KELLS ONLINE COURSE

The Book of Kells in literature 191 comments The text of the Book of Kells is a copy of the four gospels in Latin, so not an ‘original’ work of literature. However, the almost magical quality of the manuscript, as a material object, has provided inspiration for numerous writers in prose and poetry. It has been drawn upon in many different ways, forming sometimes the central theme of the work, or alluded to in more subtle ways. The ‘otherworldliness’ of the manuscript has seen it feature in a number of works of fantasy and science fiction. R.A. McAvoy’s,  The Book of Kells (1985)  uses the manuscript as the central theme of a fantasy, in which a modern-day couple time-travel back to medieval Ireland to avenge a Viking attack.   Fig 1. R.A. McAvoy’s.  The Book Of Kells  (1985), Fig 2. Guardians of the Galaxy  ‘The Irish Wolfhound’ . In the Marvel Comic’s Guardians of the Galaxy issue ‘The Irish Wolfhound’, the story again involves the man...

Mags Harnett - Scribe2Scribe 193 comments Another example of using the Book in modern times can be seen in Dublin-based artist  Mags Harnett’s  work. In the past, the motivation of artists copying the artwork of the Book of Kells lay in creating accurate copies of the artwork that spoke of Irishness or were seen as appropriate to religious contexts. The text of the Book of Kells is written in Latin, and as we have seen, some of its symbolism assumes an understanding of quite complex theological ideas. In spite of this, the artwork of the manuscript remains accessible and familiar, even if it is now interpreted in very different ways. For her exhibition, Scribe2Scribe held at Trinity College in 2014, Dublin-based artist Mags Harnett copied the style of the Book of Kells, imitating the calligraphy and decoration of certain pages, but changed the language in the most radical way she could think of; into text messaging language.   Fig 1. Mags Harnett work...

Curate the Book of Kells! 237 comments Thinking about what you have learned across the four weeks of this course, we would like you to imagine that you are the curator or keeper of the Book of Kells at Trinity College. What would you include in an exhibition of the Book of Kells? What week do you think is the  most important  for visitors to understand the Book? (i.e. History, Making, Meaning or Modern). What week do you think is the  most interesting  for visitors to understand the Book? (i.e. History, Making, Meaning or Modern). How would you make it interesting to visitors in modern times? Is there anything missing…?

James Joyce and the Book of Kells 85 comments The most celebrated writer to have derived inspiration from the Book of Kells is James Joyce. Joyce owned a copy of Edward Sullivan’s 1914 text on the manuscript which contained a number of colour reproductions accompanied by a commentary.   Fig 1. James Joyce CC-PD Fig 2. Edward Sullivan’s influential book, published in 1914 CC-PD Writing to his friend Arthur Power he noted ‘In all the places I have been to, Rome, Zurich, Trieste, I have taken it about with me, and have pored over its workmanship for hours. It is the most purely Irish thing we have, and some of the big initial letters which swing right across the page have the essential quality of a chapter of Ulysses. Indeed, you can compare much of my work to the intricate illuminations.’ The hours spent by Joyce looking at Sullivan’s book reveal themselves throughout the pages of Joyce’s most perplexing work,  Finnegans Wake . The most obvious referenc...

A shrine of ‘Celtic’ art 114 comments Hidden away off a residential street in the Dublin suburb of Dún Laoghaire is a masterpiece of painted decoration inspired by the Book of Kells.   Fig 1. The high altar in the oratory. Photo: Rachel Moss. Fig 2. Artist’s impression of the original exterior of the oratory (a modern building has now been constructed around it). © Irish Dominican Sisters. The Oratory of the Sacred Heart was built in the grounds of the Dominican convent at Dún Laoghaire in 1919, in memory of the Irishmen killed during World War 1. Modest both in scale and architectural adornment, the decoration of its interior was undertaken by one of the community’s nuns, Sr Mary Concepta Lynch, between 1920 and her death in 1936. Born Lily Lynch, Sr Mary Concepta was the daughter of an illustrator, Thomas Joseph Lynch, and had been trained by him in the art of ‘Celtic’ design.   Fig 3.  Detail from the opening of the Gospel of Mark in the Book of Ke...

The Book of Kells as Irish icon 173 comments As we have seen, throughout the nineteenth century, the numbers of visitors coming to see the Book of Kells were relatively modest, and publications of its artwork relatively few. So how did its fame spread so widely in the final decades of the nineteenth century? The answer lies in mass consumption, from the middle of the nineteenth century, for jewellery and other luxury goods to be produced in a revivalist or historical style. From at least as early as the 1840s a number of Dublin jewellery firms, including George Waterhouse and Co. and West and Sons, had begun to make copies of ancient brooches. The period coincided with the rise of the middle classes, and the beginnings of overseas tourism to Ireland, creating a new market with a particular interest in designs based on specifically Irish antiquities. The range of designs soon expanded and before too long letters from the Book of Kells (most likely based on the designs o...

0:10 Skip to 0 minutes and 10 seconds In all the places I've been to-- Rome, Zurich, Trieste-- I have brought it about with me and I have pored over its workmanship for hours. It is the most purely Irish thing we have. So wrote James Joyce about his copy of the Book of Kells. The transformation of the Book of Kells from being just a medieval Bible to being artist muse and national symbol goes back to the mid-19th century. This was the period of the Industrial Revolution-- a time of great change, where people sought security by looking back to their past. It was also a time of the flourishing of national histories. 0:54 Skip to 0 minutes and 54 seconds In Ireland, historians looked back to the period prior to the 12th century-- the time of colonisation of Ireland by the Anglo Normans. They sought out evidence of its sport, its literature, its language, and its art. Up until the mid-19th century, the Book of Kells remained relatively inaccessible. Stored in the vaults of the li...