Page from the Lindisfarne Gospels

The lavishly illuminated manuscript known as the Lindisfarne Gospels, of which this is one page, was probably produced in the first third of the eighth century. For the monks at Lindisfarne (a tidal island off the northeast coast of England) and elsewhere in the British Isles, books were precious objects. The page shown here depicts the Evangelist St. Mark, writing while also holding a book. Above his halo is his symbol, a winged lion; it is blowing a trumpet while its front paws rest on a book. What books might St. Mark and the lion be holding? (© The British Library / The Image Works.)