Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
shrine in which such prestigious books were kept. Whether
it was originally created in Kells remains an unresolved
question. Some authorities think that it might have been
begun, if not completed, in the great monastery founded by
St. Columba himself (in about 561) on the island of Iona off
the west coast of Scotland. Iona had a famous scriptorium
and remained the headquarters of the Columban monastic
system until the early years of the 9th century. It then
became an untenable location because of repeated Viking
raids, and in 807 a remnant of the monastic community
retreated to the Irish mainland to build a new headquarters
at Kells. It has been suggested that the great Gospel book
that we call “of Kells” may have been started on Iona, pos-
sibly to mark the bicentenary of St. Columba's death in 797,
and later transferred to Kells for completion. But it is also
possible to argue that the work was entirely done in Kells,
and that its object was to equip the monastery with a great
new book to stand on the high altar of the new foundation.
In the medieval period, the book was (wrongly) regarded
as the work of St. Columba himself and was known as the
“great Gospel book of Colum Cille” (Colum of the Churches).
The designation “Book of Kells” seems to have originated
with the famous biblical scholar James Ussher, who made a
study of its original Latin text in the 1620s. The gift shop in
the Colonnades of the Old Library in Trinity College stocks a
large selection of illustrative materials relating to the Book
of Kells.
—J. V. Luce, Trinity College and the Royal Irish Academy
Library and Dublin Experience also available.
Mon-Sat 9:30am-5pm;
Sun
noon-4:30pm (opens at 9:30am June-Sept).
Christ Church Cathedral
Standing on high ground in the
oldest part of the city, this cathedral is one of Dublin's finest historic
buildings. It dates from 1038, when Sitric, Danish king of Dublin,
built the first wooden Christ Church here. In 1171 the original sim-
ple foundation was extended into a cruciform and rebuilt in stone
by Strongbow. The present structure dates mainly from 1871 to
1878, when a huge restoration took place. Highlights of the interior
include magnificent stonework and graceful pointed arches, with
