The Book of Kells

 

The Book of Kells

Lavishly decorated frontispiece of the Book of Kells.

I have just returned from a brief trip with family to Dublin, a city unknown to me, and subsequently, a delight to discover. My view of Dublin was heavily influenced by the quality of the museums which I experienced there and one, EPIC, the Irish Emigration Museum, particularly impressed me. Just being there, meant I was constantly reminded of the charm of the Irish, evident in so many day-to-day transactions and encounters and the EPIC displays recount the Irish narrative in such innovative ways. Obviously, I quickly became aware that my museum-visit practice was seriously outdated; there were no serried ranks of silent display cases and endless, difficult-to-read labels too tiny to bother with. Instead, there was colour and movement; videos and informative voice-overs which rendered my inexperience and hesitation irrelevant!       

My favourite EPIC item was the miraculous Book of Kells, both the sublime creation itself, and the story of its historical journey.  Exploring its timeline is to uncover centuries of artistry, intrigue and

Ornate decorated introduction to the 
Gospel of John.

cultural heritage.  It was created around 800 A.D. in a monastery on the Island of Iona off the Scottish coast. That area, and particularly the monastery, suffered a series of Viking attacks which brought death and destruction to the monks with the attendant fear of the destruction or disappearance of what was the emerging Book of Kells, so the surviving monks took their treasures and fled to Kells, in County Meath in Ireland. The compilation of the nascent Book of Kells, begun in Iona, continued and may have been completed there though there is no written reference to its existence until 1007 in the Annals of Ulster describing it as “the great Gospel of Colum Cille” and recording that the manuscript had previously been stolen, disappearing “after two months and twenty nights.”  Its accidental discovery from burial in the ground was a huge relief even though its binding, and the leaves at the front and back, were missing. In 521or 522, Colum Cille had been born into the ruling dynasty of present- day Donegal. Around 561 he travelled to Dal Riata in Scotland, finally settling in 563 on Iona, a fertile island off Mull. The subsequent community there grew to be the prosperous head of a confederation of monastic houses with Lindisfarne its most prominent foundation.

Symbols of the four Evangelists:
Top left to right:
Matthew, angel; Mark, lion;
eagle, John; ox, Luke.

 There is scant information on the Book after the early eleventh century and it is presumed that this early version continued its peaceful existence in the monastery in Kells. Interesting however, is to consider the original concept which flowered into the beautiful Kells project. Was it conceived as a unitary object originally and did the idea of producing a stunning manuscript continue throughout the upheavals, wars, violence and urgent re-locations? It is concluded by experts that numerous scribes and artists may have worked on the Book at various times, and the current assumption is that there was no apparent co-ordination or overall collaboration between scribes. The current official written guide to The Book of Kells however attributes its identity and status to the fact that it was assembled on Kells by one particular scribe identified as Scribe B. However, the impressive centre narrative of the Book of Kells is John’s Gospel which may well have come complete as now presented, from Iona, perhaps intended to be a single, stand-alone manuscript, as the Irish Church had a particular reverence for John. The manuscript includes a magnificent portrait of John, and the conservative style of the script clearly suggests it is the work of a single scribe, designated A. It seems likely that Scribe B had the assembled core texts before him and then he completed sections, supplied necessary additions and numerous decorative details in an attempt to provide overall coherence.

Chi Rho monogram.
The first two letters of Christ, in Greek.

In 1211 the Book of Kells was brought into the newly-formed diocese of Meath, the monastic church also functioning as the parish church and considered a safe haven vis-à-vis the treasured manuscript, In 1641 there was an Irish rebellion against the Protestant settlers during which upheaval, the town, including the church, of Kells suffered severe damage, the church subsequently fit only for the stabling of horses. The safety of the manuscript being endangered with Cromwell's cavalry quartered in the church nearby, the manuscript was sent to Dublin around 1653 by the Governor of Kells, Charles Lambart, 1^st Earl of Cavan and soon after, Henry Jones, Bishop of Meath, (1661-1682) presented it to Trinity College where it remains today, a treasured archive. Trinity College had been established by Queen Elizabeth 1in 1592 and was thus Ireland's oldest university.

The manuscript was rebound in 1742, and again in early 1826 by George Mullen who received the sum of £22.15 “for repairing Columb Kills manuscript.” Unfortunately, Mullen’s repair was later deplored as ‘vandalism’, especially his trimming of the leaves. In 1895 the manuscript was again rebound, this time by Galwey of Eustace Street, Dublin. The present binding was carried out in 1953 by Roger Powell; he flattened the leaves through careful hydration and tensioning and divided the Book into four volumes, one for each of the Gospels. There are minor additions to the text such as a poem complaining about the taxation of church land, added in the 15th century; copious signatures and annotations added by Gerald Plunkett of Dublin in the 16th century, including  disfiguring transcriptions of texts; and the signatures of Queen Victoria and Albert on the occasion of their visit on 7th August 1849.  The mediaeval Latin of the Book of Kells does not make for easy reading! There are no letters j, v, and k. And spelling is erratic with letters interchanged such as y and I; ae and e; m and n; b and p. Double consonants are common such as double ss where one is needed or double tt similarly.

Madonna and child.
The oldest image of Mary in Western manuscripts.

This blog is a minor introduction to the Book of Kells and the reader should search out the official guide which is packed with full and relevant information and illustration and produced by scholars and artists with long experience of this extraordinary mediaeval manuscript. Begun when almost no ordinary person could read or write but when everyone looked to churches and illustrated religious texts for inspiration, information and artistic beauty, the Book of Kells can boast stunning imagery, vivid colouring and expressive intensity. It is a jewel which inspires as a symbol of continuing Irish historical creativity. Notably, UNESCO has added the Book of Kells to the Memory of the  World International Globally Important historical documents.

 

The Long Room, Trinity College, Dublin.
Final home to the Book of Kells.
The Long Room, opened in 1732,. is a 65 metre-long chamber and
is regarded as one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.
Still in use today as a library