| An Irish manuscript containing the Four Gospels, a
fragment of Hebrew names, and the Eusebian canons, known also as the
"Book of Columba", probably because it was written in the
monastery of Iona to honour the saint. It is likely that it is to this
book that the entry in the "Annals of Ulster" under the year
1006 refers, recording that in that year the "Gospel of Columba"
was stolen. According to tradition, the book is a relic from the time of
Columba (d. 597) and even the work of his hands, but, on pal=BEographic
grounds and judging by the character of the ornamentation, this
tradition cannot be sustained, and the date of the composition of the
book can hardly be placed earlier than the end of the seventh or
beginning of the eighth century. This must be the book which the
Welshman, Geraldus Cambrensis, saw at Kildare in the last quarter of the
twelfth century and which he describes in glowing terms (Topogr. Hibern.,
II, xxxviii). We next hear of it at the cathedral of Kells (Irish
Cenannus) in Meath, a foundation of Columba's, where it remained for a
long time, or until the year 1541. In the seventeenth century Archbishop
Ussher presented it to Trinity College, Dublin, where it is the most
precious manuscript (A. I. 6) in the college library and by far the
choicest relic of Irish art that has been preserved. In it is to be
found every variety of design typical of Irish art at its best.
Some small portions at the beginning and end of the manuscript have
been lost, but otherwise it is in a very good state of preservation. It
was apparently left unfinished, since some of the ornaments remain only
in outline. It is written in part black, red, purple or yellow ink, and
it has been thought that the hands of two scribes, neither of whom is
known to us by name, are discernible in the writing and illumination of
the manuscript. The most characteristic ornaments of the Book of Kells,
as of other illuminated Irish manuscripts of the period, are the closely
coiled spirals connected with each other by a number of curves and
terminating in the so-called "trumpet pattern". Almost equally
characteristic are the zoomorphic interlacements, coloured
representations of fanciful beings, or of men, animals, birds, horses,
dogs, and grotesque, gargoyle-like human figures, twisted and hooked
together in intricate detail. Other frequently occurring designs are a
system of geometrical weaving of ribbons plaited and knotted together,
and a simpler ornamentation by means of red dotted lines. The
versatility and inventive genius of the illustrator surpasses all
belief. Lines diverge and converge in endless succession, and the most
intricate figures, in lavish abundance and with astounding variety of
ornament, are combined and woven into one harmonious design. In spite of
the extent of the work and its thousands of exquisite initials and
terminals, there is not a single pattern or combination that can be said
to be a copy of another. The artist shows a wonderful technique in
designing and combining various emblems, the cross, vine, dragon, fish,
and serpent. The drawing is perfection itself. It has been examined
under a powerful magnifying glass for hours at a time and found to be,
even in the most minute and complicated figures, without a single false
or irregular line. Some of the most accomplished of modern draughtsmen
have attempted to copy its elaborate designs, but, such is the delicacy
of the execution, that they had to abandon the task as hopeless. In a
space of one inch square were counted no less than 158 interlacings of
white ribbon with a black border on either side. On the other hand, the
pictures of the personages delineated are feeble and primitive and show
but a limited knowledge of the human figure and its relative
proportions.
No words can describe the beauty and the extreme splendour of the
richly coloured initial letters, which are more profuse in the
"Book of Kells" than in any other manuscript. The only thing
to which they can be compared is a bed of many coloured crocuses and
tulips or the very finest stained glass window, which they equal in
beauty of colouring and rival in delicacy of ornament and drawing. The
artist possessed a wonderful knowledge of the proportion of colour and
the distribution of his material -- sienna, purple, lilac, red, pink,
green, yellow, the colours most often used -- and he managed the shading
and tinting of the letters with consummate taste and skill. It is
remarkable that there is no trace of the use of silver or gold on the
vellum. Sometimes the colours are laid on in thick layers to give the
appearance of enamel, and are here and there as bright and soft and
lustrous as when put on fresh more than twelve hundred years ago. Even
the best photographic and colour reproductions give but a faint idea of
the beauty of the original. Especially worthy of notice is the series of
illuminated miniatures, including pictorial representations of the
Evangelists and their symbols, the Blessed Virgin and the Divine Child,
the temptation of Jesus, and Jesus seized by the Jews. These pictures
reach their culminating point in what is, in some respects, the most
marvellous example of workmanship that the world has ever produced,
namely the full page monogram XPI which occurs in the text of the Gospel
of St. Matthew. It is no wonder that it was for a long time believed
that the "Book of Kells" could have been written only by
angels.
JOSEPH DUNN
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume
VIII
Copyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York |
