Kells

Kells,
Book of, an 8th- to 9th-cent. manuscript of the four Gospels, with prefaces, summaries, and canon tables; seven charters of the abbey of Kells have been added on blank pages. It is written in Irish majuscule and has magnificent illustrations consisting of intricate patterns made up of abstract and animal forms. It was probably written at Kells in Co. Meath, the headquarters of the Columban community after the sack of Iona in 806. It was collated by Ussher in 1621 and presented to Trinity College, Dublin, after the Restoration.