The Book of Kells (c. 800 AD) is an illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament, currently housed at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. the work is the most famous of medieval illuminated manuscripts for the complexity, detail and majesty of the illustrations. it is believed that the book was created as a masterpiece for the altar, not for everyday use, because more attention was obviously paid to the artwork than to the text.
The beauty of the lettering, portraits of the evangelists and other imagery, often framed by intricate Celtic knotwork motifs, has been praised by writers throughout the centuries. scholar thomas cahill notes that, “until the twelfth century, geraldus cambrensis was forced to conclude that the book of kells was ‘the work of an angel, not a man’ because of its majestic illustrations and that, today, the letters illustrating the chi-rho (the monogram of christ) are considered “more [living] presences than letters” on the page because of their beauty (165) unlike other illuminated manuscripts, in which the text was written and illustration and lighting were then added, the creators of the book of kells focused on the impression the work would have visually, so the artwork was the center of the piece.
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origin & purpose
the book of kells was produced by monks of st. the columba order of iona, scotland, but exactly where it was made is disputed. Theories about the composition range from its creation on the Isle of Iona to Kells, Ireland, and Lindisfarne, Great Britain. It was most likely created, at least in part, on Iona and then brought to Kells to keep it safe from the Viking raiders who first raided Iona in AD 795, shortly after their raid on the Priory of lindisfarne in great britain.
a viking raid in 806 ce killed 68 monks on iona and caused the survivors to abandon the abbey in favor of another or their order in kells. It is likely that the Book of Kells traveled with them at this time and was completed in Ireland. the oft-repeated claim that it was made or owned by st. columba (521-597 ce) is untenable as the book was not created before c. 800 AD; but there is no doubt that it was produced by later members of his order.
The work is commonly regarded as the greatest illuminated manuscript of any era owing to the beauty of the artwork and this, no doubt, had to do with the purpose it was made for. Scholars have concluded that the book was created for use during the celebration of the mass but most likely was not read from so much as shown to the congregation.
This theory is supported by the fact that the text is often sloppily written, contains a number of errors, and at points certainly looks like an afterthought compared to the illustrations on the page. the priests who would have used the book probably already had the biblical passages memorized and would therefore recite them while holding the book, without needing to read the text.
Scholar Christopher de Hamel points out how today “books are very visible in churches” but that in the Middle Ages this would not have been the case (186). de hamel describes the rough sketch of a medieval church service:
there were no benches (people generally stood or sat on the floor) and probably no books in sight. the priest read the Latin mass from a manuscript placed on the altar, and the choir sang their part of the daily office from a volume visible only to them. members of the congregation were not expected to join in the singing; some might have brought their books of hours to help put themselves in a proper frame of mind, but the services were led by the priests. (186)
It is believed that the book of kells was the altar manuscript which may have first been used in iona services and then certainly was in the abbey of kells. the brightly colored illustrations and lighting would have made it an exceptionally impressive piece for a congregation, adding visual emphasis to the words the priest was reciting as he showed them to the people; much like one would read a picture book to a young child today.
appearance & content
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The book measures 13×10 inches (33×25 cm) and is made of vellum pages decorated with painted images that are accompanied by Latin text written in Insular script in various colors of ink. Includes the complete Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and part of John, as well as indexes and cross-references, summaries, and commentaries. it was originally bound with a gold and jeweled cover which was lost when the manuscript was stolen from the abbey in 1007 CE. The thieves tore off the ornate binding, front and back, which also resulted in the loss of some of the folios at both ends, and this may have been when the last part of the Gospel of John was lost.
It is also possible, however, that John may never have been completely copied. There is evidence that the Book of Kells is an unfinished manuscript. There are blank pages, for example, and some missing illustrations; although these may have been lost rather than never completed. The work was done by three separate anonymous scribes who are identified in the present day only as Hand A, Hand B, and Hand C. It was common for more than one scribe to work on a manuscript – even on a single page of a book – to proofread and correct another’s errors or to illuminate a text already copied.
creation
Monks produced illuminated manuscripts between the 5th and 13th centuries AD. after the 13th century AD professional booksellers emerged to meet the growing demand for literary works. it was a natural consequence of monastic life that monks were the first copyists and creators of books. each monastery was required to have a library as dictated by the rules of st. 6th century AD Benedict while it is clear that some monks came to these places with their own books, it is equally clear that many others were borrowed from elsewhere and copied.
Monks who worked on books were known as scriptores and worked in rooms called scriptoriums. the scriptorium was a long room, lit only by light from the windows, with wooden chairs and desks. a monk would sit hunched over these tables, which tilted up to hold manuscript pages, day after day to complete a job. candles and oil lamps were not allowed in the scriptorium to maintain the security of the manuscripts, as fire was an obvious and significant threat.
Monks were involved in all aspects of bookmaking, from growing the animals whose skin would be used for the pages, to processing that skin into vellum and beyond to the finished product. once the vellum was processed, a monk would begin by cutting a sheet to size. this practice would define the form of books from then until today; the books are longer than they are wide because the monks needed a higher page to work on.
