Why do more than one million people every year come to look at a 1,200 year old book? Welcome to this course on the Book of Kells from Trinity College Dublin. I'm Dr. Rachel Moss from the Department of History of Art and Architecture. And I'm Dr. Fainche Ryan from the Loyola Institute of Theology at Trinity. And together with our colleagues from the library at Trinity, over the next four weeks we'll be exploring one of Ireland's most famous manuscripts. The Book of Kells sits in a darkened room encased in protective glass in the old library here at Trinity College. It's regarded as one of the greatest cultural treasures of Ireland and described by some as the most famous manuscript in the world.

But why is it so famous? Why do so many people travel from across the world to see it? And why is its artwork reproduced in such varied places as Irish national coinage and tattoos? There is no one answer to these questions. Indeed, a key to understanding the Book of Kells is to remember that from its very inception it held different meanings for different peoples. At one level, it is a sacred scripture, part of the Christian Bible, and it has been prepared and created with such care and attention that one might say its very composition was an act of devotion.

At another level, it is an artistic masterpiece the intricacies of which lead the mind and the eyes along pathways of imagination. The Book of Kells is to Dublin what the Mona Lisa is to Paris and the Sistine Chapel ceiling is to Rome. You haven't been to Ireland unless you've seen the Book of Kells. For Irish people it represents a sense of pride, a tangible link to a positive time in Ireland's past reflected through its unique art. It is truly a symbol of Irishness. Over the next four weeks of this course, we'll be exploring the multiple facets of the Book of Kells. It's not our intention to provide definitive answers to the many questions that surround us.

Rather, we'll be exploring the manuscript through various perspectives and encouraging participants to think for themselves about the meanings that the manuscript holds. In 613, Saint Columbanus wrote to Pope Boniface IV stating, we Irish, inhabitants of the world's edge, are followers of St. Peter and Paul. This is a remarkable statement and tells us about the context in which we are speaking. The Irish saw themselves as Christians and unique, and yet in contact with the centre in Rome. This is the world in which the Book of Kells was created, and this will be our focus this week as we explore the religious and political climate on this island in the context of cultural developments on the mainland.

Mass produced through print on paper, today we take the making of books for granted. Admiration is directed towards the creativity of the author rather than that of the typesetter, printer, or publisher. Viewed through the modern lens, the Book of Kells is simply a copy of an earlier text-- a new edition, if you like. However, the story of the making of the Book of Kells is exceptional. Next week, we'll be exploring some of the challenges faced in putting together a book on the scale of the Book of Kells.

We'll be looking at the procurement of materials from vellum to pigments and their preparation; at the laborious task of planning and copying the text and illustrations; right down to the binding together of a manuscript that was more than simply a book. When the 12th century cleric Gerald of Wales visited Ireland, he came upon a manuscript similar to the Book of Kells and he advised those who followed in his footsteps to take the trouble to look fairly closely and penetrate with your eyes the secrets of the artistry. You will notice such intricacies so delicate and subtle, so close together and well-knitted, so involved and bound together, and so fresh still in their colouring.

These words of Gerald we will take very seriously in week three of this course when we will focus on some key pages of the manuscript. We will take time to meditate, to observe, to think as we seek to delve deeper into the complexities and the many meanings of the images in this great manuscript. How do you preserve a fragile object and at the same time make it available for all who wish to see it? In the final week of this course, we'll be looking at the long history of the Book of Kells and how it managed to survive over 1,200 years of history. We'll be examining the different meanings and values that it held over the generations.

We'll be looking at the challenges faced today in presenting and preserving the book, and ultimately at what the future holds for Ireland's most important manuscript

Why do more than 1,000,000 people a year come to look at a 1,200 year old book?

Over the next four weeks of this course we will be exploring the multiple facets of the Book of Kells. It is not our intention to provide definitive answers to the many questions that surround the manuscript. Rather we will introduce it through a number of different perspectives to encourage you to think more deeply about what meanings the Book reveals.

Week 1: The History of the Book of Kells

This week we’ll be exploring the cultural background from which the book emerged – looking at the structures of the early Irish Church and visiting the town of Kells, the early monastery from which the manuscript derives its name.

Week 2: Making the Book of Kells

In Week 2 we’ll be joined by our colleagues from the conservation department of the library to look at the technical challenges presented in making a manuscript of this type, and by master calligrapher Tim O’Neill, who will share some of the secrets of the design.

