The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-06-06
OLD irish MANUSCRIPTS
FAMOUS BOOK OF KELLs OFTEN
ATTRIBUTED TO ST. COLUMBIA
--DlMMA's BooK-THE BOOK OF
ST. MoLING.


1t IS interesting to note that the
early Irish caligraphy appeared in two
forms-the round and the pointed.
The former bears close resemblance
to that employed in the Latin manu-
scripts of the romance countries of
the fifteenth century; indeed, COM
parison of the earliest surviving Irish
manuscripts with specimens of the Ro-
man writing, as seen in the manu-
scripts of Italy and France of the
same date, leaves no room to doubt
the origin of the Celtic hand
The. finest manuscript of this style
is unquestionahly the famous copy of
the four Gospels known as the Book
of Kells, in which both text and orna-
mentation are brought to the highest
point of excellence; in fact, the very
perfection of the writing, and the
elaborate detail of the art that adorns
it's pages, constitute an argument
against the belief by some that it was
the work of st. COLUMBIA himself.
Such q belief cannot be sustained;
for, though we read in the life of the
Saint that diligence in writing was
one of his most noted characteristics,
leading the active life he did-a life
so strenuous that every moment must
have been filled with missionary labor
of some shape or fornl-it is scarce
ly reasonable to suppose that he could
ever have found time for the leisure
to train the hand and eye that exc
cuted the marvellous decorations in
''the great Gospel of Columbia
name probably given to the book, not
because COLUMBIA wrote it, but because
| he founded the church in which il
was used. Even without accepting the
ascription of the Book of Kells tC
COLUMBIA, we have evidence of his dill
gence as a scribe in the Annals OF
Clonmacnoise, wherein we read that
''he wrote three hundred books with
his own hand. They were all New
Testament. He left book to each Of
his churches in the kingdom"
The book was preserved at Durrow
a small town where ST. COLUMBIA
founded an abbey in the year SAG
and it is interesting and pathetic al
this distance of time, to read, at the
close of the first and apparently the
oldest portion of the manuscript, the
following prayer: 81 pray thy blessed
ness, o holy presbyter Patrick, that
whatsoever shall take this book into
his hands may remember the writer
COLUMBIA, who have myself written the
Gospel in the space of twelve days by
the grace of the Lord
| 1t is not surprising that many OF
such books were ascribed to the early
Irish Saints; for, even though the
knowledge of letters may have reached
Ireland short time prior to the com
ing of st. Patrick, it could not have
been widely diffused, as we find from
the fact that this great Apostle on va
rious occasions taught the alphabet
to each of the converts as were des
tined for Holy Orders; and in the
history and laws of Ireland were puri
fed and written, the writings and old
books of Ireland having been collect
ed and brought to one place.
Another famous scribe was Dimma
who wrote, it is believed, at the re.
quest of st. Cronan, that copy of the
Gospels known as "Dimma's Book
This precious manuscript belonged to
the Abbey of Rosecrea, founded by
| Cronan; but both it and the shrine in
which it was enclosed disappeared at
the time of the dissolution of the
monasteries. In the year 1889, how
ever, some boys, hunting rabbits, dis
covered it, carefully preserved and
concealed among the rocks of the
DEVILS Bit Mountain, County Upper
airy; and, having passed through the
hands of various private persons, it
was eventually purchased for the Ii
brary of Trinity College of Dublin.
Another book which, from very ear
ly ages, was treasured in County Lem
ster, and which it's ancient case, or
cumdach, has come down to us from
the ninth or tenth century, is that
called the Book of st. Moling." This
interesting volume contains the Four
Gosepls in Latin, with form for the
'Visitations of the Sick written in
double columns in a fine, neat hand.