The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament, in a mixed old Latin and Vulgate text, done in Insular majuscule script. In addition, the Book of Kells (An Leabhar Cheanannais in Irish) contains prefatory material such as concordance tables and some 11th century legal documents concerning the Abbey of Kells. Transcribed by Celtic monks at ca 800 AD and a great example of Irish Celtic art, the manuscript is one of the world's pre-eminent examples of illuminated codices. The book consists of 339 vellums, but originally it must have had about thirty more.
Historians are not certain of the exact date and circumstances of the book's creation. It might have been complete by the Columban monks at Iona before - after a Viking raid in 806 - they fled to Kells Abbey. Another possibility is that the manuscript was entirely composed at Kells, or even begun at Iona and then complete at Kells. The book was not created by an individual illuminator, but by several artists/monks.
Submitted by Brian Dolan on Thu, 11/19/2009 - 17:16
Thirty years in the making, the €130 million euro New Acropolis Museum is a stunning, if controversial, addition to Athen's famous architectural landscape and at the same time a provocative statement of intent by the Greek people. In a fascinating talk in Dublin last night, Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, President of the new museum took an enthralled audience on a tour of the history, architecture and intentions of the spectacular building.
The National Museum of Ireland is Ireland's state museum. It holds a large collection of artefacts, divided under the areas of archaeology, decorative arts and history, country life and natural history, with a strong Irish focus. The museum has three sites in Dublin and one in County Mayo.
Ownership and control has changed hands multiple times since the museum was founded in 1877, in a past that reflects Ireland's turbulent history during the last century and a half. Since 2005, it has been established as a semi-state autonomous agency under its own board.
The archaeology section features artefacts relevant to prehistoric Ireland and the Viking and medieval periods, as well as special displays of items from Egypt, Cyprus and the Roman world.
