Mary’s Cathedral, a Benedictine abbey church dating to 1200 CE. Almost nothing remains of that original settlement because it had been replaced by St. St Columba (Colmcille) and twelve companions founded the first monastery here in 563 CE. Suddenly I had a flashback to the island of Iona in Scotland.Ī chilly wind and a gray overcast sky greeted Diane and me as we set foot on Iona, the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland.

Furthermore the island of Iona in Scotland, where work on the Book of Kells began, was quite isolated at that time. One can only imagine the exorbitant cost of these paints given that this region of Europe was at the end of the trade routes. The lapis lazuli in particular came from the area that is now present-day Afghanistan. Many of these pigments had been imported from the farthest corners of the world almost 1200 years ago. I envisioned cross-eyed monks drawing each image using only a quill.Īs many as ten different colours have been utilized in these illustrations. As I studied the detail of each image with naked eye, I wished that I had a magnifying glass to better appreciate the complexity of design. Visitors see four vellum pages of this ancient manuscript – one volume open at a major decorated page and the other open to show two text pages with smaller decorations. Clearly the jewel in the crown was the four Gospels assembled into the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells, divided into two tomes, was accompanied by the Book of Durrow and the Book of Armagh. Entering the dimly lit Treasury Room at the end of the hall, I discovered four books displayed inside a glass case. Old Library, Trinity College Dublin – 2012Īnticipation slowly rose as I traversed each room, stopping to read every detail about this holy book and its convoluted history. With the Indiana Jones theme playing in my mind, I was all set to gaze upon the most decorated manuscript to survive from the Early Middle Ages in Europe – the Book of Kells. The quest was about to be completed the circle was about to be closed and loose ends tied together. After six years, I arrived in Dublin under gray overcast skies.

Book of kells book