The Book of Kells: Forty-eight pages and details in color from the manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin

by Peter Brown

As its custodian since 1970, Peter Brown, the Librarian of Trinity College, has come to know the book intimately. For this edition, he has chosen the most important of the large illustrations plus a series of enlargements showing the unbelievable minuteness of the detail - arabesques, interlaced patterns, weird and witty monsters and grotesqueries - a combination of high seriousness and bizarre humor that is as astonishing now as when the Book was written. -- from the book jacket

Genres: Art, History, Ireland, Nonfiction, Reference, Medieval History, Christian

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1914

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Peter Brown (1925-1984), was a custodian of The Book of Kells manuscript and a librarian at Trinity College, Dublin.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book they should be selling in the Trinity Library gift shop in Dublin. While the Book of Kells (four gospels) were printed in about 800 AD, the history needed to understand them must start in about the 4th century. This book does that, without being tiresome.

I appreciated how the human scribes were given attention here. You needed scribes that understood Latin. But too much knowledge might have them re-interpreting passages that should not be touched. Too little knowledge would have them exactly transcribe errors from the original copy. Artists were needed to draw those incredibly ornate first letters in paragraphs, but how could such an artist also qualify as the scribe?

I bought a very similar-style book in my visit to the Book of Kells. But the current gift shop book was terribly academic. I gave it only 3* (generous). This book is more of 4.25*. The very well reproduced color graphics are grouped together: 8 in the front; 40 in the middle. I liked how the text in this book directly referenced each of these artistic pages. But by grouping them together, I had to keep flipping back and forth as I read passages.

This is the perfect layman book that should be sold at that gift shop in Dublin. This 1980 printing has not lost anything on its analysis.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short paperback mainly of interest for its full page reproductions of various pages of the Book of Kells manuscript. This was a stunning, Anglo-Saxon era recreation of the four Christian Gospels from the New Testament and was completed by monks at the Irish monastery of Kells. The illustrations (or illuminations as they are called) are stunning, with all manner of colour and intricate detail amid the patterns.

Along with the pictures are short chapters detailing various aspects of the manuscript: a brief exploration of Irish Christianity in the period; a look at the text and its relation to other contemporary texts; a look at the illustrations and finally a short history of the manuscript after it was written until the present day.

Hardly an in-depth book (the Book of Kells itself has hundreds of pages, of which only a handful are shown here) but a great introduction to the subject.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very academic dissection of the Book of Kells, written in 1920. New editions have only added a new preface. These prefaces are fairly technical too, describing the latest knowledge gained since the original edition was put out.

There is really not much history here to what led up to the writing of the Book of Kells. Rather, this book carefully dissects the writing and the pictures. There are 26 color plates with samples from the Book of Kells.

I found the text very dry and academic. It is informative if I were to be doing page-by-page analysis of the Book of Kells, so this has a very limited audience. The variations over the years it took to write this Book of Kells make analysis complex. I would like to have seen a bit more historical background about what led up to the Book of Kells being written.

Max 3.5, round down - since I did not find this a 'fun' nonfiction book to read. This book is aimed at a very technical/academic audience.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the history Peter Brown provides surrounding the genesis of The Book of Kells manuscript - an overview of the interactions of language, learning, & the development of Christianity in the West.

Brown (1925-1984), once custodian of The Book of Kells manuscript, was a librarian at Trinity College, Dublin, where The Book of Kells is housed.

[Jim]

My Daughter just saw the book at Trinity College in Dublin. Sounds interesting.

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book of Kells is an elaborately illustrated manuscript which is actually a representation is a Latinised version of the new testament's four gospels with other texts or tables added. It was created in a Columban monastery and comprises various folios on a vellum material. The books title comes from the Abbey of Kells where it was located for many years. Due to its style this book could have been produced between the 6th to 9th century (it is assumed that it was around the late 8th century)...

[Rosemary Orme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fourteen beautiful colour plates and a learned description. Very enjoyable.

[ASMR Cortercat]

it used to be a lovely way to get access to the pictures, but these days the reproductions simply do not hold up anymore

[Barbara Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was in Dublin earlier this year, our timed tour to the Book of Kells exhibit was canceled. Trinity College was in lockdown due to Gaza War protests.

So, even though current events prevented me from seeing the Book of Kells directly, this book (which was my father's) is a beautiful, helpful substitute. The art and craftsmanship are put into their religious and political context. Many of the color plates include side-by-side, enlarged details. I have a renewed appreciation for why the Book of Kells continues to inspire reverence all these centuries later, including with my Dad.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provided considerable historical background that the other Kells books I've read didn't include. However, Bernard Meehan's recent version is a much better place to go for the reproductions of the Book of Kells.

[Tahlia Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an informative read. I definitely want to re-examine this book and the included artwork again in the future… preferably with a magnifying glass so that I can more fully appreciate the complexity of the work of the medieval artists.

[pjr8888 · Rating 5 out of 5]

25 stiking, wonderful, colorful plates of pages from the book of Kells, and intelligent, "illuminating" essays on the art of the illumunated manuscripts of the middle ages.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 1920s academic treatise on the graphical motifs in the Book of Kells. I read it because it was available.

[Simon Bendle · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting introduction to a very cool book.

[Steven Hernacki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended by Joseph Conrad for a study of Finnegans Wake by James Joyce.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful!

[Anna C · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent introduction to the Book of Kells... but the reproductions are a little washed out, and the commentary leaves something to be desired.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good introduction to the artwork of the Book of Kells. Got me hooked on Celtic knots.

[Karen]

Book of Kells - Collector's Edition Book of Kells | a revered symbol of Irish culture. This 9th century illuminated gospel is the finest example of Irish monastic artistry. #irish #forklore

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully produced book with several color plates which provides the history and mileau of its creation, its context, and the history of the book itself.