The Book of Kells, held in Dublin’s Trinity College Library, is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament. It was created in a Columban monastery in Ireland around 800 AD, and it’s a masterwork of Western calligraphy. It represents the pinnacle of insular illumination (“insular” deriving from insula, the Latin for “island” and referring to post-Roman art of Britain and Ireland). It is also widely regarded as Ireland’s finest national treasure, and although I haven’t yet made it past the pubs of Dublin to view it, it’s definitely on the list.

The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells are exquisite. The decoration combines traditional Christian iconography with ornate, swirling motifs. There are figures of humans, animals, mythical beasts, along with Celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colours, all scribed onto leaves of high-quality calf vellum with iron gall ink (the standard ink used in Europe, made from iron salts and tannic acid extracted from oak galls) and colours derived from a wide range of substances imported from distant lands.

The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells, in County Meath, which was its home for centuries. Its exact place of origin is uncertain, although it is widely thought to have been started at Iona and then later completed in the scriptorium at Kells itself. Regardless, it’s true to say that the Columban monks responsible for its creation had skills in calligraphy honed to a remarkable degree.