The Book of Durrow

Book excerpt: The Book of Durrow is among the earliest surviving decorated manuscripts in north-western Europe, dating to the late seventh century AD. A masterpiece of Celtic art, it is believed to be the oldest fully decorated Insular Gospel that survives, pre-dating the Book of Kells by more than a century. Created in a monastery associated with the Irish saint Colum Cille (St Columba), its text and artwork reflect the formative years of a _golden age_ of artistic production in Ireland and Britain. This richly decorated introductory guide explores the manuscript_s distinctive artwork and tells the extraordinary story of its preservation in the Irish monastery at Durrow _ first as sacred text then as relic _ and its acquisition in the seventeenth century by the Library of Trinity College Dublin.