I’ve heard of The Book of Kells and often wondered about it. Thankfully, my friend Catherine loaned me her copy of The Book of Kells. It’s not a rep[ica of the original, of course. The original was 399 pages, 13” by 9-1/2” printed on vellum which was the skin of goats, sheep or calves. The original Book of Kells is in the Old Library at Trinity College in Dublin.
But back to Kells. Kells was an ancient town in the County of Meath, Ireland. Its Latinized name sometimes called it Cenondae or Cenannus or Kenlis. It is said that St. Columba established a monastery there c. 521 A.D. Nothing remains to be seen of the original monastery or town, except some Irish stone crosses, an old church and a round stone tower. No wonder. Over the centuries, the area was plundered over and over again by the marauding Danes.
The copy I have on my desk consists of a lengthy Introduction by Sir Edward Sullivan, Irish politician and avid collector of old books, followed by 24 coloured pages showing the magnificent Celtic illuminations from the original manuscript.
There are the illuminations of the symbols of the four Evangelical saints, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Also beautifully decorated pages from the gospels; these are printed as the originals were in Latin. Three plates are devoted to the genealogy of Christ, in Latin. Also there are plates of compound letters as the Celtic artists produced them. Every illustration is lavishly decorated with birds, flowers and Celtic symbols.
Those who wish to know more about Celtic illuminations will enjoy the last part of the book which is an article on Celtic Illuminated manuscripts by Johan Adlof Bruun.
You can visit the Old Library at Trinity College in Dublin and view the original Book of Kells for 18.50Euros, but this glimpse of ancient artwork is very satisfying by itself.
This book is stunningly amazing. We made a point of spending some time in the Old Library at Trinity College (the College buildings alone are well worth the visit).
Although we were only able to se the two pages open for viewing, the work was moving.
Moving.