Oh yea, I forgot.........

I put in my title on the post before:  "The Book of Kells," and "Mutefish." Then I didn't say anything about those. Well, I did mention Mutefish--without the name. This was the street-musician group with the guy playing the Irish flute. I found that out when I bought their CD.

As for the Book of Kells: this was what we saw at Trinity College. For those of you who are not familiar with this work, it is a rendition of the four gospels of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But the book is not just a copy of those works/Words of God. It is a work of art, believed to have been penned and illuminated in the 8th Century (or so) in Ireland by monks. The art work is intricate, tiny! And colorful. The beginning of each gospel is decorated with a figure representing the apostle. Many of the first letters of paragraphs are an entire work of art in themselves. My words here cannot adequately describe it. We were not allowed to take photos of this, so I forgot to talk about it. But it was truly amazing. There was an entire display before the actual Book of Kells, explaining the how, what, etc. When we were allowed to see the book itself, it was under glass case and opened to one page. There were also two smaller works, called "pocket books," that the monks would write, illuminate and put together to carry with them. These were smaller versions, very similar to the Book of Kells, and they would have much smaller writing and abbreviated words. The monks would carry these when they journeyed. It was believed that "illuminating" the text with pictures and colors would draw new converts into the faith and help them understand the story of Christ. I just want to reiterate that this work was tiny and intricate. You can see some stuff online, just Google "Book of Kells."

At Trinity, we also saw a huge library. No photos here either. It was floor to ceiling full of old books. It was told that the library was half as tall, but was so full, they raised the ceiling into an arch and added a whole floor with shelves. This second floor was full of books, too. It truly was a beautiful room. There were also museum-type displays of old educational writings. I found the anatomy drawings interesting (and in the background I can hear my daughters say, "of course you did!"). FYI--Trinity College was founded in the 1500s as a Protestant school, to "give the Irish boys a good, Protestant education" by the Queen of England.

TTFN (Tah Tah For Now)