The scribes of the Book of Kells
As in the case of the illuminators of the Book of Kells, it is not clear as to how many individuals were responsible for carrying out the textual decoration of the manuscript. Some scholars argue that multiple scribes were involved in the text production, while others believe that the creation of the textual component was down to a singular scribe.
The argument for multiple scribes
Henry (1974) also played an important role in shedding light on as to how many individuals were responsible for undertaking the task of transcribing the textual component of the manuscript. Based on her research of the manuscript, she argues that she has successfully
identified three individual scribes responsible for the creation of the text. She gave them the names of 'Hand A', 'Hand B' and 'Hand C as a way of distinguishing between the authors'. Henry identified these individuals based on differences she found in the writing styles used. The use of colour was also a method used to identify differences between authors. Furthermore, Henry went as far as to ascribe certain sections or folios to each scribe, based on these elements of distinction.
The writing style used by 'Hand A' is identified as being quite low in height ; it has been described as being quite reserved and has been categorised by Meehan (1994b) as being "careful and sedate". In the case of 'Hand A', heavy use of brown ink is clearly seen. Henry (1974) ascribed Folios 1r, 8v-19v (the Preliminaries) to 'Hand A', as well as the Gospel of John. She also felt this individual was responsible for the Breves Cause and Argumenta.
'Hand B', on the other hand, is described as being much more exuberant (Sullivan, 1988). This particular individual made great use of the wide range of colours available to them; it has been identified that purple was a favoured colour of this scribe. Meehan (1994b) notes that this particular scribe lacked consistency with regard to the numbering of lines per page ; within the Folios ascribed to 'Hand B', there is a fluctuation in the number of lines of text per page. It is seen to go between 17- 19 lines. Henry (1974) felt that 'Hand B' was responsible for Folios 20r-26r, 127v-129v.
The individual identified by Henry as 'Hand C' is where some of those scholars who believe that multiple scribes were responsible for the text tend to differ in opinion. Henry (1974) and Sullivan (1980) believe that this particular scribe was responsible for the bulk of the textual creation found in the Book of Kells. They writing style, which incorporates a heavy usage of miniscule letters is seen to be a defining element of this.
Meehan (1994b) differs in his opinion on 'Hand C' and their contribution to the textual component of the manuscript. He ascertains that a fourth scribe played a part in the text creation, not believing that the majority of text production was carried out by 'Hand C'. Meehan draws attention to the fact that there are many identified inconsistencies within the sections ascribed to 'Hand C' by Henry (1974). He feels that these inconsistencies are reflected in the general appearance of the pages themselves, as well as in the sizes and amount of lettering used per page and the extent of decoration used generally. Instead, he argues that 'Hand D', this fourth scribe, can be identified by what he describes as 'angular' handwriting and their use of elongated lettering. Meehan also notes that a unique identifier can be ascribed to 'Hand D' : a distinctive serif found at the beginning of the letter 's'.
The writing style used by 'Hand A' is identified as being quite low in height ; it has been described as being quite reserved and has been categorised by Meehan (1994b) as being "careful and sedate". In the case of 'Hand A', heavy use of brown ink is clearly seen. Henry (1974) ascribed Folios 1r, 8v-19v (the Preliminaries) to 'Hand A', as well as the Gospel of John. She also felt this individual was responsible for the Breves Cause and Argumenta.
'Hand B', on the other hand, is described as being much more exuberant (Sullivan, 1988). This particular individual made great use of the wide range of colours available to them; it has been identified that purple was a favoured colour of this scribe. Meehan (1994b) notes that this particular scribe lacked consistency with regard to the numbering of lines per page ; within the Folios ascribed to 'Hand B', there is a fluctuation in the number of lines of text per page. It is seen to go between 17- 19 lines. Henry (1974) felt that 'Hand B' was responsible for Folios 20r-26r, 127v-129v.
The individual identified by Henry as 'Hand C' is where some of those scholars who believe that multiple scribes were responsible for the text tend to differ in opinion. Henry (1974) and Sullivan (1980) believe that this particular scribe was responsible for the bulk of the textual creation found in the Book of Kells. They writing style, which incorporates a heavy usage of miniscule letters is seen to be a defining element of this.
Meehan (1994b) differs in his opinion on 'Hand C' and their contribution to the textual component of the manuscript. He ascertains that a fourth scribe played a part in the text creation, not believing that the majority of text production was carried out by 'Hand C'. Meehan draws attention to the fact that there are many identified inconsistencies within the sections ascribed to 'Hand C' by Henry (1974). He feels that these inconsistencies are reflected in the general appearance of the pages themselves, as well as in the sizes and amount of lettering used per page and the extent of decoration used generally. Instead, he argues that 'Hand D', this fourth scribe, can be identified by what he describes as 'angular' handwriting and their use of elongated lettering. Meehan also notes that a unique identifier can be ascribed to 'Hand D' : a distinctive serif found at the beginning of the letter 's'.
The argument for a singular scribe
There are some scholars who believe that only one scribe was responsible for the textual component of the manuscript. Both Meyer (1950) and Brown (1972) both advocate this particular viewpoint, as noted in Meehan (1994b). Meyer believed that the scribe responsible was capable of more than one writing style. Brown felt that the singular scribe chose to use different writing styles for different sections.
The learned art of a scribe
It is clear to see that there are various opinions of the matter of how many scribes were responsible for the textual production in the BOK. Henry (1974) supposes that the elements of uniformity found within the text are likely a result of training imposed on scribes, with regard to the copying of documentation at the monastery. This process likely would have taken place in a single scriptorium. It is not too far of a reach to suppose that each scribe learnt the basics and then perhaps individual personalities shone through in the process of textual creation, or, in the arguments of Meyer (1950) and Brown (1970), that an individual had the opportunity to become extremely proficient at textual creation, given rigorous training.