Unlocking the Enigma

An account of one of the most famous manuscripts in the world.

A new and definitive account of one of the most famous and mysterious manuscripts in the world.

The Book of Kells is a mystery. It is distinct from all copies of the gospels from the early Middle Ages, not only in the quality and amount of its decoration but also in the peculiarities of the ordering of its contents, the oddness of its apparatus, the appearance of the script, the interplay of text and ornament, and the erratic forms of its Latin. Scholars cannot agree on the number of scribes and artists involved; or establish the purpose of the Book; or decide whether its oddities are the result of incompetence or carelessness, and how those oddities relate to the minutely careful and deeply meaningful art.

The Book of Kells is probably the most famous manuscript in the world – and Victoria Whitworth's masterly treatment offers something new.