Of similar shrines, which were made for precious books by both the
Greeks and Lombards, the oldest and most famous is that made for
Theudelinde, wife of Agilulf, King of the Lombards, and given by her, in
616, together with the famous iron crown and other relics, to the
Cathedral of Monza, where they are still to be seen.
The enrichment of the covers of books themselves, as distinct from the
use of cases or shrines, has been usual in almost all ages and styles of
decoration. When we come to speak of Carolingian MSS. we shall find
several remarkable instances.
We must now pass on from this curiously attractive theme of Celtic
calligraphy to its contemporary styles of France, Germany, Spain, and
Italy, only remarking by the way that no other style of its time had so
marked an influence on the local _scriptoria_ into which it was
introduced as this same Celtic of Ireland. It is not only traceable, but
easily recognised all along the Rhine, in Burgundy, the Swiss Cantons,
and Lombardy, until at length overwhelmed by the general introduction of
Romanesque or Byzantine, which was restored and filtered through the
Exarchate and the Lombard schools during the early days of the new
Carolingian Empire.
CHAPTER VIII
SEMI-BARBARIC ILLUMINATION
Visigothic--Merovingian--Lombardic--Extinction of classic art--Splendid
reign of Dagobert--St.
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