is the autograph of the metalworker who carried out the embossment.
[Mitchell (1996), p. 14] As with most inscriptions of this era, the order the names appear indicates their relative rank; in this case the name of the secular patron is followed by that of the ecclesiastical patron, followed by that of the scribe.
[Mitchell (1996), p. 6]
The inscriptions read:
Mac Flaithbertach had two obituaries in 1025, but like nearly all 11th-century craftsmen, nothing is known of Gilla Baíthín.
Analysis of the style and technique of the 11th-century phase indicate a single hand created the figurative panels on the front and sides, the filigree, the
zoomorphic
The word ''zoomorphism'' derives from and . In the context of art, zoomorphism could describe art that imagines humans as non-human animals. It can also be defined as art that portrays one species of animal like another species of animal or art ...
panels and the strap-hinge.
The art historian Mitchell Perette describes Baíthín's script as "remarkably uneven".
[Mitchell (1996), p. 10] The first-name Gilla is also inscribed on later 11th- and 12th-century Irish
high cross
A high cross or standing cross (, , ) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. Th ...
es and churches, indicating that it was a name "taken for Christian life", and that Baíthín was a
cleric
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
. The art historian Patrick Wallace notes that the naming of a craftsman in such an early work indicates the esteem
Insular craftsmen must have enjoyed in contemporary Irish society, noting how mainland European artists did not begin to sign their works until the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
. He goes on to write that the signature may be "one of the earliest instances anywhere of a culture which made such acknowledgement
"
[Wallace (2002), p. 221]
Several art historians have tried to piece together the person identified by the damaged "...nlan" lettering, and it is generally assumed to be part of the name "Scannlain". Ó Floinn suggests Coencomrach Ua Scannlain ( 1011) as a potential candidate.
Ua Scannlain was a cleric at Devenish, but although he fits the location and period, his full name is too long for the gap in the lettering and it is very unlikely he would have been mentioned by surname only.
[Mitchell (1996), p. 15] Other potential clerics are Scannlain Ua Dungalaín, abbot of
Downpatrick
Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Down Cathedral, Its cathedral is sai ...
, who was "abducted and blinded in 1010", and Scanlan Mac Cathail, ri Eoganacht of
Lough Leane, although neither are considered strong candidates by most art historians.
Provenance
The shrine's hereditary keepers were the O'Meehan family of
County Leitrim
County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...
, who held it for some 500 years.
[Ó Floinn (1989), p. 52][Stokes (1871), p. 15] It is mentioned by the Irish Annals as in their collection in 1336, 1419 and 1437.
[Stokes (1868), p. 275] Like many such medieval Irish objects kept in hereditary collections across centuries, it became sought after during the mid-19th-century
Celtic Revival
The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gae ...
.
[Ó Floinn (1989), p. 61] The Irish painter and antiquarian
George Petrie claimed to have rediscovered the object, which he titled "The Shrine of Saint Molash", having read a local newspaper article about it .
Several accounts record that the antiquarian and collector Roger Chambers Walker became aware of the shrine around the same time and had been interested in acquiring it. He was a rival collector to Petrie, even having asked Petrie to keep the discovery a "secret" and "remain silent"; he lost out on the eventual purchase sometime during or after 1845.
[Ireland (2002), p. 156]
In 1867, the antiquarian and illustrator
Margaret Stokes
Margaret McNair Stokes (March 1832 – 20 September 1900) was an Irish Illustrator, antiquarian and writer.
Life
Born in Dublin, she was the daughter of Dr William Stokes and his wife Mary (née Black). One brother, Whitley Stokes, was a lea ...
speculated that Petrie had heard about it from Walker.
[Ireland (2002), p. 182] Petrie gave its first full description at an 1855 lecture for members of the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
,
[Moss (2014), p. 136][Ó Floinn (1989), pp. 51–52] and it has been subject to a series of further examinations and descriptions since then. Building on Petrie's research, Stokes published another account of the shrine's history in 1871.
