The Book of Kells was made on the Isle of Iona in the 8th century. It was moved to Kells to protect it from the Vikings. But, it was stolen anyway for the cover, which was likely covered with gems. Luckily, the book was found, in a ditch.
The monks used vellum, which was calfskin, to write on. The colors were made of things like fruits, berries and nuts, but also other things. One of the reds was made from a squashed up, pregnant beetle.
The book is written in Latin. It is based on the Vulgate and includes the four Gospels. We were able to see it in the old library at Trinity College in Dublin. The book is bound in four separate segments. They have on display two of them at a time so we could see four pages. Every three months, a special team closes down the library to turn the pages.
It wasn’t as impressive as I thought it would be. It actually just looked like a really old book. I did like seeing the color pigments. They had some samples to look at.
Oh, and by the way, Trinity College has a good lunch room.
This is Cosmic Celt signing out.
