Unraveling the Book of Kells: a manuscript that reached the pinnacle of medieval artistry

The Book of Kells is widely recognized by many experts as one of the most stunning medieval manuscripts ever produced. Its lavishly embellished pages stand as a remarkable testament to medieval craftsmanship, but its history is equally fascinating and mysterious.

Simply put, the Book of Kells is an illustrated religious manuscript that was most likely created on the tiny Scottish island of Iona in the Inner Hebrides sometime in the 9th Century according to the National Trust for Scotland. However, some argue its origins are still unclear.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Yair Haklai, Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

“The book measures 13x10 inches (33x25 cm), and of the hundred of pages each one is decorated in some way, whether with a large and lavish illustration or through adornment of the text itself,” the National Trust for Scotland Rheanna-Marie Hall wrote.

Written in Latin and containing the four gospels of the New Testament, the Book of Kells is an amazing example of what the Medieval Celtic monks of the Columban monastery on Iona could create long before the printing press existed. 

“Books at this time had to be painstakingly copied by hand, a task often performed by teams of monks,” explained Live Science’s Tom Metcalfe, who also noted the Book of Kells was written in a style common at the time. 

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The Book of Kells is a beautiful manuscript inlaid with brilliant drawings accompanying elaborate lettering written in a technique known as the “insular” style of the illuminated manuscripts according to Metcalfe.

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“Insular manuscripts are characterized by their elaborate initial letters, and are often highly decorated with fanciful designs of legendary animals and Celtic motifs,” Metcalfe continued, adding that the manuscript was written on vellum and spans 680 pages. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Eadfrith of Lindisfarne, Public Domain

“Some of the pages are missing, possibly because of a theft in the 11th century, but it is remarkably complete for a text that is so old,” Metcalfe added. Some of the manuscript’s missing pages may have been lost when it was moved from the Island of Iona. 

In the early 800s, Christian communities on the coasts of the British Isles came under threat from Viking raiders according to BBC News. Iona was one place. A raid in 806 left 68 monks from the Columban monastery on the island dead. 

The Columban monks who survived the raid eventually left Iona and took refuge in a newly created monastery in the Kells in County Meath in Ireland. It is believed that the Book of Kells traveled with monks. Did some of the 60 missing pages get lost on the journey?

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In 1006, the Book of Kells was allegedly stolen from the stone church where it was held but was found a few months later according to medical records. In 1653 the manuscript had another close encounter and was almost lost. 

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Fighting during the Cromwelian period saw the church at Kells destroyed and the book was sent by the governor of Kells to Dublin for safekeeping. The manuscript eventually made it to Trinity College Dublin, where it still remains today, albeit missing a few pages. 

“The most extravagant illustrations come on the title pages of the four Gospels, which form the Latin text of the manuscript,” wrote Martha Kearny of BBC News, adding that the beginning of the Gospel of John was a particularly beautiful part of the manuscript. 

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“The whole page only contains four words, In principio erat verbum: In the beginning was the Word. Then there is the figure of St John himself, with large thoughtful eyes, who is shown holding a book,” Kearny wrote. 

While Kearny may love the first page of John’s Gospel, the most famous page of the Book of Kells is the page known as the Chi Rho, Kearny explained are the first letters in the Greek word for Christ. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons, Public Domain

“The letters themselves are the centerpiece of the folio. The page is covered in a swirling, almost psychedelic design, with extremely elaborate patterns in minute detail. You can stare at this for ages and find new flourishes, tracery and spirals,” Kearny wrote. 

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