Human Heritage: A World History

"The Book of Kells"

Introduction
As you read in this chapter, one of the ways that Christian monasteries served Ireland in the A.D. 400s was to copy and preserve literature. Irish monks created the Book of Kells, a beautifully illustrated version of the four gospels, in the late 700s. Skillfully and painstakingly, the monks copied and "illuminated" the manuscript using animal skins and hand-made inks. It took a team of artists over ten years to create the masterpiece, and it has been a Celtic treasure for over 1200 years. To learn more about the Book of Kells, visit the Book of Kells Web site.

Destination Title: The Book of Kells

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Directions
Start at the Book of Kells Web site.

• Browse through the site, taking notes as you go.
• Be sure to click on the "Timeline" and "Famous Pages" links near the top-left of the screen.
• When you view the "Famous Pages," be sure to click on the "Chi Rho Page" and the "Virgin & Child Page." You can click on a square to enlarge a portion of the page to see its detail.
• Read through the information, and then answer the following questions.

1			How many pages does the Book of Kells contain, and how many are without ornamentation?
2			What happened to the Book of Kells in A.D. 1006?
3			What two words appear on the Chi Rho page, and what do they mean?
4			What is a recurring motif in the Book of Kells, shown on the Virgin and Child page?
5			Choose a few lines from a poem, a book, or a play that has special meaning to you. On a separate sheet of paper, copy the words, illuminating the border or first letter of the work, in the same manner used by the Celtic monks. Use color and calligraphy to decorate the page. Display your “illuminated” pages around the classroom.