[Cincinna]

Thanks Civ,

My Dad gave me a full facsimile copy of the Book of Kells when I was in High School, and it is still on my bookshelf. The illustrations are magnificent. Another magnificent Irish manuscript of the same period is the LINDESFARNE GOSPELS.

PAGE FROM THE BOOK OF KELLS

[colorado tanker]

I have a reproduction copy, too. It’s truly extraordinary, a real thing of beauty. It’s hard to think of the term “Dark Ages” when you see this.

[SunkenCiv]

1970s? The first time I’d heard of the Book of Kells (that I can recall) was during the fantasy-fiction / sword-and-sorcery craze that basically grew out of Tolkien. The big beautiful “Book of Kells” was displayed at Walden right next to that huge long poster (the black and red one) version of the cover art for the Ballantine ppbk of the LOTR.