Day 2- Dublin, Ireland
Design inspired by the Book of Kells by Christina Fairley Erickson
We started our day by walking over to Trinity College, to visit the Book of Kells Museum. A beautifully preserved illuminated manuscript created around 800 C.E., the book includes the four books of the gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Depiction of Matthew, Book of Kells, folio 27v
The museum hosts incredible displays of many of the intricate illuminated pages, the processes and materials that were used in making the book, as well as information on the few other manuscripts still surviving from about the same period in history. The treasury in the museum displays both the Book of Kells and the Book of Armagh, also from the 800’s.
Symbol of ‘the lion of Mark’, Book of Kells, folio 27v
Due to the delicate nature of the volumes, the Book of Kells is split in two parts, with one section open to an illuminated page and the second open to two of the pages of ancient Medieval Latin script. They change which pages are displayed every three months (and it takes several hours to do it, with all the precautions they have to take!) The Book of Armagh is much smaller in size than the Book of Kells. It contains the New Testament of the Bible in minuscule calligraphic text, without illumination.
Part of a display at the Book of Kells Museum showing details of circles and swirls along with pieces of jewelry from the same time period with similar Celtic imagery
One thing I found fascinating was the information on the different inks they used… they even had a purple ink- a very rare color in medieval times.
The ‘Chi Rho’ page using the Greek monogram of the name of Christ. Book of Kells, folio 34r
The twisting sinuous Centic knots and designs are masterfully executed- most likely by young monks, 15-19 years old or so, as they would have had the best eyesight. There are also some other details that also lead to this conclusion, such as tiny farcical characters such as two cats overlooking mice fighting over what appears to be a communion wafer!
Here are a few more images to enjoy from this inspiring design source!
A double-armed cross with eight circles, representing the eight days of Christ’s Passion. Book of Kells, folio 33r
Some of the purple ink is still visible!
If you’d like to see the Book of Kells but aren’t going to make it to Dublin anytime soon, Trinity College has done a fantastic job of scanning the complete book and posting it online. Go to: http://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/home/index.php?DRIS_ID=MS58_003v