THE BOOK OF KELLS

WHAT IS IT?

• A book of the four Gospels
• Written in the 8th century
• Considered the most elaborate document
• From medeival Europe

HISTORY

• Written in Iona, Scotland
• Stolen by Vikings in the 9th century
• Recovered, then stolen again in 11th century
• It was found in a ditch with its cover ripped off
• The cover has not been found to this day

ARTISTRY AND PICTURES

ARTISTRY AND PICTURES

• Mutliple uses of knotting and laced patterns
• Human figures:
• Small eyes, triangular nose, small mouth, large eyebrows
• Common Celtic animals displayed in the Book of Kells:
• Deer, goats, swans, and horses

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ARTISTIC INFLUENCES

• Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians
• Imported Greek wine: vine designs
• Colors and pigments from Mediterranean
• Showed Irish had contact with rest of Europe

DESIGN

• Written on vellum, a type of calfskin
• Pages are waterproof
• The cover was elaborately decorated with jewels
• 680 pages long
• Some pages have been ripped out

TODAY

• On exhibit at Trinity College in Dublin
• Donated by Archbishop James Ussher

IRISH MONASTERIES

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• Popular in the 5th and 6th centuries
• Munks believed in a quiet life in solitude
• Would help to understand God
• These monks were called hermits

MONASTIC LIFE

• Work: milling, stone-carving, leatherwork
• Earned money by selling relics and carved crosses to pilgrims
• Rooms: small, individual rooms or large, communal rooms
• Small kitchen and refectory (dining rooms)
• Decorations were very simplistic: crosses

STRUCTURE

• Whole area surrounded by a wall (valum)
• Kileen: infant burial site just inside the valum
• Cloigteach: large, round bell tower
• Would ring for work, prayer, and dinner
• Also used for storage of valuables and a refuge if under attack

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• Leacht: outdoor altar

SKELLIG MICHAEL

• Famous monastic island 15 km off coast
• Very isolated: few hermits on island at a time
• Inhabited from 6th to 12th century
• Cemetery, chapel, and individual huts

WORKS CITED