[Ó Floinn (1989), p. 51]
Its last hereditary keeper, Charles Meehan of Latoon,
County Clare
County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
, sold it in April 1859 for £45.
At the insistence of
Lord Dunraven and Petrie it was purchased for the Royal Irish Academy in 1861. The academy found it difficult to raise the money, given that their usual annual budget was at the time about £50, and Petrie was instrumental in raising funds, backed by Dunraven's political clout; Dunraven had first arranged for it to be made available for Petrie to study.
[O'Sullivan; Ó Carragáin (2008), p. 31] Today it is in the collection of the
archaeology branch of the National Museum of Ireland on
Kildare Street,
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, where it is catalogued as NMI R4006.
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
* Crawford, Henry. "A Descriptive List of Irish Shrines and Reliquaries. Part I". ''The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'', 6th series, volume 13, no. 1, June 1923.
*
De Paor, Marie. "The Viking Impact". In:
Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D: From the collections of the National Museum of Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College Dublin'. NY:
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, 1977.
* Ireland. Aideen. "Roger Chambers Walker: A Sligo Antiquarian". ''The Journal of Irish Archaeology'', volume 11, 2002.
* Karkov, Catherine; Ryan, Michael; Farrell, Robert (eds). "The Insular Tradition". New York: SUNY Press, 1997.
*
Mahr, Adolf.
Irish Early Christian Handicraft. Limerick: ''
Limerick Leader'', 1939
* Mitchell, Perette. "The Inscriptions on Pre-Norman Irish Reliquaries". ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature'', volume 96C, no. 1, 1996.
*
Moss, Rachel. ''
Medieval c. 400—c. 1600''. "
Art and Architecture of Ireland" series. London: Yale University Press, 2014.
* Moss, Rachel. ''The Book of Durrow''. Dublin: Trinity College Library; London: Thames and Hudson, 2018.
* Mullarkey, Paul. "Soiscél Molaisse". In: Moss, Rachel (ed). ''Medieval c. 400—c. 1600: Art and Architecture of Ireland''. CT:
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
, 2014.
* Mullarkey, Paul. "Some observations on the form and date of the Soiscéal Molaise Book shrine". In: Hourihane, Colum, ''Irish art historical studies in honour of Peter Harbison''. ''Index of Christian Art'', Dublin: Occasional Papers nr 7, 2004
*
Murray, Griffin.
The Makers of Church Metalwork in Early Medieval Ireland: Their Identity and Status. ''Proceedings of the Sixth International Insular Art Conference'', 2013
*
Ó Buachalla, Brendan. "The F-Future in Modern Irish: A Reassessment". ''
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
'', 1985.
*
Ó Floinn, Raghnall. "The Soiscél Molaisse". ''Clogher Record'', volume 13, No. 2, 1989.
* O'Sullivan Jerry; Ó Carragáin, Tomás. "Inishmurray: Archaeological survey and excavations 1997–2000". Cork Collins Press, 2008.
* Overbey, Karen. ''Sacral Geographies: Saints, Shrines and Territory in Medieval Ireland''. Turnhout: Brepols, 2012.
*
Stalley, Roger. "Irish Art in the Romanesque and Gothic Periods". In: ''Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D: From the collections of the National Museum of Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College Dublin''. NY:
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, 1977.
* Stevick, Robert. "St Patrick's Bell Shrine: Form and Layout of the Plates". ''The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'', volume 138, 2008.
*
Stokes, Margaret. "On two works of ancient Irish art, known as the Breac Moedog, or shrine of St Moedog, and the Soiscel Molaise, or Gospel of St. Molaise". London: Royal Academy of Arts, J.B. Nichols and Sons, 1871
*
Stokes, William. "The Life and Labours in Art and Archeology of George Petrie". London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1868
* Wallace, Patrick. "Viking Age Ireland, AD 850–1150". In Ó Floinn, Raghnal; Wallace, Patrick (eds). ''Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities''. National Museum of Ireland, 2002.
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University College Dublin
University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
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Christian reliquaries
Collection of the National Museum of Ireland
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