Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

The Book of Kells
Inscribed 2011
What is it
The Book of Kells, dating from around AD 800, contains
a copy in Latin of the four Gospels of the life of Jesus
Christ, along with ancillary texts. Its fame rests principally
on the extent and artistry of its lavish decoration.
Why was it inscribed
The Book of Kells is widely regarded as Ireland’s greatest
historical treasure, and is one of the most spectacular
examples of medieval Christian art in the world.
Where is it
Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland
Christianity came to Ireland in the 5th century and spread
rapidly. Gospel books and psalters were produced in large
numbers from this time. The Book of Kells is the greatest
example of a decorated manuscript Gospel book from the
54
4th c. 5th c. 6th c. 7th c. 8th c. 9th c. 10th c. 11th c. 12th c. 13th c. 14th c. 15th c. 16th c. 17th c. 18th c. 19th c. 20th c. 21st c.
The Book of Kells
7th to the 9th centuries, the period known as the ‘Golden
Age’ of Irish art.
The Book of Kells is widely believed to date from
around AD 800. The principal foundation of the great
Irish missionary and scribe St Colum Cille (died 597) was
on the small island of Iona, off the west coast of what is
now Scotland. Following the sack of the island by Vikings
in the year 806, and the killing of sixty-eight of the
community, the building of a new and less vulnerable
house was begun the next year at Kells in county Meath,
about 60 km north-west of Dublin, and completed in 814.
It was traditionally believed that the Book of Kells was the
work of St Colum Cille himself, a tradition which persisted
well into the 19th century. There has been considerable
academic debate on whether it was executed in its entirety
at Iona or at Kells, or whether it was begun at Iona and
completed at Kells; and so whether it was produced
before or after 806 or whether, indeed, it was written in
Northumbria or even Pictland.
Its lavish and complex decoration diff erentiates the
Book of Kells from other manuscripts of the period. This
text is decorated and at the same time elucidated with
images of great iconographic subtlety. Important words
and phrases are emphasized and the text is enlivened
by an endlessly inventive range of decorated initials and
interlinear drawings. The greatly decorated pages, upon
which the book’s celebrity mainly rests, comprise symbols
and portraits of the evangelists, introducing the Gospels;
portraits of Christ and the Virgin and Child; illustrations
of the temptation and the arrest of Christ; and decorations
based on initial letters and Christian symbols. No other
Gospel manuscript of the period was planned or executed
with such an elaborate decorative scheme. Little is known
for certain about the circumstances of production of the
Book of Kells and we do not know the names of its scribes
or artists.
The Book of Kells is a large manuscript now
containing 340 folios (680 pages), measuring in the
region of 330 x 255 mm. Originally, the leaves probably
� A page from the Gospel of Matthew, showing the wealth
of decoration used to enliven a page of text.
A portrait of Christ from the Book of Kells. A cross is
placed above Christ’s head and he is flanked by angels
and by two peacocks standing behind two chalices. �