![]() ![]() “In its original form,” notes Harlitz-Kern, the manuscript “was both thicker and larger. The Book of Kells has weathered the centuries fairly well, thanks to careful preservation, but it’s also had perhaps five rebindings in its lifetime. In the video above, Trinity College Library conservator John Gillis shows us how the manuscript was made using methods that date back to the “development of the codex, or the book form.” This includes the use of parchment, in this case calf skin, a material that remembers the anatomical features of the animals from which it came, with markings where tails, spines, and legs used to be. Consisting mainly of copies of the four gospels, as well as indexes called “canon tables,” the manuscript is believed to have been made primarily for display, not reading aloud, which is why “the images are elaborate and detailed while the text is carelessly copied with entire words missing or long passages being repeated.”īut while the Book of Kells is still a modern “symbol of Irishness,” it was made with materials and techniques that fell out of use several hundred years ago, and that were once spread far and wide across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The ancient masterpiece is a stunning example of Hiberno-Saxon style, thought to have been composed on the Scottish island of Iona in 806, then transferred to the monastery of Kells in County Meath after a Viking raid (a story told in the marvelous animated film The Secret of Kells). “You simply can’t travel to the capital of Ireland,” writes Book Riot’s Erika Harlitz-Kern, “without the Book of Kells being mentioned. “One of Ireland’s greatest cultural treasures” comments , “it is set apart from other manuscripts of the same period by the quality of its artwork and the sheer number of illustrations that run throughout the 680 pages of the book.” The work not only attracts scholars, but almost a million visitors to Dublin every year. I find it unfortunate that there is not more done in art these days to make modern illuminated manuscripts which mimic this ancient and painstaking style.If you know nothing else about medieval European illuminated manuscripts, you surely know the Book of Kells. I love illuminated manuscripts images, fonts, the colours used. The building block of a good society is being neglected. This goes to show how, over time, the importance of a true education has decreased and memorization skills are all but thrown out the window. ![]() Before then, stories would be passed down orally and memorized. The Illuminated manuscript illustrates how seriously the people of the Medieval ages took the rare privilege of learning. It is unfortunate that today many books have fallen in value and earnest learning of literature has fallen into disuse. We are at a point today that we have never seen before and mankind is quickly making fast progress! It is cynical people like you that hold us back. How can you say that the "building block of a good society is being neglected"? Education today has increased to its pinnacle and learning is available to more people than ever. November 22, think that your analysis of the decline of Illuminated writing draws many hasty conclusions and is very cynical. We may need to re-evaluate the decline of a love for the simple building blocks of a good society and where we have strayed. And yet due to various wars and bloodshed led by the best educated of various societies, we saw the bloodiest century in the history of mankind. At its beginning, things were looking up and people rejoiced in the greatness of mankind as you do. November 22, me clarify what I meant: Although, yes, our society has come to be fairly well-educated, we nevertheless neglect the core values which made us this way and we take learning for granted.Īlso, I would strongly disagree with your comments concerning "the greatness of mankind." Look at the 20th century. I had never heard of them until now and I think they are O.K., to be honest. This has helped me with my art project for school.
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