Wednesday, March 4, 2020

The Beautiful and Mysterious Book of Kells



The Book of Kells is a medieval illuminated manuscript of the four gospels (primarily in the Latin or Vulgate translation of St Jerome) with many intricate, mysterious and mesmerizing illustrations such as the above 67th page, called the Chi Rho Page.  The quote below from the Topography of Ireland by Gerald of Wales (1185 AD) is believed by many to describe the Book of Kells and tells of the rewards of close examination:  




One of the mysteries of the Chi Rho page is the whimsical illustration of cats and mice near the bottom left:


It appears to show two mice nibbling on a communion wafer while two cats stand with paws on their tails and with two more mice on their backs!

The Book of Kells is filled with cats, mice and a wild variety of other creatures.  Alfredo M Graphic Arts Studio provides examples of many of the creatures from the Book of Kells and lets you page through the fascinating graphics from their book:
Animalia and Pages Ornaments from the Book of Kells


Here is a page showing just some of the many cats and mice in the Book of Kells:



 FutureLearn provides an entertaining and informative page on 




Geoff Swimer provides two short but excellent videos on...

Animals in The Book of Kells

 The animals in the Book of Kells are beautiful and varied. A brief introduction to the some of the different animals is followed by a look at the animals appearing in three of the full page illuminations. The 9th Century Columban monks of Iona illuminated the Gospels with Lions, peacocks, fish, snakes, wolves, cats, horses, Eagles and many more.



Cats and Peacocks in The Book of Kells

 



A more in depth video on the Book of Kells:



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