Book of Kells: Famed Illustrated Manuscript Enters the Digital Age

I recently discovered that, thanks to the fine folk at Trinity College in Dublin, the renowned illustrated manuscript known as The Book of Kells is available, free of charge and in its entirety, for online viewing.

Gospel of John

According to Wikipedia:

The Book of Kells (Irish: Leabhar Cheanannais) (Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. (58), sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in either Britain or Ireland or may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from both Britain and Ireland. It is believed to have been created ca. AD 800.

I was surprised at how long the manuscript is, weighing in at 680 pages. The vellum pages have been digitally scanned at a high resolution and are a delight to view. In case you can't tell, I'm really into this kind of stuff -- a big fan of Celtic culture in general and illustrated manuscripts in particular. If you are too, you should find this resource to be fascinating.

Check out Ireland's great cultural treasure HERE.