The Book of Kells is an early medieval illuminated manuscript that takes its name from the Abbey of Kells in Ireland. Trinity College Dublin is its present home. This small book includes a brief introduction followed by 24 plates with descriptive commentary on facing pages. Readers with less than perfect vision may have difficulty making out the details in the color plates without a magnifying glass. This book makes a nice souvenir, but academic readers will find it lacking. ( )

A lovely little book. ( )

Beautiful.

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I wish I learnt something simple from every book that I read but unfortunately that is not always the case. I doubt I am going to learn anything from the book that I am currently reading (the Last Days of Sodom and Gomorrah) but I can say that I actually learnt something from this book, and that is what 'The Book of Kells' actually is. When I first bought this book I thought that it was some Irish legend but as it turns out the Book of Kells is actually a very old Latin version of the bible (or the four Gospels to be precise).
Now, if it was just any old ancient copy of the bible (or the gospels) then I doubt anybody would actually write a book (even a little book) about it. Well, okay, there are lots and lots of books written about the bible (and the gospels in particular) but we are not talking about a commentary or some other Christian book here but rather a version of the gospels themselves. The thing about the Book of Kells is that it is a beautifully illustrated version of the gospels with so much detail going into almost every word the book is a work of art in and of itself.
Somebody mentioned that the problem with this book (that is the book about the Book of Kells and not the Books of Kells itself) is that it is a really small book which means that the plates of the Book of Kells that it represents are really small and it is really difficult to see the detail. This book (I won't go through that again because I assume you know which book I am referring to and which book I am not) also examines the various pictures and plates that is shows. ( )

This little introduction to the Book of Kells gives general background about the most decorated manuscript of the Christian Gospels. For the serious scholar of illuminated codices, it is only a cursory study. As mentioned, St. Columba established the monastery of Kells and oversaw the development of the Book. On the pages of explanation juxtaposed to 24 plates, some detail regarding the images and style of the text appear. However, more information about the lens into the Celtic-Saxon culture would have helped to understand its place in history. Also there was little mention of the type of materials used to create the Book. For instance, on some pages,a blue pigment found in the minerals near the foot of the Himilayas gives clues as to historical trade routes. Further, the arrangement of the lettering, according to scholars, suggest that three monks worked on the pages, one of which had a very flamboyant style of calligraphy. As for the images, (which the study does give some detail regarding Christ images), some of the figures drawn in the Book resemble cartoons that may represent certain extant community members. Hence this little introduction serves the purpose of a tourist pamphlet rather than anything remotely approaching a complete overview. ( )