The Book of Kells: An Illustrated Introduction to the Manuscript in Trinity College Dublin (Paperback)

by Bernard Meehan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
This is essentially a scholarly introduction to the Book of Kells, the ancient illuminated manuscript of the gospels housed at Trinity College in Dublin. The text is laced with 117 mostly color photographs of the book's beautifully illustrated pages. For religious and art collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
For the fiscally conservative library, this fine, small book is an ideal substitute for the recent $18,000 facsimile of Ireland's renowned Book of Kells, the most famous of all illuminated medieval Gospels. This representation might not include all 680 illuminated pages, but it does offer 110 color illustrations, including dozens of enlargements, that permit the reader to ponder the excruciatingly complex ornamentation which makes the Book a masterpiece of Celtic interlacing. Meehan, keeper of manuscripts at Trinity College Dublin, which has housed the Book since the seventeenth century, provides erudite but direct commentary about the Book's background, its motifs and themes, and even the material from which it is constructed. Patricia Monaghan

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Product Details

• Paperback: 95 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; 2 edition (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500277907
• ISBN-13: 978-0500277904
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,269 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Book of Kells
  #1 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Illuminations
  #3 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Design & Decorative Arts > Graphic Design > Calligraphy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The most precious object in the western world", November 30, 2002

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Resting at Trinity College Dublin is one of the truly singular products of early European art. This is 'The Book of Kells,' an ornately illuminated rendition of the four gospels, rendered sometime in the Ninth Century. It has been both an influence and an inspiration since the time of its making, illustrating both the story it tells, and the subtle mind of symbolists who wove the story and the art together.

One of the key problems the student of illustrated art suffers in any attempt to study 'The Book of Kells' is the simple matter of access. I believe that the replica edition of the book cost nearly $20,000 when it was published, and most other resources limit themselves to only the most famous of the pages. Only a few detailed studies exist, and this one, written by Bernard Meehan (Keeper of Manuscripts at Trinity College), is one of the best, both in terms of quality and quantity of reproduction as well as a literate and thorough discussion.

Meehan covers the book's history, influences and parallels, the decorative scheme, and many of the decorative themes used by the illuminators. He also spends time on the more technical aspects of ink and paper. He does this in a pleasant, straightforward yet academically thorough style that is often a fount of information. Where he does not go himself, he provides indications of other possibilities for research and thought. Meehan's agenda is simply to present one of the wonders of human creativity for all to see and enjoy, and he succeeds admirably.

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Manuscript Reference, July 31, 2001

By A Customer

This little book on the Kells Manuscript is one of the best I've ever seen. Of the 117 plates there are only 6 in black and white and the color plates are true to the colors of the Book of Kells. A great many of the plates are of close up details of the pages. A wonderful variety of the Kells pages are displayed with plenty of descriptive texts.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Darkness into Light, August 24, 2005

By	E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I was glad I had this book along with me when I went to see the real Book of Kells at the Trinity College Library in Dublin. The lines of tourists waiting to view this famous eighth century manuscript were about a quarter of a mile long, and the museum proctors were really hustling us through the area where a small sampling of pages were actually on view.

(If you take the tour, be sure to check out the main chamber of the Old Library with its first editions of Newton and Darwin, plus the harp that is (alas, falsely) attributed to Brian Boru, high king of Ireland).

The first facsimile of the Book of Kells was published in 1974, and although this book only advertises itself as 'an illustrated introduction to the manuscript...' it contains good color plates of many of the most famous pages, e.g. the symbols of the four evangelists and the beginning of the 'Breves causae' of Matthew, among others.

Author, Bernard Meehan, the current Keeper of Manuscripts at Trinity College states that "the sacred text itself was copied in the Book of Kells with a remarkable degree of inaccuracy." It consists of the Latin text of the Gospels, illuminated in the very ornate Hiberno-Saxon style ('Hiberno' refers to the Irish, or Hibernians).

Legend has it that the Book of Kells was produced by St. Colum Cille on the island of Iona off western Scotland. Although it was probably begun in the Irish monastery on Iona, it was taken to the monastery of Kells in County Meath, after a series of Viking raids. The monastery on Iona was pillaged in 795, and again in 802. According to the author, "In 806, sixty-eight of the community were killed in another raid. The following year, the survivors migrated to Ireland and began to erect conventual buildings at Kells..." where the illumination of the manuscript was probably completed.

If you are interested in the historical background of the Book of Kells, the author devotes a whole Appendix to it.

Alas, according to this book's second Appendix, "Losses, Additions and Marginalia," the Book of Kells has not remained intact down through the centuries. "At present there are 340 folios, but around thirty folios, including some major decorated pages have been lost." The monks also used blank spaces in the manuscript to record details of property transactions in the late eleventh and twelfth centuries.

Meehan's book is definitely worth viewing and reading. It also contains a wealth of the smaller decorative illustrations that do not always relate to the sacred text, e.g. hares, dogs, horses, and at least one moth. The color and minute details of these decorations are a source of endless fascination, and the scholarly text, although a trifle dry, is also very interesting.