The Book of Kells & the Old Library

Trinity College, Dublin

Preparation for field project (Contexts4Content)
 Book of Kells & the Old Library
Aims
• To present facts about the Book of Kells
and the Old Library
• To present ideas concerning ways of
using material from the session and visit
in the classroom
 Objectives
• To know facts about the Book of Kells
and the Old Library
• To identify how material from the
session can be used in the classroom
 Book of Kells – Key Words
• Manuscript
• Monks
• Illuminated
• Pigments
• Script
• Decoration
 Book of Kells
• A richly decorated (illuminated) & colourful
copy of the 4 Gospels, written in Latin by
monks, completed around 800 A.D.
• With 680 pages it took approx. 75 years to
complete
• Made for display & ceremonial use
• Sent to Trinity College, Dublin around 1653 for
security reasons
• One of the great masterpieces in the history of
art & one of Ireland’s finest national treasures
 Book of Kells
Materials
• Written on vellum. The
skins of approx. 185 calves
were used
• A range of pigments was
used, including red & yellow
ochre, green copper, indigo
• Blue was made from indigo,
red from red lead & yellow
from yellow arsenic
sulphide
• The pigments were
imported from the
Mediterranean region.
Techniques
• Use of an insular majuscule
script (large initial letters,
the letters that follow
decrease in size)
• Calligraphy. The lettering is
in iron gall ink
• Use of the insular style of
art (dense, intricate &
imaginative decoration)
• Use of Celtic imagery
(spirals, circles), & animal &
human forms
• Use of Christian symbolism
 Book of Kells - Decoration
• Intricate and often highly complex decoration
(brightly colored birds, animals, faces and
figures humorously entwined with the letters)
• Elaborate spirals and knot work
• Each of the Gospels has an elaborate
introductory decorative programme including
a portrait of each evangelist
The Chi Rho Monogram
The Chi Rho page is the most
celebrated image in the Book of Kells.
It is the name of Christ in its
abbreviated ancient Greek form, XPI
for Kristos, occupying the whole height
of the page. The Chi forms a cross
shape. Both letters, X and P, are
divided into compartments which are
decorated with knot work and other
patterns. The background is likewise
full of swirling and knotted decoration.
Within this mass of decoration are
hidden animals and insects. Three
angels arise from one of the cross
arms of the Chi.
 Monogram
• A monogram is a design consisting of two or
more alphabetic letters combined.
Monogram Page - Chi Rho
Monogram Page - Chi Rho
Monogram Page - Chi Rho Iota
Monogram Page - Chi Rho Iota
Monogram Page - Chi Rho Iota
 Book of Kells - Online
• View the Book of Kells in its entirety online
through Trinity College’s Digital Collections
http://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/home/index.php?
DRIS_ID=MS58_003v

• The Secret of Kells (2009), an animated film

about the creation of the Book of Kells
 The Old Library – The Long Room
some features
• Built between 1712 and 1732. In 1860 the present
barrel-vaulted ceiling and upper gallery bookcases
were built.
• Filled with 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books. Each
shelf is marked with a letter and each book is assigned
a number.
• Since 1801 the Library has the right to claim a free
copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland.
• Male Marble busts: great philosophers and writers of
the western world (e.g. Jonathan Swift) and other men
connected with Trinity College Dublin.
• Copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic
(read outside the General Post Office on 24/04/1916
by Patrick Pearse). Boru Harp on display.
The Old Library – The Long Room
 Teaching ideas for the classroom
• Present students with information about the
Book of Kells and the Old Library. Give them a
fish bone graphic organiser to complete.
• Students write questions for a class quiz. Divide
class into teams.
• Students do project work on the Book of Kells
with oral presentations
• Students learn the meaning of the Celtic
symbols used in the Book of Kells
• Students compare the Old Library with a
modern public library (Venn Diagram template)
The Old Library - The Long Room
 Field Project: Book of Kells & the
Old Library, Trinity College.
Suggested TASKS
1. 13:50Meet at the Entrance of the Old Library in Trinity
College Dublin (possible queue!!).
2. 14:00 approx. Enter the Exhibition and take notes from
some panels (e.g. the Chi Rho page). Take your time…
3. Watch the video clips about binding and script from the
small screens on the side walls of the room.
4. Visit the “Treasury” and enjoy the view of some pages of
these unique gospels which were written around 800 A.D.
Take your time…
5. Visit the Long Room. On your left hand side, have a look at
the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic and try to find
at least one modern proposal in it.
6. Find out how books are organised in the Old Library.
7. Identify some famous men among the marble busts.