* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
Trinity College, the oldest university in Ireland, is an oasis in the midst of bustling Dublin. It was founded by Queen Elizabeth of England in 1592 and designed by Theodore Jacobsen, on a former Augustinian convent.
Great Irish writers such as Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Becket, Bram Stoker passed through this university. She was a pioneer in admitting women.
In its magnificent library are more than two and a half million books and more than 3,000 manuscripts, including a rare first edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy. In addition to conserving the illuminated Book of Kells, one of the jewels of Celtic culture, it also houses the Book of Durrow with the symbols of the apostles according to the tradition of Saint Iremeo and the Book of Armagh, one of the oldest examples of Gaelic. written.
The room where the Book of Kells is exhibited is extraordinary. Large panels explain all the preparation, the symbols, the lighting, the technique.
The book owes its name to Kells Abbey, where it was kept for a long period of the Middle Ages. Four pages of the medieval manuscript are displayed behind dimly lit glass allowing its bright, polychrome pages to be seen from both sides.
Long Room of Trinity College Dublin.
Robinson Becquart
The book consists of 680 pages, all illuminated. About 150 cow skins were needed to make it and it weighs approximately 10 kg. Some parts of the beginning and end of the manuscript have been lost. Its history is linked to two monasteries: Iona on the coast of Scotland and Kells in Ireland.
Five colors, in addition to brown and black, were used for the illumination of the manuscript. The orange red in the book that Christ holds in his hands on one of its pages; shimmering golden yellow; emerald green and mauve combined in The Birth of Christ; and the blue obtained from Lapis Lazuli, a precious stone brought from the Himalayas.
The book is divided into four sections dedicated to the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. On one of the first pages you can see four characters located inside a sumptuously decorated box. A man, a lion, an ox and an eagle, which are the evangelical symbols.
The four figures represent different forms of life. The man, Saint Matthew, represents human life. The lion, Saint Mark, the wild life and the announcement of the kingdom of God. The ox, Saint Luke, domestic life, associated with sacrifice and the healing power of God. The eagle, San Juan, life in the air that crosses the skies. It is said that the eagle is the only creature that can look at the sun. Announces the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus.
Trinity College Library in Dublin.
Third parties
Other features are zoomorphic interlacings depicting fabulous beings and men, animals, birds, horses, and grotesque gargoyle-like human figures twisted in intricate detail. Other frequent designs are the systems of geometric networks of ribbons joined with knots and other simpler ones of red dotted lines.
The genius, versatility and inventiveness of the illustrator is beyond belief. Despite being such a vast work in the thousands of exquisite capitals and endings there is not a single drawing or combination that can be called a copy of another.
When leaving the library it starts to rain. The rain falls gently and rhythmically on the roofs and the streets of the city. I see its buildings and monuments through a thin veil that softens and ennobles them.
Joyce remains fragile and lonely on her pedestal at the corner of the street, receiving the rain and waiting for the warmth of the passers-by who sit at her feet, breaking her solitude.
Also read ■ HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE IN THE LA VANGUARDIA COMMUNITY?
2023-07-07 05:29:50
#Book #Kells #jewel #Celtic #culture
