The Irish Book of Kells is almost as symbolic to Ireland
and St. Patrick as the shamrock. It is probably the most
well-known
sample of medieval illumination and calligraphy still
around today. St. Patrick introduced books, along with
Christianity,
to Ireland. The pagan Celtic people in Ireland had no
useful written language. What they did have was called
Ogham, which
was a primitive series of dashes and dots. When the Roman
or Latin alphabet was introduced in the fifth century,
the Irish adapted it for the Gaelic language so they
could record
their ancient folklore and legends. Even though I can't
speak or read Irish, I have studied it a bit, and always
thought
that it was very similar to Latin.
Several artists scribed the Book of Kells.
There are subtle variations in the illuminations as well
as in the calligraphy.
The calligraphers may have been completely different people
than those who painted the illuminations. Studies have
shown that the artists had different styles of penmanship;
one who
used rounded letter forms, one who used fancy flourishes
and one who used bright red much of the time. The manuscript
was
written and decorated entirely by natural daylight. The
monks at the monasteries were afraid of accidental fire,
so candles
or oil lamps were forbidden in the work rooms. The scribes
worked from first light until dark, stopping only for prayer
and meals.
Their scribing technique was borrowed by the
Celtic monks from Egyptian manuscripts brought to Ireland
by missionaries
in
the fifth century. The use of small red dots in Celtic
manuscripts was a decorative device. The dots were used
to outline large
initials or to make the text stand out from the rest of
the page. In later years, Celtic artists developed the
small red
dot into a completely original art form by making delicate
webs, knot work, and integrating animals into the mix.
The
Irish Book of Kells was originally written on about 185
animal skins. Paper being then unknown, this
parchment
was
their only source of writing material. The monks kept a
herd of as many as 1200 cattle, which also provided food
and milk
for the monastery. The monks, who labored endlessly, copying
out page after page of text, often grew tired and made
mistakes. The scribes occasionally repeated a word or line
or made
a spelling error. The Book of Kells contains numerous places
where the editor later made corrections to the Latin text.
In one place near the end, a scribe wrote "...very long,
very verbose, and very tedious for the scribe".
Kells, County Meath, once one of the great
centers of Celtic Christianity, may have been where the famous
Book of Kells
was written and illustrated. The exact history of the
book is unknown, however, historians have loosely pieced
together
it's history based on scraps of evidence and vague clues.
It is believed that in 563 A.D., St. Colmcille founded
a monastery
on the Hebridean island of Iona. When it was raided in
802 A.D. by the Vikings, some of the monks fled to Kells,
bringing
with them their precious treasure. The 1200 year old
Book of Kells, once housed in a monastery in Kells for many
years,
is now located in it's permanent home at Trinity College
in Dublin.