Once the sheet of vellum was prepared, lines were drawn across it to serve as rulers for text and white space was left on the sides and edges for illustrations. the text was first written in black ink between these ruled lines by one monk and would later be given to another to correct. this second monk would then add titles in blue or red ink and then turn the page over to the illuminator, who would add images, color, and silver or gold lighting. monks wrote with quill pens and boiled iron, tree bark, and nuts to make black ink; other colors of ink were produced by grinding and boiling different chemicals and natural plants.
lighting
Images in the Book of Kells (and other illuminated manuscripts) are called miniatures. academic giulia bologna explains:
The term miniature is derived from miniare, which means ‘to color red’; Minium is the Latin name for cinnabar or mercuric sulfide. This red, used in Pompeii wall paintings, was commonly used to color the initials of early codices, thus its name became the term used to indicate images in manuscript books. (31)
The artists who painted these works were known as miniaturists but later as illuminators. the illuminator began with a sheet of vellum paper on which the text had usually already been written. the monk would rub the section of the page to be worked on with clay or fish glue or with “a mixture of ox bile and egg albumen or by rubbing the surface with cotton wool dipped in a dilute glue and honey”. solution” (Bologna, 32). Once the surface was prepared, the monk prepared his brushes, which were made of squirrel tail hair pressed into a handle, as well as his feathers and paints, and set to work. errors in the image were erased by rubbing them with pieces of bread.
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According to Bologna, “we learn of the techniques of illumination from two sources: from uncompleted manuscripts that allow us to observe the interrupted stages of the work and from the directions compiled by medieval authors” (32). The illuminator would begin by sketching an image and then tracing it onto the vellum page. The first layer of paint would be applied to the image and then left to dry; afterwards, other colors were applied. Gold or gold leaf was the first on the page to provide the illumination highlighted by the colors which followed. In this way, the great Book of Kells was produced.
story
Although it is clear how the manuscript was probably made, no consensus was ever reached as to where it was created. christopher de hamel writes:
the book of kells is a problem. no study of manuscripts can exclude him, a giant among giants. its decoration is extremely lavish and the imaginative quality of its workmanship quite exceptional. it was probably this book which Giraldus cambrensis, around 1185, called “the work of an angel, not of a man”. But in the general history of medieval book production, the Book of Kells occupies an awkward position because so little is actually known about its origin or date. it can be Irish or Scottish or English. (21)
However, most scholars agree that the work has a Scottish or Irish origin, and since the monks of iona were originally from Ireland, the Irish influence is considered more prominent. The Book of Durrow (AD 650-700), undoubtedly created in Ireland and predating the Book of Kells by more than a century, shows many of the same techniques and stylistic choices. Thomas Cahill, writing on the development of literacy and book production in Ireland, comments:
nothing enhanced the Irish game more than copying the books themselves…they found the letterforms magical. why, they wondered, did ab look the way it did? Could she see herself differently? was there an essential b-ness? The result of such questions as to why the sky is blue was a new type of book, the Irish codex; And one after another, Ireland began to produce the most spectacular magical books the world had ever seen. (165)
cahill goes on to point out how Irish monks combined the letters of the Roman alphabet with their own ogham script and, whatever their imaginations, bent them to produce the initial capital letters on the page, the headings, and the borders that framed the thumbnails. Wherever the Book of Kells began or ended, the Irish touch is unmistakable throughout.
As noted, it most likely came to Kells from Iona in AD 806. c. after the worst of the Viking raids on the island and it is known that it was stolen in the year 1007 AD. c. when your cover was lost; the text itself was found discarded. It is most likely considered to be the same book Giraldus cambrensis so admired at Kildare in the twelfth century AD. but, if you are correct about this location, it was at kells abbey in the same century that the abbey-related land charts on some of the pages were written.
It remained at the abbey until the 17th century CE when Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland (1649-1643 CE) and stationed a part of his force at Kells; at this time the manuscript was brought to Dublin for safe-keeping. It came into the hands of the bishop Henry Jones (1605-1682 CE), an alumnus of Trinity College, and Jones donated it to the college’s library in 1661 CE along with the Book of Durrow. The manuscript has been housed at the Trinity library ever since. In 1953 CE the book was rebound in four separate volumes to help preserve it. Two of these volumes are on permanent display at Trinity College; one showing a page of text and the other a page of illustration.
In 2011 CE, the City of Kells petitioned for the return of at least one of these volumes. Arguing that they are the original owners of the manuscript and citing the more than 500,000 visitors who come to Trinity each year to see the work, the city claims that they deserve to share in some of the benefits of tourism that Trinity has enjoyed for so long.
however, the request was denied, citing the delicate nature of the manuscript and the inability of kells to care for it, as well as trinity college. Facsimiles of the Book of Kells have been made for scholars, art historians, and other fields of study, but the manuscript itself is no longer lent or permitted to be tampered with. The work remains at Trinity, where it is on display in an exhibit featuring additional information on the most famous of illuminated manuscripts.
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