The Book of Kells

Book of Kells

Written and painted at either the Columbian monastery of Iona or the Abbey of Kells in Ireland, the Book of Kells stands as a supreme example of one of Ireland's treasures from the 'Golden Age', the period about the 8th or 9th century when Irish creativity was manifest in epic poetry, metalwork, jewellery, enamelling, and manuscript illumination. The 340 surviving folia contain an incomplete Latin text of the Gospels. It is ornamented throughout with interlaced strapwork patterns and decorated initials depicting humans and animal forms. Since 1661, the Book of Kells (MS 58) has been in Trinity College, Dublin; it is certainly the most viewed manuscript in the world. This is a facsimile.

The Book of Kells. London: Thames & Hudson, 1974; facsimile. Spec Coll Stack ND 3359 K4 BP 98 1974

University of Otago Eire a Moradh - Singing the Praises of Ireland, Special Collections Exhibition from the University of Otago Library <