Truth is what we historians strive for, but it's the mystery that keeps us entranced to keep looking, keep digging.
Recently, I was inspired to look through my work from Glasgow University. I had taken a Celtic Civilizations course which had mesmerized me.
The decline of the Roman Empire, and the beginning of the "Dark" Ages is the hardest period of history to study because there is just a minuscule amount of sources. The few manuscripts found reveal a period of constant religious and ethnic warfare. This period of history from the 5th to the 15th centuries is called the "Dark" Ages for very obvious reasons. The fall of the Roman Empire brought disorder and chaos to Western Europe. Pagan tribes from the North were able to take over the native peoples and a fusion of new cultures were created. Actually in truth, it was a period of cleansing and a period of rebirth. New cultures created new tongues, new art, new political boundaries, and new sects of Christianity. Pagan beliefs infused with Christianity and in a period dubbed the "dark" ages, some of the most intricate and priceless works of art were created.
The best example of course being the Book of Kells, "the word in its flesh." This illuminated manuscript of the Four Gospels displays the new Insular art of Anglo-Saxon, Mediterranean, and La Tene Celtic influence. To the scribes who worked all day every day, every brush stroke, every minuscule detail, was made by God. They were not paid, they had no need. They were the hand of God and they truly believed it. Their passion, their faith, and their artistry is unparalleled. In the depths of disorder, warfare, and chaos the fiery passion of mankind still burned.
Very little is known about the Book of Kells. When was it made? Who were the scribes that produced it? Which monastery was it created in? What influence did it have on the spread of Christianity? Were there other manuscripts produced? There are a million questions and debates on this one historical artifact which most will not be answered. But that doesn't mean it won't be attempted!
