The Book of Kells 

 The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript and Celtic Gospel book in Latin, containing four Gospels of the New Testament. It has 680 pages.

Book of Kells; Christ enthroned

The manuscript was produced by Irish monks, probably on the Island of Iona, near Scotland around the year 800 AD. The importance of the book can't be over emphasized and its beauty is such that it has been compared to the 'work of the angels'. Considering the fact that the vast majority of people in the 9th century were illiterate, this work is more important than we believe.

Monastery of Iona; it is believed that the Book of Kells was written here

A page from the Book of Kells

In the year 806 AD Vikings from Scandinavia began raiding the regions in the North of Scotland and its isles. The monastery of Iona was ransacked, and several of the monks were killed. The survivors hurriedly retreated to Ireland, bringing the manuscript with them and relocated to the monastic settlement of Kells, Co Meath. The Annals of Ulster first mentioned the book when it was stolen in 1007. 

Abbey of Kells from where the book took its name

The manuscript remained in the abbey for the next 650 years until the time of the Cromwellian Wars. Henry Jones, the Vice-Chancellor of the Trinity College, arranged in 1646 to remove the book from the Kells to its current location: The Trinity College Dublin. Overall, there are no historical records to provide information about the origins of the book or why was it written in the first place. However, it has become an important tourist attraction in Ireland and it brings up to 750,000 visitors per year.