The book of kells is an illuminated manuscript gospel book in latin, containing the four gospels of the new testament together with various prefatory texts and. The book of kells contains the four gospels in latin based on the vulgate text which st jerome completed in 384ad, intermixed with readings from the earlier. The original book of kells was created more than 1,200 years ago around the year 800 ce written in latin, handlettered on vellum with almost 2,000 illuminated letters, 33 exquisitely decorated pages, as well as knotwork and interlacings so small they cannot be seen with the naked eye. The medieval masterpiece, the book of kells, is now. Christs monogram page, book of kells 800 art encyclopedia. Arguably the most famous artifact on display in dublin is the book of kells at trinity college. Timothy grahams illustrated lecture on the history, art and symbolism of the book of kells, a medieval celtic decorated gospel manuscript. The yellow book of lecan ms 18, late 14thearly 15th century is a composite manuscript containing medical tracts, grammatical and aphoristic material, the famous glossary sanas chormaic attributed to cormac mac cuileannain d. Book of kells the library of trinity college dublin trinity college. The book of kells is an illuminated manuscript gospel book in latin, containing the four gospels of the new testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. The ancient masterpiece is a stunning example of hibernosaxon style, thought to have been composed on the scottish island of iona in 806, then transferred to the monastery of kells in county meath after a viking raid a story told in the marvelous animated film the secret of kells. Title the vatican vergil artist christian date fifth century ce material papyrus.
Today, it consists of 340 vellum leaves, which is the skin of a mammal, or folios. The book of kells, one of the great treasures of medieval europe, is an illuminated manuscript gospel book in latin, containing four gospels of. The catholic churchs ongoing project will digitize 80,000 manuscripts containing. The book was created about 800 by irish monks in the monastery of iona, off the western coast of scotland. The monastery was founded by saint columba in 563, and quickly became a centre of irish monastic art and culture. It was stolen from kells during 1007 ce with the resultant loss of the cover plus some folios.
Book of kells a miscellany of topics our irish heritage. Two notes on the book of kells and its relation to other insular. Monks created an illuminated bible of astonishing beauty sometime between the 6th and 8th centuries. It was created in a columban monastery in either britain or ireland and may have had contributions from various columban institutions from both britain and ireland. Its page depicting the appearance of jesus christs name history at your fingertips thank you for subscribing. The work is the most famous of the medieval illuminated manuscripts for the intricacy, detail, and majesty of the illustrations. The book of kells contains the four gospels of the christian scriptures written in black, red, purple, and yellow ink in an insular majuscule script, preceded by prefaces, summaries, and concordances of gospel passages. Book of kells digital collections tcd trinity college dublin. The text of the gospels is largely drawn from the vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the ear.
The book of kells was again transferred during the. Sponsored by osher lifelong learning institute, unm. The lion of john, book of durrow early christian celtic art early christian. The book of kells trinity college dublin ms 58 contains the four gospels in latin based on the vulgate text which st jerome completed in 384ad, intermixed. The book of kells washingtoncenterville public library. The catholic churchs ongoing project will digitize 80,000 manuscripts. The book of kells is frequently viewed as the most famous illuminated manuscript of any era and the most significant contribution to medieval art. The gospels are preceded by prefaces, summaries of the gospel narratives and concordances of gospel passagesa kind of crossindexing system.