Illuminated books have seduced wealthy collectors with their richness and meticulousness, and if we all have in mind the magnificent illuminated Gothic manuscripts such as Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, there is a work that has long remained mysterious: the Book of Kells.

A MASTERPIECE OF 9th CENTURY ISLAND ART

the Book of Kells is an illuminated Gospel Book commonly dated to the 9th century. It contains the four gospels according to the Vulgate, preceded by prefaces, summaries and transitions between certain passages. It is written in capital letters in a typical island typographic style, with black, red, purple or yellow ink.

These sheets required the skin of approximately 185 calves. They are almost all made of vellum, the skin of stillborn calves, except for some particularly illuminated sheets, made of a thicker parchment and therefore made of the skin of an older calf. These elements confirm the particularly important means implemented by the abbey which produced the Manuscript. Nevertheless, the book seems unfinished, insofar as some of the decorations only appear as sketches.

Its exact origin is poorly known, but specialists believe that it comes, at least partially, from the scriptorium of the monastery of Iona, a small island near Scotland. The exact place of its creation is debated, but five hypotheses are particularly known. The most recent studies have been able to show that the manuscript came either from the scriptorium of Iona or that of Kells, or that it was begun in one before being brought to the other following the Viking invasions, very frequent in the British Isles at that time.

Its sponsor is unknown. The work is not finished but it appears, in an almost certain way, in the monastery of Kells, in Ireland, in 1007. Indeed, a passage of the Annals of Ulster of that year specifies that a very similar manuscript was stolen during the night from the sacristy. He was found a few months later, buried in a ditch. Its rich gold cover encrusted with precious stones had been savagely torn off.

However, the Book of Kells presents all the characteristics of the work described in these annals. This episode would also explain that it does not have a binding commensurate with its preciousness and that, during this package, several pages were irretrievably lost and the binding badly damaged. Other pages seem to have been shuffled during this event. It is estimated that around thirty pages were lost, and a review of the work in 1621 by James Ussher counted only 344 pages. The manuscript today consists of 340 sheets in vellum.

IT IS ESTIMATED THAT SOME THIRTY PAGES WERE LOST

It was not until 1654 that the precious Book of Kells leaves his abbey for the Trinity College from Dublin where it was presented in 1661, and where it is still kept. Indeed, the Catholic monks of the 17th century feared the cavalry ofOliver Cromwell. Other researchers believe that the Book of Kells left his monastery in 1541.

The manuscript has been bound several times over the centuries. It was on one of these occasions, 18th century, that the pages were cropped unceremoniously, resulting in the loss of a small portion of the artwork. In 1953, the work was finally bound in four volumes by Roger Powell, who also took care of delicately tightening certain pages which had become covered with bulges. He also removed an inauthentic page where the Queen Victoria and her husband signed in 1849.
Since the 19th century, it has been the subject of a permanent exhibition open to the public at the university’s Old Library. The pages are regularly turned.

MYSTERIOUS AND FANTASY ILLUMINATIONS

The illuminations are far richer and more numerous than in any other biblical manuscript in Britain. We count ten full pages of illuminations able to survive the test of time, including two portraits of the Evangelists (John and Matthew), three representations of the four symbols of the Evangelists, a page with patterns reminiscent of a carpet, a miniature of the Virgin and Child, another miniature of Christ in Majesty and finally, two final miniatures dedicated to the arrest and temptation of Christ.

Furthermore, there is thirteen other full pages of illuminations, this time accompanied by a little text : this is particularly the case for the beginning of each Gospel. Eight of the ten pages devoted to the canonical tables of Eusebius of Caesarea have also been very richly illustrated. the Book of Kells uses a wide color palette with, for example, mauve, red, pink, green or yellow. But what intrigues researchers the most is the finesse of the details, sometimes almost invisible to the naked eye, produced at a time when the magnifying glass did not yet exist. The mystery surrounding this prodigy has not yet been resolved, but medical insight suggests that very high myopia could explain this feat.

Among the most remarkable pages, let us mention the one representing the Virgin and Child (folio 7v). This miniature introducing the introductory texts is the oldest representation of the Virgin among all manuscripts in the Western world. The iconographic style of the miniature could derive from an Orthodox or Coptic model.

The monogram Chi Rho or “monogram of the Incarnation” which begins the Gospel of Matthew has been the subject of particular care in the Book of Kells, until it invaded folio 34r in its entirety. A true masterpiece of island illumination, it is sumptuously decorated with tracery and other motifs. The background of the design, likewise, is overwhelmed with knotted and interlocking illustrations. Within this mass of ornaments are hidden animals and insects. Three angels finally emerge from one of the arms of the Chi. A careful study with a magnifying glass shows no error in the layout, and the almost obsessive filling of each void with zoomorphic figures or Celtic interlacing conveys a horror of the void.

The decoration of the work is not limited to the main passages. All Pages, with the exception of two of them, indeed contain a minimum of ornaments. Decorated initials – as well as small human or zoomorphic figures often twisted in complicated knots – are scattered throughout the manuscript. This art of interlacing, animal figures and microscopic labyrinths is inspired, among other things, by the celtic tradition. None of these motifs is identical to another, and no older manuscript can match such a profusion of ornament.

Although used in the liturgy, the manuscript is impractical to use and focuses on a very aesthetic appearance : it must amaze. Thus, the specialists have noticed that the text also contains many uncorrected errors, the chapter numbers necessary for the use of the canonical tables have not been inserted and the latter, too condensed, are not really readable.

APPEARANCES IN POP CULTURE

Since his exhibition to the public in the 19th centurythe Book of Kells fascinates the whole world with its abundant ornamentation mixing religious elements such as angels, the tetramorph, Christ, the Virgin, etc. to distinctly Celtic elements such as tracery. The finesse of the details, the brilliance of the colors have inspired medieval commentators that this Gospel book would in fact be the work of angels. With its two facsimile reproductions, these illustrations, in particular the Chi Rho, have inspired many artists, sometimes taking the work out of its context. Among the great tributes to Book of Kellslet us quote Animation Film Brendan and the Secret of Kells directed by Tomm Moore and released in theaters in early 2009. In 1992, British gospel-leaning folk rock band Iona created a concept album called The Book of Kells. Fantasy illustrators regularly refer to it more or less explicitly.

FANTASY ILLUSTRATORS REGULARLY REFER TO IT IN A MORE OR LESS EXPLICIT WAY

When writing, we were captivated by the beauty and complexity of the illuminations of the Book of Kells as well as by its mysterious origin. If you are fascinated by the overflowing imagination of medieval illuminators, we advise you to read this astonishing discovery made in a 14th century manuscript.