The Book of Kells, now housed at Trinity College in Dublin, is one of the most spectacular works of art in history. Yet it nearly did not survive the tumultuous era in which it was created, when Viking raiders plundered the monasteries of Ireland and Britain and even held similar manuscripts for exorbitant ransoms. Manuscripts like the Book of Kells grew out of a rich artistic tradition that embraced other art forms, including metalwork, sculpture, and embroidery.
Historian Jennifer Paxton looks at the diverse strands that influenced the Book of Kells, from indigenous Irish elements to motifs imported from the Christian Near East and the Germanic and Scandinavian north. She discusses the ways in which Irish monasteries produced and exchanged deluxe manuscripts and examines some of the most famous images in the Book of Kells, such as the magnificent full-page rendering of the monogram of Christ (the Chi-Rho page) and the portraits of the four evangelists. Paxton also discusses the influence of the Book of Kells on the revival of Celtic art from the 19th century to the present.
Paxton is director of the university honors program, associate dean of undergraduate studies, and an associate professor in the department of history at the Catholic University of America.
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