The Soiscél Molaisse (“SESH-kel mo-LASH”) example of this Celtic artform shows the four Evangelists on its main face, and is presumed to have held a now-lost manuscript associated with the patron saint of Devenish Island. For 10 points each:
[10h] Give the original-language term for these reliquaries designed as cases for illuminated manuscripts, examples of which include the Domnach Airgid.
ANSWER: cumdachs [or cumhdach or cumdaigh or cumhdaigh; prompt on book shrines]
[10e] A prized cumdach holds the Cathach of St. Columba, the dedicatee of this illuminated manuscript. Now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, this celebrated book is named for the abbey in Meath where it was previously located.
ANSWER: Book of Kells [prompt on Book of Columba]
[10m] The Domnach Airgid cumdach and the Book of Kells were both decorated in this style that predominated in Medieval Britain and Ireland. This style is characterized by braided geometric patterns known as “interlaces.”
ANSWER: Insular art [or Hiberno-Saxon art]
<JG, Painting and Sculpture>