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The Book of Kells
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Check link for latest rating. ( 77 ratings, 11 reviews)
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This beautifully illustrated and thoroughly researched book is ideal for enthusiasts of manuscripts, Celtic art, religious iconography, and Irish cultural history. It appeals to scholars, art historians, students, and anyone fascinated by medieval Europe’s artistic heritage.
"The Book of Kells" is a masterpiece of medieval art a brilliantly decorated version of the four Gospels with full-page depictions of Christ, the Virgin and the Evangelists as well as a wealth of smaller decorative painting. In this bok, illustrations feature 59 full-size reproductions of complete pages of the manuscript.
A sumptuous volume on Ireland's revered national treasure and the world's most beautiful illuminated manuscript
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Description
The Book of Kells is one of the great treasures of medieval Europe.
Produced around 800, it presents a text of the Gospels employing decoration that is not only extraordinarily rich and colourful but also, in places, deeply enigmatic.
This new book will enrich people interested in manuscripts, in design, in Celtic art, in religious imagery, and in the world of Irish studies. It will be a revelation even to those familiar with the great Book of Kells. We are guided through full-page depictions of Christ, the Evangelists and their symbols, lavish openings to the Gospels, inventive lettering, and combinations of complex interlace, animals, and human figures.
The book elucidates the imagery, with descriptions of how animals, including lion, peacock, and snake, functioned symbolically, and explores the relationship between text and decoration, the scribes and artists, and technical aspects including the production of the manuscript, which remains mysterious.
The exceptional illustrations feature more than eighty actual-size reproductions of full pages, and enlarged details that allow the reader's eye to dwell on the intricacy of decoration that is barely visible in the manuscript itself.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Financial Times praises it as "a triumph of scholarly investigation and interpretation" with "more than 80 pages from the manuscript reproduced full-size in ravishing colour." Marina Vaizey from V&A Magazine calls Bernard Meehan an "illuminating companion" who provides clear and considered analysis. Colm Tóibín highlights the value in both the illustrations and the author's lucid explanations, while the Times Literary Supplement notes the breath-taking plates and the intriguing mix of known and unknown aspects of the manuscript.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780500238943
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 29 October 2012
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Thames & Hudson Ltd
Illustration: 20 Illustrations, black and white; 230 Illustrations, color
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 245.0mm
Height: 320.0mm
Weight: 2420g
Pages: 256
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About the Author
Bernard Meehan is Keeper of Manuscripts at Trinity College Library, Dublin, owners of The Book of Kells and The Book of Durrow, two outstanding survivals from the early Scottish-Irish Christian world. He served on the government-appointed National Archives Advisory Council from 1987 to 1997.
Also by Bernard Meehan
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The Book of Kells
The Book of Kells, dating from about 800, is a brilliantly decorated manuscript of the four Gospels. This new official guide, by the former Keeper of Manuscripts at Trinity College Library, Dublin, provides fascinating insights into The Book of Kells, revealing the astounding detail and richness of one of the greatest works of medieval art. The illustrations in the guide...Paperback$3199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
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