Book of Kells

When we found out that we were to visit Dublin, one of the things we wanted to see was the Book of Kells. Having studied Christendom for the second time this year, this period of history was fresh for us. Chelsea and Braden have both been interested in illuminated manuscripts as they studied art and to actually be able to see this rare book in person was exciting. As it turned out, it is on view at Trinity College which was only a few blocks from our hotel. Unfortunately we were not able to take pictures inside the museum, but the museum displays were very interesting. They contained a history of the Book of Kells, the process of making illuminated manuscripts, an explanation of the imagery contained in the book, other illuminated manuscripts, and a room specifically for viewing the Book of Kells.

From the museum brochure..."The Book of Kells contains lavishly decorated copy, in Latin, of the four gospels. It has bong been associated with St Colum Cille (c. 521-597 AD) who founded his principal monastery on the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland, in about 561. The Book of Kells was probably produced early in the 9th century by the monks of Iona, working wholly or partially at Iona itself or at Kelly, county Meath, where they moved after 806 AD, when Iona was attacked by Vikings in a raid which left sixty-eight monks dead. The Book of Kells was sent to Dublin around 1653 for reasons of security during the Cromwellian period. It came to Trinity College through the agency of Henry Jones after he became the bishop of Meath in 1661."

To say it is impressive is an understatement! It is beautiful and lavishly decorated throughout. The size surprised me. It is about the size of an over sized children's story book, but as thick as a dictionary. The pages were vellum, calf skin, and some pages contain small holes from the process of curing the skins, indicating that these were valuable and not to be wasted even if they were not perfect. The margins of the book are large especially at the bottom of the book. It seemed that this would allow the writer to rest his wrist in the lower margin to create a more even script. The manuscript print was surprisingly small and painstakingly even. The spaces between the letters of each word were not much smaller than the spaces between the words, making picking out latin words a challenge. When we actually viewed the book at the end of the museum tour I was struck with what a labor of love this was for the monks. The book, opened to the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew 14, was a loving expression of their faith, a life long work. The care and skill required to produce this manuscript is a testament to what any believer can accomplish with their God given skills to spread the gospel to this world.

Chlesea if you ever see the Book of Kells in person it will inspire you, I promise!!

(the picture at the top is a page from the Book of Kells depicting the four gospels)