Words on the Wave: exhibition catalogue now available
The exhibition highlights the connections between Ireland and continental Europe in the early medieval period, above all with the abbey of St Gall in Switzerland, which was reputedly founded by an Irish saint in the 7th century and became a popular stopping-point for Irish pilgrims and religious exiles (peregrini) from at least the 9th century onwards, some of whom deposited Irish manuscripts at the monastery. The exhibition features a combination of 18 precious Irish or Irish-related manuscripts from the Stiftsbibliothek or Abbey Library in St. Gallen and over 100 objects from the collections of the National Museum. These artefacts, several of which are being displayed for the first time, illustrate the context in which the St. Gallen manuscripts were produced and later brought to the Continent in the satchels of the early medieval Irish peregrini. The artefacts relate to the contacts between Ireland and the Late Roman Empire, the emergence of literacy in the country, the art historical context for the decoration of the St. Gallen manuscripts and the Viking threat that prompted some of the peregrini to seek exile on the Continent.
The exhibition catalogue includes contributions by 28 authors and contains detailed descriptions of all the manuscripts and objects on display. It also features a series of thematic essays discussing the relationship between Ireland and Europe in the early medieval period, the content and illustration of the St. Gallen manuscripts, and the art historical connections between the manuscripts and other artefacts. The volume also contains an account of the conservation of one of the highlights of the exhibition, the Lough Kinale Book-Shrine, a richly decorated timber and bronze casket that was discovered in a Longford lake in the 1980s. Two of contributions reveal the exciting findings of recent research into the parchment and pigments used in some of the St. Gallen manuscripts. This investigation included DNA analysis of a selection of the manuscripts, which was able to determine the country of origin of the cattle that provided the vellum and thus establish the place of production. The catalogue secures a long-term legacy for this unique exhibition, which runs until 24 October 2025.
Seaver, M., Ó Riain, D. and Sikora, M. (eds) 2025 Words on the wave: Ireland and St. Gallen in early medieval Europe. Dublin. National Museum of Ireland
Contributors: Edward Bourke, Dan Bradley, Sadbh Carrick, Renata Dias (design), Cornel Dora, Ian Doyle, Fenella France, John Gillis, Meghan Hill, Anna Hoffmann, Elisabeth Ilgner, Helena King (copyeditor), Phillip Lenz, Valeria Mattiangeli, Bernard Meehan, Paul Mullarkey, Victoria Mullin, Griffin Murray, Róisín Nic Cnáimhín, John Nicholl, Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, Pádraig Ó Macháin, Brendan O’Neill, Timothy O’Neill, Siobhán Pierce, Lynn Scarff, John Sheehan, Carol Smith, Andrew Woods
The exhibition catalogue is now on sale in the Museum Shop; price €20
