Book of Kells

In the Colonnades Gallery of the library of Trinity College, Dublin, can be seen the Book of Kells, one of the greatest artistic treasures in the world. Written by monks, it contains the four Gospels; one page is turned every day.

It has not yet been clearly established when and where the book was written, who commissioned it and who the artists were. The most widespread scientific theory of its origin and age is that it dates from the end of the eighth century and came from Iona, a barren island off the west coast of Scotland. The monastery of Iona which St Columba had founded in 563 was the place from which missionaries traveled to the mainland of Scotland, to northern England and then to the European continent. Here they influenced the founding of monasteries - for instance in Würzburg (Germany), in Luxeuil (France), in Bobbio (Italy) and in St Gallen (Switzerland). In 791 the Abbot Connachtach assembled in Iona the best artist and calligraphers of Europe. Further evidence that the Book of Kells must have originated on Iona can be found in the picture of the apostle Luke on page 201. On the upper part of the apostle's hand can be seen the word "Jonas", and Jonas was another name for Iona. In 806 the Vikings landed on the island and began to plunder and burn it. Connachtach, the abbot, and 86 of his monks were slain. According to one theory precautions to preserve the book had been made after the Vikings had attacked Iona for the first time in 795. Shortly before their second invasion the Book of Kells, still incomplete, is said to have been taken by ship across the sea to the security of the Irish Monastery of Kells (Ceananus Mor). Here it is presumed to have been completed at the beginning of the ninth century. In the 11th C. it was stolen but found again three months later, although the gilded cover had been torn off. According to another theory the entire book is said to have originated in Ireland and as far as the date of origin is concerned many scholars presume this to have been at the beginning of the eighth century. Whatever may be the true explanation, it is a fact that in the 12th C. the book was in the possession of the Monastery of Kells, for at this time the rules of this community of monks were written on the plain pages of the masterpiece. When Cromwell's marauding Protestant troops stormed over Ireland the book was taken for security to Trinity College Dublin. The text of the Book of Kells is based on the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible made by Hieronymus in the fourth century, but the Book of Kells does not entirely follow this version. This may be due to the fact that several sources were consulted when it was being written. Some have expressed the view that, as this work of art is larger in format than other examples of the Gospels made between the seventh and ninth centuries, it was originally created to be used on the altar; this would account for the unusual illumination of its pages.

No costs were spared in creating the Book of Kells. The parchment for the pages was made from the hides of hundreds of calves. Pigments for the coloration were obtained from all over the world: ultramarine from the Hindu Kush mountains along the route from Persia via Constantinople, carmine from southern France and purple and gold pigment from Spain. In view of the differences in style in the artistic arrangement of the book it is thought that several artists - probably four - were engaged on the work.

In the Book of Kells each passage of the four Gospels begins with an illuminated initial. There are 2,000 of these, each different from any other. At the beginning of the account of the birth of Christ in St Matthew's Gospel a whole page, measuring 33 by 25cm/13 by 10in, is devoted to the chi-Rho monogram (a combination of the first two letters of "Christos" - "XP" in Greek). The long diagonal arms of the "X" lie obliquely across the page, while the "P" can be seen in the lower part of the right side. Among the artistically decorated ornamentation well-drawn figures and animals can be clearly seen.

These letters celebrate the incarnation of Christ and are reminiscent of the finest goldsmith's work. Anyone looking at the Book of Kells is inevitably reminded of the Orient, and yet this book has a fundamentally insular (that is Irish and north-British) character. In the combination of its ornamentation and figurative composition it forms the high point of the tradition of Irish book-illumination.