The astonishing Book of Kells

A conversation between Dr. Lauren Kilroy and Dr. Steven Zucker about the Book of Kells, c. 800, 340 vellum folios, 33.0 x 25.5 cm each (edges trimmed and gilded in the 19th century), MS 58 (Trinity College Library, Dublin)

[FreeTibetFTW]

This is marvelous!!! I remember watching a movie about this, titled "The Secret of Kells" when I was a kid. I fell in love with the story and the art and science of the book's making to the point that it was the first movie I tried to translate from English to my mother language in my teenage years so my family could watch and understand it. It is breathtaking seeing how accurate the movie was towards the Book of Kells, and now having a chance to admire it by myself is on my bucket list for real.

[michaelplanchunas]

In 1990 while with US Customs a shipment came through for inspection. We took out an exact replica of the Book of Kells. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Each page was a work of art. It must have taken months of painstaking work to reproduce only one copy. There was a dozen in the shipment.

[michellemathews]

When I was 11 years old I visited the Dublin library with my Irish American Grandmother. I was so impressed and fascinated with the Book of Kells!! I am now 75 and still have the pamphlet-book about the book that we purchased there! Thank you much for your video. It brought back such a good memory!

[thewaywardpoet]

This has to be the most beautiful book I've ever seen. The dedication of those early Medieval scribes shines on every page.

[prototropo]

Three things astonish me every time I see a page of the Kells--1) the amazing technicolor abandon with which Celtic monks made the book. They're almost over the top in exuberance but never garish. The blues, greens and reds especially, pop and glow. 2) Then there is the incredibly gorgeous Irish knot design, or interlace, or whiplash, as art nouveau called it. 3) And finally the whimsical animals, making The Book of Kells the Pixar of Medieval Europe.

[dnicuilic]

Im from Kells! Glad that this book gets the international recognition it deserves. Hope you enjoyed your trip here to our little heritage town!💕

[Guigley]

I have a similar feeling of awe looking at the Book of Kells that I do when I look at Michelangelo's Pietà. It's utterly unfathomable that human hands created something like this.

[kathyastrom]

I saw this in my Ireland trip 8 years ago, and it was a highlight of a wonderful vacation. My big hobby is cross stitch, and I love to do really detailed and elaborate multi year projects, usually patterns based on fine art. I have been trying to find a pattern of one of the carpet pages from the Book of Kells, because that intricate interlace would be so much fun to reproduce on canvas!!

[SpinfoilHat]

of course that book already is an incredible sight to behold as it is now, but imagine how it must have looked when the pictures were still fresh

[jhb]

It's a shame the original cover of the book was evidently lost - it was supposedly of gold and heavily studded with gems and very fine metalwork.

[Jacob-kqwb]

I need to say thank you, very much for give it to us gorgeous information I never saw in my whole life Something so beautiful gorgeous .🤝❤️

[heidimeigs]

Knowing how costly the ingredients to produce different colors was makes it that much more amazing.

[taniapetkova]

It's amazing. I was there, and sow this extraordinary book 📖. And Trinity collage is astonished 😮. I take my heart from Ireland and put it on its

[mccashmax]

Why do we think that an ancient item which is designed to embody divinity should be too complex and intricate for its time? Man has always strived for perfection in the face of divinity and will dedicate teams of men to its completion over years, decades, even centuries.

[nbenefiel]

When I was working n my MPhil at University College Dublin, back in the 70’s, my manuscript was in the rare book room at Trinity. I went there most days. At that time, n the morning, the library was empty. I would go take a look at the Book of Kells. They turned the page every day. There was never anyone there. I could look at the pages as long as I wanted, then go in to work on my own, far less impressive, but equally ancient manuscript.

[supremereader]

Fantastic video as always, I really like how you let us spend so much time with the art, pointed out the details - and offered it in ultra-HD.

[alanjohnson]

This takes a lot of talent, I don’t believe you could easily get such a group today with such a singular focus

[magicknight]

Wow! Simply fantastic and tremendous. I am so grateful and filled with joy at the sight and thought of this marvelous book

[lisatennantart]

I'm so thrilled to see this, I just added it to our master course. I felt like I was missing something, and this is icing on the cake! We hope to run the Art History 1 in January.

[Modulus]

I was fortunate enough to see the Book of Kells in person when I visited Ireland. Such awesome history.