The Book of Kells illuminates the gospel and enlightens the public
I hope that my wife Kathy and I can stand in front of the Book of Kells this year.
Unless you’re a history or art buff, or have followed the reproduction of the Bible over time, you may be wondering, “What is the Book of Kells?” And if you know, you may be saying, “What’s so special about it?”
For me, it’s quite a big one. Because of my journalistic background, which involved ink and printing, and my Christian involvement, I’ve been fascinated for years by the process of making early Bibles. I’ve seen a few copies of the original King James Bible, published in England in 1611, and four copies of the first Bible ever printed, printed by Johannes Gutenberg in Germany in 1455.
But before Gutenberg, the word of God was transmitted by hand. Usually Catholic monks toiled with pen and ink, often followed by artists who decorated the pages with colorful images.
The Book of Kells, named after its temporary storage at the Abbey of Kells in Ireland, “is generally regarded as the greatest illuminated manuscript of all time because of the beauty of its artwork,” according to Joshua Mark of the World History Encyclopedia.
Since 1661, the 680-page book has been on display at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where we hope to see it. It attracts nearly a million visitors each year to Trinity College, which Queen Elizabeth I founded as a Protestant university in 1592.
The book presents the four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – in Latin and is stunningly illustrated. Christopher de Hamel, a professor at Cambridge University and an expert on medieval manuscripts, said: “No manuscript study can ignore this work, a giant among giants. Its ornamentation is extremely lavish and the imaginative quality of its execution is quite extraordinary. It was probably this book that Giraldus Cambrensis described around 1185 as ‘the work of an angel, not of a man’.”
The journey of the Book of Kells to Dublin is also fascinating. Historians believe it was created by monks on the Scottish island of Iona around 800 AD and then brought to Kells in Ireland in 806 to protect it from the wave of Viking raids that had first struck Iona in 795, killing 68 monks. It may have been incomplete and completed in Kells.
When the anti-Catholic English leader Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland in the 1650s, the book’s keepers feared for its safety and took it to Dublin, where it was looked after by Bishop Henry Jones, who donated the book to Trinity College in 1661.
Although the manuscript is best known for its elaborate decoration, it undoubtedly served a Christian purpose. Joshua Mark wrote: “The Book of Kells is probably the manuscript on the altar, which may have been first used in worship on Iona and was then certainly in the Abbey of Kells.”
“The colorful illustrations and lighting made it an exceptionally powerful work for a congregation, giving visual emphasis to the words the priest recited as he showed them to the people – much like reading a picture book to a small child today.”
The Book of Kells exhibition at Trinity College includes much more than the book itself, which is tucked away in an atmospheric corner and where photography is not permitted. Visitors can watch videos and other exhibits. According to Marc Connor, English professor and president of Skidmore College, “The exhibition also includes illustrated plates describing all the elements of medieval bookmaking: the making of ink, the making of parchment, the elaborate symbols used, monastic life in the scriptorium, and much more. It’s an immersion into the medieval world of the word.”
As I study the development of handwritten and printed Bibles over the centuries, I am impressed by the dedication of those who have ensured that the Word of God is always available to Christians and those whom God seeks. I think the Book of Kells will be an excellent reminder of that effort.
I’ll let you know.
Mike Haynes taught journalism at Amarillo College from 1991 to 2016 and has written for the Faith column since 1997. He can be reached at [email protected]. For more recent columns, visit www.haynescolumn.blogspot.com.
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