Week 3: Meanings of the Book of Kells

This will be followed in Week 3 with explorations of the possible meanings of the art of the book when it was made.

Week 4: Modern life and the Book of Kells

Week 4 will focus on modern interpretations of the Book and what it means to us today.

At the end of each week you will be asked to complete some multiple choice questions to help you reflect on the course materials.

Find out more about your lead educators Rachel Moss and Fáinche Ryan, and follow their comments by selecting their profiles below and clicking on the follow square..

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Introducing the Book of Kells

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The Book of Kells is a gospel book, containing the four accounts of Christ’s life that form the New Testament of the Bible.

It is one of the few precious survivals of an influential tradition of book production that flourished in the Irish Church in the eighth and ninth centuries. The name of the manuscript derives from the monastery at Kells, Co. Meath in Ireland. The monastery was founded c. 807AD by monks fleeing Viking attacks at the monastery of Iona, off the Western coast of Scotland.

Although it is impossible to date the manuscript with absolute certainty, it is generally agreed that it was probably started on Iona in the late eighth century, and may have been transferred to Ireland for safety prior to its completion. It remained at Kells until the late seventeenth century, when it was brought to Trinity College in Dublin for safekeeping.

The Book of Kells is what we call a gospel book. It contains the four gospels which come from the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book itself is very precious to us, the manuscript of the Book of Kells, because it comes from an era in Ireland, a time of great learning, from the eighth and ninth century. And we have very few manuscripts left with us from that period. However, we know that there was lots of learning in Ireland at that time because we have records of stories which tell us of learned people who came from mainland Europe to learn even more, to study in the Irish monasteries.

And we also have many accounts of Irish scholars, Irish monks, Irish pilgrims, going to mainland Europe, and bringing their learning with them. We have evidence of that in some gospel books, which still exist in England and in mainland Europe. We have the Saint Gall Gospels, the Echternach Gospels, and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Although there are a number of surviving manuscripts from the period, the Book of Kells really excels. It's written in a very clear script, known as Insular majuscule. That's the script that was unique to the Irish church at the time. But what makes it particularly exceptional is the quality and quantity of illustrations. Practically every page is adorned with intricate artwork.

The name the Book of Kells comes from the Monastery of Kells in what is now modern County Meath. The monastery was founded in 807 by monks fleeing Viking attacks on the western Scottish island of Iona. The date of the manuscript has been subject to some debate. It's thought that it may have been started on Iona, and perhaps brought with the monks when they came to Kells, and finished there. While still in Kells, the gospel book was known as the Great Gospel Book of Columcille. Columkille, also known as St. Columba, is an early Irish saint who was born in the northwest of Ireland in County Donegal. He went as a missionary to the islands off the coast of Scotland.

And on the island of Iona, he founded a monastery which became a very great monastery. From Iona, many other monasteries were formed. Two, perhaps, of the most famous, would be Durrow in County Offaly, and also Lindisfarne in the northeast of England. These great monasteries formed a family of monasteries, and people would travel between them and share learning and creativity. Columcille himself was famous for his scribal gifts, for his learning, and for his creativity. And very early on, stories tell us that he produced many gospel books and many psalters I suppose it's no wonder that the manuscript that we now call the Book of Kells came to be known as the Great Gospel Book of Columcille.

And indeed, from the 11th century, or even earlier, this manuscript was regarded as a relic of Saint Columba, Saint Columcille. By the 11th century, the gospel book was enshrined in a great jewelled cover, and kept adjacent to the church. In 1007, we know that calamity struck, and thieves made away with the book in order to steal its jewelled cover. The manuscript itself was secreted, we're told, under a sod -- so presumably buried in the ground -- and recovered some time later, and thereafter remained in Kells for the entire later medieval period. By the early 17th century, the manuscript, we know, was considered to be miraculous, and venerated by the local Roman Catholic community.

However, following a rebellion against local Protestant settlers in Kells in 1641, the church in which it had been kept fell into ruin, and the local governor, Sir Charles Lambert, decided to send the manuscript for safekeeping to the library at Trinity College. Probably about a decade later, the manuscript was formally presented to the library at Trinity College by the then Bishop of Meath Sir Henry Jones, and it has remained in the university collections ever since.

KELLS ONLINE COURSE

terça-feira, 19 de novembro de 2019