Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Art The Book of Kells The Book of Kells The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript from the eighth century. It is currently located at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The images and icons in this book of gospels are Christian; however, the style of the work is pre-Christian in origin. Since the illustrations show both Irish and Germanic influences, they are referred to as Hiberno-Saxon art. The Book of Kells is called an insular manuscript, because its script is in a style known as “Insular majuscule,” a style that was common at that time in Ireland (Meehan 9). The Book of Kells represents a high point in the development of Hiberno-Saxon illumination. In the words of the art historian Carl Nordenfalk, the manuscript is a work of “exquisite perfection” (118). This paper will discuss the Book of Kells in an effort to examine its artistic and historic contribution. In the sixth century, the Christian Church began spreading its influence by establishing monasteries throughout Europe. The people of Ireland had begun converting to Christianity, as early as the fifth century, and by the seventh century, the nation had become an integral part of the Church’s international monastic system. The monks of the Irish monasteries took religious texts and decorated them, thereby creating what are today known as illuminated manuscripts. The ornamentation of these texts included large, ornate initial letters, interlace patterns, human, animal and religious figures, and various symbolic and iconographic motifs. There were many Irish illuminated books of this period; however, the Book of Kells was the most magnificent of all (Meehan 9-10). The Book of Kells, is a Latin version of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Book of Kells, was quite large and was usually placed at the altar (NGA 2000). Although the Book of Kells is Christian in theme and principle, its illuminated decorations illustrate a pagan origin. The Irish monks who produced the illuminated manuscripts retained local artists to do the artwork (Nordenfalk 109). The designs and motifs that the, recently converted, artists used were similar to those used by traditional metalworkers and goldsmiths of the time. Therefore, many of the designs of Christian manuscripts have a likeness to the embellishments found on helmets, shields and other ancient pagan artifacts (NGA 2000). It is interesting to note that the manuscript artists did not use real-life models to create their designs and images; rather, they copied these elements from earlier works. Although the Christian Church came to dominate medieval culture, the techniques of the illuminated manuscripts show a connection to the earlier pagan culture. Thus, ironically, the transformation to Christianity was one of the ways in which some of the features of the earlier culture were preserved. The size of the Book of Kells is 33 centimeters by 25 centimeters, and it consists of 340 folio pages (Henderson 131). The first 28 pages consist of introductory material; however, some pages were lost. These pages include a list of Hebrew names, summaries of the four gospels, and descriptions of the four evangelists. The introductory pages also include a series of canon tables, which were lists for the purpose of cross-referring to various passages within the gospels (MacCorkill 1997). There are two main decorative elements found in the Book of Kells. These are the small decorative illustrations that occur throughout the book, and the full-page illustrations which are used introduce important sections. The decorations found throughout the book do not exist merely for the purpose of ornamentation. According to Meehan, these decorative schemes serve to clarify certain sections of text. Thus, “important words and phrases are emphasized and the text is enlivened by an endlessly inventive range of decorated initials and interlinear drawing” (9). Nordenfalk points out that the basic style of Hiberno-Saxon decoration is linear in nature (113). This means that there is a great deal of movement of line to be found in the illustrations. This linear quality is seen, for example, in the decorative borders surrounding many of the pictures, and also in the geometric shapes and patterns that are featured throughout. The most frequently used geometric shape seems to be the spiral. Another patterning produced is created by the technique of interlace. This refers to the ribbon-like, weaving patterns that surround key words and phrases. The use of interlace is highly superior in the Book of Kells. As noted by Meehan, with the Book of Kells the ancient art of interlace “reached a high order of ingenuity” (17). Time and again, tiny human or animal figures are incorporated into the interlace patterns. There is a wide range of animal shapes used in the manuscript, including; cats, dogs, mice, lions, calves, eagles, snakes, moths, and otters. Some of the animal figures are symbolic of Christ, such as the fish and the lion. (MacCorkill 1997). There are also angels and other religious figures and symbols. As a general rule, the human and animal figures are depicted in a stylized way. This results in them having a distorted, or “grotesque” appearance, which is similar to the style found in later Gothic period art (Nordenfalk 114). Overall, the decorative patterns in the Book of Kells were highlighted by an efficient use of color, which further helps to bring the illustrative features to life. A focus for much of the decoration in the Book of Kells is the large initial letters that precede important passages of the text. In addition to serving a decorative purpose, these initial letters help draw the reader’s eye into the wording of the text (Nordenfalk 118). This treatment of initial letters shows two elements, which were unique to the Hiberno-Saxon style. The first is the use of red dots around the outline of the letter, done for the intention of importance, and the second is a technique in which the letters of words introducing a new section are formed in decreasing sizes (Meehan 17). Another notable feature of the Book of Kells are the pages known as the evangelist portraits and the evangelist symbol pages. There are four evangelist symbol pages, one each at the start of each gospel. These pages depict the four symbolic images of the evangelists: the man, the calf, the lion and the eagle. The artist of the Book of Kells did not merge these four symbols into one figure, as in some other early medieval interpretations. Rather, each evangelist symbol page shows all four symbols as separate but equal entities. According to Henderson, the constant repetition of these four symbols throughout the Book of Kells serves to unite the text. Thus, “they are, in their plentiful appearances, like a primitive litany of spell that evokes their four names, over and over” (Henderson 153). The Book of Kells played an important role in the development of art during this period. Although the decorations of these books were based on merging Christian and pagan motifs, the end result was the creation of an entirely new art form. The Book of Kells and other insular gospels of that time made an influential contribution to the further development of illuminated manuscripts. Thus, it is apparent that the Book of Kells had an important influence on later artists. In addition, because the Book of Kells provided an artistic treatment of the Christian gospels, it helped further the spread of Christianity in Europe. Bibliography: Works Cited Henderson, George. From Durrow to Kells: The Insular Gospel- Books, 650-800. London: Thames and Hudson, 1987. MacCorkill, Nancy A. “Scottish Highlands and Islands – The Celtic Site.” 1 June 1997. http://members.aol.com/heather130/celtic.html Meehan, Bernard. The Book of Kells: An Illustrated Introduction to the Manuscript in Trinity College Dublin. London: Thames and Hudson, 1994. National Gallery of Australia (NGA) Official Website. “The Book of Kells and The Art of Illumination.” 2000. http://www.nga.gov.au/kells/Index.htm Nordenfalk, Carl. Early Medieval Painting from the Fourth to the Eleventh Centuries. Lausanne, Switzerland: Editions d’Art Albert Skira, 1957. Word Count: 1214
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